14ti 



THE GAME BREEDER 



and fewer game laws" and I feel con- all concerned we shall finally accomplish 

 fident that by a united, earnest effort of our desired object. 



NOTES FROM THE GAME FARMS AND PRESERVES. 



A Deer Trouble. 



One of our Iowa readers says: 'T 

 would be pleased to have you give me 

 some information how to keep and feed 

 deer so they will live and keep thrifty. 

 I have some of the North American 

 white-tailed deer. They will start to get 

 thin and keep falling away and then 

 finally die. If there is anything that can 

 be done to avoid this I would like to 

 know it." 



The trouble may be due to the lack 

 of proper foods. We have written for 

 full particulars about the ground, the 

 food, the water, etc., and we hope then 

 to make some suggestions and that many 

 of our successful deer breeders will also 

 give their opinions as to the cause of 



the trouble. 



» 



Blasting Doesn't Harm the Chickens. 



"During the past year I have been 

 very much interested in the use of dyna- 

 mite and have taken to using it for vari- 

 ous purposes on our little three acre 

 place in the suburbs of Belvidere. 



"I recently had an experience that I 

 thought might interest you. Five feet 

 from my poultry house I decided to put 

 in a gate post so as usual I put in my 

 bar about 18 inches loaded up with one- 

 half regular sized stick, retired to a safe 

 distance to see her go up, when I re- 

 membered I had three hens setting inside 

 the wall where I was about to shoot. 

 The explosion was heavier than usual as 

 it was in gravelly soil and threw dirt 

 and stones in all directions. 



"The hens had set for 10 days and 

 were covering 44 fertile eggs (Rhode 

 Island Reds) having already been tested 

 out. Contrary to the predictions of my 

 neighbors, I to-day had 41 first-class 

 healthy chicks hatched out which I think 

 settles the theory that dynamite kills 

 germs in eggs (or rather does not). The 

 hens were setting on a platform 12 



inches above ground, 1-inch boards in 

 back of coop on a 6-inch concrete foun- 

 dation and the shot about 4^ feet from 

 the wall. 



"Yours very truly, 



"Wm. E. Anderson." 



Note. In spite of Mr. Anderson's 

 experience we advise against blasting 

 near eggs intended for hatching or which 

 have been set on for only a day or two. 

 Eggs set on for 10 days contain a live 

 foetus which would survive a shock that 

 might kill the life-germ of an unhatched 

 e^gg. — Du Pont Magazine. 



Use of "Black Oil." 



Some one asked about painting 

 chicken houses with "black oil" for 

 roup. We use black oil by the barrel; 

 it is a very cheap oil, used among other 

 things to lubricate certain parts of en- 

 gines, and other machinery. It is black, 

 dirty-looking and very greasy. You 

 know some oils seem more greasy than 

 others. It is made from petroleum, in 

 fact is the residue after some of the 

 lighter oils have been taken out. Prob- 

 ably it is the cheapest oil on the market, 

 except the "crude," wholesale worth 

 probably four cents a gallon, and obtain- 

 able from any mill supply house. 



What is it good for? As a poultry- 

 house paint, to keep out mites and lice, 

 I doubt if there is anything better, it 

 being greasy and staying that way. You 

 can neither paint nor whitewash over it. 

 I should judge it was a good disinfect- 

 ant, doubtless retaining a little phenol, 

 but for use as a preventive of disease, I 

 would put no faith in it, though it is 

 harmless. I have cured several pet dogs 

 of the mange by rubbing them with black 

 oil, then shutting them up where they 

 could not come in contact with civiliza- 

 tion for a few days. It has a very sooth- 

 ing effect. For several years ago I had 



