352 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



January, 1914 



vents the tree from fruiting, should 

 be avo ded. The svstem to follow 

 is that which will aid the tree in 

 I)roducing anntially the greatest 

 quantity of highly-coloured market- 

 able fruit, and which, at the same 

 time, involves the least training 

 and pruning during either siimmer 

 or winter, rather than one which 

 entails much labour after once the 

 tL-ee has attained the bearing age. 



The growing and pruning of treesi 

 is no longer a hobby with most of 

 our fruit growers, but a commer- 

 cial undertaking, and the grower 

 should not go to the expense of 

 doing more pruning during svim- 

 mer or winter than is absolutely 

 essential for the purpose of proper- 

 by spacing the Umbs, and preserv- 

 ing a reasonable amount of bear- 

 ing wood. — Queensland Agricultur- 

 al Journal. 



Increasing the Durability of 

 Fence Posts 



A RECORD! 



Promoting Germination of 

 Seed. 



The New York Cornell Station 

 Bulletin 312 calls attention to the 

 fact that a certain percentage of 

 seeds, though possessing vitality, 

 delay or fail to germinate owing 

 to " hardness," but that early 

 germination could be effected by* 

 the aid of sulphuric acid. It is ad- 

 visable, first to make a germina- 

 tion test to ascertain whether the 

 percentage of germination of saeds, 

 apparently alive, is low. 



In the case of a small quantity 

 of seed, it could be placed in a tube 

 or other small glass vessel and a 

 quantity of concentrated sulphuric 

 acid, equal to about 5 or 6 times 

 the quantity of seed, is poured 

 over the seed. Stir the mixture 

 thoroughly with a rod until all 

 are completely coated with the 

 acid. After standing for 15 to 45 

 minutes (according to percentage 

 of hard seed) wash with water un- 

 til the seed is entirely free of acid. 



For large quantities a stone jar 

 of 2 or 3 gallons capacity may be 

 employed, and a wooden stick used 

 for stirring. 



The presence of iron in copper 

 sulphate may be determMned readi' 

 ly by dissol .'intr a small amount in 

 water and adding ammonia, the 

 solution being constantly stirred 

 till a deen bl'ie li piid is formed. 

 Any quantity of brown flecks float- 

 ing in Ih's li e I'q' id in 'icntes 

 the presence of so m^ch iron that 

 the copper sulphate should be sub- 

 jected to a proper analysis before 

 use. 



The .Tournal of the Board of 

 Agriculture for January 1913 con- 

 tains the following from Bulletin 

 No. 163 of the Maryland Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station : — Fence 

 posts were treated with p'neserva- 

 tives in various ways in 1888 and 

 examined after twenty years. It is 

 concluded from experiments with 

 posts of cedar and chestnut wood 

 that applying a preservative with 

 brush is not very effective ; that 

 creosote is more efficient than 

 either coal-tar or crude petroleum.; 

 that filling in stones round the 

 post does not increase its durabili- 

 ty. Charrincr the part of the post 

 to be placed underground was 

 found beneficial only in the case 

 of green posts — charriner, it is 

 stated, actinfr by hasteninnr season- 

 ins: and possibly sterilizing the 

 wood. 



Experiments were commenced at 

 the station in iqog in co-operation 

 with the ITtiited States Forest Ser- 

 vice. None of the posts treated 

 with creosote, tar, or crude petro- 

 leum show any perceptible decay 

 after two years' use ; while a laree 

 number of the untreated posts of 

 the same kind of wood, and of the 

 same size and shape as those that 

 were treated, have decayed to such 

 an extent as to make them imser- 

 viceable after two years' use. 



What Irrigation Does. 



It reclaims arid wastes. 

 It makes a pirosperous country. 

 It causes the dessert to blossom. 

 It insures full crops each season. 

 It makes poultry raisincr inex- 

 pensive and particularly profitable. 



It multiplies' the productive ca- 

 pacity of the soil. 



It destroys insects and worms 

 and produces perfect fruits. 



It creates wealth from water, 

 simshine, and soil. 



It m^i^'es the farmer ind'^pendeint 

 of rai'ifalls. 



It vi'lf's s'^-^'^i^in-l'- l^r^e re- 

 ti'rns to i-"-pst'^rs. 



■'"t n-.'a' es •"'s<^i'le th- • r^d^ ti'^n 

 rf cho'Vpst fr-'its. 



It "•i"ps ^rid l^u'^s "■'•ct advan- 

 ta-^e o-cr ra'nf^H '>r-as. 



Tt will incre-ise thrref^ld the 

 value of lands without rainfall. — 

 " Poultry and Farm." 



AULDANA 

 WINES . . 



i« eompciiiioa «tt 



AUSTRALIA 



•t 1.0X1.111)1 WINB SHOWS. 



1904. CHAMPION CUP for 



HOCK 



1006. CHAMPION CUP (w 



CLARET 



190C. CHAMPION CUP for 



SHERRY 



BwidM also many 



FIRST PRIZES 



)»o Biim»rnii(i to maation 



^ustrnlasia rhambers, 

 Wm. St., Adelaide. 



Maglll, South Austral] a 



