FARM GARDEN ANO ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 2971, 30 July 1891, Page 4

FARM GARDEN ANO ORCHARD NOTES.

Kim, Tki \TMr.-.r "f •'"«... -'I'h, , nerve ),,,.- .I that malt's a superior butter cow ,;. ,~, ,!,.,, ■I, ,• ei-itivf! 'o ill c-'iri , and ~,i .i,-,-i',N--i:l Kindni-H' p-i.vs union..' ill ~,.,•,, 1γ.,1 n.e.vh re -~ .„",•!, ;,. nm-.M-.' ... j ';,,,-,. v.-.. -.1.-l-ey Hiin-lill. >-, I -.1 mi -. K I ' M-.1 , , \<\V. V \KM. The ~„',., , xii c.iiv cabb,:r- f ■ viii in the ivu-ld i, ~ ~- Chi-,.-... I- .-.i.si-is'.s ~! 1!"! iicrc- ■•! :'." ".-■l'lb i'.'. , di-'!ri.:t," ;m il is cidled. .vi,i-h --..-5H = vi-":--= L'.M'O .-ir:r, h ~f lit-h heavy . ,ii. . -l ei ah- ;,,! .p-,.' ;■,,:,b>.aire culture, it i. ,ju'iiv.- 1,1 1-1,0(l;> plains to -et the 1! 0 .-.f-re . and cunitinir t.h.i.-i , ici-d in resellinir lt),0'.'(),l).'!) for the whole di-nici undi.-r cul-iva-i u The bulk of the crop is -cut south in box cars to supply a demand that ~.xi-ts afl"i- the eiiiMimption of the so'ithoni crop, which, owing .to the clitaate, cannot bo .stored. Lo'M-sTs in Mnuorro.— The locusts are do-cribed as increasing in number in Morocco. As far north as Tangier, the crops have suffered terribly. The maize will be a failure. At Mazai,',an the fruit trees have been stripped of their bark, and the insecH have commenced attacknit; tli , : cactus, bushes. At Marrakesh (.\?orocco City) the Sultan has issued an order commaudiny everybody to spend thru.; days doing nothing else but " killing locusts." Hut it is now too late to do" much ; the third brood is already at work. Never in the modern history of the Kmpire has .such mischief been com» mitted. A famine in feared.

R.M'K AS KuDllKli KDK I'lfJS. —It IR not tho least important of tho ndvi.ntajjea of the rape crop (aays the Australinsi.-m) that pig< do well upon the fodder. That the rape in especially jroodfor sheep and lambs is well known,and mnny of thefnrmersand ■rraziern of the colony—c-spocially those at U'iirrnambool and I'ort Fairy-have for a long period taken advantage of this circumstance in fattening lamo cros.sbrods for Diarkot, but the ."nitableness of the crop for i>i£s is not so jfonnrally under -:*.-iod. Tho fact, however, is well estub-li-hed iu KiiL'land and Atneric.i, and it is if c .DBidorable importance to the farmers of this country.

M.angki.s. —-There is a good deal of food on an acre of well-cultivated mangels, but it is not. tlv , !:irgo-aiz=xl roots that are the most profitable' to tho feeder. Tho medium-sized roots that nro solid and heavy uro the most nutritous: October is the time to bi'iiin sowing them. Deeply cultivated lisrht soil with plenty of manure in it if the best, and is fairly moist, all the better. Five pounds of seed will sow an acre, Sow in drills, 30in apart and 'JOin between the plants. If the noil is not very rich plant Gin closer both wnys. When the plant* come up remove nil surplus plants and let each oneetand clear by itself. It is very necesrary to keep the surfaco opeu by hoeing, and to remove all weeds Tho Tankard and Orange or Yellow Globe are best for soils that are not deep. The Mammoth and Long Red are the best fer very deep, light, rich soils. — Adelaide Observer.

Hatbs oi ,l AoßiciaTUKAi. Wakes.—ln the year k>32, wasrea paid to haymakers werii Id ii day. A mower of meadows, 3d a day or od p<T aero. Reapers of corn in the first week of August, 2d, in the second :id a day, and ho ou till the end of August, without meat, drink, or other nllowonoe, finding their own to .Is. Kor threshing a quarter of wheat or rye 'J.VI ; a quarter of hailev, beans, pons, or oats, l.';d. A muster carpenter, ;>d n day ; other carpenters, IM ; a master ma-on, Id a day ; other ma-ions Ij.l, and their HcrvautH Hd a day. Tilers, ;>d and their " k/iivi\s" ii IVI ; Thatchers, VA a day, and their knaves I VI : plasterers and other workers of mud w"ill-i and their knaves, in like manner without inc-il or drink ; and this from, |i;=i:,tc-r to i\licl.=irlni:i.-' ; and from that time, lens, according to the direction of the iu'ti-i s.

Fkkh GuimiKiis.—The ordinary coru-eiu.-iher is now being largely superseded by tho newer kind of grindiuj,'; mills. These grinders pfl'ect the purpose by means of diilled discs working like the stones of a d.mr mill, and they probably grind whatever passes through them. Tho feed can be merely cracked or ground into meal or Hour, and perfect grinding ie needed for feed, especially on farms in the dry districts. In the dry country killing , wced.s is almost impracticable, so that increased attention has to be iii von to keeping , the land from getting foul. In addition to the requirements of lioinb feed, it is necessary upon rno-<t well unnaired farms to provide for.tho feeding of pi:r*. After harve.-t there i.-t a largo quantity of (screenings nnd seconds re quiring to bo made available for pig.-.' food, and for pi-- , .-* oivlmary crushing is not sutlieient. For these reasons the grinding feed mills cau bu recommended as an improvement upon the older style of corn crusher. Taxisi; Staixio>:s,— The proposal to levy it tin on trillions i; ul present receiving .some attention iu the neighbouring colonies us well as this. In a recent issue the Adelaide Ob-xjrvor siys :—" Thoughtlad men and advanced farmers have on inoro than one occasion advocated the imposition of .a license fee- upon entire horses, such licensed hmrseH in every cape to have passed a strict, examination for soundness before, one or moro properly ipialiliud veterinary surgeons. That Mich advocacy has not resulted in any notion being- taken is no reason why tho idea should bn dropped ; for the advisablenefs of checking the breeding of vicious, un> loutid, and comparatively worthless horses is alino.-t universally acknowledged, and the advantages that would accrue to tho colony generally from tho rearing of high el i.-s, sound, reliable horse stock, whether bloods, drauirhlfi, or hacks, will be admitted on all hind--. The mero fact that such a law existed iu this colony would our horses a good reputation in other countries where such animals arc used, and ere long tbero would bo oajrer purchasers of young ftock got by tho certifl eaied sirei.' , I)aii;v K.uuu:i:s in Jkr.-ky.—Jersey, as everybody knows, is the home of the cow of that titk , , which is deservedly regarded as the butter cow j/nr rxrclhwe. A curious circumstance, however, is that though the Jersey is the best butter cow in tho world, the Jersey cowkeeper is alomr way off being the best of butter-mnkers. Indeed, I do think it would bean injustico t) s-iy that ho or she is a bad buttcr-makor. Why this is po is inexplicable, and no explanation I have heard gives what I can call a tenable reason tor if. You may be told that it. is all duo to the Jerseyite payii.r too much attention to potato growing, ''■at can this be the cause ? They must h ive time to breed their eows and to sell thi.mat big profits, but thoy have not f.iimd time to make butter from their iT'icl cows. I think it is more probablo tint t'e: re i.-ou is this—that they are not a dairy race of penpk , . The visits' and d-i.iouslrations whit;!, were made this week by Mr 15-jnson, of tho liritish Dairy Farmers' Association, should open the eyes of Iho Wanders to the way iuwhieh they can utilise to better purpose tho produet ~f the splendid animal they rear. First-class butter from well-bred Jersey cow:i should be as prolitablc as potatoes or fruitu't-jwing, and those who pay attention to il. will, I feel sure, find that they had a ii-h in Iheir net which they had u.".'leeti-l to take out.

A (JriiKM'.s Way <>!■• Fi.woruiNi: I'.! I'll:;;.-It i ; i well known that milk turns sour ln'ciu.-e certain or;: mwm.s into it. from the air and multiply ; and it is c,|..:dly well kiijwn tint tiie process of the. "ripi-lling" of c'iee;ei; ealtoCll by varilms fungi. 'IT.cm: oiv.-mi -:n:; are pre- \ dent mure or 1. , .--:;, aii-l are of various

! : .'l-, at iliiri-rnifc i»-!:-.nirn f.f the year. I lev.- ti) llt'li/e tin , .-:.' i>i-;;ani>mi!l t<> proiliii'M a piirtii'iilm - llivoiir in butter is what the slu.ly or li.irturiwli.KV liis done. I have it on the authority of Professor Uoyil thai in Ctcrmany n. cert'iin fanner w.'s noted for tho manufacture of butter with a pleasant ami nspooially favnnritc ll'ivour, and no one appoand to l>o ahlw to account for or imitate it. All sorts of ovpei'inipnts were undo l>y envious dairymen, and chemists were , asked to explain it. No solution was found until the particular form of bacteria present in (he milk W.ll ascertained, and it was then oh'-crved that they «ere different to

tho-jc fi.mi'.l in the , milk of other dairies. Smut: of t heee organisms were propagated, ami afterwards distributed amongst a. iuiiiibi:r (if farmers, who flaeid them in Ili.; milk of lhi.il- cows. The off"tot was that such a change took place: that, butter was produced of a llavour exactly col responding in tint made on tho farm whence tip l)i:-c;ria vv.ii taken. Thtso organi-.ms an: now actually cultivated, and .sold to dairymen for the II ivouriiit! of buttc , ". If this can In; (lone, with butter it may be dim' , with cheese, and if bacteriology can I put n>. i» tin: wiyof producing nothing lint licst fl.-ivonriid nrtiolua in the dairy il will not only lie a wonderful, but a valuable sciu.itilic work. Mn. k I'l-Kioi) ok Hkiikks. — How long a heifer Rhould be milked her first Reason is a question that has much to do with the future milking of the cow, say? an authority on dairy matters. The cow is now as near an artificial creature as she can well he. In her native state milkdiving is restricted to a few weeks, and if left to herself her milk habits drift back to the original way as truly as do her habits, form, and conditions. The heifer in Home way has a tendency to dry off at about 100 days, and the dairyman now sees to it that she is well fed at this time, and every inducement made to have her give milk at least 300 days. Heredity has done much to eliminate this, but it is even now of importance enough to guard agninet. The other day a man told me that he had two heifers that were going to drop calves at 22 mouths old, and that he was going to dry them up as soon as he could, let them grow another year, and then they would be good cows (?) His better plan, I told him, was to generously feed those heifers, see if he could not control matters so they would not drop their second calves until they were 36 or 38 months old, and keep them in milk a full year, and let them grow on generous feeding as a true cow can, and not stifle the milk habit at the start."-H.M. in Bristol Times.

Ajikrican Wheat.—The position of America as a wheat exporting conntry is engaging some attention. The last census showed that during a period of Iβ years the increase of population amounted in round numbers to nearly 12,500,000 persons. This increase is considered disappointingly small by the American press, but it is undoubtedly a very important matter when viewed in connection with the annual wheat crop. The wheat production is actually less now than it was 10 years ago, and the tendency appears to be in the direction'of still further reduo ing the area. Taking into consideration the population of the United States, which the last census has shown to be b'2,G22 250 and the largo increase that must annually take place, it is very clear that a great falliug oil in the wheat exports is certaiu to occur unless the area under this crop is greatly extended, a somewhat unlikely contingency. It. has been reckoned by a New York authority that the reserves of wheat on the Ist January, 1801, were a little under 200,000,000 bushels. Seed requirements for the spring sowings and food wants for the first half of the year were estimated t'j draw upon these to such an extent that only 17,010,000 bushels would be left for exports and reserves. It ia clear that if these figures bo at all accurate, and their authenticity seems in tho main established, America can play but a subordinate part in the international wheat trade until the new season's crop begins to come in. Apparently the time is fast coming when the United States will be reie-rated to the position of a second or third rate export power so far as wheat is concerned, much inferior to Russia and only superior to India when a favorable season insures a good crop. I'nosrjiATJ-: of Lime. —An adequate supply of phosphate of lime in essential to all farm crops, and as it is not contained in the air the plant must derive it from the aoil. Good crops of swedes of, say, twenty tons of roots and three tons of tops take from the soil about DOlbs. of phosphate of lime per acre ; and a crop of mangolds of, say, twenty-five tons of roots and nine tons of leaf removes about 12211)8. per acre. These are equal to an application for turnips of about 'Sh cwt, per acre of a 26 per cent, soluble phosphate, and for mangols of nearly 5 cwt. per acre. A crop of beans takes from the soil a still larger quantity than either of these ; a crop of wheat, barley, or oats less, but still very considerable quantities for each acre ; the other crops of the rotation also require varying, but rather smaller quantities. It is therefore evident that if the fertility of the soil is to be maintained, it must be supplied at some time during the rotation, with at least as much phoephate of lime as the total amount required by all the four or live crops of the rotation taken together. In practice it is found necessary to do more than this. Allowance must be made for a certuiu proportion of manure which may get washed too deep into the soil, or pass off in the drains. Further, we must not presume that every particle of the manure applied will fall within reach of the rootlets of the crop, as this can seldom be the case, especially with turnips and mangolds, the roots of which cau only appropriate the nutriment in their immediate neighbourhood, and cannot search tho whole body of the surrounding soil, as do the more spreading roots of corn. It is, perhaps, mainly for this reason—but also in part because some of the other crops in the rotation often get littlp, if any, phosphate of lime applied to them—that it is found in practice desirable to give to root crops a much larger quantity of phosphate of li'ne than the above figures show that they remove from the soil. The characteristic effect of superphosphates, whether applied to roots, corn, or grass, is to promote the early maturing of the plant. Superphosphates are, therefore, specially important on slowdy-acting cold clays, and stifF, calcareous, or damp soils, on which the crops are apt to ripen late pnd slowly.