The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
. 771 ^ 
A Pest of Fleas 
For three Seasons we have had jump¬ 
ing (teas in onr henhouses. They fling 
to the litter and get on people if they 
come in there. They also trouble the 
hens, so that they will not sit. They 
will live in a vacant building from one 
year to another, with no hens in there. 
The little imps will bite a person like 
fury, and if they attack poultry the same 
way it must be misery for the hens. Can 
you suggest some way to eradicate these 
pests? L. M. c. 
YVc have not seen the fleas referred to 
by L, M. (’.. but since we have previously 
received the Common hen flea (Cerato- 
phyllus gallinae) from Eastern Massa¬ 
chusetts we conclude that this is the 
species causing the trouble. It is inter¬ 
esting to note that in every case in which 
this flea has been reported to us much 
emphasis has been placed on the fact that 
it bites human beings viciously and 
causes annoyance. 
The white eggs of the fleas arc laid in 
ihe nests of the fowls and among the lit¬ 
ter on the floor. Here they hatch, and 
the slender white larvae live upon the 
organic matter found in the litter, and 
in two to three week become full grown. 
Thus it happens that these fleas can live 
in houses for some time, even though 
fowls are not present. 
It. should he borne in mind that these 
fleas prefer dark places, plenty of litter, 
and untidy conditions. Therefore, the 
first thing to do is to clean out all the 
dirt, litter and debris.' The floors, nest 
boxes, walls and porches should then be 
sprayed with ordinary kerosene oil, and 
the oil should be forced into all cracks 
aud crevices as thoroughly as possible. 
Special efforts should be made to do this 
work with great, care and thoroughness. 
Tn addition, although fleas are not per¬ 
manent parasites of fowls, it would be 
advisable to treat the hens with sodium 
fluorid before putting them hack in the 
house. Sodium fluorid is a white pow¬ 
der which umy be purchased of the drug¬ 
gist. It is very poisonous to all kinds of 
lice on fowls, and will probably drive 
away or kill any chance fleas that may 
be present. It should he applied by put¬ 
ting a pinch (ns much as can he held be¬ 
tween the thumb and finger ) of the pow¬ 
der among the feathers next to the skin 
on the head. neck. back, under each wing, 
on the breast, below the vent and at the 
base of the tail (not more than eight 
or 10 pinches on a single fowl). One 
should be careful not to inhale much of 
the powder, and not to allow too much 
of it to be inhaled by the fowls, as the 
powder is irritating to the breathing pas¬ 
sages and to the lungs. 
GLENN W. IIERRICK. 
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The Record of a Cat 
I would like to say a good word for the 
cat. We had been without, a eat for 
about a year when we got a kitten. We 
think it was three years ago this Summer. 
The rats and mice were having things 
pretty near their own way. in spite of rat 
poison and traps. It was a very bright 
kitten, and began catching mice when 
quite young. East year, in March, I be¬ 
gan keeping track of the rats that she 
brought in, or we know of her having. 
In eight months she had 69. She didn’t 
bring in many through the Winter, but 
since the hay was moved two weeks ago 
she has averaged one a day. 
We think she must catch several hun¬ 
dred mice in a year. I thing she could 
help the editor clear up the mice in his 
orchard. I saw her kill and eat seven mice 
not long ago. She afterwards killed five 
that she did not eat. One rooming I 
found three full-grown rats in the kitten’s 
box. The kitten was on the floor An¬ 
other morning she had six young rats 
that she had killed through the night. 
i ie scarcely e’er disturbs the birds, but 
the English sparrows are a real plague 
about here. We call our oat Josephine, 
and think that she more than pays for 
her keep. E. G. w. 
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Rural New York 
Raising Canaries 
I have been breeding canary birds for 
a few years, and I have had good luck. 
This is the way I started. First, 1 se¬ 
lected a good male bird and female, about 
two years old. First, take the male bird 
and put him in the breeding cage alone 
for one week ; then he knows he is boss 
of the house. Then put the female in. 
The reason for putting him in first is that 
otherwise they will all the time bo fight¬ 
ing, and will not mate. Put your nest 
in either corner. Do not put felt in the 
nest ; the nest need lots of air. I use hair 
nesting; you can buy it in any bird .-lore, 
and keep putting it in till bird has 
enough. T would not take eggs out of the 
nest till they hatch. You will have to 
watch that the female does not take a 
hath; if she gets wet and sits oit the little 
ones, it will kill them. That happened to 
mo. ami I lost four. After she has the 
little ones, give her hard-boiled egg, just 
the yellow, and apples and lettuce; you 
will have to watch the female that she 
does not pick tile feathers off the little 
ones. As soon as you see her doing that, 
take her out. and put her in another cage 
with another nest, and let her start to 
build again, and she will lay again, and 
the eggs are good that she lays; but do 
not take the male bird away from the little 
ones, because he feeds them till they are 
able to feed themselves. Then take the 
made bird away from the little ones and 
put him in with the female. 
New Jersey MBS. viola hitter. 
By 
ELMER O. PIPPIN 
have become interested in Hope Farm and its people. They may not 
know that these notes have been printed for 20 years and more. 
Some 25 of the best of these old-time sketches have been published 
in book form, This book is called 
Edited by 
L. H. BAILEY 
. RURAL 
-NEW 
• •YQRN 
- 
T'HIS book is 
a study of 
the Soils, Agri¬ 
culture, Animal 
Husbandry and 
other resources 
of New York 
State and its 
manufactures as 
they pertain to 
agriculture; 380 pages, many illus¬ 
trations and charts. A valuable book 
for reference. Price, $2.50. 
for sale by 
Rural New-Yorker^ 
333 WEST 30th STREET, N.Y. 
HOPE FARM NOTES 
Every reader of the Rural New-Yorker should own a copy. Among 
other remarkable tributes is the following: 
Mr. M aud I have just finished Hope Farm Notes, 
and l wish you would express to Mr. Oollingwood the 
pleasure that it gave us. We both liked it very much, 
and rarely do we both like the same book! 
Ohio. M. H. M. 
It is rare that any single book will appeal to all members of the 
family This one will because it is filled with kiudly feeling and 
human nature. It should be iu every country home. 
RURAL NEW-YORKER, 333 West 30th St.. New York 
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me. postpaid, a copy of “Hope Farm Notes.” 
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