FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.
.—__» konill I'a i nt.— Sialic a bushel of lime ami strain it free from lumps iu u Hue sieve ; mill water to mulct about -10 gallons, ihtMi mill 'JO lb of Spanish white, 1" lb of coarso salt auil 12 lb of brown sugii'r; mix thoroughly. Two ov three coats should ho given. This wash is good fur wood, brick or stono : IS lb of yellow peine will make a cream colour ; -1 lb of uiiilni I lb of Indian rod and 1 lb of lamp bin'* makes a stone colour. The following is another good and durable paint:—A peek of lime dry slaked, the sumo quantity of dry sifted coal ashes or sand, and twice as much wood ashes well mixed all dry; mix with enough linseed oil to make it spread freely. This is of a light drab colour, and may bo mado darker by adding colours as above. Sls,Ui. —Reports on the sisal fibre have been frequent of late, owing to its great value being better known. It iu derived from Agave rigida, a near relative of the common American Aloe (Agave ainorioana). The sisal plant, known also as ehelem, honcqueu and sneci by the Mexicans, is a native of Yucatan ; there are several varieties of it. The plant is stately; the leaves are fio'ii two to six feet long anil two to six inches wide ; the flower stem attains a height of •_>:> feet, but when the plants are gto.vn for their libn: the flower stem is destroyed as men as it appears, otherwise, the deilh of the plants would ensue if the lljwcrs were allowed ti develop. Only a portion of the older leaves are eat each year. Tie yield of libre begins in the fourth or liftii year, and lasts for oO years or longer. Wll.!, A\IKIUI'A..V "Jo.MI'KTJTION J'IVKK End?— This is a question which finJCiiirlish farmer often asks himself. M r Wood Davis takes up the question in the now number of the Forum, and answers it, in a way almost sensational, lie declares that before another five or six years are over, the United States will need all their products for 'hcmsolvea. Llo even suggests that " well within 10 years it will bo necessary to import largo quantities of wheat." The annual production of wheat is already falling oil', while the population is growing at a gigantic rate. 11l 187-3 the wheat acreage was 2b",000,000 (in round numbers); in 1880 it was 1i5.000,000 ; in I SSI it rose to 39,500,000 but in JSS7 it fell again to :18,000,000 " Wheat growing," the writer says, " lias evidently reached and passed its limit, and exportation will grow less and less until domestic requirements shall absorb their entire product of this cereal. A Fkw Pic Notions.—The most vigorous and healthy growth cannot be had by keeping the slop troughs full and grain on the floor all the time. A full trough in a short time becomes unclean and filthy, and the food is never templing or appetising. If it were not for the power that the pig has of adapting itself to circumstances, about one-half of the pen-pigs would starve to death at a full trough. Too often for such pigs filthincsa rather than cleanliness appears to be the rule in their keeping. In a comparison of the value of inauurs from hogs fed with maize, peas aud clover, separately, it was found Unit clover gave the most valuable manure, peas next, and maize last. There is wisdom in the plan of setting apart a portion of the clover field to mow for winter hay for the hogs. A ration of good sweet clover hay (siys the American breeder) will be found as valuable for the hogs iu winter as summer. Nitrate of Soda and Scli'iiatf of Ammonia.—Nitrate of soda contains from 1.; to 10 per cent of nitrogen, which is in its most available foim to fho plant. It is of all our nitrogenous manures the most speedy in its action. It require-;, however, to be used with judgment, as the risks of loss by drainage are in excess of any other form of nitrogen. Judiciously used, it is ouc of the best, and, at present prices, ouu of the cheapest of our
artificial nitrogenous manures. Old prejudices us to its exhaustive character arc fust loosing ground in the-lisrhtof a fuller scientific, knowledge. Ani-iiijjr artifi:ial nitrogenous manures the only rival to nitrate of soda is sutjihate of ammonia, the chief source of which is tho gas works where it, wttirs as it bye product ; it is alio obtained from shale, iron and coke, and carbonising works. Sulphite of ammonia lias now for a oonsideniblo time found great favour with fanners as an admirable nitrogenous, manure. While it contains more nitrogen, wight lotweight, ilinti nitrate of soda, and is a more coneentrated million 1 , i:,i is not, so .-peedi'.y available for piunt, u-o as nitrate of soda, but, tlio risks of io.s.s by drainage are very much less.
KaUM Bits' Tlt'lt-IJbKS IS Bltl'lTA-NY.— Tlio Brittany egg trade .-hows a decline, owing to Italian eggs formerly ,-onl, to Pari; Doing now diverted to the Loudon market. Eggs, however, arc so cheap in tho country districts of Brittany that a remunerative trade in ctrjr-i with England is likely to bo kept up. * Of Into there has been a great demand for horses in tho Brittany fairs and markets ; and animals which two years ago were worth but £IG, are now readily sold for £21. Dairy cows tire also equally inquired for by dealers from Central Francs', Spain, Holland, and Belgium. The Belgians are looking to Brittany lo improve their native dairy cows, which they s:iy have deteriorated in milking through crossing with the Durham. This drain upon horses uml cows is looked upon with some apprehension, notwithstanding the remunerative prices which can be realised, as the farmers are selling off all their best animals and rotaiiiiiigonly the inferior ones for breediuir purposes, a practice which must, soon de-troy tho doinnud. Bleeders are exhorted not to pursue such a suicidal policy, but, on the contrary, to keep some good mares which arc necessary to tlio production of saleable stock. Without suitable mares the ill most that can bo done by the State with respect to the provision of first-class stallions will be of no use.
Mr Spawn in South Australia.— The S. E. Star, South Australia, reports tl:e arrival of Mr A. I*'. Spawn in Mount (lambier on the 19th hist. 11" remained two days, so that those interested in fruit growiug might liavu an opportunity of consulting him if they desired to do so, and expressed himself as anxious to afford every information in his power as to the growth and profitable marketing of fruit and vegetables. Mr Spawn afterwards proceeded to Penola, to meet applicants for blocks in the newly formed fruit growing colony, ami devise a method of allotting the land. With reference to this proposal Mr Spawn points out that he is prepared to erect a plant for evaporating vegetables as soon as the colony is fail ly settled, so that growers can secure some revenue from their first yctr's operations and before the fruit trees comes into bearing. Ho also thinks that strawoerries may be profitably grown, and has no fear as to a market, as by Ids improved means of packing ho can send them to Melbourne in splendid condition, Mr Spawn has paid a visit to Gleucuo, and is highly impressed with the capabilities of the district for general fanning, and at the same time expresses his surprise at tlis very prefunctory manner in which farming operations appear to be carried out. t!o considers that the south east is capable of supporting in comfort the whole of the present population of .South Australia, and that the people would be; better off if they were located hero and the laud put to its best use.
Sfi.ritATr; of Ammonia.—As no process for flic manufacture of ammonia has yet been carried out on a commercial scale, \vu are dependent for our supply of this important substance on that which may be collected as a bye-product in a lew opc.ations. It is, however, satisfactory to observe a gradual increase in the amount saved, and to realise that its value is about id,500,000 a year, taking the price of sulpluuo at JL'l2 a ton. If all the ammonia were saved from coke ovens, iron works, and other factories where the consumption of coal is large, the addition to the national wealth would exceed ten times the amount noxv realised. Much of the sulphate of ammonia produced here is exported to Germany, where it is used principally in the cultivation of beet. Seeing that the larger proportion of this ammonia is produced in the gasxvorks scattered through the country, it appears surprising that the British farmer does not sec it to be his interest to buy xvhat may be had in his own market town, rather than allow it to be carried away for tin- use of the fanner in Germany,
Poor Oi.n Eniii.xnu.—The l'oval Jubilee Show of the Royal Agricultural Society take a back seat. Of course thYankee can " beat creation." The We.-teru Agriculturist, published at Quincy, Illinois, says:—"Mr 11. 11. Clark, Mcudota, 111., who attended the Royal Agricultural Show in England last year, and wrote us an interesting account of it, says : ' You can rest assured that the World's Fair at Chicago xvill be as the sun in resplendent beauty, compared to the nebula-like show of the Royal at Windsor. In my opinion there is an average of liner stock iu the United States than in Europe."
AcUILTI.Tu'RAL DITUKSsION IN AMHriij.x.—Agricultural depression appears to lie the common topic of discussion in the United Slates at present, and leading men, including the Secretary of Agriculture and the Statistician of the Department of Agriculture, have lately written upon it. A correspondent, after describing forced sales and desertion of farms in some of the Eastern States, says thai limes are hard—iu some localities very hard indeed. The fanners of Nebraska have had to use maize for fuel, owing to tiie price being too low to bear the cost of transportation ; in Kansas there arc mnrtgagi'S on thousands, of farms, and foreclosures arc threatened ; xvhile very large proportions of the southern cotton and sugar are produced under crop mortgages, which are cquiwilent to bills of sale. Commodities vended by farmers are bought on long credit at prices xvhich cut off all profits, the advancing merchant being the only person who makes a good thing out of the credit system. In Canada also many complain of the depression, and admit that " there is notliinir which can be properly termed profits in Canadian farming of to-day." Those who have a hundred acres of land, out of debt, and can do all their own work, are making a low rate of wages for their labour ; that is all. To pay rent for a farm, and at the same time to make a decent living, is, as a rule, impossible.
Live Stock ixDe.wm.ikk.— The British Board of Agriculture have just issued a leallet, in which are set forth some particulars concerning the live stock of Denmark, a country which, by reason of its enormous consignments of butter, is exercising no small influence upon English markets. The first cattle census, was taken in Denmark in IS.'IS, and the latest in 1SS8; there are, therefore, for comparison, the figures for 50 years. The proportion of horses to the human population dues not iaereasc. 'The number was, in IS"I, 175 horses to each thousand men, etc., and the proportion in ISSS was still 17"). Cattle have increased from 855,000 head in ISoS to 1,-1(10,(100 in ISSS. Of the latter number, no less than 934,000 (or 05 per cent of the whole) were cows and heifers. In Britain, the proportion of cows, el.e,, is 14 ])';)• cent. Sheep have materially declined from 1,0-10,000 in ISMS to in ISBS ; and it is shown that, in proportion to the population, there were not half as many sheep in ISSS as there were in IS7I. The diminution of sheep and the increase of the percentage of cows goes pari pa.im with the butter exports. There wtrj 250.000 cwt. in ISSI, and in 18S9 there wore 070,000 cwt. Swine also have nolaMy increased ; there were 771,000 in ISSS aij.-iiust ,VJ7,000 in 1-SSI, and ii:?S,COO in ISIJS. The dairy (ami pigs as followers of the dairy) must have V-tinersed.'d the sheep fold up m most Danish farms,
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Waikato Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 2817, 2 August 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)
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2,097FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES. Waikato Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 2817, 2 August 1890, Page 6 (Supplement)
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