The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1874-04-07 00:00:00

Igraultutc.

FIRM NOTES IN Doßm.

We have bad one of the finett March months ewer
known in this oouuty, and everything looks well on the
farm. The wheat plant still keeps up its splendid ap-
pearance, and It is no exaggeration to say that it is
looking more forward by a month now than it did last
year at this time. Barley log ring in well, and so is all
spring corn. Roots, and here and there keep to
general, soaroe. The lambiag season is very nearly
over, and • has reason it has been. Jost in this
locality the " moor" Is troublesome among the lambs,
perhaps from a too liberal @apply of roots. Your
correspondents "J. B." and Mr. R. Damon have given
with fidelity their armounts of the position and earnings
of the agricultural labourer in this oonnty, and from
thorn it will appear that the average wage, taking In
eobjunetion with perquisites and other advantages, is
reasonable and fair. Last week, happening to had
myself In Salisbury with a spare hour or two at my
oommand, I thought I won't atoll into the surrounding
country and see how crops were lookiog la that neigh.
bourhood. Upon getting near • village galled Odstook
I met • bevy of farm labourers, and we bad a rather
long chat together. From them I was informed that
the "Up-top price" an able-bodied man commanded in
their locality wee Ils. per week, oat of which sum is.
or Is. 61. was deducted for rest, so that I thought our
well-abused county of Dorset was not so bad alter all.
Th. strike which was attempted hero about three weeks
shoo has oollapied. Several ejeetious of labourers
from their cottages took plitee, and although the
Union delegates attempted to make antis capital and
excite a morbid sympathy out of this by hiring •
photographer to perpetuate the folly of theae poor men,
yet there ii a general ackno•ledgment amongst all
&reeve that the moveineut was • mistake. Almost to •
man those who left their work base raked to be taken
ou again at the old price ; but farmers, finding they
have LO difficulty in supplying their places by non-
union men, prefer to let the Uoion have them. They
cannot serve two masten.—J. B. C.

C FOR HAMPSHIRE.
We are still expaleneng one of the finest seasons on
nand, for whaler we look back to the autumn seal
Use. for wheat, Of weeth, r we speak of the seed time
for Lett corn, now well forward, it is alike of the most
be kind, and probably there is a larger pro-
portion of barley sown thou usual op to this thins; In
fast, the whole of the laud set apart t,r this crop is now
seeded, esoopt where tin) root *rope are not yet wen.
sowed.

tioaas and peas bavo all been pet in, and to most
inuts.m.s Joel, v,ry promising. Sio much, howev,r,
inu,t not be expected froui these crops, it we are to
lava a greet Istaist crop, f.,r it is gereir.dly ((rand that
saanona favourable for wheat are usually bad for all the
pu:ra nom

The wheat plant may bout! to be nolversally good
upon all solls throughout this county, but wore particu-
larly unou heavy etrong Lod, aud without doubt an
unusually enunisiyo bruatith Lisa been sown; and so
gross and strung ts the plant on the best soils that
sumo punks have kiin feeding it down by sheep.
It is, h , held by roust parties to be a question-
able practice, for in ease the plant Is very forward
It is not out of otiarsotoi, at wo all to have an early
harvest.

The cloven are strong, and an average plant, although
not very forward. Th., fodder crop., snob as arifolinua,
vetohea, rye, &to., are good, whilst the pastures are
forward ani premising ',bare the soil is Mob, or hes
bean wo:l treated ; but this. the oseeption throughout
tho county, for farmers, generatly spanking, place all
the manure on tue arablo land, and none on the gran
lauds. There can, ho , be no question that pastures
will pay for dressing squall as well as tallage laud. The
water meadows are not no forward thia year as usual,
but the grass will probably be of fine and excellent feed-
ing value.

In our last report an account was given of the modem
attending the lambing season in reference to the horned
ewes, and early Dorset DO.lll, and it was also expected
that the Hampshire Down fi eks en the bill farms would
have • favourable lambing time, because the ewes had
been (neer from lament... than for some years past,
and we Cr. pleased to ariy this anticipation has been
realised, for although there have not been so many t win
lambe as usual, yet the fall may be called • good
go, and the lamb, healthy. The oht.tlo.s appears
to havo fallen on the ewes, for in many flocks a larger
per restage Of Owe. have died after lambing than usual.
It may now be said that the number of sheep in the
oonntry is steadily increaving, because the weather has
been so favourable for the feeding of sheep that a
much lees numb, r are required Cl be killed to furnish
the supply of mutton. Store sheep are, therefore, much
lower in price.
The suppiy of horned catttle, whether for feeding or
dairy purposes, although not particularly short in
numbers, is very deficient in quality, and there is no
practice in this county which will pay more for improve-
ment than cattle breeding, and it is • question often
asked why the farmers do not breed all they want, both
for fatting and dairy purposes. If they did wit is fair
to Min improvement in the breed would follow.

AS the last two meetings of the Bodily end South
Hants Farmers' Club papers were read on the "Cross
Breeding of Sheep," and the "Present Scarcity of
Hers..," and them are subjects of the highest import-
ance', particularly tie latkr, and w;th refereao• to the
breeding of horses It was shown that it wauld be much
more profitable to breed hones than horned rattle, and
that it was not so essential as many supposed that grew
Iced was required for that purpsee. It wee further shows
that cart °olio at two years old would make £l5 each
more than cattle of the same age kept at the Ilk* 41011 i In
suitable abed. ind yards.
The work of the farm le everwliere very forward, and
the land will be in high oondition for the varfols root
crops. There lea growing opinion that mensal should
be sown earlier, the sooner the better from this data
that garrote should not be sown uotil the lat and 20d
week in May, that instead of sowing so many swedes on
the Vale farms mangel should be grown to a greater
extent, as it is now well understood by most farmers
bow and when to use them ; the land generally being In
such fine tilth on them-ode:need dry and healthy under,
farmers will he more dive, d to nes the scarifier than
the plough la cultivating for their root crops, because
too tench ploughing mikes the soil so dry that in • dry
summer it is often fatal to the turnip crop, whereas by
using the scarifier only, the fine surface and the moisture
In the land is retained so ewentivl to the produstion of
firat.rate roots. The reason teaks.) very good for hoeing
wheat, bean., psis, it), and this work is proceeding
favourably, but In moray Watson,. we notice where the
wheat I. sown broednast it is nical infested with weed.,
poppies on the light land, Meek sod bout and yellow
creed on the siroug 'tare. Wherever theme weeds pre-
vail it, corn is lost driasd at 12 inches apart.
Southampton, April Ist, 1674.