ON THE LAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15659, 13 July 1914, Page 12

ON THE LAND.

BOYS AND FARM LIFE. !An- American farmer gives theso cynical rules, which he says are excellent for making boys tired of the farm home and driving them into the city: — When ho is small give him a calf, lamb, or something for a pet, and after it has grown up and ho has becomo very much attached to it, sell it and by ail means put the money in your own pocket. When he gets older rever talk farm business over with him or in any other way make him feel that he is \ja of the enterprise more than in the amoui't of work which he can do. Give him the impression that all there is to farming is work. Any fool can farm it.

If, ho should express an idea to you, don't talk it over with him. It might result in his placing some confidence in you, and, besides, you might forget that he is your son and therefore is not quite as bright as other boys, i'ou can politely tell him that he is not old enough to understand, or something to that effect. It will only take a few sach hints to let him know your estimate of his mental ability.

If lie should come to you some night after the chores are done* and shvly ask if he can hitch one of the horses" on to the best buggy and take a ride, be sure to forget that you were ever young yourself, and, acting very much surprised, tell him that you cannot see why he always wants a horse, and that a horse that has been worked all day cannot be driven all night. If it happens to be in the winter and the horse 3 have been standing in the barn all day, you can tell him that the horses are all feeling pretty good, and you are afraid that he will get injured. He will appreciate your sudden parental tenderness towards him, in spite of the fact that you consider them perfectly safe for him" to draw the milk the next morning. You will have a dairy with a lot of scrub cows in it, and so can speak truthfully when you say there is no money in farming. Tell this to your boy about once a week. He will believe you. If ho still takes any interest in your farm, and should suggest buying a purebred bull to grade up the dairy and make it more productive, do not say to him: "Now, see here, my son, I haven't the time to look into this matter, but I have full confidence in you. You look up the matter, write, for all the information you can get on how to recognise a well-bred bull, and where we can get the best value for our money, and then we will talk it over and work together to get him." If j-ou have not done the last thing, and have done the others, and he still sticks to the farm, put him in an insane asylum. He is crazy. 'A GOOD LIME-WASH. A good lime-wash is made as follows: — Take half a bushel of fresh lime and slake with water in a tub, covering it in during the process to keep in the steam. Strain ! the liquid through a fine strainer to remove the coarse particles, and mix with it a peck of salt, previously dissolved in a little warm water, and three pounds of ground rice boiled to a thin paste. Add five gallons of clean water to tho mixture; stir well, and allow to stand covered for a few days. A little fat or grease may take the place of the ground rice paste, the object of which is to prevent the lime from flaking off the limewashed surfaces when dry. The limewash should be applied hot, and about one pint will be required for each square yard of surface to be lime-washed.

WOBURN WASH. What is known as the Woburn wash, and an effective one, is applied in winter. It is made as follows: —Caustic soda, ljlb; copper sulphate, l^lb; lime, |lb; paraffin emulsion, five pints; water, 10 gallons. Dissolve tho copper sulphate in six gallons of water and slake the lime in three gallons of water. The dissolved copper sulphate should be run through a fine sieve to remove any portions of a gritty character. Then add the paraffin emulsion and stir them together, adding the caustic soda previously dissolved and sufficient water to make ten gallons. The paraffin emulsion requires careful preparation. Boil a gallon of skim-milk gently, adding two gallons of paraffin )y pouring it gently into the middle of the milk, but not in sufficient quantity to take the milk off the boil. Add. ljlb of soft soap, gently whipping it up in the middle of the veseel. Keep it away from the side of the vessel, as it is so liable to burn: A SIMPLE SPRAY. Lime soda and salt wash is easily made And applied, and prevents the hatching of tho eggs of apple sucker and plum aphis, and also cleanses the trees of moss end lichen. The quantities are ljcwt of good hardstone lime, 351b of agricultural Bait, and 31b of common washing soda to 100 gallons of water. Slake and strain tho lime through a fine sieve, dissolve the soda in hot and the salt in cold water, adding- both to the strained lime. The end of winter is early enough to commence this spraying, continuing until the j buds are ready to burst; then cease. !