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FARM
MANAGEMENT

A HANDBOOK

FOR FARM PUPILS

BY

A. E. BRUCE FIELDING

N.D.A., P.A.S.I.

Director of the Agricultural Correspoiide?ice College

LONDON
VINTON & COMPANY, LTD.

5, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, CHANCERY LANE, E.G.

F5

MAIN LlBF?ARV.At5«lCULTURe DCPY.

DEDICATED

TO

MY FATHER

586532

PREFACE

The object of this book is to give farm pupils,
farmers' sons, and all who are commencing the
study of agriculture, a clear conception of the
manner in which a farm is organised and
managed. There is much valuable literature
describing in detail the different breeds of
stock, the varieties of farm crops, and the
numerous operations connected with each, but,
to the beginner, such books are apt to be
confusing, as he is at a loss to understand
properly how one thing fits in with another,
how the stock kept influences the crops grown,
and how the various matters concerned have
to be controlled in order to make farming a
remunerative pursuit.

This work is also intended as a guide to the

vi PREFACE

beginner in determining the manner in which
he shall acquire a sound knowledge of agri-
culture, and in deciding on the particular
system of farming to follow.

A. E. Bruce Fielding.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

PAGE

Advice to the beginner on how to gain his experience
— Deciding the system of farming to follow —
Selecting a farm to learn on . . . . i

CHAPTER II

The different crops, their division into forage, cereal
and root crops, and why each must be grown on
the farm — The relation of crops to the live-stock
kept— Meadows and pastures — The arranging
of crops in rotations ; why it is done, and how
rotations may be altered to meet new arrange-
ments adopted in one's farming — The dififerent
crops that can be grown for each crop of the
rotation, and the reasons why any particular crop
should be grown — The catch-cropping system, and
how it influences corn-growing on sheep farms . 7

CHAPTER III

Notes on the cultivation, manuring and harvesting of
the difterent crops and producing enough of each
for the food requirements of the stock — How to
proceed if drought is likely to make supplies
short — The hay crop, and how to supplement it
if a small one — Laying down land to permanent
grass j importance of doing it well, and how the
stock-carrying capacity of the farm may be altered
accordingly — Manuring pastures and meadows . ig

CHAPTER IV

Manures, and what they give to the soil — Available
and unavailable plant-food — The different arti-
ficial and natural manures and their nature — The
relation of dung to artificials ; how the dung should
be applied to economise in the use of artificials —
Preserving dung and making the most of it —

viii CONTENTS

TAGB

Exhausting manures — Mixing and time of appli-
cation of artificials — Manurial requirements of
different crops — Liming, its advantages ; how and
when it should be done — Valuing manures . 40

CHAPTER V
Horses — Number required on a farm — Rearing foals,
kind of farm to do it on, types of parents to use
— The brood mare — Summer and winter manage-
ment and feeding of horses . . . • 51

CHAPTER VI

Cattle — Different kinds of cattle-farming— Some notes
on the breeds — Calf-rearing — Rearing stores —
Fattening stores on grass and in yards — Producing
young beef— Cross-breeding for beef — Grading
stock — Selecting bulls — Dairy cows, summer and
winter feeding and management — Management
of calving cows — Improving the herd . . 57

CHAPTER VII
Sheep — Different systems of sheep-farming — Notes on
the breeds — Temporary and permanent flocks —
Flock management — Fattening sheep — Breeding
early lamb— Cross-breeding sheep . . -75

CHAPTER VIII
Pigs — Their position on the farm — Advantages and dis-
advantages of keeping them— The different breeds
— Feeding and management for pork and bacon S6

CHAPTER IX
Notes on foods and feeding— Compounding rations-
How to supplement home-grown foods and avoid
waste — The animal's requirements ... 90

CHAPTER X
The different kinds of farming— Mixed, stock, arable
and dairy-farming, and the merits of each — How
each kind of farm is arranged and organised —
Notes on the stocking of farms . . . 9^

FARM MANAGEMENT

CHAPTER I

THE STUDY OF FARMING

Farming demands a wide knowledge of many-
things before success can be achieved, and he
who has elected to get his living out of the
land can advance his fortunes to no small
degree by arranging his training from the out-
set on judicious lines. So many take up the
study of agriculture with but a vague idea of
the particular kind of farming they will
ultimately adopt that, when they come to farm
themselves, they find that much they have
learnt is useless, and that there is a great deal
they require to know but have not learnt, as
every farm is necessarily intended for some
particular kind of farming, and must be
managed accordingly to be profitable.

The student must realise at the commence-
ment of his training, that farming is a broad

B

2 f AftM MANAGEMENT

wor'd* *whfch 'Covefs a large variety of agri-
cultural systems. These systems may be
divided into Mixed Farming, Stock Farming,
Arable Farming and Dairy Farming, but each
of these includes a number of fundamentally
different systems. For example, the sheep
farming of the Northern hills differs substan-
tially from the sheep farming of the Southern
Downs, and the pupil who hopes eventually to
become a flockmaster in the Cheviots would be
ill-advised to secure his experience on the
Downs. Therefore, the first point the student
must definitely decide is the particular kind of
farming he will take up, and a few months
occupied in enquiring into the different systems
and firmly deciding this point will be well
spent. Of course this will be unnecessary if he
has a predilection for some particular kind of
farming, or is the son of a farmer and intends
following in his father's footsteps. In any
case, the kind of farming decided on from the
first should be the dominating factor in
arranging one's agricultural education ; it will
avoid the waste of time in acquiring experience
one may never need, and failing to learn many
things that may be required. There is far too

THE STUDY OF FARMING 3

much to learn to allow of either of these
contingencies being realised.

Having decided on the exact kind of farming
it is intended to pursue, the locality one will
settle in will be more or less fixed. The next
point is to arrange to be taken on a farm
of the kind one ultimately hopes to take one-
self, and it is a point of some importance to
ascertain that the farmer, who is to be one's
future mentor, is making his farm pay as a
tenant-farmer, and is not merely using the farm
as an adjunct to some other business out of
which his real Income is derived, or is
'* farming pupils " ; because, if the farm be
producing a proper income, it may fairly be
assumed that sound, practical and remunerative
methods of farming are to be learnt there. It
Is not to be inferred from the above remarks that
the student is advised to spend all his pupilage
on one farm — on the contrary, it is well to see
the working of more than one farm ; but what
he should do is to gain all his experience on
farms in the same locality and devoted to the
same class of farming, as by so doing, he not
only learns the kind of farming he is going in
for, but acquires considerable knowledge as to

B 2

4 FARM MANAGEMENT

local conditions of soil, weather, markets,
methods of cultivation, etc., which materially
affect farming. Again, by remaining in one
neighbourhood the student is enabled to
become known to and, if he merits it, re-
spected by, local landowners and their agents,
with the result that when he comes to take a
farm himself, he stands a good chance of being
accepted as a tenant of a good holding. The
importance of this point is seldom realised by
the average pupil, as good farms are by no
means to be had for the asking, but are keenly
competed for when to let, and naturally the best
man is given the tenancy, providing he has the
necessary capital. Many pupils, who spend a
few years on two or three different farms in
various parts of the country, find the greatest
difficulty in ultimately securing a farm for
themselves, and often have to take one of in-
different quality, which is both expensive and
difficult to work.

The pupil, having decided on the farm he
will go to for his training, must have a clear
understanding from the farmer as to what he is
to do, and not be left to wander about looking
on or be given any odd job that turns up. He

THE STUDY OF FARMING 5

should be regularly employed in work of in-
creasing responsibility as his knowledge extends.
Further, he should make a point of studying
the management and organisation of the farm,
and not, as is so often done, spend all his time
in merely acquiring proficiency in such opera-
tions as ploughing, driving a mowing machine,
etc., however fascinating they may be. For after
all, while it is desirable to be familiar with them,
they are the province of the farm labourer,
whereas the would-be farmer's particular pro-
vince is management, organisation, the capacity
to judge stock and crops, and a detailed know-
ledge of the £ s. d. of everything that is done.
The best way to perfect oneself in this latter
very important item is to write up a diary
each evening of the day s doings on the farm,
particularly details as to time taken over any
operation, labour involved, and notes of expendi-
ture and receipts that occur. In this way
much valuable information and statistics can be
accumulated, from which one will be able to
estimate the cost of different matters, such as
the growth of a crop, or the fattening of stock,
and determine where economy could be effected.
Stock markets should, of course, be regularly

6 FARM MANAGEMENT

attended. A good weekly agricultural journal
should be taken in and, in winter evenings, the
student should set himself a course of reading,
as there are plenty of good text-books on agri-
culture now available.

There is a good living to be made out of
farming, as in any other business, by those
possessed of sound intelligence, industrious
habits, and who secure their training in a
proper manner. Agriculture is not the mori-
bund business many would have us believe, and
the student need not attach much weight to
the purveyors of gloomy prognostications as
to his future prospects.

CHAPTER II

FARM CROPS

A LARGE variety of crops are grown on a farm,
but they can all be grouped into three divisions
for practical purposes, namely, corn, root and
forage crops. Crops are divided thus because
the main object in growing them is to provide
food for the stock, and the food of all animals
is generally made up of members of each
group.

The corn, cereal, or white straw crops
comprise wheat, barley and oats, and they are
grown, unlike any other crops, for two reasons,
their grain and their straw. The bulk of the
grain is sold off the farm, but certain quantities,
particularly of oats, are retained for feeding to
the stock ; grain being a particularly rich form
of food for stock is necessary to supplement the
less rich but more bulky food-stuffs, namely, hay
and roots. The straw is partly used as a food-

8 FARM MANAGEMENT

stuff for stock and also as litter or bedding for
them, when it becomes mixed with their dung
and urine, forming farmyard manure, which is
returned to the land to enrich it sufficiently to
grow good crops next year.

Peas and beans, although not called corn
crops, may nevertheless be included in this
division, as their grain is a rich food-stuff and
their straw or ** haulm " serves the same pur-
pose as corn straw, though much inferior to it.

The forage crops comprise all those giving
bulky nutritious herbage, such as meadow grass,
rye, lucerne, sainfoin, vetches, clover, maize,
timothy, etc. These crops may be cut and
made into hay for future use or may be con-
sumed in the green state.

Root crops comprise turnips, swedes, man-
gels, rape, kohl rabi, potatoes, cabbages, etc.,
and they provide the succulent cooling food
that is required by animals in connection with
grain and hay ; moreover, they form the bulk
of the animals' food in winter, when their chief
summer food, grass, has ceased to yield a
sufficiency.

The above are the crops grown on the
arable or cultivated part of the farm. The grass

FARM CROPS 9

portion of the farm is divided into meadows
and pastures. Meadows really belong to the
division of forage crops, as they produce hay for
future use. They differ however from the forage
crops grown on the arable land in that they are
permanent, that is to say, they produce hay
year after year, whereas forage crops are usually
ploughed up after a year, in some cases after
two or three years, and in the case of lucerne
or sainfoin, longer. Meadows differ again
from ordinary forage crops in that they act as
pastures at certain times of the year, usually
after hay-making, when they are grazed for a
short time. The pastures on a farm are used
solely for grazing stock, and form the bulk of
the food for animals during summer.

It will thus be seen that on the average
mixed farm the stock are during summer fed
chiefly on grass, supplemented, however, with
some hay and corn and perhaps green forage
crops if the pastures fail through drought.
During this time the arable land and meadows
are growing supplies of roots, corn and hay to
provide food for the stock in winter, when the
pastures are not yielding.

It will now be evident that the greater

lo FARM MANAGEMENT

the proportion of grass the farm consists of
the- less will be the area of corn sold off, so
that the farm will be more a stock farm, pro-
ducing just enough corn and roots for use in
winter.

Rotations. — It is an established principle
that the same crop must not be grown succes-
sively on the same land. It is not an absolute
principle, as there are instances of corn being
grown continuously on the same land year. after
year, but to do so requires special knowledge
and skill.

There are a variety of reasons why croj^s
should be alternated, the chief being that, if a
crop be grown year after year on the same soil,
the soil becomes denuded of the plant-food for
that crop, and so inferior crops result. Again,
the insects and plant diseases that favour that
particular crop would become especially strong
if the crop were grown annually. Further,
some crops give a much better yield if certain
other crops have been grown before them. For
these and other reasons it is necessary to
arrange the corn, root and forage crops in a
certain annual order or rotation.

Nearly every district has a rotation of its

FARM CROPS II

own which experience has shown to answer
best, but there is one named the Norfolk
or four-course rotation, of which all others may-
be said to be variations. This rotation is as
follows : — First year — an autumn-sown corn
crop ; second year — a root crop ; third year — a
spring-sown corn crop ; fourth year — a forage
crop ; the rotation is of course repeated in
this order every four years.

Next as to the reasons which have fixed
this rotation in the order it is. The wheat is
grown after the clover because it is a crop that
flourishes best when it has a plentiful supply of
a certain kind of plant-food, termed nitrates.
Now, the forage crop that usually precedes
wheat is clover, and clover belongs to an order
of plants botanists term the leguminosae — they
are plants which produce pods, and include
clover, lucerne, sainfoin, peas, beans, etc. These
crops have a characteristic possessed by no
other plants, it is the power to extract nitrogen
from the air and convert it to nitrates, and
after the crop has left the land their roots
leave the soil enriched with these nitrates ;
consequently, as wheat requires these nitrates
so much, it naturally follows clover. Roots are

12 FARM MANAGEMENT

sown after the corn, because no crop takes so
much plant- food out of the soil as does corn,
and therefore to restore the fertility of the soil,
roots are grown, because, as they are not sown
till later than other crops, they allow plenty
of time for the land to be thoroughly well-cul-
tivated and manured, and as the root crop
takes but little from the soil, the land is left in
excellent condition for growing a corn crop.
The land being now restored to good condition,
a corn crop is sown next, but, as roots are gene-
rally eaten off the land by sheep during the
winter, an autumn corn crop cannot be grown,
and so a spring corn crop is sown instead, that
is, oats or barley instead of wheat. Next year
the land is occupied by a forage crop, usually
clover or clover and grasses e.g., rye ; this crop
restores to the land a great deal of plant-food,
in the form of nitrates, that the corn has taken,
and so prepares it to receive an autumn-sown
corn crop, namely wheat. Clover follows corn
for the further reason that it requires two years'
growth, so that by sowing it in among the
spring corn it can grow with it, and will not
occupy the land alone until after the corn has
been harvested ; in this way a year is saved.

FARM CROPS 13

The clover could not be sown with roots in
this way, and so it must necessarily follow a
corn crop.

The Norfolk rotation is not suited to every
district, and many variations of it exist.
Further, in many cases a strict rotation is not
always followed, as it may be altered from time
to time as conditions necessitate ; also the rota-
tion on one part of a farm may be different than
on the rest, owing to the nature of the soil or
situation. In no case, however, should the rota-
tion be altered so as to violate the principles
laid down above. There are only two ways
in which a rotation may be altered, one is to
grow the same kind of crop two years running,
possibly three in some cases, and the other is
to multiply the number of crops grown — in
other words, say the root land need not all be
under turnips, but part may be under mangels,
part under potatoes, part under cabbages, and
so forth. To return to the first method of
altering the Norfolk rotation. A five or six
years' rotation may be made by allowing the
forage crop to remain down for two or three
years, mowing it the first year and grazing and
mowing it the second and third years. The

14 FARM MANAGEMENT

advantage of this is to lessen the labour bill,
as no cultivation of the land under the forage
crop is required ; furthermore, in the second
and third years more stock can be kept where
this is done. A five years' rotation could also
be made by growing roots two years running
and, if the forage crop remained down two or
three years also, a seven or eight years' rota-
tion results. This duplicating of the roots is
most beneficial on light, chalky soils, as the
double manuring the soil would thus get im-
proves the texture and gives body to such poor
soils. Two corn crops may also be grown in
succession if the land be rich enough ; in fact it
is often necessary to grow a corn crop between
a root crop and barley, because, if the roots
have been well-manured and also fed off on the
land by sheep, getting concentrated food as
well, the soil will be left so rich by the manure
and the droppings of the sheep that it would
cause the barley which follows to be of very
coarse quality, whereas it is essential that bar-
ley be of fine quality for malting purposes.
To prevent this coarseness in the barley, wheat
is grown first, as it can stand a rich soil with-
out harm, and will remove the excessive

FARM CROPS 15

fertility of the soil and leave it in the required
condition for barley.

As regards the second method of altering
a rotation, we have seen that a large number of
crops come under the headings corn, root and
forage crops, and the crops to be selected for
each year of the rotation will vary according to
the climate and soil. For example, mangels
and wheat are at their best in the warm south,
but in the cool north oats and turnips are more
prominent. On reclaimed peat, potatoes, oats,
rye and cabbages should be grown. For heavy
and clayey soils, wheat, beans, mangels and
cabbages are best suited. For light loams,
barley, potatoes and turnips should be grown.
Chalky soils like leguminous crops, such as
peas, lucerne, clover and vetches. Market
prices, of course, greatly influence the crop to
be grown, e.g., if wheat is selling well one would
naturally put as much as possible of the corn
land under wheat ; again, if mutton is fetching
good prices it would be advisable to keep as
many sheep as possible, and one's rotation
would have to be modified accordingly, on the
lines to be indicated later.

There are a number of advantages to be

i6 FARM MANAGEMENT

gained by growing as many different crops
as possible ; the labour bill is lessened, as the
sowing and harvesting of each crop varies
somewhat, thereby providing regular employ-
ment for the farm staff without having to
engage an extra number at any one time ; a
serious loss from insects or plant diseases
attacking any particular crop is avoided ; a
better balance is kept in the food stores of the
soil, as differeht crops take different amounts
of the various food ingredients ; and, what is
equally important, their roots feed at different
depths in the soil, and so do not exhaust any
particular layer. If the season be bad for one
crop it may be good for others. Finally, food is
provided for the stock at all periods of the
year.

On light thin soils, such as the Downs, this
diversity of crops is a prominent feature in the
husbandry, the system here being to keep the
land continually cropped with quick-growing
crops following one another closely, chiefly
forage crops, and feeding them off on the land
by sheep. The advantages of this system of
farming for such soils are, that by keeping the
land continually under crops there is little risk

FARM CROPS 17

of plant food being lost in the water, which
drains so easily from these soils. Again, these
crops give a regular supply of bulky green
fodder, on which sheep can be remuneratively
kept all through the summer, as such soils
cannot grow pastures good enough to provide
sufficient sheep food in the hot months ; finally,
by cropping the arable land in this way, and
continually feeding off with sheep, the soil is
cheaply manured by the droppings of the
animals, and consolidated by their treading,
the result being that the land is got into good
condition to grow a remunerative crop of corn
next year, which it could not otherwise grow at
anything like the cost. By modifications of this
same system sheep are maintained on arable
farms all over the country, but where the land
is heavy, sheep are not suitable, and bullocks
are kept instead, being fattened indoors in
winter and their dung used to manure the
arable land.

Catch Cropping. — We have now con-
sidered the systems on which crops are grown,
but there is one practice that remains to be
referred to, namely, that known as catch
cropping. This is the growth of a quick-

C

i8 FARM MANAGEMENT

growing forage crop, such as trifolium, between
two main crops of a rotation, say between roots
and spring corn. It is chiefly of advantage on
light land that is apt to have a lot of plant food
washed out of it if left bare through the winter,
and the catch crop grown provides useful sheep
food early in the year. It must be got off
early, however, or it will interfere with the
cultivation of the spring corn, and, in any
case, the crop following a catch crop is usually
somewhat inferior than it would otherwise be.
Catch crops are to be regarded as occasional
crops, and should not be allowed to interfere
with main crops. Their greatest utility is after
a hot, dry summer, when the yields of hay,
straw and roots for winter food have been
small, consequently a catch crop giving sheep
food early in the new year will be a useful
supplement to the rapidly diminishing stores of
winter food.

CHAPTER HI

FARM CROPS

(Continued)

Having considered the systems and principles
concerned with the growth of crops we come to
a closer study of the crops themselves.

Corn Crops. — Each of the corn crops can
be sown in either autumn or spring, but the
purpose for which they are grown varies with
the time they are sown. Wheat sown in
autumn is sown to produce grain and straw
next summer, but the varieties of oats and
barley, termed winter oats and barley, that may
be sown in autumn, are only sown as catch
crops. Oats and barley when grown for their
grain are sown in early spring ; wheat may
also be sown in early spring, that is, the variety
known as spring wheat, but it is very necessary
to make sure that genuine spring wheat is
used. If the autumn - sown wheat is doing
badly it may be ploughed up and spring wheat
put in its place.

c 2

20 FARM MANAGEMENT

Wheat then being ordinarily sown in
autumn, we will glance at its cultivation. The
clover lea is ploughed up and the land worked
down to a good tilth, which must be firm ; if
the soil be heavy it should not be worked too
deeply before seeding, and then it can be rolled
afterwards to consolidate it. The seed is
drilled, but if the land be too sticky it should
be broadcasted, to avoid the weight of the drill
going over the land. About 3 bushels per
acre are sown, and about 4 quarters grain
and thirty hundredweight of straw is an
average crop. In spring, weeds should be kept
down by horse and hand hoeing, rolling and
harrowing are also advantageous ; if the crop
be too luxuriant at this time, as it may be after
a mild winter, it should be lightly eaten down
by sheep. As wheat follows crops that leave
the land rich, but little manuring is necessary ;
I J cwt. of super, or slag if the land be poor in
lime, may be applied with the seed, and in
spring I cwt. per acre of nitrate of soda is ad-
visable after a hard winter, and in any case
with spring wheat. The stronger soils and
warm climates give the best wheats.

Oats and barley are sown about March, in

FARM CROPS 21

fact as soon as a good seed-bed can be prepared,
which will be dependent on the weather, as
more harm than good can be done by cultivating
land that is too wet. For barley a good seed-
bed is more essential than for either of the
other crops, as barley, being required for
malting purposes, the production of a perfectly
uniform crop of good quality grain is necessary.
If the land cannot be got into good enough
condition to ensure this it would be better to
substitute oats or spring wheat, rather than
produce a crop of barley worth only a low
price. On light, calcareous, or sandy loams
there is less difficulty in getting a good seed-
bed than on the heavier soils, where skilful
management is required to get the requisite
tilth. The remarks in the last chapter respect-
ing the richness of the soil must also be borne
in mind. For barley a shallow, finely-reduced
seed-bed must be produced, to attain which it
is as well to have ploughed only 4 inches deep ;
2-3 bushels of seed are sown and covered with
light harrows, followed by a light rolling.

For oats 5-6 bushels is the usual quantity
to sow, and 2 cwt. super, 2 cwt. kainit, ^ cwt.
nitrate of soda and ^ cwt. sulphate of ammonia

22 FARM MANAGEMENT

is a good manurial dressing. For barley i cwt.
sulphate of ammonia, 2 cwt. super and i cwt.
kainit produces good results. About 33 bushels
per acre is the average yield of barley and
about 42 bushels for oats. Oats prefer the
cooler and moister climates and so are seen at
their best in the north ; lack of moisture is
more detrimental to oats than either of the
other cereals. Barley prefers light, sandy or
calcareous soils and warm climates.

As a forage crop usually has to follow
spring-sown corn the seeds are sown in amongst
it, as already stated, but care must be taken
that they are not sown too early or they may
smother the corn. There is the further dis-
advantage that when the corn is harvested
there is too big a bulk of green stuff in the
butts of the sheaves, which necessitates the
crop being left in the field a longer time
to dry this green stuff than is good for the
corn.

Harvesting. — Wheat should not be al-
lowed to get fully ripe before cutting, but
should be severed when the straw immediately
below the ear begins to assume a yellow tinge.
Barley, on the other hand, requires to be

FARM CROPS 23

thoroughly ripe before cutting, the ears hanging
down and the straw white. Oats, again, must
not get fully ripe or much grain will be shed
in carting ; they should be cut when there is a
light yellow shade noticeable throughout the
field, and when the grains from the greenest
ears can be separated from the chaff by rubbing
in the hand.

Corn is usually cut with the string-binder,
which cuts and ties the corn into sheaves in
one operation ; if, however, much of the corn be
laid, the string-binder will be impracticable and
the reaper will have to be used and the sheaves
tied by hand ; in some cases the scythe will
have to be used also where the corn is very
badly laid. The sheaves are set in stooks
after cutting, each stook consisting of about
twelve sheaves, six a-side, and the stooks so
placed that they get an equal amount of sun on
each side, or the ripening will be uneven.
Barley is sometimes allowed to lie loose instead
of tying in sheaves, and is then fit to cart
sooner. As soon as the sheaves are dry they
are carted to the stack, which may be built in
the open or under a Dutch barn, and in either
case it is essential that the stack should stand

24 FARM MANAGEMENT

on a dry bottom, and preferably a raised one,
to keep away vermin,

Extra labour has to be employed at harvest
time, as the work is too heavy to be dealt
with by the ordinary staff. Such extra assist-
ance may be paid by the day or by piece-
work.

Roots. — The preparation of the land for
roots is much more elaborate than for any
other crop, as not only is it necessary for the
crop itself, but also for the crops that follow,
which would otherwise require a more exten-
sive cultivation than they usually get, and this
it would not be convenient to give them owing
to the short time available before seeding.
Heavy manuring and extensive cultivation for
a root crop is shown by experience to be the
most economical method of preparation for
this and the following crops. The cultivation
of the land begins in autumn, after the corn
has all left, the land being broken up and
dunged, and is then left in a roughly ploughed
state till spring. It is during this period that
the land may be occupied by a catch crop, if it
be a light, quick-draining soil, or if sheep feed
be needed in spring. In the spring a good

FARM CROPS 25

seed-bed is prepared with the aid of the plough,
harrow and roller.

Mangels. — The time of sowing of a root
crop depends on the crop ; for mangels the last
week in April is about the best time, drilling
8 lbs. per acre in rows 2 feet apart. The
seedlings are subsequently thinned out to
suitable distances apart. Horse and hand
hoeing must subsequently be done to keep down
weeds, and this, of course, applies to all root
crops. Mangels are not suitable for feeding
direct to stock, but are kept in clamps, that is,
in heaps covered with straw and earth, to
ripen. They are essentially a cattle food, but
may be given to ewes and lambs. The yield is
about 20 tons per acre. They are the most
nutritious roots we have, and resist drought
better than any others. They like warm
climates and fairly heavy soils. As regards
manure, mangels may get 12-15 ^^^^ per acre
of dung supplemented with 5 cwt. super, 3 cwt.
kainit, and 2 cwt. nitrate of soda ; salt is also
beneficial.

Turnips. — There are three varieties of
turnips, namely, the white turnip, the yellow
turnip and the swede. The white is the least

26 FARM MANAGEMENT

nutritious and the poorest keeper, the swede is
the most nutritious and the best keeper, the
yellow being intermediate in both respects.
The white grows quickest, the yellow next, and
the swede last, so that if some of each variety
be sown a supply is ensured through the winter,
as yellows are ready for folding after the
whites are done, and after the yellows the swedes
are ready. Turnips prefer lighter soils than
mangels, the whites flourishing on poorer soils
than will carry either yellows or swedes, the
swedes requiring better soils than either of the
others. Turnips are suitable for all stock, but
notably for sheep and cattle. ' They are "riot
sown till the end of May or beginning of June,
and so there is ample time to get the land in
first-rate condition. About 3-4 lbs. per acre are
sown, and the usual thinning and hoeing follows.
The average yield is about 20 tons per acre.
The manuring should consist of about 10 tons
per acre of farmyard manure with some 5 cwt.
of super, or partly basic slag.

Potatoes are divided into three main
groups, namely early varieties, main-crop
varieties and late varieties. Deep loams are
necessary to a good crop, and the land must

FARM CROPS 27

be well-tilled. Planting is done from February
to May, the " sets," that is, small tubers or
larger ones cut into two or three pieces each,
being usually planted about a foot apart on the
dung in the rows ; the rows are then split back,
and must be earthed up from time to time or
they lose their shape. About 16 cwt. per acre
of sets is sown, and the average yield is about
8 tons per acre, but it is a very speculative
crop to grow. A suitable manuring would be
10 tons of dung, 5 cwt. of super, i cwt. of sul-
phate of ammonia, and i| cwt. of sulphate of
potash.

It is now getting a common practice,
particularly with early varieties, to "box" the
tubers to be used for seed. The tubers are
placed in shallow boxes or trays, and kept in
well-lit sheds through the winter, with the
result that thick, strong stems develop, and
these tubers, when planted, grow quicker and
are ready for lifting much sooner than others.

Kohl Rabi and kale are two crops grown
to some extent in the southern counties to
provide sheep feed in autumn and early winter,
for which they are very useful. Kohl rabi
does not give such a good bulk as turnips

28 FARM MANAGEMENT

or mangels, but is a better yielder in a dry
summer. The cultivation is similar to turnips.

Rape is a crop often grown for sheep food.
It is similar to the turnip as regards cultivation,
but is more usually grown as a catch crop, par-
ticularly on the Downs.

Cabbages. — Field cabbages are a useful
crop for folding sheep on, and for cutting and
giving green to cows and bullocks as a supple-
ment to other food. They can be folded a
second and sometimes a third time. Ram
breeders particularly favour cabbages. They
have a nutritive value about equal to yellow
turnips. Cabbages are usually sown in autumn
on well-cultivated land, and are ready for use
in spring and summer. They require a heavy
dunging, and super and kainit in addition.
They may also be sown in spring to supply food
from September to Christmas. The seed may
be drilled direct, or plants may be raised from
seed in a specially prepared seed-bed and trans-
planted ; this is more frequently adopted with
spring-sown cabbages. Half an acre of seed-
bed will give enough plants for lo acres. The
smaller varieties are planted 2 feet apart in
the rows and the larger varieties 3 feet.

FARM CROPS 29

Weeds must be kept down by horse and hand
hoeing between the rows, and any plants pulled
up must be replaced from the seed-bed ; those
pulled up should not be put back again, as they
have probably been vitally hurt.

Forage Crops. — Less cultivation is
required for these than for either corn or root
crops. In fact, when sown amongst corn, as is
most frequently the case, especially with clover
and grass seeds, no cultivation at all is in-
volved. Lucerne and sainfoin are two forage
crops grown extensively in the south on chalky
soils to provide food for sheep, and the
crop usually remains down for five to seven
years. Their manurial requirements are phos-
phatic and potassic, and of course lime must be
present. When sowing lucerne about 20 lbs. per
acre is sown, and the annual yield is about 20
tons of green fodder or 5 tons of hay. Sainfoin
is sown at the rate of 56 lbs. of milled seed or
4 bushels of unmilled seed (seed in the husks), and
yields i^ to 2 tons of hay per annum. Vetches
are a crop usually sown in small areas in winter
or spring to provide green forage for all kinds
of stock in spring and autumn respectively, and
are a very useful crop to have on a farm.

30 FARM MANAGEMENT

3^ bushels per acre are sown and about 1 5 tons
is the yield.

Haymaking. — All the forage crops may
be made into hay, but the great bulk of the
hay made on the farm is from the permanent
meadows, which are cut in June as a rule, and
later in the summer a second cutting, called the
aftermath, may be taken. The hay is cut, the
swathes turned and tedded to let the sun dry
them on both sides, then raked into windrows,
and finally into cocks. As soon as dry, the
hay is carted and stacked. If stacked at all
damp it will heat, and may take fire, in which
case a slice should be cut out of the centre
to admit air. Cutting out a slice in this way,
and so dividing the stack into two, is more
effective than merely cutting a hole from the
centre downwards, which is the common
practice.

Silage. — When wet weather makes it im-
possible to cart any forage crop, then it may be
stacked in the wet state to form silage ; heavy
weights must be placed on top of the stack to
prevent air from gaining admission to the mass
and causing it to rot. The silage may be cut
and fed to the stock during the winter, but

FARM CROPS 31

should not be given to cows just before milking,
or its strong odour will taint the milk.

Peas and Beans. — Peas are a very
erratic crop as regards yield, and require
light loams with plenty of lime in them. Both
peas and beans are usually grown instead of
clover in the rotation, as they are leguminous
crops. About 3 bushels per acre are drilled
at the end of February and about 34 bushels
is an average yield. Beans require heavy
soils and, like peas, are very uncertain in
their yield. They are sown in February, but
there is a winter variety that may be sown in
October ; 4 bushels is the usual quantity to
sow, and the yield may be about 4 quarters.
Both peas and beans are excellent cleaning
crops, as they smother out weeds. Farmyard
manure should not be applied to either crop,
but peas should get 4 cwt. of super and beans
6 cwt., and both may get, say, 2 cwt. of a potassic
manure.

In deciding on the crops to be grown on
each particular field the future requirements of
the stock must be kept well in mind. It is
advisable to calculate roughly beforehand what
amount of food will be required during each

32 FARM MANAGEMENT

month of the year, and to arrange to have the
same available, as any deficiency means buying
in food, which, as a rule, is ruinously expensive,
or being forced to sell off some of the stock at
times unfavourable to selling.

Drought. — Calculating supplies beforehand
can, of course, only be done approximately, as
the weather, plant diseases and insects are
always liable to upset one's estimates. The
weather, in particular, when it takes the form of
a summer drought, may have a serious effect
on the supplies of food for the subsequent
winter, and coping with such a contingency
merits consideration here.

Lack of water adversely effects swedes and
turnips very quickly, but not mangels, which
are splendid drought-resisters. To maintain
the supply of moisture for the roots, the land
must be kept well-hoed, not merely for the
purpose of keeping down weeds, but in order to
keep the surface soil in a fine, crumbly state,
as this condition encourages the rise of water
from the subsoil to the upper layers, and so
gives the roots the moisture so indispensable
to them. This renders them more or less
independent of the lack of rain that drought

FARM CROPS 33

causes. Next, as regards the forage crops.
Droughty conditions in the early part of the
year mean a light hay crop, though of some-
what greater nutritive value than it would
otherwise be. When this occurs one has to
consider how the ricks may be supplemented, as
the winter feeding of the stock till next year
relies largely on having sufficient hay, and it is
impossible to cause the hay to give a satisfactory
yield, as can be done with the roots, by means
of hoeing. To supplement the meadow hay it
would be necessary to make into hay any
lucerne or sainfoin one may have growing. It
should be cut just before flowering, or it gives a
woody hay, and requires very careful handling
in making as the leaves quickly wither and drop
off. It gives a valuable and highly nutritious
hay, best adapted for horses, and the aftermath
can be grazed with sheep or cattle. If, by
making these crops into hay, it entails a
deficiency in forage when the pastures fail in
late summer (which these crops were intended
to supplement), then the best remedy is to have
some land under maize, which revels in a hot
summer and can be cut for green fodder from
September till the frost sets in. Another

D

34 FARM MANAGEMENT

method is to buy some cabbage seedlings and
plant them out as soon as possible on well-
manured land ; they soon cover the ground, and
are capital for all stock, serving as a stand-by
when both root and forage crops fail.

When the supply of hay is not plentiful then
more straw than usual will have to be used
during winter in the animals' rations, and con-
sequently, less straw will have to be used
as litter, and such substitutes as peat-moss,
bracken, etc., introduced instead.

Practically nothing can be done to combat
the effects of drought in the case of corn crops,
which under such conditions give low yields.

Permanent Pastures.— As the farming of
this country is tending more and more to the
keeping of stock rather than to grain-growing,
the area of land put under grass increases every
year, but this putting of land down to grass
requires to be done with care and knowledge,
or but poor pastures result.

All kinds of soils are put under permanent
grass, but pastures do best on the heavier rather
than the lighter soils, and as these are the most
expensive to cultivate and the latest in giving a
crop, they are best suited to being converted

FARM CROPS 35

into pasture. The land must be well drained
first, as it does not do to form a pasture on land
that is likely to have stagnant water ; even
mossy and rushy lands may be converted to
sound pasture if well drained. The next pro-
ceeding after draining, if it has been necessary,
is to lime the land, applying from three tons on
the lighter soils to eight on the heavier or more
peaty soils ; this is very necessary, as on some
soils the finer grasses will not flourish if the
land has not been limed.

After draining and liming the land, one
must set about getting it into clean condition
and good heart. The best method of doing
this is to grow a good clean crop of swedes
and feed them off with sheep, getting cake in
addition ; two such crops may be taken if the
land be in very poor condition. A fine seed-
bed has now to be prepared, as grass roots are
very delicate, and some go so short a distance
in search of food that their feeding-ground
must be in a very fine state. After the sheep
have left the ground it is ploughed twice, and
then left till spring, when a fine and firm seed-
bed is produced with harrows and rollers. The
seeds are sown on a still day in April, and

D 2

36 FARM MANAGEMENT

preferably not in dry weather. At the same
time a very light seeding of oats may be sown
to afford shelter to the young plants ; this may
be cut early as forage, and will partly pay the
expense of laying down the pasture. The
distribution of the seeds will be more uniform
if the grass seeds be sown in one direction and
the clover seeds sown separately across them.
Chain harrows follow and cover the seed about
a quarter of an inch deep ; the land is finally
rolled twice to get a firm seed-bed.

Now as to the after-management of the
pasture. The first year a crop of hay is taken
for preference, and then any vacant patches
carefully raked over and re-seeded, or the land
may be lightly stocked with young cattle, but
not before the flowering stems appear. Vacant
spots would then be re-seeded in the spring ;
this re-seeding is also necessary to avoid moss
growing, which must always be kept out of
pastures. On no account should lambs be put
on new pasture instead of cattle, as they injure
and pull up a lot of plants, particularly the
young, tender seedlings. Early in the first
winter and, again, in the following spring, the
pasture should be rolled and, in the second

FARM CROPS 37

year, grazed with young cattle and 8 to 1 2 tons
of well-made compost may be applied. In the
third year, grazing with young cattle in spring
is advisable, and in autumn, sheep may be
admitted. In the fourth year the pasture may
be regarded as established, and either sheep or
cattle put on, but if the former, let the grass
have a good start in spring.

In future the pasture must be kept well
grazed, any rough grass left after summer
should be eaten off by bullocks. If there be
an excess of grass, as in a wet summer, the
stock ought to be removed for a few days and
the grass mown, then the pasture can be left
unoccupied for a few weeks and a good after-
math will result.

In composing the mixture of grasses and
clovers that are to be sown for a permanent
pasture, it is well to ascertain what grows best
in the neighbourhood, and give them a pro-
minent place in the mixture. But seeds that
only grow well on much better soil than that to
to be laid down should not be included to any
extent, as they will not flourish. Any of the
first-class seed firms will supply a mixture
suitable to the particular soil concerned.

38 FARM MANAGEMENT

There has been a great change in recent
years in the manuring of grass land ; lime and
well-rotted dung were universally used, but
now basic slag is superseding them, and with
excellent results. Slag not only supplies
phosphates and lime to a soil, but by its
notable encouragement of the leguminous
plants, namely the clovers, it increases the
supply of nitrogen to the soil. The amounts
of slag applied vary according to the nature
of the grass, but 7 cwt. per acre applied, say,
every seven years, has excellent effects, and
some 5 cwt. of kainit may also be added,
particularly on the lighter soils.

The pasture will, of course, receive con-
siderable manuring from the stock grazed on it,
and this manure requires to be spread from
time to time by light harrows. Pastures also
require to be rolled regularly.

For rheadows the following is a very
effective annual dressing : — 12 tons per acre of
dung every third year and, in intervening years,
apply i^ cwt. each of nitrate of soda, basic
slag and superphosphate. If no dung be
available, then apply an extra hundredweight of
both super and kainit, and an extra ^ cwt. of

FARM CROPS 39

nitrate of soda. These manures are not to be
applied at the same time ; the slag, which is to
be preferred to the super on the sourer and
more clayey soils, should be applied in January,
the kainit in autumn, the super in early spring,
and the nitrate of soda not till growth com-
mences.

CHAPTER IV

MANURES

The prime object of manuring is to supply
to the soil something it lacks, to enable it to
produce crops of the quantity and quality
desired. Obviously then, we must know what
it is the soil lacks. Now the plant feeds on
certain chemical substances it gets from the
soil and the air. It has been ascertained, by
research, that there are only four of these
substances of which the soil is likely to be
depleted by the continued growth of crops ;
consequently, to the farmer, the whole subject
of manuring resolves itself into maintaining the
supply of these particular four substances in the
soil. The other substances need not concern
him, as the supply of them is always sufficient.
The four substances we have to consider
may be termed nitrates, phosphates, potash
and lime, and the growth of any crop is largely
dependent on an adequate supply of these in

MANURES 41

an *' available " form, that is to say, available
to the plant, which they can only be if they are
soluble in water or in the acid sap which plant
roots exude, as plants can only absorb fluids
and not solids. For example, it is possible for
a soil to be rich in potash and yet require
applications of a manure supplying potash ; this
is because the potash in the soil is in an
** unavailable " state, that is to say, it exists in
the form of a chemical compound which will
not dissolve, and so is useless to the plant.

Nitrates require additional notice as, owing
to their being readily soluble, they are easily
lost in the drainage waters leaving land if it
is not under a crop. Further, under certain
conditions they are converted to the gas
ammonia, and this passes away into the air and
so is lost.

It is not intended here to give details of the
different manures available, as there is already
ample literature to be had concerning them, but
a classification of them is necessary.

All manures fall into one or other of the
following classes : —

(i) Nitrogenous manures, which supply
nitrates only, are nitrate of soda and sulphate

42 FARM MANAGEMENT

of ammonia. The former acts very quickly,
being readily soluble in water, and so this
manure is only applied to crops as a top
dressing when they are coming up, and its
effects are quickly seen in increased herbage.
Sulphate of ammonia acts more slowly, and is
sown with the seed ; it is preferable to nitrate
of soda on wet land or for use in wet weather.

(2) Phosphatic manures, supplying phos-
phates only, are superphosphate, basic slag,
and bones. Superphosphate is the most
quickly available, and so suited where prompt
results are required. Slag is more slowly
available, and most of the bone manures take
some time to become available.

(3) Potash manures, which supply potash
only, are kainit, sulphate of potash and
muriate of potash.

(4) Manures supplying lime only are lime-
stone, chalk, ground lime, quicklime and
slaked lime.

(5) General manures, which supply all the
necessary compounds, are farmyard manure,
guano (this contains principally phosphates,
with small amounts of the other ingredients),
fish manure, soot, dried blood, etc.

MANURES 43

(6) Partially general manures are nitrate of
lime and nitrolim, both of which supply both
nitrates and lime. Basic slag, though usually
regarded as a phosphatic manure, really
belongs to this class, as it contains lime.
Bones also contain small quantities of the
other substances.

Some of the manures perform other duties
as well as those indicated above. For example,
the soda of nitrate of soda helps, by chemical
reaction, to bring into use unavailable potash.
Lime is the best check for insect attacks and
plant diseases we have, also for sweetening
sour land, for breaking down clays, and for
converting nitrogenous vegetable and animal
matter in the soil to available nitrates. Farm-
yard manure, if applied when fresh to heavy
soils, opens them up by admitting air, and if
applied when well rotted to light, sandy soils it
gives them *'body," and a greater capacity to
hold water and therefore plant-food.

The basis of all manuring is farmyard
manure, and all other manures are to be
regarded purely as supplements to it. Farm-
yard manure is produced on every farm, and as
it cannot be allowed to accumulate it must be

44 FARM MANAGEMENT

put on the land as a manure, and is really the
returning to the land much of what the crops
have taken from it. All, however, that has
been taken from the land cannot be returned
to it, as a great deal leaves the farm in the
form of flesh and crops, and it is the object of
artificial manures to make up this deficiency.

All the crops grown on the farm may
receive a dressing of dung, but the bulk of the
dung available is usually applied to the root
crop, partly because it does not take much from
the soil, and partly because the plant-food
contained in dung is not quickly available, so
that a great deal of it is left in the ground for
the benefit of the corn crop that follows and
also for future crops. As, however, there is
not enough dung produced on a farm to supply
all the wants of the crops, the question arises as
to how the artificials are to be used as supple-
ments, and this is answered by the fact that
each kind of crop requires more of one food
constituent than of the others. The corn crops
require nitrates in particular ; the root and
forage crops, phosphates ; and potatoes, potash.
Knowing what each crop requires most, the
artificials are applied accordingly ; but each

MANURES 45

crop will also require a smaller quantity of each
of the other ingredients, or the balance of plant
food in the soil will be upset. For example, if
corn receives a good dressing of nitrates in the
form of nitrate of soda, it will take from the
soil a corresponding amount of phosphates and
potash to meet its increased growth, and to
allow for this one must supply phosphates and
potash along with the nitrate of soda or the soil
will become unduly depleted of them. Or the
soil may not have enough to meet the demand,
and so the nitrate of soda is wasted, as it can
produce no extra growth if enough of the
other constituents are not available to help it.

The actual quantities of manures to be
applied to different crops will vary with the
nature of the soil, and will have to be regulated
accordingly. The quantities mentioned in the
last chapter are typical examples for securing
full crops on average soils. Manurial experi-
ments and chemical analysis of the soil furnish
the most reliable information as to what
manuring is required for the different crops.

We have seen that dung is the mainstay
of the fertility of the soil, therefore it is
necessary to make the most of it, and thereby

46 FARM MANAGEMENT

lessen the artificial manure bill as much as
possible. To get the most out of it, it must be
well-preserved till required, as much of the
plant-food contained in dung, particularly the
nitrates, may be lost in the liquid draining
from the dung-heap and by volatilisation.
Nitrates being the most expensive of the
plant-foods to be replaced by artificials, their
preservation is very necessary.

The ideal way to preserve dung is under a
covered yard having no drainage from it. Into
such a yard, or yards, all the manure from the
adjacent stables, cow-sheds, loose boxes, etc.,
may be thrown each day ; further, stock may in
winter be fattened in this yard, and their
treading will make a compact mass of the dung.
Such a yard should have a Icement bottom
sloping to a centre, and a light roof of creosoted
narrow planks set about half an inch apart.
Underground drainage from such a yard is quite
unnecesary, as all the liquid will be required to
keep the manure moist ; it is only in the case of
uncovered yards that drainage is justified, owing
to the additional liquid, in the form of rain,
which the manure receives.

If a closed-in yard be not available then the

MANURES 47

dung must be piled in a heap in a convenient
place, starting with a layer of straw, and keeping
the sides of the heap upright, and covered with
a layer of earth to prevent nitrates volatilising
away as ammonia. By forming a heap in this
way there will be less loss of liquid, and what
does drain away may be caught in a shallow
trench surrounding the heap, with pits at
intervals, from which the liquid may be thrown
back on to the heap from time to time.

Mixing, — In the application of artificial
manures care must be taken not to mix certain
manures together, e.g., lime or slag (which
contains lime) must not be mixed with, or sown
immediately after, dung, or volatilisation of
ammonia takes place. For the same reason
sulphate of ammonia must not be mixed with
slag, although it may safely be mixed with
super or bones. Nitrate of soda may be mixed
with slag, but not with acid manures such as
super. The phosphatic and potassic manures
can be mixed together without injury. Super
and slag are often mixed together, as both are
then more convenient to sow than by them-
selves. In any case, as mixtures of manures
are liable to become lumpy on standing, it is

48 FARM MANAGEMENT

always best to postpone mixing them till just
before they are to be sown.

Buying Manures. — When buying artificial
manures the buyer is legally entitled to receive
a guarantee from the seller that the manure con-
tains a certain percentage of whatever ingredi-
ent the manure is bought for. Neither this nor
the price per ton, however, decides which is the
cheaper of two manures of the same kind. To
determine this divide the price per ton in each
case by the percentage of, say, nitrogen the
manure is said to contain, and the result is the
price of one per cent, of nitrogen in the manure,
or the "unit value," as it is termed. Knowing,
then, the unit value of nitrogen in each of the
manures, you know which is the cheaper of the
two.

This valuation by unit values is of particular
use in determining the value of special com-
pound manures that manufacturers often sell.
Such a manure will be guaranteed to contain
certain percentages of nitrogen, phosphates and
potash, and if these percentages are multiplied
by their unit values, as sold in ordinary artificial
manures, and js. 6d, per ton added for mixing,
you know what the special manure is really worth.

MANURES 49

Further, in valuing manures it is only the
'* available " percentage guaranteed in the
analysis that should be taken into account.
This particularly applies to phosphatic manures,
where the analysis is made to look of greater
value than it really is by the inclusion of the
insoluble phosphates. In the case of slag the
available phosphates are described as '* citric-
soluble " and in the case of superphosphate as
''water-soluble." It is in buying compound
manures that the greatest risk is run of buying
unavailable plant-food, as the makers of these
manures not uncommonly employ substances
that have good percentages of, say, nitrogen but
in a very unavailable form.

Liming requires separate notice, as it is
usually done apart from the general scheme of
manuring. Lime is not applied to soils merely
as a manure, but also to help to render other
plant-foods more available, to remove sourness
and thereby sweeten the soil, to render clay
land more amenable to cultivation, to kill insects
and to check fungoid diseases of plants. The
commonest forms in which lime is now applied
to land is as ground lime (usually ground quick-
lime), slaked lime (quicklime acted on by water),

E

50 FARM MANAGEMENT

or compost (earth mixed with quicklime which
becomes slaked).

Much less liming is now done than hitherto
owing to the popularity of basic slag, which
contains considerable lime and also supplies
phosphates ; on rough moorland pastures its
action has been very marked, and on grass land
generally it is largely superseding lime.

Broadly speaking, lime should be applied on
arable land to the root crop, and at the rate of
about lo cwt. per acre, applied in autumn and
ploughed in with the stubble. On sour or
peaty soils, or those affected by finger-and-toe
disease, much larger dressings are necessary.

CHAPTER V

HORSES

The number of horses kept on a holding for
farm work is largely determined by the amount
of arable land there is, as it is the working of
this for which horse labour is primarily required.
Roughly speaking, one team of horses is re-
quired for every 50-60 acres of arable. A team
consists of two, three or four horses according
to the nature of the soil, as the heavier the soil
the more horses will be required per team.

Cart-horse breeding cannot very well be
gone in for on arable farms, and is best confined
to farms having a fair proportion of ordinary
grass land, not rich, fattening grass, but bone
and-muscle-forming pasture. Breeding heavy
cart horses undoubtedly pays best ; they should
be sound, big and well-proportioned horses, and
are at their best at five to six years old. If
horse-breeding is to be gone in for on a mixed

E 2

52 FARM MANAGEMENT

farm, then the bulk of the horses kept to do
the work should be breeding mares. They
should be put to the stallion at such time as
will cause them to give birth to their foals when
the greater part of the spring work of plough-
ing, sowing, etc., is over, and so no incon-
venience will be caused by their being laid up
at that time ; further, there is plenty of young
sweet grass available for the mare, which is
productive of a copious milk-supply.

Where horses are to be bred from, size in
the brood mare is as important as size in the
sire, as then good-sized offspring are more
likely to result, such being more valuable and
fetch better prices. Mares with roomy bodies,
broad hips and free from any internal defects
are best for breeding from ; fat mares are not
desirable. Mares are first put to the stallion
when fully developed, that is, at three to four
years old. Many however are covered at two
years old, and such are often sure breeders,
but it is apt to retard their growth ; though
this may be guarded against by giving them a
thoroughly liberal and nutritious diet, so that
the mare may support her foal without interfer-
ing with her own growth. Breeding from old

HORSES 53

mares is not to be recommended, as their off-
spring are usually small and enfeebled. .

Mares in foal should be kept at moderate
work till within a few weeks of foaling, but no
hard work should be performed, such as back-
ing, which strains the abdomen too much. Too
severe exertion, or bad food, may cause a mare
to abort. A little linseed or Barbadoes aloes
before foaling keeps the mare's bowels open,
and bran mashes bring up the milk if she is
likely to be a poor milker. Foaling should
take place in a clean, disinfected loose box ;
someone should be in constant attendance, as
any difficulty in giving birth may be serious for
both mother and foal if no help be available.

For five to six weeks after foaling the mare
and her foal should run loose on short, sweet
grass. After this the mare must resume her
work, the foal being put in a loose box, and the
mare allowed to see it every two hours, so that
the foal can get its mother's milk frequently ;
long waits being productive of scour in the
youngster. The foal will now soon learn to eat
if some finely-broken linseed cake be left in its
box. When about four months old the foal is
gradually weaned, and is then put in a straw-

54 FARM MANAGEMENT

yard or loose box for a few days with two or
three others for preference, as they flourish
better in company ; they are fed on cut grass
with a little bran and oats. Next the
youngsters are turned out to grass, but it must
not be rich grass or they will gorge themselves.
The foal being now deprived of its mother's
milk, will require something in addition to the
grass, or it may become lean and pot-bellied.
At the same time anything that will fatten the
animal must be avoided, as it is flesh and bone
that is wanted at this stage, and for this
purpose ground oats are Tbest, and should be
given sparingly at first.

During their first winter foals are best
running loose, with a shed to retire to, and the
grass can be supplemented with a mixture of
cut hay, bran and bruised oats, the whole
moistened with treacle and given in three meals
a day, long hay for the nights should also be
provided ; further, a hot mash on cold evenings
will be very beneficial. When about a year old
the colts must be gelded.

The foal spends the summer following at
grass, but getting a meal morning and evening
in spring till the grass is well up. In the

HORSES 55

autumn the foal Is broken in and put to light
work, preferably yoked with a steady old horse.
Next summer he again spends at grass, and in
the autumn should be put to regular work and
kept at it.

Now as regards the feeding and manage-
ment of working horses. Horses are brought
indoors as soon as the pastures fail, that is,
about the end of September, and put on a
winter ration of oats and hay chiefly, but many
other things are also used as a substitute for
these, such as maize, beans and straw, also
roots are good for them. A typical ration
would be : — 12 lbs. of hay, 5 lbs. of oat straw,
6 lbs. of oats, 5 lbs. of maize and 2 lbs. of
beans. About the beginning of May the horses
are turned to grass, and two or three days be-
forehand their corn ration should be reduced
and cut grass and hay added. If turned out
hungry to succulent grass a bad attack of colic
may supervene. Some crushed oats and chaff
should be given them during seeding and root
preparation, when the work they are called
upon to perform is more strenuous than usual.

Horses should always be watered before,
and not after, feeding, as in the latter case the

56 FARM MANAGEMENT

water washes the food out of the stomach before
it is properly digested.

There are but three breeds of cart horses
kept in this country, namely, the Clydesdale in
the North, the more massive Shire in the South,
and the sturdy little Suffolk Punch in the
Eastern counties.

CHAPTER VI

CATTLE

There are several systems in vogue concern-
ing the management of cattle. First there is
the system of buying cows just before or after
calving, and feeding them to produce as much
milk as possible, and at the same time to get
them fat for the butcher in about twelve
months. No breeding is done, and the cows
often cost three or four pounds more when
bought than when sold. This method is pur-
sued on farms near large cities having little or
no arable land. The ground is often poor but
highly rented, owing to its natural advantages
for milk-selling.

On cheese farms a breeding herd of cows is
kept ; all calves are sold at a week old, except
the best heifer calves, which are kept for future
use in the herd. The cows are spring calvers.

On farms having a lot of grass and a fair

58 FARM MANAGEMENT

amount of arable, stores are bought about one
and a half years old in autumn, and cheaply
and fairly well kept during the winter and
then fattened on grass in summer, with or
without cake.

On arable farms cattle are bought at a
somewhat older age than above, in autumn,
and fattened during the winter in yards. In
this system the cattle consume about half the
roots grown on the farm and the sheep eat the
other half.

On rich grazing lands, fetching, say, 505".
per acre, stores may be bought in spring and
fattened off on the grass, getting cake in ad-
dition according to the quality of the grass.
The store carcase usually costs more per hun-
dredweight than it sells for, but the system
pays owing to the large increase in weight.

On remote farms, having half pasture and
half arable, a breeding herd is kept and butter-
making practised. The steer calves are sold
at a year old and the heifer calves are kept
and mated at about eighteen months old.
After calving, the best heifers are used to
replace the drafted cows in the herd, and the
rest are sold with their calves at their sides.

CATTLE 59

On farms similar to the above, but possessing
a fair amount of land good enough for grazing,
the same system is followed, but all the calves
are reared, the steers fattened off at two to two
and a half years old on pasture, and also the
heifers not required for breeding purposes.

On high-lying, wet grass farms, such as
Irish and Scottish stores come from, the whole
object is to rear stores and sell them to farmers
who fatten them. All calves are of course
reared, the steers being sold as stores at about
two years old ; a large number of the heifers
are mated, and the calves run with their dams.
The cattle are kept out of doors during winter
and supplied with hay. Sometimes calves are
also bought in to be reared.

There are a number of breeds of cattle, but,
with possibly the only exception of the Short-
horn, each breed is adapted for either milk or
beef production, and not equally for both. The
Channel Island breeds, the Kerries, the Devon
breeds, the Ayrshires and Holsteins are the
great milk-producing breeds. The three first
mentioned are noted for giving a rich milk,
specially good for butter-making, whilst the
Ayrshires are the great cheese-making breed,

6o FARM MANAGEMENT

and the Holsteins are remarkable for the
quantity of milk they yield. The Herefords,
Aberdeen - Angus, Galloway and Highland
breeds are the great beef-producers, the former
being specially adapted for fattening on rich
pastures. The Red Polls and Welsh cattle are
good beefers and fair milkers.

The Shorthorn is by far the most exten-
sively kept breed, and has as great a reputation
as any for both beef and milk. There are
strains particularly good for milk and others
for beef, whilst still others are known as dual-
purpose animals, that is, they are first-rate
milkers and yet fatten well for the butcher
when dry, which is a characteristic lacking in
the Channel Island breeds.

The Kerries, Ayrshires, Galloways and
Highlanders are the breeds most suitable for
rough, exposed farms, as they are extremely
hardy and will flourish on rations that would
be far too scanty for the other breeds.

Calf- Rearing, —The first weeks of a calf's
life are the most critical. It is much better to
feed the calf on whole milk during the first
month, as any temporary gain got from sub-
stitutes will be paid for later on. Assuming it

CATTLE 6i

is winter, the calf should be removed from the
cow in the course of a week and put in a warm,
airy calf pen, well-drained and well-littered ; if a
wooden grating be put on the floor it will
ensure dry lying for the calf. The calves may
be put together in lots, and should be fed three
times a day with milk from their mothers'
udders for choice and given at the new milk
temperature. The quantity should be five
quarts a day, increasing to six by the end of
the month, and the milk given to the calves
direct from the cow without allowing it to stand.

Economy necessitates a change during the
second month. The new milk is gradually
replaced by separated milk, and the quantity
given gradually increased by, say, a couple of
quarts daily. The youngster will now begin to
eat a little solid food, even when three weeks
old hay may be put within its reach. Sweet
unchopped hay is best as the first solid food
for the calf, and presently a little chaff with
just a little of the best linseed cake crumbled
in it.

By the third month the animal's appetite
will be assuming big dimensions ; five quarts of
separated milk are taken in the morning, and

62 FARM MANAGEMENT

as much in the evening with great relish.
Still more solid food will be taken ; linseed
cake, crushed oats, barley, maize and pea meals
are all beneficial to a degree, although good
unchopped hay given ad lib. is probably the
best. A few carrots or swedes may be given
pulped with the chaff.

In the fourth and fifth months there is little
change to make in the meals, only that more
must be gradually supplied and more fresh air
given. The milk is gradually withdrawn and
stopped at five months old, and the food in-
creased thereafter to make up for it ; also
water must be supplied.

It is, of course, only where butter is made
that the separated milk referred to will be
available. On farms where the milk is sold
off whole no separated milk is available as a
rule, and in such cases the calves may be
reared on milk substitutes, the whole milk being
stopped after the first fortnight. Numerous
substitutes for milk have been recommended,
and a good one is three pounds per day of the
following : — two parts linseed cake, one part
crushed linseed, and two parts oatmeal, the
whole mixed with five quarts of boiling water

CATTLE 63

overnight and boiled for a short time next
morning, and salt and sugar added.

All calves are turned to grass about May,
and get a pound or two of linseed cake each
per day. Calves born after August are not
turned to grass till next year, and generally do
well, as they have a start over spring calves.
Calves should be brought into yards in October
or November from the pastures. The winter
the calves are then entering on is a critical
time ; they should be divided into two lots, one
comprising the older and bigger calves and the
other the younger calves only about six months
old. Put the older ones in a strawyard, but
give the younger ones better shelter and feeding
at the homestead; 13 lbs. of roots, 2 J lbs. of
linseed cake, and hay ad lib. will be a good
diet for them, with plenty of water. Early
in May they should be put on rough pasture
till December. In the second winter straw,
roots, and about 4 lbs. of cotton cake should be
given in two meals a day. The third summer
resembles the preceding. The cattle are now
two, to two and a half years old, and may be
steers ready for fattening or in-calvers.

Fattening. — We next come to the fattening

64 FARM MANAGEMENT

of cattle for the butcher. Fattening In yards
is chiefly confined to arable farms, and is done
as much for the purpose of manufacturing
manure as for making a profit out of the
animals themselves ; in fact, it is often found
that the manure is the only profit attaching to
the proceeding. By fattening stock in this
way the roots are consumed which it is
necessary to grow in order to prepare the land
for corn, so that it is really to the corn crop
one must look for the actual profit attaching to
the growth of roots and the fattening of bullocks
on them.

This fattening in stalls or yards is carried
out in winter, the store cattle being bought in
at about 8 cwt. each and fattened for a period
of some three months, and then sold weighing
about 13 cwt. each. The food consists mainly
of roots, oat straw and hay, supplemented with
grain and cake ; a typical daily ration would be
as follows : — i cwt. swedes, 2 lbs. decorticated
cotton cake, 2 lbs. linseed cake, and 14 lbs. oat
straw. The rations, however, vary a good deal
according to the weight of green food available
and the market prices of the purchased food-
stuffs, as, of course, the cheapest should be

CATTLE 65

bought providing the quality is right. The
method of compounding these rations will be
considered later.

The secret of success in bullock-fattening is
to produce the roots and straw as economically
as possible, as they form the bulkof the animal's
food. If it be found that bullock-fattening is
costing too much it is well to seek for the cause
in the methods of growing the roots and corn,
and not to assume the fault lies only with the
food rations or the prices paid and received for
the stock. To put it briefly, the cheaper roots
and corn can be fed to the bullocks the greater
the prospect of profit on their fattening.

The fattening of bullocks on grass is a
system to which a more certain profit attaches.
Bullocks used for this purpose are generally
fattened off at a much younger age than in the
preceding case. They are usually winter-born
calves, well-fed from birth. They are bought
in the early summer for fattening on grass
supplemented with 2 to 3 lbs. of cotton cake
and crushed grain, or they may receive no cake,
and consequently are only half fat by the
autumn, when they are brought inside as the
weather gets colder, and stall-fattened for the

66 FARM MANAGEMENT

Christmas markets. In the latter case the
cattle will run a risk of losing condition if not
given a little cake and corn during the last
weeks at grass, as the pastures will be getting
thin.

To make grass-fattening as profitable as
possible, plenty of attention must be given to
the improvement of the pastures, and all one's
attention not solely devoted to selecting the
best stock and the best food mixtures. Grass
land is, as a rule, always capable of improve-
ment, and it is neither an expensive nor difficult
proceeding, consisting of judicious applications
of artificial manures, notably basic slag, rolling
and chain harrowing at the right times, and
keeping coarse grass eaten down. Improving
the pasture will not, however, appreciably
reduce the cake and corn bill, as these foods
are necessary to balance the grass consumed,
but what it will do is to enable more bullocks
to be kept on the same land. Improving
pastures has the further advantage of being
permanent, and so the benefit is reaped year
after year.

" Baby " Beef. — There is a considerable
and increasing demand for small joints of beef

CATTLE 67

by dwellers in towns, and it is a demand worth
catering for. To do so one must aim at rearing
what may be termed ''baby" beef, in other
words, the cattle must be got ready for the
butcher at from one to one and a half years old,
instead of from two to three years old. The
economy of this is evident when one realises
that it results in the saving of one to two years'
keep, a very important item. This young beef,
however, is scarcely equal in quality to older
meat, it is fatter and less tasty ; but as these
small joints find a ready sale to the butcher,
and are cheaply produced, they are well worth
going in for.

To produce this young beef sound, well-bred
stock, of a strain that can be relied on as good
doers, are necessary. Any good beef-producing
breed will do, but the best are a cross between
the Shorthorn and the Galloway or Aberdeen-
Angus, the progeny being termed Blue-greys.
The calves must be fed extra v/ell from birth,
and no milk substitutes should be used in their
younger days ; they should be given whole milk
till weaning and a little meal in addition. Their
subsequent diet of roots, hay and straw should
be supplemented with good linseed cake.

F 2

68 FARM MANAGEMENT

Cross-Breeding for Beef. — The study of
the characteristics of the various breeds provides
knowledge that can be put to good account in
catering for the beef market. No one breed
possesses all the characteristics of an ideal
beefer ; some excel in quality, others in size,
others in early maturity, etc., therefore, to get
as near the ideal as possible the qualities of
different breeds must be combined by crossing
one with another.

We have already referred to the Blue-grey,
which is probably one of the most noted crosses
for fattening purposes. The cross is most
popular on the Borders, where the Shorthorn
bull is used on Galloway heifers, as Galloway
heifers are cheaper to keep than Shorthorns.
Further north the Aberdeen-Angus are the
heifers used. Blue-greys are splendid fatteners
under rough conditions, and combine the
quality of the Galloway beef with the quick-
maturing and fattening properties of the Short-
horn. It should be noted, however, that
breeding Blue-greys with each other results in
inferior progeny ; in fact, it may be taken as a
general principle, that it is never advisable to
mate any cross-bred stock.

CATTLE 69

Amongst dairy herds of Ayrshires, both
Shorthorn and Aberdeen-Angus bulls are liked,
as the progeny is bigger than the Ayrshire and
fattens better for both beef and veal. The
Red Poll bull and Shorthorn is a reliable cross.
Bulls of the Hereford breed have such great
prepotent powers that they always stamp any
inferior breed with their splendid fattening
qualities. The Devon and Aberdeen-Angus
cross is also good, and for small cross-breds
the Dexter and Aberdeen-Angus gives very
satisfactory results.

Herds belonging to no particular breed can
be ** graded " into practically pure stock by the
regular use of pedigree bulls of the breed whose
qualities are most desired, and using only the
best heifers for breeding from.

In selecting a bull for beef-production, the
great qualities it should be able to impart to its
offspring are early maturity, hardy constitu-
tion, high quality meat, and the capacity to
produce the maximum of flesh with the mini-
mum of food, as it is this latter point which
determines the profit of fattening.

Cows. — First as to calving cows. In-calf
cows, in winter, should be turned out each day

70 FARM MANAGEMENT

for a drink and some exercise, as it is bad for
both cow and calf to keep the cow confined
indoors all day. The food at this time should
be chiefly hay, straw and turnips, but if roots
and hay are not plentiful, give 2 to 3 lbs. of
linseed cake per day. The average cow will
consume about 9 lbs. of hay and about 25 lbs.
of roots per day. It is one of the axioms of
farming that animals with young should not
be fed richly before calving ; in the case of
cows it is apt to result in milk fever. As
cows near their time, and when the weather
will be improving, it is as well to turn them on
to rather bare pasture. A week before calving,
however, bring them inside and feed chiefly on
hay, supplemented with a little bran and treacle.
A month or two before calving, the cows
become dry ; should they not do so, however,
as happens not infrequently, then they should
be dried off by milking less and less each
day.

The method of letting a cow calve in a loose
box, rather than tied up in a stall, is to be
preferred, as then the calf is attended to natur-
ally. The cow should be put in the box two or
three days before she .is due to calve, and the

CATTLE 71

calf and cow should be left together for three
days in the box.

The summer management of cows next
demands attention. They are turned to grass
towards the end of April or early in June,
according to the district. This transition from
indoor rations to pastures is not, however,
without its dangers. First there is the tendency
to scour, and secondly, though the milk yield
increases in quantity, it does not improve in
quality ; in fact, the proportion of fat in the milk
may possibly fall below the legal limit of 3 per
cent., as the nutritive qualities of grass in
April are comparatively low. Obviously then
the grass must be supplemented with some-
thing else, and undecorticated cotton cake is
the best addition that can be made ; its binding
nature counteracts the laxative tendency of the
grass and prevents scour. The cows must,
of course, come inside at night, and not be left
out permanently till they have become accus-
tomed to the grass and the weather is warmer.
As soon as the grass has attained its full feeding
value the question of concentrates will have to
be reconsidered, and the quantity will depend
entirely on the quality of the grass. Either of

72 FARM MANAGEMENT

the cotton cakes would do, the undecorticated
being best for washy pastures. Crushed oats
and hay are also good, oats, in particular, being
excellent for butter-making cows, as no food
produces such well-flavoured butter as oats.
The cows must, of course, have sufficient
water.

When the pastures fail, that is, about the end
of September, the cows are brought indoors and
put on winter rations, whose composition will
depend on the food-stuffs available. The follow-
ing is an example of such a ration : — 20 lbs.
mangels, 30 lbs. hay and 2^- lbs. decorticated
cotton cake.

Improving Cows. — Considerable improve-
ment is often possible in many dairy herds,
because although an average yield of 600
gallons per annum is regarded as satisfactory,
yet it is by no means uncommon for individual
cows to yield 1000 gallons and upwards.
Evidently then there is scope for improvement.

The first step to take in improving a herd is
to institute milk records, if they are not already
in vogue. Records of every cow's daily yield
should be kept on every dairy farm, as they
enable the farmer to select with exactness the

CATTLE 73

heifer calves from his deepest milkers for sub-
sequent retention in the herd. Though it is not
definitely certain, there is, nevertheless, every
probability that the progeny of a deep-milking
cow will also develop deep-milking qualities.
It is, however, equally necessary that the
maternal ancestors of the bull used in the herd
should have been noted deep-milkers. The
bull's mother, and father s mother in particular,
should be known to have been heavy milkers.
Shorthorn bulls are the most widely used
amongst dairy herds, and in the majority of
cases cannot be improved upon, as a Shorthorn
bull from a good milking strain not only begets
good milkers, but also cows that fatten off well
after their milking days are over.

Concluding Remarks.— Cows require
careful management or the effect will soon
be seen in a diminished milk yield. Their
milk-producing organs should be well-developed
by careful and thorough milking of the young
cow, every drop of milk being stripped from
her at each milking-time.

In the feeding of dairy cows each individual
animal should be studied, and rations given her
which will keep her milk yield up to its highest

74 FARM MANAGEMENT

pitch. The milk records will show the effects
of different rations, and the cows' highest limit
of quantity and quality can soon be determined,
beyond which any extra food is superfluous,
and every cow has her limit in this respect. It
is poor policy to adopt a fixed ration for all
cows, big and little, as it will result in some
cows never' getting enough and others" more
than they need.

The usual age for putting cows to the bull
is two years old, though it may be as low as
fifteen months, but heifers must be strong and
well-grown to be mated so early, as it is liable
to retard their growth. Many heifers are
mated at eighteen months old, and it is a
further incentive to aim at improvement in the
herd when it is possible to produce well-grown
heifers of sound constitution which will stand
this early mating, and thereby earn their living
earlier.

CHAPTER VII

SHEEP

There are three systems of sheep-farming,
namely, keeping a permanent flock, keeping a
temporary flock, and buying sheep to fatten.

A permanent flock is kept on a regular
sheep farm, which is usually of light land, the
useless ewes in the flock being replaced each
year by others bred on the same farm. The
annual produce from the flock may be either
sold as early fat lamb, or summer-fattened on
rape, or fattened on turnips and sold in the
following spring, or sold as summer-fat in their
second summer.

Temporary flocks are kept on farms that are
not really adapted to sheep-farming, the land
being usually too heavy to carry sheep profit-
ably all the year round. The ewes are bought
in summer and put to the ram according to the
time lambs are wanted, the ewes being -finally

76 FARM MANAGEMENT

sold fat the following summer after shearing.
The produce may be sold as early fat lamb, or
summer-fat lamb, or if there be sufficient roots,
they may be held over till the following spring
and sold after clipping.

The buying of sheep to fatten is gone in
for on arable farms where there is not sufficient
pasture to keep sheep long, and where the seeds
are put down for one year and sold off as hay.
The sheep are bought in the autumn and
fattened on turnips during the winter. On
heavy clay soils the winter folding of sheep does
more harm than good, tending, as it does, to
the further consolidation of soil that is already
too heavy, hence such farms are not adapted to
sheep.

Sheep-farming has many advantages. In
the first place the keeping of sheep reduces
the labour bill to a minimum, as sheep largely
consume their food where it is grown and also
deposit their manure on the land direct. Sheep
are also excellent distributors of manure, and
are much better in this respect than cattle, who
drop their manure in large lumps. Further, the
food fed to sheep has a higher manurial value
than it would have if fed to any other stock.

SHEEP 11

On light arable farms sheep are absolutely
necessary, as their constant manuring of these
poor soils is the only means by which corn crops
can be profitably grown on them. Further
advantages are that mutton usually sells for
more than beef, and moreover, sheep give
wool.

Flock Management — In describing the
system of management of sheep, we will assume
a permanent flock in early July. In addition to
the flock of ewes, at this period there will be the
lambs born this year, and also some shearlings
from last year's crop of lambs. The first thing
to be done is the drafting of the ewe flock, that
is to say, the removal from the flock of all ewes
that, for one reason or another, such as age,
disease, etc., are not suitable to remain. These
drafted ewes are sent to the market and sold,
and their places taken by the best shearling
ewes available. If there are not enough good
shearlings to make up the number of the flock,
then a bunch should be bought in, at a deplen-
ishing sale if possible, rather than use indifferent
shearlings, as poor quality in a ewe is passed on
from generation to generation, and it costs as
much to keep poor stock as good, yet the

78 FARM MANAGEMENT

prices realised for them are by no means the
same.

Shortly after drafting, and about five weeks
after shearing, when the wool will be about half
an inch long, the sheep are dipped to destroy
parasites, such as lice, maggots, etc. This
dipping is compulsory by law, and returns must
be made to the authorities. Dipping is best
done in a narrow swim-bath, and care must be
taken that the sheep swallow none of the dip,
as most of the sheep dips sold are highly
poisonous. Each sheep is kept in the bath for
about a minute ; it should be cool and rested
before dipping and left quiet for a little time
after. After dipping, the sheep are turned on
old pasture, or ** seeds " that have not yet
carried sheep.

The next important item is the mating of
the sheep. The ewes are put to the ram
between August and October, according to the
district and as to when the lambs are required.
About a month before mating the ewes are
turned on to aftermath, rape or kale to ** flush "
them, which causes them to take the ram
better.

The pregnant ewes, if on an arable farm,

SHEEP 79

will now have to go on turnips and will get a
little sweet hay and linseed cake in addition.
If rough grass be available it is best to turn
them on to it, and they may get turnips and
cake, but no hay. It is very advisable to keep
ewes comparatively poor till lambing time, as if
brought into anything like high condition too
many deaths will result amongst the lambs.
Too much hay is liable to get ewes into too
good condition, and when this seems to be
resulting straw should be given instead. Ewes
with lamb must, of course, be treated gently
and not be excited by over-driving, etc.

Ewes are lambed in the open in the south,
if dropped after March ; if before, they are
lambed in small pastures, with sheds divided
into pens by hurdles filled with straw. In the
north the ewes are brought into the stackyard
and lambed.

For about three days after lambing the
ewes and their lambs should be in coops, and
given roots, hay, and a little linseed cake.
The next three days should be spent in a
strawyard, and then turn them on to meadow
grass and ''seeds," failing which, roots or rape,
if the lambing takes place before March.

8o FARM MANAGEMENT

As far as possible the ewes with twins
should be put on the better pasture, otherwise
they should get cake in addition to the grass.
If the fields are not sufiFiciently sheltered for
the lambs, then thatched hurdles or boxes, with
their backs to the wind, should be provided to
give shelter. At three weeks old the male
lambs are castrated and their tails docked.

About June, when the lambs will be four-
teen weeks old, they are weaned. After
weaning put the ewes on the poorer pastures
to dry up their udders. The lambs are dipped
and put on sweet herbage that has not carried
sheep for some time. A little later they may
go on to rape or kale and get dry food as well.
The wether and ewe lambs should be separated
as winter approaches. The wethers may be
fattened in winter and sold fat in March after
clipping. Sheep as a rule should be washed
before being shorn, in order to clean the wool,
the washing being done in a pond, stream or
tank, each sheep being thrown into the water
and kept there for about a minute.

Early Lamb. — The earlier lambs can be
put on the market, the more profitable they are.
In the production of early lamb four principles

SHEEP 8i

must be adhered to. First and foremost the
flock must possess the inherent quality of early-
maturity ; secondly, the rams used must come
from a breed noted for maturing quickly ;
thirdly, mating at as young an age as is safe
must be adopted ; and finally, that great essen-
tial to all successful breeding must be attended
to, namely, the food. This, in brief, is the
science of early maturity.

The characteristic of coming to maturity
early is natural to all the Down breeds, to
many well-known crosses, and also to some of
the more northern breeds, such as the Shrop-
shires. Any flock can, however, be caused to
give quicker maturing lambs by working on the
followino^ lines. Use rams of a breed known
to be early maturers and use them at as young
an age as possible, keep the flock of ewes a
young one by drafting out ewes on the score
of age earlier than usual. Intensive feeding
should be adopted by giving plenty of rich and
easily digested food from birth, but taking care
that the animals' health is not affected, as is
liable to occur with injudicious forcing. This
intensive feeding must be adopted gradually,
going in for it more strongly each year

G

8a FARM MANAGEMENT

according as the in-bred capacity for early
maturity increases in the flock.

The actual feeding varies in the north and
south. In the former the whole flock goes on to
swedes and young grass as soon as available,
but in the south swedes are the diet, and sub-
sequently the flock is folded on a variety of
winter-grown forage crops, often moving from
one crop to another two or three times a day.
In either case concentrates are added, and it
is more conducive to quick fattening to give a
mixture of a number of food-stuffs, such as
decorticated cotton cake, linseed cake, maize,
peas, locust beans, crushed oats and malt
combs.

By the above method lambs can be
marketed at anything from three to twelve
months old, and at the youngest age men-
tioned it is quite possible for them to weigh
hve stones each, or three stones dead weight.

Cross-Breeding. — There are some twenty
breeds of sheep in this country, each breed
being particularly adapted to its own locality.
It is always risky to introduce a flock be-
longing to a breed from another district ; in
fact, when taking over a farm it is not only

SHEEP 83

advisable to keep the breed of sheep indigent
to ahe neighbourhood but, if possible, the flock
already on the farm should be purchased, as
sheep do better on their own land than else-
where. In Scotland this latter fact is very much
appreciated, and substantial value attached to it
by insisting on an " acclimatization value " being
paid for a flock taken over by a new tenant,
this being additional to the price of the flock.

Whilst, however, it does not do to introduce
ewes of a breed foreign to the locality there
are, nevertheless, great possibilities in crossing
breeds of sheep, owing to the large number of
breeds there are. For securing stock of good
fattening capacity crossing is far more widely
practised amongst sheep than amongst cattle
and pigs.

In the north there are two breeds which are
very prominent for crossing purposes amongst
mountain flocks, they are the Border Leicester
and Wensleydale breeds. The mountain breeds,
the Blackfaces and Cheviots, give too small a
carcase to be readily profitable, but the mutton
is of high quality ; by using rams of the two
breeds mentioned, however, size and quick
fattening are combined with the quality of

G 2

84 FARM MANAGEMENT

the mountain breeds. The Border Leicester
and Cheviot cross is larger than the Border
Leicester and Blackface cross, but the quality
of the mutton is said to be not quite as high.
Wensleydales are used on Blackfaces, in prefer-
ence to Border Leicesters, where the Blackfaces
are bigger and leaner. What are known as
Mashams are the produce of the Wensleydale
and Blackface cross, and are extensively kept
for fattening.

These crosses can also be advantageously
carried a step further, by mating the half-bred
ewe with the Border Leicester ram, the result
being lambs noted for the fat lamb market.
Wensleydales on Mashams give a high quality
of lean mutton.

Oxford Down rams are sometimes used on
the half-breds mentioned above to avoid the
fattiness in the meat that is liable to result
when Border Leicesters are used.

Down breeds are such splendid early
maturers that they are largely used amongst
Border Leicester, Clun Forest and Welsh
sheep, especially Suffolk Down and Shropshire
rams. Shropshire rams on Dorset Horns give
very early-maturing lambs, in fact, for fat lamb

SHEEP 85

the Shropshire cross Is one of the best. South-
downs are much used in Kent and Suffolk for
producing mutton of high quality in the local
flocks ; on almost all breeds Southdowns give
excellent results. Hampshire Down ram
lambs are splendid for crossing with other
breeds to get prime mutton. Cotswold rams
are excellent for crossing with sheep on poor
soils in order to secure size, fleshiness, hardi-
ness, early maturity and better wool.

"Wool is a secondary consideration with
the British flock-master, to whom meat is the
prime object in keeping sheep, and consequently
he does not specially breed and rear sheep for
their wool, particularly as the competition is so
keen, notably from Australia.

Our different breeds vary a great deal in
the quality and quantity of wool they yield.
The largest yielders of wool are the Leicester,
Lincoln, Wensleydale and Cotswold breeds ;
much coarser wool is given by the mountain
breeds, but in this respect they are much
improved when crossed with Border Leicesters
or Wensleydales. The best quality of wool,
but the shortest in the staple, is given by the
Down breeds.

CHAPTER VIII

PIGS

Pigs are to be regarded as more of a side line
on a farm than as part of the regular system.
They are such an up-and-down trade that it
only pays to keep them where there are waste
products they can consume, which could not be
put to use in any other way. Whey and sepa-
rated milk are the chief waste products used for
feeding pigs, consequently pigs are kept most
extensively on farms where butter or cheese is
made.

There are some half-dozen breeds of pigs,
some, like the Middle White, being noted for
their pork, and others, like the Tamworth, for
their bacon.

The pigs of a district are often closely related
owing to using the same boar, it is therefore
advisable from time to time to use a boar from
another district ; of course this will not apply so

PIGS 87

much where a number of pigs are kept and a
boar solely for them. The boar used should
have the qualities of early maturity, quick
growth, docility of temper, and should be of the
form desired in the offspring. A good boar is
really more essential than a good sow, as the
male has greater powers of transmitting his
qualities than the female. A docile disposition
in the boar is very necessary, as bad temper
is easily transmitted to the offspring, which
adversely affects their fattening. Both boars
and sows are used for breeding when eight
months old.

The brood sow should be good-tempered,
with exceptionally wide hips and long back ; she
should have twelve teats, all likely to give milk
in due course.

Sows are generally mated in April and
October, and during gestation should not be
pampered but allowed to rough it, particularly
keep them from animal food (especially after-
births), as they acquire a taste for eating their
pigs that way. A week before farrowing she
should get sloppy food, which will bring her
milk up, keep her bowels in order and her
blood cool. After farrowing the sow is fed on

88 FARM MANAGEMENT

ground oats, bran and sharps, scalded into a
porridge and mixed with separated milk if
possible. Every day after farrowing the sow
should be made to come out for some exercise,
otherwise her bowels will get constipated. Ten
days after birth the young pigs should be
allowed a run out too. The sow gets three or
four meals a day of sharps and separated milk
at this period. The pigs should be kept warm
and dry in the piggeries with plenty of litter.

The young pigs are weaned at eight weeks
old, and afterwards get four meals a day of
sharps, skim milk and a quarter of an ounce of
cod-liver oil. When three to four months old
add a grain or pea meal also. In spring and
summer green food should be given in addition.

The sow is put to the boar again a few days
after her offspring have been weaned.

Both the male and female pigs, not required
for breeding, should be operated on when six
weeks old to remove the breeding organs,
otherwise they will prove very unprofitable
fatteners.

The practice of running pigs as stores and
then fattening them is losing favour, as it is
found to be far more profitable to fatten them

PIGS 89

as they grow, a fact which is being more freely
recognised with all kinds of stock.

We now have to consider the feeding of
pigs for bacon and pork respectively, and they
are usually put up for this special fattening at
about five months old.

Bacon. — Bacon pigs sell best at not more
than about 210 lbs. live weight. A good bacon
pig should have plenty of "middle," with fine
skin and hair and light quarters.

A good ration for fattening pigs for bacon
would be 6 lbs. of boiled potatoes mixed with
6 lbs. of equal parts of bran, pea meal and
ground oats.

Pork. — Pigs for pork are killed at about
100 lbs. live weight, though it varies con-
siderably in different districts. A more com-
pact and more-quickly growing animal than
that liked for bacon pigs is preferred for
porkers.

A suitable ration for fattening a porker
would be I gall, of whey, 4 lbs. of ground
oats, and i lb. of pea meal.

CHAPTER IX

FEEDING

This book would be incomplete without refer-
ence to the principles that underlie the composing
of rations for stock, which is such an important
item in farm economy. * : . •:

We have seen that the bulk of an animals
food consists of root and forage crops, but for
the economical fattening of stock, grain and
purchased food-stuffs have to be added, and the
question one has continually to answer is what
kind of food-stuff and how much must be added
to the root and forage crops. This question is
largely decided on the chemical analysis of the
food-stuff which must, by law, be supplied by the
seller. The constituents of the food-stuff named
in the analysis may be divided into those
containing nitrogen and those which do not, and
it is the ratio these two bear to each other
which has to be considered in making up rations.

FEEDING 91

The constituents containing nitrogen are
named the albuminoids, and those which do not
consist of the carbo-hydrates (starch, sugar,
cellulose, etc.), the fats and oils and the ash.
The chief vocation of the albuminoids is the
maintenance of lean flesh or muscle in the body,
and it is only from them it can be formed. The
carbo-hydrates and fats and oils supply energy
by their combustion, and also are stored up as
fat. There is, however, just this difference
between the carbo-hydrates and the fats and
oils ; fats and oils are in a sense concentrated
carbo-hydrates, because weight for weight they
are nearly two and a half times more valuable
than carbo-hydrates. The ash, or mineral
matter, is concerned chiefly in the formation of
bone, and as practically all food-stuffs contain a
sufficiency of it, it does not require further
attention here.

Now for each kind of farm animal there is a
more or less fixed proportion the albuminoids
must bear to the other constituents, and this
proportion is termed the ''albuminoid ratio."
The albuminoid ratio is the proportion the
albuminoids bear to the total of the carbo-
hydrates and the fats and oils, the latter being

92 FARM MANAGEMENT

multiplied by two and a half before adding to
the carbo-hydrates.

The albuminoid ratios for the different
classes of stock have been determined by
scientists to be about i : 3*5 for very young
animals, i : 4*5 for animals fattening as they
grow, I : 6 for cows, cattle and horses, i : 8 for
growing sheep fifteen to twenty months old.
Milk is the natural food which meets the
albuminoid ratio requirements of young animals
most closely, and grass or hay comes nearest to
meeting the albuminoid ratio requirements of
older stock.

If the food given to the animals contains
more albuminoids or carbo-hydrates than the
ratio requires, then the surplus will be wasted
and voided in the manure. Obviously then it
is bad economy to give to stock rations which
contain an excess of albuminoids over the
carbo-hydrates or an excess of carbo-hydrates
over the albuminoids, as regulated by the
albuminoid ratio.

The question, therefore, the farmer has to
decide, with the use of the albuminoid ratio, is
how much purchased food, and of what kind,
must he buy to add to his roots and forage

FEEDING 93

crops to make the albuminoid ratio right.
Roots by themselves have an albuminoid ratio
of about I : lo, oat straw about i : 40, it is
thus evident that something must be added to
these two food-stuffs that is rich in albuminoids,
such as cotton or linseed cakes, till the albumi-
noid ratio is right ; e.g., if the stock were
intended to receive a daily ration of 20 lbs.
of oat straw and 70 lbs. of swedes, then, if it be
calculated out, it will be found that, say, 8 lbs. of
cotton cake would make the albuminoid ratio
of the ration right. Market rates will largely
determine what particular food-stuff should be
bought to supplement the roots and straw, or a
mixture of several may prove cheaper, in fact,
recent experiments have shown that it is nearly
always advisable to use a mixture of concentrates
rather than only one.

Now we have seen that where the bulk of
the home-grown food-stuffs are roots and straw,
as would be the case on farms largely arable,
then nitrogenous food-stuffs, such as cakes, have
to be bought in. On stock farms, however,
such as a dairy farm, where hay forms the bulk
of the home-grown food-stuffs, the question is
different.

94 FARM MANAGEMENT

Hay, and particularly clover hay, has an
albuminoid ratio that is nearly right, so that
highly nitrogenous foods are not necessary.
Hay is slightly below the standard, and so the
compound cakes, or mixtures of them with oats,
bran, etc., or cotton cake mixed with maize
and barley, are best. If straw or roots are
added to the hay, then more nitrogenous pur-
chased foods will have to be added to balance
the excess of carbo-hydrates. Clover hay,
having a higher albuminoid ratio than meadow
hay, requires less nitrogenous food added to it,
and so roots, maize, barley, sharps and bran
are used.

Of course, in calculating out rations on the
above lines, it must not be thought that a fine
degree of accuracy is necessary, as if the
albuminoid ratio of the rations proposed is
approximately right it will suffice. Further-
more, the question of digestibility arises. A
food may be rich in the required constituents
but, at the same time, be not very digestible,
and this lessens its value considerably. The
carbo-hydrates of roots are very easily digested,
but straw and hay not quite so well, and there-
fore are not as well suited to young stock, for

FEEDING 95

whom the food given must all be highly digest-
ible. Again, the oil of rice and maize has a
much lower feeding value than has that of
linseed. Consequently, in purchasing food-
stuffs, this point of digestibility must not be
ignored, or the foods bought may prove dear,
despite their good analysis. Information as to
the digestibility of any food-stuff that may
seem cheap may generally be had from the
nearest agricultural college, and also analyses
of the farm crops that are not purchased.

CHAPTER X

SYSTEMS OF FARMING

The word farming covers a wide variety of differ-
ent agricultural systems, and as it is very neces-
sary, as stated in Chapter I, that anyone entering
on farming should decide at the outset what type
of farming he will go in for, we will consider
the different methods of farming there are.

Farming may be divided into the following
divisions : — Arable Farming, Stock Farming,
Dairy Farming and Mixed Farming. Arable
farming may have wheat or potatoes as its main
object ; stock farming may be devoted to cattle,
sheep or horses ; dairy farming is really stock
farming, where the production of milk instead
of meat is the prime factor ; mixed farming
explains itself. A consideration of each in
further detail now demands attention.

The bulk of arable farming has the growth
ot corn, usually wheat, as its prime object.

SYSTEMS OF FARMING 97

roots and forage crops are grown in due rota-
tion, chiefly for the purpose of preparing the
land for the wheat and to produce manure for
the same object by feeding these crops to stock
bought in to fatten. The profit attaching to
this kind of farming is slender, because of the
keen competition by other countries and our
colonies in the growing of cheap wheat and of
a quality which is better than our climate allows
to be produced. Furthermore, the fattening of
cattle in yards is productive of very little profit,
apart from the manure so got ; the fattening of
sheep is, however, more remunerative, as they
eat their food where it is grown and drop their
manure where it is wanted, and mutton fetches
better prices than beef. But as typical wheat
land is rather heavy soil, much folding of sheep
is impracticable, because their treading would
further consolidate soil that is already too
compact.

On some arable farms barley is the chief
product, and this is more profitable ; but barley-
growing can only be successfully followed on
soil and in a climate suited to the crop ; more-
over, considerable skill and judgment is required
in growing a good malting sample of barley.

H

98 FARM MANAGEMENT

In other districts, where the soil is suitable,
such as the Lothians, the growth of potatoes is
the staple object of the arable farmer, and
appears to pay well, but it is difficult to secure
the tenancy of a good potato-growing farm.

Generally speaking, the farm pupil, if he has
not been brought up on a farm, should not take
to arable farming, for several reasons. A great
deal more has to be learnt within the time
available for study than would be the case on a
stock-farm, as he has to become a judge not
only of stock, but also of crops, soils, tillages,
the weather, etc. He has all the risks of loss of
stock from disease, and added to this the risks
of poor crops due to plant diseases, insects, bad
weather, etc.

In addition to arable farming proper, there
is what might be described as stock-farming on
light arable farms. This consists of the keeping
of sheep on light, hilly, or chalk down land,
which usually has a fair proportion of rough
grazing attached. The plough-land is kept
continually cropped with roots and a wide
variety of forage crops ; on these a large head
of sheep is folded, and their constant treading
and manuring gives these otherwise unf(.rtile

SYSTEMS OF FARMING 99

soils the necessary condition to grow remunera-
tive crops of oats and barley.

One of the various kinds of stock-farming
has many advantages to commend itself as
compared with arable farming. There is not
such a vast amount of knowledge to acquire
before starting for oneself, and the profits are
less uncertain. The outlay of capital is con-
fined chiefly to the purchase of stock, and the
heavy initial expenses an arable farmer has to
meet for tenant-right, implements, seeds, fer-
tilisers, etc., are avoided. The bulk of stock-
farming is concerned with the rearing of stock
as opposed to fattening. In the case of sheep a
regular breeding flock is kept, and the lambs
reared to be sold as stores for fattening on
arable farms, or they may be kept and fattened
if there are roots, or enough good pasture. The
rearing of cattle is not quite on the same lines,
as if a breeding herd be kept the milk has to be
disposed of, and so the system becomes dairy-
farming just as much as stock-farming. On
dairy-farms having sufficient rough grazing the
calves are reared and sold as stores, but on
most dairy-farms, particularly where the milk is
sold whole, the calves are usually sold at once

loo FARM MANAGEMENT

to go to Welsh, Irish and Scottish rough
grazing farms, where they are reared till one
and a half to two and a half years old, when
they are sold as stores for fattening.

On some farms cattle and sheep-rearing
are combined, a regular breeding flock of sheep
being kept and a small herd of breeding cows,
whose produce is supplemented by purchased
calves.

The grazing or fattening of purchased stock
on grass is a remunerative proceeding on rich
pastures, but farms of this kind are hard to
come by and command high rents. There is,
however, a good deal of scope on an ordinary
farm by so improving the pasture that it will
half-fatten or wholly fatten stock, instead of
selling them as stores. Careful stocking, rolling
and harrowing, and the judicious application
of fertilisers, will considerably improve very
ordinary pasture.

Horse-breeding is another system of stock-
farming that needs mention. Light horse-
breeding can only be practised successfully
where the farmer possesses considerable
experience, capital and natural powers of
selection, and has a farm peculiarly adapted to

SYSTEMS OF FARMING loi

horse-breeding, otherwise It is a vei5;',j^i^ecarious'
calHng to follow. The breeding of cart Jbprses.
is safer, but it is better treated asi a ■ side lineHo-
one's ordinary farming, by the average man,
than as a system in itself.

Dairy-farming is doubtless the best system
for the man of limited means, as it is a ready
money business as compared with others, and
so extra capital to carry on till receipts are
coming in is not so necessary. As regards the
three kinds of dairy-farming, namely, selling
the milk whole, butter-making and cheese-
making, the first involves less labour and no
heavy outlay in dairy plant, and generally
speaking is somewhat more profitable. A
dairy farm consists largely of grass, half of
which is used for summer grazing and the other
half for growing hay for the cows' winter food,
which is further supplemented by roots and
oats grown on a small portion of arable, which
also provides forage for ''soiling" the cows in
late summer when the pastures fail.

A milk-selling farm of, say, 200 acres,
would carry a breeding herd of about fifty cows,
and ten heifer calves would be set aside each
year to replace old ones in the herd. Pigs on

102 FARM MANAGEMENT

•such'.a' farm; ai*e rather out of place, as there is
no whey or separated milk for them. On milk-
sellmg" farms, dose to bier towns, that are highly
rented accordingly, a regular breeding herd is
not kept, but the system pursued is one of buying
in cows freshly calved and feeding them well to
give the maximum of milk, and also to get them
fat when they run dry, and they are then sold to
the butcher. The advantage of this is that full
milkers can always be kept, and so a big output
of milk is available, and the supply can be kept
regular all the year round. The disadvantages
are that one is always having to buy in new
cows, however bad the market may be, to keep
up the yield of milk, and they have to be sold
again when ready even if prices are down ;
further, there is the great risk of introducing
disease in the herd.

Butter and cheese are made on more
remote dairy farms. Cheese is only made
during the summer and the milk sold in winter ;
the land must be good cheese-making land to
be successful. Pigs are kept largely on cheese
and butter farms, and also calves not required
for the herd are more freely reared.

Mixed farming is the last system to be

SYSTEMS OF FARMING 103

considered. This class of farming almost
invariably leans more particularly to one or
other of the systems already dealt with, and
may be regarded accordingly. The more stock
or dairying prevails, the more likely it is to
pay, and of course mixed farming always has
the advantage that if one thing fails others will
not.

Stocking of Farms. — The usual dates
for entering on a farm are Ladyday and
Michaelmas. Less working capital is required
on the former date, as receipts from harvest,
etc., will be coming in within six months, and a
heavy winter ration bill will not be in front of
one, but the advantage of a Michaelmas entry
is that one can arrange the cropping, etc.
beforehand. The amount of the ingoing in
either case will be larger according to the
amount of arable.

As to the implements and stock required
for the farm, a beginner will be able to estimate
this from what the previous tenant had, but it
does not do to follow his system of farming,
unless one can be sure he made it pay. A
beginner is advised to understock and never by
any chance overstock his land, or he will be

I04 FARM MANAGEMENT

sorely bitten if a bad season causes a shortage
of food and necessitates stock being sold off at
unfavourable times, whereas, if understocked,
one can always buy in stores to eat off any
surplus there may be, or the surplus can be
sold.

It is a grave mistake to keep the wrong
kind of stock ; the practice of the neighbourhood
should be followed, and if the herds or flocks
kept in the district are breeding stock, then it
would be bad policy to go in for fattening
instead, as the land would not be suitable in all
probability.

When buying in breeding stock, draft
animals that have been discarded should be
avoided. Taking over the stock already on the
farm, or buying in at a displenishing sale, is
best, as the quality of breeding stock is reflected
down the generations, and it costs as much to
keep poor stock as good, yet the former fetch
far less. Stock from poorer land is always to
be preferred.

It is far better to farm a small area with
ample capital than a larger area with only just
enough, as then there is no margin against bad
times.

SYSTEMS OF FARMING 105

Roughly speaking, about ;^io per acre
capital is required, but this varies consider-
ably; about one-tenth of the capital is spent in
implements, and broadly speaking, the farmer's
income is about equal to his rent.

INDEX

Albuminoid ratio .

. 91

Deciding kind of farm

Altering rotations

• 13

ing

I

Diary, keeping a .

5

Baby beef . .

66

Drought .

32

Bacon . . . .

. 89

Dung ....

43

Barley . . . .

21

Beans . . . .

31

Early lamb

80

Buying manures

. 48

Cabbages . .

28

Farm crops .

7

Calf rearing .

. 60

Farming, arable

96

Capital . .

• 105

Farming, stock

99

Catch crops .

17

Farming, dairy

lOI

Cattle, breeds of

59

Farming, mixed .

102

Cattle farming

• • 57

Feeding, science of

90

Cattle fattening

. ^3

Finding farm to lean

Cows .

. 69

on ... .

3

Cows, improving

• . 77

Flock management

77

Crops, classes of

• • 7

Foal rearing .

. 53

Crops, catch .

. . 17

Forage crops .

24

Crops, corn .

. . 19

Crops, forage .

. . 29

Harvesting

22

Crops, root

. . 24

Haymaking .

30

Cross-breeding ca

ttle. 68

Horses

• 51

Cross-breeding sh

eep. 82

Horses, feeding of

• 55

io8

INDEX

PACK

PAGB

Kale ....

27

Pork

89

Kohl rabi . . .

27

Potash manures . .

42

Potatoes .

26

Lambing .

79

Prospects of farming .

6

Liming

49

Lucerne . . .

29

Rape ....

28

Root crops

24

Manures, buying .

48

Rotation, Norfolk

II

Manures, mixing .

47

Rotations .

10

Manures, nitrogenous

4^

Rotations, altering

13

Manures, phosphatic

42

Rotations, Down .

16

Manures, potassic

42

Manuring, objects of

40

Sainfoin .

29

Mangels .

25

Sheep dipping

78

Mares, brood .

52

Sheep drafting

78

Meadows . . .

' 38

Sheep farming

75

Mixing manures .

47

Silage ....

• 30

Stocking farms

. 103

Nitrogenous manures

41

Study of farming .

I

Norfolk rotation .

• 13

Swedes . . .

• 25

Oats ....

21

Systems of farming

2

.

Turnips

• 25

Pastures . . .

. 34

Peas ....

• 31

Vetches . . .

29

Permanent pastures

• 34

Phosphatic manures

. 42

Wheat . . .

20

Pigs ....

. 86

Wool ....

■ 85

LONDON : VINTON & COMPANY, LTD.,
8, bream's buildings, CHANCERY LANE, E.C.

^

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