AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 1121, 25 July 1865, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL.

Potatoes for Sebju.—Some little care is required in the. division of the potato into pieces, or "sets," as they are terrneJ, so that the germs should not be injured in'the cutting, and tliat each " set" should contain one or two, in order to secure a good plant. For this purpose, good, sound, and fully matured tubers should be selected. Their preparation should be proceeded with at the same time the field work of preparation is in progress, so that they m'»y ha ready for depositing in the ground ns soon as it iH ready for their reception. An open shed, or barn, where t!;ey can be spread out thinly en |he floor, is the best place for the work ; the operation is rather a tedious one where large quantities are required, as each tuber Jim to be divided singly by the hand ; the sete, however, may remain for a ,week or two without suffering injury, which gives an opportunity for profitably occupying any wet. (my that may occur with the work, in the division of the tuber the cut surfaces are apt to bleed, and if thrown carelessly into a heap, and left for a few days, the exuded moisture causes the maps to heat, to the great injury ol the germinating powers of the jets, This may be readily avoided by sprinkling the incised surfaces' with lime, chalk, or gypsum, which, uniting with the moisture from the divided ceils, forms a coat on the surface, and thus prcveists further loss by bleeding or evaporation. Gypsum is the best substance to use, as it is more c/Pjelive for the immediate purpose for which it "m intended, while at the same time it supplies, as. far as it goes, an important manurial substance to the growing plant. Where the whole tubers are used in planting, the small ones are usually picked out of the heap and laid aside for tlri.-t purpose. In this case the tuber, small though it be, may possess as many germs or eves as tlits large, Sully-matured tuber used for dividing into sets, and consequently will produce as many young plants. 15ut iiere tht great difference arises bvttvcen their relative powers of production. The young plant livrs upon its parent until its own powers of supply arc miiliciently established to enable it to -end down its roots into the soil in suarehof inorganic substances, and to rear its .stem raid leaves above the ground in quest of organic nriterialw of suj'poit. In the small, immatur..- tuber, planted whole znd \ throwing up several thin and sickly items, it is obvious that thft supplies of food-materials must be greatly inferior to those of the welldeveloped and well-miiturcd tuber, which, being divided into sew, planted gi parateiy. secures also to its young plants a greater range for carrying on its after process of growth.

Analysis of Soils.—Dr. .Macadam, Government Analyst, of Victoria, bus been engaged for some titnu in making a chemical ana'y&is of forty sumriios oi virgin surface soils sind subs'ifis of Victorisj. Ilia report, which is said to lie a very comprehensive and valuable document, is prefaced with an elaborate review of our present knowledge of the science of agricultural chemistry, with the view of eiicournging and din:cting experiments. On refining to the tnbubiti-d results of the anjjl.) sis of Victorian soils, the most noteworthy facts nre the almost total absence of soluble nlkalim: chlorides and sulphates ; phosphoric i-.cid h\ also deficient, nnd lirsiu at.d magnesia. Silkii and silicates are present in v comparatively available form, and the soils contain !•• fair amount of decaying vegetable matter, the portion of whi-li more iritmedintely available ior 'assimilation is .stated us humus. Tiiey generally possess in a. liigh degree the (juality, so \ery valuable in a dry climate like Australia, of absorbing moisture, &c, from the atmosphere. Dr. Macadam remarks that as somu of the Victorian soils did not contain any truce of soluble chlorides and sulphates in JOno grains", nnd sis lime, rnng-nc-bifi, potash a:td Siiila, and phosphoric acid are deficient in most of the soils, the benc3t of using a manure composed of 10 parts of Peruvian guuno, iiO parts ot Australian plios-pho-guano, 10 jiarts of common suit, 50 parts of mild lime, <uid 10 parts of gypsum will be fully appreciated in cases where a good standing fertiliser is required. It will be*eeii that the above compost «■ ill supply all the ingredients required in Victorian soiln. Dr. Macadam has some excellent observations on the necessity of adopting definite means fosplacing agricultural education in Vi toria on the same tooling as other skilled labour,

Tiik Itlukulx SiUiEi*.—The inflammation of the liver having once been produced, as the disease progresses tho " flukts " aie developed in the passage of (he liver, and npi:edily multiply to myriai's. They thus corrupt its juices, impede its action, obstruct tho How of the bile, and complete the irritable and disorganised state of tlit- liver, which theii.fl-'.mma-tion had originally begun. But h>w nccount for the presence of the {hikes ? A limited num'-er of these Enlozoa, or internal parasites, i.s found in the livers of the most healthy sheep iv highcondition,anditis tbought thai they form an element in a sound constitution, when press-lit in those liniittd numbers only. They excite tin: liver to a more uniform uml sufficiently abundant secretion of bile. It is only disease of the liver thut leu-is to their fatal multiplication in myriads. Again, it. is thought that, ihe eggo of the puntsiti-, voided by " flukey " sheep in i heir excrements, and becoming'thus scattered over the herbage, are taken into the stomach of the sheep along with their food, and, being there hatched, find their way ultimately to their {r >per s>::a in the interior of tha slicvp's budy, n.uuely, the liv.T. This is very probable. But the whole question of the brunch of pathology connected with the origin of these Entozoa is yet in fin imperiectly developed state, and it is reserved ior the progress of science to elucidate it, and make is more thoroughly understood. It is of more practical consequence, however, to eul with tn-j condki >m of the atmosphere or weather, and ot thy pastures frequented by thu sheep, which have been always without exception found to he the great exciting causes of fluke or rot.—" Hood's Manual."

Condbssed Milk.—A letter in the New York " Scientific American " gives an interesting account of a method of condensing milk which has been adopted for some years in the United States. The writer says he has used this milk in 1113 family a number of years, and he finds it a great convenience as well as luxury. For coffee it is far superior to common milk, and for young children, suffering with complaints incident to them, this condensed milk is invaluable in respect to purity. The advantages derived from condensing the milk are, that it keeps eweet much longer, and is perfectly pure. This lasi is nofthe least desirable quality, for the consumer adds as much or as little water as he chooses. AMr Borden, who obtained a patent for this process several years ago, condenses 12,000 quarts of milk daily at one factory, and 20.000 in another at Brewster's station on the Haarlem Railroad below, and tbere are four or five others in operation ; one at Winsted, Con. ; one at York, Pa. ; one at Livernore Falls, Maine ; and two in Massachusetts. The farmers bring their milk daily to the factory ; it is poured into an immense boiler, the superfluous parts driven ofF, and the condensation effected in a fevr hours. The details of the process are exceeding curious and worth studying. This prepared milk is sold daily in New York from door to door, as any other milk is. In appearance it is a thick, creamy-looking substance, of the consistency of molnsses,, which is afterwards reduced-to suitable thinness by the addition of water. The same process is applied to the juice of apples and other fruits, and meats. Coffee is CQacJensed in the same way.