33S 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  14,  1898. 
U8  the  journey,  short  as  it  is,  is  fraught  with  terror.  The  seas  that  rise 
mountains  high  threaten  to  engulf  us — that  is  if  we  are  well  enough 
to  be  conscious  of  auything  save  our  own  prostration,  and  we  never 
take  the  voyage  voluntarily.  Everything  is  done  to  secure  our 
comfort.  The  steamers  are  built  on  the  best  possible  principles,  the 
captains  are  picked  men,  yet  nevertheless  we  suffer  for  a  time 
unmitigated  woes. 
We  have  been  much  saddened  by  the  perusal  of  an  article  in 
“  Chambers’ Journal  ”  for  February,  which  has  just  come  under  our 
notice.  The  subject  is  “  Revelations  of  the  South  American  Cattle 
Trade,”  and  if  only  half  of  the  facts  stated  therein  are  correct,  the 
picture  is  a  most  dismal  one.  We  know  magazine  articles  are  often 
written  for  effect,  and  the  matter  passed  out  of  our  minds  till  it  was 
recalled  by  a  note  in  “  Agricultural  Gazette  ”  for  March  28th.  It 
appears  from  that  paper  that  the  facts  in  question  have  been  brought 
before  the  House  of  Commons  by  Col.  Cotton-Jodrell.  He  asks  Mr. 
Long  whether  he  is  aware  of  the  awful  mortality  of  stock  on  board 
ship  between  S.  America  ^and  our  ports.  Mr.  Long  is  forced  to 
admit  that  the  figures  quoted  are  correct,  and  he  holds  out  hopes 
that  the  evils  complained  of  may  be  mitigated. 
In  the  meantime  we  hardly  suppose  the  average  Englishman  has 
the  slightest  idea  of  the  terrible  state  of  affairs  at  present  existing. 
Col.  Cotton-Jodrell’s  figures  run  somewhat  thus:  Of  cattle  imported 
from  South  America.  Of  cattle  arriving  at  the  home  ports  during 
1897  the  losses  en  route  were  10  per  cent.,  and  of  sheep  the  losses 
were  a  little  over  Sj  per  cent.  The  voyage  occupies  about  thirty 
days. 
We  imjwrt  much  stock  from  the  States  and  Canada,  and  the  losses 
during  that  voyage  amount  to  only  2 ‘3  per  1000  for  cattle,  and  7  per 
1000  for  sheep.  Of  course  we  know  the  voyage  is  much  shorter,  but 
not  so  much  shorter  as  to  make  such  a  sensible  difference  in  the  figures. 
The  N.  Atlantic  steamers  engaged  in  the  cattle  traffic  are  bound  to  be 
fitted  up  in  the  best  possible  manner,  and  are  subjected  to  close 
inspection.  On  them,  at  least,  all  is  done  that  can  be  done  to  mitigate 
the  hardships  of  the  passage.  Now%  the  S.  American  traffic  has  not  yet 
been  so  regulated.  The  great  evils  are  unsuitable  ships,  bad  fittings  of 
the  match-box  type,  and  no  appreciable  ventilation. 
Of  course  there  are  some  steamers  engaged  in  the  River  Plate  that 
are  specially  fitted,  but  alas  !  they  are  outnumbered  by  boats  designated 
as  “  tramps.”  The  name  tells  its  own  tale — they  are  simply  unsuitable 
in  every  detail,  and  become  veritable  shambles.  No  doubt  officials  of 
the  Argentine  would  tell  of  proper  codes  of  regulation,  re-loading,  and 
so  forth ;  but  they  might  hesitate  to  tell  that  a  little  golden  eye  salve 
makes  them  conveniently  blind.  These  South  Americans  have  a  low 
standard  of  commercial  morality. 
Cattle  below  deck,  sheep  on  deck,  so  closely  packed  as  to  make 
navigation  almost  impossible.  ■  Then  picture  a  voyage  through  the 
tropics,  the  stifling  heat,  the  bitter  cold  of  the  Northern  seas — it  is  a 
wonder  any  cattle  survive.  Then  throw  in  rough  weather,  the  ship 
rolls  and  pitches,  the  divisions  give  way,  horns  and  legs  and  bodies 
shaken  up  in  inextricable  confusion;  think  of  the  broken  bones,  the 
horrid  wounds,  and  the  general  suffering.  The  sheep  have  the  best  of 
it.  A  storm  and  wave-swept  decks  soon  end  their  sufferings,  but  the 
cattle  below  are  in  an  inferno. 
It  is  not  only  in  bad  weather  these  sufferings  are  so  terrible. 
Many  die  from  suffocation,  and  what  must  they  have  gone  through 
before  merciful  death  released  them  ?  One  does  not  fancy  handling 
dead  stock  at  the  best  of  times,  but  to  get  a  dead  beast  out  of  the 
bowels  of  the  ship  is  too  fearful  to  think  of,  and  yet  it  has  to  be 
done,  and  done  quickly,  or  the  health  of  the  crew  will  be  in  jeopardy. 
We  wonder  in  what  sort  of  condition  the  survivors  land,  or 
where  are  they  hidden  till  they  have  got  a  bit  of  bloom  on  again  ? 
The  beef  and  mutton  is  dearly  bought  at  the  price  of  so  much  cruel 
suffering,  and  someone  is  guilty  of  what  amounts  in  our  eyes  to  a 
crime. 
Men  of  such  callous  heart  can  only  be  touched  by  the  strong  hand 
of  law,  and  the  question  seems  to  be  who  is  to  mete  out  the 
punishment,  and  where  ?  We  are  the  policemen  of  the  world.  We 
have  stopped  many  other  atrocities,  and  this  is  one  that  seems  to  call 
for  stringent  legislation. 
We  want  the  co-operation  of  the  various  S.  American  Govern¬ 
ments,  which  one  would  think  it  might  be  easy  to  obtain.  At  any 
rate  we  can  insist  on  English  vessels  complying  with  the  sanitary 
regulations  observed  by  the  boats  engaged  in  the  N,  American  trade. 
We  note  that  all  the  sheep  this  week  at  Deptford  market  were  from 
the  Argentine  Republic,  and  they  were  5d,  per  lb,,  as  against  English 
in  other  markets  at  8|d,  There  were  3379  of  these  poor  exiles  on  sale. 
To  come  home — we  are  not  altogether  without  blame.  Have  we 
never  seen  at  the  eastern  ports  shipments  of  poor  worn-out  horses  for 
the  Continent  ?  There  is  more  of  that  going  on  than  we  suspect,  but 
the  P.C.A.  Society  fias  its  eye  on  that  branch  of  industry,  and 
probably  we  shall  hear  more  of  the  matter  anon.  It  needs  investiga¬ 
tion,  and  any  organisation  that  will  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  man’s 
most  useful  servant  ought  to  receive  unlimited  support  from  the 
public. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
The  rain  of  last  week,  though  not  heavy,  was  sufficient  to  improve 
the  tilth  of  Turnip  land  still  unsown  with  Barley,  and  the  spring  sowing 
is  being  now  finished  very  favourably. 
We  have  had  one  or  two  rather  sharp  frosts,  and  early  sown  Oats 
seem  to  be  feeling  the  effects  of  it.  A  little  more  rain  is  what  we  still 
want.  The  land  is  very  dry,  and  there  will  not  be  too  much  moisture 
to  start  the  growth  of  the  Mangolds,  which  will  have  to  be  sown  this 
month.  The  earlier  they  are  put  in  the  better  after  April  1st,  if  the  land 
be  good  and  well  drained. 
We  have  the  land  for  Mangolds  very  clean,  so  we  shall  not  risk 
loss  of  moisture  by  moving  it  uselessly  now.  We  shall  plough  at  once, 
roll  it  quickly,  then  ridge  it  up,  manure  it,  and  drill  the  seed,  getting  all 
the  operations  performed  as  rapidly  as  possible.  We  shall  steep  the  seed 
in  water  a  couple  of  days  before  drilling,  as  the  moisture  makes  germina¬ 
tion  much  more  certain.  Four  cwt.  of  common  salt  per  acre  is  a  good 
thing  for  Mangold  on  light  land. 
We  are  harrowing  Wheat  now  whenever  it  is  dry  enough,  and  are 
giving  about  90  lbs.  por  acre  of  nitrate  of  soda.  Wheat  will  pay  for  a 
little  help  when  it  is  worth  40s.  per  quarter. 
Pastures  have  suffered  from  the  frosts ;  there  is  not  too  great  a 
supply  of  roots  left,  and  many  farmers  are  having  their  stock  forced  on 
a  glutted  market  sorely  against  their  will  ;  here  again  we  want  rain. 
Clovers  have  died  off  a  good  deal  this  winter ;  this  cannot  have  been 
caused  by  frost,  and  must  be  from  Clover  sickness.  Cross  cropping  and 
Potato  growing  are  good  antidotes  for  Clover  sickness,  but  lime  is  the 
best  of  all.  We  like  to  use  it  for  the  Turnip  crop,  and  generally  apMy 
3  tons  per  acre.  It  has  a  marked  effect  where  the  Turnip  finger-and-toe 
or  Clover  sickness  is  prevalent,  but  especially  marked  is  its  influence  on 
the  Clover. 
Hens  are  laying  well,  but  eggs  are  cheap  at  eighteen  for  Is.  The 
early  chickens  grow  fast,  and  are  nearly  ready  for  the  cook. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Squaee  London. 
Lat.  51°  32'  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
1898. 
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  .... 
Monday  .... 
Tuesday  .... 
W  ednesday 
Thursday  . . 
Friday . 
Saturday. . . . 
3 
inchs 
29-855 
deg. 
49-9 
deg. 
43-8 
N.W. 
deg. 
42-0 
deg. 
57-3 
deg. 
41-4 
deg. 
105-2 
deg. 
38-8 
inchs. 
4 
29-841 
49-1 
45-1 
W. 
42-9 
54*4 
43-9 
102-6 
36-7 
0-010 
5 
30-209 
41-7 
37-9 
N. 
42-1 
48-1 
30-7 
69-1 
24-1 
— 
(j 
30-158 
46-8 
42-4 
S.W. 
40-9 
60-3 
28-9 
99-8 
23-5 
— 
7 
3C  207 
51-8 
49-9 
s.w. 
43-1 
60-3 
45-8 
84-3 
39-6 
— 
8 
30-262 
55*7 
48-8 
S.E. 
44-4 
66-5 
39-3 
109-0 
34-0 
0-070 
9 
29-868 
52-2 
49-1 
w. 
46-0 
60-9 
48-6 
108-8 
40-2 
0-189 
30-057 
49-6 
45-3 
43-3 
68-3 
39-8 
97-0 
33-8 
0-269 
REMARKS. 
8rd. — Fine  and  mild,  with  cloud  and  sunshine  ;  clear  night. 
4th. — Fine  and  generally  sunny,  but  a  slight  shower  of  rain  and  hail  at  10  A.M. 
5th. — Brilliant  early,  but  haze  and  thin  cloud  from  9  a.m. 
6th. — Brilliant  morning  ;  a  little  cloud  in  afternoon  ;  bright  night. 
7th.— Overcast  morning  ;  frequently  sunny  in  afternoon.  Lunar  halo  at  night. 
8th. — Warm,  with  bright  sunshine  throughout. 
9th.— Occasional  showers  in  morning,  and  thunder,  lightning,  and  heavy  rain  at 
noon ;  variable  and  windy  after. 
On  the  whole  fine,  but  rather  stormy  at  the  end.  Temperature  above  the 
average,  and  7°  above  that  of  the  preceding  week.— G.  J.  Symons. 
