232 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March 13, 1890. 
-thrive in a manner never equalled by late autumn pigs, for pigs 
•sUifer more from cold than any other animal, and so-called bad 
-doers in winter require most of the food they get to keep them 
alive, the food being just so much fuel to sustain vital heat, hence 
'the importance of well-planned breeding and of snug winter 
■quarters for the pigs. 
Spring pigs have all the advantage of weather that is possible 
in our fickle climate, and a very large proportion of their food will 
be turned to best account for its legitimate purpose of pork manu¬ 
facture. It was laid down last month by Mr. Sanders Spencer, of 
Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts, whose pigs are famous all over 
the world, that 4 or 5 lbs. of meal, consisting of one-sixth Wheat, 
three-sixths Barley, one-sixth Peas, and one-sixth Broad Beans will 
produce 1 lb. of pork if consumed by a fairly well-bred pig of six 
months old—or in other words, 15 lbs. of meal, costing less than 
lid., will produce 3 lbs. of pork, at a cost of less than 4d. per lb. 
We give this statement because it is perfectly reliable, and also 
because these are the days of mixed food ; but we may remind our 
readers that our young Londoners, of an average dead weight for 
the clean carcase of 56 lbs., realise G4d. per lb. at Smithfield, and 
-the food used is just middlings and maize. Inferior Wheat 
samples ought certainly to be turned to account for feeding 
purposes, and there should be no difficulty about mixed food at 
■any farm where a fair proportion of the land is still used for corn 
growing. 
It is a good rule not to keep large sows, but to dispose of them 
as they approach the unwieldy stage. In a commodious sty, with 
a moderate quantity of straw, the pigs should take no harm, and 
we prefer leaving the sow undisturbed. The sow is kept upon 
sharps and bran for the first month, by which time the pigs begin 
■eating, and they are fed by means of a slip board, outside the sty, 
with fine middlings mixed preferably with milk thinly, m order that 
the difference or rather this addition to the sow’s milk may not 
be so great as to cause scour in the pigs. Weaning generally 
■occurs at the end of the sixth week, the pigs being at first shut out 
from the sow for a few hours only at first, the time being gradually 
extended till they are entirely withdrawn. After theVeaning the 
■diet takes a more substantial form, and the quality of the meal 
may be improved by mixing any corn set apart for the purpose. 
With the exception of maize all the corn should be home grown, 
unless indeed the home-grown corn is of such high quality that 
it answers best to sell it and purchase other inferior corn. This 
may frequently be the case, especially among Barleys, but where 
■oatmeal is the staple pig food as it is is Sussex, large heavy home 
grown corn is preferable, because it has less husk than light im¬ 
ported Oats. Green food and roots, especially Mangolds, is always 
a wholesome addition to the swine dietary, and a run on pasture 
•should always be continued for sows free from maternal cares, both 
for the sake of health and green food. Healthy parents may be 
expected to bring healthy pigs, and they will continue so if due 
attention is given to cleanliness, wholesome food, and the strict 
exclusion from the farm of all other pigs that have not a clean bill 
of health. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
All horse slock must now have special care, for there is much risk of 
■colds, sore throats, influenza, and still more serious complaints, while 
they are under the weakening influence of shedding the coat. An extra 
feed of corn daily may do much to support the system, and every atten¬ 
tion should be given to horses after a journey or long day’s work. A 
cough, accompanied by shortness of breath, should have immediate 
attention. The horse should go into hospital for a few days, have its 
throat well rubbed with mustard, and have bran mashes with scalded 
■oats, and a powder in the mash night and morning as follows :_2 to 
R ozs. powdered nitre, and 9 to 12 drachms tartar emetic, mixed, and 
divided into six powders. This is a safe, sure, and very cheap remedy 
it only the case is taken in time. If more alarming symptoms present 
themselves at once call in a competent veterinary surgeon, for acute 
inflammation or congestion of the lungs may quickly cause the loss 
of a valuable animal. Mares heavy with foal should be worked with 
caution, but they are all the better for light work, which affords healthy 
exercise till within a short period of foaling. Then let each mare have 
a large loose box, and be kept quiet. A pregnant mare near her time 
ought never to be turned out with other horse stock, as is so frequently 
done, for any excitement may lead to the loss of both mare and foal. 
One of our tenants lost a mare and foal in this way last spring ; he then 
shut up the other mares, and went and insured them 1 Well, we hope 
it was a lesson for life ; but he had been breeding horses for many 
years, and ought to have done better. Insure the mares, take proper 
care of them, and then you need not hesitate to breed. The one thing 
which can be said against horse breeding is the loss of the mare’s work 
just when horses are so much in request upon the land ; but if the 
arable land is reduced within reasonable limits it may answer to keep 
some really well-bred mares, for superior horses are certainly profitable 
at the present time. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Experiments In Agricultural Chemistry (6*. A.).—Professor 
Jamieson’s views on agricultural chemistry and the results of his 
experiments are embodied in a series of annual reports of the work 
of the Associations for the Improvement of Agriculture, which have for 
some years been under his control both in Sussex and Aberdeenshire. 
We believe the reports are only printed for the benefit of members 
of the Association, and are not sold. 
Bone Meal for Pasture (.7. J. S .).—Of bonemeal 3 cwt. per 
acre, and of half-inch bones 4 cwt. per acre is a fair dressing. Your 
employer is quite right in his preference for the half-inch bones. With 
a view to permanent benefit, as well as the immediate restoration of 
fertility in your grass land, which has been mown for twenty years, we 
strongly advise you to use, in addition to the half-inch bones, 1 cwt. 
nitrate of soda, and cwt. of mineral superphosphate per acre. Our 
first bit of experience of the value of half-inch bones for old pasture 
was gained some twenty years ago, when we tried them upon a l.")-acre 
meadow in a poor, thin, silicious soil. The effect was good and lasting, 
for bones decay so slowly that they afford a certain store of food for 
many years, and it is the finer particles which tell upon growth for the 
first two or three years. Do not. however, place too much reliance upon 
the bones. They act beneficially in the soil, mechanically, and as a 
mild form of fertiliser ; but bone-phosphate, the chief mineral con¬ 
stituent of bones, is almost insoluble in water, and the powerful agency 
of sulphuric acid has to be used as a solvent when we require prompt 
and full action of this phosphate upon a crop. Therefore use the 
bones, but also use the soda and mineral superphosphate every spring, 
only take care to use them early, and the cost of the manure will be 
returned tenfold. 
Oil Cake for Dairy Cows (W. J. A .').—Linseed cake ought never 
to be used for dairy cows, because it spoils the m:lk for butter-making 
by imparting an unpleasant flavour to it, and it also renders a cow 
liable to milk fever at calving. The best meadow hay. sliced Mangolds, 
and bran is the best dietary for cows in milk now, 17 lbs. of Mangold 
and a gallon of bran being given to each cow in the morning at milking 
time and again at the second milking in the afternoon. For delicate or 
weak cows a few crushed Oats may be used to good purpose. Hay is 
given in racks morning and evening, care being taken to use only as 
much as the cows can clear up at once. If you have a chaffing and 
mixing apparatus then equal parts of hay and Oat straw may be cut 
up and mixed with minced or pulped roots. In Denmark, where many 
dairies are now under constant veterinary inspection, the winter dietary 
consists solely of hay, straw. Oats, Barley, and Carrots. We use Carrots 
during the last three months of the year. Mangolds coming into use 
with the new year, and we proved to our satisfaction long ago that for 
a strong healthy cow bran is quite sufficient without any corn. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 61° 8S'40''N.; Long. 0° 8'0" W.; AlUtude, 111 feet. 
Date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAT. 
0 
‘S 
a; 
U90. 
March. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 320 
and Sea 
Level. 
Hydrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
Temp, of 
soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature, 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
in 
sun. 
On 
grass 
Inches, 
de(r. 
deg. 
defir. 
de?. 
deg. 
dear. 
ded. 
In. 
Sinday . 
2 
30.208 
28.9 
20 6 
N.F. 
3G.0 
33.4 
23.2 
84 2 
24 3 
0.010 
Mondaiv. 
8 
fO.49.5 
24 9 
24.5 
E. 
35.6 
84 5 
J9Ji 
89 4 
19.6 
Tuesday .... 
4 
30.435 
2n.4 
19.2 
S.E. 
54.9 
40.8 
1.5.6 
61.5 
128 
— 
Wednesday.. 
.*5 
i9.-K.5 
39 9 
30.7 
N.W. 
£4.9 
48 4 
25.2 
73.9 
186 
_ 
Thursday.... 
2^.770 
47.9 
44.4 
N.W. 
34.9 
.54 0 
87 2 
7rt9 
3».5 
_ 
Friday . 
7 
29 79') 
47 2 
44.8 
^\^ 
86 9 
.52 
4‘.l 
82 2 
84 4 
0 046 
Saturday .... 
8 
29.675 
45.8 
446 
S. 
38.3 
62.0 
41.4 
78 0 
881 
0.110 
30.024 
3d.4 
31.1 
j 85,9 
4M 
S9.4 
7i.3 
25.5 
0.166 
REMARKS. 
2ad.—with cold N.E. wind and occa'iocal slight snow showers : snow about 
1 inch deep at 9 A M.; ground white all day. 
3rd.—Bright and cold, ground white all day. 
•Jtb,—Cold with smoke fog all morning, bright afternoon, ground still white in the 
shade. 
5th.—B ight and mild, snow melting rapidly. 
6th.—Generally overcast but occasional sunshine,bright night. 
7th,—Fine with occasional sunshine in the morning, bright afternoDr, 
8th.—Wet nntil about 11 A.M. then generally fine, but heavy s lowers at 1.45 and 5.30. 
Very cold at the beginning of the week, the minimum on the 4t'i beinjf the lowest 
recorded in March during thirty years. Temperature of the we .k, as a whole, about 
3'^ b.’low the averageG, J, 
