516 



Improvement in Poultry Keeping. 



[Sept., 



Formerly, gorse or furze was used in this country as food 



for stock, and was even specially cultivated for that purpose. 



It is of two types — the ordinary prickly gorse, and the French 



or fox-tail gorse, which is relatively free from spikes. The 



latter is to be preferred, but ordinary gorse, if thoroughly 



pulverised, may be fed to stock with good results. Gorse for 



fodder is usually crushed between rollers. It should not be 



allowed to lie long in bulk as it ferments and becomes sour and 



unpalatable. In the case of old-established gorse only the 



green tops are fit for feeding. Old gorse coverts, however, may 



be reclaimed by cutting down the woody plant as close to the 



ground as possible and dividing the roots freely. In from one 



to two years the subsequent young growth will be ready to cut. 



Gorse is highly nutritious and has proved satisfactory with all 



classes of farm live stock, especially with horses and milch cows. 



It should form only one part of the ration, as when fed to excess 



it proves too heating, an effect which may be counteracted by 



giving an occasional bran mash or a daily allowance of roots. 



Up to 201b. per head daily is a safe ration for horses and cows. 



In the Woburn experiment in gorse cultivation the crop was put 



through a gorse cutter and fed to sheep with swedes. The sheep 



ate readily up to 2 J lb. per head per day of fresh gorse, and 



throve well upon it. Gorse-studded areas provide a useful 



w r inter range for young horses. 



****** 



The fact that this country has in the past ten years paid an 

 average of nearly £8,000,000 a year to foreign and colonial 

 _ . countries for poultry and eggs, and in 1919 



P it TT * paid rather more than £10, 000, 000, indicates 

 ^ P &• that there is an enormous demand for these 

 products and that our own producers are unable to satisfy it. 

 The number of poultry kept per head of the population is stated 

 to be far below the figure for the United States, and the reason 

 for this doubtless is that our farmers do not yet fully realise that 

 there is money in poultry keeping. Kesearch is certainly 

 necessary to inform us as to feeding, breeding, laying capacity, 

 and diseases, but education is also necessary to convince our 

 people of the desirability and practical value of poultry keeping, 

 and to keep them informed how birds should be managed to 

 ensure the best results. 



At the fourth annual poultry conference, held at the Harper 

 Adams Agricultural College, Newport, Salop, from 10th to 12th 

 August, and presided over by Principal P. H. Foulkes, many 



