4'6 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
t November 21, 1889. 
THE FLOCK IN WINTER. 
THE LAMBING. 
Taken from the Dorsets onward through tup breeders flocks 
to those of the ordinary farm flock, the lambing season may be said 
to extend almost throughout winter into spring. No fixed rules 
can therefore be laid down for it, but useful hints may certainly be 
given for general guidance, especially of home farmers, with whom 
the time of lambing should always be one of expediency and not 
of necessity. By expediency we mean that the lambing should be 
so timed that there may be an ample provision of green food 
ready for the flock in unbroken successional crops as required. To 
■ensure this there must be a certain proportion of arable land, and 
we question strongly the wisdom of laying down so much land to 
permanent pasture as we have seen on some estates. Extremes 
seldom answer, and we think farmers in the great corn-growing 
districts, and those in a purely grazing part of the country, might 
■compare results, and discuss the reasons of success or failure in 
flock management with much mutual advantage. No discussion, 
and nothing we can say or write, will be of use to those who are 
ignorant of the actual requirements of a flock, and who absolutely 
court failure by reckless mismanagement. For example, we found 
a ewe flock which came under our care some years ago in April was 
upon poor pasture by day, and was driven to folds upon a bare 
fallow at night without any provision of trough food for the ewes, 
that while suckling lambs were thus kept fasting some thirteen 
hours, and were driven back to the pasture in a state of exhaustion. 
We know another flock at the present time for which indeed there 
is an abundant store of roots, but there is no green food for next 
spring except pasture, which is practically uncultivated, the only 
manure it has being that derived from unfolded sheep. If the 
spring proves a late one that flock is bound to suffer a certain 
amount of privation. 
Pasture under systematic cultivation may undoubtedly be made 
to answer as well for the flock in early spring as almost any green 
crop on arable land ; but unfortunately such pasture is the excep¬ 
tion and not the rule. It might be managed this season by folding 
if begun at once, as a tolerably strong and early growth of herbage 
would then be insured, and there would be a considerable subsequent 
improvement in both respects if the pasture had an annual dressing 
of chemical manure in February. Too much stress cannot be laid 
upon this important matter, as it is quite certain that pasture 
generally would carry several more sheep per acre, and be available 
for the flock much earlier in the year if cultivated with as much 
care as arable land. 
Valuable as rich pasture undoubtedly is, it cannot be regarded 
as a substitute for Rye, because that is by far the earliest of all 
green crops, and be it remembered that even Rye is much earlier 
on rich well drained soil than upon cold poor land. Rye is, there¬ 
fore, an indispensable auxiliary crop for the ewe flock. Winter 
Oats, Winter Barley, Italian Rye Grass, Tares, and Trifolium in- 
carnatum, where it will answer, all follow in useful succession. 
Before turning from spring green crops for the flock we would call 
particular attention to the early growth of Perennial Rye Grass. 
We have a large field of it which has been very valuable for early 
grazing, and its early growth in some new permanent mixed 
pasture renders that pasture much more useful for the flock in 
early spring than an old pasture adjoining it which is deficient in 
this much-abused, much-praised Grass. 
Every home farmer should have a lambing yard opening upon 
good sound pasture. Such a yard by no means involves a heavy 
outlay. It may be made in an angle of farm buildings with a wall 
or boarded fence on the other sides. A low lean-to roof right 
round the interior wall or fence, and two or three cross fences 
with span-roofs afford the shepherd ample means for the construc¬ 
tion of pens, and to shelter the entire flock as may be necessary. 
We recommend such yards both as a means of saving time and 
expense, and avoiding the annual construction of temporary folds, 
which are in the end much more expensive, and hardly ever answer 
so well. A really good shepherd is invaluable, and he should have 
all reasonable assistance both in the preparation of the fold and 
pens, and in the carting of food. Under good management there 
will have been a sensible exercise of foresight in the storage of 
roots and fodder close at hand for lambing. The shepherd must 
live with the flock then, and he should have a sufficiently commo¬ 
dious and comfortable hut for his accommodation. We allow the 
shepherd Gd. per head for all the lambs in healthy condition at wean¬ 
ing time. This acts as a healthy incentive to exertion, and is 
entirely in the master’s interest. It is money well spent and well 
earned, and we have found the plan answer better than a high rate 
of wages without it. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
A wet October brought work on the land to a standstill, but so far 
November has brought us fine weather, and capital progress has been 
made with Wheat sowing, while forward crops of winter corn look ex¬ 
ceedingly well, and the quickly raised cry about arrears of work and 
land to be left unploughed till spring is as quickly hushed. Farmers 
are said to be notorious grumblers, but we generally find that those who 
are loud in complaints of bad seasons and hard times are not the men 
who strive most to improve their practice and see if more cannot be 
done with the land. We would urge upon every farmer the importance 
of careful thought about the work and its object on his particular 
farm during the next eleven months. No doubt Barley is the most pro¬ 
fitable grain crop now if it is really well grown, well harvested, and not 
forced upon the market out of condition. But if repeated trials have 
shown Barley to be an unsuitable crop for certain land, why it is simply 
suicidal to keep on sowing it. Upon a certain heavy land farm in hand 
we have gradually curtailed the Barley area, and extended that of winter 
corn simply because it answers best. The one difficulty about this 
change is to convince those interested that Wheat may be grown to 
profit in the same field year after year. We know men now agents of 
large estates who boldly proclaim their ignorance of scientific farming 
by outspoken expression of their disbelief in chemical manures. Such 
men will certainly one day find they are left behind in the race, for 
science and practice are daily becoming more united. 
Upon all heavy land as much ridging as possible is being done, not 
only for root crops, but also for spring corn. Full reason have we to 
like the plan, for the land becomes so softened by its thorough exposure 
that we are able to push on spring work long before we could do with 
ploughing on the flat. Everything that can wait without material 
harm must give way for ploughing, one acre of land ploughed now 
being worth two left till spring. This, and getting superfluous water 
from the land speedily are the most important things now next to the 
finishing of winter corn sowing, which ought to soon be done with upon 
every farm. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 8S' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
a 
c3 
Ph 
1889. 
November. 
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. 
Id. 
Sunday. 
10 
30.384 
50.2 
46.8 
N. 
47.8 
55 5 
46 8 
75.2 
38.4 
— 
Monday. 
11 
30.444 
52.0 
50 3 
N.K. 
47.9 
53.9 
50.4 
58 2 
37.4 
— 
Tuesday .... 
12 
30 401 
419 
40.7 
N.E. 
480 
45.6 
39.7 
56 4 
82.9 
— 
Wednesday.. 
18 
3".348 
34.7 
34.7 
S.W. 
45.4 
44 8 
32.2 
54 6 
21.9 
— 
Thursday.... 
14 
30.340 
44 4 
44.4 
s.w. 
44.0 
51.0 
34.0 
52 4 
30.8 
— 
Friday . 
15 
30.373 
50.7 
50.2 
s. 
45.1 
57.4 
44.1 
65.6 
39.9 
— 
Saturday .... 
16 
30.5.2 
50.4 
49.8 
s.w. 
46 7 
52.8 
49.3 
56.6 
42.9 
0.010 
30.400 
46.3 
453 
46.4 
51.6 
42.4 
59.9 
35.3 
0.010 
REMARKS. 
10th.—Cloudy early; fine and generally bright day. 
11th.-Cloudy early; mild, dull and damp day. 
12tt.—Bright and fine In the morning, sun shining through hazy cloud in afternoon. 
13th.—Fog, rather thick till 11, then sun shining through very slight fog. 
11th.—Rather dense fog, gas necessary almost all day. 
15th.—Cloudy early; sunshine from 11.30; misty evening. 
16th.—Overcast all day, very dark for two or three minutes about 0.15 PAf. 
High barometer; cloudy nights,’fog and damp air,but no actual rain, the OOliach 
on 16th being due to wet fog.—G. J. SYMONS. 
