574 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ December 24, 1885. 
those of our readers to whom such hints are likely to make 
clear a part of farming that has so long been neglected and 
so little understood. To the home farmer the matter is one 
of especial importance, for in many an instance he is also the 
manager of an estate, and there are now few estates where 
gome of the farms besides the home farm are not in hand. 
We know it is the boast of some agents that they have lost 
no tenants, but there are limits even to reductions of rent 
beyond which it is wrong to pass, and rather than make 
concessions which are positively ruinous to the landlord the 
land must be taken in hand and made the best of. A large 
area of land under corn cannot now be regarded as profit¬ 
able, and we are bound to consider how we may economise 
labour and yet render the land fairly profitable. 
Poor and foul is most of the land which comes to hand 
now. What shall we do with it ? If we got fairly hold of it 
after Michaelmas—say by the middle of October—the drain¬ 
age would have been seen to first of all, and then we should 
either ridge-plough it or break it up roughly with a steam 
cultivator, and so leave it till exposure to frost, wind, rain, 
and sunshine had brought it into condition for being cleaned 
and reduced to a fine tilth as early as possible in spring. A 
dressing of caustic lime is applied advantageously to almost 
all kinds of soil at any suitable time either in winter or spring 
before the preparation of the seed bed, but it is not absolutely 
indispensable. It will be apparent that cleaning of the soil 
and other preliminary work is neither elaborate nor expensive 
except when drainage has to be done. It is highly important, 
however, that the soil be rendered as free from foul weeds as 
possible, and be reduced to a fine tilth before sowing the 
seed. 
Upon the selection and purity of the seed hangs success 
or failure. We require about 40 lbs. of seed to sow an acre 
of land. We may make the most careful selection of the 
best sorts mixed in due proportions, and send the order to a 
seedsman; yet we may not only fail to get what we require, 
but may have a large proportion of inferior seeds and chaff 
in the mixture. It is quite true that a few seedsmen supply 
pure and genuine Grass seeds, but it is equally true that 
very many do not do so, and the purchaser has to protect 
himself by buying his seed mixture for permanent pasture 
subject to botanical analysis. In the last annual report of 
the consulting botanist of the Eoyal Agricultural Society we 
find that one sample of Foxtail did not contain more than 
2 per cent, of ripe seeds. One mixture consisted entirely of 
Eye Grass, with a little Trefoil and Clover, the Eye seed 
being infested with ergot; another mixture consisted of Eye 
Grass with only 1 per cent, of other Grasses and Clovers. 
Sixty-four per cent, of the samples of seed of Fiorin (Agrostis 
alba, stolonifera) were infested with ergot fungus, and 20 per 
cent, of the samples consisted of chaff up to half their bulk. 
These are some of the worst cases, and it was found that 
there was less adulteration generally than in former years. 
Yet the fact remains that adulteration is prevalent, and it is 
strongly recommended that the seeds should be procured 
separately and mixed at the farm, precisely in the same 
manner as we have been compelled to treat artificial manures. 
Considerable difference of opinion prevails as to the correct 
proportion of each sort of seed per acre. The fact that Cocks¬ 
foot is the most nutritious Grass, that it answers in all sorts 
of soil, taking so deep a hold of it as to suffer less from 
extremes of weather than any other Grass, affords the greatest 
bulk of hay and greatest amount of keep, and starts most 
quickly into growth after being cut, should be a strong in¬ 
ducement to use most of it, and we know instances where it 
has been used successfully with only a mixtures of Clovers. 
No doubt the seed of Eye Grass is used for adulteration 
because it is so cheap. It is undoubtedly good for alternate 
husbandry, but not for permanent pasture. Fiorin should be 
altogether discarded owing to the certainty of ergot being 
brought into the pasture by it, and ergot is undoubtedly a 
fertile source of abortion, not only among ewes but among 
hay-fed cows. It is quite possible that when abortion spreads 
through a herd and is regarded as a dreadful mystery or an 
infectious disorder that it may be owing solely to ergot in 
the hay consumed by the cows— ergo, never sow Fiorin, and 
although the seedsmen now recommend it, they will soon 
discard it from their catalogues when it proves unsaleable. 
Without assuming to be able to offer the very best selection 
of seeds for permanent pasture, we may safely enumerate one 
that has given us satisfaction—14 lbs. Cocksfoot, G lbs. 
each of Foxtail and Meadow Fescue, 3 lbs. each of Timothy 
and Tall Fescue, and 1 lb. each of Hard Fescue, Sheep’s 
Fescue, Yarrow, Eough Meadow Grass, Crested Dogstail, 
Perennial Eed Clover, Cow Grass, Dutch Clover, and Alsike. 
This quantity of seed is sufficient for an acre of land, and if 
the seed is only genuine and the culture good there need be 
very little doubt of a successful result. The mere sowing of 
the seed is insufficient to insure good pasture, and we hope 
to continue this important subject next week. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Why should pigs be kept in stys reeking with filth 1 That the risk of 
loss from doing so is considerable has recently been made clear by the 
spread of a contagious disease among herds of pigs on so many farms that 
the markets were closed against store pigs for several weeks, and severe 
losses were incurred by many farmers. Well will it be if such losses 
lead to pigs being kept in greater comfort and cleanliness. Let the stys 
have clean dry litter daily ; see that the drainage from sty and yard is 
open and thorough ; keep the entire surface of walls and fences clean and 
sweet with frequent lime-washings : let the diet consist of nourishing 
wholesome food, avoid the use of garbage and filth, and mix common salt 
with the food frequently. Cattle Cabbage and roots make a wholesome 
change in the diet. Keep all purchased pigs in a separate yard for a few 
weeks in order to avoid all risk of infection. We have reason to believe 
that by the exercise of due care and attention to such details pigs may be 
kept in a healthy and thriving condition; without such care they are 
unsafe. No doubt the fact that pigs are so frequently kept in a filthy 
condition with impunity apparently renders such advice unnecessary, but 
knowing as we do how heavy the loss is when a diseased herd has to be 
slaughtered and buried, we are bound to warn our readers to be on their 
guard and to adopt measures of precaution in time. 
Especial care is now taken to keep the breeding flocks safe from all 
disturbance or excitement. Shepherds must be on the alert to protect 
them from straying dogs or the incursions of hounds. Much harm is often 
done by horses and hounds out hunting at this season of the year, and 
while by no means wishing to decry fox-hunting, we deplore the mischief 
so often done through thoughtlessness. Abortion is unquestionably often 
traceable to fright arising from some such cause. See, too, that the ewes 
are not kept in muddy folds, nor must they have many Turnips before 
lambing. It is only by frequent repetition that we dare hope to do good 
by such advice. Care and painstaking lead to success as surely as does 
negligence to failure, and it is, alas ! by negligence in trifles that our work 
is so often rendered futile. Let no implements, tools, carte, or waggons 
be left on the land, or at all exposed to weather after they have been 
used, but make it a fixed rule always to have them put under shelter, 
clean, and in good order. We recently found a waggon that had been 
left out in the rain, in the bottom of which there was an inch of water 
left to soak slowly into the boards. Rust and decay are always at 
work through some such cause. Take advantage of wet weather to 
examine all the tools of the farm, and have them repainted and put into 
thorough repair in readiness for next season. 
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. 
o 
* 
1885. 
December. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
| Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass. 
Inches. 
de<r. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday . 
13 
30.288 
39.8 
37.9 
W. 
36.4 
43.5 
34.2 
44.8 
26.8 
0.014 
Monday . .... 
14 
30.401 
42.4 
41.8 
s.w. 
36.3 
46.3 
39.5 
50 8 • 
35.4 
— 
Tuesday. 
15 
30.475 
41.4 
41.1 
N. 
37.2 
48 9 
40.9 
63.4 
35.7 
— 
Wednesday .. 
10 
30.5i il 
38.8 
38.2 
S.E. 
37.8 
46.7 
35.9 
62.3 
*6.2 
0.013 
Thursday .... 
17 
31.499 
40.2 
4G.2 
W. 
38.4 
49.8 
38.6 
51.2 
31.2 
0.022 
Friday. 
18 
30.509 
4G.0 
45.7 
N.W. 
40.6 
49.1 
45.3 
50.0 
43.6 
— 
Saturday .... 
19 
39.318 
38.6 
38.2 
F. 
41.3 
44.1 
38.2 
46.3 
37.7 
— 
30.427 
41.9 
41.3 
38.3 
46.9 
38.9 
52 7 
33.8 
o.04<r 
REMARKS. 
13th.—Much warmer, dull, and rather damp. 
14th.—Fair, with very alight, fog. 
15th.—Foggy till 10 a.m , then bright and pleasant; clear cold night. 
10th.—Fine bright day. 
17tli.—Gull and damn. 
18th—Damp and f ggy. 
19th.—Rather drier. 
A dull week, with very Ivgli barometer; temperature above the average and very 
uniform; and very ittlerain.—G. J. SIMONS. 
