GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



a ';^.-*'^ 



Anton Larsen and his six honey-eaters. 



haios prolong their lives, if they would quit 

 hard labor, for Avhic-h they are no more fit- 

 ted, and engage in these same occupations, 

 especially if they have a small permanent 

 home of their own. 

 Huntington, Ind. 



A BACK-YARD POULTRY-PLANT 



BY GEORGE T. WHITTEN 



My poultry-plant occupies a plot of 

 ground about 20 by 50 feet, and consists 

 of four houses six feet square, two-story, 

 with gable roof, G^/^ feet to gable, and 4^/2 

 feet to. the eaves. The lower floor is for a 

 scratching-space, and the upper one for 

 roosts and nests. A shutter is provided on 

 each side, two feet high ; these open out and 

 rest on prop, and are kept open in summer 

 for ventilation and shade. They are closed 

 in winter, making the house absolutely tight 

 except the door in the south end, 2 feet 

 wide by 5 feet 8 inches high, which has wire 

 on the inside and muslin on the outside. 

 The cloth is jout on late in the fall, and 

 taken off early in spring. 



All inside textures are home-made except 

 tlie drinking-fountains. These are eight- 

 quart galvanized-iron jjails, costing ten cents 

 each. They are the most convenient foun- 

 tain I can get, and give the best satisfaction. 



They are placed on a slatted platform rais- 

 ed 14 inches from the floor. This keeps the 

 water clean, and does not take any of the 

 floor sjDace. 



I feed scratch food in the litter night and 

 morning, except two or three feeds a week 

 when oats, corn, or boiled vegetables are 

 given for a change. Dry mash is kept be- 

 fore them in hoppers at all times, also gi'it, 

 shell, and charcoal. They have green feed 

 every day in the form of lawn-clippings, 

 turnips, Swiss chard, or beets. I sometimes 

 feed sprouted oats. 



My chickens are hatched by hens and in- 

 cubators both, and brooded in fireless brood- 

 ers. These are 3 feet square, with floor, and 

 a covered rim 3x6 feet on the front. Cheese- 

 boxes are used for hovers with a hole cut on 

 each side in front 10 inches apart, so the 

 chicks can pass in and out at either side. 

 These are placed in shoe-boxes that are the 

 same width as the cheese-box, so that the 

 entrances to hovers come in the corners of 

 the box, or against the sides. In this way 

 the chicks crowd one another into the hover 

 rather than out. A cover is provided for 

 the hover by means of a wire hoop that fits 

 the inside of the cheese-box, and covered 

 with burlap. Wires for holding it are bent 

 to hang over the edge of the box. By these 

 the mats can be adjusted to the size of the 

 chicks by raising or lowering them. Chick 



