The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1860-02-21 00:00:00

LETTER, No. I.

ON THE PREICENT SCARCITY 01 SHERP•LICEP, AND
Till HEST MEANS ol PROCURING A YUTURI
SUPPLY.

As yours is the only Agricultural Journal in the
West of England, and is necessarily extensively read,
there will be no doubt a great number who may
occasionally differ from me on perusing the letters
which through your kindness I shall have the honour
of laying before them; yet, as I only mention the
result of experience, I trust my observations may
not be quite worthless.
The present season, although severe, is not an
uncommon one in this country. It is not the Bret time
that turnips have been rotten and the grass cut up by
the frost, neither is it the worst that I have known,
for this reason, hay is plentiful, and although sheep
will not live on that alone it must be of great
assistance.
The farmer is always ready to say the weather is
the cause of this and that, but lam quite sure, that
bad management has had more to do with the
perished turnips than the weather. It was the too
free use of artificial manures, such as superphosphateu
which forced the roots lOU much as to cause them to
rot, suit as it is my wish to condemn what wont pay,
I will here state that it is wrung to lay out much
money iii manures for turnips intended for winter
and spruig feed, it is batter to lay it out in cake or
corn, and the sheep will do better for the same
outlay, and I sin fully convinced the succeeding
corn crop will be improved.
The cruse of the mangold crop being in many
cases quite spoiled was not through the weather,
but owing to stacking them when they were not in
a proper condition; the frost would not seriously
injure them whilst growing, and a little patience sae
all that was required, for had time been given the
roots would have recovered before being pulled up.
I think I have said enough about thu cause of the
scarcity of sheep•food in this locality. I will now
endeavour to point out the best way of getting out
of the difficulty.
It is quite clear that although the weather may
change and cause a rapid growth, the fact of being
obliged to stock certain fields earlier than usual,
will prove that it will be a very long time before the
scarcity will entirely cease to be felt, for supposing
this field of grass, or that of vetches, has to be fed a
fortnight before quite tit, the fact of being murdered
in infancy will cause scarcity to continue.
My advice is to keep up the condition of the sheep
as much as possible, by placing them earlier than
usual in any meadow or piece of tares that may have
a little keep; and in order to provide a succession,
loess no tone in sowing winter oats, and winter
tares on the best piece of land available, and continue
this till vou are sure that you will have keep
enough. Nothing will be lust by this plan beyond
the sued, and, perhaps, a little extra labour ; for by
sowing the best laud, turnips may succeed, and by
feeding the tam that are now on the land earlier
than usual sweats may be sown after them instead
of in their usual place,
PROFITABLE AGRICULTURE.
[My Letter, No. 2, will be " On the great value of
the barley crop, and the best means of producing a
good sample.l