542 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  6, 189^. 
we  give  in  sufficient  detail  the  method  of  a  successful  heavy-land 
farmer. 
This  plan  was  to  clean  the  land  and  get  a  fine  seed  bed  by 
means  of  a  steam  cultivator  in  spring  and  early  summer,  so  as 
to  have  it  ready  for  sowing  in  July,  using  5  cwt.  of  chemical 
manure  per  acre  with  the  seed  sowing  in  order  to  insure 
vigorous  growth,  and  to  have  the  young  pasture  well  established 
before  winter.  But  there  is  always  much  uncertainty  about 
heavy  land,  and  if  it  could  not  be  got  ready  before  August  the 
sowing  was  not  done  till  the  following  spring  on  a  stale  furrow, 
over  which  heavy  harrows  would  first  of  all  be  passed  a  few 
times.  In  either  case  the  sowing  is  done  without  a  corn  crop, 
the  aim  being  vigorous  pasture  growth  from  the  first.  The  seeds 
consist  of  6  pecks  of  Cocksfoot,  2  pecks  Perennial  Rye  Grass, 
6  lbs.  Cow’s  Grass,  and  2  lbs.  Dutch  Clover. 
Preference  is  given  to  the  July  sowing,  and  to  folding  lambs 
on  the  seeds  in  September,  as  much  space  being  given  twice  a 
day  as  they  can  eat  level,  and  the  folds  moved  forward  every 
second  day,  the  lambs  being  taken  off  altogether  in  wet  weather. 
Trough  food  is  given  in  the  folds — lamb  food,  or  crushed  Oats, 
or  Waterloo  feeding  cake.  Next  spring  the  seeds  come  in 
for  folding  with  the  ewes  and  lambs,  and  so  it  goes  on 
through  the^second  and  third  year,  judicious  sheep  folding 
and  nothing  else,  feeding  the  sheep  well  in  the  folds,  and  by 
the  end  of  the  third  year  the  pasture  is  well  knit  and 
established,  the  only  special  subsequent  care  in  grazing 
being  to  avoid  stocking  in  winter  for  several  years.  By  folding 
persistently  the  young  pasture  is  evenly  grazed  and  thoroughly 
manured.  Such  treatment  comes  under  Mr.  Pringle’s  category 
of  “  coaxing  and  humouring,”  it  points  both  to  economy  and 
profit,  no  outlay  for  manure  being  required  after  the  seed  is 
sown  ;  the  sheep  folding  certainly  involves  some  extra  labour, 
the  cost  of  which  they  well  cover. 
Mr.  C.  Randell  of  Chadbury,  Evesham,  whose  practice  we 
have  thus  described,  said  in  reference  to  it,  “  All  this  requires 
attention,  and  involves  cost ;  but  let  no  one  suppose  that  a  turf 
of  any  value  can  be  obtained  on  clay  land  without  considerable 
cost.  I  know  that  what  will  more  frequently  happen  is  that 
seeds  will  be  sown  with  a  corn  crop  without  manure,  and  that 
they  will  be  grazed  by  sheep  with  other  stock  in  the  ordinary 
way,  with  this  result — they  will  carry  a  moderate  amount  of 
stock  the  first  year,  very  much  less  the  second,  still  less  the 
third ;  by  that  time  the  sown  Grasses  will  have  died  out,  and 
for  several  years  the  pastures  will  be  all  but  worthless,  and 
nothing  gained  but  getting  rid  of  the  expense  of  cultivation. 
Manuring  may  strengthen  the  natural  grasses,  and  after  a  time 
enable  the  land  to  carry  store  stock,  but  for  the  sort  of  land  in 
question  I  think  my  treatment  will  be  found  eventually  the  most 
satisfactory.” 
It  may  be  claimed  for  his  practice  that  it  is  really  pasture 
cultivation,  a  sensible  and  necessary  care  of  the  “  seeds  ”  from 
the  first,  the  making  of  success  a  certainty,  the  building  up  of  a 
sound,  fiourishing  pasture  by  the  exercise  of  infinite  care, 
leaving  nothing  to  chance,  avoiding  the  common  destruction  of 
much  of  the  young  plant  from  overfeeding.  Well  is  it  to  notice 
that  all  this  could  only  be  done  by  systematic  folding,  by  close 
observation,  by  avoiding  any  possibility  of  poaching  the  young 
pasture  in  the  withdrawal  of  the  flock  in  wet  weather,  and  in  the 
exercise  of  much  care  about  winter  grazing.  So  managed 
permanent  pasture  on  heavy  land  answers,  and  when  corn 
becomes  sufficiently  profitable  to  be  worth  growing  again  the 
necessary  land  can  always  be  broken  up  for  it. 
(To  be  continued.) 
WOBK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
The  folding  yard  has  been  placed  in  good  order  for  the  lambing  so  as 
to  be  available  for  ewes  at  any  time  now  should  the  weather  become 
very  cold  and  stormy.  Such  shelter  available  at  any  time  is  indeed  a 
great  boon,  and  in  case  of  heavy  snow  storms  the  flock  is  quietly  driven 
in,  an  ample  provision  of  dry  food  being  ready  for  the  sheep  in  trough 
and  rack.  Upon  the  wise  far-reaching  principle  that  prevention  is 
better  than  cure,  it  is  well  to  turn  such  or  any  means  of  shelter  to  the 
best  account  now  that  the  ewes  are  heavy  with  lamb. 
If  there  has  been  the  due  exercise  of  care  in  withdrawing  all  doubtful 
ewes  from  the  flock  losses  should  be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  On  the 
home  farm  we  have  the  advantage  of  shelter  from  belts  of  trees  with 
dense  undergrowth,  so  that  there,  recourse  would  not  be  had  to  the 
lambing  yard  before  the  lambing,  unless  the  weather  becomes  excep¬ 
tionally  severe.  Whatever  artificial  provision  of  shelter  for  the  flock  is 
made  must  be  according  to  its  size  and  special  requirements,  only  take 
care  that  the  accommodation  is  ample,  and  there  is  plenty  of  food  stored 
close  by  fold  or  yard  for  immediate  use  when  required. 
We  avoid  risk  of  disturbance  by  stray  dogs  at  night  now  by  having 
the  ewes  in  a  paddock  with  a  dog-proof  enclosure.  Abortion  is  caused 
by  the  driving  of  such  dogs,  exposure  and  strain  in  muddy  folds,  by  the 
consumption  of  cold  watery  roots,  all  which  must  be  avoided.  Sound 
food,  shelter,  kindly  gentle  care  tell  always,  but  now  especially.  The 
shepherd  should  also  be  on  the  alert  for  cast  sheep,  which  so  frequently 
occurs  among  pregnant  ewes  ;  they  roll  over  upon  their  backs  and  lie 
there  helpless,  struggling  vainly  to  get  up,  and  if  not  helped  in  time  they 
die. 
Proud  was  our  home  farm  bailiff  of  the  hoggets  when  we  last 
looked  them  over  with  him.  All  were  well,  not  a  kneeler  among  them, 
as  he  said,  they  were  “  doing ’’—i.e.,  making  satisfactory  progress,  and 
the  half-pint  of  crushed  oats  per  diem  per  head  was  no  mean  factor  to  this 
end.  The  knowledge  that  when  they  are  sold  there  will  be  no  ^  per 
contra  from  cake  bills  or  other  purchased  food  added  to  our  satisfaction. 
The  Oats  are  home  grown,  and  are  being  used  as  well  for  the  dairy  cows, 
and  for  the  score  or  so  of  bullocks  being  fattened  for  Christmas,  also  for 
the  bacon  hogs,  as  ground  Oats  on  which  they  do  so  well. 
MILK  AND  BUTTER  TASTING  STRONG. 
This  is  a  catastrophe  which  my  dairy  has  always  prided 
itself  on  avoiding ;  my  wife  is  very  particular  in  the  matter, 
and,  indeed,  I  am  not  sure  that  she  does  not  make  a  better 
average  in  prizes  for  butter  and  cream  cheese  than  I  do  for 
Roses.  We  never  use  any  Swedes  or  white  Turnips  for  feeding, 
but  give  Carrots  from  October  to  January,  and  Mangold  from 
the  new  year  till  there  is  sufficient  grass.  The  Carrots  or 
Mangold  are  cut  up  and  mixed  with  crushed  Oats  and  hay  cut 
into  chaff.  We  have  always  had  a  high  opinion  of  Carrots  for 
producing  first-class  butter,  and  were  much  surprised  lately  to 
find  the  milk  tasting  decidedly  strong,  like  that  from  Turnip-fed 
cows.  All  investigation  proved  useless  till  the  secret  was 
discovered  a  few  days  ago,  and  as  it  may  be  a  useful  item  of 
information  I  have  much  pleasure  in  making  it  known. 
The  Carrots  were  part  of  a  fine  large  crop,  but  a  certain 
proportion  of  them  had  stood  out  of  the  ground  a  little,  some  to 
the  extent  of  2  or  3  inches  or  more,  and  so  far  the  roots  had 
turned  green,  as  Potatoes  will  if  uncovered  with  soil.  It 
occurred  to  me  that  these  parts  of  the  Carrots  might,  like 
Potatoes,  be  a  good  deal  changed  in  flavour,  and  an  experiment 
in  tasting  showed  that  this  was  so,  and  that  the  green  parts 
were  very  rank.  Upon  discarding  these  discoloured  butt  ends, 
and  using  only  the  yellow  portions,  our  milk  and  butter  at  once 
returned  to  their  usual  sweetness.  The  hot  dry  season  may 
have  had  something  to  do  with  it,  and  I  do  not  at  all  suppose 
that  the  discovery  is  a  new  one,  but  I  have  no  doubt  there  are  a 
good  many  amateur  cow-keepers  who  are  not  aware  of  it. 
— W.  R.  Raillem. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden  Squars,  London. 
Lat.51°  32' 40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date, 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
Bain, 
1895, 
November. 
1  Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
1  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. 
Inchs. 
Sunday  . .  24 
30-273 
38-8 
34-6 
N.E. 
44-5 
43-6 
36-1 
50-2 
30-8 
— 
Monday  . .  25 
30-236 
42-1 
39-9 
N.E. 
43-8 
45-2 
37-7 
61-7 
35  2 
— 
Tuesday  . .  26 
30-169 
38-3 
36-1 
E. 
43-8 
42-1 
38-1 
46-9 
37-7 
— 
Wednesday  27 
30-006 
42-0 
41-2 
N.E. 
42-1 
47-1 
32-3 
48-0 
28-0 
0-041 
Thursday . .  28 
29-871 
41-2 
41-2 
N.E. 
42-9 
61-8 
40-9 
52-0 
34-1 
0-583 
Friday  . .  29 
29-703 
50-8 
50-0 
B. 
41-9 
52-7 
41-2 
53-3 
41-1 
6-226 
Saturday  . .  30 
29-639 
50-9 
49-8 
W. 
46-1 
51-6 
50-2 
52-6 
48-7 
— 
29-985 
43-4 
41-8 
440 
47-7 
39-5 
52-1 
36-5 
0-850 
REMARKS. 
24th. — High  wind  all  day  ;  generally  cloudy,  but  some  sunshine  in  morning. 
25th. — Fine  with  occasional  sunshine. 
26th. — Fair  with  a  little  sunshine  about  noon. 
27th. — Foggy  all  day,  with  frequent  spots  of  rain  and  slight  showers. 
28th. — Dull  and  showery  early  ;  continuous  heavy  rain  from  11.30  a.m.  to  7.30  P.M. 
29th.— Dull  and  drizzly  morning,  almost  incessant  rain  from  0.30  P.M.  to  9  P.M. 
30th.— Dull  and  damp  morning ;  fair  afternoon  ;  clear  night. 
A  typical  November  week,  with  temperature  very  near  the  average. — G.  J.  SYMONS 
