FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 408, 24 December 1874, Page 2

FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Chi r .in jf may be mdc esy by bo'tinjf » U'\f six I* et t<» oii upiii^iit |ji»>t about 30 inches iroui the churn lv the bolt, h d 42 inches from the bolt to the eiul Here is a yam of power w tho.it h los-t of speed, and ua.n be ope.-iied ivith oue cliird of tlie I (a tgue anise i by tin upright d.u»h. It is sufflv.eut for preservation, if fence pos's nr\> soaked m lime witer for tweuty-f>'Ur hours, if i bey nave been w« II Reasoned previously. If fbey are yreeii fortv-eigbt hoar.-. 1 son king- should be given. A convenient way is to have a lar^e bo^he-id hall full of lime water ami till it with posts Hraudiny on their but emit*, and change the posts every dny or two d i\h until the wh<ile are Miake I. Sawdust is worth nothiag of itself as manure, although it may be of use in lightening heavy soils, that is mechanically. It is of the most value when made to absorb the liquids from stables, it then rots very readily, and makes a convenient vehicle for the liquid manure. If you have a large quantity, which cost nothing, and could be cheaply hauled, pile it in large heaps and burn it, and use the ashes. In this way it would be of immediate and considerable yalue for any crop, but especially for grass. There has been much written as to the value of salt as a manure, and many experiments made, and yet we are very much in the dark. Some experimenters say it is of great value, others have not been able to see any effect from its use, while still another class have suffered great injury from its use. Extensive investigations have proved that these diverse and sometimes opposing results are due to variations in the quantity used, and the manner of using, and the difference in the compositions of the soi's on which it has beeu used. Sa.t in large quantities entirely destroys the fertility of a soil. In lOngland an experiment made by the " app ication in autumn of sixteen bushels of salt to the acre, ou marshy land showed it to be sufficient to kill the aquatic plants, and late in the following summer a most flouiishing crop of iich grass appeared, of which the cattle were remarkably fond — and for many years the land retained and exhibited a superior verdure to the neighbouring grounds." Very elaborate tests were made in 1804, of the value of salt as a manure for potatoes. The salt was applied at the rate of seven and a half bushels per acre in beds a yard wide and forty long, a single row being planted along the centre of the bed. One of these beds had no ma-

treated with various well knovm manures. Great care was taken to have the whole trial conducted with awuracy. The only point of importance that is left out of the account s^iven is the manner of applying th 3 manure. "Whether it was put on tue surface or dug into the groual we are not told, but the results are given. The product of the saltmanured row was to the unraanured row as 191 to 157. Salt combined with other substances gave marked improvement, and alone it proved itselt superior to everything. Of all the 25 rows, only thosa treated with lime at the rate of 121 bushels to the acre, and sawdust at the rate of 363 bushels to the acre, fell below the unmanured row. This tiial of salt brought out this singular fact, that it is of value when combined with other subsUnces, so far as they were used in these experiments. The soil on which this trial was made, is described as a ferruginous sand. Other experiments have been made that gave n> benefit from the use of salt, and after wading through the reports of a great many of them we come to this : some soils have enough salt in them, and more added does injury. Such lands may be faund along the sea coast, and where Bait springs ippear, while other lands are greatly benetitted by ight dressings of salt, say about two bushels to the icre. All kinds of fruit should be allowed to hang intil nearly ripe, and in some few instances may, vith advantage, hang until over ripe and beginn ng to shrtvel. The shrinking process on the tree ifter growth is completed, is very different to the <hrinking off the tree of fruit that was gathered >efore growth was completed. A good Imperatrice »r Heine Claude plum will continue to improve as ong as it hangs safely ; but we have not many lucli kinds, and it is a golden rule to gather fruits •if all kinds just before they are full ripe, and give Jiem the best chance possible of finishing the ripening process in the store. To antedate the time overmuch is mischievous, and (here can be no general rule given, because fruits differ so much in individual characters But it may be safely said that any one who has brains enough to discover when the iVuit of a tree wants but a week or a few days to perfect ripening, is quite competent to determine when it should be gathered, provided only such a prescient person will observe one golden rule —that as a rule, fruit intended for keeping should be gathered before it is utterly, completely, or as they say dead ripe. — The Gat denei s Magazitic.