456 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 22,1883 
make the severance a moveable panel, which may be drawn or 
closed by a handle outside the pens to be used by the herdman, 
in which case any operation, such as littering the pens or feeding 
the bull, which may be done under cover through a drawing 
shutter adjoining the feeding trough or rack. This affords the 
greatest measure of safety, for the herdman need not at any 
time be in the actual presence of the bull, and when not being 
fed or expecting company, the outside as well as inside space 
will be available for the health and exercise of the animal, which 
is far preferable to the tether. Under this style of pens the 
herdman is always safe, as he need not be in the company of 
the bull for any purpose. When, however, not tethered, bulls 
after two years of age frequently injure the divisions of the 
outside fences of the apartments with their horns, and we find 
no fence so suitable as fir or elm slabs or planks like railway 
sleepers set upon end, well secured with stout iron hoops. 
After the heifers have calved their management is of great 
importance. First we should notice the shape and capacity of 
the udder, if witli full-sized teats so much the better; but it 
must be remembered that milking them by hand, or partly so, 
is of the greatest consequence, not only to freeing the udder 
of milk entirely at each time of milking, but the learning, or so 
treating, the young animals to stand quietly to be milked, and 
especially for the first few times after calving. In fact, it is a 
standing rule of ours to allow the calf to suck during the time 
of hand-milking for the first few days, and afterwards to hand- 
milk away a portion of the milk, leaving enough for the calf, 
which will thoroughly clear out the udder at each milking, so 
important for various reasons. The calf, too, should always be 
in the presence of the heifer when milking by hand is com¬ 
menced, otherwise she will not always give down her milk freely. 
By adopting these modes of management by a quiet good-tem¬ 
pered milkman, we shall soon learn the capabilities of each 
animal, and be enabled to reject any unsuitable ones during the 
first year of breeding. 
In the second year of breeding the same bulls may be used, 
but changed for mating with such individual females as judicious 
selection may dictate. After the heifers have calved the second 
time we even then have but a few animals to select from, because 
some may be bull calves as usual. After selection as well we 
may have but a few to choose from and decide upon retaining, 
for in the third year of the experiment, when the first fall of 
heifers which have been selected for breeding the third time, we 
must of course mate them with bulls not previously used. This 
circumstance obliges the obtaining another one or two bulls, but 
in doing this be sure and go to the best herds in Guernsey, or 
the best Guernsey herd we can find; for now occurs a critical 
period which will extend over five or six years, or even longer, 
because the longer time during which our endeavours to obtain 
the exact style, type, and capacity is extended, and the same 
good judgment carefully carried out, the more likely we shall 
be to succeed in obtaining stock animals capable of transmitting 
those characteristics which we have endeavoured to secure. 
If our readers have followed our statements on this subject 
they will notice that in addition to the absolute necessity of 
selecting pure-bred bulls of the Guernsey blood, and then as 
the offspring increases selection must still be made the only sure 
grounds on which to proceed, and to save or breed from no 
animal which has not acquired the form, colour, flesh-making, 
yet milking capacity, to the extent we require and have sought 
for. How many years it would take to obtain the desired race 
of stock cannot be stated, but at any rate it must not be less than 
seven or eight years before we could use with safety bulls laised 
from our selected stock of females; but it would be far better to 
extend the experiment over ten years at least, during which time 
none but the best bred bulls of the pure Guernsey stock should 
be used. Now to assist in the completion of our experiment it 
may be best to secure the help and co-operation of another 
person with similar objects in view, in order to meet successfully 
any of the various contingencies of life and position of the 
experimenters, so that the value of the improved cattle may be 
assured as much as possible for the future benefit of dairy 
farmers in general as for the advantages of the original breeders 
or experimenters. 
WORK ON TEE HOME FARM. 
Ilorse Labour .—Horses have been almost continually employed up to 
the present time in preparing land for and seeding with Wheat, but upon 
anything like strong flat-lying land it has been difficult to use the horses 
every day, for since the dry weather broke up in October both the land 
mtended for Winter Beans or Wheat has suffered hindrance and delay, 
unless upon farms where three or more teams of horses are available. In 
this case the land may be ploughed and worked sufficiently for the 
drilling of beans to follow in the same way as for Wheat, except that 
before drilling the beans land requires more working than it does for 
broadcast sowing for Wheat, which may be ploughed land after land or 
ridge after ridge and may be sown and finished off. But in drilling 
Wheat it is not so safely done as fast as the land is ploughed, because 
more horse power by numbers is required to finish off the land quickly. 
Drilling at the wide intervals of 10 or 12 inches between the rows is an 
actual necessity where the land is subject to such weeds as may be 
indigenous to the soil, like yellow cress, black bents, onion grass, and 
couch, because in certain seasons when rainy weather prevails. In the 
spring, however, a fine interval of only a few days may be sufficient to 
enable the horse hoes to be used if the drilling has been done of a suffi¬ 
cient width for horse hoes to proceed, for with flat hoes in work they 
may be advantageously used. In the case, however, of broadcast seeding 
or close drilling the horse hoes cannot be used with success, nor can the 
hand hoes, which require much time for a staff of men to accomplish the 
work be done effectually if followed by showery weather, whereas after 
the horse hoes if the weeds do not die off they may be hand-picked by 
women. Those fields which have been 6team-cultivated since harvest 
and have been worked down, and the couch either burned or carted away, 
may be ploughed to lie for the winter, whether required to be cropped 
with Potatoes or Lent com in the spring, or for root crops in the early 
summer months. It is, however, an important question as to the best 
mode of ploughing and leaving the land during winter. By different 
farmers on various soils we shall find advocates for clean ploughing in 
ridges, or to lie in stetches ; some parties, however, advocate the lying of 
the land to be left rafter-ploughed. Experience and the nature of the 
soil as well as the next crop required exert some influence on the mode 
of proceeding, but Mr. Lawes has lately informed us that a bare fallow 
is often the cause of loss of some fertility when washed by the heavy 
winter rains. It therefore appears that in case the land is not foul with 
twitch or couch that it may be sown with catch crops in the autumn, 
and tilled for roots afterward the green crops are disposed of, but in 
those cases where the land is foul it may well be rafter-ploughed, in 
which event the land will not lose much fertility, because the couch will 
be spindling more or less in open weather. When dry weather com¬ 
mences in the spring the rafters may be reversed witb the plough, and 
cleaning of the land proceed easily so long as favourable weather continues, 
whether the land is intended for early Potatoes, Lent corn, or Mangold, 
Carrots, and Cabbage. It is, however, only on friable loamy soils that this 
latter method can be carried out with benefit, for on strong land if it 
loses fertility by a long fallow, yet fertility and an ameliorated soil will 
be the result if the land is lying during winter deeply ploughed in ridges 
or stetches about 30 inches wide. In case a long fallow is rejected 
Vetches may be sown and fed off during summer, or, like Mustard, 
ploughed in with two crops during the summer. The land will then not 
only be fallowed and cleaned, but will be manured also, a matter of great 
importance on strong land where dung-carting is not advisable, especially 
on fields lying away from the farmery. 
Live Stock.—The weather peculiar to the month of November varies 
from frost to rain. Now either of these variations are bad for animals 
which may have to live and feed in the open fields. This applies 
principally to sheep, and the pregnant ewes should now be allowed the 
driest soil on the farm for their night lair, but nearer to lambing time a 
dead fold well littered. With respect of their food they should have 
grass only on a dry pasture, but in case of receiving a small quantity of 
roots some dry fodder is necessary for maintaining their health and 
condition. All young store cattle, either heifers or steers, will now require 
dry pasture for their night quarters, feeding the low-lying or water 
meadows not in flood only during the daytime. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Food for Milch Cows {A. G., Betturbet).— You could not give the cows 
better food than Cabbages and Parsnips during the winter. Both vegetables, 
are nourishing and wholesome. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 61° 32' 40 ’ N. ; Long. 0° 8 0 ’ W.; Altitude, lit feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAT. 
£ 
ci 
« 
1883. 
November. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
| Temp, of 
Soil at 
| 1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
. 11 
29.821 
40.4 
38.0 
W. 
44.0 
48.0 
35.3 
75.1 
23.5 
— 
Monday . 
. 12 
29.804 
36.7 
35.0 
N. 
43.1 
45.0 
33.3 
780 
20 0 
— 
Tuesday. 
. 13 
80.04 J 
30.7 
35.(5 
N.E. 
41.7 
4 5.4 
28 7 
62.7 
20.3 
— 
Wednesday . 
. 14 
80.224 
37.9 
36.S 
N. 
40 7 
41.4 
32 8 
71.8 
23.8 
— 
Thurt-day ... 
. 15 
30 o:»; 
31.0 
31.3 
N. 
40.2 
42.3 
29 3 
50.0 
21.4 
0 235 
Friday... 
. 16 
29.0 >9 
43.3 
47.4 
S.W. 
40.0 
50.2 
30.9 
04.3 
2.5 6 
— 
Saturday ... 
. 17 
29.323 
42.3 
40.8 
s. 
41.3 
49.8 
32.0 
60.2 
20.3 
0.159. 
29.321 
33.1 
37.8 
41.6 
46 7 
318 
67.0 
24.7 
0.391- 
REMARKS. 
11th.—Fine, bright, cold day; misty towards evening. 
12th.—Bright, fine, and cold ; moonlight night. 
13th.—Thick white frost in early morning; fine throughout and cold ; moonlight night. 
14th.—Bright sunshiny morning ; overcast afternoon; fine evening. 
15th.—Thick white frost and rather foggy early ; fine day. 
16th.—Rain in early morning ; fair day. 
17th.—Rather dull generally. Squall of wind and rain 1.30 r.M. till 2.30 P.M. ; fine 
afterwards. 
Nights generally very bright, causing great radiation, and therefore sharp frosts or 
grass. Temperature much below the average.— G. J. SY MON S. 
