February 24,1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 161 
no means necessary to plough the land, although it is a common 
custom to do so. We find that by scarifying a tilth sufficient to bury 
the seed by drilling is obtained, and the land is not so much affected 
by a dry season. When the land is scarified the weed seeds which 
vegetated on the surface during the growth of the root crop were 
destroyed ; and as we only deal with the surface soil, very few weeds 
will appear to the injury of either the Lent corn or the Clover. The 
grass lands may now be rolled and laid up for a crop to be mown for 
hay, the sooner the better, before the land becomes too dry. As we 
must sow Beans and Peas it is well to be prepared with the seed 
beforehand, otherwise the best seedtime may be lost; besides, if the 
seed has to be purchased, the sort or quality of seed required cannot 
always be obtained at a moment’s notice. 
Stable management of farm horses has not only been referred to 
occasionally under the work of the farm, but was the subject of a 
special article in this Journal on January 10th and 17th, 1878. As, 
however, we have many new readers we again call attention to the 
necessity of attending to the health of horses. This is, however, 
unfortunately, almost an impossibility as the stables exist at present 
on many farms, for we find the floors of the stalls covered with large 
stones of various sizes and laid most unevenly; this is, of course, 
very bad for the animals, although littered with straw. In fact, 
knowing the pain they suffer in lying down, they do not often attempt 
to take the rest which they naturally require at night. This can 
readily be altered by a plan we adopted in our stables, one that was 
followed by many of our best farmers years ago, and which we 
recommend with confidence—viz., to take up the old rough stones 
and excavate the earth about 18 inches in depth ; we then refill the 
space with dry screened loamy soil rammed down firmly, upon which 
the animals are allowed to stand, the dung being removed daily as 
usual. After a few days this earth becomes quite firm and clean for 
the horses to stand upon, but still absorbs all the urine. By this 
means a pure atmosphere in the stable is obtained at all times, until 
the earth becomes saturated and begins to give off the fumes that 
are so offensive and detrimental in ordinary stables. The earth will 
require changing twice a year—at about four months in the summer 
when the animals eat green fodder, and at eight months after they 
have lived principally upon dry food during the winter. Since we 
have adopted this plan we have generally had healthy horses free from 
blindness, broken wind, greasy heels, and other complaints incidental 
to ordinary stables, where the floors are rough and sodden straw 
accumulates between them, rendering the air foul. With earth floors 
horses living in pure air will be capable of work several years longer, 
thus saving the animal loss for the time, which amounts to from £3 
to £4 per annum per horse. We shall refer to this subject again 
shortly. 
Hand Labour -.—Forking out Grass, Docks, <fcc., from the root crops 
before feeding off with sheep should now be continued. As the seasons 
have lately been unfavourable, many instances of land not quite 
clean are still frequently met with. Men will now be required on 
those farms where draining is needed, for the first drying winds 
which occur will show very plainly the parts of fields which are too 
wet for profitable culture : the dry land will retain a white appear¬ 
ance, and the wet portions a dark colour. It will then be easy to 
set out the work by spars and stakes, so that in case it cannot all be 
done immediately it may be resumed when convenient. We are, of 
course, alluding to under a fallow or cultivated surface, because it is 
only under such circumstances that the variations of colour of the 
land can be distinctly seen. The injury done to Swedish Turnips 
where the bulbs have been left in the land during the severe weather 
in January has been general, varying only in degree—the ripest and 
most matured crops having suffered the most, and the latest-sown 
the least, because the latter were in a growing state when the frost 
set in. The frost, however, was so severe before the snow came, that 
the latter afforded no protection in many cases. The loss, therefore, of 
a considerable portion of the Swede crop must be seriously felt before 
the grass is ready in the spring, for the water meadows, although 
the grass in them is not so forward as in some seasons, will prove 
very valuable. This is also one of those seasons which go to prove 
that Mangold is the most to be valued of all our root crops ; for when 
properly secured and preserved they are good food for all kinds of 
stock during every month in the year. For many years it was our 
practice to use them all the year ; in fact we grew only Carrots and 
Mangold with a few Cabbages, and have often begun feeding our 
sheep stock with Mangold of the same year’s growth in the months 
of September and October in the open field. The Mangolds in heap 
should now be looked over and examined. If any bulbs should be 
frosted or rotten from other causes the affected ones should be re¬ 
moved, in order that the decay, although partial now, may not become 
general, and affecting the whole further on in the season. After 
defective roots are taken away they may be used for what they are 
worth, and the heaps made up into form again and rethatched, to be 
preserved for use during the spring and summer months. In many 
cases on the hill farms the loss of the Swede crop will render neces¬ 
sary a considerable outlay for corn or cake to maintain the usual 
stock. Now this is one of many sacrifices which have to be made 
in keeping a breeding flock of sheep, and which upon the average 
of seasons greatly reduces any profit which the breeding of sheep 
may sometimes promise. In the early frost of 1859, if we recollect 
rightly, when the Mangolds were damaged in all parts of the kingdom 
by the frost which happened in the second week of October whilst the 
roots were in the ground, various modes of using them for feeding 
cattle were resorted to, to make them palatable, such as giving bean 
and barley meal, also maize meal, and we found the decayed or par¬ 
tially decayed roots were not injurious to the stock, although having 
less feeding value. 
ADVANTAGES OF A HOME FARM. 
DAIRY COWS. 
Cows and the dairy take a place of considerable importance 
upon the home farm, a regular and abundant supply of milk, cream, 
and butter being indispensable. With a herd of cows restricted 
to a number calculated to afford only a moderate surplus over 
the quantity of its produce required for the ordinary daily wants 
of a household, this is occasionally found to be a matter of 
difficulty, for disappointments and failures are certain to occur 
in every herd however carefully selected and bred ; and what 
is most vexatious is the well-known fact that the best cows fail 
soonest—best, in the sense it is here used, meaning a deep 
milker, quiet and kindly, with which we have no trouble till in¬ 
dications of failing powers and debility appear in the guise of a 
tendency to barrenness and excessive leanness. Then, too, there is 
an uncertainty about heifers, of which one or two should be 
brought into the herd every year. At the present time I have 
four heifers in calf, and shall consider myself fortunate if out of 
that number two prove really valuable cows. Occasional losses 
also occur, and it is well, therefore, that rules as to number should 
be somewhat elastic. It is better to have butter to sell than to have 
to buy it, as it is precisely in midwinter, when it is most ex¬ 
pensive, that the supply is apt to run short. This is especially 
true in reference to select herds of pedigree cows restricted to 
one particular breed. Fond as I have reason to be of the hardy 
little Kerrys, yet it must be acknowledged that a mixed herd has 
been found to answer best, most of the cows yielding rich milk 
in a comparatively moderate quantity, and the remainder being 
deep milkers with milk of only medium richness, but nevertheless 
admirably adapted to maintain a supply for table and culinary 
purposes. Take for example the yield of an ordinary Jersey or 
Alderney, which may fairly be stated as ten quarts daily, and it 
is at once seen to be the reverse of economical to depend upon 
such cows for the forty or fifty quarts of new milk required every 
day in a large establishment. For this purpose I prefer milky 
Shorthorns, or Shorthorns crossed with a good strain of Channel 
Island cattle. Deep milkers generally impart the same valuable 
property to their progeny. I have three heifers, two to come into 
the herd this year and one next year, all descendants of a famous 
old cow which yielded milk abundantly, and was so well known 
that when she began to fail from old age and had to be withdrawn 
from the herd, there was no difficulty in disposing of her at a 
comparatively high price. The oldest of her descendants is an 
equally deep milker, and is at the present time in full profit, 
having had her third calf recently. 
An important fact to remember is that the quality and quantity 
of milk depends in a considerable degree upon a cow’s food. 
Underfed cows never succeed. The milk is poor and thin, and 
diminishes in quantity very soon after calving. The calves, too, 
are undersized and weakly, and the cow is usually a mere “bag of 
bones” for the greater part of the year. Now, without plenty 
of good food there cannot be a well-sustained yield of milk. It 
is an excellent rule never to put a cow in its stall for milking 
without giving it a feed of bran, even at midsummer. It is an 
inexpensive kind of food, all cows like it, and it is invigorating 
and nourishing. I always use it in winter; and when the cows 
are first turned out of the yard upon grass I have tried the 
effect of withholding it, and speedily perceived a falling-cff in the 
quantity of the milk. This could not be caused by a scarcity of 
grass, for grazing does not begin till it is plentiful. No greater 
mistake can be made than to place cows upon a bare pasture 
either early or late in the year ; and yet how frequently it is done ! 
and the poor half-starved animals are walking and munching the 
whole of the day to very little purpose. Let the milking begin at 
6 A.M.. and the cows be out on the pasture soon after seven, and if it 
is in the condition it ought to be they will have procured enough 
food and be ruminating by ten, or soon after. When grass runs 
short in autumn take them altogether into a warm well-littered 
yard, with a large deep open shed on one side of it with a hay 
rack. Some cows are more tender than others, keeping much in 
the shed, others feeding from the central rack in the yard, and 
almost all going into the shed during rain. But if there is only a 
cow house, out of which they are shut during the day, and no open 
shed, they are apt to suffer from heavy rain and cutting blasts 
of wind which sweep round buildings into yards with much force. 
—Edward Luckhubst. 
