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». FIELD AND FARM. (From" The Agricultural Gazette-I j. THE KBOKST BAHLAY JCXIUBITIOK. An elaborate report on the barley at-the recent Brewers' Exhibition in London has been issued bj the judges. They say that. there was a larger collec- tion of high claw barleys than on any previous occa- sion but otherwise they do not express any opinioc opon.tha general standard qf quality. Oneof theniosi striking features in the report is the uniform heavi- ness of the exhibits shown in tabular form.. Out of 195 samples weighed, only one was under 531b. pei bushel, and that was a foreign exhibit. Only on< sample of English barley was under 541b., and only nine lots were under 551b. Of the other 145 samples of English 144 were from over 551b. to- over 581b., and one weighed over 591b. These weights were exceeded in 1896. when out of 162 gamples of English barley 59 weighed over 58tb. per bitshel, 4€ over 591b., nine over 601b., and one over 611b. The -average weight per bushel of all the English and Welsh barley was 56,91b„ and the lowest average for any county was 551b., while the highest was 58-ilb. Does not this uniformity of heavy samples for malt- ing barley show that there is no reason to fear that growers of such barley would lose by selling at per bushel of a given weight?- Evidence in favour of early sowing is afforded by the fact that out of 67 prizes 43 were won by barley sown Dot later than the first week of March. BOTATFOXS AND CKtlSAL CROPS. Referring to rotations and catch crops in a paper read before the Glasgow Agricultural Discussion Society, Mr. Gilbert Murray said that a con- tinuous repetition of similar crops for a lengthened period tended to exhaust the natural chemical constituents of the soil, entailing extra oxpenso on the cultivator to supply the deficiency by artificial manure. Tenants were generally bound -down by stereotyped covenants, the evasion of which! TWM visited by pains and penalties. The growing intelligence of the farmer, guided by the light of science, was now generally giving place to a more -expensive system, removing many of the ancient trammels which hampered the efforts of the intelli- gent cultivator. More freedom of cultivation, with the most profitable and economical system of -disposing of the produce, beneficially affected the interests both of owner and occupier. 80 long as the tenant continued to keep the land clean and grow good crops, the prospect of deteriorating the latent capabilities of the soil was remote. Where the land was well farmed it was profitable to take a second white straw Q'Op. By the intelligent use of artificial manures most of. the finest malting barleys were grown after s wheat crop, where the tillage land was allowed to remain in seeds or mixed grasses for a period of two -or three years. tender the four-course system the one year's seed layer was broken up for wheat during the latter part of September or eany in October. In the case of a two or three years' ley, oats instead of wheat should follow the breaking up, a special ad- vantage of which, to a stock-farmer, was the four or five months' foggage on the land, which need not then be broken up before the middle or end of January. On light soils, in an early district, mustard might follow the oat crop, and either be fed off or ploughed in as a contributor of manure to the Soil. Three or four cwt. phosphatic manure, and three-quarters of a cwt. of sulphate of ammonia, ap- plied when the seed was sown, would, under ordi- naay circumstances, produce good crops of wheat. The seed should be sown not later than the first. week in October. He much preferred the drill system to jthat of broadcast sowing. The advantage of the drill was the more uniform depth of depositing the seed, which in the case of barley was of the first im- «ortance. On suitable soils the returns might » largely increased by an improved method of '-sowing. The usual quantity of seed was four bushels per imperial acre. An ordinary corn drill cover«jp a breadth of 9ft. The drill coulters were placed eight or nine inches apart. This left the seed much too thick in the rows, consequently the plants were overcrowded. By altering the gear- ing of the drill from a capacity of four to that oftwo bushels per acre, nd going over the ground twice- once lengthwise and once across—the seed was placed regularly over theland. The plants as they grew up had, so to speak, more breathing space and stood forcing better, because as a rule the straw was more bony. The increase of grain was. seldom less than 2qr.' per acre, and frequently considerably more, whilst the extra expense was not great. A pair of active horses, with a boy to drive and a man to at- tend to the drill; would in fairly-sized fields easily get over 10 or 12 acres a day. CATCH CROP& Equal results could be obtained at much less cost by a Succession of catch crops. Italian ryegrass I where the soil is suitable, and liberal dressing of manure applied, would produce from 14 to 16 tons per acre. The crop could either be .'cut green and consumed in the yards, or eaten off on the land by aheep, or made into hay during the spring months. Bape might be grown either after a seed layer or an early cereal crop, and was particularly well adapted for the feeding of sheep. The chief value of mustard was for ploughing in green in preparation for a cereal crop. About five tons per acre was an average crop. The cabbage, like the turnip, was rather a hazardous crop, incapable of withstanding the con- Ptinued effects either of rain or frost. On suitable soils, trifolium was a productive and useful crops. For the purpose of the sheep-farmer there was 110 forage crop with which he was acquainted equal to thousand-headed kale, both as regards its pro- ductive qualities, its nutritive value, and its capa- bilities of withstanding the most severe frosts. The chief hindrance to the more continuous growth df catch crops was the difficulty of keeping the land clean. The cheapest method of attaining this most desirable object was the growing of tares fed off on the land by sheep. All forage crops freely responded to nitrogenous manures. There was no cheaper or more efficient system of increasing the productive powers of the soil, at a moderate cost, than that of consuming on the lands by sheep cheaply grown crops--particularly:wheat supplemented by auxilary foods. Catch crops could likewise be efficiently used for dairy cows or cattle in the yards. BARLr HATCHING OF CHICKEKS. The natural time of year for fowls to hatch (re- tnarks Mr. Edward Brown) is during the spring, and if permitted to follow their instincts there would be very few hens sat before the end of April, except the season were an unusually open one.. Domestication has had the effect of causing hens to sit earlier than this, and thus hens which do not get broody by the date named are regarded as very late, except they belong to the non-sitting breeds, when they are not expected to become broody at all. As chickens get so plentiful about May and afterwards, they are cheap when compared with a few weeks earlier, and, consequently,, those who seek to make the keeping of their fowls a source of profit, at least where the sale of chickens is regarded as an important sidto the end in view, endeavour to have the birds out as early in the year as they possibly can, so as to obtain the highest prices. This rules throughout, and the poultry-keeper who can have chickens when they are scarce, and eggs when they are dear, is more likely;to make money than he who is content to go Jn t^le jog-trot style, allowing the fowls to lay batch just when they think best. Chickens hatched at the latter end of December or during January, if properly fed and attended to, should sell for four times as much as those hatched in March or April. The latter appear at an ordinary, the former at an exceptional, time. To obtain eggs at this season of the year requires some previous arranging, and it will not be sufficient to simply look for eggs from any kind of birds. In the first place it is necessary to have pullets, as the old hens will not commence laying for a few weeks yet. Some of the last year s birds, if they have got nicely through the moult, may have begun to lay, but as a rule it will be found that the hens do not commence before January or March, according to their age. Then, in order to obtain eggs, the pullets must themselves be early hatched to have begun 'to lay, or, even if they have begun, we should not care to use the first eggs laid by the pullets. These are generally small, and we make it a rule never to use eggs for hatching until a bird has, in its first year, been laying about six weeks; but those hatched in February, or even in March in the more precocious breeds, will have been laying for that length of time. If the pullets have been early hatched, it will also be necesary to force them a little in order to get eggs, and this is done by seeing that the houses are warm I and comfortable, and by giving them hot food in which some stimulating powder has been mixed. They should also have plenty of green food and old mortar or coarse gravel, and nest-boxes must be given, so that there may be no crowding. Then there is another question-namely, that of the :z ¡ fertility of the egfe, as it may be quite possible to obtain eggs early enough, but few or none of them may be fertile. In order to secure this there are two thin-#; nee;ac-A-firat, a young and vigorous cockerel, early hatched and very active in his habits; and second, that only few hens be put with him- not more than three for such breeds as Brahmas, Cochins, Langsbans, and other heavy breeds, and four or five for Minorcas, Leghorns, Houdans, and those lighter in their nature and more active in their habits. It will (soon be noticed if more hens are re- quired, asthenthey are driven about by the cock, and begin, to get bare of feathers on their backs.

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