Agricultural and Pastoral.

Otago Witness, Issue 712, 21 July 1865, Page 4

Agricultural and Pastoral.

Potatoes fob Seed. — Some little care is required in the division of the potato into pieces, or "sets," as they are termed, so that the gtrms should not be injured in the cutting, ai.d that 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 may be ready for deposidng in the ground as soou as it is ready for their reception. An open shed, or barn, where they can be spread out thinly en the floor, is the best place for the work ; the operation is rather a tedious one where large quantities are required, as each tuber has to be divided singly by the hand ; the sets, however, may remain fora week or two without suffering injury, "which gives an opportunity for profitably occupying any wet day that may occur with the •work. In the division of the tuber the cut surfaces are apt to blee'l, and if thrown carelessly into a heap, and left for a few days, the exuded moisture causes the mass to heat, to the great injury of the germinating powers of the 3ets, This may be readily avoided by sprinkling the incised surfaces with lime, chalk, or gypsum, which, uniting with the moisture frm the divided cells, forms a coat on the surface, and thus prevents further loss by bleeding or evaporation. Gypsum is the best substance to use, as it is more effective for the immediate purpose for which it is 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 this purpose. In this case the tuber, small though it be, may possess as many _j?erms or eyes as the large, fully-matured tuber used for dividing into sets, and consequently will produce as many young plants. But here the great difference arises between their relative powers of production. The young plant lives upon its parent until itg own powers of supply are sufficiently established to enable it to send down its roots into the soil in search of inorganic substances, and to rear its stem and leaves above the ground in quest of organic materials of support. In the small, immature tuber, planted whole and throwing up several thin and sickly stems, it is obvious that the supplies of food-materials must be greatly inferior to those of the welldeveloped and well-matured tuber, which, being divided into sets, planted separately, secures also to its young plants a greater xange for carrying on its after process of growth.

Analysis of Soils. — Dr. Macadam, Gorernment Analyst of Victoria, has been engaged for som.B time in making a chemical analysis of forty samples of virgin surface soils and sur soils of Victoria. His report, "which is said to be a very comprehensive and TaluabJe document, is prefaced with an elaborate review of our present knowledge of the science of agricultural chemistry, with the view of encouraging and directing experiments. On refen iog to the tabulated results of the anal} sis of Victorian soils, the most noteworthy facts are the almost total absence of soluble alkaline chlorides and sulphates ; phosphoric acid is also deficient, and lime at d magnesia. Silica and silicates are present in a comparatively available form, and the soils contain a fair amount of decaying vegetable matter, the portion of which more immediately available for assimilation is stated as humus. They generally possess in a high degree the quality, so very valuable in a dry climate like Australia, of absorbing moisture, &c., from the atmosphere. Dr. Macadam remarks that as some of the Victorian soils did Dot contain any trace of soluble chlorides and sulphates in 1000 grains, and as limp, magnesia, potash and soda, and phosphoric acid are deficient in most of the soils, the bene^t of using a manure composed of 10 parts of Peruvian guano, 20 parts of Australian phos-pho-guano, 10 parts of common salt, 50 parts of mild lime, ond 10 parts of gypsum will be fully appreciated in cases where a good standing fertiliser is required. It will be seen that the above compost will supply all the ingredients required in Victorian soils. Dr. Macadam has some excellent observations on the necessity of adopting definite means for placing agricultural education in Victoria on the same footing as other skilled labour,

Thk Fluke In Sheep. — The inflammation of the liver having once been produced, as the disease progresses the " flukes " are developed in the passage of the liver, and speedily multiply to myriads. They thus corrupt its juices, impele its action, obstruct the flow of the bile, and complete the irritable and disorganised state of the liver, which the inflammation had originally begun. But how account for the pre-ence of the fluk- s ? A limited number of these Enlozoa, or internal parasites, is found in the livers of the most hsalthy sheep in high « mdition, and it is thought that they form an element in a sound constitution, when present in those limited numbers only. They excite the liver to a more uniform and sufficiently abundant secretion of bile. It is only disease of the liver that leads to their dfatal multiplication in myriads. Again, it is thought that the eggs of the parasite, voided by " flukey " sheep in their 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 proper seat in the interior ot the sheep's body, namely, the liver. This is very probable. But the whole -question of the branch of pathology connected •with the origin of these Entozoa is yet in an imperfectly developed state, and it is reserved for the progress of science to elucidate it, and make it more thoroughly understood. It is of more practical consequence, however, to deal with,the conditions of the atmosphere or

weather, and of lhe pastures frequented by the sheep, which haTe been always without exception found to be the great exciting causes of fluke op rot. — " Hood's Manual."

Condensed 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 iv the United States. The writer says he has used this milk in his family a number of years, and he finds it a great convenience as well as luxury. For coffee it is far superior io common milk, and for young children, suffering with complaints incident to them, ihis condensed milk is invaluable in respect to purity. The advantages derived from condensing the milk are, that it keeps sweet much longer, and is perfectly pure. This lass is not the 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 there are four or five others in operation ; one at Winsted, Con. ; one at York, Pa. ; one at Liverncre 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 few 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 molasses, 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 condensed in the same way. Indeed, any article of food may be condensed by this summary operation, be reduced in bulk, with all its nutritious qunlities preserved, and packed so as to be preserved fresh any length of time.