FACTS FOR FARMERS.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 182, 8 July 1873, Page 2

FACTS FOR FARMERS.

" A F.u-merS Son," in a letter (o an Agricultural Journal, an tho subject of cross-breeding sa^s .— " I have kept them pure, crossed tho shorthorn cow with the Devon bjijj, and Drjssi'd tho Dei on cow with the shorthorn bull, fy either way they have made a larger return and paid for their meat much better than the pure Dei on ; but by far the greatest success has been to commence with the Devon or native cow mid pure shorthorn bull, und for ever after using the shorthorn bull. Il"iie .i'.io use 1 the Dei on bull on the cross from the Devon on and &1101 thorn bull, but the progeny rapidly declined, and no trice of the shorthorn remained. In these days of gre it consumption and high prices it doea not pay to stick to stock the breed of which requires four or five years to mature, but I am firmly of opinion that if pure shorthorn bulls were used on the native cows and their crosses in the different districts of the United Kingdom, for a few years, our beef supplies" wonld be doubled. Many farmers have a great horror of crossing their Btock, whilst others admit that the first cross is all that they could wish, but after that it is all " gone goose " with the next generation. Of such I would ask— Have you ever tried, and if so, how, and what object had you in Tiew ? My theory has always been — and practice and observation have fully borne me out — that we can make almost anything we hke of our flocks und herds in a few years by fully adhering to pure male animals of the kind we wish them to resemble. If beef is our object, use pure high-class shorthorn bulls always; never by any chance or pretence use a cross bred bull cren if he be the best animal you can procure, and if the cross were only once a dozen generations back. It is the use of cross-bred males or crossbred females that has made so many people distrustful of any but the first. I wish to lay great stress on the using of pure-bred shorthorn bulls br which. I do not erelusivoly mean those fancy-priced! beasts that figure so prominently in the agricultural periodicals — but ones selected from a good herd where pedigree sires have been used for at leust twenty years on cows of undoubted shorthorn blood, and that have not been artificially forced. It is not difficult to purchase hundreds of suoh at reasonable prices " Itia generally assumed that many youths shun agriculture because they hate work. This assumption is one of those partial, imperfect truths which have the effect of falsehood. Neither boys nor men now-a-days like to lift, and tug, and strain, when the ends of such exertion can be attaint -d without such expenditure of vital foree — who ever di£ ? As we come to think and reflect more, we learn to moderate our physical exertion and be sparing of our muscular force. The untaught, unthinking slave raises what should be moved in the wheelbarrow to the top of his head and carries it there,, and the better freeman prefers to trundle it before him along the ground. The crops of to-day are saved with less than half the tax on human muscle freely paid by our grandfathers. Admit that our boys do not choose to bend their back -bones into hoops and indurate their muscle into whip-cord if they can achieve a comfortable livelihood otherwise* there is nothing in this to provoke invective or justify reproach. An intellectual age and people naturally prefers to substitute animal or mechanical power for that of human sinews, wherever it can do so with facility and manifest advantage But it is true that far greater progress in this substitution of machines for bonea and sinews has been made in other industries than in agriculture. Commerce» by the aid of wind and steam of'sailmg vessels, steamships, railroads and locomotives takes our wool, coals, corn and other staples from or near the grower, or producer, and puts it on shipboard, speeds it across land or sea, hoists it into the merchant's lofts, and lowers it down again whenever it is wanted. Mind directs and guides, while steam supplies all the physical force that is needed. So in almost every department of manufacture. The brain-power required is of human origin ; this commands, impels, and regulates all the other power required. In agriculture, this is but partially, imperfectly paralleled ; and agriculture loses in consequence the service of the brighter, abler portion of our youth. We must remedy this, not by fruitless, senseless railing at the boys for doing what seems to them fittest and most inviting, but by extendiag tlic conc|ttesfc3, by enlarging^ the domain, of mechanical power. Inexperienced persons when about to plant fruit trees in an orchard or garden, very often make the mistake of thinking it tho best plan to purchase half-grown trees, instead of yeai lings, or two-year trees, under the supposition that they will sooner have a supply of fruit. This is quite a mistaken notion, and for the following reasons :— l. Young trees cost less throughout — at the nursery, m freight charges, also in handling and planting. 2. They are sure to grow, baring in. proportion to tho size of tops, vastly more and better small, floe (fibrous) roots. Large trees in moving usually lose half or more of their most valuable roots. 3 ..Having less tops and almost perfect roots, the small trees become established, and grow o(F vigorously at once. The- tops of large trees newly planted are often shaken and blown, about by the wind uDtil they become leaning, and unhealthy, evenvif they survive. 4. Making most of their growth on the ground where they are to stand, the smail trees soon become more stocky and •turdy, every way perfectly adapted to the soil and location, as well as to the preference to their owner. Setting young trees the planter can fashion both bodies and tops to exactly suit his fancy. 5. " Setting- such young trees shall we not lose time ?" they ask. We reply, if you give these young trees the first yeap or two a little extra, watching and care, to the amount, say, of the difference of their cost, you will not lose a day, but get thereby a muck handsomer and more valuable orchard. 6. -Or, if not ready to plant out in the orchard permanently this year — or, if about to commence in a year or two a new farm, why not plant yearlings or root grafts, growing them yourself in the garden with bub trifling cost. In the meantime your children- can study and learn all about them as well as about the colts and calves. Root grafts are set in loose mellow soil, with dirt firm about roots, dipped, just before setting, in " grout," i.e., mud and water, with the top of graft op •cion f .two inches or so above surface. The most thorough and successful planters cannot be persuaded to buy or plant ordinary or large-sized trees. Even at the same price they invariably prefer the one or two years' trees, knowing that with a fair chance the young trees will in two or three years overtake the best planted large trees.' Planting a few large trees for immediate bearing and effect as about cities and' towns may be of little importance. In such cases expense and risk are no object. But the dweller in the bush has neither money nor time to tamper with such large trees. Give him the young trees, and with reasonable care he can soon show better specimens than his moro ambitious suburban neighbor, besides the money he save 3 planting small trees.

Odd Na»es. — Na?ne» often amuse me — names of persons, names of places. Let us see what fun we can get out of names of places on our own way. Must a man be a blacksmith who is going to Acton-Iron ? Must a man carry a carving-knife who is going to Acton-Round ? Are all the children of Abram Jews ? There is a place in Yorkshire that must be a bad market to take eggs to, for all that go there are going to Addle. Northumberland must be a good customer to the brewers, because it has an Alemouth. Why must Cteorgo Canning have been,— he wasn't, but why must he have been — an inhabitant of Wiltshire ? Because it contains Alcanmngs. What has Alderley Inferior done to deserve its name ? Don't you think it must be very jealous of Alderley Superior ? Allbury is the place for an undertaker to live in, and Allchurch for a clergyman. If it is respectable to keep a gig, hovr very respectable the Alpheaton peop'emust be ! Does a horse gallop, canter, trot or walk when he is going to Amble ? They say that wo have no monkeji running wild in England, but at any rate we have an Apewocd. We have several Arrows, but they are all 100 mUO* away from our Bowbont. England contains a tot of A»h«t but no Dust, and yet it has Duston. If a young lady waufct to get an offer, when should sho take a walk with her young man ? When he is going to. Aake, of cours* Devonshire ou"ht to be called Bevonshire ; it is a B-headed county, since the Axe goes through it. If you like nice mince-pies, send your cook to Bakewell. What do the Barking people do when they have left oflP Would you ad vise a. tailor to settle among tho Bare folks ? Is it not strange that Barley should be in Hertfordshire^ and no Barnes nearer than Surrey ? Don't you think you might tumble out if you wore an inhabitant of the Barrow on Soar ? There is a hamlet in Berkshire that ought to bo asluiraed of itself — it u close by Wantage, and yet it is always baulking. One ought to ff-t tipplo fit to set before a king at Beer Kegis. Bidborough would bo a good place for an auctioneer to start in, especially if lie were not prevented from getting away for a walk over tho banks of the Bidder. There. aßigbury in Devonshire, but them's a Biggar in Lanarkshire. Little boys, romember there is a Great Birch in Eisex. No doubt there is Blarney in Ireland, but tin- •• is also Blather in England. There is a Blisland in Cornwall, and a Blj thborough in Suffolk, yet people keep on emigrating from England. Several other places, too, in our favored land are Blythe If yon. go into Hampshire you can see a Boarlmnt. There are Bold people in West Derby, Lancashire, aud Manley pcoplo in Lincolnshire Would you feel that you were acting unkindly to the people of the Isle of Wight if you ever went then- up Braidin" ? Would you havo been more careful it you had got nii»oT»stholioxwi-ll people? Let me remind you, too, that Norfolk has a Booton. Isle Brewers uin Somersetshire, and yet the Isle of Bass is in the Frith of Forth, at his mouth, where Bass should be. Brii ekirk, where hands and hearts arc given away, is all well enough ; but can Devonshire, wonlo feel pride in possessing a Bridestow ? We have .several Burrows, and yet I think only one Bunny Wo have a Buck, but, alas ! we also have a Bully. We ha>e Booths, and Bo«cr«, and Boxes, and Brooms, and a Bndell, and a Saddleback. It is not a good thing that Butterorainbe is sonu- distnnre from ButU'rmere otherwise a Boyle might be Broii-'hton-Bylaugh of Nature. I shouldn't like to be a naiivnof Oiulburv, ku fc if Cacrwent was so called becnuso Cum- no\or camp back to it after it had gone, that would bo tho place for mc-a fur nicer place, I should think, than Caorphillv. I should like, either, to be the Avon at Benrose Wood, because there it catches the Came. Do you think that there nre always dat*s in tho Callender grocer s shops?