The County Echo

AMAETHWYR AO AMAETHYDD- IA E TH. At Olygydd y COUNTY ECHO. SYE,—Wedi gweled yn yr Echo, Field and Dairy Farming, c., for March," j tueddir fi yn iaith fy ngwlad i dynu sylw fy nghyd amaethwyr at ein sefyllfa resynus y dyddiau a'r blynyddoedd hyn. Credwyf y gallai ysgrifau ar ein galwedigaeth, oddiwrth wahanol rhai, fod yn gymorth bendithiqf i'r naill a'r llall, ey adnabod a deall ein gilydd, a dysgu a hyfforddi ein gilydd mewn amaethyddiaeth. Arferid deall a chredu mae'r amaethwr oedd asgwrn eefn y wlad. Pan wnai y dosparth hwn o'r boblogaeth ddioddef caledu, canlyniad anocheladwy fyddau gwasgiad ar bob gal- wedigaeth-ac nid oes neb a ddywed nad fel hyny y mae y blynyddoedd hyn, ac yn enwedig eleni. Yn ngwyneb caledu gwas- gedig yr amseroedd, beth aydd i wneud ? A oes rhywrai yn y sir a ddaw allan yn wrol a phenderfynol i roddi tystiolaeth ac amddiffyn y ffermwyr yn yr ymchwyliad sydd i fod mewn gwahanol lefydd drwy y Bit y dyddiau nesaf gan y Royal Land Commission? Gobeithio fod eich cymy- dogion yn barod i gyfarfod y Dirprwywyr yn Treletert, i roddi tystiolaethau cryfion or profi fod angen am welliantau yn neddfau ein tir. Diau y gellir, ac yn ddios fod anghen am gynllun a dealldwr- iaeth rhagorach nag sydd yn bod yn bresenol rhwng meistr tir a'r dsilad. Mae yr ardrethodd, yn nghyd a phob taledig- aethau a ofynir oddiwrthym yn fwy nag a geir o'r tir. Er pob ymdrech o eiddo y ffermwyr nid oes modd cael dau pen y llinyn i gwrdd, lawer llai i feddwl na dysgwyl cael Hog yr arian, sef y gwerth fydd allan ar y tyddyn. Oni cheir gos- tyngiad sylweddol yn yr ardreth, gwell o lawe$fyddai i r Gymro ddilyn camrau y roddi y fferm i fyny i'r tir feistr, a cnymeryd byd esmwyth drwy fy w ar log ei arian. ° Mae'r flwyddyn ddiweddaf hyn yn sicr o effeithio colled enbyd i bob amaethwr- slender yr haf, enwd y maes wedi methn, a r 7n ysfcody gauaf, gan mwyaf, yn dioddef eisieu, a phrinder cynhaliaeth, yr hyn sydd sicr, os gellir rywfodd eu cadw yn fyw na ellir dysgwyl llawer oddiwrth yr haf nesaf. Prisoedd pob peth sydd, gan yr amaethwyr i werthu yn druenus o isel. Yn ngwyneb ein sefyllfa, ble mae troi am ymwared.—' Mewn undeb mae nerth. Rhaid fydd i ni yn unol a phen- derfvuol i droi at y meistri tir, i gael gan- ddytit ostyrigiad sylweddol a pharhaol o'r ardrethu; a pheidio gwerthu ein gilydd 5^, un daa y llall er sicrhau gataei yu flerm ein cymydog. A wuaitf fy aghyd amaethwyr ddyfod aUan 1 ddweyd eu meddwl ar ein sefyllfa. Y r eidduch, AMAETHWR.

PROFITABLE POULTRY-KEEPING. If a careful account is kept of the ejjgs laid by Mch hen of a strain that averages ninety eggs per Annnnif it will be found thab some of the hens only lay fifty or sixty eggs in the season, while others will lay 120 or 130, or even 140. Now, if the beat) of these good layers is alone bred from, the average of its progeny will be found to approximate very Closely to the number laid by the parent hen, or even to exceed it if the male parent was also the offspring of a good layer. Now, supposing the old ben laid 130 eggs per annum, and her progeny everago the same number, a distinct difference 4will still be found in the laying qualities of Individual hens of the batch, some laying only about 100, while others lay 150 or 160. The best of the batch alone aliould be bred from, and the process continued from year to year, taking care Mch year that tho male bird is not too near akin, and is of a laying strain as good as the hen or henl bred from, if this is possible. Each year, especially at first, it should be carefully noted at what date the eggs were set which produced the most profit- able batch of chickens, in order to avoid in subse- quent years raising chicken* loo early, so that they come to maturity too eooit, and after laying a few eggs (and probably very small ones, too), go into ft premature moult just, when their eggs would be most valuable or, on the ot her hand, setting them too late, so that the pullets do not commence to lay until December, January, or even February, when eggs are getting cheap. By this means a st.rain of fowls may bo raised in the course of a few years that will think nothing of averaging 200 eggs per nunum. Of course this entails a lot of trouble. The liens require to be marked if so much alike as not to be recognised otherwise, nnd the nests walched to see which is laying, and the egg taken away as soon as laid, and entered in a book opposite the name of the hen that laid it. But nothing is to begained in this world without trouble. However, let us look at the resulb. We have seen that a hen that only lays 100 eggs per annum does little itiot-e than pay expenses. A lien which lays 200 eggs per annum costa no more to -KEOP than one that lays 100. On the other hand, If beii litys 200 egg* each laying season (400 in ell), and her eggs realise all average price of only nine-tenths of a penny each, her total incoming for the two and a-half years of her life will be 308. Deducting her keep, which I estimate as 13s. 7d.. we have a profib left of 1(; 5d. for the whole period, or 68. 6d. per annum. Shall wo, then Italld aghast at the trouble involved in raising a good laying strain, and let matters remain in tha j present unsatisfactory state, with so much gold going out of the country to pay other people ',8 tqo ter 0