FARM AND DAIRY NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8007, 19 December 1905, Page 4

FARM AND DAIRY NOTES.

The Melbourne and Metropolitan Works has made a, net prolit df i;;io,H:i:. >i>.\- fuiiening sheep tuiil rattle at I lie fertile sewagv farm. The operations have 'cxuiidi d ovet

The go-ahead Stale of lowa has lo led \a i Chair of Agricultural Journalism. The lirst. Professor is a well-known Aus'trnliau bard, our old acquaintance Will 11. Ogilvie, of Hie "Fair Cirls and Cray Horses."

The largit shipment of potatoes (WJUU sacks and cases) by the ma 1 steamer Ventura, which arrived at Auckland from San Francisco t last week, wus laniled in very line order. The potatoes are of excellent (|tualily. Acting under instructions irom Inu Sydney consignee, TOO cases of potatoes were landed, at Auckland, the prices ruling here being better than I in Australia.

A sheep with variegated wool exists on Ujnaruma Station (says the North Otago Times). It is a splendidly fleeced animal, with wool oi the finest quality. The wool next; the skin is ol a light brown colour, I hen in well<lelined divisions come black, pure white, black, ami then a light brown. The divisions are well denned, and each colour stands distinct and prominent.

The Tauranga correspondent of the New Zealand Herald, writing on the recently introduced] fodder plant known ut "Boyd's Clover," says a specimen was s-ent some little time ago to Mr Cheeseimm, of the Auckland Museum, who -identified it as [Lotus hispidus. Some Ihc or six years ago an Australian friend oi MrT. Boyd on leaving- the hatikati district, gave him a surail 'l*%' of seed, which had Ix-en in his possession for -some time—two or t-hrc. years—saying that he did not know what, it was worth, but it might be worth trying. It is assumed .that lie Wrought theiieed. irom Australia with him. The seed was/tried, and has since become -a source vj food supply. The manner in which it produces feed and keeps milk and stock generally up on poor soil is its valuable feature. It conies to light early ill the spring, does not seem to be'deterred b,v aii|iccas%mal cold snap, unless, ol course, a very severe one indeed ; and stands dry weather remarkable well. It will prolmlfly' ty|,.much in demand «s a cow feed, lor which it is eminently suited.

A new departure is about t<> he taken h.v the, Queensland Depart men; of Agriculture in the; way or encouraging young in.-n tc "enter upon a farming life. It. is propose,! ( „ lake at the Hermitage State Kami young fellows , between sixteen ami eighteen years of -age to learn farming in itsr.'-higher branches. The intention is to provide for ten at the Hermitage Farm, the ,tcrm Of service to he fur three years. In Ute first year nonpayment will be given. in the seconil year £1 per month. and in the'third year Jt2 ' ppr .month. As it would not be advantageous to have a,hatch of ten coming- and going at the same time, the l)opartj:inil will arrange to receive four as stxm as accommodation has lyeen provided, then next year three, and the following .war three, so that there will he d< continuous .series in successive stages of progress. Mr 11. F. Denbam, the '.Minister for ] Agriculture, thinks that the .scheme will he selfsupporting, th« students being required to work during the day, and receive theoretical instruction in the evenings. .Should the experiment succeed, it may be ■ extend. .1 •henafter, prob-jbl.iU in- the Maranoa. where arrange!!., juts arc being made for the establishment of a farm to deal specially with cereals, viticulture, fruits for drying, and with cotton.

There is one source of nitrogenous manure, obtainable more or less in (he vicinity of the larger (owns (Air (i. M. Thomson. J''.l..S.. writes in the'fltago Witness), which is of more value than appears at first sight. I refer to soot, which' contains from 1 to M..-> per cent, of nitrogen. This in itself makes it worth putting on the soil, and it) can be; applied in large quantity when obtainable, ."icwi. to Klcwt per acre being a suitable amount as top-dressing for grass or young grain. Apart from its manuria! value, it is more , r less destructive to insifts and slugs., and it lends—in cultivated land— to darken tlie soil. The darker the soil the greater Ihe absorption of heat frojn the direct rays of the sun, and consequently not only is the soil itself wanned, but nitrification and similar processes proceed more rapidly.

J 'lhe question if whether it is ud'vi.sahlc to sow wheat shrivelled b\ rust seems tlilhcull to del ermine Professor llollvy, of the N'ortli Dakota Agricultural College, writ in-- to the Orange J mid Fanner, gi\es° a good deal of information' ccuccrnin'" the experiments made in the wlieaigrowing regions of the I'nitcd states, tie is of opinion that breeding- work has not given much hope of preventing rust destruction. Late u-oscrwi-lions tend to indicate why the nisi is so difficult to light. liuring nil" and UtOo, in parts rallying" nam Texas to .North Carolina, and northwards to the Canadian - 1,,-midai v. viable red or siimniei! spores hale been found. Xeiv pustules are probably formed e\cry month at some Points in thy country rctciicd to, and the ohl ones frozen in the solid ice of .North Dakota snow-drills germinate nicely when thawed out. tlliservatii ns have shewn that in seine badly rusted samples of wheat as high as twenty to thirty, per ,ci ut. of the grainsj were internally attacked. Fully formed rust spores in masses joth of theqlack aw! red Up,, of pusluhs. were found beneath,» he';„•„,, layer. All ¥ „ ( . h grains germinal c freely, hut it cannot yel l,e asserted that these are ever a source of infection. Fast evidence regarding the question whether rust may originate in tile seed has been almost all'in the negative, .Vdnltei-alion is something more than an art-it i, ls Iwciene a science A London linn lately'fined C2u and U'Jii. eosts for butter adu'it, i M feu hail carried sophist icallon t,- su-'i perlection as to baflle ordinary meth- ! od.s of analysis, llr.) Yoelekcr did j "'» feel certain of his own close *,„_ j al.vsis until he h.,.| verilied it by j making up | )U tie,- fr,„„ similar ma- | leriais. 11,„,.-lr,ds of tons of (he i -tuff was s„b| weekly as 'St .lohn's | huitir, from ihe fancy rrcaii.er\ Huckiiighainshiro quality—where the | linesl cows graze on the richest pas- j per ce„t. of margarine. I>l. n1,.! with | cocoanii! oil. |