FARM NOTES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIII, Issue 2530, 30 November 1891, Page 2

FARM NOTES.

At the Kinross-shire Agricultural Society's Show this year Mr P. Russel, of Warroch, had on exhibition a pen of merino sheep from New Zealand, which attracted considerable attention. Mr John Book waiter, who owns 60,000 acres of land m Nebraska, proposes to initiate a great reform m faim .life at an expense of IOO.OOOJoI, to be met out of his own purse. His idea is to overcome the farmer's discontent, which he believes to be due mainly to social isolation, by j bringing the homes together into a tastefully arranged village near each one's land instead of having them on the individual farms. He has 'already started the experiment on a small scale, and says—" 1 am going to build a town hall a"d establish a free circulating library." Tins scheme is m vogue amon; the farmers of France, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland, and ia a great success. Professor Schiibaux, of the National Colleae of Agriculture of France, has devised a very simple, cheap, and successful method by which he has been enabled to preserve potatoes m edible condition for over a year and a half. The process has been adopted by the French Government for preserving potatoes for the army. The following are the essential parts of the scheme:— (1) The method of preservation consists m plunging the tubers for ten hours m a two per cent solution of commercial sulphuric acid m water, two parts of acid to one hundred parts of water. The acid penetrates the eyes to the depth of about one-fortieth of an inch, which serves to destroy their sprouting power. It does not have any appreciable effect on the hkin or the potatoe. (2) A tter remaining m the solution ten hours the tubets must be thoroughly dry before storing away. (3) The same liquid may be used any number of times with, equally good results. (4) A barrel or tank of any kind will do for the treatment. The acid is so diluted it does hot affect the wood. (5) Chemical analysis shows that potatoes treated by this process are as nutritious and healthful after ten months as when freshly dug. , (6) Potitoes thus treatedare of course worthless for planting. ;

It is a question (writes a London corres-: pond en*) whether the constant increase of frozen meat will not have to be checked unless a better system of distributing it can be provided, for it has been sold of late m the wholesale market ac very low prices. There is too great a difference between the prices paid by consumers and those received by shippers. Ido not believe that any considerable quantity of frozen mutton is sold as fresh killed meat, though some of it may possibly be floured over and palmed off upon the unknowing ones as Welsh. When not floured it'must be a very green housekeepor who cannot distinguish it from fresh killed mutton. But the consumption is checked by the prices at which the meat is retailed. People will will never pay as much for frozen meat as for fresh killed. They .wouldsbe fools if they did, for it is all lionseiise to say, sis some correspondents of New Zealand papers do say, that frozen multon is as good as fresh killed. Ifc is neither so fine-flavoured nor 80 nutritious, as it wastes more m the cooking, however carefully it is dealt with. Consequently at the same or nearly the same price as prime English multon, it would notl>e at all economical food. But it is a boon to people of small income, and it should be more widely distributed than it is, and sold at such moderate retail prices as will just allow of a fair profit to shippers. At present middlemen get too much out of it.

In close proximity to Pivtis—-so-near, m fad-, that it is consilered to be within the suburbs of that ciby—2l2s acres of land arcr under cqm-~»t.;..i» i»y 50£Mi_uej-acais;..pr :1 _ more correctly speaking, the land 13 devoted to the pursuit, of petit culture. A great deal of this is conducted under glass. In one instance the amount realised m one ye*r from the produce of one' hothouse, only one and a-half acres m extent, was no less than £1800, and it is considered that sixty acres at the least would be required to obtain an equal result without the aid of glass. Many instances exist were the produce from three aores returns a clear income of from £400 to £600 per annum. An equally satisfactory state of things, obtains m tlie country districts. The land m many cases h* been held for generations by the R»me .family, being handed down from father to son as » valuable inheritance, whilst the"' size of the plot is often not more than four acres m extent. This, m a number of j cases, is devoted to the cultivation of flowers, from which scdntsf ot various kinds aie distilled, and many who are engaged m this pursuit have amassed great wealth. The jgreat perfumery firms of the continent of lurope send their representatives at the proper seasons to negotiate forihs "purchase of the crops, and as much as £250 per acre is sometimes derived from the sale thereof. Where* vines are grown a larger area is cultivated but with equally good results. In 1889 a total of 805/519/000 gallons of fine, valued at £50,000,000 was produced from? 4/801,980 acres. When France was c|aUed upon to pay the enormous indemnity imp^e3;byf Germany a| tlfe close of the great war, df f B7O-I,' the celerity with which the I demand was complied was partly Attriputed to the fact that a vast number of her people were m easy circumstances, thanks to the vigorous policy of 'agriculture which was {and still is) so generally carried on within her boundaries. \

. Beerbohm s Corn Trade List of September 11 contains the following estimates of wheat supplies and requirements m the world for the current cereal year :—

The deficiency shown here is jonly 6,750,000 qr. ; but a very inssffi<cient allowance is made, for the increase!! demand for wheat which must result ifrom the tremendous deliciency cf the rye crop. Indeed, so far as Russia is concerned, practically no allowance is made for a deficiency of rye put by -the I'.Russian-Minister-of Finance at 21,000,000qr. The wheat crop is| estimated: at] 23*000, OOOqr, and a fear's ordinary consumption of wheat m Russia is about; 18,000,000qr. Beerbohm adds 1,500,000qr for Poland, andmakel the total for European Russia 24,500,Q00qr, though it is not cartafn thas. the produce pf jPoland was not included m; the; smaller quantity. Therefore, it is assumed that all the surplus of the new crop, except half a million quarters will be exported. For my part (says bh6 " IS".Z. Herald" correspondent), I believe it will nearly all be required to feed the, starving people, and that Russia* "will 5 have no wheat to spare , beyond any surplus of old wheat that may' be left, and that is not much. No doubt maize and; other grain will l<e we 4to a 'great eifcerit instead of the lacking" rye ; Mi 1; it seems altogether unreasonable to conclude that no extra whear of any consequence will be used as well. Russia, wijl export Tvhe*fc duping the aufcum^ifl

"ot prevented by Imperial ukase; but Probably she will import to an equal or nearlj equal extent m the spring.

jfihtimatea .estimated ■'■ Count" y exoorts. Country, requirements. ... ' ■■ . QreS ■ -j // Qf sU.S. & Canada, 26,50j,q00 United King- ; Russia.. ..' 6,000,000 dom .. 19,500,000 Ron mania, France .. 13,000,000 Bulgaria, and Germany .. 4,500,000 Servia ... 4,^00,000 Belgium .. 4,<J00,000 Austria - Hun- Holland .. 1,500.000 T garyi. .. 1,000,000 Italy.. .. 3.500,000 Jndia and Per- ! / Spam & Por- ; sia .. .. 5,060,000 tugal .. 1,350,000 Algeria, Tunis, Switzerland 1,500,000 and Egypt ... 1,750,000 Greece .. 500,000 Chili, Argen- Sweden, Nor- , lina, ■ & Aus- . way & Den- ftralasia .. 2,^50,000 mark .. 2,000,000 West Indies, China, lira- ? zil, etc. .. 2,500,000 Total .. 47,000,000 Total .. 53»750.000