FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2459, 14 April 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

«, Bamiwix axi) Kusskt Am.iii are selling heat in Kuglaud this season ; and prices for these sorts arc above those last year. The Baldwin is a good shipping and cooking apple, of large size, and bearing well. As an catuig apple, it is fair only. Plf.uko-I'NEUMONIa of a. virulent type has appeared at Brunswick (Vic). It is reported that the disease is p:cvalent in the valley of Moonec Ponds Creek. Too Government inspector isinvestigating the matter. Sheep Shea Rise —The Attorney-Gen-eral of Victoria has granted hitlers patent to the Wolseley Sheep-shearing Machine Co., Limited, of Sydney, for an improved apparatus for sharpening the combs and cutters of sheep-shearing and horse clipping machines which consists iu eonstruetthe sharpening wheel of a hard inetil disc, having its face coated with a shout of emery cloth. Lean Meat, desired by all consumers, as a rule, was finely dcvolope 1 iu the ensilage-fed steer, sold lately in Leicester, aud partly eaten by connoisseurs there The uncooked color and fibre of tho meat, lirmness of touch, and juicy plumpness were very noticeable ; aud the iieef in its. cooked state can hardly be exeelied. The details given by an Knsiiage Press Co. of this first complete experiment are much in favor of the cxtention of the en silage system.

Wool in the Uniticd States.—ln consequence of the rapid growth of population in the United States there has been a great increase in the aggregate consumption of wool. The'development of the sheep-raising industry, though important, has not increased proportionately to the population, with the result that last year the wool imported was greatly in excess to the domestic; production, which in ISSG stood at 285.000,0001b. The imports last year reached 2 IS ."0,1,001 lb. The dependence of manufacturers on foreign sources of supply is almost absolute in respect to carpet stock, as the wool used in that branch of trade cannot be raised iu the States. The importations of clothing wool are also considerable.

A Bad Uoxev Seasox. —Caiiforniansare complaining of a bad honey season. For those who have been able to secure anything like a fair crop the present season wiil bo a bonanza. Aud those who have been sufficiently far-sighted to provide their bees with an abundance of forage without placing any dependence upon the natural bloom, will this season reap a good reward for their enterprise. Those who have taken this precaution are few enough by the side of the many who are accustomed to " trust to luck ;" but this lends emphasis to the general proposition that the beekeeper that treats his swarms precisely as he would any other animals upon whom ho placed dependence for an income and sees that provision is made for a bad season, will come out ahead iu the long run, while tho one who trusts to nature will run behind.

Lr.vn.vo E ..->. —An I j-.va farmer wrote : Two years ago I left oil selling my eggs for S cents a de/.eu to speculators to be pre served and sold in the winter for 20 and 25 cents a doz.m. For two years I have done my preserving, and have pocketed that 20 cents a dozen myself. About June 1 I prepared a brine as follows : To a pailful of water J added 2 pints of fresh slacked lim s and one pint of salt, thoroughly dissolved and well mixed. With a fluid prepared in these proportion 1 till a barrel half full, then place my surplus eggs in it, and when eggs get up to 20 and 25 cents in the winter—they always do—l take them to market and they sell for fresh eggs every time.

Tim Couun Moth.—Of cures for the codlin moth we hoar no end. Horn is the latest, and, of course, it- comes from America. Mr L. 11. Bailey, of Paw I'aw, Michigan, claims to have driven the codlin moth, all of them, out of his orchard into those of his neighbours. He mixed half a tumblerful of ammonia, with a pail of water, and sprayed his orchard at night while his neighbours were asleep. I!e did this two or three times daring the summer, and was wholly exempt from the depredations of the codlin moth. If this is true, the method possesses many advantages over the different arsenical preparations at present employed. Arsenic in any form is objected to, beo'.uso it is poison. It is not safe to have it on the premises; and when the fruit is sprayed with it some look with fear upon the apples so treated. The spray which reaches the ground poisons the grass and any fruit on the ground, causing risk of stock eating the.same. The ammonia spray has 110 objectional features, but it is a benelit to the trees, grass and soil underneath, it being a prime fertiliser. Food roit Cart Mouse.-*.—Vorkshin farmers, in council at I >0 rough bridge, In ve been considering how best to feed tlieii cart horses. The use of barley chalf am barley-awns should be avoided, said Mr Toope—and opinion in general .seemed t( favour the use of crushed corn. Roots some thought, were too little used, foi mangolds and carrots were highly nut ritions, and when pulped ami uiixee with manger food were readily eaten bj horses. They counteracted the effect of highly concentrated diet and, togothei with ensilage, might bo recommended for spccial use when the horses were not ir full work. Great care, it was observed, was necessary in changing the food froo dry to green. In consequence of careless ness at this period many horses died ever) spring. If the tares, clover, or whatevei was used, were cut the day previous and allowed to wither, and then given in small, and gradually increasing, quantities for a week, thedilliculty could be perfostljgot over. Bana.va.s. —-One pound of bananas contains more nutriment that I! lbs "f meat, or as many pounds of potatoes, while as a food it is, in every sense, supeiior to fiu best w'lioaten broad. Although it grow.spontaneously throughout the. tropics, it.yield is prodigious when cultivueu, foi an aero of ground planted with banana.will return as much food material as 3.'J acres of wheat, or over 100 acres of potatoes. It is not generally understood that bananas fried, baked, or roasted are verv appetising, and that sliced and placed in a dish, with alternate slices of orange, they make a most delicious dessert. Tlu United States Consul at Dcmorara give.some idea of growing this fruit. The profits in view of the magnitude of the trade are, ho says, necessarily large. Me adds, " Tho soil of tlie colony along the coasts is extremely rich; eoeoauuts grow near tho shore, and large quantities of ban arms may bo grown within Ihree or four miles from tho sea. Tho lonj yellow bananas arc in every way superior to those grown iu tho West Indian Islands, and equal to thofo of Port Lituon and Aspinwall. The first cost of planting an acre with bananas is from .£lO to £12, the production being from (300 to SOO bunches a year. The plants mature in nine months, and the, fruit can bo gathered every week in the year after it is well started. In 1883 bananas to the value of £4-00.000 were imported into the United States. The cargoes realised from 4s to 12s per bunch for the best quality, and it is, Mr Bunker thinks, highly probable that contracts could be made iu Guiana for their delivery alongside at lOd to Is per bunch. A vessel of 1000 tons dead weight could cany a earsio of 20,000 bunches ; the loss 011 the voyage rarely exceeds 15 per cent., and if tile balance were sold at the low price of ldiu per bunch, the estimated prolit on the trip would be not less than :t"I -f00, after payment of ail charges. This does not ineludc prolit from general freight, passengers, or mails. !.'he climate has it tie variation in the temperature, the thermometer giving an almost uniform •eadiug of 8-ldeg Fahrenheit. Sea ireezes prevail for the greater pait of the .ear. A jiuku Cam-:.— I The Minister of Lands ras interviewed on the ICfh by a d'|.mation representing tho Goullmrn Valley 'ruit Growers' Association, and hisatteii ion drawn to the fact that, amber c ine :as bong largely cultivated iu the looroopna district for tho purpose of I;

manufacturing- golden syrup. They were doubtful us to whel her the farmers were working on the right lines, and desired to obtain "the lamest information on the subject. They al-o asked the Minister, l-> undertake the expense of importing a cane crushing machine, which w-edd only o st about £HO, with tin- ol ,j •■ of assist ing in the establishment o!'th-i industry. Mr Dow remark-oil thit information in regard to the growth of amber cueand its manufacture into gold, n syrup was obtained by the Agricultural departiiient and published a few years ago, hut he was prepared to have the, latest information collected .and pilbli-hcd. As to the importation of a. cane crushing machine, he pio.-nisod to give ihe matter further consideration. Tin! deputation certainly showed wisdom in asking Mr Dow to obtain informallm for them respecting the manufacture of syrup from the Andropogan, as, from his" .-M-'.piainl-ance with the Commissioner of Agii-ul-lure of the United States, he is in tin; b-st position to obtain it,; but it, is to be re-grett-ed that they should have demeaned themselves by begging for a crushing machine, which, as the cost would be onlv CMO, thev could sirely have procured for themselves, in making i! u; request, the deputation certainly did not uphold the character Victorians bar f„r enterprise, and Mr Do.v might well have reminded them of the fable of the Countryman and Jupiter.—Leader.

I'A ins (lliKl'.x. — Ptir'n given i.". a pigment used by painters, nid !i-is been em ployed .sncr.p.vifnlly in tlio United ,St;ito.-i in the destruction nf the catcrpilbu-.s of the (Jodlin ninth. Il is iiuder,sto;d v> contain a porlion of nrsenite of copper, but is liable to be adulterated, or a compound of another kind sold under its ?nime. It v,*ill be remembered that Mr Charles May, of East St. Kilda, made a trial of what was sold as Paris ioeen by a wholesale linn in Melbourne without its beintr followed by any bciielieial result ; three of his with whom be joined in the pun-base of ] cuvfc., faritiLf no bettor. !.-'o, tliiiikinir there was somot.hinjr wrouir, he tool; a parcel of it to the Onveniir.ent chemist, who analysed it with the followresult, received "through Mr T). ]<] Mavliu, Secretary for Linda:— "1 liave the honour to inform you that Ihe iijrrioullural chemist of this d»paitinent, has repnrred relative to a s'linple received from you as follows : ' The sample., of analysis wad found to lie not Paris Green. IVolvibly the substance known in Ameriea as Paris Union, is better known here as Sehule's Green. It is a compound of arsenic and copper. Tf it cannot be purchased in Melbourne at a reasonable co=t, it may be readily prepared in the following manner : —Dissolve '2!b of sulphate of copper, ordinary hluestone, in a gallon of water in a stone jar. Dissolve in another jar lib of white arsenic and (jib (if common \v;is!iin» soda in 5 gallons of hot water, stirring well until all the arsenic is di-soived. The sedations may 1»'. kept separate and mixed together e.s required, in the proportions of i parts of the former to "> parts, of the latter, the solution resulting from (.he mixture after standiusr a. little while being re:uly for spra\i:-;i:. ])' a little lirjuid Hour paste (made with cold water), or some wattle gum were dissolved in the mixture, it would adhere more readily to the trees."

Ci.DVKK AND CJjI.VS.-s.— Regarding' the, emnpai'iitivc fociliny value o! grasses and clover, .a writer in llin ivvr.h liritish Agriculturist says: — "The meadow »rass, which is ihsfc on the iisk includes clover and other iiisrij.-iyo, which enriches the grass and narrows the ratio. The rich old grass in of a similar hind, but largely composed of deep rooting grasses ami clover, which have taken possession of tin; ground to the exclusion of weeds. With ii narrow ratio of 1, '■>, V>, it must he regarded a,', perhaps, the very choicest food fur fattening and finishing stock. (led clover is given in two stages, before dowering, and when in full bloom. The difference in favour of the former is very marked. 11; may seem a remarkable tiling that ill so short a space of time as is taken up between the lirst appearance of the flower and the full bloom there should appear so great deterioration in the nutrient ratio of the fodder. This is not due to any actual loss of nutriment .sustained by the crop, bur, to the rapid formal ion of woo.lv fibre that is going' on in the stems of the clover plants." There will, doubtless, be a yreit increase in the total quantity of food per acre : but the formation ■if food does not iio on so rapidly as the formation of woody matter, v, hieb injures the feeding quality. The same thing- is noticed in the ea-o of al-iko clover, and indeed if is common to all green fodders, bur, in the case of the grasses proper die growth of woody fibre at the blooming lime is not so ra,;>id as in I hat of the clovers. Y-tolies in (lower are the most nutritious of the green fodders,

I ::nii til 'y make tin; most nutritious hay. , Jt is thus seen that giccn fodder, and especially leguminous plants, when, in a young and succulent, st ito before flowort in»', are very concentrated food, and that. (hey rapidly lose that character when al- , lowed to maiure, so that it is far better to nut thorn too soon than to out thorn too late." MiscellaneousDon't allow tin: (lies to torment your teams if you can help it. Soft .soap is recommended for cholera in chickens. If you whip the horse for shying you are in a kins.; the habit worst 1 . Some persons prize charcoal highly as a preventive and cure of eostivencss in pwino. (Jails and sores are much worse during severe warm weather than at any other lime. Prune out all useless wood from young trees, and bring their heads into proper shape. Keeping the pores of farm animals open is as e.ssentiul to their thrift as bathing is to our health. •A week of exposure to the hot sua will injure the horse rake, mower and reaper more than a whole season's use Throw a little straw under the tomat i vines to keep the fruit clean and ground j moist making much finer fruit and con- \ tinning it longo-. The largest barn in the world is probably that of that of the Union Cattle Company of Cheyenne, near Omaha. It covers live acres, cost 115,000 dol, and accommodates 1)750 head of cattle. A few trees, evergreens and doweling shrubs planted among the hive's help to remove the sameness of the scene, and in summer give a grateful shade to the bees and their keeper. The greatest kindness you can do to a young chick is to simpy leave it ulo:'c for the first twenty-four hours of its existence. There will be little difliuuifc.y experienced in getting it to oat afterwards. In buying- for breeding stock the best is the cheapest, though it ousts a little more money. The hm.-ou why breeders justify themselves in saving- runts is because some men are thoughtless onoujrh to buy them at. a low price. All small apples and others defective in form or damaged by worms have tln-ir best market on the farm us food for animals, if packed with sound fruit, even in small proportion, they reduce the price of all often to the point of loss. It is a question with some good who it [ growers whether the manure .should bo applied before the lirsl ploughing or afterwards, but the prevailing* tendency is to- | war-Is ploughing first, then diaw and I spread the manure on the surface, and I afterwards work it inOj the soil in subse- I quenfc cultivation. The manure is thus kept nearer the surface, where it is be- I lieved to dothoiuosi ■ ■■~. d.