FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2587, 9 February 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Anothkr Victory for Polled- Angus Cattle : A Splksdid Bcllock.—The winner of the sweepstakes prize for cattle at the Chicago show was Mr Imboden's Aberdeen Angus Dot. His age at the opening of the show was BG3 days, and his weight 1815 lb., which is 1-J ib for each day of his life. The victory of the Aberdeen Angus was unexpected, and the result, of course, gave unbounded satisfaction to the admirers of this breed.

Labels foxi Fruit Trees.—Under the heading' of "A good Lacquer for Label--." t.lio Jtciuic (V Horticulture Beige cl Elrtrngire gives the following as a means by winch garden labels may bt> rendered lasting : " After writing the name on the labels they are to be coated with a .solution of gum arable digested in 30 per cent, pure alcohol, using a soft camel hair pencil and observing to cover the edges of the label thoroughly. When the lacquer ix dry it is brushed over with another, made from mastic 10 parts, '2-10 th fluid storax, and 35 parts ale ihol."

A New Insecticide.—A new insecticide, named Wakelev's specific, was reported on at a recent meeting of the fruitgrowers' union of New South Wales. The secretary stated that he had visited the orchards of Musers Wakeley and R. Power, Seven Hills, which hnd been treated with the specific 11 months ago; it was applied ou apple trees which Heeuied healthy at the time of his visit. A member of the union who had been appointed for the purpose also gave a fitv.mrable report. Speaking of fruit diseases, t.he secretary remarked that what was required was to have fruit inspectors who would visit the orchards twice or thrice a year, show tliepeople how to apply tho various remedies to affected trees, aud instruct them in tho nature of ilie various diseases to which fruit trees were liable.

Improvement im Fkuit Culture in Ireland. —-A movement is being made in tho north of Ireland for improving the culture of fruit trees aud garden produce in the County Fermanagh. The plan, as at present developed, is to secure temporarily the services of a competent working gardener at the charge of a <rroilp of subscribing farmers and others who are do.-irous of tuition in this direction. From such a one they hope to acquire the arts of pruning, &0., and the elements of knowledge ou which such operations are basod. It is to be ho ped, therefore, that a thoroughly competent person will bo secured, to that end, on behalf of the Lisbellaw farmers. This example might be followed, presumably with beneficial results, in very many other districts within the United Kingdom.

Square - headed Wheat : Good Yields —At the last meeting of the Aeademie des Sciences in Paris, M. Deheran read a paper upon the cultivation of .square-headed wheat in France. There has been witiiiu the last two or three years a rapid increase in the cultivation of this variety of wheat. It has been found that the yield has been nearly double that of the other varieties cultivated. M. Deherim produced tabular returns showing what the yield had been .in the various districts of France. It appeared that the average yield of squareheaded wheat this season has been 32 bushels an acre in the south, 40 in the central departments, and 52 in the north. In order to appreciate the significance of these figure*, it should be added that the average yield of wheat for the whole of France is only 16i bushels.

Preservation of Ec;as.—The competition at Bingley Hall in the preservation of eggs was brought to a close at she opening of the show. The eggs hid been delivered at the hall on the Ist of August, and those which were found to bo freshest on being broken three month" afterwards were to eutitle their owner to a prize of 2 guinois. The methods adopted for preservation were found to lie very various. Some of the samples had been immersed in lima and water, others in salt and lime, and others iu lime or salt separately. Several had been well rubbed over with beef and mutton su"t. melted together and packed in bran and sawdust. One exhibitor had used a nonpoisonous autiseptic composition, of which the ingredients were not divulged ; others had resorted to mysterious patents vaguely culled "fossiline " or " friguline." One lady had placed her eggs in a solution of 21b. of quick lime, 2 gallons of water, 5 oz. of common salt, and 1 oz. of cream of tartar. The reporter states that every ono of these receipts is probably as good ns another, and better ; but the prizo was awarded to a dozen unfertile eggs which had been packed in flour. New Butter Roller and Weigher. —A public trial of a new butter roller and weigher was made at the Melbourne Exhibition dairy recently. It is termed the Eureka, the joint patentees of the invention being Messrs J. Jakins, of New Zealand, and Bartram and Son, Melbourne. The machine is simple in construction, consisting of a box capable of holding "25 lb of butter, and having a circular aperture in one end. A square block of wood, the exact size of the inside of the box, and having a large screw w'.ih a handle attached is employed to force the bnlter through the aperture and on to the series of small rollers, where it is divided iut<s pounds or half pounds, as desired, by means of a cutter consisting of three wires strung on a frame. The trial was perfectly successful, the machinc doing its work in a manner that was hi"hly approved of. It is calculated to save a large amount of labour, and to obviate much of the necessity for handling It is also speedy, as 100 lb of butter can be manipulated in an hour, while the butter is improved by the compression to which it is subjected, the water, an active agent iu promoting deterioration being expressed.

Larch Melon Chops.—Reporting 011 an orchard owned by Mr l'eppereli, of Bell Block, which appears to be well worth seeing, tho reporter of the Taranaki News quotes the owner's remarks on melons thus " I have astonished the natives in the magnificent crops of melons —water and rock melons. Last year I had a splendid crop, when thay were a failure generally in the district, and especially with the natives. Last year I had fifty tons of melons off that patch (pointing to a piece of land planted

with melons), and the Maoris could not got them to grow at all. One of the chiefs came to me this season, and wanted to know the secret, but of course I ciunot ;:ive away my experience for untiling for otlr.ns to compete agaii.st, .u-•. It is not done in other trades, and T don t see why it should b:> done in fruitgrowin,'. ' l:i answer to another question, ae stated lie fully anticipated having even a larger crop <.f melons this year than lie had last year. We noticed a considerable amount of inmsaud sprinkled on the melon beds, and were informed it was used for the purpose of generating lieat and thus forcing the growth. "You see," he said, "these melons are -iemi-tropieal fruits, and you must supply them with the requisite heat, or they will not cme to pa'feetion. I find nothing answers so well for that purpose as to mix the ground with ironsand. It is astonishing how hot the Ivils become when the sun is shining upon them."

Warm Water for Da iky Cows.—An elaborate system of experiments recently conducted by the Agricultural College of Michigan (*ays one of my correspondents in the United States) shows that milk and butter products are slightly increased by warming the water drunk by dairy cows. Professor Johnson who directed these experiments, says the results are not so pronouncedjiu favour of warm water as was expected, and the difference is so slight as scarcely to pay for wanning the water. Though the gain in inilk and butter may hardly pay the dairyman, nevertheless, the improvement of the cow's condition by the artificial warmth of the water is great. The animal may be. compared to an inauimatcd motor, like the steam engine, deriving all its power for locomotion and digestion from it,a internal heat. Ordinarily, the heat necessary to keep the animal in health : i;id vigour, and to enable it to resist external cold, is involved within its body by the chemical changes going on in the process of digesting its food. When this supply of animal heat runs low, as it is sure to do in a severe winter, the animal suffers in all its organs. But if the natural heat ia supplemented by the artificial heat in the winter the animal drinks, all its functions are strengthened, and its ability to endure severe cold is considerably increased. Swket on Sour Cream.—lt is wellknown, writes an experienced maker, that there in some lots of butter fat, by almost every proces-i of slumming', as well as of chnrniiur ; and that, while on tho ono hand we may lose 10 per cent, bv -kiiriminuf the shallow nans, we may lose 15 per cent, by c!nirn'.:i:r sweet cream. Ihe first thing, Iherefore, to remedy i< the system of separation ; the second the system of churuir::r. if a faulty system exists. Sweet ereum has repoitedly been churned with a result—as compared with other test ehurniiurt (if sour cream —of a cost of from 8 to 15 per cent of butter ; iiml t.he same loss has occurred in the ehnnunir of whole milk. To churn sweet milk is ruination, the porcentaif 1 of loss being so great,. Nor is it, sufficient that the milk bo sour; it must, in fact, be lappered or curdled. Let us quote one experiment only : 3-31 b. of new milk was brought to a thick curd in 4S hours by the addition of some sour whey. It was ehursecl at 00 do;;. ; in an apartment at 59 deg., granular bu'i was brought in 18 minutes. The inilk was mixed, and Jersey milk predominated. The butter obtained was Jib. or 5 per cent., thus less than two gallons was required to make lib of butter. In a second instance 341b of milk was churned at the same temperature, but the milk was only slightly sour, and only lliozs. ol butter was obtained in 1 hour 25 minutes. Tho Marchande process showed 1.5 per cent, of fat in the butter milk. Similar results were obtained by churnins perfectly sweet, inilk.

Chi.s'ksk AoitrcuLTiTßAL Laboururs tx California.-—The Chinaman hi California appears t<> hive become master of the situation. It is reported that the Fresno vincyardist are having 1 a groat ileal of trouble with thess Chinnso grape pickers this year. A few seasons :igo this eliiSi of labour could be secured at almost any price, but since the Ohineso h ivr secured exclusive control of this branch of industry they have become arrogant and self important, and this, notwithstanding the fact that Ihey arc receiving from Idol. •2-i cents, to Idol. yO cents, a day, a large increase on former washes. They strike if a white foreman is put over thorn, if a Chinese foreman urges them to work faster, or if tbpy do not think they are getting enough pay. They Rive no cause for striking:, but quit work and a vineyard without a word of explanation, leaving thousands of dollars worth of grapes to go to ruin upon the vines. The ftrapo-growers >"><l manufacturers who have fostered Chinese labour are finding out that the little yellow man will uot always remain a serf, but that, when he becomes master of the situation, as he is at the present time in this industry, he will crack his whip over the head of his former unster and make him dance to a merry tune. However, the result of the strike in the vineyard among the Chinese this year will bo their displacement to make rortm for young Americans from the country towns and cities of oilifoniia, adding; to progress by cnc Hirailintr industry and keeping at home the thousauds of dollars which the Chinese grape pickers have been sending annually to their native land.