THE FARMERS' COLUMN.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 74, 24 December 1880, Page 4

THE FARMERS' COLUMN.

PAEMING NOTES.

Much may be done at ouce towards the formation of the shape of trees, by taking off bads which are likely to produce misplaced shoots, only to be cut away afterwards as useless wood. Gypsum, commonly called plaster, is •composed of 22 equivalents of water, S2 of YiJne, aj>a 48 of sufyhurie acid. Grass, if cutwhen in bloom, contains <62 per cent, of nutriment, but if left till the seeds are fully ripe only 31 {per cent Furnish shade for your fowls. Whftn they bttV6 free r&nge over the entire farm, they will find shade somewhere, but when fowls are confined to runs, their owners must find shade for them.

The Vermont Farmer says that Asa Hoyt of Peaeham, has a two- year-old heifer that makes one pound oi hutter per day, besides supplying four families with all the milk they want. All weeds must be kept under, peas supported with good stakes thrust •well into the ground on account of «trong winds, and it is particularly advisable to make good sowings of all vegetable seeds before the soil becomes too dry and heated. A cow belonging to John McSherry, near Montepelier, Vermont, has dropped four large and healthy calves within fourteen months.

With regard to the proportion of analt to barley, it is usually calculated in an off-hand way in England that a quarter of barley— B bushels— make a quarter of malt,- but to be more precise, 100 pounds of barley will give from 80 to 90 pounds of dry malt. Any trees grafted this season must be supported with strong sticks to prevent the wind blowing off the young shoots, and the ground between them must be frequently hoed over to check the growth of weeds, "which need not be raked off, as when out they help to keep the ground cool.

,It is mistake to breed a large number of kinds of poultry, unless one intends to raise fancy fowls for sata Start with, birds or eggs from breeders of reputation. Save the best for stock ; sell the lower grades and so improve the quality of your fowls.

A great many amateurs who have tried different sorts of iowh for several seasons have settled down at last to one kind, and those who have done so, express unqualified satisfaction in the fact that they have at last made up their minds. Never try to get a heavy day's work ovtoi a team. Moderate and steady going is what counts in a long race, and the farmers race is a long one. It takes but a few hours or even a few minutes, to tax a horse to such an extent that he is out of order for months. — The eggs sold during the winter and spring months should pay for food consumed throughout the year, while the birds consumed in the house and the birds killed for the household should cost a mere trifle.