The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1858-06-22 00:00:00

Sgriculturt.

WINDOW GARDENING. - Some local horticultural
societies offer prizes to cottagers and others for window
plants, and that plants may be grown in windows with
healthy foliage and fine flowers all know. We often see
a handsome blooming plant in a poor cottage window in
a room always occupied by the family. But this is
rather a matter of chance than of sagacity, for in 20
other cottages wretched dwindling things may be seen.
The successful plant has probably found a congenial
habitat as to soil and climate, and being put out of
doors in mild ruins, it manages to survive the dust and
close temperature of the cottage. Plants may be grown
well in the windows of dwelling houses, whether cotta-
ges ormansionadbutiitmouset.t them
not beconion .pue ledthamot the
sit is a nice and difficult n ,
such as a little parlour, which has only an occasional oc-
cupation when visitors come, • dozen planta will
flourish there, other conditions being attended to. But
plants require, in such circumstances, more than ordi-
nary attention, and none should attempt their culture
unless prepared to give it. A child is difficult to rear in
health and strength, just in proportion as external cir-
cumstances are unfavourable ; yet those obstacles may
be overcome by judicious management. So is it with
plants. With fresh air and sunlight, and good soil to
grow in, they may be more left to themselves than when
put into the window of a sitting-room, whose atmos-
phere is always dusty, subject to great changes of tem-
perature, and blest with no great abundance of light. A
long list of plants which have done well in windows
might be given, but places and treatment which would
do for one kind would not suit another. We will men.

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tion a few which will accommodate themselves to
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_
almost any required. Foremost stand the pelargoniums
and geraniums, favourite' everywhere, and always re-
paying a little attention with handsome foliage and
bloom. Windows do well for these ; and we have just
had occasion to observe that while • large collection of
pelargoniums, kept in a coldish greenhouse all winter,
have suffered touch by the spot on their leaves, two
which were kept in a study window are quite free from
that pest. This is owing to two things :-a higher tem-
perature and freedom from damp, especially the drip of
the frames, which is very injurious to the foliage in cold
weather. A dozen pelargoniums, trained so as to bloom
in succession, would make • nice little charge for a
cottager. But we think we should prefer a dozen of
the scarlet and variegated geraniums if we must be eon-
fined to that number. Some of the variegated kinds
now have fine trusses of flowers; they all grow quickly;
and they never seem to be liked by that enemy of house-
hold plants, the green-fly. Caloeolarias do well in
windows, and Home of the sorts remain a long time in
bloom. We have jnst passed through &town in the old.
fashioned windows of which we have seen good sped.
teens of this flower, well grown, healthy, free from in-
sects, and covered with bloom. The same remark may
be made of oinerarias. China roses submit to this treat-
ment patiently. Myrtles may be found in good case all
over the country, which have never seen better accom-
modation than is given in • parlour. As to cactuses,
they seem to delight in • dusty room, and provided
they have their season of rest, and are not spoiled by
being watered all the year round, they may be made to
bloom profusely. These are only a few things ; but we
would recommend any one who intends to cultivate
plants in windows to pay • visit of observation to his
neighbours, and to see what kinds do well with them.
This will be far better than any practice on new sorts,
which may require a treatment not within the cottager's
power. As to soil, Ac., a man ought to know enough of
general gardening to understand these matters before he
begins to grow plants in windows. A novice must ex-
pect to buy his experience ; but • little disappointment,
if patiently borne, will lead to ultimate success. Water-
ing is the best touchstone of skill in this department, the
general tendency being to excess of moisture. A
thorough watering being given, the plant should be
allowed to get se dry as possible without flagging before
the operation is repeated. Keeping the leaves tree from
dust is another indispensable condition of mom, and
this can be done by sponging them with tepid water, or
putting the pots out of doors in gentle rains-CR.
Tug VALUE OF A TON OF TURNIPS.-At a recent
meeting of the Oxford Farmers* Club, Mr. Coggins intro-
duced this subject for discussion. He dwelt on the
importance of the subject, more especially as new clauses
relating to the root crop had recently been introduced
into some leases in that neighbourhood. The value of
roots depended on their quality and abundance, the
winner in which they were consumed, the convenience
afforded by a well arranged homestead, and the state of
the stook market. He called attention to the various
methods of analysis and practical experiments to ascer-
tain the feeding properties of root", and cited the experi-
ments which had been made by Mr. Lewes and Professor
Way, and which proved that 6 tons of swedes contained
as much albuminous matter-starch, sugar, ke.,-as one
ton of good meadow hay, but not quite so much oil.
Assuming meadow hay at £3 per ton, it would place
swedes at 10s, per ton. Looking then to the practical
value, they must first Reek to know what amount of
swedes (with straw as dry food ad libitum) alone would
feed a beast. Mr. Hope, of Fenton Barns, bad ascer-
tained that a beast consuming 1801bs of swedes and
flubs of straw per day inade flesh at the rate of 14Ibs. per
week, or 2lbs. per day, which at 61. per lb. amounted to
Is. Swedes, at 10a. per ton, would cost 96d. for th
day ; and Mbs. of straw, at 30s. per ton, would be id
making a cost of food 100. per day. Mr. Templeton'.
experiments, recorded in the Royal Agricultural Society':
Journal, showed that 32Ibs. of swedes, 41bs. of hay, and
3lbs. of straw, gave 11b. of flesh per day on an average
of 12 beasts. This, with hay at 605., swedes at 10s. and
' straw at 30e. would cost 3.0. for 11b. increased live
weight. He then mentioned the experiments made by
Mr. bl'laren, farm manager to Lord Kinnaird, with •
view of testing the comparative value of pulpid and
whole turnips, and for which he had received the Royal
Agricultural Society's prize of £2O. Those experiments
extended over two years, and the result was as follows:
-The cattle wefe weighed when put to feed, and, at the
conclusion of the experiment, the first year's result was
very different to the second. The swedes pulped, and
mixed with chaff, gave 68.110. per ton, with beef at
6d. per lb. ; turnips, given whole, 7s. 30. ; while those
pulpid and given fresh only realised Ss. 2d. The second
year's experimente reversed the former year, valuing the
roots at Os. 6d. per ton as their mean value. After de-
ducting all, he lied an exceas left for profit on those
given whole of £l5 17s. 44. ; those pulpid and given
fresh of £23 154.100. ; and those pulped and fermented
of £22 14P. 40. The profit haste beadded to the swedes
consumed, making respectively 12s. 30. per ton,
16s. qd., and 15s. 00. on swedes consumed. With
respect to sheep stock no experiments are recorded,
except those made by Mr. Lewes, who came to the con-
clusion that feeding sheep left nothing but their manure
to pay for swede. consum,cl and management, but Mr.
Jawed having purchased Laioester ter at 365. 6d., when
mutton was but 4s. 241. per stone, his experiment could
hardly be called • conclusive one. But, for the mike of
discussion, he would take the produce of the owe flock
as returning the value of the swedes. Assuming a long
woolled ewe to consume 241bs. of Hwedes and 2 the of
hey per day, and Hutt they had from her a lanib worth
30a. and • fleece worth 60., they would have 365. to pay
for 12 months' keep. Allowing that they kept the ewe
and lamb at pus 20 weeks, at 6d. per week, 1011. would
leave 265., or 80. per week for the 32 weeks of the
most inclement season of the year, while at turnips, and
valuing the hay at £3 per ton, 14 lba. would be con
-
Ruined , 46d. In value, leaving about 4s. 6d. per ton for
swedes consumed ; but analysis, confirmed by practical
experiment, showed that 24 lba. of modes contained
four times as much nutritive matter as 2 lb.. of hay ; they
had no right to charge hay at so high a consuming prim,
for the real truth was that all food, when used, must be
valued according to the pert it played in the economy of
food. Mr. Horde% on this point, says, " The estimate
of the value of either of these crops is usually made on
what it leaves for profit, and is reckoned at Be. to 10s.
per ton. This is a very unsafe rule ; if taken on its
quantum of nutritive matter, it assumed a different
value 114 dry material, to they could not obtain any con.
centreted food equally nutritious at less than £7 to ES
per ton, which would glve 16s. to 20*. per ton as their
value in their natural state." He (Mr. Coggin') could
not see when the meat market was not remunerative
why they should throw all the toes upon the root crop.
They still used oiloake and corn for an indirect return in
the shape of manure. The manner in which ewedee were
consumed also greatly affected their value, and practical
experiments and theoretical deductions tended to point
to a due admixture of extraneous feeding substances,
but npon that lie should not enter. The stook market
necessarily infinenoed the value of the root crop,
which w !uplifted by the women with which persons
"ought stook farm. during the past four years. It
might be argued and asked, where was the farmer's
profit this year for hay and roots consumed 7-and he
should reply, where it always we.; he got his lamb and
fleece from his flock, but did not realise so much for his
fat begs. Tags bought in the autumn at extravagant
prices certainly turned out a bad speculation, hilt the
root crop must not be taxed for any errors of purchase
committed. Again. if • person had a quantity of swedes.
and no stock to consume them, lie must suffer immense
loss, as farmers generally endeavoured to keep stock to
consume their own roots, and not their neighbours',
who, having an article in the market without a demand
for it, must pay the penalty. Again, no person could
make the best floe of roots without having proper build-
ings necessary for housing them ; and landlords were
beginning to see that they had only to co-operate with
their tenantry, and to give them good feral buildings and
leases to induce them to invest their capital and, skill.
In conclusion, he (Mr. Coggins) said, that according
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the evidence adduced, cattle paid better for roots oon-
sunied than sheep did, but against this they had haulage
and loss of manure. With meat at 6 per lb., it ap-
peared to him that 78. per ton would be a fair value
from an out-going to an in-coming tenant. He bad
taken swedes as & standard, and perhaps had said too
little about mangel, but he thought they might be put
at about the same value as swedes. He begged, there-
fore, to move 'That, in the opinion of this club 7s. is
the value of a ton of swede., 55. of white turnips, and
Be. of mangel, as the consuming price from an out-going
to an in-coining tenant." Mr. Lane would not give
more value to inangels than to swedes. Mr. G. Osborne
put mange's down at Bs. per ton, swedes at 6s. and
turnips at Sc. Mr. Savidge moved as an amendment,
"That, in the opinion of this club, 7s. per ton should be
the value of a ton of swedes, turnips, or mangels." Mr.
Williams, of Northcourt, seconded the amendment.
Mr. R. Lord, of Stanton Harcourt, seconded the origi-
nal motion. Mr. J. P. Field, of Shipton, thought that
ss. for 'swedes and 4s. for white turnips would be a fair
price, and he should not mind Bs. or 10s. per ton for
mangels. Mr. Watson believed that on an average of
' years no man could make more than Sc. for hie swedes,
45. for his turnips, or Bs. for his mends, which came in
at a time when they were worth double the value of
other crops. The amendment was then put and nega-
tived. The valuation proposed by Mr. Coggin& was
afterwards adopted by the club by the casting vote of the
chairman.

The exhilarating and statteining properties of tea depend on
the quantity qt " Wine" It contains. The young early pickings,
called by the Chinese "fled crop Ma" abound most in this
essential quality, as en ounce of this Arm strong sort contains
10 grains ; the last or "autumn crop," contains but little, and
is onnseqnently very deficient inflavour. The English public
desire alwaye to obtain really choice tea, but are often disap-
pointed through a deceptive practise the Chinese have of
'Vann? or colouring, for foreign supply, the withered
autumn crop, this makes all appear alike, and enables the
Chinese to peas off the low priced brown leaves In Hsu of the
best; the great profit derived renders the practice almost
universal, but the celestials thertneelve• never use coloured Tea.
ROIIIIX/Al & Co., London, knowing that sterling quality Is
preferred before mere appearance, import truly choice sorts
without powdered colour en the surface; this tea is to be had
only of Horniman't Aayn: for LOCAL lilt me advertisement
In this dies paper.