1863 - Speed the Plough: or, the Colonial and New Zealand Farmers' Guide - Speed The Plough, p 5-122

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SPEED THE PLOUGH

SELECTION OF LAND.

"While the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease."-Gen. viii. 22.

MORE depends on the choice of a farm, as regards your ultimate success as a farmer in these Colonies, than most persons are aware of: for if you should happen to be a man of moderate capital, and were to select a tenacious clay farm, badly situated for drainage, and of a rugged nature, which indeed is very commonly the case in many parts of the Colony, your chances of success would be very small, as such land is calculated to swallow up a small capital before a good return for your labour can be obtained. Again, a very heavy bush is to be objected to, on account of the very large expenses attending the clearing of the same before you can prepare it for growing crops; also, your being situated a long way from a good market is not desirable, unless a water carriage can be had to bring your produce to the city. The want of good roads must for many years militate against the agricultural interests of this fine country. These things must enter into your calculations in taking land in New Zealand. On the other hand, if you are so fortunate as to make choice of a good farm, containing a fair share open land, whether volcanic or good loamy soil, with near access to a market (providing you well understand the nature of cultivation,) you may quickly do well, and ensure a good return for your labour.

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Alluvial soils are also of a rich character, and a few acres of such, well tilled, will often pay the expenses of a whole establishment; for let it be borne in mind that a small quantity of land, well worked, and looked after, is far more profitable than many acres indifferently cultivated. The advantages will appear in many ways: firstly, you have a smaller quantity to plough; secondly, you require less seed; and, thirdly, it will cost you much less to secure your crop, as the probability is you will get as much produce off three acres as, under other circumstances, nine acres. Therefore, at the commencement of this work, I would endeavour to impress upon the minds of my readers the necessity of cultivating the soil thoroughly, knowing full well that a large quantity badly tilled is certain to end in disappointment. Another kind of soil, which consists of a good loam with a clay subsoil, is worked to advantage. I need hardly state that land with a gentle slope is desirable, especially if it contains a stream of running water, which will be found invaluable through the dry seasons which occur in the province. Neither do I object to a portion of bush, as the timber will always be found useful for fencing, building, and firewood; in fact, such would add materially to the value of your farm. Again, land that naturally lies in hollows or basins should be avoided, as in the wet season these places form a complete swamp, and is found expensive to work.

CLEARING AND FENCING.

After the new colonist has chosen his land, the first thing that will present itself will be to fence and clear. This operation is performed in various ways. The kind of fence will materially depend upon the nature of the soil and the kind of brush or timber by which it is covered. If a clay soil, "a ditch and bank" will be the best, with a rail on the top, or what is better, a hedge of furze or white thorn, which is the most

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lasting, and a sure protection against the entrance of cattle. On volcanic soils stone fences are found to be more convenient in many cases where good stone abounds, although they are seldom found to keep sheep from finding their way over them; nevertheless they have the advantages of durability, and are not found to harbour vermin and insects as is the case with live hedges. There are also the brush fence, the dogleg, stub, and Canadian fences---each adapted according to the nature of the land. For instance, the brush fence is useful where you have nothing better than teatree scrub. This fence is formed by driving stakes down into the ground (the hole being first made with a crowbar) about six feet in length, with one foot deep in the ground, 18 inches apart, then twist long branches in and out of these stakes similar to basket work. This is an inexpensive fence, and will last two years, being a sufficient protection against quiet cattle.

The dogleg fence is formed by driving stakes into the ground in a slanting direction, about six inches apart, then crossed again in the opposite direction, and upright stakes to fill up with. This fence will keep back cattle, but is apt to get out of repair soon; it is also suited to land lightly timbered. The stub fence is formed of logs. This fence, in heavily timbered land, is the best of any (post and rails excepted), inasmuch as it will last for a generation, and effectually prevents all kinds of stock from penetrating. When falling your bush the light branches are all cut off the trunk, which, if tolerably straight, is laid along your line of fence, another is then placed parallel to it, when the branches which you have previously dismembered from the trunk are cut into lengths of six feet, which are placed upright between the two parallel logs, closely packed, forming a barricade which will resist the efforts of the wildest cattle to break through. After its use as a fence, it makes excellent firewood. The Canadian fence is

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also formed of logs, about a rod in length, with short transverse pieces about two foot six inches in length, placed at the ends for the four logs (which forms the fence) to rest upon; a piece is taken out of each end of this short piece, to enable the logs to lay securely, and prevent them from rolling. This fence is also durable, and forms a pleasing object if built well, and is suitable where heavy timber abounds. Posts and rail fence: This fence is by far the most common, and found to be the most convenient, as it is suited to every situation, being easy of carriage, and more compact than many others. The manner of putting up this fence is so well known as not to need a description of it here. It is found to preserve the posts, if they are properly charred before placing them in the ground. They should be at least from five to seven inches wide in the back, as light posts soon give way. If you have timber on your estate suitable for splitting purposes, it should be kept for that purpose, as such timber is more valuable than many other sorts. An old bushman will point out such trees, and if he has any doubt about their appearance, he soon strikes his axe into the trunk, takes out a piece the size of his hand, and immediately tells you whether it will "run well," that is, if the grain is straight and not twisted, it is a tree fit for splitting purposes, such as running out posts and rails, or converting into slabs suitable for use in outbuildings, or even to make a snug house in the bush. The posts are either backed off, or taken off the quarter, which latter are the best.

I now come to live fences, such as the hawthorne, privet, furze or gorse, and sweet briar. If these are grown, I think they should be near the homestead, and should be kept from spreading, and clipped occasionally, when they form a very pretty boundary; but, in case of high winds prevailing from any particular quarter, they may be left to grow at will (that is, in height) to form a break wind to your

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premises or orchard, if you possess one. The screen fence is also useful for this purpose, which is formed by growing the poplar or blue gum of Tasmania. Both these grow very rapidly in this country, and form a great protection to land much exposed to the violence of the wind. In taking new land it is a wise precaution to preserve such trees on the place as would afford a natural protection from high winds; but often in these Colonies I have known many such trees destroyed, and the place entirely denuded of those beautiful objects that give character to the homestead, beside affording shelter for cattle through the burning heats of summer and the piercing winds of winter. The hawthorne fence is the most common, and probably the best. The hedge is formed by planting young thorns, which are first raised in a seed bed, after which they are planted along the line of fence you require; the first two or three years the plants will require to be kept free of woods. One man can plant several hundred yards of thorns in the course of one day. The privet is quickly grown, and, I think, very useful when planted amongst the thorns, as it fills up the open spaces, and forms the hedge sooner than with thorns alone. The gorse is much used, and is found to succeed well; from its rapid growth it is well adapted to this Colony. The same remark applies to the sweet briar; it will grow fast, but requires to be kept within bounds; it then makes a beautiful hedge, and its delicious perfume is a great recommendation to it, and, if well attended to, will resist almost the entrance of a bird.

PLOUGHING.

After the operation of clearing, fencing, &c., are completed, the next process that follows is ploughing --a very important work, and needs to be well performed, for on good ploughing depends, in a great measure, the success of your future crop; it is certain

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that much of your seed will perish unless this work is done well. However, in turning over your land the first time, it is not of so much consequence, if you intend it to be laid up for a fallow. In this case I do not object to wide furrows, or its being left in broad lands; but if you are preparing your ground for a seed crop it will be desirable to plough narrow furrows, say seven inches wide, and also to leave it in narrow lands, which will appear greatly to your advantage on the growing crop throughout the wet season, for unless proper channels are left to carry off any excess of rain water, your crop will materially suffer. This applies particularly to clay soils, where the land should not exceed a rod in width, and even narrower should your ground lie wet, which is always the case in retentive soils, unless they have undergone a proper system of under drainage, which cannot be generally the case in a new country, and is always attended with a great outlay. This will not be so necessary in porous soils, such as volcanic or alluvial, consequently such land is better suited to small capitalists, as an early return for their labour can be obtained.

In working new land, it is desirable to employ a person with a team of bullocks to do the first ploughing; they are more steady than horses, and do not plunge if they meet with roots in the ground, which must be expected until it is properly subdued; nevertheless, a pair of staunch horses will accomplish the work, if the ground is not too stubborn. Indeed, I consider, for general farm purposes, horses are preferable, being more active, and can be managed in ploughing by one man; but for every kind of bush work oxen are the best. The kind of ploughs suitable to these Colonies, I think, are the swing-ploughs, with beams of wood. The new mould boards, now becoming general in Tasmania and Port Phillip, have a decided preference over the others, offering less resistance to the work, and

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making a clean furrow. It is said that two horses will do the work of three with the old mould board. This mould board is considerably shallower than the kind in former use, and has a regular course or twist well adapted for turning over and placing the furrow-slice exactly in the right position. Again, the horses I would advise you to purchase should not be too heavy; good staunch fillies half bred, about three years' old and fifteen hands high, are quite heavy enough for farm work. At this age they have all their work in them, and will breed young stock, which a farmer has every advantage in raising, consequently they would prove of more value than geldings. If you would wish to try the breeding of horses let me impress on you to engage the services of only first class stock, as I know, from long experience in these matters in the Colonies, that the rearing of inferior horses will only end in disappointment. I have just read in a Sydney paper of horses being boiled down in Braid wood, N. S. W., for their hoofs, oil, &c., and the large sum of ninepence offered for one animal! Good hacks or draught horses are the best kinds to breed.

But to return to the ploughing. Do not think two or three ploughings of your land will be lost, as each time it is turned over you increase the richness of the soil, which is equal to a coat of manure. Let it not be imagined that this number of ploughings are always necessary on all lands, as some will not require half the labour to produce a crop, and at first, in laying down land in grass, it is found better not to plough at all, but cast down the seed into the ashes, and a beautiful crop will often succeed it. This will answer for a few years, when the decayed stumps may be removed, and the ground prepared for cereal and root crops. The great fault in these Colonies is, that the ground is not sufficiently worked; weeds are allowed to accumulate and impoverish the soil. The following rules--chiefly laid down by an expert

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practical ploughman, Mr. Finlayson--gives a correct way of managing the plough; but practice only can teach the particular knack required to guide this implement with good effect. Doubtless some ploughs are much easier to manage than others:--

Those are important directions, especially such as relate to the steady guidance of the plough. In the general way, a good ploughman never presses on the stilts; he is aware in a moment, by a mere glance of the eye, or by quickness of feeling, when the plough is going wrong and acts accordingly, a mere turn of his hand sets it right again; while, in the hands of an awkward ploughman, the mischief is doubled by the unnecessary effort made in setting it right. Every ploughman knows, however, when the share runs deeper into the soil than was intended; it is necessary either to lean upon the stilts, or put the draught bolt of the bridle a little nearer the ground, which is called "giving the plough less earth." If, on the contrary,

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which may be done by steeping the seed in a strong liquor, composed of blue stone and water, described in the following article on the culture of wheat. This process will effectually destroy it, but do not re-fill the same bags with the seed, as it may even get contaminated by this simple operation. I have known many acres of wheat lost entirely from neglecting it. If blue stone cannot be procured, use chamber-lie, or strong brine, afterwards dried with quick lime. Many experiments have been tried with regard to this subject, and all have gone to prove the entire necessity of it.

I now consider the time for sowing, which, as a rule, should be early in this Colony. Of course, the nature of the ground and different localities will materially alter the time, nevertheless, early cropping must not be lost sight of. The dry weather often sets in early, and then it is too late to make up for what should have been done months before. May is a good month for sowing wheat, but barley, oats, and rye may all be sown in April, and if the fall be wet, then in March, but the two following months are the best as a rule. Wheat is sometimes left until August, but my conviction is, the crop will very rarely be equal to that which is early sown. June and July will not often admit of sowing. The wet season having fairly set in, you have to wait your opportunity for working the land. After the harrowing is completed, if you have a double mould board plough (the common one will do) you will, by the aid of one horse, run out the furrows to take off the surplus water, when the land will be finished off, except in the case of a hay crop, which must be rolled previous to the water furrows being run out. The rolling will improve your crop, and greatly facilitate the mowers' work at harvest time. However, much may be said in favour of early cropping. It is of advantage sometimes to grow spring wheat, which is a bearded kind, and twenty bushels to the acre may often be obtained.

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It may also occur that you cannot got your crops in early; in that case, the latter mentioned wheat may be used. It is certain, however, that wheat growing has not paid of late years in the Colonies; it has ranged from 4s. to 7s. per bushel for a very long time, but the former is not a paying price, except on such lands as will produce 50 or 60 bushels per acre. Oats and barley pay much better; a larger quantity per acre can be obtained, and generally a higher price ranges for it than for wheat, especially English barley (no doubt rather a precarious crop on account of the ravages of the caterpillar,) but often fetching (chavalier barley) 10s. per bushel.

Harrowing appears to be a very simple operation, and would seem scarcely to need any effort on the part of the horses or their driver, but it sometimes happens that it is a work of great labour. The object of harrowing is not merely to cover the seed, but to stir the soil thoroughly, and to bring to the surface and break up all large clods. When the tines or teeth of the harrow are long and well sharpened, and when the horses are kept going at a brisk pace, the ground feels uniformly smooth, and the clods lie free upon the surface, instead of being half buried in the soil. This uniformity being attained, the harrowing should cease, for, in light soils, it is sometimes found that over harrowing brings the seed again to the top in some kinds of ground, and if your crop is to be mowed it will require rolling, not only to prepare it better for the mower, but also to break the lumps which the harrows leave, and give a finished appearance to the field. Rollers work better made in two, when the roller itself is divided; the advantages will be seen at the turn of every land. It does not push the ground up out of place in taking a short turn. Those rollers work on a long iron bar fastened to the frame.

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ON SOILS.

THEIR PRODUCTIVENESS AND ADAPTABILITY TO CERTAIN CROPS.

Soils consist of clays, sands, sandy loams, stiff loams, gravel, volcanic, alluvial, peat, chalk, &c., &c. The latter, I believe, is not known either in the Australian Colonies or New Zealand, as far as the writer's information extends. The first named (clay) is, above all, the most expensive to work, but can be, by a great outlay, made to produce fine crops of wheat and beans, but is not adapted to the small capitalist. Sandy soils are also objectionable, wanting that tenacity required to give a firm hold to the roots of plants, and allowing moisture to evaporate too readily; this, in a measure, may be remedied by supplying a good share of compost manures; if, however, they should contain a very large per centage of sand, it would be better laid down with grass of such a character as is known to thrive well on land of this description, amongst which are to be found the prairie grass, couch grass, cocksfoot, and kangaroo, if the latter could be obtained; another, known as sheeps' tongue, or rib grass, which sheep do well on. But land of this description is not to be desired in New Zealand, where an abundance of good soil exists.

Sandy loams are soils containing only a fair proportion of sand, easily worked, and suitable to the growth of a great variety of crops, amongst which are barley, potatoes (not large crops, but of very good quality), peas, turnips, mangold wurtzel, carrots, parsnips, &c., and, with a little help, will yield good wheat. It is also a good soil in which to plant an orchard, although the trees may not grow so luxuriantly as those planted in alluvial soils, yet the fruit is of a finer flavour, and will keep better. The good effects of manure are easily discerned in light loamy

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lands, which generally rests on a substratum of clay, thereby preventing the richness of the manure being lost.

Stiff loams are also excellent soils, varying somewhat in colour and quality, the red loams being the best, yielding the very choicest wheat, and that in abundance. This, in Fact, is the cream of soils, for, although they may not produce such large crops as alluvial, which are also of the richest character, yet they are not subject to floods, as are the latter, which generally are found near the beds of rivers, and consequently lie in low situations. I have grown fine crops of all kinds on these lands, but I have found them very liable to be inundated. When such is the case, they are better laid down in grass, which, from their situation being moist, and in many places sheltered from the sun's rays, they grow the most luxuriant grass for cattle. The red loams are also adapted to every kind of produce. A good specimen of this productive soil may be seen on the Barrack Hill, Auckland. On the other hand, the poor clay soils are well represented in close proximity, namely: Freeman's Bay. Such land, wherever it may be situated, a poor man had better be without, if his object is to cultivate the soil for a livelihood, for they are invariably unprofitable.

Gravelly and chalk soils are also of a poor description, and are better laid down in grass than attempted to be cultivated.

Volcanic soils: These are of a good order, forming nice loamy soils, easily worked, and possess various qualities; but, on account of their porous nature, they should be early sown, as the droughts have great effect upon them. Large crops can, however, be produced off them, and they can be worked when many soils could not be attempted.

Peat lands are well adapted to the growth of oats, immense crops being raised from such soils, but are generally too wet for barley.

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ON THE ANALYSING OF SOILS.

In this short treatise on agriculture, it must not be expected of the author to give a well defined and elaborate analysis of soils. Indeed, to attempt it, in regard to the variety distributed about New Zealand, it would be entirely out of the question; and the writer is well aware that this is a subject only to be properly handled by an agricultural chemist, whose province it is to particularize the separate ingredients of which the soil is constituted, and which, no doubt, must be left until a "model farm" in Auckland is established, when the services of such a gentleman would be highly necessary to investigate so important a subject, and decide upon the proper manures required for certain crops in any given soils, also to point out in what particulars certain lands are deficient in the necessary constituents for producing crops that may be required of them.

Believing that the study of these things does not occupy the minds of great numbers of our farming friends, I have endeavoured to point out to them the best kinds of soils to occupy, and the crops which they are proved by experience to grow best. These soils, as before mentioned, consist of good sound loams, reddish brown, or chocolate coloured, and alluvial deposits, which are formed by the washing down of the debris of the hills, which constitute a deep rich loam, and are capable of producing the finest crops of every kind. In this description of land you cannot go wrong, whereas on others that are mentioned above, I would strongly advise the small capitalist not to touch, as it would most certainty end in disappointment and loss.

"Agriculture," says the Family Economist, "is both a science to be learned and an art to be practised. The science of agriculture consists in the knowledge of all the conditions of vegetable life, the origin of

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the elementary parts of which plants and vegetables are composed, and the sources of their nourishment. From this knowledge the farmer derives certain rules for the exercise of his art, and learns the true principles on which all his operations depend for success. This knowledge teaches him the usefulness of the different operations for preparing the soil to support the growth of plants, and for removing everything that is injurious to them. Let none say that farming experience and the teachings of this new science are opposed to each other. This is far from being the case; the science of agriculture includes the results of the most extended practice and experience, and in many cases is wholly derived therefrom. Theory must correspond with experience; for it is nothing more than assigning to their last causes, the things which happen around, whatever part of the works of nature we investigate. A field in which we cultivate the same plant for several successive years becomes barren for that plant in a period varying with the nature of the soil: in one field it will be three, in another in seven, in a third in twenty, in a fourth in 100 years. One field bears wheat and no peas; another bears turnips, but will not grow clover. What is the reason that a field loses its fertility for one plant which at first flourished there? What is the reason that one kind of plant succeeds in a held where another fails? These questions belong to science. What means are necessary to preserve to a field its fertility for one and the same plant? What to render one held fertile for two, for three, for all plants? These last questions are put by art, but they cannot be answered by art. If a farmer, without the guidance of just scientific principles, is trying experiments to render a field fertile for a plant which it otherwise will not bear, his prospect of success is very small. Thousands of farmers try such experiments in various directions, the result of which is a mass of practical experience, forming a method of

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cultivation which accomplishes the desired end for certain places, but the same method does not always succeed, indeed, ceases to be applicable to a second or third place in the immediate neighbourhood. How large a capital, and how much power, are wasted in these experiments! Very different and far more secure is the path indicated by science; it exposes us to no danger of failing, but on the contrary, it furnishes us with every guarantee of success. If the cause of failure--of barrenness in the soil for one or two plants--has been discovered, means to remedy it may readily be found. Science teaches us what elements are essential to every plant by analysis of their ashes. If, therefore, a soil is found wanting in any of these elements, we discover at once the cause of its barrenness, and its removal may be readily accomplished."

ON MANURES.

This is a subject of considerable importance to the farmer, as well in New Zealand as the older countries, and although many of our outsettlers, situated on new land, and that of a rich character, will scarcely have need to purchase manures for many years, yet there are others who find it quite necessary to make use of artificial and compost manures to a very great extent. It is quite certain that a large quantity of first rate land exists in this Colony, which does not need the application of such agents to produce the most luxuriant crops. It being in its natural state, and consequently not exhausted by a continuation of cropping, will remain prolific for a considerable time. This is a great advantage, for all lands that require the aid of such fertilizers are worked at a very considerably higher cost than those above mentioned, thereby increasing the expense of raising the crops grown thereon. I believe that there are lands in this and other places that will grow fine crops of wheat for fourteen or twenty years, without the aid of manure.

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but these lands are the exception to the general character of the soil, and certainly not easily procured. Therefore it will be found that the aid which manure affords to growing crops must be secured, in consequence of a large portion of country being infertile, and requiring assistance from this source.

Many kinds of manures are used, and it will bo found in some localities advantageous to use those particular sorts that are easily obtained in the district. This may be taken advantage of in numerous cases, for let it be borne in mind that decayed vegetable matter of every kind is a first rate manure for the land, and may be had in the bush to an unlimited extent. Another is to be found in the ashes of burnt timber, affording the soil a richness, and making it capable of bearing large crops. This also is not difficult to get as a fertilizer to your ground. In fact, the operation of paring and burning land is found greatly to benefit it, more especially in places where coarse and luxuriant grasses and ferns, &c., are in abundance. The object of the cultivator should be to destroy--and that by fire, for nothing is so effectual--every kind of root and tuft; in fact, everything else that would obstruct the plough and injure the growth of grain. A farmer, it is said, should grow nothing but his crop; and I may repeat it here that he is a good farmer that can do it, for I never saw a crop yet but something beside was growing with it.

Another excellent dressing for land is to be found in and by the beds of creeks. There, is to be found the accumulations of rich deposits of vegetable and other matter, which has been going on for ages in these places, and the droughts which take place often in the height of summer affords a good opportunity of clearing them out, and renewing the land by its use. This will be found an excellent manure, and can be carted on to your fallows, and making it ready for the ensuing crop. There are also

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rich clays in the vicinity of such places, which, if dug out in the dry weather and exposed to the sun, will pulverize, and give you a good article to dress light lands with.

Marl: This excellent earth or manure is, in some places, found in great abundance, and has proved itself (to the far off settler) of immense benefit, and I would recommend my country friends to look well after it on their allotments, as a farm is greatly enhanced in value by its presence. Deposits of it are often found in digging out post holes, and cutting drains. This manure has come particularly under my own observation in two cases. One was with respect to a young farmer in Tasmania, who has repeatedly told me that he would have given up his farm if it had not been the great benefit lie received from the use of marl on his place. I have seen it tried in a field where a large quantity of sorrel grew-- a most difficult weed to dispose of. One part of the field was dressed with it, which not only destroyed the sorrel, but greatly enriched the land, while the other part was comparatively infertile. The other case was a large farm in a considerable neighbourhood. This land was said to be the best in the place, and I have often heard the tenant testify as to the value of the marl on it; and it is certain that very fine crops were produced there, under my own observation, for many years.

The farm yard manure must also be well taken care of, as it will be found advantageous to use in most cases; but, as I have mentioned this subject in connection with the stockyard, it is not necessary to speak of it here. The above named may be called home manures, in contra-distinction to imported ones. These are all within the reach of our outsettlers, and consequently more economical.

Guanos: This class of fertilizers is of a high character, and most extensively used. The Peruvian has been regarded as the best, but is not in such great

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repute as formerly. It undoubtedly produces wonders on the crops, but is found to scourge the land, and in time to impoverish it, besides being an expensive manure to use, on account of the large per centage of ammonia it contains, which will always make it a dear article, in consequence of its value in manufactures. It is considered too exciting for general use on the land. Many kinds are imported into England, but that does not affect us here, therefore I shall speak of such as I have more information on, and that which meets our own case in particular.

Analysis by Dr. Ure, for the London and Liverpool Company's agents of the Peruvian and Bolivian Governments, exhibits--

Parts by weight.

Siliceous Land.... ..............1

Water.. .. .. .. .. ............. 11

Phosphate of Lime .. .. .. ...... 25

Ammonia, phosphate of ammonia, oxalate of ammonia, and phosphate of magnesia.... 13

Azotised animal matter, including urate of ammonia, .. .. .. .. .. 50

[Total . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . . .] 100

Another kind is the Flat Island guano. This, I believe, is a manufactured article, composed of different fertilizing elements, and bearing the character of a useful manure, but not being in possession of the analysis of the various ingredients, it cannot here be given.

The next is the Coral Island guano, which, according to the analysis, must be a permanent fertilizer of the soil, and a requisite manure on all farms that have had yearly crops drawn from them for a long period. This guano contains a large portion of the phosphates, which is proved now by science, and confirmed by experience, that it is an indispensable requisite in ail soils where grain or root crops are to be produced. The great agricultural chemist, Baron Liebeg, says: "When phosphates and sulphates are absent from the soil, the plants growing on it cannot form seeds,

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because all seeds, without exception, contain compounds in which phosphates and sulphates are invariably constituents. Although all the other ingredients of plants may be present in superabundance, the soil becomes completely sterile when the period arrives at which it can no longer furnish phosphates and sulphates to a new vegetation. Guano acts as a source of ammonia, but its chief value depends undoubtedly on the phosphates it contains. But, at the same time, it is of great importance for agriculturists to know with certainty that the supply of ammonia is unnecessary for most of our cultivated fields, and that it may even be superfluous, if only the soil contain a sufficient supply of mineral food of plants, when the ammonia required for their development will be furnished by the atmosphere."

Crops of corn, grains, grasses, and roots, together with the grazing of cattle, remove yearly from the soil a very large quantity of mineral constituents, such as phosphates, magnesia, sulphates, silica, &c. The milk of the cow and the growing bones of cattle also remove a large amount of phosphates yearly from the soil of any farm, and to restore these should be the aim of every practical and judicious farmer.

Dr. Ure, in his Dictionary of Arts, says: "Grass derives no small proportion of its fertilizing virtue from the great store of phosphates which it contains. A soil in which phosphates are not present is totally incapable of producing cereals."

The Coral Island guano is sold by Messrs. Combes and Daldy, Auckland.

Analysis of Coral Island Guano.

Moisture................. .. .. .. .. 7 0 4

Organic matter containing nitrogen, .. 11 0 76

Soluble phosphate of lime.. ....... 0 0 91

Insoluble phosphate of lime and magnesia, bone earth in a highly divided state...76 0 14

Alkaline salts--chiefly common salt, .. 3 0 55

Insoluble siliecian matter,.. .. .........0 0 60

[Total . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . ] 100 0 0

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The Anglo-Australian guano: This is another Colonial guano, sold by Dr. Crowther, Hobart Town, Tasmania. It also contains a large proportion of the phosphates, and must of necessity prove a highly valuable manure to all persons engaged in farming pursuits in these Colonies.

Analysis of the Anglo-Australian Guano.
Water	6
Organic matter	15.75
Phosphate of lime,	77.75
Alkaline salts,	.50
	100

Bones: It is to the salts of lime and the phosphates that their great value is due as a fertilizer. They have been used with the greatest success for every kind of farm produce. I think it will be now seen by evidence in favour of phosphatic guano and bones, which come under the same class of manures (as regards the phosphates they contain), that these manures are the safest and most desirable of all, and I would recommend individuals buying guano to buy from analysis only, and in purchasing bones to buy all the sizes, in preference to bone dust, as that is liable to be adulterated.

A variety of other manures might be named here, such as night soil, liquid manure, lime, sea weed, fish, and many others, but they are very difficult to procure in this country at present. I must, therefore, notice but a few of these fertilizers, and leave it to other hands that may follow me to give to New Zealand a more elaborate book on farming matters than the present humble individual is capable of producing, hoping, however, that this simple production may be of service to many of my fellow colonists, being well aware that to fill my pages with a scientific treatise on salts of soda, lime and magnesia, chlorine, oxide of iron, alumina, silica, potash, nitrogenized artificial manures, and such like, is not what the New

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Zealand farmer wants. Another century and such things may find an appropriate place in an agricultural treatise. All such things that are just enumerated are not to be had here if they were wanted, but such things only apply to a high state of tillage and amongst a dense population, where every kind of manure that is of any benefit to the country is mostly to be had; therefore it would be in vain to argue such things in this volume, as my object is to give such information as will really benefit the hard working and industrious farmer, and such as will be found practicable in the country in which we live.

Liquid manures, from their extreme fertilizing powers, should be carefully saved, as it is stated by scientific men that one pint of liquid manure will grow one pound of wheat; if this be really true, how much valuable material is allowed to run waste. This, however, can hardly be made use of as in England, but may be applied by the aid of large watering pots on drill crop near the house. Night soil is mixed with mould, and forms a rich manure for onions, which cannot be grown on poor, or even moderately good, land. If used for this crop, let the manure lie quite close to the surface, not to be buried deep. The action of lime in decomposing vegetable matter is very great, and may be used on lands where large quantities of such are to be found. Poultry dung is also very rich, and may be applied either as top dressing, or reduced to a liquid state, when it may be distributed with a watering pot.

The quantities of manure generally used to the acre are as follows: --Thirty tons or loads of compost or barn yard manure is a good dressing; three hundred weight of guano is the usual quantity to an acre, sometimes two hundred weight has had a good effect upon the crop; this manure should not be sown on a windy day; four hundred weight of bones is a fair application, but I have known eight hundred weight used, besides three hundred weight of guano:

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this is an extra large quantity, but you cannot err in enriching your land with bones, as they are gradually decomposing, and improving the tillage.

The manures I have recommended above are within the reach and comprehension of those to whom they are addressed.

ROTATION OF CROPS.

This subject is not of great moment to the New Zealand settler, being applicable to a higher state of cultivation than we are likely to get at present, and even in England, a gentleman writing in the "Book of Modem Husbandry," says: "I have consulted many first rate farmers as to laying down some fixed courses of crops, but I find none who will bind themselves to any regular rotations, being guided by locality, climate, quality of the land, prices and demand for certain crops, and a variety of other circumstances."

However, in cropping on clay lands it is found necessary to give it a fallow for the first year, until brought to a proper tilth to receive seed. On lighter soils oats are grown the first year, and by the use of bone dust and guano I have seen very large crops of turnips produced as a first crop, the manure drilled in with the seed. This was previous to the appearance of the blight, which of late years has destroyed the turnip, and is now supplied by the growing of mangolds in their place. Potatoes also produce a fair crop the first year if the land be good. If ploughed in, the sets are placed about fourteen inches apart in every third furrow, which covers them in by the return of the plough. Indian corn is a good crop for new land, and found to succeed well; the preference is to sow it in drills, when the land can be well prepared for the following crop. On light loams, especially if they lie dry and warm, barley is the best grain to sow, being proved to require such a situation.

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But the new comer must be made aware of the fact that English barley is a precarious crop, being subject to the devouring attacks of the caterpillar, which will quickly destroy a crop; but it is not so with Cape barley, which will be found to produce immense crops in some situations, sometimes even eighty or ninety bushels to the acre. Oats, on the contrary, will succeed in deep, rich, and moist soils, not really wet, but in damp situations, where barley would fail. Potatoes, although they produce fair crops on light loams, will be found greatly to increase in bulk of crop by being planted in a shaded place in a deep loam. In such situations fourteen to sixteen tons per acre are produced in Tasmania without any manure. Wheat, as I have before observed, requires a stiff soil to produce fine crops. Rye can be grown on poorer soils than either wheat or barley, and will succeed often in poor sands, although the better the land is cultivated the larger the crop will be. Tares are often sown with rye, and provide an early cut for cattle in the spring, besides, the tares are kept from lying too much on the ground from the protection the stalks of rye afford them in growing. It is said that if tares are sown broadcast over foul land they will outgrow all the weeds, and consequently cleanse the ground. About three bushels to the acre is sown.

DRAINING.

This work will require the attention of cultivators of land, especially in reference to clay soils, which are of that adhesive character as to prevent the proper circulation and escape of a superabundance of water. In general this may be effected by a good ditch being opened around the field intended for cropping, but this, in some cases, is not a sufficient means to prevent the evil effects of stagnant water; although, without this necessary element, our labour would be in vain, yet it must be made to percolate through the soil,

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which, if not effected, will impoverish the land, and materially injure the growing crop. The observant farmer will quickly detect whether the soil requires draining, by the weeds or grasses growing thereon. A weed, bearing a yellow flower, and known as the water weed, and others, such as rushes, and coarse grasses, which always appear on these lands, is conclusive evidence that the land ought to be drained. Another indication of ill drained land will be seen by the crops looking healthy on the crown of the lands, and towards the water furrow gradually deteriorating and having a sickly appearance, consequently causing a loss of probably half your crop. These lands, in dry seasons, may produce average crops, but experience proves that they are on the whole greatly deficient in their productiveness. The business of thorough drainage is of an expensive character, and not likely for some years to be carried out in Auckland. I consider it unnecessary to fill these pages with a description of such undertakings, therefore I have thought it better to confine myself to the more simple modes in which it is likely to be effected. This work is performed in various ways. In England tile drains are used, but they cannot be had here in the bush; a good substitute, and found to answer the purpose, are stones, by which the bottom is filled to the height of a foot and then covered with a sod. Another plan is, where plenty of young saplings are growing, to obtain a number of them, which should be laid at the bottom, the middle pole to rest on the two outside ones, leaving a space of several inches between for the escape of water; these are sometimes filled up with brushwood to within a foot or fourteen inches of the top. Another plan, but more expensive, is to use oblong stones, which are placed so as to admit of a good run of water, the top stone is laid so ns to rest on the edges of the lower ones, forming a complete and durable drain, which will last for many years. The second plan recommended here I have

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tried, and found to answer well for five years; a drain of this kind took off the water that formerly lay for weeks in the wet season about the foundations of out-buildings in a stockyard, and, for aught I know, remains good to the present time.

In a previous article I have said that great advantage may be gained in ploughing wet ground in narrow furrows, thereby affording, by the numerous water furrows which occur, a ready outlet for an excess of moisture. An extract from Stephens' "Manual of Practical Draining" may be of service here in showing the ill effects of a super-abundance of water:-- "The injury done by stagnant water to arable soils may be estimated by these effects: while hidden water remains, manure, whether putrescent or caustic, imparts no fertility to the soil. The plough, the harrow, and even the roller cannot pulverize it into a fine mould; new grass from it cannot afford much nutriment to stock, and in old the finer sorts disappear and are succeeded by coarse sub-aquatic plants. The stock never receive a hearty meal of grass, hay, or straw from land in this state, they being always hungry and dissatisfied, and of coarse in low condition. Trees acquire a hard bark and stiffened branches, and become a prey to parasitic plants, the roads in the neighbourhood are constantly soft, and become rutted, whilst ditches and furrows are either plashy or like a wrung sponge ready to absorb water. The air always feels damp and chilly, and from early autumn to late spring the hoar frost meets the face like a damp cloth." Surface drains are of two kinds, opened and covered. Open drains are made in the hollows or lower parts of the land, and are proportioned in size to the quantity of water to be carried away. They are not to be recommended, as they are very unsightly, causing a loss of land, and greatly impeding the operation of ploughing. If they cannot be dispensed with, they should have good sloping banks, to prevent the earth from

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crumbling down." Again, in speaking, of the good effects of drainage, Mr. Stephens says, "the straw of white crops shoots up steadily from a vigorous braid strong, long, and at the same time so stiff as not to be easily lodged with wind or rain; the grain is plump, large, bright coloured, and thin skinned, the crop ripens uniformly, is bulky and prolific, more quickly won for stacking in harvest, more easily thrashed, winnowed, and cleaned, and produces fewer small and light grains, the straw also makes better fodder for live stock; clover grows rank, long, and juicy, and the flowers large and of a bright colour. The hay weighs heavy for its bulk. Pasture grass shoots out in every direction, covering the ground with a thick sward, and produces fat and milk of the finest quality, turnips large, plump, as if fully grown, juicy, and of a smooth and oily skin. Potatoes push out long and strong stems, with enlarged tubers, having skins easily peeled off, and their substance mealy when boiled. Live stock of every description show good temper, are easily followed, and of fine quality. Land is less occupied with weeds, the increased luxuriance of all the crops checking their growth. Summer fallow is more easily cleaned, and much less work is required to put the land in proper order for the manure and seed, and all sorts of manures incorporate more quickly and thoroughly with the soil. Taking all these benefits into consideration, we may well desire to see the practice of drainage become universal. Indeed, it is not merely as a matter of national and individual benefit as it respects our live stock and crops that we have to view it, for medical observations have shown that in districts which have been thoroughly drained, fever and ague, which previously formed nearly one-half of the diseases of the people, have now almost entirely disappeared." This latter observation is in reference to England, but will apply equally well to New Zealand.

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THE STOCKYARD.

This enclosure requires much judgment in its construction; also, its situation must be well considered before the buildings or fences are begun. It should be remembered I am writing principally for the small holder of land in this Colony, and the advice on farming matters which I tender are more especially addressed to this class of settlers. My experience in regard to the laying out of stockyards has gone to prove that an immense loss is yearly sustained in the manner in which they have been built (I mean in the shape of manure); for instance, I have seen such places devoted to this purpose as have proved ruinous in its results, they being situated on a sloping bank, and often exposed to the coldest winds that prevail, the cattle being shut up in such places, exposed to drenching rains and searching winds, cannot but sustain loss and get low in condition, ending oftentimes in death. The fact is prominent to every practical farmer that such a place is totally unadapted to its use, beside the great loss in manure, which should be saved in order to make the most of your land, and continually augmenting for the use of the farm, whereas in such a situation the essence of this great fertilizer is scattered to the winds--exposed as it must be to the sun's heat and the heavy rains which occur, washing away an article that would enrich the soil, and save the expense, in a great measure, of artificial manures, the importation of which is attended with a considerable outlay.

I will now describe the arrangement of one on a farm lately my own, in Tasmania. This yard lay in a hollow, with fowl house, stables, and barn occupying one side, on another side (which formed the top of the enclosure) was a long row of rabbit hutches, and the bottom contained open sheds for milking cows, the remaining side being occupied by pigsties, and a

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gate which led out to the cultivated land on one side, and, on the other side, to the main road. Into this yard it was my practice to have all the straw (not otherwise used on the farm) placed, with anything else that could be converted into manure; there was generally a good supply of fern and various kinds of long coarse grass, suitable for bedding the stock, which was afterwards taken into the field to enrich the land. Out of this place I have carted nearly four hundred loads of manure in one season on a small farm of one hundred acres.

It will be seen from the arrangement of the above buildings that the dung from the stable, pigsties, cow shed, &c., all found its way into this hollow or pit, and the buildings being so compact afforded an easy transfer of the article to this compost. The place afforded good shelter through the winter nights, which are often very trying to cattle, and, at the same time, a very suitable place for economizing manure. It is also a great saving of time to have the farm buildings as contiguous to each other as possible, and as the saving of time is the saving of money, it should not be neglected. These conveniences for cattle are put up at a small expense in the Colonies. Slabs, ten to sixteen inches wide and from seven to twelve feet long, are the best. They are easily built at a small outlay, and will last for many years, at the same time affording sufficient protection from the weather for cattle in this country; the upright posts supporting the wall plates are formed of strong saplings, or the trunks of small trees, which are always to be had when a bush of timber is at hand. In this yard may be placed racks or cribs for hay or other food, thus preventing, as they would, a great deal of waste; a strong square rack is the best, as the cattle will feed much quieter than by each others' side. The cows, when being milked, should have separate stalls, divided by two strong rails; each place should have a feeding box or crib, and to this should be fixed a strong ring,

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to which should he attached a rope, to fasten the cows. These ropes should have a loop, which is placed over the horns--each beast having its own stall, and not allowed to remain in the stall of its neighbour. If the floors of the stable and cowsheds be laid properly with a good slope, tanks or barrels may be laid to save the liquid manure, which will be found invaluable for garden crops. It being applied in this manner renders it of superior value to that of manure applied in any other way; it will also be found that the long half made dung is better used in growing a potatoe crop, which does not require short muck. The land also receives more benefit by its being used when in a half decayed state, as it retains all the valuable gases which is lost if left too long in the yard; but well rotted dung is necessary for onions, carrots, &c., as they require it well decomposed. I have known immense quantities of manure made in the way mentioned above. An old and respected friend of mine, whose name is elsewhere mentioned in this book, Ebenezer Shoobridge, Esq., of Valleyfield, New Norfolk, Tasmania, is a great and successful agriculturist. His plan was to employ men in cutting the coarse grasses and fern, which he had exposed to the sun until half decayed, then he had it carted into his yards; by the aid of his pigs and cattle the grass and fern were soon converted into a valuable fertilizer for his large crops of mangolds, potatoes, and other things. This gentleman is well known in Tasmania as a first rate farmer. Such has been his high appreciation of manures as to induce him to spend as much as £1500 in one year on this article. I do not wish my readers to infer from this that such a large expenditure is always necessary, as many good farms will grow productive crops without this outlay, some even producing amazing yields of grain and root crops for years with little attention. Therefore the object of every tiller of the soil should be to procure such land if possible.

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This kind of stockyard is also indispensable where large numbers of dairy cows are kept, as, from the fact of their being fed here and comfortably bedded, they get attached to the place, and become quiet, which is a most desirable quality in this kind of stock, it also affords the best opportunities of rearing calves, causing them to be less troublesome in breaking in either to milking or draught, which they will be afterwards required for. This enclosure should lead to a grass paddock near the house, as much time is often lost in finding your horses if left to run in the bush, and is also convenient to turn in your dairy cows when found necessary to do so; it also affords a good run for your poultry, which may range in a green pasture but not on your tilled fields. Therefore, in laying out a homestead, you may so arrange as to put down a grass paddock on one side of the house, and keep your cultivated land on the other; as a rule, this may be done, but some situations may not so easily admit of it.

Adjacent to the stockyard should be the stores for keeping roots and other fodder for stock, which must be of easy access for feeding cattle, for, however valuable the grass lands, may be in New Zealand, there are times when extra food is required, both for dairy cows and fattening stock, which may be accelerated by the use of artificial food. The fine cows I have seen, and the splendid beef produced in this way, would astonish some of the most sceptical as regards the profits of stall feeding cattle; also the vast accumulation of manure must not be lost sight of in this case. I know some of our large farmers will say stall feeding will not pay, and labour is too high to grow the necessary roots for this purpose, but I can assure them it is done, and that in a country where labour is as high as at the present time it is in Auckland. Ploughmen that understand their business can be had here for fourteen shillings per week with their rations. I fear it is a want of skill and a

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thorough knowledge of the matter that prevents many from engaging in this business, although eventually it must be done, or we shall find ourselves greatly behind our neighbours down south, and in the Australian Colonies. The fact is, by these means we could keep treble the number of cattle that now range our pastures, and meat would be within the reach of many who cannot now procure it on account of its high price.

THE DAIRY.

The best situation for this place is in a dry and airy situation, shaded by trees or the higher walls of any adjoining building. An eastern aspect is a good one, as the mid-day sun has little power on such a position. No pools of stagnant water or offensive drains should be allowed in its neighbourhood, or the milk would easily get tainted. Nothing requires greater cleanliness than all the operations of a dairy, and pure air must pervade the buildings outside and in. I will give a description of one I built myself in Tasmania, and another fitted up under my inspection. The first adjoined the house, and had an eastern aspect, built on a dry sandbank, with the floor three feet lower than the remainder of the buildings. Sides extended all around this dairy, built of stone, to rest the milk dishes on, with a wooden shelf above for the butter, churn, prints, &c.; the bottom was flagged with flat stones, and the windows, which faced each other to enable a current of air to pass freely through, consisted of wire or perforated zinc, which excluded flies. The milk kept sweet and butter solid in this daily. The other was a south-west aspect, which is a cool one in this country, fitted up in a similar manner, but with shelves formed of boards, one tier above another, and with stone floor. This place had a gradual fall outwards, which allowed the water to run away which was dashed down on the floor every

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day throughout the summer. This floor was on the same level as the other buildings--that is, on the ground floor, and was found to answer well. Slabs composed of slate would probably be still better, but not easy to get in New Zealand, therefore other materials must be used.

My plan was, in making butter for many years, to scald the milk, which is done in the following manner:-- After the milk is drawn from the cow it is brought into the kitchen and placed in a large open pot of water, there to remain until the milk is seen to move on the surface, and just to bubble up, not being allowed to boil; when this is effected, the milk kettle must be taken out of the boiler, then taken to the dairy, and the milk poured into zinc or other dishes (zinc is preferable); after standing twelve hours, the cream will be so thick that it is often removed by the finger and thumb, and is, in fact, the same as the celebrated clouted cream, so well known in Devonshire. butter is easily made from this cream--often, by churning the short space of five minutes, it is produced. It is also firmer, better coloured, and will keep well, the milk also is much sweeter by being scalded, and has also the foregoing recommendation, that of keeping better in hot and close weather. Another plan adopted in scalding milk is, placing the dish of new milk (as it comes from the cow) on iron plates, such as are found in connection with cooking-stoves. This must also be removed when the bubbles appear, as it must on no account boil. There is also a plan by which, it is said, twelve and a half per cent. more butter can be obtained than by the use of any other means, which is this: supply yourself with metal dishes, with false bottoms, these false bottoms must have a spout wherein hot water is poured; this is done after the milk has stood twelve hours. This plan is less troublesome than the previous ones, but the dishes are more expensive, and I cannot speak from my own experience whether more butter can be obtained.

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With regard to the churn, the best in use is the barrel churn and the American box churn. These are worked easier than the old fashioned ones, which are upright; the dashers are preferred when fluted, rather than being plain. A regular steady motion at first is found to be the best, to be increased in quickness as the work proceeds, and when the butter is come it is separated from the butter milk, which is given to the pigs, and is well beaten with the hand; some persons wash it repeatedly with clear water, but I have found that superior butter is produced without the use of water. The whole of the butter milk must be pressed out, and a little fine salt worked up with it. If you intend putting it down in casks or jars, care must be taken as to the kind of wood used, as a cask which is made of resinous timber is liable to spoil the whole of your butter. It is a safe plan to boil all wooden utensils used in this way before you begin to place the butter therein.

In salting, the butter should never be put into the tubs in layers, but a rough or uneven surface should be left that the next churning may unite more readily with it; a clean linen cloth, dipped in brine, should be placed on the top, and kept in a cool place. Nothing in the form of meat, cheese, &c., should be kept in the dairy, as such things easily affect the quality and injure the flavour.

Butter should of be a rich yellow colour, but it sometimes happens in mid-winter and also when droughts occur in these Colonies (from which Auckland is not entirely exempt), that butter is of an inferior quality. This, however, may be in a great measure remedied by feeding on root and green crops, which the province of Auckland is at the present time very backward in cultivating. But a few years will, no doubt, remedy this evil, and until that time arrives butter must be considered rather a luxury than a necessary of life. I say that butter is not of that rich colour which we have been in the habit of seeing it

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in the old country. To give it this colour an article called annatto is sometimes used; this is sold at the chemists. It is perfectly harmless, and is used in preference to any other colouring matter; as a substitute for this the juice of carrots may be used. The carrot is cut fine, then boiled, and the juice which is extracted is placed in the churn with the cream; this will be found to heighten its colour and not injure its flavour. The average quantity of butter in England produced by a good cow is from six to seven pounds in the summer and about half that quantity in the winter, allowing six weeks for her being dry before calving. I have, however, known cows in Tasmania to produce from eleven to twelve pounds weekly for several months, but this must not be taken as a rule, most dairy cows fall very far short of this quantity. A breed, known as Brindles, are usually good butter cows, having a good portion of yellow about them, showing it more particularly round the eye and inside the ears.

The making of cheese is now become general in this province, as also in the south of New Zealand, the best being made at Canterbury. A very superior article has found its way to Sydney from Port Cooper, equal to the double Gloucester in England. This is an important business, and large profits are realized by it. In the manufacture of cheese an article called runnet is used, to turn the milk, and produce the curds, from which the cheese is made. This runnet can be made by procuring the stomach of a sucking calf, of pig, which will answer as well. When pigs are killed in winter the inside skins of the stomachs are taken out and wiped clean with a cloth, not washed; they are then laid flat on the table, rubbed thickly with salt on both sides, and placed on a dish for four days, at the end of which time they have sufficiently imbibed the salt to be dried and stored for use. When runnet is wanted, one of these skins is put in a jar with three pints of strong brine, made

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of salt and boiling water; it remains in this liquor three or four days, covered with a bladder; the strength of the brine is then tested, and if it curdles easily the runnet is taken out, salted, and dried for future use.

Cheese making may be carried on through the spring, summer, and autumn in this climate--that produced in winter being inferior. The celebrated Cheshire cheese in England--so famous for its excellence--is attributed to the saline particles in the earth, arising from the salt springs which abound throughout a large portion of that county. Whether that be the case or not, it is certain that had our cattle a freer access to salt they would thrive much better than they do now.

The process of cheese making is carried on much in the same way in different places. When the runnet has been added to the milk, and the curds are formed, and is firm enough to be separated from the whey, the dairy woman plunges her hands to the bottom of the cheese tub, and with a wooden dish stirs the curd and whey, then lets go the dish, and by her hand agitates the whole, carefully breaking every part of the curd until it is all reduced to fragments not larger than a nut. This is done to prevent lumps. After this breaking and stirring the curds rapidly sink, when the whey is drawn off, then the curds are cut with a knife into small pieces; this allows more whey to run from it. It is now ready for the cheese vat, composed of strong staves, with a strong bottom pierced with holes, and a wooden cover to fit exactly; the curds are now placed in this vat, first spreading a cheese cloth loosely over the mouth, the curds being again carefully squeezed and heaped up to the top of the vat, the ends of the cloth are now drawn together and folded over, and the vat with its contents placed in the cheese press, where it is pressed according to the size of the cheese--it remains in the press two or three hours, and is then taken out and

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put into a vessel with hot whey to harden the coat after which it is left to cool, and wiped dry; again it is put in the press for the same time as before, then taken out, another dry cloth being applied, it is turned, and put back as before. After being turned in this way for two or three days, it is finally removed--linen cloths must be used now--it must stand in brine for several days, being turned once a day, the vat is then taken out and the cheese removed to a salting bench, where it is carefully rubbed with salt every day for a week, then to the drying bench, where it remains another week, and then removed to the cheese room.

THE HOP GARDEN.

The cultivation of the hop is a most interesting subject, and fraught with the greatest future importance to New Zealand, it being a country, on the whole, suited to its growth, and is at the present time attracting considerable interest in the Middle Island. It has been my good fortune to live in the neighbourhood of large hop gardens for many years in Tasmania, and on land adjoining one of the best hop growers in that Island, namely, E. Shoobridge, Esq., whose name, in connection with good farming, has before appeared in this work. This gentleman is a thorough master of his business (hop growing), and whose system of culture I may here give in detail, hoping, if I should err in respect to my subject, he will pardon me, perchance it should meet his eye, and also for the liberty of using his name. However, to begin: The whole of his land now growing hops has been trenched eighteen to twenty inches deep, with the spade, which is an expensive operation, then in the spring of the year (August) the sets are planted; the first year they produce nothing, in the second they yield flowers, and continue to produce for many years if well attended to. The enriching of the soil

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is performed in winter or early spring, when the ground is highly manured and cleaned between the Hills (as they are called) with the horse hoe; this implement well stirs the soil, and clears it of weeds, an operation highly necessary in all well tilled land. Weeds are found to obstruct the plough and to exhaust the soil, besides being unsightly to every admirer of good farming. These operations are said by some to be too expensive, but it may be taken for granted that if land will not pay to work well, it will, to a certainty, never pay to work badly. These hop sets are placed in rows, which is done by drawing out plough furrows at right angles to each other, several feet apart, forming lines; at the point where these furrows intersect is the place for the set to be planted. This is done by digging a hole, putting manure into it, and forming a hillock over it; into this six or seven sets are placed in a circle round its summit, the sets inclining inwards, and one being placed in the middle. These plants must be kept earthed up and cleaned from weeds while growing, manure being given every second or third year. In the spring, when the hops begin to start, poles are placed around these hills to support the bine, which will require to be fastened to the poles after a short time. Three poles are required to each hill; those are found in the bush generally, where the growth is very luxuriant; in such places these young saplings, which should be fourteen to sixteen feet high, are to be had by thousands, growing straight, and about the thickness of your arm. Any kind of timber will do that can be found in large quantities. These poles are placed firmly in the ground, to which the hops cling and rapidly ascend to the top, covering it with its beautiful foliage. This, I think, is one of the most lovely sights connected with rural life. After the hops begin to change their colour and fade, it is high time to gather, a great loss ensuing if left too long. This is done in the autumn of the year,

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about the month of March; the scent from a hop garden is at this time delicious. Bins are employed, made of any rough wood, with a canvass bottom, to pick the hops into; around these bins are gathered numerous happy faces, old and young, all engaged in this simple work; the larger the family the better, as they get paid by the bushel, and of course the more nimble fingers there are employed the more money earned. Generally, fair wages are obtained at this work, which lasts, in New Norfolk, Tasmania, from four to six weeks, when the whole of the villagers turn out en masse to take a part in the hop gathering. At this time E. Shoobridge, Esq. employs about two hundred persons (great and small) at these meetings; good order generally prevails amongst the motley group, and at sundown the foreman of the establishment goes round to every bin and takes an account of the respective quantities each family or party has picked. The poles are all drawn by a man engaged for the work, and then laid on the bins and the flowers plucked off, and left in the canvass made to receive them as before noted, the bines being previously cut near the bottom. They are afterwards removed to the hop kiln, a building constructed for the purpose. The hops are spread on hair cloth, about a foot deep, the proper heat from the fires below being applied; they remain for ten or twelve hours, when they are removed to a cool room, and subsequently pressed down into bags or pockets, and sent to market.

The price obtained in the Colonies for hops of course vary, but there is no doubt of its being a first-rate paying crop. I have known them sold for many years from 1s. 9d. to 3s. per pound, and they are said to pay expenses if one shilling is realised. Doubtless capitalists are turning their attention to this plant in New Zealand, and I may here observe if sets are required I shall be happy to obtain them of the very choicest kinds, and in any quantity, at a moderate price. The order should be given at least two months

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prior to planting, which, as I before observed, is in the month of August--the autumn would do, but is not so suitable. The bine is stripped from the poles, laid in heaps, and burnt, after which the polEs are all placed in a conical form, to stand until again wanted in the spring. Hops are a precarious crop in England, and often no satisfactory results are obtained. Such does not apply with equal truth to Tasmania, for I believe the climate and seasons in general are most favourable to their growth. The hop garden should be planted in rich bottom lands, not wet, and well sheltered from high winds; a dryish loam, with high manuring, will bring it to perfection.

THE ORCHARD.

This enclosure is a good appendage to a farm, and should be attended to in New Zealand much more than it is at present. With the prospect of a large population flowing into the country, it is quite certain that we must depend on other places to supply us with fruit, such as the apple, pear, &c., if the cultivation of them is not greatly extended in the Colony. To my certain knowledge apples here, wholesale, at the present time (March), which is the height of the season for them, bring fifteen shillings and upwards per bushel. Now, although I have not been an extensive grower myself, I have many friends that are, and whose opinion is worth having; one I have before mentioned in this volume in connection with hop growing, &c. This gentleman has twenty acres laid out in fruit trees of all kinds, but principally keeping apples, composed of the stone pippin, French crab, Ribston pippin, and many other choice kinds, but I believe the two first named are the principal. These are long keepers, and can be brought into the market in the winter and spring, consequently they

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then sell at a high price. Indeed, in laying out an orchard, it is not profitable to plant soft Kinds, as they are obliged to be forced into the market early on account of their liability to perish soon, and they never bring the price of the better kinds; in fact, it is the most profitable to rear the best kinds of all fruits, which will be found to pay well. Many very rare sorts are now to be had in the Colonies, and the writer is prepared to furnish young trees of two and three years growth, of a variety of excellent keeping apples, or any other fruit trees, from Tasmania, by the order being given to him. I have heard an old colonist and a large apple grower say, that apples would pay well in these Colonies at five shillings per bushel. It is obvious that not one fourth the quantity are grown that the demand requires. I may mention the rapidity with which they grow. When I first knew the gentleman alluded to above, the place that is now covered with luxuriant fruit trees was then (ten years since) a ploughed field. Some of these trees are now bearing good fruit in considerable quantities. Indeed, it is such an orchard as is rarely to be seen. The whole of the land has been trenched and highly manured. This, in connection with a thorough knowledge of planting, raising, grafting, pruning, &c., has brought it to its present excellent condition. These trees are trained as dwarf standards, or espaliers. In the first instance, in training these trees they are not allowed to grow at random, but are cut down every winter to within four or six eyes of the new years wood, and always cut at an outside eye, so that the growth may be outwards in order that the tree may be kept well open in the centre. This pruning continues until the tree has assumed a good shape, and matured strength in the lower part of the branches and stem. The object in keeping them low is to prevent high winds from blowing off the fruit, and to make it better for gathering the apples. These trees are first raised from seed in

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beds, which are called stocks; when they have gained sufficient strength, they are grafted with scions taken from choice kinds; they are then, at the age of two or three years, removed to their appointed place in the orchard, and are now called two or three-year-old grafts, as the case may be, they then become subject to the kind of pruning above named, when, in six or seven years, they form a handsome, and at the same time a profitable tree. I have myself gathered forty-eight fine apples off a young tree of three years old, but it is not well to allow them to bear so early, as it impedes their growth. The espaliers are very ornamental, and have the advantage of maturing their fruit better than standards, as the winds have very little effect on them, and the fruit is always fine. The plan this gentleman adopted was to plant these trees all in rows, well in from the path, leaving the middle part of the ground for cultivating vegetables of all kinds. Perhaps this may be more properly called a garden in the English sense of the word, but we shall not quarrel about the name, suffice it to say this plan succeeds well, and my friend's garden is the admiration of persons from all parts of Tasmania, and, I may say, from many parts of the Colonies. Of course many other valuable trees are planted in orchards, such as the pear, peach, apricot, nectarine, cherry, walnut, plum, mulberry, &c., too numerous to name here. They (the apple trees) must be well protected from the blight, and when they are young is the best time to do so. The remedies to destroy this pest are various; the following is from the book named "Rural Sketches":-- "Melt about three ounces of resin in a pipkin, take it from the fire and pour into it three ounces of fish oil. The ingredients will perfectly unite, and when cold acquire the consistence of honey; a slight degree of heat will liquify it, when it can be used by the aid of a small paint brush, and every node or part affected must be covered with this liquid, which will soon

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harden, and prevents the escape of the individuals, and completely stifles them. "

The following is so useful a hint to fruit-growers, or rather to negligent fruit-gatherers, as to deserve attention in this book. It occurs in the Botanic Garden and Fruitist, in allusion to a valuable apple, on which it is said the cottagers of a certain district depend for the support of their families. "This tree," says the writer, "has the character of bearing profusely every alternate year, which in some degree is correct. This may sometimes occur from exhaustion, through excess of production; but we have observed another cause as tending to this effect. Its bearing spurs are exceedingly tender, and in the usual careless method of gathering fruit, nearly every spur that happens to have an apple attached to it, is broken off, and two years are subsequently necessary to repair the injury! This gross negligence of breaking off the spurs with the apples, cannot be too severely reprobated."

The following is also a valuable extract as regards the value of leaves:-- "What shall I do with my leaves? Are they good for anything?" asks a writer to the Gardeners' Chronicle. "Do with them! good for anything! Why, treasure them to be sure, as if they were coin of the realm; they are good for everything which a gardener has to do. They are the best of all shelter, the best of all materials for bottom heat, the best of all soil, the best of all drainage, and the best of all manure. It is true they contain little or no nitrogen, but they rot quickly, are full of saline matters, on which everything that bears the name of plant will feed gluttonously, and from their peculiar structure will allow air to pass in and water to pass out with perfect freedom. If we wish to know what leaves are good for, we have only to burn them and see what a quantity of ash they leave behind. All that ash is as much food for plants as beef and mutton are for us. It is the material which nature is per-

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of Scotland. They are a docile race though powerful, are excellent draught horses, and about the best for agricultural purposes.

The Suffolk punch is of Norman origin--a good and useful horse, but not handsome, being punchy in form, hence its name, but still a thorough good working animal, and especially steady in a dead pull, throwing his whole weight in the collar, and able to bear a hard day's work.

The old English black horse is supposed to be a native of the rich pasture districts of England, and comes chiefly from the counties.

The Cleveland bays: This breed is well suited for carriage work, and have much improved of late years, and excellent horses for a variety of purposes are now chosen from them.

The breeding of horses: The mare comes into season in these colonies (Australia and New Zealand) in August and three following months, and goes on the average eleven months, but considerable variation in the time occurs. The mare, having foaled, should be removed to a close paddock of good herbage, which should have a comfortable shed; she ought now to be supplied with nourishing food and be carefully attended to, as the size and quality of the colt is affected if proper nourishment be stinted, also to give the foal good attention, with a plentiful supply of food, and dry quarters through the first winter is of great importance. Often well bred animals are spoiled for the want of this, especially during the first two years of their growth. The mare may be kept to moderate work during the time she is in foal without sustaining any injury.

The art of training horses is now well understood, and does not include in its practice any of those cruelties formerly thought necessary. The breaking-in of a horse, especially if it be of any great value, should be carefully conducted by one that is used to it. Kind and gentle treatment is essential in training

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a colt, for if he be treated harshly, or be subjected to sudden acts of violence from those entrusted with him, he will be sure to turn out vicious, and cannot be depended on; firmness without undue severity is best. Teach him as quickly as possible that he is in the hands of those who have power over him, and whose rule he must ever obey. The tackling used in breaking-in should be of the strongest description, for I believe when young horses are for the first time fastened to any given place, with a strong halter of sufficient strength to prevent them getting their liberty, they will give no further trouble subsequently when fastened by the bridle; but, if allowed to break away once, they will invariably attempt it for a long while afterwards. I have myself had for many years a good deal to do with horses, and have generally succeeded in bringing them to my own way, except in the case of "old stagers," which seem to defy the best managers to succeed with them, but young horses are soon and easily broken in to their regular work, or, on the other hand, easily spoiled by falling into bad hands. About two years since I had the entire management of two young fillies, and so docile were these creatures that I could plough for two or three hours without scarcely speaking a word to them, just the proper management of the rein at the end of the furrow was generally sufficient to keep them quietly at their work; but the training of them to obey the voice is of greater importance, and so far have I practised it, and found it to answer, that I invariably have used my horses to it, and many a time, when I could not rein in, I have succeeded at once by using the voice. This a horse soon learns, and very quickly responds to those with whom he is familiar.

In returning again to the different breeds of horses, I might with safety affirm that Tasmania stands preeminent for fine draught horses, and I believe most of the noble dray horses used in Melbourne, Sydney, and this Colony have sprung from this stock, origin-

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ally, of course, imported from England. Sydney, again, has excelled in blood stock; a better specimen of these animals are to be found there than in any of the Australian colonies, also in half and three-quarter-bred stock.

The food of horses chiefly consists of hay, clover, and straw, cut into chaff, or long in racks, roots, raw and cooked potatoes, turnips, carrots, &c., farinaceous food, such as the oat, barley, beans, peas, and maize; these are given whole, but generally crushed, in the Colonies; hay made of oats and barley-the latter being excellent food.

The oat is the grain most used for feeding horses. It is preferable to all others from a variety of causes. They should be always given slightly bruised, or the animal bolts them whole, especially old horses, in which case a large quantity passes through the stomach from which no sustenance is derived. A farm horse will consume about one hundred bushels per annum, although it is a rare thing for him to get it. About half that quantity would be thought sufficient by many farmers, the horse being obliged to make out with hay, and whatever else he can pick up.

In turning again to the value of this beautiful creature (the horse), it is by many thought probable that from the ill usage which is practised towards him, and the degraded condition in which he is afterwards found, we have never yet realized one half the benefits which he is calculated to confer upon us. In Europe, the sagacious powers of this noble animal are most imperfectly developed; in fact, notwithstanding his outward beauty and pampered form, he exists here in a state of utter degradation, for he is generally under the power, and in the company of, beings of the very lowest grade, ignorant, brutal, capricious, and cruel; many of them without sense, temper, or feeling, fellows in the scale of creation infinitely below the generous creatures they torment.

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Some are well feed, it is true, and duly exercised, and happy their fate. The rest are abused with a cruelty that has become proverbial. Who does not know how soon the horse will meet every advance of kindness and attention you make to him, how grateful he will be, how studious of your will, how anxious to understand you, how happy to please and satisfy you? The Arab makes his horse a domestic companion, he sleeps in the same tent with his family, children repose upon his neck, and hug and kiss him without the least danger; he steps amongst their sleeping forms by night without ever injuring them; when his master mounts him he manifests the greatest pleasure, and if by any chance he should fall off he instantly stands still till he is again mounted. He has even been known to pick up his wounded master by the teeth, and convey him to a place of safety. Unquestionably, the beautiful traits of character have been developed in the animal by a proper course of treatment.

I have an account of a farmer of an irascible temper, who came into possession of a horse of a most docile disposition. When the farmer purchased him he was well pleased with his bargain. For some weeks the animal worked admirably, but as the owner became accustomed to the brute, his irritable temper would display itself, and occasionally in his anger he would punish him severely for the most trifling fault. In a few months the animal became irritable also, and at times quite unruly; the farmer, who could not see how much injury he was doing himself, continued his brutality. The result was, as might be expected, a really valuable brute was spoiled, he became nervous and dangerous; the farmer was in despair, and would have been glad could he have found a purchaser for him at a third or fourth what he gave for him. A neighbour of the farmer, who saw how he had maltreated the beast, offered to purchase him at the owner's terms. Now,

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mark the end. The new proprietor was a man of kind, hut firm, disposition; he at once commenced treating the animal as if he could he reached by reason. The horse, experiencing a difference between his present and former treatment, soon recovered his temper; he ceased to fear and tremble at every one that approached him, and in less time than it took to spoil him, he was brought back to his original docile disposition. His former owner learned, for the first time, that more labour can be obtained from any animal by kindness than by brutality; but whether it mended his own irritable disposition or not, I am unable to say.

THE COW.

The different breeds of this animal are various, from the small Alderney up to the large Yorkshire breed, which are much esteemed for dairy purposes. Some are adapted to the grazier; others, from the large quantities of milk they yield, being suitable to the dairyman--the principal of which are the Devon, Hereford, Alderney, Ayrshire, and short-horned Durham, the latter being the most highly prized at the present time in England and the Australian Colonies. Judicious breeding has brought them to the highest perfection.

The Devon is one of the most highly valued of the improved breeds. They are of a strong red colour, without spots, fine bones, clean neck, middle length, horns bent upwards, thin face, wide hips, small tail, and thin skinned; they fat early, and the milk is of great richness, but they do not yield large quantities. They are not adapted to situations where the herbage is coarse or scanty.

The Hereford have white faces, and more or less white on the other parts of the body; they fat well, but are not good milkers. This stock is generally

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being superseded in England and the Australias by the Durham breed.

The Alderney cow is a native of the Channel Islands, long celebrated for the excellence of the milk it gives in quantities which far exceed that of any others in proportion to their size, the milk also being very rich. The Alderney cows bear a strong resemblance to the Ayrshire breed; and it has been said that the Ayrshire was a cross of the Alderney and short-horned, which latter they strongly resemble.

The Ayrshire cows yield large quantities of milk, even when fed on moderate pastures, and also hold their milk longer than any other. One of these cows is said to have produced 800 gallons of milk in one year, and to have been known to give forty quarts daily during the summer months. One cow came under my own observation which gave thirty quarts daily; this was a cross-breed, and well fed. This kind is deservedly celebrated for dairy purposes, and second to none. The animals are compact and well-proportioned, with small heads, the horns short, the limbs delicate, fore-quarters light, and muzzle black; they are of a yellow red colour, marked in patches.

In reverting to the Durham breed, I should have remarked that they present a better general combination of good points and qualities than any other class; aptness to fatten is one of their chief recommendations, and they come early to maturity, being fit for the butcher as early as two to two and a-half years old, where other breeds require four and five years. It is not uncommon for a choice bull of this breed to fetch five hundred pounds, and in some cases they have been sold for upwards of a thousand pounds.

It will be seen that some of these breeds are superior to others; but in the choice of cows for any particular dairy, it is often found best to select those that have been reared in the immediate neighbourhood, or in pastures of very similar kind; for, if cows are taken from rich pastures and brought to inferior

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land, they will not thrive or yield according to the expectations of their owners. Small active cows will do well and keep in good condition on poor land, while fine large cows would fall off daily. It is of great importance, as respects the quality of the milk, that cows should be of a contented and peaceable disposition, not apt to break through fences, or to got easily frightened. To make them docile, they must be gently treated, and frequently handled when young; rough usage, or hard driving of cows, is most mischievous to them, and should be severely punished in cow-boys, or others that are found guilty of it; all dogs (unless they are under perfect command) should be kept out of the milking-yard.

Whatever breed the cow is of, the same general directions as to treatment may be given; the animal should always have plenty of food of a juicy as well as of a nourishing kind, otherwise a good supply of milk cannot be expected. A small cow requires from 70 to 80 lbs. of green food per day, while a large one will consume 110 lbs. in the same time.

At this stage of my observations, I would, again press upon the occupiers of land around this city the great necessity of cultivating artificial food for the dairy cows, such as lucerne, Indian corn, cow grass, Italian rye grass, &c., for summer feeding; and root crops, such as mangold wurtzel, carrots, &c., for winter fodder; without these it is impossible to keep up a supply of milk in seasons when the pastures are totally insufficient to maintain the cattle that are placed on them. The price of milk at the present time in Auckland demands an improvement in these things. That indispensable article, so necessary especially, to growing children, has become almost a luxury in our midst, and the present high price precludes its use entirely from the poorer families inhabiting this city. The price now is nearly treble what it is in England; and yet we boast of our fine pastures around Auckland! I repeat again, it is high

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time our dairymen devoted at least a small portion of their land to the growth of such plants as are well known to thrive through long droughts, such as the present. The deficiency of the pastures are partly made up, I know, by the use of bran, potatoes, and grains; but neither of these contain those saccharine juices and other qualities essential to the production of good milk; potatoes and grains especially produce a poor thin quality of milk. If the pastures be scanty but extensive, a greater number of cows will be required to produce the same quantity of milk, which a small space of rich herbage would yield from a few. Cows that wander in the open pastures and take exercise and food at their own discretion, are seldom unhealthy, or in need of medicine. A healthy young cow, well treated and well fed, is often kept to old age--that is, to twelve or fourteen years, without any symptoms of disease.

Milk is of a delicate nature, and soon affected by the least change in the atmosphere. No sooner is it drawn from the cow than it begins to be acted upon by the least change in the state of the air; by the warmth or coldness, the closeness or openness, of the weather, and by many other circumstances which we scarcely take into account. The business of the dairy, therefore, calls for much cleanliness and attention. Cheese, meat, &c. in a dairy will often turn the milk sour; and a good dairyman will take care not to admit anything of the sort. Milking is carried on in the cool of the morning and evening. Before sunrise the household of the dairy farmer is all astir; the lads and lasses are abroad while the dew is on the grass. They have been breathing for hours the pure morning air, have seen the glorious sunrise, have mingled their carols with that of the lark, and have borne home their well-filled milking pails before the drowsy citizen has shaken off his slumbers, or began to think about the business of the day. Three important rules have to be observed in milking:

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these are regularity, gentleness, and cleanliness. If possible, the same milker should have the same cows every day, and should keep exactly the same time in milking, and milk them in the same order, while they are eating their fodder. The milking should be kept steadily on with, till the udder is quite dry; not done at intervals with pauses between, which would ruin a good cow. Gentleness must be persevered in, however troublesome a cow may be; a quiet soothing voice, with tender handling, will in time produce the desired effect. The udders should be well sponged with cold water before milking; if this were always done the milk would be much purer, and the cows would be saved the pain and annoyance of sore teats, which they are very apt to suffer from if neglected.

The following are important qualities of the dairy cow:-- Tameness and docility of temper enhances her value; one that is quiet and contented, feeds at ease, does not break over fences, or hurt herself or other cattle, will always yield more milk than those of a turbulent disposition; some degree of hardiness, a sound constitution, and a moderate degree of life and spirits, are qualities to be wished for in a milch cow, and what those of the Ayrshire breed generally possess. If two cows of the same age and condition, and which have been reared and fed on food of equal quality, are put, the one on bad food and the other on good, the latter will yield four times the quantity of milk, and fatten four times faster than the former.

A writer in the Farmers' Magazine, a few years ago, presented the following lines, as combining what are considered the good points of a cow:--

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SHEEP.

THEIR MANAGEMEMENT ON LARGE RUNS.

My remarks on this subject will be divided into two parts--firstly, as regards sheep--breeding in the Australian Colonies and other parts of the world on a large scale; and, secondly, to that kind of domestic system (if I may so call it) suited to the small farmer in this and other places, in connection with agricultural farming.

PART I.

Sheep-breeding, which is carried on to a very large extent in Australia, Tasmania, Spain, France, &c., has been found a most profitable occupation, especially in the Australian Colonies, immense fortunes being realized by many of the great Wool Kings of that country. With some of these I must confess I have but little sympathy, inasmuch as every discouragement is shown by them to the small holder, and a general desire entertained to possess every available acre of land for the depasturing of their flocks, to the exclusion of the hard working and industrious agriculturist, who is, after all, the greatest benefactor to the country wherein he settles.

By the introduction of the plough, and a mixed system of husbandry, the greatest general benefits accrue. In the first place, when the cultivation of land takes place, more men are required in every branch of mechanical and skilled labour. The wheel-

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wright, ploughmaker, blacksmith, and many others of the labouring classes, down to the very children, are in constant request where farm work is done. On the other hand, the wool-grower, it may be, occupying a hundred thousand acres of land, employs but few. I have known some of this class not affording employment to a dozen men in all, and yet having in their possession hundreds of thousands of acres of land; whereas I am acquainted with others who have only from two to three hundred acres of land, who employ twenty men all the year round, and in the harvest and hopping time, upwards of one hundred individuals, men, women, and children, all busily employed for many weeks together, all apparently happy in gathering in the fruits of the earth. Many more such examples occur, which I could give as coming under my own notice, thereby loudly proclaiming that when the land is wanted, the squatter must give way to the agriculturist, for by the aid of the plough we are enabled to put the land into suitable condition to grow many of the necessaries and luxuries of life, which otherwise could not be obtained at all.

I will now, however, give a brief description of the sheep, the manner of rearing, and the general management of this animal in countries where large flocks are kept and raised principally for their wool. This is mainly the object in the Australias and in Tasmania, the wool being of more value than the carcase. Australia had no native sheep, and the first importation was an ugly and ill-shaped race from Bengal. The fine, dry, and temperate climate, however, soon improved them in a remarkable degree, and in the course of two or three years they became so much changed for the better, that the hair disappeared, and in its stead came a fleece of tolerable fineness. An importation of Leicester and South-downs followed, which at once doubled the value both of the carcase and the fleece, though at that

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time the colonists bred more for the mutton than for the wool, and the increase was at first slow.

The merino was next imported, and the result far exceeded every expectation. Three or four crosses with the prevalent stock of the Colony produced a breed of sheep that yielded wool equal in fineness to the pure merino of Europe; this has been going on with increased success for many years, until Australia has become proverbially a great wool growing country. The merino sheep is found eminently adapted to the climate; still others of various breeds are introduced occasionally, but none are found to be of so great value as the merino.

In speaking of the different breeds of sheep, I may mention the Leicester, Southdown, and Cheviot as being amongst the most favourite. The South-downs are an exceedingly valuable and highly prized class. The hills which these sheep inhabit in England are of an undulating character, and covered with a fine, short, sweet, herbaceous grass, well suited for sheep. The Southdowns are a short woolled sheep, without horns, and of a dull grey colour; they arrive early at maturity, are very hardy, thrive on scanty and short feed, while the mutton is of the finest flavour; they are remarkably free from disease, are rarely troubled with rot, or diseases of the brain, which latter circumstance perhaps may be accounted for by the dry and healthy character of the land on which they depasture. They are fit for market at an early age, being usually killed at two years old, and many even earlier. They weigh from eight to eleven stones, but may be fed to twenty.

The Leicester breed owe their celebrity to Mr. Bakewell, who effected the changes that have made the improved Leicesters celebrated all over the world; they are remarkable for fattening very rapidly, and laying on fat on the outside, consequently it is more a grazier's than a butcher's sheep; they are neither hardy nor strong, and cannot travel over any distance

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setting up his fold, uses hurdles made of slender rods of iron or oak seven feet long, and so close together that dogs cannot enter; he has also to watch against a more crafty foe in the escaped convict, whose retreat in the interior of the country is usually well stored with mutton stolen from the different folds.

PART II.

THEIR GENERAL MANAGEMENT &c., ON SMALL FARMS.

I shall now enter upon the question as to the keeping of sheep in conjunction with agricultural operations, or, in other words, the home breeding and management of sheep. In a previous article I traced the management of sheep from early times, in countries where they are reared on a large scale, and cultivated more for the value of their wool than their flesh. In this I shall endeavour to show that both may be made available by the more domesticated mode. This will readily be conceived, when we consider that around small farms there gathers a numerous population, such as farm servants (domestic and agricultural), also artizans of various trades and occupations; the farm, too, generally being in close proximity to some large town. All these, however, require to be fed, consequently a ready sale is generally found for fresh meat, at a remunerative price, amongst such a population, and the wool is increased in quantity and quality by the high feeding of the animal which takes place; and, as I before remarked, whenever agriculture is fostered and encouraged, there is sure to follow a thriving and happy people, employed in the health-giving and cheering occupations of rural life, and these persons, although their engagements may not be so exciting or so moneymaking as those of populous cities, are far more than

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compensated for the perhaps richer gains of town life, by the peace of mind, comparative freedom from care, and general contentment, which is to be found amongst them.

Well, to begin with sheep and their rearing and management on agricultural farms. There are, of course, many points in which the general management in small and large flocks are the same, such as the care and attention at lambing time, the treatment of their diseases, shearing, &c., but the details in feeding, fattening for market, and other matters on the small farm are different to those engaging the attention of the large flock master, who may be the owner of tens of thousands of sheep. In the first place, the agriculturist has many opportunities of purchasing small lots, say from one to four hundred young sheep, at the end of the summer at a low price, the animals being either in low condition or half fat. For those he has in readiness a field of mangold wurtzel (formerly turnips were grown, but the blight of late years in these Colonies has prevented their growth) as a field crop. Mangold wurtzel has taken the place of turnips, and an excellent substitute they are, producing first rate mutton, and this root has become the staple crop for winter fodder. Mangold wurtzel, in good ground, properly tilled, produces forty tons to the acre, and sheep fatten very quickly on it; it now stands pre-eminent as an invaluable root to the stock owner. There are other kinds of feed, such as rye and lucerne, used as green food, both good for fattening. The way in Tasmania, of which country the writer of this book is an old settler and an experienced colonist, is the same as in the old country for feeding off upon this root (mangold). Hurdles, and sometimes nets made of strong twine, are used for folding off; hurdles are the most common and most easy to be obtained in the Colonies, there being a good supply of timber for most farm purposes. Sometimes the root is taken to

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the ground where they feed, but more generally the plan of folding on the crops is adopted. Great care should be exercised in putting them on this new food, for they seem to enjoy it so much as not to know when they have had enough, and sometimes consequently do themselves much mischief; sufficient quantity may be enclosed for a week's supply. When the ground and food are in a wet state through rain, it is not well to turn them into their food too early, but allow it time to dry. They should not remain on the ground at night, unless the soil is in a dry state, and it is necessary to watch the effect of diet on the flock. A rich and moist diet, and a damp soil, will often produce the rot which can be cured only in its early stage. I have known many cases where large numbers of sheep have been lost by this disease; in removing from a dry pasture to another of the opposite character a whole flock will often be affected with it in a short time. The disease is better known as the "fluke" in the adjacent Colonies, and maybe detected by the animal becoming duller than usual. At first they do not lose their appetite or become thin, but on the contrary thrive fast and become fit for the butcher, at which time they must be sold, or they will afterwards gradually pine and die. The sure sign of this complaint is the yellow colour of the eye around the pupil, and the appearance of a yellow fluid at the corner of the eye. Where this is observed an immediate change to a dry pasture is necessary, and the unlimited use of salt is the only means that can be resorted to with any chance of recovery. It is supposed that if the sheep were well supplied with salt this disease would be prevented altogether; however this may be, it has been proved in more than one instance, that salt is an excellent remedy. This dreadful complaint is a disease of the liver, which is more common in sheep than other animals. The sheep of Egypt are very subject to this disease after the overflowing of the Nile.

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The foot-rot, scab, and other diseases are common to sheep, therefore the shepherd should be a man well trained to look after his flock; his business is one of great trust, and he may save or lose large sums for his master according as he takes care of or neglects the valuable animals of which he has the charge. We are apt to think he has not much to do; but a good shepherd with a large flock under his care need not be idle. From morn to night he is in attendance upon them, or providing for their wants; he has much fatigue and loss of rest at the lambing season, and shares all the labour connected with the washing, shearing, dipping, marking, smearing, &c.; he is also the doctor of his flock, and keeps his medicines always at hand in case of need. The shepherd's ears are attentive to the hoarse cough, and his eyes are open to the heavy look or limping gait of any one of his sheep; he knows when to give or withhold certain kinds of food, and how to avoid most of the evils to which his flock is subject; he can also judge of the degree of warmth and shelter they may best receive in severe weather, without making them susceptible of cold, or tender in constitution; in fact he treats his sheep with gentle and considerate kindness, studies their comfort before his own, and is almost as anxious about them as if they were his children.

His dog is the only companion the shepherd needs in his duties. The shepherd's dog possesses the same characteristics in almost every country; the muzzle is sharp, the ears are short and erect, and the body is covered with thick shaggy hair; the tail is long, slightly turned upwards, and bushy like that of a fox; the colour of the animal is black, more or less mixed with grey or brown. When well trained, this animal is one of the most tractable and obedient of creatures. A very good judge has said that the temper of a shepherd may soon be discovered by that of his dog. When you observe an aged dog making

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a great noise, bustling about in an impatient manner, running fiercely at a sheep and turning him quickly, biting at his ears and legs, you may conclude that the shepherd who owns him is a man of a hasty temper. It is of great importance to keep the dog from worrying the sheep, as it takes them off their food, drives them about to the corners of the field, thereby overheating them, and seriously injuring the lambs, and causing great trouble to the shepherd, which is entirely obviated by gentle treatment. To return to the subject. In going back to the feeding off in autumn and winter, I should say the best plan is to arrange the hurdles lengthways in the field, as then the operation of ploughing to turn in the manure, and prepare it for the seed intended to be sown, is not retarded, it being of the utmost consequence at certain seasons of the year not to lose a single hour in the sowing of grain, a change of weather sometimes delaying it so long as to make your crop a precarious one, if not sown early. After sheep have been folded on ground, it is in good heart or condition for seed wheat, which requires a good soil and clean land.

Sheep should always have access to hay while they are feeding on root crops, to prevent dysentry, to which they are subject, caused sometimes by a sudden rush of grass in spring or autumn. I shall close this article with an anecdote of a shepherd's dog. A Scottish shepherd was in the habit of sending home such ewes as had lost their lambs in charge of the shepherd dog; this animal always took them carefully home, and put them into a fold close to the house, keeping watch over them until the farmer came home, or one of the family, to take charge of the sheep; immediately on this, the dog hastened back to the shepherd, who sometimes sent home as many as three sheep in the morning, under the dog's care. The accuracy and attention of this animal was so great as to be famed all over the West Border.

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PIGS.

The pig may he considered second only in importance to the cow, with regard to its service to man, and often probably more useful. The particular breeds of pigs which I have found most desirable either for the cottager or larger farmer is the Berkshire and half-bred Chinese. The latter are small boned, fine hair, and thrive well in these climates. There are the Hampshire and Sussex breeds, also remarkably good, grow fast, are easily fed and fattened, and therefore highly esteemed. It will be found necessary, in order to profit by pig keeping, to get into a good breed--that is, such as fatten readily, which will be found to apply more to fine bred animals than coarse haired, long snouted, and lankey breeds. The fact is, on some such animals good feed seems to be almost wasted. On the other hand, a fine boned, short legged, and thin silky skinned pig will be found to fatten quick at a small cost.

The sow receives the male in the first year of her age, and the boar is able to impregnate the sow, and propagate his species at one year old. The sow generally litters from six to fourteen, and sometimes more; she will produce two litters a year, and some breeders make a sow produce five fitters in two years. It will be found necessary when the sow is heavy with young, to keep her apart from store pigs, which would be apt to injure her at such a time; also, I recommend that when she has littered to keep the sow, with her young progeny, separate from any others, as the little ones are very helpless at first, and soon get injured, or perhaps killed, by larger pigs. It will be found desirable to supply the sow with short straw at the time she is about to bring forth her progeny, as, by the straw being too long,

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and too large a quantity supplied, the young pigs are apt to be smothered by the sow lying on them, which often occurs unless the above precaution is taken. The mother must be well fed and attended to at this time, and the young pigs kept with her for six weeks, when they may he sold as roasters, or weaned upon skim milk, with boiled potatoes, or bran and meal made warm. In four or five weeks they will eat almost anything you may offer them. It is false economy to stint pigs in their food. They require a good supply of roots of vegetables, cooked or raw corn, meal, butter milk, &c. Mangold wurtzel is found an excellent substitute for Swede turnips, and on which they thrive admirably, given either cooked or raw. In some cases it is of advantage to give the food cooked, but store pigs well supplied with any of the above food will be found to do well if given in a raw state. Parsnips are excellent food; carrots are very nourishing; potatoes make good bacon, with the exception of being a little soft, which may be remedied by finishing off your bacon hog with maize or peas, given dry, for the last month. Maize I have found to suit them exceedingly well, causing them to make flesh fast, and that of a superior quality. A friend of mine, a thorough practical farmer, has for many years kept a large number of pigs, and found them a most prolific source of revenue; he is now justly celebrated for the superior bacon he produces, and obtains a large sale for the same. His plan has been to buy up a number of poor stock, beside those he bred on his own farm, and to bring them along with root crops, such as mangold wurtzel, potatoes, &c., and finish them off with ground oats and other fattening material, thereby producing the finest pork and bacon, and paying by these means a large annual sum towards the expenses of ins large farm. Pigs, when put up to fatten, should be kept close, and dry food given them.

It will be found that the basis of my farming

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operations are closely connected with the thorough cultivation of the soil, as by this means a much larger amount of live stock can he maintained off a small quantity of land than by allowing cattle to roam over a larger area of ground to pick up a precarious living, which is always the case where such a system is pursued. In the production of bacon--an article in good demand, and sold at a remunerative price in these Colonies--I would advise that your fat hogs should be ready for killing in the month of May; from that time until August you are free from the fly and the weather is sufficiently cool to prevent any risk in salting down. My own plan, which I have always found successful, is to provide a large tub, in which I place several buckets of clear water, into which I insert sufficient salt, with a small quantity of saltpetre, to swim a potatoe, at which time it is of the required strength to receive the meat which you intend to cure. I allow it to remain three weeks in this liquor, covered with a large stone, in order that it may be well covered. After the meat has remained the usual time, it must be taken out, wiped dry, and hung up in a warm kitchen, not too near the fire, when it will dry a good colour, and be found exquisite in flavour. The hams should be immersed in a separate tub, and the curing may be conducted similar to the one just described, but with the addition of brown sugar or molasses--about five pounds of sugar to each one hundred pounds of meat. The hams should remain in the liquor about five weeks.

ON THE REARING OF CALVES.

This subject demands the attention of our New Zealand farmers, it being a matter of great moment as regards the meat producing capabilities of the country. The subject is at the present time taxing the abilities of our legislators as to the free importa-

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tion of foreign cattle, which, according to the present high price of beef, seems to demand a repeal of the Act which prohibits the introduction of live stock from the Australias. I have it from the mouth of an old settler, of twenty years standing in the Colony, that one half the calves born in the Province die! His words are as follows: "They get starved when young, and to make a shilling in butter, they (the settlers) lose a pound on their stock." He says some will have fifteen or twenty calves, and lose them nearly all. They call it bad luck, but I call it bad management. He goes on to say they require a bit of hay in the winter, and shelter, instead of being turned out at three months old and starved. Now, I think such a statement should open the eyes of breeders of stock to see the necessity of providing food and shelter for young cattle. A description of a rough stockyard is given in another place, and I feel more convinced than ever that all young animals require especial care. This may appear a long introduction to my subject, but nevertheless necessary.

Well, to begin: my plan is to take the calf away from its mother immediately, if possible, it is calved, or at least before the cow is sufficiently acquainted with its young. This saves a great deal of trouble, and has been found to answer well. The cow goes with young nine months, and she receives the bull at two years old. It is not well to breed at an earlier age. The cow should calve in the spring, as there is then plenty of grass for them. If the calf is to be fattened for the butcher, it is allowed to suck the cow, until it becomes good veal; but another system is pursued if it is to be reared. The calf must have plenty of food, for if this be not supplied a poor half starved animal is the result. A gallon of milk per day will be at first required, which is increased to three gallons or more. I have used with the milk a handful of wheat meal every time it is fed, which should be three times a day; oatmeal is also used; it

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should be scalded first, and given to the calf in the form of gruel. At the onset of this kind of rearing it will be necessary to warm the milk, which is put into a bucket, the hand being introduced into the milk and the calf allowed to suck the finger. After a day or two they will drink the milk or gruel without any difficulty. As they grow, a small quantity of hay must be given them to suck, and so become accustomed to eat; also small slices of mangolds or turnips, which they will in time get accustomed to and eat it. After this they may be turned into a grass paddock in warm weather, or into the stockyard throughout the day, but must have dry shelter through the night, until they become strong enough to remain out entirely, but must always have access to good food in abundance, with plenty of water. Calves that are reared in this way become quiet, and of more value when grown up than stock introduced from distant places, which often are a long while settling In fact, in order to escape, these animals wander all round the fences endeavouring to break through, which they often succeed in, and lead your quiet cattle into mischief, teaching them also to jump fences and destroy growing crops.

PURCHASING STOCK.

In purchasing stock for a new farm, it is well to purchase cows with calves at foot, as by shutting up the calves for a short time the cows get accustomed to the place, and will not attempt to wander away from their offspring. This plan may save you a vast amount of trouble, for if a mixed herd of cattle is brought to a strange place they will not be contented, and often go back to their accustomed run. In purchasing cattle also, care must be taken in putting them at first on the young spring grass, which is apt to scour them, especially if they have been accustomed to dry food, which is generally the case with cattle taken from off board ship. Such great and sudden

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changes are injurious, and often attended by a serious loss. To remedy this they should have a portion of hay or other dry food supplied them at first. The same danger would not attend them should they be landed in the summer or autumn, at which time the grass is matured and more steady than spring grass.

RABBITS.

The rearing and fattening of these animals will be found a useful adjunct to the farm. They are not very plentiful in Auckland at present, but by selecting a young buck and about three or four does, the increase from these would be very great in the course of six months. I have bred in one season from such a number one hundred and fifty rabbits. My plan was to build them small pens to the number of nine or ten, one pen being double the size of the others. In this large compartment I wean my young rabbits, which will be ready at six weeks of age; and a pretty sight it is to see these little creatures gambol and enjoy themselves in this place; as many as thirty I have kept together in good health, rarely a death occurring. But it must not be forgotten that at the age of five or six months the bucks must be separated, or a terrible conflict ensues amongst them--literally destroying one another by tearing each other to pieces. These pens are made of any rough material in the shape of boards. I used, in my own case, paling five or six feet long, with rails or wide slabs laid on the bottom, which is absolutely necessary, as rabbits will burrow deep in the ground and disperse themselves over your land if this precaution is not taken. The form of these dwellings were the same as pig sties, both a sleeping and breeding place, supplied with boxes with holes cut in them, just large enough for

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one rabbit to enter, and an open court in which to feed them. The advantage of this kind of accommodation over the mode of keeping them in hutches are, that they have better health, less trouble to clean out, and easily fed. In this way rabbits are profitable, providing you have a garden and cultivated land around you. They require to be well fed, both with green and dry food, but will eat almost everything you supply them with. They are very fond of nibbling the young shoots of fruit trees, which are taken off in pruning in the winter. In fact, any refuse from the garden they will pick over and seemingly enjoy, but a more substantial food must not on this account be neglected, especially if you are fattening for the table. Carrots, parsnips, mangolds, hay, bran, and oats, are all necessary in their turn, beside lucerne, pea haulm, green oats, &c., all of which are good food for rabbits.

With regard to the different kinds of this animal, I know from long experience that grey or black rabbits are the most profitable. They are more hardy--less deaths occurring amongst them than white rabbits. However, choice sorts amongst the lop-eared are often a mixture of brown and white, chocolate and white, and sandy coloured. I need hardly say that when the doe is in young she must be kept alone, and the buck admitted when the young are weaned. A dry situation is indispensable to their health, and closing doors should be made to cover the open courts at night, to protect them from cats and other animals that would destroy them. The boxes for feeding should have a swinging board in front, the cost of which is soon made up by the food saved, as it prevents the rabbits from getting in amongst their food and spoiling it. They should be fed three or four times a day, and seem to relish their food best when given in small quantities, and often. The doe must be well kept both before and after she has young ones, or it is useless to expect a healthy and vigorous progeny

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Young rabbits must not eat too much green food at first, although nibbling at carrots and other roots will not hurt them, and at little twigs, &c., until they become used to more juicy food; cabbage leaves especially should not be given to excess, or in a wet state. Great care must be taken of the young in the wet season. They should be well supplied with dry hay or straw, and kept warm. I would advise also that the doe be kept from breeding during the depth of the winter or wet season. By this system of management rabbits may be kept with good profit, not forgetting that the dung produced is of much value, and sold in England at from eightpence to nine-pence per bushel.

POULTRY.

The rearing of domestic poultry is always carried on with profit on every farm where they are properly managed. One thing, however, is to be borne in mind, and that is to keep them entirely out of all your cultivated land, except in the case of ducks, which may be admitted when the crops are off, or in the winter, with profit, as they destroy large quantities of slugs, and other pests to the garden. But even they cannot be allowed in the general way, as many choice vegetables and other plants, which they are fond of, would be injured by them. The poultry yard should be arranged so as to lead into a grass paddock, it being indispensable that fowls should have free access to green food. The yard should have a fence, so high that they could not fly over, as it is often found desirable to shut up your fowls at the time of sowing grain. In this yard there should be an open shed, merely roofed. This is found, in warm climates, to afford sufficient protection from the weather. Under this roof may be placed strong saplings to form roosts, sheltered on the side the strong winds prevail, and

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boxes suitable to lay in should be placed at sufficient height from the ground to prevent their being disturbed, and to keep them out of the reach of dogs, or anything that would molest them, they also require privacy, and will sit better where this is to be had. Fowls, I consider, do better this way than in close built fowl houses, which are apt to get filled with vermin, and make the inmates very uneasy, particularly when sitting. An open shed can be kept much sweeter, and my own fowls always preferred it to the fowl house. A dry and sheltered spot should be selected, and the fowls supplied with gravel, old mortar, &c., or the shell of the egg cannot be properly formed; a good supply also of clean water should always be at hand.

The different breeds of poultry will be found under the names of Spanish, Dorking, Malay, and Cochins. These are all good sorts. The Spanish are good layers, but do not sit well. The Malay, which have top knots, I have found excellent good layers, and produce large eggs. A good fowl is also produced between the game cock and Cochin-China; also, half-bred Spanish I have found do well, and grow to very fine birds. The sitting boxes should be supplied with clean short straw, and the corners well stuffed that the eggs or young brood do not fall through. Hay is too heating, and has been known to ferment and spoil the whole hatch of eggs. Fresh food and water must be given to sitting hens every day, and the place kept clean and dry. In about three weeks the chickens will begin to appear. If three or four are hatched first, it is desirable to remove them, and place them in a basket containing feathers or flannel, and put in a warm place until the others are brought out, as it often happens that the hen forsakes the unhatched eggs to attend the new born chicks, and the others are lost. When the whole are brought out, the first that were taken away should be placed under the hen at night, when she will nourish the whole brood. Sometimes other

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hens will disturb the sitting one, and lay eggs with her own, Should this occur, you will have to remove the new laid ones, or it may spoil your whole nest. I make a practice in first setting the hen to put the day of the month on the eggs, when you will know the time to expect your young brood, and the eggs being thus marked, the new laid ones can at once be detected. These precautions are necessary, as, from the want of them, you may meet with considerable disappointment, and be apt to conclude that the keeping of poultry does not pay. The eggs should be also fresh for hatching, and the hens must have had the company of the male birds in order to their fecundity. The long slender eggs are said to contain males, the shorter and rounder ones the opposite gender--this, however, T have not proved. About ten or twelve hens may be allowed for one cock, when your object is to breed chickens, and fifteen or twenty when eggs are required. The cock should be changed every two years, as a change in stock is beneficial; old hens should be objected to when they get rough legs and coarse in the comb; they have ceased to lay. The early spring birds are generally the best and strongest.

Fowls, when left to roam at large, pick up all sorts of seeds, grains, worms, and insects of all kinds; the larger the place they have to roam in the better they do. I feed my fowls with grain twice a day. Barley is the best food, also wheat, which should be given more sparingly. All domestic animals should have food grown for them on the farm, and fed morning and night. They are, by these means, much less trouble to manage than otherwise, and keep about your own premises, without troubling your neighbours. The impregnated eggs can be discovered by candle light, and should be laid in a cool place until wanted for hatching. Hens will lay continually throughout the year if fed upon animal food.

Many other kinds of fowls might be mentioned

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here, but as my book is a small one, I shall only mention such as I have a more intimate acquaintance with, such as the turkey, goose, duck, and Guinea fowl.

THE TURKEY.

The turkey is a most valuable bird to rear, and highly profitable if well managed, although great attention is necessary to succeed with them. They are delicious eating, and afford an excellent dish, being very delicate in flavour. It is said the two first eggs which the hen lays are unfruitful. The time of incubation is about twenty-eight days, and she will bring out from twelve to sixteen chicks. They are very weak at first, and much care is required; they must not be exposed to the strong heat of the sun, neither to high winds. A place sheltered by trees is the best for them, and a protection from rain is indispensable. It will appear to my reader that a considerable amount of trouble must be taken to succeed with them, but this will not be regretted when they see two or three fine broods of turkeys growing up into money value. They also take less feeding than other fowls, as a great part of their food consists of insects and green food. They are a valuable acquisition to a farm in this respect, as they consume innumerable quantities of larva of insects, which would be otherwise destructive to the crops. This also applies to the Guinea fowl, a useful bird, as its chief food consists of grubs, insects, &c.

The turkey poults should be fed for the first two or three weeks with chopped egg boiled hard, as they are subject to dysentery, also curds and bread crumbs. The hen and chicks must be kept in a warm dry place for a month after hatching, unless the weather be calm and fine. A little cayenne pepper, mixed with their food, is a good stimulant, and often found useful in case they are inclined to droop; also ground ginger or

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pepper, mixed with bread, which may be made up in the form of small peas. If wet weather should set in, they must be brought in doors, or placed in a dry shed and quickly dried. A single male turkey is sufficient for fourteen or sixteen hens. The female should not be allowed to sit until she is two years old; they will then breed for several years after, but always choose the largest and best hens for this purpose. While sitting she must have food placed before her, as, by her keeping so close to the work of incubation, she may be starved to death. A disease occurs to the poults, after a short time, which may be seen by the languid and drooping appearance of the bird, and also by refusing to eat. This is occasioned by the rump feathers being filled with blood; these feathers must be plucked out, when they soon recover their health.

In fattening turkeys, barley meal mixed with skim milk, boiled carrots, or potatoes mixed with oatmeal, are all good, also crushed maize. Some persons confine them during fattening, but I think they do better having their liberty, if well fed. The hen has apparently no idea of feeding her young brood. On this account it is a good plan to put two or three hens' eggs under her, after she has been sitting seven or eight days; the chickens will come out at the same time as the others, and will teach them to eat.

THE GOOSE.

These favourite birds--for almost every housewife in the country keeps her geese--where a good supply of water is to be had, with a good run in the lanes or bye-roads, are very profitable, but care must be taken not to admit them into your cultivated paddocks. They are said to consume as much as a sheep. They are generally white, some grey and white. A beautiful bird--the Cape goose--is often seen in Tasmania,

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but the English is preferred. They are fond of marsh land and moist places by day, but seek a dry place at night, which should be provided for them. Stubble fields also they may be turned into, as they pick up any waste corn, as well as herbage. They require also feeding at home, which will incline them to come to their own place every night. Boiled potatoes, with bran, will bring them on quick. In order to be successful in rearing geese the gander should be pure white or ash coloured, not a mixture of two colours; he should be of large size, and active. They begin to lay very early in the spring, at which time they will be seen running about with straws in their mouth, as if to prepare a nest, which should now be prepared for them. Fifteen eggs are as many as a goose will cover; these she may be allowed to sit on, bringing to her food and water every day. The early hatched goslings must be taken away, as in the case of chicks, or the mother may desert her nest to take care of the young ones, consequently the remaining eggs would be lost. The young goslings will not require feeding for twelve hours after they are hatched; they may then be fed with bread soaked in milk, curds, or mealy potatoes mixed with bran, warmed, but not too hot. A warm aspect must be chosen for them, as cold winds and rain will soon destroy them, and they must not have access to water for the first day or two.

DUCKS.

These birds are useful and profitable. They are of benefit in the garden in the depth of winter, as they destroy worms and slugs, which would otherwise prove injurious to the crops. They also travel a long distance away from home in search of food, and lay a great number of eggs; but they are not good mothers, and if you have a pond of water on your premises their eggs will often be found in it, or layed

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by its side. Their time for laying is early morn, or before ten o'clock, therefore it is a good plan to shut them up until that hour, or you may lose half their eggs. It is found better to put the eggs under a hen to hatch, as they make better mothers than ducks. They thrive best where there is plenty of water, although it is possible to bring up ducks without this advantage, yet it is useless to attempt to rear them in dry and barren places. Moisture is their element, and such places as marshes and swamps they will best succeed in. When the young brood is hatched they require great attention, and kept away from pigs, dogs, or horses, as they have little idea of getting away from them when danger is at hand, and many are trampled to death in this way, and sometimes pigs take a particular fancy to them if they come in their way; they have not so good a chance of escaping from their foes as chickens, not being so active. They are also liable to be destroyed by birds of prey, which often carry them off. But by having a secure place for poultry, as I before observed, a great many of these calamities may be avoided. They are generally lost in the early morning, consequently should not be let out of the yard until the household are well about.

For fattening ducks, oats, either whole or bruised, is better than barley, peas meal, or maize meal, but it will often be found as cheap, far in the interior, to feed upon wheat as anything else; they also do well on bullocks' liver and such like food, which may be had in some places at a trifling cost. Ducks lay at two seasons--spring and summer.

GUINEA FOWLS.

These beautiful little creatures are a great ornament to a homestead, and are said to be very profitable. They are great layers, and their eggs are very delicious. They are very shy, but when well fed, and not driven about by dogs or children, they become

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quite familiar, but withal have a great inclination to lay away in the hedges. These birds are natives of Africa, also to be found in South America. The Guinea fowl or Pintado is about the size of the common hen; both male and female much resemble each other. Three different kinds exist in considerable numbers--namely, crested, mitred, and Egyptian varieties; they are generally dark grey and black. They will battle with all kinds of domestic poultry, and are very courageous. The common hen is best for rearing their brood. Their food is grain, and the various kinds given to other fowls. They sit twenty-five days.

BEES.

The keeping of these industrious and useful insects is a source of great profit in many rural districts, both at home and in the Colonies. I will endeavour to point out a few of the more important points with regard to their general management. In the first place, you obtain a hive of young bees from a neighbour; these are worth 15s. to 20s.; from this stock you may, in two or three years, obtain a good number of bees. They begin to swarm in August, and continue to do so throughout the summer, when they will require watching, as they generally make for some tree or bush, when it will be necessary to secure them by placing a hive (a tea chest will do) over them, and cover the whole with a cloth. At night they may be removed to the stand prepared for them. This stand or shed which you may have should not be placed so as to front the mid-day sun, as the heat will sometimes melt the honey and kill your bees; probably an eastern aspect is the best. The boxes or hives should previously be well saturated with sugar and water, and two sticks placed at the top firmly

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fixed, to enable the bees to attach the comb. In winter they require feeding; small troughs being inserted through the opening of the hive containing sugar, &c.

In addition to the benefit of bee keeping with regard to the value of the honey produced, which at times is very large, (on one occasion I took 120 lbs. from one hive), there is the consideration of increased productiveness of your garden or orchard. It is a well known fact by botanists, that the fructification of plants is accomplished by the farina or dust from the stamens or petals of what are called the male blossoms being deposited in the interior of the female flowers, and thus orchards have been known to produce double the crop after bees were kept that they did before, hence it has been well said, if there were no bees there would be no apples.

The following anecdote will show the value of bees:-- "A French bishop being about to visit one of his curates, whose ecclesiastical living was very small, sent to him, requesting he would not put himself to any great expense. The curate, however, did not attend to the suggestion of the bishop, as he provided a sumptuous entertainment. His lordship being surprised, severely censured the curate, observing that it was highly reprehensible that a man with such small means should launch into expenses sufficient to dissipate his annual income in one day. 'Don't be uneasy on that score, my lord,' replied the curate, 'for I can assure you that this is not the produce of my curacy, which I bestow entirely on the poor.' 'Then you have a patrimony, sir?' said the bishop. 'No, my lord.' 'You speak in riddles,' rejoined the bishop, 'how do you contrive to live in such a manner?' 'My lord, I have a convent of young damsels here, who do not let me want anything.' 'How! you have a convent? I did not know there was one in this neighbourhood. This is all very strange, very unaccountable, Mr. Curate, but sir, I must beg you to

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solve the enigma, and let me see the convent.' 'So you shall, my lord, after dinner, and then I am sure you will be satisfied with my conduct.' Accordingly, when dinner was over, the curate conducted the bishop to a large enclosure, entirely occupied with bee-hives, and pointing to them, observed, 'This, my lord, is the convent which gave us a dinner; it brings me in about eighteen hundred livres (£75) a-year, upon which I live very comfortably, and sometimes contrive to entertain my friends.' The surprise and satisfaction of the bishop may be readily conceived; and ever after, when a curate made application for an improved living, his lordship would only energetically reply, 'Keep bees! keep bees!'"

THE CULTURE OF WHEAT.

To grow wheat it is necessary, in the first place, to have your ground in good heart, and properly cleaned, which is usually the case after a potatoe crop, the most suited to precede a crop of wheat. This may be applied to all seed crops, as it is necessary to insure a clean sample. Much rubbish, in the shape of weeds, is often gathered in so as to spoil the grain for the market. The appearance of wild oats, drake, or darnel (which latter, I believe, to be the tares mentioned in Scripture), if examined closely, resemble wheat deteriorated; it is poisonous in its effects, and consequently injurious when used in the preparation of flour, and also indicates bad farming. This pest should be plucked from among the corn and destroyed as soon as the seed begins to appear.

In the second place, I would point out the indispensable necessity of selecting the very best seed that can be procured, which should be carefully selected and examined before it is committed to the soil. I would recommend it to be passed through a screen

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and well sifted to remove any of the above-named injurious weeds with which it may be mixed up. An illustration of the importance of so doing came under nay notice a few years since. I was in want of a change of seed for my land (in passing, I may remark that a change is attended with beneficial results, often one kind of seed being better adapted to a certain soil than another; for instance, the red wheats thriving better on strong soil than the white), consequently I wrote to a friend to send me, if possible, two bags of the kind known as the "Farmers' Friend." That particular wheat not being plentiful, two bags were forwarded of the "Golden Drop," as being the nearest that could be obtained. These two bags were placed in the barn, which I had thoroughly cleaned out; the floor was carefully swept; and the result I perfectly remember to have been something over three quarts of the seeds of weeds, namely wild oats, drake, sorrel, &c. I need not call the attention of careful farmers to the fact, that had such found its way into the soil, with the wheat, the effects would have been disastrous, and it would have taken years to eradicate these weeds thus introduced.

Another consideration in the cultivation of wheat is--the time of cropping. My own experience, with that of others of long practice, go to prove early cropping to be most successful, especially on upland farms much exposed to drought or the effects of a hot sun. Wheat, in particular, requires a longer time to mature than other grain; the process of "stooling" or "tillering" is well known. In its early development it goes on, the roots still strengthening under ground, although the same may be covered with frost or snow for weeks together, and I have invariably observed the early crops to be the best. On one occasion a neighbour sowed wheat on the 1st. of October; this was what is termed spring wheat; a fair crop was obtained. This kind is useful to those who are behind with their sowing; it is a bearded

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wheat, similar in its growth to Cape barley, but not to be generally recommended. My own experience extended over several years in Tasmania and New South Wales; the principal wheat grown by myself in that period was the "white velvet," "golden drop," and "farmers' friend;" the latter I found to be the most prolific, producing about twenty bushels to the acre, which, on a poor sandy soil, resting on a clay subsoil, with only one ploughing, was highly satisfactory. The same wheat, sown at the same time (about the 20th. of April), on good land, well worked, would have given forty bushels per acre, and in some cases probably sixty. It was grown by me in a six acre field, and reaped in January, 1862, it being pronounced the best crop which had beep grown in the neighbourhood for years. The same seed was, the year after, reaped by my neighbours, who purchased of me. I could obtain small quantities of it from the district, should it be required in Auckland.

It is well known that some kinds are more profitable than others. Amongst them I believe the "farmers' friend" to be pre-eminent. It requires to be cut early; as soon as the joints of the straw assume a bright golden colour from the bottom of the stem nearly to the ear, or the ear begins to bend, it is time to cut. The fault generally in these Colonies is letting it stand too long. A few days or a week's hot weather, such as we generally have in harvest time in this climate, is sufficient to produce what is termed field ripeness; when that has taken place the sooner it is housed the better, for if allowed to stand too long the high winds which often prevail, combined with a scorching sun, will cause it to shake out. One excellent quality in this wheat is, that it is easily thrashed.

In steeping wheat to prepare for sowing, I have, for many years, used powdered bluestone, and water, or urine, to prevent smut, and have found it answer admirably. The grains should be well covered with

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the liquor for the space of twenty minutes, after which it may he taken out, well drained, and sown. If this be well attended to, I believe it to be a sure preventative against smut. About 2 lbs. of bluestone is used to a bag of wheat, with a small addition of half a pound to each successive bag. In good ground (early sown) about 1 1/2 bushels to the acre is a sufficient quantity of seed--two bushels, if sown late.

The practice of mowing wheat is, I think, objectionable; although I have had men to perform it well with the common scythe, with a cradle attached. But reaping with the sickle, or reaping hook, I much prefer, although the work is got over less rapidly than by the former method; still, I think reaping wheat to be the most economical in the end; let your sheaves be made small, as they are more handy to move about, especially in stacking, and less liable to injury by wet.

I have before noticed the advantages of cutting early, but there are other considerations, namely, a better sample of wheat is obtained by so doing, also more flour, and the straw, which retains some of its nutritious qualities, is readily eaten by store or young cattle in the winter.

To those who are not well provided with barns, a strong kind of covering, or shelter, called the "Dutch barn," is easily made, and is generally used in the Colonies. The grain keeps admirably in them; the butt ends of the sheaves being laid outwards no rain can injure the grain. This building is formed of strong corner posts, 18 to 20 inches in diameter, with smaller ones along the sides; a strong wall plate, consisting of rough spars from the bush, and covered in, either with shingles or palings 2 feet 6 inches in length, which is a durable, and, at the same time, inexpensive building.

Much good often arises from attention to what appear to be trifles. In the county of Suffolk a very productive kind of wheat is grown, called "Spalding's

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Prolific," for which we are indebted to the carefulness of a man in humble circumstances. A writer in the Agricultural Society's Journal, under date of Feb. 1848, states, that "thirteen years ago Spalding, a labouring man, while thrashing in his master's barn, found three or four particularly fine ears of wheat; these he had the foresight to pick out and plant in his garden; the next year he again sowed the produce, and the third year grew a quarter of an acre; he then sold his entire growth, which was sufficient to plant ten acres: the produce of this was upwards of eight quarters per acre. A small subscription was raised by the neighbouring farmers for Spalding; he died a few years since: there are still some of the family living at Barningham. Spalding has done as much for his country as many more public men; though unknown, he has had his name widely disseminated, though perhaps he did not reap any very great worldly benefit from his discovery."

I cannot conclude this article without noticing a few remarks made by the author of "Sketches of Rural Affairs," in which he says-- "Lastly comes 'the harvest home,' that vestige of good old times, which every kindly disposed person would wish to see preserved, as a custom of our land, never to be slighted or forgotten. It is not so much the value of the entertainment itself, as the kind and friendly feelings promoted by it, that must be regarded. No gratuity, bestowed as a substitute for this meal, can make up for the loss of all those grateful and affectionate feelings, called into play by the exercise of old English hospitality on the part of the farmer and his family. The writer has often been present at these rural feasts, and is convinced that, if well conducted, they form one of the most powerful means of fostering contentment and good feeling between masters and their dependants. It is a pleasant thing to witness the preparations for this, the most important of annual festivities, when the principal labours

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of the year are brought to a close, and the 'last load' has been conducted home in triumph. Perhaps it is in some capacious barn that the feast is to be held; willing hands have been busy during the forenoon hiding the bareness of the walls by hanging a tapestry of carpeting and evergreens; while the capacious doors have given place to an arch of mingled evergreens and flowers. Long narrow tables, neatly covered with white linen, and furnished with benches for the accommodation of the guests, occupy in a double row the whole length of the barn; and thither repair, about five or six o'clock in the afternoon, the happy villagers, dressed in their Sunday clothes, and looking all contentment and smiles. They have leisure to admire the pains that have been taken for their accommodation, while the cooks and helpers are getting ready the steaming viands which diffuse a tempting odour all around. Nor is the decoration of the barn a matter to be despised; it gives proof that the farmer's household takes pleasure in the feast, and seek the pleasure and enjoyment of their poorer neighbours. Many cottagers are remarked for their love of flowers, and display considerable taste in cultivating them near their dwellings; and when they see that their master is not only willing to feast them, but to gratify their eyes and fancy, they feel that they are treated not as mere animals, whose appetites alone are to be consulted, but as beings who have feelings and sentiments in common with his own; and when the good fare is spread before them, and the master, after reverently asking a blessing, and listening to their hearty responsive "Amen," has commenced, with needful help, the arduous task of carving for his guests, the villagers, old and young, look around with manifest pride and pleasure, when they see the farmer's family and friends taking an active part in bearing to each the abundant portion, and in attending to all the wants of their guests. The tokens of mutual good-will on these occasions are

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delightful to witness--the hearty enjoyment of the feast, the rustic songs that follow, and the vociferous cheers with which the hospitality of the master and mistress are celebrated--are welcome signs to those who desire the labourers' welfare; and it only requires a little firmness and judgment on the part of the master to prevent the harvest home from degenerating into a scene of drunkenness; and to preserve it, as it ever ought to be, a true specimen of British hospitality and enjoyment, and a powerful means of promoting harmony and good-will."

BARLEY.

This plant is an annual--grown both for the value of its seed, as also for a green crop, for cutting early in the spring, before the grasses gain sufficient nutriment for the feeding of cattle. It should be sown early for this purpose--about the month of April-- when it will be ready to cut in August. This is in reference to that kind known as Cape barley. The English barley is grown in these Colonies principally for malting. It is not so prolific as the Cape, and is in greater danger of being injured by the caterpillar. To succeed in growing English barley, the ground must be brought to a fine tilth, and not sown on a stubble. I have known fair crops obtained when sown in September. Indeed, it is necessary to facilitate the growth of it as much as possible, which can be best done when sown in the spring, as it is very impatient of cold, and turns yellow with frost or much wet. It requires a nice friable loam, in a warm situation, and succeeds best after a summer fallow; it is better for being rolled. The seed should be plump and fine, and about two bushels to the acre is sufficient.

Clover and grass seed are often sown with this

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crop, as time is saved by so doing; for when your barley is off you will have (if on good land) a fine sward of grass, which will soon be ready to turn your stock into. The grass seeds are sometimes sown with the barley by some persons; others wait until the barley is up, and then sow and roll.

THE OAT.

This grain will succeed in moist soils. Lands similar to the fens of Lincolnshire will produce amazing crops. There are many kinds of oats; the potatoe is a good sort, and grown largely; they are white, plump, and short, and yield more meal than any other kind; they soon shake out, consequently should be cut early. Oats require about four bushels to the acre; when sown on poor land more than the quantity named will be required; the early oats, less than the later kinds. The black, or Tartarian oat, is a most prolific sort. I have used them with great advantage on poor soils. The straw grows very thick and tall, and succeeds well in cold situations. They are considered the best oats for feeding horses. Oats do not succeed so well on gravelly or sandy soils.

INDIAN CORN OR MAIZE. -SORGHUM SACCHARATUM.

It is not expected that this book on agricultural matters will altogether escape the eye of the critic; nevertheless, it has been my endeavour to give a plain practical guide on farming pursuits, one which will meet more especially the wants of a large and still increasing number of persons arriving in the

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Colony, who may have little or no knowledge of such matters, more particularly of those systems which are practised in these Colonies. My observations, consequently, have been for the most part addressed to this class of settlers, for I well know that farmers of long experience in the cultivation of land are sufficiently capable of using their own judgment on such matters, at the same time I hope my remarks may be appreciated by those to whom they are principally addressed. I have endeavoured also to give the greatest amount of information in Colonial farming in a portable form. My style may not be so elaborate as that of other more scientific writers, but I trust not less valuable to those whose opportunities for reading are usually small. For this class I have mainly written; and have endeavoured rather to collect facts than discuss theories, and to present my readers with the practices of the most successful agriculturists of the day.

My present article will be on the cultivation of that excellent and useful plant, known as Indian corn or maize, with a short account of Sorghum, apparently little known in this neighbourhood, but cultivated to some extent in New South Wales. The first-named plant, Indian corn, is extremely productive in Africa, Asia, America, in the South of Europe, on the shores of the Mediterranean, Spain, Italy, and other countries, where it constitutes much of the food in common use. The manner of cultivating maize is in rows, three or four feet apart, so that the hoe may be freely worked between them, and the earth ridged up to the roots by the plough, which is important, being necessary to give support to the stem, these operations going on the whole time the plant is growing.

There are several varieties of Indian corn, supposed to arise from difference of climate; but there is no doubt that America is the native place of the plant, for there and in the West India islands it is found growing wild, and is cultivated to the greatest perfec-

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tion. The growth of American maize is various, being from seven to ten feet high in favourable situations, and in some cases to fourteen feet without losing any of its productiveness. The value of the grain to America is nearly as great as that of rice to India. It forms the principal food of the inhabitants of the United States, and is almost the sole support of the Mexicans. It is also largely consumed in Africa. It is much less subject to disease than wheat--no such thing as blight, mildew, or rust being known to affect the crop. The chief enemies to the grower are insects in its early stages, and birds in the later period of its growth.

The increase of this crop compared with that of other kinds of grain is exceedingly large. In Mexico, where it is most luxuriant, its productiveness is almost incredible. It is stated that in some favoured spots in that country it has been known to yield an increase of eight hundred bushels for one; while it is by no means uncommon, where artificial irrigation is practised, to gather from three to four hundred bushels of grain for every one bushel that has been sown; in other places, where no artificial means are used, forty or sixty bushels are gained for every one sown.

The culture of maize is very successfully carried on in Georgia, U. S. The ordinary increase in good years is from one hundred to one hundred and twenty fold, but by the best cobs being selected for seed, and careful attention paid to the crop, the corn has increased in size and productiveness, so as to yield two hundred and fifty fold; this result was first produced by a cultivator named Baden, hence the choice corn obtained by his method is called Baden corn. The maize harvest is very differently conducted from the wheat harvest. When the corn is ripe the ears are plucked off and thrown into baskets; these are again emptied into carts, which convey the store again to the barn; the stalks are left standing some time longer, and being then cut down near the ground,

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they are tied up in bundles and stacked in a dry place, being used for food for cattle; the cobs of corn are preserved in bins or cages, and are not shelled until they are about to be sent to market. Shelling the corn is easily performed, there being regular instruments called corn-shellers, but where these are not to be had the operation is rather tedious; an old blunt sword or iron hoop is fixed across the top of the tub, each cob is then taken in both hands, and scraped lengthways smartly across the edge of the iron until all the grains are removed; in this manner an industrious man will shell from twenty to twenty-five bushels per day; two bushels of cobs will yield one bushel of shelled corn. The rude method above described has, in some places, yielded to a simple machine which expedites the work.

Of the advantages and uses of Indian corn we have had many illustrations, but perhaps none have materially added to the testimony given long since by Dr. Franklin. He says-- "It is remarked in North America that the English farmers when they first arrive there, finding a soil and climate proper for the husbandry they have been accustomed to, and partially suitable for raising wheat, despise and neglect the culture of Indian corn, but observing the advantage it affords their neighbours, the older inhabitants, they by degrees get more and more into the practice of raising it, and the face of the country shows from time to time that the culture of that grain goes on visibly augmenting. The inducements are the many ways in which it may be prepared, so as to form a wholesome food both for man and beast. 1. The family can begin to make use of it before the time of full harvest, for the tender green cobs stripped of their leaves, and roasted by a quick fire till the grain is brown, and eaten with a little salt and butter, is a great delicacy. 2. When the grain is riper and harder, the cobs boiled in their leaves, and eaten with butter, are also a good and agreeable food. The

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tender green grains dried, kept all the year, and mixed with green haricots (kidney beans) also dried, make at any time a pleasing dish, being first soaked some hours, then boiled. When the grain is ripe and hard there are also several ways of using it; one is to soak it all night in a lessive or lye, and then pound it in a mortar with a wooden pestle; the skin of each grain is by that means skinned off, and the farinaceous part left whole, which, being boiled, swells into a white soft pulp, and, eaten with milk or with butter and sugar, is delicious. The dry grain is sometimes also ground loosely, so as to be broken in pieces the size of rice, and being winnowed to separate the bran, it is then boiled and eaten with turkey or fowl as rice. Ground into a finer meal, they make of it, by boiling, a hasty pudding or bouilli, to be eaten with milk, or butter and sugar; this resembles what the Italians call polenta. They make of the same meal, with water and salt, a hasty cake, which being stuck against a hoe or other flat iron, is placed erect before the fire, and so baked as to be used as bread. Broth is also agreeably thickened by the same flour; it is also parched in this manner: an iron pot is nearly filled with sand, and set on the fire till the sand is very hot, two or three pounds of grain are then thrown in, and well mixed with the sand by stirring. Each grain bursts and throws out a white substance twice as large as its original size; the sand is separated by a wire sieve, and returned into the pot to be again heated, and the operation is repeated with fresh grain; that which is parched is pounded to a powder in mortars; this being sifted will keep long for use. An Indian will travel far, and subsist long on a small bag of it, taking only six or eight ounces of it per day, mixed with water. The flour of maize mixed with that of wheat makes excellent bread-sweeter and more agreeable than that of wheat alone. To feed horses, it is good to soak the grain twelve hours; they mash it easier with their teeth, and it yields

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them more nourishment. Strip the leaves off the stalks after the grain is ripe, and tie it up in bundles; these, when dry, are excellent forage for horses, cows, &c. The stalks, pressed like the sugar-cane, yield a sweet juice, which, when boiled, make a pleasant syrup. The meal wetted is excellent food for young chickens, and the old grain for grown fowls; in fact, all kinds of stock thrive on it, hogs more especially. It requires a hot summer to ripen it; it is fond of newly-broken land." The time of sowing in the neighbourhood of Auckland would be from August to October; the flat corn or large maize taking about five months to mature. Another bright round grain known as Ninety-days' maize, or Cobbett's corn, requires about three months to arrive at perfection.

These two are the principal kinds grown in Australia and Tasmania, the large kind being adapted more to New South Wales, on account of the long hot summers which prevail; although I have grown it near Hobart Town ten feet in height, and cobs of nine inches in length, fully matured. Its chief value here would be found in supplying cattle, especially dairy stock, with a nutritious, wholesome, and succulent land of food; for when the pastures are dried up for want of moisture, the Indian corn keeps its fresh appearance, and thrives under the hottest sun.

Sorghum saccharatum is another valuable plant, growing from twelve to fourteen feet in height. It is useful for the same purposes, as regards horse and cattle feed, as the former, containing a large quantity of saccharine matter, and continuing in the ground for years. It seeds abundantly, and is good, if stacked in a dry loft (before seeding), for horse food throughout the winter, requiring only a small quantity of maize mixed with the stalks (which are cut up in a chaff-cutting machine) to keep horses in good condition. A later kind, known as "Zulu Kaffir Imphee," is much esteemed.

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RYE.

This grain is used in Russia and many other countries for bread. It is wholesome and nutritious. In this Colony it would be useful sown early--that is, in March or April, for green stuff. It comes in earlier than barley, and is of rapid growth. It is sometimes used as manure to be ploughed or dug in the ground, and would be found to benefit clay soils as they are deficient in vegetable matter. A belt of this grain sown round a field will prevent poultry from entering, as they will not eat rye corn; it is also said to prevent smut, but the writer thinks this to be purely imaginary. It will also grow on poor land, that would neither grow barley or wheat, and is well adapted to sandy soils. It may be sown in autumn or spring-- the former being the most prolific, and the latter giving the best flour. It must not be buried deep in the ground; from two to three bushels per acre will be sufficient to sow. Eye straw is valuable to harness makers, as it is best for stuffing collars; it also makes an excellent thatch.

THE CULTIVATION OF LUCERNE.

This remarkably quick growing plant has been for ages known and highly esteemed on the continent of Europe, of which it is a native. It would prove a valuable addition to the grasses grown around Auckland, where it now appears to be little appreciated. It is extensively cultivated in New South Wales,

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especially on the banks of the Hunter River, where large tracts of it may be seen, and from which place lucerne hay is extensively forwarded to Sydney for home consumption.

Being thoroughly impressed with the utility and importance of this plant, I can with confidence recommend it to the notice of gentlemen engaged in the rearing of stock--especially dairy cows and sheep. Its value is well understood by the Sydney dairymen, who feed their cattle constantly on lucerne hay, with bran, which causes them to yield an abundant supply to the dense population of the city of that indispensable article, of consumption--milk. I have myself visited the Hunter district, and have been an eye-witness to the great importance of this valuable crop to the farmers of that locality.

Lucerne has been also, of late years, extensively grown in England, where, by superior culture, it has obtained to nearly that equal measure of celebrity with which it has been regarded for so long a time on the Continent, where it has always been a regular crop. Lucerne grows, when well cultivated, from two to three feet in height; it has a perennial root, and is covered with leaves, having a downy under surface, the flower being of a purple colour.

The best time for sowing is the month of May; if not then sown, it is better to defer it until August, unless the intervening months be dry, so as to admit of the ground being thoroughly worked, which is not usually the case in the months of June and July; it flowers in December. If sown broadcast, about fourteen to eighteen pounds of seed would be required; but when drilled, ten pounds will be sufficient. As I have before stated, the month of May being the good time for sowing, the previous dry season (January) affords a suitable opportunity to plough the land and give a previous fallow, which is indispensable to the future success of this crop. It being a small seed, the ground cannot be too well pulverized, and a very

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slight covering of the seed is sufficient; if buried too deep, it will, in all probability, be entirely lost. A previous fallow has also the advantage of destroying innumerable weeds, which, if allowed to grow up with the crop, would most likely destroy it. The dry weather, which appears periodically in this Colony, certainly gives the cultivator of land a good opportunity of keeping it clean. If the roots of weeds are turned up to the fierce rays of the sun at this season, it will have the effect of entirely destroying millions that would otherwise prove a great hinderance to any growing plants. The farmer should take care to allow nothing to grow but his crop; in fact, it is worse than useless to sow lucerne seed in foul land; both labour and seed are entirely thrown away, although it is affirmed that if it be sown broadcast very thickly, no weed can exist by the side of it, or, in other words, that it will outgrow everything around it; however, I think it a dangerous experiment, and would strongly impress on any person who may be inclined to try its culture to sow in drills, say fourteen to twenty inches apart, so as to give plenty of room for hoeing between, that distance giving ample room for cleaning out weeds and opening the ground to the admission of air and water, without which it is impossible to secure success. The ground--naturally becoming hard and impenetrable from a succession of dry weather--requires the aid of the hand or horse hoe to loosen it well between the drills, thereby enabling the moisture which falls on the earth to gain access to the roots of the plants, and gives a fresh impetus to their growth.

The advantages of cultivating lucerne are numerous. It stands well through the longest and driest seasons, maintaining its green and vigorous appearance through the hottest day. When English rye grass and the clovers are almost obliterated, from the heat of the weather, the lucerne still thrives, thereby affording sufficient proof of its adaptability to this climate.

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I have tried a patch in my garden near Hobart Town (where the prevailing weather is similar to that of this Province), and it stood for years, admitting of four or five cuttings every summer, although it was growing on a dry bank, much exposed to the power of the sun and wind; I have seen it also flourish on a sandy soil when all around was burnt up; but the soil best adapted to its growth is a rich alluvial deposit, in which it luxuriates, having sufficient depth for its strong roots to penetrate. Undoubtedly some of the rich volcanic soils around Auckland are equally suitable. In such situations lucerne is known to exist and flourish for twenty years. It comes to its perfection in the third year, when it may be cut successively for years without deterioration; indeed, when once fairly established in the soil, it is a most difficult thing to eradicate. If irrigation be brought to bear upon it the results are almost incredible. As much as seventy thousand pounds weight has been taken off at one cutting from an acre of ground.

To those who have turned their attention to the keeping of dairy cows, this grass is especially to be recommended, as, by its use, the supply of milk can be maintained when the English grasses have become parched and gone; besides the increased yield, the quality of the milk is much improved. It is also good food for horses; it comes in earlier than clover, which is a great advantage.

A few words as to the manner of sowing may here be acceptable. In the first place, see that your land be in a fit state to receive the seed--that is, free from weeds, and perfectly clean; also, so well pulverized as to be free from lumps, which can be accomplished by a previous harrowing and rolling. When in this condition, a line stretched from one end of the land to the other, which you purpose to lay down, will serve to make the drills straight; you then take a hoe or rake, and with the top of the handle make a slight mark along the line, say from one to two inches in

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depth, and so on at intervals of fourteen to twenty inches, then, with a cup or basin half filled with seed, walk up the drill you have made, and drop from between your finger and thumb a few seeds in places about twelve inches apart, after which give it a slight covering with the back of the spade or Dutch hoe; if you can sow guano at the same time with the seed, it will greatly forward the young plant. It is necessary to bear in mind that all small seeds require but little covering--if buried too deeply they are likely to perish. When the young plant appears above ground, then keep a sharp look out for the weeds, which are sure to appear, however careful you may have been, and destroy them at once; at the same time gently move the earth round about the plant. This being attended to twice or thrice will ensure you success in cultivating this most desirable plant.

Lucerne is better to be cut than fed off, except by sheep. Small plots, highly manured, have been known to support a larger amount of stock than the same breadth could of any other crop. It is eminently adapted for the application of manure in a liquid form, which is lasting in its effects; soot is also a valuable manure. I have seen lucerne sown down with oats and barley, broadcast in large quantities, and it failed. I obtained, a few years ago, from Sydney, two hundred weight of really good seed, which was sowed in this way by a friend of mine who was farming near my own land, and nearly the whole was lost. The same seed was used by another neighbour, who sowed in drills as above mentioned, on about half an acre of ground, and a most luxuriant crop was the result. This small patch proved a most valuable piece of ground to him for the summer feeding of his dairy cows, which yielded a good supply of milk, while others suffered much for the want of succulent grasses. This seed can be obtained from Sydney, where it is now largely saved, and is more to he depended on than seed imported from England;

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in fact, this remark applies to all home grown seed, it being well known to be better than that which has undergone a long voyage.

While speaking of drill sowing, its importance is manifest in all green or root crops, such as mangold wurtzel, carrots, and others of that character. The old practice of sowing broadcast ought to be at once abandoned by those who desire to manage their land to the greatest profit. Drill sowing has several advantages over the other system: it economizes seed and labour, and at the same time produces more regular plants. A field of mangold or turnips, sown broadcast, requires nearly double the quantity of seed to that which is sown in drills, while the latter mode gives more space to admit of cleaning and the admission of air, &c. to the roots; it enables the plants to come on much stronger and more healthy. The same also applies to the growing of lucerne; in fact, broadcast sowing is placing seed where it is not wanted, merely to have the trouble of cutting it up again. Another advantage of drill crops is the opportunity they afford of introducing the horse hoe, which is one of the most valuable implements the skilled farmer can use, especially in a country where labour is scarce. Every time this is passed up and down between the drills it destroys innumerable weeds, and at the same time well pulverizes the soil, and gives fresh life and vigour to the crop. I do not hesitate to say that twenty dairy cows could be maintained off twenty acres of land laid down with it and well looked after. It is said, by those who have had experience, that cows fed on lucerne give double the quantity of milk; sheep fatten well on it. It fact, all kinds of live stock thrive on this plant.

I shall close this subject by giving the following statement, by J. Rodwell, from the R. A. S. Journal, 1841, which is of value in reference to this grass:--

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It would, I think, be unnecessary for me to offer any further comment on this valuable grass, than by urging its cultivation on all; and merely to add that in every case in which the land has been again returned to a course of tillage after having lain for eight or ten years in lucerne, it has invariably been more congenial to the production of grain and vegetable crops.

ITALIAN AND ENGLISH RYE GRASS, CLOVER, &c.

The best season for laying down the above grasses is April and May, a previous fallow being required in order to ensure a good plant. The dry weather affords everything that could be desired for pulverizing and cleaning the ground.

Now, with regard to the seeds to be put in, I wish, in the first place to introduce to the notice of the country settlers (who have not tried it) the valuable grass first named in this article, viz.: Italian rye

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grass. This grass, as its name indicates, is a native of Italy, where, as well as in other parts of Europe, it has long been grown. It is a biennial, but, by being cropped, if mown before flowering, it may remain several years in the ground. This fact came particularly under my own observation in an adjacent Colony, where, having resided in one district for the space of seven years, and close to a large public institution, I had an opportunity of witnessing the immense crops which were taken, some six or seven times during the summer, from a patch of ground of a few acres in extent. This land was laid down many years ago, and successive crops were taken from it every season, apparently without deterioration. It is true it had the benefit of a continual supply of water throughout the hot weather, by which it was irrigated, and the growth thereby rapidly forced.

Italian rye grass gives the greatest results from the application of liquid manure: indeed, it is stated that a gentleman named Neilson, of Halewood, by repeated applications of liquid manure, raised one hundred tons of rye grass and clover off an acre of ground in one year. It is when manure is applied in this form that the plants can most readily feed upon it. Another example appears in the case of the owner of Myer Hill farm, near Maybole, in the county of Ayrshire, where he states that one field of rye grass, sown in April, has been cut once, fed off twice with sheep, and was ready on August 20th. to be fed off again. In another, after yielding four cuttings within the year, each estimated at nine or ten tons per acre, and the value of the aftermath for the keep of sheep was stated at 25s. per acre. Another gentleman estimates his yield of Italian rye grass at from eighty to one hundred tons per acre, and gets eight or ten cuttings, according to the season, and that on land of medium quality. Another example may be given, which came under my own notice. A friend, not far from my own residence, tried about an acre of Italian rye grass on ground that had been

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under cultivation for forty years, and had been what is commonly called "worked out." This ground, with the aid of a slight dressing of short manure from the yard, he laid down, using, I think, two bushels of seed to the acre; the result was most satisfactory. The seed taken from it proved to be of more value than any other crop on the same extent of land on his farm. The situation was naturally a moist one, which, doubtless, contributed greatly to the successful yield off such poor land. Another friend of mine laid down a considerable breadth of land in Italian rye grass in Tasmania, but I did not remain there long enough to witness the result of this crop. This gentleman was having pipes laid down over his estate, in order to irrigate his grasses, fruit trees, hops, &c., which he was cultivating on a large scale, and at great expense. As I obtained for him the seed used on this occasion, I hope still to hear of his success in so large an undertaking.

Experiments which have been made show that animals prefer this grass to any other kind, and in analysis it gives more saccharine matter than the common rye grass. It can be sown with barley without injuring the crop, and by sowing it a little thinner it is found not to choke the clover in the first crop, while its quick growth enables it to keep ahead of it in the second, producing hay little inferior to the first. This crop is now highly esteemed in England, and getting fast into common use. It was at first disliked, and considered too exhausting to be often adopted; but now it has become quite common. All animals eat it with much relish. I believe almost any kind of soil will suit it, from almost pure sand to cold and tenacious clays. I have seen it thrive in Melbourne in small gardens, when the herbage around has been completely burnt up. It is an important fact, that however rank and luxuriant it may grow, animals eat it with the same avidity as they would the youngest shoots, and it is never known to scour them, but, on

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the contrary, they do better upon it than on any other description of grass whatever.

With respect to the other grasses, undoubtedly the perennial rye grass is one of great importance; it is a highly esteemed herbage plant, and should be generally cultivated; it comes early to maturity, and is easily grown. I used about three bushels to the acre, with a small proportion of white Dutch clover, and a kind known as hop clover, bearing a small yellow flower growing close to the ground--a most valuable grass, and well relished by dairy cows, making the butter very rich. It also makes a good bottom if laid up for a crop of hay.

White clover is a native of calcareous soils. It is a perennial plant and sometimes called creeping clover. It is luxuriant in its growth, nutritive in its quality, and sweet in flavour; consequently it should always be used in laying down a permanent pasture.

Red clover is named from its having red leaves and red blossoms. I believe it is a native of Flanders, and called there the great clover. Its abundant produce is not alone its great recommendation. Land that has been exhausted by the growth of corn is greatly restored to fertility by the shade and decomposition of a heavy crop of this kind. It is a biennial plant, and does not, arrive at maturity until the year after it has been sown, and soon dies after arriving at maturity.

A variety of other grasses generally find their way into our pastures amongst the above-named, some of which are extremely valuable, and should be well understood, in order to secure those best adapted to climate and local circumstances, of which every farmer should himself be the best judge. That sort which is suitable to one field, in a certain locality, would be ill adapted to another of a totally different soil and aspect. A sort that I have myself grown in New South Wales I think eminently adapted to arid situations and poor soils in the vicinity of Auckland: it is known as "joint grass." I believe this grass will succeed where

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the English rye grass would fail; it holds its green colour even through the hottest season; the roots take fast hold of the ground, and strike at every knot or joint.

Another strong rooted grass, and well adapted to exposed and poor soils, is the "American prairie," or oat grass. It is very prolific, and well liked by cattle. This grass I have tried both on sandy soils and on rich alluvial deposits, and found it to succeed in both situations. A small quantity of this seed--about as much as a teaspoon would hold--sent to me from Sydney, I sowed; the result was a tin dish full of seed. This kind, also, has the advantage of growing freely through the hot weather.

Other grasses, such as the following: sweet scented vernal grass, cocksfoot, fox tail, meadow cat's tail, meadow fescue, and others having their respective qualities. The sweet scented vernal, giving that delightful scent which accompanies new made hay, and though it does not thrive well alone, it combines to advantage with other grasses; it flowers early, and ripens its seed (in England) early in. June.

It is a beautiful and wise provision respecting these early grasses, that they continue to increase in nutriment up to the time of the seed being ripe; whereas the later summer grasses are most valuable at the time of first flowering. Thus it happens that both are in fit condition to be cut at the same time, although the former are much farther advanced than the latter.

There is also the cocksfoot grass, a coarser but still valuable species of herbage, coming into blossom in June, and ripening its seed in July. This grass springs up very quickly after being cut. If mixed with other grasses, in a fair proportion according to the nature of the soil, it is considered equal to most of the other pasture grasses, and suited to this Colony.

The fox tail is greatly liked by cattle, and in consequence forms a large proportion of the pastures of England. Sheep are very fond of it. When combined

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with white clover, on a sandy loam, this herbage has been found, in the second season, sufficient for the support of five couple of ewes and lambs per acre. In some instances the culture of this grass has been laid aside on account of the long time it occupies in attaining perfection, and also because it only thrives on lands that are neither very moist or very dry. It is on this account less fitted for the alternate husbandry, but it is one of the best grasses known for permanent pasture.

The meadow cat's tail is also an important grass; also the meadow fescue, a large plant with succulent leaves, apparently much liked by cattle. It thrives in a deep loamy soil, and makes excellent hay.

Another grass, rich and nutritive when growing on a good moist soil, but of no value when the soil is sandy and dry, is the rough-stalked meadow grass, forming an important ingredient in water meadows. In dry soils it becomes shrivelled up, and cattle refuse it altogether: but when in a flourishing condition it seems greatly liked by oxen, horses, and sheep.

Besides the above, there is almost an endless variety of grasses well worthy of attention. There are also different species of clover, scenting the air, and making valuable herbage.

In concluding this article, a few observations on the making and stacking of hay may not be uninteresting to those engaged in rural affairs. The principal hay grown in Tasmania is that composed of oats and barley; in New South Wales, oats, barley, and lucerne. They are all good, if properly saved. The former supplies excellent food for working horses and bullocks; indeed, horses that are entirely kept on this hay work well, and keep in good condition with the assistance of a very few oats. The lucerne hay possesses advantages over the former for dairy stock; and the hay made from English rye grass and clover is also useful to cows and sheep, but there is not sufficient heart in it for horses kept hard at work, unless corn be supplied to

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them. The Hobart Town hay--namely, oats and barley, is mown in November, the price paid for mowing being from three to five shillings per acre. A good mower, on even ground that has been rolled, will cut from two to three acres per day. In beginning to cut the crop they first notice which way the crop leans, or which way it is carried by the wind at that particular time, well knowing that in cutting it down the work will be better and easier done when the crop leans away from the mower. It is also better done by cutting across the ridges than lengthways down the lands. Mowing is, as I before stated, done by the acre, but making the hay is paid for by the day. It is of the utmost importance in the Colonies, where dry weather generally prevails at this season, to use the greatest diligence and care in securing the hay crop. The labour required here is much less than in England, so that a very little "making" is necessary. My experience goes to prove that the hay generally lays too long in the field, and inferior hay is the result, for by this practice it loses its essential juices, as well as its beauty of colour, which should always be approaching sage green, instead of the black musty stuff that often finds its way to market. The common number of work people are: five haymakers to one mower, including tedders, loaders, pitchers, and stackers. There is no doubt that hay loses its value by being too long in the field. In stacking, the sprinkling in of a peck of salt to the ton is a good thing done, as the cattle are thereby benefited by its use. The material used for thatching is generally straw, drawn tight into bundles; but in the Colonies a most excellent substitute is found in the long cutting grass which, if properly used, will resist the heaviest rains. If the situation of the rick be thought damp, a trench ought to be cut all around it for the purpose of carrying off the water.

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THE POTATOE.

This useful and edible root is now become one of the necessaries of life, notwithstanding its denouncement by several scientific men. They are cultivated to a a very large extent both in England and the Colonies, where they have fetched almost fabulous prices. I have known them sold in Tasmania at £28 per ton, but such a price is not likely again to be obtained for them; still they are a paying crop in most seasons, and are sufficiently remunerative on good land, at from £3 to £4 per ton. They are grown to a large extent in the adjacent colony of Tasmania, where sixteen tons (in some rich districts) are obtained to the acre. This is in a rich friable soil, sufficiently shady, and containing a large amount of vegetable matter, this being a great desideratum where potatoes are required to be grown.

With regard to planting this tuber, I have tried three different kinds of sets, namely, small potatoes, large potatoes (cut), and whole sets (large), and the result has been in favour of cut large potatoes producing the best crops, as well as economizing the seed. In using cut potatoes, it is proper to divide them into parts (say three or four), each part containing two eyes in case one should fail; one eye is quite sufficient to produce vigorous stalks, and is far preferable to having a great number of small shoots or stalks; three are considered the best, as the produce is much finer and heavier, giving less trouble to lift and bag up, which is a great consideration if labour is high, for a small crop of potatoes, or any other crop, will not pay the grower. Other matters are also to be considered in regard to potatoe growing, such as choosing good

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sound seed, of an oval shape, with a rough skin, and bearing a purple tint about the crown, also that the eyes be not greatly indented or very numerous, the latter appearance being unmistakeable evidence that the seed is greatly deteriorated, and consequently unfit for planting. This kind of seed I have known used, and the produce has been a large number of small tubers, ranging from the size of a pea up to that of a walnut, with long roots running in all directions. Planting such seed as this only ends in disappointment and loss. I have a friend engaged in potatoe growing in a large and fertile district, who assured me that three tons to the acre more can be obtained by well selected seed. When the potatoes are cut they should be placed on a dry floor with sifted ashes scattered over them, when the part cut will form a skin over it, and prevent them from rotting when planted.

The potatoe prepares the ground for wheat. Land intended for this crop should be well ploughed, and run into drills with the double mould board plough. The dung, which may be long and half made, is put into the bottom of these trenches, and the sets placed on the top, about twelve to fourteen inches apart; the drills may be thirty inches in width. There is no advantage gained by crowding your crops. It is found easier to form these drills by having the swingle-tree attached to the plough five feet in length, in preference to those generally used, the work being made easier for the horses. Early crops are found to succeed best on a warm bank. The silver skin and ash leaved kidney may be planted about the end of May and throughout June, but the main crop may be left until July, August, and September; the former month has always turned out well with me, if the land did not lie wet. After a sufficient number of drills are planted the plough enters the ridge which divides the drills and splits them, covering over (if the mould board is double) two rows of seed at once, consequently doing the work in half the time of the ordinary plough; the

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field is then harrowed, which may be done in a fortnight or so after planting; this operation destroys any weeds that might be germinating, and at the same time levels the field. If the land should be foul, the horse hoe is worked up and down between the rows as soon as they appear; this kills the weeds and opens the land, greatly benefiting the young plants. The ample width you have given between the rows will now be seen to advantage, as plenty of room remains for the working and cleaning of the land, after which they must be hand hoed, and kept thoroughly free from weeds, when the last operation is performed, namely, to hill them up.

The potatoe disease--so destructive in England--is not known in the Colonies, but they are apt to be seriously injured by the grub, which attacks them more in stiff lands than in sandy soils. A good protection against this insect is to well earth them up, allowing plenty of mould to be brought up about the stems when they are growing; also, when planted, they should be covered to the depth of six inches, which prevents them from pushing up the ground, when grown to a large size. This grub is produced from an egg, deposited in the potatoe by a small moth which may be seen flying about the field. The sets being buried deep also prevents the potatoe from being exposed, and shields them more from the insect tribes, which are so destructive to young crops. Another plan is to dig early, that is, as soon as they are ripe, which will be seen by the haulm turning yellow; when this is the case, they should be dug, if the weather is fine and dry.

If potatoes are not required for immediate sale, they are often left in the ground until wanted, and then dug or ploughed out; care, however, in this case is necessary that they are not left too long. I have known fine crops in this way very much injured by the rain which has caused a second growth, thereby spoiling them for sale, and affecting the quality. There

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are other ways of planting, such ns dibbling, which is done by making a hole with a dibber, formed out of the broken handle of a spade shod with iron, and dropping the seed in. Another plan is by walking up the garden line, which is stretched from one end of the bed to be planted to the other, and thrusting down the spade into the ground, which forms a receptacle for the seed; this is a very quick way of planting, as the seed is dropped as the planter advances, and has not to be gone over twice. This applies to level ground that is well dug, and not put into drills. I might here remark that potatoes should be dug with a fork, or if ploughed out the coulter is removed first, as many of them would be cut. I have found dry sheds the best for storing potatoes in, but they must be kept from being exposed to the air or a strong light, which may be easily done by using old bags, and covering them with bark or anything at hand; straw is not a good thing to cover with, as it is apt to heat and injure the potatoe. Pits are often dug, which must be in a dry place, and the potatoe well covered with earth and dry sods on the top, with a trench cut all around to take off the water. These banks should be shaped like the roof of a house, and will preserve them a long while. A good potatoe is known by being like a ball of flour when boiled--the opposite, those that are close and waxy.

Mr. Mears, formerly curator at the Leeds Botanical Garden, recommends taking off all superfluous shoots from the potatoe sets. "By doing so," he says, "I have found a very considerable increase in the size and weight of a potatoe crop, in comparison with those growing near, of the same kind, on a similar soil, where the tops had all been left on as they sprang up, and, as they frequently do, with six, eight, or ten stems. The detached shoots, if taken off with care, will be found perfectly well rooted, and to need no further support from the parent tuber; and, therefore, if each be separately planted with care in a coiled

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position, leaving just the top above the surface, about six inches apart in the row, and about from two to three feet between, according to the kind and soil, and watered afterwards to settle the soil about them, and then treated as the others, excellent crops will be produced, little inferior to that from the original set, had the the whole of its shoots been left on it, and the crop will prove finer.. . . Where manure of a rank nature is applied to the sets, it ought judiciously to be laid over, and not under the sets: much mischief often arises from the latter practice."

MANGOLD WURTZEL.

This very excellent root is of two kinds, the long red and the yellow globe; the latter being preferred on light lands, and sometimes producing as much as forty tons to the acre. This, however, can only be obtained by a thorough cultivation of the soil. From long experience in regard to this root I can bear my testimony as to its great value, and would recommend my country friends to try it; if not at first on a large scale, try a few acres, and I venture to say it never will be regretted. It is good for almost all kinds of stock--for milking cows as well as fattening bullocks or hogs; besides the climate is exceedingly favourable to their growth, keeping green with a very moderate share of moisture, and progressing in growth when many other plants fail through the dry weather. The best time for sowing is September and October, but a previous sowing may be made in the garden in August (broadcast). This bed will supply you with plants to fill up the drills, in places where they may have missed. Mangold will thrive on clay, peat, or

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new broken pastures, if well worked and manure supplied to them. This crop also, as well as potatoes, prepares the ground for wheat, or a seed crop of barley, the ground being well pulverized, which should be done with a horse hoe, which is an indispensable implement amongst root crops. The best for the Colonies are those with the shares or hoes pointing forward, and must be made very strong, as they are liable to come into contact with roots, which will soon disable them unless made fit for the work.

The preparation of the land for mangold must commence in the autumn, when the stubble is to be ploughed in and left to rot; another cross-ploughing previous to the seed being sown must be given, then well harrowed, until a fine pulverized soil presents itself, after which it may be cast into drills thirty inches apart; the ridges between those drills is the place to sow the seed. A small trench may be opened with a small hoe on the top of the ridge, when the seed may be very lightly shook out of a glass bottle all along the row, afterwards the roller passes over it and it is finished. Another plan is to dibble the seed in, which may be done at intervals of a foot. It will be found, when the plants grow up, that they require thinning, leaving a strong one every twelve to sixteen inches. Those you remove will do for transplanting into another bed. The seed should not be placed too deep--say from two to three inches.

The land is often prepared by forming drills, as above named, into which the manure is placed. Afterwards the drills are split in two, covering up the manure. The land is then rolled, the drill being made with a small hoe. The seed is then sown, and rolled again, which completes it. About six or seven lbs. of seed will be required to sow three acres in this way. It may be grown also on flat land, but I think the ridges better. In forming them, the long swingle tree should be used, as in the case of potatoes, making better work and easier for the horses. They should

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be stored in dry sheds, the same as potatoes, or in a dry place in the field five or six feet high. They keep well, and afford nourishing food for cattle throughout the winter and spring; the leaves are also excellent for milking cows. This crop is not subject to the blight, and can be grown where turnips would fail.

The following extract shews the high estimation in winch mangold wurtzel is held in England:-- "The value of this truly excellent forage plant is now pretty generally understood, and its culture as a store for winter use extensively adopted: to the cottager who is the fortunate holder of an allotment, and possesses a cow or a few pigs, it is one of the most profitable crops he can grow, yielding more bulk with real fattening qualities than perhaps any other root we have. The beginning of May is perhaps the best time to sow it, for if sown earlier on light land, it is liable to "run" or grow to seed, instead of forming large roots; and on heavy soil it is generally impossible to get the seed in properly until dried by the sun of April. Whoever attempts to grow mangold wurtzel in the most profitable manner, or so as to obtain the greatest weight per acre, must previously get the ground in thoroughly good order and allow the plants plenty of room: it is an acknowledged fact that the majority of the crops of this root are spoiled for want of thinning. On good land, each plant will fully occupy a square yard, and when left closer than that, a decided loss upon the gross weight is incurred. There is plenty of proof that the roots may be grown to a much greater size than is usually done, near three cwt. having been reached on several occasions, and that it is entirely dependant on the space allowed. Mangold wurtzel may also be grown as a green crop, to be eaten fresh in the autumn months, when in dry seasons grass is scanty, and is of much assistance, especially to dairymen. Employed in this way, it may be left much closer, say, twenty inches between

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CARROTS AND PARSNIPS.

the rows, and a foot from plant to plant, the culture may be confined to one thinning of the plants, and once ploughing or hoeing to destroy weeds: the return will be an immense mass of food, which, mixed with hay or some dry fodder, will be highly nutritious. In storing this root, make small ridges, and cover with waste hay or bruised straw, over which a thin coat of mould may be spread and beaten smooth, the latter is merely to keep the previous covering in its place. A much better, and in fact the only true way of successfully preserving these and all other roots, is to lay them up in small heaps in a storehouse, and keep them perfectly dark and dry; remove them a few at a time as they are wanted."

CARROTS AND PARSNIPS.

Carrots require a light loam or sandy soil, and if trenched and properly sown wall produce immense crops. I have often seen them weighing ten to fifteen lbs. each. On one occasion I viewed one that weighed seventeen pounds. These extraordinary results were obtained only by high tillage, such as trenching, manuring, and keeping the weeds down. If the land is ploughed for carrots, it must be repeated several times, and harrowed continually, until it is brought to a fine pulverized condition, the seed being so minute that any clods or lumps appearing in the field would greatly impede its growth; in fact, land in such a state is not fit to receive seed of this kind.

Carrots may be sown either broadcast or in drills, but if the former the land must be clean and quite free from weeds; the drilling is much to be preferred; about six or eight lbs. to the acre is sown. My

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PEAS.

practice has been to mix it well with wood ashes, as it is almost impossible to distribute it thin enough when sown alone. August and September is the best time to sow, and in moist situations I have had fine carrots from seed sown in October. When the young plants appear they must be kept clean with the hoe, and thinned out to six or eight inches apart; care must be taken to preserve the true carrot, as a weed grows with them that may be mistaken for them, and may possibly be left in the ground in the place of the true root. They may be sown in drills fourteen inches apart and nine from plant to plant, and are a most profitable root to cultivate, oftentimes producing from twenty-five to thirty tons per acre. Milk cows are very fond of them. They give a fine sleek coat to horses; in fact, they are good for all live stock, either boiled or raw. Carrots used for the table should be brushed, not scraped, which spoils their flavour.

PARSNIPS.

These require the same kind of land, but more moist, as carrots, and similar treatment in their cultivation. They are an invaluable root, highly nutritious, and cattle are very fond of them. These and carrots give a richness to milk unequalled by anything else. They should be sown in drills in the autumn, as frost does not injure them. They also produce large crops. I have seen a published account where they have grown (in Melbourne) upwards of two feet in length. It is a root very little cultivated, but should be grown to a much larger extent than it is at present.

PEAS.

These are of two kinds--the garden, or white pea, and the field, or grey pea. The grey sorts are con-

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sidered generally to be the proper kinds for the field, but the most successful farmer I have known always chooses the white kinds. A very good sort is the crown pea and the queen of the dwarf, both very prolific. Peas should be drilled, as they are a good crop for cleaning the land, and a most useful food for horses when given with oats, hogs, and other stock. The straw is also most excellent fodder for all kinds of stock.

BUCKWHEAT

This useful grain is much liked by pigs and poultry, pheasants are also fed with it, and in some parts of Europe it is cultivated very largely, and used for bread. It has the advantage of growing on light soils, and will thrive on poorer ground than wheat or barley. The produce from an acre varies from twenty to thirty bushels. One and a half bushels of seed is sown to the acre, sown broadcast, sometimes it is ploughed in to enrich the land in vegetable matter, and to prepare it for a following crop. Rye is also treated in the same way, but it is not considered good farming, as, by feeding cattle with the same, more profit is supposed to accrue.

TARES AND VETCHES.

These are cultivated to a considerable extent in the Colonies, but would pay to grow more largely, as the present price for seed (April, 1863) is 20s. per bushel

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in Sydney, and not to be had in Auckland. They are very prolific, and will grow well in moist and rich ground. The winter tares are sown in autumn, and the summer in the spring. They thrive on clay soil. Two bushels to the acre is sown, and in some cases, in order to destroy weeds, three bushels maybe sown. Rye is sometimes sown with winter tares, and oats with spring. They are good for fattening cattle; for dairy cows they are excellent, producing a large quantity of butter. Care must be taken when cattle are first put on to them, as they are apt to got blown; this, however, is always a necessary precaution to take, if cattle have been kept long on dry food.