m 
JOtTRlTAL  OF  HORTiCtJLTUFE  AI^D  COTTAGE  GARDEI^En. 
April  7,  1898. 
Of  what  does  parish  work  consist  ?  That  is  a  wide  question, 
and  varies  according  to.  the  parish.  We  may  reasonably  begin 
with  education.  In  the  villages  there  are  few  Board  schools.  The 
schools  are  voluntary,  with  a  board  of  managers  —  probably  the 
squire  or  parson  is  chairman.  In  some  cases  there  is  no  resident 
squire,  and  the  parson,  good  man  though  he  may  be,  has  no 
notion  whatever  of  business.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  routine 
business  to  be  done — i.e ,  of  a  clerical  nature— and  difficulties  are 
constantly  cropping  up,  if  not  with  the  head  master,  with  some  of 
his  subordinates.  A  well-managed  school  is  an  admirable  institu¬ 
tion — master,  scholars,  and  ratepayers  all  receiving  the  maximum  of 
benefit.  Then,  again,  we  may  reckon  with  the  new  technical 
education.  A  leading  spirit  is  necessary  here  to  plead  wants  and 
requirements  before  a  central  board,  and  to  plan  work  at  home. 
This  must  involve  at  least  four  meetings  yearly  at  the  central 
offices,  to  say  nothing  of  meetings  in  the  village.  Most  villages 
have  a  sanitary  board  ;  this  is,  however,  usually  merged  in  the 
Parish  Council.  Now,  there  has  been  a  movement  on  the  part  of 
farmers  to  ignore  these  Parish  Councils,  and  to  hold  themselves 
aloof.  This  is  neither  wise  nor  prudent.  Granted  that  the  powers 
of  the  P.C.  are  happily  limited;  yet  it  is  well  that  those  limited 
powers  be  used  to  the  best  end.  We  have  no  wish  to  decry  the 
mute,  inglorious  Milton,  or  the  village  Hampden ;  but  we  do  wish 
sometimes  they  had  a  little  better  notion  of  business  procedure,  and 
would  not  waste  valuable  time  in  useless,  aimless  discussion. 
A  good,  popular  farmer  is  certain  of  election  as  chairman  to  such  a 
body,  and  he  can  by  tact  and  management  prevent  the  whole  thing 
becoming  a  farce.  Then  there  is  the  office  of  overseer  of  the  poor — 
this  does  not  carry  great  responsibilities,  but  there  is  work  which  it  is 
necessary  to  perform  in  a  business-like  manner.  Where  a  good  farmer 
shines  is  on  the  District  Council,  but  he  must  have  a  good  stomach  for 
work,  and  infinite  patience.  He  is  not  only  guardian  of  the  poor,  but 
also  guardian  of  the  rates.  He  remembers  that  while  the  poor  in 
receipt  of  parish  pay  are  in  no  enviable  position,  there  are  many  rate¬ 
payers  who  have  a  terrible  struggle  to  make  ends  meet,  and  present  a 
decent  appearance  to  the  world  at  large.  Their  pockets  should  be  as 
sacred  to  him  as  the  comfort  of  the  pauper. 
U  nless  a  man  has  been  in  office  and  has  proved  himself  of  good 
business  habits,  he  little  knows  what  work  may  be  put  upon  his 
shoulders.  Once  a  fortnight  is  board  day,  when  the  work  of  the 
different  parishes  in  the  Union  is  considered.  Once  a  fortnight  is  held 
the  rural  district  meeting,  which  deals  with  highways  and  manifold 
business.  We  saw  an  agenda  paper  yesterday  with  twenty  items  for 
consideration — some,  of  course,  are  dismissed  in  a  minute  or  two,  others 
are  long  and  tiresome  questions.  Assessment  meetings  are  no  sinecure, 
but  members  of  that  committee  are  only  (or  ought  only  to  be)  picked  men. 
The  questions  brought  before  them  are  so  wide  and  so  far-reaching,  and 
involve  so  many  interests,  that  it  is  only  capable  men  who  stand  a 
chance  of  doing  the  business  properly.  Then  for  other  meetings ;  who 
attends  finance  committees,  educational  questions,  boarding  out,  and 
house  visitations  ? 
We  know  of  men  who  never  all  the  year  round  escape  a  single 
week,  and  who  to  their  credit  attend  with  amaz'ng  regularity. 
Barren  honour  is  all  they  get,  and  we  fear  often  a  bit  of  abuse.  Of 
course  there  are  some  minds  who  thoroughly  enjoy  all  business 
details,  but  even  with  them  the  flesh  must  often  be  weary.  Sir 
Edmund  Verney,  in  an  article  in  a  March  magazine,  fairly  abuses  the 
farmer  for  frequenting  so  many  markets.  He  either  does  not  know  or 
is  wilfully  ignorant  as  to  who  attends  to  all  these  details  of  local 
government. 
We  have  an  instance  of  one  farmer  who  was  for  years  chairman 
of  a  board  of  guardians  in  his  union.  Ten  miles  in,  ten  miles  out 
every  Wednesday,  fair  weather  or  foul,  and  on  those  days  he  had  no 
opportunity  for  doing  his  own  business,  as  his  union  town  presented 
no  facilities  for  transaction  of  business,  and  so  every  Saturday  he  had 
another  ten  miles’  drive  in  an  opposite  direction. 
Most  farmers,  too,  are  expected  to  take  an  interest  in  the  local 
S'  ows,  and  so  forth;  and  if  the  individual  farmer  does  not  benefit 
personally  he  cheerfully  works  in  the  interests  of  others.  We  have 
said  nothing  of  any  political  organisations,  but  as  they  exist  all 
through  the  country  the  farmer  must  of  needs  be  associated  more  or 
less  with  some  working  committees. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
We  have  often  to  repeat  ourselves  ;  but  new  readers  require  the 
information,  and  old  ones  sometimes  forget.  After  this  bitter  blast  warm 
bright  days  are  sure  to  follow,  and  it  is  well  to  look  over  young  stock — 
i.e.,  calves  in  boxes  or  pens.  In  cold  weather  these  animals  need  good, 
rich  food  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  weather  changes,  unless  the  diet  be 
restricted,  the  calf  will  do  too  well,  and  may  probably  fall  a  victim  to 
black-leg.  Remember,  it  is  the  best  animal  that  first  succumbs.  A 
change  to  the  open  yard  and  plain  food  will  do  away  with  any  risk. 
Foaling  mares  should  be  carefully  watched.  Gently  worked  exercise 
is  fine  to  keep  them  in  healthy  condition. 
If  the  land  (arable)  be  too  wet  to  allow  of  horses  on  it,  it  is  not  a  bad 
plan  to  brush-harrow  grass  fields,  and  possibly  there  will  never  be  a 
“  slacker  ”  time.  Some  of  us  have  still  a  few'Turnips  left,  and  the  hoggs 
are  getting  fat  and  heavy.  It  is  an  annoying  thing  to  find  in  the  morning 
in  the  fold  a  good  hogg  “  over  cast,”  and  drawing  its  last  breath,  A  visit 
by  lantern  light  is  a  wise  precaution.  It  is  advisable  now  to  sow  a  few 
Tares,  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  fodder  crops. 
Wheat  or  Oat  stubble  is  the  proper  course,  and  to  get  a  good  plant 
use  plenty  of  well  decayed  fold-yard  manure — say  at  least  twelve  loads 
per  acre.  “  Thousand-heads  ”  as  autumn  food  for  lambs  might  now  be 
sown.  Lambs  find  a  good  deal  of  difference  between  a  well  ripened  plant 
and  one  that  is  immature,  and  it  does  not  do  to  keep  them  waiting  till 
their  food  is  ready.  Here,  again,  plenty  of  manure  and  phosphate  of  lime 
on  a  deep  cool  soil  are  a  desideratum. 
We  may  now  reasonably  hope  for  a  better  butter  supply.  The  shep¬ 
herd,  having  put  his  lambs  fairly  under  weigh,  is  not  requiring  so  much 
new  milk  to  supplement  that  of  the  ewes  as  he  did  during  last  week’s  cold 
and  storm. 
SUGAR-BEET  GROWING  IN  ENGLAND. 
The  attention  of  agriculturists  in  many  parts  of  the  country  has  been 
recently  again  directed  to  the  question  of  the  cultivation  of  sugar-Beet. 
In  the  course  of  a  letter  just  addressed  to  the  Central  Chamber  of 
Agriculture,  the  Board  of  Agriculture  stated  that  they  “  do  not  consider 
they  would  be  justified  in  proposing  to  the  Treasury  that  they  themselves 
should  institute  any  further  experiments  with  regard  to  the  cultivation 
of  sugar-Beet ;  but  if  the  Council  think  it  advantageous  at  the  present 
time  to  encourage  those  agriculturists  to  do  so  who  can  afford  to  take 
the  risk  of  sowing  small  areas,  the  Board  would  be  willing  to  co-operate 
with  the  Council  so  far  as  to  place  the  services  of  their  officers  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Council,  with  a  view  to  the  preparation  of  a  model  form 
for  recording  the  various  details  connected  with  such  experimental 
growth,  although  the  season  is  probably  now  too  far  advanced  for  any 
material  changes  to  be  made  in  the  scope  and  character  of  the  experi¬ 
ments  which  are  to  be  instituted  during  the  current  year.  At  a  later 
stage  the  Board  would  also  be  willing  to  consider  whether  they  could 
properly  afford  the  Council  any  assistance  in  bringing  the  results  of 
any  new  experiments  to  the  knowledge  of  agriculturists  generally,” 
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. 
1898. 
March  and 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp 
of  soil 
at 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Rain. 
April. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
1  foot 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  ....  27 
Monday  ....  28 
Tuesday  ....  29 
Wednesday  30 
Thursday  ..  31 
Friday .  1 
Saturday....  2 
inchs 
29-431 
deg. 
37-3 
deg. 
37  -0 
N.E. 
deg. 
38-3 
deg. 
43-2 
deg. 
34-0 
deg. 
63-6 
deg. 
32-2 
inchs. 
0-158 
29 '429 
37-0 
36-0 
N. 
38-7 
44-0 
34-2 
67-9 
31-6 
0-010 
29-483 
40-1 
37-6 
W. 
39-1 
47-3 
35-8 
77-5 
33-4 
— 
29-548 
38-9 
37-0 
W. 
39-0 
51-4 
27-0 
78-9 
23-9 
— 
‘29  737 
45-4 
41  -5 
N.E. 
39-2 
51  -9 
37-4 
91-1 
30-8 
— 
•29-932 
35-8 
35-6 
N. 
39-7 
51-6 
33-1 
81-8 
26-8 
— 
•29-332 
41-7 
39-3 
N.W. 
40-1 
54-3 
35-8 
98-9 
28-3 
— 
29-627 
39-5 
37-7 
39-2 
49-1 
33-9 
80-0 
29-6 
0-168 
REMARKS. 
27th.— Overcast,  with  almost  continuous  rain  or  drizzle  till  6  P.M.  ;  dull  and 
damp  after. 
28th.— Dull  and  drizzly  early  ;  overcast  day,  but  a  gleam  of  sun  at  1  P.M. 
29th.— A  few  spots  of  rain  in  afternoon,  but  generally  fine,  with  a  good  deal  of 
sunshine. 
30th.— Fog  early,  and  frequently  hazy  during  the  day,  but  sunshine  almost 
throughout ;  fine  night. 
31st.— Bright  sunshine  almost  throughout. 
1st. — A  little  fog  early  ;  bright  sun  all  morning,  and  generally  in  afternoon. 
2nd.— Pine  and  generally  sunny. 
Warmer  towards  the  close,  and  on  the  whole  nearly  an  average  week,  but  rain 
still  deficient. — G.  J.  Symons 
