FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 2641, Issue 2641, 15 June 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

To Dissolve Box km. — Take at the rate of 421b. of finely-crushed bones, placo them in a wooden vessel, pour 2lib. of sulphuric acid into G3lb. of wator, mix, then p.mr mi tlio bones, and mix tho whole. togiitiii.T, or tho water may first bo poured on the bones and the acid afterwards ; cover up and leave to staud far throe days, when it will bo ready for use.

Tijk I'uiurc ok Fkuit ix Covknt Gakmsn Makickt.—Tho following were tho prices of fruit in Ciivent Garden market on the 11th April:—Apples, zs to ■Is per half .-k>ve ; do., Canada and Nova Scutiii, 7s to 17s per barrel ; grapes, 2s Gd to Gs per lb. ; lemons, 12s to 2!s per case; pine apples, English, Is 6d to 2s per lb.; do.; St. Miuhaol, 2s to 8s each ; strawberries, Is 1.-.J 7s pur lb. A half sieve contains 'i\ gallons.

A Scale Exterminator.—A new scale exterminator has been introduced to New Zualund by an English gardener, named J. Keen, who has taken out letters patent for it in conjunction with a partner, and they havo concluded arrangements for its wholesale manufacture. The exterminator possesses nil the neoossary ingredients for cheaply and expeditiously ridding , fruit trees of the post. Trials on tree 3 infested with scale havo shown that a .single applicition is sufficient to destroy the noxious insects. The specific ia in the form of powder, and being readily soluble in water can bo effectively applied by means of a syringe or spraying pump.

Sugar of Lead : A Specific Remedy for Woolly Apitm.—A contemporary reportn that in the orchard of Mr Mellet, of Nelson, a number of trees were recently so badly infested with blight that orders had been given for their destruction. An experiment was first, tried with paint consisting , of o oz. of sujjar of lead to one gallon of limewanh. The effect was marvellous. The withered misetablo looking specimens of fruit trees are now converted into clean healthy tresa thick ly laden with fruit. Tho paint in applied with an ordiuary brnsh, and, although of a poisonous nature, does not in any way effect the fruit.

Barnyard Manure.—At n. muetiuir of farmers' institute, its reported in the NewYork Country Gentleman, Mr Woodward, quoting from the writings of the late Ohandos Wren Hoskyns, termed the average barnyard manure, " the corpse from which the spirit is gono." Ho said he believed iu cntninerciiil fertiliser.", but thought wo could in ike it cheaper by stock feeding. In a trip to England last summer he saw tho finest pastures in the world, but said that every eow, sheep and horse was also fed cm grain-'every day in tbo year. Formerly Knglaud grew no larger crops than we, but now they r.re bettor, on account of the shiploads of oiltnoal, cotton seed meal and bran which they draw from this country.

Truth on the De-hokning of Cattle. —A writer iu Truth says: — ; 'I see that tho questions of tho cruelty of dehorning cattle has cropped tip again—this time iu Cork—and that tho court has dismissed the charge, on the ground, apparently, that, on the whole, taking all things into consideration, railway journeys, sea voyages, &<:., cattle suffer ;nore by having horns than by being deprived of them Still, thero is no question at all that the process of depriving a cow of its horns is excruciatingly painful Now, with the exception of the Durham, the three most celebrated breeds of cattle in Britain, viz., the black Aberdeen, tho black Ayrshire, and the red Norfolk, have naturally no horus. Why, I wouder, do not farmers and exporters sat themselves to work to breed all our cattle hornless ? A very few years would do it. In a railway truck, in a ship's hold or in a cold oountty like Canada (where the horns freeze), horns are a very serious disadvantage to an ox, and they are no use to any one but little boys, who use thorn as trumpets. Even shoo horns are now usually made of some mineril or vegetable substance, aud tho very Scotch now eat their porridge with motiil apoous." The Oxiox.-—The bulb of this plant, which belongs to t'ne family of lilies, is utilised as an article of food in almost all countries and amongst a!l peoples, al though it is much inoru largely u<od in the warm than iu th? temperate or cold regions of the world. From time immemorial it has been an important relish of common and everyday life in Spain and Portugal, Morocco, Tunis, Egypt and Arabia. The early Egyptians regarded the plant as an objeet worth}' alike of religious adoration and stomachic digestion, aud their modern descendants assign to it a place in their Mahometan paradise. The ancient Israelites during their sojourn in the wilderness of Siuai, when they grew dissatisfied with their daily and unchangeable dietary of manna, sighed after the luxuries of the laud of Pharoah, and murmured amongst themselves, saying,, "We remember the cucumbers and the melons, tho leeks, the onions aud ihe garlic." It is interesting to know that the dry substance of the onion bulb is remarkably rich in flesh forming food stuffs, ranking in this respect with tho pea and tho bean.

The Effkct of the Blossoms ov the Yiet,i> of Potatoes.—The subject of the relation between blossoming and the development or tubers in the potato is dealt with in a pamphlet recently issued by Mr E. Wooliiy, a German scientist. In Germany, where, owing mainly to the climate, blooming of potatoes is very much restricted, the tubers are, as a rule, larger than in Chili, the habitat of the potato, where it (lowers abundantly. This fact seems to indicate a sort of balance between the two modes of reproduction by the tubers and by the seeds; the energy of the one seems to bring about the decadence of the other. In this country by suppressing the flowers a grower on one occasion was enabled to increase the harvest to tho extent of 2G78 lbs per acre. Woolny recognises that, from his experiments, the development of the flower is prejudicial to that of tho tubers. Experiments were conducted in 18S6 on many varieties that produce flowers. Four plots were planted with each variety, or acting as a duplicate or control, being to itself; the inflorescence on the other three was cut at two or three different periods. The inflorescence oftenest cut off produced the crop of greatest weight; it also exercised an influence on the number as well as size of the tubers. However, the early varieties and the plants which had not been topped till late gave a contrary result—one crop being poor, probably because there remained some little time between the operation and the maturity of the tubers and the season had been especially dry from 14th July to 25 l h August. These experiments confirm the theory that climatic influences have a good deal to do with the yield of potatoes. Dryness and sunlight are generally believed to induce bloom and humidity ; a sky more or less cloudy is more favourable to the formation of tubers.

Sir John Lawes' and the Sale of Cattle by Weight.—The last piece of advice that tho lato Sir J. B. Lawea gave to tho British farmer was in referenco to the system of selling cattle by weight. "It appears to me," he wrote, " a somewhat serious matter to keep stock upon good food for 14 or 15 weeks, nud then to find that, if wo estimate the beef upon them at tho market price of tho day, the animals are not worth moro than wo gave for thorn three or four months before. Now, such a thing could not happen if farmers would purchase stock by weight instead of by guess work, and could make some estimate regarding their rate of increase when feeding, the value of the manure they produce, &c. Farming is not the profitable business it was a quarter of a century ago, and we must meet the exigencies of tho times by adopting moro accurate modes of carryiug it on, such as the weigh-bridgo, which I consider to be absolutely necessary in the sale and purchase of stock. Having for many years weighed all the stook on and off my farm, I can tdsi ify to the great value of tho sysiem ; and as tho legislature has made it compulsory ujxm those who tuko tolls to erect weigh-

bridars ut the farm and markets, it raiibfc surely bo worth while lor fanners to satisfy themselves an to the values of tho sy.item. Tho Times has lately commoused giving a weekly special return of llifl weights of all aninwls sold at the Islington onttle market, al<o fjivintr tho price at pi-r .-.touf of lJlb., mul remarks oppo-ite each on try discriptive of tho ,» character of enoh lot and the quality of the flesh. Tho step taken by the Times in this direction is said to have finally and officially established the new and better, practice,by.,which beasta-ure Bold entirely upon their merits, and both /•. buyer and seller ni;o put upon an equal footing. Victiikiax, .Api-lks fib. tjik Pauls Exhibition. : -.Wii'eii ; the first ship-n-.cnt of Victorian fruit was made per Orient steamer Iberia on the 29th of March last, liy the Victorian Commission for the Paris Exhibition, a case containing samples of all the varieties forwarded, consisting principally of apples, was kept back and placed in the office of the commission by direction of the secretary (Mr £). M. Cameron), where f jt has since been allowed to stand unopened, A week has elapeed since the arrival of the Iberia in London, arid the shipment has therefore had time to reach the Victorian court at the Paris Exhibition, where the fruit is to be shown both for sale and competition. It was consequently decided to open the case lftft behind in Melbourne ou Saturday morning. As each piece of fruit was taken from the case, and-its covering of tissue paper removed,' it was found that the bloom was as fresh and the fruit as firm as could possibly be desired. Indeed it looked as if it had just been plucked from the trees. It is therefore hoped, as there is every likelihood of the greatest paiha being taken in transhipment, that the whole of the fruit will reach Paris in first-class condition, and command ready sale at high figures. The fruit was packed under the supervision of Mr Neilsou, curator of the Royal Horticultural Society of Victoria. The Victorian Commission for the Paris Exhibition deserves all the success which it seems probably will attend its efforts to open up the home and continental markets to the fruit growers of the colony, who will, doubtless, be stimulated to fresh efforts next season to develop the exportation of fruit and to send it away so that it may be put upon the «« home markets at a time when the homegrown fruit is not to be had. From this point of view the action of the commission is likely to lead to results which will lie of immense benefit to the colony at I large.—Leader. . '