Mrs. Lance Rawson

“ The rotation of crops is very little understood by many farmers who live away from large centres of civilization. Too often in these colonies a man simply buys land and becomes a farmer because he thinks he would like the life, or because he has several sons who would be able to help him. In many instances he knows nothing beyond the fact that if he plants a single grain of corn it will grow, and by-and-bye produce a few cobs of corn, or that if he plants a crop of oats, when it grows he can make a fine stack of hay by drying it in the sun. ”

“ If you have plenty of money of course you can make your fernery and garden beautiful almost at once, and your flowers will be a pleasure and an interesting study to you, and if you are—as I was—badly off, quite unable to spend one shilling upon it, then you must work all the harder, and make it not only self-supporting but a means of profit to yourself. In short, earn money by your plants and flowers. Sell your pot plants, your cuttings, your cut flowers, and the interest in the work will be increased ten-fold. ”

“ Grafting is merely another way of budding, and just as fascinating to the amateur gardener. The best, or rather the only time to either graft or bud is just before the sap begins to move, when the buds swell and look ready to burst. It is at this season that the trees grow most, make most wood, and therefore almost anything you introduce into the their system will be grown over. ”

“ In the very hot weather it is a good thing to have a cold bath after one's mid-day rest. It is a mistake to lie down fully dressed, everything that is the least tight should be taken off and a loose dressing gown put on. If you only lie with closed eyes, without sleeping, you will be the better for the rest. Most women can drop off to sleep for a few minutes if the house is quiet and the room darkened, and none but tired mothers know the real enjoyment of that hour, and how they look forward to it through the heat and work of the morning. ”

“ When a horse has been ridden or driven hard he should not be fed at once, but he can be allowed a few swallows of water (not a long drink) . If obliged to be fed at once, as in case of continuing a long journey, allow him only two to three quarts of water but if he can stand half an hour first, then let him have as much as he likes, but never give a horse a long drink directly before feeding him, as it is apt to weaken his digestive powers and perhaps cause indigestion. A horse should be fed regularly and not be disturbed at his meal. ”

“ A cow will not come home unless she is fed regularly, or she has a young calf at home to come to. But when a cow is bought for the purpose of supplying milk, it is wisest to get rid of the calf as soon as possible, as then you have less trouble, and all the milk. And it generally pays to feed a good cow if there are many young children in the family to benefit by the milk. You will not only get more by feeding, but it will be richer. But there is a vast difference in feeding, and a cow kept only for her milk should be fed to supply it. ”

“ A field thus left is all the better for any manure that can be put on it. Stable manure is most excellent and very often procurable at very small trouble; fowl house manure is another. A farmer who has only a small portion of agricultural land can often get a better return from it than one who has three times the quantity if he will only bring a little science into his work — a little theory with the practice. Theory is no good without practice, and I doubt if practice is without theory in farming matters. ”

“ THIS is one of the most beautiful of flowers, and perhaps of all the most interesting to grow. In a large family of girls, where each chooses some special flower to cultivate, the fuchsia should be a favorite, for a whole stand can be filled with the different varieties and can be made one of the most beautiful exhibitions in nature. ”

“ I would advise every one to hold the birds in the easiest position to themselves. Be careful to keep the feathers from touching the flesh. A very good plan is to work with a small plug of cotton wool, pressing the skin from the body with it, but bear in mind that a bird's skin is very thin and delicate, not like an opossum's, which you can pull right off the body without a break. Having skinned down to the legs, take first one then the other and insert your fingers inside the skin and push it back, thus showing the second joint where it has been previously broken or disjointed. ”

“ The hands should be washed constantly and in warm water as a rule. When they have been doing kitchen work a lemon cut in halves and rubbed all over them before washing will help to cleanse, and is a great help in taking off the smell of grease, &c. You want to cut it, squeeze out the juice into a cup and rub the fruit part all over the hands, and the pure juice after if necessary, then wash in warm water with carbolic soap, or common yellow will do, and again with "pasta mack" used in the water, which gives a pleasant odour to the hands. ”

“ It is only natural that emigrants should fall into such a mistake, for the simple reason that they think all land of value. In England, or wherever they have come from, the possession of a piece of land is a certain income however small, for all the land there has a value, and most of it is cultivated. The new chum stares aghast when told that a squatter possesses hundreds of miles without anything but the native grasses and trees upon it. He cannot understand why we do not cultivate more, and very often he thinks to himself "Oh, well, I'll buy it and I'll cultivate. ”

“ It would be almost impossible to enumerate all the ill-habits to which people are liable, but we can mention a few rules which go a long way towards securing health. First and foremost of these comes—be regular in habit, rise directly you wake, take a cold bath or shower if you can stand it, if not, a tepid bath, as it is actually necessary for health that the whole of the body is cleansed every day, or twice a day. Follow the bath by friction with a rough towel, after that if you have time massage for twenty minutes the whole of the body. ”

“ Dame Nature is taking a nap preparatory to renewed wakefulness in every joint and section of her big body, just as the vine is thinking of those lovely new shoots she means to put forth, is the time to lop off the old, cut away surplus wood, and so prepare matters for the grand display. ”

“ When in health a horse will heave the chest from nine to twelve times in a minute, and an ox from eleven to fifteen.
Failure of appetite, though one of the surest indications of ill health, is not always one of the first. The feel and appearance of the skin and hair, and the heat of the body, must all be taken into consideration, and often the different positions assumed by the animal are a guide.
A person who handles cattle a good deal will very often tell the state of their health from feeling the skin on the inside of the ears, the legs, at the flank and other parts of the body. ”

“ Maize is the best crop to grow on unbroken land, and to plant it he will have to hoe patches here and there all over the ground, keeping them as well as he can in line, make them raised somewhat like little hillocks, and plant three or four grains in each, this crop will loosen the ground for the plough. And while it is growing he may as well build his fowl house. Poultry will do no harm to the corn once it is well above ground, and by the time he has other crops in he must have a closer fence to keep out other animals than fowls, if his farm is to be for general stock. ”

“ THIS is only farming in a common sense fashion, or rather, using your own sense and reason when putting in crops, studying the soil, its capabilities, properties and suitability for certain crops. When a practical farmer buys land for farming purposes he first examines it thoroughly, drains it if necessary, and manures the impoverished portions. ”

“ My advice to young gardeners is experiment whenever you can. You hear of something: it may be a remedy, a new plant, a new theory, anything, no matter how trifling, you try it, and from it is born another new idea which you try. ”

“ She should always have a stated hour for rising in the morning, never later than six, so that she can wash her face in the dew. And for going to bed never later than 10.30. But when later through pleasure never let it be an excuse to lie late in the morning, rather make up the lost hours by a nap in the daytime, or by going to rest earlier next night. The morning dew is one of the greatest beautifiers in the world, and few know it. Before going to bed if it is possible take a warm bath, or a cold if it is preferred, and rub every limb well with a rough towel. ”

“ The pain increases as the day advances, till at last something sets in, and a quantity of bile is discharged from the stomach. Though the attack is most distressing, and makes one very miserable while it lasts, I don’t know but it is worth going through and enduring, for the sake of the delightful feelings of renewed health and spirits one experiences next day, when all the bile is out of the system. One is always conscious of the approach of an attack, and it can be warded off by a dose of medicine—pills, castor oil, anything in short that will thoroughly move the bowels. ”

“ Clearing and stumping is the most tiresome work of all to be done on new ground, so if our man can manage to get land already cleared and stumped he will be wise to do so. He should look out for a selection that has been forfeited, there are often such to be got, many of them partially improved even to the extent of being fenced. But I am surmising that my young farmer has to go through all the difficulties and hardships of the pioneer, and there-fore I give all plans, ways and means of working through them. ”

“ As a rule, if allowed to enjoy his meal without being interrupted, the horse will lie down and rest quietly for a time afterwards. Old horses, and those that are put to very hard work, should always have food that is easily digested. Oats are the best grain food for horses, though nearly every man feeds on maize in the colonies. Oats with bran and a sufficient quantity of hay or good chaff is the best food you can give to a horse in regular work. Carrots are a favourite food for horses in some countries, they are an excellent thing for winning a horse's heart or taming him. ”