138 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER.  February  16,  1899. 
- ^ k - - - — - 
but  is  now  a  certain  quantity  of  very  low  value,  and  that  value 
seldom  rises  ;  if  it  does  so  for  a  short  period,  invariably  falling  lower 
than  before.  The  fact  is  that  the  English  farmer  cannot  compete 
with  his  colonial  brother  in  the  production  of  wool  alone,  and  to  the 
English  sheep  breeder  of  the  future  wool  must  he  more  of  a  bye  than 
a  staple  product. 
Notwithstanding  freezing  chambers  and  all  the  newest  appliances, 
the  carriage  of  mutton  from  the  Antipodes  must  still  he  an  expensive 
process  and  give  the  Englishman  a  good  advantage  in  supplying  the 
home  market  with  fresh  meat,  but  the  carriage  on  bales  of  compressed 
wool  is  quite  another  thing,  and  amounts  to  nothing  on  the  gross 
value  of  the  commodity. 
Well !  If  the  British  farmer  is  to  turn  his  attention  to  mutton  and 
leave  wool  to  take  its  chance,  what  do  our  friends  the  butchers  say  on 
the  subject  ?  What  they  want,  and  therefore  what  their  customers 
Avant,  is  a  blackfooted  sheep  of  a'bout  70  lbs.  dead  weight. 
We  have  been  much  interested  in  an  article  (by  a  lady)  in  the 
“Nineteenth  Century  ’’for  December,  'on  “Neglecting  our  Cus¬ 
tomers.”  It  was  illustrative  of  the  way  in  which  foreign  markets  are 
lost  to  the  producers  of  English  goods.  The  facts  put  forward  were 
very  startling,  but  will  it  not  be  the  same  at  home  if  the  home  pro¬ 
ducer  does  not  set  his  house  in  order  and  prepare  to  hold  his  ground  ? 
In  fact,  everywhere  we  see  goods  marked,  “made  in  Germany,” 
“made  in  Bavaria,”  made  in  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  earth, 
filling  English  markets,  and  this  free  trade  practically  means  the  best 
of  everything  at  moderate  prices. 
Therefore,  as  the  British  consumer  is  determined  to  have  one  class 
of  mutton  put  on  his  table,  if  the  home  farmer  does  not  supply  him 
Avith  what  he  wants,  the  foreigner  will. 
As  long-wooled  sheep,  with  their  white  legs  and  over-fat  heavy 
carcases,  are  not  suited  to  the  English  market,  wool  must  be  sacrificed; 
and  short-wooled  down  or  mountain  sheep,  or  better  still  cross-bred 
sheep,  must  take  their  place. 
And  here  we  find  perhaps  the  key  to  success  in  breeding  sheep  for 
mutton  purposes.  As  long  as  pure  breeds  only  are  used,  almost  any 
cross  will  be  successful.  It  is  strange  but  true,  that  a  first  cross 
between  two  old-established  and  pure  yet  distinct  breeds  of  sheep 
produces  an  animal  Avhich  for  vigour  of  constitution,  and  therefore 
mutton-producing  poAver,  is  superior  to  either  of  the  two  parent 
stocks.  Constitutional  vigour,  the  result  of  the  infusion  of  new  blood, 
displays  itself  in  increase  of  bone  and  lean  flesh  ;  the  very  points  which 
the  butcher  is  now  seeking,  in  order  to  satisfy  his  customers.  We  are 
told,  and  we  believe  it  to  be  true,  that  this  spring  will  have  seen  the 
birth  of  more  cross-bred  lambs  than  has  ever  been  known  in  this 
country.  This  shows  that,  notwithstanding  high  prices  for  pure 
breeds,  the  farmer  at  large  is  taking  advantage  of  his  opportunity, 
and  is  making  use  of  these  breeds,  lying  so  ready  to  his  hand — very 
much,  we  hope,  to  his  future  adA^antage. 
No  one  with  a  knowledge  of  and  interest  in  the  meat  trade  can 
have  failed  to  notice  the  increasing  quantity  of  lamb  offered  in  the 
butchers’  shops  during  the  spring  and  summer,  and  how  from  July 
onwards  the  young  animal  gradually  takes  the  first  place  in  the  supply 
of  mutton. 
This  is  the  result  of  the  demand  for  small  and  succulent  joints, 
successfully  met  by  the  enterprise  of  farmers  in  forcing  their  sheep 
to  early  maturity.  We  do  not  much  believe  in  autumn-born  lambs ; 
they  are  generally  delicate,  and  it  is  rather  difficult  to  get  them  fat 
quickly  enough  to  make  good  lamb — f.e.,  good  enough  to  satisfy  the 
epicure  who  is  willing  to  pay  a  high  price  for  it. 
Christmas  or  a  Aveek  or  tAvo  later  is  quite  early  enough  to  commence 
the  lambing  season,  for  the  lengthening  days  and  increasing  hours  of 
sunshine  have  much  to  do  Avith  encouraging  the  milking  power  of  the 
dam  and  the  growth  and  well-being  of  her  offspring. 
Ewes  AAffiich  lamb  down  early  require  liberal  feeding  during  the 
jAeriod  of  gestation,  so  that  they  may  be  in  a  condition  after  lambing 
to  give  full  scope  to  their  milking  powers.  Of  course  there  is  a  greater 
lambing  risk  to  an  ewe  in  good  condition  than  to  one  comparatively 
poor ;  but,  in  farming  as  in  commerce,  to  earn  profit  risk  must  be  run. 
-  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  in  the  first  place  to  have  the  ewe  in  good 
condition,  for  if  she  be  young  it  Avill  not  have  been  a  difficult  matter, 
and  if  she  be  comparatively  old  and  intended  for  drafting  off  in  the 
summer  the  extra  food  will  be  recovered  in  the  sale  of  the  ewe  if  it  is 
not  in  the  lamb.  But  it  will  be,  for  it  is  in  the  older  ewes  that  good 
treatment  so  Avell  repays  the  cost. 
In  the  first  place,  when  trying  for  early  lambs  it  is  always  the  old 
ewes  who  lamb  down  first ;  in  fact,  it  is  very  difficult  to  get  early 
lambs  from  shearlings.  Another  thing  !  The  shearling  keeps  up  her 
milk  supply  much  longer — t.e.,  does  not  dry  off  so  soon — but  the  old 
ewe  gives  much  the  larger  supply  when  the  lamb  most  wants  it  (if  he 
is  to  be  made  lamb  of).  When  the  lamb  has  gone  to  the  butcher  at 
45s.  to  50s.  it  does  not  matter  how  soon  she  dries  up,  and  makes  ready 
to  follow  to  the  same  bourne  from  which  no  sheep  returns. 
WORK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Wo  have  had  two  days’  sharp  frost  and  easy  manure  leading,  followed 
by  drizzling  rain  and  April-like  showers.  Everything  is  very  wet,  and 
the  muck-cart,  though  still  at  work,  is  making  a  bad  mess  of  the  roads 
and  of  the  land  so  far  as  it  has  to  go. 
Rolling  Wheat  cannot  be  entertained,  and  the  cross-cutting  of  fallows, 
though  obviously  the  next  item  in  the  farm-work  catalogue,  will  have  to 
be  deferred  until  the  weather  is  drier.  It  is  no  use  turning  over  the  land 
ready  for  working  if  we  are  puddling  it  with  the  horses’  feet  at  the  same 
time. 
The  Turnip  land  is  ploughed  close  up  ;  then  what  can  we  do  but  lead 
muck  and  let  the  District  Council  take  care  of  the  roads?  Fortunately 
the  land  has  to  pay  but  half  the  cost. 
We  rejoiced  in  the  short  and  fleeting  frost  as  likely  to  create  a  nice 
mould  for  the  Oats.  Alas  !  the  rain  is  sadly  spoiling  our  hopes,  and  we 
must  not  attempt  any  preparation  for  sowing  until  the  weather  takes  up, 
as  one  day’s  heavy  rain  can  undo  all  the  previous  day’s  labour.  Herein 
lies  one  of  the  chief  advantages  of  a  large  farm  and  a  good  force  of 
horses,  in  that  a  day’s  drilling,  say  12  acres,  can  be  prepared,  drilled, 
harrowed,  and,  weather  permitting,  rolled  down  in  one  day,  and  as  it 
were,  at  one  operation.  If  rain  comes  on  during  the  day  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  labour  is  wasted,  the  several  implements  following  each 
other  closely. 
We  hear  of  a  few  early  lambs,  but  have  not  seen  any  as  yet.  Ewes 
require  well  feeding  now  until  they  lamb  down.  Swedes  are  not  a 
suitable  food  just  before  lambing  ;  we  find  Mangold  given  on  grass  the 
most  healthy  food.  There  is  little  difficulty  in  lambing,  and  the  ewes 
milk  well. 
It  is  a  good  thing  for  ewes  to  have  a  walk  of  half  a  mile  or  so  to  and 
from  the  lambing  pen,  the  exercise  does  them  a  world  of  good.  We  have 
known  a  flock  taken  from  the  fold  to  a  field  of  Turnips  more  than  a  mile 
away,  and  though  two  or  three  might  be  wisely  left  at  home  by  the 
shepherd  in  the  morning,  the  general  health  of  the  flock  benefited  greatly 
by  the  exercise. 
We  see  that  the  Queen’s  speech  promises  great  things  to  Irish 
farmers  ;  we  hope  that  they  may  tinu  some  more  substantial  fulfilment  of 
the  goodwill  than  English  larmers  have. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32’  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
Bain. 
1899. 
February. 
Barometer 
at  32°,  and 
Sea  Level 
Hygrometer 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
inchs 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
inch.s. 
Sunday  .... 
.5 
29-485 
35-3 
35-3 
S. 
36-2 
38-9 
28-6 
42-5 
25-8 
0-016 
Monday  .... 
6 
29-784 
38-4 
37-3 
S.E. 
36-2 
46-1 
34-3 
46-9 
29-9 
0-318 
Tuesday  .... 
7 
-29-508 
46-1 
45-9 
S. 
37-1 
54-8 
35-3 
75 '6 
31-7 
0-141 
AVednesday 
8 
•29 -.504 
50-0 
48-4 
s. 
40-0 
54-1 
46-1 
55-2 
40-1 
0-258 
Thursday  . . 
9 
29-,535 
48-9 
47-1 
s. 
42-1 
58-1 
47  -7 
61-1 
41-7 
0-193 
Friday  .  i _ 
10 
29-5-20 
57  -7 
50-2 
S.AV. 
43-4 
64-8 
48-9 
95-6 
45-1 
— 
Saturday.... 
11 
•29-614 
50-8 
47-6 
s. 
44-4 
54-1 
49-9 
68-0 
43-6 
0-078 
29-564 
46-7 
44-5 
39-9 
53-0 
41-5 
63-6 
36-8 
1.004 
REMARKS. 
5th.— Rain  from  4  a.m.  to  10  A.M.,  dull  and  overcast  after. 
6th. — Overcast  morning  ;  heavy  rain  and  sleet  from  3  p.ai.  to  7.30  P.JI.,  and 
drizzly  after. 
7th.— Dull  and  drizzly  till  10  a.m.  ;  bright  sun  from  11  to  noon,  and  occasionally 
after  ;  thunder  and  spots  of  rain  at  3.35  p.ai. 
8th.— Heavy  rain  between  2  and  4  a.ai.,  then  overcast  till  11,  and  the  remainder 
very  wet. 
9th.— Shower  at  4.30  a.m.  ;  overcast  morning  ;  heavy  rain  from  noon  to  3.30  p.m.  ; 
fair  night. 
10th. — A  lovely  spring  day  ;  the  warmest  in  February  for  more  than  forty  years. 
11th. — Fine,  and  sunny  at  times  in  morning  and  afternoon  ;  but  rain  from  0.30  to 
2  P.M. 
A  very  warm  and  wet  week.— G.  J.  Sa'MONS. 
