42 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 1919 



Oregon Beauty 



Wing's Dahlias 



When summer begins to wane and the gardens to lose their 

 splendor, the Dahlia comes into its own. Gone are the stately 

 Ins and the glowing Phlox; the Peony is but a memory. The 

 cool days of autumn sound the knell of the un-loving flowers, 

 but stimulate to an opulence of bloom the Dahlia, last of the 

 lovely train. Al! the colors of all the seasons are combined in 

 her blossoms; the delicacy of the first spring flowers, the tints 

 of June roses, the brilliancy of autumn leaves. The forms are as 

 varied as the colors, so changed and improved is this flower. 

 Massive blooms of velvet and satin are found, together with 

 forms as airy and graceful as snow crystals. 



We want all who love beauty in the home to write for our 

 catalogue describing our two hundred varieties of Dahlias. 

 Many of these are obtainable from no other source in America. 

 To those who wish to obtain a beautiful collection for a moder- 

 ate cost, we offer the following: 



Eleven Varieties for $2.20 



Value $2.70 



Oregon Beauty — Peony, immense velvety cherry red. 

 Countess of Malesbury — Cactus, delicate peach pink. 

 Libelle — Cactus, deep purple. 

 Perle de Lyon — Decorative, pure white. 

 Brigadier — Cactus, bright crimson. 

 Rose* Pink Century — Single, violet rose. 

 J. H. Jackson — Cactus, velvety maroon. 

 Jack Rose — Decorative, color rose of same name. 

 Prince of Yellows — Cactus, soft primrose. 

 Debutante — Cactus, Tryian Rose. 

 Glowing Gem — Single, deep crimson. 

 All good, strong roots 



The Wing Seed Company 



The House of Quality and Moderate Prices 

 Box 1326 Mechanicsburg, Ohio 



FRENCH 



ASPARAGUS BEANS bear GIGANTIC pods jo inches long. 

 Produce abundantly anywhere. Wonderfully delicious — rare flavor. 

 Entirely stringless. A Century old Oriental delicacy that has been 

 lon^ grown and prized in the best American and French gardens. 

 Try this surpassing: variety in comparision with common beans this 

 season. Free Bulletin for mentioning Garden Magazine. 

 Pkt. (about 300 seeds) $1.00 postpaid. 

 J. A. A IJ. LINCOLN, Growers a7td Importers 

 39 Sooth LaSalle Street Chicago, Illinois 



PRIMROSES 



That everyone may have a chance to 

 add a collection of the charming Eng- 

 lish Primroses to their gardens, we are 

 making the following offer for February 

 only: 1 each of Polyanthus Munstead, 

 Primula Bulleyana, capitata, cortu- 

 soides, denticulata, frondosa, Japonica, 

 Poissoni, pulverulenta, Mrs. Berkeley 

 and Red Hugh, amounting to over $5.00 

 for $3.00. All year old roots. 



Do not miss this opportunity. We 

 want every one to become acquainted 

 with the beauty of Primroses. 



Wolcott Nurseries, c *»""™'*«" 



Hardy Plants 



Jackson, Michigan 



Round About the Home Plot 



How Much Can a Hen Earn ? 



DROF. Ray E. Jones, poultry specialist of the 

 *■ Connecticut State College at Storrs is planning 

 to prove by means of four boys' and girls' poultry 

 clubs that 300 hens can yield a profit of $1,000 a 

 year. He believes that if the boys and girls 

 can make such flocks pay there will be no reason 

 to dispute the claim that hens are profitable as 

 an investment. 



As outlined each of the four clubs will consist 

 of ten or more boys or girls or both whose flocks 

 must make up a total of at least 300 but not 

 more than 500 hens, distributed in any way 

 among the members. Each flock must be 

 managed according to the direction of the poultry 

 specialist, Once a month the club will meet 

 with the local leader and the specialist to dis- 

 cuss methods and progress. Each flock owner 

 must keep cost accounts and bring their figures . 

 to each meeting. 



Here is an idea that should be valuable to 

 any one or any club anywhere. It would seem 

 that Professor Jones would be willing to get 

 information from other boys and girls than those 

 who are members of the clubs of which only four 

 can be handled because of the work entailed. 

 We suggest, therefore, that our readers whether 

 they are boys or girls in fact or in spirit write 

 Professor Jones to ask affiliation with the project 

 and offer to put the rules and methods in prac- 

 tise so as to add their experience to that of the 

 club members. 



Whether or not such affiliation be possible it 

 will be a good plan to keep accounts of the home 

 flock as to cost of feed and other necessaries, 

 amount and value of the time employed in care 

 of the flock and its quarters, yield of eggs and 

 poultry, value of manure, utilization of house- 

 hold scraps and garden waste; in short, a complete 

 debit and credit account. If at the end of the 

 year or even sooner the flock is found to be un- 

 profitable the reason why should be determined. 

 It may be old or inferior hens, poor stock, bad 

 management, too late hatching, or any one of a 

 dozen other causes that may be easily rectified. 

 The account will thus teach a valuable lesson. 



Blood Spots in Eggs : 



Beginners and people uninformed in poultry 

 matters, generally jump to the conclusion that 

 eggs are unfit to eat if they show blood spots. 

 The beginner generally believes that there is 

 something wrong with the egg itself, whereas 

 the consumer thinks the clots are caused by dead 

 germs, since he believes that the eggs have been 

 partially incubated. Both surmisings are wrong. 



When pullets begin to lay, or when hens that 

 have been resting start again small blood clots 

 are often found in a few of the eggs, more par- 

 ticularly those laid first. These clots may float 

 near one end of the yoke, or be seen in the al- 

 bumen. They merely denote a slight derange- 

 ment of the laying apparatus. Among the 

 causes are strains brought about by the laying 

 or by the passing of a very large egg, sometimes 

 also internal fatness, constipation, a too stim- 

 ulating diet, or a surfeit of animal food in the 

 mash. Any of these may cause a rupture of some 

 little blood vessel. 



When the eggs are broken, blood specks may 

 be easily removed either before or after cooking. 

 If desired, eggs so affected may be detected by 

 holding them before a strong light to note the 

 condition of the contents. In no way are the 

 eggs injured for use, or for hatching 



Unless the individual layer is located and 



separated from the flock, the whole flock may be 

 treated without difficulty, generally an iron tonic 

 and a laxative will rectify matters, or a little 

 sulphur may be added to the soft food each sec- 

 ond day for a week or so. 



When streaks of blood are noted on the out- 

 side of the egg, these are generally caused by the 

 act of laying. Usually only the first few eggs laid 

 by the hen ever show this difficulty; the trouble 

 passes away in a few days. 



Fowls Need Succulent Foods in Winter 



As a large part of the fowl's body is composed 

 of water, a sufficient amount of water must be 

 furnished to meet this need. This is supplied 

 not only by the drinking water, but also by foods 

 containing large percentages of water. During 

 most of the year, the birds are able to obtain 

 more or less succulence when allowed range, but 

 at this season, when they are kept in, the poultry- 

 man must provide it. 



The poultry department of the New Jersey 

 Agricultural Experiment Station recommends 

 mangel beets, sprouted oats and cabbage. Man- 

 gel beets may be sliced in halves or quarters and 

 nailed to the wall or supporting posts of the 

 house at such height that the birds will have to 

 reach just a trifle for them. This also provides 

 exercise. Oats may be sprouted in a warm, dark 

 room and fed to the birds once a day. It is a good 

 plan to have a rack about five feet high, containing 

 eight or ten trays. The oats may be seen to 

 sprout in such a manner that there is always a 

 fresh supply of them. Table scraps, beet tops, 

 cabbage and similar materials are relished by the 

 fowls. Aside from supplying moisture, succulent 

 foods help to make the other feeds palatable 

 and greatly aid in increasing the egg production. 



The Fresher the Hatching Egg the Better. — 

 Eggs more than three days old are noticeably 

 slower to hatch and the chicks that come out are 

 often less sturdy than those frcm fresher speci- 

 mens. If ever necessary to store eggs longer 

 than this place them on their sides in cork dust, 

 cotton batting or dry sawdust in a cool closet 

 and turn them over every day to keep the con- 

 tents from sticking to the shells. 



Eggs for Hatching. — Eggs to be saved for 

 hatching should not be subjected to high or low 

 temperature. Best results are generally ob- 

 tained by keeping them in a cool place — about 

 50 degrees. It is not advisable to hold hatching 

 eggs longer than ten days or at most, two weeks. 

 Where conditions are favorable February, March, 

 and April are the best months for hatching, but 

 unless one has good quarters for the chicks, 

 hatching in cold weather is attended with dif- 

 ficulties and the chicks are likely to suffer unless 

 they can be kept warm. 



Drowning of Chickens in Shell. — The turn- 

 ing of eggs in the incubator is a necessary process, 

 until the eighteenth day. From that time for- 

 ward the eggs should not be turned. The reason 

 is, that each chick turns itself in the egg so its 

 beak is uppermost. If the egg is turned during 

 the last day or two of incubation, the chick may 

 have its beak turned downward into the fluid 

 inside of the egg; therefore, unless it has the 

 ability to turn over again it may drown in even 

 this small amount of liquid. A very large pro- 

 portion of the chickens die in the shell because 

 of this unnecessary turning. Often where they 

 succeed in turning over they may hatch but be 

 deformed. The less the eggs are disturbed 

 during the last two or three days the better. 



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