Farm and Garden.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 698, 20 October 1909, Page 2

Farm and Garden.

ORICiNAt. ARTICLCS. (All Rights Reserved.) FARM PLAGUE AND PESTS. Plagues that prevail more or less in newly-pra-hted wheat fields are rooks, larks, tipula, grubs, slugs, and later on wire worms may be added to the list. It is owing to these plagues that we need to sow so heavily. Rooks are old offenders, and farmers do not require telling that gunpowder is a good remedy for them. All wheatgrowers, however, 'are not aware how well thin string-'or twine keeps away feathered foes. It should be black, so as to be unseen, and it should cross and re-cross fields in all directions. It is best placed about five feet from the ground, • and may be supported by strong sticks that may serve the same purpose, another day. Larks are worse than rooks, as they me to the attack in greater numbers and cannot be very well seen. Both rooks and larks eagerly take the voung grain just as it has put forth its sprout, as it is very sweet then. The only way to keep larks off is by constant shooting at them. , Grubs attack when the blade is about as long as the finger; a heavy rolling checks them. As for slugs, the remedy for them is quicklime. These pests are most troublesome in mild wet weather. Wireworms will be found to do most mischief when the ground gets quite dry, and "hover," as some farmers term it. In this case heavv rolling is advised. It kills some of the pests, others it blocks up in their runs, and others it prevents from workiffg underground from plant to plant, as*is their wont.

COAT KEEPING. vThe goat has been called "the poor man's cow," and it is a very apt title. Bearing- this in mind, we mav note that the more it is treated like a cow the better it will prosper, and the more milk it will Rive. Plenty of people can keep a couple of goats who cannot keep a cow, the former yielding", an almost continuous supply of milk at a fraction of the cost of the latter. Strange to say. the goat will not thrive on rich pasture, and meadow grass is not the best grazing for them. Their favourite food is leaves and the young shoots of trees and hedges. Their great drawback ; s their destructiveness. their liking for barking trees, and the general damage they will do if allowed full lib-

erty. But if they are restrained and have suitable pasture they will for over threequarters of the year find their own living at no cost to the owner. The best, land for goats is that which is poor, rough, and undulating, where furze and bracken flourish, and there is plenty of such land to be found ; still, goats will do in a meadow, provided they have plenty of room and have some kind of green food besides grass given, to them. In nearJy all cases it is best to tether them", and if their tethering rope is six or seven yards long, it will afford a fair range. Shift the pin each dav, as fresh herbage is absolutely necessary to the goat; indeed, so much is this so that two or three goats will require at least an acre of grass for grazing.

j THE CAPE IVY. 1 Those who want something a .little out of.the ordinary way to grow under the roof of a greenhouse or conservatory., and puzzle their friends, m'ght do a great deal worse than buy ;• plant or two of the ivy-leaved Senecio. This is a plant of much interest, tut one that is seldom grown by amateuTs. Apart from its distinct and attractive foliage, it bears a profusion of light-yellow flowers, very much resembling Marguerites during- the winter season. The glossy dark-green iw-like foliage, together with its climbing habit, have given rise to the popular name of "Cape Ivy." Its handsome foliage and the abundance of light-yellow flowers it produces 'n mid-winter make it very acceptable for clothing rafters and similar .positions in the greenhouse. The twininestems are very slender, and except at the older parts quite herbaceous, the flower-hcacls being terminals, _ and from 2i inches to 3 inches in diameter. The ray-florets are of a prettv pale-yellow, and are usually eight in number, but many of the blooms varv from four to twelve. Like tie ma-

iority of Cape plants, it wants a light position to flower freely. It prefers a rather dry atmosphere, ,and might;; therefore, be used in possums where

more moisture-loving climbers would not thrive. Almost any nurseryman who has a stock of indoor plants could supply it; and the way to succeed with it is to plant it in a greenhouse border, in a mixture of leaf mould and loam, and train it up the roof. If this cannot be done, keep it in a pot.

LAMBING PREPARATIONS. The shelter cloth, the thatched hurdle, etc., are duly provided by the careful sheep-breeder, and those who have not made provision of such should do so without delay. An essential part of successful flock management is to have ample provision made for the shelter of the young lamb and its dam from cold, wet and stormv weather. It is just as important for the dam to be protected as it is for the lamb, because it -is through the dam for the earlier part of the existence of the lamb that the whole cf its 'nourishment is obtained. It is very bad policy to fail in providing the ewe with a full supply of the best food for milk production. Amongst many choicest kinds of food that are at the service of our sheep-breeders ■at the present time, none should rank higher, or does rank higher, than well-made sweet hay. No matter the district, there shoujld not be any ewe flock that, both before ajtid after lambing, has not easy access to a plentiful supply of hay of the description .mentioned. Some say that such hav is better given as trough food; others, that it is better given in the racks. Both experience and observ-

ation are in favour of the latter method, because it leads to less waste if used carefu-Hy, and, at. the same time is better masticated and also assimilated by the ewe that consumes it. I hatched hurdles such as shown in the illustration form exceedingly cheap and effective shelters. By placing three thus .. and another' across the top from side to side, a very snusr shelter is made, and one man would be able to erect quite a large number of these in a day.