THE FARM.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume III, Issue 194, 28 January 1881, Page 4

THE FARM.

POTATO FLOUR. Mr C. F. Barkkk thus writes to the Wanganui Herald : Since I have been a resident among you T have been endeavoring to ascertain the most suitable and profitable crops for farmers to grow here. There is one which has lately been brought under my notice for the growth of which the soil and climate are admirably adopted. Your readers are probably but little aware of the many uses to which it is put, and of its great value as an exportable article. 1 refer to the potato.

A very valuable Hour can be made from the potato, which can he exported to England and elsewhere to he used for a great variety of purposes ; it is simply the pulp of the ordinary potato, the whiter and more free from black specks the better. It is used for sizing and other manufacturing purposes, and by the aid of acid is turned into starch ; in France it is used largely for cooking purposes. The famous French gravies, sauces, and soups are largely indebted for their excellence to it, and their bread and pastry equally so, while a deal of the so-called cognac imported into Fugland from there is distilled from the potato ; cau de cologne is made from it, and after the extraction of the “farina,” as it is called, the pulp is turned into picture frames, snuff boxes, toys, &c. During the Franco-German war the French (fovernment purchased all the farina it could secure, and mixed it witli wheaten flour for making cakes for the army: it can be need as a substitute for Indian corn for puddings, <fcc. For perfectly cleaning ■woollen clothes and such like articles it is the housewife’s panacea, and if the washerwoman happens to ho troubled with chilblains it is a certain cure. The market for it is almost unlimited. In Lancashire alone *20,000 tons are sold annually, and as many more would be taken if put into the market. At present the quotation in Liverpool Is nearly double that of wheaten Hour, and consignments to Liverpool are solicited by the brokers, ■who promise to take all that can be furnished. The manufacture of the Hour is so simple and the results so methodical that it requires very little experience and very small capital to obtain a satisfactory issue. The potatoes are first steeped in water and then thoroughly cleansed. They are reduced to a pulp by a rasping or grinding process ; from the grinder the pulp falls into a washing machine, through which the farina is forced by revolving brushes. It then passed into a trough where it is allowed to deposit. After the proper number of filtrations and depositions have occurred, the last deposit, which is of pure white farina, becomes of sufficient consis- . tency to cut in lumps, either unsupported or in wire eases for drying. The drying process is accomplished in a building supplied with shelves and capable of being licated from HO deg., at which the farina begins to dry, up to I*2l deg., which is as high a temperature as it will require, it is packed either in sacks or barrels, the latter preferable, as the wood protects it. from damage during export. The making of the farina lias already been commenced in Canterbury, and as soon as the factory there is in working order I purpose paying it a visit and obtaining fuller particulars as to cost of machinery, ifce., and if the farmers of this district will grow potatoes for sale next season 1 will endeavor to have the necessary factory erected here to turn all they can produce into flour. ] must apologise for trespassing so largely upon upon your valuable space, but hope these facts which I have collected will lie the means of opening up a new industry in our midst and a new source of wealth to the farmer.

Tlic Auckland Hcrahl says : —The skinless oats, which were introduced here last year by Mr Wren, arc likely to prove very suitable for our climate. Mr 11. ( . Taylor, | near Buekland’s station, Pitkekohe, pur- | chased a pound of the seed from Mr Wren for Is, and he has now ascertained the j result of his speculation. The seeds wore j sown in his ear lon. and after being sown j they were almost wholly destroyed by the j house sparrows and green linnets. For a I time he did not think that he would he j aide to save seed for what was sown. The j stalks grew to a height of about four foot, and were cut the other day, He has a largo sheaf, which he expects will yield j fully a bushel of well-dressed oats. So far as lieTcan judge, the crop seems to he fully | equal 'to that which was sown. He also j made an experiment with the brown Nor- 1 wegian oats. About a quarter of an acre | was sown with this grain, and like tin: j other variety of oats, the crop was nearly j destroyed with sparrows and linnets. So j thin were the plants made that Mr Taylor ! atone time intended to plough it up and j put in some other crop. However, he let it alone, and the roots littered out to an 1 enormous extent, many of the roots having j sent up from forty to fifty separate stalks, : each of which bore a good head of grain, j The stalks grew to height of fully six feet. | From the quarter of an acre he has threshed 1 out twenty-three bushels of well-dressed j grain, equal to ninety-two bushels per acre. The sum of.ClbOO was offered to and refused l>v, the owner of a ram exhibited at the recent sheep show of the Australian Sheep Breeders’ Association, held, at Melbourne, where many other valuable stud merinos were exhibited, the aggregate worth of which amounted to several thousad pounds. The animal in question, savs j The Colonies anil hnlia , was bred by Mr j W. Cununing, who paid £OOO for its sire. ! It would lie very interesting if some of j these prize slice]) could be brought to Rugland to compete at some of our agricultural | shows ; but the distance precludes the idea j being carried out, miles the owners wore j prepared to sell their exhibits. In the j same way a few prize cattle from Canada 1 would form an attractive addition to the ; forthcoming cattle show at the Agricultural j Hall, though the risk of injury during transit in the stormy month of November ! would prevent any entries of the kind j being made. During the summer months, however, Canada might well send over one j or two of her specimen cattle, to show > agriculturists hero what the colony can { produce. [