630 
JOURN'AL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  SO,  1897. 
are  more  convincing  than  columns  of  words.  We  take  Wheat  first. 
Last  Christmas  Wheat  was  worth  30s.  per  quarter,  this  Christmas  it 
fetches  38s.  Barley  ranged  last  year  from  16s.  to  36s.,  this  year 
from  25s.  to  40s.  Oats  were  12s.  to  21s.,  as  against  17s.  to  22s. 
Potatoes  per  ton  last  year,  20s.  to  35s.  (a  few  really  good  made  a  little 
more) ;  this  Christmas  the  prices  are  65s.  to  90s.  Maize  is  18s.,  as 
against  14s.  6d. 
With  regard  to  Barley  and  Potatoes  we  believe  we  have  by  no 
means  seen  the  highest  price  yet.  With  offal  Barley  and  pig 
Potatoes  dear  and  scarce,  we  need  not  wonder  that  pork  has  gone 
up  Is.  6d.  per  stone.  Those  who  have  pork  pigs  will  get  a  nice 
little  draw,  for  we  fancy  any  lean  pigs  there  may  be  will,  at  any 
rate  for  the  present,  remain  lean.  Mutton  makes  about  last  year’s 
price,  but  the  wool  trade  has  been  disappointing,  very.  We  had 
hoped  better  things ;  but,  alas  !  for  the  present  there  seems  little 
to  cheer  in  that  direction. 
We,  as  farmers,  have  often  been  accused  of  inordinate  grumbling. 
Things  do  go  very  contrary  with  us  as  they  did  with  Martha 
Gummidge;  but,  indeed,  it  takes  only  a  few  gleams  of  sunshine  to 
cheer  us  up,  and  we  live  much  in  the  future  on  hope.  Little  pieces 
of  good  fortune  turn  up  when  least  expected,  and  we  go  on  toiling 
and  rejoicing,  trying  modestly  to  leave  our  own  little  corner  of  this 
world  a  better  place  than  we  found  it. 
May  we  all  be  spared  to  see  1898  out  as  well  as  in. 
WOEK  ON  THE  HOME  FAEM. 
Farm  work  during  the  year  just  drawing  to  a  close  has,  generally 
speaking,  been  accomplished  under  more  favourable  conditions  than  those 
prevailing  during  1896.  The  chief  drawback  of  1897  was  the  absence  of 
winter  frost,  and  consequently  a  rough  cloddiness  in  the  Turnip  stubbles, 
which  took  much  hard  work  to  reduce  to  anything  approaching  a  suitable 
tilth  for  spring  corn  sowing. 
Little  difficulty  was  experienced  in  getting  Turnips  well  sown.  That 
the  seed  did  not  germinate,  or,  having  germinated,  the  plants  did  not 
grow  well  in  the  early  stages,  was  not  the  fault  of  the  farmer,  but  rather 
his  misfortune. 
Hay-making  time  was  a  heyday  time  (no  pun) ;  never  was  hay  better 
got  or  easier  to  get ;  we  have  known  very  dry  seasons  when  it  was  as  easy, 
but  alas!  there  was  not  the  fair,  almost  average,  crop  of  the  present 
season. 
For  many  districts  the  ingathering  of  the  grain  crops  was  equally 
satisfactory.  They  did  not  bulk  up  to  so  much  straw  as  might  have  been 
wished,  but  this  helped  to  lighten  the  work  of  carting.  As  to  the  reaping, 
the  self-binder  now  fairly  holds  the  field,  and  few  farmers  who  require  a 
new  machine  think  for  a  moment  of  purchasing  one  of  the  old  type.  This 
is  the  result  of  two  or  three  dryish  seasons  with  an  absence  of  laid  crops  ; 
but  should  we  have  another  season  like  1892,  when  Barleys  were  laid 
almost  before  they  shot,  we  fear  the  new  inventions  might  not  stand  the 
severe  tests  to  which  they  would  be  subjected.  The  farm  labourer  would 
chuckle  heartily  at  this,  for  much  as  the  reaper  has  benefited  him  in 
relieving  him  of  laborious  work,  he  is  nothing  but  a  thorough  Tory  at 
heart,  whatever  his  political  colours  may  be. 
BRITISH  EHO  PRODUCTION. 
As  you  are  connected  with  the  agricultural  industry  and  interested 
in  its  welfare,  I  write  to  ask  you  if  you  will  take  an  active  part  in  a 
National  Poultry  Test,  which  I  am  striving  to  put  on  foot  on  the  1st  of 
March  next. 
The  object  of  the  test  is  to  set  at  rest  the  vexed  and  oft  debated 
question  of  profit  or  loss  involved  by  the  keeping  of  fowls,  more 
particularly  as  egg  producers.  The  British  public  (lownspepple  in 
particular)  are  for  ever  asking  our  farming  community  why  they  do  not 
produce  the  1,300,000,000  of  eggs  we  annually  import.  The  oi-ly  answer 
they  get  to  this  query  is.  Because  we  cannot  produce  them  at  a  profit. 
The  rejoinder  which  follows  upon  this  reply  is.  So  you  say,  but  you 
have  never  tested  the  matter  ;  it  pays  other  nations,  why  can’t  you  make 
it  a  profit?  Now,  it  may  be  a  bold  assertion  to  make,  but  it  is  neverthe¬ 
less  a  fact,  that  this  question  of  profit  or  loss  has  never  yet  been 
subjected  to  actual  test.  What  I  assert  is,  that  no  farmer  has  ever  yet 
kept,  say,  forty  or  fifty  head  of  laying  hens  for  twelve  months  confined 
and  wired  in  upon  an  acreage  of  grass  land,  and  can  tell  you  the  exact 
sum  they  have  cost  for  food,  rent,  labour,  interest  on  capital,  as  against 
their  yield  of  eggs  and  price  obtained  for  them.  It  has  hitherto  been  all 
guess  work. 
Now,  to  carry  conviction  to  the  minds  of  the  public,  and  more 
particularly  of  our  farmers,  it  is  essential  that  any  such  test  shall  be 
above  suspicion  and  not  open  to  cavil,  and  also  that  it  shall  not  be  a 
mere  local  test,  but  one  distributed  over  a  wide  area  with  diversity  of 
soil  and  climate.  Let  England,  Scotland,  Wales,  and  Ireland  be  repre¬ 
sented,  or  better  still,  let  every  county  send  in  a  return  for  at  least  one 
flock  of  fowl.  We  shall  then,  and  not  till  then,  be  in  a  position  to  say 
whether  it  is  our  British  farmers’  fault,  or  their  misfortune  and  beyond 
their  control,  that  we  import  instead  of  produce  the  eggs  we  consume.  ^ 
No  amount  of  mere  argument  is  sufficient  to  convince  the  British 
farmer  that  egg  production  oan  be  made  to  pay,  Imt  I  venture  to  assert 
that  he  can  be  convinced  by  ocular  demonstration,  or  by  the  publica¬ 
tion  of  a  number  of  balance-sheets,  showing  what  has  actually  been 
done  experimentally  by  men  of  his  own  class  and  similarly  circumstanced 
as  himself. 
To  carry  out  this  test,  a  strictly  uniform  system  of  management  must 
be  adopted  by  all  who  take  part  in  it. 
1st,  Each  flock  subjected  to  the  test  shall  number  forty  head. 
2nd,  Each  flock  of  forty  shall  be  wired  in,  and  confined  upon  an  acre 
of  grass  run. 
3rd,  Each  and  every  flock  to  receive  the  same  description  of  food  and 
to  be  fed  twice  daily.  During  the  six  spring  and  summer  months 
upon  grain  only.  Maize,  Wheat,  Barley,  and  Oats.  During  the  six 
autumn  and  winter  months,  the  morning  food  to  be  boiled  roots  mixed 
with  meal,  with  whole  grain  at  night. 
4th,  All  food  to  be  purchased  in  the  local  market,  carefully  weighed, 
and  stored  in  a  locked  shed.  The  eggs  to  be  counted  daily  and  sold  weekly 
in  the  best  open  market  obtainable.  No  fancy  price  realised  to  be  taken 
account  of. 
5th,  A  strict  account  to  be  kept  of  the  number  of  hours  per  week 
devoted  to  the  necessary  care  of  the  stock. 
6th,  A  statement  of  capital  involved  at  the  start  by  the  purchase 
of  stock,  cost  of  fowl  houses  and  other  appliances,  also  estimated 
depreciation  of  live  and  dead  stock  at  the  close  of  the  year’s  operations. 
The  above  generally  represents  the  lines  upon  which  the  test  must  be 
conducted,  but  there  are  other  minor  details,  particulars  of  which  will  be 
forwarded  to  all  who  are  willing  to  assist  in  the  solution  of  this  question. 
I  may  mention  that  any  breed  of  fowl  may  be  utilised  for  the  purpose  of 
the  test,  but  in  most  cases  it  will  be  manifestly  advisable  to  keep  some 
sitting  breed,  the  production  of  eggs  being  the  object  sought.  It  is  also 
a  matter  of  importance  that  the  fowls  should  be  located  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  farmstead,  and  that  the  suitability  of  the  spot  chosen 
and  the  question  of  shelter  should  receive  due  consideration. 
Now  what  does  the  test  involve  financially  to  those  who  are  willing 
to  undertake  it  ?  Simply  this.  It  involves  their  being  out  of  pocket  for 
a  few  months  by  the  purchase  price  of  their  live  stock,  the  necessary 
appliances  and  food.  The  sale  of  eggs,  however,  will  rapidly  reduce  this 
outlay  week  by  week,  and  without  attempting  to  count  the  proverbial 
chicken  before  it  is  hatched,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  say  that  long  ere 
the  twelve  months  have  expired  the  owner  of  the  stock  will  have  far 
more  than  recouped  himself  for  his  outlay,  after  making  full  allowances 
for  all  costs,  depreciation  of  stock,  and  interest  on  capital.  The  risk 
therefore  is  nil. 
Without  wishing  in  any  way  to  depreciate  the  good  which  has  been 
done  by  our  farmers’  clubs,  agricultural  colleges.  County  Council  lectures, 
and  even  by  our  poultry  shows,  yet  I  believe  that  a  practical  test  such  as 
I  have  suggested  will  do  more  to  impress  upon  the  attention  of  our  farmers 
the  importance  of  the  egg  question  than  anything  before  attempted.  It 
is  the  one  and  only  way  to  satisfy  the  public  mind  and  enable  our  farmers 
to  decide  for  themselves  as  to  whether  they  are  or  are  not  to  blame  in 
leaving  so  long  neglected  this  particular  branch  of  their  calling. 
If  we  are  ever  to  make  an  appreciable  impression  upon  our  hitherto 
insufficient  egg  supply,  it  is  to  our  farmers  we  must  look,  and  why  ? 
Because  they  are  in  possession  of  our  soil,  which  is  an  essential  element 
in  the  successful  keeping  of  poultry  in  any  quantity. 
That  Leicestershire  shall  not  be  a  defaulter  in  the  taking  irp  of  this 
scheme,  I  intend  myself  to  establish  three  or  four  fioc'>  s  of  difierent  breeds 
which  shall  be  tested  under  my  own  supervision,  and  I  do  not  think  it  too 
much  to  hope  that  at  least  a  hundred  other  individuals  interested  in  agri¬ 
culture  will  do  likewise.  This  matter  should  commend  itself  to  the 
attention  of  landowners,  and  especially  our  educational  agricultural 
colleges  and  dairy  schools,  which  are,  more  or  less,  supported  out  of 
public  funds. 
It  may  seem  to  be  a  matter  of  small  moment  to  our  farmers  as  to 
whether  fifty  head  of  fowls  realise  a  profit  of  £5  or  £10,  or  even  £15‘ 
the  sum  in  either  case  being  insignificant.  This,  however,  is  a  very 
narrow  view  to  take  of  the  question.  If  satisfactory  results  can  bo  shown 
from  a  single  flock  w'e  have  something  to  warrant  an  increased  number 
being  kept,  four  flocks  upon  four  acres,  or  eight  upon  eight  acres,  each 
flock  enjoying  equal  advantages  with  the  first.  The  return  from  this 
increased  quantity  may  prove  as  substantial  a  sum  as  the  other  was 
deemed  insignificant. 
These  tests  will  not  only  set  at  rest  the  question  of  profit  or  loss  in 
the  keeping  of  fowls  as  egg  producers,  but  it  will  also  conclusively  show 
which  particular  breed  of  fowl  are  the  most  prolific  layers  and  best  suited 
to  our  climate. 
It  is  intended  that  the  results  which  are  realised  by  the  several  trials 
shall  at  the  close  of  the  year  be  published  in  detail  in  all  the  leading 
agricultural  papers,  as  well  as,  if  possible,  widely  distributed  in  pamphlet 
form  through  the  aid  of  our  County  Councils  and  other  societies  in  touch 
with  the  agricultural  industry. 
My  thirty  years’  experience  in  poultry  keeping  leads  me  to  believe 
that  results  will  be  forthcoming  from  these  tests  calculated  to  both  astonish 
and  impress.  It  is  not,  however,  possible  to  carry  this  scheme  to  a 
successful  issue  unless  a  sufficient  number  of  agriculturists  express  their 
willingness  to  take  part  in  it.  I  shall  therefore  be  pleased  to  hear  from 
anyone  interested  in  this  question,  or  who  may  desire  further  information. 
— Iv.  B.  Baqhot-De  La  Bere,  Burbage  Hall,  Leicestershire. 
