Vol. XXIX. PUBLISHED MONTHLY. No.9. AONE SEB eh ~The Journal | ioe: Le Ministry of Agriculture . DECEMBER, 1922. PRINCIPAL CONTENTS. (For Complete List of Contents see page vii.) PAGE Home-Grown Corn and Potatoes for Live Stock. T. B. Wood, C.B.E., M.A., F.IC., F.RS. a Py - 780 When should the Farmer Sell Home-Grown Foods! ata. CELE Tana Ruston, B.A., D.Sc., and J. S. Simpson, B.Sc. « ~ ‘ - 783 The Imperial Fruit Show. 7. V. ye eas BSc. = « 788 Electro-Culture -~ - 7992 Improvement of Moorland sein in the North of ‘Eng- land. Professor D. A. Gilchrist . 797 Labour on the Farm. i. A.G. Ruston, B.A,, D.Se., and J.S. Simpson, Bi SOc ee mnt - ul & “ - gol Council of Agriculture for Wales ea ie et lar dena ety 75 "= - The Duck as an Ege Producer. 4.7. Johnson -~ + -= 819 Dry-Meal Hoppers for Pigs. Captain Callcott Reilly, B.Sc. - 816 - The Crate-Rod and Barrel-Hoop Trades, Katharine S.Woods 819 Seeds and Good Crops. Leslie E. Cook, N.D.A. EM eae - 896 Spring-Tails attacking Mangolds a Te tm A iD eee OS DOr Liquorice Growing. David G. McIver - : - 830 The First Year's Working of the Seeds Act, 1920. IL - §832 Manures for December. Sir John Russell, D.Sc., F.RS. - - §836 Foeding. eyuils for December. LE. T. Halnan, MA .» Dip. Agric. (Cantab.) mo LOT lt So Re dmarine th. OO an ral | ‘PRINTED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF HIS MAJESTY’S STATIONERY OFFICE, AND PUBLISHED BY THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES. (To be obtained from the Ministry’s Offices, 10, Whitehall Place, London, §.W.1. ) NDITORIAL AND | MONTHLY, AGENTS FOR ADVERTISEMENTS: PUBLISHING OFFICES : PRICE SIXPENCE. | C. Conta heat ere nite 14, WHITEHALL PLACE, LONDON, §.W. 1. Post fre. 66/62, South Castle Street, Liverpool. | } | THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. ‘BUY ONLY THE BEST. The BUXTON LIME FIRMS a, ry ROYAL EXCHANGE, BUXTON. P SIMRAEU IM EHAU LAAN PYRO DELL CARLA Telegrams—BUXTON LIME, BUXTON. npaneete BUXTON. | THE PUREST LIME KNOWN IN COMMERCE AND THE LARGEST OUTPUT OF LIME AND LIMESTONE IN THE WORLD. Cea LIME BURNT IN SPECIAL KILNS FOR SPECIAL TRADES. Rey Agriculturists, Florists and Fruit Growers | catered for specially. are = ee AGENTS THROUGHOUT GREAT BRITAIN. | * Lime in any Form, in any Quantity to ouit Users. THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. ha i gir eee ! DRESSING FOR GRASS | LAND is French Kainit 14°), applied | together with Basic Slag or Superphosphate during the | | | | I autumn or winter months. ! 99 | The Combined Dressing tells ‘ on all Classes of Grass Land. NX | AUTUMN SOWN CROPS Always derive great benefit from Potash Manuring. (The Rich Sylvinites) Muriate of Potash 50 and 60 per cent. Sulphate of Potash. For sales and prices apply to— The Alsace Lorraine Development and Trading Company, Limited (Sole Agents for United Kingdom and Colonies). Pinners Hall, Old Broad Street, E.C.2. For information and Publications re use of Potash apply to: The Agricultural Information Bureau for the French Potash Mines, Dashwood House, New Broad Street, London, E,C.2. HIGH GRADE Phosphates of Lime 427. Phosphates of Lime ENGLISH MAKE Manufactured by LEEDS PHOSPHATE WORKS [” nee erent esis ul THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. ECONOMICAL LIGHTING Dis EG “ATOZ” ACETYLENE PLANT is ensured together with complete satisfaction and comfort. “ATOZ’’ Plant will light your House for the least amount, this applies to maintenance as well as first cost. Extremely simple, requires no skilled attention, and is perfectly safe Every “ATOZ” Plant is guaranteed. There isan “ATOZ” Plant of size and capacity for every requirement ;: Write us to-day for full particulars : THE ACETYLENE CORPORATION, LTD., 49, VICTORIA STREET, WESTMINSTER, 5.W.1 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF CONCRETE FARM - BUTEDIENGS IS NOT SPENT, BUT INVESTED. THE SAVING IN MAENTENANCE REPAYS THE .OUTEAY AND PAYS. AN. INTEREST Illustrated pamphlets, giving instructions for carrying out all Farm Constructional Work in Concrete, may be obtained, post free, on application to THE CONCRETE UTILITIES BUREAU, Dept. 18, 35, GREAT ST. HELENS, LONDON, E.C.3. THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. lll ano BUMPER SECURES a AARVEST It is Dry - It does not Cake - - It is Acid-free - . It does not absorb Atmospheric - - - Moisture - F : It can be readily Drilfed into - - - the Soil - - - t is guaranteed to contain 25° % Ammonia. | For prices and all detai/s apply to: a (Department M.A.) eee South Metropolitan Gas Company, S 709, OLD KENT ROAD, LONDON, S.E.15. ULPHATE \__ yy sa Ge, / — oe British Manufactured POTASH SALTS, Minimum 12 % Pure Potash. 9 14 7% 39 9 +3 20% #45 is MURIATE OF POTASH, 50% and 60% Pure Potash. SULPHATE OF POTASH FLUE DUST, Containing 18/25 % Sulphate. IMMEDIATE DELIVERY FROM WORKS. The . . BRITISH CYANIDES CO. LTD. SALES OFFICE: 49, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, LONDON, E.C.4. Works at OLDBURY, near BIRMINGHAM. IV THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. Note carefully the analysis of the Compound Manure you order and ensure satisfactory results by selecting a mixture containing Ammonia in the form of DRY NEUTRAL ORDER NOW Price for December Deliveries : §.16 13s. per ton (Basis : 253% Ammonia, 4 ton lots minimum.) Write for leaflets to 1,—It is in fine, dry con- dition. 2.—It is free from acid (maximum ‘0257), 3.—It will keep indefin- itelyand DOES NOT ROT -THE* BAGS: 4, lt 18. SOld..0On--35 basis of 253% AMMONIA. 5,.—It is free from lumps and ready for instant LSE. 6.—It can be emptied direct from bag into distributor. S/AMMONIA, 30, GROSVENOR GARDENS, LONDON, S.W.1. THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. v THE AGRICULTURAL MARKET REPORT PREPARED AND EDITED BY THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES. A WEEKLY PUBLICATION which provides farmers with accurate reports on the trade in agricultural pro- duce and requisites at various representative markets in England and Wales. Average prices week by week at selected markets are furnished by Market Reporters specially appointed by the Ministry, and in addition special articles on agri- cultural conditions at home and abroad, likely to affect the demand for and prices of British produce, are included each week. SUBSCRIPTION RATES.-—One year 1os.; six months 5s.; three months 2s. 6d. (post free). Single copies may be obtained upon application, price 3d. (post free). Orders should be sent direct to HM. STATIONERY OFFICE, IMPERIAL HIOUSE, KINGSWAY, LONDON, W.C.2. THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. That Garden of AS PROFITABLE AND AS LOVELY AS THE ONE YOU HAVE SO OFTEN ADMIRED. YOU.CAN DO IT IF YOU SOW ONLY pee ee Guaranteed Garden Seeds They cost no more to buy, and ensure every Garden doing its best. Vegetables, enough to share and to spare, and of more delicious quality. Flowers, a perennially gay display, rivalling in charm the Garden of your dreams. Your joy over one perfect feature has not subsided before you discover that another and yet another have reached the same high plane. FREE—Write to-day Send a postcard to-day for an absolutely free copy of our 160-page ‘GUIDE TO GARDEN WISDOM AND GUARANTEED GARDEN SEEDS.” Indispensable for your Garden ; and EVERY packet of Seeds ordered thence MUST grow for YOU and please you or you will get it REPLACED Bere Ask for our Free “Fruit, Rose and other Tree Guide also, if desired. No obligation of any sort. Just address us personally : TOOGCOD & Sons, LTD. Seedsmen to H.M. Tux Krye, and Growers of ‘“ Better Crops” Seeds only, SOUTHAMPTON Farm Lands in Canada THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY (Colonisation Department) MAKE IT EASY for the British farmer and farm worker TO SETTLE IN CANADA. Easy terms of payment spread over 20 years if desired. Loans to settlers towards the cost of permanent improvements. Excellent land within easy distance of schools, churches, markets, towns, .etc. Farms can be selected in the best agricultural districts. CONDUCTED PARTIES TO VIEW THE LAND AT FREQUENT INTERVALS. regular steamship sailings from Liverpool, Glasgow and Southampton. Money transferred at lowest rates. For full particulars and Illustrated Pamphlets apply to:— THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, Colonisation and Development Department, 62-65, Charing Cross, London, S.W.1; or Local Agents. CONTENTS. NoTES FOR THE MontTu— Appointment of New Minister—Prime Minister's Letter to the National Farmers’ Union—Importation of Canadian Cattle—Agricultural Wages and Cost of Living—Production of Lactose from Whey— Field Drainage Investigations—Sub-Soiling Investigations—The Agricultural Index, Numbe ales Act, 1921 ,: HoME-GRown CorN AND PoTatorks Fok LivE Srock. 7. B. Wood, CE. E., Miepday BT. OG, Biah.S. WHEN SHOULD THE FARMER SELL HoME- ee Ponban 2 tof, G. Ruston, B.A., D.Se., and J. S. Simpson, B.Sc. THE IMPERIAL Fruit SHow. 4H.. V, Taylor, B.Sc. sah aad ELECTRO-CULTURE eis , a wae ae ae IMPROVEMENT OF Moon Diam feminine IN THE NorTH OF ENGLAND, Professor D. A. Gilchrist... - 5 B Sie oe vee LABOUR ON THE Fakm. — II As GoRuston, *BiA .,oD Sc,,. aud J. 8. Simpson, B.Sc. -. A wee CoUNCIL OF AGRICULTURE FOR WALES THE Duck sas AN Eec Propucrr. A. 7, Youetos Dry-MEat Hoppers For Pics. Captain Callcott Reilly, B. Se. THE CRATE-Rop AND BARREL-Hoop TrAvDEs. Katharine S. Woods SEEDS AND Goop Crops, Leslie FE. Cook, N.D.A. SPRING-TAILS ATTACKING MANGOLDS Liquorice GRowING. David G. McIver THE First YEAR’S WORKING OF THE SEEDS Ler 1920. i Notes ON MANURES FoR DECEMBER. Sir John Russell, D.Sc, F.R.S. Notes ON FEEDING STUFFS Fok DEcEMBER. JL. T. Halnan, M.A., Dip. Agric. (Cantab.) Register of Dairy Cattle Prices of Apples Small Holdings in Essex i The Market for Poultry Feathers Probable Yield of Potato and Root Crops Test of Varieties of Fruit for Commercial Purposes ... Serum Treatment for Swine Fever Importation of Onion and Leek Seed ... Conciliation Committees AGRICULTURE ABROAD— New Agrarian Legislation for Central Hiurope —Hapen iy of the U.S.A. Departme nt for Agriculture, 1922-23—Appropriations for Agriculture in Canada—Dairying g in Nova Scotia—Injurious Weeds in Manitoba—Fall in Agricultural i a in U.S.A.— Timber Seasoning Invention Licensing of Stallions under the Horse eee Naa 1918 Produce of Crops in England and Wales, 1922 Produce of Hops, 1922 % f Foot-and-Mouth Disease J. sas A ae Agricultural Research Scholarships and Fellowships International Poultry Exhibition Any of the Articles in this Journal may be reproduced in any newspaper or public periodical without special permission, provided that is acknowledged in each case. PAGE registered the source The Ministry does not accept responsibility for the views expressed and the statements made by contributors, nor for any statements made in the advertisement columns of this Journal, vii THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. Telegrams : “PAGANINI, CANNON, LONDON.” Telephone: AVENUE 1729 (8 lines). LONDON, €E.C. 4. WHY ?? is Steam draining tree cheapest and best ? BECAUSE Steam draining, if carefully carried out, is efficient, permanent and cheap. * Instances can be given where drains put in many years ago 2 ee ee are as good to-day as when put in. TT ae A ETE Ne PL DES OE EE os Steam draining can be done to any desired depth, 2 ft. 6 in. or more if necessary. The diameter of bore is three-and-a-half to four inches, as against two inches by smaller implements. It is not to be compared with shallow small bore draining done by other methods. The shallow and smaller drain is liable to be crushed and fill in. The area of a steam drain is 9°62 square inches as compared with 3°14 square inches, and its percolating area is increased proportionately. When considering draining, apply to: The Secretary, STEAM CULTIVATION DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION, 28, Victoria Street, Westminster, London, S.W. 1. IVho would supply names of reliable steam draining contractors in your neighbourhoo THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE Vol XXIX. -No-d: DECEMBER, 1922. NOTES FOR -THE MONTH. CONSEQUENT on the appointment of Sir Arthur Boscawen as Minister of Health, Lt.-Col. Sir Robert A Sanders, M.P., formerly Under Secretary of State for War, has been appointed Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries. The Right Hon. the Earl of Ancaster has been re-appointed Parhamentary Secretary to the Ministry. Appointment of New Minister. * * * * * * THe following letter addressed by the Prime Minister to the National Farmers’ Union, in reply to an inquiry asking for a definition of his attitude to agricultural questions, was published in the Press on 14th November :— ‘With further reference to your letter of the 24th ult., I am desired by the Prime Minister to say that he regrets that it has not been possible in the short time available for the Government to come to a final decision as to what measures can be taken to assist the agricultural industry. ‘The Government fully realizes the grave difficulties with which agriculture is faced, but it must be recognized that such remedies as subsidies or protective duties on foodstuffs are out of the question under present circumstances. At the same time, there are certain directions along which, in the opinion of the Prime Minister, the Government might usefully explore the eal aa of helping this great industry. These are :— (46168), P.1./R.3. 10,500. 12/22 M.&§, A Prime Minister’s Letter to the National Farmers’ Union. 770 IMPORTATION OF CANADIAN CATTLE. [ Drc., ‘An inquiry with all reasonable dispatch into the subject of agricultural rating and the removal of any unfairness which might be found to exist. ‘The promotion of co-operation in the transport and sale of agricultural produce. ‘““'The encouragement of improved credit facilities to agri- culturists and the promotion of education and research. ‘‘ Useful results might also be obtained from an inquiry into the causes of the great disparity between the price re- ceived by the farmer for his produce and that paid by the consumer of food. All these questions are being carefully examined, and there will be no avoidable delay in coming to a decision as to the form in which assistance on such lines can best be given. ‘On these lines the Prime Minister believes that it should be possible to build the foundations of a permanent and stable agricultural policy, which will enable the enterprise and industry of the agricultural community to work out its own salvation under fair and reasonable conditions.’’ Ir has already been announced* that the British and Canadian representatives at the Cattle Conference agreed as to the condi- tions that should apply to the importation of cattle from Canada. The agreement has now been ratified by the new Cabinet and by the Prime Minister of Canada, and the following summary of the agreement has, with the assent of the Canadian anthorities, been authorised for publication :— Canadian store cattle (i.e, animals born and reared in Canada and rendered incapable of breeding) are to be admitted under the following restrictions :—- (1) The shipment must be from a Canadian port and direct to a port in Great Britain. (2) For three days immediately before shipment and during the voyage the animals are to be kept separate from other animals and periodically examined by a veterinary officer of the Dominion. A thorough examination immediately before shipment is to be made by the Dominion veterinary officer, who will certify that the anima!s are not affected with cattle plague, pleuro-pnenmonia, foot-and-mouth disease, or mange. During the voyage the examination is to be made daily. Importation of Canadian Cattle. ee This Journal, November; 1922, p. 676. 192273 IMPORTATION OF CANADIAN CATTLE. 771 (3) The animals are to be landed at specified landing places and there thoroughly examined by the Ministry’s veterinary officers. Movement from the landing place is to be controlled by licence in the same manner as the movement of imported Irish cattle is at present controlled. This secures detention of the animals on some farm or other premises for six days, though they may pass to such premises through one market. The agreement makes provision to secure that the vessels used shall not be capable of infecting the cargo and also provides for effective action if disease should be found in a ¢argo. The landing of Canadian cattie capable of breeding will require the authority of a General Order which will be made by the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and laid in draft before both Houses of Parhament for thirty days, and if either House before the expiration of that period presents an address to His Majesty against the draft or any part thereof, no further proceed- ings shall be taken thereon. It is an essential part of any such crder that the animals must be accompanied by a certificate by the authorised officer of the Dominion stating that the animals have within one month before shipment been tested effectively for tuberculosis and found free from that disease, and the Minister is given the fullest discretion as to the precautions to be enforced against the introduction of other diseases by these animals. The Minister is to retain the power to suspend importation of store and breeding animals if cattle plague, pleuro-pneumonia, or foot-and-mouth disease should appear in Canada. A fee not exceeding sixpence per animal is to be imposed on all imported animals, and compensation is not payable in case of slaughter at the place of landing in consequence of disease being discovered. For administrative purposes imported animals are to be tagged or otherwise marked. The Canadian Ministers at the Conference undertook that as soon as the necessary Order authorising importation of Canadian breeding stock is in force, the Canadian Government will modify their conditions of importation of British animals so as to make the Canadian and British conditions reciprocal. The Conference assented to the view that legislation on this subject cannot be limited to Canada but must be capable of adap- tation to the requirements of other parts of the British Empire. * * * * * * A ‘a 772 AGRICULTURAL WaGES, Prices anp Cost or Livine. | DEc., In view of the present interest in agricultural wages, the following article is reprinted from the Agricultural Market Report :— In recent discussions as to agricultural wages, reference is usually made on the one hand to the fall in the prices of agricultural produce and on the other to t . . = . acc ute the cost of living. ‘The farmers point out Wages, Prices | a ad P and the that they are receiving lower prices and cannot consequently continue to pay the same rate of wages as before, while the worker replies that the cost of living has not fallen materially and that he cannot live in comfort on a reduced wage. Whilst conditions vary in different localities and general figures are by no means applicable to individual cases, the Ministry thinks it will be of interest to make such broad comparisons as are possible between the average rates of agricultural wages, the average prices of farm produce, and the cost of living. For this purpose the agricultural index number which is published monthly by the Ministry is taken as the best indica- tion of the changes in the prices of agricultural produce, and for the cost of living the index number issued by the Ministry of Labour is used. 'The former shows the average increase in the wholesale prices of British produce sold off the farm in England and Wales, while the latter represents the average increase in the cost of maintaining the pre-war standard of living of working-class families. In order to make a comparison with these figures the average earnings of ordinary farm workers in England and Wales in 1914 have been taken at 18s. per week. This figure is based on the assumption that the average weekly cash wages of ordinary agricultural labourers in 1914 were about 16s. 9d., and that, in addition, the labourer received certain allowances which were worth on the average about 1s. 3d. per week. Precise accuracy in this matter cannot be attained, but a con- sideration of the statements made by various authorities sug- gests that 18s. may be taken as a fairly approximate figure. Comparative figures for 1921-1922 can be based on the rates of wages fixed by Conciliation Committees in areas where agree- ments have been reached, and on estimates of prevailing wages in the other areas, weighted by the number of workers in the different districts, while for some intervening years the rates fixed by the Agricultural Wages Board can be used. Taking in the first place the seven years from 1914 to 1921 the move- Cost of Living. 1922.] AGRicULTURAL WaGES, Prices AND Cost oF Livinc. 1773 ment of wages, prices and cost of hving was approximately as follows == PERCENTAGE INCREASE AS COMPARED WITH PRE-WAR RATES. Agricultural Prices of Agri- Cost of Month. Wages. cultural Produce. Living. August a LOI oF ON, oe oe a 80 saul sas Le 1918 a 69 as 123 ee 105 Wey ae Se 1919 ars 110 ae 132 os 105 Aral ss wie 1920 ae 139 af 199 Seo 152 August ae 1920 gouge LOO ee 1b se 155 September ... eal a a) a 116 re 120 October a 1921 oe 122 ae 86 a 110 November... 1921 oss 110 e3 79 me 103 December _... LAL as 105 ox 76 eas Se, It will be seen that agricultural wages rose but slowly and failed to keep pace with the increase in the cost of living up to May, 1919, when an adjustment was made which brought them somewhat above that figure. The further increases in wages granted in 1920 appear to have maintained them above the cost of living figures, and notwithstanding the subsequent decline the rates were on the whole favourable to the workers up to the end of 1921. If a comparison is made between wages and the prices of farm produce, it will be seen that while the latter rose much more rapidly than wages, they also fell more rapidly, so that by the end of 1921 they had reached a lower level than either wages or the cost of living. At the beginning of 1922 a re- adjustment took place which brought wages more closely into relation with farm prices, but left them rather below the increase in the cost of living. PERCENTAGE INCREASE AS COMPARED WITH PRE-WAR RaArEs, Month. Agricultural Prices of Agri- Cost of We22. Wages. cultural Produce. Living. January ... ot 86 ve 15 if 92 February i 83 ae 79 iy 88 March. ... or 80 aah 77 io 86 April ae in 79 ae 70 ae 82 May a ae 78 ite f(t see 81 June gue Hee 78 eis 68 a 80 July 5a are 78 of (2 cas 84 August... bet 76 “a 67 +e: 81 September 75 a bv ae 79 October ... bs 60 xi 59 bag 78 The movement in the spring and summer of 1922 was slowly downward, but during October wages have been appreciably reduced in almost all districts with the result that, on the 774 Propuction or Lactose From WHEY. [ Dec,. average, they are now not more than 60 per cent. above the pre-war level, an increase which is almost exactly comparable with the position as regards farm produce, but appreciably below the increase in the cost of living. The figures for wages given above are averages for the coun- try as a whole, but as is well known the pre-war rates of wages varied considerably in different districts and this variation still continues (though to a somewhat less extent than was formerly the case) the areas where exceptionally low rates were formerly paid having benefited by a rise proportionately greater than that obtained in the better paid areas. In January, 1919, the Ministry, on the recommendation of the Development Commissioners, obtained Treasury authority to establish and conduct an experimental Lactose Factory, grants for the purpose Lactose from jose Whey. being provided from the Development Fund. A site for the factory was thereupon ob- tained at Haslington. near Crewe, adjoining the premises of a co-operative cheese factory, but owing to unavoidable delay in carrying out the necessary building work and in obtaining suit- able plant, ete., the Lactose Factory did not commence work until February, 1921. | The object of the Factory is to experiment in the extraction of lactose and other products from whey, and to ascertain the economic possibilities of the processes adopted. The circumstances which caused the Ministry to think that it was both necessary and desirable to establish a factory of this kind are as follows :— (1) One of the phases in the development of the dairying industry which has taken place during recent years is the establishment throughout the country of dairy depots. Some of these depots are owned co-operatively by farmers, and others belong to private individuals or companies. Some depots have been expressly established for the manufacture of cheese; others are for the purpose of dealing with ‘* surplus ’’ milk, often by converting it into cheese, and the result has been the concentration of cheese-making at depots instead of at farm dairies as heretofore. Cheese-making gives rise to a by-product—-whey—which in bulk amourts to about 85 per cent. of the milk used. It therefore follows that the concentration of cheese-making results in a large bulk of whey being produced at the depots. Production of ee ee ae 1922. | Fretp DRAINAGE INVESTIGATIONS. 175 When cheese-making takes place on farms, the whey. which has a considerable food value, is largely used for pig-feeding, butin the case of depots the amount is too great for it to be used in this manner; also, owing to its bulk and the cost of transit, it is impracticable to convey it from the depots to the farms tor use thereon. Whey is consequently largely wasted all over the country to the extent of millions of gallons annually, and its disposal is, moreover, a source of considerable embarrass- ment to many cheese-making depots at the present time. If turned into sewers it destroys the efficiency of filter-beds; if allowed to pass into streams it causes a state of pollution which gives rise to a nuisance; and if irrigated on land it is hable to pollute the neighbouring wells and to kill vegetation. (2) Whey contains valuable food materials suitable for human consumption, particularly milk sugar (lactose) lactal- bumen, butter fat and mineral salts. Collectively they amount to about 61 Ib. in every 100 lb. of whey. (3) In this country, while great quantities of lactose are being thrown away in whey, lactose is actually being imported from abroad. During the year ended 31st March, 1922, satisfactory pro- gress was made with the extraction of crude lactose from the whey received at the factory, and some 15 tons of this crude material were produced. * * * * * * THE investigations which have been in progress for some years into the methods and costs of field drainage have now reached an advanced stage, and it should shortly be possible to compile a preliminary report upon the results obtained. In the course of the investigations, two public demonstrations have been given, one at Aubourn Fen, near Lincoln, in November last year, and one at High Hilden, Tonbridge, in October last. By means of these demonstrations the agricultural public have been made acquainted with the wide range of devices which are available for mole and tile drains, for ditch making and cleaning, and for clearing water-ways. The preliminary report will deal with the mechanical and economic questions involved and will afford guidance as to the best and cheapest methods of performing the various operations. The economic aspect of the question is, however, one that cannot be speedily ex- plored, since the efficiency of a drainage system over a series of years is the final test. An outstanding illustration is fur- Field Drainage Investigations. 776 THe AGRICULTURAL INDEX NUMBER. [ Duc., nished by the problem whether mole drains of 23-1n. bore at a depth of 18 in. are as efficacious as mole drains of 3)-in. bore at a depth of 2 ft. or more: not only are the rate of flow and the height of the water table in question, but the duration of the smaller, shallower drains as compared with deeper drains of approximately twice the cross section. Successful work has undoubtedly been accomplished with both systems, but no data as to the size of drains, their frequency and depth in given types of soil are available. Such data will need to be collected before a final report can be made, and the collection of informa- tion of this character must necessarily take time. * * * * * * Av the present time many claims are made on behalf of sub- soiling and special virtues are claimed for special systems. As readers of old agricultural periodicals well know similar claims have been made be- fore; an impetus has been given to sub- soiling, mistakes have been made, and the movement has died down. What is remarkable is that no one has hitherto set himself to discover exactly what mechanical results were achieved in the soil and what the effect was on the chemistry of the soil and plant life.. The first step clearly is to investigate various types of sub-soiling appliances and to observe the re- sulting crop. The Ministry has made a commencement with this investigation and a report upon some mechanical results, illustrated by photographs of very considerable interest, will appear in an early issue of the Journal. * * * * * * Sub-Soiling Investigations. THE index numbers of prices of agricultural produce in England and Wales show that, on the whole, average prices during October The Agricultural were rather higher than in September, the Index Number. (tease compared with the corresponding month in the years 1911-13 being 57 per cent. in September and 59 per cent. in October. The following table shows the increase in agricultural prices generally in each month since January, 1921, the corresponding month in 1911-13 being taken as the basis of comparison in each case :— Month. Percentage I nerease.| Month. Percentage Increase. 1o2e 1922 | 1921 1922 January ... coe Ree aye) | July La eect Molo) weet mend February io Od” Fee VOI YT eAoRISt ee. PA aay el ts ate Nah 5 March ... .. 150 ... %7 | September eet LLG ie avuet od Apenie aaee aie HAD 50, 20 fF nn Cho bere: ecg SOM cae mnoe May teh OD EG on Oe Ue November ee June “7 se) 112) 5.68 --| December TR AS ~] ~] ~ 1922. ] THe AGRICULTURAL INDEx NUMBER. The index numbers relating to cereals all show slight increases, but prices during October were still only 24 to 33 per cent. higher than in October, 1911-13. Prices of fat cattle, although showing a slightly hardening tendency throughout October, were less than 50 per cent. above pre-war figures. Sheep and pigs also advanced slightly in value during the month. but the average prices over the whole month show very little difference from those of the previous month. Eggs rose sharply, and as the rise was greater than normally occurs between September and October, the index number also shows a rise, being now more than 100 per cent. above the pre- war figure. It seems fairly certain that egg production is at present one of the most remunerative forms of farming, although it does not bulk largely in the farmers’ total receipts. With the exception of geese, which showed a slight advance, poultry was cheaper in October than in September. Both butter and cheese maintained their value, but with the average price in October, 1911-18, showing a substantial advance, the index number for last month shows a decline in each ease. The following table shows the average increase during recent months in the value of the principal commodities sold by the farmer :— PERCENTAGE INCREASE AS COMPARED WITH THE AVERAGE PRICES RULING IN THE CORRESPONDING Montus oF 1911-13. May. June. July. Aug. Sept. Oct. Wheat aA 62 60 aS 5B 3% 24 Barley Se 49 58 49 48 26 29 Oats ... ss 53 57 55 oY) dl 30 Fat cattle ~~. 70 (Al 70 70 58 49 Bat sheepr? \.. 140 121 107 103 90 90 Fat pigs oa 91 82 oi 92 84 85 Dairy cows ... 66 64 64 67 63 69 Store cattle ... 08 40 oe 42 30 30 Store sheep ... 100 88 108 a4 [AIOG 106 Store pigs... 97 97 115 128 125 135 Eggs ae 50 69 80 64 96 104 Poultry oh 110 116 103 85 85 Fig Milk ... “ae Bike of 128 53 70 70 90 Butter Be 54 59 a, ae 76 71 Cheese a? 48 55 50 51 Al 36 Potatoes a 140 80 75 14 1 3 Hay i: Sec 33 3D 37 54 52 45 The principal cause of the rise in the general index number in October was the increase in the price of milk, which in September was about 70 per cent. above the price in the corresponding month before the War, and in October rose to 90 per cent. above. As dairy cows are purchasable at about 70 per cent., feeding stuffs at less than 50 per cent., and labour at between 80 and 778 Corn Sates Act, 1921. [ Drc., 90 per cent. above pre-war prices, the dairy farmers’ position would appear to be not unsatisfactory. The average price of potatoes remained practically unchanged in October compared with September, but as the October price in 1911-13 was rather lower than that for September, the index number shows a slight rise. Hay fell slightly in value, owing principally to the marketing of this season’s hay crop; the fall, however, is less than would at first sight appear from the index numbers, as a seasonal advance in prices is usual at this time of the year. It is evident that in the present agricultural crisis the arable farmer is the greatest sufferer, for combined with his reduced prices he has had to contend with an expensive harvest and poor yields, except in the case of potatoes. Dairying is much more attractive, and the bright outlook for trade in sheep and pigs is reflected in the demand for, and high relative prices of store sheep and swine. Store cattle have been purchasable since the spring of this year at 80 to 40 per cent. above pre-war rates, and with feeding stuffs also obtainable at relatively low prices, even the fattening of cattle would appear to be not unremu- nerative. * * * * 4 * As from Ist January next, when the Corn Sales Act of 1921 comes into force, there should be an end of the varying weights Corn Sales Act, and measures by which corn and agricul- 1991. tural seeds are bought and sold m this country. For many years the different weights recognised in different districts as equivalent to a quarter or bushel of corn and other agricultural produce have been a source of much confusion, and the Act provides for greater uniformity in the weights and measures used in deal- ings in these articles. As will be seen from the definition section which is set out below the Act applies not only to corn but also to meal, bran, potatoes and agricultural seeds, and after the end of the present year any contract, bargain, sale or dealing in any of the articles to which the Act applies will be null and void unless it is made by weight only and in terms of, or by reference to, the hundredweight of 112 lb. This means that a contract, bargain, sale or dealing which does not conform with the provisions of the Act cannot be enforced in a court of law. It therefore behoves everyone trading in these articles to see that on and from I1st January next, all his 1922. | Corn Saues Act, 1921. TT9 transactions in them are based on a price per hundredweight. There are some exceptions to the Act which are set out in full below, but so far as home-grown crops are concerned, the main exceptions, apart from sales for export, are dealings in growing and unthreshed crops. As regards articles produced outside the United Kingdom, the Act does not apply to dealings in them before they have arrived in the United Kingdom, nor does it apply to imported articles so long as they remain in the ware- house, store or shed where they were first stored on importa- tion. The Act is also not applicable to cases where the con- tract, sale, etc., provides for delivery in the original bags in Which the articles were imported (subject only to rebagging in replacement of damaged bags). So far as the farmer is concerned, therefore, these exceptions as regards imported produce would seldom apply. The relevant sections of the Act are given below in full :— Section 1. From and after the commencement of this Act, every contract, bargain, sale or dealing relating to corn shall, unless it is made or had by weight only and in terms of and by reference to the hundred- weight of one hundred and twelve imperial standard pounds, be null and void. Provided that this Act shall not apply to any contract, bargain, sale or dealing— (i) for or relating to a less quantity of corn than one hundred and twelve imperial standard pounds ; (ii) for or relating to corn which at the date of the contract, bargain, sale or dealing is not within the United Kingdom, or to corn imported into the United Kingdom so long as the same shall remain in the warehouse, or store, or shed where the same shall have been first stored on importation ; (iii) for or relating to corn imported into the United Kingdom in cases where such contract, bargain, sale, or dealing provides for delivery in the original bags in which the corn was imported (subject only to rebagging in replacement of damaged bags) ; (iv) for or relating to corn bought or sold for export from the United Kingdom ; (v) for or relating to corn growing on or in the land or to corn unthresbed. Section 6. In this Act the expression “ corn” shall, where the context permits, include wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize and the meal and bran derived therefrom, and any mixture thereof, and this Act shall apply to dried peas, dried beans, linseed and potatoes, and to the seed of grass, clover, vetches, swedes, field turnips, rape, field cabbages, field kale, field kohl-rabi, mangels, beet and sugar-beet, flax, and sainfoin in like manner as it applies to corn. 780 HomE-Grown Corn anp Poratoss For Live Stock. [ DEc., HOME-GROWN CORN AND POTATOES FORME STOCK: T., B. Woop, -C.bobie. MoA., F.C. ib, Drapers’ Professor of Agriculture and Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Unpsr normal conditions farmers grow their wheat and barley for sale to the miller and the maltster, and their potatoes for the market. Conditions this year, however, are far from normal, and everyone should consider whether it will pay him best to sell his corn and potatoes or to use them for feeding live stock. This is a point which it is by no means easy to decide, as so many things must be taken into consideration. It is necessary to know not only the relative food and manurial values and the relative prices of similar feeding stuffs, but the price at which it is possible to buy suitable animals to be fed, and even perhaps in some cases, after two disastrous years, whether it might not ease the situation to sell corn and potatoes for ready cash and to buy even dearer feeding stuffs on credit. | It is impossible to deal here with such economic considerations, which must be decided by each farmer for himself. It is pos- sible, however, to consider the relative feeding value of home- srown and purchased feeding stuffs, and to work out prices at which, other things being equal, it is cheaper to consume corn and potatoes at home than to sell them and to buy other feeding stuffs. : Even this is not quite straightforward, for the comparison should be made, not on price per ton, but on price per unit of nutritive value after making due allowance for manurial value. The best unit of nutritive value to select for this purpose is one hundredth of a ton of what is known as starch equivalent or net digestible energy. Wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes are all somewhat similar in composition. All of them are characterised by the high propor- tion of starch which they contain. On the farm they could. therefore. be used to take the place of other feeding stuffs rich in starch, as, for example, middlings and maize. It is with these feeding stuffs that they should be compared. Feeding Value of Middlings and Maize.—A ton of middlings contains 68 units of starch equivalent. The present price per ton is round about £8 and the manurial value is £1 7s. Deduct- ing the manurial value, the net cost of the 68 units of starch 1922.1 Homr-GRowN Corn Axp Potrarors FoR LIVE STOCK. 781 equivalent is £6 18s. The cost per unit of starch equivalent is therefore £6 13s. divided by 68, or almost exactly 2s. per unit. The average price of maize at present is round about £2 per quarter, which is equivalent to £9 6s. 8d. per ton. Maize con- tains 81 units of starch equivalent per ton and its manurial value is 17s. per ton. The net cost of the 81 units of starch equivalent is therefore £8 9s. 8d. The cost per unit of starch equivalent is therefore £8 9s. 8d. divided by 81, or almost exactly Qs. Starch equivalent costs 2s. per unit in both middlings and maize, the two starchy foods most largely used. Feeding Value of Home-Grown Corn.—Average samples of sound wheat contain 72 units of starch equivalent per ton. At the present price of starch equivalent in maize and middlings, namely, 2s. per unit, the 72 units in 1 ton of wheat are worth £7 4s. Adding the manurial value of £1 per ton, wheat for home consumption should be worth £8 4s. per ton, or 37s. per ouarter of 504 lb. This means that any farmer who owns suitable live stock to consume wheat, and is not in urgent need of ready cash, would be well advised to grind or crush his wheat for home consumption rather than to buy maize or middlings unless he could sell his wheat for considerably more than 37s. per quarter so as to pay for the delivery of the wheat and the carriage of other feeding stuffs bought in its place. The following table gives the price below which it is more economical to keep corn and potatoes for home consumption rather than to sell them and buy maize or middlings at current prices :-— Wheat 37/- per quarter of 504 Ib. ) plus in each case an addition sufti- Rye Ce ROM V3 35 5, O04 lb. cient to pay for the cost of Barley 7. 32)- 5; a » 448 lb. ~ delivering the articles sold and Oats 7s ae Bs , oo0-ID: > | fetching home the feeding stuffs Potatoes 40/- per ton rc) ‘ bought in their place. Having arrived at the prices which determine the relative economy of sale or home consumption, the next point is to dis- cuss the use of the various articles in case it is decided to feed them at home. Wheat.—It is commonly accepted that wheat is not a safe food for horses, and its use is not recommended for sheep. It can, however, be used successfully for pigs and for dairy cows. For young pigs it may be used up to about one-quarter of their total ration, and it may be given either roughly ground together with the rest of the ration in the dry state, or more finely ground anc made into slop. 782. Homr-Grown Corn anp Poratrors ror Live Stock. [Dec., For fattening hogs wheat may be used up to one-third of their total ration, and in this case it should be fairly finely ground together with the rest of the ration and made into slop. For milch cows, ground wheat may form as much as cne quarter of their total ration of concentrated food. Thus, sup- posing the ration consists of roots or silage, hay or straw, and 8 lb. of concentrated foods, the concentrated foods may consist of 6 lb. of cake and 2 lb. of ground wheat. In this case the ground wheat is usually mixed with the chaff and pulped roots and allowed to stand some time before feeding. This method of feeding prevents the wheat becoming pasty in the mouth. Rye on the whole is not of good repute as a feeding stuff in this country. It can, however, be used successfully for pigs in the same way as wheat, provided the ration contains a little fish- meal or dried blood to supply constituents in which the rye is deficient. Skim milk or whey would also provide these absent constituents, or they could be supphed in the form of fresh roots or green-stuff. Barley is much better known as a feeding stuff for live stock than either wheat or rye; in fact, the annual consumption of barley by live stock in the United Kingdom is not far short of a million tons. It can be used safely and economically for almost all kinds of stock except suckling sows and ewes and milch cows. The general opinion of practical stock keepers is that the use of barley for milking animals of any kind very soon produces a fall in the milk flow. In the Eastern Counties, where the climate is too hot for the oat crop, barley is the standard horse corn. If used for horses it should be remembered that about 6 lb. of barley contain as much nutritive value as 7 lb. of oats, :and in replacing part of the oats in a ration by barley, the replacement should be in these proportions, that is to say, 14 oz. of barley for 1 lb. of oats. For fattening sheep barley is an excellent food, but when the sheep are on roots, which are poor in protein, the barley should be mixed with some cther concentrated feeding stuff rich in that constituent. A series of trials carried out years ago by the Nor- folk Chamber of Agriculture showed that by far the best addition to barley is decorticated cotton cake. For three years in succes- sion a mixture of equal weights of crushed barley and decorti- cated cotton cake produced more mutton at less cost than any other mixture included in the trial. 1922. | Tne Farmer AND HomE-Grown Foops. 783 Barley is also an excellent feeding stuff for pigs, except suckling sows. For fattening hogs it is ground with maize and fed as slop with the addition of a small proportion of bean meal or ground linseed cake or some cther feeding stuff rich in protein. A suitable mixture would be equal weights of barley und maize with about one-twentieth to one-tenth of their weight of bean meal or linseed cake. For younger animals the barley may be crushed and fed dry, and may form nearly the whole of the ration provided the animals have access to roots or greenstuff. Oats are so well known as a feeding stuff as hardly to need any description of their uses. It may, however, be worth remark that oats are much more valuable for working or milking animals or for stores than for fattening. In case it is found desirable to use oats for pigs, the following method may be found valu- able: grind the oats and mix to sa thin slop with water; stir well and pour through a coarse sack. The finer, more floury, por- tions of the grain will run through and the thin slop thus obtained, thickened somewhat with maize meal or barley meal or middlings, may be fed to young pigs or to fattening hogs. The husky portions left in the sack may be used for sows. Potatoes are a wholesome food for any class of live stock, provided they do not form an excessive proportion of the ration. They can be used either raw or cooked, but only small quantities should be given in the raw state. The common method of using up potatoes which for any reason it is not possible to sell or to use for human consumption, is to cook them for pigs. In this form they can be used to replace part of the meal ration at the rate of 4 !b. of potatoes to 1 Ib. of meal. WHEN- SHOULD THE’ FARMER SELL HOME-GROWN FOODS ? ArrHuR G. Ruston, B.A., B.Se. (Lond.), D.Se. (Leeds), and J. S. Simpson, B.Se., Department of Agriculture, The University, Leeds. In the course of the Farm Costings investigations carried on by the University of Leeds it has been observed that there is a growing tendency this year for the farmer to feed his grain to stock, rather than to sell it and purchase cakes and meals. Inquiries sre also continually being made as to whether at pre- Price per Ton. Price per Quarter, fit ~ fia. - £ fo. On ENR NN eR ERR ge RT A TR i 784 THE HARMER AND HOME-GROWN F'ooDs. 2 y Price per Unit Starch Equivalent. F1G. 1,—Purchased Foods (Carbohydrates). Mc 2/- 3/- Price per Unit Starch Equivalent. Fic. 2.—Home-grown Foods (Carbohydrates, [ Dsc., 4/- 1922), | THe FARMER AND HoME-GROWN Foops. 785 sent prices home-grown grain is a cheaper food than the usual purchased concentrates and as to what price these home-pro- duced foods must reach before it will pay the producer to sell. A definite answer covering the whole range of purchased foods cannot be given straight away, owing to the large variation in their relative prices at any particular time. The possession of alternative markets is one of the economic advantages of the farming industry, and a study of the question ‘‘ To Feed or Sell? ’? has brought out some interesting facts, which are here presented in the hope that they will prove of use to farmers all over the country. Classification of Foods.—From the chemical point of view, wheat, oats and barley are carbohydrate foods, and can be used to substitute similar types of food normally purchased. No matter which type of carbohydrates 1s fed—-either home-grown or purchased—protein also must be supplied to ensure the greatest possible utilisation of the food. The following list, abstracted from the feeding records cf some 50 farms, includes those carbo- hydrate foods normally purchased: Maize germ meal, maize meal, middlings, dried grains, bran. Which, if any, of these can be replaced by home-grown grains, so as to reduce the cost of a ration? Basis oi Valuation.—As foods—even those in the same class, e.g., carbohydrates—possess different values to the animal, and as they also possess different manurial values, price per ton cannot be taken as a basis of comparison. It is, however, perfectly fair to compare foods of the same class on their price per unit starch equivalent, to determine which is a simple matter. Methods of Calculation.—If from the price per ton the manurial value of the food in question be deducted the result is the feeding value per ton. When this is divided by the starch equivalent of the food—a figure originally proposed by Kellner and now incorporated in most standard tables of the composition of foods—-the result is the price per unit starch equivalent. This is shown in the following example :— (Starch Equivalent Sharps. 63 per 100 7b.) Price per ton oe bs ip zo 10, O Less Manurial Value se ran i. 0 Feeding Value aay sas os £7 16° 0 Divide feeding value by Starch Equivalent (63) Price per Unit Starch Equivalent... 2s. 6d. Price per Ton. Price per Quarter. 786 er ron. Tar FARMER AND LIOME-GROWN Foops. Ee eae eres CE SS oe nae a eee ————EEE 7 r = = Y- 2}- ay- 4./ ° Price per Unit Starch Equivalent. Fic, 3.—Purchased Foods (Proteins), Price per Unit Starch Equivalent. Fig, 4.—Home-grown Foods (Proteins). loa 1922. | THe FARMER AND HoME-GROWN F[oops. 787 Simple though this calculation be, it is realised that not all farmers possess the necessary tables—or the time, to work out the unit cost for all the foods they may be offered. To eliminate the arithmetic, the accompanying diagrams have been devised. To avoid confusion in using the diagrams only five foods are shown in Figs. 1 and 8. Similar curves could, of course, be constructed for any food in which a farmer is particularly interested, the necessary data being obtained from suitable tables.* Method of Using the Diagrams.—The diagrams show at a elance the price per unit starch equivalent corresponding to any price per ton of a foodstuff, or per quarter of grain. To take a concrete case, a farmer has some barley and considers whether to feed it, or to sell it and buy maize meal for his cows. He is offered 85s. per quarter for his barley and can buy maize meal . at £11 per ton. Selling his barley involves carting to a station or mill or elsewhere, so the grain really stands him at less than 85s. on the farm, while against this has to be put the cost of erinding should he feed it. On the other hand, railway carriave and carting would increase the cost of the maize meal, and £11 10s. could be fairly taken as its cost on the farm. Taking Fig. 1 he looks up the vertical line, until he sees the position corresponding to £11 10s. He then runs his pencil horizontally across to the line marked ‘‘ Maize Meal,’’ and from the point of intersection draws his pencil vertically downwards to the horizontal line. The point at which this horizontal line is touched represents the price per unit starch equivalent of the maize meal. He now turns to Fig. 2 and reverses the process. On the horizontal line he finds the point representing the same price per unit stareh equivalent as the maize meal would cost. He then moves his pene?! vertically until it meets the line marked “‘ Barley,’’ and from there moves horizontally and ‘to the left until until his pencil crosses the vertical line representing ‘* Price per Quarter.’’ If the price offered is less than that indi- cated by the diagram, it will pay the farmer to feed his barley. but if, on the other hand, the price offered is higher. then he should by all means sell and buv maize meal for his cows. * (1) Pamphlet No. 73, published by the University of Leeds, which can be obtained free on application to The Department of Agriculture, Uni- versity, Leeds. (2) Miscellaneous Publication No, 32, published by the Ministry, price 6d. (3) The table on p. 841 of this Journal. (4) The Agricultural Market Report, issued weekly by the Ministry, price 2d, B 2 788 {XHIBITS AT THE ImpERIAL FRuIT SHow. [ Duc., To make this example clearer, the lines which the farmer draws, have been dotted in. They show that maize meal at £11 10s. per ton is costing 2s. 8d. per unit starch equivalent, and that valued on this figure barley is worth ag a food £2 2s. per quarter. As, then, the farmer is offered only 35s. per quarter for his barley. it will pay him to feed it, and to continue feeding it until the price offered rises above 42s. per quarter. It will be found that with a little practice the drawing of lines can be dispensed with, and the whole process will be quickly completed—in much less time than this description takes to read. The diagrams. of course, will hold for any year and any number of examples can be worked from them. Protein Foods.—Not all farmers grow protein-containing foods in their usual rotations but those whe have either peas or beans on hand shou!d consider whether to feed or to sell and buy such protein foods as cotton cake and meal, maize gluten feed, palm kernel or sova bean cake. Figs. 3 and 4 can be used to determine this point, the same method being employed as when comparing the purchased and home-grown foods of a carbohydrate nature lm Hes, 1) and 3: * * ok * * * THE COMPETITIVE EXCH EBs Aa tr. SECOND IMPERIAL FRUITY SiO Ww: Ee. V 2Pawmos, AgiteG 06. to. 5es. Deputy-Controller of Horticulture, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. THERE were many at the close of the 1921 Fruit Show who, whilst recognising the advantage gained to the industry by the show, recommended that a lapse of five years should be given before holding a second. They admitted the success of the ven- ture but thought that many had given support because of the novelty of the venture, which support, they feared, would not be forthcoming for 2 second show if held without an interval. Certainly the holding of a second show under much the same conditions and at the same place (Crystal Palace) was a bold ven- ture; but that it was justified is shown by the number of entries received for competition at the show, which were as follows :--- Apples Ene A Be sce -.« « 1,081 entries: Pears... te seis wae aan V(t Oranges ree oe Bee ate a ey ae Grapes re we ve ae sis 15 ‘Tomatoes be Ne ais es “ee 62 Potatoes ae ee ef 486 Totals x. ce =, She 1922. | EXHIBITS AT THE ImpERIAL I'RUIT SHOW. 789 The display of such a large mass of fruit and potatoes was naturally an attractive sight to the many visitors who came to the Palace, and should have some effect in encouraging ar increased consumption of fruit by townsfolk. The growers from all parts of England visited the show for another purpose, namely, to see the exhibits in the hope of learning better methods of selecting and packing the fruit for the markets. In this thev were not disappointed, for there was much to be learnt by a close study of the methods adopted in selecting the fruit and the methods of packing adopted in the competitive exhibits; useful knowledge on market packages and methods of packing was provided at many of the trade exhibitors’ stalls, whilst on the stands of the Ministry the scientific exhibits staged by the Long Ashton, Fast Malling, Rothamsted. Cambridge and Leeds University Research Stations, together with the models of pests from the Ministry’s Pathological Laboratory. afforded a unique opportunity for all to acquire a knowledge of recent research. The names of the apples were generally attached to each exhibit, so providing information for the less experienced. ‘The Judges’ Score Cards were also placed on view, not only that each exhibitor could see the marks awarded to his own exhibit but that all who so desired could study the good and weak points of every exhibit. The writer does not intend to give a general account of the show, for this the technical trade Press has pro- vided, but it may serve a useful purpose to give a few notes on the winning exhibits in the premier classes, commencing with the all-important section where British and Canadian fruits were in competition. Apples.— British Empire Section.—The principal classes in this section were for dessert and culinary apples, and each com- yetitor’s exhibit comprised no fewer than 20 boxes. In years favourable to the production of good samples of fruit the selection by a grower of some 4,000 dessert apples or 2,000 cookers, uniform in size, colour and shape, sufficient to fill 20 boxes, is by no means an easy task. This year when British fruit generally was small and of poor colour the task was a hard one, and it would generally be agreed that the British exhibits in this section fell below the high standard achieved in the Kent and Southern Counties and the West Midland Sections. where an exhibit comprised 6 boxes. The Canadian exhibits, though perhaps. not so well packed as in 1921, contained good condi- tioned fruit with plenty of colour and bloom and of uniform size and colour. 790 EXHIBITS AT THE IMPERIAL. Fruit SHOW. [| Due., In the dessert class the Canadian Cox’s Orange Pippin, the MacIntosh Red, and Snows competed against the British Cox’s Orange Pippin, Worcester Pearmain and Allington Pippin. ‘The first prize was awarded to a good sample of Cox’s from Nova Scotia. These apples, which were of medium size and packed 38 x 2on end, bore a light crimson blush with broken streaks on a bright orange yellow skin, though showing little russet. The flavour, for which it scored full marks, was one of the best. Nova Scotia certainly seems able to produce apples of the best colour and with full flavour. The second prize went to a fine dessert sample of Snows with clear skin lightly coloured red. ‘Two English samples of Cox’s Orange Pippin came next: with the exhibit from Malvern winning by one mark after appeal to the umpire. These exhibits were both excellent, but lacked the cclour and brightness of the Nova Scotia apples. Many other exhibits in this section were excellent, though some were on the small size. ‘I'wo fine exhibits—Worcesters from Reading and Cox’s Orange Pippin from Kent—were dis- qualified because the exhibitors did not comply with the rules. For culinary apples the Canadians retied mainly on Kings, Greenings and Spy, and the English on Newton Wonders, of which many fine apples were shown, Lane’s Prince Albert, and Bramleys. Exhibits of Bismarck and Gascoyene’s Scarlet were included. Some bright red Nova Scotia Kings looked attractive and won the first prize. These were very evenly sized and uni- formly coloured, but lacked quality. The exhibit of Bismarck from Chelmsford secured the second award, with Newton Wonder -—rather on the small size—from Canterbury, third. There were some very good Bramley’s Seedling apples. but this variety does not show to advantage in hoxes. Newton Won- der and Lane’s Prince Albert on the other hand, looked well in boxes—the bright scarlet flush of the former and the red stripes of the latter showing to advantage. There was one specially fine exhibit of Lane’s. which was disqualified by the Judges as the pack did not conform to the rules, being ‘‘ off-set.”’ All the winning apples were packed 2 x 2 which may serve as an indication as to the size for future selection of cooking apples. Pears.—In the Channel Islands and the Great Britain sections there were many different varieties of pears, of which Doyenné du Comice, Conférence, Durondeau, Calebash, Louise Bonne, Marie Louise, Emile D’Heyst, Pitmaston 1922. | EXHIBITS AT THE ImpERIAL FRuit SHow. 791 Duchess and Catillac were the more prominent. In some exhibits the pears were packed either in cotton er wood wool; in others they were wrapped in paper and packed in boxes in a manner similar to that adopted for apples. Where care in packing had been given both methods proved satisfactory, though generally the packing of pears was at fault and contrasts of the packing provided an excellent object lesson to those willing to learn by observation. The Conférence section was strongly contested, but the stan- dard was low as would be expected for Conférence at this late date. In the Great Britain section there was one exhibit from Sussex of exceptionally large, fine quality Doyenné du Comice, which lost the first prize solely through bad packing. ‘The first prize was awarded to an exhibit from Kent of much smaller pears, of even size and colour and excellently packed. Generally this class was but slightiy contested. The standard of fruit was high, but the packing poor. Much of the fruit rapidly deteriorated owing to bruising due to faulty packing, and prices by auction ruled low. The Doyenné du Comice in the Channel Islands section were on the whole better than in the Great Britain section. The fruits were larger, in better condition, and the best exhibits were carefully packed, the fruit being separated with protective paper. Im many of the exhibits in this section the fruits were tumbled together instead of being nicely separated and kept in position by paper partitions. The Channel Islands fruit kept well and the well packed fruit realised quite good prices at the sale. Pitmaston Duchess figured largely in the ‘‘ any other dessert variety ’’ class in both the Great Britain and the Channel Islands sections, and some excellent, large bright specimens were shown. The exhibits of Calebash and Durondeau were rough, the Louise Bonne small, attractive and nicely packed. In the class for cooking pears, Catillac was shown in every instance except one, and this won the first prize. The second prize was awarded to an excellent and nicely coloured sample of Catillac from Faversham. The other samples of Catillac lacked uniformity anu it was evident quality had been sacrificed to large SiZe. Grapes.—There were classes for grapes in the British Empire section, the Great Britain section and the Channel Islands section, but only in the last were there any material entries. Generally Muscat of Alexandria was shown in the classes for white grapes and Colmar as blacks. All exhibits were good, the 792 KLECTRO-CULTURE. [Dec., bunches were of large size and contained good even sized berries in excellent condition and full of bloom. The bunches of grapes were tied to shallow baskets which were lined with white paper, wood, or cotton wool, depending on the method adopted. The grapes in every single instance when packed in this wav had travelled well, retaining most of the natural bloom and freshness, and were generally admired by the publ. It was difficult to decide as to the best exhibit in the show; some of the public preferred the waving exhibit of Colmar shown by Mr. Tostevin, Guernsey, in the Channel Islands sec- tion; while others thought the Colmars of Messrs. Douglas Brothers, of Worthing, which secured the first prize in the Great Britain section, superior. Both were good and at the auction sale each realised 12s. per basket. The Dominion of Canada has cause to be proud of its successes attained at the present show, and the State of Nova Scotia by securing the two first prizes has abundantly demonstrated the capabilities of that State for producing apples of the highest class. In the Section confined to Overseas eleven of the possible fourteen first prizes were secured by Ontario, which must rank as a great performance. Channel Island exhibitors were show- ing for the first time and they have every reason to be satisfied with the produce shown and the success achieved. * * * * * * EPECTRO-CU ET U Raz: ALTHOUGH investigations into the influence of electrical dis- charge on plant growth are still in the preliminary stages and the economic possibilities of ‘‘ electro-culture’’ are still uncer- tain, so much interest has been manifested in the subject that it is desirable to give a brief account of the work so far accom- with the carrying out of experiments in electro-culture, and particularly in regard to the construction of apparatus suitable for use on an economic scale, and to the making of such electrical measurements as may be necessary in connection with the experiments.’’ The present constitution of the Com- mittee is as follows :—Sir John Snell, M.Inst.C.E. (Chairman) ; Mr. A. F. Berry ; Professor V. H. Blackman, F.R.S.; Mr. A. B. Bruce, M.A.; Dr. C. Chree, F.RB.S. ; Mr.. W. KR: Cooper, MCA. "B:Se.,,AG1-C.. Dr: W. it Becles; FR. MelshB; Mr. P. Hedworth Foulkes, B.Sc.;° Mr. J. 8. Highfield, M.I.E.E.; Professor G. W.O. Howe; Professor T. Mather, F.R.S.,M.I.E.E.; Mr. B.J. Owen, M.Sc., M.Eng.; Mr. H.G. Richardson, M.A., B.Sc.; Sir John Russell, F.R.S.; and Mr. C. T. R. Wilson, F.B:S8. 1922. | HLECTRO-CULTURE. 793 The scientific aspect of the work will be more fully dealt with in two papers which Prof. V. H. Blackman is contributing to the “‘ Journal of Agricultural Science.’’ The Committee has now been at work for five years and has issued four interim reports* : the work completed in 1922 which was undertaken on lines suggested by the experience of previous years promises very striking results, but an account of that work must await the fifth interim report of the Committee which has not yet been presented. In view of the complexity of the subject the Committee have confined their experiments to electro-culture by means of over- head discharge. Field experiments have been carried out for the Committee by Professor V. H. Blackman at Rothamsted with barley (1918 and 1920), winter sown wheat (1919 and 1920), winter oats (1921) and clover hay (1919, 1920 and 1921); at Lineluden (Dumfries) with oats (1918, 1919 and 1920), and potatoes (1921); and at Harper Adams Agricultural College with oats (1919, 1920 and 1921), clover hay (1920) and pea and oat mixtures (1921). Pot-culture experiments have been carried out by Professor Blackman at Rothamsted in 1918, 1919, 1920 and 1921, with wheat, maize and barley; laboratory experiments to determine the effect of electric currents on the growth of plant organs have also been undertaken. Field Trials.—Apparatus.—The apparatus at Lincluden con- sisted of a mercury interrupter, supplied with a direct current at a voltage of 60, an induction coil and three Lodge valves in series. At Rothamsted it consisted of a petrol-driven “‘ Delco ”’ set, with at first a dry transformer and later an oil-cooled trans- former, and a Newton and Wright disc-rectifier. At the Harper Adams Agricultural College current (100 volts D:C.) was available from the small electric lighting installation of the College. The apparatus consisted of a 2-h.p. motor coupled to a one K.Y.A. A.C. generator (140 volts) which bore on an extension of its spindle a Newton and Wright disc-rectifier. An oil-cooled transformer (1-K.V.A.) giving a voltage up to 60,000 was employed for the discharge current. Field Installation.—A steel cable supported on high tension insulators was fixed at a height of about 7 ft. at each side of the electrified areas and fine galvanised steel wires (gauge 29) spanned the distance between the cables. The wires were 5 or 10 ft. apart. The aerial installation was made positive. * To be obtained free on application to the Secretary to the Committee, Mr. W. R. Black, B.Sec.. Ministry of Agriculture. 10, Whitehall Place, S.W. 1. 794 HLECTRO-CULTURE. [ Dsc., _ At Harper Adams Agricultural College a screen of wire-net- ting, 8 ft. high was fixed between the electrified area and the control area during one season’s experiments. Current.—The currents varied at the different stations with different crops, and in the different years. Those in 1921 were as follows:—At Iincluden, the discharge was given at the rate of about 0.5 milliamp. per acre; the voltage (crest value) was about 25.000. At Rothamsted two installations were sup- plied from the same transformer, so that the current could be controlled in one only, that over winter oats being selected. With this crop the voltage (crest value) varied between 25,000 and 55,000 and the total discharge current was maintained at the rate of 0.5 milliamp. per acre. The discharge given to the clover grass varied from 0.2 millamp. to 0.6 milliamp. per acre. At Harper Adams Agricultural College also two installations were supplied from the same transformer. With oats the voltage (crest value) varied from 25,000 to 56,000, and the current was kept at about 1.0 milliamp. With the pea and oat mixture the current varied between 0.25 and 1.25 milliamp. per acre. Period of Discharge.—The periods during which crops were subjected to the overhead discharge varied from 500 to about 900 hours. As a rule the period lasted from April to August and the discharge was continued for 6 or 8 hours daily. Results of Field Experiments.—The results from different crops in different years and at different stations are fully dis- cussed in the four Interim Reports which should be consulted for details. The accompanying table, however, gives a general summary of results of field experiments from 1915 onwards (those from 1918 being under the auspices of the Committee). This summary does not include results obtained in 1921, the dry weather of that year being unfavourable for field experimental work. The data taken as a whole show that of the fourteen positive results of experiments extending over six years only three are less than 10 per cent., while of the four negative results none reaches 10 per cent. Of the ten positive results with spring- sown cereals only two are less than 10 per cent., and six show an increase of 80 per cent. or over; while of the two negative results both show decreases of less than 10 per cent. The results of field experiments with these spring crops show an average increase of 22 per cent. The effect of electrification in increasing the yield of spring-sown oats and barley has thus 1922. | ELECTRO-CULTURE. 795 been demonstrated. A beneficial effect on clover-hay is prob- able, while that on winter-sown wheat is still uncertain. SPRING SOWN CEREALS. Difference in Yield per acre of Electrified Crops compared with Control Crops. CIF PES OE IE 1h a) Actual. Relative. Bush. per cent. Lineluden hs ee bol te. Oats = aya 4S ae +30 “ C ewas C)r ee sy fice ee abe 4.49 % =< Tada Nel § cone 3 eae ao es he + 2 LORE 3 - Sah . +267 wok +50 ES tS hd Lee Le TS as 43. +35 : ae PP O20! si, -" yt S226 ee ° ae A A - rr aes Mh LSS he +57 Rothamsted aes eee ee ARICY 3. ope OOS eee alae) (Small plots) : atte vacate LOLS: tess Pa ware oath MER eee +10 3 Ban ae 1920) =< sc aia Mee + dl +19 Harper Adams College... 1919 ... Oats eae og Ee — ees Oe. <3 es on -— 9 Mean ... ee ee ae + 22 WINTER SOWN WHEAT. Bush. per cent. Rothamsted $54 St ats Pe i po eta OG) ee +38 1920 ee io! Sis oe. < — 4 CLOVER-HAyY. Cwt. per cent. Rothamsted... a5 toto ACist. Crop) oa SE ee a Pe +50 » oo Ete fulo” (2nd Crop): cz "Eo ee +34 ‘ oe head Re ae aa au AR OR aie + 2 Harper Adams College... 1920 Lo as ban. eet) ie —é § Mean #3 tie AE ae +20 Pot Culture Experiments.—The object of these experiments carried out at the Rothamsted Experimental Station has been to obtain various data as to the current to be used in electro- culture work on the early vegetative growth of cereals. ‘I'he subjects investigated have been strength of current, the rela- tive effects of direct and alternating current, and of upward and downward current and the period of the life of the grow- * One result, that of the Rothamsted experiment of 1919 with wheat, has been excluded, for owing to special conditions the crop was a partial failure, yielding only 8 bushels tothe acre. The decrease in yield of the electrified area as compared with the control was 7 per cent. Also in calculating the differences in yield between the two areas, that of tlie Rothamsted barley plots of 1917 has not been included in determining the average, for the crop was harvested some time before maturity. 796 KLEctTRO-CULTURE. . [ Dec., ing crop when the discharge is most effective. Wire networks charged to a high voltage (4,000-16,000 crest value) were sus- pended at various heights above the plants; the current passing through plants was led off from the bottom of the insulated pots to a micro-ammeter reading to 0.01 microamp. The networks were made positive, except for one set of experiments in 1921. The control pots were ‘‘ earthed ’’ in all cases. In 1918 and 1919 the high tension discharge was obtained by the use of a mercury interrupter and an induction coil, Liodge valves being employed for rectification. In the experi- ments of 1920 and 1921 the installation consisted of a small rotary converter giving 70 volts A.C., and a wax-impregnated transformer made by Messrs. Newton and Wright. The over- head networks, when alternating current was used, were con- nected directly to the transformer: when direct current was required rectification was obtained by means of Lodge valves. The plants themselves were able to bring about some slight rectification. The discharge in these pot experiments was usually given for about six hours each day. There were two experiments with wheat, nine with maize, and nine with barley. In 1918 it was found that (under the conditions of the experiments) currents passing through the plants of the order 10 x 10—9 amp. were injurious in the case of the early vegetative stages of maize. Currents as low as 0.8 x 10—9 amps. appear to have an accelerating action on growth. The experiments of 1920 suggested that alternating current is as effective as direct current, if not more effective; the results obtained that year with direct current were, however, less satisfactory than in previous years. The experiments of 1921 confirmed the results of 1920 that alternating current is usually as effective as, or more effective than. direct current. They further suggested that an upward current through the plant can increase growth in the same way as a downward current: and, lastly, they suggest that a discharge applied for the first month only of the growing season may be at least as effective as one continued throughout the growing season—-a result. if confirmed, of great importance since it shows that the running costs of crop electrification can be markedly reduced. 1922.] MoorLanp GRAZING IN THE NortH OF HNGLAND. 797 IMPROVEMENT OF MOORLAND Ghazi VegtN THE NORTH OFe ENGLAND.* D. A. GILCHRIST, Professor of Agriculture, Armstrong College, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Tue total area of land in Northumberland is over 14; millon acres. Of this about 700,000 acres are under crops and grass, and there are about 500,000 acres of moorland pasture and rough mountain land in the county. ‘The object of this article is to deal with the portions of the latter that are capable of economic improvement. Experiments on the improvement of moorland have been conducted for some years on several moor- land farms, in the upper North Tyne, including Kielder (Mr. Thornton), Newton (Mr. John Robson), and at other centres. The results have been most suggestive, and indicate possible lines of improvement. Trials near Bellingham, 1920.—In the autumn of 1919, Mr. Arthur H. Ridley, Park HKnd, Wark-on-Tyne, offered to have an area of about 143 acres of moorland at Highfield farm, about 5 miles north of arset Station, fenced off and treated with a suitable manure. ‘This area is at about 800 ft. altitude. Part of it was under cultivation many years ago, while the remainder is virgin moorland and is typical of very large areas of such. It includes some dry moorland with a little heather and also land on which are growing rough grass and moorland plants. Basic slag (88 per cent. phosphates) was applied at the rate of 10 ewt. per acre on most of this area in the early spring of 1920. A portion of the enclosure was left untreated, and to the north a portion of the unenclosed moor was treated with basic slag at the same rate per acre. Mr. Ridley has met the greater part of the cost (over £100) of this trial. The carting of the material and the application of the slag were done by the tenant. When inspected in August, 1922, it was found that the part to the south-east, which was in cultivation many years ago, is not yet responding well to basic slag. The tops of the ridges have no clover plants, very wiry grass, and a good deal of dead organic matter on the surface, underneath which the soil is very dry. In the furrows, where there is more moisture, wild white clover is developing well and is slowly extending towards the * See this Journal, January, 1921, p. 928. 798 Mooruand GRAZING IN THE Nortu or Encuanp. [Dec., crowns of the ridges. It is probable that a good effect would be producec by cuts with a disc harrow or by other means, made on the crowns and in the direction of the ridges, so as to allow rain water to penetrate to the soil. Grazing with cattle is being done and will help this tendency. The best clover develop- ment 1s on virgin moorland on the northern part of the enclosure, where the soil is near the surface and there is not much matty covering. Between the rushes in these parts clover plants are - developing well. and this is also taking place immediately to the north on the unenclosed moor. Cattle are eating the herbage much better in the enclosed area than sheep are doing on the moor outside. On the west of the area the moorland is dry and harsh and here there is little result. It is evident, therefore, that this latter is not the kind of moorland on which improve- ment should be attempted. The important lesson already derived is that there are only limited areas of moorland which can be profitably improved by basic slag or other phosphatic manures, and that the areas that can be so improved are those on which small clover plants can be found and where the soil is fairly near the surface. Soil of a loamy or heavier character is likely to respond to phosphatic manuring, but sandy moorland will probably not do so to any- thing like the same extent. Hividently a damp condition of the moor is a distinct advantage, provided the land is not water- logged with stagnant (marshy) water. Where there is much dead organic matter on the surface the phosphatic manures cannot reach the soil underneath for many years, and there is little hope of improvement for a long time. Clover plants are usnally absent on such areas. Trials near Haltwhistle, 1920.—Alderman Sample has made similar trials at Whiteside, 4 miles north of Haltwhistle, at an altitude of about 700 ft. High grade basic slag (10 cwt. per acre) and mineral phosphates in equivalent quantities, applied in the winter of 1920-21, are already showing good results on moorland where the conditions are favourable, as at Highfield, but there is practically no response to these manures where the herbage is harsh and coarse in character, with no clover plants and a_ thick mat of organic matter. The results were of the same character on Tipalt moor, adjoin- ing Whiteside (Mr. Edward Joicey, Blenkinsop Hall, Halt- whistle): on the Paise farm, 41 miles from Hexham (the late Mr. R. O. Blayney), and at Westburnhope farm, 9 miles south | of Hexham (Mr. Edward Robson). 1922. | MoorRLAND GRAZING IN THE Nortu oF ENGLAND. 799 Grazing with Sheep and Cattle.—On moorland farms, graz- ing with cattle helps greatly in improving the herbage, as cattle eat far more of the stemmy herbage than sheep. At Cockle Park, where pasture of the poorest character has been effectively improved by basic slag, grazing with sheep alone gives gains of about 100 Ib. live weight per acre during each grazing season, whereas when the plots are stocked with cattle and sheep about Couble this live weight increase is obtained. The plots grazed with sheep alone develop much stemmy herbage and clover development is checked, whereas grazing with cattle and sheep gives pasture with little stemmy herbage and a close and firm bottom of grass and clover plants. Trials in Scotland.—Dr. Shirra Gibb, in 1906, reported on trials of basic slag, kainit and lime on hill grazings at twenty centres in Scotland.* The dressings per acre were, 5 cwt. slag, 10 ewt. ground lime, and 21 cwt. kainit. The slag and lime were applied on half acre plots and the kainit was applied as a cross dressing. The conclusions drawn were that basic slag may be expected to do good on clay soils, with clay or tilly subsoils, which have small clover plants and poorly eaten grasses, and that in such cases kainit was not required. On moory, mossy and generally black topped land slag was evidently helpful, with probably in this case the addition of kainit. If the sod was very dense and the roots thick and matted it was doubtful if any manuring would pay. : Pioughing out Matty Turi.—Much of the old grass land ploughed out during the last years of the War had a thick matty covering on the surface. This covering is a common cause of poverty in moorland hay and grazing land and has been encou- raged by grazing with sheep alone, or by continually mowing for hay, usually late in the autumn. The application of nitrogenous manures like sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda has tended to develop this matty covering, as such manures encourage the wiry grasses and check clover plants. On the Palace Leas meadow hay field at Cockle Park, sulphate of ammonia, applied continuously for over twenty years, has developed such a mat to a depth of over 3 in. of the same character as is to be found on much of our moorlands, whereas where basic slag alone has been regularly applied no such mat has been formed and the soil is close to the surface. In the former case the aftermath is of a harsh and wiry character which the grazing stock. refuse to — * Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society, 1906, p. 80. } 800 Moor.aNp GRAZING IN THE Nortsa or ENGLAND. | Dzc., eat, thus leaving the wiry herbage to accumulate on the surface for years. Where old grass land with a mat of this character has been ploughed out and, after one or two corn crops, or being put through «a rotation, has been judiciously sown down with the right seeds mixture containing wild white clover, and treated with basic slag or other phosphatic manure, young pastures have resulted of a far greater value than the poor benty pasture which was ploughed out. At three centres at least in Northumberland some moorland is now being ploughed out, the object being to bury matted turf and to bring soil to the surface. It is recommended that such ploughing be done early in the winter, with a dise coulter, to bury the turf as effectively as possible. Harrowing should be well done in spring with a dise harrow if possible. High grade basic slag at the rate of 10 ewt. per acre, or finely ground North African phosphates at the rate of 64 cwt. per acre* should be harrowed in, as well as sulphate of ammonia, 3 cwt. per acre, to assist the oat crop. Old fashioned tillering oats, as the Sandy variety, may be sown at about 8 bushels an acre. A suitable seeds mixture should be sown immediately after. For this purpose the following seeds mixture per acre is suggested :—18 lb. perennial ryegrass, 8 lb. cocksfoot grass, 8 Ib. red clover (preferably late flowering) and 1 lb. wild white clover. Care must be taken to get a firm seed bed with a good tilth on the surface. The oats should be mown green and made into hay, unless they promise to mature in good time. Success in this direction would provide on moorland farms hay and pasture of a most valuable character. * For particulars of these manures see this Journal for Sept., 1922, p. 519 ; Oct., 1922, p. 600; and Nov., 1922, p. 706. 1922. | LABOUR ON THE FARM. SOE LAsboOuUR, ON THE FARM. It. A. G. Ruston, B.A., B.Sc. (lond.), D.Sc. (Leeds), and J. S. Srmpson, B.S8c., The Unwersity, Leeds. [The first part of this article in the November issue of the JouRNAL dealt with the influence of the War on the labour bill. | A REviEw of the labour bill per acre on the farms of which the accounts were available, showed such large variations that an attempt was made to analyse the factors responsible for the variations. Size of Farm.—''he farms were grouped according to size and the average labour bill per acre was calculated, in an attempt to see if size of farm was a determining factor in the labour bill. Table V illustrates the results cbtained. TABLE V.—VYARIATION OF LABOUR BILL witH SIzE OF FARM. Size of Farm, No. of No. of Acres Labour Bill per acres. Farms. comprised, acre, 1921-1922. fe 8. Gs: 0-50 3 96 se 10 4 10 50-100 4 300 can vee 100-150 4 504 S17 Ad 150-200 5 863 ced ne 200-250 3 642 4-0. 2 250-300 3 784 tl Tod Over 300 ui 2.526 Shoo As was expected the labour bill per acre on holdings of less than 50 acres was much greater than that on larger farms. On the basis of size alone it is impossible to correlate the remaining figures, and consequently the influence of a second factor—the proportion of the farm under grass—was investigated. Proportion of Grass.—The figures obtained are tabulated in Table VI. TABLE VI.--VARIATION oF LABOUR BILL witTH PROPORTION OF GRASS. Percentage of Farm No. of Acres Labour Bill under Grass. Farms. Comprised. per acre. Group. ee ae 0-20 2, 336 Gta 75 1 21-40 8 1,545 in Qos 2 41-60 7 1,754 42 3 3 61-80 5 1,110 ae ae 4 81-100 4 608 a 19° 0 5 802 LABOUR ON THE Farm. [ Duc., The group of farms with the lowest proportion of grass land has the highest labour bill per acre. ‘This was to be expected, but the reduction of 50 per cent. in the labour bill which occurs in the next group, was not anticipated. When the figures for the other groups, with a still higher proportion of grass land, are examined, it will be realised that the proportion of grass, although influencing the labour bill, is not by any means the only factor. ‘The character of the farming undertaken on the farms in the last two groups supplied the reason for the labour bill figures. The farms in the last group are all grass land dairy farms where large milking herds are kept and milk is produced on highly intensive lines. Consequently the labour bill on these farms is high. The fourth group, on the other hand, is com- posed almost entirely of farms where either summer grazing of bullocks or the breeding of sheep is the main branch followed, and as the labour requirements of these classes of stock are small, the labour bill per acre is correspondingly low. It would appear, therefore, that the amount of the labour bill on any particular farm, provided the labour is organised to the best advantage, is determined by the interaction of at least three factors :— 1. The size of the farm. 2. The proportion of the land under grass. 8. The system of farming adopted. Of these, the third is probably the most important. System of Farming Adopted.—On most of the farms which have been costed labour and time sheets have been kept from which it has been found possible to extract each year the number of davs of manual, horse or tractor !abour employed per acre of each individual crop, or field, or per head of each variety of stock. In Table VII are given the average results obtained on all farms costed from 1918 to 1922, while, for the sake of com- parison the figures quoted by Bridges as obtained from an East Midlands farm in 1918 are also given.* When it is remembered that the figures quoted by Bridges for the grain and pulse crops are exclusive of the necessary work for threshing and delivering, that on this East Midland farm of 965 acres a large amount of steam cultivation, with its accom- panying comparatively smali amount of manual labour, was carried out on much of the wheat, oats and barley, and that such operations as hedging, fencing, draining, ditching, road * See this Journal, July, 1922, ‘ Labour Organisation on an East Midlands Farm, by Archibald Bridges.” pa ee I we 1922. | LABOUR ON THE Farm. 803 repairs, which we have allocated to the various crops, have in the other case been included in the overhead or establishment charges, it will be seen that the agreement between figures found for one year on one farm and those found on an average of approximately 20 farms for 4 years is closer than might have been expected. The big outstanding differences appear to be those found in the cases of the swedes and pasture. Swedes on the East Midlands farm would probably have mostly been fed off by sheep, thus eliminating the cost of lifting, while in the case of the pasture the labour involved in the so-called establishment charges, which we have found to average from three-quarters to one day per acre, would readily account for the difference. TasBLE VII.—DistrisutTion or Manuva LABOUR. Number of Days per acre. (my RET ee 7 a 1D Average of all Farms Costed, East Midlands Roots :— 1918-22. Farm, 1918.* Carrots as “e ee 56-0 ee 61°4 Potatoes ae 2. iS b4+1 Ae 30°8 Mangolds ait ae 3é2 yeaa a 16°7 Swedes ree mee waa 23:0 ee 8:3 Soft Turnips ... ae ee PH oy zee — Rape and Kale i ae 10°6 a — Cabbage os cis es 2a 2, a — Cereals :— Wheat a re a 8°7 bad A°3 Oats 5 .. bias its is 8:0 oe 4-3 Barley ... fet oe oe fi uA 4:6 Peas... sts ne ee 10°6 te at Beans ... < ee oy 8°2 fy 4-0 Linseed aoe ar aes 9°4 . oa Seeds :— Mown ... ns woe ie 5a | ie 22 Grazed... ass as ay: 13 4s O:7 Meudow Hay ... ays ar 2°5 eh: 2°1 Forage Crops... ha. sain 6-1 Sa, 0-0 Pasture ... sigs wea m 0-9 ye Or1 Number of Days per head of Stock. Average of all Farms Costed, 1918-22. Caws is. 5 ae a & pA 5: Other Cattle ... Fa: heh rye 6-7 Paget. hec3 eae Me Se, ae 2°8 Sheep ... de ~ ; oss 0-9 * This Journal, Vol, XXIX, No. 5,p.450. ; 804 LABOUR ON THE FARM. [ Dzc., ‘ While the average figures only, as found by us, have been quoted, yet from farm to farm, and even from year to year, the amount of manual labour employed on any particular crop has. been found to vary considerably with the season, the type of soil and the capability of the farmer as a manager. It is, how- ever, quite evident that on an arable farm the man who concen- trates on potatoes, carrots and possibly peas, will have a higher labour bill than one who concentrates on cereals; and the man. who attempts to supply succulent food to his stock in the form of forage crops should have an advantage as far as labour bills are concerned over one who supplies it in the form of roots. On farm R.T.T., consisting of 304 acres of light land, 89 per cent. of which is arable, and on which 41 acres of potatoes, 10 acres of carrots and 15 acres of peas-were grown last year,. the labour bill amounted to £5 8s. 7d. per acre, as compared. with £2 17s. 7d. on farm A.T.J., a farm with approximately the same proportion of arable land the texture of which rendered. 16 typically wheat land. On farms which may be looked upon as ** grass land farms,”’ the labour bill per acre is bound to vary according to the kind of stock that the grass land is carrying. Thus on farm P.O.H. the wages bill amounted last year to. £6 18s. per acre. Here 90 per cent. of the land is grass, but: milk production on the intensive system is carried on. On farm E.P.M., engaged in the breeding, rearing and fatten- ing of cattle, the labour bill amounted to £2 9s. 9d. per acre, and on W.S.S8.. a similar farm, to £2 19s. 5d. On farm W.J.C., a Dales farm of 321 acres, 76 per cent. of which is grass, though not altogether a sheep farm, yet one on which the farmer specialises in sheep, the labour bill amounted’ only to £1 10s. 9d. per acre. Justification of Labour Bill.—If one were asked, ‘“‘ what labour bill per acre is a farmer justified in having at the present time? ’’ no definite answer could be given. The labour bill on every farm must be justified by results. The labour bill during the year 1921-1922 on 26 Yorkshire farms of 5,285 acres has been examined, and was found to vary from about £1 8s. to £18, with an average of about £3 12s. 6d. per acre. If we judge by “ labour bill ’’ alone, it would appear that certainly the figures regarding the first 7, and probably those of the first 12 farms were too high, and that the last 5 and possibly the last 11 farms were not paying sufficiently high wages. 1922. | LABOUR ON THE FARM. 805 Farms, however, are not run on philanthropic lines, and the final decision as to what each individual farmer is justified in paying as wages to his men will be decided by what his men are enabled to do for him. In other words the wages bill on each farm will finally be justified by the ‘* gross income ”’ or better still the “* net out- put ’’ which the labour employed on the farm obtained. When we put the actual labour bill per acre against the income received for every pound spent in labour, or the net output obtained from the farm for every £5 spent in labour, we can readily judge whether the labour bill on any particular farm was justified or not, and can certainly form an opinion as to the efficiency of its labour organisation. On the average last year on the whole of the 26 farms the gross income was roughly four and a half times the labour bill, and for every £5 spent in labour, the average net output amounted to £6 5s.; in other words last year labour took approximately 80 per cent. of the output. In the case of farm H.W.C. the labour bill was decidedly high. though not so unreasonably high as might at first have been imagined. The gross income from this holding amounted to £63 per acre. Had the labour bill borne the ratio to the gross income that has been found to obtain on the 26 farms quoted, either the gross income should have amounted to £80 per acre instead of £63, or the income actually obtained would have jus- tified an expenditure not of £18, but of just under £14 per acre. The net output from this holding amounted to £21 8s. per acre, which should have sufficed to satisfy the reasonable demands of farmer, labour and landlord. As the land was rented at £3 5s. per acre, and as the labour bill absorbed just ever £18, it will be seen that little more than half-a-crown per acre would be left as profit for the farmer. Tf we distribute this net output, not according to what might be looked upon as a fair proportion for each claimant to take, but according to the average proportion actually determined last year, it will be found that of a net output of £21 8s. per acre, labour might have been expected last year to claim £17 5s. instead of over £18 as actually received. The labour bill on this farm mav therefore be con- sidered as approximately £4 5s. per acre too high when judged by the gross income obtained from the farm, and about 15s. per acre too high when judged by the net output. On farm R.S.F., a small holding of 32 acres where the labour bill amounted to £18 8s. 8d. per acre, the gross income to £43 12s. 4d. and the net output to £8 18s. 10d. per acre, the 806 LABOUR ON THE Farm. [ Dec., labour bill was again too high from whatever standpoint we view it. Judged by the wages actually paid on other farms, it was approximately £9 10s. per acre too high; taking into account the high gross income obtained from the holding it is still more than £4 per acre too high; and when, finally, judged by net output, it is at least £6 too high. One would certainly be standing on safe ground in pointing out to the management that the labour bill on that particular farm must be kept within the limits of £8 per acre, if it is to be run as a commercial success. On farm P.O.H., 120 acres, the labour bill amounted last year to £6 18s. per acre, the gross income to £57 9s. 10d., and the net output to £22 6s. 1d. per acre. The Jabour bill per acre was approximately double what has been found to obtain on all the farms costed, yet in this case labour was not taking more than its fair share. On the basi¢ of the gross income, the farmer was paying £5 per acre, and on the basis of the net output nearly £11 per acre less than the average so paid on the other farms. The labour bill here was high, but amply justified ; every penny was well spent. and ail the money well earned. On farm C.M.F. the labour bill was £6 4s. 10d. per acre, the gross income £11 18s., and the net output less than £1 per acre. Here the labour bill was undoubtedly high, and there was nothing in either the gross or net returns to justify the high wages so paid. Whether this was the fault of the labour engaged or of the management concerned could easily be shown by further investigation of the accounts. On the basis of the gross income obtained, there was apparently justification for an expen- diture only of £8 per acre instead of over £6, while had labour been content with 80 per cent. of the net output, the proportion in the average figures, it could only have laid claim to approxi- mately 15s. per acre. On farm M.A.H., the labour bil! amounted only to £2 12s. per acre. Even this low figure was too high tf we were judging by results, for the gross income amounted only to £6 6s. 9d. and the net output to £0 14s. 9d. per acre. Of the gross income, labour tcok 41 per cent., as compared with an average list year of 23 per cent. on the other farms; and an amount equal to 849 per cent. of the net output as compared with an average of 80 per cent. On the other hand labour bills on farms H.N.O. and W.A.R., and possibly on J.H.S., might with advantage have been in- creased, and it would most probably have paid the farmers in these cases to have made such an increase. 1922. | LABOUR ON THE Farm. 807 Labour Bill, per acre, Gross Income, Net Output, actually paid. per acre. per acre. ood gas (V's Be ds 5 Sia H.N.O. sits i a ° i 1 fo Ne i 4-2 1 W.A.R. ca Dio. 3 ge o 418 —9 “ee 5 il ff ss exe an Nad oie! zsis 9 12.8 ace 318 O Had labour on these farms been paid on results at average rates comparable to those paid on the whole of the farms, one would have felt that on H.N.O. a labour bill of approximately £3 15s., on W.A.R. of approximately £83 7s. 6d., and on J.H.S. of approximately £2 17s. 6d., could not have been considered too high. Conclusions.—In our opinion the following conclusions may be drawn from this examination of farm accounts in Yorkshire :— a. From the outbreak of the War up to the year 1918 labour was not getting its fair share of the increased prosperity of the farms. b. Té was not until January, 1920, that the increase in wages on the farm had actually risen in proportion to the increase of the cost of living. c. At the time of the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board the percentage increase in farm wages was approxi- mately 20 pcints above the percentage increase in the cost of living, and in April, 1922, at least 45 points above. d. If the claim be admitted that labour is entitled to a wage proportionate to the increased cost of living, on present rates it would not be until April, 1928, that the surplus it has obtained since January, 1920, would counterbalance the deficit from the outbreak of the War up to January, 1920. e. The maximum percentage increase in farm wages since the outbreak of the War has agreed very closely with that which has obtained in other industries. f. The percentage increase in the farm wages which were being paid in April, 1922, was apparently higher than in many other industries. g. During the year 1919-20 labour took on the average 49 per cent., during 1920-21 78 per cent., and during 1921-22 84 per cent. of the net output. h. During the last two years it has been getting more than the industry could reasonably be expected to grant. 7. On any well managed farm the labour bill will be deter- mined by (1) the size of the farm, (2) the proportion of the land under grass, and (3) the system of farming adopted. 808 Counc. oF AGRICULTURE FOR WALES. | Dzc., j. The manual labour required for carrots will be approxi- mately 51 times, for potatoes 81 times, and for roots 23 times as great as that required for corn crops; for seeds hay it will be approximately 4, for meadow hay 4, and for pasture } of that required for a corn crop. k. The manual labour required in attention to a cow is 4 times that required in attention to a bullock, 8 times that required in attention to a pig, 24 times that required in attention to a sheep. l. For the year ending 81st March, 1922, the average labour bill amounted to approximately £8 15s. per acre, but varied considerably on different farms. Last year it should not have been more than a quarter of the gross income, while on the best managed farms if rarely exceeded one-fifth of the gross income. Even last year, it should not have exceeded 80 per cent. of the net output, and, if the share which the farmer is to receive is again to become a reasonable one, it should not greatly exceed 40 per cent. of the net output. COUNCIL OF AGRICULTURE FOR WALES: THE AGRICULTURAL POLICY RECOMMENDED BY THE COUNCIL. A spEctaL meeting of the Council of Agriculture for Wales was held at the Raven Hotel, Shrewsbury, on the 18th October, 1922, with Mr. W. 8. Miller in the chair. The meeting was called in accordance with the decision of the Council at its half- yearly statutory meeting in May in order to consider the report of the Sub-Committee appointed to draft suggestions for the formulation of an agricultural policy for Wales. ‘The report of the Committee was considered in detail and adopted in the form in which it appears below. I. Production from the Land.—We are of opinion that the land in Wales, which is mainly under grass, is not, from the point of view of the nation, producing what it should do in the way of food. We are convinced that a material increase in the production of cereals and forage crops is possible, and that this would result in a like increase in the output of live stock and live stock products. With the exception of a temporary change of practice during the war, there has been a steady and striking diminution in the area under cultivation in Wales during the period since 1871. A very large proportion of the land that has gone out of cultivation is now under grass of extremely poor quality, and the output from it is surprisingly low. That this land is capable 1922. | Councr, oF AGRICULTURE FoR WALES. 809 of improvement is evident from the results of experiments, but the area on which any systematic effort at improvement has been made, is, having regard to the total area involved, deplorably small. A comparison between the areas under cultivation in 1871 and 1921 is shown in the table below :— 1871. 1921. 9% Decrease. Crop. Acres. Acres. Wheat ... oh che eee) 1265334 38,750 69°3 Barley ... a sae seg) HOOVOL 86,716 48°9 Oats one ee ae 1.) 72D3,602 229,464 9°5 Total Cereals ne ages aU Ol 304,930 30°4 Potatoes iste ae’ ce 51,853 26,152 49°6 Turnips, Swedes and Mangolds (7,213 60,351 21°8 Arable Land ... mas ele edd) 774,724 30°2 We are aware that, while the area under cultivation has decreased, the live stock of the country has increased during that period. We give below a table showing the live stock population under different heads in the years 1871 and 1921 :— % Increase or Class. 1871. 1921. Decrease. Cattle’... iow cs Pe os fets: 724,417 + 21-4 Sheep... ise ies ne 2706415 3.206.807." 4. 18:9 Pigs oe nae A a 225-456 215,362 — 4:5 It is now generally recognised that, as a rule, the production of food on arable land is largely in excess of what it is on grass land. Although there has been a large increase in cattle and sheep in the period under review, it is, in our opinion, doubtful whether the increase that has taken place under these heads is sufficient to compensate for the reduction in the area of land under cultivation during the same period. Having regard to all the circumstances, we have serious doubt as to whether the present production of agricultural land in Wales, taken in terms of actual food values, is equal to what it was in 1871. We have already drawn attention to the very large acreage of pasture in Wales that is of inferior quality, and this is apparent to everybody. It is true that much of the land is naturally poor and that grass of superior quality can- uot be expected in these circumstances. We feel sure, however, that a very large proportion of the pasture land in Wales, even though it may be on soil that is naturally poor, can be much improved if proper methods are adopted to that end. The experience of the last twenty years has clearly demonstrated that such manures as basie slag can be used on pastures to enormous advantage. In view of the excellent results obtained in places where this has been tried, it is a matter for surprise, as well as concern, that the application of such man- ures to grass land has not become a much more extensive practice. II. Reform of the Land Laws.—We urge the necessity for reform- ing the law as it relates to land so as to ensure to the tenant farmer— (1) A fair rent, which, in all cases of dispute, should be fixed by ar- bitration, the right to demand such arbitration being given to both the owner and the tenant, the existing Acts, where necessary, being amended. (2) Full compensation for all improvments, the Agricultural Holdings Acts, 1908 to 1921, being so amended as to enable a tenant to carry out 810 Counciy. oF AGRICULTURE FoR WALES. | Dsc., ‘any improvement suitable for the ordinary working ot the farm on notice being given to the owner, and to be entitled to compensation under the Acts unless the owner proves to the satisfaction of the Ministry of Agriculture, as an independent authority, that the proposed improvement is unnecessary, Part I of the First Schedule of the Act of 1908 being revised accordingly. (3) Security of tenure conditional upon (a) the practice of good hus- bandry by the tenant (6) the land not being required in the public interest, or by the owner to farm either himself or by a member of his family, in which case he should be required to prove to the satisfaction of an in- dependent authority that his grounds for requiring possession are reason- able. We fully recognise that the landlord and tenant system which has long been a feature of the agricultural economy of this country bas great and obvious advantages. It is clear, however, that, under the pressure of circum- stances, that system is inevitably breaking up, and some other system has to be substituted for it to an increasing degree as the years pass. The demand for security of tenure on the part of tenant farmers is mainly due to the fact that so many owners choose, or are compelled, to dispose of their estates. The only alternative to the landlord and tenant system that could give the tenant a fuller measure of security would seem to be either universal State ownership of land or a scheme by which occupiers are enabled to become the owners of their own holdings. No system yet devised is free from some disadvantage. | We recognise that for the occupier to be the owner of his own farm is not wholly an advantage either to the farmer himself or to the State. Financial embarrassment in such cases is frequent, and, while there are exceptions, experience does not show that those who own their own holdings use the land to better purpose than those who are tenants. On the other hand, it is undeniable that a large number of those who have been brought up on the land, and of the smaller farmers particularly, have a strong desire to own their own holdings, partly because of the sense of security that ownership gives them, and partly also on quite other grounds. In view of this, we consider that the State should offer facilities to enable those who so desire to become the owners of their own holdings. On the same principle we are of opinion that, subject to proper conditions, the State should extend facilities to owners of estates for the purpose of improving and developing their properties. Ill. Position of Workers.—We feel that there is need for improving the position of the agricultural labourer, both by securing for him an adequate wage, with the assistance of local Conciliation Boards, and by providing him with better opportunities for cultivating land on his own account. We urge upon agriculturists the desirability of providing land voluntarily for agri- cultural labourers, wherever possible. We also feel strongly that steps should be taken to provide, with the assistance of the State, local authorities and private owners, adequate and suitable housing accommodation, including tenements of the cottage holding type, in rural districts. IV. Small Holdings.—We are fully in sympathy with the policy of creating Small Holdings with which the State is so definitely and closely identified. The mere splitting up of the land into holdings of a small size 1s. 1922. | Counct. oF AGRICULTURE FoR WALES. 811 not, however, necessarily an advantage. We are satisfied that a large number of the small farms, so typical of Wales, are entirely uneconomic as they are. To be successful they should be either reduced still further in size or made larger. The nature of the land in many parts of the country is such that it can only be worked economically in large farms. It is also true that there is good land in favoured situations which could be put to much more profitable use if worked as intensive small holdings than is the case now when it forms part of medium sized holdings used for mixed farming or stock-raising. We are simply reiterating what every reformer has emphasised, when we say that it is essential, in the interests of the nation, to maintain a large and flourishing rural population, but we desire at least to associate ourselves with that view. We consider that the creation of smal] holdings and the improvement of the position of the agricultural worker on the lines indicated in the preceding paragraph would go a long way towards solving the problem of maintaining a rural population, provided that a definite policy is pursued of selecting suitable men for the holdings, and that the holdings themselves are placed on suitable land and in favourable situations. V. Agricultural Education.—Agriculturists have reasons to be gratified with the additional provision that has recently been made in connection with Agricultural Education and Research. So strongly convinced, however, are we that a high standard of Education and technical knowledge is to be more than ever the need of the agricultural community of the future, that we can regard the provision now made as adequate only for the time being. Although the position of Agricultural Education and Research is more satisfactory than it has ever been, we feel that much remains to be done in connection with general education in the rural districts of the country. In our opinion, the ordinary curriculum of the rural Elementary Schools should be adapted to the needs of the district, and in all such schools Elementary Science with a rural bias should be taught. We also consider that in any Continuation Schools that may be established in rural districts in the future the curriculum should be so framed as to arouse the pupils’ interest in rural life. Amongst other things, we think it is eminently desirable, on educational and other grounds, that the attention of the pupils should be drawn to the principles of Economics and such subjects as Farm Accounts. Something in this direction might be done with advantage even in the Elementary Schools. VI. Road Transport.—We strongly urge the necessity for improving aud widening existing district roads and for the construction of new roads to provide routes for road motors to convey traffic between country districts and railway centres. VII. Credit.—We consider that a Credit Scheme on the lines of the scheme in operation during the War should be established and so developed as to enable farmers and smallholders to obtain temporary assistance for the purpose of carrying on their business. VIII. Land Drainage.—For the country as a whole there is hardly any improvement that is more needed than land drainage, and we are greatly concerned that operations under the Drainage Act of 1918 have had to be suspended. We strongly recommend that the provisions of the Act should be put fully into operation as soon as possible, as we are convinced that large : 812 Tue Duck as an Eiac-Propucer. | Dsc., tracts of land in Wales that are now useless for agricultural purposes, would, if properly drained, become highly productive. IX. Local Taxation.—We are of opinion that it is necessary to readjust the burden of local taxation so far as it affects agricultural land, inasmuch as under the present system the farming industry is over-rated. The farmer’s business involves the occupation of a disproportionate amount of rateable property, as regards its income earning capacity, as compared with other industries, and certain of the services in respect of which rates are levied are of less benefit to the farmer than to the other classes of the community. We would call attention to the view expressed in the Majority Report of the Royal Commission on Local Taxation, 1896, to the effect that, in view of the character of agricultural property and the amount of the profits derivable therefrom, and the relative extent to which benefits accrued to the property and to its occupier by reason of the expenditure incurred by local authorities‘ it would be inequitable were rates to be paid on the basis of its full annual value. This was recognised in the Agricultural Rates Act of 1896, which made provision for the assessment of agricultural land at one-half of its rateable value, a fixed contribution equivalent to one-half of the rates paid on agricultural land in 1895 being made from the exchequer. While, however, the rates have increased enormously since that year, the relief afforded under the Act of 1896 has remained the same. It is readily admitted that the incidence of local taxation at the present time is unjust, and that the whole system of assessment to local rates requires reconsideration, Pending opportunity for such revision, we consider that the differential rating in favour of agricultural land should be extended, and that for rating purposes the occupier of agricultural land should be called upon to pay rates on one- fourth instead of one-half of its rateable value, the deficiency being made good by means of an Exchequer grant to the Rating Authorities. * * * * * * THE-DUCK AS AN, EGG-PRODUCER: A. T. JOHNSON. Durine the last two or three years the extraordinary prolifi- cacy of the laying breeds of ducks has been brought prominently to public notice by the wonderful! results attained at laying tests. These events, however, while undoubtedly proving the great superiority of certain strains of ducks over pullets of the highest fecundity, in so far as number and weight of eggs are concerned; do not indieate what is to the farming community no less impor- tant, viz., the peculiar position of the laying duck as an asset in the economics of agriculture. To know what a flock of Runner or Khaki Campbell ducks is capable of producing under certain conditions is of undeniable value; but the farmer must also know what such a flock is likely to do under free range manage- ment where there are considerations to be met which do not occur within the enclosures of the laying test. 1922. | Tue Duck as an Hoc-PRopvucer. 813 It may therefore serve a useful purpose to discuss briefly the merits of the laying duck in its relation to the ordinary practices of farming. It may be said, in passing, that, pheno- menal as the fecundity of the ducks competing in the tests has been, it is the opinion of practical duck-keeping farmers, that if such results can be achieved in the conditions prevailing at these tests there is reason to believe that they can be equalled on the farm. That, indeed, has been my own experience in free-range duck farming for eggs. Of not less significance than heavy laying is the question of upkeep. Here the farmer is at a distinct advantage, and it is this matter of upkeep, or cost of production, together with its bearing not only upon direct profits but upon the economics of farm practice which must be emphasised here. The laying duck is essentially a forager, and that charac- teristic 1s so strongly marked that the Indian Runner is to the old farm waddler what a light and active, laying-type Leghorn is to some lethargic Asiatic table bird. Given a wide range on almost any kind of land and the Runner will very nearly feed itself from spring to autumn, though many duck-keepers con- sider that it generally pays to give a good feed at night. During that period, for example, I have maintained flocks of these ducks on a single light feed of oats, or dredge corn, daily, and they ave laid abundantly. Not infrequently, indeed, as during warm, rainy weather when the forage was good, or when the birds were on stubble, hand feeding has been entirely sus- pended without the ege yield being impaired in the slightest degree. Significant as these things are in considering the financial aspect of the matter, the farmer will not lose sight of the fact that in maintaining itself and providing eggs the laying duck is doing great service by destroying insect pests. The income derived from its eggs may be the only direct and tangible return upon which to estimate the bird’s actual value to the balance sheet, but few of us who have kept such fiocks in field colonies but will do the duck due justice by crediting it with taking the part of pest destroyer in the general scheme of farm work, and this is not to be considered lightly. Omnivorous as the duck is, it is animal food which she seeks with the greatest keenness, and the more she lays the acuter becomes her appetite for such a diet. Those who have kept laying ducks in confined areas know full well how necessary meat in some form is to good laying, how much more necessary it is 814 Tue Duck as an Eac-Propvucer. [ Dec., than for laying hens. It is the natural craving for proteids in the shape of insect life which makes the Runner duck such an untiring forager. Farm land varies considerably in the quantity of insect life and grubs which it carries, but few farms, grass or arable, are so fortunate as not to be sufficiently stocked with pests of this Kind to keep busily employed flocks of ducks disposed at the rate of 6 to 10 to the acre. I have, on suitable land, kept fully twice as many birds the seasons through for several successive years, but the best of feeding ground becomes exhausted, so that periodical changes are desirable. The fact that flocks of these ducks will considerably reduce the stock of insect life on a given area supports the contention made by some people that such birds are natural destroyers of many noxious insects. Perhaps one of the most noteworthy examples of what such ducks are capable of performing on behalf of agriculture is that afforded by the fact that to my knowledge they are devourers of the fresh water snail which is directly responsible for liver- fluke in sheep. At certain periods of the vear I have known Runner ducks to devour enormous numbers of erane flies (the parents of the leather-jacket grub) as these emerged from their pupa cases, and as the ‘‘ rise ’’ from the pasture of this destructive insect often takes place during the dusk of late evening, ducks, which are often most active at such an hour, have an opportunity if not shut up teo early of securing this prey which other poultry cannot enjoy. Slugs and snails are eaten with creat avidity by ducks, and there are instances on record which tell us how a flock of these birds has completely eradicated the httle white slug which is often so injurious to clover and other pasturage. The click- beetle (parent of the wire-worm) is also sought for and devoured, as examinations of crop contents have plainly shown, and another pest which, like the crane-fly, is often to be secured at dusk, is the eockchafer. These fat and luscious morsels, both the young adults as they emerge from the ground and the egeg- depositing females, are greedily swallowed by foraging ducks. Though it is doubtful whether ducks are able to have much effect in destroying noxious larve in grass the same end is even- tually achieved by the eradication of the parent insects. On arable land, however, especially when ploughing or other work is in progress, the quantity of wire-worm, leather-jackets, chafer srubs and other larvee eaten by ducks is enormous. Their appe- 1922. | THe Duck as aN EGc-PRoDUCER. 815 tites never flag when such fare is being turned up, and so long as the ploughman is at work so long will they follow at his heels, and examine every particle of the soil much more thoroughly and exhaustively than will the attendant gulls and rooks. One need not dwel! further upon the stimulating effect which this insect fare has upon the prolificacy of laying ducks, nor is it necessary to point out the convincing lesson in agricultural economics which is conveyed by the above statements. Prac- tical, wide-awake farmers can draw their own conclusions. There are one or two other matters, however, which may be mentioned, and one of these is the question of injury to growing crops which may be done by flocks of ducks. In regard to this one can confidently say that no class of poultry is more easily kept within bounds than ducks, and it is the common experience of all who have kept them that they prefer pasture or waste land to arable. Since they do not scratch, ducks can range fields of young roots, potatoes and other crops without doing other than good, and the flocks can be run on seed grass and clover without any fear of the young plants being injured as may sometimes happen with other poultry. They will, lowever, eat and damage any young plants of the cabbage tribe, and will burrow for newly-sown corn, and may consequently be poisoned by copper sulphate used as a seed dressing. Finally, the Indian Runner, and indeed most of the laying breeds, keep perfectly healthy and produce fertile eggs without swimming water. All they need is water to drink, morning and evening, and the realisation of this characteristic should remove what has for generations bred an antipathy towards ducks on the farm, viz., the complaint that they foul the drinking water of other live-stock. 816 Dry-Mraut Hopprrs For Pics. [ Dsc., —: “DRY+MEAds HOPPERS’ FOR Pres: Caprain Canucorr Remy, M.B.E., B.Sc. Wuar may be termed the self-feeding of dry meal to pigs is a question that is receiving considerable attention at present, and hence certain results obtained, and reasons for adopting this method on a commercial scale, may be of some interest. This articie has reference to a commercial herd of some sixty sows, all the progeny of which are kept on the farm, and fattened for a co-operative bacon factory. The herd was started in 1920 by 2 Danish bailiff, to be run on Danish lines. Good farrowing and fattening sties were built, but the pigs did not do as well as might have been expected. The experiment was tried of running pigs in the store stage out in orchards, which was an improvement. ‘Then the sows with their litters were run in orchards, which was another improve- ment-—scour in the piglings, which had been a source of trouble, becoming very much less prevalent. The pigs in the fattening sties, although well fed three times a day and kept scrupulously clean, did not thrive as they might have done, and the net result was that the pigs, weighing about 16 stone alive, averaged nearly 9 months old when ready for the factory. Experiment with Store Pigs.—It was while seeking for improvements that papers by Professor Evvard, of Iowa, U.S.A., were obtained. at the end of 1921, describing the remarkable results achieved by self-feeding pigs, and allowing them their choice of carbohydrates and albuminoids. It was therefore decided to try the method on a bunch of young stores running out. A self-feeder was improvised out of an old sheep hay rack, by fixing flat galvanised iron sheets inside the V rods, and cutting holes at the bottom for the meal to run through into the trough. The hopper thus contrived was divided transversely into half a dozen different compartments, and a different feed placed in each, in order to see which the pigs preferred. The results were as follows : — 31 store pigs. weighing from 6 to 8 stone each, live weight, ate in 7 days :— Mixed meal (maize, wheat, and barley, ground together in equal proportions) ... Sei 49 stone. Rice meal ves as =. zi Js eee Fish meal sue an ay ee ao, Sn as Palm kernel cake soe “iy re Pe Dien ose Whole peas (soaked) ... md ae rea 1; Whole maize __,, ; sth Ae aye. Average, 6 lb. per pig per day. Nutritive ratio, albuminoids to carbohydrates, 4°7. ’ = SASRANA SA ANSSS ! F1q@. 1.—Cross Section of Feeder in Sty. _ Fire@. 2.—Cross Section of Feeder shown A.—lIron railing dividing the sties. in Fig, 3. B.—Galvanised iron sheeting. C.—Tongued and grooved board ends, Fic, 3.—Dry Meal Self-Feeders in use. 1922. | Dry-Meau Hopprrs ror Pics. S17 It will be noticed that the pigs rationed themselves very well, but that they were not keen on palrn kernel cake. The hoppers were always kept full, except those containing whole soaked peas and maize, as the pigs ate these as quickly as they were put in. They were therefore discontinued after two days. _ The pigs obviously ate too much at first, but as they got used to seli-feeding the consumption dropped, and after a short time they were only averaging 43 |b. per pig per day. On various occasions the amount of meal consumed by bunches of pigs has been weighed before being put into the hoppers, with the following results :— No. of stores. Average live Meal per pig Period of weight per day. weighing meal. stones. lb. 39 9 4°7 3 weeks. 20 9 4°8 1 20 9 4°75 Aig os 15 8 4°8 i! 17 6 4-1 Ze Te 18 6 4-2 3 Before dry feeding was adopted. the pigs were allowed a ration of 41 lb. per day, and as much green stuff and roots as they would eat. The all-round improvement in their condition after being dry fed for some weeks was very marked, particularly among the smaller pigs, which now got all the meal they wanted, and were not thrust aside by the larger ones. Fattening Experiment.— An experiment was then carried out in the fattening pens, where there were facilities for weighing the pigs. A bunch of 12 stores was divided as nearly as possible into two equal lots; one lot was dry fed, and the other lot slop fed three times a day, with as much food as they would clear up. The period of the experiment was six weeks and the following were the resu!ts :— 6 pigs on wet food. 6 pigs on dry food. Original weight mt 51 stone 4 Ib. 4 51 stone 1 Ib. Final weight ... ae 1 7 ey A = Gane ULE Meal consumed Sree TLS x) MBL 5 Meal consumed per lb. live weight gained... ry | ae 4-1 Ib. Average daily gain per Wiest 2 a 14 lb. ade sc 2 Ib. The stores had been used to slop feed when the test began. This test was enough to show that, taking into consideration the great saving in labour, dry feeding was likely to be a paying proposition. and double dry feeders were installed in every other D 818 Dry-Mrat Hoppers ror Pics. [ Duc... partition between the sties. ‘These were roughly constructed as shown in the cross section, the sides of the hopper being made of flat galvanized iron. The length is 8 ft., which is found to be ample for two pigs to feed simultaneously on either side. Sows and Litters.—Dry feeders were now tried with great success for the sows and litters, and the result has been that the sows milk better, the little pigs never suffer from scour, and there are no difficulties at weaning time, as they start eating the ary meal, which is always sweet, and carry straight on with it after weaning without the usual set-back. Stores.—For a month after weaning the stores are dry fed in orchards, and several advantages are noticeable, the most impor- tant of which is that no matter how many are run together, they all get an equal chance. After this stage they are usually folded on vetches, kale or roots, and are not dry fed, but have soaked whole maize and beans thrown to them, in order to make them live chiefly on the green food. At about 9 stone live weight they go to the fattening sties, where they are again put on dry food, and a constant supply of green stuff or roots, which is most important. Of course the pigs must always have water, and a very interesting point is that the amount of water consumed in the fattening pens is now only half of what it was under the slop system of feeding. In-Pig Sows.—An experiment has been made with success in dry feeding the in-pig sows. It was found that by feeding only palm kernel cake and fish meal, neither of which is very palatable, with green stuff, the sows did not get too fat, but kept in nice breeding condition, only consuming ‘about 5 lb. of meal per head per day. As this is purely a commercial farm, there has not been time or opportunity for a number of interesting experiments which might have been carried out, but the main result of dry feeding has been that the average age of the bacon pig has been reduced from 9 months to 7 months and a substantial saving in meal and a great saving in labour have been effected. For outside use it was found that a door over the food troughs was necessary. in order to prevent the meal from being blown away, and to keep out birds and vermin. At first a vertical swing door that pushed inwards was adopted, but it was found that the pig usually took a mouthful of meal, withdrew its head to chew it, and dropped a certain amount on the ground. Laft-up flap doors were then adopted with great success. The pig has 1922. | Crate-Rop anp Barreu-Hoor TRADES. 819 to nose up the door, which rests on its head, and does not with- draw until it has finished feeding, thus entirely eliminating waste, One difficulty with self-feeding is the cost of the feeders, most of those on the market costing over £10 apiece. The one shown in the photograph was home made, but farmers who have no facilities for making them may purchase well-made feeders to ‘take four pigs at a time for the very reasonable sum of £2 19s. 6d. each. : There is little doubt that self-feeding pigs has come to stay, as by this method the pig is correctly fed, little and often, all pigs get the same opportunity, and there is a large saving in ‘the labour bill; also the difficulty of correctly rationing the pigs is eliminated with the self-choice system, as the pigs ration themselves. * * * * * * THE CRATE-ROD AND BARREL-HOOP TRADES. KATHARINE S$. Woops, Agricultural Economics Institute, Oxford. Lack of Intercourse between Producer and Consumer.— Crates and barrels are in constant use for packing pottery, jam, fish, bottles and many kinds of ‘‘ dry goods,’’ and in the south of Hngland are many acres of hazel whence rods and hoops can be obtained. The Potteries of Staffordshire form one of the important markets for crate-wood and barrel-hoops. The trade probably survives spasmodically in most of the districts where plenty of hazel can be found. But one suspects that many oppor- tunities are wasted through lack of knowledge concerning mutual requirements, and that with a better understanding at either end the trade might be stabilised and greatly improved. Wood- craftsmen and estate agents know little of the exact require- ments of the trade or the pressure of foreign competition and the reasons for it; the coopers and crate-makers and potters of Staffordshire know little of the woodland districts and the conditions under which the wood is grown and worked. For example, the owner of certain osier-beds which had not been cut for four years wanted to sell the rods to a crate-maker. Unfor- tunately he cut them too late in the season; willow crate rods are used while green, but are not worth stacking for later use. D 2 820 CratE-Rop anp Barret-Hoop Traps. [ Dzc., Therefore the rods remained unsold. Another example is seen in the statement made in Cornwall that French hazel hoops are better than English, being more ‘‘ suent.’’ On inquiry in the Pottery towns it was learnt that French hoops are cut at shorter intervals, and are therefore more suitable than English ones for small fish-barrels, but no use at all for the big pottery ‘‘ tubs ”’ used in Staffordshire. Closer contact with the market would enable estate agents or the estate woodmen to cut at the right pericds for the most convenient market, and would induce them to devote more care to those wouds that are favoured by soil, aspect and situation for producing wkat is required. If a manu- facturer can save his labour ecsts by getting better material, it is worth his while to give a better price. Casual Growth of Trade Connections.—The following story will illustrate the casual way in which trade connections grow up, and explains the tenacity with which they are kept up once they are made, and the sudden collapse that may occur in a small industry if a trade connection is broken through death or from some other cause. A crate-maker in the Potteries who was setting up in business applied tc the local goods station for a list of firms from whom crate-rods and barrel-hoops had been received. He wrote to the men whose name happened to come at the head of the list, and has dealt with him ever since. On getting an inquiry for crate- rods, this man, who lived near Basingstoke, replied that he was willing to send them but wanted to know how he would get the money. Whereat the crate-maker promptly sent him a cheque for £50, and told him it would be “‘ quite all right; you have only to take it to one of the local tradesmen and ask him to cash it for you, and send along the stuff as soon as it is ready.’’ This confidence was not abused, the consignment of wood arrived in due course and cheques and crate-rods continued to be exchanged periodically. Curiosity at length caused the dealer to visit the unknown but open-handed crate-maker who was making his for- tune. He returned with much information concerning the trade and general conditions in the Pottery Towns that could not fail to be of use to him, and with the idea, quite new to the small- holders and farmers of the Hampshire woodlands, that such information could be freely passed about amongst rival crate- makers and coopers. ‘‘ In the south,’’ said the crate-maker, ‘* the less you say the more they think of you. Here we are very free.’’ 1922. | CraTE-Rop AND BarreL-Hoop TRADES. 821 Barrel-Hoop and Crate-Rod Making in Hampshire.—The woodland industries of Hampshire and Berkshire, with the local system of ownership, cultivation and dealing, have been described elsewhere.* Barrel-hoop shaving and crate-rod cutting are branches of the woodman’s art, rather than separate trades. Crate-rods are of several sizes and are sold in bundles known as ‘“seventy-fives,’’ “‘forties,’’ and ‘“‘twenties.’’+ For barrel-hoops rather stouter hazel wands are split with a blunt tool to two or three or four bands and shaved on the inner surface so that they lie flat against the barrel. The bark forms the rounded outer surface. ‘The wood is cut to tne various lengths required by means of a simple measuring apparatus, consisting of a row of stakes driven into the ground at the correct intervals. Barrel- hoops differ from 22 ft. to 15 ft. in length. The Hampshire names for the hoops are “‘ daughters,’”’ 24 ft.; “‘ short pink,’’ Oeitee a Woneepimk. 6.46.2 °ofirkin,’’ 7 ft. “~ kahken;’’’S" ff. Nine feet, ten feet, and all the intermediate half-sizes have no other name, but eleven feet is ‘* short pipe ’’ ; twelve feet “‘ long pipe’’; thirteen feet ‘* middling,’’ and fourteen feet ‘‘ swinger.’’ It is said to take about a month to learn the work so as to do it at a remunerative pace, and it would be a valuable occupation for a woodman which might keep him busy the whole winter. It is not surprising that potters and coopers prefer to trade with some known dealer rather than with the ‘‘ little farmers,’’ as they eall the rural wood dealers, who are sometimes uneducated and ~ illiterate. Talking of unreliable deliveries, a crate-maker said, ‘‘I am not particular if there’s a bundle or two short, but if it goes on every time, I get up against something.’’ The unreliability is not only on the side of the woodlanders. Fluctuations which have made the trade so risky for the woodlanders and local dealers have sometimes been due to bankruptcy or to dishonour- able practices amongst crate-makers. Consignments have been ordered in advance and when the time has come for payment, excuses have been made that the material was faulty; or the vendor has been recommended to sell his stock to some other crate-maker because the man who ordered it no longer requires it; or the purchaser, having resold the consignment at a profit, has disappeared without paying for it. Even if such cases are rare, there have been enough to shake the confidence of men far away with no knowledge of business, who could get no * The Rural Industries Round Oxford, pp. 79-102. + The prices quoted in the spring of 1921 were 2s., 1s. 9d. and 1s. 6d. respectively. 822 CratE-Rop anp Barre-Floop TRADES. [ Dzc.; guarantee of good faith, and they are not soon forgotten. For- tunately, organisation is extending to the Staffordshire crate- makers and coopers, and in their own interests they are anxious: to put an end to such practices. A wood dealer if onlv he knew it, can now refer to the Secretary of the Crate-Makers’ and Coopers’ Association, 88, Albion Street, Hanley, Stafts., with inquiries as to the reputation of any cooper or crate-maker who wishes to buy from him. Coiling of Barrel-Hoops.—Barrel-hoops are tied into straight bundles of fifty, sorted according to size, and are usually despatched thus from the Basingstoke district. Nevertheless, coopers and potters prefer to get them ready coiled, even though freights are a little higher owing to the greater space required for coiled hoops in transit Coiling used to be done at Alder- maston but it died out before the War and has only recently been resumed. Meanwhile the rods were sent to London to be coiled by London coopers, who apparently had big coiling plants. Basingstoke barrel-hoops and crate-rods are known in Stafford- shire and elsewhere as ‘‘ London ’’ rods or hoops, no doubt owing to the enterprise of some London cooper who bought them from the country and distributed them. It seems wasteful for such cheap goods as barrel-hcops to bear the double transport expenses incurred in sending them to London to be coiled and hen to the Potteries or to some other market, and except for the London market it would appear to be more economical to coil them at the source. A big Staffordshire firm of coopers set up a coiling plant during the War because it was unable to pro- cure coiled hoops, and had big packing contracts. After the War the plant was sold, since even in this big cooperage there was not enough work to keep the plant busy for more than about one day in the week, so the capital was lying idle. Coiling can easilv be done by a very simple apparatus while the wood is oreen, and when dry the wood can be soaked and coiled inside a cvlinder to dry, so that it keeps its shane after removal and can easily be held in position while the cooper fastens it to the barrel. If a large trade were to be organised from one of the railway stations such as Aldermaston or Alton whence wood is despatched, coiling machinery might pay, and it is quite pos- sible that the difficultv is merely that cf collecting svfficient capital to buy up local barrel-hoops in large quantities. Many difficulties might be solved by passing all the local crate and barrel-hoop wood through the hands of a local coiling, packing 1922. | CraTe-Rop and BarreL-Hoop TRapss. 823 and distributing firm, and the increasing organisation at the market end of the trade should tend to make such a venture safer than it could otherwise be. Stacking Barrel-Hoops and Crate-Rods.—Small consign- ments of hazel barrel-hoops and crate-rods are wanted during the winter months for current use while green. Workmen prefer to use them green while they are easy to bend and twist. The bulk of the wood, however, is sent off in the spring for stacking. If properly stacked it is said to keep in good condition for two years. The stacking is important, for if there should be a slump in the pottery trade and consequently in crate-rods, a wood dealer may incur very heavy losses through deterioration by keeping his stock a whole year. A piece of bark is stripped off the whole length of the wood for barrel-hoops to prevent rotting. Crate- rods, which are finer, are merely stacked when dry, the butt ends outwards, and protected from the wet with a thatch of twigs. The larger wood for “‘ crate heads.’’ is ‘‘ scotched,’’ i.e., a patch of bark removed. By April or May the wood has become dryer and lighter, and consequently freights are lower. In January, 1921, when the wood was wet and heavy, a load of crate-wood from Alton, Hampshire, weighing 8 tons 18 ewt., cost as much as £7 4s. 10d. in carriage. whereas in May two loads from Aldermaston in Berkshire travelled for £5 18s. 8d. and £2 2s. 5d. respectively. From Market Drayton in Staffordshire a load costing £5 was procured at a cost of only 10s. in carriage. Crate-Making, Importance of Good Material.—Crate-making has not even yet entirely died out as a rural industry in Stafford- shire, though the bulk of the industry has come to the towns, not only because made-up crates are bulky and inconvenient to take in from the country, but for other reasons. A master explained :—‘‘ It is education; the men found that they could come into the towns and get the best material to work on, and earn more money. They won’t moi! themselves over work when they see others getting more pay for less work! ’’ Crate-making shares with other trades the reputation amongst its workers of being the ‘‘ most down-trodden trade in existence.’’ In the country in Staffordshire the earnings were only about fifteen shillings a week, and probably more precarious than the agri- cultural wages. A master crate-maker who had himself been a workman laid great stress on the importance of getting the exact sizes, shapes, 824 CraTE-Rop anp Barreu-Hoop Trapzs. [ Duc.,; and kinds of material. The poles for crate-heads, which are the stout pieces forming the corner uprights of the crate, should either be only thick enough for one, or just thick enough for two, crate-heads. If thicker, too much labour is involved in splitting them up. They should be straight enough for straight lengths of three or four feet to be cut from them, but need not be so straight as for turnery, since these would probably be dearer. As to the kind of wood for the crate-heads the crate- maker was indifferent, though he did not much care for fir on account of its knots. Dutch Competition in the Barrel-Hoop Trade.—Bad trade in the woodland districts is laid at the door of foreign competition. It is true that Dutch willow hoops have been coming to the potteries at about a quarter of the price of the English hazel hoops. One firm of coopers estimated that only 30 per cent. of its barrels could have English hoops at the current prices (August, 1921). These would be put on the best and biggest barrels, on which the extra price could be charged. Competition from Holland is due to the fact that the dykes are planted with willows which help to hold them up: the sale of the rods is of secondary importance to the safety from floods. ‘‘ The Dutch hoops are cheaper because they can’t help growing them,”’ said one of the coopers. The greater increase of overland freights in England as compared with water transport has made Dutch competition especially severe since the War. For example, in the spring of 1921 a bundle of English 6-ft. barrel- hoops from Sussex cost 4s. 8d., including 1s. for carriage, and a bundle of Dutch hoops cost only 1s O3d. including 7d. carriage. In consequence, although the English hazel hoops are far superior to the Dutch willow hoops, coopers can only use them on the best and most expensive barrels. Sometimes a barrel has a couple of English hoops as well as the Dutch ones, to give extra strength. Hazel hoops are stronger and more durable than willow, and will stand storing when dry. Willow is only suitable for use while green. Thus it is seen that foreion competition, severely as it hits the English hazel barrel-hoop trade, yet leaves room for a certain proportion of English goods owing to their superior quality. The proportion will vary according to the condition of trade in the pottery and other dry-goods trades using barrels for packing. Relative Demand for Barrel-Hoops and Crate-Rods.—The market for English barrel-hoops and crate-rods might be im- 1922. | CraTE-Rop AND BarreL:Hoop TRADES. 825 proved if freights could be reduced. Pottery for export is packed in “‘ tubs ’’ or barrels, except for big ware which is packed in erates. For the home trade only about one-fifth to one-sixth of the ware is packed in barrels, and the rest in crates. There has been much pilfering from crates at the ports and therefore com- panies have refused to insure small pottery unless it is packed for export in enclosed packages. The two crafts of crate-rod cutting and barrel-hoop shaving are branches of the woodman’s art rather than separate industries, since the material for either can be found in the same woods, the same woodman can prepare both with a little experience, and the destination is the same for both. There is no direct foreign competition in the crate- wood trade, therefore it would be well, at times when foreign competition hits the barrel-hoop trade, to be able to turn to the other trade. The crate-makers affirm that pottery manufacturers will only make their own crates if they can get plenty of cheap material and do it at a low cost. To protect their trade, the crate-makers must be sure of getting the material, and an interesting sug- gestion was made, emanating, it must be admitted, from a firm of coopers, not crate-makers. This was to keep up the price of erate-wood. which is the staple trade and does not suffer from foreign competition, and to lower the price of barrel-hoops so that there should be less disparity between the English and Dutch prices. The suggestion is quite in accordance with rural practice in regard to various wood products, especially where ‘there are mixed woods. For example :—‘‘ We can’t make a profit on firewood alone, it doesn’t pay for the cutting; so we make up on turnery poles which fetch a good price if grown straight.’’ ‘‘ When we did a big trade in hop-poles, there was a lot of work in the woods, and it paid men to make barrel-hoops and crate-rods and hurdles.’’ It may be, therefore, that ‘organisation for protective purposes among the Master Crate- Makers and Coopers, may have a good influence on the conditions among the woodlanders. If there were some corresponding local organisation through which the interests of the landowners, woodland craftsmen, and local dealers could be expressed, much might be done to stabilise the uncertain and spasmodic woodland industries. Conclusion.—It is useless to expect any appreciable improve- ‘ment in the position of the English woodlanders unless market conditions are watched, not only by the dealers who buy up coppice- ‘wood, but by the estate agents or landowners who are responsible 826 SEEDS AND (oop Crops. [ Dsc., for looking after the woods, can choose which coppices are worth regular attention in the matter of draining, clearing and replac- ing dead stocks, and decide at what interval each coppice should be cut. The crate-rod and barrel-hoop trade shows need of atten- tion to the supplies of wood, and it gives one illustration among many, of the need for an Intelligence Bureau to which all who are interested in woodland industries can contribute, and apply for information. Such information cannot be made available to the local people most concerned unless there is a_ local organisation to correspond. * * * * * * SEEDS AND,»GOOD CROPS. Lesurz E. Coox, N.D.A., Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Tue first essential towards the production of a first-class crop. is to use only first-class seed. Such a description involves :— (a) Variety best suited to the land. (b) Good strain. (c) High purity. (d) Good germination. (e) Suitable country of origin. Variety.—Experience will be the most useful guide as. regards variety, and here the seedsman may be able to help, for he has opportunities of observing the different classes of seed growing on various soils and of comparing the resulting crops and yields. ‘The County Agricultural Organiser should be able to give some information on variety trials in the county. Experi- ments can also be tried by growing two or three varieties in the same field and carefully watching the results. Good strain is of great importance in cereals and roots, as these crops are liable to get very impure and poor after a few years. Great trouble is taken by the big seed growers to keep: pure strong stocks of their seeds; inspection and rogueing of erowlng crops is rigorously carried out;-and the resulting seed is cleaned very carefully—all small and immature seed being eliminated. This labour adds considerably to the cost of the: seed, but it will add much more to the resulting yield, and in the case of cereals to the value of the grain when marketed. . The cost of the seed is not a big item in the cost of raising a crop, and a few shillings more per acre wili usually be well repaid by an increased crop. This has been demonstrated repeatedly by 1922. | SEEDS AND Goop Crops. 827 experiments. The purchase of seed from reliable merchants is the safesé plan. Purity means freedom from other crop seeds, weed seeds, broken seeds, dirt, etc. This is of great importance, and only seed of the very highest purity should be used. The Seeds Act, 1920, provides that sellers of the most important agricultural seeds shall always declare the purity of these seeds: in the case of vegetable and root seed a standard of purity has been fixed (97 per cent.), but in the case of grasses and clovers the actual figure must be stated. When purchasing seed farmers should demand to know the purity. Two other points are provided for by the Seeds Act:—(1) the presence of certain weed seeds, described as injurious weed seeds, if in excess of 1 per cent. in clovers or 2 per cent. in grasses, must always be declared. The scheduled injurious weeds are docks, sorrel, soft cranesbill, cut-leaved cranesbill,- soft brome grass, Yorkshire fog, and wild carrot. (2) The presence of dodder, which must be declared if in excess of one seed in a 4-oz. sample. Dodder is a parasitic plant which lives on clover and very speedily destroys any clover plant that it attacks. Good Germination.—A high percentage of germination 1s very desirable. It is unreasonable to suggest that if the per- centage of germination is only 50 per cent. twice as much seed may be sown. This plan is very costly, while a low germination frequently indicates poor vitality, which will enable weeds to establish themselves before the crop. This will very much weaken, if not entirely destroy it. By the Seeds Act the seller is required to state the actual percentage of germination, or where a standard is fixed, a state- ment that the seed is above the authorised minimum percentage is sufficient, provided that the authorised minimum figure be stated. Country of Origin.—This is especially of importance in the case of clover seed, which is imported into this country from numerous places—France, America, Canada, Chili, Silesia, New Zealand. Good English seed is usually insufficient to meet actual require- ments and is dearer than other seed. It is the most suitable to use in almost all parts of England. Foreign seed often looks a better sample than English, and may have a somewhat higher percentage of germination, and the price being lower it seems an attractive purchase, but in the Enelish climate a better plant will 828 SPRING-Tams Arrackinc MANGOLDS. [ Dzc., usually be obtained from English seed. Care should be taken to cbserve that the country of origin is stated when buying clovers and grasses, as is required by the Seeds Act. In short, to obtain the best chance of a good crop, three factors bearing on the seed used must be borne in mind :— (1) Experiments made by the farmer himself, or by others, must be studied to determine the most suitable variety. (2) Only seedsmen on whom one can rely should be dealt with. (3) The analysis required by the Seeds Act should be read and the information it gives should be used. Farmers might usefully have seeds tested at the Official Seed Testing Station, before sowing. Particulars as to size of sample, where to send it and fees for testing, may be obtained from the Chief Officer, Official Seed Testing Station, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge. Full details of the Seeds Act may be obtained by purchasing the Seeds Act, 1920, and the Seeds Regulations, 1922, price 8d. each, from any newsagent. Special facilities are provided for the testing of seeds for farmers when the analysis is required solely for the farmers’ own information, and not in connection with a sale of seeds. The fee charged in this case is the nominal one of 6d. per sample. * * * * * * SPRING-TAILS ATTACKING MANGOLDS. From the Ministry’s Pathological Laboratory, Harpenden, Herts. Amonest the various types of diseased and damaged mangolds submitted during the current season to the Ministry’s Patho- logical Laboratory for diagnosis, there was one affecting seedling plants that calls for special mention, as, though not uncommon in previous years, it has not been certainly attributed to any definite cause. The injury to the young plant would give the impression that the root had been constricted at the soil level, just below the crown, the crown itself and the remaining root below ground being of more or less normal development. This apparent con- striction frequently increases in intensity until the affected portion becomes threadlike, and in the process of singling or 1922) | SprRinG-Taits ATTACKING MANGOLDS. 829 during a high wind the top portion of the plant becomes sepa- rated from the lower. To avoid confusion it is also necessary to mention a not dissimilar type of damage where the root below ground becomes threadlike, the portion above remaining intact. The cause of this damage is well known, however, being due to the attack of a minute beetle, Atomaria linearis. As a result of an investigation in a field of attacked plants _ exhibiting the type of damage first mentioned—a _ threadlike condition of the root above ground—very large numbers of a minute Spring-tail (Collembola) were found to be present upon the plants and surrounding soil, while many of the insects were seen to be feeding upon the mangolds at the affected parts and causing quite a conspicuous bleeding. Collembola are primitive insects without wings, and the par- ticular members of the Order (Bourletiella hortensis, Fitch = pruinosus, Tulb.) in question are very small slate-coloured globular creatures capable of leaping considerable distances. They immediately scatter when the plants are approached. This, in conjunction with their sma!l size, probably accounts for their not having been hitherto associated (according to the literature so far consulted) with the particular form of damage done, as no plant on being handled for examination would reveal a specimen. It should be added that, although it is extremely probable that these insects are the first and only cause of the threadlike con- dition of young mangold plants above ground, this has not been definitely preved. These observations are made rather as giving a possible clue and to promote further investigation by those interested, than to suggest that a final settlement of the problem has been arrived at. Bourletiella (Smynthurus) hortensis has previously been reported as injuring various crops, including mangolds, in this country and abroad, but does not appear to have been associated: with the particular form of damage under consideration. As the insects never feed on a root below ground level, it is probable that, when feasible, earthing up the seedling plants so that no roots are exposed would tend to ward off an attack. It is noteworthy that varieties of mangolds are susceptible according to the amount of exposed root exhibited above ground in the early stages of growth, which appeared on the fields examined to be a characteristic of yellow rather than red mangolds. * * * * * * 830 LiquorIcE GROWING. [ Dec., LIQUORICE GROWING. Davin G. McIver, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. THe Liquorice plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra, is a native of North Africa, Southern Europe, and Asia Minor, and is cultivated in France, Italy, Spain, Southern Russia and the United States, and to a slight extent in England. The plant is grown for its root, from which is obtained the liquorice of commerce, chiefly used in medicinal preparations, and also in brewing and flavour- ing tobacco. In England the home-grown root is almost entirely used for chewing purposes. The cultivation of liquorice in this country is now confined to the district between Pontefract and Knottingley in Yorkshire. although a few years back there were two or three centres near London where it was grown. The liquorice has been grown in the Pontefract district tor several generations, and there is no doubt that the Pomfret Cakes which are made in the district, and which are a liquorice pre- paration, were originally made from the home-grown root. The Pomiret Cakes of to-day are probably made from the imported article. The Yorkshire-grown liquerice, as already stated, is practically all sold for chewing purposes and is chiefly consumed in the Northern towns, such as Neweastle, Hull, Leeds and Man- chester. It has a very definite selling season—the months of October and November—and any roéts not sold by the beginning of December are stored in sand until the following season. The acreage under the crop is gradually diminishing and whereas a few years back there was an acreage of about 200, only a quarter of that area is cultivated now. A deep medium soil, such as is found between Pontefract and Knottingley, is essential for its cultivation as it is impossible to get roots up to 4 ft. in length, and more sometimes, unless the soil has a good depth. The plants remain in the beds as a rule for four years, although occasionally they are lifted in the third, and sometimes. when they have done badly or the market is flat they may be left for five years. The system of cultivation practised in the Yorkshire district is as follows :— Little preparation of the ground is necessary because it is usual for one liquorice crop to follow another and as the process 1922. | Liquorice GROWING. 831 of lifting the roots entails the moving of the soil to a depth of three to four feet it can be readily seen that the ground will be left in a well tilled condition for the next crop. The soil before planting as a rule receives a dressing of between 30 and 40 tons of manure per acre. Planting takes place during the end of March and early April, the land having pre- viously been worked into flattened ridges about 34 ft. apart and 4 in. high. ‘Two rows of sets are planted on each ridge, the sets being placed singly 8 in. to 12 in. apart. Planting is done with a dibble. The sets consist of runners which resemble very much the underground stems of the perennial Sunflower, and the crowns of the old plants which have been taken up the previous season. ‘The runner and the crown sets are usually planted alternately, and then covered to a depth of 1 in. to 2 in. with soil. A wet time after planting usua!!y results in many of the sets rotting and failing to grow, the best results being obtained if the weather continues dry for the first 3 or 4 weeks after planting. During the season the plants require no attention except keeping free from weeds and cutting down the old stems in the autumn or winter. For the first two years the land is cropped between the ridges with early potatoes, cauliflowers, carrots and other kinds of vegetables. The fourth year the plants are usually lifted, this taking place during October and November. The labour bill in lifting is a heavy item, rarely less than £60 an acre. _ Trenches have to be dug 8 to 4 ft. deep along the sides of the rows so that the entire root may be obtained. When removed they are trimmed of the small roots and runners, the crowns removed for future planting, and the roots tied into bundles weighing 31 Ib. each. These are collected and made into bales weighing 1 ecwt., and in this condition they are sent to the different markets. The crowns are sorted over, the old or original crown that was planted being cut away, and these together with the small roots are known as offal, and are sent to manufacturing chemists and made into various liquorice prepara- tions. The young crowns together with the runners are retained for planting the next season. The price of the liquorice root varies considerably. At £5 or even £6 per ewt. it is said to yield no profit. A fair price is considered about £8, but during the War much higher prices were realised. For the offal only about 8s. a ewt. is obtained. The weight of baled root obtained per acre is about 2 tons, and of the offal only a few ewt. 832 WORKING OF THE SEEDS Act, 1920. [ Duc., | Tt may appear that at £7 to £8 per cwt. liquorice growing is a very profitable crop, but against this must be set the high cost of planting, the interval of four years before any returns are obtained, except from the intercropped vegetable crops the first two years, and the heavy expenses of lifting and trimming the roots. And another point is that there is only a limited demand and this appears to be getting less and less each year. The question of growing the liquorice root for extraction of the liquorice of commerce, of which thousands of tons ‘are annually imported, has sometimes been raised, but when it is pointed out that imported liquorice, not the root, is on offer at present at £5 a cwt., it will be seen that it is impossible for the English grower to compete since he grows at a loss when he obtains that price for the root. The difference can be better realised when it is stated that 1 cwt. of the root only yields 30 lb. of liquorice. * * * * * * THE” FIRST “YEARS @ WORKING “OF THE SEEDS ACs lo2o: We seed Potatoes.—One of the new features of the Seeds Regu- lations, 1921, was that in the case of a sale or exposure for sale of seed potatoes, a statement had to be delivered to the pur- chaser (or exhibited alongside the potatoes when exposed for sale) containing particulars as to the class, variety, size and dressing of the potatoes. As regards the statement of variety, it was laid down that this should not be taken to be incorrectly stated if it were true of 97 per cent. of the total quantity sold or exposed for sale, or, in other words, that an error of 3 per cent. would be allowed. On representations being made by the seed potato trade that it was impossible, during the first year that the Regulations were in operation, to limit the possible error to 8 per cent., the Ministry issued a General Licence authorising the standard of purity to be reduced to 95 per cent. for the 1921-22 season only. In the amended Seeds Regula- tions, 1922, the sale of a quantity of seed potatoes of less than 97 per cent. purity is authorised provided they are declared to be of ‘‘ mixed varieties.’’ The sale of seed potatoes is similar to that of packeted seed, inasmuch as it is to a large extent undertaken during a few weeks only in the year by a number of persons whose ordinary business has no connection whatever with the seed or 1922. | WORKING OF THE SEEDS AcT, 1920. 833: nursery trades. This fact makes it very difficult for the Ministry to bring to the notice of the various sellers their responsibilities under the Act, and still more difficult to detect evasions. A large number of establishments have, however, been visited, and the usual explanations and warnings given. These visits, combined with propaganda work which the Ministry is undertaking in order to make known the requirements of the Seeds Act, have already had very satisfactory results. The principal errors made by vendors of seed potatoes have been as regards the ‘‘size and dressing.’ This term is described in the Regulations as meaning “‘ the size of the mesh (exclusive of the thickness of the wire) of the riddles through and by which, respectively, the potatoes may be passed and retained.”’ The Regulations concede in the case of seed potatoes sold ‘‘ as grown ’’ that the size of the mesh of the top riddle need not be stated. There have been a large number of cases in which 2 substantia! proportion of the potatoes were much too large to pass through a mesh of the size declared. Farmer to Farmer Sales.—One of the greatest difficulties in connection with the administration of the Act is to bring home to farmers thei: responsibilities when selling seeds to other farmers. When selling seed corn or any of the scheduled kinds of seeds intended for sowing, such as red clover, tares, etc., they are in precisely the same position as the seedsman, and are bound to supply the same guarantee. Thus a farmer selling a sack of home-grown clover seed to a neighbour for sowing should, in the first place, have a sample tested at an Official Seed Testing Station. and supply the buyer with a copy of the result not later than the date on which the seed is delivered. Various methods have been adopted to bring to the notice of the farmer the benefits which he derives from the operations of the Act when he is a buyer of seeds, and the responsibilities which are his when he is a seller. With the welcome assistance of the National Farmers’ Union and other farmers’ organisa- tions, a large number of leaflets have been distributed, para- graphs have been inserted in the country newspapers from time to time, and the co-operation of the local Agricultural Education Authorities and the Agricultural Colleges has been enlisted. In referring to the number of farmers’ samples sent for testing to the Official Seed Testing Station, the Chief Officer of the Station in his report for the season 1920-21 says:—‘‘ In any county the number of farmers using the Station appears to be in direct 5 834 WoRKING OF THE SEEDS AcT, 1920. (De? proportion to the activities in this connection of the County Agri- cultural Organiser.”’ One of the most hopeful pieces of propaganda work in this connection during the past season has been the series of lectures on the Seeds Act given by the Ministry’s inspectors at meetings which it was possible to arrange, thanks to various Branches of the National Farmers’ Union, and the Local Education Authori- ties. In Wales the total number of meetings of this kind attended by the Ministry’s Seeds Inspector was 28, spread over eleven different counties. The attendance of farmers at these Welsh meetings was approximately two thousand, but as reports appeared in most of the county papers circulating amongst the farming community, the actual number of farmers reached must have been far greater. Prosecutions.—Legal proceedings for infringements of the Seeds Act have been taken in four cases during the season 1921-22. The first case was heard at Harrogate where a firm of seeds- men in the town were cnarged with making a false statement under the Act in respect of a quantity of onion seed. The germination of the seed in question was stated to be not less than the minimum percentage authorised by the Seeds Regula- tions, 1921, t.e., 60 per cent., whereas the actual germination was found on an official test to be only 5 per cent. The Bench imposed a fine of £1 1s. and £8 38s. costs. The second case was in respect of a similar charge against a seedsman at Knaresborough who exposed parsnip seed for sale with a declaration that the germination was at, or above, the authorised minimum, t.e., 45 per cent., but which was shown to be only 27 per cent. The Bench inflicted a fine of £1 and £1 Is. costs. The third case was heard at Abergavenny, and the defendant pleaded that the seed which was the subject of the prosecution was old and not mtended for sale. The Bench decided that, as there was some doubt as to the seeds being exposed for sale, the case should be dismissed. but told the defendant that in their cpinion he was to blame for having such old seed on the pre- mises. The fourth case was heard at Peterborough, the charge being failure to deliver to the purchasers, in the case of two separate sales of seed pctatoes, the necessary statement as to class, variety, size and dressing. A conviction was obtained, and a 1922. | WoRKING OF THE SEEDS Act, 1920. 835 fine of £1 and costs inflicted in both cases. The costs amounted to £10 in the one case and £5 in the other. Amendments of Seeds Regulations.—In the light of the experience gained since the Seeds Regulations, 1921, came into operation on the 1st August, 1921, a number of minor amend- ments were recently agreed to by the Ministry in consultation with representatives of the various interests concerned. These alterations have been incorporated in a new set of Regulations entitled the “‘ Seeds Regulations, 1922,’’ which came into opera- tion on the 10th August last, superseding the previous Regu- lations. Apart from amendments of a purely drafting nature, the alterations have the effect of :— (1) Specifically excluding lawn grass seeds from the requirements of the Regulations ; (2) Withdrawing the necessity for stating the percentage of pure germinating seed or “real value” in the case of grass or clover seed ; (3) Allowing alsike clover and white clover, when grown together, to be treated, for the purposes of the Regulations, as one seed, provided they are declared as having been grown together ; (4) Requiring, for the purpose of testing, the sprouted grains of cereal seeds not to be treated as an impurity, that is to say they are not to be picked out of the sample put up for the germination test ; (5) Reducing the authorised minimum percentages of germination in the case of broccoli and cauliflower from 65 to 60; and (6) Authorising the sale of seed potatoes, the variety of which is less than the standard purity of 97 per cent., provided they are specifically described as being of mixed varieties, Copies of the Seeds Act, 1920, and of the Seeds Regulations, 1922, may be obtained threugh any bookseller, or direct from H.M. Stationery Office, Imperial House, Kingsway, W.C., price 3d. each. 836 Norges oN MaAnures For DECEMBER. [ Dec., NOTES ON MANURES FOR DECEMBER. Sm JoHN Russeuu, D.Sc., F.B.S., Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Herts. Does Manuring pay? A further Example.—tIn last month’s notes the question was raised whether manuring pays, and the answer was given that it does when it is properly carried out. Assuming that a farmer can grow a crop at all at present prices he will make more out of a good crop than of a poor one. It is quite fallacious to suppose that under-production on British farms would help farmers by forcing up prices or in any other way; it would simply result in more imports. Nor is there any reason why farmers should despair and give up because of the difficult times through which they are now passing. Last month an instance was given showing that the best return to the farmer is obtained when a bold policy is adopted and the fertiliser dressing is not too stinted. This is shown by the following experiment on potatoes carried out this season at Rothamsted :— Increase due to each Yield per additional 13 cwt. acre. sulphateof ammonia. tons. fons per acre. 10 tons farmyard manure ; phosphates and v 7] potash and— No nitrogenous manure... 6°0 — 13 cwt. sulphate of ammonia 7:5 1-5 2. QO. ° o FA 5 3 94 Lea 43 7 03 .; . - As in the cases previously quoted, the double dressing of sulphate of ammonia has given more than double the return of the first; 13 ewt. sulphate of ammonia gave an additional crop of 14 tons per acre of potatoes, while 8 cwt. gave an additional 3 tons 8 ewt. per acre. Now the price of 8 tons 8 ewt. of potatoes is not yet anything like as low as that of 8 ewt. of sulphate of ammonia, even after the cost of lifting, storing, marketing, etc., is thrown into the account. The experiment illustrates the undoubted truth that, after a certain point is reached, further additions of fertiliser do not continue to increase the yield of crop at the same rate, although the inerease may still be profitable. In the present instance a further 11 ewr. sulphate of. ammonia (making 43 cwt. in all) gave a further increase of 6 cwt. of potatoes per acre over that given by 8 ewt.: this is a small but by no means negligible: 1922. | Notes oN MAnurES For DECEMBER. 837 result. Obviously, however, the main effect is produced by the 1} or 8 ewt. per acre, and further additions of manure might well prove to be unprofitable. The evidence indicates that there are two distinct sets of maximum returns for successive increments of manures :—a maximum increment of crop which is given not necessarily, and probably not usually, by the first, but by the second or some subsequent increment of manure ; and a maximum of profit which may be obtained with some particuiar increment of manure. Effect of Potassic Fertilisers on Clover.—One of the most striking results at Rothamsted this year was the effect of potassic fertilisers in increasing the yield of clover in a pure red clover ley. The plant to begin with was poor; it was kept over from the 1920 sowing and left to stand after being cut in 1921 because the young seeds of that year completely perished in the drought. It was sufficiently good to save under the circumstances, but was not very vigorous. The results of treating it with fertilisers showed that slags of various kinds gave no improvement, but potassic fertilisers improved the yield. The results were :— Clover hay : cwt. per acre. No added manure ... a sae ens 17-0 Basic slag... cme as fuss sen 17-0 Sulphate of potash... sae Sak ae 23°2 an increase of over 6 ewt. of clover hay per acre for an addition ot 1 ewt. of sulphate of potash. Apparent Failure of Basic Slag on Grass Land.—Cases have recently been reported in which farmers applied basic slag to grass land last winter, but have seen no result. The past season was not very favourable to slag, and in the Rothamsted experi- ments slag gave very little result. -The cold spring was unfavourable to growth in many districts, and it was not till the end of May that the grass began to make much growth: it then came on with a rush. In these circumstances the slag does not seem to have exerted its effect, and only one of the various samples tested in the field at Rothamsted gave any marked increase. There are, however, cases where even in good seasons slag does not act as well as it might be expected to do. Some of these were mentioned in last month’s notes: they were cases in which lime was needed before the slag could act. Another possibility is suggested by the clover experiment just mentioned: here slag by itself was without action in increasing the growth of clover, though potash was effective. It is possible, therefore, that some $38 Nores oN Manures For DECEMBER. [ Dzc., af the cases of apparent inertness of slag may be due to shortage of potash. It has long been known that this happens on light soils, though here the increased yield of hay or of grazing vegeta- tion may be too small to justify the expenditure incurred in securing it; but it has not before been suspected that a shortage of potash might occur on heavy soils, and this possibility is there- fore being tested at Rothamsted during the coming season. Does Superphosphate use up the free Lime in a Soil?—A correspondent asks the following question:—If a sample of superphosphate contains a certain amount of combined lime can it be assumed that an equal amount will be withdrawn from the reserves in the soil when the superphosphate reverts, as it is supposed to do, directly it is put on the land? The question is difficult to answer because the changes occur- ring when superphosphate is added to soil, and again when it is taken up by the plant, are very complex and cannot be set out in any simple way. Undoubtedly the superphosphate becomes in- soluble and to this extent might be expected to combine with and therefore withdraw from the soil a certain proportion of its basic material including the free lime; but the amount with- drawn js really small, even if one supposed that the whole burden falls on the lime. Only a fraction of the total lime is involved in any case; much of it is in the form of calcium sulphate which does not react with lime; the active part is the mono-calcium phosphate, and the lime with which this can react does not amount to more than 5 or 6 per cent. of the weight of the super- phosphate, according as the sample is of 26 or 380 per cent. strength ; in other words, a dressing of 23 ewt. of superphosphate would withdraw from the soil less than 15 to 20 lb. of lime per acre. It is improbable, however, that all the burden falls on the lime in the soil. Town Refuse as Manure: further Instances.*—A test of town refuse has been made this season at Rothamsted. Three plots were laid out on the mangold field: one was given London stable manure at the rate of 10 tons per acre, and the other two received town refuse sent from Hampstead by the contractors. In addition artificials were supplied at the rate of 3 ewt of super- phosphate and a mixture of muriate and sulphate of ammonia equivalent to 3 ewt. of sulphate of ammonia. No differences were observed between the three plots at any time, and in the end the yields of roots were equal within the errors of experiment, there being 22 tons per acre on the straw manured plots and 23 tons * See this Journal, November, 1922, p. 685. 1922. | Notes oN Manures FoR DECEMBER. 839 on the plots receiving town refuse. ‘The crop is not large and the season was not particularly favourable to farmyard manure. The result is nevertheless interesting. It still remains to be determined whether the effect of town refuse in the second and later seasons is equal to that of farmyard manure. Some further analyses of town refuse are as follows :— Letchworth Colwyn Bay per cent, per cent. Mineral matter rad its tee 41°34 42-4 Organic matter = 0 ae os 32°49 19-05 Moisture a bes = oe 24°14 38°56 Nitrogen m: ee Te O°33 0-78 Phosphoric acid digs iy ee oes 0°33 1-26 Equal to Tricaleiephosphate 0-72 2°75 Calcium oxide a , wie — 2°42 Calcium carbonate ... ‘ee ae 6°87 = Oxides of iron and Cahn Fy: 7:87 10°20 Prices of Artificial Manures. Unless otherwise stated, prices are for not less than 2-ton lots f.o.r. in towns named, and are net cash for prompt delivery. Price per ton e } | Cost per DasC eee on Bristol) Hull |L’pool) ndn| Unit at } | lh on oy Bo. ee ose te ose > *s/) a? “a: Nitrate of Soda (N. 153 per cent.) : | Le Ov ilseiol £8 Sulphate of Ammonia, ordinary (A. 253 per cent.) | 15.10*/15.10*|15.10*/15.10*| (N)14.11 & 3 neutral (A. 252 per cent.) | 16.13*/16 13*|16 13*|!6 13 | CN)15.8 Kainit (Pot. 123 percent.) ... See as a 2:12: {2:7 | 3.780 French Kainit (Pot 14 percent.) ... dem}, 1-10" [52,1 | 2.42 | 3, 9 Sylvinite (Pot. 29 per cent.) i ash es -er a Se ee a Potash Salts (Pot. 3) per cent.) é Bed [is tak ie) [Oe (eRe aD Muriate of Porash (Pot. 50 per cent. 7 bis ee: 410,10") S.10: | 9. & K-38 Sulphate of Potash (Pot. 48 per cent.) én Pott to eee eS eer be O Basic Slag (T.P. 30-32 per cent.) —... Rt UR ERS EAN icy Pe 2S) 2.4 8 ay. valle dnp eee oper, cent... ys». Seo eee) vont Maree ss) wp) (sks 2 -2e per cent.) .. | 2.158] 2.13§} 2.15§ 2.158) ze yt ett Pod-LS percent.) : 2a OO) FAs 27 LESh 2.135), 3....2 Slag Phosphate (T.P. 60 per cent.) ... St 6a tS Ih 6.17§| 2. .3 - - (T.P. 50 per cent.) eh Fowl 6.128] 5.17§ 2. 4 3 (T.P. 40 per cent.) ae ewe ee 4178} 2. 5 Superphosphate (S.P. 35 per cent.) #9} ... | 4158) 4.5) 2. 5 (S.P. 30 per cent.) . 3.16 | 3.10 | 4. 28) 3.15 | 2. 6 Bone Meal (T.P. 45 per cent ) 910 | 9107| 9.0) 9. 0} Steamed Bone Flour (T.P. 60 per cent.) SOT) S. 57), 6.5.) 7. 7 Fish Guano (A. 9-10, T.P. 16-20 per cent). ... | 12 15 ae 12.5 (12: 7 Abbreviations : N.= Nitrogen ; A.= Ammonia; S.P.= Soluble Phosphate ; T.P.= Total Pho-phate ; Pot.—= Potash. * Delivered in 4 ton lots at purchaser’s nearest railway station, + Delivered (within a limited area) at purchaser’s near st railway station, § Prices include cost of carriage from works to town named. Cv st to purchasers in “other districts will be greater or less according to the distance of different purchasers from the works. * * * * * * 840 Notes ON FEEDING STUFFS FOR DECEMBER. [ Dsc., NOTES ON. FPEEBDING STUDES “Oe DECEMBER. KE. T. Hauwan, M.A., Dip. Agric. (Cantab.), Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. How to use the Feeding Stuffs Table.—Several correspon- dents have asked for information as to the methed of using the table given every month in these notes, and it may be useful to repeat here notes that have been given at different times in previous issues. Tt will be noted that the table contains two sections. The first deals with the actual current wholesale prices at markets, and the second gives an estimate of the values for feeding on the farm home-grown feeding stuffs. Market Prices.—When a farmer feeds a purchased cake or feeding stuff to stock, a certain amount of the nitrogen, potash and phosphates in that feeding stuff finds its way into the urine or the dung and is used for manuring the ground. A feeding stuff when purchased therefore has a manurial value as well as a feeding value, so that in comparing the feeding values of any purchased cakes we have to take into considera- tion the manurial value. In the table given, the manurial value of the cake or feeding stuff is first :assessed from the current prices of artificial manures and this figure is sub- tracted from the price per ton of the feeding stuff. This gives the cost of the food value per ton of the feeding stuff. Now the starch equivalent figure given in the fifth column of the table gives as accurate a figure of the feeding value of the feeding stuff as is required for all practical purposes. The cost of the food value is therefore divided by the starch equivalent figure, and this gives the cost per food unit. The cheapest feeding stuff is the feeding stuff which is the cheapest per unit of starch equivalent. Thus, in this month’s table wet porter grains prove the cheapest feeding stuff available where local conditions allow its ready transport. American cats are also much cheaper than Canadian, Scotch, or English oats. Several correspondents have mentioned from time to time that the prices given in this table differ from the prices current on local markets. This is admittedly so, and for this reason the method of working out the unit value of a feeding stuff is eiven in the footnote to the table. This enables a farmer to 1922. | Notes oN FEEDING STUFFS FOR DECEMBER. 841 } is ofl; Price F Price Price ate rHoed. nea Unit eae DESCRIPTION. per pon. per Value per oars S rie Starch Qr. Ton. Ton. 100 Ib.| Equiv. Equiv. BAe £68 fo ie | BB te d. Wheat, British - -| 45/6} 504 | 10 2 | 9 18 9 | 11:6 | 2/7 1°38 Barley, British Feeding) 32/6, 400; 9 2| O14] 8 8 | 71 =| 2/4 5 ts Canadian No. 3 | | Western) 35/-| 400} 916; 014] 9 2] 71 |2/7 1°38 | Oats, English White -| 36/- 336 | 12 0| 016/11 4 | 59°5| 3/9 2°01 % ., Black & Grey| 31/-| 336 | 10 7 | 016{ 9 11 | 595|3/3 | 1°74 » scotch White -| 38/—| 338611213 |) 0.16) 11 17 | 59°5).4/0 |. 2°14 ;, Canadian No. 2 Western| 34/-| 320 | 11 18 016] 11 2 | 595 | 3/9 2°01 . so) Nor 2:BMeed) 31/6) 320 | 11 107) 0.16 | 10) 4 | 69°5) 3/5 L:83 >», American. - -| 29/-| 320} 10 3} 016) 9 7 | 59°5| 3/2 1710 » Argentine - -| 30/-| 320 | 10 10 | 0O 16 9° 14") 59°5.| 3/3 1‘74 Maize, Argentine - =\e42/-1 480) |) 9.16} 0 15 O° le} BE es 1°20 . American - =| 40/-| 480 | 9 Il'| 015; 8 16) 81 {2/2 1°16 » south African -| 41/-| 480 9 ll 0 15 8 16] 81 | 2/2 1°16 Beans, English Winter -| 51/-| 532 | 10 15 | 117] 8 18 | 67 |2/8 | 1°43 @ 6,, Rangoon - | Soetekla tS 10.\.-1. 17 | 6 1b.) 67 h2/— 1:07 } Peas, English Dun 4 60/7504 (018 v7) AL13 | LL TA | 69.93% 1°83 Hi x Maple -| 85/-/ 504 | 18 18 P13. Li 569 )/— 2°68 Rye, Home-grown -| 34/-| 504 (ae a 0 18°) 6 15° 74°6) 1/10") 0°98 { Millers’ offals— Bran, British - -| —|— GO LOG a2 | 4 TS ao 2s 1°16 Broad Bran - a | 6 Ll De Us i ine ea) 1°38 Fine middlings (Im- | ported) - -| — | — SNe 6 his Be i2. ase 1:20 Coarse middlings (British) ~ | ;- -| — | — Sb: Gh he, 6) 64 | 2/3 1-20 Pollards (Imported) |} — | — ee) Pag ho 23°) 00 sar) 1-03 Barley Meal - : a SAL OOM TO G7) | O/el) 1-66 Maize <.,. i= = =| — | 10 10 0 15 bee AS ae | 2/5 1:29 » Germ Meal - -| — — | 10 10 Lt 2 9 8 1 8573 | 2/2 1‘16 », Gluten-feed ew | lO Te 12) 7 18h) Tob 2/1 1:12 } Locust Bean Meal S| ae or Shoe OTe 8 A.) Tira | Ose 1:25 { Bean Meal - - ato ert tes | irl or Otomo) 6 187 Bish,” yey (e eee cide ON bi Ie 819 1253 1 875 1°83 Linseed - - - — |— {21 2 P16 3) 296419 3/8 1°74 | » Cake, English : (95/2 onl) | TA OF} 2 Sy] W115 | 74 ~~ |.3/2 1°70 Cottonseed ,, English (5°/, oil)}) — | — E450 2 1) or 14 1°42 o/9 1°47 es » Hgyptian (5°/, oil)}) — | — 415) 2.1) 5 14) 42 | 2/9 1°47 Soya Bean Cake (6% oil) — | — |12 5| 3 3) 9 2 | 69-1] 2/8 1°43 Coconut Cake (6°/, oil)) — | — 20) BUG) 7 4.) 73. | 2/- 1°07 } Palm Kernel Meal | (14-2°/, oil)) — | — SQ eS) a A713. 12 0°62 Feeding Treacle - -| —}| — SPO) FORO 5 (OS) Sle 1/7 1°85 Brewers’ grains,dried,ale) — | — #151 8! 6 7 | 49° | 2/7 1°38 ” ” », porter —_ —_— C25 1 te: be 49 2/5 1°29 ” » wet,ale) — | — bmn Be toe Oe Dede} Q-L4>-}-15—4.—/11.} 149 ” .,wet,porter;) — | — 0 18 0 11 Ge db. Oh =/8 0°27 t At Liverpool. NOTE.—The prices quoted above represent the average prices at which actual wholesale transactions have taken place in London, unless otherwise stated, and refer to the price ex mill or store. The prices were current at the end of October and are,asa rule, considerably lower than the prices at local country markets, the difference being due to carriage and dealers’ commission. Buyers can, however, easily compare the relative prices of the feeding stuffs on offer at their local market by the method of calculation used in these notes. Thus, suppose coconut cake is offered locally at £10 per ton. Its manurial value is £1 16s per ton. The food value per ton is therefore £8 4s, per ton. Dividing this figure by 73, the starch equivalent of coconut cake as given in the table, the cost per unit of starch equivalent is 2s. 8d. Dividing this again by 22°4, the number of pounds of starch equivalent in 1 unit, the cost per lb. of starch equivalent is 121d =A similar calculation will show the relative cost per lb. of starch equivalent of other feeding stuffs on the same local market. Frcm the results of such calculations a buyer can determine which feeding stuff gives him the best value at the prices quoted on his own market. 842 Nores oN FrEpING Sturrs ror DECEMBER. [ Dec., ascertain for himself the cheaper of any two feeding stuffs offered him, and he can then decide whether the difference in condition and quality of sample justifies the difference in the price asked. The chief object in view in publishing this table is to draw attention to the kind of feeding stuffs which are on offer at low values and likely to prove an economical purchase to the farmer. Farm Values.—The second section of the table deals with the estimated value of home-grown produce on the farm. In this case, the reader should look at the price per ton of the feeding stuff and compare it with the price per ton offered him for sale. If the price per ton offered for his home-grown products shows a profit after allowing for cartage charges and buying in fresh feeding stuffs, it will be an advantage to sell off these products and buy in feeding stuffs. If, on the other hand, such a procedure shows a loss, it will prove a more profitable transaction to feed off the home-grown product rather than sell it. It will be noted, for instance, that wheat, oats and barley still show a distinct margin of profit if sold off rather than kept for feeding, except in the case of middlings which is distinctly dearer than the farm value of wheat. In the case of barley, too, it would be an unprofitable transaction to sell off barley at £9 2s. a ton and buy in barley meal at £11 a ton. Wale per Lae is Hood Starch parse ket ms = on on |Value per Value per| Equivalent | : alue per BAU STB: Farm. | Ton. | Ton. fer 100 Ibs. | ao | lb, SE. gs) Ban lates ibis ot ped Wheat - : : : : | 8 13 0 18 (6 i05) TL6 2/2 16 Oats - : - - > oy OATC A G39 BoD. 4-2/2 1°16 Barley - - - . - So "8 POwlta Wiale TO, ai2/2 1°16 Potatoes - - - = Dy Q <4 ih BY) 18:0 2/2 1-16 Swedes - - Z = 018 0 3 nS 7:0 2/2 Llp Mangolds”~ - = - : 0.165) O23) |) 0s CPO a 2/20) 16 Good Meadow Hay - Sr |) oe UG) ORG crore ie) BIOs V7 Co M38 Good Oat Straw = «= | 212) OMe | > 4°) S8u7zo sa/7 | 1-38 Good Clover Hay - SP oO yaad 1 4 ih 5" 32°0 DIR sss Vetch and Oat Silage - St ae Och Oteg 113 14°0 | 2/4 | 1:27 1922. | REGISTER OF Datry CATTLE. 843 Tue Ministry has decided to extend the scope of its Register of Dairy Cows by including additional Sections as indicated below. Register of These additions will, it is hoped, enhance Dairy Cattle. the usefulness and value of the Register. The Volume No. VI., for the year ending Ist October, 1922, will accordingly be known as the Ministry’s ‘* Register of Dairy Cattle,’’ and will comprise :— Section I. : Dairy Cows— (a) With certified milk records of prescribed yields (i.e., 8,000 lb. for one year, or 6,500 lb. average for two or more consecutive years) for the year ending 1st October, 1922; (b) In respect of which Certificates of Merit have been awarded. The object of Certificates of Merit is to encourage Dairy Farmers to retain in their herds cows which, in addition to being heavy milkers, are also regular breeders. Certificates of Merit will be issued on application from owners in respect of cows which have been entered in the Register for three consecu- tive years, and which during those three years have yielded not less than 24,000 lb. of milk and calved not less than three times. Section II.: Pedigree Bulls for Dairy Herds— (a) Whose dams and sires’ dams have been entered or accepted for entry in the Ministry’s Register of Dairy Cattle; or (b) Having two or more daughters entered or accepted for entry in the Ministry’s Register of Dairy Cattle. The object of this Section of the Register is to encourage dairy farmers to use pedigree bulls bred from milking strain, or those whose female progeny have proved to be satisfactory dairy cows, and also to provide dairy farmers with a list of such bulls, together with the names and addresses of their breeders and owners. d The Ministry desires to direct attention to the fact that the price of Volume V. of the Register of Dairy Cows for the year ended Ist October, 1921, which will be ready shortly, has been reduced to 2s. 6d. net, post free. Applications for copies should be addressed to the Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Whitehall Place, S.W.1. Remittances should be by Postal Order, Money Order or Cheque, made payable to the Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and crossed “* Bank of England.”’ * * * * * * 844 SMALL HoupINnGs In Essex. [ Dec., 6 Recent observations concerning the prices obtained by growers for dessert apples when properly graded and packed, in comparison with similar fruit marketed in the more usual way, have brought out some facts which illustrate the profitable- ness of the better method. A record crop of Worcester Pearmains, grown in Gloucester- shire, was sent to Manchester and Birmingham markets in the British Standard boxes containing 40 lb. of fruit. The average | price per box including first and second gerade fruit so marketed was 15s. Some pots of the same variety and quality, but ungraded and loose, were sent to the Cheltenham Fruit Market in the ordinary way. The price realised for these was 6s. 8d. per 56-lb. pot, or 13d. per lb., compared with 43d. per Ib. obtained in the other markets for the boxed fruit. Even when the supply of box wood had run out and a con- signment was sent in 56-lb. wickers, well graded and properly packed, to the salesman who had sold the boxes, the price con- tinued to be 44d. per lb., or 21s. per pot. The salesman pointed out that the excellent prices were maintained solely because the grower’s reliable packing was already known in the market. Prices of Apples. a * * * * * In connection with the Farm Competitions organised by the Hssex Agricultural Society, with a view to improving cultivation Small Holdings ng ase ene production on Tare and i eikeee smal holdings in Essex, several prizes, given by the Hon. E.G. Strutt, C.H., President of the Society, were offered this year for the best cul- tivated County Council Small Holdings. There would appear to have been keen competition for the prizes. Thirty-three small- holders entered in the class for holdings under 15 acres, and forty-one for that limited to small holdings over that acreage. Five prizes were awarded in each class, and in addition thirteen entrants who came just below prize merit were ‘‘ commended,”’ one being “* highly commended.”’ In the course of some general remarks on the holdings inspected and on the work of the Small Holdings Committee, the judges made the following observations :— “With regard to the land acquired by the Committee for Small Holdings, we were most favourably impressed with its qualitv and suitability for the purpose. In these respects the 1922. | Market For Pouttry FEATHERS. 845: land far exceeded our expectations, and was indeed a most pleasant surprise, as we had often heard disparaging reports of it. This remark has special emphasis in the case of the Boxted, Beaumont, and Hastwoodbury Settlements, where the land appeared to us to be admirably suited for the purpose for which it was purchased. ‘“* Bearing in mind the fact that it would certainly be some of the best cultivated holdings which would be entered for competition, we must say that we were pleased with many of the holdings we inspected. In some cases where knowledge, ability, industry, and physical strength are all combined in a man and his family, we saw the most gratifying and satis- factory results, though at the cost of strenuous labour and lone hours of toil, such as few farm labourers would care to put in.”’ There is no doubt that these competitions must have a very beneficial effect on the cultivation of holdings throughout the county, and it is very gratifying that experienced farmers should be able to report so favourably on the results of the efforts of the Small Holdings Committee and their tenants. PovuTRY-KEEPHRS who have large stocks are advised to keep. in mind the possibility of marketing poultry feathers. From Market for information which the Ministry has a “Spauitee Feathers from various sources, it appears that large y Feathers. quantities of poultry feathers are annually imported from China, United States, France, and Portugal, and that some are exported from this country to the Colonies. The weights and values of these imports in 1918 were 45,016 cwt. at £159,366; in 1919, 52.468 cwt. at £284,791; and in 1920, 79,115 ewt. at £587,516. English feathers are usually regarded in the Trade as inferior to the best imported kinds on account of the fact that when mar- keted they are not so free from dirt and impurity. Feathers for sale should be clean, and should be graded both as regards colour and quality as they are plucked. White and light-coloured feathers are the best, and fowl feathers should be kept separate from those of ducks and geese, as the feathers of the latter are of mvch greater value. The different kinds might be loosely packed in muslin or scrim bags and hung up in a dry place out of reach of any ground damp. The quill feathers, which are of less value, should never be mixed with the smaller feathers. 846 YIELD oF Porato AND Root Crops. | Dzc., ‘Consignments of 5 cwt. and upwards are easily disposed of to feather merchants, and smaller quantities can often be sold pri- vately, and possibly better prices obtained than the merchant will give. A list of names of dealers in feathers can be had on application to the Ministry, 10, Whitehall Place, S.W.1. * * * * * * Potatoes.—At the end of October probably about three-fourths of the potatoes had been lifted in the country as a whole. i ss Probable Yield Weather conditions ate been favourable and the tubers stored in dry condition. pi Potowgpand The crop is healthy ‘and the tubers Heche none mostly large, though there are occasional reports of disease and damage by slugs. Heavy crops will be obtained in all parts of the country except in the north-west, where they are considered about average. The yield per acre was estimated on Ist November at 7 tons per acre, or 1 ton per acre above average, which would give a total production of about 3,920,000 tons in England and Wales against 2,960,000 tons last year. Roots.—The pulling and storing of mangolds was in progress at the end of October, and in some districts the bulk of the crop had been harvested. Yields well over the average will be obtained in the east and south-east, but in other parts of the country the roots are mostly sm:all and yields somewhat below average are expected in the north and in Wales. ‘Turnips and swedes are rather small in most districts. These crops also have done best in the east and south-east, whilst in the north-west and in Wales under average yields are expected. The yields per acre of both mangolds, turnips and swedes over the whole country are expected to prove about 7 per cent. above taverage, mangolds being forecasted at rather more than 20 tons and turnips and swedes at slightly over 18 tons per acre. These yields would give a total production of mangolds of 8.500.000 tons against 6,250,000 tons last year, and of turnips and swedes 10,860,000 tons against 6,600,000 tons in 1921. The appearance of the potato and root crops on 1st November indicated probable yields per acre as shown in the table below. These forecasts, however, are not based on detailed inquiries such as are carried out in connection with the final estimates cf yield issued after harvest, and therefore have not the same degree of accuracy. It should also be borne in mind that the 1922. | TEstT oF VARIETIES OF FRUIT. 847 actual yields may be affected by weather conditions after 1st October :— Potatoes. Turnips and Swedes. Mangolds. Counties. Forecast, Ten Years’ Forecast, Ten Years’ Forecast, Ten Years’ 1922. Average. 1922. Av: rage. 1922. Average. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Eastern ee D. 6-0 5 10°3 2FS 16°7 North-Eastern... 7°8 6:2 12°7 11:0 19°5 17°8 South-Eastern .. 7:3 57a 14:2 10-9 21°6 18:7 East Midland ... 6°6 5:5 10°6 111 18-1 18-1 West Midland... 7:0 5:8 13-4 13°5 23-6 21°7 South-Western... 6°5 5°5 13°8 12°8 21°5 21°5 Northern tele 3OF0 5:2 14°7 12°9 1571 16°5 North-Western... 6:9 6°8 hs 85) 16%. 18°6 21-0 North Wales ... 6°4 5:3 Ley 14:6 15°5 17°2 South Wales .. 6:9 53 115 14°] _ 159 17-0 ENGLAND AND WALES 7:0 6-0 13°2 ks 20°2 18°7 * s * * * * Tue Ministry and the Royal Horticultural Society have set up a Joint Committee to administer a scheme for the official testing of new varieties of fruit for com- ree is eevee mercial purposes. Under the scheme the of Fruit for a Boa. is Royal Horticultural Society's Gardens at Commercial — Wisley will serve as the Central Station, at Purposes. which all varieties will be tested in the first instance. In later years varieties selected as showing merit will be sent for further testing to sub-stations which the Committee hope to establish in various fruit districts throughout the country. Tests will be confined for the present to hardy fruits—apples, pears, plums, cherries, gooseberries, currants, raspberries, straw- berries, etc., and also nuts. The Committee is now prepared to receive applications for the reception of plants, buds, and grafts sufficient to allow the following number of trees, bushes and plants to be grown of each variety :— Apples and pears _.... ay a 20 Half standard. plus 20 Bushes. Plums, cherries and nuts... ae 10 Half standard. Currants, gooseberries. raspberries and other berries ae are 20 Bushes. Strawberries ... Age ay var i00: Plants. 848 SERUM TREATMENT FOR SWINE F'EVER. [ Dec., ~ Buds or grafts will be worked on approved stocks. In no circumstances will the central station or a sub-station permit trees, buds or grafts to be taken off the station. The Committee will, after a consideration of the reports of the recording staff and selected specialists, issue reports in which recommendations of special varieties will be made. No report on a variety will, however, be issued until sufficient time has elapsed to enable a fair test to be carried out. The Committee for this purpose consists of :— Professor W. Bateson, F.R.S. (Chairman). Mr. W. G. Lobjoit, 0.B.E., J.P. Mr. A. WV. Taylor, M.B.E., B.Sc. A ointed by the Mee Ag Be ess Tete of A Sealants Professor B. T. P. Barker, M.A. (SY OF “8 Mr. G. W.. Leak. The Chairman of the Wisley Committee. The Director of Wisley. Appointed by the The Chairman of the Fruit Committee. > Royal Horticultural Mr. E. A. Bunyard. Society. Mr. Cuthbert Smith. All communications concerning the scheme should be addressed t) The Director, Royal Horticultural Society Gardens, Wisley, Ripley, Surrey. * * * * * * Tue Ministry announces that as from 1st January, 1923, it will no longer be able to supply Anti-Swine-Fever Serum for the Sonarrcstinent treatment sy pigs in order to protect them for (eninGarenee from infection of Swine Fever. | This material has hitherto been supplied by the Ministry free of charge, to owners of pigs in cases suitable for the adoption of this method of preventing the spread of dis- ease to apparently healthy pigs on premises where swine fever has broken out. The method is only relatively inexpensive, and its value depends upon the conditions under which it can be applied in practice. The Ministry has found, however, as the result of experience, that owing to the difficulty of getting in touch with outbreaks before infection has made considerable inroads among the stock, successful results in connection with preventive treatment are greatly interfered with. Having regard to this and to the necessity for economy, it is considered advis- able to discontinue serum treatment until such time as a safe method of giving permanent, in place of temporary, immunity has been worked out. The Ministry will be prepared, through its Inspectors, to advise owners of pigs concerned in an outbreak, whether their individual 1922.] | Concri1aTION COMMITTEES IN AGRICULTURE. 849 cases are more favourable than usual, for the application of serum as a temporary preventive, and will also advise them how the serum can be purchased on the market if desired. * * * * * * THE importation of onion and leek seed into this country is subject to the provisions of the Destructive Insects and Pests (Importation of Onion and Leek Seed) Importation of Order, 1922, and all consignments should Onion and be inspected in the country of origin before Leek Seed. shipment, and certified to be free from disease. Large quantities of this seed are imported from the United States, and as a result of representations made by the Con- troller of Horticulture during his recent visit to Washington, it is understood that the American authorities propose to arrange for the examination, while growing, of onion and leek crops intended for the production of seed for export. It is probable that the American authorities will refuse to grant certificates for seed from crops which have not been inspected whilst growing, and importers should therefore take immediate steps to warn their growers in America to ask for the inspection of onion and leek crops now being grown for the production of seed for export to this country. Tue following further agreements have been made by Conciliation Com- mittees during the past month :— Conciliation Com- mittees in Agriculture. Details. fad A= a. Area. Period. Age. Wage. Remarks. Cheshire- - 24th Oct., 1922, 21 & over 32/-for guaranteed Proportionate to 30th April. week of 54 hrs. rates for 1923 Overtime 9d. per male workers hr. under 21 years. Derby - _ - Ist Oct.,1922, to do. 7d. per hr.onweek- © = — dist Dec., 1922 days and 9d. per hr. on Sundays Devon - - 30th Oct., 1922. do. 30/- for week of Proportionate to 31st Dec., 50 hrs. Overtime rates for 1922, and on- 8d. per hr. on maleworkers ward to Lady weekdays and under 21 Day, 1923: un- 10d. per hr. on and _ special less notice of Sundays rates for revision is given female work- by either side ers The overtime rates operate until Lady Day, 1923 F 850 CoNCILIATION COMMITTEES IN AGRICULTURE. | DECc., Details. FS sein a Area. Period. Age. Wage. Remarks. Lanes.; 8. -To 31st Dec., 21&o0ver 37/6 for week of ~~ 1922 usual hrs, Lancs., N; .~ ‘To s3istian., do. 37/6 for week of — 1923 usual hrs. Lancs., E. -To 30th April, do. 40/- for week of a £923 usual hrs. Loughborough From 4th Nov., do. 32/- per week of — 1922, until a 52 hrs. Overtime fortnight after id. per hr. on notice of can- weekdays, 9d. per cellation is hr. on Sundays given by either side Shropshire - From Ist Nov., do. 7d. per hr. for Proportionate 19220 24th guaranteed week rates tor Feb., 1923 of 48 hrs. Over- male work- time -¢d~ per hr ers under 21 on weekdays, 9d. years of age per hr. on Sun- days Yorks. Kast From 28th Oct., do. 30/- per week - Female and Riding 1922, tO. 22 oul childrenwor- Dec., 1922 kers 2/6 per day Cardigan- - 13th Nov., 1922, do. 30/- per week of Proportionate to 13th Nov., 54 hrs. in sum- rates for 1923, but sub- mer and 50 hrs. maleworkers ject to revision in winter under ZI in March, 1923, vears of age if either side desires Carnarvou - From 13thNov., do. 33/-for week of 61 Proportionate {922,210 Vth hrs. (including rates for May, 1923 Sunday)to special male work- classesof workers. ers under 21 30/- for 50 hrs. with overtime at 7d. per hr. on weekdays and 8d. per hr. on Sun- days for | other workers Denbigh and — do 33/- for week of Flint 61 hrs. for stock- men and carters ; 27/- for week ot 50 hrs. for other male workers years of age The Committee for the Holland division of Lincolnshire also agreed to extend the pericd of operation of their last agreement until the Sth November, 1922. Full particulars of the agreements for any particul be furnished on applicaticn to the Ministry. * * * * ar area will 1922. | AGRICULTURE A®SROAD. 851 AGRIGCUETURE ABROAD. AGRARIAN LEGISLATION IN EUROPE—EXPENDITURE OF THE U.S.A. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE— APPROPRIATIONS FOR AGRICULTURE IN CANADA— DATRYING IN NOVA SCOTIA—WEEDS IN MANITOBA — TIMBER SEASONING INVENTION — AGRICUL- TURAL WAGES IN U.S.A. b THE issue of the ‘‘ International Labour Review ’’ for September contains a very interesting survey of post-war agrarian legislation in Central Europe. The main purpose of the reforms is stated to be the democratic ownership of land, to be attained by dividing up the great estates and by strengthening peasant proprietor- ship. The land required for the purpose is acquired by different methods. In Germany, Austria, and Hungary, land belonging to or purchased from voluntary sellers by the state (under rights of pre-emption) is used for creating small farms. Should this means be insufficient for the purpose of reform a strictly limited right of expropriation can be sanctioned. In Czecho-Slovakia, Poland, Rumania and Lithuania, large- scale ownership as such is rejected and the new reform legisla- _ tion is based on the principle that this class of ownership should be suppressed. ‘There is in consequence no question of acquisi- tion from voluntary sellers, but the maximum areas which can be held by individuals are fixed, according to the nature of the land, and expropriation of the rest is insisted on by the terms of the various Acts. In Esthonia and Latvia the properties subject to expropriation are not decided by maximum areas but are those belonging to a certain class of proprietors. The so- called ‘* estates of the nobles ’’ are to be totally expropriated. The method of compensation for expropriation has not yet been decided in these two states, but in the other countries special arrangements have been made for a full or partial payment by way of compensation (either in cash or in government stock), the valuations to be made generally on a pre-war basis. Th cultivation of estates in their present form is. as a rule, permitted by the new legislation, only when carried on by public institutions, such as agricultural schools or experimental stations, or simiar undertakings, or when agricultural co-opera- tive societies are the owners. In several agracian laws the F 2 New Agrarian Legislation in Central Europe. 852 AGRICULTURE ABROAD. [Duc., co-operative cultivation of estates is expressly mentioned as one of the purposes of the reforms. While it is intended to parcel out expropriated lands to increase the size of already existing small holdings, the principal aim is invariably the creation of flourishing new small holdings. In introducing regulations as to the maximum size of the holdings, it is the hope of each state to create undertakings which will be inde- pendent both from the economic and social points of view. The dimensions fixed by each country vary according to the purpose of the holding and the nature of the land. The persons entitled to acquire land set aside for purposes of agrarian reform embrace the following classes:—(1) Ex- service men, disabled ex-service men capable of work, and the dependents of soldiers fallen in the war; (2) Workers employed on the expropriated estates; (8) Other landless inhabitants of rural districts; (4) Former employees in the service of the State, in public service, and disabled ex-service men incapable of full work. | Almost all countries admit the preferential claims of persons in class (1) by which they are able partially to solve the problem of the ex-service man; socially by providing him with a means of livelihood, and financially by relieving the country of pen- sions obligations. The general methods of assisting settlers to acquire land are either by some scheme for the granting of rent-titles under an authorised deed of transfer, which provides for the payment of a fixed annual rent (either in money or in kind) by the settler to the former owner, without the payment of any initial sum down, or by the establishment of settlement funds or rural banks, regulated by the government, for the purpose of granting loans. The principle that the settler shall not become complete owner of the land is contemplated in all countries under dis- cussion. Finally, with a view to maintaining the economic independ- ence of the newly established holdings, special regulations have been laid down to guard ayainst unskilful cultivation. Measures have been taken against the division or mortgaging of the holding, and the personal responsibility of the settler for the efficient working of the holding is clearly defined and can be enforced by the power of the State to re-purchase and dispossess the holder. It is anticipated that the fundamental character of the new aprarian legislation, as incorporated in the various Acts which 1922. | AGKICUL:TURE APROAD. 853 have been passed during the last three years in the countries of Central Europe, will henceforward be maintained in spite of modifications in detail which may be introduced from time to time in the practical application of the reforms. Tue Experiment Station Record for July, 1922, contains an account of the appropriations made by Congress for the expendi- ture of the U.S. Department of Agricul- ture during the year ending 80th June, 1923. The funds provided by the main Act are $86,770,000 but there are also other funds available for meat inspection, agricultural education, forestry, bonuses on salaries, etc., which bring the total estimated expenditure of the Department up to about $52,000,000 (say, £11,760,000 at the rate of exchange of $4.42 to £1). This is not far from the amount provided for the previous year. Expenditure of the U.S.A. Department of Agriculture for 1922-23. An interesting feature of the programme is the formation of a Bureau of Agricultural Economics, under the direction of Dr. H. C. Taylor, by the consolidation of the Office of Farm Management and Farm Economics with the Bureau of Markets and Crop Estimates. The provision for this Bureau amounts to about £804,500, of which, apart from the amounts for statutory salaries and general administrative expenses, £66,000 is allotted for the investigation of improved methods of farm management and practice (£34,000 being for cost of production studies), £106,000 for marketing studies, and £92,000 for the market news service. A number of Acts regulating agriculture and trade are administered by the Bureau, such as the Cotton Futures Act, Grain Standards Act, Packers and Stockyards Act, and the Future Trading Act. The cost of these is put at £300,000, and in addition £37,000 is appropriated for the operation of a market by the Depart- ment. It may be pointed out that a number of duties are carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture which fall under other Departments than the Ministry of Agriculture in this country, e.g., inspection of meat and other foods, forestry, and expenditure on road studies. The main divisions of work and the appropriations for them are as follows :— S54 AGRICULTURE ABROAD. [ Dsc., x Animal Industry ae + ane ie as 1,576,000 Forest Service ae AF ay 7 ys 1,485,000 Plant Industry ee vy ae is sae 798,000 Chemistry ... sh Bs nae ih Hat 228,900 OLISEE lcs se eas a Te = ats 84,000 Entomology ... cae es ois ne = 402,300 Biological Survey : wis - se a 197,000 States Relations Service (Agricultural Instruction and allied work) ... fice Sat le 1,037,500 Agricultural Economics _... sis oe se 804,500 Weather he bea 435,600 An interesting item in the estimate for the Bureau of Animad Industry is a sum of £651,000 for the campaign against tuber- culosis. In the course of this work during 1921 over 2,000,000 cattle were tested, of which about 3.9 per cent. reacted. The Bureaux of Plant Industry and Entomology are respon- sible for heavy expenditure on the eradication of plant diseases and insect pests—e.g., £80,000 and £45,000 respectively for the barberry and white pine blister-rust campaigns, and £40,000 on account of citrus canker. This last disease was thought to be practically eradicated, but the discovery of a new infestation necessitated a supplementary estimate of £34,000 in addition to the £6,000 at first provided. In the case of insect pests £136,000 is allowed for preventing the spread of the gipsy and browntail moths, and £45,000 for combating the European corn-borer. The budget of the Bureau of Soils includes an item of £16,000 for the investigation of fertilisers and other soil amend- ments and their suitability for agricultural use. The appropriations under the States Relations Service, deal- ing largely with aid to extension instruction in agriculture and domestic economy for boys and girls after leaving school, have been decreased from £1,097,000 to £1,038,000, but there will be other funds available for the work, such as £1.036,000 under the Smith-Lever Act. The Weather Bureau’s budget is increased by £9,000, mainly for its routine observations, but with £700 additional to extend the warnings given to fruit growers regarding impending frosts. The approved estimates as a whole present few changes from those of recent years. The increased funds are generally for the carrying out of new regulations or for combating par- ticular plant and animal diseases, and show the tendency of the U.S. Congress in late years to vote money for those purposes. * * * * * * — 1922. AGRICULTURE ABROAD. 855 Tue agricultural appropriations or estimates of the Dominion of Canada for the year 1922-23 are given in the Agricultural Gazette of Canada for September-October, : ne 1922. Provision is made for a total expen- i 8 diture of $5,989,000, or at the present rate in Canada. of exchange approximately £1,345,900, compared with a total of £1,259,600 for 1921-22. The principal headings of expenditure are :—Experimental Farms £297,700, Diseases of Animals £401,100, Iuve Stock Improvement £238,200, Seed, Feeding Stuffs and Fertilisers Control £61,800, Destructive Insect and Pest Act £58,900, Dairying £389,300, Fruit £35,300. The estimates of agricultural expenditure in 1922-23 for some of the Canadian Provincial Governments are also shown. For Ontario the total is £370.400, of which £129,600 is allocated to the Ontario Agricultural College. British Columbia will spend £85,300, the largest item in this province being for horticulture, viz., £23,500. THe passing of an Act by the Nova Scotia Government re- quiring that on and after lst May last, all cream delivered, sold or purchased at any creamery or cream station in the country must be graded as to quality, and payment made to . the producer upon the basis of that grad- ing, brings under notice the very careful system of encourage- ment and control exercised by the Provincial Government. Under the Act for the Encouragement of Dairying passed in 1914, known as ‘“‘The Dairymen’s Act,’’ the Governor in Council was authorised to expend 5,000 dollars per annum in assisting the establishment of creameries, aiding winter-dairy- ing, and maintaining instructors in butter-making. A further sum of 20,000 dollars was later provided for the establishment of demonstration creameries and cheese factories, and the pur- chase of land necessary for the same. Other sums were autho- rised for the making good of any deficit in the maintenance of such demonstration creameries and cheese factories. The Act also provided for the registration of all creamery and cheese factory proprietors and generally ensured that all creameries and cheese factories should maintain a high standard of cleanliness and of sanitary and mechanical methods. Care- ful records of tests of samples of milk and cream delivered by Encouragement of Dairying in Nova Scotia. 856 AGRICULTURE ABROAD. [ Dsc., producers were to be taken and kept for inspection, as well as delivered to each producer with payments for milk or cream. The *‘ Dairymen’s Association of Nova Scotia’’ was founded by a later Statute, and an annual grant of 1,000 dollars pro- vided for it. The main object of the Association was “ the furthering of the dairy industry of Nova Scotia,’’ and included the holding of an Annual Convention, the fostering of co-opera- tion amongst dairymen, the holding of local dairy meetings, exhibitions of dairy products, and the education of dairymen. Sufficient has been said to make it clear that the dairy in- dustry in Nova Scotia is progressing upon careful and well- conceived lines. ‘To show how it has extended—and there is room for very considerable extension in the province—the amount of creamery butter produced in 1911 was 275,000 Ib., and in 1919, 2,093,000 lb. Even so, in 1918, 68 per cent. of the butter manufactured was still home-made, but the patrons of the creameries are increasing in number annually. The average yield per cow is increasing slowly. The Government Railways provide weekly refrigerator car services for butter, and producers can forward any amount from a 1 lb. package upwards for shipment at Halifax. It is expected that before long Nova Scotia will be able to ship butter in larger quan- tities to Great Britain and take its share in the market which awaits high-class colonial butters in this country. Tue Noxious Weeds Act of the Legislative Assembly of Mani- toba, which came into operation last year and takes the place of earlier legislation on the subject, imposes on all Local Authorities the duty of enforcing the destruction, in particular, of several kinds of thistles. and a variety of mustard which infests the corn- producing land of the Province. The Act provides for the appointment by every Local Authority of at least one weeds inspector, who is to be employed solely in the inspection of lands and the supervision of weed destruction during the summer months. In the case of unorganized terri- tory, similar appointments are made by the Lieutenant- Governor-in-Council. The onus of destroying the scheduled weeds is placed on the occupier of the jand, or, in the case of unoccupied land, on the owner or his agent. The primary duty of an inspector is to see that the work is properly carried out in his district, but in case Injurious Weeds in Manitoba. 1922. | AGRICULTURE ABROAD. 857 of failure to comply with the requirements of the Act, he has power to serve a notice requiring the occupier to cut down and destroy the weeds within a specified period, not exceeding fifteen days. If this warning is ineffective, the inspector may enter on the land and cause the weeds to be destroyed, when the occupier becomes liable to a fine, with a maximum of one year’s imprison- ment in default of payment. The Act provides for the cost of destruction, in cases of failure to comply with notices served by an inspector, to be charged to the occupier, and collected in the same way as local taxes. Two points of interest indicate the view of the Provincial Assembly that prevention is better than cure. In the first place, fines up to one hundred dollars may be inflicted on dealers who sell grain, grass seed, or food products containing a greater pro- portion of noxious weed seeds than is allowed by the regulations made under Dominion legislation. Secondly, provision is made, under penalties for failure to comply, for threshing machines to be cleaned after the completion of each operation and before the machine is moved, in order to prevent the seeding of clean land with weeds. One other special provision is, perhaps, worthy of men- tion. Owners of land are prohibited by the Act from letting any land upon which noxious weeds exist without giving the prospective tenant written notice of the condition of the land, as reported by the local inspector, and obtaining from him a statement that he is prepared to accept all responsibility. A process for seasoning timber by subjecting it to the action of a current of air containing a certain percentage of ozone has been invented by M. Otto, Professor at the Sorbonne, Paris. The process is said to give the same result in about twenty days as would be obtained by natural seasoning in the course of several years. A micrographic examination is reported to show that samples of oak and walnut which had been treated by the pro- cess show the same characteristics as seasoned wood, while the treatment does not change the colour of the wood. The Otto process is being worked by a French Company which has con- structed works at Seregno, near Milan, and will shortly build new works in the neighbourhood of Paris. Timber-Seasoning Invention. a. * =~ “ *& * $58 LICENSING OF STALLIONS. [ Dec., THe International Labour Office quote figures issued by the United States Department of Agriculture which show that as : compared with 1916 (the year preceding oo aa Py that in which the United States entered the United States war) farm wages had increased by 100 per * cent. in 1920. These rates were the highest recorded, and during 1921 they fell by about 35 per cent., leaving wages only about 30 per cent. above the 1916 level. * * * * * * LICENSING OF; STALLIONS-.UNDER THE, HORSE: BREEDING ACT, hore: SEASON 1922. ; THe Horse Breeding Act of 1918 has been in operation since 1st January, 1920. The main object of the Act is to prevent unsound stallions being travelled for service and there is every reason to think that this is now being secured. Applications for licences to travel must be made to the Ministry between 1st November and 81st July, and all licences expire on the 31st October following the date of issue. The diseases and defects prescribed in the Horse Breeding Regulations of 1919 for England and Wales as rendering stallions unfit for the service of mares are :—roaring, whistling, sidebone, cataract, ringbone (high or low), bone spavin, navicular disease, shivering, stringhalt, and defective genital organs. The returns given in Table II show that the first three named dis- eases or defects are the most prevalent. The number of stallions which were licensed by the Ministry during the year ended 81st October last was 8,479, of which 3,129 were pedigree horses, the remainder not being entered, or accepted for entry, in any recognised stud book. In 165 cases applications for licences were refused by the Ministry. An appeal against the refusal of a licence was lodged under para- graph 12 of the Regulations in 28 cases, and 12 of the appeals were successful. As in the preceding year, the Police co-operated with the Inspectors of the Ministry in securing observance of the Act by stopping stallions on the road and requiring the production of licences by the stallion leaders. Proceedings were taken by the Police in several cases where offences were proved, but there were fewer prosecutions than in previous years. It seems reasonable to assume therefore that evasions of the Act are diminishing. LICENSING OF STALLIONS. ‘[ ATaV I, ; a aie in| (RY a (Sn a a einer (on as nie ae nie aia aaa om - We Wee a) meer — aS 2° Sa Pe ee loa > | 70 v , ; - , rs =| on ‘ BM ol comin | «« HFO'E | ZI | os [ |S |8 | 0@| 2 | 8} Fe) 8r,9 1% | 4 19 | 6 | 12] T9t 192) 98 | GF | Lee! 192] B8e's| suoryeortddy yoy, Ee eee eS ee ee ae ee ae ee ee ea nein a == aaa es : | a | ayer 6 2 a Pe | | > halk 6 | Ci 7 sa ’ a ba | L L 2 6 LI | ae posnjoy [8j0L, j eS Sn [| eS ee eS a | | —| | aS , Sa . 7 a eae nes ara key | ale | 6LFE | Gl | cor E~ 136 8 | 02 | LS 96" Sb 1 Shr g G Z 9 6 0G POL. F9G| 08 | 6F | SIZ FPS) 1a Sa | O Bee © =H et a fae" <2 al eae a | S| Peale eal kes Bee lo oR (2S) St | = TEISS come te eae = ioe) eel poatg Io) smoz | | | | gs | EB) & p> Pe ee Se Be Ree 1 ete) eel | a | Be] g EZ. | Jo yooy pujg pasiusooed Sees | is tl B he | Be | esate | ee acetal ete clea =| ES] | & | oy} ur Argue 20g paqydooon ee | a aes =| | RB) o eae He SP 5 o lO polo}ua suolY[eIg ‘'a"d | | | is a |“ Nee eee ie es ee, ‘SUOTT[VIG IeISIpeg Spang Spor ge Spoon G d0O UNV ANOd LHDI'] AAV} LICENSING OF STALLIONS. 860 | ‘ a i | cs Se rahe pee I ¢ 9 8 UI Cl 91 66 | L& 6¢ QI | S[usn joy JO [270], ear : i | | , | oll Si : = ae So Ate tea | Ve 30'¢ z | 99 on a tL ena = = = I i = = £9°% | 8 OR ieee quer “s I ae: I é g yr 6| 6B 8a°9 cl Bee lee ao AA®OH | 9d1SIpIg-UON | | ee? Se | | | ; a ree al ce | 692 Z i SO een oe ee aaa lead = I == aa = | an crs | 6G tre Pi ; AUOg YS[OM = | as = I —— ae pat = aoe pl ga'G | I | Q] | tae see eae Se a qviy | ; " IG ie ea a 7 1G YSNnOIOU ee a oll a ce I =" Peal: ee | OFF | L bel i me | Rs) eae eee sy oe eso z Ce ho | ! 60% er cal 81z er gy . ae S > = Se s2 |} S238 s| s anal hanes a3 8 % SOSnfory sppsnfay | suoynogddyp cere lt 8 | ree, = Suh \e- = S = fo fo | fo | aang ee] * ee] x + | & : = Ss IbD WILT LoqUmnyy ——— daquunayy TVSOAdY WOH SNOSVHAY | creer rm OP EO SE LE LE ET LT eT ah leaver: 1922. | AGRICULTURAL RETURNS. 861 Licences which were in use during the past travelling season expired on 8lst October and should then have been returned to the Ministry. Holders of licences who have not yet so returned them should do so immediately, whilst applications for licences or renewals for the 1923 season should be made at as early a date as possible to facilitate arrangements for the examination of the stallions. Forms of application for a licence may be obtained from the Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. 10, Whitehall Place, S.W.1. * * * * * * AGHRIGULTURAL RETURNS, «1922. PRODUCE OF CROPS IN ENGLAND AND WALES. Preliminary Statement showing the estimated total produce and yield per acre of the Corn and Hay Crops in England and Wales in 1922, with comparisons for 1921, and the average yield per acre of the ten years rio. Estimated Total Estimated Yield Acreage, Produce, per Acre. Average Crops. oa : _of the Ten Years 1922. 1921. 1922. 1921. 1922. | 1921, } 1912-21. : | Quarters. | Quarters. Acres. | Acres. Bushels. | Busheils, | Bushels. Wheat 17,649,000| 8,722,000] 1,966,826 | 1,975,979} 311 | 35:3 | 30-7 Barley 15,060,000} 5,309,000 } 1,363,812 | 1,435,575] 29°7 | 29-6 30°9 Oats... 19,281,000 | 10,033,000 } 2,157,172 | 2,147,594] 344 | 37-4 | 383 | 509,000} 570,000} 123,823| 134,898] 32:9 | 33:8 Mixed Corn I. Beans 839,000! 778,000] 272,068| 237,174] 247 | 26-2 | 27:3 Peas... 261,000 313,000] 122.717| 105,699] 17:0 | 23-7 24°7 Tons. Tons. Cwt. Cwl. Cwt. Seeds’ Hay* J 1,732,000 | 2,144,000 ] 1,527,646 | 1,757,536] 22-7 | 244 | 28-4 Meadow Hay} 4,068,000} 3,195,000 } 4,413,118 |4,052.4501 184 | 15°8 J) 215 * Hay from Clover, Sainfoin, and Grasses under rotation. { Hay from Permanent Grass. The corn crops of this year are generally less favourable than those of 1921, both as regards yield per acre and condition and quality of the grain. The unsatisfactory yields are due mainly to the spring drought, although the cold, wet summer also had a bad effect. Autumn-sown crops came through the winter fairly well, in spite of a rather severe check occasioned by cold weather in March and April, which also caused spring corn to germinate slowly. Spring crops, where sown late, suffered most from the dry weather, and frequently came up thin plants, while in some districts frit fly and wireworm damaged the oats severely, Crops ripened slowly and unevenly, and, with unfavour- able weather at harvest, the ingathering was very protracted, and a fair proportion of the crops was harvested in rather damp condition. Wheat, however, is of very fair quality, and winter oats are generally fairly satis- factory, but spring oats are of inferior quality, the grain being light. Much barley is discoloured, with a poor sample where there were two growths, and the proportion fit for malting is less than usual. 862 AGRICULTURAL RETURNS. | Dec.. Wheat is the only corn crop to give an over-average vield, the yield per acre being estimated at 31:1 bushels, or nearly half a bushel above the average of the ten years 1912-21, but more than 4 bushels below the record crop of last year. Most eastern counties obtained appreciably heavier yields than usual, Norfolk being an outstanding exception. The total production is estimated at 7,649,000 quarters, or 1,070,000 quarters less than in 1921, but 700,000 quarters greater than the pre-war average. The total production of barley, 5,060,000 quarters, is 250,000 quarters less than last year and, apart from 1915, is the smallest recorded since official returns were first collected in 1885. The yield per acre is estimated at 29-7 bushels, or practically the same as in 1921, and about 1} bushels per acre below average. Counties in which fen land predominates secured better crops than usual, but under-average yields were the rule in practically all other counties. The yield per acre of oats, 34:4 bushels, is 4 bushels per acre below the ten-year average. This yield per acre is also slightly under the lowest previously recorded. Yields were relatively the worst in Norfolk, Shropshire, Derby, and Stafford, but in hardly any counties were they up to average. The total production of 9,281,000 quarters is the smallest since 1912, and 750,000 quarters less than in 1921. Mixed Corn yielded 32°9 bushels per acre, and the total production of 509,000 quarters is some 60,000 quarters less than last. year. As a result of the increased acreage, the total production of beans, 839,000 quarters, is 60,000 quarters greater than in 1921, in spite of a poorer crop. The yield of 24-7 bushels per acre is 14 bushels less than last year, and 24 bushels below average. Peas are by far the worst crop on record, the yield per acre being estimated at only 17 bushels, or 73 bushels below the ten-year average, and 12 bushels less than the previous lowest in 1885. The total production of 261,000 quarters is 52,000 quarters less than last year, and lower than in any year, except 1916 when practically a similar total crop was obtained from an area about 30 per cent. less. The growth of hay was retarded by the cold, dry spring, and much of the seeds was a thin plant as a result of the drought of 1921, so that hay crops were also very unsatisfactory. Most of the seeds hay was secured in good condition, but the bulk of the meadow hay was more or less weathered, and the quality of a fair proportion was impaired owing to delay in cutting. Seeds hay gave a total crop of only 1,732,000 tons, which is the smallest production since 1893, and about 400,000 tons less than in 1921. The yield per acre of 207 cwt., is 12 ewt. less than last year, and 53 cwt. below the ten-year average. It will be understood that these figures apply to the area of seeds actually cut for hay, and take no account of the area of seeds ploughed up. Yields were very light in practically every county, though they were relatively better in the north and in Wales than in other parts of the country. Meadow hay yielded better than last year, being estimated at 18-4 cwt. per acre, against 15°8 ewt. in 1921, but still some 3 ewt. per acre below average. The acreage was greater than in 1921, so that the total production of 4,068,000 tons shows a welcome increase of 870,000 tons. The total quantity of hay produced this year is therefore about 5,800,000 tons, or 460,000 tons more than in 1921, but still some 1,500,000 tons below the average of the ten years, 1912-21. The estimates of the potato and root crops will be issued later in the year. 1922.4 Foot-anpb-Mourd [ISEASE. 863 PRODUCE OF HOPS. Preliminary statement showing the estimated total production of Hops in the years 1922 and 1921, with the acreage and estimated average yield per statute acre in each county of England in which Hops were grown ; and the average yield per acre of the ten years 1912—1921. SE SE SESE A PUR RRR 8 CO AR LAR RE ARERR SAR BROWS AMR A ES Te a Aver- age ol Estimated Estimated Total | Acreage returned = fAverage Yield Produce. on 4th June. cag ae theten CouNTIES, &c. | _ gi) le le aie "_| years . | | 1912 1922. | 1921. } 1922. | 1921. J 1922, 1921.] to | | 1921, Cwt. Cwt. Acres | Acres. | Cwt. | Cwt. | Cwt. ( Kast a4. 46.000 39,000 4095 | 4,005 11:2 9°6 11:4 | Mid .:. | 72,000 | 52,000} 5,528 | 5,414] 181| 97] 12:0 | Kenr { Weald ... | 88,000 | 52,000 WTS" |" 6.634 (Pe 1. iS 1.0°7 | | Sean Seeley Ee eee | (aes eoaeieees Oe L Total, Kent | 206,000 | 143,000 ¢ 16,7386 | 16,053 | 12°3 8:9 fills HANTS vie 2 eeEOOOL 9,000") P1073") 1,043] 10:3) * 8-4) 9:9 | SURREY = soo | 5200 1.500 217 L9G Abe LOS. 1) cet 8-2 SUSSEX a ... | 39,000 | 12,700 2.304), 22098 Ate) 5-7 9-9 HEREFORD ... ... | 30,000 | 33,000 3,945 3,022 76 | 9-5 81 WORCESTER pee 7,000 |” 24,000 2,032 1.965 87) 121 8°7 J OTHER Counries* 500 760 95 SF h) be, | ST) 6-7 TorTaL _... , 301,000 | 224,000 | 26,452 25.133 | 114 | 8-9] 10-4 \ * Salop, Gloucester, Berkshire and Suffolk. Nore.—The total production this year is estimated at 301,000 cwt., or 77,000 cwt. more than last year, and 26,000 cwt. above the average of the ten years 1912-21. Kxcept in East Kent the yields per acre were above average in the south-eastern counties, especially in Sussex where a heavy crop of 14°2 cwt. per acre was obtained. In the western counties yields were not so satisfactory, being half a hundredweight below average in Herefordshire and just average in Worcestershire. Results this year were therefore the reverse vf those of last year, when the western counties had good crops and the south- eastern counties lighter crops than usual. * * * # % # Foot-and-Mouth Disease.—Since the outbreak at Harmondsworth, Middlesex, on 20th October, which was referred to in the Jast issue of The Journal, eight further outbreaks have occurred of which four were in the district to which restrictions were appled consequent upon the discovery of disease at Harmondsworth, the remaining four outbreaks being confirmed in the Woodstock district of Oxfordshire. In the Home Counties area, outbreaks were confirmed at Walton-on-Thames (Surrey) on 28th October, Windlesham (Surrey) on 30th October, Staines (Middlesex) on 30th October, and Worplesdon (Surrey) on 13th November, but no connection could be traced between any of these and the original outbreak at Harmondsworth, nor were the later outbreaks apparently connected with each other. The outbreaks at Windlesham and Worplesdon rendered it necessary to extend the district subject to restrictions. The entire prohibition of movement of animals is now limited to five small areas around the other anfected places. In the remainder of the scheduled area which has been 864 INTERNATIONAL Povuurry Exuiprrion. [Dxc., 1922. considerably reduced, movement is permissible by licence, and fat stock markets can be held by licence subject to inspection. | The initial outbreak in Oxfordshire occurred on 25th October, when two cases were confirmed at Woodstock. The usual Order was imposed in respect of an area with a radius of 15 miles of the infected places. Subsequently, two outbreaks occurred on 30th October and 4th November respectively, on premises in the vicinity of the earlier cases. The origin of the infection in this district cannot be ascertained, but all the 4 outbreaks were connected. In this district also the restrictions have been considerably modified and entire prohibition of movement applies only in respect of two small areas surrounding the infected premises. In all cases, the slaughter of all the affected animals and those in immediate contact has been carried out, involving 107 cattle, 2 sheep, 207 pigs and 1 goat. Agricultural Research Scholarships and Fellowships.— The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Agricultural Science, and with the concurrence of the Development Commissioners and the Treasury, have awarded Research Scholurships, of the value of £200 per annum for three years, to the following candidates :— Mr. N. C. Wright, University College, Reading (Dairying). Mr. W. L. Davies, University College, Aberystwyth (Animal Nutrition). Mr. Ronald C. Fisher, Edinburgh University (Kntomology). Mr. P. Halton, University College, Reading (Animal Nutrition). Mr. Edgar Thomas, University College, Aberystwyth (Agricultural Economics). The Ministry has also extended for a third year the 2-year scholarships previously awarded to :— Mr. J. H. Frew (Rothamsted Experimental Station) in Entomology ; and to Miss M. S. Lacey (Imperial College of Science) in Plant Bacteriology. These scholarships have been established in order to assist promising science graduates to qualify as research workers with a view to their contributing to the development of agricultural science. Travelling Research Fellowships have been awarded to :— Mr. G. W. Robinson, of University College, Bangor, for a visit to America to study soil survey methods ; and to Col. W. A. Wood, of the School of Agriculture, Cambridge, for a visit to Kiel to study methods of treating sterility. The fellowships have been instituted to enable selected members of the staffs of institutions aided by the Ministry to visit foreign countries where research work on similar subjects is carried on and to study at first hand the methods followed there. International Poultry Exhibition.—An International Poultry Exhibition will be held at Liege on 20th—22nd Jan. next, and entries of five or six pens of three birds each are invited from British breeders. Belgian poultry breeders are particularly interested in such breeds as Orpingtons, Minorcas, Sussex, and Dorkings. Inquiries should be addressed to the Sec- retary, International Exhibition of Aviculture, Société Royale Union Avicole de Liege, Belgium. Printed under the authority of HIS MAJESTY’s STATIONERY OFFICE, By Metchim & Son, Princes Street, Westminster, 8. W. 1. THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. 1X The FARMERS’ : WARDEN ; FoR INSURANCE oF HORSES and CATTLE. STALLIONS, BROOD MARES, FOALS. EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY. FIRE. DRIVERS’ ACCIDENTS. MOTOR CARS, FARM TRACTORS, and GENERAL INDEMNITIES. For Best Rates and Terms apply— WARDEN INSURANCE COMPANY, LTD. ESTABLISHED 1875. Honoured with the Patronage of H.M. THE KING. Chief Office—21, IRONMONGER LANE, LONDON, E.C. 2. MANAGER AND SEcRETARY: R. R. WILSON. Build Substantial and Attractive Buildings You save money and save time by building the Cyclops way. Your building will be cool in summer and dry in winter. Whether you wish to build a new villa or just a silo, there is no better way than the Cyclops way. The Cyclops method is not an experiment. It has been tested for years throughout the world and never found wanting. It is equally suitable for temperate, arctic or tropical zones. The method is protected by several patents. Suitable for Houses, Factories, Cinemas, Public Buildings, Garages, Farm Buildings, Drain Pipes, Fence Posts, &c., &c. May we send you a copy of our Catalogue, EX-SERVICE MEN TAUGHT FREE OF CHARGE. The Cyclops indurating system so facilitates the hardening of concrete that roads can be used in a few days after treatment. The plant used is simple and can be applied to each Jength of road made ; this also applies to paving slabs. Stakes Sr ee The Cyclops Conerete Company, gi, Peeae ‘S11 REET, ‘LIVERPOOL, CONTRACTORS FOR BUILDINGS OF ALL KINDS. Telephone: ROYAL 1195. ESTAB. 1882. Telegrams: “ ASSESSOR.” X THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. BREEDERS’ ANNOUNCEMENTS. CATTLE. SHORTHORNS. WELBECK HERD OF PEDIGREE SHORTHORNS, the property of the Duke of PORTLAND, K.G. Young Bulls and Heifers for sale, from the best strains.—Apply, ALEX. GALBRAITH, Hunciecroft, Welbeck, Worksop. DAIRY SHORTHORNS. OHIVERS & SONS, LTD., HISTON, CAMBS.—Pedigree Dairy Shorthorns. Over 100 head, mainly fashionably bred Bates Families. Milk recorded daily and checked by Ministry of Agriculture recorder. Champion Gow, reserve champion Bull, 100 Guinea Challenge Cup, R.A.S.E., Derby ; 2nd Milking Trials, London Dairy Show, 1921. Bulls and Bull Calves always for Sale. LINCOLN RED SHORTHORNS. SCORER, CHARLES E., BRACEBRIDGE HEATH, LINCOLN.—Lincoln Red Dairy Shorthorns. Prizes won in 1921; 2nd Breed Milking Trials, 3rd Open Butter Test (open to all breeds) Royal. Average yield 1907 to 1914, 805 galls.; 1920-21, 821 galls. Official records kept. Young bulls from proved dairy cows on sale. THE STAPLEFORD PARK HERD. A few young Bulls from Royal Prize Winners always for sale from carefully tested milking strains only. Apply C. S. HARVEY, Wymondham, Oakham. SHEEP. SUFFOLKS. SHERWOOD, S. R., PLAYFORD, IPSWICH.—Registered Flock 105. Holder of Bristol Champion Challenge Cup for Best Flock of the Breed, 1899 and 1919. Highest awards, Carcase Competition, Smithfield Club Show. Large winner at Royal and County Shows. Also Breeder of Pedigree Dairy Shorthorns. PIGS. LARGE WHITE. OHIVERS & SONS, LTD., Histon, OAMBS.—Over 1,000 pigs bred annually. Breeding Stock live out in Large Grass Orchards. Stock Boars include Histon Wonder, lst and Champion, Royal and Highland Shows, 1922; Spalding Kingmaker, lst Royal and Peterborough Shows, 1922, and sire of numerous winners, including Reserve Champion Sow, Royal Show, 1922; Dalmeny Macbeth, Ist Highland and Edinburgh Shows, 1920, and own brother to 72U-guinea Sow. Young Stock always for Sale. COLSTON & BORROWFIELD HERDS OF LARGE WHITE PIGS, the property of R. Millington Knowles, Esq., The Hall, Colston Bassett, Notts.—Numbers and quality equal to pre-war standard.—Particulars from AGENT, Estate Office, Colston Bassett, Notts. GREENALL, SIR GILBERT, BART., C.V.0., WALTON HALL, WARRINGTON. The Walton and Worsley Herd of Pedigree Large White Pigs. Selections of all ages for sale at moderate prices. Apply to the Manager, The Office, Bridge House, Higher- Walton, Warrington. Station: Warrington. Trains met by appointment. THE WARREN HERD OF PEDIGREE LARGE WHITE PIGS, the property of H. T. Williams, Esq.— Young Stock of the best strains for Sale, including a fine selection of in-pig Gilts—Apply to RAYMOND KBER, Warren Home Farm, Broughton, Ohester. MIDDLE WHITE. OHIVERS & SONS, LTD,, Histon, CAMBS.— Select Herd of Pedigree Middle Whites. Champion Cup for Best Middle White Pig at the Royal Show, 1919 and 1920 (won outright). Champion Boar, lst and reserve Champion Sow, Royal Show, Derby ; 1st and 2nd, Smithfield, 1921; 1st and Reserve Champion Boar and Sow, Royal Show, Cambridge; lst and Champion Boar and Sow, Highland Show, Dumfries, 1922. Young Stock always for Sale. STAPLEFORD HERD OF MIDDLE WHITE PIGS. A few choice gilts and boars Sired by Royal Winners always for sale at reasonable prices. C. 8S. HARVEY, Wymondham, Oakham. LARGE BLACK. PIOKWELL HERD, Pedigree Large Blacks. Young stock from best strains at reasonable prices. CAPTAIN OLAUDE W. HEMP, Stainbridge Farm, Bolney, Sussex. NEWHOUSE HERD ot Pedigree Large Black Pigs. Boars and Gilts from best strains—ROBERT FORTUNE, Newhouse, Oranleigh, Surrey. RIDDINGS HERD PEDIGREE LARGE BLACKS, young stock from best strains always on hand.—JAMES HODGSON, Riddings, Longtown, Cum. POULERY. BOOTHROYD, F.—Breeder, Exhibitor and Exporter of the finest Rhode Island Reds S.C. White Wyandottes, Light Sussex and Magpie Ducks, Breeding Pens, Stodék Birds, etc. Prices and all particulars on request. F. BOOTHROYD, Shustoke, Coleshill, Warwickshire. MAJOR, ARTHUR C.—Breeder and Exhibitor thirty years. Champion Dark and Silver Grey Dorkings, “England’s best fowl.” Prizes at all Shows, and exported allover the world. Prices moderate. Eggs, 1s. eaach—ARTHUR O. MAJOR, Ditton, Langley, Bucks. CHIVERS & SONS, LTD., Histon, CAMBS.—High-class Utility White and Black Leghorns. White Wyandottes and Light Sussex. Reared on free range. Winners at leading Laying Competitions. Kggs and Stock Birds for Sale. Ilustrated List free. WHITE LEGHORN FARM.—Breeder. White Leghorns, ran in 500 units, producing 80,000 eggs per annum. Hatching Eggs from second and third season hens, mated to trap nested cockerel stock. 7s. 6d. per dozen, or 60s. per 100.—WOODMANCOTT, Micheldever, Hants. MISCELLANEOUS ADVERTISEMENTS—( Cheap Prepaid). All applications for Advertisements in “The Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture’’ should be addressed to C. VRRNON & Sons, LTD., 38, Holborn Viaduct, London, E.C. 1. THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. Xl as HEWTHORN & CO. | Ltd. MANUFACTURERS OF HIGH, GLASS VETERINARY.» MEDICINES, POWDERS, OINIMENTS, EPC, MIM SUBSTITUTE, THR VeNG, Nix tURES FORALL: ANTM ALS: GODeEIVER) OIL CONDIMENT, HARES SiCOMPO AND: BOOT, POLISH, HARKNESS OTL, MEDAL AND OTHER POLISHES, DESI NEECTANTS, See PDIP, CATTLE WASHES, AN smeeten Ox So, OLS AND GREASES. 70, Finsbury Pavement, London, E.C. 2. Prices and full particulars on application. NAPTHALIM Eradicates “Club,” “Finger & Toe” Disease, &c. DESTROYS ‘WHITE FLY.’ A FEW TYPICAL TESTIMONIALS. ‘““‘NAPTHALIM’’ FOR WHITE FLY ON TOMATOES. THE HORTICULTURAL COLLEGE, SWANLEY, KENT :— ‘*We find ‘NAPTHALIM’ ABSOLUTELY clears Tomato Houses of White Fly.” Mr. G. R. GwiLiiaAM, THE AcERrs NURSERIES:— “T FIND THE ‘NAPTHAGIM’ MOST EFFECTUAL for White Fly on Tomatoes. It is THE VERY BEST THING I HAVE TRIED SO FAR.” Mr. C. R. H. Weexus, Dukes, BrRapNINCH, DEVON :— “T have found ‘NAPTHALIM’ MOST EFFICIENT in keeping in check the white fly on Tomatoes. I used the ‘NAPTHALIM’ on three consecutive nights, and find THE HOUSES COMPLETELY CLEARED OF THE PESTS.” Note Reduced Prices :— Small Trial Orders. 34 Ton Lot. 1 Ton 2 Tons. 4 Tons. NETT CASH. 13/6 perCwt. £6-0-0 £10-10-0 £19-10-0 £38-10-0 with order. Carriage Paid any English Station. Positively no extras. BAGS FREE. 1 owt. or 1} cwt. at BUYER’S OPTION. IMMEDIATE DISPATCH. RENED RAY & CO., 3, Old Mills, Hounslow. Xl The “SCOTT” SILO OF Reinforced Concrete IS UNEQUALLED. We do not advertise our Silos because they are cheap. We bring them to your notice because they are the best in design and construction, and require no up- keep, and because they have all the qualities of making ideal ensilage. Before you decide on any kind of Silo, you ought to consider the question of ser- vice or durability, along with value. These considerations ex- plain the pre-eminence of the ‘‘Scott”’ Silo and the number built all over Great Britain and Ireland. JAMES SCOTT & SON, (ABERDEEN) LIMITED, 483-485, Union St., Aberdeen. THE “CLAYTON” GA SSING MA CHINE for DESTRUCTION OF RATS, RABBITS, &c. Producing sulphurous gas of high strength without danger to operator or domestic animals. Unlike Poisons, Virus and Trapping, it destroys not only Adult Vermin but also the young in the nests. Used by— Estate Owners, Farmers, &c., &c. Full Particulars from— CLAYTON FIRE EXTINGUISHING & DISINFECTING CO. ate 22, Craven Street, Strand, London, W.C.2 RESSICH & CAMPBELL, 118, Queen a. Giese, Agents W. O. Day, Church House, Lord Street, Liverpool. THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY + OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. Certain Destruc- Consult the tion to well-known RATS _ and Specialists in the MICE. destruction of Vermin, HALLER LABORATORIES, LIMITED, Proprietors of preparations for the destroying of Vermin, (Dept. H), 325, Borough High St., London, §S.E.1. We've got no work to do. Harness Repairer. Making harness repairs with BIFURCATED RIVETS is simplicity itself. Whenever a strap goes, just slip in a rivet and you have a strong, neat job. Every carter should carry them. Bifarcated Rivets are stocked by most ironmongers. If you cannot buy them locally, we will send you a good-sized box of assorted sizes for a special price of 2/-. Bifurcated and Tubular Rivet Co., Ltd. AYLESBURY BUCKS THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. STARVED CROPS MEAN STARVED PROFITS. LIME THE LAND. Feed your land with Lime. Here are six good reasons for applying Lime to your soil : — (1) Ifthe soil is acid. (2) If sulphate of ammonia or super- phosphate are used. (3) Ifthe soil is clay and requires to be made more open and friable. (4) If the tilth needs improving. (5) If there is ‘* Finger and Toe Disease” in turnips, or “Clover Sickness” is met with. (6) If peat tends to form or the decomposition of organic matter in the soil isincomplete. __ ; Lime can be applied in various ways, viz :— Burnt Lime: 1-2 tons per acre. Ground Carbonate of Lime: 2-3 tons per acre. Lime may be obtained as quick lime, either lump, ground or slaked, or in the form of ground chalk, i.e., Carbonate of Lime. You cannot use too much Carbonate of Lime. It is easily assimilated in the soil and easy to handle. Make the test without delay. Orders executed promptly. DELIVERIES MADE BY TRACTOR OR MOTOR DIRECT TO FARMS WITHIN 20 MILES OF LIME WORKS. LOW PRICES GIVEN FOR HAULAGE. Price for GROUND CARBONATE OF LIME 15/- ton loaded in bulk F.O.R. COULSDON. EX AL... && CO. LID. LIME BURNERS. LIME WORKS: HEAD OFFICE: Coulsdon (L.B.S.C.Ry.) Victoria Wharf, Croydon. Phone: Purley 10. Phone: Croydon 1104. Telegrams: ‘Cement Croydon.” To Milk Producers, We are always Buyers of Se aS WELL-COOLED DAIRIES OF MILK. A Plentiful Supply of Churns. Regular Payments. UNITED DAIRIES (Wholesale) LTD. 34, Palace Court, Bayswater, LONDON, W.2. Telephone—4921 Park. Telegrams—* Dairydom,” Notting, London X1ll The Netting you will have eventually — ee en | BECAUSHit lies dead flat without curves or bulges and gives no trouble. 4] Ttismade to stand heavy SS Se Se Davi t i strains too, being of || N IM! fine grade wire, galva- ps 2) i nized after manufacture. = A, if! High quality and low price is [ij iy, another combination that makes (4) te | Faultless” the Netting you | | | should test NOW. VJ Send us particulars of your reguire- | I q] ments and we will gladly ei famacd iA id | paid prices for large or small quantities, {{4} | direct from works. 12 4 | ! waa Bim sw sn -< Ps : 3 ha Fe ; Ss ee A FF VALE IROMWORH. “3” 1A i, ! ani | CARDIFF | is the Farmer’s insur- ance against shortage of food and drought. Prepare for next sea- son’s drought and erect one of our a i ; 4 i 4 J ; Creosoted Wood Stave Silos The quality and sound construction of our Silos are the best and cheap- est obtainable. The advantages in our make ae > Extra Strong con- struction. Secure Anchorage. Hinged Doors. Convenience in Filling and Emptying. Durability & Stability. [fyou want to know all : : about Silos and Silage, ' : write for our 20 page : English Bictlens Ltd INCORPORATED with GABRIEL, WADE « ENCLISH:E? WISBECH. X1V If you want fo make “EC-onom- ic” METAL SILOS | The are the ACNOWLEDGED BEST. SEASON 1923. A new range of silos is being introduced at considerably reduced prices to be known as the ff EC-onom-iC” POPULAR Silo. The original range will be continued as_ the ‘‘EC-onom-IC” PREMIER Silo, and will embody additional features of proved utility. Both types can be purchased, if desired, Without Capital Outlay. Fuil particulars on request, or from STAND No. 31, SMITHFIELD SHOW THE GEO. H. GASCOIGNE CO., Lid. (A.O.), : 27/28, Market Place, Reading. ‘Phone: Reading 1319. Telegrams: Gascoignes, Reading. ‘ And at WESTMINSTER, S.W.1. —Make Silage ! ‘SAFETY FIRST! AVOID BOTULISM BY USING RATOTIGKER The non-poisonous Rat and Mouse Catching Device On Sale at leading Chemists and Stores Full instructions and descriptive pamphlets Tins each 1/-, 1/9, 2/6, or from Sole Manufacturers (post free, 1/4, 2/3, 3/3) B. WiNSTONE & SONS, Ltd., 100/101, Shoe Lane, London, E.C.4 THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. A. Stapleton & Sons, Ltd, MILK & CREAM CONTRACTORS. MILK and CREAM Supplies available from’ over 500 Farms. Personal supervision, and no_ trouble spared to give satisfaction. In no way connected with any other firm distributing milk by road in the London districts. Apply to Chief Offices :— BROOKLANDS DAIRIES, Stoke Newington, N.16. Telephone—DALSTON 164. AUTUMN APPLICATIONS OF POTASH give the best results on Grass Land and Winter Cereals. “Seeds” and Meadow Hay respond best to both Phosphates and Potash. Winter Cereals on light land pay for Potash dressings before sowing. For sound information and literature on use of Potash: G. A. COWIE, M.A., B.Sc., A.LC., 39, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W.1. For prices of all Potash Fertilisers : F, W. BERK & Go,. Lro., 1, Fenchurch Avenue, E.C.3. THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. XV ESTABLISHED 1797, KEEVIL & KEEVIL, Poultry, Game, Rabbit and Meat Salesmen, 228/234, Central Markets, London, E.C,1, SOLICIT CONSIGNMENTS OF “LIVE “AND DEAD POULTRY, RABBITS, GAME, PORK, &ce. HIGHEST MARKET PRICES PAID. Correspondence Invited. Bankers: London Joint City & Midland, Charterhouse Street. E.C. Telegrams: * Keevil, Smithfield, London.” Phone: City 5096. (Private Ex.) Fertilisers and Feeding Materials, Specially prepared Manures for Autumn Wheat, Winter Grass, &c. Basic Slag Bone Meals Castor Meals Rape Meals Ground Slag Phosphate Superphosphates Sulphate of Ammonia Nitrate of Soda Fish Meals Nitrate of Lime Potash Salts and other Fertilisers. Linseed and Cotton Cakes, Decorticated Cotton Cakes and Meals, and other Feeding Articles. Clover, Grass and Root Seeds. HY. RICHARDSON & COMPY., Skeldergate Bridge Works, YORK. Lancashire, Cheshire, Shropshire & North Wales. Messrs. BOULT, SON & MAPLES, VALUERS, SURVEYORS, ESTATE AGENTS, AND PROPERTY AUCTIONEERS. Offices: 5, COOK STREET, LIVERPOOL. Telegrams—“ Acres,’’ Liverpeol. Telephones—187 Bank—2 lines. Estates, Farms, Residential and Business Properties only. Periodical Sales of Property at Liverpool, Chester and Preston. All applications for Advertisements in ‘‘The Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture” should be addressed to C. VERNON & SONS, LTD., 88, Holborn Viaduct, London, E.C. ‘ees EA re IVI nN G E’Ar Wii nt G LEARN BY POST TO make farming pay really well. We have trained hundreds to succeed. Why not you? WE have courses of instruction in every branch of Mixed, Stock, Arable and Dairy Farming, Veterinary Science, Farm Accounts, &c. ALSO a special course in Land Agency for those going in for the management of landed estates. THE College has been established 18 years. Send postcard for a free prospectus to The Agricultural Correspondence College (Sec. N), Ripon. THE YORKSHIRE INSURANCE COMPANY Limited. LIVE-STOCK INSURANCE A SPECIALITY. SHOW AND TRANSIT RISKS PROMPTLY ARRANGED. Chief Offices: York: ST. HELEN'S SQUARE. London: BANK BUILDINGS, PRINCES ST., E.€.2. Branches and Agencies throughout the Kingdom. The Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture. Net Sale Certificate. I hereby certify that the average monthly net sales of The Journal of the Ministry of Agriculture, all editions carrying advertisements, after deducting all free vouchers, complimentary and _ advertising copies, and all returns, for the half year ending 30th September, 1921, were 9,687 copies per issue. In addition to sales, the average number of copies distributed to Officials of the Ministry, County Inspectors, Agricultural Com- mittees, Agricultural Societies, and agricultural experts and writers, was 1,187 monthly, which, while not being a sale circulation, is never- theless effective and guaranteed. (Signed) F. L. C. Frovn, Secretary and Accounting Officer. 7th November, 1921. Sole adie for A * eS ae C. VERNON & SONS, LIMITED, 88, Holborn Viaduct, London, E.C.1 xvi THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. — ) SPRAYING LIME WASHING will PREVENT disease in Fruit Trees and Animals. VERMOREL "“ECLAIR” SPRAYERS to carry out this work efficiently and economically are ALWAYS READY TO BE DESPATCHED AT ONCE. Various types have been illustrated and described in past numbers of the Journad. They include : 34 pint Hand Sprayer. 6, 11 & 22 gallon Wheeled Sprayers. 3} gallon Knapsack. Dry Sprayers. 4 gallon Bucket. 66 gallon Horse Drawn Potato and Extension Lances. Charlock Sprayer. Catalogue and full particulars from COOPER, PEGLER & CO., Ltd., 24b, Christopher St., E.C.2. 2 ER ea PAM VOY oA Se Ga es PRODUCE MORE MILK BY KEEPING BRITISH FRIESIANS WHICH HAVE PRODUCED 47 2,000 gallon Cows. 17 10-gallon-a-day Cows. 5 1,000 lbs. Butter Cows. The Dairy Show Champion for two years in succession. The Silcock Cup Winner for two years in succession. Information gladly given by— BRITISH FRIESIAN CATTLE SOCIETY, 4, SOUTHAMPTON ROW, LONDON, W.C.1. OR AT] STAND 478 at the ROYAL SHOW at CAMBRICGE. | . ee Spe | ry ae 7 A Soe ee ieee RS ees - REN Pap - =~ ee ee ke tts ae apes as 2 ar tg: oer ee a Re ; Rae “se "! + not Co eee bat oe cam “ ee 2 Pia be Tt vr ee es fy ee et ci katee pert. one re ae —— _# eee ae eras ie > oe ov - THE JOURNAL OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE.—Advertisements. EPHOS BASIC PHOSPHATE A vadio-active phosphatic fertiliser, containing 60-65% Phosphates. HIGHLY SOLUBLE. i or grain land roots “ EPHOS” will give results _ comparable to superphosphate and basic slag, while ) it excels both 1 in the promotion of leaf and stem. ? EPHOS” counteracts soil acidity. | é EPHOS’” is cibeiladly well adapted for mixing in compound manures. CROOKSTON BROS., $8, Grosvenor Gardens, Lendon, S.W.l. ut ionon eee is | nA ee THE J OURNAL OF THE MINISTI | Bea a re : AGRICULTURAL hi i LUMP OR GROUND. To All Cultivators of Land: ae 1 SE / J . ai | 4 wo j * v4 : Re a» : Specially Finely Ground for Mechanical Distribution. ! GROUND LIME is a. FERTILISER, and cepdece. nEAvIES CROPS witha MINIMUM of Pa ae GROUND LIME, if applied to the jana in quantities of about 10. ne. or. more a o . . per acre er annum, will produce greatly augmented CROPS, whether of Cereal, SY taal * Clovers, or De igen abe Plants. Fanon. fit ‘THIS LIME is a SOIL FOOD, an INSECTICIDE, a FUNGICIDE, and the BEST REMEDY for ‘“ FINGER-AND-TOE” DISEASE in TURNIPS, &e. The Works are favourably situated for prompt delivery sn ESS EASTERN, SOUTH MIDLAND and SOUTHERN COUNTIES pan For Prices of AGRICULTUI RAL ca GROUND 1 CARBONATE OF LIME Write to— THE CEMENT MARKETING COMPANY, LIMITED, | LIME DEPARTMENT, 8, LLOYDS AVENUE, LONDON, E.C3. “Telegraphic Address:—““ PORTLAND, FEN, LONDON.” — Telephone No:—5690 AVENUE (Private Exchange). —