190 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



June 1G, 190C. 



POULTRY NOTES. 



In 



Selection of a Variety. 

 leaflet entitled ' Hints to Ponltry Raisers,' 



recentl}' issued by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 the following information in regard to the varieties of 

 fowls is given in a useful and concise form for the 

 benefit of poultry raisers : — 



Piire-breds iire desirable, as with these one has a flock of 

 fowls which will produce carcasses and eggs of a much more 

 uniform shape, colour, and size than mongrels will produce, 

 all of which will aid in finding a ready sale. If one alreadj' 

 has a flock of mongrel fowls and cannot afford to buy 

 puve-breds, he should choose a pure-bred male bird of the 

 breed preferred and mate him with a few of the best mongrel 

 females. This system, if carefully followed for a few j-ears, 

 will give a high-grade flock that will be practically as good 

 as pure-breds, so far as market conditions for dressed fowls 

 and eggs are concerned. 



choice of a variety will depend largely on the purpose 

 for which the fowls are kept — whether eggs alone, both eggs 

 and meat, or meat alone is the chief object : whether white- 

 shelled or brown-shelled eggs are desired ; and whether sitters 

 or non-sitters are wanted. 



Eijr/ breeds. — Non-sitters and producers of white-shelled 

 eggs — Leghorns and ilinorcas. 



General -purpose breeds. — Sitters and producers of brown- 

 shelled eggs — Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, and 

 Rhode Island Reds. 



Meat breeds. — Sitters and producers of brown-shelled 

 eggs — Brahmas, Cochins, and Langshans. 



Indian Runner Ducks. 



The following is extracted from the Journal of 

 the Jamaica Agricultural Society for May: — 



We again call attention to this breed of ducks as a most 

 useful one for conditions in Jamaica. With the e,\ception of 

 Muscovies, which are very hardj, none of the large breeds of 

 ducks has been really successful here, such as the Aylesburj', 

 Pekin, and Rouen, which are all excellent table breeds, while 

 the Muscovy is not what could he called good eating — when 

 used young, however, it is excellent. The Indian runners are 

 a small breed carrying themselves very erect, and, as the name 

 will indicate, they are verj- active ; they are verj' gamey in 

 flavour, though they are not large. Their chief characteristic 

 is, however, their excellent lajing ability. They lay large, 

 white eggs, and lay more than, or at least as many as, the best 

 laying Leghorn hens. In a recent twelve months duck-laying 

 contest held in Australia, they put even the much-desired 

 200-egg hens quite in the shade. In this contest five pens of 

 six ducks laid during the year 1,31.5, 1,"2:32, 1,132, 1,061, and 

 1,013 eggs, respectively. While it is difhcult to get hens to 

 lay even in our winter months from October to December, 

 and eggs are dear then, this is just the time of the year when 

 these ducks lay most. They are hardy and easily kept, and 

 the ducklings are active and comparatively easy to raise. 



PREVENTION OF BUSH FIRES. 



Tiie Port-of-Sjw.ii) Gazette of May 8, contains the 

 following precis of the Trinidad Ordinance dealing with 

 the matter of the prevention of bush fires: — 



Any one desirous of setting fire to the land must giv& 

 full notice to the Warden of the district. Such notice must 

 supply the exact situation, and the extent of the boundaries ;. 

 and the person desirous of setting fire must also cause a lane, 

 at least 2.j feet in width, to be cleared round the part 

 intended to be affected : that is to say, all inflammable matter 

 must be taken away from this path, thus leaving it quite 

 clear. The Warden, on receipt of such a notice, must either 

 inspect in person, or appoint some capable person to inspect, 

 the spot where the fire is to be. A circuit must be made 

 round the part cleared, and everything must be certified to be 

 in proper order, before the license is issued. If the Warden 

 himself has not inspected the place, the man appointed to^ 

 inspect must furnish the Warden with a certificate stating 

 that he has inspected the place, and give full details of such 

 in.spection. The Warden after satisfying himself that all is 

 correct, then issues the license to set fire. On this license it 

 nuist be specially set forth the exact number of days that 

 the license is to be in force. The person obtaining this 

 license has within twenty-four hours of its issue to give notice 

 at the nearest station of constabulary, and must also acquaint 

 the owners of the lands adjoining of the fact, let them know 

 the specified days of the week and month. The i>erson who 

 has a license granted to him must also cause the lane surround- 

 ing the spot to be closely watched by some responsible person 

 during the continuance of the fire. The duties of the police 

 are merely to see that all has been done in accordance with 

 the regulations, but they are not responsible. Should the 

 fire break bounds, or fresh outbreaks occur in places not 

 specified in the licen.se, the police have to notify the Warden 

 at once, and he is supposed, or rather required, by the 

 Ordinance to repair to the spot or spots at once. The Warden 

 is allowed to call upon any able-bodied person, over the age 

 of sixteen, to assist him in his duties, and he has the power 

 to remunerate any such person for the work done. Such 

 persons called ui)on are bound to assist. Of course, any 

 member of the constabulary or the Justice of the Peace of the 

 district has this same power of calling for outside help. 



RAINFALL AT ST. VINCENT. 



The Agricultural Superintendent at St. Vincent 

 has comriiunicated to the Sentry, of May 11, the 

 following interesting statement with regard to the 

 rainfall : — • 



Now that the dry season appears to have come to an 

 end, it may be of interest to your readers to learn how the 

 rainfall recorded at the Botanic Station compares with that 

 of previous years. 



The total rainfall for the past four months was 13'75 

 inches, which is 3'91 inches below the average of the same 

 months of the five previous years. The very low rainfall of 

 last month was chiefly responsible for this, as only 1'53- 

 inches were recorded as against an average of 3"G6. The 

 rainfall of the first three months was also below the average, 

 with the exception of the month of March, which was 

 fi points above ; but in this case the rainfall was not well 

 distributed, 2'5.5 inches of the 4'09 being recorded from the 

 nth. to the 22nd. 



It will be seen, then, that the exceptionally dry month 

 of April, is responsible for the somewhat late spring this 

 year, and the backward state of cultivations generally. 



