538 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ December 7, i8 82 
of the legs small, standing wide apart, no looseness of skin about 
them, and comparatively bare of wool. The chest and barrel at 
once deep and round, the ribs forming a considerable arch from 
the spine, so as in some cases, and especially when the animal is 
in good condition, to make the apparent width of the chest even 
greater than the depth ; the barrel well ribbed home, no irregu¬ 
larity of line on the back or the belly, but on the sides, the carcase 
very gradually diminishing in width towards the rump. The 
quarters long and full, and, as with the forelegs, the muscles 
extending down to the hock ; the thighs also wide and full; the 
legs of a moderate length ; the pelt moderately thin, but soft and 
elastic, and covered with a good quantity of white wool, not so 
long as in some breeds, but considerably finer. 
These various qualifications as above stated were obtained and 
preserved by the great and long-continued attention which was 
paid by Mr. Bakewell,and assisted by the members of the Dishley 
Society, to the selection of individual animals, and mating the ram 
with the ewe so as to correct the faults or deficiencies either may 
possess, and thus, by carefully and progressively getting rid of 
faults, gradually approaching to perfection, which, though it may 
be rarely or never reached, should yet be the constant aim of the 
breeder. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—This is very much in arrear, especially in the loamy 
and strong-land districts, and the seedtime for Wheat has been greatly 
delayed ; nevertheless, all that is possible should be sown with Wheat 
between the present time and the 1st of February whenevei the 
weather proves open and favourable. This matter should not be de¬ 
layed for want of manure ; for although enough box or yard dung 
may be available, it would be well to reserve it for early root crops, 
such as Mangolds, Carrots, and Cabbages, because in those cases, even 
where the land will bear the casting of dung on to the land for Wheat, 
the delay attached to it may be fatal to the Wheat-sowing, for it 
often happens when the seedtime is unusually late that a day lost 
cannot be regained. The storing of Mangolds has now been nearly 
completed, and should be finished as soon as possible, or as soon as 
horses can be spared to cast it to the store heap. In the meantime 
the Mangolds may be kept in small heaps, covered with greens or re¬ 
fuse and damaged straw. When the Wheat land is all seeded plough¬ 
ing and fallowing for roots may be continued. It is especially desir¬ 
able that land intended for Potatoes should now be ploughed, and in 
those districts where female labour is available women may be em¬ 
ployed at all favourable weather in forking out bunches of couch, 
bents, and Onion grass, either before the land is ploughed or after¬ 
wards, in all open weather when the grass, &c., can be seen, espe¬ 
cially in the spring before ploughing and planting, which saves delay 
—a matter of great importance connected with all early spring crops. 
It often happens where women cannot be obtained for light work 
that it cannot be done by the men, and therefore more horse labour 
is required, which causes delay, and frequently the best seedtime is 
lost in consequence, besides the difference between cost of extra horse 
labour and light hand labour. At all leisure times the home farmer 
should remember that cartage of earth and earthy materials may be 
carted together in readiness, not only for earthing the cattle pens, &c., 
but also for making composts of earth and manure, such as yard or 
town dung, to be sooner or later applied to the pasture land. 
Hand Labour .—In many districts more work is on hand than 
labourers can be found to execute. It is also increasingly difficult to 
get a good day’s work done for a good day’s pay. It is, therefore, 
very desirable that the home farmer should have nearly all his work 
done by task ; at least, as much as is possible. This applies with 
still more force in female labour, for in any light work the women 
will do as much work as the men and earn as much money. In all 
piece and task work where the women can really earn good wages in 
field labour they may be induced to take their part or share in the 
light easy work on the farm, whereas if they are only employed or 
offered day work they would remain at home, as they do now in 
various parts of the kingdom. Upon all farms where much stock is 
kept either of sheep or fatting cattle there is always an abundance of 
light work adapted for them to do which really is not done in a satis¬ 
factory manner, or not done at all, where men only are available. 
Live Stock .—The feeding of the in-lamb ewes is now a very impor¬ 
tant part of the business of the home farmer, for not only is it neces¬ 
sary to prevent the ewes eating lai-ge quantities of Rape and Turnips 
on the fallow surface, which makes bad lying for them, but it is essen¬ 
tial to the health of the ewes and the success of the fall of lambs that 
they should have a run upon healthy grass, either pasture or old lea ; 
and when the grass becomes bare and short it should be supplemented 
by Cabbages drawn out on the driest land, which may be appointed 
for their night lair. Another point is, that after the extremely wet 
autumn which we have gone through many flocks are breaking down 
with the foot rot or epidemic lameness, from which sheep have suffered 
so much in bygone seasons. In order to assist the home farmer in 
curing any lame sheep suffering from either of the above causes we 
give the remedy we used for more than forty years with great success. 
Recipe—Take 3 ozs. of nitre, 3 ozs. of blue vitriol, 3 ozs. of gunpowder. 
These should be reduced to a very fine powder, and well mixed with 
half a pound of hog’s lard ; it will then keep for use. In the case of 
young lambs more lard should be used with it. But having the best 
remedy is not sufficient; it must be properly applied. Where the 
sheep break down lame continually they should be looked to daily, 
and those which are lame should have the paste rubbed in between 
the hoofs the first day it is discovered. If by any chance the disease 
should extend under the horn of the foot it should be carefully cut 
away as far as suppuration exists and without making the foot bleed. 
If it should bleed through accident in cutting it is best to let the 
bleeding subside before applying the remedy, which has in our case 
been so successful that we never lost Gd. per head by lameness since 
we have used this remedy. But many farmers with a large flock will 
not encounter the cost of continual labour by the shepherd and men 
under his direction, and in consequence have confessed to us that 
their losses on some occasions of condition in the animals has 
amounted to more money than their cake or corn bill. The Dorset 
and Somerset Down ewes will now begin lambing in a few days, and 
the.course of management as directed lately for the horned ewes and 
their lambs will apply equally well to the Down ewes and lambs, with 
this exception—that the lambing fold will require to be placed in a 
carefully littered yard or fold, and it should be on ground with a 
slight inclination of the bottom or floor, in order that the water may 
dram away and give them a dry lair; whereas in the lambing fold 
for horned ewes we seldom use anything but a fold shifted daily on a 
piece of dry and sheltered pasture or old lea ground. 
FARMING NOTES. 
CATTLE. 
Preparations are fast being made for the coming winter, and 
we are already looking forward to another year, for Michaelmas 
to farmers is practically the end of the year, the harvest being 
past, the season of growth almost at an end, and the year and its 
results lay open before us like a book written large, clear, and un- 
mistakeable. No time could therefore be better for a retrospective 
glance over its pages and to store up its most useful lessons. 
Genial spring weather induced an early and abundant growth 
of grass that proved a great boon after the small hay crop of last 
year, and with hay at £7 a ton a cold late spring would have 
been disastrous for dairy farmers and breeders of cattle. So 
forward, however, was the grass, that by March 15th we were able 
to throw open the whole of the yards and to turn lean stock as 
well as cows upon the pastures—no light matter when it is re¬ 
membered how frequently we are unable to do this till the end of 
April or beginning of May. It is true enough that much cattle 
is to be seen out upon pasture throughout winter whenever the 
weather is open, but it is a sight to be deplored, an outcome 
of hard times pointing with no uncertain hand to straitened 
means, and a struggle with dire adversity which can hardly 
result in good, for such cattle but too often are in a state of semi¬ 
starvation. It is far better to confine cattle entirely to the yards 
from the time that legitimate autumn-grazing is over till a full 
bite is to be had in spring. Let me explain what is meant 
by autumn-grazing. By the middle of October the yards are 
littered and all the cattle are driven in at night, but for weeks 
afterwards while the weather continues mild and open, and her¬ 
bage is still plentiful, they are let out upon the pasture by day. 
For example, a mixed herd of steers and heifers of various ages 
varying from twenty to thirty months now occupy nightly two 
yards opening upon a run of 40 acres of sound upland pasture 
in four plots opening into each other, well sheltered with belts 
of timber and with plenty of snug corners, over some part of 
which they roam and graze daily, inevitably finding out where 
the grass continues sweet and abundant. The dairy cows have 
a similar run, but younger stock are confined to a small enclosure 
of a couple of acres with a cosey yard and lodge. It may be 
thought upon what is literally a hill farm early driving to the 
yards is unnecessary, but it should be remembered that the rain¬ 
fall of October is generally great—in this locality it exceeds that 
of any other month—and it is accompanied by occasional frosts 
and a fall of 10° of temperature, to all which it must be unwise 
to keep stock constantly exposed. On the 21st of October I was 
out upon the pastures in a pouring rain, and found puddles of 
water in every slight hollow of the surface, so that a beast could 
hardly have found a place to rest upon at night, and yet it is no 
uncommon thing for cattle to be left out upon low-lying marsh 
land throughout October exposed to the wet and to every wind 
that blows, for there are hardly any sheltering trees or hedges there. 
That such exposure proves hurtful, sometimes fatal, is certainly 
not to be wondered at. 
It is part of the experience of many a landlord to have appeals 
for forbearance when Lady-day comes round and rents are due. 
“ I have plenty of lean stock,” says the defaulter, “ but it is in 
such poor condition that if I sell it now it will be at a loss.” 
What is the cause ? Overstocking the yards in autumn with a 
