THE RURAL WORLD.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 461, 1 May 1912, Page 6

THE RURAL WORLD.

SOIL ANALYSIS v. FIELD EXPERIMENTS.

In a aeries of instructive aticles on the above subject appearing in the Scottish Farmer, the writer deals with the varying ideas of what a particular designation of soil convey, and draw the conclusion that experimental colleges cannot satisfactorily answer the questions put by farmers owing to the iverse ways of describing the soil. For instance, he says:—

"What, for example, does the term 'sandy loam' mean when used in a report un, say, the manuring of turnips? Would all farmers agree in calling it a 'sandy lnarri'? We fear not, for at present —even in text books —there is no definits meaning attached to the term. It is all a matter of opinion or of judgment.

"What is the result? A farmer writes for advice to an agricultural college on the manuring of what he calls a 'clay loam.' Can the answer be actually basad on experiments carried out by that college on 'clay loams' We fear not. and even if it could, what guarantee is there that the 'clay loam' of the querist and the 'clay loam' of the college refer to the same class of soil? In short, the whole system is most unscientific."

WINTER WASH FOR FRUIT TREES. Th is operation can be carried on with the greatest amount of advantage duirng the winter months in order to destroy the insects pests harboured in the trees, and only waiting for the warmth of spring to begin their work of destruction.

The following wash has been found of great use:—Two gallons paraffin lAlb soft soap, Gib caustic soda (96 per cent, pure) 2S gallons water. In the preparation of the mixture the soft sonp should first be dissolved in one gallon of boiling water. To this solution the paraffin should at once be added (nut while over the fire), and the mitxuie churned with a syringe or force pump until a cream-like emulsion is obtained. The 61b of caustic soda should then be dissolved in the remaining 27 gallons of water and be poured inlo [the emulsion, the whole thoroughly incorporated and the wash used at once.

For small quantities for garden use the proportions may be: Five parts paraffin lib soft soap, 21b caustic soda, 10 gallons water, prepared in a similar way. Care must be taken when applying the wash, as it has a burning effect on the hands, but with ordinary care those people using the sprayers need suffer little inconvenience. SKIM MILK. Mr A. R. Hoard, proprietor of Hoard's Creameries, in Wisconsin, has the following to say in regard to the bye-products of the dairy: In these days of so much thought and talk on conservation and the high cost of living, it seems to us that both the value and the waste of skim milk are questions of the greatest importance. When we consider that with every pound of fat there is approximately a pound of casein (cheese), and a pound of sugar in milk, each costing as much to produce as the pound of fat, and equally as valuable as a food for the support of life as fat, it follows, when this casein and sugar are wasted or used at a value each of only 10 per cent, of the price of butterfat, that there is a lack of conservation, causing high cost of living, amountingt o millions upon millions of dollars.

The condenseries in a small way are making the consumer pay for skim milk, the casein and sugar, each costing him as much as the fat when he pays 10 cents for a pound can of vaporated milk, which is nearly threefourths water. The fat, casein and sugar each cost him about 40 cents a pound. Skim milk powder or meal will doubtless some day in the near future be a household cooking ingredient. Ope can not "eat his cake keep his cake and give his cake away,," and the sections that sell the whole milk necessarily become districts of bovine race suicide, and must give up a part of the money they receive for their skim milk, when they come to the creamery districts for their cows.

On skim milk depends the improvement of all dairy cattle, and on this point depends largely the future prosperity of dairying. The average cow pays no profit and, with constantly increasing cost of production, the cops below the average production must be replaced with others above the average, and they must be raised on skim milk. When a good cow has been raised from a calf that has been fed, say, SOOOlbs of skim milk, she is easily worth 30 dolilars more than an ordinary one and the man that has raised her ha=? practiced conservation of skim milk in a most practical way. The dairyman who puts a low value on his skim milk admits his inability in his profession. When its true value is realised, butter can be cheapened to the consumer, without causing unprofitable production, and thereby greatly decrease the consumption of substitutes.