442 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
May  19,  1901 
cattle,  and  over  50  per  cent,  more  sheep  than  she  did  in  1902; 
while  the  U.S.A.  show  a  falling  off  both  in  cattle  and  sheep. 
Fresh  beef  imports  from  the  States  increased  last  year,  and  so 
did  those  of  Australia,  while  New  Zealand  shows  a  falling  off. 
Argentina  sends  us  more,  and  at  a  lower  price  per  cwt.  Fresh 
mutton  imports  show  an  increase  both  from  Argentina  and  New 
Zealand.  Holland  and  Australia  had  a  decrease.  Mutton,  too, 
lias  rifeen  in  value.  Bacon  imports  remain  about  the  same,  with 
the  advance  of  Id.  per  cwt.  There  is  a  smaller  quantity 
received  from  the  States,  hut  Canada  and  Denmark  are  on  the 
increa.se. 
Hams,  too,  are  advancing  in  price,  and  are  slowly  creeping 
up  since  1899.  We  have  received  85,751cwt.  more  butter 
during  1903  than  before,  little  Denmark  being  our  chief  .source 
of  supply.  Bus.sia  has  fallen  off  in  her  exports;  but  to  make 
up  for  that,  Victoria,  New  South  Wales,  Queensland,  and  New 
Zealand  are  ail  sending  us  more.  Canada  is  a  defaulter  in 
butter,  hut  more  than  makes  up  in  her  cheese  exports,  which 
rise  to  69  per  cent,  of  our  total  receipts— and  capital  cheese  it 
is!  Holland  sends  us  95  per  cent,  of  our  total  imported  mar¬ 
garine.  (We  should  say  our  Colonies  are  responsible  for  13  per 
cent,  of  our  imported  butter).  Chee.se  is  rising  in  value  yearly, 
and  we  think  ri.sing  in  quality  as  well.  More  cream  is  coming 
in,  but,  happily,  milk  imports  are  very  trifling.  Eggs  .still 
come,  and  in  increasing  quantities,  Russia  taking  the  lead  as  our 
supplier.  Just  one-third  of  our  foreign  eggs  came  last  year 
from  the  country  of  the  Czar.  We  get  quantity  but  not  quality, 
Russian  eggs  being  worth  5s.  6d.  per  great  hundi'ed — 120; 
Danish,  8s.  9d.  ;  and  Ph-ench,  8s.  4d.  We  think  we  can  account 
for  the  higher  priced  Danish  eggs,  for  each  egg  has  to  be  laid 
clean,  i.e.,  wa.shed  eggs  not  admissible.  Every  egg  is  tested 
for  freshness,  and  carefully  and  well  packed,  and  promptly  i^ut 
on  the  market.  The  value  of  the  poultry  and  game  imports  is 
£1,203,086,  showing  an  increase  over  la.st  year.  The  other 
miscellaneous  items  do  not  vary  much. 
AVheat  and  wheat  flour  imports  have  both  increased.  U.S.A. 
exports  have  dropped  from  54  per  cent,  to  27  per  cent,  of  the 
total,  while  that  from  Russia  and  Argentina  has  increased. 
Russia  sends  46  per  cent,  of  imported  barley ;  so  what  with  one 
import  and  another,  we  should  do  badly  without  her  aid.  Maize 
from  the  U.S.A.  has  le.ssened,  and  Canada  has  increa.sed.  Maize 
is  one  of  the  few  articles  which  lias  gone  down  in  value.  The 
vegetable  imports  are  so  varied  and  so  many  that  we  cannot 
go  into  the  list;  but  one  thing  strikes  a  good  deal.  While  here 
the  Apple  crop  was  a  complete  failure  in  1903,  the  price  we  paid 
for  foreigners  was  Is.  4d.  per  cwt  less!  so  there  must  have  been 
bumper  crops  somewhere ! 
Going  on  to  the  miscellaneous  notes,  we  have  been  much 
interested  by  some  facts  relating  to  hop  culture,  or  rather  we 
may  say  to  attempted  preservation  of  hops  from  the  attacks  of 
aphides  or  plant  lice.  These  “  lice  ”  are  mo.st  destructive  when 
they  attack  the  young  growths  of  hop,  and  the  usual  means  to 
destroy  them  is  by  washing  or  syringing  the  growths  with  some 
chemical  solution.  This  is  a  costly  and  tiresome  process.  Now, 
the  Engli.sh  insect  known  as  the  ladybird  will  devour  the 
aphides,  and  thus  rid  the  hop  cultivator  of  a  great  pest ;  but 
sometimes  the  English  species  is  not  to  be  found  in  or  about 
the  hoji  yard  when  most  wanted ;  so  from  California  a  consign¬ 
ment  of  two  gallons  of  ladybirds  was  received,  and  set  loose  in  a 
field  of  lucerne  clo.se  to  the  hop  yard.  Unfortunately,  many  of 
these  useful  little  insects  had  died  during  the  voyage,  but 
enough  remained  to  breed  very  succe.ssfully.  They  w'ere  found 
to  be  very  active  in  hal)it,  and  they  destroyed  large  numbers 
of  the  aphides.  The  trial  of  one  season  is  not  conclusive,  but  it 
is  a  natural  remedy,  and  as  such  may  in  the  near  future  prove 
very  effectual.  The  gentleman  who  carried  out  this  experiment 
has  yet  to  see  whether  any  of  these  industrious  little  friends  of 
his  have  survived  the  inclemency  of  our  colder  winter. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
AVe  have  had  a  splendid  week  for  getting  on  with  work. 
Just  as  the  land  for  swedes  was  becoming  baked  and  a  little 
rough  after  the  final  cleaning  operations,  a  very  nice  rain  set 
in,  and  one  good  harrowing  since  has  broken  down  all  the  clods. 
AVe  have  jjut  a  light  roller  on,  and  left  the  land  smooth  until 
the  time  comes  for  manuring  and  drilling  in  about  a  fortnight. 
AAhere  the  climate  is  suitable  for  kohl  rabi,  and  the  crop  is 
deemed  desirable,  it  is  time  that  the  seed  was  sown.  The  cul¬ 
tivation  is  very  similar  to  that  of  swedes,  except  that  a  good 
dressing  of  spit  niuck  is  quite  necessary.  It  is  a  useful  I’oot- 
crop  on  warm  soils  where  swedes  and  mangolds  do  not  thrive  ; 
but  on  land  which  produces  good  cabbages  we  should  prefer 
that  old-fashioned  plant  to  its  more  modern  competitor. 
The  early  planted  potatoes  are  coming  through,  and  as  there 
is  still  plenty  of  time  for  a  IMay  frost,  we  are  running  a  one- 
hor.se-earthing-plough,  and  covering  up  the.se  too  early  sprouts, 
prevention  being  easy,  and  cure  from  frost-injury  impo.ssible. 
As  an  indication  of  the  lateness  of  the  season  we  find  that 
many  breadths  of  mangolds  are  yet  to  be  sown.  The.se  late 
sowings  may  do  well  if  the  summer  prove  favourable,  but  the 
chances  are  strongly  against  mangoids  sown  after  May  14. 
The  rain  has  been  very  welcome  to  our  neighbours  who  had 
spring  corn  unsown,  and  the  work  has  been  very  rapidly 
finished  off.  Clover  seeds  should  now  be  all  got  in.  Early 
barley  and  oats  are  now  strong  enough  to  be  harrowed,  and  the 
clover  seeds  can  be  covered  up  at  the  same  time,  that  small 
weed  seeds  may  be  killed. 
AVe  shall  wash  our  ewes  at  once,  and  clip  them  as  soon  as 
they  are  dry.  AA"e  have  previously  recommended  the  machine 
clippers,  which  save  a  great  deal  of  labour,  and  do  the  work 
much  better  than  hand  shears  can.  AA'^e  heard  an  old  clipper 
the  other  day  objecting  to  the.se  machines  because  they  cut 
too  close,  and  leave  the  sheep  in  a  state  unfit  to  stand  much 
cold.  If  they  are  put  in  shelter  for  a  night  or  two,  however, 
any  such  ill  effect  is  very  easily  prevented.  At  any  rate,  two 
men  may  readily  clip  eighty  ewes  in  one  day,  and  get  all  the 
wool  there  is  to  be  had. 
Farm  Book-keeping. 
The  following  query  and  answer  appeared  in  the  “  N.B.  Agri¬ 
culturist  ”  : — I  intend  starting  a  system  of  farm  book-keeping  as 
follows  :  One  day-book  for  all  things  bought  and  sold,  one  book 
for  stock,  and  one  with  a  few  pages  devoted  to  each  field.  All 
labour,  manures,  seeds,  Ac.,  will  be  debited  against  the  field, 
and  it  will  be  credited  with  crop,  Ac.  Could  you  tell  me  :  (I) 
How  much  to  charge  the  field  per  day  for  a  pair  of  horses’ 
work;  (2)  how  much  to  charge  (a)  the  sheep,  (b)  the  cattle),  and 
(c)  horses  per  head  for  grass  eaten  on  the  field ;  (3)  if  I  should 
credit  the  field  for  cleaning  value  of  Turnips,  and  if  so,  how 
much  ?  (4)  If  I  should  credit  sheep  for  droppings,  if  fed  with 
cakes,  turnips,  Ac.,  on  land,  and,  if  so,  how  much? — Student. 
[The  charges  referred  to  will  depend  greatly  on  circum¬ 
stances,  and  the  system  of  book-keeping  which  the  farmer  decides 
to  follow.  “  Student  ”  might  examine  the  farm  account  books 
approved  by  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  and  published  by 
Alessrs.  Foster,  Groom,  and  Co.,  15,  Charing  Cross,  London. — 
Ed.] 
Board  of  Agriculture  and  its  Correspondents. 
The  Board  of  Agriculture  and  Fisheries  have  issued  the  list 
of  agricultural  correspondents,  with  a  copy  of  the  instructions 
as  to  their  procedure.  First  of  all,  the  list  of  correspondents 
are  arranged  according  to  counties ;  then  their  names  are  given 
alphabetically ;  and  lastly  follow  the  instructions.  Scotland 
(including  the  Shetland  and  Orkney  Islands),  AVales,  and  Eng¬ 
land  are  supplied  in  every  part,  the  total  number  of  corre¬ 
spondents  being  345.  One  of  the  duties  of  the  agricultural 
correspondent  will  consist  “  in  bringing  to  the  notice  of  the 
Board  any  special  circumstance  affecting  the  jjractice  of  agri¬ 
culture,  horticulture,  and  forestry,  or  the  transport  of  farm, 
garden,  and  forest  produce  in  his  district,  and  in  making  known 
to  agriculturists  and  others  concerned  the  information  contained 
in  the  Board’s  publications.” 
Among  the  more  important  matters  in  regard  to  which  the 
Board  desire  to  receive  early  and  detailed  information  are  the 
following; —  \ — Production. 
Losses  arising  from  the  nSe  of  unsuitable,  defective,  or 
worthless  seeds. 
Difficulties  in  connection  with  the  selection  and  use  of  fer¬ 
tilisers  and  feeding  stuffs,  and  complaints  as  to  their  quality  or 
failure. 
New  de.scriptions  of  fertilisers  and  feeding  stuffs. 
Losses  arising  from  parasitic  or  other  disea.ses  of  animals 
which  are  not  included  in  those  specified  in  paragraph  9  of  the 
instructions. 
Losses  arising  from  the  attacks  of  insects  and  diseases 
affecting  crops. 
The  spread  and  suppression  of  weeds. 
The  partial  or  complete  failure  of  crops  from  exceptional 
causes. 
New  methods  of  cultivation  and  the  growth  of  new  crops. 
The  practical  value  of  new  implements  and  machinery. 
Difficulties  in  the  growth  and  treatment  of  orchard  and 
garden  produce. 
The  deterioration  and  possible  improvement  of  pasture. 
New  and  special  methods  of  dairying,  and  new  de.scriptions  of 
produce. 
Difficulties  in  the  breeding  and  feeding  of  live  stock. 
II.— Distribution. 
Inadequacy  of  railway  and  other  facilities  for  transit. 
Complaints  as  to  railway  rates. 
Difficulties  at  markets  with  regard  to  tolls  and  accommoda¬ 
tion  (including  weighbridges). 
Loss  of  markets  at  home  or  abroad,  and  the  decline  of  prices 
from  any  exceptional  circumstances. 
Alethods  of  marketing,  and  requirements  of  purchasers  as  to 
quality,  packages,  Ac. 
The  instructions  state  how  correspondents  should  explain 
thenuselves.  that  is,  it  endeavours  to  insist  upon  sufficiently 
explicit  ijiformation,  and  siipplies  examples  as  a  guide.  Copies 
i  of  the  publication  are  obtained  from  the  usual  source,  4,  AA'hite- 
1  hall  Place,  London,  S.AA'. 
