THE PROVINCIAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 271, 14 November 1896, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE PROVINCIAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW.

fjnflO before the opening of the Show as [undoing, it ia impossible to comment on quality or even the quality ijctoi but there are a number of peril matters of which 1 wish to speak. ijjiiagab the number of exhibits, cue will BtlatthD entries in the horse classes are it of all rroportion to the other sections of ijjjaor/ Thi3 does not only emphasise j(W that tho Auckland district is a jai one for horse-breeding, but shows ja! there is a strong individual interest [raced in the Show in the town, for a taj large proportion of the entries of snes are from residents in town. In (xwg down the catalogue one sees 1 ijrere number of different names attributing to the entries, while on turnijovsr to the cattle and sheep sections jjinda the aame names appearing again tiigiio, and a comparatively few diti'er- . a ione3. It is this individual interest, the ! iriu participation of all the country slttoin a position to show anything that isiboald be the aim of shows. This inffltetinced by townspeople in exhibiting ajgood horsa they may have if felt t>s throughout tho country would Elonly have the effect) of very consider&jincreasing the size of our shows, but; aid ba of incalculable benefib to the jKtnl and agricultural interests of the aiiici generally. No doubt even if the natryaeifcler possesses stock of sufficient altomake it worth his while to chow til Bnrrounded by considerable diffiiiiji and expenses, and seeing no aitiry advantage likely to acato himself, consequently decides lib pub himself to the trouble. Bub no auoeipecb to make money directly out iMog stock, with perhaps the exJfiii ot those owning entire? or ricdirly highly-bred cattle or sheep. i,the amount of benefit a farmer receives is showing his stock againsb tihab of breeders if ib is only the incentive Hm him in his work, should make ib nflworth hil while. >

!la return to the horse entries, however, rauhaa been a marked improvement of tejiari,for not only have the entries at ;|it metropolitan show very considerably wreaied, bub I think it is safe to say there uibtena very appreciable improvement Equality. The heavy draught sections &* more bone and quality, and the Kid'ters have more weight, and there is Wiomqch of the lighb thoroughbred mi them aa formerly. The harness "'Mi have more style in their mm, and throughout" the classes "« iaprovsd. Of cattle ib may be fid wa have also had a distinct imNmenb of late years, although ple.nty $ remains to be done, while with sheep te« baa been little noticeable improve-

Jto oar agricultural shows have had Reject of gradually improving all our so one can deny, and the more widely »* influence extends and the greater wibw of exhibitors the greater will be

Shksejukixg-The Hot Iron Test (by hot; iron teat, which '■Hi by all cheeaemskera to determine *«conanion of cards, ia made by touching , OEP of curd from which the whey has /•m removed n« mach as possible by presej^ r i "*8 ' land» to a piece of iron heated j. Jto redness. Under certain con°m curd will adhera to this iron and >' palled away will be drawn out ,'j." a ¥ treads. The length of these y * ! 3 opposed to ba proportional »ao ! yoi *h8 curd. and i 8 fcaken (jk.,a!uraof tf)i3; honce curds aro said naS' OBe<fonrth or one inch o£ acid' etoasi'\ a, 3' '^ breads are one-fourth siatidJ1 ■S" A lar "° number of te3ts IsiJ; m faction with hot iron teats W« i™ ttlat °o derinitio relation exists lsn?"atri ' althou^" if may be said that %h aci ,? g3 T are usually associated with •h booth t may bo cleariy shown thafe Went,, °' l' 19 stri "~8 ia nob alone de' Lmount of acid Presr;nb Sever hi I borax> phosphate of soda, W ii? r te Of fioda ' ah of which 'kick dn reaction, to sweob curde, »hen a nat adhere to the hoB iron, *ito.," ey f wiU be found to '%V\, ecfcl? a8 « acid was deh mt u ,,,°i eover- curds precipitated by «k do nnt- i el°Pment °'f lactic acid iD ■^ftuthL 8;^ 8 Btrin * Ib "Ppsars ««th« del « hob iro» toab indicates ?f*e curd vfacic%. but a condition V *atieu t may be brought> about '?* that L ° Wa-V 8" Our observations whii ue'a2enfcl whether acid or w ,,aa a sii Kht eolvenf- action ?h «iro D '-pu caußecurd to string upon "i 10 Coßv»k Jl° 6ct 0f BUCU are-agent i f«ic eondifs 0 C- Qrd into a morß °r le3B > r£n,°7 n wllieh lhe Partlclea > »hen y n -^ eßch ofcher- Such >• the Plled will fatten and > Chedd2. Baty t6xturo desired ft Well &ad a , cheeßS will a'so close mechanical hole,! S°S oapl «n foat milks a variety of to .t* 11* Hon ■ °f convertiae curd into >mate b u s«aay!'y the lactic forma (taP^ne Za- othera wh'ch have 1 'Meve 'hat the determination of nqrecCe °£curd essential to a

. hit »;.. ~^—- ?i!»S p£s-"~The itoporfcanfa sub!"*U i. ?i. thß New Eaglaad a Sieved thab shallow

ploughing'is the cause of the failure of sueceaa is farming so generally seen all over the country. One of the great losses caused by the practice of shallow ploughing is tbab of fertility, experienced after grain cropping for a few years, and which is so generally complained of from one end of the country to the other. In the New Ensland States many of the farms have been wholly abandoned ; and in the West, where a few years ago ib was claimed that the soil was so very rich deep down that in was impossible that the fertility should ever give out, experience with shallow ploughing haa proved that the loss of fertility is general after fifteen or twenty years of crop growing. Now this is an unnatural result. No such resulb ought to follow ; but it ia nevertheless a result everywhere seen and felt, to the great loss of agriculture. The true policy of crop production will avoid this loss. ' The soil should beop9ned up to a good depth, so that the moisture of rains and melting snows may be readily and quickly carried down into the earth, deep down into the subsoil, before time is given for its loss to the soil by the evaporating influences of the sun and air, so that it may be safely stored deep in the earth until needed at the surface, where it will be brought by the capillary action of the earth and air to be used by the growing plants. The ploughing should also be deep in order that excessive moisture may readily pass down into the earth away from the roots of plants, that no injury may be done to plants by the presence of more water than can be used. Great loss is often experienced ia wet time 3 by the presence of too much water immediately surrounding the growing plants, and a3 deep ploughing loosens the soil, a great deal of the loss occasioned in times of excesaivo rains may be avoided altogether, while growth is promoted by the supply of enough moisture to be taken up and used by the growing crop.