386 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
June 16 
“RAISING CHICKENS.” 
ANOTHER woman’s WAY. 
Hot Jugs for Brooders. 
We bought an incubator last year, 
having then practiced four years with a 
homemade one, but did not receive it in 
time to make two hatches. As it was 
then late enough to put the chickens 
out in coops, we did not really get into 
the merits of raising broilers. This year 
we started earlier, hatched our first 
chicks March 1, and from then to May 1, 
took out 546 live chicks; now we are 
hatching for others. We thought that 
we could raise them in drygoods boxes 
in the house, warming them with hot 
water in jugs. We had succeeded very 
well in raising 40 or 50 in that way, and 
did so this year with one fine brood : but 
the next, and the next, how they died! 
Some lived to be three or four weeks 
old ; others collapsed younger. We had 
them in a large room in the house, 
heated by a stove—in long tiers built up 
three or four high, on the sides of the 
room near the windows; each tier di¬ 
vided into five boxes—and a hot-water 
jug in each box—with 25 to 30 chicks. 
What Made Them Die? 
When they began to die, I searched for 
lice and discovered one. Then how the 
chicks were treated ! First sulphur and 
grease, then coal oil, their boxes thor¬ 
oughly cleaned and kerosened and their 
coverings sulphur-smoked over and over 
again, until it is tiresome even now to 
think of it. Still they died. Finally we 
decided that it must be the treatment 
and not lice that was killing them Their 
poor eyes swelled shut, and the down 
came off the heads and bodies of those 
that lived ; but still more chicks hatched 
and higher went the tiers—more jugs to 
fill three times a day. I thought per¬ 
haps it was water they needed, so when 
that woman told how she made that 
drinking fountain, I made 14 just like it. 
How they drank ! Still they died. 
Finally one morning it came to a cli¬ 
max. It was either give up and be sick, 
or arrange some other way to care for 
those chicks. We were worn out filling 
jugs of hot water; it took five hours to 
heat them all around, and doing this 
three times a day, left little time for 
much else. With cleaning pens and 
doctoring for lice between spells, we 
were fast becoming hermits. So that 
bright morning, there we sat, “ Little 
Mum ” on a chair and I on the lower 
tier of chicken boxes, so cross and ready 
to cry at our failure, dreading to turn 
and look into the chicken boxes for fear 
of seeing some more unfortunate chicks 
breathing their last. At last a brooder 
was evolved. The R. N.-Y. containing 
Schultz’s article on homemade brooders 
had been received and read the night be¬ 
fore, but the one we made was not costly, 
and was put together in five hours, run 
and all, with the help of a 13-year-old 
boy. And it worked ! Since then we 
have made two more—vast improvements 
on the first, and costing more. 
The Making of a Brooder. 
We took one of our dry goods boxes— 
one 28 X 32 X 10 was the first one we used 
—lowered it two inches, and fastened 
sheet iron securely to the edges, covering 
the whole upper part, leaving the bott^ 
for a fioor for the lamp, and an opening 
on one side to put in the lamp. Before 
putting on the sheet iron, we covered all 
the edge touching the iron with zinc to 
avoid danger of fire from overheating 
the wood. Next time, I shall use asbes¬ 
tos ; it is much easier put on. We took 
the two inches cut off, and tacked a floor 
to it, leaving it that much above the 
sheet iron. We fitted sides to the box, 
leaving the floor above the sheet iron so 
that it can easily be taken out to be 
cleaned. The sides come up about four 
inches above the movable floor and en¬ 
close it. To the sides were fitted a cover 
which can be raised when desired, to see 
the chicks. To the sides were also fas¬ 
tened pickets, which form the framework 
of the run, and a good floor of pine boards 
nailed to them. The pickets were fas¬ 
tened together by cleats and then hinged 
on each side to the box by a spike, so 
that, when desired, the farther edge of 
the run could rest on the ground and 
allow the chicks to run down to the 
ground. The top and two sides of the 
run were covered with wire cloth, of 
which I bought enough waste pieces for 
10 cents to cover three runs. On the top 
of the run, next the brooder, we made a 
wire door to be lifted out when putting 
in food, water, etc. At the farther end 
of the run, we had a board door which 
can be swung back to clean the run or to 
let the chicks to the ground. In the 
side of the brooder next to the run above 
the floor, we cut a half-oval opening a 
foot long and two inches high. This we 
do not close at night, aiming to keep the 
brooder warm enough without, though a 
side door could easily be fitted to it. The 
lamp was one of these little single oil- 
stove lamps, which had lain in the garret 
for years, but it proved just the thing. 
We put chicks under by the lamp, and 
they thrive as well as or better than those 
above, so the fumes of the lamp do not 
hurt them. We bored 1-in ch auger holes 
in the sides of the box below the sheet 
iron, for air for the chicks and lamp, 
about five on a side. 
Improvements to Come. 
The next one we make will be still 
more improved. We shall have a wire 
run to the lower part as well as to the 
upper part of the brooder, and put the 
lamp in at the side, having a slide door 
for it, and make the brooder narrow 
enough to pass through any ordinary 
door. If made all of pine, it is not heavy 
for two to carry, and then we can put it 
where wanted during the day and under 
shelter at night. We have given up one 
of the henhouses to the chicks, and keep 
most of the brooders there. The hen¬ 
house has an extra slat door to keep out 
the hens, and the chicks go in and out 
as they please. In using the stove lamp, 
care must be taken to keep the micas 
free from smoke so that the blaze can be 
seen, or it may be left too high and 
brooders get well smoked, if not in a 
blaze. The blaze must be left at exactly 
the right height. 
Making Haste Slowly. 
I think one may learn as much from 
another’s mistakes as from his successes, 
so I hope no one will make the mistakes 
we have. We lost 200 chicks by not hav¬ 
ing proper means of caring for them. 
We did not want to buy brooders until 
we knew we could succeed in hatching 
chicks, and now I am glad we did not, as 
I can make six of mine for the price of 
one, and thus care for that many more 
chicks. 
“ Little Mum” and I are much opposed 
to going ahead any faster than we can 
meet the expense, and believe that if 
every one were so, there would be less 
debt and complaint of hard times. Of 
course, if our 200 chicks could all have 
been marketed at 50 cents apiece, they 
would have bought several brooders, but 
our market is not what we would like, 
and probably some died from my “ treat¬ 
ment,” so we do not'feel sorry that we 
did not buy a brooder. If we had, I 
should not have been “rousted up,” as 
Samantha says, to make one, and one 
would not begin to cover our chicks. 
We feed a bread consisting of equal 
parts of bran, corn meal and chop, a 
little coarse linseed meal and animal 
meal, moistened with milk and baked 
very dry, so that it can be crumbled into 
their troughs. Each brood has one or 
two troughs made like a pig’s trough, a 
foot or so long. For the little ones they 
are made of lath, and for the larger 
ones of clap boards. Chicks do not 
crowd or trample the food at a long 
trough as at a small one. It is very 
easy and pleasant work to care for the 
chicks now—they become such pets if 
one will let them. We feel so proud of 
our brooders, and hope that no woman 
who can drive a naii will work as we 
have without them, as there is always 
waste stuff around a farm house to mike 
one or two—and boxes cost little, moss. 
If your nearest, best and most esteemed 
neighbors had written the following letters 
they could bo no more worthy of your con¬ 
fidence than they now are, coming, as they 
do, from well known, intelligent and trust¬ 
worthy citizens who, in their several neigh¬ 
borhoods, enjoy the fullest confidence and 
respect of all. 
Mrs. F. L. Inman, of Manton, Wexford 
Co., Mich., whose portrait heads this article, 
writes as follows: “I began taking Dr. 
Pierce’s Favorite Prescription about a year 
ago. For years I have suffered with falling 
and ulceration of the womb, but to-day, I 
am enjoying perfect health. 
I took four bottles of the ‘ Prescription ’ 
and two of Dr. Pierce’s Golden Medical Dis¬ 
covery. Every lady suffering from female 
weakness should try the ‘Prescription’ and 
‘Golden Medical Discovery.’” 
Miss Mary J. Tanner, North Lawrence, 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., writes: “I was 
sick for four years. For two years I could 
do no work. I had five different physicians, 
who pronounced my case a poor or impov¬ 
erished condition of the blood, and uterine 
trouble. I suffered a great deal with pain in 
both sides, and much tenderness on pressing 
over the womb. I bloated at times in my 
bowels and limbs; was troubled with leu- 
corrhea. I could not sleep, and was troub¬ 
led with palpitation of the heart. Suffered 
a great deal of pain in my head, temples, 
forehead and eyes. I had a troublesome 
cough, raised a great deal and at times ex¬ 
perienced a good deal of pain in my chest 
and lungs. My voice at times was very weak. 
I suffei’od excruciating monthly, periodical 
pains. Since taking seven bottles of Dr. 
Pierce’s Favorite Prescription some time ago, 
I have enjoj^ed better health than I have for 
more than four years previously; in fact, 
for several months past I have been able to 
work at sewing. I have gained in weight 
thirty-nine pounds since taking your in^i- 
cines ; the soreness and pain have disap¬ 
peared.” Yours truly. 
Mrs. Alex. Robertson, of Half Rock, Mer¬ 
cer Co., Mo., writes : ‘‘ For twenty yeai-s, I 
suffered with womb disease and most of the 
time I was in constant pain which rendered 
life a gi-eat burden, I cannot express what 
I suffered. I had eight doctors and all the 
medicine I had from them failed—the one 
after the other, 
I was nervous, cold hands and feet, palpita¬ 
tion, headache, backache, constipation, leu- 
corrhea and no appetite, with bearing-down 
pains. 1 got so weak I could not walk 
around. I had to keep my bed, thinking I 
would never get any better. 
One day my husband got one of your little 
books and read it to me. He said there was 
nothing doing me any good. I said I would 
try Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription, I did 
try it. After the first few weeks my appe¬ 
tite was better ; I was able to sit up in bed. 
I wrote to the World’s Dispensary Medical 
Association, at Buffalo, N. Y., and described 
my case ; they sent me a book on woman’s 
diseases. I read carefully and followed the 
directions as near as I could and took the 
medicine for two years. With the blei^ing 
of God and your medicines, 1 am entirely 
cured. That was three years ago.” 
Yours truly, 
“ Favorite Prescription ” is a positive cure 
for the most complicated and obstinate cases 
of leucorrhea, excessive flowing, painful men¬ 
struation, unnatural suppr^ions, and irreg¬ 
ularities, prolapsus, or falling of the womb, 
weak back, “ female weakness,” anteversion, 
retroversion, bearing-down sensations, chron¬ 
ic congestion, inflammation and ulceration of 
the womb, inflammation, pain and tenderness 
in ovaries, accompanied with “ internal heat.” 
The Book (168 pages. Illustrated) referred to 
above, is sent sealed secure from observation 
in plain envelovQ for ten cents in stamps, to 
pay postage. Write for it. The Book points 
out the means of successful Home Treatment 
for all the peculiar weaknesses and distressing 
diseases incident to women. Address World’s 
Dispensary Medical Association, Invalids’ 
Hotel and Surgical Institute, Buffalo, N. Y. 
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Is tow snpplylna practical, readable and In- 
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are practical working gardeners, each In his 
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Where all Is so good there can be no special 
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The Inquiry Department Is open to all, free 
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Every raiser of fruits, flowers or vegetables, 
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yon can return it at any time within 
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IN 
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There Is probably no branch of 
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But every man doesn’t know how to care for sheep, 
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Address THE RURAL NEW-YOKKBR, 
Cor, Chambers and Pearl Sts., New Yorh. 
