1863 - Speed the Plough: or, the Colonial and New Zealand Farmers' Guide - Miscellaneous Extracts, p 155-168

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MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS.

TO NEW COLONISTS.

You have left the land of your fathers, crossed the wide ocean, and landed on the shores of a new country--on the opposite side of the earth. This cannot fail to be regarded as one of the most important events of your life, and it must have an impressive bearing both upon your future character and history--and upon your everlasting destiny. You can adopt a different course of action from that which you pursued at home, or you can pursue the same. You can choose good companions, and shun the bad: or you can refuse the good, and choose the evil. You can easily foster habits of intemperance and irreligion--or you can avoid the hotel, and repair to the house of God. In a word, you can adopt a line of conduct which will certainly lead you to ruin here and hereafter; or you can prepare for happiness present and everlasting. What will you resolve upon? Will you choose wisdom and happiness, or folly, sorrow, and death? Suffer the following advice from one who has conversed with many hundreds on their arrival in other Colonies, who has observed their progress to happiness or ruin, and who feels the deepest desire for your welfare. New Zealand is a fair country, and men can be comfortable and happy here, but not without care and pains.

Be careful what company you keep. Don't regard a man as your friend because he came in the same ship; but if you found him wicked--then avoid him, or he will deceive you, and perhaps be your ruin.

Don't take up hastily with a stranger, because he has been some time in the colony, and is forward to give his advice; but rather suspect him the more for his forwardness. Avoid public houses and hotels, and especially those in which gambling is practised. Many of those places are schools of vice, and dens of wickedness. Shun free concerts and balls. These are free indeed! --Free to the worst of men and women. Do not go to

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them--even with a master or a brother. If he invites you to such places, he is himself a fallen man--be cautious of him. If you cannot prevent him, he sure not to go yourself. Let nothing induce you to take a step that way. It is the way to certain misery and ruin. Many a brother has led another who had just arrived--from stop to stop in sin, till both have boon utterly ruined. Refuse to join trades' unions, and all combinations of men which require them to meet at drinking houses. Many of these are got up entirely by the innkeepers, for the purpose of getting men to buy their drink.

If you are a female--beware! As you would avoid the most deceitful enemies of your sex--if you abhor the very lowest companionship, dread the most poignant distress--sorrow without a friend--disgrace without sympathy--and death in despair--then flee the snares of the midnight ball and the free concert. If possible, take a situation where you know that religion is respected, and stay not where there is no fear of God. Where there is no reverence for God and his worship, you are not safe--Satan rules there--and soon he may lead you captive at his will. Let no wages, no gilded prospects, entice you from a safe and Christian family to the dangers of the gay world.

Whether male or female, young or old --don't stand for high wages, because an old resident says he gets more than is offered you; but go to work at once, and if you at first receive less than you actually earn, in a short time you will be in a position to make better terms with your employer. Be rather anxious to show your worth than to tell it, for when your employer feels your value he will not easily part with you--and the full value of your services will soon be made certain.

See that you place the Colony under positive obligations to your labour or skill, before you venture to dictate terms of remuneration; for she is like adamant under the hammer of discontent, and only jars the hand that weilds it. But, at the same time, she is kind and genial to the labours of industry and the attention of genius. In the one case you can only gain vexation and chagrin; but in the other you will reap sixty and an hundred fold of satisfaction and reward.

If you have a little money, don't be in a hurry to invest it, nor to ask advice too freely what to do with it, but deposit it in a savings' bank, and let it remain there till you have learned by observation how to invest it. Take a situation, though it be--as with English ideas you will call it--less respectable than your former calling; and be diligent, economical, and careful. You may then be sure that quiet industry, temperance, and perseverance, will be most certainly rewarded in New Zealand by plenty, and

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in all probability by wealth. If you brought testimonials of character, as I hope you did, take care of them, and let your conduct here answer to them, as face to face in a glass.

"Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. "--God is here as he was in England, and His eye is upon you as closely, and He will hold you to the same obligations as at home. Let nothing weaken the impression of eternal truth upon your mind. Keep sacredly in memory the example and advice of your parents, teachers, and esteemed ministers, now far off, and whose voices you may never hear again, till you meet them at the Judgment of the great day. Don't neglect the public worship of God; but, for the sake of your soul, attend it with conscientious regularity and seriousness. Religion will be your safety, and the greatest enjoyment of your life. Keep up the habit of reading the Bible, and of private and family worship. Don't put off these duties till "you are settled." You may not be settled for a year or two--and by neglecting your soul till then you will, in all probability, lose the taste for religious duties, and form decided habits of irreligion and sin.

If you were a member of the Church of God at home, go, without delay, to the Minister and get your name enrolled, and enter at once into communion. But if you were not, then give your heart to God, and join the Church, lest you grow more negligent and careless, and lose for ever the taste and the power of religion.

Should you reside in a part of the country where there is no provision for the public worship of God; then obtain a quantity of tracts, and distribute them; try also if you cannot yourself commence the ordinances of religion; invite your neighbours to the reading of God's Holy Word, and, if possible, sing His praises, read a sermon, and come before him in solemn prayer. Be encouraged by His own promise-- "Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst."- Matt, xviii. 20. --And again, "In all places where I record my name, there will I come unto thee, and I will bless thee."-- Ex. xx. 24. Having succeeded in gathering a small company, you communicate with some Minister of Christ, and with his co-operation you will probably become the instrument of establishing the worship of God for future generations. Some persons complain that a Minister never visits them, when they have never informed one that they exist.

In a word, let your arrival in a new hemisphere be the occasion for newness of life. "Cease to do evil, learn to do well." Begin at once--put forth all your efforts to be regular in the use of the means of grace--and pray earnestly, and day by day, that God may preserve you from evil, and make you a blessing in New Zealand. Then will your life be happy, and your death peaceful. - Uncle John's "Hints to Colonists"

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LAYING DOWN LAND TO PERMANENT PASTURE.

Preparation of the Land. --If the land is not clean, it is well to take a crop of turnip or other roots previous to laying down grass, which will afford opportunity for more effectual cleaning than can he done in the winter months preceding the seed-sowing.

The importance of getting the land into a good tilth, fine, firm, and level, cannot be overstated, as, if the land is rough or hollow, some seeds will be too deeply buried, and others not covered at all. If the field is full of weed-seeds, they will germinate more quickly than the grasses, and take possession of the land.

Manure. --If a root-crop has been fed off in the previous autumn, it will generally be unnecessary to apply other manure; but if the land requires assistance, a top-dressing of 2 cwt. per acre of Peruvian guano, or the same quantity of nitrate of soda, should be applied when the grass is well established, say 2 inches high.

Sowing. --Choose a still day, as a rough wind would prevent the regular spreading of the seeds. Some men who are used to it will sow grass seeds well by the hand; but it will generally be done better with the common seed-barrow. This will distribute the seed very evenly, either in one mixture of clovers and grass-seeds together, or (which is most usual) by going twice over the land, sowing the light grass-seeds first, passing up or down the furrows, and subsequently crossing the lands with the mixture of clovers and other heavy seeds.

A bush-harrow, or the lightest iron harrow, should be applied immediately before and after sowing, thereby covering the seeds before birds or a change of weather can interfere with them, care being taken that as few seeds as possible are buried too deeply, or remain uncovered. After harrowing, the whole should be carefully rolled. As to the best season for sowing, though much has been written in favour of autumn-sowing, we have no hesitation in saying that the spring is preferable if the land can be made ready. With very heavy land, however, in a wet spring, it is often late in the summer before it is sufficiently pulverised, and if later than the middle of June, it is well to defer the sowing till August or September; but in autumn-sowing there is great probability of losing the clovers, as, while in a young state, they are apt to be carried off by slug or frost. Therefore, if autumn-sowing is adopted, it is well to examine the young pasture early in the spring, and, if the clovers are found to be deficient, to sow more of the same kinds immediately, which will take very well if the grasses are not too strong.

By spring-sowing we mean sowing during the months of

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March, April, and May; and, generally, April will be the safest and most favourable month of the three. If, however, the land is quite ready by the middle of March, and the weather favourable, it would be good policy to sow without delay, rather than incur the risk of the seed-bed being spoiled by a change of weather. If it is desired to grow a crop of corn, the time of sowing the grass-seeds will be either immediately after the corn, or else when the corn is two inches higher--the former being most favourable for the grass. As to the question whether it is best to sow with or without a crop of spring corn, it is no doubt safest and best to sow the grass-seed alone, especially where the object is to obtain a fine park-like sward as soon as possible. One great advantage of this practice is, that if the land has not been thoroughly cleaned, and the annual weeds got ahead of the rough grass, they may be destroyed by mowing as soon as the grass is six inches high; and another is, that if from irregular sowing, or from the roller not having passed over every part of the field, some bare spots occur, they may be discovered and resown in good time.

In sowing corn with the grass-seeds some of the finer kinds of grasses are almost sure to fail, especially if the corn crop is heavy and becomes lodged. Still much might be said, and is said, in favour of this latter practice; and, seeing that the obtaining a crop of oats or barley is an important matter with most farmers, we would by no means condemn the practice, especially as the seedsman can, if duly informed of the intention of his customer, provide such sorts and proportions of grass and clover seeds as will, under ordinary circumstances, insure a full plant. The quantity of corn sown should not be more than 2 bushels per acre, and oats are generally less injurious to grass than barley.

Sowing Grass-seeds with Wheat. --It not unfrequently happens that a field already sown with wheat is desired for adding to the grass-lands; and if it is pretty clean, there is no objection or difficulty in effecting this, provided the seeds are sown sufficiently early, before the wheat is too high. Upon autumn-sown wheat the grass-seeds might be sown as early as the middle of February, if the weather be open, as the wheat will defend the young grass from any injury by frost; but if the wheat is very backward, or stands thin on the ground, the sowing may with advantage be deferred.

On spring-sown wheats the grass-seeds should be sown, as soon as the corn is 2 or 3 inches high; and as all the tillage required will be bush-harrowing before sowing, and rolling afterwards, no injury to the wheat-plant need be feared.

The most suitable weather for sowing Grass-seeds. --Choose a fine day when the land is tolerably dry, but when there are indications of approaching rain. These are much more favourable

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conditions for the seeds to fall on the land than rainy or showery weather, as they are more likely to be evenly covered, and will be very gradually absorbing moisture from the soil previous to the fall of rain, which they will he in a condition to receive with benefit; whereas, if sown after a shower, as is too frequently done, these advantages are not obtained, but after the seeds have become saturated with moisture, the dry weather returns, and they become "malted." --R. A. S. Journal.

FORMATION OF GRASS LAWNS FROM SEED.

It will be admitted by all that good velvety turf is one of the most ornamental objects of which dressed ground can boast; therefore any hint in the way of improving a lawn not very good is at all times acceptable, especially as there is much unsightly turf to be seen in various places, some of which might be improved by a little judicious outlay.

In the first place, let us suppose that a sort of hungry gravel has to be covered with lawn turf. Here the predominance of stones is a great drawback, as the earth recedes from them, and leaves them standing in bold relief when the seed is sown, for we presume the case will not admit of turf being imported into it. From a soil of this sort it is prudent to rake off all the stones that can be had from the surface, and if a covering of about an inch of good earth can be had, so much the better. On this let the grass seeds be sown at any time when it is ready, and the ground very well rolled; nature will usually do the rest. The object in removing the stones is to keep them away from the scythe, and the more fine earth placed at the top the better the quality of the grass lawn, and the less likelihood of its burning in hot summers.

A shallow soil resting on chalk is almost as unmanageable as the last, not so much from the presence of stones as from a disposition it has to produce plants inimical to a nice close-bottomed turf, the plantain being the most annoying. Prepare for sowing as directed above. Mow as often as possible, and when plantain and other weeds assume an unbecoming growth, let boys be directed to go over the lawn, and cut each one up singly about an inch below the surface, not deeper, and put about a teaspoonful of salt on the cut part. This will not in all cases exterminate these pests, but it kills many. The evils of these plants are the naked, raw spots seen in the lawn in winter, as they die down then. May is perhaps the best time to kill them. Dandelions may be subjected to a like fate, and, if necessary, yarrow or milfoil, sanfoin, chicory, and some other weeds might be extirpated in the same way.

A rich garden soil for a lawn is as bad as any to manage; not but that the grasses grow well on it, and their general

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luxuriance chocks the production of daisies, but then the richness of the soil encourages worms, which are very troublesome in autumn and in mild winters. The only remedy for this is to give a good coating of ashes or chalk an inch or so below the surface. A partial remedy for the time being is to give the lawn a good watering with lime water; but, as may be expected, this is not lasting in its effects.

A dry, black, peaty soil sometimes produces a nice agreeable surface, moss being predominant, and, to those who like this kind of surface, black peat earth might be added to other soils when it can be obtained; but the grasses it produces are hard and wiry, and were it not for the presence of moss its surface would not be agreeable.

A loose, running sand is also bad for producing a good sward, though it may be done with time and patience; but the grasses on this soil are not deep rooted, and are easily affected by dry weather, and also easily damaged by any one running or stamping about. It is, however, free from worms, and sometimes becomes mossy.

Perhaps the best description of soil for a lawn is the stiff loam or clayey soils which predominate in so many districts. This ought not to be by any means rich, as a rapid growth is not wanted in the grasses of a lawn; but, in preparing it for laying down, let the surface be as much alike in quality as possible, and do not stint the quantity of seed. A very stiff clay is no better than a very dry sand for resisting drought, as it is, in a measure, sealed up against the insertion of roots, and the surface contracting by the withdrawal of moisture, it is liable to crack, &c. to a great depth. Nevertheless, a stiff soil usually makes the best lawn.

Sowing seed is the general way of establishing a lawn. Much depends on the season and the condition of the ground at the time of sowing, and still more on the absence of small birds, who are very fond of grass and clover seeds, and destroy more than is generally supposed. A very slight raking in will protect the seeds much, or a sowing of wood-ashes will render them distasteful. Rolling, however, is at all times indispensable, and it is a good practice to sow a very thin scattering of barley amongst the grass seeds, which, coming up quickly, tends to shade and protect the tender grass.

The best time to sow grass seeds is either in April or about the beginning of September. If at the latter time, the seeds ought to have been the produce of the same season. Sowing plenty of them is also advised, as the little extra expense for a good lawn ought not to be denied.

One important thing should not be forgotten in the preparation of the ground: let it all have a surface of about six inches alike, for nothing looks worse than to see a lawn grow all in

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patches. One exception, however, may he, mentioned, and that is, if there he any steep slopes facing the south or other exposed places, let the earth on them he better than in the ground level, for the aspect and other causes render such places liable to burn with less sun than level places. They ought, therefore, to be of better material, and turf ought to be provided to lay there if accuracy be expected.

It is only proper here to observe that no lawn can be maintained long in good order without successive rollings, unless it be well used in walking on. Mowing alone will not secure a good bottom without that compression which the roller or foot of the pedestrian alike tend to give. --From the Cottage Gardener.

FARMING-WORK FOR BOYS.

It is generally admitted that proper training of the young is one of the best means of reforming society; habits of industry, sobriety, and order, implanted in early life, are very likely to continue their good effects in later years. A praiseworthy attempt towards this desirable object has lately been made by Mr. Batson, of Kynaston Court, Herefordshire, an account of which will, we think, prove acceptable to the readers of this work.

It appears that Mr. Batson, not being satisfied with the attendance of boys, as day-labourers on his farm, made arrangements to take twenty of them entirely under his own care for four years, to clothe, feed, and train up to a proper knowledge of their business. The boys' age averaged between nine and fourteen years. "Each boy," says Mr. Batson, "was to be provided with two suits of clothes--one for working in, and the other for better use, also a complete stock of linen, shoes, &c.; and at the end of four years I send them back with a like equipment. The working hours are from six till six in summer, and during the winter they work while it is light. The mealtimes are at nine o'clock, when they have half-an-hour for breakfast; at one o'clock, an hour for dinner; and at six o'clock, when they have half-an-hour for supper; and the evenings are spent in education until nine o'clock, when prayers are read, and they retire to rest. The food consists of bread and milk, or bread and broth for breakfast; bread, meat, and vegetables for dinner; and bread and cheese for supper, with the addition of coffee and pudding on Sundays. According to the rule universally observed on my farm, no beer or cider is allowed, excepting during the hay and corn-harvests. The labour consists of the general farm-work; but I may more particularly observe, the planting or dibbling of wheat and other corn and root-crops, and the hand-hoeing of corn, turnips, &c. The evening education is that of reading and writing,

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arithmetic, &c., and such religious and other instruction as time and opportunity will admit, in which, as well as their daily labour, they are superintended by a young man for the purpose, who was four years at the Woburn National School, and six years at the Duke of Bedford's farm, where he also worked in a gang; to which I may add, that I make it my duty to attend personally each evening to assist."

The average cost of each boy for soap, clothing, and schooling, was £3. 2s. 7 1/4d. a-year, or 1s. 2 1/2d. per week; and for food, 2s. 9 1/4d. per week. Thus for 4s. per week each boy was comfortably maintained, while the profit on their earnings fully repaid then employer for his exertions and outlay. A statement of the wages paid to boys and men shows on which side the advantage lies:--

Wheat planting, 6 or 7 boys, at 8d. per acre, 4s. 8d.	Not done in the county.
Wheat hoeing, 6 boys, at 8d. per acre, 4s.	Men, per acre, 4s.
Turnip hoeing, 5 boys, at 8d. per acre, 3s. 4d. Do. second time, 3 boys, at 8d., 2s.	Ditto, 6s. 6d. to 7s.
Mangold Wurtzel, 6 boys and 1 man plant 5 acres per day, say 1s. 3d. per acre.	Ditto, 3s.
Cleaning and heaping swedes, 6 boys, at 8d. per acre, 4s.	Ditto, 6s.

"You will perceive," continues Mr. Batson, "that this statement is in favour of the boys very considerably. In planting corn there is a considerable saving of seed (which will, of course, vary according to the idea of the farmer as to quantity required;) the seed is all in the ground, and at the required distances apart, to admit of hoeing and weeding, and thus it requires less harrowing to cover the seed. The hoeing is as perfect as it well can be done by hand, and all the surface is moved--a system which is seldom carried out when it is hoed by the piece. In the turnip-hoeing, the plants are at regular distances, and all the surface is moved, so that no weeds escape; and I believe that in a field of forty acres, a man might have crossed it in six places and not have found six double plants. Of incidental work I need say little more than to remark that in weeding, collecting couch, collecting turnips and potatoes, making hay, turning barley and other crops at harvest, picking stones from the land, &c., &c., the boys are peculiarly adapted, as these operations do not require strength, but care, and from their size the boys get so much closer to their work. But these are few of the great advantages to be derived. Whilst my boys are learning to be good and skilful labourers, and to get their living, they are rescued from what are too frequently dens of immorality and vice, and are learning their duty towards God, and their duty towards their neighbour. They are learning habits

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of cleanliness, and a systematic mode of living, and may be, I trust, the commencement of a better race of men. You may ask-- Is this system appreciated by the working class? I should say, most decidedly it is. I believe in three months after I had filled up my number I had refused as many as sixty applicants (some from a distance,) and one poor woman walked twenty-four miles to get her boy placed with me, but my number was already made up. There is another great advantage I must not omit to mention, that in keeping these boys I am consuming my own manufactures (wheat, pigs, sheep, &c.,) by which means I have the bran back on the farm; I have the butcher's profit on the sheep and pigs; I get the manure (night-soil) on the land, and I keep my capital in my own country (my farm,) instead of sending it abroad (i. e. the labour-market). I believe I have given you every particular requisite, and I think the calculation very near. The only items I have omitted are milk (skimmed,) which would otherwise go to the pigs, and garden-stuff, which they have when in abundance. The calculation is from Sunday morning to Saturday night, and the boys have lived in the usual manner. The expense may vary, but I believe this is about the average. I have said nothing of the accommodation and expense of fitting up, but it is not great. There are also books, &c., which are those generally used by the National Schools, published by the Society for the Diffusion of Christian Knowledge. In these a sovereign will go a long way. This and the interest of capital invested in furniture, &c., when divided amongst twenty boys, amounts to very little per week; perhaps, in all, 2s. per boy!"

CO-OPERATIVE FARMS.

The following may be accepted as a valuable hint worthy of adoption in this colony, not merely in reference to the ordinary cultivation of the soil, but the growth of tobacco, and many other useful products. Mr. John Gordon, of Assington Hall, Suffolk, writes thus to the Times:-- "About thirty years ago, upon a small farm in Suffolk becoming vacant, I called together twenty labourers, and offered to lend them capital without interest if they would undertake to farm it, subject to my rules and regulations. They gladly availed themselves of the offer. In the course of ten years they paid me back my capital, so that I was induced to let another farm, of 150 acres, to thirty men, upon the same terms. These have also nearly paid back the capital lent to them, and, instead of eating dry bread, as I regret to say many of the agricultural labourers are now doing, each man has his bacon, and numberless comforts that he never possessed before; thus the rates are reduced, as these fifty families are no longer burdensome. The farmers are sure to meet with

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honest men, as conviction of crime would debar them of their share; and the men themselves have become much more intelligent, and present happy cheerful countenances. If every country gentleman would follow my example, distress among the agricultural poor would not he known. I merely add, that I have no land so well farmed. I shall he happy to send you my plans, rules, and regulations, if required."

BOOK-FARMING.

We sometimes meet with farmers who deride book-learning as useless, yea, as even hurtful to the interests of agriculture. Give us experience, they say; that is enough, and that is safe. We know one farmer in particular, a shrewd, keen man, who learned his calling from his father before him, and who still learns much by visiting his brother agriculturists; but he has a mortal prejudice against book-farming. Probably, much of what he knows, and prides himself on knowing, is really the product of scientific study by bookish men. If many of the useful methods which he practises had never been disseminated through books, perhaps neither he nor other farmers would ever have known them. When a man has learned something really useful (no matter how he learns it), why should it not find its way into print for the benefit of others? But no-oh no; for then it would become book-farming. Some one has likened such a narrow-minded man to the great Omar, who said of the books in the Alexandrian Library, "If they contain only what is in the Koran, they are not needed; if they contain what is not in the Koran, it must be false. Let them be burned." So, if papers and books contain only what he knows, they are useless; if they contain anything he does not know, they must be false, and should be discarded, if not burned. --American Agriculturist.

HINTS TO FARMERS.

There are some things that all farmers ought to know:--

Sheep put into fresh stubble are apt to be killed by eating too much grain.

A bare pasture enriches not the soil, nor fattens the animals, nor increases the wealth of the owner.

One animal well fed is of more value than two poorly kept.

The better animals can be fed, and the more comfortably they can be kept, the more profitable they are--and all farmers work for profit.

Ground once well ploughed is better than thrice poorly. Bountiful crops are more profitable than poor ones. Make the soil rich, pulverise it well, and keep it clean, and it generally will be productive.

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Weeds that grow unmolested around the fences, stumps, and stones, scatter their seeds over the farm, and are very likely to increase.

Cows well fed in winter give more milk in summer. An ox that is in good condition in the spring, will perform more labour, and stand the heat of summer much better than one that is poor.

When you see the fence down, put it up; if it remains until to-morrow the cattle may get over.

What ought to be done to-day, do it, for to-morrow it may rain.

A strong horse will work all day without food, but keep him at it, and he will not last long.

A rich soil will produce good crops without manure, but keep it at it, and it will tire.

Farmers' sons had better learn to hold the plough, and feed the pigs, than measure tape and count buttons.

Young ladies who have the good fortune to become farmers' wives, will find it more profitable to know how to make Johnny cake, butter, and cheese, than to play on the piano.

All who wish to be rich, must spend less than they earn.

HOW TO KEEP A COW.

A resident on Campbell's Creek, having sown about half an acre with lucerne, is enabled to keep his cow literally in clover the year round. With the cream that he obtains from a never-failing supply of rich milk, he makes butter enough to render the animal a source of considerable profit. This is a good hint to our dairymen, who, if they would follow a sensible example, might supply our tables with cream and fresh butter at all seasons.

PUMPKIN AND GOURD.

The daily papers announce that in the French markets the annual ceremony lately took place of promenading the King of the Pumpkins, that is to say, the largest pumpkin offered for sale. It weighed 2124 lbs., and was 10 feet 4 inches in circumference. A market gardener at Orleans is said to have been the raiser. We have no record of anything like this in England. The heaviest gourd that we remember was one raised by Lord Rodney's gardener in 1834, but it only weighed 112 lbs., and measured only 8 feet round. French agricultural works, such at least as we have at hand, give no weights, but we believe a gourd weighing 250 lbs. avoirdupois is mentioned somewhere. Considering that those fruits can be grown in any cottage garden, the large quantity of food the really good varieties pro-

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duce, and their very ornamental appearance in rough places, which suit them best, we should think it would be worth the while of the Royal Horticultural Society to consider whether they would not form a highly interesting feature in their autumn exhibition. A few prizes judiciously arranged would bring forth the merits of a much neglected branch of gardening in this country. --Gardener's Chronicle.

THE PARSNIP A GOOD SUBSTITUTE FOR THE POTATOE.

An English resident in Jersey, writing to the Times, recommends the parsnip as a substitute for the potatoe. He says:-- "In Jersey and Guernsey many thousand tons of parsnips are grown annually, and without his dish of parsnips a real Jersey-man would scarcely think he had dined; a pig's foot, boiled or stewed with parsnips, forms the sole dinner of many a poor family. Jersey pork, the best in the world, is fed entirely on parsnips; the rich and delicious flavour of the Jersey butter in the winter time, when most other butters are rank and tasteless, is produced by the use of the parsnip in feeding cows."

GERMAN PLANS AGAINST PLEURO-PNEUMONIA.

A meeting of graziers and veterinary surgeons was held lately at Leipsic to take into consideration the best mode of preventing the spread of the lung inflammation among horned cattle. Measures, such as the confinement of the deceased animals, the prohibition of sales, &c., found zealous advocates, but the majority admitted that all coercion, however ingeniously arranged, becomes difficult in practice, and that any restrictions to trade in cattle would be ruinous to the feeder as well as to the breeder. That principle having been admitted, the conference turned upon the other measures of precaution, and some curious facts with respect to inoculation were listened to with great attention. This practice, which was first tried some ten years back, was at first strongly opposed, both in Germany and France, but it was fully adopted when the malady was prevalent. Professor Haubner, a Saxon veterinary surgeon, calculates that the disease called pleuro-pneumonia carries off from 25 to 50 per cent, of the animals affected by it, whereas in the districts where inoculation has been practised the loss does not exceed 10 per cent., and the mortality is sometimes reduced to 2 per cent. This calculation has been confirmed by observations made in the neighbourhood of Madgeburg, where it has been practised on a large scale for the last nine years, and where the local practitioners, without any official character, have inoculated as many as 16,000 head of cattle. It has been further ascertained that this remedy is useless unless adopted in time, and that it may

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be likewise used as a preservative for animals in good health as well as a remedy for diseased animals. The farmers who attended this meeting more than once expressed their apprehension that the inoculation of healthy animals might introduce the disease into their farmyards. Professor Haubner stated that of 100,000 inoculations not one had produced any injurious effect. --Times.

ROTATION OF CROPS.

The introduction of what is called the Norfolk, or four-course system, effected the greatest possible good on a large breadth of light land that previously was difficult to work. The Norfolk four-course system is to heavily dung, or otherwise manure the land, the first year, and procure a heavy turnip crop, which is in part or entirely fed off with sheep, the land being as much benefited by the tread of the sheep and the contact of their bodies as by the manure. If the turnip crop is very heavy, a portion is removed for animals fattening elsewhere, but, in its stead, must be brought clover, meal, oil cake, or any other material, which, being eaten by the sheep, the excrement compensates for the loss of the turnips consumed elsewhere. The land being ploughed as quickly as possible after the sheep have consumed the turnips, is left ready for the barley crop in the ensuing spring, having been thoroughly cleaned during the early stages of the growth of the turnips. Along with the barley in the second year are sown seeds--that is, clover, &c. In the autumn of the second year the barley is harvested, and the land left in possession of the clover crop, which has been making way during the ripening of the barley; the third year the rotation is, therefore, a crop of clover, which is cut as soon as ready, and carried away as hay. Another crop will appear, which it is usual to feed down with sheep, and dress with liquid manure, if available. In the autumn the land is ploughed for a wheat crop, which is harvested the next or fourth year. This completes the course; the land is manured and sown with turnips the next year, and the order of that rotation repeated. --Modern Husbandry.

WILLIAM ATKIN, PRINTER, HIGH STREET, AUCKLAND.