336 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 24,1884, 
of management and loss of profits, we should first consider the causes 
and next the prevention of its extension in the herd. First, then, is 
it hereditary ? This we cannot say decisively ; but we certainly can 
say it is very bad management to again attempt to breed from a cow 
which had aborted in the true sense of the word—that is, that the 
abortion did not occur through accidental or bodily injury. Under 
every phase of this disaster we should secure the herd against 
infection by removing the affected animal immediately upon dis¬ 
covering those symptoms which are the prelude to actual abortion 
to a close hospital pen, so as to completely isolate the animal from 
the herd. We cannot advise any attempt to breed from a cow which 
has aborted, even if she may be the best animal we possessed, and 
as there is then no excuse for her being allowed to associate with the 
general herd, but it should be kept in box for feeding at once for 
beef. It is the attempt to retain an aborted animal for further 
breeding purposes which is the active source of mischief hereafter 
To practical farmers it is well known that the ergot of Rye is fre¬ 
quently formed in the seed heads of Grasses which may be left in 
the pastures, and is the source of abortion in its most serious form ; 
and having this knowledge, the tufts or bunches of seed heads found 
in pastures may be simply rendered innocuous by running the scythe 
or mowing machine over the pastures in the early autumn before 
the seeds in the Grass heads become diseased with ergot, which it is 
very likely to be, especially in showery and dark sunless seasons. 
The cleansing of stalls or cow-pens is an important matter after 
disorders or diseases of any kind has occurred on the premises 
amongst the cattle, therefore we recommend that the dairy houses 
and stalls be cleansed by washing down and rinsing the stall floors, 
&c., with water containing chemically pure sulphuric acid, at the 
rate of 3^ lbs. to forty gallons of water (for the odour of carbolic 
acid or chloride of lime is enough to make a cow abort, while 
sulphuric acid has little or no odour). As the ailments to which 
dairy cows are subject are many and serious, it is almost or quite 
impossible for the farmer or dairyman to be able even after the 
longest experience to understand and successfully ti'eat various 
diseases to which dairy cows are liable, we therefore advise that the 
services of an experienced veterinary should be obtained. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—On farms where a close system of cropping prevails 
the greatest economy possible should be practised, and in order that the 
work for the horses on the farm may be done effectually and within a 
given period the horses should be powerful animals, not less than 
1G^ hands high, and stout in proportion. We have often ploughed with 
one horse on a fallow surface and scariried also, using one horse attached 
to a strong horse-hoe frame, and using the stout and strong tines and 
points in lieu of hoes, and in this way one horse will do a more valuable 
day’s work on fallows than in any other way, and move the land, too, as 
deep as the plough has gone, thus breaking and pulverising the furrow 
completely. Some farmers will not hear of one-horse labour, but let 
them learn a lesson from the market gardeners near towns, who in the 
district in which we farmed for many years adopted the one-horse labour 
after our having set the example on our farm in ordinary summer tillage, 
The work now will be the completion of sowing Lent corn ; we, however, 
never think of sowing Barley after the 14th of April, let the land be ever 
so kind or good in condition, for it seldom yields a malting sample when 
it is sown after that date, whereas if drege is sown at the rate of three 
bushels of Oats and one bushel of Barley per acre the crop would fre¬ 
quently prove double that of Barley sown alone. The Barley may be 
screened and separated from the Oats and sold for malting purposes, for 
Barley grown as a mixed crop will nearly always yield a good sample, 
whereas when sown by itself it would prove only grinding grain ; the 
Oats being used for feeding the farm horses will also yield a large acre- 
able produce when sown on land in good condition, either following late 
roots fed off by sheep, or broken up and ploughed under as manure. The 
seeding of Wheat after a fallow and autumn-sown makes the best pre¬ 
paration for seeding for a permanent pasture. We finished one field in 
capital condition after sowing a mixture somewhat in accordance with 
our seedings as stated in this Journal last month under the heading, 
“ Seeds for Laying Land into Permanent Pasture.” This field was finished 
on the 11th of April, the seeds were buried well, and the land left rolled 
without injury to the Wheat plant, although the surface was harrowed 
several times to bury the seed. We have also seeded several fields where 
the Wheat was sown after roots ploughed in, also Mustard, &c. This has 
worked off well without injuring the Wheat plant, the seeding being 
done in accordance with our statement in this Journal under the heading 
of “Seeds for Alternate Husbandry,” given in the last week of March. 
We shall now be preparing for Carrot seeding, and we prefer the Red 
Intermediate variety, as they grow short and thick in shape, and can be 
dug at much less cost than any deep-rooting sort, the labour saved being 
an important item in their culture and lifting. These Red Carrots, too, 
sell better than White Belgian variety, either for the vegetable markets 
or the feeding of horse9 in towns. The shallow-rooted Carrots can be 
sown after Trifolium by once ploughing, but the long and deep-rooting 
sorts would grow forked if sown on land cultivated only by once 
ploughing. 
Hand Labour .— The men have been busy sowing the Grass seeds, the 
light seeds being sown separately from the heavy seeds, such as Clover, 
Sainfoin, &c., both, however, being sown by Bennett’s seeding barrow. 
The women will be employed in the barn by preparing Carrot seeds, 
which is done by using leather harvest gloves for hand-rubbing the seed 
in order to rub off the husk or burr ; the seed, when this is done properly 
and passed through the winnowing machine, will run as freely in the 
drill as the seeds like Parsley, Turnips, &c., and we find this is an impor¬ 
tant matter, and enables us to obtain much more regular and even plant 
than when drilled as formerly, mixed with ashes or artificial manures 
with which it was previously mixed. As the seedtime is now so near we 
will state that we prefer to drill with the garden or hand-drill on the 
stetch at 18 inches between the rows, which will enable the horse-hoeing 
to be done when the weeds begin to grow without reference to the size 
and forwardness of the Carrot plants, which may afterwards be safely 
hand-hoed without difficulty. On the home farm coppice and row woods 
will be finished cutting, and the cutting of the Oak timber will have been 
nearly done if the weather has proved favourable for stripping the bark 
from them. The men will be employed in the manure house if hindered 
in the field work in breaking down, mixing, and preparing the guano, 
bone superphosphate, &c., and replacing it in bags ready for use in the 
fields for drilling with the Carrot, Mangold, and other seeds. Cabbage 
plants will now soon be fit for planting out if grown in the mansion 
gardens, as they are frequently. 
Live Stock .—The epidemic lameness in sheep, often called foot-rot, 
still prevails in certain districts where the roots were being fed off on 
cold fiat-lying soils, and we notice that the ewes and their lambs also are 
suffering. Now, like many other stock diseases, we find that prevention 
is better than cure, at any rate a successful remedy when applied at the 
first or second day of the outbreak this lameness will yield to a remedy 
we have used for upwards of forty years. In the western and south¬ 
western counties where the horned Dorset and Somerset stock was kept 
foot-rot prevailed previous to the great outbreak of the epidemic in 1839 
and 1840. But up to that time the flocks of breeding ewes and their 
lambs never suffered from foot-rot unless it was introduced from the 
before-mentioned districts, but since 1839 no district in the kingdom 
within our knowledge has been entirely free from the epidemic lameness 
when the seasons favoured an outbreak ; for it is well known to all our 
most experienced farmers that in certain seasons the rams were lame 
when mated with the ewes, and thus the disease has become hereditary, 
and may therefore, and does occasionally, show itself, for the present 
season is no exception to the outbreak, especially amongst the different 
varieties of short-woolled down breeds. The long-woolled stock of the 
midland counties, &c., have not suffered so seriously as the down breeds, 
nor did they suffer from foot-rot in former times like the short-woolled, 
horned, or down breeds. Our remedy is made by the following recipe :— 
Take 3 ozs. of nitre, 3 ozs. of blue vitriol, 3 ozs. of gunpowder, reduced 
as fine a powder as possible, and mixed with hog’s lard sufficient to form 
a glue-like paste. This has proved a much better remedy with us than any 
caustic lotion, but it should be applied within twenty-four hours after 
its appearance to prevent its spreading. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Guernsey Cows (H. S .).—Guernsey cows are much larger than the 
Jerseys, and give a larger quantity of milk with cream capable of being 
made into the very best butter and superior in colour, odour, and flavour to 
any other. The cows are larger frame and heavier in the carcase, and are 
much neater about the head and horn than they used to be. The back 
number of this Journal, dated November 8th, 1883, gives an excellent 
illustration of a well-bred Guernsey cow, called “ Elegante,” bred in the 
island. If good cattle of this breed are required they can be obtained from 
Mr. E. P. Fowler of Southampton, from whom we have purchased during the 
past forty years. The Brittany cows, which are bred largely all over that 
district, may be obtained of the same importer at Southampton. 
Hens Dying (IF. S. Ilutt ).—See answer in this week’s Poultry. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
d 
*3 
1884. 
April. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
1 
| Temp, of 
1 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 .... 
30.051 
44.2 
40.6 
N. 
46.4 
55.0 
33.5 
104.2 
27.9 
0.028 
Monday ... 
30.076 
43.6 
40.7 
N.E. 
46.0 
54.8 
35.7 
101.7 
30.7 
0.018 
Tuesday .... 
29.983 
45.0 
43.3 
N. 
46.2 
51.9 
39.4 
73.3 
37.6 
0.017 
Wednesday 
.. 1G 
29.867 
45.0 
41.6 
N.E. 
46.3 
49.4 
37.9 
62.0 
35.6 
— 
Thursday .. 
.. 17 
29.966 
43.1 
39.4 
N.E. 
45.7 
45.4 
36.4 
65.3 
83.6 
— 
Friday. 
30.005 
39.6 
35.4 
N.E. 
44.6 
48.4 
84.8 
93.9 
38.4 
— 
Saturday .. 
.. 19 
29.870 
41.3 
36.4 
N.E. 
44.5 
48.5 
83.7 
80.4 
33.0 
— 
29.974 
43.1 
39.6 
45.7 
50.5 
35.-9 
83.0 
33.1 
0.063 
REMARKS 
ISth.—A fair pleasant day, but without much sunshine; a little rain at night. 
14th.—On the whole cloudy and dull, with one or two sprinkles of rain, but occasional 
bright sunshine. 
15th.—Wet morning ; cloudy afternoon. 
16th.—Dull cloudy day. 
17th.—Dull, with spots of rain at intervals ; very cold N.E. wind. 
18th.—Pair, with a good deal of sunshine, but cool. 
19th.—Fair day, but not much sunshine. 
A dull cold week, with a good deal of trying N.E. wind, especially in the latter half. 
Temperature about five degrees below that of the preceding week, and nearly three 
degrees below the average.—G. J. Symons. 
