FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2623, 4 May 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

* Exsilagk j>; India. — Ensilage is proving a great help to cattle moil in India. If, saves the stock from starvation during the hot weallier, when the grass is dried lip. The, native grasses make good en-ilage. Cattle fed 011 such ensilage, with a pound daily of cocoanut pomace, tire always fit for the butcher.

English Slkds: A Bad Season.—ln consequence of the unfavourable autumn, the condition of garden seeds was very low, the general average over the whole country beinsr bad. Seeds from Bolgiuin, the north of France and Germany were a little, but only a little, better than seeds of the same kind grown in England. Seeds obtained from the districts south of L'.iris were sensibly better, while thoso from southern Franco left little to be desired. Peas in England were lato in ripening, and many were more or less spoiled with the continuous wet before they could bo stacked. Most samples contain a very large proportion of waste, causing great trouble in picking out the discoloured, deformed, half-matured feeds from the others, and thus adding to their cost. Beans suffered in a similar manner, making good samples soarce. The kidney varieties wery also a partial failure, though the beans are more perfect than the peas. Onion seed was a total failure in England, thoxgh the crop promised well at one time, but it was not sufficiently ripened to withstiud the October frost. Continental seeds also suffered to a large extent. Beet and Mangel Wurxel were severely injured in 'he germ by the frosts of October; Carrot, Carcliflower, Celery, Endive, Lettuce, Leek, Spinach and Parsley were all severely injured in quality and much reduced in quantity. Separated Milk.—la a recent aiticle by Mr James Mackenzie, of Cork, on " Irish Dairy Factories," appear some forcible remarks on the value of separated milk. He says that farmers have not yet quite got over the absurd idea that separated milk is unfit for calves, and this has hitherto been the means of cheeking the factory movement very much. More than one high authority cn chemical research have given it as their opinion that, while this milk has nearly all the fat removed, it is richer in curd (olieese), that constituent of tlie milk being heavier than the butter-fat. and consequently being forced out by the centrifugal action of the separator. Farmers having large herds of cows, and who are situated at inconvenient distance from a factory, would do well to fit the ueces sary machinery on their own farms ; the fcirst outlay—where the cows number 33 to 50 —being saved in a single season's work. It has been calculated that a sum of from 30a to 40s per cow can be made on the modern system, over that usually realised in the old way ; and Mr Mackenzie knows no simpler or more profitable mauner of working a grass farm, than by keeping a lot of good cows, sending the milk to a factory, and—with the aid of some calf meal or ground flax-seed— rearing a good lot of well-bred young stock New Dairy Appliance: A "Bottek Extractor." —Speculation is rife among furmers and dairymen as to what the still unseen and untried " butter extractor," said to have just been invented by an ingenious Swede, will bo like. It is claimed for this machine that it extracts the butter from the milk in one act, dispensing with the operation of churning altogether. But practical dairymen are in doubt about so sudden a change from milk to butter being possible of accomplishment. Separating the cream and churning the butter are two distinct operations, each requiring so much care that even with tlio best constructed apparatus it is more than doubtful if they can be carried out at one time. By our present appliances we first take all the fat out of the milk, and then, after maturing the cream, or ripening it, as it is called—without which process the highest yield of butter cannot be obtained —we commence to churn. This operation of churning, as most people who have tried it find, is a most delicate and difficult work. Jf the temperature be too high, then the butter eomes soft, or, perhaps, won't come at all; if it be too low, it is impossible to extract all the butter from the milk, if nothing worse happens. Yet, by this proposed method, the churning must needs take place in a few moments, substituting the normal timo of ripening and churning, the very processes which have always been counted so important and necessary in the manufacture of good butter. We should welcome (hi introduction of a new and improved churn, but the man who proposes to do away with this implement entiroly is evidently in advance of his day and generation.

How TO GET THE BEST RESULTS FROM Milk in Bdtter-making. — Not long since a farmer's wife complained to us that she did not get the yield of butter from her cows that one of her neighbours did, and she wished to know if we could give her any light on the subject. Upon inquiry we found that the cows on both farms were natives and handled alike. But when we inquired further iuto the manner of caring for the cream we saw at once where the difficulty lay. It was her practice to skim her milk every morning and put the cream into an earthen jar which was kept in a cellar. Churning was done twice a week. But the particular point where she failed was in putting the last skimming immediately after it was taken from the milk into the churn. When we told her that she received but little benefit from the last skimming thus handled, she could hardly bo persuaded of the truth of our assertion. We are convinced, however, that this mistake is largely indulged in by the makers of farm butter. From recent experiments in the production of butter from sweet and sour cream, carried out at the Agricultural Experiment Station of the University of Wisconsin, it was proved that 1001b of sour cream yielded from 21b to 41b more butter than the same quantity of sweet cream, which confirms the geueral impression that it is more profitable to churn from sour than from sweet cream. The last skimming should be thoroughly stirred with the older cream, and the whole kept from 6 to 12 hours, depending upon the age and acidity of the older cream, before churning. Thoso who make a practice of skimming fresh milk and putting the cream at once into the churn, will always complain of a light yield of butter.—Leader.

The Best Way to Sell Fruit ani> Farm Produce.—The annual report of the Fruit Growers' Association of Ontario for 1887 contains, along with other information, a report of the annual meeting in Barrio. One of the subjects discussed was the marketing (packing, transportation, &c.) of small fruits. In answer to a question as to whether growers would meet with success were they personally to superintend the selling and transport of fruit, Mr A. M. Smith said :—I think I can tell you just about how that would work. In all these large cities there are commission men who, when they see a stranger come in with a lot of fruit, stand back and say, "He has to sell it at some price ; we will just wait. There is a ring among the commission men in these large cities, who act together inthat way. The fruit growers of the Niagara district having a great deal of trouble in disposing of their fruit aatissactorily through these men, got together and formed a joint stock company, and we have since employed an agent of our own and put him in Toronto, and another one in London. We consign our fruit to them, and they sell it and deposit the money iu a bank to our credit. That we think the safest way of disposing of oar surplus fruit. We require our own agent to give security." The President: "Do you get as good a price in that way as under the old system ?" Mr A. M. Smith: "At first we had some trouble in getting a good agent. These commission men tried at first to crowd our man out of the market ; but we persevered, and people got to understand who he was, and in getting fruit from him they were getting it directly from the growers and tliey commenced to patronise him. The consequence has been that this year our business has increased very mach, and the man his had all he could do. We pay our agent a salary. We also sell on commission for other parties through our agent, charging tne same commission as anyone else, and dividing the proceeds."

L'k.vsvnt PaopuiE'roEsiiiP.—A report which has just been issued by tho British Consul at Nice describes peasant proprietorship iiiid the metayer system iu the M.'triliino Alps. The former prevnils around Mentone, and is the only place in France known to tho consul in which tho results me favourable. This he attributes to tho lie of the ground, by which tho land is open to the full notion of the sun, while tho lofty mountains behind keep off the cold winds, and afford an abundant supply of water, which can be readily distributed for irrigation. He combats the statement of Madame de Baring re. sprotiug tho condition of the Mentone peasants, and say.s they are exceptionally well to do. At tho samo time he observes that thrift is a passion with them, and amounts almost to avarice ; they live to save, not save to live. They never indulge in the smallest available luxury, a.id their savings are so large as to neutralise tho evil effects of the French law of inheritance with regard to the subdivision of property, for tho younger children generally receive an equivalent in money for the share of the land to which they are entitled. Arouud Nice the metayer system prevails, and works well for the peasants at least, Their dwellings are well constructed, roomy and comfortable, and their food is good and abundant. The landlord pays all taxes, repairs, &c., and is at the mercy of the tenant as regards his share of tho produce. In a bad year he would get nothing except half of the olive crop and a few vegetables and some fruit iu kind, for the tenant would consume all tho rest in the maintenance of himself and his family. In other parts of the Riviera, as at Villeneuve-Laubot, whore peasant proprietorship prevails, the condition of the peasant is deplorable. He can save nothing, and tho subdivision by the law of inheritance of even the smallest plots loads to impoverishment aud tho disappearance of families. Mr Harris concludes that, with the single exception of Mentone, where from local causes peasant proprietorship flourishes, the metayer system is the ono which affords the peasant tho greatest amount of content and prosperity in the Riviera. Under it lie is always sure of bis food, and he can lay by something for a rainy day by hiring himself out occasionally as a day laborer.

The Codlin Moth. The following letter has been received by a resident of Hamilton froin Mr Gregson, President of the Northern Entomological Society, and Vice-President of the East Lancashire Entomological Society : — " Your last letter here to-day with enclosed moth. In reply to your questions I may say : Carpocapsa pomonana, of our present authors, or, rather, list makers, tho phalana tinea pomonclM, of Linnajus, is abundant, and destructive in the apple-growing districts in England, and often does great damage to plums in the same counties, but it does not occur so far north as Lancashire and Yorkshire, 53deg. and 54de<j. north. A library of twaddle has been published about it, and how to destroy it, and what to destroy it with, but very little has been said or done practically to lead to its extermination, simply because few, if any, of the writers were or are acquainted with its morphology, or perhaps I had better say 'its life history.' This led many to say use lime wash, gastar, etc, to the trunk of the trees, and so prevent the grubs creeping up to the young fruit, etc., etc., when, as a matter of fact the grubs were and are hatched upon the young spur and young' shoots of tho trees where tho eggs are deposited by the mother moth. Now the morphology being known, the remedy is easy, but, being so simple, we who know it don't care to press our inch of wisdom upon dunces who won't be taught, unless the seeming remedy some "sheels green" or other dangerous poison, easy to use, and wonderful to talk about at market or fair, is recommended, hence those who could advise are silent, and the nostrum mongers are blatant, and the farmer crying over his fruit. Last year plums in Worcestershire were a failure, in consequence of the pest carpocapsa pomonana or apple moth, whioh you call codlin moth. I give its life history in extenso, that you may so act as practisally to destroy its injuriousness. Garpocapm pomonana lays its eggs on tho terminal shoots of fruit trsei iu England

in June and July, The young larrie hatch eut and feed within the frnit, causing it to fall from the tree* before it gets ripe. The larva continue to feed within thff falkn fruit until they are full fed, when they leave it and spin a slight web and change to a chrysalis on the ground amongst the decaying herbage, etc., and appear next season to do tha same. Now, to a practical mind, the remedy is obvious. Let every fallen apple be gathered morning or evening, and burnt, given to the swine, or otherwise destroyed, not laid away to rot and you have effectually destroyed the larva from which next season'** moths would, in the course of nature, have been produced. This simple but effective action on the part of the orchardist requires labour, and a good deal of it the first and second year, but ou the third year little will bo required to keep down the pest. In the Economic Naturalist I have givsn other simple remedies for other pests, and also in other works. In fact, to the natura'ist who studies life history all this is easy, but it is a closed page. Pigs won't eat our cider apples, and no one else for that matter, but you grow better sorts, It is best to. boil the fallen fruit for them ia any case.