26 



THE CUBA REVIEW 



AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION 



EGG-LAYING COMPETITION AND RESULTS GRAPEFRUIT IN ENGLAND 



EGG-LAYING COMPETITIONS IN THE 

 RHINELAND 



The Chamber of Agriculture for the 

 Rhineland has during the last three years 

 conducted egg-laying competitions for poul- 

 try lasting ten months in each year, from 

 November to August, at its special grounds. 

 The results of the first two years work 

 are given in the present report. The first 

 year 210 one-year-old hens were tested and 

 in the second year 210 two-year-old hens; 

 with few exceptions in both competitions 

 the same birds were used. Each of the 

 six breeds examined were represented by 

 seven families, each consisting of five 

 members. 



The comparison between the total yield 

 of the one-year-old birds and that of the 

 two-year-olds is considerably in favor of 

 the former. During the ten months that 

 the competition lasted the one-year-old 

 hens laid 125 eggs, the two-year-olds 102.4 

 eggs. The eggs laid in winter by the latter 

 were only 34.71 per cent of those laid by 

 the former. 



The following are the scores of the va- 

 rious breeds : 



Average number of eggs laid 

 1-year-old 2-year-old 

 Breed hens hens 



Black Rhenish 104.7 124.1 



White Wyandotte.. 130.7 99.3 



Black Minorca 126.5 99.6 



Partridge Italian.. 121.0 103.7 



Buff Orpington 119.8 92.1 



White Orpington.. 111.3 95.5 



The small breeds have thus proved more 

 productive than the medium-sized ; never- 

 theless the difference was not so marked 

 among the one-year-olds as among the 

 others. As for their behavior during the 

 various periods of the competitions the 

 small and medium breeds gave one-third of 

 the total yield during the first five months. 

 The maximum number of eggs laid by the 

 small breeds was in May for the one-year- 

 olds and in April for the two-year-olds, 

 while that of the medium-sized breeds was 

 in both cases one month earlier. — R. Bosch, 

 in Landwirtschaftliche Zeitschrift fur die 

 Rheinprovins. 



THE AGRICULTURAL SCHOOLS 



As they are yet young, much, in regard to 

 their scope and usefulness, cannot be said 

 at present; still, the school at Santa Clara, 

 which is now in its second year, is doing 

 good work entirely due to the energy of 

 its director, Doctor Antonio Ponce de 



Hon. Robert L. Luaces,-- director of agriculture 

 in Cuba. 



Leon, and the Professors Messrs. Montero 

 and Lorenzo, who have shown that they 

 are full hearted in their work and are get- 

 ting results in crops and attracting students. 

 The latter, it appears, have entered into the 

 spirit of their professors so much that dur- 

 ing vacation time they are constantly mak- 

 ing visits to the school and, being there, 

 taking off their coats and putting in some 

 good school work, so writes Mr. Robert 

 Luaces, director of agriculture in Cuba. 



Reports are to the effect that the ravages 

 of the cocoanut tree disease in the termino 

 of Sagua are pronounced and the cause of 

 much anxiety. Many of the land owners 

 have cut down the trees in the hope of 

 stamping out the evil. Remedies recom- 

 mended have proved ineffective and in 

 desperation the municipal council has voted 

 a sum of money to be given to anyone in- 

 venting one that will be successful. 



The President has signed a decree, in 

 which the sum of $12,000 is asked to buy 

 lands at Camaguey for the purpose of 

 building an agricultural college. 



