ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14345, 15 April 1910, Page 8

ON THE LAND.

PRUNING APPLE TREES.

Remove cross branches which are interfering with others and thin out branches' which seem to bo crowding ouch other at their attachments to the trunk by removing some of them at the starting-point Having removed these carefully so as not to knock off spurs from other branches, study the tree as it is thus somewhat opened up and see whore remaining branches can be shortened to overcome the tendency to run too high. Do not shear off branches leaving a lot of stubs in the upper part of the tree, but always cut back a main branch to a lateral and shorten the lateral higher up if desirable. This • will keep away from bavins a lot of brush in the top of the tree. Study each tree by itself for symmetry and balance of branches and proceed by judgment rather than by rules anyone can give you. FRESH AIR FOR POULTRY. Nature undoubtedly knew her business in adapting the physiological construction of her children in accordance with surroundings. Did you ever consider the physiological reasons for the necessity for fresh air for poultry? It is doubtful if one in ten really understands the matter. In the first place, fowls never sweatthey have no sweat glands. A fowl's natural temperature is much higher than that of .human beings— in fact, it is above fever heat. That is the reason that a draught docs such mischief. We might almost say it sighs a chicken's death warrant. Perhaps that is putting it a little too strong, but it is not far from the truth, anyway. Somebody has said that a fowl's body is a regular little engine; the heart beats like a trip hammer and pumps blood like a fire engine. The chicken has nine extra air sacs to help force oxygen into the lungs, and therefore it needs many times more oxygen, in comparison with its size, than does the horse.

What docs this mean? 'How does it apply to the fresh air question? Simply this: Fowls need more air than ordinary stock, for two reasonsthey consume more oxygen, and all moisture must be given oft' by the breath. Breath moisture is very warm, and condenses so quickly that one must ventilate to the limit to carry it off instead of letting it form a hoar frost on the inside walls of the poultry house. If ventilation is lacking trouble is due any moment among the flock. Houses with open front, or houses with these fronts covered with burlap or oiled muslin, instead of glass, are successful, because they are provided with ventilation ; but houses with cracks and knotholes are death traps, because of resulting draughts, which are fatal. '

•If you open your bedroom windows wide you wake up in the morning feeling like a fighting cock. You have had ventilation. Open your windows an inch, and morning will find you feeling badly spent. You have had a draught, and you sniffle and sneeze like an old plug with the heaves. A draught is a thin stream of cold air, sneaking in through a warmer body of air without mixing. Ventilation is a body of air that, however cold, tomes in a bunch, and has volume enough to rogiilato its own tern- ! perature. Draughts arc fatal to health in I your flock, and health means profit. I .- I BACON CURING, COOLING, AND SALTING. Mr. H. W. Potts, writing in the Apricultural Gazette of New South Wales, in giving instructions for bacon-curing, includes the following advice: — The length of time pigs' flesh should be submitted to the influence of salting depends on various conditions. Some breeds of pigs give a greater proportion of fat. The adsorption of salt in this case is slower. The size, thickness, age, and weight of the flitches and hams have to be considered. It, requires less time to cure in a damp cellar than in a dry room. The extremes of heat and cold are unfavourable. In the former case, flesh is liable to decompose before the salt permeates it sufficiently to cure it. Where subject to an excessive low temperalore, the meat juices become set and,the flesh too firm for the salt to nenetrate. It should be noted that the temperature of the curing-room should never exceed 60 degrees Fahr. Precautions should be observed to have the tables and room in which curing is conducted scrupulously clean, free from "dust, and with a sweet, atmosphere. In salting, it . was at one timo deemed good practice to nib the flesh briskly everyday, but it is generally found that this is onlv necessary for the first three days. The fait mixture only requires to be spread over the flesh firmly. An exception may be made in the case of large thick pieces or where the flesh is very cold; then brisk rubbing is an advantage. The salt should be pressed into every depression, and well into the hock ends where the feet have been cut off, and into the joints. Brown sugar is used in varying quantities with salt, in order to correct the hardening influence of salt on the meat. It also renders the bacon mellow, and increases its juiciness and flavour. Saltpetre, also known as nitre, or potassium nitrate, is used in curing. It possesses antiseptic properties, but, it is chiefly added to preserve the natural colour of the flesh. The quantity should not be more than one part to 25 parts of salt. All ingredients used in the mixtures applied for curing should be of the best quality, and thoroughly mixed. Immediately after cuttine up and trimming, the surface of the flesh should bo sprinklr-d over with equal parts of finelyground salt and saltpetre. This is best effected through a muslin bag or a horsehair sieve. Only a small layer, is required. This is allowed to remain for 24 hours, and washed off with clean, cold water. TICKLING. Numerous recipes are available for pickling bacon. The following is recommended: Clean rainwater, 20 gallons; fine dairy salt, 501b; brown sugar, 51b; saltpetre, 2lb; allspice, ilb. Dissolve the salt, sugar, and saltpetre in the water. Immerse the allspice, tied up in a calico bag. Boil for an hour, and skim off ] the frothy matter rising to the surface whilst boiling. Allow this solution to cool before filling the pickling vat, barrel, or tub. This is sufficient for 5001b of meat. The sides should be rubbed with salt for two days before being immersed in the pickle. It may be necesary to place sufficient weights on the sides to keep them immersed. The time in pickle will be determined by the size of the sides, but it is usually three weeks. Dry Curing: This recipe has given good results : Fine dairy salt, 501b ; brown sugar, 51b; saltpetre (finely ground), 21b; mix well.

For the first three or four days this mixture should bo rubbed in over the fleshy parte and around the bones and joints. Afterwards spread the mixture freely each day. The bides should be stacked. Alternate the method of stacking, so that the side on the, top one day will bo at the bottom the following day. Time required, about 14- days, according to size of side. Where a sweet, juicy, mild-cured bacon is required, tho following may bo used instead of tho foregoing: Sugar and fine dairy salt, equal parts; mix well. * To impart a distinctive flavour, this famous French recipe is given: Fine dairy salt, 61b; brown sugar, 61b; allsnioo, lib; mustard, lib; saltpetre, loz; bicarbonate of soda, loz ; mix well. Rub over the flesh daily for three da-s, and afterwards spread on each day for 17 days, turning the sides in rotation. WASHING. On removal from the pickle, or at the conclusion of tho dry-salting, the side must be prepared for smoking. The flesh is brushed over with a dandy brush to remove salt, pieces of fat and flesh, and cleaned up. The side is washed in rain-water and soaked in a solution of bicarbonate of soda for 24 hours. The solution is made by dissolving lib of bicarbonate of soda in 20 gallons of clean rain-water. This removes excessive saltiness and makes the curing milder. Follow this by washing in clean rain-water. The meat edges and bones are trimmed again. All sharp points of bones and loo«) or hanging pieces of meat aro removed, leaving the side neat and shapely. Hang the side up to dry in a room, free from dust and insects, with a full current of air for several days. Then lightly rub olive oil over the skin and flesh. It is now ready for smoking. SMOKING. In addition to the preserving action of smoke it imparts a relishable flavour, which adds to the value of the bacon. The smoke-house should he about 12ft high, seeing the bacon must be hung from 6ft to 10ft from the floor. The floor should bo earthen, brick, or cement, with a depression in the centre, away from the walls, in order to avoid setting fire to the frames. There should be no light, excepting that admitted from the door when open. Many methods of creating a proper class of smoke are applicable. White pine, oak, cedar, or hardwood sawdust, with clamp corncobs, will answer from which to kindle a fire with a good development of smoke without much heat. In ruse of direct hear reaching the bacon hanging over the fire, this can be avoided by having a sheet of galvanised iron placed a few feel over the fire, supported on loose bricks. The smoke must be conveyed to the bacon as cool as it can lie. 11l deciding the length of time to apply smoke, judgment must be used. Tho desirable colour is a light-brown tan. To obtain' this, smoking may occupy any period from 36 hours to five days. The character of the flesh, its thickness, and other characteristics must be estimated in order to obtain perfection in determining the colour and flavour imparted by smoking. Finish tho sides now by dressing and rubbing the skin and flesh with pure olive oil. Every effort should be made to prevent blowflics and other nests getting access to the surface of the meat. A simple means of checking their depredations is to sprinkle the surface of the meat with black popper or a mixture containing this and cayenne pepper. BREVITIES. It pays to make cows comfortable under all conditions. When to wean depends on tho calf and grass available. It. is norfect digestion that results in perfect milk production. To succeed at dairy farming no branch <A it should be neglected. It never pays to wean a calf and turn it out to starve on hare paddocks. In some of the country districts of WhiM the dog is made to churn the cream into butter. Of the 147,723 boxes of butter exported by Argentina in 1909, 147,669 went to Great Britain. Carrots and mangolds are amongst tho best, of the roots which can be fed to horses in work. : ' . Milkcans, pails, or strainers, improperly cleaned are a constant, source of contamination to milk. Cows should be milked with dry hands and after the. udders have been washed or brushed clean. The breeder is nearly as considerable a factor as the breed in most branches of livestock raising. Charcoal is a good blood purifier, and a good thing to leave lying about where the pigs and cows are. • , Out of 258,177 horse-hides exported by Argentina in 1909, 500 were shipped to United States, and 257,677 to Germany. England sends £60,000,000 to the Continent of Europe every year for the purchase of eggs, butter, poultry, bacon, cheese,'and vegetables. Many young horses are rendered permanently difficult to shoe by injudicious treatment on the occasion of their first visit to the forge. Aeration and cooling are the two effective methods within the reach of all dairymen for preserving milk in good condition for butter-making.