374 



Journal op the Department op Agriculture. 



General. — Not only is April the closing month of the poultry breeders' year, 

 but it is the most exciting, the most interesting, and the busiest one of the 

 year. Stock should be taken and balances struck to see what the year's profit 

 and loss has been. The balance-sheet should be carefully scrutinized to see 

 what savings might have been effected j'nd can be effected in the coming year. 

 in placing a value upon your stock do not allow sentiment or love of your 

 birds to induce you to allot to them a higher value than they would obtain on 

 the market (not necessarily the usual morning market). By so doing you will 

 get a wrong impression of what your real position is. To obtain a fair estimate 

 of the value of your stock, average the jjrices obtained for all birds disposed 

 of during the preceding twelve months and value those on hand at that average 

 price. From the first of the month z-ecords should be started of trap-nested 

 or individually penned pullets. Do not be tempted into selling any but your 

 surplus eggs from your breeding pen this month. Any hens going broody should 

 be given eggs ; they are useful in keeping chicks together later, but give them 

 eggs the same time as a machine is started. All a broody hen requires is hard 

 grain (mealies preferably), grit, and clean water to drink. Do not use young 

 turkey hens' eggs for incubation; turkey hens should be at least two years old 

 before their eggs are used for this purpose. 



Students Spraying in Orchard, Cedara School of Agriculture. 



Inspection of Imported Plants. 



Mr. Lounsbuiy, Chief, Division of Entomology, states that 

 during' the year 1919-20 the finds of insects and evidence of disease 

 on imported plants were few. As usual a variety of objectionahle 

 inclusions were discovered with fruit-tree stocks from France. In 

 one consignment of 22,500 stocks, 590 plants with crown-gall swell- 

 ings were taken, while several earthworms and sowbugs and many 

 mites were also observed. In another, one of 80,000 pear stocks, there 

 were 125 with crown-gall swellings, and a number infested with living 

 scale insects. Some of the plants were quite badly infested. There 

 was also a trace of woolly aphis on the roots, with several caterpillars, 

 and a number of sowbugs, as usual. Various scale insects were found 

 on importations from japan, Australia, Mombassa, and Java. The 

 importations of plants were small, largely owing to conditions brought 

 about hj the war. 



