Agricultural.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1026, 18 March 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

Agricultural.

'_, In'nodcpartmont'bfliuin'au'indu'slrv'is more ingenuity: iliown than in those wonderful modern iinplcmdnts of agriculture which have revolutionised .the work of. the •farm j -and perhaps 'the most interesting of those machinosis tlio RoaperW«>B»ider,wliich, as its name-implies, not only rats.t||c : . corn,-but binds, it into sheaves, For a Jong ttmo, these' Reapers Irad.ono common fault. The binding medium waswirc; and in spito of byerjf care, particles of metal would find their way Into tliiwhiiig-macliinosnnd into other situations whom their, presence was' not' desirable; so, tempting prizes were offered by different Agricultural Sdcioties for a machine whiclr'would do equally efficient work, but which-would bind the slioaves,with harmless string.: At a trial, lately, by the Long Suttou Agricultural Society, Mr. YV7 A. food's String Binding-machino cut six acres of wheat.in less, than fivo hours, tying each sheaf l in two and a half seconds,, tho only faterruptiou which occurred boirig.whe'n the ball of twine ran short:' It isestimatcd that nt least one hundred and fifty of theso machinfs, have beon at work ill tlie'harvcst-ficlds'pf Great Dritain.'' '" Miss llrmeid/of funster Lodge,-'near Mewortb, who recently published A Mahal of , Immow is still prosecuting her labour !ofloye, .which is likoly to prove of great service : toad interested in agricultural pursuits. 'She has ! been for somo time collecting evidence, from all ; willing, to help in tlio good work, bearing upon : the lhjurios caused by insect pests to our food- : crops, .fruit anu" fjrest trees, tlio results of which jup to the present tiiho sho'publlshes in tlio atiovo : work,- : • She purposes continuing' her researches land report-",' andwith tliis'view asks all who' have •;t|io opportunity ol'do'ng so to send' her detailed jaccounts of .the injuries which have, come undor lllioircxperionco, and.the l-omedies; whother'effecitual.or.jjiotj jvliicli.liave.tbeen.omployod.. In mlui-nifori this information., which need only tako Imp forni.pf .a with periiaps a.specimen |ol tlio unwelcome insect, tlie writer will receive a eopy'6f her printed yearly report, Idling him of, the dpiiiions'nnd 'experiences of .dome hundreds' pdor'similar circumstances', /'Many offlieposts'' .which it is' thus soughtWeriulicate/liave had so inuch written about them, that there Seems very' )ittle loft to discover; ibiit there arc many others 1 whpse deprcdatlons-go on' year aftonyearj simply locause.eithor.no remedy has yet been found, or that tliq.remedy, is onjyjfijown to .the few,.:,,. | An' instance, obscurity .which still hovels round mnny'membors of the insect world is scon lii tlio hoiiey-ahts, 'So little, was known'of the habits arid' nests' of tlies'o' intelligent insects that in 1879 the I?cr,,-Dr: M'Cook undertook ajourney to Now Mexico, where they wore'said to be found; for tlio purpose of'studyiiigi'tliem; ■ TluV result's If liis.obsorvations aro recorded: in itho proceedings of theAcademyof Natural Sciences of Philadqlphia,.fur January ,lask : Tko nesis of .the honey-nuts are genonlly found in high' and dry situations, aiidJiave the; appearance of mounds of gravel. , A'; funriql-shaped r oponiog' Jcads, to. various'galleries andiibnpy-rboras. pbservation, would scom'to suggest! that tho honey-ants'are' nocturnal tliat' the 'li'pnty' is 1 'sccrefeil : in thealidonioujof the 1 Ws'ect,'which is distended in' lo a bag'tho'sfzo of ut small prnpbrhud ■ that' it 'is procured froid the sugary sap of oak-galls.' It' is rather acid, 'owing! to tlio i presenco i of forraio acidi;but tke.Moxicans and Indians cat it as a delicacy. Athousandiautswilj.collectnboutono poundo^honey.j';..,.' i. ; .'.,.,-.: . : ;..... ~; ; Inraaijyparts.pfAVa.thoreis.aplant.icnown as the ''sTiooblack,' which,, althoughit will not i;ro'iv in bur gardens] Is, hotj unknown in 'Jibflioiises,' It possesses brilliant', scarlet floivcrs, wlucli yielda'tliick (jutnmyjuice, which'gives a tarnish-like polish to anything to which it may bo 'applied;, henceiits usoas a sdbstitute'for blacking, on boots and shoos. The .'ladies' of China aro said to uso the samo plant for. dyeing tlieir.hairandeyebrows. ..,>' i ..,.'■ ,

: THE TOMATO.:, .'. ! Tho origin of this vegetable' or fruit-as some claim .that it is-is, not'positively; ascertained, though there is reason to believe tltat it was first found in South, America, and that it'was cultivated ,in Mexico; anil 'Peru, 'Several ..varieties were kno\yn in Ehglnud the close of the sixtcehth century; and Go'rrard, the surgeon and botanist; speaks of it, we think, in his 'I History of Plauts," having himself introduced it iatb tho kingdom' as : an 'exotic. Dodoehs, the lierbalwt, mentions the tomato as r earlyas 1583/ to be eaten with -popper,-salty and' 'oil. Itbelongs to the night-shaded-family, and was used in qqokjng.by the. Malays more than a oeiitury ; and,.,a ; . half.^ince,,,' ,It. is oxleusiyely raised in' Southern Italy, and employed there as an, accpmpanimont ( to nearly evoiy dish, par. ticularly'to macaroni. 'But noither there nor any whore else' in' Europo is it commonly eaten as it is here, separately and iu quantities, In England it is sparingly produced, requiring a hotbed

In'tlle springj'aiid is'in cotisequdhcb higK-ipriooi' 'The'lta'iiins formerly called it goldon apple, 1 and 1 nowcallQd it'love apple, as it was' once designated Uithis;country.',;Tlie appearance of the tomato ,OP, the, table, has, greatly; increased' in.-Eurone ,witp a,few years, „ .. ~-. '.