142 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



May 6, 1905. 



POULTRY NOTES. 



Combining^ Poultry Keeping and Gardening. 



Tiie foUuwiiig notes arc extracted from the ' Farin 

 .and Garden' column of the Illtintnitcd Mail of 

 April S : — 



One has often heard the remark, 'yon cannot have 

 a good garden and keep poultry at the same time,' but in 

 my opinion the .statement is not accurate, and I a.ssert that, 

 within certain limit.s, it is quite possible to combine the two 

 industries on a small or moderate scale, not only without loss 

 and inconvenience, but even advantageously. To do so, 

 however, there is one point that must be strictly carried out, 

 and that is each must be kept entirely and absolutely apart 

 from each other, the fowls, etc., being either securely 

 enclosed by means of a high fence or wire netting, or else the 

 garden being similarly enchised from the poultry. No ganlenei' 

 worth the name would tolerate the constant mischief and 

 ■damage caused by fowls .scratching and picking, and it is 

 this point that has given rise to the remark quoted above. 

 However, when separated, as I have said, the advantages 

 .gained by a gardener keeiiing poultry are several. For 

 instance, many of the waste products of the garden, which 

 would otherwise be thrown away as useless, can, when fowls 

 are kept, be profitably enqiloyed as food for poultry, while 

 the latter's drojipings in their turn are of the greatest benefit 

 to the garden. Among the products of the garden useful as 

 food for poultry, may be mentioned imperfect or over-grown 

 lettuce.^ cabbages, or the like, defective tomatos, or imperfect 

 fruit, while the spare potatos form a very nutritious and 

 fattening food if boiled and mi.xed with a little barley or 

 Indian meal. Too much of this mixture, however, should 

 not be given to laying fowl.s, but when the fattening time 

 comes it will be found most beneficial. 



One of the chief advantages of the gardener keeping 

 poultry, however, is the valuable manure formed by the 

 <lroppings of the birds, for, when properly prepared and 

 applied, this manure is equal in efiect to good guano ; and 

 may be used in either solid or liipiid form. How to u.se it is 

 not generally known, so I will exjilain. Where peat moss 

 litter is used on the floors of the fowls' houses or runs, it 

 should, of course, be iieriodically removed and tresli put 

 •down. Xow, in this case, all that is necessary is to store up 

 the peat mo.ss litter in a heaji as taken from the pen.s, etc., 

 «,nd add a light sprinkling of lime to sweeten it. When it 

 has thus laid for two or three months it will l)c found of the 

 greatest value as a fertilizer for celer}', peas, beans, tomatos, 

 ■etc. Where the moss litter is not employed the droppings 

 should be mixed with four or five times its bulk of light, 

 ■sandy .soil, with a dusting of lime as before, and again be 

 laid up for some time to become mellow. Do not use it in 

 a fresh condition. To make liquid manure, put a peck or 

 so of the dro|ipings into a -lO-or HO-gallon cask, with 

 a spadeful of .soot or a very little lime. Let it stand 

 a couple of days ; then stir up well. Let it settle again, and 

 then Ufe the clear liquid only, diluted at first with twice its 

 bulk of water or more. 



There are many other advantages to be gained by 

 keeping iJoultry in coniliination with a gaiden, but I will 

 not enter into them now. I will adil, however, that if any 

 of my readers who combine poultry keeiiing with gardening 

 should have two [ilots of ground of about equal extent, one 

 devoted to each section, they woiUd do well to change tlie 

 occupants annually, viz., put the poultry on, say. No. 1 plot 

 one year, then next year have the garden on No. 1, and 

 poultry on No. 2, and so on. By this method, the plots will 

 receive a goodly amount of useful manure they would 

 otherwise not get, and which would be wasted. It is 

 advisable, however, when digging up the ground after 

 IKiultry to [lut a little lime on it, so as to sweeten it. 



SCIENCE NOTE. 



Mimusops Elengi. 



J/ii/iusops Elen(jl, belonging to the family Sapofactxn; 

 is a native of the East Indies. It is to be found growing in 

 several of the West Indian Botanic Stations, where trees 

 have been flowering for the first time during the last two 

 or three years. 



In ('eylon its hard and durable wood is nuich used for 

 ordinary building purposes. Its fruits are edible. These 

 are small, yellow, of an ovoid .shape, with one or two 

 seeds. From the seeds an oil can lie obtained, which is used 

 for cooking and for burning, while the flowers yield an 

 essential oil from which a fragrant iierfunie is jirepared. The 

 bark is used medicinall}', yielding a tonic and felnifuge. 



Yu:. 12. .AIlMUSOP.S ELKX(a. 



[From Keiii C'ldJt.] 



Fig. 12 shows a branch bearing flowers and fruits, aho 

 a single fruit about natural size. 



Another tree of this genus, viz., Jfiiiuisojif. ijlohom, is 

 a native of the West Indies, being better known as the 

 balata tree. It grows to a much greater size than Mimusops 

 EUngi, liut, like it, produces edible fruits. It is also closely 

 related to the saiiodilla {Achra.f Sajiotn), the star ajiple 

 {Chi-i/sojihytlum Caiiiito), and other well-known West Indiaa 

 fruit trees. 



