THIS WOMAN DID NOT LOSE A CHICK. 
NE must be a poor manager indeed if be cannot 
lay claim to having met with more than aver¬ 
age success in at least one branch of labor. In the 
spring of 1892, 10 biddies looked to me to help them 
raise 112 chicks, which we, myself and the biddies, 
did, without losing one chick; this is how it was done. 
I was prepared for each hen as she left the nest with 
her young brcoi. My husband got me some empty 
boxes from the grocery, the most suitable size being 
20 X 14 X 14 inches. lie nailed on a top and cut out an 
opening at one end large enough for the hen to go out 
and in comfortably, with a shingle for a sliding door; 
the grooves were madew'th pieces of lath, two to each 
side of the entrance, the upper piece projecting a little 
over the under piece to form the groove. Then an 
open coop was made of slats, wide enough apart to 
allow the chicks to run out and in, but not the hen. 
At one end of the coop an opening was left to match 
the opening in the box. For handiness in feeding, I 
had them placed near the kitchen door; in the morn¬ 
ing the box was placed beside the coop, opening to 
opening, the slide drawn, and biddy and her family 
came forth to begin their day’s work. 
Now, as to feed, a little bread crumbled, a little oat¬ 
meal mush made stiff by mixing corn meal uncooked 
with it, and some wheat for the hen were scattered 
about, a little at a time, but very often, six or e'ght 
times a day for the first two weeks; after that four or 
five times a day, feeding wheat only, the little ones 
seemed to prefer it and thrived on it, then why not 
give it to them? There was plenty of gravel in the 
ground for them. The watering utensils were empty 
sardine cans, two at each coop always kept clean and 
full. In the evening the little family would huddle 
into the box, the slide was then let down and the box 
with its contents was lifted on to the back porch, the 
opening end next to the wall for safety. Clean, dry 
sand or soil was put in each box every morning, so 
the droppings never stuck to the bottom of the box. 
A few auger holes on the sides gave ventilation. 
The points in favor of this plan were, first, the 
chicks had enough exercise and not too much ; when 
they wanted hovering the hen was there as the needs 
of the little ones demanded. Second, being near the 
kitchen dcor, there is every chance of their being fed 
regularly; a little and often has largely to do with 
successful chicken raising. The coop should be moved 
on clean ground every morning, and the soiled places 
scraped or spaded under. Four of these coops and 
boxes sufficed for my 10 hens and their chicks ; when 
the latter were four or five weeks old they were turned 
loose in the chickenyard. Some of my neighbors sur¬ 
prised me by saying, “ What a lot of trouble 1” But 
from experience 1 can say that it was the simplest, 
and certainly the most successful way of raising 
chicks. After being put in the chickenyard, the little 
ones should be fed under slatted coops. e. g. w. 
Columbia County, Oregon. 
TOO LATE IN GETTING READY. 
EAR MADAM : I listened to a talk at a farm¬ 
ers’ institute a few weeks ago in which warmer 
houses were advised for hens. A certain formula was 
ordered for their ‘ bill of fare,’ and the houses were to 
be sprinkled with lime, ashes and plaster, and I don’t 
know what else. I believed every word, and went 
straight home and put the advice into practice. First, 
I cleaned out the henhouse and, as it had not been 
done in over a year,- it took some time and scared the 
hens half tu death, so I drove them out. Then I gave 
the whole house a sprinkle of lime till the air was full 
and everything white with it. When I got my breath, 
I went back to see if I had hit every place, and whew! 
nobody told me what a smell that lime would raise. I 
covered the craeks with battens, banked the house all 
around, and by that time I could breathe the air in 
the house, so I let the hens io, and they acted as 
though they never siw the p ace before. Now for the 
results. I fed those hens just as that poultry man said 
I must, and I don’t believe I’ve had a dozen eggs since, 
and there wasn’t a day before that time when I did 
not get a dozen or more. I have heard something of 
your success with poultry, and I would like to know 
what you think about it.” Yours truly, johx gavax. 
Here is a point, yes, several of them, which poultry 
writers have tried, in vain, to impress upon beginners 
in the business. People who are unaccustomed to 
watching poultry closely do not realize how muc’i 
they are influenced by tneir surroundings, nor what 
an effect is produced upon them by fright. I have 
seen a marked decrease in the egg yield for a day or 
two from catching a fowl to remove to other quarters 
even tl. ough the remainder of the flock were undis¬ 
turbed by the noise of their comrade. When a stranger 
cleans my henhouses, I always watch, if possible, and 
prevent too quick movements, lest the fowls be 
frightened. Even moving fowls by careful coaxing, 
not driving, from one house to another, which is 
equally comfortable, will stop laying for a few days. 
If this be the case with tame birds which will eat 
from one’s hand and perch on one’s shoulder, what 
must we expect from the average wild flock on most 
farms ? Mr. Gavan’s birds were frightened out of a 
month or six week’s laying by his undue zeal. Of 
two evils he would better have left his birds in the 
cold house while they continued to lay, rather than to 
change their conditions at that time of year. 
Henhouses should be put into shane while the 
weather is dry and warm, and the young pullets which 
are to be the early winter layers must be accustomed 
to their new homes and to each other before they are 
ready to lay. Mr. Gavan has lost his winter eggs, but 
he has gained a fund of knowledge of hens’ peculiar! 
ties. He will not make a similar mistake again. 
In regard to using lime in his house, he has done 
no harm—although he liberated a vast amount of 
ammonia and nearly stifled himself, no doubt. As the 
droppings had been accumulating for some months, 
the floor under them was thoroughly permeated by 
the leached out ammonia, If it was an earth floor he 
would have done well to have removed several inches 
of the surface, replacing it with fresh earth or coal 
ashes. However, the lime filled the air, killed many 
impurities, absorbed a good deal of moisture, and 
eventually sweetened the house. Land plaster would 
have purified the old roosting place, destroying the 
odors without stirring up the ammonia. One poultry 
breeder advises the use of plaster as a dust bath, turn¬ 
ing the box out on the dropping boards after cleaning, 
and giving the birds fresh plaster for their bath. My 
birds do not enjoy it as they do dry earth, but it is 
difficult to store earth enough to make 200 or 300 hens 
happy all winter. Plaster on the dropping boards is 
most satisfactory. It absorbs odors and moisture, and 
preserves the droppings in the best possible manner 
for future use. They are scraped off, once a week or 
oftener, into barrels and kept in a dry place. Fresh 
plaster, or if that cannot be obtain ;d, sifted coal 
ashes, are spread over the dropping boards. If any 
odor is detected before cleaning day, a sprinkle of 
plaster destroys it. I have never seen henhouses 
which have less unpleasant odor than mine have this 
winter, and it is wholly due to the new dropping 
boards and the use of land plaster. s. a. little. 
Seneca County, N. Y. 
THE SERVANT PROBLEM. 
HE servant problem in our immediate neighbor¬ 
hood does not have to be wrestled with as se¬ 
verely as it does in many places, for most of our house, 
keepers, with the aid of daughters, do their own work. 
Yet competent, reliable help when needed certainly is 
difficult to procure and keep. I believe the two prin¬ 
cipal reasons for this, here and elsewhere, are: first, 
because the stores, schools, offices, shops and factories 
absorb nearly all the girls who must or who choose to 
earn a living away from home ; second, because of the 
universal feeling among girls that hcusework, if per¬ 
formed in somebody’s else kitchen for wages, is some¬ 
how degrading, or, at least calculated to deprive them 
of'some social prestige. This foolish opinion certainly 
exists, and I believe employers are largely responsible 
for it. 
The inconsiderate, exacting woman who regards her 
servants only in the light of labor-saving machinery, 
or who manifests no interest in their welfare, or w'ho 
in any way causes them to feel that their position is 
an inferior one, makes trouble for herself and for those 
employers who would deal differently. Sue who speaks 
of a servant as “ knowing her place,” sets a stigma on 
*that “place” which she would not like her own daugh¬ 
ter to feel in the family of another. 
Personally, I prefer to do my own work whenever 
possible, for most of the girls I have been able to 
obtain, have been sadly lacking in ability, neatness 
and general conscientiousness in hou'ehold duties. 
They have been either American or Americanized 
daughters of German, Swiss and English parentage, 
and they have been moral—usually Christian—girls, 
for with our family of precious little ones who are 
always sure to adore our help, we cannot run the risk 
of evil influences. Many mothers must be extremely 
careless in the household training of daughters, or 
there would not be so much heedless unthoroughness. 
When a swept floor isn’t half swept, when a washed 
window or door looks worse than before cleaning. 
when dusting is omitted altogether, when vegetables 
are washed in the hand-wash basin, when dishes are 
wiped out of soap suds without rinsing, when pans 
are left greasy, when dishcloths wash the sink and 
the towels are rinsed in baby’s napkin tub—there 
must be a grievous lack of teaching or native fastidi¬ 
ousness. Since one cannot be always watching 
kitchen processes, who would not usually prefer to do 
without help whenever possible? 
When we do have a girl, we remember that she has 
a soul, mind and body. Sbe is allowed church and 
Sabbath school privileges—and we try in various ways 
to help her to sensible and right ideas of life. We 
are interested in her mental improvement. She is en¬ 
couraged to read and study. Free access is given to 
parlor, piano, books and papers, when not in use. She 
is sympathized with in her personal interests and 
friends, is allowed her evenings, and generally a por¬ 
tion of each day for rest or amusement, and is not 
expected or allowed to pay for breakages. In brief, 
she is treated very much as a good and helpful 
daughter of the house might be. It may be asked if 
undue advantage is never taken where such privileges 
are allowed. Yes—sometimes—but that depends on 
the kind of girl—not the circumstances. Even guests 
are sometimes inconsiderate and obstrusive. Want of 
natural delicacy and proper home training are found 
in many spheres besides that of the kitchen maid. 
We pay a girl for housework from SI. 50 to S2.50, ac¬ 
cord to age and capability, buying our bread and hav¬ 
ing the family laundering done away from home. The 
wages of factory girls average from $5 to S7 per week, 
they paying from S3 50 to S4 for boird. School teach¬ 
ers’ salaries are from S30 to S45 per month, and dress¬ 
makers who work at the homes of patrons have SI per 
day and two meals. Housework is, I think, the health¬ 
iest occupation a woman can have, and if employers 
everywhere would try to remove the odium that now 
attaches to it, multitudes of good and capable girls 
would prefer it to other work, and the servant prob¬ 
lem would solve itself. carrie ellis bkeck. 
Vineland, N. J. 
Warm Pillows —Do the children ever wake in the 
night with earache or toothache ? By heating the 
pillows well when they go to bed, much of this suffer¬ 
ing may be prevented. mrs. l. n. x. 
A Fur Rug. —“ What are you going to do with that 
ragged fur?” I asked a friend as she came in with 
the remains of a fur-lined circular over her arms. 
“ Put it into the ash barrel,” was the reply. “ Give it 
to me I remarked.” It was the gray and white fur. 
I took out the bad places, sewed the good together 
and made a border of half a yard or more in depth. 
At a carpet store I found a remnant of solid blue 
velvet carpet about yard long (red would have 
been pretty, but was not obtainable at the time.) 
My fur border was sewed on to the carpet’s edge and 
lined with navy blue flannel pinked at the edges. 
The wrong side of the carpet was finished with heavier 
material. The whole finished made a handsome ad¬ 
dition to my parlor and cost only $1.50—the price of 
the carpet. Some pieces of fur remaining, I sewed 
all together, lined with red flannel, pinked at edges 
and had a large warm rug for the bottom of a baby 
carriage. i. m. b. 
A cream of tartar baking powder. 
Highest of all in leavening strength. 
—Latest United States Government 
Report. 
Royal Baking Powder Co., 
106 Wall Street, New York. 
