Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

7 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

FIELD AND FARM. .

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

FIELD AND FARM. A FAVOURABLE HARVEST. Another week of generally satisfactory weatfter for hurve-Aiag (eays the "Agricultural Gazette") bus been experienced, and the fields of corn tthrougfaofut a great part of England are nearly cleared, while considerable progress has been made. in Scotland and Ireland. Tfais :e not an uncommon state of affairs so far as the Eastern andSoutnern counties are concerned, as in those parle of the country it i-s usually a su>b j ect for remark when standing corn, beyond a piece of beans here and there, is to be seen on the let of 'September, when partridge shooting begins. But further north and west and in the Midlands, ih arresting is much mODe n-early aibreast of that of the early districts than it usually iis, so that arwytjher geu-eratly -fine week would see the bulk of the English com -crops safely in the stack. Up fu the present time there has been a minimum •q £ loss of shed grain, and none has been materi- ally damaged by wet weather. Whatever has (been produced, therefore, has been much more newi-r au aecu-red thian iit usually is. More- over, the straw, generally sound and healthily ana/tared, has been stacked in such excellent con- ditronthwt ,its feeding well as its selling value wilt be above the average. AGRICULTURAL RETURNS. The preliminary statement of the Agricultural Returns for 1905, issued by the Board of Agri- culture, show an increase of 421,701 acres, or 30.7 per cent., under wheat, the total being 1,796,985 acres. Barley has decreased by 127,020 acres, and oats by 201,586 acres, or 6.9 end 6.2 per cent, respectively. Potatoes haue increased by 38.262 acres, or 6.7 per cent. There is a decrease of 193,975 acres in clover and rota- tion grasses, and an in of 102,438 acres of permienent pasture. Horses have increased by 12,197, catitle by 128,668, and sheep by 50,018, but pigs have decrooædby 436,725. AUTUMN CULTIVATION. This valuable work has been begun on a ccn- siderab-le scale in the earliest districts, and under very favourable conditions. There have been showers enough in most places to soften the stubbles sufficiently for the ploughs, while the sunshine has quickly killed weeds brought to the surface by further cultivation. Land may .now be ploughed to advantage for rye and early •tares, while trifodium can bo drilled in stubbles after a shower. There is also a capital oppor- tuni,ty. of sowing mustard in fields cleared of se- cond-early potatoes, a plan not as commonly pursued as it might well be. As wheat loves a stole furrow, ploughing for that cereal may be pursued with advantage where the land is in a condition to allow of neat work being done. GRASS LAND EXPERIMENTS, Trials of various manures in grass land for the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, are re- ponfced for the eigh-teen-th season in the "Agricul- tural Students' Gazette." The greatest yield this season was 41-towt. of hay per acre, or 25cwt. 2 more than the produce of the unmanured plot. This was produced with the help of 5cwt. per aero each, of superphosphate and kainit, and 2jewt. of nitrate of sOOia. The yield was only lowfc. less wdier4a 2cwt. of sulphate of ammonia replaced the nitra.t&. When used alone, the sul- phate of ammonia gave 8$cwt. more bay than tbhe nitrate alone. With basic elag, lOcwt. per acre, the yield in the season's experiment noticed was only a little over 2cwtt. more tihan that of the unmanured plot. Twelve tons of farmyard manure gave a fraction over 33rcwt. of hay. It is a pity that the average re&ults of the period of the experiment are not given, as ,they would be much jmore insrtrucliive than the results of a single Aseawlio I TEMPERATURE AND THE WHEAT CROP. I Mr. R. H. Curtis contributtes to "Sym one's Meteorological Magazine" an article on "The Amounit of Heaffc required for the Growth and Ripening of Wheat." He refers to attempts anade by Boussiingault, Dr. Gilbert, and others «to ascertain the thermal consibants for various <plantfcs, and especially for the ripening of wheat. A. method of determining the accumulated amount A. method of determining the accumulated a.mouint of temperature Tequired during the growing period was adopted, and Dr. Gilbert chose 42 deg. Fah. as his minimum for growing processes tto become active. No definite results of the in- quiries are mentioned by Mr. Curtis, and it is •doubtful whether any can be shown. Thaib "wheat requires plenty of heat aifiter its ears have flbegun to form is well known but there is no TelaeOn to infer that extra healt for the whole period of growth, from sowing to reaping, in- creases the yield for, if that were the case, the yield in hot countries, would .be greater than it tts in mild countries, which, speaking generally, is the converse of the truith. It is mainly the stowness of development in our own and a few Other ecuntvies which makes the yield much greater than it is where the temperature of the •whole growing period is high, or the summer is anuch hotter than it is in England, shortening 4he time between sowing and reaping. FERRET ON THE FARM. I Except in bulk by no means the least useful and interesting member of the farm staff is the tferrett, with the additional advantage that his wor^ combines aft once utility and sport, beside -whi,e,h he is a. most aittraeti-ve little creature ,whooo pluck and skill in tackling and bolting the cat from his own stronghold at once wins for trim the admiration of the rising generation. The little animal responds readily to any c-are and ariitenton bestowed upon him, and if his dwel- ling is not always as fragrant and agreeable as one could desire, the fact should be looked upon as a tMsfortune rather than the fault of the tferret, and be laid to the blame of Ms attendant, who, in too many cases, gives the poor beastie mo possible chance of keeping himself clean by allowing the hutch to get into a most neglected and unsanitary condition. With ordinary care and attention there is no reason why the ferneifc court or hutcih should not fbe as sanitary and wholesome as that of any dler member of the agricultural live stock. F TOMATOES IN THE OPEN AIR. I During wet, sunless summers tomatoes in the open are almost destroyed by the too well- known potato disease, writes Mr. H. Thackeray an the Gardening Ulusitraited." As far as open-air plants" are concerned, we are entirely at 4he mercy of the weather. In a. summer as Jthat of 1893 there was no disease worth speaking of. and exceptionally heavy crops were grown. In some aeasons a. consideralble number of fruit qn various stages- of growth has developed black epote, principally at the crown of 'the fruit, the decay rapidly -spreading. Nothing definite is known as to the cause of this disease, and no certain cure or preventive can be given. Some ■auftehorities have expressed the belief that im- perfect fertilisation is to blame, and a hollow- raess at the affected parts to a certain extent corroborates this view. I am of opinion it i6 the j-eisulit of injury to the delicate pistils of the flower either by insects or more proba-bly from causes. decay, slow and sure, being the inevitable result. The ordinary Bouiillie Bordelaise that has been largely used of late as a preventive of disease among potatoes has proved equally efficacious ingain,st this disease in Tomatoes. One of the eiDlJplegt methods of mixing and applying this ie -as follows: Dissolve half a pound of copper sulphate in two gallons of cold waiter. Next clake, by jura daxaging, a quarter of a pound oi .quicklime, and then well stir it into half a gallon of water. Pour this milk of lime, keeping it con- etantly sttrred, into the copper solution, all be- ing stirred up together and then allowed to ertand for at least six hours. It ought to be mixed sin a wooden vessel and be used within twenty- •four hours of mixing. This mixture ought to tJoe well, stirred prior to using, aatfc' only very aighitsly sprayed over the foliage ait the- end of July and again three weeks later. I find thai fAbe black spot ia more prevalent towards the end of Septemrl, whoen the nights are cold, and, a& very .,hagpens the wea/thei ^breaks up excessive rains' come. At th« <etid of September it ig advisable to cut th« anearly ripe fruit not required for immediaita use ania nang in a cool room. Fruits that are tfull grown, but quite green, ought to be curt Lwith a portion of the etean attached and hung jvp in a warm rooua to ri-pen.

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