December 22, 1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 575 
and avoiding the necessity of lifting them when full. This is 
highly spoken of by the Judges at the Exhibition, and is there¬ 
fore worth the notice of the home farmer and implement maker. 
Messrs. Hornsby & Son, Limited, exhibited a novel Turnip cutter 
at Derby, which actually cuts the last slice, and thereby avoids a 
certain amount of waste which has hitherto occurred in ordinary 
machines owing to the last slice passing into the skep or basket— 
a large piece all, or nearly all, rind, and which is refused by sheep 
and wasted. The improvement in the cutter is obtained by the 
addition of a perforated guard or shield fixed underneath the 
barrel, so that any piece which may escape uncut from the front 
cutting-plate is prevented from falling into the basket, and is 
carried round to the hopper again to be forced through the knives 
with the other roots. The action is perfect, and the result is a 
great practical improvement in the economy of cutting roots, 
especially for sheep fed in the open field in troughs. Messrs. 
Perkins of Hitchin have made important improvements in their 
corn screen. The original polygon, form is now replaced by a 
circular frame which is made to revolve eccentrically, thereby 
securing a much more efficient action, which is a contribution of 
a rotary and longitudinal motion. The frame is also capable of 
carrying various screens which are easily removed and replaced. 
The screens are stamped out of metal plate, so that the openings 
cannot vary in size. This screen has a number of indents on the 
inner surface. These receive the weed seeds and carry them 
round till overcome by the force of gravity ; they fall into a 
sloping receptacle in the lower portion of the screen, whence they 
are discharged. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME EARM. 
Horse Labour .—The work attendant upon Wheat-sowing is now 
nearly concluded, and the sooner it is completed the better, December 
being better than January, and January being better than February 
for the completion of sowing. The best kind of Wheat which we 
know as a red berry is the Nursery, and the best white Wheat the 
Club-headed Rough Chaff. Although the latter is usually sown at 
the autumn seed time, yet on all dry soils and in favourable climates, 
like the southern and south-eastern counties, it will do better than 
any other white Wheat. It will not only tiller well and keep plant 
in the spring, but yield grain of fine quality. 
Chalk-carting for all soils which require it should now be done, and 
also clay-carting for the sandy and gravelly soils. Now these sub¬ 
stances, although they cannot always be laid out at the time they are 
brought on the farm, yet they may with advantage be deposited in 
heaps in or near to the field, and then carted out and spread as soon 
as the weather will admit of the work being done. This chalking of 
land is a matter of the first importance, for we are through our own 
experience quite satisfied that no land can be profitably cultivated in 
the absence of a proper amount of either chalk or lime. We have 
inspected large tracts of land lately, and in many instances we found 
that the fields were quite out of chalk, as evidenced by the weeds, 
which will immediately be noticed by those who are acquainted with 
their habits of growth. 
Hand Labour .—The men are now employed in filling dung from 
the boxes to be heaped in readiness for application to the Clovers as 
soon as it can be drawn on the land ; but it should be spread directly, 
in order that the rains may fix it on the soil, and also carry the 
soakage of the manure to the roots of the Clover plants. The water 
furrows on the Wheat land will require looking to, and be relieved of 
any accumulations of soil, which may be spread thinly on each side 
of the furrows. Trenching in the pastures may now be done if it is 
not intended to turn the cattle thereon during the winter months. 
If cattle are to feed on the pastures in the following summer we 
prefer to make out the trenches in the spring, and the proceeds 
burned as soon as dry. This will furnish good ashes either for laying 
out on the pastures or to be held in reserve for drilling with corn or 
Mangolds or other root seeds. 
The men may now be employed in the woodlands cutting under¬ 
wood and converting for various purposes, such as hoop rods, Hop 
poles, also bavins, but putting on one side the bushes, &c., with 
certain rods as stakes and for making dead hedges. Pitting Swedes 
and Carrots may be carried on during mild and open weather. 
This is usually done by casting them together into small heaps 
and covering with earth. Upon any dry land, such as sand, gravel, 
or chalk, it is a saving of labour to open a space with the plough 
by turning out three furrow? each way twice and cast the roots 
into the trench or double furrow thus made, and then returning 
with the plough the reverse way will nearly cover the roots, the 
completion of which is best done by shovelling a portion of earth 
on the top to a point, with a slight trench on either side. In 
ordinary seasons the roots are found to keep well in this way, and are 
easily put together and more easily distributed or cleaned for use in 
the spring. The women may assist the men in pitting root crops, 
also in forking out the lumps of Couch grass in the root crops and 
in the young Clovers ; for we maintain that it is advisable to attack 
the Couch in this manner, as it prevents the roots spreading over 
the land, and eventually saves considerable horse labour at a com¬ 
paratively trifling cost. 
Live Stock .—The Somerset horned ewes have now finished lambing’ 
some o f the earliest of which have been sold to be killed for Christmas 
iamb. The greater portion of tl.ese flocks will be sold between the 
middle of the months of January and March. The west county and 
Dorset down ewes are now fast yeaning their lambs, and will require 
the shepherd’s constant attention. They should be prepared with 
remedies for the young lambs suffering from the white scour; the 
use of a few drops of tincture of opium in a little water is the safest 
and quickest remedy, and may be repeated every three hours until 
the diarrhoea has ceased. The ewes will require treatment after a 
severe or protracted lambing time ; carbolic acid is the remedy used 
by many flock-masters to be applied to any injured parts, and thus 
prevent gangrene or mortification. The latest advised remedy, how¬ 
ever, to be used in the same manner is a solution of salycilic acid. 
Bad and inflamed udders, however, should be treated with sugar of 
lead ointment; but if likely to mortify the verdigris ointment is a 
safe and sure remedy if taken in time. 
There is no branch of our stock farming which requires so much 
attention, care, and nicety in detail as the fatting of early lambs and 
ewes simultaneously. Our mode is to feed the ewes and lambs, 
whether of the horned or down breed, in the open field ; but although 
it is often done where the land is rather flat and becomes dirty, yet if 
the climate should be good, either in the southern or eastern counties, 
they will then do well without shelter if judiciously and regularly 
fed as follows. As soon as the lambs begin to eat we give them a 
little of the finest Dutch Clover hay, which should be grown on 
purpose for them. We have grown it as fine and perfect as a sample 
of hops, without any other grasses in admixture. The root-feeding 
should be white Belgian Carrots and the white hearts of the Cham¬ 
pion Drumhead Cabbage, quartered into the Gardner’s cutter and 
passed through twice, which reduces the Carrot roots into small 
pieces like dice, and the crisp sweet Cabbage is also reduced very 
fine, and easily taken up and eaten by the lambs when they first 
begin to eat; and it is of great importance that they should eat early, 
and as they eat but little it should be of the best and most forcing 
quality, because it relieves the ewes, particularly when they have 
twins. The Carrots and Cabbage, after being cut fine as described, 
should be powdered over with cake meal, by which means the lambs 
take cake before they would eat it in any other way, the aroma from 
the Carrots being very enticing and agreeable. They have also oil¬ 
cake in the covered troughs, cracked and passed through a riddle to 
make it as small as cracked beans or peas, in which state cracked 
peas are mixed with it, and for lambs we prefer American bag or 
barrelled cake with grey peas. The bullocks which we usually sell at 
this Christmas time we frequently buy in store condition in the 
month of May, from which time until the first week in October they 
are placed in boxes 10 by 12 feet and fed with Clover, Saintfoin, or 
Lucerne cut fresh from the field daily, and the bullocks in addition 
receive also 4 tbs. of cake each per day. From October 1st until sold 
they get cut roots, about 56 tbs. of Carrots or Mangolds being pre¬ 
ferred per day, and 4 tbs. cake and 2 tbs. bean meal mixed with the 
cut roots daily, and sweet oat straw ad libitum, in the racks in the 
ordinary state. We have given the mode of feeding somewhat in 
detail in order that it may be understood that bullocks, not being 
overfed with hay and large quantities of cake, will yield a clear profit 
of from 3s. to 3s. C d. per week, all expenses paid and charged. 
BANTAMS PAST AND PRESENT. 
The formation of a Bantam Club has drawn new interest to these 
old favourites. It is high time that it did so, for to few varieties of 
poultry has more harm been done by fashion. The extended 
classification which under the Club’s auspices is now being given to 
them at shows, will give encouragement to many who hitherto have 
only been able now and then to trust their birds to the somewhat 
hazardous chance of the variety class; others will, we hope, be 
choosing a breed in the hope of improving it. We will, therefore, 
look back some thirty years, and see what the Bantams have been 
and what they are. 
Time was, long before general poultry shows were thought of, 
and when a vision of the present long lines of pens at the Crystal 
Palace or Birmingham would have seemed the wildest dream, that 
many real fanciers amused themselves with breeding pigmies, aye, 
and formed societies for showing them too, but of these we have 
little record. It is about eighty years since Sir John Sebright 
began the production of his exquisite little laced Bantams; thirty 
years later the variety may be said to have been established. . In 
the days of the earlier poultry shows, roughly speaking thirty 
years ago, it was exhibited in great perfection. We have not since 
that time made such advance in the Bantam line as we might, 
but we will try to see where there has been progress and where 
falling-off. 
