FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Waikato Times, Volume II, Issue 84, 12 November 1872, Page 2

FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Thebb must now' bisover a thodsnll bdet sugar factories in Europe. While both the manufacture of best sugar and the growirig of th'e'bbets »re sceh to lie ptofitable', it would seem, owever, that' ihc p6caliar advantage of an/industiy to a untry Is its influence" in 5 diffusing' a l '• skilfttl practice ol iA gencftil, To show the appreciation' in' 1 which it is held in l Fran(Sfe, Mr' Howard states thatj at an agricultural mcdting held a'few veara ago at' Valenciennes, a trintnphal arch'waA'erected, on whicb appeftrtd the following inscription": • " growth of wheat in this district, bfefoi'e the 1 prodocEioft of beet rodt sugar, was only 970,009 bushel j the* xfirtnber of oxen wtA 700. Sinco the introduction of the sugar manufacture, the growth oi wheat 1 has been 1;108,000'bushelB; and the numbed of oxen, 11;500."

Powdered' sulphur is" the cheapest, handiest,' nfad' best thing yet discovered for killing parasites that infest poultry, and especially sitiing hens, Many people complain that when their chicken are a week or two old,' they aroop and die from the attacks of lice, whith literally covfer the heads of the birds. If examination is made earlier, it Will,'be faund that the insecta have taken up their abode upoA the l chickens' heads while still in the nest, for the forsake the 1 ' hen, preferring the chickens. But a remedy can be " applied with little trouble before hatching begins. A week-or so alter the hen has been given her clutch of eggs, sprinkle theih and the wholfe e# the tfest and 1 the straw for a little'distance around it' with sulphur When the hen is off. The night following attend to the hen herself.! Disturb her juflt enough fo make her bristle her feathers, and then dust sulphur well down-to-their roots. Go over'her whole body thoroughly, excepting the parts in corttact with the nest, and lift each wing and scatter a pinch, aiid attend to head, neck, and tail. It would not injure the hen in l thfe lAast,-nor the chickens' when they are hatched. Repeat the operation at an iirtetral of a week (though perhaps one application WAy bfe suffi6ieht), and in all likelihood you will not find the slightest trace of' vermin upon hen or chicks afterwards. Use two small handfulls. It costs little in either money ot trouble. To-' bacco, snuff, grease, carbolic powder, • &C., are not t# bo compared with sulphur lor this particular purpose, and tbe' best dust* bath for the hett is not to be relied upon alone.'' All crops rich in nitrogen are 1 renovating chips. Clover, • turnipß, peas, vetches, all contain 1 mdre than' three' times as •much nitrogen as maize. All the' cereals, • srieh aS barleyy oats, • maize* and the grasses proper, ■ afw oomjAratively poor in- nitrogen, 1 - afid- their' roots afo'riot provided withthe poWer oi* means of taking-it iiMar|»e quantities from the" soil; There is no proof that clovfcr' anp other renovating plants "take nitrogen from tbe atmosphere through their leaves. The faets all point the other way. And'yet these plants do get a large amount of nitrogen from a soil that' will only produce' fifteen bushels of whe&t acre; and from a' sdil that' when supplied 1 with 761b 'to 1001b more nitrogen per a6W, • will "prddiice, -withottf stay other additional' plant-food, thirty J five* tb' fifty b&shels" of Wheat per afcre. • Whatever the scientific evptaoatiofl' of' these facts may be,one thing is clear: If- we want to raise, and continue to' raise, large crops of wheat, barley, oats, and corn, we must devote a considerable are of' our farms to the growth of clover and other renovating crops; Arid, so'fir as possible,thefse renovating crops should be retained ori'the farm. Sell' the cerealß, selj hay if need be, sell'BtraW if yon must; sell' anything rather than clover and'othe*" renovating crops. The object of raising these crops'is-to take up the nitrogen 1 that is diffused through the soilj and concentrate it sufflcietly 'for wheat and other cereals to get hold of it. It is aspoor farming to grow wheat and other cereals without rotat-' ing them'with clover and other' retto+ating crops. The' nitrogen is in the but the wheat' cannot get hold of it until the clover has gathered it to the surface.