NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2203, 21 May 1896, Page 5

NOTES ON RURAL TOPICS.

It is to be hoped that the Intercolonial Frait Conference reeen'ly h-H in WolThe Fruit lingfcon will direct nure general Conference, attention to the import mt subjeofc*of fruit culture. With the splendid cl'mite fchab we hay?, admirably adapted to tun gro.vth of a wide variety of fruit, wre onghfc feu bb ablvi t> build up hi lim s a large export trad a . For apples and such fr..i"3 as we could send to London there is practically an unlimited demand, the more especially a 9 our season of abundance is their season of scarcity. Wilh the natural facilities that we have for apple-growing, we should ba abla to acid fthip loads bo Europa in wh»b is fche de*d s aion tbere, when hands mi prues c*n hi realifeJ. Tbere is no getting away from the f icS that a remunerative industry only awaits development, aud that when once developed it will constitute the support of very m*ny people. What is done at the Teviot already can ba done in hundreds of places throughout the colony, and a thriving population could ba maintained by growing fruit alone. Tlnre are sunny slopes and sheltered valleys by the thousand where smiling orchards might beautify the landscape, instead of the silver tussock and the bracken fern which caonopjlises the soil at the present time. There are n*tur*l sheltered nooks along the foothills skirting the Canterbury Plain where apples grow to perfection, and where there is a sufficient rainfall evau in dry seasons ; aDd over almoafc the whole of Otagj and Southland there are tho sites designed by Nature for orchards, if man will only t*ke the hint and eeiza the opportunity offered to him. While ws have only an occasional orchard here and there scattered over the country, we c*n never rexlise the value of fruib culture. The mm with an orcaaid too often finds that he cannot get sale for his fruit when he would like to sell it, bub if there were thousands of orchards, as there oujhfc to be, in No iv Zealand, there would be a constant and reliable market for all that we could grow. Then, besides apples, there are many other fruits that we can grow for drying. Tll9

j fruit-drying iudusfcry alons can ba built up to attain large dini-onions, if only systematic I eff icti are made to esUblish orchards of the right kinds of fruit. The great advantage of diied fruit is that it can be kept till there U a good nnrkefc for it, and need nsver be sold at a i loss t > SAve it, as ha,3 to ba done with ordinary ripe fruits. la Central Obago, where there is a greater amount of sunshine than along the coastal belts, the finer kinds of fruits can be grownto perfection. There is no doubb about I the suitability of our climate and soil for nruit growing. Wbat is wanted is something like coaceried action oa the pirb of the landowners of the co'ouy to establish orchards. An excellent beginning could ba oandi if evory owner of a piece of laad would m *ko it a rule bo plant a dozen fruit trees every winter ae*son; but, unfortunately, tho greatest apathy re'gas | supreme amongst the farmers and country settlers generally, who look upon tho orchard as being more trouble iian a'l it ;a worth. We J read of the sroldau apples of the Hespecides, b\b meanwhile we are despising and negleatin the apples that might bj chatg-d fco goldeng sovereigns. The future lisa before U3 greal! with the promi«e of a more abundant harvest than even the rich fields of golden gra'ui we ar« so proud of.

DoublePlough Tackle.

I" I. B ," a Southland farmer, ssnb the following query to fclao editor, and he, knowing me to bo a practical man, has forwarded it on to me for reply. The query io as follows :—"lt: — "It is said tha* by using the ch%in runniug in a bl ick with the doable plough, the leadiog horses h*ve more to do than the back horsas, through beiug farther away from their work. Will yon p'e 188 let me knowit there is any diff-rence in the weight each pair of horsss has to pull in the plough by using the block, aud if there is any difference, .what does it amount to ? " I remember when the idea of using the block and chain on the plough? came iuto fashion, and it wa3 a very great improvement upon the previous plan of bitch'ug ea?h p w of Lors'jß on to the head of the plough, or hioking the chains of the leaders to the l»me<i of the back horses. The object of the block and chain is to equalise the woik done by each pair of horses bo thai; the ploughman can see when all the horses are doing their fair wha-ik of the draught. Now, whan • I hava Slid that the block and chain ; eqntlises the draught I have amwered the ' question, for the word "equates" means, of course, that eiqh pair of horses hive to do an equal share of fcb.9 work. It cannot be otherwise with a pulley oF this sort, which is called a " fised pulley," and each end of a ropa or chain passing round a fixed pulley requires an equal weight attached in order to produce an exicb count rpoise. To make my meaning plainer, suppose the block (or pulley) iost=ai of bein^ fastened to the htad of the plough is fised to a beam overhead ; then if a rope or chain is pissed round it and an equal weight attached to each end of the ropa or chain it will be found that the equal weights will juit balance each other, or, in more correct terms, produce an exact couuterpo'sa. If the weights are hung at the same Ie?el they will balance, if one weight is pulled up nearer to the block than the otner they will still balance ; therefore it follows • that the relative position of the weights make 3 | no difference, and so each pair of horsei in the plough do tfc& same work ; aad the fact of one act of swinglebars being further from 'the block than the others docs not; alter the case so far as the actual draughb in concerned. The front horses are ab a slight dis idvantige in tha"i the sagging down of the weight of their j swingitbars and the long ohain gives them rather more collar work because they have fo pull a certain amount to count-ract the sagging of these we'ghts bisidos their share of tha | daaujjht of the plough. " I B." siys he wi*be3 ' th? poiufc settled, and I have no doubj he has J b->en a-g.ihg the mvfcter with a neighbour. Well, I tiiuk lam orre c'; in saying that each piir of horses his to pu'l an equal share of the plough so long as they wo-k m their right positiom. If the bask borats arc lazy and lot their bars ba pulled right up to the block by the leaders, then it ia the driver's dut.y to g've thin a sharp remiudec that the balance of poorer mast be restored. "I.B" can also rest assured that tha laading horses pull na more o£ the pbujh thr-mjh being farther away, though, as I have sad they do a little moro work in keeping lhair tackle up to the level of the Hoe of draught. There ?s a better plan in vogue than the single block and chain— namely, a sysiem of ; pullejs and ropes from horse to horse arranged | in e\nh a way that the draught must he equally j divided all round. I have followed a team yoked on the forimr plan, bu l ; have not had any pr*ct : cal experience of the lattar. j I have more than once referred to the va'u? o£ seaweed as a manure, and advised coaital farmers to cart it on to thsir land whenever they could. As the ncasoo of the year has agaiacomo round when se*weed can bes';ba appliod to tbe laui, I must mska that my excuse for referring to the subject again. As a nnnure, seaweed ii by some reckoned almost equal to farmyard nunu'e, but that is hardly the case. Yet it possesses a good manurial value, and there are many places where it may ba procured in quantity without a great deal of trouble. Its value as a manure: caiy be 63bimated from the fact that when dried it contain* from 20 to 30 par cent, of aih, while th.3 ash contains from 20 to 40 per cent, of pota3h silt 9 and from 20 to 50 per cant, of sodium. In the grsen stute, as taken from the sea, the weed

contains from 70 to 80 par "c-nt of water asd 2£ per cent, of nitrogen. It is, therefore, by no means an inf eriar manure. There are be&chea where many tons of sowveel might be picked uu after every storm ; but strangd to say those farmers who live near this recurring aupply of manura appear to despise it, or *ver that it is more trouble to cart on to the land thau its value when there. If the seaweed is gathered before it becomes h»lf buried in the sand, all the trouble involved ia to cut the bunches of long, tmglod seawead with a hedgeknife, as it lies on the beach, and then fork it into a dray. If a little sand is lifted with it no haraa is dona. If carted on to the land early in the winter it will all dhsolva down under the inflieuca of the weather otcepb tha horny root pirt, which is best cut off when gathering the ee*weed on the boaoh. In summer it could bo easily gathered where low rocks fringe the shore, and laid on the rocks to dry .before, carting it away. If that were done, every ton of green seaweed wou!d be reduced to about onefourth it* woight, which is a consideration when cirhing. Tlnre are roc'f-fringe.l strips of coastline where huudreds of ton? might be gleaned at low tide by the aid of a curved hadgekuife with which fo cut it ad.-iffc from its horny roothold. If cut adrift at low tide, tha rising tide would throw it up on the rocka, whence it might be carried bsyond the reach of the tide 3 and left to dry. However secured, seaweed is a valuable manure, and ought not t ) bo despised. The wise bushman grind* hii axe before ha ' begins a big j-bj -b of tree-felling, Grinding the and fche farmer should endeavour Farmer's Axe. to grind the axe of his professioa ; or, ia other words, sharpen, hi? wits daring the long winter evenings, and bo prepare himself for the next season's campaign. One evening spent ab home in profit* ab!e reading ia more improving than 10 spent ia lounging about couatry taverns discussing politics in a bar parlour. It cannot be denied that reading makes a full man, or that the reading farmers have a great advantage over those who do not trouble themselves reading anything but the news of the day and. perhaps, au occasional novel. The mental development given by a judicious system of reading and study quickens the intellectual powers, increases the business capacity, and is likely to improve one's ability ' for successful management. I do nob refer to the study of agricultural mattera alone, though there is, of course, an immense amount o f good to be obtained from the study of bjtany and agricultural chemistry. The tim* is well employed in reading" an ordinary farming newspaper, especially it' careful note is m*de of any item of informabiou that is new to the render and is worth remembering. I am well aware that a tired body is a great clog to an active mind, but it is oily afcer the long and hot days of summer thit the body is too weary for anything but fool aad res! ; and the ehorb days of winter do no'j gva the- most eaergetic man much chance ti get tired and weary. The winterseason is the opportunity, therefore, for cultivating a habib for reading, comparing, and thinking, and so enlarging the powers and activities of the mind. A man who is of a studious and reading habit will read all that' comes in hi* way, and requires no enconragemenb in thai; direction ; but to those who are averse to anything but light reading I wou'd say the least you should do is to employ the long winter evenings in studying the leading principles of agriculture and bacomiog familiar with the most approved mebhodsof prtcbi'-e which relate to a farmer's bminess. D'scovrry and invention have dons much to lighten the labour of our hands, and m&ke * fanning life more pleasant and profitable, and that is all the more reason why we should endeavour to keep our mental faculties abreast of the march of progress in the world around U3. Therefore, I would say again, grind the axe of your intelligence ; read much, read all you can, bub, at auy rate, doa'C neglect the printed agriciHu.Ml pige, whether ib contains merely the skimmings of practice and science a? in a weekly journal, or the more profound depths oE thought and research tj be found iv the pages of a weighty volume. The reason why so many people hsive beea discouraged at the outlet with Insect their orchard i is because the Pests. myriad host* of iusict pests have invaded the orchard and destroyed fche fcree3. Mmy au orchard that was a t^ing of b?auby and a ]>f for a few years lies inw for<ak;n and uf-giecbed, the treei dtsfigircd with excrescencrs ciusad by fche African blight, aid an eye tore to tha b3holdor. Taere was a tim-) whei thaae pests were not in our fair southern land ; but in proces« of time they cams abug wibh imported fruit and packages that had oniainod fruit. Ib is too late in the day now to prohibit the importation of fruit for feir of infection, as we have pretty well every well-known kind of insact pest in our orchard) already. Our mist ssusible mode of procedure, therefore, is to use the proper mains to keep tha orchard! clean. The first consideration is healthy trees, anl all apples should be graffcel oa blighbre listing stocks. Ia fchU conaecbioa tae setfcter purchasing young fruit trtes is cntiblod to the sams guarantee as tho farmer buying seeds abd miuure. Tae nurseryman ought to be able to give a guarantee that ths apple trees hava blight-proof stock, to at leasb a foot above the grouad. Then the trees musb be maintained in healthy growth and the firs!; «iga of blight watched for. As sojn a.% the trees show signs of blight they require to ba sprayed with soms sorb of insecticide. For this purpose a proper spray punp is nscoisary, although a ema^

orchard may be dressed fairly well with a good garden sjringe. But there is nothing like a force pump fitted with a proper spray nozzle. The cyclone nozzle breaks the liquid up into a five mist, which settlas into every crevica of the tree, and (factually destroys the pests. With good cultivation / and systematic spraying the life of the orcturdisb can be made both profitable and pleasant.

Fifty years ago fencing wire was unknown, and now iron or efceel wire is the Fencing commonest material for fencing materials, purposes. In fact, wo may be naki to be liv'ng in an "irou age." Tfie modem steel wire is a very great improvement upon the old type of iron wire, and a steel whe of No. 8 gauge is much stronger and better in every way than the coarse iron wire of No sor No. 6 gauge. As a matter of fact I suppose an iron fence is much cheaper in the long run than a live hedge, but what a miEerftble-looking country it would be if there were no hedges ! A good hedge not only makes an effective fence, bub also provides shelter in the treeless portions of the country. Apart 'from the question of utility, what an immense improvement to the landscape is afforded by well-kept hedges, whether composed of the much-abused gorse or other and less troubleeome hedge planis. Before the advent of barbed wire a wire fence was bub 8 » plaything for cattle, and iron standards were treated as if provided expressly for the purpose of rubbing posts. A good four-point barbed wire is, however, notbetr'.fled wifch, and on that account must be considered as an indispensable adjunct to a fence of plain wire. Ib is, however, r*ther dangerous, where young stock are kept, especially young horses, and ' many a serious bletnifh has been caused by the barbs. In .spite of all the improvements in straining posts or pillarc, none of them provide for the ever-varying changes of temperature. With a difference of temperature corresponding to tho cold of winter and the heat of tummer, wire will expand not lefs than 2in in every 100 yardu^ Some manufacturers say that a wellerected iron fenc < should be so tight a 9 to require the wires to be slackened before winter and again tightened before summer, in order to compensate for the expansion and contraction caused by different temperatures, but I'm afraid there are not many colonial fences that are so well erected and so well looked after as to require such delicate manipulation. Agiucola.