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Evening Star, Issue 13002, 22 December 1906, Page 6

[By Misobca..! Boing dosit ous to encourage and stimulate tho poultry industry, we have arranged with a member of the local Poultry Club to edit this column, and will be glad to receive and publish any items of nows or notes which will be of service to readers. Contributions and questions for answering should bo addressed to “ Minorca,” Poultry Editor, ‘Star’ Office, and received not later than Tuesday of each week. “Minorca will only answer communications through this column. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Leghorn.”—You do not state whether you bred the birds yourself. From your description I should say it was a case of hereditary roup. Tho symptoms are similar to diphtheric roup, and you should be very careful not to let them mire with the other birds. Find out if tho parents when young ever had roup, or if it was in the breeder's yard at any time. The best treatment. in to paint the throat with peroxide of hydrogen and give some roup powders. Also give a little Parrish’s food in tho drinking water. I shall be pleased to hear further from you re parent birds. “Game Leg.”—The trouble is not leg weakness, but rheumatism. Your yard is too damp. Remove to higher ground; a swamp is not suitable for birds. Rub the cockerel's leg with some strong liniment, and add a small teaspoonful of salient to a pint of drinking water. “8.0.,” Milton. —In breeding Buff Orpingtons for exhibition it is necessary to chooso a cockerel or cock of sound, even color, a little, denser than tho exhibition color, as tree from faults as possible. Ho should be buff to tho skin, and as free from white in flights, tail, and hackle us possible ; nor must he show any white rips on his feathers. His breast-color should bo nearly the same .'hade as his hackle, back,-; and saddle. Ho should be quite free from sooty under-color, and have as little black | in flights and tail as possible Ho should | also be quite free from brassinets on .;boul- | dor, back, and saddle, as birds showing this are useless for breeding jjKbd exhibition specimens. The cock should stand on j short, stout logs, and show a massive body ; and short back. His comb should be rather small and stiff, and well set on tho head. [The above is given by W. Richardson, a noted Home breeder. Mr Wilde, Waitahuna, or Mr Stewart, Invercargill, could most likely supply you wifii a similar bird. Tho price you could inquire yourself, but I t! ink about £5 3s.—Minorca.] i “ Prolific.”—lf you want the secret you | will have to pay for it, but I advise you tp j wait until Mr Hyde gives his opinion, i believe you tell by tho formation of the pelvis bones, but I have not paid for the! secret.

A number of breeders aro apt to r ect their birds at this time of tho y, .-. I notice in several yards the chicks* are all allowed to run together. This does not give tbo younger ones a fair chance. Tho older birds should bo penned by themselves, and tho younger lot have a ran of their own. The very dry weather wo have been having has dried up most yards, and grass is very scarce. In cases where this has happened It is necessary to supply green food. Grit must also ho supplied. Lots of breeders keep tho hens well supplied, but seem to tlduk chicks do not want grit. This is a mistake. Fowls have no teeth, ami grit with them takes the place of teeth. I don’t mean a chick will die if it has no grit, no more than a person without tcetli will die, but indigestion is bound to follow, and then bowel trouble. Shade should also be given to all birds. Some days this week were very hot, and if no shelter is provided you stand a good chance of losing birds by apoplexy. Birds will be seen to run round and round and fall dead. The only cure is to at once bleed the bird, but very often it is too late to do this. Prevention is better than cure, so provide shelter if you have no natural shelter. The dust bath should also receive attention. While the weather is so hot it is a good idea to mid about a pound of flower of sulphur to the bath. This helps to keep down the lice. The roosts of the fowlhcmse should also be painted with kerosene. A hen cannot moult well if she is troubled with lice ; they eat the new quills as soon as they aro formed. Tho drinking vessels require attention also during hot weather. They should bo thoroughly cleaned at least once a week, and fresh water must be regularly supplied. Drinking hot, stale water is the cause of a great amount of disease. While tbo weather is very hot the birds are better with less soft food than usual. Give more grain and less soft food. The male birds should now be out of the breeding pen, and be in runs by themselves, or with some young cockerffis or ono hen for company. WEEDING OUT STOCK. The only way to maintain a high standard is to relentlessly pass out all birds not up to the mark. Nature’s aim is net so much for quality as quantity. If youi.wan’ a big peach you have to rub off a lori* ; fruit from the tree, or you will got a crop of little ones. If you want a big chrysanthemum you pinch off all but the main bud from tho stem. It is the same thing with men or anything else. If you want tho very best you apply a severe test and the weak ones fall out. It is particularly necessary to weed out undesirable fowls, to keep on culling year after year, and to breed only from the best specimens. There are many reasons for culling out stock, and tho following list will be of use to those people who are determined to maintain a high standard of excellence: — Black birds that show purple feathers.

Wry-tailed birds, which will inevitably throw chickens with the same defect if bred from. Birds with twisted feet.

In white birds, all young ones that show yellow or “ brassy ” feathers. When the cockerels show tho “ brass ” the defect is in tire blood. If you want white fowls throw out the yellow youngsters. An old bird may go “brassy" with age and exposure, but young ones should not. All under-sired birds and all birds with constitutional infirmities.

Birds with side sprigs on their combs and birds with thin flappy combs that don’t look like standing up owing to a bad base.

Birds with single combs when they should have rose combs.

Birds with poor lobes where it matters. For instance, in the Mediterranean breeds it is well to have tbo lobe as white and shapely as possible ; also in these breeds a scanty tail should cause the rejection of the bird.

There are other reasons for culling which might bo given, but when the above tests have been applied the numbers will be considerably thinned, and a good commencement made. Many men are striving after the perfect fowl, but no one has yet bred it, for the very good reason that Natnre goes in for quantity and does not bother abont quality. Everything that is worth having has to be fought for, and if you want to be the owner of good fowls there is nothing for it but to every year weed out all “ undesirables ” in your yard. If you find a hen takes a very long time over the moult pass her out. When a bird does a quick moult mark her for' use. In short, wherever a fowl fails to reach a reasonably high standard throw it cat, and your

record will be greatly improved both in eggs and type. Don’t forget that all constitutional or hereditary malformations and disfigurements will surely bo perpetuated. It is hard work to maintain a high standard even when tho boat specimens are every year bred from. You can look for nothing but poor results in every direction if no care is taken and tho birds are allowed to do things in their own blundering way.—Exchange.

WATER-GLASS FOR EGG PRESERVING.

Water-glass is a very curious substance, almost unknown to the general reader. A better name for it is soluble glass. It is called a glass because it ia an alkaline silicate, and it is termed soluble because it will dissolve in water, or, rather, will .mix with water very easily. It is made by fusing silica—for example, quartz—witli sodium or potassiun carbonate, adding a little small coal in order to aid the reaction. The commonest grades are manufactured by fusing two parts of quartz sand with ono part of sodium carbonate and onc-tcnth part of small coal. In solution it enters the pores of tho egg, and probably combines with the calcium carbonate ot the egg-shell, forming an impervious cement. To preserve eggs in it, proceed as follows : —Boil a quantity of water, then let it stand in tho air until it is qmto cool again. Into ten measures of this water pour ono moosuro of water-glass, and stir them well together. If convenient, keep th ; s as n reserve snpply to bo used as required. Let tho preserving vessel be of earthenware, and place it in a cool position—a cellar for preference. Pour into it as much mixed water-glass as will keep tho eggs well covered as they are stored. Collect egg? twico a day at least, so as to keep them quite fresh, and put them when cool and clean into the bath at onoe. If'a quantity of eggs is being preserved, as ono vesse’ becomes fall have another ready. If the eggs will not sink in tho mixture, add a little more boiled water, as it is evident that tho mixture is too strong. Eggs so managed will turn out months after ns fresh and milky, when lightly boiled, as the day they were put in—-better and fresher than eggs usually so called, but which have been generally lying in the store-basket days, merging into weeks, before being used or sold as fresh.