200 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



get all my fowls could consume. Accord- 

 ingly I went down, and almost immediately 

 after feeding plenty of lettuce in these wire- 

 cloth baskets we had a great increase in 

 eggs. One reason for this is, perhaps, that 

 my chickens hadn't been getting enough 

 green stuff, or such gTeen stuff as they par- 

 ticularly preferred; and I find, by experi- 

 ment, that there is nothing in the whole 

 round of vegetation that pleases chickens 

 like the nice head lettuce grown here in 

 Floi-ida. They will not only leave the gi-ain 

 but they will leave the meat scraps from the 

 butcher's in order to get this lettuce, and 

 just the sight of the great nice heads of 

 lettuce seems to set them to singing. In 

 fact, as soon as they see me approach with 

 a big bundle of lettuce they all run for me 

 as they do for nothing else. I believe it 

 would abundantly pay every poultry-keep- 

 er (at least on any considerable scale) to 

 grow lettuce especially for his fowls. Mus- 

 tard may answer just as well, or better, 

 on account of its pungency; but I haven't 

 been able as yet to ascertain this fully. But 

 the wire-netting baskets I have been speak- 

 ing of are certainly the finest things in the 

 world to feed mustard leaves, or leaves of 

 any thing else, for that matter. The lettuce 

 mostly grown here for sliipping to the 

 northern market is what is called the " Big 

 Boston." This makes heads like heads of 

 cabbage; and even the smallest chickens, 

 when only a few days old, will learn the 

 trick of eating out every particle of these 

 large heads, especially if they are placed 

 for them so they can get at them like the 

 poultry-netting hens' nest I have been de- 

 scribing. I presume you can buy these 

 hens' nests at almost any hardware store, 

 but perhaps not quite as cheaply as the 

 ]3rice I have mentioned. The little Indian 

 Runner ducks seem just as greedy (if not a 

 little more so) for the lettuce as do the 

 chickens ; and I am sure it conduces very 

 largely to their health and growth. Aside 

 from the egg-laying and the increased health 

 by the use of plenty of lettuce, it is worth 

 a good deal to have something that will 

 make your wild untamed fowls tame and 

 good-natured — even the crazy Leghorns that 

 attempted to run clear off the premises 

 without any adequate provocation. When 

 they come to learn to eat lettuce they will 

 get around you and become tame in short 

 order — that is, after they once get a taste 

 of the lettuce they seem to value so much. 

 hens' nests; importance of shade. 

 By the way, there is one serious objection 

 to the hens' nest that I pictured last sum- 

 mer when I was describing and planning 

 the convergent poultry-yard. The nest, as 



I have it, is all right during cloudy days; 

 but when the Florida sun comes down very 

 hot on those sloping roofs it gets so warm 

 inside that the hens go somewhere else to 

 lay their eggs : and their old nests that were 

 previously jjrovided for them under the 

 roofs where they roost at night seem to be 

 much preferred during the hot days, espe- 

 cially in hot weather. There are two rea- 

 sons why I don't like a hen's nest on the 

 ground. First, the hens seem to like to 

 climb up to some place to lay their eggs, 

 perhaps to get away from " varmints," and 

 also have some privacy; and, secondly, it 

 is hard work for an old man to go around 

 to very many nests and stoop over every 

 time. When the nest is raised up a conven- 

 ient distance from the floor this is done 

 away with. The nests should be of easy 

 access to both the hens and the owner. The 

 nests should also be dark ; for I am satisfied 

 a dark nest is a gi'eat preventive of the 

 habit of eating eggs. Besides, a hen on the 

 nests greatly prefers to be where she is not 

 easily seen by any one who happens to pass 

 by. I would have the opening whereby she 

 gains access turned back the other way from 

 where the attendant is likely to pass. 



some more " straws " that " SHOW THE 

 WAY THE WIND IS BLOWING." 



The following clippings from the Balti- 

 more Sun show progress surely. Behind 

 the bars is the proper place for a drunken 

 chauffer. Long live Gov. Sulzer. 



BAN ON DRUNKEN CHAUFFEURS; (JOVERNOE SULZER 

 SIGNS BILL PROVIDING FOR THEIR PUNISHMENT. 



Albany, N. Y., Jan. 16. — " I don't think we 

 ought to countenance drunken chauffeurs. Sober ones 

 have hard work in dodging pedestrians." 



Thus spoke Governor Sulzer to-night as he signed 

 his iirst law as Chief Executive of the State. The 

 new law provides one year's imprisonment or a fine 

 of $500, or both, as punishment for an intoxicated 

 chauffeur operating a car. ^ 



A FREIGHT-CAR CONDUCTOR QUOTED AS SAYING THAT 



TWO-THIRDS OF ALL RAILROAD M'RECKS DUE TO 



NEGLIGENCE ARE CAUSED BV DRINK. 



To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN — Sit: In his admir- 

 able letter on railroad accidents published in to-day's 

 Sun, Mr. Torsch fails to mention the most frequent 

 cause, to wit, drinkr A freight-car conductor said to 

 me yesterday that two-thirds of all wrecks resulting 

 from mistakes or negligence were really caused by 

 drink. He said he had seen many wrecks; and, with 

 the exception of those caused by broken rails and 

 wheels, they were nearly all caused by drink. 



By drink he did not mean drunkenness, which is 

 a rare vice nowadays among railroad men, but that 

 lethargic state of mind which results from so-called 

 moderate drinking, and which is produced in some 

 men by one di'ink of liquor. He said there is little 

 drinking among railroad men while on duty, but 

 there is nothing to prevent them from coming to 

 their work after taking one or more drinks. 



Baltimore, Dec. 18. One Who Knows. 



