S)tate CoIIeQe of Agriculture at Cornell tHitibersitp Stjjata, B. g. ILifirarp Cornell University Library S 495.F84 Elements of Agriculture :a text-book pre 3 1924 000 313 050 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924000313050 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE A TEXT-BOOK PREPARED UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE "Kosal aaricultural Societg of lEnglanD BY W. FREAM, LL.D. LONDON JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET ^892 PRINTED Bt SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STliEET SQUARE LONDON PREFACE The preparation of this Text-Book was undertaken by the Royal Agricultural Society of England, in compliance with the many demands that had been addressed to it for an elementary work on Agriculture adapted for use in rural and other schools and classes. The general scheme of the work was settled hy a Sub- Committee appointed by the Council of the Society, and consisting of Lord Moreton (Chairman), Ma)6r Craigie, Mr. C. De L. Faunce De Laune, Mr. D. Pigeon, Mr. Martin J. Sutton, and Mr. Charles Whitehead. The Sub-Coinmittee placed the preparation of the Text- Book in the capable hands of Dr. W. Fream, to whose skill and knowledge of the subject any success which the work may attain will be chiefly due. The Sub-Committee desire also to record their grateful acknowledgments, for valuable suggestions- and revision of the proof-sheets, to Sir John Lawes, B^rt., Sir John Thorold, Bart., Sir Jacob Wilson, Mr. Alfred Ashworth, Mr. Thomas Boll, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Mr. Chandos-Pole-Gell, Miss E. A. Ormerod, Mr. D. Pidgeon, Mr. Clare Sewell Read, and Dr. Voelcker. It is hoped that the co-operation of these distinguished authorities has resulted in the production of a Text- Book fitted to become a standard work on the subject of which it treats. MORETON, CAairman Royal Agricultural Society of England, 12, Hanover Square, W. December, 189 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I.-THE SOIL CHAPTER PAGE I. Origin and Properties of Soils . . . . i Different kinds of soils, 2 ; experiments with soil, 3 ; water, 6 ; igneous rocks, 8 ; aqueous rocks, 9 ; local and trans- ported soils, 10 ; earthworms, 11. II. Composition and Classification of Soils . 11 Mineral and organic matter, 11; sand, 12; clay, 13; humus, IS ; chemical ingredients of soils, 18 ; nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and lime, 19 ; analyses of sandy, clay, loam, chalk, and peaty soils, 20. III. Sources of Loss and of Gain to Soils . . 22 Drainage water, 22 ; washing out of nitrates, 23 ; bare fallow, 24; constituents of rain, dew, and hoar-frost, 26 ; residues of crops, 29; organic nitrogen, 30; nitrifica- tion, 30. IV. Moisture in Soils 31 Capillarity, 32 ; water table, 32 ; soil mulch, 33 ; pans, 34 ; soluble and insoluble plant-food, 35. V. Improvement of Soils 35 Liming, 36 ; warping, 36 ; paring and burning, 37 ; green manuring, 37 ; draining, 38. VI. Tillage 40 Ploughing, cultivating, hoeing, harrowing, rolling, 40; working the plough, 41 ; forms of furrows, 43. VII. Implements for Working Soils . . . .44 Ploughs, 4S ; cultivators, 53 ; harrows, 55 ; rollers and pressers, 56 ; drills, 57 ; steam cultivation, 61. VIII. Manures and Manuring . ... . . .62 Farmyard manure, 63 ; Peruvian guano, 67 ; fish guano, 67 ; bones, 67 ; superphosphate, 68 ; basic cinder, 69 ; nitrate of soda, 70 ; sulphate of ammonia, 71 ; dried blood, 71 ; shoddy, 72 ; kainit, 72 ; common salt, 73 ; gypsum, 73 ; application of manures, 74 ; manures for special crops — wheat, barley, oats, turnips, swedes, 75 ; mangel, leguminous crops, grasses, 76; hops, cabbages, 77. CONTENTS PART II.-THE PLANT CHAPTER PAGE IX. Seeds and their Germination 78 What a seed is, 80 ; temperature of germination, 81 ; root and shoot, 8z ; grain of wheat, 84 ; albuminous seeds, 86 ; exalbuminous seeds, 87 ; green colour of plants, 87 ; malting, 88 ; seeds as storehouses, 89. X. Structure and Functions of Plants . . -90 Structure of flowers, 91 ; functions of flowers, 92 ; fertilisa- tion, 95 ; fruit and seed, 97 ; root and stem, 98 ; under- ground stems, loi ; annuals and biennials, 103 ; peren- nials, 104; how plants feed, 105 ; functions of roots, 106 ; structure and functions of leaves, io8. XI. Cultivated Plants . . , . . . .110 Turnip, swede, rape, cabbage, mustard, &c. , in; peas, beans, clovers, lucerne, sainfoin, vetches, &c., 120 ; plums, cherries, strawberries, apples, pears, roses, &c. , 127 ; pruning, 129 ; grafting and budding, 130 ; cucumbers, vegetable marrows, &c., 131; carrots, parsnips, celery, parsley, &c. , 132 ; yarrow, chicory, lettuce, artichoke, &c., 13s; potatoes, tomatoes, &c., 139; sage, mint, thyme, &c. , 140; prickly comfrey, 140; mangel, beet- root, spinach, &c. , 141 ; buckwheat, rhubarb, &c. , 142 ; hops, 143 ; onion, asparagus, &c. , 144 ; cultivated grasses, 14s ; weed grasses, 171 ; cereals, 174. XII. Weeds 176 Buttercups, 177 ; poppies, 177 ; cranesbills, 178 ; dodder, 179 ; broom-rape, 180 ; plantain, 181 ; weeds not always harmful, 182 ; surface weeds, 183 ; classification of plants, 184; pests of the farm, 186. XIII. Selection of Seeds 186 Germinating capacity, 186 ; identity to species, 187 ; im- purities, 187 ; depth of sowing, 188. XIV. Implements for Securing Crops . . . .188 Reaping machines, 189 ; binders, 190 ; mowing machines, 191 ; haymakers, 192 ; horse-rakes, 193 ; elevators, 193 ; hay compressors, 194; carts and waggons, 194; threshing machines, 196 ; steam-engines, 201 ; winnowing machines, 202 ; screens, 203 ; spades and forks, 203 ; rakes, 204 ; scythes, 206 ; sickles, 207 ; hooks, 208. XV. Grass i,AND and its Management .... 209 Pastures and hayfields, 209 ; herbage of meadows, 211 ; chemical constituents removed by hay, 213 ; establishment of permanent meadow, 215 ; water meadows, 217 ; laying land down to grass, 219 ; herbage of pastures, 221 ; hay- making, 223 ; quality of hay, 226 ; ensilage, 227 ; silo stacks, 228 ; sweet and sour silage, 230. CONTENTS CHAPTER • PAGE XVI, Farm Crops 231 Rotation of crops, 232 ; four-course system, 233 ; seeding and early cultivation of — wheat, 237 ; autumn catch crops, 238 ; beans, 239 ; peas, 240 ; oats, 241 ; barley, 242 ; clover and 'seeds,' 243; and root crops, 244; autumn cultivation, 247 ; seeding and early cultivation of mangel, 252 ; swedes and turnips, 253 ; rape, 254 ; kohl, kale, and cabbage, 254 ; carrots, 255 ; parsnips, 258 ; subse- quent cultivation of farm crops, 258 ; harvesting of corn crops, 261 ; cultivation of potatoes, 267. XVII. Fungus Pests 270 Mushroom, yeast, and moulds, 270 ; canker of apple tree, • 271 ; diseases of crops, 272 ; rust and mildew, 272 ; smut and bunt, 276 ; ergot, 279 ; potato disease, 280 ; after sickness of potatoes, 283 ; club-root, 284 ; white rust, 284 ; damping off, 285 ; suppression of fungus pests, 286. XVIII. Insect Pests 287 Beetles and weevils, 287 ; sawflies, 289 ; butterflies and moths, 290; aphides, 293; flies, 295; life-history and classification of insects, 298; identification of larvae, 299 ; insect attacks, 300 ; prevention and remedy, 301. PART III.-THE ANIMAL XIX. Structure and Functions of Farm Animals . 303 Horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs, 303 ; skeleton of horse, 304 ; limbs of horse, 308 ; hoof of horse, 313 ; skeleton of ox and sheep, 315 ; horns, 316 ; skeleton of pig, 317 ; soft parts of the animal body, 318 ; alimentary canal, 319 ; ruminant stomach, 321 ; digestive juices, 323 ; classes of food-stuffs, 324 ; digestion, 326 ; circulation of the blood, 328 ; lungs and skin, 332 ; heat of the body, 332 ; kidneys, 333 ; absorption of digested mate- rials, 334 ; gains and losses of the blood, 337. XX. Composition of the Animal Body . . , 338 Bone, 339; connective tissue, 340; cartilage, 340; flesh, 340 ; fat, 341. XXI. Foods and Feeding 341 Selection of food for farm animals, 341 ; maintenance diet, 341 ; flavour, 342 ; nitrogenous foods, 343 ; fatty foods, 343 ; oilcakes, 343 ; foods rich in carbohydrates, 345 ; ash in foods, 345 ; succulent foods, 346 ; composition of swede and mangel, 346 ; sugar crops, 347 ; in- digestible fibre, 347 ; hay, straw, and chaff, 348 ; feeding value, 348 ; digestion co-efficient, 349 ; albuminoid ratio, 349 ; calculation of albuminoid ratio, 350 ; in- gredients of foods possessing manurial value, 351 ; machines for preparing food for stock — chafl^-cutters, 352 ; farm corn-mills, 353 ; cake-breakers, 354 ; turnip- cutters, 355 ; gorse-mills, 355. CONTENTS XXII. The Art of Breeding 356 Reversion, 356 ; variation, 357 ; prepotency, 357 ; selec- tion, 358 ; pure-bred stock, 358 ; thoroughbred, cross- bred, grade, 359 ; breed records, 360 ; gestation, 360. XXIII. Horses : THEIR Breeds, Feeding, AND Management 360 Thoroughbred, 361 ; Hackney, 362 ; Pony, 363 ; Coaching, 364 ; Cleveland, 364 ; Shire, 365 ; Clydesdale, 366 ; Suffolk, 367 ; feeding and management, 368. XXIV. Cattle : THEIR Breeds, Feeding, AND Management 371 Shorthorn, 372 ; Hereford, 374 ; Devon, 375 ; South Devon, (or Hams), 375 ; Sussex, 376 ; Welsh, 376 ; Longhorn, 377 ; Red Polled, 378 ; Aberdeen- Angus, 378 ; Gallovfay, 380 ; Highland, 380 ; Ayrshire, 381 ; Jersey, 382 ; Guern- sey, 383 ; Kerry, 384 ; Dexter Kerry, 385 ; feeding and management, 386; XXV. Sheep : their Breeds, Feeding, and Management 389 Leicester, 390 ; Border Leicester, 391 ; Cotswold, 391 ; Lincoln, 392 ; Kentish or Romney Marsh, 392 ; Oxford Down, 392 ; Southdown, 393 ; Shropshire, 393 ; Hamp- shire Down, 394 ; Suffolk, 394 ; Cheviot, 395 ; Black- faced Mountain, 395 ; Herdwick, 396 ; Ryeland, 396 ; Devon Longwool, 396 ; South Devon (or Hams), 396 ; Somerset and Dorset Horned, 396 ; feeding and manage- ment, 399. XXVI. Pigs : their Breeds, Feeding, and Management 402 Large White, 402 ; Middle White, 402 ; Small White, 403 ; Small Black (Suffolk or Essex), 403 ; Berkshire, 403 ; Tamworth, 404 ; feeding and management, 404. XXVII. The Fattening ok Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs . 406 Composition of carcasses of fat and store animals, 406 ; nitrogen ' and minerals in the fasted live weights of cattle, sheep, and pigs, 408 ; losses to the farm in fatten- ing increase, 409 ; fat animals compared with other , products of the farm, 409. XXVIII. Dairying 411 Milk, 411 ; mammary glands, 412 ; milk and blood com- pared, 413 ; composition of milk, skim-milk, and whey, 415 ; feeding of dairy cows, 416 ; production and sale of milk, 416 ; milk registers, 4r7 ; shallow and deep setting of milk, 419 ; cream separators, 419 ; cream, 421 ; rules for butter-maJting, 423 ; dairy appliances, 424 ; cheese, 424 ; Cheddar cheese-making, 425 ; cleanliness in the dairy, 429. Index of Plants . . 431 General Index ... . . 439 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE PART I.— THE SOIL CHAPTER I ORIGIN AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS Everything, whether plant or animal, that a farmer grows can be traced back to two primary sources, the soil and the atmosphere. Vegetable products, such as wheat, hay, potatoes, turnips, contain no chemical elements which cannot also be found either in the soil or in the air. The same is true of animals and their products, for beef, mutton, bacon, milk, leather, wool are obtained as the result of feeding farm animals upon plant substances. The soil and the atmosphere, then, are the primary sources of the food of plants and of animals, but it is the soil alone which is the object of special attention on the part of the cultivator. The soil is the name given to the earthy matter which is usually found on the surface of the land, and is often spoken of as ' mould,' ' dirt,' or ' earth.' It is nowhere of great depth, and is in some places very shallow. By digging into it with a spade the true soil is soon passed through, and something that differs from it is reached, as may commonly be seen when a hole is dug for a gate-post, or a well is being sunk. This underlying material is the subsoil (Lat. sub, under). If, at any place, the soil were scraped away so as to lay bare the subsoil and expose it to the air, in the course of time the surface of the subsoil would change into soil. Hence, there is a relationship between these two, B ORIGIN AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS and the soil may be regarded as derived from the subsoil. The chief agents in effecting the change are air, moisture, and tem- perature, aided by plants and animals. That there are different kinds of soils is a fact that every- body can prove for himself. The differences are visible to the eye ; they are felt when the soils are walked upon, and still more so when portions are taken up and handled ; and they declare themselves by the kinds of plants which grow naturally upon them. Visible differences are those of colour, and, to some extent, of texture. Red soils may be seen in Somerset and Herefordshire, bluish soils in Gloucestershire, dirty white or greyish soils in parts of the Thames valley and in Kent, yellowish soils in Northamptonshire, and black soils in the Fens of Lincoln- shire, and in most kitchen gardens. Some soils are seen to have a loose texture, and may at the same time be fine or coarse, ranging from sandy to gravelly or stony. Others are seen to possess a close, firm texture, and to allow water to rest upon their surface, as is the case with most of the clay soils. Much is learnt about a soil by merely walking upon it. What is called a loose open soil shifts beneath the feet, but shows no tendency to adhere to the boots ; such a soil is usually dry. What is termed a stiff tenacious soil retains the imprint of the foot and is very adhesive, so that when such a soil is wet it is not possible to walk across it with much rapidity. All clay soils partake more or less of this character. By handling a soil, other facts may be learnt concerning it. A dry loose soil will run through the spaces between the fingers if a handful of it is taken up. Even moistenings it with water will not cause it to cohere for any length of time. The many kinds of clay soils, on the contrary, are so tenacious that they can be moulded by the hand, provided they are sufficiently moist. By rubbing portions of a soil between the thumb and finger further information is obtained as to its texture, for it will be felt whether the particles are fine and unctuous (soapy or greasy) as in a clay, or coarse and gritty as in a sandy soil. The wild or native plant growth upon a soil is always worthy of notice where it can be observed. Heather, whortleberry, bracken, larches, fir-trees, are the natural produce of poor barren sands, often stretching away into heaths and moors. WATER IN SOILS Oak-trees and cowslips tHrive specially upon clay soils, and ■beech and yew-trees upon chalk and other limestone soils. Oaks, therefore, flourish upon the clay soils which extend far up the valley of the Thames, and occupy large areas in the heart of Kent and Sussex. The beech and the yew may be seen in plenty upon the Chalk Downs of the South of England. Rushes, sedges, cotton-grass, and sundew grow in many locali- ties where the land is wet and marshy. The foregoing examples serve to show that, with ordinary care, it is possible to learn many useful facts about a soil, with- out calling in the aid of special means of observation. Experiments with soil. — To carry the inquiry a little further, let a spadeful of any kind of soil be dug up and weighed. Then spread it out on a board or tray for a day or two, and expose it to the air, but not to the rain. Collect it together and weigh it again. It will be found to weigh less than when first dug. It has therefore lost something, and this something is water, which has passed off into the air as an invisible vapour. Put the same soil in a warm corner of the fireplace and leave it for a day or two. Weigh it once more, and its weight is again found to be less, a further loss of water having taken place. The same weights of different kinds of soils may be tested in this way — say ten pounds each of a clayey soil, a sandy soil, and a kitchen-garden soil. The losses, measured in ounces, will be found to be different in each case, proving that different kinds of soils — even from the same locality — contain different proportions of water. When the black mould of a kitchen-garden is turned over with the spade or fork, the top layer on a hot sunny day soon turns greyish or whitish. This change of colour is due to loss of water, which passes freely away as vapour from the surface. If a weighed portion of the dried soil be now put upon an iron plate, or into an old frying-pan, and ignited, that is, heated in the fire till it is red-hot, a strong-smelling smoke will be seen to arise. When the smoke has ceased to appear the soil can be withdrawn from the fire, and, when cooled, it can be weighed again. It will be found to weigh less than before, the loss being due to the material that helped to form the smoke. This ma- terial is the organic matter of the soil, commonly called humus. B 2 4 ORIGIN AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS It is formed of the decaying remains of plants and animals. The proportion of humus will be found to -be greater in a garden- soil or a clayey soil than in a light sandy or limestone soil. There is something else to be learnt from the spadeful of soil that was dried by the fire. Let some of this be crumbled as finely as possible, and mixed with pure water — distilled water, or clean rain-water. Put a weighed quantity of the powdered soil into a bottle holding about half a pint of the- water, and shake. Leave the bottle at rest for a day, and then carefully pour off the clear liquid into a saucer. Expose the saucer in a place free from dust, and in a day or two the water will have disappeared — evaporated into the air. It will disap- pear much more rapidly if the saucer is put in an oven. In either case a thin whitish deposit will be left upon the saucer, and may be scraped together into a little heap. This shows that soils contain something which water is capable of dissolving, just as it will dissolve sugar or salt. The sediment which will have collected at the bottom of the bottle shows, however, that there is in the soil a much larger proportion of matter which water cannot dissolve. It is instructive to collect and diy this sedi- ment, and if it then be weighed it will be found to be less than the quantity started with, the difference representing that which was dissolved. To make this experiment the more convincing, the same quantity of pure water should at the same time be evapo- rated from another saucer, in order to show that the dissolved matter was not present in the water before the latter came in contact with the soil. Also, to give .some idea as to the kind of work the water has done in the soil, a lump of sugar or a tea- spoonful of common salt may be stirred up in a tumbler of water. The salt or sugar disappears fropi view, and no one could tell by merely looking at the tumbler of water whether anything was dissolved in it or not. Now pour the Hquid into a saucer and allow it to evaporate, when the sugar or salt will be found left as a crust upon the saucer. That part of a soil which disappears or dissolves in water is called the soluble part, whilst that which will not dissolve is called the insoluble part. The distinction is important, because plants, in obtaining food from the soil, which they do by means SOILS FORMED FROM ROCKS of their roots, make use of the soluble parts of the soil. When water which has trickled through a soil flows away from it, some of the soluble matter of the soil — and in certain cases a considerable proportion of it — may be carried away in the water. It is thus possible to learn by very simple means of observa- tion that soils vary in colour, in texture, and in the plants they naturally produce ; also that they contain variable proportions •of moisture, and that whilst a part of the soil is soluble in water, by far the larger proportion of it is insoluble. The Soil, as seen in arable fields and gardens, is the final product of a long series of changes, the study of which belongs to the science of Geology. If the land could be suddenly stripped of its soils and subsoils, there would be exposed rock surfaces very different in character from the soils by which they are covered. The colours upon an ordinary geological map are intended to indicate the nature of these underlying rock-masses, which can always be reached by digging down to a sufficient depth. On the North and South Downs, on Salis- bury Plain, on the slopes of the Chiltern Hills, in the western parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, and elsewhere, the underlying rock is chalk. In parts of Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, and Lancashire, on either side of the Pennine Chain, it is a hard limestone. In Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and other midland counties of England it is often a stiff bluish or yellowish clay — to the geologist, clay, occurring in a large mass, is as much a 'rock' as is granite, or limestone, or coal, or sandstone, or sand. In parts of Worcestershire and Herefordshire a red sandstone, and in Cheshire and Warwickshire red or yellow sandstones and marls, support the soils and subsoils. In North Wales the subsoil often rests upon slaty rocks, and, in many districts of Cornwall and Devon granite is the underlying rock. It is difficult at first to grasp the fact that soils are formed from rocks, such as the limestones and sandstones which are used for building purposes or for road mending, and from slaty rocks and granites. If these rocks could be kept out of the reach of water and air they would undergo little or no change. When a limestone or sandstone quarry is opened, the rock as it is hewn out comes into the light in the same condition in which it has probably been for thousands of years. As time progresses ORIGIN AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS the face of the quarry loses its fresh appearance, and it is appa- rent that some change is taking place on the surface of the stone. This change is due to the action of air and moisture. The process whereby hard rock masses are naturally broken up is termed disintegration. The agents of disintegration are deserving of study, because they are quite as actively engaged in the soils which it is the province of the farmer and gardener to till, as in promoting the decay of the rocks from which the soils are derived. Water is the chief agent of disintegration, and it may act in two ways, physically and chemically. Its physical effect is seen in the action of ice and running water, and particularly in the conversion of water into ice, that is, in the process of freezing. Nearly every known substance diminishes in volume as its tem- perature is lowered. This is true of water, as it cools down from the boiling point (212° F.) till it approaches the freezing point. At about 40° F., however, it begins to expand again, and at the moment of conversion into ice (at 32° F.) it undergoes a marked increase in volume, so much so that 9 cubic inches of water will make about lo cubic inches of ice. The force of this expansion is wellnigh irresistible, and even stout iron shells have been burst by it. Water-pipes in houses are often ruptured in this way during the frosts of winter, but it is only when the thaw takes place that the leakage of the water betrays the mischief. The fabric of a rock is necessarily weakened by the freezing of the moisture with which the rock mass is permeated, and any small particles which may thus be broken off are easily carried away in the water that trickles from the rock. On soils that are left rough and bare through the winter the effects of , the alternate freezing and thawing of the soil moisture are easily noticeable. The expansion of the water in the act of freezing pushes apart the constituent particles of the soil, and by the end of winter the soil may have crumbled into that fine state of subdivision often described as ' mellow.' In districts where chalk is plentiful, lumps of this white rock are sometimes put on the land in the autumn. By the begin- ning of spring each hard piece of chalk will have crumbled down into a heap of powder, a result that is very largely due to- the disruptive effects of frost. TRANSPORTED SOILS At one time in one part of the globe, and at another time in another, moving ice, in the form of the glacier, has helped much in reducing hard rocks to a finer condition. As a glacier flows along the surface of the land it scratches and grooves and crushes the underlying rock. It also, in its course, carries with it the rubbish (detritus) which results from the destruction of the rocks, and may transport this rubbish to a considerable distance, where it may help to form a soil far from the place of its origin. Such transported or erratic soils (Lat. erro, wander) are common in many parts of. Britain. In the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, for example, the rock of the 'district is extensively overlaid by soils the mineral matter of which was thus transported upon the face of a glacier. The Till, or Boulder Clay, of the North of England, and of Scotland, had a similar glacial origin. The physical effect of running water is two-fold. It denudes or lays bare the surface along which it flows, and it carries away and deposits elsewhere the material which is removed from the rocks. Most of our river valleys have been scooped out by the action of running water. An inspection of the sedi- ment which gathers at roadsides in a heavy shower of rain will serve to show how water can make runnels or channels for itself, and the stone beneath the village pump usually affords some signs of the wearing effect of running water. Certain fertile soils which are spread out near the mouths of rivers have been accumulated almost entirely by the action of running water, and they are fittingly called alluvial soils. They are made up of the material, derived from the wear and tear of rocks, which is brought down in the river water. Such alluvial soils are found bordering the estuaries of the Thames, the Severn, and other rivers. Even the clearest river water con- tains sediment, as may be seen by allowing a tumbler of such water to stand for a few hours, when the bottom of the tumbler becomes covered with a fine deposit. This sediment is held in the river water in suspension, as it is termed, not in solution. Besides the mechanical action of water upon rocks and rocky matters, there is also its chemical action to be considered. Some constituents of certain rocks are more or less soluble in pure water — rock-salt, gypsum, and silica, for example. 8 ORIGIN AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS After a glass of river water, or spring water, or well water has been allowed to stand for a few hours, to allow the sediment to settle, the clear water may be poured off into a saucer and allowed to evaporate into the air. A small amount of solid matter will be found to remain behind upon the saucer. Natural water, therefore, contains solid matter both in suspen- sion and in solution. The former settles down when the water is allowed to stand at rest, and the latter is obtained when the clear water is boiled away or otherwise caused to evaporate. The deposits that form inside kettles and boilers are due to'matter that was dissolved in water. The solvent power of I'ain water is, however, much increased by a property which is conferred upon it in falling through the air. The atmosphere^ contains a very small proportion of carbonic acid gas, or carbon dioxide, as it is also called. This is the same gas as is formed when charcoal (a nearly pure form of carbon) is burnt in the air. Rain in falling to the earth dissolves some of the carbonic acid gas of the atmo- sphere, and water thus charged with carbonic acid is capable of dissolving certain substances which are insoluble in pure water. The most important substance thus dissolved from the rocks is carbonate of lime, and it is of this that limestones, chalk rocks, and marble are chiefly composed. Silica, of which the purest natural form is seen in rock crystal (quartz), and a less pure form in sand, is slightly soluble in pure water, and more so in water containing carbonic acid, though it is not very soluble in either. Various crystalline substances found in granite and other igneous rocks are like- wise more soluble in water containing carbonic acid. Igneous rocks, to which reference has just been made, are those that have cooled down from a molten condition to the form in which we now see them ; granite and basalt are ex- amples, as are also the lava and pumice poured out from vol- canoes like Vesuvius and Hecla. Aqueous rocks are those 1 Atmosplierio air is a mixture (not a compound) of nitrogen gas and oxygen gas, the former being four times as abundant as the latter. In addition, the atmosphere contains about four volumes of carbonic acid gas in 10,000 volumes of air (equal to 400 volumes per million), together with a vary- ing quantity of water vapour, and about one part per million of ammonia gas. DECA V OF ROCKS which have been built up under water ; such are clays, sand- stones, limestones, and deposits of rock-salt. Aqueous rocks are usually stratified, that is, arranged in beds or layers ; igneous rocks are not. Aqueous rocks often enclose remains of animals and plants (fossils) ; igneous rocks never do. Aqueous rocks are usually granular in texture ; igneous rocks are commonly crystalline. The rocks exposed at the surface of the earth are mostly of aqueous origin. About one-fifth of the air consists of a gas called oxygen, and this is a very active body. When an iron pot or pump handle becomes covered with rust, the latter is formed by oxygen combin- ing with the iron. Similarly, in a fire-grate, oxygen unites with the carbon of the fuel, and forms carbonic acid gas, which goes up the chimney in the smoke. By blowing the fire with a pair •of bellows, more oxygen is caused to combine with the carbon in a"given time, the oxidation goes on more rapidly, and the fire becomes brighter and hotter, as may be well seen in a black- smith's forge. Oxygen is not less energetic in promoting the decay of rocks, upon the constituents of which it may act either in the form of an atmospheric gas, or as a solution in water. When oxygen combines with a substance, the latter is said to be oxidised, and the iron that occurs in many rocks can no more escape such oxidation than can an iron vessel which is left out of doors. Other constituents of rocks are also liable to oxidation, and the oxides thus formed may be carried away dissolved in water. Thus the decay of rocks is further effected, and the formation of soils promoted. Oxygen and carbonic acid are both invisible gases, without taste and without smell. The former is an example of an element, the latter of a compound. Of the two, carbonic acid gas is the heavier. Soils, then, are formed from rocks, and the subsoil may be ^ regarded as something between the two. It differs from the rock, but the changes it has experienced have not gone far enough for the production of true soil. A convenient term' to include the whole of the changes which have been described, and which result in the conversion of rock into soil, is ■weathering-. lo ORIGIN AND PROPERTIES OF SOILS Some soils are directly produced from the rock that lies beneath them, as is the case with the thin soil resting upon the chalk of the Wiltshire Downs. Such soils are described as- local, sedentary, or indigfenous. In other cases, soils bear no relationship to the underlying rock. Examples are afforded by the alluvial soils around the Fig. I. — Diagram illustrating the mode of formation of a local soil on the Oolitic limestone of the Cotswold Hills, Gloucestershire. Wash, and in Holderness, and by the Boulder clay of many northern counties. These soils are, as has already been stated (p. 7), termed erratic or transported. The weathering agents, whereby rocks are converted into soils, do not cease to act when at length a soil is formed. On account of the usually loose condition of soils, they are, indeed, more susceptible than rocks to the influence of frost, and rain> and snow, of running water, and of oxygen and carbonic acid : for these agents more easily gain access to the recesses of the soil than to those of the rock. Other agents, moreover — living agents in the form of plants and animals — work upon the fabric of the soil. In the case of cultivated soils, crops grow and are removed, whilst their roots remain in the soil to EARTHWORMS increase the store of organic matter or humus. This, in the course of its decay, enriches the air in the soil with carbonic acid gas, which increases the solvent power of soil water. Under the influence of the air and water in the soil, the fragments of rocky matter which it contains are broken up and added to the store of soil proper. Hence the constituent parts of a soil are for ever changing. Crops are continually carrying away certain ingredients of the soil, whilst the ' fine earth ' of the soil is as constantly being added to by the decomposition or decay of the stony fragments which the soil contains. In addition, the rain which falls upon the land brings with it from the atmosphere certain substances which are of much importance in cultivated soils. Of the animals which dwell in the soil, none approach the earthworm in the magnitude of their effects. Earthworms feed upon the organic matter in the soil, and in order to get sufficient food they have to pass large quantities of earth through their bodies. This earth is ejected in the form of castings, which may often be seen as little mounds on the sur- face, near the entrance of the burrow. Through the burrows of earthworms, air and water can penetrate more freely into the soil, and the work of decoinposition progresses more rapidly. It has been calculated that an acre of ordinary agricultural land con- tains about 50,000 earthworms. The effect of their combined labours in reducing the soil to a finer condition is great, whilst they also enrich the surface soil in nitrogen. In old pastures the production of a close, compact greensward is largely due to the fine earth which is brought to the surface by earthworms, to be afterwards crumbled down and levelled by the action of wind and sun. CHAPTER II COMPOSITION AND CL.\SSIFICATION OF SOILS The solid substances found in soils consist either of mineral matter or of organic matter. The mineral matter is derived from the decay of rocks. The organic matter (humus) arises from the decay of animal and vegetable substances. The most COMPOSITION OF SOILS abundant mineral ingredients of soils are sand and clay. To a less extent, limestone also is often present. What sand is may best be learnt by examining the sand on the sea-shore, or in a sand-pit, or in a heap of sand intended to be mixed with lime for making mortar. In many country districts fine sand can be scraped together on the roadside, after a heavy storm of rain. It consists of a number of small hard clean particles of stone which, looked at through a magni- fying glass, are usually found to be rounded like the stones or pebbles in gravel. Sand is, in fact, a very fine sort of gravel, and the small particles which pass though a sieve can afterwards be shovelled up as sand. When sand is put into a bowl and water poured upon it, the liquid at once sinks into the sand. If the bowl be turned upside down upon the ground the water will drain from it, and the heap soon becomes dry. Particles of sand will not adhere to each other, and if moist sand is made into a ball in the hands, it will fall to fragments after the pressure ceases. Hence it is that sand is easily carried by the winds, and on some parts of sea-coasts this drifting of loose sand takes place to a serious extent. A soil consisting entirely of sand would be useless to the cultivator, for he could grow nothing upon it. Plants would be unable to get sufficient hold for their roots. Besides this they would pine away for lack of moisture, because all the rain that fell upon such a soil would trickle through and leave it dry. The physical properties of sand, therefore, are such that a soil of pure sand would be useless. Sand is equally deficient in respect of its chemical pro- perties. It^is composed of oxygen gas united with an element called silicon, which is never found pure in a state of nature, and can only be isolated with difficulty by the chemist. In most cases sand can offer to plants nothing whatever that can serve them as food. A micaceous sand, however, contains fragments or spangles of the glittering mineral mica, which when decomposed is capable of yielding potash, lime, iron, etc., some of which may be used by plants as food. Although sand, by itself, has no physical or chemical qualities which can commend it to the cultivator, yet as a CLAV 13 constituent of soils it confers upon them two important pro- perties. It tends to make them light and open, and therefore permeable to moisture, air, and warmth. In addition, its stony particles become warm under the rays of the sun, and so the temperature of the soil is raised. Clay is made up of exceedingly minute particles which readily adhere to each other, so that clay, when moist, can be moulded or kneaded by the hand into any desired shape. Hence its use in making bricks, tiles, drain-pipes, and pottery. When water falls upon a surface of clay it accumulates in puddles, and water that is lodged in the interstices of clay has very little tendency to drain away. Clay, therefore, is described as imper- meable to water. The chemical composition of clay is less simple than that of sand. The latter is made up wholly of silica. Pure clay con- tains silica together with another substance called alumina. Like silica, alumina also is an oxide, being composed of oxygen combined with a silvery-looking metal, aluminium, which has a number of useful applications in the arts. Water enters into the composition of all natural clays, and these are accordingly described by the chemist as hydrated silicates of alumina, a name that sufficiently indicates the presence of water, silica, and alumina, 'hydrated' being derived from the Greek word for water. From a chemical point of view, pure clay would be as useless as pure sand as a source of plant food. But clays are always more or less impure, and the impurities present usually contain elements, such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, and iron, which play an important part in the nutrition of plants. The physical properties of clay are, in many respects, the reverse of those of sand. Sand is loose and non-cohesive, clay is firm, plastic, and tenacious ; sand rapidly loses moisture, clay is very retentive of it ; sand easily becomes hot and dry, whereas clay remains cool, and is well able to resist a drought. It appears, then, that a soil consisting entirely of clay would be very firm, cold, and damp, and if exposed to much rain the surface would become muddy, owing to the moisture not drain- ing away. As one of the constituents of a soil, however, clay is found to possess many valuable properties. Thus, it condenses 14 COMPOSITION OF SOILS the oxygen of the air ; retains water, thereby keeping the soil moist ; gives tenacity to the soil ; absorbs and retains the use- ful products resulting from the decomposition of manures, such as ammonia, potash, lime, and phosphoric acid ; and is rich in useful substances (alkalies) adapted to supply plants with food. Most soils contain limestone, though this substance is rarely present in large proportion. Limestone is carbonate of lime, and consists of carbonic acid, chemically united with lime. Lime itself — seen in its pure form in quicklime — is an oxide of calcium, formed by the union of oxygen with a metal called calcium, which never occurs free in nature and can only be pre- pared with difficulty. If some powdered chalk, or Bath free- stone, or broken marble — all of which are limestones — be put in a tumbler, and a weak solution of hydrochloric acid or sulphuric acid be poured upon it, the union of the carbonic acid gas with the lime will be broken, and the gas will escape in bubbles. The effervescence noticed when a bottle of ginger beer or soda water is opened, is similarly due to the escape of carbonic acid gas, which has been previously forced under pressure into the water. If a soil contains limestone in any appreciable quantity its presence can be detected in the manner just indicated. Take a small portion of soil which has been dried as described on page 4 and rub it down to a powder, then pour a few drops of weak hydrochloric acid upon it. If carbonate of lime is present, effervescence will result. It is necessary to distinguish between lime and limestone, because unfortunately the term ' lime ' is popularly made to do duty for both. Limestone, as has been said, consists of lime combined with carbonic acid gas ; it is a carbonate of lime, or, to use strictly chemical nomenclature, a carbonate of calcium. Lime can be obtained from limestone by burning the latter in a limekiln wherein the heat is sufficient to drive the carbonic acid gas away from its combination with the lime. The whitish substance (quicklime) left behind crumbles when touched. If water is poured upon it the liquid is greedily absorbed, there being a marked rise in temperature, and the resulting mass being known as hydrated lime, or slaked lime, or slack lime. If quicklime — also called caustic lime — be exposed to the air, it HUMUS 15 will, besides absorbing water, re-unite with carbonic acid gas, and gradually revert to the form of carbonate of lime or lime- stone. Pure lime never occurs naturally. When it is said that a farmer is ' liming ' his land, it is not always certain whether it is meant that he is giving it a dressing of lime — that is, quicklime — or of carbonate of lime. As a constituent of soils, limestone, if sufficiently pulver- ised, has useful agricultural properties. On account of its re- action with acids it aids the decomposition of organic manures, such as farmyard manure, and promotes the formation of nitrates in the soil. Most limestones are more or less impure, owing to the presence of phosphates or sulphates of lime, magnesia, &c., the elements of which are valuable as ingredients of plant food. Carbonate of calcium renders clay soils more friable. Humus consists chiefly of decaying vegetable matter in the soil, sometimes mixed with a greater or less proportion of animal substance. It has a dark brown or blackish colour. Well-rotted leaf-mould, so largely used by gardeners, is very rich in humus. The compounds produced in the decay of organic matter in the soil contain a larger proportion of nitrogen to carbon than exists in living vegetation, the carbon of the humus being diminished by much of it going off in union with oxygen as carbonic acid gas. It was formerly thought that humus was capable of serving directly as plant-food, but thip has been proved to be not the case. Nevertheless, humus is of great value, because the final products of its decomposition — chiefly carbonic acid, ammonia, and water — are capable of administering to the food requirements of growing plants. The quantity of humus usually present in cultivated soils ranges from. 2 to 9 per cent., and, within these limits, the soil will be the richer, or the more fertile, the more humus it contains. It is possible, however, for a soil to contain too much decaying organic matter ; this is the case with peaty soils and boggy moorlands. Garden soils commonly contain more humus than ordinary agricultural soils. Sandy soils need to be enriched with humus, not only on account of its containing fertilising ingredients, but equally for its moisture-holding capacity. Of the various consti- tuents of soils none are equal to humus in the power of absorbing 1 6 COMPOSITION OF SOILS and retaining moisture ; hence, a soil rich in humus' is better able to withstand drought. In contrast with the free, open, sandy- soils are the firm, dense, water-holding clay soils ; in these, humus has a physical value on account of its property of loosen- ing, and thereby opening and aerating, the soil. Consequently, the very growth of crops may improve the soil for future crops, because the crop-residue, in the form of roots and stubble, goes to increase the store of humus which the soil contains. Hence it is necessary in some cases to increase, and in others to judiciously regulate, the quantity of humus contained in the soil. By the process of green manuring — that is, raising a crop of mustard, rape, or any other quick-growing plant, and ploughing it in green — the amount of organic matter in a soil can be speedily increased. Classification of Soils. — Soils consisting almost exclusively of one constituent are rare and exceptional. Nearly all soils of the farm and garden will be found to contain sand, clay, a little limestone, and some amount of humus. Inasmuch, how- ever, as clay and sand are, in point of quantity, by far the lead- ing ingredients of most soils, it has been found convenient to classify soils according to the percentages of clay and sand they contain. Suppose, then, for the sake of simplicity, that a soil consists almost entirely of sand and clay. If, in such a case, the quantity of clay does not exceed lo per cent, of the weight, a sandy soil is the result. With from lo to 40 per cent, of clay it is a sandy loam. With from 40 to 70 per cent, of clay it is a loamy soil. With from 70 to 85 per cent, of clay it becomes a clay loam, and with from 85 to 95 per cent, of clay a strong clay. A loam, it will be noticed, is a soil consisting of a mixture of sand and clay, in which neither of these ingredients is greatly in excess of the other. A gravel loam and a chalk loam are loams of which gravel and chalk respectively are noteworthy ingredients. A marl is a clayey soil containing from 5 to 20 per cent, of carbonate of lime. .Should the limestone present exceed 20 per cent, of the total weight, a calcareous soil is the result. A sandy BEST KINDS OF SOIL 17 soil containing some amount of carbonate of lime is called a calcarene (Lat. calx, limestone ; arena, sand). The subjoined diagram will serve to illustrate the foregoing lassification : — Loam Sand, go per cent. For nearly all purposes loams make the most suitable soils. If a soil happens to be excessively sandy, or clayey, or cal- careous, or peaty, it will be improved in character in propor- tion as it is brought to resemble a good medium loam. The object of the cultivator is, as far as possible, to bring it into such a condition. Experience proves that a soil is best adapted for purposes of cultivation when it contains of — Sand (siliceous and calcareous) . . from 50 to 70 per cent. Clay I 20 ,, 30 ,, ,, Pulverised limestone . . . . ,, 5 ,, 10 ,, ,, Humus 5 i> 10 II 11 It thus contains enough sand to make it warm, and pervious to air and moisture ; enough clay to render it moist, tenacious, and conservative of manures ; enough limestone to furnish calcareous material and to decompose organic matter ; and, lastly, sufficient humus to assist in supplying the food require- ments of plants, and to aid in maintaining the carbonic acid in the interstitial air of the soil. The reason that alluvial soils are generally so fertile is the mixed mineral character they possess, C 1 8 COMPOSITION OF SOILS owing to their having been usually derived from the disintegra- tion of various kinds of rocks, and not of one kind only. Such a soil as that indicated in the above table is, however, the exception rather than the rule in nature, most soils being characterised by too great an excess of one or more of the ingredients. Various commonplace terms are applied to soils. A sandy soil is described as light, and sandy and loamy soils are spoken of as open and free-working.- A clay soil is described as heavy because it is sticky or tenacious ; it may also be termed stiff or stubborn. As a matter of fact, however, a cubic foot of sand weighs more than a cubic foot of clay, the terms ' light ' and ' heavy ' referring to consistency rather than to density. A ' mellow ' soil is one which, by natural or artificial means, has been reduced to a fine state of subdivision. A ' hungry '- soil is one which is greedy of manure and of water, with little power of retaining either ; a poor sandy soil is an example. A ' cold' spil contains an excess of clay or of humus, both of which retain water. A ' shallow' or ' thin' soil is one in which the distance from the surface to the subsoil is but little ; on the Chalk Downs some of the soils are so shallow that they cannot be ploughed deeper than 3 inches. To go below this would bring up so much carbonate of lime (chalk) that it would exercise an injurious effect for years. Of the chemical ingredients of soils, silica, alumina, and lime have already been noticed. Others, usually present, are potash, soda, magnesia, oxide of iron, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, and chlorine. With the exception of chlorine these are all oxides, that is, compounds formed of the union of oxygen with some other element, though, in the case of the two acids named, water also enters into the composition. Potash, soda, magnesia, and oxide of iron are compounds of oxygen with the metals potassium, sodium, magnesium, and iron respectively. Phosphoric acid and sulphuric acid contain, as their names imply, the non-metallic elements, phosphorus and sulphur re- spectively, combined with hydrogen and oxygen. The substances which have been named do not usually exist free in the soil — no soils contain potash, soda, lime, or magnesia, as such, though many include free oxide of iron. The oxides of the ANALYSES OF SOILS 19 metals {bases as they are termed) exist in soils in combination with the acids, forming salts.^ All clays contain silicate of alumina, and frequently silicate of potash. Phosphates, sul- phates, and carbonates of lime, and of magnesia, occur natu- rally in many soils. Oxide of iron, though not present in quantity, is of interest in that the colours of soils are more frequently due to this ingredient than to any other. Red and yellow sands and clays owe their colour to the presence of similarly coloured oxides of iron. Oxygen combines with iron in several different proportions, and the change in colour of a subsoil from a bright yellow to a rusty brown may be due to the bright yellow oxide of iron becoming more thoroughly oxidised when the subsoil is exposed to. the air at the sur- face. Of the sarious substances required by crops to sustain their growth, there are' four of which the available supply in the soil is liable to run short, so that the deficiency has to be made good by the cultivator. These are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and lime. The latter three, as they occur naturally in the soil, belong to the mineral ingredients. Nitrogen, on the other hand, is derived from the decay oi organic matter in the soil, in addition to which small but variable quantities are brought down in rain. The following analyses of soils have been specially selected, and are presented here together, as illustrative of the variations in the composition of soils, which is the subject discussed in this chapter. Respecting the four ingredients just referred to, it is seen that nitrogen ' is at its highest (2'47 per cent.) in the peaty soil, and at its lowest (0-12 per cent.) in the, sandy soil. Of phosphoric acid, the percentages range {xoTfypnt in the clay 1 Acids whose names end in ic form salts whose names usually end in ate; thus, sulphuric- acid forms sulphates; nitric aeid, nitrates. ' ' Nitrogen, equal to ammonia,' is a phrase commonly employed in the tabular results of analyses. It indicates the quantity of ammonia which would contain the quantity of nitrogen stated, ammonia being a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen.- The proportion is that of 14 to 17, these numbers indicating the relative weights of equal volumes of nitrogen and ammonia gases. In the five analyses here given, the student may convince himself by calculation that the ratio o'f nitrogen to ammonia is, in each case, as 14 : 17. See also the analyses on pages 68 and 72. c 2 20 COMPOSITION OF SOILS soil to o-io in the sandy soil. Potash is at its highest (076 per cent.) in the clay soil, whilst lime is most abundant in the chalk soil and very deficient in the sandy soil. The student will notice the small percentages of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, which are usually present in cultivated soils. He will also observe the high proportions of insoluble silicates and sand — amounting to four-fifths or more of the whole — which enter into the composition of clays, loams, and sandy soils. Table I. — Composition, of a Sandy Soil from Staffordshire (near Rugeley) 1 Organic matter and loss on heating . 2 '82 Oxide of iron "92 Alumina '88 Lime ........ "iS Magnesia ... . . '12 Potash '07 Soda '06 Phosphoric acid 'lo Sulphuric acid "01 Insoluble silicates and sand . . . 94 '84 100*00 ^ Containing nitrogen . . , *I2 equal to ammonia . . . . '15 Table II. — Composition of a CLAY Soil, from Cambridgeshire [near Cambridge) 1 I Organic matter and lo ss on heatmg . 7-2I Oxide of iron S77 Alumina . 4''1S Carbonate of lime 2 "26 Magnesia , 79 Potash •76 Soda . •06 Phosphoric acid . , •16 Sulphuric acid . •10 Insoluble silicates and sand 78-44 100 'oo 1 Containing nitrogen . ■16 equal to ammon la . . . ■19 LOAM, CHALK, AND PEATY SOILS Table III. — Composition of a Loam Soil from Kent (a hop soil near Sittingboume) • Organic matter and loss on heating . . 5-07 Oxide of iron 3'63 Alumina 3'5i Carbonate of lime i'48 Stilphate of lime '34 Magnesia "42 Potash "30 Soda 'oi Phosphoric acid 'lo Insoluble silicates and sand . . . 85-14 loooo 1 Containing nitrogen .... '19 equal to ammonia .... '23 Table IV. — Composition of a Chalk So\i, from Norfolk (near Kin^s Lynn) 1 Organic matter and loss on heating . . 3'i3 Oxide of iron i '52 Alumina i'63 Carbonate of lime 28 77 Sulphate of lime '18 Magnesia '36 Potash ... ... -18 Soda '11 Phosphoric acid '15 Insoluble silicates and sand . . . 63-97 100 'oo 1 Containing nitrogen . . . . ■i8 equal to ammonia .... '21 Table V. — Composition of a Peaty Soil from Devonshire [near Exeter) * • 1 Organic matter and loss on heating . . 64 '66 Oxide of iron and alumina . . . . 13 '96 Carbonate of lime i '80 Potash, soda, magnesia, &c. ... '98 Insoluble silicates and sand . . . 18 "60 100 -oo 1 Containing nitrogen . . . .2-47 equal to ammonia . . . . a-gg 22 LOSSES AND GAINS OF SOILS CHAPTER III SOURCES OF LOSS AND OF GAIN TO SOILS The soil is ever-changing. It is continually giving up matter, and as constantly receiving fresh matter. That crops rob soils of some of their ingredients is proved by burning the plants and analysing their ashes, which yield substances identical with some, of the mineral matters of the soil, and different from anything which is contained in the afr. The soil loses water, partly by direct evaporation from the surface into the air, but more especially through supplying that which the plant gives up by evaporation (transpiration) from the leaves. A still more serious loss is that which is effected through the medium of the water — drainage water — which flows away from the soil. Such water carries with it particles of soil — fine earth — in suspension, and it inflicts even a greater loss upon the soil by dissolving certain substances and carrying them away invisibly in solution. By analysing drainage waters, and comparing the results with analyses of the rain waters which fall Upon the soil, it has been possible to arrive at many useful facts concerning the behaviour .of soils towards substances which are of importance as sources of food to crops. It has been ascertained that some of these substances are easily ' washed out ' of the soil, and are therefore commonly present in the drainage waters. Other useful substances, which are known to be present in the soil, are usually, found in the drainage waters in only minute quantities; the soil exercises what is called a retentive power over these, since it retains or keeps hold of them. The substances of agricultural interest which are most readily carried away in solution by drainage waters are the chlorides and nitrates of sodium and calcium (lime), and, to a less degree, the . sulphates of sodium and calcium. The most important of these, are the nitrates — ' nitrate of soda' and ^ nitrate of lime,'- as they are commonly termed. On the other hand, most fertile soils possess a great re- tentive power for ammonia (a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen), potash, and phosphoric acid ; consequently, salts of LOSS IN DRAINAGE WATERS 23 ammonia and potash, and phosphates generally, are rarely found in drainage waters, unless under very exceptional condi- tions. It is the clayey portion of the soil which exercises the retentive influence upon these soluble bodies, and, when rain falls upon the land, the effect of its -solvent properties is to cause a more equable distribution of these substances in the soil, rather than to wash them out. Experiments have shown that the expulsion of soluble salts from the soil takes place most freely when the percolation of moisture is the most rapid, so that a heavy rainfall, restricted to a few days, does far more harm in washing the soil, than would the same amount of rainfall spread over a month. The richness of drainage waters in nitrates is, in the climate of England, greatest in early autumn, whilst it diminishes through the winter, and is least in spring. The summer is, nevertheless, the season when nitrates are most abundantly produced in the surface soil ; but, as httle drainage occurs in summer time, owing to the temperature encouraging a high rate of evaporation, the nitrates at that season accumulate in the soil. As the autumn advances, drainage becomes active, and the washing out of the nitrates commences ; the first drainage is not, however, always the richest, because the nitrates are most abundant at the surface and must be displaced by rain, and allowed time for diffusion, before they can appear in quantity in the drainage water. Shallow soils are most quickly washed out, whilst deep soils, possessing a larger mass for the ■diffusion of the nitrates, part with them more slowly and uniformly. At Rothamsted, Hertfordshire, experiments were made to find out what quantity of nitrogen may be carried away in drainage waters. Three drain-gauges were sunk in bare soil, each occupying a surface area of xhsts of ^1 acre, but extending to depths of 20 inches, 40 inches, and 60 inches respectively. All th? water that drained through the gauges was collected, and the quantity of nitrogen contained in it was ascertained in the laboratory. It was found that the annual amount of nitrogen in the form of nitrates removed in the drainage water was, on an average of four years (1877 to 1881), 45-51 lb., 36'32 lb., aijd 43-59 lb.. 24 LOSSES AND GAINS OF SOILS respectively per acre from the three drain-gauges, the mean of all being 41*81 lb. per acre, which is the amount of nitrogen contained in 268 lb. of ordinary nitrate of soda. Supposing — and this is a fair and reasonable supposition — that the drainage- water contained at the same time 0-5 part of nitrogen per million in the form of organic nitrogen and ammonia, this gives a total of 4377 lb. as the quantity of nitrogen removed in one year, from an acre of uncropped soil, in drainage-water which amounted to I7'28i inches. Such a quantity of nitrogen is equal to that contained in an average crop of wheat or barley ; its loss to the soil in the drainage- water is thus a matter of grave import- ance. Though such loss may be, and probably is, consider- ably less in an ordinary agricultural fallow, occurring in rotation, than in the Rothamsted drain-gauge experiments, the loss must clearly be a very serious one whenever the season is wet. It has been estimated that, upon the farm soil at Rothamsted,. as much as 80 lb. of nitrogen, as nitric acid, is formed in an acre of land during a whole year's bare fallow. In the drainage experiments just referred to, the mean annual amount of nitrogen per acre, carried away in the drainage-waters over a period of thirteen years, was 37 lb. By bare fallow is meant an interval between the crops upon a soil, during which space of time no crop is grown upon the land. It \s a. period of rest. Bare fallow can only be thoroughly successful in a dry climate, in which case the active production of nitrates, which takes place in a fallow, will doubtless greatly increase the fertility of the soil for the succeeding crop. In a wet climate the practice of bare fallow must result in a rapid diminution of soil nitrogen ; hence farmers have introduced what are called ' fallow crops ' and ' catch crops,' the effect of which is to intercept the nitrogen which would otherwise be lost, and could only be replaced by the use of expensive manures. One method by which a crop will greatly diminish such loss has already been noticed, namely, by largely increasing the amount of evapora- tion from the leaves (transpiration), and thus diminishing the amount of drainage. Besides the drainage-waters from bare fallow land, those from variously manured soils cropped with wheat have alsO' SOURCES OF GAIN TO SOILS 25 been collected and examined at Rothamsted. Wheat is a crop .which, so far as is known, is entirely dependent for its nitrogen upon the nitrates in the soil. The average results for three years show that an unmanured soil upon which wheat was grown yielded only 3-9 parts and 4-5 parts respectively of nitrogen, as nitric acid, per 1,000,000 parts of drainage water. On, the other hand, a bare soil kept free from weeds afforded 107 parts of nitrogen, as nitric acid, in 1,000,000 parts of drainage water. So that there was about two and a half times as much nitrogen washed out from the bare soil as from the soil upon which the wheat was grown. The much lower proportion of nitrates in the drainage-water of the wheat land was partly owing to the exhaustion of the nitrogen of the soil by growing successive crops of wheat without manure, but it was chiefly due to the fact that the crop made use of the nitrates which would other- wise have been lost in the drainage water. So great is the demand of the wheat crop for nitrates that, during the period of most active growth, and for some time after, no nitric acid, or the merest trace only, could be found in the drainage waters collected from several of the plots in the wheatfield in which the experiment was made. The sources of gain to the soil are to be sought in the land itself, in the atmosphere, in the residues of crops, and in the application of manures and of other dressings. In the land itself a slow conversion of subsoil into soil is always in progress, owing to the natural agencies that have been described. In certain circumstances it is found desirable to hasten this change by ploughing deeply enough to break the subsoil. In the case of a local or indigenous soil every gradation may be seen (fig. i). between the free-working surface soil at the top, and the hard unweathered bed-rock at various depths be- neath. The soil itself is a transition stage between the rock, which is the parent of the soil, and the finely divided or soluble matter which is usually carried away in the waters that drain from the soil, or — in the case of dissolved matter — is exported from the farm in the form of crops. The stones and other coarse fragments in the soil are con- tinually undergoing reduction to smaller size, and adding thereby to the 'fine earth' or mould amongst which the roots 26 LOSSES AND GAINS OF SOILS ■of plants can travel in search of food. Every change of ■temperature that affects the soil, every frost that disrupts its particles, every shower of rain that soaks into its interstices, and every current of air that blows across its surface — each does its work in reducing the soil to a finer mechanical con- dition. To these natural causes must be added the powerfiil agents of disintegration which man has at his command in the plough and other implements of tillage (see p. 44). Rain, as a source of gain to the soil, supplies on the one hand most of the water upon which our crops are dependent for their growth, and on the other hand it carries down from the atmosphere certain ingredients which, though small in relative quantity, yet represent a significant addition to the stores of fertility within the soil. As rain condenses, and falls through the air, it dissolves some of the gases which are present in the atmosphere. In rain-water, collected in the country, nitrogen and oxygen are the chief gases dissolved, together with a small quantity of carbonic acid and a still smaller amount of carbonate of ammonium (a compound containing ammonia, water, and carbonic acid). The rain further contains certain solid substances gathered in the course of its descent. Some of these, as the chlorides, sulphates, and nitrates of sodium, calcium, and ammonium, are dissolved by the rain ; others, as particles of dust and soot, are merely mechanically held, and give to rain-water its usually dirty appearance. As a rule these various substances are present only in very minute quantities. An example of what rain-water may actually contain is shown in Table VI., which affords information concerning the composition of rain-water collected at Rothamsted. It indicates that nitrogen may occur in rain in the forms of nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, and organic matter. The carbon and nitrogen in the organic matter represent the soluble matter extracted by the rain from the organic dust with which it has come in contact in the atmosphere, or on the surface of the collecting vessels. The mean proportion of nitrogen to carbon is about I : 5 (o'lg to ego), so that the organic matter dissolved in rain is of a decidedly nitrogenous character. The chlorine of rain-water is due to the presence of common salt. It will be COMPOSITION OF RAIN-WATER AND DEW 27 seen that the total solid matter (33- 1 parts) dissolved in rain- water is considerably greater than the sum (5'4 parts) of the constituents which are specified in the table ; the remaining matter is made up partly of sulphates, which form a large ingredient of rain-water. Table VI. — The Maximum, Minimum, .and Mean Amounts of Certain Constituents in Sixty-nine Samples of Rain-water; IN Parts per Million. Total Solid Matter. Carbon in Or- ganic Matter. Nitrogen as Chlo- rine. Or- ganic Matter. Am- monia. Ni- trates and Ni- trites. Total Nitro- gen. Hard- ness Highest propor- 1 tion . . . f Lowest propor- 1 tion ... J 85-8 6-2 372 0'2I 0-66 0-03 1-28 o'o4 0-44 O'OI 1-94 0-13 I6-S. CO 16 CO Mean, 69 sam- 1 pies . . . / 33'i o'go o'i9 0-37 o'i4l 070 3'i 47 * The mean of 34 samples. Inasmuch as deTW and hoar-frost are also sources of soil- moistiire, the composition of several sainples, likewise collected at Rothamsted, is given in Table VII. By comparing the figures Table VII. — ^The Maximum, MinimuM) and Mean Amounts of Certain Constituents in Seven Samples of Dew and Hoar- frost, IN Parts per Million. 1 Carbon Nitrogen as Chlo- rine. T°f?J in Or- i Or- ganic Matter. Am- monia. Ni- trates and Ni- trites. Total Nitro- gen. Hard- ness. Highest propor- 1 tion . . .) Lowest propor- 1 tion . . . i 80 -o 26 '4 4'SO I '95 1-96 C26 2-31 1-07 \ 0-50 0-28 4-SS 1-66 8-0 3'S 25-0 13-0 Mean, 7 sam-l pies . . J 487 2-64 C76 1-63 C40 ' 279 5-3 19-0 '" The mean of four analyses. 28 LOSSES AND GAINS OF SOILS in this table with those in Table VI. it will be learnt that these small deposits, condensed from the lower stratum of the atmosphere, contain on an average three or four times the amount of organic carbon, organic nitrogen, ammonia, and nitric acid found in the rain-water. The total quantity of solid matter, and the amount of chlorides, are also larger, but the difference is much smaller than in the case of the other ingre- dients. The mean proportion of organic nitrogen to carbon is I : 3|, as compared with about i : 5 in the rain-water. The composition of rain-water varies, however, very con- siderably according to the locality in which it is collected, as may be learnt from a study of Table VIII. The rain ol Table VIII. — Average Composition of Samples of Rain from Various Districts of England and Scotland, in Parts per Million. Nitrogen as Chlorine. Sulphuric Acid. Ammonia. Nitric Acid, England, country places, inland ,, towns Scotland, country places, sea coast ,, ,, ,, inland . towns ,, Glasgow .... 0-88 4-25 o-6i 0-44 3'i5 7-49 o'lg 0-22 OTI o-o8 0*30 0-63 3-88 8-46 12 '24 3-28 570 872 S'52 34 '27 5-64 2 -06 16 'SO 70-19 towns exhibits a large increase both in ammonia and sulphuric acid, and a smaller, though a considerable, increase in chlorides and nitrates. Chlorides are most abundant in the rain collected at the sea-coast. Rain gathered at Valentia, on the west coast of Ireland, yielded as much as 47'35 parts of chlorine per million. Independently of the carbonic acid gas which rain dissolves in its passage through the air (p. 8), nitrogen is by far the most valuable addition that rain makes to the soil. It is brought down chiefly in the two combinations of ammonia and nitric acid, in which forms farmers pay large prices for nitrogen when they purchase such artificial fertilisers as sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda (p. 70). Analyses of rain-water made at nine different places in Europe, between the years 1865 and 1880, gave an average of 10-23 lb- of nitrogen per acre per annum RESIDUES OF CROPS 29 brought down in the rainfall, the least quantity being i"86 lb. per acre at Kuschen, and the greatest 20-9 1 lb. per acre at Proskau. The total quantity of nitrogen supplied in the annual rainfall at Rothamsted is probably 4 to 5 lb, per acre, which is considerably less than the average of 10-23 lb. above mentioned. The remains of plants, particularly their roots, which ac- cumulate in the soil, are an obvious source of gain, and serve to confer, especially upon the surface-soil, some important characters. It is this plant refuge which constitutes the main source of the humus, which is an indispensable constituent of all fertile soils. In Table IX. are some figures showing, in certain cases, the ascertained weight of crop residues (water-free) per acre, together with the quantities of nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash contained by these. Table IX. — Weight and Composition of Residues of Crops. lb. per icre. Crop Residue. Nitrogen. Phos- phoric Acid. Potash. England : Good clover, — roots .... 6503 65-0 27 'O — Germany: Oats, — roots and stubble . . . Z200 25 'o 28-0 24-0 Connecticut, U.S.A. Timothy grass, — roots . . . 2240 3I-I 70 8-4 Table X. shows the weight of roots, stones, fine soil, and water contained in one acre of land, to a depth of nine Table X. — Roots, Stones, Fine Soil, and Water in Grass Land. lb. Tons Per cen Roots, etc. Stones, etc. Fine soil (dry) . Water . 10,400 • 904,387 . 1,908,978 • 543,150 = 4-6 4037 852-2 242-5 0-3 26-9 16 -I Total 3.366,91s = i,5o3'o 30 LOSSES AND GAINS OF SOILS inches, at Rothamsted, in a field that had been in grass for nearly thirty years. The proportion of stones is higher than in any of the arable fields at Rothamsted. It is seen that, after nearly thirty years, more than 4J tons of air-dried roots had accumulated per acre within a depth of nine inches from the surface. These roots gave on analysis 075 per cent, of nitrogen, equivalent to 78 lb. of nitrogen per acre. The intentional application in the course of tillage of natural manures and artificial fertilisers is an obvious source of gain of material to the soil. Dressings of clay, chalk, lime, marl, &c., upon soils that respectively need them are equally substantial sources of gain. The nitrogen contained in humus is known as organic nitrogen, that is, nitrogen combined with carbon. In this form it is scarcely, if at all, available as plant food, in order to become which it has to undergo a chemical change known as nitrification. This change results in the conversion of the nitro- gen by oxidation into nitric acid, the combination of which with some soluble base in the soil, such as lime, or potash, or soda, produces a nitrate, which can be taken up in solution by the rootlets of plants. A plant is capable of acquiring nitrogen from the soil in the form of either nitric acid or ammonia. As a matter of fact, however, the process of nitrification is so con- stantly going on, that far more nitrogen is taken up in the form of nitrates than in any other form. Nitrification is brought about through the vital activity of certain organisms that live in the soil. They belong to a group of living bodies that are so small that the highest powers of the microscope are necessary to discern them, but they are distin- guished rather by the effects they produce than by any charac- teristic form or structure. The micro-organism which promotes nitrification is a species of Bacterium, but more is known about the work it does than about the organism itself. Under the influence of the nitrifying bacteria the organic matter in the soil is converted into water, carbonic acid, and ammonia, and the latter finally into nitric acid. The conditions most favourable to the activity of the nitri- fying ferment, as it is also termed, are that the soil shall be moist, and porous enough to permit free access of air. The tem- MOISTURE IN SOILS 31 perature must be sufficiently high, nitrification being most active in the summer months, and ceasing as the freezing point is ap- proached. The soil must fcontain some base with which the nitric acid produced can combine ; usually this base is furnished by the lime of carbonate of lime, so that much of the nitrogen which enters plants does so as nitrate of lime (nitrate of calcium)' in solution. Too much moisture operates against nitrification,, and in a water-logged soil, such as a peat-bog, nitrification will not take place to an appreciable extent. CHAPTER IV MOISTURE IN SOILS Soils may suffer equally from containing too much water as from possessing too little. By draining on the one hand, and by suitable tillage on, the other, it is possible for the cultivator to exercise some control over the moisture in the soil. Crops, especially in droughty weather, draw largely upon the stores of moisture within the soil. To such an extent is this the case that, ordinarily, cropped land gives up more moisture than it would if left ip- bare fallow. In the case of a crop of barley grown at Rothamsted there was removed from the soil more water (see p. 107), [equivalent to 9 inches of rainfall], than had evaporated in the same time from an adjoining bare fallow. The powerful action of a crop in robbing a soil of its moisture is mainly due to the rapidity with which water evaporates, during daylight, from the surfaces of the leaves. A deep-rooted crop, like sainfoin or lucerne, may be more effective in drying the soil than a shallow-rooted crop, such as barley or oats. The water which evaporates from leaves goes off as pure water vapour, the substances dissolved in the water when it leaves the soil remaining behind in the\plant, and aiding in its nutrition. Some experiments that were made led to the conclu- sion that from 250 to 300 lb. of water were evaporated from the leaves for i lb. of dry matter added to the plant. ' Sometimes the evaporation of moisture from the leaves goes . on more rapidly than the roots take up fresh supplies 32 MOISTURE IN SOILS from the soil. This state of things may often be seen in a mangel field on a hot sunny afternoon in July or August, when the leaves are all limp and drooping. As evening approaches, and the sun's evaporative power lessens, the supply of water from the soil again equals the demand at the leaves, and the latter resume their crisp character, because their tissues become turgid with water. The maintenance of a suitable degree of moisture in the soil depends largely upon its physical condition, and especially upon its capillarity. No physical property is more familiar than that of capil- larity, or capillary attraction. When a lump of sugar is held with one comer dipping in a cup of coffee, the brown liquid quickly suffuses the whole lump. When a fresh wick is al- lowed to dip into the oil-reservoir of a lamp, the oil speedily travels up the fabric. When a sheet of blotting-paper touches a drop of ink, the latter rushes into it with a celerity that is familiar to every schoolboy. These are instances of capil- larity, and the phenomenon is dependent upon the presence of innumerable very fine tubes (Lat. capillus, a hair). As the internal diameter of these narrow tubes increases, so does the power of capillary attraction diminish. Myriads of such tubes exist in the soil ; and the finer the soil the more delicate, and consequently the more efficient, do these tubes become. On the other hand, the coarser a soil, that is, the more inferior the tilth, the more do the dehcate narrow tubes give place to others of wider bore. However dry and parched a cultivated soil may happen to be, it is not necessary to dig very deeply before moist soil is reached. By digging to a greater depth, the water table, or line of water level at that place, will be penetrated ; and it will be seen that from the water-level upwards the earth is moist, though the actual soil has lost all, or nearly all, its moisture. The fact that such a soil is not moist up to the surface is partly due to evaporation, though it is a question not so much of evaporation as of capillarity. The capillary tubes, having lost most of their moisture by evaporation, have crumbled inio other more open tubes, too broad for the water to travel along, CAPILLARITY 33 and hence the surface soil has been deprived of those myriads of minute invisible conduits which would have enabled it to continuously draw its supplies of moisture from the reservoir below. Had the surface soil been kept in a state of fine tilth — and this can be done by stirring it sufficiently frequently — the moisture would have travelled up from below to replace that which evaporated. When rain falls upon the soil, some of it sinks down to replenish the stoires below ; but during the season of active growth, and particularly in a droughty season, there is a move- ment of moisture from below upwards. This moisture replaces that lost at the surface by evaporation ; and its direction is such that it tends to keep the soluble plant food where it is wanted, that is, about the roots of the plants. If enough water be poured into a saucer in which stands a flower-pot full of earth, the surface of this mould will at length become moist, the water having travelled upwards necessarily by capillarity. But here another important point has to be considered. . If all the capillary tubes are open to the surface, evaporation can proceed from them so freely that the underground store of moisture may be insufficient to supply the continuous demand. Hence, again, it is desirable to keep the surface soil, by frequent stirring, in such a state that the capillary tubes are broken, or interrupted, a little below the surface. In this case the mere superficial covering of mould acts as a soil mulch ; and, like a layer of leaves, or grass, or farmyard manure, it protects the moisture beneath. Hence an occasional slight stirring of the superficial soil serves to conserve rather than to dissipate the underlying moisture, and such operations as hoeing and raking (harrowing) may be usefully resorted to even in very hot weather. In cases where, from frequent ploughings at the same depth, what is called a ' plough pan ' has formed, or where a layer of farmyard manure has accumulated beneath the soil, the over- lying soil soon becomes dry, and speedily suffisrs from drought. The explanation, of course, is that the surface soil has been cut off from capillary continuity with the moisture-laden earth below, and there has been no upward current of moisture to replace that which has been lost by evaporation at the surface. MOISTURE IN SOILS When land has been ploughed time after time, to the same depth, it is no unusual thing for a hard layer or plough pan to form. It opposes the passage of water, and the roots of plants are unable to penetrate it. The repeated sliding of the base of the plough at one depth, and the treading of horses and men along the furrow, are the cause of the consolidation to which the pan is due. It is necessary that all such hard or indurated pans should be broken, and this is effected either by the subsoil plough, the trench plough, or the steam cultivator. The subsoil plough breaks and stirs the subsoil without bring- ing any of it to the surface. The deeper-working trench-plough acts more thoroughly, but at the risk of bringing up to the sur- face objectionable matter. The incorporation of subsoil with soil is a procedure to be adopted only with great caution. Natural pans are formed by chemical agencies. On cal- careous soils, or where lime has been very freely used, this material forms a lime pan at a moderate depth from the surface. The changes are similar to those which take place when lime and sand harden in mortar.- In soils containing an undue proportion of oxide of iron, this material is washed into the subsoil, and cakes the particles together into an iron pan. In the same way the links of an iron chain may be cemented into one piece by iron rust. Peaty or moorland pans occur in heath and bog soils, and may arise from the accumulation of salts of iron beneath the surface. The subsoil plough and, in the case of lime-pans, the trench-plough, must be set to work to reduce these obstructive layers, and thereby promote the per- colating properties of the soil. In rtiost of the ordinary kinds of soils, sand, clay, and humus make up as much as nine-tenths of the whole, the actual ingredients upon which plants feed being comparatively small in amount (see Analyses, p. 20). The sand, clay, and humus, which constitute the bulk of the soil, furnish the staple or fabric in which the roots search for food. The structure of the rootlets is such that they can only take from the soil sub- stances that are dissolved in water ; they cannot take up solid matter. Hence, though a soil may contain an abundance of the constituents of plant-food, it is only those that are dissolved in water that can permeate into the plant and aid in feeding SOLUBLE AND INSOLUBLE CONSTITUENTS zs it The quantity of soluble matter thus available, even in rich soils, is never abundant at any one time. The object of the cultivator in his treatment of the soil — by tilling, manuring, fallowing — is to provide a succession of available plant-food, so that as the nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, lime, and other matters existing in the soluble form are used up, fresh supplies may be ready to take their place. If the soil should run short of any ingredient of plant-food it is said to be exhausted of that substance, and crops cannot be grown till it is replaced in sufficient quantity. Moreover, an excess of one substance will not make good the deficiency of another ; if a soil contains no potash an abundance of lime will not help it, and, similarly, though a soil may be rich in nitrogen it will yet be intapable of growing crops if it has no phosphorus. A good illustration of the difference between soluble and insoluble plant-food is afforded by nitrogen. Organic nitrogen, as it exists in farmyard manure, is insoluble in water, and there- fore the plant cannot make use of it. The same nitrogen, after the process of nitrification, takes the form of a nitrate — nitrate of lime usually — which is soluble, and, dissolved in water, can be taken up by the plant. The soluble and insoluble constituents of a soil are some- times spoken of as ' active' and ' dormant' respectively. They might also be called ' available ' and ' unavailable.' It is obvious that a chemical analysis of a soil is not, in itself, a sufficient guide to the fertility of the soil. Such an analysis would indicate the presence of a certain percentage of potash or of phosphorus, most of which, however, might, at least for a time, be in an unavailable condition, so that the soil would be tem- porarily barren. CHAPTER V IMPROVEMENT OF SOILS For general purposes the most useful soils are the loams, and the best kind of soil is that indicated on page 17. Garden soils, that have long been subjected to spade culture and 36 IMPROVEMENT OF SOILS generous manuring, are of this character. As a rule, however, soils are more or less deficient in one or other useful property, and this is notably the case in the soils of farms which undergo the usual course of field cultivation. It is the object of the cultivator to make good such deficiencies, and so to bring the soil into better condition. This may be effected in various ways. Soils consisting to an undue extent of one ingredient are poor. A soil which includes an excessive percentage of clay, or of sand, or of peaty matter, needs some corrective before it can be cultivated to the best advantage. The most obvious course to pursue is to apply to the soil, and to mix with it, that in which it is deficient. Hence have arisen various processes of amelioration — that is, making better — of the soil, such as chalking, liming, claying, and warping, to which may be added paring and burning, and green manuring. Peaty soils, and others containing too much organic matter, become what is termed ' sour,' owing to the excess of organic acids which develop in the land as the vegetable matter decom- poses. Lime by combining with such acids renders them harmless ; hence chalk or, if more convenient, quicklime is carted on ,to such land, allowed to crumble, then spread and ploughed in. Marl is the name given to clay containing variable quanti- ties of carbonate of lime ; it may be called a calcareous clay. The chalk marl of Farnham contains 66 per cent, of carbonate of lime, the clay marl of Kimmeridge has 34 per cent., and the Keuper marl of Worcestershire 8 per cent. Marl is put on land chiefly for the sake of the lime it brings with it, but on sandy soils it is useful in increasing their coherence and water- holding capacity, on account of the clay it includes. Old marl pit's are common in parts of Cheshire, and elsewhere. By vyarping is meant the covering of land with the sediment deposited from silt-laden streams or floods. It is practised in Lincolnshire and adjacent districts, usually on the flat borders near the mouths of sluggish rivers. The warp makes a rich top- dressing for the land. In the notable case of the valley of the Nile, the crops are dependent upon the annual overflow of the river, not only or manure, but also for moisture. DRAINING 37 Paring and burning are resorted to on day soils, and on soils that have become very foul from the presence of couch and other troublesome weeds. The surface is pared off, gathered into heaps, and fired, the ashes — partly of plants and partly of burnt earth — being returned to the land. A stiff clay soil may be rendered more open and porous if heaps of the clay are burnt to a ruddy brown colour, and then mixed again with the land. Clay that has been burnt does not, when moistened, resume its plastic character. The plasticity of clay is due to combined water, and this is driven off in the process of burning. Green manuring is a simple way of improving a soil that is deficient in organic matter or humus. Upon a light sandy soil, for instance, the seed of a quick-growing crop, such as mustard or vetches, may be sown, and- when the plant has attained a convenient height it is ploughed in. The crop thereby re- turns to the land not only all the matter it took from the soil, but a much larger quantity of carbonaceous material which it obtained from the air (see page i6). Though vegetation cannot thrive upon a soil that contains no moisture, it does not follow that because a soil is filled with moisture it is therefore well adapted to plant growth. Everything depends upon the condition in which such moisture exists. If it is stagnant, that is, if it takes the form of standing water, the soil will for practical purposes be barren. What is required is that the moisture in the soil should take the form of moving water, carrying with it plant-food in solution, and drawing after it the atmospheric air. It is to promote this flow of water — especially of rain water — through the soil, that the operation of draining is resorted to. Various indications serve to show when land heeds draining. ' After a fall of rain, the water collects in puddles upon the surface. Upon arable land, the crops are poor, and ill-coloured in the spring time, whilst such weeds as horsetail, coltsfoot, and bistort, spring up. Land of this kind works badly under the plough, and it is difficult to prepare seed-beds upon it. Upon undrained grass land, rushes, sedges, tussock grass, and similar weeds usurp the place of the desirable grasses. Plovers, starlings, and other insectivorous birds commonly frequent land that needs drainage. 38 IMPROVEMENT OF SOILS Ill-drained soils are always cold. The water with which the land is charged slowly evaporates into the air. In the conversion of water into vapour a large amount of heat is consumed, and it is the sun's heat, which would otherwise warm the land and promote plant -growth, which is thus diverted. Independently of this, water has a greater capacity for heat than most other substances, that is, to raise its temperature a given extent, water requires more heat than other bodies. Land is drained with the object of promoting the percolation of water and air. Sandy soils by their texture, some soils by their slope, and others by the character of their subsoil, are said to be naturally drained. Many soils, on the other hand, have to be subjected to a system of under-drainage before they arrive at the best condition for successful cultivation. Drain- tiles, or drain-pipes, are made of burnt clay, and unsound ones should always be rejected. The pipes are placed end to end at suitable depths, with a gentle inclination of not less than I in 220, along the entire course, in the direction of the surface. There is a relation between the depth of drains and their distance apart, — the nearer they are laid to the surface the closer are the lines of drain-pipes brought together. In a very light soil, a single drain at a suitable depth may serve to control a large area ; whereas, in a stiff clay, the drains may need to be laid only 1 5 feet apart, and not more than i\ feet below the sur- face. In practice, 21 feet is an ordinary distance apart on heavy land, with a depth of 3 or 3I feet. On light lands the width between drains may be extended to about 60 feet. In deter- mining the direction of drains, it does not follow that the greatest slope available should absolutely be taken. In land that drains freely, the water that fills the drain-pipes comes from below rather than from above. It is a familiar fact, proved in the sinking of wells, that at a certain depth water is reached. The surface of this, underground water — the water- table (page 32) — oscillates, approaching nearer to the ground after heavy rains and receding farther downwards after drought. The chief function of drains is to tap this reservoir of under- ground water, and so prevent the water-table from rising to such a height that moisture would stagnate about the roots of plants and thus hinder their growth. DRAINS 39 In cases of artificial draining it is necessary that ditches and other open watercourses should be kept clear and unob- structed. Attention to this point will often lead to the disap- pearance of defects at some distance away. Main drains should be 3 inches lower than furrow drains, and the outlets should be turned slightly down stream, and be brick-faced, with a grating to obstruct the entrance of rats. To prevent the accumulation of sediment, furrow drains should never enter a main drair opposite each other (fig. 2). The number of outlets should be as Fig. 2.— Plans of Drains. .F, furrow drains, not more than 600 feet long, and from 15 to 60 feet apart ; M, main drain ; O, outlet. few as possible, and every outlet ought to be marked on a plan of the farm, so that any one of them can be traced if lost sight of. Where springs occur they must be drained a few inches lower than the rest of the land. The various acts of tillage, such as ploughing, harrowing, rolling, hoeing, &c., are all directed to the amelioration of soils. The, primary improvement they effect is in the mechanical condition of the land, but, as a consequence of this, the weather- ing agencies get freer access to the recesses of the soil, and the result is an addition to the store of soluble plant-food. 40 TILLAGE CHAPTER VI TILLAGE To till the soil, and to till it well, is a primary condition of success in agriculture. The object of tillage is to bring the soil into the state best suited to the growth of crops — that is, ta improve its tilth. As preparatory to this, the soil has to be loosened and turned over, in order to enable air, rain, and frost to exercise their pulverising influence. This work is most effec- tually done by the spade or fork, and may be seen to perfection in kitchen gardens. The earth, dug out to a depth of 8 or 9 inches, is thrown forward, thus leaving a trench, behind which fresh spits of mould are dug out and turned over. This mode of tilling is too expensive for ordinary field work, though mechanical diggers have been introduced with some degree of success. Hence the farmer, having to cultivate extensive areas of land in a short time, has recourse to the plough. The plough and harrow perform in field culture the same operations as are far more thoroughly effected by the spade and rake in garden cultivation. In the operation of ploughing, weeds and other vegetable growth are buried beneath the inverted soil, and a large extent of surface is exposed to the action of the weather. The first step is thus taken towards the preparation of a seed-bed. Iri the operation of cultivating the object is to stir and loosen the soil without actually inverting it, and the implements thus employed are called cultivators. The work of hoeing or horse- hoeing land upon which a crop is growing comes under the head of cultivating, the destruction of weeds being the special object in view. In harrowing, an implement which presents a toothed or jagged face to the soil is drawn along by horses with the various objects of dragging away couch and other weeds previously uprooted, of reducing the surface of the land to a fine condition, and of covering the seed immediately after sowing. In rolling, coarse clods are crushed, the top of the soil is compressed or packed together, and a smooth, even surface is obtained. PLOUGHING 41 The plough and other implements of tillage are described in the succeeding chapter (p. 44), where many of the terms about to be used are explained. In working the plough the following instructions should be observed : — Ploughs with two wheels should, in turning the land's end, be balanced on the furrow wheel. In ploughing the last furrow, the land wheel is turned inwards or drawn up out of the way. On wet, sticky soil, where the land wheel clogs, a slide foot may be used instead of the wheel, and a short breast, which turns ■ the ftirrow more quickly, will be found preferable to a long breast. In very hard land, ploughs go more easily if the draught chain is lengthened three or four feet. When the ground is hard or stony, a share with a long point should be used, and, as the point wears off, the lever neck — if present — must be raised higher. On clay or soft land, or when ploughing without wheels, a share with short point should be used, and the lever neck fixed lower. The head or draught chain should also be lowered, so as to prevent the wheels cutting into the ground. The skim coulter should be set so as only just to clear the herbage on the surface — the shallower the better ; the hinder part should not be too high from the ground, but set as level as possible. In ploughing the coming back furrow, after drawing the first on the ridge, the skim coulter should be set moderately deep, so as effectually to bury the grass. A drag chain should be used on ley ground, as also when ploughing in green crops, stubbles, and long dung. On reaching the end of a furrow the plough should not be lifted by the ploughman to the next piece, but should be brought out by simply pressing on the handles, thereby using them as a lever. The plough is thus turned over on the right- hand side, balanced on the large or furrow wheel, not the small or land -wheel, and so drawn towards the next piece. The turning can be done by a boy, being a matter of skill rather than of strength. The breasts of ordinary ploughs are fixed on the right-hand •42 TILLAGE side, so that they turn the furrow shce on the right-hand side only. It is therefore necessary to work in ridges or lands, the width of which may be varied from eight feet to sixty-six feet, according to the climate and nature of the soil. Perhaps the best mode of ploughing; in dry climates with such ploughs is in twenty-two yard lands, as illustrated in ^g- 3- A s t / V : ; 1 t A ■x _A D M Q -22 >ards- FiG. 3. — Diagram showing Mode of Ploughing [Note. — mb=bq=qf=pn = nc] Step off from the left-hand boundary of the field twenty-two yards, as shown in the diagram. Divide this into two equal lengths of eleven yards each, M Q, Q N. Divide again that portion nearest the hedge or boundary into two equal lengths of five and a half yards, MB, B Q. Upon the centre line A B of this, throw a furrow slice from each side to form the ridge A B. Keep ploughing round the ridge B, in the direc- tion of the arrows, till five and a 'haM yax&s of ridging or gather- ing axe done each side, as shown in the diagram. This first piece being finished, step out twenty-two yards, B C, from the middle of the ridge A B ; this distance will extend five and a half yards beyond the first division, M N, of twenty-two yards, and its extremity forms the centre of the new ridge C S. Pro- ceed to make ridge C S, and plough round it five and a half yards on each side, as in the former case. There will then be eleven yards, Q N, of unploughed land between the two ridges A B and S C, which proceed to plough out {casting or splitting), first on one side and then on the other, until the work is finished in the middle, where there will be an open furrow F. Now proceed to step out twenty-two yards from the ridge C S, to get the centre for the new ridge (shown at D W) ; make a FORMS OF FURROWS 43 ridge on D W, and plough round it five attd a half yards on each side as before, then five and a half yards oh the right side of ridge C S being , already done, there will be eleven yards of unploughed land between the two ridges C S and D W, which plough out as before. From p, step out twenty-two yards to form the centre of another ridge, and so on until the field is finished. If it should happen that an odd piece is left over on one side, a separate ridge must be made for it. Where the fields are large, set out all the ridges first, so that several ploughs can work together in the same field. Change the position of the ridges at every fresh ploughing, beginning the new ridges in the old furrows. In the diagram, B A, C S are ridges ; F is a furrow. On heavy soils, as it is often impossible to get the surface- water away quickly enough unless the land is laid up in ridge and furrow, the mode of setting out the lands differs. The distance from the crown of one ridge to the crown of the next varies according to the nature of the land. Where a strong loam rests on a rather stiff subsoil, ten-yard lands may be sufficient ; the same soil with a very retentive subsoil would not be safe in more than seven-yard lands ; whilst a clay soil resting on clay should not be laid up in more than six-yard lands, and even five- or four-yard lands are practised. The smallest lands are laid up for wheat, when, to avoid treading on the seed-bed, they are ploughed so as to be just as wide as the corn-drill ; the horses then walk up the open furrows, so that all treading, and consequently puddling, are avoided. Of course these are flat, so that the drill runs evenly over them. Where the turn-wrest or one-way plough is used, one setting is sufficient, as all the fiirrows are turned in one direction, thus avoiding the loss of time and extra treading caused by finishes. The three forms of furrovys shown in fig. 4 are those most commonly employed. The rectangular furrow (i) is obtained by a flat cutting share and an upright coulter, so that the sole of the furrow is flat. The crested or high-cut furrow (2) is obtained by using a share which is raised on the wing side, and an undercut coulter. In the latter furrow a larger surface is exposed to the influence of the weather, and it is therefore 44 IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS frequently adopted in winter ploughing. The wide broken furrow (3) is the work of the digging breast plough, which is Fig. 4. — Forms of Furrows. 1, Rectangular furrow, unbroken ; 2, crested furrow, vmbroken ; 3, wide furrow, broken. more suitable for the purpose of producing tilths. In Kent and Sussex practice, the furrow slice is completely inverted. CHAPTER VII IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS The implements in use at the beginning of the present cen- tury were of a primitive and clumsy type, wood having been largely employed in the construction of those.parts now made with iron or steel. They were built with little regard to sound mechanical principles, consequently they were heavy in draught and deficient in execution. Improvements have gradually been made, but, as may be gathered from the suc- cessive volumes of the ' Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England,' with striking rapidity during the last fifty years. The Plough. — The early Egyptian plough had a share or. PLOUGHS 45 strictly speaking, an iron point, but no coulter or wheels ; the early Greek plough had wheels as well as a share. The Bayeux Tapestry illustrates the Saxon ploughs of the eleventh century as having coulters, shares, and wheels. But none of these old ploughs turned a furrow ; and it was not until the middle of the seventeenth century that the rude plough of antiquity was im- proved in any important particular. Even then the progress was slow, and such improvements as were effected were usually restricted to limited districts. The mould-boards continued to be made of wood, and it was not until 1760 that Small introduced the Scotch swing plough, of which the beam and handles were made of wrought iron and the mould-board of cast iron. Wooden mould-boards were still commonly used until about 1830. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the century, the self-sharpening chilled cast- iron ploughshares, the same as those now universally used, were invented, and plough bodies were made which could be taken to pieces, and the parts replaced by the ploughman in the field. Since that time there have been no radical changes in the principles governing the construction of ploughs, although great advance has been made in perfecting the different parts. The recently introduced digging plough has, however, to some extent altered the nature of the work done ; for, whereas the plough in common use compresses as well as inverts the furrow, the digging plough inverts the soil without compressing it. In other words, whilst the common plough in turning the furrow keeps the latter more or less entire, the digging plough pul- verises the soil, as well as turns it over. Modern ploughs may be conveniently arranged in five classes — i. Common ploughs, which simply turn the furrow, n. Digging ploughs, which pulverise the soil. 3. Turnwrest, or one-way ploughs, which turn all the furrows in one direction. 4. Double-furrow or multiple ploughs, 5. Special-purpose ploughs. Of these, the common plough, the digging plough, the turnwrest plough, and the double-furrow plough are used for breaking up hard land, and also in the subsequent workings. 46 IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS The double-breasted, the ridging or bouting, the subsoil, the multiple, and the potato-digging and other special-purpose ploughs are generally employed after the land has been partly worked. Of the common ploughs, the swing- ploughs, which are made without wheels, and must be balanced by the ploughman, are used on heavy land, where wheels are liable to clog when the ground is sticky, thereby adding greatly to the draught, and interfering with the ploughing, by altering both the depth and the width, of the furrows. They are also used on rocky land, as in some parts of Scotland, where it is necessary to frequently alter Fig. s. — Single Fuseow Plough. A, beam. B, handle or stilts. c, handle stay or brace. D, T-head. E, sliding-head. F, draught chain. G, breast or mould-board. H, breast stay. I, mould-board-rest. K, share. L, land wheel. M, land wheel standard. N, furrow wheel. o, furrow wheel standard. P, coulter. Q, coulter clip. R, skim-coulter. the depth of the ploughing in order to suit the depth, or rather the shallowness, of the soil, i The objection to swing ploughs is. that they require much greater skill in using, whilst it is difficult to obtain uniform depth and width of furrow, besides which there is an increase in draught. The common •wheel-plough is made with one wheel, or with two wheels. The one-wheel implement is used on sticky land, where it assists the holder to keep the plough steady without greatly interfering with the nature of the work done. The two- wheel plough (fig. 5) is much more commonly used, and, when properly set, leaves comparatively little for the holder to do. The furrow with this class of ploughs is turned over by a cast-iron PARTS OF PLOUGH 4? or steel mould-board,, which is made on the principle of a twisted strap, or somewhat like the screw of a steamer. This mould-board, drawn through the land, causes the cut furrow to turn over, and at the same time consolidates it more or less by pressing it against the preceding one. Two wheels are usually attached to digging ploughs, tumwrest ploughs, and most of the special-purpose ploughs. The parts of the common plough — many or all of which are present in other ploughs,— taken in the order in which it is' con- venient to fix them when putting the plough together, include the beam, to which are fitted the handles or stilts aX the back end, and (£g. 6) the kake and chain (sometimes called the ^^'i^fe) at the front end. The beam carries all the parts.' The handles Fig. 6. — Parts of Plough. A, drag weight and chain. E, hake and chain, c, spanner. are for steering and balancing the plough, whilst the hake and chain provide the means for attaching the plough to'thcwhipple- trees. The hake has notches by means of which the chain may be adjusted as required ; if the plough will not draw" into the ground readily the chain is lodged in one of the upper notches; whilst if the tendency is to draw in too deeply the chain is Unked in one of the lower notches, thus causing the plough to run without undue inclination either into or out of the soil, and relieviiig both horses and man of undue oir unnecessary strain. The hake can be moved sideways along the qtiadrant head, which is provided with holes and a pin to fix the hake in any Teqflired position. If the plough runs away from the unploughed land, the hake must be set to the right ; and if it runs too much to the" land, the hake must be set more to the left. . 48 IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS The. frame or body (fig. 7, E), which carries the whole of the ploughing parts except the coulters, is bolted to the beam. The g^-T7r~>> . Jtut"g.i'i'..-;»:^^- .^■.-:: <..>ia3:J Fig 7. — Parts of Plough. A, side cap, or land cap. B, slade. c, breast ; D, its rest, or 'footing.' E, cast frame or body. F, frame coupling. G, breast coupling. Fig. S.^Forms op Ploughshares. A, for square work in loams and B, paring share for skimming stub- land free from stones. bles. c, pointed share for stony land. share (fig. 8), the object of which is to make the horizontal cut ■of the furrow, is fitted on the fore end of the frame, or on a lever-neck, which is made adjustable, so that, by raising or PARTS OF PLOUGH 49 lowering the rear end of the lever-neck the share is set at a sharper angle the better to enter hard ground, or made to run level as desired ; this is called ' altering the pitch of the share.' The slade is then attached to the under side of the body, its duties being to support the plough and to make it run steadily. After this the side-cap or land-cap (fig. 7, A) is fixed, and its object is to keep the earth from falling into the furrow. The breast or mould-board is next bolted to the frame, and kept ad- justably rigid by means of the frame and breast couplings and the breast-stay. The rest supports the breast on the under side, and, taking the friction, prevents wear on the bottom of the breast, and is itself replaced at trifling cost. The lever-neck, when used, is attached to the frame under the breast. Many ploughs, however, are made without a lever-neck, in which case the shares are made more or less pitching, in order to suit the nature of the soil. The wheels are fixed to the fore-end of the beam by a cross- bar and beam-clasp. The crossbar is attached at right angles to the fore part of the beam by means of a clasp, which is held in its place by a set screw. The large or furrow wheel is placed on the right of the crossbar, and the standard which carries the wheel is held in position by wheel-sockets and set screws (fig. 9, E). It runs in the furrow, and regulates the width of the furrow slice. The small or land-wheel is similarly attached on the left of the crossbar, and runs on the unploughed land to control the depth of the ploughing. The ploughing is regulated by the manner in which the wheels are set : if it is desired that the furrow should be ploughed deeper the land- wheel is set higher, and vice versd. The width of the furrow is regulated by the furrow-wheel, the furrow widening in pro- portion as the furrow-wheel is set farther from the beam. The width of the furrow is, in fact, determined by the distance or width between the cut of the coulter and the track of the furrow wheel. The coulter (Lat. culter, a knife) is next attached to the beam by means of the coulter clip and loops (fig. 9, d). Some skill is required to fix the coulter in the correct position as it is neces- sary to place it at different angles according to circumstances, but, as a rule, the point of the coulter should be set so that it is E 50 IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS almost close to the share-point. The coulter makes the vertical cut of the furrow-slice. The skim-coulter, which is attached to the beam slightly in front of the coulter, is really a plough in miniature. It pares off the top of the furrow on the left side, when this is rendered desirable on account of plant growth upon it, or when it is necessary to cover in dung or other material lying on the surface. The small breast of the skim-coulter turns the loose material into the horse-walk, where it becomes imme- diately buried by the furrow. Fig. 9. — Parts of Plough. A, coulter (w, hole for attaching c, skim-coulter. drag weight and chain — fig. D, coulter clip and loops. 6, a). e, wheel socket and set screws. B, disc-coulter. Another method, frequently followed, of fitting the plough together, is to begin with the body, consisting of the frame, the slade, the share — either with or without lever-neck, — the breast, and the couplings which attach the breast to the frame. These practically make the plough. The beam is attached to the implement for the purpose of drawing it through the ground, for the J fixing of the wheels for regulating the depth, and for attaching the coulter to make the clean vertical cut. The handlesjare put on to the rear end of the body for the purpose of guiding the plough. With a knowledge of the details which have just been ex- DOUBLE AND MULTIPLE PLOUGHS 51 plained, it is not difficult to fit together the various parts of any of the other kinds of ploughs. In the case of the digging ploughs, the coulter, rest-iron, breast-stay, and side-cap are often found not to be necessary. The shin of the breast, and the skim-coulter, make the vertical cut, which, however not being exactly perpendicular, does away with the necessity of the side-cap. The digging- plough inverts the land, and, as it has a short concave breast, it throws the soil loosely over and pulverises it, thus effecting very similar work to that of the spade. The share is usually fitted with a chisel point, though this is not invariably the case. By leaving the land in a Hght condition it comes much more readily under the influence of the weather, and the subse- ■quent workings are lighter, as there is no hard core of the furrow to be made friable. The tumwrest plough is used on hilly land, being worked horizontally along hillsides and turning the furrows all in one ■direction, thus obviating the necessity of turning any of the furrows uphill It is also used on market-garden farms, where wide open furrows at the finish of each ridge are not desired and likewise for finishing the headlands and odd pieces left by steam ploughing. Double and multiple ploughs (fig. 10) are used to economise both horse and manual labour. Double-furrow ploughs are frequently employed to break whole land, and now that they are made lighter, and with special arrangements for turning at the headlands, they might be used much more frequently than is at present the case. They also do good work upon land that has been once moved. In some districts they are largely used and often result in a saving of horse labour, as three horses will plough two furrows, whereas, with a couple of single-furrow ploughs, four horses are required. Multiple ploughis, which turn three or four small furrows, are adapted for turning over light tilths, and — for paring stubbles after harvest — are much more economical than single-furrow ploughs. Special-purpose ploughs include many varieties, of which attention may be directed to those most commonly used. The double-breasted or ridging plough is employed for laying up land in ridges for root growing, and for moulding-up potatoes. The E 2 5- IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS subsoil plough is made to travel in the furrows behind an ordi- nary plough, the tine running along the horse- walk several inches deeper than the land has already been ploughed ; or the tine is sometimes fixed to the common plough, and the ploughing and subsoiling are effected in one operation. In this way land which, a few inches below the surface, has been rendered hard through compression or from natural causes and has formed Fig. 10. — Multiple Plough. A, beam. B, handle. c, draught head. D, draught chain. E, frame. G, breast, or mould-board. H, breast stay. I, mould-board-rest. K, share. L, land wheel. M, furrow wheel. N, lifting wheel, o, clip and standard of furrow wheel, p, dust cap on wheel. Q, crank axle. E, coulter. S, coulter clip. T, adjusting and lifting lever. V, quadrant. what is known as a pan (p. 34), becomes loosened. As a result, the roots of plants can extend more deeply, excess of water can drain away more readily, and the upward flow of moisture by capil- larity (p 32) is not checked. The potato-raising plough is used for splitting open potato ridges, thereby exposing the tubers so that they may be readily picked up. In order to facilitate the exposure of the potatoes the CULTIVATORS 53 breast takes the form of a raiser, a few prongs being substituted for the double breast of the moulding plough, so that the earth, falling through the spaces between the prongs, leaves the tubers on the surface. To render the work more perfect another raiser is fixed in the place of the slade. If the hinder raiser is taken off, an efficient moulding-up plough results. Gripping ploughs are usefully employed on grass land to cut grips, or shallow watercourses, for promoting surface drainage — work which is not efficiently done by ordinary ploughs. Cultivators are used {a) for breaking up whole land, and {b) Fig. II. — SiNGLE-Eow Root Horse-hoe, or Grubber. A, draught hook. B. beam. c C, frame. D D. handles. E E, wheel and standard. F F F, knife standards. G G, clamps for two side knives. H H, side knives. H', froijt knife. for stirring it after it is ploughed. They differ from ploughs in that they do not invert the soil. Cultivators are also called grubbers (fig. ll), scarifiers, or scufHers (fig. 12), though the term ' cultivator ' is perhaps more strictly applied to those im- plements which carry broad paring shares to clean the surface, as in the case of grubbers. All cultivators are made with frames to which are attached curved stems, set so that the shares or points which they carry may penetrate the land, and the whole framework is carried on wheels. Harrows, however heavily made, do not possess wheels, and this feature distinguishes 54 IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS cultivators from harrows. The introduction of multiple par- ing ploughs, and of shares attachable to ordinary ploughs capable of cutting wide furrows, and the more recent adop- tion of the digging plough, have combined to render the breaking-up of land by the cultivator less popular than it at one time was. Nevertheless, the practice still claims many adherents, though it will generally be found to be more econo- mical to resort to the use of some of the implements just men- tioned, as the tearing out of the land is palpably more difficult than merely cutting it, and turning it or not as desired. G Fig. 12. — Cultivator, Scarifier, or Scuffler. A, draught hook. E, beam. c c C, frame. D, lever for raising tines. E, arm connected to lever by F, connecting rod. G, handle to lever. H, catch for lever to hold tines into work. K K, hind wheel standards. L L, front wheel and standard. M M, tines or teeth. N N, hind wheels. o, clamps for same. The scarifier, or scuffler, is more often used with chisel points than with broad shares ; its duty is to break up furrows so that the lighter harrows may work more freely. The curve- tined drag-harrow is usually worked after the scuffler, and is. o-ne of the most useful of the tillage implements. It stirs the land and helps to form a good tilth, whilst by the curved form of its tines- it drags out couch, and is thus necessary in all cleaning operations. Straight-tined drags are used to level down furrows on light chalk soils, when there is much long rubbish or haulm which requires burying, and which, if dragged out, would prove troublesome. They are not adapted HARROWS 55 for clearing land of weeds, such as couch, which have extensive underground development. Harrows. — Light harrows are commonly made on the zig- zag principle, whereby the tines are so arranged that, while the whole of the surface of the land is operated upon, no two tines follow in exactly the same track (fig. 13). Heavy sets of harrows are made for working with three horses, intermediate sets for two horses, whilst the lightest seed-harrows, used for the final Fig. 13. — Zigzag Harrow. A A, draught beam. B, hake. C, draught chain. A, B, c, A, whippletree. D, D, D, tine marks. E, E, E, teeth or tines. covering in of the seed, require only one horse to draw them. Harrows take the place in field culture held by the rake in garden work. Chain-harrows are constructed so that they are quite flex- ible. They are convenient for gathering couch, which they free from dirt in the operation. They are equally useful for harrowing pastures, for which purpose those with points, are best adapted. Rollers and Pressers are made in many forms, though 56 IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS the main feature of rotation round an axle is common to them all. The heaviest are generally called clod crushers or pressers, and are used to reduce large clods to a size more convenient for treating with other implements, and also to bring the clods into a condition more susceptible to the influence of the weather. Clod-crushers are made with discs revolving on a main axle. In the case of the Cambridge roller the discs are arranged so that the cylinder presents a transversely fluted surface. Other pressers are made with serrated discs which present a broken surface, the outside of the cylinder being notched so that the clods are chopped by the rough edges. Smooth-cylinder iron rollers are usually made in two or more sections, the cylinders being placed end to end on an axle. One advantage of making the cylinder in sections is that in case one portion meets with an accident, or is worn out sooner than another, it can be replaced at less cost. What is of greater importance is that it is more convenient at the end of the field to turn fhe roller round when in sections than when in one long cylinder, for while in this operation one end is going forward the other revolves backwards, thus preventing the screwing up of the soil, and often of the crop, which occurs if great care is not exercised while turning. These rollers are made in various sizes to suit the requirements of different kinds of work. Wooden rollers, though comparatively little employed since the introduction of iron rollers, are very useful in special cases, as when it is desired to break small clods without consolidating the soil more than is absolutely necessary. They consist merely of cylindrical boles of wood attached to a frame, the axle being an iron gudgeon let into the wooden cylinder, and rotating in the upright sides of the frame. Drills. — The machines used for sowing seed and distribut- ing manure may be classed as — 1. Cup drills. 5. Force-feed drills. 2. Tooth and brush pinion 6. Pneumatic distributors. drills. 7. Liquid-manure drills. 3. Disc drills. 8. Broadcast distributors. 4. Chain drills. g. Potato planters. The names of the first six of these drills are indicative of the manner in which the seed or manure is taken to the outlet- DRILLS 57 funnels or spouts. The cup-drill (%. 14) is the one in most com. mon use in Great Britain. A long box is mounted on a frame to carry the seed. This box is divided into an upper chamber, or hopper, which connects with a lower chamber by ports Fig. 14.— Corn Drill. , frame. o, , iron side for supporting corn o', box. travelling wheel (off side) with p, driving cog wheel attached. Q, axle. R, , hind barrel or roller, for winding s, lever-chains. T, lever-chains. u, f', fore and hind lever. v, G', fore and hind coulter. w, corn box. X, box-regulator. worm wheel. Y, vertical rack. regulator-crank. z, , spindle with worm gearing into worm-wheel J. cup wheel, hoppers, or funnels. conductors, or spouts. , spherical cup connecting con- ductor with coulter. lever weights. lever joint. steerage tongs. fore carriage steerage. steerage wheel. draft hook. v', guide handles. steadying chains, windlass handle for raising levers. lever for lifting corn box out of gear. countershaft extending under- neath box carrying cog wheel NP' on near side, and on off side a cog wheel gearing into nave wheel. or apertures regulated by slides, and through the lower a spindle runs from end to end. On the spindle, several discs fixed transversely carry small spoons or cups set near the outside rim, at right angles to the direction taken by the discs. These cups pick up the grain as they revolve (the motion being 58 IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS generally given to the spindle by a nave gearing attached to the travelling wheels) and pour it into funnels (fig. 15), the latter being connected with spouts which drop the seed into the track made by the coulters. The coulters are generally attached to a mortised bar in the fore part of the frame. Each coulter works independently, but various appliances in the form of weights, presser-bars, and pulleys are attached to regulate the depth to which the coulters cut and at which the seed is Fig. 15. — Corn Drill, Vertical Section (on larger Scale), SHOWING Parts. Reference letters as in fig. 14. deposited. Fig. 16 affords a side view of the driving gear, the travelling wheel being removed from the axle C, for the sake of clearness. Except in the details of raising the seed, most drills are con- structed on plans very similar to that just described. Tooth and brush pinion drills have the bottom of the seed- box pierced with holes, which are covered by a revolving pinion having teeth alternating with brushes, whose revolution sweeps DRILLS 59^ out the seed. These drills are only suitable for level fields, and their use is restricted to special districts. Disc drills are similar to pinion drills, the pinion being in them replaced by a disc having waved edges which alternately open and close the holes in the seed-box, bringing forward some Fig. i6.- -Corn Drill, Side Elevation (on larger Scale), SHOWING Driving Gear. fit, index plate. h, V grooves for bolt d. c, radius-arm with fixed stud c'. d, bolt by which radius-arm is held fast to index plate. NPi, cog wheel on countershaft. NP3, intermediate wheel. 22, cog wheel on cup-barrel. 53, drop bearing for supporting cup-barrel. 58, catch for retaining drop bearing in position. seed at the same time as an endless screw might. These are- also unfitted for hillside work. Chain drills are provided with an endless chain on which, the seed from the hopper falls, and is thereby conveyed to the discharging funnel. Force-feed drills have the bottom of each seed hopper closed by a small spirally-grooved roller, which, revolving as the- 6o IMPLEMENTS FOR WORKING SOILS machine travels onward, supplies seed in a regular stream to the discharging funnel. Pneumatic distributors are fitted with a blast, under the influence of which the seed or other material is brought, and is thus distributed. These are broadcast distributors, no spouts or funnels being provided to conduct the material to the ground. Liquid-manure drills are used to distribute manure diluted with water. In the place of the upper and lower boxes of the seed-drill a tank is provided, in which revolve several discs fitted to a spindle. On the outside rim of each disc are placed dredging cups, which take up the solution and drop it into funnels. The liquid then passes down the spouts, where it meets with the seed, which is conveyed by another spout from a small seed-box fixed to the back of the tank, and manure and seed are deposited together in the coulter track. In the dry ash or dry manure drill the seed and manure are deposited together in a similar manner. Broadcast distributors are used for sowing corn and ma- nures, which they do not deposit in rows, but scatter uniformly over the surface of the land. They are generally made on the same principles as drills, but have no coulters. Potato planters are drills which are made with hoppers to contain the potatoes, and are mounted on travelling wheels, from the axle of which an endless chain, formed of a series of cups, passes through each hopper ; every cup taking up a potato in its passage. The potatoes then fall into a tube through which the endless chain itself returns, and as each cup emerges from the bottom of this tube a potato drops into the furrow. Mould-boards are attached so as to immediately cover the set with mould. In a newer form of potato planter the endless chain is replaced by a revolving disc, which practically forms one side of the hopper, as is the case with the disc root-pulper (p. 355). Projecting from the rim sidewise into the hopper are a series of needles, each terminating in a three-pronged fork. Each fork, in passing through the hopper, impales a potato, which is afterwards detached by a cam as the tuber travels over the mouth of the delivery spout. The potato then falls into a STEAM CULTIVATION bi furrow, made by a broad coulter with which the machine is fitted. Steam cultivation. — Ploughing, cultivating, harrowing, and drilling may all be done by steam-driven implements, and, in so far as large implements are suitable for working the land, very clever adaptations of horse implements have been made. A few years since it was confidently stated that steam cultivation would supersede horse-work, but this expectation has not been realised. The large implements which are requisite where expensive engines are employed are too heavy, and work too clumsily and too coarsely, besides treating the land too roughly ; moreover, whilst stirrmg the land thoroughly, they injure it so much at times that farmers find it more economical to support a full team of horses than to lay out part of their money in steam tackle. There are some operations which may be economically done by steam if they are well timed, but in an uncertain climate like that of England, and on compara- tively small tracts of land, the occasions are few. Nevertheless, where steam cultivation is resorted to, it is generally done — like steam threshing often is — by men who own the tackle, and do the work for farmers at an agreed price per acre. The best work is done by the steam cultivator, which is a huge gibber, and in dry seasons, whether in autumn, spring, or summer, this may be employed very satisfactorily, if not worked to too great depth, in breaking up. land, and thus forwarding the horse-work. It is then particularly advantageous, as by its means large tracts can be broken up on fine days during seasons when there is not much weather favourable for cleaning land. The steam drag-harrow is a broader implement than the cultivator, but is lighter in construction, and is fitted with a large number of smaller tines, which work similarly to those on the ordinary horse-scufiSer. It is very useful for stirring land already ploughed or broken. Its great breadth renders it capable of covering many acres in a day, and it is specially valuable as a means of forwarding horse-work in spring. The student is advised to examine the tillage implements used upon the farm, employing as a guide the illustrations given in this chapter. He must also carefully observe their mode of working in the field. 62 MANURES AND MANURING CHAPTER VIII MANURES AND MANURING The system of manuring by means of stock is the backbone of farming. The animals are either fed on the land, or the manure from the steadings is sjjread upon the fields. The land is thus manured through the stock, and the nature and quality of the food supplied to the stock, equally with the cha- racter of the stock that are fed, will have a direct influence upon the value of the manure. The relationship between soil and stock is conveniently indicated in the subjoined diagram : — Crop ^Stock 4- SoiL< Manure Only a portion of the food that an animal receives enters into the composition of its body. A considerable proportion is consumed in maintaining the heat of the body, and is lost, in the form of carbonic acid and water vapour, from the lungs and the skin (see chap. xix. p. 332). The remainder, including the greater part of the nitrogenous and mineral matter, passes from the animal in the form of solid and liquid excrements, and it is these which are capable of being returned with much benefit to the soil. In former days, when no manufactured feeding-stufifs or artificial manures were pur- chased, the fertility of the soil was kept up solely by means ot this refuse matter, and it was to avoid rapid exhaustion of the soil that tenants were bound in their leases not to sell any hay, or straw, or roots, but to consume these on the farm, in order that most of the mineral and nitrogenous matter they took from the land might be returned to it. When cattle or sheep are grazed upon the land, their excreta fall at once upon the soil, so that more useful matter is thus recovered than when food is consumed in the farmyard. In the latter case various sources of loss arise before the manure caches the land. FARMYARD MANURE 63 Young growing animals are building up their muscles and bones. Hence they extract more nitrogen and phosphorus from their food than is the case with adult animals whose in- crease in weight is chiefly of fat. As fat contains neither nitro- gen nor phosphorus (see chap. xix. p. 325), the manure of grown- up fatting animals is more valuable than that of young growing stock. In the same way, cows in calf, or cows in milk, make a •demand upon the nitrogen, and phosphorus, and potash of the food, such as does not arise in the case of oxen or barren cows, and the manure is the poorer through the absence of those in- gredients which go to build up the calf or to form the milk. FARMYARD MANURE Where cattle are fed at the homesteads, as on arable farms, and even on grazing farms at some period of the year, their excreta take the form of farmyard manure, or ' dung.' This consists of the straw or other material supplied to the animals as litter, mixed with their solid excreta, and saturated with their urine, the whole trodden into a more or less compact mass. As this dung contains a large proportion of the manurial matter yielded by crops grown on the farm, as well as by purchased foods, it is a precious material, and is the chief mainstay of the fertility of the farm. Much, therefore, depends upon the skill with which a farmer manages this product. Farmyard manure is distinguished by .the fact that it con- tains all the constituents which the land requires in order to grow crops. Of inorganic ingredients it possesses potash, soda, lime, magnesia, oxide of iron, silica, chlorine, phos- phoric acid, and carbonic acid, all of which are found in the ashes of crops. The organic constituents are represented by various nitrogenous compounds, which give rise to ammonia and humic acids, the latter forming the chief part of the dark- coloured vegetable material, or humus, from which, by means of nitrification, nitrogen is supplied to growing crops. The complexity of its composition helps to render farmyard manure a perfect, as well as a general manure. The most valuable constituents of dung are those contained 64 MANURES AND MANURING in the urine of live stock. The straw or other litter absorbs this liquid, though some of it is liable to drain away unless an excessive quantity of litter is employed. A loss thus arises, and a still greater loss is incurred if, in the course of the fermenta- tion of dung, a dark brown liquor is allowed to trickle from the mass. This liquor contains not only the constituents of the urine, but the valuable solid matter which has become soluble. As straw will absorb any ordinary liquids, an endeavour should be made to restrict its absorbent powers entirely to the excreta of the animals, and for this purpose the litter should be kept out of reach of rain or other water. The washing out from the manure of its fertilising ingredients will at the same time be prevented. For the better preservation of dung, there- fore, covered yards have been devised. A portion of the farm- yard is covered with roofing, and though this involves consider- able expenditure at the outset, the cost is found to more than repay itself in the better quality of the manure. In a covered yard the floor and gutters can be so disposed as to cause drainings from the heap, and urine from the cattle byres, to flow into a tank, whence the liquid may be taken as occasion re- quires. Tanks are sometimes provided in open yards. An advantage of a covered yard is that dung may accumu- late in it to a considerable depth, beneath the treading of the stock which helps to make the mass uniform in texture and quality. The use of roughly chaffed straw and peat moss litter will aid in the formation of a well consolidated bed of dung. Sooner or later, the manure — unless for special reasons put upon the land at once — finds its way to the ' dung-heap,' though this will happen more frequently in the case of an open yard. In the dung heap two sources of loss have to be guarded against, — drainage and excessive fermentation. Fermentation is the name given to those chemical changes which result in making the manure ' ripe ' or ' mellow,' and better adapted to the immediate use of growing plants. It is a process of oxidation, and can only take place where there is free access of air. Heat is produced by the union of oxygen with the ingredients of the dung, and the more rapid the' fer- mentation the greater is the heat, It is obvious then that fer- mentation may be controlled by increasmg or diminishing the FARMYARD 'MAJEURE 65 quantity of air that gains access to the heap, the oxidation being most active when the manure lies loosely, and least so when the heap is compressed. Most of the nitrogen in urine is present in the form of a compound called urea (p. 333), which, in the course of fermen- tation, is altered into carbonate of ammonia. This being a volatile gas passes off into the air, and a serious loss to the manure heap of its most valuable element, nitrogen, may thus occur. Even free nitrogen gas may pass off, if the heap becomes too dry. In such cases, the compression and moisten- ing of the heap are desirable. Unfermented dung is known as ' fresh ' or ' long ' manure, the straw in it having undergone little alteration. Well fer- mented dung is termed ' rotten ' or ' short ' manure. Rotten is more concentrated than fresh manure, and contains a larger proportion of soluble ingredients, for which reason it is more immediately available as plant-food. It is characteristic of farmyard manure to leave in the soil a large though slowly available residue of food at the disposal of future crops. It is the nitrogen of the liquid excreta of animals that is first rendered useful to plants within the soil, then that of the finely divided matter which passes intermixed with some secretions in the solid excrements, and lastly that of the litter. The physical effect of farmyard manure upon sojls is equally important with its chemical influence. The general rule ac- cording to which short and well-rotted dung is applied to hght open soils, and long fresh dung to heavy compact soils, is one intimately associated with the mutual physical relations of soil and manure. The fresher the dung the less ready are its con- stituents to enter into combinations available as plant food ; and in this form a stiff clay soil is well adapted to hold or retain it till the occurrence of those chemical reactions which result in rendering the nutrient ingredients of the manure presentable to the plant. The older and the more rotted the dung, before application, the more promptly are its fertilising ingredients available ; and, as light porous soils are deficient in retentive power, it is well they should receive dung in an advanced state of decomposition, and at a time when the crop is ready to make use of it, loss of manurial substance by means of the drainage 1 66 MANURES AND MANURING waters being thus avoided. Furthermore, long or green manure helps to open up stiff soils ; and the fresh straw provides air channels along which the atmosphere can find its way into the recesses of the soil, oxidation being thereby promoted. Con- versely, the application of short or much decomposed dung to a light or sandy soil has the beneficial effect of making it firmer and of rendering it less readily permeable by water. ARTIFICIAL MANURES Of the essential constituents of their food which cultivated plants obtain from the soil, it has been stated (p. 19) that those which are liable to become temporarily exhausted include nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and lime. It is mainly with the object of supplying any deficiency in one or more of these — particularly of the first three — that manuring is resorted to, though, even in this case, the main source of these substances is still to be sought in the store of fertility which has accumu- lated in most cultivable soils. It is partly for the privilege of drawing upon this reservoir of plant food that the tenant farmer pays rent to his landlord. Year by year the soil doles out from its vast stores of insoluble matter small quantities dissolved in water, and therefore available as the food of crops, and to these the farmer adds contributions of his own in the form of natural and artificial fertilisers. The latter help to maintain the condition of the soil, as distinguished from its fertility. It is quite possible for a soil of low natural fertility to be brought into a high con- dition. It is the natural fertility inherent in a soil which is given in exchange for rent, whilst the ' condition ' depends upon the additional fertility which the tenant brings upon the land at his option. Artificial manures possess the advantage of presenting a large quantity of fertilising material in a small bulk. They were formerly described as portable manures, because, as com- pared with farmyard manure, they are easily carried from place to place. In other words, the carriage of a given quantity of nitrogen, or of phosphorus, from one place to another would cost far less in the form of an artificial fertiliser than in that of farmyard manure. Some artificial fertilisers contain only one valuable ingredient, and are then spoken of as nitrogenous, phos- GUANO 67 phatic, or potash manures, as the case may be ; others, such as Peruvian guano, contain more than one. Peruvian guano is the excrement of fish-eating sea-birds which has accumulated in the rainless districts of Peru. In former years it was a rich ammoniacal manure, but as the best deposits have been worked out its character has altered, and it is now richer in phosphates and poorer in nitrogen. The higher qualities still obtainable yield from 8 to 10 or 12 per cent, of ammonia, and the poorer grades only about 4 per cent., and even less, with, however, from 30 to 50 per cent, of phosphates. The better qualities, when available, are a valuable top-dressing for corn crops. The lower qualities are cheap enough to be used for any of the purposes to which fine bone-meal is applied. The lower class guanos are the residues left after the more soluble ingredients of high class guanos have been washed out by rain. From I to 3 per cent, of potash may be present, besides a variable proportion of insoluble stony matter, derived from the rock on which the guano is deposited. Fish guano is rather inappropriately named, as it is not a real guano. It is obtained from fish-curing establishments, and consists of fish offal, sometimes of whole fish, dried and ground. Fish guanos, according to their source, yield from 8 to 10 per cent, of ammonia, and from 10 to 15 per cent., or even more, of phosphate of lime. They often contain fish-oil, which renders them less serviceable as manures, because it delays decom- position. Bones are essentially a phosphatic manure, though they yield a certain amount of nitrogen. The quality depends upon the treatment of the bones before their application to the soil. Coarsely crushed bones decompose but slowly, and occupy some years in yielding up their fertilising ingredients. Raw bone-meal, of good quality, contains from 45 to 50 per cent, of phosphate of lime, with nitrogen equal to 4J or S per cent, of ammonia. The more finely ground the meal the more speedy is its action. Bones that have been steamed at high pres- sure, to deprive them of the gelatine (p. 340) used in glue-making, contain much more phosphate of lime (55 to 65 per cent.), but nitrogen equal to only about i;^ or 2 per cent, of ammonia ; these steamed bones are often ground into a fine flour before use. F 2 Bone- Steamed meal bone IO-43 12-41 32-30 IS '07 48 '40 61*17 7 '20 io'i7 1-67 i-i8 100 'oo lOO'OO 371 I -08 4-51 1-31 68 MANURES AND MANURING Bones are chiefly used as a manure for turnips and swedes, and for top-dressing pasture land. Table XI. gives analyses of average samples of bone-meal and steamed bone. Table XI. — Composition of average samples ^Bone-meal and Steamed Bone Moisture . I Organic matter Phosphate of lime . Carbonate of lime, magnesia, &c. . Insoluble siliceous matter ' Containing nitrogen equal to ammonia . To hasten the action of bones, and so to get a more prompt return from their application to the land, Liebig proposed that they should be treated with sulphuric acid. The result is that the insoluble (tribasic) phosphate of lime which they contain is converted into a new compound of phosphoric acid, which readily dissolves in water. A bone-superphosphate (or dis- solved bones) is thus produced. It was found that the same process could be successfully applied to the mineral phosphates (such as apatite), coprolites, &c., which occur in the rocks, the resulting soluble compound being called a mineral superphosphate to distinguish it from the dissolved bones which have just been referred to. Analyses are given in Table XII, Table XII. — Composition of average samples ^Superphosphate of Lime and pure Dissolved Bones Moisture I Organic matter and water of combination Monobasic phosphate of lime . equal to tribasic phosphate of lime (bone phosphate) rendered soluble by acid Insoluble phosphates Sulphate of lime, alkaline salts, &c. . Insoluble siliceous matter ' Containing nitrogen equal to ammonia . Super- Pure phosphate dissolved of lime bones 1 6 '24 12-06 8-97 32-06 17-42 14-65 (27-28) (22-94) 3-o8 20-95 49-61 18-87 4-68 1-41 100-00 100-00 — 3 '09 — 375 PHOSPHATIC MANURES 69 Peruvian guano is similarly ' dissolved ' by means of sul- phuric acid, and to it sulphate of ammonia is frequently added, thus producing a strong active manure. Recent experiments have proved that it is not absolutely necessary that mineral phosphates should be ' converted ' into superphosphate in order to be available as plant food- If ground to a very fine powder they will also answer the purpose, though less satisfactorily, and less rapidly. The most economical and certain way of utilising mineral phosphates is still to change them into superphosphate before applying to the land. Even when the conditions are such that a non-acid or undissolved manure is to be preferred, other sources of phosphorus are still available in the form of bones, guano, fish-guano, and basic cinder, all of which are better than ordinary mineral phosphate, however finely ground. It is necessary to distinguish between dissolved bone and the mixed manures sold as dissolved bone-compound. The latter consist of mineral superphosphate mixed with variable quantities of bone, blood, &c., and usually yield less ammonia than genuine dissolved bone. Basic cinder, basic slag, or Thomas phosphate powder, is a by-product, containing the phosphorus which is removed in the smelting of iron by the Thomas-Gilchrist process. Ground down to a very fine powder, it makes a cheap and useful phosphatic manure, which has been extensively applied on large tracts of moorland in Germany. The phosphoric acid of this artificial form of mineral phosphate exists in a. more readily available condition than that of the tribasic phosphate of lime of natural mineral phosphate. Good basic cinder contains from 14 to 18 per cent, of phosphoric acid. Phosphatic manures that have been acted upon by sulphuric acid generally contain some amount of firee acid, and are there- fore distinguished as acid phosphatic manures. The various kinds of superphosphate, including dissolved bones, are ex- amples. The other phosphatic manures,which have not been treated with acid, are called non-acid phosphatic manures. Ground coprolites and basic cinder are examples. In some cases an acid phosphatic manure, in others a non-acid phosphatic manure, will be the more advantageously applied to the land. 70 MANURES AND MANURING As a rule, if the soil is fairly rich in lime, a superphos- phate or some similar dissolved manure will be found the most efficacious and economical means of applying phosphorus. On the other hand, for soils deficient in lime, it would probably be better to use bone-meal, raw phosphatic guano, or basic cinder. These, therefore, should be applied to soil, a sample of which will not effervesce when tested for lime in the way described upon page 14. Moorlands, heaths, and many sandy soils are usually known to be deficient in lime, as, on the other hand, are chalky and marly soils known to contain it in suffi- ciency. It is to the loams of uncertain character that the test should be applied. Nitrate of soda is an artificial fertiliser of the highest value, for it is readily soluble in water, and the nitrogen it contains is in a form in which it can be immediately appropriated by the plant. Consequently its action is prompt, and it is only applied to land on which there is a growing crop ready to make use of it. In the absence of a crop, the nitrate is liable to be washed out of the soil, and its value thereby lost. Large natural deposits of nitrate of soda are found on the soil in Peru and Chili, and the salt is purified by dissolving and re-crystallising it. As sold in the trade it contains about 95 per cent., and sometimes more, of pure nitrate of soda, equal to about 15^ per cent, of nitrogen, or 19 per cent, of ammonia. The following is the analysis of an average sample of nitrate of soda : — Moisture ... 2 '59 Chloride of sodium (common salt) 1-22 Other impurities ■36 Pure nitrate of soda 95-83 100 'OO There still lingers a prejudice against the use of nitrate of soda, because it is said to act as a ' whip,' or a ' scourge,' and to ' exhaust the soil.' As a matter of fact, nitrate of soda supplies an indispensable plant-food — nitrogen. But it is only produc- tive of its best effects in promoting the growth of crops when the other essential elements of plant-food are also available in sufficient quantity. Either, therefore, the soil must be in good con- dition, maintained by the liberal use of dung, or other artificials SULPHATE OF AMMONIA 71 must be supplied to supplement the action of the nitrate. In the case of com crops, for example, it is very commonly used in conjunction with superphosphate. Nitrate of soda is put on the land as a top-dressing to the growing crop. Besides com crops, it is specially suited to mangel. When used with superphosphate the two fertilisers should not be mixed till just before use, or a loss of nitric acid may result. This may be altogether avoided by sowing the superphosphate with the seed, and subsequently top-dressing the young crop with nitrate. Common salt (chloride of sodium) is the chief impurity of nitrate of soda, and is sometimes added to it to adulterate it. Sulphate of ammonia, a compound of ammonia and sulphuric acid, is the great rival of nitrate of soda. It is perfectly soluble in water, but less quick in its action than nitrate. At the same time it is richer in nitrogen, of which it contains about 20 per cent., equal to from 24J to 25J per cent, of ammonia. Good samples yield more than 95 per cent, of sulphate of ammonia. It is a refuse product of gas-works, the ammonia, which results from the distillation of coal, being passed into oil of vitriol (sulphuric acid), with which it combines. Sulphate of ammonia may be used for all purposes to which nitrate of soda is applied. As, however, the salt has to undergo nitrification in the soil, in order that its nitrogen may be con- verted into a nitrate, sulphate of ammonia may be applied to the land somewhat earlier than would be prudent in the case of nitrate of soda, without risk of loss by drainage. In dry weather nitrate acts the more quickly, in wet weather there is not much difference between the two, and in very wet weather there is the risk lest the nitrate may get washed out of the soil before the crop has been able to make full use of it. Which of the two is the more economical manure depends greatly upon the relative market prices, it being necessary to ascertain in which form the unit (i per cent.) of nitrogen can be purchased the more cheaply. Dried blood, shoddy, hoofs and horns, &c., are organic manures derived from animal refuse. They are all nitrogenous manures, and are nearly insoluble in water. Their nitrogen, therefore, is yielded up but slowly in the soil, where they must 72 MANURES AND MANURING undergo decomposition. Dried blood is the most rapid of these slowly acting manures ; it contains nitrogen equal to from 1 2 up to 16 per cent, of ammonia. Hoofs and horns are the slowest in their action, which may, however, be much accelerated by grinding them to a very fine powder ; they yield about 16 to 18 per cent, of ammonia. Shoddy or wool waste varies in value according to the quantity of wool it contains ; different samples are capable of yielding from 4 to 9 or 10 per cent, of ammonia. Hoofs and horns are used in market gardens and hop yards, shoddy is chiefly applied to hops, and dried blood is a good fertiliser for fruit trees, besides being also used for cereals. Soot, much employed as a top-dressing for corn crops, is a nitrogenous manure which owes its fertilising properties to the presence of a variable quantity of salts of ammonia, representing from 2 to 5 per cent, of ammonia. The amount of ammonia depends upon the extent to which the soot is mixed with ashes and other refuse. Of the foregoing manures, average samples will contain the percentages of nitrogen stated : — Sulphate of Dried sh^jj Soot ammonia blood ' Nitrogen . 2072 io'o3 475 4-14 equal to ammonia . 25'!^ 12-18 577 5'03 ' Organic manures, such as rape-cake, mustard-cake, damaged cotton-cake, and other refuse feeding-cakes, are found to be especially useful on light land deficient in organic matter. They not only give bulk to the soil, but supply it also with nitrogen, the quantity of the latter varying according to the kind of cake. Fresh sea-weed has about the same value as farmyard manure. Potash manures are less expensive than was formerly the case when potash was obtained almost exclusively from the ashes of plants, especially of young twigs of trees. Potash salts are now procured in quantities from Stassfurt and other places in Germany, where they form thick deposits resting upon rock salt. Of these salts the best known is kainit, a mineral consisting chiefly of chloride of potassium (muriate of potash), sulphate of magnesium, and water, with usually the chlorides of magnesium and sodium. An average sample gave on analysis 12-56 per cent, of potash, equal to 23-25 of sulphate of potash. COMMON SALT AND GYPSUM 73 Muriate of potash is the commercial name of chloride of potassium, hydrochloric acid having formerly been called muriatic acid. It is much richer in potash than kainit, and where the saving of carriage is an object it may be used in pre- ference. Pasture lands are often much benefited by the use of potash salts, and so are clover, potatoes, and root crops. Potash manures cannot be advantageously applied to so wide a range of soils as are improved by nitrogenous and phos- phatic fertilisers. Heavy lands do not, as a rule, respond to potash, because there is usually sufficient of this ingredient available in clays. Light soils, on the other hand, generally yield better crops after treatment with potash salts. As peaty soils are wanting in potash, reclaimed bog lands also pay for applications of this ingredient. Common salt, as used in agriculture, is the same material as, in a purer form, is known as table-salt. Chemically, it is chloride of sodium. Its action in the soil is not understood, and is probably as much physical as chemical, for most plants can grow healthily in the absence of either or both of the elements of which it is composed. Salt is usually applied as a top-dress- ing, in conjunction with nitrate of soda, and it appears to check the tendency which corn crops betray in the direction of rank growth when nitrate is freely used by itself. Cabbage and mangel crops are often much benefited by the application of salt, though in some districts this is not the case. In localities near tJie sea some quantity of salt is derived from the wind, and may act as a fertiliser. In certain soils the use of salt leads to the formation of a pan (see p. 34), possibly through the attrac- tion of moisture. If present in too large a quantity, salt renders soils sterile. Gypsum, or sulphate of lime, is the same material as plaster of Paris, and its application to the land used to be called ' plastering.' Of plant foods it contains lime and sulphur, and hence gypsum is suited to crops like turnips and clover, which require a considerable quantity of sulphur. As, however, superphosphates always contain sulphate of lime, which is one of the products resulting from the treatment of mineral and other phosphates with sulphuric acid, the application of gypsum 74 MANURES AND MANURING is unnecessary when superphosphate or dissolved bones are used. As a rule, gypsum can only be usefully applied to soils poor in lime. Finely powdered gypsum has the power of absorbing am- monia, and, if strewn in stables and on manure heaps, prevents the loss of ammonia when this substance, combined with car- bonic acid, might otherwise escape as the volatile gas, carbonate of ammonia. There is room for the exercise of considerable skill in the application of artificial manures, as regards both time and method. It is very necessary to remember that the object is not so much to manure the land as to feed the crop. Of the fertilisers put into the land by the cultivator of the soil only those portions are effectively utilised which are subsequently recovered in the crop. All that is not so recovered is lost, and the outlay upon it has been incurred in vain. The properties of a fertiliser afford a safe guide to the time and method of its application. Thus, soluble and rapidly acting manures are preferably applied in the spring, when there is the prospect of a vigorously growing crop ready to make use of them. The most striking example is afforded by nitrate of soda, which should never be applied till the crop is, as it were, naturally waiting for it ; if not promptly taken up by the plant, it can hardly escape being washed out by rain. The same remarks apply in only a less degree to ammoniacal manures, for though fertile soils have a great retentive power for ammonia, yet the latter is so soon converted into nitrates that it is liable in this form to be lost. Slowly acting manures, Hke bones, fish guano, and shoddy, may be safely applied in the autumn, as the process of nitrification requires in their case a considerable time. As phosphatic and potash manures are held by the soil, so that there is very little risk of their being washed out, the time of their application may be determined according to conve- nience. Phosphates, for example, are very commonly sown with the seed, the one operation serving both for the seed and for the finely divided fertiliser. As far as practicable, manures should be reduced to the condition of a fine powder before application, as this secures a MANURES FOR CEREALS AND ROOTS 75 more uniform distribution. With the same object artificial manures are often mixed with gypsum, ashes, sand, or fine dry soil, especially if intended to be broadcasted by hand. On light open soils, of little retentive power, manures that are only slightly soluble should be used, otherwise they are liable to be speedily washed out, MANURES FOR SPECIAL CROPS As wheat occupies the land about twice as long as oats or barley, it is usually able to obtain a sufficiency of phosphates in the dung employed to manure the crop and in the residues of phosphates which exist in the soil. But on light soils, especially if only a moderate dressing of dung has been given, some phos- phatic manure may be added at the time of sowing in autumn. Two cwt. of superphosphate per acre on land rich in lime, or 2 cwt. of phosphatic Peruvian guano, or 3 cwt. of fine bone meal, on land poor in lime, should suffice. In spring, wheat is top-dressed with nitrate of soda, at the rate of l to l^ cwt. per acre, but several moderate applications are better than one large dressing. Barley and oats should, at the time of sowing, receive the same dressings of phosphatic manures as recommended for wheat. They may also be top-dressed with nitrate of soda, though this fertiliser must be cautiously and sparingly used in the case of barley if the production of malting grain is the object in view. Barley following wheat may be more profitably manured than barley following turnips which have been fed off by sheep receiving cake. In Scotland, and in the northern counties of England, root- crops are manured more heavily than in the south. In the north, with a colder climate and a later and shorter season, from 10 to 15 cwt. per acre of artificial manures are profitably used for turnips, whereas in the south not more than 3 or 4 cwt. can be usefully employed. Turnips and swedes usually receive a full dressing of dung, notwithstanding which, artificial phosphates should also be used. They are specially valuable in helping the young turnip plant through the most critical period of its life, and thus in carrying 76 MANURES AND MANURING it beyond the risk of destruction by the ' fly ' or other insect enemies. Moreover, these cruciferous roots are more probably responsive than any other crop to phosphatic manuring. On land containing a sufficient supply of lime, 3 to 5 cvi't. per acre of superphosphate may be drilled in v?ith the seed, whilst on soils poor in lime 5 or 6 cwt. of basic cinder may be similarly applied. Nitrate of soda will not be required unless only a very moderate dressing of dung has been given, in which case I cwt. of nitrate per acre may be thrown between the rows after hoeing out, or ' singling.' It is the practice in Norfolk to grow the greater part of the swedes and almost all the turnips with artificial manures only, no dung being applied. The mangel crop responds less freely to phosphatic manui"- ing than is the case with turnips. Therefore, where a heavy dressing of dung has been given, the addition of phosphates is not recommended on good soils. If, on the other hand, only 10 or 12 tons of dung have been used per acre, then 3 cwt. of superphosphate on land rich in lime may be given, and 5 or 6 cwt. of basic cinder, or 3 or 4 cwt. of phosphatic Peruvian guano, or of fine bone-meal, on land poor in lime. It is generally considered in Norfolk that phosphates have very little beneficial action upon mangel, when dung is used. In one experiment dung and phosphate gave no better result than dung alone. For this crop nitrate of soda is preferable. Beyond the nitrogen they receive in dung it is not economi- cal to apply nitrogenous manures to leguminous crops. On the other hand, phosphatic and potassic fertilisers may be profitably used, and, in some classes of soil, gypsum also, as these crops are capable of taking up comparatively large quantities of lime. Rotation grasses, or ' seeds,' usually pay for nitrogenous manuring, notwithstanding the presence of clover in the crop. A sa large and immediate yield of fodder is looked for, rather than the production of fine herbage and a close greensward, liberal dressing may be resorted to. Nitrate of soda, at the rate of 2 cwt. per acre, and sometimes to the extent of 3 cwt, or more, may be put on in dressings of i cwt. per acre at a time. On soils containing a sufficiency of hme, 2 or 3 cwt. of superphos- phate, or of dissolved bones, may be used. Wheie lime is MANURES FOR SPECIAL CROPS 77 scarce, 3 cwt. of bone meal or of phosphatic Peruvian guano, or S cwt. of basic cinder, will be found effective. On light soils, deficient in potash, 2 or 3 cwt. of kainit per acre may be used. In the manuring of permanent grass-land the proportion which it is desired to maintain of leguminous to gramineous herbage must be kept in view. The best manure of all is farmyard manure, though for an occasional crop of hay artificial manures may be used ; they should, however, be resorted to with caution. Too free an employment of nitrate of soda, for example, would unduly favour the grasses at the expense of the clovers. About I cwt. per acre of nitrate of soda, or of sulphate of ammonia, con- stitutes a moderate dressing. The phosphatic manures men- tioned for rotation grasses, with kainit for light lands, will be found suitable for permanent pasture. Basic cinder, bones, guano, and other undissolved manures, are best applied to pas- tures in the autumn. The most profitable way, however, of improving grass land is to manure it by feeding stock upon it with cake. If cattle or sheep are fed on the land with plenty of cake, there will be no need for the direct application of nitrogenous manures. The only artificials then required will be phosphates, and perhaps potash. For hops, shoddy, rape-dust, and bulky nitrogenous manures, such as fish manure, hoofs and horns, &c., are dug in during the autumn. Phosphatic manures are also used as for grass lands, the dressing being increased when dung is scarce. Plants of the cabbage tribe, including kale and kohl rabi, are gross and greedy feeders, so that bulky organic manures may be supplemented by guano. Three or 4 cwt. per acre of nitrate of soda may be used, and, in some cases, salt. Where potash is deficient, kainit should be used, In dry weather a top-dress- ing of 3 cwt. of salt to the acre will be found very useful, as it attracts moisture to the plant. PART II.— THE PLANT CHAPTER IX SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION Most farm and garden crops are grown from seed, though some, such as potatoes, are not. The seed is sown in the soil, and in due course the young crop begins to make its appear- ance. It is difficult to see what changes are taking place when the seed is in the ground, but it is easy to cause seeds to com- mence their growth under such circumstances as shall permit of observation. A convenient method is to take a clean piece of ordinary red roofing tile, and place it in a shallow dish. The seed or seeds are laid upon the tile, and water is gently poured into the dish to rather more than half the thickness of the tile. The dish, covered with a board or slate, is put on a shelf in the kitchen, and the seeds can be looked at from day to day. The tile being unglazed the water soon rises to the upper surface, which it moistens, and from there it soaks into the seed. During the first day or two the seed will swell, as may be proved by comparing its size with that of one of the dry seeds. Then its skin or coat will be seen to have burst, and a small whitish structure will protrude from within. The seed has sprouted or germinated. It is not of much use to merely read about these changes ; they must be observed. For this purpose, select some large seeds — a dozen broad beans, or horse beans, for example. First, examine the dry seed. Notice the hard smooth coat, and, at one end, a blackish mark (the hilwn) where the seed was attached to the pod in which it grew. Carefully slit open the coat with a penknife, and peel it off. That which is left consists of two SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION 79 similar halves, which are laid apart by pushing the knife blade between them. These are called seed-leaves, or cotyledons. It is of such hard seed-leaves that the split peas used for making pea-soup consist. Further examination will show that the seed-leaves of the bean are attached, not to each other, but one to the one side, and one to the other, of a short double-pointed structure lying at the margin of the seed, and almost hidden till the seed leaves are forced apart. This structure is called the axis. Next, take a bean that has lain on the moist tile for a day or two. The penknife now strips off an outer leathery coat, beneath which is a much thinner transparent coat. The cover- ing of the seed, then, is made up of two coats. The outer one is the iesta, the inner one is the endopleura. These can easily be made out in a_ bean that is nearly ripe, or in a broad bean, as it comes cooked to the table. They are also brought into view in peeling a walnut. Each day the bean which appears to be most advanced should be taken off the tile and examined, cutting it if need be for this purpose. In the course of a week or so it will be seen that the axis has grown considerably. That end of it (called the plumule, from Lat. plu- mula, a little feather) which was turned in between the flat faces of the seed-leaves will begin to develop small leaf-like structures — it will commence to shoot. The other end (called the radicle, from Lat. radix, a root), Fig. 17.— Seed of which was more towards the outer margin of ^^^ dissected. the seed, will also have lengthened, and fine c, cotyledon, threads or fibres will have grown out from ''. radicle or young its sides. Fig. 17 shows the parts of a pea -> plumule, or seed. young stem. Several of the beans that have germinated *' *by ^'tte ^endo'^ may be planted in the ground, or in a flower- pleura, pot, and still kept under dally observation. Before long, something of a delicate green colour and with a curved outline will peep above the soil. This will shoot up rapidly, it will gradually straighten itself, and from its sides will spring the flat green structures called leaves. 8o SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATIONS At the time the germinated beans are planted out, some fresh beans should be put on the tile to germinate. After five or six days gently raise one of the growing beans from the soil, shake off the earth, and compare the young plant, or seedling, with a ger- minating seed from the tile. It will then be seen that the green part above ground of the beah plant is the plumule, and that the root with its fibres, to which the earth clings, is the radicle. What, then, is this seed ? Obviously, it is nothing else than a baby-plant, or a plantlet. It consists of a minute stem (the plumule), bearing a pair of fleshy leaves (the cotyledons), and continued downwards into a small conical root (the radicle). It is a plant in miniature. What makes the bean seed grow ? Why does it germinate ? A sack of beans may be kept in a barn, or a bin of beans in a shop, or a boy may carry some beans in his pocket, for an in- definite time, and they will not begin to grow. If, however, by some chance the beans in the barn got wet, then they would begin to ' sprout ' or germinate. This shows that moisture is necessary in order that germination may take place. To prove this, some beans may be placed on a tile that is dry, and is kept dry, while other beans are put on a moist tile. The beans on the dry tile will undergo no change. It sometimes happens that seed is sown in what is called a dry seed-bed, the soil not containing enough moisture to enable the seed to germinate. Then it is that people anxiously wait for rain, because they know that after rain the seed will begin to ' come up.' But moisture, that is the presence of water, is not the only condition. It will be remembered that the tile in its dish was put on a kitchen shelf, and a kitchen is usually warm. If, in the winter time, another lot of beans had been similarly put on a tile, and the dish with its water had been left out of doors, where it was nearly cold enough to freeze the water, germination would have been much slower, and it might not have begun at all. This experiment can be tried in winter with one set of germi- nating seeds in the kitchen, and another lot, started at the same time, in a cold shady place out of doors. Hence it is learnt that a certain degree of warmth — a certain temperature — is necessary in order that germination may take place. By using TEMPERATURE OF GERMINATION 8i the thermometer it has been proved that seeds, as a rule, do not germinate below a temperature of 37° F. (the freezing point is 32° F.). But the temperature is different for different seeds. Thus, wheat and barley will not germinate below 41°, nor will peas below 44°, maize below 49°, nor pumpkin seed below 56°. Hence, if wheat were sown at the end of November, as it some- times is, and if the winter were so cold that for several months the thermometer did not rise above 40°, the wheat would not germinate, though sufficient moisture might be present. In the same way as there is for each seed a certain tempera- ture below which it will not germinate, so there is another and a higher temperature above which it refuses to germinate. This higher limit of temperature is 100° for barley, 102° for peas, 108° for wheat, and 115° for maize and pumpkin seeds. Between these extreme temperatures there is, in each case, a' temperature most favourable to germination, but this best temperature is not necessarily midway between the two. For wheat, barley, and peas, it is about 89°, for maize and pumpkin seeds it is 93°. , The plants named have only been selected as examples and the figures are collected in the following table : — Table XIII. — Temperature (t/" Germination in degrees Fahrenheit. Seeds. Lowest. Best. Highest. Wheat 41 89 108 Barley 41 89 104 Maize . 49 93 "S Peas • 44 89 102 Pumpkins • 56 93 I IS For seeds in general, the lowest temperature at which ger- mination takes place ranges from 40° to 55°, and the highest from 100° to 116°. The temperature of most rapid germination lies between 79° and 94°. Another condition of germination is the presence of air, though this can only be actually proved by means of chemical apparatus. Still, if a few broad beans are put into a small wide- mouthed bottle, a little' water poured in, and the mouth tightly stopped, the beans will be seen to begin to germinate. After a while, however, they will wither. The reason is that the small bottle could not hold much air, and, of that which was there, the oxygen has been used up by the germinating seed, and the G 82 SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION supply exhausted. The process of germination involves oxidation, and ceases when oxygen gas, which makes up one- fifth of the atmosphere, is no longer available. In the small bottle the oxygen gas has disappeared, and carbonic acid gas has taken its place. Root and shoot — Various other facts may be learnt from the germinating beans. Take several sprouted beans and plant them one by one upside down in the ground, that is, with the radicle towards the surface of the earth and the plumule pointing downwards. At the same time, for comparison, plant a few more germinated beans upright in the ground. Let the seedlings grow till they have formed green shoots above the ground, then pull them up for examination. In the case of the inverted seeds, the plumule, or ascending axis, or stem, or shoot, will have curved completely round in order to find its way into the light. At the same time the radicle, or descending axis, or root, will have curved over the top of the seed, and commenced to grow downwards into the soil and away from the light. Compare one of these curved seedlings with a straight one from a bean that was planted upright. This property of the shoot to grow towards the light, and of the root to grow into the soil, is a most important one. Were it otherwise, and if all seeds required to be planted upright, the labour of sowing small seeds like those of clover, and turnips, and onions would be enormous. Plant food. — Let some of the germinated beans remain on the moist tile ; do not plant them at all. After a time they will begin to wither, and eventually they will die. Smaller seeds, like turnips and clovers, will die much more quickly. Prob- ably, at the same time, they will become covered with a deli- cate mould due to the growth of a fungus (p. 270). Why does the seedling left upon the tile die, whilst the one planted out Uves ? On the tile the plant has at its disposal nothing but air and moisture. The other plant not only has these, but it is brought into touch with the soil. That it comes into very close contact with the latter is shown by pulling up a growing seedling, and observing the extent to which the particles of soil cling to the root fibres. It is reasonable to conclude that the planted seedling is able to obtain from the NUTRIMENT IN SEEDS 83 soil something which the seedling on the tile could not get. This, indeed, is the case. The soil contains plant food, and it is owing to the lack of this food that the unplanted seedling perishes. At this stage another question forces itself to the front. The unplanted seedling dies because it cannot obtain from air and water such food as will enable it to live and grow. But the seed, when first placed on the tile, was supplied with nothing but air and water at a suitable degree of warmth, and yet it began to grow. Whence came the food, other than that in air and water, which permitted of this earliest growth ? The answer is that the material, other than that in air and water, required for the purpose of germination, is supplied by the seed itself. The thick fleshy seed-leaves, so well seen in beans and peas, are not only the first leaves of the baby plant, but they contain a store of nutriment which is used up in enabling the young plant — for that is what a seed is — to commence its independent or individual growth. It had already undergone some growth while it was connected with the plant which pro- duced it, that is, with its parent. In view of its subsequent independent growth, the parent plant supplies its offspring — the seed — with nutriment that shall enable it to make a start in life on its own account, by carrying it through the earher stages of its existence, till it is sufficiently supplied with organs, in the form of leaves and rootlets, which will enable it to obtain food for itself. In a similar way, a young calf thrives upon the food (milk) suppHed by its parent (the cow) till it has grown strong enough to graze for itself. In like manner, a lamb gets milk from the ewe for the first few months of its separate existence, during which it is learning to gather its own food in the field, so that at last it is able to dis- pense with the milk altogether. Seeds like the bean. — Many well-known seeds are con- structed on the same plan as the bean seed. They consist of an axis bearing a pair of fleshy leaves, stored with food, the whole wrapped up or enclosed in a couple of close-lying coats. Such a seed is merely a young plant in an envelope. Of this nature are the seeds of all leguminous or pulse crops (p. 119), such as beans, peas, clover, sainfoin, lucerne, vetches, furze, &c So G 2 84 SE£DS AND THEIR GERMINATION are the seeds of all cruciferous crops (p. lii), such as turnips cabbages, radishes, mustard, and cress. There is another large group of seeds which differ in struc- ture from seeds of the bean type, though there is no essential difference in their mode of growth. As a convenient example of this group a grain of wheat may be taken. Germination of wheat. — Let some grains of wheat be germi- nated and otherwise examined in the same way as the bean seeds. The grain will swell, and in due course, from one end of it, rootlets will be seen to protrude, whilst close by will arise the plumule or shoot. Dissected with a pen- knife, however, the wheat grain is at once seen to differ from the bean. At the base of the grain, on the side away from the groove or furrow, a small oval jiaich is noticed. . This may easily be detached, especially from a grain that has soaked in water for a day. Remove this little patch from several grains and put these on the germinating' tile with some whole grains. The latter will germi- nate, the former never will. Hence, in the removal of the tiny structure at the base of the grain, there has been taken away the living part of the grain. See fig. i8, repre- senting a grain of barley, to which the state- ments made as to the wheat grain are equally applicable. Think now of the bean seed : what is its living part? It is the axis with its seed- leaves — the young plant, and it is this which grows into the robust bean plant. Similarly, it is the tiny structure which can be lifted away from the grain on the point of a penknife that grows into the slender wheat plant. This minute structure, then, corresponds with all that is contained inside the protective envelope of the bean. It is the germ, the embryo plant (fig. i8, r), the plantlet. It is one of Fig. i8.— Section OF Grain of Barley (en- larged). A, flowering glume and pale, closely enveloping the pericarp. E, pericarp of grain. c, endosperm. D, scutellum. E, epithelium, or surface cells of scutellum. F, embryo. CONTENTS OF WHEAT GRAIN 85 the young wheat plants, prepared in the ear of the parent plant. When the wheat grain is crushed the germ falls out, and millers call it the ' chit.' It is made up of a great number of very small thin- walled cells, and, on account of its oily nature, it is less friable, and therefore less easily powdered, than the rest of the grain. It is now apparent that whilst the bean seed contains nothing but the embryo of the future plant, the wheat grain contains the embryo and something in addition. This additional mat- ter, scraped out with a knife, is seen to be made up chiefly of the whitish powder known as flour (fig. 19, E). As the growth of the germinat- ing grain pro- gresses, the grain gradually loses this ma- terial, which is called upon to supply the first food for the ger- minating seed. What, then, is really the dif- ference between Such types of seed as are illus- trated by the bean and the wheat Fig. 19.— Section of Outermost Part of Wheat Grain (magnified). A, epidermis, with an underlying series of cells almost obliterated by pressure. B, cells with thick walls. A and B are more or less coloured, B giving the brown colour of bran, c, a layer of clear colourless substance. D, large thick-walled cells filled with fine-grained pro- toplasm. E, thin-walled cells, filled with starch granules (flour), forming the mass of the grain. grain ? Obviously this, that in the wheat grain there is a minute embryo resting in contact with a much larger mass of food material, though this latter (called the en- dosfierm) is outside the embryo itself ; whereas the bean seed 86 SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION contains nothing besides a large embryo, the size of which is due to the circumstance that the food material is stored up in the embryo itself (in the fleshy seed-leaves) instead of lying alongside it. To distinguish between these two types of seeds the term albuminous is applied to seed which contains, in addition to the embryo, a store of nutriment (the endosperm) lying adjacent to it. Those seeds which, like the bean, contain nothing besides the embryo, are called exalbuminOus. It must be remembered that the difference is merely one of position. In the exalbu- minous seed the nutriment is entirely stored in the embryo ; in the albuminous seed it is not. Albuminous seeds vary much in respect of the relative size ,* Fig. 20.— Section of Seed of Buckwheat. Fig. 21. — Section of Seed OF Beet. t, testa, ff, endosperm ein^ embryo, c and two co c, the cotyled (or albumen). onsisting'of an axis yledons. ons folded back. t, testa. e, endosperm. em, embryo. of embryo and nutriment. Sometimes the embryo is very minute, as in the iris and the poppy. In suth a seed as the bindweed, on the other hand, the embryo is relatively large. The position of the embryo in the albuminous seed likewise varies. In wheat it lies at one side of the base, in the sedge it is central, in the chickweed it is coiled round the store of nutri- ment, in seeds of the onion and of the potato it is coiled up in the mass of nutriment. Besides the seeds that have just been named, the following are also mentioned as affording easily obtained examples of albuminous seeds : — Buttercup, violet, spurrey, celery, parsnip, carrot, plantain, buckwheat (fig. 20), dock, sorrel, mangel, beet (fig. 21), sedges, and all cereals and grasses. CHLOROPHYLL 87 Of exalbuminous seeds, besides those of leguminous and cruciferous plants, noticed on page 83, may be mentioned such familiar seeds as those of the maple, sycamore, horse-chestnut, apple, cherry, vegetable marrow, cucumber, pumpkin, sunflower, yarrow, together with the walnut, hazel-nut, beech-nut, and acorn. Specimens of these seeds should be obtained as opportunity offers, in order to examine their structure, to germinate them, and to carefully watch and note the results. The green colour of plants. — Return now to the young bean plants and learn from them one more lesson. The sprouting bean upon the tile is white. When it is planted out, the shoot that at length peeps through the soil is also white. As it straightens itself it turns green, and keeps this colour till after flowering. If a watch be kept upon the ground in which seeds are sown, whether in the field or in the garden, it will be ob- served that the young shoots as they work their way out of the soil are white, or nearly so, but that they speedily turn green. Moreover, if a vigorous seedling be pulled up, it will be seen that whilst the part above ground is green, the part below ground is white. In the soil it is always dark ; above the soil it is not. This suggests that light may have an effect in producing the green colour, and it is easily proved that it does. If a bean seedling is planted in a flower-pot and put in a dark cupboard, although it continues growing for some time it does not turn green, but it may be caused to do so by bringing it into the light. When a branch of a geranium or fuchsia tree is diverted into a dark box for a time it loses its green colour. If a slab of wood or stone has been laid flat upon a green sward for a week or two, the grass will be found quite blanched when the slab is lifted, and will only slowly re-acquire the green colour. The green dye or pigment, the presence of which is usually most noticeable in the foliage leaves of a plant, is called chlorophyll. It is easily separated from leaves of the parsley plant (see P- 133)- Malting. — The process whereby barley is changed into malt is one of germination. The barley grain is placed under suit- able conditions of moisture and warmth, with free access of air. 88 SEEDS AND THEIR GERMINATION It soon begins to sprout, and at the same time a chemical change is set up inside the grain, resulting chiefly in the con- version of starch into sugar. Most of the floury material con- tained in the grain is starch, an insoluble compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. But plants are usually incapable of consuming solid food ; their nutriment must be in the fluid form. During germination the starch, which is insoluble, be- comes changed into sugar, another compound of carbon, hydro- gen, and oxygen, but soluble in water. On account of its solubility the sugar can be carried in solution to the young growing plant, and there made use of as food. But the object of the maltster is attained when a portion of the starch is con- verted into sugar, and at this stage he kills the young plant by suddenly raising the temperature above the limit of 104° (see p. 81). In the place of living barley-grain filled with in- soluble starch there is now dead malt-grain containing soluble sugar. The malt is steeped in water, which, by dissolving the sugar of the malt, is converted into the sweet wort from which beer is made. What are known as malt-combs consist of the radicles of the young plants, which are removed by screenirig. The conversion of the starch into sugar (fig. 22) is brought Fig. 22. — Disintegration of a Granule of Wheat Starch by Diastase (magnified). n, h, c, d, e represent successive stages. about by the activity of a substance termed diastase, a member of a very important group of bodies, known as ' ferments.' Starch is a good example of the group of substances which chemists term carbohydrates, that is, compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, the two latter being present in the same relative proportions in which they combine, together to form water— that is, two of hydrogen to one of water. But although starch makes up a large proportion of the reserve materials of most seedsj whether albuminous or exalbuminous, other kinds of carbohydrates are present. Many seeds also contain fats or oils — linseed, rape-seed, SEEDS AS STOREHOUSES poppy-seed, cocoa-nut, Brazil nut are examples. Fats, like carbohydrates, consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but the oxygen is present in a relatively smaller proportion than that in which it occurs in carbohydrates. All seeds have, amongst their reserve material, certain compounds called proteids, which are distinguished from carbo- hydrates and fats by containing nitrogen. Seeds, then, are store-houses of rich concentrated food, consisting of proteids, carbohydrates, and often of fats also. Many of them are specially cultivated as affording nutritious food for men and animals. It is for this reason that the cereal grains, such as wheat, barley, oats, maize, rice, &c., and the pulses, such as beans, peas, lentils, &c., are so largely grown. In the ordinary course of nature, the stored up food in these seeds would be utilised in starting the young plant on its in- dependent existence, but man steps in and diverts this food to his own purposes. The changes which take place in the seed during germination, and result in converting its stores of nutriment into plant food, are very complicated, and are not yet thoroughly understood. It has been proved, however, that diastase is only one of a number of ferments, the activity of which effects the transformation of insoluble seed-stuff into dissolved plant food. Anybody who has witnessed a wet harvest will have had an opportunity of seeing wheat or barley grain sprout in the ear. Warm wet weather causes the grain to germinate before it can be carried off the field. This suggests a highly interesting question. Before the flowers are formed on the parent plant, no trace of the seed can be found. The seed is produced by the flower, and obviously grows till it has attained maturity ; that is, till the seed is 'ripe.' Why does not the seed, under ordinary circumstances, continue to grow ? Why does it stop growing when ripe ? Why is there what may be called a resting stage ? These are puzzling questions, and, till further investigations have proved successfiil, it is not safe to say more than that the resting period depends on the condition of the ferments. Diastase and other ferments are present in the germinating 90 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS seed, but in very minute quantities. It is characteristic of them that extremely small quantities are capable of effecting extensive modifications, and that they are neither changed nor destroyed by their own activity. Exposure of the seed to conditions of moisture and warmth, which are recognised by experience as ' favourable to germination,' have the effect of exciting the ferments into activity, the result of which is that the stores of insoluble material are rendered available as plant food, and are transported in solution to the seats of growth. A fresh seed is a living thing — it is alive just as much as a hedgehog which lies motionless throughout its long winter sleep at the bottom of a hedgerow. Inside the seed is the living plant in its resting stage — the embryo. In contact with the embryo, or within its substance, is the material which will con- stitute its first food when it resumes growth. CHAPTER X STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS By carefully watching, day by day, the growth of any ordi- nary plant from the time of its germination to the ripening of its seed, the student will become possessed of many facts that are applicable to the crops of the farm and of the garden. The bean, for example, develops a sturdy upright stem, of a green colour, and four-angled. At intervals, which are shorter towards the summit of the stem, leaves arise. The place from which a leaf springs is called a node, and the portion of stem between two consecutive nodes is an internode. The bean has com.pound leaves, each consisting of several parts called leaflets. The free end of the stem terminates in a bud, the continuous growth of which (by the repeated division of the plant cells of which it is made up) causes the stem to lengthen. Other buds arise in the leaf-axils, that is, in the angle formed by the leaf-stalk with the stem, and some of these buds grow into stemlike branches. The ^x^^n foliage leaves are all much alike, but at length other leaves, the floral leaves, make their appearance, accompanied THE PEA BLOSSOM 91 by a considerable shortening of the part of the axis by which they are borne, the result being that they are given ofif in successive rings, or whorls, thus forming \h& flower. Structure of Flowers. — Examine the flower of a bean or a pea. At its base is a greenish cup-like structure, the calyx, composed of leaves called sepals, which are all joined together. Next comes the showy or coloured part of the flower, the corolla, made up of five leaves called petals. Still farther in- wards are seen the stamens, ten in number, nine of them being joined into a tube by i!a&\r filaments or stalks, the remaining Fig. 23. — Pea Blossom (with papilionaceous corolla). Fig. 24.— Parts of a papilionaceous Corolla. s, vexillum or standard. A A, alas or wings. C, two petals, making carina or keel. one free. In the middle of the flower is the pistil, consisting of a solitary carpel, which even at an early stage is seen to be a young pod, inside which are the little eggs or ovules, which are destined to become seeds. Take apart the corolla (fig. 23) of the bean or pea blossom. Of its five petals two are seen (fig. 24) to be joined together, forming the keel; on each side of the keel is a solitary petal, the two being called the wings ; embracing the wings and keel is a much larger solitary petal, the standard. All British legu- minous plants (p. 119) have the corolla of the flower built on this type, and it should be examined not only in the bean and 92 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS pea, but in broom, furze, birds-foot trefoil, vetch, meadow vetch- ling, lucerne, sainfoin, &c. The same kind of corolla is seen in clover blossoms, but on a smaller scale, as in clovers a large number of small flowers are gathered into a head. A corolla of the kind described is called z. papilionaceous corolla. It will be well at this stage to examine some other kinds of flowers. Take, for example, any of the cross-bearing, or cruci- ferous, flowers, such as wallflower, cuckoo flower, cabbage blossom, charlock, hedge-garlic, &c. The calyx here is seen to consist of four sepals, made up of two opposite pairs. Break these off, and so bring into fuller view the corolla, composed of four separate petals, the limbs or free ends of which are so arranged as to look like a cross. When the petals are removed, six stamens are exposed. By plucking away the stamens, the pistil can be seen, and an examination of this will show that it is really made up of two parts — two carpels joined together. Examine next a potato blossom, which offers very little dififi- •culty (see page 139). An ordinary flower, then, consists of modified leaves which, taken in order from without to within, are termed sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. These make up the floral whorls, and, according to their respective numbers, relative positions, and other characters, botanists are enabled to classify or arrange flowering plants, and so render them more easy to study and understand. ; Of the floral whorls the two outer ones, constituting the calyx and the corolla, are the protective envelopes of the flower. In some flowers — wood anemone, bumet, mangel, goosefoot, buckwheat, dock, sorrel, &c. — only one protective whorl is present. In others — as in the pendulous yellow catkins of willows, and in sedges — there may be no protective whorl, that is, neither calyx nor corolla. Function of Flowers. — -The special function or duty of the flower is to produce seed. It is to this purpose that the two innermost whorls, the stamens and the carpels, are specially devoted. As seed cannot be formed without them, they are called the essential, or necessary, organs of the flower. Examine the stamens in buttercups, wallflower, chickweed, ■dog-rose, primrose, foxglove, and various other flowers. Though STAMENS AND CARPELS 93. the stamens may vary much in size and shape, they will gener- ally be found to consist of two easily distinguished parts ; a stalk with a knob at its free end. The stalk is called the filament, and the knob is the anther. It is the anther which is the important part of the stamen. An anther is usually made up of two similar parts called anther lobes. At a certain stage in the blooming of the flower there issues from the anther lobes a delicate dust, often of a yellowish or orange colour. This dust is called pollen, and, when examined under the microscope, it is seen to consist of a large number of plant cells, which, in most cases, are quite free from each other. The pollen may easily be seen at the proper time in the large white lily of cottage gardens. In walking in June through a meadow in which there are many buttercups,. the boots get covered with yellow pollen. In March the pollen may be beaten in showers from yew and hazel trees, and in July it may be raised as a cloud of dust from meadow grasses. The yeUow dust that gathers on the bodies of bees is pollen. When a pollen cell, or pollen grain, is dropped into a solu- tion of sugar, and observed under the microscope, it is after a time seen to germinate, a delicate tube-^the pollen tube — issuing therefrom. The pollen iS' the male fertilising material of the flower, and the stamens, which shed the pollen, are called the male organs of the flower. It is now desirable to inquire more closely into the cha- racter of the members of the innermost floral whorl — the carpels. In the great majority of flowers the carpels grow together, the united structure being spoken of as the pistil. In a few cases, as in the buttercup family, and in some members of the rose family, the carpels remain distinct, but this is the ex- ception. The carpel, like the stamen, the petal, and the sepal, can be proved to be a modified leaf. But the carpellary leaf is specially distinguished from the other floral leaves by its capa- city for producing egg-like outgrowths {ovules) along its mar- gins. In the case of the bean or the pea the pistil consists of but one carpel, which is so bent that its margins meet together, and the ovules of the one margin alternate with those 94 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS of the other, as may be seen by examining the position of the ovules (seeds) in the pod of a pea or a bean. When several carpels unite to form a pistil, the position of the ovules is determined by the extent to which the margins of the carpellary leaves are fplded in. If there is only a slight folding in, the ovules appear to spring from the wall, as in the violet and mignonette ; if the folding-in extends to the middle, the ovules appear to arise from a central axis, as in the hyacinth and lily. Let some pistils be examined. In the primrose or cowslip the carpels join to form a neat structure like a drumstick. The enlarged sphere below is called the ovary, because it contains the ovules or eggs. The slender stalk rising upwards is the &tyle, and this is surmounted by an irregular surface called the stigma. Cut the ovary across, and the ovules will be seen densely clustered around a central axis. In the middle of the poppy flower is seen a large pistil, con- sisting of a tankard-shaped ovary covered by a many-rayed stigma, — the style is absent. By cutting across the ovary it will be found that many carpels have helped to form it, and the ovules it contains are very numerous. In the bean or pea blossom the carpel is a solitary one, so that the pistil consists of a single carpel. The ovules are con- tained in an elongated ovary, which is surmounted by an insig- nificant style and stigma. The buttercup and the blackberry afford good examples of flowers in which the carpels are numerous, but always remain distinct. The carpels are called the female organs of the flower because they produce the ovules, or little eggs. An examination of a ripe pod of the bean or pea will show that these ovules ripen into seeds, though before this change can be effected a very important event must happen. It has already been stated that the pollen grain, under certain conditions, sends forth a tube along which the material contained in the pollen grain can travel. It is essential in order that an ovule may be converted into a seed, that the tube from a pollen grain shall enter the ovule. When, by suitable means, an ovule is examined under a FERTILISATION 95 microscope, it is found to be made up of a number of cells- Though all these cells are extremely small, one of them, called the embryo-sac, is much larger than the others. It is necessary for the pollen-tube to reach the embryo-sac, so that the contents of the pollen grain may be brought into contact with those of the embryo-sac. This intimate association of the material of the pollen grain with that of the embryo-sac constitutes the act of impregnation. The result is that, inside the embryo-sac, there at once begins to form an embryo which, under suitable conditions, will grow ultimately into an independent plant. The little cell or sac, the embryo-sac, is of course so called because the embryo is formed within it. The ovule is enveloped in a couple of coats, which at the end are not quite entire. They thus leave a minute aperture — called the micropyle — through which the pollen-tube can enter, in order to reach the embryo-.sac. Soak a bean in water for twenty-four hours, take it out and wipe it dry, and then press it between thumb and finger, carefully watching the black patch (the hilum) at the end meanwhile. Close to the patch a small drop of water is squeezed out through the micropyle. Fertilisation. — In the great majority of flowering plants the ovules are enclosed in an ovary. The pollen grains fall on the stigma and there germinate. The pollen tubes find their way thence — down the inside of the style when one is present — into the ovary, and so to the micropyles of the ovules. Seed does not form, nor does fruit ripen, till after this has taken place, and, in case it does not occur, the ovary usually withers and the ovules shrivel up. It might be thought that, since the stamens are so close to the carpels in most flowers, it would be an easy matter for pollen dust to fall upon the stigma and fertilise the ovules of its own flower. But such rarely happens, and if it did occur, it would afford examples of what in the case of animals is termed (p. 356) ' breeding in and in,' for the stamens and carpels of the same flower are obviously very closely related. In some flowers this self-fertilisation, as it is termed, is prevented by mechanical obstacles, the lengths or positions of the organs concerned being unsuited. In many other cases the stamens and carpels of the same flower do not ripen at the same time. In unisexual 96 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS flowers — those which contain stamens only or carpels only — self-fertilisation can never occur. What commonly happens is that the pollen of one flower is carried to the stigma of another. The usually sticky or hairy surface of the stigma keeps the pollen grain in position during the germination of the latter. The wind is an important agent in carrying pollen, and wind-fertilised plants generally produce a large quantity of pollen dust — grasses, hazel, and pine trees are examples. But the most important agents of cross-fertilisation are insects. Bees, for example, in visiting flowers in search of nectar (honey), become the unconscious means whereby the pollen of one flower is carried to the stigma of another. Any- one who has noticed the delicious odour of a field of white clover on a sunny June day must have observed also the un- flagging industry of the bees. And on a fine day in May the sound of the bees upon a yellow-blossomed field of turnips, in- tended for seed, is like the hum of a distant threshing machine. Cucumbers and melons are good examples of cultivated plants with unisexual flowers. When these are grown in frames, the gardener undertakes the work of transferring the pollen, by ' dusting ' the female flower with the pollen-bearing male flower. The red-berried bryony of the hedgerows is closely similar. Certain rosaceous (p. 128) fruit trees, such as peaches, apricots, and nectarines, frequently come into flower before bees are abundant. In such cases, the gardener gently dusts the blossoms with a camel's-hair bmsh, at a time when the flowers are dry, and the anthers are shedding their pollen. Flowers are but rarely susceptible to the pollen of flowers other than those of their own species. But, by selecting two plants of the same species, both possessing exclusive characters which it would be desirable to combine in the same plant, and by cross-fertilising them and raising fresh plants from the seed, cultivators have been able to establish new varieties. Some of these hybrids are of great commercial value, particularly in the case of cereals and potatoes. Many beautiful modifications of florist's plants have been in like manner originated. Fruit and seed. — ^As the result of impregnation, or fertilisa- tion, the ovule rapidly ripens into the seed. Nor is the change FRUIT AND SEED 97 confined to the ovule alone, for the ovary, which contains the ovule or ovules, ripens into Xh& fruit. It is now possible to get a clear understanding of what is meant by the terms fruit and seed. The/ruli is the ripened ovary, the seeti is the fertilised and ripened ovule. As used in ordinary language, the terms fruit and seed are more loosely applied. Thus, a grain of wheat or rye is popu- larly called a seed, whereas it is really a fruit, for it is the ripened ovary of the wheat or rye blossom. By scraping off the very thin coats of the ripened ovary, the true seed of wheat is laid bare. The following examples of true fruits, that is, mature ovaries, should be examined : — Cherry, plum, walnut, and 'stone fruit' generally. These are called drupes. A raspberry is a collection of little drupes, so is a blackberry ; neither of them is a true ' berry.' Currant, grape, gooseberry, cucumber, vegetable marrow. These are examples of what the botanist calls berries. Pods of peas, beans, sainfoin, clover, laburnum, &c. These are called pods or legumes. They split along both edges when ripe. Fruits of wallflower, cuckoo-flower, cabbage, turnip, mustard, charlock ; these are long and ■ narrow. Fruits of shepherd's purse and candy- tuft ; these are short, being about as long as broad. All these cruciferous fruits split along the margin when ripe, and thereby expose a partition (the replum) which has grown up be- tween the two halves, well seen in the cottage- garden plant known as honesty. They are usually called pods ; the long ones (fig. 25) are also called siliquas, and the short ones siliculas. Fruits of the poppy, chickweed, stitchwort, campion, foxglove, speedwell, primrose, scarlet ^'°- 25.— Fruit pimpernel, lily, tulip— these are various kinds CRuciFERouf of capsules, and open in different ways to scatter Plant. the seed. Fruits of buttercup, wood anemone, sunflower, dandelion, thistle, daisy, dead-nettle, self-heal, oak (acorn), hazel, beech. These are varieties of nuts and nutlets, and they never open to H 98 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS scatter seed. The hard walls of these fruits rot as the seeds within them begin to germinate. The cultivator employs the term ' seed ' to denote ' that which is sown,' rather than to indicate the ripened ovule. It commonly happens, however, that the seed, as sown, is the true botanical seed, as is the case with cabbages, turnips, rape, mustard, cress, beans, peas, clover, and onions. In all these cases, the ripened ovule is sown. But in the case of ' seed potatoes,' nobody could regard the tubers which are planted as true seed. In the case of the following crops, what the cultivator sows is really the fruit and not the seed. Umbelliferous plants (p. 132), such as carrot, parsnip, celery, parsley, caraway. Composite plants (p. 13S), such as sunflower, yarrow, lettuce, endive, dandelion, chicory. Other plants, such as wheat, rye, buckwheat. Sainfoin is sown either as ' unmilled,' that is, the wrinkled pod containing the seed, or as ' milled,' the pod having been removed and the true seed alone being sown. In yet other cases, the fruit, with something more, is sown as the ' seed.' This is so in beet-root and mangel, as well as in barley and oats and most of the true grasses (see p. 148). Root and stem. — In popular language the term root is applied to any part of a plant formed underground, and by the term stem is usually understood a part of the plant growing above the ground. As a matter of fact, however, certain so- called \ roots ' are really ' stems.' The most obvious distinction between roots and stems is that the stem bears leaves and the root does not. Consequently any part of a plant, whether above or below ground, that develops leaf-buds and leaves is a stem. Another difference is that the growing point of a root is protected by the root-cap. The growing point of a stem has no such cap, and its tender young cells are protected merely by their position in the heart (of a bud. A few of the familiar products that are termed ' roots ' must be examined. A potato is known to bear 'eyes,' and when potatoes are cut into sets for planting, the gardener takes care ^o cut in such a way that each set shall have an ' eye ' or two. TUBERS AND BULBS 99 The ' eye' is really a leaf-bud, as may be proved by examin- ing a sprouting potato. Consequently the potato is a stem ; that form of underground stem called a tuber. Other examples of tubers are seen in the Jeru- salem artichoke and earth-nut. Next, examine an onion (fig. 26) freshly drawn from the ground. The fibrous roots are seen depending downward, and the edible part of the plant — popularly, the 'root' — is found to consist of the thick whitish fleshy bases of leaves overlap- ping each other around a very short axis (the ' plate ' or disk). Such a structure is termed a bulb, and other examples are afforded in the hyacinth and lily. A hyacinth growing in vater in a glass shows clearly the dis- tinction between the bulb and the root. It may be asked how the gla?s-cultivated hyacinth gets the food wherewith it de- velops its stem and sweet-smel- ling flowers. The answer is that the food is stored up in the bulb. The term ' bulb ' is often applied, but not correctly, to the turnip and the mangel. These are really bulb-shaped roots. Many plants possess an elongated underground stem which grows prostrate in the soil, sending forth roots from its under surface and leaf-buds from above. Such stems vary much in thickness, according to the species of plant, but they are all included under the general name of rhizome (fig. 27) or root- stock (fig. 28). A stout, thickened form is seen in the horse- radish and the primrose, a much slenderer type in the couch grass, and an intermediate variety in the mint. When the leaves of a primrose die down as the summer advances, the H 2 Fig. 26. — Bulb of Onion. A, buds or bulbils. B, plate or disc (the true stem) from which root-fibres depend. loo STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS rootstock still lives beneath the ground. Moreover, it very slowly travels along, for, as the front end of the rootstock ex- tends its growth, the hinder part dies away. The different kinds of what are termed creeping', running, or scaly roots, are all varieties of the rhizome or rootstock. They rapidly extend through considerable portions of the soil, and, when they have once got a hold of the land, are very difficult Fig. 27. — Rhizome op Sand Sedge. Fig. 28. — RooTSTOCKS, or creeping underground branches, OF Mint. to get rid of. They are always perennial, that is, they go on living from year to year, so that they continue alive in the soil through the winter, at a time when there may be no indication of their presence above ground. At every joint of these sub- terranean stems buds are produced, some of which grow up above the ground and bear leaves, flowers, fruit, and seed, whilst others form new underground shoots. In this way UNDERGROUND STEMS these structures form a dense bed or couch of interlacing stems beneath the surface of the ground. To cut them to pieces by the hoe or plough is useless, for it only serves to establish new centres of growth, as every little portion bearing' a bud is capable of individual deivelopment. Where land is infested by such underground stems, the only remedy is to pull them bodily from the soil. This is the kind of work which the scarifier does upon land foul from the presence of couch grass, some of the slender rhizomes of which can often' be pulled out many yards in length. Follow the harrow some day and take up a piece of freshly extracted couch. Examine it, and notice the joints with their leaf-buds. Cut it into inch-lengths, plant a few of these in a flower-pot, and examine them at intervals extending over five or six weeks. The difference between a tuber and a rhizome is merely one Fig. 29. — Prostrate Stems; A, runner. B, stolon. C, sucker. of degree. Imagine a rhizome to become rriuch thickened and shortened, and the structure which results is practically iden- tical with a tuber. Although the underground stem of the Couch grass is a pest upon arable land, the same kind of structure may, under special circumstances, be applied to useful purposes. Thus, the slen- der creeping stem of the sand sedge (fig. 27) is valuable for binding together the loose sands of the sea shore. Very similar in character to the rhizome, but creeping along the surface of the land instead of within the soil, are stolons and runners. A stolon is a branch of the stem growing out from a leaf axil just above the ground (fig. 29^ B), extending almost horizon- tally along the surface, and developing roots and leaves where I02 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS it comes in contact with the soil. In time the connecting part of the stolon dies, and an independent plant results. Gardeners imitate this in the operation called ' layering,' when they bend down a branch from a shrub, and peg it to the soil, thereby causing it to develop roots, and so to form a fresh plant. Gaps in shrubberries can thus be filled up from the shrubs already present. The currant and gooseberry give off stolons, as also do the creeping buttercup and white clover. Various grasses are enabled to rapidly extend, owing to their property of de- veloping stolons, which are admirably adapted for insinuating their slender extremities between other pasture plants, and rooting at intervals. Plants that produce stolons are termed stoloniferous. To get a good idea of stolons, examine the beautiful prostrate shoots sent out by white clover, or by the creeping buttercup. The runner is a long slender stolon, which, having attained its full length along the ground, strikes root from the tip, where it develops a new plant (fig. 29, a). A parent strawberry plant, if allowed room, will thus develop around itself, by means of runners, a number of offspring. As the runners die these off- spring become separate plants, capable of repeating the process in the next season. A slender branch of the stem similar to a runner, but springing from a higher part of the plant, and not taking root, becomes a tendril If the branch should arise from a portion of the stem below the surface of the ground (fig. 29, c) it is called a sucker. It grows obliquely towards the surface, on reaching which it develops roots and leaves. Examples may be seen around the rose, the raspberry, and other plants, which are thus said to multiply 'by the root.' With the spade, remove the soil from such a sucker, and it will be seen to be only a creeping branch underground. As the sucker rots, the plant it produced becomes independent. A gardener accelerates this independence by cutting through the sucker with the spade. In doing this he propagates the plant ' by division.' The various modifications of the stem that creep either along, or beneath, the surface of the ground should be carefully studied by the cultivator. From their position they are fre- quently overlooked or ignored, whereas the vegetation that ANNUALS AND BIENNIALS 103 takes place in the soil is quite as important as that which is conspicuously developed above it. Duration of life. — Many plants spring up from the seed, pro- duce their leaves and flowers, fruit and seed, all within the space of one year, and then die. Such plants are called annuals, and examples are seen in wheat, barley, oats, rye, brome grasses, buckwheat, beans, peas, vetches, and ' trifolium.' Another group of plants is distinguished by requiring two years, or at least two seasons, for this work. Durihg the first season they grow up from the seed and develop what are called their vegetative organs — the organs of growth. Then there en- sues a period of rest, followed by the development of the repro- ductive organs, that is, the flowers, producing fruit and seed. Such plants are called biennials, because they need a portion of two years to accomplish the changes between sowing and fruit- ing. Examples are seen in the so-called ' root crops ' — turnips, swedes, cabbages, and their allies ; and in parsnips, carrots, celery, lettuce, mangel, and beetroot. Both annuals and biennials are usually proliiic producers of seed. The effort involved in forming so large a quantity of seed at one time is so great that it kills the plant. But, though the individual dies, ample provision is at the same time made for the preservation and perpetuation of the species, for each seed is a new plant — a plantlet. One reason why the production of seed is so exhaustive to the parent plant is that each seed contains a store of very rich food which the parent has had to supply. A seed, therefore, is a reservoir of nutriment, and man cultivates seed-bearing plants in order that he may step in and secure the food in the seed, either for himself, or for his domesticated and farm animals. During the process of ripening there is a steady migration of nutrient material from the other parts of the plant into the seed. From the leaves and stem of a wheat or bean plant, for example, most of the nutritious matter is carried away in solution and deposited in the seed. During the later days of their lives, such plants cease to take food from the soil or air, and they are capable of completing the ripening of the seed provided they can get a sufficient supply of water. Wheat, cut before it i s 104 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS dead ripe, will complete the ripening of the grain while standing in stook. In the case of biennials there is a resting period between the two seasons of growth. Let turnip seed, for example, be sown in June, and by the autumn a well-shaped root will be formed. This root may be left in the field through the winter, and in the following spring it sends up leaves and flowers, produces fruit and seed, and then dies. But a great change has taken place in the root, for it is now small and shrivelled. The root, indeed, serves as a temporary reservoir of the nutriment which is after- wards consumed in forming the seed. The reason the cultivator grows such crops as turnips, carrots, parsnips, mangel, &c., is that he can interfere at this resting stage, and utihse the store of food for himself or his live stock. It is not necessary that the roots of biennial crops, intended for the production of seed, should remain in the ground all the winter. They may, if desired, be taken up, and planted out again in spring. By this means it is possible to make a selection, and to reserve only the most desirable specimens for the growth of seed. Plants that live for more than two years are called perennials. Examples are seen in sainfoin, lucerne, white clover, furze, yarrow, prickly comfrey, plantain, asparagus, and pasture grasses. Also, in the gooseberry, currant, starawberry, raspberry, plum, cherry, apple, pear, and timber trees. In such perennial plants as lose their leaves during winter, there is, before the fall of the leaf, a migration of nutrient materials from those organs into the stem (certain regions of a tree trunk, for ex- ample), which serves as a reservoir. The leaf buds of deciduous trees are formed in the autumn, and when they commence to open in the spring, their first food is derived from the reservoir of nutriment in the stem. It is because this supply of ready- made food is close at hand that leaf-buds expand so rapidly under the influence of the increasing temperature of spring. Leafless trees should be examined for their buds in the winter. Those of the beech, ash, horse-chestnut, and willow are very beautiful, but the buds are equally noticeable on other timber trees and on orchard fruit trees. Various parts of the plant, it has been seen, may serve as ROOTS 105 ■store-houses of nutriment. The seed always contains a reserve of plant food ; in biennial plants, the root acts as a reservoir ; and in perennials, the stem. Many such reservoirs have a special interest because they are diverted by man to his own purposies. The tuber of the potato is stored with food, chiefly starch. The bulb of the onion and the young shoot of the asparagus are other examples. How plants feed. — In order to grow, a plant must have food at Pig. 30. — Root of a Carrot Seedling, the stout tap-root being the direct result of the growth of the radicle. FrG. 31. — Germinat- ing Barley Grain, the (adventitious) rootlets covered with fibrils. a,, grain sprouting. Fig. 32. — Seedling Plant of Field Speedwell, illus- trating the direct prolong:ation of the radicle- in a dicotyle- donous seed. its disposal. More than that, it must be able to avail itself of such food. Hence, it is necessary to inquire how crops feed. In the crops of the farm and garden there are two sets of organs of nutrition, the roots and the leaves. Each of these is •engaged in absorbing materials which can be worked up by the pla'nt into the structures of which it is composed. The roots take material from the soil, the leaves from the air. io6 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS Of roots there are two principal kinds. One is the tap-root, well seen in the radish, carrot (fig. 30), parsnip, shepherd's purse, etc. The other is the fibrous root, of which the onion, wheat, barley (fig. 31), and all grasses afford good examples. All kinds of roots are modifications of one of these types. But even tap-roots are furnished with a large number of root-fibres, and these again with root-hairs, as may be seen by pulling a young bean plant — and many other plants (fig. 32) — out of the ground. Roots have a mechanical function, or duty, — that of fixing the plant in the soil. They have a physiological duty — that of obtaining food from the soil. As the extremely delicate cells at the growing points of roots would be injured by harsh contact with the particles of earth, they are protected by a thin cap of dead and dying cells, which fits on the tip of the root very much like a thimble covers the end of a finger. As the root grows and permeates amongst the particles of soil, the little root-cap is pushed along in front. To bring a root-cap into view it is usually necessary to cut a section and place it under the microscope. In the duckweed, which is so common upon many ponds, the root-cap can be seen at the ends of the root-fibres which depend into the water. Gather some duckweed and examine it. It is the root-fibyes, with their delicate hairs, that are chiefly engaged in obtaining plant food from the soil. These are made up of cells through the walls of which solid matter cannot pass. Consequently all the food that enters the plant from the soil must do so in solution. Advantage may be taken of this fact to demonstrate what substances plants take up through their roots. A sprouting bean may easily be suspended so that its radicle hangs in a vessel of water. If certain substances are dissolved in the water the plant will continue growing, its leaves will turn green, and it may even produce flowers and finiit. The sub- stances which the water should contain — though in very weak solution — are chloride of potash, nitrate and phosphate of lime, sulphate of iron, sulphate of magnesia. By this method of water culture is learnt what substances plants require, and what they do not require, to be supplied them through their roots. It is thus proved that the presence LEA VES 107 of potash, lime, magnesia, iron, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, and sulphuric acid, in the soil, is absolutely essential to the growth of agricultural plants. As the solutions of plant food in the soil are necessarily very weak, it follows that a large quantity of liquid must be taken into the plant in order that the latter may obtain a suffi- cient amount of dissolved material for its growth. But any structure consisting, as a plant does, largely of cells would be- come so ttergid, or swollen, by the absorption of an excessive quantity of liquid, that it would eventually rupture or burst, unless there were some constant means of relieving the pres- sure. The leaves afford such means. Usually they are flat ex- tended structures, from the surfaces of which water passes off as an invisible vapour, — it evaporates. The dissolved substances that the water carries into the plant from the soil do not evapo- rate, but remain behind in the plant. Thus, an actively growing plant may be regarded as a meshwork, through which water is constantly flowing, and giving up something in its course. If some freshly gathered leaves are put under a cold dry tumbler, the inner surface of the tumbler becomes covered with moisture. This is because the leaves are still giving up water vapour. They at length wilt or wither because they get no fresh supply of moisture, — they lose their turgidity. The evaporation of moisture from leaves, in the manner described, is called transpiration. The quantity of water which thus passes through a plant, from the soil to the atmo- sphere, is very great. A maize plant was observed to give off between May 22 and September 4, a period of 16 weeks, as much as 36 times its weight of water. Barley, beans, and clover, during S months of their growth, transpired more than 200 times their (dry) weight of water. A large oak tree will transpire from 10 to 20 gallons of water in a day. Land under crop gives up more water per acre than an adjacent bare fallow, because of transpiration. In a hot droughty summer, the land 'around trees suffers most, because of the great demand for moisture to supply that lost at the leaves. If laid out, side by side, the leaves of a big tree would cover several acres. A sunflower, 5 feet high, will transpire from io8 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF PLANTS a pint to a quart of water during a hot summer day. As sun- flowers are of quick growth, they are sometimes planted around cottages in swampy situations to diminish the risk of ague. A function of the leaf not less important than that of tran- spiration is that called assimilation. Transpiration is a source of loss to the plant ; assimilation is a source of gain. Leaves possess the property of breaking up the carbonic acid gas of the atmospheric air, of retaining the carbon, and setting free the oxygen. As the dry substance of a plant is made up chiefly of carbon, it is evident that a plant must be largely dependent Fig. 33. — Section of a Leaf, magniF^ied. A, cuticle, B, epidermal cells, of upper surface. c, palisade cells. D, parenchymatous cells of spongy tissue. G, epidemiis, or skin, of lower surface. H, H, H, stomata. for its food upon the activity of the leaves. The separation of the carbon from the carbonic acid gas is effected in the green ■cells of the leaf. When a section of a leaf (fig. 33) is examined by means of a microscope, it is seen that the upper region is made up of rows of cells placed side by side, — palisade cells they are called. As the lower surface is approached the cells are seen tp be more loosely aggregated together, so that spaces — air-spaces — exist between them. Both the cells in the spongy tissue of the leaf, and the palisade cells, are green, and the reason the under side of a leaf is usually paler in colour than the upper surface is FORMATION OF STARCH 109 that the green cells of the upper side are more closely crowded together. Over the whole leaf there extends a thin transparent skin, the epidermis. But the epidermis is not entirej for it is dotted with innumerable apertures called stomata (Gr. stoma, a mouth), each stoma being formed by a pair of kidney-shaped cells, with their concave sides towards each other. By the straightening or bending of these ' guard cells,' the size of the stoma is controlled, and it is dependent upon external condi- tions of light and moisture. As a rule the stomata are far more abundant on the under than on the upper face of the leaf. Through the stomata, the air which exists in the air-spaces of the leaves is directly continuous with the atmosphere. This intercellular air passes freely through the porous walls of the leaf cells. These are living cells containing protoplasm, the granules of which are stained green by chlorophyll (p. 87). It is in these chlorophyll-bearing cells that, during daylight, the car- bonic acid gas is decomposed, its carbon retained, and its oxygen set free. Combined in a certain proportion with the elements of water (hydrogen and oxygen), the carbon forms starch, a carbohydrate which may be changed into other carbohydrates, such as sugar and cellulose. Cell walls and fibres consist chiefly of cellulose, and wood is made up almost entirely of cellulose. Hence the green cell of the leaf is a laboratory, in which starch is manufactured for the service of the growing plant. Or, the starch may be stored away for future use, as in seeds, in certain swollen roots, and in various kinds of stems, which thus become reservoirs of nutrim,ent. It is only during daylight that carbonic acid is broken up. During the hours of darkness, the granules of starch, formed in the green cells by day, undergo a change whereby they can be transported in solution through the tissues of the plant to the places where they are needed for purposes of growth, repair, or accumulation. As regards the pigment chlorophyll, to which the beautiful green colour of foliage is due, daylight is necessary to its formation, and so is the presence of iron — though in but minute quantity — in plant food. This latter fact has been proved by means of water culture (see p. 106). During daylight, then, green plants exercise a purifying no CULTIVATED PLANTS effect upon the atmosphere in that they consume its carbonic acid and return oxygen in its place. In the dark — when the functions of chlorophyll are suspended — this is not the case. It can be shown that during darkness green plants consume oxygen and evolve carbonic acid gas. This process, indeed, is always going on during the life of a plant, for protoplasm cannot thrive without oxygen. In the daytime, however, the quantity of oxygen set free by green plants is largely in excess of that consumed, so that the general result is to enrich the atmosphere in oxygen. The slow and incessant consumption of oxygen by the plant is termed respiration. Leaves, therefore, afford means for the discharge of the three functions of transpiration (loss of water), assimilation (gain of carbon), and respiration (oxidation). Out of the simple materials — such as carbonic acid, water, and mineral salts — obtained, part of them by the leaves, and the remainder by the roots, plants build up the complex organic compounds of vegetable substance. This constructive work is done by the protoplasm in the living cell, and every particle of a plant has, in its progress from the soil or the atmosphere, passed through, and for the time has taken a share in the formation of, the protoplasm. How lifeless material can thus be transformed into living matter no man can tell. The secret lies hidden in the plant cell. CHAPTER XI CULTIVATED PLANTS. For purposes of convenience farmers have devised a classi- fication of crops which is well adapted to the end in view. For example, ' root crops ' include turnips, swedes, mangel, and others. Grain crops, or straw crops, comprise such as wheat and barley, beans and peas. The only objection, to this arrangement is that it may lead the beginner to make incorrect inferences. Thus, it is sometimes supposed that the manuring suited to one kind of root crop is equally suited to another, — that what is good for the turnip, for example, is also good for CRUCIFERJE III the mangel. But this is not so, nor does it necessarily follow- that it should be so. In the botanical classification of plants the attempt is made to arrange together those plants whose structural characters most nearly resemble each other. In this way natural groups are formed, the members of which may, it is quite possible, have sprung, in some period of the remote past, from a common ancestor. Beans and peas are easily seen to possess a strong family likeness, and so are wheat and barley. On the other hand there is great lack of resemblance between the bean plant and the wheat plant. So, with animals — there are many resemblances between sheep and goats, and between dogs and foxes, whilst anybody could point out important differences — as in the teeth, claws, &c. — between the fox and the sheep. Plants which are allied to each other usually require the same kind of food. They are often liable to attack from the same kinds of insects, and to fall a prey to the same kinds of fungoid and other parasitic pests. Hence the use to the grower ■of learning the relationships of plants. The method followed here is, first, to describe the crop plants individually in their botanical sequence, by discussing them in connection with the natural orders to which they severally belong, and subsequently (chapter xvi.) to deal with them from the cultivator's point of view. Advantage is taken of this arrangement to notice the commoner weeds in connection with the cultivated plants to which they are most nearly allied. Other weed plants are referred to in chapter xii., page 176. CrucifeRjE. — The plants of this order are usually herbs (a shrub in the case of the wallflower), with leaves arranged alternately. The flowers have 4 sepals ; 4 petals, arranged crosswise, and not joined together ; 6 stamens, 4 long and 2 short ; and the fruit a long or a short pod (siliqua — fig. 25— or silicula), with a middle partition, on each side of which the exalbuminous seeds are arranged. The crucifers possess a pungent flavour, stimulating and sometimes acrid, but never poisonous, and are antiscorbutic. Notable quantities of sulphur and nitrogen are present, and these, in union with other ele- ments, form a volatile acrid oil (such as oil of mustard). The unbearable odour which arises from a decaying heap of cabbage CULTIVATED PLANTS stumps is due, in great part, to the formation of sulphuretted hydrogen and ammonia. By cultivation, the strong flavours of cruciferous plants have been toned down, and thereby rendered agreeable and acceptable to the palate. Familiar crucifers are the wallflower, stock, candy-tuft, sweet rocket, honesty, and aubrietia of gardens ; also the woad. Amongst the weeds are shepherd's purse, an annual growing everywhere ; the cuckoo-flower, a lilac-flowered perennial, grow- ing in moist pastures and meadows ; hedge-mustard, or Jack-by- the-hedge, a white-flowered plant with heart-shaped leaves, growing in hedgerows in spring, and emitting, when bruised, a powerfiil onion-like odour ; charlock, a yellow-flowered annual, closely allied to mustard, and one of the worst weeds of arable land ; the wild radish, an annual weed of corn- fields ; and the penny cress (fig. 34) or Mithridate mustard. The cultivated food plants of the CruciferE are numerous and import- 1 Fig. 34. — Seed of Penny ^ rri_ • 1 j , • , Cress, Thlaspi arvense, L. ^nt. They mclude the turnip, cab- bage, and their allies, all belonging to the genus Brassica ; mustard ; cress ; radish ; horse-radish ;. watercress ; sea-kale. Turnips, in their many varieties, are distinguished by the ex- tent to which the root is developed into a handsome globe-like structure, often, but incorrectly, calledja ' bulb' (see p. 99). They are extensively grown as food for sheep and cattle, the roots and leaves aUke being eaten by stock. Turnips are likewise an important garden crop, whilst turnip-tops, as the leaves are termed, are boiled for table use. The Swedish Turnip, or Swede, is the most valued of the turnip family, being both more hardy and more nutritious than, the common kinds of turnips. Swedes are distinguished from other turnips by the leaves being smoother and of a bluish colour. But the most obvious distinction is that the swede usually has at the crown of the root a ' neck' (figs. 35 and 36), from . which the leaves spring, and which is absent from the other kinds of turnips. An exception is afiforded in such a » In this and subsequent similar illustrations the small figure indicates the natural size. SWEDES AND TURNIPS 113 variety of swede as Laing's, which has no neck. The two chief groups of swedes in the market are the Green-top and the Purple- top, the varieties of *e latter being most generally grown. Swedes take a leading position amongst rotation crops, but are never grown merely as a catch-crop. They usually follow the wheat crop, and take the place of the fallow or cleaning crop of the rotation, most of the cleaning operations being carried out during the time the land is being prepared for sowing the swede seed. Turnips include all varieties of these cruciferous root crops, Fig. 35. — Swede. Fig. 36.— Turnip. Notice the ' neck ' or ' collar ' of the Swede. excepting swedes. They do not possess either the hardiness or the feeding value of swedes. They are often grown as catch- crops, or may be taken in the rotation instead of swedes when it has become too late in the season to sow the latter. The existence of numerous varieties of turnips renders it easy to make a selection suited to the time of sowing. For early feed- ing it is usual to grow one or more of the White-fleshed varieties, such as the Purple-top Mammoth, Pomeranian White Globe, and Lincolnshire Red Globe. Some of the Hybrids, are also suitable for early use if sown at the beginning of June, parti- cularly the Yellow Tankard and All the Year Round. For late autumn and winter'feeding, the hardier kinds of White Turnip, I 114 CULTIVATED PLANTS such as the Imperial Green Globe and Hardy Green Round, are grown, together with the Hybrid varieties, of which the Purple- top and Green-top Aberdeens are perhaps the best known. An excellent new Yellow Turnip, called the Favourite, was intro- duced a few years ago. It was raised by crossing a Purple-top and a Green-top Hybrid, and is largely superseding the older sorts. For sowing after corn crops, such as early peas, or others which have been harvested early in August, the Stratton Green Round, the Greystone, and the Early Six Weeks are well adapted. Turnips are an exceedingly useful crop on light chalk soils, where they probably form the bulk of the root crop. Rape is a plant very closely allied to turnips and swedes. In fact, if neglected, these latter are liable- to lose their large shapely roots, and to revert, the swede to the form of the smooth-leaved summer rape, and the turnip to that of the rough-leaved summer rape. In the case of the cultivated rape, it is the foliage and not the root which has been the object of improvement. Two kinds of rape are commonly grown, the Dwarf and the Giant. The Dwarf is largely used on chalk soils, where it is often grown after a catch-crop. The Giant is better suited to stronger land, and it yields immense crops on rich fen soils, where it is taken as a main crop in the rotation. To a great extent the Dwarf rape takes the same place as turnips, and the Giant rape as swedes. Rape is valuable in affording green food for forward lambs in February and March, when there is usually a^scarcity of soft succulent fodder. The Cabbage has been modified in so many ways by culti- vators that numerous varieties have resulted. But these are all reducible to the following four groups : — (i) Those which form a compact head by the dense over- lapping of the leaves, — as in the Common Cabbage, and all other hard-hearted varieties. (2) Those of straggling open habit, due to a long upright branching stem, developing numerous leaves or sprouts, but not forming a ' heart,' — as in the Thousand-headed Kale (fig. 38). (3) Those in which the stem divides and forms, in the middle of the plant, a dense head of imperfect flowers, — as in the Cauhflower and Broccoli. (4) Those in which the stem is abnormally developed, so as CABBAGE "S to look like the 'root' above ground, as the Kohl rabi (fig. yj), which used to be called the Turnip-rooted Cabbage. In cultivation, all kinds of cabbages are better for being transplanted as seedlings, their hard tough roots being not readily withered. In this respect they differ from swedes and turnips, the soft succulent roots of which would be liable to wither were transplanting attempted. Hence, where cabbages are grown, whether in farm or garden, it is desirable to have a seed-bed from which the transplanting may be effected as is found convenient. Of the Common Cabbage, with hard heart, there are at least i,A Fig. 37. — Kohl rabi. Fig. 38. — ^Thousand-headed Kale. five well-recognised types, — the Imperial, the Enfield Market, the Drumhead, the Tom Thumb, and the Red or Pickling Cabbage. Those of the Imperial type are the earliest of the field cabbages, and should be planted out, 18 in. by 24 in. apart, in autumn or early spring, so as to be fit for feeding in June and July. Those of the Enfield Market type, planted out at the same time, 2 ft. by 2 ft. apart, will be ready for feeding when the Imperials are finished. The Drumhead, or cattle cabbage, is a very heavy-cropping variety, and is usually ready for feedihg between September and Christmas ; it is trans- planted between February and July, each plant being allowed ii6 CULTIVATED PLANTS t 3 ft. by 3 ft. For late spring and summer use the plants are set out in October and November from sowings made in July and August. The Tom Thumbs are garden cabbages, grown to produce the small heads known as CoUards. They often follow on the land a crop of peas or onions, harvested very early in the summer, and are planted out from 12 in. by 12 in. to IS in. by 15 in. apart. Of Red Cabbage there are two kinds, the Ox-heart Pickler and the Drumhead Pickler, the former being the darker and the best for pickling. They are planted out 18 in. by 24 in. apart, and, besides their use for pickling, they are equal to any other kind of cabbage as sheep- food. The Savoy is a very hardy cabbage, which will stand the coldest winters. The Thousand-headed Cabbage or Thousand-headed Kale (fig. 38) is the variety of sprouting cabbage mostly grown on the farm. Like the common cabbage it may be transplanted, from May to July being the best time, though generally it is found more convenient to drill it where the crop is to mature. It is a heavy cropper, but the mistake is sometimes made of feeding it off too early, before the plants have had time to throw out their abundant lateral branches. The garden vari- eties include the Cottager's Kale, the Curly Kale, and the Brussels Sprouts. The Cauliflower and Broccoli are market-garden and kitchen- garden crops, and are not cultivated on the farm for stock-feed- ing. They are transplanted, and treated generally in the same way as other kinds of cabbage. The whitish coral-like structure in the middle of these plants consists of the over-developed inflor- escence, made up of an immense number of imperfect flowers. Kohl rabi (the name is German and signifies cabbage-turnip) develops above ground a large globular stem, the scars upon which (fig. 37) are left by the bases of fallen leaves. The green variety is almost exclusively grown, the bronze variety being but seldom cultivated. The big-topped kinds are more hardy than the short-topped forms. The latter come quickly to maturity, but are unable to face the severity of winter, and are only available for autumn feeding. The seed-beds are sown in March or April, and transplanting is effected as soon as con- venient. Or, the seed may be drilled, and the young plants hoed like turnips. Kohl rabi is especially useful for filling in MUSTARD U7 gaps in the mangel crop, and, even for this purpose alone, it is worth having a small seed-bed in readiness upon arable farms. The tops of the hardy varieties of kohl rabi make delicious table vegetables in January. There is a marked similarity amongst the seeds of all plants of the turnip and cabbage family (genus Brassica). They possess a purplish-black colour, and a general resemblance to small shot. One reason for this similarity, notwithstanding the many external differences between the plants themselves, is that the efforts of the cultivator have not been directed to effecting modifications in the seed. His endeavour, by selection and otherwise, has been to modify the root (turnips and swedes), the stem (kohl rabi and cauliflower), or the leaf (cabbages and kale). Had the improvement of the seeds of these cruciferous plants been the object in view, it is possible that as many easily recognisable forms of seed could have been established as there are of beans, or peas, or of wheat grains. In each case, it is the part that is to be specially used as food that has been modified. The brassicaceous plants are all yellow-flowered and are all biennial. Sometimes, in cultivation, the plants become precox cious, and exhibit a tendency to shoot up their flower-stalks in the first season. This should be checked by nipping off the flower-shoot, thereby compelling the plant to restrict its energies to the production of root, or stem, or leaf, as the case may be. Mustard is a quick-growing, yellow-flowered annual, culti- vated for ploughing in green on light soils as a preparation for wheat. Where sheep are kept, it is preferable to let them con- sume the crop on the land, and then to plough. In Cambridge- shire and the adjoining counties, the crop is grown for its seed, from which the mustard used as a condiment is obtained. Thickly sown and allowed to germinate, the green cotyledons make the salad mustard, usually eaten with the similarly grown cress, another agreeably flavoured crucifer. The troublesome weed charlock, with the blossom of which cornfields often be- come yellow in early summer, is sometimes called wild mustard ; it is the plant most closely related to mustard. The radish must be regarded as a salad plant. The roots are either fusiform (i.e. spindle-shaped), or napiform (like a turnip). In the latter case it is called the turnip-radish, and its colour is usually white or red. The radish is exclusively a garden plant. ii8 CULTIVATED PLANTS The horse-radish, which is quite distinct from the radish, is a garden plant, grown for the sake of its pungent rootstock, the white flesh of which is scraped down to form an agreeable condi- ment with roast beef Sometimes the roots of the poisonous monkshood have been mistakenly employed instead, and with fatal results. Watercress is a white-flowered salad herb growing naturally in brooks and streams, whence it is collected in the spring and summer months for sale in towns. It is also cultivated in specially prepared shallow streams, where a sufiicient supply of running water is available. Caryophyllace^e. — The plants of this order are herbs with opposite undivided leaves. In the flower, the four or five sepals are either joined or free, and the four or five petals are free. There are usually eight or ten stamens, and the fruit takes the form of a capsule, inside which the albuminous seeds are clustered around and upon a central peg. This is chiefly an order of weeds, the only cultivated food plant it includes being the spurrey. Several beautiful garden flowers, as the pinks, carnations, and sweet-williams, belong to it. Amongst the weeds are the white and red campions and catchflies of fields and hedges, the stitchworts, the sandworts, and the ragged Robin. The chickweed (fig. 39) is a common annual sur- face weed of gardens and arable fields ; it is a light green plant of ^ ^ „ _ loose straggling habit, Fig. 39. — Seed of Fig. 40. — Seed of _ , 00 o > Chickweed, Stel- Narrow - leaved, and has an alternating laria media, L. MousE-EAE Chick- line of delicate hairs viale, Link. ^^°^S the Stem. The narrow-leaved mouse- ear chickweed (fig. 40) is common in pastures. The corncockle is the most troublesome caryophyllaceous weed, as it grows in cornfields to about the height of the com, with which it gets harvested. Its blackish wrinkled seeds, known as ' cockle,' are easily seen in a sample of corn, which should not be sown till cleaned of them. Corncockle is an annual, with pale purple FLAX 119 flowers, and is easily distinguished by its woolly calyx-teeth (sepals) being longer than, and overreaching, the petals. Spurrey, or corn-spurrey, is a white-flowered annual plant of creeping habit, with narrow fleshy leaves arranged in whorls. It grows as a weed in cornfields, and is found naturally upon poor sandy soils. It is for such soils, upon which little else will grow, that the cultivation of spurrey, either for sheep food or silage, has been recommended. The seed (fig. 41) is sown about April, and the crop is .cut or fed when in flower. LlNACE^ffi is a small order, in- Fig. 41.— Seed of Spurrey, teresting as including the flax Sfergula arvensis,!.. plant. This is a slender annual herb, growing from one to two feet high, possessing narrow alternate leaves and deep blue flowers, the petals which open in the morning falling off in the evening. A field of flax in bloom is a beautiful sight. The flattened albuminous seeds (linseed) are closely packed together in a spherical capsule. The tough stem of the plant contains the valuable flax fibre from which linen is made, whilst the crushed seed yields linseed oil, and the residue is compressed into oil- cake (linseed-cake), used for feeding cattle. TJie boiled seed added to a mixture of chopped roots and chaff, is also often employed for feeding cattle in winter. Flax is but little grown in England ; it is much more largely cultivated in Ulster. If this plant is not known to the student, a few of the seeds should be sown in the garden in April: It is better to soak the linseed in water for twenty-four hours before sowing, and to wash away the mucilage which oozes out around the seed. The purging flax, a slender annual white-flow;ered plant, with a much-branched stem, is a weed of poor land. LEGUMINOSiE. — The plants of this order are either herbs (clover, vetches, &c.), shrubs (furze, broom, &c.), or trees (the introduced laburnum, acacia, &c.). The leaves are usually compound, i.e., broken up into distinct leaflets. The flowers are very characteristic, and, whether large as in the pea (fig. 23), or small as in a clover head, they are all built up on the type which has already been fully described (p. 91) in the case of I20 CULTIVATED PLANTS the bean. The papilionaceous flowers, and the pod (or legume) which forms the fruit, sufficiently distinguish the British mem- bers of the order. The food products of this order are specially rich in nitrogenous ingredients. Those Leguminosas which yield food-grains (peas, beans, lentils) are called pulses. This name is sometimes extended to all plants of the order used for food, so that pulse crops are leguminous crops. Peas are cultivated both as farm and as garden crops. In the former case they are allowed to ripen, when the seeds are threshed out, and the dry straw or ' haulm ' is used as fodder. In the latter case the unripe seeds (green peas) are gathered for a table vegetable. Near large towns, peas are stripped on the farm, and the green haulm is either employed as fodder, or made into silage. Peas have weak straggling stems furnished with tendrils, by the twining habits of which the plants are pulled up into the light and air, and in garden cultivation sticks are planted along the row to afford them support. In field cultivation, however, sticks are not used, and the plants spread amongst each other in the same way as vetches. They are a somewhat uncertain crop. Most varieties of garden pea have a white blossom ; field peas are either blue-flowered or pink. Common field varieties are the Maple, the Early Maple, the Partridge, the Early Dun, and the Common Grey. Prussian Blues and many varieties of white peas, originally introduced as garden peas, have found their way into field culture. Amongst the soft or wrinkled peas grown as vegetables are the British Queen, Fortyfold, Ne Plus Ultra, Telegraph, and Yorkshire Hero. Peas are a light land crop, and when grown in a rotation, they follow barley and thus give the land a rest from clover. Beans are grown as a field crop, yielding the familiar Horse Bean ; also as a garden crop, the Broad Bean or Windsor Bean. Horse beans include the large ticks or negro beans, the small ticks, and the common variety. Beans are more hardy than peas, and have a stiff upright mode of growth. They are also a more certain crop than peas, but require a stronger, deeper soil. The more hardy kinds, sown in the autumn, are called winter beans ; the more delicate, varieties, sown in February, are called spring beans. Field beans are drilled or CLOVERS dibbled in rows, i8 to 24 inches apart. Under favourable conditions they produce pods almost down to the ground, as a result of the free admission of light and air. By the time the crop is ready to be harvested for its seed, the haulms are well- nigh black, so that beans are a black straw crop. Bean straw is used for feeding, and is often mixed with pea-haulm for the purpose. Broad beans are grown in the garden for the sake of their unripe seeds, which, like green peas, are boiled for table use. The Scarlet Runner Bean (Kidney bean) is a garden plant, with a long twining stem and bold scarlet flowers. It is a native of Mexico, and is cultivated in English gardens as an annual for the sake of its unripe pods, which are sliced and cooked for table use. The part that is eaten is, of course, the immature ovary containing the unripe seeds. The dwarf French beans are varieties of the kidney bean. The Haricot bean, largely used as food in France and Italy, and to some extent in England, is another variety. Clovers are members of the genus Trifolium. Their leaves are made up of three leaflets (whence the name trifolium). Notice, in a clover field, how the leaves of the plants close up at sunset, thereby offering the smallest surface possible to the cooling effects of radiation during night ; this is an example of what Darwin called the sleep of plants. The numerous small papilionaceous flowers are aggregated in dense heads. Clovers are not cultivated as food for man, but are amongst the most common of the farm crops grown either for green forage or for hay. Gather the heads of various kinds of clover, and take them apart so as to see the stracture and arrangement of the flowers. Observe that they all have papilionaceous corollas. The clovers usually found in cultivation are named in the following table : — Botanical Name Common Name Colour of Flower-head Trifolium repens .... White or Dutch clover . White. Trifolium pratense .... Broad clover .... Red or purple. Trifolium pratense perenne . Cow-grass Do. Trifolium hybridum . . . Alsike Pink and white. Trifolium incamatum . . . ' Trifolium ' . . . . Crimson. Trifolium minus .... Yellow suckling clover . Yellow. 122 CULTIVATED PLANTS White" clover, Dutch clover, or honeysuckle clover, Trifoliuin repens, receives its specific name of repens in allusion to its creeping habit, numerous prostrate stems or stolons being given out at the crown, and helping to spread the plant in all directions. The fruit is a flat pod, containing 3 or 4 seeds (fig. 42) of a sulphur or orange colour. It is a well-established perennial plant found in old feeding pastures of prime quality, in which it helps to form a rich turf of close bottom-herbage. If sown by itself it is usually folded with sheep, as its habit does not permit of its being profitably cut with the scythe. But sheep should, for the first few days, only be allowed on the crop when their appetite is partly satisfied, otherwise they eat so much that they become hoven or blown, through the accumula- tion of gas in the stomach. White clover springs up spontane- FiG. 42.— Seed of Fig. 43. — Seed White Clover. Red Clover. Ously upon rich land containing lime, and its seeds should always be included in mixtures for permanent pastures. Red or broad clover, Trifolium pratense, is also known as purple or meadow clover. It has a fine head of purple flowers, is a very robust plant with a sHghtly downy surface, and its leaflets bear a whitish horseshoe-shaped or triangular mark. The fruit is a one-seeded pod, so different from the ordinary pods of the Leguminosas that it must be specially examined. It does not open lengthwise, but is divided into an upper and a lower half. The upper is a smooth shining cap, and the, lower is a small thin-walled box, by the tearing of which the seed is set free. Some of these curious pods are often present in samples of red clover seed, though, as they are easily sepa- rated, they ought not to be. The seed (fig. 43), viewed in bulk, is bright and shining, and has a purplish tinge. A good seed is of a dark purple colour at one end, gradually shading down to a light yellow. Broad clover is commonly grown as a hay crop, but it CLOVERS 123 is also folded with sheep. On good soils it will stand two or more years. This is the clover which is specially susceptible to ' sickness,' a disease associated with the presence of minute eel- worms in the stem of the plant. As ' clover sick ' land usually requires some years in order to sufficiently recover to carry clover again, it is not advisable to grow it — certainly on light open soils — more than once every ten or twelve years. A healthy crop of red clover generally affords a most abundant yield. Cow grass, Trifoltum praiense perenne, \s not a true grass, but is a variety of the red clover, which, though slower in arriving at maturity, is possessed of a more lasting character, and is usually less liable to clover sickness. It is, therefore, well adapted for use in a mixture of seeds intended to remain down for some time. Being later than the red clover, it use- fully supplements the latter, as it comes in for use after the red clover has been cut once, and before it is ready to fold or to cut again. But, as it is cut late, cow grass yields only a moderate aftermath. Cow grass is thus an example of a ' single-cut ' clover, whereas the other variety is a ' double-cut ' clover. It is not possible to distinguish the seed of common red clover from that of cow grass. Alsike clover, Trifolium hybridUm, is a smooth perennial plant with hollow stems. Its whitish and pinkish flowers are arranged in loose heads on long stalks, the plant thus presenting an appearance intermediate between that of white clover and that of broad clover. The pod is short and contains from one to three small dark green seeds (fig. 44). Alsike grows freely on most soils, and is scarcely susceptible to clover sickness, so that when occasion arises it ^'°- 44- Seed of A.LSIKE forms a very useful substitute for broad clover. ' . Crimson clover — scarlet, carnation, or Italian clover — Tri- folium. incarnatum, is the plant which farmers call ' trifolium.' It is easily recognised by its elongated velvety head of dark crimson flowers. There are three forms generally grown in this country, — the Early Red Trifolium, the Late Red, and the Extra Late Red, in addition to which there is a white-flowered variety, T. album. It is essentially a single-cut clover, and is commonly grown as a catch crop, the seed being merely 124 CULTIVATED PLANTS harrowed in upon a cereal stubble directly the corn crop is off the ground. The trifolium is fit for feeding in May and June, and after it has been folded by sheep it may be broken up for roots. Yellow suckling clover, or lesser yellow trefoil, Trifolium minus, is a small annual yellow-flowered plant, of much less size than the clovers that have already been described. It is a smooth plant, with slender flower stalks. It is often grown in association with ryegrass, and begins to shed its seed freely after midsummer, especially in hot dry seasons. The hop trefoil, Trifolium procumbens, has a rather promi- nent head of primrose-coloured flowers. In each corolla, the vexillum (fig. 24) is bent back some- what, giving the whole head the ap- ^!^^^^ ,5-^ pearance of a small yellow hop- i'." ' f%k * '-* iSa cone. It grows chiefly on limestone ^*- ■^ " ^^Sl soils, and is not cultivated. The zig- ^ls,,s^ T«>» zag trefoil, Trifolium. m.edium. (fig. 45), Fig. 45. — Seed of Zig- with a head of rose-purple flowers, and ZAG Trefoil. ^ struggling zigzag stem, takes posses- sion of the soil with great rapidity. The true clovers belong exclusively to the genus Trifolium. An allied genus, Medicago, contains several species which are popularly regarded as clovers, though they are not really so. In Medicago, as in Trifolium, each leaf is broken up into three leaflets. But the flowers of Medicago are arranged in compact racemes, a number of short-stalked florets springing from a com- mon axis, so that the result is not unlike a clover-head. Again, the pod of Medicago is usually either curved or spiral, whilst in Trifolium it is nearly straight. Two species of Medicago are of agricultural interest. Trefoil or yellow clover, Medicago lupulina, also known as black medick or nonsuch, and called 'hop' by farmers, has some resemblance to Trifolium minus. But the whole plant is hairy or downy, the florets forming the head are very numerous and very bright yellow, and the curved pod (fig. 46) becomes black as it ripens, none of which characters are true of Trifolium minus. Moreover, in trefoil the corolla falls away after flowering, and the black roughish kidney-shaped pod is exposed to view, whereas in the yellow suckling clover the brown withered LUCERNE I2S remains of the corolla embrace the pod. The seed of trefoil (fig. 46) has a yellowish-brown, shining appearance ; each pod contains one seed. Trefoil does not possess the high feeding properties of the true clovers. When cultivated, it is usually in a mixture of seeds intended to remain down for a short period only. It is thus grown, especially on light chalk soils, in association with rye-grass. Gather specimens of Trifolium minus and Medicago lupu- lina, and compare them. Watch the growing plants, and note the difference in the pods as they attain ripeness. Lucerne, Medicago sativa, is a plant which at first appears to be very distinct from the trefoil just described. But an examination of the characters of their flowers and fruits shows Fig. 46. — Pod and Seed OF Trefoil. Fig. 47.— Twisted or Spiral Pod (legume) op Lucerne. their close relationship. Lucerne, however, is a taller, more robust plant, with loose racemes of bluish-purple flowers. The firuit (fig. 47) is a spiral pod, turned on itself two or three times, and containing a number of kidney-shaped seeds. Being a very deep-rooted plant, lucerne is well qualified to thrive in dry soils and during droughty seasons. It is best sown by drilling, or by transplanting, as if sown broadcast it is impossible to get between the plants to clean the land. The crop will stand for a number of years, and is used chiefly for green soiling (see p. 176) though in some districts it is made into hay. It affords excellent fodder for horses. Two other leguminous plants largely grown are sainfoin and vetches. Sainfoin is cultivated as a main crop, but this is 126 CULTIVATED PLANTS hardly the case with vetches, though they are sometimes taken as a main crop on heavy land. Sainfoin, Onobrychis saiiva, is a robust plant, with a stout woody root, a long handsome leaf of 12 to 20 leaflets, and bold elegant racemes of large pink flowers. There are few prettier sights on the farm than a field of sainfoin, such as can be seen in chalk districts, in full bloom. The fruit is a large wrinkled pod, containing a single kidney-shaped seed of chocolate-brown colour. Sainfoin is allowed to remain down for from three to seven years, and is either grazed by stock or mown for hay. But, if folded too soon, sheep bite the heart out of the plant, and the crop is seriously injured. Vetches or tares, Vicia saliva, have the terminal leaflets of the compound leaves converted into tendrils. The stem is trailing, and the pale purple flowers arise, one or two together and without stalks, from the leaf axils. The straight hairy pods are not unlike those of the sweet pea, but smaller, and they contain from four to six seeds. The plant is ap annual, and there are two varieties, known as winter vetches and spring vetches, the former being sown in September, and the latter in February, March, or April. The crop should not be cut till the pods have formed, though long before they ripen. Both varieties are highly nutritious, and are relished by all kinds of stock. Vetches are often sown with a little rye, or other cereal (as oats), the upright stalks of which afford them support and help to keep the vetch plants off the ground, thereby increasing the useful produce. About a dozen species of wild vetch grow in this country, the most elegant being the tufted blue vetch, Vtcia Cracca, with racemes of blue flowers. A few other leguminous plants, occasionally cultivated or grown on a small scale, demand notice. The common birdsfoot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus, may be found in flower through the summer on grassy banks and in dry pastures. The head is made up of a few large bright yellow flowers which are crimson before they open, and give place to narrow pods which spread out like the toes of a bird's foot. This plant is sown on poor soils. Examine its roots for the nodules, which contain the micro-organisms concerned in the ROSACEA 127 assimilation of free nitrogen. The greater birdsfoot trefoil, Lotus major, is a larger plant, thriving in moist meadows and on somewhat peaty soils. The kidney vetch, or ladies' fingers, Anthyllis Vulneraria, has a branching head of conspicuous yellow flowers, the calyx of each being covered with white silky hairs. The leaflets which make up the leaf are of unequal size. This plant is but rarely cultivated out of Hampshire, though it is a very useful fodder crop on poor sandy soils. The Bokhara clover, or Melilot, of which there are yellow and white flowered types, grows to a height of from two to six feet. When in bloom it has an odour like that of fresh hay, and the blossoms are eagerly sought by bees. Lupines are better known in England as cottage garden flowers than as forage crops. The narrow leaflets all radiate from a common point, and the inflorescence is a stately raceme ol blue, yellow, or white flowers. They are not natives of this country. Furze, gorse, or whin is a prickly shrub, with deep yellow blossoms of somewhat sickly odour. It is raised from seed on waste land not capable of being otherwise utilised. Horses, cattle, and sheep readily eat the nutritious young shoots, as also the older parts after they have been bruised, so as to crush the prickles. It provides winter as well as summer food. Serra- della is cultivated on the Continent ; and fenugreek is grown for its seeds, which are used as a condiment. Other native leguminous plants, not cultivated, are the broom, rest-harrow, and rheadow vetchling, the last named being a yellow-flowered plant growing in hayfields. Rosacea is a natural order that furnishes no farm crops, but a considerable number of the most useful plants of the garden and orchard. The botanical characters of the order are ex- tremely varied. The^ Rosaceas embrace herbs (bumet, silver- weed, strawberry), shrubs (raspberry, bramble), and trees (plum, apple). To understand the distinctive characters of the flowers in this order, blossoms of the hawthorn, dog-rose, and- black- berry should be examined. The calyx is made up of five united sepals. The petals and stamens spring from the calyx ring. Of petals there are five, free from each other, and falling soon after the flower opens, as is noticed in the month of May when 128 CULTIVATED PLANTS orchard fruit trees are in blossom. In the weeds called bumet and ladys-mantle there are no petals. The stamens are usually numerous, i.e. more than ten or twelve. The carpels range from one to five or more, and the fruits are of very various kinds, but they are never legumes — the characteristic fruit of the Leguminosas. In many rosaceous plants the fruit is a drupe, of which the cherry is an example. The skin, the flesh, and the shell are derived from the wall of the ovary. Crack the shell or stone, and the seed — the ripened ovule — with its two coats, falls out. All kinds of plums (including the wild sloe or blackthorn), damsons, greengages, cherries, apricots, peaches, nectarines, and almonds belong to this type, and so do the common laurel and Portugal laurel of shrubberies, but not the bay laurel. In the raspberry, blackberry, dewberry, and other forms of bramble, the fruit is made up of a collection of small drupes. In the strawberry the ' fruit ' consists of a large number of small brownish thin-walled nuts — people call them ' seeds ' — scattered over the fleshy swollen end of the flower stalk which, though the part eaten, is not the fruit, because it is not the ripened ovary. The calyx — sometimes a double calyx, one superimposed — is persistent in the case of the raspberry, blackberry, dew- berry, and strawberry. It can always be found beneath these ' fruits.' One other type of rosaceous fruit of industrial value is that met with in the apple and pear, in their scores of varieties. If an apple be cut across transversely,' the homy core is seen to consist of five radiating parts, in each of which the brown seeds ■ — the 'pips' — maybe found. The core is the true fruit — the ripened ovary — of the apple, and corresponds, so far as its structural origin is concerned, with the skin, flesh, and shell of the plum, or the pod of the bean. The edible part of the apple is made up chiefly of the swollen calyx tube, so that it is not a true fruit. To understand this, it is necessary to watch the development of the apple day by day, from the opening of the flower onwards. The ' eye ' of the apple is made up of the withered remains of the calyx teeth and stamens, — the petals GRAFTING ' 129 have fallen to the ground. Such a ' fruit' as that of the apple is called a.pome, and it is met with also in pears and medlars, and in the mountain ash. When pears and allied fruit trees make too much growth without producing fruit, root-pruning is desirable, the best season being November. Dig a trench two or three feet from the stem, and cut away the coarse or wood-producing roots, but do not injure the small roots and fibres near the surface. Cut under the tree, so as to sever the tap-root, and add fresh soil, to encourage the development of new roots near the surface. By pruning the branches the growth of new wood is encouraged. This is especially important in the case of such trees as peaches and apricots, which only produce ripe fruit upon the younger branches. Roses in all their varieties are typical members of this order. There are upwards of a dozen native species of roses or briars growing in the hedgerows, amongst them being the sweetbriar. These wild roses have but five petals, but culti- vated varieties have a much larger number. Examination will show that the numerous stamens of the wild rose have disap- peared in the garden forms, and petals haVe taken their place. In the cultivated forms the struggle for existence is diminished,, as each plant is allowed plenty of food and air and light. Hence it does not perfect the reproductive organs of the flower, and the stamens degenerate into petals. At the same time, the prickles (which are modified hairs) are prone to disappear, for the plant has not to contend with a crowd of others for air and hght. This is an example of the influence of change of environment or surroundings. Other native rosaceous plants, not previously mentioned are the meadow-sweet, cinquefoil, agrimony, and cotoneaster. The operations of grafting and budding are commonly practised upon certain members of the I^sacese. The object of grafting is to induce a cutting from one tree to grow upon another : a good variety of apple upon a crab, for example. A vigorous young bud-bearing branch — called the scion — is cut obliquely from the good variety it is desired to pro pagate. Another oblique cut is made across the trunk of the crab apple — called the stock. The oblique surface of the scion K I30 CULTIVATED PLANTS is applied to that of the stock so that the moist tissues — the cambium, layer — just beneath the respective barks are brought in contact. The union is made secure by tying with gardener's bast, and then plastering over the joint with mud. The living cells of the cambium of the scion and stock form in time an organic union with each other, and henceforward the scion and stock are one plant. The operation of grafting saves time, as it would require years for the scion to grow individually into a trunk like that with which the stock supplies it. Sometimes a wedge-shaped graft is fitted into a corresponding notch of the stock (fig. 48). As a rule, grafting is only effective between very closely allied plants, but it is a common operation in the case of rosaceous fruit trees. Budding is usually resorted to when it is desired to transfer one kind of rose to the healthy stand- ard of another kind. The prin- ciple of the operation is the same as that of grafting, but the mode of procedure is somewhat different. Two cuts are made thus, T, in the bark of the standard, so that, by raising the two corners, the moist living cells of the cambium are exposed. A bud, of the kind it is desired to propagate, is cut from the parent tree, with a small part of the bark and the underlying living cells attached. This is inserted in the cut made on the standard, the angular ends of the cut bark are returned as nearly as possible to the former position, and the bud is tied in with bast, and plastered over in the same manner as in the graft. RibesiacEjE is a small order to which the gooseberry and the red and black currant belong. These shrubs are known as bush fruit,' and the fruit they produce is, in each case, a true berry. The flowers should be examined in April and May, Fig. 48. — Mode of Grafting_ 1, the graft (or scion). 2, the stock. 3, the graft covered with clay. CUCUMBERS 131 when the bees are busy amongst them. The calyx tube i§ joined to the ovary, and supports the petals and stamens on its. ring above. The ovary matures rapidly into the fruit, the ' eye ' ■of which consists of withered calyx-teeth, petals, and stamens. -Gooseberries and currants are largely used both as fresh fruit for table use, and also for preserving. CucurbitacEjE. — Britain possesses only one native plant of ■this order, — the red-berried bryony, a tendril-bearing plant which climbs the hedgerows and produces conspicuous bunches of soft red or yellowish berries, which are poisonous. The greenish white flowers are unisexual, the male and female flowers being each confined to separate plants. Examine some specimens in June or July, and notice especially the curved anther-lobes of the stamens in the male flowers. Observe, also, the ingenious clasping and coiling of the tendrils, whereby the feeble stem of the plant is lifted up so that the leaves and flowers get their full share of air and light. The cultivated plants of the order include cucumbers, ■vegetable marrows, pumpkins, melons, water melons, gourds, &c. These are all grown for the sake of their fruits, which are large watery berries possessing special flavours. Some of them (the melons) are consumed as fruits, others (vegetable marrows) are cooked as vegetables, some (cucumbers) are used as salads, whilst a small variety of the cucumber (the gherkin) is pickled. Pumpkins are the largest fruits known, and even in this country have been grown to a size exceeding 6 feet in circumference, -and to a weight of over 200 lb. Pumpkins and melons, and sometimes cucumbers, are grown under glass, upon rich warm beds specially prepared. They are raised from seed, which is obtained by washing the pulp away from the fruit, and they may easily be multiplied by cuttings. When grown in frames they have to be specially fertilised (see p. 96). Vegetable marrows and also cucumbers are grown out in the open air, and the latter are largely cultivated as a market garden ■crop, the smaller fruits (gherkins) being reserved for pickling. The seeds are large, flattened, and exalbuminous. Germinate some vegetable marrow seeds, and watch the process from day to day. 132 CULTIVATED PLANTS Umbellifer^ is the name of an order in which the inflo- rescence is made up of a number of stalked flowers, allsp ringing- from a point at the end of the floral axis. Such an inflorescence (fig. 49) is called an umbel. If each branch of the umbel branches again similarly, a collection of little umbels results, and the whole is called a compound umbel. The Umbelliferae are herba- ceous plants, with hollow furrowed stems, well developed leaves, usually much divided, and sheathing bases to the leaf-stalks. They are mostly white-flowered, but some are yellow. p,Q ,g DiA- Many plants of the order are possessed of strong GRAM OF AN odours, and some species are poisonous. The Umbel. cultivated umbellifers include the carrot, parsnip, celery, parsley, fennel, caraway, and coriander. The carrot, as it grows wild in the fields, is in some districts called bird's nest, because its compound umbel of white flowers — often with a purple flower in the centre — has the concave form of a nest. Pull up one of these plants, notice the long tap- root, and break it through so as to observe its odour. The cultivated carrot, with its handsome well-developed tap-root, has been obtained by cultivation and selection from this wild' progenitor. The Belgian White carrot is the variety usually chosen for field crops, the red carrot being the one commonly grown in gardens for table use. Carrots afford a highly nutritious food, and all kinds of farm stock — horses in par- ticular — are partial to them. The ' seed ' of this, as well as of the other umbelliferous crops, is really the dry fruit (called a cremocarp, consisting of two one-seeded halves — mericarps)^ Carrot ' seeds ' are covered with a coarse hairy outgrowth which causes them to adhere together ; hence, before sowing, they should be well rubbed between the hands with dry ashes, bran, or powdered charcoal. The juice of the red carrot is sometimes used in the dairy to give a colour to cheese and butter. The parsnip has not been much used as a cattle food in England, and is chiefly grown as a garden crop. Before the introduction of the potato it was extensively employed for food purposes now met by that tuber. It is an improved form of the CELERY AND PARSLEY 133 wild parsnip, which is a common weed of poor grass land and waste places, with a root possessing the characteristic odour of the cultivated plant. The umbel is made up of yellow flowers. As a rule, the roots of the parsnip are less shapely than those of the carrot. Being a very hardy plant, the parsnip may be left in the ground through the winter. The 'seed' of the parsnip consists of the half-fruits {mericarps). Celery is the cultivated form of a wild plant, with umbels of _greenish-white flowers, found growing in salt marshes. The seedlings are transplanted into deep trenches, which are gradu- ally filled up with earth as the plants increase in height. The -access of light to the succulent leafstalks being thus prevented, the green pigment chlorophyll (see p. 87), does not develop, and the leafstalks acquire that blanched or white appearance with which they come to the table. In its wild condition it is somewhat poisonous, but, in the process of blanching, the leaf-stalks lose the poisonous property, or at least it is not developed. Parsley is another modification of a plant found wild in Eng- land. The garden parsley is a savoury herb, the part employed being the leaves, which are also used for garnishing. Gather -some parsley, and notice the white tips of the segments of the leaves. Chlorophyll, the green colouring matter of plants, may be conveniently extracted from parsley. Place a handful of the freshly gathered herb on a dish by the fire, and let it remain for a day or two in order to become quite dry. Then press it into a tumbler, and pour some spirits of wine (alcohol) upon it. Next day. pour off the liquid into a narrow glass vessel — a phial or test-tube. Held up between the eye and the window, the solution is seen to be green. Looked down upon, with the eye between the window and the solution, the latter is seen to be elaret-coloured. Hence, a solution of chlorophyll is green by transmitted light, and reddish by reflected light. Sheep's parsley is a field variety, the ' seed ' of which is sometimes included in mixtures for laying land down for sheep- grazing. It is occasionally sown on sheep runs, the animals .being fond of it. Fennel is a garden derivative of the wild fennel of sea cliffs. 134 CULTIVATED PLANTS It is a perennial, with very finely divided drooping leaves, and' umbels of yellow flowers. The leaves have a strong aromatic odour, and are used in making fish sauces, and for garnishing. Caraway is a white-flowered native plant, sparingly cultivated for its 'seeds' (half-fruits — mericarps), which are used for flavouring bread, confectionery, and spirits. The plant is easily raised by sowing a few caraway seeds. Coriander is a some- what similar plant, the ' seeds ' of which are used in the same way. Excepting the fennel, all the foregoing plants are biennials,, and require two seasons in order to bring their seed to per- fection. Of the weed umbellifers, the commonest are the hedge parsleys, which are mostly annuals. They are easily recognised in the hedgerows and on the waysides by their characteristic leaves, and umbels of white flowers, which appear from May to July or August. These plants are sometimes gathered for feeding rabbits. The cow-parsnip, or hog-weed, is a tall coarse- plant, growing from five to ten feet high, with rough leaves, and a conspicuous white umbel. The shepherd's needle, or Venus's- comb, is an abundant weed in cornfields. It is a white-flowered annual, and derives its name from the fact that its clusters of fruits (cremocarps) lengthen out to a remarkable extent after- the plants have flowered. The earthnut, or pignut, is a per- ennial weed of pastures. Its leaves are much divided into linear segments, and its flowers are white. It has blackish tuberous roots, about the size of a chestnut ; they are edible, and possess a sweetish taste ; ' underground nuts ' and ' earth' chestnuts ' are other names locally applied to them. Poisonous umbellifers. — Certain umbelliferous weeds are highly poisonous. Amongst these the hemlock and fool's parsley are land plants ; the water dropwort, water parsnip, and cowbane are water plants. The hemlock, which grows in waste places, attains a height of from two to four feet. It is. white-flowered, and has a smooth pohshed stem, bearing brown- ish red blotches. On being bruised the plant emits an odour like that of mice. The whole plant is poisonous, and the seeds are especially so. Fool's parsley is a white-flowered annual,, also growing in waste places, and occasionally in kitchen gar- POISONOUS UMBELLIFERS 135 dens. It reaches a height of two feet, and may be recognised by the three narrow leaves (bracts) which grow downwards from one side of the base of each httle umbel of the compound umbel. It sometimes grows amongst parsley, from which it is distinguished by the bluish tint of its leaves. It is doubtful whether this plant is really poisonous, and whether it has not sometimes been blamed instead of hemlock. Water parsnip has some resemblance, both in the shape of the leaf and in odour, to the cultivated parsnip. It is a white- flowered perennial, growing in ditches and streams. Its leaves sometimes get gathered with watercress, from which they are easily distinguished both by their appearance and their flavour. There are two species, a broad-leaved and a narrow-leaved. Gather some specimens, break across the stems, and notice the large cells. Water dropwort grows in marshes and on the banks of rivers and ditches, where it attains a height of from two to five feet. It is white-flowered, and the submerged leaves are very much divided. It is sometimes mistaken for celery. The cowbane has an erect, much branched, furrowed stem, and grows to a height of three to four feet in ditches. Cattle have been poisoned by eating its leaves. The umbels are four or five inches broad, but the flowers are very small. Cowbane, fortunately, is not of common occurrence. COMPOSITiE is the name given to a very extensive natural order of plants, the members of which are characterised by their inflorescence. Imagine, in such an inflorescence as the umbel (fig. 49), that the individual flowers are all deprived of their stalks. The result would be a number of stalkless (or sessile) flowers, all crowded together. Such a structure is called a com- fosite or capitate inflorescence, or briefly, a capitulum. or small head, and it is met with in all plants belonging to the Compo- sitae. A daisy head or dandelion head is, therefore, not a flower but a collection of flowers, — an inflorescence. Examine a daisy head. In the middle (the disK) are seen a number of yellow florets, which are called tubular florets. Around the rim (the ray) are many white florets, with the corollas developed to one side ; these are called ligulate florets. These florets may be still better seen by breaking open the head of a sunflower, from which florets of each kind may be taken for closer examination. 136 CULTIVATED PLANTS Many composite plants have both tubular and ligulate florets in the head, as daisy, — ox-eye, marigold, sunflower ; others have the head composed entirely of ligulate florets, — as lettuce, chicory, hawkweed, sowthistle ; in some, again, the florets are all tubular, — -as tansy, wormwood. The overlapping greenish leaves at the base of the head of a composite inflorescence are bracts. Do not mistake them for sepals. The chamomiles, used for making chamomile tea, are the dried inflorescences of a native composite plant. Many of the Compositse possess a milky juice, containing bitter and other principles. By cultivation these are sufficiently modified to be made acceptable to the palate, especially when presented in the form of green salad herbs. Yet, considering the immense number of species included in the order, singularly few are cultivated. The only species grown on the farm are yarrow and chicory, to which may be added the lettuce and dandelion of the garden. Yarrow or milfoil is a plant of common occurrence in pas- tures and meadows, and on roadsides. Its leaves are very much divided, and its inflorescence, usually white, occasionally be- comes pink or reddish. It is a common mistake to regard this plant as an umbellifer, but a brief examination will show that the heads of its branched inflorescence are really composite. Sheep eat yarrow in moderate quantities, perhaps as a con- diment or a medicine. Its 'seeds' are minute nutlets, and, as is the case with all the Compositae, the 'seed' used for sowing is really the fruit. Yarrow is included in mixtures of seeds for laying down light soils to grass, and its roots aid in binding loose soils together. It is a perennial, and grows to a height of about I foot. Chicory or succory is a native perennial, growing to a height of 3 feet or more, and bearing heads of handsome blue flowers, which are given off the stem in pairs. It has been cultivated on a moderate scale as a cattle food, the foliage being used for this purpose. The root, dried and ground, forms the chicory sold by grocers, and often mixed with coffee. Its young blanched leaves are used as a salad, as are also those of the closely related endive. Lettuce is the commonest of all salad plants grown in SUNFLOWERS AND ARTICHOKES 137 English gardens. The varieties of this agreeable plant are very numerous, differing in size, texture, colour, and period when in season. Lettuce is a yellow-flowered biennial, and ripens its ' seed ' the year after it is sown, though precocious plants are liable to run to top in the same season, unless the flowering shoots are nipped off. The dandelion makes an excellent addition to a salad, and there is no reason why this plant should not be as largely cul- tivated for this purpose in England as it is in France, where it is also sent to the table cooked. The sunflower is a stout upright annual, bearing large ter- minal heads of flowers. It is cultivated for its seeds — really the fruits — which have a high feeding value.. The flowers are much frequented by bees, which obtain from them large quanti- ties of honey and wax. The Jerusalem artichoke is closely allied to the sunflower, which it much resembles in general habit, but the solitary terminal yellow flower heads are smaller. It is a perennial plant, somewhat difficult to get rid of when it has once taken ^possession of the soil. It is grown for the sake of its tubers, which were formerly used for many purposes to which the potato is now generally apphed. It is both hardy and pro- ductive, and is grown from sets like the potato. The artichoke, though a composite, is quite a distinct plant -from the foregoing. Its large gashed leaves, two or three feet long, and of a grey colour, are very noticeable. A stout stem, three or four feet high, carries flower-heads, at the base of which are numerous thick overlapping scaly leaves (bracts), springing from the fleshy material which is the part eaten. Many compositaceous weeds are furnished with stout peren- nial rootstocks, which are difficult to get rid of On meadow land the only safe measure to adopt is to pull them up bodily. But both annual and perennial Compositse are, in the case of many species, furnished with an easy means of dissemi- na.tion of the ' seed.' The florets are so crowded together that the calyx is often reduced to a mere ring of hairs, surmounting the fruit. As the fruit ripens, the petals and stamens wither -away, and the fruit, a thin-walled nut (the so-called seed), be- coming detached, is floated in the air by the outspreading calyx 138 CULTIVATED PLANTS hairs, which form what is termed s. pappus, familiar enough iiu thistledown. Although this structure is not present in all Com- positae — not in the daisy, for example — it is obvious that those compositaceous weeds which possess it have a ready means of spreading themselves over the land. Hence, any measures directed to getting rid of such weeds must be put in operation before the flower heads have ' gone to seed.' In the ' time- piece ' or 'clock' of the dandelion, each pappus is seen to be supported on a stalk springing from the top of the fruit. Ex- amine a specimen, and see that this is so ; then compare it with a dandelion head in full flower. Amongst the commonest composite weeds are various species of hawkbit and hawkweed, all of which are yellow-flowered peren- nials. Other yellow-flowered species are sow-thistles (of which rabbits are very fond) and groundsel, some of which are annuals- and others perennials. The corn marigold is a handsome yellow-flowered annual weed of cornfields, whilst the closely allied yellow and. white ox-eye (the Marguerite, fig. 50) of meadow land is a perennial, as is also the daisy (day's T, . r. . eye), with its troublesome rosette of leaves lying Fig. so.— 'Seed , ' ^, , , ■ ^i_ , OF Ox-eye close to the ground and usurpmg the place Daisy, Chrys- of useful pasture plants. The scentless May- TntZmZn^U ^^^d is a white-flowered annual, common in cornfields, as is the stinking chamomile. Purple- flowered composite weeds include the various prickly thistles- which are either biennials or perennials, and the perennial knap- weed, with its hard blackish head conspicuous before flowering. Another knapweed, the beautiful corn blue-bottle, is an annual weed in cornfields. The burdock, a coarse purple-flowered biennial growing in waste places, is the largest-leaved British plant, and is often — but quite incorrectly — called wild rhubarb. The burs, which catch in the clothing, and in sheep's fleeces,, are formed by hooked points upon the bracts of the flower heads. Besides the plants that have been named, the following culti- vated Compositse are well known : — French Marigold, African Marigold, Zinnia, Dahlia, Aster, Chrysanthemum, Everlastings,. Ageratum, Cardoon. POTATOES 139, SOLANACEiE. — The most familiar example of this order is. the potato, the flower of which must be examined. Observe that the five sepals are all joined together, as are the five petals ; also, that the five stamens, with their very conspicuous orange- coloured anthers, rest on the short corolla tube. The two- carpels join together to form a two-chambered ovary, as maybe seen by cutting it across transversely, and the fruit is called the potato ' apple ' or potato ' berry.' The potato is cultivated for the sake of its underground! stem, or tuber (see p. 99). In Jersey and Guernsey it is ex- tensively grown under glass, in order to secure the early market when prices are high. For ordinary purposes of cultivation the crop is grown from tubers, which may be cut up into ' sets ' before planting. New varieties are obtained by sowing the true seed, but it takes several years to establish a new strain. The introduction of these new forms is necessary, inasmuch as each variety appears in time to decline in value, becoming less prolific and reliable. It is obvious that it is only by the cross fertilisation rendered possible in the flower that new strains can be originated ; no cross-breeding can be practised when pro- pagation is continued year after year by means of the tubers. only. The Solanacese, native to Britain, comprise the foul-smelling henbane, the woody nightshade or bitter-sweet, and the deadly nightshade. The flowers of the two latter should be compared with a potato blossom. These plants all possess poisonous principles, and are, therefore, dangerous, as are also the leaves, and fruit of the potato. Consequently potato haulm is burned,, and is^ever used as food. Other poisonous or highly narcotic plants of the order are tobacco and thorn-apple. The red capsicums and the smaller red shinies, seen in pickle jars, are fruits of this order. The- dried capsicums, when ground, yield Cayenne pepper. The tomato, or love apple, is cultivated for its fruit, a handsome red or yellow berry, which is used either as a salad,, or as a culinary vegetable, or as a constituent of sauces. In England, it thrives best when trained against walls, but as it cannot be relied upon to ripen its fruit out of doors, it is ex- tensively grown under glass, and, being an annual, it is raised: 140 CULTIVATED PLANTS from seed. It is a weak, trailing plant, with soft stem, winged leaves, and yellow flowers. Observe the odour of its foliage, almost as powerful as that of henbane — a weed of waste places. The egg plant, or aubergine, is another introduced member of the order, cultivated for its egg-shaped fruit. Labiate is an order of greater interest to gardeners than to farmers. To it belong many of the sweet-smelling and savoury herbs, such as sage, mint, thyme, marjoram, balm, horehound, lavender, and rosemary. It also includes such weeds as white deadnettle, red deadnettle, hemp nettle, bugle, and self-heal (fig. 51). The plants of the order are recognised by their square stems, opposite leaves, two-lipped corollas, four Fig. 52. — Seed of Viper's BuGLOSs, Bchium vulgare, L. Fig. 53. — Seed OF Scorpion Grass, Myo- sotis arvensis, Hoffm. Fig. 51. — Seed of Self-heal, Pru- nella vulgaris, L. Stamens — two long and two short, and fruit of four nutlets at •the bottom of a persistent calyx-tube. BORAGiNE.iE, like Labiatse, have a fruit of four nutlets, but their leaves are not opposite,, nor are their corollas two-lipped. To this order belongs the prickly comfrey, an introduced plant, producing an abundance of coarse herbage employed for green soiling of cattle (p. 176) or for making silage. The crop is grown from the divided rootstocks, which are planted at regular distances, and yield three or four cuttings a year. Other mem- bers of the order are the common comfrey, the purple-reddish and cream-coloured flowef s of which are seen by the sides of streams ; the corn gromwell, an annual weed of cornfields ; the blue-flowered borage, employed to flavour claret-cup ; viper's bugloss (fig. 52) ; the forget-me-not, and the allied weeds known as scorpion grasses (fig. 53). CHENOPODiACEiE is the name of the order of which the jnangel wiirzel, beetroot, spinach, and Good King Henry are MANGEL 141 members. The various species of goosefoot (or fat hen, fig. 54), which are amongst the commonest annual weeds of arable land, likewise belong to this order. The flowers of chenopodiaceous plants are small and greenish, and possess no petals, as may be seen by examining a plant of goosefoot when in flower — that ^ • 1 ii. I.- 1.1. ^ • -LI Ficf- 54- — Seed of is, at the time the stamens are visible. Goosefoot, Chenofo- Examine some mangel seed. The dium. album, L. ' seed ' of commerce consists of the ovary with its seeds, embedded in the swollen base of the perianth, which thickens and hardens as it . ripens, becoming angular and somewhat woody. Hence, when a mangel or beet 'seed' is set to germinate, it is not unusual for two or three shoots to appear from a single ' seed.' In cultivation, two or three young plants are likely to spring up at the same spot, and this renders the ' setting out ' of the mangel plant difficult, whilst it helps to account for the frequently ' patchy ' appearance of the crop. To promote re- gularity of sowing, the mangel ' seed ' is sometimes broken in a mill, whereby the true seeds are set free, and fall more uni- formly from the drill. The mangel, the sugar beet, and the garden beet are all improved modifications of the same original wild plant, whose natural habitat is on sea shores. The garden beet is grown as a salad plant, and its dark crimson colour renders it a suitable addition to red cabbage in the pickle-jar. The sugar beet is much cultivated in Germany, Austria, and France, sugar being extracted from the juice of the roots, and the refuse pulp afford- ing a valuable cattle food. Three main types of mangel are cultivated, — the long red, the yellow globe, and the intermediately-shaped tankard. Bo- tanically, the mangel is far removed from the swede, which it rivals in feeding properties and excels in keeping qualities. The crop is not suited to feeding on the ground, but is best stored for spring and summer consumption (see p. 347). An additional reason for storing it is that it will not stand the winter if left in the ground. Mangel is sown earlier than turnips or swedes, and the crop has a longer period for its growth ; it has a 142 CULTIVATED PLANTS much more deeply penetrating tap-root, throws out a less pro- portion of its feeding roots near the surface, and exposes a com- paratively large area of leaf to the atmosphere. With its more extended root-range, it is less dependent on frequency of rain when growth is once well established, and it thrives under a higher temperature than the turnip. Hence the midland, eastern, and southern districts are much more suitable for the 'Crop than the north-west or north of England, or than Scotland, where it is comparatively little grown. Where, however, soil and climate are favourable, much heavier crops can be grown than of turnips, provided very heavy dressings of farmyard manure are employed. The proportion of leaf to root is, as a rule, very much less in the mangel than in the turnip, but more than in the swede. POLYGONACE^ is an order rendered sufficiently familiar in such well-known weeds as the docks and sorrels, together with the snakeweeds and knot-grass. Like the chenopods they have incomplete flowers, the petals being absent, but the sepals frequently assuming a reddish, pinkish, or whitish tinge. The order is characterised by the presence of a membranous sheath (a form of stipule) surrounding the stem at the base of each leafstalk, and by the fruit taking the form of a polished trian- gular nutlet — like a #very small beech-nut. * The presence of dock and sorrel ' seeds ' (figs. Fiorss.-'SEEn'^OF Fig. 56.-' Seed' 55 and 56) in sam- CoMMON Sorrel, of Sheep's Sor- pies of cultivated seed Rumex Acetosa, L. RKh,J?u-mex Ace- Jg therebv easilv de- tosella, L. , tected. Buckwheat and rhubarb are two polygonaceous plants, neither of them native, cultivated in Britain. The black triangular ' seeds ' of buckwheat are occasionally sown to afford a crop either for ploughing in green or for folding with sheep. The seed is valued as food for poultry and pheasants. Rhubarb, grown for the sake of its succulent leafstalk, containing oxalic acid, affords excellent examples of the sheathing stipules of the ■order. The docks and sorrels are all perennial weeds, growing from HOPS 143 ■stout rootstocks which require to be pulled up bodily in order to suppress these weeds. This is the operation of ' docking,' frequently necessary in growing crops of corn. Docks and sorrels are common weeds of grass land, more especially of hayfields than of pastures. Knot-grass — often called ' redshank ' from the colour of the sheathing stipules — and the climbing bistort, with its dark leaves and its convolvulus-hke habit, are amongst the commonest weeds of cornfields, and often occur on other arable land. Urticace^, the stinging-nettle family, is the order to which British botanists refer the hop. This plant grows wild in the hedgerows, but its cultivation is practised chiefly in Kent, the only other counties in which hops are grown to any extent being Sussex, Surrey, Hants, Hereford, and Worcester. They are a very expensive crop to grow, are specially liable to insect attacks and fungoid diseases, and are cultivated differently from any other English crop. The plant has a twining habit, and stout poles are thrust into the ' hills ' in spring in order to give support to the bine, the young shoots of which are at the outset tied to the poles. The hop has unisexual flowers, the male plants carrying the staminate flowers in loose pale green panicles, whilst in the female plants the pistillate flowers are gathered into heads made up of closely packed bracts. It is in these that the bitter principle, of the hop s found, and, after flowering is over, they -enlarge into the head or ' cone ' which is gathered by the hop- pickers. LiliacEjE constitute a beautiful group of flowering plants, ■of which the lily, tulip, and hyacinth are familiar examples. The flowers possess a perianth of six leaves, all much alike in shape, size, and colour. But, as regards position, the perianth leaves form two distinct whorls — an outer one of three leaves ^sepals), and an inner one of three leaves (petals). There are six stamens and three carpels, the latter uniting to form a three- chambered superior ovary containing numerous seeds. The onion, which belongs to this order, is cultivated as a garden crop rather than a field crop. It is grown for its tunicated bulb (fig. 26), the white fleshy overlapping scales of ■which are made up of the bases of the leaves. It is used either 144 CULTIVATED PLANTS as a vegetable, as a salad, or for pickling. The crop requires considerable care in cultivation, a well-prepared seed-bed es- pecially being necessary. The seed, in germinating, keeps the tip of the leaf inside the seed-coat for some time after emergence above the ground. The shallot is a variety of onion with a flat side, due to two or three bulbs growing together. The leek does not bulb proportionately to the same extent as the onion. It is used chiefly for cooking. Asparagus is a liliaceous plant, with a creeping matted root- stock throwing up annual shoots, which are eaten as a culinary vegetable. The culture is of quite a special character. Good prices are obtained in early spring for asparagus, which is tied up in bundles for the market. It is a native of maritime coasts. The wild onion, or garlic, is an exceedingly objectionable weed in cornfields, as the presence of garlic in a sample of wheat detracts largely from its value. Garlic is easily recognised both by its general resemblance to the onion and by its unmis- takable odour. It is cleared out from a growing crop by the expensive process of hand-pulling. Meadow saffron is a poisonous weed, belonging to a small order (Melanthaceae) closely allied to the lily family. It grows occasionally in meadows and pastures. The slender leaves alone are thrown up in spring, and the pale purple flowers appear in autumn, after the leaves have died down. Gramine^. — Of the natural orders of plants this is by far the most important and the most useful to the agriculturist, including as it does all cereals and grasses. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, rice, and millet are gramineous plants cultivated mainly for the sake of their grain (see p. 174). Meadow and pasture grasses, such as rye grass, cocksfoot, foxtail, timothy, &c., are gramineous plants grown for their nutritious herbage, which is either consumed green, or is first converted into hay or silage. The sugar-cane and the bamboo are examples of gramineous plants grown for yet other purposes. Pull up a grass-plant by the root, and examine it. Notice that the root consists of a large number of more or less coarse threads, called root-fibres. In some species, as barley, these spread out near the surface of the ground ; in others, as wheat, they penetrate more vertically into the soil. GJiASSSS HS The upright stem in a grass plant is called (fig. 57) the culm. ■ In most species the culm is hollow, save at the bases of the leafsheaths — the joints — where it is solid. _ Many grasses develop a prostrate stem, or stolon (fig. 29, B), which at intervals sends rootlets downwards and leaf-shoots upwards, and thus gives rise to a number of indepen- dent centres of growth. Such grasses are described as stoloniferous ; fiorin (p. 155) and meadow foxtail (p. 156) are examples. Observe that the leaf in most grasses is long, narrow, and strap-shaped, coming to a point at its free end. It varies in differ- ent species between the fine slender [seta- ceous or bristly) leaf seen in sheep's fescue, and the broad flat leaf characteristic of cocks- foot, or of the great reed. Hold a grass-leaf between the eye and the light, and notice the parallel ribs extending from tip to base. Fol- low the leaf downwards to where it embraces the stem by means of its leaf-sheath. In most kinds of grasses the leaf-sheath is split down the front. Closely similar grasses are sometimes identified by the rough or smooth surface of the sheath. By pulling the leaf slightly away from the stem, and looking at the place where the leaf joins its sheath, a thin whitisW out- growth is in most species brought into view. This is (»g. 57) the ligule, and it is worthy of note because, on account of varia- tions in its size and shape, it is frequently of use in affi^rding a means of distinguishing between grasses that are Otherwise much alike. For example, grow some plants of wheat, barley, and oats, till they are about six inches high, and then compare their ligules. That of wheat not only surrounds the culm, but its ends overlap, and they are hairy ; in barley the ends of the ligule similarly overlap or cross each other, but they are naked ; whilst in oats the ligule is so short as to extend only part of the way round the culm. Notice, also, the ligules in the three common meadow grasses : — L Fig. S7-— Part of UPRIGHT Stem OF Grass Plant. A, culm, seen within the split leaf- sheath. B, ligule. c, joint. D, lamina or leaf- ■ blade. 146 CULTIVATED PLANTS Rough-stalked meadow grass [Poa trivialis), ligule long and pointed. Smooth-stalked meadow grass [Poa pratensis), ligule blunt. Wood meadow grass [Poa netnoj'alis), ligule none, absent. Again : — Fine bent grass (AgrosHs vulgaris), ligule short, blunt. Marsh bent grass [A^yosiis alia), ligule long, acute. The most distinctive characters of grasses are to be found in the flowers, and for these the ear or panicle (the inflorescence) must be examined. Take an ear of some large-flowered grass, an ear of oats for example. The nodding structures at the ends of the delicate branches are called spikelets. Break off a spikelet and examine it. At its base are seen two large boat-shaped leaves — called the empty or outer glumes — almost, but not quite, opposite ' each other. Between these outer glumes are embraced two or more little flowers, — or florets, as they are better termed, on account of their small size. Each floret has, at the base, two chaffy leaves, nearly opposite to each other. The larger and lower of these is called the flowering glume, the smaller and upper is the palea ox pale (figs. 76, 77), though sometimes they are called the outer pale {i.e. the flowering glume) and the inner pale respectively. The flowering glume at its edges embraces the pale. An awn, or bristle, is seen to arise from the middle of the back of the flowering glume of the lowest floret. Be- tween the flowering glume and pale are contained (fig. 58) the three stamens, from the anther-lobes of which comes the male fertilising material or pollen. In the heart of the floret, between the filaments or stalks of the stamens, is seen the ovary, which eventually ripens into the grain. In most grasses the florets are much smaller than they are in the oat-plant, and there exist various modifications of the parts just enume- rated. In the wheat-plant, however, the florets (fig. 59) are Fig. 58.— a Perfect Floret of the Oat (enlarged). At the back is seen the pointed pale (the flowering glume be- ing removed). GRASSES H7 large, but the spikelets which contain them have no stalks. The presence or absence of stalks to the spikelets determines, to a great extent, the appearance of the ear or panicle of a grass. Where the spikelets are not supported by stalks, but rest directly upon the stem or axis, there results the close narrow • ear seen in wheat, couch grass (fig. 86), barley, barley grasses, rye (fig. 121), and rye grasses (figs. 78 and 79). Where the spikelets are upon long ■stalks, which spread outward from the axis, . such panicles as those of oats, oat-grasses (fig. 75), meadow grasses (fig. 74), fescue .grasses (fig. 70), brome grasses (fig. 85), bent grasses, quaking grasses, hair grasses .(fig. 87), Yorkshire fog, reeds, and cocks- foot (fig. 60) result. Sometimes the §talks •of the spikelets are very short, and lie so ■ closely against the stem that the panicle looks as if the spikelets were without •stalks, though examination shows this is not really the case ; examples are seen in dogstail, foxtail, timothy, and, to 9. less •extent, in sweet vernal (fig. 80). It will be Fig. 59. — Dissected Floret of 'Wheat (enlarged). O, o, outer glumes, which enclose all the noticed that just as the ear or panicle of Par°s'^ of a sfngle floret : glume. flowering pale. lodicules (represent- ing perianth of ordi- nary flowers), the three stamens. the pistil, comprising an ovary surmounted by the divided fea- thery stigma. a grass or cereal is made up of spikelets, so is each spikelet made up of one or more florets. In order that there may be no uncer- 'tainty as to what is meant by a spikelet, look at fig. 85, soft brome grass, and •count the spikelets, which, in this illustra- tion, number twelve. In the specimen of Jiard fescue illustrated in fig. 70, there are twenty spikelets shown. In the specimen of perennial rye-grass (fig. 78) sixteen spikelets may be counted. The awn is a bristle which usually springs from the back of the flowering glume (or outer pale), above referred to as helping to enclose the floret. The awn may arise from the base (as in wavy hair-grass, fig. 77), or from the middle of the back (as in :sweet vernal-grass, fig, 81), or il may be a*mere prolongation L 2 148 CULTIVATED PLANTS of the tip (as in dogstail, fig. 62), of the flowering glume. ' Bearded ' wheat is awned, beardless wheat is not awned. The- awns, like the ligules, afford the means of distinguishing between species of grasses that are otherwise much alike. Thus, Italian rye-grass (fig. 79) is awned ; perennial rye-grass (fig. 78) is usually not awned. The fescue grasses {Festuca, fig. 70) are mostly shortly awned ; the meadow grasses {Poa, fig. 74) are never awned. In upright brome grass [Bromu^ erectus) the awn is long ; in soft brome grass {Bromus mollis, fig. 85) it is short. In Yorkshire fog {Holcus lanatus) the awn is hidden, in creeping soft grass {^Holcus mollis) it is exposed. Compare specimens of these grasses. The true seed of cereals and grasses never, as such, finds its way into commerce, the grain, as in wheat, being really the fruit. The commercial ' seed ' of rye is similar to that of wheat, but in the case of barley or oats there is something more, for the flowering glume and pale have hardened on to the grain, so that the ' seed ' in this case is the dried floret, in the middle of which is the ripened ovule. The ' seed ' of many grasses, as it occurs in commerce, consists similarly of the entire floret, this being the case with the ' seed' of cocksfoot (figs. 63, 64), dogstail (figs. 61, 62), fescues (fig. 69), rye grasses (fig. 68), meadow grasses (fig. 74), sweet vernal (fig. 81), timothy (fig. 84), and others. In some cases the ' seed ' consists of even more than this, for it includes the entire spikelet. An example is afforded in foxtail seed, to gather which it is only necessary to strip the spikelets (fig. 72) off the ripe ear. Hence the term ' seed ' as applied to grasses must be understood in a special sense — the fruit or grain enveloped in ' chaff,' — and as by no means implying the true botanical seed, such as is exemplified in the commercial seed of clovers, trefoils, turnips, and cablsages. In short, the term ' seed,' as applied to grasses, means simply ' that which is sown.' The only commonly occurring plants which are liable to be mistaken for grasses (nat. ord. Graminea) are rushes (nat. ord. Juncacece) and sedges (nat. ord. Cyperacea) ; they have no feeding value. Specimens should be gathered from wet grass lands, or from the sides of streams, and compared with true grasses. Rushes usually have dark green rounded stems, tapering to RUSHES AND SEDGES 149 a point, and enclosing a continuous or interrupted pith. The leaves, if developed, are either flat or like the stem. The brown- ish flowers of rushes contain six stamens, surrounded by six scaly leaves. They are, therefore, quite different from those of grasses, and have rather the structure of a very diminutive tulip flower. Moreover, they are never aggregated together in spike- lets. The true rushes {/uncus) grow naturally on poor wet lands. The wood-rushes {Luzula) occur upon heaths, meadows, pastures, and shady places. Their foliage is more grass-like than that of the rushes, but their leaves always have a cottony appearance, due to the presence of long wavy white hairs. Sedges (Carex) are at once distinguished from grasses by their solid triangular stems (fig. 27), by their entire leaf-sheaths, and by the absence of ligules. In grasses the stems are usually round and hollow, and their leaf-sheaths are split in front. The anthers of grasses are notched (figs. 58 and 59) at the ends ; those of sedges are not. The cotton-grass or cotton-sedge {Eriopfiorum), growing on moors and bogs, develops cottony heads, which look in the distance like tufts of white wool. The term ' grass,' is erroneously applied to certain plants which are not members of the natural order Gramineas. Thus, cotton grass and carnation grass are really sedges. Knot- . grass, a troublesome weed on arable land, is a near rela- tion of the docks and sorrels. Goosegrass is the cleavers, hariff, or whip-tongue, growing in hedgerows. Rib-grass is the plantain. Scorpion-grass is one of the blue-flowered forget- me-nots. Arrow-grass belongs to the water plantain family. Scurvy-grass and the whitlow-grasses are cruciferous plants. The grass of Parnassus is a member of the saxifrage family. Cow-grass (p. 123) is a clover — the much-valued Trifolium pratense perenne. Grasses, very closely allied to each other, may nevertheless possess widely different properties. Thus, wheat is botanically related to the troublesome weed couch grass (fig. 86), whilst meadow foxtail (fig. 72) is allied to the field pest known as slender foxtail, or hunger-weed (fig. "j^)- I^i describing the grasses of agricultural value it will be conv^enient, therefore, to refer to the weed-grasses respectively allied to them. Though the characters of the panicle and spikelets afford the readiest ISO CULTIVATED PLANTS means of identifying grasses, it must be remembered that,, during the greater part of the year, these plants are not irh flower. Hence, it is necessary to study the leaves and roots of grasses, and to endeavour to identify the several species by the characters of these alone. In many cases this is not difficult. The student is, therefore, urged to become familiar, by his own observations in the field, with the stems, leaves,, roots, and general habits of the species of grasses, and not to rest content with a mere power to recognise the panicles, only. The cultivated grasses are here described, as a matter of con- venience, in the following order : — Cocksfoot, Dogstail, Fescues,, Fiorin, Foxtail, Meadow Grasses, Oat Grasses, Rye Grasses,^ Sweet Grasses, Sweet Vernal, and Timothy. As has been intimated, however, incidental references are made to such weed grasses as are generically allied to any of the foregoing. Cocksfoot {Dactylis glomerata, L.) is- easily recognised. Its spikelets are crowd- ed together into thick clusters — hence the specific name ' glomerata ' — and they are all turned to one side (fig. 60). It is a large, coarse-growing, and often unsightly plant, rough or harsh to the touch. The leaves are very characteristic — broad, thick, juicy, bluish-green, and their basal parts white and flattened near the ground.. It is tall, and of quick growth. After hav- ing been once mown, and particularly if it is growing in a deep, rich soil, its foli- age becomes luxuriant and abundant. To, this latter circumstance is attributed the freedom with which it grows in orchards, (whence it is termed Orchard Grass in the United States), and near farm buildings. It is less suitable for pasture than for meadow (p. 209), be- cause on account of its tufted habit it forms dense cushions or tussocks, which, owing to the strength of the stems, render the whole plant liable to become uprooted by grazing animals- Cocksfoot has a fibrous, much-branched, and deeply descending Fig. 60. — Panicle of Rough Cocksfoot. COCKSFOOT AND DOGSTAIL 151 root, so that it is scarcely sensible to drought, provided it has a sufficiently deep soil. It grows successfully in almost all soils, except dry sands and heath lands. Generally, it thrives better in damp and heavy soils than in such as are light and dry. Cocksfoot is never sown alone, for its tufted growth would result in the formation of a patchy irregular sward. It should be cut, if practicable, before flowering ; otherwise the stems become hard and woody, and therefore less acceptable to animals as fodder. In those meadows in which cocksfoot makes up the chief part of the herbage, the time for commencing to mow should be determined by the condition of this grass. It furnishes a very abundant aftermath, or second growth. The commonest impurities of cocksfoot seed (figs. 63 and 64), namely, the seeds of meadow fescue (fig. 69), yellow oat grass (fig. 76), and rye grass (fig. 68), are far from being injuri- ous, and two of them are of higher commercial value than cocksfoot seed itself More prejudicial are the seeds of brome grass and of certain weeds of the composite family, particularly ox-eyes (fig. 50), groundsel, ragworts, nippleworts, and hawk- weeds. Seeds of umbelliferous weeds are also found in badly- cleaned samples of cocksfoot. Dogstail {Cynosurus cristatus, L.). — Crested dogstail grass, though of sparse habit, aids in the production of a good ' sole ' in the turf of pastures. It is essentially a pastoral plant, and is of little value in the hayfield. In association with the narrow- leaved fescues it is an important constituent of many of the best sheep pastures, whilst its withered culms may be seen in quantity at the fall of the year in old deer-parks, unless the turf has been closely grazed in spring and early summer. The appearance of the panicle is so characteristic (fig. 66) that it is not likely to be confounded with any other native species ; its peculiarity is the presence of a pectinate (or comb-like) bract (fig. 67) at the outer base of each spikelet. The leaves are rather narrow and taper upwards, and the sheaths near the ground have a yellowish white colour. Dogstail is widely dis- tributed in the pastures of the British Isles, but it never occupies a leading place in the bulk of herbage produced. The plant seems to be most at home on compact dry soils, and thrives above a chalk subsoil. The roots are hardy and penetrate deej)ly, hence dogstail is little susceptible to drought. 152 CULTIVATED PLANTS The seed of dogstail (figs. 6i and 62) is easily identified hty its elegant attenuated form, and its bright yellow colouring. The usual impurities are seeds of Yorkshire fog (fig. 88), sheep's fescue, and blue moor-grass (fig. 65). The Fescues {Festuca) comprise an important group of grasses, several of which are of recognised agricultural value. «m Fig. 61. \ I jf / Wl \ ■ I w i Fig. 62. Fig. 63. Fig. 64. Fig. 65. ' Seeds ' (much enlarged) of (figs. 61, 62) dogstail ; (figs. 63, 64) cocksfoot ; and (fig. 65) purple Molinia (blue moor grass). They may be conveniently divided into the broad-leaved fescues and the narrow-leaved fescues. The broad-leaved forms include Meadow Fescue {Festuca pratensis, Huds.), Tall Fescue {Festuca elatior, L.), and Spiked Fescue {Festuca loliacea, Huds.). They are all, however, modifications of one type, and that type is best represented by meadow fescue, which is a grass of moderate size, with flat rich FESCUES 153 .-green leaves, and a nodding panicle turned to one side. Tall fescue is larger and more robust, often attaining a height of six feet, and found naturally on the borders of water-courses. Spiked fescue is a more slender plant than meadow fescue, and in its panicle the spikelets are either without stalks, or have only short ones, thus conferring upon the ear some external 1 Fig. 66. Fig. 67. Chested Dogstail. 66, ear or panicle. 67, pectinate bract at base of each spikelet. Fig. 68. — 'Seed' of Rye Grass. Fig. 6g. — 'Seed' of Meadow Fescue. (Both ten times tlie natural size.) i-esemblance to the ear of rye grass {Lolium perenne, fig. 78), ■whence the specific name of ' loUacea.' The seeds of meadow fescue and rye grass are much aUke in appearance. On comparirig the two (figs. 68 and 69), it is seen, however, that in meadow fescue the fragment of stalk at the base is usually longer, slightly separated lengthwise from the pale, circular in transverse section, somewhat attenuated in tlje middle and [54 CULTIVATED PLANTS thickened at the free end. In rye grass, on the other hand, the- corresponding structure is usually shorter, closely applied to the pale, elliptical in transverse section, and not narrow in the middle. Meadow fescue is a valuable constituent both of meadows and of pastures, though it is much rarer in old pastures than was at one time supposed. It is rather a deep-rooting plant, and thrives best on damp clayey or marshy soils. It is an admirable grass for irrigated meadows, and, on the other hand, has not much capacity for withstanding drought. Its habit of growth is in compact tufts, from which, in favourable situations, the stems rise to a height of from 2 to 3 feet, and are furnished with long broad leaves. Sheep's fescue {Festuca ovina, L.) may be taken as the type of the narrow-leaved fescues. It forms a thick tufted herbage of veiy fine leaves— so fine that they are often described as setaceous (Lat. seta, a bristle), and in the United States this grass is known as Pine Bunch Grass. It is a common grass on light lirnestone pastures, and on chalk downs grazed by sheep,, and in such situations it helps to form a close carpet of turf. The panicle is not unlike that of some of the meadow grasses {Poa, fig. 74), from which it may be distinguished by its short awns, the meadow grasses being free from awns. Festuca ovina is susceptible of considerable variations, determined by cir- cumstances of soil, situation, and climate. The commonest modifications are : — Festuca duriuscula . . Hard fescue Festuca rubra . . Red fescue Festuca heterophylla . . Various-leaved fescue Festuca tenuifolia . . . Fine-leaved fescue Hard fescue {Festuca duriuscula, L.) is so named in allusion to the fact that the spikelets (fig. 70) become hard as they ripen. The'grass is a valuable constituent of sheep pastures, where it helps to form a close bottom to the turf. Its habit, however, is not tufted, and its herbage is tender, juicy, and relished by stock. The leaves are of a deep bluish-green colour, stiff, and rolled up almost into a cylinder. Hard fescue seed may be use- fully included in mixtures for permanent pastures upon all soils FESCUES ISS that are not very wet. Being the commonest of the narrow- leaved fescues its seed is the cheapest. Red fescue {Festuca rubra, 'L^ derives its name from the colour of the sheaths of the lower leaves, which, when the plant is spread open for the purpose, are seen to be of a dull red. A more robust plant than hard fescue, it has at the same time a creep- ing habit, which helps it to withstand drought, and suits it to poor soils. Like most of the narrow-leaved fescues, this variety does not make sufficient bulk to be of much use in the hayfield, but it is unquestionably serviceable as a constituent of the bottom herbage in pastures, where it is readily grazed by stock. Its seeds are larger than those of hard fescue. Various -leaved fescue {Festuca hetero- fhylld) has, as its name implies, leaves which are not uniform in size and shape. Its foliage varies somewhat between the narrow- leaved and broad leaved types of fescue. The root-leaves are harsh and slender, and are enveloped in loose brown sheaths, whilst the general habit of the plant is tufted. It comes into profit fairly early in the season, and thrives best upon calcareous soils, even when they are moist or shady. Fig. 70.— Panicle Fine-leaved fescue, or slender-leaved of Hard Fescue. sheep's fescue {Festuca tenuifolid), is a typical constituent of sheep pastures. Its fol,ded, thread-like leaves are so attenuated that the entire plant presents a wiry appear- ance. Nevertheless, it is juicy and palatable, and there is no grass more relished by sheep. It is deep-rooted, and is naturally suited to poor, dry uplands.' It is useless to sow it on rich soils,, as it gradually disappears. Fiorin {Agrostis alba, L., var. stoloniferd), or creeping bent grass, is a stout broad-leaved grass, sending out prostrate stems or stolons (p. loi), which creep amongst the other herbage, and develop rootlets wherever an opportunity offers. Hence, under 156 CULTIVATED PLANTS favourable circumstances, the plant increases with considerable rapidity. Its graceful panicle (fig. 71) of innumerable small spikelets is characterised by the well-defined intervals between the points from which the clusters of branches arise. Fiorin thrives in moist poor soils, both sandy and peaty. It can hardly be described as a favourite food with cattle, but it is useful in that it affords a green bite far into the autumn. It cannot be recommended as a hayfield grass. The seed of fiorin is very liable to contain the seeds of other species of Agrostis, which are practically indistin- guishable from it, and it is often ergoted (p. 279). The Common Bent, or the fine bent grass [Agrostis vulgaris, L.), and the Marsh Bent {Agrostis alba, L.) are two weed grasses, often included in the common term, twitch, Fig. 72.-EAR (in flowek) ^^ squitch. They oc- OF Meadow Foxtail, \ , , ■ and (much enlarged) the cur abundantly in poor outer glumes of a spikelet. meadows, and as weeds in some descriptions of arable land. When a wheat crop is cut, the land is often found to be covered with bent grasses. Meadow Foxtail {Alopecurus pratensis, L.) is one of the early grasses, and may often be found in ear by the middle of April. The ear has much the appearance (fig. 72) of a round tail ending in a point, and if drawn from base to tip, between Fig. 71. — Ear, OR Panicle, of Fiorin, before flowering. MEADOW FOXTAIL 157 finger and thumb, it feels soft and silky. By doubling the ear upon itself, at about the middle of its length, it will be seen that each spikelet has a very short stalk, and that the spikelets are thickly crowded along the axis. The silvery grey colour of the ear is largely due to the silky hair or bristle (the awn), which springs from the flowering glume of the solitary flower within each spikelet. The leaves are soft, green, succulent, and very numerous ; they are long, broad, and strongly veined. Foxtail throws up much herbage in the early spring, and thus affords valuable grazing at a period before many of the other grasses are ready. Though a fall fine grass, it is less robust than cocksfoot ; at the same time it is less unsightly. A perennial grass, of early growth, and affording abundance of excellent forage, this is a most useful species for permanent pasture. Scarcely any grass resists better the cold of winter, and even late frosts affect it but slightly. It appears to thrive equally well in sunny and in shady situations, and therefore grows luxuriantly in orchards, where indeed its precocious growth may become well advanced before leaves appear upon the fruit trees to intercept the sun's rays. On thin, light soils it gradually disappears, whilst it flourishes best on deep heavy lands. On damp soils and on irrigated meadows it does equally well, but stagnant water is inimical to it. Meadow foxtail spreads itself by means of short prostrate Stolons, given off in all directions from the base of its stem. These stolons develop rootlets at intervals, and consequently this grass is quite free from that tufted habit which prevents such grasses as cocksfoot from forming an even sward. Meadow foxtail shares with sweet vernal the distinction of being the earliest-flowering of all the useful grasses. On a good soil it is quite capable of yielding three cuts in the year. In the year of sowing, however, the yield is only moderate ; it is better in the second year, and acquires its greatest development in the third year. As a foi-age crop, therefore, foxtail is never grown by itself. Associated, however, with meadow fescue, cocksfoot, rye-grass, and alsike clover, it is well adapted for several years' ley, and for permanent pasture. The ' seed ' of meadow foxtail, as it occurs in commerce, consists of the spikelet (see its enlarged outer glumes in fig. 72) 158 CULTIVATED PLANTS with its contained structures. It is frequently gathered unripe, and this accounts for the low germinating percentage (p. i86) which samples often give. Common impurities of foxtail seed are the seeds of Yorkshire fog {Holcus lanatus, fig. 88), and creeping soft grass [Holcus ■mollis). Though possessing a close apparent resemblance to the seed of foxtail, they may yet be easily distinguished from it, both by the character and distribution of the fine hairs, or cilia, upon the glumes which enclose the grain, and by the nature of the awn. Sometimes it happens that meadow foxtail seed is adulterated with the seed of its near ally (Alopecurus agrestis, L.,) variously termed slender foxtail, black bent, or hunger- weed, and well known as one of the most objectionable weeds of arable land. The seed of this latter, however, is less ciliated along the keels of the outer glumes (fig- 73), and is usually darker in ap- pearance than the seed of meadow foxtail. Collect, in the course of the summer, seeds of Yorkshire fog and black bent, and keep them labelled in small bottles for refer- ence ; to gather the ' seeds ' of these two familiar weed grasses it is only necessary to strip the ripe panicles between the finger and the thumb. One other adulter- ant, only found, however, in foreign foxtail seed, is the seed of the exotic ciliated melic grass, Melica ciliata, L., but this is easily recognised by the extraordinary extent to which its glumes are fringed with delicate white hairs {cilia). Floating foxtail {Alopecurus geniculatus, L.) is an elegant little grass found in water meadows, shallow ponds, and other damp situations. Its stem is too weak to grow upright, and it therefore rests upon the ground, or upon the adjacent herbage, being recognisable by the sharp joints, or 'knees,' which give to it a zigzag appearance. When in full flower, the pollen covers its neat and shapely little ear with an orange-brown dust. Fig. 73. — Ear (in FLOWERJOF Slender Foxtail, and (much enlarged) the outer glumes of a spikelet. MEADOW GRASSES 159 Floating foxtail is never very abundant, and though not an ■objectionable grass in the moist localities which it frequents, it •cannot be said to possess any special agricultural value, nor is its seed to be obtained upon the market. Slender foxtail (Alopecurus agresiis, L.) is one ot the worst pests of the farm. It is a troublesome weed of arable land, es- pecially in cornfields, but rarely invades the meadow or pasture. It possesses the general habit of the valuable meadow foxtail, but is les^ robust, and its ear (fig. 73), besides being more slender, is blotched with black, — hence the name of black bent commonly applied to it. Another familiar name, and one indicative of its bad character, is that of hunger- iveed. It may be found in ear in May and June, and, if not re- moved before it sheds its seed, Jurther trouble may be looked -for in the following season. Cases are recorded in which fields of wheat have been quite -destroyed by this pest. A cau- tion has already been given as to the occurrence of its seed in -samples of meadow foxtail seed. Meadow grasses {Poa) are characterised (fig. 74) by the .^aceful tree-like branching of the panicle. In general appearance they are somewhat sug- .gestive of the fescues (fig. 70), but they never bear awns as many of the fescues do. The most widely distributed member X)f the group, the annual meadow grass {Poa annua, L.), is a weed, springing up wherever opportunity may offer. It invades bare spots in pastures, occurs in gateways and on gravel walks, ^rows in the crevices between paving stones, and flourishes on walls and roofs. An examination of a specimen of annual Fig. 74- Panicle of Rough- stalked Meadow Grass ; with (enlarged) the flowering glume and pale of a floret, showing the delicate web at the base, which remains in the seed. ' i6o CULTIVATED PLANTS meadow grass will bring into view the leading characters of the genus Poa. Near the ground the stems are flattened, the leaves are short with blunt ends, whilst the ligule is long, pointed, whitish, and clasps the stem. The whole plant is limp and pale-coloured, and the leaves are often waved. Its small size, and the brief duration of its life, serve to render Poa annua practically valueless to the farmer. The species of Poa of agricultural interest are the smooth- stalked meadow grass, the rough-stalked meadow grass, and the wood meadow grass. Notwithstanding their general similarity, it is not difficult to distinguish between these three species. For example, the ligule (see p. 145) is long and pointed in Poa trivialis, obtuse but prominent in Poa pratensis, and prac- tically absent in Poa nemoralis. The leaves of Poapratensis are broader and blunter than those of Poa trivialis. If the plant is drawn through the hand, Poa praiensis is found to be smooth, whilst Poa trivialis is rough. Smooth -stalked meadow grass {Poa pratensis) thrives naturally upon dry soils of good quality. It is rather a surface- rooted than a deep-rooted plant, is of creeping habit, and withstands drought. Being a grass of early growth, it is, on that account, a valuable constituent of dry pastures. When raised from seed its produce during the first year is but small. This is the Kentucky Blue Grass of the United States. Rough-stalked meadow grass {Poa trivialis, fig. 74) formerly tailed Orcheston Grass, prefers strong moist soils, and is a con- spicuous ingredient of the herbage of deep rich pastures. It is, perhaps, less hardy than Poa pratensis, and it is particularly addicted to shady situations, so that, in pastures and meadows where it occurs, it may generally be found in abundance beneath trees. Fine robust specimens occasionally spring up in the rich soil of kitchen gardens, especially amongst bush fruit. Wood meadow grass, or evergreen meadow grass {Poa nemoralis), is less common than the two preceding species, whilst the costliness of pure samples of the seed operates against its extensive use for agricultural purposes. There is considerable similarity amongst the seeds of these three Poas. They are all ' webbed ' at the base (fig. 74),^-those of Poa pratensis most, and those of Poa nemoralis least. In OAT GRASSES i6i the case of Poa praiensis, indeed, the woolly 'webs ' cause the seeds to adhere together in fluffy masses. Amongst the im- purities or adulterants in samples of Poa seeds are the seeds of annual meadow grass, of tufted hair grass {Aira caspitosa, L.), and of blue moor grass (Molinia ccerulea, Moench, fig. 65). What the buyer has chiefly to guard against, however, is the risk of accepting the seed of one species of Poa for that of another and more expensive kind. Oat grasses belong to the same genus {Avena) as the cereal oats, which some of the native species closely resemble in habit, though they are usually inferior in size. The most important species are yellow oat grass and tall oat grass, both of which are of agri- cultural value ; and downy oat grass, narrow- leaved oat grass, and wild oat grass, which are weeds. Yellow oat grass, or golden oat grass (Avena flavescens, L.), is one of the most elegant of the British grasses (fig. 75). Its leaves , are slender, flat, pale green, and covered with short hairs, which can easily be seen by holding a specimen up to the Hght. The stem is clothed with delicate hairs point- ing downwards, which help in distinguishing the grass before it protrudes its ear. The panicle is of a shining yellow colour, and glitters in the sun. Up to the time of flower- ing the ear is very compact, and is beautifiilly shaded with green and gold, whilst the deli- cate silky awns look like streaks of silver. As the flowers develop, the entire panicle spreads out into a tree-like form, and it is at this stage that Avena flavescens forms one of the most elegant mid- sunmier objects in meadows. When the blooming time is over, and the seeds begin to ripen, the panicle closes up again, its lovely colours disappear, and it becomes brown and withered. If panicles in the three stages — before flowering, in M //i f Fig. 7S. — ^Yellow Oat Grass. i62 CULTIVATED PLANTS bloom, and after flowering — are placed side by side, it is at first difficult to believe that they belong to the same plant. Avena flcevescens is a valuable grass, both for forage and for hay. It occurs naturally in pastures, hayfields, and water meadows, in all of which it is a desirable constituent. Its seed (fig. 76) is costly, and that of the wavy hair grass {Aira flexuosa, L.), which (fig. 77) somewhat resembles it, has been known to be fraudu- lently substituted for it. The wavy hair grass (fig. 87) is a product of poor heaths and sands, and is incapable of establish- ing itself in good meadows or pastures. Tall oat grass, or false oat grass {Avena elatior, L., or Arrhenatherum avenaceum, Beauv.), may frequently be found in or near the hedgerows bordering grass-lands. Though often regarded as a weed, yet, in its proper place, and in associa- tion with other grasses, there is little doubt it possesses agri- cultural value. Foreign agriculturists appreciate it more than do British farmers. It thrives best on medium soils and clay loams, where, being a robust plant, it attains a height of 3 or 4 feet. It can be found in ear from early summer to late autumn, its spreading panicle being made up of pale purplish spike- lets, always of a shining appearance. The bitter flavour of the plant is hardly noticeable when it is consumed in conjunction with other grasses. On arable soils it develops a weed variety, characterised by the formation of a bulb-Hke growth in the ground, just above the root, — to this modification the name of ' Onion couch ' is given. It is specially liable to attacks of smut (p. 277). Of the weed oat grasses, the downy oat grass is charac- terised by the dense covering of close-set hairs, which impart to the plant a downy appearance. It may be found in dry pas- tures, especially in chalk districts. It is readily distinguished from the valuable yellow oat grass, thus : — Spikelets LIgule Downy oat grass . Avena pubescens, L. . Few, large . Long, pointed. Yellow oat grass . Avena flavescens, L. . Many, small . Short, blunt. The narrow-leaved oat grass {Avena pratensis, L.) has still larger spikelets than Avena pubescens, but its lower leaves, though harsh and rough, are not hairy. The wild oat grass, or havers {Avena fatua, L.), is a weed of cornfields, and much 'SEEDS' OF GRASSES 163 resembles the cultivated oat. Its spikelets are large, -and the contained florets are furnished each with a long twisted awn, and with a number of reddish-brown hairs, pointing forward at A E C B A C .. 76.- ' Seed ' of Yellow Oat Grass. Fig. 77.— Seed ' of Wavy Hair Grass. a, inner face, showing pedicel or stalk of next seed, with a row of hairs on each side. B, side view, showing on the right the flowering glume with its twisted awn arising firom above the middle of the back, and its cleft tip ; and, on the left, the pale with its free end cleft. C, back view. In A the pale faces the observer, and in C the flowering glume. A, inner face, showing pedicel or stalk of next seedi with a tuft of hairs on each side. B, side view, showing on the right the flowering glume, with its twisted awn arising from near the teje of the back ; Has f ale is hidden by the flowering glume. C, back view. In A the pale faces the observer, and in c the flowering glume. M 2 1 64 CULTIVATED PLANTS the base,- The stem is smooth, but hairy at the joints. This plant is an annual, growing from seed each year, and dying on the approach of winter. The Rye g^rasses [Lolium) are very extensively cultivated. Perennial rye-grass [Lolium perenne, L.) is an abundant species in rich old English pastures, and in laying land down to permanent grass it is nearly always included, the proportions varying according to circumstances. Italian rye grass [Lolium italicum, A. Br.) is not a grass of permanent pasture, but is profitably included in mixtures for one or two years' leys, and thrives remarkably well upon sewage-dressed lands. Perennial rye grass [Lolium perenne, L.) can scarcely be mistaken for any other species. The flattened ear (fig. 78) looks almost as if it had been passed through a press. The spikelets, free from stalks, are given off alternately on either side of the stem, to which they are attached edgewise. Each spikelet has only one outer glume, the place of the other being, in effect, occupied by the adjacent portion of the stem or axis. The glossy dark green leaves of rye grass glisten conspicuously in the sun- light. A prominent midrib extends along the back of each leaf, and, as the leaf is traced downwards into its sheath, it is found to be doubled on itself like the contiguous faces of a sheet of note-paper. Moreover, the leaf-sheaths are seen to be distinctly flattened or compressed, and frequently to possess a reddish or purplish tinge at the base. By the foregoing cha- racters rye grass, before it is in ear, can easily be distinguished from meadow fescue grass, the leaf of which has no prominent midrib, and is not doubled upon itself, nor are the leaf-sheaths compressed, but round. The flattened leaf-sheaths of rye grass enable it to accommodate itself readily to the treading of live stock, and to thrive under the hoofs of animals, and this may be one reason for the abundance of perennial rye grass in well- grazed pastures. Rye grass is likely to be found wherever the soil is rich enough to grow it. Hence it commonly occurs amongst the herbage of road sides, where the soil is enriched with the washings and the scrapings from the surface of the road. Rye grass is one of the most valuable plants of our grass lands, and in clay-land pastures it is invaluable. It tillers, or !?¥£: GRASS i6s stools out, very freely, by which is meant that numerous leaf buds arise above the crown of the root, and develop vigorous leafy shoots, so that the plant forms a thick close sward. It easily supports frequent grazing, or pul- ling by hand. Trampling or treading does it no harm, but rather enhances its useful propensity to tiller ; this is the reason it gives better results as a pasture plant than as a hay-field plant. The yield varies considerably with season and soil, and according to the manur- ing and preparation of the land. Many varieties of rye grass have been named — such as Pacey's peren- nial, Devon eaver, &c. — but they present no well- marked or permanent dif- ferences. Though pre-eminently a grass of permanent pas- ture, rye grass is also largely employed in mix- tures of ' seeds ' for one or two years' ley, intended to aflford a hay crop, and also to provide temporary pig 78._ear of Peren- pasture. If only on ac- nial Rye Grass. ii/ count of its prompt and With (enlarged) the flower- ^ luxuriant tillering, rye fl^^gf ""® ™^ ^^^ °^ ^ Gi grass usually occupies a place in many mixtures of seeds intended for good soils. i66 CULTIVATED PLANTS The seed of commerce (fig. 68) comes chiefly from Scotland and the North of Ireland, where rye grass is cultivated upon a large scale. It is collected by the seed merchants, and cleaned a second time, special care being taken to remove seeds of Yorkshire fog {Holcus lanatus, fig. 88), soft brome (Bromus mollis), and rat's-tail fescue {Festucasciuroides). The rye grass seed itself is classified into several commercial sorts, according to weight, purity, and germinating capacity. As the better qualities possess, in general, a heavier weight, it is the weight which serves in England as a guide to the value of the seed. Rye grass seed is also liable to contain seeds of plantain (figs. 96, 97), buttercup, and sorrel (figs. 55, 56). On account of its low price, it runs but little risk of adulteration. Nevertheless the seed of soft brome is sometimes sold in bulk as that of rye grass, but the fraud is one which is easy to dis- cover. It used more often to happen that rye grass seed was itself substituted for an apparently similar but more expensive seed, that of meadow fescue, for the sake of the extra profit. (See figs. 68 and 69.) Italian rye grass {Lolium italicum) is a larger and more robust plant than perennial rye grass, and it affords an earlier cutting, or bite, in the spring. Its florets (fig. 79), are invariably awned, as may be seen in the ' seed,' whilst those of perennial rye grass (fig. 78) very rarely carry awns. It is exclusively used for alternate husbandry, for which purpose it scarcely has an equal. On rich damp soils, that can be irrigated with liquid manure, Italian rye grass yields enormous crops, equally valuable both for soiling purposes (see p. 176) and for hay. It may be grown alone, or in association with cocksfoot, timothy, or broad clover. Dairy cows, grazed upon a tem- porary ley of Italian rye grass, give a great yield of milk, the flavour of the butter or cheese from which is excellent. This species is never found in old pastures. Darnel {Lolium temulentum, L.) is a weed of cornfields. It is distinguished from the other rye grasses by the circumstance that the solitary outer glume is longer than the spikelet to which it belongs. Poisonous or intoxicating properties have been attributed to it. Sweet grasses {Glycerid) occur naturally in water meadows SWEET VERNAL GRASS 167 and in the Fen districts, and are seldom raised from seed. In the gfrass lands which they frequent, they constitute acceptable and palatable additions to the herbage, and are, as their name impUes, distinctly sweet. The floating sweet grass or floating manna grass {Glyceriafluitans, Br.) is a slender and graceful grass, liable in certain stages of growth to be mistaken for the spiked fescue (Festuca loliaced), which grows in association with it. The spikelets of the sweet grass are, however, longer, and contain a larger number of florets than is the case in spiked fescue. The reed sweet grass {Glyceria aquatica, Sm.) is a far stouter plant, and shows a dispo- sition to grow in the watercourses, and along their borders, rather than to spread itself over the meadow. Sweet-scented vernal grass {Antho- xanthum odoratum, L.) is one of the earliest grasses to come into flower, and it may oflen be gathered in ear at the beginning of April. It is a plant (fig. 80) of sparse habit, and though it may be found in water meadows, hayfields, pastures, copses, and hedgerows, it never constitutes more than an insignificant proportion of the total herbage. If the stalk of this grass be chewed, a sweet lavender-like odour, similar to that of new mown hay, is perceived. This odour is given out in the process of drying, and to it the agreeable scent of a freshly mown hayfield is attributed. On the sheep- grazed Downs of the South of England, sweet vernal grows in association with sheep's fescue. The leaves of sweet vernal are flat, broad, and somewhat hairy, but the grass is not of coarse growth. Examine some of the florets and notice that they have only two stamens each, instead of three, as in the florets of most species of grasses. The fvinction of sweet vernal, both in pastures and in hay, is probably that of a Fig. 80. — Sweet Vernal Grass. i68 CULTIVATED PLANTS condiment, as it is capable of imparting a flavour to the asso- ciated herbage. It grows in compact tufts, tillers freely, and continues to throw up its leaves until late in the autumn. The awns are hygroscopic, so that if some of the 'seeds' (fig. 8l) are placed upon the warm moist palm of the hand, they will commence to writhe and wriggle about in a curious fashion. Most of the seed of commerce comes from Central Germany, being derived not from plants specially cultivated for the purpose, but gathered in glades and copses. The \ \i seed is therefore obtained '' ^ only by long and fatiguing labour, and genuine sam- ples are necessarily of high price. Derived from such sources, however, the seed is seldom pure, being usu- ally mixed with seeds of other plants growing in the same localities, notably the seeds of woodrush, sheep's sorrel (fig. 56), and sheep's fescue. In the district north of Luneberg, Prussia, there is frequently found growing in rye crops a bad annual weed, allied to sweet vernal, and known as Fuel's ver- nal grass (Anthoxanthum Puelii). This forms such dense tufts that the scythe can scarcely cut them, and hence the mowing of the rye is ren- dered difficult. One district of the region named sends annu- ally to Hamburg about 40,000 lb. of the seed of Fuel's vernal grass, and this worthless material (fig. 82) finds its way into commerce as the seed of the true sweet vernal. On account of this origin, the seed of Fuel's grass often contains the long pointed grains of rye, as well as the long-awned seeds of the wind grass [Apera spica-venti), the seeds of corn bluebottle, Fig. 81.— 'Seed' OF Sweet Ver- nal Grass. OF Fig. 82. — 'Seed' Fuel's Vernal Grass. TIMOTHY GRASS 169 and of the annual knawel (fig. 83). It is not altogether easy to determine whether a solitary ' seed' is that of Anthoxanthum -odoratum or of A. Puelii, but viewed in the bulk the latter is of a distinctly lighter brown colour than the former, whilst the ' seeds ' of the latter are somewhat (W -shorter ; other differences will be apparent by j » a comparison of figs. 81 and 82. Fuel's grass is of little value. During its first year it permits scarcely any of the grasses near it to develop, p g _gj,]jj, whilst its dense tufts help to smother them. If, of Knawel, however, it is not allowed to shed its seed, it Scleranthus an- Tisually disappears in the second year. The seed of sweet vernal is sometimes adulterated with that (fig. 77) of the wavy hair-grass (Airaflexuosd), but the latter is readily recog- nised by the lower half of its prominent basal awn being twisted (compare figs. ^^ and 81). Timothy grass, or meadow catstail (Phleum pratense, L.), derives its more familiar name from Timothy Hanson, by -whom the cultivation of this grass was introduced from the United States of America about the middle of the eighteenth century. It is a native British species, and is relished by all classes of farm stock. The only grass that timothy might be mistaken for is meadow foxtail, there being a general resemblance between the ears of these two species. A brief examination will serve to show, however, that they are really very different. The ear of timothy (fig. 122) is green and rough, whereas that of foxtail is silvery grey and smooth ; the florets of foxtail carry silky awns, those of timothy are awnless. Foxtail is an early grass, vtimothy a late one ; the former will have gone to seed almost before the latter appears in ear, as timothy does not flower till July. The leaves have a greyish-green colour, and they are broader, and — especially when dried — stiffer, or more rigid, ■than those of foxtail ; hence there is no difficulty in picking out the leaves of timothy from a sample of hay. Timothy is -a perennial grass, with well developed fibrous roots. Some- times the base of the stem immediately above the root-fibres ibecomes bulbous, especially on poor land. Although timothy prefers a cool and even damp soil, it yet I70 CULTIVATED PLANTS resists drought very well, but yields in this case smaller pro- duce. At the same time, it suffers less from the cold of winter than do several other cultivated grasses, and hence it is useful upon soils where other forage plants are hable to be killed by the winter's frosts. It succeeds best upon cold clays, and is. specially valuable for reclaimed peaty soils. On dry soils, and upon shallow calcareous lands, it yields a very uncertain produce. Experiments prove that timothy responds freely tO' liberal manuring, and even a poor, light, sandy soil when dressed with sulphate of potash gave a much increased yield of this species. Grown by itself, timothy produces a somewhat irregular sward of moderately close tufts. Associated with other grasses,. or with clovers, it gives an abundant produce, for its hay is heavier than that of any other cultivated grass. It should be mown before flowering, otherwise its fibres become woody, and its hay is heavier and harder. The first cut is usually more pro- ductive than the second. Whether grown alone, or mixed with clover, timothy is more useful as green forage than as hay, because, even if the crop has been cut at the most desirable time, this f species always hardens in drying. The chief supplies of timothy seed (fig. 84). are derived from North America, and, in part, from Eastern Germany and Austria. The American seed is usually much purer than the- FiG. 84.—' Seed ' European, a circumstance no doubt due to the Grass. extensive cultivation of timothy as a crop by itself fn North America. The raw European seed commonly contains from 10 to 20 per cent, of impurities, consisting of harmless particles of soil and Vegetable fragments,, and of the seeds of bad weeds. The 'seed' of timothy consists of the grain, closely invested by the light drab-coloured flowering glume and pale. It is small, neat, and compact, and as there is no other seed which at all closely resembles it, adulterations or impurities in samples- are easily detected. Timothy seed is used in making ' arti- ficial' jams, to which it imparts the appearance of genuine strawberry ' seeds ' (p. 128). WEED GRASSES 171 Various weed grasses have already been referred to, but it is necessary to notice certain others, such as the Brome Grasses, Couch Grass, Hair Grasses, Meadow Barley Grass, Quaking Grass, and Yorkshire Fog. They cannot be said to be wittingly cultivated by the farmer, but they fre- quently intrude, as uninvited guests, upon his domain. The Brome grasses, native species of Bromus, are all weeds. They are handsome grasses, with elegant lance- shaped spikelets, each containing four or more awned florets. By far the most common is (fig. 85) the soft brome g^rass {Bromus mollis, L.), a too abun- dant constituent of the herbage of water meadows, hayfields, and tempo- rary leys, though but rarely found in old pastures. It sheds its seed in June, and is thereby enabled to maintain its position in the hayfield. Its spikelets are covered with short hair, which serves to distinguish it from the smooth brome grass {Bromus racemosus, L.) that frequently grows beside it. Bar- ren brome grass {Bromus sierilis, L.) is chiefly a roadside grass, and lurks beneath fences and hedgerows ; its spikelets are darkish, flattened, and long-awned. Hairy brome grass {Bro- mus asper, Murr.), another denizen of the hedgerows, is the tallest of the bromes, often towering above the tops of the hedges. It has a large droop- ing panicle, with nodding spikelets, and Fig. 85:— Panicle of Soft the stem is densely clothed with coarse Brome Grass. hairs pointing downwards. Upright brome grass {Bromus erecfus, Huds.) is a short-awned grass found in fields, but chiefly in waste places, upon chalky soils. Couch grass {Triticum repens, L.), is exclusively a weed of 172 CULTIVATED PLANTS arable land, and its presence in permanent grass lands need only be looked for during the first year or two of their existence. Its vigorous underground stem (p. loi) grows with great rapidity, and sends forth roots and shoots at such frequent intervals that one plant is capable of speedily infesting a large area. The branching of the underground stem results in a network, forming a bed or couch, in allusion to which the plant probably received its name of couch grass. The labour of cleaning land from couch is chiefly directed to removing these troublesome underground stems, — if they are merely cut up, and left in the ground, each frag- ment will commence to grow as an independent plant. In Italy these stems, which are juicy, sweet, and nourishing, used to be, and perhaps still are, collected, washed, and sold as food for horses. Couch grass in ear (fig. 86) may often be found in the hedgerows of arable fields, where it sei-ves as a great propagator of rust (p. 272). The spikelets have no stalks ; they are (like those of wheat) set broadside on the stem, and each is furnished with two outer empty glumes. By the two last-named characters, an ear of couch grass is readily distinguished from an ear of rye grass (compare figs. 78 and 86). Bearded ■wheat grass [Triticum caninum, Huds.), is a long-awned ally of couch grass, from which it f, differs in not having a creeping underground stem. It occasionally appears in old pastures, but is not a cultivated grass. Fig. 86.— Ear, -pj^g jjair grasses (Aird) make up a pretty OR PANICLE, ,- , , , „ , ^, OF Couch group of plants, but they are all weeds. There Grass. are half-a-dozen native species, though, as a rule, only one is met with upon the farm, — the tufted hair grass, or tussock grass [Aira caspitosa, L.). It grows chiefly in wet meadows and pastures, forming dark unsightly tufts or tussocks, termed in some districts ' bull faces ' or ' bull pates.' Cattle seldom touch the hard, rough, flat leaves. Up to the time of flowering the panicle is exceedingly beautiful. WEED GRASSES 173 owing to the brilliant silvery lustre of the purplish spikelets. At the time of flowering the panicle spreads wide open, and does not close again, the effective result of its compact appear- ance when young being thereby lost. Draining and manuring operate against Aira ccespitosa, and hand pulling, or chopping with an adze, is sometimes resorted to, the root being left to wither on the ground, or thrown upon the compost heap. The wavy hair s^ass{AtraJlexuosa, L.) is named in allusion to the wavy branches of its panicle (fig. 87). Its shining purplish or brownish spikelets may be seen in dry woods and on sandy heaths, but seldom elsewhere. ' Its seed is shown in fig. 77. Meadow barley grass (Hordeum pratense, Huds.) has the appearance of a diminutive plant of the cereal barley. It is not cultivated, as the long rough awns are unpleasant, and may prove injurious, to grazing ani- mals. It occasionally occurs in hay- fields and pastures, but is seldom abundant. The allied wall barley, or way bent {Hordeum murinum, L.), is a weed of gravelly roadsides. Quaking' g^ass (Briza media, L.) is too well known to need description. It grows usually on poor meadows and heaths, and throws up but little herbage. It seldom occurs in rich old pastures, and generally disappears as a result of draining and liberal manur- ing. Its panicle, with the beautiful purplish, nodding, boat- shaped spikelets on their slender stalks, is an exceedingly ele- gant object, — it is easy to see in quaking grass what is meant by a ' spikelet.' Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus, L.) is a widely distributed 'J^ Fig. 87.— Wavy Hair Grass. 174 CULTIVATED PLANTS weed grass. The whole plant has a delicate woolly covering, whence it is also known as meadow soft grass. This external coat, the flaccid character of the plant, and its bitter flavour combine to render it distasteful to stock. Its panicle, which remains closed up to the time of flowering, is a pretty object, with its various shades of colour, ranging from greenish to purplish. The panicle spreads out at the period of flowering, and, as the seeds ripen, it assumes a brown and withered appear- ance. Yorkshire fog is very common in water meadows, and in inferior hayfields. It is less abundant in rich pastures, from which it is sometimes entirely absent. As it ripens its seeds early, hay containing much Yorkshire fog may be the means of disseminating this pest on arable sheep farms. The hay being fed in troughs to the sheep, the seeds of the Yorkshire fog fall out upon the ground, with the result that rows oiHolcus lanatus spring up in the places where the troughs have stood. Yorkshire fog should be discouraged in favour of better grasses, and care should be exercised lest its seed (fig. 88) be inadvertently introduced, either as an adulterant, or as an impurity, in mixtures for sowing. The closely allied creeping' soft grass {Holcus mollis, L.) is much less common. Fig. 88. — ' Seed| of jj frequents hedgerows, copses, and waste con^isttag^of the places, seldom intruding upon either the entire spikdet. meadow or the pasture. Whilst Holcus lanatus is equally woolly all over, Holcus mollis is more woolly at the joints than on any other portions of the plant ; by this means, and also by the awns (p. 148), the two species can be distinguished the one from the other. The Cereals Most of the forms of wheat in cultivation are varieties of Triticum sativum. The greater number of these are beardless, the remainder are bearded or awned. The soft beardless wheats are divisible into groups, according as the ears are white, reddish, or red ; and the white and red varieties are CEREALS 175 again classed in accordance with either the smooth of downy character of the chaff. Of the smooth-eared wheats, whether white or red, the final division is determined by the colour of the grain — white on the one hand, red or yellow on the other. Wheats of the better class, as regards both quantity and quality, are the produce of alluvial plains and fertile valleys. The wheat grain is the true fruit (p. 97) of the plant, and the flowering glume and pale do not harden on to it. The term ' chested,' as applied to wheat, denotes the number of mature grains which are formed in each spikelet (p. 147). In three-chested wheat, for example, three florets in each spikelet produce ripe fruits ; in four-chested wheat, four florets ; and so on. Barley {Hordeum vulgare) furnishes the varieties of two- rowed barley and six-rowed barley, the former distinguished aS' Hordeum distichum, the latter as Hordeum hexastichum. It is a bearded cereal, the awns being long and rough, and assuming a beautiful purplish tinge at their free ends. The grain, as harvested, comprises the true fruit, closely invested by the light yellow flowering glume and pale. Peel these off a grain of barley, and the structure which remains is the equivalent of the wheat grain. When barley is subjected to a milling process whereby the outer fibrous coats of the grain are removed, the product is called pearl barley. Barley is specially noteworthy for the flaggy, or leafy, nature of its straw. Bere is the name of a coarse hardy four-rowed barley grown in Ireland and the North of Scotland. Oats {Avena saliva), like barley, have the grain invested in the flowering glume and pale, though they adhere less closely, and are therefore more easily removed, as the student will find if he will peel an oat-grain. By drying in a kiln or oven the separation of the coats of the grain is facilitated, and,. after the husk has been removed in a mill, the groats or grits which remain are ground into oatmeal. The ' colour,' in the case of white and black oats respectively, is that of the dried flowering glume and pale. Rye {Secale cereale) produces a grain or fruit similar to that of wheat, though less shapely, and without so well-defined a groove. It remains loose inside the flowering glume and pale, which do not adhere to it. Young rye, growing in the field, is 176 WEEDS easily recognised by the purplish tinge of the stem, between the the root and the first leaf. Of the four cereals that have been enumerated, wheat is exclusively grown, and barley and oats are commonly grown, in this country, for the sake of their grain. In many districts, however, each of the two latter is sown in autumn, for spring feeding as a green crop, and, in such cases, is usually associated with vetches, or some other leguminous crop. The ' winter barley' thus cultivated is the six- rowed variety. Green wheat, on the other hand, is but very rarely fed on the ground. It seldom happens, except in the case of ' proud ' wheat, that is, a crop which, owing to the effect of a mild open winter, has grown somewhat luxuriantly and unevenly. Such a crop may be fed off by sheep in early spring, in order that it may start uniformly upon its course of summer growth. The free propensity to tiller, which is characteristic of the wheat plant, enables it to grow vigorously after being grazed. Rye is nearly always grown as a green crop for spring feed, either alone or in association, and is seldom left to ripen its grain in this country. Maize, or Indian corn {Zea Mays), and sorghum {Sorghum saccharatum) are gramineous plants which are cultivated as cereal crops in warm countries. They are of robust growth, with stout succulent stems and broad flaggy leaves, and attain a considerable height. In the warmer parts of England they have been cultivated to a very limited extent in order to afford material for green soiling, that is, for cutting and feeding in the green state to cattle and sheep. CHAPTER XII WEEDS A WEED has been defined as a plant growing in the wrong place, so that a potato plant is a weed if growing in a cornfield, as is a wheat-plant in the kitchen garden. Weeds commonly usurp the place of the crop it is desired to grow, and cultivators have to devote much time and trouble to their suppression. As weeds are, in many cases, the natural produce of the soil on which the BUTTERCUPS AND POPPIES 177 cultivator wishes to grow some special plant which would not spontaneously appear there, this circumstance tells in their favour. A fertile farm kept free of weeds is said to be in a clean condition, and it requires the highest skill of the farmer to maintain such a condition. Much of the elaborate working which arable land undergoes is directed to the extirpation or suppression if weeds, whilst, in the case of permanent grass land, other means have to be adopted. Some of the commonest weeds have already been noticed in the preceding chapter, in connection with the cultivated plants to which they are most nearly allied. There remain certain other weed plants which it is convenient here to specify in con- nection with the natural orders to which they belong. RanunculacEjE. — An order distinguished by having in each whorl of the flower the individual parts all distinct from each other ; the sepals are not joined together, nor are the petals (which are absent in some species), nor are the stamens, nor the carpels. To this order belong the buttercups, known also by such names as kingcup, crowfoot, spearwort. Buttercups grow as a rule on good land, and are amongst the commonest weeds of pastures. The marsh marigold of water meadows, the phea- sant's-eye of cornfields, and the wood anemone or windflower are also members of the order. Excepting pheasant's-eye, which is an annual weed, the plants named are perennials. Papaverace/E. — To this order belongs the poppy, one of the very few scarlet flowers of this country. It is an annual plant, the fruit of which — known as the poppy head — contains an enormous number of seeds (fig. 89). The poppy is a most persistent ^^^^_^^^ weed of cornfields. Examine one in bud and of Poppy, Pa- one in full flower, and notice that the calyx, faver Sheeas, consisting of two sepals, forms a kind of cap or mitre, which falls to the ground before the crumpled petals can expand. Observe the many-rayed sessile stigma resting upon the ovary ; and cut across the ovary so as to bring into view the much turned-in margins of the carpellary leaves (see page 94), which do not, however, meet at the centre. The opium poppy is allied to the field poppy, and, in India, opium is obtained by collecting the juice which exudes from the walls N 178 WEEDS of the unripe ' heads,' when these are gashed with a small knife. FumariacEjE. — A closely allied order to the preceding, but this has only six stamens in the flower, whilst the tips of the petals adhere together. Several species of fumitory are very common annual weeds of arable land. They have much divided pale green leaves, and purple corollas becoming darker at the tips. Geraniace^. — There are about a dozen native geraniums, or cranesbills, the latter name referring to the extent to which the dry fruit lengthens in the course of ripening. One of the commonest weeds in gateways, and under walls and hedgerows, is the strong-smelling pink-stemmed Herb Robert. Two or three other species occur upon arable land and in meadows, and their seed (fig. 90) is sometimes introduced in unclean Fig. 90. — Seed of Small- flowered Craneseill, Geraniu7n pusillum, L.. ■ Fig. 91. — Seed of White Bed-straw, Galium Mol- lugo, L. samples of clover seed. The geraniums that have been referred to are all annuals, and are small-flowered. The perennial blue meadow cranesbill, found in pastures, has much larger flowers. RUBIACE^. — This is an order of plants made familiar by the bedstraws, with their weak straggling stems, linear leaves in whorls, and minute clustered flowers. The commonest is the plant variously termed goose-grass, whip-tongue, hariflf, and cleavers, with its knob-like fruits covered with bristles, whereby they adhere to clothes and to sheep's fleeces. It is an annual weed of rank growth in hedgerows. Rabbits eat it readily. On poor meadow and down land the yellow bedstraw or cheese rennet, with innumerable small bright yellow flowers, is a common perennial weed. There are upwards of a dozen native species of bedstraw (fig. 91). The field madder, or blue sherardia, is a small lilac-flowered annual weed common in corn- fields. CLOVER DODDER 179 Fig. 92. — Clover Dodder, Cuscuta Trifolii, Bab. ConvolvulacEjE. — The small bindweed, with its twining stem, and its pinkish-white funnel-shaped aromatic flowers frequented by insects, is a troublesome pest of cornfields and potato beds. The manner in which it binds together the potato haulms renders it difficult to dig the crop. The great bindweed, with its much larger white flowers, is confined to hedgerows and other fences. Both are perennials. Dodder is a parasitic flowering plant (fig. 92) allied to the bind- weeds. Its seeds germinate in the ground, and, in the case of the clover dodder, the young shoot, coming in contact with the stem of a clover plant, develops sucking-roots or haustoria. As growth progresses the dodder produces more haus- toria, with the result that it becomes entirely parasitic upon the clover plant, and, whilst it appro- priates the nutriment which the clover had elaborated for its own growth, it gradually strangles its ' host.' This unequal struggle terminates in the death of the clover plant, and sometimes in a clover field numbers of bare patches may be seen where thte clover has been destroyed by dodder. In such cases, the clover should be fed off by sheep at once, the field should be ploughed up, and clover should not be grown again upon the same land for a number of years, in order that the dodder seed in the soil may have time to die. Clover seed should always be examined, and, if it contains any of the small brownish wrinkled seeds (fig. 93) of dodder, it should on no account be sown. To employ such seed is an act of great folly. Clover dodder has a yellowish-pink straggling stem, with no leaves, and with numerous clusters of small flowers. The plant grows in the fashion of a heap, the narrow stems alone being exposed to outward view, and the clusters of flowers turned towards the ground. Pulled away by hand, the mass is felt to be rather sticky. The plant has a faint aromatic odour. N 2 »%o Fig. 93. — Seed OF Clover Dodder. i8o WEEDS Other species of dodder attack the flax, and some are parasitic upon the stinging nettle. Heather is another victim, and pretty examples of dodder-infested heather are to be seen in July and August upon moorlands and mountains. SCROPHULARINE^. — The snapdragon and the foxglove, and the musk plant of cottage windows, are examples of this order. There are usually four stamens, two being longer than the others, whilst the fruit is a two-chambered capsule, an4 the corolla is in most cases two-lipped. Verify these characters in a snapdragon flower. The toad-flax is a familiar weed with a yellow and white flower, hence called ' eggs-and-butter.' Various weeds of the order possess roots which are partly parasitic upon the roots of grasses and clovers. Such are the red bartsia, common in cornfields ; the yellow rattle, growing in meadows ; the eyebright, lousewort, and cow-wheat. The figwort, which is poisonous, grows in damp meadows beside ditches ; and the tall yellow-flowered mullein, with its five- stamened flowers and large downy leaves, frequents the hedge- rows. Perhaps the most generally distributed plants of the order are the small blue-flowered speedwells (fig. 32), which are often abundant upon arable land and in waste places — in some country districts the flowers are called ' bird's eyes.' Examine the flowers of speedwell, and notice that the four petals are unequal in size, and that there are only two stamens. Orobanchace^. — This order is closely allied to the Scrophularineae. It is made up chiefly of the various kinds of parasitic plants known by the general name of broom-rape. The most familiar form is that which attacks clover. During July and August there may be seen, in aftermath clover, especially upon chalk soils, the thick fleshy yellowish- brown upright stems, 6 to 10 inches high, of broom-rape. The leaves of the parasite are reduced to mere pointed scales, devoid of chlorophyll, whilst towards the free end of the stem are numbers of dingy gaping flowers. The plants are easily pulled up by hand, when the underground portion of the stem is seen to possess a bulb-like swelling, from the base of which a few straggling roots proceed. These are parasitic on the roots of the clover plants. Hand-pulling is the best remedy against broom-rape, and, where a field is badly attacked, clover should PLANTAIN not be grown upon the land, again for a number of years. Col lect some broom-rape seed (fig. 94), and label it for reference. Various other plants are liable to the attack of species of broom-rape, the name of which appears to relate to the fact that the leguminous plant, broom, is one that has its nutriment thus stolen. Primulace. u t. C o ^ <<;-«!iOBoQCl THRESHING MACHINES 199 A longitudinal vertical section of a threshing machine is :shown in fig. 105, a study of which will serve to indicate the course taken by the material in the operation of threshing. The com enters the machine at the mouth u, where it is caught by the beaters of the drum A, and the grain is threshed out between these and the concave A'. The straw is carried out by means of the shakers b, which are worked on two cranks, B*, B^. The grain, chaff, and cavings (i.e. refuse material intermediate in length between straw and chaflf) fall through the concave and shakers on to a receiving board C, and from thence on to the caving-screen D, where the cavings are got rid of, while the -chaff and corn pass on to another receiving board D', which conveys them back to the middle of the machine, where they meet the first blast M from the fan r, while falling on to the sieve E, the first dressing being completed with the blowing away of the chaff. The corn then falls on to a set of sieves E, where it receives another current from the fan F, and the coarse rubbish or chobs (such as pieces of wood, small stones, thistle- heads, etc.) are worked out. The grain travels down to the bottom of the elevator H by an inclined plane G, which terminates in a spout called the shoe. "It is then conveyed up the elevator by means of dredging-cups, attached to an endless band "working over a fixed pulley and a loose pulley (H, h). The grain falls from these into the hummeller or awner I, where the awns of barley, and the white heads, or tough unremoved chaff, of the wheat are taken away. The grain impinges on another sieve, receiving a second blast of air M^, derived from the fan F j here it is freed from the lighter impurities, which are blown back on to the receiving boards C, and pass out with the main portion of the chaff. The com is then conducted into the rotary screen K, where further separations are made. The rotary screen (for an example, see fig. 109) has helical bars running through it, so that the corn is carried from end to end : the thinnest grains pass through the divisions between the wire bars of the screen first, then a second and a third division are made by partitions which are placed in the hopper underneath, and that whichpasses out of the inside of the screen is the dressed sample or ' head com.' It will be observed that the sieves and receiving boards are placed on inclines , but to keep the current ipoving it is necessary 200 IMPLEMENTS FOR SECURING CROPS\ that there should be reciprocating motions, and these are supplied by means of cranked shafts and wood hangers, which li ft ra p a) are much preferable to any ordinary forms of slides, as the fric- tion is reduced to a minimum. WINNOWERS 2or One, of the. most supcessful of repent additions to the thresher is the ' tfiisser,' which hinds the straw into neat bundles as it passes from the mjachine. It is an adaptation of the sheaf- bindjijg apparatus. Steam Ekgires. — A view of a farm locomotive, or traction . engine, which supplies steam power for threshing, chaff-cutting, grinding, hauling, and a variety of other purposes, is given in Fig. 107. — Corn Winnowing or Dressing Machine A, handle. B, main wheel, fan. pulley on fan axle to drive ele- vator. wheel driving large roller. wheel driving small roller. hopper. screw to regulate feed. I, riddle frame. J, riddle. K, screen under riddle. L, spout from which stones, sticks, &c. , are delivered. M, tailing corn. N, screenings. o, chaff. p, elevator cups. ^ Q, strap to drive elevator. R, spout where dressed corn is de- livered into sacks. s, lifting handles. fig. 106, These locomotives are increasing in general use, a,nd, on many farjijs are taking the place of the well-known porta^ale engines, which are drawn from place to place by horses, and which are so, largely employed in all parts of the country. Winnowing Machines (fig. 107) are used for thp, further cleaiiin|f of. the alrea,dy partially cleaiied corn, thereby rendering 202 IMPLEMENTS FOR SECURING CROPS it more marketable. In the best machines, the winnower is strong •enough to separate the light grains from the heavier, whilst smaller heavier seeds are removed by being passed over screens or riddles, which retain the good grain and allow the impuri- •ties to fall through. Too many kinds of these machines are provided with a blast which though strong enough to blow out Fig. io8. — Adjustable flat Corn Screen. A, hopper. G, stone separator. B, fl^^heel. H, adjustable bed. c, crank. i, shoe frame. D, lever for adjusting feed. K K, screen frame. E, gear wheel and pinion. L L, rollers for shoe. F, turning handle. M, adjusting screw. •chaff, is incompetent to separate the grains of different density. ,Such machines have to rely entirely on the screens for effecting the separation, which they do indifferently well. Various screens, such as the ' Boby,' and rotary screens, .generally not fitted with a blast, are used with good effect (see -figs. loSand 109). The rotary screen (fig. 109) can be supported HAND TOOLS 203 in any convenient frame, and the width of the spaces between the wires is graduated by means of the adjusting handle F and the screw in the hollow shaft, B B. The screen is turned by a Fig. 109. — Adjustable Rotary Screen. A, screen barrel. E, fixed delivery ring. s B, hollow shaft containing adjust- f, handle for adjusting width be- ing screw. tween wires, ■c, feed end ring. G, section of wire used in barrels. D, casting which slides along shaft. handle fixed at the right hand end in the diagram. Hand-sieves are usefully employed in conjunction with the other cleaning machines. HAND TOOLS Small tools are as necessary as the larger implements on farms, and are of still greater importance on allotments and small holdings, and especially in gardens. The Spade is used for breaking up the ground. It is forced into the soil by the pressure of the foot, and the earth, com- tnonly called the spit, is lifted out and inverted, the result being jnuch the same as in ploughing, but more thorough in character. The spade is held by the handle in the right hand, while the left liand grasps the heft lower down. The left foot is then applied, the spade is thrust into the ground, and the spit is lifted out and vrapidly inverted by a sharp action of the wrist. The Shovel is very similar to the spade, but as it is not used for breaking hard ground, it is made less rigid, whilst the sides are slightly turned up so as the better to hold loose material. Forks. — The 3- and 4-tined forks are used not only for •digging ground, but for filling dung carts, and for spreading ■dung or other material upon the land. Those with short. Jiandles, similar to the handles of spades, are far superior to 204 IMPLEMENTS FOR SECURING CROPS those with long handles, as they aflford the workman much' more powej over the tool, and he is better able to use his wrist to give a sweeping stroke while spreading dung ; at the same time they are more convenient for digging. The neck should curve sharply, thereby forming a crank which affords leverage, and thus aids the efforts of the workman. Forks with two prongs or tines fixed into a long handle are often called pitchforks. The farmer applies the term pitchforks only to those which are made with specially long tines and handles, so as to render them convenient for raising or pitching hay and corn on to waggons or carts. The shorter ones are called emptying forks, as they are used for emptying the carts. A skilful workman uses his wrists very freely, whereas a novice uses them but slightly, and works clumsily and laboriously. Caving forks, cocking or pooking forks (fig. no) are shaped very much like dung forks, but Fig. iio.-Caving or Pooking Fork. have exceptionally long tines set widely apart, while there is a continuation of the tines behind the tread piece. The continuation extends several inches and then curves upwards and forwards, forming a scoop. They are par- ticularly useful for collecting cavings, of for gathering together [ox pooking) short barley into heaps ready for pitching. Rakes are used for collecting short material, such as hay,, and for levelling the surface of land before or after sowing seed. The best form of rake is made with a wooden head or crosspiece attached to a long handle, the head having inserted into it, at short intervals, small steel tines or teeth. This kind of rake (fig. in) is light enough for using in the hay field, and strong enough for collecting couch or twitch, whilst it is very durable,. The rake should not be used with a chopping or hoe- ing action, but should be so held that the handle rests gently ill the left hand. The right hand should grasp the handle near the top, aiid the left hand lower down, the knuckles of both hands being turned downwards. The right hand should retaini RAKES AND HOES 205 its hold firmly, but the rake should slide freiely between the thumb and finger of the left hand. The wrists must be worked phably, freedom of action being thus obtained. Daisy rakes, with close-set wedge-shaped teeth, are fre- quently used on the farm for collecting the heads of Diatch clover when the crop is grown for seed. Hoes are used for cutting up weeds in crdps, and for loosen- ing the surface of the soil in order to promote plant ^fowth The best form of hoe is (fig. 112) that fitted with a long curved or ' swan ' neck. Any other mode of attaching the blade 1:o the handle prevents the free use of the hoe on all except very clean •dry, and friable soils, as the weeds or earth clog, and thus p're- FiG. III. — Rake for Hay- Fig. 112.— Crane-neck Hoe. MAKING AND GENERAL WORK. vent the workman from making ^a long stroke. Where other forms arfe used, it is only possible to make short chops, instead •of long strokes. Hoes for use in wheat and barley crops should be from 4^ to 5^ in. in width ; for peas, 6 to 8 in. ; and for beans and root crops, 9 in. in width. Several forms of cutting tools are used for reaping and mowing com. A few years ago there seemed great probability that large niachines would totally supersede these, but since there has been an increase in the quantity of lahd let otlt in small holdings and allotments, the manufacture of sthall tools ^or harvesting purposes has revived. The Scythe consists of a long curved blade (fig. 113) fixed 2o6 IMPLEMENTS FOR SECURING CROPS at something less than a right angle to the snaith or handle^ The shape of the snaith varies in different localities, but the object aimed at is to make a snaith which permits the workman to swing the scythe with an easy curved sweep ; for this reason perfectly straight handles are in many districts not used. The angle at which the blade is laid to the snaith has to be regu- lated according to the height of the workman, and the nature of the crop to be mown. This is effected by means of large nails and strips of leather used for packing between the ring and the snaith. The sward should be cut at the same height throughout. The ribbing often seen in fields after the crop is cleared is evi- dence that the workman has not mown skilfully. The point of the blade should be laid in flat, and the stroke should be carried through completely to the end. If a man makes a scooping Fig. 113. — English Scythe. stroke he leaves perhaps a foot, at both the commencement and end of the stroke, which will have to be mown through, and for this reason it is very annoying for a good scytheman to have to follow a bad one. When mowing, the man should place his legs wide apart so as to bring his back into the best position for it to exercise its strength, for mowing should be done by means of a body stroke rather than by the arms. The arms should act chiefly as guiding or connecting rods between the man and the scythe, in the same way as a skilful oarsman exerts his powers from the back, and by the use of his legs, instead of pulling the stroke through with his arms. The early part of the stroke is easily made, as the natural swing of the scythe is sufficient to cut that section of the sward, but as material collects it becomes more difficult to complete the stroke, therefore the body must then be in a position to exert its force most freely. This is achieved when the man stands SICKLES 207 near to the finish of the stroke, i.e. as far as practicable from the commencement. Young beginners make the end of the stroke with the left hand too far in advance of the left leg (which should be a little in the rear of the right). After the first half of the stroke the left hand should be drawn sharply round and near to the left leg. It is want of attention to this point which causes difficulty to beginners. The whetting of the blade is an impor- tant detail in mowing. The whet-stone should be laid flat against the blade, and drawn steadily along it. If the stone is not laid flat, an angle is made with the blade and the edge is rapidly lost, so that recourse to the grindstone is soon rendered necessary. The sickle is the typical harvest tool, but is now rarely used on large farms. The sickle, or reaping hook, consists (fig. 1 14) Fig. 114. — Sickle, South ot England pattern. Fig. US-— Bagging Hook or Fagging Hook. of a short, curved blade, with finely serrated edges, and fixed into a short handle. Reaping is done thus : — The reaper grasps a handful of com in his left hand at about a foot from the ground, and bends back the straws away from him. He next places the sickle behind the handful, so as to partly surround it, and draws the implement towards him, sawing the straws asunder. The handful is then drawn out, and several such handfuls form a sheaf The curve of the hook varies somewhat in different districts. The fagging- hook, or bagging hook, is used for cutting cereal and bean crops ; also, when more strongly made, for cut- ting furze. The fagging hook (fig. 1 15) is very similar in shape to the sickle, but is made without a serrated edge. In some districts, the blade is preferred slightly cranked near to the '2o8 HAND TOOLS handle, while in others the crank is dispensed with. The cutting of the corn is effected by first chopping the stems, and then collecting them by means of the hook. The leg of the workman is used in gathering the sheaf, the corn being worked up against'it. Fagging is a convenient way of cutting when the •crop is badly laid. Reaping is more often practised when the corn is standing upright. The pea-hook, — of which fig. ii6 shows the blade and socket, the latter made to receive a Fig. ii6.— Bean or Pea Hook. wooden handle,— is used for cutting peas. This 'Crop lies about the land so much that mowing is impracticable, because many of the pods would be cut off and lost. The pea- hook is in reality a short-bladed fagging-hook set in a long handle, without any crank. Occasionally peas are cut with a short hook, but the work is then more lalsorious. An old sickle blade, with several inches of the pointed end broken off, is always highly valued for use as a pea-hook, on account of the good ' temper ' it has acquired. Hedge slashers and switch bills are formed (fig. 117) of short stout blade fixed into a long strong handle. The blades Fig. 117. — Switch Bill or Slasher. sometimes straight, are far more often slightly curved. They -are used for trimming and laying, or layering, hedges. GRASS LAND 209 CHAPTER XV GRASS LAND AND ITS MANAGEMENT Grass land is temporary or permanent. In the former case seeds of grasses and clovers are sown, and, after a period of variable length, the land is ploughed up again. Permanent pasture land remains continuously under grass ; it may either have been grass land from time immemorial, or it may have originated recently in the sowing of seed. The term^ Fig. ii8. — Diagram showing Scheme of Irrigation IN Water Meadow. The upper part shows the plan, and the lower part shows the vertical section along A B. really to be more than ankle-deep. It is specially to be noted that this water is running, and not stagnant. At frosty periods the water has a higher and more constant temperature than the air, and since it is running water it is, furthermore, well oxy- .genated. The effect of these two conditions is to promote winter growth, and even perhaps to permit of the persistence of some species of grasses which might otherwise die out. The herbage of water meadows is not usually of high quality, there being often a notable excess of Yorkshire fog. The ex- pense of laying land out in water meadows is so great that the LAYING LAND DOWN TO GRASS 219 work IS now seldom attempted. Where they exist, however, they form a very useful adjunct to the farm, and are found to be specially valuable in seasons of drought. Water meadows of the kind described exist in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, •Gloucestershire, Dorset, and elsewhere. Another kind of water meadow, irrigated by a system of .catchwork, is seen in Somerset and Devonshire, and is specially adapted to grass lands that lie on a steep declivity, or on the side of a hill. In laying land down to grass it is absolutely essential, in •order to ensure success, that the land be clean, and that the seeds be pure. It is useless to secure one of these conditions without the other, for it would be as futile to sow pure seeds upon a foul seed-bed as to prepare a proper seed-bed for the reception of unclean seed. The most effective way to clean the land is to thoroughly work it during a bare fallow in summer, when it will be ready ■for seeding in the following spring. As, however, bare fallowing is an expensive operation, it is usual to take a root crop, which -offers the additional advantage that it may be well dressed with farmyard manure, whilst the condition of the soil is further im- proved when turnips are fed upon the land in autumn to sheep, which at the same time are consuming cake. As sooft as the land is free it is subjected to a deep ploughing, followed speedily .by another ploughing, and the land is then laid up through the winter. In the north of England, however, deep ploughing is not resorted to after a green crop has been fed off by sheep, for -although a second ploughing may bring the sheep-droppings -again to the surface, this second ploughing cannot always be accomplished at once. As soon in the early spring as it is practicable to resume operations, the harrow and roller are set to work, and are kept going till a fine firm level seed-bed is j)roduced. In the east of England it is generally recognised that the best way of seeding land to permanent pasture (as well as of growing lucerne and sainfoin) is to sow the seeds with the wheat planted in the autumn. The wheat should be drilled nine inches apart, thinly seeded, horse-hoed in the spring, and the GRASS LAND seeds sown, or drilled with a small-coulter drill, harrowed in,, and rolled down. If planted without a corn crop, the seeds run a risk of being killed by drought or smothered with annuals and other weeds ; whilst if planted with barley or oats the crop will be often killed by the corn ' lodging.' In the case of autumn- sown wheat there is the advantage of a solid soil, with an inch of fine mould as a seed-bed. Some skill is required in sowing mixtures of grass seeds, as, on account of the different sizes and weights of the various species, irregularity may result. A still day is preferable, as the lighter grass seeds are easily carried by the wind. The use of the seed-barrow, which delivers the seed near to the ground, is more reliable than broadcasting by hand. To secure uni- formity of sowing, it is a good plan to wheel in the grass seeds alone in one direction, and then the clover seeds by themselves in a direction at right angles to the former. To prepare the surface of the land for the seed, the harrow is sent across it before sowing. A very light iron harrow suffices afterwards to give to the seed the shallow covering of soil which is all that it requires. Lastly, the roller is used to impart to the topmost layer of soil a sufficient firmness to enable it to retain the delicate seedlings after germination, though it may be advisable in some cases not to roll it at all. During the latter part of winter and early spring, both meadows and pastures should be chain-harrowed and rolled. By the former operation moss is dragged out and dung is distributed, whilst by the latter the land is consolidated and pressed around the roots of the plants after the disruptive effects of the winter frosts. The slovenly practice of allowing the droppings of horses and cattle to remain undisturbed upon pastures cannot be too strongly condemned. They should be constantly scat- tered, otherwise the underlying plants are for a time destroyed and unsightly rings of dark rank herbage spring up around them. The value of pastures is determined to some extent by their situation. The best are on the low-lying lands which occupy river valleys, and these are well suited to cattle. Upland pastures are less rich, and are best grazed by sheep. Old pastures are most advantageously used for fattening stock, the-, newer ones being more adapted to feeding young store cattle. HERBAGE OF PASTURES In the south of England, pastures are ready to receive stock between the end of March and the beginning of May. Farther north, cattle are not turned out till the middle of May, or even later. The species of plants that are found growing in old pastures are not numerous. Taking one pasture, with another, rye-grass is the most abundant gramineous plant, and white clover is the most plentiful leguminous plant. Of weeds, the most frequently occurring are buttercups, plantains, docks, and the narrow- leaved mouse-ear chickweed. In the following table are ar- ranged in alphabetical order the species of plants which were identified as growing in one or another of a considerable number -of prime old pastures. With very few exceptions these plants are •of perennial duration. Plants growing in Old Pastures Gramineous Species or Grasses — GraminecB Botanical name Agrostis alba, L.' . Agrostis alba, var. stolonifera, L. Agrostis vulgaris, With. . Alopecurus pratensis, L. Anthoxanthum o3oratum, L. Avena elatior, L. . Avena flavescens, L. Bromus mollis, L. . Cynosurus cristatus, L. . Dactylis glomerata, L. . Festuca loliicea, 'Huds. . Festuca ovina, L., et var. Festuca pratensis, Huds. Holcus lanatus, L. . Hordeum pratense, Huds. Lolium perenne, L. . Phleum pratense, L. Poa annua, L. . Poa pratensis, L. Poa trivialis, L. Triticum caninum, Huds. Common name Marsh bent grass F'iorin Fine bent grass Meadow foxtail Sweet-scented vernal grass False oat grass Yellow oat grass Soft brome grass Dogstail Rough cocksfoot Spiked fescue Sheep's fescue Meadow fescue Yorkshire fog, woolly soft grass . Meadow barley grass . Rye grass . Timothy, or meadow catstail . Annual meadow grass . Smooth-stalked meadow grass . Rough- stalked meadow grass . Bearded wheat-grass GRASS LAND Leguminous Species — Leguminosce Botanical name Common name Lathynis pratensis, L. . . . Meadow vetchling Lotus comiculatus, L. Trifolium minus, Sm. Trifolium pratense, L. Trifolium repens, L. Common birdsfoot trefoil Yellow suckling clover Meadow or purple clover White or Dutch clover Miscellaneous Species — Mostly ' Weeds Botanical name Achillea Millefolium, L. . Bellis perennis, L. Bunium flexuosum. With. , Cardamine pratensis, \j. . Carduus sp. Carex sp. . . Cerastium triviale. Link. . Leontodon autumnalis, L. Leontodon hispidus, L. Luzula campestris, Willd. Plantago lanceolata, L. Potentilla anserina, L. Prunella vulgaris, L. . Ranunculus acris, L. . Ranunculus bulbosus, L. . Ranunculus repens, L. , Rhinanthus Crista-Galli, L. Rumex Acetosa, L. . , Rumex sp Sonchus sp. . . . Taraxacum officinale, Wigg. Veronica Chamsedrys, L. . Common name Yarrow or milfoil . Daisy . Earth-nut, or pig-nut , Cuckoo flower . , Thistle. Sedge . Narrow-leaved mouse- ear chickweed Autumnal hawkbit Rough hawkbit Field woodrush Ribgrass, ribwort, or plantain Silver-weed, or goose- tongue Selfheal Upright buttercup Bulbous crowfoot, or buttercup . Creeping crowfoot, or buttercup . . , Yellow rattle Common sorrel, or sour dock .... Dock Sowthistle . Dandelion . Germander speedwell . Natural order Compositse Compositas Umbelliferas Cruciferse Compositse Cyperaceas Caryophyllacese Compositas Compositse Juncaceae Plantagineae Rosacese Labiatae Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceas Ranunculaceae ScrophularinesB' Polygonacese Polygonacese Compositse Compositas Scrophularinese The student will find it instructive to compare the foregoing^ lists of plants occurring in pastures with those given on pages 212 and 213 of the species composing the herbage of permanent meadow-land. HA YMAKING 223; HAYMAKING Haymakings is the operation whereby grass and clover crops are converted into dry fodder. Meadow hay is the produce of permanent grass land ; ' seeds ' hay is yielded by temporary layers, sown with grass and clover seeds. Owing to the uncertain character of the weather in this country, haymaking is often a tedious and difficult operation. It comprises the three processes- of cutting, curing, and stacking. Meadow hay is essentially a straw crop, the object being to secure it before the grasses begin to ripen their grain, that is, before the nutrient ingredients in the stem have migrated upwards to aid in maturing the seed. Hence, hay should be cut at about the time the bulk of the- grasses are coming into flower, that is, just before the pollen dust can be freely shaken from them. The mowing machine is now very generally employed for cutting hay, though the scythe has still to be used in water meadows and on embankments. The introduction of the mowing machine has increased the risk lest too much grass be cut at one time for the available hands to deal with, so that this is a detail requiring attention. The labour of mowing with the- scythe is very severe, and it brings into play nearly every muscle- in the body. An experienced workman will mow from \ acre to 2 acres per day, according to the heaviness of the crop. The- line or row of cut herbage as it falls upon the ground is called the swath. There is a notable difference in the mode of cutting by the scythe and by the mowing machine. The simpler implement effects the clean cut of a knife. The machine, which works on the scissors principle, not only cuts, but crushes or bruises at the same time. The cut of the scythe is regarded as being the less injurious to the standing plant, and some farmers always prefer the scythe for meadow hay. The conversion of green grass into hay is effected by loss of moisture, which is brought about partly by the sun's heat and partly by the wind. How great is this loss may be gathered from the circumstance that freshly cut grass contains from 70 to 80 per cent, of water, whilst hay has only from 14 to 16 per cent. To promote the escape of water vapour it is necessary 324 GRASS LAND for the cut herbage to be turned over and shaken out, in order ■ s > b Qj o d o . QJ Id g5 5.d . »■" M„ — ."o s; "1 |3 s « * s d ^ .-Tl 3 ™ uiU 53 (D in" H °J O b C^y « m rt Q in T3 O Hi • Ifi ^ r- - *-• o ■ o c a-Q . Sa 0,3 • Mo S 13 «•« O a" < I ^ i+H T3 TJ - o s^§ § bo-" >, f 1 g d Ma Oct. May pt., < pi? V id 2' o §oSw ^& IS s ■as t & April ug. t Feb. ug., Oct. March acco varie < 1 <: < < < g g.a as gj5 MgiS-o |S » O Q Q u] in u .a m bo ho »c ■ s 1 r^ g- 53 ti ft-„S, -s-S 3 •a (1) ^ ^ ^ s rO a >^ a 3 3 £ ^ o Q »5, s§s =5 -i § 2 „ s-2 « a I I 3 III s ill '"ilH I .^ I I 2? 8 FARM CROPS In some districts a small quantity of carrot seed is sown with the mangel crop, as the carrot will often stand where the mangel fails, and it grows well in association with mangel. Parsnips grow more freely than carrots, and, though they require good preparation of the soil, their broader tops are better able to grow away from weeds. The seed should be drilled in February and March, about 6 to 8 lb. per acre, in rows a foot apart. Much of the information which has been given in this section is presented in a condensed form in Table XV., pp. 256 and 257. SUBSEQUENT CULTIVATION Wheat requires very little attention during winter. If at- tacked by insect pests, such as wireworm and leather-jacket, or if the land is very loose, it is advantageous to roll it, so as to consolidate the soil around the roots ; but on any save the most friable and easily-dried soils it is impossible to work the roller in winter. In spring much benefit results from rolling and harrowing. Horse-hoeing and hand-hoeing are also practised in some districts with advantage, though the drilling is sometimes so badly done that the horse-hoes cannot be worked without de- stroying a portion of the plant. Nevertheless, excepting upon certain soils of peculiar character, the wheat crop is greatly im- proved by hoeing, and the land remains cleaner subsequently, as not only are annual weeds destroyed, but seedling plants of couch and docks are killed. Hand-hoeing wheat costs from 2,5. i)d. to 4J. dd. per acre. Barley may be rolled or harrowed with advantage, provided the land is dry, at the time that the blade is appearing above ground ; and again when the plant is about 3 inches high, and the second strong shoot is commencing to grow. If the work is done at other periods, there is danger of the plant being smothered. In some districts barley is neVer .hoed, but, as in the case of wheat, if the work is done under favourable circumstances it proves profitable. Oats. — The treatment of oats is similar to that of barley. Peas should be h^rowed just as the shoot begins to peep • SUBSEQUENT CULTIVATION 259 above the ground. If used at this stage the harrow destroys many small weeds, and opens the soil immediately around the individual plants with beneficial effect. The crop should be harrowed and rolled when about 3 inches high, whilst hand- hoeing should be commenced early, and continued until the rows meet, and the hoes can no longer be worked. Beans, which are drilled in wide rows on heavy land which cannot be worked during winter, should be cleaned by the hand- hoe and the horse-hoe. A thorough tillage should be effected, especially among the winter beans. A single-row horse-hoe (fig. 11) is the best implement for the purpose of loosening the ground, and this should be followed by the hand-hoe. On lighter soils, spring beans may be cleaned with a three-row horse-hoe, as the object is cleaning rather than tilling. The hoes should be kept going until the beans have grown so high that further working among them is impossible. ' Seeds.' — The after-management of the ' seeds' crop is very simple. If the land is loose it is necessary to compress it in the autumn, by means of rollers, or by the treading of sheep ; but ' seeds ' must not be fed too hard with sheep at that season. Sheep are the most perfect compressors of the soil, as they pinch the mould around the roots, whereas other forms of pressure are usually applied in broad sections which cannot fit into the inequalities of the land. Sheep should not be put on heavy land in a wet autumn ; but it is not often that clovers and ' seeds ' require consolidating during such seasons. The ' seeds ' should be rolled in the spring, and," if it is intended that the crop should be converted into hay, loose stones should be picked off the land, or they will prove troublesome at hay-time. Roots require much attention after the seed is drilled. The chief operations are hoeing and horse-hoeing. The horse-hoe should be set to work as soon as the rows of young plants afford a guide for steering ; and, in cases where the drill-rows have not been harrowed out, horse-hoeing may with great advantage be commenced before the plants are visible. It is of course necessary to set the hoes so that the small plants shall not be smothered. For this purpose hoes, which are so attached to the stem or standard that the mould is not thrown on to the rows, must be used. Although many specially formed hoes 26o FARM CROPS have been introduced to turn the mould inwards from the plant- rows, there is nothing superior to a broad V-Aange hoe, with the stem placed some distance from the row, as, even when the land is wet and there is loose straw or litter lying upon it, the hoe does not block. The horse-hoes should be put to work as frequently as possible, until the roots get so big that the horses cannot walk along the rows without injuring them. The manual labour consists of flat-hoeing— often dispensed with in the case of swedes and turnips, — with a broad hoe along- side the rows, to clean such places as the horse-hoe misses, and of ' singling ' to set the plants out at regular distances, and to separate the plants so that there shall not be more than one standing together. Singling should commence when the plants have a width of about 3 or 4 inches across the leaves. The operation is rarely done perfectly at the first attempt, and it is usual for it to be done twice. The cost of the three manual operations varies from 8j. to loj. per acre, according to the width between the rows. Where the rows are placed about 18 inches apart, the plants may be left from 14 to i5 inches from centre to centre ; on widths of 2 feet 3 inches, a space of 1 1 inches is sufficient. In some localities, roots are hoed into bunches, and afterwards singled by hand by women and children. Swedes are got up in the autumn for storage in the field where they were grown, or they are carted to the homestead. Pulling up and topping, and throwing the swedes into heaps — the terminal roots should not be cut off — costs 5j. dd. to 6s. 6d. per acre. Covering the heaps in the field costs from ij. to is. i>d. per acre in addition. The manual cost of carting off the roots is IJ. to \s. bd., according to the weight of the crops. These prices are somewhat exceeded in the north of England, where wages are high. When stored, the roots should be care- fully covered with a layer of straw several inches in thickness, and over this a layer of earth some few inches deep should be placed to keep out wet. Mangel are lifted in October or early November, when the leaves turn yellow. Turnips are not usually stored, as, being soft, they are easily gnawed by sheep. When required for cattle they are raised in the same manner as swedes. HARVESTING OF CORN CROPS 261 Carrots must be dug with a fork, and stored in a similar manner to swedes. Parsnips may be left in the land until required, as they withstand severe frost. They, however, must also be dug. HARVESTING OF CORN CROPS Wheat should not be allowed to ripen before it is cut. When the straw immediately below the ear assumes a yellow tinge, it is time to commence cutting. If left until it is perfectly ripe, the quality of the grain is injured by the increase in the thickness of the bran (fig. 19) and a corresponding decirease of meal inside it, without gain in weight or bulk. The grain is also liable to be ' whipped ' out by strong winds if the crop is allowed to stand too long. Some discretion js needed as to the degree of ripeness which the ' kernel,' or grain, is allowed to attain, for, if the weather is very hot and the straw is very thin, the sap ceases to flow upwards so early that the grain feeds but little from the straw and fails to mature ; examples are not infrequently seen on thin chalk soils. On rich loams, where the straw grows stout and thick, the cutting may be com- menced when the straw becomes only slightly yellow. Cutting wheat green has quite gone out of fashion. Wheat is usually cut by reaping machines ; but occasionally, in wet seasons, when the crops are storm-broken and twisted, the scythe or the fagging-hook is necessary, as the machines are liable to cut off the ears so closely that they cannot be gathered by horse-rakes, and are therefore lost. Manual labour is always more highly paid in harvest time than at other seasons, and perhaps the most common practice when the work is done by the day is to double the ordinary wages. In those districts where the men receive no extra sum or bonus at Michaelmas, it is customary among farmers to pay more during harvest to the permanent hands employed on the farm than perhaps ap- pears absolutely necessary. The extra wages are, in fact, a sort of retaining fee to insure a plentiful supply of workmen at other seasons. Work is often let by the piece, so that the men are paid in accordance with what they actually do. In one way or another the earnings of labourers in dififerent districts vary 262 FARM CROPS from 4/. to 8/. per harvest month. From this it may be gathered that the cost of the different operations connected with harvest- ing varies very much according to custom, and what is looked upon in one locahty as an excessive wage is not considered great in another. For instance, tying wheat costs in some districts 3J. per acre, whilst as much as 5J. per acre is given in others, and, in the case of badly-laid crops, \s. or more is occasionally added to this. Cutting by means of a machine costs about is. per acre, more or less, according as the weather is favourable for the work : this, with 3^. bd. for tying and stocking, brings the total cost to 5^. bd. per acre. Mowing, tying, and stooking generally costs from 7 J. to loj. per acre ; but, in the year i8go, many farmers gave as much as los. per acre where the crops were much storm-broken. By the use of the binder, cutting and tying costs from y. to 4^-. per acre. Wheat should not be tied when it is in a wet condition, but as it has to stand in the stook for a long time, it is not greatly injured if it is tied whilst the weeds in it are still green. The sheaves should be set up in stocks or shocks immediately after they are tied. The stocks should be composed of not more than twelve sheaves, and they should be so made that six sheaves range on each side of the shock. They must be placed in such a way that whilst the butt ends of the sheaves stand well out on the ground, the ears are brought together at an acute angle, in order that the rain may shoot off them ; other- wise fhe rain will soak into the sheaves, and great damage will result to the grain. The practice of clubbing the sheaves into a round heap, forming a large flat surface of ears, is most in- judicious, and is generally the result of laziness on the part of the men, or of carelessness on the part of the farmer. Wheat is rarely fit for stacking in less than a week after it is cut, and in dull seasons it may require to be left a fortnight before it is safe to stack it. If stacked too soon it will ferment, and the grain will become mouldy, or acquire a permanent odour, which will cause the flour made from it to be unsaleable. The carting and stacking without an elevator require a man and a lad to load, and four men to empty the carts and make the stack. They will clear from 8 to 15 acres per day, according to the size of the crop. Wheat should not be carted STACKING OF WHEAT 263 while the insides of the sheaves are wet, and great care should be taken that they are dry beneath the band. If the sheaves have been thoroughly dried a heavy dew need not prevent carting, nor need a slight rain put a stop to the operation. All stacks should be laid on a bottom which allows the air to circulate freely under them. In building, it is necessary that the middle of the stack be kept considerably higher than the walls, as, in the process of settling, the middle, owing to the greater amount of pressure, sinks more than the outside. If the stack settles in such a way that the inner portion becomes lower than the outer, the butts of the sheaves on the external face will be higher than the ears ; consequently, whenever rain falls on them it will be conducted to the middle of the stack, instead of being at once shot to the ground. After the stack has settled sufficiently — which is very little in the case of a properly built stack — it should be thatched with straw, or covered in with one of the modem substitutes for thatch, such as corrugated iron. A well-built stack suffers little from rain even when unthatched, while one which is badly construaited often suffers considerably when it is thatched. The cost of thatching is u. per square of 100 feet. Taking one crop with another, the harvesting on a farm is often let at about \os. to \is. per acre, the master finding machines, horses, and boys to drive the horses during carting. Wheat is now all threshed by machinery. When an ordinary eight-horse set is employed, with an elevator (fig. 102) to lift the straw, one man is required to tend the engine, another to feed the machine, a lad to cut the bands, two men to throw up the sheaves, two men on the straw-stack, one to look after the corn and cav- ings, and one to fetch water and clear away the chaff. Boys may be employed in the place of men in the latter light jobs, but the equivalent of nine men must be provided. In a day of ten hours, from eighty to one hundred sacks of com, according to the crop and yield, should be threshed. The modem threshing machines are made with very efficient cleaning apparatus, so that nothing but com need be left in the sample. Owing, however, to carelessness and other causes, rubbish finds its way into the sack and must be removed. A well-cleaned sample always sells more easily, and commands 264 FARM CROPS a more remunerative price, than the same sample containing impurities. Hence, in practice, it is found advisable to further clean grain, although it has been treated as well as the finishing machines are able to do it. With this object the corn is dressed or winnowed (fig. 107), or is passed through machines which perform both operations at the same time. Wheat is now sold by weight, but the standard varies very much in different markets. The weight of an imperial bushel is 63 lb., and the net weight of a quarter (8 bushels) is 504 lb. The average natural weight of a bushel is 61 J lb. Barley should not be cut until it is fully ripe, or a uni- formly germinating sample for malting will not be obtained. The straw should be white, and the ear should hang on one side, becoming ' sickle-headed,' a term used to denote that the ear has curved downwards. The grain should be hard, and the skin covering it should be wrinkled into a fine network. If the skin is smooth, or contains colour, it will not attain the clear, light shade so necessary in a perfect sample of malting barley. Barley is considered to improve if it is exposed to alternate sunshine and light rain or dew for two or three days after cutting, as the grain becomes more mellow and improves in colour. For this reason it is held preferable to cut barley by the scythe if good weather can be ensured, for by turning it twice the whole of the ' kernels ' become bleached to the same extent, thus avoiding the 'two colours' which maltsters complain they get in a sample which has been sheaved, thereby preventing the inner portion of the sheaves from benefiting from the mellowing effect of genial weather after the crop is cut. In the north of England, however, both opinion and practice are the reverse. Barley is fit to stack much sooner when it lies loosely than when bound in sheaves ; especially is this the case when there is much green material, such as clover or weeds, present, as the sun and wind have a free opportunity to exercise their influence, which is impossible in a tightly-bound sheaf Much smaller loss also is believed to result when the scythe is used in cutting the crop, as there need be no ears cut off short on a fairly up- standing crop ; whereas, with a machine, there are always drooping ears which are snipped off and lost. Here again HARVESTING OF BARLEY 265. however, local opinion is at variance, for North Country farmers consider that there is more waste with the scythe than with the machine. Many farmers strongly support the custom of tying barley, and a great point in favour of the practice is that, when the barley is bound, there is much less trouble to cart, stack, and thresh it. But it is not uncommon, during wet periods, for the sheaves to become saturated, and it is then found neces- sary to untie them, and spread them out to dry. The flaggy nature of the straw is much more likely to cause the water to be absorbed than is the case with wheat ; therefore the fact that the sheaves are stooked is not sufficient to guarantee the safety of the crop. A short supply of labour has compelled many farmers to use the binder ; and it is probable that, much as they would prefer to do otherwise, others will have to resort to it in the future. It seldom happens that barley comes out of a stack in the same condition as it went in ; it is usually better or worse. If carted in good condition it improves ; if stacked when damp it deteriorates. It is therefore very necessary to cart it when in good condition. As it readily spoils, it should be stacked whenever opportunity offers. As wheat is much less likely to be injured in the field, the carting of wheat should always give way to the carting of barley when the weather is favourable. Barley stacks should be thatched as soon as possible, as the flaggy straw prevents the water from running off the roof, where it soaks in and does much damage. Care should be taken, during both stacking and threshing, that inferior barley does not get mixed with that which is bright and good, for a very small quantity of bad barley is capable of deteriorating a large bulk to the extent of many shillings per quarter. Barley, of all corn, requires to be well prepared. for market, and, in addition to the ordinary winnowing, it is advisable to put it over the ' Boby ' screen. The weight of an imperial bushel is 56 lb., which is about 2 lb. in excess of the average natural weight. Oats should not be allowed to become thoroughly ripe before cutting ; in fact, they are best cut as soon as the grain is fairly filled, as the latter has great power of absorbing nutriment from the stout straw characteristic of oats. It is best to cut oats when there is a light yellow shade noticeable throughout 266 FARM CROPS the field ; the straw below the neck will still be green. The -warning given previously in reference to the early cutting of wheat on poor land is applicable to oats. The crop is cut, sheaved, and stocked in the same way as wheat. Oats, how- ever, require to be in the stook for a longer time than wheat, for they retain moisture longer, and readily ferment when stacked. Fermented oats are distinguished from others by their brown skins, and are not so valuable because chey have an injurious effect on animals which consume them. The straw makes an exceedingly useful fodder, especially when chaffed. Peas should not be allowed to ripen before being cut, or many of the pods burst, and the peas fall out during the turnings to which it is necessary to subject them while in the field. It is sufficient that the haulm should be yellow, and the pods tough and likewise of a yellow colour. All peas should be cut with a pea-hook (p. 208), and should be worked up during the operation into small heaps or ' wads.' If the peas are mown by a scythe, the pods are liable to be cut open, or to be left on the ground on the uncut haulm. Pea-hooking costs from 5j. to "js. 6d. per .acre After the crop has laid in wads until these become somewhat dried, the heaps must be turned over. From time to time they must again be turned, especially in wet or dull weather, when, if not turned, they become mouldy both in the middle and at the bottom of the wads. If carted before they are in fit condition, they become mouldy in the stack. It is particularly necessary that the softer ■or wrinkled varieties should be stacked in good condition, or a very large proportion of the peas will be ruined. When they are being threshed, care must be taken that they are not split, or they will be useless for seed purposes. It is often necessary, especially with the softer varieties, to take off the steel bar from the beaters to avoid too hard hitting. A sack of peas (4 bushels) should weigh 19 stones ( = 266 lb.). Pea haulm is the most valuable of the straw fodders, and is particularly suitable, when chaffed or steamed, for dairy cows and ewes. Beans should be cut when the leaf has fallen, but it is not till some time after cutting that the corn becomes brown and hard. The crop is occasionally mown, more often cut with a fagging-hook, and still more frequently with a reaping machine. BEANS AND POTATOES 267 though the hard stalks are very injurious to the knives. When the pods grow close to the ground, it is necessary to allow the crop to become riper than for cutting, and to pull the plants up bodily by hand. The cost of pulling is about the same as for fagging, Jj. to 6j. per acre. Beans are cut, and afford work for men, when the weather is too wet for employ- ment to be found upon other corn crops. They should be tied and stooked, and, after remaining in the stook for a long time, they are stacked in any but very wet weather. A little outside moisture is not very detrimental, as the stout, stiff stalks allow air to draw freely through the stack. Beans should not be used as food until they have been stacked for the greater part of the year, and are better if allowed to stand over the summer ; the threshing is best delayed until they are required. The sale weight is 19 stones net ( = 266 lb.) per sack of 4 bushels. The straw or haulm, though not so valuable as pea-straw, is nutri- tious, and the upper portion is very palatable. CULTIVATION OF POTATOES Potatoes flourish best on deep, warm soils, though by lavish manuring the poorest and wildest sandy soils, and the heaviest clays, have been made to grow them successfully, whilst big crops are obtained from old pastures recently broken up. The choicest potatoes are raised on the Old Red Sandstone ; those grown on the Greensand are generally of good quality, and most of the light, mixed gravelly loams produce high-class tubers. The rich fens and warp deposits yield exceedingly heavy crops, but the quality cannot be relied upon. Some of the heavy soils grow good crops occasionally, but in wet autumns it is practically impossible to dig them. To be well suited to potato growing, a soil should possess, as essential conditions, good drainage, freedom from acidity, absence of weeds of all kinds, and natural or artificial richness. The cultivation must be deep and thorough, and perfect tilths at the time of seeding are desirable, though these can be obtained to some extent by deep stirring between the rows after the planting is done. The crop requires heavy manuring, and market gardeners generally apply from 20 to 30 loads of 268 FARM CROPS rich farmyard manure per acre, supplemented with bone-meal and potash manures, and occasionally with soot or sulphate of ammonia. Dung exerts an excellent influence on the land, as it retains moisture during dry seasons, and prevents that cessa- tion of growth, which on unmanured land, is the cause of loss of quality in the tubers. Potatoes usually give a better yield when potash manures are applied. On soils containing sufficient lime, the dung should be supplemented by 3 cwt. per acre of superphosphate or of dissolved bones, 3 to 5 cwt. of kainit, and 2 cwt. of sul- phate of ammonia or of nitrate of soda, preferably the sulphate. These artificials should be put on at the time of planting the seed-tubers. But if nitrate of soda is used, it should be added as a top-dressing to the growing crop. On soils poor in lime, the phosphates should be given in the form of 5 or 6 cwt. per acre of basic cinder, or 4 cwt. of guano or of bone-meal. Provided the land affords a sufficient amount of mineral in- gredients, the weight of the potato crop is largely dependent on the available supply of nitrogen within the soil. In practice the main source of this supply is, as has been stated, farmyard manure, though it is often supplemented by liberal dressings of artificial manures, both mineral and nitrogenous. Potatoes remove, however, a less proportion than any other farm crop of the nitrogen of farmyard manure. Under the influence of nitrogenous manures, the most characteristic result of the in- creased growth is a greater production of the non-nitrogenous in- gredient, starch. Nevertheless, for one part of nitrogen supplied in the manure, the increased amount of starch obtained in the potato is less than the increased amount of sugar obtained in the mangel, and much less than that yielded in sugar-beet. In field culture, the planting should be done from the middle of March to the middle or end of April. The early varieties should be planted first, the mid-early nejtt, and the main crop last. The early varieties are the most tender, and require the best prepared seedbeds. From 12 to 15 cwt. of seed, according to its size, and the distance the tubers are placed apart, are necessary to set an acre. Large seed-tabers require cutting (see p. 98), and at least two eyes or shoots should be left on each set. The best size for planting is that of a rather large hen's egg. POTATOES 269 Potatoes are planted on the flat, or on the ridge, in the same manner as roots ; generally in rows from 20 to 30 inches in width, and the sets from 12 to 20 in. apart on the flat ; and 27 to 30 in. from row to row, and from 10 to 15 in. apart, according to the variety, on the ridge. The preparation of the seed-bed is also very similar to that for roots. In dry districts it is found advantageous to grow potatoes on the flat ; but in wet districts, and on heavy land, the ridge system is preferable. The seed tubers are dropped along the furrows on the ridge land, and the mould is turned back on them by means of the double-breasted plough. When planted on the flat, the sets are either placed in the furrow and earth is turned over them by a plough, or the land is reduced to a tilth and the sets are let into the ground by means of a spade, a man making holes with the spade, and a boy dropping a potato into each hole right across the field. They then return, and the man makes a fresh line of holes parallel to the first line, and, while doing this, he fills in the pre- viously made holes so as to cover in the potatoes ; in this way the whole field is planted. The seed-tubers are sometimes dibbled in. The dibble is a -thick stick, ending in a point, with which holes are made in the ground, the potatoes being dropped into the holes and covered with earth. The crop must be kept cleared of surface weeds by con- tinued hand hoeings and horse hoeings, and it is necessary to commence these operations at the earliest opportunity. When the tops attain 8 or 10 inches in height the rows must be earthed up, for which purposes a hand hoe, moulding plough or multiple moulding-up machine may be used. Weeds must be kept out until the tubers are ripe. If the potatoes are required for immediate consumption they may be dug whenever the grower is satisfied with the size they have attained. But, if they are to be stored, they should not be taken out of the ground until the skin is quite firm, and does not rub off when submitted to the hardest rubbing possible between the thumb and fingers. They are lifted by the hand- fork, the potato-plough, or the potato-raising machine. The fork is preferable when the potatoes are tender, but the horse implements answer satisfactorily when the tubers are ripe. 370 FUNGUS PESTS When dug, potatoes should be put into clamps, covered with straw some inches in thickness, over which a layer of earth three or four inches in depth should be spread, — in exposed positions more straw and earth should be laid on the clamps. It is better to put the potatoes in a shallow pit about 3 ft. 6 in. in width, and to raise the clamp to a ridge 30 or 40 inches above the level of the ground, than to place them in a deep pit, as they lie drier above ground than below. Some ventilation should be provided during the first fortnight following clamping, after which it is safer to seal them up completely, so as to keep out moisture. If the tubers are to be kept until spring, it is well to turn them over at least once during the winter. The popular idea as to the average yield per acre is gene- rally very excessive ; only in a few favoured districts and with the most prolific varieties does the yield average more than from 5 to 6 tons. The sale weight is 56 lb. per bushel. CHAPTER- XVII FUNGUS PESTS One of the commonest forms of fungus is the mushroom, which grows naturally upon decaying organic matter in pastures. Examine one, and note the stipes or stalk, the pileus or cap, and, beneath the latter, the lamella or gills, from which arise the spores that produce fresh mushrooms. Yeast, or barm, consists of innumerable minute yeast plants (fig. 119), which are likewise fungi. They consume oxygen and set free carbonic acid, the conversion of solutions of sugar into alcohol, as in the brewer's vat, being an accompaniment of the process. Another familiar type of fungus is afforded by the bluish or greenish-white moulds, such as grow upon damp boots, or upon jam, or upon horse-dung in warm weather, or in the substance of a ripening cheese. Examined with even an ordinary magnifying glass, the surface of such a mould may often be seen to be covered with a fine dust, which may be rubbed off with SPORES 27 r the finger. This dust is made up of exceedingly minute sporeSy which can only be studied by means of the microscope. Under suitable conditions of warmth and moisture, the fungus spore, which is filled with the living substance called /w- toplasm, will germinate. In the act of germination there grows from the spore a delicate tube called a hypha, and, when a number of spores germinate beside each other, the hyphse, by interlacing, form a network which is called a mycelium. This last-named struc- ture may, however, be the product of a single spore. The germination of a fungus spore, it will be noticed, is a much simpler process than that of a seed. Every seed contains an embryo, which is a sexual product, and when the seed germinates, it is the embryo that grows. The germin- ation of a spore, on the other hand, is very similar to that of a pollen grain (p. 93). It is useful, there-r fore, to observe a clear distinction between the spore of a fungus and the seed of a flowering plant. Short upright branches grow outward or upward from the mycelium of the mould, and, at the free ends of these, fresh spores are produced, all of which are capable of growing, and thereby of spreading the fungus. Fungi differ from ordinary green plants in that they contain no chlorophyll. They are, therefore, unable (p. 109) to build up starch from the elements that enter into the composition of carbonic acid and water. As a consequence they have to obtain their food by stealing it from other plants, and even from animals, and hence they lead a life of parasitism. An oft-seen example is afforded in the canker of the apple tree, pro- duced by a fungus, Nectriadistissima, the spores of which lodge upon any abraded or fractured surface of the tree. A struggle i) Fig. 119. — The Yeast Fungus, Torula (Saccharomyces) cere- visitz. In the lower part of the figure are shown an ascospore {see p. 279), and four isolated spores, magnified 700 diameters. 272 FUNGUS PESTS then ensues between the tree and the fungus. The tree en- deavours to cover up the wound by lateral growths of the ruptured bark ; the fungus, by using up the protoplasm of the tree-cells in its growth, keeps the wound open, and even extends it. Canker, in the younger parts of an apple tree, proves fatal to them in the first season. This fungus also attacks, amongst other trees, the ash, elm, beech, and oak. Certain fungi, like the mushroom and some of the moulds, live on dead or decaying organic matter, and are distinguished as saprophytes (Gr. sapros, rotten ; pkuton, a plant). Others, like the canker just referred to, get their food from living plants, and in some cases from living animals, and it is these which are specially distinguished as parasites. To the parasitic fungi some of the worst diseases of crops are due. The rusty blotches upon the straw of cereal crops, the dark powder that usurps the place of the grain in an ear of barley, the whitish covering that appears upon the leaves of cabbage and clover plants, and the blight that converts a crop of potatoes into an evil-smelling mass of putridity, are some of the familiar effects of the work of parasitic fungi. The few fungal diseases of crops it is possible to notice here must be taken as types of many others. Rust and Mildew.— Upon the leaves and stems of wheat and other cereals, and also upon meadow and pasture grasses, brownish or blackish blotches, arranged more or less in lines, may frequently be seen. Look for them in the growing crops, and in the straw drawn from wheat stacks. In June and July close observation of wheat plants will often reveal the appearance of orange-yellow lines and spots upon the leaves. They rapidly increase in size and numbers, and, when the leaf is shaken, a coloured powder is set free. Under the microscope the powder is seen to consist of minute fungal cells — in a word, of spores. They are called uredospores (Lat. uro, to burn), in allusion to the rusty appearance they impart to the leaves and stems which are attacked. Their size is such that about a thousand of them, placed side by side, would measure one inch. As the summer advances, the lines and blotches change colour, gradually becoming almost black. When rubbed, the RUST AND MILDEW 273 leaves no longer yield the bright orange-coloured spores, but different ones of a much darker colour. Examined under the microscope, each of these spores is seen to consist of a thick -walled cell constricted in the middle (fig. 120). Be- cause they appear later than the uredospores, these darker spores are called teleuto- spores. (Gr. teleutaios, last). Both the uredospores and the teleutospores are pro- duced by a mycelium which grows beneath the epidermis of the leaf and robs the plant of its nutriment, thus affect- ing the quantity and quality Fig. 120.— Section through part „r,.i,„ ,„„;„ r-i-c^^i. ,„„j„ OF Straw OF Wheat, showing ripe of the gram. At first, uredo- spo^s (teleutospores) of Mildew. spores alone are developed, and this is the rust stage of the disease. Later, teleutospores as well begin to appear. Finally, teleutospores alone are produced by the short stalk arising from the mycelium, and this is the mildew stage of the disease. The term • mildew ' is derived from two German words — mehl, meal ; thau, dew — and refers to the powdery layer of spores. The minute uredospores are easily carried by the wind to adjacent wheat plants. Resting upon the moist surface of the leaf of such a plant, the uredospore germinates, and its hypha grows lengthwise till its free end finds its way through one of the numerous stomata (p. 109) into the inner tissues of the leaf. There, feeding upon the substance of the green cells, it forms a mycelium, the growth of which at length ruptures the epidermis (p. 109), and, in the brief space of two or three weeks, a new crop of uredospores is produced. Hence it appears that uredospores are capable of giving rise, first to a mycelium, and then to new uredospores. The teleutospores behave differently. They usually remain unchanged for months, during which time they are T 274 FUNGUS PESTS lodged in decaying corn-stubble and in stacks. Early in the spring they germinate, and their hyphas speedily produce minute egg-like structures which are called sporidia. Unlike the uredospores, neither the teleutospores nor their sporidia appear to be capable of affecting the wheat-plant, and all attempts to produce rust or mildew by sowing the teleutospores upon the growing wheat-plant have failed. If, however, the teleutospores should get carried in the spring, by the wind or any other agency, to the leaves of the barberry, which is a native British shrub, they germinate and produce sporidia. The latter send delicate tubes into the tissues of the barberry leaf, a mycelium develops, the leaf at the spot Decomes swollen and one of the forms of ' cluster-cup fungus ' (an JEcidium) appears upon the under surface of the leaf, and produces numerous yellowish spores called cecidiospores. It has been satisfactorily proved that, when the secidiospores of the barberry are sown upon the leaves of wheat and other gramineous plants, these spores germinate, infect the plant, and give rise to uredospores, followed by teleutospores. It is seen, therefore, that the aecidiospores are produced in the spring, the uredospores in the summer, and the teleutospores in the early autumn. Where the ascidial ' hpst-plant ' is absent, it is possible for the teleutospore stage to be suppressed, when compensation is made in the profuse production of the orange-coloured uredospores. This appears to be the case in Australia, of which country the barberry is not a native. The facts just described were only obtained after many years of investigation. The three forms of fungus had pre- viously been independently described, under the respective names of Uredo, Puccinia (after Puccini, a Florentine botanist), and vEcidium, and the wonderful relationship between them was not even suspected. It is obvious that the teleutospores of the Puccinia represent a resting-stage by means of which the fungus is carried through the winter. This organism affords an instructive example of a parasite which not only requires two different host-plants in order to complete its life-history, but which assumes a totally distinct form upon each host. To this phenomenon the name of JiC/ST AND MILIAR W 27$ Heteroecism is given (Gr. heteros, different ; oikos, a house). It is also called Metcecism. Various structures which were once thought to be distinct from each other — and were originally described as such — have been thus proved to be mere alternating stages in the life-his- tory of one and the same organism. A certain fungus of the pine tree, for example, and another of the groundsel, which were independently described and differently named, are now known to represent different forms of one parasite. The reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), that flourishes by the sides of streams, harbours as many as four distinct species of Puccinia, the ascidiospores of which respectively occur upon garlic, snow- drop, cuckoo-pint, and buckthorn. Analogous phenomena occur in the animal world. For example, the cestode parasite, Ccenurus cerebralis, which in the brain of the sheep produces the disorder termed gid, turn- side, or staggers, is merely the early stage of a tapeworm, Tcenia ccenurus, which infests the intestine of the dog, — both may be manifestations of the life of one and the same indi- vidual. Again, the liver-fluke, which sometimes is the cause of great mortality amongst flocks of sheep, when these suffer from liver-rot, is the alternating stage of a minute creature of very different appearance, which dwells parasitically within the soft tissues of a little fresh- water snail. It appears, then, that the agent which blotches, and blurs, and blackens corn crops consists of myriads of microscopic spores. To support the rapid vegetative growth whereby the fungus develops these spores much nutriment is required, and it is all taken from the host-plant. Hence the plant is unable to devote its full nutritive energy to the ripening of the grain, and so it happens that, in badly-mildewed corn crops, the sample of grain is thin, shrivelled, and of inferior market value. In severe cases the straw may be so much discoloured as to be worthless ; such straw should be burnt, and the ashes returned to. the soil. Com crops grown on damp, low-lying lands suffer most from rust and mildew, and those of elevated lands come next in this respect. The mists in the lowlands, and the clouds on the hill- tops, are believed to be favourable to the development of the 276 FUNGUS PESTS spores. The pest is also abundant on enclosed spaces surrounded by bushes and trees, which impede the currents of air ; open wind- swept cornfields are less liable to attack. Wet, warm weather appears to greatly favour the fungus, and sometimes in England a field of grain which has been almost free from injury up to the beginning of the harvest month will, in the presence of much rain, suddenly begin to develop the spores with remarkable rapidity. In England a dry summer is usually marked by but little mildew. When cereal crops are free from mildew the straw is said to be ' clean.' It is a matter of observation that rust and mildew are more likely to occur after heavy dressings of farmyard manure and nitrate of soda than after mineral manures alone. White wheats are more susceptible than are the more robust red varieties. The fungus is probably largely maintained by mildewed straw being used as litter, and afterwards spread out on the fields as manure ; the uredospores find a congenial environment on the first young leaves of a com crop, and the work of reproduction at once begins. It must not be forgotten that all members of the natural order Gramineas — all grasses and cereals — ^are liable to suffer from rust and mildew, so that although the greatest precautions may be taken in the employ- ment of seed grain only from clean crops, and in the destruc- tion of mildewed straw, yet the vagrant grasses by the waysides and in the hedgerows — particularly couch-grass — may all act as hosts which will serve to support the pest. What is known as hollyhock disease is the work of a fungus, Puccinia malvacearum. Up to 1869 this fungus had not been noticed in Europe. In 1873 it invaded England, and for several years the hollyhock almost disappeared. At one time it was feared that celery would fall a wholesale victim to Puccinia apii. Smut and Bunt. — A walk through a field of barley in June or July may often bring to view one or more ears which are covered with a dark powder. Gather such an ear, and shake the powder from it upon a piece of white paper. It will be found that the floral organs and their chaffy envelopes are quite destroyed, so that no grain can be formed. The powder is seen to possess a dark chocolate colour. It is made up of innumer- SMUT OF CORN CROPS 277 able spores of the fungus called smut, or Ustilago carbo (Lat. us/us, burnt). The presence ■ of much smut in a fi^ld of corn must lead to a considerable falling-off in the yield. So small are the spores, that a row of about 4,000 of them would not measure more than an inch, consequently they lie unseen in the irregularities upon the surface of a grain of wheat or barley, and it is by the introduction of spores through the medium of grain used for seed that a crop becomes infected. In the ground, the spores germinate at about the same time as the grain on which they rest. Whilst the germinating embryo of the grain is extremely soft and tender, a delicate tube emitted by the spore penetrates the young cells of the former. This is the only period of their growth at which gramineous plants appear to be capable of being infested by smut, for at any subsequent stage the outer cells of the plants are too hard. Once established within its host-plant, the fungus develops its mycelium, which grows as the host grows, making its way from cell to cell without betraying any outward sign of its presence. The parasite may thus thrive for months within an apparently healthy cereal plant. At length a time comes when the long waiting of the fungus is, as it were, rewarded. This is precisely at the period when the corn plant is prepared to con- centrate its energies upon the maturation of the grain. Then it is that the parasite assumes new vigour, develops a dense network of hyphse within the young grain, and makes use of the nutrient juices of the host-plant for the production of countless spores. Usually, all the ears upon oiie plant, and all the grains in the same ear, are destroyed. The spores crowd thickly upon the ear and, as they become detached, they settle upon the ripening grain of healthy plants, and there they may perhaps remain until such grain is used for seed purposes, when the series of changes that have been described are liable to be repeated. Smutted ears are not seen at harvest time, for long before then all spores will have been blown away, and only the bare rachis, or floral axis, will remain. The effect of sulphate of copper, or other antiseptic agents sometimes used, is not to destroy the spores of the fungus which, indeed, live through the application. But, when the spores germinate, the delicate young hyphse find themselves 278 FUNGUS PESTS in a medium which is fatal to them, and the disease is thus checked. ^JJy persistent 'pickhng,' season after season, it is possible to reduce very materially the loss of yield which would otherwise result through the activity of the smut fungus. Closely allied to the smut fungus is the parasitic organism Tilhtia Caries, named after the French botanist Tillet, which produces bunt in corn. In this case, however, the grain is con- verted into a dark greasy mass with a foul fish-like odour. The name ' bunt ' probably refers to the extent to which the grain becomes swollen, like bunting filled by a breeze. As the injured grains are harvested with the rest of the crop, there results a bunted sample of com, the flour from which can only be used for inferior purposes. Smut is easily seen in the field, but the detection of bunt demands a more experienced eye. The offensive greasy material inside the affected grains consists of the spores of the fungus, and as these escape in the subsequent treatment of the grain, a few bunted specimens may infect a large number of grains. The general life-history of bunt is very similar to that of smut. In this case also, therefore, it is desirable to dress the seed grain before sowing. In this country bunt appears to confine its attacks to wheat and barley, whilst in other lands maize also suffers. Smut is of more general occurrence, and attacks not only wheat, barley, oats, and rye, but various grasses, especially tall oat grass. Smutted ears should be gathered and burnt. For 'pickling' seed corn, a weak solution of blue-stone (sulphate of copper) is employed. A solution of ij or 2 lb. of sulphate of copper in two gallons of water will suffice for one quarter of corn. The liquid is poured over the seed grain heaped upon, the barn-floor, and the grain is turned several times with a shovel. This is done the day before sowing, and, as the water evapo- rates a thin coating of the sulphate is deposited upon the grain. Smut, however, seems to be less amenable than bunt to the antiseptic treatment. Seed wheat is commonly dressed on most farms to protect the crops against bunt, yet wheat crops sometimes suffer as much from smut as barley and oats, which are never dressed. By immersing seed oats for five minutes in ERGOT 279 water at a temperature of 135° F. the vitality of the seed is not impaired, but smut is prevented. Ergot (Claviceps purpurea). — From early in July onwards, examine the grasses that grow in or alongside the watercourses It is probable that some will be found to have dark-purplish spur-like structures upon the panicles. These are specimens of ergot, this name being the French word for cock-spur. When ergot has been once seen it is always easy to recog- nise it again, and it may be looked for in meadows and pas- tures and also in cornfields. The ergot of rye (fig. 121) is one of the best known forms, but the structure occurs also upon other cereals, and upon most of the cultivated (fig. 122) and many of the weed grasses. It is occa- sionally found growing upon other than gramineous plants, upon sedges, for example. The dark spur-like outgrowth is known as the scUrotium stage (Gr. skleros, hard) in the life- history of this fungus. It is really a resting stage, for it is the form in which the organism is carried over the winter. As the sclerotia ripen, they fall to the ground during the autumn, and remain unaltered till the early summer. Then, under the influence of moisture and higher temperature, certain changes—^ which heed not be described here — take place, resulting finally in the production of a very large number of exceedingly delicate spores which, being long and narrow, are described. as needle- shaped or thread-like. They are formed in numbers of delicate tubes {asci), each producing six to eightspores, which are termed ascospores (Gr. askos, a bag, a flask). Fig. 121.— Ear OF Rye, er- goted. Fig. 122. — Ear OF Timothy Grass, er- goted. 28o FUNGUS PESTS This happens at about midsummer — just at the time, that is, when most of the grasses are in flower. The light delicate ascospores are easily wafted on the breeze, or transported by rain or insects. Some of them fall upon the flowers of cereals and grasses, and there they at once begin to germinate, and, as the result, the lower parts of the flower become invaded by a mycelium. In the course of ten days or a fortnight, the mycelium sends out delicate hyphas which form a network upon the pistil and from which thousands of minute conidiospores (Gr. konis dust) are set free. At the same time there is secreted a thick sweetish liquid, in which the conidiospores are bathed. This is known as the ' honey-dew ' stage of the disease. Insects carry the sticky fluid from one grass flower to another, and the conidia are thus easily spread. On a fresh flower the conidia germinate, cause the secretion of more honey-dew, and a new crop of spores is produced. Ultimately the formation of honey-dew ceases, and a dense hard network begins to appear, the remnants of the destroyed ovary being still discernible at the free end. This network grows into the sclerotium ; it is larger than the grain of the plant which it infests, and it is mature at about the time the surrounding corn is ready for harvesting. The honey-dew and the sclerotium were formerly thought to be distinct kinds of fungus, and received separate names, in the same way as did the different stages of rust. Ergot is regarded as a dangerous pest, because it is believed to be capable, under certain circumstances, of causing cows to slip their calves, that is, to give birth to them prematurely, much loss thereby arising. Ewes and other animals are similarly affected by it. Ergoted grasses should be collected and burnt, in order to destroy the sclerotia. Grass seeds ought always to be examined for ergot, and, if any should be present, the sample ought not on any account to be sown. Potato disease. — The characteristics of the potato disease are well known in most parts of the country. Although the total area under certain other crops is greater, the potato is probably the most generally cultivated of all crops, for it always finds a place in kitchen gardens and in allotments. The POTATO DISEASE 281 blackening and shrivelling of the haulm proclaims to the eye, and a very distinctive odour to the- nose, that the potato disease fungus is busily at work, and when the crop is lifted the tubers may afford evidence of all stages of decay, from a shght attack to thorough rottenness. Immense sums of money have been lost, and great suffering has arisen at times, as in the year 1845 in Ireland, through the partial or total failure of the potato crop. The fungus associated with the disease is called Phytophthora infestans (Gr. pkuton, a plant ; phthora, decay, destruction). Examine the under surface of the leaf of a potato plant in the early stage of the disease. Notice the brownish spots, with a delicate silky material round their margin. The spots are destroyed tissue, and the silky material consists of the hyphae of the infesting fungus. By the aid of a magnifying glass a whitish powder may be seen amongst the interlacing hypha;. This is made up of myriads of minute spores. The atmosphere becomes laden with such spores, some of which cannot fail to get deposited upon the leaves of healthy potato plants. Suppose a spore to fall thus upon the leaf of a plant hitherto free from disease. Provided only the merest film of moisture be present, the spore bursts at its narrower end, and there emerge from it about ten smaller spores {zoospores they are called) formed of the protoplasm which occupied the interior of the parent spore. Each zoospore swims about actively by means of two delicate whip-like filaments or cilia (Lat. cilium, an eyelash). In less than an hour it comes to rest, loses its cilia, assumes a spherical shape, and presently develops a delicate hypha, which either bores through an epidermal cell of the potato leaf or enters at one of the stomata (fig. 33). In either case, the hypha reaches the active green cells of the leaf, in and amongst which it develops a mycelium, with the destruc- tive effects already described. The leaf it will be remembered is the organ (p. 109) in which starch is manufactured, but the factory is completely deranged by the growth of the potato-disease fungus. This, however, is not all. The tuber is a reservoir in which the plant stores up starch. Not content, as it were, with destroying the starch factory in the cells of the leaf, the hyphae of the fungus extend along the tissues inside the stalks of the plant, and at FUNGUS PESTS length reach the great store of starch in the tuber. The mischief done in the tuber will vary with circumstances. The starch may be consumed, and the tuber may be converted into a rotten mass whilst still in the ground. On the other hand, very little progress may be made with the destruction of the tuber, within which it is possible for the mycelium to hiber- nate. Hence an apparently sound tuber may contain within itself the germs of disease, and, if such a tuber is used for seed purposes, the fungus will develop and the young plant will become a new centre of infection. Tubers for seed should, therefore, never be saved from a crop in which disease has been detected. In general practice it is better to use for seed those kinds which appear to suffer least from the disease. The haulms from a diseased crop should be gathered together and burnt, and rotten tubers should also be put in the fire, so as to ensure the destruction of all spores and hyphae. The refuse of the crop should never be thrown upon the manure heap. Dressing the crop with a weak solution of sulphate of copper and quicklime has been recommended for destroying the spores of the fungus. The production of spores by the mycelium of Phytophthora infestans is dependent upon temperature. Below 40° F. and above 78° F. no spores are formed. About 72° F. is the most favourable temperature. The climate of the British Isles is such that a mean temperature of 78°, or higher, cannot be looked for, otherwise potato disease would be less prevalent. But if the closely allied tomato (p. 139), grown under glass, should be attacked, as it sometimes is, the maintenance in the glass- house of a temperature not below 78° should check the progress of the disease. Moisture is, as has been stated above, an indispensable con- dition to the spreading of the spores. Rain, therefore, helps them to travel along the leaf, and to find their way down the stem. It also washes them into the soil till they reach the growing tubers, which, through their delicate skins, are easily infected. Much- disease originates in the last-named manner. Potatoes grown in sandy soils suffer less, as a. rule, from the disease than those grown in heavy soils. The reason is that sand is a more effective filter, and thus waylays the spores as POTATO DISEASE 283 they trickle down in the rain-water. The heaving of the soil produced by the expansion of the tubers in their growth leads to the formation of cracks and fissures in a clay soil, down which the spores can readily travel. A sandy soil, on the other hand, is continually accommodating itself to the pressure from the tubers, and does not form cracks, whilst the trickling of water serves still further to pack the particles together, and thereby to obstruct the passage of the spores. In the system of culti- vation known as ,htgh moulding, the crop is moulded up a second time, as late before the appearance of disease as the growth of the haulms will permit. A depth of not less than four inches of soil is sufficient to prevent the spores from reaching the tubers, and it fills up the cavity at the top of the soil caused by the oscillation of the stems in the wind. If the moulding is brought to a pronounced ridge, the spore-laden rain-water will flow down into the hollows, where the spores can germinate without affecting the tubers. Great loss of potatoes is caused by after sickness. Tubers that are perfectly healthy when lifted may yet contract potato disease in the harvest field. When freshly dug, the potato has a cuticle which is tender enough to be penetrated by the hyphae of the conidiospores, and there is usually sufficient moisture to permit the germination of conidia, if present. The risk of after sickness is greatest amongst the sound tubers of a diseased crop. To prevent it, the crop should not be dug till all the haulm is dead. Should such delay be impracticable, the haulms should be pulled up and removed from the ground before the potatoes are lifted. So long as they remain in the ground the sound tubers are safe from the disease, but when they are brought into the air, which is laden perhaps with conidiospores, the tubers can hardly escape infection. Though largely dependent on season, the potato disease develops much more readily in tubers grown by the use of highly nitrogenous manures, and containing a juice rich in nitrogen, than in those grown under ordinary conditions. The -wet rot of potatoes is due to certain species of bacteria (chiefly Bacillus amylobacter), as are also the rot of onion bulbs, and the pink decay of wheat. Bacteria, however, produce but very few diseases of plants. 284 FUNGUS PESTS Club-root in turnips, cabbages, cauliflowers, rape, and other cruciferous crops (p. in) is the name given to a mal- formation of the roots. When pulled, the main root is found to be much dwarfed, whilst the side roots are often swollen into spindle-shaped masses, presenting an appearance to which the name of finger-and-toe is appropriately applied. Lumps or nodules may also be seen upon the root. A crop thus affected ultimately perishes, owing to the decay of the roots. This disorder is associated with the presence of a slimy fungus, known as Plasmodiophora Brassica. The spores of this organism are exceedingly minute, and they not only attack and destroy cruciferous crops, but they infest the soil to so great an extent that it is unwise to grow such crops upon the same land again for several years. A spore, existmg in the soil, finds its way into a cruciferous plant through a root-hair, and at once makes a demand upon the protoplasm of the plant. The spores produce slimy masses called Plasmodia, and these have a slight power of locomotion from cell to cell of the in- fested plant. The refuse of a diseased crop should not be left in the field nor thrown upon the dung-heap, for in either case it is capable of serving as a new source of infection. Dressing the land with lime has the effect of destroying spores in the soil. This disorder, by whatever name — club-root, finger-and-toe, or anbury — it may be called, must not be confused with a mal- formation of the root, which occasionally arises as the result of some peculiarity in soil, seed, or manure, and is really a case (p. 356) of ' reversion ' to the wild type. In such instances the growths though distorted are nevertheless healthy, but, when the fungus is present, it is only necessary to cut across the root in order to see that it is filled with decaying matter. Nor, again, should the wart-like growths formed upon the root by the small beetle called the turnip-gall weevil (p. 288) be mistaken for the work of the fungus. By cutting across such galls, traces of the insect may be found. White rust. — On shepherd's-purse, one of the commonest cruciferous weeds of waste places, there may often be noticed a whitish streak such as would be left by whitewash. This is the 'white rust,' and it is due to the presence of a fungus DAMPING OFF 285 called Cystopus candidus. In kitchen gardens, cabbages and cauliflowers are frequently thus affected, whilst turnips and most other cruciferous plants are likewise liable to attack. The mycelium of this fungus invades all parts of the host plant above ground, and, if a crop is attacked in its seedhng stage, it may be swept away altogether. The minute spores of Cystofus candidus are readily carried by the wind and other agencies, and the infection may thus be rapidly spread. The fungus is preserved through the winter by means of resting spores, which lurk in decaying fragments of cruciferous plants, or in the soil itself The obvious means of dealing with this pest are to burn the refuse of diseased cruciferous crops, to give the land two or three years' change from such crops, and to suppress cruciferous weeds. Damping off. — What gardeners term the ' damping off' of seedlings is the work of a fungnis, — of a species of Pythium (Gr. putho, to rot, to decay). It is often seen in mustard and cress, especially when these are sown too thickly, so that a free circulation of air is prevented. The spores are in the soil, and, when they germinate, their hyphse bore into the seedling plants in the region between root and leaves, and weaken them to such an extent that they topple over. Each young plant thus attacked becomes a centre of infection, from which the disorder spreads. Besides cruciferous plants, others, such as white clover, spurrey, &c., fall victims to this pest. Land, upon which the ' damping off' of seedlings has recently occurred, should not be sown with similar seeds for a considerable period afterwards. The delicate tube-growths (hyphae) of the parasitic fungi which attack flowering plants exhibit, as has been seen, two marked differences in their mode of development. Either their growth is confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the point of attack, or else it spreads widely or unlimitedly from that point over and through the host-plant. The rust fungi are admirable examples of the first kind. Each distinct spot upon a grass or cereal plant inhabited by the fungus is the result of the growth of one spore, or occasionally of several, which have come together by mere accident. Fresh spots are 286 FUNGUS PESTS added one after another on a surface, in proportion as new spores from any quarter, for instance from those first established on the leaf, germinate there and assail it. Ergot is another good example of the first class ; its attacks are always confined to the ovary of the host. To the second category belongs, for example, the potato-disease fungus ; the delicate tubular growth resulting from the germination of a single spore will find its way into the tissues of the potato plant, and may continue to- grow till the whole plant is permeated with the fungal threads, which here and there break through the epidermis of the leaf and produce spores. The smut fungus, again, ramifies through the entire plant, though its external eruption is confined to the ear of the grass or cereal which it attacks. The methods of suppression directed against fungus pests are based upon a knowledge of the life-history of each injurious organism. The general rule is to ascertain the cycle of changes through which the organism passes, and then to attack it at its weakest point. Thus, in the case of ergot, it is recommended to burn the pest in the resting stage represented by the sclerotium. The suppression of weeds, especially of those which are allied to cultivated plants, and which probably harbour the spores of the same fungi as those to which the cultivated plants fall victims, is specially called for. Independently of such considerations, however, the practices, of what may be called good farming are opposed to the thriving of parasitic fungi. The plants most liable to attack are the weakly and backward ones. Thorough tillage, liberal manuring,^ and similar precautions, will frequently serve to carry a crop beyond the risk of attack, inasmuch as a healthy and vigorous growth imparts to the plant a capacity for resisting the insidious advances of parasitic fungi. Though, in the examples that have been given, the fungi referred to are injurious to the plants which they infest, it must not be concluded that fungi are always hurtful. Besides the paradtic and saprophytic fungi (p. 272), there is a third group of organisms, the presence of which is beneficial to their host plants. In such cases, the green plant and the fungus appear to lead together a common life for their mutual benefit, and to phenomena of this kind the term symbiosis (Gr., a living INSECT PESTS 287 together) is applied. The native trees which make up the order Cupuliferas (beech, hornbeam, oak, and hazel) are associated with a symbiotic fungus, the mycelium of which covers their roots, and obtains nutriment for them from the soil. Again, the organisms which dwell in the nodules (p. 126) upon the roots of leguminous plants are actively engaged in providing nitrogen for the use of these plants. CHAPTER XVIII INSECT PESTS The natural orders of insects which possess the greatest interest for farmers are : — Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Ho- moptera, and Diptera. The termination of these words is de- rived from the Greek pteron, a wing. The prefix refers to some peculiarity of the wings, these organs affording a convenient means of classification. The student is strongly recommended to examine, with the aid of a magnifying glass, any easily obtainable specimens of the orders which are briefly described below, and to verify as far as he can the characters which are here detailed. He should miss no opportunity of observing insects out of doors, but should look for them, in their various stages of existence, in the fields and hedgerows, in kitchen gardens and amongst farm crops, and in this way endeavour to learn their habits. It may be useful to read pages 297-9 before studying the characters of the natural orders. Coleoptera (i.e. sheath-winged) is the name of the order to which the beetles belong. The front wings of beetles consist of a hard pair of wing covers (sheath-wings), which overlap and protect the membranous folded hind wings. Beetles have biting jaws. All insects of this order pass through a complete series of changes, — egg, larva, pupa, imago (p. 298). The larvas are usually fleshy grubs, the mouth being furnished with jaws ; they are mostly 6-legged, and often have a fleshy foot (pro-leg) at the end of the tail. Weevils are a group of hard beetles provided with snouts ; their larvae are legless grubs. 288 INSECT PESTS Ladybirds are very useful beetles, for their larvae feed upon aphides. Ladybirds, therefore, should not be destroyed, but rather encouraged. In the following table are named some of the commonest Coleoptera that infest cultivated crops. Wireworms and cock- chafer grubs (fig. 123) live in the soil for years, and attack the roots of grasses, cereals, and various other crops. The favourite Fig. 123. A B . — Cockchafer, Melolontha vulgaris (Coleoptera), with (a) larva and (b) pupa. . food-crops of the other pests mentioned below are indicated in their popular names : — Cockchafer (fig. 123) Wireworms, larvae of click beetles Turnip fly, or turnip flea beetle Mustard beetle Turnip-blossom beetle Bean-seed beetle Turnip-gall weevil Apple-blossom weevil Clover weevil . Nut weevil (fig. 124) Pine beetle Melolontha vulgaris Elater sp. Phyllotreta nemorum Phsedon betulse Meligethes seneus Bruchus rufimanus Ceutorhynchus sulcicoUis Anthonomus pomorum Apion assimile Balaninus nucum Hylurgus piniperda HYMENOPTERA 289 HYMENOPTERA (i.e. membrane-winged) are insects usually with 4 membranous wings, which possess but few veins, and are apparently naked, though often furnished with scattered bristles. The abdomen of the female is often furnished with a conspicuous ovipositor (or egg-laying apparatus), which is also used as a borer, or is .developed as a sting. The mouth has biting jaws, and also a proboscis. The hymenopters pass through a complete series of changes. Two kinds of larvse are met with. In some species, the larva is wormlike and legless (a ' maggot ' or ' grub,' such as Fig, 124. — Nut-Weevil, Curculio (Balaninus) nucum (Coleoptera). Weevil magnified (natural length, J to J inch). Pupa, natural size. Maggot, natural size and magnified. Damaged filbert. the wasp-grub), and lives in nests stored with dead insects or pollen. In other species (the sawflies) the larva has up to 10 or II pairs of legs, and feeds on leaves, or stems, or in galls ; it is these which are specially destructive to vegetation. This is the order of the true stinging insects (bees, wasps, hornets), and of most of the parasitic insects (ichneumon flies, chalcis flies or brasslets, gall flies). Ants also belong to this order. Of the following common examples of Hymenoptera, the giant sirex bores channels in the wood of pine trees, and the marble-gall fly (fig. 125) makes the galls ('oak apples') so often seen upon oak trees. U 290 INSECT PESTS Turnip sawfly] . Corn sawfly Gooseberry and currant sawfly Pear and cherry sawfly . Pine sawfly (fig. 126) Giant sirex, or wood wasp Marble-gall fly (fig. 125) . Athalia spinarum Cephus pygmseus Nematus ribesiae Tenthredo cerasi Lophynis pini Sirex gigas Cynips koUari Lepidoptera (i.e. scaly-winged) are the butterflies and moths, of which the latter are by far the more numerous. They possess 4 wings, which are usually covered with delicate scales of various colours. The organs of the moutji are adapted to sucking, the upper Fig. 125, — Marble-gall Fly, Cynips koUari (Hymenoptera). Larva, pupa, and mature insect, magnified. Galls ('oaJc-apples') of oak-tree. lip and jaws being small or rudimentaiy, and the lower jaws formed into a long tube (a proboscis) which, when not in use, is coiled up like a watch-spring, and concealed beneath the head. These insects pass through a complete series of changes. The larva is worm-like, with usually 5 to 8 pairs of legs (occa- sionally none) ; it is furnished with biting jaws. Such a larva is termed a ' caterpillar.' Most caterpillars are naked ; a few are hairy. The intermediate inactive stage, or pupa, takes the form of a chrysalis. With scarcely an exception, all the insects of this order are injurious. Beautiful as are many of the Lepidoptera, their larval forms are very destructive to vegetation. BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 291 Butterflies have their antennas, or ' horns,' terminating in knobs, like drumsticks. The antennae of wzcM J are not knobbed. Butterflies, when at rest, raise the wings so that they meet back to back, and show their dingy under sides, at the same time exposing their bodies. Moths, when at rest, keep the wings spread out so as to cover their bodies. Butterflies fly usually by day ; moths at twilight or at night. Of the following familiar examples of Lepidoptera, the surface caterpillars attack the roots of turnips, cabbages. Fig. 126. — Pine Sawfly, Lophyrus pini (Hymenoptera). Larva, pupa, and mature insect, magnified. Pine leaves injured by sawfly. mangel, and other crops. The caterpillars of the silver Y-moth (fig. 127) feed on both mangel and beet. The magpie moth attacks currant and gooseberry bushes, the wood leopard moth pear trees, and the goat moth oak and many other trees. The caterpillars of the bufif-tip moth (fig. 128) injure the foliage of the lime, oak, and elm. The last five moths in the list are pests of orchard fruit trees. White cabbage butterflies . Yellow underwing moth (surface cater- pillars) .... Turnip diamond-back moth Pieris sp. Noctua pronuba Plutella cruciferarum U 2 292 INSECT PESTS Dart moth, or turnip moth . Silver Y-moth (fig. 127) Carrot-blossom moth . Magpie moth Wood leopard moth Goat moth . Buff-tip moth (fig. 128) Winter moth Codlin moth Lactey moth Mottled umber moth Small ermine moth Agrotis segetum Plusia gamma Depressaria daucella Abraxas grossulariata Zeuzera sesculi Cossus ligniperda Pygsera bucephala Cheimatobia brumata Carpocapsa pomonella Bombyx neustria Hybernia defoliaria Hyponomeuta padella HOMOPTERA (i.e. similar-winged) have wings of the same texture throughout, either wholly leathery or wholly mem- FiG. 127. — Silver Y-Moth, Plusia gamma (Lepidoptera). 2, 'looper' caterpillar. 3, chrysalis inside cocoon. 4, moth ; observe the y-like mark on each wing, similar to the Greek letter gamma (7). branous. The wings, when at rest, are held slantingly over the back, like a steep roof. Though 4 wings are usually present, there are only 2 in some species, and none in others. The mouth is fitted for suction, and is commonly called the ' beak ; ' it arises from the back part of the under side of the head. The antenna are generally short. The larva is much like the mature insect, and there is no quiescent pupa stage. The Homoptera are terrestrial insects, and are all injurious to vegetation. With the Heteroptera (i.e. dissimilar-winged) — APHIDES 293 an order including the plant bugs and certain water insects — they make up the division called Hemiptera (i.e. half-winged). The Homoptera are well illustrated by the aphides (fig. 129), or plant-lice (also called ' smother-flies '), which include some of Fig. 128. — Buff-tip Moth, Pygcsra iucephala (Lepidoptera), with caterpillar and pupa. Fig. 129. — Hop Aphis, Afhis (Phorodon) humuli (Homoptera). Winged and wingless viviparous females, magnified. the most destructive insects known. In some seasons the crops in bean fields and hop plantations are entirely ruined by the attacks of aphides, which are the most prolific of all insects. Foreign vineyards have been devastated year after year by Phylloxera vastatrix, which belongs to the same group as the aphides. , 294 INSECT PESTS The following are the names of pests : — Cabbage aphis, or green fly . Turnip green fly . Bean aphis, black fly, or collier Potato frog fly . . . Hop aphis (fig. 129) Hop cuckoo fly Corn aphis, or dolphin . Plum aphis . Apple aphis Apple mussel scale American blight, or woolly aphis Woolly currant scale . Larch aphis . Spruce-gall aphis . common homopterous Aphis brassicse Aphis rapas Aphis rumicis Eupteryx solani Phorodon humuli Euacanthus interruptus Siphonophora granaria Aphis pruni Aphis mali Mytilaspis pomorum Schizoneura lanigera Pulvinaria ribesiaa Chermes laricis Chermes abietis DiPTERA (i.e. two-winged) are characterised by possessing only one pair of wingSj which have but few veins and are naked. In the place of the hind wings are a pair of structures, various- ly termed halteres, balancers, or poisers. The mouth is fur- nished with a probos- cis, adapted tor pier- cing or lapping. The female is stingless, and is but rarely fur- nished with a con- spicuous ovipositor. The Diptera pass through a resting pupa stage. The larva is usually a wormlike Fig. 130.— Daddy Longlegs, Tipula oleracea legless maggot, with (Diptera), with eggs, grub (leather jacket), g, soft retractile head and chrysalis. of no definite shape, though sometimes there is a hard head, furnished with jaws, as is the case with the grub of the daddy longlegs (fig. 130). FLIES 295 This is the order of the true-flies, many so-called ' flies ' (as turnip fly, sawfly, green fly) really belonging to other orders. The house fly and the blow fly are familiar examples of the Diptera. The most destructive crop pest of the order is the leather jacket, which is the larva of the daddy longlegs (fig. 130). It lives in the soil, and like the wireworm (the larva of the click beetle — Coleoptera) it does great damage tq the roots of plants. The ox warble fly (fig. 131), horse bot fly, gad flies, forest flies, sheep's nostril fly, sheep ticks, and mosquitos are dipterous mm Fig. 131. — Ox Warble Fly, Hyfoderma iovis (Diptera). i, mature fly. 2, maggot, which develops beneath the hides of cattle. 3, chrysalis. insects that cause much annoyance, and frequently serious injury, to animals. The fleas are a wingless group allied to this order. Of the following common dipterous pests, the fever fly in- fests hops, and the Hessian fly, gout fly, and frit fly are corn- field pests. leather Daddy longlegs, cranefly, jacket (fig. 130) . Cabbage fly . Celery and parsnip fly Carrot fly, or ' Rust ' Mangel fly . Fever fly Onion fly ... . Wheat midge, or red maggot Hessian fly . Wheat-bulb fly (fig. 131 A) . Gout fly, or ribbon-footed com fly Frit fly . Ox warble fly (fig. 131) Horse bot fly. Sheep's nostril fly . Tipula oleraoea Anthomyia brassicae Tephritis onopordinis Psila rossB Anthomyia betas Dilophus vulgaris Anthomyia ceparum Cecidomyia tritici ■ Cecidomyia destructor Hylemyia coarctata Chlorops ta^niopus Oscinis frit ■ Hypoderma bovis Gastrophilus equi OEstrus ovis 296 INSECT PESTS Two other orders of insects, Orthoptera and Neuroptera, may be briefly noticed, although they do not in this country furnish many injurious insects. Orthoptera (i.e. straight-winged) have 4 wings, the an- terior pair being leathery rather than (as in Coleoptera) homy, and slightly overlapping ; the hind legs are often formed for leaping. The jaws are adapted for biting. The larvae li\'e ^ZH^^ Fig. 131 A. — Wheat-bulb Fly, Hylemyia coarctata (Diptera' I, mouth apparatus. 4, mature fly. xa, maggot. 3, chrysalis. la, 3, and 4, natural size and magnified. 2, extremity of tail. Si infested wheat plant. I and 2 magnified. on the land, not in water (as is the case with Neuroptera), and there is no resting pupa stage. Cockroaches, crickets, and grasshoppers belong to this order. In other countries, locusts — very similar to grasshoppers — do immense mischief to vegetation. The curious exotic walking-stick and leaf insects are orthopterous. The earwigs which infest garden plants, and the thrips — a dark coloured fringe-winged little creature often seen in the groove of the ripening wheat grain — may be placed here, though not actually included in the order Orthoptera. Neuroptera (i.e. nerve-winged, or net-winged) have 4 wings, generally with numerous hollow veins, and either naked STRUCTURE OF INSECTS 297 or hairy. The female seldom has a conspicuous ovipositor, and is never armed with a sting. The worm-like larvse have 6 legs and are provided with jaws ; they are mostly aquatic, and (with some exceptions) pass through a quiescent pupa stage. Dragon flies, May flies (day flies, brown and green drakes), stone flies, and termites are examples of the Neuroptera, whilst the hairy-winged caddis flies are nearly related. Mouths of Insects. — Insects feed either by biting or sucking. The arrangement of the mouth of a biting insect (of a beetle, for example), as seen from the front, is shown in the diagram (fig. 132). There are two pairs of jaws, the mandibles and the |x xj B Fig. 132. — Plan of an Insect's Mouth. A, Upper lip, or labrum. E, Lower lip, or labium. N N, Mandibles. XX, Maxillse. maxilte, but instead of working up and down they work to and from the middle line. In other words, instead of moving verti- cally, they move horizontally. The mandibles are biting jaws, .and the maxilte are chewing jaws. In a sucking insect, such as a butterfly, the maxillae are modified into two long slender half tubes, thus ( ). When these are in contact they form a canal, through which liquid can be sucked. This canal, being long, is coiled up when not in use. It is called Xh& proboscis. There are gradations between the two types of mouths that have been described, but it is convenient to group insects as either Mandibulata (with gnawing mouths) or Haustellata (with sucking mouths) : — Mandibulata Haustellata Coleoptera Lepidoptera Hymenoptera Homoptera Orthoptera Heteroptera Neuroptera Diptera 298 INSECT PESTS The life-history of many insects may be illustrated by that of a butterfly. The female butterfly lays eggs from which, sooner or later, caterpillars (or larva) emerge. These feed actively and grow rapidly. When full-grown, they choose some place of security, or in many cases spin a cocoon, in which to change to the chrysalis {ox pupa) state. There they moult their caterpillar skin, and lie with the undeveloped limbs pressed close to the body, gradually advancing to maturity under the pro- tection of a strong outer film. In due time the outer coat cracks, and from within it comes the mature winged-insect (or imago). The change from the grub-like larva to the beautiful imago has taken place during the resting stage, or quiescent period, repre- sented by the pupa. After pairing, the female lays eggS", and dies. Then the whole cycle is repeated : — Imago Egg Pupa Larva This is termed a complete metamorphosis, and it includes, as has been seen, a quiescent pupa stage. It takes place with insects of the following orders : — Coleoptera Lepidoptera Hymenoptera Diptera Neuroptera Certain groups of insects, on the. other hand, have no inter- mediate quiescent stage after they leave the e:gg. The larva is then much like the adult form, which is arrived at after several moultings. This is the case with — Homoptera Heteroptera Orthoptera Structure of Insects. — The body of an insect is made up of rings, or segments, which can be better seen in the larva than in the perfect insect. In the mature form, from 4 to 6 segments go to make up the head, with its mouth-parts, the eyes, and the antennae (horns, or feelers), though it is only by studying the development of insects that this fact can be proved. Next come 3 segments foiroing the thorax, each segment bearing a pair of legs, — 6 legs in all. No perfect insect has more than 6 legs. LARVJE 299 (Spiders have 8 legs, and are not insects). Wings, when pre- sent, are borne by the second and third thoracic segments, never by the first or anterior segment. Succeeding the thorax is the abdomen (or 'tail'), made up of 8 or more segments, and not furnished with limbs. In dragon-flies, the abdo- men is often long and slender ; in, for example, bees, it is much shorter. Some insects have a marked constriction at the junction of thorax and abdomen, as is the case in Hymeno- ptera. The head may fit loosely to the thorax, as in house flies ; or be quite soldered to it, as in aphides. The hard parts of an insect's body are external, and form what is called the exo-skeleton. It is made up of a homy substaiice termed chitin. An insect breathes by means of numerous air-tubes which open at the surface of its body. By cjogging up these pores with powders or other materials, an insect can be suffocated. Many methods of destroying insect pests are based upon this fact. Identification of Larvae. — Wlien a mature insect is captured, it is not as a rule difficult to state the natural order to which it belongs. Beetles, moths, and dipterous insects, for example, are all sufficiently distinct. But, as many insects are specially destructive in the larval stage, it becomes of practical importance — especially with a view of adopting remedial measures — to be able to determine of what order a larva is a member. A legless fleshy grub, with a soft pointed retractile head (a ' maggot') is usually one of the Diptera. See Weevils (p. 287). An active 6-legged grub, with homy head and strong jaws, is usually that of a beetle (Coleoptera). The so-called caterpillars, long, soft (sometimes hairy), with prominent head and jaws, and furnished with 16 legs, belong to the Lepidoptera. When several of the intermediate pairs of legs are absent, a 'looper' caterpillar (as in the magpie and umber moths) results. Active, leaf-eating larvse, with from 18 to 22 feet, usually belong to sawflies (Hymenoptera), and are termed ' false cater- pillars.' The application of the foregoing facts will frequently render it easy to determine the natural order of any plant-eating larva belonging to an insect which undergoes complete metamorphosis. 300 INSECT PESTS Insect Attacks. — In order to cope successfully with the attacks of insects upon farm and garden crops it is useful, first of all, to appreciate certain entomological facts. It is, for example, a fact that certain insects are injurious at one stage of their life, and others at another. In most cases it is the larval stage that is specially destructive, as is the case with wireworms, leather jackets, and surface caterpillars. But this is no reason why the mature forms of click beetles, crane flies, and turnip or dart moths should not be constantly destroyed, for they are the parents of the depredators. The turnip fly and various weevils are examples of insects, the mischievous work of which is more especially associated with the mature forms. Cock- chafers, aphides, and ox warble flies are actively aggressive in both the larval and the perfect condition. There is no essential relationship between the duration of life of the larva and that of the imago. It does not follow, for example, that if the larval life is short the life of the imago will be long, or that if an insect passes a long period in the larval stage it will enjoy but a brief perfect existence. The length of life of a larva is determined by the facility with which it can obtain its food, and by the nutritive character of that food. The larval life of a bee occupies less than a week, for the grub, from the moment it is hatched, finds around it a profuse store of the richest food, consisting of honey and pollen. The blow fly, hatched out in meat, passes but eight or ten days as a larva. But the leaf-eating caterpillars of Lepidoptera have to work harder for their food, and this is of a less nutri- tious character, so that such larvse often occupy six or eight weeks between egg and pupa. Wireworms and cockchafer grubs, which live in the soil and feed on roots, have a larval life extending over from one to five years. Scarcely any part of a plant is free from insect attack. Such ' pests as weevils and bean beetles destroy seeds. The turnip fly pounces upon young cruciferous crops directly their cotyle- dons (p. 79) appear above ground. Leaves are specially susceptible, — sawfly larvae give leaves a scorched appearance, leaf-miners make tunnels in their tissues, gall insects cover them with swellings, the larvae of leaf-roller moths coil them up to provide a shelter for their chrysalids, the caterpillars of cabbage PREVENTION AND REMEDY 301 butterflies riddle leaves with holes, and cockchafers devour leaves wholesale. Blossoms are destroyed by beetles and aphides. Stems, and even woody trunjcs, succumb to the attack of bark beetles, goat moth caterpillars, sirices, and other borers. The wireworm is the chief enemy of the roots of crops, but it has many helpers. Some insects confine their attacks to special groups of plants, as the turnip fly to cruciferous crops. Others are general feeders, as wireworms and leather jackets. In dealing with the former class of pests, some knowledge of the relationships of plants, such as is set forth in chapter xi., is of considerable use. There are two means of checking the ravages of insect pests — prevention and remedy. By preventive methods the appearance of the pest is forestalled, and either the surroundings are made too uninviting to induce it to stay, or the crop is maintained in so vigorous a condition that the insects are unable to effect any permanent injury upon it. Thus, a crop of young turnips just peeping through the ground may be lightly sprayed with parafSn, the odour of which will serve to keep the turnip fly at a distance until the plant is well established in the ' rough leaf,' , for it is the smooth seed-leaves that the turnip fly is specially fond of. Again, bands smeared with grease and fastened round the trunks of orchard fruit trees will prevent the almost wing- less female of the winter moth from crawling up the tree to lay her eggs upon the young buds. Rotation of crops (p. 232) affords another means of anticipating and obviating insect attack. Remedial measures usually involve the application to the infested crop of substances which will either kill the insects (in- secticides) or drive them away (insectifuges). Amongst the materials thus employed are quickhme, soot, sulphate of copper, parafifin or petroleum, and such arsenical poisons as Paris green and London purple. Numerous appliances have been invented to facilitate the application of these substances to the growing plants. What is known as good farming, that is, thorough cultivation and liberal manuring, will prove highly serviceable in combating insect injury. The effective working of the land is most un- favourable to the persistence of insect life in the soil, as it turns 302 INSECT PESTS out not only larvas but pupae as well, all of which are liable to be destroyed by the weather, or to be eaten by birds. At the same time, everything that tends to promote plant growth will help to carry a crop speedily over those periods of its life when it is more than usually susceptible to insect attack. Natural Enemies of Insects. — Nature is at hand to help the cultivator. Some of the worst foes of crop-destroying insects are other insects, and these latter should be encouraged. Lady- birds devour all kinds of plant-lice (aphides) ; therefore, never kill a ladybird. Many hymenopterous insects (other than' sawflies) lay their eggs in the larvae of Hessian flies and various other pests. When the hymenopterous larva hatches out, it destroys its host. Insectivorous birds, such as starlings, plo- vers, titmice, swallows, and martins should be encouraged — ■ at least they should not be ruthlessly destroyed. The cuckoo is specially useful, being one of the few birds that will eat hairy caterpillars. Bats, hedgehogs, and moles are insect-eaters, as are also frogs and toads, which do good service in gardens. If it be asked why crops are so frequently ravaged by insects, the answer is that, in growing vast numbers of the same kind of plant to the exclusion of other plants, the cultivator has upset the natural balance of vegetation. If a cropped area were left to itself for a number of years it would gradually develop a vegetation different from that which has been arbitrarily placed upon it. When extensive tracts of land, that would be otherwise naturally but diversely clothed, are covered by millions of wheat plants, or of turnip plants, or of bean plants, for example, the pests — be they insect or fungus — which prey upon such plants will naturally tend to increase in like proportion. In other words, side by side with the excessive, or exclusive, cultivation of one kind of plant, the pests — whether insects or fungi — which prey upon that plant may be expected to become more abun- dant, for they find their victims literally crowded together, and therefore extremely accessible. It is one object of the culti- vator's skill, whilst he is extending the area under any given crop, to prevent or check a corresponding increase in the pests which infest that crop. PART III.— THE ANIMAL. CHAPTER XIX STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF FARM ANIMALS The live stock of the farm, excluding poultry, comprises horses cattle, sheep, and pigs, all of which are bred and reared by the farmer. In the same way as it is useful for the cultivator to know something of the structure and life history of the plants which make up his crops, so it is of practical importance for the breeder or feeder to be acquainted with the animals included in his live stock. Horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs belong to that group of animals termed the Vertebrata, all of which possess a backbone. Of Vertebrata there are five classes — mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes. It is in the first of these, the class Mammalia, or animals which suckle their young, that horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs — as also men and dogs — are included. A mere glance into a butcher's shop serves to show some of the parts of which mammals are built up. Bones are seen, as are also the lean and fat parts of animals. When a sheep is allowed to hang before being cut up into 'joints,' some idea of its general structure can be obtained, though it is evident that much of the ' inside ' of the animal has been removed, com- prising various curious organs, each of which was of some special use to the animal from which it was taken. The study of the structure of animals, and of the several organs of the animal body, as also of the relation of such organs one to another, is known as Anatomy. The study of the duties of the various organs, that is, of the work they have to perform for the benefit of the animal to which they belong, is termed Physiology. Hence, Anatomy is concerned with 304 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS structure, and Physiology With, function. The terms are applic- able alike to plants and to animals. Horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs, although so easily distin- guished from each other in outward appearance, are yet closely similar in their general structure, and in the disposition of their organs. Still more do they resemble one another in their physiological characters. These statements equally apply to men and dogs, which also, in a sense, belong to the farm. Hence, it is not necessary, for the purpose in view, to study each animal individually and exclusively, but one may be taken as the type of all. In these pages, accordingly, the horse is taken as the type, special reference being made to the other animals only in cases wherein they differ markedly from the horse. The Skeleton. — If a horse were divested of all its soft parts there would be left a bare framework of bone called the skeleton. This supports or carries all other portions of the body. The skeleton (fig. 133) is made up of an axis or trunk, con- sisting of skull and backbone. To the axis are appended a pair oi fore-limbs and a pair of hind-limbs. The fore-limbs join, or articulate, to the axis by means of a shoulder-girdle. The hind- limbs similarly articulate through the medium of a hip-girdle. The backbone is really a chain of bones, each of which is called a vertebra, whence the backbone is termed the vertebral column. Each vertebra has an aperture, so situated that, when the vertebrae are placed end to end, the succession of apertures forms a tube, which, as it contains the great nervous axis — the spinal cord — is called the neural canal. In the living animal, the vertebras are not actually in contact, there being between each pair an elastic pad or cushion, consisting of what is termed gristle or cartilage. Hence, the backbone as a whole possesses some degree of pliancy, as is seen when a cat arches its back, or a man stoops to the ground. If the backbone were rigid, a horse would probably break it in two the first time he jumped a fence, if not sooner. The vertebral column comprises several regions. In the horse, as in the great majority of mammals, seven bones form the cervical vertebras in the region of the neck. These are succeeded by eighteen thoracic vertebrse which support the ribs. SKELETON OF HORSE 305 and are above the chest (or thorax). Next come six lumbar vertebrae ; then five j'airra/ vertebrae, fused together into one piece ; and finally about seventeen caudal vertebrae within the tail. The cervical vertebra of the horse are almost cubical FIG. 133. - -Skeleton of Horse. I, cervical vertebras. 17, humerus. 2, thoracic vertebrae. 18, radius. 3, lumbar vertebrae. ig, olecranon process of ulna 4, sacral vertebrae. 20, carpus (Itnee). 5, caudal vertebrae. 21, cannon bone. 6, parietal bone. 22, splint bone. 7, nasal bone. 23, pastern. 8, supramaxillary bone. 24, coronet. 9, premaxillary bone. 25, coffin bone. 10, mandible. 26, femur. II, ribs. 27, patella (stifle joint). 12, costal cartilages.. 28, tibia. 13, sternum. 29, fibula. 14, scapula. 30, tarsus (hock). IS, ilium. 31, calcaneum. 16, ischium. Above the cervical vertebrae pass the strong ligaments of the neck which hold up the head, and a horse's head is no light weight. The thoracic vertebras possess bony spines which extend upwards, the longest ones being at about the middle. X 3o6 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS Each thoracic vertebra supports a pair of ribs, of which, there- fore, the horse has eighteen. The lumbar vertebrae have bold flat bony projections, which extend outward laterally in the region of the loins — they are well seen in a ' saddle ' of mutton. In the adult horse, the five sacral vertebras are fused together into one bony piece called the sacrum, which supports the hip girdle. In the sacral and in the succeeding caudal vertebrae there is no continuation of the neural canal. The caudal vertebrae are, indeed, reduced to solid bony cylinders, such as are found in ox-tail soup. At the forward or anterior end, the central bony axis is greatly modified, and takes the form of the skull. The tube or canal, which extends along the vertebral column, here expands into a large cavity, surrounded by bone ; this is the cranial part of the skull. A still larger portion is seen below, and comprises t)ne facial part of the skull. The cranium is surrounded by flat thin bones, chiefly th&parietal bones at the sides, and Mhs frontal bones in front, extending above and between the eyes. Much of thefrontpart of the face is underlaid by the woja/bones, which are long flat triangular bones extending down in front of the cavity of the nose. On either side of the nasal bones are the supra- maxillary or cheek bones, which carry the upper grinding teeth (molars). Extending forward, and carrying the upper cutting teeth (incisors) are the two fre-maxillary bones. Two large flat bones, right and left, make up the powerful lower jaw, or ■mandible. They each carry half the number of the lower teeth, they are fused together in front, and they recede from each other backward, and at length articulate by a convex surface with the upper part of the skull. Of the eighteen pairs of ribs, the flattest are in front, and those most arched are behind. Each rib is made up of a bony part above and of a gristly or cartilaginous part below, this gristly part being called the costal cartilage (Lat. casta, a rib). In the first eight pairs of ribs, each costal cartilage communicates sepa- rately and independently with the sternum, or breast-bone, below . — these are called true ribs. In the remaining ten pairs of ribs the cartilages run together, as it were, and only in this way become attached to the sternum ; these are called ya/je ribs. The sternum, or breast bone, of the horse is narrow and keel- SKELETON OF HORSE 307 like. The sternum of the ox, on the other hand, is broad and flat, and imparts to that animal the broad-chested appearance seen above the dewlap. The shoulder girdle of the horse is very simple, consisting merely of a pair ot shoulder-blades, or scapula. The fore-leg of the horse is restricted in its movement, being capable only of a motion backwards and forwards. It cannot move sidewise, so that there is no necessity for a clavicle or collar-bone, such as exists in man, but is absent in the horse. The scapula on each side is slender, and has at its lower extremity a shallow depres- sion, the glenoid cavity, in which the head of the shoulder- bone [humerus) works. A bony ridge extends along the outer face of the scapula. The ridge is thickened and turned back- ward above the middle, so that it is always easy to know whether a separate shoulder-blade belongs to the right side or to the left. The hip-girdle of the horse is less simple, and more complete. It is made up of two similar halves called the coxce or ossa in- nominata. Taking the left oj; innominatum for the purpose of description, it is found to consist of three bones, which are dis- tinct in the young animal, but merge into one piece as age advances. The large triangular bone which extends forward, and the rough extremity of which projects so prominently in a lean animal, is the ilium, or pin bone, or haunch bone. The bone extending backward to the side of the tail is the ischium. The flat bone beneath, joining with the similar bone of the right os innominatum, is the pubis, \!a& place of union of the two pubic bones being called the symphysis pubis. The three bones of the coxa — the ilium, the ischium, and the pubis — all meet together in a deep concavity, the acetabulum, into which the head of the thigh-bone {femur') fits. The two ischia of the hip-girdle do not meet above, although they incline towards each other, the sloping surfaces resting one on each side of the sacrum. Hence, looked at below from the front, the hip-girdle forms a complete bony ring or basin, which is called the pelvis, and which is much more capacious in the female than in the male. The long axes of the ossa innominata, on which depends the relative size of the ' quarters ' in a horse, form an acute angle with the vertebral column. 3o8 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS The bones in the limbs of the horse can be best understood by comparing them with the corresponding bones in man. Place the hand on the bone which extends from the shoulder to the elbow ; this is the humerus, or shoulder bone. The humerus of the horse can easily be felt, but it is hidden beneath the integument ; nevertheless, when the horse walks, the movements of the humerus are at once noticeable. Next, lay the left arm flat on the table, from the elbow to the finger tips, with the palm of the hand facing upwards. Feel the two parallel bones which extend from the elbow to the wi'ist, — the one on the thumb side is the radius, the other one is the ulna. These bones are separate throughout their entire length, so that the radius may be made to rotate round the ulna. Thus, without moving the elbow, and keeping the little finger as stationary as possible, turn the left hand completely over. Its palm will now face downwards, and the thumb as well as the lower end of the radius will have described half a circle, so that the radius and ulna, instead of being parallel, will now be crossed. At the elbow joint, the ulna can be felt to project backwards, forming the olecranon process of the ulna. The fore-limb of the horse contains the same two bones — ulna and radius — as the fore-arm of man. But, in the horse, the ulna, though it has a prominent olecranon process, dies away, and terminates in a button-shaped end rather more than half- way down the radius. Moreover, the ulna is joined throughout its length to the radius, and hence the horse is quite incapable of crossing the two bones in the same way as a man can. In the horse, the region popularly termed "the knee "corre- sponds with the wrist of man. The anatomical name is the carpus, and it consists of an upper and a lower row of carpal bones. Suppose the carpus of the ' off' fore-leg of a horse (i.e. the right limb) to be viewed from the front, the names and positions of these bones are indicated in the diagram (fig. 134)- There are, as the diagram indicates, three bones in the upper row and three in the lower row. An additional bone (the pisiform) projects at the back of the carpus. Each bone has smooth joint surfaces, and is provided with dehcate mem- branes which secrete a lubricating oil. The whole arrangement LIMBS OF HORSE 309 is such as to constitute entire security against concussion. At the same time it permits the animal to use the fore-limbs freely without risk of fracture, even when drawing heavy loads, or carrying considerable weight in the saddle at great speed. The ' foot ' of the horse is merely a remnant of the foot as it existed in the extinct forms of the ancestors of the horse. Its bony framework will be best understood by comparison with the hand of man. Lay the left hand on the table, and notice the five digits — I., thumb ; 11., forefinger ; III., middle finger ; IV., ring finger ; V., little finger. Feel the back of the palm, and notice that at the base of each digit there is a long bone extending between the digit and the carpus or wrist. These are Pisiform CUNEI I FOEM Lunar Scaphoid Unciform Magnum Fig. 134. — Diagrammatic View showing the Positions of the Bones in the Carpus, or ' Knee,' op the Horse. the metacarpal bones, and they may be referred to as meta- carpal I (from wrist to thumb), metacarpal 3 (from wrist to fore- finger), &c. The metacarpal bones are collectively termed the metacarpus. In the case of the horse (fig. 135, a), the only one of these bones which is well developed is metacarpal 3, that is, the bone extending firom the wrist to the base of the middle finger. It is this bone — metacarpal 3 — which forms the hard solid cannon bone, or shank bone, in the fore-foot (or hand) of the horse. Examination of a horse's cannon bone will show that it is flanked by two very slender bones, which can be felt, one on each side. These are called the splint bones ; that on the 3IO STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS inner side is metacarpal 2, and that on the outer side is meta- carpal 4. These splint bones do not extend the whole length of the cannon bone. Metacarpal i and metacarpal 5 have entirely disappeared in the horse ; the digits, I., II., IV., and V. are likewise absent. But, as if to compensate for this sup- pression of four of the digits, the remaining digit (III.) is enormously developed. Double up the middle finger of the left hand, and notice the Fig. 13s. — Diagrammatic Representation of the Fore-foot of — A, an odd-toed or perissodac- tyle animal. B, an even-toed or artiodactyle animal. c, carpus or wrist ('knee '). M, metacarpus. i-v, digits. The shaded parts indicate the bones that zx^ present (a) in the horse, (b) in the ox and sheep. Fig. 136.— Side View of Bones below Knee (car- pus) OF horse. A, cannon bone. E, b, sesamoids, c, pastern. D, coronet. E, coffin bone. g, navicular (a sesamoid bone). three joints— a basal joint next to metacarpal 3, a middle joint, and a terminal joint bearing the nail. The bones in these three joints are well seen in the solitary digit (fig. 136) of the horse. The uppermost one is called the pastern, the middle one is the coronet (so called because the crown of the hoof is around it), and the terminal one (buried in the hoof) is the coffin bone. The ^(7^ corresponds with the nail of a man's finger, but instead of being developed only on the back surface, it extends also round LIMBS OF HORSE 311 the front and sides. Behind the articulation of the coronet with the cofRn bone, a " floating " bone extends across from side to side. Veterinarians call this bone the ' navicular,' and it is the region of what is known as navicular disease. This bone must not, however, be confounded with the true navicular of anato- mists, which, as will presently be stated, is one of the bones of the hock. Whilst the left hand is extended, palm downwards, upon the table, take a piece of chalk, and draw a line from the wrist along metacarpal 3 to the tip of the middle finger. This line covers the bones which represent the cannon bone and ' the foot ' of the horse. Make fainter lines along metacarpal 2 and metacarpal 4 ; these represent the splint bones. The equivalents of all the other bones present in a man's hand have disappeared from the horse, which is, therefore, a monodactyle ox one-fingered animal. The bones of the horse's hind-leg have their counterparts in the leg of man. The femur, or thigh bone, extending from the hip to the knee, is hidden by the integument of the horse, but its movements can easily be seen as the horse travels. The femur has an almost spherical head which fits into the acetabu- ' lum, forming therewith a ball-and-socket joint. About one- third of the way down, on the outer side of the femur, is a roughened projection, in the form of a compressed ridge curving forwards, called the Mrd trochanter, affording a surface of attachment for some of the powerful muscles that move the hind limbs of the horse. In cattle, sheep, and pigs, the femur has no third trochanter. In man's leg there are two long bones extending from the knee to the ankle joint. Of these, the tibia is the stout strong bone on the inner side, and the fibula is the slender bone on the outer side. Both of these exist in the horse, but the fibula is extremely slender. In the region of the knee-cap of nian may be felt a ' floating ' bone, the patella, which also exists in the horse, at the region termed the stifle joint. The patella is attached by three strong ligaments to the tibia. The bones in the ankle region of man are represented by the hock in the horse. The anatomist's name for this region is the tarsus, and the bones that compose it are called tarsal 312 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS bones. In man, however, the tarsal bones, as well as the meta- tarsals and the digits of the foot, are laid flat on the ground, whereas in the horse they approach the perpendicular position. Suppose the ' near ' hind-leg of a horse to be looked at from the front, then fig. 137 shows the names and positions of the bones that make up the hock. On the outside of the hock the bones are seen to be two deep, the cakaneum, os calcis, or heel-bone, projecting upwards and backwards, and below it being the cuboid. On the inner side of the hock the bones are three deep, the top row is filled by the astragalus, which has a beautiful pulley-like surface for articulation with the lower end of the leg-bone, or tibia ; the Calcaneum Astragalus Cuboid Navicular Ext. c. Int. cuneiform Fig. 137.— Diagrammatic View showing the Positions of the Bones in the Tarsus, or 'Hock,' of the Horse. middle row is occupied by the true navicular (called scaphoid, cuneiform magnum, etc., by veterinarians) ; and the lower row comprises the internal cuneiform and the external cuneiform, most of the latter being behind. The bones of the horse's hind-foot are similar in name and position to those of the fore-foot, and may be compared with those of the human foot in the same way as the horse's fore- foot was compared with the human hand. In man, the sole and toes of the foot correspond with the palm and fingers of the hand. The bones of the sole, being beyond the tarsals, are, however, called metatarsals, so that the cannon bone of the horse's hind-foot corresponds with metatarsal 3, the inner splint- bone is metatarsal 2, and the outer splint-bone is metatarsal 4. The metatarsal bones are collectively termed the metatarsus. HOOF OF HORSE 313 It is now possible to show the correspondence between the fore-limb and hind-limb of the horse :■ — Fore Limb Hind Limb Shoulder girdle, or pectoral arch . Hip girdle or pelvic arch (formed of the two scapulae) " (formed of the two coxas) Humerus » Femur f Radius .... . Tibia ) lUhia Fibula) Carpals ('knee') .... Tarsals ('hock') Metacarpals Metatarsals (cannon bone and splints) (cannon bone and splints) Digital region (' foot') . . . Digital region (' foot ') (Pastern, coronet, and coffin bones) . (Pastern, coronet, and coffin bones) At the back of the articulation of the cannon bone with the pastern, there are, in each limb of the horse, a couple of ' float- ing' bones (fig. 136, B, b), called sesamoids. Externally they are covered by a homy growth, the ergot, overlaid by a long tuft of hair, t)x& fetlock (i.e. 'footlock'). Fetlocks are peculiar to the horse, and vary in length and coarseness with the breed. The Hoof of the Horse. — The coffin bone, the navicular, and the lower end of the coronet, form 'the articulation of the foot ' (fig. 138). Four ligaments bind this articulation together. In addition, the extensor tendon passes down in front, and the flexor tendon behind. Outside these structures are two fibro- cartilages, one on each side, united behind and below by the plantar cushion. Outside, again, and fitting on the foregoing like a sock on a foot, is the keratogenous {i.e. horn-producing) membrane, which secretes externally the epidennal material known as horn, of which the hoof is composed. The entire region is richly supplied with blood-vessels and nerves. The hoof is seen to become continuous with the ordinary skin at a circular line extending round the middle of the coronet ; below, both in front and at the sides, is a semicircular pro- tuberance, the coronary cushion. That part of the keratogenous membrane which is spread over the anterior face of the coffin bone is called the laminal or leafy tissue, because of the laminae or parallel lea,ves seen on its surface ; inflammation of this structure is called laminitis. The hoof fits closely on the keratogenous membrane, of 314 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS which, indeed, it is the product. Its general shape is that of a cylinder cut across obliquely. Prolonged maceration causes it to separate into three parts : — the wall, the sole, and the frog. The wall, or crust, is that part which remains visible when the hoof rests upon the ground. The middle anterior part is the toe {outside and inside) ; the lateral regions are the quarters \ the angles of inflection at its hinder extremities are the heels ; Fig. 138. — Vertical Section through middle of Horse's Hoof. a, skin of coronet. h, fibres of coronary frog band. c, fibres of wall. d, horny lamina. e, fibres of sole. /, fibres of frog. g, section of coffin bone. h, section of navicular (a sesamoid bone). i, section of flexor tendon. k, section of coronet bone. /, section of fatty frog; ' from thence, passing along the inner border of the sole, are the bars, which form outwardly the external faces of ^t.frog. The sole has a large' external curved border, and a much shorter internal border taking the form of a deep V-shaped notch, widest behind. This latter corresponds with the bars, at the meeting of which the j)oz'«/ o/'//%«/^(jg' is fixed. Th.^ frog is a pyramidal mass of horn lodged between the two re-entering portions of the wall. A median lacuna divides the inferior face of the frog into two divergent branches, the round, flexible, elastic,. THE OX 31S free ends of which are the glomes. The inclination of the wall of the hoof is from 50° to 56°, not 45° as is often supposed. The flexibility of the hoof is promoted by a fluid secreted by the keratogenous membrane. At the junction of the wall and sole is the white line \ it is soft and flexible, and so prevents the breaking of the sole from the wall. The growth of the wall may continue indefinitely, but the sole and frog, after attaining a certain thickness, begin to peel off, unless otherwise kept down. The wall grows from its superior to its inferior border, Fig. 139. — Skeleton of Cow. (Reference numbers as in fig. 133. ) like the human nail. The sole and frog grow from their deep- seated to their external face. The skeleton of the ox (fig. 139) differs from that of the horse, in that the ribs are longer, wider, and flatter — notice a piece of ' ribs of beef in a butcher's shop. The sternum is flat, not keel-like. The scapula is much broader at the top. The preniaxillary bones do not carry teeth, so that the ox has no incisors in its upper jaw, their place being taken by a hard pad, against which the incisors of the lower jaw bite. In the skull the frontal bone is greatly developed ; it is the frontal bone, between the eyes, that is pierced by the pole-axe when a beast is slaughtered. The upper part of the frontal bone, in the region of the poll, is so thick that it is occupied by sinuses, or cavities, 3i6 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS and it forms laterally the bony conical cores which, in horned cattle, support the horns. The horns are made up of a bony core ensheathed in a strong horny epidermal case, the material composing which is secreted by a deep-lying membrane similar to the kerato- genous membrane of the hoof. The bony core becomes hollow by the extension into it of the sinuses of the frontal bone ; hence such horned ruminants (oxen, sheep, goats, antelopes) are classed as Cavicornia (hollow-horned). The horny sheath persists throughout life, growing with the bony core. The homy covering grows like any other part of the epidermis, or surface skin, its cells being secreted by that portion of the skin which is spread over the osseous cores of the frontal bones, completely enveloping the latter. This skin is richly supplied with blood- vessels. The rings on the horn increase with the age, the first appear- ing at two or three years ; as age advances they get obliterated from various causes. In the bull the horns are short, thick, and powerful ; in the ox, large, long, and strong ; in the cow, long and slender. In polled cattle, such as the Red Polled, the Aberdeen-Angus, and the Galloway, the osseous outgrowths of the frontal bone have disappeared. In the fore-foot of the ox the cannon bone consists of meta- carpal 3 and metacarpal equally developed, but joined together along their inner faces. The digits of each of these metacarpals are fully developed, and are not joined to each other. As each carries its own separate hoof, the ' cloven hoof is thus formed. The hind-foot is similarly constructed. The skeleton of the sheep resembles that of the ox in all essential characters. The cervical vertebrae of the pig (fig. 140) are, for its size, shorter, wider, and stronger than those of other farm animals. The skull has a prominent occipital ridge or crest. At the free end of the middle bone of the nose, a small ' floating ' bone, called the prenasal ossicle, or scooping. bone, strengthens the snout. The mandible is so articulated to the skull that the jaw moves freely in all directions. The sternum is flat. Metacarpals 2, 3, 4, 5 are all distinct, as are metatarsals 2, 3, 4, 5, but the second and fifth do not reach the ground, and merely form dew-claws (fig. 140). THE PIG 317 The student is recommended to make a representative collec- tion of the bones of animals, and to name them for the purpose of reference. He should also acquaint himself with the positions Fig. 140. — Skeleton op Pig. (Reference numbers as in fig. 133. ) 32, dew-claws. of the bones in the limbs of the living horse — particularly in the important regions of the 'knee,' the 'hock,' and the 'foot.' The subjoined table will be readily understood. Table XVI. — Showing the Number of Vertebra in the several Regions of the Spine Cer- vical Thoracic or Dorsal Lumbar Sacral Caudal Man . . 7 ,_ ('7 true ribs 'ns false „ s S 4 0rs (coccygeal) Horse . 7 ,„ f 8 true „ ^'*1 10 false,, 6 S About 17 Ox . . 7 ,„ fS true „ '3 is false „ 6 5 16 to 20 Sheep . , 7 ^, j 8 true „ ^3 Is false „ 6 or 7 4 16 to 24 Pig. . . 7 • f 7 true ,, "'f (7 false „ 6 or 7 4 21 to 23 Dog . . 7 (9 true „ ■5 (4 false ,, 7 3 16 to 21 3i8 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS Classification of the animals of the farm. — The zoological position of the horse, the ox, the sheep, and the pig, is indicated in the following brief notes. Subkingdom, Vertebrata. Class, Mammalia. Order, Ungulata (Lat. un^ula, a hoof). The Ungulata comprise two divisions: (a)Perissodactyla(i.e. odd-toed) ; {h) Artiodactyla(i.e. even-toed). {a) Perissodactyla have the third digit of each foot (fig. 135, A) symmetrical ; the toes of the hind-foot odd ; the sum of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae not less than 22 ; the femur v/ith a third trochanter. Examples : — Horse (one-toed), rhinoceros (three-toed), tapir (three- toed on hind-foot, four-toed on fore-foot). (V) Artiodactyla have the third digit of each foot (fig. 135, B) not symmetrical ; the toes of the hind-foot even, in number ; the sum of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae always less than 22 (seldom exceeding 19) ; no third trochanter. The Artiodactyla comprise (i) Non-ruminantia, (2) Ruminantia. (1) Non-rwminantia have simple stomachs. Examples. — Swine a^d Hippopotami. (2) Ruminantia have ruminant stomachs (p. 321) ; and metacarpals 3 and 4 joined to form the cannon bone, as also metatarsals 3 and 4. The Ruminantia include — Tragulidse. Ex. Musk deer. Cotylophora. Ex. Oxen, Sheep, Goats, Antelopes, Deer, Giraffes. Camelidas (omasum — p.321 — absent). Ex. Camels, Llamas. The soft parts of the body. — The skeleton affords support to the soft parts of the body. These soft parts consist very largely of flesh or muscle, of which lean meat is an example — lean meat, in fact, is muscle. A muscle is made up oi fibres, and most of the muscles concerned in the movements of the limbs are spindle-shaped, that is, swollen in the middle, and tapering at the ends. Such muscles, under suitable conditions,. ' contract,' by which is meant that they become shorter and thicker, so that their two ends are brought nearer to each other. As one of these ends is usually fixed, the result is that whatever is attached to the other end is compelled to move. In this way the move- ments of the limbs are brought about. The rough surfaces, or ends, with which some bones are provided (e.g. the third tro- chanter, p. 311), serve to facilitate the attachment of muscles, or of the tendons in which the latter often terminate. Much of the mammalian body consists, however, of some- ALIMENTARY CANAL 319 thing other than flesh. Look at the carcass of a sheep as it hangs in a butcher's shop, and it will be seen that the internal part of the animal has been removed. Notably, all that portion of the body which is concerned with the reception of the food has disappeared. The organs occupied with this work can be fairly easily made out by laying a dead rabbit or rat on its back, and patiently unravelling its internal structure with the aid of a sharp knife. The parts about to be described should specially be noticed. In the body of a mammal there are two large cavities. The forward one- is the thorax or chest, and the hinder one is the abdomen or belly — spoken of as the ' barrel ' in a horse. The thorax is a bony cage, narrow in front and broad behind, its framework comprising the thoracic vertebrse, the ribs, and the sternum. The abdomen is a large bag, supported by the lumbar and sacral vertebra above and the hip-girdle behind. The thorax is completely separated from the abdomen by a tense, transverse sheet of muscle, called the diaphragm, and, though certain tubes — the gullet and some of the blood-vessels — pierce the diaphragm, their passage does not establish any communi- cation between thorax and abdomen. When the thorax is opened, it is seen to contain the heart, with the lungs on either side of it. The heart is the organ whereby the circulation of the blood is effected. The lungs, called ' lights ' by the butcher, are concerned in the work of respiration or breathing. When the abdomen is opened, the chief organs which are seen at first are the stomach and intestines. By turning the latter on one side, it is possible to bring into view the liver, the kidneys, and certain other organs. The stomach and intestines form' part of the alimentary canal or digestive system. The alimentary canal can best be described by tracing tjie course of food through the body. There is a popular idea that food taken in at the mouth passes thence into a big bag called the ' belly.' As a matter of fact, the food never enters the cavity of the belly, or abdomen, but is compelled to travel inside a definite tube (fig. 141) during its passage through the body. Commencing at the mouth, the food is there crushed between the molar teeth, the muscles of the tongue and cheeks 320 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS continually guiding the food to where it can be operated upon. Meanwhile, ceitain glands in the mouth pour out a fluid called saliva, which moistens the food, and, every now and again a bolus is moulded and passed to the back of the mouth, behind a fleshy curtain called the soft palate, into a large, space called the pharynx. From the pharynx a distensible tube — the gullet or ossophagus — extends through the thorax, at the hinder end of which it pierces the diaphragm and emerges into the abdomen. Here the gullet undergoes an abrupt distension, forming the Fig. 141. — Diagrammatic kepresentation of the Alimentary Canal (the intestinal parts proportionately much shortened). 1, mouth. 2, soft palate. 3, pharynx. 4, oesophagus or gullet. 5, stomach. 6, pylorus. a, trachea. B, position of lungs. c, region of liver. 7, small intestine. ■ 8, ileo-caecal valve. 9, cascum. 10, colon. 11, rectum. D, region of pancreas. E E, position of diaphragm. large bag called the stomach, which in some animals occupies a considerable part of the cavity of the abdomen. The exit from the stomach is by a narrow opening, called iSit. pylorus, into the small intestine, which is a narrow, thin-walled tube, many times the length of the animal to which it belongs. Hence it is doubled up in an intricate fashion, in order that it may be accommodated within the restricted space contained in the abdominal cavJty. Nor is it merely doubled upon itself many times — it is also slung up, otherwise it would sink to the lower part of the abdominal cavity, and make the animal 'pot-bellied.' THE RUMINANT STOMACH ■^ii Take a towel (or pocket-handkerchief) and double it length- wise, keeping the two edges uppermost. Within the fold, at the bottom, lay a length of india-rubber tubing, or of thick cord, so that it reposes between the two adjoining faces of the towel. Now gather together, or pucker up, the free margins of the towel that are in contact above, and, as a result, the india- rubber tubing or cord will be coiled or doubled on itself. It is in a somewhat similar way that the long intestinal tube is packed and slung in the abdominal cavity. The place of the towel is taken by a delicate transparent sheet of connective tissue, called the mesentery, which is doubled on itself, so as to form a loop in which the intestinal tube reposes, whilst, between the two faces of the mesentery, which are in contact, delicate tubes or vessels pass to and from the intestine. The transparent filmy material — here and there laden with fat — which is often spread out upon a dish of pig's fry, gives a good idea of the nature of the mesentery. Traced onward, the small intestine comes to an abrupt ter- mination by opening suddenly into a much wider tube called the large intestine, and consisting of three regions : firstly, the cacum, or blind gut ; next, the colon ; and, finally, the rectum, which opens externally. Of the food which a mammal eats, part is digested — that is, adapted to the needs of the body. The remainder, which escapes digestion, passes through the canal or tube which has been described, and is finally ejected from the body. The course taken by such an undigested particle is, therefore — mouth, pharynx, gullet, stomach, small intestine, caecum, colon, rectum. The ruminant stomach. — It is popularly said that oxen and sheep have ' four stomachs.' It is more correct to say that, in these animals, the stomach comprises four compartments (fig. 142), all ccMnmunicating with each other. The names of these compartments, in the order in which the food traverses them, are : — 1. The rumen or paunch (the 'tripe' of butchers). 2. The reticulum or honeycomb. 3. The omasum (Gr. omos, raw), psalterium, liber, many- plies, manyplus, or manyleaves. Y 322 STRUCTURE OF FARM ANIMALS 4. The abomasum, or reed or rennet stomach. The Capacity of the stomach in cattle is enormous, amount- ing to from fifty to sixty gallons. It fills the greater part of the abdominal cavity, and the paunch alone occupies nine-tenths of the entire volume of the stomach, the remaining three divisions constituting a mere chain on the front left side of the paunch. In sheep, though absolutely smaller, the paunch is relatively as large as in the ox. The fourth division, or abomasum, is the only part of the ruminant stomach, the internal lining mem- brane of which secretes gastric juice. In other words, only the fourth compartment is capable of exercising the digestive function (p. 327). It is called the rennet stomach because it is the fourth compartment of the calf s stomach which is salted Fig. 142. — Ruminant stomach (sheep). A, gullet or oesophagus. e, abomasum or rennet stomach B, rumen or paunch. (the true digestive chamber). C, reticulum or honeycomb. F, small intestine. D, omasum or liber. G, gutter made by a fold of the lining membrane of c, and preserved, in the form of ' veils,' to furnish natural rennet for use in cheesemaking. The secretion of the peptic glands (p. 324) supplies the rennet. Ruminants can stow away, in the rumen or paunch, a huge quantity of vegetable food. This, at a suitable time, is regurgi- tated into the mouth, where it is mixed with the juice of the salivary glands, and slowly reduced to a fine condition between the teeth — this is called ' chewing the cud.' Passing again down the gullet, the masticated food is this time directed along a gutter (fig. 142, g), through the third division, and so into the fourth division of the stomach — the reed or rennet stomach, or abomasum. The glands lining this stomach pour out abundant gastric juice (p. 334) upon the food, which is at the same time LIVER AND PANCREAS 323 kept in continual motion by the peristaltic contractions (p. 324) of the wall of the organ. Through the narrow aperture, the pylorus, the material leaves the ruminant stomach, and pursues its course along the intestines, as in horses and pigs. The digestive juices. — Attendant, as it were, upon the ali- mentary canal are certain structures, called glands, which possess the power of manufacturing, out of the blood which flows through them, special juices, which they pour out in the form of secretions. In the fleshy walls of the mouth are the salivary glands, already referred to (p. 320). The saliva, or spittle, contains a ferment {ptyalin) which is capable of con- verting insoluble starch into soluble sugar. In the abdominal cavity are two very important glands, the liver which secretes the bile, and the pancreas (or sweetbread) which secretes the pancreatic juice. The liver is the largest gland in the body. Its colour and lobulated form are famihar enough from being so commonly seen in butchers' shops. In the animal the liver is packed, as it were, between the diaphragm and the stomach (fig. 141, C). By turning back its lobes there may be exposed an olive green pear-shaped body, called the gall-bladder, which lies on the track of a tube that can be traced from the liver to an early part of the small intestine, into which it opens. This tube is the bile-duct, and along it flows the bile, a golden-coloured liquid, which the liver prepares from the blood, and which is poured in amongst the mass of food-material undergoing diges- tion in the small intestine. When there is not much food in the small intestine the process of digestion is less active, there is a diminished demand for bile, and the fluid is then temporarily stored up in the gall-bladder. The horse is excep- tional in that its liver has no gall-bladder. T\\t. pancreas, or sweetbread, is a pale-coloured gland, which is distributed in a patchy fashion upon that portion of the me- sentery which adjoins the stomach and (fig. 141, D) the early part of the small intestine. The juice which it secretes is poured by means of a narrow tube, the pancreatic duct, into the small intestine, in the same way as the bile duct pours in bile. Y 2 324 FUNCTIONS OF FARM ANIMALS The salivary glands, the liver, and the pancreas are not, how- ever, the only glands, the juices of which attack the ingredients of the food. The membrane, or a portion of the membrane, which forms the inside wall of the stomach (or of the abomasum in cattle and sheep) is beset with large numbers of simple glands, called the peptic glands, which manufacture from the blood, and pour upon the food in the cavity of the stomach, the gastric juice. The internal wall of the small intestine is also studded with certain secretory glands. It is now apparent that, in its passage through the alimentary canal, the food is subjected to the action of the saliva, the gastric juice, the pancreatic juice, the bile, and the intestinal juices, the joint effect of all of which is — in the case of a healthy animal — to abstract from the food such of its constituents as can minister to the wants of the body. But an important question here arises. Why does food travel along the alimentary canal ? How, again, can a horse or an ox pass its food along when, as in grazing, its head is lower than its stomach ? If a rabbit, or a rat, or any other mammal, is killed, laid on its back, and its abdomen opened immediately after death, the intestines are seen to be in continual movement. They are undergoing a kind of writhing motion, the general effect being not unlike that seen in a basket of live eels. During life, this motion is incessantly in progress throughout the entire length of the alimentary canal, from the gullet onwards. A kind of gripping contraction takes place, travels onwards, and is at once followed by another, the result being that the food is propelled in the desired direction, and, in the stomach, undergoes a motion like that of churning. This movement in the alimentary canal is called peristaltic contraction, and it is the work of the muscular fibres which form the middle zone of the wall of the canal. The motion is involuntary, that is, it is not under the control of the will ; and when a mass of food has once been gripped by the constrictor muscles, which surround the opening of the oesophagus at the back of the pharynx, the animal cannot return it to the mouth. Classes of food stuffs. — In order to understand what changes food undergoes in the alimentary canal, it is necessary to learn something more (see p. 88) of the general composition CONSTITUENTS OF FOODS 325 of the foodstuffs upon which animals subsist. These foods are made up of (l) nitrogenous compounds, (2) fats, (3) carbo- hydrates, and (4) minerals and water. The nitrogenous compounds (proteids, albuminoids, amides) contain the elements carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen (and, in some cases, sulphur and phosphorus). Examples are afforded in the albumin, or white of egg ; in the gluten, which remains as a sticky material in the mouth when new wheat is chewed ; and in the casein of milk, which is separated in the process of cheese-making, but is left in the skimmed milk from which cream has been removed. Other compounds of the same character are myosin, which is the chief constituent of muscle (lean meat) ; fibrin, which occurs in the blood ; chondrin, obtained by boiling cartilage (gristle) ; and gelatin, contained in connective tissue and in bones. The amides, such as asparagine and tyrosine, exist in immature vegetable pro- ducts, as grass and roots (turnip, mangel). Amides may be regarded as intermediate between the nitrates which occur in the soil and the completely formed albuminoids which exist in plants. They are of less food-value than albuminoids. In unripe mangel a part of the non-albuminoid nitrogen actually exists in the form of nitrates. Fats are substances rich in carbon, which is united with hydrogen and oxygen, the hydrogen being present in greater quantity than would be necessary to form water with all the oxygen. Hence, when a fat is oxidised or burnt, not only the carbon, but the surplus of hydrogen, is available for combining with oxygen from the outside. Oily seeds are specially rich in fat ; Brazil nuts contain 67 per cent., palm nuts 47 per cent., poppy seeds 45, linseed 35, cocoanuts 36, cotton seed 24, and sunflower seed 22 per cent. All vegetable foods, indeed, contain a greater or less pro- portion of fat or oil — oatmeal 10 per cent., maize 5, peas 3, barley i"3, and wheat i'2 per cent. Carbohydrates, or amyloids, are, like the fats, compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen only, but they contain no more hydrogen than is sufficient to form water with the oxygen present. Hence, when a carbohydrate is burnt, there is only its carbon available for oxidation. Starch, sugar, cellulose. 326 FUNCTIONS OF FARM ANIMALS dextrin, gum, and pectin are examples of carbohydrates, and it is such compounds as these which form the largest part of vegetable food- stuffs. Wheat and rye contain 71 per cent, ot starch, maize has 64 per cent., oatmeal 63 per cent., peas 51 per cent., bran of wheat 44 per cent., potatoes 15 per cent., and parsnips 3 per cent. The albuminoids, fats, and carbohydrates, which enter into the food of animals, are capable of being built up, so far as is known, only by the activity of living bodies, usually of plants. This is not the case with the mineral food-stuffs, of which water and common salt are the most familiar examples. Of the classes of food-stufifs that have been enumerated, the albuminoids stand apart in the important characteristic that they alone contain nitrogen. Consequently, it is only albu- minoids that can supply the nitrogenous requirements, such as the building up of flesh, etc., in the animal body. Hence, the albuminoids are termed flesh-formers, though they are also capable of placing carbon and hydrogen at the disposal of the animal body. So far as is known, the nitrogen in the inferior nitrogenous compounds — the amides — is not available for the production of muscle, but their carbon and hydrogen are utilised in the body. For purposes of nutrition, fats and carbohydrates may be considered together. By their oxidation, heat is produced, and they are also competent to add to the store of fet in the animal body. They are, of course, necessarily incapable of building up nitrogenous tissues. They play an important part, however, in, as it were, shielding the nitrogenous matters from waste, because, in the absence of carbonaceous compounds, a demand for carbon and hydrogen would be made upon the nitrogenous substances. Digestion. — Having acquired some knowledge of the general composition of food-stuffs, it is desirable now to inquire how such materials as hay fed to a bullock, or turnips and oil-cake fed to a sheep, are converted into beef or mutton. With such exceptions as sugar, most of the solid constituents of the foods of animals are insoluble. By the process of digestion, however, these in- gredients are brought into a form in which they can be absorbed by, or taken into, the blood. DIGESTION 327 The special function of the gastric juice secreted by the peptic glands of the stomach is to attack the insoluble albu- minoids or proteids, which it converts into soluble bodies called peptones. These, when dissolved, are capable of passing through a membrane, such as the lining wall inside the stomach. Gastric juice has no effect upon starches or fats. But it helps to break up fatty tissue in that it dissolves the connective tissue which binds the fat vesicles together. The bile plays an important part in emulsifying the fats, that is, in reducing them to a very fine condition, in which their particles are capable of being suspended in the body of a liquid. New milk is a good example of an emulsion, but, after the cream has been allowed to rise, it is hardly possible, by any means, to again mix up the fatty particles with the liquid as thoroughly as before. So, when oil is poured on water in a bottle, it requires violent shaking to thoroughly mix the two, that is, to make an emulsion. The presence of bile increases the peristaltic action of the intestine. The pancreatic juice completes the work begun by other digestive juices — saliva, gastric juice, bile. Much starchy material that may have escaped conversion into soluble sugar by the saliva, any insoluble proteids that have failed to be changed into soluble peptones by the gastric juice, and fats or oils which still require emulsifying, are operated upon by the pancreatic juice, and reduced to a digestible form. Thus, pancreatic juice is remarkable for the power it has of acting on all the organic food-stuffs — on starch, fats, and proteids. It acts very vigorously on fats, both emulsifying them and sapo- nifying theni, that is, splitting them up into the fatty acids and glycerine of which they are composed. Owing to the action of the digestive juices, then, the albu- minoids of the food-stuffs are changed into soluble peptones, the starches into soluble sugars, and the fats are reduced to a state of minute subdivision. But — if an animal has to grow, if it has to be kept warm by the processes of oxidation taking place within its tissues, if it has to accumulate fat, or to yield a regular supply of milk — some means must exist whereby the nutritive substances, prepared in the stomach and intestine, can be conveyed to each and all of those parts of the body where 328 FUNCTIONS OF FARM ANIMALS they are required. Such means are afforded by the blood, and at this stage it becomes necessary to study (fig. 143, p. 329) the organs of circulation of the blood. The heart is a hollow muscle, formed of two independent chambers, right and left. Each chamber has an upper com- partment, the auricle, and a lower compartment, the ventricle. The whole organ is enveloped in a delicate membrane, the pericardium. It is lined internally by a similar kind of mem- brane, the endocardium, flaps of which project inwards to form valves. Such valves exist at the orifice between the auricle and ventricle on each side, and also at the orifice leading out of each ventricle. The valves are so arranged as to permit the blood to flow from auricle to ventricle, and from ventricle outwards, but to prevent its passing in the opposite direction. In a state of healthy life, the blood in the left side of the 'heart is of a bright scarlet colour (arterial blood) that on the right side is of a dark colour, almost black {venous blood). Vessels, or tubes, which carry blood froTn the heart are called arteries ; those which convey blood to the heart are veins. The arteries spring from the ventricles, the veins dis- charge into the auricles. As an artery is traced from the heart it is found to branch continually, the branches themselves breaking up in a similar way. The subdivision is continued until extremely narrow thin-walled tubes, the capillaries, at length result, and these permeate every part of the body, except the skin and its appendages (hair, wool, horn, etc.), and the cartilages. Traced onward, the capillaries are found to join together into small vessels, which become confluent into larger and larger tubes — the veins, through which the blood returns to the heart. Without entering at any length into the details of the cir- culatory organs, the student may gain some enlightenment by following the course of the blood from the heart back to the place of starting. The names of the chief vessels and tubes through which the blood flows can be mentioned inci- dentally. Starting, then (fig. 143), with a particle in the scarlet blood of the left ventricle (i), it is driven by the contraction (beating) of the heart through the open semilunar valves into a strong CIRCULATION OF THE BLOOD 329 Fig. 143.— diagrammatic Re- presentation OF THE Circula- tory System in a Mammal. [The animal is supposed to be laid upon its baclc, and to be opened along the under or ventral side, so that the left of the animal is at the observer's right. The arrows indi- cate the direction of flow. The vessels along which arterial blood travels are mishaded (chyle flows through d) ; those which convey ■venous blood are represented by the full black colour. Notice that all the arteries except the pulmonary arteries (15) carry arterial blood, and all the veins except the pulmonary veins (16) venous blood. In other words, whilst in the systemic circu- lation the arteries convey arterial ■blood and the veins venous blood, in the pulmonary circulation this state of things is reversed.] H, heart (17, 13, auricles ; i, 14, ventricles). L, L, lungs. T, trachea, or windpipe. B, B, bronchi. K, kidney. I, I, intestinal canal. I.R, Uver. A, lacteals. D, thoracic duct. P, blood-vessels carrying blood, and absorbed peptones, sugar, &c., from small intestine to portal vein (11). 1, left ventricle. 2, aorta. 3, artery supplying head and fore- limbs. 4, dorsal aorta. 5, hepatic artery supplying liver. 6, artery supplying intestines. 7, renal artery supplying kidney. 8, blood capillaries. 9, posterior vena cava. 10, renal vein. II, portal vein. 12, hepatic vein. 13, right auricle. 14, right ventricle. 15, pulmonary arteries. 16, pulmonary veins. 17, left auricle. 18, blood capillaries. 19, vein from fore part of body. 20, anterior vena cava. 33° FUNCTIONS OF FARM ANIMALS. elastic artery (2) called the aorta. The aorta makes a curve, and while it sends a branch (3) towards the head, the main trunk extends backward (4) beneath the vertebral column, and even- tually divides into two ilia^ arteries (beneath the ilium, p. 307) one of which supplies the right hind-leg, and the other the left. In due course the particle finds itself in a capillary (8), either in the pelvic region or in the limb. Hurried along in the current of the blood, it travels through the smaller veins, and ulti- mately reaches a great vein (9), the posterior vena cava, which extends beneath the vertebral column along- side the aorta. This vein passes forward, pierces the diaphragm^ as does the aorta in passing back- ward—and throws the particle into (13) the right auricle of the heart. The contraction of the auricle drives the particle past the open tricuspid valves into (14) the right ventricle, the contraction of which propels it through the right semilunar valves into (15) the pulm.onary artery, through the narrowing branches of which it reaches at length one of the blood capillaries in the air-cells of (l) the lungs (fig. 144). Thence it travels through the smaller veins of the lungs, and ultimately gets into (16) one oi the. pulmonary veins which enter (17) the left auricle of the heart, whence the particle is driven past the open mitral valves into (i) the left ventricle, and so regains the point from which it started. The contraction of the heart is rhythmic, or regular. First the auricles contract simultaneously, next the ventricles, and then there is a pause, after which the contractions are repeated. It is the volume of blood suddenly thrown into the aorta by the ventricular contraction, and distending the walls of that elastic vessel, which produces the pulse. The number of pulsations Fig. 144. — Lung of Sheep, seen from below. 1, right lung. 2, left lung. 3, trachea or windpipe. 4, heart. 5, carotid arteries, right and left. 6, vena cava posterior. VENOUS AND ARTERIAL BLOOD 331 corresponds, therefore, with the beating of the heart. Arteries are, as a rule, deep-seated, but the pulse can be felt at a few places where an artery of some size passes along the surface of a superficial bone ; in horses, on the border of the lower jaw, or inside the elbow ; in cattle, under the tail, or on the middle of the first rib. As the pulse takes time to travel along the arteries, it is felt later in, say, the foot, than at the temple. The normal pulse of full-grown animals is, in the horse, about 36 per minute ; in the ox, 55 ; in the sheep and pig, 75. In young animals it is more rapid, and when an animal is feverish the pulse is more frequent. As the united sectional area of the arteries is much greater than that of the aorta, which supplies them, the pulse dwindles, and in the veins it has disappeared altogether. Indeed, so little is the effect of the ventricular contraction felt in the veins, that they are provided with valves, arranged in such a way as to flap idly against the walls while the blood is flowing, as it should, towards the heart, but to float across and bar the path should the blood attempt to flow in the reverse direction. By pressing the lower end of they«^«/«r vein, which extends along the groove on either side of the neck of a horse, it is possible to ' fill the jugular ' ; for the moment, the blood is prevented from flowing on towards the heart, and the knotted appearances show the positions of the valves. It is now possible to answer two important questions. How does the dark (venous) blood in the right side of the heart differ from the scarlet (arterial) blood in the left side ? What is the cause of this difference ? From what has been already stated, it is obvious that the change from dark blood to scarlet blood takes place during the passage from the right ventricle to the left auricle, that is, while the blood is passing through the capillaries of the lungs, — this is called the pulmonary circulation. On the other hand, the blood is changed from scarlet to almost black during its course fi^om the left ventricle to the right auricle, that is, in the capillaries of parts of the system other than the lungs, — this is called the systemic circulation. The chief difference between the scarlet blood and the dark blood is that the former contains more oxygen and less carbonic acid gas than the latter. If a vein is opened on the surface of the body, blood that is nearly 332 FUNCTIONS OF FARM ANIMALS black flows from it. But it immediately becomes scarlet because, exposed to the air, it absorbs oxygen. The scarlet blood that leaves the left ventricle is purer than the dark blood on the other side of the heart. In its passage through the capillaries of the system, however, the blood performs certain work. It carries material to where it is required, and in this way it builds up or repairs the tissues. But it does more than this, for, in all parts of the body, waste is going on, and the pro- ducts of such waste are swept away in the blood. Moreover, they accumulate in the blood to such an extent as to induce the dark colour seen in the blood of the right chambers of the heart. The impure blood, driven from the right ventricle, is, in the capillaries of the lungs, brought into contact with the air which fills those organs. The blood there gives up some of its carbonic acid gas, and takes in exchange a supply of oxygen. It is easy to show that the air which is expired from the lungs contains more carbonic acid and less oxygen than that which is inspired. Hence, if animals are shut up in low ill-ventilated houses, the consequences may be serious, and may even lead to suffocation should the air become too heavily charged with carbonic acid. When an animal breathes against a piece of cold iron, or a pane of glass, the surface becomes covered with dew, which shows that, in passing through the lungs, the blood also loses moisture. The intercostal muscles, that is, the muscles between the ribs, increase and diminish the cavity of the thorax, though the diaphragm helps to some extent. When the thorax is enlarged, air rushes through the windpipe (the trachea, dividing into bronchi) into the lungs, and when the thorax is compressed, air is driven out of these organs. The function of respiration is thus carried on, and the behaviour of the thorax may be likened to that of a pair of bellows working through the nozzle only. It is during the passage of the blood from the left side to the right side of the, heart that the oxygen is consumed. It is largely occupied in oxidising particles of carbonaceous matter in the blood itself, and, as oxidation is accompanied by heat, it will be understood now how the heat of the body is maintained. The skin, as is well known, is warm and moist, and water vapour is continually passing away from it. The warmth and SKW AND KIDNEYS 333 moisture escape from the blood, the capillaries containing which exist just below the outer skin or epidermis, as is proved by the fact that even a shallow cut causes blood to ooze out. A small amount of saline matter passes away by the skin also. It is for the salt upon it that a calf or a cow will lick a man's hand with its rough tongnie. As horses perspire freely, it is desirable to keep their skins clean and free from dust, so that the action of the skin may not be impeded. This object is effected in grooming. The lungs and the skin are not the only media through which the blood undergoes loss. Another very important source of loss is in the kidneys. These delicate organs are situated in the back of the abdominal cavity, the right kidney being rather more forward than the left. To protect them from violent shocks, each is embedded in a soft semi-fluid cushion of fat, which in the carcass of an ox or a sheep is called ' suet.' Into each kidney, blood flows along a short renal artery given off (fig. 143, 7) by the dorsal or abdominal aorta. The kidney is drained of its blood by the renal vein which opens into the posterior vena cava. The structure and functions of the kidney are such as to enable that organ to separate from the blood the nitrogenous waste, which has accumulated in all parts of the body, and has been swept away in the current of the blood. This waste product, a compound of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, is called urea ; it is separated in the kidney in company with much water, and with certain saline matters, the whole forming the urine. It is because of the presence of this nitrogenous waste that urine has a high manurial value, and that litter is spread in stables and byres to absorb this liquid, so that it may be used upon the land to promote the growth of crops. The blood that leaves the kidney differs from the blood that enters it, in that it has lost all the ingredients which go to form the urine. The secretion of urine by the kidneys is constantly going on, so that some means are necessary whereby the kidney can get rid of the fluid. As a matter of fact, the urine passes away from the kidney down a tube called the ureter. Along the ureters, one from each kidney, urine is constantly trickling. The ureters open into a thin-walled, elastic, distensible bag, the bladder, at the inferior end of the abdomen. From the bladder 334 FUNCTIONS OF FARM ANIMALS there issues a tube, the urethra, through which the contents of the bladder are periodically discharged. The lungs, the skin, and the kidneys are thus seen to be sources of loss to the blood. Water is lost at each of them, whilst the lungs are specially distinguished by the loss of car- bonic acid, the skin by the loss of carbonic acid and saline matters, and the kidneys by the loss of saline matters and urea. With such waste always going on, it remains to inquire how the animal body is sustained, and by what means it is prevented, not only from wasting away, but is, on the contrary, caused to increase in size and weight. To answer this inquiry it is necessary to return to the food in the alimentary canal. The absorption of digested materials. — It has been seen (p. 327) that the eifect of the digestive juices is to break up all food-stuffs into three main portions — (l) the dissolved nitro- genous matters and sugar, (2) the emulsified fats, and (3) an indigestible residue. The last-named part, consisting largely of coarse fibre, travels through the intestinal canal, and, mixed with some of the intestinal secretions, is passed away in the form of excrement, which, in the case of horses and pigs and stall-fed cattle, usually finds its way to the dung-heap, whence it is returned to the soil. The dissolved matters and the emulsified fats are, on the other hand, taken up by the blood, and can thus be transported to all parts of the body. The absorption of digested materials by the blood is effected chiefly by the villi of the small intes- tine. Each villus is a minute tongue-shaped structure, pro- jecting inwards from the internal lining membrane of the intestine. It is covered (fig. 145) by a layer of delicate cells, within the cavity formed by which is a fine network of blood capillaries, originating in a minute artery which enters the villus, and converging upon a small veinlet which leaves it. Still more inward is another system of fine tubes, the lacteal radicles, which originate blindly, but open into a minute tube, the lacteal vessel, which passes away from the villus. Myriads of such villi line the internal surface of the small intestine. Their blood vessels derive their blood supply from the aorta, whilst all the veinlets which emerge from the villi THE INTESTINAL VILLI 335 become confluent, and pour their blood ultimately into a vessel called Xhs. portal vein, which passes into the liver. There, unlike the great majority of veins, the portal vein breaks up, and the blood it contains is submittied to the action of the cells of the liver. The liver also receives a supply of arterial blood through the hepatic artery, which de- rives its blood from the aorta. Without stopping to inquire into the minute structure and func- tions of the liver, it may be stated that this gland is drained of its blood by the hepatic vein, which empties into the posterior vena cava, this latter opening direct- ly into the right auricle of the heart. Hence the blood that travels through the villi of the intestine passes, by way of the liver, into the heart. The blood that leaves the intestinal villi is, however, differ- ent from that which enters them. The dissolved products of di- gestion 0026 through the deli- cate covering of cells, which Fig. 145.— Diagram of a Villus envelops the villus much as a "^ ™^ ^mall Intestine. thimble covers the end of the a, body of the villus. finger, and the solution further ^■^f^^™^^ covering of epithelium oozes through the extremely thin walls of the blood capillaries within the villus. Consequently the blood that flows from the villi of the intestinal walls carries with it the dissolved peptones and sugar, salts and soaps, that are derived from the food, together with most of the water taken in at the mouth. But what becomes of the minute particles of fat that exist in the food products in the small intestine ? These fatty particles are present very much in the same way as the minute particles ot C, the small artery entering the villus, and breaking up into ca- pillaries, which re-unite to form — D, the small vein vifhich leaves the villus ; L, the lacteal radicle which occupies the middle of the villus. 336 FUNCTIONS OF FARM ANIMALS butter fat are disseminated through fresh mill:. They are taken up by the cells (fig. 145, b), which cover the villus, and, having been passed by these cells into the cavity of the villus, they find their way, not into the blood capillaries, but into the lacteal radicle which the blood capillaries surround. The lacteal vessels which emerge from the villi become confluent, and ultimately pour their milky-looking contents, called chyle, into a tube, the thoracic duct (fig. 143, d), which lies beneath the vertebral column, and extends forward towards the head, where it opens into one of the large veins. Through this vein the contents speedily reach a greater vein, the vena cava anterior (fig. 143, 20), which empties into the right auricle of the heart. Though the villi of the small intestine are the most active seats of absorption of digested materials, some amount of ab- sorption of dissolved matters is begun through the blood capil- laries in the walls of the stomach. Absorption is also continued, to a greater or less extent, throughout the intestinal tube. The rapidity with which absorption is capable of being effected is well illustrated in the instant alleviation of thirst which follows upon the passing of water into the stomach, whence it promptly finds its way into the blood capillaries. It appears, therefore, that, though they travel along different routes, the dissolved peptones and sugar and salts on the one hand, and the emulsified fats on the other, find their way from the intestinal canal to the right side of the heart. From there, as has been seen, the blood is driven to the lungs to be- oxy- genated, thence to the left side of the heart, and from there to all parts of the body save the lungs. Not much is known of the exact processes whereby the blood, out of the materials it derives from the ahmentary canal and from the lungs, does its work of reparation or construction in all parts of the body — how, for example, it builds up bone in one place, makes mus- cular fibre in another, and stores up fat in a third. But the student should now be in a position to grasp the fact that all parts of the animal body have at one time or another passed through, and formed part of,' the blood, and further that the blood is the medium through which such materials as hay and com and roots are manufactured into such products as beef and mutton, milk and wool. LYMPH 337 The reader is cautioned against supposing that the lacteal vessels, whereby the finely divided fats are carried from the intestine into the blood, have any special connection with the secretion of milk at the mammary glands. Both the chyle and the milk are lacteal fluids, but the former, as has been seen, is mixed with the blood in the right side of the heart, and has no direct relations with the milk-secreting organs. In order to perform its constructive work in the body, the blood oozes through the extremely thin walls of the capillaries. After the living cells in the tissues have abstracted such materials as are necessary for purposes of growth, there remains a more or less watery fluid called lymph. Sometimes it will be noticed that, after blood has ceased to flow from a cut, an almost colourless fluid still oozes out for a time : this is lymph. The accumulation of lymph in the tissues would result in serious consequences. Means are provided for its removal in" the form of capillaries, originating blindly. Into these the lymph trickles, and is poured into lymph veins, furnished with valves like the blood veins. Ultimately, the lymph is poured into the blood which flows into the right auricle of the heart. The lacteal vessels and the thoracic duct are parts of the lymphatic system devoted to special work. The quantity of fluid discharged daily into the blood by the lymphatic system is probably equal to that of the blood itself, and much of it is derived from the overflow of the blood. Gains and losses of the blood. — To sum up with regard to the blood. It has been seen -that the blood gains material (peptones, carbohydrates, fats, salts, water) from the food in the alimentary canal ; that it gains material (oxygen) from the air in the lungs ; that it gains material (the products of activity and waste) from the tissues generally ; and that it gams material (lymph) from the lymphatics. On the other hanrt, the blood loses material (carbonic acid and water) at the lungb ; it loses material (urea, water, saline substances) at the kidneys ; it loses material (water, sailine substances) at the skin ; and it loses material (used for constructive purposes) in the tissues gene- rally. The constitution of the blood is described on page 413. The nervous system. — The various organs of the body are under the control of nerves, and it is through the nervous Z 338 COMPOSITION OF THE ANIMAL BODY system that the movements of the body are co-ordinated, so that there shall be no conflict of purpose. The brain, with its posterior continuation into the spinal cord, constitutes the central part of the nervous system. The brain and spinal cord make up what is known as the cerebrospinal nervous axis, the whole of which is securely lodged and efficiently protected in the bony chamber formed by the skull and the vertebras. Pro- cesses or outgrowths, given off in pairs from the axis, form the cerebral and spinal nerves. Some of the former are nerves of special sense, as thi olfactory nerve (associated with the sense of smell), the optic nerve (associated with sight), and the audi- tory nerve (associated with hearing). A number of pairs of very important nerves arise from a region called the medulla oblong- ata, at the junction of the brain and spinal cord. One of these, the pneumogastric nerve, or vagus, distributes its fibres to the heart, the lungs, and the stomach. All muscular contraction takes place in obedience to nervous influence. This is equally the case with the voluntary move- ments of the muscles of the limbs (as in running or walking), and with the involuntary movements of the intestinal canal (peristaltic contractions), and of the heart. The quantity of blood which shall flow to any part of the body is equally determined by the nervous system, inasmuch as the vaso-motor nerves control the calibre, or internal diameter, of the small arteries. Most important results arise from this circumstance. CHAPTER XX COMPOSITION OF THE ANIMAL BODY The chemical elements entering into the composition of the animal body are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus, together with potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron. To these may be added the elements chlorine and sodium, found in common salt, and a small percentage of fluorine in the teeth. The foregoing elements will be recog- nised as those occurring in plants, and as animals feed on plants, this is not surprising. BONE 339 There is, however, an important distinction in the details of nutrition of plants and animals. It has already been explained (p. 105) that plants are capable, out of such crude materials as carbonic acid, ammonia, water, and simple salts, of building up the complex organic compounds of which they are formed. Animals are incapable of such work — on the other hand, they feed upon vegetable products, and ultimately reduce these to water, carbonic acid, urea, etc., which have been shown (p. 337) to be the waste products of the animal body, rejected by the blood at the lungs, the skin, and the kidneys. There is thus a kind of balance maintained between plants and animals- — plants build up bodies of complex composition, animals reduce these to simple forms ; plants consume carbonic acid, animals evolve it. In cutting up the body of an animal, the substances that are most obviously seen to enter into its structure are bone, flesh, and fat, to which may be added cartilage (or gristle) and con- nective tissue. It is desirable to inquire into the composition of these substances, for it is evident that the chemical elements they contain must be supplied to the animal .in its food, other- wise the nutrition of the animal will be imperfect. Bone. — A simple experiment serves to throw much light on the composition of bone. Take a bone, say the femur, out of a ham or out of a leg of mutton, though a much smaller bone from a rabbit will serve, and place it inside a drain-pipe, of width and length just sufficient to hold it. .Plaster up the ends of the pipe with clay to prevent air from passing through, and then put it in the middle of a fire where it can be maintained at a red heat for some hours. On examining the bone when cool, it will be found to retain its original shape, but to have lost weight, and to have become so brittle as to be easily crushed to a powder. This powder consists almost entirely of phos- phate of lime (calcium phosphate) and carbonate of lime (cal- cium carbonate), which contain amongst them the elements calcium, phosphorus, carbon, and oxygen, all of which, therefore, are necessary in the food. Put a similar bone in a basin, and pour upon it dilute hydrochloric acid. After several days the bone will be found to have lost its rigidity, and much of its weight ; it retains its z 2 340 COMPOSITION OF THE ANIMAL BODY original form, but may easily be bent. The nature of the soft flexible material which remains can be demonstrated by boiling it for a long time in water, when it will yield a large quantity of gelatin, which is a nitrogenous compound. These experiments prove that bone consists of a framework of animal matter, impregnated with salts of lime. By burn- ing, the animal matter is removed ; by treating with acid, the mineral matter is dissolved. Connective tissue, like the animal basis of bone, yields gelatin as the result of prolonged boiling in water. As the water cools it forms a jelly. Cartilage, or gristle, similarly boiled, yields a material called chondrin, allied to gelatin. The composition of gelatin and of chondrin is shown in Table XVII. Table XVII. — Percentage Composition ly" Gelatin and Chondrin. Carbon Oxygen Nitrogen . Hydrogen ..... Sulphur ^ , . . Flesh owes its red appearance partly to the blood which it contains, and partly to the intrinsic colour of the ultimate muscular fibres of which it is composed. When lean meat is ' boiled to rags,' the envelopes of connective tissue, which sur- round not only the entire muscles but the individual fibres of which they are built up, are destroyed. The separate fibres can then be teased out with needles. The chief ingredient of muscular fibre is a nitrogenous substance called myosin, and this forms the greater part of the compound (.synionin) which can be obtained from lean meat by the action of dilute acids. Muscle also contains small but variable quantities of other proteid substances, as well as of fats, besides certain mineral matters, which include phosphorus and potash. Minute quan- tities of other substances may be obtained from muscle, the most interesting perhaps being kreatin, a nitrogenous crystal- line material, which is probably the form in which most of the nitrogenous waste of living muscle leaves the tissue before its Gelatin Chcndrin SO 76 4773 23-21 31 '04 18-32 13-87 7-iS 6-76 0-56 o-6o 100 -GO 100 "OO FOODS AND FEEDING 341 conversion into urea (p. 333). Muscle contains about 75 per cent, of water, so that 4 lb. of lean beef or lean mutton will include about 3 lb. of water. Fat. — The material called fat, as it is accumulated in the animal body, consists of oily or fatty substances stored up in minute cells, which are bound together by a framework of connective tissue. Expose a piece of suet to a gentle heat before the fire, and, as the melted fat trickles away, the col- lapsed framework of connective tissue is left behind. By pulling to pieces a lump of suet, the connective tissue is again brought under notice. The common fats of the animal body are stearin, palmitin, and olein. The first named, used in making candles, is most abundant in hard fats, such as mutton suet. Palmitin occurs in quantity also in palm oil, and olein in olive oil. CHAPTER XXI FOODS AND FEEDING In the selection of food for farm animals several distinct objects have to be kept in view. For all animals it is necessary, in the first place, that sufficient food be given to meet the daily wants of the body ; in other words, to make good the losses that are always taking place through the lungs, the skin, and the kidneys. This may be called the »zfflWe«««fe diet. It is evident that such a diet must supply the animal with the elements entering into the composition of the materials which are lost in the way jiist referred to ; though a sufficiency of oxygen is always obtainable from the air. Hence, even for the purpose of maintenance only, the food must contain some por- tion, at least, of proteid compounds, because these alone contain nitrogen. Though an animal may have an unlimited quantity of carbohydrates or fats at its disposal, it will cease to thrive unless it can also get proteids : eventually, indeed, it will die of nitrogen starvation. The other objects to be kept in view in framing a diet must depend upon the animal itself, and upon what it is intended for. 342 FOODS AND FEEDING A horse, for example, has to do work ; this leads to much oxi- dation and the consequent production of heat within the body, accompanied by the wearing or wasting of the muscular tissues. A milch cow parts daily with a large quantity of fluid containing nitrogenous, carbonaceous, and rnineral matters. A stall-fed ox is neither doing work like the horse, nor is he yielding milk like the cow, but he is storing up fat in his system. A calf or a lamb is not performing external work, it is not yielding milk, and it is not storing up fat ; but it is growing, which means that it is making bone and muscle and other tissues, whereby its body is increased in size and weight. Not much thought is required to understand that the diet which would exactly meet the requirements of any one of these animals would not be the diet best suited to the needs of each of the three remaining animals. The working horse, the milk- ing cow, the fatting ox, and the growing lamb all make special demands which must, in each case, be specially met. Hence it is to the interest and the profit of the farmer to learn what kinds of food are best suited to particular cases, and then to endeavour to supply these in the cheapest passible form. The idea of cheapness involves, however, a consideration not only of the actual cost of the material, if it has to be bought, but also the value of the manure which an animal yields whilst consuming such material. See pp. 350 and 351. Flavour is another condition that must not be overlooked. It cannot be measured by the balance, nor can it be expressed by numbers, but it is a most important factor in inducing animals to partake freely of their food, and the skilful feeder knows the value of making the diet of animals attractive and appetising. Condimental foods are useful because of the relish they impart. The student is familiar with the fact (p. 325) that in foodstuffs are /ound three main classes of available material : — i, the nitrogenous (proteids or albuminoids) ; 2, the non-nitrogenous, or carbonaceous (carbohydrates and fats) ; 3, the mineral ingredients. Many of the common foods in use upon the farm are distinguished by containing much more of one of these classes of ingredients than of the others, and may thus be spoken of as nitrogenous foods, fatty foods, starchy foods, or watery foods, as the case may be. OILCAKES 343 The leading nitrogenous foods employed in feeding farm animals are shown in Table XVIII., the numbers indicating the percentages of albuminoids which, on the average, they contain. The total nitrogenous matter would, in each case, be somewhat greater. Table XVIII. — Average Percentages -i-i_ -vTxr Foods specially rich in fat are enumerated in Table XIX., the figures denoting the approximate percentages of fat which average samples may be expected to contain. Table XIX. — Average Percentages of Fat in certain Foods Oats 6 Undecorticated cotton-cake . 5 Maize S Wheat bran .... 4 Linseed . . . -34 Linseed-cake, good quality . 11 Decorticated cotton-cake loj Rape-cake . . . .10 Brewers' grains, dried . . 8 Note the high position occupied by oilcakes, both as nitro- genous and as fatty foods. Inasmuch as albuminoids and fat are the most concentrated of the constituents of animal food, it is evident that small quantities of oilcake may be made valuable adjuncts to other less nutritious food. In other words, a little oilcake — particularly decorticated cotton-cake and linseed-cake — goes a long way. Complete analyses are set forth in Table XX. of the kinds of oilcake most commonly used for feeding. Besides, however, affording a satisfactory result on analysis, oilcakes — as, indeed, other food stuffs — should possess good condition, that is, sound- ness, freedom from mould, freshness, and sweetness. In the absence of these qualities, the use of a feeding stuff may be pro- ductive of ill results, not on account of anything that can be 344 FOODS AND FEEDING shown by the figures of an analysis, but solely from staleness, over-heating, bad keeping, &c. Table XX. — Composition of average samples o/' Decorticated Cotton- cake and Undecorticated Cotton-Cake and of average samples »/■ Linseed-cake of different qualities Decor- ticated Undecor- ticated Linseed-cake Very good quality cotton- cotton- Low Good cake cake quality quality Moisture io'64 13 '30 11-99 12-32 11-87 Oil . . . 10-23 S'24 7 '52 lo'SS 12-59 Albuminous compounds 44-19 23-17 3322 28-31 30-09 Mucilage, sugar, diges- tible fibre, &c. , 23-42 32-27 33-86 34'47 32-37 Woody fibre (cellulose) . 4-88 20-79 7-a6 8-30 6-94 Mineral matter (ash) 6-64 100-00 S'23 5-95 100 -oo 6-05 6-14 100-00 loo'oo 100-00 1 Containing nitrogen 7-07 371 S'3i 4-S3 4-81 Magnified views, as seen under the microscope, of some of the materials found in adulterated oilcakes are given in figs. 146-148. -Oat-husk, Fig. 147. — Barley-husk. 148. — Bean. Oat-husks, or shudes, closely resemble oat-straw in composition ; they are obtained in the preparation of oatmeal. Inferior adulterated oilcakes sometimes contain an abundance of barley husks, which do not possess much more value than barley straw. Bran is also used for adulterating oilcakes. It contains a larger percentage of fatty matter and of nitrogenous compounds than the whole grain of wheat, and is therefore valuable as a refuse material. COMPOSITION OF FOODS 345 The foods named in Table XXI. are distinguished by their high percentages of soluble carbohydrates, as indicated by the average figures given. Table 'K^l.— Average Percentages of ^owm.-e. Carbohydrates in certain Foods Wheat . 70 Malt dust . 44 Maize . • 70 Brewer's grains, dried . 44 Rye 67 Meadow hay 41 Barley . 64 Wheat straw • 37 Oats . SS Barley straw • 37 Peas . • S3 Oat straw . 36 Wheat bran . • 51 Bean straw . 35 Beans . 46 It is seen that the starchy grains of the cereal crops stand first in the percentage of carbohydrates. In the actual analyses set forth in Table XXI I., the carbohydrates make up from one- half to two-thirds of the entire substance. Table 'iiXH.—Comfosition of average samfks ofWimxr, Barley Oats, and Pea-meal iiTi, » Barley Oats Pea- "^•^^^^ (grittled) (crushed) meal Moisture 19-31 i7'3o 12-50 15-38 Oil 1-60 i-gi 6-30 1-33 I Albuminous compounds . 12-25 8-87 13-06 23-56 Starch, digestible fibre, &c. . . 63-38 65-10 57-17 54-43 Woody fibre (cellulose) 1-41 4-12 7-87 2-gi Mineral matter (ash) . . 2-05 2-70 3-10 2-39 100-00 100-00 100-00 loo'oo 1 Containing nitrogen . . 1-96 1-42 2-09 3-77 In mineral or ash ingredients, rice-meal, made of the husks of rice, is notably rich, as is also malt dust. Table XXIII. shows the average percentages of mineral matters in food-sub- stances in which the proportion is relatively high. Table XXIII. — Average Percentages of MINERAL Matter in certain Foods Rice-meal . 8 Meadow hay 6i Malt dust . 8 Undecorticated cotton-cake . 6 Decorticated cotton-cake • 7 Bean straw . 5 Clover hay 7 Wheat straw 4i Linseed-cake 6* Oat straw 4 Wheat bmn . 64 Barley straw 4 346 FOODS AND FEEDING As regards the constituents of the ash, oil-cakes and bran are richest in phosphoric acid ; straw and hay are poorest. Potash is abundant in malt dust, oil-cakes, bran, bean straw, and roots, but is deficient in the cereal grains. Lime is largely contained in the ash of turnips, and in the hay and straw of leguminous crops, but it occurs only in small quantity in potatoes and in the cereal grains, maize and rice amongst the latter being specially poor in lime. Succulent foods, containing high percentages of water, are necessarily correspondingly poor in the valuable food ingredients. The figures of Table XXIV. show the average percentages of water in the foods named. Table XXIV.- —Average Percentages ofWATZVi in certain Foods Turnip . . 92 Meadow clover, before flow- Swede . . . 89 ering . . . 83 Cabbage 89 Brewers' grains . 77 Mangel . 88 Pasture grass . . 75 Carrot . . 86 Potatoes 75 Parsnip . . 85 Note that the potato contains considerably less water than the turnip, mangel, carrot, &c. Whilst 100 lb. of potatoes would include 251b. of solid matter, 100 lb. of turnips would contain only 8 to 10 lb. of sohds. In Table XXV. are given complete analyses of swede and mangel. Table XXV. — Composition of average samples o/ Swede and Mangel Water . . . . ' Albuminous compounds . Sugar Starch, digestible fibre, &c. Woody fibre (cellulose) Mineral matter (ash) 1 Containing nitrogen In turnips and swedes the leaf contains a higher percentage of dry substance than the root, and the dry substance of the leaf includes a much higher percentage of both nitrogen and Swede Mangel 89-23 87-80 •98 1*12 S-S4 6-41 274 3-08 •8S -78 •66 •81 lOO'OO 100-00 •16 •18 FIBRE IN FOODS 2,A7' total mineral matter than does that of the root. In turnips the proportion of leaf to root is much higher than in swedes. More- over, whilst in turnips a very large amount of the matter grown is accumulated in the leaf and only serves as manure again, in swedes a comparatively small proportion of the produce is use- less as food for stock. Turnips, swedes, and mangel are essentially sugar crops. The average amount of dry matter may be put approximately at 8 per cent, in white turnips, 9 per cent, in yellow turnips, 1 1 per cent, in swedes, and 12-5 per cent, in mangel. Of the dry matter of white and yellow turnips nearly one-half, or more, may be sugar ; of that of swedes more than one-half ; and of" that of mangel nearly, or as much as, two-thirds may be sugar. One reason for keeping mangel is that the sugar in the root is only properly developed during the process of storing. The foods poorest in water — that is, the driest, or most solid foods — are those rich in fat. For example, decorticated cotton-cake has only 8 per cent, of water, and linseed-cake about 12 per cent. Hays and ^traws, cereal grains, beans, and peas all contain between 14 and 16 per cent, of water. Whilst concentrated foods are more especially called for in the case of horses and pigs, which possess comparatively small stomachs, and through whose intestinal canals the food passes somewhat rapidly, in the case of cattle and sheep, on the other hand, fodders containing a considerable amount of indigestible fibre are not only useful but necessary. They impart bulk and solidity to the mass undergoing digestion, and they help to keep the paunch full, this division of the ruminant stomach never being entirely empty, even in the case of starving animals. A sheep is capable of digesting about twice as much as a horse of the total organic matter contained in the chaff of wheat straw. Table XXVI. shows the average percentages of fibre in the case of foods specially characterised in this way. Table XXVI. — Average Percentages ^Fibre in certain Foods Wheat straw 40 Clover hay . 26 Barley straw 40 Meadow hay 26 Oat straw • 39 Undecorticated cotton-cake . 20 Bean straw • 35 348 FOODS AND FEEDING The cereal straws are extensively cut up into chaff in order to be used as fodder, though they are sometimes fed to stock in the long condition. Their average composition is shown in Table XXVII., most of the soluble carbohydrates in each case being cellulose. ' Table XXVII. — Average composition of the Straw pulses, and bran all have high albuminoid ratios ; in the case of roots the albuminoid ratios are low ; and, in the case of the cereal straws, very low. For the information of the student, it may be useful to show 350 FOODS AND FEEDING ho-w an albuminoid ratio is calculated. Take the analysis of oats in Table XXII. Here the percentage of fat is 6-3, which, multiplied by 2-3, gives I4-49. Add to this 57*i7 for the carbo- hydrates, and the sum is 7 1 '66. Hence, the albuminoid ratio, in the case of oats, is i3*o6 : 7I-66, or I : 5^. Again, take the analysis (Table XX.) of linseed cake, of good quahty. Here, 10-55 X 2-3 = 24-265, and 24-265 -t- 34-47 = 58-735. Hence, the al- buminoid ratio is 28-31 : 58-735, or as nearly as possible i : 2. The ratios, as thus obtained, are only approximately correct, for it has been assumed that the organic constituents which -enter into the calculation are entirely digestible, and that all the nitrogen is in the albuminoid form. It is obvious, however, that, as the albuminoid ratio depends upon the digestive co-efficient, the albuminoid ratio of a food stuff must vary according to the kind of animal to which the food is given. The subject is too intricate to be further pursued in an elementary work. It may be added, however, that those who have made a study of the principles of stock-feeding make use of the albuminoid ratio in order to devise mixtures or combina- tions of foods which shall yield the best result in the circum- stances given. For the practical stock-feeder the problem is how to turn to the best commercial advantage the food-stuffs he has already got on his farm — the hay, straw, roots, etc., which are produced in the ordinary routine of farming. His skill is exercised in purchasing such additional foods as can be most profitably associated for feeding purposes with the produce of the farm. In making his selection, he is bound to take into consideration the market prices of the various purchasable foods, and also to allow some weight to the residual manurial value of the mixtures he proposes to use. The most valuable ingredients of manure — nitrogen, phos- phoric acid, and potash — will obviously be more abundant in the case of fully grown animals put up for fattening than in the case of animals still growing, or of milch cows. Table XXIX. shows the average percentage of dry matter in certain cattle foods, and the quantities of that dry matter which may be classed as nitrogen and ash respectively. The last two columns show how much of the ash is phosphoric acid and how much is potash. CATTLE FOODS 3SI In other words, the ' dry matter ' in the first column includes the ' nitrogen' and ' mineral matter ' in the 2nd and 3rd columns, Table XXIX, — The Average Percentage of certain Constituents in Cattle Foods Dry matter Mineral Phos- Foods Nitrogen matter (Ash) phoric acid Potash per cent. per cent. per cent. per cent. per cent. Linseed .... 90 '00 3-60 4-00 I '54 I '37 Linseed-cake . 8850 475 6-50 2 00 1-40 Decorticated cotton-cake go'oo 6-60 7-00 310 2-00 Palm-nut cake 91 "oo 2-50 360 1-20 0-50 Undecorticated cotton- cake .... 87-00 37S 6-00 2-00 2-00 Cocoa-nut cake 90 'OO 3"4o 6-00 1-40 2-00 Rape-cake ■ . 89-00 4-90 7-50 2-50 I 'SO Peas 85-00 3-6o 2-50 0-85 0-96 Beans 85-00 4-00 3-00 I -10 1-30 Lentils . 88 -oo 4-20 4-00 0-7S 0-70 Tares (seed) 84-00 4-20 2-50 0-80 0-80 Maize .... 88 -oo 1-70 1-40 o'6o o'37 Wheat . . 85-00 1-80 1-70 .0-85 053 Malt .... 94-00 1-70 2-50 0-80 0-50 Barley . 84-00 1-65 2-20 0-7S o'SS Oats 86-00 2-00 2-80 0-60 0-50 Ricermeal 90-00 1-90 7 'SO 0-60 0-37 Malt combs . 90-00 3 '90 8-00 2 00 2-00 Fine pollard . 86-00 2-4S S'So 2-90 1-46 Coarse pollard 86-00 2-50 6-40 3 "SO 1-50 Bran 86-00 2-50 ■ 6-50 3-60 I -45 Clover hay 83-00 2-40 7-00 0-57 I'So Meadow hay . 84-00 ^■5o 6-50 0-40 1-60 Pea straw 82-50 I'OO 3-50 0-3S I -00 Oat straw 83-00 0-50 S'So 0-24 I -00 Wheat straw 84-00 o'4S 5-00 0-24 o-8o Barley straw 85-00 0-40 4-50 0-18 I -00 Bean straw 82-50 0-90 S-oo 0-30 i-oo Potatoes . 25-00 0-25 I'OO o'lS o'5S Carrots .... 14-00 0-20 0-90 0-09 0-28 Parsnips . 16-00 0-22 I -00 0-19 0-36 Swedes . ■II -oo 0-25 060 0-06 0-22 Mangel . 12-50 0-22 I -bo 0-07 0-40 Yellow turnips 9-00 0-20 0-65 o-o6 0-22 White turnips . 8-00 0-18 0-68 ,0-05 0-30 352 MACHINES FOR PREPARING FOOD whilst the ' mineral matter ' in the 3rd column includes the ' phos- phoric acid ' in the 4th column, and the ' potash ' in the 5th. The food-stuffs used upon the farm fall naturally into three classes. These are (l) the succulent foods grown on the farm, such as pasture grass, clover, and root crops (including mangel, turnips, swedes, cabbage, kale, rape, kohl rabi, etc.) ; (2) dry foods grown upon the farm, such as grass and clover hay, straw, and grain of all kinds ; (3) purchased foods, such as oil-cakes, brewers' grains, malt dust, maize, etc. Of course it may happen, and sometimes does, that a farmer finds it convenient to purchase foods belonging to either or both of the first two classes, but this does not alter the fact that these foods are the direct pro- duce of the farms of this country. Where live-stock are main- tained upon a farm, part or all of which is under the.plough, the usual practice is to feed the green crops to the stock, as also in winter and partly in summer the stored roots and the hay and straw, and to sell off the farm the grain (cereals and pulses) which has been grown thereon. MACHINES FOR PREPARING FOOD FOR STOCK The chaff-cutter is used to cut hay and straw into short pieces, partly to aid mastication and digestion, but more es- pecially with a view to economy, as hay and straw are much wasted when they are given in the long state. Besides, it is possible to mix other foods, such as meal, cake, and roots, more economically when there is a bulky mass of short, dry material to stir them among. Chaff is therefore generally looked upon as a vehicle for conveying these foods to animals, in addition to being a food in itself. Chaff-cutters are made in all sizes, from small hand- worked implements up to powerful steam-driven machines (fig. 149) carrying half-a-dozen large knives, capable of cutting the straw into half-inch lengths as fast as it can be passed through the largest threshing machines. The material to be cut is placed in a long trough, and is drawn forward, by means of cogged and fluted rollers, to the knives, The latter are arranged radi- ally on a flywheel, cutting from the centre outwards, and pass rapidly by the face or mouth of the feeding-box. The arrange- CHAFF-CUTTERS AND CORN-MILLS 353 ment of the knives is such that there is no inten^ission in the cutting, for, as one knife is finishing its cut, the next has just commenced to operate. The machines are usually fitted with a riddling and a bagging apparatus, which sift out the dust and dirt from the chaff, and elevate the latter into bags. Farm corn-mills take various forms. The common grist- mill consists of a fluted conical roller working in a correspond- FiG. 149. -Steam-power Chaff-cutter, with Sifting, Dusting, AND Bagging Apparatus. I, wheel working caving screen crank. K, crank rod. L, lever for putting machine in and out of gear. M, chaff elevator and bagger. N, pulley of chaff elevator. O, strap working N. p, chain supporting N. R, travelling wheels. S, platform guards. A, driving wheel. B, main shaft, which also carries the knife wheel, c, feed box. D, endless chain, vrith _ rods for feeding. E, plate protecting cogs, which work the feeding rollers, etc. F, lower endless chain, vrith rods for feeding. G, knife-wheel guard. H, caving screen. ing fluted concave ; all mounted on a frame. The grain falls into an opening at the narrow end of the concave, and is forced between the roller and concave by means of blades placed spirally on the main axle, which carries the roller within the concave, and the crushed grain or meal passes out of an aperture at the broad end of the concave. In other mills, the grinding is done by a fluted cylindrical roller working against a A A 354 MACHINES FOR PREPARING FOOD chilled surface within a concave. Occasionally, on large farms, small stone mills are used. Cake-breakers are employed to break up oil-cakes into small pieces for giving to stock, thereby rendering the cake more Fig. ISO. — Turnip cutter. A, handle. B, fly-wheel, c, iron body. D, hopper grate. E, auxiliary handle. F, cast frame. G, thumb screw. H, wooden legs. I, handles for carrying machine. K, top hopper. L, wrench, or spanner. M, pricker. N, bottom hopper. O, adjustable bearings. readily digested. The usual method is to pass the cakes between a pair of notched rollers. The rollers are made of spindles run- ning below the bottom of the hopper, and carrying star sections, which are strung on so as to form serrated cylinders. As the TURNIP-C UTTERS 355 cakes are rarely broken finely enough by one pair of rollers, the most efficient machines are fitted with an upper and a lower pair. Turnip-cutters (fig. 150) are made to slice roots into pieces of convenient size for animals to eat. The ordinary turnip-cutter is a cylindrical barrel (fig. 151) adjusted upon a frame carrying a hopper. The barrel is fitted with rows of knives placed V-wise upon it, and, as the barrel revolves, they cut the roots, which are held up against the frame, into fingers or slices. There are many other forms of root-cutters, commonly called ' pulpers,' which tear the roots into small shreds. Some of these are made much on the principle of the turnip-cutter just de- FiG. 151. — Turnip-cutter barrel. A, spindle passing through centre of barrel. B, steel plate. C, acute-angled knives. D, cast barrel to which the steel plates and knives are attached. scribed, but possess smaller knives differently shaped; In some the barrel is made of conical form. In others a disc-wheel is employed, into which the cutting sections are fitted radially from the centre, the sections being either chisel-pointed blades, or curved teeth, or nutmeg-grater-shaped knives. Pulped roots are generally mixed with chaff for feeding purposes. GORSE-MILLS are used to reduce gorse-shoots to a pulp. The masticating cylinders consist each of a series of saw-like discs, separated by smooth washers, and working into each other so closely that the prickles of the gorse cannot escape being crushed between them. 356 THE ART OF BREEDING CHAPTER XXII THE ART OF BREEDING The art of breeding is based upon general principles which are easily grasped. It is, within certain limits, true that like begets like, so that whatever peculiarities the sire and dam may possess are reasonably to be looked for in the offspring. Accord- ingly, the skill of the breeder is exercised in the mating together of animals whose respective qualities are such as it is desired to concentrate in one and the same individual. If any special character is developed to different extremes in the two parents, it is likely that, in the offspring, the excess in the one parent will neutralise the defect in the other, and the corresponding character or ' point ' in the offspring will come out to a normal extent. If a sheep-breeder finds he has ' quality ' in his flock, but that size is lacking, he endeavours to correct this defect by the use of rams which will give greater size without sacrifice of quality. Any defect in other classes of live-stock is remedied on similar principles. The breeder, having fixed in his mind the type at which he aims, has to exercise care in the maintenance of the type when once it is established. Skill of eye, of hand, and of judgment must be continuously brought to bear upon the work, for — fail- ing this — the herd or flock or stud will soon show a falling off in quality. At the same time care has to be exercised in not breeding too closely, that is, in not — generation after generation — mating together animals which are closely related to each other by blood. The pursuit of this system is known as ' breed- ing in and in,' and though cases arise in which it may prove advisable for a time, a too close adherence to the practice is likely to develop constitutional weakness. Animals inherit not only the useful and desirable qualities of their parents, but their defects also. Consequently, close-breeding long-continued may, especially in the case of pure-bred animals, develop a weakness, or delicacy of constitution, which it may require considerable time to ' breed out ' again. Reversion. — The greater the extent to which animals are pure-bred — that is, have been bred true to a given type for a REVERSION AND VARIATION 357 long period — the more ' fixed ' or permanent are their ' points ' or peculiarities, and the more capable are they of transmitting these unimpaired, to their offspring. It sometimes happens, however, that an animal will develop a characteristic which was not possessed by either of its parents. The offspring of a pair of polled cattle may, for example, develop horns. Or, as another example, an animal may develop colour markings, unlike those of its parents, and not recognised in the breed to which it belongs. Such cases are illustrations of what is termed reversion, atavism (Lat. atavus, forefather), or ' throwing back.' It is be- lieved that these are ancestral characters which have well-nigh disappeared, though in past times they might have been com- monly developed. Such cases are of interest because they are capable of throwing some light on the past history of a breed, the origin of which is lost in obscurity. Variation. — Side by side with reversion, however, the breeder meets with cases of variation, which are not only less easy to ex- plain, but which it may be impossible tp distinguish from cases of atavism. The longer a line of stock has been pure-bred, the less likely is it to afford examples either of reversion or of vari- ation. But, granting variation to occur — and that it does occur is testified by the improvements that have been effected in the races both of cultivated plants and of domesticated animals — and supposing the variation to be useful or desirable, then by breeding from the animal in which it has become manifest, the improver of stock endeavours to perpetuate the character. This is still more feasible if the variation is exhibited by several animals, and if in time the variation should become ' fixed ' — that is, rendered permanent — it is no longer regarded as a variation, but takes its place as one of the ' points,' or cha- racteristics, of the breed. Prepotency. — The longer a breed has been preserved pure, the more likely are its individual members to faithfully transmit their characteristics. In this respect they are, what is termed, prepotent. This prepotency is commonly made use of in impart- ing to under-bred stock characteristics which are not inherent in them. For example, the advice is commonly given to use a pure-bred bull of character and quality amongst a herd of non- descript dairy cows, as a result of which the heifer calves are 358 THE ART OF BREEDING likely to grow into cows superior to their mothers. More espe- cially will this be the case if the bull himself comes of a good dairy stock, and is the offspring of an excellent milch cow. The same line of reasoning applies to the use of a i^am of good lineage amongst a flock of ewes, from which it is desired to obtain lambs which will fatten readily and rapidly, and so be ready for the butcher sooner than would be the case had an under-bred ram been used. Selection. — Whilst, in the improvement of stock of all kinds,, the breeder should exercise his powers of selection both on the male and on the female side, there is a reason for special trouble being taken in the selection of the sire. This is, that the sire is usually the parent of many offspring, whilst the dam — in the case of the mare, the cow, and the ewe — only gives birth to one or two young in the course of a year. Hence the pe(Ugree, that is the line of descent, of the sire is of special interest and importance. A breeder often begins operations with a very indifferent herd of cattle, or a decidedly inferior flock of sheep. But by the use of pure-bred sires, the prepotency of the latter has its effect, and the offspring will probably resemble the sires rather than the dams. Pure-bred sires are again mated with the female offspring, and, by the continuation of this course for some years, it is possible to so improve the herd or flock that at length it comes to be recognised as ' pure bred.' The advantages of pure-bred stock are many. In the first place, it costs practically no more — sometimes less — to rear a pure-bred animal than one that is not pure bred. In the next place, if it is a butcher's animal, there will be far less ' offal ' about it, and more substance in the useful parts of the carcass, if it is pure bred. It is not to be inferred that any pure-bred animal will make a desirable parent, simply because it is pure bred. Besides this it should be healthy, and of sound constitution : conditions that are not always to be relied upon even in pure-bred animals. The breeder should, moreover, aim at the development of qualities that are useful rather than of those that are merely fanciful. There is plenty of scope for the exercise of the latter art amongst dogs and pigeons and rabbits, but it should be PURE-BRED AND CROSS-BRED 359 discouraged in the more serious business of breeding cattle, sheep, and pigs, amongst which the development of a fancy point is only of value when it indicates the simultaneous possession of some more solid quality. The term thoroughbred is used in strictness to denote the purity of lineage of the race-horse. In all other cases, the same idea is conveyed by the term pure-bred. Accordingly, the word ' thoroughbred ' is used to denote a blood-horse, which is spoken of simply as ' a thoroughbred.' The other term is commonly used as an adjective, — for example, a pure-bred Clydesdale, a pure-bred Devon, a pure-bred Southdown, a pure-bred Berkshire. Usually, however, the adjective is dropped, and when it is said that a man has a Hackney stud, or a herd of Shorthorns, or a flock of Shropshires, or a herd of Berkshire swine, it is understood to be pure-bred. A cross-bred animal is the offspring of parents of two dis- tinct breeds. Cross-breeding is an effective means of raising cattle and sheep for butchers' beasts, and fine specimens of crpss-bred animals appear at the winter fat-stock shows. The cross can be specified by linking the names of the breeds of the parents together, putting that of the sire first : thus a Short- horn-Galloway is the offspring of a Shorthorn bull and a Galloway cow. A Hampshire-Oxford sheep is the produce of a Hampshire Down ram and an Oxford Down ewe. A very usefiil term, more used in America than in England, is grade. It is applied to animals, one only of whose parents — ■ usually the sire— is pure bred. A Shorthorn grade, for example, is the produce of a Shorthorn bull and of a cow which cannot be referred to any recognised breed. Grade animals are common in the markets. Whenever the student sees a cross-bred or a grade, he should endeavour, by noting its characteristics, to determine its parentage. This exercise is always interesting and instructive, and, in the case of a first cross, it is usually easy. Amongst the nondescript cattle that find their way to market, some extraordinary admixtures of blood may sometimes be traced. Breed records. — Breeders of different classes of live stock have found it conducive to their interests, and favourable to the 36o BREEDS OF HORSES progress of the breed with which they are concerned, to com- bine together in societies or associations, and to publish period- ically a volume containing the name, pedigree, breeder, owner, etc., of each pure-bred animal. Such a volume is called a Stud Book in the case of horses, a Herd Book in the case of cattle and pigs, and a Flock Book in the case of sheep. In some cases the volume is published annually, in others less fre- quently. The Shire Horse Stud Book, the Shorthorn Herd Book, the Oxford Down Flock Book, and the Berkshire Herd Book, may be cited as examples. These books, then, are registers or records, and breeders of pure-bred stock take special care to gfet their animals properly entered. In the case of old-established books, it is possible to trace the pedigree of living animals back through numbers of genera- tions. Gestation. — The time during which a female carries her young is termed Xiie period of gestation (Lat. gestatio, a bearing or carrying). The actual length of the period varies slightly in all animals, but in the case of farm stock is, on the average, as follows : — mare, 340 days ; cow, 285 days ; ewe, 144 days ; sow, 120 days. Or, roughly, the mare, eleven months ; the cow, nine months ; the ewe, five months ; and the sow, four months. CHAPTER XXIII HORSES : THEIR BREEDS, FEEDING, AND MANAGEMENT The native breeds of horses recognised in this country are known as : — Thoroughbred Coaching Shire Hackney . Pony Cleveland Clydesdale Suffolk The Thoroughbred, Hackney, Pony, Coaching, and Cleve- land are breeds of light horses. The Shire, Clydesdale, and Suffolk are breeds of heavy horses. THOROUGHBRED 361 Thoroughbred. — Of the breeds of horses, this is the oldest, and it is sometimes called the ' blood-horse ' in reference to the length of time through which its purity of descent can be traced. It is descended from the old native horses of England. In past times Arab and Turkish sires were imported for the im- provement of the breed, though the use of Eastern blood has, with a few exceptions, long since been abandoned. The frame of the Thoroughbred (fig. 152) is light, slender, and graceful ; Fig. 152. — Thoroughbred Stallion. its limbs are clean cut and sinewy, its skin is fine, its hair is glossy, and its eyes are bright and intelligent. Being so highly bred, it is apt to be nervous and excitable, and is sometimes unruly, but its speed, resolution, and endurance, as tested on the racecourse, are beyond praise. The demand for hunting horses has, during recent years, been productive of useful efforts to improve their quality by crossing thoroughbred stallions with half-bred mares, and work of this nature has been readily undertaken on many horse- breeding farms. 362 BREEDS OF HORSES A good type of hunter horse should be thick and strong on the back and loin, with long powerful quarters and mus- cular thighs, and hocks neatly shaped and clean. The head should be long, lean, and blood-like, and the eye full. A mahogany-brown colour is in high favour, then black, bay, or dark chestnut. Greys, roans, and light chestnuts are less saleable. Hackney. — The term nag, applied to the active riding or trotting horse, is derived from the Anglo-Saxon knegan, to neigh. The Normans brought with them their own word haquenie, or hacquende, the French derivative from the Latin equus, a horse, whence the name Hackney. Both Nag and Hackney continue to be used as synonymous terms. Frequent mention is made of Hackneys and Trotters in old farm accounts of the fourteenth century. The first noteworthy trotting Hackney stallion, of the modern type, was a horse foaled about 1755, and variously known as the Schales Horse, Shields, or Shales, and most of the recognised Hackneys of to-day trace back to him. The breeding of Hackneys is extensively pursued in the counties of Norfolk, Cambridge, Huntingdon, Lincoln, and York. Of modem Hackneys (fig. 153), some are riding horses, and some are driving horses. The breeder's object is to produce an animal which is saleable at an early age, which can be bred and reared at moderate expense, and which can be broken in without much risk. Excellent results have followed the use of Hackney sires upon half-bred mares, the latter being the offspring of thoroughbred stallions and trotting mares. The movement, or, as it is termed, the 'action,' of the Hackney is all-important. He should go light in hand, and the knee should be so elevated and advanced during the trot as to be seen by the rider projecting beyond the breast, whilst, before the foot is put down, the leg should be well extended. Above all, the Hackney should possess good hock action, as dis- tinguished from mere fetlock action, the propelling power depending upon the efficiency of the former. To be classed as a Hackney an animal must be over 14 hands high, that is, exceeding 56 inches. The pony — next to be con- sidered — must, on the contrary, not exceed 14 hands. A horse's PONIES 363 height is measured at the withers, by the vertical line falling just behind the fore-legs. Pony. — The native breeds of ponies include — New Forest Shetland Welsh Highland English Dartmoor Exmoor Ponies range in height from 14 hands down to S§ or 9 hands, many Shetland ponies not exceeding the latter. As in the case Fig. 153-- -H.-\CKNF,Y ST.VI.LION. of the Hackney, so with the pony, thoroughbred blood has been used, and with manifestly good results. A great object with the pony breeder is to control size, — to compress the most valuable qualities into the least compass. He endeavours to breed an animal possessing a small head, perfect shoulders, true action, and good manners. A combination of the best points of the Hunter with the style and finish of the Hackney produces a class of weight-carrying pony which is always saleable. 364 nREEDS OF HORSES Coaching. — The Yorkshire coach-horse (fiy. 154) is exten- sively bred in the Nortli and East Ridings of the county, and the thoroughbred has taken a share in its development. The colour is usually bay or brown, the legs beingblack. The mane and tail are abundant, but not curly. A Hne head, sloping shoulders, strong loins, lengthy quarters, high-stepping action, flat legs, and sound feet are looked for. The height varies from 16 hands to 16 hands 2 inches. Cleveland. — The Cleveland Bay(fig. 155) is a near relation of the Yorkshire coach-horse, and is bred in various parts of l-'iG. 154, — Yorkshire Coach-hokse. Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland. He is well adapted for the plough, for heavy draught, and for slow saddle work. Some specimens make imposing-looking carriage horses. The colour is light or dark bay, with clean black legs, and black mane and tail. Though rather coarse-headed, the Cleveland Bay has a well-set shoulder and neck, a deep chest, and round barrel. The height is from 16 to 17 hands. Shire. — In the closing years of the eighteenth centuiy, Arthur Young, describing his agricultural tours, made reference to the large black old English horse, ' the produce principally of the SHIRE 365 Shire counties in the heart of England.' Long previous to this, however, the word Shire, in connection with horses, was used in the statutes of Henry VIII. By the various names of the War Horse, the Great Horse, the Old EngHsh Black Horse, and the Shire Horse, the breed has for centuries been cultivated in the rich fen-lands of Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire, and in many counties to the west. The Shire (fig. 1 56) is the largest of draught horses, the stallion commonly attaining a height of 17 hands. Though the Fig. 155. — Cleveland Bay Stallion. black colour is frequently met with, bay and brown are now more usually seen. The lighter colours, such as chestnut, roan, and grey, are not viewed with much favour. With their im- mense size and weight — 1,800 lb. to 2,000 lb. — the Shires com- bine great strength, and they are withal docile and intelligent. They stand on short stout legs, with a plentiful covering of long hair extending along the back of the limbs from knees and hocks to pasterns. The head is of medium size, and broad between the eyes. The neck is fairly long, and well arched on to the shoulders, which are deep and strong, and moderately oblique. -,66 BREEDS OF HORSES The chest is wide and full, the back short and straight, the ribs are round and deep, the hind quarters long, level, and well let down into the muscular thighs. The cannon bones should be flat, heavy, and clean, and the feet wide, tough, and prominent at the heels. A good type of .Shire horse combines symmetrical outline, and bold free action, with clean, heavy, flat bone, and soft silky hair. Clydesdale. — The home of this .Scotch breed of heavy Fig. 156. — Shire St.\llion. horses is in the valley of the Clyde. The Clydesdale (fig. 157) is somewhat smaller than the Shire, the average height of the former being about 16 hands 2 inches. The shoulder is more oblique than is the case with the Shire. The favourite colour is brown, particularly if of a dark shade, or dappled. Black is also a common colour, but grey is not encouraged. White markings on one or more of the legs, with a white star or stripe on the face, are quite usual. The ' feathering,' that is, the development of CLYDESDALE AND SUFFOLK 367 silky hair on the backs of the legs, is a point to which Clydes- dale breeders attach much importance, it being regarded as an indication of strong healthy bone. The bones of the legs should be short, flat, clean, and hard. With symmetry, activity, strength, and endurance, the Clydesdale associates a good temper and willing disposition, and is easily broken to harness. Suffolk. — Whilst the Shires and the Clydesdales present many points in common, the Suffolk (fig. 158) is ahorse which is Fig. 157. — Clydesdale Mare. at once seen to be quite distinct from either. It stands altogether lower, its body looking almost too heavy for its limbs ; it pos- sesses a characteristic chestnut or light dun colour ; and its legs are quite free of the ' feather ' which is so much admired in the two other breeds. How long the Suffolks have been associated with the county after which they are named is unknown, but they are mentioned as long ago as 1586, in Camden's 'Britannia.' With an average height of about 16 hands, they often have a weight of as much as 2,000 lb., and this may explain the appearance which has given rise to the name of the Suffolk 368 FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF HORSES Punch, by which the breed is known. If the Suffolk is not in all respects a handsome animal, he is none the less a most Fig. 158. — Suffolk stallion. resolute and unwearying; worker, and is richly endowed with many of the best qualities of a horse. FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF HORSES When a mare gives birth to a young animal she is said to foal, and the offspring is called ^foal — a colt foal, if a male ; a filly foal, if a female. She suckles the foal for five or six months, during which time it runs with its dam, occasionally accompanies her in her work, and learns to graze, and to partake of such fodder as crushed oats and bran — nitrogenous foods that help the young creature to build up its muscle. At the end of the period named, the foal is separated from the mare and weaned. Its diet then consists of oats, bruised or whole, and hay, and it should have two or three meals a day, with a little bran, or boiled linseed, added at the evening meal. If skim milk from cows is available, it may be given to the foal for some FOOD OF WORKING HORSES 369 time after weaning, and, though housed at night, the foal may have a run on a pasture during daytime. A foal will thrive better in company with other foals than if kept alone. It should be accustomed to the halter, even before it is weaned and, later, to harness. Kind but firm treatment will be found more effectual than rough usage, and the young animal should be taught to obey the voice rather than be driven with the whip. A good ploughman works his horses almost entirely by the voice. Soft, spongy pastures, growing a rank, but good, herbage, are the best kinds of grass land for rearing young horses during summer, as they favour the growth and expansion of the hoof In winter, the young animals are usually housed, but have access to large airy yards, as exercise is absolutely essential to their healthy development. Some of the most successful breeders, however, prefer to let the foal run all the winter on grass, sheds being available for shelter in bad weather, and for feeding in. Regular feeding with generous food must be continued. Linseed cake, beans and peas, oats and hay, with a few cut swedes, are suitable foods. At the age of two to three years, the animal may be put to constant work. The feeding and management of the mature horse must be determined strictly in accordance with the objects for which horses are kept. Whether used for riding or driving, or for purposes of draught, in towns, or on farms, the horse is a work- ing animal. The performance of work involves the waste of muscular tissue, and to make this good, a liberal allowance of nitrogenous food is necessary. But the performance of work equally results in the evolution of heat, and this is largely due to the oxidation of carbon. Con- sequently the horse requires a liberal supply of carbonaceous food along with the nitrogenous material. For horses of speed — racers and hunters — beans, oats, and hay are found most suit- able. For draught animals, a cheap food, such as maize, is used, rather than beans and oats, but in such cases it is found expedient to give, with the maize, clover hay of the best quality. Though oats are s ometimes given whole, beans and maize are com- monly broken or crushed, as they are in that form more readily attacked by the juices of the alimentary canal, and are thus B B 370 FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF HORSES less likely to escape digestion. For the same reason, it is good practice to cut the hay, or straw, or a mixture of both, into chaff. A horse has not the capacious stomach of an ox or a sheep, neither has it the power of ruminating its food. For these reasons, it is necessary that horses should have their food in a more concentrated form than oxen or sheep. A full grown horse at constant work upon a farm should get from loto 12 lb. of bruised oats and from 8 to 12 lb. of hay per day, with a supply of rack-meat (green fodder or good cavings) at night. The oats may be replaced, if desirable, by an equivalent mixture of beans and maize, or beans and bran. Digestibility is promoted by well mixing the chaff and other ingredients together, and moistening the mass with water the day before it is required for use. A moderate allowance of roots, or other green foods as they come in season, should be given. A lump of rock-salt should always be kept either in the manger or in any convenient place where the animals may have access to it. Regularity of feeding should be practised, moderate meals at fairly short intervals being, on account of the nature and duties of the horse, preferable to heavier meals at longer intervals. An abundant supply of pure water, soft rather than hard, should always be available. The stable should be commodious, freely ventilated, well- drained, and withal warm and comfortable. It is most im- portant that stable drains should be on the surface, and should empty into traps outside the stable. A horse in a fairly warm stable will require less food for the maintenance of the heat of the body than if kept in a cold draughty building. At the same time, it is a serious error to secure warmth at the sacri- fice of pure air. Horses often incur more risks of ill-health in badly constructed stables than they do in the field, and when it is remembered that, in winter time, farm horses often spend sixteen houi-s out of the twenty-four in the stable, the importance of a healthy dwelling-house is at once seen to be very great. BREEDS OF CATTLE 371 CHAPTER XXIV CATTLE : THEIR BREEDS, FEEDING, AND MANAGEMENT The native breeds of Cattle recognised in this country in- clude : — Shorthorn : Longhorn Ayrshire Hereford Red Polled Jersey- Devon Aberdeen-Angus Guernsey South Devpn (or Hams) Galloway Kerry Sussex " '' Highland Dexter Kerry Welsh '-'p- With three exceptions (the Shorthorn, the Longhorn, and the Red Polled) these are all distinguished by geographical names, which indicate what may be called the ' homes ' of the breeds, and which serve to show where they severally originated. The Shorthorn, Hereford, Devon,' South Devon, Sussex; Long- horn, and Red Polled breeds belong to England. The Aber- deen-Angus, Galloway, Highland, and Ayrshire breeds belong to Scotland. The Jersey and Guernsey are the Channel Islands breeds, and the Kerry and Dexter Kerry are Irish breeds. Some breeds of cattle are specially distinguished as beef- makers. These include the Shorthorn, Hereford, Devofi, Sussex, Welsh, Aberdeen-Angus, Galloway, and Highland. Certain breeds have become famous as milk-producers, and make excellent dairy cattle. Such are the Shorthorn, South Devon, Longhorn, Red Polled, Ayrshire, Jersey, Guernsey, Kerry, and Dexter Kerry. Besides the Shorthorn, however, the Devon, the Welsh, the Red Polled, the Dexter Kerry, and one or two other breeds are claimed, by those who have bestowed care and attention upon, their improvement, as useful for both beef-producing and dairy purposes. The biggest and heaviest cattle come from the beef-making breeds, and at the Christmas fat-stock shows huge oxen may, sometimes be seen weighing a ton or more each, these, how- ever, being often cross-lired. Very large beasts, if pure bred, usually belong to either the Shorthorn, Hereford, Sussex, Welsh, Aberdeen-Angus, or Galloway breeds. The Devon, Red Polled BB 2 372 BREEDS OF CATTLE and Guernsey are medium-sized cattle ; the Ayrshires are smaller. The Jerseys are small graceful cattle, but the two Irish breeds furnish the smallest cattle of the British Isles. As to colour, red is characteristic of the Hereford, Devon, Sussex, and Red Polled. Black is the dominating colour of the Welsh, Aberdeen-Angus, Galloway, Highland, Kerry, and Dexter Kerry. A yellowish colour is common in the Guernsey and South Devon breeds. Various shades of fawn colour are seen in the Jersey cattle. The Herefords, though with red bodies, have white faces, ' manes,' and dewlaps, whilst white pre- vails to a greater or less extent in the Shorthorn, Longhorn, and Ayrshire breeds. The Shorthorn breed is exceedingly variable in colour ; pure bred specimens may be either red, or white, or roan, or may be marked with two or more of these colours, the roan resulting from a blending of the white and red. Black is not'seen in a pure bred Shorthorn. Shorthorn. — This (figs. 159, 160) is the most widely dis- tributed of all the breeds of cattle, both at home and abroad. During the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the brothers Charles and Robert Colling set to work, by careful selection and breeding, to improve the cattle of the Teeswater district in the county of Durham. If the Shorthorn breed did not actually originate thus, it is indisputable that the efforts of the Collings . had a profound influence upon the fortunes of the breed, which is still termed the Durham breed in most parts of the world save in the land of its birth. Other shrewd breeders took the Short- horns in hand and established famous strains, the descendants of which can be traced down to the present day. By Thomas Booth, who dwelt at Killerby and Warlaby in Yorkshire, the ' Booth ' strains of Shorthorns were originated. Similarly, by Thomas Bates, of Kirklevington in Yorkshire, the 'Bates' families were established. When Shorthorn breeders of to-day talk of ' Booth blood,' or of ' Bates blood,' they refer to animals descended from the respective herds of Thomas Booth and Thomas Bates. As regards colour, many breeders prefer the roan to either red or white. The full red also has its adherents, but unbroken white is unpopular. Shorthorns are often spoken of as ' the red, white, and roan ' breed. SHORTHORN 373 The most distinctive character of the Shorthorn is the ease with which it adapts itself to varying conditions of soil, climate, Fig. 159.— Si-iorthokk Buli.. f^ Fig. 160. — Shokthoen Heifer. and management. Add to this that the breed is equally noted both for its beef-making and its milk-yielding properties, and — endowed as it is with such general usefulness — it is not difficult 374 BREEDS OF CATTLE to see why the Shorthorn is so extensively bred over such wide areas. In this country its importance exceeds that of any other breed, whether it be viewed as a grazier's beast or a dairyman's cow, and in numbers it probably ecpals those of all other breeds taken together. Shorthorns may be seen at nearly all the fairs and cattle markets of this country, — a statement that can be made of no other breed. For crossing purposes, the Short- horn is unrivalled, and there is more of the Shorthorn than ox any other blood in the majority of cross-bred cattle. Hereford. — The cattle of this breed (fig. i6i) are mostly maintained in Herefordshire and the adjoining counties. Whilst ;^.>.^""'' "'^-^'^-i y^^^. Fig. i6i. — Hhkefukd Bull. a full red is the general colour of the body, the Herefords are distinguished by their white faces, together with white chest and abdomen, and a white streak along the top of the back. The legs up to the knee or hock are also often white. The horns are moderately long, springing straight from the head in the bull, and turning somewhat upwards in the cow. Herefords, though they rear their own calves, have acquired but little fame as dairy cattle. They are, however, very hardy and produce beef of excellent quality. As, moreover, they are quiet and docile, they fatten easily and readily, and as raziers' beasts they cannot be surpassed. DEVON 375 Devon. — The Devon cattle — the ' Rubies of the West,' as they are often termed, in allusion to their colour — are reared chiefly in Devon and Somerset. They are of a whole red colour, the depth or richness of which varies with the individual, and which in summer becomes mottled with 'darker spots. They stand somewhat low ; are neat, compact, and plump (fig. 162) ; possess admirable symmetry ; and, though they do not attain the size of the Shorthorn or the Hereford, yet, taking their height into consideration, they perhaps weigh better than either. In the male animal the thick-set horns project straight out at right ■■^fi^'ivX JS^ Fig. 162. — Devon Cow. angles to the length of the body ; in the female they are more slender, and often curve neatly upwards. Being fine-limbed, active animals, they are well-adapted for grazing the poor pastures of their native hills, and they turn their food to the best account, yielding excellent beef. They have not attained much celebrity as milch kine, for, though their milk is of first- class quality, its cjuantity is usually small. South Devon (or Hams). — These cattle are quite a local breed, being restricted to that southern part of the county of Devon known as the Hams, whence they are also called 376 BREEDS OF CATTLE ' Hammers.' With a somewhat ungainly head, lemon-yellow hair, yellow skins, and large but hardly handsome udder, the South Devon breed bear far more resemblance to the Guernseys than to the trim-built cattle of the hills of North Devon. The cows are heavy milkers, and furnish excellent butter. Sussex. — This breed, which takes its name from its native county, has many points of resemblance to the Devon breed. The Susse.x cattle (fig. 163), however, are bigger, less refined in appearance, less graceful in outline, and of a deeper brown- chestnut colour than the Devons, — the 'dainty Devons,' as the Fig. 163. — Sussex Cow. latter may well be called in comparison with the massive Sussex cattle. As a hardy breed, capable of thriving on poor rough pas- tures, the Sussex are highly valued in their native districts, where they have been rapidly improved during recent years. They are essentially a beef-producing breed, the cows having little reputation as milkers. By stall-feeding they can be ripened off for the butcher at an early age. The Sussex cattle are said to ' die well,' that is, to yield a large proportion of meat in the best parts of the carcass. Welsh cattle (fig. 164) are mostly black in colour, and have LONG HORN 377 long- horns. When fully grown they make big ponderous beasts. They do not mature very rapidly, but their beef is of prime quality. In Wales, several varieties are recognised — the Anglesey, Pembroke, Glamorgan, — and the cows often acquire considerable reputation as milkers. As graziers' beasts they are well known in the midland counties of England, where, under the name of Welsh Runts, large herds of bullocks are fattened upon the pastures, or ' topped up ' in the yards in winter. LONGHORN. — The interest of this breed is chiefly historical. It was with the Longhorns that the famous Robert Bakewell, Fig. 164. — Welsh Bull. of Dishley, Leicestershire, gave evidence of his remarkable skill as an improver of cattle in the middle of the eighteenth century. At one period the Longhorns were widely spread in England and Ireland, but, as the Shorthorns extended their domain, the long-homed cattle made way for them. Longhorns are still to be seen in the midland counties of England, chiefly in Warwickshire. They are big, rather clumsy animals (fig. 165), with long drooping horns, which are very objectionable in these days of cattle transport by'rail and sea, and which sometimes grow in such a fashion as to prevent the 37a BREEDS OF CATTLE animals from grazing. The bullocks feed up to high weights, and the cows arc fair milkers. No lover of cattle can view these quaint creatures without experiencing some feeling of regret that the glor)' of the race has departed. Red Polled. — This is the only hornless breed of English cattle, and, though an old breed, it is within quite recent years that they have come into prominence. They were formerly known as the East Anglian Polls, and later as the Norfolk and Suffolk Polled cattle, being confined chiefly to the two counties named. They are (fig. i66) symmetrically built animals, ol medium size, and of uniformly red colour. They have a tuft of hair on the poll, or upper part of the forehead. Of the native breeds of England, the Red Polled have acquired the highest distinction as daii-y cattle, though they are distinguished rather for the extent of the period during which they continue in milk' than for the quantity they give at any one time. Not less are they valued, however, as beef-producers, and, as they are hardy and docile, they fatten readily and mature fairly early. Aberdeen-Angus.— This breed belongs to Aberdeenshire, and adjacent counties of Scotland, but numerous herds now POLLED BREEDS 379 ^ "JL J« "^.^.^ tiG. 156. — Red-polled Cow. '-:^^ Fig. 167. — Aberdeen-Angus Bull. 38o BREEDS OF CATTLE exist in England. The Aberdeen-Anyus cattle (often called ' Doddies ') possess glossy black coats, and have no horns (fig. 167). They attain great size and weight, and yield beef of excellent quality. Large numbers of them are sold as butchers' beasts in the London market. Galloway. — This breed takes its name from the district in the south-west of Scotland of which it is native. Like the Aberdeen-Angus cattle, the Galloways are hornless, and normally of a black colour. But the Galloway (fig. 168), with its thicker hide and shagg^• hair, suited to a wet climate, has a coarser appearance than the Aberdeen-Angus, the product of a less humid region, though it approaches the latter in size. The Galloways yield superior beef, but they mature less rapidly than the i\berdeen-Angus, and have no great claims to consideration as a milking breed. The Galloways make admirable beasts for the grazier, and the cross between the Galloway and the Short- horn, known as the ' blue g"rey,' is a favourite with the butcher. Highland.— Of all the breeds of British catde, that to which the terms Highland, West Highland, and Kyloe are variously applied is by far the most picturesque in appearance (fig. 169). They have their homes amidst the wild romantic scenery of the HIGHLAND 381 Highland counties and Western Isles of Scotland, though herds of them may be seen in various English parks. There is no hardier breed. In their native haunts they live exposed to all weathers, and thrive upon the scanty herbage which they gather with great effort. They have not made much progress towards early maturity, but their slowly ripened beef is of the choicest quality. Whilst they are not often remarkable for size, they look larger than they really are on account of the thick shaggy hair in which they are enveloped. The colour varies from light dun. Fig. I Highland Cattle. or tawny yellow, to black. Their long, handsomely-curved horns are set widely apart. Ayrshire. — This is the dairy breed of Scotland, where it has considerably overstepped the limits of the humid western county whence it takes its name. The Ayrshires (fig. 170) are usually of a white and brown colour, the patches being well defined. Sometimes the brown is replaced by red, and any one of the colours may prevail to the exclusion of the others. The neat shapely upstanding horns, with a peculiar 3S2 BREEDS OE CATTLE cun-e upward at the tip, are characteristic. The Ayrshires are of medium size, and are graceful movers, and the females ha\-e the wedge-shape possessed by typical dairy cows. They are a hardy breed, and give good yields of milk even from poor pastures. The milk of the Ayrshires is specially useful (p. 422) for cheese- making purposes. Jersey. — The home of this breed of graceful deer-like cattle (fig. 171) is in the island of Jersey, where, by means of stringent regulations against the importation of cattle, the breed has been kept pure for many generations. It is a dairy breed of the highest excellence, and, as the milk is especially rich in fat, the Fig. T70. — Aykshirk Bci.l. Jersey has attained a wide reputation as a butter-producing breed. It is a great favourite in England, where many pure- bred herds exist. The colours most preferred are the light silver-grey, the brown, and the fawn ; brindled markings are very rarely seen. The horns are short, and generally curved inwards : the bones are fine. The best milch cows have a yel- lowish circle round the eye, and the skin at the extremity of the tail of a deep yellow, almost orange, colour. The Jersey cattle possess peculiarities of colour not seen in any other breed CHANNEL ISLANDS BREEDS 383 in the British Isles. The cows are gentle and docile, but the bulls, despite their small size, are often fierce. Guernsey. — The islands of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, and Herm are the homes of the Guernsey cattle, which are kept pure there by the same kind of restrictions as are adopted in Jersey for the protection of the native breed of that island. Herds of pure-bred Guernseys exist in the Isle of Wight and in various southern counties of England. They have not the 384 BREEDS OF CATTLE refined and elegant appearance of the Jerseys, but they exceed the latter in size. They are usually of a rich yellowish-brown colour, patched with white, whilst in some cases their colour almost merits the appellation of ' orange and lemon.' The yellow colour inside the ears is a point always looked for by judges. The cows (fig. 172), large-bellied, and narrow in front, are truly wedge-shaped, the greatly developed milk-bag adding to the expanse of the hinder part of the body. They yield an abundance of milk, rich in fat, so that, like the Jerseys, they are admirable butter-producing cattle. The horns are yellow at the base, curved, and not coarse. The nose is free from black Fig. 173. — Kerry Cow. markings, whereas, in the Jerseys, there is a dark muzzle, en- circled by a light colour, thus giving a ' mealy-mouthed appearance. Kerry. — This is a breed of small black cattle (fig. 173) belonging to the south-west of Ireland, whence they have spread into many parts, not only of their native land, but of England as well. Although they are able to subsist on the roughest and scantiest of fare, and are exceedingly hardy, the cows are, nevertheless, excellent milkers, and have acquired notoriety as a dairy breed. The colour is black, but the cows sometimes DEXTER KERRY 38s have a little white on the udder. The horns are white, with black tip, and are turned upwards. The Kerry is active and graceful, long and lithe in body, and light-limbed. Dexter Kerry. — This breed is an offshoot of the Kerry, its origin being attributed to Mr. Dexter, who is credited with having established it, by selection and breeding, from the best mountain types of the Kerry. It is smallei^, shorter in the legs and more compact than the Kerry, and gains in plumpness what it loses in elegance (fig. 174). Whilst valuable as a beef-making animal, it is equally noted for its milk-producing capacity. Black Fig. 174. — Dexter Kerry Bull. IS the usual colour, but red is also recognised, with, in either case, a little white. When of a red colour, its appearance has been aptly compared to that of a grand Shorthorn viewed through the wrong end of a telescope. There need be no excuse for confounding the Kerry with the Dexter. The Kerry has a light deer-like head and horn, light limbs, with ribs, hips, and shoulders well-set, thin skin, straight back, light well-set tail, with long brush. The Dexter has, as has just been intimated, very much the character of a diminutive Shorthorn, with short strong legs, square body, flat back, thick shoulder, short neck, and well-set head and horn. c c 386 FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CATTLE FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CATTLE There are two modes of rearing calves. The older method — still followed in the case of valuable pedigree stock — is to let the calf run with its dam during the first season, and derive its nourishment direct from the udder of the cow. The newer method is to bring the calf up by hand on milk for a few weeks, the cow's milk afterwards becoming available for commercial purposes. Male calves are either destined to be sold off young to the butcher, to be killed for veal ; or, in the case of bullocks, they are generously fed in the stall, in order to produce beef at as early an age as possible ; or, again, the best of them are kept for breeding purposes. When cows are allowed to suckle their calves, it is con- venient, if it can be arranged, for the latter to be dropped early in the year, and a heifer should give birth to her first calf in April or May. Each year's calf then comes a little earlier than the preceding one, so that when at full profit, at about the third to fifth calf, the cows are flush of milk at the time it fetches most money, namely, in winter. Calves bom late in the year rarely do so well as those born earlier. The best calves are those born in January and February, for these become strong enough to turn out during summer. Some breeders, however, prefer to keep calves under cover until they are a year old. Whdh the calf is taken away from the dam, numerous methods are resorted to by different breeders. In some cases the calf is removed at its birth, in others it is allowed to remain with the cow from a few days up to as long as seven weeks. The object in view is an ingenious one. It is to still feed the calf upon cow's milk, but milk from which the natural butter fat has been removed, and a cheaper kind of fat, or some equi- valent carbonaceous material, substituted for it. Although it is cheaper, it does not follow that the substitute is any the less valuable as a constituent of the food of the calf, yet the farmer secures, for his own purposes, the butter with its relatively high commercial value. Skim milk (p. 415), whether obtained by the FEEDING OF CALVES 387 old system of setting the whole milk, or by the newer method of passing it through a separator, contains practically all the valu- able nitrogenous, saccharine, and mineral matters of fresh milk : it has simply lost the fat. When skim-milk is used for feeding calves, boiled linseed is an excellent material to mix with it in order to take the place of the cream that has been removed. Another method is to commence feeding the young calf from the pail with whole milk, and day after day to substitute more skim-milk, till the use of whole milk is entirely dispensed with. A young calf requires about three quarts of new milk daily, and it should get this in equal portions at regular intervals. He should be kept as quiet and undisturbed as possible, as this will hasten growth. Considerable patience and some skill are required in teaching a young calf to drink. When the little creature has fasted for some hours, the first and second fingers of the right hand are extended before the calf, who at once seizes them and commences sucking. A pail of lukewarm milk being held in the left hand, the right hand is gradually lowered till the calf's lips enter the milk, which the young one laps, care being taken to keep its nostrils clear of the liquid. After a few lessons the pupil becomes proficient, and he is stimulated to persevere by hunger. As growth progresses and strength increases, small wisps of hay are offered to the calf ; these it first sucks, then nibbles, and finally eats. Chopped turnips or carrots, with sweet hay, follow, and, when the calf is able to dispose of these, a further advance may be made to linseed cake and crushed oats. Calves intended to be ripened off as beef at about two years old, or less, are kept in a constantly progressive state, and are never allowed to lose their ' calf flesh,' as such loss would have to be made good before any further growth could take place. At four to six months old, the supply of milk is stopped, linseed cake and oatmeal being correspondingly increased. Animals, cake- fed in this way under cover, produce much valuable manure. Where beef cattle are not intended to go to the butcher so soon, the yearling calves graze clover ' seeds,' or pastures, through the summer, in some cases receiving at the same time a daily allowance of up to 3 lb. of cake or meal per c c 2 388 FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CATTLE head. If, however, they are on good pasture they do not get cake, which is only given during the season in which they are fattened off. Early in autumn they are transferred to yards, and fed upon straw or hay, with a supply of roots, and 3 lb. or 4 lb. of cake or meal, this being gradually increased up to 10 lb. or 12 lb. per head per day, the young beasts going to the butcher at from two years to two and a half years old. On many grass-land farms, cattle are not bred but only fattened. They are bought in as store cattle about April or May, when the pastures begin to grow, and are sold off fat in the course of the summer and autumn. Land of first class quality will fatten one beast per acre without any additional food. It is, however, becoming more the custom to give arti- ficial food, especially cake, as both the animal and the pasture are benefited thereby. Hitherto, store cattle have been usually bought in, and fat cattle sold off, by guesswork, the contracting parties relying upon the keenness of their sense' of sight and touch. Owing to the unreliable results of such a system of deal- ing, the weighing machine for cattle is coming more into use. As an actual example of the quantities of food cattle will eat whilst fattening, and of the increase in weight resulting there- from, take the following : At the Royal Agricultural Society's experimental farm at Woburn, eight Hereford bullocks, three years old, were divided into two lots of four each, the total weight of each lot being the same. Both lots received the same quantities of grittled barley and of linseed cake, whilst Lot I. had decorticated cotton-cake, and Lot II. an equal weight of undecorticated cotton-cake. In addition, they were allowed as much roots (swedes first, mangel later) and hay chaff as they would eat. The experiment lasted 145 days, at the end of which period it was found that the animals of each lot had eaten, per head per day, as follows : — Cotton-cake . Linseed-cake Barley (grittled) Roots . Hay-chaff Water. Lot I. Dec. cake lb. Lot II. Undec. cake lb. 3 '30 2-88 3'30 2-88 4 '00 400 40*00 8-88 40 •3+ 8-88 36^'30 27-61 BREEDS OF SHEEP 389 It is instructive to notice that the animals in each lot ate, on the average, identical quantities of hay, and within one -third of a pound of the same quantity of roots, per day, although the supply of these two fodders was unlimited. During the entire period. Lot I. increased in weight at the rate of 2-2 1 lb. per head per day, and Lot IL at the rate of only 1-97 lb., the difference of 0-24 lb. per head per day in the increase denoting the superiority of decorticated over undecorticated cotton cake (p. 344), this being the only difference in the rations consumed. CHAPTER XXV SHEEP : THEIR BREEDS, FEEDING, AND MANAGEMENT The native breeds of Sheep recognised in this country include : — Leicester Suffolk Lonk Border Leicester Cheviot Dartmoor Cotswold Black-faced Mountain Exmoor Lincoln Herdwick Welsh Mountain Kentish, or Romney Marsh Ryeland Limestone Oxford Down Devon Longwool Wensleydale Southdown South Devon {or Hams) Clun Forest Shropshire Somerset and Dorset Roscommon Hampshire Down Horned The Border Leicester, Cheviot, and Black-faced Mountain breeds may be assigned to Scotland, the Welsh Mountain breed belongs to Wales, and the Roscommon breed to Ireland. All the remaining breeds are English. These breeds may be further grouped as longwool breeds, shortwool breeds, and mountain breeds. The longwool breeds are the Leicester, Border Leicester, Cotswold, Lincoln, Kentish, Devon Longwool, South Devon, Wensleydale, and Roscommon. The shortwool breeds are the Oxford Down, Southdown, Shropshire, Hampshire Down, Suffolk, Ryeland, Somerset and Dorset Horned, and Clun Forest. The moufilai'nhreeds include the Cheviot, Black-faced Moun- tain, Herdwick, Lonk, Exmoor, Welsh Mountain, and Limestone. 39° BREEDS OF SHEEP The true mountain breeds are all lioriicd -mw^Wy the males only in the case of the Cheviot, the Herdwick, and the Welsh breed. The only other horned breed is the Somerset and Dorset, in which both sexes are furnished with horns. All the remaining breeds are polled, or honi/css, though there is a ten- dency amongst certain breeds, such as the Hampshire and the Shropshire, to develop horns, which are only kept down by means of selection. Read what is said about ' reversion ' on p. 356. As regards colour, the Leicester, Border Leicester, Lincoln, Kentish, Che\iot, Ryeland, Devon Longwool, South Devon, Somerset and Dorset Horned, Dartmoor, Exmoor, and Ros- common are white-faced breeds. The Hampshire and Suffolk are black-faced breeds, whilst the Black-faced Mountain and the Lonk have more or less distinct black colour upon the face. Leicester. — This is the breed of sheep that Robert Bake- well, of Dishley, improved by his skill and judgment. Leices- ter blood was sub- sequently largely used in the im- provement or esta- blishment of other breeds, and to this day the Leicesters are called Dishleys in France. The modern Leicester ( fig. 175 ) has a long tapering head, projecting horizon- tally for\\'ard ; ra- ther long thin ears pointing backward ; a full broad breast ; fine clean legs standing- well apart ; deep round barrel, with the sides diminishing in width towards the rump ; thin soft skin, covered with fine white wool ; and the top of the head protected by close short wool. The breed is maintained pure upon the rich pastures of Leices- tershire and the adjacent counties, but its chief value is for crossing, when it is found to promote maturity and to improve the fattening propensity. Fig. 175. — Leicester Two-shear Ram. BORDER LEICESTER AND COTSU'OLD 391 Fii 176 — PokDLR LritisriK R\m Border Leicester. — After the death of Bake well (1795), the Leicester breed separated into two branches. From one of these is descend- ed the breed still known in England as the Leicester. The other, cultiv- ated on the Scotch Borders, acquired the name of Bor- der Leicester. The characteristics of the latter (fig. 176) are a sharp profile with dark full nos- trils, black muzzle, well set ears, and hair on the face and poll pure white ; back broad and muscular, belly well covered with wool, legs clean, and a fleece of fairly long white wool. COTSWOLD. — This is an old-establishedbreed of the Glouces- tershire hills, extending thence into Oxfordshire. The Cotswolds (fig. 177) are big, handsome sheep, f^ jjf with finely arched ^jm^^ , " " ~~'~^ necks, and grace- ' ' ful carriage. With their broad straight backs, arched ribs, and capacious quar- ters, they carry a great weig"ht of car- cass upon clean, wide-standmg legs. The white silky fleece of long curled wool gives the Cots- wold an attractive appearance, which is enhanced by the stylish topknot, or forelock, which the animal carries. The mutton of the Cotswolds is not of high quality, but the sheep are use- ful for crossing purposes, as they impart size. Fig. 177. — CoTsvvoLD YE.MiLiNG Ram. J9^ j;reeds of sheep -Lincoln Shearling Ram. Lincoln. — This breed is descended from the old nati\e breed of Lincohishirc, improved by the use of Leicester blood. The Lincolns (fig. 17S) are a hardy pro- lific breed, but do not quite equal the Cots- wolds in size. They have larger, bolder heads than the Leicesters. Breeders of Lincoln rams like a darkish face, with a few black spots on the ears. The legs should be white. The wool has a broad staple, and is denser, longer, and the fleece heavier, than in the Leicester. Kentish or Romney Marsh.— This is a local breed, be- longing to the rich tract of grazing land on the southern coast of Kent. They are hardy white-faced sheep, with a close- coated longwool fleece. Oxford Down. — The origin of this breed was due to the crossing of longwool and short- wool sheep, the former being Cots- wolds and the lat- ter Hampshires or Southdowns. Al- 179) has inherited the forelock t approximates more nearly to lie. 179. use -Oxford Down Ram. though the Oxford Down (fig, from its longwool ancestors, SOUTHDOWN 393 the shortwoul type, and is accordingly classified as such. An Oxford Down ram has a bold masculine head ; a poll well covered with wool, and adorned by a top-knot ; ears self- coloured, upright, and of fair length ; face of uniform dark brown colour ; legs short, dark in colour, and free from spots ; back le\'el, and chest wide ; and the fleece heavy and thick. Southdown. — It was from the short close pastures vipon the chalky soils of the South Downs in Sussex that this breed sprang. In past times it did for the improvement of the shortwool breeds of sheep very much the same kind of work as the Leices- ter performed in the case of the long- wool breeds. A pure - bred South- down sheep (fig. 1 80) has a small head, with a light brown or brownish- grey face, fine bone, and a symmetrical well-fleshed body. The legs are short and neat, the animal being of small size compared with the other Down sheep. The fleece is of fine, close, short wool. Shropshire.— Though heavier in fleece and bulkier in carcass, the Shropshire sheep (fig. 181) has much the appearance ■of an enlarged Southdown. It w^as derived from the old native Fig. -Si-iROPSiiiKE Ram. 394 BREEDS OE SHEEP sheep of the Salopian hills, an infusion of Southdown blood having aided in its improvement. The progress and develop- ment of the breed ha\e been remarkably rapid, and it is ex- tending in all directions. As distinguished from the Southdown, the Shropshire has a darker face, blackish-brown .as a rule, with \-ery neat cars, ^\■hilst its head is more massixc, and is better covered « ith wool on the top. Hampshire Down. —Early in the nineteenth century the old Wiltshire Horned Sheep and the Berkshire Knot roamed over the Downs of their native counties. Both these old- fashioned types have disappear- ed, but their descendants are seen in the , modern Hamp- shire, which originated in a cross with the .S o u t h d o \\" n. Earl)' maturity and great size have been the objects aimed at, and attained. Whilst heavier than the Shrop- shire, the Hampshire Down sheep (fig. 182) is less symmetrical. The Hampshires have black faces and legs, big heads uith Roman nose, darkish ears set well back, and a broad le\-el back well filled in with lean meat. The mutton of the Down breeds is of superior cjualit)-. Suffolk. — This modern breed probably originated in crossing the old horned Norfolk ewes with improved South- down rams. The Norfolk characters are still retained in the black face and legs of the Suffolk (fig. 183), but the horns have disappeared. The fleece is moderately short, the wool being of close, fine, lustrous fibre, without any tendency to mat to- gether. The limbs, wooUed to the knees and hocks, are clean — H\MPSHirr DiwN Sheivklin, K.xm. CHEVIOT AND BLACK-FACED 395 Fig. 183. — SUFFHT.K RA^r. below. In general appearance the Suffolk is like the Hamp- shire, from which it differs in the rather darker face, head less covered with wool, with the nose of ^f^,, a less pronounced Roman type. C H E V I O T. — This breed is found on both sides of the hill range which extends along the boundary between England and Scot- land, though they trace their origin to Northumberland. The Cheviot is a hardy sheep, with straight wool very close set, and of moderate length. The face and legs are covered by wiry white hair. The rams are sometimes horned. The object of breeders is to obtain a square well-balanced carcass of medium size. Black-faced Mountain. — It is doubtful whether this breed (fig. 184) is of English or Scotch origin, but it is chielly cultivated in Scot- land. Their great ^'^'f- hardiness, as com- pared with the Che- viots, has brought them into fa\our upon the higher grounds of the north of England and of Scotland, where they thrive upon coarse and exposed grazing lands. The colour of face and legs in this hardy mountain breed is well-defined black and white, the black predominating'. The horns are low at the crown, with|^a clear space between the roots, and sweep away in a wide curve. Fig. 184. — Black-faced Moiintain Rai\i. 59(> J3REEDS OF SHEEP Hkruwick Ram. sloping slightly backward, and quite clear of the cheek. The fleece is deep, thick, and strong, and of uniform cjuality throughout. Hkrdwick. — This is a hardy breed which thrives upon the poor mountain land in Cumberland and Westmoreland. The rams (fig. 185) sometimes ha\e curved horns. The colour of these sheep is white, with a few darkish spots here and there ; the faces and legs are often speckled. The wool is strong, coarse, and open, and inclined to be hairy about the neck. The fore- head has a top-knot, and the tail is broad and bushy. R\'ELANJ). — The name of this breed is derived from the Rye- lands, a poor upland district in Herefordshire. It is a very old breed, but has now given way largely to the Shropshires. The sheep are small, hornless, have white faces and legs, and remark- ably fine short wool, with a top-knot on the forehead. Devon Longwool. — This is a breed locally de\-eloped in the valleys of West Somerset, North and East Dc\-on, and parts of Cornwall. It originated in a strong infusion of Leicester blood amotigst the old Bampton stock of Devonshire. The De\'on Longwool is not unlike the Lincoln, but is coarser. It is white-faced, with a lock of wool on the forehead. South Devon (or Hams). — This, again, is quite a local breed, which also ]iarticipated in the improvement effected by the Leicesters. They carry a fairly fine silky fleece of long staple. Somerset and Dorset Horned. — This old West Country breed (fig. 186) holds its ground well in parts of the counties from which it is named. The fleece is of close texture, and the wool is intermediate between long and short. The head carries LONK 397 a forelock. Both sexes have horns, which are very much coiled in the ram. The muzzle, legs, and hoofs are white ; the nostrils are pink. • This is a hardy breed, which in size somewhat exceeds the South- down. Two crops of lambs in a year are often obtained from the ewes, the winter lambs being dropped from Oc- tober onward. LONK. — In the hills of Lancashire and Yorkshire this, the largest of the mountain breeds, finds its home. It bears most resemblance (fig. 187) to the Black-faced Mountain sheep, but carries a finer, heavier fleece, and is larger NED Ram. Fig. 187. — LoNK Ram. in head and body. Its face and legs are mottled white and black, and its horns are handsome. The tail is long and rough. Dartmoor. — This is a local Devonshire breed of large white-fleeced sheep. The Dartmoor is long-wooled and horn- less, and has a long whitish face similar to that of the Leicester. 398 BREEDS OF SHEEP It is a hardy breed, but is quite distinct from, and is much larger than, the Exmoor. EXMOOR. — These Devonshire moorland sheep are" probably direct descendants of the old forest or mountain breeds of England. They have white legs and faces, and black nostrils, and are horned, the horns curling more closely to the head than in the Dorsets. The wool is short, and the fleece is close and fine. They are delicately formed about the head and neck, but the carcass is narrow. They are exceedingly hardy, and yield finely flavoured mutton. Welsh Mountain. — A small, active, soft-wooUed, white- faced breed, yielding choice, sweet mutton, is the type now best known in Wales. The legs are often brownish, and this colour may extend to the face. Horns may be present or absent. These sheep are very hardy. Limestone. — This breed is almost restricted to the fells of Westmoreland, and is probably an offshoot of the Black-faced Mountain. The ' Limestones ' of the Derbyshire hills are really Leicesters. Wensleydale. — This is the name of a Yorkshire dale (Yore- dale), of which Thirsk is the centre. The Wensleydale sheep are long-wools, derived from the old Teeswater breed by crossing with Leicester rams. The Wensleydales are dark-faced, with a tuft of wool on the forehead, the head being broad and flat. The skin is blue, fine, and soft, whilst the wool has a bright lustre, is curled in all parts of the body, and is of uniform staple. The fore-legs are set well apart, and the hind-legs have a little fine wool below the hock. Clun Forest. — A local breed in West Shropshire and the adjacent parts of Wales. It is descended from the old tan-face sheep that once occupied the district, and has been much crossed with the Shropshire sheep. Its wool is rather coarser than that of the Shropshire. The first cross with the Shropshire is a favourite with butchers. Roscommon. — This is the only native Irish breed of sheep, and most of its good qualities are due to crossing with the Leicester. It ranges chiefly from the middle of Ireland west- ward. It is a big-bodied sheep, covered with a long, heavy, silky fleece. FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP 399 FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP Sheep-breeding, especially upon arable farms, affords in- teresting and instructive occupation all the year round. The farmer has to look well ahead, in order to secure a due succes- sion of appropriate crops, and he has practically to decide a con- siderable time beforehand where each section of his flock is to be located at any given period. Even the site of hayricks and com stacks is often determined with a view to conveniently affording a supply of hay and straw during winter, and especially at lambing time, with as little carting as possible. The shepherd is a very important person on a sheep-breeding farm, and a shep- herd who thoroughly understands his duties, and can perform them efficiently, is a well-qualified man of sound experience. In this country, the arrangements are so made that the ewes of a breeding flock shall lamb down during the winter. In the Somerset and Dorset Homed flocks the lambs are dropped as early as October. About Christmas time the Hampshire Downs begin to lamb ; later the Oxfords, Southdowns, and Shropshires ; whilst it is March, or even early April, before the lambs begin to appear amongst the upland flocks of the North of England and of Scotland. Take, by way of example, the case of a Down flock upon light arable land, where abundant crops of roots are- grown. On such farms the sheep are ' folded ' on the land carrying the roots, clover, or other crops upon which the animals feed. A portion of the land is hurdled off, and the outer row of hurdles is advanced day by day, whereby the sheep are compelled to eat off the crop with but little waste, whilst they tread and manure the ground with uniformity. It is a bad plan, especially in winter, to feed sheep upon turnips exclusively. They are a very watery food, 10 lb. of turnips containing about 9 lb. of water. To get enough solid food from turnips alone, the sfeeep is compelled to take into its system far more water than it requires. As, moreover, this water has to be raised to the temperature of the body, an enormous waste of animal heat is thereby incurred. Hence, it is proper to supply sheep, folded on turnips, with hay or some other dry 400 FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP food, the effect of which is to reduce the quantity of water con- sumed more nearly to the proper ratio, a sheep requiring about two parts of water to one part of dry food. Whilst it is a serious mistake to get ewes into too high a condition — that is, to make them too fat^during the breeding period, yet, as the lambing time approaches, it is advisable to feed them rather more generously. Turnips do not contain much nutritious matter, and are specially poor in nitrogenous substance. Hence, as the ewe has not only to maintain herself but to supply the requirements of the rapidly growing lamb, to which she will in due course give birth, a small quantity of nitrogenous food, such as malt-dust, bran, peas, or cotton cake, with some hay, should be given during the last month preceding lambing. The yeaning season, that is, the lambing period, is the busiest time of the year with the shepherd, and he generally remains in or near the lambing pen all night. The pen is usually made of hurdles, either around, or on the warm side of, a stack of straw, which will afford material for litter. Around the inside of the pen small coops or compartments are hurdled off, and in these the newly-delivered ewes can be isolated if necessary. Other pens, adjoining the first, are built with hurdles as occasion requires, and into these the ewes and lambs are drafted — perhaps the ram lambs into one, and the ewe lambs into another. In the lambing pen, the ewes should receive some cake and oats, with roots and hay, and, as the lambs are now calling for milk, the feeding of the ewes should continue to be of a generous character. As soon as the lambs are strong enough, they are encouraged to run forward through ' creeps ' in the hurdles, and to nibble the young shoots of turnip tops, and eat a little ground linseed-cake, provided for them in small troughs. The young creatures are thus fed through the ewes, as well as directly. A mixture of cake, oats, and beans, amounting to about f lb, per head per day, together with i lb. of hay, and whatever green food may be convenient, will suffice to keep the ewes in a free milk-yielding condition. Perhaps there is no food equal to oats for promoting a good' flow of milk at lambing time. As spring advances, the hay may be discontinued, and the sheep allowed to run upon ' seeds,' or permanent pasture. At the same FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF SHEEP 401 time, the cake should gradually be withdrawn from the ewes, and given direct to the lambs. When about three or four months old, the lambs are weaned, and they bleat perseveringly for a day or two on being separated from their mothers. It is well to cull out all the ' scrubby,' _ unthrifty, or unpromising lambs, and to dispose of them. If the flock is a ram-breeding flock, special pains are taken to bring the ram lambs forward in attractive stock condition. Wether lambs — the young males intended for the butcher and not for breeding purposes — are fed upon the best the farm can afford, and fattened off as early as possible. The ewe lambs and stock ewes are not so liberally fed. The purchased foods which are most in favour are linseed cake, beans, and peas, all broken, and bran and malt. But a constant succession of crops has to be provided — grass in the early spring, then rye and winter barley, followed by such suc- culent crops as trifolium, vetches, rape, clover, cabbage, and early turnips, by which time the winter feeding on roots will re-commence. Cake and com, and sometimes hay, may con- tinue to be given throughout, so that, in this system of producing lamb or mutton, no opportunity is lost of tempting the appetite, and flirthering the object in view. In practice, innumerable modifications occur of the method which has been described, but the general principle is the same in all. A forcing diet is given when mutton or lamb is the im- mediate object, and merely a maintenance diet — save at certain periods — to the section of the flock kept for breeding purposes. Where open upland pastures are available, hurdles are dispensed with, and the sheep are allowed to ' spread,' the shep- herd's dog being then on duty. When roots are given, it is pre- ferable to put them through the turnip-cutter, as, although the cost of labour is incurred, this is probably repaid, for the sheep eat up the slices without waste, and with much less fatigue to themselves. White turnips, however, being specially soft, are commonly fed off in the ground. Hay is usually fed in sheep- cribs or racks, and a lump of rock salt should always be acces- sible : the lambs in particular will show their appreciation of it. If wateris not otherwise available, it should be supplied in tioughs. D D 402 BREEDS OF />/GS CHAPTER XW'I PIGS: THEIR BREEDS, FEEDING, AND MANAGEMENT The nati\e breeds of pigs recognised in this countiy include : — Large Whit.' Small Black (Suffolk or Essex) Middle White Berkshire Small White Tamworth The classification of the breeds of pigs is in a less satis- factory state than that of either cattle or sheep, and in many counties of England there are numbers of swine which could not be fairly grouped under any of the above heads. The Large, Middle and Small White breeds are, as their name indicates, white in colour ; they used all to be included in the term 'Yorkshires.' The Small Black and the Berkshire breeds are black. The Tamworth pigs are red. Large White. — Though of white colour these pigs (fig. iS8) often have a few blue spots in the skin. The head is of fair length, light in the jowls, and wide between the eyes, with somewhat drooping ears. The neck is long but not coarse, the ribs are deep, the loin is wide and level, the tail is set high, and the legs are straight and set well outside the carcass. The whole body is covered with straight silky hair, which denotes quality and lean meat. Pigs of this breed are very prolific, and they may be grown to enor- mous weights. Middle White.— Animals of this breed (fig. 189) are on a smaller scale than the Large \\'hite ; they are shorter in the head and legs, thicker and more compact in the body, and have a denser clothing of silky hair. The sows are quite as prohfic as Fig. 18S. — Largf-; White Boak. BREEDS OF PIGS 403 . — Middle White Boar. those of the Large White breed, and, as their produce matures earher, they are more in demand for breeding porkers. Small White. — The pigs of this breed are very much smaller than the Middle White. They have very short heads and legs, the body, which is short, thick, and wide, being close to the ground. Their jowls are heavy, and their ears are pricked. The thin skin is covered with a profusion of long silky hair, wavy but not curly. The tail is very fine. This breed is rather deficient in lean meat. Small Black (Suffolk or Essex). — Save in colour and hair this breed much resembles the Small White. The Black, however, is rather longer in the body, and stands somewhat higher on the legs. The colour of the skin is coal-black, and the covering of hair is usually not profuse. This pig yields more lean meat than the Small White. It is valued for its early maturity, and its aptitude to fatten. Besides in the Eastern counties, the Small Black pig, or a closely similar animal is reared in large numbers in Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall. Berkshire. — This class of pig (fig. 190) affords a good illustration of the extent to which a type of live-stock may be moulded in the hands of the breeder, although it is not unanimously agreed that the modifications which have been effected in the Berkshire are all for the best. Though a black pig, the D D 2 Fig. 190. — Berkshire Sow. 404 FEEDLXG AND MANAGEMENT OF PICS lierkbhire usually has a white blaze or mark down the face, a white tip to the tail, and feet white up to the ankle joint. It has a moderately short head with heavy jowls ; a deep carcass ; « ide, low, and \\'ell-developed hind-quarters, with heavy hams. The skin is free from j-ucks and lines, and carries an abundance of fine hair. Tamworth. — This is one of the oldest breeds of piys. The Tamworth (fi.t;". 191) has a red colour with darkish spots on the skin. The head, body, and leys are long', and the ribs are deep I'Kj mi — T \MWoRTH Boar and flat. Originally a local breed in the districts around the Staffordshire town from which it takes its name, it is now much more extensively bred, and is valued as a bacon pig. FEEDING AND IIANAGEIIENT OF PIGS Young pigs usually thrive best w-hen they are born in February, so that it is desirable to arrange for the sow to farrow during this month, as the offspring then have the best months of the year before them. August is the next most favourable month. For the ten weeks after farrowing no food will suit the sow and her pigs better than that of which sharps is the basis, about one-sixth part of broad bran being added. As soon as the little pigs begin to feed, some skim-milk, placed beyond reach of the sow, should be allowed them, and the quantity may be increased for a time after the piglings are weaned, at six to eight weeks old. FEEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF PIGS 405 From the time of weaning, also, barley meal should be added to the sharps, and gradually the latter should be withheld, till, at five months old, the food consists almost entirely of meal. If skim-milk is available it is always useful, as it produces in con- junction with barley-meal the choicest of meat. An additional two months of such liberal feeding should render the pig fit to kill at a weight of six score, or 120 lb., of the finest pork. Well- bred pigs, properly fed, will give an increase of i lb. of meat for each 5 lb. of meal consumed in the food. In frosty or very cold weather, pigs' food should be warmed. When young pigs are fed with maize-meal, it is well to scald it beforehand. , They thrive better on warm food. Peas, oats, and maize make useful additional foods for pigs, and, during their second month, when young pigs are gradually weaning themselves, their appetite should be tempted by frequent small meals of a mixture of such foods. In the process of fattening pigs, a too exclusive use of maize is liable to render the flesh yellow and flabby ; on the other hand, if beans and peas are too extensively employed, the pork is likely to be hard and stringy. The pig is pre-eminently an animal for which a mixed diet is suitable. The purchased foods, such as sharps, barley meal, peas, oats, maize, and brewers' grains, constitute the expensive items of pigs' food. Pigs, however, have a special value, in that they will clear up any kind of refuse from the house or dairy. All kinds of food-scraps from the house find their way into the ' wash-tub,' whilst whey and butter-milk from the dairy can always be put to good use in the pig-trough. It is not always a commendable practice to allow pigs to wander over stubbles after harvest, for by their activity they fapidly reduce any fat they may have acquired, and at the same time their propensity for ' rooting' is greatly encouraged, unless ringing of the snout has been resorted to. In defence of the practice, however, it may be claimed that the pig is a scavenger, and that, while on the stubbles, the animal is developing frame which can afterwards be filled in when the pig is brought into the yard. The procedure to be followed must be determined according to the object for which pigs are kept. During summer the food may be varied by the addition of 4o6 FATTENING OF FARM ANIMALS green clover, lucerne, vetches, or even grass, whilst in winter the use of swedes, kohl-rabi, mangel, and steamed or boiled pota- toes, is beneficial. Pigs confined in sties should be allowed a shovelful of mould occasionally, and also some coal and cinders, whilst a lump of rock salt should always be within access. A variety of materials may be used for bedding pigs — coarse dried grass, dead leaves, wood-shavings, sawdust, moss litter, sea-sand, and all kinds of straw. For sucking pigs, however, wheat-straw should always be employed as litter. Fattening pigs need no litter, and a bare, boarded floor will suffice ; they usually keep clean the place where they lie. Because the pig is an omnivorous feeder, the idea has — un- fortunately for the pig — become prevalent that he is naturally a dirty animal, and delights to wallow in filth. This is made an excuse for allowing the sty to remain in a condition which is often repulsive. With very little trouble, a pig's sty may be kept clean and sweet, besides which it should be roomy, and well ventilated, but free from draughts. It should, if possible, have a southern aspect, for pigs love sunshine. On account of their comparatively small stomachs, pigs require their food to be more concentrated than is necessary in the case of cattle or sheep. Frequent feeding, but with no more food than the animals can clean up at each meal, is desirable. CHAPTER XXVII THE FATTENING OF CATTLE, SHEEP, AND PIGS In Table XXX. is shown the percentage composition, as deter- mined in the Rothamsted experiments, of the carcass of each animal named, the term carcass being here employed in the sense in which the butcher uses it, and the term ' store ' being applied to animals not yet put upon fattening food. Some instructive facts may be learnt from this table. It shows the large proportion of water which the bodies of animals contain, and it demonstrates that, as an animal becomes fatter, the percentage of water diminishes. Further, by comparing (i) CHANGES DURING FATTENING 407 the half-fat ox and the fat ox, or (2) the store sheep, the fat sheep, and the very fat sheep, or (3) the store pig and the fat pig, it is seen that, during the accumulation of fat, both the nitrogenous substance and the ash undergo a relative decrease. Notice, also, that, excepting in the case of the calf, there is a very much larger proportion of total fat than of total nitrogenous substance. In the carcasses of fat sheep and pigs, the quantity of fat may be five or six times that of the nitrogenous matter. Observe, further, that the highest proportions of nitrogenous matter and ash are found, in the beef-producing animal. Table XXX — Percentage COMPOSITION of the of Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs Carcass ES Ash, or mineral matter Dry nitro- genous substance Fat Total dry matter Water Fat calf . Half-fat ox Fat ox . -46 16 -6 17-8 i5'o 16 -6 22-6 34-8 377 46-0 S4'4 623 54-0 456 Fat lamb Store sheep Half-fat old sheep . Fat sheep Very fat sheep 3-6 44 4'i 3 4 2-8 10 '9 I4-S 14-9 "'S 91 36-9 23-8 31 '3 45 '4 55"! 51 '4 427 SO'3 6o-3 67 'o 48-6 57 '3 497 397 33-0 Store pig Fat pig . 2-6 I '4 14 'o IO-5 28-1 49"S 447 61 '4 SS-3 386 The weights of certain constituents in 1,000 Vo. fasted live weight of each of the animals already referred to are given in Table XXXI. The constituents named — nitrogen, phosphoric acid, potash, and lime — are those the removal of which from the soil necessitates a special return being made in manure. The phosphoric acid, potash, and lime are, of course, included in the column headed ' total minerals,' the ingredients of which, in addition to those just named, are iron peroxide, magnesiaj soda, sulphuric acid, carbonic acid, chlorine, and silica. Of these, the most important is magnesia, but the highest weight of this is only 0-85 lb. per 1,000 lb. fasted live weight (half fat ox), whilst it falls as* low as 0*32 lb. (fat pig). 4o8 FATTENING OF FARM ANIMALS Table XXXI. — Percentages of Nitrogen and Minerals in the fasted live weights ofCATCTLE, Sheep, and PiGS — - Nitrogen Phos- phoric acid Potash Lime Total minerals lb. lb. . lb. lb. lb. Fat calf . 24-49 IS^SS 2 -06 16-46 3776 Half-fat ox 27-08 18-39 2-05 21-11 46-09 Fat ox . 33-18 15-51 1-76 17-92 38-83 Fat lamb 19-63 11-26 1-66 12-81 28-88 Store sheep 23-69 11-88 174 13-21 30-62 Half-fat old sheep . 22-59 11-99 1-68 I3'50 30-63 Fat sheep 19-71 10-40 1-48 11-84 26-84 Extra fat sheep 17-64 1 1 -08 1-58 12-40 28-64 Store pig 21-99 10-66 1-96 10-79 26-50 Fat pig . . 17 '52 6 '54 1-38 6-36 16-32 The table shows that the nitrogen undergoes a marked decrease in percentage as the animal progresses from the store to the fat condition. By moving the decimal point one place to the left in the numbers given in the table, it is learnt that, of the beef-yielding animals, the whole body of the half-fat ox contains less than 2 J per cent, of nitrogen, and that of the fat ox less than 2^ per cent. The fat calf is intermediate in this respect, and contains nearly 2^ per cent, of nitrogen. The entire body of the fat lamb yields less than 2 per cent, of nitrogen ; whilst, of the mutton-producing animals, the store sheep contains less than 25 per cent., and the very fat sheep scarcely exceeds ij per cent. In the store pig there is 2| per cent, of nitrogen, but in the fat pig only ij per cent. An inspection of the figures relating to total minerals shows that 1,000 lb. live weight of calves or oxen will carry off much more mineral matter than 1,000 lb. live weight of lambs or sheep, whilst these in their turn carry off more than pigs. By adding together the ' phosphoric acid ' and ' lime ' figures for each animal, it will be learnt that whilst 1,000 lb. live weight of calves or oxen may carry off from 30 to 40 lb. of phosphate of lime, the same weight of sheep would carry off only about 26 lb. or less, and an equal live weight of pij^-s much less still. -With each description of animal, the quantity of phosphate is COMPOSITION OF FATTENING INCREASE 409 less in a given live weight of the fatter than of the leaner indi- viduals, and this is particularly the case with pigs: It is thus learnt that the production and sale of the animals of the farm result in carrying off comparatively immaterial quan- tities of mineral constituents, but that a given weight of oxen carries off more minerals than the same weight of sheep, and the latter more than the same weight of pigs. Four-fifths of the whole, or even more, will be phosphate of lime, whilst the quantity of potash will be very small. On the other hand, the loss to the land, or to the manure from purchased food, will be consider- ably more in the case of growing animals than in that of merely fattening animals. The weight of mineral constituents lost to the farm by mere fattening increase is, indeed, almost insignificant. In Table XXXII. is recorded the estimated composition of the increase during the final four or six months of the fattening period of oxen, sheep, and pigs : — Table XXXII. — Calculated Composition of 100 Parts In- crease whilst Fattening Mineral matter Nitrogenous matter Fat ■ . . . Total dry matter . Water . ... Here, the top line of figures shows that the material which oxen and sheep accumulate during the fattening process does not contain more than from i^ to 2 per cent, of mineral matter, whilst in the case of pigs it is still less. Comparing fat animals with other products of the farm, and speaking in general terms, it may be stated that of phosphoric acid an acre of land would lose more in milk, and four or five times as much in wheat or barley grain, or in hay, as in the fattening increase of oxen or sheep. Of lime the land would lose about twice as much in the animal increase as in milk, or as in wheat and barley grain, but perhaps not more than one- tenth as much as in hay. Of potash an acre would yield only a Oxen Sheep Pigs I -5 2"o 0-5 77 7-2 7-8 66-2 70-4 631 7S-4 79-6 71-4 24 '6 20 "4 28-6 410 FATTENING OF FARM ANIMALS fraction of a pound in animal increase, six or eight times as much in milk, perhaps twenty or thirty times as much in wheat or barley grain, and more than one hundred times as much in hay. The loss of minerals to the land in animal increase has been seen to consist chiefly of phosphate of lime, and the quantity ranges from 5 to 10 lb. per acre. In milk the loss is greater in phosphoric acid, less in lime, and more in potash. In wheat and barley grain the loss of phosphoric acid is several times as great, and it is chiefly as phosphate of potash ; whilst in hay the loss in phosphoric acid is much the same as in wheat and barley grain, but that of both lime and potash is very much greater than in any of the other products. (See page 214.) Another view of the exportation of mineral matter from the farm through the agency of animals may be obtained by the consideration of individual cases. Thus, a fa^ weighing 160 lb. carries off" less than 10 lb. of minerals, including between 8 and 9 lb. of phosphate of lime and about J lb. of potash. An ox, weighing from 1,200 to 1,400 lb., carries off" from 55 to 60 lb. of minerals, including less than 50 lb. of phosphate of lime, and about i\ lb. of potash. A fat lamb carries off" about 2j lb. of minerals, including about 2 lb. of phosphate of lime, and from 2.\ to 3 oz. of potash. A store sheep carries off" less than 3 lb. of minerals, including'over 2^ lb. of phosphate of lime, and from 2\ to 3 OZ. of potash. Kfat sheep takes away from 2>\ to 3J lb. of minerals, including i\ to 3 lb. of phosphate of lime, and from 2\ to 3 OZ. of potash. A very fat sheep, of 240 lb. live weight, carries away more than 7 lb. of minerals. It must not be supposed that a ' lean ' animal contains no fat. On the contrary, it has been proved by analysis that such animals as a half-fat bullock, a lean young sheep, and a store pig, may contain, in their entire bodies, more dry fat than dry nitrogenous substances. Of animals ' ripe ' for the butcher, a bullock was found to contain rather more than twice as much dry fat as nitrogenous substance ; a moderately fat sheep nearly three times as much ; and a very fat one more than four times as much. A moderately fat pig contained, in its entire body, about four times as much dry fat as dry nitrogenous matter. A fat calf yielded rather less fat than nitrogenous matter, a DAIRYING 411 circumstance quite in accordance with the recognised character of veal, the leanness of which is the reason that fat bacon is eaten with it : the pig supplying fat in which the calf is deficient. CHAPTER XXVIII DAIRYING The extensive demand^for milk, butter, and cheese has led to the rapid development of the important branch of the agricul- tural industry known as Dairy Farming. Many holdings are worked exclusively as dairy farms, but, independently of these, it is a common custom to keep a few milch cows on other farms for the sake of the milk and butter which they yield. MILK Milk, like gastric juice, bile, pancreatic juice, saliva, and urine, is a secretion. It is prepared from the blood by the activity of the cells that make up the mammary glands (fig. 192), which are contained in the cow's udder, or milk-bag. This latter is provided with four delivery tubes, or teats, each of which, with its gland, is termed a ' quarter.' When a cow is said to have ' lost a quarter,' it means that one of the teats has ceased to yield milk. Besides the external covering which binds together the whole of the udder, each gland has its own special fibrous envelope, and is distinct from, and independent of, the other glands ; hence, though the function of one gland, or ' quarter,' may be impaired, the others may continue to act in the usual way. The orifice at the free end of the teat is a narrow tube, which is ordinarily closed. In the body of the teat this tube is much wider, but becomes constricted 'again at the region where the teat merges into the udder. Above the constriction is a large space, ' the milk cistern,' or reservoir, which becomes distended with milk as the secretion accumu- lates. Into each of the four milk cisterns innumerable tubes open. Any one of these may be traced back into minute tubes or ducts, which end blindly in several small sacs or bags called 412 DAIRYING alveoli (Lat. alveolus, a little hollow). The delicate walls of the ducts and the alveoli are covered by a single layer of minute living cells, and it is these which are the secreting cells of the mammary gland. The whole gland is richly supplied with blood by means of thin-walled blood capillaries, a dense network of which surrounds every alveolus. Out of the blood Fig. 192. — Cow's Udder stripped of its Skin. One of the anterior glands cut open in order to expose — a, the milk cistern or reservoir, into which a tube is seen to be passed through the teat, and around which are smaller reservoirs, b. d, mammary veins. e, origin of the superficial abdominal vein, or ' milk vein.' On the left side of the figure is seen the outer surface of the posterior glands, which have a lobulated appearance, produced by bundles of milk ducts collected together. thus placed at their disposal the secreting cells manufacture milk, which flows along the ducts, and accumulates in the milk cistern at the top of each teat. The general plan, here described, upon which the mammary glands are constructed, is similar to that of the salivary glands of the mouth. The details of the method whereby the secreting cells of the mammary gland prepare milk from the blood which is submitted to their action are too intricate to be discussed here. But, in- MILK AND BLOOD COMPARED 413 asmuch as milk is prepared from the blood, it is useful to notice the resemblances and differences between blood and milk. Blood consists of a liquid plasma, or medium, in which are suspended enormous numbers of microscopic solid bodies called corpuscles, and the red colour of the great majority of these imparts the characteristic tint to blood. Physically, milk re- sembles blood, in that it also consists of a watery fluid in which are suspended immense numbers of minute solid bodies, the fat globules, which, being white, make the whole milk appear to be this colour ; the different colour of skim milk is due to the fact that most of the white fat globules have been removed. Blood is slightly heavier than milk, the specific gravity of the former being i'o55, and of the latter 1-032. Blood placed in contact with non-living matter, as in a basin, speedily coagu- lates ; milk in similar circumstances does not. The coagulation of the blood is due to the separation of a material called^<5?7« from the plasma, and the entanglement of the corpuscles in the meshes of the fibrin. Thus is formed the clot, and the clear pale liquid which remains after separation of the fibrin from the plasma is called the serum (Lat. serum, the watery part). Hence the blood consists of serum, fibrin, and corpuscles, though the fibrin does not exist as such in the living blood. In round numbers the percentage composition of the serum is, of water, 90 ; of nitrogenous substances, 8 to 9 ; of fat, extractives, and saline matters, 2 to i. Of the blood corpuscles there are two kinds, the red and the colourless. The former are nearly a thousand times as numerous as the latter, and contain 56-5 per cent, of water, and 43-5 per cent, of solids, the latter being almost entirely nitro- genous organic matter. The fibrin which separates from the plasma is also made up of nitrogenous organic matter. When the corpuscles on the one hand and the serum on the other are dried and ignited, and their ashes analysed, the leading mineral constituents of the corpuscles are found to" be the chloride and phosphate of potassium, and of the plasma soda and chloride of sodium. The extractives of the blood, though hot abundant in quantity, are numerous and variable, the chief ones being urea, kreatin, sugar, and lactic acid. These details serve to show what a very complex fluid the blood is, and what is the 414 DAIRYING nature of the materials from which the mammary gland has to elaborate the milk. The blood supply of ^e mammary gland. — The course taken by the blood on its way to and from the mammary gland should be understood. The arterial blood is pumped- from the leftside of the heart into the aorta, passing along which the blood reaches the external iliac artery (p. 330), and this is continued on into the femoral artery, extending more or less parallel to the femur, or thigh-bone. The femoral gives off a branch, the prepubic, which in turn gives off a branch, the external pudic, and this, after passing through the inguinal ring, divides into two branches, the anterior, or subcutaneous abdominal artery, and the posterior abdominal, or mammary artery. It is from these that the blood supply of the capillaries of the mammary gland is immediately derived ; of the two, the 7namm.ary artery is the more voluminous. The blood, after passing through the capillaries of the mammary gland, is collected into the abdominal subcutaneous vein, commonly known as the ' milk vein.' In cows, this vessel is particularly large ; it extends along the under surface of the abdomen to near the end of the sternum, or breast-bone, where it turns inwards to join the internal thoracic, or internal mam- mary vein, the openings in the abdominal wall through which these vessels pass being known as the ' milk fountains ' or doors. The internal mammary conveys its blood to the vein of the fore- limb, and this joins the anterior vena cava, which empties into the right auricle. By this . route, then, the blood which has been submitted to the action of the mammary gland is returned to the heart. The average percentage composition of cow's milk is shown in the first column of figures in Table XXXIII., and, for the purpose of subsequent reference, that of skim-milk and of whey is placed alongside. The albuminoids, or nitrogenous compounds, are casein and albumin, the latter in ordinary cow's milk constituting not more than one-ninth of the total albuminoids. The ash consists of lime, potash, soda, magnesia, and iron, with phosphoric acid and chlorine. The figures relating to skim-milk show that most of the fat is removed in the cream. It is further apparent that the COMPOSITION OF MILK 415 Table XXXIII. — Percentage Composition of Whole Milk, Skim-Milk, and Whey Whole Skim- -.tt. milk milk ^l^^y Water 87-0 go'o 93'4 Albuminoids (casein, albumin) 4^0 37 0-9 Milk-sugar (lactose) . 4-6 4"8 4-8 Fat (butter) .... 37 o-8 0-3 Ash . . ... 07 07 o*6 ioo"o 100*0 ioo"o liquid part of the milk, after separation of the fat globules, still retains all the milk-sugar and most of the albuminoids. It is worthy of note, too, that skim-milk contains the same proportion of water (90 per cent.) as the serum of blood. Hence the mammary gland, by the activity of its secreting cells, appears to be capable of preparing, from the blood, typical representatives of the three great classes of food-stuffs (i) pro- teids, albuminoids, or nitrogenous organic compounds, repre- sented by the casein and albumin ; (2) carbohydrates, represented by the milk-sugar ; (3) fats, represented in the fat or oil globules. It is because it contains these three classes of bodies in suitable proportions, together with an appropriate addition of mineral matter, that milk furnishes what is called a 'perfect food ' for the young animal. The student will again specially note that milk is obtained from the blood, and he has already learnt (Chapter XIX.) that blood is dependent for its nourish- ment upon the food. In accordance with this it is possible, within certain limits, to so modify the food of the cow as to regulate the quantity and quaUty of the milk which she yields. The composition of cow's milk varies, {a) in different breeds, (3) in different animals of the same breed, (c) in the same cow at different periodSj and even (d) in the earlier and later portions of the same milking. This last variation is due to some separa- tion of the fat globules, or cream, taking place whilst the milk is still in the udder, in consequence of which the milk is richer in fat the later it is drawn in the same milking, whilst the milk last drawn of all — the 'strippings' — is often very rich in fat. The amount of sohd matter contained in different samples of milk may fall as low as 10 per cent, and rise as high as 16 4i6 DAIRYING per cent., corresponding respectively to 90 per cent, and 84 per cent, of water. But it is noteworthy that such poor milk as con- tains as much as 90 per cent, of water yet includes more solid matter than turnips, which (p. 346) possess on an average 92 per cent, of water. The milk yielded by the cow directly after calving is called colostrum, and it differs from the ordinary milk in its high pro- portion — 20 per cent, or more— of albuminoids, whilst the water does not much exceed 70 per cent., and the sugar about 3 per cent. Colostrum is specially suited to the needs of the new-born calf, and is exclusively used for that purpose. A cow is usually in full milk, that is, the flow is most copious, from the second to the seventh week after calving. The yield then begins to diminish in quantity, till eventually the cow ' goes dry.' By a plentiful supply of well-selected food, however, it is possible to materially prolong the period of most copious flow. It is evident, from the amount of albuminoids in milk, that dairy cows require a nitrogenous diet, and that they should not be fed on the same kind of food as will serve in the case of a fatting bullock. Young grass and growing clover afford the kind of food which is necessary. On the other hand, where, from circumstances of situation or season, hay, straw, and cTiopped roots have to be largely employed, these must be supplemented by such nitrogenous foods as cake, or peas, or beans. Bruised oats and wheat bran are good foods for cows in milk, whilst green fodder of all kinds, and brewer's grains, will increase the yield. It is thus possible to improve the quality of cow's milk by adding to the diet cake, beans, etc., and to increase the quantity by the use of succulent foods. If a cow has to rely chiefly upon a large quantity of poor herbage, or other watery food, the milk will correspondingly become poorer in solids, the butter-fat being the constituent most likely to fall in quantity. When cows are kept for the sake of butter, such additional foods as oats, wheat-bran, malt-dust, and cotton-cake give excellent results, whilst palm-nut meal is also useful. Peas, on the other hand, are likely to produce a hard butter, and linseed-cake, if given too freely, a soft oily butter. Where roots are fed to milch cows, the mangel is far preferable to swedes and white turnips, on account of the undesirable MILK REGISTERS 417 flavour the latter are liable to impart. Cabbages are superior to •either of these. Kohl-rabi, carrots, and parsnips are also useful succulent foods, but, in all cases, decayed leaves should be re- moved. Brewers' grains (wet) should not be given to cows at the time of calving. The production and sale of milk are much more exhaustive •of the food resources of a farm than are the fattening and sale of bullocks (p. 409), and the manure from dairy cows is much less valuable than that from stall-fed oxen (p. 350). Where cheese is made, and the whey is fed on the farm, the loss is less ; and it is less still where butter only is sold, and the skim milk is used on the farm. Butter is essentially a carbonaceous product, and the farmer gets carbon from the air for nothing. The student who has read thus far should be able to give the reasons for the facts stated in this paragraph. In a dairy herd, a milk register should always be kept. At frequent intervals the milk yielded by each cow at one milking should be measured, or preferably weighed by means of a spring balance. For all practical purposes it is correct to take 10 lb. = I gallon. Hence a yield of 17 lb. would be 17 gallons, of 24 lb. 2-4 gallons, and so on. Theiresults are recorded in a book opposite the name of each cow, so that her character as a milker gradually proclaims itself. If a good milker, she may be kept and bred from ; if a bad milker, she should be got rid of. By means of such a register, moreover, the diet of a cow can be regulated. If she is increasing her yield of milk, her artificial foods ought to be added to, but never to the degree at which they begin to fatten the animal. On the other hand, if the yield of milk is declining, the added foods should be lessened. An ordinary Shorthorn dairy cow may be expected to yield, in the course of a year, about 600 gallons of milk, which is ap- proximately equal to 2} tons. Dairy co-ws are sensitive creatures, and it pays to treat them gently and kindly, and even to humour any little whim or fancy they may display with regard to food. Over-driving, harsh treatment, or rough usage of any kind, usually results in less milk for the milk-pail. The morning and evening hours at which cows are milked should be maintained as regularly as possible, and, as cows get used to their milkers, it is better E E 4i8 DAIRYING for each animal to be always milked by the same person^ The milker sits on the right-hand side of the cow, as this gives- greater freedom of movement for the right hand. The brutal practice of some milkers of butting the flank of the cow -with their heads during milk- ing is particularly dangerous to cows in calf, and it is objec- tionable at all times. As milk is a product of animal origin, it is highly sus- ceptible to external influences. Hence, it should be strained as soon as it is taken away from the cow, in order to re- move any substances that have fallen into it, and might injure- it if allowed to remain. Milk, especially when colder than the "atmosphere, absorbs odours very readily, and is thus liable to become tainted. Milking, therefore, should not be done in foul-smelling cow- houses, nor should milk be exposed where strong smelling silage is at hand. It is par- ticularly objectionable to set milk, as is so often done, in the living-room of a cottage. A, Fig. 193. — Refrigerator. receiver for warm milk ^„^ „„„g-.v.u.i. ^» « ^^l^^b^, refrigerator, znside which cold , •. 1. ji y- -i ^ water flows, and outside which where it can hardly fail to the milk trickles. acquire odours or flavours c, exit for milk from refrigerator to foreign to the natural product, milk can, or ' milk churn, M. ~, . , f , .„ D, water inlet to refrigerator. The apartments in which milk E, water outlet from ditto. and butter are kept should be well ventilated, free from four air, and cool, — maintained at a temperature as near 45° F. as possible. Where whole milk is sold in bulk it is* necessary to cool it MILK-SETTING 419 by means of a Refrigerator (fig. 193), in order to reduce the temperature to as near 50° F. as practicable. The milk can then be safely transported to a considerable distance without turning sour, or otherwise deteriorating. Large cans, tin-hned — often called ' milk churns' (fig. 193, M) — are the most conve- nient utensils in which to convey milk. The souring of milk, to which reference has just been made, is, in ordinary circumstances, due to the activity of certain of the micro-organisms known as bacteria, which in the course of their growth convert the sugar of milk (lactose) into lactic acid. The presence of this acid brings about the coagulation of milk, that is, the formation of curd. BUTTER When milk is intended for butter-production, it must at once be ' set,' in order to allow thetream to rise. Milk, as it leaves the cow, has a temperature of about 90° F., and when set it should be cooled as rapidly as possible, changes being less likely to occur at a low than at a high temperature. There are two systems of setting, — shallow and deep. Shallcw setting is usually resorted to where only moderate quantities of milk have to be dealt with. The milk is poured into spacious shallow vessels to a depth of about 3 inches in summer, and 4 to S inches in winter, and is skimmed after standing 24 hours in summer and 48 hours in winter. It is essential to skim the cream while the milk is sweet, to ensure both quality in the butter and the well-being of the calves which consume the skim milk. The temperature of the dairy should be as low as possible in summer, and as near 50° as practicable in winter. The objection to shallow setting is that a very exten- sive surface is exposed to contamination from the atmosphere, in which bacteria and other germs are floating. The cream thus obtained contains from 25 to 40 per cent, of fat, but, as it is liable to enclose curd and various products of decomposition, it cannot always be relied upon to yield butter of first-class quality. In deep setting, tlje milk is poured to a depth of about six- teen inches into metal pails, which are surrounded by ice, a LARGE WHOLt MILK RECEIVER Fig. 194. — Sectional View of a Cream Separator, driven by steam or horse power, communicated through an endless band, working round the driving pulley seen above the base. CREAM SEPARATORS 421 falling temperature being favourable to the separation of the cream. On account of the low temperature, moreover, the cream, which rises in less than twenty-four hours, is quite sweet and free from curd, but it only contains about 20 per cent, of fat. Fig. 195. — External View of a Cream Separator. Milk flows in from the tap at the top. Cream and skimmilk are respec- tively discharged at the two side tubes. Below is seen the arrange- ment for setting the separator in motion, by steam or horse power. Fig. 196. — External View OF a Cream Separator, worked by hand, and capable of dealing with from 10 to 12 gallons of milk per hour. The reason that cream rises is that the particles of the liquid portion of the milk are heavier, bulk for bulk, than the par- ticles of fat. The former therefore sink in obedience to the law of gravitation, and the fatty globules ar6 forced to the surface. Even the largest globules are so small that about 2,000 side by side will only measure an inch, whilst of the 422 DAIRYING smallest globules it takes about 20,000. The average size of the globules varies with the breed ; it is, for example, large in the case of the milk of Jersey cows, and small in that of Ayrshires. Milk containing a preponderance of large globules is best for butter making, as the cream rises quickly and well, and yields butter with a good grain. Milk that has an abundance of small globules is better suited to cheese-making, as, in such cases, the fat is likely to be uniformly distributed throughout the product. By means of the centrifugal cream separator, an invention of recent years, it is possible to remove the butter-fat from milk in a very short time, milk-pans for 'setting' being thereby dispensed with. The new milk is allowed to run into a bowl, which is caused to rotate on its own axis several thousand times per minute. The heavier particles of the watery part of the milk fly to the outer circumference of the bowl, the lighter particles of butter-fat being forced to travel in an inner zone. By a simple arrangement, the former — the separated or skim-milk — is forced out at one tube, and the latter — the cream — passes out at another. Separators are made of all sizes, from small machines dealing with twelve to fifteen gallons an hour, and worked by hand, to large machines, separating 350 gallons per hour, and worked by steam or horse power : three different kinds are shown in figs. 194, 195, and 196. In all the machines, however, the principle is the same. The separation is found to be most effective at high temperatures, and these range from 80° F. to 98" F. in different machines. The advantages of this system are that both the skim-milk and the cream are obtained perfectly sweet, the operation is very rapid, and the separation is much more effectual than that which takes place naturally. In fact, whilst in shallow setting only about 80 per cent, of the butter-fat is secured, by means of the separator from 92 up to over 98 per cent, is removed. Un- less scalded, the skim-milk will not keep, but- rapidly turns sour. Cream may be regarded as a highly concentrated milk, ex- ceedingly rich in fat. The object, in butter-making, is to isolate this fat, that is, to separate it from everything else that is asso- ciated with it in the cream. Each little mass of fat, as it occurs in BUTTER 423 «iilk, exists as a minute independent globule. In order to get the globules of fat to cohere, or run together, the operation of churning is resorted to. Many kin,ds of churns (fig. 197) are in use, but in' all of them the object is the same, no matter how it may be ef- fected. The resi- 212, 221 Meadow-grass, annual, Poa annua, L., 159, 221 — rough-stalked, Poa trivialis, L., 146, 147, 148, 154, 160, 212, 221 — smooth-stalked, Poa fratensis, L., 146, 147, 148, 154, i6o, 212, ONI Meadow-grass, wood, Poa nemo ralis, L., 146, 147, 148, 154, 160 Meadow saffron, Colchicum autum nale, L. , 144 Meadow-sweet, Spircea Ulmaria L., 129 Medicago, 124 Medlar, Mespilus germanica, L., 129 Melic, ciliated, Melica ciliata, L, , 158 Melilot, 127 Melon, Cucumis Melo, 96, 131 Mignonette, Reseda odorata, 94 Milfoil (see Yarrow) Millet, Panicum miliaceum, 144 Mint, Mentha sp., 99, 140 Monkshood, Aconitum Napellus, L., 118 Mountain ash, Pyrus Aucuparia Gaert., 129 Mouse-ear chickweed, Cerastium triviale, Link., 213, 222 Mullein, Verhascum sp., 180 Musk, Mimulus moschatus, 180 Mustard, white, Sinapis alia, L., 84, 97, 98, 112, 117 NARKOW - LEAVED OAT - GRASS, Avena praiensis, L. , 162 Nasturtium, Tropaolum majus, 185. Nectarine, Amygdalus persica, 96, 128 Nipplewort, Lafsana communis, L., i.:;i Oak, Quercus Robur, L. , 3, 97, 107 272, 287 Oat grasses (Avena), 147, 161 Oat-grass, downy (see Downy grass) — narrow-leaved (see Narrow leaved oat-grass) — tall (see Tall oat-grass) — wild (see Wild oat-grass) — yellow (see Yellow oat-grass) Oats, Avena sativa, L., 29, 75, 98, 103, 126, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 175, 228 Onion, Allium Cepa, 86, 98, 99, los, 106, 143, 185 — couch, 162 436 INDEX OF PLANTS Opium poppy, Fafaver somtii- ferum, L., 177 Orchard grass (see Cocksfoot) Orcheston grass, 160 Ox-eye, Chrysanthemum Leucan- themum, L., 136, 138, 151 Parnassus, grass op, Parnassia palustris, L., 149 Parsley, Petroselinum sativum, Hoffra., 87, 98, 133 Parsnip, Pastinaca sativum^ Benth. , 86, 98, 103, 106, 132 Pea, Pisum sativum, 79, 81, 83, 92, 97, 98, 103, no, 117, 120, 185, 228 Peach, Amygdalus persica, 96 Pear, Pyrus comm-unis, L. , 104, 128 Penny-cress, Thlaspi arvense, L. , 112 Pheasant's eye, Adonis autumnalis, L., 177 Pimpernel, SQSx\%1,Anagalhsarsen- sis, L. , 97, 181 , Pine bunch grass (see Sheep's fes- cue), 154 Pine-tree, 275 Pink, Dianthus Caryophyllus, 118 VlaxAam, Plantagosp., 86, 104, i56, 181, 182, 222 Plum, Prunus domestica, L., 97, 104, 127, 128 Poppy, Papaver Rhceas, L. , 86, 94, 97. 177. 181. 182, 183 Potato, Solanum tuberosum, 86, 92, 98, 105, 132, 137, 139, 179 Prickly comfrey, Symphytum asper- rim/um., 104, 140 Primrose, Primula vulgaris, Huds. , 92, 94, 97, 99, 181 Fuel's vernal grass, Anthoxanthum Puelii, 168 Pumpkin, Cucurbita mxixima, 81, 87, 131 Purging flax, Linum catharticum, L. , 119 Quaking grass, Briza media, L., 147, 173, 212 I Radish, Raphanus sativus, L. , 84, ic6 112, 117, 185 Ragged Robin, Lychnis Flos-cuculi , L., 118, 188 Ragworts, Seneciosp., 151 Rape, Brassica Napus, L. , 98, 114 Raspberry, Rubus idcEus, L. , 97, 102, 104, 127, 128 Rat's-tail fescue, Festuca sciuroides. Roth., 166 Red bartsia, Bartsia Odontites, Huds., 180 — clover (broad clover), Trifolium pratense, L. , 122, 166, 212, 222 — fescue, Festuca rubra, L. , 154, Redshank (see Knot-grass), 143 Reed, Phragmites communis, Trin. , 147 — canary grass, Phalaris arundi- nacea, L. , 275 — sweet grass, Glyceria aquatica, Sm,, 167 Rest-harrow, Ononis arvensis, L. , 127 Rhubarb, Rheum sp., 138, 142 Rib-grass, Plantago lanceolata, L. , 149, 181 Rice, Oryza sativa, 144 Rocket, sweet, 112 Rose, Rosa sp. , 102, 129 Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, 140 Rush, Juncus sp„ 3, 37, 148 Rye, Secale cereale, 97, 98, 103, 126, 144, 147, 148, 168, 17s Rye-grass, Italian, Lolium. italicum, A. Br., 148, 164, 166 — perennial, Lolium perenne, L. , 124, 125, 144, 147, 148, 151, 153, 157, 164, 212, 221, 227 Sage, Salvia officinalis, 140 Sainfoin, Onobrychis sativa, L. , 31, 83, 92, 97, 98, 104, 126, 219 Sandwort, Arenaria serpyllifolia, L., 118 Savoy, Brassica oleracea, L., 116 Scarlet runner, Phaseolus multi- Jiorus, 121, 185 Scorpion grass, Myosotis sp., 140, 149 Scurvy grass, Cochlearia officinalis, L.., 149 Sea kale, Crambe maritima, L. , 112 INDEX OF PLANTS AZ7 SED Sedge, Carex sp., 3, 37, 86,92, 100, 149, 213, 222, 279 Self-heal, Prunella vulgaris^ L. , 97, 140, 222 Serraddia, Omiihopus sativus, 127 Shallot (see Onion), 144 Sheep's fescue, Festuca ovina, L. , 145, 152, 154, 167, 168, 212, 221 — parsley, Petroselinum sp. , 133 — sorrel, Rumex Acetosella, L. , 168 Shepherd's needle, Scandix Pecten- Veneris, L. , 134 — purse, Capsella B-ursa-pastoris, DC, 97, 106, 112, 284 Sherardia, 178 Silverweed, Potentilla anserlna, L., 127, 222 Slender foxtail, Alopecurus agrestis, L., 149, 158, IS9 Sloe, Pruntis spinosa, L. , 128 Snakeweed, Polygonum Bistorta, L., 142 Snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus, L., 180 Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, L., 27s Soft grass, creeping, Holcus mollis, L. , 148, 158, r74 Sorghum, 176 Sorrel, Sumex sp. , 86, 92, 142, 149, 166, 183, 213, 222, 227 Sour dock, 222 Sow-thistle, Sonchus sp., 136, 138, 222 Spearwort, Ranunculus sp. , 177 Speedwell, Veronica sp., 97, 105, 180, 213, 222 Spiked fescue, Festuca loliacea, Huds., 152, 167, 212, 221 Spinach, Spinacia oleracea, 140 Spurrey, Sfergula arvensis, L., 86, 119 Squitch (see Bent) Stinging nettle, Urtica dioica, L. , 143, 180 Stitohwort, Stellaria Holostea, L., 97, ri8 — lesser, Stellaria qraminea, L. , 213 Stock, Matthiola sp. , 112 Strawberry, Fragaria vesca, L. , 102, 104, 127, 128 Sugar cane, Saceharum officinarwm, 144 Sundew, Drosera rotundifolia, L. , 3 Sunflower, Heliantkus annuus, 87, 97, 98, 107, 13s, 136, 137 Swede, Brassica campestris, L., 75, 103, no, ri2, 142 Sweetbriar, Rosa ruH^nosa, L. , 129 Sweet grass, Glyceria sp., 166 — pea, 126 — vernal, Antkoxanthum odoratum, L. , 147, 148, 157, 167, 212, 221 — William, Dianthus bariatus, 118 Sycamore, Acer Pseudo-platanus, L.,87 Tall fescue, Festuca elatior, L., 152, 212 — oat grass, Avena elatior,!^., 162, 212, 221, 278 Tansy, Tanacetuin vulgare, ' L. , 136 Tares (see Vetch) Thistle, Carduus sp., 97, 138, 183, 222 Thorn apple. Datura Stramonium, 139 Thousand-headed kale, Brassica oleracea, L. , 114 Thyme, Thymus serpyllum, L. , 140 Timothy grass, Phleum pratense, L., 29, 144, 147, 148, 166, 169, 212 Toad-flax, Linaria vulgaris,' Mill. , r8b TohSLCco, ^Nicotiana Tabacum, 139 Tomato, Lycopersicum. esculentum, 139, 185, 282 Trefoil, Medicago lupulina, L. , 124 Trifolium, Trifolium incamaium, L., 103, 123 Tulip, Tulipa sylvestris, L. , 97, 143 Turnip, Brassica rapa, L., 75, 84, 96, 97, 98, 99, 103, no, 112, 142, 182 Tussock grass (tufted hair grass, hassock. ^a.ss),Airacaspitosa, L., 37, 161, 172, 212 Twitch (see Bent) 438 INDEX OF PLANTS Various-leaved fescue, Festuca heterophylla, 154, IJS Vegetable marrow, Cucurbita ovi- fera, 87, 97, 131, 185 Vetch, Vicia sativa, L. , 83, 92, 103, 119, 126, 176, 228 Vetchling, meadow, Lathyrus pra- iensis, L. , 92, 127, 212, 222 Violet, Viola odorata, 86, 94 Viper's bugloss, Echium vulgare, L. , 140 Wall barley, Hordeum muri- num, L. , 173 Wallflower, Cheiranthus Cheiri, L. , 92, 97, III Walnut, Juglans regia, 79, 87, 97, Watercress, Nasturtium officinale, Br., 112, 118 Water dropwort, CEnanihe sp., 13s — parsnip, broad-leaved, Sium latifolium, L. , 135 narrow-leaved, Sium angusii- W Solium, L., 135 avyhajr grass, Airajlexuosa, L. , 147, 162, 163, 169, 173 Wheat, Triticum vulgare, L., 74, 81, 85, 86, 97, 98, 103, 106, no, 117, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 174, 214 White clover, Trifolium repens, L. , 96, 102, 104, 122, 212, 222 Whitlow grass, Draba sp., 149 Whortleberry, Vaccinium Myrtil- lus, L., Wild oat grass, Avena fatua, L., 162 Willow, Salix sp. , 92, 104 Wind-grass, Apera Spica-venti, Beauv, , 168 Winter barley, 176 Woad, hails Unctoria, L., 112 Wood anemone, Anemonenenwrosa, L., 92, 97, 177 — rush, Luzula campestris, Willd. , 149, 168, 213, 222 Woody nightshade, Solanum Dul- camara, L. , 139 Wormwood, Artemisia campestris, L., 136 Yarrow (milfoil), Achillea Mille- folium, L. , 87, 98, 104, 136, 213, 222 Yellow bedstraw, Galium verum, L., 178, 213 — clover (see Trefoil), 124 — oat grass, Avena Jlavescejis, L. , 151, i6i, 212, 221 — rattle, Rhinanthus Cristfi-galli, L. , 180, 222 — suckling clover, Trifolijimminus, Sm. , 124, 222 Yew, Taxus iaccata, L,, 3, 93, 184 Yorkshire fog, Holcuf lanatus, L. , 147, 148, 152, 158, 166, 173, 212, 218, 221, 227 Zigzag trefoil, Trifolium me- dium, L., 124 Zinnia, 138 GENERAL INDEX Abdomen, 319 Aberdeen-Angus cattle, 378 Abomasum, 322 Absorption, 334 Acetic acid, 230 Acid phosphatic manures, 69 ' Action ' in horses, 362 .iCcidiospores, 274 ^cidium, 274 Aftermath, 151 After-sickness of potatoes, 283 Albumin, 325. 41S. 4^5 Albuminoid ratio, 349 Albuminoids, 325, 416 Albuminous seeds, 86, 118, 119 Alimentary canal, 319 Alkalies, 14 Alluvial, 7, 17 Alsike crop, 257 Alumina, 13, 19 Alveoli, 412 Amelioration of soils, 36 American blight, 294 Amides, 325 Ammonia, 8, 14, 15, 19, 22, 24, 26, 28, 63, 112 Amyloids, 325 Analyses of foods, 343-8, 351 ; — of manures, 68, 70, 72 — of soils, 19, 20, 21 Anatomy, 303 Anbury, 284 Annuals, 103, 183 Anther, 93 Antiseptic, 277 Ants, 289 Aorta, 330 ' . Apatite, 68 Aphides, 239, 288, 293 Apple aphis, 294 — blossom weevil, 288 — mussel scale, 294 Application of manures, 74 Aqueous rocks, 9 Arable land, 231 Arterial blood, 328 Arteries, 328 Artificial manures, 66, 209, 215 Ascospores, 279 Ashes, 63, 34S Aspaiagine, 325 Assimilation, 108 Atavism, 357 Atmosphere, i, 8 Autumn catch crops, 238 — cultivation, 239, 242, 246 Awn, 146, 147, 154, 157, 166, 168, 169. 17s Ayrshire cattle, 381 Bacon, 411 Bacteria, 30, 283, 419, 430 Bagging-hook, 189, 207 Bakewell, Robert, 377, 391 Bark-beetles, 301 Barley, after wheat, 236 — as food, 343, 345, 351 — crop, 24, 31, 74, 7S, 242, 256, 258, 264, 409 — husk, 344 Barm, 270 Basalt, 8 Beiscs, 19, 31 Basic cinder, 69 Bastard fallow, 236, 234 Bates, Thomas, 372 Bats, 302 Bean aphis, 294 — crop, 239, 256, 259, 266 — hook, 208 Bean-seed beetle, 288 Beans as food, 343 Bearded, 148, 174 Beardless, 148, 174 Beef, 407 440 INDEX BEE Beef-making cattle, 371 Beas, 93, 96, 127, 131, 137, 289 Berkshire knot, 394 — pigs, 403 Berries, 97, 130, 131 Biennials, 103, 117, 134, 137 Bile, 323, 327 Binder, 189, 190 Birds, 302 Black-faced mountain sheep, 395 Black fly, 294 Bladder, 333 Blood, 328, 337, 413 — horse, 361 Bloom, waxy, 226 Blow-fly, 295 Blue-grey cross, 380 Blue-stone, 278 Bone, composition of, 339 Bone-meal, 68 Bones, 67 Booth, Thomas, 372 Boragineas, T40 Border Leicester sheep, 391 Bot fly, 29s Boulder clay, 7 Bracts, 135, 136, 137, 138, 143, 153 Braird, 250 Bran, 85, 343. 3Si Brasslets, 289 Brazil nut, 89 Breeding, 356 Breed records, 359' Brewers' grains, 343, 345 Broadcasting, 220 Bronchi, 332 Bud, 90, 99, 100, 104, 129 Budding, 130 Buff-tip moth, 292 Bulb, 99, 143 Bunt, 276, 278 Burs, 138 Bush fruit, 130 Butter, 415, 423 Butterflies, 290 Butter-milk, 422 Cabbage aphis, 294 Cabbage, as food, 346 — butterfly, 291 — crop, 73, 77, 254-257 — fly, 295 Caddis flies, 297 Caecum, 321 Cake-breakers, 354 Calcarene, 17 Calcareous soil, i5 Calcium, 13 Calf-flesh, 387 Calf-rearing, 386 Cambium, 130 Cambridge roller, 56 Canker of apple, 271 Cannon bone, 309 Capillaries, 328 Capillarity, 32, 251 Capitate, 135 Capitulum 135 Caps, 244 Capsules, 97, 118, 180, 181 Carbohydrates, 88, 231, 325, 343 Carbon, 8, 108 Carbonate of lime, 8, 14 Carbonic acid, 8, 9, 11, 15, 26, 63, 108, 270, 407 Carcass, 406 Carpel, 91 Carrot, as food, 346, 351 — blossom moth, 292 — crop, 255, 257, 260 — fly, 295 Cartilage, 304, 325, 340 Caryophyllaceaa, 118 Casein, 325, 414, 425 Catch crops, 24, 113, 123, 233, 238 Catchwork, 219 Caterpillar, 290 Cattle, breeds of, 371 Caustic lime, 14 Caving fork, 204 Cavings, 199 Celery fly, 295 Cells, 90, 93, 95, 98, 107, 108, no, 135, 281, 337 Cellulose, 109, 325 Centrifugal separators, 419 Cereals, 144, 174, 228 Chaff, 148, 197 — cutter, 352 Chain harrows, 55 Chalcis flies,- 2189 Chalk, 5, 6, 8, 21, 36 Channel Islands cattle, 371 Cheese, 425 Cheese-making appliances, 426-428 ChenopodiacesB, 140 Chested, 175 INDEX 441 Cheviot sheep, 395 Chit, 8s Chitin, 299 Chlorides, 22, 26, 106 Chlorine, 63, 214, 407 Chlorophyll, 87, 109, 133, 180, 271 Chobs, 199 Chondrin, 325, 340 Chrysalis, 290, 298 Churning, 423 Chyle, 336 Cilia, 158, 281 Circulation of the blood, 328 Clamp, 228 Classification of farm animals, 318 — of insects, 287 — of plants, 184 — of soils, 16 Clay, 2, s, 13, 16, 20, 34 Clean condition, 177 Cleaning land, 219 Cleveland horse, 364 Click beetles, 288 Clod crushers, 56 Clover, as food, 346 — crop, 243, 256 — hay, as food, 343, 345, 347, 351 — sickness, 123, 236, 243 — weevil, 288 Club-root, 284 Clun Forest sheep, 398 Clydesdale, 366 Coach-horse, 364 Coagulation of blood, 413 Cockchafer, 288 Cockroach, 296 Cocoa-nut, 89 — cake, 351 Cocoon, 292, 298 Codlin moth, 292 CofBn bone, 310 Coleoptera, 287 Collier, 294 Colling, brothers, 372 Colon, 321 Colostrum, 416 Colour of soils, 2, 19 — of cattle, 372 Colt, 368 Compositae, 135 Concentrated foods, 347 Condiment, 127, 168 'Condition' in soils, 65, 209, 216, 242 Conidiospores, 280 Connective tissue, 321, 325, 340 Constrictor muscles, 324 Convolvulace^, 179 , Copper sulphate, 277, 278, 23«, 301 Coprolites, 63 Core of apple, 128 Corn aphis, 294 — mills, 3S3 — sawfly, 290 Coronet, 310 Corpuscles, blood, 413 Cotswold sheep, 391 Cotton-cake, 343 Cotyledons, 79, 117, 184, 253, 300 Covered yards, 64 Cranefly, 295 Cream, 419, 421 Creeping roots, 100 Creeps, lamb, 400 Cremocarp, 132 Crickets, 296 Crimson clover crop, 238 Crop residue, 16, 29 Crops, farm, 231 Cross-bred, 359, 371, 380 Crossing, 374, 391, 394, 398 Cruciferse, iii Cruciferous, 92, 284 Cucurbitaceas, 131 Cud, 322 Culm, 14s Cultivating, 40 Cultivation, 237 Cultivators, 40, S3 Cupuliferse, 287 Cuttings, 131 Cyperaceae, 148 '. Cystopus candijlus, 28s Daddy-longlegs, 29s Dairy cattle, 371, 382, 417, 424 — farming; 411 Dairying, 411 Daisy rake, 205 Damping off, 28s Dart moth, 292 Dartmoor pony, 363 — sheep, 397 Denudation, 7 Detritus, 7 Devon cattle, 375 — longwool sheep, 396 Dew, 27 442 INDEX Dew-claws, 316 Dexter Kerry cattle, 385 Dextrin, 326 Diamond-back moth, 291 Diaphragm, 319 Diastase, 88 Dibble, 269 Dicotyledons, 105 Digestion, 326 — coefficient, 349 Digestive juices, 323 Digger, 40 Diptera, 287, 294 Diseases of crops, 272 Dishley, 377, 391 Disintegration, 6, 26 Dissolved bones, 68 Distributors, 60 Docking, 143 ' Doddies,' 380 Dolphin, 294 Dorset homed sheep, 396 Double-cut clover, 123 Dragon flies, 297 Drags, 54 Drain gauges, 23 Drainage water, 22, 65 Draining, 37 Drains, 38 Dried blood, 71 Drills, 56 Driving horses, 362 Drought, 220 Drupes, 97, 128 Dimg, 63, 215, 249, 268 Durham cattle, 372 Dusting flowers, 96 Ear, 146, 174 Earthworm, ii Earwigs, 296 Eel-worm, 123 Elevator, 193 Embryo, 84, 90, 95, 271 Embryo-sac, 95 Emulsion, 327 Endocardium, 328 Endopleura, 79 Endosperm, 85 English cattle, 371 — pony, 363 — sheep, 389 Ensilage, 227 Epidermis, 109, 273, 316, 333 Ergot, 279, a86 Erratic, 7, 10 Essex pigs, 403 Exalbuminous seeds, 86, 131 Exhausted soil, 35, 62 Exmoor pony, 363 — sheep, 398 Exports of the farm, 409, 410 Extractives of blood, 413 Eye of apple, 128 — of gooseberry, &c. ,131 — of potato, 98 Fagging-hook, 189, 207 Fallow, 24, 31, 107, 182, aig, 233 — bastard, 236 False caterpillars, 299 Farm crops, 231, 255 Farmyard manure, 15, 63 Farrowing, 404 Fat, 63, 88, 32s, 340 Fattening, 217, 407 Fatty foods, 343 ' Feathering,' 366, 367 Feeding, 341 Fermentation, 64, 228, 231, 265 Ferments, 30, 88, 89 Fertilisation, 95 Fertility, 66, 217 Fetlock, 313 Fever fly, 295 Fibre, 318, 347 Fibrin, 325, 413 Fibrous roots, 106 Filly, 368 Fine earth, 25 Finger-and-toe, 284 Fish guano, 67 Fixed characters, 357 Flag, I7S, 176, 265 Flail, 196 Flat system, 251 Flavour, 342 Flesh, 318, 340 Flesh-formers, 326 Flies, 29s Flock book, 360 Florets, 135, 146 Flour, 85 Flower, 91 Fluke, 27s Foal, 368 INDEX 443 Food-preparing machines, 352 Foods, 341 Forest flies, 295 Fork, 40, 183, 203 Frit fly, 295 Frost, 6, 220 Fruit, 96 — trees, 104, 127 Fumariaceae, 178 Fungus pests, 270 Furrows, forms of, 43 Fusiform, 117 •Gad flies, 293 Gall-bladder, 323 Gall flies, 289 Galloway cattle, 380 Galls, 284, 289 Gastric juice, 324, 327 ■Gelatin, 325, 340 Geological maps, 5 Germinating capacity, 186 •Germination, 78, 144 Gestation, 360 Giant sirex, 290 ■Gid, 27s Glacier, 7 •Glands, 320, 323 Globules, milk, 413 Glomes, 315 Glumes, 146, 163 ■Gluten, 325 Goat moth, 292 Good farming, 286, 301 Gooseberry and currant sawfly, 290 Gorse-raill, 355 Gout fly, 29s Grade, 359 Grafting, 129 •Grain, 146, 14S — crops, no Graminese, 144, 276 Granite, 5, 8 Grass as food, 346, 348 Grasses, 144, 149 Grasshopper, 296 Grass land, 76, 183, 209, 231 — seed, 148 Grazing, 209 Green manuring, 16, 37, 142 — soiling, I2S, 140, 176 Grips, 53 istle, 304, 32s Gtrist-mill, 358 Grooming, 333 Grub, 289 Grubbers, S3 Guano, 67 Guard cells, 109 Guernsey cattle, 383 Gullet, 320 Gum, 326, Gypsum, 8, 73 Hackney, 362 ' Hammers,' 376 Hampshire Down sheep, 394 Hand tools, 203 Harrowing, 40, 231, 250 Harrows, S3. SS Harvesting, 261 Haulm, 120, 121, 139, 179, 266, 280 Haustellata, 297 Haustoria, 179 Hay, as food, 34S, 347. 348. 351 — composition of, 213, 217, 409 — loader, 225 — odour of, 167 Hayfield, 209 Haymaking, 223 — machine, 192 Hazelled land, 251 Heart, 328 Heat of the body, 332, 369 Heavy horses, 360 Hedgehog, 90, 302 Hedge-slasher, 208 Height of horse, 363 Hemiptera, 293 Hepatic vessels, 33s Herbage of grass lands, 210 Herd book, 360 Herdwick sheep, 396 Hereford cattle, 374 Hessian fly, 295 Hetercecism, 275 Heteroptera, 292 Hibernating mycelium, 282 Highland cattle, 380 — pony, 363 High moulding, 283 Hilum, 78, 9S Hoar frost, 27 Hock, 311 Hoe, 20s ^ Hoed crops, 183 444 INDEX Hoeing, 40 Homoptera, 287, 292 Honey, 96, 137, 300 Honey-dew stage, 280 Hoof of horse, 313 Hoofs and horns, 71 Hop aphis, 294 — crop, 7T, 143 — cuckoo fly, 294 Hornets, 289 Horns, 316 Horse, 304 — hot fly, 295 Horse-hoeing, 40 Horse-hoes, 53, 260 Horse-rake, 193 Horses, breeds of, 360 Host, 179, 274 House fly, 295 Hoven, 122 Hurameller, 199 Humus, 3, II, 15, 29, 34, 63 Hunter, 362 Hybrids, 96 Hydrated, 13 Hydrogen, 18 Hygroscopic awns, 168 Hymenoptera, 287, 289 Hyphse, 271 Ice, 6, ,7 Ichneumon flies, 289 Igneous' rocks, 8 lUac vessels, 330, 413 Imago, 298 In-and-in breeding, 356 Indigenous soil, 10 Indigestible fibre, 347 Inflorescence, 116, 132, 135, 146 Insecticides, 301 Insectifuges, 301 > Insects, 95 Intemode, 90 Intestine, 320 Irish cattle, 371 — sheep, 389 Iron, 9, 12, 13, 106, 109 — pan, 34 Irrigated land, 154, 157, 217 Jersey cattle, 382 Joint, 14s Jugular vein, 331 Juncacese, 148 Kainit, 72 Kentish sheep, 392 Kerry cattle, 384 Kidneys, 333 Kitchen garden, 40 Knee of horse, 308 Kohl-rabi crop, 254 Kreatin 340, 413 Kyloe, 380 LABIATjE, 140 Lacteals, 334, 337 Lactic acid, 413 Lactose, 415 Ladybirds, 288 Lambing pen, 400 — season, 399 Laminitis, 313 Larch aphis, 294 Large white pigs, 402 Larva, 298 Lava, 9 Layering, 102, 208 Laying down to grass, 219 Leaf axil, 90 Leaflet, 90, 119, 126 Leaf-miners, 300 Leaf-mould, 15 ; Leaf-roller moths, 300 Leaf-sheath, 145 : Lean, 340, 410 ■ Leather-jacket, 258, 295 Leaves, 31, 79, 90, 107, 117 : Legume, 97, 120 Leguminosse, 119, 287 ! Leguminous crops, 76 Leicester sheep, 391 Lentils, as food, 351 ' Lepidoptera, 287, 290 ; Leys, 243 ; Light horses, 360 ; Lights, 319 I Ligulate florets, 135 j Ligule, 14s, 160 ; Liliaceae, 143 j Lime, 12, 14, 15, 19, 36, 63, 73, io5, 214, 407 — pan, 34 Limestone, 5, 8, 14 INDEX 445 Limestone sheep, 398 Linacese, 119 Lincoln sheep, 392 Linseed, 88, 119, 343 Linseed-cake, 343, 344 Litter, 63 Liver, 323 Liver-fluke, 275 Loam, 16, 21, 70 Local soil, 10 Locusts, 296 London purple, 301 Longhorn cattle, 377 Longwool breeds, 389 Lonk sheep, 397 Looper caterpillar, 292, 299 Lucerne crop, 245, 257 Lungs, 319, 330, 332 Lymph, 337 Lymphatic system, 337 Maggot, 289 Magnesia, 13, 15, 18, 63, 106, 214,407 Magpie moth, 292 Maintenance diet, 341, 401 Maize as food, 343, 345, 3Si Malt-combs, 88, 343, 345, 351 Malting, 87 Mammalia, 303 Mammary glands, 411 Mandibulata, 297 Mangel, as food, 346, 351 — crop, 73, 76, 248, 252, 257, 260 — fly. 29s Manurial value of food, 342, 350 Manuring, 62 Marble, 8 — gall fly, 290 Marl, s, 16, 36 May flies, 297 Meadow, 209, 215 ' Mealy-mouthed ' cattle, 384 Melanthaceae, 144 Mellow soil,. 6, 18 Mericarp, 132 Mesentery, 321, 323 Metamorphosis, 298 Metcecism, 275 Mica, 12 Micropyle, 95 Middle white pigs, 402 Migration, 103 Mildew, 253, 272 NOD Milk, 217, 327, 337, 409, 411 — cistern, 411 — fountains, 414 — register, 417 — sugar, 41S — vein, 412, 414 Milking, 417 Mills, corn, 353 • Mineral manures, 217, 235, 268 — matter, 11, 19, 409 — phosphates, 68 Moisture, 31, 182 Moles, 302 Moorland pan, 34 Mosquitoes, 295 Moths, 290 Mottled umber moth, 292 Moulds, 270 Mountain sheep, 389 Mowing, 206 — machines, 191 Mulch, 33 Muriate of potash, 72 Muscle, 318, 325, 340 Muscular contraction, 338 Mushrooms, 270 Mustard beetle, 288 Mutton, 401 Mycelium, 271 Myosin, 325, 340 Nag, 362 Napiform, 117 Navicular, 311 Nectar, 96 Nervous system, 337 Neuroptera, 296 New Forest pony, 363 Nitrate of soda, 70, 181, 216, 253 Nitrates, 15, 22, 26, 30, 106, 325 Nitric acid, 24, 28 Nitriflcation, 30, 35, 63, 71, 74 Nitrites, 26 Nitrogen, 8, 19, 24, 26, 63, 65, 70, III, 126, 182, 214, 236,' 268, 325, 407 — starvation, 341 Nitrogenous foods, 343, 368, 369, 400, 416 — manures, 217 — waste, 333 Node, 90 Nodules, 126, 287 - ■ ' 446 INDEX Norfolk sheep, 394 Nutlets, 97, 140 Nuts, 97, 137, 142 Nut weevil, 288 Oak-apples, 290 Oat crop, 29, 31-, 74, 75, 241, 256, 258, 265 Oat-husk, 344 Oatmeal, 175 Oats as food, 343, 345, 351 Odour of hay, 167 CEsophagus, 320 Offal, 358 Oil, 88, 32s —calces, 343, 344, 389 Olein, 341 Omasum, 321 Onion fly, 295 — rot, 283 Organic manures, 72 — matter, 11, 15, 19, 26 — nitrogen, 24, 30, 35 Orobanchaceas, 180 O rthoptera, 296 Ovary, 94 Ovule, 91, .93 Ox, skeleton of, 315 — warble fly, 295 Oxford Down sheep, 392 Oxide of iron, 18, 63, 407 Oxides, 9, i8, 19 Oxygen, 8, 26, 81 Palea, 146 Palmitin, 341 Palm-nut caJce, 351 Pancreas, 323 Pancreatic juice, 323, 327 Panicle, 146 Pans, 33, 34, 73 Papaveracese, 177 Papilionaceous, 91, 120 Pappus, 138 Parafiin, 301 Parasites, 179, 180, 187, 271, 372, 2S0 Paring and burning, 37 Paris green, 301 Parsnip as food, 346, 351 — crop, 257, 258, 260 — fly, 29s Pastern, 310 Pasture, 209, 217, 220 Paunch, 321 Pea "as food, 343, 345, 351 — crop, 240, 256, 258, 266 — hook, 189, 208 Pear sawfly, 290 Peat, 15, 21 — moss litter, 64 Peaty pan, 34 Pectin, 326 Pedigree, 358 Peptic glands, 324 Peptones, 327 Perennial, 100, 104, 183 Perianth, 141, 143, 185 Pericardium, 328 Peristaltic contraction, 324 Peruvian guano, 67 Pests, farm, 186 Petal, 91 Pharynx, 320 Phosphates, 15, 106, 409 Phosphoric acid, 14, 18, 19, 22, 63; 214, 407 Phosphorus, 63 Phylloxera, 293 Physiology, 303 Phytophthora infestans, 281 Pickling, crops for, 185 — seed corn, 278 Piercing insects, 294 Pig, skeleton of, 317 Pigs, breeds of, 402 Pine beetle, 288 — sawfly, 290 Pink decay, 283 Pistil, 91 Pitchfork, 204 Placentation, free, i8i Plantagineas, 181 Plant-food, 35, 82, 90, 105 Plants classified, 184 Plasma, 413 Plasmodia, 284 Plasmodiophora Brassicae, 284 Plastering, 73 Ploughing, 40, 41 Plough pan, 34 Ploughs, 44 Plovers, 37 Plum aphis, 294 Plumule, 79 Poached land, 242 INDEX 447 Pods, 97 Points, 3S6. 357 Poisonous plants, iiS, 131^ 133, 134, 139, 144, 166, 180 Pollard, 3SI Polled, 316, 378, 379, 380, 390 Pollen, 93, 271, 289, 300 Polygonacese, 142 Pome, 129 Pony, 363 Pooking fork, 204 Poor soils, 36 Poppy seed, 89 Portal vein, 335 Potash, 12, X3, 14, 18, 19, 22, 63, 106, 214, 407 — manures, 72, 268 Potato, 79 — as food, 346 — crop, 257, 267 — disease, 281, 286 — frog fly, 294 — planters, 60 Precocious plants, 117, 137 Prepotency, 357 Preserving, crops for, 185 Pressers, 55 Prickles, 129 Primulaceae, i3i Proboscis, 290, 297 Proteids, 89, 325 Protoplasm, 85, 109, no, 271, 272, 284 Proud wheat, 176 Pruning, 129 Ptyalin, 323 Puccinia, 274, 276 Pulmonary circulation, 329, 331 Pulse, 331 Pulses, 120 Pumice, 9 Punch, Suffolk, 368 Pupa, 298 Pure-bred, 356, 358, 359 Pylorus, 320 Pythium, 285 Quality OF hay, 226 — of oilcakes, 343 Quarter, 411 Quarters, 307 Quartz, 8 Quicklime, 14, 36, 282, 301 Raceme, 124 Raohis, 277 Radicle, 79 Rain, 11, 23, 26, 28, 217 Rake, 40, 55, 204 Rancid butter, 424 Ranunculacese, 177 Rape-cake, 343, 351 — crop, 254 — seed, 88 Reaper, 189 Reaping, 207 Rectum, 321 Red maggot, 295 — polled cattle, 378 Refrigerator, milk, 418 Register, milk, 417 Renal artery, 333 — vein, 333 Rennet, 425 — stomach, 322 Replum, 97 Reproductive organs, 103 Reservoirs, 109 Respiration, no, 332 Resting stage, 89, 274, 279, 285, 298 Retentive power of soils, 22 Reversion, 284, 356, 390 Rhizome, 99 Ribbon-footed corn-fly, 295 Ribesiaceae, 130 Ribs, 306 Rice-meal, 343, 351 Ridge system, 251 Riding horse, 362 Ripened cream, 423 Rock, s Rock-salt, 8, 370, 401, 406 Rollers, 55 Rolling, 40, 231, 250 Romney Marsh sheep, 392 Root-cap, 98, 106 Root crops, 75, 103, no, 183, 24S>, 259 Root-hairs, 106 * Rooting,' 405 Roots, 32, 82, 98, 109, 117, 144 Rootstock, 99, 118, 137 Rosaceae, 127 Roscommon sheep, 398 Rot of onions, 283 Rotation grasses, 76 — of crops, 232 448 INDEX ROT Rothamsted experiments, 23, 211, 406 Rubiaceas, 178 ■ Rubies,' 375 Ruminant, 321 Rtmner, 102 Running roots, 100 Runts, 377 Rust, 272, 285 Rye crop, 238, 257 — as food, 343 Ryeland sheep, 396 Sainfoin crop, 245, 257 Salad plants, 117, 118, 131, 136, 137. 139. 141. 144 Saliva, 320, 323 Salt, 26, 70, 71, 73, 253 Salts, 19 Sand, 2, s, 12, 16, 20, 34 Saprophytes, 272 Sawflies, 289 Scale insects, 294 Scaly roots, 100 Scarifiers, 53 Scarious, 181 Scion, 129 Sclerotiura, 279 Scotch cattle, 371 — hands, 424 — sheep, 389 Screens, 199, 202, 203 Scrophularinese, 180 Scufflers, 53 Scythe, 188, 205, 223 Season, 210 Seaweed, 72 Secretions, 323 Sedentary soil, 10 Seed-barrow, 220, 244 Seed-bed, 40, 80, 183, 219 Seeding, 237 Seed-leaves, 79 Seedling, 80 Seeds, 78, 91, 94, 98, 109, 117, 132, 148, 186, 255 ' Seeds,' 176, 223, 236, 243, 259 ' Seeds,' hay, 226 Selection, 104, 186, 358 Self-fertilisation, 95 Sepal, 91 Separators, cream, 422 Serum, 413 Sessile, 135, 181 Setaceous, 145, 154 Setting milk, 419 Sewage, 164 Sheep, breeds of, 389 — farming, 399 — skeleton of, 316 — ticks, 295 Sheep's nostril fly, 295 Shepherd, 399 Shetland pony, 363 Shire horse, 364 Shoddy, 71 Shoot, 82 Shorthorn cattle, 372, 417, 424 Shortwool sheep, 389 Shovel, 203 J Shropshire sheep, 393 Sickle, 189, 207 Silage, 119, 120, 140, 144, 227, 418 Silica, 8, 13, 19, 63, 214, 407 Silicula, 97 Siliqua, 97 Silo, 227 Silver Y-moth, 292 Single-cut clover, 123 ' Singling,' 260 Skeleton, 304 Skim-milk, 415, 422 cheese, 428 Skin, 332 SkuU, 306 Slaked lime, 14 Slasher, 208 Slate, 5 Sleep of plants, 112 Small black pigs, 403 — ermine moth, 292 — white pigs, 403 Smut, 276, 286 Snaith, 205 Soda, 18, 63, 214, 407 Soft cheese, 428 — palate, 320 Soil, I Solanaceae, 139 Solution, 8, 22 Somerset homed sheep, 396 Soot, 26, 72, 301 Sour soils, 36 South Devon (Hams) cattle, 375 sheep, 396 Southdown sheep, 393 Sowing grass Seeds, 220 INDEX 449 Spade, 40, 203 Spikelets, 146, 172, 173 Splint-bones, 310 Spores, 271 Sporidia, 274 Spruce gall aphis, 294 Stables, 370 Stacker, 193 Stacks, 263 Staggers, 275 Stamens, 91 Starch, 85, 88, 109, 268, 271, 281, 323. 32s Starlings, 37 Steam cultivation, 61, 246 — engine, 201 Steamed bone, 68 Stearin, 34r Stem, 98, log, 117 Stifle joint, 311 Stigma, 94, 177 Stinging insects, 289 Stipule, 143 Stock, 129 Stolon, loi, 145, iss, IS7 Stoloniferous, 102 Stomach, 320, 321 Stomata, 109, 273 Stone flies, 297 — fruit, 97 — mill, 3S9 ' Store," 406 — cattle, 388 Straw, 64, 227, 275 — as food, 34S, 347, 348, 351 — crops, no, 131 ' Strippings," 415 Struggle for existence, 129, 211 Stud Book, 360 Style, 94 Subsoil, I, 25, Succulent foods, 346 Sucker, 102 Sucking roots, 179 Suet, 333, 341 Suffolk horses, 367 — sheep, 394 — pigs, 403 Sugar, 88, 109, 141, 268, 270, 323, 32s. 413 — crops, 347 Sulphate of ammonia, 69, 71 — of copper, 277, 278, 282, 301 — of potash, 170 TRO Sulphates, 15, 22, 26, 27, io6 Sulphur, 73, III Sulphuric acid, 18, 68, 214, 407 Superphosphate, 68, 236, 253 Surface caterpillars, 291 — feeder, 235 — weeds, 183 Suspension, 7, 22 Sussex cattle, 376 Swath, 323 Swede crop, 75, 253, 257, 260 Swedes as food, 346, 351 Sweetbread, 323 Switch-bill, 208 Symbiosis, 286 Systemic circulation, 329, 331 Tamworth pigs, 404 Tapeworm, 275 Tap-root, 106, 129, 132, 143 Tares as food, 351 Teat, 411 Tedder, 193 Tedding, 224 Teleutospores, 373 Temperature, 81 Tendon, 318 Tendril, ro2, 120, 126, 131 Testa, 79 Texture of soils, 2 Thermometer, 425 Thistledown, 138, 183 Thoracic duct, 336 Thorax, 305, 319 Thoroughbred, 359, 361 Thousand-headed kale crop, 254 Threshing, 199, 263 — machine, 196 Thrips, 296 Throwing back, 357 TiU, 7 Tillage, 39, 40, 286 Tillering, 164, 16S, 176 Tilth, 32, 40, 242, 248, 251, 252, 267, Top-dressing, 71, 73 Top-knot, 391, 393, 396, 398 Tiachea, 330, 332 Transpiration, 22, 24, 107 Transplanting, 115, 116, 125, 254 Transported soil, 7, 10 Trefoil crop, 245, 357 Trifolium crop, 238, 257 Tripe, 331 Trptting horse, 362 GG 45° INDEX Truss, 227 Trusser, 201 Tuber, 98, 99, 137, 139 Tubular florets, 135 , Turnip-blossom beetle, 288 — crop, 7S, 253, 257, 260 — cutter, 3SS — fly, 253, 288, 301 — gall weevil, 284, 288 — green fly, 294 — moth, 292 — pulper, 3SS — sawfly, 290 Turnips as food, 346, 351 Tumside, 275 Tyrosine, 325 Udder, 411 Umbel, 132 Umbelliferse, 132 Underground stems, 99 Unisexual flowers, 95, 131, 143 Urea, 65, 333, 341, 413 Uredo, 274 Uredospores, 272 Ureter, 333 Urethra, 334 Urine, 63, 333 Urticacese, 143 Valleys, 7 Valves, 328, 337 Variation, 357 Vat, cheese, 428 Veal, 386, 411 Vegetative organs, 103 Veins, 328 Veils, 322, 425 Vena Cava, 330 Venous blood, 328 Ventilation, 332 Vertebras, 304 Vertebrata, 303 Vetches, crop, 238, 257 Villi, 334 Wads, 266 Warble fly, 295 Warping, 36 Wasps, 289 Water, 6, 38 — culture, 106 — meadows, 217 Water table, 32, 38 Weathering, 9, 249 Webbed seeds, 160 Weeds, 40, 171, 176, 182, 234, 240, 242, 244, 2SS Weevils, 287 Weighbridge, 388 Welsh cattle, 376 — ponies, 363 — sheep, 389, 398 Wensleydale sheep, 398 West Highland cattle, 380 Wet rot, 283 — seasons, 24, 89 Wheat, as food, 343, 345, 351. — bulb fly, 29s — crop, 24, 25, 74, 237, 256, 258, 261, 409 — midge, 295 Wheels of carts, 196 Whetstone, 207 Whey,-4i5, 42s, 429 — butter, 430 Whippletrees, 47, 55 White-faced sheep, 390 White rust, 284 Whorl, 91 Wiltshire horned sheep, 394 Wind-fertilised, 96 Wind-pipe, 330, 332 Winnowing machines, 201 Winter barley crop, 238 — cap, 237 — moth, 292, 301 — oats crop, 238 — ploughing, 248 Wireworm, 258, 288 Woburn experiments, 388 Wood, 109 Wood leopard moth, 292 Wool, 389 — waste, 72 Wooly aphis. 494 — currant scale, 294 Work, 342 Working animals, 369 Yeaning, 400 Yeast, 270 Yellow underwing moth, 291 Yorkshire pigs, 402 Zoospore, 281 Spottiswoode 6^ Co, Printers, NffU/sireei Square, London. PAMPHLETS PUBLISHED BY THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND, Which can be obtained at the Society's Houses 12 Hanover Square^ London^ W, ; or of Mr. iOHN MURRAY, 50a Albemarle Street, W. PAMPHLETS BY SIR JOHN BENNET LAWES, Bart. VALUATION OF UNEXHAUSTED MANURES. By Sir John Bennet Lawes, Bart., LL.D., F.R.S., and J. H. Gilbert, LL.D., Ph.D., F.R.S. Price 6d. TABLES FOR ESTIMATING DEAD WEIGHT AND VALUE OF CATTLE FROM LIVE WEIGHT. By Sir John B. Lawes, Bart. Price u. VETERINARY PAMPHLETS BY PROFESSOR G. T. BROWN, C.B., Director of the Veterinary Department of the Board of Agriculture ; Principal of the Royal Veterinary College. DENTITION AS INDICATIVE OF THE AGE OF FARM ANIMALS. Third Edition (1891). 62 pp. With Sixty Illustrations. Price u. ANIMALS OF THE FARM IN HEALTH AND DISEASE. 68 pp. With Fifty-two Illustrations. Price u. THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE'S FOOT AND THE PRINCIPLES OF SHOEING. Second Edition (i8gi). With Twelve Plates. Price dd. PAMPHLETS BY Mr. CHARLES WHITEHEAD, F.L.S., F.G.S. HINTS ON VEGETABLE AND FRUIT FARMING. Third Edition (1890). With Five Illustrations. By Charles Whitehead, F.L.S., F.G.S. 48 pp. Price td. METHODS OF PREVENTING AND CHECKING THE ATTACKS OF INSECTS AND FUNGI. By Charles Whitehead, F.L.S., F.G.S. With Twenty-six Illustrations. (1891.) '40 pp. Price td. DAIRY PAMPHLETS. {Issued under the authority of the Dairy Committee of the Society.) THE PRACTICE OF («) CHEDDAR, (ft) CHESHIRE,' AND (c) STILTON CHEESE MAKING. Price 2d. each. SIMPLE RULES FOR BUTTER MAKING. (Sheet.) Price i