THE AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 



815 



of muriate. Being sold exactly as it is 

 dug, it is not expensive, but where it has 

 to be carried any distance, the cost of 

 carriage usually makes it cheaper to buy 

 the concentrated salts. The potash exists 

 in kainit in the form of sulphate, the re- 

 mainder being chiefly common salt, about 

 30 per cent.,' and the sulphate and chlo- 

 ride of magnesium. It is rather danger- 

 ous to apply in contact with the seed, on 

 account of the action of the salt in it; 

 it is said to be very useful for mangolds, 

 which being originally a seaside plant, 

 delight in a little salt. 



Questions. 



1. What are the manurial ingredients 

 contained in wood ashes? 



2. Why are wood ashes spoiled if left 

 out in the rain? 



3. Mention some crops that specially 

 need potash? 



4. Name the ordinary potash manures. 



5. If kainit costs £3 lOs., muriate and 

 sulphate each £15 per ton, which is the 

 cheapest to buy {i.e., from which do you 

 get the most potash for the same money)? 

 Will it make any difference if you live 

 100 miles from the place of sale, the cost 

 of carriage being Id. per Ion per mile? 



(i. Why is it dangerou.s to put kainit 

 in the drills with the seed? 



7. What sort of soils stand most in 

 need of potash manure, and which least? 



8. What different substances are called 

 potash? 



9. What parts of a plant contain most 

 potash? - 



Notes on Pig Farming. 



By J. BONNAR, of Moi 



(The following notes were written at 

 the request of the Minister of Agriculture, 

 in reply to a Transvaal correspondent, 

 who had applied for information on the 

 subject treated.) 



A PIG is by nature a cleanly animal, 

 and it is a shame to keep it amongst 

 muck and dirt. Such a condition is most 

 unhealthv for it, and unprofitable for the 

 owner, rigs are subject to rheumatism 

 from damp and cold. The purer the 

 breed, the greater the tendency in this 

 respect. 



To farm successfully with pigs, especi- 

 ally in a warm climate like that of South 

 Africa, the following points are of vital 

 importance: — 



1. Plenty of open shade in daytime, 

 say 1by a covering of branches supported 

 on post?, open on all sides, giving shade 

 and ventilation. Branches make a good 

 roof for such a shade, the rain can get 

 through, moistening the shaded ground 

 beneath, which consequently is always 

 cool to lie on in hot weather. This 

 shade should be where the pigs run in 

 the daytime. It is said the white pigs 

 do not' stand the sun so well as the black 



it Partridge, Maritzburg. 



pigs. It is the only point in which the 

 whiU' pigs (middle whites) do not excel. 

 Given proper shade, that point is quite 

 overcome. 



2. A dry warm place to sleep in. In 

 warm weather pigs prefer to sleep out in 

 the open, as fleas are liable to congregate 

 in the sheds unless the floors are hard 

 and disinfectants are used. Dry lime 

 sprinkled on the floor is a good remedy. 



3. Plenty of fresh water to drink and 

 wallow in. Pigs clean themselves of dirt 

 and vermin by wallowing in the mud, 

 and cool themselves in that way. 



Fresh water, plenty of it, is an absolute 

 necessity. Pigs are very subject to in- 

 digestion from gorging and from being 

 ted with rich swill, without getting 

 enough clean water to drink as weil. 



1 Fancy a man drinking nothing but gravy? 



1 A human being counteracts acidity in the 

 stomach by taking a pinch of soda. Pigs 

 should be supplied with ashes for the 

 same purpose. These they will munch 

 wilK avidity. 



The writer visited one of the foremost 

 farmers in Natal noted for his success 

 with all kinds of well-bred stock. Thig 



