396 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Jlby 2, 1899, 
have held this book in reserve for some weeks till we had 
sufBcient leisure to give it the attention it deserves—something 
very much more than a mere passing notice. It is now lying 
open before us in the very heart and centre of the best grazing 
district of High Leicestershire—a district where it is still 
possible for makers of Stilton cheese to obtain from the factors 
a shilling a pound for cheese of the highest quality, and yet 
where abundance of cheese is to be had at the local cheese fairs 
for half that price and less. It is these facts, and an intimate 
knowledge of the heedless mismanagement and neglect of 
pastures which prevails so generally, with few exceptions, that 
induces us to call special attention to Mr, Sutton’s book as 
being a safe guide in the improvement of old pasture, in 
the management of new, and in the laying down of land to 
permanent and temporary pasture. 
We possess, and highly value, a copy of the edition de luxe 
which costs a guinea, but we prize even more highly a copy of 
the popular edition to be had for a shilling, which, though 
containing no illustrations, has the whole of the chapters, and 
which therefore brings this invaluable guide to pasture culti¬ 
vation within the means of everyone. This is desirable for 
many reasons, one of ihe most important being given in the 
first chapter on the extension of pastures, wherein it is shown 
that there was in England alone an increase of permanent 
grass between 1871 and 1894 inclusive of 4,392,213 acres, and 
that there are now 13,127,788 acres in permanent grass, and 
only 11,752,329 acres under arable culture. 
Advisedly do we ask. Are we to regard this vast area of 
upwards of thirteen million acres of permanent pasture as 
being land “ out of cultivation ? ” That is the term applied 
to all land laid down to grass in the great corn-growing 
district of East Anglia, and judging from the lamentable 
condition of very much of the pasture in the grass counti’y 
in which we are now writing, it is applicable to pasture very 
generally. Certainly, Mr. Sutton’s book may be taken as an 
emphatic protest against the term and against such mal¬ 
practice, both in its description of the forage plants suitable 
for pastures, and in the cultural chapters which include, with 
that already mentioned, the drainage of grass land, cultural 
preparations for laying land down, the selection of grasses 
and Clovers, spring and autumn sowing, the immediate after 
management of new pasture, Kidmore experiments with 
manures on grass land, the management and improvement 
of old grass land, hints on haymaking, hints on grazing, 
grass ensilage, and temporary pastures of from one to eight 
years. Thoroughly practical from beginning to end, revised 
and brought well up to date, the book is admirably calcu¬ 
lated to assist in the evolution of profitable farming under 
an agricultural depression which has rendered farming upon 
old lines an impossibility. 
Especially do we commend this book to the attention 
of landowners, as calculated to show them something of what 
land is still capable of, and as an indication of a standard 
of excellence in pasture management. So far as is possible 
we have always given tenants a free hand in the manage¬ 
ment of their holdings, but we have so much difficulty in 
getting tenants to adopt anything like the systematic culti¬ 
vation of the pasture for which they pay a rent which, in 
comparison with that of arab'e land, is certainly high, that 
we would in their agreements certainly have a covenant bind¬ 
ing them to a systematic use of manure. In other words we 
would insist upon sustained fertility of soil, and so render the 
seasonable growth of pasture herbage a certainty—an early 
growth in the spring, a full and early crop of hay, an abundant 
aftermath, and pastures green as an emerald all the winter. 
Under such a regimen the brown, bare, poverty stricken aspect 
of permanent pasture during the winter, now so common, 
would become a thing of the past, both hay crop and grazing 
herbage would be more abundant, live stock would be better 
nourished, farmers more prosperous, rent day well met, the 
landlord more satisfied, and the whole matter placed entirely 
upon a better footing. Jf with such desirable, because profit¬ 
able, pasture cultivation we could have equal attention to the 
selection and breeding of live stock, we should have real 
progress, improvement both thorough and lasting, and a return, 
of really profitable farming once more. 
WOBK ON THB HOME FARM. 
The change to warmer weather and April showers sufficiently 
abundant to induce quick seed germination and brisk plant growth 
has told upon all crops. Pasture is growing freely, but the herbage of 
poor upland pasture is still very backward. It was time that we had 
such a change, the tardy spring having kept growth so backward that 
even now some pasture will hardly be ready for the stock on May Day. 
Well is it when there has been no turning out from dire necessity. We 
know of more than one instance where through the ten long weeks 
of bitter late wintry weather the whole of the store cattle were kept 
going well with silage ; dairy cows, too, ha i a fair quantity of it in 
their mixed dietary without harm to the milk, but positive good, both 
colour and flavour of butter being decidedly improved. 
This is a word to the wise for the coming hay time. By all meana 
make hay with abundance of bright sunshine, but if when the grass 
is ready for mowing the weather is seriously unsettled then turn to 
ensilage for part of the grass. The point is to have the grass ready 
for mowing early, and to get the hay or silage early, so as to have 
a sufficiency after grazing for the cows and cattle. 
The rain has not been so heavy as to seriously interfere with work 
on the land ; horse hoes and cultivators are going briskly. This has 
been of especial importance to us on some foul land which has fallen in 
hand in the usual bad condition, rendering the cost of clearing it a very 
heavy matter indeed under any condition. With favourable weather 
now and steady persistent effort the greater part of the twitch is got 
out and burnt. It is perhaps under such pressure that the value of 
chemical manure becomes most apparent, because it is so portable as to^ 
be easily applied, it tells so quickly, and sustains the crop so thoroughly 
as to afford the best possible results, and one feels that the money spent 
on it ha* proved a good investment, and the result satisfactory in 
every way. _ 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Tainted Butter (W. C .').—The fact that your butter is made in 
strict accordance with Miss Barron’s rules affords proof that the taint 
is owing to some outside influence, which you muit set yourself to 
discover. Here are some hint* for your guidance. If butter is kept 
in a room with porous woodwork, walls, ceilings, or floors, or having 
drains near or opening into a drain, or with the window or ventilator 
opening on to a yard, rubbish heap, or any other accretion of filth, it 
will taint quickly. Taint may also arise from food or other thinga 
being placed in the room. The butter is so well worked that we are 
inclined to suspect contact with some impurity—some foul odour—after 
it is made. Adverse influerces before churning are found in the cows’ 
food and surroundings—foul water, foul air, and dirty milkers’ hands. 
In one case known to us the cause of taint was traced to cracks in 
milkpails which had become filled with filth, yet the pails to outward 
appearance were pcifectly clean. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden Squark. Loxdos. 
Lat.51° 32'40" N.: Loner. 0'^ s'0" W.: Altitude 111 feet 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In THB Day. 
09 
1895. 
April. 
1 Barometer 
at 32", and 
1 Sea Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of soil 
at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperat-are 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun, 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday .. 
21 
29-940 
53-8 
53-2 
S.W. 
49-2 
61-3 
50-2 
98-1 
43-8 
— 
Monday .. 
22 
29 965 
52 4 
48-1 
.‘t.W. 
49 1 
59-1 
49-1 
84-8 
45 9 
0.132 
Tuesday .. 
23 
29*626 
53-9 
51-2 
S.W. 
49 6 
63-6 
50-7 
113 6 
49-8 
— 
Wednesday 
24 
29-722 
54-6 
i9-2 
S.E. 
49-4 
64-6 
42-7 
lOs-2 
37-8 
C-lTt 
Thursday ., 
25 
•29 432 
50-3 
50-3 
N.E. 
49 9 
58-1 
43-9 
91 8 
36-1 
0-605 
Friday .. 
26 
29-438 
47 8 
46-2 
N.W. 
49-7 
65-0 
46-6 
100-3 
44-1 
0 14 9- 
Saturday .. 
27 
29-571 
46-9 
48-2 
W. 
49 1 
54-2 
45-1 
83-7 
44-1 
0-127 
29-671 
51-4 
49-1 
49-4 
59 4 
46-9 
97-9 
43-1 
1-101 
REMARKb. 
Sist.—Rain from 3 to 5 A.M. ; alternate cloud and sunshine in day, threatening at 
times. 
22nd.—Generally overcast, but some sunshine in the middle of the diy ; rain in evening 
and night. 
23rd.—Overcast morning with occasional spots of rain early ; bright sunshine in after¬ 
noon. 
24th.—Overcast early ; fine and sunny from 10 A M. to 2 P.M., then overcast, and spots oS 
rain about 3 P.M. ; slight showers in evening. 
25th.—Heavy rain from 8.30 to 9.30 and rain till 11 A.4r.; overcast day, with occasional 
sunshine; showers in night. 
26th.—Generally overcast, wit! rain at intervals ; occasional gleams of sun. 
27th.—Rain early ; dull, drizzly, and showery morn ng : thunder at 1.30 ; frequently 
sunny in afternoon ; rain again in even'nir and night. 
A rainy week, with temperature s ightly above the av. rage.—G. J. SVVQSS. 
