78 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  28,  1898. 
before  you  leap,  and  the  result  of  a  waiting  policy  will  very  often 
mean  a  saving  of  money  as  well  as  a  more  satisfactory  purchase. 
An  inspection  of  the  implements  in  a  show  yard  is  not  to  be 
undertaken  in  a  hurry,  for  it  is  not  the  most  attractive-looking 
machine  that  is  generally  of  the  most  use,  but  the  modest,  unpainted, 
cheap  article  may,  like  the  toad  of  Shakespeare,  “wear  yet  a  precious 
jewel  in  its  head.” 
Many  of  the  most  practical  farmers  who  can  spare  two  days  for  a 
particular  show,  spend  the  first  in  watching  the  judging  of  live  stock, 
often,  indeed  generally,  accompanied  by  their  lady  friends.  This  day 
of  leisure  and  pleasure  is  followed  by  a  day  of  business — viz.,  the 
careful  and  systematic  inspection  of  every  machine,  the  owners  of 
which  claim  for  it  any  novelty  in  construction  or  action. 
Real  novelties  of  any  value  are  few  and  far  between,  and  if  they 
cannot  be  found  at  the  Royal  Show  it  is  not  likely  they  will  be  seen 
elsewhere,  for  the  inventor,  as  a  rule,  is  too  proud  of  his  production, 
and  has  too  much  faith  in  its  powers  to  allow  it  to  lie  fallow  at  home 
when  it  may  be  attracting  the  attention  of  admiring  thousands  in  the 
Royal  showj'ard. 
Messrs.  Ransomes,  Sims  &  Jefferies,  exhibited  a  plough  for 
renovating  pastures  which,  if  it  will  perform  as  well  as  it  is  said 
to  do,  will  be  a  great  boon  to  the  occupier  of  moderate  grass  land, 
and  if  we  consider  that  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  area  of  England 
is  grass  of  poor  to  medium  quality,  it  will  be  apparent  how  wide  a  scope 
for  utility  there  is  open  to  such  an  implement. 
The  manufacturers  claim  for  it  that  it  will  cut  the  turf  to  the 
depth  of  2  or  3  inches,  cultivate  the  soil  beneath,  cutting  the  roots  of 
thistles  and  other  weeds,  and  return  the  sod  to  its  original  position. 
We  think  this  plough  deserves  attention. 
Another  implement  exhibited  by  Messrs.  Ransomes  is  a  double-row 
Potato  planter  with  improvements  for  catching,  or  rather  clutching, 
the  sets.  It  is  we>l  that  machine  makers  try  to  perfect  all  kinds  of 
machinery,  but  the  labour  of  planting  Potatoes  is  so  very  light  and 
immaterial,  that  machines  for  superseding  hand  labour  will  have  to  be 
perfect  before  they  can  come  into  general  use. 
Might  we  suggest  to  inventors  that  there  is  great  opening  for 
improvement  in  Potato  lifting,  a  process  which  is  both  costly  and 
difficult  to  perform  well  where  labour  is  not  plentiful ;  and  as  labour 
is  scarce  and  dear  almost  everywhere,  a  fortune  awaits  the  man  who 
will  make  horse  labour  equal  to  the  task  of  efficiently  lifting  Potatoes 
without  damage  to  the  tubers. 
Messrs.  J.  &  F.  Howard  had  a  splendid  assortment  of  cultivators, 
ploughs,  and  harrows.  Their  cultivator,  a  modification  of  the  spring 
tooth  principle,  is  set  wide  enough  to  go  through  very  foul  land 
without  clogging  up,  and  we  have  seen  very  good  work  done  by  it 
where  few  other  machines  could  have  been  pulled  through  at  all. 
This  firm  also  exhibits  a  small  cultivator,  which  we  should  rather 
designate  a  horse  hoe.  This  will  be  a  most  useful  implement  to 
market  gardeners,  for  it  will  make  splendid  work  in  clearing  the 
weeds  away  from  the  spaces  between  rows  of  fruit  or  vegetables. 
An  apparatus  which  attracted  general  attention  was  one  invented 
by  Mr.  Pogson,  of  Bottesford,  its  object  being  the  easier  stacking 
of  Clover,  hay,  and  corn.  A  fork  grips  huge  lumps  of  hay,  and 
conveys  them  to  any  reasonable  height.  The  use  of  this  machine 
must  facilitate  the  making  of  high  ricks,  and  save  labour  in  the 
earning  of  loads ;  but  if  it  comes  into  general  use  a  good  stacker  will 
be  more  necessary  than  ever,  for  the  more  quickly  the  operation  is 
performed,  the  greater  the  need  for  expertness  in  the  performer. 
The  Dairy  Supply  Company  exhibit  a  novel  milk  strainer,  which 
appears  to  us  to  possess  very  valuable  properties.  It  consists  of  two 
tin  vessels,  one  being  smaller  than  and  fitting  inside  the  other,  there 
being  a  clear  space  between  their  sides.  The  inner  one  has  a  bottom 
made  of  coarse  wire  gauze,  through  which  the  milk  sinks  into  the 
outer  vessel ;  the  latter  has  its  sides  made  of  fine  wire  gauze,  and  the 
milk  passes  through  this  into  a  churn  or  other  larger  vessel  beneath. 
As  the  gauze  becomes  obstructed  by  particles  of  dirt  the  milk  rises 
and  flows  through  the  gauze,  where  there  is  no  obstruction.  Thus 
cleaning  is  not  soon  required,  and  is  easily  done ;  but  we  would  warn 
beginners  that  cleanliness  is  everything  in  dealing  with  milk,  and 
that  the  strainer  must  be  cleansed  and  scalded  every  day,  whether  it 
works  well  or  not. 
Messrs.  Lister  &  Dursley  exhibit  a  new  circular  milk  cooler, 
which  appears  to  be  a  distinct  advance  on  the  old  type,  the  chief 
advantages  appearing  to  be  greater  durability,  owing  to  the  absence 
of  corners,  the  latter  fact  also  tending  much  in  the  direction  of 
cleanliness. 
A  feature  of  the  show  was  the  number  of  machines  for  pasteurising 
(a  real  dictionary  word  this,  and  therefore  it  must  not  be  missed)  or 
sterilising  milk. 
No  doubt  much  good  must  be  done  by  the  use  of  such  machines  in 
the  direction  of  stamping  out  zymotic  diseases,  in  the  dissemination 
of  which  infected  milk  plays  so  important  a  part;  but  we  fear  that 
the  average  British  householder,  who  likes  butter  with  a  flavour  of  its 
own,  distinct  from  that  of  Denmark,  may  prefer  his  milk  undiluted  as 
it  comes  from  the  cow,  or  even  would  prefer  a  little  water,  provided 
it  be  clean,  in  addition,  rather  than  have  it  boiled  for  him. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
St.  Swithin’s  has  come  and  gone  again  ;  and,  alas  !  if  predictions  are 
worth  anything,  we  are  in  for  a  long  spell  of  drought.  A  grand  crop  of 
hay  safely  got  ;  and  now,  as  harvest  is  still  in  the  distance,  we  can  engage 
in  many  useful  little  odds  and  ends  of  work. 
Early  Potatoes  are  about  fit  to  get,  and  the  sooner  they  are  in  the 
market  the  better.  The  blacksmith’s  yard  is  fall  of  reaping  machines  in 
process  of  being  looked  after.  Need  we  impress  upon  all  the  desirability 
of  having  some  of  the  parts  of  the  machine  in  duplicate  ?  In  the  full 
swing  of  harvest  work  it  is  most  annoying  to  have  a  breakdown  and  be 
miles  away  from  an  ironmonger's  or  foundry. 
It  is  not  a  bad  plan  now  to  order  in  house  and  engine  coal.  Summer 
prices  prevail,  and  the  horses  are  fairly  at  liberty.  The  hoe  must  be 
kept  at  work  among  the  roots,  for  however  dry  the  weather  is,  weeds 
still  grow,  and  when  harvest  sets  in  they  have  to  be  left. 
Pastures  are  running  off  quickly,  and  we  see  our  neighbour  carting 
Tares  for  his  milk  cows  and  draught  horses.  Lambs,  too,  must  come  in 
for  shai-e  of  attention.  As  long  as  the  weather  is  dry  they  will  take  no 
hurt,  but  should  heavy  rains  fall,  pastures  will  be  flushed  with  unwhole¬ 
some,  quickly  grown  herbage. 
Lambs  should  have  as  much  change  in  the  way  of  pasture  as 
possible,  and  a  turn  on  the  fresh  aftermath  will  do  them  a  world  of 
good.  We  are  giving  lamb  food  in  addition  ;  it  is  easier  to  keep  a 
lamb  healthy  than  to  successfully  doctor  it  when  invalided. 
With  butter  rather  soft,  as  it  is  at  present,  the  dairymaid  is  apt  to 
leave  too  much  moisture  in  it.  For  those  who  possess  butter  workers, 
the  fault  is  unpardonable.  We  have  lately  been  nearly  poisoned  twice  in 
one  week  by  awful  butter,  so  we  just  give  a  word  of  warning. 
As  harvest  nears,  supplies  of  small  corn  for  the  poultry  fall,  off.  It  is 
mistaken  policy  to  starve  fowls  ;  a  little  outlay  now  means  a  good  autumn 
supply  of  eggs. 
The  land  from  which  Tares  have  been  cut  and  carted  will,  if  not  too- 
dry,  produce  with  deep  ploughing  a  crop  of  Turnips. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32'  40"  N.;  Loug.  0°  8'  0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
1898. 
July. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
Shade  Tern, 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Rain. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
1  foot 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
Sunday 
Monday  . . . . 
17 
inchs 
30  ’181 
deg. 
71-5 
deg. 
61-9 
N.W. 
deg. 
65-6 
deg. 
77-4 
deg. 
58-1 
deg. 
121-4 
deg. 
52-7 
inchs 
18 
30-013 
69-2 
62-1 
W. 
65-1 
80-4 
57-1 
123-7 
52-8 
0-112. 
Tuesday  . . . 
19 
129-944 
64-1 
59-8 
N.E 
65-6 
71-9 
60-2 
119-4 
56-8 
— 
W ednesday 
20 
I30-11S 
59’1 
53-8 
E. 
64-0 
70-3 
53-8 
114-8 
54-7 
— 
Thursday  . 
Friday . 
Saturday. . . 
21 
30-202 
57-6 
52-4 
S. 
62-7 
75-8 
47  T 
118-2 
43-9 
— 
99, 
29-890 
67-9 
62-4 
s. 
63-5 
75-9 
58-8 
114-9 
56-2 
0-236 
23 
29-731 
65-2 
60-4 
w. 
62-9 
75-5 
58-1 
123-1 
55-9 
0-014 
[30  "Oil 
64-9 
59-0 
64*2 
75-3 
56-2 
119-4 
53-3 
0-362- 
REMARKS. 
17th.— Bright  early  and  late  ;  cloudy  at  times  in  morning,  and  overcast  from 
about  1  P.M.  to  4  p.m. 
18th.— Bright  sun,  tempered  by  cloud,  in  morning;  overcast,  and  threatening  for 
a  time,  in  afternoon. 
19th. — Steady  rain  from  6  to  7  a.m.  ;  occasional  sun  after  9  a.m.,  but  generally- 
overcast,  and  spots  of  rain  in  evening. 
20th.— Overcast  till  2  p.m.,  with  gleams  of  sun  ;  sunny  after,  and  bright  evening. 
21st. — Fair,  but  hazy  ;  frequent  sunshine,  but  generally  faint. 
22nd.— Occasional  sun  in  morning  ;  rain  from  1  p.m.  till  2.30  P.M.,  and  from  5.45  to 
6.15  P.M.  ;  fine  evening. 
23rd.— Fine  and  generally  sunny  morning ;  overcast  after  2  P.M.,  and  slight  rain 
in  evening. 
A  fine  week,  but  temperature  not  exceptionally  high.— G.  J.  Symons. 
