338 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  18,  1901. 
are  unknown.  The  tenants  that  are  leaving  are  not  doing  so  to  enter 
on  other  holdings  of  larger  acreage  or  more  importance ;  they  are 
leaving  simply  because  they  must.  No  longer,  indeed,  can  they  make 
ends  meet.  It  is  not  that  the  farms  are  bad,  nor  over-dear,  it  is 
simply  because  the  farmer’s  capital  is  exhausted,  and  he  can  struggle 
on  no  longer.  We  are  quite  aware  that  it  would  have  been  wiser  to 
have  given  up  some  years  ago  ;  th<  re  would  then  have  been  a  remnant 
saved,  but  hope  dies  hard.  There  might  be  a  rise  in  prices,  there 
might  be  extra  good  crops,  and  the  thought  of  giving  up  the  o  d  home 
was  bitter.  There  were  the  children,  too,  to  consider  ;  let  them  get 
some  education.  To  no  class  of  men  is  other  occupation  so  closed  as  to 
the  farmer.  If  you  should  inquire  of  every  farmer  leaving  his  holding 
this  spring  there  wiil  not  be  one  who  is  not  going  out  with  far  less 
money  than  he  entered.  Everything  has  so  gone  down  in  value  that 
the  money  he  has  to  receive  for  tenant  right  and  valuation  is  far  lees 
than  what  he  paid  on  entering  ;  and  the  stock,  too.  Certainly  the 
sales  during  the  last  month  must  have  been  very  disappointing.  For 
holding',  stock  farmers  have  not  had  the  money,  and  for  fat  stock  ready 
for  the  butcher — these  men  have  a  way  of  standing  in  together,  and 
not  bidding  against  one  another. 
Town  dwellers  do  not  understand  the  ties  that  bind  a  farmer  to 
his  farm  and  village.  As  is  the  case  here,  the  tenancy  has  extended 
over  a  century.  The  farmhouse  has  seen  the  birth  of  at  least  three 
generations,  the  name  of  the  farmer  and  the  village  go  together.  Every 
field  has  associations,  and  the  churchyard  is  sacred  to  the  memory  of 
many  kinsfolk.  A  farm  is  a  little  community  in  itself,  and  it  finds 
employment  for  so  many.  The  house  has  probably  been  improved, 
and  certainly  beautified,  and  there  is  without  doubt  a  pleasant  garden. 
All  this  has  to  be  left,  and  for  a  small,  confined  house  in  a  town, 
there  are  so  few  to  be  had  in  the  villages.  We  know  of  a  farmer  now 
who  is  content  to  wait  a  year  so  that  he  may  have  a  village  house. 
There  are  so  many  little  comforts  and  pleasures  that  have  to  be  given 
up — the  fresh  milk,  the  * ggs,  the  poultry,  the  old  pony  and  older  pony 
cart,  and,  worst  of  all,  the  freedom  of  the  country  life.  And  the  one 
thing  that  hurts  is  that  in  no  case  that  we  know  of  are  the  farms  re-let 
to  persons  of  the  same  standing  as  the  outgoing  tenant.  The  new 
tenants  are  one  and  all  from  a  lower  rank  of  life,  and  that  farmhouse 
is  no  longer  one  where  the  refinements  of  life  are  given  the  first  place. 
There  may  have  been  great  poverty,  but  a  certain  amount  of  appearance 
has  been  kept  up.  But  the  new  man  is  all  for  utility  ;  he  sees  in  the 
lawn  a  grnnd  place  for  hencoops,  or  lets  the  grass  grow  to  get  a  good 
“  bite  ”  for  the  young  calves.  As  much  of  the  garden  as  possible  is 
planted  with  Potatoes,  and  the  rest  given  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
a  labourer  of  the  hedging  and  ditching  variety.  The  children,  if  there 
are  any,  are  packed  off  to  the  village  school,  and  the  labour  bill  is 
reduced  to  the  smallest  possible  limits. 
The  men  who  reap  the  most  from  these  changes  are  the  auctioneers 
and  valuers.  Tnese  auctioneers  run  in  couples;  and  curiously  assorted 
couples  they  are.  Each  man  thinks  it  is  he  who  gets  the  work — bis 
particular  merit — his  partner  is  only  sleeping.  How  men  do  deceive 
themselves  !  There  is  the  tall,  courtly  old  man,  who  has  the  admirable 
knack  of  just  saying  the  right  thing;  he  can  gauge  his  company  to  a 
nicety.  If  there  is  a  weakness  of  leg  he  draws  attention  to  the  shape 
of  the  head.  He  asks  you  to  admire  the  ripeness  of  the  cow  if  she  is 
one  quarter  short;  the  masculine  appearance  of  the  ram  if  he  has  not 
much  of  a  fleece.  His  partner  is  more  saturnine  and  brusque,  and 
though  not  so  good  in  the  auction  ring,  will  see  there  are  no  mistakes 
in  the  accounts.  There  is  another  burly  man  who  brings  with  him  an 
atmosphere  of  fresh  air  and  energy.  He  makes  a  sale  go,  by  putting 
in  bids  of  his  own.  He  is  a  farmer  on  a  large  scale,  and  can  always 
plane  what  he  buys  ;  he  never  ceases  talking,  and  fairly  bullies 
customers  into  bidding.  He  thinks  he  gets  the  sales,  but  it  is  rather 
t  e  quietness  and  gentleness  of  his  partner  that  induces  the  confidence 
of  the  public.  Toe  sales  this  spring  have  not  been  in  favour  of  the 
outgoing  tenant  ;  he  has  stood  by  and  watched  the  dispersion  of  his 
goods  with  a  sorrowful  eye.  The  stock  was  in  fine  condition;  the 
sheep — well,  mutton  in  the  shops  is  very  dear,  very  much  out  of 
proportion  to  what  t  e  farmer  gets.  The  horses  are  strong  and  well 
bred,  and  as  work  throughout  the  country  is  backward,  they  alone  of 
all  the  stock  have  realised  their  full  value ;  but  even  with  this 
redeeming  feature  money  rolled  in  but  slowly.  The  implements  were 
from  good  makers,  and  practically  equal  to  new;  but  the  fact  of  the 
matter  is  farmers  have  at  present  no  spare  cash,  and  sorry  as  they  may 
be  for  their  neighbour,  they  are  not  in  a  position  to  help  him  much. 
How  melancholy  the  place  is  the  day  after  the  sale — all  life  and 
movement  gone,  and  any  shabby  places  and  bad  buildii  gs  look  worse 
than  ever.  The  labourers  have  already  found  new  masters  ;  the  old 
piny  is  no  longer  saddled  and  bridled  in  the  stable  waiting  for  the 
daily  round  ;  the  house  dog  went  with  the  last  load  of  furniture,  and 
there  is  nothing  now  to  say  good-bye  to  but  the  graves  in  the 
churchyard.  Is  not  many  a  one  thinking  how  much  rather  that 
narrow  bed  and  rest  than  the  tiny  house  in  the  town  street  ? 
A  retired  farmer  is  a  most  hopeless  being;  there  are  so  few  ways 
open  to  him  by  which  he  can  gain  a  livelihood.  To  begin  with,  he  is 
generally  too  old,  and  has  lost  touch  (if  ever  he  had  it)  with  the  busy, 
active  world.  He  may  sell  seeds  or  cake  or  tillage  on  commission,  but 
the  thing  is  so  overdone.  He  rarely  goes  back  to  the  old  home,  it  is 
too  painful.  One  visit  has  to  be  made  for  the  sake  of  the  valuation, 
and,  alas  !  these  valuations  have  a  knack  of  coming  out  badly,  and  there 
is  little  money  to  take.  We  do  not  say  the  auctioneers  do  not  deserve 
reward,  their  work  is  hard,  and  this  spring  particularly  has  been 
most  trying.  Bitter  winds  and  black  frosts  do  not  tend  to  make  a 
long  day  out  of  doors  altogether  pleasant,  but  there  is  a  good  bonus  t  ■ 
sweeten  the  toil.  When  once  a  man  gets  a  name  and  a  good  connection, 
his  fortune  is  made.  There  are  firms  that  have  reputations  far  beyond 
the  confines  of  their  own  district.  These  men  are  quite  the  local 
Tattersalls;  Thorntons,  Sextons  and  Grimwadesof  their  own  provinces; 
and  yet  how  few  of  these  men  are  succeeded  by  their  sons  1  We 
hardly  know  of  a  son  on  whose  shoulders  the  paternal  mantle  has 
fallen.  One  reason,  we  think  is,  the  father  earns  so  much  money  that 
the  son  does  not  feel  the  need  of  seriously  applying  himself  to  business. 
This  is  a  thing  that  spoils  scores  and  sc-ires  of  young  men.  There  is 
nothing  like  fighting  your  own  way  up,  and  more  men  are  hindered  by 
well  meant  help  than  by  any  other  cause. 
Speaking  of  these  large  farms  and  farmers,  we  would  in  the  face  of 
all  these  changes  quote  the  words  of  a  well-known  land  agent  in 
Yorkshire  who  for  many  years  has  managed  the  estates  of  a  noble  lord. 
On  retiring  from  his  agency  last  week,  he  says  his  experience  has 
shown  him  that,  after  all,  and  in  spite  of  all  vicissitudes,  the  large 
farms  are  best  both  for  landlord  and  tenant,  attracting,  as  they  do,  men 
of  a  superior  class,  who  spare  neither  money  nor  themselves  to  farm 
scientifically. 
Work  on  %  Home  Farm. 
A  fine  Easter,  but  oh  !  how  windy.  The  poor  cyclists  must  have 
had  dire  experiences.  Farmers,  however,  would  rejoice  in  the  drying 
influences  which  would  make  drilling  more  possible.  How  difficult 
matters  have  been  is  shown  by  the  remark  of  a  leading  agricultural 
light — one  who  misses  few  opportunities —that  Lent  was  over,  and  he 
had  not  sown  an  acre  of  Lent  Corn.  The  backward  state  of  spring  work 
has  naturally  very  much  strengthened  the  trade  for  useful  horses  at  the 
spring  sales  ;  the  demand  has  been  very  good,  and  even  for  well  worn 
animals  of  too  certain  age  the  figure  has  seldom  stopped  below  a  £10 
note. 
Wheats  have  stood  the  cold  wet  weather  fairly  well,  and  there  is 
nothing  to  complain  of  as  regards  loss  of  root.  The  plant  is  almost  too 
full  a  one,  and  may  require  a  little  help  in  the  way  of  top-dressing 
about  the  end  of  this  month,  but  it  is  a  good  fault.  When  shall  we  be 
able  to  criticise  the  appearance  of  Barley  and  Oats  P  We  have  not  seen 
any  above  ground  yet,  Unless  we  have  something  startling  in  the  way 
of  weather  there  is  every  prospect  of  a  late  harvest.  The  hedgerows 
are  budding,  and  will  soon  be  green,  but  the  fields  they  enclose  are  still 
brown.  Even  the  young  Clover,  bountiful  as  is  the  plant,  is  beginning 
to  look  bare,  few  seed  fields  are  unstocked,  the  lambs  are  getting  a  bit 
of  size  and  beginning  to  graze,  and  growing  weather  is  necessary  if 
pastures  are  to  keep  pace  with  the  requirements  of  nine  mouths  fi>r 
each  acre.  The  Mangold  heap  is  proving  its  value  everyday;  it  fulfils 
so  many  requirements.  What  a  grand  thing  it  is  when  a  good  range  of 
grass,  aided  by  plentiful  Mangolds,  enables  us  to  keep  the  ewes  out  of 
the  new  seeds  until  May.  The  latter  carry  so  much  more  stock  when 
they  have  a  good  start,  and  are  so  much  more  capable  of  withstanding 
droughty  weather  later  on. 
College  of  Agriculture,  Dowoton. — The  winter  session  of  this 
college  ended  on  Thursday,  April  11th,  when  the  following  awards  were 
made: — The  diploma  or  certificate  of  membership  of  the  college,  after 
two  years’  residence  and  passing  in  all  the  subjects  taught,  to  H.  F.  Crick, 
Priest  gate,  Peterborough,  and  to  W.  Hair,  Abbey  Street,  Carlisle. 
Certificate  of  practical  proficiency  in  agriculture  to  H.  F.  Crick  ; 
W.  Hair;  G.  H.  C.  Cadman,  Clifton  Holme,  York  ;  J.  E.  Whitnall, 
The  Grange,  Wilmslow,  Cheshire  ;  M.  H.  Heath,  29,  Warrior  Square, 
St.  Leonard’s-on-Sea ;  J.  S.  Bidwell,  Estate  Office,  Drayton  Manor, 
Tamworth.  The  college  scholarship  of  £15,  to  J.  C.  Thompson, 
Knighton  House,  Leicester.  Prizes  were  also  given  in  the  various 
subjects  as  follows  : — A.  R.  Margesson,  Finden  Place,  Worthing, 
agriculture,  building  construction,  estate  management,  forestry,  and 
chemistry  ;  J.  C.  Thompson,  agriculture,  veterinary  science,  building 
construction,  estate  management,  book-keeping,  chemistry  (theoretical), 
chemistry  (practical),  and  knowledge  of  live  stock;  C.  Crawley,  56, 
Kingston  Crescent,  Portsmouth,  agriculture,  veterinary  science,  building 
construction,  estate  management,  book-keeping,  chemistry,  and  physics  ; 
R.  0.  Cox,  Stone  House,  Winchfield,  Gloucester,  wagon  driving,  milking, 
attention  to  farm,  and  valuation  of  farming  stock  :  M.  R.  Heath, 
veterinary  science ;  G.  H.  C.  Cadman ,  book-keeping  ;  M.  V.  Stewart, 
Estate  Offioe,  Vaynol  Park,  Port  Dinorwic,  North  Wales,  building 
construction  ;  H.  F.  Crick,  practical  chemistry ;  T.  R.  B.  Seigne, 
Grenane  House,  Thomastown,  Co.  Kilkenny,  butter-making;  R.  A. 
Cullen,  Southbourne-on-Sea,  Hants,  attention  to  farm  ;  A.  Wrightson, 
College  of  Agriculture,  Dowuton,  valuation  of  farm  stock. 
