Farm and Garden.

King Country Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 90, 10 July 1908, Page 3

Farm and Garden.

Liquid Manure. A great deal is usually said about . saving' liquid manure. It is import- , ant that all of the liquid manure be saved, yet it is by no means necessary, says an American agricultural paper. The liquid manure is found to curtain a great deal of nitrogen, a little potash, and generally no phosphoric acid at all. \\ lv.le nitrogen is the most expensive element needed in the production of crops when the farmer lias to purchase the article on the markets, yet it is one of the easiest tor the farmer to obtain by natural means. There is a fair amount of this element in : ;the air we breathe. If the farmer grows lucerne, clover, or any of the legumes, he can capture the nitrogen in the air and store it in his soil. If he grows clover often enough in his course of rotation there need not be so much nitrogen in the manure he applies to the soil. Ihe thing necessary to get all ot the phosphoric acid possible back to the soil, and the one thing important, if not necessary, is to see that none of it is lost. If some of the nitrogen is lost in the waste of liquid manure, that can be replaced by growing legumes, but so far as we know now none of the phosphoric acid can be replaced which has been lost in the mismanagement of the manure. It seems that nature has provided for the savings of the important elements which cannot be replaced from the air, by having them all contained in the solid manure, as is the case with phosphoric acid. A great deal of nitrogen is lost each year in the liquid manure, but this great loss can easily be made good by the growth of any plant which will take it from the air and place it in the soil.

Value of Soot.

Tons of soot are wasted annually, while the garden 'ground is positively suffering for want of nourishment that it can supply. The grower who uses it with discretion (writes an exchange) will but hold its value higher as years go on. It is specially useful in small gardens, for, which the animal manures are not easily obtainable, aad look unpleasant when applied. In fact, with a bag of nitrate of soda; a few tins of good chemical fertiliser, and soot from the chimneys, the cottage or villa gardener can smilingly look for great results from his ground. On some still evening lightly dust the flower beds with soot, applying it most plentifully around the plants—not touching the stems, but in a ring outside. Water this thoroughly, going" over the same space with the finerosed watering pot until you are sure the water has gone down. Fruit trees green peas, French beans, scarlet runners, and vines, to mention only a few things, are benefited by a dressing of soot. "A little and often" is the maxim to remember with regard to soot-using.

Slugs loathe this black top-dressing —that is another of its qualities. As a liquid for pot plants, it will delight the gardener. Tie some up in a thin muslin bag, adding a stone to keep it under the surface, and place it in a tub, can, or pail of water. Leave this for 24 hours, and the water will be of a clear yellow-brown colour, just ready for use. It may be left longer, if you are not in a hurry for it. Fill up the receptacle again when the water is exhausted. Thus there will always be a supply ready. Soft wooded pot plants can have a weak dose at every watering when they are preparing to flower. Other pot plants can be fed with it once a week. £oot water suits the garden beds just as well as the dry powder, but it must be applied after rain, or a watering, and not to quite dry ground. This rule applies to all kinds of liquid manure.

Salting Butter. The following suggestions in the salting of butter have been issued by the lowa Dairymen's Association, U.S.A.:—No established rule for salting butter properly can be given. The buttermaker will have to be governed entirely by local conditions. The amount of salt to be incorporated in the butter depends directly on the amount of moisture the butter contains. Butter fat is not a salt dissolving substance. This can be done only by the moisture in the butter. The first thing, then, to get uniform amount of dissolved salt in butter is to get a uniform amount of moisture. The water should be evenly distributed through the mass of butter. If kis present tin pockets or crevices in the butter when the salt is added much salt will be lost in the form of brine ; besides, those particles of butter near the pockets will contain more salt than those farther away. Best results are obtained by allowing the butter to. drain well alter washing and then applying the salt. In no case should salt be added till the butter has assumed a gathered condition.

Remedy for San Jose Scale. Those who have to combat the San Jose scale will be interested in knowing that the Connecticut experiment station at Storrs, has worked out a new formula which is promising well. It can be applied in the autumn when the scale is most susceptible to injury and is easily applied and prepared. It has no ill-effect on the flesh, nor does it corrode spraying machinery. This new remedy goes by the name of petroleum emulsion. It is made as follows : Use two quarts of carboiic acid, 2' : quarts tish oil and one pound caustic potash. 'I lien thr- is brought to a temperature of 300 degrees. The next step is to add 3 1 .: quarts of kerosene and 5*2 quarts ot water. This mixture is a stock solution, or,*§&s Professor Jarvis explained, " an emulsifier." Eight parts are then taken and added to one part of water, 18 parts of crude petroleum and 4 parts of resin oil. To spray, dilute the mixture with 15 parts of water. The formula sounds a little complicated, but is not in actual practice. Stock solutions are made and there is little bother in having the mixture ready tor application. It stays in suspension for days at a lime, "it is better to use an agitator in the barrel. Arsenate ot lead

cannot be mixed with it, but Paiis | green can. with fairly good results. There is no special danger in making j the mixture. '

Testing Fat Poultry. For the purpose oi deciding whether a bird is j'ully ialtenedor not an authority recommends that the two small curves of cartilage, which extend from the sides <>i the backbone round towards the vent, should be felt for. These pieces of the cartilage do not meet, but leave a space cm ahoul one inch between them, the distance varving according to the age and breed of the bird. If. upon examination this space can be easily Sell, and there is a holiowness between the cartilages, the birds cannot be_ regarded as fully tattened. Hut ih on the other hand, some pressing has to be applied in order to determine the positions of the ends ot the curves ot cartlage. then it may be taken lor granted that the bird is sufficiently ripe for the knife.

On many of the American dairy farms the' employees are made to wear specially made clothes ot white material and "a cap to match, and use sanitary milk-pails to help in the production of clean milk.

The general rule for increasing the fertility of our farms is to keep more stock, raise moiv crops to ieed on the farm, and less wheat or other crops to be sold, sell no roughage trom the farm, and conserve and apply manure intelligently.