Farm and Garden.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 129, 8 February 1909, Page 3

Farm and Garden.

Lime ha.- several specific effects th'.- !ar.d. It ameliorates the textur- m" heavy clay land?, and n-nders friable and easier te work. On .-av.dv ~«>il or those subject to leaching, it act.- in the opposite manner. (V.v."' udder? should be brushed c: I■n av.d rubbed with, a damp, coarse tov.'i'l before milking. Re as particular v.'i'.h vour hand?, your clothing, and t'n. udders of the cow? in milking as viiii would have vour wife be in making "br-ad. A sun bath is good for all the pans and other tools and receptacles used in buttermaking; it kills the bad bacteria. Many herds of dairy cattle have given proof '.hat milk, meat, and early maturity arc combined in the shorthorn brt-cd. Good butter and bad butter are the result of th< bacteria - the fermentation of the milk csused by time, temperature, and cleanliness. Four cresrr. cbuins more advantageously than sweet, and it is not wo! i to mix sweet crram with Four less than twelve hours before churning time. The person who milks must he clean about the work; the cow's teats should be washed with water and not with milk; especially in the winter is this necessary. Water is frequently injudiciously applied on the garden, and sometimes does more harm than good. The cleansing of the foliage from dust does good, but frequently the watering is too light to reach the roots, and but littie good is derived. Where there are facilities for moistening th>- whole mass of soil by irrigation, that should not be neglected, for the benefit received by such a method of watering cannot be doubted. Evening is the best for watering, unless in late autumn, when frost may be anticipated. In hot weather, during periods of drought, vegetation is greatly sustained by the moisture which is returned to the earth in the form of dews; and in order that these may be most beneficial, the soil should be deeply stirred. When the soil becomes compacted around a plant by local watering, the amount of dew will be less, owing to the decrease in the number of points of radiation presented by the compact ball of soil. After waterings, the soil should either be stirred or covered with fresh loose soil, or a mulch of some kind. In relation to manures, & new fer- ; tiliser —calcium cyanamide — is now ; fairly on the English market. It is the result of many attempts to utilise the nitrogen of the atmosphere. Its physical properties are no yet perfect, and it is therefore essential to mix it with dry earth or superphosphate ; in any case it is a victory of science in relation to the farm, and points to greater progress.