RURAL AFFAIRS IN EUROPE.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12203, 25 May 1905, Page 3

RURAL AFFAIRS IN EUROPE.

"Weekly Tress and Referee."

Tho sharpest—though fortunately the fchortost—-blizzard we have had for years, was that of January 15th and Kith last, which caused great destruction in maiiy parts of those islands, and also en the Continent. Even as far down as the Riviera the damage done was very pr rc at— so enormous, in fact, that the flower growers who send such vast consignments to Covent Garden daily think their caw past recovery. Horticulturists, at Cannes and Nice reckon the total losses sustained by tho destruction of the flowers at £180.000 or more. Market gardem-re and others whose crops have been ruined declare that they are crippled for the season. The scent trade will certainly suffer immense loss, and the orange trees have been severely frostbitten. Tho well-known tropical garden at Monte Carlo has suffered terribly. Tho huge indiarubber tree at the side of the Casino also looks nearly shrivelled up. while rose trees, palms, and shrubs have been extensively damaged. Still, our young lambs here -the - :nly Dorset s, especially, and now the IL'iinn-.liirn Downs also, in exceptional cases --seem to have enjoyed it. Tho crop of tho former is but moderately sr.ti factory, but some fine specimens will grace the West End butchers' shops within a month from now. In Norway, where every farmer is a fisherman—and every n-herman a farmer—they rai-e some good vegetable, on tho tiny plots of ground that the.* have cultivated so sedulously near tho head of every fjord. Hut they cannot grow potatoes enough for even a limited need, and hence a good bulk ha.s to be imported. This runs to some seven or eight thousand tons a year, and comes chiefly from Germany and Denmark. From' July to November last, the total imports amounted to -HOG ton.*, largely from Helgiiun and Holland. Tho market price at Christiania isat present 2s (id to 2s 0d per cwt., which is far cheaper than might have boon expected, and does not afford encouragement to the Yorkshire growers, who would otherwise cultivate their market.

Much interest has been aroused in Ireland in the tobacco-growing experiments on the farm of Colonel Everard, at Jlandalstown, Co. Moath, tho crop of which will bo on the market in a month or two. Some time ago the Department of Agriculture offered to assist anyone who would experiment in tobacco culture to the extent of ten acres, the experimenter to bear tho co.st of drying and curing. Colonel lCverard expressed his willingness to lay down twenty acres. T!i.? results have been most gratifying, the yield being about 1-1,000 lb weight of leaf. It is estimated that 10001b of tobacco will bo tho average yield per acre. Tho seed was procured from Virginia, and while it is possiblo that the new brand may prove rather a strong smoke, a judicious mixture with other plants should produce pleasing results. A famous American tobacco export speaks highly of the quality of tho new tobacco. Tho Government will refund to the grower onethird of the duty imposed, and tho prohibition against tobacco culture will also be removed. Dublin exports value samples of tho best loaves at 7d to 8d per pound. Of course, this trivial supply will not aifoct tho market prices as against tho growers in Virginia, but it gives, none the loss, a ray of hope to Old Ireland.

Dijon, tho ancient capital of Burgundy (and tho metropolis of the wino trade for Eastern France) is developing a new industry. I refer to tho pulping of fruit intended for jam-making, specially for the English market. Tho practice prevails largely in tho Cote dOr, end in tho Departments of Douches dit P.lmno and Vaucluro. Briefly, tho method is to sterilise the fruit in tins after tho removal of tho stalks and stones, and when carefully prepared tho pulp can bo preserved for a long time. The black currartt, cherry, 'raspberry,-rod'currant, plum, and apricot are treated in this way, but tho demand fcr pulp varies with tho different fruits; thus the black currant, apricot, and plum are readily disposed of, but tiic red currant moots with less demand, while in the ease of cherries buyers of any considerable quantities aro hard to find. The currants are freed from their stalks by women, at rates varying according to their skill, and from 110 to 21011) a day oacli. so that a factory dealing with (i oto SO cwt. daily would require probably fifty women or children for this work during the season. After the removal of the stalks, tho fruit is put into copper pans, about 171b at n time, with rather Jc'stlian. h pint of cold water; steam is introduced into the false bottom of tho pan and the fruit heated (o boiling point; it is then stirred with a wooden spoon, and after boiling for ono minute the steam is shut off, tho fruit emptied into receptacles, and immediately put into tins and carefully soldered up. Those tins weigh when filled, ard including the box, about 111b. They are then placed for twenty minutes in a tank of water, which is heated by steam to boiling point. During this time it can Jx> soon if any oi tliu tins leak, in which case th«>y aro taken out and re-soldered, after the air lias b"en allowed to escape. Then lins aro packed in wooden eases, containing ten each, i.e., about 1 cwt. gross to the ca'c. Only about'Bßlb of fruit are required for 1 cwt. of pulp gross, tho difference being represented by the weight of tho tins and tho added water. If the pnlp is sold in London at an average price of 28s per cwt., there remains a balance for tho manufacturer of IDs 2d on the cost of preparation. Contracts aro commonly made with tho growers for the supply of fruit for periods of ton or twelve years at varying prices, of which 12s llil per cwt. may be taken as an avcrago. Tho prices obtained by growers who do not sell by contract vary very much, according to tho season and other circumstances.

Aiways befoiv Parliament meets wo find an outil.iiv of oratory—partly addressed to .'armors—frcm represent Itive politicians ot both sides. I quoto. a few words just delivered by Liberal leaders, a' difi>n nt places. Sir Henry Campbell-Dannorman ma<lo a dehn'te pronouncement on the Canadian quo-lion lo an influential Scottish deputation. Ho vras in favour of such cattle being admitted 10 this country. He had no idea 'hat the ca-o for tho trade was so strong until ho heard the argniients put before him, and ltj hoped that tho public Mould eomo to understand tho question. Ho quite agreed with the deputation regarding the importanco of bringing the pooplo back to the land, and believed tho importation of Canadian cattle might help tho movement, although the Excluding Act was passed by the Government of tho day acting up on the competent advice of exports. Then Sir Edward Grey, M.P.. presiding at Newcastle, at the annual dinner of tho Farmers' Club, said that they should pay atten tion to what was lieing done in tho way of farming in other countries. Farmers had succeeded abroad in recent years, as they would find this the case in such countries as Denmark. They should consider what was tho cause of their largo success in recent years. There had boon no change in tho fiscal policy of Denmark, but the success was duo to scientific study and to organisation. Ho also pointed to tho results of experiments in Germany, whereby the percentage of sugar in tho beet crcp had been so greatly increased. Tho question of organisation was most important. Agriculture was the oldest and plcasantcst of occupations, and somo day, when ho had more leisure, he hoped to spend it in practical farming. Still further, at the Hawarden ten-

ants' dinner, the Right Hon. Herbert Gladstone, M.P., comforted (?) his friends by saying:—" Ever since J can remember anything, I have hoard the story that agriculture was mined. Yet farmers continue among ns, and do not appear on the verge of starvtion. They have their difficulties, but they will not find salvation in the Agricultural Rating Act, nor in a 2s duty on corn, which I do not think they will get. The people will never consent to tho raising of the price of wheat and bread by the direct action of tho Government." As a son of tho great statesman,, a trustee of the Hawarden estate, and (politically) the Chief Liberal "Whip," his words may lie taken note of. I have only a .slight acquaintance with his district, but should say that tho land is good, and that great quantities of milk are sent to the cities of Manchester and Liverpool. The village of Hawarden looks well oared for in every way. A clever o-sjiyist gives us a useful resume, in the "Mark Lane Express Annual," of Mr Tuke's Yorkshire reminisencv's of just a century ago. Tenant farmers hold under an annual agreement, leases being but little known. One curious instance is given of an attempt to introduce a system oi dual ownership. An owner allowed his tenants to liequouth a farm they occupied to a relation, or sell the goodwill of :t to a stranger. Farms changed hands frequently under this system, each vendor reaping a small profit, and tho result was that, whilst the owner was getting a moderate rent, the occupier was paying a big one. There was also another result —the land was badly farmed. The houses and farm offices were inconvenient and ill-adapted for the requirements of tho times, but an exception must bo made with respect to Cleveland, where the stone-built houses were much more comfortable, and where the buildings were better adapted for the comfort of tho stock. A condition which seems to liavo prevailed was that farmhouses were very frequently grouped together in villages, and the iicids of a holding wore squandered all over tho place, instead of being conveniently situated in a ring fence, or as nearly in a ring fence as possible. A great deal of land was undrained, or very badly drained, so we find that the gripping plough was extensively used on grass lands. Tho short, light swing plough was the most in use, and the sowing was chiefly done broadcast, though drills were used for beans and turnips. There was also a stubble raku in use, which seems to have been something on the lines of tho American hay rake. Threshing machines wore few and far lietween, even till well into tho nineteenth centtirv.

Ono thing which you observe on reading records of old-timo farming is, that the seasons aro much earlier now than they were formerly; this no doubt being diie to tho draining of land and consequent ability to got on to it sooner to work. Tho oats harvest was not looked for in those days till the latter end of September, nor tho bean harvest till October was well on tho way. Rye was largely grown, and oats had a groat breadth, with a seeding of four or live bushels per aero. Tho return was frequently eight quarters to tho acre, but in poor localities six quarters was considered a good crop. Turnips were generally consumed on tho land either whero they grew or on the pastures, and it is curious to road, in tho light of later experience, that it was considered bad farming to pull the turnips and cart them homo, and that thero was a strong prejudice against tlur swodo, its only advocates claiming for it that it was useful as late feed for sheep before tho pastures wore ready. The sheep wcro big coarse animals', slow feeders, though very fat when "ripe," and weighing up to 401b per quarter. But in 1800 better things were already beginning in shoep-broed-in" Lord bundas brought some Dishley sheep to Upleatham, and as long as tho home farm was continued, Lord Zetland's sheep wero noted far and wido and ram breeders were well to the fore. Light horses—hunters or coach horses—were extensively bred, tho heavy horse of tho Shire typo finding •no 'admirers amongst North Hiding farmers. In the Vale of \ork there was a complaint of lightness of bonethrough tho use of too much racing blood, ami t»e Cleveland bay was greatly rained for its strength, and was called upon to help out tho lighter broods to its own loss. . ' . • Ono of tho two Edinburgh etcrinnrv Colleges is now removed to Liverpool, where there, ought to bo good Mope for its work. But that department of science has not made mnclrprogross of late. It was in its palmiest davfi when tho late Sir Frederick I'itz-"VY'vo-rain was associated with the Itoyal Veterinary College. Ho did much to raise the .status of the profession, much also, to the sum of animal suffer ing: Ho was over ready to put a new departure to tho test, and I had no difficulty (when ho was in command of the cavalry at Alderdiot) in getting him to lav aside a detachment of the horses of the sth Dragoon Guards for testing a hobby of mine as to the feeding and ration's. This continued for a period of two voars, and proved entirely satisfactory; "but was then quietly shelved by tho authorities, after their lioa and wont. Xo man knew "Horses and Stables" (tho title of his great standard work, in fact) better than ho did; no ono could sum up the points of a horso more quickly, as by a speeml intuition. Even an inspection of tho hindquarters alone was about sufficient for him. A good shaped hock, ho says, seldom goes with an unsound animal, whilst a horso of defective hock conformation should always bo viewed with suspicion. Tho outline should be rlean, rigid, and in an adult honso well defined. Any puffiness or swelling is a. sign of weakness or disease. Tho bones should bo large and prominent. Largo size is essential to strength, and prominonco is necessary in order to afford due leverage and attachment to tho tendons and ligaments. Largo Wiles aro also usually accompanied by large and well-developed tendons and ligaments. It is not, however, to bo supposed that horses with defective conformation in the hocks aro useless for any purpose. All that ho intended to (oy was that such defects usually accompany a special liability to di.-oaso. Again, horses, which, from the defects referred to, may.bu unfit for one sort of work, may Ik> available for another. A horse, for'example, whoso hocks will not stand tho violent exertion of hunting, may last for years for quiet riding or harness work. Farmers aro crying out for further legislation in re*»tx>ct to motor vehicles —l>oth fast and slow—which aro invading our country roads. Before the days of tho rail, there wero stringent regulations as to th-> vehicles in use. Thus, a waggon with wheels which wero sixteen inches wide might carry 8 tors in summer, and 7 tons in winter, when tho roads would bo softened by rain; a waggon with wheels of le*n than six inchesVidth of wheel. 3J tens in summer and 3 tons in winter. To ensure tho proper oliservance of this law, weighbridges wero erected at the tollgate!, l and the toll-keeper was required to weigh the loaded waggon if ho had reason to suppose itu load wore in oxccw3 of the limit indicated by tho width of its wheels. Tho waggon with wheels sixteen inches wide was also favoured in the matter of toils over others vehicles. Furthermore, these enjoyed tho advantago that they might b» drawn by any number of horses or oxen; while wains whose width of wheel was under sixteen inches wore, by the Act, debarred from using more than a specified number of draught animals, regulated according to tho breadth of tho wheel. Thus a vehicle whoso wheel tyres wcro under six inched

might not be drawn by more than four horses. Tho best view that I have seen, as to one department of tho present-day needs referred to, is that taken by Sir Waiter Gilbey, the groat wine merchant. He says that it should bo borne in mind that it is simply a question of pleasure so far as tho motor-driver is concerned. Iho stoutest advocates of fast driving havo never ventured to nrgo that there is necessity to travel at twenty miles an hour, or that any purpose other thnn the motorist's gratification is served thereby. Tho claim of the motorist to drive at a speed which has been proved dangerous to others has been allowed by tho authorities on grounds which seem open to question. They apparently allow themselves to be influenced by the latitude which is permitted to motorists in France, forgetting that there are very wide differences between English roads and French. Given roads such as the; French National road, sixty feet in width, running straight as a railway line for miles, without hedges to impede the view of those who wish to avoid or prepare to moot tho flying motor, and a passion for speed may be indulged with a certain degree of safety. Those who clamoured for license to do here what motorists do in Franco forgot tho fact that tho vast majority of our highways are narrow (being, on tho average, about sixteen feet in width), seldom running straight for any distance, and commonly with high banks or hedges, or both. These hedges arid banks limit tho outlook alike of tho motorist and of tho person, and of the horse-drawn vehicle he may bo meeting, and hence tho danger. Sir Walter, who knows his Franco well (his firm having noted vineyards near Bordeaux), reminds us that in 1818 John Loudon Macadam's system of road-making was adopted, and* this, in combination with Telford's methods, resulted in tho construction of tho roads which still Gerve us. The work of these two great pioneers of road-building must be considered together. They broko away from the traditional method of following tho ancient pack-horse tracks, and laid new roads over gentler ascents, through cuttings, and clear of soft, low-lying ground. Their joint .system may bo considered a partial reversion to tho old Roman method, which you can see alongside of Napoleon's great Simplon road. Telford approved a firm foundation. Accordingly ho dug out the route and made a regular "bed" or "pitch" of rough, close-sot pavement, with six inches of broken stones, which was rammed hard, and over this was laid tho upper crust of "macadam." Tho result was a road at once hard, smooth, and durable. Tho English roads mado on this principle compare in durability and smoothness— though not in width and straightness— with "tho great national roads of Franc©. There is all the difference iij the world between a road which has been built as a road over a carefully-selected and surveyed lino of country, and/a road which has been fashioned out of an ancient stream-bed or packhorse track, and I cannot help viewing with anxiety the recommendation of the Local Government Board that heavy motor vehicles be built with a maximum width of seven feet six inches, or, a foot more than that hitherto allowed. A vehicle of this width in our narrow highways will literally closo them to all but pedestrians; in others, less narrow, two such waggons meeting could not possibly pass. I notice that tho great chairmaking industry of Buckinghamshire is now sending its bulky produce to London by motor waggon, and should not like to meet either of these in a tight place. Talk of the country hay-carts, travelling by night—as they always do from twenty miles out—-and the drivers asleep on a scat perched on the near shaft, tho peril in the other case is increased a hundredfold! The Royal Agricultural Society of England has decided to hold its meeting for tho year again at Park Royal, although the" amount of guarantee fund of £10,000 asked for is far short of being realised. I certainly share the. views of Mr Herman Biddell, ono of its oldest members. Ho says tho Society must retrace its steps. There is only ono course open to avert' extinction, and that is, to revert to tho old plan of visiting largo towns .and thickly populated districts. Liberal indeed wero those who put their' hands into their pockets to carry out the experiment and provide a permanent site for tho annual show. A few miles nearer London, and Park Royal would soon incroaso in value, so that no great loss would arise from reverting to the old place. But unfortunately Park Royal is as yet outside tho zone of enhancement in value as building land. Still, tho sacrifice must be made.