90 EXPERIMENT STATION EECOKD. I Vol. 41 



tap water averages 12 lbs. per thousand gallons. This is equivalent to a money 

 waste of about $2.50 at the present price of soap." 



Coal stove brooder and colony brooder house, W. F. Sciioppe {Montana Sta. 

 Circ. 80 (I'JIS), pp. 33-46, flgs. 7).- — This circular describes the construction and 

 ojieration of the coal stove brooder and colony brooder house under Montana 

 conditions. 



" The principal advantage of the coal stove brooder is that a large number 

 of chicks can be handled in one flock under one hover. . , . 



" Experience for the past two years indicates that the heat can be better con- 

 trolled with these coal brooders than with oil lamps. The source of heat is 

 larger and consequently more uniform. The greatest difficulty arises from 

 allowing the ashes to clog the fire-bed or to accumulate in the ash pit so as to 

 cover the drafts and kill the fire. To overcome this the fire should be shaken 

 down twice each day and the ashes removed. The temperature under the hover 

 should vary with the age of the chicks. The brood should be started at about 

 110° F., gradually dropping this about 10° each week for the first four 

 weeks. . . , 



"Although the coal-stove brooders are constructed for the use of hard coal, 

 soft coal can be used with equally satisfactory results, provided a little more 

 care and attention are given the fire. Fine coal and very large lumps are to be 

 avoided. ... On an average about 20 lbs. of soft coal a day will run the 

 brooder during mild weather ; in extremely cold weather it requires at least 

 30 lbs. of soft coal to operate for the 24 hours." 



EURAL ECONOMICS. 



"War prices and farm profits, H. C. Taylor and S. W. Mendum {Wisconsin 

 Sta. Bui. 300 {1919), pp. 18, fiys. 10; Hoard's Dairyman, 57 {1919), No. 21, pp. 

 1052, 1053, flys. 6). — The discussion is based on records of 60 farms in Verona 

 Township, Dane County, Wis., for the period of 1913-1917. This community is 

 fairly typical of southern Wisconsin. Corn, oats, and hay are the staple crops, 

 and dairy products, cattle, and hogs are the main sources of income. 



In 1914 and 1915 the gross receipts and farm profits fell below the level of 

 1913. Farm receipts increased appreciably in 1916 and even more in 1917. " In 

 both of these years the expenses increased, but not so rapidly as the income ; 

 hence, there was an increasing proportion of the gross income left for the 

 farmers' profits or labor income." 



It is shown that "the higher profits of 191G were due in part to better crops 

 but more largely to higher prices, and that the relatively high returns in 1917 

 must be attributed entirely to high prices, Iiecause the crops were poorer. . . . 

 Even with such high prices as those of 1916 and 1917 the average labor income 

 for the five years stands at $408. . . . 



" On the average for the five years one out of every six farmers netted a loss 

 ranging from $20 to $598, omitting what the family received from the 

 farm. . . . Yet . . . more than half the farmers made labor incomes which, 

 when combined with what the farm furnished the family, put them in a posi- 

 tion to get ahead financially year after year. The future of American agricul- 

 ture demands that the road be kept open to the top. . . . Prices should be 

 high enough to give at least five out of six a labor Income." 



The study is graphically illustrated, and tables are given showing a summary 

 of the farm business over a period of five years, 1913-1917, and labor incomes 

 arranged according to size of the 5-year a\erage. 



