The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-10-02 00:00:00

AFTER HARVEST,

Not a day should be lost, urges the "Home
Farmer" in the Journal of Horticulture, in turning to
account fine weather, for every effort must be made
to get as much work done before "wet October" sets
in in earnest as possible. Of really urgent work the
sowing of Trifolium incarnatum came first. That is
a trifling affair, for which we have only to select a
clean stubble, to drill or sow the seed broadcast, and
to harrow the surface sufficiently to cover the seed
well. To make this matter quite plain to beginners it
may be well to say that by a clean stubble we mean
one that has no couch grass nor other foul perennial
weeds upon it. No ploughing or stirring of the soil
is required for Trifolium incarnatum ; the soil must
be precisely in that compact state in which it is
left after the corn is carted off it. Sow good new
seed, 301bs. per are, and cover it by harrow-
ing so that birds cannot get at it. Next to be
sown, and of even more importance than trifoliurn, is
rye for our earliest spring supply of green food for
flock-folding, as well as for cattle and horses. This
important crop should always be sown early in Sep-
tember, three bushels of seed per acre upon rich well-
drained land, light rather than heavy. We like to
have the plants robust and well established in the soil
before winter, and we cannot manage this unless the
soil is really in good order, and sufficiently stored with
nitrogenous manure to ensure a strong quick growth
from the germination of the seed. The fallacy of the
dictum that nitrates must not be used in autumn is
easily seen by practical men alive to the importance
of robust growth in autumn-sown crops. How can
a starveling seedling be expected to become a fine
plant? An early crop of rye is of especial value for
folding ewes and lambs. Like all other crops it was
much later than usual last spring, but it TM'S De ei-
theless most useful, and the folding was managed so
that the rye was not in full ear even in the last fold.
For horses rye answers best if cut into chaff and mixed
with some dry food. Mention is made of this simple
fact because we have had some difficulty in having
this done. To give rye to horses as it is brought
from the field without chaffing involves much waste,
especially after it is in ear.
Winter oats and wheat may be sown as soon as the
land is ready. Sow early, if possible, and if the plant
becomes "winter proud" it can easily be checked by
running the sheep over it. The possibility of early
sowing should depend altogether upon the condition
of the soil. Far better is it to sow late, or to wait
till spring, than to sow in wet or foul soil. We must
have a clean, dry seed bed if we would have a full
crop, and we should not be satisfied with anything
short of that. We must also restore the fertility cf
the soil by a judicious and economical appli-
cation of manure to it. This has either been
done by sheep-folding, by ploughing in green crops,
or we shall do it with chemical manures containing
well-balanced proportions of nitrogen, potash, and
phosphorus, according to the condition of the soil and
the requirements of each particular crop. Let us take
for example some of those for the sowing of which we
have now to prepare. We find that the principal
manurial constituents of an average crop of an acre
of whebt in decimal parts are—of nitrogen about GO,
of potash 35, and of phosphates 62. Of an acre
of oats, nitrogen 63, potash 49, and phosphates 43, so
that a similar mixture would be suitable for both sorts
of grain, and having regard to the low price
of wheat, oats may prove the more profitable crop
of the two. For beans a special and more expensive
mixture is required, the average crop of an acre con-
taining of nitrogen 137 parts, of potash 113, and of
phosphates 89. A half dressing of chemical menu -a
in autumn at the time of sowing, and another half
dressing in spring, answers best for grain crops. For
beans we prefer a Clover field upon which sheep have
been folded, or land into which a green crop or two
has been ploughed. In either case we should give e
liberal dressing of chemical manure to the crop iu
spring.

Do not laugh at the gentleman with a bare poll,
my son. It is not so nearly io bad to have a head
that is bald on the outside as to have a head that ii
bald on the inside.