434 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 27, 1886. 
and it may certainly be said of ordinary grass land that the 
returns are proportionate. Yet we have never seen an 
ordinary meadow that was not capable of improvement, and 
we have had to deal with much poor grass land in our own 
practice. Here is a case in point. Some fifteen years ago we 
had to divide a park into two parts with a wire fence—one 
part to be kept for hay and grazing, and the other only for 
grazing. Now the whole of this pasture was very poor, yet 
annual dressings of manure soon effected an improvement in 
the hay pasture, the hay crop being generally good, and the 
aftermath abundant. At first farmyard manure was used, 
then came the manure dealers’ special mixture of artificial 
manure, affording results about equal to those obtained by 
the use of farmyard manure; this was followed by Professor 
Jamieson’s mixture, each sort of manure being obtained 
separately and the mixing done at the farm, and it was 
owing to the remarkable effect of this home-mixed manure 
upon this as well as other pastures that we first called 
attention to it in these articles. Subsequent results were 
even more satisfactory, for there was an annual improvement 
in the hay crop, and last year the crop was fully twice as 
much in bulk as it had ever been before. The contrast 
between the hay pasture and that devoted altogether to 
grazing was remarkable; the one yielding heavy crops of 
hay, an aftermath for cows till October, and grazing for 
sheep till the middle of February, the other a tolerably 
abundant supply of food for cattle and sheep in summer and 
early autumn, but the growth was always late in spring, 
and at the best in summer it was altogether inferior to the 
hay grass, simply because it had no manure but the excre¬ 
ment of the animals grazing upon it. 
The subject is so important that we must give another 
example before leaving it. By careful selection of seed and 
high cultivation of the land Mr. Faunce de Laune has made 
new permanent pasture so productive that it will carry ten 
sheep to an acre. Let us see what this means. Taking the 
wool at 6 lbs. per fleece we have :— 
£ 
s. 
d. 
60 lbs. at lOd. 
• • • 
2 
10 
0 
Ten sheep at 50s. .. .. 
25 
0 
0 
£ 
s. 
d. 
27 
10 
0 
Per contra—Rent and taxes 
.. 2 
5 
0 
Manure 
.. 1 
3 
0 
Labour .. 
.. 1 
0 
0 
4 
8 
0 
Balance.£23 2 0 
From this heavy balance we should have to deduct the vain 6 
of the sheep at the beginning of the year and allow a slight 
margin for probable losses, but we should then be able to 
show a very satisfactory balance-sheet, even if we had to 
make a farther deduction for dry food, against which, how¬ 
ever, we ought to be able to show a higher return than 503. 
per head for well-bred sheep. We do not forget that many 
a farmer will say that his land is too wet to carry sheep in 
winter. In point of fact we have a farm in hand of some 
330 acres where this proves to be the case; but we do not 
despair of making the land so sound by drains and careful 
cultivation as to be able to keep a flock there. 
No doubt the laying down land to permanent pasture 
cannot be undertaken upon a large scale by farmers 
generally, but all risk could be avoided by doing a few acres 
year by year till the farm had its fair proportion of grass 
land. It is because the work is undertaken by incompetent 
men that results so frequently prove unsatisfactory. To the 
use of pure seed carefully selected, and judicious cultivation, 
we must add subsequent management of the pasture, for 
without it failure is inevitable. With enough sound 
pasture we are able then to have our flock at hand for 
folding purposes upon any of the arable land crops where 
folding is desirable to impart a fresh store of fertility to the 
soil, and instead of leaving bare fallows for the whole of the 
summer let us get them clean early in the year, and either 
sow roots or green crops for ploughing in, and so turn the 
land to account either to provide a store of cattle food for 
winter or to lay up a store of fertility in itself for the 
future. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Swede sowing has been done for the main crop, and the soil has been 
prepared in two ways for the seed. Where Rye had been eaten off by 
sheep in folds the land was ploughed, broken up by heavy harrows, bear¬ 
ing in this locality the name of duck’s foot harrows ; a heavy roller was 
then used to crush the soil, home-mixed chemical manure sown, light 
harrows passed twice over the field and the seed drilled at the rate of 
3 lbs. an acre. Bastard fallow land had furrows made with double- 
breasted ploughs, farmyard and chemical manure applied, and the land 
ridged precisely as if for Mangolds. The chemical manure used per acre 
is three-quarters cwt. nitrate of potash, half cwt. nitrate of soda, and 
2 j cwt. steamed bone flour, 2| cwt. ground coprolite, procured separately 
and mixed at the farm a few days before being used. Coprolite is 
invariably received in an excellent condition of fineness, but we have had 
some difficulty about bone flour. We, however, were so fortunate as to 
procure our supplies from a manure company whose manager is an intel¬ 
ligent man and clever chemist ; and upon it being explained to him that 
it is the minute division of the particles of steamed bone flour that 
imparts a special value to it, he at once offered to supply us as per sample 
at an additional charge of 5s. per ton for extra grinding, and we were 
quite willing to pay so reasonable a demand. Every effort is being 
made to keep down weeds in corn crops, especially Thistles and Charlock. 
Winter Tares, too, have had the hoes passed between the rows to cut 
down a heavy crop of Thistles. The Tares are now growing freely, and 
this useful crop will be quite ready for the ewes and lambs when they 
come off the Rye Grass. Wet weather set in just as they began the Rye 
Grass, and they did not make clean work of it for a few days. There 
was, however, no falling off in condition, for they had plenty of lamb food, 
and Mangolds with the Rye Grass. This sound wholesome food checked 
any tendency to scour, and glad are we to say that flock is clean, healthy 
and almost free from foot rot. We never allow a flock affected by foot rot 
to gonear a sound flock, for this troublesome complaint is so infectious that 
it can hardly ever be entirely got rid of. The ploughs are following the 
folds closely upon the Rye Grass, as we are anxious to have another green 
crop ready by August for early tupping. To have a crop of early lambs 
the tups must be with the flock quite by the second week in August, and 
the ewes must be well fed and in good condition then to insure success. 
Stick to the sheep, say we agaiu and again. Dj not be frightened by 
reports atiout importations from the Colonies; depend upon it there is still 
“ money ” in sheep-keeping, and “ golden hoofs ” still leave their mark 
upon the land. 
Seeds at Edinburgh and Liverpool.— At the Liverpool Inter¬ 
national Exhibition and at Edinburgh Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, are 
represented by an attractive display setting forth the several branches of 
their business. The upper portion of the stand, divided into seven equal 
sections, is arranged in a most artistic fashion. The centre is occupied by 
a collection of models of agricultural roots from nature, representing all 
the leading varieties of Messrs. Sutton’s introductions during the past 
thirty years, while the sections on either side are taken up by specimens 
of special export boxes of seeds, illustrating the new process invented by 
the Reading firm. Arranged in glass cases immediately below the seven 
sections just alluded to are some beautilul models of various vegetables, 
fruits, &c., executed at Reading from real specimens ; while beneath 
these is the collection of natural grasses. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATION!?. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, HI feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
fl 
*5 
X 
1886. 
May. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
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. 
ir> 
29.932 
49.1 
48 2 
s. 
48.3 
54.4 
42.8 
60/7 
3 6.7 
o.3n 
17 
29.816 
62.9 
52.3 
S. 
48.8 
59.4 
489 
77.4 
47.7 
0.016 
Tuesday . 
18 
29.7G2 
59.7 
54.3 
S. 
49.8 
68 6 
52.3 
114.2 
50.8 
— 
Wednesday .. 
19 
30.011 
52.8 
48.3 
S.E. 
50.8 
62.4 
45.9 
81.1 
38.6 
0.04S 
Thursday ... 
20 
29.875 
59.9 
56.2 
S.E. 
50.5 
65.6 
49.0 
93.8 
42.8 
21 
30.139 
60.0 
58.5 
S. 
5L.2 
«8.8 
46.7 
11L.8 
40.7 
0.402 
Saturday ... 
22 
30.142 
59.3 
55.0 
N. 
52.4 
67.1 
51.0 
93.2 
50.3 
0.497 
29.954 
56.2 
53.3 
50.3 
63.8 
48.1 
91.2 
43.9 
1.405 
REMARKS. 
16th.—Wet day, but cleared up towards evening. 
17th.-Wet till 10 a.m. ; generally dull afterwards. 
18th.—Fine, bright, and pleasant, with southerly gale. 
19th.—Dull early, and wet till noon. 
20th.—Warm and dull, with heavy showers between X and 2 P.M.; fine after. 
21st.—Very fine day, with dull evening. 
22nd.—Sharp thuuderstorm in W. from 3.45 to 4.45 a.m. Very heavy rain from 4.8 to 
4.10 a.m., 012 inch falling in those two minutes. Rather oppressive all day. 
Warmer than last week and rain again above the average. Much dull weather has 
kept the range of temperature less than usual at this season.—G. J. SYMONS. 
