FLORIDA POULTRY. 



291 



easy reach in shallow dishes, so arranged as to insure the 

 little ones from getting wet. At least twice a week add 

 Douglass' Mixture to the water, about a teaspoonful to a 

 pint of water. 



A close adherence to the easy rules here laid down will 

 make the breeding of turkeys one of the safest as well as 

 most profitable of the Florida farmer's many resources, 

 bearing in mind this maxim, which applies, indeed, to all 

 kinds of "live stock": 



''To attain great size, animal food and good feeding 

 generally must be supplied from the first." 



'*A cross with the American wild birds," says an eminent 

 authority, ''improves the stamina of the young turkeys, 

 and, whenever possible, should be employed." 



Moral : First catch your wild turkey, then tame it and 

 place it in your poultry-yard, and then " make a note on't." 



There are many who advocate the keeping of the Guinea 

 fowl, alleging that it does an immense amount of good as 

 an insect-destroyer, if given the free range of a garden or 

 orchard. Well, doubtless that is true; but how about 

 this same quarrelsome individual as a nipper of " fruit in 

 the bud"? 



We notice that its most enthusiastic supporters do not 

 care to have this question asked of them, after the blos- 

 soms of their vegetables, melons, and low-hanging fruits 

 have appeared on the scene — and vanished from it ; usually 

 the marauder vanishes also about the same time. The 

 remedy for this is easy : Keep them out of the garden 

 until the plants are done blooming, then they will do good 

 service. 



Guineas mate in pairs, and the hen lays about one hun- 

 dred and thirty eggs per annum. They are very fine birds 

 for the table. Moreover, the guinea-hen lays but three 

 months in the year, and the majority of her eggs are lost, 



