AGRICULTURAL NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1285, 23 September 1880, Page 2

A GRICULTURAL NOTES.

The winter season is -well over now, and we have every right to expect some warm, genial weather, tli.it -will cause vegetation to make rapid grewth as the days lengthen -md the heat of the sun iiicreasjs. The first tokens of spring have already appeared, and if the coming summer proves as f.n'our.ible as the weather of the p ist winter, there will be every chance of a satisfactory harvest. The winter has brim, an exceptionally mild oiip, and farmers should bo pretty forward with the spring crops. Spring wheat, should, as a rule, be sown before the end of August", but in good land with a warm aspect, it may be sown as Lite as the middle of September. This is often a p jy.iblc- crop if the ground be in good order .md (lie eiop be not too Lite in going in. Barley should if possible be sown Ui'S- month, that it may get well cs-tibh-hed and cover the ground before the dry Aveathcr comes on. This cereal is vety often put in as late as the end of October, but unices the season 15 moibt and .showery the crop soldom come=< to much. Apart from the yield, .in e.irly sown crop has nioie chance of being harvested in good cider than a late one and it is well kniran that unless b irley is harvested in good condition it is of very little a .line except for feeding purposes. Farmeis have eveiy cause to loathe the tight and name of oats, and the .subject Iris been so thoioughly discussed in these and other columns tha*. it is not necessary te go into the matter at present. After sow ing the Autumn and spring whe it, the farmer may well be pu/.zled to know wh.it urn» he is to make of tlif remainder of his arable land. Potatoes will not nay at the present price ; gr.isb seeds arc very little better, so that apparently, no other course is, open than that oi tiyimj; some of the suggestions put foiwdid by Mr. Murphy m a paper written by him to one of our contemporaries some weeks ago— viz, the culture of linseed either for export or for making into oilcake for our own consumption. Of course it is only in some parts of the district that the land is suitable for growing English flax, but Mr. Murphy maintained that on good, well tilled land the crop would be profitable for the fceed alone/ The culture of the sugar-beet is a matter that is also worthy the attention of all agriculturists. It is a root that will yifld a, great weight of produce per acre. It is well adapted for all kinds uf boils that are not two light nor too heavy. It requires a deep tilth, and its growth should not be attempted in heavy badly drained boils. The check that has been given to agriculture, or at any rate to corn-growing by the low prices that prevailed during tho past year will probably have a benefieal effect on our agricultnre. As long as a payable price could be obtained for wheat oat«, and barley very little attention was given to the other products of the farm ; but now it is evident that the above mentioned crops cannot be exclusively grown with profit to the grower. To continue Avorking in tho old groove in certain loss, while in giving a new idea a trial there is a chance of obtaining a profit Though, until some steps arc taken towards establishing mills for preparing either sugar-beet or linseed for consumption, they cannot bo extensively or profitably cultivated. Wool being a fairly good price this year and grass seed very cheap, there will, doubtless, bo a large aru* of land sown down with permanent grasses this season. The earlier the Feeds are sown the better chance there is of getting a good sale of grass. September is almost invariabty a showery month, and of small seeds sown in well worked ground and rolled down this month, a large percent age will germinate and take good hold of the ground; whereas the months of October amlNovember, in nine seasons out often, are dry, and the result is that fifty per cent, of the smaller grass and clover seeds do not strike. Badly kept gorse fences are a great source of trouble and expense to the farmer in the long run. The inevitable result of a neglected hedge is a wide strip of gorsq

bushes, which not only impoverish and encumber the land, but have a very slovenly appearance, and are a sign of bad management. One of Hornsby's hedge cutters has recently been tried in Otago and Canterbury with very satisfactory results. It is reported that two men with two horses can trim four miles of hedge on both sides in a day. If this be true the machine will rapidly come into general use and be a great saving of expense.

The Flower Garden. The weather being now very favorable, no time should be lost in getting on with the laymg-out of new ground or making alterations in established places. It is always a great advantage to have this work done early, so that there need be no delay in planting as opportunity offers. The removal of evergreen trees and shrub? should be pushed on as fast as the ground can be got ready for them. In performing this work, however, the state of the weather must be taken into consideration. When trees are transplanted, it should be a rule never to expose the roots to the influence of snn and wind more than can be helped. Serious injury to the plants is often the result of this precaution being neglected. If possible, choose dull or calm days for the work, as the plants will suffer less then from their roots being exposed to the atmosphere than in bright or windy weather. When plants have been grown, in pots, there is of course not so rouoh care required, as they can be put into their places without injury to the root*. , These plants, however, have — generally speaking — been reared in deep pits or frames, or bush-covered sheds, closely packed together^ and they are apt to buffer from exposure in the open ground. It will therefore be judicious to give a little shelter to those likely to require it by sticking a few pieces of scrub or branches round the plants until established. Box, veronica, and other live edgings should now be planted without delay, so that they will obtain a good start before the dry weather sets in. Cuttings of box will root freely at this time of the year, and where an increase of stock is required it will be advisable to utilise the clippings of old edgings in this manner instead of throwing them away.

Kitchen Garden. The moat generally approved and systematic plan for working a kitchen garden is to divide the area into several compartments, trenching one or more every winter, t>o that the whole of the ground gets deep stirring every three or four years. By adopting this plan the land is always in the best possible condition, and its resources available. The most successful growers of vegetables are, as a role, those who keep their land constantly under crop. Hence the success of the Chinamen. Though owing to the uncertainty of the seasons, crops will often fail under this system, still the succe >» will generally more than make amends for the losses. Plant out cabbages and cauliflowers, and sow seed of each for a Bucceasional supply. Savoys, Brussels sprouts, and Bprouting brocoli will be found useful when required. All vegetable seeds may now be sown. Keep up the sowing of peas, choosing ground, if possible, that is not likely to be saturated with heavy rains. Another crop of broad beans should also be got in. Take up and divide the various culinary herbs, a good stock of which should be in every garden. Potatoes may now be planted, also shalots, garlic artichokes, &c.

A Remarkable New Variety of Wheat. A new sort of wheat, which is said to have been discovered iv Arkansas about two years since, is attracting great attention amongst agriculturists in the United States. It is called wheat reci, and appears to be a marvel of hardness. It will live and thrive in ground so dry that other cereals would perish. It is Biiid to te able to stand an eight months' drought, and, besides this, is unaffected by the attacks of insects. The grain, which is somewhat smaller than that of corn, yields a fine and very nutritious flour, and makes an excellent food for cattle. Its co.st of cultivation also is much less than that of maize, wheat, rye, or oats. It contains 7 per cent, more starch and oily matter than wteat.

Economical Rations for Milch Cows. The tendency of an increase in the richness of the common food of cows in milk is to increase the percentage of both fat and casein, to increase the yield as a whole and to improve the quality of butter; but the relation between the butter and the other solid constituents of milk will be but little varied. The per cent, of water ■will be found the most variable element in milk. It will run down or up, as the food i* rich or poor. This statement of the influence of feed is based on th« general faot that the common food which cows arc in the habit of receiving doe 3 not as a rule, supply them with as much nutriment as they could appropriate. By giving food richer than the common fare more could be disgestcd and utilised. Tbi& U a fact of common obsetvation aud experience. But there is a limit to which the increase can be carried. It cannot go beyond what the vital power can take care of. Milk, like other glandular products*, it is believed, is derived in part from destruction of the gland substanceand in part by transudation from the blood, the butter globules in the former and the albuminoids in the latter way. Glands differ from other parts of the body in the rapidity with which 6hey are built up and disolved. The milk glands in particular are built up and decompesed rapidly, and as the milk tubes and blood vessels are only seperated by thin walls of membrane, transudation is easy, and must vary with the composition of the blood. It will require but a short time, therefore, f ey a variation in the richness or poverty of the blood, by reason of a change in food, to begin to be appreciated in the milk But the building up and destruction of the milk glands, and also transudation, will be fast or slow according to the supply of material in the blood, and must therefore go on essentially alike in each, The circumstances which tend to hasten or retard action in one will tend to hasten or retard it in the other. A constant tendency to equality of production in these two elements of milk must be apparent.

Edward Kelly, who is awaiting trial in Melbourne goal, is rapidly regaining , 'his health. He was now so far recovered that he has been removed from the hospital ward and placed in an ordinary cell The bravado which he exhibited at the outset has almost entirely ■ deserted him, and he has novr become morose and dispirited. He appers at last to realise his position. A constant watch.is kept upon him, and during the night a lamp is kept burning in his cell, so that any attempt at suicide may be frustrated. He is carefully attended by Dr. Shields, the Government medical officer. At the pro-cafihedral in the capital of one of the Australian colonies (saya the congregation is larper on the celebration of a fashionable wedding than upon ordinary occasions of Sunday worship. On one day this month a nuptial ceremeny was to take place. The bells rang out—seats and aisles were orowded —choir and organist in great force. All went, as usual, pleasantly until in the middle of the service the parson, whose head was level, announced, " A collection will now be made !" He made that congregation look funereal in #ye seconds.