November 10, 1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
439 
feet superficial, and 1600 cubic feet for each horse, the question 
arises, Whether a single step further would not serviceably pro¬ 
vide each horse with a box 1 With judicious management and a 
moderate supply of straw the utmost comfort of the horse may 
thus be combined with the best economy of manure.” 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME EARM. 
Horse Labour .—Upon some of the sand and gravel soils where the 
practice is to sow late the horses will be still engaged in working the 
land and drilling Wheat. Upon these dry soils we prefer to sow 
an early white Wheat, especially if it is in a southern or south¬ 
eastern county, such as the Champion White from Berks ; Morton’s 
Red-strawed White from Gloucestershire and Hampshire, the long¬ 
eared Rough Chaff from Essex, and the Fenton White from the 
northern districts and Scotland. These are well adapted for very 
dry thin soils which are not likely to throw up an abundance of 
straw, for these, as well as the Chidham white sort from Sussex, are 
long-strawed varieties. Where the land is really in full condition 
and of a strong loamy nature we prefer the Club-headed Rough 
Chaff. This grows very short in the straw, and is hardly ever known 
to fall down or become laid, and is certainly the most productive and 
best qualified Wheat we know of ; for on good land last year we saw 
fourteen sacks per acre grown, and this year twelve sacks per acre, 
with a very moderate bulk of straw, and grown upon a dry gravelly 
soil in a southern district. The land has been very dry, in many cases 
working as light as Barley soil should do. Some parties have hesi¬ 
tated to sow or drill while the land is so dry ; but we never hesitate 
to sow when the period has arrived, for we never can tell what 
weather may occur further on in the season. This has been one of 
the finest seasons for Wheat-sowing we can ever recollect, especially 
for the strong, cold, flat-lying soils. Ground of this nature has been 
worked very fine on the surface, and the only thing to be feared in 
consequence is an abundance of weeds in the spring, such as Gold- 
weed. Marigold, and Black Bent Grass. Should this be the case, and 
the Wheat sown or drilled close so that it cannot be horse-hoed, the 
weeds cannot be destroyed, and may therefore seriously injure the 
produce; hence the necessity of drilling at 10 or 12 inches between 
the rows. Upon land given to weeds the crop is never safe unless 
the horse-hoe can be worked freely between the lines. Carting and 
storing Mangolds will still be going on, but ought now to be finished, 
and the pitting of Carrots and Swedes continued. 
The odd horse in some cases has been lately employed in carting 
Clover and Ryegrass off the lea ground intended for Wheat, and a 
valuable produce has been available for the cart horses and other 
stock, including dairy cows. Cutting Clover and grass in the same 
manner will be continued for some time yet. Although at harvest 
there seemed to be hardly any prospect of grass this autumn, yet we 
are now cutting a very valuable produce, and shall continue for two 
or three weeks yet unless severe frost occurs to destroy the crop. 
Some farmers object to cutting young Clover and grass seeds at this 
period ; but we have done this at times for many years, and prefer it 
to feeding, especially with sheep or horses, as these bite so closely on 
the crowns of the Clover plants as to cause them to die off during 
the winter, and it is often through injudicious treatment the Clover 
plant is lost, and (he land in consequence is called Clover-sick. 
Hand Labour .—The men and women having now finished picking 
and gathering the Potato crop and pulling the Mangolds for storing 
and pitting, will now for some little time be engaged in pitting in 
heaps in the field other roots, such as Carrots and Swedes. When 
this work is done by the acre, as it always should be, whole families 
may be employed with advantage to themselves and their employer. 
The fern and also rough grasses should now be cut in the plantations 
and rough grounds and used for various purposes, such as covering 
the heaps of stored roots and littering yards for young cattle, thus 
saving straw, which is dear everywhere—in some districts nearly or 
quite as dear as hay—and should therefore be economised. 
Live Stock .—Young cattle and dairy cows have lately been con¬ 
suming the Mangold leaves where the land is clearing for Wheat¬ 
sowing. In case, however, the land is held over for Bar-ley and drege 
in the spring the leaves may well be ploughed in, for they always 
prove a useful manure for the next cereal crop. The bullocks in the 
boxes intended for sale at Christmas shou d now be allowed the full 
and utmost quantity of superior food, say 4 tbs. of cake per day and 
2 tbs. of mixed meal composed of bean and maize meal, good sweet 
Oat straw, and a diminished quantity of roots (not more than 56 tbs. 
of Mangolds, 60 tbs. of Cabbage, or 56 tbs. of Carrots per day), with¬ 
out hay, good-conditioned straw beina r the best and safest food for 
really fat animals if fed for profit. Even if intended for competition 
in the cattle show we must beware of hay, for it is, when the cattle 
are well fed in other respects, the most dangerous as well as damaging 
food they can receive. We say this with confidence after a long 
experience. 
The management and attention to the bulLon the home farm is an 
extremely important matter in various ways, for it is not only proper 
that the animal should be well treated and fed but that the apartment 
where it is kept should be convenient and also very strong. We 
saw recently a statement which related that a bull broke his tether 
by accident, and whilst at liberty in the farmyard attacked and 
seriously disabled his keeper and assistant. Our rule is that the 
apartments called the bull pens should be separated by a sliding 
door which can be drawn or withdrawn, so that the man in charge 
may never at any time be in the actual presence of the bull either 
for littering the pens or for any purpose. 
FAMOUS POULTRY YARDS. 
KNIGHTON VICARAGE (The Rev. M. H. & MRS. RICKETTS). 
We have described poultry yards and poultry yards, each in 
some way differing from the others, and from some peculiarity of 
its own interesting to the fancier ; but still there has been this 
common to all of them—in all we have before seen some few 
breeds, in some cases only one or two, in others possibly ten or a 
dozen, bred up to exhibition standards. We have now to describe 
a yard far different from all the others, and unique, we believe, 
among English poultry yards. Imagine an establishment of 
ninety runs, where eighty varieties of fowls are to be seen ! Our 
readers may well pause here, incredulous with wonderment. We 
turn to the schedule of the great Crystal Palace Show, where re¬ 
presentatives of every kiud are generally supposed to be collected, 
and find that provision is made for but forty-five distinct sub- 
varieties. Here is a private establishment where, granting fifteen 
sorts to the any other variety ” classes of the Palace, half as 
many varieties again are to be seen as at the great National Ex¬ 
hibition, for eighty is in truth as nearly as possible the number 
which are to be counted in excellence at Knighton Vicarage. 
Before we come to the birds we must give some account of their 
surroundings. It has been our fortune to see many yards in lovely 
places ; it would seem as if porrltry fanciers had a peculiar eye for 
the picturesque ; probably the truth is that when Nature has made 
country beautiful with undulation there are to be found spots 
specially inviting for the indulgence of such a pursuit. 
On the Welsh side of a deep valley through which the Tees 
flows, dividing Shropshire from Radnorshire, rises the little town 
of Knighton ; almost in it, and yet quite out of it, is the vicarage, 
perched high above the valley. We enter by a short carriage 
drive. On the right the church is close at hand, the vicarage in 
front, and beyond it across the valley a precipitous Beech-clad 
mountain. The woods are glowing golden with the evening sun 
upon their autumn tints. Past the walled churchyard to the right 
a lawn, with here and there a stately tree, slopes gently down to 
a paddock, where we at once spy many poultry runs. To the left 
is a kitchen garden, divided by shrubs from the lawn and walled 
all round save on the side towards us. Here, too, are signs of 
many more poultry runs, and the shrill voiees of many Bantam 
chanticleers catch our ear. As we approach the house, on each 
side in the distance are peeps of lovely Welsh border scenery ; 
but the poultry are our business, and we must hasten to them. 
We should first tell our readers that the object which Mr. and 
Mrs. Ricketts set before them in making their collection is not to 
keep any one sort of surpassing excellence, or to breed so many 
prizewinners, but to have a good specimen pen of every known 
kind of poultry, and indeed many which can scarcely be called 
known. This is the great peculiarity of the Knighton collection. 
Breeds which we have heard of as possibly to be seen here or 
there, abroad or in some obscure place, are here to be found to¬ 
gether and seen at a glance, side by side, as easily as the Pheasants 
at the Regent’s Park gardens. 
The establishment is divided into two complete departments. 
The one which we hare seen on the left of the entrance, and which 
occupies a large part of what once was kitchen garden, is the 
special care of Mrs. Ricketts, and is devoted almost entirely to 
the smaller varieties of poultry—Bantams, Silkies, Polish, and 
Sultans—and admirably adapted it is to its purpose. A substantial 
stone wall is the boundary of the garden ; it curves gently, so that 
the aspect of the part given up to poultry varies from south to 
east. Against it are many houses, and from them run their neatly 
gravelled yards to a walk whence all can be seen ; we counted 
about forty, all the very picture of tidiness. Without disparaging 
the many beautiful yards we have visited, we may confidently say 
that none have ever interested us more than this range of houses. 
The gravelled walk curves round parallel to the wall; on the 
right are the runs, on the left a thick Privet hedge, lately planted 
for shelter, and trained against wire, and beyond it a large closely 
mown lawn, the playground of many tiny Bantams and other 
privileged chickens. 
But we must tell our story in order. First come a block of six 
houses ; all are double, with inner and outer apartment, specially 
