April 27, 1882.] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
355 
pat and destroy the stems until they become too hard through the 
formation of woody fibre. Although the plants are then near 
maturity they still have enemies to encounter, but these are 
principally palmers of various colour, the larvae of butterflies and 
moths. These palmers in gardens may be picked off and destroyed 
before the plants or Cabbage heads are much injured, but upon 
the home farm it is almost impossible to remove the palmers by 
Land, as they continue to increase often for a month or more. 
Certain kinds hatch in succession, and when these insects are 
extremely numerous the crops are doomed, and at the best are 
but poor food for cattle after the palmers leave them, and we 
think that the heads should be cut and used ; those most damaged 
may be given to store pigs and breeding sows, those which can be 
found unaffected may be given to dairy cows, or fed on the land 
by sheep, receiving also some undecorticated cotton cake, which 
is the surest preventive of diarrhasa in sheep whilst eating 
vegetable food like any of the Brassica tribe. 
The wireworm in corn crops may be greatly kept under by the 
distribution of leaves of plants, slices of tubers such as Swedes, 
Mangolds, or Potatoes strewed over the fields, and the insects 
which may have secreted themselves hand-picked and destroyed. 
This is the only way to prevent serious injury, but still it is expen¬ 
sive ; any applications on the surface are of little me beyond 
making those plants which are saved grow out of the way. It is 
often recommended to roll the land with heavy ring rollers ; this 
will not destroy the insects, but only disturb them in the act of 
eating the corn plants. It has been stated with strong assurances 
of the fact, that rape cake drilled with corn kills the wireworms, 
in consequence of their eating it to repletion. We have, however, 
more faith in the fact that it makes the corn grow quickly out of 
ihe way of the insect. As our method of cultivating Potatoes to 
iid the land of wireworms cannot always be carried out, there 
is another remedy in the growing of Lent corn which we practised 
successfully before we grew Potatoes in field culture—namely, 
that instead of sowing Oats alone, or Barley alone, we sowed them 
in admixture ; and although the wireworms were always at work, 
yet we found that they rarely destroyed both kinds of young 
plants, but we found sometimes the Oats and sometimes the 
Barley were eaten, but seldom both ; one or the other on almost 
every occasion grew out of their way. In conclusion, we beg to 
say that as the injurious insects are so numerous, we propose to 
return to the subject on a future occasion. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—The showery weather latelj r prevailing has given 
the horses a holiday, but at the same time their work on the fallows 
has been lessened, for some of these have been rough and cloddy. 
When, however, the horses proceed to work the fallows fine it will 
be done with comparatively little labour now. It is important to 
consider that in the case of couch and weeds not being dry enough to 
burn it is best to cart it away so as not to hinder the work, for 
whether the couch is burnt or carted away it is desirable that the 
next work, whether of ploughing or scarifying, should not be hin¬ 
dered. All the meadows or parkland laid up for hay can be rolled 
with advantage, also the wate • meadows after being fed off by sheep 
should now be rolled when laid up for mowing. Mangold seed should be 
sown and Potatoes planted without further delay. The large Potatoes 
called the “ White Elephant ” are very productive, and in good land 
will yield a valuable crop ; and as the tubers come very large and Ihe 
acreable weight very heavy they are well adapted for cattle-feeding, 
and are specially well suited for the feeding of cows in a butter¬ 
making dairy. For Potatoes on the home farm portable manures 
like guano are better than farmyard manure, especialty as the labour 
of carting is saved at the busy period ; besides this, the tubers are 
not so subject to disease where artificial manures are used, as com¬ 
pared with yard or town dung. In manuring land for Mangolds or 
Swedes, especially on light land, we do not like to drill more than 
2 cwt. per acre of guano mixed with 3 cwt. of bone superphosphate ; 
but after being set out with the hand hoe, and just before the next 
horse-hoeing, we like to apply broadcast 1 cwt. of nitrate of soda 
mixed with 1 cwt. of fishery or common salt per acre. This will 
carry them through any dry period with success, and by which the 
crop is enabled to withstand the effect of drought upon light soils 
whether of gravel, sand, chalk, or limestone. 
The catch crops, such as Trifolium, Rye, Italian Rye Grass, Ac., 
are not only forward enough for sheep-feeding, but also for soiling 
cattle, dairy cows especially. Where cattle are fattened in the boxes 
in the summer months, especially in a season of general abundance, 
as the present time promises, we are very much in favour of soiling 
the bullocks in the boxes with either Clover or mixed grasses, also 
Trifolium and Lucerne. This has been our practice for many years, 
and we have found that an acre of field grass would yield double the 
quantity of beef as compared with the same produce made into hay, 
saving at the same time all risk of damage to the hay through 
adverse weather; nor is there any system of feeding we have seen 
or tried which will yield so much valuable manure as when cattle 
are fattened with green fodder. One thing is requisite—that the 
animals should have a fair allowance of artificial food, one-half of 
which should consist of undecorticated cotton cake to counteract the 
laxative effect of green fodder, especially in wet weather. It is, how¬ 
ever, desirable if the weather is wet, to let the grass remain in store 
twenty-four hours before using. 
On the enclosed farms where hedges, banks, and ditches prevail, 
the grass and weeds on the borders will now be fit to cut up for 
feeding young cattle, breeding sows and store pigs, but especially is 
it adapted for dairy cows where the milk is sold, but not for butter¬ 
making. We know farmers who cut their borders twice in the year 
(May and July) for fodder, which not only contributes to the cleanli¬ 
ness of the margin and borders of fields, but also feeds cows in a 
milk-selling dairy with great advantage, the cows receiving 4 lbs. of 
cake daily ; this system has proved very profitable in our manage¬ 
ment also for a number of years. 
Hand Labour .—Both men and women in showery weather should 
be found work under cover if the wet weather prevails by screening 
ashes, earth, or chalk, the first-named being required to mix with 
drill manures, the second may be reserved in store until required for 
placing under cattle of all kinds and pigs in their pens, the last- 
named to be used for drilling with artificial manures where the land 
requires chalk. This application will insure root crops against any 
attack of fingers and toes in the fibres of the root crops by applying 
from 20 to 25 bushels per acre. 
Live StocJc .—Sheep and lambs are doing exceedingly well, for 
plenty prevails on all soils where a judicious provision has been 
made for them. The chalk-hill flocks where breeding ewes are kept 
are now feeding in the water meadows at daytime, retiring to the 
arable land at night, receiving a fold of Rye, Trifolium, or Italian 
Rye Grass, and the trough food given, such as ther best Russian or 
American linseed cake for the lambs in advance of the ewes, but it 
should be remembered that this kind of food is very subject to waste. 
To prevent this we like to give the cake in a state as fine as meal, 
but mixed with cut Mangolds passed twice through the cutter. Still 
we never feed with cake only, but prefer to have a supply of cracked 
Beans or Maple Peas given once a day in the troughs. If lambs are 
only required for store purposes the allowance of undecorticated 
cotton cake of half a pound each per day will be sufficient to keep 
the animals in good growing condition; still there is at present a 
strong inducement to feed the wether lambs fat, as butchers’ meat is 
extremely dear. Every kind of cattle food is forward, and where 
the land is dry both young cattle and dairy cows may soon lie out 
at night. On the home farm swine are always a matter of some 
importance, as we call them the scavengers of the farmyard. It is 
important to consider the kind of animals likely to pay best, and we 
find the large breeds of pigs are gaining the favour of farmers very 
fast indeed, we mean such as the large white Yorkshires and Berk- 
shires ; and we recommend for profit the crossing of these two 
breeds by mating the Berkshire sow with the Yorkshire boar, because 
the Berkshires are the best mothers, and bring most young ones at a 
litter. The benefit of the cross consists in more healthy stock than 
continuing one sort only, and also the fact and advantage of main¬ 
taining hardy constitutions, and yielding greater weight for age of 
more saleable meat at any given age. 
PIGEON LOFTS IN SPRING. 
We have described many of our favourites, the Toy Pigeons; 
some German, the clever production by selection of the modern 
German fanciers; some English, or at least long naturalised in 
England ; some oriental, when produced we do not know, but pro¬ 
bably long ago. It is time to say something about their manage¬ 
ment at this season. To begin with, the fancier of Toys is never 
(or very rarely) obliged to provide himself with a flight of common 
Pigeons as nurses. This is a distinct gain, for the transference of 
squabs involves much trouble, not to mention that the flight of 
nurses of course fills up room, require attention, and if mixed with 
the choice birds mar the appearance of the collection. High-class 
Tumblers need less aristocratic Tumblers to play the part of foster- 
parents, for they cannot or will not duly feed their progeny. Pouters 
want the aid of rough Antwerps or other big birds ; Runts, if they 
are to attain the marvellous weights now common in exhibition birds 
(and which, by the way, we believe are much more easily reached 
under hotter skies than ours) need a still more elaborate nursery. 
A once successful breeder of them told us that for each single young 
bird he had ready tw'o pairs of feeders. Fancy a single pair of 
Runt squeakers with eight Pigeons continually pumping food into 
their crops! Our experience, on the other hand, with Toys is 
that nearly all of them feed and rear their young ones. We must 
make one exception—viz., some very short-hilled Jacobins which 
we once had. Borne Turbit fanciers, too, have told us that they 
