566 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
December  9,  1897. 
but  without  manure  3  cwt,  superphosphate,  3  cwt.  honemeal,  and  half 
cwt.  nitrate  of  soda  ought  to  grow  a  good  crop.  As  the  Swedes  would 
be  drawn  off,  or  at  any  rate  most  of  them,  we  should  advise  the 
Monarch  or  Elephant  type  to  be  grown,  as  they  would  pay  for  storing 
by  extra  weight  and  quality. 
Part  of  the  Turnips  would  be  taken  off,  part  eaten  by  the  ewes,  so 
they  had  better  not  be  sown  until  about  June  10th.  The  same  hand 
tillage  as  for  Swedes  without  the  manure  or  nitrate  is  advised. 
Fosterton  Hybrid  and  Green  Globe  are  excellent  for  growing  on  most 
soils.  Both  Turnips  and  Swedes  to  have  a  good  chance  must  be 
drilled  when  the  land  is  warm  and  dusty,  and  the  soil  cannot  be  too 
fine. 
The  next  crop — Oats  -  will  not  take  much  labour  or  management. 
They  had  better  be  drilled  as  soon  as  the  land  is  available  atter 
March  1st,  and  the  weather  suitable.  Eight  cwt;  of  basic  slag 
harrowed  in  with  the  seed  will  benefit  both  this  crop  and  the  next ; 
but  the  Oats  would  do  with  1  cwt.  or  I5  cwt.  of  nitrate  of  soda  after 
they  are  well  up. 
After  roots  14  pecks  per  acre  would  be  as  much  seed  as  necessary, 
and  a  good  drill  would  put  14  pecks  of  Oats  on ;  but  after  seeds  many 
people  sow  16  or  even  20  pecks.  In  such  a  case  it  is  best  to  drill  the 
seed  twice,  10  pecks  each  way ;  the  seed  gets  thus  well  distributed 
over  the  ground,  a  thing  we  like  to  see.  But  we  hear  someone  say, 
“How  about  the  hoeing?”  If  the  land  is  in  good  cultivation  and 
condition  none  should  be  required,  for  weeds  ought  to  be  few,  and 
these  few  should  have  a  very  bad  time  amongst  20  pecks  of  vigorous 
Oats. 
We  have  now  come  to  the  end  of  the  course,  and  the  next  crop 
would  be  Potatoes  4  acres.  Tares  3  acres,  as  dealt  with  before.  Of 
course,  circumstances  may  make  alterations  in  the  above  treatment 
advisable.  For  instance,  on  very  rich  land  the  top-dressings  for  corn 
may  be  almost  or  quite  unnecessary,  whilst  on  very  light  soils  they 
might  with  advantage  be  increased.  The  differences  in  soils  and 
locality  is  so  great  that  what  may  be  right  for  one  field  may  be  wrona: 
on  the  other  side  the  fence,  and  we  can  only  dogmatise  as  to  what  is 
generally  advisable. 
“  Practice  makes  perfect  ”  is  a  proverb  especially  applicable  to 
farming,  and  special  knowledge,  only  to  be  gained  by  experience,  as  to 
the  peculiarities — we  might  say  the  eccentricities — of  fields  is  so  valu¬ 
able  to  the  cultivator  that  that  proverb  must  at  once  ma'^e  way,  or 
at  least  find  room,  for  another — viz.,  “  A  rolling  stone  gathers  no 
moss.”  This  is  the  chief  reason  why  farmers  are  loth  to  leave  the  old 
holding  for  a  new  one. 
Now  we  come  to  the  live  stock,  and  will  take  the  horses  first' 
Four  draught  horses  would  be  kept ;  one  pair  to  work  regularly  on  the 
land,  the  othef  to  do  carting  work  for  the  Hall  whilst  filling  up 
time  on  the  farm,  but  always  available  for  the  land  when  urgently 
required. 
Besides  these  four  a  brood  mare  of  the  Shire  breed  would  be  a  use¬ 
ful  item,  and  might  be  a  profitable  one.  If  one  or  two  of  the  other  four 
were  mares,  and  attempts  were  to  be  made  to  breed  from  one  of  these 
in  addition  to  the  brood  mare,  there  would  be  more  certainty  of  a  foal 
each  year,  and  in  this  connection  we  would  rather  look  upon  the  brood 
mare  as  an  extra  farm  horse  than  as  a  brood  mare  pure  and  simple, 
and  work  her  as  the  other  horses  when  she  is  not  in  foal. 
With  two  breeding  mares  one  foal  should  at  least  be  produced  per 
annum  ;  thus,  with  anything  like  good  luck,  the  stock  would  be 
increased  and  an  animal  be  spared  occasionally  to  be  sold  at  a  fair 
price  and  help  to  pay  for  the  horse  corn.  If  a  foal  were  reared  every 
year,  a  horse  should  be  spared  every  year,  and,  allowing  for  casualties, 
at  any  rate  four  years  out  of  five.  It  is  most  profitable  for  the 
farmer  to  sell  his  horses  at  six  or  seven  years  old.  If  anything  like 
sound  they  should  realise  £50  at  that  age,  if  no  more.  Thus,  if  the 
stock  be  kept  up  and  £40  per  annum  be  realised,  there  should  be  good 
reason  for  satisfaction. 
Horse  corn  is  an  important  matter.  Oats  are  the  natural  food> 
but  are  rather  expensive  if  cart  horses  are  to  be  kept  on  them  in 
good  condition.  We  prefer  equal  portions  of  crushed  Oats,  ground 
Maize,  and  bran ;  12  lbs.  of  this  mixture  per  day,  given  with  cut 
Barley  or  Oat  straw,  would  make  a  good  ration,  but  a  little  hay  in 
the  rack  as  well  would  be  a  valuable  addition.  It  is  an  excellent 
plan  to  keep  a  water-tub  always  full  in  the  stable.  Into  this  water 
half  a  pound  of  linseed  meal  a  horse  per  diem  should  be  put,  and  if 
it  is  well  stirred  up  and  the  animals  watered  from  no  other  source, 
there  will  be  little  trouble  from  colic  or  gripes. 
Foals  must  be  well  fed  when  young,  particularly  for  six  months 
after  weaning.  Crushed  Oats  and  bran  are  good  foods,  but  not  Maize 
for  young  animals.  Young  horses  are,  except  the  weather  be  very 
severe,  better  kept  out  of  doors  as  much  as  possible  ;  and  in  snow 
time  they  will  be  as  well  out  during  the  day,  if  the  paddock  be 
sheltered  at  all.  Food  is  of  more  consequence  than  shelter  for  young 
horses,  as  long  as  they  have  a  shed  to  fly  to  when  so  inclined.  Grass 
in  midwinter  must  not  be  counted  as  food,  but  the  horses  fed  as  if 
there  were  none.  With  good  food  and  plenty  of  exercise,  little 
anxiety  need  be  felt  as  regards  the  weather. 
WOEK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Martinmas,  with  its  feastings  and  hirings,  is  a  thing  of  the  past. 
There  has  been  no  lack  of  servants  wanting  places.  Strikes,  serious  in 
their  own  localities,  tend  to  cheapen  labour  in  other  districts,  but  the 
supply  of  hands  fully  qualified  by  teaching  and  experience  to  carry  out 
the  work  of  the  farm,  never  was  more  scanty. 
With  the  farmer  now  it  is  not  exactly  ‘‘Hobson’s  choice,”  but  a 
choice  amongst  a  number  of  more  or  less  useless  hands,  to  find  out,  if 
possible,  which  is  of  any  use  at  all.  Farm  servants  who  will  be  up  to 
feed  the  horses  at  4  a.m.  are  almost  unattainable,  and  it  looks  very  much 
as  if  the  agricultural  day  would  have  to  be  shortened,  for  horses  must 
have  sufficient  time  to  feed  properly  before  going  out  to  a  day’s  work. 
The  want  of  proper  qualification  amongst  the  younger  hands  makes 
one  naturally  cling  longer  to  the  older  ones,  but  we  should  like  to  utter 
a  word  of  warning  to  farmers  employing  old  or  delicate  men.  Many 
employers  have  recently  found  themselves  obliged,  when  engaging  or 
re-engaging  yearly  hands,  to  make  an  express  limitation  to  the  period 
during  which  they  shall  be  liable  to  pay  the  servant’s  wages  whilst  he 
may  be  kept  by  illness  from  his  work. 
We  have  and  are  ourselves  suffering  from  a  lack  of  caution  in  not  having 
made  any  express  stipulation.  The  law  binds  the  employer  to  pay  the 
wages  of  the  servant  during  temporary  illness,  unless  there  be  any  over¬ 
riding  agreement  to  the  contrary  ;  but  the  term  “  temporary  illness  ”  is  a 
very  elastic  one,  and  it  is  much  easier  to  guard  oneself  when  making  the 
engagement,  than  to  prove  permanent  incapacity  against  a  man,  when  it 
is  so  much  to  his  interest  to  show  that  thete  is  a  probability  of  his  coming 
back  to  work.  Of  course,  in  the  case  of  an  old  servant,  no  employer 
worthy  of  the  name  would  wish  to  turn  him  away  if  he  could  possibly 
see  his  way  otherwise,  but  we  are  speaking  of  ordinary,  not  exceptional, 
cases,  and  having  been  bitten  ourselves,  would  advise  our  readers  to 
be  shy. 
The  weather  is  very  stormy  and  wet,  and  farm  work  is  at  a  standstill. 
Tenting  late  sown  Wheat  against  the  ravages  of  larks  is  the  serious  work 
of  the  moment  ;  as  Professor  Wrightson  says,  they  are  worse  than  the 
sparrow,  as  mischievous  as  mice,  and  as  bold  as  brass.  The  worst  of  it 
is  that  these  are  not  the  birds  which  have  sung  to  us  during  the  summer, 
but  are  merely  immigrants  from  abroad. 
[We  suspect  if  our  practical  and  patriotic  correspondent  lived  in  the 
environs  of  London  he  would  be  an  antagonist  of  Italian  “hurdy- 
gurdies.”] 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32'  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M.  j 
In  the  Day. 
Ra-'n.  j 
1897. 
November 
and 
December. 
Barometer 
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 
Grass . 
inchs. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inchs. 
Sunday  .... 
98 
29-705 
42-9 
41-9 
S.W. 
45- 1 
50-1 
41-8 
51-0 
37-4 
0-1  89 
Mondav  .... 
29 
29-372 
41-3 
36-2 
N.W. 
43  6 
44-1 
37-7 
65-8 
32-4 
0010 
Tue.sday  .... 
30 
29-710 
44-2 
42-5 
S  W. 
41-2 
61-7 
3  -9 
.56-8 
26-9 
0-040 
Wednesday . . 
» 
29-477 
.36-7 
36-4 
w. 
42-2 
45-1 
35-6 
60-8 
30-5 
— 
Thursday. . . . 
2 
.30- 033 
36-0 
34-4 
N. 
41-1 
42-1 
34*6 
64-1 
31-1 
— 
Friday . 
3 
30  2  16 
36-0 
33-1 
N. 
39-9 
41-0 
3  -6 
57-2 
2.-,- 3 
— 
Saturday  , . 
4 
30-202 
29-2 
29- 2 
N. 
38-6 
37-7 
26-4 
39-2 
•22-6 
0-010 
29-828 
38-0 
36-1 
41-7 
44-5 
34-1 
66-5 
29-5 
0-149 
28th. -ramp  morning,  with  rain  at  10  a.m.  Rain  from  4.30  to  6.30  p.m.,  and  almost 
cloudless  after.  Ga'e  from  about  3  p.m. 
29th  —Strong  gale  early,  and  windy  day  ;  almost  cloudless  throughout. 
30th.— Dull  and  showery  early ;  fine  day,  with  frequent  faint  sun  and  bright  sun  at  times ; 
smart  showers  in  evening. 
1st  —Bright  sunshine  from  sunrise  till  about  3  p.m,;  overcast  after. 
2nd.  -  A  ‘ew  melting  snow  crystals  early,  bright  sun  from  9  a  m,  to  noon,  but  cloudy  at 
times  after. 
3rd.— Sunny  almost  all  day;  bright  night. 
4th. -Cold  with  fog  all  day,  thick  and  dark  in  morning. 
Rainfall  still  small  In  amount. — G.  J.  SYMONS,  j 
