FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

Waikato Argus, Volume II, Issue 109, 20 March 1897, Page 2 (Supplement)

FARM & GARDEN NOTES.

♦ Tin: Wfather and Tin: Fakm.— Fine weather has prevailed throughout the past week. Grass-sowing is being pushed forward, the condition; of the land for this purpose, owiug to the heavy rainfall of the past two months, being all that can be desired, and enables the sowing to be done much earlier this year than was I he case last. The grass will thus have a good start before the winter seta in Soft turnips and rape are being extensively .sown, and a greater demand than usual is reported for this seed. This is due to the large areas that have failed to hold the swedes this season owing to the depredations of that pernicious little curse, " the fly." So destructive has it hern that the opinion generally held hitherto—that the fly is more mischievous in a dry than a moist seasonhas been reversed. More loss has resulted from its ravages this year than has been the case for many seasons past. + + x The Potato Maiiickt.—We for the price of potatoes will not rule so high this year (or at least in the early part of the season) as was at one tiros generally thought would be the case. There has been a further decline iu the Auckland market in view of the supply expected from the South Canterbury growcis are accepting £2 per ton for Aptil delivery and 003 for May. ' + + , + Wheat and Oats. —The price of wheat in Canterbury is reported at from 3s !)d to 4s, with but little business doing, the farmers being indisposed to sell under 4s, and the millers, who are playing a waiting same, arc purchasing merely for present requirements. Quite a number of Taieri farmers have obtained 4s per bushe', but there aro others who intend holding for a still higher price. Many shrewd business men doubt the wisdom of such a policy. Taking an average of years, the farmer who sells his produce early at a reasonably profitable price comes out best in the long run. Big profits are sometimes made by holding stocks, but considerable losses are more often the resnlt. The Auckland millers are giving 4s per bushel (sacks extra) for wheat delivered at the mills. The oat market is active, although prices are inclined to ease a little in view of the fact that the new season's grain is coming into the market. Ohristchurch prices are from Is lOd to 2s ; Dunedin quotations being about a penny per bushel lower. Locally there is a fair demand for seed oats, particularly duns Produce dealers are giving 2s Cd. For an especially prime sample of dun oats we hear that as much as 3s Gd per bushel has been obtained—iu small parcels we must add. however. xxx The English Farm Labourer.— The condition of the agricultural labourer has improved so greatly in England that the militarv authorities are complaining that tley cannot recruit him. The red-coit and. Is 3d a day will not tempt hira to change his smook frock, and it he cannot become a policeman he gives the ploughshare and good wages the perference bes fore the glory of'being a soldier, xxx Remedy for the Tick.—Letters from correspondents in Argentina to the Pastoralists' Up view continue to urge cattle owners in Queesland to use sulphur in. the drinking water of cattle to. mako ticks drop off and prevent others from crawling on. They declare the remedy to be infallible. The same writers state thattho " tick-fever" hero is red murrain, developed bv sodden grass first and communicated by the ticks through inoculation from one herd to another. xxx The Indian House-Trade. —A letter from Mr W. Wilson, dated Calcutta. '24th January, states that the Indian market is flooded with Australian horse?. The Indian Government has ceased buying, and there is no demand outside, so that horses have to be sold at prices that do not realise the charge for freight. He states that Australian horses are being reshipped to Western Australia and the Cape, and cautions shippers, therefore, not to seed any further consignments at present, xxx An JSably Flow of Milk.—Mr J. T. Rogers, carrier, of Selwyn street, Spreydon, has a three-quarter bred Jersey heifer which before calving has been giving a splondid flow of milk, averaging about eleven quarts per day. The heifer is three years oft'and is in good condition. Mr Rogers' attention was first drawn to the heifer by her udder being filled and the milk running away. His first thought was that she had slipped her calf, but it ,vas soon seen that she had not, It is not an uncommon thing for cows, especially if they aro in good condition, to begin to 6ecreto udlk beforo calving, but it is not often that heifers will do so. The case under notioa is all the more interesting from the fact that the- flow of milk commenced at smb. an early period beforo the naif was dropped, and is proof that Mr Rogers posssesas a heavy milker. —Press. + + + English Judges Outdone. An American agricultural journal, iu criticising the pro-English aspect of a recent San Francisco horse show, says:—" Tho system of judging was purely arbitrary, and whoever did not conform to English fashions in tho points of mutilating his horses by sawing off their tails, of his own and his groom's attire, and in the minute details of his equipage, had no show at all. One exhibitor lost a prize, not for any fault in his team, but because he drove in an ' afternoon ' instead, of a ' morning drees. Another blue ribbon was lost because, upon critical inspection, it was found that ono of his grooms was budding a moustache. The judges, like everything else, were imported for the occasion, and the memory of their English clothes, English accent and English standards of judgment is n, thing for ever to be hsle dear in the world of fashionable horsiness." If this is correct the San Francisco show people must be very more Knglish than the English. In England the animal that is driven carries tt.o award, the condition of the driver does not count. -I- -I- -ICakuving Capacity of Different Fodder Ci'.oi'S.—On a crop of rye (-1,1 acres), sown with the first rains at Millieent, Mr W. 11. Whcl is reported in the Hamilton Spectator as having fed 15 sheep to the acre for five weeks, then lot it come on and cut H tons of hay per acre. On a crop of rape (28 acres), with about same average of grass country, ho carried about 12G0 sheep for 59 days. On a crop of turnips (-12 acres), with 20 acres of grass country, 43 sheep per acre for 97 days. On a crop of kale (15 acres), with about, same quantity of grass country, 30 sheep per acre for 73 days. On a crop of mangolds (27 acres), with about tho same quantity of grass, about 30 sheep per aero for 111 days. In all cases, it is explained, the grass country was thrown in, and not reckoned, but had the various crops not been there about a sheep and a half would liavobeonsullicienf, hence the advantage of tho crops, which were ordinary crops, as far better have been grown. On one occasion, Mr Whel further states, he fattened 1500 merino wethers on 42 acres of rape, and sold them in Adelaide. -)- H + Raising the Standard.—From Curler's American Dairying thefollowinggood advioti is taken :—ln 1892 I set my standard at 2001 b of butter per cow, and found tweuty-ouc cows out of sixty-four to bo below that standard, and they were sold for beef. In 1893 1 raise my standard to 2011 b and had eightoeu to sell for beef. In 1984 I raised tho standard to 2251 b and had six to sell for b of. 1 hope in a very few years to be able to replace all cows that do not make 2501 b of butter annually with better ones of my own raising. 1 can see no reason why persistent work on the pa.it of uuy iutelligout dairymau will

not take him up to the point where he can dispose of all cows that do not make :!00lb of butter annually and securo an average for the herd of 4001 b or more. When wo have once learned what each cow is doing for us wo are in a position to do intolligent work in the line ot breeding, and we are not in a position to do tho best work until wo know each individual cow. We will admit that the bull is half the herd as far as offspring is concerned, and he is a half that should be thoroughly looked after. Look well afton tho butter record of his ancestors, especially his dam. Do not. let a few dollars prevent your securing the best you can find. It will bo a good investment. Now that you know the butter record of each cow and you have a bull from some choice butter-mak-ing family, you are in a position to grow some heifers that will do you good. Those heifers should be grown ou skimmilk after they are from one to two weeks old. They must be kept growing continually, as any check in their growth is a cause ofjloss iu size and development of the digestive orgaus and consequently affects tho future value of tho animal. + + + Selection of Seed Wheat.—" A change of seed always pays," is a saying wo often hear quoted by wheat-growers, and very generally believed in, but, says " Thistledown," it is pretty safe, to state that when tho matter is enquired into the reverse is more true, and that a change does not always pay. I have again and again seen seed procured at considerable oxpense, from seedsmen who were above suspicion, sown with very disappointing results. Tho roason of this is not very fir to seok, and a few words on the matter' may be acceptable at a time when seeding operations and the selection of seed wheat aro engaging widespread attention. It is pretty certain that all living beings - plant or animal—are very much influenced by their surroundings in the shapo of soil and climate, and the plant moro than the animal because it cannot move about ; and if generation after generation of the same plants is subjected to the same influence, it tends to develop, and actually does develup, specialties either in its composition, structure, or vigour. If a plant which has been so devoloved is taken to a new locality, the chances aio equal that it will bo a success or a failure ; it may or it may not suit tho now soil aud climate. If it is good of its kind, and has been grown under genial circumstances, it will no doubt, tend to keep its good qualities for a year or two after transporting to less favoured districts ; but if the reverse system is followed it will almost invariably prove disastrous. It is in the fact that special traits are developed by continuous growth in tho same plants in the same locality that the koy lies to the proper choice of seed to sow. It must not be understood that a change of seed is a mistake, for it is very often successful and profitable, but, as n rule, much better results would be got in the long run by sticking to the best variety that can be found at home to begin with, and continue to improve it year after year by selection. Major Hallet, the well-known English grower of wheat, did not improva his now well-famed seeds by perpetually changing, but by sticking to certain varieties and always growing them fiom the best single grains procurable each harvest. It is this principle of selection which every farmer might carry out, not with single grains but with several acres and thus develop a strain of wheat better suited to his farm than any purchased seed can possibly be. THE BEET SUGAR INDUSTRY. The Maffra Beet Sugar Company Limited has issued its second report and balance sheet. The former refers to the difficulties experienced in securing guarantees for the cultivation of 2000 acres of sugarbeet as required by the Beet Sugar Work Act of IS9G, also to "the matter of financing the company so as to ensure the Government advance." These however, it is stated, have been successfully overcome, tho Amending Act reducing the required acreaue to 1500 acres for three years, and disposing with the bond. The Government under the new provisions is empowered to advance .£IO,OOO to the company as soon as it has rcised and expended £SOOO of its own capital, aud further advances of similar sums are to be obtained. The public response, it would seem from the statement annexed to the report, had not been so large as anticipated ; 12,056 shares out %i 50,000 shares have been issued, 1340 of which have been fuliy paid un to £l, whilst 10,716 shares are contributing. The actual amount of cash received by tho company is set down at £5379 118., whilst the expenses to tho 31st of December, 1896, are £730 19s. Calls have been made to tho extent of lis per share, amounting; to £6630 165., of which £4599 6s. have been received and £6ll Pis 6d. in advance. This report states that the tender of tho Braunsch - weisrsche Maschinenbau-Austalt (Germany) has been accepted for the supply of a complete plant of the most modern description for the manufacture of sugar from beet roots. This plaut, weighing about 1200 tons, is capable of working up 350 tons of beet root per day. It will bo due here about October next, by whioh time the factory building will have to be ready for its reception. The Machinery Company, it is stated, is taking 9000 shares in tho company. Tenders for tho erection of the main factory aro to be called for about the 13th of March. Tho Treasurer states that the negotiations between the Maffra Beet Sugar Company and the Government are praoticady complete. The company has already so far complied with tho Government terms as to be entitled to a first advance of £IO,OOO. and tho other sums will be obtainable from time to time as they are required. By tho Beet Sugar Act passed l&st year the Government is empowered to make advances not exceeding £IOO,OOO for tho assistance of the industry. The company receives an advance of £2 for every £1 which it subscribes, and to ensure repayment executes a first mortgage over its works and its assets, including the uncalled capital. The nayments are to bo made in 45 half yearly instalments, commencing two years hence. BRITISH BREEDERS & FOREIGN BUYERS. In spi*e of the great fall in the price of beef and mutton which has at one time and another occurred during the past year, there is one feature of tho live-stock trade which specially deserves attention. viz . the gro<it export trade which has arisen in certain breeds of cittlo and sheep (says the Glasgow Herald) Notwithstanding all the foreign competition, principally from America pure-bred herds, the world's market for pure-bred stock is practically represented by the herds, flocks, and studs of these islands, Of course, Continental breeds, like the Holstein-Frisian, have secured a wellmerited reputation in the new world, but any country which wishes to compete in the British market with beef and mutton is compelled to make a heavy draught upon our pure-bred sources. For this purpose ttie Argentine Republic has been investing very heavily, particularly, in Shorthorn aud Abardeen-Augus cattlo and Lincoln and Shropshire sheep. Trade has been exceptionally brisk, and a number of breeders of Lincoln sheep have finished the year with very tolerable fortunes to their credit. Just the other day a case came to my notice where for 20 Lincoln ram lambs ono of the bestknown breeders refused 1,000 guineas. Nor is this exceptional, for a consignment one of many—sent abroad in summer brought, 1,400 guineas for tho 30 head. Undoubtly the lustre-wool breeds have benefited by the great b'jom of tho last year or two, but the peculiar point is that instead of decreasing demand waxes stronger, and breeders can afford to refuse prices such as these cited. The Kentish and Exraoor sheep have both shared in tlu ■ foreign demand, but to a much smaller extent, Shropshire Do^us

have experienced agoodtralo from the Antipodes, Argentina, and the States. Tho South Down has been rather belter sought, after than usual, and the Oxford Downs have found a very ready market on the Continent. I hoar that the number of export certificates issued by the Shropshire Sheep-breeders' Association during 1896 has been 558. The number of Lincoln shoop exported during 1896 was 4,963, of which total 3,535 were rams. FARM CONVENIENCE OF CEMENT. The use of cement for stable floors is becoming moro and moro general each year. There are other uses for the same material about a farm. Ono is a cement watering-trough made by usiug two wooden boxes of different sizes to form a mould. Put in a thick layer of cement, sharp sand, and sharp gravel well mixed upon the bottom of the larger box, then set upon this tho smaller box, and fill in about the sides. If a plug is desired in the bottom or side, put a round bi t of wood in the position whero tho oponing is desired as tho cement is being fillod in. Tho second convenience is a lawn and garden roller. Get a sheet of sheet iron and fit a disc of wood into ono end to make it a perfect cylinder. Boro a hole exactly in tho centre of tho disc to insert an iron rod. Place on end, with the disc ond down. Select a round iron rod to form the core of tho roller, and drivo it throuith the hole in the disc, a few inches into the ground, keeping the rod exactly in tho centre of the cylinder at the top. The mould, is now ready to fill with cement. A light h'indio is attached to tho iron centre, and the roller is complete. Use tho best cement, the sharpest of sand and gravel, and mix thoroughly, that every particlo of the cement may be wot. Round off all sharp edges whon the articles arc taken from the moulds.— American Agriculturist.