FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3014, 7 November 1891, Page 5 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Apples in Ontario.— Thoro aro about 200,000 acres of orchard in Ontario, and the export of apples U gradually increasing. According to the statements of a grower the profits aro not vory large, though after 10 years patient waiting ho himself satisfied with the result, and considered that an applo orchard in South Ontario, if planted judiciously, is tho most valuable part of the farm. A fair yield'per acre is put at an average of about six bushels per tree, from trees in their prime over 25 years old. An average return per bushel, after deducting expenses of carriage, freightage, nnd commission, is Is id. This upon 240 trees per acre, the usual number amounts to £1G per acre.

Rinoworm in Young Cattle.—This is a common winter complaint with young cattlo. It in a nasty disoase and being caused by parasites is highly contagious, not only to other cattle, but also to the human subject, if great care is not taken when handling calros effected with ringworm. Veterinary surgeon? say it is caused by a microscopic growth belonging to the lowest class of vegetable existence—viz., the fungi cryptogamia. The particular parasite of calf ringworm Dosseases a very long name ■which no one would romember if I were to give it here. Aβ to the remedy, the surest way, of course, is to destroy the cause and the effect will disappear. There are several ointments, &c, for ouring ringworm, but probably they are all efficient if pometently applied, as frequent and thorough dressing is necessary with any of the curative agents. Tho following is given by an English vet. as boing very efficacious ;—An ounce of sublimed sulphur, ioz sulphuric acid, both mixed with as much hogs' lard as they will take up, and thus mako an ointment of the usual consistency. SOPKRIORITVOF AYRSHIRE MlLK.—The Ayrshire, according to Professor Long in hie "Farm Live Stock," is unquestionably the most important and tho most typical example of a milking 1 cow in the British Isles. It will be found, however, tbat each of the most promising breeds has its own admirers and staunch RupDorters who claim all majiner of good qualities on behalf of their favourites. The Ayrshire is said to be more a oheesev making than a butter cow, because the milk abounds in tho ourd-making material while the butter glo'mes are very email. The Jersey and (xuernseys on the the other hand aro considered to be strong in buttermaking qualities, ns the butter globules in their milk are large in size and rich in colour. But for butter or choose or table milk I believe tho little Ayrshire is hard beat by any of the pedigreed breeds. Morever, thero are various other minor qualities which go to mako the Ayrshire a good cow for domesv tic use. For oxample, with the strictly butter breeds the croam cannot readily be remixed with the milk, while that can be easily done with Ayrshire cream ; then also "tho cream of the later is soft, and when mingled again with the milk the whole looks like new milk ; but with other breeds, especially the butter breeds, the cream is inclined to be harsh and leatherly, and is not at all suitable for table purposes. I have heard milk sellers say, too, that the cream of the Ayrshire rises more slowly than that of other pure breeds, and enables the retailer to sell u uniform quality to all hi* customers, and that it stands a good deal of rough travelling in the cane without churning.— Editor of "Rural Notes," in the Otago Witness.

Behind the Times.—Notwithstanding that England claims to be par excellence tho country of intense agriculture and high farming:, she is very much behind the times, or ut any rate, behind the colonies, in the matter of improved implements and machinery. Soon after any labour-saving article is invented iu America it finds its way to the Australa eian colonies, ■where, if it is of any benefit, it is at once accepted and universally adopted. For example, the first reapers and binders were worn out and stopping gups in our fences before they were much used in Great Britian; and so with many other useful and desirable implements. The disc harrow, I believe, hails from Yankeelaud in the first place, though our colonial workers in iron have much im* proved the principle, and send out barrows much raoro adapted for our work than tho original articles were as first imported. Disc harrows have been well known and in general use here for many years, and I was therefore rather astonished at seeing a paragraph in a British farm journal describing a trial of a disc harrow, and also giving a careful description of the implemont itself, as if it were something quite now and strange to all readers of the paper. In this conncotiou I may mention that about 20 years ago all the grain in the colony was reaped with machines, either back or sido delivery, and laid in sheaves'ready for biuding, but at that time the sickle for wheat, and the scythe for barley and oats, had not been discarded, for I well remember an old English farm labourer's surprise on seeing a reaping machine at work out here, and his telling me that he had never seen such a thing before. There were none in his native country, he said, but ho had " heard tell as how there was one going in the next county " just before ho left Home, Weeds and Gkain Crops.—lt is no exaggeration to say that the average yield of the grain crops of the colouy is reduced nearly one half by weeds. Now this is a very serious statement to make, for it implies a direct charge of bad management against the occupiers of the land. Where the farming is carried on as it should be weeds are never troublesome, because the crops that are grown smother them out of existence. On the other hand,where the tillage ia imperfect, or the system of rotation followed is too severe, tho weeds gain possession of the soil and retain their hold with a persistency which every careless farmer has cause to regret. In all our experience we have never yet seen a good crop of I wheat ta,keq from a weedy paddpok and

we never expect to ace ouc. It follows therefore, that before tho average yield of our grain crops is raised to something approaching the returns obtained in othor parts of the world where high farming prevails, an effort muat be made to get riil of the weeds. There are two waya of accomplishing this end. This first is by cutting down the intruders whenever they appear ; the second is to adopt a better system of farming and raising crops that will be sulliciently heavy to starve out, the weeds. The former plan is suprificial and only temporarily effective. Mowing down weeds periodically is similar to paying interest on borrowed money. You have hardly got clear of one difficulty before another is due, and the most regular payment of interest will no more reduce the principle sum than pcriwlical cutting will lessen tho crop of weeds. They must be grappled with in a different fashion. weeds |can be got rid of rotation of crops and manuring of the land are necessary. Without, thn observance of these fundamental principles all other efforts will prove unavailing. Tho inducements, however, to cirry out a higher class of farming is not merely that the weeds will be destroyed, Jmt that the crops will be so much heavier from the extra labour employed in their production that they will far more than they repay any extra expenee incurred. Worms ix Sheep.—A. correspondent writes that " tho enormous death rate of lambs that has occurred durinjr the winter in New South Wales, although attributed to tho excessive cold, ha« been due to causes ineide and not outsido the ewes, the real causes being deteriorated vitality in the damg, impoverished milk, small in quantity, and in many cases merely colored water. All ewes suffering: from germinal diseases becomo dropsical and completely lose rital power. The udder becomes a mere dr:ii:i tnbo for the excess of water in the blond mid in the system, and tho lambs must depend on thiß vitiated fluid, for a living , . The slightest cold produces congestion of tho lungs, and death on munj stations reaches as high as 70 per cent. Piistoralists are invar.! of the terrific losses from worm disease ; but they are certainly not aware of th(! cause. These germs may be located in any organ of tho body, but most deadly when in the lung and liver substances. They arc always in the blood during worm epidemics. Although theso worms do not destroy old sheen to any alarming extent, thej were undoubtedly tho great cause of our lamb losses fluriii" the past winter. It should bo no Reerot that tho breeding vitality of thousands upon thousands of ewes is gone, and unless the ewes are dealt with, and this vitality restored, universal loss will occur every winter. I am desirous of arousing general attention to this very and alarming condition of things. I hnve, therefore, determined to crivo this matter serious attention. It is not my desire to make any cutsido fuss, but simply to do what I can to aid and assist my fellow colonists. Many, of course, are aware that the breeding qualities of our flocks have become much impaired during the last few years, and havo been procuring fresli male blood to meet tho difficulty ; but as the cause is duo to actual disease this certainly cannot meet it. Indeed, a very large percentage of ramsaro vitiated. This is plainly visible at our sheep shows. I admit that the breeding ewes have suffered meet, many of our show sheep being mero pigmies, haviug lost both density and vitality of fleece. It is therefore clear that a mere infusion of fresh male blood cannot meet tho coming castastrophe. It has also been proposod to establish a syptera of universal interchange of feeding ground, so that a sheep breeder at Bathurst or Cassillis may have tho right of interchanging with breeders at Dubbo or Mudgee, &c. No doubt if this could be accomplished it would do more than even an interchange of freah blood; but it would certainly not moet the caeo, for thousands of breeding owes have been purchased at Forbes and removed to Wajrga Wngga, nnd it has neither stopped the death rato nor in any way effected a cure of tho disease. Some have also proposed to cut up the stations into small paddocks, resting some of them for one or two years. Stud sheep fed on artificial food havo not escaped. In a future letter I shall forward you my ideas."—Leader.