FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2534, 6 October 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

The Ckoi'.s i.v this Continent.—The The Vienna correspondent of the Daily Chronicle teleginphs Reports from Austria-Hungry and the .neighbouring States show that in many places the harvest has severely suffered from the bad weather, and particularly iu South Germany and Switzerland. Iu Southern Russia, on the other hand, the prospect is good, while in Northern Russia the yield will be lower than usinl, and in Central Russia about an average. In Austria-Hungary, also, a full average crop is expected, although the quality of the wheat, rye, and bariey will scarcely be so good as usual owing to the heavy rains." Colonial Fruit at Home.—At the monthly meeting of the Fruit-grower's Union of New South Wales a report of the sales of recent shipments of Australian fru't in London was acknowledged by the secretary. There was also forwarded an article dealing with the Tasmanian apples lately sent to the London market, showing that the possibilities of the apple trade in England are unlimited, it being the natural and staple ifruit of that country, and suited to the English taste ; also that the home produce of apples is very variable, and becomes a questionable commodity after Christmas : that the : Oiu-'idian and American apples arc pretty well iu tlv. same season as the Kngh-'-h supply ; therefore, after the mouth of March, there i> a «ood market for the Australian produce. The fruit should not be over ripe when githeved and uroneriv sorted as regards even size and variety. AVKSIUUKS AS ]>Kl'.r (U'lTtK. —It i* | custom--try wit's the fanciers of some oreeds oi e.at.t le. Vo spe.ak di.-pur.iiiiugly ,>f i lie Ayrshire from a I utehcr's poii-t of view. J. venture, however, lo in.-rnfahi | that nf nil the milk proditci.'ii.' race,. •lies best, and lrolitalily when no longer desired for the milk pail. We have seen young halloe-ns sold for £M at ] " tuol; 1 h -. H 'el !l"i t' r- h •' t > a' :l r" e. I, ,• , yj:u": ; : -go I'} In* '-ri . e "■ e Duke oi Montrose, gained the iirsi pH;-e at vi-e | Highland Society's Show as the best fat. animals. They were aged and -11 years respectively, aud being of somewhat enormous weight, realised from the butcher the sum of £120. Butchers who have been accustomed to shorthorns, or other large, south country breeds, are somewhat prejudiced against them on account of their size, but, apart from this, they sell as well by the pound weight, and leave in much per cent., as any other breed. A fat, Ayrshire cow going for Cl-0 pays fully as well, if not better, than ti

shorthorn at £20. Ono aspect of the Ayrshire is the capability to cross well with tho shorthorn. The progeny combines the hardiness and good milking powers of tho Ayrshire with tho si/,o and fattening ability of the latter. Woolly Blight: This Sulphur Rk.mkdy.—lt has been frequently stated that insects and even fungus pests could be destroyed by boring holes in infested trees and filling them with sulphur. Reports to that effect arc frequent in the United States, but there are few who believe iu them. Wo have, however, had a well authenticated statement that an old settler tried the experiment with success on an appletreo badly infested with wholly blight, which presently disappeared, and was not seen again, and when, many years after, the trey was cut down a very small portion of the, tree remained. We do not see why the practice should be laughed at, and tho beneficial action of tho sulphur denied. It being a fact that gases exist, in all parts of a. tree or other plant, why should not sulphurous acid gas be generate!] and circulate through every part of a tree iu such volume as to poison any insect or fungus that subsisted on the sap ? DKMANI) FOR English HORSUS is Amkuiua. —Tho demand for (irst-ehiss

Irjrscs for the United States appears to increase. The Beaver steamer Like Superior, which sailed from Liverpool on 20th July with 240 horses, tho largest, number ever shipped from the Mersey for breeding purposes, passed Quebec within S days, and arrived at Montreal in 8 days 21 hours, all tho horses, wit,h tho exception of two, being landed alive and iu splendid condition, Suffolk horses are also in demand. Mr A. J. Smith, Rendle.-diam, Woodbridge, has recently made a large number of sales of Suffolk horses for exportation, tho demand for this breed having greatly increased recently. It is understood that, owing to an attempt being made by the foreigners to purchase Mr Marr's noted Clydesdale siro Cairnbrogie Stamp -1271—the first in t.lic aged stallion class at the recent Glasgow show—a syndicate, of Scotch breeders has been formed, and these have j offered £2000 for the horse, in order to retain him in the district of the Clyde. New Dairy Aitlianuks.—Among the novelties at the show of the Royal Agricultural Society of England were:—A new Danish cream separator for hand power, to deal with 13 gallons of milk per hour. Other novelties mm the Danish heater for whole milk before being separated, and a separate lieator for skim iniili. The former consists of tinned copper drum, fitted with a, revolving stirrer, driven from the main shafting by means of a pulley and bevel wheels, and suspended, steam-tight, iu a wooden cask. This cask is fitted with inlet and outlet for steam, which heats the milk in the drum, from which it is conducted to the regulator and thence to tho separator. The skint milk heater scalds the milk as it flows away from the separator. The Danish separator raises its skim milk in tho ordinary course of working, and it is easy, therefore, to conduct the milk through the soalder and thence by overhead pipes to its place, where it is to be put into cans for sending away. Irrigation and Fruit growing : A Wouo in' Oi'VOsition.—A writer iu a Victorian journal says :— "I am pleased to tee lliat irrigation as an aid to fruitgrowing is meeting with opposition. I scarcely ever water a fruit tree, for, though the fruit may be larger for that year (the tree suffering for it the next), the fruit will not be near so good, nor will it keep so long. Take this last season for instance, when wo had an extra

quantity of rniri in the early summer, and nearly every housewife who had to make any jam will know what a difficulty she hiid to get her "jam to set," or in other words to stiffen, simply because the fruit was too watery, and those who had to send fruit to Melbourne—plums especially —and those who had to buy such fruit will know how soon such fruit was decayed ; and oven when at its best it was devoid of the flavour it should have had. Let the ground be dug up every year, and give it nuuHiro alc.o, and in nearly every season, if not every season, there will be sufficient rain for fruit trees in all the cooler portions of this colony, and that is where t.ho beat fruits are grown for jammaking. Tohacco Growixo ik Exglasd.—ThO judges appointed to award the prize of 5o guineas oifered by the Loudon Chamber of Commerce for the best specimen of British grown tobacco have awarded the prize to Messrs James Carter, and Co., London, but have included the following remarks in their report:—"Not one of the four samples eligible for the prize was in any respect valuable for trade purposes, or even merchantable, premiming that no duty was chargeablc upon the article. Still, it was evident that well irrown tobacco leaf could bo produced upon English soil, though of course, this admission in no way takes account of the production. With regard to the prospects of tobacco growing on a remunerative basis in England, we share the opinion that, even under the most favourable conditions possible, such a crop caiiuot be made to pay, aud that in most seasons it ! must be an absolute failure and heavy loss. The climate of this country, to begin with, is less favourable than that of Kentucky or Virginia, aud the cost of production will be found far greater here than in the United States. Until the cuiing of tobacco is perfectly well under-

in the United Kingdom the finest leaf that can be grown will bo absolute!) wasted and useless."

Kkglisii Impokts of Daiby Produce. —La«t year, in addition to its own production, England received 130,000 tons of butter and 91,700 tons of cheese from | over the neas, to the value of £10,387,000, | and during the last five years the value of i dairy produce imported has averaged ' d-16,230,000 a year. Here is a goud strong current of currency that New Zealand ought to try and get a fertilising supply from. It only requires " headworks "to give the race a start. It is a fact, though our people may doubt it, that butter and cheese making in the ordinary way can be improved upon, Denmark:, Sweden, Germany, aud France have found it to be so, and are finding it more beneficial to provide teachers in dairying than in grammar aud geography. People who profess to know, declare that good New Zealand butter is far superior —that is when fresh—to the Danish buttor with all its modern improvements. If that is fio, all that is needed is to make our butter good, to have it properly packed and properly shipped, to secure, well, at least the odd inouey oil England's dairy bill.