California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



Setting Hens — Breaking Eggs in the 

 Nest. 



fi°3§ 



^HE following very full cliscussion of the 

 above subject we find in the Prairie 

 Fanner, and as it contains some useful 

 hints to poultry raisers in this State, wa 

 give it a place: 



A novice, having trouljle with setting hens 

 breaking their eggs, wishes to linow what to 

 do about it, but she does not give particulars 

 as to how her setting hens are arranged, or 

 what kind of nests they have; so we can an- 

 swer only in a general way. 



Deep nest boxes are sometimes the cause of 

 hens breaking their eggs. Therefore the 

 boxes should be shallow, so that the hens 

 neednot jump down on the eggs when going on 

 their nests. This is particularly needful in 

 case the hens are large and heavy. A very 

 good way with such hens is to hollow out a 

 phice for the uost on an earth floor, put one 

 layer of bricks around it, and then fill in with 

 a little clean straw or other suitable material. 

 The largest aud most clumsy Asiatic will slide 

 into such a nest with as much ease and grace 

 as can well be imagined, and unless she prove 

 to be what some term a "close setter," there 

 will be no danger of her breaking eggs. 



By a "close setter" is meant a hen that 

 bears her weight two firmly on the eggs. 

 Some hens have a way of bearing on, or, as 

 it were, closely hugging their eggs, and in 

 this way some are often broken. Such a hen 

 cannot be used safely as a setter, for even 

 should she nearly complete her three weeks' 

 task without accidents, she will almost surely 

 kill a largo proportion of the chicks just as 

 they are about to emerge from the shells by 

 her close setting. 



The setting of imperfect or thin-shelled 

 eggs is sometimes the only cause of the trou- 

 bles mentioned. Such eggs should not, of 

 course, be used for this purpose at all. 



Hens fighting over their nests is another 

 cause, and when this is the case aiTangements 

 must be made whereby such fighting can be 

 prevented. It will sometimes be found neces- 

 sary to keep some of the more quarrelsome 

 hens covered on their nests all the time, ex- 

 cept for awhile each day when they are let off 

 to feed. We cannot alwas have choice as to 

 what disjjositioned hens we are to employ for 

 hatching, but it is well to know which are 

 preferable, in order that the faulty ones may 

 be avoided whenever possible. 



In case at any time an egg is broken, the 

 soiled eggs should be carefully washed in warm 

 water and transferred with the hen to a clean 

 nest, which should, of course, occupy the 

 same place as the other. The wetting of the 

 eggs will not injure them at all, but 'will be a 

 benefit rather, especially toward the close of 

 the period of incubation. It is even well, a 

 day or two before the chicks are due, to 

 dampen the eggs. This may be done by 

 syrinkliug or by placing them for a few sec- 

 onds in a basin of warm water. We prefer 

 the latter plan. The inside lining of the eggs 

 sometimes becomes so parched and tough as 

 to make it very difficult for the chicks to disen- 

 gage themselves, even when the shell is partly 

 chipped. The dampening of the eggs wiU 

 tend to prevent this, aud the chicks will come 

 out promptly, lively aud strong. 



One object in setting hens on the ground is 

 to secure the advantage of moisture; but 

 where it is more convenient to have the nesta 

 on board floors, the dampening of the eggs as 

 mentioned may be made to answer every pur- 

 Xiose. 



How TO Keep Hens rnOM Eating Their 

 Ecios. — A letter from a small boy, thirteen 

 years old, residing at Mount Morris, New 

 York, was read before the Farmers' Club of 

 the American Institute, lately, asking how 



hens were to be kept from eating their own 

 eggs. He stated that he had an inclined nest 

 with a hole in one end aud a box beneath, aud 

 found that to be the best way. Mr. Ely said 

 that the hens should be given certain quanti- 

 ties of powdered oyster or clam shells to eat. 

 They must eat something to make their egg 

 shells, and lime and some hard substance was 

 required. Dr. Smith said that the fowls got 

 enough lime in their ordinary food, and that 

 they did not need to be given pounded shells. 

 Nature provided them with what they wanted. 

 He suggested that Mr. Ely should shut up a 

 hen and keep pounded shell from it, and he 

 would find that the eggs would have a shell. 

 Mr. Ely said that he had tried that very ex- 

 periment, and found that the hen dropped 

 only soft eggs. Other members of the Club 

 agreed with Mr. Ely that it was necessary to 

 give hens pounded shells. Mrr Wolf said that 

 the hens needed lime to make their egg shells. 

 If they got it in their food, pounded shells 

 were not required; if they did not get enough 

 lime in their food it should be given them in 

 some form. A stranger asked how it was that 

 so many eggs came from parts of the West 

 where there was no shell. Dr. Wells said 

 that the fowls got whathme they needed in the 

 water they ch-ank. 



Probably the best way — and a very conve- 

 nient way, too — to supply hens with lime is 

 to jjulverize bones which have been burned 

 and give to them; or, lime itself will be found 

 suiiicient. 



^i^ciniltuvc* 



& 



Fish Culture. 



#]rt7HE experience of the past few years has 

 n||j' confirmed the opinions of those who 

 cjl't have contended that it was not only pos- 

 6,Af sible but practicable to raise fish and to 

 '^\y restock the streams and rivers which 

 once abounded with food fishes, but which, 

 from various causes, have been depopulated. 

 Not only the native varieties can be brought 

 back, but valuable species from foreign coun- 

 tries or from distant portions of our own 

 country can be introduced and naturalized. 

 The fish crop is destined to become as much 

 a matter of certainty as any product of the 

 land, and one which is capable of indefinite 

 increase. 



The Journal, referring to this subject, says 

 it has been noticed that the smelt on our sea 

 coast were never so largo as during the last 

 season, and the result is attributed to the 

 protection of the laws during the season of 

 spawning and growth. In New York the 

 plentifulness and cheapness of the North 

 Eiver shad this Spring have been often no- 

 ticed by the newspapers. This seems to be 

 due in a large degree to the action of the 

 State Commissioners of Fisheries, who last 

 year placed five milhons of young shad in the 

 Hudson river. It is no wonder that the j^rices 

 of the grown fish fell to about one-third of 

 the former rates, thus bringing what used to 

 be considered a luxury within the command 

 of all. 



This instance must be very gratifying to 

 those who, amid opposition, ridicule aud, 

 what is still worse, the blank iudillorence of 

 the public, have steadily labored to realize the 

 modern theories of fish culture. What has 

 been done with shad can also be accomplished 

 with other kiuds of fish, according to circum- 

 stances. The New York Commissioners are 

 confident that their introduction of the Cali- 

 fornia salmon into the waters of their State 

 will prove eipuilly successful, oven in the 

 Hudson river. During the last year alone 

 they distributed forty-three boxes of salmon 

 trout eggs, throe boxes of brook trout, aud 

 five boxes of white fish; besides 181,000 sal- 

 mon, 1,0H(),;!00 salmon trout, 527,000 white- 

 fish, '210,000 California salmon, and 2,170 



bass and perch. They placed 36,000 young 

 eels in Buflalo Creek, above Niagara Falls, in 

 order to see the result of introducing them 

 into Lake Erie. 



When we remember that the State of New 

 York has six hundi-ed and forty-six lakes- 

 some of them entitled to be called seas as to 

 size— to say nothing of its rivers and streams 

 of all kinds, we can see what a field is here 

 opened for adding to the wealth and comfort 

 of the people. And what is true of New York 

 in this respect is equally true of all our States 

 accoriling to their natural resources. The 

 work has been shown to be feasible and easily 

 accomplished, provided only it receives a 

 proper degree of public interest. What is 

 everybody's lookout is nobody's, according to 

 the old saying; so that no matter how much 

 progress is made in developing the best me- 

 thods of fish culture, and how much pains is 

 taken by commissioners in stocking waters 

 with the young fish, the latter must have the 

 protection of suitable regulations, steadily 

 enforced, or failure will be the inevitable i-e- 

 sult. Among other legal provisions recom- 

 mended by the New York Commissioners, is 

 one forbidding any fishing to be done from 

 Saturday night to Monday, which ought to be 

 adopted on moral as well as protective 

 grounds. The whole subject deserves careful 

 attention, aud we are glad to observe that it is 

 receiving it to an obviously greater extent 

 every year. — Frairie Farmer, 



■ Sea Salmon in Feesh Water. — The ques- 

 tion as to the ability of the salmon to remain 

 permanently in fresh water has received an 

 important illustration during the past winter. 

 It is well known that the lakes of Maine along 

 the coast contain a variety of fish known as 

 the laud-locked salmon, which, while possess- 

 ing the external appearance and peculiar 

 habits of the salmon, together with equal ex- 

 cellence of flesh, is much smaller, and remains 

 permanently in the lakes; and it is still a 

 vexed question whether this is actually a de- 

 scendant of the true sea salmon or a difi'ereut 

 species. An argument in favor of its being 

 the former is afl'orded by the fact that in two 

 locaUties young salmon, hatched from the 

 eggs of the true sea salmon collected at Bucks- 

 port, have lived in fresh water ponds, and 

 yielded ripe eggs during the past autumn ; in 

 the one case at New Hope, Pennsylvania, the 

 fish attaining several pounds in weight, while 

 some bread in Wisconsin were only five to 

 seven inches in length, though perfectly ma- 

 ture in every respect. In the first case, how- 

 ever, the ponds were c^uite large, and ottered 

 ample space for the movements of the fish, 

 while in the other they were confined to small 

 trout ponds of only a few yai-ds in extent. 

 Whether the eggs thus obtained will produce 

 healthy young, and whether these.w^ill attain 

 maturity, are questions of much interest. — 

 llarpe'rs Atayazine for June. 



General Spinnek writes as follows to Mr. 

 Seth Greeu, the pisciculturist: "The time will 

 come, if it is not already here, when the 

 credit of having demonstrated that an acre of 

 heretofBre water waste is worth more for the 

 production of wholesome food for man than 

 an acre of the most fertile land, will bo 

 awarded to you. " 



The Fish Commissioners of the State of 

 Connecticut report that 1,350,000 young 

 salmon have been introduced into the Con- 

 necticut river during the past year, and that a 

 like number will probably be put in during 

 the i^reseut month. 



" ^' I * ■ 



Tub State Fish Commissioners have re- 

 ceived word from the East that a large number 

 of young shad will be sent out this summer to 

 stock the California streams. 



At a recent spelling match one man spelt it 

 "parsnip" and got beet. 



