SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



103 



have never seen a fowl of any variety fly into a tree to pick 

 at or eat fruit. Two large plum trees stand in a compara- 

 tively small yard, occupied by S. C. Brown Leghorns. All 

 or nearly all the plums from these trees are gathered after 

 they have fallen to the ground. The fifteen or sixteen Lteg- 

 horns in this yard do not offer to eat the ripe plums. They 

 do not like them. Fowls will eat sparingly of ripened or 

 wormy apples, peaches, pears and cherries that fall to the 

 ground, but these fruits (and plums too, for that matter,) 

 should be gathered from the trees. 



We have six double, 12x30 foot poultry houses that open 

 into yards located in the acre vineyard, and Brahmas, Ply- 

 mouth Eocks, Cochins, and Leghorns have been allowed to 

 run in the grapes the year round for two years past and 

 they have not injured the vines, nor eaten the fruit to any 

 appreciable extent. We state the facts as we know them, 

 from personal experience. Early in the spring they show a 

 disposition to pick off the green fruit and leaf buds, but they 

 soon" turn their attention elsewhere, and what pruning they 

 do to the grapevine's does as much good as injury: 



For three seasons past we have turned thirty to forty 

 Pekin ducks into an eighth of an acre blackberry patch, only 

 waiting until the bushes and weeds get a pretty good start. 

 The ducks remain there all summer and fall, loafing, laying 

 and hatching under the thick, shady bushes, and they do not 

 eat the fruit, nor have they injured the bushes, so far as we 

 can learn. They help to keep the weeds down. 



Every year we allow young chicks to run at will in the 

 red and black raspberry patches. They do well there, the 

 shade and cool,' mellow ground suiting them "to a T." 



Any one can well afford to invest in some fruit trees for 

 the liome place. Few investments pay better. They add 

 greatly to the value of a place, and the "annual dividends" 

 are, as a rule, large and very welcome. Fifty cents or less 

 invested in a good fruit tree this coming spring will be 

 worth $5 to $10 in two years — 'and this increased value comes 

 like manna from heaven. The machinery of the Almighty 

 does the work. The sunshine, the rains, the dew and the air 

 enlisti n your service to add to your wealth, to provide delic- 

 ious morsels, for you and yours. A man ought to make his 

 honie place as attractive, as productive of comfort as he can. 

 He owes this to his wife, to his childreu. to his grandchild- 

 ren — to the human race. 



On the writer's home place ripe fruit can be gathered, 

 any day, from June 1st, when early strawberries .are ripe, 

 until late October, when the fall and winter apples have to 

 be gathered to escape freezing weather. First come the 

 strawberries, then cherries, then early apples and plums, 

 then red and black raspberries, then blackberries, more 

 plums and the earliest peaches, then grapes, more peaches 

 and apples, and these last with us until late September, the 

 apples lasting until late October. To us it is a great pleas- 

 ure to work among the fruit what little time we can spare. 



We present herewith interesting contributions on the 

 subject of fruit growing: 



PLUMS AND POULTRY CAN BE SUOCBSSFULLY 

 BAISCD TOGETHER. 



By T. H. Scott, Breeder. 

 At your request I will give you my experience with 

 poultry and fruit culture combined. I do not run a large 

 poultry farm, nor yet a fruit farm^ but I grow poultry and 

 fruit on part of three city lots. My experience for twelve 

 years is that a better quality of fruit and a very much larg- 

 er crop can be raised where poultry has free range among 

 the fruit trees. 



I grow plums in all my .chicken yards. I dig up the 

 yards early in spring, half each year, and seed with clover 

 and grass seed for my chickens. I use all my new manure 

 on the land and around the plum trees, also all the wood 

 ashes. we make are put around the trees. In this way I get 

 a double crop— a crop of chickens and one of plums. The 

 plum trees answer as a shade for my chicks, which I claim 

 ,is necessary, no matter what color of fowls you are breedihg. 

 Some claim that only white fowls require shade, but every 

 chick requires shade in warm weather, and the more shade 

 the better the plumage, even on black fowls. I breed Lang- 

 shans exclusively and prefer lots of shade if I want to have 

 a good, rich .plumage. I have city water or a hydrant in my 

 yards and can sprinkle yards and trees at my pleasure. I 

 have also a bone cutter, which works fine, and I would not 

 be without one again for twice the cost of it. 



I had a very fine crop of plums this season, and have 

 sent a photo of part of one side of a Lombard tree. This 

 tree is nine years old and has had three heavy loads— this 

 year it had eight bushels of very choice fruit. Several other 

 trees had five and six bushels each, while the general run of 

 plum trees in this vicinity did not bear extra well. 



In regard to what, variety of plums are most profitable 

 as early bearers and heavy loaders, I will say that I have 

 fourteen kinds, but I prefer the Lombard, Abundance, Ship- 

 per's Pride, German Prune and Imperial Gage. 



All plum trees should be cut back when planted at least 

 half the previous year's growth, the root then being more 

 able to support and nourish the top. They should also be 

 cut back the second year and the centers opened out and 

 shaped properly. If this is done while the tree is young you 

 will iiot have to .cut off large limbs when the tree is Older, 

 endangering its life. I sprayed my plum trees tkree times 

 with Paris green, just when the blossoms were dropping and 

 twice afterward, about a week apart. T. H. SCOTT. 



FRUIT AND POULTRY TOGETHER. 



Some years ago there was a small farm of twenty acres 

 put up at public sale to settle an estate. It was situated 

 near the Pennsylvania railroad and within five minutes 

 walk of the station. The writer of this account attended 

 the sale, was the highest bidder, and of course got the prop- 

 erty. He had previously been growing trees and plants on 

 his father's farm and had an inclination that way. He was 



. also interested in poultry and used the Aew place for the 

 production of both. He paid $4,200 for the property — ^earn- 

 ings made in previous years in trees and poultry without 

 any outside help. He started with half a bushel of peach 

 stones and afterwards planted ten, then twenty bushels as 

 sales increased. 



He raised pure-bred Light Brahmas; got headquarters 

 stock to start with and soon was getting the prices he first 

 gave and his customers became yearly buyers. 



Some years ago the neighborhood became more thickly 

 settled, and a considerable of the surrounding properties, in- 

 cluding these twenty acres, were incorporated into a bor- 

 ough, and improvements went rapidly on,, making a demand 

 for building lots. All the old buildings, with three acres of 

 ground, were sold for nearly what the whole cost at first. 

 More of the property went in small lots for about one thou- 

 sands dollars an acre, leaving only about ten acres to plant 

 on and raise poultry. A new residence was built on the 



. higher portion of the ground and several new poultry houses 

 were also .put up. Other ground was rented to raise nursery 

 stock and the business was kept up. 



No two occupations work better together than fruit and 

 poultry raising. A yard in which chickens have been kept 



