252 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ September 15, 1892. 
the end of August. These are some of the signs which tell us 
quite as plainly as bare stubbles do that autumn is at hand. 
There are others, too, of equal significance and of greater 
importance demanding heedful and prompt attention. A turn 
among the live stock after darkness has fallen shows us that 
however calm the night may be cattle and horses have gone to 
the warm side of any available hedge, tree clump, or building for 
shelter, and sheep are clustering upon some knoll or upon the 
hard dry surface of a drive. The sheep are lying down, but if 
the land is wet and cold the cattle and horses are standing about, 
thus plainly showing a want which we do well to supply. 
That very much harm is done to live stock by a want of 
proper shelter in early autumn there can be no doubt. It is then 
that co’ds and rheumatism so frequently lay hold of valuable 
animals, hoose becomes rampant among calves, there is much 
coughing among sheep, fluke appears if the flock is kept on low 
damp ground, and horses and cattle fall off in condition—all of 
which tend to show the importance of preventive measures, of 
giving the provision of shelter that position in our practice 
which is so clearly to our advantage. Depend upon it not half 
enough attention is paid to the maintenance of health in 
animals of the farm. It is not a mere question of feeding. 
However nourishing may be the food it alone will not serve our 
purpose ; shelter from wind and ra : n must always be accessible 
to the stock. A common mistake at this season of the year is 
the leaving of horses and cows out at night as long as they can 
bear it with apparent impunity. It is far better to turn them 
into yards with an ample provision of deep open lodges or 
hovels at night after the end of August. With full crops of 
second growth of Clover and of green Maize there is plenty of 
rack food for consumption in the yards, stress upon pastures is 
lessened, the animals are better for the mixed diet as well as for 
the shelter, and they are under much closer observation Han is 
possible when they are left entirely in the open. 
The sight of sleek, marsh f d beasts, just now at their best, 
may very naturally give rise to a question if after all yards and 
hovels are required so early in the season. Such beasts, be it 
remembered, have been summered on marsh or other good 
grazing land to come off ripe for the butcher in autumn. Even 
with them it is found dangerous to continue crazing late into 
October, nnny a fine beast being lost outright from exposure 
then on an open marsh devoid of hedges or shelter of any sort. 
They are withdrawn early; so, too, are marsh-bred lambs. Big 
sturdy animals as they are, they cannot bear the cold damp 
situation in winter, but are all driven to uplands, often a long 
distance off, till the following Ladyday. 
Ewes folded now with the tups on Mustard or early Turnips 
have precisely the firm hard surface to lie down upon of which 
they are so fond, and the daily allowance of corn or cake which 
they have in the tup folds is conducive to high condition and 
health. November and December are regarded as dangerous 
months for them, because serious losses of ewes and abortion 
so fiequently occur then, simply because they are folded upon 
Turnips, and are kept constantly standing in mud, often so 
deep that they move about in it with much difficulty. The 
cold watery diet lowers the temperature of the body to a 
serious often fatal—degree, and the strain of walking in mud, 
out of which the legs are only withdrawn with much difficulty, 
is very try.ng. Clearly the ewes ought not to be exposed to 
it at any time, still less so when they are heavy with lamb. 
It is probably owing to the inclement climate of Scotland 
that the provision of shelter at Scotch farms is so superior to 
that of many English farms. Yet one of the first requirements 
of North British farmers when they come south is for more 
buildings, which they evidently regard as indispensable for 
shelter apart from any question of mere temperature. They 
aie light; and he is a wise landlord who affords his tenants an 
ample provision of means of shelter, both at the homestead 
and out upon the different pasture enclosures. In dealing 
with this matter we treat every case upon the broad basis of 
general utility, paying very little heed to individual fancies. 
That is the only safe way to avoid annoyance and waste. 
Each farm must be treated upon its merits, and sufficient 
provision of shelter made for the head of stock it is calculated 
to carry, the buildings being so placed as to be accessible and 
convenient for use. Beyond this it is unwise to go, and we 
make a point of never asking a landlord to spend a penny more 
than is absolutely necessary. On the other hand, all possible 
pains must be taken to show cause for the due provision of 
enough shelter buildings, and to insist upon the point in the 
mutual interests of landlord and tenant. 
Tenants are wont to ask too much, landlords to concede too 
little. It is for the agent to point out the happy mean which 
shall improve the value of the property for the one, and render 
the holding more useful for the other. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Since writing our last note we have travelled some hundreds of milt s 
through land set thick with corn in sheaves, but the weather was not at 
all favourable for carting it to the stacks, and September came in with 
very few cleared stubbles except along the south coast. During the first 
three days of the month the weather was very unsettled, yet the rain 
did no harm to Wheat in well built shocks, while it improved the Barley 
wonderfully, plumping the grain without staining it, for most of the 
straw is erect. With fine weather now much good work will be done, 
and the bulk of the corn in East Anglia and the midlands should be got 
together quickly. 
We saw a field of Oats on a heavy land farm sadly mismanaged. 
The corn was foul with a thick strong growth of weeds. It was being 
reaped and tied up in sheaves with such a mass of weeds that severe 
heating in the stack and musty Oats were inevitable. In such a case the 
only safe plan was to mow into swathes and to turn and harvest like 
Clover hay. Even then, with fair weather, we should prefer threshing 
the Oats as they were carted, making straw and weeds into a stack of 
litter, for it could not be wholesome food, and was quite unfit for cutting 
up into chaff. Strongly as we approve of binding corn up in sheaves, 
in this instance it was decidedly wrong. But then the whole thing wa3 
a mistake, and it was quite clear that neither autumn tillage nor spring 
hoeing had any attention at that farm. 
Northern farmers, groaning under the difficulties of another wet 
season, may be surprised to hear that the few days’ rain in the midst of 
harvest were most welcome to midland and southern farmers ; the soil 
on some farms having become so hard from drought that using anything 
like a skim-coulter was out of the question, and even ploughing was 
difficult. Implements now work freely in the moistened soil, and the 
weed seeds germinate quickly, very shallow stirring, just sufficient in 
fact to mix the fallen seeds with the surface soil being followed by 
speedy growth, which will destroy a host of annual weeds that otherwise 
would require hand-hoeing among the corn next spring. 
Winter Vetches should now be sown, and it is a good plan to make 
other sowings early in October, and again late in that month, for this is 
a most useful green crop, either for mowing for cattle and horses, or for 
folding with sheep. Winter Oats may be mixed with it if cared for ; 
but we prefer the Vetches alone. Drill in the same manure as for winter 
corn to obtain a full crop, which is most profitable, and may be turned 
to account in a variety of ways. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square. London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In the Day. 
Rain. 
1892. 
September. 
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 .. 
4 
30-070 
55*0 
48-5 
N.E. 
57-2 
620 
47-1 
110-9 
43-0 
- ■ 
Monday .. 
5 
30-354 
54-2 
46-5 
N.E. 
56-6 
62-9 
38-6 
101-7 
32-0 
— 
Tuesday .. 
6 
30-334 
559 
52-0 
S.W. 
55-9 
66-6 
43-1 
109-2 
36-0 
— 
Wednesday 
7 
30-124 
58.9 
52 2 
S.W. 
55-9 
60-7 
45-9 
87-1 
37-1 
0-114 
Thursday.. 
8 
30-092 
53-3 
48-1 
N. 
55-1 
63-4 
43 8 
109-2 
38-8 
— 
Friday 
9 
29-997 
54-7 
50-3 
S.W. 
55-0 
64-3 
42-1 
92-9 
35-6 
— 
Saturday .. 
10 
30-051 
601 
567 
S.W. 
55-8 
65-6 
55-7 
80-2 
51-9 
0-020 
30-146 
56-0 
50-6 
55.9 
1 
63-6 
45-2 
98-7 
39-2 
0134 
REMARKS. 
4th —Fine and sunny throughout. 
5 th.—Fine sunny day; misty evening. 
6th.-—Misty early ; sunny morning, with occasional cloud; overcast after noon. 
7th.—Generally overcast in morning, wet after noon. 
8th.—Br ght and simny throughout. 
9th.—Cloudy morning ; overcast afternoon and evening. 
10th.—Overcast all day ; rain in evening. 
A pleasant, seasonable week, but temperature a little below the average.— 
G. J. Symons. 
