1 Ocr., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. © 823 
ECONOMIC PACKING-BOX FOR EGGS. 
Messrs. James Roprnson have conferred a boon on poultry farmers in the 
honeycomb box, which is a marvel of simple ingenuity. The bees know how 
to economise space for storing honey, and so does this box for storing eggs, 
more of which can be packed in a given space than in the boxes hitherto made, 
which are all arranged on the square. The cells are made from patent leather 
board, and between each layer is a piece of felt. 
SPECTACLES FOR CATTLE. 
Cows with spectacles are to be seen in the Russian steppes. The steppes are | 
covered with snow more than six months of the year. The cows subsist on the 
tufts of grass which crop above the snow, and the rays of the sun on the snow 
are so dazzling as to cause blindness. To obviate this calamity, it occurred to 
a kind-hearted man to protect the cow’s eyes in the same way as those of 
human beings, and he manufactured smoke-coloured spectacles which could be 
safely worn by cattle. These spectacles were a great success, and are now 
worn by upwards of 40,000 head of cattle, who no longer suffer from the 
snow-blindness which once caused such untold suffering amongst them.— 
Hechange. 
HANDLING A VICIOUS BULL. 
A correspondent of the Farmer and Stockbreeder, writing on this subject 
says:—A very good plan for rendering a vicious bull harmless when in his 
stall is to fasten a surcingle round his waist, and then a three-quarter inch rope 
to his nose-ring, passing the latter between the horns, under the surcingle, 
and round the tail, as in the crupper of a horse. The rope can be kept 
between the horns by means of a cord tied to the horns themselves. In 
handling him it should be pulled tight until the nose is as high as his back, in 
which case he will be perfectly under control. Every bull of this kind kept for 
service should be provided with a pen some 80 feet by 60 feet in size, this 
having boards nailed to uprights in the inside, so that no mischief can be done. 
A stall large enough for him to turn round in should be placed in one corner, 
and at the feeding end a hole should be made through which he can feed, and 
thus the attendant will be saved the necessity of entering the pen any more 
than is absolutely necessary. 
WHITE SPEOKS IN BUTTER. 
Tu cause of white specks in butter is this: When the dairy wife skims the 
milk, a little of the milk is skimmed off with the cream. It is then probably 
allowed to stand too long in the cream-jar without stirring, when the milk 
becomes thick and settles to the bottom, and then begins to separate into 
cheese and whey ; then, when it is churned, the cream is poured, thick milk and 
all, into the churn, and it is all churned up together, the consequence being 
that butter, butter-milk, cheese, and whey are obtained altogether, the 
butter and cheese forming one part, and the butter-milk and whey another 
part. Thus butter and cheese are mixed together, for such butter and white 
specks really are. ‘To avoid this, never put any sour or thick milk into the 
churn with the cream.— Farmer and Stockbreeder. 
KILLING FOWLS. 
How best to kill a fowl is a question of importance, and one of the best plans 
is to tie the bird up by the legs, using soft cord for the purpose. If hung 
against a wall with the head level with the breast, it is very easy to manipulate 
it. The fowl is first stunned by a blow on the head, and then the windpipe 
severed with a sharp knife. The blood flows freely, and the action of the wings, 
which were left loose for this purpose, helps in this direction. In avery short . 
time the muscular action ceases, and the bird hangs lifeless. This plan secures 
the proper bleeding of the fowl, and has certainly the advantage of preventing 
pain.— farmer and Stockbreeder. 
