FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume VI, Issue 443, 3 June 1899, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

A Profitable Deal.—List year an up-country settler bought some ewes in Fielding at 3a per head. He sot one limb and about 71b of wool from each._ Ho sold the lambs thrte months ago at <h 6d, and the owes he sold a few days ago at Bots ADHKRiNf; to Sapks.— Some days ago, writes the Moeraki O'lrreapondent of the P. and W. Times, on lifting an old Back on which I had laid wmo small birds' eggs found in the corner of the stable in the laying season. I was surprised to find over a dozen maggots of the bot-fly holding fast to the sack, similar to those found in the stomach of the horse. Tne hot fly had laid her eggs on the decomposed matter, on which the grubs had fed. It required some force with a piece of wood to rerrove thom from their hold. The Cleanly Pio.— Whoever would raiso hogs without dheaso (and this is necessary to obtain the highest profit) must get rid of the notion that the hog ia naturally a filthy animal, that filth is less distasteful and unhealthy to him th«i) to the steer or horse, and that it is impossible because of the nature of the animal to surround the hog with sanitary conditions. Filth is a prolific source of disease among the animals, ami because the lmg is b ought into contact with the most filth, there is the most disease among swine. Filth opposes the health and thrift of swine, just as it opposes the health of horse or man. Tne firet step io growing hogs without disease is to keep filth away from them, to give them clean food, clean drink, clean quarters, clean shelter.—'Farming.'

EaCH IN Tprx.—A curious method of agriculture is followed in Dorraine. The uninitiated would be surprised to see printed notice that " a certain pond, with an area of about "0 acres, is to let ; it has a very fertile soil, which will require no mauiire of any kind for years, and is very suitable for fish-breeding." The fact is this : There are several such ponds that are used for a period of, say, five years, well stocked with fish which are productive for market. At the end of this time the water is drawn oft and the ground cropped, first with flix or oats, afterwards with wheat, rye, etc , perhaps finally with potatoes and other vegetables. Then, when the eround shows signs of getting exhausted, the fish period sets in again. And with this eccentric method of cultivation great harvests are usually produced.

Endurance of Shkep.—An iustanae of the power of endurance of sheep is furnished by the Nhill Mail. Mr F. Miles, of Denyurrak, near the South Australian border, lost 18 sheep, which ub could not find, though he searched through all his paddocks, Eighteen day* after the sheep were missed he happened to open the door and enter an unoccupied house on the property, and here found the whole of the sh6ep, one only of the number missing being d«ad. It is thought that the animals entered the place for shelter, and that while there a gust of wind slammed and bolted tho door, making them prisoners without food or water. The mortar of tho walls was gnawed away around the house to such a height as the sheep could reaoh by placing tbeir fore feet against the walls. War on Boston Sparrows.—By order of the Boston city authorities a crusade against sparrows has been commenced there, and a large force cf men has b n en employed to destroy their nests. Orders were recently given that the sparrows should be shot, caged, or otherwise exterminated ; but the mayor decided to confino operations to their nests until he formally heard the protests of the Society for tho Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and other friends of the birdi. Sparrows were introduced into Amerioa from England about forty years ago, and have multiplied to an enovraou* extent. It is alleged that they have driven away the native birds, spread disease and filth, destroyed trees and flowers, and otherwise become a public nuisance. The general verdict (reports a " Daily Mail " correspondent) is that the sparrows must go.

His Geouraphy at Fault.—A gentleman who recently visited the Old Country iu connccrion with the frozen meit, writes:—When in Newoastle on Tyue I struck a frozen meat ebop, and was locking at the meat when one of the attendants asked me if I wished to buy somo prime New Zealand mutton Ho couid let me have a grand log of mutton at Gd pi-r l l >. I remarked that the moat had neverseon New Zealand ; that I came from there, and that we should be ashamed to snnd Home such s v uff as he was exhibiting. Ho stuck to it that the meat camo from Now Zetland, and the manager, hearing the controversy over it came out and also asserted that it \Tfl« Diimo New Zealand meat. I said at last, " Well, 1 know what it is. It is Sydney mutton, and coor at that." The man immediately retorted: "Well, where't Sydney but in New Zealand."

Bottled Milk. The demand for bottled mi'k is growing in New York, and to all except the cheap trade milk is supplied in this form, The milk is bottled both in the city after it has been shipped iu 40-quart cane in the country on the farm. The highest class dairies have their milk bottled on the farm, but cheap imitators of them bottle it in the city. When bottled on the farm, onethird of the contents of the bottle usually shows cream. Ono of the most success ful dairy comp-ni"s in the city seals the top of the milk battle at the dairy, and advises its customers to refuse to take any with the seed broken. This is eertaiuly ; n effective way of getting around the small retailer who frequently waters liia milk. The standard price of milk has been eight cents a quart for many years ; but there are plenty of stores which sell mik at five and six cents a quart. This is all can milk, and is never sold for lees than seven or eight cents in bottles. Device for the Collection of Crkau. A device for use in connection with milk pan« the object of which is to provide a fiimplo and efficient means to allow of the croam beiDg quickly, easily and thoroughly separated from the milk without any of the milk being taken away from it, has been patented by Mr L. Arnott, of Cork. Tho utensil consists of a perforated disc, approximately of the size and shape of the bottom of the milk pan, and thii iti furnished with a pair of handle.*, one upon eachsido, of a sufficient length to a convenient distance above the top of the milk pan. The perforated di«c is placed within the milk pan, when the milk is poured in and allowed to stand a sufficient time for the collection of the ere*m. The cream can then be completely removed without any admixture of milk by raising the disc by the handles and lifting it out of the pan, tho milk running through the holts formed in the disc for the purpose.

Cuakses and Wool.—Some time ago, writes " Lasa," in. the Sydney Mail, I listened to a discussion between two graziers on the possible influence on the growth of wool possessed by certain fodder plants. It was stated by one of the speaker* that finding the. feed getting rather short in a paddock wherein some 2000 sheep were running, he took 500 of them away and put them in a small rivor piddock. The grasses growing in tho large puddock were tussock arid other plain grassen with a little wi d bailey and a small patch of wild clover. The river paddock contaiued for the greater part wild clover and barley grasi, and patches of variegated and sow thistles When the sheep ware divided their condition was first class, the growth of wool was closo on six months, the quality of the wool tending more towards fine than medium. The sheep were dry four-tooth ewes and were left in their respective paddocks until shearing time. la the meantimo the rainfall had not been largo, but sufliciont to give the sheep plenty of feed. When the »heep were Icing (.horn

it was found that while the fleeces of the sheep running in the large paddock had kept up the quality of the staple, those of the sheep tunning in the river paddock had to bo classed as fairly strong wool. The question then arose as to which tirafS or other feed growing in that paddock was actually responsible for Iho change in the quality of the wool. Now, it is a well-known fact that lucerne does exercise a great influence on the fleece of sheep that have been fed on it for a length of time, the staplo loosing a good dsal of it* lustre, and becoming *traighter. On the othor hand, it increases the weight of fleece. Lucerne is considered Ihe ot feeds. Wild clover, known better as the undesirable buir clover, is allied to the lucerne, and sheep will fatten on it quickly. There must have been a gre'it flush of this clover in the river paddock, and to this only can the change in quality be attributed. Of native gras*es the fino needle grass the Riverina plains and of English grasses perennial rye grass may be considered the bent grasses to ensure quality of the fleece. This depends, however, on the state of the paddock. If there is a flush of feed and sheep got too fat, the quality will be affected ; if just sufficient, the wool will be bright and lustrous, and even what is known as strong wool will have its fibre considerably softened. Drunknkss in Houses.—Temperance orators (says the ' British Medical Journal ') are in the habit of holding up animals as examples to mankind in the matter of temperance. It may be freely admitted that beasts are in general not addicted to alcohol. Now, we are far from agreeing with Lord Byron that • man, being reasonable, must get drunk,' but we suspect that it is the want of reason that to a large extent keeps animals sober. Besides, is not their sobriety exaggerated ? Some time ago Mr Andrew Lang gave currency to a painful scandal about certain geese iu the north of Scotland which, he said, were in the habit of getting drunk by drinking the water of a stream into which a brewery discharged its refuse. It turned out that the charge was unfounded, and Mr Lang withdrew it, with an apology to the calumniated fowls. Bees, however, have been known to acquire a taste for alcohol. The lamented Jumbo, we believe, drank with evident relish any number of bottles of whisky offered him by his admirers. M. Zola, iti his unsavory novel, 'La Terre,' gives a lively description of the disorderly conduct of a donkey, by name Gedeou, who drank a qnautity of new wine at a vintage feast. Now there comes, on the authority of our sober contemporary, ' D<s Temps,' a strange story of a horse belonging to a w'ne merchant, which was found, likt Bill Nye, 'in a shockingly dissolute state,' lying in the midst of broken bottles in a cellar. When placed on his feet the animal at once fell down again, and the help of a body of sapeurspomkiers was required to get him out of the cellar to his stable. He was thought to be suffering from some mysterious disease, but the veterinary surgeon who was called in declared that he was dead drunk, adding that he presented the signs of being a confirmed tippler. His owner then recalled the fact that for some months it had been observed that the horse had attacks of what was taken to be vertigo—staggering and falling down without apparent cause. During the same period a series of depredations hid been committed in the wine cellar, the most puzzling feature in the matter being that the thief did not carry away any wine, but consumed it on the premises, Ic was then remembered that tho attacks of vertigo with which the horse was afflicted coincided with the supposed thief's visit to the cellar. The origin of the poor beast's fall into these deplorable habits was traced to what may be called a therapeutic administration of the stimulant. On one occasion, when the horse had been overworked, his oats had boen stepped in wine ; this acted to well that it was repeated, till a la/.y stable-boy, to save himself trouble, made the horse drink the wine out of the bottle. The next step was that the intelligent horse at night fouud his way to the cellar and drank at his case, opening the bottles, as it would appear, by breaking the neck. The moral of this edifying story is obvious. ORCHARD AND GARDEN. "WORK FOR JUNE. Tut'; Orchard,—Pruning all kinds of fruit trees can now be proceeded with. In pruning young trees, it is merely ncoessary to detsrmitie on tho required shape, and cut accordingly. Bearing trees that have been properly attended to during the summer by pinching, eto., will not re quire much pruning—merely cutting in the leading shoots, and removing such branches as spoil uniformity. The common practico is to leave thom from year to year, and prune in winter. The habit of th"i tree must bo a guide. Should the tree be a strong grower, nes'er cut tho shoots hard back, as the buds at baso will all develop themselves iDto wood-buds. If the shoots are loft long, those buds will form fruit spurs. The weaker growing sorts may be cut close. The Garden.—Follow directions given last month with regard to making new beds, etc. Plant out cabbage and cauliflower for early spring. Plant potato onions and garlic. A few peas and beans may be sown for a chance of an early crop, but it is muoh better to defer sow ing any seed till the weather gets milder, for the heavy cold rains which we usually have in June and July would prove very injurious to them, and the crop would ho far from satisfactory. Plant new beds for ssakale, and cover others for blanching. Get the ground rriady for globe onions in the spring and continue earthing up oelety and other plants a* they require it. Look oat for .slugs and use the lime freely, it is not-only sudden death to the slug but good for the land, being a constituent iti which Waikato soil is woefully deficient.