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nt 9 [3 Bd BS ed err Ben 4 rd : . » -t +» ~~ ABRO; Rather than try to recount every stop wé made and every town and "farm we visited in Scotalnd, Northern Ireland, Eire and England. I thought this week 1 would tell you of some of the impressions we gainéd of farming in those countries, : "We"" means Doug Reid of Bramp- ton, 26-year-old Canadian tractor champ, Algie Wallace, of North Gow: er, 36, horse plowing champion, and myself, Roy Shaver, of Finch, Ont, their team manager, First' of all I would like to make one point. 1 do not think it is pos- sible to compare adequately Canadian and British farming methods or farms, Climate - differences for in- stance make it almost impossible to _ discuss cattle feeding, for in England they are able to pasture their cattle during the months that in Canada it is impossible to do so. Another reason against compari- 'son is the many old farm buildings we saw which defy modernization and are consequently handicaps to effi- ciency. One of the firat things the boys noticed was the absence of barns as we know them in. this country. On the majority- of the farms they had byres, which in essence are really only four, posts with a roof on top. In these byres the tattle shelter from the weather and feed during the "autumn and winter pasturing. The factor -which most impressed Doug in British farming was the weed control, and I think I agree with: him. The weed control on the British "farms ia outstanding; there is not a weed to be seen. on the majority of 'the farms, 2 While the three of us were agreed | that British farming could stand to be more mechanized, and were a little | astonished to see the amount of heavy work that is done in the. fields by women, we still had to take our ten gallon hats-off to the British farmer in the matter of yield per acre. They are still ahead of us there. It ig hard to decide why this should be, Perhaps it's because thedand is richer; or maybe they look after it better or fertilize it more, ne farm we won't forget in a hdrry, because there we saw some- thing that upset all our notions about cattle breeding. It was the farm of J. 0. O'Neil, just outside Belfast. Mr. O'Neil farms his 100 acres just about as intensively as 100 acres can be farmed. With a herd of more than 100 Ayrshires, he was keeping more __than one cow per acre without feed- ing them concentrates, He feeds them only ensilaged hay, about 80 pounds - per day per cow. His hay was cured in horizontal siloes and was testing about 14 per-vent. protein. All of which, aa you will agree, was * very good, and we were impressed by this performance, but then Mr. O'Neil told us that he hadn't bought a male or female in six years. He was ob- viously an enthusistic supporter of inbreeding, and we were hard-pushed for something to say, for to us this herd showed every sign of the need for new blood stock. Three of the larger fat we visit- ed in Scotland and England. were breeding and milking Holsteins, and some of the cattle were direct des- cendants from two of Ontario's hest- knawn blood lines, But first let me tell you of a fact which struck us as rather strange. In Scotland! the farmers thought very ill of the 'Cana--- diaan-type Holstein, both breeders and milkers, while English farmers could not say enough to_the credit of Holsteins, On the farm of Edwin de Gray Sea- "man, in Huntingdonshire, we 'came -ly 4 ' 3s A « N \ : Z r en across a son of Marksman, the animal that packed. the Alliston farmshouse 'of J. J. E. McCague with so many blue ribbons, Mr, Seaman was farm- ing- 1,800 acres, 800 of which were which were. reclaimied marsh. He was running 300 Canadian-bred Hol- steins and would write an unsolicited testimonial for them at the drop of anyone's hat. At Calthorpe we found our second | Ontario ex-patriate in-a flourishing gon or the pride of Oxford County, Tom Dent's Sovereign, He was on the 1,200-acre dairy farm of James Alston, All of Mr. Alston's 260 Holsteins were from Canadian blood lines. He was milkink 100" with an average test of 8.7 per cent, Inciden- CANADIAN PLOWMEN by ROY Shaver - President ; PLOWMEN Ny Asidciation LEERY tally, ke also had<one of the finest: stables of Clydesdalées that we saw in the whole of our visit. Though he did not voice it to any of the farmers, Doug. had one sug- gestion: for {improving the British farms. advised to uproot the hedgerows with which the English countryside abounds. He admitted willingly that they were picturesque but, this prac. tical Canadian eye decided toa much! land is wastéd on either side of the hedges. "If they were my farms", he said, "I'd get a bulldozer and roat them all out, then replace them with an electric or stationary fence of some kind." One question I have been asked re- peatedly since our return is "How is the British farmer making out?" Though we did not "have an oppor- tunity to speak to what we can loosely refer would say, that for a long time the British farmer hasn't been as well off as he is now. Most of the farmers we met were operating fairly large farms that could be called showplaces, but all of them agreed théy didn't want anything to change for a while: Tho they are up against high feed prices they have guaranteed markets, with government supported prices, | for everything they ean produce, That they cannot produce enough is easily demonstrated, Eggs are ra- tioned at one and two per person per week, depending upon available sup- plies. They cost about 14 cents each, or $1.68 a dozen. If I tell you that six pounds, or $16.50 is a more than average weekly salary in the British Isles, I don't think there is' much more I need tell you about the food situa- tion, _ Obituaries "WILLIAM GALL A resident of Reach Township be- fore the turn of the century, William Gall, passed away Friday, Jan. 18, 1953, at his. Brantford home in his 82nd year after a short illness. Fun. eral service was held Monday, Jan, 19 with interment in Rose Lawn Cem- etery, 'Brantford. The late William Gall was born in St. Ferguson Parish, Scotland, in 1871, a son of Alexander Gall and Ann Ross and when only a boy the family came to Canada locating in Reach Township where he received his early education in the Fifth Line and Epsom schools. For some years he worked in this district and over fifty years ago went -to-Brantford--where--he resided until He 'married Sarah Turner | his death. who predeceased him thirty-nine years ago, : Left to mourn his passing are a- son John in the United States and a daughter Beatrice at home, also a brother George of Greenbank and a sister (Martha) Mrs. Thomas Bushhy .of Greenbank, and three nephews and seven nieces to whom the sympathy of the community is extended in their bereavement. vw HENRIETTA HOOEY Blackstock--Following n lingering illness of several years, Henrietta (Dolly) Hooey, youngest daughter of the late Henry Hooey and Sophia Marlow, and beloved wife of 'M. 'Charles Smith, passed peacefully away at her home in Cartwright Township on Thursday morning, Jan, 22; 1953, Funeral service was held from St, John's Anglican Church, Blackstock on Jan™24 with Rev. George Nichol- son, Rector, officiating. TE Ei Hymns sung were "He leadeth me, O blessed thought" and "How sweet the hours of closing day". Surviving to mourn her loss are her husband, M. C. Smith; two sons, Oli- ver John (at home), and Robert Wal- lace, of Belleville, and one sister, Mrs, Virginia M, Archer, and one nephew, Harry L. Vincent of Islington. Two sisters, Bertha and Clara Winnifred predeceased 'her, Jan. 4 and Jan. 9, 1919, Pallbearers were Dr. J. A. McAr- thur, Creighton Devitt, Wallace Mar- low, Clarence Marlow, Thomas Smith, John Smith. Flower bearers Were 'Charles Wilson, Lorne Thompson, Orr Venning, Ronald Ginn and Gilbert Marlow, Interment was in the family plot at St. John's 3 Cematary, Blackstock. He thinks they would be well {Tp to as the average farmer, 1 LIFE UNTAMED BY R, 8. CRAGGS ~~ WINTER BIRD NESTING Did you' ever go hunting for bird most . persons' : have never even little thought will convince the ar- dent naturalist of the advantages of this practice. True, you can't expect to find any eggs in. the nests but a great many nests can be discovered when the trees are devoid of leaves. And. the winter, when there are fewer birds to observe, is an excellent time to study their nests. Notes may he I'taken on the dimensions of the nests, ithe location, and the material used. the identity of the builder is not known the beginner in nature study has a chance-to test his powers of deductions and become a better nat- uralisg by doing so. Sometimes the ingenuity of a Sherlock Holmes is re- quited to 'isolate the identification to a single species but a broader ident- ification ean usually be made, The other day while walking through eq _open woods I came upon a swinging nest located about five feet above the ground, The fact that it was a swinging"nest narrowed the field considerably; "An oriole has a swinging nest but this was the fest of a much smaller bird. A standard j bird guide was consulted it being as- sumed that this was the nests of a , perching bird, the perchers being the most plentiful of all bird orders. The' bird guide listed only one warbler that built a swinging nest but it was not listed"as nesting in my locality. All vireos build swinging nests apparently and it was a vireo's nest that I had first supposed my find to be. The local bird-check list contained seven -vireo's but only three of them nested locally. Also, the Golden-crowned Kinglet builds a swinging nest 'but the description "generally in coniferous trees, -of green mossed, lined with feathers" (among other things) did not fit my nest. It was obviously a creation of one of the three species of vireos. Warbling, Yellow-throated or Red- eyed, but which one 1 had no way of telling, The diameter of the nest was about two inches each way, slightly more] at the point-where it was built into the fork, It was more rounded on "one side-than the other and was about 1% inches deep on the deep side. - 'An analysis of the material used in, the nest's constrngtion showed that | the lining consisted almost entirely of 'the inner hark of trees. «(Until 1 attempted to remove --it--there fp- "peared to be ne distinction hetween the lining and the vest of the nf 'sand half of the material used 'in the bot- tom part of the nest consisted of lining). The remainder of the stru- cture was woven: of strips of bark; plant fibres and grasses with a dead leaf or two and a small amount of thin 'birch bark on the outside, It was fastetied to_the limb with plant MRS. DAN McTAGGART Prince Albert--Once again our lit- tle village has been saddened by the loss of a highly tespected friend and neighbourg4a_the passing of Mrs, Dan McTaggart (the former Lillie Clem- ents)--on Sunday Feb. 1. Prince Al- bert lost a good citizen, and one whose company it was a pléasure to he In, for even not feeling too well, she was always jolly and interesting, thus making many friends. : Mis, McTaggart was keenly inter- ested in the Woman's Association, and a great help in so many ways--al- ways ready to help raise money. She also liked to attend church and Sun- day School, and now we miss her cheerful presence, "The funeral on Tuesday, the 8rd, from the A: I. McDermott Funeral Home, was largely attended, many be- ing present from Burketon and other places where she had resided. The profusion of flowers was a beautiful setting for one who had al- ways been a lover of then. . 'Rev. R. H. Wylie and Rev. F. Job- lin (a former pastor of deceased) con- ducted the service and paid fine trih- ute to the departed. Besides her husband, Mr. Dan Mec- Taggart she leaves two sistérs, Mrs, brothers predeceased her, Pall. bearers were nephews, Inter- ment was in Pine Grove Cemetery. "Her Life is a beautiful memory, Her death ia our &llent grief: She sleeps in God's beautiful garden In the Sunshine of perfect peace. | So we leave her in His keeping. The tough road safely o'er, . And our dear friend we loved so well s Has only gona before", 8 nests" if the winter time? - Probably | thought of doing such a thing but a fibres and; gar small amount of what | - appeared. to be' wool of some sort, | A. Sleep and Mrs. W, Brown, Two Prospect Prospect W. A. will meet on Wed., Feb. 18 at the home of Mrs, Horace Webster at 2.30 p.m. Visitors are sordially invited to attend," ' & 55 ---- Obituary T. CAMPBELL BLAKBLY Well-known Saintfield fafmer," To -Campbell Blakely, died at the hone of his sqn-in:law, Clarence E. Scott, Osh- awa, oni Saturday; Feb. 7, in his 74tli 'year. He had been ill for three weeks. ~ Born at Saintfield on Sept: 25, 1879, the deceased wits a son of the late James and Agnes Blakely. He farm- ed at Saintfield during his lifetime and operated the Blakely Milk Trans port prior-to his retirement to Green: | thes "nw "ast bank nine years ago. A very highly respected citizen, Mr. Blakely was a member of Greenbank United Church_ which he served as a steward some years ago. He was un member of the Masonic Sunderland. ilso Lodge He was predeceased by his wife, the former Sarah Alice Horne, he was married at Saintfield on Feb. 17, 1904, on Dec. 21, 1951, Surviving are two - daughters; - Mrs. - Clarence Scott (Hazel) and Miss Myrtle Blake- ly, both of Oshawa and ane son, Lorne Blakely of Greenbank, Also surviving are two sisters; Mrs, Fred Wallace (Elsie) and Miss Effie Blakely--of Port Arthur; a hrother, Nelson Blakely of Toronto and five grandchildren, Lloyd and Marilyn Scott, and Ronald, Donald and Trevor Blakely. The body rested at the family re- sident Greenbank and service was held in 'Greenbank United Church on Tdes- | day, Feb. 10, with Rev. R. Chapin | conducting. Interment was in McNeill Cemetery, Wick. | wis Cedar Creek . | Visitors with Mr. and Mrs. Russell | Corner und Myrtle last Sunday were | Mr. and Mrs. Jim Coates and Patsy of Shirley insthe afternoon and Mr, and Mrs, AL Hope of Oshawa jn. tg evening. 3 Mrs, Joe Mosienko, Miss Flossie | Spencer; Richard Spencer.and Russell Corner attended the funeral of Mr. | Fred Boyntan which was held in the Armstrong Funeral Hone, Oshawa | last Monday afternoon. Mr, Spencer | wasn pallbearer. s Fast Tuesday' afternoon: Mis, enko, Miss Speneer, Ralph Somévville and George Kilpatrick attended the funeral of Mrs, Dan McTaggart which held in the A. LL. MeDermott i Funeral Home. to whom! tehildren of | Mi, and Mrs, Win Steele and Mis, Gordon Corner of. Columbus visited, Mis, Wai. Cook at Myrtle Tuesday afternoon, Myo and Mes, Win Steele and Mrs, Kilpatrick and George spent last Wed nesday evening with Mrs, erville and Ralph. Mie, Frank Harris wae | on Thursday. Judy MeLean of Oshawa spent the! week-end with her cousin, Patsy | Holthy's, My. Willie Somerville, Mrs, George Rosser--and -Mve.--and Mrs. Field and | Toronto were Saturday | supper guests of Mrs. James Somer- ville and Ralph. ~ Mr. Willie Somer- | ville stayed for a few days, - Mr. and Mrs. Les Beacock held a! telephone euchre on Saturday evening {pee Ww ison was high lady and Mrs, . Devitt was winner of the consoln aint, James Som- in Toronto tion prize, Mr. Henry MeCartney was high gent and Mr. Ralph Somer- ville. was winner of the consolation |: Prize, | ~ Mrcand Mes. Wan, Steele and Mrs, Kilpatrick and George called on Mr. ! and Mrs. Wm, Parrish at Brooklin on | Sunday afternoon. 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