1902 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
395 
CARE OF PIGEONS FOR SQUAB 
BREEDING. 
To be successful with pigeons for 
squab raising one must take a fancy to 
the work and love to be around the 
birds, to learn their habits, and have a 
quick observing eye. There are two 
ways of keeping pigeons; having them 
confined in their lofts with a covered 
yard or letting them fly at large. If 
you have them confined they will re¬ 
quire more of your personal attention. 
Do not rush into your loft and scare 
your birds, but always move around 
easily and quietly, and let your birds 
see that you are their friend. They will 
soon learn to know you, and when you 
want to do anything in the loft they will 
keep on their nests and attend to their 
business. Do not throw anything at or 
towards any of your birds but get them 
as tame j,s you possibly can, and make 
pets of them, and they will be more 
contented and do better work. Feed 
the pigeons twice a day, early in the 
morning (not too early in Winter) and 
again in the afternoon, towards even¬ 
ing, giving them as much as they will 
eat clean. Have a regular time and 
place to feed and call them by some call 
If you have them confined make them 
a small trough with a flat bottom, and 
have about three inches of water in it 
with a stone or two for them to stand 
on, but leave room enough that they can 
get down in the water and dip them¬ 
selves all over. Do not use warm water 
in Winter either for drinking or their 
bath, as it is unwholesome for them, 
and it will spoil your squabs by stunt¬ 
ing them. Try to give them water right 
from the well, which will be about the 
same temperature the year around, and 
they will be used to it Be watchful 
about the loft that there are no places 
for rats and mice to get in, as they will 
spoil the best flock. Keep everything 
clean in the loft, take out the manure 
frequently, and clean the nest out 
every time a pair of squabs are taken 
out of it. Whitewash the loft in the 
Spring; it will make it more cheerful 
and also be healthful for the birds, and 
watch for lice. If the pigeons are con¬ 
fined give them tobacco stems to build 
their nests with, and you will have no 
trouble with lice, and if the birds are 
flying out I use tobacco dust or fine to¬ 
bacco to sprinkle well in and around 
their nest, and I never have any trouble 
in that direction. While I was in Wis- 
JERSEY COW GOLDEN LAD’S MERMAID 16209G. Fig. 153. 
every time you give them their feed, 
and they will soon know when to come, 
but do not fool them by calling them 
without giving them something to eat. 
A friend of mine who had a nice flock of 
pigeons flying at large used to call by 
whistling for them at a certain place, 
and when he wanted to show his friends 
his pigeons he would take a little corn 
and whistle for them and they would 
come flying up to the place. There is 
nothing I know of that will help to tame 
your birds better than to give them a 
little hemp seed, which is also good for 
them as a variety in their feed, but do 
not feed much of it at a time. A little 
flaxseed is good for them in Winter, but 
must be fed sparingly, as it will be too 
heating if they get too much of it. Al¬ 
ways keep before them fine cracked 
oyster shells, grit of some kind and salt 
in some form; I have sometimes bought 
those salted codfish and nailed them up 
in their loft where they can pick at 
them. If you have your birds confined 
supply them with sand or fine gravel, 
renewing it frequently after they have 
picked it over. 
Remember that all the feed you can 
give them will do them no good if you 
neglect their drinking water. You can¬ 
not be too careful about this. Give 
them clean fresh water in clean foun¬ 
tains every time you feed, and see that 
they have enough for all of them. The 
next important thing is water for them 
to bathe in, as pigeons, to keep healthy, 
must have access to enough water for 
them to get into and wash themselves. 
consin we sold the pigeon manure to the 
tanneries in Milwaukee for 75 cents to 
$1 a barrel; it had to be dry and free 
from foreign stuff. Keep lofts free from 
drafts the same as you would your 
chicken coop, as it is just as liable to 
hurt pigeons to sleep in drafts as hens. 
Try to have the loft facing south, so 
that you get the sun for them, and if 
possible have a shady place in the yard 
for them in Summer. Keep the loft as 
warm in Winter as possible, for it will 
save many pairs of squabs from freez¬ 
ing during cold snaps, which means 
either profit or loss. There is a man in 
Watertown, Wis., who has between 6,000 
and 7,000 pigeons for squab breeding, 
and he has steam heat for Winter, so 
as to keep his birds breeding faster and 
prevent losing squabs from freezing. 
This keeps the manure dry, which 
amounts to quite a sum from a large 
flock if there is sale for it; it is one of 
the best fertilizers. Leave squabs in 
the nest till they are feathered out and 
are nice and plump; then take them 
out and sell them in whatever shape 
your market demands. Always put 
them up in as attractive style as pos¬ 
sible, as it pays to have a first-class ar¬ 
ticle and attractive appearance when 
you sell. Do not crowd too many in a 
small place; keep watching little items 
and use lots of good sound common- 
sense judgment; do not shirk work and 
you will succeed. ir. d. both. 
Pennsylvania. 
At Fig. 153 is shown the Jersey cow. 
Golden Lad’s Mermaid 162096. This fine 
animal is one of a recent importation 
from the Island of Jersey, and will be 
sold at T. S. Cooper’s sale May 30. 
HELP THE HORSE. 
What an unpleasant hindrance a sore 
hand or foot is when one is doing ac¬ 
tive manual labor. How about the horse 
that has to work when lame or with raw 
sores on his back or shoulders? After 
a forenoon of agony with the collar 
pressing on these sore places, it is little 
wonder that he hangs back when taken 
from the stable for afternoon, and is not 
enthusiastic about wearing the harness 
again. Most collar galls or similar sores 
are needless—trade-marks of the bad 
management, laziness or thoughtless 
cruelty of those handling the horses. Ill- 
fitting or dirty collars cause part of the 
trouble, and a large share of the re¬ 
mainder comes from excessively long 
hard pulling in hot weather, so that the 
skin under the collar is really cooked. 
A bit of tinkering will often help the 
fit of a collar. If not it is poor economy 
to use it. The part which touches the 
flesh can easily be kept free from the 
pasty dirt often found there. A little 
washing of the shoulders at noon and 
night will help. The blistered skin may 
be avoided by stopping for a minute now 
and then to lift the collars and let the 
shoulders cool. But no matter how well 
the harness fits, a horse doing such work 
as plowing, harrowing or mowing in hot 
weather is entitled to have his harness 
removed at noon. This takes but a few 
minutes, yet we know of men so lazy 
or thoughtless that they seldom do it. 
A galled shoulder is more easily pre¬ 
vented than cured. 
Fumigating Stables.— Prof. A. W. Bit¬ 
ting, of the Indiana Station, says that 
dairy stables should be disinfected at least 
twice a year: 
“For all practical purposes the gas pro¬ 
duced by burning sulphur over a pot of 
coals is the best if used in connection with 
steam. The dry sulphur fumes have little 
germ-killing power, but wnen combined 
with the steam in the air it forms a comi 
pound that is deadly. The boiling of water 
and burning of sulphur should go together. 
Formaldehyde gas is not so efficient for 
stable disinfection as many would have 
us believe. A very practical means of dis¬ 
infection that may be used under almost 
every stable condition is whitewashing. 
This is not expensive for material, and is 
very easily applied by means of a spray 
pump. The lime should be thoroughly 
slaked, strained through cloth and made 
just thin enough to work well through the 
nozzle.” 
Prefers the Red ITog.— You ask me 
why I prefer the Duroc Jersey hogs. I 
had been breeding Poland Chinas until I 
was unable to raise larger litters than 
three or four pigs. I bought the best I 
could get. When I commenced to raise 
Duroc, the farmers would'say, “There goes 
that red hog crank.” Last Fall I could not 
supply my customers with the males they 
wanted. A noted Poland China breeder is 
crossing a red male on Poland China sows, 
and told me they would out-weigh any 
hog he ever raised. I claim that they are 
more prolific than any other breed. One 
of my sows farrowed 18 pigs, another 13. 
another 11. I could have saved all that 
they farrowed. I raised last year from five 
Durocs, 54 pigs. Those that were not sold 
for breeding, when 150 days old, averaged 
154 pounds. I know some of the breeders 
of other breeds will say this is nothing. I 
call it good, according to the way we feed. 
They ran on pasture, with a very little 
corn. I could have beat this, but do not 
think it would have paid as well. Nor do 
l think there is any money in keeping hogs 
after they reach 150 pounds. It will cost 
me more to finish them than the gram. I 
do not fatten any in cold weather. 
Pittsfiel^, Ill. a. s. a. 
$5,000 Reward. 
Anybody can secure that amount 
who w’ill prove that any letter or 
endorsement which we publish in 
any way, relative to the merits of 
Tuttle’s Elixir 
is spurious or untruthful. It needs 
nothing but the truth to support it. It 
is undoubtedly the best veterinary 
remedy known to man. 
Used and Endorsed by Adams 
Express Co?npany. 
.Ai.1 _ A --3-- r T r»rtdIT5r»ri 
—A specific for impure blood and all diseases arising therefrom. 
TUTTLE'S FAMILY ELIXIR cures rheumatism, 
sprains, bruises, etc. Killspainjnstantly. Our 100-page book, 
“Veterinary Experience." FREE. 
Dr. S. A. TUTTLE, 30 Beverly St., Boston, Mass. 
Beware of so-called Elixirs—none genuine but Tuttle’s. 
Avoid all blisters; they offer only temporary relief, if any. 
Every dairyman and farmer 
looking for the closest skimmer 
may try a National Hand Separator 
for ten days, in his own dairy, free. 
Skim all your milk with it a third 
of a month and let its merits deter¬ 
mine your disposition of it. The 
NATIONAL 
Hand Separator 
is perfect in mechanical construc¬ 
tion, absolutely correct in prin¬ 
ciple; skims closest, runs easiest, 
produces' better cream. It is 
easiest to clean ; gives perfect sat¬ 
isfaction every way. Write for 
full particulars. 
National Dairy Machine Co. 
Newark, N. J. 
which tells all about the 
EMPIRE Running 
CREAM SEPARATOR. 
If you own cows it will pay you to 
read the book, whether you want 
a separator or not. Let us send it. 
U. S.BUTTER EXTRACTOR CO. 
.Bloomfield, N. J, 
Save$ 10 perCow 
KVBRY YEAR OF USE. 
De Laval Cream Separators 
Prices, $50 to $800. 
"Alpha" and “Baby"styles. Send for Catalogue 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO., 
Randolph and Canal Streets, I 74 Cortlandt Street. 
CHICAGO. I NEW YORK. 
The Superior Cream Extractor 
It gets the Cream.” Twenty per cent 
more than by setting in pans. 
WATER IS NOT MIXED WITH MILK, 
therefore, impure water does not taint 
the cream, and the skimmed milk Is left 
pure and sweet. We pay the Freight. 
Descriptive circulars, reliable testi¬ 
monials and prices mailed on request. 
Write to-day. Can't get In touch with 
such a money-maker too quick. 
Superior Fence Machine Co., 
188 Grand River Avenue, Detroit, Mich 
. 
FISTULA AND POLL EV 
IL 
ed 
to 
ays 
Fleming’s Fistula and Poll Evil Cure 
Isa new, scientific A certain remedy. 
NO COST IF IT FAILS. 
Write today for Important circular No. 441 
FLEMING BR08., Chemists, 
Union Stock Yards, Chicago. 
| Cur 
I in IE 
130 E 
Do You Feed 
ENSILAGE ? 
If not , write 
us and we will 
tell you why 
you should. 
ROSS 
ENSILAGE 
CUTTERS 
The E. W. Ross Co., Springfield. O 
Our Illustrated Catalogue No. 45 is Free. 
We will also 
tell you about 
Profit-Making 
Ross Ensilage 
Cutters. 
Address, 
A HUNDRED USES 
Chloro-Naptholeum has a hundred uses, such as dipping sheep; kill 
ing lice on sheep, cattle, hogs and chickens ; curing mange, sore 
and cuts on cattle and horses; curing roup and cholera in chickens 
disinfecting stables, pens and poultry houses. It prevents hoj 
cholera. Prevents abortion in cows. Cures sore teats and earuet. 
Chloro-Naptholeum has stood the tests of ex ports, the tests of trial sand 
the test of time. It is the surest, safest and cheapest disinfectant and 
cu re, it cures and prevents disease and keeps stock healthy. 
Sent, lit F. U,our useful books, ‘‘Sheep and Cattle Diseases,” and “Swine Diseases.” 
WEST DISINFECTING CO., 4 E. 59th St., N. Y. 
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