Decemtxii-, 1913 



THE GARDhlN AND FIELD. 



wheat, or clover in ihv rioc or 

 barlty. 



Sometimes there will he even 

 triple crops growin^j at once such 

 as wheat ready to harvest, heans 

 two-thirds {jrown and cotton just 

 planted. Eveji ponds are made to 

 take their part, heiui^ either used 

 to brml and fatten ti.sh in or 

 periodically drained and the rich 

 veg-etahle deposit at tho bottom 

 used for compost. 



These comi)osts Form a very iii"''" 

 portant part of Chinese plaiit-iood 

 economy and are either formed by 

 makiiij]^ pits in any waste comer 

 of a field — preferably beside a canal 

 or pond — and into it are thrown 

 any coarse manure, <ishes, rough- 

 age in the form of stubble, leaves, 

 W'eeds, or other refuse on which is 

 poured the liquid mud or ooze 

 from canal or pond. When full and 

 well rotted it is transported to the 

 fields. Another very useful puT- 

 pose these pits serve is that by 

 reason of the field draining into it 

 thev catch all the surface washing 

 preserving tbem to be returned to 

 the soil, instead of being washed 

 out to sea and lost. 



Another form of compost is ob- 

 tained by making a stack of alter- 

 nate layers of fresh clover or any 



COOPER'S 



STOUT. 



Full-bodied and Nourishing, is 

 taking- the place of Imported Stout 



Recommended by Doctors. 



Write to- 



Thos. COOPER & SONS 

 Upper Kensington. 



K. BECHTEL, 



SABDLER, TRUSS & BANDAGE 

 MAKER. 



59 O'Connell Street, 

 NORTH ADELAIDE... 



Patent Attachable and Detachable 

 Buggy, Spring Cart, Yankee, and Cab 

 Saddles. 



Trusses, Bandages, (Kneecaps, Leather 

 Jackets, Shoulder Straps, etc.. Made 

 to Order, and »ent to all parts of the 

 Commonwealth. Fit Guaranteed. 



I^Y IN ATTENDANCE 



other leguminous crop and liquid 

 mud atul liasteriug the whok- care- 

 fidlv over with mud and leaving it 

 to rot. 



In -lapan a somewhat more 

 complicated form of compost is 

 made by erecting a small buihling 

 with a water-tight floor. In one 

 half of the building the stack of 

 greenstuff, straw or leaves and 

 1 (juid mud is built uj) and kept 

 moist to maintain a temperature 

 below that of the body. Left to 

 stand si.x weeks, it is then forked 

 over to the other side and left for 

 another period before it is ready 

 for the fields. 



Green manure is appUed in the 

 form of clover generally sown in 

 rice or barley and after one or two 

 cuts ploughed in. For vegetable 

 gardens liquid manure is greatly 

 used, receptacles ara constructed 

 for the reception of animal excre- 

 ment which is soaked and then fed 

 to the plants in a diluted form. 

 Some of the photographs with 

 which the book is profusely illus- 

 trated, show the wonderful size and 

 great variety of the vegetables 

 that answer to this caPeful treat- 

 ment. The author gives a list of 

 nearlv seventy varieties of veget- 

 ables he saw exposed for sale in 

 one market alone — a collection 

 which would surely put Convent 

 Garden to sham.e. 



Naturally with all this great ex- 

 penditure of labour and plant-food 

 large returns are expected and be- 

 sides the two crops of rice grown 

 each year another crop or even 

 two, of cabbage, rape, peas or 

 beans, are obtained from the land, 

 making 3 or 4 crops a yieaj; from 

 the same field. 



One thing the author particular- 

 Iv notices and that is the scarcity 

 of flies which he attributes to this 

 constant clearing up and usage of 

 all waste and garbage, the breed- 

 ing place of these plague-carrying 

 pests. Therefore the general health 

 of the people should benefit greatly. 



In some countries, as for example 

 Egypt, where flies swarm and in 

 consequence opthalmia is perman- 

 ent, the filth lying around and in 

 the villages is indescriable. The fel- 

 lah makes no attempt at the sys- 

 tematic collection of human or cat- 

 tit waste such as the Chines; prac- 

 tise, but wherever the filth of 

 generations happens to collect, it 

 is removed and spread on the 

 fields. But in FyCrv t t '^v have 

 great villages consisting of pigeon- 

 cots for the collection of the valu- 

 able guano and of this practice 

 existing in China the author makes 

 no mention. 



As regards rice ctiHivation, 

 transplanting seems to be the jru- 

 thod chielly in vogue although ac- 

 eording to the author's statistics, 

 the yield .seems to be no greater 

 than that obtained in Ivgyirt where 

 the rice is sown broadca.st. In 

 ICgypt .Japanese rice 'will yield 

 80 bushels to the acre which is ap- 

 parently onlv the best it can do 

 in .Fapan and China when highlv 

 fertilized together with the added 

 co.st of labour for transplanting. 



Straw and roots are greatly 

 u.sed as a fertilizer bv laying it be- 

 tween the rows of rice and tramp- 

 ling it with the feet into the soft 

 mud to rot. — Tropical Agriculture. 



♦ 



Mosquitoes. 



Perhaps it is not generally known 

 that many farmers have largei in- 

 cubators on their farms where they, 

 hatch immense numbers of mos- 

 quitoes' eggs. 



There are several varieties of 

 mosquitoes, just as there are se- 

 veral varieties of chickens. Their 

 eggs can be hatched in any still 

 water, anywhere. A rain water 

 cistern is a good place, so is water 

 left standing for some time in a 

 barrel or ditch, in a pail or can, 

 a swamp or marsh. 



One species of mosquitoes lays 

 >their eggs on their sides singly, 

 while another lays them by the 

 hundred and glues them' together in 

 the shape of a boa. Thev are 

 glued together and rest on' their 

 ends. 



There are four stages in the life 

 of a mosquito. The egg, the larva, 

 the pupa and the imago or winged 

 insect. 



The first part of a mosquito's life 

 (like a frog's) is spent in the 

 water. 



Th'e eggs hatch in one or two 

 days and are then called larvae. 

 They remain in the larval stage six 

 or more days, when they gradual- 

 ly reach the pupa stage, in which, 

 they remain two or three days be- 

 fore their wings grow sufficiently 

 to fl^^ away as full grown mos- 

 quitoes to suck the blood of man, 

 beast, or bird. 



♦ 



However helped and guided by 

 our friends, masters, and predeaes- 

 sors, each of us deterniiines fot^ hii^ n 

 self, in the critical moments, what 

 his life is to be, when it is right. 

 — Ruskin. 



