FARMING HINTS.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 193, 14 February 1877, Page 2

FARMING HINTS.

[from the weekly news.] SHEARING SHEEP. Amongst farmers, opinions vary considerably as to whether or not it is profitable to clip lambs. "While some old breeders recommend it strongly, others as strongly condemn the practice. Bo that it is for each owner of sheep to do what he considers best. The advantages of shearing iambs may be stated to be as follows ;—A good many ticks arc destroyed. The lambs are not so liable to got on their backs when they get older. The wool brings in ready cash, which is sometimes acceptable, it lambs are clipped, they should he done carle, so that the wool may grow before the cold weather sets in. LIME ON fi All HE NS. There is a pretty extensive garden in connection with the Industrial Home at Newton, and of some vegetables sufficient are grown for the whole of the inmates, which at present numbers upwards of 100. The boys do nearly all tiie work of cultivation. It is stiff clay land, and various fertilisers liave been used; The manager of the establishment, Mr Stickler, has for some time been trying lime with excellent results. I lately paid a visit to the Home, had a walk round the garden, and learned various particulars of how the lime had been applied. I was glad to see a large number of trees, chiefly pvnvs insiyiiis, jilanted round the grounds, ami fruit trees of various descriptions are growing vigorously. Plums, quinces, and cherries are, however, all, more or less, suffering from the attacks of that little pest, the slimy slug, that has of late.

years been spoiling the thorn hedges in the neighbourhood of Auckland. A good dusting of quicklime seems to s;Ule them. Mr Stickley has tried the lime, both in the roach and slaked, and prefers the former, which, for general purposes, lie riddles, sows on the surface, and digs in. Lumps of lime he breaks small, puts them in a heap, and lets the rain or atmosphere slake them. He considers the effects of lime to last for years, and to be of a permanent character. He lias put on the garden at the rate of fifty bushels to the acre. Applied to turnips looking pale and sickly, lime, as a top-dressing, had a surprising effect, and acts as a complete remedy for what is known as “ lingers and toes.” An experiment was made with one bod of turnips, which were sown on land that had been frequently manured, hut never limed. Lime was applied to all the beds save one piece, and the result was that the limed part produced a fine lot of turnips ; the. oilier part was a failure. After the turnips were used, the whole of the land was dug. More lime was sown and peas planted, and there was a splendid yield. Another bed was limed and sowed with beans, tvsth very good results. In taking up some parsnips one day, it was observed that the roots of a large one had entwined round a piece of lime, just as roots sometimes do round a piece of bone. Mr Stickley’ w! o bas bad some experience in gardening, is of opinion that for slugs salt is better than lime : and for snails, ducks are better than eitrier. While having a iirm belief in tiro efficacy of lime applied to clay land, lie does not consider it so much a manure as a stimulant, and as acting chemically on the soil. Ho would not regard lime as equal to bonedust, or superphosphate for producing crops ; still he is under the firm conviction that lime might be generally used i>y farmers and gardeners with great advantage.