66 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER * 
January  21,  189?. 
is  only  by  using  ths  best  implements  at  our  disposal  that  we  can 
effectually  cope  with  her  in  her  many  moods. 
There  are  some  who  would  say  “  Good  bye  ”  to  the  plough.  We 
have  got  rid  of  many  impjements  used  by  our  forefathers.  To  the 
modern  child  flail,  sickle,  and  scythe  are  unknown  tools  met 
with  only  in  the  verse  of  the  poet,  but  we  think  he  would  be  a 
brave  man  who  dare  relegate  the  plough  to  the  land  of  dreams 
alone.  That  there  is  a  need  for  some  reformation  in  the  use  of 
this  implement  is  apparent.  The  profits  of  farming  are  so  small 
that  all  possible  economy  must  be  exercised  in  every  department. 
The  labour  bill  has  to  be  curtailed,  and  this  must  be  done  very 
judiciously,  or  it  will  prove  but  short-sighted  policy,  and  in  face  of 
this  shorter  hours  and  larger  wages  are  being  demanded. 
Horse  keep  is  expensive,  and  horses  cannot  be  kept  for  show  ; 
indeed  it  is  questionable  as  to  whether  we  employ  the  right  kind 
of  horse.  Thoroughbred  Shires,  with  their  handsome  proportions 
and  slow  and  stately  walk,  are  very  ornamental,  but  is  it  not 
possible  that  their  walk  may  be  too  slow,  and  the  keeping  of  them 
in  prime  condition  too  expensive  ? 
Granted  that  at  five  or  six  years  old  there  is  a  ready  sale  for 
them  for  town  purposes,  would  not  a  lighter  horse  do  twice  the 
work  and  be  equally  saleable  ?  Of  course  this  does  not  apply  to 
those  farmers  who  grow  Shires  as  part  of  their  rent  makers — we 
mean  those  men  whose  reputation  is  made  by  the  pure  blood  and 
grand  constitution  of  their  horses.  We  are  speaking  of  the  farmer 
who  needs  horses  for  everyday  work,  and  plenty  of  it ;  who  needs 
horses  that  can  get  over  the  ground  quickly,  nnd  will  not  educate 
the  men  to  msjestic  slowness  of  movement.  Nothing  spoils  a  good 
man  more  than  a  slow  moving  team,  and  how  to  get  the  work  done 
quickly  and  thoroughly  is  the  problem  before  us. 
Men  cried,  “  Eureka  !  ”  when  the  first  of  the  large  family  of 
cultivators  was  introduced.  Now  was  to  be  the  golden  age  of 
agriculture  ;  now  no  more  foal  land  ;  now  no  more  sweating 
horses  ;  bat,  alas  !  the  cultivator,  though  good  in  its  way,  did  not 
fulfil  the  hones  of  its  advocates.  Back  they  went  to  the  old  for¬ 
saken  plough.  True,  the  plough  was  undergoing  many  modifications 
but  still  in  principle  it  is  the  same.  We  must  plough  ;  how  are  we 
to  do  it  in  the  best  way  and  at  the  same  time  in  the  cheapest  ? 
To  begin  with,  we  find  ourselves  confronted  with  two  entirely 
different  styles  of  ploughing.  There  is  the  deep  winter  ploughing, 
and  the  lighter  work  done  in  the  spring,  summer  and  autumn  ;  and 
the  celerity  of  the  spring  ploughing  is  often  the  greatest  factor 
that  goes  to  make  the  good  crop.  Now,  as  the  two  kinds  of  plough¬ 
ing  differ  so  materially — i.e.,  in  depth — it  is  fair  to  ask,  Do  the 
ploughs  differ  in  construction  as  much  as  they  might,  or  do  they 
differ  at  all  ? 
The  question  of  deep  ploughing  has  long  been  before  the  public. 
On  strong  land  it  has  been  considered  a  necessity.  Certainly  it  is 
the  most  expensive  process  in  all  the  routine  of  farming.  Given 
that  it  is  necessary  to  deeply  plough  strong  land,  does  it  pay  ?  It 
might  when  Wheat  was  60s.  per  quarter ;  but  now,  at  present  prices 
and  all  things  considered,  would  it  not  be  better  laid  down  to  grass 
or  planted  ? 
Then  as  to  medium  land  for  Potato  cultivation  and  ley  land 
cleaning,  it  must  be  done  to  a  certain  extent ;  but  we  have  many 
authorities  on  our  side  who  agree  that  the  crops  are  quite  as  good, 
if  not  better,  with  the  shallower  ploughing.  Weeds  are  often 
buried  only  to  be  brought  up  again  at  great  expense,  and  soil 
exposed  that  would  have  been  better  where  it  was — deep 
down. 
An  ordinary  single-furrow  plough  and  a  pair  of  horses  will  turn 
over  1^  acre  per  day  ;  a  lighter  three-furrow  plough  with  three 
quick-stepping  horses  ought  and  will  plough  B  acres  per  day,  and 
make  a  good  job  of  it.  The  slowness  of  the  team  may  be  some¬ 
times  only  the  reflection  of  the  slowness  of  the  man  ;  in  fact,  we 
once  had  a  man  whose  sole  object  in  life  seemed  to  be  to  educate 
his  horses  to  go  as  slowly  as  compatible  with  movement  at  all. 
More  power  is  got  from  horses  by  yoking  them  three  abreast, 
rather  than  in  single  file.  Single  file  we.  never  see  in  the  north, 
and  we  fancy  we  do  know  how  to  economise  labour.  We  do 
away  with  the  boy,  say  at  lOd.  per  day  (further  north  it  is  Is.), 
who  leads  the  first  horse. 
For  those  who  prefer  the  single  furrow,  there  is  no  better 
plough  than  the  chilled  plough ;  it  is  lighter  in  draught  and 
more  efficacious  in  work  than  the  old  English  pattern,  and  that  it 
is  a  very  useful  implement  is  fully  proved  by  the  enormous 
numbers  now  in  use.  One  great  advantage  of  the  chilled  plough 
is  that  it  leaves  the  land  very  light,  so  that  one  harrowing  is 
generally  safficient  before  drilling,  and  what  this  means  is  fully 
comprehended  by  the  farmer,  who  in  spring  has  a  large  acreage 
to  sow  and  very  little  time  to  do  it  in.  , 
Far  be  it  for  us  to  urge  a  great  multiplicity  of  implements  ■ 
on  a  farm,  but  it  must  be  conceded  that,  to  speak  roughly,  fine 
and  coarse  work  cannot  be  done  effectually  by  one  and  the  same 
tool. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Rain  and  fog  are  the  principal  features  of  the  weather,  and  the  land 
is  as  wet  as  ever.  We  are  ploughing  lea  land  for  Oats,  and  though 
it  is  in  a  high  and  dry  situation,  and  anything  but  of  a  strong  nature, 
it  turns  up  very  wet  and  greasy.  The  plain  fact  is  that  the  rain  has 
no  time  to  get  away  before  more  comes.  The  land  ploughs  well  enough, 
bnt  unless  we  have  some  sharp  frosts  the  seed  bed  will  be  a  stiff  one. 
We  are  hoping  for  a  fine  February.  The  seasons  are  now  turned  so 
topsy-turvy  that  February  fill-dyke  may  belie  its  name,  and  give  us  the 
dry  spell  we  so  badly  need.  It  is  time  to  be  crossing  fallows,  but  it  is  of 
no  use  beginning  until  drier  conditions  prevail. 
Manure  is  all  led,  so  we  have  a  chance  to  clear  away  refuse  heaps 
and  road  scrapings.  The  latter  are  very  beneficial  to  grass,  and  do  the 
most  good  on  places  where  the  herbage  is  coarse,  so  that  stock  eat  it 
badly. 
We  hear  of  serious  losses  amongst  horses  lying  out,  and  they  should 
be  closely  watched,  so  that  if  they  are  going  wrong  it  may  be  detected 
in  time.  We  know  a  farmer  who  had  twenty-five  young  horses  lying 
out,  of  which  he  has  already  lost  six,  and  he  fears  more  may  die.  The 
loss  is  attributed  to  wet  lair,  combined  with  insufficient  food.  Horses 
have  been  successfully  wintered  on  the  same  land  before,  but  it  was  not 
so  wet,  and  the  grass  had  more  nature  in  it.  We  have  heard  of  several 
other  cases,  and  no  doubt  the  season  is  chiefly  to  blame. 
Turnips  seem  to  be  a  little  more  plentiful,  at  least  in  this  district, 
though  we  met  a  farmer  the  other  day  who  already  has  his  ewes  on 
Mangolds,  and  he  has  more  than  1000  of  them.  Fat  ewes  are 
coming  to  market  very  freely,  and  there  are  several  sellers  of  Hoggs, 
so  roots  are  not  too  plentiful  with  them. 
Wheat  grows  well,  and  we  have  almost  finished  tenting  ;  larks  have 
pulled  some  up,  but  there  is  plenty  left. 
The  young  Clover  is  encouraged  by  the  mildness  of  the  season  to  ■ 
commence  growth,  a  fact  quickly  noted  by  the  woodpigeons  which 
are  hovering  about  in  large  flocks.  They  will  receive  attention  from 
the  breechloader  as  usual.  Only  those  who  have  seen  it  can  realise 
the  amount  of  damage  these  birds  can  effect. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat. 51°  W 40"  ». ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
Rain. 
1897. 
January. 
a>  ► 
O  CM 
>4  CO  c3 
CO  as  OQ 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp. 
Of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday  ..  10 
29617 
42-8 
42-8 
Calm, 
40-0 
47-0 
35  4 
61-2 
35-2 
0-064 
Monday  ..  11 
29-722 
38-3 
38-2 
N. 
40-8 
40-3 
37-2 
41-0 
87-2 
— 
Tuesday  ..  12 
[29-748 
40-1 
392 
N. 
40-1 
41-2 
37-6 
42-9 
37-1 
— 
Wednesday  13 
29-847 
37-2 
36-9 
N.E, 
40-0 
40-2 
36-8 
45-0 
36-9 
0-010 
Thursday..  14 
30-169 
37-9 
3i>-9 
N. 
39-7 
41-0 
36-7 
60-1 
31-9 
— 
Friday  .,  15 
30-182 
33-7 
33-2 
N. 
38-3 
400 
32-3 
66-2 
29-0 
Saturday  ..  16 
29-998 
33-2 
31  4 
N. 
37-7 
34-4 
2s-9 
37-3 
24  9 
0-113 
29-890 
37-6 
30-8 
39-5 
40-6 
351 
46-2 
330 
0-187 
REMARKS. 
Kth.— Dull  and  overcast,  rain  at  3  P.M.,  and  slight  fog  in  evening, 
llth. — Dark,  du'l,  and  damp  air  all  day. 
12th.—  Dark  and  dull,  and  overcast  all  day. 
18th.— Overcast  morning,  fair  about  noon,  then  no  sun  rest  of  day. 
14th.— Overcast  early  and  at  9  a.M.  ;  fair  morning;  bright  sun  at  1.80 ;  overcast  at 
3  p.m.,  but  fair  after;  rain  in  evening,  about  7  p.M.  ;  fine  night. 
15th.— Fair  early  and  at  9  A.M. ;  bright  sun  at  10.45,  and  bright  rest  of  day  ;  fine  night. 
16th.— Fair  early  and  at  9  a.m  ,  and  all  the  morning  ;  snow  at  6.15  to  1.30  AM.  (17th). 
Another  average  week,  with  little  sun.— G.  J.  SIMONS. 
r 
