3S6 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



over the occupier. The tenantry present appear to 

 have generally demurred to this ; and it is difficult to 

 imasine anything more annojing than for a large 

 holder to have a discharged servant living, as it were, 

 in open defiance of his former employer. In liis reply 

 the lecturer qualified such a right for the landlord ; 

 while the general tone of his paper evinced a liberality 

 of sentiment, coupled with a slirewd business-like view 

 of agricultural dealings, and a fair consideration of the 

 claims of all classes, that must add yet more to the 

 fame of "S. G, 0." Duly remembering, may be, 



where and to whom his speech was to be delivered, 

 it is marked by a certain temperance of tone not 

 hitherto so observable in his Lordship's writings. In 

 a word, with the tact as well as the talent of a clever 

 man, the address was as admirably fitted to those it 

 spoke to, as to those it spoke of; and, coming from such 

 a quarter, it cannot fail to have effect. The vote of 

 thanks, then, passed by the Blandford Farmers' Club 

 to Lord Sidney Godolpbin Osborne was no mere mat- 

 ter of form, as seldom has such a compliment been more 

 fairly earned. 



FARMING ECONOMIES. 



THE GAME QUESTION. 



Can it not be rendered agreeable to all parties ? Being 

 an old sportsman mjself, fond of a little game preserving, 

 and yet having the greatest aversion to injuring farm crops 

 or irrilaliug my neigbbours' feelings, I enter upon a con- 

 sideration of tliis question without prejudice. 



I suppose we are all agreed llint every man has a light to 

 enjoy himself in bis own way, provided he does not infringe 

 on the feelings or interests of others. I am therefore going 

 to show tliat an abundance of game well fed need not be 

 injurious to agriculture. T speak practically on this matter, 

 for although two wheat fields and a clover field adjoin the 

 wood in which I have many hares and rabbits, not a blade 

 is consumed, and scarcely ever does a rabbit make its 

 appearance. Metliinks I see a good many holders of game 

 farms gravely shaking their heads ; but facts are stubborn 

 things. The whole question liinges on four words : " Feed 

 in the cover." Nothing runs away from its dinner. Where 

 the food is supplied of the right kind, and at the proper 

 time, there shall we all be found. So it is with game. 

 Their shy and retiring habits naturally dispose them to 

 cover. I know it is the custom with many game preservers 

 to feed their pheasants; but do they feed their rabbits and 

 hares '? Very rarely. A farmer said to Lord C. recently 

 " Your lordship has, I fear, lost your game by poachers, for 

 I have seen nothing of them lately." His lordship smiled, 

 and said : " The fact is I have carted into and distributed 

 over my covers sundry loads of swedes and mangels, and 

 that accounts for your not seeing the game." This is my 

 own practice ; and you will find the mangel, swedes, or car- 

 rots shelled to a nicety. 



I was shooting last season in some cover with some 

 knowing game preservers, who were farmers, I saw tlie 

 mangel and carrots lying about inside the wood. The con- 

 sequence was, in one wood we bagged sixty-six bares ; but 

 you might beat the surrounding fields without finding lialf- 

 a-dozen. They were at home, and had their meals provided 

 for them there. During the late severe weather I could 

 track the ground game all over my cover like a sheep-walk, 

 but not a footmark was to be found in the surrounding 

 fields. I assume, of course, that you keep down cats and 

 other vermin that would disturb your game and drive it away. 



It is easy to comprehend that animals or fowls of 

 any kind, if unfed at home, must go elsewhere for their sus- 

 tenance. They must be fed somewhere and by somebody, 

 or they would starve, which they will lake good care not to 

 do, so long as sometliing can be found somewhere. 



I wish to impress very strongly on all those who must 

 feed game, whether as landlords or tenants, that they should 

 use a ripened or full-grown crop for such purposes; and thus 



prevent the fi'ightful losses resulting from compelling game 

 to feed on germinating or young growicg crops. Let me 

 illustrate my meaning. A hare when ready for the spit 

 will weigh I3 pounds, and when alive would consume daily 

 ^uUy 1 pound of mangel, or a trifle more of swedes, on the 

 same principle that a sheep or bullock, when fed on turnips 

 alone, will consume rather more than one-fourth of its net 

 dead weight daily ; of mangel it would be rather less than 

 one fourth. A rabbit, weighing 1| pounds ready for the pot, 

 would consume 6 to 7 ounces of mangel daily. Of course, 

 if they consumed other food, they would require less roots ; 

 but, as a general rule, I find that hares and rabbits will not 

 touch the young wheat plant or clover, so long as they have 

 access to roots, either mange], turnips, or carrots. Now, 

 let me draw ray moral. A hare sits down quietly in the 

 wood, and enjoys his pound of mangel, a ton of which, at 

 cost price, 6s. 8J., would last him 2,'340 days, or 6^ years, 

 at Is. per year. But supposing you do not provide this 

 mangel, how many tiny tops of budding wheat or clover 

 plants must he destroy to equal this 1 pound of mangel, 

 and how much ground will be clear daily? Take, for in- 

 stance, a nice crop of winter tares or early peas, just push- 

 ing through the surface, and see how soon a score of hares 

 will clear an acre and ruin the crop. 



I happen to have in hand at this moment, as arbitrator, 

 a case involving a claim for damage by game, and 

 the evidence submitted to me powerfully confirms the view 

 I have taken, that it is ruinous policy to allow gi-ound 

 game to consume the early sprouting shoots of tares, clover, 

 peas, carraway, or other crops, without enteriDg into the 

 question as to whose duty it is to feed the game. I would 

 strongly recommend all farmers who hold game farms, when 

 the landlord will not feed his ground game, to have an am- 

 ple supxdy of roots, and feed them themselves just inside 

 the wood, and they may rely on thus saving their growing 

 crops. Every ton of roots so used will save them many 

 times its value in the growing crops — a pretty good profit. It 

 will spare much heart-burning, and perhaps a few lawsuits- 

 On the other hand, landlords may enjoy abundant haltues 

 and yet let tlieir land at its full value to contented tenants 

 if they will take my advice, and feed their ground game with 

 full-grown roots. It is necessary to continue the supply 

 of mangel until June, or, at all events, until grasses 

 and clovers are fully developed, because then the damage is 

 insignificant. Some tares, second clover, and early turnips 

 are desirable for autumn feed. A belt of rapid-growing 

 giant rye near the cover, well manured, affords cheap and 

 abundant spring food. Pheasants, like barn-door fowls, are 

 very fond of mangel and roots'; they are also verj fond of 



