POULTRY FARMING AND FRUIT GROWING.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 9124, 7 June 1895, Page 2

POULTRY FARMING AND FRUIT GROWING.

I MrW. Cook, in the course of an article in Poultry says :—" Ido not know any two industries which go together batter than fruit farming and Poultry keepiog. It I 9 like having two crops on the one ground, and the one helps the other. The trees '. shade the Poultry, and the slugs, grubs I and green flies which fall from the trees are a splendid food for them. Then there lis the manure from the Poultry, which ! seeds the trees. I may mention one of my !own orchards. Some years ago, when I first went to live at the place, the gentle:man living next door said to mc, "You mu.t not expect any fruit from yo_r orchard, Mr Cook." "Oh 1" I replied, "I ,am sorry to hear that; but why?" The I reply was, " I do not know why, bub th« ground is very poor, and I do not think j suits the trees. I have known the orcbard j for fifteeu years, and there has never been j anything worth gathering yet." 1 aaWl was in hopes of altering that kind of thing wish my poultry, but the gentleman , smiled and .hook his head, remarking a* j the same time, *"I am afraid not, Mr Cook; I'm an old farmer." As he bad been a farmer for forty years, 1»e naturally thought there was not mjch more for him to learn in tnat department. However, I arranged to -**• my Poultry houses built all round the cot- ! side of the orchard, so that I could let _P» D of fowls Into the orchard for a run as *«1I as my Ducks. They were kept thickly upon the ground—in fact, so much sotb*t ; they actually kept all the grass down, ••*• | ing it as f„ "* as it grew. I allowed ortt ! 3_o birds to ran on leas than a quarter")* an ' acre of ground. Ido not mean tbay were all kept on it, they only ran over K.J 0 ■that during the day, from morning to ! night, there was on an average about <P> birds, at sometimes in the year running over the orchard. The first year I had * little fruit, second year a fair crop, third year a real good crop, some of the trees had to be propped up. The fourth year the boughs broke down laden with fruit", and some of it was extraordinarily g"od. If small farmers, and those who h&*"s orchards would only go in for poultrykeeping mora extensively, they would find a wonderful increase in tbe crops-boo the ftuit would be much finer. Whes people are thinking of making a living out of their poul-ry, it is a good plan to take a place where there is an orchard or fruit trees, as the fruit will often pay the rent of the place, and the fowls do better, aa they are shaded from the burning aun. All farmers and fruit growers who want to study economy should try the expertI ment -" ..