510 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
December  7,  1899. 
must  come  from  warmer  climates,  but  there  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that  the  supply  of  home-grown  Apples  could  be  much  improved  both 
in  quantity  and  quality  if  the  ordinary  farm  orchards  were  to  receive 
more  attention. 
We  do  not  refer  to  districts  which  are  essentially  fruit  growing, 
but  to  the  rest  of  the  country  apart  from  them.  Thousands  of  acres 
of  orchards  attached  to  farmsteads  are  in  a  parlous  state.  We  have 
only  to  take  a  walk  round  any  country  market  to  see  the  utter 
rubbish  which  is  brought  in  to  be  sold  under  the  name  of  fruit. 
A  good  orchard  is  a  valuable  adjunct  to  any  farm,  large  or  small ;  and 
it  should  be  to  the  interest  of  landlords  to  see  that  such  orchards  are 
kept  in  good  condition  and  bearing,  gaps  being  filled  up  at  once  with 
profitable  varieties.  Many  farm  orchards  might  be  profitably  done 
away  with  and  replaced  by  new  ones. 
An  illustration  of  what  may  be  done  by  enterprise  is  shown  in  the 
Potato  market ;  here,  although  not  without  foreign  produce,  English 
practically  holds  the  field.  Even  in  years  disastrous  to  the  home 
crop  the  imports  have  not  reached  any  enormous  figure,  and  the  last 
year  or  two  they  have  been  quite  small,  especially  so  if  the  early 
French  and  Jersey  Potatoes  were  not  counted. 
This  satisfactory  state  of  things  has  been  brought  about  by  the 
successful  enterprise  of  enthusiastic  raisers  of  new  varieties  of  great 
cropping  and  disease-resisting  power,  which  have  filled  our  markets 
with  Potatoes,  with  which  the  foreigner  could  not  successfully 
compete.  Might  we  suggest  that  the  Government,  now  we  have  a 
Board  of  Agriculture,  should  recognise  in  some  substantial  way  the 
success  of  such  efforts  ? 
Experimenters  in  these  matters  do  not  always  reap  the  due  reward 
of  their  success,  the  hard  cash  too  often  going  into  the  pocket  of  the 
txploiter.  The  English  climate  is  well  suited  to  the  growth  of 
Potatoes,  and  there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  holding  this  market 
against  all  comers,  at  any  rate  for  many  years  to  come. 
The  Board  of  Agriculture  might  also  give  similar  encouragement 
to  the  original  raisers  (not  the  introducers  necessarily)  of  new  varieties 
of  grain  and  fruit,  which  have  proved  themselves  to  be  of  staple 
popularity  amongst  growers. 
A\  heat  we  shall  always  have  to  import,  and  our  present  varieties 
are  well  nigh  as  perfect  as  we  are  likely  to  have  them,  but  there  is 
room  for  improvement  in  the  Barleys.  What  is  required  is  an  earlier 
anJ  stiffer  srrawed  Chevalier  ;  grain  as  good  as  Chevalier  is  essential. 
Increased  quantities  of  Barley  are  being  imported  at  the  present  time, 
and  we  attribute  this  fact  not  to  any  shortage  in  the  home  supply, 
but  to  the  scarcity  of  Chevalier  alone.  Many  brewers  prefer  to  use 
malt  made  from  Chevalier  Barley,  and  not  being  able  to  procure  the 
home-grown  article  have  to  go  abroad  for  it.  Here  again  we  see  that 
•to  keep  our  own  market  we  must  study  the  wishes  of  the  customers. 
Again  let  us  turn  to  the  butter  market.  Walk  round  the  market  in 
any  country  town  and  taste  the  samples,  in  some  cases  the  smell  will 
be  enough  to  make  us  move  on.  We  shall  find  a  few  good  lots  and 
perhaps  considerably  more  than  we  could  a  few  years  ago;  but,  alas  ! 
there  is  too  little  uniformity,  too  few  samples  that  will  keep  sweet  for 
even  a  week,  so  the  town  buyer  goes  to  the  shop  for  Danish. 
Who  likes  to  give  2d.  for  a  bad  egg?  No  one;  and  once  bitten 
twice  shy.  But  the  farmer’s  wife  will  be  more  likely  to  risk  a 
doubtful  egg  in  her  basket  now  than  she  would  in  May,  when  they 
are  cheap. 
It  is  the  same  in  the  cheese  market  and  everywhere  else.  Im¬ 
ported  goods  are  specially  grown  and  selected  to  suit  the  English 
market,  and  unless  the  home  producer  at  least  equals  his  opponent  in 
quality  and  price  he  must  submit  to  take  a  secondary  position.  Milk 
is  one  of  the  articles  which  we  have  hitherto  grown  at  home,  and  the 
import  is  still  proportionately  small,  being  only  1£  million  in  value  as 
compared  to  home  supply,  40  millions.  The  price  in  many  places  is 
2d.  per  pint,  but  as  it  can  be  produced  in  the  country  at  Id,  there 
should  be  a  margin  for  carriage  and  retailing  to  sell  it  at  3d.  per 
quart.  Put  good  milk  on  the  streets  at  3d.  per  quart  and  there  will 
not  be  large  imports. 
Again  we  say,  “  Grow  the  best,”  at  any  rate  try  ! 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
The  weather  is  wonderfully  open  and  dry,  the  water  courses  present  an 
appearance  more  like  a  hot  July  than  November,  and  there  is  again  a 
difficulty  about  the  water  supply  for  the  yards. 
It  is  a  splendid  opportunity  for  cleansing  and  siding  up  any  drains  or 
big  ditches  that  were  left  over  from  summer  ;  with  the  aid  of  boots  they 
may  be  done  at  any  time,  but  the  work  is  much  assisted  when  water  is 
comparatively  scarce.  Besides  this,  there  is  the  point  that  ordinary 
labourers  may  do  the  work  instead  of  professionals,  and  at  much  less 
cost. 
Complaints  are  rife  of  the  spread  of  disease  amongst  Potatoes.  Many 
have  gone  wrong  since  being  lifted,  so  it  behoves  farmers  to  pay  close 
attention  to  their  stores,  for  if  the  tubers  begin  to  decay  they  must  be 
sorted  over  at  once,  whether  they  are  sent  to  the  market  or  restored  to 
the  heap. 
Work  on  the  land  goes  splendidly,  and  the  horses  are  having  a  good 
time — short  hours  and  little  heavy  work.  Ploughing  was  never  done 
more  easily,  and  the  manuring  for  Potatoes  could  not  have  been  done 
more  favourably  in  summer  ;  there  is  no  cutting  through  of  the  wheels, 
and  therefore  no  heavy  pulling. 
Care  must  now  be  taken  with  foaling  mares.  They  should  not  be  put 
in  shafts  at  all,  but  to  ploughing  or  harrowing.  Carting  Turnips  is  not 
nnsuitable  work  if  there  is  no  need  to  back  the  carts. 
This  is  the  time  to  make  the  best  use  of  the  bull.  Dairy  cattle  are 
never  so  good  to  sell  as  they  are  when  they  calve  down  in  September.  It 
is  a  good  plan  to  have  a  yard  set  apart  for  the  heifers  of  eighteen  months 
of  age,  and  to  have  a  young  bull  with  them  all  winter.  Sheep  are  doing 
fairly  well,  but  Turnips  are  disappearing  very  quickly.  They  are  very 
poor  food,  and  much  cake  will  be  required  to  supply  the  place  of  the 
missing  constituents.  Woody  fibre  cannot  be  included  in  that  list. 
Horses  will  require  attention  as  to  their  genesal  health,  as  they  are 
not  working  so  hard.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  make  a  reduction  in  the  corn 
allowance  until  February  1st.  The  men  will  not  approve  ;  but  the  horses 
will  be  better  for  it,  and  so  will  the  farmer’s  pocket.  Half  a  linseed  cake 
per  head  per  week,  dissolved  in  the  water- tub,  is  a  capital  thing  to  keep 
horses  healthy  and  well  in  winter  time.  It  will  help  to  keep  off  humours 
such  as  grease.  If  the  latter  appears,  give  the  animal  a  ball,  and  wash 
its  legs  with  weak  phenyle  disinfectant. 
Best  Butter-producing  Cattle. — For  breeds  for  butter  I  would 
recommend  the  Jersey,  Guernsey  or  Devon.  Phenomenal  cows  are 
found  in  all  breeds.  Locations  have  little  to  do  with  a  choice  of  breeds. 
The  Devon  is  hardier  than  the  Jersey,  and  the  Guernsey  requires 
better  keeping  than  the  Jersey.  My  experience,  covering  a  period  of 
twenty  years,  gives  me  a  preference  for  the  Jersey,  not  particularly  the 
thoroughbred,  but  the  high  grade  ;  the  second  or  third  cross  with  other 
breeds,  that  is,  usiDg  any  good  cow  for  a  dam,  crossing  with  thorough¬ 
bred  Jersejq  then  crossing  the  progeny  again  with  thoroughbred 
Jersey.  The  first  cross  makes  a  half-blood,  the  second  three-quarters, 
the  third  seven-eighths,  the  fourth  fifteen-si&teenths,  and  a  fifteen- 
sixteenths  Jersey  cow  I  once  had  that  for  milk  and  butter  was 
the  best  cow  I  ever  knew.  With  the  modern  warm  barns  we  need 
not  raise  the  question  of  hardiness.  Our  cows  are  not  expected  to  be 
subjected  to  th«  cold  in  winter.  It  is  no  economy  to  permit  this, 
but  the  reverse,  with  the  hardiest  breeds.  I  tie  with  chains,  and  have 
wintered  cows  that  did  not  leave  the  stable  from  November  till  May.  I 
kept  one  individual  cow  for  years  and  could  see  no  ill  effect.  I  brush 
them  every  day.  Though  tying  with  chains,  they’  can  lie  down  on  either 
side  and  turn  and  lick  themselves  at  pleasure. — H.  H.  Childs  (in 
“  American  Agriculture.”) 
Condemning  Judges  Unjustly. — As  a  rule,  at  the  live  stock 
shows  we  find  five  or  six  spectators  around  the  horse  riDg  to  one  witness¬ 
ing  the  judging  of  cattle  or  other  stock  It  is  at  the  side  of  the  horse 
ring,  too,  that  the  most  adverse  criticisms  of  the  judge’s  decisions  are 
heard.  It  must  be  admitted  that  occasionally  such  decisions  are  given 
as  tc  warrant  complaint,  but  as  a  rule  there  is  room  for  more  charity 
than  is  exercised,  as  the  selection  of  the  men  to  do  the  work  is  made  from 
their  believed  fitness  for  the  task.  There  are  so  many  little,  yet 
important,  points  connected  with  the  judging  of  the  horse  that  affect 
his  position  in  the  eyes  of  the  judge,  which  may  be  altogether  unobserved 
by  those  outside  the  ring,  and  many  little  faults  and  failings  that  his 
owner  may  not  have  detected.  We  see,  perhaps,  standing  a  beautifully 
moulded  stallion  or  mare,  colt,  filly  or  foal  in  the  hands  of  a  showman  who 
has  trained  his  favourite  many  times  to  set  itself  in  the  most  attractive 
form  and  position,  and  we  go  away  saying  “That  was  a  grand  animal.” 
Later  on  we  learn  that  our  favourite  was  left  out  of  the  place  we  had 
selected  for  it,  and  we  cannot  see  why.  The  trouble  was  we  did  not 
see  the  animal  trotted  out,  and,  of  course,  failed  to  notice  that  it  travelled 
wide  and  awkward  behind,  or  curved  its  fore  toes  dangerously  near  the 
Other  leg,  or  some  such  defect,  which  the  judges  in  doing  their  duty 
conscientiously  and  carefully  had  easily  detected,  and  very  rightly  placed 
the  animal  in  its  proper  place.  Even  when  we  see  the  competitors 
put  through  their  vy.-imis  gaits  we  are  more  likely  than  not  to  be 
standing  broadside  of  the  animals,  which  prevents  us  detecting  faults  that 
may  entitle  him  to  a  place  several  points  below  a  less  likely  looking 
candidate.  When  we  consider  these  points  it  will  be  seen  how  easy 
it  is  to  condemn  our  judges  unjustly.— T.  W, — (in  “Farmer  and 
Stockbreeder ”) 
