178 
JOURNAL  GF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
February  20,  1902. 
doubled  itself  during  the  year,  and,  mirabile  dictu  !  there  is  a 
balance  in  hand  !  A  Shire  stallion  has  been  hired  to  travel 
the  district,  and  negotiations  are  on  foot  for  a  Hackney  sire 
for  the  benefit  of  the  members.  As  Skipton,  in  Craven, 
is  a  dairy  district,  we  find,  as  we  should  expect,  that  meal 
for  the  feeding  of  cows  is  one  of  the  items,  and  we  are 
glad  to  observe  that  it,  too,  has  been  purchased  wholesale. 
We  have  often  commented  on  the  difficulty  of  procuring 
bran  and  sharps.  Flour  is  always  to  be  had  ;  but  these 
'Offals,  bye-products,  are  often  very  dear  and  scarce.  Flour 
is  imported  ;  but  the  bye-products,  which  are  of  the  utmost 
value  to  farmers,  we  suppose  must  find  equally  ready  buyers 
.at  the  “  other  side.”  These  good  people  have  a  project 
in  view  of  taking,  or  buying,  premises  and  machinery, 
where  they  can  grind  and  dress  their  own  corn  ;  this  will 
apply  to  other  grain  than  Vv  neat,  and  we  doubt  not  that 
they  should  be  able  to  mix,  in  the  future,  their  own  dairy 
meals,  and,  in  fact,  feeding  meals  of  all  descriptions.  They 
Will  thus  get  a  cheaper  article  and  ensure  its  purity.  The 
services  of  an  analyst  have  been  engaged,  and  he  will  find 
plentv  of  work  in  the  testing  of  manures  and  feeding  cakes. 
We  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear  of  a  seed-crushing  busi¬ 
ness  being  added  to  their  undertakings.  "  Cake  ”  is  such  a 
Catholic  word — it  covers  so  many'  compounds — some  good, 
some  very  bad,  and  others  indifferent^ — all  dear.  Practical 
farmers  know  pretty  well  on  what  mixtures  their  stock  thrive 
the  best,  and  we  see  no  reason  why  they  as  a  co-operative 
body  should  not  do  the  blending  as  well  as  the  professional 
crusher. 
We  shall  see  co-operative  dairies  before  long  in  Craven. 
There  is  a  grand  outlet  for  dairy  produce  in  all  the  big  towns 
so  near  the  district — the  market  is  actually  at  the  very  door. 
And  another  point  some  of  us  have  read  a  good  deal  lately 
■about — this  Army  Remount  business.  It  does  not  sound 
very  well,  especially  that  part  rela-ting  to  transactions  in 
Hungarj^  There  has  been  a  good  bit  of  money  wasted,  and 
reputations  have  been  at  stake.  In  this  district,  as  well  as 
in  Ireland,  horse-breeding  has  not  received  all  the  attention 
it  should,  and  surely  there  is  room  and  scope  for  the  small 
farmer  to  try  what  he  can  do  for  the  credit  of  his  country. 
There  is  still  a  trade  for  hunters,  and  will  be  so  as  long  as 
the  spirit  of  sport  is  inherent  in  Englishmen.  We  welcome 
this  as  a  sign  of  the  times — the  reproach  of  standing  aloof 
has  too  long  attached  itself  to  the  farmer.  It  is  a  bad  snirit, 
and  a  mischievous  one.  Ho  man  is  strong  enough  really  to 
stand  alone.  We  have  been  very  slow  to  learn  the  lesson 
of  “  Union  ”  combined  effort  ;  but  when  once  learned  we 
shall  have  got  it  pr))i — solid.  We  are  learning  in  adver¬ 
sity  what  we  never  should  have  entertained  when  things 
went  well  wdth  us.  What  might  we  not  have  done  in  the 
rast  if  we  had  only  possessed  a  bit  more  common  sensei 
We  might  have  dictated  terms  to  landlords’  agents,  and  all 
purveyors  of  articles  that  which  we  need.  We  should  have 
done  more  good  in  that  way  than  by  worrying  about  repre¬ 
sentatives  in  Parliament,  though  we  don’t  for  one  moment 
wish  to  underrate  the  value  of  such  representation  ;  but  the 
agricidtural  community  is  its  own  best  helper,  but  it  must 
remember  it  has  no  power  except  by  cohesion. 
If  the  labour  question  reaches  an  even  more  acute  stage, 
which  we  hope  it  mav  not,  we  shall  be  driven  in  the  future 
to  methods  to  meet  the  times.  Letting  arable  land  go  back 
to  pasture  will  not  solve  the  difficulty.  There  is  a  great  day 
coming  for  machinery,  and  we  shall  probably  see  whole 
parishes  ioining  in  the  purchase  of  what  is  necessary,  and 
working  it  by  means  of  some  simple  system  of  co-operation. 
Excessive  Railway  Rates. 
Talking  of  Potatoes  for  America,  leads  on  naturally  to 
tae  subiect  of  railway  and  other  rates  for  goods,  and  here 
W3  follow  out  to  the  letter  the  noblest  maxims  of  Free 
Trade — we  favour  the  foreigner  in  every  direction.  Of  course 
this  is  a  wise  policy  if  we  look  at  the  subject  from  the  con¬ 
sumer’s  point  of  view,  but  we  rather  forget  the  poor  pro¬ 
ducer.  We  suppose  we  make  the  rates  low  so  as  not  to 
frighten  off  those  people  who  have  it  in  their  power  to  sunply 
us  with  goods.  Those  people  at  home  must  sell  us  their 
s  ufi,  as  there  is  no  market  abroad  for  it,  and  we  (the  big 
towns)  do  not  much  care  if  we  get  it  or  not. 
.-^n  instance  came  to  our  notice  some  little  time  ago — our 
leadurs  may  have  heard  of  the  like  before.  The  carriage  per 
ton  of  goods  from  Alexandria  to  a  northern  port  is  exactly 
the  same  as  the  carriage  per  ton  from  that  port  to  an  adja- 
<cent  town  under  thirty  miles  away  (by  water);  "Why  this 
should  be  we  cannot  for  the  life  of  us  see  ;  but  so  it  is.  It 
is  just  the  same  with  other  goods,  2s.  per  ton  down  the  river 
to  port  of  embarkation,  and  not  much  more  if  you  wish  to 
tranship  to  New  York.  It  is  just  the  same  on  the  railways 
from  Boulogne  to  London.  The  rate  for  one-ton  lots  is 
12s.  5d.,  empties  returned  free  ;  and  from  Folkestone  to 
London  and  intermediate  stations  the  rate  is  27s.  7d.,  empties 
charged.  If  it  is  wished  to  send  a  basket  of  fruit  to  London, 
the  distance  being  about  forty  miles,  the  charge  will  be 
Is.  2d.  Send  twenty-five  baskets  of  fruit 'from  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  of  Brussels  to  Covent  Garden,  the  rate  per  basket 
is  2jd.  ;  and  who  says  there  is  no  need  for  railway  reform  1 
Uf  course,  people  will  say  that  at  any  rates  we  could  never 
supply  the  amount  of  stuff.  Is  there  any  encouragement  to 
try  1  Who  says  we  cannot  grow  hay  1  And  yet  when  we  hear 
of  consignments  of  hay  travelling  forty  miles,  and  taking  for 
that  journey  from  twenty-five  to  ten  days,  what  are  we  to 
think?  It  is  high  time  we  had  motor  forces  on  the  road  if 
this  state  of  things  is  not  to  be  altered.  True,  for  small 
parcels  of  goods  which  come  under  the  head  of  “  Agricul¬ 
tural  produce  ”  there  are  reduced  rates,  but  these  rates  are 
far  above  those  that  regulate  foreign  custom.  We  only  ask 
to  be  put  on  an  equality  with  all  outside  providers.  We  do 
not  tax  them  at  the  ports,  and  the  least  we  can  do  is  to  make 
them  pay  equal  railway  rates  with  ourselves.  We  wish  some 
great  agitator  would  take  the  question  up.  It  would  be  to 
the  interest  of  the  shareholders  to  increase  dividends,  and  it 
would  give  the  home  grower  a  chance  against  the  outsider. 
Work  on  the  Hoin^;  Farm. 
We  were  a  little  previous  in  assuming  that  winter  was  over, 
for  now,  in  mid-February  we  are  experiencing  more  severe  frost 
than  we  have  had  for  four  or  five  years.  Yesterday  24deg  of 
frost  and  to-day  29deg  have  bound  everything  in  iron,  and  as 
there  is  no  manure  to  get  out  we  shall  positively  have  to  make 
exercise  jobs  for  the  horses.  A  good  big  compost  heap  to  spread 
on  grass  seems  the  only  available  occupation.  It  is  much  too 
frosty' to  do  anything  with  Potato  delivery,  and  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  lots  already  on  rails  or  in  transit  may  prove  to  be  severely 
damaged.  A  continuation  of  frost  might  give  the  Potato  trade 
a  very  much-needed  fillip. 
It  is  fortunate  that  there  is  a  2in  to  Sin  covering  of  snow  to 
protect  Wheat  and  partly  protect  Turnips.  Nevertheless,  the 
latter  are  frozen  so  hard  that  they  are  difficult  to  trim  and  cut, 
but  they  may  be  worth  very  little  when  the  thaw  comes.  Those 
who  have  made  provision  for  frost  by  freely  storing  their  roots  are 
now  in  a  happy  position,  but  most  of  all  those  who  have  a  big  heap 
of  Swedes  stored  Mangold  fashion  in  close  contiguity  to  the  yards. 
It  is  bad  enough  to  have  to  cut  frozen  roots,  but  pulping  them 
when  they  are  in  that  condition  is  well-nigh  impossible.  The 
satisfaction  of  having  an  ample  supply  of  good  food  for  our  stock 
in  weather  hke  this  is  ample  reward  for  the  labour  and  expense 
of  putting  the  roots  away.  Whether  the  roots  are  frozen  or  not, 
the  sheep  must  now  have  the  assistance  of  plenty  of  dry  food, 
especially  the  ewes,  which,  whether  they  have  lambed  or  not, 
have  now  a  great  drain  on  their  systems,  and  they  must  have  food 
of  a  nourishing  character.  There  is  nothing  so  good  for  this 
purpose  as  good  hay,  but  few  farmers  can  spare  any  for  the  sheep. 
Cut  straw  with  an  admixture  of  'malt  culms  or  dried  grains  is  the 
best  alternative,  and  one  or  other  must  be  given  while  this  winter- 
lasts.  There  is  one  virtue  of  severe  weather,  the  sheep  layer  is 
good  as  long  as  there  is  not  too  much  snow. 
There  is  still  a  little  fencing  to  do.  The  big  hedges  have  been 
taken  down,  and  we  have  a  supply  of  Thorn  for  guarding  weak 
places  and  making  beards  to  keep  stock  from  the  young  growths. 
As  usual,  good  stakes  are  difficult  to  get.  There  has  been  a  krll 
in  the  timber-felling  line  this  winter,  and  the  demand  for  stakes 
and  rough  fencing  timber  exceeds  the  suirply. 
SUTTON’S  FARMERS’  YEAR-BOOK  FOR  1902.— Those  who 
regularly  receive  Sutton’s  Farmers’  Year  Book  will  find  in  the 
current  year’s  issue  a  considerable  increase  in  the  information 
compiled  expressly  for  the  service  of  agriculturists.  It  contains 
concise  notes  on  Clovers  and  Grasses,  and  valuable  hints  on  leys, 
temporary  and  permanent  pastures.  Root  crops  of  all  kinds 
receive  full  consideration.  The  articles  on  Mangolds,  Swedes, 
Turnips,  Carrots,  and  Cabbages  are  practical  and  thoroughly  up 
to  date,  including  details  as  to  the  relative  feeding  and  manurial 
va’ues  of  various  crops.  The  insect  foes  of  the  farm  are  fully 
described,  and  the  most  effective  remedies  suggested  for  their 
destruction.  The  publication  is  issued  in  the  familiar  blue  cover, 
but  we  do  not  remember  any  previous  edition  which  has  been  so 
crowded  with  information  of  exactly  the  kind  that  is  constantly 
needed  by  agriculturists.  Those  who  have  not  received  a  copy 
should  apply  to  the  publishers,  Messrs.  Sutton  and  Sons, 
Reading. 
