AGRICULTURAL NOVELTIES.

Waikato Argus, Volume III, Issue 224, 18 December 1897, Page 2 (Supplement)

AGRICULTURAL NOVELTIES.

(Concluded.)

[ht j. w. ETiUS.] FRUIT-GROWING. Fruit-growing is a very large and growing industry. I had a very pleasant drive through the Kurragong orange orehards. This district is on a continuation of the Blue Mountains betweea 1000 and 2000 ft high. It was a splendid sight. The orchards which in the aggregate run into thousands of acres, were just at their best as picking hud only just commenced and the trees were laden with their golden fruit. The mandarins wero just in their prime, and we enjoyed much the chance of eating that fruit straight from the tree, and I quite agree with the general opinion there that mandarins were a far nicer fruit than the orange, The fruit is often bought by the Sydney fruit dealers on the trees, and the prices mentioned made one's mouth water. ,£BO to £SO an acre for a fair to large crop, we were told, were average prices. One lady we saw said a neighbour had sold his crop when the trees were only in bloom. At one place my companion asked the prico of land iu the rough, and was told that the piece we were then ou was sold shortly before for £BO per acre just an ordinary hill-side, but it was in the orange belt. In this district they have severe frosts, they told us, but they do not seem to affect the oranges. The original celebrated Paramatta orange groves are a thing of the past, but larger onos have taken their place in the surrounding country. At Albury, on the Murray, I had pointed out tome a vineyard of 1,(!00 acres belonging to one man. This is one of the largest, but it gives an idea of the extent of the wine-making industry. GOVERNMENT EXPERIMENTAL ORCHARDS. At all the Government farms, and there arc several, there are larger or smaller experimental orchards. The one I saw most of was at Wagga Wagga, where there lire 85 acres of fruit trees in splendid order, hardly a weed to bo seen in the whole lot. As an instance of how complete the collections are, the apple trees were pointed out to me, 400 trees, and no two alike, and so on with other fruits. The Department wisely I think, contend that it is almost as valuable to know the soi ts that do not suit the various districts as it is to decide which are the most suitable. This orchard is under Mr Allen, who has had large American ami Victorian eXperir ence at Mildurn, and is evidently a first class man for the position. PRUNING. Both Mr Calder and Mr Allen wore very emphatic about the necessity for heavy pruning, especially in the first three years, so as to get a strong well-shaped tree. The first year they cut off all their nursery trees to a straight stick about the height of your knee. Tho next year they cut out all except three or four of tho strongest shoots and cut those back to 0 to 12in, and so ou. Fruiting trees especially peaches and plums are very heavily pruned every branch and shoot is topped, cut back to half its last season's growth or more and a property pruned tree in a few years is a very compact mass of branches starting close to the ground and running up iu a vase shade with a top like an nmbrella, very different from the trees one sees as a rule in New orchards, By pruning as advised the whole tree is more confined and stronger, and fruit lower down, and is not nearly so liablo to damage from strong winds. I don't know "that this style of pruning accounts for it, but there was little or no attempt at shelter for tho orchards, THE FRUIT FLY, The fruit fly of which youy readers have heard now and again is spreading rapidly in Now South Wales, and I am afraid will in time roaoh here. When it does the codlin will have to take take a back seat. This pest lays its eggs under the skin of the fruit and is not at all particular as to sorts.—Apples, Plums, Peaches, Apricots, Oranges, Pears, in fact all fruit are almost equally acceptable, The grubs cjovolope jusjdp, and turn tho whole of the fruit into a mass of corruption. So far I am told no means have been found to combat its attacks and it is considered that it will be impossible to save the fruit after tho egg is laid, and that an effort must be devoted to finding a remedy before the fly stage is reached. LUCERNE. This is virtually the only pasturage plant sown, and was much in evidence even m mid-winter, when I was there. Sowing down land to grass as we understand it is not practiced even cultivated land being left to come into grass or weeds if fortune favours. At the Hawksbury College I saw a Suceme trial plot that had been down for sonic years there were five rows side by side, two of tliein sqwn with colonial grown seed, but from different districts one with huugarian another with America and the last with English seed supplied by the Messrs Sutton. The difference was startling, the two local lines were from end to end good strong plants, 9 to 12 inches high, but the others wore very poor, the English being tho worst of all. The plants were there but no growth and so it had been fj-om the first. I think this explains why so many people say Lucerne will not succeed in their district, as the experiment clearly showed that imported seed although of good quality and sown in a district suitable was a rank failure and I think shows the advisability of not only sowing acclimatised lucerne but all other seeds. I had a large experience with New Zealand grown grass and clover seeds, with most satisfactory results. The last few years, even with such so called " Fancy " grasses as Meadow Foxtail and Crested Dogstail, both of which grasses are doing splendidly in tho King Country although my first trials with English seeds were rank failures. My experience with the Southern grown clovers is that they are iu every respect better than the imported. I was unfortunately persuaded to give imported Red Clover another trial last autumn, results the worst take I have ever had although a heavy amount was sown per acre. POST HOLE BORER, This is one of the things I could not find in Sydney or Melbourne although I tried the principal ironmongers in both cities and had to send onp over from Auckland to show them, what a labour saving tool this was. I have had a letter from the Principal of the Hawksbury College thanking me for sending it over and saying " From what I can sec of it I believe it will bo a great success with us, the first trials turned out very satisfactory " lam much surprised that this tool is not more used }iere. It enables a man to put down at least a third more holes every day ho uses it, and being a smaller hole thore is much less ramming. I used a U in. one for ordinary posts and a lOiu. for strainers, with strainers it more than halves the work, and posts are much firmer. It has

been used here most successfully for bridge piles in the erection of the bridge erected by public subscription over the Mangaorongo River, three sets of small piles being easily put iu in a day, Of course we had to have longer pipes for tho stem to enable these holes some Oft to be sunk.

There are many people who have tried them and thrown thorn away as useless through not knowing how to use them, in all cases the first spit must be taken out with the spade, and if the blades do not " bite " properly that draw themselves iuto the earth without pressure the cutting part of each blade wants beating with a hammer ou say a wedge to open it out wider and this will want to be repeated whenever required, which is usually after about a week's work. Anyone paying attention to the above will have a tool that will pay for itself almost every day it is used. I have had between 30 and -10 miles of fencing put up the last few years, every hole of which with the exception of some of the earlier strainer holes has beeu sunk with a borer, in all kinds of soil both in bush clearings and standing bush all soils seem alike to it after the first few inches are removed, and as they are cheap and cau be obtained at all the Auckland ironmongers I should advise every one that has fencing if only a few chains to get one. THIRTY-SHILLING BEEF. At Melbourne I had the pleasure of soeiug over a thousand head of beef sold close up to 30s per lOOlbs. There were said to be buyers from all the colonies except New Zealand present, and it was very evident that there was a very strong and unsatisfied demand. The scarcity is caused by the late drought, but principally by the stoppage of tho Northern Queensland supplies. I naturally enquired what chance there was of a profitable outlet for our 15s beef, but I found the import duty of £2 a head and the freight etc ; prevented this, I wonder when we shall see a market running from £lO to £lB a head for steers in New Zealand ?