RURAL NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2006, 16 May 1885, Page 2

RURAL NOTES.

M vkim: Bittkh by Electricity. -r-If Hip .11)1101). c nil nt made by a i'Vench cnntempoiaiy i em mis true m piaotice, bnttir ctnui mikeis will perhaps lia\e to turn tlitir attention to the constniction of ntliei things -pei haps dynamo electric mti hints of veiy low electio motive force. \( coiih'ii! to a patent taken out by Mr A, C. Fioliu'o , milk is intiodueed into a vessel ot "-pi cial foi m, and into it are pi iced .1 pan of i-lectiodes, and a current i» rlm-> pafx-d t'u oitrjh the milk. Butter n toimtii in little b,.1.8 in one of the electrod s, an t it is said that to ext act the Imttei from foi ty five hties of milk the (.111 lent fiom a dynamo electr.c machine tiijii'valt nr to that of about forty Daniells fui fiom three to five minutes is all that is I'Vjuired With such a current the balls of Ivitteraie sufficiently voluminous to de'aeh them«ehe* from the flectiode <uul lloat to the suif.ice of the n.ilk. The butter thus obtained has to be worked in a barattc or something of the kind, so as to work the snnll pieces into a compact miss The patent also mentions the electiic niannfa ture of cheese, and of removing the bad taste of butter that has turned lancid We do not know how far the indications of the patent specification have been verified. — Engineer. Be ati \r. orn Swords into Plouchsn\kE->. — Some time ago Messrs Hunter, Maybole, presented the Rev. John Thomson, of St. John's Established Church, Hawick, Scotland, with a handsome little plough, complete, manufactured out of old sword 8 and spears. It i vas exhibited at a meeting of the We^t Te\ iotdale Farmeis' Club, and we understand that the (jurun has now intimated her willingness to receive the wonderful little article as a present, accompanied by an illuminated scroll, with the following address : -' This plough, made fiom swords, dirks, and spears, is presented to Her Majesty the Queen, by Her Majesty's most obedient aud humble servant John Thomson, minish rof St. John's Established Church, Hawick." The scroll is bciutifnllv illuminated in gold and colon rs, and is tastefully brought out. Im>i\\ Wiii- \t Tiif following rem.wKs on the subject of Indian wheat will be of inteicst to many of our ivadeis : -In the statement of the Trade of Butisl) India f..r tlie five yean 157954, issued on Fiid.iv, them are some interesting remarks ami figures relating to the piodtKt'Oii of wlu at in India. The exports to all countiies for the last fi\e yeais, liav been as follows, in cwts :— 1 879 SO 2, 1 9.vmO ; I S>O SI - 7,444,375 ; KSSI S2 - 1.) S(H ;>2O ; ISS2 -S3 — 14 144,407; IS 3 S4-20,<)5G,4'>5. The quantity tor tin' y n KSS4 S3 w ill be \ery miicli sinallei tl an tint for ISS3 84, and it is pointed out in tlie reuort that the trade in Indian wheat must alwajs be of a very unoeitun a:id fluctuating character Its continuance on a laige «cale,' vie aie told, ' depends on the concurience ot a number of cneunistances :—: — (I) Ahundint crops in India ; (2) Crops below tlie aveiaije in the United St.ifrsami hi Europe ; (3) Low rates of ti eight ; (4) Low ratis of exchange, hen .til tluse e\i-t together, the supply of Indiin wh",it wl)ich will be put on the consuming nnrUets will astonish — as they have astnnis'i> d thos** who are but imperfectly acquainted with the capacity of India for tin p oduction of this grain. When one oi other of these fails, the mat gin of pi ofir— which is so slender at the best th it exportets must work on a veiy exteiiiiie scale to obtun appreciable ictui u-. — slnmki in such a degree that the export will be carried on either to fulfil fiigigcincMits already entered into, or as an un ivoidable alternative to piymg foi iinpoits in money." The second of the factors given as essential to a Luge export of Indian wheat having been wanting m ISB4, the trade has uot Iven profitable, and has consequently been reduced. Prices in London were too iow to give piofit to MiippiTs, as the depieu <ti-/n in the value of wheat in In li.i l i.is not bee i proportionate to the drop ?■» Km ope. Togivea piotit at all on expert, it is fca'o, Indian w neat must sell in London tor 39-> to 40s, w hen prices m India a;id fi tights are both low. ' With wheat at Rs 21.2 a maund in Clcutta, fi tight at 40s a ton, and exchange at 2()d the lupee. cost was only jubt covered !>v a price in London ot 40§ fld a quaiti-i.' The leport does not favour the reckless of railways in India for the accommodation of tie wheat trade. It is woithyof notice that as Indian wheat is now being successfully used for the manufacture of macaroni in Ttaly, and increased tiade with that country is expected. Nitrate ok Soda as a MAhDßfc. — The following has been communicated to us by the Anglo-t ontinental Guano Co., of 15 Leadenhall street, London, E.C. :— The careful researches of the late Dr. Augustus Voelcker, as published in the Journal of the Rojal Agricultural Society in 1874, have clearly shown that a great deal of the nitrate ot soda used as a manure is washed away through the drains, and that therefoie only patt of this fertiliser is available for the crop. After three years' investigation of the drainage water supplied from Rothamsted, Dr Voelcker came to the following conclusion : — ' Nitrate of soda is rapidly formed from the land by the uiinfall, for soils have not the power to absorb and retain either nitric acid or soda to any great extent. In one of thu experiments the drainage fiom land after recent application of a he ivy dressing of nitrate ot soda, contained ob'S parts of nitrogen as nitrates por 100,000 parts of water. This is equivalent to a loss of about 13Ibs. of nitrogen per acre for every inch of rain which then passed through the soil. Iv wet seasons the less of nitrogen by drainage is thus very considerable when nitrate of soda is applied to the land as a top diessing for wheat.' On the other hand, the nitrogen or ammonia supplied in guano or ammomacal silts is retained by the &oil, and has a better chance ot ben< fitting the crops dining the entire penod of vegetation,

Sir Ht.Rr.ERT Stkwvrt was a &&>- way man and a descend uit of the eiglw Kail of (J allow ay. '!il best of a book is not the thought wl.ic it contains. No, indeed The best of a good many books is tlu- bindimg. ]>' Chicago it is not considered good fotmto remarry in less than two hours aftei securing a divorce. Poupuisk meat is sold in Philadelphia as a substitute for beef. It isied, juicy, tender, and oi line gram, very pleasant M and savoury to the taste. It ia known to ™ the trade as "dolphin meat." Ihe H imilton Wesley an servires to-morrow arc advertised in another part of this issue A notice by tho Hamilton poundkeeper appears in .mother column. 1 hi- lh k 01 \n \I.P —An M P. deploring tl • evileff'rts of London habits on the health, said that were it not for the American Go's Hop Bitters he could not live through with tbeirregulir hours ho was lorced to ke« p. Said he : "As boon as> I lerlncak and exhausted from long: ni^ht sessions and meals ut irregular hours, I resort to my Hop Hitters instead of stimulants. fhe> regulate m> bowels and keep my appetite ..ood, mj brain clear, and mj strength ani health arc preyed." bee.