October 24, 1878. ] 
increase their numbers we purchase poor ewes and add to them 
generally at Guildford or Cherisey fairs in Surrey, and as a 
profitable farming matter it is found best to keep a stock flock 
in summer and a fatting flock in the winter. The plan we are 
describing is admirably adapted for this purpose, because the 
ewes only receive short keep, and are close folded at night, except 
in extremely hot weather, when they are folded at daytime from 
ten o’clock in the morning to four o’clock in the afternoon, other- 
wise the ewes to avoid the teazing of flies, from which the ewes 
‘suffer very much, will run into hedges and ditches during the 
heat of the day, and there leave their manure. It must be 
remembered that this stock will not fatten readily in the summer, 
but when they are kept in numbers on bare keep they increase in 
value as they approach the time of lambing, and if carefully 
managed are far more valuable than any which can be purchased 
at the autumn fairs. This is not only because they become 
acclimatised to the district in which they are summered, but 
because we have the opportunity of choosing the rams, upon 
which the value and quality of the lambs greatly depend; at the 
same time we can choose our own season at which the lambs shall 
fall, and put on to fattening food at once any ewes which do not 
prove in lamb after a certain date. 
Our practice is to run the tups with the ewes the first week in 
May, one tup being sufficient for fifty ewes. Well-bred Hamp- 
‘Shire downs with close short wool should be selected, in order 
that the lambs, more especially in the case of twins, which require 
to be longer kept, may show a close firm coat. It is a generally 
accepted fact that loose hollow wool injures the sale of fat lambs 
in the live market. The lambs also begotten by a Hampshire 
Down ram possess a much larger proportion of lean meat, and will 
make greater weight at a given age than those reared from the 
Southdown cross. In proof of this we have frequently seen suck- 
ing lambs at Easter, being at that time about twenty-two or three | 
weeks old, the twins weighing 20 Ibs. per quarter, and the singles 
up to 23 Ibs. per quarter, the ewes being at the same time sold to 
the butcher at heavy weights. The rams before being turned 
with the ewes should be shorn and kept in a dry open shed about 
a fortnight or three weeks beforehand. If placed with the ewes 
for service in their wool they are lazy and inactive. The plan of 
feeding the ewes must also be considered, for it is of consequence 
that their food at this particular juncture should be generous, 
We have found nothing better than a fold of trifolium cut up 
and put in racks, and also cut mangolds or Swedes in the troughs, 
with a run in a dry sheltered pasture for a few hours at daytime. 
If, however, circumstances should arise, such as cold wet weather, 
to delay the season of the ewes, they may be advanced by giving 
them half a pound of cracked beans each per day. 
After the ewes are ascertained to be in lamb the rams should 
be removed, and from this time the ewes should be kept in store 
condition, receiving only bare keeping with a constant change, 
but especially should they lie upon the cultivated land at night 
time. 
which otherwise may induce the rot—that is, the fluke worm 
in the liver. In some wet seasons the entozoa, or germ of the 
fluke found in the grass, may be taken into the system by the 
animals whilst grazing, and if they had no change of food and 
-dry lying at night their livers would become diseased with fatal 
effects to the ewes. Our own experience proyes this to us con- 
clusively, for during more than twenty years of feeding unsafe 
meadow land we never had a case of rottenness. We can only 
attribute our success to the change of food and the night layer on 
the arable land with rock salt always at hand, this being the 
great antidote. Under these circumstances, although the entozoa 
may enter the system, yet it fails in producing the dreaded fluke 
in consequence of the quality and condition of the food, &c., not 
‘being congenial to the habits and requirements of this parasite. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour has now ceased connected with tillage work for 
all future crops, and will not be resumed until the fallow plough- 
ing takes place, after the sowing of wheat is completed. The 
horses are, however, now fully engaged in drawing and laying 
‘out dung upon the clover leas, and also in ploughing and pressing 
for wheat. When there is much work in arrear, however, it may 
‘be adyisable to hire the combined steam plough and presser. 
This turns and presses five furrows simultaneously, and soon 
alters the state of matters, and we haye just seen this work going 
on with capital effect. There is work done in one day which 
would require eight horses, or ten horses, or more upon some soils. 
The adyantage to be derived is not so much a question of cost 
as of the time sayed and the forwarding of work previously in 
arrear. 
Some horses will be engaged in lifting potatoes and preparing 
the land afterwards for either wheat or barley, for upon good 
loamy land wheat always succeeds well, and upon sandy or light 
soils barley does well. If the land is laid up for the winter after 
each of these corn crops the broad clover is more sure to take 
well, and better than after any other preparation. At the present 
time the odd hozses will be engaged in carting the mangold crop 
to heap, and also carrots or Swedes as may be required. In con- 
They may then be pastured upon meadows at daytime, | 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
321 
nection with this subject we have come across a memorandum 
wherein we find that in the year 1862 we were at this period 
pulling and clearing off a turnip crop from the potato land 
(before digging the potatoes), which was carted away and stacked 
in fields ready to be used for feeding ewes and lambs upon the 
wheat stubbles. The greens were used daily for cattle, and for 
several weeks proved very useful food for store cattle, pigs, &e. 
Our plan of storing the turnips is different from that of mangold, 
because we only place them between hurdles and thatch the top 
with straw to keep them dry ; and as they are not required to be 
kept any great length of time they come out well for use, espe- 
cially when the greens are not cut off too close to the bulbs. 
Hand Labour will still be various, tor if threshing of corn is 
going on this will employ some hands. Also spreading dung will 
be continued until finished. Hedge-trimming will have been 
finished ; if not, it should be completed immediately. The clean- 
ing-out of ditches and watercourses should be done before the 
heaviest rains set in, so that there may be no impediment should 
the rainfall approach to flocding. This will also be necessary 
upon the home farm where draining has been done, so as to give 
and keep a proper outfall to the water into the watercourses or 
brooks as the case may be. We have meadow lands which have 
been drained with outfalls into the brook, and we find that in 
peaty soils there are red ferruginous substances which are apt to 
accumulate in the drains, in which case we introduce a strong 
iron probe and swab for clearing away these obstructions, which 
if allowed to remain soon block the ‘tiles, which must be taken up 
and replaced. We use the probe always in the autumn, and it is 
made of jointed stout iron rods, so that it may be increased to a 
great length if required. All cattle intended for the Christmas 
shambles ought now to be in the boxes or stalls, where they may 
be provided with the best of food. Grass is still good for dairy 
cows and store cattle but not for fatting bullocks. Shepherds 
will now be busy with not only the fatting sheep eating-off root 
crops, but also in attendance upon the breeding ewes of different 
sorts. The earliest lambing stock will now be dropping their 
lambs and must be attended to accordingly. The later lambmg 
varieties of sheep will require a constant change of food, and if 
possible without root-feeding. Particular attention should be 
paid to ewes that are lambing, for when in high condition they 
are very likely to suffer from inflammation of the udder, in which 
case the old plan was to bleed from the udder vein, but we 
always bleed from the neck. We recollect an instance when we 
had a fresh shepherd upon one of our farms, that we had three 
ewes with seriously inflamed udders. Our new shepherd said they 
were sure to die, and that he had never seen such cases cured. 
We, however, to teach him his work, bled the ewes freely from 
the neck vein with a small lancet, which we always use for the 
purpose. They bled until they dropped down fainting. This, how- 
ever, completely altered the deep red colour of the inflamed udders 
to the healthy colour. We then applied sugar-of-lead ointment, 
which answered the purpose on two of the udders; the third, 
however, was proceeding to mortification rapidly. We then 
applied the verdigris ointment, a sure remedy and preventive of 
mortification. All three of the ewes lived, and two regained their 
milk, but one lost the udder entirely. 
THE CRYSTAL PALACE POULTRY SCHEDULE. 
THIs important schedule, which has become quite the size of a 
pamphlet, demands special notice. The additions to it this year 
seem to be both large and important. In some cases particular 
breeds are somewhat oyver-fayoured in the great subdivision of 
their classes; but this, we understand, is owing to the special 
private generosity of their admirers. If the fanciers of all breeds 
were equally liberal and enthusiastic equal justice might be meted 
out to all. 
We will first look for any general novel features of the schedule, 
and then come to particular additions to it. 
In rule 4 we see a concession to the demands of many exhi- 
bitors, made, we fancy, for the first time formally—yiz., “Hach 
entry for poultry must be packed in a separate hamper, except 
when two or more entries are made in the same class, when they 
may be sent in the same package, provided they are properly 
divided and separately labelled.” This we know by experience is 
a great convenience as well as economical. 
In rule 5 we learn that the old plan is reverted to of birds 
being delivered at the Paiace on a Saturday—viz., November 9th. 
We much regret this. In much experience as exhibitors at the 
Crystal Palace we have suffered twice from any mistakes. These 
were both serious, and both occurred from Sunday or Monday 
penning of birds which had arrived on Saturday. We venture to 
impress upon those who superintend the penning that advantage 
should not be taken of the interyening Sunday to defer the 
work till the last moment. 
Rule 6 is chiefly new and an admirable one, we will therefore 
give it in extenso:—“The Judges appointed to award the prizes 
will be instructed to disqualify and mark any pen which they may 
detect to have been tampered or improperly dealt with, and no 
appeal from their decision will be entertamed upon any ground 
