1892 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
25 
THE  BEST  POULTRY  HOUSE  FLOOR? 
ANYTHING  WRONG  WITH  GROUT  OR  CONCRETE  ? 
I  have  given  considerable  time  and  study  to  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  poultry  house  floors.  In  the  beginning  of  my 
present  poultry  business  and  in  building  my  first  poul¬ 
try  house,  I  was  firm  in  the  belief  that  a  floor  of  earth 
would  be  just  the  thing  needed  if  properly  constructed 
and  dry.  I  was  careful,  therefore,  to  place  a  good 
drain  under  the  foundation  walls  and  fill  inside  to  a 
depth  of  two  feet  with  stone  and  gravel,  with  a  foot  of 
dry  loam  on  top  to  be  changed  twice  a  year  if  neces¬ 
sary.  The  house  was  built  at  odd  spells  during  the 
summer,  and  was  thoroughly  dry  when  the  hens  were 
put  in  it  on  September  1 — 50  in  each  apartment  12x20 
feet.  At  first  all  went  well ;  the  hens  were  out  in  the 
parks  a  good  share  of  the  time  ;  the  windows  were 
open  on  warm,  sunny  days,  and  the  floors  kept  dry  and 
in  good  condition  ;  but  as  winter  set  in  with  a  fall  of 
snow  that  remained  all  the  season  and  the  hens  were 
consequently  confined  entirely  to  the  house,  the  floors 
soon  began  to  show  dampness  from  the  droppings, 
which  condition  grew  continually  worse  until  about 
February  1 ,  when,  in  spite  of  my  efforts  to  keep  the 
floor  in  proper  shape  by  using  cut  straw,  chaff  and 
other  absorbents  freely,  it  was  far  from  satisfactory, 
being  damp  and  sticky  to  a  depth  of  five  or  six  inches. 
Although  dry  below  that,  there  was  continually  aris¬ 
ing  a  strong,  disagreeable  odor  which  I  finally  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  checking  by  a  free  use  of  plaster ;  but  the 
floor  remained  damp  and  grew  worse  until  spring 
came,  when  with  warm  days  and  open  windows  it 
dried  into  a  hard  crust  six  or  eight  inches  deep,  which 
it  was  something  of  a  job  to  dig  up  and  carry  out. 
The  condition  of  the  hens  as  to  health  and  egg  pro¬ 
duction  during  the  fall  and  fore  part  of  winter  was 
quite  satisfactory  with  a  flattering  prospect  for  the 
entire  winter.  This  condition  rapidly  fell  off,  how¬ 
ever,  as  the  floor  grew  damp,  and  along  to¬ 
ward  spring,  when  they  should  have  been  laying 
nearly  at  their  best,  I  was  getting  few  eggs  and  there 
were  many  sick  and  ailing  hens,  and,  in  fact,  I  lost  a 
number. 
The  conclusion  that  I  was  able  to  draw  from  this 
experience  was  that  while  an  earth  floor  which  could 
not  conveniently  be  changed  at  least  two  or  three 
times  during  the  winter,  might  answer  for  a  small 
flock  in  a  house  large  enough  to  allow  the  dry  earth  of 
the  floor  to  absorb  all  of  the  moisture  from  the  drop¬ 
pings  without  becoming  damp  and  disagreeable  until 
spring  came  with  its  conveniences  for  changing  it,  I 
should  nave  to  use  a  solid  floor  with  absorbents  to 
cover  it,  that  could  be  changed  often  to  enable  me  to 
keep  in  proper  condition  so  large  a  number  in  so  small 
a  space. 
In  looking  around  for  a  material  for  the  purpose,  it 
seemed  to  me  that  grout  or  concrete  would  be  the  right 
thing  ;  but  as  I  found  that  I  could  put  in  a  board  floor 
somewhat  cheaper,  I  concluded  to  use  it,  as  I  considered 
its  employment  only  an  experiment ;  in  fact  I  was 
rapidly  finding  out  that  nearly  all  of  my  work  in  con¬ 
nection  with  poultry  keeping  was  as  yet  more  or  less 
experimental.  I  bought  a  lot  of  cheap  but  sound  hem¬ 
lock  and  laid  the  floor,  being  careful  to  join  the  edges 
as  closely  as  possible  without  planing  or  matching. 
This  I  kept  well  littered  with  a  layer  of  dry  earth  and 
cut  straw  which  was  changed  as  often  as  needed,  with 
the  best  results,  all  through  the  next  winter,  which 
was  severe,  and  the  hens  were  closely  confined  all  of 
the  time.  So  well  was  I  pleased  with  this  floor  and  the 
method  of  keeping  the  house  dry  and  clean  through  the 
winter  that  I  have  not  looked  for  a  better. 
I  know  of  no  real  objection  to  grout  or  concrete  for 
the  purpose.  Some,  however,  have  raised  the  objection 
that  a  floor  of  that  kind  is  always  cold  and  disagree¬ 
able  to  the  touch  and  consequently  uncomfortable  for 
the  fowls  confined  upon  it.  Without  having  had  any 
experience  with  it,  I  am  strongly  of  the  opinion,  how¬ 
ever,  that  if  kept  properly  covered  with  dry  earth  and 
litter  of  some  sort,  as  all  poultry  house  floors  should 
be,  this  objection  would  be  entirely  overcome.  This 
being  true,  the  facts  that  it  is  far  more  durable  than 
boards,  and  that  it  is  proof  against  rats  and  similar 
vermin  combine  to  make  it  the  best  as  well  as  the 
cheapest  in  the  end.  There  may  be  other  objections 
to  it  of  which  I  am  not  aware,  and  were  I  to  adopt  its 
use,  I  should  do  so  in  an  experimental  way  at  first. 
In  building  and  arranging  for  my  present  poultry 
business  I  was  obliged  to  build  cheaply  or  not  at  all. 
This  seemed  very  inconvenient  at  the  time,  as  it  com¬ 
pelled  me  to  go  slow  and  carefully  study  all  sides  of  the 
question  ;  but  now  I  look  back  to  that  time  with  no  feel¬ 
ing  of  regret,  as  I  am  quite  sure  that  had  I  been  pos¬ 
sessed  of  ample  means  I  should  have  built  too  much 
without  the  necessary  study  to  have  made  my  building 
a  success.  c.  H.  wyckoff. 
I  find  boards  better  than  earth  or  concrete  for  poul¬ 
try  floors,  as  they  can  be  renewed,  and  are  easily 
cleaned,  and  are  warmer.  Earth  floors  become  foul, 
and  must  be  frequently  renewed.  Concrete  floors  are 
cold  to  the  feet,  unless  well  littered,  but  for  preventing 
rats  from  entering  the  poultry  house  they  are  excel¬ 
lent.  Were  it  not  that  they  provide  a  harboring  place 
for  rats,  boards  cannot  be  excelled.  p.  h.  Jacobs. 
I  think  the  best  floor  for  a  poultry  house  is  sand.  If 
I  could  have  one  as  I  want  it,  I  would  concrete  or  ce¬ 
ment  the  bottom  up  to  the  sill  and  then  put  on  four 
inches  of  quite  coarse  beach  sand.  My  reason  for  this 
opinion  is  that  fowls  eat  a  great  quantity  of  sand  or 
grit,  and  in  the  winter  when  they  cannot  range  at 
large  they  always  have  the  sand  to  pick.  I  also  be¬ 
lieve  one  half  of  the  diseases  of  poultry  are  caused  by 
their  not  having  grit  and  the  best  kind  of  grit  is  sand. 
I  do  not  believe  there  would  be  much  if  any  chicken 
cholera,  if  the  fowls  had  access  to  it.  p.  williams. 
According  to  our  experience  a  floor  made  of  good, 
matched  and  planed  lumber  gives  the  best  satisfaction  in 
a  hennery,  as  it  can  be  kept  dry  and  clean  more  easily 
than  any  other  with  which  we  have  been  familiar.  We 
always  keep  our  floors  well  littered  with  fine  straw 
having  as  much  chaff  in  it  as  possible.  We  see  no  objec¬ 
tion  to  a  cement  or  concrete  floor  if  it  can  be  kept 
equally  dry  and  be  built  as  cheaply.  knapp  pros. 
THE  COST  OF  HOME-MADE  STABLE  MANURE 
As  I  do  not  like  The  Rural’s  comments  on  the  man¬ 
ure  question  for  Wyoming  County,  N.  Y.,  I  here  give  a 
statement.  Artificial  fertilizers  are,  no  doubt,  of  great 
benefit  in  many  sections,  but  I  do  not  invest  largely  in 
them  because  this  section  is  underlaid  with  clay,  and 
should  the  season  be  wet,  most  of  the  crops  would  be 
lost  and  the  fertilizer  would  go  to  the  weeds.  On  well 
drained  land  near  good  markets  the  case  would  be  dif¬ 
ferent.  For  the  last  year  $(5  per  ton  for  No.  2  hay  in 
the  barn  has  been  above  the  market  price.  We  are  10 
miles  from  a  railroad.  From  my  experience  for  the 
past  10  years  I  think  manure  spread  on  the  fields  is 
worth  fully  $1  per  load.  I  think  25  loads  to  the  acre 
will  make  four  tons  of  ensilage  the  first  year ;  30 
bushels  of  oats  the  second,  and  one  ton  of  hay  the 
third,  besides  leaving  the  land  more  productive  at  the 
end  of  the  term.  Four  tons  of  ensilage  equal  #8  ;  30 
bushels  of  oats  at  32  cents,  $9.60  ;  one  ton  of  clover 
hay,  $6  ;  a  total  of  $23.60 — all  for  25  loads  of  manure. 
1  do  not  charge  anything-  for  the  manure  ;  but  I  get 
fully  300  loads  a  year.  I  hope  to  make  a  better  show¬ 
ing  some  time.  I  think  that  if  the  land  were  drained  I 
could  make  use  of  chemicals  also.  The  grain  mentioned 
in  my  statement  below  was  bought  at  retail  and  cost 
at  least  one-fourth  more  than  it  would  could  I  have 
bought  in  car-lots  in  October,  1890. 
STATEMENT. 
Hay  fed,  50  tons,  at  $f>  per  ton. $300 
Grain  bought .  000 
Pasture  hired .  25 
Horseshoeing  and  other  black- 
smithing  .  20 
Repairs  of  wagons .  15 
Repairs  of  harness .  10 
Repairs  of  tools .  25 
Taxes .  25 
Two  men  at  $1  per  day . 625 
Butter  sold,  5,000  pounds,  at 
25  cents  . $1,250 
Pork  and  calves .  335 
Hay .  160 
Apples,  potatoes  and  pears  .  82 
Three  heifers .  45 
Increase  of  hogs .  35 
$1,907 
1,645 
$1,645  $262 
Or  3.7  per  cent  interest  on  investment. 
Value  of  farm  and  stock  $7,000.  A  JERSEY  DAIRYMAN. 
THE  KEIFFER  PEAR  BUSINESS. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  the  New  Jersey  Horticultural 
Society  this  pear  was  well  discussed.  Mr.  Denise  said: 
“  The  Keiffer  is  a  cross  between  the  Bartlett  and  Chi¬ 
nese  Sand  Pear.  It  gets  its  hardiness  and  vigor  from  the 
latter,  and  its  quality,  if  it  has  any,  from  the  former.” 
He  thought  it  was  not  a  success  north  of  New  Jersey, 
but  succeeded  better  on  the  same  latitude  west.  It  is 
the  most  vigorous  grower  in  the  pear  line,  and  the 
most  productive.  The  fruit  is  evenly  distributed  over 
the  tree.  It  had  been  a  question  with  him  whether  the 
pear  would  sell  when  the  market  was  well  supplied 
with  other  varieties.  One  merchant  when  consulted 
said  “No.”  Others  were  sought  who  were  willing 
to  try  it,  and  the  past  season  they  had  run  after 
him  and  sought  the  Keiffer,  so  his  mind  was  re¬ 
lieved  as  to  its  selling  qualities.  Its  looks  sell  it.  He 
has  1,600  trees.  Those  10  years  from  the  bud  were  as 
large  as  Rartletts  25  years  old.  The  fruit  hangs  on 
well  and  is  not  liable  to  be  blown  off,  and  is  good  to 
handle  because  it  is  hard  when  fit  to  pick.  Nine  hun¬ 
dred  and  forty  trees  eight  and  nine  years  old  produced 
last  year  791  barrels,  which  sold  for  $1,028.30,  averag¬ 
ing  $1.30  per  barrel  clear  of  all  expenses.  One  hun¬ 
dred  trees  produced  191  barrels,  which  sold  for  $248.30. 
He  does  not  consider  this  a  big  pear  story  ;  others  can 
tell  larger  ones,  but  his  is  absolutely  truthful  as  taken 
from  his  books.  He  is  very  well  satisfied  with  his  ven¬ 
ture.  He  had  nothing  to  say  about  the  quality  ;  he 
grew  them  for  the  dollars  and  cents  they  produced,  and 
now  if  he  were  to  plant  more  with  the  light  of  his  ex¬ 
perience  to  guide  him,  he  would  set  999  Keiffers  and  1 
Bartlett  in  an  orchard  of  1,000  trees. 
Mr.  Vandeveer  considered  it  a  poor  table  pear,  but 
fine  for  canning.  He  thought  Mr.  Denise’s  ground  was 
unsuited  to  the  Bartlett,  while  it  was  suited  to  the 
Keiffer. 
Mr.  Blish  thought  the  quality  of  the  fruit  depended 
on  proper  curing.  He  thinned  off  about  a  quarter  of 
the  crop  when  half  grown  and  later,  more  ;  those  left 
were  allowed  to  ripen  on  the  tree.  When  gathered 
they  were  taken  to  the  cellar  and  spread  out  in  a  thin 
layer  till  they  had  ripened,  and  in  this  condition  he 
found  them  very  palatable. 
Mr.  Repp  advised  going  slow;  he  had  trees  for  sale  if 
any  one  wanted  them  ;  but  he  planted  none  himself. 
When  all  the  Keiffer  trees  now  planted  come  into  bear¬ 
ing,  what  will  be  done  with  the  fruit  ?  He  predicted  it 
would  be  such  a  drug  as  to  be  unprofitable  and  people 
would  cut  down  their  trees.  He  reminded  those  pres¬ 
ent  of  Mr.  Lincoln’s  aphorism  that  you  could  fool  all 
the  people  some  of  the  time,  but  you  could  not  fool  all 
the  people  all  the  time,  and  that  was  about  the  size  of 
the  Keiffer  Bear  business.  He  grew  Lawrence  and 
Bartlett  in  preference  to  Keiffer. 
Mr.  Ward  said  the  Lawrence  would  not  sell  in  either 
the  Newark  or  New  York  market.  He  was  in  a  store 
a  few  weeks  ag-o.  The  merchant  had  a  few  baskets  of 
fine,  large  Lawrence  and  a  few  barrels  of  Keiffer  ;  the 
latter  sold  readily  for  $2.50  or  more,  per  barrel,  while 
he  would  have  been  glad  of  an  offer  of  25  cents  per 
basket  for  the  Lawrence.  Mr.  Ward  was  cutting  down 
his  Lawrence  trees  on  this  account.  When  asked  if  the 
fruit  was  as  fine  as  formerly,  he  replied  that  it  was 
not.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  a  person  in  quest 
of  a  table  pear  would  pass  by  the  Lawrence  and  accept 
the  Keiffer.  One  would  hardly  expect  a  person  to  do 
so  a  second  time  ;  but  tastes,  like  fashions,  change.  In 
reply  to  an  inquiry  made  of  Mr.  Ward  as  to  what  he 
would  now  plant  for  profit,  he  said  :  “Gifford,  Sterling, 
Bartlett,  Seckel,  Clairgeau,  Sheldon  and  Keiffer.” 
Business  Bits. 
A  machine  for  slicing  rather  than  Hawing  logs  Into  boards  has  been 
devised.  There  Is  no  sawdust  and  no  waste. 
“  Careful  Living”  Is  a  little  book  published  by  Messrs.  Scott  A 
Bowne,  admittedly  as  an  explanation  to  the  use  of  Scott’s  Emulsion, 
but  at  the  same  time  It  contains  many  good  things  to  know.  It  Is  always 
sent  free  on  application. 
Lots  of  families  in  this  city  pay  five  or  ten  cents  for  little  packages 
of  kindling  wood.  A  good  share  of  this  wood  Is  collected  by  Italian 
women.  Old  boards,  broken  boxes  and  barrels  are  made  into  bundles 
and  “  toted”  away  on  their  heads.  It  Is  cut,  spilt  and  dried  and  sold  at  a 
price  representing  $30  or  $35  per  cord.  How  Is  that  for  a  ’‘waste  pro¬ 
duct”  Industry  ? 
In  England  new  machines  called  “  masticators  ”  have  appeared. 
They  pulp  and  work  up  roots  or  coarse  hay  to  be  used  as  stock  food. 
English  farmers  feed  many  roots.  Just  now  they  are  advocating  the 
feeding  of  crushed  sugar  beets  to  horses.  The  beets  are  “  masticated  " 
and  mixed  with  chopped  hay  and  meal  or  crushed  oats.  Crushed  oats 
are  liked  better  than  ground  or  the  whole  grain. 
Every  now  and  then  the  Irish  are  obliged  to  get  new  varieties  of 
potatoes.  In  the  climate  of  Ireland  the  potato  “  leads  an  unnatural 
life  ”  and  soon  “  runs  out.”  The  latest  proposition  Is  to  start  Irish  seed 
farms  where  new  varieties  can  be  tested.  As  the  Dublin  Farmers’ 
Gazette  says  :  “  The  circumstances  of  Ireland  are  peculiar.  We  have 
all  around  us  a  race  of  small  farmers  strangely  Ignorant  and  strongly 
prejudiced  against  anything  new.  Left  to  themselves,  they  flounder 
and  flounder.  A  wise  government  will  look  ahead  and  act  with  promp¬ 
titude.” 
Steam  Plowing.— A  California  paper  gives  this  account  of  a  steam 
plow  that  runs  day  and  night  at  a  speed  of  eight  miles  an  hour:  “  It 
has  a  traction  engine,  and  tears  up  the  ground  In  strips  21  feet  wide, 
doing  Its  work  much  more  evenly  and  thoroughly  than  the  old  horse- 
plow.  The  same  appliances  are  used  for  combined  harvesters  and 
thrashers  In  their  proper  season.  The  engine  Is  equipped  with  loco¬ 
motive  head-lights  for  night  work,  and  they  throw  a  light  In  the  path 
In  front  of  the  machine.  Additional  lights  throw  their  rays  on  the 
plows,  which  are  placed  In  rows  obliquely  from  the  direction  of  prog¬ 
ress,  enabling  the  machine  to  turn  sharp  corners.  Ordinarily,  an 
engineer,  a  fireman  and  a  man  to  look  after  the  plow  can  operate  this 
labor-saving  device,  which  plows  about  160  acres  a  day,  running  con¬ 
tinuously,  at  a  cost  of  $20  per  day,  including  wear  and  tear  of  the 
machinery.  ’ 
Men  who  are  on  the  alert  for  new  things  frequently  make  good  busi¬ 
ness  strikes.  Mr.  H.  A.  Whittemore  gives  this  bit  of  testimony:  “Tak¬ 
ing  up  The  Rural  In  the  year  1858, 1  saw  an  article  from  John  Johnston 
on  ‘  Steel  Plows.’  The  answer  to  a  letter  of  Inquiry  convinced  me  that 
such  plows  were  what  we  needed  for  our  western  New  York  soil,  as 
they  were  so  light  and  easily  handled.  I  ordered  one.  When  it  was 
noised  around  that  I  had  a  ‘steel  plow’  some  incredulous  ones  Inquired 
‘Where  did  he  steal  It  V  Farmers  came  to  see  it.  It  was  light  and  ser¬ 
viceable,  would  not  rust  (unless  exposed  to  the  weather  too  long)  would 
not  clog  (unless  rusty)  in  common  or  uncommon  soil;  in  short,  it  was 
a  light-weight  sweep.  One  farmer  wanted  one;  another— yes  a  score  or¬ 
dered  some.  The  commission  allowed  me  paid  for  my  plow,  transpor¬ 
tation  and  a  $30  suit  of  clothes,  and  all  within  two  months  after  I  had 
made  my  first  Investment.” 
“Novelty”  Berry  Package. — Many  berry  growers  are  already 
looking  up  baskets  and  making  crates  on  stormy  days  for  next  season’s 
crop.  To  my  mind  the  “  Novelty”  has  the  following  objectionable  feat¬ 
ures:  It  displays  too  few  berries.  The  depth  being  greater  than  that 
of  the  ordinary  basket,  the  same  shrinkage  will  make  a  greater  show. 
The  sides  being  vertical,  the  berries  settle  along  them  as  much  as  in  tne 
center.  Ventilation  is  inadequate  before  crating  ;  afterwards  there  is 
next  to  none.  In  picking,  the  sides  get  bulged  out  more  or  less  ;  con¬ 
sequently  the  basket  holds  over  a  quart.  To  crate  the  baskets  the  sides 
must  be  pressed  back  and  the  berries  are  mashed.  When  the  grocer 
uncrates  them  the  sides  bulge  again  and  let  the  berries  settle  down. 
And,  worst  of  all,  when  the  grocer  delivers  them,  they  are  set  on  top  of 
all  sorts  of  truck  and  often  changed  from  one  position  to  another  half 
a  dozen  times  before  the  delivery  wagon  completes  its  rounds,  now 
resting  on  two  corners  with  the  top  thrown  in  one  direction  ;  then  on 
the  two  others  with  a  like  result  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  and  mean¬ 
time  the  berries  are  literally  chewed  by  every  jolt  of  the  wagon,  c.  t.  s. 
