FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3097, 21 May 1892, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM, GARDEN, AND ORCHARD NOTES.

■ ■» — Nitrate of Soda.— Tho monthly circular of Messrs Downes and Co., manure brokers, Liverpool, gives prominence to the fact that Dr. Peters, the well-known German explorer, has discovered immense and practically inexhaustible beds of nitrate of soda in Equatorial Africa. The bods discovered are within the German territory ; but there is strong presumptive evidence that similar deposits will be found within tho adjoining territory of the British East African Company, whore the climate und geological conditions are almost precisely identical. Ou account of the difficulty of transport, a year or two must necessarily elapse before this immense supply of nitrate in Africa can be tapped; but railway communication with these deposits can only be a matter of time. There seems no reason to doubt, therefore, that the present and prospective supplies of nitrate ol soda will be very amoly sufficient for the wants of the future.

French Farming.—The French keep up th 3 fertility of their lands by the scientific use of artificial manures and by numerous rotations of crops. The scientific principles of far rain a: are disseminated by the numerous agricultural colleges, the annual fee for attendance being so moderate as £18. The students work ten hours a day, five hour* iti the class rooms and five in the fields. Each student must take Ilia turn by spending a week at cooking, and also a week in his turn at taking up

id brit)griuir in vexo(nhl«'s. They loarn i the school just those iibji-ols wliinli - - , T ory farmer ought. in l>e acquainted wild physiology, r-li i-m is■y, fho veterinary art anil carpentry, of sl u lon's v/it.lt such i sci<■>!- j ii>: I'llucaiion, spread throughout I' rauo!, I :ivo their benign influ -ney f<?!r, even in i lit 1 all"! :i! 'it ])'>! '■' : ij Tin: Mrkmiii Pka-axhiv.—Th- pros- ! crity in't,:i ! i"ri i uc!i limy be -;in:;i-ii by lie.' amount- ol savin .i.-. tliey iav>- lai'l l>y in the Savings Banks. 1 lie mnilier of depositors amounts to 0,000.000. vim have to Vli.-ir I'tvciit tlm iMionn ms sum it' CI 1*2,nUt).060 <>f Ivitrlish mmny. It. .voiild take a fabulous war .ii-'nt to eripph' i u-itiiJU whi pus »j-.s !<l -iiieh a re-ervo ..j,i(■;. 1, Perhaps tl'" most inr ortaat. Factor in I lie prosperity of the I'Voneh mtall f--rmer i- the thorough ami skilful manner ill vlliuli he manages hi- land " l'artn a little and tiirm it well,'' has pa-s >d int. ) a prover'), nod il bfl-tr" amph pioof am the pea-ant proprietors, 'l'obteeo "rowing is found verr profitable, yieldintr no less a nett balance than £30 per ucro. The vineyard is porhap" the mo~t, mon o y-makirig.i e., in those districts not visited with phyllnxeru vasMrix. Th» r popular opinion in France is that every one should liave a piece of laud, if he wants it. j. Paint. —Paint is an essential on every n farm, and it is a great pity that a more j liberal use is not made of it. There are e far too many farms in this colony on which the paint brush is never brought into requisition, and the neglect in this ] particular is observable in the appearance of the gates, the farm machinery and implements, the out-buildings, and even the dwelling-house. No farm steading can be attractive to the eye unless a periodical eoat oE paint is given to every part that requires it, and so far from this being an unremunerative outlay, it actually meana a saving, becauie woodwork of every description, particularly if it is exposed to the weather, will last ever so much longpr when regularly painted. This also applies to machinery and implements, a general overhaul of which should be regularly undertaken once a year. Complicated machines, such as the reaper and binder, should never be left exposed to the weather when not in use, and, after the hat vest is concluded, all the working parts should be scraped clean of the dust and oil that must have accumulated. If this is not done the wheels become gummed up so that they will not work freely, and this often involves a costly breakdown when the machine is again required for use. Cleaning will expose the parts that are worn away, and painting will preserve the woodwork for years longer than will be the case if this precaution is neglected. Paint is not a very dear commodity, and it can be obtained in a convenient form mixed ready for use in tins. Of course, if a large quantity is required it will be cheaper to buy the various ingredients and mix them, but this often involves a waste, as too much : paint is generally prepared, and is after- I wards allowed to dry and become useless, i The main condition to be observed in i painting is that the surface to be operated upon is clean and dry, and if this is not neglected, any farm labourer of ordinary intelligence ear. do all the painting that > is required on the average farm. Atten- ; tion to details of this kind marks the i careful farmer, and the difference to lis [ found between the steading owned by the i man who believes in paint anfl that of the man who doesn't, is generally a sure indi- . cation of the systems which characterise • their work in any[particular. Success in i the one case and failure in the other are 3 usually the results of their farm managet ment.

Treatment of Bolls.—Never scratch a bull on the forehead, even though the action may be intended as a caress. Ignorance of this seemingly small fact in connection with the management oi stock has often led to serious consequences, and very probably has been the cause of loss of life. The bull is naturally a belligerent animal, and will usually fight on the smallest provocation. It is an instinct with him, and domestication will never eradicate the trait. In this country, the bull that is allowed to roam at will with a herd ol cows is not often dangerous,_ but the animal that is kept penned up in a stall | or only given the run of a small pad dock, should never be trusted l)j strangers, and not infrequently will tun savagely upon the attendant without an; apparent cause. It bus been said th;i the only bull is a dead bull, am though this may not bo absolutely true

no liberties should ever lie taken with an animal that is kept wholly or partially in confinement. Patting has often much to do with rousing the fighting instinct in a bull. Scratching or rubbing a bull on the forehead is equivalent to striking a man in the face, and yet it is one of the most miachevious practices indulged in by those who have not studied bovine nature. Visitors to agricultural shows very frequently err in this manner, and in the case of imported bulls, sailors on shipboard teach them bad habits, although the mischief is probably done unwittingly. The bull that is always ready to show fight seldom does much harm, because the attendant is always on his guard and visitors are afraid to meddle with him. It is the animal that is as " kind as a kitten" that in the luast expected moment turns man-killer. Bulls, as well as stallions, in this country seem to be naturally more docile and easily managed than in the Old World ; but, nevertheless, many sad accideuts have occurred, principally owing to over confidence in the kindly dispositions of the animals. Stroking a horse's head is a way to gain his confidence, but the same action to a bull almost -invariably rouses his ire. The practice should never be permitted, as indulgence in it simply means courting a catastrophe sooner or later. —Leader. Nitrogen from the Atmosphere. — German investigators are extending beyond the boundaries of the leguminous plants the enquiry as to how far atmospheric nitrogen can be utilised in plant nutrition. "Frank" has published in the Deutsche Landwirthschaftliche Fresse the results of experiments, from which he infers that yellow lupines are eminently adapted to the purpose of green manuring on light soils deficient in nitrogen, and that in such cases the laud need only be dressed with phosphoric acid and potash manures. Trials with such nous plant 3 as oats, buck-wheat, spurrey, ' and rape—all, be it noticed, belonging to. different orders—seem to indicate that these plants also fix nitrogen. Tbe species named were grown in glass jars, filled either with sandy or loamy soil, to which phosphoric acid, potash, and lime were freely added. The percentages of nitrogen in the soil before and after the experiment, aud in the seed and the harvested crop were determined. The figures show that the nitrogen contained in the oat crop was 3-1..3 times, that in the buck-wheat crop 11.6 times, that in the spurrey crop 9 times, and that iu the rape crop as much as 114.2 times that contained in the seed. The percentage of nitrogen contained in the soil at the end of the experiment was in every case sli«htly in excess of that present before the experiment, thus indicating that the soil had not suffered any loss of nitrogen by the cropping. "Frank" assumes and this a.highly significant point—that the nitrogen acquired by the plants was derived from the atmostpherc, and that, moreover, without any intervening symbiosis with micro-organisms in the soil. Should this assumption be verified, it will : carry with it the reversal of one of the most widely accepted doctrines in modern agriculture. It may even lead to profound modifications in the practices of crop cultivation.