642 
June  17,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Had  this  been  written  thirty  years  ago  we  should  have  spoken 
of  land  reclaimed  from  common  and  moor  and  brought  into  culti¬ 
vation.  Now  as  a  set-off  we  sorrowfully  turn  to  parish  after 
parish  of  derelict  land,  hanging  like  a  dead  weight  on  the  neck  of 
the  poor  owner.  There  ui6d  to  be  the  joy  of  harvest,  a  bountiful 
harvest,  a  blessing  to  all.  Now  we  gather  in  our  limited  crops 
with  little  pleasure,  knowing  that  our  best  efforts  are  swamped  by 
the  myriad  bushels  poured  into  our  seaports  by  the  intelligent 
foreigner,  who  has  found  out  how  to  produce  the  “  staff  of  life  ” 
more  cheaply  than  we. 
There  is  one  thing  to  be  said  in  favour  of  this  invasion.  We 
remember  as  children,  after  a  wet  harvest,  the  dark,  dank  bread  we 
had  to  eat.  Now  this  is  all  changed.  The  cottager  has  white 
bread  on  his  table  fit  for  a  palace,  and  at  a  much  lower  cost  than 
the  bread  of  the  past.  John  Bull  likes  to  brag  a  bit,  and  when 
he  can  honestly  do  so  let  him  have  his  fling.  We  can  grow 
the  best  pedigree  animals  the  world  ever  saw.  We  breed  with 
care,  with  skill,  and  we  spare  no  money.  Our  temperate  climate 
and  green  meadows  have  much  to  aniwer  for  ;  but  where  would 
they  have  been  without  our  enterprising  race  of  tenant  farmers, 
the  backbone  of  the  stock  breeders  ?  We  do  not  think  lightly  of 
the  help  rendered  by  the  upper  classes,  but  we  feel  that  the  steady 
pluck  and  personal  superintendence  of  the  intelligent  farmer  has 
been  the  source  of  all  our  success  as  stock  raisers.  We  raise  for 
all  the  world. 
Some  classes  have  gone  down  ;  take  coach  horses,  for  instance. 
The  roads  are  better  now  ;  a  lighter  class  of  horse  is  needed,  some¬ 
thing  smarter,  and  the  coach  horse  proper  is  a  thing  of  the  past. 
Take,  too,  the  modern  hunter  ;  he  is  quite  of  a  different  type  from 
the  short-tailed,  stiff  animal  portrayed  in  old  pictures.  Where  is 
the  Durham  ox  ?  Merged  in  the  magnificent  Shorthorn. 
We  breed  now  for  early  maturity  ;  we  breed  to  have  no  coarse 
cuts  and  no  fat  greasy  mutton.  A  departure  of  modern  days  has 
been  the  Shire  horse.  Draught  horses  there  were  in  plenty,  and 
some  of  them  of  an  excellent  type,  but  it  has  been  the  work  of  the  i 
last  twenty  years  to  develop  and  classify  in  stud  books  the  sires  and 
dams  whose  pedigrees  are  as  long  and  whose  value  is  almost  as 
great  as  Derby  winners.  The  last  ten  years  has  seen  a  most 
marvellous  development  in-this  one  branch  of  agricultural  industry. 
The  modern  hackney,  too,  is  an  innovation — pedigree  and  action 
first  and  last,  and  a  fancy  price  to  boot. 
Then  what  about  all  these  shows  at  “  Merrie  Islington  ” — Shire 
Horse,  Hackney,  Huriters,  Improvement,  Dairy  Show,  and  Fat 
Stock  ?  The  Dairy  Show  is,  if  we  may  use  the  terra,  a  grand 
invention,  and  has  given  a  marvellous  impetus  to  milk  producers, 
dairy  workers,  and  dairy  appliance  makers.  Reflections  have  been 
cast  upon  our  dairy  work  :  we  are  told  how  vastly  superior  is  the 
foreigner,  and  yet  no  foreign  nation  can  get  up  such  a  show  as  we 
have  annually  in  October.  We  cannot  touch  in  this  paper  on  the 
noble  work  done  by  the  “  Royal,”  nor  can  we  refer  to  those  talented 
men  who  make  that  society  what  it  is  by  their  strenuous,  unceasing 
efforts. 
There  has  been  a  tremendous  advance  in  science  as  applied  to 
agriculture,  but  it  is  folly  for  us  to  think  that  science  can  possibly 
take  the  place  of  the  patient,  practical  observation  of  a  lifetime. 
Farming  cannot  be  learned  from  a  book,  but  the  book  read  by  the 
light  of  experience  increases  the  knowledge  twofold. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
We  have  had  a  few  fine  days  with  great  heat,  then  a  change  to 
(Wednesday)  wet  and  cold.  Swedes  are  about  all  in,  only  a  few  rows 
remaining  to  be  drilled  ;  they  have  gone  in  well,  except  in  one  or  two 
strong  places,  where  there  is  always  more  or  less  difficulty. 
The  early  sown  Mangolds  are  a  full  strong  plant,  and  are  looking 
grand  and  nearly  ready  tor  striking  out ;  the  later  sown  did  not  all  come 
from  the  drilling,  the  soil  in  places  being  too  dry  ;  they  are  all  coming 
now,  but  will  be  late.  They  may  soon  make  up  lost  ground  if  the  season 
be  a  hot  one  ;  in  the  meantime,  the  others  have  got  a  good  start,  showing 
the  value  of  early  seeding — the  early  bird  again. 
All  kinds  of  vegetation  have  made  enormous  progress  since  our  last. 
Wheat  will  soon  be  shooting  ;  Barley  and  Oats  are  more  backward,  but 
doing  well,  especially  the  latter.  Potatoes  are  coming  to  the  hoe  too 
fast  to  be  attended  to  as  soon  as  they  should  be.  Indeed,  now  the  corn 
is  looked  over  and  Swedes  are  sown  Potato  weeding  and  earthing  are 
the  operations  most  pressing  on  the  attention.  Mangolds  and  Swedes 
will  require  hoeing  very  shortly,  so  there  is  no  time  to  lose. 
This  rain  and  cooler  weather  will  again  postpone  the  cutting  of  Clover 
for  hay.  As  long  as  the  lower  leaves  are  not  dying  and  dropping  off 
the  crop  must  be  gaining  in  weight.  It  is  impossible  to  get  every  flower 
into  bloom  without  losing  leaf,  but  Clover  should  be  in  full  bloom  before 
cutting.  Cowgrass  requires  cutting  earlier  than  Red  Clover,  as  it  is 
very  coarse  and  strawy  if  allowed  to  stand  too  long. 
The  cool  wet  weather  may  cause  trouble  amongst  the  ewes  lying  on 
the  cold  wet  ground,  being  liable  to  cause  downfall  in  the  udder.  This 
complaint  requires  early  attention,  being  very  dangerous  if  neglected. 
The  animal  should  be  put  in  a  dry  pen  or  shed,  fed  on  a  little  weak 
gruel  and  hay,  first  having  a  drench  of  2  oz3.  of  Epsom  salts  and  1  oz. 
of  ginger  given  in  gruel.  The  udder  should  be  gently  rubbed  with 
goose  grease  on  the  hard  portions.  The  drench  may  be  repeated  as  the 
effect  appears  to  have  worn  off,  say  the  second  or  third  day.  A  dry 
layer  is  very  essential,  and  no  access  to  water. 
CHICKENS  FROM  EGGS  [EIGHTEEN  MONTHS  OLD. 
It  may  interest  many  of  your  agricultural  and  suburban  readers  to 
know  that  a  novel  method  has  been  discovered  for  preserving  eggs 
perfectly  fresh  for  twelve  months  or  more,  not  only  for  eating,  but  for 
hatching  purposes.  It  may  appear  incredible  to  many  poultry  keepers 
that  the  germ  of  an  egg  cm  be  kept  alive  for  so  lbng  a  period,  for  under 
ordinary  circumstances  it  is  well  known  that  eggs  become  more  or  less 
stale  for  eating,  and  will  seldom  hatch  chicken*  if  more  than  three 
weeks  old. 
Tne  new  method  is  as  follows: — Wrap  each  egg  the  day  it  is  laid  in 
a  small  square  of  newspaper,  and  pack  these  eggs  side  by  side  in  a  box, 
layer  upon  layer  until  it  is  full.  After  the  lid  is  fastened  down  it  mast 
firstly  be  stored  in  a  dry  cool  place,  and  secondly,  be  turned  upside  down 
at  least  three  or  four  times  a  week.  This  simple  process  of  turning  will 
preserve  eggs  perfectly  fresh  for  twelve  or  even  eighteen  months. 
A  neighbour  of  mine  has  for  several  years  hatched  out  a  lot  of 
chickens  from  eggs  so  stored  and  turned  twelve,  fifteen,  and  some 
eighteen  months  after  being  placed  in  the  box.  As  1000  eggs  can  be 
stored  in  a  single  box,  and  turned  in  a  few  seconds,  it  is  clearly  to  the 
advantage  of  housekeepers  to  “box”  eggs  in  the  spring  when  they  are 
eighteen  for  Is.,  and  consume  them  at  Christmas  when  they  are  six  or 
eight  for  Is. — Kinard  Baghot  De-la-Bere,  Burbage  Hall, 
Leicester  shire . 
[The  method  which  our  correspondent  describes  is  subdivided  into 
(1)  wrapping  in  newspaper,  and  (2)  turning  frequently.  Enveloping 
eggs  in  newspaper  is  not  by  any  means  a  new  method  of  preservation. 
We  have  before  heard  of  and  adopted  this  plan  in  preserving  eggs  for 
eating  purposes.  The  newspaper,  in  that  it  excludes  the  passage  of  air 
thfough  the  porous  shell,  retards  decomposition  and  destruction  of  the 
germ.  Similarly  ice  is  prevented  from  melting  rapidly  in  hot  weather 
by  being  well  wrapped  in  newspapers.  Another  proof  of  the  non-con¬ 
duction  of  heat  by  paper  is  the  fact  that  if  a  newspaper  be  sandwiched 
between  two  blankets  on  a  cold  night  radiation  of  heat  will  be  much 
retarded,  and  the  sleeper  kept  much  warmer.  Such  methods  for  the 
preservation  of  eggs  as  greasing  with  butter  or  immersing  in  a  solution 
of  lime  illustrate  the  same  principle  of  excluding  air,  but  unfortunately 
eggs  thus  preserved  are  of  no  use  for  hatching  purposes,  since  the  chicks 
in  order  to  hatch  alive  must  have  a  supply  of  oxygen,  which  is  impos¬ 
sible  if  the  pores  of  the  shell  are  choked  with  grease  or  lime.  We 
think,  however,  that  our  correspondent  attaches  undue  importance  to 
constant  turning,  for  movement  is  likely  to  damage  the  vitality  of  the 
germinal  spot,  and  believe  that  if  the  turning  of  the  eggs  were  omitted 
quite  a*  good,  if  not  better,  results  would  ensue,  provided  the  eggs  were 
carefully  wrapped  in'  paper  as  soon  as  possible  after  being  laid.] 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS 
CJamden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  61°  32' 40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  H  0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
a 
’3 
1897. 
June. 
;  Barometer 
1  at  32°,  and 
|  Sea  Level. 
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 
Inehn 
Sunday  ...  6 
,30-097 
67-2- 
62-9 
N.E. 
60-1 
75-0 
54-5 
92-0 
47-2 
0012 
Monday  ....  7 
|30-085 
62-9 
59-3 
N. 
60-2 
66-0 
60-0 
91-6 
55-7 
— 
Tuesday  ....  8 
30-057 
52-6 
49-2 
E. 
59-0 
55-1 
50-7 
67-3 
49-6 
0-681 
Wednesday  9 
29-706 
50-6 
501 
N. 
56-4 
53*1 
48-9 
73-9 
49-5 
0-059 
Thursday  ..  10 
!  30-116 
55-5 
5Z-7 
N. 
54-9 
66’*$ 
43-3 
112-4 
37-2 
— 
Friday  ....  11 
30  329 
66-4 
59-3 
«W. 
55-8 
77-5 
46-2 
132-6 
41-3 
— 
Saturday  . .  12 
[30-327 
71-7 
62-6 
W. 
58-4 
8L-4 
51-1 
122-2 
48-1 
— 
i  30-102 
1 
61-0 
56-4 
57  8 
68-3 
50-7 
98-9 
46-9 
0-752 
6th.— Sunny  morning,  but  hazy  and  close;  slight  showers  in  afternoon  and  evening, 
with  a  little  distant  thunder. 
7th. — Overcast  almost  throughout,  and  spots  of  rain  in  evening. 
eth. — Overcast  and  drizzly,  with  rain  from  11  A.M.  to  1  p.M.  and  after  11.39  P.M. 
9th.— Continuous  rain  Irom  0  A.M.  to  noon  ;  dull,  drizzly,  and  showery  after, 
li'th. — Overcast  at  times,  but  generally  fair  and  some  sunshine. 
11th. — Sunny  morning :  much  thin  cloud  in  afternoon, 
lsth. — Bright  and  warm  throughout. 
A  variable  week,  but  mean  temperature  near  the  average.— G.  J.  SYMONSp 
