February, 1921 



BETTER FRU IT 



Page 39 



the same temperature by setting hens and more 

 lice are hatched than chickens. All nests 

 should be cleaned at least once a week and 

 every portion of refuse should be consigned to 



the flames. 



FEEDING THE YOUNG CHICKS. 

 After the chicks are a few days old, they 

 should be fed three or four times a day on a 

 clean surface which might be flat pieces of 

 board. As soon as they appear to be satis- 

 fied, the surplus should be removed. This 

 has particular reference to soft food. Ground 

 oats or cracked corn may be left where the 

 chicks will have access to it at all times, but 

 not on the ground. 



MILK FOR POULTRY. 

 Milk is a rational egg-producing food and 

 should be liberally given wherever it can be 

 cheaply obtained. Any kind of milk, whether 

 fresh or sour or clabber will do for the 

 hens. They will drink it when set before 

 them, or it may bo put in a soft food, adding 

 a tablespoonful of soda to every quart of 

 milk. 



Rats are always a pest about the barns and 

 poultry houses, but they are a real menace 

 during the baby chick season, for they take 

 their toll of the youngsters each spring. Poi- 

 son bait is said to be the best way to deal 

 with the rat. Rut they are very cunning and 

 soon learn to avoid any one kind of bait and, 

 therefore, several quite different kinds should 

 be used in rotation, a grain, a meat, a cheese 

 and a vegetable for instance. The U. S, De- 

 partment of Agriculture recommends barium 

 carbonate for poisoning bait. This is very 

 poisonous to children and domestic animals 

 and must be used accordingly. 



The Oregon Poultry Producers' Association 

 has recently been organized under the name 

 of the Pacific Poultry Producers, and will 

 operate in Washington as well as Oregon. 

 Anyone who can ship at least one case of eggs 

 a week through the summer should join. There 

 are already more than 160,000 hens signed up, 

 and it is expected that 200,000 will be repre- 

 sented. The association is in a measure co- 

 operative and plans to prevent the market 

 from being flooded at any time, and to main- 

 tain fair prices. The association claims to re- 

 turn to the producer 85 per cent of the sell- 

 ing price, instead of the 62 per cent he would 

 receive from the speculator. 



Give the setting hen a quiet, dark place in 

 which to sit. She will come off once a day 

 and will return to the eggs before there is 

 any danger of their becoming chilled. Some 

 dry place nearby should be provided in which 

 she can take a cleansing dust bath. Fresh, 

 clean water should also be easily in reach. 

 Do not handle the eggs more than necessary. 

 If one becomes broken, the others should be 

 taken out and sponged off with warm water. 

 Soiled nesting material should be replaced 

 with fresh. 



Cockerels from January and February 

 hatches, if caponized in April and May, and 

 turned into the orchard in June, where they 

 can get plenty of green feed, will make a very 

 fair substitute for the turkey for the Thanks- 

 giving and Christmas dinners. If well fat- 

 tened, they should weigh 8 to 10 pounds and 

 better. 



Better results are obtained when fowls are 

 fed according to appetite than according to 

 rule. There are no best poultry feeds or ra- 

 tions except those that supply the necessary 

 food elements most economically. Hens can- 

 not do well on a whole grain ration. — Poultry, 

 O. A. C. 



Above all else keep the hen houses clean 

 and dry, and the fowls free from insect 

 pests. If clean and dry with ample food, they 

 can stand a great deal of cold, though in very 

 extreme weather an ordinary lantern hung in 

 the house will keep them in better condition. 



Fowls should have their breakfast as soon 

 as they leave the perches in the morning. To 

 insure this, it is best to scatter the grain in 

 the litter the night before, after they have gone 

 to roost. 



A hundred and fifty hens of the right 

 strain and breed and under proper care, can 

 be made to produce from $900 to .$1,500 per 

 year. That would be a fair profit for an 

 acre of apples to show. 



To produce fertile eggs for setting, better re- 

 sults are obtained by mating cockerels to 

 hens and older birds to pullets. 



Provide your hens with sprouted oats, one 

 of the necessities for insuring winter eggs. 

 A grain sprouter can be purchased at mod- 

 erate cost and will soon pay for itself in 

 healthier, more contented hens, and conse- 

 quently greater egg production. 



Now is the time, while you have time, to get 

 out the nail kegs or boxes you will use for 

 the setting hens and give them a thorough 

 coating of whitewash that they may be ready 

 for the first hen that shows symptoms of being 

 broody. 



Remember that scratch feed alone is not 

 sufficient to produce eggs in the greatest num- 

 bers. Keep your laying stock indoors where 

 they are warm and dry, and see that they have 

 plenty of dry mash to go to at all times. 



Do not overlook the grit, oyster shell and 

 charcoal. They are all absolutely necessary 

 to egg production. 



Examine the birds, roosts and nests for the 

 tiny, though voracious, red spider. There is no 

 pest which will pull the hens down more than 

 this. Look for it particularly under the 

 wings. Carbolineum or similar substance 

 should be used freely in case of infestation. 



Two-by- four's make better perches than 

 round poles. They should be placed with the 

 1-inch surface uppermost, as hens rest, not on 

 their legs, but on their breast bones, which 

 will not become crooked when resting upon 

 this wider surface. 



Just as important as selected, true-to-namc 

 nursery stock, are eggs or baby chicks from 

 proven laying strains. Do not keep a flock of 

 scrub boarders, but get good stock and they 

 will amply repay you. 



There is 75 per cent water in the egg. At 

 the price of eggs, we wonder if the 75 per cent 

 is not something else. 



SraimgJemetA 



} e/pscreafea 



new /n ember of the 

 blue R/8BON fam/'/y 



BLUE RIBBON 

 FIGS 



'tjlue ribbon" products justify a 

 JD blue ribbon carton, hence the de- 

 sign and manufacture were entrusted 

 to us. Blue Ribbon F.gs will sell big 

 because the package bespeaks their 

 goodness in an appealing way. 



Traung Labels and Cartons measui e 

 up to your product. Traung service is 

 specialized. All of our ability is con- 

 centrated in producing better labels 

 and cartons. Let us do it for you. 



11 — and for long distance shipments 



explains the Boss Packer 



"where boxes are handled roughly and 

 pass through many hands, they have to 

 be strong and well built. That's why we 

 always use Diamond B boxes. They 

 stand up under all conditions." 



We specialize on standard apple 

 boxes, crates and cases of selected 

 material and carefully constructed. 



Our large stock and exceptional 

 ^5 facilities insure you against delay. 



Write for our prices. 



Bloedel < ^*^ > Donovan 



,L-u.m.]oeTr 

 ioi8 White Blag. 



Malls 

 Seattle U.S.A. 



WHEN WRITING ADVERTISERS MENTION BETTER FRUIT 



