November, 1913 



355 



ellcct is exhausted in tlu> first few 

 tnouths. 



I very much prefer usiuj; wood 

 ishes for the potash, but do not 

 .ibject to usitijj kainit, as it acts 

 IS an animal and ve^vtahle organ- 

 ism destro}t?r and an accumulator 

 of water ; in fact, for this reason 

 I really prefer to use in addition 

 at the rate of fronv o\v.' to two 

 hundred. weight per acre anplving 

 it as a surface dressing after wood 

 ashes have been either dug or 

 ho«d in. 



Basic slag is by some preferred 

 •to bone meal or to superphos- 

 phate for the phosphoric acid 

 because the bone meal alwavs fa- 

 vours fungus growth and maggots, 

 and the superphosphate readilv be- 

 comes reconverted to the tricalcic 

 phosphate state. 



For nitrogien there is nothing 

 th<T(t equals well decaved farm-vard 

 manure, that which has been well 

 made, its potash, phosphoric acid 

 and nitrogen co.nserved, the former 

 two bv providing a cesspool to re- 

 c^ve the drainap^e which should be 

 pumped over the manure heap 

 again and again, and the latter bv 

 using small quantities of sulphate 

 of iron either in solution or drv 

 state. These anolications of sul- 

 phate of iron will clean the man- 

 ure heap of spurious organisms and 

 form with ammonia present in the 

 manure, amimonium sulphate. Fin- 

 alty, it is of the utmost import- 

 ance to get a soil that has present 

 either naturallv or artificiallv all 

 the essential plant foods, and fur- 

 ther, that the soil should be free 

 or rendered free from harmful or- 

 ganism. — Rxchangfe. 



♦ 



Blanching Celery. 



. A big American celery grower 

 writes : — Blanching in hot weather 

 is not easily accomplished. Soil at 

 this season affords most favorable 

 conditions for rust. Instead of 

 this method, 12-inch boards are 

 used. Only good lumber is pur- 

 chased, cleats are nailed on to pre- 

 vent snlittinp-, and the boards are 

 as well cared for as hotbed sash, 

 far better than m.anv a gardener 

 cares for them. Bach board does 

 service six to seven times in a 

 season. When the plants are 12 

 'inches hisrh, the boards* are set 

 beside them and fastened in place 

 with clamps made from a piece 

 of heavy wire about to inches 

 long, and bent to a little less 

 1 than a ri^ht angle two inches from 

 I each end, Pairs of rows are se- 



lected at inter\als over the field 

 for the first blanching. In this 

 way wagon ways a're opened and 

 labour is saved in moving the 

 boards from row to row. The pro- 

 cess requires from 10 days to two 

 weeks, according to weather cx>n- 

 ditions. When ready for market, 

 the celery is dug with spades, and 

 stripped of outside leaves iu the 

 Hicld. Tt> is hauled to a shed, 

 trimmed, wa.shed with a hose, 

 bunched and scrubbed. The root 

 is cut to a four-sided wedge and 

 three or four stalks are tied at top 

 and bottom into a flat bunch. 



♦ 



Mustard and Cress. 



Mustard and Cress in a salad 

 crop that is largely grown, but 

 not always to the best advantage. 

 .\ few shallow boxes, some finelv- 

 sifted but sweet soil, some crocks 

 and a good supply of seed are all 

 that is required. One good-si/.ed 

 over each hole in the bottom of 

 the box will provide ample drain- 

 age. Fresh soil, finelv sifted and 

 containing a larsre percentaee of 

 sand, is best. Fill the boxes so 

 that when the soil is pressed 

 moderatelv firm the surface \\^11 be 

 sliehtlv below the edges of the 

 boxes. Scatter the seed on the 

 surface fairlv thick and even, 

 press it in slightly with the bot- 

 tom of a clean pot or pan, eive a 

 watering with a fine. rosed can and 

 stand in a .semi-dark "lace until 

 germination is effected or cover 

 with paper. Niever rov^r the seeds 

 with soil and do not use the =;ame 

 soil for more than one crop. Mus- 

 tard and ; Oress are iLsitallv wanted, 

 together, therefore the former 

 should be sown three davs later 

 than the Cress, as it erows faster 

 and consequently becomes readv 

 for cutting more auicklv. After 

 eermination stand the boxes in 

 full lig-ht and avoid watering 

 latter to permeate the soil from 

 overhead. If water is required, 

 just dip the boxes and allow the 

 water to rise from below itpwards. 



♦ • 



Birds and Seedlings. 



The sparrow is exceedingly fond 

 of tearing up .plants as soon as a 

 speck of green appears above 

 ground.. Those who have watched 

 this bird carefully know that some 

 are torn up out of sheer mischief, 

 for, as soon as thev are out it 

 drops them ruthlessly to continue 

 its work of destruction. Cotton has 



been found the best preventive. 

 Black is to be i)referred, for, being 

 nearer the colour of soil, the bird 

 cannot see it so well. Strt-tched 

 along the side of rows of seedlings 

 a few inches from the ground the 

 sparrow strikes against it, and 

 goes off fa.stcr than he came. 

 -Another way to keep the birds off 

 the fruit buds and seed quarters 

 is to 'get some broken mirrors 

 and suspend them a few feet from 

 the ground in such a manner that 

 they cast a reflection over the 

 ground, so that any little breeze 

 keeps them m.oving. This causes 

 the reflected light to dodge in 

 and about in an imexpected way 

 to the alarm of the birds. The 

 mirrors should be placed six or 

 eight yards apart. Any pieces 

 over three inches square are suit- 

 able. The birds get used to it in 

 time, still it does help. 



KALGOORLIE - HOTEL 



HINDLEY STEEET. 



CHAELES HONES, Proprietor 

 (Late of Theatre Eoyal Hotel). 



Good accommodation for Country 

 visitors. TarifiE, 25/- per week ; 4/6 

 per day. 

 Beds. 1/6 per ni^ht. Heals 1/- 



IMPLEMENT MAKER. 

 (Laie of MOEGAN). 



YOUNG STREET 



(Old Methodist Hall) bvtween 

 FRANKLIN &, WAYMOUTH STS. 



DENNIS' PATENT 

 STEEL BUCKSCRAPER AND SILT 

 SCOOPS, GATES, ETC. 



Writ* for Dliutrat«d Caialoifu* and 



