JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 24, 1887. 
462 
for sure are we that there never was raoi’e urgent reason 
for high farming tempered by sound experience and com- 
gnon sense than now. High farming and extravagance 
are, we know, in the opinion of many worthy persons 
synonymous terms, but to this erroneous conclusion we 
are bound to take exception. High farming is, in our 
-conception of the term, an embodiment of sound practice, 
true economy, energetic action, watchfulness, and ability 
to adapt our practice to the growth of produce suitable 
for markets available to us for the profitable disposal of 
it. Well indeed will it be for students if they grasp 
this idea clearly at the outset as a fundamental rule or 
axiom that nothing can alter. 
We do not purpose taking the whole of the questions 
-categorically; many of them are what may be termed 
examiners’ questions, while others are highly important, 
as for example—“ Explain the changes which may take 
place in the constituent parts of soils as the result of 
* paring and burning.’ On what kinds of soil and under 
what circumstances is the operation conducted with bene¬ 
fit, and when would it be disadvantageous ? ” or “ What 
feeding materials in common use are specially useful on 
account of the oil they contain ; which for the nitrogenous 
constituents, which for starch, which for sugar? Give 
-the per-centage amount of the selected ingredients gene¬ 
rally found in the foods named.” 
This, we may note in passing, is a question which it 
would be well if all farmers could understand and answer. 
Repeatedly have we pointed out that when two sacks of 
Oats can be purchased for one of Barley, it is clearly in 
the farmer’s interest that he should sell the Barley and 
purchase the Oats for feeding purposes on the farm. The 
per-centage of fat and flesh-formers in Oats is 75, in 
Barley it is 82. We feed animals by measure and not by 
weight, and we know positively from many years’ expe¬ 
rience that Oats, either whole or crushed or ground into 
fine meal, are most nutritious food for all farm animals. 
We have wandered slightly from the subject of our theme, 
but the fact that one of the students’ questions in¬ 
duced us to do so is clear proof of its value. Well, we 
agree by all means that young men should be well grounded 
in many if not most of the subjects given in the exami¬ 
nation papers. This done, we would have them enter 
forthwith upon practice. A suggestion that we should 
take pupils induced us to consider what they would have 
to acquire to be useful assistants to us, and good men of 
business upon a large estate. Now that land agents have 
so many farms in hand they must be good farmers, keen 
shrewd men of business, ready to adapt themselves to 
circumstances, and to farm according to local or market 
requirements. They must not be merely men of line and 
rule, but their practice must be subject to seasons. They 
must be prompt to seize opportunities to render their 
business really profitable, to spend freely when it can be 
done advantageously, to abstain from any expenditure 
that does not lead to profit. They must be able corre¬ 
spondents and accountants, good draughtsmen, able to 
design and alter buildings, to prepare plans, drawings, 
estimates, and specifications. They must also acquire a 
thorough knowledge of farm animals, of the work of 
selection, of cross breeding, and general management, all 
which demands steady application, intelligence, good 
sense, and above all mature experience, which last can 
only be had at the cost of several years’ devotion to the 
work. Such devotion is, however, given ungrudgingly by 
all earnest men, for with them the acquisition of know¬ 
ledge and fondness for their work invariably go together. 
(To be continued). 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
The condition of both our ewe flocks is now satisfactory; the tups 
are withdrawn, and the ewes will have special attention as to diet and 
general care. The flock on the home farm is now in the park where 
there is an abundant supply of acorns, of which the sheep are very fond, 
and upon which they thrive and fatten ; for the present therefore they 
will require no extra food. The other ewe flock has plenty of grass, 
and as there are no acorns upon the farm some chaff and Oats will now 
be given them regularly till the lambing time, which begins by the 
middle of January. No folding upon Turnips will be done till after the 
lambing, and*we are resolved that, let the weather be what it may, 
there shall be no Turnips used for pregnant ewes. Our losses have been 
so heavy owing to the pig-headed obstinacy of our shepherds in this 
matter, that most stringent orders have been given to both shepherds 
and bailiffs against the use of Turnips before the lambing. We have 
plenty of grass for grazing, and if it becomes covered by snow, then in 
addition to trough freeding with chaffed hay and straw and some corn, 
we have plenty of hay, Pea and Oat straw for feeding in racks. We may 
usefully repeat now the important fact that if a pregnant ewe is allowed 
to gorge itself with a mass of cold watery food such as it finds in half- 
frozen Swedes or white Turnips, the temperature of its body is lowered 
so seriously that the effect is fatal to the lamb, leading either to abor¬ 
tion or death in the uterus. We may be told that pregnant sheep have 
eaten Turnips with impunity ; we admit that this is so, but there is so 
much risk in the matter—risk very much in proportion to the age of the 
ewe—that we know it is better avoided altogether. 
A tenant farmer who had to sell his lambs to obtain funds for 
Michaelmas payments complained to us that he only had 26s. apiece for 
them. But we much question if he had just cause of complaint. The 
lambs were decidedly inferior animals, which were probably not worth 
more than 12s. or 14s. apiece last June, when we sold our best lambs for 
nearly 30s. apiece. Had we kept those lambs till the present time they 
would have been prime fat hoggets worth the top market price, for a 
man to obtain which so early in the season he must have well-bred 
animals that have had the best nourishment from the first. 
Spratts Patent.— “The Australian Mail just to hand gives parti¬ 
culars of the awards at the Adelaide International Exhibition, by 
which we see that Spratts Patent, Limited, have obtained the premier 
position, receiving the highest award. The Saltaire Exhibition just 
closed have also awarded this Company a gold medal for their unique 
exhibits of dog, poultry, and game houses and appliances.’' 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Breaking Up an Old Lea (A. £>.).—If there is no more useful herbage fur 
grazing upon your old lea or lay, rs of eight to ten years, by a 1 means 
plough at once. Plough deeply, s > as to quite turn the sod over, then leave 
it alone, and sow Black Tartir.an or White Canadian Oats in February or 
March, whenever the soil is sufficiently dry for ihe work. By ploughing 
now you en ure that it shall be well pulverised by frost during winter, and 
be ready for sowing early next year. By no means disturb the so s after 
pi'itghing at this season of the year, for if you ploughed twice or used a 
cultivator you would only bring the grass to the surface again, and no 
amount of barrowtng wouid cleanse the land of it during winter. Rather 
bury the plant, as we suggest, by a single plough-ng, and it will decay 
and afford some nutriment for the Oat crop. A hundredweight of nitrate 
of soda per acre would help the Oat crop; but if you wish to give it a full 
dressing of manu-e, then give per acre 1 cwt. nitrate of sodi, 1 cwt. st amed 
bone flour, half cwt. mineral superphosphate, quarter cwt. muriate < f 
potash. Take care to have the manures procured sep ra'ely from a reliable 
source, and have them well mixed two or thre: days befote using. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 82- 40" N. ; L>n(. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude. 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
if* 8-1 
Hygrome- 
a . 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
a 
1887. 
Is't 
ter. 
"Z a 
dZ § 
perature. 
Temperature 
a 
« 
November. 
P X H 
In 
On 
Dry. 
Wet. 
5o 
Max 
Min. 
sun. 
gras9 
Inches. 
deg 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
dee. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
13 
30 . 12 ft 
40 8 
38.0 
F. 
45 0 
42 2 
40 0 
47.4 
38 8 
Monday. 
14 
29.684 
4o « 
38 7 
N.K. 
44 2 
44 9 
37 8 
68,4 
35.8 
0.012 
I'uesday .. . 
15 
30.154 
?3 8 
32 6 
N.E 
43 2 
38.2 
31 8 
56 8 
26.7 
Wednesday.. 
16 
3 >.406 
28-4 
28 4 
Calm 
41A 
31*7 
24.3 
31.4 
18-7 
_ 
Thursday.... 
17 
30. 35 
24.4 
24.4 
N. 
4 13 
37 4 
22.1 
57.8 
2 1 >.3 
_ 
Friday . 
18 
29.439 
3».l 
32.4 
E. 
39.2 
34.4 
23 G 
35.2 
21.3 
0.2.5» 
Saturday .... 
ID 
29.306 
338 
33.2 
Culm 
38.8 
39 0 
29.3 
39.8 
24 8 
0 094 
19 892 
33.5 
32.6 
41.7 
38.1 
29 S 
43.1 
26.6 
0.362 
REMARKS. 
13th. - Pull all day. 
1 uh.-Fir e moraine, bright afternoon, clear evening. 
IStli.—Red sunrise ; bright till 11 A.M, then cloudy for a conp’e of lnuri, with a few 
flakes of snow : fine and bright after, tint with a little fog. 
lOiln—Ve-y cold with den-e fog, necessitating gas all day except two periods of about 
thirty minutes each; at 4 P.M., in the external air,objects first became visible at 
2n feet distance. 
]7tln—T Ine, bright, and cold, but witli frequent slight fog. 
18 In—Pull, with slight fog early, wet and foggy alter, very black from noon to 2 P.M, 
impossible to read laigetype close to a window at 1P.M.; enow from 2.4; r.M. 
till evening. 
19th.-Ground white ; dull and foggy all day. 
A very cold and unpleasant week, almost without bright sunshine and with excep¬ 
tionally severe fogs. Temperature, 12 s below that of the preceding week and in-below 
the average, the average maximum for the week being lower than the average minimum 
fur the time of year.—G. J. SYMONS. 
