SEASONABLE HINTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1540, 14 May 1881, Page 6

SEASONABLE HINTS.

The time of wheat sowing haß come round again 1 , and there are sundry matters of detail in . connection with this work that farmers will require to keep in mind. ' It is soarcety necessary to repeat what has so frequently been brought before the eyes \of graingrowers, namely, that early sown autumn, wheat generally yields beiter than that which is sown late in the fall, and has no time to get Well rooted before the frost ,»nd snow of. winter. The weather during the harvest was so exceptionally fine that there cannot be much damaged or sprouted corn in the; district, and those farmers who make a prao- ' tice of sowing sprouted grain from economioal motives will not be able to do so this, year, though there is doubtless In tha.late districts plenty of wheat pinched by the red, rustf which' invariably makes, its appearance; in late sown— and therefore,. necessarily,,late harvestedT-eVopa. Good Bound , seed the plants a good start, and a good start to a plant, as to an animal, is half the battle.' Weakly, stunted, " and ill-bred animals are never expected to throw strong and healthy .progeny, but are, generally culled out and' disposed 6f by boiling down, or in some other way, as' soon as possible. Yet farmers in sowing bad seed forget that the result is in; moat cases a siokly crop, which is very liable t to be attacked by Borne one or other of the, diseases common to white crops. ■ There are various methods of applying a solution of blueßtone to seed , corn. This operation can be done speedily and effec-i tively by means of two large tubs. One con-; tains the solution, and the corn is dipped into it for a moment and then stood on a frame over the second tub,] into which the drainings drop; when the first, tub is empty the other wilj be partly filled with what has drained into it, and the.proces^ oan. be repeated until the whole of the solution ia taken up. Wicker baskets are sdcretimea used for dipping the corn into the solution, but old bags oan be used for the purpose. Another, way of bluestoning wheat is to shoot it into a tight tub or case; and after sprinkling the Holutipn over the grain it is well stirred and put into bags again ready for sowing. About two ounces of blue stone to a bußhel of wheat is ample It should be well pounded and dissolved iri boiling water. \ 4 The potato crop should be taken up before the middle .of May at the latest, ! and seourelyL pitted jn a dry place. It ia necessary that those intended for seed should be sorted out and kept perfeotly.dry unlil required. According' to, all accounts tnis crop is very light throughout the island, ; owing tp the protracted spell of dry weather during the past season, and those farmerß who are fortunate enough to have a good yield this year will probably make a, good profit by holding them back for a time. Mangolds also should be taken up this month and stored or pitted for winter use. Mangolds are excellent things to have on hand when there are little or no grasses in the fields; sliced or pulped they are an agreeable relief to a regular diet of hay, and milch cows will keep up a good flow of milk through the winter, with a liberal allowanoe of this root. Good managers need not be reminded that heavy rains may be ' expected next month, and that there are a great many jobs that require to be attended to now, and whioh are useless if not done at the proper time. Stacks to stand the winter should be (if not already done) securely thatched ; ditches and drains cleared out ; all machinery put under cover; and things generally made anug for the winter.