740 
IShe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
May  13,  191G. 
try  reaches  New  York,  lie  has  no  share  in  the 
illicit  profit. 
The  custom  of  handling  live  poultry  in  transit  is 
to  physic  the  birds  the  first  day  in  transit,  the  sec¬ 
ond  day  to  feed  light  food  without  water,  with  a 
mixture  of  red  pepper  to  irritate  the  stomach.  For 
twenty-four  hours  before  arriving  at  New  York  the 
birds  are  kept  without  food.  The  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture  gives  the  further  treat¬ 
ment.  it  says: 
The  evil  of  the  system  of  feeding  practiced  in  the 
eais  of  poultry  entering  New  York  is  found  in  the  24- 
hour  starvation  followed  by  the  giving  of  the  watery 
mixture  of  sand,  gravel,  corn  and  wheat  mixed  with 
the  paste  forming  bran  and  “shorts.”  The  latter  cause 
the  mass  to  stick  to  the  walls  of  the  crop  and  prevent 
its  passing  on  into  tin*  stomach.  As  a  consequence 
hunger  remains  unsatisfied  and  the  fowl  continues  to 
eat  until  it  can  hold  no  more.  < liven  in  the  proper 
Wiiy,  all  the  substances  used  in  stuffing  the  birds  are 
recognized  poultry  foods,  but  the  harm  in  this,  case 
comes  from  the  way  they  are  put  together.  When  the 
chicken’s  crop  becomes  distended  with  the  pasty  mix¬ 
ture.  arid  inflammation  soon  develops,  food  cannot 
reach  the  empty  stomach  and  pathological  conditions 
assert  themselves.  The  fowl  begins  to  lose  weight, 
appears  sickly  and  would  die  in  three  or  four  days 
were  it  not  sold  and  killed  in  the  meantime.  Of  course, 
no  one  feels  inclined  to  use  as  food  the  body  of  an  ani¬ 
mal  that  is  slowly  dying. 
In  its  investigation  the  Federal  authorities  found 
a  bird  shipped  by  A.  W.  Bear  &  Co.  of  Kansas  City. 
Mo.,  and  consigned  to  Kossar  &  Co.  of  New  York, 
weighing  two  pounds  and  10  ounces,  carrying  a 
stuffed  crop  weighing  eight  ounces  or  20%  of  the 
weight.  (Fig.  271.  )  On  a  four-pound  roOsler  shipped 
by  Alex  lteid.  Springfield.  Mo.,  and  consigned  to  B. 
Baft  &  Son,  New  York,  the  weight  of  the  crop  was 
1014  ounces  or  21%  of  the  weight  of  the  bird.  On 
this  basis  the  people  of  New  York  are  buying  twenty- 
eight  million  pounds  of  sand,  gravel,  meal,  paste, 
and  water  at  25  cents  a  pound  as  chicken  feed,  at 
a  total  eost  of  seven  million  dollars.  When  the 
housewife  gives  a  dollar  for  a  fowl,  she  pays  SO 
cents  for  meat  and  20  cents  for  sand,  gravel,  meal 
and  water,  which  not  only  has  no  value,  but  is  an 
actual  loss,  and  a  very  probable  danger  to  herself 
and  her  family. 
In  return  for  this  annual  outlay  of  seven  million 
dollars  and  as  a  direct  result  of  its  purchase,  they 
have  the  satisfaction  of  eating  poultry  that  was 
dying  when  It  was  killed.  Furthermore,  the  process 
of  fermentation  and  decay  in  the  crop  of  the  bird 
continues  and  increases  after  the  bird  is  killed,  and 
makes  the  poultry  unfit  and  dangerous  to  health  as 
an  article  of  food.  This  kosher-killed  poultry,  if 
carried  for  12  hours  after  killing,  without  removing 
the  crop,  would  Ik*  absolutely  unfit  for  food,  because 
of  the  taint  and  germs  entering  the  breast  meat 
of  the  fowl  from  the  distended  and  diseased  crop. 
The  investigation  and  report  of  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  was  issued  two 
years  ago,  but  the  system  has  continued  since.  The 
New  York  State  Department  of  Foods  and  Markets 
now  proposes  to  stop  it.  Order  has  been  issued  to 
all  of  the  dealers  and  retailers  handling  this  pro¬ 
duct  that  live  or  kosher-killed  poultry  must  not  he 
sold  and  offered  for  sale  with  food  in  its  crop.  Dis¬ 
trict  Attorney  Swan  of  New  York,  the  City  Board  of 
Health  and  the  city  press  have  all  approved  the 
purpose  of  the  Department  to  put  an  end  to  this 
unlawful  business,  and  they  have  already  begun 
to  cooperate  to  that  end.  The  elimination  of  this 
abuse  will  put  the  live  poultry  business  on  a 
stable  basis,  and  it  will  encourage  the  production 
of  better  poultry  for  market  and  increase  con¬ 
sumption  of  it.  It  will  also  encourage  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  poultry  in  near-by  sections.  The  illicit 
profit  iu  this  cramming  of  carlot  shipments  from 
Western  States  is  largely  responsible  for  the  dis¬ 
crimination  against  Eastern  poultry.  The  dealer 
inclines  to  the  line  of  greatest  profit.  With  the 
removal  of  this  tricky  custom  the  market  will  he 
open  on  e<*ual  basis  to  nearby  shipments,  and  a 
profitable  market  will  be  open  to  New  York  and 
New  England  poultry. 
carried  out  the  experiment  with  them.  There  seems 
to  l»e  quite  a  general  opinion  that  the  single-comb 
birds  are  better  layers  although  there  may  be  noth¬ 
ing  more  than  opinion  in  this. 
At  the  Stores  egg-laying  contest  this  year  there 
is  a  pen  of  so-called  Imperial  Progressives.  It  is 
the  first  time  this  strain  or  breed  has  been  given 
much  publicity.  Mr.  Wm.  R.  Wells,  who  entered  this 
pen,  is  a  breeder  of  White  Wyaudottes.  Tie  tells 
us  that  this  new  strain  or  breed  has  been  developed 
from  sports  of  the  Wyandotte,  that  is,  a  white  bird 
of  the  Wyandotte  type,  hut  with  a  single  comb. 
There  is  a  picture  of  a  pair  of  these  Progressives 
shown  at  Fig.  272.  They  have  much  the  type  of 
1  lie  Wyandotte,  a  single  comb,  and  lay  a  dark  brown 
Materials  Used  in  Sanding  Poultry.  Fjg.  270 
egg.  Mr.  Wells  gives  a  very  interesting  story  of 
the  way  these  Progressives  were  developed.  He 
decided  to  give  a  thorough  trial  to  the  single-comb 
White  Wyandotte,  having  about  seven  single-comb 
sports  out.  of  about  800  chickens.  He  made  a  pen 
of  these  seven  birds,  and  has  been  working  at  the 
strain  to  see  what  could  be  made  out  of  it  In  some 
of  the  pens  he  later  introduced  the  blood  of  other 
breeds,  so  that  he  has  now  in  addition  to  the  straight 
single-comb  Wyandotte  one  strain  of  one-eighth 
White  Rock,  another  strain  of  one-sixteenth  Wyan¬ 
dotte  and  one-eighth  White  Leghorn  mixed  with  the 
White  Wyandotte.  In  speaking  of  this  Mr.  Wells 
says: 
Of  course  each  -strain  is  a  different  type  bird.  My 
Leghorn  strain,  containing  White  Leghorn,  resembles 
i  he  Barron  strain  White  Wyandotte,  which  you  know 
is  an  entirely  different  type  bird  from  any  of  the  ex¬ 
hibition  strains.  The  Triumph  strain,  like  picture  you 
have,  is  one-eigbtli  White  Rock ;  this  strain  is  Wyan¬ 
dotte  in  type  but  more  vigorous  and  larger,  a  trifle 
longer  in  the  saddle,  hut  full  of  curves  like  the  Wyan¬ 
dotte. 
Thus  we  sec*  that  the  birds  shown  in  the  picture 
are  one-eightli  White  Rock  and  the  balance  single 
Chicken  2%  pounds  with  8  ounce  Sanded  Crop.  Fig.  271 
Single  Comb  Wyandotte  Poultry 
1  have  been  raising  White  Leghorns  and  like  them 
so  far  as  looks  are  concerned,  but  don’t  think  they  are 
quite  as  well  suited  to  the  farm  as  some  of  the  Ameri¬ 
can  breeds.  I  like  the  Wyandottes,  except  for  the  rose 
comb,  which  1  think  is  unsightly.  Do  you  think  it 
would  be  practical  to  work  up  a  strain  Of  single  comb 
birds?  I  know  of  several  breeders  who  are  working 
up  this  strain  of  whom  1  could  get  a  start.  Breeders 
of  these  Wyaudottes  say  that  their  single  comb  birds 
are  the  best  layers  of  the  flock.  It  would  be  interest¬ 
ing  to  have  the  opinion  or  experiences  of  the  rentiers  of 
Tin:  R.  N.-Y.  on  this  point.  No  doubt  the  single  combs 
would  be  barred  from  tin*  poultry  shows,  but  I  wouldn’t 
core  about  that,  as  1  want  them  primarily  for  eggs  and 
to  raise  broilers.  Would  they  be  barred  from  the  Wyan¬ 
dotte  breed  in  the  egg-laying  contests? 
Pennsylvania.  FRANK  ZORN. 
E  would  like  to  hear  from  our  readers  about 
this.  We  understand  there  have  been  a  num¬ 
ber  of  cases  of  single-comb  sports  from  the  White 
Wyaudottes.  and  perhaps  some  of  our  people  have 
comb  Wyaudottes,  and  the  Imperial  Progressives 
will  thus  take  rank  as  a  strain  of  single  comb  Wyan¬ 
dotte  with  more  or  less  other  -blood  introduced. 
The  Care  of  Late  Planted  Potatoes 
Planting,  Cultivating  and  Handling 
Part  I. 
IDGING  OR  LEVEE  CULTURE.— The  best 
way  to  plant  potatoes  varies  with  the  soils  and 
climates  of  every  section.  Wlmt  is  right  for  one 
may  result  in  failure  in  another.  For  the  late  main 
crop  of  the  Northern  States  one  important  factor 
is  to  plant  at  the  right  time  to  have  the  crop  mature 
in  the  cool  weather  of  Fall,  when  plenty  of  rain  is 
more  likely  than  earlier  in  the  Summer.  Early  po¬ 
tatoes  or  those  ripening  in  dry  times  give  but  light 
yields.  Deep  and  shallow  planting,  level  and  ridge 
culture,  planting  in  drills  or  checks,  thorough  or 
light  tillage  and  shallow  or  deep  cultivation  all  have 
earnest  advocates  who  point  with  pride  to  the  suc¬ 
cess  they  have  had  with  their  special  methods. 
Often  careful  examination  will  show  that  their 
success  has  been  in  spite  of  and  not  because  of  the 
method  used,  and  because  of  something  else  that  the 
advocate  had  failed  to  take  into  account  sufficiently. 
Success  with  the  potato  crop  is  a  complex  thing. 
There  are  many  factors  which  vary  with  each  sea¬ 
son.  A  right  method  for  one  year  may  cause  a  fail¬ 
ure  the  next.  Take  for  example  the  question  of 
ridging  or  level  culture,  linked  as  it  is  with  that  of 
deep  or  shallow  planting.  If  we  could  predict  ex¬ 
actly  what  the  weather  for  any  Summer  would  be 
I  could  decide  which  of  these  methods  would  be  the 
best  for  my  own  farm.  Ridging  would  have  been 
best  for  the  extremely  wet  season  of  1915-  Per¬ 
fectly  level  culture  would  have  been  best  for  the 
drought  Of  1911  and  1913. 
PREFERENCE  IN  MAINE. — The  growers  of 
Maine  make  an  average  yield  of  over  200  bushels 
per  acre  for  the  whole  State,  good  acres,  bad  acres 
and  indifferent.  They  prefer  to  use  a  system  of 
ridging.  Maine  has  a  shorter  growing  season  by 
several  weeks  than  we  have  in  Central  New  York. 
With  cool  Summers  potatoes  planted  right  after  oat, 
sowing  are  hardly  ripe  before  killing  frosts  in  Fall. 
Their  rainfall  is  heavier,  owing  to  being  near  to 
the  place  in  the  ocean  where  the  cold  current  from 
the  Arctic  meets  the  warm  Gulf  Stream.  They  have 
more  cloudy  weather,  and  so  less  evaporation  from 
the  soil.  Most,  of  Aroostook  County  has  only  been 
cleared  from  the  forest  for  a  few  years,  ami  the 
soil  is  still  full  of  humus.  It  is  a  more  or  less 
gravelly  limestone  loam  which  crumbles  easily  and 
seldom  bakes.  It  is  so  damp  that  the  higher  and 
drier  parts  are  considered  better  for  potatoes  than 
the  lower  lying  locations.  Under  those  conditions 
the  Maine  growers  find  that  it  pays  them  to  ridge 
potatoes;  also  digging  is  made  easier  in  wet  Falls 
by  the  ridges. 
TIIE  LONG  ISLAND  PLAN.— The  opposite  to 
these  conditions  is  found  on  Long  Island.  The  soil 
there  is  very  sandy,  and  holds  water  poorly.  The 
crop  is  planted  early  in  Spring  and  matures  in  the 
hottest  and  driest  part  of  Summer.  While  the  great 
trouble  in  Aroostook  is  too  much  water  in  the  soil 
there  is  seldom  enough  on  Long  Island.  Under  these 
conditions  Long  Island  growers  plant  deep,  and 
practice  level  culture.  One  odd  form  of  ridging  is 
that  used  by  growers  who  happen  to  leave  part  of 
the  crop  till  late  Fall  before  digging.  This  is  ridged 
just  before  digging  to  kill  the  weeds  and  make  dig- 
ing  easier.  Most  of  the  growers  on  the  Volusia  soils 
of  Northern  Pennsylvania  and  Southern  New  York 
use  ridging.  So  much  of  that  soil  is  full  of  flat 
stones  that  ridging  is  an  easy  way  to  kill  weeds  start¬ 
ing  near  the  plants.  Most  of  these  soils  have  a 
hard  pan  near  the  surface,  and  the  shallow  soil  fills 
with  water  very  quickly  after  heavy  rains.  In  a 
wet  Fall  it  would  often  be  impossible  to  dig  level 
tilled  potatoes.  And  yet  unlike  Maine*  soils  this 
shallow  soil  suffers  badly  from  droughts  in  Summer. 
With  a  season  like  1911  heavy  crops  were  grown 
by  level  culture.  In  1915  the  level  tillage  was  a 
failure.  With  any  method  on  this  soil  success  will 
depend  on  the  season. 
DRTIXS  AND  IIILLS. — Two  common  methods  of 
spacing  the  hills  in  the  row  are  in  use,  hills  and 
drills.  With  drills  the  cultivating  tools  run  only 
one  way,  the  hills  being  spaced  generally  close  in 
the  row,  12  to  24  inches.  By  the  other  method  the 
hills  are  spaced  in  checks  far  enough  apart  to  al¬ 
low  cross  cultivation,  2S  to  42  inches.  I  use  drills 
because  I  do  not  have  too  many  stones  to  use  the 
weeder  and  leveling  tools.  These  keep  the  ground 
close  to  the  plants  perfectly  clean  of  weeds.  Plant¬ 
ing  close  gives  a  larger  yield,  and  the  potatoes  grow 
to  just  the  right  size  to  bring  the  highest  price  in 
city  markets.  This  is  one  of  the  secrets  of  the  high 
prices  secured  by  Maine  and  Long  Island  shippers. 
Undoubtedly  some  soils  are  so  stony  •that  cross  cul¬ 
tivation  and  ridging  must  be  used  to  keep  down 
weeds.  My  own  experience  in  handling  some  very 
stony  land  without  these  methods  makes  me  believe 
that  they  are  used  more  than  they  should  be.  Po¬ 
tatoes  should  be  grown  in  drills  wherever  it  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  use  drills  and  keep  the  weeds  down,  because 
larger  yields  are  grown,  and  the  size  is  better.  With 
poor  soils  where  the  yield  is  certain  to  be  small  it 
may  pay  to  use  hill  planting.  In  that  case  the  stock 
will  not  be  too  coarse.  Many  farmers  in  the  Steu¬ 
ben  County  arid  the  Chateaugay  sections  say  that 
the  large  amount  of  stone  in  their  land  makes  plant¬ 
ing  in  hills  more  profitable  for  them,  by  enabling 
them  to  dig  more  bushels  in  the  same  time  than 
they  could  from  drills.  danjrj.  pran. 
