Agricultural and Pastoral.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1592, 10 July 1874, Page 281

Agricultural and Pastoral.

Stable Aphorisms for Grooms. 1. Never neglect your horses for the sake of your " tack ;" in other words, look to your horse before your carriage. 2. Never wash a horse's legs if you can clean them well with a brush and a coarse dry cloth, 3. Never wash a horse's legs without well drying them afterwards with a coarse dry cloth, unless you want greasy heels: 4. Never put a horse into a stable after work without picking out the soles of his feet, and afterwards using the water brush. 5. Never clean or groom a horse in the stable. 6. Never stop a horse's feet with clay, but When necessary, cow-dung. 7. Never pv< t a horse fresh from work into the stable without first ekani/i/j aud drying him well; a wisp of straw and the " dandrift " brush, with " elbow grease," will soon do this much for you. 8. Never rely on a hot stable or heavy clothing for a line coat to young horses, but on honest rubbing or dressing, unless you wish to kill the horse for the sake of his shin. Baron Rothschild's Horses.— Twenty thoroughbreds belonging to the late Baron Rothschild were sold by auction at Newmarket on March 20. The total fetched £14,360. Marsworth, by Tom King, was bought by Count Lehnsdorff for £SOOO. Covering- Milk.— Mr L. B. Arnold treats briefly but with pertinence on the bad practice of keeping milk close-covered. He says while the animal warmth is escaping it should have plenty of air, that the germs of decay aro held in a putrefactive yeast, and this can be killed by oxygen. When milk has to be sent a distance to town for sale, he has invented a kind of stopper that will allow the air to come to the milk, yet prevent the milk from slopping over from the tossing of the vehicle. He thinks much of the mishief from floating curds and tainted cheese and bursting bandages cau be forestalled by beginning betimes, aud treating the milk right when it first comes from the COW.

Butter-Making.—lu order to make the most and best butter iu hot weather it is particularly necessary to cool the milk immediately after milking. Milk iu tin pails; have a tub similar to a wash-tub-for each pail; set the pails in the tubs filled with cold water from a good spring or well; stir the milk and the water every few minutes till the milk is about as cool as the water. If you can get the milk quite cold before setting, and set shallow in the pans, it is better not to let the pans stand in water while the cream h rising, as the cream will be all up before the miik becomes very thick. Skim as little milk as possible with the cream, as that is the great secret about quick churning,

Washing Butter.—" My plan of washing butter," says an old dairymau of 40 years' experience, "is probably new. I use a plain crank-churn ; goes by hand ; average time, twenty minutes for large, twelve for small churnings, Ido not claim to make more or better butter from the same cream than with a dash-churn, but 1 do claim that I can do the work with one half the time and labor. Much of this saving'is caused by the'eonvenience of washiug, getting rid of the buttermilk water, and in working the butter. As soon as I discover that the butter begins to separate I put in a quart of cold water ; this is to thin the milk, which will cause it to free itself more readily from the butter. I then churn until the particles are about the size of a large pea. I then draw off the milk and put in a gallon of water, churn, and draw again, and sometimes put iu one more washing. The common way is to churn until the butter is about ope solid mass; but how is the water to take effect on the inside of these large lumps of butter J I should about as soon think of washing the inside of a glass bottle by washiug the outside."

Spurious Science.~A new or strange theory will, in some minds, flutweigh the most evident facts. This is well instanced in the case of Mr Dclraar, au American, who, as the Examiner expresses it, is " endeavoring to persuade his countrymen that the world is now producing more bread than it can eat, and that the fault is mainly attributable to the United States, which should give more attention to other industries. He reckons that the utmost capacity of a population to consume grain in the form of food is 8 to 10 bushels per head per annum, yet that the world at large produces nearly 19 bushels per head per annum, a quantity far in excess of the necessary addition to the food supply for seed, fodder, starch, sugar, beverages, &c."

Manuring for Wheat.—" Manure highly for wheat," writes a practical farmer. " The best time to apply the manure is the year before the wheat is to be raised. It is good policy to draw manure as it is made from the stablesj and spread it on the land that is to be put to wheat the next season. .Manure spread on grass lands during the winter and spring, these lands pastured the next season, and the next put into wheat, has uniformly given me the greatest benefit from the manure. Coarse, straw manure drawn on the ground Just before, ploughing does very little good. It is far better to manure the surface, and allow the fertilizing properties to sink down in and through the soil; than to put the manure in the bottom of a furrow, unless it is intended to improve the subsoil. The manure should be in reach of the plants When they first .commence growing, and should be in sufficient quantity to support them until the crop is ripened,''

THE AUTOCRAT OF HAWKE'S BAY. Wanganui Chronicle. Mr Ormond, the Superintendent of Hawke's Bay; in addressing the Provincial Council at the opening of the session, sketched out the present state of political feeling in his Province. The picture is not compliiiientarv'to the settlers. According to Mr Ormond, they; are dead to all sense of public duties, and devoid of that honorable and useful spirit of selfenterprise in public matters which actuates most British commiinitiesj and has been the foundation of Our national eminence; they leave, everything to be done by the Government. Mr Ormond used politer language, but that is the meaning of what he said. He pointed out, among other thingsjihat the town of Napier had no ■municipal government, and that it depended for the repair of its roads and streets upon grants from .the Provincial Council. Probably if Mr Ormond had lived in Wanganui for a time, he would not have, been surprised at the inhabitants of Napier being in no hurry to enjoy the privileges of a Borough Council. But it is surprising that the Provincial Council docs not force a municipal government upon Napier. We wonder what the country members of the Wellington Provincial Council would say if the members for the Empire City presented every year a little bill for the formation and repairs of their roads and streets ? The roads and streets of the Empire City would probably be in anythiug but a satisfactory condition under such a system. The country members of the Hawke's Bay Council are cast in a more benevolent mould ; nevertheless, municipal government, with all its disadvantages, imparts such a vigor to a town, that Napier would probably be immensely benefited by adopting Mr Ormond's suggestion. Another instance of this lethargic spirit in public matters quoted by the Superintendent, was the unwillingness of the Road Boards to take advantage of the General Govarnment Road Board grant; every year the sum apportioned to different districts being allowed to lapse for the want of the necessary attention to claim, and expend it. Mr Ormond, however, may not here have struck upon the true cause. The grants may not be accepted because they are actually not wanted ; or the present taxation in some of the districts may be so heavy that the settlers are unable to bear the additional rates which the acceptance of the General Government grant would render necessary. In other parts of the Colony, the country settlers have always been found willing to bear a reasonable taxation, every penny of which is spent in the districts wherein it is raised, and is locally administered, as well as to accept Road Board grants, in fact, such grants have constantly been used by the Provincial Governments as a certain means of making themselves popular in the country districts. The need for roads and bridges in a country place is far too pressing to allow of the settlers refusing either to accept grants or to tax themselves for such a purpose, although at the same time, they naturally strive to keep such taxation at the lowest point. Hence we question the accuracy of Mr Ormond's deduction. But, in the main, ho is right. The political apathy of the Hawke's Bay settlers is notorious, and may be ascribed to that personal government under which its affairs have so long been administered. Although Mr Ormond's personal rule may have quenched political spirit in Hawke's Bay, he was entitled in his speech to congratulate the Council upon the prosperity of the Province. Its population has increased 52 per cent, in three years, which is more than double the rate of increase of any other Province in the Colony; both the import and export trade is rapidly augmenting, and large areas of land are being brought under cultivation. The revenue is in a flourishing state, the Provincial Bank account on the 31st of May showing a credit balance of £53,221 ; in short, prosperity reigns. Much of it is due to the high price of wool, by which Hawke's Bay, with her extensive flocks, must needs be a large gainer ; and something to the loan expenditure of the General Government. Still r there is a residuum of prosperity left, and it would be a hard and ungrateful task to make an analysis for the purpose of ascertaining what portion of it should be credited "to Mr Ormond's mode of administration. He is lucky enough to be at the head of affairs when the Province is flourishing, and cannot' be blamed for linking the two circumstances together as cause and effect. Personal Government, when the person is a capable man> is frequently more conducive to the material prosperity of a community than the regular English system of administration by the people themselves, and more particularly is it so in the case of a Superintendent of a New Zealand Province, whose duties are not so extensive but that he can overlook the most important with his own eyes, so that Mr Ormond may bo right after all. He has, however, wearied of greatness, and is going to retire from the Superintendency, or, rather, will not seek re-election to that office. And like a man who, having been very successful in life,.bu,t on his deathbed remembers various shaky transactions, and determines to tie up the hands of his son and heir so as to prevent him from falling into similar errors,

Mr Ormond, about vacating the Superintendent's chair, has got an Act passed by the General Assembly, altering the mode of electing the Superintendent (who is now chosen by the Council), so that he shall henceforth be elected by the people, and strongly recommends the electors to petition the Governor to bring the Act, which is a permissive one, into operation. The advice is excellent, but what a pity Mr Ormond did not get the Act passed) and offer the advice before !

MR HOLLOWAY'S WORK, New Zealand Herald.

Who can do otherwise than sympathize with Mr Holloway in his efforts to.better the condition of his class? Who can read the following graphic account of their sufferings as given in a lecture at Duuedin, and not feel that Mr:Arch and Mr Holloway are engaged in a work of true benevolence : —I speak, says Mr Holloway, more especially now in regard to the farm laborers. Their position in the past has been most deplorable Born in the midst of poverty and distress, poverty's,arms ;ha\'e embraced them, poverty's rags have covered them ; poverty, shrunken, shivering, like a fiend has pursued them close through every step in life—stunting their growth, unmanning their manhood, and destroying with its very breath all that has tended to make life sweet, dear, and lovely. I have been brought up amongst this class of people; I have mixed very freely with them ; I have entered their homes, and, in many cases, I can assure you, they are the abodes of misery and privation. Their wages have been low ; their food has been insufficient; they have had to send their sons into the fields to toil whilst; yet children. It has been impossible to give them an education ; it has been impossible to avoid the miseries of the day, or to lay aside anything whatever for sickness or old age. The result of all this has been that, after years of toil, and after having largely to appeal to the sympathies and to the charity of the public, they have, in too many cases, had to end their days in a union workhouse, and finally rest in a pauper's grave.

AX AGRARIAN- LAW, Wanganui Chronicle.

The New Zealand Herald quotes a letter from a newspaper correspondent in which the writer laments the rapid disappearance of the public estate in Canterbury, and its purchase iu large blocks by capital ists and speculators. The Herald, after pointing out the probability of many of these geutletncn being compelled, by force of circumstances, to re-sell, adds : " When all the available Canterbury lands are disposed of, and the revenue from this source ceases, nothing remains but to tax the land in the possession of large purchasers. Laud owners will then come to understand that they may have too much of a good thing." We have heard of this proposal of a land tax before, not only for the purpose of restricting the undue acquisition of land by individuals, but also as a political weapon to punish Legislative Councillors who refuse to obey the behests of the Government. It raightj be nseful as a weapon of offence against the Council, looking at the matter from a Government point of view, but it.would be a roundabout way of reaching the former end. The obviously straight course is to prohibit large holdings altogether, An Agrarian Law is what is needed. The advocates of a land tax admit the impolicy of permitting individuals to monopolize large areas of land, but they are afraid to face the difficulty manfully, and so go dodging about seeking for mild remedies when only a strong one will do. This is miserable cowardice. Let us walk boldly up to the terrible apparition, and it will turn out to be nothing but a miserable scarecrow after all. The large landowners as a body, are quite patriotic enough to surrender their estates if they see it is needful for the good of the Colony. A few individuals will doubtless exhibit their native selfishness ; but there is no reason to suppose that the bulk of the large landowners will, act in that manner. They will have a right to ask for full compensation for the land of which they may bo deprived ; but that they will get just the same as landowners receive compensation for road or railway lines taken through their estate.

THE POLICY OF ROADS New Zealand Herald.

Whatever may be the opinion of the public of the late policy of the Government, tliero is one real advance for which they are entitled to unqualified praise. We allude to the extent of roadway which has been opened throughout the North Island cast and west. It is at this moment easy to ride from Auckland to Wellington without obstruction, and when one or two wide creeks shall have been bridged, without the least risk. This work lias been mainly performed ■by the Armed Constabulary and natives. It would, wo think, be desirable to compile "by authority " a map showing these roads. At present, except within the limits of each province, very few people know anything about them. But now that immigration is making its impression upon the public mind it'would be surely a great advantage to any one seeking a place of settlement to be able to trace the road access throughout the country. Thero'could be no more assured test of the valuo of localities than a " guide " of this description.