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Caring for Wyandotte !
O. O. Wild , tallllllg with a repre-
Ij'lItllllve of the Farlllel'H' Review ,
said :
I have lilY poultry houses divided In
the CClltCl' One.hlllf It ! floored with
hoards and the other half "Is floored
with earth for a scratching t-hed. : 1
have used concrete for floor , hut It IR
too cold. If It IR not covered with
something It Is too cold for the feet
or the fowls , nod If It gets moist It
holds the 111 01 Htlll'e. I had my entire I
poultry ) house on It concrete floor hut
I had to have It torn out and Il board
floor put ) In , which I cover with sand.
I believe If a house Is built on an
elevation , Oil top of a knoll , say , you ; I I
might ho able to keep the cement
floor frolll gettlllg moist , but my objection -
jection to cement floors Is that they ;
are always collI. however there Is a
little difference of opinion about that
among hrccHlel's Some of them won't
have any other hind of a floor.
DiscaRDs of poultry ) ; 110 not hotter
mt' lilliCh It Is always ; > a question of
cleonllness. I 110 nol clean out the
poultry house and throw the cleanings
out Into the yard where the fowls
rte , aR ninny people do. 1 have them
hauled to the barnyard and mixed
with the barnyard ; munure.
I had my birds on the place for
three years before I had a louse or
mite In the flocl Then some or them
got through II hole in the fence , In-
vuded lily neighbor's flock and came
"
hacl ) with hath lice and miles I have
cught thelll ) ever since , hut I do not
let thelll get the upper ) hanet. I have
.
called ! the male birds over twenty ;
limes this winter. The other day 1
found one of them full of lice , which
shows how riIJldly they breed and
how carefully ! one must inspect his
flock to keep ) them down.
Such a bird I give a bath of soap
suds that will kill any louse that 1Ives.
The suds are strong enough to make a
good lather and I work It Into the feath-
ere till the bird Is clean. Then I wash
him In clear water and believe \ that I
get all the lice and lice eggs The
sumo kind of washing that the show
bird gets Is the kind that kills the
lice
I had some trouble with rats , hilt I
got rid of thelll. They were most
troublesome in my brooder house. I
have Il tom cat that Is like a dog in
protecting ! the chlcls. Ho never eats
I
n chick , but seems to take as much
interest In them as I do. When I
iced them ho goes along and seems
to enjoy seeing them eat. A cat that
I hud previously had the habit or
"sneullng" a chick now and then , and
I hud to kill him.
Green Stuff for the Fowls.
It Is yet a long limo before grass
will ho abundant enough to give much
green food ( to the fowls. Long before
grass cOllies the farmer's family will
ho eating lettuce frolll the hot bed If
there Is spare corner In this hotbed
t-ow In It EOl1'ie lettuce or rape seed
for the fowls. The green stuff will
lie worth more to them than the food
element in It Indicates.
- -
Darkness and Disease.
Fowls are naturally averse to du rlt-
ness A dark poultry house is a breeder .
el' of dlseaso. Somme with windows
only two feet square can he made light
by cutting out some of the side of the
house and putting In glass Fowls
can stand cold ankh better than they
can stand darkness and diseaso.
An Overfed Fowl.
An overfed fowl Is not a woll.fed
fowl. She Is developing so much fatty
tissue that her cgg . laying lOwe : will
ho lessened or destro 'cd. The well-
ted hen is one that has a properly
balanced ration and Is made to exer-
cise every day so that she can proper"
ly dIgest It.
.
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LIVE !
STOCK
.
The Butcher's Sheep.
In an animal Intended for the block \
wo want the greatest possible amount
of meat of the best quality at the
points that bring the highest marS
ltet prices , says A. W Smith. In the
sheep wo always want a very well
covered back , as the cuts are valllahle
right elong the \Juctt. \ In some marS
l\Ot the leg Is considered the most
valuable Imrt. 1'0 produce n good
carcass a sheep should ho good on
the loin , wide and fairly thick , good
on the saddle and round the heart ,
and good In the leg and twist. One
of the most Important points ! In judg-
Ing n mutton sheep Is to see that
the flash handles well It should not
he soft and blubbery \ , hut firm and
elastic to the ( touch The wool on
Il sheep makes It more difficult to d0 .
ermine this suUsfactol'lI Firmness
Is one of the IIIOSt Important points
\Vherevor you have softness and blubber .
her it Is an Indication of fat , and
not of muscle or lean meat , as is der
Rlred. This applies to all breeds ,
whether it Is a large breed like the
Leicester or the little Soutlulown. Wo
want the largest proportion or lean
meat possible , and wo have to esti
mate when judging alive , us nearly as
wo can lIy touch , what Is the IU'O'
portion of lean to fat. 1'0 get the
best quality of meat we must make
allowance for a certain amount of
waste to the consumer and dealer.
To the dealer It is more profitable
to throwaway a certain proportion
or fat and have a large proportion or
meat or good quality ] than It Is to
have a good deal of fat and but \ little
lean , and hint of poor quallt .
Value of Pedigree.
To } IIIltstrute the importance of ped
agree : , let us assume that two mono
\11' : A and Mr B , start out to breed
cattle , each with a foundatIon of
equally good cows. If these men arc
taken to represent a fair average of
our stoclunen , probably A will rcc '
ognlze time importance of having his
cattle well bred \ , while B Is a little
closer as regards his pocket and takes
an inferior bull. lIe continues that
practice , considerIng that , after all ,
pedigree Is a mere matter of fancy ;
hut A continues to select well - hred
. . - - - - - - - -
bulls. What is the result ? By some
chance n may now and then breed \
one or two flrst . class animals. Pos-
sibly ho may have the good fortune
during the first year or two to produce .
duce animals that excel A's : but after
ten , twenty ; or thirty years I3 wlll
have no assurance that the '
progeny ;
of his herd wlll have certain fixed
characteristics : but A , who has given
close attention to pedigree ! , Is almost
certain that when he mates this and
that animal together he will get a
good anltnal lu his herd We come to
recognize what we like to see in all
good herds , a uniformly good lot 01
young stock. This Is time Ideal every-
ono should aim at. Incidentally , I
may say that 1\11' Amos Cruielshanll I
made the statement that no man can
hope to achieve success In breeding
In less than thirty 'oars.-l\1. Cum
mlngs.
Best Bacon Hogs.
Men that are In touch with the hog
markets of the country say that the
best bacon hog is now heing produced
in the northwest part or the United
States and In Canada. In these regions -
gions there Is not only a scarcity of
corn , hut an abundance of grains rich
In protein. In addition there are numerous -
morous flour mills , and these turn out
great quantities of by.products rich
In protein , which is cheaply obtained
by the feeders The farmers that han-
dle these hogs produce a kind of meat
that the people want and for which
they pa ; > " . The farmers , however , com-
plain that the market does not discriminate -
crIminate as much between bacon and
lard hogs as It should.
f' ) Y
.
I. 1oTES
Double.Headed Fraud.
Reports from the South say that
bogus batter Is still sold there In considerable -
sldera\Jle \ quantities. This is a dour
ble - headed fraud , as It If a fraud on
the consumer and a fraud on the
maker of pure butter \ whose butter Is
forced out of lie market hy time corn-
p lllul. The makers of the latter are ,
however , wiser than the malcers of
pure butter , both In time manufoclure
of their stuff and In the selling of It.
The makers of the compound article
make It profitable for the merchants
to handle the goods they make , and I
so get a very Influential part of the
community working In their favor.
Having [ won over the dealers they
have a powerful leverage on the corn-
nJunltieR. If the fraud Is detected \Jy \
their customers they are able to cover
It up hy placating the consumer that .
feels himself aggrie\'ed. i
.
Then the makers ; of the bogus ! ? but- -
tel' put it up in attractive packages
and label It with n name that makes
the cater believe lIe is getting the
hORt qltalll of pure butter , or , at least ,
something that Is just as good as \Jut. \
leI' It is true that what the consumer
docs get is n compound made largely
of cottonseed oil and lard , but If he
Is satisfied , it is hard to start prosecu-
lions. 'I'he same thing was common
In the North , but \ the Northern cont-
munitles have shown themselves so
much opposed to fraud that the mak.-
ers of the compound article can no
lenger tale the risk or selling colored
oleo for butter , except in rare cases.
Progress in Dairy Science.
The savants are making great progress .
ress In dairy science , hut the progress
is but slowly touching the masses.
There are a few thousands of men
that have become interested in dairy
studies , but there are a few millions
of men that care nothing about dairy
science. Some day there will bo a
revival. The preaching that is being
done now will in the future make its
fruit manifest In a great wa"o of 1m.
ptovoment that will sweep over the
country. \Ve are not prophesying , but
ore simply meuHul'lng time future by
the past. It has always been thus. It
takes time for the seed to fall , collect
moisture and germinate. The human
mind Is like soil , It must take its limo
to give forth the energies that are
within It.
Increase Use of Milk.
The use of milk should he encour
aged In every wa ) ' . In most of our
cities stations could bo established for
the sale of mill by the glass A
quart of mlll mattes four large glasses
and at two cents a glass , milk would
bring eight cents per quart. Here
and there in cities stations have been
established for the sale of milk , but
as yet only In a tentative wa3' 'l'here
Is no doubt that the sale of mlllt in
this way would to some extent at least I .
decrease : : the use of strong drit : lis.
When a man Is full of one kind or
liquid he does not so greatly crave
another lilnd. It is the thirsty ; man
lint Is the bard drlnlter. Skim mill
could ho old : al a cent a glass and
yield a lrollt.
The Dairyman and Agriculture.
1'ho dairyman needs to he well
versed in agricultural muttors. It is
a mistake to suppose that the only ;
thing a dairyman needs to know is
dalr"lng. lie may ho an expert In
matters essentially of a dairy char
actor and yet ; fall because ho knows
too little of how to get cheap feed
at a substantial charactor. At u. dairy
convention attended by the writer a
dairyman of prominence said : "I find
that I have to read the agricultural pa-
Ilers as much as I do the dairy paper's.
Il is necessary for me to learn how to
grow crops and how to tile land.
There are many other things that I
need to know besides how to milk
cows and take carp ; ! of the mllk. "
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1Icuji
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Low.Headed Apple Trees.
Pt'of ' ' . important
Arthur T. ErwIn : One -
.
1I00'taut lesson gained from the past
Is lint , at least for the northwest , loW-
headed trees are very much better \
than the old.tlme "skyscrapers "
In a prairie region like ( Iowa , pro-
tecUon from the wind is hl1portunt.
This refers not only to the matter of _ -.J : .
wind falls , hut also to the protection
of the plant from the drying influ-
onces of wind In winter. A low head.
ed tree offers less leverage , hence less
wind fall : and I ho head being closer
to the ground receives proportionally .t.ii' :
more protection from deslccallon.
A serious loss to young trees is by
Rtlt1scnld. 'l'hls usually occurs on
bright , warm spoils In early spring ,
and the Injury is generally on the
south or west side of the trunk. Heat
SUmulates activit ) . . During the win-
ter season the Protolllasm is in a dor-
mant state , and while In this coO\II-
tlon Is uninjured hy cold. On a bright ,
warm day , on account of the rise In
temperature , the protoplasm becomes
actl\'e. At night the temperature suddenly -
denly ; falls , catching the protoplasm
in this active condition and it is de-
strayed. The live hark dies and par-
tially peels away ; in patches. A low
head has less trunk exposure , hence
less opportunity for such injury The
top also shades the stem better , and
hence affords a protection not received - ,
celved with high headed trees. - , . . A
No fruit grower who Is In the busi-
ness for the money can afford to omit
spraying as one of his orchard opera- W 'I
lions. Low headed trees canJe ' . )
sprayed much more effectively and
. 'o cheaper than high ones. At gath-
Hrln time there Is also an Important
advantage. One man on the Ground
can do the work of two on ladders.
Orchard cultivation is an essential
I
to good fruit growing , and a high ' ,
headed tree Is very much more convenient -
venient in this respect. It Is likely
in this one fact that we find the prac-
tlco of high heading so prevalent in
older sections. With the old.lIme Tm
plements and harness it meant slow -.If. . . . . .iI
work and lots of lifting , to work -
around low headed trees. Time fellow
who has had much an experience Is f
very strongly tempted to lop off a few t i
of the lower branches \ the first oppor-
tunlly.
Better types of orchard harness and
Implements have remedied this to a
large degree , and there is no longer
ground for complaint from this source.
The traceless harness does away with
single trees , which skin the hark and .
are very useful In the orchard.
Some Small Fruits.
The raspberry , blackberry and dew-
berry will need careful thinning out
and short pruning of the hearing ' 1
canes anll lien , after the fruit Is well T"
set , take off one.half or twothlrds of
the harries , and keep I down the young
sprouts and canes so that the strength
will go to the berrlcs. Fertilize with
four pounds muriate of potash and
two pounds of nitrate of soda per
square rod. _ .
For next 'ear's fruiting , grow time . -t\
canes for this especial purpose , retaining -
mining about one.fourth as many I
canes as usual and then treat the (
same as above : picking , handling , , I
wrapping and packing the same as
for the strnwberr Fine clusters and
branches where they can he retained I
should ho shipped as clusters after
wrnppln '
'I
Twisting the canes often causes '
I
them to produce larger fruit , and wa-
.
ter is often used with 1 lb. muriate or
potash and Ih. nitrate of f'oda to .
twenty gallons of water to help Increase -
crease the size , especially If the {
weather Is dr ; > ' . Mulching Is neces
sary ; and watering cnn then be done
sately.-L. A. Goodman.
