FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2793, 7 June 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Creameries in Germaxi , .—Thero are now 103 registered co-operative creameries in Germany. But these figures do not in any wny represent t l .ie tot il number of creameries worked on co-operative principles, *ince in Sohleswig lEolstoin alone thero are 4GB establishments of this kind, of which number ocly 03 aro registered. Export ok Apples from Denmark.— A trade of apples has recently been largely developed iu Denmark, whence they are being exported to Eugln.nd to the extent of .£550,000; during tho year. Large quantities have been sent to Hamburgh in addition. It is stated that the apple chiefly selected for the foreign market is Gravenstein, which is a winter apple in that part of the globe. Things not Beyond Control.—We admit there are some things that are beyond the control of the farmer, but the breeding of scrub stock of any kind or condition is not one of them. Nor is the raising of scrub crops, the making of poor butter, having tumble down barns or fences, a dirty house yard, or an absence of fruit ou the farm. These, and many others, are under his own control. Tahmanian Fruit in London.—The following are tho prices obtained for the Tasmaniau apples sent so London in tho R.M.S. Oceana : though they were inferior to those sent last year, they excited brisk compctction when submitted to auction : —liibatou Pippins brought 19s Gd per caso ; Alfristous, 19s ; New York Pippins ISs; aud l'earmaius, IGs. The pears pent by the same vessel wer-j bad, and were disposed of at Ga per caso. New Invention for Mimum; Cow.s. —A correspondent in the Scotsman gives an account of a new invention for the milking of cows, which is presently being experimented with at Haininjr Mains, a farm near Kilmarnock, occupied by Mr D. Shaw. The work is the invention of Mr Murchlaud, a sanitary engineer in Kilmarnock. Briefly described, the invention consists of a peculiarly shaped milk can, which is connected with an air pump, and is fitted on to the udder of the cows. By exhausting tho air iu the milkman a vacuum is produced, and the milk is drawn by suction out of the udder. Home Made Bone Manure.—Mr A. N. Pearson, the Victorian Government agricultural chemist, says :—" Bones may be softened by mixins: in heaps with qnicklime and loam ; thus a layer 6 inches deep of bones, on this a layer of about 3 inches deep of lime, then a layer about 4 inches deep of loam, and so on, rcjpuatiuy until (he heap ju uiudo of cuu- .

venient height, when it is to be covered up with a thick layer of earth. Holes are then to bo bored into the heap from the and water poured in to sluck the lime. The mass will becomn hot, and remain so for two or three months, after which t)io bones will be found friable, and the whole heap may bo mixed together, nu<l ia ready for applying to the ground."

Dissolving Bonks for Manure.—The best mode of dissolving bones for manure is as follows :—Take a large watertight barrel, and cover the bottom with about six inches of dry soil; on this put a layer of bones of the same, depth, and cover them entirely with wood ashes, and so on till the barrel is full, placing a good tliickiiLSSof ashes on the top. Leave it exposed to the rains right through the winter and spring. On removing the contents of tho barrel tho bones will crumble to powder under a slight prossure, and form a valuable manure for ready use. Collect all the. old bones, sheep's and bullock's heads, &c, and treat them as above. Some people make a pit answer the purpose of a barrel with fair success. Others make an overground cemented brick tank, which is also a very good plan, if you have not got enough barrels.

Frozen Mutto.v Fkom tub Argentine Republic , .—The Government of tho Argentine Republic is encouraging tho export trade in meat by means of the bounty system. In ISB7 liberal premiums were granted on all exports of beef and mutton, and a bill has just been passed guaranteeing 5 per cent, on all capital invested in companies for the exportation ef meat. The firm of Sansiaeni, in Paria, is now importing largo quantities of dead mutton from the Argentine Republic. Several vessels are engaged iu the trade, fitted with refrigerators, to hold from 30,000 to -10,000 carcases. At Pantiu a factory has been built for thawiug the meat en a special system, which prevents the loss of the original flavour. The imports average 200 sheep per diem, and the meat ia sold in the markets at the rate of 5d per lb. How to Make an Aspabacits Bed.— The following mode for preparing the ground for asparagus is given in the Weekly Alta California a? being in practice in that State :—lu consideration of its permanency, then, the asparaus bed should be located where it will not be disturbed, having a southern or southeasterly exposure. It will endure for 25 to 30 years if well cared for and established after the old method, viz. : After a careful selection of the place, determiue how large a bed you want or need. Remove the soil from the whole of it to the depth of 20 inches; now fill the cavity to the top or over with undecomposed horse manure, because this is heating, while cow manure is cold. Let a horse compact it by tramping until it is six inches below the level. Upon this now place four inches of compost or very rich earth—humus. Have this made fine and mellowy, and set out your plants in rows three feet apart and the plants two feet apart. Now cover with the same material as last used to the depth of six inches. If nicely done and the bed is levelled, it will be four inches above the level of the garden plat. For an ordinary garden bed one bushel of salt may be sown on the underlying manure.

How to Milk.—The first requisite of a good milker is, of course, the utmost cleanliness. Without this the milk is unendurable. The udder shonld therefore be carefully cleaned before the milking commences. The milker may begin gradually aud gently, but should steadily increase the rapidity of the operation till the udder is emptied, using a pail sufficiently large to hold all, without the necessity of chaDging. Cows are very sensitive, and the pail cannot be changed, nor can the milker stop or rise during the process of milking, without leading 0 the cow more or less to withhold her milk. The utmost care should be taken to strip to the last drop, and to do it rapidly, not iu a slow and negligent manner, which is sure to have its effect on the yield of the cow. If any milk is left it is re-absorbed into the system, or else becomes ciked, and diminishes the tendency to secrete, a full quantity afterwards. Milking as dry as possible is especially necessary with young cows with their first calf, as the mode of milking, and the length of time to which they can be made to hold out, will have very much to do with their milking qualities as long as they live. New Diugim! Plough : An Effective Implement.—A new digging plough introduced by the Messrs Howard, of Bedford, England, was successfully tried on Friday last week, at the farm of Mr M. Pollock, Miner's Rest, in the presence of many practical farmers, who expressed themselves highly pleased with the work done. The plough shown was a double furrow one, and is supplied with levers which enable the ploughman to regulate the width, depth, and direction of tin; furrows without stopping the horses. There were also attached to the plough theskim coulters, and in the place of the ordinary shares were what is known as Howard's " diamond chill " digging breasts, while the mould board is of a new design, and much shorter than those

at present in use, and the whole is much easier to work and lighter draught than the ordinary plough. Three horses were attached to the implement, and it was first shown on some splendid chocolate soil. It turned up two furrows 28 inches wide and 10 inches deep in excellent style, and thoroughly pulverised the ground, doing just about as good work as could be done with a spade by hand labour. The next display was made on some land thickly covered with vegetation, and on this also the work was equal to that shown on the first block.

The skim coulters thoroughly cleared the vegetation and deposited it in the furrow, where it was buried. Scibntipic Butter Making.—lt was mentioned in our columns last week that Mr Hansen, an expert in the Danish system of butter mailing, hail been pirvately engaged by different fanners in theEuroa district, with the result that his advice had been the means of considerably improving the quality and value of butter produced in the district. A correspondent in another part of the country writes to ask whether Mr Hansen's system is a secret, and, if not, wherein its merit lies. It is probable that many other dairymen may be interested in this subject, and as there is no mystery attached to it wo shall briefly describe the process of ripening cream ao as to produce the largest aud best yield of butter. It is first necessary, however, to explain that changes in milk and cream are produced by a species of bacteria, of which tbero are many different kinds found in milk, producing diffevent result?. The first species of bacteria to develop in milk was that which

formed lactic acid. When that process reached a certain stage, that particular species diml out and was replaced !<y others which produced decomposing products and had a deteriorating effect on the valuable flavouring acids in the cream. The aim of the butter maker should be to gut his butter iuLo mass at a time when the ripening process was complete, before ilio decomposing element showed itself. Experiments had demonstrated that uniform and satisfactory results had been given by assisting and hastening the proper condition in the mass of cream, by first producing a lactic ferment from pure skimmed milk, by a process in which the main factors are exclusion from the air and careful use of the thermometer. Then a small amount of this ferment is planted and inoculated into the mass of cream at a given temperature in the same manner that rennet is mixed with milk in the cheese vat, and in a certain fixed length of time the ripening of the whole quantity is an established fact, the scrum surrounding the butter globules being broken up and the butter fat released in a condition to yield the maximum amount of butter, holding all its aroma, Tho oonsequence is that a uniformity of flavour and keeping qualities oan bo depended upon every time ; and that is the whole secret of Mr Ilauuou'bi augecsju, — Lwuk'Vi