Farm Notes.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4426, 19 June 1909, Page 4

Farm Notes.

■ POULTRY. JHjT D. S. Thompson, poultry expert the Hawknsbury College in dea paper, on the evolution of Hie breeds at the Poultry Conference, *bo- success of the Orpingtons, and Leghorns, brought three breeds into such prominthat other varieties which had in |Hte fir*4 place been responsible for introduction had become practically lost sight of, and the every-day [Hiultry breeder knew vory little about or their origin. The original jHnceetors of the domestic fowls were HiU found in Southern Asia, and exijßsrlments had proved that they would |Hreed with the domestic fowl of the Hry. There were several varieties, of the Callus Bankiva and QifHantea weTe the most important. SHatitral evolution had much to do with type and colour of the breeds, and jHatural and scientific selection had re§Bilted in their attaining their present Handard. H In the evolution of the more modern IHreedH, England, France and Amer- ' with the Plymouth Rock, a of the true Dominique and Hava blood. Ihese were first bred in K the barred variety, but later there appeared the Buffs, White and colours. Then followed the 811^0^69 ’ the origin of which is a matter of contention, but which Hndoubtedly had Hamburg and Brahblood in them. First came the gßlvers, and since many other varieties Have appeared. m In the meantime, W. Cook was put|Hng the English under a permanent B^oll by the production of the first the blacks, and later Buffs, Whites and other varieties. IBhe Black, a mixture of the Langshan Minors*, was the most popular, ifflnd the Buff, over whose origin there 1 been much contention was among best fowls in the world. H Fashions in fowls had changed Materially from time to time in Eng>during the last century. From Dorking they had gone to the and thence in turn to ShanBrahma and Leghorn. Austr iHa had for a long time followed in the IBtsps of the mother country, but had stepped out in a utility cru|Hade in which New South Wales bad the lead in founding the great■t utility strains of the greatest utility in the world.

■ A GREAT FIGHT.

H The Clifden correspondent of the IBouthland Times describes a remarkle fight which he saw between a jH’easel and a rooster of the ordinary underneath a heap of firewood 3Bnd began frisking about in the sunMine, whilst the rooster was perched Hn the top of the firewood, The rooscommenced hostilities by landing on the weasel’s back. Then a tussle which was very inter• The weasel was better at ‘ in* IHghting/ wanting to get a grip,, but rooster was not to be caught. he would jump and on the/weasel’s back. At the |Hnd of a few minutes the weasel i ■wished to retire, the rooster’s 1 dirty ’ being too much for him. The tried hard to regain the shelter |Bf the wood heap. The fight came to ■n abrupt couclusiou, as a fox terrier SBosing around and noticing the fur feathers flying about, rushed in, Hnd soon there was one weasel less in locality. In the meantime the ißLaird o’ the Cockpen ’ had mounted ifjßis old position on the wood pile, and forth a very defiant crow. H In an ordinary daily ration of a gfjßw, Professor Babcock reckons there |Hhould be about three-quarters of an of salt, and even this, though f° r dry stock per head, is IHflrdly enough for a cow in milk, The drains away a lot of salt out of system, anc therefore an addi* amount per head should be HAt the homes, Tararu, a magnififJßnt crop of lucern is to be seen growaD( l though no less than sevencrops have been taken of*, thanks, the Ohinemuri Gazette, to effi||Bent attention and the application of slag and ether manures, it is as freely and strongly as Green, it makes a splendid for cows, and when made into it is just as palatable and its use (H attended with most satisfactory re Mlts. Mr Chapman des°rves coni" for his general up-to-date-I B’, and it is a wonder that the growof lucerne for fodder is not becommore general. It is a splendid |§Bopper, and grows again and again. sap !