April, i9l2.] 



339 



Live Stock. 



duced by fear, or if it is rheumatism 

 caused by cold, it will readily succumb 

 to treatment. Sometimes the "cramp" 

 is weakness' and want of circulation, 

 which is caused by breeding from debilit- 

 ated stock. For this kind there is no 

 hope, and it is a waste of time to attempt 

 any remedy. On the inside of the leg 

 there is a large vein, which may be 

 easily seen, as it crosses the joint and 

 spreads over the foot. In cases of severe 

 cramp this vein will be seen to be full of 

 stagnant blood. The blood will be in 

 beads. If this vein is rubbed the blood 

 will circulate for a few seconds. Soon 

 after the rubbing ceases the blood will 

 once more become stagnant. If the duck 

 is beheaded with a sharp axe there will 

 be little or no flow of blood from the 

 neck. As the cure for all kinds of cramp 

 is the same, it is always worth while to 

 try it, for in many instances the duck 

 will never be subject to cramp again. If 

 the case is obstinate, it may be argued 

 that it is wasting time, and that the 

 duck will never be strong. As soon as a 

 duckling is observed to be suffering from 

 cramp, a flat tin should be filled with hot 

 water and then covered over with hay 

 to temper.the heat. The duck should be 

 placed on this, and an old sack or flannel 

 should be made very hot and laid across 

 its back. All food and water should be 

 given very warm, and the duck kept as 

 warm as possible. Very often after half 

 an hour of this treatment the duck will 

 be perfectly recovered, but it is well 

 worth while to exercise a little patience, 

 and it is very seldom that the treatment 

 has to be repeated twice after recovery. 



Moulting of Poultry. 

 Moulting is a natural process for poul- 

 try, but at the same time it entails con- 

 siderable strain upon a bird, and the 

 older the bird is the more trying, as a 

 rule, does the moult become. The 

 manner in which a fowl gets through 

 the moult depends a good deal on its 

 state of health at the time. If it is 

 vigorous and healthy, the moult may be 

 forced by a considerable reduction in 

 the quantity of daily food for about a 

 fortnight or three weeks, and then again 



a sudden increase to full rations, and 

 if, when full rations are again resorted 

 to, the birds are kept somewhat 

 warmer than usual, the process of 

 casting the old feathers will be con- 

 siderably hastened. The forced moult, 

 however, is the most trying because 

 it is unnatural, and it should only be 

 resorted to when really necessary for 

 some definite reason. If birds were 

 required to be in complete new feather 

 by a certain date for show purposes, or 

 if utility stock were required to be in 

 full lay by a certain date so as to meet 

 a coming demand for table eggs at the 

 commencement of a social season in 

 some large town, it would be permissible 

 and advisable to force the moult, but 

 for all ordinary purposes it is wiser to 

 let fowls moult as they please. In both 

 cases, however, much can be done to 

 help the process. As soon as the old 

 feathers begin to fall, a generous course 

 of feeding should be commenced in 

 order to meet the growth of new fea- 

 thers. Oily seeds such as ground nuts 

 (pea nuts) and linseed will be of use, 

 while Sussex ground oats, wheat, peas, 

 sunflower seed, etc., may enter largely 

 into the bill of fare. A little flour of 

 sulphur sprinkled daily in the morning 

 mash will help matters forward consider- 

 ably, and the fresh green food and meat 

 ration should be generous. Tonics and 

 stimulants are not, as a rule, needed in 

 this country, but an iron tonic in the 

 drinking water at moulting time is very 

 beneficial. 



Selection for Breeding. 



Bulletin No. 45 of the Cornell Reading 

 Course for Farmers is a paper by Messrs. 

 T. E. Rice and C, A. Roges on the import" 

 ance of Constitutional vigour in the 

 Breeding of Poultry. The authors reach 

 the following conclusions :— 



From the experiments we must con= 

 elude that there is a relation between 

 the physical characters of fowls and 

 their constitutional vigour, which will 

 enable a careful observer to select the 

 weak from the strong, and also that 

 these qualities are transmissible from 

 parent to offspring ; we may also assume 



