GIO 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  31,  1903. 
pause  and  con.sider  where  we  stand  ;  like  prudent  men,  to 
make  up  our  books  and  face  our  position.  We  take  so  little 
i  ime  to  think  ;  we  ever  hurry  to  and  fro  and  wear  ourselves 
out  before  our  time  with  ceaseless  toil  and  restless  worry. 
Perhaps  our  readers  will  be  inclined  to  say  that  of  all 
vocations  that  of  a  fanner  is  the  most  tranquil,  the  most 
peaceful.  It  ought  to  be.  There  is  the  close  intimacy  with 
Nature  in  her  ever  varying  moods,  and  that  should  soothe 
petty  anxieties  and  smooth  rough  ways  ;  but  Nature  is 
sometimes  more  like  our  idea  of  a  stern  stepmother — one 
who  never  shows  a  smiling  face  to  the  children  of  her 
adoption.  This  past  year  has  been  one  of  much  vicissitude  ; 
the  days  of  storm  have  been  so  out  of  proportion  to  the 
daj’s  of  sunshine.  Jupiter  Pluvius  has  been  in  the  ascen¬ 
dant.  We  have  honed  that  every  change  of  the  season 
would  bring  more  favourable  weather  ;  and,  indeed,  w'e  may 
bless  the  days  of  December  as  being  on  the  whole  far 
better,  pleasanter  days  than  those  of  many  of  the  preceding 
months.  Just  think  of  that  ;  better  December  weather  than 
late  summer  or  autumn !  There  was  such  promise  in  the 
soring  of  prosperity  ;  but  we  have  learned  to  distrust  mild 
springs — sooner  or  later  comes  the  severe  check.  If  it 
would  only  come  soon  it  would  be  beneficial.  Plant  life  is 
prematurely  forced  only  to  be  checked  beyond  hope  of 
recovery.  • 
In  the  southern  provinces  tne  hay  crop  was  a  good  one, 
and  well  got.  Further  north  the  crop  was  again  good,  but 
here  we  pause  ;  it  was  not  got  in  good  condition ;  and, 
indeed,  a  great  deal  was  never  got  at  all — at  least  in  the 
form  of  hay.  It  might  be  carted  into  the  yards  to  be 
trodden  under  foot,  but  that  was  all.  It  makes  an  amazing 
difference  ;  indeed,  all  the  difference  the  way  the  crop  is 
secured.  Grain  crops  promised  heavy,  good  crops  of 
Wheat,  only  grown  apparently  to  be  the  sport  of  wind  and 
weather.  Storm-tossed,  broken,  discoloured,  difficult  to 
reap,  difficult  to  “condition,”  and  more  difficult  to  market ; 
nay,  almost  impossible.  We  do  not  take  up  a  farming 
paper  wnthout  seeing  numerous  queries  as  to  how  to  deal 
with  this  damp,  spoiled  grain.  Damaged  Wheat  is  the 
least  suitable  of  cereals  for  stock  feeding ;  it  is  particularly 
the  food  of  man.  For  animals  it  must  be  used  sparingly 
and  carefully.  In  a  ground  state  it  is  the  safest ;  but  even 
when  ground  it  is  wisest  to  keep  it  out  of  the  stable.  There 
is  such  a  desire  to  use  Wheat  as  a  substitute  for  Oats  ;  a 
practice  of  this  kind  is  fatal.  If  given-  at  all  it  must  be  in 
very  small  quantities,  which  should  be  bruised  and  given  in 
chaff.  Whether  wheatmeal  is  desirable  for  milk  cows  is  a 
much  debated  point.  Some  great  authorities  urge  its  use. 
Others  quite  as  great  would  relegate  to  the  fattening  steer. 
One  writer,  however,  would  allow  3lbs  per  head  per  diem 
of  ground  Wheat  for  milk  cows  if  mixed  with  chopped'straw 
and  boiling  water.  It  may  constitute  also  part  of  the  dry 
feed  for  sheep,  and  as  a  finishing  fattener  for  pigs  it  has  no 
equal. 
as  this  year  there  is  other  spoiled  corn  as  well  as 
Wheat,  there  is  no  reason  why  a  mixture  should  not  be 
made  ;  say  equal  parts,  of  Wheat,  Barley,  and  Oats— this 
passed  through  a  mill  will  make  excellent  feed,  and  safe 
into  the  bargain,  and  at  the  same  time  will  materially  lessen 
the  expensive  cake  bill.  It  is  a  most  extraordinary  thing 
that  with  all  this  spoiled  corn  and  tons  and  tons  upon  tons 
of  damaged  Potatoes  pigs  are  comparatively  cheap.  Judg¬ 
ing  from  past  experience  they  should  have  been  dear  as 
mint ;  but  these  are  things  no  “  fellah  can  understand  ” 
there  is  one  thing  we  would  recommend,  and  this  is  only 
tor  young  farmers.  Give  your  damp  grain  a  chance  to  dry 
and  condition  ”  in  the  stack ;  it  is  marvellous  what  a 
change  may  be  wrought  by  three  or  four  months  sojourn  in 
stack.  Sometimes  it  is  possible,  too,  to  kiln  dry  damp 
corn.  And  also  if  you  can  make  anything  over  24s.  per 
quaiter  for  Wheat  let  it  go.  What  a  fallacious  thing  returns 
are .  Here  w^e  are  told  by  Lord  Onslow  that  the  returns 
this  year  showed  improvement  over  the  last  ten  years 
^Quantity  rather  than  “  quality,”  he  adds,  Oats,  Beans, 
I  eas,  and  Mangold  being  above  the  average.  Wheat 
Barley,  Potatoes,  Turnips,  and  Swedes  below.  Grass  crops’ 
especially  hay,  much  above.  A  writer  analysing  the 
reports  speaks  very  dolefully  of  all.  There  is  no  grain  to 
lie  recorded  ;  it  is  simply  how  little  loss,  and  he  puts  the 
loss  thus^—  In  1902  the  value  of  all  the  field  crops  grown 
in  Great  Britain  on  16,682,780  acres  was  about  £101,200  000  • 
acreage  is  only  about 
^  >0,000,000.  being  a  reduction  of  about  £20,700,000  or  25s 
per  acre,  nearly  21  per  cent.  This  is  just  for  ordinary  farm 
crops  ;  not  a  word  is  said  about  the  entire  failure  of  the 
fruit  farmers.  It  is  greatly  to  be  feared  also  that  the  fat 
stock  sales  have  been  the  occasion  of  much  disappointment. 
The  animals  in  tiptop  condition  have  certainly  not  realised 
their  value.  We  hear  on  all  sides  rumours  of  changes  in 
tenancy,  and  we  feel  sure  the  New  Year  will  find  many 
poor  farmers  at  their  wits’  end  to  make  ends  meet  and  to 
satisfy  all  lawful  demands  on  their  depleted  purses. 
The  only  animal  that  seems  never  to  be  a  drug  in  the 
market  is  the  cow  in  full  milk ;  she  is  ahvays  bad  to  find, 
and  therefore  always  dear,  and  the  problem  seems  to  be 
how  to  keep  up  her  milk  supply  when  you  have  got  her. 
We  saw  a  theory  to-day,  and  one  that  sounds  very  reason¬ 
able,  and  it  is  this  ;  that  the  milk  yield  of  cows  may  be  and 
is  very  much  affected  by  change  of  residence.  A  cow  is 
a  nervous  animal,  and  as  readily  falls  and  rises  in  her  milk 
estimate  as  the  mercury  in  the  barometer.  She  is  some 
time  getting  accustomed  to  her  new  surroundings,  to  her 
new  attendants,  and  to  her  new  rations,  which  are  never 
exactly  alike  in  two  places.  Besides  also,  for  all  the  buyer 
knows,  she  may  have  been  so  heavily  and  continuously 
milked,  almost  round  to  calving,  that  her  constitution  needs 
a  certain  period  of  rest.  We  wish  we  could  impress  upon  all 
our  readers  the  desirability  of  breeding  from  none  but  good 
milking  strains  and  then  dedicating  all  heifers  to  dairy  pur¬ 
poses.  There  is  far  too  much  waste  that  arises  from  the 
breeding  of  what  we  mav  for  want  of  a  better  word,  style 
“  misfits,”  neither  good  for  beef  or  dairy  purposes. 
We  wonder  how'  much  nearer  we  shall  be  next  Christmas 
to  universal  motor  power.  Whether  it  will  come  with  a 
rush  or  whether  the  slowgoing  farmer  will  be  plodding  on 
much  as  usual.  We  can  but  hope  for  brighter,  better  days 
— more  sunshine  and  less  rain — for  surely  now  all  springs 
must  be  so  replenished  that  there  can  be  no  fear  of  a  water 
famine  I  It  is  well  that  a  merciful  Providence  hides  the 
future  behind  a  thick  veil ;  the  thought  of  coming  ills  will 
daunt  the  stoutest  heart,  and  the  hope  of  a  better  future 
goes  far  to  raise  downcast  spirits.  Whatever  may  be  in 
store  for  us  collectively  or  individually,  it  is  the  brave,  hard 
worker  who  comes  out  best  in  the  long  run. 
To  all  our  kindly  readers  we  would  tender  our  grateful 
thanks,  and  with  all  our  heart  we  wish  them  and  theirs  the 
happiest  and  most  prosperous  New  Year  they  have  ever 
seen. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
Ploughing  is  still  the  chief  work,  belated  though  much  of  it, 
no  doubt,  may  be.  Still,  we  are  glad  to  get  the  work  done  under 
such  good  conditions  for  December,  and  considering  the  unusual 
weather  we  have  recently  experienced. 
We  have  been  sorting  and  sending  away  Potatoes,  and  it  is 
such  a  difficult  matter  to  make  a  good  sound  sample  that  the 
work  is  very  expensive  of  labour.  The  ware  produced  costs  ju.st 
twice  as  much  as  usual  in  the  sorting  process — offals,  which 
amount  to  about  50  per  cent.,  being,  of  course,  not  reckoned. 
We  have  been  delivering  these  Potatoes  to  the  station,  and 
although  railway  business  is  supposed  to  be  slack  we  find  great 
difficulty  in  obtaining  empty  waggons;  but  that  is  an  old  com¬ 
plaint.  It  is  somewhat  strange  to  remark  it,  but  work  on  the 
land  is  now  easier  than  it  is  on  the  roads.  The  latter  had  become 
very  soft  through  the  continuous  wet,  and  the  slight  frosts  have 
left  the  surface  very  much  like  hasty  pudding.  Arable  land  has 
dried  in  a  marvellous  way.  and  unless  we  have  a  wet  January 
there  is  every  prospect  that  we  shall  soon  commence  spring 
cleaning.  Some  farmers  are  hoping  for  a  severe  and  long  frost 
as  the  best  pulveriser  of  the  sodden  soil,  but  we  should  like  to 
have  all  ploughed  up  before  it  sets  in. 
There  is  always  difficulty  nowadays  in  obtaining  suitable  wood 
for  fencing  purposes  at  a  price  commensurate  with  the  depth  of 
the  farmer’s  pocket ;  and  the  most  difficult  article  to  obtain  is 
a  good  cheap  stake.  Estates  which  include  large  areas  of  timber 
provide  plenty  of  stakes,  but  they  are  often  of  a  trashy  character 
and  cut  with  a  view  to  satisfy  the  tenants.’  outcry  rather  than  a 
u.seful  purpose.  Good  ash  stakes  are  useful  and  easy  to  work 
with.  They  are  also  easily  got  ready,  but  are  not  nearly  as  lasting 
as  their  appearance  would  suggest.  Larch  tops  take  some  labour 
in  trimming  and  are  rougher  in  appearance,  but  they  wear  better. 
Cheap  timber  from  the  seaports  may  often  be  obtained,  but  a 
large  portion  is  of  little  use  except  as  firewood,  which  is  not 
usually  a  scarce  ai-ticle  on  the  farm. 
Cakes,  both  linseed  and  cotton,  are  lower,  in  sympathy  with 
the  depression  in  grain,  and  it  is  a  moot  question  with  farmers 
whether  to  buy  cake  or  use  barley.  We  would  sell  barley  at 
anything  over  20s.  per  quai'ter,  but  consume  it  at  that  price  or 
less.  Every  animal  on  the  farm  will  thrive  on  barley  in  some 
proportion. 
