April 6, 1882. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
293 
the seeds the full advantage of moisture to be derived from 
the subsoil. Again, as soon as the first plant forms roots they 
at once feel the firm moist subsoil which so greatly contributes 
to their immediate and early growth. We trust the home farmer 
will see the points of this system, which aims at encouraging 
the earliest possible growth in order to force the young plants 
into the rough leaf, after which stage of growth they are practi¬ 
cally out of harm’s way by the fly. At this stage, however, the 
insect enemies, which are ever present more or less, make their 
appearance. If the weather should be moist and warm the 
small white slugs and snails feed upon the tender leaves, but 
principally at night or evening and early morning, returning to 
their hiding places, either small holes in the surface or under 
clods, where they take refuge as soon as the sun rises. In such 
cases the whole of the young plants have been often destroyed. 
To meet the depredations of these insects, which are extremely 
destructive, particularly when the seeds of root crops are de¬ 
posited, at once ploughing after the catch crops, such as Eye, 
Vetches, or the hay crop. The only successful attempt made by us 
has been to strew over the land every evening Cabbage or any other 
vegetable leaves, and pick them up the next morning and carry 
away the slugs and snails, which will most assuredly have collected 
under them in large numbers. 
The application of lime when the dew is on the plants is 
sometimes resorted to, and is always worth doing even if it does 
not quite destroy the slugs, because it is worth its value as manure 
on most soils. Simultaneously with the slugs eating the leaves, 
we find (in dry weather especially) the wireworms at work under¬ 
ground eating the roots of the infant plants. These are desperate 
enemies, being the larvse of various kinds of flies, some, how¬ 
ever, being much more persevering in their attacks than others, 
but all more or less to be taken and destroyed by very much the 
same means. First of all by taking the tubers of Potatoes and 
cutting them into slices about inch thick and strew them over 
the ground, in which case when the wirew'orms, which only travel 
at night-time, find both food and shelter afforded by these slices 
of Potatoes, Mangolds, or any other similar roots in store at the 
time of year ; they not only eat the roots, but lie under them for 
shelter and security during the daytime, when we always employ 
women to examine the root slices and picking off the wireworms 
into a small hand-vessel, and carry them away to be destroyed, 
in this way we have saved many acres of valuable roots. Since, 
however, we entered upon a course of Potato cultivation in 1812 
we have never suffered from these insects either in corn or roots, 
for they eat their way into the tubers and are carried away. 
(To be continued.) ] 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—Horses are still busily employed in ploughing-in 
the Potato sets, except on some of the sandy or gravelly land where 
it ha 3 been completed for some little time, because upon such early 
or forward land it is not often that the late-cropping sorts, like the 
Champion, &c., are planted. Barley is well forward this year, there 
having been but little hindrance in seeding where the land had been 
previously prepared, still much is frequently sown after Swedish or 
late-sown Turnips, being fed off by sheep. Our rule, however, is to 
finish sowing Barley before the 14th of April, and any Lent corn to 
be sown after that date should be either Early White Victoria Oats 
or otherwise drege—that is, mixed Oats and Barley, for home con¬ 
sumption, and we sow three bushels of the former and one bushel of 
the latter per acre. The stubble Turnips sown after the harvest last 
year are now yielding a good quantity of sheep food, for although 
the seed stems are run up to flower there is a quantity of lamb food, 
the lambs being very fond of the flowers, and we have always found 
they do well when eating them. The bulbs are not large, but the 
largest of them, after the ewes have finished eating the greens, we 
prepare for the cutter and mix Mangolds with them, both being 
powdered with cake or meal. In this way the greater portion of the 
late-sown Turnips are disposed of with benefit to the land and the 
sheep also, particularly in seasons when spring food is scarce. We, 
however, only grow and use Turnips in this way late in the spring 
upon land quite clean, and intended to be sown with Mangold by one 
ploughing only, and in this way any seed stems of the Turnips left 
are ploughed in with either yard manure, or the land drilled with 
portable manures immediately after the ploughing and working 
whilst the land is moist and kind. In this way we have grown fine 
crops of Mangold after deriving benefit from feeding sheep on the 
Turnips. 
Clover seed should now be sown, and where Wheat has been 
grown after Potatoes or Barley the red Clover is sure to take well, 
but especially where it has been alternated, taking red Clover first, 
the next course Dutch White Clover, and the third course Alsike, 
sometimes mixed with Saintfoin. In this way the red Clover is 
sown only once in twelve years. With either of these crops we never 
think of sowing any Rye Grass, especially of Italian Rye Grass, for 
it completely overpowers the Clovers and makes a bad lea for Wheat, 
whereas the Clovers when sown alone make first-class hay. Some¬ 
times they have been found difficult to get up for hay without 
damage by rain, as they take so much making, but we avoid this 
now hy using Mr. Gibb’s drying machine, and also build the ricks so 
as to be enabled to use the heat-exhausting fan, also of Mr. Gibb’s 
make. In this way in any season the hay may be secured in good 
condition, for all the experiments and trials of Gibb’s machinery 
carried out during the wretched season of 1879 proved most deci¬ 
sively that although the weather may be adverse the hay need not 
be spoiled, and on many farms the quantity of hay saved by Gibb’s 
method would pay for the machinery in one season by the extra value 
of the hay saved. In some cases the hay presser has been used with 
good effect, it being brought out in soiid squares of any size, and 
being packed away when only partially made by the sun, has been 
found to dry off in excellent condition in the store sheds, which are 
now very commonly used for the stowage of hay and corn by saving 
the corn and hay in good condition without the cost and risk of 
thatching and the use of sail-cloth covers of a perishable material, 
whilst the sheds are covered with iron or other durable materials. 
Hand Labour .—Some men will now be employed if the cutting of 
oak timbers is going on for estate building repairs, the stripping of 
the bark and the setting it up to dry gives employment to both men 
and women. Draining, too, should now be done, and the fallowing of 
the land, preparation for roots, &c., be gone on with ; the women will 
also be required in weeding, stone-picking, &c., in parkland and 
pastures, but in the fields they are required only for lifting and 
cutting Docks, Thistles, ifcc., because the other weeds in the corn will 
be cut off or pulled up by Koldmoo’s horse-power weeding machine. 
This is a capital implement in fields subject to Charlock. 
Live Stock .—This has been one of the most remarkable seasons on 
record for the sheep stock, as foot rot and epidemic lameness has in 
most districts disappeared or greatly diminished. The foot-and-mouth 
disease, too, has been greatly reduced, except in a few districts, espe¬ 
cially in Lancashire. The foot rot and epidemic lameness yield to 
the usual remedies when they are applied at the proper time, and we 
view this matter as a question of labour chiefly, because if every 
sheep is attended to the second day after showing lameness, a cure 
can be effected without injury to the general health and condition of 
the animals, and in those cases where large flocks are kept a man or 
men should immediately be employed daily, doing little else but 
attend to the sheep. The cost will be comparatively small compared 
with the attendance of the shepherd only, who has his other duties 
to perform, and it is often by the inability or impossibility of the 
shepherd, without large assistance, to contend with a flock under the 
influence of a serious outbreak of lameness to attend to each animal 
at the right time, and the application of judicious remedies which is 
the eventual cause of such heavy loss and uncontrollable continuation 
of foot rot. The dairy cows have lately been dropping their calves, 
and will continue to do so for a short time longer, especially in those 
districts where cheese-making prevails. Their calves are frequently 
sold for suckling into other districts for the making of veal. When, 
however, a few are reared at home for the maintenance of numbers 
in the herd, the practice is to use skim milk whey, assisted also before 
they can eat by hay tea, or which is better and less trouble, by 
Bowick & Co.’s now celebrated “Lactine” which rears calves in fine 
condition. 
THE FOWLS OF THE MEDITERRANEAN. 
(Continued from page 272.) 
1, We will take the fowls of the Italian peninsula. From the 
Alps to Calabria we have observed that nearly all the Italian fowls 
are akin to what we call Leghorns. Of course, the colours are much 
intermixed, and in the same yard are seen white and brown, and 
cuckoo and mottled birds, yet all have the Leghorn figure and comb. 
Both the varieties now shown in England—viz., the white and the 
brown—are extremely beautiful. The former when in good trim 
and condition are peculiarly attractive in their pure whiteness ; the 
latter are exquisitely rich in the deep chestnut and brown of their 
hues. We have recommended them as layers to several breeders, 
not for fancy, but for the supply of eggs to their house, and all have 
been satisfied. Here comes in another proof of our theory against 
selecting arbitrary fancy points for this race. Leghorns are a breed 
with bright yellow legs, and had as well yellowish earlobes. Cer¬ 
tainly these were not pretty, of a somewhat sickly tint, hut there is 
doubtless some connection between them and the yellow' legs. The 
fanciers soon decreed that these were not to be, hut that Leghorns 
should have pure white lobes, and in time they had them. What is 
the result P The judges say that the breed gets more and more puny. 
The last exhibition season saw a great decadence in it, and now, 
perhaps too late, some of the best authorities upon it begin to cry 
out that this arbitrary fancy standard as to earlobes must at once be 
discarded, or that the breed will be ruined. Whether exhibitors wiU 
