WHY DO I ALLOW THE FOREIGNER TO GROW IN MY OWN RUN ?

Western Star, Issue 374, 21 August 1880, Page 1 (Supplement)

WHY DO I ALLOW THE FOREIGNER TO GROW IN MY OWN RUN ?

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Perhaps the heading of this column is still eno'agh to turn away the attention of many, oir most of the readers of the Agricultural Gazette to other subjects ; nevertheless .economy is the order of the day, and who really consider it in all its hearings pannot pass over the poultry yard with contempt'or indifference. Last week reference was made to this subject at . the Botley/Farmers’ Club, and a very pertinent question, was asked, “Why not breed moth poultry and produce eggs enough for the requirements of the people ! Surely ye can do it as cheaply as any other /country if we were to give it sufficient thought and attention.”. Here is the suggestion of a practical man, who wonders at !the ’ immense' importation of poultry and /(eggs !>- Surely farmers can find their own “protection” for this branch of agricultural economy,;. but the fact is one for which the writer has so often solicited consideration I—and 1 —and we English farmers ao not give it “ sufficient thought and attention.” I will not say that the price of poultry is very materially changed this spring, but certainly there is every reason for acting upon the supposition th.at high prices- will be fully sustained. America may feed our millions^—living freights of beef and mutton, cargoes of carcases may find their way across the sea ; ■ but the home, 'supply is very short, whilst the' home consumption is as great as ever. Our sheep have died by thousands.

There is a threatening of a fearfully scanty crqp of hay, and if no rain falls during the next the turnip crop will be endangered, which misfortunes must necessarily militate against the growth of wheat, conaequently, everything (yes, even such a poor thing as a fowl!) which is capable of being converted into food for man is not to:be neglected. Even: rabbits at 2s a couple may form in. these days an important item on a farm, as • indeed they do in the market; and when I see how eagerly they are bought in towns when not to be had'under Is Gdeach, I wonder that some coarse joint of beef or mutton is not preferred for economy’s sake. Still there is the demand for 'them, and if “500 couples of rabbits sold at the ordinary prices of the day, and so realised LSO, looks well on .the one side of the Dr. and Cr. account ; there is the damage to crops, drains and fields to be also accounted for. Now with poultry there is .no such drawback.. They are bad gardeners, those chickens, .but'they have no right to be amongst the'asparagus until table requirements or domestic arrangements demand the association. ' Again ‘‘ furry hacks” spoil more than.they consume, whilst the droppings of fowls contain much fertilising power. P Care arid, attention of course fowls require. '‘ What kind of live stock of the farm-does hot ? A certain , outlay, is, necessary, but if the money expended bears ts interest, wbat is there to be complained of? The year, 1879 may have been a remarkable year for may reasons, but as to an unprecedented bad harvest and abundance of light corn, when have we known the like ? and what is better calculated for the conversion- of inferior grain into wholesome meat than the barndoor fowl 1 where s more inexpensive machinery to befound ? and yet we let the foreigner consume his better grain, arid send the product of that consumption in the shape of chickens and poultry to bur very doors, or, at all events, to our own markets ? The British farmer must condescend to many things yet' before the proofs of the lessons of 1879 are so evident that we may !.!• feel convinced of the law of economy being written on- his mental tablet. He must of necessity pay due attention to high things, but nevertheless he must also recognise

small things, their capabilities, possibilities, and results —the wayoin which we are taxed, for others to dispense our money amongst sumptuously faring asylums and well-paid officials—the way in which we, keep up the highways for the heavily laden drays of wealthy brewers, for the caravans of itinerant showmen, for the brougham of the professional man or the creature of pleasure, who can thus ride free of expense,' and would not allow the farmer to find a bye-way by which he may put in'a word with regard to the disposition of that which is forced out of him by the heavy pressure of taxation. These are .the. high things which require his attention with the hope of reform. Nevertheless, little things will creep through the chinks and crop up in .these days. . Yes, only fancy, the farmer is how giving attention to the growth of fruit on a large scale ; .he will now lend a willing ear to suggestions he would, but a year or two since, have turned from with scorn ! Let him first feel sure that he is making the most of what he does know and ought to know something about, and then, as necessity is the mother of invention, let .him work with new machinery and gain experience in a new field. If he devotes his time and attention to practical subjects, he is not so prone to catch at one of the many straws which are now floating past him. —W. J. P.