98 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January £9, 1891. 
STEPHEN’S BOOK OF THE FARM. 
Division Y. 
In this part of this comprehensive work the revision by Mr. 
•James Macdonald of the purely farming part of it is as entirely 
^satisfactory and exhaustive as it is in the other parts. Routine 
farmwork for summer has an appropriate ending in the sections on 
Haymaking ” and “ Bare Fallow,” both which have been entirely 
rewritten, and with the sections of autumnal work routine work 
for the year ends. 
On the whole general utility has been kept admirably in view 
in the revision, but occasionally we are reminded that the work 
has been done over the border by the attention which has so 
evidently been given to crops which find most favour with North 
British farmers, as, for example, in the Swede culture in the last 
volume, and in Potato culture in this. The undue brevity of the 
■chapter on “Subsidiary Farm Crops” is hardly in keeping with 
fhe work, and tends to show that fruit farming is not likely to 
•obtain much extension in Scotland. 
The chapter on “ Bee-keeping as a Farm Industry,” by Mr. 
William Raitt, contains many practical hints, and an anecdote 
under the heading of “ Bees v. Shorthorns” is worthy of repetition. 
■“ Some years ago the writer was at tea in the company of several 
farmers, who chaffed him not a little on having a ‘ bee in his 
bonnet.’ Their talk was of Shorthorns. ‘ I’ll tell you what it is,’ 
said I, ‘ I have a single bee at home that has this year put more 
money into my purse than the best Shorthorn cow you have has 
done into yours.’ I, of course, referred to the queen bee of one of 
my hives, the mother of all its inhabitants. It so happened that 
I had this season taken from that stock no less than 130 lbs. of 
first-class honey in such splendid condition that I sold it to a dealer 
after winning a handsome prize besides, for £10 IGs. That was a 
■clencher ! It is but fair to say that the result was exceptional, 
though I have several times greatly exceeded it in quantity since. 
For instance, I had in one season from a single hive 204 lbs. of 
bottled honey of first-class quality, and an almost equal amount 
from a hive the year before, and ail without killing the bees or 
interfering with their necessary winter stores. These figures 
indicate the possibilities that lie in bee-keeping, though taking one 
season with another, I should estimate the average produce of a 
well managed apiary at from 30s. to 40s. per hive.” 
In the following chapters much useful information is given 
upon the selection, hire, and stocking of a farm. There is also 
much useful and interesting matter under the heading of the 
■“ Physical Geography of Farms.” The rotation of crops is well 
discussed, and the reasons for rotation are set forth as being (1), 
That while all plants tend to exhaust the soil they do so in 
different degrees ; (2), That all plants do not abstract the same 
kind of ingredients or in equal proportions ; (3), That the habits 
of growth differ greatly in plants, some searching for their food 
down into the subsoil and others feeding in the surface layers ; 
some occupying the ground for a short time and others for a long ; 
(4), That crop residues differ materially ; and (5), That the 
various kinds of plants differently affect the growth of weeds and 
the presence of insects. Very wisely is it also stated that climate 
and local circumstances must to a large extent influence the system 
of cropping. 
We regret not to see some mention made of the fact that by 
judicious tillage and manure application farmers are now prac¬ 
tically independent of strict adherence to crop rotation, for that 
has been proved repeatedly both in Scotland and England, and it 
is clearly in the tenant’s interest that he should be able to produce 
crops most in demand, and which are therefore calculated to 
afford him most profit. A clear comprehension of this fact by 
both landlord and tenant is most important, as that is calculated 
to have a healthy influence upon the removal of vexatious 
restrictions in the covenants of farm agreements. To bind a 
tenant’s hands to his hurt cannot be good for the landlord, and 
we have always striven to show how possible it is to avoid old 
restrictions as to the growth of two white straw crops, or for the 
matter of that two or more crops of any kind consecutively. 
The last chapter is on land drainage, and is both well written 
and well illustrated. Not easy is it to say anything new upon 
this well-worn subject, and it is far more important to note all 
leading points of the work, and the reasons for doing it. This 
has been well done, different systems are also discussed, and 
authorities quoted for and against them, so that a clear idea can 
be obtained by beginners for their guidance in the work. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
The prolonged frost has put the resources of farmers to a severe test, 
for with pasture covered with snow and root left out upon the land all 
frozen hard as stones, there has been a rim upon stored food, which has 
only been well met by timely and judicious preparation^ Sweet lessons 
of adversity will the wet “ haysel ” of last season and this hard winter 
prove if they induce more general attention to ensilage. Full of 
nutrition are silage stacks made last season—made, be it remembered, 
at so little cost; haymaking, on the contrary, was never more expensive, 
and the result never more unsatisfactory, most of the hay being inferior, 
and much of it is most probably mouldy. We earnestly beg every home 
farmer to include special crops for silage in the cropping scheme for 
this year. It is most nutritious food, is easily made without any of the 
uncertainty that is inseparable from haymaking, it is liked by horses, 
cows, store cattle, and sheep, is one of the most economical useful crops 
W'e have, and is quite indispensable in. modern farming. 
We have recently met with t vo cases of sheep worrying, and would 
urge every shepherd and flock-mister to be watchful, and do all that is 
possible to guard against the incursions of stray dogs. Now that the 
lambing is gradually becoming general the shepherds should live 
among the flock. We take care to provide a comfortable hut for the 
shepherd, and allow him everything he can possibly require for his 
comfort and convenience. However much these valuable men are 
accustomed to exposure they are human beings, and if they are good 
servants one cannot well do too much for them. With an adequate 
provision for shelter, and plenty of good wholesome food for the ewes, 
there is no reason why the crop of lambs should not be as good as usual, 
provided the ewes have been kept in fair condition since last weaning 
time. If we would have rich milk we must have rich blood and a well 
nourished body. 
In flocks affected by foot-root the feet of all ewes suffering from it 
are dressed in the first week after the lambing, and regularly subse¬ 
quently so long as they require it. It is only by steady persistence that 
this troublesome disease can be kept under, and the feet of pregnant 
ewes near lambing cannot be dressed for it previous to lambing, but no 
time should be lost afterwards, both for the sake of the ewes and to 
prevent—so far as one can—its spreading among the lambs. Neither 
sheep nor Iambs thrive as they ought to do while suffering from foot-rot. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 AM. 
IN THE DAT, 
B 
"S 
1891. 
January. 
O-g” > 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
. 
073 
"Z a 
b. 
5o 
5 o'- 
O ® rS 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
la 
sail. 
On 
Rrass 
Sunday.18 
Monday.19 
Tuesday .... 2 o 
Wednesday.. 21 
Thursday.... 22 
Friday .23 
Saturday .... 24 
Inches. 
30.4.56 
30.325 
30.022 
29.490 
29.497 
29.713 
29.590 
deg. 
22.3 
21.2 
36.9 
31.9 
36.2 
42.7 
47.7 
deg. 
21.2 
20.1 
35.9 
31.9 
34.9 
4-2.1 
47.0 
N. 
N. 
W. 
W. 
w. 
s. 
s.w. 
deg. 
33.0 
32.9 
32.7 
32.7 
32.8 
32.9 
32.9 
deg. 
30.3 
87.1 
44.1 
39.9 
43.0 
48.6 
49.1 
deg. 
19.2 
20.8 
19.7 
30.1 
29.7 
31.0 
42.8 
deg. 
55.3 
49.2 
49.0 
64.4 
70.8 
63.8 
53.0 
deg. 
17.0 
16.2 
14.7 
27.1 
24.8 
25.1 
39.4 
In. 
0.010 
0.184 
0.010 
0.853 
0.266 
29.870 
34.1 
33.3 
32.8 
41.7 
27.6 
50.5 23.5 
0.823 
REMARKS. 
IStli.—Brilliant tbrougliout. 
19th.—I lull; early sunshine from about 11 A.M. to sunset; a little snow in evening. 
20th.—Generally mild and dull,but sunshine at midday ; rain from 8 P.M to midnight. 
21st.—Clo diess throughout. 
22nd.—Cloudy early ; unbroken sunshine from Id AM. 
23rd.—Mild,dull, and drizzly; rain at night. 
21th.—Wet till 6 A.M.; dull and drizzly morning; wet from 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. ; bright 
night. 
The exceptionally long frost ended with the 19th, leaving the minima of that day to 
be recorded against the20th, and slight frost occurred on every subsequent night until 
that of Friday, 23rd. Although on 24th the temperature rose to nearly SO", the intense 
cold of the earlier days of the week wade the mean for the week considerably below the 
average. The diflerence between the average temperature at 9 A.M. for the past nine 
weeks and the mean for the twenty ye.ars 1859-78 shows the following remarkable 
deficiencies :—Week ending November 29th, 6’2" below the average; December fith, 5'1®: 
13th,9 7“ ; 2,th,13-2"; 27th, 11 - 2 ": January 3rd, 10-8" ; 10th, 1P8° ; 17th, SO" ; 24th, 5-3" ; 
or an av-erage deficiency of more than 9" in nine successive weeks, a deficiency which we 
must go very far back to equal.—G. J. .SYMON.S. 
