1907 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



571 



When I arrived in New York I told the 

 Cyphei's people that I should like to visit 

 some of the largest and most up-to-date 

 establishments in that vicinity. I visited two 

 of them. As they are managed so much 

 alike, one description will suffice, perhaps — 

 that of the o^e at Locust Valley, Long Island. 

 Perhaps you might care to know that this 

 is only four miles from Oyster Bay, the sum- 

 mer home of our esteemed President. Be- 

 fore I reached Locust Valley I saw the long 

 rows of poulti'y-houses stretching far out in 

 the distance. The establishment is called the 

 Weir Poultry Farm. There are two houses, 

 each 500 feet long, for laying hens; and there 

 are now about 3500 laying hens there, mostly 

 White Leghorns. They hatch each sea- 

 son from 25,000 to 30,000 chickens. From 

 40 to 50 hens occupy a room where they lay 

 eggs for the market. There are breeding- 

 pens, however, where the eggs are produced 

 for the incubators, of only 10 or 15 hens to 

 the male bird. There is no need of going 

 through a 500-foot house, for each room is 

 exactly like every other room. 



The problem of taking cax'e of the manure 

 in this great establishment is accomplished 

 very simply. The Moors are all of cement. 

 Under the roosts they spread a kind of peat 

 moss that is much used in the vicinity of 

 New York for horse-stables. This dry moss 

 is a great absorbent. The hens scratch it 

 over every day, and almost immediately in 

 the morning after getting down from the 

 roost. This mixes the manure with the dry 

 peat so as to get rid of every thing that 

 would be offensive to either sight or smell; 

 and Mr. Weir informs me that, if the houses 

 are cleaned once a month, the thing can be 

 kept in good shape. This is a great saving 

 in time over the shelf arrangement. The 

 roosting-poles are movable, and, if I am cor- 

 rect, they are dipped in a trough of kerosene 

 often enough to banish and keep out vermin. 

 The nests are made of long boxes with loose 

 top and bottom, so that every thing that 

 goes to make up the nest can be quickly 

 cleansed from vermin, the sti'aw removed in 

 an instant, and replaced with new and fresh 

 material. 



Now, I should be glad to report that these 

 chicks hatched and brought up under the 

 influence of artificial heat were as bright 

 and happy as those raised in the Florida 

 climate outdoox's, or like mine that I suppose 

 are still happy and bright down in the isl- 

 and, scratching and singing, and praising 

 God every day. Perhaps I am drawing on 

 my imagination a little in regard to the 

 latter part of the statement; but I know 

 those dear little chicks of mine — yes, young 

 and old — feel thankful to somebody for their 

 happy busy lives; and I think I am excus- 

 able for taking it for granted they are thank- 

 ing their Creator and our Creator. 



The eggs of those large establishments 

 furnished for table use are sold to hotels in 

 and about New York.- The eggs are stamped 

 with the date on which they are laid ; and 

 the extra prices they get for their fi'esh eggs 

 are secured only by their reputation for 



strict honesty in the use of the rubber dat- 

 ing-stamp. 



Now, these people who run establishments 

 costing ever so many thousand dollars know 

 their business better than I do; but I can not 

 help believing that they would have brighter, 

 handsomer, and healthier chicks if they tried 

 still harder to give them more open air, and 

 heat from the sun, instead of artificial heat, 

 and air to breathe that is more or less con- 

 fined. Of course, it would not do to let the 

 March breezes blow right on to very young 

 chicks; but I would let it in through curtains 

 of cotton cloth or burlap, or something of 

 the kind, and give them God's air and sun- 

 shine whenever it can be possibly managed. 

 And while I am saying this in regard to the 

 care of chickens, I feel every day more and 

 more sure that the same thing is needed for 

 human beings. I am continually impressed 

 with the fact that we are more and more 

 alike in our needs — especially in regard to 

 the good we get by having plenty of outdoor 

 air. 



Now, instead of making my travels a record 

 all of poultry, I want to digress a little. My 

 son-in-law in New York, Mr. Boyden, said, 

 as I was planning my visit to the poultry- 

 farm, "Why, father, you are going right 

 past Floral Park, where John Lewis Childs 

 holds forth. You certainly want to stop and 

 see him," and I did stop. First I visited the 

 establishment of Miss Mary Martin, also of 

 Floral Park. You may remember I mention- 

 ed her name about a year ago in connection 

 with jadoo fiber. She is at the present time 

 the only seed-dealer or florist I know of who 

 imports this material for potting-soil and 

 offers it for sale. Let me add right here that 

 I could not succeed in growing greenhouse- 

 plants in Florida to my satisfaction until I 

 got a bag of jadoo fiber, adding ten per cent 

 of it to my potting-soil. After doing this, 

 every thing succeeded clear up to my highest 

 expectations, even in Florida. While Miss 

 Martin has not a large establishment, it is 

 certainly a busy place. As my time was 

 limited I did not go through the greenhouses 

 very much. I said in parting, "Miss Martin, 

 I had a particular object in view in making 

 you even this brief visit. I am told there are 

 a good many women florists in our land who 

 are such only on paper." As I paused she 

 finished the sentence for me. 



"Mr. Root, you mean that some of them 

 do not exist at all except in the catalog. 

 Well, you are satisfied now, I suppose, that 

 /do exist." I wonder if Miss Martin will 

 excuse me if I say that, when I first met her, 

 especially before she remembered A. I. Root, 

 with whom she had had some pleasant cor- 

 respondence a year ago, I did not take her 

 to be particularly sociable in her disposition; 

 but when she found out that an old friend, 

 instead of some unknown stranger, was there, 

 her face lighted up with a genial and pleas- 

 ant smile that made me really sorry my visit 

 would have to be so brief. 



When I commenced going through John 

 Lewis Childs' greenhouses I was impressed 

 at once by the fact that every bit of his stock, 



