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360 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Sepr., 1901. 
MANURE FOR THE COTTAGE GARDEN, 
Corracre GarpENer, Toowona.—The best manure for the home garden 
1s undoubtedly well-rotted stable manure, but, often the addition of some 
artificial manure is of great advantage to a vegetable or potato crop. Those 
who wish to use artificials, however, should be very careful about the quantity 
employed. One of our friends put enough artificial manure on half-a-perch of 
land to satisfy the requirements of 40 perches. Here is a very good manure 
for potatoes in a small garden :— 
10 bushels wood ashes 
| ORs leaf mould 
1 bushel soot 
4 lb. sulphate of ammonia 
” ” ” soda 
10 ,, nitrate of soda 
10 ,, sulphate of potash. 
This is sufficient for 20 perches of land. An experiment made with this 
compost, on hungry shaley soil with a stiff clay subsoil, on a summer crop of 
potatoes resulted in a return at the rate of 4 tons 15 ewt. of saleable tubers 
per acre. Farm-yard manure alone produced a little over 2 tons. As an 
experiment, try the following plan :—Buy a couple of pounds of sulphate of 
potash, and the same quantity of sulphate of ammonia (wholesale price im 
Brisbane, 15s. per ewt.) Then prepare 4 square yards of your best garden soil, 
and apply a tablespoonful of the potash to each yard. Work it well into the 
soil some time before planting the potatoes or other experimental crops. When 
the plants are up, dissolve the sulphate of ammonia in water and apply with & 
watering can. With stable manure use about 3 oz. of superphosphate per 
square yard. 
GOATS PER ACRE. 
Goatherd, Helidon— 
Question. How many goats could I keep on an acre of hilly country 
like that of the Main Range between Helidon and Toowoomba? 
Answer.—Much depends on the class of country. Some of the Range 
country is of excellent quality for stock, whilst much is absolutely 
valueless for any purpose but raising goats. We should say that 
from ten to twelve goats would be enough on very good country 
with plenty of shrubs and young undergrowth, and half the number 
on poorer country. If you really intend going in for the business, 1% 
will be well to bear in mind that if you run the animals om 
fenced land, that devoted to the goats should be subdivided into at 
least two—preferably (four—paddocks, running them alternately m 
each. 
THINNING PEACHES. 
Amateur, Cleveland— _ 
Question.—My peach-trees are loaded with blossom. Would it merease 
the size and quality of the fruit if the blossom were thinned? 
so, when and how should the thinning be done ? 
Answer.—Never mind thinning the blossom: a late frost may do that for 
you; but if the whole crop sets, thin the fruit when formed. You 
should learn that part of the art of pruning in fact, the main a 
is to so arrange the growth of the tree as to secure a good quality 
of wood and not too much of it, and, following that, a proper 
distribution as well as quality of fruit. The great benefit of prope 
summer pruning is the production of fruit-wood with strong buds m 
place of thin, weak, and therefore inferior wood, and poor fruit 48 
a result. Even with the above advantages, more or less thinning 
the crop is sometimes necessary to keep up a really high standa 
of size and quality. 
