280 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



clean. The paint or varnish, or whatever 

 is used, very soon gets soiled, and the eggs 

 get to be unsightly, and, vei-y likely, unsani- 

 tary. There used to be years ago a genuine 

 porcelain egg that was just about as heavy 

 as a hen's egg, and was proof against all 

 these troubles that I have mentioned. Can 

 anybody tell me where I can get an egg that 

 is porcelain — really porcelain in something 

 besides name? Now, my new hens' nests, 

 which I have taken so much pains with, 

 have proved all right except in one respect. 

 When there is a very hot day, for instance, 

 the hot sun shining right direct almost at 

 right angles on this lid that is to be raised 

 up, makes it, I suppose, almost unbearable 

 inside, because on such days I notice the 

 hens going back to their old nests, and all 

 piled into one nest, or else they stand and 

 wait for their comrades to get through and 

 give them their turn. Of course, I might 

 have trees to shade my hens' nests; but it 

 would be a little difficult to have shade-trees 

 so the sun would not strike right squarely 

 against some of the nests at a certain time 

 of the day. And I am convinced that, a 

 good many times, the hens desert their nests 

 and go over to the bushes to lay just be- 

 cause the nests are too hot in the middle of 

 the day in this southern clime. It is cer- 

 tainly one very great drawback to have the 

 hens go off in the bushes, under the palmet- 

 tos, or among this luxuriant foliage here in 

 our semi-tropical land, and steal their nests. 

 Eggs from stolen nests are not fresh, and 

 seldom fit for market. Our government has 

 been passing some strenuous laws in regard 

 to taking eggs to market that were not 

 healthful or suitable for the market. All 

 such eggs can be used at home; but when 

 too many of the hens get to going out 

 among the bushes it gets to be a serious 

 matter. Some poultrymen, I know, take 

 the gi'ound that there is no need of ne^t 

 eggs of any sort; but they certainly have 

 a vei-y gi-eat influence in getting the hens to 

 lay where you want them to instead of in 

 some out-of-the-way place where the eggs 

 may never be found at all. Where hens are 

 confined, and do not have unlimited range, 

 it isn't so very important to have nest eggs. 

 But I want my hens to enjoy themselves 

 and be happj', and I want them also to lay 

 where I " elect." 



Since the above was written neighbor Ab- 

 bot suggests that my "convergent nest-box" . 

 needs more ventilation. In my efforts to 

 give the biddies privacy I forgot fresh air. 

 On cloudy days, or in cool weather, the 

 nests are all right ; but during sunny days 

 I am leaving the lids propped up a couple 

 of inches. 



ROOFLESS rOULTKY-HOUSES IN FLORIDA, ETC. 



Mr. Root: — In the Poultry Department of Glean- 

 ings for Jan. 1, F. M. Baldwin strongly advocates 

 roofless coops for poultry in Florida. I would advise 

 new-comers intending to keep chickens not to follow 

 such advice too blindly. Use common sense. Ma-. B. 

 claims that poultry are not bothered with vermin in 

 roofless coops. May be not, but there are other ways 

 of getting rid of vermin than drvinching the fowls 

 with rain water two or three times a week. When 

 we had dirt floors in our coops, chiggers were a 

 terrible pest. We put in board floors, and have not 

 seen a chigger in years. A roofless coop would be 

 a standing invitation to all the varmints in the 

 neighborhood to come and help themselves. All the 

 coons, possums, foxes, and wildcats in that vicinity 

 would camp around that coop till the last hen was 

 gone. Wire poultry fencing does not always keep 

 them out. p. H. Chesebro. 



Boca Raton, Fla., Jan. 21. 



My good friend, either you have not 

 been long with us or you have read Glean- 

 ings carelessly. The term " roofless " does 

 not mean there is nothing overhead to keep 

 out " varmints." On the contrary, I think 

 most of the roosting-places are covered 

 with poultry-netting. The first two years 

 we were in our present Florida home our 

 poultiy roosted in the trees, and had no 

 houses at all; and my yield of eggs was as 

 good as with houses. The reason why 1 

 changed was the difficulty of getting the 

 fowls, when wanted, and some trouble on 

 moonlight nights from owls. We have had 

 no insects of any kind in our roosting- 

 places since we commenced sweeping up the 

 drippings eveiy morning. 



CONVERGENT rOULTRY-RUNS ACROSS THE WATER, 

 AND SOME OTHER THINGS. 



Dear Sir: — I wrote you, Sept. 9, about the con- 

 vergent poultry-runs, and you published it on Nov. 

 15, since when I have not seen any thing further 

 on the matter ; so I thought you would like to hear 

 the opinion held over on this side. 



The chief drawback seems to be in the great length 

 of the run when compared with the width, as the 

 fowls are not inclined to keep the grass down at 

 any distance from the house; and to overcome this 

 Mr. Wright gives a plan of eight houses, sheds, and 

 runs. 



Personally I prefer the colony system, which Mr. 

 Wright credits to Mr. Stoddard. 



I am afraid you misled the point in the leaflet 

 taken from the Mark Lane Express about lime. Al- 

 though it was printed in 1910 it was an article on 

 farming in the 16th century in England, and went 

 to show that the old timers knew that lime was good 

 for clovers. Lime and salt are the two oldest arti- 

 ficial manures in existence, and are largely used in 

 this country as well as seaweed. 



I was much pleased to see in the Jan. 15th issue 

 J. E. Crane's remarks about the good old blacks. 

 All the other " Gleaners " seem to think them of 

 little value ; but I can assure you that I have had 

 Italians direct from Ital- and that they can't gather 

 honey as do the blacks, and they are not half as 

 good at wintering. 



W. A. Teake. 



Ballashellan, Ballnbeg, Isle of Man, 



