The Pembroke County Guardian and Cardigan Reporter

THE FARMER S P A C E. Rural life B A SON OF THE SOIL. "THERE ^AHLIAS *BOM CUTTINGS. °*n be no doubt as to the cheapness of stock CU.ttinkrs 85 a method of getting together fl0r-, 0 dahlias, and as several prominent *he m'Aj? PrePared to send out selections from note « Februar7 until the end of March, cannnf k °W as *° treatment of cuttings for com P'ace- If dahlias are intended %nd nnl P' Sround must be well dug the oiL. ve,r.Ised during the previous winter, at korsft r«e me adding a liberal quantity of good dun<» ?anurfe- although, if the soil is light, cow SrounH Pre-arable. About the end of May the ^eds again be stirred, and laid off in Ween Wlc^e- with an alloy 1ft. in breadth be- takes • Into these beds a double row of ■way. 'lla7 D« placed, about 2$lt. apart each little' r«n 6 avera&e» the tall ones may be a S°me ore a"d the dwarf ones a little less. *^e Dlarowers prefer a greater distance between JtiOit n-tthe space given has proved to be before" 1 -0' Tho stakes must be firmly fixed the The best time to get the plants When 6 ■ April and beginning of May. be imrv^j0111'' from the nursery, they should Placed potted into 4 or 5-inch pots, and Rre^nk °n a moderate hotbed or in a warm plant« <?us<)> rare being taken not to allow the tend tto become dry, as the slightest check will After throw them into bloom prematurely. RTaHi 11 third week of May they should be dane^*hardened off, and planted out when all bo rJl,l Jr0st '1 Past- w„hich. in Scotland may Ireai^oned as after the first few day in June, yuent waterings, occasionally with liquid DAHLIAS FROM CUTTINGS. O.-Dahlia cutting as taken from plant. prepared for insertion. Inanure, tying and thinning the shoots, will en- 'be attention of the cultivator till the be- Kmning Gf August, when the buds will be ap- J~Tann £ A good mulching of well-decomposed la u be of great service now. If very i r £ blooms are wanted, only four or five tranchos should be left on each plant, and all ati excee<ling two or three at the end of each in 01 |*b°u^ be removed. A few lateral shoots < be allowed to grow, which will carry flowers tli °?" When the flowers begin to expand, be all the better of a little protection to e wea,ther, a piece of board or tin nailed _the top of a stout stake answering the pur- Pose very well. Some prefer boxes with glass J*8- Should dahlia cuttings appear flagged received, place them for a short time in «ter of a temperature of 60deg. or so. Pots ™*y then be filled with very sandy soil, and if j^™bs. (2in.) are used, one cutting may be PJ^ced in the centre of each pot. If 3-in. or 4-in. Pots be used, six cuttings may be inserted round ue edges. Make the soil rather firm and give • slight watering, and afterwards plunge the Pots in a slight bottom heat. Shade from the 8 rays, but do not cover up quite close if the •nnosphere is at all moist, as they are apt to off if so treated. In fourteen to twenty- one days they should all be nicely rooted, and ready to pot off singly into small pots, and again transferred to bottom heat. RED-POLLED CATTLE. I have again been asked to give a line regard- Ing red-polled cattle, a breed of which the Prince R H^a^8' ^°n A- Fellowes, and Lord fwthschild are very great admirers. The herd of last-named nobleman is well and widely RED-POLLED COW Jnjpwn; it was started essentially from a dairy Point of view, and the average yield for one year was published, with a view to demonstrating the "apabifities of the herd in that direction. Out of total of seventy-four cows, thirty-six were in the during the whole of the year, and in twelve Inonths their milk yield was 271,5931b., an aVrage for each cow of 7,544ilb. Numerous Prizes were won in the show yard and also in j*P?n milking tests, two of the biggest triumphs prizes at the London Dairy Show in suc- cessive years. Such testimony requires no up on my part, and as one of the best preeds for dairying purposes the red-polled can honestly recommended. ON PABSNIPS. For general crop parsnips should be sown in February or March in rows 16in. to 18in. apart. e seed being placed lin. deep, and oovered "ith fine soil. Deep, well-cultivated land it ry to secure a good parsnip crop, and nd which was heavily manured for the previous erop is best, as land freshly manured does not Produce the best jhaped roots. To grow par- •niPs for exhibition, a deep, rich, and well- drained soil is necessary. If the soil is of a ^iyey nature, it will be better to make up a bed forced earth to the required depth than to •«empt to grow them in such. A trench may made, sav 30in. deep and 18in. wide for a ■ingle row, and a layer of well-rotted manure Placed in the bottom and mixed with the soil e trench should then be filled up with good of a friable nature and the seeds sown. The l^ethod, however, which is adopted by all the Jjest growers is clearly shewn in the appended lustration. A large dibble is procured, and L

SHOOTING over the farms of Llandruidion I and Caerati reserved. Previous permis- sion cancelled.—Dr. Owen, Brynymor aulO EXPERIENCED House Parlour-maid wanted » end of this month, mast have good re- J«fences. Apply by letter only, stating age, ferences, and wages required to "A," ^AEDIAN Offices, Haverfordwest. fe!5 18- -Rmmp- mow "W 4=W 4ow j J THE BEST KEYLESS WATCH AT L-5. Lon;ion oomw BENSOITSWlMNK'j ■ di/lKeyless, 0' '•oo-quarter Plate ENGLISH P W Silver Cases. mlfjinuja LEVER WAlOH, Chronometer Balance, all \| r s~ 'jMj Latest Improvements, Crystal Glass Cases, in J ft |BS^ Silver, £ 5 (or in strong 18-cc. Gold Cases, £ 15). i| OR AT THE SAME PRICE I MONTHLY ^PAYMENTS j P ffk /fl fln ml At same Prices as for Cash. ■! Wb DeP°slt with Order, J saver I fflW 9 successive Payments of fOl- each English Levers «| & MJBff or 25 Monthly Payments of 2GI- J from £ 3.10, MiK f £ AjjJMjjffl for the Gold Watch. H Gold Watches for Ladie8, from GOLD CHAINS (London Hall-Marked), BENSON'S^gliilsig | MONTHLY Brilliants, £12. ts. glo los. Brillianta, LS 109. PAYMENT ■ jj|ili mil SYSTEM. J BENSON'S do not charge ■ jj|ili mil SYSTEM. J BENSON'S do not charge ■ X&B&&S0& extra for buying this way. M L wBJ ILLUSTRATED Chains & Jewellery. ^j I ■ Opals and Brilliant, Bnbies or Eubies, or Sapphires BOOKS peri*] Ptato," & B.i B, VI I W Brilliants, &Q. Sapphires, £ 2 15s. and Brilliants, £ 20. FREE. Na 3. of silver Articles L f r presents. A ■ I PC1IOAM a IJ The Premier Watchmakers 1 I Mm via DEvfflOUIV) LI0.| of the World. 2 STEAM ^FACTORY: 62 & 64, LUDGAT^hnLLj_LONDON, E^. j| -&Admb"

j PARSNIP CULTTJBE. holes are made with it in the ordinary soil of the garden, exactly as seen in the drawing. These holes must be made when the ground is quite dry, and may be 3ft. deep and 6in. or 8in. in in circumference at the top. To fill them a com- post must be made up, and for the bottom 6in. of the hole it should be very rich. The mix- ture may consist of fine soil, a little sand, mould, and well-rotted manure, all passed through a iin. riddle, to remove stones. This may be enriched by the addition of a little manure or other fertilising ingredient and a little soot, which will help to keep away rust. To arm the top of the hole less manure should be used. Sow six or eight seeds in the mouth of each hole, covering about a jin. Thin out the plants when they have grown to a few inches in height, taking care to leave only one strong plant near the centre of each hole. The seed should be sown as early in February as possible. Parsnips must not be fed on the surface, as it induces side-growths on the roots and spoils their appearance. If feeding is done it should be by large holes made at some distance from the plants, and liquid manure is advisable. It greatly decreases the risk of the top or crown of the parsnip being destroyed if when half-grown ..mall quantity of clean sand is heaped over it. ASPABAGTTS. When this crop has not been attenr^d to already, it must be no longer neglected, says a writer in the Market Gardener. Where the plant is grown in raised beds some of the soil can be thrown into the alleys, and the beds re- ceive a good dressing of well composted manure. Some have been using peat-moss manure for this crop, but where the land is at all heavy it is much better avoided, as it is very apt to encourage eelworm, and asparagus is very susceptible to this trouble. During last season or two we have seen hundreds of plants entirely destroyed by the myriads of micro- scopic eelworms taking possession of the dor- mant buds. Probably the use of salt on the beds has in the past acted as a deterrent in the case of eelworm, and so has kept the plants aafe. An annual dressing of freshly-slaked lime will also do much to cleanse the beds of insect pests, and from 6cwt.. to lOcwt. per acre should be given a week or two before the farmyard manure is put on. Some heavy lands are badly infested with the underground black or black and-yellow slug. These pests are continually eating away the underground parts of plants Where these pests abound there is nothing like dose of vaporite for their clearance. This may be sown over asparagus beds to the extent of 3cwt. per acre. and if just pricked in as soon as sown will n!a.Ife it hot for the slugs. The manure may be left on the beds until February, when it should be forked in, or if the land works well it may be done at once. Where sea- weed can be obtained this may be laid on the beds to a thickness of Hin. In ca.ses where it is not desirable to put real manure on the beds 3cwt. kainit and 5cwt. basic slag to the acre may be put on at once, and in March, when the beds are dressed down or the rows are prepared for the spring work, a dressing of 2cwt. sulphate of ammonia may be given. Rich guano is ale., a good manure- for asparagus, but if it is not fish potash" it should always be supple- mented by lcwt. of sulphate of potash to 3cwt. or 4cwt. of the fish manure. PACKING NUTS AND OTHER PRODUCE, FOR EXPORT. A new method of packing and transporting fruit and other perishable produce has been re- cently tested, and its development is being watched with interest in Colonial fruit circles. The basis of the process is the use of a vacuum, and the inventor, Mr. Charles Blagburn, of An- tioch. California, says that by its use fresh pro- duce can be packed for three months without decay. Fruit will not continue ripening once it it put into the vacuum, and this fact permits of gathering when the conditions are the best. A large plant has been established at Antioch for tjie_unlimited production, ofvacuum boxes.. Air- iiagTii, recepcacics or practically any size are made, and when the fruit or other produce is placed in them the vacuum apparatus is applied and the air exhausted. Pure nitrogen is then forced in to produce an equilibrium, so that atmospheric pressure will not cause a collapse. Those behind the scheme claim that its adoption will greatly increase the fruit-growers' profits. A refrigerator car from San Francisco to New York involves an expenditure of J6150, while the promoters of this process claim that a car load of fruit can be forwarded across the continent for JB40, as fruit can be shipped in ordinary freight cars, without the necessity of refrigerator cars and ice. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. A. T. C."—Tho only way to procure the bulbs of the wild hyacinth lor bluebell is to dig them up from the woods or any other place where they grow; but that is a hard task, as the bulbs grow very deep. It is doubtful if they will stand transplanting, but you can got the bulbs of garden hyacinths, which are pretty when in bloom, though they are shorter in the bell, through any nurseryman, such as Carter's, Holborn, London, or Daniel's, Norwich.

DID those two mince pies I gave you agree with you, Robert? The young missus made i'em! 11 "Oh, fust rate, Mary. My rubber heel-pads wos nearly worn down-an' I fancy your missus's pies 'U wear much better! Hotelkeeper: We have breakfast at six Yclock. Shall I call you?" Newcomer: "Well, yes, if you want to. But I tell you now, you'd better not do it loud enough to wake me." Milliner's Girl: Madame said I was not to return until I had collected the amount of your bill." Mile. Fifine (in tears): "My poor girl, how sorry I am for you. You have lost your place. You will never go back." Jinks: "To-day I pleased a pretty woman by telling her a certain red-faced, snub-nosed, bald- headed mortal looked like her." Winks: "Get out!" Jinks: "The red-faced, snub-nosed, bald- headed mortal was her first baby." And," said the Sunday-school teacher, "when Delilah cut Samson's hair he became mild as a lamb. Can you understand that?" Well, ma'am," replied Tommy, it does make yer ieel ashamed when a woman cuts yer hair." A queer-looking customer inserted his head into an auction-room, and, looking gravely at the knight of the hammer, inquired: "Can I bid, sir?" "Certainly," replied the auctioneer, "you can bid." "Well, then," said the wag, walkincr off. "I bid you Kcod-nisrkt." "Ah!" he sighed, after she had blushingly whispered Yes" in his bosom. My own Arabella! Oh! that name's so formal. Surely your friends use some shorter one; some pet name." "Well," she murmured,, "the girls at school used to call me Pickles. Mrs. Bondclipper: "Doctor, what do you think is the matter with me?" Doctor: "I am inclined to think that your blood is not pure. I'll have to give you something to purify your blood." Mrs. Bondclipper (haughtily): You are probably not aware that I belong to a good old Norman family." Cecil (sentimentally): Don't you feel gloomy when the sky is overcast with grey, when the rhythmic rain sounds a dirge upon the roof, and the landscape's beauties are hid by the weeping mist?" Hazel (sweetly): "Yes; it's dreadfully annoying. It does make one's hair come out of curl so. Two gentlemen travelling in a railway carriage between London and Brighton differed widely m their views respecting temperature. Immedi- ately after the train started, one of them pulled up one of the windows and said: "As I feel rather cold, I hope you don't object to the win- dow being closed?" The other, however, forth- with put it down again, saying, as he did so, "I can't sit in a stuffy compartment" Thus they went on till the tram reached Croydon, when the guard came to apologise for the broken pane in tho window which, had caused disagreement. The travellers had been quarrelling about a win. iow-frmo I