20 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 4,1894, 
It was on the eve of the shortest day that we left Euston 
by the 4.30 p.M. express for the Midlands. The day had been 
stormy, the wind was still high, and heavy rain came pelting 
against the carriage windows all the way to Northampton : then 
came sleet, and beyond Market Harborough snow had followed 
rain as the wind veered round to the north-east, covering the 
whole countryside to the depth of 3 or 4 inches. The storm 
clouds vanished before the stiff nor’easter, and we drove from 
the station over the snow, which glistened in the bright clear 
light of the Christmas moon. Most striking and impressive 
was the weird beauty of the scene, but the wind was bitterly 
cold, and the sight of a number of cows standing in the snow 
on the south side of a hedge for shelter was a bit of stern 
re^ity which drove away every sentimental thought. What a 
day and what a night for them ! What a lesson was the scene 
for anyone able to grasp its full meaning—its true significance ! 
Those cows, we found, were “ dry,” and were within six or 
eight weeks of calving. They had ceased to yield any milkj 
therefore they required no special care. Surely if their owner 
gave any thought to the matter that was the conclusion he had 
come to ; or probably—most probably—mere custom, old as the 
hills, had been followed without a thought as to the good or evil 
of it. There were the cows without shelter and practically 
without food. The hedge, a noble one of full twenty years 
growth, had just been reduced from a height of 14 or 15 feet 
and half as much in width, to 4 or 5 feet, all the stem growth 
being cut out except what was required for plashing, in view of 
subsequent trim keeping. Yery praiseworthy is neatness, but 
the wisdom of its application in this instance was very ques¬ 
tionable. If that old hedge was the only means of shelter for 
stock it ought never to have been cut down ; but being cut down, 
the cows*ought not to have been left out on pasture so devoid of 
shelter. Just consider what they required and what they had ! 
For cows BO forward in calf extra nourishment, with shelter 
from cold and wet, are absolute necessities. How can we have 
healthy cows or sturdy calves without them ? Short commons 
in the way of food would be bad enough, but in combination 
with such reckless exposure the effect must be most serious. 
Here had the cows been out in a pouring wet day, driven to 
clear off the innutritions fog by ravenous hunger ; out, too, in 
the snowstorm with the scow melting upon them as it fell, and 
then through the long winter night standing in the snow, with 
only the thin barrier of the newly plashed hedge to break the 
force of the high wind. The owner of those cows has had 
abortion in his herd, he will have more of it; the calves that 
survive the trying ordeal will be weakly, and the cows will come 
into milking again so much out of condition that the milk will 
be alike inferior in quality and quantity. Such stock is bound 
to be unprofitable. 
On the following morning we saw another example of unpro¬ 
fitable stock which seemed positively even more reprehensible. 
This was a herd of calves nine or ten months old that had just 
been turned out of a hovel into the snow-clad home-close for 
exercise. Their clamorous outcry for food as they crowded 
together against the gate of the homestead attracted our atten¬ 
tion. Never had we seen animals in more wretched plight; the 
prominent ribs and staring coat told all too plainly of the s'ate 
of semi-starvation in which they were kept, and their filthy con¬ 
dition showed that not only had they no dry litter for bedding, 
but that they had to lie down night after night in an accumula¬ 
tion of filth, so that the whole of their coats except the back 
were clotted thickly with it. Under such conditions shelter is 
assuredly of little value. Better be without live stock than so 
mismanage it, to say nothing of the positive cruelty to the poor 
animals. How can anyone expect a profit from such stock? If 
calves subjected to such ill-treatment live to go out on pasture 
next spring they will require the whole of the summer to bring 
them round. See what loss of time this involves, as well as 
loss of means. Does not this throw some light upon the oft- 
told tale of purchased stock being kept for a year, and then sold 
for less than they cost ? 
The want of litter for bedding was doubtless owing to the 
fact of the whole of the farm being in grass. Often have we 
called attention to the folly of such an extreme, and insisted 
upon the value of a few acres of arable land. The great drought 
of 1893 has perhaps done more to correct this mistake than 
anything that could be written or said, and we hope that another 
spring will witness the breaking up of a moderate area of every 
dairy farm for the production of corn and straw for home use, 
as well as roots, and such extra green crops as are suitable to 
each locality. 
WOEK ON THE HOME FARM, 
Early lambing demands extra care, and every precaution must be 
taken against the trying effects of sudden changes of weather. See that fold 
or yard shelter is eiBcient and ample, that the shepherd has everything 
at hand for his requirements, and that nothing takes him from the flock, 
which must be under close observation by night and day. If the 
master or an efficient assistant can take charge for a few hours by day 
frequently the shepherd should be sent home to get some real rest. 
This is quite worth while, as it enables him to bear the strain of broken 
rest better, and to be more on the alert always. A cordial consisting 
of equal parts of brandy and nitre, with a strong infusion of ergot of 
rye is useful in cases of protracted labour, and subsequently syringing 
with carbolised oil, has saved the life of many a valuable ewe. 
Watchfulness and care, patience and gentle treatment, are the chief 
factors to success in this important work. No Turnips before the 
lambing, no exposure of lambs to cold and wet; the flock all in the 
folds at night or close by, if the lambing pasture is well sheltered by 
a belt of trees or a wood. Such an advantage is a great boon as we 
have found, but we have had quite the reverse in a lambing yard 
open to a bleak pasture, where a single night of exposure would involve 
the risk of a heavy loss of lambs. Now will be realised the importance 
of severe drafting of ewes at all over-aged last season. It is among such 
animals that losses mount up. Get rid of them in good time say we, 
and so reduce the losses to a minimum. Let the shepherd have plenty 
of crushed oats and bran, and let the master’s eye guide him in the 
use of this and other wholesome food. Mark all ewes at once that 
prove to be bad mothers, or that are unsuitable from any cause for 
retaining in the flock. In a long frost or heavy snowfall see that the 
supply of food in trough and racks is full and ample, and that the 
feeding is done often enough to prevent the ewes from burrowing 
among the snow for grass, as they will do if they become at all 
hungry. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden Squarb, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
In the Day, 
(S 
1893. 
D ecember. 
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 .. 
24 
30-236 
43-6 
43-0 
S. 
40-1 
48-0 
S8-0 
57-9 
31-7 
0-049 
Monday .. 
25 
30153 
40-2 
38-7 
S.W. 
41-0 
46-2 
39-9 
64-7 
34-2 
0-124 
Tuesday .. 
26 
30-432 
35-8 
35-2 
N.B. 
40*4 
46*0 
33-1 
54-2 
27-7 
— 
Wednesday 
27 
30-441 
40-9 
40-6 
W. 
40-1 
45-6 
34-6 
46-1 
30-0 
— 
Thursday., 
28 
30-601 
38-2 
38-1 
S.W. 
39-9 
43-1 
35-5 
43-2 
30-3 
— 
Friday 
29 
30*705 
41*2 
40-9 
S.W. 
40-1 
42-1 
37-3 
44-1 
37-0 
— 
Saturday .. 
30 
30-747 
29-8 
29-3 
N.B. 
39-6 
35-3 
26-4 
45-2 
24-6 
— 
30 474 
38-5 
38-0 
40-2 
43-8 
35-0 
50-8 
30-8 
0-173 
REMARKS. 
24th.—Dull morning, and cloudy and mild day; slight rain in evening and night. 
25th.—Bright and fine throughout the day; heavy rain from 9 p.M, to 9.30 P.M. 
26th.—Brilliant till 3 P.M. (but misty about 9 A.M.) ; fair evening. 
27th.—Fog all day; frequently dense till 2.30 P.M., slight after. 
28th.—Thick fog almost throughout; lights necessary much of the day. 
29th.—Smoke fog all morning, rendering lights necessary, but not dense at the ground 
level; particularly dark from 11.15 to 11.45 A.M., then cleared rapidly and 
lights put out at noon, and practically no fog after ; fine evening and night. 
30th.—Tery high barometer in early morning, pressure at 1.50 A.M. being 30-772 inches ; 
bright sunshine till noon; faint sun in afternoon; foggy in evening. 
A very average tveek, the only noticeable feature being the high barometer.— 
G. J. Symons. 
