FARMING CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5630, 2 December 1879, Page 6

FARMING CORRESPONDENCE.

t t n RIN ? I ' E about fire. Tub following letter in regard to nowrto.. putting out fire, was received a coKr week, since. It requires no comment but 1-9 dLr S | : -Cnroman t lel, October 2 6 ' liti'J. Dear Sir,—Seeing your ' dence of the 18th, reganUn g Tn,h Qr C9 I g.ve you a case of my own in which I w« in jeopordy but for the nse of powder in hut Four boye fishing in the stream £lo» my hut, set fire to the fern and went awav Finding I was in danger, I cleared out all the contents of th, hut, and placed them a a distance, but forgot fix pounda of bhstinj powder. A sudden thought struck me that powder pute out fire ; I went in and sot if and commenced with it broadcast justts the flames were six feet from my whate and saved all around the hut. With the etro™ breeze at the time, I was sure that all was lost, and no one within three miles of mo. This is four years since, but I will m,« my word for the truth that powder puts ont lire, casting it broad, like corn or wheat — I am, &c, Thomas Gakdner." BRIEF REPLIES. . •'Settler" (Taupiri).-The specimen sent is of a plant of no agricultural value and may be regarded as a weed. I don't know the botanical name, but it has been growinn on my farm for some time, and it app-jra tn be spreading At this time of year it'scn,], forth a thick eeetl-stom of from one to '«„ feet high, and at the root will be found a small bulb or nut. "R.B."—There is no greater loss to * struggling farmer, or indeed to any farmer than bad seed. Sometimes the loss is serious, as through sowing inferior seed the intended crop may be well nigh a fail ure Parties knowingly disposing of l )a d s te d would get their deserts if expo3cd and punished. Among seed merchants there ought to be a regular system of testing seeds before they are sold, atid then such an occurrence as the failure of a mangold eron would not be likely to take place. "l< [j " had better put in swedes, as it is too late to re-sow mangolds. Agricola.