FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2757, 15 March 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD NOTES

Raisisb.—The last, vear'n raisin crop of California i* reported to be a failure. Rain came during the dry season, and being wholly unprepared for it, the result is ratioh greater damage th in would otherwise be probable. Drvins? grapes for raisins has in many plane* superseded the malrioy of wine, which has boon overdone in California. CN Dirt-—The following is taken from a contemporary. It is worth reprinting, as wraps up a good deal in a small compass. : —"A most disgusting picture of dirt is that of a dirty (lairvtnan, with dirty hands, milking a dirty cow in a dirty barnyard, and catching the tnilk in a dirty pail, where it is left to absorb the dirty odours of a dirty atmosohere." Alsyke Clover.—Al sy k o Glover was originally imported from Sweden, nnd is ■ilso known as "hybrid clover," on account of its possessing qualities between the hroad red and white Dutch varieties. It is, in f-ict, production as well a" permanent, and is, therefore, suitable alike for pasture or soiling purposes. The chief point to bo urged in to .favour is that itwill irrow on land which is clover sick ; i r would, therefore, seem to be adapted to your field. Alsyke bear* a fio-ver \vilh a pink tinge; it cannot, therefore, be easily mistaken'for any other variety. Gooskbebrieh. — The Gooseberry Grower's Register for 1889 state* that 48 varieties of Reds were exhihit.ed during the year, a variety named Bobhv takina--1'27 prices of various decrees, the heaviest berry weighiu* 29 dwt Landon followed next with 80 prizes, Lord Derby, 88, Clayton, 77, Dan's mistake, 61. Yellow* Leveller 155, Rinirer 102, Lady TTouirbton 81, Mount pleasant 69; 05 varieties of yellows were shown ; in green 45 varie ties, and Surprise snored 105 prizes. Stock well 90, Shiner 80. British Oak 70; in whites 45 varieties were sta-red, Careless scorinir 88. Transparent 80, Hero of the Nile 76, and antagonist 65. London is the heaviest of all gooseberries ; in 1852 a specimen weighed over 37 dwt. Thk op Fruit.—The following interesting report on tbe gone} effect- produced by the thinnina of fruit is t'iven by a correspondent of the Boston (U S.) Globe:—" A part of ray Sholdon near trees last, season were pruno'l to thin fruit. The unpruned trees produced foil' pear* where the pruned aims produced one, but that one was ag heavy as th" four, wud when sold brought four timß* as hiVh a price." The late Dr. Farlov, of Union P>prin ,/s. gave us the results o* thinning some of his peir trees He hid several bearing fruit of the Louise yivinc about equal crops. He t.hinn»d tbe fruit on a part when youny by takina* off on° half the specimens The thinned frni' grew so much larger as to afford as lsrsrn a measure as tbe numerous poars on the unthinned trees. He aave it. as bi»

opiniou that ho taken off threefourths there would still have been large an amount loft. Overcrowded fruit is never of the best quality. If bears and rioens more Reed, whifh alwavs tend to check, exhaust and injure tbe growth. It is muoh easier to pink off earlv the poorest surplas, requiring little enre. tbap to pick it all when ripe, and assort it all with arreatly increased labour." The Feeding op Pigh —No other animnls are «r» badly fed as swine. The? are generally considered as the receptacle-

of all sorts of waste stuff and offal, and able to get rid of .it in unlimited quanii ties and in $11 states H" 1 ! conditions. Thp habit of feeding is so thst it

has affpoted popular bplief in ypgard to the ability of swine to ROOKump anil digpst n]l manner of sour. fprmpnt»d ami putrid offal, and ovpu tho dead animal" which perished bv disease, some of them bpinsr of the most contagions nbarantnr, and thorn need hp no surprise tha» the p

omnivorous animals thus fppd noon unwholesome food s|;ov;!r- be §nhjppt to more diseases than all other of our dotpestin live stock,' and that, tbpy be a prev to the worst of pura-ltes. Regular "ml stdctlv moderate feeding; is the most ®Sfecsiije vetfledy fgr all the m my 4i-"rderfl to \ybinb »nin» ant snhj<>pt. quantity qf food, "ay* Professny Sftpwirt. should bp measured asearpfully as is the [*ra{n that is ariypn to hor-ips. Two quirts of liquid | food is quite enousrh at one meal for a 2501b. pie-, and 31b. of srrain fond, or 101b. of roots, in ample for its solid rations for one day. A pier is muturallv. a a-ros-feeder, and a largpr. quantity of flesh for its sizp than any other animsl hence lifepral f- neQpssaryto nw' e •heap pork, but tbp preservation of hnaltJi in thi* special' food animal should be of the first oonsidoration.

Exit Women Shea tiers. —In former years the womon in the Rivnr flp.to »heared thn *heep ; todiv th» <v"impu are and, hut for the Itali> m Trend oyer the cimp und t,ho numborn of tame Indian" in the, .South, no shpfp whatever w'nnM be in some of the psrti,do»« iaVwtr i» wrtwcrij- www,

five years nsro the women "beared, at the very lowo-it n deularion*. 30000,000 of sheep, and to day< with 100 000 000 of ohnep in tlv nouiitrv ('-Jcomit in the En're ; Rioi and -r>ino «*f- the. U|>p«>r pinvini/eM), there" i» n<<t ii wnmiiii tn bo fuuhd in hlv of the Hhpiin'nor *' trHlpoTn>s" of the ; Renublio. This di-npn"iii'iini'o nf female j work in the ,■ sheariiahedti ha» not been compensated for by the j inorea.se of dairy produotH, nuch as uherse and butter, articled within the *oner;il limits of women's work Meantime. the demand for;«,hearers all over the oouutry in unprecedented, though thn losses in -heap durinir winter were n<> linve There appears to be an opening here for the ni>w -heep-hettrinsr which the Auvtrnliittia an* pushing t.ij tin* front. The Bueno. Ayros Standard naythat the situation of the sheep further in the River Plate i* doomed to become uree.HrioUH, and t.ho only rmriedv is a migratory in vveineut, in nheep fanuera in the wake of c.-t le far.tiers to the South j d West,, in : "rder tn ttißk» n».m 'fo* •sfrioulture, which oan pay higher rents and iriv«. higher rot urn«. Manures fob the Oardkn. —Where un aluindaitt upply of i-t iljle or farmyard'' manure exists, aa well as of the liquid produce of snnh places, other things are of not so much importance in the gai'den. exept leaf-mould, which is of almost pncele«B value. But under other circum , stances artificials must be drpended upon in great measure, and in all cases a variety is found productive; of better results than sticking top closely" to one. There are certain chemical and other manures that should find a place in every garden, and when nsed judiciously 'and in : moderate quantities have each their distinct and undoubted value. For potatoes, and indeed, most root crops, superphosphate of litnc may be regarded as the grower's sheet-anchor. Guano was at one titm; regarded as the best of all manures other than that from the farmyard, but thougli very useful at times, it is of too burning h nature for some things, and if used continuously soon loses its effrct. Kainit is valuable as supplying potash, which is often deficient on light soils, and the uses of lime are now well understood. Sulphate of ammonia, is excellent for supplying stimuloua to growth at times, while especially for all the B''assica tribe. ,is well as a top dressing for most kinds of roots, nitrature of soda has a marvellous effect when judiciously employed. Add to the above list a suppiy of ordii>a y salt and soot, and the means of supplying all the leading requirements of plant-growiug will have been provided; Cabbage Growino —In a pamphlet entitled ■' Plata Pacts for Plain Farming, and How to grow Cabbages," late.ly published by D. Craighead, Galashiels it is interesting to note the enormous crops of cabbages (above 50 tins per acre) .grown in the south of Scotland with fi'di aud farmyard manure, or with such manure and town ashes when abundantly aup plied to every clay soils. Now, there are tvvo voices which of late have been crying in the wilderness. The first is, What is to be dotifl with our very heavy retentive clays. Few tenants, mora especially in the south of England, can bo found for a large of such, even although lying near to large towns. 2. vVhat is to be done with our town ashes, tens of thousands of tons of wh'ch can, in many towns, be had for a trifle, or for the ou ting away ? In some towns it even costs money to get rid of tliem ; but in the above pamphlet it is shown that the very hea 1 y elay grounds and the town ashes are both of the very greatest use in agriculture. The writer of the pamphlet statas, if applied very freely, say from 100 to 150 tons per acre, broadcast to very heavy clays, aud then ploughed in as deep as possible, the ground then boiug planted in cabbages on the flit, will yield a crop probably fii'e times the cost of the ashhs applied. But it should be noted that if such ashes are poor in night soil it might be judicious to sow broadcast over tlium, bufore ploughing, some 4 cwt., of dissolved bones, and 2 cwt. each of sulphate of ammonia,'sulphate of potash and common salt, or sulphpte of mau-'esia. \ny one having such clay ground and the com maud of such ashes should try the experi ment. The ground will, year after year, if properly treated, continue to yield heavy cabbage crops, as good, if not bettor, than at first, ami. curiously enough, after the first year, the laud will be found to be much more full and easily worked, consequent on the strong tap roots of the cabbages.