FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2704, 9 November 1889, Page 6 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

i- American Aitle Chop.—The applo ;y crop is poor in the United States, owing ii to late and heavy frosts. The returns ijr from the following States where apples 3t are largely grown show that—the basis id of the returns being 100, representing a full crop—Maine stands at So ; Vermont, >s 65 ; Massachusetts, 6S ; New York, 5!); ie Pennsylvania, 05 ; Virginia, 78 ; North a Carolina, S5 ; Tennessee, 71; Ohio, 62; jf Michigan, 70 ; Indiana, 76 ; Illinois, SB; y Kansas, 80. In Nova Scotia also most ; t of the crops are below the average. In is Ontario frosts in the latter part of May 1, caught orchards in blossom and caused a >f wholesale destruction of fruit. f0 Tim hub from L'imt.s In.signis Trees.— it In the office of the Woods and Forests II department of South Australia there is ii an exhibit of three planks of timber out >f from a Pinus insiguis tree. 10 years old, a grown in Wirrabara Forest. The planks n are 10 feet S inches long by 1 inch, and •f in the 10 years the tree attained the a height of 3S feet. The timber is of u excellent quality, suitable in every way a for building purposes. There are at least 159,000 of these trees now growing 0 at Wirrabara, and it is the intention of , the Conservator of Forests (Mr J. E. y Brown) to plant this variety to a much t greater extent than hitherto. No one j can question the importance of growing r deal timber exclusively, so that wo may , supply our own wants instead of spend--1 ing so much money in importing, t Rick Building.—Well-shaped stacks f are a very fair indication of how a farm . 18 being worked, A rick should bo i > grown out gradually from the bottom to • . the top, and should riot bulge out in any i 2 direction. Big bellied ricks are liable to 1 take in wet, but. a regularly grown-out < . rick clears itself of wet. All licks should < , bo well filled in the middle, so that the t t sheaves shall not only point outwards ] ; hut downwards, and thus prevent wet i from penetrating to the centre. The e , widest part of a rick should be at the 1 . eaves, and above this there should be a c ■ neat, regularly-shaped top. The size of 1 - the rick must depend on the condition of f i the com. When the condition is good, t I ricks may be made larger, the larger the 1 better. When the condition is defective, i: smaller ricks are to be preferred. v Village Homes.—The Journal of t Horticulture gives Village Homos at a Barkiugside termed " An Essex Utopia." a It is a village homo for girls one of s several establishments of similar character e under the management of Dr. Barnardo u (whose agent is at present in Australia), f( who, though entirely depending upon y voluntary contributions, has developed an I extensive aud admirable charitable h scheme of inestimable bouefit, alike to the fj inmates and the public generally. There it arc 50 cottages, giving accommodation to h 800 girls, each cottagc being super- C | intended by a matron. The children are h; the waifs and strays of the great metrop- m olis. There are 15 acres of laud; the t c cottages are placed on the outer margin, _ and the central portion is laid out as pleasure grounds, with turf, beds for Y\ slirnbs and othor plants, fountains, &c. jy Koumiss.—This is a liquor which the sy Kalmucks of Russia make by fermenting cc mares' milk. The milk is kept in smoked tii out leather bottles till it becomes sour, w> It is then shaken till it cists up its cream, 5C and is afterwards set aside in a warm of place in earthen vessels to ferment. From de the fermented whey a vinuous intoxica- pc ting spirit called rack or racky is obtained co by distillation. From 211b of properly tii fermented milk, (ioz. of fairly strong an alcohol ef rather unpleasant flavour are Sv obtained by ratification. The real av koumiss is simply the fermented milk, be ancl not the spirit distilled from it. It sin has for the last year or two been con- mr siderably used for dietio and medical fo.purposes, and British and American de manufacturers are now preparing it, nor. del only from mares, but also, and on a much Tr larger score, from ordinary cows' milk, sti Koumiss has the reputation of being a bn good quencher of extraordinary and reabnormal thirst. n:i< Dairy Science.—The kinds of focc| av; which furnish the most agreeable aroma the arc the most desirable for dairy pasture, am though they rnay not, yield the most, liy anc a litllo attention every dairyman can tiir determine for himself what food is moti ' lon

available for his herd ; and that little attculion will impress upon liim tlio faot Unit, if ho would m:ik« ol««n flavoured bill tor his cows must not Jive on garbage lit.U'j or Ktrou f r M.-miU-cl weeilx. There is another peculiarity ahoul, tho essential oils in herbage, from which tin: dairyman may sometimes derive advantage. It, is the different ilojyr»*>.-.s of lightness they possess, tho rapidity with which their essential oils aro evaporated l>y heat. For instance, the pungent oil of the horse radish is so volatile as to escape in a short tirno by exposing the crushed radish to the air; tho poisonous oil of tho wild parsnip and of ivy escape, while the foliage is wilting; an ofl'en.-ive oil in green clover, which affects butler unfavourably oca pes while it is drying, so that the dry piant makes a better product than tin green. The aromas of turnips, cabbage, onions, etc., are heavier, and are not entirely carried away by drying ; but bv heating the freshly drawn milk, even those oils can, in many instances, be entirely driven out. Food I'kksekvatiox byFjieeziso.—The business of frci»zintr meats and iish ant preserving perishable products by variou.systems of freezing and cold storage ha: comotobe.au important, feature of corn raorce. New York city now has oitrhi large establishments devoted to it, witl an aggregate capacity of 15,000 tons besides many private " plants belonging to separate produce houses. Some of their use the old process of ice and salt, '.vhih others use tho ammonia process. By tin former a temperature of 5 rleg can be reached, and with ammonia it is said tin mercury can be sent down to 2 deg. below zero. The freezing material is sen through pipes which line tho largo room: in the refrigerator storehouses, and he come encrusted with ieo, keeping tin atmosphere crisp, dry, and cold as may b( desired. Poultry is the chief commodity thus preserved, an'd is often kept frozei 15 months. Ouo firm stored last seasoi 2100 pairs of prairie chickens, l'j,oo< pairs of grass plover, GOO pairs of canvas, back duck and 1300 dozen English snipe Tho system saves great loss, and enable: dealers to make special profits on moat: and fruits out of season. Fruits and nut: arc kept in a more moderate temporal,urt just above freezing. Great quantities o beef and other meats, eggs, vegetables &c., aro kept in those houses, aud i proper care is exercised it is claimed tha the flavor is improved by long freezing. CO-OVHRATIVE Fati.mixc. —From recent description of one of tho bites attempts at, co-operativc farming, that c Lord Spencer's, at Hai'leston, Northnm]: tonshire, it appears that thu experimcn was started at. the beginning of ISBG. A that time Lord Spencer devoted to it glebe farm of nearly 297 acres, which h occupied at the rent of £42.">, and provide the necessary capital. Eight men and manager wcro taken on as co-operator! being paid weekly wages at, the ordinalrate of the district, and entitled to sbai in any profits obtained after tho paymei of expenses, 4 per cent, interest oil tli capital, and a certain sum towards reserve fund to pay off the capital. Tl" accounts are made up to April 6, an there was a loss of over £200 in tho fir year, and a heavier loss in the seconc but the balance-shect for tho year endin on April G, 1880, is said to havo show such an improvement that the venture considered to havo fairly "turned tl corner "on tho road to prosperity, Tb year's crops are excellent, and sheop au cattle havo paid -.veil. There is no dair; cows being kept only for calf-rearin; As the farm is within a, few miles c Northampton, the sale of milk sugges itself as a moans of profit. Pigs are m extensively kept, and thero" is litt poultry. liA.Mii; oji China Grass.—lt is que tionable whether ramie would prove profitable crop to grow in this climat though worthy of a trial in war sheltered situations aud rich soil', grows with the utmost luxuriance Queensland in any good soil, and as produces alnindancc of suckers, and tl smallest pieco of root will grow, i cultivation is likely to bo extends indefinitely in a short time. Gra improvements have recently been mar in tho Southern American States in tl machinery for preparing the fibre, 1: which the plant may be cleaned on tl field, the refuse being left for manur The fibre is then -dried, becoming con paratively pure white and silky, divestc entirely of gum, and prepared for bailin and for spinning. With the improve machinery one labourer can clean tl product of ten acres, and one acre wi yield at least two tons, making a total ( -0 tons to the hand. Tho fibre estimated to bo worth £40 per toi Lefranc's is the best machine, costSOOdo —say about £-100—in America, pv up ready for shipment. Moist land preferred for ramie, where it yielc three cuttings per annum. Under soncircumstances, it bears many yeai without replanting. In Lonisiati; America, some of tho planters ai replacing the sugar cane with ramie which demands little labour in cultivr tiou, and, so far as is known, has n insect enemies. Benefits ok Thokouciily Dkainin Land.—A good illustration of tho advan tages of drainiug land is to be soon !i Sunnyside, South Kyncton. Here M James Hutcheson has successfully til drained nearly the whole of his farm, 18 acres of heavy black soil, converting i into a veritable garden. When he ent-erc upon this farm some years ago, Mr Hul chcson found his most troublesome enom tho superabundance of moisture, severn of the fields having so lifctlo natural f'ai that the water lay upon t.hem in tb winter time, either perishing tho seci which had been sown or preventing acces to tho laud until well into spring time His method of constructing tho drains i quite simple. They follow the natura slope of the land, and arc laid on abou half a chain apart at an average dept.l of 2}, feet. Tho tiles aro chiefly 2-inch but, when the drain is a long one the las few chaius arc completed with 2,', incl tiles. In the main drains 4-inch tiles an laid. In cutting, the drains are openei up with a plough,[and afterwards deepened with the ordinary spade and scoop. The tiles are laid in the trench withoir anything being put on top of them, sue! A3 stones or any other covering but the soil dry from the trench, No inconvenience has bceu felt from the drains silting up. On the contrary, Mr Hutcheson has found drain pipes acting as freely iu li years as tho day they were put down He estimates the cost of drainage such as he has done at £G per acre, and at that figure he considers the outlay well invested money. His yields have greatly increased. At alljtimes he can havo a crop, whilst before draining he occasionally had none. Mr Hutcheson higly recom. mended tile drainage on lands necessary to be drained or adapted to that purpose. —Loader. The World's Tmreti Suitlv.— Writing on the Timber Supply the Lumber World states that despite the systematic efforts of the various European countries to maintain by forestry regulations an adequate supply, the whole wooded area of Europe has dwindled to 500,000,000 acres, or loss than one fifth of tho area of the continent, while the demand goes on increasing iw the population increases in density and consequent poverty, forcing them to use timber, aa a cheaper material than brick and stone, to build houses. Norway and Sweden havo parted with nearly all their xvailablo forests. Northern Russia has been stripped so bare that at present tlus single city of St. Petersburg!! demands nore than that country can spare. The r ostercd Gorman forests yield an ever leereasing supply, which constantly lcteriorates in quality. Bohemia, Galiei*, j IVausylvania and some adjacent sections still possess considerable areas of forest, nit they a,re inaccessibio mountain ■egions, with neither railroads nor nvigahle streams to make the timber ivailable. The forests on the shores of ihe Adriatic have disappeared. France md Spain, Portugal and Italy, Turkey ind Southern Unssia have little or no imber that is available. Great Britain ong ago ceased to depend to any extent

upon her own small woodland areas for timber. In the United States the consumption of timber goes on at an amazing rats, each year seeing hundreds of thousands of acres stripped of forests. Canada nas large wooded areas yi-t, but tlie demand upon them makes it only a question of time when they shall bo shipped. Asiatic, African and South American forests are still irujjortant, but at present they are unavailable because ot their remoteness from the centres of WhimmpljoH. The civilised world will *"<»> awake to the fact that its timber supply is exlmustul to « serious degree, bnta.syet th,re seems to be but little appivniation of the true state of affairs. Co-Oi-kuatm-k D, uuv FAnMI . V(; IV eo-cpenuive system of dairying w slowly, but surely, making headway in A „*„„•„. Tlloro aro yf however, plenty of farmers who do net believe in dairying on this principle, ceil tending that as much .success is likely to be attained by individual effort as by tho factory method. But this is a delusion which time and experience will doubtless dispel. _.1 he co-operative system has only to be tried to become tho one and the only way of malting butter that farmers will care to adopt; and in course of time, as factories become more general, " homo miido , butter will practically be driven out of the market. Nenrly every farmer's wife has an idea that none can approach her in butter making. But dealers and consumers aro demanding a more uniform article than can be mad J by farmers or their wives in tho old fashioned way, a few pounds at a churning-, and sent to market of a different quality each time. l< or exportation purposes this class of produce is entirely worthless. A uniform quality of tho product can be secured only by a uniform system of manufacture: and independently of the great saving of labour effected, tho advent of the factory will lend to other improvements of a profitable character. It is somewhat discouraging to notice that a number of the factories already started in the colony have not been so successful financially as anticipated. However, in nearly every case whore inquiry into tho causo has ueen made, tho want of good management has been discovered to be the root of the disappointment. Skilled dairymen who aro able to take charge of a butter factory are presently very scarce in Victoria, but a number of the recently formed companics have erred on the side of economy by engaging the cheapest man they could find. The scarcity of skilled labour is a venous drawback to the dairy industry of the colony, and the sooner the much talked of college to be established by tho (government for the special training of dairymen is set ufloat the better.— Leader.