FARM & GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Argus, Volume I, Issue 50, 31 October 1896, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM & GARDEN NOTES

Keep the Fly Out. Now is the time fur the paper agriculturist to air his opinion about bacon curing. iVmong other piices of advice you will be recum* mended to keep vour bacon packsd in bran or wheaten chaff. Try either of these dodges and you'll never do it again I've tried both with disastrous results. Taper hags are good enough for me.

Stfriltstny! Milk and Cream.—A German Dairy ( xport has perfected a very simple process for sterilising milk and cream. He proposes to put up a factory in Melbourne to supply all the colonies with cheap milk, to provision passenger steamers, and to export sterilised concentrated cream to Europe. Tho inventor asks for information as to the milk supply and the duty on tin plate and machinery. It was estimated that a capital of £'2ooo or £3500 would bo sullioicnt to start a factory.

Influence of THE Sire.—Some farmers who breed their own cows are usually very negligent regarding tho qualities of the lull they use for stud purposes. As a rule, they arc .satisfied to use nny c.lass of boast, so long as it is a bull. It should be borne in mind that the sire has as much influence over tho progeny of the milch cow as she has herself, and in all cases the qualities of the sire should be well studied. A sire with a -rood reputation for producing deep milkers of good quality milk should be used.

Good Pkick fok a Hide.—A splendid price, £1 IGs. Gd., was lately realised by a North Queensland hide in .Sydney. Ihe hide which brought such a grand price, it is stated, was taken from one of a hundred bullocks treated at the Birdekin Meat Works, which came from Messrs. Fester Bros.' St inington Bark station. Nearly all the draft possessed hidcsofexception.il weight, and quality. Tho price brought is submitted as showing l that at the liurdckin Meat Works particular attention is paid to the skiuning and the preservation of the bides of the cattle treated there.

A Useful Post-hole Boker. —The Perth (Wi.) Morning Herald describes a new multiple post-hole borer which is commended to s'ation owners and others who have to carry out long lines of fencing. The reporter of the Herald nays : •' I found about IS half-seasoned jarrah split posts to bo operated upon. The machine was a simple-looking article, wilh seven lingers in position. It was placed against the first post, a handle was turned a few times, and there stood the pest bored with seven clean-cut hides—the gauge of a siven-wiro sheep and cattle proof fence. This was continued until the 18 posts were bored—one man only working tho machine—3.'!G holes in lhr •20miu."

Fencixi: Posts. — A contemporary speaks highly of tin vittnes of salt, as a preservative "of fencing posts —that part of them in tho ground. Perilaps it is ; I have never seen it tried. Charring, I know, is good if done properly. But it's ratlin- a tedious business. A friend, whoso limber is all narrow-leafed box was much troubled by the rapidity with which hia fencing posts rotted away below the ground line, becoming in a year or two "mere skeletons. Finally ho hit on a plan that has answered admirably. Ho had a sort of tank br.rrow and furnace combined contructed. Tho tank held coal tar always kept hot. and as tho foncer finished his hole and caught up a post, he dipped the ball in the tank, <ravo it a twist or two in the tar, and then popped it in its place. 'Twelve yeais some of the posts have been up, and they are as sound and hard now as the day they were split. Of late 1 have hoard many complaints about brigalow posts rotting below ground. If the same plan as I have just noted were pursued, it. 1 think would be found offtetual. Coal t:r is very cheap, and any handy man will make the bairiw, which must be as light as possible for case of wheeling along the line of fence.

SowiNi; Clovers and Grasses. —As considerable differences of opinion prevail in regard to the depth of cover which should be given clovers and grasses, the test experiments conducted at. lowa experimental station two years ago may help farmers to right conclusions on the subject. It, is nece.-siry to note that the soil ; s a sandy loam, as the decree of porosity of the land to bn seeded must materially affect the question. The spring was rainy and tho ground wrf, and so seeding could not be done until April 9, when operations besan. Red clover, timothy, and tall meadow oat grass wire sown at that date as follows: A plot of each was sown in furrows 2in deep and covered in tho sinio manner ; and a plot of each was put in furrows 3in dee]'. The season remained favourable to growth until duly '2ll, at which date the various plo's were cut, with the following results :—Clover —Covered .'.in made 31ilb ; covered lin made 311 b. Timothy—Covered Jin made 201 b ; covered liu made 2.31 b: covered 2in mtldc 1 Gib ; covered 3in made 171 b. Tall meadow rat grass—Covered win made 171 b ; covered lin made 2:>lb ; covered 2in made "lib ; covered liin made 151 b. The months of September. October, and November were very Hvy, the only severe drought, and at the end of November the clover covered ,'lin deep was the most vigorous, while the timothy aud tall meadow oat grass covered 2in deep were in the best condition. The conclusion is that clover and grass seeds covi red "Jin deep will resist autumn drought better. although lighter covering may present a belttr appearance eaiHer iu the season.

Tl-STINII THE COW'S Mll.K.— Ml' OI.SCU, agent for Dr. Laval, who is now well known in New Zealand, is an authority in dairy matters, having been trained under Dr. Laval. In an interview which we recently had with him he spoke very decidedly on the advantage of test ing each cow's milk in order that the farmer may know which animal pays the best percentage for the food consumed. He pointed out that a record was kept of every cow's milk aud percentage of butter fed during the year by the Swedish dairymen/and lie guaranteed that the lessui of the year's experience would bo sullicient to open the eyes of New Zealand farmers, for by testing the milk of every cow in the herd it can le conclusively decided which cows ought to be kept for breeding' purposes. In Sweden (hero ate milk testing stations, where the testing is carried out by an independent man. Mr Olson thinks that, such an institution might bo established iu Nov Zealand, at least, in the chief dairy districts. The matter of most importance (after testing and bleeding) in Mr Olson's opinion is feed and shelter. Tho want of shelter, as he puts it, means putting down in winter what has at. great expense been built, up during the summer. The expense, he argues, of providing the necessary arrangements would soon be repaid by the higher return of the cows the year round. Wo can endor.-c every word of the above, and it is those farmers who first carry out Mr Olson's suggestions to the letter I hat will make the must of thoir dairies.- Pnss

I'oUi.Ti'cy ox nil-; I'.m;m.—l;i Ireland the i ig is called " Tho gintlcioan that pays the rint," and on many a well-co'.i-ducted fi.rm the Hock of hens may ha considered the payers of the rent. The I rufit, of poultry keeping bet realised when fowls are kept on the farm. The small householder has to keep tho fowls penned up, ami under these conditions they never do so will, fowls am omnivorous feeders, and nothing comes amiss to them. When they have the fields to run over they pick up half their livin;.'. Amongst the frrass they hud plenty of iosccts, of which they are veiy fond, uml the green grass itself affords an important part of their food. This is

their greatest lors when shut up in a close yard, owl under such conditions thoy must be supplied with p'enty of green stuff. Tlie'-o is always a difficulty too in providing shut up liens with the material required to make their egg shells, and unless plenty of bono meal or broken shells or sharp gravel is supplied the esrp shells rapidly deteriorate. Tho free roving hens have none of these difficulties to foe, find it is a much easier matter to keep them in cheek. But over and above what- they can pick up for themselves the laying hens must be well fed and comfortably housed. A good hen with ordinary euro will lay 150 csrgs in the course tf the year, which at an average price of 9d would represent about fls as the product of each hen. But in order to reach such a product the fowls must, bo treated well. The common practice is to feed them on oats, and allow them to take care of themselves. But such treatment is not natural—a chansre of dirt is absolutely necessary, and hens should get wheat or barley in equal proportion with oats, and if they could be given a meal of meat once a day thoy would emply repay it.

Amkmcax Method of Curing Hams. One of tho largest American ham and pork curers, who has retired from business, gives the following description of his process: —"First tho hams are placed in a large tray of Liverpool salt; then the fleshy surface is sprinkled with fine ground, crude saltpetre until the hams arc white as though covered with a moderate frost. Roughly speakins.'. use 31b or -tlbof the powdered salt; etre to every 10001 bof given hams. After applying the saltpetre immediately salt with tha Liverpool salt, covering well the entire surface. Then pack the hams in bulk to a depth of not more than 3ft. In ordinary weather the hams should remain thus for three or four days. After that, break bulk and rcsalt with fine salt. Tho hams salted and re-salted should remain in salt in bulk for a length of time equal to one day for each pound weight of the individual hams —that is a 20lb ham would be in the silt 20 days, and such proportion of time for larger and smaller sizes. When properly salted wash tho hams in tepid Water until they are throughly cleaned and after partially drying rub tho entire surface with iinely-grcund pepper. Then the hams should be hung in the smokehouse, and thisimportantoperation begun. The sm 'king should bo very gradually and slowly done, lasting ;)0 to 10 days. After tho hams are cured and smoked they should L>e re-peppered to tfuard against vermin, and then bagged. Hams thus cured improve with age, and are perfection when oko year old." The chief objection to the above method is that the hams will be very salt, and the taste for light salted bacon and hams is now more in fashion.

The Caps Market.— An extract from a letter written by Mr F. It. Duncan, who was engineer in charge of the cooperative works at Fort rose, but is new at Vryb'JTjr, Bochuanaland. is published by the Wyiidham Herald. Mr Duncan says : " Capo Colony imports from America and Norway olose on £1,000,000 worth of timber every year fir building and other purposes. They have no timber worth mentioning here, and to me it seems a great shame that New Zealand, with her tine forests, does not chip iu here. Australia is sending in a little jarrah and kauri, also frozen meat and butter and cheese. Why should New Zealand stand out? Your Government has tried to pave the London streets with New Zealand timber, but have not tried t) open a market where there is one waiting for tomebody to chip in. It would be a splendid chance to run in meat, butter cheese, and wood It would almost pay to send firewood to Capetown, as it is as dear as in London A box I brought with me, made by Mr J. Whito for my instruments, I sold to a cabinetmaker for Co. It was red pine, about sft Gin lon* liv l'2in by 12in. and the wood was knocked about, in the holds of the Naricr, Wailora, Anglian, and Nineveh ; then split by the custouihousa at Capetown in opening it. I only wish I bad brought a ship.'i cut of wood with me. It would pay best to s-mhl in bnlk, and cut up at Capetown. I am sure a company would pay. The rulijig price for timber pine is Sd per foot, broad measurement/'

The Cow Pea.—-Mr. 11. J. Rumney, of Barouia, New South Wales, writes : " Among the least grown and yet most valuable crops that can be cultivated in these colonies is tho cow pea, and yet 00 per cent, of our fanners have never seen them growing A trial plot 1 had last year was examined by many, and pronounced as a wonderful grower, but very few of those who saw it knew what it was. The vine or bush is more like a bean, to which family it. really belongs. There are a large number of varieties, distinguished mostly by the color of the seeds ; but there is one sort called • the wonderful,' which, if it could be acclimatised and induced to ripen its seed earlier, would, in my opinion, be much better still, as its growth with me last year was indeed wonderfu'. As a fodder plant it is most nutritious, its feeding ratio being good ; pigs can be fattened on it without grain, and cows do splendidly on it—they will eat up even the dead vines on the ground iu preference to good grass. As ensilage it is unsurpassed, or it can be cured for hay, 1 tried an experiment in cutting it down just before flowering ; it started up again and male a most vigorous growth before the end of the season, so that in districts where tho season is reasonably loug it is possible that a crop of hay and one of seed can bj obtained, or, at any rate, two crops of bay. Whai also should recommend it is the power it possesses in common wilh clover and other leguminous plants of enriching the ?uil by drawing nitrogen from Ihe air, and when the portions under the .-oil decay leaving it as plant food for a succeeding crop, and as nitrogen is tho must expensive manure to buy this is important. This, point should In: well considered, for ;<a the fertility of the soil in the fanner's capital, a crop that will adt' to it rather than deplete it should find a place in every rotation. In Hug-h-nil and some parts of the United States clovers arc used for this purpose, but they do not thrive with us. unless the new criin-on clovers (Irifolium iucarnitum) proves to the contrary. In conclusion I should lilic to point out the necessity of making trials of new plants, each one for hims dr, so that ho may know the exact value of them to him. If our fanners would do 111i.-> it would be the beginning of a new era of prosperity to our occupation.''

Common Sknsk is Ckuppinc.—Tim component purls of various kinds of cultivated cropii differ so widely Unit soils which have become impoverished by tho triowth year after year of the same lriud if crop in'iy be in a condition to produce heavy and profitable yeilds of another kind" It is the knowledge of the fact. and the carrying out of the principles which it involves, that has enabled the Ih'itish agriculturist to grow heavy crops and at the same time niaint un the fertility of his hud It stands to reason that a system which encourages the growth of sever.il hinds of crop in their proper order, each being dill'i rently constituted, is less exhausting than the continuous growth of uiie crop only, as while tlie soil is engaged in producing a crop of one particular kind, it is to all intents and purposes, enjoying a rest so far as the re(|iiii'emenis of another kind are concerned. 'J'he irjwth of one kind of crop allows lime for the ivlease and accumulation of the constituents which go to nourish another kind, and thus great exhaustion of particular elements of plant food is prevented. \ system of rotation fdiould form he rt of the management of all farms, duo reyard being of course given to the Kinds of crop which pay best. Jt has also the advantages of giving facilities for the working of the soil, which is impossible under the one crop system, f'.ud on I hat account facilities, arc afforded for cleaning

the land of weeds and noxious growths, the presence of which is a menace to the well being of the legitimate crop. Rotation of corps, however, is not everything. It must go hand in hand with manuring, and to this end it is advisable that farmers should give special attention to stock keeping. The conversion of straw, pea and potato haulm and other farm refuse into fertilising ingredients, and applying them to the soil, must on no account be neglected, and to bring th'-m to the condition required stock arc necessary. The number of stock on most, farms could be with advantage increased, aud were more care and intelligence displayed in their management much substantial benefit would result to the owners-.

CiiAHOT.Ais Cattle. Among tho French breeds of cattle none arc superior to tho CV.arolais, the cradle of which was tho country of the name, in tho Saonc-et- Loire. Originally used chiefly for purposes of draught, its natural nptitudo to fatten rapidly upon pastures, led breeders to the attempt, which has been successful, to the City in this direction. As long ago as IS3O, couut do Bouille obtained Shoithorn bulls from England, which he cro sod with purebred Charolais cows. The English blood was found to stimulate their precocity and enhance their beef-producing capacity, at the same time making the cows better milkers. The subsequent use of the Shorthorn has yeildcd the best resuits. The Charolais to day is large, strong and hardy r . The uniformly cream cloured coat, but seldom marked with tho yellowish spots which it has been the effort of breeders by selection to suppress, covers a thick but woudciful supple skin. These few remarks on the Charolais breed will serve to give point to some obseivations by Mr do Clercq in his report in the Journal q'Agriculture Pratique on tho Shorthorns at the recent, agricultural show (coucour Regioual)atMoulins. Ho cannot conclude, he says, without a wi rd on tho "marvellous di.-play " of Charolais cattle. It would hardly be possible, iu any other country, to see a collection of cattle so beautifully uniform. There were nearly 180, all immaculate white colour, and with a regularity of outline truly extraordinary. Had he a mag oian's wand ho would have transported tho whole group just as thoy stood into the sluiwyard of (hi Royal Agricultural Society of Eugland where he is certain they would have excited the uufounded admiration of thousands of breedcis who attend that exhibition. The Charolais breed, as the ro.-ult of unflagging efforts at amelioration, of infusion in the past of pura Shorthorn blood, and of gradual but rigorous selection, has attained so pronounced a fixity of typo that the animals are all alike (absolument pareils), so much so that it is a task of the greatest difficulty to distinguish one from another. Attached as he is to the Shorthorn breed—as, indeed ho is well known of English breeders to be— M. do Clercq feels it would have been unjust had he nut pail a tribute of admiration to a display in the highest degree eloquent of the skill of the I'lcnch breeder. His observations cannot fail to interest our home breeders, aid sheep breeders not less than cattle breeders.