666 



TEE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



Dahlias should be well staked, and 

 should be freely supplied with water in 

 dry weather, but should first be mulched 

 with old manure. 



Phlox decussata will now be near 

 blooming, and should never be allowed to 

 sufEer from drought if fine heads of bloom 

 are required. In hard dry soils these 

 should be planted in trenches like celery 

 with plenty of manure underneath, or if 

 in borders where trenches cannot be 

 made, plant each clump in a sort of basin, 

 that is, lower than the surrounding sur- 

 face, and mulch with old rotten manure 

 up to the general level. Any water ap- 

 plied will then soak in to the roots, and 

 will not spread ouc and be lost as it would 

 if they were planted level with the sur- 

 face. 



All kinds of evergreen flowering shrubs 

 and fence plants may be planted this 

 month, also evergreen fruit trees such as 

 the Orange, Naartje, Lemon, Lime, Guava, 

 Mango, etc. 



The budding of roses and fruit trees 

 may be commenced, also layering. 



Carnations may be layered now for 

 flowering in the autumn and wmter 

 where frost is not severe. For spring 



flowering they may be layered about 

 February and March. 



In the operation of budding, the buds 

 should be well-formed eyes in the axil of 

 the leaf. Having fixed on the intended 

 stock and bud, take a sharp buddmg 

 knife and with a clean cut take the bud 

 from the branch with about a quarter of 

 an inch of the bark above and below ; 

 remove the small portion of wood left 

 without injuring the eye, as if this comes 

 away with the wood it will be useless. 



If budding with the wood is done the 

 wood left inside of the eve should be very 

 thin, so that it will shape itself easily 

 to the stock. 



Beginners and those who are not ex- 

 pert should bud with the wood, as the 

 shield is more solid and not so easily 

 bruised. After the eye is ready, choose a 

 suitable place in the stem of the stock and 

 cut a T shaped cut through the bark. 

 Open this with the handle of the budding 

 knife and set the shield under it. 



Afterwards bandage over above and 

 be'ow with raffia, bringing the hps of the 

 bark of the stock together again over the 

 bark of the bud, taking care that the base 

 of the eye is in actual contact with the 

 bark of the stock. 



A Branding Mixture. 



WE have had, says the "Breeders 

 Gazette," several complaints that 

 druggists are in doubt as to compounding 

 the formula for the New Zealand chemical 

 branding mixture. The directions, as we 

 printed them, are as follows :— 



Barium sulphite and coal tar, thmne. 

 by equal parts of American potash and 

 water and spirits of turpentine, each equal 

 in measure to the original composition. 

 We found no difficulty in understand- 

 these oirections, but for the benefit of 

 those who are puzzled we put them in the 

 form of a prescription with full directions 

 as follows : — 



Barium sulphite 

 Coal tar ... 

 Mix thin with 



American potash 

 Turpentine 

 Water 



16 ounces 

 16 „ 



32 

 ■^2 



Mix the barium sulphite and coal tar 

 thoroughly as is required by the nature 

 of the two substances. Mix the three 



last-named— potash, turpentine, and water 

 —also as required by their natures so as 

 to secure perfect fluidity and amalgama- 

 tion. Gradually then incorporate the two 



masses. , ^ , i v, i 



A correspondent reports that he has nacl 

 good success by clipping the hair from 

 the point at which he wishes to apply the 

 brand, but from the ejcperience of others 

 this is not necessary. The same corre- 

 spondent states that a wooden brand wiU 

 answer quite as well as one of iron. 



An odd compliment was paid a paval officer 

 whcccompanied Sir John Malcolm's Mission to 

 Teheran by a Persian trader. ' he officer was a 

 very poor horBeman, and, being; mou.ited on a 

 rather spirited Ara^, afforded the onlookers a 

 good d^al of amusement by f ij^^^'l; 



Surs to keep his seat in the saddle The trader 

 sou'ht to console him, saying that he had told 

 all his f.iends, "You, like all > ngl sh, good 

 rider but this on. time they see you you very 

 drunk It was, he thought, a serious short- 

 comiD" iu a white man to be unable to r.de, but 

 none whatever to be very drunk in public on a 

 ceremonial occasion. 



