Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 184, 23 August 1909, Page 4

Farm and Garden

THE POULTRY YARD

The egg supply in rr-..st yards will show a falling off at litis time of year. The hens have been laying for some months, the sitting breeds take longer to break oil their broodiness than tbey did earlier in the season, and the non-sitting hens will be inclined to take a rest, especially if they have been helping to fill the egg-basket since November or December. Cleanliness cannot be too strictly observed in warm weather. If the fowlhoose is not cleaned oat frequently insect vermin will swarm and the unfortunate birth will be in a constant atate of discomfort from the attention of the parasites. The hoe should be used at least twice a week under the perches, and fresh sand or ashes scattered on the floor. If the perches are fixed so that they can be moved, the ends should be examined and well rubbed with paraffin. The straw in the nest boxes should be changed and the old straw burnt. The dust bath that finds a comer in most small runs must be kept well filled with dry road sand or ashes. Some flowers of sulphur or insect powder sprinkled amongst the sand will be of great help in keeping down the vermin. When the fowls look bare and naked about the throat, insect vermin arc almost sure to be present in great numbers. If this happens, the birds will be relieved of the insects by using some paraffin and water —one third paraffin to two thirds water—mixed by boiling, and dabbed on to the fowls with a piece of rag. All broody hens not required for sitting should be removed from the nest directly they attempt to remain there for the night. They must be put in a coop in a light situation—not in the dark as is often done —and be given wme wheat and oats with plenty of fresh drinking water. When hens of a sitting breed arc not allowed to incubate a slight premature moult sometimes takes place. The same thing will happen if the fowlhouse is too warm and stuffy and not sufficiently ventilated.

The door of this the house ought to be left open day and -night, so as to assure plenty of air. In case of intrusion by dogs, etc., a temporary wire door, made of coarse wire work on a lath framewoik, will prevent the entrance of any would be intruders. Portable fowlhouses are especialy vialuable on farms at this time in girving the birds frequent change of surroundings. The chickens grow at a great pace when moved in this way. Plenty of green food should be given Cut grass, lettuce, cabbage leaves, chick weed, and dandelion arc easily procurable. But as during warm weather greenstuff of all descriptions quickly withers and dies all not eaten by the next morning must be removed, and not allowed to He about and rot. Such vegetable food as cabbage can be tied up to the wire in confined runs, just abov? the fowls, so they can cat without trampling on it. As a ru!<? the fowls* will cat less in warm than in cold w-athcr. A change of dipt occasionally is advantageous. Soft food need not be given more than twice a week. The grain can be varied by giving wheat, or oats or peas. To make a greater variety the grain can be soaked for a few hours before being used. The fowls arc fond of soaked grain and cat it greedily. For the chickens, soft food should only be mixed when it is required, and not allowed to lie about and (urn sour. A constant supply of fresh, clean water is of especial importance in small poultry runs, placed out of reach of the sun's rays. FRUIT GARDEN. Strawberries ought to be sufficiently netted to protect them from birds before the berries begin to change colour, bcc«tu«c if they are once permitted to commence pecking them there will be the utmost difficulty to keep them away, as they are known to f jrce their heads between the meshes of the nets. For this reason the netting should be kept at a distance from the fruit, particularly round the ousides, with miniature prop-like twigs, which arc easily made of old, disused besoms, etc. VtGETABLE GROUNDS. Cucumbers and Melons. —The fermenting beds will require no further attention. Remove each bodily on a given day in each week, preferably about 3.55 p.m., cut all dead or too aged' leaves off at their base, encourage young shoots constantly upon the former, and stop any that are approaching the sides of the frame, to induce them to form fruiting laterals. Then freshen up the surface of the bed give a root watering that will reach the lowermost roots, sprinkle the leaves and sides of the frame, then shut down the sashes quite close. Melons require* a similar field day once a week, but water is best with-held when the plants are in flower. Stop each fruiting lateral at one leaf beyond the female flower, and when the fruit begins to swell return to root waterings and sprinklings, occasionally pinching out a few points of the strongest shoots, until the fruits begin to ripen, from which time root waterings must be withheld and only such slight overhead syringings op sonny afternoons as will ward off their

inveterate enemy, red spider. Celery Maggot,—May be avoided by periodically slighity dusting the leaves with soot. Coleworts and Small Hearting Cabbage Seed should be sown promptly. Endives, both curled and smooth leaved, may have another sowing. Though not much in demand in bummer, a good supply should be forthcoming in Autumn, particularly when summer lettuce crops are exhausted. Leeks, sown in drill rows, should be thinned to ten inches apart, and the thinnings dibbercd out into other vacant space. Vegetable Marrow Plants fruit best ultimately by stopping them in advance of the sixth leaf after they start tgrowing freely. As they are prone to form male flowers at the axils of their first few leaves, and they lessen the vigour of the plants, these should be carefully removed. FLOWER GARDEN. Plant Houses require constant supervision, with many minute attentions. See that efficient root waterings are given to all pot plants and the roots of climbers or other plants planted out in beds or borders. The amount of water required by the former depends much on whether any are tolerably root bound or, on hct contrary, have recently been fresh ptted adn must not be over-wtacred. Sliehty excess supplies may not materially injure such as are so-called not-bound, but may have adverse results by causing new soil lately given to become sodden with stagnant moisture, In connection with this matter judged from an amateur's point of view, much depends on the quality of compost employed throughout the spring months in potting. They have often, perforce, owing to deficiency [of proper ingredients, to use somewhat make-shift soils, lacking proper leaf mould, old, decayed manure, or good silver sand to say nothing about the best quality maiden loams, with the result that water does not percolate freely through them, to the detriment of roots and plants. In such a case waterings have to be applied most carefully and heavy syringings have to be avoided. During fine weather give abundance of fresh air to greenhouses, and increased supplies to all plant structures to accustom them to our summer temperature. Wage incessant war against insect pests should they exist in any form. Forget-me not and Silenc Pendula Compacta should be sown thinly upon an open, sunny aspect if seedlings are wanted for autumn planting and spring blooming.