158 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
February  13,  1902. 
Butter  and  Water. 
Here  js  another  grievance  for  the  long-suffering  British 
farmer  to  nurse  1  Good  butter  contains  12  to  14  per  cent, 
of  water  of  combination,  whilst  if  it  contains  as  much  as 
16  per  cent,  it  will  not  be  condemned  by  an  analyst  as  below 
the  proper  standard  of  solidity  ;  but  Colonial  butter  is  now 
being  imported  and  put  on  the  market  after  being  made  up 
with  a  14  percentage  of  new  milk.  The  percentage  of  water 
is  thus  raised  to  something  like  26  per  cent.  As  milk  can 
be  obtained  in  quantity  at  little  over  Id.  per  lb,  very  little 
calculation  will  demonstrate  that  butter  which  could  be  sold 
at  Is.  per  lb  as  imported  may,  after  being  made  up  with  this 
proportion  of  milk,  be  sold  at  lOd.  If  the  imported  article 
is  worth  Is.  the  mixture  is  worth  2d.  less.  As  this  blended 
butter  is  sold  with  a  public  statement  as  to  the  materials 
of  which  it  is  composed,  it  has  been  decided  that  there  is 
no  infringement  of  the  law  as  it  stands  at  present.  There 
is,  therefore,  nothing  to  prevent  this  blending  system  from 
being  enormously  extended.  That  much  and  serious  harm 
may  be  done  the  butter  industry  can  hardly  be  doubted. 
The  praiseworthy  efforts  of  county  councils  and  private 
individuals  to  raise  the  standard  of  country  butter  will  be  of 
little  avail  against  such  an  insidious  competition  as  this. 
Of  course,  British  farmers  may  do  the  same  thing,  but,  in 
the  public  interest,  is  i;  desiiab’ed 
Farmers’  wives,  keen  after  butter-money,  have,  in  the 
past,  sold  too  much  buttermilk  as  and  in  their  butter.  Many 
of  them  have  been  taught  the  use  of  butter-Avorkers,  and 
the  average  percentage  of  moisture  in  farmers’  butter  has 
been  much  reduced.  Are  farmers  to  be  driven  back  to  old 
slovenly  methods'?  We  hope  not.  There  is  more  combina¬ 
tion  in  British  dairying  than  in  any  other  branch  of  our 
agriculture,  and  we  tnrst  that  the  various  organisations  Avill 
be  well  backed  irp  by  farmers  generally  in  obtaining  such 
an  amendment  of  f^he  Merchandise  .Marks  Act  as  will  prevent 
the  use  of  the  name  “  butter  ”  in  connection  AAuth  any  samples 
containing  added  milk  or  more  than  16  per  cent,  of  Avater. 
An  Import  Tax  on  Wheat. 
A  few  years  ago  the  sirggestion  that  a  tax  on  imported 
Wheat  would  so  soon  be  suggested  Avordd  have  been 
treated  Avith  the  utmost  scorn.  That  it  is  the  unexpected 
which  often  happens  is  once  more  shoAvn  by  the  proposal  in 
all  seriousness  by  members  of  both  political  parties  that  Ave 
should  so  far,  at  least,  go  back  on  our  free  trade  policy  as 
to  lay  a  small  duty  on  imported  grain.  Of  course,  the 
motive  of  these  suggestions  is  the  common  one  of  need  of 
money.  The  nation  has  a  very  large  bill  to  pay — some  of 
it  now  and  some  in  the  near  future — and  politicians,  both 
those  now  in  power  and  those  hoping  soon  to  be,  are  casting 
round  for  the  readiest  means  to  make  John  Bull  meet  his 
obligations.  Will  any  tax  that  is  likely  to,  or,  rather,  may 
possibly,  be  imposed  do  much  good  to  farmers  1  A  sub¬ 
stantial  duty  no  doubt  Avould  ;  but  is  such  an  impost  at  all 
probable?  One  shilling  per  quarter  as  a  registration  fee  is 
suggested.  One  of  the  first  axioms  of  political  economy 
states  that  the  price  of  any  commodity  is  raised  by  the 
imposition  of  an  import  duty  in  the  same  ratio  which  the 
imported  portion  bears  to  the  whole  consumption  of  the 
country.  By  this  rule,  as  we  import  80  per  cent,  of  our 
bread  stuffs,  the  imposition  of  Is.  duty  should  raise  the 
price  of  Wheat  by  about  9^d.  per  quarter,  and  put  into  the 
farmers’  pockets  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  per  annum. 
No  doubt  they  would  be  thankful  for  even  such  a  small 
mercy,  but  we  very  much  doubt  the  wisdom  of  such  a  policy 
now  we  are  so  dependent  on  foreign  supplies  for  our  daily 
bread. 
There  seems  to  be  an  idea  that  an  import  duty  raising 
the  price  of  Wheat  Avould  greatly  encourage  its  growth.  A 
duty  of  10s.  per  quarter,  Avhich  would  artificially  raise  the 
price  8s.,  might  certainly  do  so  to  some  extent,  but  nothing 
except  famine  pr.ces  could  raise  the  Wheat  production  of 
this  country  to  CA^en  half  the  quantity  required  for  home 
consumption.  We  wish  no  offence  to  advocates  of  protec¬ 
tion,  but  we  think  the  taxing  of  Wheat  outside  the  pale  of 
practical  politics.  Not  so,  however,  as  regards  the  taxing 
of  imported  flour.  Such  a  tax  would  not  interfere  Avith  the 
supply  of  bread,  but  Avould  greatly  encourage  the  home 
milling  industry,  and,  indirectly,  the  collier  and  machine 
maker ;  whilst  it  Avould  greatly  increase  the  supply  of 
seconds,  pollard,  and  bian,  Avhich  are  so  useful  to  and  largely 
used  by  all  classes  of  farmers. 
In  choosing  subjects  for  taxation,  hoAvever,  the  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer  might  find  articles  even  more  suitable  than 
flour.  The  chief  draAvback  might  be  that  duties  in  these 
cases  might  not  bring  in  sufficiently  large  sums.  It  must  be 
economically  bad  policy,  apart  from  questions  of  revenue,  to 
allow  free  imports  of  articles  .Avhich  may  be  produced  at 
home,  such  as  Potatoes,  vegetables,  and,  to  a  great  extent, 
eggs  and  poultry,  Avhilst  heavily  taxing  such  things  as  tea, 
coffee,  &c.,  which  are  not  produced  in  this  country. 
There  is  a  strong  and  groAving  feeling  amongst  small 
farmers,  market  gardeners,  and  allotment  holders  that  con¬ 
sumers  who  Avish  to  enjoy  foreign  fruit  and  vegetables  out 
of  season  can  afford  to  pay  such  a  price  as  would  include 
an  import  duty  ;  Avhilst  fruit  and  vegetables  in  season  can 
be  produced  here  in  any  quantity,  and  too  often  do  not  find 
a  market  when  groAvn.  This  feeling  is,  Ave  say,  a  growing 
one,  and  only  requires  means  of  expression  to  gain  great 
political  force  at  no  distant  date.  But  there  is  foreign 
Barley,  AA'hich  is  ver}"  largely  imported,  and  the  best  qualities 
compete  very  strongly  with  the  better  classes  of  home  pro¬ 
duction.  Beer  is,  no  doubt,  heavily  taxed,  but  more  good 
than  harm  would  be  done  by  the  tax’ng  of  foreign  breAving 
materials.  It  Avould  give  a  lift  to  the  British  Barley  groAver, 
and  would  not  prevent  the  importation  of  foreign  groAvth 
which  command  high  prices,  Avhilst  the  exchequer  Avould 
considerably  benefit. 
A  duty  on  Barley  also  suggests  a  duty  on  Maize,  which 
is  now  so  largely  iised  in  brewing,  and  aa^c  notice  that  some 
Chambers  of  Agriculture  are  agitating  for  a  duty  on  it.  We 
hold  that  the  chief  argument  for  a  duty  on  Ma’ze  rests  on  its 
use  as  a  breAving  material.  Maize  competes  Avith  Oats  as 
food  for  horses,  but,  taking  every  point  into  account,  AA^e 
think  that,  apart  from  its  use  for  brewing,  the  farmer  will 
not  benefit  by  a  duty  on  Maize.  No  doubt  the  revenue  would 
do  so,  and,  possibly  as  Maize  competes  Avith  many  articles 
of  home  growth,  the  imposition  of  a  duty  might  be 
economically  sound  ;  but  Ave  do  not  think  farmers  throughout 
the  country  will  agitate  for  it.  If  money  has  to  be  found  by 
import  duties,  farmers  should  combine  to  get  flour,  Barlej% 
Potatoes,  and  vegetables  included  in  the  schedule,  and  leave 
Wheat  alone  as  a  will  o’  the  wisp. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
Having  had  another  visitation  of  frost  and  snow  we  are  still 
Avaiting  for  an  opportunity  to  begin  spring  AA'ork.  It  is  milder 
again,  and  the  snoAV  is  gone,  but  it  has  left  the  surface  soil  very 
Avet  and  sticky.  There  can  be  no  rolling  for  a  fortnight  hoAvever 
dry  it  may  be.  EAmrj'one  is  getting  manure  out,  and  the  yards 
begin  to  look  Amry  empty  and  cold :  except  AA  et  and  dirty 
straAv  from  the  Potato  pits,  there  is  so  little  to  give  them  a  good 
foundation  again.  The  slump  in  Potatoes  is  complete.  A 
circular  from  a  Manchester  salesman  ([uotes  the  highest  price  as 
55s.  per  ton.  Take  15s.  carriage  and  expenses  from  that !  40s. 
for  best  stuff!!  What  Avill  common  ones  bring? 
We  have  seen  a  field  of  Wheat  to-day  Avhich  seems  to  have  lost 
quite  half  its  plant.  The  OAvner  says  it  is  the  first  field  he  has 
sown  AAdth  Wheat  on  lea  for  three  or  four  years,  but  he  is  tired  of 
growing  Oats  these  dry  seasons.  His  land  is  strong,  and  he 
gave  up  Wheat  before  because  it  so  often  lost  root.  Heavy  and 
continuous  rolling  is  the  best  antidote,  but  rolling  anywhere  just 
noAv  is  Avell  nigh  impossible,  Avhilst  on  this  heav-y  soil  it  may  be 
Aveeks  before  the  roll  may  be  brought  into  use.  A  good  dres.sing 
of  rape  dust  is  the  only  other  remedy,  and  though  half  a  ton  p,.r 
acre  may  seem  too  much  to  lay  out  bn  a  Wheat  crop  it  must  be 
remembered  that  rape  dust  has  excellent  manurial  value,  and 
should  give  an  adequate  return  in  this  and  succeeding  crops  apart 
from  its  effect  in  stopping  the  ravages  of  Avireworm. 
As  the  days  lengthen  AAm  must  keep  a  AA'atchful  eye  on  our 
young  stock.  Young  cattle  in  loose  boxes  Avill  require  less 
forcing  food,  or  cases  of  blackleg  may  folloAv.  Many  farmers  at 
this  season  put  setons  in  the  necks  of  their  groAving  calves,  but  we 
should  prefer  to  commence  a  regular  course  of  flowers  of  sulphur. 
A  tablespoonful  per  head,  given  once  a  Aveek,  will  be  everything 
that  is  required  to  keep  the  blood  in  a  healthy  state.  We  should 
also  be  inclined  to  gently  reduce  the  Avinter  ration  as  the  sun 
gains  in  poAver.  In  the  case  of  feeding  sheep  Ave  should  increase 
the  cake  alloAvance,  but  folloAv  up  the  sulphur  treatment  even 
more  strenuously.  AlloAvance,  11b  to  fifty  sheep. 
