114 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Ave., 1902. 
Poultry. 
For the information of a correspondent, the poultry expert at the College 
writes :— 
GEESE. 
The Toulouse and the Embden geese are the most popular in this country. 
The former is slightly the better layer, but is not a good sitter: the latter 
mature more quickly, and are earlier ready for market. For market purposes, 
a cross between the two makes a large and quickly maturing bird. 
The infertility of your eggs may be due to the gander being too fat, or 
having too many geese with him (three are sufficient), or it may be that the 
gander only mates with one goose (this does occur sometimes) and takes no 
notice of the others. One marked characteristic of the gander is that ina 
wild state he is strictly monogamous, but when domesticated ceases to be so: 
this trait, though generally latent, is sometimes the cause of infertile eggs. 
Breed only from birds turned two years old, collect the eggs every day and 
set them under large hens; do not let the goose sit on the first batch she lays; 
shut her up to break her off her broodiness, and she will soon lay anothes 
batch. It is advisable, however, to let her sit after the second batch ; have the 
eges as fresh as possible, and soak the ground where the nest is made well with 
water, as geese require far more moisture for their eggs than hens do. If you 
let the goose sit do not disturb her, or you will make her savage, and she might 
break her eggs. 
Keep the goslings in the nest for thirty-six hours after hatching, as they 
want heat more than food at that time. After twenty-six hours give them hard- 
boiled eggs, with bread crumbs, pollard, anda little meat. Coop them if 
possible on a nice young patch of grass, as after the first few days they live 
principally on grass, and only require a little grain at night and a dry straw 
bed to keep them warm. Keep them out of deep water while they are young. 
Use a drinking fountain that they cannot get into. Shade them from the sun, 
as they are like ducks and cannot stand it. 
POULTRY TICKS. 
In reply to a suggestion by a member of the Wilson Branch of the Bureau 
of Agriculture of South Australia, as to the prevention of the terrible poultry 
tick pest, the general secretary advised building the fowlhouse of galvanised 
iron, with all the framework outside. Sling the perches by wire from the roof, 
and fix kerosene tick traps on to the perches. ‘I'his tick trap is thus described 
by Mr. E. H. Messenger, of the Davenport Branch :—‘“‘It consists of a piece 
of .2,-inch wire a foot long, hooked over 1} inches at the top end, and furnished 
with thread and nut at the bottom. A cone of galvanised iron 14 inches across 
' at top and 13 inches deep is soldered on the wire at 43 inches from the bottom, 
and in this the kerosene is placed. At 5} inches above the bottom of the wire 
a ruve or ring is soldered on the wire, to support an umbrella-shaped piece of 
galvanised iron, 24 inches across, above the kerosene cone, to keep anything 
from falling into the kerosene. One of these traps is to be affixed to each end 
of a free perch by aid of the nut and screw, and the perch is then to be slung 
to the rafters with wire. One is described in present issue in report of Daven- 
port Branch. Or use Mr. Pybus’s tick puzzler. If ticks get into the house, 
remove the perches, place a lot of straw inside the house and set fire to it. 
The iron will become so hot that neither ticks nor their eggs can resist, and the 
house will again be clean. Dip each fowl ina cold bath made by boiling two 
sticks of twist tobacco in a gallon of water for ten minutes, with stirring. 
That will kill the ticks on them. Do not put their heads in the dip.” 
