800 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 9, 1885. 
still, what are we to do with the sheep ? Such has been the 
plaint of many an anxious farmer at Lady-day this year; 
and while we are able to fully appreciate the difficulties of 
the position we are unable to offer them one grain of sym¬ 
pathy, for the simple reason that in the majority of such 
cases there could have been an ample provision of green food 
but for the slovenly careless system, or rather want of 
system, in cropping of so many of them. Farmers, more 
than any other class, are wont to follow a beaten track, to 
cling to old customs, and in cropping at any rate to do as 
their forefathers did. Yet this very habit of looking back 
should remind us how frequently our fickle climate inflicts 
upon us cold late springs. Knowing this stern fact so well, 
as we all must do, ought we not to do all we can to make 
provision against an evil of such frequent recurrence ? That 
it is possible to do so has been shown repeatedly in this 
Journal, and upon the sound principle that the best time to 
realise the full value of a remedy is during the existence of 
the disease, special attention is now given to this matter. 
Timely attention was called last season to the value of Rye 
for affording an early supply of green food for folding, as 
well as for cattle and horses. Our own crop of it, sown early 
last autumn, as was recommended, was available for use 
early in March, but it was not required till the end of that 
month, and then it was fully a foot in height. "Winter Oats 
was another still more important crop to which we called atten¬ 
tion again and again, and not in vain, for we had the pleasure 
recently of seeing some forty acres of winter Oats which a 
gentleman had had sown last autumn, and which were avail¬ 
able for his breeding flock, while not an acre of them could 
be found upon his neighbours’ farms. Cordially could we 
appreciate the intelligence and good sense which had thus 
applied theory to practice, and ensured an ample supply of 
green food to fall back upon and a crop of Oats ripe for 
harvest in July, so that it can be cleared off the land before 
the other corn is ripe.* 
Italian Rye Grass must have special mention now, as 
this is the time to sow it with a corn crop for a supply of 
early fodder next spring. In ordering seed care should be 
taken to obtain this, the Lolium italicum, and not Lolium 
perenne, to which general preference is given. Why, we can¬ 
not say, for the fact is established beyond dispute that 
Lolium italicum yields much the heaviest crop per acre. 
Our special object in sowing it is to ensure a green crop for 
the sheep, which shall be quite ready for use before the Rye 
is all eaten. To have one crop overlap the other is all-im¬ 
portant, as it is clear that we must not venture upon too 
close a degree of precision in our calculations, but rather 
allow a margin of a week or two or more for the effects of 
unkind seasons. 
Successional crops of spring Tares are now being sown 
onwards through May for folding, and they answer admirably 
for all kinds of sheep, but are of especial value for bringing 
on lambs for the early fairs, affording a prompt return and 
fair interest upon our outlay. One sowing of winter Oats 
in October, followed by several sowings of spring Tares, is 
certainly an important part of arable sheep farming. Dry 
food is given in the folds at the rate of about a pound per 
head daily ; but when the Tares are old enough to be sound 
food the bowels are not liable to be relaxed overmuch, and 
dry food is unnecessary. This is precisely one of those 
matters requiring watchfulness and judgment, the condition 
and progress of the lambs being our best guide; and the time 
when we wish to have them ready for sale has also to be 
taken into consideration. 
Cattle Cabbages have been used with profit and safety 
among the sheep ever since last autumn, and Thousand¬ 
headed Kale now affords an invaluable supply of sound 
wholesome food upon which sheep thrive. Under good culti¬ 
vation both the Drumhead Cabbages and the Kale give a crop 
of exceptionally heavy bulk per acre, and when used with 
due caution the sheep do not suffer from scour. Rock salt 
should be always accessible, and a moderate quantity of dry 
food given regularly in autumn, winter, and spring, consist¬ 
ing of chopped straw and hay, with a little bran and crushed 
oats, carefully mixed. Sheep do not take dry food well if it 
is only given to them occasionally ; once accustomed to it, 
however, there is no further trouble. It answers best, there¬ 
fore, to give them some daily, however small the quantity 
may be. Sowings for autumn and winter feeding should be 
made’now of Drumhead Cabbages and Thousand-headed Kale, 
and again in July for spring and summer use. If land can 
be spared drilling in the seed is preferable, all the labour of 
transplanting being avoided, and the plants receive no check; 
but in most cases a fine seed bed is prepared, due care being 
taken to render it rich and mellow, so that the plants may 
be easily drawn from it without any serious breaking of the 
roots. It answers best to sow thinly in rows wide enough 
apart to admit a hoe, and then the plants are not liable to 
become drawn and weakly, and a pound of seed is suffi¬ 
cient for an acre. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse and Hand Labour. —Wheat-hoeing has been kept to as closely 
as possible, for notwithstanding the cold dry weather the plant is so 
strong that vigorous growth will quickly follow a change to warmer 
weather with showers. In a survey of the condition of Wheat due allow¬ 
ance must be made for the habit of growth in different sorts. For example, 
Golden Drop has a flat spreading habit in its young state, so that its true 
condition can only be seen by very minute inspection ; while Square-head 
Red Wheat, Imperial and Champion White Wheat, all have an erect free 
growth that is infinitely more attractive, yet the plant may not be at all 
superior to the Golden Drop. Poles are now being put to the Hops, and 
when this is finished the horse hoe will be run through the surface between 
the poles to get rid of early weeds, and it will be in frequent use for the 
same purpose throughout summer. Hop-tying will begin as soon as the 
young growth is about 2 feet in length, soft pliant rushes being used by 
women for the purpose. Rolling and harrowing grass and corn has 
been done, and as soon as the sowing of root crops is finished the whole 
of the horses will be put upon any foul land unrropped to get it clean 
and in order for sowing either with Mustard or Grass seeds, for which 
latter purpose the culture must be thorough, in order to reduce the soil to 
as fine a condition as possible. 
Hairy Corns .—Examine the whole of the cows and calves carefully, and 
consider well the treatment of the herd, deciding now upon any with¬ 
drawals to be made this year. Barren or worn-out cows should soon be 
taken from the herd and given a summer run upon good grass, so as to be 
ready for the butcher in September. Delicate cows, unless of especial 
value for quantity or quality of milk, require so much extra care and food 
that they should be got rid of. Mark good or bad qualities in heifers as 
they calve, and subsequently, so as to be able to select animals of promise 
to add to the herd. The true value of a cow i3 not realised fully till after 
the second calving, but heifers afford tolerably clear indications as to their 
subsequent value. Calves may be put into three classes—for cows, for 
store beasts, and for fattening at once for veal. In the first class we only 
retain the progeny of really useful cows, and which have been crossed 
with as good a bull as could be had ; in the second, large-boned animals 
with strong vigorous frames are entered if the cows are quite sound and 
healthy ; in the last class all doubtful calves are placed, and they are 
fattened and sold as soon as possible. No matter how big a calf a weakly 
cow has, it is not kept but is fattened at once. This, of course, does not 
apply to Channel Island cattle, or rather Jerseys, for their calves are never 
very large or vigorous. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
BATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
5 
*5 
1885. 
March—April. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 328 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday .29 
30.083 
44.0 
39.1 
S. 
40.0 
51.4 
34.2 
888 
28.8 
— 
Monday. 30 
30.168 
46.3 
41.7 
N.E. 
40.6 
51.6 
37.3 
89.7 
33.8 
— 
Tuesday.31 
30.334 
44.1 
37.6 
N.E. 
40.8 
56.7 
31.5 
89.8 
22.7 
— 
■Wednesday .. 1 
29.879 
48.2 
43.3 
S.W. 
41.2 
60.8 
36.8 
104.4 
28.2 
0.024 
Thursday.... 2 
30.001 
41.9 
37.1 
N. 
42.8 
52.6 
37.2 
99.1 
35.3 
— 
Friday. 3 
30.244 
42.3 
37.6 
N.E. 
42.6 
53.0 
30.6 
96.0 
25.6 
— 
Saturday .... 4 
30.036 
42.3 
38.0 
E. 
42.1 
52.0 
29.3 
94.2 
22.3 
— 
30.106 
44.2 
39.2 
41.4 
54.0 
33 8 
94.6 
28.1 
0.024 
REMARKS. 
29th.—Fine throughout. 
30th.—Fine and bright. 
31st.—Fine and bright, but cold wind. 
1st.—Fine and pleasant, warmer ; a little rain in evening. 
2nd.—Fine bright day ; lunar halo at night. 
3rd.—Bright and cold ; white frost early. 
4th.—Thick white frost early, fine, with cold east wind. 
A dry week, with frequent frosts and large daily range of temperature, averaging 
and reaching 25\i° on 81st. -G. J. SYMONS. 
