APRIL 1, 1913 



ing pretty sure he would die anj' way, I 

 took and tossed him out. 



Well, pretty soon the rest of the thirty- 

 six had unearthed a lot of crickets that 

 were under the dried-up hay and rubbish, 

 chasing each other about the yard to see 

 whom the crickets belonged to. This wak- 

 ened up my droopy chick, and he got in the 

 run with the rest. By night he was greatly 

 improved. The next day he picked up still 

 more. Xow, instead of " going dead," it is 

 a hard matter for me to tell which is the 

 sick one from the rest. This chick, in my 

 opinion, was dying because he didn't have 

 sufficient sunlight and sufficient outdoor 

 exercise, nor, perhaps, the variety of food 

 that chickens need at this age, although we 

 had been giving him chick food, a mash, 

 beef scrap, charcoal, grit, and everj^ thing 

 recommended, at least every thing that is 

 rationally recommended. Now, my opinion 

 is from much careful observation that thou- 

 sands of chicks are dying continually by 

 too much artificial heat and too little out- 

 door sunshine and exercise.* My chickens, 

 when ten days old, will chase each other 

 about the yard at a temperature below 50, 

 and it doesn't seem to hurt them a particle. 



This covered yard I have mentioned is 

 open on the south side up as high as your 

 head. Of course, there is an inch-mesh 

 fence along the ground, which goes down 

 into the gi'ound to keep out the rats. 

 Above this there are two or three feet 

 where a hawk could easily fly in if he felt 

 so inclined. Well, I left this opening on 

 purpose, hoping some hawk would fly in 

 and couldn't get out, and then I would have 

 him captured and help save some of the 

 neighbors' chickens as well as my own. 



Some of you may suggest that it is quite 

 an expense to cover a yard, even if it is 

 only forty feet square. To which I reply 

 it is something of an expense to spend time 

 and money for feed in raising chickens until 

 they are half grown, and letting a hawk 

 carry them off; and not only an expense, 

 but think of the discouraged feeling that 

 comes to one after having taken so much 

 pains and care to nurse chickens through 

 bad weather and then have them carried off 

 in this way. It dampens my spirits and 

 spoils mj enthusiasm for the whole chicken 

 business; but when I can succeed in getting 

 things so arranged that every chicken that 

 comes out of the incubator gets to be a big 



* I am fully persuaded there are thousands of 

 people just like this chick. They are dying, and 

 don't know it, for lack of outdoor air and sunshine, 

 and something to do. Let them wake up, get out 

 and search all outdoors for " God's gifts," then " get 

 busy " distributing these gifts to poor hardworking 

 and poorly paid humanity, and they will promptly 

 get well like the droopy chick. 



live useful fowl, then I feel some animation 

 and enthusiasm to go ahead. As yet I have 

 no netting over my yard for young ducks. 

 The hawks seem to have taken no notice of 

 the ducks so far. I have seen in an adver- 

 tisement of Indian Runner ducks that 

 hawks never molest them. I wonder if this 

 can be true. Speaking about Indian Run- 

 ner ducks, I have just this morning brought 

 in seventeen egg"s from eighteen laying 

 ducks. You may have had as good results 

 as this from eighteen chickens, but I cer- 

 tainly never have before. Of coui-se, I 

 haven't had seventeen eggs every day; but 

 tliey have been running from twelve to fif- 

 teen and sixteen for quite a little time. So 

 far the Indian Runner ducks are better 

 layers than any chickens I ever had any 

 thing to do with. In regard to the eggs for 

 table use, after having tested them repeat- 

 edly I gi-eatly prefer a boiled duck egg to 

 a boiled hen's egg. They certainly are 

 richer in quality, and there is ever so much 

 more in one of these big duck eggs. Let 

 me repeat again, if you want lots of duck 

 egg's, and good-sized ones, you must give 

 them an abundance of feed. Our ducks 

 now have soaked corn right before them, 

 not only all night but all day long. After 

 having taken a swim and a run down the 

 canal, perhaps half a mile or more, they 

 come back toward noon, or perhaps a little 

 after noon, and go for their tub of corn 

 (which is up close to the convergent poul- 

 try-yard) as if they really enjoyed the fun. 

 After having had about a dozen dips into 

 this tub of corn, and a drink of water to go 

 with it, they go on a lively run for the 

 canal again. Now, you may say it is quite 

 an expense, especially with the price corn 

 brings down here in Florida, to keep corn 

 before the ducks, letting them take it at 

 their own pleasure; but. as I said in regard 

 to the celery business, what does the cost 

 of a little corn amount to compared with 

 the quantity of eggs I have mentioned, es- 

 pecially when the eggs also bring 30 cents 

 a dozen, and that is what we are getting 

 for them? Four duck eggs will bring ten 

 cents, and I think ten cents will pay for 

 all the corn that the whole flock of twenty- 

 two (that is, including four drakes) con- 

 sume in twenty-four hours. Of coui'se, I 

 am fortunate in having this canal that they 

 can run to so constantly. 



By the way, when I let them out in the 

 morning, after their eggs are laid, I notice 

 that they make a hurried run for the pud- 

 dles that are left during the night on ac- 

 count of the rising and falling of the tide. 

 Fortunately, the tide, when it is up high, 

 comes clear up on to the canal adjoining my 



