366 
S^ppUrAent to the " Tropical AgriouUmW [Ndv. 2, 1901. 
The following summary will give au idea of 
the working of the Government Dairy: — 
The total expenses of the year wereR-". 24.377-83, 
and the receipts bv the sale of stock and milk 
Rs. 27,653'59, giving a profit of Rs. 3,27o-76. 
The amount, realised by tlie sale of milk alone 
was Rs. 24,703-75. 
The return of stock at the end of the year 
shewed of cows 108, calves 105, stud bulls 4, 
draught bulls 2. 
SUNFLOWER SEED, 
There is nothing more easy to grow than 
sunflowers, but apart from their ornamental 
character one never thinks of these plants as 
being of any use to the cultivator. To give some 
idea of what can be done with the seeds we 
have made the following resumi of an article 
published the London Agricultural Gazette not 
long ago : — 
Small parcels of sunflower seed have for years 
reached Loudon, but of late large consignments 
have arrived from Ode-ssa, and it is worthy of 
note that a 300 ton cargo found a purchaser 
at £11 5s, per ton. Tliis would go to show 
that there is a market for the seed, and assuming 
that one acre on an average will produce 60 
bushels of seed, without as great exhaustion 
of the soil as many other crops occasion, its 
Tttlue as a profitable cultiv-ation will be understood. 
The sunflower has been large and profitably cul- 
tivated in Hungary, Germany and Russia for 
a long time past. Not only do birds of all kinds 
thrive ou the seed, but there is perhaps no more 
fattening seed for poultry, while cattle like 
it either whole or crushed. The stalks of the 
plant can also be used as fodder. Speaking 
roughly each seed produces a thousand. Yet it 
is said that the demand is greater than the supply. 
The hulled seeds contain 
German Seed. Russian Seed. 
OU 33-48 p.c. 34-25 p.c. 
Organic substances 54-04 p.c. 54-39 p.c. 
Jr'rotein substances 
therein ... — 14-12 p.c. — 18-80 p.c. 
Ash 2-86 p.c. 3-56 p.c. 
Water .„ „. 9-62 p.c. 7-80 p.c. 
lOO-OO 100-OU 
POULTRY PICKINGS. 
A good diet is the essential thing for egg 
production. In the morning, as early as possible, 
feed pollard mixed thoroughly with water, but 
80 that it will break into pieces when thrown 
down, In the evening feed good grain, oats or 
wheat, with barley or maize tor a cliange on wet 
cold days. If the fowls are penned up, give 
a little cooked meat or green bone, the latter 
being preferable as it contains much mineral 
salts and fat besides albuminoids, all of which 
are invaluable for egg production. The latter 
ehouid be fed at midday. Do not allow the 
birds to get too fat. A good plan is to feed the 
grain at night in a corner where there is some litter 
or straw so that "scratching" maybe induced. 
An occasional allowance of green food (cabbage, 
lettuce, &c.) and some grit will make the diet 
perfect. Such is the advice of the poultry expert 
of the Queensland Agricultural College given in 
the Agricultural Journal of that Colony, 
A convenient tonic for fowls is Sulphate of 
Iron ; a little in the drinking water just sufiScieat 
to give it a slightly bitter taste. This often 
greatly helps the birds on, particularly during 
the process of feather making which is very 
exhausting. 
The buff varieties of Wyandottes and Plymouth 
Rocks are apt to be confused, but according 
to the Farmers' and Stockbreeders' Review, there 
is no excuse for mistaking a buff Orpington 
with its rose comb. The other two have single 
combs. Orpington's have white or flesh-coloured 
legs, Plymouth rocks have yellow legs, like 
Wyandottes. The shape is also very characteristic 
of each breed. 
Douglas mixture for fowls is made of 1 or. 
sulphuric ocid and ^ lb. sulphate of iron. 
Dissolve in two gallons water and add one table 
spoonful to every gallon of the drinking water. 
The production of eggs is according to the 
best authorities merely a matter of feeding, and 
it is said that the most persistent nou-layera 
will be induced to lay if fed with such a mixture 
as " butter-milk, wheat-porridge and a few 
chopped chillies." Dried blood is also considered 
a perfect food for egg production. Good scratchers 
are better layers than birds that get at their 
food without exertion. Therefore scatter the 
food about easily disturbed litter so that the 
hens will get exercise in searching for the grain. 
Warts in chickens should be treated by first 
tearing off the wart with a pair of pincers or 
a pin and touching the entire ulcer with a little 
cotton plug moistened with tincture of iodine. 
The warts are produced by the mycelium of a 
fungus {Aspergillus fumigatus), the mycelium of 
which is within the wart, Treatment must be 
adopted on the first appearance of the trouble, 
The Queensland Agricultural Gazette recommends 
another simple and effective remedy, namely, 
dipping the heads of the chickens twice a day in 
fresh urine. 
The Scottish Farmer writes : — There has been 
some talk lately of the superiority of water-glasi 
(silicate of soda) to lime for the preservation 
of eggs. It is contended that eggs preserved 
in a solution of water-glass will keep longer 
fresh than in lime-water, and will acquire no 
taste; that, indeed, at the end of six months, 
the whites, when boiled, will have the milky 
appearance of a new-laid egg. Professor Long 
repeatedly recommends this method ; and it is 
being largely adopted in America for market 
purposes. The proper solution is 10 per cent, 
of water-glass in perfectly pure water. Th» 
purity of the water iji an important point. At 
Birmiagham Show last December, out of twenty- 
