444 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDEN ER. 
[ November 1!, 188*. 
around fields ploughed for Wheat, so that the rubbish might be burnt 
before the drilling was done. Drains both with pipes and bushes are in 
hand, our object being to relieve the soil of superfluous water at once. 
Pipes are indispensable where land is to be laid down to permanent 
pasture, but we use bush drains extensively for corn land as a matter of 
economy. Avoid very long drains ; short branches to a large main drain, 
or, better still, to an open ditch, are altogether preferable. A “ blowing ” 
drain, which is really a drain with a stoppage, is frequently a serious 
source of mischief in summer. We had quite an acre of winter Oats 
spoilt by a faulty drain this year, and it was all the more vexatious to hear 
a stupid bailiff declare he knew it was a “ wet” place. 
On the whole, the condition of our farms and farming stcck is satis¬ 
factory. We have been able to clean foul land well this autumn ; our 
store of fodder and roots is so abundant that we have several stacks of 
both fine meadow and Clover hay to spare. Pig yards are well filled at 
all the farms, and we find a brisk and profitable sale for them as they 
fatten. We have added some two hundred ewts to our breeding flock, 
and we have a fine lot of old sheep in folds now, and, judging from their 
condition, we ought to realise from £700 to £800 from this source alone 
during the next three months, to say nothing of the good they are doing 
to the land. The winter corn has gone in well ; we are fast ploughing 
the other lsnd f or spring corn, and we might even venture to express 
hopes of an improvement in future if only prices for corn ruled a little 
higher. It is well not to overlook the fact that both straw and hay st'll 
prove pro i; table, and hay can certainly be produced without an 
extravagant outlay for labour. 
SMALL HOLDINGS. 
Your correspondent “ Inquirer ” asks for some reliable infor¬ 
mation regarding small holdings, or the three acres and cow, 
and 1 may be able to give some hints on the subject. Yet no 
scheme in detail has yet been propounded The mention of 
three acres and a cow is more a by-phrase than otherwise. “ In¬ 
quirer ” would appear to be anticipating too much in entertaining 
fear that by such undertaking considerable inconvenience would 
be encountered, although it is more than probable that many 
cases of disappointment through various causes would result; 
but that is so with every undertaking. If such a scheme should 
sooner or later become general, it should not be supposed that 
the conditions would be so favourable as to cause anything like a 
scramble bv those whose surrounding circumstances were not 
suitable. The idea of procuring employment on special condi¬ 
tions, as set forth by “ Inquirer ’’—namely, of finding a master 
willing to employ a man four days per week, leaving him at 
liberty the other two, may, I feel sure, be abandoned. Few 
employ more men than are strictly needed every day, and a man 
who works his full hours has no great inclination to further 
increase his time of labour. Many, doubtless, through having a 
large family might be temptsd to do so; but that, though ap¬ 
parently thrifty, is in the end questionable economy from a 
physical point of view, while on the other hand, those who may 
have sons growing up are in good position in many instances to 
reap every benefit from such scheme ; a'so others who in country 
villages may be following small trades’which barely yield a liveli¬ 
hood might by good management be benefited. Milk produce 
would not only be increased, but made much more conveniently 
obtainable and no doubt cheaper. This in turn would prove a 
benefit to cottagers and the working class generally, more 
especially in the case of skimmed milk for large families. This 
may read a little tame and homely, but if the condition of the 
poorer classes is to be improved it must be by homely measures. 
It should also be remembered that a great boon to the labourer 
was removed when turnpike or highway grazing was abolished 
nearly thirty years ago, which ought surely to have suggested 
some recompense through legislation, for if universal benefits 
are to be provided it must almost of necessity be done by legis¬ 
lation. 
It has always been and no doubt will continue that owners of 
property, backed naturally by the larger farmers, are loth to 
subdivide their land. If, however, as appears possible, such a 
departure would be beneficial to the community, by all means 
let it be done on fair and equitable terms to all, and my opinion 
is the owner might in the long run be a gainer. The matter of 
providing separate buildings for very small holdings would be the 
greatest drawback, but there is no reason why in many villages 
and small towns when the bulk of property is owned by one or 
two, the buildings should not be erected in blocks convenient to 
the village or as the case may be, which would well suit a plan 
I have now more than thirty years known to work satisfactorily 
in so far as summer grazing is concerned - viz , to procure one 
very large fertile pasture, or by throwing fields together as re¬ 
quirements suggest to graze a given number of cows in milk, 
allowing, as per agreement, from one to three cows to each small 
holder at fixed rental; the land rented in proportion to his stock 
elsewhere, and often less convenient, produces hay, &c. The 
acreage required would oZ course depend greatly on the quality 
and nature of the land. Good meadow land would, under such a 
system, provide aftermath and hay sufficient to winter three 
cows. 
Leaving the allotment or labourer class, it is beyond my 
power to suggest what might be required to provide regular and 
profitable employment in order to maintain a family. Small 
farmers as a rule either disappear after a trial or make every 
effort to become large farmers, and that I think at once steps 
outside the object our legislators have in view. At any rate, no 
one should attempt to farm many acres who does not already 
through experience know what is needed to stock. and furnish 
such a farm. As to the price of a good cow, a visit to any fair 
will most practically inform beginners, which at present average 
from .£14 to £18 per head. 
Implements required on something like the three acres and 
cow principle would not prove a very expensive item, as the 
occasional work of carting on manure would be most economi¬ 
cally done by hire. Some other reiders will doubtless deal with 
the financial aspect.— E. Burton. 
FLAX GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION. 
The following appeal to British landowners and capitalists has been 
sent to us for publication : — 
“ The numerous inquiries received by this Association from all parts 
of the country during the last two months prove conclusively that the 
farmers of the United Kingdom are desirous of giving the Flax industry 
a fair trial during the coming season, and it is proposed raising a fund for 
the purchase of suitable Flax-scutching machinery, which will then be 
hired out to such persons at a price that will ensure a fair profit to the 
owners, and at the same time will not press too heavily upon the new 
industry. 
“ It is intended that the assistance hereby rendered shall be confined 
at first to those districts where the farmers growing Flax are willing to 
work up the same in partnership with their labourers on the co-operative 
system, receiving a fair market value for their straw out of first profits 
realised, say £3 per ton. 
“ In all such cases it is believed that the local gentry and tradesmen 
will assist in raising a fund sufficient for paying the expense of working 
until the Flax fibre is ready for market (£1000 will be ample for Ihis at 
starting); this Association will then supply the machinery on hire, 
charging 10 per cent, yearly on the cost of the same (5 per cent, interest, 
and 5 per cent, for depreciation), until such time as the Co-operative 
Company is able to purchase it at a fair valuation. 
“ It is believed that the extension of the Flax industry on the lines 
herein laid down will prove of national benefit and imi ortance, aff cting 
landlords, farmers, and labourers alike, and bringing about a closer union 
between the three classes. 
Messrs. Ransom, Bouverie & Co., 1, Pall Mall East, have consented 
to act as bankers for this Association, and the fund, when subscribed, 
will be administered by a Committee chosen by the subscribers, to whom 
every assistance will be rendered by the Flax Growers’ Aseo iation. 
“ For further particulars apply to —Graham Parry. Secretary Flax 
Growers' Association, 57, Charing Cross, London, S. W.” 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Food for Milch Cows (H. E. G .).—You will find an article in the present 
issue that will probably give the required information. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square. London. 
Lat. 81° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
y A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
• cr 
a> m oj—. 
Hygrome- 
d . 
o ^ . 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
d 
1886. 
ter. 
♦2 d 
Q_, O 
perainre. 
Temperature. 
BJ 
October and 
es 
O O — 
N o vember. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
S's 
s ^ 
Max. 
Min. 
sun. 
grass 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
detf 
deg. 
deg 
In. 
Sunday . 
31 
30.096 
56.4 
55.7 
E. 
51.3 
61.2 
49.0 
68.6 
40.6 
0.162- 
Monday. 
1 
30.036 
55.0 
53.6 
S. 
52.6 
58.8 
52.7 
78.4 
50.6 
0.029 
Tuesday. 
2 
30.141 
51.9 
49.4 
S.E. 
51 8 
57 6 
48.2 
77.3 
40.3 
0.010 
Wednesday .. 
3 
30.139 
45.2 
43.6 
s. 
51.0 
54.2 
38.1 
60.8 
29.1 
0.250 
Thursday .... 
4 
29.901 
43. L 
41.5 
w. 
50.2 
543 
39 6 
77.2 
29.3 
— 
Friday. 
5 
29.545 
48.1 
47.0 
S.E. 
49.0 
51.7 
42 8 
61.4 
339 
0.544 
Saturday .... 
6 
29.948 
43.1 
42.0 
S. 
48.2 
45.9 
38 7 
48 7 
31.7 
0.126 
29.829 
49.0 
47.5 
50.6 
54.8 
44.2 
67.5 
36.5 
1.127 
REMARKS. 
31st.—Fog early; fine morning; cloudy afternoon; rain in evening and night. 
1st.—Dull showery morning ; fine bright afternoon ; rain at night. 
2nd.—Fair as a whole, with alternate breaks of sunshine and sprinkles of rain ; fine 
clear night. 
3rd.—Fine and bright early ; fine morning ; wet afternoon and night. 
4tli.—Fine, bright, and cold ; a little cloudy, with spots of ram in late afternoon. 
5tb.—Dull all day. 
6th.—Fine early ; wet day ; clear cold evening and night. 
A very unsettled and rather wild and svet week, marked by great range, and sudden 
I changes of pressure temperature. Temperature nearly 2 C below that of the preceding 
week, but about the same amount above the average.—G. J. SYMONS. 
