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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  1,  1900. 
Farmers’  Independence. 
On  shall  we  call  it  exclusiveness  ?  No  ;  the  word  independence  is 
the  better,  for  farmers  are  socially  of  a  friendly  disposition,  and  it  is 
only  when  business  is  mentioned  that  they  draw  back,  each  into  his 
shell,  full  of  suspicion  and  jealousy. 
In  days  gone  by,  when  competition  for  farms  was  so  keen,  cases  of 
mean  underhand  dealing  may  have  done  much  to  engender  suspicion 
and  ill  will  between  neighbours,  but  as  owners  cultivating  their  own 
soil  are  equally  difficult  to  get  into  line  for  mutual  benefit,  land 
hunger  cannot  altogether  be  blamed  for  this  trait  in  the  agricultural 
character. 
Attempts  to  form  farmers’  combinations  have  been  made  hitherto 
with  such  little  success,  that  it  is  with  some  diffidence  we  offer  any 
suggestions  on  such  a  difficult  subject.  A  well-known  northern 
farmer  writes  us :  “I  am  afraid  I  cannot  write  very  cheerfully  about 
organisation  amongst  farmers.  My  experience  is  that  it  is  most 
difficult  to  get  them  to  combine  for  any  purpose  whatever :  there  is  so 
much  jealousy  one  of  another.”  The  surprising  thing  is  that  such 
should  be  the  case,  whilst  everyone  with  whom  the  farmer  deals 
ccmbine  together  against  him.  His  chief  customers,  the  butchers, 
millers,  maltsters,  and  corn  merchants,  all  have  their  well-organised 
associations,  and  most  loyally  do  they  support  them  ;  whilst  the 
merchants  and  manufacturers  from  whom  the  farmer  purchases  his 
manures,  seeds,  and  feeding  stuffs  are  equally  well  combined,  as 
witness  the  recent  huge  amalgamation  of  seed-crushers  and  the 
dearness  of  oilcake  at  the  present  time. 
We  are  afraid  that  the  chief  cause  of  the  farmer’s  great 
unwillingness  to  combine  with  his  neighbours  is  obstinacy ;  he  will 
neither  be  led  nor  driven,  and  only  necessity  will  make  him  move 
either  way.  He  must  be  roused  from  his  fatalistic  lethargy  first,  and 
must  be  imbued  with  the  idea  that  his  own  and  his  neighbours’ 
interests  are  identical,  before  any  real  and  practical  cohesion  can  be 
brought  about. 
Judging  by  the  lessons  of  previous  experience  we  find  that,  as  far 
as  we  know,  two  separate  causes  have  worked  to  temporarily  bring 
farmers  into  unity  of  action ;  first  a  common  righteous  resentment, 
second  a  common  and  palpable  self  interest.  An  illustration  of  this 
was  seen  a  year  ago  in  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire.  The  Hull 
butchers  tried  to  force  upon  the  Hull  auctioneers  the  giving  of  a 
guarantee  with  each  head  of  stock  sold  that  it  was  not  affected  by 
tuberculosis.  The  auctioneers  naturally  consulted  their  clients  the 
farmers,  who  declined  to  allow  the  guarantee;  the  butchers  persisted, 
and  boycotted  the  market.  The  farmers,  organised  by  two  or  three 
energetic  leaders,  were  thoroughly  roused,  and  when  the  Hull  market 
authorities  were  inclined  to  give  way  they  also  boycotted  the  market, 
and  made  the  butchers  fe‘ch  their  cattle  considerable  distances  from 
other  markets,  so  that  in  a  very  short  time  they  w'ere  ready  to  go  back 
to  tr  e  old  system,  and  they  now  have  a  system  of  insurance  against 
the  seizing  ot  a  tuberculous  beast  after  purchase  bv  auction — i  e.,  if  a 
beast  is  seized  the  butchers’  association  recoups  the  loss  to  the 
individual  buyers,  and  the  farmer  sustains  no  loss.  This  is  the  only 
instance  of  which  we  know  that  larmers  in  combination  have  beaten 
butchers,  and  it  was  only  the  fear  of  individual  loss,  to  which  every 
owner  of  fat  stock  would  have  been  liable,  that  induced  them  to 
combine  against  a  common  foe. 
But  combinatiou  for  purchase  is  the  point  from  which  any  future 
organisation  must  start  it  it  is  to  be  successful.  Many  companies 
have  been  successfully  floated  by  farmers  for  the  mutual  supply  of 
manure's  and  leeding  stuffs,  and  very  beneficial  they  are  as  long  as  the 
bulk  of  the  shares  have  remained  in  farmers’ hands,  d'hi  re  is,  however, 
a  tendency  for  them  to  driit  into  the  hands  of  the  general  public,  and 
an  associition  such  as  we  would  advo  ate  should  not  take  the  form  of  a 
public  company,  but  should  be  limited  to  r couplers  of  land,  who  should 
all  be  customers  of  the  a-sociation,  and  bind  themselves  to  purchase 
neither  foodstuffs,  manures,  nor  seeds  through  any  other  agency. 
That  there  is  margin  for  considerable  profit  in  the  wholesale  purchase 
of  these  commodities  is  fully  shown  when  we  s'ate  that  we  have  be<  n 
offered  £2  per  ton  commission  for  selling  a  £6  manure.  As  we  could 
not  conscientiously  ask  our  friends  to  purchase  an  article  so  much 
above  its  real  value  we  declined  the  agency.  We  know  that  such 
commissions  (30  to  40  per  cent.)  are  not  uncommon  in  the  trade. 
If  farmers  can  be  brought  into  line  for  the  purcha  e  of  requisites 
for  the  farm,  and  can  thus,  bv  combination,  realise  practical  monetary 
advantage,  a  start  will  have  been  made.  But  how  is  the  association  to 
be  extended  for  other  purposes  ? 
To  hold  farmers  tightly  together  they  must  have  something  to  lose 
by  separating,  therefore  they  must  yet  such  advantage  by  trading  with 
the  association  as  will  effectually  bind  tt  em  as  to  mutual  action  in 
regard  to  labour  troubles  and  rent  disputes,  with  tenant  right  and  similar 
questions.  Social  clubs  are  of  no  use  practically,  and  the  social  side  must 
be  a  secondary  consideration,  and  simply  a  corollary  to  the  bus.ness 
one.  Farmers  will  ride  to  markets  and  fairs  together,  and  agree  that 
landlords  are  grasping  and  labourers  idle,  but  nothing  can  make  them 
refrain  from  over-bidding  each  other  for  farms,  whi  st  labourers, 
though  receiving  excellent  wages,  come  and  eo  at  what  time  they 
please,  and  farmers  will  not  combine  to  bring  about  an  alteration. 
We  are  confident  that  the  only  form  of  farmers’  association  that 
will  stand  any  lengthened  test  is  the  mercantile  one  for  joint  purchase 
o(  farm  necessaries,  which  also  may  be  extended  to  the  mutual  sale  of 
farm  pioduce,  and  to  the  joint  dispatch  of  small  quantities  of  produce 
to  market  so  as  to  reduce  the  cost  of  freight. 
A  body  such  as  we  have  in  view  should  meet  at  snne  central  place 
monthly  for  the  reading  of  papers  on  farming  topics  and  discussion 
thereon,  and  membership  should  depend  on  attendance  at  a  due 
proportion  of  these  meetings. 
- - - - - 
Work  on  tlie  Home  Farm. 
The'weather  remains  nice  and  open,  and  farm  work  progresses  well ; 
there  is  every  prospect  of  au'umn  work  being  completed  both  early 
and  satisfactorily.  This  will  be  a  great  help  in  these  days  of  labour 
difficulties.  We  know  that  many  farmers  are  looking  forward  with 
dread  to  the  Martinmas  hirings  ;  last  year  men  were  almost  impossible 
to  obtain,  and  there  is  more  likelihood  that  matters  have  got  worse 
rather  than  better.  With  all  their  work  well  up  to  date  farmers  will  be 
able  to  exercise  a  little  more  independence  at  the  fairs. 
Early  sown  Wheat  has  come  up  quickly  and  well,  and  another  week 
will  see  the  drill  put  away  for  the  winter.  The  horses  will  then  be 
employed  in  turning  over  the  worked  fallows  with  the  chilled  plough. 
Cabbages  sown  in  August  have  grown  rapidly,  and  want  trans¬ 
planting.  A  good  dressing  of  short  muck  must  be  applied  to  a  breadth 
of  well  oleaned  land,  and  ploughed  in  with  an  ordinary  swing  plough. 
If  the  Cabbages  are  planted  15  inches  asunder  in  every  third  seam  after 
the  plough  the  rows  will  be  about  28  inches  apart,  and  about  15,000 
plants  will  be  required  for  each  acre.  Plants  may  be  bought  in  the 
Lincolnshire  fen  districts  at  Is.  6d.  per  1000  free  on  rails,  and  there  is 
no  better  variety  than  the  old  Enfield  Market. 
Cattle  are  still  out  and  doing  well.  There  is  no  necessity  to  bring 
them  up  until  we  have  some  frosty  nights,  but  beasts  intended  for  the 
Christmas  fat  markets  should  be  in  their  stalls.  Feeding  will  be 
expensive  this  winter  with  cotton  cake  at  £5  5s.  and  linseed  at  £9. 
Barley  is  making  only  a  moderate  price,  and  barleymeal  will  no  doubt 
commend  itself  to  feeders  for  use  as  far  as  wisdom  dictates.  Store 
stock  are  really  very  dear,  and  there  is  no  certainty  that  spring  markets 
will  prove  remunerative  for  the  enhanced  cost  of  food,  so  home — i.e., 
farm  grown  food — Turnips  and  ground  Barley  must  be  made  the 
most  of. 
Figs  are  all  housed  and  doing  excellently ;  30  to  40  lbs.  per  head  per 
week  of  barleymeal,  with  as  many  steamed  Potatoes  as  the  animals 
can  eat,  will  make  excellent  diet.  Some  people  use  pig  powders 
regularly,  but  a  little  sulphur  given  in  the  food  once  a  week  is  a  good 
safeguard  against  disease.  A  few  cinders  now  and  then  are  also  much 
relished,  and  do  good,  whilst  a  watering  of  the  floor  and  walls  of  the 
sty  occasionally  with  a  weak  solution  of  phenyle  helps  to  keep  sanitary 
matters  as  satisfactory  as  they  can  be  expected  to  be  in  connection  with 
the  pig. 
- - 
Agricultural  Returns. — Statistical  tables  were  issued  yesterday, 
showing  the  acreage  under  crops  and  grass,  and  the  number  of  horses, 
cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs  in  the  United  Kingdom,  including  the  Isle  of 
Man  and  the  Channel  Islands,  according  to  returns  made  on  June  4th, 
1900.  The  total  area  under  crops  and  grass  was  47,789,444  acres 
against  47,795,270  in  1899 ;  the  corn  crops  covered  8,707,391  acres 
against  8,803,599  in  1899 ;  the  green  crops  occupied  4,301,774  acres 
against  4,274,063  in  1899;  Clover,  Sainfoin,  and  grasses  under  rotation 
took  up  6,024,317  acres,  against  6,105,832  in  1899 ;  and  permanent 
pasture  or  grass  not  broken  up  in  rotation  covered  28,261,529  acres 
against  28,100,672  in  1899.  The  total  number  cf  horses  returned  for 
the  year  ending  on  June  4th,  1900,  was  2,000,402  against  2,028,092  in 
1899  ;  the  aggregate  of  the  cattle  was  11,454,902  against  11,344,696  in 
1899;  the  total  of  sheep  was  31,054,547  against  31,680,225  in  1899; 
while  the  aggregate  of  pigs  was  3,663,669  against  4,003,589  in  the  year 
preceding. 
