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CYCLECAR AND MOTOR CYCLE NOTES.

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MALVERN'S OPPORTUNITY. 1

Ledbury Produce Market.I

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IPROFITABLE POULTRY CULTURE

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I PROFITABLE POULTRY CULTURE By TT.AR.RA R ALI.RX, A SUCCESSFUL BREEDING SEASON. (CONTINUED ) [Readers are particularly requested to note that this series of articles commenced with the first issue in January. In order to obtain their full value, the earlier articles should be read in conj unction with the current one.] I IS A MIDDAY MEAL NECESSARY? During the winter months I am a strong advocate of a midday meal. Let us consider the argument for one moment. During the late spring, summer, and early autumn the birds are astir at four or five o'clock in the morning, and seldom roost before seven in the evening, whilst during the period under discussion from 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. is certainly their average day. A healthy bird, and one properly fed, employs this time in scratching and searching for insect life, green food,&c.; that is food of a highly nitrogenous character; hence, it stands to reason, conditions being similar, that it is impossible for our feathered friends to obtain the same supplies during winter as in summer, and consequently, for this reason alone, we mast augment their rations with food of a nitrogenous nature. But are the conditions similar ? Emphati- cally no. There is a great diminution in insect life, and during periods of prolonged frost it may almost be said to be nonexistent, and instead of rich, succulent grasses for the birds. only coarse, withered vegetable life is at hand, and in many small runs not even this. So that not only is the period at their disposal for searching greatly curtailed, but also their supplies are materially diminished. In Nature this is provided for. Only as the days lengthen and insect life abounds, combined with vegetable growth, do the hens lay; this does not suit our require- ments, and if we desire eggs out of season, we must supply the material which Nature witholds, exactly as the florist must supply heat and artificial manures to produce blossoms or fruit at Christmas time. Accepting this argument, many people augment the morning ration, but here, as I have already shown, they defeat their own purposes. If an increased morning meal is given, a torpid condition ensues, activity is destroyed, and impaired health results. After many and careful experiments, the only satisfactory solution I have discovered is to give the birds a light midday feed, rich in nitrogenous matter. MIDDAY RATION. I In advocating the use of cut green bone and cut clover for this meal, I might mention that this policy is thoroughly endorsed in the leaflets issued by the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. In previous articles I have referred to the efficacy of cut clover as an egg-producing food, and the value of cut green bone has been dilated upon, so that it is unnecessary at the present to again go into the pros and cons of the use of these two foods. It is sufficient to explain exactly how the best results can be obtained, and the quantities to be employed. It is my practice to use them alternately. For birds that are in full lay an ounce of cut green bone is not too much, though the quantity can be reduced one-half before the birds are laying; this is placed in troughs, and judging by its rapid disappearance is thoroughly appreciated by the birds, and forms a veritable tit-bit. On the other baud, the cut clover is not, at first, so eagerly sought after, and one would imagine is some- what of an acquired taste, commencing with a very small quantity, sty a handful to six birds. Scald it with boiling water the night before it is required. Should any of the liquor remain in the morning it should be utilised to mix the morning mash with. At midday place it, still damp, in the troughs, and the initial small quantity will be eaten up, though probably not voraciously, like the green bone. As the fowls begin to show e preference for the clover, the quantity can be increased until a good handful between two birds is not too large a ration. I might here remark that the use of cut clover has a marked effect on the egg-shells, a point I have not hitherto noticed as being dilated upon by writers to the poultry press. This is probably due to the percentage of lime that is found in well-cured clover. (To be continued.) [Any enquiries concerning poultry- keeping addressed to our expert, Ralph R Allen, Sawbridgeworth, Herts., will be answered through these columns free, but those requiring a postal answer direct or sending birds for post-mortem examination must remit a half-crown postal order.]

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-LEDBURY FIRE BRIGADE. I

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FOOTBALL -NOTES.

CANADIAN NEWS JOTTINGS.

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AIR-RIFLE SHOOTING. I

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