232 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  3,  1903. 
The  Master’s  Eye. 
A  farmer  of  a  past  generation  being  asked  what  manure 
he  applied  to  his  land  replied,  Shoe  leather,”  meaning  that 
the  wearing  of  boots  in  tramping  to  and  fro  o’er  his  fields 
was  considered  by  him  to  be  essential  to  successful  farming. 
The  principle  which  was  in  the  mind  of  that  farmer  is 
essential  to  the  successful  conduct  of  every  class  of  business, 
for  it  means,  in  plain  words,  close  personal  supervision  of 
details. 
No  doubt  there  are  capable  foremen  who  can  take  this 
close  drudgery  w'ork  off  the  master’s  hands  ;  but  such  men 
are  difficult  to  find,  and  even  the  best  of  them  cannot  put 
the  same  personal  interest  into  his  w'ork  as  the  master  can. 
In  the  case  of  foremen  of  average  calibre,  it  too  often 
happens  that  they  have  axes  of  their  own  to  grind,  and  a 
labourer  who  is  not  too  particular  about  doing  a  few  odd  jobs 
for  the  foreman  out  of  work  hours,  may  be  allowed  a  very  easy 
time  in  them. 
We  sometimes  hear  people  lament  the  disappearance  of 
the  gentleman  farmer,  by  whom  they  mean  the  man  who 
shot  and  hunted,  and  left  the  serious  work  of  farming  to  the 
hands  of  his  bailiff  or  foreman.  That  such  men  are  now 
comparatively  scarce  there  is  no  doubt ;  but  are  they 
farmers?  We  emphatically  answer — No.  A  farmer,  as  we 
opine,  is  one  who  makes  business,  not  pleasure,  the  first  con¬ 
sideration,  and  attends  closely  to  it.  We  have  good  reason 
for  believing  that  large  profits  cannot  be  expected  from  the 
pursuit  of  agriculture,  and  that  farming  for  amusement 
should  only  be  taken  up  by  those  who  have  well-lined 
pockets.  Therefore  we  need  not  further  emphasise  the 
statement  that  those  who  take  up  farming  seriously  must 
prosecute  it  fully  in  every  detail.  To  succeed,  a  farmer 
should  absolutely  be  master,  and  he  cannot  be  so  if  he  leaves 
everything  to  a  foreman,  which  he  must  do  unless  he  is  pre¬ 
pared  to  see  all  his  orders  carried  out  personally. 
On  large  mixed  farms  there  are  generally  at  least  three 
responsible  men — the  foreman,  the  shepherd,  and  the  cowman 
or  yardman.  Each  has  his  own  department.  The  foreman 
superintends  the  cultivation  of  the  land  ;  the  shepherd  is 
responsible  for  the  welfare  of  the  sheep,  as  the  yardman  is 
for  the  cattle  and  pigs.  If  the  master  personally  superin¬ 
tends  these  men,  everything  works  harmoniously :  there  is 
only  one  master,  and  he  is  supreme.  But'  if  the  stockmen 
are  ruled  through  the  foreman,  there  arises  a  dual-  responsi¬ 
bility  with  unsatisfactory  results.  What  is  anybody’s 
business  is  nobody’s  business,  and  much  time  is  spent  in 
wrangling  instead  of  getting  work  done.  However  large  the 
farm,  there  is  the  greatest  need  for  the  farmer  to  see  the  work 
done  ;  and  with  the  bicycle  to  aid  the  horse,  and  his  own 
legs,  it  is  a  poor  excuse  for  him  to  say  that  he  cannot  see  to 
everything. 
A  personal  friend  of  ours  who  is  very  active  on  his  bike 
declares  that  he  has  saved  at  least  £100  per  annum  in  manual 
labour  since  he  began  to  farm  on  it.  He  is  practically  his 
own  foreman,  although  he  pays  a  man  to  act  in  that  capacity. 
He  does  a  good  share  of  the  shepherd’s  work  on  that  same 
bike,  and  thereby  is  able  to  employ  that  shepherd  profitably 
elsewhere.  Such  a  procedure,  if  carried  out  by  the  foreman, 
would  be  instantly  resented  by  the  shepherd  as  an  inter¬ 
ference  with  his  work  and  result  in  endless  bickering. 
It  is  astonishing  to  see  the  difference  in  the  working 
energy  of  the  men  employed  by  such  a  master  and  those 
employed  by  oue  who  gallops  into  the  fields  about  9.30  and 
is  away  again  before  he  has  had  time  to  see  who  is  there. 
The  latter’s  men  know  where  the  hounds  meet  and  that  they 
will  be  free  from  supervision  for  the  remainder  of  the  day. 
Another  man  w’e  know  makes  a  point  of  seeing  every  man 
at  work  at  least  once  a  day,  and  greatly  varies  the  times  of 
his  visits.  As  one  of  his  men  observed,  ‘‘  We  always  have  to 
keep  at  it,  for  Jimmy  always  comes  when  we  don’t  expect 
him.  Farmers  should  always  pay  their  men’s  wages  person¬ 
ally  ;  for  it  is  a  bad  plan  to  delegate  this  duty  to  a  foreman, 
as  it  exalts  the  importance  of  the  latter  at  the  exjoense  of 
the  master.  If  tlie  farmer  sees  liis  men  at  work  every  day 
and  pays  them  himself,  he  should  be  able  to  avoid  any  undue 
leakage  of  hard  cash  as  regards  the  w^ages  account ;  and  it 
is  the  wages  bill  wdiich  is  the  most  serious  item  of  the 
farmer’s  expenditure. 
The  master’s  presence  is  most  necessary  on  threshing 
days.  It  is  always  advisable  to  keep  a  strict  look-out  to  see 
that  good  corn  is  not  diverted  to  uses  which  its  owmer  would 
not  intend  it  for.  It  is  also  necessary  to  w^atch  the  threshing 
process,  to  see  that  on  the  one  hand  the  grain  is  all  separated 
from  the  straw,  and  on  the  other  that  it  is  not  bruised  and 
broken  by  too  much  threshing. 
The  selling  of  the  corn  should  also  be  a  personal  duty  of 
the  farmer.  He  should  see  to  having  his  samples  properly 
dressed  by  the  wdnnowdng  machine,  blow'er  or  screen,  and 
that  the  bulk  of  grain  has  been  so  thoroughly  mixed  together 
that  he  can  deliver  it  all  alike  and  equal  to  sample.  Personal 
and  careful  attention  to  these  matters  soon  meet  wdth 
appreciation  on  the  part  of  millers  and  maltsters,  who  will 
bid  above  the  market’s  limit  of  price  rather  than  miss  that 
w'hich  they  know'  will  prove  satisfactory. 
Exactly  the  same  principle  applies  to  the  sale  of  fat 
stock.  The  auction  system  has  taken  deep  root  in  this 
country,  but  it  is  entirely  owing  to  the  laziness  of  the 
farmers  of  the  last  generation.  It  is  much  easier  to  send 
cattle  and  sheep  to  an  auction  than  to  stand  with  them  for 
hours  in  the  open  market.  Many  farmers  nowadays  do  not 
trouble  even  to  attend  the  auctions,  but  accept  with  a  growl 
what  the  auctioneer  sends  them  by  next  post. 
Gates  require  close  attention  by  the  master.  They 
should  always  sw'ing  freely,  and  as  soon  as  there  is  the  least 
necessity  they  should  be  rehung.  With  the  shepherd’s 
assistance  (which  the  active  farmer  will  always  be  able  to 
control)  and  a  bag  of  tools,  he  will  be  able  to  keep  all  gates 
in  o-ood  order  without  any  expense  except  for  nails,  screw'S, 
or  an  occasional  new'  head  or  ledge. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
We  ought  to  be  hard  at  work  with  reaping,  but  the  corn  is  no 
sooner  dry  after  one-  shower  than  the  clouds  roll  up  again  and' 
everything  is  wet  once  more.  As  in  the  opinion  of  some  of  the  old 
hands  we  are  rather  inclined  to  cut  the  crops  in  too  green  a  state, 
perhaps  the  hindrances  may  be  for  our  good.  Self-binders  are 
w'orking  very  well  when  the  straw  is  sufficiently  dry,  and,  given 
dry  weather,  they  w'ill  cut  almost  anything.  The  crops  have  stood 
the  w'eather  well  and  are  no  more  storm-broken  than  they  were  a 
w'eek  ago. 
The  broken  time  has  been  partially  filled  by  getting  in  a 
suppb'  of  steam  coal  which  should  have  arrived  before.  The  men 
have  been  trimming  hedges  and  cleaning  roadside  ditches  of  the 
grass  and  rubbish  w'hich  grows  up  and  chokes  them.  A  neighbour, 
having  no  .straw',  is  using  this  material  from  the  ditches  to  make 
standings  for  his  corn  .stacks.  He  is  a  Potato  grower.  Another 
has  Wheat  straw  to  sell,  but  declines  to  accept  24s.  per  ton.  He 
is  not  a  Potato  grower.  ^ 
There  are  sinister  rumours  as  regards  the  w'ell,  or  rather  ill, 
doing  of  lambs.  Personally  we  have  nothing  to  complain  of,  but 
there  is  a  great  demand  for  our  friend  the  “  vet  ”  with  his  preven¬ 
tive  and  curative  drenches.  Those  farmers  who  have  nothing  to 
fall  back  upon  but  unripe  Turnips  as  alternatives  to  flushed 
pasture,  w'ill  .soon  be  in  sore  plight  unless  the  weather  changes 
materially.  There  is  everything  favourable  to  attacks  of  thread¬ 
worms  (strougylus)  in  the  windpipe.  If  the  lambs  are  troubled 
w'itli  a  tiresome  and  persi.stent  cough,  more  especially  at  night, 
it  is  generally  owing  to  the  pre.sence  of  this  parasite.  We  have 
found  turpentine  and  linseed  oil  the  best  antidote,  but  it  requires 
careful  admini.stration.  Each  dose  should  be  mixed  separately, 
and  to  dose  a  large  number  of  lambs  it  is  w'ell  to  employ  three 
persoiLS.  Three  small,  narrow-necked  bottles,  holding  two  ounces, 
should  be  provided,  into  one  of  which  one  person  should  place  a 
tea.spoonful,  and  no  more,  of  turpentine,  another  person  should 
fill  up  the  bottle  with  linseed  oil,  which  should  be  w'ell  shaken 
and  then  handed  to  the  third  i)erson  to  administer.  This  should 
be  done  with  care  and  slowly,  to  avoid  pouring  any  of  the  fluid 
down  the  w'indpipe  into-  the  lungs,  .  .  .  _ 
The  land  is  so  wet  and  the  night.s  anything  but  warm,  .so  young 
calves  W'hich  have  been  lying,  out  in  the  pastures  w'ould  be  safer 
in  the  shelter  of  a  shed  during  the  night.  Prevention  is  better 
