328 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
[ April 18 1889. 
merits. What these really are only those managers of home farms 
can know who have to meet the daily calls of a large establishment. 
Perhaps one of the most difficult things to master in dairy manage¬ 
ment is the production of butter of uniform quality. To do this 
implies the perfection of mechanical accuracy in the process of 
butter making, as well as of good management generally of cows 
■and dairy. 
The scope of the modern dairy manager embraces every detail, 
■down to the feeding and housing of the cows, for full recognition 
is now accorded to the importance of care outside as well as inside 
the dairy. Thorough cleanliness everywhere is imperative. The 
food must contain nothing which can impart taint to the milk ; 
there must be no accumulation of foul litter ; the water must be 
pure, the ventilation of shed and cow house perfect. Nothing is 
left to chance, and success has become a certainty. It ought to be 
so when nothing is wanting to render it so, but let those kind ladies 
and gentlemen who send their dairymaid or man to dairy lectures 
please remember that reasonable home facilities must be afforded 
if such lessons are to be applied successfully to practice. 
In the case of the cows very much depends upon the cowman. 
He must be no mere time-server, but must almost live among the 
•cows, which on their part are quick to show the influence of kindly 
and judicious treatment. As the time of calving approaches especial 
care must be taken to keep the cow quiet. So important do some 
farmers consider this, that when a cow is due to calve it is placed 
in a large loose box, and kept there under close supervision ; but 
we consider moderate exercise in the open air desirable so long as 
the cow can take it, and for this reason would always have a 
paddock or meadow near the homestead, with an enclosed shed 
opening into a small yard. There may be several of such sheds 
and yards on large farms, and there need be no great outlay in 
building them; each cow can then be either out upon grass or 
in yard or shed, as seems best, and it can without difficulty be kept 
quiet. 
A fault of beginners in cow keeping is to attempt a special 
course of treatment for a down-calving cow. Now a really strong, 
healthy, well-nurtured cow requires nothing of the kind. Only 
bear in mind it must be well nourished and not suffered to fall off 
in condition either before or after calving. No warm mashes or 
drinks ” are required before calving. Good meadow hay, and, if 
possible, some green food with pure water, are sufficient. After 
calving, a cleansing draught may or may not be necessary, and 
gruel may be given for a few days. The calf may be withdrawn 
after a day or two and only let to the cow at feeding time, or be 
weaned and reared with the feeding pail. 
We are thoroughly of opinion that disease among calves often 
arises from long fasting. T wice a day is not often enough to feed 
a calf ; it should at least be fed or suckled three times daily, 
gradually increasing the quantity of food with the growth of the 
calf. New milk for the first month, then skim milk with linseed 
meal and oatmeal steamed before mixing with milk, to assist 
digestion. The milk should always be given to the calves warm— 
not hot, and as soon as the calf can eat a little, bran, or, better 
still, crushed Waterloo cake may be given daily. A generous diet 
promotes growth, and when cow calves are reared for the dairy 
they should be kept well up in condition without becoming so lusty 
as to run a risk of having black-leg. To form a really good herd 
of cows the cow calves of the best cows should always be saved, 
so that some may come into the herd every year, for there are 
always losses or failures however carefully the herd is managed. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
• '^l' 3 /' !1 c seasonable weather continues, not too warm, with occa- 
sional showers, which have brought up the Barley quickly, and all of 
it will soon be beyond harm from rooks. We shall have one excep¬ 
tionally late field of Barley after Swedes, for the Swedes prove so 
good, and are such a full crop, that the sheep have not got over them 
so last as we expected, and they will last about another week The 
ploughs and seed drill follow the sheep closely, and though late, this 
should be a fine piece of Barley, for the seed is Kinver Chevalier, and 
the land abounds in fertility. Curious, interesting, and most instruc¬ 
tive will it be to watch the progress and final result of our home farm 
Barley this year, for we have sown this fine sample of seed after sheep, 
after Mangolds, after Wheat, and after Barley. All the land is in good 
condition, but it certainly differs in degree of fertility, and some useful 
information ought to be obtained from it as to the effect of different 
crops, as well as of more or less manure in the land. Do not use manure 
for Barley, say some ; use a moderate quantity of manure, say others. 
Experience and common sense say sow in fertile soil, and there can be 
no better general rule, if only due regard be had to the degree of 
fertility. 
Our first field of Mangold is sown a little early perhaps, but we could 
not resist the temptation of finished ridges, moist fine soil, and fine 
weather ; so in went the seed, the light roller followed, and horses and 
men were at liberty to turn harrowing and rolling the grass for hay. 
The only manure used for the Mangold was a heavy dressing of muck 
from the horse and pig yards and the lambing fold. We like a little 
chemical manure too for this crop, but every penny of expenditure has 
to be looked to closely. We had the muck by us, and it will ensure 
heavy roots and moisture, so we had to be content. We write this note 
early in the morning, before setting off to a distant farm where the 
Mangold crop was practically a failure last year, owing to late sowing 
and unfavourable weather. Sow early, say we, while the soil is moist, 
and seed germination will be quick and certain. Once get the plant 
established in the soil and growing freely, and there need be little fear 
of failure. 
EYE GEASS. 
The Rye Grass controversy has assumed extraordinary dimensions 
in the newspapers, and for that reason I find myself again reluctantly 
drawn into the discussion. But before adding my quota to the matter 
in hand I should like to ask Professor Fream to explain one or two 
passages in his article on “ The Herbage of Old Grass Lands,” which 
appeared in the Royal Agricultural Society’s Journal for October, 1888. 
1, On p. Ill of that Journal Dr. Fream states “ During the season, 
and whilst the turfs were in growth, they were inspected at Downton 
by many agriculturists from different parts of the country, and the 
noteworthy preponderance of Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens was 
obvious to all observers ; so much so, in fact, that before half the plots 
had been looked at I got quite accustomed to hear the remark, ‘ They 
seem to be mostly Rye Grass and white Clover.’ ” 
Will he kindly state how the agriculturists alluded to were able to 
recognise the Grass as Rye Grass ? 
2, Will Dr. Fream also say why on p. 415 of the above-named article 
in a letter quoted of Mr. W. Young, he omitted the following passage 
“ This result shows that on such land as mine Mr. De Laune’s theory is 
correct as to Rye Grass dying out the third year, but he is incorrect as to 
its doing any harm to the permanent Grasses, and one loses much the first 
two years by omitting it from the mixture of Grass seeds 1 ” 
I notice, also, in a report of a discussion on Dr. Fream’s paper at 
the Surveyor’s Institute on March 18th that the Chairman, Mr. E. P. 
Squarey, “ expressed his opinion that the laurels fell to Dr. Fream.” As 
Mr. Squarey’s opinion will carry a great deal of weight with it, may I 
ask him on what basis he grounded his verdict ? and, since the time for 
sowing Grass seeds is at hand, will he supply a list of such seeds as he 
would recommend to his numerous clients to sow ?—C. de V. Faunce- 
De Laune, Sharsteel Court, Sittingbourne. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lit. 51° S2'40 ;, N.; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 1 IN THE DAY. 
P 
3 
1889. 
April. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32° 
and Sea 
Level. 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
p . 
Or) 
V P 
So 
• »if 
e,_i o 
S o- 
H 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. | Wet. 
Max. Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Sunday. 7 
Monday. 8 
Tuesday .... 9 
Wednesday.. 20 
Thursday.... 11 
Friday ...... 12 
Saturday .... 13 
Inches. 
29.397 
29.375 
29.361 
29.515 
29.6(12 
29.628 
29 730 
deg. i deg. 
43.0 40.6 
47.6 46 3 
43.2 42 9 
42.1 | 414 
40.4 40.1 
46 8 44.5 
40.2 39 2 
E. 
SE. 
E. 
N.E. 
N. 
NE, 
N. 
deg. 
43 8 
439 
44.4 
44 1 
43.9 
43 3 
44 0 
deg. 
53.2 
56.3 
50.4 
45 9 
48.8 
53.3 
48.2 
deg. 
37.0 
40.3 
43.0 
39.9 
36.8 
37.1 
39.6 
deg. 
88.1 
82.2 
62.7 
60.9 
72.7 
95.4 
68.9 
deg. 
34.7 
36.4 
39.7 
40.2 
342 
27.9 
39.7 
In. 
0.053 
0.114 
0.132 
0.247 
0.035 
0.088 
29.501 
43.3 42.0 
43.9 
50.9 
39.1 
75.8 
36.1 
0.669 
BEMABKS. 
71 h.—Fine and generally bright day ; rain at midnight. 
8th.—Fine, with occasional Bun, hut spots of rain once or twice, and rain in early 
morning of 9th. 
9th.—Wet till ll A.M., cloudy and dull till 4.33, then wet again. 
10th.—Dull and drizzly morning, very dark, with heavy rain from 11® 4 P.M., dull drizzly 
evening and night. 
11th.—White log early, fine and frequently bright till 10.30 A M.; smoke fog and darkness 
to 11.80 A.M., then tine again, with some sunshine. 
12th.—Fine and moderately bright morning; dull afternoon and evening, with 
occasional drizzle. 
13tb.—Dull and drizzly till 10.30 A.M., then generally fair, and showery again in evening. 
A damp week, with low and steady barometer; temperature rather below the 
average, the maxima being low for the season.—9. J. STMONS. 
