FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 312, 9 July 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

Pkuning.—Practical orchardists know the importance of regular yearly care, of their trees, and that a neglected tree can never be what it would have been if it had been regularly cared for. Blemishes caused by years of neglect can never be got rid of by after pruning. Some persons appear to think that a kind of slaughter every four or five years in which the trees are ruthlessly cut back, will take the place of the annual pruning. It Mill not. The fruit-bearing spurs, which care would have produced, cannot now be got by any means, and the fruit yield of the tree is 1 educed by half, and the regular annual pruning would take no more time than the attempt to make up for the neglect once in four or five years.

To Tell a Yotog Fowl From an Old Hen.—ln lifting up the wing, and pushing aside the feathers of the sides, you will find in the case of a young hen, a long down, light and close, arranged regularly between the other feathers which cover these parts of the body. Through the skin, which is of a delicate and rosy tissue, the very small blue veins will be apparent. In a hen more than a year old, the down and the veins will have disappeared, the skin is dull, white and dry, less smooth, and somewhat farinaceous-looking. The smooth leg, with fine bright scales, is also one of the best indications. A hen that has laid has the anus very large, one that has not laid has it very straight, and this organ commences to stretch-when the pullet begins to lay.—Exchange, t t t

Testing a Small Number of Cows. —An American authority gives the following plan, which has been very successfully followed at one of the experimental stations, in testing a small number of cows:—Save about 2oz of each cow's milk separately iu glass bottles or cans ; at the next milkini? add the same quautity or a proportional quantity. A composite sample of the day's milk is thus obtained, and while still fresh is mixed, and then by means of a small pipette, 5.9 C, is measured into a test bottle twice the size of those ordinarily ased. The milk of six days can be measured directly into the testing bottles and then tested. The milk is measured while sweet and fresh, and will not harm if it sours in the test bottles. No preservatives need be used. The milk sample of 4oz cau thus be saved, and there is no loss through the taking of large samples. ' t t t

Destroying Snails.—A method of destroying snails and slugs is described in the Journal de l'Agricultnre. The destructive molluscs seek refuge in hedges and shrubs, and the plan is to spray these, especially near the ground, and before the appearance of the leaves of deciduous shrubs, with a weak solution of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol, or bluestoiie), the strength not exceeding 4 per cent. Morning or evening is the best time for spraying, and the snails will be speedily killed. After the foliage has appeared sulphate of copper by itself becomes injurious, but, Bouillie bordelaise (lime and sulphate of copper solution), or better still Bouillie bourquignonne (sulphate of copper and carbonate of soda dissolved in equal parts), should be sprayed vigorously into the midst of thebushes. For ivy-covered walls it will suffice to sprinkle sulphate of copper solution along the bottom of the walla only. tit

Milk Poisoning.—A series of cases of milk-poisoning, attributed to the use of pasteurised milk, are recorded in the New York Medical Record, and it is pointed out how large is the number and variety of bacteiia, which are not destroyed by this process. Even the acidproducing bacteria are left in sufficient profusion to increase rap ; dly unless the pasteurised milk is kept on ice, a thing which it is obviously impossible to ensure. In milk, however, which had been sterilised at a temperature of 90deg. or 92deg. C, the acidity remained stationary for from three days to three weeks, without ice, in the warmest weather. The conclusion arrived at by the author of the paper is that pasteurised milk is an uncertain, and in some cases a very dangerous, food for infauts, and that in the domestic sterilisation of milk it should be heated at least to a temperature of 90dej>. to lOOdeg. C, the latter being the preferable temperature, for 10 minutes.

The Proper Temperature for Churning.—Cream should be cooled down at least half an hour before churning to the proper temperature. No hard-and-fast rule could be laid down as to this, but under average conditionH cream should be churned at about 50 to 52 deg. in summer, and at 52 to 54 desr, or even 55 deg. in winter. Churning above these temperaturos resulted in a loss of buttermilk. It might be urged that the difference between the fat contents of butter-milk churned at 55 deg. and that churned at 50 deg. might be too small to compensate for the trouble of cooling the cream the extra 5 deg. ; but it must not be forgotten that the butter was far more easily freed from batter-milk if churned at the lowest temperature, and less washing would suffice. Churning should be stopped when the granules were the size of pin's heads. If the cream was all of equal ripeness all the fat could be extracted at that stage, and to go beyond it was simply to injure the texture of the butter.

Animal Food for Poultry.—Animal food is to a large extent the natural food for fowls. The most natural food is worms, insects and other things of a like nature. Fowls fed on such a diet are far richer and higher flavoured than on a purely grain food. This is one reason why the fowls of France are so splendid in flavour. They are allowed to wander at will among the vines in the vineyards, and in this way obtain the food they desire. However, where poultry are kept iu confinement, it would be injurious if they were allowed to have much animal food, nor do they need it. To get out of the system the elements derived from these rich foods it is essential that the fowls be more exposed, and have an abundance of exercise, which they cannot get in confinement. Poultrymen should, therefore, be most careful in giving artificial animal food. A proportion is necessary, but it is only a small pjoportion, except in winter, when there is much greater demand upon the heat reserves than at any other season of the year. Household scraps are the best of all.

(Jurr-Kii Horses.— Contrary to what might he expected, clipped horses are much less liable to colds than those which are undipped. A cold dry skin is less injuriors than one that is wet and cold. A long winter coat of the horac drenched with rain is 'difficult to dry upon his" return to the stable. And if thoroughly dried, horses clothed in long hair arc liable to break out into a sweat in the course of the night, and may lie found with cold damp coats when the stable door is opened in the morning. It is hard, with our present experience, to understand the aversion to clipping displayed by otherwise competent authorities many years ago. Such a writer as Stewart, in his " Stable Economy," opposed clipping with much show of argument. Hut expzrienot: proves his supposed facta to have r.o foundation, and his conclusions therefore wrong. The clipped horse, steaddy worked by day and suitably clothed at night, is much less liable to colds and inflammation of the respiratory organs than a horse retaining a heavy, long winter coat. '■ A clipped horse invariably ini. proves iu condition, provided bis food i a

the same in quantity and quality after the operation as before. To state the subject in another way, on equal rations the clipped horse is capable of doing more work than the undipped,—Exchange. t 1 t

A Simple Wav on Making Superphosphate. —An American exchange points out that every farmer Ins on his premises one of the best super-phosphite manures known. The elements are found in the old bones scattered carelessly over the yard, garden, and form, aud common wood ashes generally aliowod t> go to waste. If the boues are gathered, placed under shelter, mixed with three or four times their bulk of ashes, kept moist inh water enough to make a good-lye, and occasionally stirred and mixed, they will in a few months become so tender and friable that they may be pounded into powder, aud in this state they from a valuable manure. Tho ashes should be mixed with the bone.

The Best Pjg to Keep.—An interesting experiment was lately made at the lowa Experiment station with the view of deciding as to the relative merits of the leading American and English breeds of pigs in the way of economic feeding. There were six breeds of pigs chosen—namely, the Chester white, Duroc Jerseys aud Poland Chinas, representing the pigs,,, of the United States ; 'and tiie Berkshire, large Yorkshire whitec, and Tamwjrths, representing the English breeds. The feeding period extended from June 1 to November 1, and gave the following results: The PolandChinas made an average gain of 1- 141 b per day, at a cost of l'-Sdol per lb of gain. The Duroc Jerseys made an average daily gain of 1 "091 b, at a cost of 1-Odol per lb of gain. The Tamworths made a daily gain of DOOlb, at a lost of 2'ldol per lb. The Yorkshires mado a dally gain of 1 *l6lb, at a cost of l.Odol per lb. The Chester white made a daily gain of l-2Glb, at a cost of 2-ldol per lb"; and tho Berkshires gained 1.031 b per day, at a cosd of 2dol per lb. The pigs were exhibited at the Chicago Fat Stock Show, and excited a deal of interest. The per-centage-of dressed carcase to live weight was as follows:—Berkshires. 7G - 2 ; Duroc Jerseys, 77*1 ; Poland Chinas, 78-4 ; and Yorkshires, 79-3. There are two things in this contest that will come as a surprise to Australian pig-breeders, and they are the low position occupied by the Berkshires and the superiority of the large Yorkshire whites over all others. It is only natural to conclude that the specimens of the American breeds would be of the very best, while of the Yorkshires there was only one lot available. In Australia there is a prejudice against white pigs, the general belief being that they are more delicate of constitution than coloured ones and are liable to bo sunburned. t t t How Drought Benefits the Soil.— Farmers, take comfort. The Farmers' Magazine says that a drought benefits the soil. The loss of mineral matter from the soil results from the fact that it is taken up by tho growing crops and carried away by tho surface water flowing into streams. These two causes are always in operation, and were there no sources of supply" would in time render the earth a barren waste. The diminution which arises from continued cropping is in part restored by manures, but this supply is small, uncertain, and in the colony of limited application. Providence has provided natural means to restore lost mineral constituents to our arable land. At intervals droughts occur to bring up deeper undersoil food for the use of plants when the rain shall again fall to dissolve and bring them-into action, A drought acts upon the moisture in earth as follows :—During dry weather a continual evaporation takes place from the soil, which creates a vacuum (so far as the water in the surface soil is concerned), that is at once followed by water rising from the subsoil extending deeper and deeper as the drought continues and the moisture is exhaled; a circulation of water iu the earth manifests itself in the drying up of springs aud wells and streams that are supported by springs. Not only is water thus brought to the surface of the earth but also all that tbe water holds in solution. These are salts "of lime and magnesia, of potash and soda, or indeed whatever the subsoil or top stratum of the earth may contain. The water on reaching tho surface is evaporated, but leaves behind it lime and potash, its phosphates, silicates, carbonates, and salts—all indispensables to the growth of the vegetable products of the farm. These hecome imbued with the carbonic acid, and thus refertilise the soil. —Contributed to the North Otago Times.

G A EDEN AND OECHAED. WORK FOR JULY. The Orchard.— Pruoing of all kinds of trees should be proceeded with wiiho'ut delay. In pruning young trees, it is merely necessary to determine on the required shape, and out accordingly. Bearing trees that have been , properly attended to during summer by pinching, &c, will not require much pruning—merely cutting in the leading shoots, and removing such- branches as spoil uniformity. Tlie common practice is to leave them from year to year, and prune iu winter. The habit of the tree must be a strong grower, never cut shoots hard buck, as the buds at base will all develop themselves mto wood-buds. If the shoots are left long, those buds will form fruit spur 3. The weaker-growing sorts may be cut close. Do not delay priming of vines. Attend to pruning and training of wall trees. Trees on which the scale, or American blight, has made its appearance should be washed with a solution of Gishurst's compound. Prune Apples, Pears, Raspberries, Currants, and Gooseberries. The Kitchen Garden.—Plant Jerusalem Artichokes ; light sandy soil suits them best. Plant in rows about two feet apart, and 35 inches in the rows. This very useful vegetable may be taken up and stored in the latter part of April ; but it is better to leave it in the ground and take up as required. Planting Asparagus should now be proceeded with iu the beds prepared previously. The teds should be formed {our feet wide, to contain three tows of plants, leaving a margin of nine inches on either side of the bed, the plants nine inches apart in rows. Iu the latter part of this mouth a few early Potatoes may be planted, and a small sowing of Lettuce, Radish, Onions, Mustard, Cress, Peas, and Beans. Cover JSeakule for blanching. Stable manure should be got ready for making Cucumber beds. Turn it over, shaking it well, watering ic each time. Particular attention should be paid to the turning, as it will give a more moderate as well as a more lasting heat. Work ground to as fine a tilth as possible, and top dross beds with wood ashes and lime.

The loss of life from whooping-cough in London is in some years more than three times as great as that from scarlet fever. Before an invited company ac the Egyptain-hall, London recently, Mr Maskelyno presented two new illusions described as being " absolutely new in principle." We can only speak of them as absolutely mystifying to the spectator in front. In the one a receptacle is put together tcfore the eyes of the company, then suspended by cords, and after a little hocus-pocus a living man emerges from it. The other illusion is a case of what is known as levitation. A man is laid Hit upon a low platform, and then fanned into the air, rising about a yard. That he is not suspended by wires, or supported by rods is shown by the fact that his body is passed through a steel hoop, which had been previously examined by the, spectators The performance is conducted by Mr Maskelync and Mr Dlevant, attired as Japanese jugglers.