FARM NOTES FROM ENGLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8785, 27 January 1892, Page 3

FARM NOTES FROM ENGLAND.

[BY OUK ENGLISH AGRICULTURAL CORRESPON DENT.] W Londost, November 2G. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER. r When my last notes were written the pro- in spects of fanners in this country were tli gloomy iii the extreme, as they had not at been able to cart their roots or sow their " wheat, or even to secure the late potatoes, ox while the arrears of the corn harvest were w not cleared up in the latest districts. Bub jo the fine weather, which had just set in qi when I wrote, has lasted for nearly a forb st night, and now farmers are in a much more bi forward condition than they expected to a be. Hoots and potatoes are all stored, and H more than half of the wheat area is sown ; °j so that another week of dry weather will allow of all tho most urgent work vv being completed. There will still be a yi greab deal of ploughing to do; but that at can bo done at any time before Christinas, 1C when the land is not in an absolutely boggy g( condition, or covered with snow, or bound p hard by frost. Unfortunately, we have "'' had a lofc of rain again this week, so that ?,' sowing has been interrupted. i, MARKETS. R Although most of the wheat is sown "' here, it is, of course, not certain that the ?' weather will bo such as to allow of tho I whole area intended for that crop being f 0 sown before winter regularly sets in ; while m in some European countries, as well as in L America, tho prospects of the young crop is far from good. Drought in South Rus- pi sia, Roumania, and Austria-Hungary pro- °1 vented tho seed from germinating properly. In the United States there is an *jj extensive failure from tho same cause, ( while tho farmers there wore nob able to ry get in nearly all the seed they intended to j.} «ow. This generally unfavourable outlook tl foe the next crop has influenced prices to n tl considerable extent, besides which freights u I have risen, and tho prohibition of export r< from Russia of all grain except wheat, b with the daily expectation of its extension v ,' to wheat, have helped sellers materially. ~ Tho top quotation, which is that of New c t Zealand lontr berry, is now 47s a quarter, a , and last week's average was 4s 3d higher C( than the lowest weekly average of the i autumn. Long before this letter arrives I L expect the top price of wheat will be over st 50s. With colder weather, the trade for fi fat stock has improved, but not that of the w carcase market at present. There has been ° such an abundance of feed in the pastures P that tho supply of butter has been large £ for tho time of year, and prices are very slow to move to the winter level. The e cheese trade is brisk, bub the wool market {i is very quiot. SELLING CORN BY WEIGHT. £ Another subject to which the Chambers of Agriculture havo given their attention p is that of the sale of corn by weight. At ti the meeting of the Central and Associated Chambers last week a recommendation was ti i agreed to In favour of the hundredweight w as the standard for all kinds of corn ; at a least this standard was commended to the "' consideration of farmers on tho grounds P that it is generally adopted in Ireland, and that all imports of food are reckoned in t hundred weights. The adoption of this v , standard would be a great simplification of t our marketing system, and 1 can see no- n thing against it but prejudice against anything that is not familiar. A farmer would r ! 1 soon learn to value even his malting barley by the hundredweight us easily as he now c i values it by the quarter or the coomb of v j four bushels. . THti KOTHAMSTED EXPERIMENTS. Sir John Lawes has issued the annual report of his multifarious experiments, bringing the records up to the end of 1800. Some of them were commenced as long ago las 184.'5. The results of those relating to ; permanent pasture aro given for the twenty-two years etided with lS7f>, for the fourteen years ending with 1879, and for ISSO alone. Lot us take those for the fourteen years, as giving tho latest averages. On two plots never manured sinco tho experiments commenced tho average yield of hay pur acre, for two cuttings per annum, was 28cwfc. Whoro superphosphate of lime alone was applied at the rate 3£c:wt per acre per annum there was no increase, and 4001b of ammonia salts (half Hiilphato and half muriate) gave only a trilling increase of hay, whereas 2751b of nitrate of soda brought the average yield tip to 40cw6. Where an expensive dressing of sulphates of potash, soda, and magnesia, with 3.Jcwt of superphosphate, was given the yield rose bo 52icwt. But a better result in proportion to cost was that of 49cut as the fourteen years' annual average result from the application of 3271b of nitrate of potash and of superphosphate. The greatest average yield of all was S6Acwt, but this was dearly bought at the cost of an enormous dressing per annum of 5001b of sulphate of potash, 100lb of sulphate of soda, 1001b of sulphate of magnesia, 3Acwt of superposphate, 0001b of ammonia salts, and 5001b of silicate of soda. In another field, where experiments on barley had been tried for 48 years, the averages for 3S years are given. Tho averages for two plots never manured during that period of continuous growth of barley was slightly over 17h bushels an acre. An annual dressing of ."Acwt of superphosphate por acre alone increased the yield to 2lf bushels, and 2751b of nitrate of eoda alone to 3'2,J bushels ; but when those two quantities of superphosphate and nitrate of soda were combined the yield rose to 45'f bushels—the best result in proportion to cost of manuring obtained on any of the numerous plots. Smaller quantities, ib musb be borne in mind, would have givon equally good results under a rotation of cropping, instead i of where barley has been grown every year for a very long period ; and bhis remark applies bo all bho experiments on • corn. Tho greatest yield of all was from tho annual application of 14 tons of farmj yard manure, namely, 49 bushels; bub the i cost was more than double that) of Mio i superphosphate and nitrate of soda, and, therefore, did not pay nearly as well. Yet, as the extra yield over that of the un- , manured plots was fully 31 bushels an acre, I tho value, at 4s a bushel, would be £6 4s t an acre, while tho manure and spreading would be valued at about £3 15s or £4. Ammonia salts did not give as good results as nitrate of soda. In the experiments } with wheat the average annual yield dur y ing 3S years of continuous cropping was ), 13J5 bushels nn acre where no manure was •J applied in tho whole period. This was t raised to 34 bushels by tho annual applicad tion of 14 tons of farmyard manure, yielding but a small profit at current prises for - wheat, but paying well when wheat was over 40a a quarter all round—the present • average is 30s 7d. Tho most costly of all the mixtures of artificial manure produced '■ no more than 36i bushels; but only a II bushel less was obtained from the use of i. 2751b of nitrate of soda, lUcwt of superi. phosphate, 2001b of sulphate of potash, and 1001b each of sulphate of soda and magnesia. It is unfortunate bhab there was no trial of nitrate of soda and superphosphate without the three other manures, which may possibly have been superfluous.