«ro 



THE AGltlCLLTL'ltAL NEW8. 



July 5, 190-2. 



POULTRY. 



Poultry at the Agricultural School, Dominica. 



Mr. I )a\ ill 'I'aimiK'k has ((iiitiilnitcd tlu- follow ing 



notes on tlii.' iioultry kept at tiic Agricultural School : — 



lillKKUS. 



'tlic following pure breeds of iioiiltry are kept : — Itlack 

 Oijiiiijitoiis, AVliite Legliorn.s Golden Wyandottes, Plyniontli 

 Itocks and I'enns Wyandottes. All do well.lmt for talde fowls 

 Jilaek Orpingtons are the best, and for egg laying there are 

 none to eipial the White Leghorns. t)f this breed we have a 

 very good laying strain. Leghonis have also the advantage 

 of seldom wanting to .set, and being easily jdit off when they 

 want to. (iood, strong, hardy fowls are obtained by ciiissing 

 Orpington hens with a I'lyniouth IJoek cock ; tiie cockerels 

 weiiih t lb. when four months (.jil. 



'I'lie breeds are kept a]iart in separate run-, four breeds 

 l>eing Uejit in one part of the giounds, and the other with 

 alt the chickens and .setting hens in another. 



'I'lie runs are in short grass, but at one end a [lart i^ 

 jdanted up with bananas for .shade, and kept cidtivated, 

 .so that the fowls can scratch and dust themselves in it. 

 JSonie kind of shade is alisfibitely necessary for fowls in 

 the tropics. 



SETTING IlKXS. 



'Hie setting hens are put in small coops about in shady 

 Jilaces. AVlicn making up the nest a few leaves of tobacco 

 aie pnt in to keep away fowl lice. 



Cint KKNS. 



'the tir^t few days after hatching the chicks are kept 

 ill a co\eied run and fed on soaked bread and hard boiled 

 eggs, but when about a week old thej' are allowed a full run 

 and not penned up until about four months old. I'y allowing 

 them a full lun on grass they come on much better, are 

 .strong and healthy and free fioin all the di.seases which attack 

 chickens In Oominica. Snvill native or (lame hens make the 

 best niotheis : they are more lively than the larger hens and 

 hunt I'ctter for their chickens. 



looli 



Th 



looil consislsof boiled \egetabh'S, sneli as sweet 

 potato.-, yams and bananas, mashed and mixed with a little 

 <rorn meal or farine, given in the mornings, and cracked coin 

 in the afternoon. Kacli brood is allowed out for a day's run 

 ill turns, when they can scratch and pick up all t\\f grit 

 they leiiuiie. 



I'eople are wide awake to the value of having good 

 jioiilli\ to breed from and to iin[)r0\e their native fowls. All 

 the eggs are bought up for sitting, ;Mid there i- :i eonsid- 

 erable demand for young cockerels and pullets. One hun- 

 dred and .si.vty eggs for sitting, and fourteen chickens 

 liave been sold this year. 



To Catch a Fowl. 



.Mr. I). F. Laurie, South Australia, .s;iys : To catch a 

 fowl generally meaii.s. a great distuibance, and often its 

 I'lumage is daniageil. A simple device obviates all this. A 

 piece of No. !■' fencing wire is l>eiit, so that a fowl's leg will 

 fit easily in the crook ; turn the other end into a small looi> 

 and fi.v to a wooden handle with a .screw and a couple 

 of .staples. .V catcher 8 feet long generally suthces. 

 I'roceed ((uietiy, having first offered .some grain or other 

 inducement : stand behind the bird and jog him gently, and 

 draw him towards you iiioving your grij) : he will come 

 quietly, and rarely is there a flutter. No fuss and no 

 damaged feathers, .\fter a time it will be found that old 

 stagers keeji one eye on the 'catcher' and skip out of an 

 embarrassing position with much skill. Xeirr anii/ 2i'>uft^'!/ 

 Iii'dil liiitigiiKj iliiirii : this does nmclL harm tj) them : a fat 

 bird may not recover the ill effects, and they always flutter. 

 tJriip the legs firmly and place the birds on the left arm : 

 there is room for as many as you can griji the legs of. 

 (Queenslaml Ayiiciittin-a! Journal.) 



A correspondent writes: -[ have an imported Plymouth 

 iJock rooster whose legs have become covered with a hard 

 substance like shell or .scale.s, making the legs about three 

 times the usual size ; he is also absolutely useless for breeil- 

 ing I'urpo.ses; he i> two years old. Can jou suggest any 

 remedy ? 



GARDEN NOTES. 



Itecently there was noticed in the (iardens at Govern- 

 ment House, Antigua, a specimen of the Mountain Piide 

 of .lamaica fSjKit/ic/ict simplex) in flower. This is a slender 

 tree about 1") to ,'10 feet with a single stem surrounded by 

 a tuft of feathery leaves. The purple flowers are produced 

 in a large loose iianicle above the leaves. The whole apliear 

 aiiee of the tree in flower is very striking and ornamental. 

 At the Antigua Botanic Station there was noticed a hand- 

 some tree of the Queen of Flowers ( Lar/erslroetiiia Fhn- 

 ri'ginae) with jiiiilc flowers. I'.sually the flowers are iiiu-i>le. 

 It would be useful to |)roiiagate this pink variety. A hnv 

 growing Criiuan (labelled C. giijantinim), also at Antigua 

 liotanic Station, w ilh broad leaves and a low panicle of [lUre 

 white, bell sluqied fliAvers, is a most attractive plant. It 

 deserves to be more widely known in the West Indies. 



.\t St. Liu-ia I'.otanic Station a splendid liougainvillea 

 with deeii purple flowers (probably /.'. ghihrii var. Suiii/cn'ini'i) 

 covering a tall tree has been in flower for .several w\eks. 

 The brick-red ISougainvillea {/I. /iilcritin) is not well kr.own 

 in the Leeward Islands. Plants might probably l>e obtained 

 in e.whaniie from the Southern Islands or Jamaica. 



Preserving bright Steel and Iron -work. In the 



tropics bright steel and in^n work .soon corrodes and 

 becomes unsightly. Where it is especially desired to 

 preserve arms and implements in a bright condition, a Useful 

 i'oi'inula is suggested, obtained, many years ago, from the 

 Curator of the P.righton Museum. The objects should, first 

 of all, be carefully cleaned and all trace of rust removed. 

 Then varnish with one or more coats of a mixture prepared 

 as follows: One ounce of shellac, one ounce of gum ma-.tii-, 

 one half ounce of sandarac and one pint of methylated 

 spirit. Dissolve and shake thoroughly. Strain through a 

 fine muslin and apply warm. Keep the bottle corked. If 

 necessary hiter, dilute with spirit. 



