1902 J 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
3i9 
AM/>£S THE HEN MAN. 
Swine Rations and Brooder Notes. 
RUNS FOR BROODER CHICKS—“I see,” said the 
Deacon, “that you have a covered run in front of each 
brooder apartment, in which the chicks can get exer¬ 
cise and fresh air. Is that better than the usual yard, 
with fence so high that chicks cannot fly over?” 
‘‘I think it is. It is cheaper, and less trouble to 
build. A simple frame is made with inch boards 10 
or 12 inches wide, like a cold frame, and wire netting 
tacked over it, instead of glass. Mine are four feet 
wide and 12 feet long.” 
“Why not place the end close up to the building in¬ 
stead of two feet away as you have them?” 
‘‘The sills of the brooder house do not rest on the 
ground, but on cornerstones, which leave a six or 
eight-inch open space under the sill. The inclined 
runway (covered) enables them to run up and down 
easily from the brooder house to the yard. The chicks 
I put in a brooder, stay there until taken out, either 
dead or alive. There are no chicks flying over the 
fence, and no cats, crows, hawks, etc., swooping down 
on them with murderous intent.” 
‘‘Why do you lay that narrow strip of board on the 
ground close to the frame all around the outside?” 
“To keep the chicks from working holes under the 
frame, big enough to crawl out. Stand an inch board 
on edge, and the chicks will often wallow in the dry 
dirt, and work a hole under it big enough to crawl 
through. Lay a narrow strip of board flat on the 
ground on the other side of it, and they are not likely 
to burrow under it.” 
“True,” said the Deacon. “Why are part of these 
frames covered with two-inch mesh wire netting, and 
part with l^-inch mesh?” 
“Lively chicks, when about three weeks old, 
will often play acrobat on wires only a foot 
above the ground, and crawl through a two- 
inch mesh netting. The last frames I built are 
covered with 1%-inch wire, and they put a stop 
to such sport.” 
SHIPPING EGGS—On page 247 J. B. com¬ 
plains that the express companies play ball with 
his egg cases. I have had trouble the same way. 
Some of the helps to remedy the trouble may 
be noted. J. B.’s crates are too big and heavy. 
A 40-dozen crate is too heavy for one man to 
handle easily “with care.” Two crates of 20 
dozen each will go more safely. Provide han¬ 
dles that are easy to grasp. The empty cases, 
on the return trip, often get tossed about rough¬ 
ly. If they happen to strike heavily on one cor¬ 
ner, the ends are split. I make the ends by 
nailing two thin boards firmly together, with 
the grain, crossing at right angles, clinching 
the nails firmly. I have no more crates return¬ 
ed with ends split. Empty cases are generally 
returned free, and no one seems to be respon¬ 
sible for them. If a careless or unscrupulous 
driver tosses one overboard or takes it for kind¬ 
ling wood, it is hard to trace. The best remedy 
I have been able to find thus far is to have each 
crate numbered, and when a dealer returns a 
crate, have him send me a postal card like this, 
“Have this day delivered crates No.to express 
compan 3 r .” If the crates fail to arrive on time, send 
the postal to headquarters with your complaint. The 
officials are, as a rule, anxious to secure good service, 
and will then have something with which to trace 
carelessness or worse to its proper source. 
AN AMPLE HOG RATION.—How much feed does 
it take to keep a mature hog in good condition? I am 
led to ask that question after holding my watch in 
my hand to-day while some of my brood sows ate 
their dinner. Their allowance is one pound of bal¬ 
anced ration to each sow wet with two quarts of cold 
water. We feed several different lots in the same 
trough, and keep no trough in their regular quarters. 
The feed is put in the trough, the first lot admitted 
to the feeding room, and as soon as they have finish¬ 
ed they are called back to their pen and shut in, re¬ 
peating the process until all have had their turn. 
These mature sows have to cross the barnyard in go¬ 
ing to the feed room, yet in 90 seconds from the time 
I opened their door they had cleaned the trough, and 
were ready to follow me back to their pen for the few 
kernels of corn they knew I had in my pocket for 
them. A dozen kernels of corn beat all the clubs 1 
ever saw for driving a hog. They soon learn to expect 
them, and are as eager to rush back to their pen as 
they are to rush out after their dinner. This plan of 
feeding economizes room, and prevents them from 
gnawing the trough. In Summer we shall give them 
the feed dry, and let them go to the brook for drink. 
Ninety seconds seems like a “quick lunch,” yet they 
are “too fat,” my neighbors keep telling me, although 
they have never had more than three pounds a day, 
except when guekling their young. In fact, two 
pounds a day was their daily allowance for the first 
year of their lives. After they had weaned their sec¬ 
ond litter of pigs it was increased to three pounds 
daily. Possibly they could be kept cheaper on cooked 
turnips, pumpkins, etc., but I doubt it, counting the 
time and fuel at a fair value. Time is money at Maple 
Dale Farm. It is so easy to throw a few pounds of 
feed in a pail of water, give it a stir or two, and pour 
into a trough. It is easier yet to throw the dry feed 
on a flat rock, or on a clean floor, and let the hogs go 
to the brook for their own drink. 
TURNING THE EGGS.—Is it necessary to turn eggs 
twice a day in an incubator? I am feeling my way 
to an answer to this question. We are running three 
large machines, 360-egg size, and have one to hatch 
each week. Our last two settings were not turned at 
all before testing (fifth day), and only two or three 
dead germs, or ringers, were found in each. In the 
machine set to-day (April 19), the eggs were set part¬ 
ly on small end, so as to get 400 eggs in the machine, 
hoping to have the trays well filled with fertile eggs 
after testing out. They will not be turned at all be¬ 
fore testing, and only once a day after. Watch for 
results. The door of this machine was left open all 
night, by accident, on the sixth day of the last hatch, 
yet I took out 220 lively chicks this morning. 
O. W. MAPES. 
RED POLLED CATTLE. 
This breed has long been known for excellence in 
beef production, but eastern farmers were surprised 
at the dairy record made by it at the Pan-American 
test. Of individual cows a Red Poll stood second. 
The breed as a whole took fifth place making, at an 
average food cost of .00488, a pound of milk testing 
3.98 per cent fat and 13.1 per cent solids, and gaining 
an average of 69 4-5 pounds per head for the six 
months of the test. These cattle are of uniform red 
color, sometimes with a patch of white on the udder 
and tip of tail. When crossed with other breeds the 
red color is generally transmitted, and 90 per cent 
of their progeny is hornless in crosses with horned 
breeds. They are easy keepers, hardy and thrifty, 
fatten quickly and make prime beef. Matured bulls 
weigh 1,800 to 2,800 pounds, and cows average about 
l,i,00. Their dressed carcass is usually over 60 per 
cent of their live weight. In disposition they are 
gentle, and it is said that the bulls seldom become 
cross. With these superior beef qualities and an 
average yearly milk yield of 6,000 pounds, with an 
occasional individual nearly doubling this, they come 
about as near a “general-purpose” breed as one can 
expect. Fig. 121 shows the typical Red Polled bull 
Peter 5104, owned by the proprietor of Maplemont 
Stock Farm, Albany, Vt. 
CHEAP SHADE TREES. 
“Would you plant box elder as a roadside sljade 
tree?” was an inquiry made at a farmers’ club meet¬ 
ing recently. Here is a text on which to base a little 
sermon. Why should we in the East, where hardi¬ 
ness of trees is not a factor of any importance, waste 
our energy and means in planting something which 
is neither beautiful nor long lived? Twenty-five years 
ago I planted seeds of the box elder (ash-leaved 
maple) and was duly astonished at the remarkable 
rapidity of growth which characterized its early 
years. Like seedling peaches, the young trees were 
wonderful examples of health and vigor. At two and 
three years old many of the trees were given away to 
neighbors, who religiously planted them along road¬ 
sides and drives. I think it is safe to say that to-day 
tjfiey will not, compare favorably in point of size and 
are immeasurably inferior to elms planted at the same 
time. Box elder grows fast in its youth, but slows 
down after the fifth or sixth year. It is also an un¬ 
gainly tree. The leaves drop very early in the Au¬ 
tumn and the tree, as we often find it in Winter with 
its ragged covering of winged seeds, is not beautiful. 
We do not need box elder in the East. In the North¬ 
western States it is, however, a valuable acquisition 
for wind-breaks, shelter belts and for fuel. 
In our craving for things rare and striking, we are 
occasionally led into serious error. How often we 
find the European elm in the streets of our towns and 
villages instead of the noble American type; European 
lindens instead of native; Norway spruce in place of 
the superb White spruce of our northern woods! 
There is greater reason and more excuse for planting 
the Norway spruce than there is in the other cases 
cited. Its rapid growth, vigor, symmetry and com¬ 
parative cheapness are strong arguments in its favor. 
But the facts are that the Norway spruce begins to 
decline long before our native white form has reached 
its prime. The rule among trees seems to be that 
those which come to maturity quickly decline com¬ 
paratively early. Carolina poplar at 20 years may be 
larger than a hard maple at 50 years. But the maple, 
the oak and the elm are comparative youngsters at 
the half century mark, while poplar and cottonwood 
are broken and aged. Let us plant for posterity, for 
the generations to come; let us plant the kind that 
has but fairly begun life when the first century comes 
round. Trees of this type become an aesthetic fea¬ 
ture of the home. They are historical landmarks. 
JOHN CRAIG. 
BEDBUG TREATMENT. 
Surprise is sometimes expressed at finding these in¬ 
sects in rooms or houses that have been long unused. 
They are able to adapt themselves to all sorts 
of conditions, and do not become discouraged 
merely because their food supply moves away 
without notice. They do not lack for sociabil¬ 
ity or appetite ordinarily, but when compelled 
by necessity, are able to live in seclusion for 
months, becoming brown as a dead leaf and 
thin as a sheet of paper. Under favorable con¬ 
ditions they mature m seven weeks, although 
shortage of food may greatly prolong the grow¬ 
ing period. Unlike a pig or calf which, when 
stunted, never amounts to much, the young 
cimex is likely to arrive at an exceedingly able- 
bodied maturity, even though he undergoes sev¬ 
eral prolonged fasts during his youth. He has 
extravagant habits in regard to clothing, shed¬ 
ding his coat five times before maturity. A 
fast will reduce the frequency of these tailor’s 
bills, as he must have at least one square meal 
between moulting times. 
There are numerous standard, more or less 
effective methods of disposing of this pest, such 
as turpentine, benzine, corrosive sublimate, 
either in solution or as mercurial ointment, and 
preparations containing oil of cedar; but it is 
generally acknowledged that to do a thorough 
job there is nothing equal to fumigation with 
hydrocyanic acid gas. The directions for using 
this dangerous treatment are repeated at the request 
of several readers: 
Find the cubic contents of the room by multiplying the 
height, width and length, in feet, together, divide this 
product by 200, and the result will be the number of 
ounces of cyanide of potassium needed. In the center of 
the room put an earthen jar containing twice as many 
ounces of water as the cyanide required. Add to the 
water 1 y 2 time as much strong sulphuric acid (about 1.8 
specific gravity), as the cyanide required. Stop up all 
the cracks in doors and windows to prevent the gas from 
escaping, throw open closets and toss up the bedding. 
Open doors and windows of the other rooms to allow a 
free circulation of air through the halls. Have the cyan¬ 
ide of potassium in a piece of paper; put it into the jar 
of acid and water; leave the room at once, and shut and 
lock the door. Be sure to hold your breath from the time 
the cyanide touches the liquid in the jar until you are 
out of the room, as the deadly gas is instantly generated, 
and one good whiff might be fatal. 
For safety it is a good plan to arrange in some way 
to lower the cyanide into the jar by means of a string 
from the outside. In about an hour and a half open 
the room and air thoroughly. Of course provision 
must be made to open the windows from the outside, 
as it would be unsafe to enter the room for this pur¬ 
pose. It is a good plan to set the jar containing the 
acid into a larger vessel, as the sudden heat evolved 
might break the jar. Owing to the extremely danger¬ 
ous nature of this gas no careless person should be 
permitted to have anything to do with the operation. 
ONEIDA CO. NOTES.—The past sugar-making season 
has been a remarkably good one, the product being of 
fine quality and flavor. The prevailing price for syrup 
was $1 per gallon. In most cases where a less price has 
been received dirt and grit impaired it, and flavor was 
poor, or the product weighed less than 11 pounds to the 
gallon. A few young men are taking the reading course 
of Cornell Agricultural College. A few are learning the 
art of running an incubator, some of the first ventures 
not being a financial success. A few are keeping bees, 
some have started in a small way in sheep. In all these 
cases they are heeding the advice of The R. N.-Y. to go 
slow; begin in a small way. By heeding such good ad¬ 
vice, eggs are not all being carried to market in the 
dairy basket. Butter at present is 30 cents, and the sup¬ 
ply is none too great. This will help the milk shipper. 
A remunerative price for dairy products Will help other 
industries. J. E, H. 
Paris, N. Y. . 
