GLEANINGS.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1311, 23 November 1880, Page 3

GLEANINGS.

Group cucumber plants in twos or threes t>o that they may be oovered with a > hand glass until about the end of this ' month (November), or a frosty morning may catch them. I An important maxim for farmers is — the timely performance of farm opera- > tions. Strawberries are now in full bloom, and '• if the weather proves dry, a good arti- . ficial watering over the flowers would be of great benefit. The vessel which contains the drinking water for the poultry should frequently be cleaned and refilled and should be shaded from the sun. It is calculated that within five years no less than 4,000,000 additional acres will be under wheat in the Canadian far west. Young trees are generally allowed to branch too near the ground, but this can be prevented by rubbing the buds off now. Every male conveys the qualities of his dam to his daughters, because thpy follow their sire's mother in their Ability to produce young. As the American blight is showing itself on the apple trees, the affected parts should be greased with kerosene and water applied vith a painter's brush. There is said to be an apple tree on the premises of William Ply mire, in Washington County, Pa., which bears nine varieties, some of which are now ripe, while others will not ripen till late in the fall. There is no such thing as luck or chance in good gardening ; everything must be done at the right time, in the right way, and with proper material. Tiie young suckers amongst raspberry canes must be kept down by means of a strong hoo or spade, but the roots must be little disturbed, or the old canes will be injured. It is of the utmost importance, by good feeding, to keep the cows up to their full milk ; if once allowed to fall off it is no easy matter to increase the flow again. A French cure for slugs is to coat a thin board with grease and lay it on the ground ; the slugs soon swarm on it and may then be killed. Garden crops are now making free growth, and the active attention of the cultivator is necessary. Dr Voelcker once hazarded the heresy that in fields as well as in gardens, deep cultivation when properly performed might almost take the place of land drainage. Much may be done at once towards the formation of the shape of trees, by taking off buds which are likely to produce misplaced shoots, only to be cut away afterwards as useless wood. As a rule, it has been noted that long slender-bodied hens lay eggs somewhat elongated or pointed, while short, round, thick-set hens lay eggs almost round. The orange grove of Mrs Harriet Beecher Stowe, at Mandarin, on the St Johns, Florida, yielded last year $2000 to the acre. An Ohio farmer says he has found by experience that six Cotswold sheep will not consume more food than one cow. Gypsum, commonly called plaster, is composed of 22 equivalents of water, 32 ot lime, and 46 of sulphuric acid. Grass, if cut when in bloom, contains 62 per ceut of nutriment, but if left till the seeds are iully ripe only 31 per cent. The demand for tomatoes in England is now so great that extensive glass houses are solely devoted to growing them at all times of the year. Furnish shade for your fowls. "When they have free range over the entire farm, they will find shade somewhere, but when fowls are confined to runs, their owners must find shade for them, The Vermont Fanner says that Asa Hoyt, of Pcasham, has a two-year-old heifer that makes one pound of butter per day, besides supplying four families with all the uiil\ they want. All weeds must be kept under, peas supported wi'h good sta es thiust well into the giound on account of strong winds, and it is particularly advisihle to make good sowimrs of all vegetable seeds before the soils becomes too dry and heated. A cow belonpir.jr to John M'Sherry, near Montepelier, Vermont, had dropped four large and healthy calves within fourteen Months. We h.ive made a practise for many years psist of feeding all our eg# shells to our hens, broken up moderately fine by the hand, and thrown out to thorn twice or thrice a week. Dining this time we have never lost an cjrg by hen-eating In the Live Stock Journal, a correspondent writes that he has followed the practice of giving his egg shells to his hens for fifteen years, and pot a single one of his flock has been made an egg eater. With regard to the proportion of malt to barley, it is usually calculated in an off hand way in England that a quarter of barley — 8 bushels — makes a quarter of malt ; but to be more preci-e, 100 pounds of barley will give fiom SO to 90 pounds of dry malt. Any trees grafted this season must be suppoitcd with strong st icks to prevent the wind bio ring off the young- shoots, and the ground between them raibt be freqheutly hofd over to check the growth of weeds, which need not be raked off, as when cut they help to keep the giound cool. It. is a mistake to breed a large number of kinds of poultry, unless one intends to raise fancy fowls for sale. Start with , birds or eprgs from breeders of reputation. Save the best for stock ; sell the lower grades and so improve the quality of your fowls. A great many amateurs who have tried different sorts of fowls for several seasons have settled down at last to one kind, and all those who have done so, express unqualified satisfaction in the fact that they have at last made up their mind. Never try to get a heavy day's work out of a team. Moderate and steady going is what counts in a long race, and the farmer's race is a long one. It takes but a few hours, or even a few minutes to tax a horse to such an extent that he is out of order for months. The eggs sold during fhe winter and early spring months phould pay for the food consumed throughout the year, while the birds consumed iv the house and the birds killed for the household should cost a mere trifling sum.

When ex-Judge Samuel H. Dwindle occupied the bench of the Fifteenth District, he aided, on numberless occasions, to increase the voting population of the city and county, by assisting in the formality of naturalization. To his Court came, one day, a middle-aged Irishman escorted by two sponsors of the same race, and apparently of similar ages. When the Judge asked the usual questions touching the candidate's devotion to the Constitution and the excellence of his moral character, one of the sponers replied gravely as follows : You asked me about his moral character, your Honor. I have known him for four and twenty years. We were boys together. I never knew him to lie, or steal, or cheat, or do any dishonorable act. He is a temperate man, your Honor. But— but, Judge, he was always the very diril after the girls. Not a smile passed over the Judge's placid countenance. Reflectively he rubbed his portly front, and replied : A very amiable weakness, sir, — a very amiable weakness, indeed, Hake him a citizen, Mr Clerk.