Welsh Newspapers

Search 15 million Welsh newspaper articles

Hide Articles List

19 articles on this Page

RURAL NOTES. - •

News
Cite
Share

RURAL NOTES. • b, J. Kuir, margam ABBEY, Glamorganshire, Dog', ^^V?3iS TO 00IUiKSPOKDENTS. Hek wifh Off.—" p W. ,T."—Wash it once rf'er dryijw, ;vlkewajTa water and Sanitas soap, and, 2kic oir,fLi„, rul> it over with a little oxide ^ai5 £ L'a'-ed. This you can. buy from H'3,h^Lr'Lr)uck!il,SS- Fiora "—Yes, your duek- 8lhiL V(*ry well, indeed, as a weight of « iti in^ °°uPle at twelve weeks old when ^Lat « ?very «'»}' satisfactory. Tou do not ty they were. N»6ir ^ioua for Bee*.—" T. W."—I wn pleased ln'*st ha 0ues weie filled 80 quickly. Your r)Uf ?! a very HaUntac-tory erudition. Yoa nvinln„ ° r k»t of ejection* "on at once in the • CoijpfO. r 18 -vou did the first, and no doubt they C^. muc'1 clover leaves yet a,8 Kpses.—" iicxes."—The best way to dailv J^enniwi.te them is to look over the Sa^ty i*»'tf P^c'< them off and destroy them. II ortK y°u will have them ail removed ° days. This is much better than ''ijuid or powder to kill them, as ail S*" l5alp» blemish tilt bkBsoiiw at the present ^dliopf5* .tlle young orange trees are gratted, w^toari Wl^ nejt*'10ir bear flowers nor fruit. J? 'UUoh^f50*' SJ>t' C°^ee-—W. B. Starkey.—Thanks to anv Lantana. seeds. If you were to y large seed firm, such as Metisrs. Sutton. Wight find them profitable. They are Of 'aj'^ 'Peiled seeds. 1 am sorry I do not .book publislmd on any of the subjects there is much demand fot Cr00 un the matter, but perhaps some i. of a book or easay on one or all oi VZlL will be glad to hear from them. >2? J«0W''—" H. Ii."—I cannot tell what ycrnr j. Yoar treatment is very suitable, but W5 hnprove on your mode of feeding by giving fc/N „ food, such M barley meal or JSLi ^'bouSl soaked in water, &G. The WC>P will partially account for its A <*ioef &^°uld have given the oil sooner. Do |v*6d cj -,1- you notice any of your others ailing. *«py meal now and again would benefit food blU.,h. Be sure you give them plenty 01 Jjl do th2? on Young1 Trees.—" Inexperienced."—It Iif. Itp « no ^larm whatever to cut the dead wood th *nd growths will get on all the better |A ^ul certainly improve the appearance of S?* wind* in April were much Ss?^. Plant,ed trees making a good be- Jf^tSey i5 °* ^te the weather has been so favourable tita t[r'Ve quite recovered, and the majority of £ ? (Jrsigg r* ^'owing rapidly. You should prevent U» b¡"?E w'eo(i| from growing up amongst the '"If suri 8M t'hey will do much better if the Ifltntp Un reach the stems and young growths, te —" W. B."—It ie a powerful stimu- all kinds of vegetation into rapid *?*'b»t at was invaluable in mch a 8&°son a« last v| !fro»^ Pf«eut, when Nature is so Iwuntiful and 15 ?' to J10, 1(JXUriant, it would be throwing away "»tO[» P y artificial stimulants. Take my advice, kjjjot t"est when it is so disposed. We 2?*^ you Te on fave your artificials or tlie 2jou.. 'Otend investing in them till a more sterile fJiere is a great deal written and w*E?> but tv? .value °f stimulants for farm and other %??er of visefulneaa is, to a great extent, a iT* ih c,*fCjrns':ilucea. and, a« in many other '>l! Jfuided by existing nonditions. a Vinery.—" M. VV. It."—So long as th« {C)Jr K^en you should close Uie ventilators to pi P «od open them in the morning from 0 ^ock, u it is briijht and eunny. Admit ri • an^ increase ii as the open air tern- i>a h^» you fail to ventilate it, properly JN, raise the temperature to 90 or more £ *k«d foliage will be scorched and growth Hki "houj i In sunless days a little ventila,- 'be given, aa air 'c very desirable to develofitnent of the fruit. When the vj?' &M an to colour increase the ventila- ke«p tiT* little to remain on all night. This to r"aeR very healthy, and encourage the ,Jr *nd attain a rich flavour. i;tijre^n'louse-—"Ben. N1."—The proportions CSr' .Vou llo,l8e Bfe quite right, and I have no flftS °f Von 8T«*t source of amusement to is jj, j,' As the width is only 8ft. 6in., if the V y°U or aeariy »o, as 6hown, 1 dare- a passage to correspond with 5rl f}f tk„ *J,U" take up too much space in the best tojtoite at and I advise you to put the door (1- Ml °ap-k- Ihive the passage along the.se. W)'• Ti. ,nt' P»rt made as a stage to hold flic iti, ^>e n)atir alwaj"s do best in the front, and it arm r,ms '1<! teat use of tlie space. The WJ> ji rS^niMit should also be placed along the I T^qJ8 1,1,10^ more effective there than further Wv;" *fp a" the alterations or improvements shouwi' 1 will be glad to give you further UKi you need it. Kose Blooms. ih inS\i^ °f rosea. Some mav if aD<^ others in July and other jjr^Pat^ ut" thet^e are only strayed flowers in ^le innumerabte blossoms that of ;J.ne. I need say nothing as to the fcfcere -6 ^ower- Theae are known to all, 18 considerable difference in the ^sntly, some being perfect, or OoJj an M^e ot'hers are very inferior. This of to various <»uses- The -f seajK)U hfis often a good deal Soil and situation also contri- f^^Suence, but plants that receives *ill generally produoe excellent of anything. Thfe weather deaf in favour of rose blooms. The but t Itnd ^own freely. The growth is favoj, 0^eyP:i}* and the' buds are plentiful; the w'eather is in their i,0H- vv,C:ari be assisted, and all who o]trt\lrB a> plants enjoy plenty of h th« root will water them freely, eo,1 not very dry. Liquid rH h, hlSIll5r beneficial to them. All toer n'-ven them, but there is none that made from horse or oow ^r*tpd8' n>ots s^°uld be thoroughly it. The cluster flowering roses >^Ver • trimmed, as their natural iik^ Coin aa<^ their beet form are when fcv ]<i cl^ttrs; but varieties thai to "y bndUCe ^arge blooms and have a great rem 8 °?* s^°uld have tlie majority of «teir)°V i'i,anc^ oil'y one or two left on »l "i buds that are in anv way » en? ren»oved tiret. Some will iTly denrt fn ^tre. These are uafelesa, and f^^ke plant of what ought to go W1 bleir,?>k .,Perfect blooms. A bud fm± i^°oin T1V a'^ra3rs develop into a' per- tk- 'y fnT." .rose blooms are required plen- 4fllllled oll. c,uttiug, the buds should not ofte too freely, as the smaller flowers ger ro 0 "est adapted for decoration, and (v,88 Very beautiful for this pur- fes, aiiri1 ^klrs sbould be picked off rose ^Ust r ^3' syringed, but this opera- oj. he avoided whfen the blooms are hw ^at h S0' careful rose grower will t..0l"e plants are quite free of insects v, ,0onis open, as then they can be iv riJt nt any unsightly associations, Cn^t^atelv tliev afford is inexpressible. Wl !ose,s Q° not suffer from being n,.a °f wood from six to eight be removed with each bloom ^juring the bush. ^Ul4j.e^Ucuinber8 in Frames. °PterL?UCUm^>er growers generally confine IOQs to frames. Cucumbers cannot bui°fn iQ. t^111 ear]y 311(1 late in tlie Hoi is n •°r midseason or summer fruit the JfUlte a* good as the best of glass- tjOP^ctlv raJl1'8 plants, if well cared for, grow in an^ bear enormously and a long l>C<S CeSSion- a profitable crop frame %nC commended, as a single (io^^ iight frame will often produce I>la • an!lS ^™t—indeed, I may say, ^d^ftarl .fiometmies hundiede. Those Kq, 8^>Avin .Ma"v now be bearing fruit Ml] in a ^^P^ition to grow very much, *L. *i<it be regulated, or good results At first about four main ta^en towards each corner soon as they reach these, be taken out of each shoot. «L^d fr, Uce the little growths to be be i/1, t^e main stems, and the point V Mitfc °ut of every one of them at from where they leave the ^J1 at 6 Tb'iy will produce one or more joij?? thev ? stop, and when growth begins fov. to vf. °uJd lie stopped again at the next ar i,0re-. This will make them most v Vill prevent them from being V^ig crowded by superfluous n.y'e sufficient water at the root to ill ? too rn'r ,c'ro°ping, but do not saturate Admit ventilation early on sunk'•(>1U'n^s' slightly from all ^^lJe'l'IlOftQ,rle, a.nd close them up early in • l>e -shut in the sun heat, and they *ftuck ?istened overhead at tliat time. "otter donfe in the afternoon than g. ^^a^est^a- Tetraptera. v^a-t ^ra,cefu%- growing, deciduous !!N> t is '"inately attains the form of a v°Mv ^ee LO,n™only known a« the "snow- Vs havft owjng to the rcsemblancfe its vCetl a w«H-known suawdrop. It .Profusion of flowers of late, and v!?l Is by j,!0 that condition arfe invariably J. It is not unlike cherry in »/4l)u'i%>lav the foliage is smaHer and the fop Vt,Ir'°re refined. It is a tr»jfe well- t9 8Bi^» n 05 of al1 sizes> an(1 it should 6 ^Uy planted than it is. 6^ 4*' ^Uo^19 Wilder Rose. V'*nt of^ generally termed a rose, :s Ol fw.f'Jsh fv,A afc description. It is a d<-ei- }~ Jts tl att<ains x height of ei^ht or •'ld, n^me is Viburnum Plica- V^^Vtk kiif. Wing called th'e Guilder >• oir WMtsun balls. This. I n to its producing its laige flowerb at the season of w^^HUiceaj 18 the only tree I know of vLC*11 ov«, "k"« of the sort. They t1.r., j/,0 tree in bwJls about tAs size V a ) "bt niJiklffi them >«5-y a ftr' drooping form. WSth* ^1 that"!p'0lM and are ^lleraI Wv I The pknt is »» and -,rill .t'.iooeed in all soils ^,0^y^?i!;y'5wl8- vwritxas "Heuwiiei**) have been well filled up of late. The hatching season has been a most successful one, and the chick3 are doing very well; but those with limited runs and who hare hatched many fowls will soon find their yards much crowded. This may be the origin of disease that will play sad' havoo unless the matter receives timely attention. As a rule, teveryone will be inclined to keep all the pullets they have bred. This, of course, doea not apply to the breeder for sale, but includes those who breed to produce a3 many eggs as possible with their surplus fowls for sale—the most general class of poultry-keepers. But there are the old fowls and the coolterels to deal with. The old fowls may have been laying well up to the present, but they will soon fall off in this, and then go into moult. It will be nearly half a year before they lay again, and I would like to ask if anyone can think that they will ever prove profitable again. I am fully of opinion they will not, as the older they become the fewer eggs will they average, and the less value they will be as table fowls. My advice, then is to kill off the majority of the old hens at once. They are in good condition now, but will not be so when they go into moult. If they are killed, dressed, and sold, they will fetch a remunerative pficv., and, above all, they will lessen the crowding in the poultry- yard, which is a thing to be most carefully guarded against where there are many young chickens growing up and requiring more accommodation. The hens being on the point of ceasing to lay, their being in good condi- tion now. and the young ones, from which future profit will be derived, requiring mors attention and room, ought, I feel sure, to be enough of inducement to poultry owners to kill off a quantity of their old hens. The same remarks apply to old cooks, as they are not nfeeded after this for breeding purposes. They will never be of more value than they are at present, and why keep them to eat a lot more food, from which there will be no return? It may be argued that such and such a fowl is too good, although old, to kill. That I do not credit. If the strain or birds are so good, the correct thing would be to breed from them, and get- up a. young hatch possessing the same merits; but old fowls will never pay, no matter how much they may excel in any particular quality. Then oome the cockerels. The earlier these can be got ready for the table the better, as they always fetdh a higher price when ready early. They, too, help to crowd the yard, and I strongly advise disposing of as many as possible when they are ready, as it is the young pullets that will become most profitable, and anything that will hinder the full develop- ment of these should not be tolerated. The Scarlet May Thorn. The double-flowering thorn—the old- fashioned May in everything but the form and colour of its blossom—is a most conspi- cuous flowerijlg bush or tree at the end of May and ply in June. The flowers are pro- duced in' profusion. They are quite double and a rich scarlet in colour. They are much more rich in colour than the single scarlet, and it is altogether a plant with a more striking character. It has an excellent habit of growth, aaid, I am sure, were it better known, it would be found in every park and garden. The sort named Paul's Variety is the best. Like other thorns, it will grow in all situations. The plants may be had of two types—dwarf bushes and others with stems from four to six feet high. It is the latter that make the most handsome tretes, but the former are better adapted for small gardens. It cannot be planted till the autumn, but its attractions at present call for comment. The Destructive Sparrow. To decide the old question whether sparrows are useful or harmful, the English ornitho- logist, Gurney, has had several hundred sparrows shot and their stomachs examined. The resulting observations (remarks the "Swiss Ornithological Journal") were that a grown-up spaiTow eats —Grain (wheat, rye, oats, preferred), 75 per cent.; wild weeds, 10 per cent. green peas. 4 per cent.; beetles, 3 per cent. caterpillars and grubs, 2 per cent. flying insects, 1 per cent. sundries, 5 per cent. This shows that the "vagabond among birds" principally mfckes his meals of corn. and is, therefore, not harmless. Most of all he lovfcs wheat; he also likes rye and oa.ts. Barley is only acceptable when other grains cannot be got. A grown-up sparrow eats twenty-five grains of wheat, &c., per day on an average, which makes per year 9 000 grains, or nearly half a pound of corn. If one reckons the countless millions of these birds which live in Germany alone, many thousand hiuidi edweights of corn are con- sumed every year, and the damage is con- siderable. Should we, therefore, commence a campaign of extermination against these birds ? Von Homeyer also calculates the damage done by each sparrow family at two or three shillings per year. Yet we ought to b9 oarfefui- In many pa.ts of Germary the sparrow is almost the only insect-eating bird. Were he suddenly exterminated, our trees and shrubs would bte destroyed by caterpillars. A good plan would be to set up homes for swallows, finches, and tits before doing away with chaster cock sparrow. Crowding Vegetables. In a season like the present, when growth is very luxuriant, all kinds of vegetables are apt to be very crowded. The majority of them are sown in rows or in beds broadcast. Some are drawn from there and transplanted else- v.her'e. Others, such as turnips, carrots, beet- root, spinach, salsify, carrots, and such like, airs allowed to grow on to maturity where they were sown, and it is these that are so apt to suffer from overcrowding. It is one of the greatest mistakes that can be made with them. as it ruins them for bearing full crops or a full weight of produce. The plants are drawn up weakly, and after that it is quite impos- sible to get them to assume a robust form of growth. When thinning is neglected till they are drawn up quite tall, and then the surplus plants are removed, those remaining generally fall over and become twisted. This. I need hardly say, hinders their development very much" at a time when it ought to be in full progress. The best crops are invariably pro- duced by plants that require thinning, if this operation is attended to as early as the plants can be conveniently handled. They may be thinned out then to half the distance it is intended they should grow apart ultimately, and they should be thinned again as soon as the foliage mfcets. It is impossible to over- estimate the importance of giving all crops this attention, as the plants will then assume a robust form from the first and bear to their utmost. Plants which are givfen plenty of room from the first rarely suffer from insects at either root or leaf. and thinning may well be regarded as the most important of all their cultural requirements. Weeds, too, wnich are unusually plentiful just at present, should be removed from all young plants, so as to admit plenty of sunshine and air to the young crops. Runner Beans. This is one of the most important crops that can be grown. especially in a small garden, as the plants furnish such a long succession of pods. Those which oome into bearing at the end of July will continue to flower and fruit till the middle of September. No other vege- table is so prolific. The runner bean is always acceptable, and is very ohoice compared with some productions. It will not bear any fiost, but, as a rule, the pods continue to form till well into October, or. if the autumn is mild, into November. But the first sown plants will not bear till then, and it is aJways a good plan to sow a few rows to be sin bear- ing in September, and then the plants will be in full vigour in October As it. take* them about twelve weeks to get in pod aftf" sowing, the late crop should be sown now. and all who do so will have a good supply, so long as it is possible to have them. Profitable Cows. The "Times" observes:—In the red-polled herd of cattle belonging to Mr. Alf: ed I. S iiith. of Rendlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk. the milk yields have been recorded daily since October. 1889. Last year the average for 22 cows was 6.3741b. or about 630 gallons per head per annum. In 1895 the average for 25 cows was 6.4391b., or 640 gallons: while in 1894 the average for 23 cows worked out at 6.3251b., or 630 gallons. The best cow in 1896 was the sbven-year-old Fresh Fuss, which gave, after her fourth calf, 930 gallons after her third calf 612 gallons; after her second calf. 670 gallons; and after her first calf, 620 gallons. This herd has lately been much .11 drawn upon for Argentina. Mr. R. Harvey Mason's herd at Necton Hall gave last year an average yield of 485 gallons over 24 oo ws, each of which had produced more than one calf. In the herd of Lord Hastings, at Melton Constable, the 1896 average over eleven cows was 518 gallons. Lord Roths- child's herd at Tiing Park. the cows in which have htyju seWWl and are being bred espe- cially for their culk producing qualities, gave an av«r:tg'.> yield in 1896 of 690 gallons over 137 head. Four of these gave upwards of 1 000 gallons eaoh. three yielded over 900 galloiiB, four over 800 gallons, and six over 700 gallons. One cow. introduced into the herd last year, gave no less than 950 gallons of mrlk in seven months, after producing her fifth cali. Lord Bathurst's small herd at Cireuowter Park gave an average yield in 1896 of 7,9881b., or close upon 800 gallons per head over four cows. If w* include with the foregoing tb« yields of Mr. C. F. New- I tek's herd at Safcim Tooey, Norfolk; Mr. H. P. Green's herd at Caistor Hall, Norwich; Mrs. J. B. Ghevalli'ers herd at Aspall Hall, Suffolk; Mr. F. Colman's herd at North Park, Epsom; and Lord Maurice Fitzgerald's herd at Johnstown Castle. Ireland, we get for the 253 cowis in these efeven herds, and in the Whittingham herd noticed last week, an average yield per head in 1896 of 5,ioolb., or about 570 gallons per annum. This average includes aH the cows in the herds which had produced more than one calf, and the result, while specially gratifying to red-polled breeders, will be studied with interest by dairy farmers generally.

.MANCHESTER UNITY ORDER OF…

WHY WOMEN ARE ATTRACTIVE.

DRUITXENITESS IN FLINTSHIRE.

NEW PIER AT THE MUMBLES.

Advertising

WELSH INDUSTRIES. .

TWO SORTS OF BELLOWS.

ECCLESIASTICAL NEWS.

EXTRAORDINARY CASE AT CHELXjwCAM.

DIOCESE OF LLANDAFF.

THE NEW LEMONADE.

Advertising

INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION.

CARDIFF FESTIVAL.

WELSH IN TiHE LAW COURTS.

Advertising

WALES AND THE ROYAL STANDARD.

AN tyTRHESTtNG COMPANION.