724 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.JF. [.SV/)^. 2, 1908. 



If fowls hav(^ a free lun. citlici on a faiin (n Miltniliaii area, tliev usuallv 

 find sufficient slicll-inakiii^ material, liut when kcj)t in small [leiis. thev must 

 be supj)lie(l witli (lid mortal-, oystei' shell, or any of the several materials 

 now vended hy produce niercliants. Contimious fccdinj^r with soft food 

 induces soft eggs, and sometimes extraordinary good layers produce .such, 

 from the fact that tlie resources of the systeTu .cannot supply the shell (piick 



iMiougli. Friglit has been known to 

 induce soft eggs; over-stimulating food 

 and fatness are also responsible. The 

 treatment is to remove the causes, to 

 teed the liens sparingly, and to supply 

 a variety of egg-forming materials. 

 One authoiity recommends giving the 

 hens lime-water to drink, accom])anied 

 with an aperient and a httle sulphur. 



Lewis Wright attril)utes the major- 

 ity of such cases to overfeeding, and 

 suggests doses of Kpsom salts. It. 

 however, should be mentioned that soft 

 eggs are most frequently laid bv hens 

 three or more years of age, and when 

 fowls are kept with the object of profit, 

 they will not yield enough to pay for 

 their food. Consequently, hy removing 

 the non-paying ones, the soft egg pro- 

 dncers will also be largely weeded out. 

 Favus. Of White Comb. — This is a 

 comparatively new disease in England, 

 and was unknown in Australia until 

 the visit of the late W. Cook, about 

 ilXio. when it was introduced to several 

 [loultiv vards heic hv [lurchasers of 

 some of the impoitations of that 

 bicedei'. 



Mr. \\ . N'ale. an English authority, 

 savs the disease first came under his 

 notice amongst some Orpington fowls, 

 the >vm])toms of wliicli ai'e. at first 

 a circumscribed spot on the small pro- 

 truberances of the comb. The skin on 

 the surface of the affected part is soon destroyed, and becomes detached in 

 minute scales, so that the comb has a whiti.sh appearance, hence the name ot 

 White Comb. The affection soon spreads to the face and neck, and its mode 

 of advance, together with its contagious nature, makes it very evident that 

 it is a distinct disease. When the fowls are badly infected, a peculiar 



Double egg. Both parts contain yolk and while, 

 al:hough oneis not full ; two-thirds natural size. 



