410  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  ‘  November  24,  1898. 
takes  them  to  the  freshly  sown  Wheat,  where,  at  any  rate,  they  get 
their  tithe — get  it  first  before  the  farmer  or  parson  has  a  look  in.  We 
always  fancy,  too,  store  cattle  do  better  in  clear  frosty  weather,  and 
certainly  sheep  have  a  drier  layer.  Horses,  too,  rejoice  in  a  rest, 
whole  or  partial,  and  when  snug  in  the  stable  do  not  make  such  large 
demands  on  the  com  bin.  Many  folks,  too,  are  now  anxious  to  do  a 
bit  of  pig  killing ;  but  it  is  a  serious  consideration  whether  bacon  will 
really  cure  well  with  so  high  a  temperature  as  now  exists.  We  know 
well  that  before  these  notes  get  into  print  the  glass  may  register  zero, 
but  at  present  there  are  no  signs  of  a  change. 
A  little  real  good  frost  would  considerably  “harden”  the  Potato 
market,  which  is  at  present  quoted  as  “  dull.”  We  would  warn  Potato 
sellers  not  to  send  off  trucks  to  distant  markets  unprotected  by  straw, 
and  plenty  of  it,  as  it  is  the  unexpected  that  always  happens  ;  and  it 
is  an  awful  “pull  off”  on  the  mcney  returns  to  find  so  much 
deducted  for  frozen  and  spoiled  tubers.  An  oqien  winter  for  pastures 
is  not  an  unmitigated  blessing.  One  is  apt  to  stock  too  long  and 
too  heavily;  grass  wants  a  rest  as  well  as  other  things,  and  there  can 
be  no  gocd  ‘  bite”  in  spring  where  the  fields  have  been  trodden  over 
and  nibbled  during  the  winter. 
Of  course,  if  we  belong  to  the  hunting  fraternity,  we  think 
differently,  especially  if  we  have  some  premising  “gees”  to  dispose  of. 
An  open  winter  is  our  opportunity,  and  more  so  if  it  is  open  up  to 
Christmas.  We  were  struck  to-day  by  a  statement  in  a  local  paper  to 
this  effect,  that  good  carriage  horses  were  impossible  to  find,  but  that 
hunters  were  plentiful.  We  should  like  to  know  where.  It  is  not  in 
any  known  part  of  Eugland ;  but,  of  course,  we  know  there  are 
hunters  and  hunters.  We  refer  to  those  who  do  not  keep  to  the  road  ; 
who  do  not  dodge  from  cover  to  cover,  and  who  can  negotiate  the 
plough  without  wishing  their  term  of  life  was  over.  These  are  not 
plentiful,  even  where  the  buyer  goes  with  a  full  purse.  They  a:c  like 
the  ideal  horse  of  Lord  Geo.  Bentinck,  that  could  walk  five  miles  an 
hour,  trot  fifteen,  and  gallop  t  wenty— almost  unattainable.  But  we  are 
very  much  off  our  text,  and  must  hark  back  again. 
Turning  to  the  advantages  of  artificial  cold,  we  were  interested 
much  in  reading  how  cold  storage  is  being  utilised  to  bring  producer 
and  consumer  into  closer  touch.  We  have  tried  (with  indifferent 
success)  to  get  up  a  healthy  liking  for  tinned  meats  and  fish,  and 
although  they  are  useful  and  cheap,  many  of  us  look  doubtfully 
at  them.  The  same  does  not  apply  to  food  which  is  brought  to  our 
shores  in  a  frozen  or  “  chilled”  condition— that  is  fancied  and  appre¬ 
ciated  by  many  ;  yet  we  doubt  if,  as  a  community,  we  realise  the 
immense  strides  that  this  branch  of  importation  has  made  dming  the 
last  twenty  years. 
Take  imported  butter— one  of  the  most  perishable  of  foodstuffs.  In 
1888  Australia  sent  us  352  tons,  Canada  465,  New  Zealand  790.  The 
quantities  fluctuate,  but  we  will  look  on  for  nine  years,  when  we 
find  that  in  1897  Australia  sends  91,718  tons,  Canada  5470,  New 
Zealand  3826.  The  trade  is  growing,  and  we  should  have  had  more 
Australian  butter  to  report  except  for  the  great  drought  which  has 
prevailed  for  the  last  three  seasons. 
Now  then  for  other  food  supplies.  In  1880  400  frozen  sheep 
were  despatched  from  Australia;  in  1881,  17,275;  in  1882  New 
Zealand  sent  8800 ;  in  1883  Argentina  17,000;  and  last  year,  1897, 
the  grand  totals  were— Australia,  1,394,500;  New  Zealand,  2,696,000; 
Argentina,  2,068,000  sheep  carcases.  Then,  again,  come  to  these 
shores  not  alone  beef  and  mutton,  but  rabbits  by  the  ton.  In  1897, 
from  Australia,  10,000  tons  of  rabbits  (how  many  go  to  make  up  a 
ton  ?)  ;  frozen  salmon  from  British  Columbia  ;  trout  from  New 
Zealand ;  turkeys  from  Canada,  and  fowls  from  Russia. 
Owing  to  swine  fever,  which  really  seems  to  beat  all  our  skill 
to  exterminate,  the  Americans  have  found  in  our  towns  a  market 
for  fresh  pork,  which  reaches  us  in  capital  condition.  It  may  not  be 
known  to  all  our  leaders  that  several  butchers  and  large  dealers  in 
p  rishable  foods  have  provided  for  themselves  in  many  towns  cold 
stores  where  their  provisions  may  be  kept  in  excellent  order  till 
needed.  The  butcher,  the  fishmonger,  and  game  dealer  in  the  past 
have  had  to  be  prepared  to  meet  all  emergencies  of  weather,  and  wo 
know  to  what  great  loss  they  have  been  ofi'm  subjected.  These 
losses  may  now  be  things  of  the  past.  There  is  no  need  to  spoil  the 
market  and  sell  at  an  alarming  sacrifice  because  the  weathtr  is  against 
further  keeping — the  goods  are  stored;  improve  rather  than  deteriorate, 
and  loss  is  reduced  to  a  minimum. 
There  are  stores,  we  believe,  in  London  and  othe'  large  towns, 
where  customers  may  keep  their  surplus  game  till  hey  need  it. 
Epicures  like  things  out  of  season,  and  a  pheasant  in  June  is  now 
quite  possible  without  infringing  any  known  game  law 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Beautiful  weather,  mild  and  spring-like,  gives  us  no  cause  for  even  a 
small  grumble  ;  everything  is  favourable  for  completing  the  autumn  work, 
and  though  a  rising  glass  and  the  formation  id  large  anti -cyclonic  areas 
are  signs  of  colder  weather,  there  should  be  plenty  of  time  to  clear  off  all 
arrears  before  winter  sets  in. 
The  mild  weather  is  very  favourable  for  Cabbage  planting.  The  plants 
are  now  plentiful  and  cheap,  and  the  land  may  soon  be  got  ready  ;  clean 
stubble  that  has  been  autumn  fallowed  is  best,  and  the  land  must  be 
fairly  good.  Weak  sand  will  not  do,  but  any  other  land  will  grow 
Cabbage,  heavy  soils  being  the  best.  Fifteen  loads  of  muck  per  acre  must 
be  spread  on  the  surface  and  ploughed  in  a  good  depth  (say  8  inches) 
with  the  ordinary  plough.  Tho  Cabbages  may  then  be  planted  in  rows 
in  every  third  seam,  which  will  make  the  rows  about  27  or  28  inches 
apart. 
The  plants  will  cost  Is.  6d.  or  2s.  per  1000,  and  another  shilling  will 
pay  for  the  planting.  About  15,000  will  be  required  per  acre,  and  the 
best,  sorts  are  Enfield  Market,  Early  Sheepfold,  and  Early  Drumhead. 
If  a  large  area  be  planted,  wo  should  advise  that  a  portion  be  set  with 
Enfield  Market  or  Early  Sheepfold,  and  the  remainder  with  Drumhead. 
The  two  first  would  be  well  hearted  and  ready  for  use  by  July,  whereas 
the  Drumhead  would  not  be  ready  until  September. 
We  hear  of  smutted  Wheat  this  season,  also  of  adulterated — or,  rather, 
falsely  named — vitriol  for  Wheat  dressing.  This  latter  is  called  blue 
vitriol  powder,  but  is  really  green  vitriol  coloured  blue.  As  green  vitriol, 
or  sulphate  of  iron,  is  useless  as  a  Wheat  dressing,  it  behoves  farmers  to 
be  careful  vvhat  they  use.  A  case  has  just  come  under  observation  where, 
through  careless  dressing,  a  field  of  Wheat  was  affected  by  smut,  and  the 
farmer,  having  just  thrashed,  is  obliged  to  sacrifice  Is.  6d.  or  2s.  per 
quarter  in  price,  apart  from  a  certain  loss  in  tho  yield. 
Another  farmer  dressed  none  of  his  seed  Wheat  last  year,  partly  to 
save  the  trouble  and  partly  to  seo  the  result.  The  latter  has  been  such 
that  he  will  not  try  such  au  experiment  again.  The  variety  of  smut 
above  referred  to  is  properly  known  as  bunt. 
TURKEYS  versus  FOWLS. 
UNDER  the  tempting  heading  of  “A  Fortune  in  Fowls,”  a  corre¬ 
spondent,  “  H.  F.,”  described  on  page  370  the  sale  of  fowls  per  couple 
(live  weight  11|  lbs.)  at  4s.  in  a  local  maiket.  and  somewhat  despairingly 
asked,  “Where  does  the  profit  cQme  in  We  ventured  to  add,  from  the 
eggs  they  produced  (if  any),  as  obviously  thefe  could  be  no  profit  on  tho 
birds.  The  “  if  any  ”  was  a  fortunate  interpolation,  for  “H.  F.”  writes 
again  thus  : — “I  never  sell  pullets.  The  birds  wero  cockerels,  and  in  my 
county  they  are  not  so  advanced  as  today  ;  so  how  still  is  profit  to  be 
made— fowls,  live  weight  11$  lbs.,  price  4s.  per  couple  >  ” 
We  give  it  up  ;  but  may  also  venture  to  give  a  little  advice.  Rear, 
fatten,  and  dress  turkeys,  with  the  same  success  that  a  novitiate  in 
farming  does— a  close  reader  of,  and  apt  learner  from,  our  excellent 
series  of  “  Home  Farm  ”  articles.  We  do  not  know  that  lie  gained  the 
whole  of  his  turkey  information  from  those  articles,  but  we  do  know  that 
he  has  already  sold  100  Christmas  turkeys,  guaranteed  to  weigh  at  least 
20  lbs.  each,  for  thirteen  pence  a  pound,  the  purchaser  paying  carriage 
over  a  long  distance  to  London.  This  seems  better  than  4|d.  per  lb.  for 
the  smaller  fry,  even  if  the  fowls  do  weigh  11$  lbs.  per  couple,  and  a  £100 
cheque  in  one  deal  for  the  feathered  subsidiaries  of  a  small  home  farm  is 
not  to  bo  despised  in  these  days.  Tho  100  turkeys  sold  by  no  means 
exhaust  the  stock,  nor  is  their  weight  by  any  means  limited  to  20  lbs. 
each,  and  they  will  all  be  wanted,  for  there  is  always  a  demand  for  the 
“best.” 
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. 
November. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
Shade  Tem. 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Rain. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
1  foot 
Max. 
Min. 
In  - 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
Sunday  .... 
13 
inchs 
29-866 
deg. 
47-8 
deg. 
47-0 
N.W. 
deg. 
50  0 
deg. 
55  ”2 
deg. 
46-4 
deg. 
70-6 
deg. 
42-8 
inchs. 
Monday  .... 
14 
30-305 
41-2 
41-2 
N.W. 
47-9 
49-1 
37  -3 
62-3 
30-1 
— 
Tuesday  .... 
15 
30-325 
48-3 
47-1 
W. 
47-1 
53-1 
39-6 
57-9 
34-1 
0-013 
Wednesday 
16 
30-250 
53-1 
52-6 
w. 
48-3 
58-2 
48-1 
61-9 
44-8 
- - 
Thursday  . . 
17 
30-319 
53-7 
53-0 
w. 
49-8 
56-4 
52-1 
68-4 
43-7 
— 
Friday  Z _ 
Saturday. . . . 
18 
30-339 
48-9 
46-3 
N.F. 
50-0 
52-7 
48-1 
74-2 
40-9 
— 
19 
'30-235 
47-8 
45-3 
E. 
. 
43-4 
48-8 
42-0 
62-0 
34  8 
— 
30-238 
48-7 
47*5 
48-8 
53-1 
44-8 
63-9 
38-7 
0-013 
REMARKS. 
13th.— Shower  at  2  a.M.  ;  fine  all  clay,  with  bright  sunshine. 
14th.— Thick  fog  early;  sun  visible  at  11a.m.,  and  bright  from  noon  to  sunset; 
foggy  again  after. 
15tli.— Mild  and  overcast  throughout,  with  occasional  spots  of  rain. 
16th.—  Overcast  morning  ;  faint  sun  in  afternoon. 
17th.— Fog  early  ;  fair  day,  with  the  sun  visible  at  times. 
18th. —  Dry,  fine,  and  generally  sunny  ;  bright  night. 
19th. — Fair  morning  ;  sunny  from  11  a.m.  to  sunset ;  a  little  fog  in  evening. 
Another  warm  week,  with  high  barometer  and  scarcely  any  rain.— G.  J.  Symons. 
