1901 



GIvEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



109 



matter. I think he sells the manure to tan- 

 ners. 



Some of his methods for saving time made 

 me think of our veteran friend Doolittle when 

 somebody was asking about being so careful 

 about killing a bee. Friend Doolittle suggest- 

 ed that a man's time was of too much value 

 to wait for one or two bees to get out of the 

 way. Well, Mr. Mapes cures silting hens by 

 putting them in a rough cage in the upper 

 part ©f the poultry-house. He does not make 

 any provision for food or water. It would 

 make a great deal of extra trouble, and he 

 says they get over the sitting fever rather bet- 

 ter for their fast of 48 hours. Fifty fowls have 

 four nests to lay in. I asked him if there 

 would not be too many in one nest. He said 

 they were sometimes even "two or three 

 deep " when laying, but he did not think it 

 mattered. When I asked what kind of nest- 

 egg he used he looked at me in surprise. 



"Why, what do you suppose I want of a 

 nest-egg? "' 



I ventured to suggest, timidly, that they 

 would lay more eggs. I do not remember 

 just his reply, but it was somewhat to the 

 effect that when they were ready to lay the 

 eggs must be put somewhere. Now, I hope I 

 am not presuming, in disagreeing with such 

 good authority as Mr. Mapes ; but when one 

 of your biddies plays a trick on you, and slips 

 off by herself, and fixes up a real nice nest, 

 doesn't she get that nest full quicker than if 

 she had to lay in some conspicuous nest occu- 

 pied by several other hens? Right here in 

 the middle of January, during two or three 

 warm days one of my pullets strayed into a 

 sunny place in an unused open shed, and 

 made a most elaborate nest, and laid an egg 

 in it. I saw her skulking around out of my 

 sight, and I was pretty sure that was just 

 what she was up to. I feel a good deal disap- 

 pointed because the weather is so cold she can 

 not get off so as to use that nest again to day, 

 for I think she would work harder, and lay 

 more eggs, if she thought she was managing 

 things all on the sly. 



Friend Mapes urged us, on our way home, 

 to look in at a plate-glass window on a partic- 

 ular street. What do you think we saw ? 

 Why, some 20 or 30 White Wyandotte pullets, 

 the handsomest chickens I think I ever saw 

 anywhere. A beautiful placard right over 

 their heads, plain enough to be read clear 

 across the street, was something like this : 



"We were hatched during fair time, last 

 fall. We have been fed all our lives on Mapes 

 balanced ration for poultry. In fact, we have 

 never had any other food. Aren't we beau- 

 ties ? ' ' 



And they seemed to be just as happy there 

 in that window during that cold winter day as 

 if they were out in the green fields chasing 

 grasshoppers. The above was an advertise- 

 ment for a certain firm, I know ; but I think 

 such advertisements are all right. Mr. Mapes 

 uses this poultry food very largely in all his 

 operations, and he has a theory that the prop- 

 er amount of this food, with every thing else 

 kept away, will cure the roup ; and this I 

 think he has demonstrated several times.* 



Chickens, like human beings, depend large- 

 ly for their health and happiness on having 

 plenty of pure wholesome food instead of be- 

 ing obliged to drink stagnant water and eat 

 all kinds of filth, as they have to do when 

 they are starved to it. 



I feel a little sorry because I am having so 

 much to say about poultry just now, to the ex- 

 clusion of so many other important matters ; 

 but somehow the spitit seems to move me in 

 just that particular direction this winter, and 

 I believe 1 have got hold of some valuable 

 facts. 



Oh, yes ! I described to Mr. Mapes my un- 

 derground tunnel warmed by exhaust steam, 

 and asked him what he thought of getting 

 eggs in winter by having the ground under 

 the poultry-houses dry, and warmed by steam, 

 or even running smoke and hot air through 

 drain-tile or sewer pipe a foot under ground. 

 He said that, with what experience he had 

 had, he was quite well satisfied this arrange- 

 ment would give an abundance of eggs when 

 the weather was very cold and the price away 

 up. With exhaust steam, as we use it, 

 he said there was no question about it ; 

 but if one had to fire up, and keep a little fire 

 going to warm the ground under a range of 

 poultry-houses, only a test would decide 

 whether it would pay for the cost of fuel and 

 some one to look after the fire. 



"high pressure" — EGGS. 



A short time ago every one was wanting 

 eggs, and there were none to be had. There 

 were none at the stores, but there were a few 

 skillful poultry-keepers who were getting eggs 

 every day. The price ran up to 18, 20, 22, 24, 

 and finally to 26 cts. a dozen ; and I am told 

 some people paid 30 cts. a dozen rather than 

 go without eggs entirely. There were two 

 reasons why the hens did not lay. The old 

 ones had not finished moulting, and the young 

 ones had not commenced laying, and it was 

 too cold weather. I made some investigations 

 as to how the skillful ones managed to have 

 eggs at such a time. It was usually a flock of 

 poultry where women had the management, 

 and I talked with these skillful women about 

 it. Finally an idea came into my head. A 

 few years ago while visiting friend Boardman 

 at East Townsend, O., he invited me out to 

 visit his hot-beds. This was in the middle of 

 winter ; but when he raised one of the sashes, 

 instead of seeing Grand Rapids lettuce and 

 vegetables I saw some fine-looking chickens 

 scratching and having a fine time there under 

 the glass, even if it was almost zero outside. 

 The fowls could go from the warm house right 

 out under the glass. 



*If you want to know more about this balanced ra- 

 tion for poultry, address I,. R. Wallace, Middletown, 

 N. Y. 



