FARM AND GARDEN.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4402, 25 April 1893, Page 3

FARM AND GARDEN.

Grazing ut, Ciopping. ■ A writer in fan exchange refers to the above question as.. follows: Amohgßl the signs of the times'thero is one which he who runs may read, and that right easily, travel which way ho will through the country, and that is-the ■ decline—elow, year by year-^of.cultivation as compared with grazing, Viewed as a change simply and from theoretical points ot survey, this might'not amount to very much, nt all events not much more than could he eueily accounted for on the grounds of ordinary human fitfulness and lovo of.change, possibly esteemed as progress, , .There is more in it than this, ? The change is not one adopted for;, rotation ■ reasons simply 1 or as a trial of a new lino of operations. " ■ The Sparrow Pest, . -With rcferenco to the sparrow pest Mr French, Government Entomolo • gist/has pennod the following: With regard to the cheerful sparrow, I may say that I have, in an unbiassed way, looked at this brute from many points of view, and have weighed his good (!) qualities against his bad ones, with this result, viz, that, in my opinion, the sparrow is, with the exception of the rabbit, the most intolerable of all the natural history nuisances in the colony, The sooner it is tackled in a systomatic manner tho better it will be for our friends tho farmers and fruit growers. In me it has a most deadly enemy. After the sparrow (even before the locust) comes the 11 pot shotter," whoso idiodio capers and proclivities have caused the destruction of more useful birds, and uro as responsible for the largo advent of insect pests as almost the sparrow himsolf. The sparrowshavo eaten up nearly all our useful littlo lady birds (about the only insect diet relished by them), and have driven away the balance of the useful birds. Following these comes tho" pot shot man" who completes tho destruction,

[Preparing Land for Wheat

After ploughing thoroughly it is very important to have land intended! to be sown to fall wheat, that it be prepared in as good condition as possiblo. The soil to the depth of three 'or four inches should be h fine tilth

n3 a seed bed for tbo wheat, and undernoatli tliia tho earth should he rtasonahly solid, The kind ol implement needed to properly lit tbe soil for (lie seed must be largely determined by tbo oharacter of tbe soil and its conditions, When early and it is in a proper slate, agood smoothing harrow is nil that will be needed to properly fine it. Afterward, howevor, before the ploughing can be done tbo soil gets hard and may f-rralt up injiard lumps, and tlio drug may bo used to properly level and fine, Ag'in, bard, beating rains after ploughing will often run tbe soil lugethei, and the hot sun will cause it to bub and in ibis condition, h llio majority of cubes, it will bo best to use tbo diao barrow, What wiil be best at one time or in one kind of soil, will not be tbe most economical under other conditions and for ibis reason, tbe cha motor of tbe soil tvud the kind of work to bo done must always bo con« sidered. Tlio o'no important item in to mako sure nf working enough, and then to use the implement that will do tho wo k most thoroughly and economically. In many cs 'S addi tional working, while adding but little to tho cost of tbe crop, will help to materially improve tbo condition of the soil, and in this way secure a better growth and yield, With nearly till varii'tics of seeds, the more thorough ibo preparation of tbo toil is one of the essentials in scouring a good yield, and while it is possible to go to an extreme; yet in» majority of-cases the mistukois made in;.tho oilier way. ;.Tlius a bettor profit would be often realised with a itss acreage, more th' roughly prepared, than \yi' li.nture. labour i.o. rough clo'ltly land —N.J.S. . . Don't Scratch the Bull's Foiehead. Never scratch a bull ou '.lie forehead, i-ven thoitiih the action may he in tended'as ; riv: caress, ~ t f , thja^se^iiiinKlyv3malJ;faot' : iii;;.- ; oonD'etv : -" tion with .the' maiHgement of stock has"ofien: : -led 'to seri ous^ tipn?cqtifeiices• • an'd{>:Dry-?grqliMbly;haa;l)eeii : ;':thp/ciiusd. of loss of life. : Th« bull is naui'aliy it bellig'Tciit.atiiina!, tttri wiil usually on the small provocation.' ft is an instinct with him, jalid/domes;ication will never eradicat.j the trait. In this country tiio bull that is allowed to roam at large with a herd of cows;is no', ofteii uangerou?, hut the animal |etined.up in a stall, or only gi\vn the rnti.of a small paddock should never be turned by. stian°ers, and h-it infrequently will turn savagely up.eii the attendant without any appaieni cause. It lias been suid that the. only sife hull.is a dead bull,, and although this, may not be. absolutely true, bo lik>nie.< should le Uki'ii with sir. animal that is kepi wholly or partially in confinement! I'et'.iii" lias oficn much, to do with rousing tbe fighting instinct in a bull. Scratching or iubbin« a bull on the forehead isalmost.equivalent to striking a man.in the face,' and yet it is one of thfi mo.-t common as. well'as one t-f the most mischievous practices indtilgi'd in by those who have not studied bovine nature. -Yisitbra to agricultural shows Yery frtquenily err iu this manner, , and . in the case of impor ted bulls, sailors on broril ship

tcjcb tbi'iu lad habits, altJioiigh the mischief is prob.ibly dor.e unwittingly, The bull that is always ready to show liijlit' seldom, does much liarm, becau>D tho nttvnilant id ahvnvs on his guard and visitois arii. iil'raid ; to meddle with him. It is tho. animal that is as ' kind as a kitten' that in the least exacted moment turn? man kilier. . JJjl's, as wdl as stallions, in this country seem to .bo naturally more docile aiid easily managed than in the old country; imt, nevertheless, many Bid accidents hnvc occurred principally owing to over confidence in the. kindly dispoMtion of the animals. . Stroking a horse's head is a way to gain his confidence, but the same action to a bull almost invariably rouses his iri\ 'Hie. practice should never bo. permitted, as indulgence in it 'simply means courting a catastrophe ' sooner or . later.—Exchange. I'