AGRICULTURAL NOTES AND QUERIES. (FROM THE "AUSTRALASIAN.")

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3355, 17 April 1868, Page 4

AGRICULTURAL NOTES AND QUERIES. (FROM THE " AUSTRALASIAN.")

POT-POURRI. Sir, — Would you kindly give a recipe in an early issue for the beat method of preserving and drying rose-leaves, and, if possible, improving their perfumes ? and oblige

Sparkins. [The following is a good recipe. If all the materials named ire not to be had, those obtainable, as well as any other sweet-smelling flowers or leaves, may be wed.— Ed.] "Sweet Pot-pourri. — Take three handfuls of orange-flowera, three of clove-gilly floweri, three of damask-roses, one of knotted marjoram, one of lemonthyme, fix bay-leaves and a handful of rosemary, one of myrtle, one-half of mint, one of lavender, the rind of a lemon, and £oz. of cloves. Chop aIJ, and put them in layers, with pounded bay-ialt between, them, up to the top of the jar. If all the ingredients cannot be got at once,, pjife. them in as you get them ; always throwing in salt with every new article."

< ' SMUT IN OATS. Sir, — In answer to » letter from " A Farmer " in' last week's paper, I can tell him that I havecused Down's Fawners' Friend, for the smut in oats with the "greatest succeis. I don't know if it is to be got in Victoria: It is made in Bedfordshire, England, and hai a large sale there both for use in wheat and oati. Another Fabuxb.

BLUB GUMS. Sir, — Will you be kind enough to inform me in the next is«ue of the Australasian when is the best time of the year to transplant blue gums ? Constant Reader. [The safest time to transplant bine gums, or other native .trees, is < when the growth is checked by the first cold of -winter. There is always a danger of losing them if transplanted while growing, unless they are so small that they can be taken up with a ball -of earth round the roots sufficiently large to prevent any injury to these. — Ed.]

THE BEST HAND-PUMP. Sir, — Can you, or any of the readers of your valuable journal, give me the information I require, namely— what sizs, and what is the best and cheapest kind of hand-pump (the least liable to get opt of repair) for lifting water from a well, say eighteen feet deep ; also, the greatest number of gallons * man cau draw up in a given time, say ten , minutes j and where to be had ? G. B. G-. [With such a shallow well a common pump will serre your purpose ; and the quantity of water raised will depend on the size of the bore and finish of the working parts. — Ed.]

HOUSE FLIES. Sir, — Can yon, or any of your numerous correspondents, say how the common house fly is bred ? I have encloied » certain (number in a case, and fed them, but failed to discover any young ones ; nor can I find any account of flies in any work on natural history that I am acquainted with. Snapper. [The small maggots to be found id summer time in such number* in stable dung, in the offal at slaughterhomes, about dirty sewers, &c, are those of the house fly. Stable dung especially is usually swarming with them when many flies are about ; and, looked for on a hot day, the young flies may generally be teen (walking up the stable walls or fences near, and gradually unfolding their winga in the sun, soon to perform their part as perfect flies. — Ed.]

MAKING CANDLES. Sir, — Will you, or some of your numerous correspondents, kindly inform me how to prepare rough fat for making candles— that is, what ingredients to use to whiten and harden, so as make them fit for domestic purposes ? and you will confer a favour on an anxious , Housewife. [The fat, if .clean, has only to be rendered down slowly, and strained ; if dirty, it must be heated again in water, and stirred up well with this, so that the dirt may be washed out of it. When afterwards allowed to cool, the tallow will be found qnite clean on top of the water. If containing a due proportion of mutton-suet it will be hard enough ; if not, the addition of a small quantity of alum will harden it. And as to colour,* the candles, if made of tallow proSsrly cleansed, will be quite white when kept for a ttle time. — Ed.]

KTJST IN WHEAT. Sir, — Referring to rust in cereals, Ac, it is my opinion, derived from long observation, that it is occasioned by the want of silica in the plant, either caused by its absence in the'soii^orfood of the plant, or that the manure applied contains too much regetable or other matter, and not enough of the siliceous. Could this not be remedied by a siliceous preparation-mixed with the ofchar, manure, or apj>li#d solely where necessary ? When the growth is forced too much by atmospheric or other causes, it appears to me that the plant has not been able to assimilate so much of the silcx as is requisite, learing the surface exposed, which would otherwise be able to resist the attacks of fan 51, by that which appears on the ripe atrawin the shape of a hard glassy surface. T. J. L.

'" WHTTB CLOVEB. Sir, — Would you kindly inform me, through your valuable journal, the proper time to sow white clover seed on unplongned land for permanent pasture, and how should it be sown ? I sowed a large quantity of white clover seed last October, and none of it ever grew, not that I could see : the seed appeared to be good. Would you kindly inform me of the reason ? Gkazier. [Clover seed should be sown in autumn, or the beginning of winter, say in April or May. Some of that you sowed in October may still germinate, if the seed was good. But there is little use in sowing clover or grass seeds on the surface of unbroken land, unlesslit is of a loose or some what open nature, so that the roott of the young plant may have a chance of striking downward. If these cannot get down some inches into the ground, the young plant will die off during the first hot weather. — Ed ]

WATER IK TANKS, ETC. Sir,— Would you be kind enough to give me a reply to the following queries. 1. To keep the water sweet in an underground tank, is it necessary to u«o aome means of ventilation ; and if so, what is the best place to secure a free current of air through the tank ? 2. What materials are requisite to colour cartes-de-vitite ? I tried the common water-colour paints, bat they destroy the gloss of the photograph, and have a doll, patched appearance. Information on the above points will much .oblige — Fjbish Water. [1. The water will remain sweet in your tank without any special provision for ventilation, if no dirt be allowed to get into the tank along with it. 2. Paints are prepared specially for this purpose ; but if the surface of the picture be covered with thin gum, and this allowed to dry, ordinary water-colours will take well upon it* — Ed.]

SCOURING WOOL. Sir, — Can yon, or any of your numerous readers, tell me why wool scoured by machinery, although perfectly clean and well got up in other respects, is not so white' er bright as that scoured by hand; and is there any remedy ? Sydney Subscriber. [Theie is no reason why machine-scoured wool should not be as white and bright as that acoured by hand, if a due proportion of soap and soda or other alkali bemused, and sufficient time be allowed in the preliminary soaking and after-washing. — Ed.]

GRJIPE-STBIPPIR. Sir, — Will yon, or any of your correspondents, favour me with a description of ajstripperfor separating the grapes from the ■talks ? Vnns-GKOWER. [The beat mode of separating the grapes from the stalks appears to be pass the bunches between fluted wooden rollers set close enough to burst all the skins, but not to crush the seeds. The stalks and skins are then separated by being moved about , in a riddle placed over a vat. The greater part of the juice is thus obtained, and the bulk of skins, &c, remaining for the press is imall. — Ed.]

1, . FOWLS FOR EGGf. Sir,!— Ab I purpose going into the keeping of poultry extensively, and teeing by your invaluable paperttiow kindly you answer any questions, I should be glad if yon would -advise what breeds to keep where there is an unlimited grass run ; to have plenty of eggs b my objeot, as I live too far from the city to keep'ttable fowls. At present I hare about 100 common' hens crossed with the Spanish, Polish, and comirion roosters ; some of the hens have a little of the Dorldng iit them, but they are a regular nuisance for clacking, and of course that is against getting eggs.< I zmut apologise for taking up your valuable time.* •''■ A Fabhib's fin. [Ap a breed, the silver Hamburger, either spangled or pencilled, give more eggs than any other, and they would, be a most 'deiirable pross for your fowls. The Polandf^if hardjr, which they sometimes are not, lay £ eM S^ m «ay *qd larger'eggs $han the Hamburgs ; put th?, Spanish, although'non'.sijfcters, only lay wejl for ■jxjmonl;h*\©f twelve. * They orp« well, however, with, common, fowls. The JDorirings are too fondpf^si^fg, to, lay very; many >g»dii th^e year. Bat ,for winter laymg there is no breed like the Bramahi . ,In the •ommer they are as £o^4 of sitting

•8 the Dorkings. In any stock of fowl* required for eggs principally Hamburg and Poland blood should predominate, and when the fowls aie crossed there will always be brooding hens enough to keep up the stock. The great secret of having plenty of eggs in ■winter is to have early pullets, well fed, and they will continue to do so through the winter.— Ed.]

JOWLS DYING. Sir, — Upwards of ono hundred of my fowls have died within the last fortnight. > Symptoms—"drooping," and' they die in two or three days. Can you tell the cause ? Others in the neighbourhood have also died ; it appears an epidemic. , Gippsiander. [If the combs quickly lose colour and become black you have got " the disease " amongst them. This has no scientific name, and was unknown before the introduction of the Cochins. It ia very fatal to them, and is evidently very infectious, as other fowls take it and die fast also. The best remedy is a couple of teaspoonfuls of castor oil on the first symptoms of slackness of comb, and the best preventire plenty of glauber salts in the fowls' water. Infected fowls should be at once separated and kept ' apart from the others. — Ed.]