APRIL 15, 1913 



conventions. However, I have read with interest all 

 your ^^Titings, and have not forgotten the old times. 

 i am now engaged to a considerable extent in the 

 fruit Ijusiness, so I have been interested in your 

 "apple talks" within the last several months. I 

 have been packing and shipping apples for several 

 days, and it occurred to me that you might like to 

 see some samples of the apples we grow in Colorado, 

 so I packed and shipped you to-day by parcel post a 

 few apples. You will find the papers in which they 

 are wrapped stamped with the name of the variety. 

 First there is the Arkansas Black. We do not call 

 this a very good eating apple; but its high color 

 makes it sell very well — highest of all our apples this 

 year, and it is also a very good keeper. I have kept 

 them over a year in good condion in our cellar. 

 Then there is the "White Winter Pearmain. This, 

 when at its best, is my favorite eating apple, though 

 these are somewhat past their prime. 



Then comes the Winesap, which is one of our 

 principal varieties. A collection of Colorado apples 

 would be incomplete without the .Jonathan, so I send 

 some of these, also the Grimes Golden, though I had 

 nothing left but culls in either of these varieties. 

 Of course we raise a great number of varieties here, 



though there are only a few that are planted any 

 more. Jonathan, Winesap, and Gano are about all 

 that are planted any more, and I do not think many 

 Ganos will be planted hereafter. 



I should be glad if you could let me know how 

 the apples stand their long trip. I have been won- 

 dering if the parcel post would help us to solve the 

 problem of getting our apples to the consumer, and 

 getting rid of the excessive profits charged by the 

 middlemen. James A. Green. 



Grand Junction, Colo., March 10. 



The apples came to hand in excellent 

 condition; but the postage was 72 cts. on 

 15 apples — not a veiy good showing for 

 parcel post from Colorado to Florida. The 

 wooden box (to make them safe) weighed 

 2 lbs., and the 15 apples 5 lbs. The Arkan- 

 sas Black is a most beautiful apple, very 

 hard and crisp, but not quite equal in flavor 

 to the justly celebrated Winesap. The De- 

 licious apple I have mentioned in a former 

 article kept perfectly until March. 



Poultry Department 



THE hen's nest AND NEST EGG. 



On page 426 for Gleanings for July 1, 

 1912, I gave you sketches of a hen's nest 

 as I would have it for our convergent poul- 

 try-yard. Well, I have just completed a 

 series of six nests after this plan, and I 

 want to tell you something of how they 

 work. Before I had built my nests, the 

 hens had been lajdng in a pine box in their 

 roosting-house covered with burlap, by 

 means of some barrel-hoops nailed to the 

 sides of the box, and curved over the top. 

 This particular nest suited them so well that 

 six or a dozen hens were laying in it every 

 day. After I put in my new nests with the 

 dark allej- for them to go through, with some 

 nests nicely fixed with dried grass and nest 

 eggs, the hens, when they were read}' to laj%- 

 climbed up the little ladder and looked the 

 nests over and spent quite a little time in- 

 vestigating, but they did not lay any eggs. 

 Finalh' I noticed in one of the poultry jour- 

 nals that the hens had a great preference 

 for laj-ing where there is a nest full of eggs 

 alread}', as their natural desire seemed to be 

 to accumulate a nest full before wanting to 

 sit. So I put several nest eggs in the new 

 nest; but they went in, investigated, and 

 spent some time cackling, but did not lay 

 any eggs. Finally one day I took three 

 warm eggs, just laid, from their old nest in 

 the poultry-house, and put them into the 

 new house along with the china nest egg. 

 Tliis seemed to have the desired effect, for 

 they went to work and laid three or four 

 eggs during the day in that same nest. 



Now, you wiU notice I used the expres- 

 sion " china nest egg;" but, if I am correct, 



when you go to almost any of the stores 

 now and ask them if they have eliina nest 

 egg's they reply, " Oh, yes ! " and give you 

 some eggs made of wljte glass. They seem 

 to be getting tliinner and smaller, until I 

 should exceedingly wonder if any sensible 

 lien would tliink of calling that a nest egg. 

 They are also made so light that the hens 

 knock them off the nest ; and down hei"e in 

 Florida the skunks and opossums, when 

 they come around at night to see if any 

 clioice eggs have been left in the nest, have 

 the habit of biting them and crushing them 

 to pieces. In fact, one moonlight night I 

 caught a skunk snapping an egg around the 

 poultry-yard and trying to bite it. When 

 it would bounce and fly off he would try 

 again. He seemed very much disgusted to 

 find an egg so smooth and slippeiw that he 

 could not crush it and get the richness in- 

 side. I have in vain asked keepers of poul- 

 tiw supplies for some better substitute. Of 

 course Ave have such eggs advertised, and I 

 bought quite a number of them; but they 

 do not seem to be much better than the glass 

 egg. They are heaAder, and stay in the nest 

 better; but when skunks or other vermin 

 get hold of them they are easily crashed. I 

 have an impression that some of the hens, 

 discovering they are made of chalk or lime, 

 or something of that sort, have been peck- 

 ing them to pieces themselves in order to 

 get material to make eggs, especially if they 

 do not happen to be well supplied with lime 

 or oyster-shells. 



I do not like the wooden eggs (such as 

 The A. I. Root Company used to sell years 

 ago), because they are so hard to keep 



