m 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AM)  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  14, 1896i 
There  is  hardly  a  farmer  anywhere  who  does  not  fancy  he 
knows  something  of  horses — from  the  noble  lords  farming  in 
Kent  and  breeding  polo  ponies  to  those  masters  of  their  art 
whose  hunters  figure  first  and  foremost  in  all  the  prize  rings  of 
the  country.  London  in  spring  provides  a  most  complete  object 
lesson  for  each  and  every  sort  of  breeder,  and  to  the  hearing 
ear  and  seeing  eye  a  trip  to  the  great  Agricultural  Hall  during 
the  exhibition  of  Shires,  hunters,  and  hackneys  is  time  and 
money  well  spent. 
Taking  the  draught  horse  as  more  peculiarly  the  farmer’s 
special  province,  what  great  strides  have  been  made  in  this 
present  generation !  If  you  doubt  it,  go  and  have  an  object 
lesson  at  the  first  foal  show  in  your  neighbourhood  and  see 
what  the  introduction  of  sound  and  well-bred  sires  has  done. 
We  remember  in  our  youthful  days  “The  Honest  Toms,” 
“  Farmer’s  Friends,”  and  a  host  of  other  horses  that  travelled 
the  district  They  were  anything  but  “  honest,”  and  anything 
but  “farmer’s  friends.”  They  filled  the  eye  certainly,  and  were 
beautifully  groomed;  but,  alas!  they  were  generally  all  that  a 
sire  should  not  be.  Possibly  the  fee  was  low,  and  the  farmers 
were  compelled  to  use  them  or  none.  The  good  ones  were  so 
few  and  far  between,  and  there  seemed  to  be  an  idea  about  that 
a  few  (?)  hereditary  blemishes  not  only  did  not  matter,  but  must 
be  allowed  as  a  necessary  evil. 
If  unsound  horses  will  work  on  the  land  that  is  no  reason 
they  should  be  tolerated.  A  horse  must  be  fed  and  housed ; 
therefore  feed  and  house  one  that  will  be  a  credit  to  you, 
and  will  do  your  work  in  the  best  possible  manner,  and  will 
breed  you  stock  which,  if  not  needed  at  home,  will  find  a  ready 
market  for  railway,  van,  brewer’s,  and  other  town  work. 
Strength  and  quality  are  always  in  demand,  and  excellent  prices 
can  be  obtained  for  what  is  sound  and  honest.  In  the  matter  of 
Shire  stallions  Government  does  not  seem  inclined  to  help,  and 
thus  the  matter  is  left  for  private  enterprise,  possibly  the  very 
best  thin*  that  could  be.  It  has  been  the  custom  in  many 
localities  for  farmers  ard  those  interested  in  local  industries  to 
form  companies  to  purchase  or  hire,  as  the  case  may  be,  reliable 
sires,  whom  they  can  thus  use  profitably,  and  at  reduced  fees. 
The  subscription  list  ought  not  to  be  difficult  to  fill,  and  indeed 
with  energetic  men  as  Hon.  Secretaries  the  thing  will  be  done 
quickly.  Naturally  the  first  person  to  head  the  list  will  be  the 
largest  landowner,  who  is  only  too  glad  to  contribute  to  what 
will  be  of  great  benefit  to  his  tenants  and  neighbours  In 
looking  through  a  list  of  Shire-horse  members  it  will  be  found 
that  many  big  men  in  the  neighbourhood  who  are  not  purely 
agricultural  but  who  are  connected  with  commercial  enterprise, 
such  as  brewers,  city  men  contractors,  and  railway  magnates, 
will  be  ready  to  help  with  name  and  purse  They  are  consumers, 
as  it  were,  and  it  is  to  their  interest  to  forward  the  production 
of  the  raw  article;  they  cannot  themselves  (except  in  isolated 
instances)  undertake  the  breeding  of  horses  suitable  for  their 
work,  and  find  it  cheaper  and  better  to  buy  of  the  farmer.  If 
the  case  be  put  clearly  before  these  gentlemen,  and  also  before 
the  majority  of  city  firms,  there  would  doubtless  be  a  liberal 
response  to  the  appeal. 
As  for  opportunities  of  hiring  or  buying  sires  they  are 
much  increased,  and  the  object  of  the  great  shows  is  in  a 
measure  to  advertise  the  whereabouts  of  promising  “young  uns,” 
which  are  excellent  examples  of  what  a  good  horse  should  really 
be.  It  is  not  always  necessary  to  travel  as  far  as  the  great 
London  show  to  get  what  is  needed.  There  are  many  studs 
doing  good  work  scattered  over  the  country,  and  a  knowing  man 
can  often  pick  up  just  what  he  wants  privately;  and  it  has 
oftentimes  proved  that  a  horse  not  made  up  for  show  purposes 
will  produce  as  good,  if  not  better,  stock  than  his  more  pampered 
medal-bedecked  brother. 
It  is  a  wise  rule  always  to  buy  the  best  in  the  market,  even  if 
the  price  be  a  little  beyond  the  limit  laid  down.  We  cannot  all 
breed  winners  and  champions,  but  there  is  more  possibility  of 
them  if,  by  careful  choice  of  sire  and  dam,  we  do  our  best  in  the 
matter ;  but  remember  a  good  sire  will  not  do  away  with  or 
counteract  imperfections  on  the  dam’s  side.  The  dam  must  be 
absolutely  sound  ;  active,  clear  of  side  bones,  or  other  hereditary 
failings  She  is  no  delicate  pet,  to  be  wrapped  up  in  cotton 
wool  and  coddled.  She  must  be  able  to  do  her  full  share  of 
work  practically  up  to  the  day  of  foaling,  only  being  kept  clear 
of  the  shafts  and  heavy  loads  for  six  months  before.  She  ought 
to  be  put  to  light  work  by  the  time  the  foal  is  a  month  old,  so 
practically  her  “idle  times  ”  are  very  short.  Just  a  sketch  of  a 
good  sire  in  the  fewest  possible  words.  He  should  be  tall,  with 
short  legs ;  long,  with  short  back  ;  flat  bone,  not  too  much  ; 
long  silky  hair,  longish  pasterns,  big  sound  feet,  with  well- 
sprung  fore  legs.  For  illustration  of  the  above  see  first  prize 
Shire  horse  at  the  next  county  show. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
“  Dry  weather,  and  very  dry  weather,”  is  the  universal  report,  and 
men  are  looking  grave.  “  Is  this,”  they  say,  “  to  be  another  great 
drought  ?”  Most  of  the  corn  sowing  is  done,  Potatoes  are  in,  Mangold 
land  has  been  well  worked  and  drilled,  and  the  breadth  of  land  for 
Swedes  is  clean  and  in  splendid  form.  Some  parts  of  England  have 
felt  frost  enough  to  nip  the  early  Potatoes,  bat  in  general  there  has  been 
little  or  no  damage — just  a  check  to  too  superabundant  vegetation. 
Rain  is  wanted  badly.  The  late  eaten  Turnip  fields  cannot  he  drilled 
with  the  land  in  such  a  dry  cloddy  state,  and  we  have  heard  of  a  piece 
of  Mangold  land  abandoned  altogether  as  hopeless.  There  is  poor 
prospect  of  much  meadow  gras*  or  heavy  forage  crops  unless  we  have 
soon — even  before  these  words  are  in  type — a  heavy  soaking  rain  of 
many  hours. 
Some  spring  corn,  instead  of  covering  the  land  thickly,  is  looking 
patchy  in  places  ;  wireworm  is  probably  the  cause,  and  if  rolled  at  once, 
and  a  dressing  of  1  cwt.  of  nitrate  of  soda,  and  3  cwts.  of  common  salt 
per  acre  be  applied,  a  cure  is  generally  effected.  Rape  cake  is  also  a 
much  vaunted  cure.  It  is  a  capital  tillage,  and  is  also  destructive  to 
this  particular  form  of  insect  life.  It  is  generally  on  weak,  poorly 
farmed  land  where  wireworm  is  most  abundant.  You  cannot  make 
bad  land  good,  but  you  can  be  liberal  with  your  manures,  and  practise 
high  farming  generally. 
These  pleasant  bright  days  are  capital  for  turning  out  mares  and 
foals  for  an  airiDg.  Care  should  be  taken  to  guard  against  sudden 
showers,  nor  should  the  outing  be  too  long  at  first.  Remember,  too, 
other  horses  are  inquisitive,  and  it  is  well  that  the  mare  and  foal  have  a 
pasture  to  themselves.  Accidents  so  easily  happen,  and  a  nasty  kick 
is  sometimes  a  tedious  if  not  dangerous  business. 
Fat  sheep  are  going  off  quickly,  and  are  selling  only  fairly  well. 
Let  us  hope  their  “  jackets  ”  may  prove  remunerative  this  year.  What 
a  difference  there  is,  too,  in  the  style  of  clipping,  and  a  neat  appearance 
must  count  for  something  in  a  selling  pen.  Of  course  we  do  not  urge 
clipping  as  fora  show,  but  in  one  case  it  is  simply  a  removal  of  a  fleece, 
or  part  of  one,  by  a  novice,  in  the  other  it  is  a  workmanlike  job.  Sheep 
look  better  in  their  tkins  if  a  couple  of  nights  elapse  between  shearing 
and  exposing  for  sale. 
We  have  ridge-harrowed  our  Potatoes,  and  as  they  promise  to  make 
an  early  appearance  we  are  putting  them  to  bed  again  with  the  earthing 
plough  to  insure  their  safety  from  frost. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamden  Squarb,  London. 
Lat.51°  32' 40"  N. ;  Long.  0°  8/  0"  W.:  Altitude  111  feet 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  thb  Day. 
i 
1896. 
May. 
|  Barometer 
1  at  32°,  and 
1  Sea  Level. 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperatun 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday  .. 
3 
30-418 
62-1 
45-2 
N.E. 
49-8 
61-9 
40-8 
Ul-3 
30-4 
— 
Monday  .. 
4 
30-454 
48*4 
43-7 
N. 
50-2 
64-2 
36-1 
116-2 
28  0 
— 
Tuesday  . . 
S 
30-340 
64  6 
46-2 
N. 
51-8 
67-0 
390 
114-7 
29-9 
— 
Wednesday 
6 
30-291 
53-2 
48-0 
N. 
62-7 
64-1 
44-1 
1131 
37-1 
— 
Thursday  .. 
7 
30-348 
55-8 
49-7 
N.E. 
53-0 
69-9 
44-0 
121-3 
37-2 
— 
Friday 
8 
30-266 
51-3 
48  2 
N. 
54-1 
611 
44-7 
110-9 
45-1 
— 
Saturday  . . 
9 
30-189 
57-8 
51-1 
N.E. 
61-2 
68-6 
44T 
114-6 
40-8 
— 
30-329 
63-3 
47-4 
62  3 
66-3 
41-8 
114-6 
35-6 
— 
REMARKS. 
3rd.— Brilliant  morning,  with  fresh  breeze;  generally  cloudy  in  afternoon. 
4th.-  Brilliant  throughout. 
5th.— Bright  sunshine  all  morning ;  generally  overcast  after  noon,  and  spots  of  rain  in 
evening. 
6th.— Overcast  almost  throughout;  spots  of  rain  at  8.30  A.M. ;  gleams  of  gun  at 
i  midday. 
7th. — Bright  sunshine  all  morning ;  frequently  cloudy  in  afternoon. 
8th.— Overcast  early  ;  bright  sun  in  morning  ;  cloudy  at  times  in  afternoon. 
9th. — Brilliant  all  day. 
Another  fine  week,  temperature  rising  steadily ;  but  not  much  above  the  average 
— Q.  J.  SYMONS. 
