410 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  S6,  1898. 
very  small,  the  mortality  almost  nil,  and  the  crop  of  lambs 
extremely  good.  There  is  just  one  word  of  warning  that  may 
be  timely  here.  We  have  heard  of  large  crops  of  lambs 
dwindling  down  fearfully  before  they  arrive  at  the  Turnip  fold 
stage.  The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  Sheep  must  not  run  too 
thick,  must  not  be  too  closely  pastured,  must  (quite  as  much  as 
human  beings')  have  infinite  variety  in  their  bill  of  fare.  All 
this  is  of  course  more  difficult  when  the  flock  is  a  big  one. 
We  know  of  many  farmers  who  take  the  eatage  of  the  lanes 
adjacent  to  their  farms  for  the  sole  purpose  of  being  able  to 
turn  the  lambs  out  into  them  for  change  of  pasture.  There  is 
many  a  bit  of  good  picking  on  the  roadside  many  a  bit  of  Elder 
or  Thorn  or  Bramble  in  the  hedge  which  an  industrious  lamb 
will  find,  and  which  will  act  as  a  wholesome  tonic,  and  also 
alternative  to  their  own  special  pasture.  Now  comes  in  the 
value  of  the  Cabbage  plot,  few  lambs  go  wrong  when  once  fairly 
broken  in  to  Cabbage.  It  is  no  use  speaking  of  the  various 
lamb  foods  that  are  advertised  in  every  paper  Each  farmer 
has  his  own  particular  fancy  and  his  own  favourite  manufac¬ 
turer.  At  any  rate,  let  them  be  liberally  and  wisely  fed. 
The  first  record  is  of  Hampshire,  and  in  looking  through  a 
list  of  fourteen  well-known  breeders  it  is  most  gratifying  to 
learn  that  with  one  mouth  and  one  voice  they  all  agree  that  this 
just  finished  season  has  a  wonderfully  favourable  record  Early 
in  the  season  there  were  not  many  pairs,  but  towards  the  end  the 
average  rose  to  40  per  cent,  of  twins  Speaking  of  ewes  lambed 
on  Mangold,  one  writer  says  he  never  had  his  flock  do  better. 
Where  there  was  a  plethora  of  white  Turnips,  and  the  flock 
masters  were  so  short-sighted  as  to  use  them  too  liberally, 
mortality  among  the  ewes  resulted.  With  root  crops  sound, 
plenty  of  Rye  and  Tares  (or  Vetches)  sheep  should  surely  do 
well.  In  one  flock,  roots  being  scarce,  the  ewes  were  lambed  on 
hay,  the  younger  ewes  receiving  a  small  quantity  of  linseed  cake. 
The  result  was  most  satisfactory,  ewes  healthy,  lambs  strong, 
milk  abundant  The  ewe  loss  averaged  1  per  cent. 
Of  Somerset  and  Dorset  Horned  reports  are  good  ;  healthy 
ewes  plenty  of  lambs,  and  as  early  as  the  end  of  January  cross¬ 
bred  lambs  were  ready  for  the  butcher. 
Of  Southdowns  in  one  flock  the  loss  of  ewes  has  been  under 
2  per  cent ,  with  a  fair  crop  of  pairs  ;  some  of  the  pairs  are 
small  but  all  healthy  One  owner  of  Southdowns  out  of  a  flock 
of  300  has  had  no  case  of  abortion,  and  only  one  barren  ewe- 
Early  in  the  season  six  ewes  were  lost  from  dizziness,  the  result 
of  white  Turnips  and  Barley  straw,  but  the  flock  on  being 
removed  to  grass  gave  no  more  cause  for  uneasiness.  One  ewe 
was  lost  in  lambing,  and  one-half  of  the  ewes  had  pairs. 
Of  Oxfords  we  hear  the  lambing  season  has  been  one  of  the 
best  on  record,  ewes  in  fine  form  and  grand  condition.  The 
weather  was  favourable  both  before  and  during  the  lambinP’, 
and  there  is  a  large  proportion  of  pairs  One  owner  complains 
that  the  lambs  are  almost  too  numerous  !  Another  says  he  has 
35  per  cent,  pairs,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  ewe. 
In  the  eastern  counties  there  have  been  cases  of  mortal  ty 
among  both  ewes  and  lambs.  A  complaint  is  made  of  ewes 
aborting  on  the  grass  lands  of  Suffolk,  and  it  is  thought  this 
may  arise  from  the  rank  grasses  in  the  richer  river  valleys 
being  covered  with  a  rust  fungus  On  one  farm  among 
Suffolks  the  mortality  has  been  5  per  cent. ;  the  owner  attributes 
it  to  the  growing  state  of  the  Turnips  this  mild  winter. 
Of  Shropshires  we  hear  of  one  owner  having  a  flock  of 
110  ewes,  with  the  following  astonishing  lamb  results  : — Seventy 
eight  had  pairs,  ten  triplets,  twenty-two  had  single  lambs.  In 
the  accounts  of  ten  flocks  the  per-centage  of  pairs  was  fifty-six. 
The  losses  have  been  small,  but  yet  not  so  small  as  in  some  other 
breeds  The  average  loss  has  been  1£  per  cent  No  one  can 
grumble  much  at  that ! 
All  over  the  Lincoln  district  the  reports  are  good.  The  per¬ 
centage  of  pairs  varies  from  34  to  41  per  cent.,  lambs  big  and 
strong,  ewes  with  plenty  of  milk  to  keep  them  growing.  The 
losses  have  been  about  1  per  cent.  In  North  Lincolnshire  there 
has  been  a  great  excess  of  pairs,  and  one  fortunate  owner  had 
five  lambs  at  a  birth,  four  of  which  are  living. 
Oc  cro«s  breds  in  Lancashire  there  is  an  instance  given  of 
eleven  ewes  with  twenty  five  lambs.  From  Forfar  and  Wigton 
pairs  and  triplets  are  reported  as  plentiful. 
From  Board  of  Trade  returns  it  would  appear  that  for  the 
last  four  years  our  sheep  stocks  have  decreased.  This  has  been 
owing  to  bad  seasons,  defective  food  supplies  and  from  the  low 
value  both  of  wool  and  mutton.  The  wool  trade  appears  on  the 
mend  and  this,  with  the  excellent  lambing  season  of  1896, 
should  give  encouragement  to  our  flock  masters  to  go  on  and 
try  to  bring  up  the  numbers  to  something  like  the  old 
average,  or,  better  still,  above  it. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Drier  influences  once  more  prevail,  and  we  are  seizing  the  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  complete  the  cleaning  of  the  land  intended  for  Turnips. 
Fortunately  the  hot  weather  in  September,  where  fully  taken  advantage 
of,  has  made  the  finishing  touches  comparatively  easy,  and  many  fields 
now  require  little  or  nothing  doing  before  ploughing  for  the  last  time. 
The  sooner  this  is  done  (if  under  dry  enough  conditions)  the  better. 
Well  rolled  after  ploughing  it  will  retain  its  moisture  better  through  a 
dry  spell,  and  come  up  fresher  when  ridged  for  drilling. 
Work  is  now  forward  enough  for  us  to  indulge  the  hope  that  the 
horses  may  by  midsummer  be  given  a  long  and  much-needed  rest. 
Three-year-olds  require  a  little  easing  about  this  time,  as  they  often  eat 
badly  when  changing  their  teeth,  and  if  a  horse  cannot  eat  neither  can 
he  work.  A  strong  two-year-old  will  generally  do  as  much  spring  work 
as  a  three-year-old,  owing  to  the  latter’s  weakness  in  this  particular. 
Lincoln  Horse  Fair  has  been  one  of  the  worst  ever  known,  largely 
owing  to  American  competition,  cycles,  and  the  open  winter.  Nothing 
but  big  town  horses  met  with  anything  like  a  ready  sale. 
Wheats  are  doing  fairly  well,  but  are  not  so  forward  relatively  as 
they  were  a  month  ago.  A  few  frosty  nights,  too,  have  found  out  the 
weak  places,  which  are  now  a  trifle  y  illow.  Thistles  are  again  numerous, 
and  require  attention  before  the  Wheat  gets  much  higher.  Spring  corn, 
Barley  and  Oats  alike,  have  come  and  look  well.  The  start  at  any  rate 
has  been  a  favourable  one.  A  second  sowing  of  Tares  has  been  made, 
and  we  are  turning  our  attention  to  the  Mangold  plot.  The  seed  must 
be  put  in  now  without  delay,  May  7th  being  the  latest  date  if  it  is  to 
have  a  fair  chance. 
A  word  of  warning  to  owners  of  foaling  mares.  These  latter  are  in 
many  cases  foaling  a  week  or  ten  days  before  the  time  expected.  It 
seems  to  be  peculiar  to  the  season,  and  should  be  provided  against  by 
careful  attention.  It  is  bitterly  disappointing  to  lose  the  time  and  money 
represented  by  a  dead  foal  for  the  want  of  a  little  care  and  watchfulness. 
It  is  said  that  if  a  mare  takes  over  thirty  minutes  for  foaling  there  is 
something  wrong,  and  skilled  assistance  must  be  called  in  at  once. 
These  cases  admit  of  no  delay. 
Spbatts  Patent,  Limited. — The  employds  of  Spratts  Patent, 
Limited,  have  recently  presented  Mr.  Stephen  Wingrove,  the  esteemed 
manager  of  this  well-known  firm,  with  a  handsome  silver  tea  and 
coffee  service  subscribed  by  the  entire  staff,  and  a  Bilver  mounted 
claret  jug  from  the  factory  bands,  on  the  completion  of  his  twenty- 
fifth  year  of  service,  as  a  tribute  of  the  great  respect  shown  towards  him. 
The  presentation  was  made  at  the  Bridge  House  Hotel,  London  Bridge, 
when  over  350  ladies  and  gentlemen  assembled.  In  addition  to  the 
valuable  articles  referred  to,  Mr.  Wingrove  was  the  recipient  of  an 
illuminated  address  signed  by  everyone  employed  by  the  firm. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden  Square,  London. 
Lat.51°  32' 40"  N. :  Lon?.  0°  8/ 0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
i 
<2 
1896 
April. 
j  Barometer 
j  at  32°,  and 
|  Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
G-rass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg 
iDchs. 
Sunday  ..  19 
30-47  5 
49-0 
47-8 
N. 
47-0 
66-3 
38-8 
l’4-7 
324 
— 
Monday  ..  20 
30-431 
52-8 
48-7 
N. 
48-9 
60-3 
4-1*3 
96-2 
45-1 
— 
Tuesdav  ..  21 
30-52. 
48  7 
45-4 
N.E. 
48  6 
60-0 
36  7 
103-1 
27-8 
— 
Wednesday  22 
30*345 
53-1 
45-6 
N.W. 
48-3 
66-3 
34-8 
101-2 
27-1 
— 
Thursday  . .  23 
30-203 
49-2 
47-0 
N. 
49-3 
58-8 
40  9 
103-0 
31  9 
— 
Friday  ..  24 
30-21-5 
47-3 
42  7 
N. 
48-8 
57  9 
32-8 
87-1 
24-0 
— 
Saturday  . .  25 
30-087 
55-1 
49-8 
W. 
48-2 
61-0 
44-3 
uo-o 
34-9 
— 
30-335 
50-7 
467 
48  4 
61-5 
39  5 
100-8 
31-9 
— 
19th.— Sunny  and  warm  all  day,  but  a  little  hazy  at  times. 
20th.— Overcast  early  ;  frequent  sunshine  during  day. 
2 1  st.— Brilliant  early,  and  fine  sunny  day. 
22nd. — Sunny  all  day,  but  rather  hazy  ;  stormy-looking  in  evening. 
23rd. — Overcast  with  spots  of  rain  in  morning  ;  fine  sunny  afternoon  ;  clear  night. 
24th. — Brilliant  early ;  smoke  fog  obstructing  sunshine  from  11  A.M.  to  1  P.M.,  faint 
sunshine  after ;  lunar  halo  in  evening.  [afternoon. 
25th. — Brilliant  early  ann  sunny  morning,  spots  of  rain  at  0.45  P.M.,  and  overcast 
Another  fine,  average  week.— G.  J.  SYMONS. 
