1H6 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  10,  1899. 
A  REAL  DANGER. 
Every  now  and  then  we  have  scares ;  the  nation,  or  perhaps  a 
■section  of  the  nation,  appears  to  lose  its  head ;  we  will  believe  any 
old  \ wives’  fables,  and  we  make  ourselves  miserable  about  the 
improbable. 
At  one  time  we  fear  an  outbreak  of  hostilities  ;  we  see  a  foe 
where  no  foe  exists;  a  little  passing  anger  is  magnified  into  serious 
disquietude ;  we  are  ready  to  mount  our  guns,  call  out  our  ironclads, 
and^ march  our  soldiers  ;  when  the  matter  is  explained  the  cloud 
■disappears,  and  we  regain  our  accustomed  tranquility.  Then  some 
scientist  calculates  the  depth  and  width  of  our  coal  measures — so 
many  square  miles,  so  many  tons  per  acre,  so  much  inciease  in 
population,  and  tells  us  in  so  many  years  we  shall  have  no  coal, 
therefore  no  warmth,  and  with  lack  of  warmth,  no  life.  Or  it 
is  the  sun  himself  who  is  gradually  withdrawing  his  rays;  we  are 
to  be  plunged  in  daikness  and  death.  Our  Wheat  area  and  bread 
stuff  production  will  not  be  adequate  to  our  population,  we  must 
either  find  new  equivalents  or  perish. 
The  air,  the  water,  the  food  we  eat,  are  charged  with  poisons ; 
disease  menaces  us  at  every  step,  life  should  be  a  burden,  but  yet 
we  live  on,  apparently  much  in  the  same  manner  as  before  the 
alarmist  spoke  or  wrote.  There  is  truth  in  much  they  tell  us ; 
they  warn  us  for  our  good,  sometimes  they  make  us  listen  ;  they 
compel  us  to  heed  their  words,  they  succeed  in  frightening  us 
thoroughly. 
We  may  safely  say  the  latest  scare  has  been  about  our  milk 
supply,  and  it  is  a  scare  that  has  touched  high  and  low.  We  have 
fully  accepted  for  some  time  the  fact  that  scarlet  and  other  fevers  and 
diseases  may  be  imparted  through  milk,  and  now  we  have  been  told 
to  add  to  the  list  consumption,  or  tuberculosis  in  its  protean  forms. 
■Consumption  touches  us  all,  for,  alas  !  there  are  few  families  in  the 
United  Kingdom  that  have  not  suffered  from  the  scourge.  Milk  is 
alike  the  diet  of  infant,  child,  adult,  aod  invalid,  and  it  is  a  grave 
question  that  is  presented  to  us.  Is  our  food  to  become  the  means  of 
our  death  ? 
Some  startling  revelations  have  been  made  lately  with  regard  to 
this  subject.  Milking  stock  has  b.en  condemned  wholesale,  and  it  has 
been  ascertained  in  case  after  case  that  a  large  percentage  of  our  cows 
are  afflicted  more  or  less  with  this  disease.  Not  being  quick  in  action, 
a  beast  may  be  ailing  for  some  time  before  the  real  facts  of  the  case 
are  arrived  at.  If  the  symptoms  were  more  marked  and  defined,  the 
danger  and  difficulty  would  be  less.  The  application  of  the  test  for 
tubercle  is  not  at  all  general,  nor  will  it  become  so  unless  enforced 
by  law. 
All  disease  is  more  or  less  preventible,  and  prevention  is  always 
better  than  cure.  Bearing  in  mind  that  tuberculosis  is  infectious, 
means  should  be  taken  to  separate  the  healthy  from  the  unhealthy. 
Find  the  unhealthy  first  by  means  of  the  tuberculin  test,  and  then 
insist  on  isolation — isolation  in  field,  isolation  in  byre ;  and  get  rid  of 
these  beasts  as  quickly  as  possible.  If  nearly  fat,  finish  off  quickly 
and  kill  ;  some  portions  of  the  flesh  would  be  found  wholesome,  and 
good  for  food. 
If  a  cow  in  calf  is  found  affected,  by  all  means  allow  her  to  calve, 
for  unless  she  has  a  diseased  uterus  the  calf  is  piactically  safe. 
Tuberculosis  is  not  hereditary,  but  a  calf  reared  on  milk  from  a 
diseased  cow  has  not  much  chance.  Take  the  calf  away  at  once 
before  the  mother  has  time  even  to  lick  it,  and  rear  it  on  the  milk 
of  a  healthy  animal,  then  there  is  every  chance  of  the  calf  doing 
well. 
Fortunately  the  bacillus  of  tuberculosis  does  not  thrive  in  clean, 
wholesome  surroundings.  Light,  air,  ventilation  are  all  foes  of  bacilli, 
but  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  persuade  people  to  see  the  force  of 
cleanliness,  the  value  of  sunlight,  and  the  beauty  of  fresh  water. 
They  confuse  warmth  with  stuffiness,  look  upon  cleanliness  as  over¬ 
righteousness,  and  practically  sacrifice  stock  to  their  own  carelessness. 
Often  we  know  the  cowhouses  are  to  blame — ill-constructed,  draughty, 
and  altogether  badly  suited  for  the  purposes  for  which  they  are 
intended,  but  an  energetic  man  can  do  wonders  if  he  is  only  alive  to 
the  necessity  of  the  case. 
But  it  is  not  alone  in  the  cow  house  we  may  look  for  this  dreaded 
disease.  Pigs  are  very  susceptible.  How  often  one  hears  of  pigs  that 
do  no  good — i.e.,  apparently  waste  away.  This  is  not  a  quick  disease, 
the  victims  often  linger  long,  and  during  all  this  time  are  active 
centres  of  infection.  Ailing  stock  are  never  desirable,  and  we  believe 
th  it  in  most  cases  cold  steel  is  the  best  cure,  and  it  is  the  cheapest 
in  the  long  run. 
Man  will  communicate  tuberculosis  to  animals  and  vice  versu. 
It  is  never  considered  wise  to  have  a  delicate  nursemaid  for  young 
children.  It  is  well  to  see  that  the  cow  man  is  not  of  a  consumptive 
turn.  We  know  lung  troubles  generally  mean  a  good  deal  of  expec¬ 
toration,  and  it  is  in  that  objectionable  matter  that  the  bacilli  prevail. 
Tuberculosis  must  be  treated  as  an  infectious  disease,  but  also  as  one 
which  can  be  prevented  by  isolation,  ventilation,  fresh  air,  and 
antiseptics. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
We  farmers  are  funny  mortals  ;  here  we  are  with  our  grain  crops  ripe 
and  ready  for  the  harvest,  and  our  root  crops  thirsting  for  rain.  There¬ 
fore  you  find  one  man  who  depends  on  his  live  stock  deploring  the 
drought  ;  whilst  another,  whose  grain  has  done  well,  and  only  requires 
fine  weather  to  secure  it,  is  rejoicing  in  the  high  barometer  and  using 
strong  expressions  whenever  he  sees  the  rain  drops  fall. 
One  thing  a  farmer  learns  by  experience — i.e.,  patience,  or  may  we 
term  it  philosophy  !  There  is  no  dependance  to  be  placed  in  the  weather, 
and  quite  as  little  in  barometers.  We  know  a  man  who  in  harvest  time 
came  indoors  dripping  wet  to  find  his  glass  at  fair.  He  removed  the 
offending  instrument  from  its  peg,  took  it  into  the  open  air,  and  invited  it 
to  see  for  itself ;  on  a  later  occasion,  the  barometer  not  having  profited  by 
the  warning,  but  having  repeated  the  offence,  he  brought  the  false 
prophet  from  the  wall  with  his  hunting  crop. 
This  must  be  at  the  root  of  the  grumbling  nature  of  the  farmer.  He 
is  so  helpless  to  combat  the  forces  of  Nature  that  when  they  array  them¬ 
selves  against  him  a  growl  is  his  only  consolation. 
The  heat  has  matured  the  corn  very  rapidly.  Barleys  are  ripening 
almost  too  quickly,  and  there  may  be  too  large  a  proportion  of  tail  corn- 
Wheat  will  again  be  the  best  crop  of  the  year. 
Although  a  few  showers  would  have  done  good  to  the  Turnips,  the 
weather  has  been  excellent  for  the  hoeing  and  weeding  ;  all  is  not  yet 
done,  and  hardly  will  be  before  we  have  to  leave  off  for  the  harvest.  We 
have  to  be  careful  with  the  horse  hoe,  for  the  young  plants  are 
easily  knocked  up.  This  is  not  a  good  sign,  and  denotes  a  poor  root.  A 
long  drought  might  have  very  serious  consequences. 
We  have  not  a  great  opinion  of  the  outlook  for  roots  generally,  and  we 
cannot  find  a  farmer  who  gives  us  a  good  report.  Cabbage  for  next 
summer  must  be  sown  at  once  if  not  already  in. 
Fly  is  now  very  troublesome  to  the  sheep.  As  we  have  remarked 
several  times  before,  nothing  is  more  effectual  to  keep  the  fly  from  the 
wounds  than  tobacco  powder,  dredged  on  from  a  pepper  pot.  They  will 
never  strike  again  where  it  is  used. 
Early  foals  had  better  be  weaned  at  once,  especially  if  the  mares  are 
required  for  carting  corn.  The  milk  will  be  dried  up  before  the  mare  is 
wanted  for  work,  and  risk  of  overheating  avoided,  for  a  foal  is  easily 
thrown  amiss  when  the  dam  is  working  hard  in  hot  weather,  and  there  is 
little  gained  by  postponing  weaning  until  autumn. 
Prices  op  British  Corn. — The  “Rural  World”  gives  the  average 
prices  of  British  corn  per  quarter  for  the  week  ending  Julv  ,29th  as 
follows  : — Wheat,  25s.  2d.  ;  Barley,  22s.  5d.  ;  Oats,  18s.  2d.  The  prices 
for  the  corresponding  week  last  year  were  : — Wheat,  36s.  lid.  ;  Barley, 
24s.  2d.  ;  Oats,  20s.  lid.  The  prices  for  the  week  ending  July  22nd 
were  as  follows  : — Wheat,  25s.  5d. ;  Barley,  21s.  lOd. ;  Oats,  18s.  The 
London  Flour  Millers’  Association’s  official  prices  of  flour  per  sack  for 
the  week  ending  July  24th  were  as  follows — viz. :  Whites,  26s.  ;  town 
households,  23s. 
