Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 240, 9 March 1910, Page 3

Farm and Garden

JUDGING A FOWL'S AGE

Among the methods used by the poultryman is examination of the feathers, the shanks, the spurs, the head, and the comb. If the spurs of the male bird are long, heavy and coarse, and the scales of the shank are rough and uneven, the conclusion can be safely reached that the fowl is rather old.

Cockerels frequently have long ■spurs, but the spurs will be clear and free of roughness on the surface, and the shanks will be smooth and clean. The same evidence can be used for hens and pullets. Old hens will have longer toe-nails, the ends of which will be worn or broken off from scratching. The scales of the shank will be coarse and rough, and frequently have dirt beneath them, while the shanks and toes of pullets are usually fresh-looking and smooth. Fowls that have black shanks will change the colour with age. Older fowls of this kind will have shanks and toes of an ashy grey colour rather than black. Fowls with yellow shanks and legs usually turn white with age. In pullet 3 the points of the pelvis bone will be much closer together than they will be in old hens. Each year the space between these becomes wider. When noticeably wide apart, the hen will very likely be more than two years old. The skin of old fowls, both male and female, becomes coarse a-.d rough, and the holes Prom which the feathers have been taken more prominent. The head and eyes of old fowls become rough and coarse. The eyes become sunken and the skin or projection over them more strong and prominent. One of the most perfect tests which is used by expert market pnultrymen is the examination of the wing feathers. At the conclusion of the first complete moult, which takes place when the fowls are exactly twelve monthj old, the secondaries alter in shape, and bear evidence as to the dividing line having passed. Those who are thoroughly familiar with this change can tell at a glance whether the fowl is more than a year old. BREVITIES. Salt should be always within reach of milking cows. They will help themselves to such quantities as they require. Salt has great health-giving properties, and frequently assists in warding off disease. A great deal of carelessness is displayed by farmers in leaving their implements exposed to the sun and rain. The cost of necessary implements to work a farm is no small item, and all implements should be under cover when not in use.

Ifc is unwise to put a vigorous freemoving horse with a slow, old one. Pace and walking powers should be considered with those which have to work together in front of a binder, and a team of steady old ones get over a lot of work if not bustled. Machines should be overhauled as soon as the season's work is finished, necessary repairs made, and all working parts thoroughly cleaned up. A little care of implements saves a good deal of money, and makes the work much better for man and beast. The stomach of a horse is small in comparison to the size of its body, and therefore it cannot thrive on bulky, innutritious food.

Care must be taken in regard to the men employed on the farm. It does not pay to employ inferior labour; cheap labour is often the most expensive.

Proper exercise of brood mares is essential. The best possible manner in which such mares may. be given the proper amount of exercise is in moderate work, either on the road or around the farm.

Intelligence used in his breeding and care has raised the pig from the plane of the veriest savage, unsought except when hunted like any other wild beast, to that of a benefactor, contributing a wide variety of meats.