FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2647, 29 June 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

MANITI'-ACTURU OK SDCAU by FAUIIKBS.

—Professor Wiley, the expert of the United States Agricultural department, declares officially, after a long experiment, that the manufacture of sugar from sorghum, on a small scale, by farmers, has been so far perfected as to be commercially successful. How TO JtJOGE THE QUALITY OF'PKARS. —To judge the quality of pears, a French contemporary says .-—The pear ou which one can writo his name with facility, and of which tho dry skin does not rebel against tho ink, aro of remarkable quality. Those, on tho contrary, of which tho skin is greasy and resists the absorption of tho ink aro of iuferior quality. Japanese Pf.ujis.—Several of the peculiar varieties of plums fouud in Japan are being cultivated in the United States, and among them aro some good fruits and auro producers. A varioty known, as tho

•'Botan," and also called "Abundance," is said to be a real good plum, not excessively large, but juicy. sweet and pleasant, roundish oval, cherry coloured when fully matured. The tree comes into bearing early and tho fruit ripens early. It is, besides, possessed of the valuahle quality of resistance to tho plum ourcuUo or borer.

Blue Gums.—The Australian Blue Gum is proving a valuable tree in California. The Fresno Republican states that " one hundred acres of Eucalyptus trees near Ilaywards, only a few years old, yielded 4000 cords of wood, which will sell readily at odol. per cord, or 20,000d01. for the 100 acres. It will he transformed into charcoal, however, «nd bo sold for a larger sum. Thero are thousands of acres of land in this county not now utilised that could bo profitably planted with blue gums." Wiltshire Bacon.—ln Wiltshire they believe that the excellence of bacon and ham depends more upon the careful cleansing of the meat previous to its being put into the pickle than upon the amount of tho various ingredients used. For a pig of ordinary size, IMb of bay salt, lib of common salt, Goz of saltpetre and of the coarsest brown sua'ar or treacle are considered sufficient. Pound tho bay salt and saltpetre, mix them well with the common salt and the sugar or treacle; then, after the meat has been thoroughly rubbed with salt and drained, rub it with tho mixture carefully in every part of both bacon and ham, and lay the pieces together in tho trough. Let them lie a month, turning them every alternate day, then drain and dry or smoke as you prefer.

Ancient British Cattle.—Chillingham Castle, in Northumberland, is the seat of the Earl of Tankerville, whore there is an extensive park, in which are kept, besides deer, some of the original cattle of Britain. As these are exceedingly rare, specimens of them being only to be found in one or two other places, they are objects of great curiosity to strangers. They are exceedingly ficrce, and it is not safe for a person 011 foot to approach them. When it is designed to kill one the keeper enters the place on horseback, and selecting the fatteßt of the herd, shoots it, and makes his escape as sppedily as possible, leaving the carcase to be removed at a convenient time. The cattlo aro of middle size, have very long legs, and the cows aro fine horned. They aro perfectly white, with the exception of the tip of the nose, which, liko the orbit of the eye, is black. Shoe Your Own Horse.—The London Times announces an invention which is called " the nailless horseshoe." The shoe is so adapted to the foot that the drivernnd teamster can put 011 the new shoo within three minutes, and it will serve every purpose and will remain 011 as long as a shoe that is held on by the old method of nails. This new shoe pinches the edge of the hoofs at certain points, and is held 011 mainly in this way, 110 nails being driven into the hoof. When it is remembered that at least one horse in every forty is injured by the driving of nails into the quick of the hoof, the value of this invention not only in saving lime in shoeing, but in removing perils, will be seen. It is not known that the invention has yet reached this country, but it is claimed that it has been successfully employed in England, and that it will work a revolution in the shoeing of horses everywhere; English Butter. — Speaking at Knutsford, at a lecture by Miss Maidment, on butter making, Lord Egerton said the butter produced generally from the majority of English dairies was not made on any definite and well established principle, and in consequence the producers were unable to obtain as high price as was obtained by other countries. What they had to aim at was that there should be uniform quality of butter, made on some definite principle. Wholesale purchasers of butter were very particular that samples should be of the same quality. He thought it was disgraceful, seeing that though they had the best cows and best pastures, they did not get the highest standard. In cheese making also an improvement was necessary. In former days Cheshire cheese was in demand abroad, but now it was seldom bought by foreigners, because it was not made on keeping principles, and because of its deterioration iu the course of transit. He hoped that the result of the action of the llnyal Agricultural Show and their own county society would be an improved method of butter making, and they would be able to com pete favourably with foreign producers. Chilled Ploughs.—At a recent meeting of the Speyside Farmers' Club, in Scotland, a discussion took place on the relative merits of the chilled or American plough and the common swing plough. The gentleman who introduced the sub-

i, jeot said ho had tried tho chilled plough, r and the work it did was very satisfactory, t It went deeper than the ordinary swing - plough, and left nothing hut what Was r turned over. When thoy camo to hari rowing after these ploughs, thoy would ; find that a great deal loss of that was required to produce the same effect as the t other ploughs, Ho had noticed the [• rigs which were ploughed with them had . tho best mould, and this was of great ■ consequence to the turnip crop. Tho i American plough would do iu the same i time a half more work, and although i turniug a much bigger furrow, it had about a half less draught on tho horses. It was also less costly to be maintained. : He calculated that thero was a saving in ; tho blacksmith's bill of at least £2 per plough per season when the chilled plough was used, as compared with the common plough. Tho majority nf the speakers wero in favour of tho chilled ploughs, though it was generally admitted that thoy wero not so good as tho ordinary plough on rough land, and whore there wero many lodged stones or rocks. Our own experience with theso chilled ploughs, both at homo and in Americ a, is that thoy are certainly economical in working, do excellent work, and a great, deal easier on the horses than tho ordinary plough. They are best adapted for strong clay soil, however, which they break and pulverise bettor than tho common plough. They also save harrowing to a greater extent, and give a finsr tilth for the seed. Saisfoix.—Attention may be drawu to the success of the Sainfoin plant in tho dry regions of America. Tho Agricultural College of Fort Collins, Colorado, has experimented wif,h tho new forage for the last four years, and the Professors' statements agree that they have had confidenco in the future prospects of Sainfoin iu the " great American desert." The plant is very easily grown, and is well adapted for dry, hilly land. It will not produce such heavy crops as lucerne does, but the quality of hay is far [ superior and fully equal to clover, and by some preferred to the latter. As a fertiliser it stands fully equal to lucerne and clover. Its long taproots penetrate the ground from 10ft. to loft, and bj r the decay of the roots from year to year it improves tho soil in a high degree. After ploughing under a field of Sanfoin 1 tho ground is left in tho best condition for i growing all kinds of grain. It succeeds < with very littlo moisture. 'It starts ! earlier in tho spring than any other < grass, and remains green later in the ' autumn. As a proof of tho value of tho c plant, there has lately been an extra- I

ordinary demand for seed in America

and many stockmen are hopeful of converting their plains, formerly considered worthless, into green and rich meadows. From what wo can learn Sainfoin appears to bo a forage plant that might be grown more extensively. Baron Von Mueller, in his Select Extra Tropical Plants, says that " the Sainfoin, or Esparsetto, is fond of marly soil, and living in dry localities. It prepares calcareous soil for ccreal culture. It prospers still whero red clover and lucerne no longer succeed. Tho plant will hold out for five or seven years." Agriculture in China.—lf the Chinese are as shrewd as they are generally said to bp, there ought, some day or other, to bo a very large demand from that country for foreign agricultural |

implements. Tho Chinese are great agriculturists and gardeners, but tkey work with extremely antiquated tools, and labour incessantly upon their land with relatively poor "results. They thrash their grain either with flails or by means of a stone roller, and tho-i dress it in tin; air in a slight brocsw. They gather all sorts of refuse for use as manure, and irrigate their fields in the most patient manner, but do all by hand. Tlie Americui Consul at Fekin, describing the agriculture of North China, says:—"Chi. nese agricultural implements are of the rudest character. They are, chiefly, the plough, the hoe, the harrow, therakeand the stone roller. The plough is simply a broad blade fastened to a rough handle, guided by a man and drawn by teams of the most miscellaneous description. The teams are made up of horses, donkeys, mules, bullocks and human beings. Foreign agricultural implements, especially ploughs, might be introduced with good effect among the Chinese, except that the price would deter all but very few from buying them. A Chinese plough can be bought for the equivalent of two or three Mexican dollars, and smaller tools in proportion. There are no great stores devoted to the sale of agricultural implements as with us, they being made by hand, either by a neighbouring blacksmith or by the farmer himself, as occasion demands," Professor Lonb os the Butter Industry in New Zealand.—Professor Long, of London, has, at the instance of the New Zealand Government, reported on the prospects of that colony increasing its exports of butter and cheese to the Mother Country, and his suggestions are of equal interest to those engaged in the business in Victoria. He states that New Zealand butter of as fine flavour and in as good conditiou as the best European could be landed in England, but the rivalry of the former would" limit prices. New Zealand would be a formidable antagonist to the European farmer, because butter could be produced in the islands both in winter and summer cheaper than in Europe, and the New Zealand farmer, therefore, is placed much upon the level of his northern competitors. But the New Zealand' dairyman has much to learn in the art of making the finest cheese as well as butter, and must avail himself of every resourca furnished by science and experience in extracting "all the cream from the milk and all the butter from the cream, and must besides make, pack, salt and ship," in the most perfect manner. He advises that a few skilled men should be brought out by the Government to instruct the local butter and cheese makers, and that it also send experimental shipments of botlr articles of " various ases and packed in different ways." He further advises that the finest stock dairy cattle should be imported into New Zealand. He gives many other important hints to those who would enter the field against their European rivals about refrigeration, the utilisation of skim milk, the preparation of condensed milk, &c. AGEIfIULTt/KK IX TuKKKY.—'TIIE "sick man of Europe," as Turkey is so frequently called, is awakening to the necessity of doing something for agriculture. It has begun to realise that its natural industry cannot be left to take care of itself, which would mean that every other nation will go before it. The Sultan is said to bthroughly in earnest in the matter, and a committee, consisting of tho leading officials of tho coun try, has been formed to consider the steps necessary for dealing with all questions of rural economy. Recently, Turkey, which ought to have an abunda.ice of horses even for export, had to rely on importation for army purposes, and as a first step the Sultau has ordered the creation of stallion depots for selected horses to bo bred in those provinces of Asia Minor where degeneracy has been most marked, and the commission has received orders to import stallions and mares frrom Hungary, which will be distribute'! among 3 the leading landowners, iu order to get them acclimatised. Tho Sultan has also had a breeding stud formed upon the domain of the School of Agriculture at Holkali, where experiments will be made in crossing different breeds of horses, with a view to ascertaining for which proviuoes they are best suited. At this school there are to be herds of cattle of the chief

English, French, Swiss, and Dutch breeds and orders have been given for the purchase in France of some Merino sheep. These are considered to be very well adapted to the vast plains and tablelands of Asia Minor, There is also to bo a Jardin rl' Acclimation—upon the model of that in Paris—for the breeding of poultry raid other domesticated animals. A series of agricultural shows is also to be held in the course of a few years. In the meanwhile no time is to be lost in

organising agricultural education in a very complete form and upon a throughly scientific basis, and schools arc to be opened at once in several ccntros, such as Broussa, Salouica, and Adiianople, with experimental farms and fields attached to them. The O.ve Effective Method op Combatting Tim Codux Moth.—People talk, argue, lecture and write rcspectinsr the best means of destroying the Codlin Motli, although it has been clearly demonstrated that there is only one method of keeping it down, not to say its eradiction, for that seems impossible, unless nature steps in and puts an end to it by means which men would never suspect. Hardly an American horticultural publication coitips to hand, but contains reports of the effectiveness of arsenical poisoning, [ applied in the force of Paris green or London purple, liquified and applied by means of the spray pump. The latest report that has come under our liutiej is by Professor A. J. Cook, of the Michigan Agricultural Ccllege, who writes in the American Agriculturist that after an experience of eight years with Paris green or London purple, he can say that they are safe and effectual. He prefers London purple, as it is cheap, mixes easily with water and remains mixed longer thau the heavier and more expensive Paris gresn, One pound of London purple to 100 gallons of water is strong enough. With this weak mixture there is no clangor of injuring the leaves and the user can afford to apply it in sufficient quantity. He is particular that it should be applied as soon as the petals fall, but not before for fear of injuring the bees or endangering the honey; while if spraying is delayed the insects may have been hatched, entered the fruit and thus lost.

As apples blossom at different periods several sprayings are required so as to catch the proper time for each variety. He insists upon the spraying being effectively performed ; the liquid should be thrown with force and plenty of it, so that every apple may be touched, and that directly in the eye, otherwise it is useless, for notwithstanding what may be said, it is certain that the moth lays itseggs nowhere but inside the blossom. It is not the fact that the grub leaves one fruit voluntarily to enter another, though it mav be obliged to do so, for the grub, though it enters the fruit from the eye, makes a channel , to the side for getting rid of its excrement, and it occasionally happens that it sinks upon another fruit when ill a cluster, and is obliged to work its way through that also before it can reach the open air, and thus leaves the two openings in the sides of the fruit which appear before those super ficial observers.