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Agricultural Notes.
The season sofar has been a splendid one
for sowing/ and ' farmers are committing
their seed to the. ground in a more hopeful
mood than; was ? the case a month ago.
The drying weather during theJpa'st fort;
night' gave an excellent opportunity for
killing the young growing weeds; and1 just
as farmers were beginning to fear that the
Bc6Q WOU1U buuar iruui u juujl. ui. -muiauuir,
?the opportune showers revived their hopes.
Still, liowever, we hear of many cn'ses'where
the young whea'tris very thin and irregular.
In some instances wire worms are supposed
to be the cause, but wefearthe trouble in
a great measure arises from farmers sowing
wheat -which - haa 'previously germinated
either in the shock or. stack. Too much
care cannot be' exercised. in- these matters,
since serious ' losses . may be' sustained
through carelessness' or a falsa: economy.
We do riot advise' fagainst' the 'use of shri
velled wheat, particularly where; the land
.is ih'good heart'and free from weeds,' hut
where a large proportion of the grains have
f ;erminated it is quite a different matter,
t isiridt-those on which the sprouts can be
.discerned with the naked eye which do the
mischief, since such are actually dead, and
?can be allowed 'for by sowing a little thick
er;, : The trouble is that for each one which
1 can be discerned unaided there are at least
;10 which can be detected, by the use of fa
.'microscope, -and even' this is no tithe worst
feature, since there is still a larger propor
tion iviich, although capable of germina
tion, are yet so injured that their growth
will be retarded for some three to twelve,
days.' Perhaps 'ithe' worst kind of weed
which can infest afield is a second growth
of the same1 variety of grain as forms the
crop; -Therefore, it; is of importance that'
farmers ; should; avoid sowing seed which
has been seriously injured by rain. , We
may, however, mention that these remarks
do not apply to!wheat which 'has ; a few
sprouted grains obtained from sheaves
which have formed, outside of roof ofrstack.
With such : wheat all injured grains have
actually, sprouted,, and the mischief is easily!
discernible. .It. is the damp 'wheat from the
centre of- stacks or from shocks which were
much exposed to rain before being carted
in, from which the mischief is to be feared.
Good feed puts the most. flesh on young
bones. - ?-.....'???? ???-. r
Grass is the mainstay of the plodding
farmer;. ;..v -.?? ? . -.-. ?' ??? :' .«?,?;
For the nutrition of ; live stock .and the
conservation: of soil fertility, grass is the
world's royal' crop, v :. ??: ;-.'.?
? ,: At the annual meeting of a Cheshire Far
mer's. Club, held- at'- Birkenhead.it was
stated that during last year: 10,000 spar
rows had been destroyed. in the club's dis
trict. The' price paid was- from three
pence to sixpence, per ,; dozen. . In the last
five years the club hadxaused the destruc
tion of over 70,000 of these birdfl. :. .1 !?-.
The Switzerland Agricultural Deportment
has allowed a sum of 60,000 francs ' as
annual premiums for families of livestock
: — viz.; sire, dam, and their progeny. 'The
awarding of prizes to families of .breeding
stock is at present quite fashionable on the
Continent, in France as 'well as in Ger
many.'..- ???: ?''?} '?? '?'-?-: ?: '?? ? :?? - ? :r
A report^ from Boumania states that, -in
consequence of the i. scarcity of feeding
stuffs,: a great many farmers' have, been
obliged. to dispose of- their horned stock at
ridiculously low 'prices. Ordinary; -oxen
have been sold at from 24s to 22a per head,
and beef, in some districts is selling at less
than Td:per lb; ????' ':.?-.' .=
? Latest-returns state that there are now
403 registered 'co-operative ' creameries in
Germany. But' these figures do not iriany
way represent the total number of creame
ries worked . on co-operative1 principles;
since in Schleswig-Holstein alone there are
468- establishments of this kind, of which
number only ninety-three are registered.
At the annual meeting of the Derbyshire
Dairy Farmers' Association; recently held,
a very commendable resolution' was passed.
It was decided that auy member :who shall
adulterate his milk,' abstract the cream,- or
in any^way tamper with. the', same shall (if
the committee think.necessary) be excelled
from (Jihe'i association forthwith, and any
benefits to which such 'member -would have
been entitled : before or ? after : be, 1 forfeited:
This was ordered to be added, tdtheiasso-:
ciatibri's rules. ..'v- ?' ?'?'-' ,?.?'?:?.?:.?:?'?? ;::.:-'.'.
It appears that Swedish, dairy farmers
are; far :from. satisfied: with-, the present
state of the'butter.trade.: They allege that
the butter passes through the hands - of too
many; middlemen', and that ; the .finer
Swedish1, makes are- continually- sol4.;to
English7 dealers' as. Danish ?butter,- .thus
lowering the reputation of the Scandina
vian dairies. It will therefore be the chief
aim of the new association to obtain direct
communication with the English market..
Old horses become 'more. ravenous for'
food as their teeth become' poorer, and will'
: eat so rapidly that half of it will be swal
lowed without chewing. .If it is not pos
sible to -give cut hay moistened with meal,
there will still be some gain in cutting the
feed, and mixing the whole grain with it.
The horse will eat it less greedily, and in
trying to pick out the grain from' the cut
feed will chew and mix it with the saliva,
and thus digest it more perfectly. '
It is not often that we hear of a titled
dairyman, but according to a certain paper,
a little titled cart goes about Brighton' and;
Lewes, bearing the name of Viscount Hamp
den, and by its aid the ex-Speaker of, the
House of Commons peddles milk and cream,'
eggs and poultry. . There is no reason why
this.,', village Hamp'den' 'should i.nqt turn'
an honest penny by th'e sale of the produce
of the garden and dairy at Glynde. tfoblesse.
oblige ; and it is to be' h ?ped that the Lord
Lieutenant of Sussex, in his self-assumed
role of ' Middlewick,' is careful:. that .his
butter is not ' Dossot,' nor his eggs, ' shop,'
UnS.' . ? , .. ? .;' .,. ;. .,'. ..',
' .Recent official statistics as. to Russian
studs show that in Lula, where horsebreed
ing is chiefly carried on by tHe, Government,
there are altogether 103 studs. In fifty-five
studs trotters are bred ;, in twenty-four,
draught horses and coachers; and in the
other twenty-four only riding horses., Tha
first category of studs possesses. 182 stal
lion's and 026 mares,' the second category
67 stallions and 375 mares, and' the third
class of studs 21 stallions, and' 158 mares.
The -total number of horses in all the' studs
is 336,850. : . :? ' . '.
In regard to horse-breeding in France, at
present there are in the 22 national depots
of: France 2514 . stallions , (196 English
thoroughbreds, 129 Arab thoroughbreds, 124
Anglo-Arab thoroughbreds, 1765 half -breds',
802 train),' to whom 180,000 mares are sent
during the year. , The commission sent last
year to .Syria returned with six stallions
and fifteen mares. . Including all. expenses,
each stallion cost 5324fr. (£213), each 'mare
6000fr.'. (£240)'. The amount annually' ex
pended for promoting the breeding of horses
in France is 8,000,000fr. (£350,000), of which
1,18'O.OOOfr. (£47,200) are for prizes, and
7,000,000fr. (£280,000) are donations for
horso-racing, of which S.OOO.OOOfr (£200,000)
are given by the companies. In'1888 France
imported 11,212 horses, and exported
34,558. :'.'..
. One of the advantages of draining is that
it mitigates the effects of draught by per
mitting the roots of plants to go deeper
into: the soil. ; As the excess of moisture is
carried off,- and thesubsoilodries,.. a larger
field; is open to the action of the roots; and
they, at once go as\far. down] as (possible;
During the dry season: the plants. find mois
ture.^. below,, and; endure ;drought :much
better than do those plants growing on an
undrained soil. .The soil being warmed as
well as disintegrated to a great .depth by
action of air, heat, and fro8t,:.-it;is/in:ifiner
condition, permits of a supply ;of 1 moisture
\ toiplants during the drought, by capillary
I attraction, and the surface soil is less liable
to hake and become hard, Hence draining
is beneficial during both wet and -dry, sea
sons. :'.,. '.' ' . ,:: '?'.,',.' ' ' ,y.'|', ?'? '' '' -
, The average, Kentuckian isa man, of re- .
I sources,/, an-f it is astonishing . how' much
neenuity, he will expend in . efforts to ,
ignten labor. The very latest trick we '.
,have heard of is this : Early last spring, a
turkey hatched a large brood of young The
farmer who owned the hen and brood ;
placed a bell on the mother, and 'the young,
after they ceased to instinctively follow '.
their feathered parent, by force of habit :
continued to follow the bell. The farmer, 1
observing this, took the bell from the 'hen, i
and, when he hoed his tobacco, tied it :
about his own neck. The young turkeys 1
hen followed him up one row and down -
mother, eating the worms from the plants. -
They' did the work of five men, and Baved I
the crop. j
. French people or some of them at ]
east, know Doth, how to cook veal, j
ftnd.how and when to eat it. By i
a certain process of feeding they pro- t
duce what is considered a superlative j
quality of veal in from six to twelve weeks. ]
At the first named period they bring calves ?-
up to 2001b and over, and at three months i
make them weigh over 4001b. The average 1
weight under the best management of the 1
veal-producing districts of Champagne and i
Brie will reach 3501b, and bring from £9 to 1
£15;, - It would; indeed, be difficult to find ;
limiliar rapid increase of weight in as 1
ihort a time in any other country. This is
iheir method of feeding: — They feed
nothing but milk, beginning with six
quarts a day for a few days. The calves
ire muzzled to prevent the possibility of
their eating anything else but the milk. '
The calves are kept in warm, darkened 1
stables. ? ? The milk is gradually increased to ?
what the calves will take with avidity. 1
After- six or eight weeks, to make the meat i
White and inviting, from two to six eggs ]
ire : given in the milk. The; color of the j
neat may be ascertained during the life of 1
he calf by looking at the color of the ;
ilood vessels of the mucous membrane of j
'he eyes. If of a delicate light pink, the -
Veal will be clear and : white ; but if of a -
dark- red ? color -the -meat - will of a 1
reddish-yellow color. The meat of . calves -
slaughtered too. young will be dark red, s
and' feel slimy; when Bandied. The^meat 1
of strangled calves is of a- bluish-red j
color. -.-??-.-. 1
Referring to' the Royal Agricultural e
Society of England, an Australian paper re- t
marks :— Since— Queen— Victoria ascended 1
the throne British;- agriculture has been t
completely revolutionised, 'and its history
may to a certain exte'rit~be said to be con- ,
tained inthe- journals ot the Royal Agri
cultural Society of England. On pursuing-, j
them it will be seen that' the society's, first
efforts were directed to the improvement '
of cattle, experiments, and reports ? on im
plements, on feeding cattle undercover, on
rotation' of crop?, and varieties of wheat for
seed. -As the tide of improvement flowed,
on, increased attention was paid to the use
of artificial fertilisers, bonedust, guano,
nitrate of soda, superphosphate of lime,
which previously were unknown to the
agricultural world of 50 years ago. The
hard and fast rotations ? of the previous
period were relaxed,- bare fallows gave way,
and catch crops, were more largely availed
,of . Economy of labor soon became a neces
sity, and agricultural engineering sprang,
into. a reputation second to no manufactur
ing trade in the land; the threshing ma
chine and the portable engine, cbaficutters,
cake crushers, clod crushers, and. other
machines for the preparation :of,, foods,
received Drominent notice in these earlier
journals of the Eoyal Agricultural Society
of England. : ?'.'?:
A correspondent of the Aberdeen Weekly
Press, commenting upon the import of po
tatoes from Tasmania, says ':—'?' Never was
a shipment of potatoes, more eagerly scrut
inised: An expert' was engaged to value
the tubers and pronounce as to their - suit-1
ability for the London market.1 ' 'After
this there was an ominous silence, and' I,
as one curious to know, had some difficulty
in obtaining any reliable information on
the subject. I tried the gentleman who
prefers the ' succulent ' article, but 'never
a word he spake.' I next wrote to the ship
owners, who kindly directed me to the
consignees, whose reply I now append : —
' Custom House, Lower Thames-street, Lon
don, 15th March, 1890. The potatoes we
received from Australia were valued by an
expert at 40s per ton, and pronounced to
be practically useless on this - market.
They arrived in good condition, but some
that were packed in earth and' hay were
more 'than half rotten. — Yours truly,
Cruickshank and Lovell;' ? Scotch farmers
will be apt to smile at this obvious result,
but it means positive- cruelty to many a
poor settler on the west coast of Tasmania,
compared with whose struggles for exis
tence the life of the poorest cottar - in
Aberdeensbire is luxurious.- Poor, 'mis-
guided. Tasmania) ; This : preposterous po
tato scheme by an Agent-General — draw-
ing £1200 a year— is simply another sample
of now Tasmania is governed.'-.
'?The South 'Australian harvest returns
have been made up, and the final results
show that the average return of wheat per
acre on the land under crop was 7 bushels
55poundB. ' ' '
The New Zealand agricultural statistics
shov«; the following averages : — Wheat, 25-16
bushels per acre; oats, 3206; barley,
31-66.
The South Australian Chronicle acknow
ledges the subjoining letter regarding the
castor oil plant from a correspondent. .We
may add that common larkspurs have
proved equally effective protectors of gar
dens against grasshoppers. The letter runs
as follows: — ' On returning home a few
davs ago, after an absence of some weeks, I
found my garden and everything in it alive
with locusts, which had eaten all veget
ables and the leaves of many of the flowers,
and were as thick as they could sit upon
the various grass lawns, I was reminded
of a remedy I had heard of before — namely,
the leaves of the castor oil tree. Having
obtained some leaves I scattered them
about, and within a few hours I found the
locusts dead all. over the place, and the next
morning the garden, would have been al
most clear had it not been for numbers
that had come in from outside. As it is, I
can say that there is-'not:onei live ;locust
where there were 50 to 24 hours.Jbefore the
leaves of castor ? oil tree were put down.
The locusts seem. very fond of the leaves,
and, judging by a small quantity eaten,
they must be -very, deadly, ; as the locusts
are found dead in numbers round some of
the leaves where scarcely any sign of -their
being eaten is to be seen. . I would strongly
advise anyone having a. garden -to-., plant; a
few castor oil trees, and thus have the
remedy at hand, and I think further that
the systematic planting ,of them through.,
the country by farmers and others is well
worth consideration. ,? . '_ ,.,
i From our exchanges we learn that the
continueOne and] dry 'weather in Victoria
is playing srid'havoc with the countryt es
pecially inj the /central' and northern 'die/-,
tricts. Along, the Murray the crops have .
not only, had to. contend with drought,' but
they ' have 'been ' eaten out of sight Try.
locusts, which, contrary to custom, have
not been destroyed either by cold weather
pr by their natural enemies, the birds. It
is remarked that the little blue-birds which,
harassed them on a previous occasion have
not entered an appearance, nor have crows
ir magpies, deemed it a portion of their
Juty to molest our unwelcome visitors.
Che most hopeful of our correspondents, in
referring with satisfaction to progress in
sloughing, are obliged to qualify their re
sorts by desire for heavy falls of rain,
moisture being the one thing needed. In.
!he north-east alarm is being felt both by
graziers and farmers at the drought,
ploughing being all but impossible, and
very little having been done ; many tanks
ire dry, and altogether the forecast is not
assuring. The ronewal of rains in Queens
land and New South Wales is regarded as:
indicating that no radical change has yet
commenced in the situation. The droughty :
parts of 'New South Wales are droughty':
Btill, and rain is as badly needed in those
districts as in any. portion of Victoria,,
where weather telegrams from the north
constitute the most interesting topics of
the day.
South Australia has received a light fall.
Fhe indications of rain approaching (says
the Chronicle), which were to be noticed'
ivhen last week's notes were written, were
aot altogether deceptive. Rain came, but
lot in such quantities as desired. A few.
places have, however, been favored with a
fair supply.^ Light showers have fallen on
1 few days in succession, and although in
he aggregate the fall has not been great it
is encouraging to know that the hot, dry,
weather has been broken up, and that we
3an now hope for a further supply of the
life-giving element. If we could get a few
lays of really cold, wet weather, or, better
still, a snap of frost,, we should soon cease
;o hear about the trouble the locusts are
;iving. The depredations of these' pests
lave been of a very serious character in
iome of the northern districts, and one
:orrespondent informs , us that they have
ictually eaten the grains of wheat after
ihey have been sown.
A Productive Potato.— At the last
meeting of the Paris Academy of Sciences
M. AimS Girard gave some interesting in
formation respecting the Emperor, or
Bichter's Imperator, potato. He stated
that, after testing it on a famall scale for.
some years, he grew it largely in 1888 and
1889, and also gave out tubers for experi
ment to 40 growers in different parts of
France. It appeared that while the
average yield of tubers in France does not
exceed 7500 kilogrammes (say, 147cwt) to
the hectare, a hectare being 2 4 acres, the
variety known as the Imperator may,
under certain conditions, yield as much as
35,000 kilos, per hectare of tubers, with
more than 2) per cent, of dry starch These
figures were quite borne out by M. Giraid's
own experience, his crop of 1889 yielding
39,000-i fiilos. of tubers per hectare, with
20 4 per cent, of starch, equal to 7956 kilos,
of dry .starch, which is more than the
general average weight of tubers themselves
in France. In 33 out of 40 experimental
cases throughout the country, the general
result was a yield ranging from 32,000 to
44,000-kilos. per hectare, 'with a proportion
of 20:4 to 24 2 per- cent, of dry starch, the
average yield being 36000 kilos, per
hectare, and 7903 kilos, of dry starch.
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