354 
Hcrmi-SAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Arr;il  17,  1902 
tions  of  modem  days.  It  is  far  and  away  before  the  old 
system — setting  milk  in  pans.  The  skimming  was  never 
absolutely  thorough,  and  it  is  better  to  clean  one  separator 
than  multitudinous  pans. 
Dairy  work  does  not  end  Avith  the  cream.  Oh  !  this  butter 
question  is  an  endless  one,  but  Bibby  has  a  word  to  say 
on  every  conceivable  point,  and  many  of  the  hints  are  con¬ 
veyed  in  short,  terse  sentences — easy  to  read,  good  to 
remember.  The  care  of  the  milk  and  butter  machine,  for 
really  that  is  w’hat  the  cow  is.  The  choice  of  the  best,  the 
future  of  the  calf.  A  feAV  notes  on  the  different  breeds, 
and  the  desirability  of  breeding  the  best,  and  that  alone, 
and  remembering  the  great  influence  of  the  sire  on  young 
stock.  We  Avere  amused  on  reaching  page  200 — “Here 
begins  the  literary  supplement.”  We  thought  it  Avas  all 
literature,  and  good  too.  We  have  done  with  boA’ines,  and 
gone  up  to  the  great  human  family.  In  this  part  there  is 
a  charming  little  photograph  of  an  interior — an  old  farm¬ 
house  kitchen,  Avith  open  fireplace,  such  as  one  rarely  sees 
in  the  north.  There  is  no  place  like  the  farm  kitchen,  Avith 
its  warmth  and  ruddy  hue,  and  its  promise  of  good  things  ; 
the  bacon  and  hams  from  the  rafters,  and  the  pans  and 
pots  that  surely  don’t  exist  for  show  alone,  but  that  must 
be  used  in  the  production  of  dainties. 
The  literary  part  is  soon  left,  and  Ave  are  back  among 
stock  and  general  fann  pursuits.  Farm  servants’  cottages 
is  a  point  to  which  Ave  Avould  draAV  the  attention  of  the 
landlord  or  his  agent.  Decency  and  comfort  must  be  aimed 
at ;  the  country  has  its  draAA^backs,  but,  at  any  rate,  there 
is  space  enough  to  build  good  cottages — they  need  not  be 
croAAxIed  back  to  back.  Good  gardens  they  need,  but  not 
too  big,  as  the  Avriter  AAusely  adds,  they  (the  labourers)  get 
plenty  of  the  land  in  the  daytime  when  at  their  ordinary 
work.  The  paper  on  “  Leakages  on  the  Farm  ”  should  be 
read  by  every  farmer  and  those  of  his  children  aaLo  are  able 
to  comprehend  the  meaning.  Farming  noAV  is  not  so  much 
the  making  of  sovereigns  as  the,  saving  of  pence  ■,  the  profit 
margin  hardly  exists.  Every  kind  of  stock  is  touched  on, 
but  we  are  surprised  to  find  only  one  article  devoted  entirely 
to  a  fertiliser,  and  that  one  lime.  We  should  have  considered 
the  manure  question  too  great  a  one  to  compress  into  t-Avo 
or  three  papers  ;  but  perhaps  Ave  overrate  the  need. 
The  beautiful  illustrations  of  birds  and  their  nests  appeal 
not  only  to  the  boys  of  the  family,  but  to  their  parents  also. 
We  never  saAv  anything  more  delightful,  and  Ave  knoAV  by 
experience  the  difficulty  there  is  in  getting  a  good  vieAv  of 
a  nest,  i.e.,  that  is  bringing  the  camera  to  bear  upon  it. 
Just  consider  the  matter  a  moment.  The  situation  of  the 
nest  does  not,  as  a  mle,  court  discovery,  and  the  camera 
and  operator  have  sometimes  figuratively  to  stand  on  their 
heads  to  get  a  proper  vieAV.  We_  have  nothing  but  praise 
to  say  of  the  AA'hole.  It  is  artistic,  interesting,  and  good, 
and  quite  fit  to  rank  with  the  best  of  the  quarterlies. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
The  week  has  been  fine  except  for  one  day,  Avhen  Ave  had  a 
perfect  deluge,  Avhich  has  made  land  Avork  impossible  since.  We 
noAv  have  bright,  sunny  days  and  frosty  nights  (12deg  of  frost  last 
night),  so  niatters  AAdjl  soon  be  all  right  again.  One  thing  we 
must  bear  in  mind,  auz.,  to  keep  off  the  land  AAdien  it  is  Avet  and 
sodden.  We  should  like  to  keep  our  sheep  off  the  seeds  duruig 
these  frosty  nights  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  do,  as  the  only  available 
grass  fields  are  too  far  away  to  alloAA'  of  night  and  niornmg 
journeys  to  and  fro,  AAdiilst  the  grass  is  not  forv^ard  enough  to 
support  the  ewes  altogether,  eAmn  for  a  feAv  days.  The  check  to 
pastures  is  having  a  disappointing  effect  on  markets,  our  largest 
local  one  having  a  record  supply  of  both  cattle  and  sheep.  Trade 
AA'as  naturally  very  lieaA^y,  and  large  numbers  remained  unsold, 
some  never  having  been  taken  off  rails  but  sent  back  in  the  trucks 
as  they  came. 
We  believe  there  never  was  so  little  corn  left  unthrashed  in 
April  for  a  very  long  period.  Stacks  are  generally  solitary.  We 
knoAv  of  only  one  stackyard  AA'here  there  are  more  than  one,  and 
.could  not  name  the  place  AA’here  Oats  or  Barley  remain  in  the 
straAA’.  Here  and  there  a  solitary  Wheat  stack,  and  that  is  all. 
Scarcity  of  straAV  is  the  chief  reason,  but  scarcity  of  money  is  a 
.  contributing  cause. 
The  proposal  to  alloAA^  a  bounty  of  5s.  per  quarter  on  Wheat 
retained  in  stack  until  August  Avould,  if  carried  out,  have  little 
effect  until  aa’o  have  had  a  genial  summer  or  tAvo  and  accumulate 
a  reserA’e  of  straAA’.  Mangolds  have  so  proved  their  usefulness 
lately  that  larger  breadths  are  sure  to  be  sown,  and,  except  on 
loAA’-lying,  peaty,  or  AA’et  soils,  there  is  nothing  saA^ed  by  deferring 
soAA’ing  until  May.  As  soon  as  aa’o  can  ridge  the  land  AA’e  shall  do 
so,  get  the  manure — which  must  be  as  short  and  well  decayed  as 
possible — put  on  at  once  at  the  rate  of  12  loads  per  acre.  2cAyt 
of  kainit,  IcAvt  nitrate  of  soda,  and  ScAA’t  of  superphosphate  Avill 
be  soAAUi  broadcast  on  the  roAvs,  AA’hich  AA’ill  then  be  split,  and  the 
seed  drilled  Avith  a  2-roAA’  Scotch  drill. 
We  have  before  recommended  the  soaking  of  Mangold  seed 
before  soAA'ing.  If  it  is  steeped  in  AA’ater  for  twenty-four  hours  and 
then  spread  out  thinly  for  a  foAA'  hours,  just  to  take  the  stickiness 
off  before  diilling,  germination  AA’ill  be  made  much  more  certain. 
We  once  soaked  some  seed  until  the  small  genns  began  to  break 
through  the  outer  husk,  and  Avdien  AA’e  drilled  it  the  seed  husks 
Avere  like  a  number  of  sprouted  Potatoes.  The  plants  Avere  above 
ground  verj'  quickly,  and  Ave  never  had  a  finer  plant  or  a  more 
satisfactory  crop.  We  hear  of  farmers  turning  their  horses  out 
on  Sundays  to  save  fodder.  It  is  a  dangerous  i>ractice.  May  is 
quite  early  enough,  and  eAmn  then  it  is  not  always  safe.  These 
bright  days,  accompanied  by  east  AA’inds,  are  very  treacherous. 
Foals^ — eA’en  A’ery  early  ones — must  be  kept  strictly  in  shelter 
until  the  Avind  is  milder. 
Sunflower  Culture  as  an  Industry. 
The  sale  on  the  Baltic  of  300  tons  of  SunfloAA’er  seeds  at  £11  5s. 
per  ton  seri’es  as  another  reminder  to  people  that  the  Helianthus, 
or  SunfloAver,  is  one  of  those  crops  in  which  there  is  money.  A 
small  trade  has  been  done  in  the  seeds  for  close  on  tAVO  centuries 
in  Russia,  France,  Germany,  and  Italy,  but  in  England  the 
cultivation  has  been  exclusively  for  ornamental  purposes.  In 
America  it  has  recently  formed  the  subject  of  a  special  report 
to  the  Fnited  States’  Department  of  Agriculture.  This  report 
vslioAvs  that  the  plant  can  be  groAA’n  successfully,  but  that  it  is  a 
crop  AA’hich  makes  a  considerable  drain  on  fertilisers.  The  report 
also  shoAA’S  that  the  cultWation  of  the  floAver  would  prove  com¬ 
mercially  adAmutageous,  and  that  the  methods  pursued  for 
growing  Indian  Corn  should  be  followed.  It  is  largely  cultivated 
in  China  and  Tartaiy — it  spreads  Avith  comparative  rapidity— 
and  in  Simla  and  other  hill  .stations,  AA’here  it  was  introduced 
into  gardens,  it  may  noAV  be  found  groAAung  wild.  The  Jerusalem 
Artichoke,  or  Helianthus  tuberosus,  is  believed  to  be  a  native  of 
North  America.  It  w’as  introduced  intO'  Europe  about  three 
centuries  ago,  from  there  into  India,  and  soon  became  an  article 
of  diet,  the  people  of  KathiAvar  reckoning  it  a  very  nutritious 
vegetable,  and  most  palatable  AA’hen  boiled  in  milk.  The  seeds 
are  sold  in  Russia  and  eaten  as  nuts,  and  when  torrefied  in  the 
same  manner  as  Coffee  may  be  used  as  a  substitute  for  it.  They 
are  also  considered  beneficial  to  poultry  and  to  birds  generally, 
and  possess,  moreover,  medicinal  value  in  the  treatment  of  farm 
animals.  Coaa  s  and  oxen,  horses,  sheep,  pigs,  rabbits  and  poultrA' 
are  all  fond  of  them,  and  they  are  considered  superior  to  linseed 
for  cattle,  AA’hich  are  also  fed  on  the  oilcake.  It  is,  hoAA’ever, 
on  account  of  the  oil  that  the  plant  has  noAV  assumed  such  com¬ 
mercial  importance.  In  its  pure  state  this  oil  is  said  to  be  excel¬ 
lent  for  the  table,  and  in  Russia  it  is  already  in  use  as  an 
adulterant  of  almond  and  olive  oils.  It  may  be  advantageously 
utilised  for  Avoollen  dressing,  lighting,  and  candle  and  soap 
making.  Somehow,  the  oil  expressed  many  years  ago  from  seeds 
of  plants  experimentally  cultivated  in  Bangalore  Avas  a  dis¬ 
appointment  commercially,  for  it  was  inferior  as  a  table  oil,  its 
thinness  made  it  useless  for  railAvay  trains,  it  dried  too  slowly 
for  paint,  and,  though  in  the  Ordnance  Department  it  Avas  found 
to  serA’e  all  the  requirements  of  the  Arsenal,  the  price  Avas  pro- 
hibith’e.  Some  species  of  the  SunfloAver,  such  as  H.  thurifer, 
secrete  a  resinous  juice,  Avhich  some  day  may  be  utilised.  The 
blossoms  furnish  a  bright  and  lasting  dye,  and  the  stalks,  of  the 
plant  yield  a  useful  textile  fibre,  Avhile  bees  are  largely  attracted 
to  the  flowers.  It  was  at  one  time  believed  that  the  Sunflower 
possessed  great  A’alue  in  the  reclamation  of  marshy  tracts  of 
land,  besides  the  property  of  removing  malaria  from  swainpy 
areas.  To  test  this  theory,  cultivation  was  undertaken  in 
Bangalore  about  thirty  years  ago,  but  the  virtues  of  the  plant 
proved  to  be  imaginary.  In  Russia,  Avhere  the  cultivation  for  oil 
is  on  a  large  scale,  the  grandiflora  is  the  variety  groAvn.  The 
species  Avhich  the  natives  of  India  have  for  a  long  time  cultivated 
is  the  H.  annus  of  modern  botanists,  and  the  H.  indicus  of 
Linnseus.  This  Avas  at  one  time  believed  to  be  a  native  of  India, 
and  it  is  probably  to  this  genus  that  reference  is  made  in  the 
history  of  the  reign  of  Akbar. — (“  Tropical  Agriculturist,” 
February  20.) 
Publications  Received. 
“  Le  Moniteur  d’Horticulture,”  coloured  plate,  representing 
Diospyros  Kaki,  the  Date  Plum,  Avith  a  cultural  article  Avhich 
also  names  varieties.  *  *  An  essay  on  the  best  means  of  estab¬ 
lishing  “  A  Bird  and  Arbor  Day  ”  in  the  British  Isles,  by  E.  D. 
Till,  Eynsford.  *  *  “  Floralia,”  illustrated.  *  *  Board  of 
Agriculture  Leaflet  72,  “  The  Purchase  of  Artificial  Manures ;  ” 
Leaflet  73.  “  The  Colorado  Beetle.” 
