FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 269, 19 September 1879, Page 2

FACTS FOR FARMERS.

The usual quantity of grain for a fowl ia one to one and a quarter bushels per year, when at liberty to forage; somewhat more is required for birds in confinement.

Heat influences vegetation from the shooting of the germ to the perfection of the fruit, but its maximum influence appears to be expected at the time when the flower is developed and the seed perfected. |

A British beekeeper lays it down as, a rule that if the; honey makers are seen"*"' flying in and out of the hive on rainy or damp days in autumn it is a/' Jfttjk they are in a starving proper thing is to feed them with a syrup made by boiling three pounds of lump sugar in two pounds of water. It was not known until discovered by

Way, and confirmed by Liebig and others, that a few inches in depth of surface soil has the power to fix or retain all, on nearly all, the food of plants which man-1 ure contains, such as potash, phosphate of lime and ammonia, thus preventing its passage into the poor subsoil. To destroy hen-lice, give their quarters a thorough whitewashing, and as soon as dry go over the surface with coal-tar-smudge into corners and cracks in wall, nests, roosts—every where. Make the coal oil application every month during warm weather, and lice will not be troublesome, It may not be generally known that sheep will do without water in summer when running to pasture. The dew furnishes them all they seem to require. No doubt they would drink in the middle of the day if the water was not too far off, but they seem to do just as well without it. " The wheat was sown too thick, and the heads were smaller in consequence than in the other field where it stood thinner." It is quite an object to sow "rain the proper thickness, We think there is a good deal of truth in the theory recently promulgated by Professor Caldwell, that thick seeding, causing the shading of the lower part of the stalk, and the growth of elongated thin walled cells, is the chief of grain's lodging, The wheat was thick enough to lodge, but a little too thick to form the largest possible heads.— Rural Home.

An authority advises against whipping a balky horse, and boisterous words also confuse and make him worse. Let the voice be gentle, and try, if you like, one or two of the following devices, which have been successfully used:—l. Tie a string round the animal's ear, close to the head, or (2) around the leg just below the knee, the same to be removed after he has travelled some distance, 3. Fill the mouth full of earth or other disagreeable substance. The idea is to divert the balker's mind to another object. A lengthy discussion on the subject—- " When to spread manure," was held at a recent meeting of the Militsch Agricultural Society. According to the report of the Rreslau Landwirth, the conclusion was arrived at that, on level lands, the very best time at which to spread farm yard manure is when the ground is covered with snow. Under such circum-i-tances no loss of fertilising material takes place, and its action on the composition of the soil is more complete than at other times. On sloping ground, however, if the manure is distributed during the frost, and thaw should then quickly folv low, much of it will be carried away by] the water as it escapes. In such situa-) tions the manure should be first heaped up on any level patches that can be hit upon, and not further distributed until the ensuing spring.