810 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Apr. 



af ler anolher, you will doubtless decide that 

 Imman ingenuity can never make a better 

 machine for the purpose than the chicken 

 that human ingenuity did not make, but 

 that God gave, as he gave all of tliese other 

 tilings for us to utilize. A year ago I made 

 a similar discovery of the utility of chickens 

 in banishing the little black flea that infests 

 cabbages and turnips in the open air. The 

 chickens, however, must be of the right age. 

 In ten days after they did such execution 

 among the letlucc t'.iey began to eat the 

 young tomato-plants at such a rate wc were 

 obliged to keep them off from the beds, even 

 tliougli they chased us about and chirped 

 incessantly to be lifted up. 



Now, then, I should say that whoever goes 

 into gardening, or starts a greenhouse or a 

 liot-bed, wants to start, at the same time, 

 some chickens. AVhen you have secured a 

 temperature right for your lettuce to grow, 

 you have also secured a nice place under the 

 lettuce-bed for a hen to sit ; and I would 

 start one sitting, say in October or Novem- 

 ber, and then start another every three weeks 

 all winter long. The chickens will pay ex- 

 penses by keeping down all kinds of insect- 

 pests. They will also amuse the children, 

 and make your greenhouse a pleasant and 

 happy place for yourself and visitors. No 

 hen is needed in the warm greenhouse after 

 the chicks are three days old. Fix a warm 

 spot somewhere for the chickens to cluster, 

 then pick up the old hen and put her among 

 the other fowls, and she will forget all about 

 her chickens in a day or two, and go to lay- 

 ing again. Your flrst brood of chickens 

 will take care of the next, and so on. When 

 any of them get so large as to make trouble 

 in the greenhouse, "transplant" them to 

 the regular poultry quarters. Where chick- 

 ens are wanted in the greenhouse, a hen is a 

 detriment ; for she keeps calling them down 

 from the beds, where they can be allowed, 

 but where she can not be allowed for obvious 

 reasons. In a little time they get so busy 

 and delighted with their work in the beds 

 that they pay but little attention to a moth- 

 er. The temperature of the greenhouse is 

 usually so warm they need but little or no 

 brooding. When you use chickens for keep- 

 ing down the little black flea, or " jumping 

 jack," as it is called, out in the open air, the 

 case is different. Then, you want the moth- 

 er to brood them when the weather is chilly, 

 and to hold them to the desired spot. A con- 

 venient place for her is in the ordinary coop 

 made in the shape of a letter A. I would, 

 however, cover the front with poultry -netting 



instead of the ordinary slats. So you see 

 poultry is going to be a necessary part of our 

 business in market gardening. I am told 

 that Pekin ducks will live entirely upon the 

 refuse of a market garden, and thatthey will 

 eat potato-bugs, squash-bugs, and every 

 thing in that line. Well, we have a pair of 

 old ducks, but ducklings have not yet made 

 their appearance. Perhaps you would like 

 to have my ideas of the way in wliich poul- 

 try should l)e kept, to make a sure proflt and 

 yield a sure pleasure. Very well ; here goes: 



HOW TO KEEP POULTllY, THAT THEY MAY 



AFFORD Y'OU BOTH PLEASURE AND 



PROFIT. 



You may think this a simple matter ; but 

 I find it quite important that you consider 

 well, and lay your plans wisely before you 

 start. It is just as easy to start right as to 

 start wrong. If you have no poultry, and 

 never Icept any, you will need to deliberate 

 quite a little time, perhaps, before you can 

 decide upon the best place to keep them. If 

 they are going to yield a profit above what 

 they cost, we can not afford to pay out very 

 much m')ney in the start ; and I am glad to 

 be able to say that not much money is need- 

 ed. Although you may have plenty of time 

 on your hands now, you are not going to 

 have when you get things in running order. 

 The location should flrst be such as to save 

 time and steps. If you have a cow, horse, or 

 pig, it will be economy to have the poultry 

 quarters near these domestic animals ; for 

 when you go out to care for one you can care 

 for all. Our poultry-house is placed between 

 the factory and dwelling-house, so that I can 

 have an eye on them every time I pass to 

 and fro. If I neglect to take a look at them 

 for a very long time, I am sure to repent it, 

 although they have feeding-boxes and water 

 so they are always provided with these things, 

 whether they are visited daily or not. The 

 poultry-house should be sheltered from the 

 prevailing winds. It should also have plen- 

 ty of sunshine. During pleasant weather 

 there should be open sheds fronting the 

 south, for the fowls to get out and in, and 

 take the sun and air. Two of these sheds 

 are very convenient— one that takes the sun 

 in the forenoon, and the other in the after- 

 noon. Sometimes the wind is in the east 

 and sometimes in the west. If you give 

 them two sheds, they can select the one of 

 the two that will cut off the cold winds. 



While poultry must have dry quarters and 

 di'y ground to stand on, they should also be 

 as near to Mother Earth as may be, so as to 

 get the benefit of the heat from this source. 



