328 
JOURNAL  OF  nORTIGULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER,  September  30,  1897. 
and,  well  cured,  it  is  not  liable  to  deterioration  arisiDg  from  sudden 
changes  in  the  weather.  Hence  arises  its  popularity,  a  popularity 
which  it  will  take  a  revolution  to  check. 
If  we  could  have  wandered  in  the  forests  of  Eotherwood  side  by 
side  with  Gurth  and  Wamba,  we  should  have  been  amazed  at  the 
appearance  of  their  porcine  charges.  The  pig  now  is  so  truly  an 
animal  of  the  homestead,  that  we  should  hardly  have  identified  their 
long,  lean,  hungry,  wild  looking,  half  savage  drove  with  our  sleek, 
indolent.  Barley- fed  friends,  and  yet  we  doubt  not  what  they  lost  in 
flesb,  and  form,  and  pedigree,  was  made  up  to  them  by  a  greater 
delicacy  of  flavour.  There  would  be  a  gaminess  about  their  bacon 
that  we  miss.  Fancy  the  nuttiness  imparted  by  an  unrestricted  diet  of 
acorns,  beech  masts,  and  the  thousand  and  one  dainties  of  the  woodland 
banquet.  We  get  weight  Avith  our  meal  and  Potatoes,  our  fore-elders 
got  flavour ;  just  as  at  the  present  time  there  is  such  an  infinite 
difference  between  the  Indian  corned  pheasant  and  his  really  wild 
brother.  A  veritable  novice  can  tell  the  difference  at  the  first 
mouthful. 
Up  to  late  ears  pigs  were  fairly  exempt  from  all  ills  save  con¬ 
cussion  of  the  brain  and  sore  throat ;  now  we  never  take  up  a  paper 
without  a  record  of  closed  pig  markets  and  a  fresh  outbreak  of  disease 
in  some  part  of  the  country  or  another.  Swine  fever  is  the  name 
given  to  this  tiresome  disease,  and  it  appears  that  although  compul¬ 
sory  slaughter  is  insisted  upon  when  any  case  is  reported  to  the 
authorities,  the  disease  is  by  no  means  vanquished,  but  barely  kept  in 
check.  Like  rinderpest  or  cattle  plague,  swine  fever  is  in  England  a 
comparatively  new  disease. 
It  appears  that  in  the  year  1862  there  was  in  Berkshire  an  out¬ 
break  of  disease  of  a  most  virulent  nature,  which  was  specially  investi¬ 
gated  by  Professor  Symonds.  Unhappily  no  measures  were  taken  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  this  disease  till  1878,  when  the  public  began  to 
wake  up  to  the  fact  that  something  must  be  done  of  a  preventive 
nature.  In  December  of  that  year  an  order  was  passed  providing  for 
slaughter  of  diseased  swine  by  the  local  authority,  and  also  this 
authority  had  the  power  to  slaughter  swine  which  had  been  in  contact 
with  the  disease.  There  were  also  certain  regulations  respecting  the 
moving  of  swine  from  suspected  places  except  by  licence. 
For  four  years  these  measures  were  carried  out,  but  with  little 
success— f.e.,  the  disease  was  not  really  checked.  In  1892  there  was 
a  certain  reduction  in  the  number  of  cases  reported,  but  the  reduction 
arose  from  two  facts :  Firstly,  that  there  were  fewer  pigs  in  the 
country ;  secondly,  because  as  the  local  authorities  made  no  com¬ 
pensation  to  the  owners  of  animals  slaughtered,  there  was  an 
unwillingness  on  the  part  of  those  owners  to  report  doubtful  cases. 
It  seems  almost  an  impossibility  that  this  disease  should  wear 
itself  out,  as  some  diseases  will  do.  It  is  of  the  most  virulent  nature, 
both  infectious  and  contagious,  and  the  infection  can  be  imparted 
from  herd  to  herd  in  the  most  unsuspected  manner.  Things  being 
in  this  state,  the  Board  of  Agriculture  apjaointed  a  committee  to 
inquire  into  certain  matters  relating  to  swine  fever;  this  was  in 
February,  1893.  The  committee  all  agreed  as  to  the  very  serious 
nature  of  the  disease,  and  were  unanimous  in  their  recommendation 
that  the  work  of  exterminating  the  disease  should  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  central  authority.  This  central  authority  should  be 
empowered  to  slaughter,  and  pay  the  cost  of  the  execution  of  the 
Act  and  orders.  Slaughter  of  diseased  animals  and  restriction  of 
“  suspects,”  with  thorough  and  proper  cleansing  and  disinfecting  of 
sties  or  yards,  were  absolutely  necessary. 
Usually  the  disease  is  acute  and  rapid  in  its  action,  and  again 
there  are  cases  which  are  more  or  less  chronic,  and  would  be 
unnoticed  by  the  casual  observer.  A  pig  may  appear  to  be  what  is 
called  “  unthrifty,”  and  yet  when  a  post-mortem  examination  takes 
place  there  may  be  most  convincing  evidence  of  the  presence  of  this 
disease. 
The  Board  of  Agriculture  have  issued  their  report  for  1896  on  the 
Diseases  of  Animals,”  and  we  find  from  that  report  that  swine  fever 
still  continues  to  be  the  most  obstinate  of  all  the  zymotics. 
Ihis  disease  continues  to  break  out  in  the  most  unsuspected  places, 
and  where  the  source  of  infection  bafifles  all  investigation.  Last  year 
the  Department  examined  23,137  suspected  cases,  and  found  6166 
outbreaks.  Swine  owners  appear  to  be  very  much  on  the  alert,  and  by 
reporting  at  once  any  doubtful  cases  give  the  inspectors  every  chance. 
The  report  says,  “  The  great  factors  in  perpetuating  swine  fever  will 
always  be  pigs  which  are  affected  with  that  disease  in  the  less  fatal 
and  unrecognisable  form.  These  animals  are  constantly  distributing 
the  germs  of  swine  fever  through  their  highly  infectious  evacuations* 
wherever  they  may  be  taken  during  the  whole  period  of  their  illness, 
and  the  final  extinction  of  the  malady  must  depend  upon  the 
possibility  of  enforcing  measures  which  will  have  the  effect  of  prevent¬ 
ing  the  movement  of  pigs  affected  with  swine  fever  in  this  particular 
form.” 
A  word  in  conclusion.  Our  losses  from  actual  death  and  the 
closing  of  markets  have  been  enormous.  No  farmer  knowingly  keeps 
a  doubtful  cow  or  bullock  on  the  premises  an  hour  longer  than  he 
can  help.  Why  not  extend  the  same  rule  to  pigs?  We  fear  it  is 
not  the  farmer  who  in  this  case  is  to  blame,  but  those  hundreds  of 
small  pig  owners  who  will  doctor  and  drug  ailing  pigs  as  long  as 
there  is  breath  in  their  bodies,  and  who  are  not  very  careful  as  to 
the  disposal  of  those  bodies  when  merciful  death  at  last  supervenes. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
We  have  made  good  headway  with  autumn  cultivation  since  our  last* 
and  a  couple  more  days  will  see  the  last  of  the  twitch  fired.  We  shall 
not  plough  the  land  at  present,  as  a  few  bits  near  the  surface  may  grow, 
and  another  harrowing  in  October  would  make  a  clean  sweep  of  them. 
Lea  is  about  all  ploughed,  and  is  being  rolled  with  the  ring  roller. 
This  must  not  be  neglected  if  a  good  plant  of  Wheat  is  to  be  secured. 
A  low-lying  piece  of  land,  too  strong  for  ordinary  autumn  dressings  and 
rather  foul,  is  now  being  ploughed  deep  and  wide  with  the  chilled  plough 
for  the  purpose  of  leaving  it  as  rough  and  open  as  possible.  It  will  be 
left  thus  through  the  winter,  and  we  hope  it  will  get  a  thorough 
freezing. 
Not  much  Wheat  is  grown  now  on  summer  fallow  ;  but  where  it  is 
to  be  so  grown  the  sooner  it  is  sown  the  better.  Mid-October  is  early 
enough  after  lea,  and  on  lighter  soils  a  week  or  two  later  would  be  advis¬ 
able.  There  is  a  fashion  for  winter  Oats  and  Barley,  and  we  often  see 
the  seed  of  such  advertised.  Winter  Okts  come  to  maturity  early,  and 
often  command  a  good  price.  Winter  Barley  we  do  not  care  for. 
We  still  stick  to  Square  Head  and  Square  Head’s  Master  as  being  the 
most  profitable  kinds  of  Wheat  to  sow,  but  for  lighter  soils  we  should 
prefer  Royal  Stanhope  or  White  Queen.  We  have  heard  an  excellent 
character  given  of  the  latter  by  a  large  Wheat  grower. 
There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  Wheat  smut,  or,  more  properly 
speaking,  “bunt”  about;  this  is  most  likely  due  to  the  neglect  of 
dressing  the  seed  before  drilling.  There  are  many  mixtures  recom¬ 
mended  for  the  purpose,  every  local  chemist  having  one  of  his  own,  but 
as  the  valuable  constituent  in  them  all  is  blue  vitriol,  Ave  prefer  to  buy  it 
in  the  vitriol  form.  One  pound  of  finely  powdered  blue  vitriol  will  be 
sufficient  to  dress  a  quarter  of  seed.  It  must  be  well  dissolved  in  Avater 
before  application,  and  after  the  Wheat  must  be  well  turned  so  as  to 
insure  the  damping  of  every  grain  with  the  solution. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32'  40"  N.j  Loug.  0°  8'  0"  W. ;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
Rain. 
1897. 
September. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
1  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 
Grais. 
Inohs. 
leg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
dev. 
deg. 
Inohr. 
Sunday  ....  19 
29-773 
50-8 
46-6 
W. 
63-8 
67-3 
38-1 
108-7 
34-0 
0  056 
Monday  ....  20 
29-8H0 
63-0 
49-4 
N. 
53-4 
61-9 
47-4 
108-1 
47-1 
0-010 
Tuesday  ....  21 
29-721 
57-2 
64-0 
W. 
64-2 
67-0 
49-1 
107  9 
45-0 
— 
Wednesday  22 
29-964 
62-2 
48-9 
W. 
84-1 
69-0 
46-2 
82-9 
39-4 
— 
Thursday  ,.  23 
29-830 
58-0 
53-7 
w.  „ 
64-1 
«8-0 
61-1 
108-6 
46-8 
— 
Friday  ....  24 
29-923 
62-7 
66-1 
s.w. 
56-0 
67-9 
6-1-1 
110-8 
82-1 
0-021 
Saturday  . .  25 
30-114 
56-4 
60-4 
N. 
66-6 
67-4 
47-9 
104-8 
42-0 
O-OJl 
29-899 
56  8 
61-8 
61-6 
64-1 
48-3 
104  0 
43  6 
0-098 
REMARKS. 
19th.— Sunny  morning  ;  overcast  from  2  P.M. ;  rain  in  evening. 
20th. — Dull  early ;  bright  sun  from  10  A.M. 
21st.— Rain  early  ;  bright  sunshine  from  9.30  A.M.  to  3  P.M.;  cloudy  after. 
22nd.— Fair,  but  almost  sunless. 
23rd. — Bright  sun  all  morning  ;  frequently  cloudy  in  afternoon  and  evening. 
24th.— Overcast,  with  high  wind  in  morning  ;  frequently  sunny  in  afternoon. 
25th.— Bright  sun  from  sunrise,  but  hazy  from  10  A.M. ;  cloudy  from  noon  with 
frequent  drizzle ;  solar  halo  at  0.30  P.M. 
A  dry  week,  temperature  near  the  average,— Q.  J.  SYMONS. 
