JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ August 28, 1870. 
134 
care, and enterprise given to the work. A high standard of excel¬ 
lence is not attained in a season or two, nor is it altogether desir¬ 
able or wiss to attempt too much at once, simply because the 
outlay involved would be so heavy that anything like profit upon 
expenditure would be impossible. 
Bearing this well in mind we are yet able to do much every year 
by a close weeding out of every inferior or delicate ewe, by the 
careful selection of tups, or in other words by judicious breeding 
or cross-breeding. In the hire or purchase of tups a considerable 
outlay is unavoidable. A really good well bred tup is not to be 
bought for less than five to seven guineas, anything below the lesser 
price being certain to be deficient in some important point. The 
ordinary farmer probably does well not to aspire to a purely pedigree 
flock, but he may nevertheless find high breeding very much to 
the purpose if kept within reasonable limits. We have this season 
seen an exceptionally good fall of lambs from a flock of superior 
half-bred Suffolks, the tups being pure Cotswolds which had cost 
the farmer seven guineas apiece. These were obtained from Mr. 
W. Oakey of Great Wilbraham Hall, Cambs, from whom we have 
frequently had excellent Hampshire Downs. With Mr. Oakey 
tups of the best breeds are a specialty, and many a farmer will 
snake a special journey to Wilbraham during the next week or two 
to select animals for the coming season. 
One of the most remarkable examples of flock improvement is 
that of the College of Agriculture at Downton. Spirited buying, 
careful weeding, and constant attention has led to such decided 
improvement that the average price of the tups has risen annually 
at the rate of more than £1 per head, the average per head now 
being over £10. This is a pure Hampshire down flock of some 
1200 prime ewes, notable for early maturity, the lambs attaining 
the size of full grown hoggets by the middle of June, and they are 
then worth from 60s. to 70s. apiece. At the annual sale held at 
the College on the 7th inst. ten lamb tups were let at an average 
price of £23 16s. 9d., the highest amount being fifty guineas for 
one of the best young rams that ever entered a sale-ring. A 
similar amount was also realised for the best lamb tup among those 
which were sold. The Downton College flock has become so 
famous in the showyard for all classes of Hampshire downs that 
the leading place appears to be taken by it among flocks of this 
breed. Other flocks have also an excellent record, the averages for 
tups at recent tup sales being Winterbourne Stoke, £8 5s. ; Strat- 
ford-sub-Castle, nearly as high ; and Mr. James Harris of Win¬ 
chester, £6 4s. 2d. 
Of the favour in which Shropshire sheep continue to be held 
we have evidence in the high prices realised in recent sales, plenty 
of tups going for £50 each. At the Yardley sale one of Mr, 
G. Graham’s shearling tups sold for 105 guineas, and at the Hattons 
sale the ram average was £19 17s. Id., and the ewe average 
£5 10s. lOd. At the Uppington sale a two-shear ram also realised 
105 guineas, the average price being £18 Is. 2d. The progeny of a 
100-guinea ram should be profitable, but very much depends upon 
the ewes. 
Although the principal ram sales will be held this month, that 
of ordinary animals will continue for another month. Lambing 
has to be timed in accordance with the earliness or lateness of each 
locality. Earliness is all-important to ram breeders, but for flocks 
generally the root crop, pasture area, green crops on arable land 
and store of dry fodder, all exercise some influence upon the 
lambing season, and must be taken into account now. We want 
no starveling Iambi?; and must be prepared to feed them well enough 
to promote vigorous growth and healthy condition from the birth. 
Appeals to scientific men for aid, and the remarks often made 
about foot-rot, go to show the prevalence of much ignorance about 
this very common and troublesome complaint among sheep. We 
have seen it described as soreness and ulcers either in the division of 
the hoof or on the outside of it. But we have had many a case 
where the hoof has been much swollen and heated, without any 
exterior sore or wound of any kind. In due course the swelling 
bursts, there is a discharge of pus ; linseed meal poultices, sponging 
with warm water, and dressing with Gells’ ointment, gradually 
effecting a cure. Flocks affected with foot-rot cannot be quite 
cured ; the disease may be kept very much under, but it will break 
out again in a tainted flock, and we certainly should not like to add 
purchased animals to such a flock, as they would certainly have foot- 
rot sooner or later. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
There is nothing like regularity or order in farm work this summer ; 
while corn stacks are being built grass is being mown for hay. Corn 
harvest and haymaking are going on together in the midland and 
eastern counties. Only in the west has the hay been secured in good 
time and order ; and even there the usual order of things is reversed, for 
the pastures are almost bare, while the usually parched pastures of East 
Anglia abound with luxuriant growth. In the Leicestershire Stilton 
cheese district we have this year seen hay cobs being made in the midst 
of harvest time. A Leicestershire cob is literally a big haycock 8 or 
10 feet in diameter. It is well trampled by a man, and when it is a few 
feet in height an ordinary waggon rope is placed around it near the 
bottom, for a horse to draw it along upon the surface of the meadow, 
while more and more hay is piled on, till it becomes too heavy for the 
horse to move it further. It is then topped up, and when finished has 
very much the appearance of a huge sugar-loaf. The hay is then safe 
from harm by rain, and can be removed to the rick at any time. 
Another curious feature in Leicestershire pastures at this season of the 
year are the huge conical dung heaps, built at such an acute angle as to 
throw off all rain ; and there would certainly be less tendency to vio¬ 
lent heating in such heaps than there is in the common flat angular 
mixen. They are not placed by the roadside or near a hedge, but are 
right out in the middle of the pasture, so that any liquid manure 
escaping from the heap would not be wasted. 
The large herds of cows are not driven from the pasture for the 
milking, but are milked in the open wherever they may be, without 
trouble, as they are accustomed to stand still for milking without being 
tied up. As each cow is milked the milk is poured into a large tin 
“ churn ” with a hinged lid, which is drawn about the field in a light 
cart. The advantage of this plan is obvious. The milk goes to the dairy 
perfectly sweet, for the pails are quite clean, and the churn which we 
saw glistened like silver, all labour about cowsheds and yards is avoided, 
and much time saved in several ways. If that time were devoted to the 
extermination of the “ Leicestershire Gooseberries,” as the Thistles which 
abound in the pastures are termed, it would be much to the Stilton 
cheese maker’s advantage, for in many parts the Thistles are so thick as 
to quite prevent grazing. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Brewers’ Crains for Cows (A..Z). —Brewers’ grains are certainly 
not to be regarded as a prime article of food for dairy cows, but a 
moderate quantity may be used.with advantage mixed with other food. 
Here is the analysis—Water, 764; Albuminoids (flesh formers), 5*0 ; 
fats, 04 ; carbo-hydrates (heat givers), 94 ; ash, L2 ; which shows a 
fair proportion of nutriment, the albuminoids being rather superior to 
those of rich pasture ; but then a cow may eat its fill of pasture herbage 
without risk of taint to milk or butter, while a full dietary of grains 
would undoubtedly affect the flavour of butter. The rule, therefore, is 
a good one to use grains liberally only for cows the milk from which 
is used or sold at once, and only moderately for cows when the mi'k is 
used for butter. Do not use any linseed cake for milking cows, a little 
cotton cake and palm nutmeal are much preferable. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN S.QUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Lon". 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 AM. 
IN THE DAT. 
1890. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32“ 
and Sea 
Level. 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
P . 
o xs 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Katiiiftion 
Temperature. 
3 
M 
Augu t. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
£ 
- 
OJ ^ rH 
—» 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Sunday. 
17 
Inches. 
29.9,75 
deg. 
62.4 
deg. 
55.7 
S. 
deg. 
6i.2 
deg. 
73.1 
deg. 
50.0 
deg. 
119.2 
deg. 
45.3 
In. 
Monday . 
18 
29.872 
00.3 
57.1 
N.E. 
61.8 
73.8 
54.3 
113.6 
51.2 
0.0*9 
Tuesday .... 
19 
29.824 
56.9 
55.2 
>.E. 
61.9 
60.1 
53.9 
70.0 
51.4 
0.402 
Wednesday.. 
20 
29.881 
61.0 
58.3 
». 
60.4 
69.9 
55.2 
116.8 
55.6 
— 
Thursday.... 
21 
30.047 
61.7 
57.2 
s.w. 
60.8 
66.8 
55.6 
85.6 
52. L 
0.050 
Friday . 
22 
30.095 
59. L 
53.2 
s.w. 
6O.0 
68.3 
5L8 
121.0 
48.5 
— 
Saturday .... 
23 
29.694 
61.8 
£8.3 
s. 
60.1 
09.5 
57.1 
119.3 
54.2 
0.074 
29.913 
60.5 
56.4 
60.9 
68.8 
53.8 
108.5 
51.2 
0.545 
REMARKS. 
17th.—Bright morning, fine day and night. „ 
18th.—Dull and heavy oariy ; dark, high fog at 10 AM.; bright sun at 12 noon ; fine rest 
of day and night. 
19th.—Dull, heavy morning ; ra'n at 930 A.M., and off and on a’l day. 
20th.—Early morning dull and wet; fine at 9 A M ; fine afternoon and night. 
21 st.—Fine hut dull ear y, generally dull with au occtsioual gleam of sun ; sharp rain at 
5.30 p M. for a few minutes : fine but dull night. 
22nd.—Bright early ; fine and bright all day ; fine night. 
23rd.—Dull and blusterous morning; sharp raiu at 11.30 A.M.; sunshine at 12.30; ni e 
remainder of day and night. 
Temperature ve - v similar to previous weeks; night temperatures very uniform.— 
G. J. STM )'S. 
