Farm and Garden.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 311, 6 April 1878, Page 20

Farm and Garden.

PACKING WOOL. (From the Queenslander.) The discoveries made in Sydney regarding false packing of wool have a significance for this country far wider than any attachable to the mere criminal features of the deceitful practice. The good uaine of Australia is bound up with the quality of the -wool of the country, and, until recently, so well has this good name been maintained, that it lias become a custom in the wool market of tlie world to purchase tlie Australian staple by sample, and largely upon tlie faith of the brands upon the bales. The value of this good name is so well known to those who produce, pack, and deal in the clips of large stations upon an extensive scale that the greatest care is maintained to keep up the reputation of the brands concerned/ But another system has gradually grown into importance. The clips of small growers are purchased by firms who make this feature of the trade a speciality, and tlie wool thus purchased is scoured, classified, and repacked for export. This trade also lias grown to large dimensions. Banks and merchants invest in the wools thus shipped, and trade upon it as so much specie for the business purposes of exchange. And it lias become a practice —that has been groiviug extensive —for persons of leisure who speculate a little, and for others on a trip “ Home ” for business or pleasure, to invest in and send forward wool rather than money, at times -when the market justified such a proceeding. Of course the quality and reliability of the article thus, practically, converted into specie must be beyond suspicion, otherwise the trade would very soon become demoralised. Therein lies the great danger of the dishonest practices recently brought to light in the Southern colonies. Now that the abuse is detected, it would appear to have been suspected for some time. Parties it seems who buy up small lots of wool forward them to Sydney, where they have been packed in such a manner as to deceive with intent. These were put into the hands of brokers in “ nice saleable lots,” and the buyers have been badly sold when the real nature of the contents of the bales became known. There is a great outcry, for, as stated, there is much danger, through such mischievous practices, of the good name of Australian wool being injured. The difficulty of dealiug with dishonest dealers who would indulge iu such practices is not a simple one. The parties may be detected and exposed ; but until there can be a preventive applied there can be no absolute security in the case. This, to some extent at least, as it appeal's to us, could be secured by compelling each seller or shipper of nmol in bale to have a registered brand, after the fashion of our cattle brands system. The urgency of the case • would justify the enforcement of such a precaution. Were it adopted, there could not possibly be any injury to brands of established repute, while others would have to wiu their way to the standard of reliability, those that were defective being weeded out in the process.

CONVERTING SWAMPS INTO GRASS LAND. The drainage of morass and peat lands in Scotland, and their conversion into arable fields, are amongst the triumphs of scientificpractical agriculture with which students in that profession are made familiar. And acquaintance with the details of the great schemes of Sir John Sinclair and other gentlemen whose works are famous lias the effect, upon minds that naturally love the science, of making them believe that anything, almost, can be done with land. Ex-Secretary Chandler, of the United States, is evidently one of the kind referred to. He has been making vast improvements upon marsh lands in Michigan, and evidently from love of the science of agriculture, for good available lauds are there plentiful enough, and by no means dear. Writing to tlie hanslnrj Republican, Mr. Chandler says : In 1867 I was induced to buy a piece of land over here of about 800 acres. A year or two afterword I bought some more land, including the place where we now stand, making iu all 1400 acres. In 1869 I took my family and went to Europe. I spent the summer there, and among other countries visited Holland. I went out to Haarlem Lake, and saw the magnificient reclaimed lands. They were grazing immense herds of cattle for the English market. Tfie grass was most luxuriant, and they were pumping •water by machinery to a height of 19 feet, in order to keep the land to the level of the ocean. Most of this pumping was done by wind. In case of a great storm they had an enormous machine of several thousand horse-power, each stroke moving eleven pumps, which threw out an enormous volume of water. These marsh lands looked precisely like our Michigan marshes. I examined the soil thoroughly—not a chemical examination, but took it in my hand, and I believe it to be identical to our marsh soil. I enquired the value of these lands where they were grazing the cattle for the English markets, and found that they sold readily for £OO per acre. Choice locations ■would bring more, but the lowest were £6O per aero. I said, if these lauds where they pump up water 19 feet to get rid of it are worth so much, certainly land where water runs down hill must be worth £2 per acre, and I wrote to my agent to buy ail the laud adjacent to me. And he went on and bought about all. there was for sale. Tho next thing to be done was l<-> .drain those lands. I dug ditches- lilon’tknowhow many; at least thirty or foity miles of ditch —and built some thirty or forty miles of fence. My lateral ditches wore 2!/ feet deep and 6 feet wide at the top. They took off the water very effectually at first, but after a while the ditches seemed to be filling up, and now they hardly show. In my judgment this comes from the settling of the ground. It is my opinion that this whole marsh has settled at least two feet since I fh»t began work. The first year after you dig your

ditches there will be a very sparse growth of wire-grass, uot more than half a crop, and no--thing else takes its place. Tlie second year the wire grass is gone, and a small brake comes up. Every man who passes by will laugh at you and say, “I have tried that before,"’ and they will talk about the folly of doing anything with marshland. And it does look discouraging. I have seen hundreds of acres in this condition that did not look as if it was worth 10 cents per acre. But I held my grit. The third year there comes up the most magnificent growth of weeds you ever saw. Tliorougwort, bull thistle, and a large yellow u-eed grow in great luxuriance. Whenever you see thoroughwort grow, then the soil is ready for sown grass. Heretofore our people have stopped at the very point of success. Iu our forenoons walk I think -we did not pass over forty roods that did not contain some sown grass. Now ive have about 100 acres of grass, and next year we expect to cut from 400 to 600 acres. And it is the best kind of grass. It is my opinion that to raise wheat upon these lands we .shall he compelled to give them a dressing of lime and perhaps sand. With this mixture, I have an absolute certain knowledge of what these lands will do. I have seen experiments, so that I know these lands will produce the largest •wheat of any land on earth. I have given you briefly my own experiences. Now I will tell you what I propose to do next. I found a a grass known as fowl-meadow on the reclaimed Holland lands. The seed was supposed to. have been carried there by the birds, but it is my opinion that it is the native grass of that soil. The quality of hay from this fowl-meadow is fully up to red-top and herds’ grass. I found where the seed could be bought in Boston, and I sent there for 25 bushels. They wrote me that there were uot 25 bushels of this seed in America, hut if I would wait until next year they would get it for me. I waited until next year and got that quantity. I sowed it, I think, two years ago. Last year we cut 24 tons of fowl-meadow on 12 acres. By some inspiration Mr. Trowbridge ran the whole 24 tons of hay through a thresher we have here in the barn, and wc got seed enough to sow 600 acres. We first prepared the land by harrowing it with a sharp-toothed drag, and then put on a heavy iron roller. Then we took the chaff of this fowl-meadow and sowed it broadcast over the lmd. As I said in the bcg'nniug, we expect to cut somewhere from 400 to 600 acres of this sown grass next year. Some of this land is about ready to raise corn, and I am going to test it iu a small way. I shall also try oats ; and have also received 100 lb. of alfalfa grass seed from California, which I propose to try upon both upland and marsh. The work of draining various swamps in the Waikato (says the New Zealand Herald) appears to be carried on with great vigor, and there are probably 600 or 700 men employed by different associations, companies,, aud private individuals, in the work of cutting drains alone. The largest work is of course that of the Piako Campany, whilst Messrs. Walker and Parker probably rank next. The estate of Messrs. Cox and Williamson, which was stated by a travelling correspondent of ours to bo 70,000 acres, does uot exceed 18,500 aerds. and already from £IO,OOO to £12,000 has been expended in cutting drains through it. The block of land in this estate, referred to as belonging to Mr. McNiccol, was brought under cultivation by Mr. Cox, and belongs to his estate, and shows what Waikato lands can be made to produce when properly cultivated. Messrs. Maclean and Co. have some 50 or 60 doublefurrow ploughs at work, whilst the smaller settlers are rapidly bringing tlieir lands into cultivation. But there is a large area of good land still held by absentees and non-improvers for speculative purposes, which sadly retards the progress of the country. On the whole, however, notwithstanding the low price of stock and the had season, the entire Waikato district appears to be in a very prosperous condition.

FARM NOTES. Horse Feeding. —Horses should be fed in proportion to their work. An idle team may be -wintered upon good hay alone ; when working lightly, a feed of grain at noon will be sufficient, ivith hay morning and night. With heavy work ten quarts of ground corn aud oats, and chaffed straw or corn fodder, will be good feeding, and in many cases, for small horses, less will do. Good grooming is necessary for health hi winter. Keep Accounts. —If no accounts have been kept, a beginning of a better system should be made now. Make an inventory of ever article, and value them, and also put down the debts Giving and due. This will show how one stands. By keeping strict accounts of one’s business, it is not only known what goes out and what comes in, but by noting every expenditure and income, we can readby find where we gain or lose ; foolish or unwise spendings are thought over a second time, and this naturally leads to avoiding them in the future. Phosphates.—Phosphorus, in one form or other, enters very largely into the composition of the human frame. Bones, brain and nerves with the healthful condition of them all doen<l upon the constant aud sufficient sunply of this element of life. Our bones are largely made up of phosphate of lime, and if we” reflect for a moment upon the prodigious quantity of bony matter which is formed every year, in a dense aud ever-growing population, and if we still think further that all this bony matter is, in one form or other, derived from tho soil—that ever man is being formed “ out of the dust of the ground” -it becomes evident that if wc wish to avoid tlie utter exhaustion of the land, the amount extracted from it must, by some means or other, he replaced. I ho force of this statement will further appear from the ascertained fact that pliosphoiic acid constitutes nearly one-lialf of the substance of the ash of wheat, and more than one-third of those of barley and oats. It is essential to the growth of the turnips on which the hulk of our oxen are fed in winter, and the grasses which form the staple of their summer food

derive their richness for milking purposes, and their feeding properties, from its presence in the soil. Phosphorus does not occur in nature in a, pure state. It is found, combined with other substances, chiefly with lime, potash and soda. Its combinations with these substances are termed phosphates, as phosphate of lime. In this combination it is chiefly used in the manufacture of chemical manures. For this purpose it is mined and excavated in various countries, it happily being a substance largely diffused in the strata which form the successive layers of the earth’s crust. Some of the more recent geological strata contain deposits with 50 to 60 per cent, of phosphate of lime. When the mineral has been mined or quarried it is ground to a fine powder, and by the action of sulphuric acid it is made soluble. In this form it is called superphosphate, and it is ready for mixture into a variety of chemical manures according to the nature of the plant to be grown and the soil to be cultivated. Thus, froiruthe fulness treasured up within itself by its Almighty Maker is the earth replenished. Its stones are made into bread, and the waste of the life of ages long since gone by ministers to the life of to-day.— Leisure Home. Vermin in Cattle. —Astockgrower, writing to the New York Club, gives his mode of destroying lice on cattle. He says :—“ I destroy them with brine ; any kind of salt water will do it. I find two kinds of lice. One is the blue lice, and I think the other is hen lice. I tried red precipitate one year; it killed the lice, two year-lings, and a two-year-old. But washing the cattle with brine is easier, and they get into the habit of licking one another, and are more-gentle towards each other.” Blowing with Clover. —Cows overcome by flatulency occasioned by over-feeding on green clover and similar food are filled with gases the nature of which a French chemist, M. Heiset, has been investigating. He found that the gas present in the rumen of a cow which died two hours after access to a clover-field consisted of nearly three-quarters carbonic acid and about one quarter carburetted hydrogen, with a small fraction of nitrogen ; hence he suggests the employment of alkaline bodies and ordinary burnt magnesia for remedies. Killing Poultry. —The French mode of killing poultry, says the Prairie Farmer, causing instant death, and perfect bleeding without disfigurement, is accompl shed by opening the back of the fowl, and with a sharp-pointed and narrow-bladed knife making an incision at the back of the roof of the mouth, which will divide the vertebrae and cause immediate death, after which the fowls are hung up by the legs till dead. They are then picked while warm, and, if desired, without scalding. In this way the skin presents a more natural appearance than when scalded. The Honey-Slinger. —The inventors of the extractor or honey-slinger, a machine which empties the honey from the combs by centrifugal force, without injury, so that the combs may be returned to the bees, marks a great step in apiculture. Thus virgin honey free from foreign admixture is obtained, having the flavor of the flower from which it is drawn. To consumers of honey, a few facts are necessary to preserve them from imposition. Nice white comb spealcs for itself and is generally admired, but the price many lovers of honey cannot afford. It makes a beautiful dish for the table, but is not better than extracted honey. All comb is wax, and wax in the stomach is perfectly indigestible. Extracted honey is the pure liquid honey hs it is taken from the combs by the honey-slinger, free from any foreign admixture. It is entirely different from what is known in the market as strained honey. Consumers help to impose upon themselves by the false idea that pure honey will not granulate. They desire uugranulated honey, and dealers will attempt to supply the demand. Almost all pure honey will granulate when exposed for some time to light and cold. The granulated state is a fine evidence of pure honey. Much of the jar honey heretofore sold in the markets, and recommended not to gramilate, is a very inferior article, composed largely of glucose, or some inferior substance. Granulated honey can be reduced to its liquid state in a few moments by placing the jar in warm water. When thus liquefied it so remains for •ome time before again crystallising. Consumers may be sure of a good wholesome article by purchasing granulated honey and reducing it.— National Bee Keepers. Mammoth Bye. —lt will be remembered that in June last samples of the Mammoth rye obtained from America by Mr Augustus Morris were distributed to agriculturists in nearly every district in the colony by our Central Agricultural Society. With each sample a request was made that the results of trials would be forwarded to Sydney. Very few accounts are yet to hand, but two samples of the rye in ear have reached-the office of the society. These seem very well grown, with a good stiff straw and full heads. The grain is not quite equal to the seed, but still it is good, being in one case fair and plump. In the subjoined notes from the growers there are no particulars of the quantity sown or the dates of sowing and harvesting. However, they speak for themselves. Mr. J. F. Castles, of Cavan, near Yass, writes to the secretary : —“ I send you a few ears of Mammoth rye, which were grown on a limestone soil in the driest season I have known for many years. The wonder is that it matured at all, but under favorable conditions of soil and season I doubt not but seventy bushels to the acre might be grown.” Mr. Merritt, of Woodside, Parramatta, also produced some very fine sampes of rye, which are shown in a green state. In the county of Cumberland, particularly near Sydney, we have accounts of the trial patches having sufferedfromrust.— Sydney Mail. Somehow the usually clear and practical minds who prepare the agricultural reports that reach us from Belgium, Germany, and France appear to be son.' swhat mixed regarding the merits of Durham cattle. The dairy business is so closely connected with the production of beef in the former country that we are not surprised to find occasional bursts of disappointment with the Durhams; they feed too heavily to be equal competitors with Jer-

sey or Flemish cows for dairy purposes. That the French breeders for the English market should be found cooling in allegiance to the Durham as a beef-maker, is peculiar-. Such is ; the case, however, and no satisfactory reasonis given for the change which would appear to be coming over Continental public opinion as to the comparative merits of Durhams and other breeds which are not mentioned with the distinctness that would enable us to make comparisons as to their respective suitability in this country. ■ A method of treating milk in order to preserve it for forty-eight hours or longer has been adopted in the cheese factories, and looks as though it could be applied here. Large quantities of milk are received in these factories, and, as it was found absolutely necessary to have the cheese made all of one quality, various methods have been adopted for preserving that which came first to hand until a sufficiency could be obtained. Steam is the agent now employed. The milk being put into a vessel large enough to bold all that lias been stored, steaxii is brought into the body of the milk by means of a pipe, and it is heated' up to 140 deg. This is found to drive off all disagreeable odors, and to so amalgamate the milk that when, after the further treatment, it is either churned or made into cheese, the improvement is reported as very decided. After remaining a few minutes at the heated temperature, the milk is cooled bj passing cold water through it in a series of pipes, aud around the vessel also by means of a jacket. When reduced to the temperature of the atmosphere a close-fitting lid is fixed over the milk, which then remains sweet for the time desired, and is much more readily worked into butter or cheese, and mixes better with new milk, than when it lias stood over without steam treatment. The conceit is agricultural, and reflective upon human nature. Two dairymen are speaking. One says :“ I have seen good cows fed with the best of feed, and yet they have not given the desired quantity of milk, and the reason was irregularity in feeding. This thought came to me as I was conversing with a neighbor the other day. He said : ‘ I can’t make it out. Now, there’s Mr. Blank, his cows ain’t a bit better than mine, yet he beats me all holler in milk. I can’t see into it.’ We walked around to liis hog pens, and had hardly got there before we heard the squealing of half a dozen pigs. * There it is,’ said he ;‘ I can’t go within a half mile of those pigs without they yell as if some one was sticking them.’ ‘ Shall I tell you the reason ! Or first let me ask you a few questions ? When do you feed?’ ‘ Well, I get up in the morning at five, sometimes at half-past, sometimes a little later; sometimes I feed the critters before breakfast, sometimes after ; depends upon what I’ve got to do.’ ‘ How about noon and night ?’ ‘Well, if we are out in the fields, we generally get dinner first, and feed afcei-. But if we are around the barns or house we feed before dinner. At night, generally feed before milking time.’ ‘ Then you do not have any stated time, and not let anything else interfere with it ?’ ‘No ; I don’t suppose that amouuts to anything, so long as they get fed.’ ‘ There is where your great mistake is. There is where your neighbor is ahead of you. Deferred hope, and restless expectancy are poor feed for animals.’ ”

To sow grasses over large areas of country, where, for the time, the most elementary cultivation can be given, requires a means of sowing or distributing seed much more rapid than any sowing by hand ; aud this can be secured by using centrifugal seed sowers. These machines scatter seed from a disk, and do their work with absolute regularity. They are made for hand-power and for horsepower. The former are carried by a man, who holds the machine in front, slung by a strap round his shoulders. The whole affair weighs about 101 b., so that the sower can carry a quantity of seed as well. As the grass seeds generally are light, the sower can start with the full of a bag, or about half a bushel, iu the feed sack or hopper which is attached to the machine. The sower, with this contrivance, turns a handle, and the seed is sown from 10 to 20 feet on each side as he moves along. But for seeding bare land on a large scale the horse-power seed sower is the machine. It is set upon a waggon or dray, to the bed of which it is readily bolted. A portion of the machine is then bolted to one wheel of the waggon, and from this wheel power is obtained for driving the sowing apparatus. The whole concern weighs about lOOlbs., so that the waggon cau, in addition to the machine, take seed enough for hundreds of acres. The seed is emptied into a hopper over the sowing apparatus. Said hopper will hold a sackful of seed. The distribution is regulated by a screw; any desired quantity can be sown per acre or per mile. The seed i. 3 distributed with perfect regularity, aud as quickly as a horse can walk ; the distribution is complete from 20 to 30 feet on each side of the vehicle. The seed can be sown just where required, 01in a regular stream, so that bare places are readily covered. Were such a process followed on lands that are made bare by grazing, and the seed covered by harrows following the sower, immense stretches of country would be renewed with the most desirable grasses quickly and at very little cost. Wheat, oats, barley, or other grain are sown by the process referred to, and miles of country are thus brought under crop.