394 
The Winter of 1885-86. 
large breadth of catch-crops, for the spring — 18 acres of stubble turnips — but 
which failed totally — never grew ; about 30 acres of rape, after harvest, 
which came in very useful for the ewes and lambs in the latter part of 
April, as, though not much, it was better than nothing ; also 11 acres of 
rye, which they are just finishing, and 11 acres of trifolium, which they 
are just going to begin. These crops enabled me to keep most of the sheep 
off the grass, at the critical time of growth, and so give it a fair start. 
Previous to their being ready, the ewes and lambs and shearling ewes lay 
on the grass, with a good deal of oats, bran, &c., to help them. 
" 6. At the end of last June I made a silage stack of about 16 acres tri- 
folium, with a great deal of shed oats in it. I pressed it with Amos and Hunt's 
Chain Gear ; it was excessively hot for several months, but after Christmas it 
came out some first-class sweet ensilage. No waste, except about 7 or 8 inches 
at the outside, where it was dressed with salt. No mould, or any influence 
from the outside air, reached beyond that distance. I have given it, in con- 
junction with other food, to a large number of cow stock, who eat it well, and 
it does them well. I shall make more this year, being very pleased with it. 
" 7. None at all, except a shed and yard for the ewes to lamb in, and I do 
not keep them in it but very few days. Shropshire sheej) do not require anj--. 
Even on the highest part of my land, where all my ewes are lambed, they lie 
out three or four days after lambing, in the grass fields. I put three hurdles, 
stufl'ed with straw, in the shape of a Z in the field, where the lambs can go 
to if they like. Cold does not hurt sheep, and it would be impossible to protect 
1000 sheep from rain, so I only give shelter to rams preparing for exhibition 
and sale, in the summer after they have been shorn. 
" 9. The low price of beef, and the particularly low price of mutton last 
autumn and winter, were not produced by the increased quantity of stock in 
the country, but from the failure of the root-crop ; all farmers saw that they 
could not possibly winter so many sheep as usual. Many who usually put 
their lambs to turnips, had none, so sold their lambs. The hill ewes the 
same, which would have been fattened and sold in the winter, were sold, 
barely killahle, at Michaelmas. Cattle in the same way were sent into the 
market half-fat. Farmers saw no means of fatting them well, without going 
to great expense in purchased food, which they could not afford to buy ; and 
also being very short of money, they were pressed into the market. Those 
who could afford it, fed them half-fat, and pressed them into the market 
during the winter ; but what, most of all, reduced prices is the dimi- 
nution in the consumption of meat ; from the depression of trade and want of 
employment and money, there is not half the meat consumed in this district 
that there was previously. 
" 10. 1 do not think this season has taught us any more than previous 
ones had done, viz., that one should always plant more fodder-crops of 
different kinds than would appear to be absolutely necessary for the standing 
stock of the farm, so as to allow for a failure of some of them, or for an 
exceptionally cold winter and spring — particularly in bigh districts like this, 
for the spring; but it is impossible to beat the seasons, and in the event of 
such a total failure of roots as occurred in many places this year, nothing can 
save us from loss. Making silage stacks of aftermath-clover would be a good 
provision ; but last summer the clover never grew, after it was cut the first 
time, sufficiently to do so, or even to be worth hurdling off for sheep, so that 
provision could not be made." 
Mr. Charles Randell, Chadbury, Evesham, Worcestershire : . 
" 1. My farm is in Worcestershire, and is 570 acres in extent. Climate 
very good, the soil varying from a gravelly loam to still' clay. 
" 2. The summer and autumn of 1885 were good for everything but swedes 
