AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3018, 26 February 1881, Page 2

AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

The better the preparation of the ground the better tho crop. The high average yield ' of the English, farms is no doubt largely due to the thorough preparation of the ground before seeding. Two ploughings, Beveral harrowings, and, in many cases, rolling or crushing ; and the excellent preparation o£ - the soil by a previous root crop must have a much better effect upon the soil'than one ploughing, very poorly done, because of the hardness and dryness of the soil, and very imperfect harrowing. It might be well for us to lay out more labor on our wheat <KPPi and so prepare the ground better, andjraise our average from 12 to at least 20 bushela per acre. The difference in the amount of wheat at harvest would pay for a good deal of extra -work in ploughing, etc., leave a profit; besides, the soil would not forget the generous treatment in one year nor two. A correspondent in the Auckland Weekly News has used the following method for poisoning sparrows for the last three years with great success : —As much strychnine as will lie on a sixpence dissolved in boiling water, about a tablespoonful is enough, a little more or less does not matter; two N tablespoons of thick flour paste, as used by) ; paperhangers; one quart or three pints of" wheat. Stir all well together, thus pasting the poison on the dry hard wheat. Scatter at once, choosing a dry day. One grain of such wheat kills. " I never opened one bird out of many," says he, " with more than two grains in it." Look out for your poultry. A panic has set in on the Grain Fxchange v at Chicago. From recent telegrams we learn that great excitement prevails in commercial circles there. A general feeling of uncertainty exists regarding the financial position of a number of houses engaged in the grain trade. - A large amount of purely speculative business in grain has been done during the last few months, and a number of merchants now declare themselves insolvent. In consequence a fall has taken place in the price of American wheat. At St. Louis, also, the same state of affairs exists.

In the Journal Havas M. Filiciet makes known that the trouble and the expense of clipping horses , coats may be avoided by simply giving the animals a couple of decilitres of crushed hemp-seed or buckwheat daily, from the middle of September onwards. Thus treated, the animals will retain a fine, smooth, brilliant coat right through the winter, until it is shed in due time, in the following spring. The dose above prescribed should not be exceeded, for in larger quantities it is apt to cause bald patches on the skin. John W. Freeman, of Yolo, tried the experiment this year of cutting a quantity of wheat shortly after the grain had fully . , formed and while the straw was yet green. He allowed the grain to remain in the stacks until it had gone through the

" sweat," and the other day threshed it out with favourable results. The straw came from the machine in almost a rotten condition, and the wheat poured out of the spout of the seperator clean, bright, and very plump. —San Francisco Bulletine. The most successful farmer, all other things being equal, is the man who does the most with the piece of land he has, taking into consideration its possibilities. If he has low land, rich, moist, level, he must make his farm the full epitome of the lowland system. Large crops in swift succession, forage plants, vegetables, and constant use of the peculiar advantages of his position, are suggested under these circumstances. If he has mountain slopes, warm and early, fruits, berries, grapes for raisins and for market, the nut-bearing trees, and orchards in great variety, are the lines upon which success must be won. Perhaps in One place an industry would be a success, whilst not many miles distant it could not but fail. Wo must not eacli one of us try to produce exactly the same thing our neighbor does. Let each farmer study up and develop some special crop concerning which he shall know more than his neighbors, and let him follow it quietly year after year.