328 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ Ap,u i'u, isei. 
LIVE STOCK—SELECTION AND BREEDING. 
One of the most important lessons of adversity taught by hard 
times is the true value of the selection, breeding, and careful 
management of all live stock on a farm. More and more atten 
tion is given to this by all thoughtful farmers, and the paper 
bearing on this subject, which Mr. J. Kersley Fowler read 
recently at the Farmers’ Club, contained such a mass of useful 
information as will exercise much influence upon the minds and 
efforts of really eai’nest workers in tbe good cause of rendering 
fai’m animals ideally valuable as a soui'ce of profit- The days of 
mongrels with no points of excellence are surely numbered, for 
the fact of well-bred, well-fed beasts proving so profitable in 
such a year of falling prices, as 1892 undoubtedly was, must 
carry with it conviction that only by careful selection and breed¬ 
ing can we hold our own now and in future under ever increasing 
foreign competition. In accepting and acting upon this axiom 
let it not be forgotten that really good work in breeding does 
not involve the use of pure pedigree animals on both sides, 
and we entirely agree with Mr. Fowler that “The thoroughbred 
should be on one side or the other, and it is perfectly wonderful 
how quickly a really fine flock of sheep or a good herd of cattle 
can be produced, and eventually maintained. Many a great line 
of grand animals can be produced by this system, and in the 
course of time the flock or herd is enabled to take rank as pure¬ 
bred animals.” 
Plenty of evidence in support of Mr. Fowler's views is 
forthcoming fi’om other breeders of note. Mr. John Treadwell 
of Upper Winchendon gives instances of improvement in cattle, 
sheep, and pigs. The evidence of such famous breeders as Mr. 
Spencer of Holywell Manor; Mr. Duckham of Holmer, Hereford ; 
and Mr. C. Barnes of Solesbridge, near Rickmansworth, might 
also be adduced if necessary. But our espec'al object is sufficiently 
apparent in calling attention now to the real value of a pedigree 
male animal of fine form and sound constitution for the profit¬ 
able production of home reared beef, mutton or pork. 
For milk also selection is of even greater importance, because 
of the low general average of milk yield, and the great range of 
milk yield from an ordinary herd of cows where any heifer is 
thought good enough fjr milking, up to the Duke of West¬ 
minster’s two Cheshire herds, or others where due attention is 
given to selection and breediog. It is not a question of the 
largest animal. Take for example the marvellous little Kerry, 
“ Red Rose,” in the Kidmore Grange herd. Mr. Charles Simmons 
says she is not much higher than a large donkey, weighing, he 
thinks, about 9 cwt. She calved the list wee'x in March, 1892, 
and from April 1st of that year to the same date this year she 
gave 4 tons 9 cwt. 3 qrs. 20 lbs. of milk, the milk being weighed 
morning and evening as soon as taken from her. Take also that 
other wonder of the same breed, “ Babraham Belle,” belonging to 
Mr. Adeane, weighing only 889 lbs., yet at the Warwick Show 
last year she gave from a morning and evening milking 51 lbs., 
or 5 gallons of milk, yielding 4 per cent, of butter fat. Among 
the Duke of Westminster’s cross bred Shorthorns fiv'e cows gave 
over a thousand gallons apiece last year, one of them actually 
yielding the phenomena’, quantity of 1338 gallons in forty nine 
weeks. Every bull calf from such cows should be reared, as 
they must be invaluable in breeding for milk. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Good sound Oats are the only home-grown grain now being sold at a 
profit. Tbe straw has been even more than usaally useful for folder, 
the grain used whole, kibbled, or as meal, is alike useful, and it is easily 
understood how, in a review of last year. Oats were termed a most satis¬ 
factory crop. We mention this because, if rain does not soon come 
there must be some exceptionally late sowing, more particularly on 
strong clays which were ploughed up wet and are now absolutely 
unworkable, and Oats will be the crop to afford a fair yield of straw and 
grain if sowing has to be done in May. 
In every locality where three or four months of free growth i*fter the 
Ist of June are a certainty, we strongly advise keeping a few acres of 
land in reserve for an abundant supply of green Maize in September 
and October. The whole of it should be used before severe frost sets in; 
the possibility of early frost must, therefore, be taken into account in 
connection with this crop. If even frosts should render its use necessary 
in August, it would answer to grow some. The minimum yield per acre 
under such early use would be from 7 to 10 tons, the maximum yield 
from further fuller development rising to 30 tons per acre. For all 
farm animals it proves a great boon in late summer and early autumn 
always ; with parched pasture bare of food as it is sometimes then, this 
grand summer fodder plant is invaluable. 
In southern counties Rye, from 1 to 2 feet in height, is now being 
folded or mown, and Maize follows such a crop well, especially if sheep 
have been folded upon it. To have growth of full vigour from Maize 
we must have rich land ; there is no better crop for a sewage farm, 
except perhaps Italian Rye Grass. Failing the sewage, we must manure 
heavily with whatever is available. Among other things, peat moss 
litter, and sawdust from a stable, are both excellent. Near large towns 
one or both may be had, and the ordinary stable manure, which under the 
existing sanitary laws has to be removed daily, will do also, provided 
there is enough of it. Chemical manures may, of course, be turned to, 
and if they are used we would have at least 2 cwt. of nitrate of soda per 
acre. Condition of soil must be the planter’s guide in this rnsitter. and 
we can only indicate generally what should be done. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Pasture Ready for Grazing (6. 0. A.).—The puslure which 
was mentioned as “ so forward in growth that cows go out four or five 
weeks sooner than was possible last year ” is in Surrey. You say that 
in the Midlands there is not a blade of grass on land of thi.: description, 
and generally you are right, but we have seen pasture recently at 
Melbourne, in Derbyshire, and Ashby Folville, in Leicestershire, with a 
really good bite of young succulent herbage upon it. We know plenty 
of bare pasture now in both those counties, but the 'barcne.ss is not 
entirely owing to a want of rain, though this of course has a retarding 
effect. Poverty of soil and keeping stock out all winter are the dominant 
reasons why pastures generally in the Midlands and elsewhere are brown 
and bare in winter, and backward in spring growth. You have only to 
make sure of perfect drainage and sustained fertility of a sufficiently 
high standard to have early growth, if only you withdraw cows and 
store cattle entirely from pasture in October. Often have we told how 
slow growth in spring is on poor land, how brisk on rich land ; how it 
marks the difference between the cultivation and neglect of pasture 
especially, but also on other kinds of crops. Market gardeners know 
how important rich land is for securing early crops. We have seen a 
plantation of Cabbages raised from seeds out of the same bag, sown at 
the same time, and the plants put out the same day, but a portion of 
the stretch of land had been exhausted by a previous (seeding) crop. 
The Cabbages on this portion were fully three weeks later than those on 
the richer land, and not half so good. The former, in fact, represented 
a distinctly profitable crop, the latter as distinctly the reverse. Im¬ 
poverished land would soon starve market gardeners out of their hold¬ 
ings, as has been the case with many, also, we fear, some farDoer*. Only 
rich land pays by affording early, full, succulent crops. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet 
Date. 
9 A.il. 
In the Day. 
1893. 
April. 
1 Barometer 
1 at 32°, and 
1 Sea Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of soil 
at 
1 foot. 
Sliade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
2 
‘3 
Pd 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
Oa 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday ,. 
9 
30-450 
44-3 
41-1 
NE. 
47-8 
62-0 
38-4 
98-9 
38-4 
Monday .. 
10 
33-270 
49-1 
44.9 
N. 
47-8 
69-9 
35-9 
109-2 
34-7 
Tuesday .. 
H 
30-289 
43-8 
41-1 
NE. 
48-1 
51-4 
37-9 
76-9 
36-6 
Wednesday 
12 
30-404 
43-3 
37-1 
N.E. 
47-1 
53-2 
36-9 
100-3 
34-3 
Thursday.. 
13 
30-344 
44-4 
41-7 
N. 
4« 1 
53-9 
30-9 
102-9 
30-1 
— 
Friday 
14 
30-405 
39-8 
3G-2 
N. 
43-0 
54-9 
32-2 
80-1 
26-2 
— 
Saturday .. 
15 
30-255 
48-1 
4.3-8 
W. 
45-3 
G4-i 
34-2 
102-2 
29-9 
— 
30-345 
44-7 
40-8 
4G-9 
58-5 
35-2 
95-6 
32-7 
— 
REM.ARKS. 
9th.—Bright sunny day ; a little fog in evening. 
10th.—Almost cloudless throughout. 
11th.—Overcast till 2 p.m. ; frequent faint sunshine after. 
12th.—Alternate cloud and sunshine, tire cloud rather preponderating, 
13th,—Overcast early, with slight drizzle ; generally sunny after 10 A.ju. 
14th,—Foggy early ; bright sunshine from 10 A..\l. 
15th,—Bright sunshine throughout. 
Another week of absolute drought, Saturday being the twenty-ninth consecutive 
day with no measurable fall of rain ; a period which is longer than any other in my 
record, which extends hack to 1H57. As the rain in the middle of March was quite 
triding, we hive practically (though not strictly) had no rain for seven weeka. 951 we 
must go back to March 1st for a record of a tenth of an inch,—G. J. 
