July 6, 1882.] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 
23 
had suggested itself to the Brothers Colling. And with regard 
to their intelligence and fondness for the art of cattle-breeding, 
the Brothers Booth were, in a later period, what the Brothers 
Colling were in earlier days. It is likewise certain that no blood 
has been more widely spread than that of cattle bred by the 
Booths of Warlaby and Killiby, these being the names of the 
districts on which their herds of improved Shorthorns were 
reared respectively, and throughout the United Kingdom no 
blood commanded a finer bull-hiring trade ; and it was from 
Buttercup, a daughter of Barmpton Bose, and crossed with 
Booth’s Jeweller (10,354), that Butterfly sprang, the chief foun¬ 
dress, wdth Frederick (11,489) of the Towneley herd, whose vic¬ 
tories? l the store and fat shows combined are wholly without 
parallel. 
For a period of more than twenty years previous to the year 
18G5 a large number of Shorthorn bulls were annually to be 
seen at the Dublin Easter Show. The far greater part of them 
were of Booth blood. France had been a customer for several 
years, and the Emperor had not only hired bulls from Warlaby, 
but purchased thirty females at upwards of a hundred guineas 
each. Bulls having been gradually distributed into many de¬ 
partments of France, the result of this was noticed in the Bat¬ 
tersea meeting of the Boyal Society in 18G2, especially the effect 
of the Shorthorn blood upon the cattle from Poissy. Germany 
has not given such high prices, and has cared less for the best 
blood. The King of Wurtemburgh’s agents, however, were in 
the market as far back as 1824, and the Emperors of Russia and 
Austria in later years. Lately Sweden came out more spiritedly 
than she had ever done before, and Spain had bought some 
of the best Shorthorn bulls to put better points on the Anda¬ 
lusian cattle. The King of Sardinia had also been a purchaser, 
and so had the King of Holland, whose agents more especially 
obtained bulls from Yorkshire. These observations apply to the 
period before 1865. It was, however, to America that breeders 
had generally looked for their most spirited customers, and this 
was the case as far back as 1797, when a Favourite (252) cow 
was sent over, and, returning at the end of thirteen years, became 
the foundress of the Cambridge Boses. It is also recorded that 
the first and second Grand Dukes crossed the Atlantic with 
one thousand guineas on their heads, and it was the rivalry of 
American buyers which gave such a fillip to prices at the sale of 
Lord Ducie’s cattle at Tortworth in 1853 ; for here the Americans 
threw all previous speculation into the shade by giving seven 
hundred guineas for Duchess 66th. Our own colonies had not 
been laggards. Van Dieman’s Land was the first spot which gave 
Shorthorns a welcome at the antipodes when it imported bulls 
in the year 1831. The Boldens introduced them at Port Phillip 
nine years later. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—This is still divided between drawing the mowing 
machine, the tedding machine, horse rake, <fcc., also the carting of hay 
to the stack, and the odd horse or mu'e, as the case may be, will work 
the elevator at the rick. A capital in plement is the elevator, ’which 
saves the men from the severest work they used to have to perform— 
viz., the unloading of hay from the waggons or carts on to the rick, 
especially when the stack was above half made. The other work, 
which will now be combined or alternated with machinery attendant 
upon hay-making, is the preparations for sowing the Turnip seeds 
or drilling the seed with manures ; but on many farms we noticed 
that the land was very foul with couch in the early spring, therefore 
in various instances where the seeding for Turnips has not yet been 
done, much labour is still required before all the land can be seeded. 
Stetching and planting Cabbages and Kohl Rabi will still be con¬ 
tinued, but should now be finished, the sooner the better. Upon the 
strong land farms much land is still foul, and requiring much severe 
labour by steam culture or otherwise before it can be called a clean 
fallow for Wheat; and when the horses cannot work on the Turnip 
land, or after the Turnip lain has been all seeded, the cross plough- 
ings may be continued with advantage. Should the weather prove 
dry the land should be kept rough, and worked with Howard’s self¬ 
lifting drag harrow, so that in case the weather should continue dry 
enough the land may be thoroughly aerated, and the couch and 
weeds may die off without further trouble or labour, for we like the 
Wheat fallows to remain rough if possible until the season arrives 
for sowing. The old plan of working down the fallows at every 
ploughing in order to vegetate the weed seeds and then to destroy 
them is gone out of fashion or usage, as the best farmers prefer to 
keep the land rough, so that at the time of ridging for seeding it may 
be mellow and work kindly. With regard to the weeds in the strong 
soils, we are never safe from their damaging presence, especially 
where the land requires chalking or liming, unless the Wheat is 
drilled at 12 inches apart between the lines, in order that in the spring 
of the year the land may be deeply and effectually horse-hoed 
between the lines. Instead of using the horse-hoe adapted for work¬ 
ing the same width as the drill, we much prefer an ordinary strong 
horse-hoe with three stout shares like the centre share in general 
use, as we find that the land can be moved deeper and the weeds 
cut up better than by the first-named plan of hoeing by the width 
of the drill. Strong land in the month of March or April after 
the winter’s rains is usually settled down very close, and will not 
yield to the light implement hoes like it does in the hoeing of spring- 
sown corn ; besides which we often find at the end of April or first 
week in May that the Wheat will turn off a yellow and sickly colour, 
which if left alone will only produce a small crop, but when tbe 
Wheat is drilled at 12 inches, and the three hoes are used deeply in 
the soil, the surface is broken sufficiently to give the Wheat plants 
a fresh start in life. We have always found this to alter the colour 
of the blade to a deeper green and a better crop. In all cases where 
the cultivation of the land is behind the proper season the home 
farmer should not depend upon horse labour only, but in those cases 
where steam power is not carried out by the necessary farm arrange¬ 
ments it should be hired, as it now can be done in almost every 
district throughout the country. 
Hand Labour .—This is now required in connection with carting and 
stacking the hay. Men should also be employed, especially if the 
weather is showery and not fit for hoeing root crops, to use the scythe 
in the meadows and pastures where they have been fed off by cattle 
to mow down any rushes which were refused by the stock. This 
will weaken their future growth very much and allow the young grass 
to take their place. It is desirable also to cut off all the bunches of 
grass refused by the cattle, as these often encourage ergot, so in¬ 
jurious to dairy cows. What we call the bunch rushes, and tufts of 
coarse grass called hassocks, should not be cut off with the scythe, 
but be taken up with the turf-cutter or shai'p-cutting spade and be 
burned into ashes ; this if carefully done will weaken them much for 
a number of years and allow the better grasses to succeed. The drop¬ 
pings of fatting cattle and dairy cows should also be spread occa¬ 
sionally, or otherwise removed to a heap of earth, to be made into 
compost for dressing the pastures. 
Live Stock .—This has been, and is now, a fine season for cattle fat¬ 
tening in the pastures, as well as the dairy cows. This, however, 
although abundance of grass is available, should not deter the home 
farmer from giving both kinds of cattle not less than 4 tbs. of cake 
per day, for the advantage will not only be found in the stock, but in 
benefit to the pastures as well. We prefer the best St. Petersburgh oil 
cake for the fatting beasts, and decorticated cotton cake for the dairy 
cows. We have recently inspected a farm which we had seen three 
years previously, and we notice an extraordinary improvement in the 
pastures both as to herbage and bulk of the crop. This is owing to 
the dairy cows receiving cake daily throughout the year, and also to 
the application of 4 cwt. per acre of bone superphosphate. Sheep, 
either fatting sheep or ewes and lambs (if the lambs are weaned), 
whether feeding on the pastures and park lands or on green crops or 
grass on the arable land in very sunny weather, gather together under 
trees or hedges for shade, and there they leave their droppings both 
liquid and solid, which we contend are entirely lost. Our own plan 
was to fold the stock in a dead fold from ten o’clock in the morning 
until four o’clock in the afternoon, shifting the fold daily and giving 
them whatever trough food they were allowed in the fold ; we thus 
saved the manure. But to protect the animals against the fly they 
are, of course, to be dipped and treated with fly powder and the usual 
composition for the purpose. In cloudy or showery weather when 
the animals do not congregate they may be allowed to roam on the 
pastures and fields in the day as well as at night. 
RINGDOVES. 
Without travelling beyond our province we think we may 
devote a column to these pretty pets. There is often a spare 
corner in the pigeonry which may be wired off for them, or they 
will even live in harmony with the Pigeons. Some little manage¬ 
ment is, however, necessary to make them do this, and we should 
