FARM NOTES FROM ENGLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9314, 25 September 1893, Page 6

FARM NOTES FROM ENGLAND.

[BY ' OUR ENGLISH AGRICULTURAL CORRESxV[.f ; PONDENT]. ;;,■';''■■

'-■•' •' London, August 5. THE RAINY HARVEST.

Since my liisfc letter wjas written the rainy weather " has continued, and r although a great quantity of the wheat in the country is -very little has been stacked. This week harvest has been begun in most of the comparatively late districts of England, and in the early districts of Scotland and Ireland, so that settled weather is more urgent than ever. Up to the present the rain has done more good than harm, for it has not been persistent enough to do much injury to the corn, and it has greatly benefited the root crops, the pastures, and the clover. Roots have grown so well that the fear of a serious scarcity for the winter has subsided. Hay must be short, because of the failure of the first crop; but there will be a fair second crop of clover and grass which will bo made into hay if the weather is favourablo in September. The wheat crop varies so enormously that it is difficult to estimate its average. Most unaccountably a few writers have put it at 28 bushels an acre, no more than the yield of last year. This is altogether absurd, because there are thousands of acres on which the yield will be less than 18 bushels an acre, and in nearly all the principal wheat-growing counties the crop is a great deal below average. Probably it will nob be much, if any, over 25 bushels an acre all round for the United Kingdom. The crop is good in Scotland and Ireland, bub very little is grown in either country. Barley will also be a short crop, although it is good in Ireland and fair in Scotland and some parts of the north of England. Oats may come pretty well up to an average, because the crop is excellent in Ireland and good in Scotland, while in both countries there is a very largo acreage of this grain. Beans and peas will be much below average. IMPROVEMENT IN THE HOP CROP. The rainy weather has greatly improved the appearance of the hops, and week after week since it commenced the reports have become more favourable. At one time it was predicted that there could not possibly be half an average crop of hops ; bub now if we got favourable weather for the rest of the season the results will probably be much in excess of the early expectations.

A NOTABLE CELEBRATION.

On Saturday last the jubilee of the important agricultural experiments carried out for fifty years by Sir John Lawes and Dr. Gilbert was celebrated at Rothamsted. Mr. Herbert Gardner, the Minister of Agriculture, presided, and there was a large attendance of notable agriculturists and representatives of agricultural and scientific societies. The first proceeding ,! was to dedicate a granite memorial which has been erected in front of the laboratory. JNext, a portrait of Sir John Lawes, painted by a celebrated artist, was presented to him; and, lastly, a number of congratulatory addresses were presented to the two great investigators by the representatives of agricultural and scientificsocieties, including two French associations. Sir John Lavves and Dr. Gilbert have devoted their lives to the investigation of agricultural problems, and their steadiness of purpose for fifty years is a remarkable instance of scientific enthusiasm. Even now, although they are both between seventy and eighty years of age, they have not given up their great ife-work. In returning thanks for the honour dono to him. Sir John Lawes said it would take another fifty years to settle the questions which they wore then investigating, and that of course he and his col league could not hope for many more years of work. He rightfully thinks that they will do best to devote themselves chiefly to bringing the results which they have obtained into order, so as to present them to the world in a more easily intelligible form than they have yet assumed. Being a wealthy man, Sir John jLawes has been able to carry out the work which he loves without assistance, the only help which he has received during the fifty years having been in the form of a public subscription for the erection of a laboratory in 1854, to take the place of a barn which had been used for the purpose before. With perfect liberty to pursue what course of investigation ho thought proper, and with the means to carry out his purpose, ho had been quite untrammelled in his work, and it has thus been much more valuable than it would have been if he had been bound to please others. An immense number of experiments have been carried out at Rothamsted, the number being so great that it is impossible to enumerate them all in this letter. All the world has heard of them, and it is well known that the lessons they have taught have been of inestimable value to agriculture.

REVIVING" TRADE FOR LIVE STOCK.

In consequence of the growth of feed on the pastures, and the improved prospects for roota and hay, the trade in live stock during the last week or two has bad an upward tendency. Fab cattle and sheep have risen in value, and a much better demand for store stock than has prevailed before during the season is boginning to spring up. After harvest, when farmers will have sufficient money to buy in their stores for winter fattening, there is overy reason to sup Dose that prices will be considerably better than they are at present, if the prospeccs of feed keep good. The great sheep sale 3 have begun badly, but will probably improve as they go on. Only a fow have been held at present, and although prices have been lower than they were last year they have been quite as good as could be expected under tho circumstances.

SWINE FEVER TO BE SUPPRESSED.

The Government have at last brought in a Bill for the suppression of swine fever, after having been questioned on the subject time after time by members of tho Opposition, and having shown strong indisposition to undertako the necessary work on the score of the expense which it would involve. It is a great pity that they do not do graciously what they could not very well avoid doing after a committee appointed by themselves had reported strongly in favour of the disease being stamped" out by the agency of the Board of Agriculture and natural funds. The Bill has nob yet been published ; bub ib is statod that the balance of the pleuro-pneumonia fund will have to suffice for the remainder of the financial year, and that only £50,000 will be voted in the following year. As this money will certainly not be enough for the purpose it is to bo hoped that when tho Bill is discussed in Parliament the Government will be induced to be a little more liberal.

THE NEW ROYAL COMMISSION. Unexpected delay has taken place in the appointment of the Commission on Agricultural Depression. The fact is that anything concerning so insignificant a matter as agricultural distress is regarded as a bore by the Government, and thoy are reluctant to give up any time from the furtherance of their beloved Home Rule Bill for so insignificant a purpose. No one cares much about the Royal Commission, the opinion of agriculturists especially being that it is not wanted. The main cause of depression is well enough known. It is the great increase of foreign competition, and as far as that competition is fair it is of no use to inquire into it, as no Government would dream of imposing duties on imported food. There is also unfair competition ; but everyone knows what that is, and there is no reason for inquiry, about it unless it is in connection with gambling in farm produce, alluded to in previous lotters. There is the unfair competition of margarine with butler, and the Government have been urged to make the Margarine Act more stringent, bub appear to be indisposed to do so because there are some freetrade fanatics in the Government party who are strongly opposed to doing anything to interfere with imports, oven if they are .adulterated products. And there is the unfair competition of imported goods sold as British, but this has already been inquired into by a committee appointed by Parliament. Lastly there is the unfair competition of imported goods carried by very low through rates over our railways, much lower than the corresponding charges on homo products ; but this again ought to come before the Railway Committee, which is now sitting. It is difficult, therefore, to imagine what good can be done by the Royal Commission. It will cost the country many thousands of pounds, and will be an excuse for inaction during the two years or more which will probably elapse before it has finished its work.