478 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ June 12, 1881. 
stations, which include some extra charges for the constant delivery 
of produce like butter and cheese, and there is also a sure and 
ready money market for veal not always to be obtained for butter, 
cheese, or milk. 
The management and cropping oE the arable land connected with 
grass land in dairy farming is a very important matter, because the 
actual growth of green food in summer supplementary to the grazing 
of the cows does, when given at the stalls, to some extent render 
artificial feeding stuffs like cake unnecessary, excepting in the case 
of poor pastures, when it would prove beneficial in two ways—by an 
increased production of milk, and increased growth of grass on the 
pastures. In the observations we intend to make with reference to 
the capacity of either arable or pasture land to yield full commercial 
advantages, we shall endeavour to lay before the home farmer, and 
incidentally before the occupying farmers of the kingdom, not only 
in reference to those soils which are most likely to succeed best under 
tillage or in grass, but the methods by which the best results are 
most likely to be obtained. Let us take, for instance, the customary 
mode of an occasional fallow, which probably by the great majority 
of farmers and landowners is considered a proceeding essential to 
success in the cultivation of any arable land ; and so it is if the land 
is foul with couch and weeds, but not otherwise, for in our own 
experience we farmed lands without making a fallow for more than 
twenty years in succession, and yet the land was quite clean and 
yielding full crops of every kind of crop suitable to the soil. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—Horses are still engaged in the preparation of the 
land for root crops ; in the northern counties and Scotland, however, the 
Swede seed has been drilled for some time past. This is at any rate 
the best time for that work in the midlands, southern, home, eastern, and 
western counties. If dry weather prevails the Turnip flea or beetle will 
probably destroy many of the young plants as soon as they show the 
first leaves ; but we have known many farmers frequently attribute this 
to various causes, such as bad seed or not vegetating from dryness of the 
soil. It must, however, be remembered that the brown grub, which in its 
infant state travels at night, eats the first leaves which attempt to show 
on the surface, hence the unreal inferences often drawn from the non- 
appearance of the young plants. These grubs are the same sort which 
when more fully grown often eat off the roots of the Turnip plants as 
well as those of Mangolds, Carrots, and Cabbages after being hoed out. 
Clover crops and Sainfoin, as well as mixtures of other grasses for the 
alternate husbandry, should now be cut just as the blossoms begin to 
appear, but especially those mixtures of Clovers which were in¬ 
tended to produce a second growth or even a third on good land in a 
high state of cultivation, more particularly where the layer had been 
manured with yard or town dung in the previous winter or early spring 
months, as this is found to accelerate any after-growth, whether for hay, 
sheep-feeding, or seeding. We, however, strongly object to the practice 
of feeding the after-growth of Clovers with sheep in all cases when the 
leas are intended for Wheat. We have frequently seen the best Wheat 
grown where the Clover as an after-crop has been saved for hay, and 
even saved for seed, as the lea proves a more valuable preparation for 
Wheat in consequence of the increased weight and substance of the 
Clover roots. In reference to tillage operations we especially recommend 
that in the seeding, and indeed preparation for late Turnips, Rape, 
Thousand-headed Kale, that a dry season should be provided for, because 
in case the season later on should prove the reverse, yet the preparation 
will be favourable, for frequently in dry seasons we may obtain rain 
enough to vegetate the small seeds of various kinds in the event of the 
land being in a fine and pulverised state to receive it, yet when tillage 
work is delayed by waiting for rain before breaking the clods we may 
not obtain a sufficient rainfall to vegetate small seeds, and the crop may 
be lost in such a case. Although we have been engaged in tillage and 
cropping of the land ever since 1827, yet we do not recollect a cycle of 
nine seasons all of which were adverse to the Wheat crop ; but one 
singular coincidence we remember is that great and abundant Wheat 
crop have occurred in the following years—namely, 1831, 1811, 1851, 
1861, and 1871, notwithstanding we have secured in other years abun¬ 
dant Wheat crops, especially in 1835, 1836, also in 1868, 1870 ; and if we 
should obtain a fine Wheat crop in the coming harvest it will again ex¬ 
tend the singularity of such a succession of abundantly yielding crops. 
There has been, however, during our experience only one year—viz., in 
1868, when all the cereal crops were abundant, for it must be remembered 
that on all other periods when an abundant Wheat crop has been ob¬ 
tained the season has proved too dry for Lent corn, pulse, and hay crops, 
as well as root crops. On the other hand the nine past seasons have 
been singularly favourable for nearly all kinds of produce on the hill 
farms and eastern counties produce, except Wheat. The late moist 
seasons have been greatly in favour of the dairy farmers as well as 
graziers, and the breeding flocks of sheep on the chalk and limestone hill 
districts of various counties. 
Hand Labour .—Men will now be fully employed in hoeing the 
various root crops as they come to hand, also mowing and removing the 
crops of Clover, Sainfoin, Trifolium, and water meadow grasses, either 
for hay or ensilage. On some farms both modes of preservation of green 
fodders will be adopted, and where the produce will be required for sale 
haymaking will still prevail if the season continues dry, and to the great 
majority of farmers the ensilage question will not be available ; but silos 
should be available, especially in dairying districts, for the obtaining of 
ensilage in the winter and spring months will enable the butter-making 
dairies to turn out a valuable record of butter. Still we must ask those 
men who have been in the habit of allowing their cows to go dry for 
three or four months in the autumn and winter to give up their customs 
and prejudices, in order to avail themselves of the commercial benefits 
to be derived from the use of ensilage, or in fact, upon any farm where 
the cows can be fed with roots, bran, hay, maize, &c., instead of their 
cows being out of profit when their produce is of the most value. 
Live Stock .—As calves can now be reared in a healthy and growing 
state without milk at small cost, it is important that it should be done, 
so that not only the farmer should raise calves enough to maintain the 
numbers of cows in the herd, but also be enabled to bring some forward 
to meet the demand caused by a diminished stock of horned cattle in the 
country, as shown by statistical accounts and records. Events in America, 
the news of which arrived last week—namely, that the manufacture of 
oleomargarine has been forbidden by the Legislature, ought to stimulate 
the endeavours of dairymen to exertions in their own interest, because if 
oleomargarine is not to be obtained in America, as also in this and other 
countries ; for American butterine oil, the produce of America, has found 
its way not only into some dairies rented in this country, but also into 
continental districts which have supplied us with butter to a large extent, 
such as it was ; yet it met with customers amongst a certain class, who 
could not afford to buy the best made fresh butter of this country. These 
facts ought to encourage the dairy farmers of this country to renewed 
exertions in various ways, hut especially to prevent their cows going dry 
until they spring to calve again. The flocks of sheep on the hill farms, 
where a sufficiency of water can be obtained, ought to be doing well, 
although the weather has been rather dry lately ; for it has been said in 
reference to this matter that the grass has most value for feeding in dry 
weather. The bullocks now being fed for the butcher, whether in the 
boxes or grazing on the pastures, should be pushed forward by good 
feeding with cake and maize meal, given mixed with some cut Mangold 
in their boxes ; but many cases will occur on the pastures or park lands 
where the land is not of first-rate character, when the cattle should receive 
the same food in troughs or skeps on the grass land in order that the 
animals may be ready by July or August, the best time for selling 
summer beef, particularly of young cattle of light weights, as these 
furnish joints of moderate size well adapted for consumers in the summer 
months. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
White Scour in Young Calves (Old Subscriber). —This, though fre¬ 
quently fatal, may be cured if taken in time. First, do not allow the calf 
to visit the cow as before, but wean it altogether, feeding with the best 
known milk substitutes, of which there are many now offered, such as 
Simpson’s Ayre’s calf meal, &c. The immediate remedy which is necessary 
should be :—Take a teaspoonful of laudanum mixed with a little warm oat¬ 
meal gruel, and a teaspoonful of prepared chalk, to be repeated every four 
hours until the diarrhoea ceases. 
The Cultivation of Kohl Rabi (J. S .).—This may be successfully grown 
upon the same plan as adopted for Cabbages—that is, raised in beds, then 
planted out either on the stetch or on the flat, placing the dung in the centre 
of the stetch, or otherwise laying it out and raking it into every third furrow, 
and plant along the furrows directly over the manure. The seed, however, 
may be drilled and then horse-hoed between the rows, and the plants hand- 
hoed to the required distance apart. Full information on the cultivation of 
Kohl Rabi was given in the number of this Journal dated March 18th, 1880. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Squaee, London. 
Lat. 51° 32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
• or 
Hygrome- 
d . 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
d 
1884. 
§ > 
ter. 
-M d 
perature. 
Temperature. 
cS 
« 
June. 
3 is a 1 - 1 
£& 
a 0-4- 
In 
On 
Dry. 
Wet. 
So 
H 
Max. 
Min. 
sun. 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
1 
30.022 
35.0 
48.7 
N. 
55.4 
66.7 
40.6 
102.7 
31.0 
— 
Monday. 
2 
29.683 
58.7 
53.4 
E. 
56.0 
70.0 
45.9 
108.2 
40.3 
— 
Tuesday. 
3 
29.565 
61.3 
54.2 
E. 
56.3 
67.2 
46.5 
100.3 
40.3 
— 
Wednesday ., 
4 
29.764 
54.0 
51.1 
N.E. 
56.3 
60.9 
49.6 
69.0 
46.7 
0.088 
Thursday .... 
5 
29.819 
54.6 
51.9 
N.E. 
55.7 
65.8 
49.0 
113.4 
43.5 
1.466 
Friday. 
6 
29.772 
49.8 
49.5 
N.W. 
55.1 
57.6 
47.3 
78.8 
46.8 
1.003 
Saturday .... 
7 
29.548 
51.2 
49.3 
N.E. 
53.8 
60.8 
46.0 
91.8 
44.7 
— 
29.739 
54.9 
51.2 
55,5 
64.1 
46.4 
94.9 
41.9 
2.557 
REMARKS. 
1st.—Fine, and fairly bright. 
2nd.—Pleasant, but generally dull. 
3rd.—Rather brighter, but spots of rain. 
4th.—Dull, rain in afternoon and evening. 
5th.—Dull morning ; very heavy rain began at 2.30 P.M., half an inch fell in an hour and 
a quarter; the heaviest part of the rain was ovSr by 6 P.M., but the fall continued 
till midnight. 
6th.— Rain nearly incessant from 6 A M. to 6 P.M., then fair. 
7th.—Rain from 1 to 8 A.M., then fair, except a few drops. 
Temperature on the whole near the average, but occasionally much below it. Very 
heavy rain on 5th and 6th, just one-tenth of the average quantity for a whole year 
falling on those two days.—G. J. Symons. 
