10 May, 1919. Reminders. 319 



CULTIVATION OF THE PARSNIP BED. 



Frequently growers report the failure or parsnip seed to germinate. 

 This may be accounted for by the failure of the seed to retain its vitality. 

 In the Old Country two-year-old seed is considered very unreliable ; and 

 in this country care should be taken to obtain fresh seed. Some amateur 

 gardeners take very little care in preparing a seed-bed to insure the 

 necessary depth and a fine tilth. On a rich sandy soil it is easy to fulfil 

 the conditions necessary to insure the germination of the seed. Deep 

 digging prevents curving or forking^ and assures a good sample of 

 parsnip. Then, as to manuring : As a rule, no manures should be applied 

 directly to the crop, or forking may result. If a soil is poor, 2 cwt. of 

 farmyard manure per square rod (30j square yards) dug or ploughed in 

 will be advantageous. As parsnips take a long time to grow, the object 

 of manuring is to supply a sufficiency of fertilizing material available 

 for the whole season of growth. 



A writer in the journal of the British Board of Agricultvire says that 

 during the working of the land the following artificials should be 

 ploughed or dug in : — i^ lbs. of superphosphate and 5^ lbs. of basic slag 

 per rod, or an equivalent in the form of a mixture of superphosphate and 

 steamed bone-flour, or superphosphate and ground mineral phosphate. 

 Just before sowing the seed, sulphate of ammonia at the rate of f lb. per 

 rod, should be worked into the top soil, and after " singling " a further 

 dressing of sulphate of ammonia at the same rate should be applied. 



Parsnips should be sown early in the season, from March to May, at 

 the rate of 6 lbs. to 7 lbs. of seed per acre (1 oz. per rod, or, say, 200 feet 

 of drill), in rows 15 inches to 18 inches apart, about 1 inch deep and 

 lightly covered. In about a month from sowing, when the plants show 

 the true leaf as well as the seed leaf, they should be thinned out to 

 6 inches to 9 inches apart. — Journal of Agriculture, Queensland. 



REIVIIISIDEHS FOR JUfJE. 



LIVE STOCK. 



HoBSES. — Those stabled and in regular work should be fed liberally. Those 

 doing fast or heavy work should be clipped; if not wholly, then trace high. Those 

 not rugged on coming into the stable at night should be wiped down and in half- 

 an-hour's time rugged or covered with bags until the coat is dry. Old horses and 

 weaned foals should be given crushed oats. Grass-fed working horses should be 

 given hay or straw, if there is no old grass, to counteract the purging effects of, 

 the young growth. Old and badly-conditioned horses should be given some boiled 

 barley. Paddocked horses should be looked at from time to time to ascertain if 

 they are doing satisfactorily. 



Cattle. — Cows, if not housed, should be rugged. Rugs should be removed 

 and aired in the daytime when the shade temperature reaches 60 degrees. Give 

 a ration of hay or straw, whole or chaffed, to counteract the purging effects of 

 young grass. Cows about to calve, if over fat, should be put into a paddock in 

 which the feed is not too abundant. If in low condition feed well to tide them 

 over the period and stimulate milk flow. It should be borne in mind that the 

 cows most liable to milk fever are those that have been low in condition and are 

 rapidly thriving. The treatment described in the Year-Book of Agriculture, 1905, 

 should be almost invariably successful. It will generally be found most profitable 

 to have cows calve in autumn. They will then pay well for feeding through the 

 winter, and will flush again with the spring grass. Calves should be provided 



