164 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
L February 21, 1889. 
pasture is never obtained by letting animals ramble at will over it. 
It is only by systematic sheep folding that rich pasture can be had 
from such a course ; yet certain old practitioners will insist that 
they do not believe in the wisdom of sheep folding on pastures, 
and those of us who have tried it in real earnest know full well that 
they cannot have done so, or they would not make statements so 
erroneous and so misleading. It is not our intention to discuss the 
management of permanent pasture now, but we may usefully 
mention here that those who are desirous of beginning the work of 
improving such parts of their farms this season will do well to 
apply a dressing of concentrated manure by the end of the present 
month, consisting of 1 cwt. nitrate of soda, 1J cwt. mineral super¬ 
phosphate, y cwt. muriate of potash, | cwt. steamed bone flour, 
which gives a mixture of mineral and nitrogenous manure, at the 
rate of 3 cwt. per acre. The manures should always be procured 
separately, and mixed at the farm where they are to be used. If 
applied early enough to be dissolved by rain sufficiently to act 
■quickly upon the plant the result will show that a step in the right 
direction has been made, and pray remember that some such dressing 
must be made at least every year. 
On large estates, where much timber is cut and the steam saw is 
frequently at work, sawdust that has been used as bedding for horses, 
cattle, and pigs, or which is saturated by any means with sewage, 
the drainage from yards or manure heaps, or other liquid manure, 
forms an admirable substitute for chemical manure, and enters 
admirably into the economy of farm practice for such a purpose. 
In the neighbourhood of large towns, where sawdust and moss 
litter are now much used as bedding for horses, many farmers send 
in green fodder and load back with such manure, which is applied 
as a top-dressing to Rye Grass and mixed seeds two or three times 
during the season of growth, a dressing being given immediately 
after each mowing. Under such liberal treatment three crops may 
be cut for green food or hay every year. Near large towns this is 
done, the fodder being easily disposed of in its green state, the 
aggregate yield beincr fully up to an average of 30 ton 3 per acre, 
for which an average price of 20s. per ton is realised. 
To grow such crops the land must be clean, sound, and fertile at 
*the outset, and the seeds when sown must be of the best, and con¬ 
tain no admixture of weed seed. In a word, the practice must be 
just as sound and the culture as high as if we wished to produce a 
fine crop of corn. On land so well managed other forage crops 
attain a bulk that is equally remarkable. A mixed crop of Tares 
and Oats of 16 tons per acre is by no means uncommon in the 
neighbourhood of Liverpool ; it is alike valuable for cows and 
horses, and sells readily for 20s. per ton. Such high farming in the 
neighbourhood of large towns is upon a par with market garden 
practice, and may well be quoted as an example for general practice. 
Under really good management heavy crops of fodder for home 
consumption must be profitable, if only the farmer has his affairs 
upon a sound financial basis, and can afford to stock his farm with 
animals to consume it advantageously. That is the difficulty now— 
a want of means to take full advantage of the seasons and markets. 
(To be continued.) 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
At length we have had a really heavy fall of snow, and the 
ground has been covered to a depth of 8 or 9 inches. Snow set in 
after full forty-eight hours’ high wind, bitterly cold from the north 
and north-west; then indeed did we realise the full value of an 
ample provision of shelter for ewes and lambs. There can be no doubt 
that exposure to such high cutting wind proves exhaustive to the 
strongest animals, and therefore young lambs cannot be expected to 
bear it with impunity. With pastures covered deeply with snow the 
consumption of trough food and pea straw is heavy ; but we have 
provided plenty for such an emergency, and the ewes show this by 
keeping quiet and showing no disposition to wander far from the racks 
and troughs. Well do we remember some years ago paying a visit to 
a ewe flock on .a Sunday afternoon. We found both racks and troughs 
empty, and the sheep scattered far and wide over the pasture, turning 
over the snow to get at the grass beneath it. We set off for the shepherd 
and found him in his cottage with his boots off, evidently resolved to 
take his ease on Sunday. This was a serious fault not only in regard 
to keeping pregnant ewes short of food, but to leave them at all for any 
length of time, for any of them are liable to become cast and die. 
We put it out of the power of a shepherd to make any excuse for 
neglecting his flock by seeing that prompt attention is given to carting 
supplies of food and litter, by having a comfortable shepherd's hut with 
a stove and fuel near the fold, and all necessary supplies of milk, 
medicine, and stimulants at hand. We like, too, to visit a lambing 
flock frequently, to go among the sheep with the shepherd, and accord 
him full sympathy and confidence in his work. A zealous servant 
likes this, and feels that his efforts are appreciated. As the lambing pro¬ 
ceeds care is taken to mark all ewes considered unfit to retain in the 
flock for another season. If this were always done, and faulty animals 
withdrawn from the flock to be fattened next autumn, there would not 
be many losses in the lambing season. 
HOGG AND WOOD S SEED REPORT FOR 1889. 
We have pleasure in submitting our annual report on the probable 
supplies of farm seeds for the coming season, and regret that the pro¬ 
spect of these being abundant is not so good as for some years past, with 
the exception of Rye Grass and natural Grasses, which promise to be 
plentiful and very moderate in price. 
English and Welsh Red Clover and Cow Grass, or Perennial 
Red Clover. —The crop of these, owing to the exceptionally cold and 
wet weather experienced during summer, is the smallest recorded, but 
there are some good lots held over from the previous harvest, and these 
command high prices. 
Foreign Red Clover. — The yield on the Continent of Europe is 
generally reported to be small, but north of France and America report 
an average crop. Much of the seed is very foul and small in the grain, 
and prices are considerably above those of 1888. 
White Clover. —This both in England and abroad is reported as 
almost a failure, but considerable quantities were left over from last 
year, and there will be sufficient good strong growing seed for all re¬ 
quirements, but prices will be higher than for the past few years. 
Alsihe Clover. —It is reported that there is scarcely any English 
seed of crop 1888, and from Germany and America the reports promise 
about half a crop. Prices will, therefore, rule high. 
Trefoil or Yellow Clover. —The yield both at home and abroad pro¬ 
mises to be very small, and high prices may be expected throughout the 
season. As the quality of this seed is this year generally poor, and the 
price high, we would recommend Red Clover to be sown instead of 
Yellow, as it is cheaper in proportion. 
Perennial and Italian Rye Grass. —A large crop of Perennial and 
a fair crop of Italian is reported, but there is much light, weathered, and 
inferior seed. Good samples will command slightly higher prices than 
the low rates current during the past season. \Ve would advise no 
Perennial under 22 lbs. per bushel to be sown, the lighter weights being 
very full of weed seeds 
Timothy, Cocksfoot, and other Natural Grasses. —These are in good 
supply at very moderate rates. There is an increased consumption of 
Cocksfoot, Timothy, and Meadow Fescue, and these are now exten¬ 
sively used by the foremost agriculturists of the day for two and three 
years pasture, along with the usual mixture. 
Tares, Large Scotch and Foreign. —Reported as scarce and high in 
price. 
Turnips and Mangolds. —These yielded fairly well with one or two 
exceptions, and rates will not be much in advance of those current 
last year.— Hogg & Wood, Coldstream, 14th February, 1889. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 82' 40" N.; Long. 0°8-0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 1 IN THE DAY. 
Rain. 
1 
1889. 
February. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32“ 
and Sea 
Level. 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
d . 
♦j d 
& 
5o 
SB'S 
D ®rH 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Sunday.10 
Monday.1L 
Tuesday .... 12 
Wednesday.. 13 
Thursday.... 14 
Friday .15 
Saturday .... Id 
Inches. 
29.784 
29.470 
30.128 
30.225 
29.521 
29.629 
30.217 
deg. 
27.6 
30.3 
26.5 
31.2 
47.9 
38 6 
34.9 
deg. 
25.8 
29.5 
25.8 
30.1 
46 9 
35.2 
32.0 
w. 
N.E. 
N.W. 
s.w. 
w. 
N.W. 
S.E. 
deg. 
36.6 
85 9 
35.7 
35.2 
35.0 
36.0 
35.9 
deg. 
53.2 
35.3 
37.3 
48.7 
48.7 
46.3 
45.2 
deg. 
218 
27.4 
20 7 
20.4 
31.1 
35.9 
28.2 
deg. 
43.7 
64.4 
77.5 
50.6 
66.2 
85.1 
48.2 
deg. 
18.6 
27.3 
15.7 
13.5 
29.0 
29.9 
23.3 
In. 
0.630 
0.010 
0.251 
0.298 
0.13 J 
29.853 
33.9 | 32.2 
35.8 
42.1 
26.5 
60.8 
25.5 
1.322 
RE MASKS. 
10th.—Fine morning, with some sunshine, snow falling continuously after 1 P.M., deplh 
by a p.M. about 3 inches. 
11th.—Dull, with slight snow till 9 AM., bright after 11 A.M. Depth of snow at 9 A.M 
GJ inches. 
12th.- Slight snow early, bright day and night. 
13th.—Fair early, wet snow from 11.13 A.M., turning to rain about noun, wet afternoon 
and evening. Steady rise of temperature all day and night. 
14th.—Dull and mild early, wet from 10 A.M. to 5 p.M .bright evening and night. ' 
lfitb.-Fine and bright throughout; cold clear night. , 
10. h.-Overcast morning, wet afternoon, misty evening. 
A wintry week, with much snow on Sunday, and snow or rain on several days 
Minimum in air below 23° on hree nights, and below 29“ on grass also on three nights. 
G. J. SYMONS. 
