Farm and Garden

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 652, 2 December 1908, Page 2

Farm and Garden

ORIGINAL AKTICLES,

(All Rights Reserved)

THE PIGGERY.

At this season ,of the year a good deal of change will be required in the management of pigs. Spring is at hand, grass is coming, and lots of green vegetable food begins to sprout. Lucerne, clovers, and grass bites will soon become big enough for breeding sows to browse oyer, and, kale and other cabbages, with such , roots as man gold and parsnips, now provide good food. Cooked parsnips are an excellent food for all kinds of stock. Potatoes are getting to that state that they:;may be better used up, and for pigs should always be cooked, so as to make the starch, of which they contain so much, all the more digestible, hence nutritious. It is quite time now that all heavy bacon pigs were got off to the butcher. Looking for;v»-. for the future, clover, lucerne, sainfoin, cabbages, parsnips, and potatoes should be sown as soon as the ground is ready and soil works properly. Give young pigs the opportunity of enjoying themselves in the sunshine,, and mate any gilts that are old enough. There will be a good deal of buttermilk shortly, as summer dairies will be in full; swing;- j Buttermilk free from salt should be thickened with a little meal, and may be f served ' with other wasn. made to the consistency of treacle with barley or wheaten meal will soon bring porkers on fit for killing. .. ■■■' > ,■.,:■■";■

GARDEN PEAS. Without a good supply of peas, vegetable gardening is very imperfect, and they should be produced in plenty as long as the weather lasts.to keep them in bearing. • there is no reason why green peas should not be available for the table from June to December. Peas do best in a deep, rich soil, to which should be added a sprinkling of wood ashes, and the cultivator should not be sparing in his attention to their wants. In selecting sorts, remember that the dwarf In"' 1 take up less room, may be sown closer together from row to row, require hut little sticking, are the best for poor ground, and give the least troubleSow the dwarf varieties from 2ft. to 3ft. apart, the latter distance for main crops; taller sorts should be at least 4ft. apart, and the tallest kinds 6ft.;

if sown at less distances, the air is unable to circulate freely amongst them, with the result that they become drawn and sickly. For the earliest crops, the seed should be put down one inch <:eep, and for main crops, two inches to three inches. Sow thinly;, seeds of dwarfs should be set-two in an inch, middle-sized varieties three in two inches, and the tallest at least an inch apart. The best arrangement for the rows is north and south, and the sticks placed alternately on each side of the rows. When the drill has been well trodden, it will probably be three inches deep; stretch the line and draw a drill with the hoe, as shown in the illustration, and sow regularly, keeping in mind the fact that peas require a little more rooni than they generally get. Cover the seeds with about an inch of fine, earth or ashes, and fill it up so' as to leave the surface of the drill two inches below the general level of the ground. ROOFING FARM BUILDINGS. The choice of material for covering farm buildings and yards will very largely depend upon the amount of money which can be spent, but taking the difference in cost between slates and corrugated iron, the latter will be found the cheapest. Contrary to the general belief, iron roofs will, if treated with proper care, and painted or tarred at certain regular periods, last from thirty to forty years.' At the same time, however, once the galvanising breaks through, the iron very quickly becomes perforated, no matter how thick it may be, and, indeed, galvanizing deteriorates where it is subr

j ected to the effects of acid or alkaline fumes.■, Red; Jead paint of good quality is a very'reffective: protection under

such conditions, or even a mixture of pitch and tar, which should be applied not under a month or two after the building has been erected, the coating being repeated every second or third year. Where tarring ; follows immediately upon the completion of the building, it is said to adhere less tenaciously than when the i|on sheets have become, tarnished. There are various ways of fixing the corrugated iron sheets; but the method shown in the illustration is at once simple and effective. ; The sheets are fastened to iron purlins by means of cleats of strap iron, say one-eighth of an inch thick by one inch material, tinned or galvanised. A hole is punched in the strap, one end of which is bent "at right angles for a length of 1J inches, and bolted to the corrugated iron, using a lead- washer, and placing the bolt in the high part of the corrugation to prevent leaks. , Then the cleat is clipped round the purlin-* by, mieans of a hammer and dolly, which sacures the sheet firmly in its place. THE HEN AND HER CHICKENS. In a few, days there should be a large number of chickens hatched, chickens that are required for laying purposes during the following winter months. The aim of, all poultry keepers should be to have their pullets in full layijoy the middle of November at the'latest, and to manage this it will be necessary to have the chickens hatched out during this and next month. With one or two breeds that grow rapidly and mature at an early age, May is quite soon enough, but the majority require to be hatched during the months of March' and April if eggs are required during the winter months. If the place upon which the chickens are to be reared is a dry one, then no floor will be needed to the coop, the ground itself answering the purpose just as well; but if the place is "at all damp, then the; coop must have a floor to it. The bes't form is of

wood, and this raised a few inches above the ground, and not resting thereon, as if this latter is the',case the damp will be liable to soak up through the boards, and get to the chickens. If the weather is at all cold, place a little straw inside the coop. Straw is preferable to hay, as the latter is a retainer of heat, and, therefore, not so suitable. Very little straw is, however, required, as if much is put down the chickens frequently get entangled in it and smothered. There are various forms of coops with runs attached, from which to make a choice, the one shown in the illustration being as good as any. The guard run is an indispensable addition as a protection against severe weather, cats, etc. - It consists, of match-boarding cut tp size and shape, buik up on corner pieces of scanthing with a cross piece to carry the top shutter of the coopj and a further cross piece sunk: flush at the base of the front. The wire netting used should be of fine mesh. :■ ■ . \'y .■;■;.'■• '