1908.] 



Miscellaneous Notes. 



221 



Of these measures, that of giving premiums as an inducement to good farming is of 

 interest. The method adopted is to allot a certain district to each Agricultural 

 Society, and three persons are then appointed by the Society as Judges, who 

 personally inspect each of the holdings which is entered for competition. A limit is 

 placed on the size of the holding, varying in different districts from 15 to 30 acres as a 

 maximum and 2\ to 5 acres as a minimum. The premiums may be either money 

 prizes or small advances. The prizes vary in value from about 28s. to 112s., and miy 

 be given more than once in respect of the same holding. The advances are granted 

 for the carrying out of small improvements approved by the Judges, and in some 

 cases when the work has been satisfactorily executed, repayment is not required. 

 Diplomas are also given to those who have obtained the first prize. 



In 1905 the number of competing holdings was 1, 137, representing in all about 

 15,000 acres, of which 768 received prizes and 227 small advances. {Mitt. Dent. 

 Land. Gese//., No. 32, 1907.) 



Causes of Death of Chickens raised in Incubators. — An investigation has recently been 

 carried out at the Connecticut Storrs Experimental Station {U.S. Farmers'' Bulletin, 

 No. 309) into the causes leading to the death of chickens raised in incubators. 

 Several lots of chickens were given different kinds of food, and it w T as found that the 

 mortality was high when a certain mixture was used. Careful examination showed 

 that this food contained a somewhat large proportion of musty grain. The young 

 chicks ate all the grains indiscriminately, and their lack of ability to detect wholesome 

 from unwholesome foods was further tested by giving them such substances as 

 sawdust, coarse salt, and granulated sugar. These materials were eaten as readily as 

 the grains with which they were mixed. Indeed, the salt and sugar were always 

 selected first, apparently owing to their bright appearance ; but as a rule the chicks- 

 did not appear to relish them. 



When older chicks hatched by hens, and also those taken from the incubators and 

 given to the hens, were offered these same mixtures, it was exceptional to find a chick 

 that took over a grain or two of salt, sugar or sawdust. When musty food was given 

 to the older incubator chicks it was noticed that those eight or nine days old showed 

 considerable discrimination in selecting the grain, while still older chicks refused even 

 larger proportions of the musty grains. It seems probable therefore that a proportion 

 of the losses of incubated chickens may at times be due to the use of musty food. 



Subsidies for Cold Storage Warehouses in Canada: — The policy of giving financial 

 assistance towards the erection of public cold storage warehouses in Canada was 

 adopted by the passing of an Act in 1907, "to encourage the establishment of cold 

 storage warehouses for the preservation of perishable food products." The Act provides 

 that a subsidy not exceeding 30 per cent, of the amount expended in the construction 

 and equipment of such warehouses, payable one-half on completion and the 

 remainder in instalments during the four following years, provided the warehouse is 

 maintained and worked to the satisfaction of the Minister of Agriculture. A copy 

 of the Act and Regulations is given in the Report of the Dairy and Cold Storage 

 Commissioner for 1907. 



Heating of Hay-ricks..— hi. Miehe in the Revue Scientifupie (25th January, 1908) 

 suggests that the heating of hay-ricks is due to bacteria, and shows as the result of 

 experiment that sterilised hay never becomes heated, but if it is sprinkled with water 

 in which ordinary hay has been steeped a rise in temperature is immediately produced. 

 Heating up to about 122 0 F. is said to be chiefly due to Bacillus coil and Oidium 

 lactis,*2.vA above that temperature Bacillus calf actor is the principal agent, and has its 

 maximum vitality at about 150 0 E. One curious fact is that the hay in the interior ol 

 an over-heated rick is completely sterile, the micro-organisms being apparently finally 

 destroyed under the continued influence of a high temperature. {Rev. Gen. 

 Agronomique, January, 1908.) 



Consumption of Wheat in the Uniltd States. — The United Stales Crop Reporter . 

 (March, 1908), published an estimate of the average annual consumption of wheat 



