THE COPPER HOUSE
A Detective Story
"v i
JULIUS RKOIS
AUTHOR OR “NO « TORONI
“It must be you,” ha ac
cused her. “You are intelli
gent md deterqwned; you said
to yi arafllf, *It will be better
for me to take the responsibil
ity, sergius in too weak.' You
wnfviied over your son at
night, whilst he slept, didn’t
you? You need not answer;
the r ring is obvious; you took
the r! tcument secretly, that you
might hide it more securely.
You felt yourself strong
enough to bear tire responsi
bility alone. Very good. The
entire responsibility is yours,
Kinrr you will have it so. Now
you nust answer me.”
I.o a Ivanovna replied
stern; 1f and unhesitatingly:
“ 1 a, I took it whilst Ser
giu- '/as asleep. Only I know
where it is to be found now—
and you cannot frighten me l”
She I tughed grimly:
“J Hunk I have baffled you
this ttrue. You may kill me,
but you won’t find what you
are looking for. Those brutes
hove ransacked the whole
house twice, and you may do
it again. You have no chance of
succeeding, and you may be
lieve that l know what. I am
Haying, when you recollect that
I have all my life been accus
tomed to play hide-and-seek
witli Ihe Tsar k secret police.
Go your way, Gabriel Ortiz,
you have failed. An old woman
has beaten you ! ”
The adventurer showed no
Hip'll of discomposure; lie al
lowed her biting scorn to pass
unobserved; not so her chal
lenge.
After a ffew minutes calcula
tion, be said, more to himself
than to her:
“There are only two or three
places where you can have hid
den it; but why waste time in
guessing T There is a much
simpler way.”
As be said this, he showed his
wintry even teeth, not in a
smile, hut rather in the fixed
grin of a wild beast, while a
grim look came over his face,
almost transforming its expres
sion. He turned to the marines,
and gave the word of com
mand :
“Heady! The first to stir
from his place will be shot.”
Half a dozen rifle-muzzles
won pointed at the prisoners.
“Kastakov, take your revol
ver and place it against Ser
gius Tangier's forehead. I will
count three —and at the word
‘three,’ you will fire.”
The six marines took careful
«i'u, and nobody stirred, while
kastakov crossed the room, and
placed his heavy weapon j
against Sergius’ right temple.
There was a breathless silence, |
for they all realized Ortiz’ in
tent ion. Marcus Tassler turned
ashen-gray; without a sound he I
left the room, and was not seen '
again.
“I forbid anyone to stir a
finger,” Ortiz continued; ‘‘this
business is between you and me,
Lena Ivanovna. I have your sou
—you have the document: will
you exchange?”
A dead pause ensued. The
Judy raised her hand slowly to
h»'r throat, and gazed as
though fascinated at Hast.i
kov s forefinger, which was
ton king the trigger.
*'* ,-gius had closed kis eyes,
Oon f think of me, .Moth
or," he said, softly; “think on
ly of our cause.’
She opened her mouth, but
no sound issued from her lips
“Oriel”
Sonia sprang up. hut Leo
caught her in his arms, at a
Iflfiuee from the journalist, who
was now very pale. Lotia Ivan
ovna remained stiff and im
movable. ' .
“Let me go!" cried the girl
hysterically. “Ob, you—cow
ardly—wretches! If only I
were nlttiif”
She sank down, half fainting,
It
but weeping as though her
heart would break. Wallion
clenched his hands, but kept
atill; he seemed to be waiting
for something.
“Two!"
A glazed look came over
Lona Ivanovna’s eyes, and she
stared at Ortiz as though she
had never seen him before; she
seemed to look at him as
though from an immense dis
tance, and to be straining every
nerve to control herself. She
saw his pitiless eyes, his lips
unclosed for the third time....
she tore the workbag from her
left arm, and threw it on the
table.
“Thar* l" she exclaimed,
“Let Sergius go, you murder
er! The paper is in the bag."
“In the bag!"
The adventurer put out hia
hand, but drew it quickly back.
“If you are lying,...." he
said threateningly.
“Iam not lying," aha replied
wearily. “T too!: the paper out
of the stick whilst Sergius was
sleeping. I was certain that no
body would look for it in a
place that was so apparent to
everyone. The paper is very
small, and in a tiny roll; it is
lying amongst the lacework...
Forgive me, Sergius!"
She sank down on a chair.
Ortiz turned Ihe bag upside
down, and shook ant the work
on the table. W' ill on was care
fully choosing a eigaret from
his case; he mailed: Hip matter
was taking the turn for whfeh
he had hrped from the begin
ning, and Ortiz had already
wasted nearly two precious
hours; his own opportunity was
come at last.
"Well, Gabriel Ortiz.” said
h-», in a nonchalant tone, ‘‘is
the memorandum there?”
The adventurer had searched
all through the contents of the
work hag; he now pushed it a
side, and began to examine the
folds of the lace with nervous
ness.
"You won’t find anything
there,” the journalist proceed
ed; "fiona Ivanovna made a
mistake. The paper is not in her
work bag: I have it!”
, CHAPTER XIX
Wallion Speaks Out And
Rastokov is Balked of his Prey
The journalist's utterly un
forseen announcement) electri
fied everyone, anft all faces
were turned towards him, with
intense surprise. That Maurice
Wallion could have obtained
possession of Tarraschin’s
memorandum, had occurred to
none of them, least of all to
Loiia Ivanovna.
"You, yon!” she stammered
"How is it possible?”
Ortiz’ cold, hard vioee broke
in:
“Arc* you trying to shield her
sou? She is lying, the bag is
empty—I do not believe you.”
“Allow me to explain the sit
uation,’’ said the journalist,
who still held in his left hand
the cigarette which he had tak
en from his case, and, in bis
right the cigarlighter, whose
little flame burned clearly and
evenly; bis bauds were perfect
ly steady.
“The paper really was in
liOna Ivanovna’s bag -until the
time when, after hearing the
story of the Bernin family, I
demonstrated to them that the
stick was empty, to Sergius
Tassler’s great astonishment.
Following your example. Ortiz,
1 concluded that his mother,
wishing to shift the responsibil
ity on her own shoulders, had
secretly removed the paper, but
unlike you, I went a step fur
ther, and assumed, from what
1 knew of her character, that
she had hidden it in her work
bag, that well-known receptacle
which everybody was accus
tomed to see hanging on her
arm. I fully anticipated that
you, my dear Ortiz, would pro
feed to the sort of compulsion
we have just witnessed, and
what would have been the good
of her stratagem then f I at
one# decided to remove the
precious document to its third
best, and final hiding-place. I
I'nder the pretext of examin
ing Andrei Hernia’s room, I
was left alone with Lona Ivan
ovna for a few minutes, and—
‘hey presto!’—Russia's fate
lay snugly in mv waistcoat
pocket. That 1* the story. Yon
conscientiously leave mother
and son in peace, my dear Or
tiz; the thief—that thief who
caused the baron such heart
sea rehings—is none other than
myself!”
“ Damnation!” ejaculated
Ortiz, his eyes bloodshot and
staring; “shall I ever get hold
of that infernal paper?”
“The outlook doesn’t seem
very promising,” agreed the
journalist, smiling. “It lias
passed through various hands
in the last day or two, and its
present owner—well, I have a
pretty good idea that re will
not let it out of liis posses
sion!”
His unshaken audacity took
Ortiz aback: lie-hesitated for a
minute, and the journalist u
vailed himself of the pause.
“Let us talk things over,”
said he. “If anyone attempts
to come near me, or to threat
en me with liis gun, I swear
that you will never have the
document. ”
“Where have you got it?”
asked the adventurer reluc
tantly.
“Ah, where!” laughed Wal
lion. “One of your men
searched me just now, didn’t
he? Did lie find it? No. And
yet I can assure ypu that he saw
it. I believe he even touched
it! You see this tiny flame,
and this little eigaret? The mo
ment 1 light my eigaret, your
dreams for the future will van
ish in smoke, Ortiz.”
“You would pay dearlv for
it!”
“You would, you mean. A
far too expensive eigaret, and
that’s a fact! Now, then, stand
still, all the lot of you. Ortiz,
keep them quiet. It wouldn’t
take me a second, ami my
death wouldn’t be much of a
compensation for your loss.”
“I do not believe that Tar
rasehin’s memorandum could
be compressed into so small a
space,” Ortiz objected incred
ulously.
“Don’t you?” returned the
journalist. “Didn’t Loua Iva
novna say that the paper was
quite small, and tightly rolled
up? The idea struck me when
I removed it. from her bag, and
just before you came, I made
this arrangement, on the
chance of my tilings being
searched. You don’t believe
me? Look here, then.”
He squo ‘zed the little cylin
der between !iis fingers, so that
the cigaret paper burst, and
fluttered to the ground, whilst
a thin layer of tobacco fell
from the ends; there remained
in his hand a tightly rolled
sheet of white paper, which
began to uncurl as though a
spring had been released. Ortiz
leaned forward.
“No, keep hack!” sail the
journalist. “You observe that
the flame is ail hut touching
♦ lie paper now. You can sec
perfectly well where you are
do you recognize Prince Tatra
sehin’s handwriting? Shall I
tell you that it is written in
French? Shall I read it out. to
you?”
“You are mad!” muttered
Ortiz hoarsely. “What can
you do? If you leave this room,
you will be shot.”
“Yes, from behind, 1 sus
pect. But I prefer to stop here.
I have something to say to you
9 9
“If you stay here with that
paper in your hands, yon will
he shot. You have never >eeu
in greater danger than you
are now.”
“I’m not so sure of that!
Have you really the moral
courage to watch Tarraeiiin’s
document burn? Mak- up your
mind, I am waiting.”
Ortiz watched the journal
ist’s movements like a— lynx,
but Walliou had gauged him
correctly; he ecu Id not bring
himself to run the risk, how
ever willingly he would have
given the order to shoot the
man who was daring to thwart
him on the very threshold of
success. He gave a reluctant
signal, and the weapons were
lowered.
“Speak out!” he said,
“what do you waut?”
Wallion stepped back a few
paces. His bold “coup” had
made him master of the situa
tion for the time being, but tbe
outlook was dangerous in the
extreme. He must keep an eye
on practically all his enemies
at on should but one of them
succeed in raising his gun, he
would be lost; be was a pris
oner. end compelled to plan his
escape as best he could, alone
and u larmed, under the eyes
of his captors. Speed was alt
important; never had he felt
his mind clearer or cooler than
now, as lie reviewed every pos
sibility. He knew that Sergius
Tussler had a revolver within
reach, hidden presumably
among tlie rugs of his arm
chair: and he remembered that
Max Rachel only awaited a sig
nal to come to his assistance:
on these two facts, his entire
scheme must be built up.
“Order Rnstakov to stand
back,” he said briefly; “Sergi
us Tassler has nothing more to
do with this ease.”
The Russian had remained
standing near Sergius, but at a
nod from his employer, he
thrust his revolver back into
his pocket, and returned to his
place by the door. As he did
so, Wallion exchanged a rapid
glance wfth tin Austrian. He
saw Rachel's intelligent eyes
widen inquiringly, and he
nodded almost imperceptibly
The Austrian understood the
signal, and would now be
ready to play his part; Will
ie n relied implicitly upon Ins
experience and ready wit. Th»
important thing now was to
engross Ortiz’ whole attention
for the next few minutes, and
the journalist began again
with a laugh;
“Yes, I have something to
say to you, Ortiz; this is a
good opportunity, for 1 am
afraid we shall not meet again
after tonight. You intend tc
kill me, if you can; I intend to
render you harmless, if I can;
(lie situation is not without its
piquancy.”
Ortiz had pulled >ut his
handkerchief, and was drying
his hands nervously; there
was little of the Great Napo
leon about his strained fea
tures at this moment.
“You talk too much, ” he
said hoarsely; “get to busi
ness.”
“By all means. Your line
lias run out, my dear Ortiz.
There was a time when I ad
mired you, in spite of my po
sition as your natural enemy.
Your former adventures at
tracted me by a sort of simple
and greathearted freshness
which characterized them, but
the gigantic plan which is now
dragging you to the verge of a
precipice, is marked by an ar
rogance which the gods might
envy. I can no longer admire
a man who allows murder and
robbery to be the milestones
on bis road to success; you
should have kept your hands
clean, Ortiz: there is too much
blood on them! All the millions
which you have distributed so
lavishly, cannot alter the fact
that you are a murderer, at
war with society, and, there,
self-condemned.”
The adventurer glared an
grily at him, and exclaimed:
“I do not expect you to un
derstand me! You and I stand
at opposite ends of the great,
unimpressionable fabric of so
ciety; how could you enter
into my plans and my
dreams t”
The journalist did not repl\
immediately. He had seen
Max ltaebel move a shade
closer to Sergius Tassler, and
exchange two or three words
with him, and a suppressed ex
citement began to rise in him.
as he continued:
(TO B* CONTINUED)
Parties and Markets.
Prom Milwaukee Journal.
A1 Smith's messaRe to democrats
of Massachusetts—‘ Will thev trv to
blame the stock market on the dem
ocrm*?”has more In It than a jest.
H«*w many are lamenting today the
loss of 5100 or51,000 vanished in the
debacle of Wall street who last fall
were parroting the words, "We must
wote for Hoovor so that republican
iprocpi ritf will continue,” with the
thought in tli.dr minds that the
whuit) of their pet gamble was what
Vta.id continue?
People think that wav because we
listen to politicians who talk that
way In 1843. before the democratic
Administration of Grover .'leave land
had got started, they said it was
the unsettlement of people's minds
because a democrat had been
elected. And when in 1907 big bus
iness republicans could notfblame it
on the democrats, they said it was
Roosevelt s reforms. And now some
will try to say that it is the fight
being made on new tariff robbery,
others that it is Mr. Hoover s little
experiment in Socialism for farm
relief. Many will actually believe
that if Mr. Coolidge had run again
and been elected, this overdue break
ir the market, inflated under the
Coolidge-Mellon regime, would have
beer a’-erted.
How we ask to be fooled and then
—to excuse our disregard of saletv |
signals—ask to be fooled again about
who is to blame. We knew the mar
ket was too high. Or if we did not
know that, we knew there were
men in the game who had made it
their life study. It was part of the
game to point to the prosperity of
the country as proof that stocks
were worth many times what thei!
earning power showed. They suc
ceeded beyond their wildest dreams
—and for many of the insiders also
this is the morning after.
"If we’d only known what we
know now. If ever we get another
chance—” Another chance for
$hat? Hiere's an election next
year. Watt for the campaign cry,
"Vote for the blanks and keep
prosperity!"
-♦ ♦—
SUGGEST GAS REMEDY
LONDON—England, too. Is com
plaining about the escaping carbon
monoxide from its buses and auto
mobiles and several suggestions
have been offered to remedy It. The
most practical method of eliminat
ing this gas evil suggested so far is
to extend the exhaust to the top of
the car. expelling the gas above the
heads of pedestrians. The gas i?
lighter than air and would not set
tl«.
OF INTEREST TO FARMERS
GET BOYS SOME RABBIT'S.
You don’t fcav9 to run clear U> the
end of the rainbow to find your pot
of gold. There are a swore of home
or back-yard enterprises that can
■how profit if worked at in the prop
er spirit. Raising something—chick
ens, rabbits, guinea piga—is one or
the favorite back-yard businesses,
and can be made quite profitable.
Rabbit raising is becoming more
popular every day. There i» a ready
market for meat or fur. Not much
equipment is needed, so that the ini
tial investment is small. Following
are a few things the beginner in
rabbit breeding should do: Before
purchasing any stock it is well to
have hutches ready. Ycu do not need
a lot of room or expensive build
ings. Dry goods boxes, about two by
four feet, with a wire door and a
shady location, will take care of a
dee and her young until weaning
time. Have one of these for each
rabbit you start with. Order good
stock from a reliable breeder. You
may want to get plans for better
hutches, and the breeder who sup
plies you can probably give you
these plans. Gocd pedigreed dees,
eligible to register, should be pur
chased for your start. As In poultry
raising, It costs no more to feed a
good Individual than a poor one. I
have found that it costs 20 cents a
month to feed a rabbit, says one
who has found their propagation
profitable. With care, each doe will
produce four litters a year, and will
average five to six to a litter, so
you see In a year's time one doe
will produce from 20 to 24 rabbits;
some erf her offspring also will be
producing for you before the year is
up. These young, sold at meat prices,
will bring you a good price at five
months old, and you will have the
pelt to sell, which will bring any
where from 50 cents to $2.50, accord
ing to the condition and primeness
of the pelt. Each doe should bring
you a good profit each season. If
you get good breeding stock to start
with you can command better prices,
for you own best stock, as breeders.
Rabbits are subject to few diseases,
and these are net hard to keep away
If you keep hutches clean and free
from drafts. Any person should be
able to care for something like 100
rabbits In about two hours each day.
Rabbits require plenty of clean fresh
water twice a day; roughage. In the
form of alfalfa hay, one a day.
They should also have a little grain
once a day. A small handful of oats
and barley is good; if you do not
have barley, oats alone Is all right,
either rolled or whole. You will find
that a rabbit eats but little. Aft??
two cr three feedings you can tell
about how much they will clean up.
and do not feed them more thin
this amount.
■“* ♦ ♦ ■ •
HEALTH PROGRAM NEEDED.
Poultry breeders throughout the
mlddlewest are annually sustaining
tremendous losses from parasitic in
festation and disease infection of
their flecks. Most of the losses from
these two sources can be avoided
by proper methods of sanitation.
It Is just as essential to raise
chicks on fresh ground as It is
to raise pigs on clean ground. Old
poultry yards are full of roundworm
eggs, and it is impossible, when
raised on ground of that kind, to
keep worms out of the birds, and
birds infested with worms and other
parasites are much more susceptible
to disease infection than those that
are free from parasites. In this
connection, there are two impor
tant factors to keep in mind. First,
raising the chicks on clean ground
and feeding them a growing ration
up to maturity and an eg* produc
tion ration later on, and giving them
all they can eat to enable them to
produce up to their maximum ca
pacity. The other is to keep disease
)ut of the flock by constant, rigorous
culling. The next thing is to sell off
the old birds as soon as thay are no
longer profitable layers, and get
them out of the way before the next
set of pullets is ready to go into the
laying l}°use- The fewer old hens
that art kept over, other things be
ing equal, the less difficulty there
will be from disease infection.
Tuberculosis is one of the diseases
that is causing much loss to poultry
producers, and it is mainly a dis
ease of the old rather than of the
youn* birds, If the old birds are
promptly disposed of and the young
birds are raised on clean ground,
tuberculosis may be reduced to a
minimum in a single season. It Is
not a disease that can be cured by
medication. The moment it Is kown
that a birid is affected with tuber
culosis. it should be disposed of. A
tuberculosis bird is never a prof
itable bird from an egg-laying
standpoint, and it is a menace to
the remainder of the flock.
--- ....
CAUSES OF SOFT PORK
In the extensive soft-pork experi
ments conducted co-operatively by
the United States department of
agriculture and a number of the
state agricultural experiment sta
tions. it has been found that unless
the ration is distinctly softening the
rate of gain of the pig is an Im
portant factor contributing to firm
ness of the pork. Firmness of pork
is of great importance to the con
suming public and to the pork pro
ducing and meat industries. This
federal-state co-operative work has
been in progress for 10 years. The
work nas involved a great number
of experiments and thousands of
animals. Variations in firmness of
pork are due mainly to feeds, .some
producing a pork that is soft, or
even oily, and others a Droduct that
is satisfactorily firm. Other factors
entering into firmness are initial
weight of the animal, raplditv of
gain, degrees of finish, etc. Each
vear representatives of the United
States department of agriculture
and the state experiment stations
conducting this research work hold
a conference to discuss and analyze
results, issue statements of results
based upon the work completed,
and to make plans for future work.
Following is the latest statefent of
results: (1) Pigs with initial weights
PROPER FEEDING OF PIGS.
“Hoggishness" and "eating like a
pig” are traditional phrases to de
scribe unmannerly greediness and
gluttony. Recent experiments In the
feeding of pigs suggest that the
phrases do net always apply. When
pigs are fed by hand they do in
fact, rush in to make sure of their
share of the feed. But, put ho&s in
a pasture and they graze leisurely
and in contentment. If, instead of
feeding by hand, the owner installs
a self-feeder from which the hogs
and pigs may eat what they want,
when tne.v want it, and in whatever
quantity they desire, thev soon loaa
of 100 pounds or more and gaining
at least 1 1-3 pounds daily on »
mixture of ground corn <9 par or II
'parts* and ground soybeans (1
part) self-fed. free choice, with
mineral mixture in drylot, through
a period of approximately nine
weeks or longer, ‘".ave produced firm
carcasses in the majority of cases.
(2) Pigs with initial weights of 100
pounds or less and gaining a maxi
mum of one pound daily on a mix
ture of ground corn (9 parts or II
parts) and ground soybeans (1 part)
self-fed, free choice, with mineral
mixture in dry lot, through a pe
riod of 15 weeks or less, have pro
duced soft carcasses in the major
ity of cases (3) Pigs with initial
weights ranging from approximately
40 to approximately 70 pounds led
raw soybeans with corn and min
erals in comparison with cooked
soybeans with oorn and minerals
both rations in dry lot, have pro
duced carcasses of appioximately
the same degree cf firmness at com
parable finished weights. (4) Pigs
with initial weights of approximate
ly 50 pounds gaining a maximum of
50 pounds on rations of rice polish
or rice bran with tankage and min
erals during an eight-week feeding
period followed by a gain of at least
70 pounds on brewers’ rice with
tankage and minerals during a pe
riod o. eight weeks or more have
produced firm carcasses in the usual
cases. (5) Pigs fed low-fat rations
varying widely in protein content,
with dried blood the principal
source of protein, have produced
carcasses which were strikingly uni
form in composition and firmness
of fat. All rations were composed
of hominy, dried blood, alfalta meal
and minerals. Owing to variations
in proportions of dried blood and
hominy used, the nutritive ratios ol
the rations varied from approxi
mately 1.2 to 1.10. (The nutritiv®
ratio is the proportion of digestible
protein in relation to the sum of
the digestible oarbohydrates and the
digestible fat.) (0) Experiments
have shown that when corn oil,
peanut oil and soybean oil are pres
ent in the ration, either as natural
ly contained or as added, they have
a so.tening effect on the body fat
which increases with increase in the
oil content of the ration. Cotton
seed oil, on the other hand, naa
shown a distinct hardening effect
when added to the extent of 4 per
cent of the mixture to basal rations
of corn or hominy with supplements.
When the amount of cottonseed oil
is increased to 8 and 12 per cent
respectively, a progressive decrease
in firmness results. The 3 per oent
addition of cottonseed oil produced
hard or medium hard carcasses, and
, the 12 per cent addition medium
sort or soft carcasses, as compared
to hard carcasses on the 4 per cent
addition.
CUTTING LABOR COSTS
The first great item of expense in
caring for the poultry flock is that
of feed. This constitutes over hall
the cost. Next in line comes the
labor cost. This approximates 15 to
20 per cent of the total cost. There
are a number of simple practices
which will reduce the labor opera
tions. First comes the installation of
seme automatic water system to the
laying houses. The most tedious and
exacting labor operation in hand
ling the flock is carrying water.
There are many automatic systems
which will greatly reduce this Item,
Maintaining the litter in a clean,
healthful, sweet condition is a heavy
burden. The use of a peat-moss lit
ter will accomplish this and will
make it unnecessary to clean out
the litter often. A substantial sup
ply of feed located in bins in each
pen will greatly reduce the labor of
carrying heavy containers filled
with feed about the plant. Large
barrels or bins constructed on the
wall of the house will hold two or
three weeks’ supply. The cleaning
of droppings boards can be greatly
facilitated by using tools especially
designed for the purpose. Special
dropping board cleaners which take
a wide area at each pull of the
handle and are so constructed that
they scrape the droppings off clean,
through the presence of a sharp
cutting head set at the right angle,
will greatly speed up cleaning. If a
suitable box or container Is con
structed to catch the droppings, still
greater speed is accomplished. The
raising and lowering of curtains and
the opening and closing of windows
take a great deal of time. If these
can be arranged to operate by coun
terweights and a number of them
controlled by ropes and pulleys from
one point, much greater speed and
ease in adjusting them are the re
sult.
BETTER METHODS SAFEGUARD
Whenever the price of eggs takes
a slump, even though such a slump
naturally should be expected, the
cry goes up that there Is no money
In poultry and the faint-hearted put
their fowls on the market. A more
sensible thing to do would be to
plan methods of cutting down the
expenses and of marketing to better
advantage. When everything is
going well the overhead is likely to
creep up because profits come easy,
but when the tide sets the other
way, this overhead often proves toe
heavy to carry and by proper
methods can be reduced to the point
where a profit Is still possible.
Somewhere a profit is still passible.
Sometimes it is found that by mors
carefully balancing the ration and
making better use of waste products
the flcek3 can be fed better for
less expanse sometimes more fre
quent collecting of the eggs, keep
ing the nests cleaner and more care
keted will increase the quality and,
ful handling until they are mar
therefore. the price of the eggs
quite considerably; occasionally
more comfortable housing, in both
summer and winter, will bring an
Increase In production without any
additional cost for feed, care, etc.
All these things should be thought
of at all times, but in particular at
times when prices of poultry prod
ucts go down and profits are en
dangered. _
their gluttonous ways. Commenting
on a series of comparative feeding
tests in which sows were self-fed and
hand-fed, the United States depart
ment of agriculture says a notice
able fact about the sows in the self
fed lots was that “there never was
any crowding at the feeders. Scarce
ly ever were there more than two
or three sows eating at the same
time, even when a dozen or moro
sows were being fed from the ona
feeder. Only a small quantity would
be consumed at one time. It was tak
en slowly and apparently thorough
ly masticated and digested."
