488 
JO  UREAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  22,  1898. 
hardly  the  price  of  one  silver  cup.  This  year  we  should  wii'e  fifty 
with  two  noughts  added,  and  then  not  include  the  centenary  medals 
of  gold  and  silver.  rihc  ducal  house  of  Bedford  has  always  been  to 
the  fore  in  matters  agricultural,  and  we  find  Duke  Francis  the  first 
President,  with  that  able  man  Arthur  Young  as  Honorary  Secretary. 
Ilis  duties  would  be  rather  of  a  different  character  from  the  duties 
of  the  present  day  Secretary.  Ah,  well  !  the  work  was  new  then, 
and  Arthur  Toung  would  have  no  rules  to  guide  him.  lie  must 
arrange  th j  lines  on  which  the  Show  must  be  conducted,  and  he  was 
virtually  the  pioneer  of  all  like  gatherings. 
How  the  scheme  would  be  discussed ;  and  how  the  i  romoters 
would  wonder  if  the  end  the}7  had  in  v'ew  would  be  attained.  The 
scheme  was  to  give  prizes  f(  r  the  best  beast  fed  on  grass,  hay,  Turnips, 
or  Cabbages.  For  the  best  beast  fed  partly  on  co:n  or  cake  (what 
cake,  we  wonder?),  and  for  the  best  sheep  ted  respectively  under  these 
conditions.  This  is  what  the  Institution  says  of  itself:  —  “That  the 
service  of  the  Institution  be  to  prove  what  breeds  of  cattle  give  most 
food  for  man  from  given  quantities  of  food  for  animals.” 
The  exhibitors  were  expected  to  state  fully  what  foods  had 
been  employed  in  the  feeding  of  the  stock  shown.  We  will 
warrant  one  thing,  that  feeding  was  not  carried  to  the  fine  art  it 
is  now.  Nor  do  we  suppose  that  the  life  of  an  animal  from  its 
calfhood  to  its  appearance  in  the  slaughter-houso  was  one  long 
course  of  preparation,  as  it  is  to-day.  We  said  from  its  calfhood 
We  must  go  further  back,  as  the  sire  and  dam  too  are  carefully 
bred  and  mated  so  that  they  may  produce  the  best  possible  calf, 
not  just  an  ordinary  one. 
We  remember  hearing  our  grandfather  talk  of  the  first  agri¬ 
cultural  shows  where  there  was  no  previous  preparation — the  best 
cow  or  bull  was  just  brought  up  from  the  field,  cleaned  down  a 
bit,  and  driven  off  to  the  ring  without  further  preparation.  Animals 
were  shown  on  their  merits  then,  and  owed  nothing  to  extraneous 
and  fancy  foods.  Herefords  appear  to  have  been  first  in  the  field, 
and  must  have  been  a  favourite  breed.  Who  among  us  has  ever 
seen  a  “Longhorn,”  a  breed  that  has  nearly  disappeared?  and  who 
remembers  the  old  name  by  which  the  first  Shorthorn  went — 
“  Durham  Ox  ?  ”  As  ch’ldren  we  used  to  see  iu  our  relations* 
houses  many  prints  of  Shorthorns,  and  one  question  was,  Why 
Shorthorn  ?  We  had  never  seen  a  real  old  Longhorn.  Our  people 
were  too  much  devo'ed  to  Bates  or  Booth  to  tolerate  anything  so 
commonplace. 
Only  one  Shorthorn  figures  in  1808,  and  in  1809  there  was  not 
even  one,  and  it  is  curious  to  mark  that  no  classification  of  breeds 
of  cattle  was  made  before  180S.  Then  it  only  lasted  till  1817,  and 
was  suspended  till  1852. 
How  queerly  it  reads  to  us  moderns  that  separate  prizes  were 
given  to  those  cattle  which  had  been  draught  animals  ! 
Sheep  were  roughly  classed  as  LongwooD  and  Shortwools — none 
of  the  bewildering  varieties  of  to-cla}7.  All  these  wonderful  crosses 
of  “Down”  sheep  that  now  delight  us  were  absent.  Many  of  than 
had  not  been  invented,  and  their  weights  and  quality  would  have 
considerably  astonished  the  old  time  shepherds. 
e  always  accord  those  men  the  greatest  honour  who  have 
gallantly  breasted  the  tide.  It  is  ea'-y  progress  when  sailing  with 
wind  and  tide,  and  a  society  is  easily  manag  el  when  funds  come  in 
freely  and  the  sun  of  prosperity  shines.  Smithfield  has  seen  very  elark 
days,  days  when  there  was  no  prize  list  offered  out  of  the  Society’s 
fun  is,  and  when  Duke  John  considered  that  the  show,  having  answered 
the  purpose  for  which  it  had  been  instituted,  had  better  cease. 
Miser  counsels  prevailed.  The  members  still  held  on,  though 
without  a  president,  for  three  years,  and  brighter  days  began  to  dawn. 
Jt  is  forty-four  years  since  the  Prince  of  Mrales,  a  lad  by  his  father’s 
si  !e,  first  made  his  appearance  at  Smithfield,  and  this  year  he  is 
welcomed  again  as  its  genial  President. 
liie  great  and  good  Albert  was  always  ready  to  forward  by  every 
means  in  his  power  all  industrial  pursuit's,  and  was  deeply  interested 
in  the  heme  farm  at  M  indsor.  His  son  follows  bis  stops  and,  as  is 
our  noble  Queen,  a  constant  exhibitor  at  our  great  shows. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM, 
Still  open  weather,  fair  and  mild,  so  that  all  work  is  welFforward.  By 
this  time  all  fallows  must  be  ploughed  ;  there  is  no  excuse  for  any  back¬ 
wardness.  Farmers  are  now  turning  their  attention  to  old  seeds,  which 
will  be  better  for  moving.  They  at  least  should  be  ploughed  9  inches 
deep,  and  we  find  the  beat  implement  tor  this  work  the  chilled  ploughs 
with  the  skim  coulters.  A3  this  land  will  be  wanted  for  next  year's 
Potato  crop,  all  manure  on  it  should  bo  well  buried,  so  that  rotting  with 
the  sod  there  will  be  a  rich  bed  for  the  Potato  sets.  We  should  welcome 
a  frost,  for  noth’ng  so  thoroughly  pulverises  the  land  and  opens  up  every 
clod  to  the  beneficent  action  of  sun  and  air. 
Mre  should  welcome  a  frost,  too,  when  we  think  of  the  four  great  pigs 
which  this  morning  have  squealed  their  last.  It  seems  unnatural  weather 
for  pig  killing,  but  the  pigs  are  ready,  the  bacon  chests  are  getting  low, 
and  the  garth  man  wants  to  be  rid  of  part  of  his  charge.  It  is  a  custom 
with  us  to  supply  the  labourers  with  a  certain  quantity  of  green  bacon  as 
part  of  their  wages.  The  average  for  each  man  is  about  80  stones. 
The  garth  man  has  probably  cleared  out  other  of  his  charges  besides 
the  fat  pig.  Shows  for  fat  cattle  and  sheep  are  pretty  abundant,  but 
whether  the  producer  gets  much  or  any  profit  on  his  Christmas  beef  is 
rather  a  difficult  question  to  answer. 
We  are  thanktul  to  see  the  watercourses  fairly  running  again,  and  we 
are  hoping  there  may  be  sooner  or  later  some  good  downfalls  of  snow 
to  preserve  the  young  Wheats,  and  to  find  the  wherewithal  to  raise  the 
terribly  low  springs. 
LIVE  STOCK  ALMANAC.* 
Given  a  quiet  hour,  and  the  Live  Stock  Almanac  for  1899,  we  want 
nothing  better  for  amusement  and  edification.  Every  possible  subject 
connected  with  agriculture  is  treated  of,  and  not  1  y  office  boys,  but  by 
men  who  have  made  that  particular  subject  their  life  study.  Of  course  the 
horse  comes  first  as  an  article  subject,  and  when  wejsay  that  fifteen  writers 
treat  of  him,  his  different  breeds,  his  qualifications  and  achievements,  we 
must  allow  that  he  is  made  an  animal  of  much  interest.  Then  come  some 
memoranda  of  the  various  animals  classed  under  the  generic  name  “bos,” 
the  best  way  to  rear  them  from  calfhood.  the  prices  they  have  made  when 
they  have  reached  maturity,  and  a  short  account  of  an  ill  to  which  young 
stock  are  very  subject — i.e.,  black  quarter  or  black  leg.  Then  come  sheep 
—  such  a  long  list,  every  sort,  pure  varieties,  and  all  the  crosses  w  hich 
appear  now  to  take  the  public  favour  the  most. 
The  sportsman  is  not  forgotten,  for  there  is  an  article  on  breaking  dogs 
for  the  gun.  We  think  most  sportsmen  have  their  own  pet  recipe. 
Tegetmeier  exposes  the  fallacies  of  poultry  farms.  Such  things  cannot 
succeed  on  a  large  scale  ;  they  are  contrary  to  every  known  law  of  sanita¬ 
tion.  Brown  treats  of  the  duck  industry,  which  appears  to  be  at  present 
principally  confined  to  the  counties  of  Bucks  and  Beds.  There  are  pages 
of  useful  information  touching  fairs  and  markets  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
and  lists  and  addresses  of  the  principal  breeders  of  stock.  A  capital  Is. 
worth  we  say. 
OUR  LETTER  BOX. 
American  Chaffcutter  (J frs.  P.  A.  M .). — We  are  sorry  to  say  we  do 
not  know  of  a  chaffcutter  under  the  above  name.  There  is  no  mention  of 
such  a  machine  in  the  report  of  implements  considered  worthy  of  notice 
exhibited  at  the  Royal  Show  in  June.  Possibly  some  good  ironmonger 
or  implement  dealer  in  your  nearest  town  may  be  able  to  give  you  the- 
desired  information. 
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. 
Rain. 
1898. 
December. 
5o'm 
3”  £ 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot 
Shade  Tern, 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
inchs 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
inchs. 
Sunday  .... 
11 
30-512 
52-4 
50-9 
W. 
47-0 
55-2 
52-0 
59-2 
44  0 
— 
Monday  .... 
1-2 
30-309 
52-0 
49-1 
S.W. 
47-9 
54-2 
50-1 
59-2 
46-8 
— 
Tuesday  .... 
13 
30-417 
42-8 
40-8 
N. 
47-9 
46-9 
42-1 
49-6 
36T 
— 
Wednesday 
14 
30-272 
40-4 
38-2 
S.W. 
45-9 
50-9 
35-6 
51-9 
29  9 
— 
Thursday  . . 
15 
30T77 
43-1 
40-7 
w. 
45-9 
48-2 
40-7 
58-9 
35-6 
— 
Friday . 
16 
30-291 
41-4 
40-1 
S.W. 
44-3 
52-1 
35-6 
52-9 
30-3 
— 
Saturday. . . . 
17 
30-291 
50-3 
50-1 
S.W. 
45-8 
52-8 
42  T 
55-1 
40-3 
0-017- 
30-324 
46-1 
44-3 
16*4 
51-5 
42-6 
55-3 
37-6 
0-017 
REMARKS. 
11th. — Fair,  but  sunless  day  ;  spots  of  rain  after  9  p.m. 
12th. — Fair  and  breezy,  with  the  sun  visible  at  times. 
Ititb. — Fair,  but  sunless. 
14th. — Bright  sun  all  morning  ;  occasional  slight  rain  or  drizzle  after  noon  ;  fine- 
night. 
15th. — Bright  sun  all  day,  and  clear  night. 
16th.  — Overcast  throughout. 
17th. — Overcast  day,  with  a  shower  at  neon. 
Barometer  and  temperature  very  high,  very  little  rain,  and  very  little  sun¬ 
shine.— G.  J.  Symons. 
*  Vinton  &  Co.,  9,  New  Bridge  Street,  Ludgate  Circus. 
