404 THE riARDEN AND FIELD. Ji-ebruary, 1914 



Ifruit still nmrc after it is re- 

 moved from the preserving bath. 

 Before the bottle is finally cleaned 

 and wrajiped it will be advisable, 

 if i)ossible, to test each bottle. 

 Where the tin cover is loose a 

 sharji tap with a nail or knife, 

 handle will ^ve a crisp ringing 

 sonud, evidence of the vacuum 

 iijion the bottle ; but should the 

 sound be dull and hollow it \\'ill 

 be evidence that the air has not 

 been iiroperlv exhausted, in which 

 case there will be no vacuum, and 

 it will be necessary to thorousjhly 

 inquire into the cause, rectifying 

 the trouble, and to a?ain preserve 

 the bottle or to use the frWit at 

 once, or pulp it or convert it into 

 jam. In preserving perform pre- 

 ci.selv the same jirocess as in , the 

 bath, but for two-thirds of the 

 time only, as in all probability 

 the fruit "mav become pulpy, cer- 

 tainlv too soft, but at the same 

 time quite usable. 



Another method of preserving 

 fruits is to subject them to the 

 process of taking. This is an 

 improvement on the simple me. 

 thod lust described, and is usually 

 adopted commercitilly, as the fruit 

 will be more certain to keep? sound 

 for a longer period. A stronn; steel 

 clip fits down closely to the cork 

 durinf^ the process of preserxang, 

 and prevents the cork from beiug 

 blown out of the bottle. The fruit 

 is very liehtlv cooked and filled 

 into hot bottles : the process of 

 preservinsr is the same as reeards 

 times and temperatures as given 

 in the table above. Then remove 

 the bottles from' the bath, and 

 when cold remove the c'ips, cut 

 the cork flush with the bottle, fin- 

 ish off with wire, and dip in the 

 mixture of resin and beeswax as 

 advised. ^ 



Many persons pack pie-lruits in 

 water only. T do not recommend 

 this Practice, becau.se the flavour 

 of the fruit is much deteriorated, 

 whil'- the addition of t 11>. of su'rar 

 to the "^allon of water will make 

 Ijn.le difTerence in the cost, and 

 will fix the fl^^votn- in the i^uit and 

 producf a distinctly improved pack- 

 age when comvared with fruits 

 packed in water only. 



Some people use a small quanti- 

 ty of preservative, such as boric 

 acid or salicylic acid, with the.se 

 fruits, but I do not recommend 

 this ; in fact, it is rjuite imneces- 

 sary when fmits nrf propprlv pre- 

 served and all details are piven 

 intellirrpTit att.ntion. "Preserva- 

 tives are extremely itsefnl when 

 properly em^iloved but their use 

 iV oftfu .ibii'- d. The medical of- 



ficers ought to insi.st on all i>re- 

 .scrvative compounds bearing full 

 instructions as to their use, and 

 a warning against using too much. 

 There is a difference . between the 

 use and abuse of a very useful 

 article . 



The bottles of fruit, when fin- 

 ished as advised, may be im- 

 proved in appearance by the tops 

 being covered with thin tinfoil, 

 neatly folded over and rubbed 

 down smoothly. 



When storing these bottles it is 

 sometimes advisable, especially 

 when they are not corked by a 

 machine, to lav them on their 

 sides, so that the corks may be 

 kept moist. These and all other 

 bottled fruits should be wrapped 

 to prevent the light spoiling the 

 colour. 



♦ 



Complete Fertilisers. 



Bv J. C. Bnmnich, Ouieensland 

 Agricultural Journal. 



The sfreat advantages gained by 

 using improved methods of cultiva- 

 tion in combination with the ap- 

 plication of artificial fertilisers, in 

 order to increase the producti'Ve- 

 ness of the soil, are e^etting- eradu- 

 allv more recognised. It is ciuite 

 self-e\ident that the best profits 

 will result, if small areas are ma,de 

 to produce heavy crops of hi^h 

 aualitv. This is achieved bv " in- 

 ten.se cultivation," as practised in 

 other countries ; but our farmers, 

 on account of land bein<T compara- 

 tively chean. hard!-- know what 

 such cultivation means. 



Kven the richest of soil will 

 praduall-s' become impoverished by 

 continued cro'ipine : the crops not 

 only becon^e b^i^hter and of poorer 

 oualitA', but al.so ni'ich more liable 

 to ""^"t diseases. The nlant foods 

 which are removed by the growing 

 crops must a^ain be returned to 

 the soil in one form or another. 

 With i'ldicions application of arti- 

 ficial fertilisers, combined with 

 thorough cultivation and, if pos- 

 sible, with rotation of crops, the 

 fertility of the soil cannot only be 

 maintained, but frec|uentlv consid- 

 erabl\- increased. 



No artificial fertiliser will be of 

 any value if it does not stipply in 

 adequate proportion all the neoes- 

 sarv plant foods renuired by the 

 crops and wanting in the soil. iCx- 

 cess of one plant food cannot make 

 up for the absence or deficiency of 

 another. In this respect grave 



mistakes ha\"e been frequently 

 made, and no end of money was 

 squandered by appU-ing manures 

 which onl\- supplv part of the ne- 

 cessary plant foods and, perhaps, 

 one which was not wanted at all. 

 How often have large amoimtsi of 

 bonemeal been applied without get- 

 ting any benefits, because Potash 

 or Nitrogen were wanting mote 

 than phosphoric acid. 



No amount of artificial fertiliser 

 will be of any value to the land is 

 not in good tilth bv thorough cul- 

 tivation, well drained, and the soil 

 contains a sufficient amount of 

 humus and moisture. 



Again, it would be a great, mis,- 

 take to apply a large quantity of 

 fertilizers one \"ear and completely 

 neglect to do so the following 

 year. 



Situation climatic conditions, 

 class of soil, and many other fac- 

 tors will influence plant growth, 

 and will make certain districts 

 more suitable for a special class of 

 crops than others. 



The importance of humus in the 

 soil is frequently quite overlooked 

 by many farmers and fruitgrowers. 

 Unfortunately, a larg^e number of 

 our soils are deficient in the 

 amount of humus they contain, 

 and the custom-ary methods of cul- 

 tivation and climatic conditions 

 have a tendency to continually 

 lower the amount, and the soils, 

 therefore, losie that light friable 

 state necessary for the successful 

 growth of all crops and for the 

 conservation of moisture. 



The amount of humus may be 

 increased bv the addition of bulky 

 amounts of vegetable matters, 

 dead leaves, straw, cornstalks, and 

 more T'articularly of stable man- 

 ure. But even small amounts of 

 stable manure used in a'dditioin to 

 artificial fertili.sers have a very 

 beneficial action, and increase the 

 ^•alue of the artificial fertiliser, evi- 

 dently by increasing the bacterial 

 activity in the soil. 



Stal)le manure is, however, gen- 

 erallv very scarce, and the most 

 economic way to supply to the 

 soil the necessary hum'U« is by the 

 jiractice of growing and ploughing 

 in of green manure crons. As a 

 rule, vTp-orous erowing legfuminous 

 crops — like cowpeas, field peas, 

 Mauritius beans, harico beans, 

 ^■elvet beans, etc. — are to be pre- 

 ferred ; but excellent results are 

 frequently obtained with rape and 

 mustard. The crop has to be 

 chosen according to locality and 

 season , 



