400 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ October 28, 1886. 
land is naturally sound or has been made so by drainage. 
We can hardly conceive of a man being content to take it 
for granted that land is so wet that it cannot be reclaimed 
by drainage, unless the surface is so flat and low as to be 
subject to periodical floodings, as in the case of marshes and 
low-lying land by the margins of rivers. Yet we know 
upland farms with an undulating surface which are regarded 
as altogether unsuitable for sheep in winter. In point of 
fact we have one such farm in hand now, upon which we are 
told there has been no really sound practical work done 
within the memory of any living person. Upon this farm the 
work of improvement goes steadily on. Huge ridges of soil 
accumulated during a long course of years alongside the 
deep ditches which intersect the entire farm are being burnt, 
and the burnt earth is spread upon the surface of the 
adjacent fields. The “ pan ” has been broken up by steam 
cultivation, field after field is being drained into the nearest 
ditch, and it is our intention eventually to lay down the 
whole of the upper slopes of this farm to permanent pasture, 
retaining the lower fields under the plough for green crops, 
roots, and corn, in suitable proportion for a sheep farm. 
The surface lends itself admirably to our purpose, for the 
farm forms the head of a valley, with slopes low and 
wide, the uplands of the farm sweeping round in a wide 
semicircle; yet, because the soil is somewhat heavy and 
retentive of moisture, and the surface so open and treeless 
as to afford hardly any natural facilities for shelter, it is 
considered unsuitable for sheep. 
We shall proceed with caution in laying down part of 
this farm in permanent pasture. A selection will be made 
of one or more fields that are clean, sound, and fertile, and 
next spring the best mixture of Grasses and Clovers we can 
procure will be sown there with a corn crop, by means of 
which we hope to cover the expense of our outlay upon the 
Grass and Clover seed. In the following season we shall 
only obtain some grazing for lambs in fold upon our new 
pasture ; but then, apart from the folding, our outlay both 
for the labour of men and horses will have practically ceased, 
for that year at any rate, and we shall only have to meet the 
ordinary demands for tithes and taxes. Meanwhile strenuous 
efforts will be made to bring the remainder of the land of 
this farm into as high a condition of cultivation as possible, 
so that more land may be brought under pasture year by 
year till our purpose is accomplished. 
In thinking out our plans we look forward to possible 
results, and how we may reasonably hope to attain them. 
The second year of the young pasture will witness the intro¬ 
duction of the ewe flock upon it in folds immediately after 
the green crops of spring upon arable land are exhausted. 
Due care will be taken to have the folds so small as to ensure 
a sufficiently close clearance of the grass in twenty-four 
hours, and both lambs and ewes will have enough dry food 
for condition and growth, the ewes having a mixture of 
crushed Oats and Beans, with chopped hay and Barley, Oat, 
or Pea straw, and the lambs some of Mackinder’s lamb 
food, which we find answer better for them than any other 
dry food we have tried. The lambs will be let run forward 
before the ewes through lamb gates, and the lamb food also 
placed forward out of the way of the ewes. This process of 
folding will be repeated as often as necessary throughout the 
season of active growth, the sheep and lambs being with¬ 
drawn altogether in both the first and second seasons after 
September or October, according to the state of the weather. 
It is thus obvious that while we should be able to derive 
some benefit from the pasture both in the first and second 
seasons we should be enriching it in the most economical 
manner, and our labour bill will be reduced to a minimum. 
By the third season the sheep folding would have brought 
it into a suitable condition either for hay, for sheep feeding, 
or for both, and when the entire young pasturage is so 
finished the farm will be to all intents and purposes a sheep 
farm. We may mention in connection with this undertaking 
that we have in view a certain outlay for sheep shelter in 
the form of a few rough but commodious lodges, with dry 
hard floors, to which the sheep can at all times have access. 
(To be continued). 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
MaDgold leaves are being ploughed in for Winter Tares, which 
should be sown at once to afford us a nice sturdy plant well calculated 
to pass unscathed through all the trying changes of winter weather. The 
ploughing iD of the leaves of our root crops is altogether preferable to 
turning sheep on the land to eat them, as is still done generally, so slowly 
do farmers come to recognise the value of leaves or of green crops as a 
manure. Yet the lesson is not hard to learn. Throw a few cartloads ot 
Cabbage or Turnip leaves into a heap, and as decay sets in the powerful 
and very offensive odour arising from the heap shows unmistakeably how 
rich in fertility are the gases escaping into the air from it. Better still, 
plough in a thick dressing of any green crop, and the effect upon the next 
crop will be equal to any specially prepared manure we can apply. 
Ploughs are in full swing on all farms now, either for winter corn or for 
turning the land up for the winter. As much land as possible will be 
thrown up into ridges in readiness for early spring work. Depend upon 
it there can be no better practice with soil that is at all wet or heavy, for 
after the softening influence of winter weather upon it, it comes to our 
hand in the best possible condition for a fine seed bed and early sowing. 
How can we hope to have land ready in good time for sowing spring corn 
after it has been left in stubble throughout winter ? Preparations are 
being made for more drainage where it is required, and the first step is to 
select and open out good outfalls. If the main drains empty into ditches, 
it would be well to first scour the ditches. Not only should this be done 
for new work, but the mouths of all old drains should be examined, and 
due care taken that there is nothing in the way to prevent an unchecked 
flow of water from them. Let everything possible be done to relieve the 
soil of superfluous water as the first step to all good farming. Attention 
should also be given to the storage of water for a time of drought, for the 
carriage of water from a distance is an expensive and laborious under¬ 
taking, which an extra pond or two may enable us to avoid. Care should 
also be taken that drains near yards and buildings are in sound working 
order. We recently had a drain burst during a storm near a barn, an a 
but for prompt action the water would have flooded the barn floor co fl¬ 
aming a large quantity of corn ready for market. 
SMALL HOLDINGS. 
If your agricultural correspondents could give some reliable inform a- 
tion on the subject of small holdings I think it might be of interest to 
some of the readers of this Journal. The great drawback to the “ three 
acres and a cow ” scheme is that there is more work than a man can do 
in his leisure hours, and on the other hand not near enough to occupy 
the whole of his time. The difficulty in such a case would be to find a. 
master who would employ a man, say, four days a week, leaving him at 
liberty the other two. t , , 
How many acres of land can be well cultivated by one man, 60 that 
his whole time is occupied? how much capital per acre would be suin- 
cient 1 and in what way would it be most advantageously laid out at 
starting ? How much on horses, implements, cows, and other stock, and 
any other hints that would be of service to any who may be desirous of 
trying a small holding.— Inquirer. 
Spratts Patent. — At the Liverpool International Exhibition, 
188G, Spratts Patent, Limited, were awarded the gold me.lal for superior 
excellence in the manufacture of their biscuits, including special mention, 
of the quality of their cabin biscuits. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32- 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, Ill feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAT. 
1886. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
a . 
Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Rain 
October. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Qo 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Sunday . 
Inches. 
29.045 
deg. 
48.6 
deg. 
45.8 
w. 
deg. 
52.3 
deg. 
55.2 
d«g 
47.7 
deg 
93.7 
deg 
44.4 
In. 
0.010 
Monday. 
29.404 
52.4 
51.1 
N.E. 
51.8 
57.2 
44.2 
76.1 
40.9 
0. *14 
Tuesday. 
29.577 
52.6 
51.3 
N.E. 
52.0 
54.6 
45.6 
59.0 
37.8 
0.010 
Wednesday . 
20 
29.657 
53.1 
52.0 
N.E. 
51.8 
58.0 
48.2 
68.6 
42.5 
0.017 
Thursday ... 
. 21 
29.890 
46 4 
46.2 
W. 
51.8 
557 
45.2 
82.3 
44.0 
0.010 
Friday. 
80.013 
43.1 
42.8 
s.w. 
51.5 
55.2 
41.7 
76.2 
35.4 
0.024 
Saturday ... 
23 
30.024 
51.6 
50.8 
E. 
50.2 
54.3 
42.3 
62.2 
32.3 
0.047 
29.659 
49.7 
48.6 
51.6 
55.7 
45.0 
74.0 
39.6 
0*132 
REMARKS. 
17th.—Fair, with slight showers. 
18th.—lluil, with brief bright intervals and slight showers. 
19th —Damp, foggy, and dull. ... , 
20 th.—Dull, with slight rain in morning, and some sunshine m early afternoon. 
21st.—Fair morning, fine bright afternoon, damp evening. 
22 nd.—Fog early, flue bright morning, foggy afternoon; fair evening 
23rd.—Wet day; tine evening. , „ , „ 
An unsettled and dull week, giving the impression of more rain than really feu. 
Temperature about 3° below that of the preceding week, but still nearly 2° above the 
average.-U. J. Simons. 
