srs 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



PLATE II. 

 A SHORTHORN STEER, 



THE PROPERTY OF MR. RICHARD STRATTON, OF BROAD HINTON, SWINDON. 



This steer, bred by Mr. Stratton, at Broad 

 Hinton, was calved on March 15th, 1856. He 

 was ^ot by Nottingham (15014), out of Red Prim 

 by Red Duke (8624); her dam Prim, by Phoenix 

 (6290), 



Nottingham was by Mr. Booth's famous Har- 

 binger, out of Princess, by Noble. He has already 

 shown himself to be a capital stock getter, and Mr. 

 Stratton advises us that he has some further proof 

 of his excellence in preparation for next Christmas. 



At the Birmingham Cattle Show, in December, 

 1858, this steer took the first prize of 10 sovs. as 

 the best shorthorn steer, with the Silver Medal to 

 Mr. Stratton as his breeder; and he also won a 

 private sweepstakes in the same class. In the fol- 

 lowing week, at the Smithfield Club Show, he took 

 the first prize of 25 sovs. as the best shorthorn 

 steer, with the Gold Medal as the best ox* or steer 

 in any of the classes, and the Silver Medal for the 

 breeder. The beast was sold here to Mr. Davis, of 

 the Black Bull, New Cattle Market, for £70. 

 Instead of killing him, his new owner put him up 

 in a lottery, and the lucky winner sold him back 

 again to Mr, Stratton for £50. The steer, however, 

 had contracted the foot and mouth disease at the 

 Birmingham Meeting, and he came home quite out 



of form. But he was so well done by, during the 

 spring and summer, that at the Midland Counties 

 Show following he once more took the first prize 

 of 10 sovs,, this time as the best ox — the shorthorn 

 Judge standing out for him as the Gold Medal 

 animal. On his waythither,hehad called inat Rugby, 

 where he carried off the great prize of the day, one 

 of 15 sovs. for the best beast. The rules of the 

 club prevented his re-appearance at Smithfield, but 

 at York he received another first prize of 8 sovs. 

 as the best shorthorn ox. He was sold here to Mr. 

 Rooth, of Chesterfield, who got him beaten at 

 DarHngton by an ox of the Duke of Cleveland's, 

 and then killed him. Few animals ever died 

 better. 



This steer was thought by many good judges 

 to be quite a model of what a shorthorn should be. 

 He never, however, went on quite kindly after his 

 illness, or he might have been the Gold Medal ox 

 of both the Great Shows — of one in 1858, and the 

 other in 1859. On either of these occasions we 

 have had to give those points in his history we 

 have now epitomized ; and that will be found to be 

 further referred to in the chapter on the Broad 

 Hinton Herd, of which the print comes in appro- 

 priate illustration. 



OUR ROOT CROPS. 



BY CUTID5EB,T W. JOHNSON, ESQ., F.R.S. 



The growth of root crops seems in some por- 

 tions of our island to be annually attended with 

 greater difficulty. This failure in producing either 

 the swede or the common turnip as successfully as 

 in former years, has been the source of much 

 anxiety. It may then, at this season of turnip 

 sov/ing, be useful if we collect together a few facts, 

 which since last turnip-seed-time have been made 

 public relating to our old root crops, and also to a 

 little-cultivated variety — the kohl-rabi. 



In a recent paper in this magazine (see ante, p. 

 287), I addressed myself to the use of the dry and 

 the water drill in turnip sowing, and I then ad- 

 duced facts which seem to prove that the applica- 

 tion of a very limited amount of water (say about 

 a ton per acre) mixed with superphosphate of lime 

 produced very considerable good effects in the 

 weight of the crop of roots. These trials I am 

 much inclined to believe can hardly be too carefully 

 considered and verified by the turnip grower ; and 

 from other observations I think it would also be well 

 if the eflfect on the turnip was ascertained, of super- 

 phosphate of lime made exclusively from crushed 



bones, without any admixture of coprolite. These 

 conclusions are supported by the results of some 

 valuable comparative trials made in the season of 

 1859, by a committee of the Killucan Agricultural 

 Club. For the report of those experiments I am in- 

 debted to the Irish Agricultural Review, a periodi- 

 cal ably edited by Professor Cameron. 



The English farmer will remember that these 

 investigations were conducted on Irish acres, and 

 that an Irish acre contains 7,840 square yards, 

 whilst an English acre has only 4,840, and that 

 moreover the emerald islanders enjoy a fine moist 

 climate, excellently adapted to the growth of 

 turnips. 



The Killucan Club, at their monthly meeting in 

 March 1859, resolved to test the efiicacy of dif- 

 ferent manures on the turnip crop, applied 

 separately, and also combined with one another. 

 A committee was appointed to conduct the experi- 

 ments. Joseph E. Purser, Esq,, of Corbetstown, 

 the secretary of the club, afforded the manures, 

 and prepared two Irish acres in a field along with 

 his other green crops, which had formerly been 



