1894 
377 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE LARGEST HENHOUSE IN THE WORLD. 
What do the readers of The R-. N.-Y. think of a hen¬ 
house holding thirty-five or forty thousand fowls at 
once? Yet there is such a one in Hoboken just across 
the river from New York City. It is not, however, in¬ 
tended for keeping fowls in for any length of time. It 
was built by the D. L. & W. Railroad for the purpose 
of handling live fowls that were shipped over that 
road. At certain seasons of the year immense quan¬ 
tities of live poultry are received in this market. Much 
of it comes from the West; even from as far as beyond 
the Mississippi. This comes by the car-load and none 
other is handled in this house. Formerly the poultry 
was in large crates or coops, and these were piled one 
on top of the other, on platform cars with an alley be¬ 
tween the coops for the attendants, who always ac¬ 
companied the cars, to feed and water the stock in 
transit. Within the past year or two cars built 
especially for this traffic have come into use, and as 
the trade has increased it has become necessary to 
have greater facilities for handling it at the terminus. 
This henhouse is 300 feet long, 63 feet wide, and 22 
feet high in the center, and is said to have cost $8,000. 
It looks like an immense corn crib, as the sides and 
ends, except the doors, are mostly slatted perpendicu¬ 
larly. Through the center, lengthwise, extend two 
tracts on which the cars are run in to be unloaded on 
the platforms on either side. These platforms are on 
a level with the car fioors. At intervals along the 
outside on each side, are doors through which the 
coops may be loaded on wagons. Not a chicken was 
visible. 
“You haven’t a very large stock on hand,” I re¬ 
marked to one of the men who were repairing and nail¬ 
ing up coops. 
“No;” was the reply, “we don’t intend to keep 
fowls here any longer than we can possibly help. This 
house is built simply to handle them in as fast as they 
come from the cars.” 
“Do you return these coops to the shippers ?’’ 
“No ; these are used to put the poultry in from the 
patent shipping cars. The coops are built into the 
latter and cannot be removed. We have to trans¬ 
fer the fowls into these in which they are delivered to 
the receivers.” 
“How many fowls will this building hold at once ?” 
“We have had nine car-loads in here at a time.” 
“What is a car-load ?” 
“About 4,000.” 
Under the platforms on each side of the house is con¬ 
siderable space, and this is utilized for storing fowls 
as well as the space on the platform, on which coops 
may be piled many tiers high. It would be difficult 
to think of a better arrangement for handling live 
poultry in large numbers. p- h. v . 
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MORE ABOUT THE HIRED MAN’S WAGES. 
HOW THEV BANGE IN THE WEST. 
From Southern Illinois. 
Farm hands are laborers that don’t fit any other oc¬ 
cupation, but are considered good enough for the farm. 
At present, such are fairly plenty. Wages per month 
with board, are $10 to $15; per day with board, 50 to 
75 cents; without board 75 cents to $1. Harvest 
wages are somewhat higher, about $1.25 per day. 
Centralia, Ill. w. c. 
Good Help Scarce In Oregon. 
Farm labor has always been higher on this coast 
than in the East; an extra good hand is always at a 
premium everywhere, and such a one here could get 
$225 per year. There are plenty of laborers, but they 
are not of the desirable class for farm hands ; they all 
want to work on public works and get big pay for 
little work. The only good help a farmer can obtain 
at anything like reasonable figures is when an Eastern 
man or a German comes along. After they have 
learned how to do your work, they soon catch on and 
object to working over 10 hours. The Portland 
Charitable Society offered the Industrials food and 
lodgings for one week for work on the street, and 
agreed to furnish every man labor in the country at the 
end of a week ; but they all ridiculed the idea. There 
is but little desirable help to be had at anything like 
reasonable figures, and farmers are changing their 
methods of farming or renting their farms, so as to 
hire as little as possible. Farm wages in Oregon 
range from $12 to $25 per month according to the 
length of time, the season of the year and the kind of 
work to be done. At present, wages are less than 
ever before ; average wages for the summer are $18 to 
$20 from 7 o’clock A. m. to sunset. J w. b. 
Middleton, Oregon. 
Things Easier in Minnesota. 
There is not so much difficulty ip procuring help 
now as there was a few years ago, in this locality. 
Farm hands, though not always of the best experi¬ 
ence, etc., are getting from $12 to $20 per month this 
season. I hired a good man this spring at 75 cents 
per day. We try never to make any reference as to 
the number of hours constituting a day’s work on the 
farm; but make use of the time the best wa can from 
about 5 A. M. to about 7 or 8 p. m. There are a num¬ 
ber of men here without any employment at present. 
They asked so much early in the spring that farmers 
would not hire them, and in consequence, they are 
left now without anything to do. J- s- 
Kasson, Minn. 
California, The Hired Man’s Paradise 
The wages for farm laborers in this part of Ciiifor 
nia are $25 per month and boarl. Permanent laborers 
are also lodged. Transients bring their blankets, 
usually, and sleep in barns, or other outbuildings. 
No washing, mending, or other personal services are 
included. Skilled help, such as butter makers, receive 
$30 to $35 in private dairies, and from $50 to $100 in 
creameries. The hours of labor are from 4 A. m. to 6 
or 6.30 p. M. Th s section is almost wholly given over 
to dairying and poultry raising, which accounts for 
the long hours. Flocks of 1,000 hens are not uncom¬ 
mon here, and the farmer who does not keep 300 or 400 
hens is not “in it.” It is no trouble whatever to pro¬ 
cure all the farm help wanted ; sometimes milkers are 
hard to get in April and May when all the cows are 
giving milk. Italians, Swiss, Danes, Portuguese and 
Germans constitute the great majority of the farm 
laborers. 
Petaluma, Cal. - 
Many Plants From a Little Tuber. 
K. B., Berea, O. —Please describe the method of 
slipping the sprouts from potatoes and the kind of soil 
in which they should be set. How many sprouts can 
be taken from one eye ? 
Ans.—H ere are two notes from men who have tried 
greenhouse culture for the Carman No. 1 potato : 
On February 1 the piece of Carman No. 1 potato 
which had two eyes, was planted in a mixture of pul¬ 
verized charcoal and sphagnum moss and placed on the 
propagating bed in the greenhouse. In about two 
weeks, the tops of the sprouts which were about two 
inches high were cut off and placed in sand in the bed, 
and about 10 days after, being rooted, were potted off. 
Then there were more shoots ready to be cut off and 
put in sand, and this was followed up until J une 1, 
when there were 25 plants potted and as many more 
in the propagating bed. On June 1, they were planted 
. outdoors and are now looking well. k. m. bbacy. 
Ogdensburg, N. Y. 
I am not proud of my success with the Carman 
potato in greenhouse treatment. I got 23 plants up 
to, say, four inches when they were potted in four- 
inch pots and the tops taken for cuttings. When 
started again, they had potatoes the size of marbles on 
the original plants, and on the cuttings a there were 
potatoes the size of peas with no signs of roots. I set 
the plants in the open ground where they acted as 
though maturing, with the potatoes but little larger 
than when set. I shall try to see whether the little 
things will grow and make a crop. No more green¬ 
house fcr me with choice seed, until I have more ex¬ 
perience. HALLOCK. 
A Mare With Surfeit. 
N. N., Laney, Wis.—What shall I do to get rid of 
surfeit in horses? It breaks out as soon as warm 
weather commences Last winter I fed a lot of bran, 
and about two ounces of sulphur to each horse twice 
a day; but this spring it breaks out all the same. 
One of the horses is a breeding mare, and it seems not 
to affect her much while she is suckling the colt, but 
the colt gets the surfeit. As the mare is a good one 
for raising heavy horses, I would like to get her 
cured, if possible, or I shall have to quit raising colts. 
Ans.—S urfeit is usually due to some fault in the 
diet, the surroundings of the animals, or to lack of 
proper grooming. It occurs most commonly during 
spring and fall. Treatment consists in opening the 
bowels by an active purgative, to be followed by a 
course of tonics. Give six to eight drams each of the 
best aloes and ginger (either in a ball or a drink), 
according to the size and condition of the animal. If 
the bowels are not freely moved by this dose, repeat 
it in three days. Mares well advanced in pregnancy 
should not receive the full dose of purgative until 
after foaling. Yearlings may receive one-fourth, and 
two-year-olds one-half of the above dose. Colts can 
better be given castor oil, in doses of three to six 
ounces, according to age. After the bowels have 
been moved, give two tablespoonfuls of the following 
powder on the feed twice daily : Powdered nux vom 
ica, one-fourth pound, powdered gentian root one-half 
pound, nitrate of potash one-fourth pound, sulphate 
of soda one pound ; mix. f. e k. 
How Far North Will Crimson Clover Thrive P 
F. O. L , Oswego County, N. F —What does Crimson 
clover seed cost per pound ? How many pounds are 
sown per acre ? How many crops are secured from a 
seeding ? How many months does it take to grow the 
crop ? Will it grow in 43 degrees north latitude ? 
Ans —The price runs from $5 to $7 50 a bushel of 60 
pounds. Growers generally use about 14 pounds per 
acre—see Mr. Bancroft’s article. There is but one crop 
of seed. At the Rural Grounds, the crop was cut before 
the heads formed and the roots sent up a second 
growth. It made a crop of forage in less than 90.days 
when sowed May 19. In Delaware, it is sowed in 
August and cut the following May. We do not know 
how far north it will prove hardy. It stood the past 
winter with the Hales of South Glastonbury, Conn. 
Here is a note from Tompkins County, N. Y.: 
“ I am trying this clover somewhat, and if it prove 
hardy, will be a great thing for fruit farmers. I sowed 
a small piece last August, and it went through the 
winter all right, is in full bloom now, and very fiae. I 
wish to save the seed. Should I get it from the first 
crop, or cut it once and let it seed later ?” d. r. p. 
Trumansburg, N. Y. 
Cat the seed from the first crop. 
The Story of Orchard Grass. 
L. C. V., WertsvlUe, N. F.—1. Will Orchard grass 
stand the winter? If so, how long will it thrive? 
How will it answer for meadow or pasture to take the 
place of Timothy, and at what season should it be 
sown ? 2. How about the extra seed potato for sub¬ 
scribers ? 
Ans.— 1. Orchard grass is a perennial and will last 
for many years, growing from two to four feet high, 
according to the soil. Thick seeding—about three 
bushels to the acre—is desirable to overcome its 
natural habit of growing in tufts. If cut young, all 
cattle relish it and it is considered more nutritious 
than Timothy. It is valuable either for pasture or 
meadow. For hay, it must be cut early. It is very 
early in its growth and continues growing until late 
October. When cut it starts again quickly. It ripens 
just before Red clover. It may be sown in early spring 
just so soon as the land can be prepared or in late 
August. It will crowd out almost any other grass. 2. 
We shall give our friends exact information as to the 
potatoes as soon as we can ascertain what the crop 
will be. 
What Is “Odorless Phosphate”? 
W. O. E., Whitbii, Ontario.— What is odorless phos¬ 
phate? If it is so valuable as the maker claims, I 
wonder that there is so little said about it in agricul¬ 
tural papers. 
Ans —This is the same as basic slag. It is a product 
resulting from the use of lime in smelting iron ore. 
The phosphorus in the ore unites with the lime ito 
form phosphate of lime and this is found mixed with 
other slag. It is afterwards ground to a fine powder. 
An ordinary specimen will contain about 19 per cent 
of phosphoric acid, and 52 per cent of lime. The 
trouble with this material is that the manufacturers 
charge'too much for it. If it could be sold at a reason¬ 
able rate, it would prove a good source of phosphoric 
acid; but at present retail prices, it cannot rank with 
other sources for profit. The manufacturers are too 
modest about letting the public know what they have 
to sell. Write to the Connecticut Station (New 
Haven, Conn,,) and ask for the 1890 report. 
Clover in the Corn; Bordeaux Mixture. 
E. P. B., La Plume, Pa—1. What clover is best to 
sow in the corn at the last cultivation. Medium or 
Mammoth ? I want it for pasture next spring and to 
plow down in the fall. 2. What is The R N.-Y.’s 
opinion of Crimson clover for Eastern Pennsylvania ? 
Would it recommend sowing the 15 acres of corn with 
it, or will it be too expensive to try on so large a scale? 
3 I would like to know how much water to use more 
than the 50 gallons (page 311) to dilute the solution. 
We intend to spray our potatoes. 
Axs.—1 and 2. Our advice would be to sow, say, 
three acres in Crimson clover and the rest in Medium. 
This will give you an excellent chance for comparison. 
We think the Crimson will succeed -with you, but do 
not advise putting the whole area in it to oegin with. 
3. We would double the quantity of water. See page 
253 for complete directions for mixing. 
Bye, Buckwheat and Fertilizers. 
D. B. L., Polkvllle, N. Y,—l sowed a run-down field 
with rye, but the grass seed did not take. Th'^re’s a 
fair stand of rye. Shall I plow under the rye after 
blooming, sow with buckwheat, plow under the buck¬ 
wheat and seed down? Or shall I harvest the buck¬ 
wheat and invest the profit in fertilizers ? Or, shall I 
grow the rye and invest the profit in fertilizers ? All 
labor is to be hired except the team. Tne soil is a 
clay inclined to slate. 
Ans. —As an opinion only, we would say, plow under 
the rye and sow buckwheat. Harvest the buckwheat 
and sow rye and grass seed, using a portion of tne 
money obtained for the buckwheat in buying ferti¬ 
lizers for use on the rye. ITor seed, let the Crimson 
clover mature as early as it will. 
