294 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
October  13,  1898. 
create  in  them  a  desire  for  knowledge,  which  he  would  not  trouble  to 
ampart  to  them  if  he  had  a  son  to  traiD. 
We  knew  a  family  of  daughters — aye,  several — who  on  the 
father’s  death  were  able  to  carry  on  the  farm  and  keep  the  home 
’together,  with  the  occasional  visit  from  their  trustee.  In  one  case 
they  would  have  managed  better  perhaps  without  that  trustee.  We 
knew  of  a  widow  whose  holding  was  not  less  (we  believe  more)  than 
•600  acres,  who  had  her  fat  stock  sales,  her  sales  of  hunters,  and  grew 
tons  upon  tons  of  Potatoes ;  and  only  this  week  we  noted  with 
pleasure  the  well-cultivated  farm  of  a  young  lady  unhampered  by  any 
male  interference.  She  told  us  that  in  case  of  a  real  difficulty,  which 
rarely  occurred,  there  were  plenty  of  middle-aged  men  to  whom  she 
could  refer.  She  breeds  her  own  cart  horses  and  hunters,  and 
manages  to  get  at  least  two  days  after  hounds  during  the  season. 
Of  course  it  is  not  everyone  who  has  command  of  capital  necessary 
to  make  such  an  enterprise  pay.  There  are  others  who  do  not  take 
the  slightest  interest  and  pleasure  in  any  occupation  connected  with 
the  land.  Nowadays  that  there  is  such  a  rush  for  the  towns — and 
■openings  there  for  female  labour  are  few  and  far  between — it  seems  a 
pity  that  a  farmer’s  daughters  should  throw’  themselves  into  the  vortex. 
We  do  not  think  so  far  there  is  in  England  a  female  Cirencester, 
and  little  has  been  done  yet  by  technical  boards  to  provide  classes  for 
the  instruction  of  women  in  matters  agricultural — excepting,  of  course* 
our  centres  for  dairy  work  and  the  travelling  dairy  schools.  These 
are  capital,  but  they  do  not  go  far  enough.  There  are  other  products 
to  be  dealt  with  on  a  farm  besides  milk.  True,  too,  we  have  poultry 
lectures,  and  we  have  heard  of  demonstration  classes  being  held  for  a 
fortnight  in  some  districts.  It  is  not  long  enough;  we  can’t  see  how 
a  student  can  really  get  any  grasp  of  the  subject  under  less  than  three 
months’  course. 
In  the  “  Contemporary  Pieview  ”  for  September  of  this  year 
Virginia  M.  Crawford  gives  us  some  account  of  how  Belgians  are 
trying  to  really  impart  useful  farm  knowledge  to  girls  and  women. 
All  have  much  to  learn — are  they  willing  to  learn  ?  There  is  at 
Heverle,  near  Louvain,  a  school  for  the  daughters  of  farmers,  where, 
in  addition  to  a  sound  general  education,  a  girl  can  be  taught  practical 
■dairy  work,  poultry  rearing,  pig  feeding,  or  bee-keeping.  She  will 
also  have  a  grasp  of  book-keeping,  rotation  of  crops,  and  the  relative 
values  of  manures. 
As  a  proof  that  this  school  meets  a  need  we  may  mention  that  the 
pupils  number  750,  and  numbers  are  turned  away  for  want  of  room. 
Sixty  “sisters”  compose  the  staff,  and  those  who  actually  teach  are 
certificated.  Every  detail  is  well  carried  out,  the  buildings  spacious 
and  comfortable,  and  the  school  fees  are  £12  per  annum.  The 
children  usually  enter  at  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  at 
eighteen,  if  a  girl  has  anything  at  all  about  her,  she  is  equipped  for 
life.  Town  girls,  or  those  intended  for  town  life,  take  a  different 
course,  but  all  learn  something — or,  rather,  much — that  is  bound  to  be 
invaluable  in  after  life.  A  horticultural  course  is  included  if  desired. 
In  the  dairy  no  less  than  eighteen  sorts  of  cheese  are  made.  There  is 
another,  but  much  smaller,  school  on  the  same  lines  at  Overyssche, 
near  Brussels. 
We  have  always  held  the  theory  that  an  educated  woman  will 
work  with  greater  nicety  and  finish  than  her  less  fortunate  sister, 
and  if  she  can  get  a  technical  training  in  addition  to  her  education, 
she  should  turn  out  first  class  work.  She  would  not  be  content  to 
manipulate  milk  from  improperly  fed  cows — f.e.,  cows  fed  on  highly 
flavoured  foods,  or  on  foods  not  adapted  to  a  plentiful  milk  flow. 
■She  would  not  be  content  with  fowls  of  a  mongrel  breed  whose 
sole  object  in  life  appeared  to  be  the  development  of  muscle  rather 
than  eggs  ;  fowls  which  by  no  means  could  be  got  fat,  or  fowls  which 
succumbed  to  the  least  attack  of  disease. 
A  good  book-keeper  is  invaluable,  either  on  or  off  a  farm,  but 
particularly  on  a  farm  where  produce  is  sold  in  small  quantities. 
We  see  no  reason  why  a  woman  should  not  be  a  judge  of  the 
quality  of  grain ;  it  is  merely  a  question  of  cultivating  the  powers 
of  observation ;  and  we  think  a  woman  should  be  as  quick  as  a  man  to 
■detect  any  signs  of  ill-health  in  stock. 
We  know  a  family  of  girls  now  who  are  in  the  habit  daily  of 
“  shepherding  ”  all  the  stock  on  a  very  large  grass  holding  in  the 
Midlands.  Of  course  they  do  it  on  horseback,  as  the  distances  are 
so  great. 
In  the  days  of  our  grandmothers  rarely  did  bad  bacon  or  ham 
occur  ;  now  the  process  is  too  ofte  n  left  to  the  groom  or  cowman, 
and  burials  of  “  wrong  ”  meat  are  of  constant  occurrence. 
We  hate  to  see  a  man  milk  ;  but  perhaps  we  trench  on  delicate 
ground,  and  we  will  go  no  further  for  fear  of  a  wigging  from  our 
better  half. 
[The  “  better  half  ”  ought  to  be  pleased  with  the  compliment  paid 
to  her  sex.  We  suspect  the  other  half  has  experienced  the  help  of  a 
gocd  and  clever  helpmeet.  We  will  send  her  a  prospectus  in  order 
that  he  may  receive  a  curtain  lecture  for  not  being  quite  up  to  date 
on  the  question  of  the  Education  of  Women  in  Agriculture;  and  the 
institution  for  this  actually  in  England  !] 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Were  it  not  that  Potatoes  were  being  lifted  with  such  ease,  and  in 
such  fine  condition,  we  should  be  very’  much  out  of  love  with  the  drought 
which  still  continues  with  undiminished  severity.  True,  the  sun  is  a  little 
severe  on  the  backs  of  the  young  Potato  pickers,  but  they  would 
probably  much  prefer  burning  backs  to  frozen  fingers,  for  a  coating  of 
half-frozen  mud  is  not  conducive  to  good  circulation  in  those  members. 
Yesterday  we  were  shooting  under  a  broiling  sun,  with  a  shade 
temperature  somewhere  near  the  eighties.  Just  ten  years  ago  (the  same 
day  of  the  month)  we  were  also  shooting,  but  in  such  a  snowstorm  that 
we  lost  all  feeling  in  our  fingers,  and  had  to  give  up  from  sheer  inability 
to  proceed. 
The  farmer,  to  contend  successfully  with  such  contrasts  of  climate, 
requires  a  huge  stock  of  patience  and  good  temper.  The  Potatoes  will 
soon  be  up,  and  what  are  we  to  do  then  1  Lea  ploughing  is  impossible, 
and  fallows  have  all  been  well  worked  and  clean.  Perhaps  the  best  thing 
would  be  tj  plough  these  latter  as  deeply  as  is  practicable,  and  give  the 
twitch  a  further  chance  to  die  whilst  the  weather  is  so  very  favourable. 
It  is  time  to  plant  out  young  Cabbage  for  sheep  food  next  midsummer. 
A  good  mucking  is  necessary,  and  the  muck  should  be  ploughed  in 
deeply  ;  but  here  is  the  rub,  deep  ploughing  is  out  of  the  question  at 
present,  so  we  should  advise  a  wait,  for  Cabbage  will  not  do  well  without 
deep  cultivation,  and  if  the  land  could  be  prepared  there  would  be  a 
doubt  as  to  the  success  of  the  transplanting,  with  the  soil  as  dry  as  it  is. 
We  have  had  one  decided  frost  during  the  week,  and  several  thick 
foggy  mornings.  This  has  not  had  a  good  effect  on  the  cattle  on  lowland 
pastures.  Several  are  suffering  from  scour,  and  must  be  moved  to  higher 
and  drier  quarters  near  home  if  they  are  not  brought  permanently  into 
the  yards.  There  is  no  saving  in  keeping  cattle  out  in  the  fields  to  lose 
flesh,  and  they  can  lose  as  much  now  in  a  fortnight  as  will  take  a  month 
of  good  food  to  regain. 
Feeding  pigs  now  require  extra  attention.  Sharp  s  or  barleymeal 
must  be  given  with  a  liberal  ration  of  steamed  Potatoes,  if  the  best  and 
sweetest  bacon  is  desired. 
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. 
October. 
ometer 
2°,  and 
i  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
Shade  Tem. 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
.s 
*c3 
Dry. 
Wet. 
1  foot 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  .... 
Monday  .... 
Tuesday  .... 
W  ednesday 
9 
inchs 
30-358 
deg. 
50-0 
deg. 
49-8 
E. 
deg. 
53-7 
deg. 
68-1 
deg. 
40-2 
deg. 
95-6 
deg. 
35-7 
inchs. 
3 
30-326 
57  -6 
55-0 
E. 
53-3 
71 T 
46-3 
106T 
39-3 
— 
4 
30-347 
58-6 
57-2 
N.E. 
55-0 
63’6 
56-1 
73-8 
48-7 
— 
5 
30-262 
57’7 
56-4 
E 
56-1 
61-3 
57-4 
67-6 
55-9 
— 
Thursday  . . 
Friday . 
Saturday .... 
6 
30-119 
59-1 
57-4 
N.E. 
56-3 
63-1 
57-1 
74T 
55’9 
— 
7 
30 -029 
55-4 
53-2 
N.E. 
56*6 
60-9 
53-7 
72-9 
53-2 
— 
8 
29-953 
55-1 
51-3 
E. 
56’2 
60-7 
53-9 
92-8 
52-1 
— 
30-199 
56-2 
54-3 
55.3 
64-1 
52-1 
83-3 
48-7 
— 
REMARKS. 
2nd.— Humid  early  ;  cloudless  almost  throughout. 
3rd.— Almost  cloudless  throughout. 
4th.— Overcast  almost  throughout  and  drizzle  early ;  faint  gleam  of  sun  at 
midday. 
5th.—  Overcast  all  day,  with  occasional  drizzle. 
6th.— Overcast  day,  with  occasional  slight  drizzle. 
7th. — Overcast  throughout;  slight  drizzle  early. 
8th.— Overcast  early  ;  gradually  improving,  and  bright  sun  all  afternoon. 
An  almost  rainless  week,  cloudy  and  damp  in  the  middle,  but  fine  and 
pleasant  at  the  beginning  and  end.  Temperature  above  the  average,  chiefly 
owing  to  absence  of  radiation  at  night.— G.  J.  Symons. 
