Farm and Garden.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 696, 6 October 1909, Page 2

Farm and Garden.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES. (All Rights Reserved.) LATE PEARS.

Pears m .plenty are often seen in amateur's fruit or store rooms, indeed, a great many amateurs are not aware of the existence of very late varieties. The most valuable are those ripening from March to July, as they keep sound for a considerable time, and some of them are of first-class flavour. Winter Nelis is a most delicious pear, small in size. It must not be planted on cold soils. Beurre de Aremberg is a similar pear both in size, flavour, and keeping- qualities. Reurre Diel is very large and handsome, succeeding

in all soils, and keeping sound. Nouvelie tulvie is a large and deliciously flavoured pear, though rather rough an appearance. Olivier de Serres is one ot the best late kinds in cultivation. It is a delicious medium-sized fruit and a very free bearer. Easter Beurre] a valuable juicy pear. Dovenne d' Alencon does well in heavy soils. This is a pear of a very rich flavour. Josephine de Malmes is ■ probably the latest variety in cultivation, and very hardy. This variety will succeed best when grown on the quince.

THE CRAMMING MACHINE. At one time N poultry-fattening meant confining fowls in open-fronted coops, and twice or thrice daily supplying tnem with as much food as they would eat fed in long- troughs placed in front of the coops. This method is still carried on but only as a preliminary to the final process. The earliest mode of cramming- was forcing elongated pellets of food into the gullet with the aid of the forefinger, afterwards assisted their passage into the crop by gentle external'pressure with the finger and thumb. A funnel, through which a mixture of liquid food was pqured into the fowl, marked a further step. A simple form of syringe came next, followed by the cramming machine proper, .and from the first kind—something like a sausage-filler —the present-day articles were evolved. Ihere are various kinds of machines working upon the principle of an ordinary pump. A very simple form is

the "Wickens," and a glance at the illustration will show the working. A. is the hopper in which the semi-liquid food is poured; B is a valve, the falling of which allows part of the food in A to pass into the food-chamber C. The plunger D, is raised or lowered by a metal rod connected with the treadle. It will be seen that by raising the plunger in the full food chamber the valve is forced upwards, thereby closing the passage from the hopper, and forcing the food through the feeding-tube, the nozzle of which is inserted in the fowl's gullet. The operator's left hand remains upon the fowl's crop in order to determine its adequate filling, a matter which needs udgment, and this can only be gained by experience. PROFITABLE PIC FATTENING. When about to select a pig for profitable fattening some little thought should be given as to whether it may i be fairly expected that the animal when it has arrived at its full and even state of fatness, be just what is wanted. If the idea in view be a big ho»\ purchase a store having the framework that will carry the desired quantity of pork, of even quality, and produced in the shortest possible time, by well understood and careful feed- ; ing. Do not on any account buy a I little "chunky" pig for tm\s purpose, and then spend labour and money un- I

der the -impression that by over-fat-tening this animal the end in view will be attained, because if so. you will find, as a great many others have done who have put their losses down to bad

trade, that after this pig- has reached its full growth, further fattening is only putting on lard, and not size and substantial flesh, as is required by the profitable all-round fat hog. This is the point where many a small pig-fat-etener has failed in his first attempt, and lost heart for another trial, which is very probable would.have shown the error in the previous venture. These people think their failure was entirely due to insufficient space, but in many cases this is a wrong impression, for if the animal selected for fattening had been selected with good judgment and properly catered for, somewhat limited quarters would not debar success under ordinary circumstances. As a , rul e, the six to eight score pig is the one that meets, with general favour m small towns, and for a country trade, as it cuts up into joints convenient to all classes.