March 1 
142 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
HEN TALK FROM 0. W. MAPES. 
Fact, Failure and Success Discussed. 
Readers of Tins R. N.-Y. seems to have been inter¬ 
ested in some of my poultry experiments, and are 
doubtless wondering why I have not been heard from 
further. Fact is, I have been too fully occupied with 
problems at home to spend much time in writing for 
the papers. Experiments conducted with a thousand 
or more hens at a time must of necessity be more 
conclusive and instructive than where only a few 
birds are used, as is usually the case at most of the 
State Experiment Stations. 
STOVES THAT FAILED.—The self-warming hen¬ 
roost described in Tiie R. N.-Y., in which the animal 
heat from the hens’ bodies is utilized to warm their 
quarters at night, gave me trouble. With the advent 
of severe weather, I found that there was too much 
condensation of moisture inside the building, which 
made it decidedly wet on warm days. As far as 
warmth is concerned, and freedom from foul air, it 
does all that was of expected of it, however. Then, 
too, it is too complicated and expensive. But few of 
the great mass of hens in the country will ever be 
able to sit in comfort at night, in quarters warmed 
by the heat from their own bodies, if their owners 
must first employ a skilled mechanic, and spend $10 
or so on the preparation of their roost. I soon evolved 
a new plan, which not only does away with the ob¬ 
jectionable moisture, but also greatly cheapens and 
simplifies it. No copper flues are used, and no hole 
has to be cut through the roof. For a 50-hen roost, 
nothing is needed but about 100 feet of cheapest lum¬ 
ber and a few bags of planer shavings or chaff. It 
can be erected in any old building or shed by any¬ 
one at all handy with a hammer and saw. Two 
months’ use (December and January) have failed to 
show any defects. The droppings do not even freeze 
on the table below the hens, and it is still warmer 
higher up, where the perches are. The Mediterranean 
breeds will greatly appreciate some such roosting 
quarters as this. 
BALANCING RATIONS.—The plan of allowing the 
hens to balance their own ration from wheat, corn 
and skim-milk, was entirely satisfactory as long as 
it lasted, but when I had to abandon it, about Thanks¬ 
giving time, on account of the creamery cutting off 
my supply of skim-milk, my troubles began. I did my 
best to supply the place of the skim-milk, by feeding 
a morning mash with animal meal, wheat bran and 
middlings, gluten feeds, etc., but to no avail. Fine 
pullets, that had been reared with food always with¬ 
in reach whenever they felt hungry, hardly knew me 
when I appeared with their feed. They would not 
eat with any zest, and the egg basket kept failing 
day by day, until at last, in desperation, I put most 
of them on short rations purposely, in order to get 
them hungry. As was to be expected, this dried them 
up entirely. Only seven eggs a day for a few days, 
on a farm boasting over 1,500 hens. That is almost 
as bad as the Hope Farm hens. Had it not been for 
a few hens which were not put on short rations, even 
the seven eggs would have been like the 10 righteous 
men of Sodom whom Abraham looked for in vain. 
SHORT COMMONS.—What do I call short rations? 
In this case it was about IV 2 ounce each per hen, 
daily, and it had the desired effect. In about 10 days 
I had them so that I could hardly step inside the 
house before they would mount my head and shoul¬ 
ders and try to eat my ears. I then began giving 
them nearly full feed, between three and four ounces 
daily, to each hen, and they are now gaining nicely, 
many of the pens of 50 laying 15 eggs a day. 1 ad¬ 
vanced the theory a few years ago that when a hen is 
improperly or insufficiently fed, the partly developed 
eggs in her body are reabsorbed or atrophied, in her 
effort to sustain life. The theory seemed to be new, 
and was doubted by some scientific men. This ex¬ 
periment, on a large scale, with over a thousand hens, 
seems to settle that point conclusively in my mind at 
least. There were quite a good many hens still lay¬ 
ing when I put them on short rations, and they must 
have had partly developed eggs in their bodies. Now, 
mark the facts: Not a single one of these hens laid 
an egg for 17 days after I began giving them full feed. 
Not a single exception. What became of those partly 
developed yolks? Evidently they had been used up 
by the system in the effort to sustain life, and it took 
at least 17 days to develop a completed egg, ready 
for laying. I can arrive at no other conclusion. After 
the 17 days they began laying quite rapidly, and are 
still gaining nicely. 
A BIG EXPERIMENT.— The R. N.-Y., page 50, 
says that “we have not yet found anyone who has 
given the matter of allowing a hen to balance her 
own ration a full test.” My experience in 1898, from 
March 1 to November 1, may not be considered a 
“full test,” but it was tested with 1,400 hens for eight 
months, and may be of interest. Corn is supposed to 
be deficient in protein and mineral matter for a hen’s 
regular requirements. On March 1, 1898, I placed 
corn in boxes before my 1,400 hens, and kept it be¬ 
fore them at all times until November 1. I also mixed 
up a mash from wheat feeds, gluten feeds, malt 
sprouts, animal meal, skim-milk, etc., which was de¬ 
ficient in carbonaceous matter, and placed enough of 
it in the troughs each morning to last them until 
next morning, as nearly as I could regulate it. My 
aim was to keep both kinds of food constantly within 
reach. If a hen felt that she needed carbonaceous mat¬ 
ter, all she had to do was to go and eat some corn. 
If she felt that she needed protein or mineral matter, 
all she had to do was to go and eat some of the mash 
in the trough, or some oyster shells, which were also 
at hand. 
Now for the result. At the beginning of the ex¬ 
periment I was getting from the 1,400 hens about 
400 eggs a day. The hired man did not attend to this 
work, as a rule, but most of the eggs were gathered, 
and the following record kept by myself: 
Eggs. 
Eggs. 
March 1 . 
. '410 
“ IS . 
. 730 
“ 2 . 
. 400 
“ 19 . 
. 720 
“ 3 . 
. 470 
“ 20 . 
. 742 
“ 4 . 
. 483 
“ 21 . 
. 757 
“ 5 . 
. 511 
“ 22 . 
753 
“ 6 . 
“ 23 . 
. 729 
“ 7 . 
. 560 
“ 24 . 
. 699 
“ 8 . 
. 562 
" 25 . 
. 784 
“ 9 . 
. 613 
“ 26 . 
. 776 
“ 10 . 
. 640 
“ 27 . 
. 767 
“ 11 . 
. 643 
“ 28 . 
. 753 
“ 12 . 
. 666 
“ 29 . 
. 70S 
“ 13 . 
. 697 
“ 30 . 
. 811 
“ 14 . 
. 701 
“ 31 . 
. 748 
“ 15 _ 
742 
“ 16 . 
. 690 
Total . 
.21,262 
“ 17 . 
. 744 
The record of the ensuing seven months follows. 
I had no incubators or brooders at that time, and a 
good deal of time was lost by the hens in hatching 
and raising about 2,000 chicks. 
April .. 
Eggs. 
.20,619 
August . 
Eggs. 
.17,068 
May ... 
....... 
.20.779 
September . 
.13.403 
June ... 
.16,045 
October . 
. 6,402 
July ... 
.13,840 
If Prof. Curtiss or some of our other experimenters 
will take this matter up and test it more fully, I 
think we will find that a hen’s instinct can be trusted 
A LOAD OF PENNSYLVANIA PRODUCE. Fie. 55. 
to select what she needs to fulfill the destiny for which 
she was created. Whether or not she can be trusted 
to lay eggs for us in Winter is another question. This 
seems to be “going agin’ nature.” o. w. mates. 
THE FINANCIAL STORY OF A FARM. 
What a Pennsylvania Gardener Has Done. 
I send herewith a condensed account of sales from 
my farm of 40 acres, together with running expenses 
for the past 21 years. I have owned the farm since 
1870, being then a single man 26 years of age. 1 
paid at that time $40 per acre, going fn debt for nearly 
the whole amount. It was a worn-out neglected farm; 
buildings and fences of scarcely any value, and land 
mostly barren and overrun with briars. During the 
first 10 years I endeavored to improve it by fencing, 
clearing, ditching and manuring; planted out an 
orchard, replaced the old house with a good frame of 
four rooms and cellar, built a stable 18x30, and other 
outbuildings. 1 boarded for three or four years, mar¬ 
ried in 1874, and my wife and I, with our united labor 
and means lived on the farm economically but com¬ 
fortably, with the aid of teaching three or four terms 
in the Winter, and doing team work, and other out¬ 
side labor. The end of the first 10 years found our¬ 
selves and four small children comfortably housed 
and able to work; our little farm much improved in 
appearance, but still unproductive, and not yielding 
an income sufficient for our support. Besides this, 
we were paying interest on $1,700, being more than 
the first cost of the place. About this time the coal 
underlying our farm came into market, and was sold 
for about the first cost of the land. The enclosed 
statement will show our gross and net income from 
the farm since 20 years, 1881 to 1900 inclusive. The 
detailed account for 1901 shows what a variety of 
products are marketed. An extra account has been 
kept in this way, of sales and expenses, ever since the 
purchase of the farm, in 1870; also of personal or 
family expenses. A reasonable rent for dwelling 
house, and all produce used in the family, is credited 
to the farm, the same as if sold. 
In keeping this account I charge the farm with the 
full value of all animals, implements, improvements, 
seeds,, feed, hired labor, rent, taxes, etc., at the time 
of purchase, but take no account of my own labor or 
that of my family, and no account of interest on capi¬ 
tal invested, unless it is borrowed capital. The net 
income thus shows what we receive for our own labor, 
and for capital invested of our own. In looking over 
this 20-year report, you can readily see that it does 
not give much credit to the management of the prop¬ 
erty, as the average net profit per annum is only $600 
for labor of self and family, and interest on the capi¬ 
tal, and we have to draw every year more than $200 
from other sources for family expenses. But then, on 
the other hand, in justice to myself, and lest I should 
discourage others, I must say that this does not repre¬ 
sent nearly all my time, as if I were working at a 
salary. Our three boys, too, ever since they were 18. 
or 19 years of age, have spent the greater part of 
each year in teaching, being with me only a small part 
of the year, and now, all being of age, their labor is 
paid for, same as other hired help, when they are 
with me. The increased value, too, of the farm, must 
also be taken into account, being now worth at least 
three times the first cost. The 1901 report clearly 
shows this, the net profit being a large increase over 
the average of the previous 20 years. Our youngest 
son, 21 years of age, was my salesman during last 
Summer. The picture, Fig. 55, taken with his own 
camera, shows him ready to start with a load on 
August 16, 1901. The load brought at retail $37.04. 
He made regular trips to town twice a week, Tuesdays 
and Fridays, nearly all Summer, averaging about $50 
per week, besides other sales at home, or on extra 
trips. The total received for the load shown in 
Fig. 55, retailed to private customers, is as follows: 
400 pounds cabbage. $8.01 
5(4 bushels tomatoes. 9.50 
4 bushels apples. 5.00 
3 pecks peaches. 1.20 
1 bushel snap beans.80 
10 heads cauliflower.70 
2M dozen cucumbers.45 
10 dozen roasting ears. 1.60 
2 bushels potatoes. 3.20 
16 bunches beets.80 
one-half bushel onions. 1.00 
15 dozen eggs. 3.00 
4 11-16 pounds butter. 1.18 
5 bunches rhubarb.20 
5 bunches carrots.20 
1 basket plums.30 
Total .$37.04 
Condensed Account; 20 Years. 
Total 
income 
Total 
from 
expenses 
Net 
farm. 
of farm. 
income. 
1881 . 
. $711.20 
$351.62 
$359.5S 
1882 . 
. 856.72 
668.26 
188.46 
1883 . 
. 1,091.14 
693.41 
397.73 
1SS4 . 
. 1.308.43 
552.75 
755.68 
1885 . 
. 1,485.31 
632.65 
852.66 
1886 . 
. 1,446.16 
766.08 
680.08 
1S87 . 
. 1,215.98 
875.04 
340.94 
188S . 
. 1.863.58 
1,703.37 
160.21 
1889 . 
. 1.298.03 
866.97 
431.06 
1890 . 
. 1,243.14 
539.55 
703.59 
1891 . 
. 2.177.39 
1.24S.77 
928.62 
1892 . 
. 1.682.30 
886.89 
795.41 
1893 . 
. 1,588.09 
981.11 
606.98 
1894 . 
. 1.662.07 
926.75 
735.32 
1895 . 
. 1.016.12 
590.40 
425.72 
1896 . 
. 1.708.91 
907.42 
801.49 
1897 . 
. 1.310.78 
815.88 
494.90 
189S . 
. 1,390.54 
682.92 
707.62 
1899 . 
. 1,570.87 
707.82 
863.05 
1900 . 
. 1,610.67 
829.13 
781.54 
Average . 
.$1,408.87 
$S11.34 
$600.53 
1881, addition 
to the 
dwelling house, 
cost $940 
is not included. In 1888, expenses include addition 
to dwelling house; cost about $640. In 1895, straw¬ 
berries and other fruit nearly failed;; 1896 includes 
cost of greenhouse, $275. 
Summary of Account for 1901. 
Expenses. Receipts. 
Labor, taxes, insurance, rent, interest.. $419.93 $175.00 
Implements, blaclcsmithing, lumber and 
building material . 235.30 . 
Seeds, plants, trees. 29.31 99.80 
Flower plants and seeds. 42.75 214.77 
Manure, fertilizers, fuel, lights. 39.98 . 
Live stock . 42.00 . 
Dressed meats, beef, pork, hides. .85 24.71 
Bran and other ground feed. 43.63 . 
Milk and butter. 178.70 
Eggs and poultry. 1.50 167.12 
drain, wheat, oats, corn, etc. 145.25 5.52 
Hay, straw, fodder, pasture. 25.60 . 
Apples, cider, apple-butter, etc. 139.70 
Peaches . 40.10 
Pears and quinces. .70 
Plums . 28.13 
Cherries . 24.20 
Currants and gooseberries. 40.39 
Strawberries . 443.51 
Raspberries and blackberries. 17.78 
Grapes . 8.30 
Asparagus . 7.70 
Beets . 37.62 
Beans and peas . 71.51 
Cabbage and cauliflower. 308.00 
Celery and carrots. 9.18 
Cucumbers . 7.37 
Onions . 2.00 42.78 
Parsnips . 13.75 
Potatoes . 3.80 71.28 
Pumpkins and squashes. 3.05 
Radishes and turnips. 19.53 
Roasting ears . 35.78 
Rhubarb . 10.23 
Sweet potatoes . 2.00 7.55 
Tomatoes . 146.39 
Eggplant and peppers. 2.95 
Lettuce . 9.45 
Honey . 1.50 
Total .$1,033.90 12.414.05 
Net profit, $1,380.15. 
Dunbar, Pa. 
t. h. s. 
