484 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ November 26, 1885. 
of putting sheep on the Mangold fields to consume the leaves 
after the roots are cleared off be discontinued. It is still 
practised almost universally, and is a striking example of the 
ignorance of science in its bearings upon practice which 
still exists among farmers. We have not allowed a leaf to 
he eaten by the sheep, but have had the whole of the leaves 
spread evenly over the soil and ploughed in. Let us see 
what is gained by doing this. Now the weight per acre of 
the green leaves of an ordinary crop of Mangolds is about 
8 tons, and analysis shows how rich in the elements of 
plant-fertility is this mass of green leaves. It contains 
of nitrogen 51 lbs., potash 71'4 lbs., soda 65-2 lbs., 
lime 21-1 lbs., magnesia 27-2 lbs., phosphoric acid 15 1 
lbs., chlorine 49-8 lbs , sulphur 9-1 lbs., and only 9 2 lbs. 
of silica. Surely it must be granted that without folding 
and feeding with cake and corn the sheep would leave a very 
poor equivalent upon the land for the consumption of the 
leaves ? Near one of the Mangold fields where the leaves 
have been so ploughed in we had a field of Peas. As soon 
as possible after harvest this field was ploughed and sown 
with Turnips. Owing to the drought the Turnips grew 
slowly, and the heavy rain of autumn came too late for the 
development of any roots of a useful size ; but there is a 
strong leaf growth mingled with Peas which sprang up 
from the seed falling from shattered pods during harvest, 
altogether forming a valuable green crop. Upon asking the 
bailiff what he intended to do with it, he said it would 
be useful for the flock after the lambing, especially for the 
young lambs. But, said we, the lambing will not be 
over till the first or second week in March, and bearing in 
mind that this field is to be prepared for Mangolds next year, 
how can we hope to have it ready for sowing by the first 
week in April ? Moreover, all the vigorous growth of green 
Peas will be destroyed by the alternations of cold and wet to 
which it is quite certain to be exposed. Rather, much rather, 
let us plough in the entire mass of green growth at once, and 
rely upon it we shall lay up a store of precious fertility in 
the soil that must prove of infinite value to the root crop 
next season. 
It is because we deplore the indiscriminate feeding off 
green crops by sheep at this season of the year that we have 
made this apparent digression from our subject. Yet it can 
hardly in fairness be considered a digression, for is not the 
feeding of sheep, in winter at any rate, generally done upon 
land requiring manure ? Hoggets certainly are available for 
this purpose, and with such strong healthy young sheep we 
may do much by judicious folding for the improvement of 
poor land. For them Swedes are at once available, and we 
are able to calculate tolerably closely as to what the con¬ 
sumption must be to bring them on for the butcher, only it 
must not be forgotten that exposure to cold and wet may 
upset ail our calculations. We may, however, take a mean, 
for to make a pound of mutton it requires 150 lbs. of Turnips 
out in the fields, and about 100 lbs. when the sheep have the 
benefit of snug enclosures and sheds. With the Swedes 
or Turnips a mixed diet of dry food, either of crushedcake 
and corn, or preferably of crushed Beans, and Oats or 
Barley, because the whole of this diet may be produced on 
the farm. Careful experiments by reliable authorities have 
shown that with a mixed diet the progress of sheep is much 
greater than when they are confined to one article of food, 
no matter how nutritious it may be. We must, however, 
see that the process of mixing and feeding is as simple as 
possible. Elaborate machinery and much labour are costly 
things in which we must not indulge, unless it is sufficiently 
evident that the end in view justifies the means. 
It will be understood that our remarks here have special 
reference to wether hoggets, which are now passed on from 
the flock to the butcher so quickly that few of them reach 
the age of eighteen months. Certainly, with the present low 
prices we have every inducement to get them off our hands 
as soon as possible. With some clever farmers the high 
pressure system is carried so far that the wether hoggets are off 
their hands by the end of July or early in August. The system 
has much in its favour, yet it probably answers best to select 
the more forward lambs for the earliest sales, and to follow 
with others batch after batch, so as not to incur a too heavy 
outlay all at once. It should be a point of good farming 
always to have some animals growing quickly into money, 
and this is managed among sheep by a process of selection, 
always taking a given number of the best from what may 
be termed the general flock, and putting them upon a more 
nutritious diet. In this way we avoid what is sometimes 
termed a “ dead time,” by which is meant an unprofitable 
time, when there is little if anything to sell, and yet payment 
for labour must go on. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
On heavy land the sowing of winter corn has been somewhat hindered. 
We continued, so far as was possible, to follow the ploughing closely with 
the seed drill. On the whole the corn has been got in well, and much of 
it has come up and is looking well. Of the more forward crops are Rye, 
Oats, Bean=, and some Wheat. All are excellent plants, and the first are 
likely to be of much use to the sheep later on. Notwithstanding wet 
weather we have got through a lot of forking out of couch grass, for we 
still have some foul land. All of us, in some degree, are the sport of 
circumstances. Farms fall in, do what we will, and the land of such 
farms generally proves foul. No doubt in the palmy days of farming 
many a man hired a farm with very little knowledge of agriculture. 
With high prices for farm produce this did not much matter, a “ living,” 
and something more was always forthcoming, but as prices fell many a 
man fell too, for easy-going farming meant failure then, just as it does 
now. Well, we must do our best with land, be it foul or clean 1 To 
those who find the burden of hard times and labour payments press very 
heavily, we say, Do not forget that you have a resource in permanent 
pasture. On one of our off farms that is upwards of twenty miles from 
our residence, we shall certainly laydown a considerable area in permanent 
pasture next season. Meanwhile, we have striven to do all we could in 
clay-burning, draining, clearing the land, and judicious cropping to keep 
down expenses within reasonable limits. It is the expenses for labour of 
men and horses which mount up so seriously upon large arable farms. 
When the outlay passes certain limits, it is then, if not sooner, that arable 
land ceases to answer, and although both sheep and bullocks have fallen 
much in prices, yet permanent pasture may be made to answer; but mind, 
there must be no laying down of foul or undrained land, no trusting to 
the growth of natural grasses, but thorough process of culture, and the use 
of the very best mixture of Grasses and Clovers. Which those are we 
have told repeatedly, and we hope to do so again at the proper season. 
For now, if ever, we should have aim and purpose in our work, and our 
strokes should strike home, to that we may avoid failure, and do our very 
best still to make our farms answer. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Ploughing in Green Crops (Auricula ).—Tour query will receive more 
prominent attention and a fuller reply in the next issue of this Journal than 
can be given here. 
Cabbages for Cows (W.X .).—Nearly all finds of Cabbages are good for 
cows in full milk if they have white hearts without decayed leaves attached, 
but the best sort is the Drumhead Savoy, and they will not affect the taste 
of the milk but very slightly if without any decayed leaves. If, however, 
the milk is required for butter-making we cannot recommend Cabbages, 
but prefer Mangolds or Carrots, but best of all the large cattle Potatoes, 
which do not injure the flavour of the butter. 
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 
1885. 
November 
Barome¬ 
ter at 328 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max 
Min 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
30.105 
34.8 
83.5 
N.E. 
44.2 
42.8 
32.6 
71.2 
28.0 
— 
Monday. 
16 
30.431 
34.2 
33.4 
E. 
42.0 
42.2 
29.2 
63.2 
20.7 
— 
Tuesday. 
17 
30.342 
35.2 
32.0 
E. 
40.4 
42 0 
28 3 
65.8 
17.8 
— 
Wednesday . 
18 
30.015 
31.4 
30.4 
E. 
39.3 
41.7 
28.6 
63.2 
20.1 
— 
Thursday ... 
19 
29.981 
39.3 
37.7 
N.E. 
88.7 
4*3.1 
31.1 
53.2 
24.1 
— 
Friday. 
20 
29.974 
42.4 
40.4 
E. 
39.8 
46.0 
39.2 
52.2 
37.6 
0.012 
Saturday ... 
21 
29.720 
36.6 
35.9 
E. 
40.4 
44.5 
34 1 
58.4 
25.8 
30.081 
36.3 
34.8 
40.7 
43.6 
31.9 
61.0 
24.9 
0.012 
REMARKS. 
15th.—Fine, bright, and cold. 
16th.—Fine, bright, and cold. 
17th.—Fine, bright, and cold. 
18th.—Fine, bright, and cold. 
1 9tb.—Cloudy all day, much warmer. 
20th.—Cloudy, with a slight shower about noon, and rain at night. 
21st.—Fine as a whole, with some sunshine, but one or two slight showers. 
A week of line winter weather. Temperature 6° below that of the preceding week, 
and about 5° below the average.—G. J. SYMONS. 
