7h< RURAL NEW-YORKER 
121 I 
she died, so 1 r-.-m't understand how the 
resi are getting the same thing, j. w. B. 
Xew Jersey. 
Your description of these lumps and 
scabs suggests chicken pox. though this 
disease generally appears about the bead 
first and affects the skin of other parts 
of the body only in severe cases in which 
it has spread to them. However, the feet 
and legs may be affected, and the disease, 
being transmissible liy contact, may 
spread from one bird to another. The 
affected fowls should be promptly re¬ 
moved from the flock, ami the sores may 
be painted with tincture of iodine. Or¬ 
dinarily, this disease is not very fatal in 
the Northern States, mild attacks sub¬ 
siding with little or no treatment. If 
your birds continue to die from this dis¬ 
ease it will he evident that either it is 
not chicken pox, or that, if it is. it is 
chicken pox of an unusually severe type. 
M. B. D. 
shedding their rail feathers. A linos as 
fast as they shed them they eat the small¬ 
est ones, hut do not pick them off one 
another. What makes them do it. and 
is there any harm in doing so? Is there 
anything lacking in my feeding? I give 
them Cornell mash (dry) a>l all times: 
that and corn (cracked) twice daily, 
shells aud fresh water. They have free 
range about two to four hours every 
afternoon, so as to supply them with 
green food. M, F. H. 
Maine. 
There is nothing wrong with your poul¬ 
try ration and the loss of tail feathers 
will do no harm to the chicks. A hit of 
bine ointment about the si-.cc of a grain 
of corn smeared upon the skin beneath 
the vent of each chick will rid it of body 
lice, which may irritate the skin and 
cause picking at the feathers. See to it 
also that red mires are not congregating 
heneath or about the perches, if these 
birds roost indoors. If you haven't 
looked for these mites this Summer, ex¬ 
amine the perch supports carefully. 
M. B. D. 
The Henyard 
Various Poultry Questions 
Will y<. u advise me as to the com¬ 
parative value of peat moss aud rye 
straw as litter for poultry houses-? My 
houses have dirt floors of a well-drained 
sandy nature, hut become packed iu some 
parts, making occasional digging neces¬ 
sary. I would like your aclvice concern¬ 
ing riie difficulty and probable profit in 
raising Leghorn broilers for the Decem¬ 
ber market. I can get chicks at $05 per 
thousand now. I have brooder colony 
houses on range. Do you consider au 
electric brooder (colony) a wise invest¬ 
ment? I have city electricity here on 
the farm. Could you supply me with the 
name and address of auy other electric 
brooders which you consider reliable? 
New Jersey. M. F. B. 
I would consider rye straw somewhat 
better than peat moss for litter in poul¬ 
try house, as it hides the grain better 
and induces more exercise. Dirt floors 
require, so much labor to keep them clean 
and in proper shape that we always use 
and recommend cement or board floors. 
We have found chicks hatched in August 
are very easily raised, and they grow 
M-ry rapidly as long as the weather is 
mild, hut after cold weather begins there 
is often much sickness among young 
flocks, and they fatten slowly unless sup¬ 
plied with artificial heat. Probably the 
worst part of this business in your 
locality would be to find a good market 
where the broilers can be sold at a pro¬ 
fitable price, as August-hatched broilers 
should be ready for sale in October, and 
if held for the holiday trade they are 
likely to get too large and cost too much 
for feed. When they are shipped to 
New York and sold in competition with 
Western products they often sell at n 
low figure unless you have a special 
trade for a fancy article and can have 
something to say about the price you are 
to receive for your produce. Sending 
eggs and poultry to commission houses 
in New York and letting them return 
whatever they feel like parting with 
seems to me ro he nothing better than 
a joke on the producer. 
Electric brooders are used very suc¬ 
cessfully on the Pacific coast, where 
electricity costs about 2 cents per k.w. 
hour, but they are rather expensive to 
operate here in die East. The Petaluma 
Incubator Company make a very good 
electric brooder, which is in use around 
Petaluma, California, and gives very 
good satisfaction. C. 3. Greeve. 
where they can obtain access to them at 
any time, while meat scrap, with its con¬ 
tained bone, and a liberal supply of 
wheat bran should form part of the food 
given. M. B. D. 
Lumps on Hens' Feet 
About two mouths ago I noticed one 
of my hens had a swollen foot—lumps 
about 'the size of peas with scabs on it. 
These lumps spread up to where the 
feathers started and grew till last Satur¬ 
day they were about 2 in. large. We 
broke the scab and a big lump of matter 
and blood came out. We put medicine 
on it and bandaged the foot, but the 
chicken died. Last week we noticed about 
10 or 12 of our liens were starting to get 
these lumps on their feet, and today it 
seems that nearly all of them are the 
same. When we noticed the first hen get 
these lumps we had her taken out until 
Pullets Shedding Tails 
I have a flock of Barred Rocks that 
were hatched in March and are now 
“I saved more 
than halt on building ma¬ 
terial by baying from you.” 
-M. D. Hollister. 
“Your prices are the cheap¬ 
est anywhere." 
— D. A. McCarty. 
“Your rooting good as new 
after 14 years’ service." 
__—O. F. Marc hard. _ 
Building 
^Material 
“You saved me $200 
on my barn.” 
—Chas. O’Connor. 
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house.”—Geo. H. Wiese. 
"Send for Gordon-Van 
Tine’sFarm Building Book 
if you want a square deal." 
—J. H. Sandmeyer. 
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$1,000 on my home.” 
—L. E. Lee. 
“You saved me at least 
$1,500.”—P. O. Sorenson. 
"I saved $550 on my 
Gordon-Van Tine Home.” 
—A. L. Trimble. 
Feeding Pullets 
I received 200 'White Leghorn pullets 
his! week (ready (o lay October 1). Have 
been feeding them scratch feed twice a 
day. and laying mash. As they are start¬ 
ing to molt I have been advised by two 
parties not to give the mash, as they 
claim they should not be- forced to lay 
during that time. p. s. 
New York. 
I’ll 11 ids old enough to lay in October 
should he fed on the ordinary laying ra¬ 
tion. including the mash. It is only in 
cases wheiT too rapid development has 
induced premature maturity that the 
tna-di should be withheld. October, how- 
evjw, is not too early for laying to begin. 
The change in surroundings caused by 
moving these pullets, and possibly a radi¬ 
cal change in composition or methods of 
feeding, is probably responsible for the 
molting. Get them into rlieir Winter 
quarters promptly and avoid any further 
radical changes in care and feeding. 
M. B. D. 
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in Building Materials 
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the Building line until you have seen Gordon-Van Tine’s rock-bottom, wholesale prices for Fall. 
Hen-feeding Methods 
Will you tell me how much grain 
should be fed 100 hens? I have been 
feeding them cracked corn and oats, 
equal parts, by measure, but am afraid I 
have been giving too much, as they are 
very heavy for White Leghorns, n. L D. 
New York. 
Hens should be fed by appetite, rather 
than by exact quantity, being given all 
that they will readily clean up at a feed¬ 
ing. without waste. Ordinarily, from 
eight to 10 quarts of whole grain will he 
consumed daily by 100 fowls that have, 
in addition, a dry mash before them, the 
whole grain being given in two daily feed¬ 
ings Corn and oats are. of course, fat¬ 
tening. but they should be balanced by 
the higher protein content of the mash 
given. There is little danger of Leghorns 
becoming too fat if they are given oppor¬ 
tunity to exercise and are fed a well- 
balanced ration. m. b. d. 
Latest Fall Wholesale Prices 
Direct From the Mills! 
5,000 
Building 
Material 
Bargains 
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Lath 
Flooring 
Windows 
IJoora 
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Wall board 
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House Plan No. 524—A two-bed- 
room bungalow. Living room, dining 
room, kitchen, witu pantr.v esse. All 
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■sawing. 
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freight paid, on finest 
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Chickens Lack Mineral 
I h.ive 300 young chickens, four months 
old. Ep to two months old they were all 
right, but T noticed their breasts have 
grown crooked. Can you tell me what is 
t he cause of that ? j, p. 
Connecticut. 
These chicks may not have had suffi- 
< i< in mineral matter, such as is contained 
in wheat bran, meat scrap and bone, etc., 
in their growing ration, and they may be 
kept upon floors, without opportunity to 
roost upon low perches, too long. Give 
tlw iii perches, if they do not already have 
thorp, and add wheat bran and crushed 
oyster shell* to (heir ration, if flic-e tire 
lacking'. The oyster shells should be kept 
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