ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13647, 15 January 1908, Page 3

ON THE LAND.

THE PEACH DAY& Our. Henderson correspond™** writ*a:_« In spit® of the scepticism, of Into arrivals in this Dominion, it is absolutely troo that there one? was a golden age for the lovee of th« peach in thin country. The fungicide diseases of the peach must haw come a* suddenly and even more disastrously than the potato blight of recent years, "V»f»«wlt to twenty years ago," said r tratUfvuwr, "no peach would bear for any of us," And there is little need to recall the peach trees of these years—and later—long, straggling, bare branches with a few badly matured* fruit and a few brown leaves that fluttered down in January. Now. however, thank* to Government expert? and to individuallygained knowledge, healthy, productive peachtrees are again to be seen. They are her* this January, with full crop?, healthy wood, and bright green foliage. The menu* Which have brought thi* about are the sheltering of. the orchard'! from the cold winds, euttivatifti, pruning, and manuring, and more than all the thorough, spraying of the tree*' at lea«t once a year. This reappearance of. the peach a* a fruit payable of cultivation* is ait important gain to the country. ft takes with those products of our poor land* which give Midi land a. commercial value until lately un thought; of. tfeventy-rive pounds an acre is now asked and given for land under fruit, which land yean a S «•«' regarded a* almost worthier. DAIRYING A SINI-.BS. The fanner requires to so feed and car* for his cow* that, he will get. from those cow?, iii milk and butter, all they are, capable of producing. Ho ii in overysense a manufacturer in the management of hi* dairy. His row material is his hay. grain, and commercial foodstuffs, his finished product, his milk and butter; the more of tin* raw material his cows will convert into milk and butter without waste the. greater will bo his profit. No manufacturer installs in his factory 20 costly machines to tlo the same work that 10 could do, for. wore ho to do to, loss would surely result, and it, rs the same way with the dairy-farmer. He should not. keep and half-feed 20 cows when 10 well-kept and well-fed will produce the «*m* results with a greater profits .. „ COASTAL CLIMATE. Many plant' grow more vigorously ripnf the sea than I hey do inland. .Some tender plants will survive the winter near the coast, but. whets grown inland will perish. Tim leaves of the same plants are thicker and more glaucous near the seaside than elsewhere, the flowers are larger, and intensified in colour. The increased vigour is due to succulence of growth, which is a, common attribute of plants near the sea, the foliage is more thick and fleshy, which prevents excessive evaporation. Tho commoil wallflower-will, if sprayed with a very weak brine, develop this thick, leathery foli. age. The temperature is always more equable near the sea than inland. Water parts with heat much less readily than soil; consequently, the sea is, in winter, generally warmer than land in the same.latitude, and plants growing on the coast are influenced by this extra warmth. The more* intense light near the coast produces a brighter floral effect than in inland places. Inland much of tho sun's light is absorbed by the soil; water, on the contrary, reflects the sun's rays. Tho saline properties in the atmosphere are undoubtedly the cause of tho extra growth- in coastal plnrHs, , and many experiments have been conducted'-by spraying with a solution of common salt, tho re-' suits being a very great increase hi' thickness of leaves, etc. ;. ' ', potato DISEASE. Spraying is not sufficient to secure a good yield of -sound potatoes. Potato blight, as is well known, first attacks tho foliage of the plants, with the result that the leaves and stems become black and die, and. all growth ceases. Spraying is carried oub with tho object of preventing the developmeat of the disease on the foliage, and thus' prolonging growth for at least the normal, period, and .until,,tubers are fully grown.) This object can be achieved without diffi*' cutty in, most .seasons. '■.■■]■■. i . ' There still 'remains the danger of tho potatoes becoming diseased and rotting either' before' or afU»r thoy are lifted. This dan-' iget 'arises from tho spores of tho disease passing. from the decayed "foliage- through; tho,soil .to flip tubers',' which 'quickly be- i come affected with the disease. The spore* r of the* -disease pass mote r/wdily through' in wet-Weather, and this may lx» regarded! as one of the causes of tiotatoeii decaying iii tho' gtound in 'wet Reasons and in wet soils.

When the potato haulms have become black, and all green ha.-! disappeared, fur-' thw growth of tubers will not take place, and tho crop should, accordingly, lie' dug, without delay. No good can result from .leaving the crop in the ground, and every day the crop remains timing increases theloss ,from potatoes turning "black." -When the crop is lifted tho potatoes should bo, carefully sorted, the sound potatoes .should-bo stored separately* and any, that, are affected with disease should be put aside.for consumption by pigs or poultry. The' potatoes may bo stored either in houses or in pits. If they are pitted,' they, should bo covered only with straw or dry : rushes until they are quite dry, and all/ likelihood of heating has passed, thou tho straw should bo covered with a layer of soil about 6in deep, but provision should bo j, made for ventilation by fixing -.-email-, bundles of straw through tin? toil, and at intervals along the top of tho pit." Tho pits should be situated in a dry place and away from trees, and should not bo more than 2£ft wide, nor should the ground be hollowed out more than 6in deep when making the pit. On no account should potato haulms bo used for covering either tho potatoes or the pits.

DAIRYING ITEMS. Allow the calves plenty of exciciso every day. Whitewash the cowhouse two or thr«» times a year. Grass is one of the best rations known to stimulate milk secretions, I ; J Ono of the greatest enemies of tho dairy* ' I farmer is a dark, close cowhouse. V . Bo sure, if possible, to give the'calves at chance of all the sunlight they can get. There is good profit in keeping tho calf 4;; pen as clean and healthy as the earth in «, clean pasture. . i One of the greatest sources of contamination in factory butter conies from impure wash water. - If calves are allowed to lie in their urine and manure they are almost sure to become sickly or lose vigour and growth. We should have better dairy cattle- in our country if tho farmers had a clear** con-' ception of vvhft constituted a good dairy cow. The living cow must ho kept warm in some way. When shelter is neglected she turns food that should go to milk into the needed heat. If you wish to breed Ayrshire?, do so: if Jerseys or any other breed, do so; but do not breed to an Ayrshire bull one year then to a Jersey next. Tho cream may be prepared with tho utmost cure, bat if the butter is washed with water that contains objectionable bacteria trouble is almost sure to follow. Never mix cold and warm cream together; always reduce them to uniform temperature-, before mixing, otherwise. the -warm cream will cause rapid fermentation, Jersey bulls have tho reputation of being fractious and difficult to handle after attaining, maturity. This is largely a matter of early training and judicious management. Cover your cream cans with wet bags or blankets during transit from farm to fac-' tory or railway, or place a white calico'" covering over tho cans, leaving sufficieu' room for the creation of a draught. A consistent system of testing individua cows in each herd by weighing and record tug yields is the foundation of success, and every dairyman who has done this has succeeded far. beyond his uiost-'sangnino expectations. Many dairymen believe in cows that give a largo quantity of milk: others believe only in cows that give a good test. Both are to « certain degree, and :to be •: safe the- quantity as well as. the, guality. matt , be. taken into accgupt :