Agricultural, &c.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1067, 6 May 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

Agricultural, &c.

. WELLS, , In some parls of Australia Tells constitute almost tho only moans of oblainiug a sulficient supply of valor to meot tlio demands of tlio stock; owing to tho level naluro of tlio country, and tlio absence of watersheds, the enormous expense of conducting water, on lovol and sandy country, into tanks, and tho extra-quantity of rain uocossary to till .these, render wells more su|tnblo. Besides tlicso, tho immense advantages of a p?rnianont supply of water, iu caso of drought, is quite beyond calculation,. To attain this, efforts aro.constaiitly. being mado to obtain well supplies'; and although in many instances -these efforts have been unavailing;, either by : being unsuccessful altogether in obtaining water, or, when obtained, being too brackish for uso, and sometimes too salt, yet there are many wellsj in different parts of the colonies, whoso owners need never fear tho oflccts of a drought. In some cases, as we havo already stated, water lias boen found too brackish and salt for uso; btitj worso than this, it has come under our personal observation to havo scon water, found at a depth of 81 .feet, ami, to all appearances and taste, everything that sliccp could dosirc, but which was ovidently permeated with some mineral poison, and which caused sheep partaking of it to dio a lingering death. For this reason wo consider it advisablo to have tho water of all wells analyzed, or, if this should not be convenient, to allow • but a few sheep to water until the purity of the water lias been demonstrated. Wo'say tlio water of all wells advisedly; ns one poisonous ono, that came under our notice, was surrounded, at distances varying from fivo to fifteen miles, by wells yielding', iu all instances, a constaut supply of good stock water, and in many instances quite fresh,' By .this it will bo seen that the poisonous water is quite local, and good water may bo obtained much closer than tlio distances wo havo mentioned, ....,'■■':

It may bo interesting to somo, and instructive to others; to know that stock will sometimes at first refuse to drink water, that they will eventually thrive on, ■ As au instance of this, wo know of a well on tho Mirooi, Now South Wales, sunk to a depth of 296 feet, at which depth tlicro was a good supply of water obtained, and which, having been analyzed, was. proved to contain no poisonous matter, and tasted as fresh to tho human palate ns could be expected from water obtained at such a depth. In spite of this, howover_ stock, when put to it, refused to driuk, and continued to do so for nearly two weeks, by which time they presented the appearance more of walking, skeletons than of sheep and cattle. At the ond of this time, one would almost suppose tlio water in the troughs to have boea changed, from tho sudden aud ravenous mannor in which it was drunk by tho slock that looked tho day. beforo as if they must perish for the want of it, They

; afterwards camo to water regularly, and fattened' ; in almost as short a time as tlioy had previously, folleuaway.; • "•.,-... - ■. ".■'■!..'.'''-■.. ..:Wo,'may'mbutioh|.among- jtne''caiises!br water, out of now, wolls'bemg refused by stockj tlio green ■ timbor tiso'd in timbering the shaft. Sorao people,' who afo;riot aware of tliis, erroneously ' imagine ■that-'the." taste' imparted to th'o ; wntoi* by' tho timber (especially pine timber) is mineral,;and deleterious to tho character .of tlio water, v ,'.', : Among the peculiarities that have-come under, ourmoticc,! wo may raontiofl the following:—A well was sunk on a.well known station,''not 100 miles from tho Murmmbidgco River, to a ■ depth of about pO.feot, wlien a small spring of 'Wry brackish'water, unfit for stock,'even. TiadHh'ero been'a,supply,'w ; as :: struck':.'this was 1 puddled back, and the sinking proceeded witlrtd a further depth of from 60 to CO loot, when a' good : supply of comparatively froshand excellent stock 1 water was obtained. Mauy porsons would havo; discontinued Operations-Upon meeting with, the first spring; but in this case tho indefatigable; owners persevered-, and pro rowavded:by.tbp .saving, of thousands of'jj'o'urids during,tho .drought, ; : .„ _,Butlittleattention is, as'a'riilo,- paid' to,the aspect'oftho country when sinking a -well,- and toomuek, gcnofally, to its'position on tiio/runi Both these are considerations of much importance, but the former doserves tho greatest 'study j It ■is doubtless of more importance that the well should be' simk'whcr'o tlio chanccs,of obtaining wator nro grcalorj.and.whcn .this .is-dono, .and, success assured,.it is an;cnsy .matteij to divide tho run, so as to. ninko the .yroll avajlab\o, for. as many' paddocks as it Vdftfired.— Armstrong and Campbell's Awtralian sheep, Hiispaiidry. '-"-\ . ,; ' .''"' ',".' 'STORAGE OF APPLES,' ; ''■':'>.

_ ""Porogrino,'-'m the Garden, says Accord, ing to tlio statements of Mr. Alfred Parson's; tlio American fruit-growors havo amuch readier plan of storing and keeping thoir apples' than we-havo iu England.:?' He speculates in apples and. has 700 barrels s|or«l away in cellars to sond to England in spring,' '.This, we believo, is. a common plan of storing apples in tho States, and it is a sjiggos'tivp one and vory difte'ront.lrqm' ours, winch necessitates so much cafe, and' attention without'probably uny bettor results, ns far as. the me;e preservation of tho fruit is : concerned, Would our apples keep stored in I lie samo manner in this country?- 'Fruiterer's say yes; and thoy state that the 1 Amorican apples imported are kept in the barrels in which thoy arrive as long as may be needful, which is sometimes sovoral months. It is also stated by'gardeners who have, bought Newtown Pippins in barrels, and stored thorn, away .on. their, fruit -room shelves, that' they.db not Wp so long out ot the barrels as In tlicra,",