FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2650, 6 July 1889, Page 6 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

* Maize tor Distillation*.—The Messrs Chaftey Bros, have received a communication from a firm of distillers of Mel. bourne, inquiring whether Mildura could supply maize in quantities. The firm in question intimated its willingness to take 8000 tons of this gram from Mildura growers at tho ruling market price. It is astonishing that so little attention, comparatively, is given to the maize industry in tho colonics, when wc take into account tho immense proportions it has assumed in tho United States. Few people aro aware how* many advantages it offers or how many uses maize can be put to.

Lossks to Amurican Farmkrs by Inkect Pests.—The farmers of the United States arc losing 300,000,000 dol. a year from tho work of insect". Ju Now York one insect causes the loss of 15,000,000 dol. in one year, The injury from the insects is about one-tenth of the crops. Many of the insects which do the most injury do their worlt unperceived. Tho caterpillar often makes punctures while concealed beneath the foliage, and the out worm hides beneath tho ground in the day time and comes out at night 1.0 do its work. There are probably 1,008,000 species, but only ,T20,000 are known. They propagate rapidly, are constantly feeding, and do not take time even to sleep. But thoy all disclose some vulnerable) point when their habits are studied. Behky's Steam ITarvkster WheatCrROWIXG REVOLUTIONISED,—The Accounts that have recently been published in the American press respecting tho feats accomplished in California by Kerry's steam harvester read wonderfully like some of tho stories connected with Aladdin's lamp. It is stated that last year tho inventor harvested, threshed, winnowed and sacked a crop of over 8000 acres of wheat at. a cost of 2s per acre, and ho ploughed the ground after harvest at Is lOd per acre. The machine, which is a combined header and thresher, cuts a swath of 10 feet wide, and by working nij?lifc and day it develops a capacity of SO acres per day. When tho harvesting- work is finished the heador and thresher are detached, and the engine is used to draw 20 ploughs in 4 gang's of 5 each. iICJN'GARIAN OoRM AND FLOUR.—TiIe superior quality of Hungarian flour is so well kuown, that it is not surprising to find other people trying to benefit by" the reputation. On this subject Mr F. Krapp writes from the Austro-Hungarian Embassy :—" Leading grain exporters in Hungary aro complaining that llnu-

manian wheat is imported into England, France, Italy, and Belgium as Hungarian produce. To render such declaration more plausible, the Roumanian exporters sfal.a that corn grown in the southeastern parts of Hungary is for economy's sake sent vh Daotibe, and then transhipped at Roumanian ports for export abroad. Owing to the inferior results Roumanian wheat gives in the mill in comparison with Hungarian, this mode of trading is likely to injure the repute of tho latter. Iu compliauce with instructions received from tho Imperial and Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna, I am directed to state that Hungarian corn and flour, when not seut overland, is almost exclusively ( shipped from Fiumc or Trieste, and is hardly ever sent through Roumanian' ports." i

The Persian Wool Trade.—The wool trade of Persia and the adjacent regions is almost entirely in the hands of Armenians. They purchase of their own people in Baku and Tiflis, and occasionally send the wool direct to their agents in Marseilles. Agents of Polish manufacturers are, however, says an oiliuial report just issued from the Foreign Office, beginning just now to compote successfully with the Armenians. The Central Asian Railway, too, has lowered the price of the wool very materially. As regards Khorasan wool, the sheep are chiefly the property of nomad tribes. There are two clips a year, and March and August are buying months. Sabzewar is the centre of the trade, and the permanent residence of the Armenians engaged in it. These make cash advances to the Persians, who visit all the villages at the shearing season and purchase the wool, which is then brought to Sebzewar, the Persians being allowed a commission of 2 per cent. At Sebzewar it is sorted and baled, and then forwarded, via fjhahrud, to Bender-i-Oez for shipment across the Caspian. The bales weiu-h about 190 lbs. each. Extraordinary Bunches oe Grapes. —The death is recorded of a celebrated grapo grower, Mr James Dickfon, gardener to Sir Robert Jardine, Bart., at Castlemilk, near Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire. He did not exhibit (ho largest bunch of grapes in the world, for this was done by Mr James Curror, at Edinburgh, in 1875, weight 2Blb. 40z., Mr Dickson's weighing at the show liolb. looz. : but ho always said that when cut it wciplied 2<>lb. Soz. Its shoulders, as tied straight out, measured 2ft, Sin. across, and its circumference, following the contour of

the shoulders to the body of the bunuh, exactly Bft. The length of the buntdi was 2ft. Sin. Mr Dickson was then gardener to Mr John Jardino, at Arkleton. His reputation as a grape grower did not rest

Oil tho solitary bunch mentioned. In ISGD, at the Edinburgh International Exhibition, the first prize was awarded to him for a bunch weighing lfijlb. • i n 187° his_ first prize bunch, at tfie Royal Caledonian Society's Show, weighed 191b. •">*. ; ni 1871 his first tnizo bunch, at t.lio slioh' of t ho samr; .society, weighed 181b, 71 ix. ;in 1 572 his first prize bunch at bly»Sow weighwl HJlb. Goz. ; iu 1573, at i/'i'i' 10 , h,CI ' '"' H . bunch weighed • *" z - ' ilIlc l>>" the same your, another mod, at i;las f ro W wei-hed 1 Gib. lOoz. ll«) died of heart disease at tiie age of 50. Lazy FAK.MKRs.-Mr A. F. Spawn, in a lecture delivered at Avoca the other clay, said tliat in Australia tliov wanted a little more life, ; „ r l 1|( . w ' s uumj „ to think that many of the farmers in \ lctoria were inclined to be a bit lazy, ilieie was not the interest taken in the fanning community j„ Victoria that there should he. At a farm the other day lie was surprised to see the people sending thiee miles for a loaf of bread. There was none of that in America. At that farm they luid 110 vegetable gaiden, though they had 2000 acrcs of land. Ihese big farms wanted cutting up into 100-acre farms, and a family to each, llieu \ ictoria would go ahead. There was, he believed, a great future for Australia, and it might be expected that before long numerous people from America would come to Australia. He then referred to his samples of fruit, &c. J.here was a bottle of vinegar produced from the juice of the peel and core of the apple. The apple was then preserved, and so were the raspberries, apricots, peaches, plums, etc. There were also preserved potatoes, and all sorts of other vegetables. He sold half a ton of preserved potatoes to a steamship company the other day. There was a large and increasing market for preserved fruits and vegetables. He hoped some of the people in the district would set apart their land for fruit-growing. There was no difficulty in disposing of the fruit. The boys from the town who spent a few weeks in the fruit gardens would not only be greatly benefitted in health, but would learn the business, and when they grew up their fathers could buy them a few acres, and tilery they would have a nice business —far better than being in a bank |or any insurance office. He would sng- | gest that if an evaporator was erected in ths district to preserve the apple 3, it would give confidence to the people to go on planting fruit trees. The prune plum was, lie believed, a suitable fruit for growing in this district, and there was also a great demand for them when preserved. Lie gave a few hints on spraying fruit trees to keep them clear of insects. Tliey had a fine climate and a fine country, and a good market, and there was no reason why fruit-grow-ing could not be carried on with good succc-ss.