-Vol. VII. Xo. 152. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



61 



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POULTRY NOTES, 



Breeding and Feeding Table Chickens. 



la the September number of the Journal a/ 

 Agriculture of Victoria, Mr. H. V. Ilawicins, Poultr}' 

 Expert to the State, discussing the question of poultry 

 breeds for the table, .strongly lecommend.s .a cross 

 between the Indian Game (cock) and the Silver Dorking 

 (hens), as likely to give the best results from this 

 point of viev.'. jjiiff Orpington and White Orpington 

 hens are also excellent crosses with the Indian Game 

 cock. At five months old, chickens from the above 

 crosses should weigh from Q\ toll H). 



With reference to the food mofit suitable for young 

 chickens, and likely to produce the best white flesh, 

 Mr. Hawkins says : — 



Chickens slinuld not lie fed until (juite twenty four 

 hours after hatcliing. Then give hard-boiled egg (shell 

 incluJcd) chopped \\{i finely, with double the quantity of 

 bread crumbs, every two hour.s for the tir.st few days, (iive 

 a little often, but on no account should any be left over, as sour 

 food is disastrous to young chicks. When a week old, change 

 the diet to coarse oatmeal and broken biscuits, .slightly moisten- 

 ed with sweet milk ; the mixture .should not be pasty. Add 

 a little charcoal and iinel}^ jiulpeJ raw onion. It is also very 

 necessary that an ample supply of coarse sand, fine gravel, 

 and a very small quantity of bone meal should be availalsle to 

 the young birds, as these are most essential to their proiier 

 development, i.e., to make bone and to keep the gizzard in 

 a vigorous condition. Digestive disorders of all things 

 should be guarded against : therefore avoid gi\ing green bone, 

 as there are perhaps mnre chickens Icilled ly this than hv 

 ■ any other thing. 



Small Eggs. 

 An article in a late number of Farui Life dealt 

 with the causes which influenced the production of 

 small eggs by laying hens. 



It was pointed out that overfed hens, or birds which 



-are too fat, will frequently lay eggs smaller in size than those 

 laid by the same birds when in proper condition. Similarly, 

 the provision of warm, or stimulating, food will influence 

 a hen to lay before the egg has attained its proper size. 



'Jlie use of .small eggs for hatching pui'poses i.s, however, 

 stated as an undfiubted reason why, in many cases, the 

 resulting [aillets should themselves piroduce eggs small in 

 size. This is ])erhaps what one would naturally expect, on 

 the principle of like jirodacing like. It follows from this 

 that the best way in which to firing about improvement 

 ■with a given breed, is to select, for Intching [iur|ioses, eggs 

 from those hens only which are disiinguished liy the large 

 size of their produce, and to talce cii'' lieforehand tliat these 

 hens are mated only with male bioi- wliirh me tiic oHspring 



•of hens of equally gooil laying str.iiu. 



RUBBER CULTIVATION IN MINDANO, 

 PHILIPPINES. 



The reports by the Bureau of Forestry in .Mindaiio show 

 that interest in rubber culture is increasing in that part of 

 the archipelago. J[any seeds and seedlings have been planted 

 during the past year, especially in the district of Davao, the 

 Island of Basilan, and along the east and west coasts of the 

 Zamboanga peninsula. The reports show the following total 

 number of trees growing on ten plantations at the present 

 time : — Henea liraKiliensix, 9,000 : Miiiiiltut G/miorii, 6\,000 ; 

 CastiUoit c/a.tfirri, 1,000 ; total number, 71,000 ; or the eijuiva- 

 lont of :— Para rubber, 47 acres ; Ceara rubber, 313 acres; 

 Castilloa ruljlier, G acres; total 36G acres. The ordinary 

 planting distance in jNIindano for rubber trees is 15 feet, 

 but when intercrops are grown, the trees should be planted. 

 20 feet apart. 



CHOICE OF A MILKING COW. 



In a leaflet ■ The .selection and milking of U.iiry 

 Cattle,' recently issued by the English Board of Agri- 

 culture and Fisheries, a good deal of detailed advice is 

 given to those about to commence dairying. The hints 

 as to the points to be looked for in selecting milking 

 cows are worthy of reproduction. 



The special points to be considered in the iiurcha.-^e and 

 judging of dairy cattle are: Temperament of the animal; 

 shape of the udder : general appearance denoting milking and 

 feeding qualities: indications regarding quantity of inilk 

 yielded ; and age and constitution. 



The cow .should be quiet when handled, possess a clean 

 eoat, and a long neck, with eyes prominent and wide apart. 



The udder or bag should extend well forward ; should 

 be full and globular, flat underneath and well rounded behind 

 the whole vessel showing great capacity, each (quarter being 

 sound, and the teats easy to draw. The teats .should be 

 equal distances apart, squarely set on, and of a useful size for 

 milking. 



A first-class dairy cow is somewhat wedge-sliapcd when 

 viewed from behind or from the side : the neck should be 

 thin and longer than in a beef animal, whilst the .shoulder 

 should be light and oblique. The abdomen .should be 

 capaciou.s, the fiank clean and thin, lieing lean rather than 

 fat The back of a heavy milking cow is usually thin. The 

 animal should also appear weilge-shaped when \ icwed from 

 above, being narrow on the .shoulder blades, «itli the lines 

 spreading out to the hip.s, which should l.ie wide aiiart. 

 The thighs should allow plenty of space for the develoinnent 

 of the udder. 



The milk veins should be large, prominent, and branched, 

 and the milk 'wells,' wdiere the blood vessels enter the bellv' 

 highly developed. Milk veins are blood-vessels carrying away 

 impure blood from the udder back to the heart and lungs for 

 imrification. As milk is derived directly from the blood, it 

 follows that the greater the supply of blood passing through 

 the udder, the greater the possibilities of the production of 

 a large quantity of milk. 



As regard constitution, a deep chest gives jilenty of room 

 for lung develoi)ment, whilst wide and open nostrils commonly 

 show great lung caiiacity. The ribs immediately behind the 

 shoulder, if round and deep, make a big heart girth. 



Cows which are heavy milkers are frequen'tly thin and 

 bony, and the buyer should never refuse a cow solely because of 

 her ' poor ' appearance, case.s being known in which such 

 animals have yielded u[iwards i.if 1,000 gallons of milk per 



