76 



JOUKNAL OF HOETICULTUKS AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



[ J^anary 24, 1365. 



'majority of pullets. I think that the above figures will npt 

 iliffer materially from those of others who have kept a care- 

 ftil account of the sex of their chickens. — C. S. J. 



GLASS m A FOWLS GIZZAED. 



I BVCLOSE a piece of glass neai-ly 2 inches long and a 

 quarter of an inch square, which I extracted from the gizzard 

 of a Spanish hen sixteen months old, killed this week for 

 the table. The glass must have been swallowed many 

 months ago, as it is regularly ground, and it formed in the 

 gizzard an excrescence in the shape of the annexed sketch. 

 The hen appeared in good health, was in good condition, 

 and a good layer. In my experience I never saw such a, 

 malformation of the gizzard, as the wliole length of the 

 glass which was projecting beyond the gizzai'd was covered 

 with flesh 2J inches in length and one-eighth of an inch in 

 thickness. Perhaps some of your readers may have observed 

 similar cases without prejudicial ofFeecs on the health or 

 functions of the hen. — Gt. K. Getelin. 



PAEIS POFLTEY SHOW. 

 Every one will thank you for your notice of the Paris 

 Show. It is calculated to do much good, and to stir up our 

 Bupine English public as to the merits of the poultry question. 

 We hope there will be an alteration in the competition next 

 year, and that it will be thrown entirely open. Application 

 was made by one of our principal poulterers to the Minister 

 of Agriculture, but he was told the entries were confined to 

 France. We believe the good respectable old Dorkings 

 would have held their own. They wOl again next year offer 

 to tilt with blunted weapons against all comers. — B. 



for the reasons he gives, and partly on account of the beauti- 

 ful conti-ast it makes with the white plumage of the Ayles- 

 bury Duck. — C. H. L., Redonj, Edith Weston. 



SEX OF EGGS— COLOFll OF AYLESBUEY 

 DUCKS' BILLS. 



I belie\t;_ it is well known to ornithologists, that of the 

 Finches, which have two nests in one season, the first con- 

 tains all cocks, and the second all hens. This would lead us 

 to expect a contrary result to tliat which your correspon- 

 dent " F. H." speaks of. However, I for one wUl take notice 

 of the sex of chickens from eggs laid at various times by the 

 same hen, and let him know the result at the end of the 

 season. 



For the comfort of your correspondent, "G. B. H." allow 

 me to say that the light-coloured bill of the Aylesbury Duck 

 is not confined to the neighbourhood of Aylesbury. I, too, 

 have bought Ducks of Mrs. Seamons, and also of a well- 

 known breeder near Grantham, which have not changed the 

 colour of their bills, although I have taken no pains to keep 

 them out of the sun, or to let them out only on frosty morn- 

 ings, a common recipe for preserving the delicate colour. 

 I have also bred birds from this stock, with light bills. 

 Now on the land where my Ducks are bred, I can answer for 

 neither chalk nor sand being found, nor indeed clay, except 

 at a depth ten times the length of a Duck's bill. I olso 

 know of a farmyard in Norfolk, where for several years past 

 some Ducks have been bred with- bills the colour of an 

 orange, and others nearly, if not quite, as pale aa those of 

 the prize Ducks at Birmingbam. Chalk and sand are very 

 abundant there, but that only serves to increase the difii- 

 cultT. However, I quite agree with "G. li. H." in wishing 

 for the orange bill to be admitted into our prize pens, partly 



POULTEY-KEEPING FEOJI A COMMEECLiL 

 POIA'T OP VIEW. 



iCotitinued frcnn page 57.) 

 FOOD FOS POULTRY. 



When poultry is kept confined its food must be appro- 

 priate. A fowl kept in a free state on a farm, can with ad- 

 vantage be fed all the year round with barley or oats only, 

 as she will supplement her meals with animal and vegetable 

 matters of her own finding ; therefore, an equivalent should 

 be given to penned-up poultry ; but, again, as they have not 

 so much bodily exercise as when in a i'ree stat«, their diges- 

 tive powers are weakened, consequently they are subject to 

 inflammation of the bowels when fed on whole grain only. 

 After this explanation my readers will understand the reason 

 why I advocate all grain to be ground, and the meat and 

 green vegetables to be minced ; but, apart from the sanitary 

 consideration, it becomes an important economical fact in a 

 large breeding establishment, as it is well Known that food 

 made of grain and which requires little exertion of the 

 digestive organs, has far greater feeding and fattening 

 qualities than whole grain. 



There is another point connected with feeding to which I 

 wish to allude. The diet should be varied almost daily; but 

 green vegetables finely minced ought to form part of every 

 meal, and occasionally some oxide of iron, and at other times 

 flowers of sulphur, mixed with the food will greatly tend to 

 keep poultry in good health. 



FOOD FOE TOCXG CHICKENS. 



Indian corn and barleymeal, boiled rice, mashed potatoes, 

 bread crumbs, &c., steeped in milk and water — any of the 

 above separately or mixed together will do well. Finely- 

 chopped green vegetables should be given daily, and oc- 

 casionally hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, and a supply from 

 the vermin nursery. Fine gravel should be put in the inner 



j saucer shown in fg. IS. 



I Water should be supplied between the two saucers to 



' prevent the chickens wetting themselves, and it should 

 be renewed daily. Clean water and a plentiful supply of 



I food given about four times a-day, combined with the com- 

 fort of the artificial mother, wUl keep the chickeng in better 

 condition than when left to roam in search of food. 



FOOD FOR THE BREEDING AND LAYING STOCK 



May consist of a mixture of the various cereals coarsely 

 ground and made into a stiff paste. This food should be 

 put in the feeding-fountains, figs. 3 and 4, where it cannot 

 be wasted or dirtied. Occasionally in fine weather whole 

 grain can be thrown broadcast in the open run. The other 

 food should be finely-chopped vegetables, such as the waste 

 of the kitchen garden, mangold wurtzel, swedes, &c., in a 

 green state, mashed boiled potatoes and rice, minced boiled 

 meat mixed into a paste with the liquor from the meat, and 

 seasoned with salt and pepper. Finely-powdered oyster 

 shells or a little chalk forms a genial condiment. Powdered 

 charcoal, oxide of iron, and flowers of sulphur alternately, 

 and at given intervals mixed with their food will keep them 

 in perfect health. The best feeding-time is at sunrise, and 

 about two hours before roosting-time. 



FOOD FOR THE FATTENING STOCK. 



As they are still more closely confined they require a diet 

 of a highly fattening nature and of easy digestion. When 

 once poultry is penned up for fattening, the diet ought not 

 to be varied. There are three different ways adopted in 

 fattening poultry. 



1st. Free feeding, consisting in supplying a fowl with food 

 and water ad libitum. This takes a much longer time, is 

 more expensive, and less satisfactory as regards the flesh. 

 In this mode four or six fowls are best penned up together, 

 us they will feed more freely than in solitary confinement. 



2nd. Forced dry feeding, consisting in cramming the fowl 

 with pills made of suitable food twice or thrice a-day, and 

 giving water ad libitum. 

 I 3rd. Forced liquid feeding coasists in reducing the food 



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