FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2958, 30 June 1891, Page 4

FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Danish Butter.— Over 89,000,0001bs of butter were exported from Denmark last year, of this quantity no fewer than eighty-three million pounds were seat to Britain.

Aoßicri.Tnn.u. Education—At a meeting held on the 10th of April, the Cheshire County Council decided to set aside £'2000 a year for technical; instruction in agricultural subjects.

A New Cauliklowku.—An announcement of a new kind of cauliflower mimed 1 Hohenzollern,' appears in some of our ijontcmponuioH, which is of interest, and it may bo hoped will prove an acqui.-i-. lion to tho list of this valuable class of vegetable. It is paid to be the result of a e:o<s between :i Yoitch's Autumn Giant cauliflower :nul a dark Krc.cn curled knl ,, or kohl rabi. It is describe , .! a.-» at once :i curled kiilo and n cauliltowor. Tim leaves ;uid head may be eaten separately or together. The leaven are blue-green, curled on the margin, and entirely enclose •Hid couct al tho curd, the Litter under onliuiiry treatment is said to bo medium Mzcd, but when sown earlv and liberally cultivutul may bo grown very iar<rc. If thu greater liardiuem of constitution of tho ka!u has becu introduced with its other peculiarities, thero will be a distinct train to tho list of tho autumn and winter vegetables. Tho fluvour is said to be higher than that of tho cauliflower. Thu novelty is not yet on tho market ; it is announced tboy soon will bo. Ckeam Cheese,—A cream cheese of excellent quality cuu tie uiado as follows ; —Tho milk ia set in shallow pans and at the end of 11! hours is moved carofully, without disturbing' tbo cream, ou a stove, whore it is warmed until tho surface " crinkles" or moves in x shrinkine; raaunor. The pans are then sot bnck again for the cream to riso fully, Tho latter is theu quite thick and tough, aud in the condition of " clotted cream." Tho cream is skimmed with a flat ekim mor. It is then put in moulds, uflually oblong square, about 4 inches long , , 3 wide and 'i deep. They are bottouilese, and are placed on a clean napkin or oloth laid ovor a straw mat. A cloth is laid upon tho cream, and a light cover of wood is pluced upon it with a very light weight to make it compact. In 2t hours the chceso ia tinu enough to move and is lit to eat, having a vory rich ilavor, with enough cheesy taste to make it a cheese. The henting coagulates the albumen in tho milk, aud this rises with the rest of the cream, and gives it its larger bulk and toughness. Probably the albumen adds flomethinjr to the flavor as well, and this is exceedingly delicate and pleasant, An , Agricultural Tripos.—Mr Punch the comic sage of Fleet Street, has been turning his attention to agricultural science, and is evidently ambitious to be come an examiner at the next Highland Society examination. He gives the foU lowing as a preliminary examination paper :—" An Agricultural Tripos.—A rinld is ploughed three years running. Can it still have a shy at its little go ? Examine this and say all you know about ■' Piers, or I'ears, the Ploughman." Did he use his own soap ? Explain the use of the " Sowing-machine''foragricultural purposes. What do you mean by " going against the grain ?" You plant a field of corn. What plaster do you adopt when it begins to shoot? Also give the best remedy you know for corn in the ear. Write a Sentimental History of the Hap* vest Moon. Is it really twice as big as any other moon, or does it only look so, after drinking the landlord's health several times over ? What pomade do you recommend for "top-dressing?" What would be au M.l'.'s first step towards squaring a circle of agricultural voters ':" NITKATE, FfITA.-'U, AXD StKAW — Nitrate of Foda greatly increases the weight o? hay aud straw, and in former d;'.ys farm lenses usually contained rostriclions upon the hay and straw, unless some equivalent of mammal value was put upon the luud. What this equivalent ought to be is au open question' an tho nature of tho exhaustion was very imperfectly and one element that beoamo especially rxhanstrd by the sale r>[ hay and stray, viz., potajh, was not procurable in quantity at a practicable price. This was becoming a serious matter for Lritish agriculture, when mines yielding crudo potash were discovered in Contral Europe, and it is now not only easy to get potash in quantity, but it is also inoxpensive to purchase. Hence tho sale of straw is no longer a serious matter, for the exhaustion it produces is easily aud cheaply remedied. A small outlay by the tenant, or a small finn of equal value, paid to the landlord or incoming tenant, putfl tho matter ntraiijht.

Sri.riiATK ok Ammonia for Turnips. —Mr J, Kose, who during tbo past twenty years haa been triieve on thriio (if t.li<> larffp.it farms in tho north—Moikl« KiMrummie, DrumdertU, aud Cadbuel Mouut— writon as follow* to the Inverness Courier :—I luivi), I think, frown tho heaviest crop of turnips ou ('artboll Mount (sniison 18S9) that over was grown north of tin! • ;i-!iinpi:ins. The following wore the m'lniires I used :— Twenty-fivo loads of fold manure, ploughed down on stubble in uut-uraii and winter, and at sowing time ; h ewt. sulphate of animonin, i cwt. Peruvian guano, 2 cwt. bone meal, 2 cwt. bone dust, 2 cwt. (superphosphate—u'4 owt in all. Tbr plants—swedes purple top (DrummoJid Stirling's) —wero hoed with 9.inch hoes, and the result was seventy heaped'loads, nvornpinjjr fully 12 cwt., or fully 42 tons per aero. Tho only fault found with theswedes was that they were fur too bi-r. I attribute this heavy crop to usinf.' Kulphato 0/ ammonia. I grow upwards of JW tons per acre ot swedes last year (18' JO) <m the same farm by similar manure-* and process, although tho season wiiH wet and cold. Farmkhs and Paint.—Many farm homesteads might be brightened up wonderfully by tho application of n little paint to tho exterior of tho buildings. Every fanner ought to learn how to use the paint brush. Then at odd times he o;uj do much homo improvement tbat without this accomplishment would certainly go undone. Paint itself is not as expon-iivo ns its application. Occasionally a city painter will break over the trade union regulations when out of a job and bard up, and work at prices which farmers can afford to pay, We do not especially blamo those who paint for a living for asking high wages. To work contiuounly in puint.B, especi ally lead, ie very unhealthy, but a little painting will not injure anyone. Considering how I easily the painters trade, at least for common work, may bo learned, there is reason in the argument that everybodv ought to know and do a littlo of it. Country life, especially, would be brighter if old and young ou the farm took their turn at brightening it with Daint. Waggons, tools and f»rm buildings of all kinds are more durable when painted frequently, and painted they will not be, as experience proves, uulces tho farmer doea it himself. Good and cheap paints are now fnrniahed ready mixed, so that the greatest difficulty of painting by novices is done away with. There is therefore no longer any excuse for a farmer not having his dwelling, and stoading all nicely decorated ; and it is ."uprising , the influence of example in this matter. Wherever the paint brush is introduced into a locality the inhabitants are a vory dull lot if they do not quickly follow suit in brightening tho whole surroundings, Thero is far too little timo aud mouey spent on improvements of this character. Pasturagk fob SllEKr.—Sheep breeders strive to increase the average yield of wool per sheep by giving attention to the improvement of the animal. Now, while this is very essential, maintaining certain elements in the soil is equally necessary, for continuous wool growing leads to the exhaustion of the land for this particular purpose, just the same as continuous whoat culture in another direction. A farmer may sow the very beat seed wheat it is possible to procure, but unless tho soil is adequately mannred or naturally supplied with all the constituents necessary to the full development of the crop any care bestowed upon the selection of tho seed would be practically thrown away. In the same manner the efforts of the sheep breeders may be defeated by giving heed only to the animal and neglecting tho pasture on which it has to feed, Tho growth of wool is influenced by diverse matters, bnt in greatest measure by tho nature of the soil and the condition in whioh tho sheep aro kept. The hoaviest fleeces and finest, qualities of wool are produced on good land, and whero the sheep are kept constantly in a thriving state. On poor land, and where animals are kept in a half-starved state, the " yolk, " a peculiar yellowish potash soap, present in all wool, is deficient in quantity, and tho wool is of an inferior quality, being harsh, short and brittle, and almost useless for manufacturing purposes. The nature of the soil,by imparting some peculiar qualities to tho pasture, also affects the quality of the wool— fertile loams ciusinp it to acquire a soft and silky feeling, while ckalky soil have an entirely contrary effect, causing it to become coarse and dry. Scientific authorities inform us that wool ir its natural state contains from 9 to 11 per cent, of moisture, aud a variable amount of oil and fatty matter, and ash largely composed of sulphur. The fact that sulphur enters so largely into tho compwsition of wool lead* us to infer that by supplying that element (which exists to a small extent in clover, tares and other feeding substances) in the food of the sheep, either by mixing it. amongst their box feeding, or by applying it in the form of manure to tho soil, a beneficial effect would be produced ou the growth of their wool.

TIIO BoNDSES ON VICTOHIAN T?DTTKK.— Su far as the exportation of butter is concerned, the bonus system is to be shortly abolished. Although it is questionable if farmers have directly benefited by the #rant of uionoy which was sot apart for the encouragement of butter exportation nraoiicrst other things, they have (says the Leader) indirectly profited to a eubstantial degreo as, indeed has the colony tit largo. A reliable market for the wholo of our surplus butter has been opened up, and it now retnaiua for farmeiH to avail theinselvos ofF tho knowledge gained, and take such steps as will eusuro regular shipments being sent to London. The bonus has served the purpose for which it waH intended, and it may now be with, drawn, an the butter factories are now in a position to stand alone and are in no fnrthor need of fostering. Altogether, when the whole of the claims have beon paid, about £12,000 of Government money will have been given out of tho original grant for bonuses of £30,000. The remainder of tho amount mentioned will be absorbed in assisting the fruit drying , , canning and export of green fruit industries. The opening up of the butter export trade has proved Is per lb. can be obtained for Victorian butter of good quality, and a slightly higher price if the product is extra prime. The charges for exportation are " moderate. The steamship companies extract Id per lb., and Jd per lb covers all other expenses in England. Tho steamer freight is certain to lie reduoed, as it has been found that so tar from being necessary to freezo the butter it is much better that it should be simply chilled, consequently the machinery will not have to be worked at such a high pressure, and the freights are likely to be lowered. But even on tho present basis producers can rely upon obtaining a net price of about iOJ per lb for butter exported, and this figure for the factory made article means profit to tho share-, holders. When Government support is withdrawn, it remains to private enterppriee to continue the exportation of butter ,a proceeding which tho bonus system has been instrumental in proving to be a sound commercial undertaking.