58 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
f Jannarj ISM* 
according to the quality of the produce and the manner of its dis¬ 
posal. Several of our personal friends have large herds of cows, 
yet most of them have a different way of management both of the 
cows and in the disposal of the milk. One sells the milk at the 
farm to a retail dealer who calls for it twice daily ; another makes 
all the butter that can be had and rears a large quantity of pigs 
upon skim milk and home-grown corn ; another sends most of the 
milk of his own cows direct from the farm to his customers’ 
houses in “ sealed ” pint and quart bottles, and for butter a con¬ 
siderable quantity of milk is purchased from the neighbouring 
farmers. Large-mouthed glass bottles with screw stoppers are used, 
the stopper being secured by a neat adhesive label bearing the 
appropriate motto “ Safe bind, safe find.” This simple method 
effectually prevents the milk being tampered with, it tends to 
assure the consumer that he has a genuine article, and certainly 
answers the purpose of the producer whose dairy business became 
so extensive some time ago that he found it worth while to open a 
dairy shop in a town within a short drive of his farm. The one 
objection to the use of the glass bottles is the breakage, which in¬ 
volves an average annual loss of about £5. 
Many other peculiar cases occur to us, such as the regular 
dispatch of all the milk by rail to London from long and short dis¬ 
tances ; the sale of the milk to a butter factory ; the delivery of 
the milk to a retail dealer in a large town with a clear weekly 
settlement. In this case it is claimed that doubtful customers and 
bad debts are altogether avoided. Certainly the farmer is a 
thriving man, but then he turns the favourable situation of his 
farm to full account and does a profitable business in poultry, eggs, 
vegetables, and fruit. The farm is a small one, and the whole of 
the work is done by the farmer, with his wife, two sons, and a 
daughter, all grown up, and who thus worthily illustrate the 
proverbial bundle of sticks, and certainly cling together to good 
purpose. Thrift, industry, and a fair amount of intelligence and 
good sense have in this instance told so well that no complaints 
about hard times are heard ; on the contrary, quiet expressions of 
satisfaction with the prices obtained for the whole of the farm pro¬ 
duce are occasionally let fall. Poultry plays a worthy part here, 
about 100 hens being kept, and eggs recently have had a brisk sale 
at 2s. a dozen. It is simple nonsense to say that any considerable 
extension of poultry farming would bring down prices so much as 
to render it unprofitable. There is a wide margin to work upon, 
and the limits of profit will not soon, if ever, be reached. 
A notable and highly satisfactory thing in the cases we have 
quoted, and many others known to us, is the admirable way in 
which all good farmers adapt themselves to the circumstances of 
their surroundings. For farmers generally the sale of milk is 
probably found preferable to butter making, both because of the 
saving of labour and the greater degree of certainty of a constant 
demand and brisk sale. Present rates are slightly in excess of 9d. 
per imperial gallon, or Is. 8d. per barn gallon of 17 pints, less 
l.^d., or say an averaage of three fachings per imperial gallon for 
rail carriage, the cans being returned carriage free. Such landlords 
as Lord Hampden are doing much for the assistance of tenant 
farmers by the establishment of dairy factories, even if prices 
given for milk are placed upon the basis of small profits and quick 
returns. A steady inflow of ready money is a matter of vital im¬ 
portance to a struggling farmer. It is this want which so frequently 
bring young calves upon the market which should have been kept 
at the farm at almost any momentary sacrifice. Very seldom is it 
that really good cows are to be had by purchase, and every cow 
calf from a really good cow should be reared and kept for filling 
those inevitable vacancies in the herd which occur all too fre- 
quently. 
Factories or no factories, butter making is profitable enough if 
only it is well done. We quite recently inspected a grass farm in 
the Croydon district, which strongly commended itself to our judg¬ 
ment as a sound investment for a tenant at the inclusive rent of 
.£2 per acre, which was required by the landlord. It was excellent 
sound pasture, in useful division, hard by a railway station, with a 
splendid neighbourhood for the sale of a first-class article. That is 
the point; only make first class butter of uniform quality, let your 
herd of cows be arranged upon a footing that will enable you to 
guarantees regular supply of a given quantity, and though you may 
have a struggle to establish a reputation and obtain a connection, 
you are bound to do it, despite tempting importations from Brittany 
or any other country. 
WOEK ON THE HOME FARM. 
The ravages of swine fever still continue in certain districts. A 
recent report states that during the last nine months 333 had been 
attacked, forty had been slaughtered, 244 had died, and forty-nine 
recovered. This was in South Lincolnshire, and the report tells further 
of eight flocks attacked by scab. The scab is in its way as infectious 
as swine fever, but it is easily got rid of by dipping the sheep in Coopei’s 
dressing, and no particular harm is done if the sheep have attention at 
once. Swine fever is always more or less fatal, and farmers should 
always be on their guard against infection. More than this, there should 
be an end of slovenly practice in the management of swine. We 
recently built a range of piggeries with concrete floors, tiled roofs, with 
doors to the stys as well as the courts. There ought to be no difficulty in 
keeping such buildings perfectly clean, yet when we called to see them 
after the tenant had only used them for a week we found the usual horrible 
accumulations of filth. Our own piggeries are old ones, having boarded 
walls and partitions with tiled roofs, and floors all faced with Portland 
cement. We only use litter for bedding in the stys, none being used in 
the courts, which are swept out every day, and the litter is changed 
once every week. All the woodwork is limewashed, and they are thus 
kept quite sufficiently sweet and clean. At the present time we have 
a considerable number of porkers in course of preparation for the 
London markets, and care is taken not to suffer them to be crowded, 
and to take a little extra care as to cleanliness. Some of these porkers 
are reserved for sows, and they are fed as highly as the others, to bring 
them into breeding as early as possible. We recently purchased a lot 
of pigs that are capital examples of the value of judicious cross¬ 
breeding. Essex pigs are notoriously coarse, long-bodied animals, but 
the pigs we purchased were the result of a cross between an Essex sow 
and Berkshire boar, the result being compact animals, with many of the 
Berkshire’s best points sufficiently prominent to render them altogether 
superior to the ordinary Essex pig. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Cow for a Small Farm (.7. 31 .'),—The most profitable sort of 
cow for a small farm is a cross-bred animal of tolerably large frame, 
naturally inclined to a lusty condition, with a large udder and rich 
milk. Such cows are to be found at most good dairy farms, and you 
ought to be able to obtain one in your own neighbourhood. But you 
must be prepared to pay a special price for the privilege of selection, as no 
one will part with a really good cow if he can help it. The average price 
of a cow in full milk now is £2.5, and for £4 or £5 more you 
ought to be able to obtain what your require. But you must be cautious 
and avoid mere cattle dealers, whose habit is to try and put a false gloss 
upon every animal they have to sell. Do not be tempted by cows offered 
for sale at fairs or markets, but rather go to a large dairy farm or some 
breeder of repute, and if possible select a young cow that has recently 
had its second calf, and is consequently at its best. Notes on manures 
will appear in an early issue. 
MKTEOROLOaiOAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDBN SQUARB, LONDON. 
Lit. 61° 8J'40"N.; Long. 0°8-0" W.; Altitado, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THB DAY. 
.“5 
s 
•a 
1600. 
January. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 82® 
and Sea 
Level. 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
Temp, of 
soli at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Badiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
BUD. 
On 
grass 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
In. 
Sunday. 
5 
29.750 
43.4 
461 
s.w. 
37.1 
62.2 
4JA 
52.4 
36.5 
O.IfS 
Monday. 
6 
30.257 
60.5 
49 9 
S.E. 
40.0 
64.5 
46.1 
56 4 
4L9 
0;109 
Tuesday .... 
7 
30.371 
43.2 
46.4 
s. 
42.4 
651 
47,7 
734) 
42 9 
Wednesday.. 
8 
SOSOO 
49.2 
48.8 
S.E. 
43.2 
51.3 
48 4 
67.4 
43.8 
0.119 
Thursday.... 
9 
30.306 
41.1 
89.4 
S. 
4l9 
63.7 
36.5 
93.5 
29.1 
0.170 
Friday . 
10 
30.025 
4t.2 
41.0 
s. 
43.1 
49.1 
41.0 
78 9 
37.4 
Saturday .... 
11 
30.236 
42 5 
39.9 
s.w. 
41.9 
61.6 
38.8 
61.7 
33.9 
O.f.'lw 
30.173 
46.0 
44 5 
1 415 
62.5 
43.0 
61.S 
38.2 
('.6:i^ 
REMARKS. 
5th.—Wet till 1 P M.; showery afternoon; fair evening and night. 
6th.—Dull and showery morning; cloudy afternoon; wet evenlog. 
7th .—Sunshine throughout. . ' 
8th.—Cloudy morning; fine afternoon, some sunshine; showers in the evening; bright 
night. T.- 
9the—Fine, with sunshine in the morning; wet afternoon an evening; solar halo 
at 11.80 A.M. 
10th.—Cloudless morning : high wind and a little cloud in the afternoon, 
llth.—Overcast, with frequent spots of rain in the morning; drizzle in the afternoon and 
evening. 
A mild and showery week, but with two perfect days. Temperature more than 
higher than that of the preceding week, and nearly 108 above the average*—G. J. SYMOh'S* 
