lio(^ Rural School Leaflet. 



Begin .early to prepare the fruit. Soon after the blossoms fall in 

 May, choose a young tree or a branch of a large tree. Thin 

 the fruit until all specimens remaining are six or eight inches apart. 

 A little later in the season, when the fruit is about one-third grown, 

 bag enough specimens of each fruit or variety to make one or two plates. 

 Ordinary manila bags which you can get at the grocery store may be 

 used for this work. The bag will protect the fruit from any mechanical 

 injury and cause it to develop a thick and beautiful bloom. On the 

 other hand, the bagged fruit may not color so well and therefore it is 

 tiot advised to bag too many specimens. 



In choosing the fruit for the exhibit, select specimens which are even 

 in size, color, and degree of ripeness. Each should be free from blemishes 

 and possess a full-length stem. In the collection exhibits send only one 

 plate of a variety, but send as many different fruits and varieties as 

 you can collect. Each plate must contain five specimens. 



The boys and girls will get a great deal of pleasure in planning for 

 this exhibit and sending the fruit to the Fair. They do not have to 

 go there to put it up themselves. The Commission will put it up for 

 them giving each an equal chance. All that is required of the boys 

 and girls is to collect the fruit and ship it, expressage prepaid, to the 

 Superintendent of Fruits, State Fair Grounds, Syracuse, N. Y. The 

 new premium list will be sent to every boy and girl who will write for it. 

 Address C. S. Wilson, Ithaca, N. Y. 



RAISING CHICKENS 



care of hen and chickens 



Clara M. Nixon 



When the eggs are hatched, as they should be by the end of the twenty- 

 first day, take hen and chicks from the nest, and put them in the coop 

 you have prepared for them. 



The coop. — The coop should be large enough so that the hen can 

 move about, and high enough so that she will not strike her head. If 

 it has no floor, set the coop on a platform of boards. This will help 

 to keep out the rats and weasels, as well as to keep the coop dry. The 

 separate floor is more easily cleaned. In front the coop should be 

 slatted, but closed elsewhere, and have a roof which will keep out the 

 rain. It should be placed facing the south, on clean land on which no 

 chickens have recently been reared. This is a precaution against disease. 

 Everything should be clean, thoroughly disinfected with a coat of white- 

 wash, and kept dry. Dampttess is fatal to young chicks. 



