44 
JOVUNAL  OF  HORTTGULTUnE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDESER, 
January  14,  19C4. 
19  04. 
The  year  has  only  just  eommenced,  and  so  little  of  it  is 
history  that  any  discussion  may  readily  be  included  amongst 
the  prophetic,  but  we  would  prefer  to  use  the  word 
prospective.  In  journeying  through  a  strange  country  we 
see  the  prospect  before  us,  but  may  have  little  idea  of  the 
reality  when  the  enchantment  of  distance  has  passed  away. 
What  is  the  prospect  of  the  farmer  for  1904?  It  is  not 
a  very  bright  one  ;  but  there  are  a  few  streaks  of  silver  on 
the  edges  of  the  clouds  of  1903  which  are  now  happily  almost 
dissipated.  The  land  has  not  yet  recovered  from  the 
abnormally  wet  autumn,  but  only  a  spell  of  frost  is  required 
to  quite  wipe  away  all  the  ill  effects  caused  thereby.  There 
has  already  been  sufficient  frost  to  open  the  pores  on  the 
surface,  and  drier  weather  has  helped  to  bring  matters 
into  a. more  satisfactory  condition.  There  is  still  both  room 
and  time  for  improvement,  and  w^e  by  no  means  despair 
of  a  good  spring  seed-bed  for  the  barley  and  oats. 
It  may  almost  appear  a  weary  reiteration  to  advise  our 
friends  to  sow  early  if  possible  ;  but  the  lessons  of  the  past 
season  bring  into  such  strong  contrast  the  success  of  early 
n,nd  utter  failure  of  late  sowing  that  it  is  hardly  necessary 
to  do  more  than  draw  attention  to  it. 
The  prospect  for  cereal  crops  is  not  good.  A  small  area 
of  wheat  has  been  sown,  and  unles^omoTe  s^ed  is  put  in 
before  the  end  of  February  the  acreage  owill  be  less  than 
the  low  total  of  1903.  Foreign  supplies  are  on  a  large 
scale,  and  appear  sufficient  to  prevent  a  rise  of  price  above 
present  values  for  some  time.  Unless,  of  course,  the 
threatening  war  cloud  bursts,  when  an  artificial  speculative 
boom  might  be  expected,  and  which  farmers  would  be  well 
advised  to  take  advantage  of  if  it  should  occur  by  selling 
on  the  rising  market.  Wars  do  not  last  long  nowadays, 
and  the  holders  of  spot  wheat  will  have  the  advantage. 
The  barley  trade  has  not  been  very  encouraging  of  late. 
The  destruction  of  a  large  portion  of  the  English  crop  of 
1903  has  not  produced  a  compensating  increase  in  price  for 
the  remainder,  and  stagnation  is  the  only  word  to  describe 
thO  trade  at  present.  The  brewers  have  been  buying  public- 
houses  at  ridiculous  prices,  and  are  making  the  farmers  pay 
for  them,  the  large  importations  of  foreign  barley  giving 
them  great  assistance  in  putting  the  screw  on  the  British 
seller.  Farmers  must  see  that  foreign  barley  is  not  left 
out  when  the  new  tariffs  are  finally  considered.  The  man 
who  gives  up  barley  growing  in  favour  of  an  oat  crop  is 
not  likely  to  be  much  better  off,  for  electric  tramways  and 
motor-cars  are  already  exercising  a  strong  influence  on  the 
market  for  horse  food.  Beans,  too,  will  be  similarly 
affected,  though  recently  they  have  kept  a  fair  price  through 
the  world’s  production  having  been  reduced. 
Potato  growers  have  gone  through  such  an  experience  as 
-will  make  many  hesitate  to  continue  planting.  This  will 
very  probably  tend  to  curtail  the  acreage  of  1904,  which 
will  also  be  adversely  affected  by  the  high  price  of  seed. 
There  is  an  especially  bright  prospect  for  growers  of  early 
and  second  early  kinds,  as  the  supply  of  old  Potatoes  in 
June  must  be  very  small,  whatever  it  may  be  in  April  and 
May. 
The  new  year  has  been  marked  by  a  new  and  highly 
desirable  move  in  connection  with  Potato  culture — viz.,  the 
forriiation  of  a  National  Potato  Society.  We  have  so  many 
national  societies  that  it  is  somewhat  surprising  that  the 
Potato  has  been  so  long  neglected.  Once  begun,  we  hope 
that  the  new  society  may  be  of  great  benefit,  not  only  to 
Potato  growers,  but  to  consumers  as  well.  To  attain  the 
greatest  public  benefit  it  is  desirable  to  carry  out  thorough 
tests  of  new  varieties.  Exhibition  tubers  are  all  very  well 
as  such,  but  we  have  found  them  very  expensive  things  to 
grow.  We  once  gained  a  10s.  prize  for  twenty-four  varieties 
at  a  flower  show,  and  that  prize  cost  us  quite  £5.  None  of 
the  kinds  were  worthy  of  further  cultivation.  The  list  of 
officials  of  the  new  society  reads  very  well,  and  we  wish  it 
every  success.  If  it  does  nothing  more  than  put  an  end 
to  the  present  insane,  and  in  some  cases  unprincipled. 
■  -w**- 
booming  of  new  and  untried  varieties  it  wdll  deserve  well 
the  applause  of  the  agricultural  world. 
Coming  to  live  stock,  we  find  the  pros'pect  particularly 
bright ;  there  is  plenty  of  present  food,  and  a  promise  of 
excellent  pastures  for  next  summer.  Artificial  foods  are 
cheaper  than  they  have  been  for  some  time  ;  but,  better 
still,  there  seems  every  reason  to  expect  firm  pidces  for 
meat.  The  foreign  competition  which  has  such  a  great 
and  sustained  effect  on  grain  prices,  and  has  threatened  to 
exert  an  equal  effect  on  our  meat  markets,  has  apparently 
shot  its  bolt  as  regards  its  influence  on  the  latter.  The  con¬ 
sumption  of  meat  has  increased  fully  as  fast  as  the 
importations,  and  at  the  present  time  beef,  mutton,  and 
pork  are  all  dearer  than  they  were  a  few  years  ago.  It  is 
evident  that  the  limit  of  price  at  which  meat  can  be  profit¬ 
ably  imported  is  much  higher  proportionately  to  old  prices 
than  it  is  in  the  case  of  breadstuffs,  and  this  fact  is  most 
encouraging  to  both  breeders  and  feeders. 
Success  has  attended  the  efforts  of  dairy  farmers  to 
combine  for  mutual  benefit,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  milk 
will  be  cut  down  in  price  as  it  has  been.  The  day  of  dear 
winter  butter  seems  past ;  but  summer  prices  are  much 
firmer  than  they  were,  partly  owing,  perhaps,  to  the 
improvement  in  dairy  management.  One  shilling  and  a 
penny  per  pound  as  an  average  for  the  year  should  easily 
be  reached,  and  this  is  quite  up  to  the  price  of  the  last 
generation. 
Eggs  are  quite  as  dear  in  winter,  and  dearer  in  summer  ; 
whilst  poultry  is  in  excellent  demand  all  the  year  round. 
At  one  time  old  hens  were  very  bad  to  sell,  but  now  there 
is  a  steady  sale  for  them  at  as  much  as  we  once  got  for  good 
young  fowls.  There  will  be  plenty  of  cheap  corn  this  spring, 
and  egg  production  must  pay  those  who  embark  in  it. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
There  is  very  little  to  chronicle  of  the  doings  on  the  farm 
since  the  New  Year  came  in.  The  weather  has  been  more  like 
April  than  January,  and  wheat  has  just  been  drilled  in  this 
parish.  If  the  extreme  cold  in  New  Y’ork  travels  over  here  that 
wheat  may  be  a  long  time  in  the  ground. 
Another  farmer  is  copying  the  early  bird  by  beginning  to 
cross  fallows,  but  as  they  have  been  ploughed  little  more  than 
a  month  his  action  seems  a  little  previous.  We  have  just  seen 
an  operation  which  we  hope  never  to  see  again,  viz.,  a  plough 
engaged  in  burying  an  oat  crop  which  had  never  reached  the 
stage  of  tying-up,  and  had  lain  rotting  since  it  was  cut.  Such 
failures  are  a  loss  to  the  community  as  much  as  to  the 
individual  farmer. 
There  is  more  activity  amongst  Potatoes.  Buyers  are 
numerous  and  prices  steadily  rising.  The  railway  stations  are 
much  busier  now  farmers  are  beginning  to  deliver  their 
Potatoes.  Since  November  there  has  been  very  little  thresh¬ 
ing  done,  and  January  sees  no  improvement  in  that  respect. 
Probably  all  the  well  harvested  corn  has  been  marketed,  and 
farmers  are  chai’y  of  touching  the  worse  lots.  They  may  prefer 
ignorance  to  knowledge.  We  were  talking  to  a  young  farmer 
who  is  about  to  thresh  some  heans.  He  says  he  knows  they 
will  he  in  soft  condition,  hut  his  oats  would  be  worse,  and  he 
must  realise  something.  We  should  like  to  commence  ridging 
for  Potatoes,  hut  a  little  more  frost  on  the  land  first  would 
improve  it,  and  help  to  make  a  better  job.  If  frost  does  not 
come  before,  we  shall  probably  start  next  week. 
Roads  are  in  a  bad  state,  and  the  team  horses  are  having 
a  hard  time.  We  have  more  manure  to  lead,  hut  the  roads  are 
too  heavy.  Turnip  folds  have  been  very  muddy  again.  We 
have  only  had  slight  rain,  hut  the  effect  is  that  of  a  down¬ 
pour.  The  ewes  are  on  grass  again,  and  are  having  as  much 
hay  as  they  can  eat.  They  are  also  receiving  Jib  of  linseed 
cake  per  diem.  We  are  increasing  the  cake  allowance  to  the 
hogs  fi'om  Jib  to  |lb,  or  rather,  we  are  adding  to  the  Jib  of 
cake  Jib  of  malt  culms  and  barleymeal  in  equal  proportions. 
They  will  he  on  swedes  shortly,  and  then  the  ration  will  again 
be  changed. _  __  _ 
Legal  Notes  :  Potatoes  Disconform  to  Contract. 
In  the  Ai-broath  Sheriff  Court,  Sheriff  Lea  gave  his  judgment 
in  an  action  at  the  instance  of  Andrew  Gilruth,  farmer,  Seaton 
of  Auchniithie,  against  William  Guild,  farmer,  Wardnook,  Car- 
myllie,  for  the  sum  of  £40  for  breach  of  contract  in  respect  that 
defender  had  sold  to  punsuer  a  ton  of  “  Up-to-Date  ”  Potatoes, 
which,  it  was  alleged,  proved  disconform  to  contract.  His  lord- 
ship  finds  that  the  Potatoes  in  question  were  mixed  to  such  an 
extent  with  another  variety  of  Potatoes  that  they  were  dis¬ 
conform  to  the  description  of  Potatoes  bargained  for  between 
parties,  and  that,  in  consequence  of  the  mixture  of  varieties, 
the  crop,  amounting  to  some  five  tons,  was  depreciated  consider¬ 
ably  in  value.  His  lordship  assesses  the  damage  sustained  by 
pursuer  at  £5,  and  awards  him  expenses. 
