22 
[ July 7, 1892. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
time, no period in the whole of the year when the flock does not 
require our best attention, for which it certainly repays us in one 
way or other, even with prices so low as they are just now. Sales 
of tup lambs are already announced, but for ordinary purposes 
it is unnecessary to purchase before September, when we procure 
a well-bred animal for each fifty ewes. 
Since ewe mutton ceased to be in demand, the fattening of 
old ewes when withdrawn from the flock has not been so remu¬ 
nerative as it once was, but so much good is done to the land 
by such old sheep in folds that we continue to fatten them, only 
taking care not to spend one penny upon cake for them. Home¬ 
grown corn soon plumps them, and with it we contrive to make 
the crones pay their way at any rate. Here, again, management 
tells. When draft ewes have been kept with the lambs so long 
that they are reduced to mere “ bags of bones,” the fattening of 
them becomes so costly that a guinea’s worth of food may be 
required to produce a sovereign’s worth of mutton. Yery dif¬ 
ferent is it with ewes whose condition has been well sustained. 
They fatten quickly and cheaply, and are still comparatively profit¬ 
able. Not always are low prices to be taken as a fair indication 
of the condition of trade—far from it. Many a flock is sold at 
midsummer to raise money wherewith to pay the rent. Both 
ewes and lambs may then be in a wretched plight, and it is 
precisely those who so mismanage them who are loud in 
complaints of low prices and hard times. 
All ewe lambs selected for breeding are, when weaned, kept 
growing briskly, sometimes with the aid of some crushed corn, 
more frequently without it if we have plenty of sainfoin for 
them. Tares, too, are good for lambs, but they should not be 
folded till growth is well advanced, very young succulent growth 
often causing scouring. Symptoms of this should always have 
instant attention ; a prompt change of diet, and a run daily on 
sound pasture do much good. In these hard times we cannot 
afford to wait till the second season, but must have a lamb the 
first year ; that is why stress is laid upon the importance of a 
little forcing for ewe lambs. Turn in the tups early in September 
so as to time the lambing for January ; have the ewes always 
well fed, avoiding extremes altogether ; assist lamb and ewe by 
judicious feeding as soon as the lamb is able to eat, the tegs 
will then be strong, forward animals by autumn, quite fit for 
breeding. There may be a degree more of uncertainty as to 
results from such young animals ; but we may certainly calculate 
upon an average of a lamb per ewe. Under good management 
early breeding does not affect the growth of the ewes at all ; 
we have had no better ewes than those from which a lamb has 
been had in the first year of the ewe’s existence. 
"Wether lambs, hoggs, or hoggets are so useful for autumn and 
winter folding that they are mainly kept over for that purpose, 
and are not forced on for an early sale. Sheep folds enrich the 
land, keep down manure bills, render the flock very much more 
to the farmer than a mere producer of so much mutton and 
wool, and should always be regarded as an indispensable adjunct 
to successful farming. Hoggs are much more suitable than ewes 
for winter folding on arable land. Such sturdy young animals 
have more vitality, more strength to withstand the effects of the 
unavoidable exposure than pregnant ewes, coming out of the folds 
gradually in batches ripe for the butcher, leaving the land rich in 
fertility for the next crop. Old ewes drafted from the flock 
are, on the contrary, folded on pasture—poor upland pasture 
preferably. If it is very poor the folds are used for forty-eight 
hours, size of fold always being a hurdle for each sheep. For 
pasture in fair condition twenty-four hours is sufficient, twice 
the area of land being thus covered, as it very well can be when 
there is an annual dressing of manure. There is much more true 
economy in an annual feeding of soil than when it only has manure 
once in two years. Soil exhaustion is then practically impossible, 
and the sound principle of sustained fertility is applied in the best 
way —i e., that of home production and the avoidance of manure 
bills. Although we lay such stress upon the value of chemical 
manures, preference is always given to sheep folding whenever and 
wherever it is possible. 
Summer is the time to get under and keep under foot-rot. 
Let the flock have a frequent change of quarters ; separate every 
affected animal from the flock ; examine all the feet of sheep in a 
tainted flock frequently ; look closely for pieces of a hard substance 
in the hoof division ; pare off any broken or overgrown parts of 
the hoof most tenderly ; use Gell’s ointment upon wounds or 
diseased parts, and disease will be kept down to the comfort of the 
flock and the profit of the flockmaster. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Haymaking is now in full swiDg, and we have gladly dispensed with 
the services of some fifty labourers from estate work to assist the tenants 
in saving the hay. It is, indeed, a time of anxiety, and everything 
possible must be done to make good hay. With the barometer at “ set 
fair” we can venture to dispense with haycocks, but they cannot be 
avoided in unsettled weather. A proud man was an old tenant who had 
a “ bit o’ good hay ” to spare for the squire’s stables at the beginning ot 
haysel, when most of his neighbours had long ago used every scrap of 
dry fodder. Ah ! there is nothing like good management—that working 
with a purpose and plan, which takes well into account the possibly 
long hard winter and late spring. 
Do not wait for a heavy crop, but mow now and let your stock ha-v© 
the benefit of an abundant aftermath. To cheesemakers this is a point 
of especial moment. A good flow of milk at midsummer is of vital 
importance ; of equal importance is a full aftermath of rich herbage. 
Then is the time when it is most profitable, because it means more and 
richer cheese. The late spring seriously affected both quality and 
quantity in the cheese making, but matters have improved so muck 
that at our best cheese farm the number in the cheese room on the last 
day of June was only twelve behind the average. The only profitable 
store castle for dairy farmers is a reasonable number of heifers. Steers 
should always be got rid of as calves. If this were done, the true dairy 
stock—the herd—would not so frequently be on short commons m 
winter. 
At the home farm we are making several stacks of Rye grass hay, 
containing only a slight mixture of Clover. With carriage horses and 
hunters to supply, there must be a special and ample provision of good 
sound hay for the purpose over and above all possible requirements of 
home farm stock. Hay made from “ seeds ” is much in favour with the 
rather difficult requirements of the superior stables ; so, too, are winter 
Oats. It is sound policy to meet sucn wants so fully and well as to 
prevent complaints, and to avoid the too common friction between the 
departmental managers of large establishments. These stacks of hay 
are made within easy distance of the stables, in view of less carting in 
winter, as well as to save time now, by building stacks in a corner of 
the hay field. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In the Day. 
Rain. 
1892. 
June and 
July 
Barometer 
at 32°, and 
Sea Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of soil 
at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday .. 26 
30-057 
64-8 
56-7 
W. 
57-9 
77-9 
54-6 
124-9 
49-9 
— 
Monday .. 27 
30-142 
67-2 
61-9 
W.S.W. 
59-9 
80-9 
59-3 
129-6 
55- 
— 
Tuesday .. 28 
30-166 
67-9 
62 4 
N.W. 
61-7 
79-8 
57-0 
104-8 
51-2 
0-714 
Wednesday 29 
29-888 
58-9 
56-3 
w. 
61-9 
62-1 
58-6 
105-1 
55-9 
— 
Thursday.. 30 
30-351 
60-4 
52 9 
s.w. 
59-8 
72-1 
439 
119-3 
38 8 
— 
Friday .. 1 
30-269 
65-0 
54-9 
s.w. 
59-1 
73-4 
48-7 
122-8 
42-0 
— 
Saturday .. 2 
30-161 
68-4 
58-1 
s. 
59-4 
78-0 
62-3 
121-3 
45 9 
— 
30-148 
64-7 
57-6 
60-0 
74-9 
53-5 
118-3 
48-4 
0-714 
REMARKS. 
2Gth.—Bright and hot; a little cloud in afternoon. 
27th.—Sunny and warm. 
28th.—Overcast morning, a little sun in afternoon ; thunderstorm from 8.30 P.M. to 
3 A.M., violent from 9 P.M. to 10 P.M., and 1.45 A.M. to 2.15 A.M. on 29th ; 
0'20 inch of rain fell in five minutes at 9.30 P.M. 
29th.—Thunderstorm till 3 A.M., then overcast; frequent sunshine after noon. 
30th.—Generally sunny and warm, but occasional cloud in afternoon. 
1st.—Brilliant morning, cloudy at times in afternoon. 
2nd.—Bright and warm. 
Fine summer week, with thunderstorm on Tuesday, but not much damage, as the 
lightning was chiefly from cloud to cloud, not from cloud to earth.—G. J. SVMONs. 
