342 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ocr., 1897. 
General Notes, 
A WARNING WORD TO BEEKEEPERS. 
Dunine the honey harvest many colonies will become queenless unless we are 
very careful. This most frequently occurs with those that contain virgin 
queens, and these are the ones that need them more than others. Such 
colonies are usually destitute of brood, and will become a total loss in all 
probability unless prompt remedial measures are taken. It is easily 
ascertained by examination if all colonies have laying queens, as eggs and: 
brood will appear in the combs if such is the case. These indications are very 
prominent in the hive, and may be seen on the most cursory examination. To 
ut a queenless colony in good working order insert a frame of brood in their 
ive, and if this is not over three days old, the colony will invariably raise a 
queen from it. 
THE BEST WAY TO KILL POULTRY. 
Masor Tratwt, a well-known authority on all that pertains to the poultry 
yard, considers that the best method of killing fowls is by dislocation of the 
neck. In this opinion I entirely agree with him, for it is not only the most 
humane plan, but also the most satisfactory when regarded from the point of 
view of general appearances. When the vertebral column is broken there is 
no more sensation, and the method is much more cleanly than that commonl 
adopted, as there is no bleeding. The process is as follows :—Take the bird by 
wings and feet in the right hand, and its head between two of the fingers (first 
and second) of the left hand, close behind the skull, the back of the bird being 
upwards. Hold the legs tight against the right hip, bend the bird’s head 
backward (the palm of the left hand being turned to the left), and at the same 
time firmly extend the bird till the neck is dislocated just below the junction 
with the head, and death will immediately ensue. Care must be taken not to 
use more than the actual necessary extension, or the head will come off or the 
skin of the neck be- torn. Muscular contraction will be noticeable for a few 
minutes, but if the operation is effective no pain is suffered.—Kachange. 
FAMOUS POTATO-SPRAYER,. 
Mussrs. Srrawsons, 75a Queen Victoria street, London, have rendered a great 
service to potato-growers by the' invention of their now well-known Strawsonite 
or sprayer for checking potato disease, and improving the quality of potatoes. 
The experiments made by Lord Clonbrock and others conclusively prove that 
growing potatoes sprayed with the preparation of sulphate of copper used with 
the Strawsonite machine increases in quantity from three to four tons an acre, 
that the potatoes are of much superior quality and keep good longer. Potato 
blight is simply microbes or insects. For 28s. 9d., Messrs. Strawsons will 
supply a machine which may be carried on the back in knapsack form, and which 
(as the Times says) will guard “crops with almost absolute certainty against 
destruction.” . 
A CHEAP FOOD FOR THE CHICKS. 
Fowts of all varieties are extremely fond of onions, and derive great benefit 
from eating them. They not only serve all the purposes of food, but aid 
digestion and tend to ward off disease. They may be given in a raw or cooked 
state. Chickens will eat not only the bulbs, but the leaves when they are 
chopped up and mixed with the soft food. Chickens that are allowed onions 
prepared in this way rarely, if ever, have cholera, and are not likely to be 
infested with vermin. 
