BONE SPAVIN. 



It is hardly necessary for us to add more 1 

 authorities in favour of bone manure. The 

 reader may refer, however, to the experiments 

 of Captain Ogilvy, of Airlie Castle (Trans, of 

 High. Site. vol. iv. p. 238) ; of Mr. Watson, of 

 Keillor, Cupar-Angus (Quart. Joum. of Agr. 

 vi',.. vi. p. 41 43); and of Mr. Boswell, of 

 Kingcaussie (Trans, of High. Si,c. vol. i. p. 73; 

 Comparative Trial of Bones, Farm-yard Ma- 

 nure, and Rape Cake) : to those of Mr. Billyse 

 on their use for the pastures of Cheshire 

 (Joum. of Roy. Agr. Soc. of Bug. vol. ii. p. 91.) 

 See also Johnson, On Fertilizers, p. 125. (Brit. 

 Farm. Mag. vol. vi. p. 308.) The bone mill is 

 described by Mr. Anderson, of Dundee (Trans, 

 of Hfsrh. Xoc. vol. i. p. 401), and again in the 

 7V//;/// Ci/i-/i>f>;r(H(i. 



BONE SPAVIN (Fr. espavent ,- Ital. spava- 

 HO), in horses, is a disease of the hock joint, 

 usually brought on by over-exertion, accele- 

 rated by bad shoeing. When this is forming, 

 there is commonly lameness, but this dimi- 

 nishes or ceases when the bony matter, whose 

 deposit causes the spavin, is completely 

 formed, at least when the horse is warm with 

 exercise. It impedes his rising when down, 

 and in consequence spavined horses lie down 

 with reluctance. A spavined horse generally 

 does slow work well enough, and when used 

 in the farm, his disease is commonly amelio- 

 rated or cured. Repeated blisters will either 

 entirely remove or ameliorate the symptoms. 

 Tt is only as a last resort that the hot iron 

 hould be u-i',1. 



BOOK-KEEPING. As the merchant, the 

 manufacturer, and the tradesman all find it 

 necessary to keep a set of account books which 

 shall show them the amount of capital em- 

 ployed, the debts owing to and by them, and 

 the profit or loss arising from their different 

 transactions, so to the farmer is this good 

 practice equally essential. The Dutch have a 

 proverb, that no one ever goes to ruin who 

 keeps a correct set of accounts. There is 

 great truth in this sagacious observation of the 

 plodding Dutchmen ; for by consulting correct 

 accounts the farmer will be either warned to 

 retrace his steps, or to persevere in the path 

 he is pursuing. The time required for keep- 

 ing these books is always to be found of an 

 evening after the labours of the day are over. 

 The necessary books to give him this informa- 

 tion are, first, a cash book, in which shall be 

 entered on one side all the moneys received, 

 and from whom ; and on the other side, all 

 payments, and to whom made; secondly, a 

 journal, in which should be entered all deli- 

 veries, and articles received ; and, thirdly, a 

 stock book, in which should be every week 

 entered all addition to or substraction from the 

 stock of the farm ; fourthly, an invoice book 

 to receive all bills of account; fifthly, a wages 

 book, to keep each labourer's time and wages ; 

 and, sixthly, a ledger, which should contain 

 every person's account with whom the farmer 

 has transactions. With these statements care- 

 fully kept, and an account and valuation of his 

 stock in trade made annually, as if he were 

 about to quit the farm, no farmer's affairs can 

 reasonably go wrong; for not only by good 

 oooking is fraud prevented, and economy pro- 



BORECOLE. 



moted, but by this means the farmer always 

 *nows his real position. I am supported in 

 these opinions by a very considerable farmer 

 and land-agent, Mr. Hewitt Davis, of Spring 

 Park, in Surrey. 



BORAGE ( B or a go officinal/ s). Supposed to 

 be derived from corago, or cor, the heart, and 

 ago, to give, alluding to the renovating power 

 f which it was supposed to be possessed. 

 This n a well-known plant in all gardens, 

 growing two feet high, with large leaves, and 

 bright blue flowers. The stalks are round, 

 juicy, and thick, and so hairy that they are 

 almost prickly to touch. The leaves are broad, 

 rough, wrinkled, and hairy. The flowers have 

 five bright blue petals or parts, with a black 

 centre ; they blow all through the summer, and 

 continue till late in autumn. They will begin 

 to flower about June, and when their seed is 

 perfectly ripe, the stalks must be gathered and 

 dried completely before it is rubbed out. (G. 

 W. Johnson's Kitch. Gard.} Borage was for- 

 merly considered cordial. The leaves and 

 flowers tied in a bundle, and warmed up in 

 beer, is a great remedy in England among the 

 poor. They consider them cordial, opening, 

 and cooling ; and in many parts of England 

 they make borage one of their materials in 

 brewing. The whole plant, says Smith (Eng. 

 Flnr. vol. i. p. 265), has an odour approaching 

 to cucumber and burnet, which gives a flavour 

 to a cool tankard ; but its supposed exhilarat- 

 ing qualities, which caused borage to be reck- 

 oned one of the four cordial flowers along 

 with alkanet, roses, and violets, may justly be 

 doubted. The flavour is nauseous in any 

 other beverage. 



BORDER (Germ, and Fr. bord,- Sax. bor^). 

 A term which signifies the portion of land next 

 the hedges in fields; but -in ploughed grounds 

 is mostly applied to the parts at the ends on 

 which the teams turn. 



BORECOLE (Braxsica oleracea fimbriata.') A 

 species of winter cabbage, of which the follow 

 ing are the principal varieties commonly cul- 

 tivated in the garden: I.Brussels borecole. 



2. Green borecole (Brassica oleracea selenisia). 



3. Purple borecole (B. o. laciniata). 4. Varie- 

 gated borecole. 5. German, or curled kale or 

 curlies. 6. Scotch or Siberan kale (B. o. sabel- 

 lica}. 7. Chou de Milan. 8. Egyptian, or Rabi 

 kale. 9. Ragged Jack. 10. Jerusalem kale. 

 11. Buda, Russian, Prussian, or Manchester 

 kale. 12. Anjou kale. Like the other mem- 

 bers of the cabbage tribe, it is propagated by 

 seed. The first crop to be sown about the 

 close of March, or early in April ; the seed- 

 lings of which are fit for pricking out towards 

 the end of April, and for final planting at the 

 close of May, for production late in autumn 

 and at the commencement of winter ; the sow- 

 ing must be repeated about the middle of May, 

 for final planting during July, and lastly in Au- 

 gust, for use during winter and t-any spring. 

 If transplanting is adopted, their fitness 

 pricking out is known when their leaves are 

 about two inches in breadth ; they must be set 

 six inches apart each way, and watered fre- 

 quently until established. In four or five weeks 

 they will be of sufficient growth for final re- 

 moval. When planted, they must be set ir 



203 



