FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2701, 2 November 1889, Page 6 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Big Profit krom Siieef. — One of tho large sheep companies in Montana has declared a dividend of 28 per cent, for last year'u business. They say next year they expect to increase it, Net a bad showing for a so-called hazardous industry. United States Experimental Station.—Thoro are at present 46 experiment stations nil over the United States, employing over 370 trained men in the pro-

secution at experimental inquiry, and the United States annually provide £120,000 for tho support of these stations, and the several States £25,000, making a total of £145,000 for that purpose. Liquid Manure fob Tomatoes and Rhubarb.—Nothing is better than the drainings from a dunghill; if these are not obtinable, use frosh cow dunjr, fowl dung, or coal soot, which, after standing in water a few days will make rich liquid manure. The soil for rhubarb should be made so rich before the rhubarb is planted that liquid manure is not required, unless the soil is sandy and does not hold manure the watering with liquid manure may become neceseary. Breeding Ponies fob Racing.—The great increase in pony racing in England hae caused a demand for dwarf throughbreds, and horses that would havo been sent back from Newmarket as too small to train now draw large prices, simply because they arc the standard of height above which pouies cannot r:ice at the Ranelagn and Hurst Park clubs. These aocalled gallowaya are indeed all pure thoroughbreds, and anything with an ounce of galloway in him would not have a chance with them. They are simply a creation of tho spirit for gambling, and of little advantage for auy useful purpose. One of these ponies, it is said, was sold the other day for 2000 guineas. Feed foe Hakd-worked Horses.—At the annual meeting of the London General Omnibus Company a shareholder protested against the company's using too much ionize, and attributed the great aunual mortality in tho stud to the way in which tho animals were fed. All who are acquainted with the duties of London bus horses must know that they must always be in the fittest condition for their work, and if maize does not yield the required amount of stamina, there would be danger in making a too liberal usu of it. The foods which fatten and make animals look well ara in most cases far from beiug tho most profitable when given to stock of which hard work is required. Fitness must come before fatuess in our streets. Easy Method ov Destroying Weeds. There is a simple way, writes a correspondent of the Weekly Press, for eradicating twitch grass, sorrel and other noxious weeds, which may not be very generally known. In addition to the complete destruction of the weeds the land is benefitted and its productiveness more than doubled. The method is very simple. Cart oat some refuse vegetation from any flax mill, and spread it thick on the patches of weeds, say 3 inches or 4 inches thick. Leave it alone for a few months, and every sign of plaut life will have disappeared. Then cultivate or rake in grass seed, and you will get a grand crop. Flax refuse is easily obtainable for the cost of cartage, and will prove a most valuable fertiliser after doing its work of destruction. Dried Potatoes. —Attention has been drawn to dried potato as an important food article, possessing some very valuable advantages in comparison with the vegetable in a fresh state. The advantages claimed for the article are these:—(l) While fresh potatoes easily rot, blacken and sprout, dried potatoes, when kept duly protected from moisture, remain in the best condition for a very long time ; and (2) beiDg by far lighter and less bulky than fresh potatoes, are by far most convenient for preservation and transportation, which point has a great practical importance, especially in time of war. To be fit for culinary use, the articles require a preliminary maceration in water for 10 or 12 hours.

I How to Plant Cajibagks.—Tho follow I ing useful note on planting and growing cabbages in summer time is given in the report of E. S. Goff of tho New York Experimens Station :—The ground for cabbage must be manured heavily, and and thoroughly prepared before settinar the plants. After the ground is marked for setting, apply 200 lb. superphosphate, 200 lb. plaster (gypsum), and GO lb. of salt, thoroughly mixed together, dropping a small handful in each hill and covering several inches deep with soil. The plants should be pulled at Inast 24 hours before setting and placed in shallow boxes containing an inch of damp soil or rotten sawdust, setting the plants up in the boxes with the roots on tho soil in the box. Do not pour tho water on the tops of the plants, as it would make them heat and spoil, but it may be put oh the the roots without injury. Young rootlets will form on the plants in 21 hours, and they will be in fine condition for setting whether it rains or not. Tuberculosis.—Tbe Canadian depart, meat of agriculture continues, it is said, to receive information from all parts of tho world bearing on tho question whether or not tuberculosis in animals is communicated to the human being. An interesting report prepared by the pathologists of tho Government health department at Washington has just been received, tho findings of which siro important. They are as follows :—l. That tuberculosis is a distinctly preventable disease. 2. That it is not directly inherited. 3. That it is acquired by the direct transmission of the tubercle bacillus from the sick to the healthy, usually by means of dried and pulverised sputum floating aa dust in tho air. Among the measures suggested for the prevention of the spread of tuberculosis are a system of rigid official inspection of cattle and the immediate destruction of discharges from the tuberlous lungs. Fruit Tkees us Brackish Land.— Some interesting experiments are recorded respecting the culture of fruit iu alkali or brackish land in California. The Fresno Republican reports that the owner of an alkali tract in that region has tried several kinds of trees and vines upon it, but without success, until he decided to try the fig. These at once began a luxuriant growth, and seemed indeed to have found a soil which was in all respects of the utmost congeniality. The trees have never had a drawback of any kind, but are now approaching maturity aud are bearing heavily. The fruit from them is said to be of fine quality. Another case is reported from Kern county, which, like all the rest of the San Joaquin valleys is more or less blessed with alkali spots, One of the worst of these that could be found was planted for au experiment with Muscat grape vines. There was little idea that the vines would grow, but the experiment wae tried as a sort of forlorn hope. To tho surprise of the expurimenter the viues grew thriftily, aud at the present time show"as fiue a development as oould be desired on the soil that was generally supposed not to be particularly adapted to the grape..

Valuable and Istehbstino Experiments. —Superintendent Morrison, of the Wisconsin Farmers'lnstitutes,has evolved the somewhat novel idea of planting "experimental stations" all over the State during the coming season'of institute work. In brief, his plan is t : o formulate the conditions of certain problems in stock feeding, dairying and farming, and select a number of intelligent fanners who attend the institutes to whom these problems are to, be submitted for- prac.tica.l solution, reports of results to b.c made at the meetings of the succeeding year. For instance, oho man will bo asked to deter(niqe the exact amount of a certain feed

required to produce 1001b of pork ; the amount necessary to add the second 1001b, <fcc. Another will experiment on the relations between so much feed of a specified kind and the amount of butter that can be produced therefrom ; and thus the conditions will be extended to cover almost every phase of stock and grain fanning. These questious for experiment will be submitted to farmers all over the State, and their efforts will afford a vast fund of practical experience, from a comparison of which conclusions, both specific and general, of a most valuable character may be drawn.

Haphazard Hoksk-Breeding.—There can be little doubt that the chief reason why inferior huises are so numerous throughout the country is because many farmers havo no special aim in their breeding aud raise colts without discrimination. This system anight answer if reproduction were the only object, without any attention being: P"id to the production of the meet profitable animals; but when the farmer wishes to make the business of horse breeding remunerative something else ie necessary, no mutter whether the stud consist of 1 mare or 20. In the first place the choice of the mare must be made with special referenoe to the kind of horse that is desired to be raised. Hero is exactly where so many farmers make their mistake ; they think any sort of mare good enough to breed and so raise from their old, lame, unsound mares miserable weedy colte, with all the ills of their dams bred into their bone and system, to crop nut again at the first opportunity. Having chosen a good mare of undoubted breeding, of good bone and substance, it is then necessary to choose a sire of equal merit, or superior if possible, one that will correut the faults of the dam in the offspring and improve upon her good points. Have an aim in this copulation, and do not deviate from it, aud it is much more likely that a fine colt will be tho result. Many of the cheap Bires at present located in different parts of the country are polished up for the occasion. It is poor economy to grudge a few pounds in securing a good stallion. —Leader.

Bringing Fruit Trees into Early Bearing. — The Amcricuu journal, Science, describes the results of some experiments recently at the Massachusetts Agricultural College to discover a method of hastening the fruiting of trees where the soil is moist and rich, and where fruit trees consequently grow largely to wood and foliage, and fail to produce fruit until they reach a considerable age and size. A row of crab apple trees was selected. Three wore girdled by cutting out a ring of bark J, and £ inch ivido at the the ground ; three more were girdled to the same widths just below the main branches. All the girdles made near the ground healed readily and completely; those on the main trunk healed less completely, but sufficiently to ensure a good growth of tree; those on the branches healed less completely still, and in two instances the new growth failed to meet, and the branches died in the spring. All showed a marked increase in fruitfulness over those not girdled, and little difference was observed iu the effect of the various widths. But no definite conclusion can be drawn yet as to the consequence of this treatment on the permanent health of the trees, observations for many years can alone determine this point. A series of experiments mado at the Bamo place ton yeaiy ago showed that by removing a ring of bark early in July from fruit trees the ripening was hastened one or two weeks, and that the increased size and early maturity were nut obtained at the expense of the quality. Cl'U); for Fusici.adiu.m.—ln an article on tho Apple Scab (Pusicladium dendriticum) in the Rural New Yorker of 3rd August, tho writer gives the following directions for keeping the trees free from itFrom what has been said it is obvious that the first steps in tho way of treatment should be taken with the view of gettiug rid of as much of the infectious material as possible. Beginning then in autumn, the affected leaves and fruit— such of the latter as may be unfit for the hogs should ae carefully raked together and burned. Where the trees are badly affected some advocate the pruning and burning of the young twigs, and it is probable that this will result in much benefit, as the spores which winter upon these are almost certain to infect the loaves and fruit the following spring. After taking such steps as will insure the destruction of as many of the spores as possible, some fungicide, that will prevent the rest of the spores from infecting the leaves and fruit, should > be applied. For this purpose a solu- • tion, made by dissolving one-half an ounce of sulphuret of potassium (liver of sulphur) to a gallon of water, will be • found as cheap, practical and efficacious any. Make the first application of , this solution when the ycung fruit is about the size of peas, taking cars t6 spray with sufficient force to reach all parts of the tree. If the weather is unusually cold and moist at the time, extra precautious should be taken to bring the fungicide in contact with all of the fruit. The second application should be made 10 or 15 days later, after which it should be repeated at intervals of two or three weeks until five or six sprayings in all have been made. In conclusion, it might be well to say that before storing the fruit it should be carefully assorted and all scabby apples thrown out. The importance, too, of keeping the fruit as free from unnecessary moisture as possible is evident from what is known concerning the development of the fungus. _ Black Spots on Pears.—ln the section for Vegetable Pathology of tho report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, United States, America, is a coloured plate and microscopical illustration of the " Leaf Blight and Cracking of the Pear (Entomosporium maculatum Lev)." This appears to be identical with the " Black Spot," from which pears suffer so much in certain years in this climate. The varieties most damaged are the Sheldon and Beurre Clairgeau, both of which have been an entire loss tor four years past, every fruit having shrivelled and cracked. Louise Bouno, Bartlett, Seckle, Beurre Bosc, Clapp's Favourite and Roestiezer are never entirely free from the disease and are usually badly attacked; whilo Beurre d' Anjou, Duches. o , Lawrence, Flemish and Vicar aro amongst the varieties most exempt. No experiments have been tried with the viow of preventing tho development of the fungus by the application of a fungicide. Such an application, if tried, should be made early so as to prevent the spores from germinating, as the spots make their appearance as soon as the leaves have attained full size, it being of no use applying remedial agents after the | fungus has made its appearancc upon the | leaves. It is, however, recommended to s spray the leaves before the buds begin to \ swell, with the Bordoaux mixture, , prepared as follows Dissolve 16lb of \ sulphate of copper in 22 gallons of water; \ in another vessel slake 301b of lime in 6 . gallons of water. When the latter has j cooled pour it slowly into the copper solution, care being taken to mix the fluida by constant stirring. When the leaves are about two-thirds grown a ' second, but weaker, application should be made iu the following proportions: 1 sulphate of coppcr, (jib : lime, 61b ; water, 5 22 gallons. Dissolve the copper iu 1G gallons of water, and the lime in b' - gallons, theu mix as described above, '■ It is also recommended that the infested f leaves should be burnt as soou as thev f fall. ' h

Ixsects J.vjumous to Fkuit Trees.— In the report of Mr Charles Whitehead, the agricultural adviser to the Agriaultural department of the British Government, it is stated that the moths whose caterpillars proved so iujurious to fruit trees last year are divided into, two divisions—those whioh can be frustrated in their attempts to reaeh tho shoots and buds and lay their eggs there by placing a band of sticky substance round tho trees, and thoeo which cannot be prevented in this manner. In the first division six species of moths aro enameWtea, all belonging to the family

Geometridfee. Most of the moths of this family may bo known by their large ample wings and small bodies, and the caterpillars by the way they walk. Having no legs on the middle joints of their bodies, when they wish to move they do so by .'extending their heads and front part of their body as far forward as possible, and then, arching their backs, advance their other legs up to the front ones. Prom this peculiarity of movement they are known by the name of loopers. The female moths of these six species are quite unable to fly, being practically wingless, and consequently can be stopped by the sticky bands already alluded to, and which are fully described in the report. The moths in the second division cannot be hindered in this manner, as both sexes can fly well. 1* ull details of the best means of destroying them are given. The other insects reported ou are the leaf beetles, or it would have been more correct to say one of tlie leaf beetles, for this unfortunately, is not the only kind of weevil which may be found injuring the leaves of trees. This species (Phyllobius maculicornis) was found attacking the leaves and flowors of apples, pears, cherries, damsons, nuts, white thorns and forest trees. The attacks of the ribbon-footed born fly (Chlorops t;eniopus) are said to be becoming more frequent than they used to be. When a crop is attacked there does not seem to be any satisfactory remedy, but certain means are recommended for their prevention.