590 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  19, 1895v 
DAIRY  FARMING. 
If  more  proof  were  wanted  of  the  absolute  necessity  for 
co-operation  by  British  farmers  in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
dairy  produce  it  is  always  forthcoming;  here  are  two  recent 
examples.  At  the  Stilton  Cheese  Fair  at  Melton  Mowbray  on 
December  5th  there  was  an  exceptionally  large  pitch  of  cheese, 
for  which  prices  ranged  from  9^d.  down  to  4d.  per  lb., 
the  higher  price  being  given  readily  by  the  factors  for  really 
good  mature  cheese,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  cheese  was 
inferior  and  unripe.  We  have  no  doubt  it  was  the  decided 
inferiority  that  caused  so  much  of  it  to  be  left  unsold.  It  was  a 
bitterly  cold,  stormy  day,  and  we  had  a  keen  apprehension  of  the 
misery  of  the  poor  souls  who,  after  standing  all  day  in  the  open 
market  place  over  their^pitch  of  cheese,  had  the  mortification  of 
carting  it  back  at  night  to  the  farm  unsold,  and  the  haunting 
thought  of  the  rent  audit  close  at  hand. 
These  are  the  tenant  farmers  who  always  have  some  arrears 
at  rent  day  ;  some  of  them  complain  of  hard  times,  all  of  them 
ask  for  a  reduction  of  rent.  Yery  slow  indeed  are  we  to  advise 
any  such  concession,  knowing  as  we  do  that  if  only  they  could 
produce  fine  cheese  they  would  obtain  a  highly  profitable  price 
for  it.  What  is  known  as  prime  Stilton  is  as  much  in  demand 
and  almost  as  profitable  as  it  ever  was.  Yery  seldom  is  it  that 
the  best  makers  send  any  cheese  to  a  fair,  factors  are  only  too 
glad  to  buy  it  in  the  cheese  room,  and  to  give  a  Id.  or  2d.  per  lb. 
more  for  it  than  the  highest  fair  quotations. 
Such  shilful  cheesemakers  are  unlikely  to  take  any  interest  in 
CO  operation,  but  they  are  few  and  far  between ;  it  is  for  the 
unskilful,  who  are  always  in  the  majority,  that  the  co  operative 
factory  proves  such  a  boon.  The  reason  is  self  evident ;  there 
is  no  risk,  no  po'sibility  of  failure  ;  a  sure  and  profitable  market 
for  milk  is  brought  so  near  to  them  that  there  is  no  carriage  to 
pay;  as  payment  is  made  on  quality  as  well  as  quantity  of 
milk,  and  they  also  share  in  the  dividends,  it  is  possible  for  their 
cows  to  become  30  per  cent,  more  profitable ;  there  is  an  end  of 
the  worry  and  anxiety  of  the  home  cheesemaking,  and  a  strong 
incentive  to  do  their  utmost  in  the  selection,  feeding,  and 
general  care  of  the  cows. 
This  reasoning  applies  with  even  greater  force  to  British 
butter  making.  What  sort  of  condition  is  the  butter  trade  of 
our  dairy  farmers  in  when  they  are  simply  ignored  in  London 
quotations  ?  Taking  the  latest  we  find  the  best  butter  from 
Irish  creameries  at  106s,,  Cork  butter  109s.,  Danish  110s,, 
Australian  108s.,  French  114s.,  and  even  Italian,  Russian,  and 
Finnish  butter  has  each  its  respective  quotation ;  but  there  is 
no  mention  whatever  of  English  butter,  nor  will  there  be  till  it 
can  be  had  of  uniform  excellence  in  full  unbroken  supply.  This 
will  not  be  while  the  farmhouse  butter  basket  continues  to  be 
taken  to  the  weekly  market ;  factories  are  the  only  possible 
means  by  which  a  trade  can  be  built  up  ;  and  even  with  factories 
established  on  correct  lines  it  will  now  be  no  easy  matter. 
Importers  have  got  so  strong  a  grip  on  our  trade  that  they  are 
likely  to  hold  their  own.  Witness  the  competition  now  going 
on  in  our  markets  between  Australia  and  Denmark.  The 
attempt  of  Australian  shippers  to  wrest  the  butter  trade  here 
from  Denmark  has  been  met  in  the  most  gallant  manner  by  the 
Danes,  who  have  responded  by  increasing  their  output,  though 
obliged  to  accept  a  lower  price  for  it. 
Still  the  struggle  goes  on,  the  butter  from  both  countries 
being  of  the  best,  the  most  remarkable  thing  in  connection  with 
this  contest  being  the  marvellous  growth  of  the  Australian 
trade.  To  get  a  clear  grasp  of  the  situation  here  are  com¬ 
parative  returns  for  eight  months  of  the  last  three  years  : — 
I  1893,  cwts.  649,779,  value  £3,568.301; 
Denmark  <  1894,  cwts.  762,774,  value  £4,027,374. 
(  1895,  cwts,  791,037,  value  £3,893,845. 
i'  1893,  cwts.  101,095,  value  £519,792. 
Australia  ^  1894,  cwts.  203,760,  value  £999  696. 
I,  1895,  cwts.  245,940,  value  £1,090.428. 
These  figures  are  worthy  of  careful  study,  showing,  as  they  do, 
how  our  market^  are  being  exploited  by  these  two  countries,  to 
say  nothing  of  others,  including  Sweden,  Germany,  Holland, 
France,  Canada,  the  United  States,  and  other  countries,  to 
whom  conjointly  has  gone  in  the  last  three  seasons  £27,197,162 
of  British  money  for  butter. 
The  Australian  method  of  a  Government  bounty  to  exporters 
has  now  been  adopted  by  Canada.  While  we  at  home  indulge 
in  sneers  at  such  grandmotherly  legislation,  colonial  govern¬ 
ments  are  doing  much  to  encourage  producers,  and  so  are 
British  farmers  We  practically  leave  this  splendid  market  to 
them ;  and  while  we  talk  of  our  dying  agriculture,  they  absorb 
the  money  which  would  not  only  keep  it  alive,  but  render  it 
fully  prosperous  ;  but  then  we  have  not  yet  learnt  how  to  lay 
our  land  down  to  pasture,  to  say  nothing  of  the  establishment 
of  deep-milking  herds  of  cows,  or  co-operative  factories. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Oat  and  Barley  stacks  are  now  being  thrashed,  and  a  barn  head  is 
being  filled  with  chaffed  straw  to  follow  that^  from  the  winter  Oat  straw, 
which  is  running  low.  Some  Pea  stacks  have  also  been  threshed,  and 
the  straw  carted  and  stacked,  in  part  by  the  lambing  yard  and  part  in 
the  paddock  in  which  the  ewe  flock  is  now  kept  at  night,  and  often  by 
day.  An  ample  supply  of  Oats  has  been  hibbled,  and  we  are  ready  for 
the  coming  winter,  of  which  we  are  having  indications  in  frosty  nights 
and  occasional  snow  storms. 
Be  cautious  about  threshing  Wheat  that  was  stacked  in  a  damp 
condition  ;  we  prefer  leaving  any  such  corn  till  we  have  had  plenty  of 
high  March  winds  among  the  stacks,  whether  the  Wheat  is  for  sale  or 
home  use.  The  object  of  the  home  farmer  in  growing  Wheat  at  all  now 
is  for  the  straw,  and  for  home-grown  flour  there  is  often  a  surplus  for 
sale,  but  of  late  years,  with  the  price  so  low,  we  have  just  ground  it  up 
and  used  it  with  other  corn  for  the  live  stock. 
We  have  strong  faith  in  a  mixed  dietary,  especially  during  the  winter, 
when  any  change  is  so  beneficial.  We  are  using  a  few  cattle  Cabbage 
for  the  dairy  cows,  but  only  sparingly,  the  basis  of  our  feeding  now 
being  the  best  meadow  hay.  We  like  to  have  the  option  of  giving  ewes 
some  Cabbage  in  the  month  before  lambing,  but  with  so  much  herbage 
on  pastures  we  have  just  had  some  troughs  put  out  on  the  pasture  for 
some  chaff  and  crushed  Oats,  which  they  clear  up  greedily. 
As  usual,  the  winter  Oat  straw  chaff,  under  slight  pressure  and  salt¬ 
ing  in  a  barn  head,  has  a  delicious  aroma  equal  to  that  of  well-made 
meadow  hay,  and  ic  is  evidently  very  palatable.  Care  is  taken  not  ta 
over-feed  in  troughs,  but  to  have  the  food  well  cleared  up.  There  are 
plenty  of  roots  in  store  by  the  lambing  yard  and  folds,  but  none  will  be 
used  till  after  the  lambing.  Twice  already  have  we  had  the  pasture 
covered  by  snow,  more  trough  food  being  given  then,  and  the  racks 
filled  with  Pea  straw  for  the  night  and  replenished  in  the  morning. 
Look  closely  after  all  such  matters  now,  when  so  much  depends  on 
the  ewes  being  kept  quiet,  thriving,  and  contented.  We  know  a  good 
shepherd  ought  to  see  to  this,  but  then  so  ought  a  good  master. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamdkn  Square.  London. 
Lat.51°32'40"  N. :  Long.  0°  8/0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
.a 
1895. 
December. 
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. 
Inohs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inohs, 
Sunday  . . 
8 
30-iq0j 
33-0 
31-2 
N.W. 
41-6 
40-9 
30-7 
62’9 
26-8 
0-021 
Monday  . . 
9 
29-967 
40-0 
40-0 
W. 
40-1 
49-0 
30-2 
61-6 
25-9 
0-024 
Tuesday  . . 
10 
29’922 
42-1 
40-4 
N.W. 
41*9 
46-9 
40-0 
62-0 
33-2 
— 
Wednesday 
11 
30-072 
34-0 
34-0 
N. 
41-0 
42-7 
30-7 
42-4 
28-2 
0-080 
Thursday , . 
12 
29-833 
38-7 
37-9 
W. 
41-0 
48-4 
33-9 
60-6 
32-1 
1-327 
Friday 
13 
29-317 
36-4 
33-9 
N.W. 
40-9 
43-9 
34-7 
62-9 
29-7 
— 
Saturday . . 
14 
29-807 
34-9 
33-7 
N. 
40-0 
61-8 
33-0 
53-0 
27-4 
0-338 
29-860 
37-0 
35-9 
40-9 
46-1 
33-3 
63-6 
29-0 
0-80B 
8th.— Sunny  all  day.  REMARKS. 
9th. — Showers  early,  misty  and  damp  till  10  A.M. ;  cloudy  day. 
10th.— Showers  in  the  small  hours ;  bright  sun  from  sunrise  to  sunset ;  clear  night. 
11th. — Dense  fog  all  day ;  lights  necessary  throughout.  Slight  showers  in  evening,  and’ 
rain  at  night. 
12th.— Overcast  early  ;  fair  morning;  rain  from  1  P.M.  to  6.15  P.M.,  heavy  at  times; 
clear  evening,  and  a  shower  at  11  P.M. 
13th. — Almost  cloudless  morning  ;  sunny  afternoon,  and  clear  night ;  high  wind. 
14th.— Paint  sunshine  all  the  morning;  overcast  afternoon;  heavy  rain  from  5.30  to 
6.30  P.M.,  and  showers  later. 
What  with  fog  and  rain  an  unpleasant  week,  but  it  can  hardly  be  called, 
unseasonable,  as  the  temperature  was  near  the  average.— G.  J.  STMONS. 
