372 
October  26,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
is  like  a  most  sensitive  barometer.  Let  a  cold  night  or  two  come  on, 
down  falls  the  milk  record.  Let  her  be  milked  by  rough  or  incompetent 
people,  result  the  same.  Let  her  be  unsuitably  hurried  or  worried — 
the  milk  pail  tells  a  tale.  Feed  her  with  strong  flavoured  food,  you 
get  the  benefit  in  your  cream  jug  and  puddings.  Feed  her  well  and 
carefully  with  a  due  regard  to  warmth  and  comfort,  and  you  will  be 
fully  repaid  by  the  milk  yield.  Bear  in  mind  one  thing,  condition 
once  lost  is  never  regained.  The  ill  effects  of  fast  days  are  not  done 
away  by  a  succession  of  feast  days. 
All  live  stock  are  affected  by  autumn  weather ;  the  chilly  nights 
and  mornings,  the  stormy  winds  and  heavy  autumn  rains,  all  have  their 
effect,  and  it  is  a  near  sighted  man  who  keeps  his  stock  out  too  late 
in  the  autumn.  By  alt  means  give  them  a  run  if  there  is  a  good  bite 
of  grass  left,  but  let  the  world  get  aired  first,  and  bring  them  up 
before  the  damps  begin  to  fall.  Remember,  too,  you  cannot  begin  too 
early  with  a  bit  of  hand  food — the  grass  must  be  an  extra,  not  the 
standing  dish. 
Two  duties  are  expected  of  a  cow — she  must  keep  up  her  milking 
habit,  and  at  the  same  time  she  is  nourishing  an  unborn  calf.  She  is 
liberal  to  you,  be  you  equally  so  to  her.  If  you  have  a  patch  of 
Cabbage — and  no  farmer  should  be  without — remember  her  tastes. 
Tares,  too,  make  an  excellent  substitute  for  good  succulent  grass.  She 
requires  moisture,  and  she  enjoys  it  better  taken  in  this  form.  It  is 
early  to  speak  of  Carrots,  but  in  some  neighbourhoods  they  are  both 
plentiful  and  cheap. 
There  are  all  sorts  of  good  valuable  dried  foods  in  the  market. 
Bran,  decorticated  cotton  cake,  crushed  Oats,  dried  grains.  As  much 
as  3  or  4  lbs.  of  cotton  cake  may  be  given  with  advantage,  but  it  is 
well  to  make  the  change  gradually.  A  sudden  and  large  supply  of 
dried  food  will  possibly  put  the  cow  out  of  gear,  and  the  milk  will  not 
be  up  in  quality  to  Al.  Hay  is  a  grand  food,  but  hay  alone  does 
not  do.  There  is  hay  and  hay,  and  some  is  really  only  fit  just  to 
keep  stock  going — in  fact,  to  fill  the  stomach. 
Roots  are  valuable  in  certain  proportions,  and  we  thoroughly 
believe  in  Mangolds,  but  they  must  be  ripe  before  being  used.  They 
require  to  mellow  a  certain  time  in  pie  before  being  eaten.  Swedes 
also  contain  valuable  properties,  but  there  is  a  prejudice  against  them, 
as  they  are  said  to  taint  the  butter.  It  is  quite  possible  to  use  them 
without  running  this  risk.  If  cows  are  fed  immediately  after  milking 
with  Swedes  the  effect  will  have  gone  off  before  the  next  milkiLg 
time.  The  green  tops  are  ihe  most  likely  to  do  the  harm  ;  they 
should  be  carefully  removed. 
All  sorts  of  chaff  and  cut  meat  are  useful,  except  Barley.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  Barley  straw  will  most  effectually  ary  any  cow. 
This  should  be  borne  in  mind  by  any  beginner  in  dairy  work.  If 
there  is  a  good  Clover  stack  the  cows  should  have  their  share,  but  a 
cowman  who  knows  his  business  will  be  for  ever  on  the  look  out  for 
anything  appetising  for  his  charges. 
A  cottager’s  cow  is  invariably  a  good  milker.  So  much  depends 
on  her  that  she  is  humoured  and  petted  like  a  child.  She  gets  many 
a  dainty  bit  that  the  farmer’s  cows  never  see;  there  are  too  many  of 
them  for  individual  attention — and  it  is  individual  attention  that  pays. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
We  are  enjoying  a  true  St.  Luke’s  summer,  sunny  days  and  starry 
nights  with  just  a  suspicion  of  frost,  but  nothing  to  make  the  root 
grower  anxious.  Wheat  sowing  proceeds  swimmingly,  and  the  recent 
rise  of  os.  per  quarter  may  tempt  farmers  to  sow  Wheat  where  they 
had  meant  to  grow  Oats,  thus  increasing  an  already  bloated  acreage. 
Potatoes  have  ripened  off  very  quickly,  and  even  Up-to-Dates  now 
present  little  difficulty.  Growers  are  busy  lifting,  and  too  busjr  to  sell  or 
complete  delivery  of  those  already  sold  ;  as  a  result  we  have  sharper 
markets,  and  would-be  purchasers  are  wandering  round  the  villages 
trying  to  appear  interested  in  natural  history  or  flowers  or  anything 
rather  than  the  vegetable  supply. 
With  Turnips  making  35s.  per  ton  to  the  cowkeepers  in  the  towns, 
there  must  be  a  good  prospect  for  even  the  commonest  Potatoes.  Grinding 
Parley  too  is  very  dear,  and  we  do  not  envy  the  lot  of  those  who  are  large 
holders  of  store  pigs  but  who  have  to  purchase  all  their  food. 
During  the  past  week  we  have  had  opportunities  for  taking  stock  of 
the  root  crop  of  two  counties.  Mangold  is  fairly  good,  in  some  cases  very 
good.  Common  Turnips  are  a  good  plant  but  are  very  small  ;  they  have 
all  finished  growing  except  the  late  sown  ones,  which  look  healthy  and 
like  making  an  average  crop. 
Swedes  are  dreadful,  no  other  adjective  describes  them.  Lirge 
patches  ot  them  are  practically  dead,  the  leaves  having  fallen  aud  only  a 
stump  remaining  ;  even  where  the  plants  look  fairly  healthy  tew  of  the 
roots  would  scale  2  lbs.,  and  some  have  made  little  effort  to  bulb  at 
al).  We  believe  Swedes  were  in  a  similar  plight  thirty  years  ago,  but 
were  of  larger  size. 
Spring  sown  Cabbages  are  not  very  satisfactory,  they  are  inclined 
more  to  run  to  seed  than  to  heart.  Artificial  foods  have  risen  in  price. 
Dried  grains  rose  10s.  per  ton  at  a  bound.  Cakes  have  risen  5s.  to 
128.  6d.  per  ton.  In  fact  the  mixed  land  farmer  already  finds  the  increased 
return  from  his  Wheat  crop  spoken  for  before  he  has  got  it  realised. 
Little  picking  can  be  found  by  the  hens  in  the  stackyards,  and  if  hens 
are  expected  to  keep  on  laying  they  must  be  well  fed  now.  With  good 
Barley  at  28s.  and  seconds  at  24s.  we  should  recommend  the  best  as 
being  the  cheapest.  Now  that  fowls  are  more  dependant  on  grain  food 
look  well  after  the  supply  of  grit.  Animals  could  not  feed  well  without 
teeth,  and  grit  acts  in  the  place  of  teeth  for  the  fowl. 
The  Women’s  Agricultural  Association. — The  Countess  of 
Warwick  presided  last  week  at  Stafford  House  over  the  first  annual 
meeting  of  the  Women’s  Agricultural  Association.  There  was  a  large 
attendance.  Lady  Warwick  said  their  year’s  work  had  been  quite  as 
satisfactory  as  could  be  expected.  The  Committee  is  in  correspondence 
with  ladies  in  America,  where  it  is  hoped  a  similar  organisation  may  be 
formed.  South  Africa  is  already  represented  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Cecil 
Rhodes,  and  South  Australia  and  New  Zealand  are  also  likely  soon  to 
show  their  practical  support.  Her  ladyship  strongly  urged  those  who 
intended  to  take  up  the  farming  industry  to  work  hard  and  persevere. 
Miss  Bradley,  the  Secretary,  read  the  report,  which  was  adopted. 
Biological  Science  in  Its  Relation  to  Agriculture  — At 
the  above  meeting  the  following  resolution  was  carried  unanimously  :  — 
‘•That  it  is  desirable  and  important  that  duly  qualified  women  should 
have  the  advantages  of  full  membership  in  scientific  and  other  learned 
societies—  e.g.,  the  Royal,  the  Linnean,  and  the  Royal  Microscopical.” 
An  excellent  paper  by  Mrs.  Farquharson,  F.R.M.S.,  of  Haughton,  in  sup¬ 
port  of  the  resolution,  was  read  ut  the  meeting.  “I  do  not  think,”  said 
the  author,  “  that  I  put  the  matter  too  forcibly  when  I  state  that  in  my 
opinion  the  science  of  biology  is  to  agriculture  the  key-note  of  all  its 
hoped-for  attainments.  Tne  electrical  wheel  cannot  be  driven  without 
dynamic  power,  and,  there. ore,  how  can  we  attempt  to  fathom  the  depth 
of  the  science  of  life  without  the  fundamental  knowledge  of  biology,  com¬ 
prising  entomology  and  ornithology.  For  practical  purposes  which  par¬ 
ticular  subject  to  learn  is  in  my  experience  ot  the  utmost  importance.  Many 
a  woman  has  to  spend  a  lengthy  time  in  wading  through  volumes  of 
matter,  when  a  single  hour’s  attendance  at  one  ot  the  learned  societies’ 
meetings  might  clearly  demonstrate  to  her  the  information  which  she 
craved.  At  these  meetiugs  the  latest  ideas,  ttie  opinions,  and  the 
experience  of  specialists  are  freely  expressed,  and  pro^e  over  and  over 
again  of  the  greatest  Uoe  in  the  advancement  of  biological  science.  Not 
only  would  it  be  most  beneficial  in  practical  agriculture  and  horticulture, 
but  it  would  no  doubt  insure  success  in  the  present  state  of  so  keen  com¬ 
petition.  Admission  to  these  societies  would  enable  a  woman  with  her 
untrained  mind,  as  to  state  the  fact  frankly,  is  so  unfortunately  often  the 
case — to  be  on  the  same  footing  as  members  of  the  other  sex,  both 
possessing  in  common,  ‘  genius,  the  supreme  capacity  for  taking  pains.’  ” 
Feeding  Pigs  on  Acorns. — In  this  country  we  know  very  little 
of  the  practice  which  is  so  largely  followed  in  some  parts  of  England  at 
this  season  of  the  year,  when  pigs  are  turned  by  the  score  into  woods  for 
the  consumption  of  acorns  and  beech  mast.  It  is  claimed  for  the  prac¬ 
tice,  that  in  addition  to  the  food  costing  next  to  nothing,  it  is  capable  of 
producing  bacon  ot  the  highest  class.  The  food  is  certainly  much  more 
“natural  ”  than  the  prepared  messes  upon  which  pigs  are  usually  fed,  and 
the  bacon  resulting  from  it  is  said  to  possess  a  flavour  not  often  found  in 
pork  produced  under  ordinary  conditions.  Curiously  enough,  though 
pigs  when  at  large  feed  upon  these  acorns  with  impunity,  they  give  rise 
to  digestive  disorders  of  various  kinds  when  fed  in  any  quantity  to 
animals  kept  in  confinement.  The  reason  why  pigs  eat  them  with 
impunity  when  running  loose  is  supposed  to  be  because  the  animals 
then  only  eat  them  in  small  quantities  at  a  time  and  in  conjunction  with 
other  foods,  weeds  of  various  Kinds,  which  have  the  effect  of  reducing  the 
irritant  influence  of  the  acorns. — (“Irish  Farmer’s  Gazette.”) 
Hand-weeding  versus  Hoeing. — Although  stirring  the  surface 
while  weeding  with  the  hoe  is  so  beneficial  to  the  soil  there  are  some 
weeds  of  so  rapid  a  growth  and  which  seed  so  persistently  that  hand- 
weeding  is  the  only  means  by  which  they  can  be  completely  extirpated. 
Capsella  bursa  pastoris  (common  Shepherd’s  Furse  or  “  Fickpocket  ”)  is  a 
notable  example  where  the  hoe,  unless  plied  repeatedly,  propagates  the 
weed,  instead  of  destroying  it,  by  breaking  the  small  seed  vessels,  which 
are  produced  almost  as  soon  as  the  first  leaves  appear.  Hand-weeding  , 
for  this  pest  certainly  pays  even  in  fields,  because  the  plough  or  hoe 
breaks  the  capsules  and  re-sows  the  seed  tor  a  fresh  crop.  On  examining 
one  of  the  capsules,  which  are  heart-shaped  with  two  lobes,  there  will 
be  found  at  least  twenty  seeds — very  small  growths  possess  one  hundred 
capsules.  On  many  plants  will  be  found  several  hundred  capsules,  so 
that  from  two  thousand  up  to  ten  thousand  seeds  are  scattered  unless  the 
weed  is  piffled  and  removed  to  be  burned  at  once.  Those  who  work  the 
soil  ought  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  habits  of  weeds.  Observations 
would  prove  that  in  the  garden,  on  the  lawn,  and  in  pasture,  as  well  as  on 
arable  land,  hand-weeding  at  the  proper  moment  pays. — E.  O.  T.  (in 
■“  Rural  World.”) 
