Miscellaneous Items.

Southland Times, Issue 4990, 30 July 1884, Page 4

Miscellaneous Items.

Timber Trade.}— The sawmills at - Maryborough, Queensland*' have been reducing the . price of . sawn timber. The Maryborough Chronicle bays It is on all sides admitted . that a large trade in sawn timber has sprung up- between New- Zealand and the northern . ports of, Queensland,- and the low prices at which the Zealanders ajre able to sell, in con- . Beqaence of Ihe superior railway and felling facilities accorded by their Government, have, ; for the present, driven Queensland millers bufcof any market except that contained within their dwn respective towns and districts.' Strangles Swelling.-^ Rub the swelling Strongly for ten miautes daily with iodine >•'-■ ointment ; if the slcini thus smartly rubbed, becomes tender; withhold for some days the iodine ointment, and' use. instead lard or oil; ' Paed wellj and^give twice i"a week a mash, in v whioh;«rer dissolved an ounce of Epson! salt and half an ounce of nitre. If the horse Still -- continues dull and out of condition, give daily ; an ounce of powdered gentian and a glass of whisky in a pint of linseed or oatmeal gruel, •-- and allow .exercise rather than work,— Yet. . Bd. N.B t Agriculturist. : ; ' Ensilage,— A .gentleman writes to the Times : togiveinformationof an experiment he made in regard Ho 'the fattening qualities of ensilage. Twelve beasts were taken, six being •- placed on one side and cix on the other. All received the same quantity of meal and cake. Besides this, one lot received daily for each 'beast 241 bof best quality hay and 951 bof turnips ; while each beast on the other side received, besides the cake and meal, 751 bof ensilage. No other food than what ia mentioned war given; : The diet was commenced onthe 10th" of November, and they were again weighed on the Bth of December, showing a , balance of 491 bin favor of ensilage. Live Stock Experiments in Canada. — - Fifty-one head.of yearling and two-year-old ■teers with cows and heifers have been stabled at the experimental farm,<Juelph, with a view of experimenting with corn, peas, oats, and • barley, including black barley, oilcake, Thorley's food, and ensilaged green oat . fodder in the production of beef. 2he three great beef ■ breeds of the world are pitted against -each other in this experiment in groups of three. Experiments are being carried on in regard to the effects of ensilage on the quantity and quality of milk, and also in regard to the comparative -values of steamed and uncooked food. Th 9 experiment also embrace* sheep, with a view to ascertain the precise effects of bigh.and low feeding upon the texture and lubrication of the wool. Two pens of Shrop grade lambs are selected for the purpose. There are also four pens separated with a view of testing the feeding value of beans, peas, clover, hay, and' pea straw. These experiments, we ha*e no doubt; will prove of great value to agriculturists. _ Dry Country.—^The special correspondent esnt by the Sydney Morning Herald to the dry country of New South Wales remarks concerning one large station: — 'Fresh grass has not been seen on the run for three yeari=, and now both ;graSs and herbage have disappeared, while the saltbusb, bluebush, and cottonbush have been, over large patches, scorched; and shrivelled into blackened stumps. The open scrub, which covers about one-third of the run, provides the principal stock of food now, Cutting down these b-shes "for the sheep is the principal work of the fetation, and 30 or 40 men are daily engaged in it. While the ground, naked and arid, grills under the dry heat, the hardy scrnb fees continue to pub forth their green and silvery fronds. A small mob of catt'e, numbering about 150, is kept in one of the paddocks. These cattle never see gras3, and nave been reared entirely en the scrub leaves and branches. They look fairly well, and make better beef than cculd be expected from their hardy diet.' A New Source of Ammonia.— lt is stated in the annual circular of Messrs Samuel Downs & Co, that the reduction of the price of sulphate of ammonia fiom £18 lt)9 to £13 10s is attributed in part to the lowered . price of nitrate of soda, bat in a greater degree to a new source of production of ammonia. They say : — ' Appliances have been erected forthe saving of the ammonia from the blast furnaces ; and, without giving elaborate detail-", it is stated that one firm ' have been blowing £30,000 per annum, for come years past, into the air. In the face of these facts it would be rather bold to affirm that the quotation of nitrate of soda will not be lower, but what will b 3 the effect on agriculture? Hereafter the agriculturists will not be.so dependeufc on this article. Judging from present data, the cost of fertilizers for •wheat and pastures will be reduced ; and so long as this advantage is exclusive to Great Britain, the agriculturists will be benefited. So rapid, however, is the exchange of valuable ideas and facts between foreign spates that it will perhaps ba availed of and practised abroad bpfore some English agricultu'ists have ever heard of it.' - To Preserve Fggs for fix Mon'hs, — A correspondent of the Australasian says : — The following recipe I find, after J2 months' study | and experience, to be the only one by which you can preserve r g?s any length of time without loss, and b2ing reasonable, within the reach of all, I have great pleasure in placing it in your hands for the benefit of those that read your valuable psper : — 1 Must keep your own fowls, and have no male birds ; 2 Gather the eggs every mornicg, and shake as littJe as possible ; 3 Bub them all over with good oil — take care that it is so, o.heiwise it will dLcolor and spoil the sale ; 4 Procure a five or 10 gallon cask, such as brewers use ; 5 Then get a bag of fine sa.t, put a thick layer ; n he bottom of the catk, place in the eggs, standing them on end, ihen more salt, &c. i ill the ca^k is full, place the head on tightly, so ai to exclude all the air. After the cask las st od a fortnight lay it gently on its side, aud ( v ry olher.day tip )t pen'ly ; this prevents the yolk from rising, and prevents the egg 3fi om going bad. The appearanca of the eggs when ccoked after being preserved in th : s way for six mouths will be like those freshly laid— in fact, it is almost impossible to ttll the difference, with the exception that tbe taste ii s ightly salt. The best fowls to keep are the Houdacs, for they do not sit, Lib. Statistics.- -Mr T. W. Grim&haw, tie registrar-gen eta 1 of Ireland, recently lai« J before the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ' s'nhVics respe-ting the produce for 14f83. The returns for Ip • some favorable character J»" ji tfee crops nflßß2. Altb.o»"" .otiß are of a very in tillage «-*"' J compared with those J?£&*- fer;J lac progressive decrease „ inch had baen going on for several wf sd!i con'i u^d, yet tbe increased yield aid value of the harvest as compared with that of the previous year was of a very niai k cl character. Tbe potato c op was about double that of 1882, bVing an increase of 1457,142 ' tons. Turnips bad kureas :d by 809,850 tons mangel wu'Z.l by 92.677 tons, oats by 594.73Gcwt, and bailey by 68,323cwt. At Ihe'snme time whtai had decreased W 778,727cwt. bare (a species of barley) by 7iilcwt, md >y« by 1 ,547cwt. Th re was also adfcrcas-j ia flax of 2,330 tons, and in hay of 377.903 tons. The e-g^rcga'e increase in tbe value of the crops for "the year, as comoaml ■wi;h the returns forthe previous year, was £4,283 198, and it w/.s £1.485.368 belter than the avrage of tbe ten preceding yea;s. ___«_„ »_ i_ _~ _—