24 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
January  6,  1898. 
pigs  are  a  cross  of  Yorkshire  and  the  Danish  breed.  Mr.  Holm 
evidently  has  an  eye  for  a  horse,  for  here  he  sees  room  for  improve¬ 
ment.  We  do  enjoy  seeing  a  good  even  stud  of  draught  horses^ 
Fancy  a  harn  to  contain  2000  tons  of  forage  ! 
From  Wedellsvorg  to  Copenhagen,  and  the  fiist  object  of  interest 
to  see  was  the  Milk  Supply  Company.  The  milk  of  5024  cows 
is  here  dealt  with,  and  the  hands  employed  number  300.  On 
arrival  the  milk  is  sampled,  strained  through  gravel  and  fine  cloth, 
bottled  and  pasteurised,  and  sold  for  infants  at  Is.  3d.  per  gallon. 
Of  course  the  diet  of  the  cows  is  strictly  regulated. 
An  interesting  paper  was  read  by  Herr  Bernard  Boggild  on  “  What 
the  Government  has  Done  to  Develop  the  Dairy  Industry  in  Den¬ 
mark.”  A  yearly  grant  of  £5500  is  made  to  the  Laboratory  for 
Agricultural  Kesearch,  and  a  similar  sum  is  spent  on  stamping  out 
tuberculosis  in  cattle.  Here  is  an  example  for  our  Government ;  the 
pest  Avill  not  be  checked  here  till  similar  measures  are  taken.  There 
are  also  other  grants  for  matters  of  minor  moment,  and  skilled 
experts  are  at  the  call  of  those  dairy  farmers  who  need  their  advice 
free  ol  all  cost  save  travelling  expenses. 
The  colleges  connected  with  agriculture  were  next  visited.  The 
State  butter  show,  and  on  the  following  day  the  agricultural  and 
experimental  station  at  Lynby.  The  school  is  one  of  several,  the 
result  of  private  enterprise,  that  have  been  founded  during  the  last 
thirty  years.  These  schools  instruct  about  3000  young  men  every 
winter,  and  in  the  summer  the  same  number  of  young  women,  drawn 
I)rincipally  from  the  working  classes.  These  schools  seem  to  get  hold 
of  the  right  material  to  work  on,  and  how  creditable  it  is  to  the 
population  to  find  them  ready  to  embrace  these  opportunities. 
We  must  not  linger  in  this  pleasant  Danish  land,  but  away  with 
Mr.  Holm  to  the  Co-operative  Dairy  at  Lund  in  Sweden,  where  6000 
gallons  of  milk  are  daily  manipulated,  the  farmers  receiving  their 
separated  milk  back  again.  Then  there  was  the  college  and  dairy 
school  at  Alnarh.  Government  grants  to  this  enterprise  £2080  per 
annum,  and  the  college  is  divided  into  the  following  departments  : — 
I. — A  Higher  Agricultural  College. 
II. — Lower  ditto. 
III. — Higher  Dairy  College. 
lY.  —Lower  ditto  for  men. 
V. — Lower  ditto  for  women. 
VI. — A  Horticultural  College. 
VII. — A  Farriery  School. 
As  far  as  we  can  gather  instruction  and  board  in  the  lower  school 
are  free,  thus  admitting  a  class  which  otherwise  would  stand  little  or 
no  chance  of  technical  education.  Of  course,  the  higher  grade  students 
pay,  but  the  terms  are  by  no  means  extravagant. 
About  the  Stockholm  Dairy  Company  we  note  one  point :  the 
managers  do  not  [lasteurise  their  milk  intended  for  infants,  but  instead 
have  an  elaborate  system  of  filtration.  Our  knowledge  of  the  require¬ 
ments  of  infants  is  not  very  great ;  but  we  do  know  that  for  some 
children  the  boiled — i.e.,  pasteurised — milk  would  he  most  unwhole¬ 
some.  It  is  not  natural,  and  therefore  should  only  be  used  as  a 
derniere  resort — that  is,  if  no  really  safe  milk  can  be  obtained. 
On  the  estate  of  Hamra,  belonging  to  the  Alpha-Laval  Separator 
Company,  are  conducted  experiments  in  dairying  and  cattle-breeding, 
and  the  favourite  type  of  cow  is  red-and-white,  a  cross  of  Ayrshire  and 
Shorthorn,  first-rate  milkers. 
There  is  a  college  farm  at  Uttana  of  1400  acres;  plenty  of  scope 
hei’e  for  the  pupils.  Here,  again,  we  find  an  upper  and  lower  school, 
the  latter  within  the  means  of  youths  wishing  to  become  bailiffs. 
Mr.  Holm  sums  up  by  saying  the  Dane  and  Swede  work  harder 
and  make  longer  days  than  our  men  like ;  and  he  adds  that  he  thinks 
abroad  greater  attention  is  paid  to  the  feeding  of  stock  than  in 
England.  We  think  this  must  apply  to  small  owners  only,  as  on 
large,  well-managed  tarms  stock  feeding  is  reduced  to  a  science  here. 
“  Co-operation  ”  seems  to  be  the  watchword,  and  until  we  see  our  way 
to  some  sort  of  unity  in  England  we  must  not  be  surprised  to  find 
the  foreigner  underselling  us.  The  Government  grants,  too,  in  aid  of 
agriculture  are  most  liberal,  and  the  people  appear  to  be  alive  to  their 
advantages. 
We  only  hope  Mr.  Holm  will  make  some  other  little  tours,  and 
give  us  the  benefit  of  his  further  travel.  He  makes  his  outing 
profitable  to  himself  and  also  to  his  readers. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
A  matter  which  has  been  constantly  forced  on  our  notice  during  the 
last  few  years  is  the  value  of  peat  moss  litter  to  the  ordinary  farmer. 
The  dry  seasons  have,  by  minimising  the  crops  of  straw,  increased  the 
value  and  importance  of  bedding  materials.  Some  farmers,  when  straw 
is  scarce,  never  think  of  buying  bedding,  but  let  their  cattle  lie  in  a 
condition  of  filth  such  as  almost  requires  the  intervention  of  the  Society 
for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals.  \Ve  have  seen  cattle  tied  up 
in  a  shed  so  close  together  that  they  could  not  lie  down ;  as  the  owner 
said,  “  Straw  was  very  scarce,  and  they  kept  cleaner  standing.”  But  is 
this  true  economy  ?  We  think  not.  However  scarce  and  dear  straw 
may  be,  there  is  no  reason  for  farm  animals  being  kept  in  a  state  of  filth 
whilst  peat  moss  litter  can  be  bought  at  little  over  20s.  per  ton. 
We  have  tried  it  well  under  varying  conditions,  and  have  found  it  best 
when  used  as  a  foundation  with  a  little  straw  on  the  top.  This  is 
particularly  the  case  in  the  cow  house,  for  here  peat  moss  alone  is  too 
dusty,  and  is  apt  to  get  into  the  milk  unless  the  cow’s  udder  is  carefully 
cleansed  immediately  before  milking.  For  the  cow  house  we  prefer  to 
have  the  gutter  filled  with  moss  litter,  but  the  bedding  shoirld  be  straw. 
For  a  covered  yard,  or  for  any  yard  in  fact,  a  good  covering  of  peat 
moss  when  the  yard  is  empty — i.e.,  before  stocking  in  autumn  or  after 
clearing  of  manure— makes  an  excellent  foundation  for  the  straw  ;  it 
absorbs  all  liquids  so  readily  that  the  straw  put  upon  it  is  kept  well 
drained,  and  lasts  much  longer. 
We  have  had  a  short  spell  of  frost;  the  weather  is  now  again  mild, 
and  ploughs  are  at  work.  The  frost  enabled  us  to  cart  some  manure  on 
to  old  seeds,  which  we  shall  now  plough  10  inches  deep  with  chilled 
ploughs  and  skim  coulters.  The  manure  and  turf  will  thus  bo  well 
buried,  and  the  land  by  March  should  be  in  good  order  for  planting  with 
Potatoes. 
The  mild  weather  has  been  very  favourable  for  Turnips  and  Swedes, 
which  have  been  growing  all  the  time,  and  are  now  a  good  crop  and 
likely  to  be  plentiful  after  all. 
We  have  been  killing  the  usual  bacon  pigs,  and  if  the  pork  trade 
would  brighten  up  a  bit  should  like  to  clear  the  spare  ones,  for  pig  corn 
is  dear  and  Potatoes  almost  unobtainable. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  ,51°  32'  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
£ 
1897-98. 
December 
and 
January. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  fool 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
in 
Sun 
On 
CtITISS 
inchs 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
uclis. 
Sunday  .... 
19 
30-3.58 
44-2 
44-0 
N.E. 
43-8 
45-3 
39-2 
47-3 
39-6 
1-010 
IMoiiday  .... 
20 
30-380 
41-7 
38-6 
N.E. 
43-1 
42-4 
41-1 
46-8 
37-1 
— 
Tuesday  .... 
21 
30-628 
38-2 
36-1 
E. 
41-3 
38-9 
32-7 
43-9 
-27-3 
— • 
Wednesday 
9‘> 
30-668 
30-6 
30-5 
N. 
40-1 
37-0 
27-3 
42-1 
‘24-1 
— 
Thursday  . . 
23 
30-579 
30-1 
30-1 
N. 
38-2 
33-7 
‘25-2 
35-2 
23-3 
— 
Friday  .'.... 
24 
30-440 
26-9 
•26-8 
N. 
37-1 
33-2 
‘25-0 
33-0 
-22-8 
— 
Saturday. . . . 
25 
30-391 
28-7 
28-6 
Calm. 
36-3 
31-0 
‘24-8 
32-8 
-22-8 
0-013 
30-478 
34-3 
33-5 
40-0 
37-4 
30-8 
40-2 
28-1 
0-026 
Sunday  . . . 
26 
30-409 
27-6 
‘27-2 
Calm. 
35-5 
47-5 
23-7 
50-6 
21-2 
— 
Monday  . . . 
Tuesday  . . . 
‘27 
30-067 
47-3 
45-2 
S.W. 
35-7 
49-4 
‘26-3 
54-1 
22-1 
0-072 
28 
29-923 
47-4 
46-4 
s.w. 
39-0 
50-8 
45-8 
63-7 
40-3 
0-098 
Wednesday 
29 
‘29-704 
50-8 
48-5 
S.W. 
40-2 
53-1 
42-9 
.55-7 
37-3 
0-304 
Thursday  . 
30 
-29-254 
48-2 
48-0 
s.  w. 
42-8 
49-9 
46-9 
55-6 
45-3 
0-0,56 
Friday . 
31 
29-293 
45-2 
44-0 
s. 
42-8 
48-4 
43-1 
.58-3 
38-6 
0-068 
Saturday. . . 
1 
-29-343 
41-1 
40-9 
N.E. 
42-0 
43-8 
40-1 
51-8 
34-6 
0-0.58 
-29-713 
43-9 
42-9 
39-7 
49-0 
38-4 
55-7 
34-2 
0-6,56 
REMARKS. 
19th.— Dull  and  drizzly  morning,  and  overcast  after. 
20tli.— Fair,  l)ut  sunless  till  nearly  .sun.set ;  clear  night. 
21st. — Fair,  but  sunless. 
22nd.— Cold  and  dull  early  ;  faint  sun  all  day,  and  i>right  for  two  or  three  hours. 
23rd.— Cold  with  slight  fog,  not  entirely  clearing  at  any  time. 
24th.  — Cold  and  foggy  througliout. 
25tli. — Foggy  most  of  the  day  ;  evening  fine,  starlight,  and  thick  white  fro.st ; 
from  10.30  P.M.  to  midnight  exceptionally  dense  fog  ;  street  lamp  invisible 
•at  17  yards  distance. 
Cold,  foggy  week  with  high  barometer. 
26th. — Calm,  frosty,  and  rather  foggy;  at  10.30  A.M.  a  sudden  rise  of  temper.v 
ture  ;  afterwards  dull  and  damp. 
27th.— Fine  mild  morning  ;  dull  afternoon  ;  a  little  rain  at  night. 
28th. — Fair  morning  ;  sharp  squall  with  rain  at  2.45  P.M.,  very  bright  afterwards. 
29th. — Gale  and  squalls  all  clay  and  night,  with  almost  continuous  rain  from 
noon  to  7  P.  M. 
30th.— Squalls  of  wind  and  rain  all  morning  ;  fair  afternoon,  with  a  little  sun  ; 
fine  night. 
31st. — Fair  morning,  with  gleams  of  sun ;  alternate  sunshine  and  showers  after 
noon  :  complete  primary  and  secondary  rainbows  at  3.15  P.M. 
1st,  1898. — Fine,  but  sunless. 
A  mild  and  rainy  week.— G.  J.  SYMONS. 
