JOTTINGS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1189, 14 December 1894, Page 4

JOTTINGS.

The Hawera Star says : —The dairyinghas been a deathblow to the cocksfoot harvest, and this year there will be only a very small quantity of seed saved. Those who used to purchase paddocks in this district are making enquiries elsewhere, but everywhere up and down the coast the same report is heard—there is no cocksfoot this year. It is understood that there will be an active demand for this seed during next year, and that prices will reach a point never reached in Taranaki before. A. question has often arisen in. this district: Will Italian ryegrass last in bush ground, or will it die out a year or two after sowing 1 The experience of one settler goes to show that the Italian ryegrass will stand. The settler in question sowed it some ten years ago, and the grass has never shown signs of dying out, but the growth has always been good. The theory that the Italian rye will not stand when sown alone is thus exploded. The writer considers Italian ryegrass one of the best grasses for early feed that can be sown in the bush.

Mr W. W. Smith, an Ashburton settler, writes to the local paper concerning some new insect pests which have made themselves noticeable in

that district. He says :—“ A few days ago Mr Stephen Crum, who resides on the corner of Princes street and Cemetery road, called on me and stated that his quarter-acre strawberry bed was severely attacked with insects. Instead of insects I found on examination the large, carefully-prepared bed to be attacked with vast numbers of small centipedes. The animals were clinging in clusters to the neck and roots of the plants, consuming them, whilst many were burrowing into and eating Ihe ripening fruit. The fruit borne on the attacked plants is very bitter to the taste, and is much discoloured. Beneath the layer of cut grass placed around the plants, the centipedes lay in groups of hundreds together. With the aid of a lens their minute eggs could be seen in clusters clinging to the stems and roots, and along with the eggs the centipedes in all stages of growth—ranging from the newly hatched young to the fullgrown animals, three-quarters of an inch in length. The outbreak can only be considered as a very serious matter, not only from the repulsiveness of the animals,, but as an addition to the already formidable list of fruitgrowers’foes. I have lately ascertained that the centipedes are also present in strawberry beds in the Allenton district. The absurd reticence practised by many people in these matters is veiy objectionable, as it permits destructive pests to multiply and gain too strong a hold before they can be checked. The present season is, however, the first I have heard of centipedes attacking strawberry plants and fruit. To kill the animals we have found the following solution to be effective when properly applied :—Dissolve one ounce hellebore powder with two tablespoonfuls of washing soda and one teaspoonful of salt, in a large bucket of hot

water. Stir well occasionally, and apply the solution tepid. Loosen the soil around the plants before applying it, and well saturate each plant to the roots. As the hellebore is poisonous, the fruit on the plants on which the liquid has been poured must not be used this season.”

Mr Smith also draws attention to a small brown aphis which attacks the growing stems of potatoes. Without any apparent cause the green stems begin to wither and shrivel in a few days. Where such occurs, it is only necessary to scratch away the soil carefully from the withered stems where the minute insects will be found clinging in lumps to the soft haulms a few inches below the surface. The insect is not at present numerous and can be easily killed by rubbing the affected stem and the soil near it between the hands. These two pests, he says, are probably indigenous to New Zealand. The Government Fruit F xpert, when lecturing some time ago, told his audience that “New Zealand was freer from noxious pests than other countries.” Mr Smith says no statement could be more erroneous, and points out that in some districts, owing to the attacks of both indigenous and introduced pests, fruitgrowing is a complete failure, and is almost given up in despair. Until the farming and gardening classes observe these matters for themselves, and assist in repelling the attacks of noxious insects and other animals, they will continue to increase to such an extent as to make it almost impossible to grow certain fruits and vegetables with success.

Now that the Victorian cheese export trade has been placed on its feet the Minister of Agriculture has decided to reduce the bonus by one half. Formerly the Government subsidised exporters to the extent of L 6 for each ton of cheese which realised in the British markets 50s or upwards per cwt. In future the amount is to be L 3 per ton. It is believed that in spite of the reduction the export this season will show an increase over the shipments of last season, when the quantity sent away was 300 tons, involving a bonus payment of LIBOO.

The American Agriculturist is responsible for the following method, of hastening the decay of tree stumps. We give it for what it is worth:— When the tree has but recently been removed, and the timber is hard, decay may be hastened by boring a hole as deep as the auger will admit down in the centre of the stump, placing in a handful of saltpetre and a little water, leaving the top open. This plan usually hasten decay very rapidly and in a few years the stump falls to pieces, whereas by the natural process the centre is quite sound after the outer portion has perished.

The locust plague has again made its appearance in parts of South Australia. Various compounds were sprayed on the “ hoppers ” in the hope of checking their advance, but without effect. In every case the wrong measures seem to have been taken owiug to the wantof knowledge on the part of the experimenters. For instance, Bordeaux mixture, which is a fungicide only, was tried without avail; and “ kerosene emulsion ” made by simply mixing kerosene and water was equally unsuccessful. Kerosene emulsion properly prepared is supposed to be fatal to locusts.

The British agricultural returns for 1893 show that the summer of that year was a disastrous one for farmers,' drought having caused a considerable diminution in the number of cattle and sheep. Scotland fared better than England. While the English meadows last year were burnt up, Scotland was blessed with a very fair hay harvest. In cattle there was a falling off in both countries, but, while the diminution amounted to only 16,500 in Scotland, it reached 293,500 in England. Both countries, too, suffered in sheep, and here again England was the chief loser. England is poorer than she was by 1,295,000 sheep, and Scotland by 100,300.

Some time ago the bacilli of diphtheria were found in some cheese which were seized by the New York board of health. We are pleased to see that the American Agriculturist is able to write as follows :—“ The cheese was all right and may be safely eaten. We refer to the New York cheese which was seized by the board of health in that city, because it was suspected that the ferocious bacillus of diphtheria was

lurking therein. And it was. The bacteriologist of the board found it. He then cultivated it, and raised a brood. Next he inoculated guinea pigs and rabbits with it, but the animals obstinately refused to get a sore throat. The microbes were of no use. So the cheese has been given back to the owner and the health of the city is safe.”

At a recent meeting of the AppilaYarowie branch of the (South Australian) Agricultural Bureau, Mr Keller read the following paper on preserving hay :—I have been induced to write about this subject from what I have observed from my own experience. Often by neglect in the wet weather tons of hay go rotten, which, by very little trouble, could be saved ; and the cattle would be very glad to eat during some time df the year, as feed is not always plentiful on the farm. First a haystack should not be made too wide, say from 18ft to 25ft, as a wide stack will make too high a roof to finish it. It is a very good plan to put up four poles—one in each corner of the stack,

say from 15ft to 20ft high; the top end of the poles should lean outward from 12in to 18in, as this will save a lot of trouble in building the stack. The roof of the stack should not be made too round, as a round roof is not so well to put on a thatch. After the stack is finished and well settled down, say after harvest, a thatch should be put on it to keep out the rain. This can be done with little expense in the following way. Get a couple of loads of straw, some sticks from 2ft to 3ft long, and one coil of binder twine, as

one coil will do for a good-sized stack. The thatch can be put on by standing on the ladder. Put a stick into the corner of the stack and tie the twine to the stick. Put the ladder away from the stick so that you can just reach it; then put down one layer of straw. Put in another stick close to the ladder. Pull the twine from the first

stick across the straw and tie it to the later one. Then so on by putting one layer on top of the other until you get to the top. Then start at the bottom again, and so on until you finish the stack. A thatch put on in this way will cause the hay to remain good for many years.

That the milk supply of India is notoriously bad is not to be wondered at when the “ scientific ” methods of the native dairymen are known. There is, it appears, a generally accepted theory that cows fatten by being packed close together so that they cannot move about freely. To insure this the cows are crowded together in sheds from which all light and air arecarefully excluded, and which, no one who knows the native character will be surprised to learn, are filthy in the extreme. A mor6 direct

method of securing large yields of milk not known to Australian dairymen is a process known as phooJca. The object is first to give the cow a thirst; its tongue is therefore drawn out and well rubbed with salt. Then the animal is encouraged to drink as much water as possible, and, time having been allowed for digestion, the painstaking dairyman proceeds to blow air into the udder—presumably with his mouth ! The result is stated to be a somewhat increased yield of the f;hin bluish fluid procurable as “ milk ” in the bazaars. There is thus no offence under Adulteration Acts.

Another disease has been added to the already long list of ailments from which the horse may suffer. Professor Williams, of the JSTew Veterinary College, Edinburgh, has discovered a form of eczema in the horse which is incurable and of a fatal nature. He has only met with it in seven or eight cases in his lifetime. The first time he ever described it was before the recent meeting of the Midland Veterinary Medical Society, held on the 14th August. All cases he had known terminated fatally. He once called the new disease “ vicarious eczema,” but has now adopted the term “ urinous eczema/’

A very good substitute for milk for rearing calves on when the milk is sent to the dairy factory is an infusion of hay tea. Make the tea by boiling the best hay procurable. Add to the infusion about a quarter of a pound of linseed, putting the linseed in a small bag so as not to allow the seeds to escape, and about the same quantity of pollard to every three or four gallons of the tea. Whey may be added, and the quantities of linseed or pollard varied as may be found necessary, taking care that

the mixture is not too thin. Calves will thrive well on this. Should a boiler of sufficient size not be at hand, one that will last for years can be made by nailing on to a square frame of wood sheet or roofing iron flattened out Strips of flannel, felt, or tweed saturated with white lead laid alonobetween the junctions of the iron wilt prevent a leak. The boiler may be fixed up in a trench resting on two cross bars of iron.

As an example of ptofitable oatgrowing in England the following, related by a correspondent of the Agricultural Gazette , proves that even in the present era of low prices corngrowing may still be carried on without loss—at least, so long as straw is in such demand as at present. The crop in question was black oats, grown on a field 5f acres in extent, and was cut and threshed the last week in August, the corn and straw being at once delivered to the purchasers at the price quoted, as under -

By 62 bags best corn (2001 b each) at 95.. £27 18 0 By 10 tons 10£cwt straw, at £4 per ton.. 42 2 0 By 8 bags light oats, for home use, at 65.. 2 8 0 By 1 ton short straw, for home use, at 40s 2 0 0

Total produce of 6J acres .. .. £74 g 0 This return is as near as possible LI3 an acre. The cost of growing the crop is not stated, but in no case would the expenses exceed L2 per acre. The preceding crop was white oats, which had been sown down with grass seeds, which rooted badly, and the ground was broken up again in the spring, and sown with black oats, with the result stated. Of course, it will be noted that the handsome return obtained is due partly to the high price, and also to the very heavy yield of straw, but, even were straw cheaper, and the yield a third less, the crop would leave , a good profit at the ordinary market rates. Exceptional cases of this kind are not to be taken as proving the rule, but it indicates, nevertheless, that where good crops are raised the profits from corn-growing have not altogether disappeared, even in old England.