JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
March 10, 1881. ] 
201 
understand the reason why white Clover succeeds so well upon 
strong and clay loam soils, and how difficult it is to maintain a 
plant of it upon light and poor soils ; it is therefore clear that in 
nearly all strong soils potash is a constituent, requiring in conse¬ 
quence but little or none to be added in the manure. In the light 
poor soils, however, the potash being almost or entirely absent in 
the composition of the subsoil, it becomes necessary to apply 
manure composed largely of potash. Mr. Lawes has shown that 
the white Clover is found to prevail in all the best and most 
fertile bullock pastures, and this the home farmer should bear in 
mind. Upon any soil we should endeavour to obtain and main¬ 
tain this white Clover if we wish to have a good turf and valuable 
pasturage, and this will be best secured by constant and judicious 
feeding with cattle, and giving liberal quantities of decorticated 
cotton cake to the animals whilst grazing. The practical treat¬ 
ment, however, of the droppings of the stock must have direct and 
constant attention, by either knocking and spreading the dung or 
collecting it, and mix with earth as a compost for future use ; for 
the manurial value of dung voided by cattle eating decorticated 
cotton cake is proved to be so strong as to act injuriously on cer¬ 
tain spots, unless it is spread or collected until a y ear or more has 
elapsed. 
Obtaining a plant of white Clover where it is deficient, either 
in old or recently laid down grass land, is not only a difficulty 
sometimes, but practically the seed should be sown with perma¬ 
nent grasses if necessary. If, however, the Clover only is deficient, 
the renovating may be obtained in most soils by frequent manur¬ 
ing. In general it will be necessary to sow about 10 lbs. of seed 
per acre, and the best time to sow it is during the latter half of 
July or early in August. Before the seed is sown the land should 
be thoroughly dragged, so as to produce a loosened surface, and 
be finished with a heavy roller. Our reason for referring to this 
matter minutely is because when the seed vegetates it requires 
protection in its first and second leaves against the depredations 
of slugs, and we find this is best obtained by the young grass 
blades which shoot up from the old stocks, and which protect it, 
and until the following spring the grass should never be fed off 
by cattle or sheep ; it will then be found that the autumn growth 
of the old grass will act as a protection during the winter months, 
not only against insect depredations, but also the damage which 
might accrue from the effects of frost and adverse winter weather. 
In renovating light poor soils, instead of employing perennial 
white Clover seed only, we prefer to mix about half the quantity 
of seed required with Trifolium minus or yellow Suckling Clover ; 
this is also a perennial Clover, and will be quickly established on 
light soils if the same means are used as recommended both in 
seeding, manuring, &c., as for white Clover, except that instead of 
depending upon the soil to supply potash it will be necessary to 
supply with a liberal hand not only potash and nitrogen in the 
manures, but bone phosphates also. 
The after-management of the turf upon light land requires some 
remark here in contradistinction from the best soils fed by cattle 
only or chiefly, for in our light soil pastures we are bound almost 
entirely to feed with sheep. The point of management which 
then arises is to do this and maintain the plant of grasses of 
superior sorts whilst making use of the produce for grazing, for 
although we may feed with sheep eating the best cotton or linseed 
cake, yet the plant may be destroyed by injudicious feeding. For 
instance, the sheep should not be allowed to crop the turf too 
barely, especially in the winter months ; and the best way to pre¬ 
vent injury is to avoid promiscuous feeding, and fold off the pro¬ 
duce occasionally as the food becomes sufficient, not allowing the 
sheep to lie back more than one fold. It is evident that there are 
at least two ways by which either old or new pastures may be 
seriously injured, the latter especially—namely, the plants of the 
best grass being starved out for want of manure, or eaten by 
hungry sheep. In our next and concluding article we may have 
to quote again from Mr. Lawes’ paper upon some important 
points connected with our subject. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—Some of the lost time must now be recovered by 
making all possible speed in working the animal power of the farm, 
whether horses or oxen. The latter, upon many farms where steam 
power is not available and the land has become foul, may now be 
worked with advantage for the remainder of the season, and until 
after the Wheat seedtime is completed. They may then be put into 
boxes for winter fattening, for which purpose they will be in forward 
condition if they have been liberally fed during the working period. 
They should be fed at the same cost per head per week as the horses ; 
they will then not only be strong in their work but will gain flesh at 
the same time. We do not, however, recommend ox labour in lieu of 
steam power, but advise the home farmer to anticipate all the labour 
on the land likely to be required; and, in order that the work may be 
kept well forward, to employ steam for the heaviest work on the 
fallows for roots during the time that the horses are employed upon 
the Lent corn seeding. Upon the mixed soils where roots have been 
fed off by sheep we much prefer to sow the white Canadian Oats, or 
other early white Oat, instead of Barley, as the latter often proves 
only a thin grinding sample, whereas the Oats are sure to prove good 
if sown in good time. It is a matter, too, of considerable consequence 
whether the land is to seeded with Clover ; for if not, we have often 
grown capital stubble Turnips after the early Oats, as they are 
usually fit to cut ten or twelve days before the earliest Wheat. 
When the Oats are tied and set up in stook our plan is to plough and 
drill the Turnips between the stooks every evening. A capital crop 
will generally repay for such a practice. 
We have lately referred to the stable management of farm horses, 
and we consider their health and well-doing is of so much importance 
that we return to the subject. It is quite usual for farm horses to 
stand in the stable tethered three or four in a row; but we dislike 
the plan, for they cannot feed so comfortably as they should do, and 
are far more liable to accidents. Instead of the old-fashioned rack 
overhead with manger below—in which the animals are accustomed 
to feed, the stronger animal getting the chief share of the food—we 
place the horses in pairs in stalls divided with boarded partitions 
10 feet G inches in width. The horses being tethered at either corner 
are not liable to accidents by crossing ties, nor can they interfere 
with each other at feeding time, as the boxes in which they are fed 
(being 2 feet by 2 feet) are placed at each corner of the stalls, with 
the rack or deep manger for hay or straw on the same level and 
between the two feeding boxes, wherein they can eat in common. 
Horses placed in pairs in this way should stand in the stable as they 
work in the field, those which are found to agree best together being 
paired. It will then be found that the numerous accidents and losses 
which occur to farm horses may often be traced to promiscuous inter¬ 
course in the stables or yards, which it is the especial object of this 
system of management to avoid. 
Hand Labour .—All root heaps or stores should be carefully looked 
over, and any frosted or decaying roots picked out and used before 
becoming entirely worthless, after which the heaps may be made up 
again and rethatched or stored for use during the spring or summer. 
Many of the Swedish Turnips being injured by the frost will not 
only prove a serious matter for maintaining the condition of both 
ewes and lambs, whether as stock or feeding for the butcher, and will 
require to be largely supplemented by purchased food. We find that 
the early horned ewes and their lambs have made good proof con¬ 
sidering the adverse effect of heavy snow and frost. Many of these 
lambs have been sold in the London markets, and are fetching a 
satisfactory price. The early-lambing Dorset downs and their lambs 
are making satisfactory progress, and a large portion of the latter will 
be fit for sale at Easter. The Hampshire ewes and lambs of the 
stock flocks have done fairly w r ell, the number of lambs saved being 
rather over the average. We find that the lambs are now dying in 
considerable numbers with the white scour, no doubt the effect of the 
ewes eating Swedes which are in a partially decayed state, which 
have a tendency to cause the milk to be unwholesome for the young 
lambs. It is whilst they are young and before they can eat that 
lambs suffer from this peculiar kind of diarrhoea. Our remedy, which 
for many years has proved successful, is ten or twelve drops of tinc¬ 
ture of opium, commonly called laudanum, in a wineglassful of water 
given every three or four hours until the diarrhoea is stopped. The 
dose for lambs three weeks or a month old is a teaspoonful of lauda¬ 
num in the same quantity of water, and repeated in the same way 
until either success or death occurs. The water meadows are rather 
backward this year, but in consequence of the decayed Swedes, where 
a deficient provision of Mangolds occurs, the feed of the meadows will 
be invaluable upon the hill stock farms. We hear much complaint 
of the ewes suffering from what is termed the foot-and-mouth disease, 
and also the wether and teg flocks. This has been in cases certified 
by veterinary professors as foot-and-mouth disease, and treated as 
the same. We have much evidence to offer, the result of our own ex¬ 
perience, as well as that of other practical farmers, that there is this 
difference in the epidemic fever from which the sheep suffer—that 
we have never known the sheep take it from the cows, nor vice versa ; 
in fact, in certain districts we have never been without it in the 
sheep, accompanied by lameness, during the several years which the 
cattle of the kingdom have until recently been perfectly free. 
VARIETIES. 
Manure for Potatoes. —“As a rule, I find,” says Dr.Voelcker, 
“ that potash salts by themselves do not produce a very marked effect. 
They produce a greater effect when used in conjunction ■with phos¬ 
phate of lime and ammonia. I have found good results from 4 cwt. 
of mineral superphosphate, which will cost about 15s., and 3 cwt. of 
potash salts—that is, kainit. That would cost 8s. Then 2 cwt. of 
sulphate of ammonia, taking it at an average price of 18s., would be 
8Gs.; so that it would cost nearly £3. In many instances when I 
have applied this mixture I have more than doubled the crop—raised 
the produce from 6 tons to 12 tons. I need not say that that paid 
