Julj, 1913 



663 



Filling the Winter Ecg 

 Basket. 



Nothiiijj is more prolitablv in 

 poultrv kooinng than success in in- 

 ducin.n" poultrv to hiy well during 

 the winteV time. Most iieople have 

 their own i(ka as to what is the 

 best breed for winter. One \ man 

 likes a pvire breed, another has a 

 specnal favourite cross that lie 

 swears by. Of course, ever}"- man 

 is the best judge, because there, are 

 so manv variations of position, cli- 

 mate, accoanmodation, available 

 food, etc., tail of which are import- 

 ant to consider, that it is impos- 

 sible to lav down one single rule 

 that will apply to all classes of 

 poultry keepers alike. 



]Most people now understand the 

 importance of housing and the ne- 

 cessity of scratching sheds and 

 other sheltered places. It is quite 

 impossible to expect good results 

 without such accommodation. Birds 

 so treated lay and pay well, but 

 let them be moping about in cor- 

 ners, huddling for shelter . against 

 the wind that sweeps through a 

 poultry' run from side to side and 

 from end to end, and there will be 

 no eggs whatever. Keep them 

 warm, well fed, well exercised, sup- 

 plied with green stuffs such as are 

 available, provided with grit, and 

 then there is not much likeliho'od of 

 the egg basket being empty. With 

 regard to food during the winter 

 fowls should begin the day with a 

 meal of w"arm soft food, and they 

 should end the day with a good 

 feed of grain, in which a little 

 (but only a little) maizie is in- 

 cluded. 



One word only in conclusion wa'th 

 regard to the roosting places. 

 These should be open fronted. This 

 is a plan more likely than any- 

 thing else to prevent the fowls 

 from having roup and colds and 

 similar complaints, such as are 



[irevalent in winter. Thcr*.- cannot 

 be in an open-fronted poultry-house 

 any accumulation of bad air to 

 irritate the lungs and to start 

 the pre-disposition of catarrhal 

 troubles which is quite lively to de- 

 velo]) into an actual cold or attack 

 of rouj), and that means a lug 

 drop in the profits. — Ivxchange. 



A Law of Nature. 



A law of Nature, upon which ab- 

 solute reliance may be placed, as- 

 sists lis very materially in select- 

 ing this year's breeding stock, 

 writes an American poultry keeper. 

 Put into ordinary li^nguage the 

 law is that the more any part of 

 the body is used, the larger and 

 stronger it becomes, while the less 

 it is used, the weaker and smaller 

 it becomes. That is to say that a 

 man who spends all his • time doing 

 manual labour increases th« 

 strength of his muscles and sinews; 

 while his brain does not develop in 

 the same proportion ; a man who 

 devotes all his energies to head 

 work increases the power of his 

 brain, while his muscles decrease in 

 strength. Applying this law to 

 poultry, we find that the better 

 layer a bird is, the l)igger are the 

 egg organs ; if edible qualities are 

 its chief characteristic, the breast 

 is well developed ; while if it is 

 evenly balanced, we know at once 

 it is what is termed a general pur- 

 pose fowl — that is, good all roamd. 

 Such a bird is a better layer than 

 table breeds, but it does not pos- 

 sess such good edible properties. It 

 is better tipon the table than a 

 laying breed, but it produces fewer 

 eggs.; Bv means of this law, it is 

 possible to select the breeding 

 stock with far greater certainty 

 than would otherwise be the case, 

 and from quite a large ilock the 

 best layers, the best table fowls, or 

 the most suitable all-round birds 



Koonoowarra Poultry Farm - Enfield. 



. 6 minutes' walk from electric tram. 'Phone 273. 



Breeder, Kxhibitor, and Im.porter of Highest Class 

 BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS. WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 

 WHITE ORPINGTONS RHODE ISLAND REDS. 



WHITE LEGHORNS. 

 PEKIN DUCKS. WHITE RUNNER DUCKS. 



(Never beaten in Show Pen). (Wonderful Layers of White Shell Eggs). 

 Stock have won n umerous prizes at Adelaide Leading Shows. 

 Eggs and Stock for Sale in Season. 



For further particulars write — 



P. O. MAIVUEM^, Proprietor. 



WHAT TEA 



are 



YOU 



Drinking. 

 For Quality YOU can't Beat 



AMLICKIE TEA. 



H. H. MANSFIELD, 



Unley Road & Culvert St., Unley City 



can be chosen. There are, of 

 course, certain outward character- 

 istics that denote for what a fowl 

 is most suitable. A large red 

 comb usually indicates a good 

 layer, a small rose-comb often, 

 though not by an^- means always, 

 denotes a general-purpose fowl; 

 while very few reall}- first class 

 chickens have featheced or yellow 

 legs. In selecting hens for laying, 

 birds 'firm and close in body should 

 be chosen, of a good size, well de- 

 veloped Ijehind, clean and tall on 

 the legs, and active in, habits. For 

 table purposes the hens should be 

 heavy in body, shortish on the leg, 

 and deep in breast. 



4 



Some Causes of Intertility. 



Unfertile eggs can be accounted 

 for in many ways. Stock birds 

 that are not of a suitable age, too 

 old or too young, the lack of a 

 regular supply of green food, over- 

 feeding, food containing too much 

 starch, too frequent a use of spicy 

 condiments, neglect to supply a 

 reasonable amount of animal food, 

 such as green bone, boiled lights, 

 etc. Cold, wet, and sudden, changes 

 in the weather are responsible for 

 many bad hatches. In mating up 

 your breeding pens, take for pre- 

 ference hens in their second year 

 of laying, and mate them with a 

 \dgoroiis cockerel, or vice versa. 

 During the winter and early, spring 

 five females to one male are quite 

 sufficient, but as the weather be- 

 comes warmer you can increase to 

 eight or nine, or even twelve. 



■■ ♦ 



There the three things absolute- 

 ly necessary to be a successful 

 horseman : gentleness, patience, and 

 firmness, particularlv the first. 



