AGRICULTURAL ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6824, 1 October 1883, Page 3

AGRICULTURAL ITEMS BY THE MAIL.

! ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW. J Tins great show of horses, tattle; sheep, .pigs, and agricultu«al and dairy implements' came off in J ulj. last,* being held at, York, from the 16th to the ZOchj.of that month', It is 35 years since the R.tyal visited York— agriculture having made important bet ween ihe two*-exhibitions. The value .of the prizes in s IB4B was about £1000; while this year the prizes were £-5,769. The former Bhow was visited by Prince Albert,'"who made an appropriate speech. The ahow of ISS3 was graced by the presence' of the Prince of Wales, „who also made a speech, re-echoing the sentiments or" ilia father, delivered so many years ago. The show was a very large and excellent one. The city was gaily decorated for tne occasion, at night illuminations took place that were admired by streets full of people. The quality of all classes of stock was very good, and the show generally would compare favourably with any o£ the previous shows held by the RoyaL There.was a valuable money prize for the best arable farm-'over 150 acres,with about 20 entries, the first prizei being won by Mr. Hutchinson, who also took champion prize for a shorthorn heifer. SALE OF SHORTHORNS. On Jaiy 11, the sale of cattle belonging to Mr. Holford of Sherfarm, Dorset, attracted a large company, splendid prices being attained for some of the animals. T. tte top price was for a cow calved in 1879, which was knocked down for 1505 guineas; a heifer bringing 1150 guineas; and a bull 900 guineas, the two cattle being purchased by Lord Fitzhardinge, there were in all 38 auimals disposed of, which averaged £200 each, an amount that has not been made at any sale by auction for a length of time. The animals consisted of Duchesses, Oxfords, Wild Eyes, Waterloos, and Knightleys. PRICE OF LAMBS. A Yorkshire farmer writes to an agricultural paper as follows:—"I sent twenty lambs to be sold by auction on July 2 ; they averaged exactly 51s. each. One was bought aud slaughtered by my own butcher, which ; weighed 791b, dead weight. They were out lof a Lincoln ewe, by a Southdown ram. My lamb was dropped the latter end of March." ! CORK BUTTER. A deputation of Irish Members of Parliaj ment had an interview with Earl Spencer, at I Earl Granville's residence, Carlton House Terrace, to bring under his notice the abuses ( arising from the existence of the close cor- ! peration in the Cork butter market, and the i necessity for reform. They represented that the inspectors of the market, who branded the butter and fixed the prices, were appointed "and coht; oiled by a company of brokers and exporters, whose interest it was to place the butters in higher classes than they were entitled to be put, and so bad had this become thab a large quantity of the butter which passed through the Cork market was gros-ly adulterated. The effect of this was, not that the merchants suffered, but that the reputation of Cork butter was deteriorated, and the farmer did not get that price for his article to which he was entitled. Another cause of abuse lay in the fact that the merchants lent money to the farmers, and repaid themselves by taking the butter as it came in weekly, in addition to a high rate of interest. IRRIGATION—NEW METHOD. Trials have been recently madeun America which have quite established the value of a new process of irrigation. Mr. Biggs has tried She plan in an orchard of 150 acres in Solano County, California, and he found that the product was so increased in quantity and quality as to pay the cost of the improvement iin one year. Mr. E. W. Steele, also a leading agriculturist in California, has also introduced the a>stem on his land. Tranches about IS inches in depth are dug, at intervals of 7 feet, and as long as required to cross the piece of land to be irrigated; and in these I cement pipe 4-inches in diameter and of 2 inch open bore is .'.aid by a machine carried by hand, making the pipe coucinuous, like a gigantic sausage. While the cement is stilt soft, holes are punctured in the pipe at intervals of 7 feet, and in each of-these a perforated -plug is inserted, through which the water, when let into the pipes, will percolate and irrigate the grouna. These pipea connect with a main trunk of 4 or 6 inches in diameter, through which the supply of water runs. POTATO DISEASE. ' ? Herr JanseH, who has for some time been experimenting with potatoes, affirms that potato disease, which is paused by a fungus, first attacks the tops of the plants, and is conveyed to the tubers by means of spores washed into the soii by rain. He recommends running a f nrrow betn een the rows, which should be turned up on top of the hills, and then bending theplants over. In this way the water that waebesfche tnp ie made to run away. The furrowing should be done whenever disease appears. CINCHONA. As it is proposed to experiment with cinchona in this .Northern Island, it will not be out of place to give a few particulars about the product as supplied in his annual report by the director of the Ceylon Botanic Gardens. He eays :— "The enormous advance in the cultivation of cinchona fully justifies one iu considering it, at present, as the foremost product of Ceylon. In some of the older districts C. succirubra ie, on numerous estates, now completely supplanting the coffee, which is allowed* gradually to go out of cultivation as the former growa up amongst it. During the ye\r ending September last, as much as 3,099,895 lbs. were exported, being an increase of 1,892,175 lba. over that for the previous year, or considerably more than double. The remarks made in my report for 1880 become thus every day more and more warranted—that, so long as quinine retains its supremacy, only the rich barks can secure good prices, whilst the inferior ones must hang on hand, and only be sold at reduced rates. There is little or uo fear of an excess in production of bark of tbe best qualities here, but it is otherwise with the poorer soits, aud it is with these that, from the plauting point of view, production may be overdone. On this account, in growing quinine barks, planters will do well to go in for the best kinds only. Of these, C. ledgeriana still remains by far tbe most desirable, but it cannot be grown at high elevations." The report further says that "The practice, invented by Mr. Moene, of shaving off the rich outer portions of thp ; bark down to a plane as near the cambium zone as possible without reaching it, has become vtry general. It- is found to be simple and easily learnt, expeditious, cheap, and very convenient for drying, packing, and baling for shipment. As a consequence, jfe has nearly superseded other modes of harvesting, and it has been remarked that there will soon be little bnt renewed bark sent from Ceylon. The practice is applied to all the kinds grown, and, as u rule, the trees do not appear to suffer much, if the operation be carefully performed. New bark is rapidly formed, and the amount of quinine iu much increased in the renewed tissues." FRUIT CR' 'P OF 1883. In the issue of August 4, the Gardeners' Chronicle publishes a tabular statement of the fruit crop of the United Kingdom, returns having been obtained from nearly all the counties in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The editor states that one of the most remarkable features of the returns is found in their singular unanimity with respect to various fruite, north and south, east and west alike havinsjto deplore, on .the one hand, the almost total failure of EOine ; whilst they have to rejoice over the.abundance of others. The. following is a general summary of the I returns:—rApples everywhere most abundant —a truly grand crop. Pears equally are very thin indeed. In a few favoured gardens, there are fair crops, but generally the crop is. poor, and may be classed a,s very moderate. Plums universally are thin, the best results being Been on walls; but on orchard trees the produoe is a very poor one, even damsons being a failure. Cherries of all sweet kinds are few indeed, and apparently better in Scotland than elsewhere; but the returns probably chiefly apply to Morellos, which are fairly good, as usual. Apricots are a universal failure, and need no further comment. Peaches and nectarines are very fair generally, that is to say, in some places a heavy crop aad in others thin. Of course, in Scotland ond Ireland these aro not largely grown on open walls; but in England and Wales all localities give good and indifferent returns alike, but the fairly good ones predominate. Bush fruits and Strawberries seem to have been as universally abundant as apples are, the season seeming specially to have favoured them. Finally, nuts of the smaller kinds are a very poor crop indeed,

but i'n many localitiea walnuts eije fairly 5 abnudant.'J •"' - "" * ■ 'In commenting npoii the great sociial ana economical value f>l a good fruit crop to the ~ ■'• United Kingdom; a* by it myrirds live, the- % wealth of the country fa increased, and vast * v ' eame oi money are liberated for employnieat in other the editor of iihe CE*oniole ~ thus horoilises :—"Better a tbilusancl tinussiJ'"' ;to purchase good fruit than poisonous liquid '' : cunipounds and cheap- questionable solids, the constituents of which none Can tell. If - we will take of ths good thing 3 of God, surely none better merit jjuch an epithet than a luxuriant crop of delicious wholesome froitti." Writing on fruit, I may state that a recent •*' . number of the .Florist gave an illustration of *" that beautiful apple—the Washington, taken from a specimen exhibited at one of the Royal "'■ Horticultural Society's meetings. It is an u % American fruit, of large size, symmetrical " form, ovoid truncate, theTahort stalk set id s deep basirj, and the eye also depressed; skin yellow, flecked with crimson; flesh white, . juicy, perfumed. I may further add regard- t ing fruit thai; Mr. James Howard, M.P., of " 4 Bedfordaliire, has found out a Capital plan of keeping strawberry beds free from birds; whose liking for the fruit is so , well known both at home and in this country, He stretched a wire betweerf two posts at each end of the strawberry beda. A cat, wearing a leather collar, is attached by a string to an iron ring, loose upon the wire,,allowing her to roam from end to end, being left, for the purpose down the centre of the beds. cat is changed at noon, Since the ax- "'.' periment was adopted, four years ago, ripe strawberries have ceased Ufbe the perquisites of winged marauders, and the. cats appear to enjoy the fun. This should be a wrinkle for Auckland strawberry growers. * Aqbicola.

GOERJiSPONDMNCE. _ ■ o TOBACCO GROWING HERE. TO THE EDITOR. Sib,—l see you publishing many independent letters on ISfew Zealand agriculture generally, and tobacco culture in particular. Sir, during the year 1868 I wrote aud published a pampblet, per advertised invitatiou—"Answer to the Published Enquiry of Auckland Agriculturists," &c Will you now please give insertion to one small extract from it, given ffir general good ? I am certainly not now thus advertising it, having only two or three copiea left, and not another one to sell.—l am, Ac, W. E. Sadleb. The following is the extract Mr. Sadler refer refers to:—"I find the following in. the history of the colonization of Virginia (America) of 1615:—'ihe labour of the colouy had been long misdirected. Things were grown and manufactured which could not yield the means to sustain the competition with the old European nations. 'It was found that tobacco might be profitably cultivated. The sect of gold-finders h"ad become extinct; and now the fields, the gardens, the public squares, and even the streets of Jamestown were planted with tobacco. Tobacco, as it gave animation to Virginian industry, eventually became not only the staple, but the currency of the colony. . All the world has during the 150 years last past beard plenty about Virginian tobacco. 'It was found that,' &c, simply says the historian. Yes, 'found, 'as the result of > sslf-reliant enterprise. I attach vast importance to this quotation from George Bancroft's history of Virginia, and desire best attention to it. Could we not certainly do something in the same line ? It is a. very great consideration to grow things here that slugs and caterpillars dislike. These constitute an army which North JS'ew Zealanders have proved totally unable to cope—against whose predatory incursions we can do little more than bite our lips qr our finger nails. Sometimes, in some places, the land is aa the Garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness. This surprising cunning has made me asseverate that the Devil is their general leader. Well, * now, though we be very wiEe, we—even we * —may yet surely live and learn. Does not this tobacco story from the history of America convey to us an invaluable suggestion ?i-..0f course, dry enquiry about the propriety of the wonderfully general use of tobacco would be quite out of tbe question. Query : Shonld not two or three American tobacco-growers be obtained and retained at any rate, to give instruction in 'its growth and manipulation ? If South Auckland be no£ quite warm enough for tobacco-growing, North Auckland is, especially the extensive territory from Matakana, via "Bay of Islands, to the North v _Cape. But Maoris grow ft south, near Waikato. I shrewdly • ; that these nave not bought this year of whites a -twentieth of the black tobacco they did seven years ago. Were some agricultural association in i> orth Kew Zealand to undertake to thoroughly test the matter by engaging aa efficient agency, and selecting a suitable hundred acres for trial, it would be another work to show the importance of such society to the solony. Already iu small patches the thing has, I know, succeeded here. These paragraphs on tobacco-growiug were shown. - to some principals here, and met high approval."

SALT WATER SWIMMING BaTHS—A » CRYING W«:NT. TO THE EDITOE. Sir,—Now that the Harbour Board have leased the site of Hildich'd Bathe some enterprising should undertake this business. What is wanted is large baths built on much the same system as Brill's, at Brighton, England, where the water is pumped from the sea all day loDg. So greatly are these t baths patronised that their proprietors realited large fortunee. If batha wereerected" —say at DevoDport, where the water is pure, not tidal, but properly built on shore, they would be a great boon to the people of Auckland, and would give an immense revenue to the promoters. Hoping that some enterprising business man will take up the suggestion.—l am, &c, A Bather prom Brill's. CITY CONTRACTS. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —We heard some time ago of / a number of contemplated city works, the details of which weie being prepared in the Surveyor's office. We are now out of the first spring month, and yet not a single tender is invited. How is it that these matters are always 80 delayed th.t it is impossible for the work to be completed before the winter* It Deeiis no engineer to tell ns that earthwork done in wet weather involves lose to both contractors aud ratepayers.—l am, &c, ■- Wobk. GKEY-STREET LEVELS. TO TIIK KDITOK. Sib,—lt is a great pity that the requisition to the City Council with reference to thiav matter should have been sent in with only 116 signatures. There can hardly be two opinions on the subject. Numbers of persons have expressed their approval of the level being raised to - a gradient convenient for traffic, but no one aeemei to know where the requisition was to be seen until it was announced that it had gone into the Council. Aβ it is, the paucity of signatures would lead to the conclusion that the public ate indifferent about the matter.—l am, Sus,, Ratepayer. Nature provides a remedy for Affections ef the Respiratory Organs in the ftluo Gum or Eucalyptus family. The wonderfully excellent effects of the "Fever Destroying Tree" is now beyond dispute. Combined with' Hypophospbile of Umo (the long healer) and Qnlnine, the best of ton'iSi a PEBMANKNXL.Y CUUAXIVB RESULT takes place. This has beeu proven in numerous instances where patients have tried Aickin's Syrup of Eucalyptus with. HypophO3phiies of Lime and Quinine. Try it lor Aaihma, Chronic Bronchitis, and all Lung Complaints. Valuable Discovery.—lf your hair is turning oiunr or losing its youthful colour, gloss, asd beauty, use " Edbon's Haib Rsnuwkb." It renews its life, strength, and growth. It .is not a dye. It does not stain the skin. It is unsurpassed for Tβ-. moving dandruff. Its perfunta in most agreeable.. It is ranch cheaper than tho English and American preparations. Those who have used it admit its. superiority. Sold in bottles at 3e 6d.—Edson's Medica!. Hall, 196, Qkein-street. As Auckland is rapidly increasing in population our merchants, who meiin up with the times, must havo larger stocks a superior quality. T. McMaster, alive to tbis' fact, bis imported by the Zealandla. and Doric a choice-lot of spring and summer goods, comprising BoveUics in dresses, mantles, capes, ladies'and children's hats and bonnets, ribbons, laces, pa\asols, hosiery, and gloves ; also, men's and boys' clothing-, shirt.", hats, and tiea. Those goods being imported direct by.T. McM. from somo of *ho best English, Irish, and Scotch, housesaro well worth inspection. Special attention given to country orders by X. McMastor, Queen-street. What Ails thb Baby. -VThe milk hag gone sour, and is irritating like co.it> pi its atomaeh. <3 " GlaclftUns" will keep tho :milk perfectly sweet for: - days in thehottest weather* "Glacialine " is perfectly . harmless, and is recommended by the most eminent doctors. Sold in psckots by chemists, grocers and storekeepers. Wholesale Asjcnts for New Zealand Kiorossand Co., Kapler. • * ■ Flies,and Bnes, beetles, insects, roaches, ants, bed-bugs, rats, mice, gophers, jack-rabbits', cleared out by " Kough on^Kata.'—iloeoj, Mpss aprL ' Co. Sydney, General Agent*; ~ ' '