334 Bureau of Farmers' Institutes. 



gome pullets went to San Francisco, at P each, and we have sold 

 roosters for |25 each. Then too, we get pretty good prices for 

 eggs, having received 47 cents per dozen for them, this winter. 



Win Mr. Van Dreser tell us how his hen houses are ventilated? Also, 

 how many hens he keeps In one flock? 



Answer. — We have six-inch pipes that come to within six inches 

 of the floor and which terminate in a cowl in the roof. There is 

 a damper near the lower end, which is kept closed during the 

 night and opened in the morning. These tubes are made of gal- 

 vanized iron. They are 30 feet apart. This system keeps the 

 rooms drv and the air pure. No frost accumulates. We keep 50 

 hens in a flock. 



How much hen manure do you get, and how do you save and utilize it? 



Answer. — The hens are making about fifty bushels of manure 

 per week. Land plaster is plentifully spread on the platforms 

 under the perches, to absorb moisture apd prevent the loss of 

 nitrogen, and the platforms are carefully cleaned twice a week. 

 The manure is kept in barrels in a dry place and run through a 

 threshing machine cylinder in the spring. When the winter 

 wheat has been sown, the finely prepared hen manure and plaster 

 is broadcasted over the fields. 



What pattern of incubator do you use? 



Answer. — " Prairie State." We have enough of them to in- 

 cubate 1,400 eggs at a time, about 80 per cent, of which hatch. 



Why are eggs less fertile in winter than In summer? 



Answer. — Because the hens are kept indoors more than in sum- 

 mer, and therefore do not get proper exercise. 



At what time of day is it the best to feed warm mash to poultry? 



Answer. — We feed it in the morning. Prefer that time to the 

 noon honr. 



What amount of land Is required to raise sufficient sunflower seed for 

 100 hens? How much animal meal In the morning ration for 100 hens? 



Mr. Van Dreser. — We put in a half acre of sunflower seed in 

 drills, one seed in a place, 18 inches apart, rows three feet apart. 



