228 
March  16,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HOR.TIGULTUR 
now  find  considerable  hindrance  to  the  continuous  progress  of  the 
drill  owing  to  the  severe  night  frosts.  Strong  white  rimes,  with  ice  an 
inch  thica,  have  such  an  effect  on  the  land  that  even  March  sunshine 
cannot  soften  it  until  afternoon,  so  that  less  than  half  a  day’s  work  at 
drilling  is  really  possible.  We  are  struggling  on,  however,  for  the  soil 
has  become  fairly  dry,  and  the  seed  will  be  better  in  the  ground  than  in 
the  granary. 
The  lambing  is  proceeding  with  varying  results  ;  as  a  rule  there  is  a 
small  loss  of  ewes,  but  the  crop  of  lambs  leaves  something  to  be  desired* 
We  hear  of  one  or  two  serious  cases  of  loss  amongst  the  ewes  which  are 
difficult  to  account  for,  roots  certainly  not  having  been  abnormally 
plentiful  this  year,  whilst  the  season  has  been  mild,  and  there  have  been  no 
frozen  Turnips. 
The  very  early  lambs  have  done  very  well  and  will  be  soon  ready  for 
slaughter.  One  sees  so  many  early  lambs  about  nowadays  that  they  do 
not  realise  the  price  they  did  a  few  years  ago  ;  the  early  lamb  breeder 
having  been  observed  catching  the  worm  (in  the  shape  of  Is.  8d.  per  lb. 
for  lamb),  and  having  had  in  consequence  many  imitators. 
The  young  cattle  are  doing  very'  well,  quite  fast  enough,  for  now  we 
have  so  many  hours’  sunshine  they  may  easily  be  overdone  in  the  matter 
of  food  ;  they  must  not  be  kept  too  closely  housed,  but  allowed  half  a 
day’s  run  in  the  open  yard,  and  in  a  week  or  so  a  whole  day,  and  so 
gradually  hardened  for  turning  out. 
But,  alas  !  the  frosts  have  not  only  nipped  the  young  grass  shoots, 
but  discouraged  the  immediate  growth  of  more,  so  it  is  soon  enough  yet 
to  talk  of  turning  out. 
We  were  just  in  time  to  get  the  Wheat  rolled  before  the  frosts  set  in  ; 
notwithstanding  the  cold  nights  the  appearance  of  the  plant  is  greatly 
improved,  and  a  good  rain  would  produce  a  more  marked  advance.  As 
a  rule  Wheat  is  not  cO  forward,  and  does  not  look  so  well  as  last  year. 
We  have  occupied  the  mornings  with  cross-cutting  the  fallows,  but 
have  not  been  able  to  work  any  of  them  yet :  fortunately  little  remains  to 
do  in  the  way  of  cleaning. 
THE  NATIONAL  POULTRY  TEST. 
It  will  be  in  the  recollection  of  most  agriculturists  and  other  poultry 
keepers  that  the  above  test  commenced  on  the  Ist  of  March,  1898,  and 
closed  on  the  1st  of  this  month.  As  considerably  over  one  million  prints 
of  the  test  circular  were  distributed  through  the  post  and  press  columns, 
it  is  hoped  that  a  large  number  of  results  will  come  to  hand  during  the 
next  week  or  two,  and  which  I  hope  to  tabulate  and  publish  later  on.  As 
considerable  public  interest  and  expectation  exists  as  to  these  retnrns, 
perhaps  you  will  allow  me  to  give  particulars  of  the  first  received  as  it 
will  be  of  special  interest  to  poultry  keepers  who  are  obliged  to  restrict 
the  range  of  their  poultry  to  very  narrow  limits. 
The  success  obtained  by  the  Hock  of  fowls  in  this  return  confirms  the 
last  paragraph  of  the  poultry  test  circular,  in  which  I  said  : — “My  thirty 
years’  experience  in  poultry  keeping  leads  me  to  believe  that  results  will 
be  forthcoming  from  these  tests  calculated  to  both  astonish  and  impress.” 
(iLOUCKSTEESHiRE.— Results  obtained  from  1st  of  March,  1898,  to  1st 
March,  1899,  from  twenty  hens  confined  within  a  yard  36  yards  b3’  16. 
Yield  of  eggs  ; — March,  424  ;  A[)ril.  446  ;  May,  441  ;  June,  444  ;  .July, 
372;  August,  308;  September,  236;  October,  182;  November,  200; 
December,  143  ;  January,  222  ;  February,  291.  Total,  3709. 
Dr. 
To  20  hens  at  Ss.  each  . 
. 
...  £3 
0 
0 
Poultry  house  30s.,  apnliances  10s. 
...  ... 
2 
0 
0 
5  per  cent,  interest  ou  capital  ... 
To  cost  of  corn  and  meal ... 
••• 
0 
5 
0 
»  •  .  •  •  • 
4 
11 
0 
Green  food . 
0 
0 
0 
Two  sittings  of  eggs 
•••  ••• 
0 
2 
0 
Labour  at  3i  hours  per  week 
. 
1 
10 
4 
£1) 
13 
4 
Cr. 
To  20  hens  at  2s.  Od . 
...  £2 
10 
0 
10  pullets  reared  at  38 . 
. 
1 
10 
0 
Eight  cockerels  at  28 . 
•  ••  •  • » 
0 
i6 
0 
3709  eggs  at  Is.  per  dozen 
••• 
...  1.5 
9 
0 
Manure  at  15d.  per  head... 
. 
1 
10 
0 
£21 
15 
0 
Contra  ... 
...  11 
13 
4 
Profit  10s.  Id.  per 
head 
£10 
1 
8 
Note. — As  it  is  necessary  that  certain  items  should  be  common  to  each 
balance-sheet  to  fairly  comjjare  one  return  with  another,  I  have  fixed  the 
price  of  each  flock  of  fowls  subjected  to  the  test  as  though  they  were 
purchased  in  at  3s.  per  head  at  the  start  and  sold  out  at  2s.  6d.  at  the  close 
of  the  year.  I  also  fix  a  common  price  for  roosting  the  fowls  in  a  wooden 
house  at  309.  for  twenty  head  or  H'l  for  forty  head,  and  the  value  of  the 
manure  at  15d.  per  head  or  £1  lOs.  per  ton.  The  labour  question  is  also 
dealt  with  upon  the  same  lines.  Attendance  on  each  field  poultry  house 
ANT)  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
at  a  distance  from  home  six  hours  per  week  ;  and  homestead  houses  at 
three  and  a  half  hours.  Dads’  wages  lls.  per  week.  The  above  prices 
Eire  as  fair  an  average  as  it  is  possible  to  fix,  to  compare  the  true  merits  of 
the  different  birds  tested  and  profits  realised. 
The  somewhat  high  average  price  obtained  from  the  above  yield  of  egg* 
is  accounted  for  by  the  facts  (1)  close  proximity  to  a  town  market,  (2)  large 
size  of  eggs,  (3)  large  number  laid  through  the  winter  months.  The  cost 
of  purchased  food,  it  will  be  seen,  is  returned  at  about  Id.  per  head  per 
week,  but  this  was  augmented  by  certain  kitchen  refuse  which  would  have 
been  otherwise  wasted.  This  scrap  refuse  from  a  family  of  six  no  doubt 
much  conduced  to  the  laying  properties  of  the  flock,  which  attained  the 
high  average  of  170  eggs  per  head,  and  this,  after  deducting  300  eggs  as 
the  estimated  yield  of  the  ten  pullets  reared  and  which  laid  through  the 
winter. 
1  trust  that  the  highly  satisfactory  profit  of  lOs.  Id.  per  head  shown  by 
this  return  will  encourage  many  poultry  keepers  to  forward  me  their 
balance-sheet,  although  they  may  not  have  kept  their  stock  strictly  upon 
the  poultry  test  rules. — K.  B.  De  La  Beke,  Burbage  Hall,  Hinckley. 
P.S. — The  accuracy  of  the  above  return  may  be  relied  on.  The  eggs 
were  recorded  daily  and  the  invoices  of  food  purchased  carefully  filed.  I^et 
me,  however,  warn  enthusiasts  who,  after  reading  the  above,  think  that  by 
setting  up  twenty  hens  they  may  attain  equal  success.  This  may  be 
possible,  but  is  highly  improbable.  A  profit  of  Ss.  per  head  is  «efdom 
exceeded  with  flocks  of  forty  head,  although  8h.  per  head  is  often  realised 
where  only  a  dozen  or  so  are  kept  under  favourable  circumstances. 
OUR  LETTER  BOX. 
Poultry  (D.  F.). — As  the  buff  Orpington  is,  so  far,  the  nearest 
approach  to  the  combination,  in  one  fowl,  of  more  than  mediocre  table 
and  laying  qualities,  we  would  certainly  not  advise  the  introduction  of  an 
Indian  Game  male  to  a  pen  of  buff  Orpington  hens.  The  progeny  of  such 
a  union  would  have  broad  breasts,  but  the  flesh  would  be  coarser  and  the 
hens  very  indifferent  egg  producers.  Of  course  Indian  Game-Dorkings 
are  the  largest  table  fowls,  the  breast  receiving  breadth  from  the  former 
breed  and  depth  from  the  latter.  Whether,  however,  such  fowls  are  of 
the  finest  quality  is  a  matter  of  opinion  and  a  subject  that  is  frequently 
debated  ;  albeit,  if  properly  finished,  they  sell  readily,  and  at  remu¬ 
nerative  prices,  in  the  London  and  several  provincial  markets,  where  the 
chief  desiderata  in  a  table  fowl  are  abundance  of  breast  meat,  white  flesh 
and  legs,  and  small  offal.  The  flesh  of  buff  Orpingtons  is  beautifully 
white  and  of  excellent  quality,  characteristics  which  command  for  the 
fowls  free  disposal  in  almost  any  market.  Wo  have  not  personally 
worked  Procter’s  “Reliable”  incubator,  but  it  is  reputed  an  excellent 
machine.  Provided  the  male  bird  is  vigorous,  six  hens  may,  in  a  confined 
run,  be  permitted  to  run  with  him  at  this  season.  F.^wls  under  such 
conditions  require  careful  and  unremitting  attention.  Several  things 
conduce  to  “chicks  dead  in  shells”  in  incubators.  One  of  the  most 
common  are  weak  germs,  owing  to  the  fowls  from  which  the  eggs  were 
obtained  being  immature.  Another  frequent  cause  is  the  retention  of 
eggs  lor  too  long  a  period  before  they  are  placed  in  the  machine.  If 
satisfactory  results  are  desired  with  incubators  the  eggs  used  should  be  as 
fresh  as  possible.  Vibration  is  also  accountable  for  many  dead  and 
crippled  chicks,  therefore  no  better  place  for  the  successful  working  of  an 
incubator  could  bo  utilised  than  an  ordinary  cellar.  Much  valuable 
information  regarding  the  management  of  incubators  is  at  the  present 
being  published  by  our  contemporary  Poultry. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden  Square,  London. 
Lat.  51°  32’  40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8'  0"  W. ;  Altitude  111  teet. 
Date. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
P 
1809. 
March. 
SI'S 
1  « 
d! 
rt  ,  n 
Hygrometer 
»l'»;  'Si 
tion  of  _x 
Wind.  1 
.Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Tempera¬ 
ture. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun 
On 
Grass 
inchs 
deg. 
deg. 
1  deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
inchs. 
Sunday  . . . . 
5 
90  •295 
95-4 
92-2 
N.  :  37-8 
43-4 
28-8 
71-8 
25-0 
— 
Monday  . . . . 
.Will 
35  8 
32-1 
•S.  37-0 
44-4 
25-2 
74-4 
22 -1 
— 
Tuesday  . . . . 
7 
29.708 
27-7 
27-7 
N.W.  30-2 
48-9 
22-9 
70-1 
21  •« 
— 
Wednesday 
H 
29-019 
37-0 
37-1 
W.  36-0 
.50-6 
20-3 
85-2 
24-7 
0-087 
I’hursday  , . 
0 
29-082 
40-8 
38-9 
W.  37-9 
.50-6 
37-7 
86-7 
34-9 
— 
Friday . 
10 
29-855 
98-8 
37-2 
W.  .  ,38-1 
.54-2 
32-3 
94-3 
28-1 
— 
daturilay . . . . 
11 
30-305 
40-4 
40-4 
.S.  W.  38-7 
5.3  -8 
.‘JO-1 
72-3 
3f)-9 
— 
29-844 
90-0 
35-1 
37-4 
49-4 
29-9 
80-1 
20-8 
0-087 
KKMAKKH. 
.5th.  — I'.right  snii.sliino  throughout. 
«th.— Foj<  earlv  ;  huu  from  U  A.M.,  and  bright  night. 
7th.— Rather  dense  fog  till  10  A.M.,  bright  sunshine  after. 
8th. — A  little  fog  early  ;  altei’iiate  eloud  and  sun  during  day  ;  r.ain  .at  11.90  l’.,U. 
Otli. — Rain  till  9  a.m.  and  snots  of  r.ain  at  10.1.5  A..M.  ;  sunny  at  times  in  morning  ; 
bright  afternoon  and  evening. 
10th. —  bright  sunshine  almost  throughout. 
11th.— Overcast  and  humid. 
Another  fine  week,  not  so  cold  as  the  previous  one,  but  (he  minima  still  low. 
— U.  .1.  yy.MO.N.'-. 
