FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume II, Issue 131, 8 May 1897, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

Colonial Meat ox the Continent.— The attcmpl to introduecAustra'inn frozen meats into Austria-Hungary, which failed a few years ago, is to bo repeated. Herr Estermann and Liuzelbcrger, two Austriuus in tho meat trade, have gone to Queensland to try to make arrangements for the export of "meat from that colony to Vienna. Pit in Kvi.hy Acre Yoit Can.—ln a letter relative to the position of the wheat market on the other side of the globe, Mr J. 31. Sinclair, tho representative of the Victorian Agricultural Department in London, gives some interesting information. He says :—" Prices for wheat have fallen here rc'confly, which is frae->ablo_t > the operation in ' futures : being curried on in tho American markets. This "•ambling in 'futures' operates badly against the fanner, and it i-t surprising that legislation has not been brought to bear against it in every country. The Ucrmans have taken this question up, and other countries should follow. Wheat would be 36s here at present if it were not for the market being ' beared ' by the ' future' operators. Per next season my advice to you is, put in every aero of wheat you possibly can. Handling Bilk Guain.—Mr J. if Sinclair writes on this subject thus :—" I am perfectly satisfied that w» will have to come to bulk bundling of grain in the Colony yet, if production is to increase and tho producer intends to secure for himself a fair margin, les-i expenso". The initial difficulties wiilhavo to bo faced and surmounted sooner or later, aud we should endeavour to prove ourselves equal to tho occasion with all possible promptitude. Any help or assi-tance I can give on this side will be gladly furnished. I hold the view with regard to future price of wheat that wo will not sec a very 'ong range of values for some years to come. Tho financial depre-sion in the Western States of North America, the recent failure of banks throughout Kansas, Nobiuski), Dakota, and Illinois will give a savero check to grain growing there. In Russia the stress of low prices lias placed the farmers in au impoverished condition, aud in India tho present famine will chf;ck production for years to come." x >: yNational Granaries.—A proposal by Mr Verburgh, M.P., is coming up for discussion in the Houso of Commons shortly, in which the establishment of national granaries is advocated. It was pointed out that the gravest defect, in tho system of defence in the United Kingdom was her dependence on the foreigner for wheat. For GO days the British people live on British-grown wheat, and for tho balance of the year they are dependent on foreign-grown grain. At any particular moment ttvo people out of six had to eat bread manufactured from foreign wheat or starve. The erection of 13 granaries, each capable of holding 20,000 tons of wheat, at a cost of £-1,00;}, 000, is to be proposed, the grain to cost C 17,000,000. That would be about 10,000,000 quarters, or one-third of a year's supply. The propetal is to be strongly opposed by millers and wheat-dealers generally, they being of the opinion that the wheat so stored would bo liable to serious deterioration in quality, while, as there would always bo possibility of a largo quantity of grain being thrown suddenly on the market, a permanent depro-sion in prices would result. The outcome of the scheme will be watched with interest. Mottled Butter.—Tho most common causoof mottled butter is unequal distribution of salt. If we take two lots of butter each made in exactly the samo manner, salt the one, but not the other, we shall notice in a few hours that the colour of the salted butter is deeper than that of the other. Why this should bo so is not exactly known, but the fact remains, and if the salt is not properly distributed iu the butter, it is easy ta see that that part which contains the largest quantity of salt will be deeper in colour than the rest. If a sample of mottled butter is examined, aud a small piece removed from the lightest coloured spots, it will be found on tasting that there is no salt in it. Although unequal disttbution of salt is tho most frequent cause of mottled butter, it is not the only one. When milk set in shallow pans is situated so that a drying wind blows over the pans, the cream will diy on tho top. When churned, same of this cream, owing to its hardness, will not turn into butter, and will remain light coloured, or the colour of tho cream. This will make mottled buttsr, or butter with white spjcki in it. The remedy in this case is to strain the cream before putting it iuto the churn. Yet another ciuse is omitting to stir the cream when in the cream holder. If this is not done, some of the milk which is taken up with the cream settles to the bottom of the can, and if the cream is kept three or four days before churning, this milk forms a curd which is lighter coloured than tho butter, and when broken up forms white specks in the butter. Tin: Buyinc; Makksts ton Wool,— The Trading Woild (London), states -. "It has been plain for some years past that the sale of wool must be conducted either in London or Australia. London might have retained tho wool trade but Australia has beaten her right out of the field. Wo cannot say we are glad of it—we arc not —but it was the decaying wool against the tempered steel. It is pride aud parsimony against work and enterprise. The London wool brokers are few iu number, rich in means, and of lato years have become the House of Laids of the wool trade. We have discussed this ma'ter for tho last eight or nine years, but their supinenesj is intractable. Tho London wool trade is in its enfeeblement ; it will soon be in its dotage, for the softening of the wool trade brain goes on apace. Those who are interested in watching the way the ' cat jumps' can see that the bulk of tho wool trade litis left Colera-no street, and (hat the only buying markets to be sure of getting a chance of the finest clips are Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and the New Zealand towns. Inferior fleece wools, scoured wools, locks and pieces, seedy, burry and dirty wools looked up in the interior after the season's sales are over, these may yet grace the Coleman street sales, but the choice combing and clothing clips- -the standard wools that Australia is proud of—will find their way direct from the Melbourne and other Australian sale rooms to the factories of the Continent, and if our Yorkshire buyers are wise they will secure what they want in Australia, taking from London only coarse wools to strengthen their shoddy." x x x Bacon and Hams.—" Drover," iu the Otago Witness, writes as follows:—The demand for hams and baeon for export is far gteatcr then the supply. Our local curers arc refusing orders, as pigs to suoply orders cannot at presant be secured. There seems to bo a rooted dislike to pigs among our farmers generally, which is to be regretted, and we never seem to go ahead in tic's branch of stock rearing. The pig is looked upon as a dirty beast by farmers. As a matter of fact, he is no more so than any other animal if properly kept and attended to, and likes a clean bed ;n well as, and perhaps better, thin an; ether beast. 1 am aware he does not yet it generally, but that is not hia fault. I sec some line farms are to be cut up into small blocks, .and 1 am of opinion that on these pigs wotdd pay better than any other stock. Our Government have provided instruct ors for dairying, fruit-raising, Sr., and o.ie of the most useful moves would be to provide proper instruction in the rearing and care of pig-, for it is a positive disgrace to us. and a souice of immen.-c loss, that at the present moment we have not an export trade of magnitude in hams and bacon. I am 0 aiviuced that tin's state of matters is due to the general ignorance of

fanners as to the rearing, eiru, mul fattening of pigs. Those who do know something nboni these matters do well, but the number of such is few indeed. Various parts of Ati-tr.tli 1, the islands of (lie Pacific, and other pities which should now bo supplied by us arc at the present moment supplied with bams and bacon from Britain and America. DAMP WOOL. A DISASTROUS SHIPMENT. " Nandewar."' a contributor to the Australasian I'.i-turilisls" Review, has the following in the last issuo of that journal : —" There has, it appears, been a lot of argument lately in London about the Waikafo's damaged wool, ['"or cue ship, it as alleged, 11,000 and odd bales are affected, it is a record '.smash. 1 Once I was on a wool ship from Adelaide to London. Never mind where we filled up ; it wasn't at the former port. But hundreds of bales were brought on the wharf from the dumping house and stacked there and covered with tarpaulins, (bio day a storm came along and blew tho«o tarpaulins right across Spencer's Gulf. There was also a little rain—not much—which damped the lops of the stack of bales. ' Damaged !' said the c:ate of the vessel. ' Not a bit of it,' said the agent, 1 let 'em lie in the sun for an hour and they'll be as tight as ever.' So, apparently, they were, and in due course down thoy went into the hold where ' crinoline ' and 'nobbier' screws soon sandwiched them into their pi ices—two in one. Well, it is hard to tell where or how soon the mi-chief began--probably long before New Zealand was rounded on the stretch fov Cape Horn. Anyhow, it was remarked during the passage that even in the cold weather the fok'sle was snug and warm, whilst in the saloon the stove was not needed. In the tropics the heat fore and aft, below, was almost unbeatable. ' Quito a warm weather ttip, indeed !' exclaimed all bauds And no one suspected the truth for a minute, or if anyone did they held their tongues. The only matter of any siguifioano was that the old skipptr carried six topgallant sails where, in the ordinary state of things, he would have only carried three. But that may have been a mere detail. However, when the hatches were taken off in the Southwest India dock this was the cargo—a brown, baked, hot mass into which, on tha dumping bands being taken oft', you couldn't put your hand without raising a blister. It looked for all the world as if every flecc3 had been cut from black sheep, soaked in boiling water, half dried in a lime kiln, then pressed and dumped. A row? Well, there was rather. Wool, you see, in those days was wool, and worth a shilling and over the pound weight. And all sorts of people swore all sons of things on behalf of the ship, the consignors, and the insurance companies. Eventually the latter ' fell in,' and to an extent that made some of them feel very uncomfortable. This, of course, is all apropos of the Waikato, whoso wool turned out to bo exactly similar condition, and as an object lesson in showing what harm even slightly wet bales may work in a wholo cargo. Oh, and by the way, in all their searchings after tho truth, that little incident of tho ' willy-willy ' on the pier at never como to light. And after this yarn we come quite naturally to the point at issue. Of course, in Brisbane (where tho Waikato loaded), they don't let bales get damp at this time of flay although much of their contents are not worth Is scoured, let alone in the grease. But at many Queensland and other stations ono of tho most important adjuncts to a woolshcd—viz., a woolroom, is, as our literary journalists put it, ' conspicuous by its absence.' As the bales come from the press they are rolled out on to a rough platform of saplings, sometimes only their own thickness off the ground. Each day's work is added to the pile, heaped up 30ft high, waiting for a carrier. Each evening the great stack is covered with more or less—generally lesswaterproof tarpaulins, old bags, tents, woolpacks, anything at all, as it gets higher and bulkier. And then, ono night most likely, comes long ' willy-willy.' Presto !' away fly tho coverings ; down pours the rain ; mud, lights, all hands ; limitless profanity ; wet bales by the dozen. Carriers refuse them ? Not he ! Railway ?' Not much ! By the time they arrive at the ship's side, and the dumping machine has had its will of them, they arc all one colour. Result ; for the sake of tho ,outlay of £2OO or less, perhaps C 10,000 worth of damage done. Another result; Presently tho insurance companies will refuse to insure airy shod that has no woolroom, or any clip that has not been stored in one.—Q..E.D." EATIONAL MANURING. Tho following hints which arc extracted from a pamplet just written by Mr Jules Rcnard, who is so acknowledged tin authority on tho subject thr.t they need no apology for their reproduction. " All plants, in order to grow to best advantage, requiri light, heat, air, water, cultivation, and a fertile soil. By cultivation is meant tho thorough clearing of the soil; its loosening by the plough and breaking up by tho harrows or other agricultural implements into a fine, loose, easily-workable condition, and its disintegration with lime where too much clay or sulphate of iron exists. By a fertile soil is meant a soil capable of.producing rich and abundant crops. Two factors are requisite to such a soil; Ist, a physical condition adapted to the crop to be sown—-viz., a sandy, loamy, or chocolate or black soil; and, 2nd, a Sufficiency of plant food suitablo to the crop, and in a state allowing assimilation. But the use of fertilizers alone will not ensure good crops. I ho same manure which feeds the crop also feeds weeds. A more perfect and painstaking cultivation —viz.. or'o providing for hoeing and weeding, either by hand or machinerywill be required in many cases. An abundant supply of plant food, a careful cultivation and a favourable season, must all unite in producing a rich harvest. First of all, it should bo tho object of tho farmer to select the soil best suited to the crop he means to grow ; or else, to adapt the soil he possesses to the same crop, either by deep or shallow ploughing, by drainage, by breaking up the soil, and by supplying it with manures which it is detieient in. Every crop removes from the soil a portion of the plant food contained therein, continuous cropping will in time exhaust the richest soil unless the farmer restores the nutritive elements that, have been removed. Agriculturalchemistryhaa demonstrated that plant life calls imperatively for four prime forms of plant food. These are phosphoric acid, potash, nitrogen, and lime. The annual products of the farm (grain, roots, grass, vegetables, milk, etc.) remove from the soil large quantities of nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. A portion of these elements is returned to the soil in the shape of stable maniKO, but the latter only returns 1 95 per cent, of the above oon-timentß ; and, as the remainder have been lost, the capacity of the farm can only be maintained by the use of commercial fertilizers. From the fact that in all New Zealand farms the supply of stable manure is insuilicicnt, it becomes necessary to increase the supply of plant food by buyirg commercial fertilizers. Potash.—The greatest potash supply in the world is found at Stassfurt, in Germany, where soluble potash salts are mined in quantity. Kainit is tho general form of the potash salt in its natural state. It contains chlorine in conjunction with both potash and soda, and isspecially valuable upon sandy soils. Kainit is valued, not only for its fertilizing properties, but for its power of curing plant disease and of destroying insect pe.-ts. Muriate and sulphate of po'.ash, concentrated, although expensive manures, arc the cheapest form of potash for all high culture. Tho former is generally preferable foi most cultures, bul. the latter is the uuly out; suitable for tobacco

oranges, sugar cane, and sugar bo I. Kainit is splendid for grasses, both for pasture .and for lawns, and particularly suitable for fruit-trees, with the exception of oranges and lemons. Wood ashes are also a valuable source of potash, but the amount contained is small. Where timber has been burned on the farm the ashes will form good manure if spread. Stable manure, when allowed to decompose by exposure of the air, loses a portion of its nitrogen in the form of ammonia. This can bo prevented by scattering kainit over the manure heaps from time to time as it accumulates. Tho application should be liberal, and will repay the farmer. Swampy or peaty soils which consist largely of " humus," arc usually rich in nitrogen. Such soils need lime, potash, and phosphoric acid. The applications of these fertilizers is often followed by an enormous increase in the crops. Lime improves these soils by rotting any organic matter present and making it available for plant food. Potash salts should be applied in tho autumn and winter. They thus give their greatest, return. If not practicable it should be made some lime before sowing or planting. It must have rain to act properly, and. with an early application of muriate of potash or of kainit, tho rain has litno to wash awry the chlorine, while the potash will be fixed by tho soil as well as (ho soda. Practical experiments made in South Australia have shown that, where wheat is sown with tho drill, together with phosphate, the manure being drilled in with the seed, the result is to increase tho return by 30 per cent., while the plant resists the dry weather much better than by manuring broadcast. Phosphoric acid and potash will prove of slight value when applied as " top dressing." During tho growing season when so applied, these fertilizers will stay 011 the surface and out of reach of raots of plants. Water is absolutely necessary to dissolve the matter and carry it down in a weak solution to tho roots of the plants, where it acts as feeder and .stimulant. Consequently, tho season has everything to do with the results, and farmers should not blame the manures unless their application in a favourable season and with good cultivation produces no results. Phosphoric acid aud potash are " fixed" or retained by the soil. They are not volatile, nor do they reach through the ground. It is quite a differcLt matter with nitrogen, a portion of which goes off into tho atmosphere in the shape of ammonia. The plants absorb what they want, and the balance is lost or washed away. Consequently, nitrate of soda can be applied with profit as a top dressing, the same as sulphate of ammonia duriug tho growing season. The kind and amount of fertilizers needed by a ceitain crop aipon a certain soil can best be determined by experimant, and depends not only on tho amount of plant food which tho soil already contain", but also upon tho physical condition of tho soil and tho naturs of previous crops. The amounts of the fertilizers for various crops must bo varied according to the requirements of the soil and in accordance with the prevailing conditions on each individual farm. AVe can only give indications as guides to intelligent farmers who will take the trouble to study their land.