508 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
November  27,  1902. 
periods.  He  maintained  that  the  expense  of  moving  was 
fully  compensated  by  having  a  sale  and  relieving  himself  of 
a  quantity  of  old,  out  of  date  machinery  and  useless  lumber. 
But  it  should  be  quite  possible  to  attain  that  without  leaving 
the  farm,  and  at  this  time  of  year  a  looking  over  of  the 
implements,  with  a  resulting  weeding  out  of  much  useless 
lumber  for  sale  to  the  nearest  broker,  would  both  improve 
the  appearance  and  add  to  the  convenience  of  the  implement 
shed  on  many  farms.  How  often  we  see  costly  machinery 
left  out  in  the  fields  long  after  it  has  been  in  use.  This  is 
especially  noticeable  in  the  case  of  harrows  and  horse-hoes. 
Foremen  forget  what  an  increase  of  wear  arises  from  such 
unnecessary  exposure. 
If  the  shed  were  cleared  of  unnecessary  rubbish  there 
should  be  ample  room  for  all  articles  not  in  actual  use.  The 
winter  quarter  is  an  expensive  and  anxious  time  for  the 
cattle  feeder ;  but  the  greater  plenty  of  roots  and  fodder 
will  make  his  anxieties  during  the  approaching  winter  much 
less  acute  than  they  have  been  in  recent  years.  There  is  one 
trouble  still  pressing,  and  that  is  the  high  price  of  cakes. 
With  so  much  damaged  corn,  and  plenty  of  straw  to  cut  up, 
it  would  be  a  wise  course  to  use  meals  freely  as  cake  sub¬ 
stitutes.  For  animals  over  twelve  months,  and  for  cows  and 
heifers  in  calf,  meal  with  roots  and  chaffed  straw  may  largely 
reduce  the  cake  bill.  There  is  more  damaged  grain  on  the 
market  already  than  there  is  demand  for,  and  it  would  be 
suicidal  to  buy  dear  cake  and  flood  the  markets  with  corn 
which  might  be  used  at  home  in  its  place. 
A  feature  of  winter  is  the  feeding  of  bacon  pigs,  and  it  is 
at  present  most  profitable  ;  but  there  are  signs  of  a  turn  of 
the  tide.  Small  pigs  are  much  more  plentiful,  and  almost 
reasonable  in  price.  They  are  decidedly  worth  buying  unless 
pork  is  much  cheaper  in  the  spring,  for  pigmeal  will  be 
plentiful,  and  offal  Potatoes  are  always  with  us.  They  can 
be  bought  for  20s.  per  ton,  and  we  would  rather  speculate  in 
pigs  and  them  than  in  the  new  Northern  Star  Potato  at  10s. 
per  lb.  The  latter  smacks  too  much  of  advertisement  to  suit 
our  taste. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
Delivery  of  Potatoes  has  been  one  of  the  chief  occupations 
of  the  week ;  all  the  spare  hands  have  been  occupied  working 
the  machine  riddle,  and  twelve  to  fourteen  tons  per  day  has  been 
the  result.  The  Potatoes  are  an  excellent  sample,  and  it  is  some 
time  since  there  was  so  little  disease,  but  the  crop  is  decidedly 
light.  . 
The  horses  not  occupied  in  carting  Potatoes  away  are 
ploughing  fallows  and  carting  Turnips  for  the  beasts  which  are 
now  up  from  grass.  There  will  be  Turnips  and  to  spare  for 
everything.  Swedes  have  grown  enormously  during  the  past 
month,  and  we  shotdd  like  to  have  some  stored,  but  they  appear 
too  full  of  growth  as  yet.  There  is  another  reason  for  delay  in 
the  fact  that  we  are  shorthanded,  owing  to  the  Martinmas 
holidays.  Wages  are  supposed  to  be  a  little  easier,  but  men 
are  as  difficult  as  ever  to  obtain,  and  even  more  independent 
and  dictatorial.  Many  of  them  will  not  rehire  themselves 
immediately,  but  wait  awhile,  so  as  to  extend  their  holiday. 
Meanwhile  the  labourers  have  to  feed  and  work  the  horses,  and 
other  work  has  to  be  left  for  more  convenient  seasons.  Thus 
the  hedging  work,  which  requires  attention,  must  wait. 
We  shall  put  some  basic  slag  on  a  field  of  low-lying  peaty 
land  very  soon.  We  shall  have  to  use  a  drill,  for  even  when 
Avell  damped,  sowing  it  is  objectionable  work,  and  men  will 
scarcely  undertake  it. 
Steam  cultivators  are  at  a  premium,  and  we  may  not  get 
our  ley  cultivated  before  Christmas.  This  is  serious,  for  it  is 
time  the  work  were  done,  but  it  is  unavoidable.  New  tackle 
cannot  be  obtained,  as  manufacturers  are  full  of  Government 
and  other  work,  so  we  must  wait  patiently.  The  soil  is  somewhat- 
heavy,  and  requires  all  the  frost  action  it  can  have.  We  might 
dig  it  over  with  chilled  ploughs,  three  horses  in  each,  but  it  is 
very  heavy  work,  and  the  horses  have  had  a  hard  time  since 
harvest . 
Webb  and  Sons’  Root  Competition. 
The  awards  in  the  above  competition  for  the  valuable  prizes 
offered  by  Webb  and  Sons,  the  King’s  seedsmen,  Wordsley, 
Stourbridge,  for  root  crops  grown  from  their  seed  and  with  the 
aid  of  their  special  manure  have  just  been  issued.  The  judges 
were:  Mr.  F.  Horne,  Salters  Hall,  Bobbington,  Stourbridge; 
Mr.  Morgan  Jones,  Delbury,  Craven  Arms;  Mr.  H.  Wilson, 
Gatacre,  Bridgnorth ;  and  the  following  is  a  copy  of  their 
awards :  — 
District  1.— Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the  counties 
of  Salop,  Stafford,  Montgomery,  Warwick,  and  Leicester.  First 
prize,  £15  15s.,  Mr.  J.  B.  Ball,  Knightley  House,  Eccleshall, 
Staffs,  50  tons,  4cwt  lqr  41b  per  acre;  second  prize,  £10  10s, 
Mr.  Alfred  Hocknell,  Norton  House,  Stone,  Staffs,  47  tons  2cwt 
3qr  121b  per  acre;  third  prize,  £5  5s,  Messrs.  Francis  Bros., 
Leighton  Farm,  Welshpool,  44  tons  5cwt  2qr  241b  per  acre. 
Three  acres  of  Webbs’  Mangold.  Prize,  £5  5s.,  Mr.  Richard 
Preece,  Cressage  House,  Shrewsbury,  60  tons  lewt  lqr  201b. 
District  2. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the  counties 
of  Hereford,  Monmouth,  Brecon,  Glamorgan,  Carmarthen,  and 
Pembroke.  First  prize,  £15  15s.,  Mr.  J.  Thomas,  Tile  House, 
Boverton,  Cardiff,  42  tons  17cwt-  Oqr  161b  per  acre;  second  prize, 
£5  5s.,  Mr.  Rees  Thomas,  Boverton  Place,  Boverton,  Cardiff, 
39  tons  5cwt  2qr  241b  per  acre. 
Three  acres  of  Webbs’  Mangold.  Prize,  £5  5s.,  Mr.  Philip 
Price,  Howick  Farm,  Chepstow,  93  tons  14cwt  lqr  41b  per  acre. 
District  3. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the  counties 
of  Oxon,  Berks,  Bucks,  Wilts,  Hants,  Surrey,  Worcester,  and 
Gloucester.  First  prize,  £15  15s.,  Mr.  W.  M.  Harvey,  Allington 
Manor,  Bishopstoke,  Hants,  31  tons  2cwt  3qr  121b  per  acre; 
second  prize,  £5  5s.,  Mr.  Edward  Parsons,  Wollaston  Farm, 
Stourbridge,  30  tons  per  acre. 
Three  acres  of  Webbs’  Mangold,  open  to  the  counties  of  Oxon, 
Berks,  Bucks,  Wilts,  Hants,  Suirey,  and  Worcester.  Prize, 
£5  5s.,  the  Most  Noble  the  Marquis  of  Downsliire,  Easthamp- 
stead  Park  Farm,  Wokingham,  65  tons  llcwt  lqr  201b  per 
acre. 
District  4. — Three  acres  of  Webbs’  Mangold,  open  to  county 
of  Gloucester.  Prize,  £5  5s.,  Mr.  Thomas  R.  Chaw,  The  Callow, 
Dymock,  72  tons  5cwt  2qr  241b  per  acre. 
District  5. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the  county 
of  York.  First  prize,  £10  10s.,  Mr.  W.  Scorer,  Skelton,  Ripon, 
42  tons  llcwt  lqr  201b  per  acre;  second  prize,  £5  5s.,  Sir  I. 
Lowthian  Bell,  Bart.,  East  Rounton,  Northallerton,  38  tons 
15cwt  2qr  241b  per  acre. 
Three  aores  of  Webbs’  Mangold.  Prize,  £5  5s.,  Mr.  Fred 
Thompson,  Marton  Farm,  Marton,  R.S.O.,  46  tons  4cwt  lqr  41b 
per  acre. 
District  6. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the  counties 
of  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  and  Cambridge.  Prize,  £10  10s.,  Mr.  Thomas 
Kidner,  Halvergate  Hall,  Norwich,  30  tons  lewt  2qr  201b  per 
acre. 
Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Mangold.  Prize,  £5  5s.,  S.  Nightingale, 
Esq.,  Scratby  Hall,  Great  Yarmouth,  38  tons  12cwt  3qr  121b 
per  acre. 
District  7. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the  counties 
of  Bedford,  Cornwall,  Cumberland,  Cheshire,  Derby,  Devon, 
Dorset,  Durham,  Essex,  Herts",  Huntingdon,  Kent,  Lancaster, 
Lincoln,  Middlesex,,  Northumberland,  Notts,  Northampton, 
Rutland,  Somerset,  Westmoreland,  Cardigan,  Carnarvon,  Den¬ 
bigh,  Flint,  Merioneth,  and  Radnor.  First  prize,  £15  15s.,  Mr. 
William  Morris,  Crugan,  Pwllheli,  51  tons  per  acre;  second  prize, 
£5  5s.,  Mr.  J.  Griffith,  Bryn,  Carnarvon,  45  tons  per  acre. 
District  8. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the  counties 
of  Roxburgh,  Haddington,  Berwick,  Edinburgh,  and  Linlithgow. 
Prize,  £10  10s.,  Mr.  John  Meikle,  Groughfoot,  Linlithgow, 
32  tons  14cwt  lqr  41b  per  acre. 
District  9. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the  county 
of  Perth.  First  prize,  £10  10s.,  Mr.  Jas  McGregor,  East  Pil- 
more,  Longforgan,  33  tons  14cwt  lqr  41b  per  acre;  second  prize, 
£5  5s.,  Mr.  Geo.  R.  Sharp,  Bardrill,  Blackford,  Perth,  32  tons 
lOcwt  lqr  201b  per  acre. 
District  10. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the 
counties  of  Forfar,  Fife,  and  Kinross.  Prize,  £10  10s.,  Mr. 
Thomas  Walker,  Easter  Balgarvie,  Cupar,  Fife,  34  tons  lOcwt 
per  acre. 
District  11. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the 
counties  of  Aberdeen,  Banff,  Kincardine,  Inverness,  and  Elgin. 
Prize.  £10  10s.,  Mr.  Jas.  Scott,  Earnhill,  Forres,  33  tons  15cwt 
2qr  201b  per  acre. 
District  12. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the 
counties  of  Dumfries,  Kirkcudbright,  and  Wigtown.  Prize, 
£10  10s.,  equal,  Mr.  James  Guthrie,  Corwar,  Outon,  Wigtown¬ 
shire,  Messrs.  W.  and  G.  Lindsay,  West  Roucan,  Dumfries, 
32  tons  llcwt  lqr  201b  per  acre. 
District  13. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the 
counties  of  Stirling,  Dumbarton,  and  Clackmannan.  Prize, 
£5  5s,  Mr.  Alex.  Lucas,  Craigton  Farm,  Causewayhead,  Stirling, 
30  tons  2cwt  3qr  121b  per  acre. 
District  14.— Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swede,  open  to  the 
county  of  Ayr.  Prize,  £10  10s.,  Mr.  Jas.  Bone,  Robstone, 
Girvan,  48  tons  8cwt  2qr  81b  per  acre. 
District  15. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Swedes,  open  to  the 
county  of  Peebles.  Prize,  £5  5s.,  Mr.  Chas.  A.  Gracie,  Easter 
Happrew,  Stobo,  25  tons  llcwt  lqr  201b  per  acre. 
District  16. — Five  acres  of  Webbs’  Yellow  Turnips,  open 
to  the 'county  of  Lanark.  Prize,  £5  5s.,  Mr.  Geo.  Findlater, 
Jerviswood  Mains,  Lanark,  40  tons  18c wt  2qr  81b  per  acre. 
