March 1, 1904.] Supplement to fhe " Trnpiad JgricHltunaf." 
649 
same time. This is of great importnnce to u.«, as 
Government nppoints ceitiiin dates for stopping 
sowing, nnd there is generally a lot of unsown 
lard by that date, The goyiyas have named the 
■ paddy "Ci)l'>mbawi " owing to the "Colomba 
Muharmnya " having inlrodnced it. 
I nm now growing a Rangoon paddy "which 
takes 90 d.iy?. This variety can be cropped 
twice and gives splendid crops. When ripe it 
does not fall on its side, but keeps erect owing 
to the stalks being quite green when the grain 
is ready for reapingr. In consequence, the straw 
is of excellent quality and much appreciated 
by horses nnd cattle. 
The rice from tliis paddy is milky white 
and of excellent quality. There is no bran on 
the grain, a slight pounding being sufficient to 
separate the grain from the husk. 
In a Rangoon paddy introduced some few 
ci'ops previously, the grain was similar to the 
previously mentioned variety in having no bran, 
but after being sown three times the grain had 
bran on it as in the lucal paddy. 
A. D. 
RAINFALL TAKEN AT THE GOVERN- 
MENT STOCK GARDEN, THURSTON 
ROAD, COLOMBO, DURING THE 
YEAR 1903. 
llonth. 
Rainfall. 
Mean. 
Greatest Rainfall and 
Date of same. 
January 
.5-68 
•18 i 
January 28th. 
February 
2-87 
•10 
•81 
February 26th. 
March 31st. 
March 
•77 
•02 
•44 
April 
6-60 
•22 
2^1,'i 
April 7th. 
May 
26-8S 
•87 
5^53 
May 16th. 
June 
7-58 
•25 
MO 
June 27. 
July 
6-74 
•22 
1-54 
July 30th. 
August 
8-27 
•27 
3^10 
August 11th. 
September 
11-54 
■i1 
3^40 
September 5th. 
October 
13-d9 
3 55 
October •24th. 
November 
1-75 
•06 
36 
November 7th. 
December 
4-46 
•14 
1-60 
December 23rd. 
POULTRY RAISING. 
BY A PRACTICAL MAN. 
(Continued.) 
Breeds. 
The next item is the much debated one of the 
best breed to keep, and it is here that I must 
" lightly tread," for we all swear b}' our particular 
favourites. If any of my hearers aie inclined to 
doubt my word, I would recommend them to judge 
at a poultiy show, where there is a prize ollered 
for the best pen of birds on the sliow. If he dose 
uot liear, fiom disappointed exhibitoie, the superior 
j qualities of every breed over the one he has 
awarded the' prize to, human natures must have 
I changed since I officiated as ii judge. 
I My statements are made fripm practical experi- 
I ence and not from w har I have read, aitliough 
from a very early age I have eagerly devoured 
' poultry literature. 
For laying qualities on li/ : Leghorn, .\ndalusiai), 
Wyandotte, Spanish, Jfinorca and Hamburgh would 
be hard to excel. All but the Wyandotte lay a 
large white egg. 
For table qualities : The Dorkirg, Houdan, 
L!ing>han. 
Fur table and laying qualities combined : The 
Orpington. 
Tlie C'lchin, Briihmn, Rock and Games (Indian, 
Old English and Modern) I prefer crossed with tlie 
Orpington, Houdan, Dorking or Langshnn, both 
for laying and table purposes. 
If your object is to breed for egg production and 
you cannot afford to lay out a lot of money on 
pure-bred fowls, I should recommend that you 
pen your common or barn-door fowls, and when 
you have picked out the best layers under two 
years old, procure a pure-bred cock (about 8 
months old) of the Leghorn, Audalusian, Minorca, 
Spanish, Hamburgh, or Orpington breeds, and run 
him with the 20 or less hens selected as good 
layers. Set the^eggs laid by these hens so mated. 
When the pullets (from this cross) come on to lay 
put them also to- a pure-bred cock of a different 
breed to t heir sire, nnd so on each year introducing 
a fresh male bird. By this means you will have a 
fresh cross each year, nnd increased egg pro- 
duction, and a stronger fowl. It; will be necessary 
each year to select your best layers and only bred 
from them, for by coniiiiually selecting the good 
layers and breeding from them a good laying strain 
will be formed. When the pullets have been 
laying about a monlh save the eggs laid after the 
expiratii)n of that period, and set them. I have 
found the eggs laid by a pullet if set before she 
has been laying a month produce sraall and weak 
chicks, nnd would recommend that all eggs laid 
up til] then be used for human consumption. Do 
not keep a hen after she is two years old unless 
she is an extraordinary layer. My experience has 
been that after two years of age their e^g-produc- 
ing qualities are on the decline. If possible 
procure a cck (to mate with the selected pullets) 
the progeny of a good laying hen. 
In breeding for table purposes, select the square- 
bodied, deep-breasted, short-legged, comfortable- 
looking hens with black, blue or white legs. 
Birds with legs of the<e colours usually carry 
white flesh. Yellow-legged birds, as a rule, have 
yellow skins, which is in England considered a 
great detriment to their fetching good prices as 
table birds. To these square-bodied hens introduce 
a Dorking, Houdan, Indian Game, Orpington, or 
short-legged Lingashan cock. If the yellow-skin 
is not a detritnent to g lod prices in your market, 
n Cochin, Brahma, Wyandotte or Plymouth RocJ? 
cock could be used — ut-ing a different breed each 
year ; or if you can be certaiir of procuring a bird 
of the same variety as you have ju.-^t bred from, bu| 
unrelated, and the result has been favourable, f 
shoukl recommend you to continue v\4th the sam© 
cross each ye ir. By taking a cock of another 
breed each year, the danger of in-breeding will ba 
avoided, so this will be lite safest cour.-e. 
One of the best crosses I have ever seen was th« 
progeny of a Partridge Cochin cock and a Malay 
hen. The flesh was sweet, tender and abundant. 
This cross was very hardy, 
