Papurau Newydd Cymru

Chwiliwch 15 miliwn o erthyglau papurau newydd Cymru

Cuddio Rhestr Erthyglau

11 erthygl ar y dudalen hon

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POLITICS FOR WOMEN.

MARGARINE SUITABLE FORI INVALIDS.

Surrender of German . Warships.

Our Poultry Column.

Newyddion
Dyfynnu
Rhannu

Our Poultry Column. GEESE. These birds are very much allied to the duck family, and all come under the heading of waterfowl. Anyone who can keep ducks successfully could manage a few geese, and they would prove profitable. What they need is a meadow with plenty of herbage, so that during the growing stage they can find most of their food. Geese will eat a, lot of grass, but as they grow well this will not cost much. and it is soon turned into money. The general management of these birds is easily understood, and they will soon look after themselves when hatched, so that on the whole they are less trouble than most poultry. No small backyard man should touch them, because they must have room, and a field with a pond is I best. Anyone thinking of I I 1. 1 11 1 taKing up goose breeding snouid loos out lor the young stock now, for it is cheaper than when kept over till the spring. The best plan is to secure a pen now of either three or four birds, should they be very heavy only three, but if light in weight a gander should manage four quite well. Then they should be put in some kind of house at night, partly for safety and so to encourage them to lay in boxes or nests in the house; hence do not let them out too early in the morning, so as to catch all the eggs. Almost any kind of house will do; for instance, if you have a stable or spare shed in the yard, they will come into this easily enough at night if only the last feed is supplied inside. When let out in the morning, ..they can be driven into any field, and as a rule will not cause any more trouble till night. The food for geese can be much the same as the ducks have, only more of it. When newly hatched they will want feeding for about a month; then they will begin on green food, so that in another week or two they can find most of the food they need in the fields. Of course, they will not get very fat here, but if you grow the body, it will be much easier to put on flesh. After this time comes, the birds are ready for the stubble. It will be easily seen that at all times a feed of grain once each day will keep them to- gether and bring them back home at night, and also help to keep the grass inside them. Their natural food is green stuff, but although this will grow them, it will not make big weights; but with a run on the stubble in the autumn, they soon pick up and put on flesh. Some of these birds will be then sold as fit for killing, known as Michaelmas Geese but if kept on after this and meant for the Christ- mar table, some meal must be given to put on fat and make greater weight. When geese are fattening they consume a let of food, but it is necessary if you want to make the most of them, and a thin Christmas gCoQse is very poor stuff. One sees various sizes of geese in the country, and while they are called either the Embden or Toulouse, they would make a sorry show if put out besides some of the ideal specimens as seen on the exhibition bench. Still, I should never use the best exhibition bird for table breeding, because it would be too clumsy, and there would not be so many fertile eggs as from birds of smaller size and more active. The geese mentioned are white and a mottled grey, the Embden being the first. While the white makes a fine bird kept pure, some excellent results are obtained from crossing the two, and in which case use an Embden gander, because he will be more active. To breed successfully they need water for swimming, and that is why it is difficult for the small man to keep these, as he lacks ponds. This breeding stock must not be overfed, and if the weather keeps mild with plenty of grass about, one feed of corn each day is all that they need. A good goose should weigh 14 lbs., but they must be well fed before this can be done, and then they must come from good-sized parents. There will be a good demand for all sorts of feathered stock next month, and the goose will find a ready sale, no matter what the weight or size.

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G.C.G. Silver Band at Llandovery.

COAL ECONOMY.I

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The Llanelly Division.

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