FROM A FARMER'S DIARY .sx A Possible Straw Shortage .sx Bracken as Litter - Turkey Producers and National Mark - Economy and the E.M.B. .sx WHEN I wrote in these columns a year or more ago about bracken it brought correspondence from farmers who did not believe it does make good litter .sx However , like the opinionated partner of the Two Black Crows , " I still do .sx " Until I get some evidence of bracken poisoning or other of the troubles enumerated by correspondents I shall continue to use it for littering pigs and other stock .sx I can get plentiful supplies for the cutting .sx The analysis of bracken shows a considerably higher percentage of nitrogen than straw , and , furthermore , it has greater absorption qualities .sx I think , too , it makes a warmer bed .sx Personally , I should not be surprised to see straw fairly dear this winter , for supplies will be shorter than usual , and for this reason those with opportunities for getting supplies of bracken may find it useful .sx National Mark Turkeys .sx Norfolk turkey producers missed a golden opportunity last year in not taking advantage of help which would have been forthcoming from the Marketing Branch of the Ministry .sx Whether they are planning to do so this year or not I do not know , but it seems to me a thousand pities , with a marking scheme in operation , that turkeys should not be included .sx There is a large public which wants , and will pay for , its home-bred and fed turkey .sx Up to the present they have never been sure of getting it .sx They often think they are buying an English bird when in reality they are only getting an inferior importation .sx I believe the public would welcome the opportunity of knowing what they are buying ; and certainly producers would benefit .sx The Empire Marketing Board .sx Suggestions are being made in certain quarters that the work of the E.M.B. may not be curtailed as much as it might appear by the cut in the grant .sx The Colonies so much appreciate the work that has been done , and the results that have been effected , that grants may be made from more than one Colonial exchequer to supplement that of our own .sx Since much of the advertising of the E.M.B. has been directly for the benefit of Colonial producers , it would seem to be only fair for them to be bearing at least some part of the cost of this excellent publicity .sx The Milk Settlement , and After .sx Most of us were prepared for the milk prices for the coming year to be slightly lower than those now in force ; but few expected to have to face a drop of 1d .sx a gallon .sx How a cut of such magnitude , as against the farthing a gallon which the distributors are bearing , can be justified is left to the imagination .sx At the moment , feeding stuffs are cheap , but tariffs appear certain , and a sharp reaction would immediately take place if these eventuated , with the result that on the new basis of milk prices dairy farmers would be far more seriously hit than they are now .sx More Weight - Less Price .sx The latest advice I have received of bacon pig prices is , " Prime bacon pigs , 7 to 9 score , 8s .sx 9d .sx a score .sx " My last week's delivery of porkers averaged 85 lb .sx each , and brought me in 3 4s .sx 10d .sx a head , so that the extra 54lb .sx would have meant 3s .sx 7d .sx less .sx What a strange condition !sx Since our correspondent wrote the latest prices show that baconers have advanced 6d .sx to 9s .sx 3d .sx per score .sx - ED .sx Clever Advertising .sx Advertising to promote the increased consumption of bacon has been appearing lately .sx The main point made in this advertising is in the injunction that " It must be English or Danish .sx " Whereas this appears on the face of it to be a joint campaign by English and Danish bacon curers , it is entirely the work of the Danish interests .sx They are , presumably , anxious to increase the consumption of bacon , and fight the competition of other European countries , but can afford to ignore English production .sx The point arises as to whether the English curers have not got a case against the Danish interests responsible for the advertisement for classing Danish bacon with English !sx Theo .sx A. Stephens .sx A " LOCK-UP " INVESTMENT .sx Effect of Beer Tax Should be to Give Impetus to Cider Drinking .sx THE additional tax on beer should add further impetus to the cider-drinking movement .sx Preferential taxation has already afforded room for enormous expansion in the output of cider for consumption by the town-dwelling as well as the rural public , for consumption outside the cider-making districts as well as within them .sx One firm in the West Country has , during the past eight years , increased its storage capacity by exactly eleven times - this with increased output all round .sx Even to-day , the limit to the market is set , not by consumption , but by the supply of the raw material , namely , the supplies of suitable varieties of cider apples .sx For the industry is still largely depending on applies from old orchards - the orchards that were planted by our fathers and grandfathers , and these are gradually becoming worn out .sx Who is going to plant the new orchards ?sx A tenant farmer is not likely to be willing to sink capital on another man's land and wait fifteen years for the trees to come into full profit ; so much can happen in 15 years .sx Even on his own land a grower is planting for the next generation rather than his own .sx Nevertheless , planting cider-apple trees is probably one of the best lock-up investments that a farmer with suitable land can have to-day - an investment that can hardly fail to show good capital appreciation year by year and handsome dividends in years to come .sx In the meantime manufacturers would do well to realise that it is the price that they pay now that is going to provide the incentive to plant .sx They must be content to allow a fair part of the benefits of a developing trade to accrue to the apple growers .sx Fair prices for fruit now are a good investment from the manufacturers' standpoint .sx The 5 per ton that is being " talked " in the Exeter district , however , does not sound particularly generous , seeing that the crop is likely to be below average following a cold spring and a sunless summer .sx J.A.B. .sx 1 FOR 40lb .sx OF PEAS .sx Lincolnshire Grower's Disheartening Return from This Season's Crop .sx A BOSTON ( Lincs ) grower states that this season he set a field of peas , employed men to hoe , pick and bag them , and received at the end an average return of less than 11/2d .sx per bag of 40lbs .sx He is Mr. A. Gosling , of Victoria House , Skirbeck Quarter .sx He sent 80 bags of potatoes to be sold by auction at Manchester on August 14th .sx The eighty bags realised 3 8s .sx , the prices obtained being :sx one bag at 2s .sx , fourteen bags at 1s .sx 6d .sx each , thirty-eight at 1s .sx each , ten at 9d .sx each , three at 10d .sx each , and fourteen at 6d .sx each .sx Carriage , cartage , market expenses and 10 per cent .sx Commission swallowed 3 8s .sx 6d .sx , leaving 9s .sx 6d .sx to show for the eighty bags !sx This is not counting the cost of seed , of cultivation and of picking .sx The latter is usually 9d .sx a bag .sx With these items included , the transaction represents a dead loss .sx Mr. Gosling's experience is said to have been that of several other growers .sx THRESHING FROM FIELDS .sx Demonstration with the Hutting System on the Ford Farm at Dagenham .sx ON the Ford farm at Dagenham in Essex where all field work and haulage is done by tractors to the total extinction of the horse , the hutting system with ventilating tripods has been used for all this year's wheat crop .sx After some ten days in the huts the whole of the crop , with the exception of one field , had been stacked .sx This one field was kept back for a test and demonstration of threshing direct from the huts .sx The demonstration , which was given in fine weather last week , covered two only of the points that would arise in such a system - the transport of the huts to the thresher and the fitness of the grain for threshing .sx A hired threshing outfit was used and there was no test of the economy of man power that might be effected by the use of an elevator and self-feeder - an arrangement from which a great saving might be expected under such conditions .sx The land at Dagenham provides a very severe test for collection by sweep .sx It is so heavy that for the sake of drainage it must be ploughed in narrow ridges - about three yards wide - and the surface has the appearance and contours of a gigantic sheet of corrugated iron .sx Yet the reversed sweep used worked efficiently .sx It is drawn behind a tractor and when the hut is reached the tractor is backed , pushing the tines of the sweep under the hut , a rope is passed round the hut , and when pulled taut by means of a powerful hand windlass , it retains the hut on the sweep , and the tractor proceeds with the load to the thresher .sx One man besides the tractor driver is required for this operation and on reasonably even ground they could collect the produce of quite a large field quickly enough to keep a drum fully employed - the distance of the carry , of course , is a factor in the amount delivered .sx The material had been in the huts for about a fortnight and was in good condition for threshing .sx There was a marked contrast between the sample obtained and that from a neighbouring farm which has been threshed direct from the stook ; from the point of view of fitness for threshing the demonstration was entirely satisfactory .sx The intermediate expense of stacking is saved , but as yet , of course , no details of costs on actual farm practice are available at Dagenham .sx CORN YIELD PROSPECTS .sx Wheat Likely to Exceed Last Year's Figures - Root Crops Down .sx PROGRESS with the corn harvest has been retarded by the constant interruption of heavy rains .sx Quality for the most part is only moderate .sx Over the whole country the yield per acre of wheat is forecast at about 16cwt .sx , cwt .sx above that of last year and 1cwt .sx below the ten-year average .sx In the Eastern Counties the yield per acre is expected to be below average , states the Ministry of Agriculture .sx The forecast for the whole country is about 15cwt .sx Straw is on the short side .sx Oats have ripened irregularly , and in some districts are not as good as was expected .sx Good crops are being obtained in the Eastern Counties and in Wales .sx The forecast for the whole country is 15cwt .sx per acre .sx Beans and peas are expected to yield above average .sx The forecasts of the production of the year's corn crops issued last month have been revised in accordance with the later information available , and the revised figures are set out below .sx It should be borne in mind , however , that these forecasts are based on estimates made at the end of August .sx It is almost certain that there will be a larger proportion than usual of unsound potatoes , and it is generally feared that the tubers will not keep well .sx 28,000 IN WAGE ARREARS .sx Result of Two Years' Surprise Visits to Farms in Six Counties .sx DURING the two years ending September , 1930 , the Ministry has sent wages inspectors to every farm employing paid labour in six selected counties .sx These are Wiltshire , Monmouthshire , Radnor , Brecon , Montgomery , and the West Riding of Yorkshire .sx The object , of course , was to ascertain to what extent the orders of the local agricultural wages committee were being observed .sx Of the 3,553 workers whose wages were investigated , 20.6 per cent .sx were receiving less than the authorised wage to which they were entitled .sx The proportion underpaid varied from 14 per cent .sx in Wiltshire to 32 per cent .sx in Monmouthshire .sx Included in this number there were 5.5 per cent .sx of the workers who were receiving less than the bare minimum wage authorised for their area .sx As a result of these inspections and of the investigation of specific complaints received by the Ministry during the two years ended September 30 , 1930 , over 28,000 was collected from farmers for arrears of wages , and 270 prosecutions were instituted .sx 5 .sx