THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



©HE gOULipr^Y IjA^D. 



OPERATING INCUBATORS. 



Hi/ p. II. Jiirolis. Wivjnf. TIL 



During the past two months I have had thir- 

 teen incul^ators in operation, including different 

 makes, and so tar not a single failure has 

 occurred. It is not intended here to give any 

 theories as to what should be done, but to lay 

 before the readers of the Fakm and Garden a 

 few /rwls that have come under my observation 

 during tlie time 1 have been worliing them. 



One discovery I have made is that nearly all 

 the incubators now manufactured will hatch 

 and do all that is claimed for them if the opera- 

 tor will do his duty, but that an incubator will 

 ■worli; itself because it is self-regulating is not 

 always a certainty. The operator will be com- 

 pelled to take at least a look at them several 

 times a day, and jjerhaps at night also, especially 

 at this season, owing to the fact that the tem- 

 perature of the atniosi)liere fluctuates so often. 

 The regulators will, perhaps, work splendidly, 

 but the lamps are liable to heat the incubators 

 too much during the middle of the day, despite 

 tlie guardianship of the regulator's. With the 

 use of the hatchers, and care on the part of the 

 operator, there should be no dilficulty in hatch- 

 ing at all seasons. 



Very often success happens where failure was 

 expected. For instance, one incubator, seem- 

 ingly contrary, would in the morning be at a 

 temperature ran'ging between 9.5 and IIJIJ degrees, 

 while during the day it would reach from lilO to 

 105 degrees. It gave an excellent result, liowever. 

 about seventy-five per cent., while another incu- 

 bator, wnicli had neither fallen below 100°, or 

 gone above 104°, did not give over thirty per 

 cent. But little information could be gained by 

 the comparison, as the weather was very severe, 

 and the difficulty may have been with the eggs. 

 1 am satisfied of one thing, however, which is 

 that the majority of failures arise from lack of 

 moisture, and not from want of fresh air, as 

 many suppose. I have stopped up all the air 

 passages, except to admit a very limited supply, 

 with the drawer full of chicks, without injuring 

 them, and yet the air passages of most incuba- 

 tors are sufficient to ventilate a coop full of adult 

 fowls, the result being that a constant current of 

 air cannot easily be saturated with water vapor, 

 and the chicks die in flie nhe/l. Where the air is 

 admitted, and partially conrtned, it saturates 

 itself with moisture. The egg.s do not want 

 moisture at all ; nature provides for that. All 

 that is necessary Is to supply the air witli mois- 

 ture, so that it will not absorb it from the eggs, 

 esijeoially after tlie chick has " pipped" through, i 

 The lower the heat the easier the air is saturated, j 

 ■which accounts for the chicks hatching at a low 

 temperature at times, and dying in the .shell 

 ■when the heat is fully up to the standard require- 

 ment. Provided plenty of moisture is allowed, 

 the heat should be fully 101° the flrst week, and 

 103° the second week. The third week the 

 temperature should not be over 102°, for the 

 chicks will come out at a lower temperature 

 stronger than when llie heat is well up. When 

 the chicks are hatching, and the exposed mem- 

 Ijrane of the eggs, after being " pipped," begins 

 to show signs of dryness, it indicates lack of 

 moisture, and water should be supplied in a 

 warm condition. No sprinkling is required 

 -where moisture is plentiful, and an important 

 matter is to allow the eggs to coot doien well at 

 least once a day, while two turnings— night and 

 morning— are sutHeient. I will keep the readers 

 of the Fakm and G.\uden thoroughly posted in 

 Tegard to many other matters connected with 

 my experiments from time to time. The causes 

 o( fnilarcs, if any occur, should be made known 

 as well as the successes. 



MEAT FOR FOWLS. 



It is not always convenienttoprocureasupply, 

 tout it has never occurred to some, however, that 

 the carcasses of dogs, cats, horses, etc., th.at are 

 destroyed by reason of running at large, or old 

 age, could be utilized and used jis food for poultry 

 Ijy being boiled and prepared for that purpose. 

 One of the cheapest articles is the "lights" or 

 "plucks" of sheep, and it may be mentioned 

 also the well-known " meat puddings "frequently 

 seen on the stalls of butchers, which are seldom 

 fit for any other purpose in reality. Fresh 

 bullock's blood thickened with ground grain will 

 keep for quite a length of time if cooked in the 

 shape of bread, while the scraps from the butclier 

 can be cooked as a soup and thickenc<^i with po- 

 tatoes and meal to advantage. It is not necessary 

 to feed expensive meat to poultry, though it pays 

 to use meat, even when a good price muut be 

 given for it, especially when eggs are high and 

 scarce. In the country rabbits should furnish a 

 large proportion, and every rat or mink caught 

 should be served up to the hens. 



GROWING SHADE. 



Every one who keeps poultry does not have 

 shade for the hens in summer. The poultryman 

 cannot sit down and wait for trees to grow, nor 

 can he always select a shady location. The best 

 method in such cases is to grow something that 

 will answer the purpose. If the climbing plants 

 can be protected while young, and until they get 

 out of reach of the hens, a few strong strings will 

 lead morning-glories, lima beans, or Virginia 

 creepers, to any conceivable shape, or the.y may 

 be planted lour or five feet from the bottom of 

 the fence, and the strings inclined upward to the 

 top of the fence and fastened, and the hens will 

 resort to the space between the plants and the 

 fence for shade. Among the bush plants nothing 

 equals the squa-sh, which grows very rapidly, 

 covers a large space, has broad leaves, and will 

 not be molested when .young by the hens. A 

 circle of tomato vines, fastened together at the 

 ends of some of the branches, answers well, and 

 if the hens eat the fruit no harm is done, as the 

 owner would be no richer without the vines. 

 Sorghum and corn, grown in circles, and fastened 

 together at the tops, also give good shade, but 

 the hens will destroy them when very young, 

 while they will not molest tomato or squash 

 plants. A few tobacco plants in the yards are 

 excellent, as they can be placed in them while 

 young without being liable to molestation, and 

 if the yards are changeable, a circle of some tall- 

 growing variety of pea may be trained with 

 strings and made to do service, but must be pro- 

 tected when young. Of trees, use the peach, 

 plum, or mulberry, should you decide to set out 

 young trees, and of vines use the grape, which 

 can be trained witli strings to grow In any 

 direction. 



POULTRY YARDS. 



One of the problems in poultry keeping is the 

 matter of so confining the hens as to keep the 

 largest number on the smallest possible space 

 with the best results. The question is, " Does the 

 size of the yard have anything to do with the 

 laying qualities of the hens?" It is well known 

 that some breeds, such as the Leghorns, IIou- 

 dans. and Hamburgs, begin to pull feathers if 

 not given a full range, which is a sure indication 

 that the conditions are not favorable. If we 

 COO]) up a lot of fowls to be fatted, and especially 

 turkeys, which delight in foraging, they will 

 gain rapidly in flesh for about ten days, when 

 they will begin to fall oft", and no amount of food 

 given will cause them to increase in weight. The 

 conditions of confinement in the yard are very 

 similar. No matter how well their wants are 

 supplied, the hens will not lay as well as other 

 hens equally eared for and given liberty. Con- 

 finement consequently all'ects the disposition of 

 the hens, and causes them to become disconten- 

 ted and unhappy. How can this be remedied 

 without requiring a large area for a number of 

 flocks, is a natural inquiry. We know of no 

 method but that of having changeable yards to 



the houses, one in the front of the poultry-house, 

 and one at the rear, the fowls being changed from 

 one yard to another as fast as green stuft" can be 

 grown to the height of two inches,' which will 

 keep them busy and occupy their time. This 

 calls for frequent spading of the unoccupied 

 yards, which of course turns under the filth, and 

 keeps off disease. To keep hens in confinement 

 means to keep them at imrk, either foraging or 

 scratching, and the floors of the poultry-houses, 

 and portions of the yard, should always be 

 littered with cut straw, leaves, dirt, or some 

 other suitable material, into which the grain 

 food should be thrown, and the hens made to 

 hunt for it. Space may be gained in those .yards 

 that are no wider than the poultry-houses, by 

 extending them in depth, and too many hens 

 should not be together. The temptation is to 

 economize by utilizing the space with a large 

 number of hens, but such a system does not pay, 

 as the smaller the number of hens in one lot, the 

 greater the number of eggs, in proportion. 



POULTRY SCRATCHINGS. 



Letttjce.— Sow a crop of lettuce and feed it, 

 while young, to the chicks. It will soon be out 

 of the way for some other crop. 



A Good Tonic— .Spirits camphor, extract of 

 ginger, and extract of gentain. equal parts. Put 

 a teaspoonful in a half pint of the drinking water. 



PtiRCHASiNG Fo\yLS.— .\lways be careful that 

 you do not introduce disease when purchasing. 

 Select hens with red combs, bright eyes, clean 

 nostrils and legs, and that appear active. 



M.AY Work.— Young chicks will not bring the 

 best prices if hatched this month, but they will 

 return a fair profit, however, while the care and 

 labor will be lessened. If eggs are low, set them, 

 or consume them on the table. 



Cholera.— Look out for it. If it appears, clean 

 up the place and thoroughly disinfect with Car- 

 bolic acid. The best remedy is four parts hypo- 

 sulphite of soda, and one part Boracic acid. 

 Dose— a tablespoonful, moistened with water and 

 poured down the throat. 



The Cocks.— If your hens do not hatch well 

 this month, provided the hens are not in poor 

 condition, make a change of cocks, as they are 

 sometimes impotent. At this season the Leg- 

 horns are best, as they require a shorter time for 

 maturity than the larger breeds. 



Using Ground Bone.— It ma.y be well to state 

 to those who are compelled to purchase ground 

 bone, that it should be as free from odor as possi- 

 ble. The liest place for purchasing such, is from 

 the seed stores, or from those who make a spe- 

 cialty of selling ground bone for poultry. The 

 hens will not eat the ground bone if it is tainted, 

 but, should you unfortunately get no other, mix 

 in the soft food a tablespoonful for every five 

 hens, and add a tablespoonful of ginger to dis- 

 guise it. 



{Continued on pa(/e 15.) 



ENTKltPKISF POI'LTK Y Y.VRDS 

 Ph iiluiil h 1{ ocliN a >|M-ci:ilr> . 



.\1VU rl li.\.K h.i s;,|.- rli.ap, KggS 



from lii^li-'-hi-s sli.ck siciiirly pu.-ked to 

 carrv sjii'elv. !!tl.'.i'J per J3; 'Z or more sit- 

 tings orrtereil at ] S. K. W'OH 1{ KLL. 

 once, SI each | Ft . Washington. Pa. 



|NCUBATORSiH';;"SSs 



■ to VV. .sAViD«.ii;, a52« Huntingdon St.. Philad'a. Pa. 



25 



YEARS IN THE 



POULTRY YARD. 



16th Edition. 108 Pag^es, expliiin- 

 inir tbf entire business, (iivee 

 symptoms and best remedies for 

 all diseases. A50-pai'e Illustrated 

 Catalofjue. All forS.^c. in stamps. 



A. M. LANG, 

 Cove Dale* Lewis Co- Ky. 



J HE POULTRY RAISER- ""- ,f» 



"1 ''i p:ict*s ca-?li, *44> in Z"h\ i..r tl,, i^i 

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THE POULTRY RAISER. 69 Dearborn St, 



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GREENFIELD POULTRY YARDS. 



EGGS! EGGS! EGGS! Lanqshan, LIqht Brahma, Plymouth 

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mimm iimu mi iqiM« 



Sil.\i.> i"-r i:l; 'S'^ lur lilJ. My stiit'k has been care- 



full\- seli-fifl. I yalher, pack, and ship eggs myself. 



WI>I. <). FUVtR, Chester, Delaware Co.,Penna. 



i...iir Pi>ul. 

 , V.Mn-s, 



, Chicaao. 



Auger Egg Case. 



(PATENTED JULY, 1884.) 

 This is the only PERFKi'T E-,^g Case, it bein^ made 

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T. WALTER & SONS, ^^S^^^^^ 



Br.r.liis iu„l Shippers of IHIPKOVKl) STOCK, 

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LHrlvlOnHrlu '"" fines' strains in lliis country 



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Spring Chickens ivn.l BKsT IN( UB.XTi IH a.ni. HnfMlliEH. 



.\ddiess J. 1.,. H.AKRIS, Ciiinaiiiinsoii. N. J. 



Practical Poultry Boofe 



loo pages; bcautilul Colored 

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