Skim-milk for Poultry. 



507 



of Tiflis, Elizavetpol, Erivan, etc., are too backward in their 

 means of communication to allow of the easy locomotion of 

 bulky machinery along roads which are little better than 

 cattle tracks. A further obstacle in the way of the introduc- 

 tion of proper machinery for agricultural purposes is the 

 impecunious condition of a large proportion of the landlords 

 and the ignorance of the peasantry. Nevertheless, Mr. 

 Consul Stevens is inclined to favour the opinion that ploughs 

 of various descriptions, specially adapted for ploughing stony 

 soils in the plains, for ploughing operations on both moderate 

 and steep mountain slopes, over irregular surfaces and other 

 kinds of difficult country, could be sold to advantage, 

 provided that some competent person accompanied them in 

 order tc teach the natives the manner in which they should 

 be used, and for this purpose he suggests Tiflis as the most 

 suitable locality where a person of this kind could be profit- 

 ably employed. Tiflis is the capital of the Trans-Caucasus, 

 and a point of concentration at some time of the year or other 

 for a large number of person^ belonging to the agricultural 

 classes, who visit that town in order to make their annual 

 purchases, and to transact other business in connection with 

 their landed properties. The ploughs, howev^er, should not 

 be very costly. Something m the style of the ploughs 

 imported into South Russia, and not costing more than about 

 12 to 15 r. (25s. 6d. to 32s.), delivered in Tiflis, for wooden 

 beam ploughs with cast-iron shares, or 18 to 20 r. (38s. to 

 42s. 6d.) for iron ploughs, would probably find buyers. 



[Foreign Office Report, Annual Series, No. 2198. Price id.] 



Skim-milk as Food for Poultry. 



A bulletin issued by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture contains some observations on the employment 

 of skim-milk for feeding purposes, and especially as a food 

 for chickens. Skim-milk, it is remarked, is a farm product 

 the food value of which is not fully appreciated. It is not 

 generally realised that milk loses little in actual food value 

 by skimming. It is true that most of the fat is removed in 



