Dfte, % 1901.] 
Supplemmt te the . Trdpi<ml AgricuUurisL^' 
sun. Green food should be supplied regularly 
every day to young — as well as the old stock— if 
■we wish to keep our poultry in perfect health. 
The best time to feed green-food is at mid-Jay, 
and there should not any left, about the pens or 
yards. 
In rearing ducklings there are two objects to be 
kept in view, that of rearing to maturity for 
stock birds, or for fattening for table, as the two 
methods differ very materially. When ducklings 
have been hatched for tweuty-four hours they will 
require their first meul ; hard-boiled egg mixed 
with pollard or bread crumbs is a good first meal. 
When the duclking are two or three days old, their 
food should consist of pollard and bran (3 to 1 
respectively) mixed into a nice crumbly mass — 
not too sloppy — green food — cut up fine, and a 
little animal food. Of course clean water should 
always be before them, and nice clean sand which 
they will use as grit. 
In the large majority of cases (writes an 
English weekly, where fowls are kept in thickly- 
populated districts, the only object is to obtain 
eggs, not to rear chiskens. Under these coiidl- 
tions there is no occasion whatever for the pre- 
sence of the male bird. Numberless experiments 
have proved this. The United States Govern- 
ment maintain, at considerable expense, an Agri- 
cultural Department to investigate all matters 
of interest to the farmer. That Department has 
closely and scientifically examined the question as 
to whether the male bird is needed for the produc- 
tion of eggs, and the conclusion arrived at was 
that the laying of the hens is greater if they are 
kept alone. It has also been proved again and 
again in this countrj'- that the " crowing gentle- 
man " is not necessary where eggs only are needed, 
if the town poultry -keeper will stock his yard 
■with hens only. Even if it is considered necessary 
to hatch some chickens, a sit.ting of eggs, guaran- 
teed fertile, can be easily purchased for a 
small sum. 
THE AGRICULTURAL BANK. 
1 Mr. Sutton Nelthorpe, a Large land holder in 
Li.'icolnshire has succeeded in establishing, and, 
with the assistance of a Managing Committee and 
an excellent Secretary (Mr. Spencer) in efliciently 
maintaining an Agricultural "Credit Society" 
since 1894.] 
Most people, writes Mr, II. Rider Haggard in 
the Daily E.cjjress, have heard of the Reiffeisen 
system of agricultural banks, of which the object 
is to promote and foster co-operative personal 
credit, and to advance moneys to small agri- 
culturists wherewith to enable them to carry 
on or extend their business. 
The underlying principle of these banks is 
collective guarantee; thus all the members are 
re-poii>ible for t]ie default of any one of them, 
the ba^is upon which the system is ijnilt up 
being the estal>lished character for probity and 
sobriety of the individual members of each 
associatiQD, 
The success of these bauks upon the Continent 
has been colossal. I believe that there exist 
at the present moment nearly 2,500 of them, 
and that their transactions in ISDj amounted 
to a total of about ill, 000,003. 
Further, it is tlie boast of this foreign 
Raiffriisen Agricultural Bank Association with 
its two thousand odd affiliated societies', that 
since the begii ning of the enterprise in 1840, 
neither member nor creditor has lost a shilling 
by them, whereas the good tliej !iave done to 
struggling agiculcurists can scarcelj' be expressed 
in words. 
Tiiat this is tl. e opinion of the Prussian Diet 
is shown by the fact that, in July, 189,3, a Bill 
was read a third time in the House of Deputies 
establishing a Central Co-operative Bank, of which 
the object is to grant loans to and receive 
deposits from co-operative unions and co-o[)era- 
live credit banks. To further this end the State 
granted to the said bank as original capital a 
sum of £-'50,000. 
When we turn to England it is, as might 
be expected, to find that in the matter, having 
to do with agriculture and the welfare of tlie rural 
population, little or uotliing has been done. 
In 1895, at the instance of Mr. Yerburgli, 
!M.P., some information was obtaiiied from tlie 
Continent through tiie Foieign Office oflicials, 
and there the thing stopped. Also I believe I 
am right in saying that largely through the 
enterprise and energy of Mr. Yerburgh, the 
Co-operative Banks Association has been founded, 
but as yet;, I understand, has not progressed 
very far. How can it, fighting against such a 
sea of prejudice, ignorance, and Tarliameutry 
indifference. ? 
Our Goveriiments can squander millions and 
tons of millions upon foreign enterprises and 
wars, some of which at least are of doul)tfuI 
advantage, but what amount of pressure would 
it take to extract from them even £2-30,090 to 
assist a movement of this sort ? That sum is 
about the sixteenth of the cost of, let us say, 
tlie Uganda railroad, and the benefit whieli 
would result from its judicious use in the 
establishmeat of people's banks must, I firmly 
believe, be a truer defence and benefit to this 
country than a dozen East African railways. 
Yet, as it would benefit not trade but agri- 
culture and the land, what chance is there that 
it wili ever be forthcoming, or indeed, any 
earnest and heartfelt Government assistance in 
this and kindred matters P 
The Scawby Credit Society started with the 
mode,st capital of £200 in 1894. Today it is 
quite solvent, and even boasts a reserve of £.3 
l:i!.s., having since^ its origin granted loans to 
the extent of I'o/T— twenty-two in all, running 
from £oQ, the maximum allowed, to £5. Dur^ 
iug this period of activity it has suffered no 
loises and incurred no bad debts. 
To e.^emplify the working and usefulness of 
the bank, 1 do not know that 1 can do better 
than quote two on three speciuaeu cases, names 
only being suppressed. 
Case 1. — .'\ farm labourer, au iudustiious man 
who had brought up a large family and managed 
