1902 
7 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
495 
tions. Cornerstones support them about a foot above 
the ground. I feared at first that we would be both¬ 
ered with hens laying under the houses, where it 
would be difficult to secure the eggs. This does not 
occur, however. Practically all the hens go inside to 
lay. They are always fed inside, and generally kept 
shut up each morning until seven or eight o’clock. 
The space under the house is a favorite resort on 
rainy days, and during the midday heat of Summer 
they spend most of their time there. It is much cooler 
than the shade of a tree. In case of a fright from 
hawks, etc., they can scurry quickly to cover. My 
pastures are certainly improving year by year. They 
now furnish a good deal more feed for cattle, after 
the hens eat all they want, than they formerly did 
without the 1,400 hens. 
WEAKLY CHICKS.—Here is a straw which came 
my way a day or two ago. I have been wondering 
what is the cause of so many of my later-hatched 
chicks dying. A neighbor got four sittings of eggs 
from me recently. He now says he hatched 44 chicks 
from them, but that they are all dead but 18. They 
seem weak, and droop around and die just as mine 
do. They have been hatched and brooded by natural 
heat, indicating that my trouble is not due to incu¬ 
bators or brooders. Inquiry revealed the fact that his 
other chickens, hatched from his own eggs, and fed 
and cared for in the same way, are entirely healthy, 
with practically no losses. This would indicate that 
the trouble is in the breeding stock. Want of vigor 
in the egg before it is hatched may be a subject of 
great importance, though but little understood, and 
often scoffed at. Many breeders would say that my 
balanced ration fed exclusively as a mash, is no good. 
That may be true, so far as vigorous chicks are con¬ 
cerned, but if vigorous hens and a full egg basket are 
the test, I want no better. Some of my breeding pens 
have had nothing else for over six months, and they 
have laid more and larger eggs, with no diseased hens, 
than any pens I have ever fed. A hen that lays 20 to 
25 eggs a month and keeps' it up month after month 
A FIELD OF GLEN MARY STRAWBERRIES. Fig. 199. 
MAPES, THE HEN MAN. 
1 . We should like to know how old that pig was when 
weaned. Here it is customary to wean pigs when four 
weeks old. We do not see how a pig three weeks from 
that time could eat 15 pounds of corn and 60 quarts of 
milk in a week. 2. Is it practicable to put a flock of 75 
or 100 Brown Leghorn hens in the pasture during Sum¬ 
mer; have cheap houses enclosed in wire netting for a 
few weeks, then give free range? The objects are to get 
them away from the buildings, to induce them to eat 
grasshoppers; to have them where the children can take 
care of them, and to improve the pasture. We would 
not like to undertake it and fail. a. n. bliss. 
THE BULLETIN AND THE PIG.—It must not be 
supposed that 1 bad the temerity to challenge the ad¬ 
vice given to farmers by Cornell University, in regard 
to feeding skim-milk to pigs (Bulletin No. 199), with¬ 
out well-considered grounds for believing that the 
stone from my sling would hit the mark. Probably 
Mr. Bliss has not tried feeding a pig in this way. 
He should not jump at conclusions until after he has 
given a few pigs a chance to pass their verdict on the 
question. The bulletin referred to, page 137, says that 
“extreme care must be exercised in feeding skim-milk 
to young pigs, that the amount fed is not too great. 
They should only be fed what they will consume 
quickly.” Also, on page 138, it says: “In no case 
should the amount of skim-milk fed be greater than 
the pigs can quickly and easily consume.” I claim 
that the greatest growth can be secured by keeping 
it lying before them at all times, provided corn is also 
kept always within reach, so they can balance their 
own ration as instinct and appetite prompt them. The 
pig in question was farrowed about March 24, and 
weaned May 9, making him a little over six weeks old 
at time of weaning, when he only weighed 26 pounds. 
He lays no claim to any pedigree. His sire is a grade 
Poland China, and his dam a common sow of no 
known breed, that has been “rushed,” so that Billy 
Gormand is one of her third litter, farrowed when she 
was only 18 months old. The bulletin referred to is 
the result of five years of study and experiment. The 
last year of the experiments of the college experts at 
compounding rations “it required 2.2 
pounds of cornmeal and 13.3 pounds 
of skim-milk to produce a pound 
of gain, live weight.” Billy compounded 
them, so that in his third week of feed¬ 
ing. he made 13 pounds of gain from 15 
pounds of corn, and 60 quarts (about 125 
pounds) of milk, a saving for the 13 
pounds of growth, of 13 pounds of corn 
and 50 pounds of milk. Previous to that 
time, his feed was not weighed. He is 
now too heavy to weigh with any of the 
conveniences at hand, but is still eating 
and growing at a rate that is simply as¬ 
tonishing. At three months of age he 
can make way with about 30 pounds of 
corn and 120 quarts of milk a week, and 
is the most thrifty pig I have ever seen. 
I have several times taken pigs six 
weeks old, and after 75 days of such 
feeding had them dress 120 pounds. 
When Orange County butter had a 
world-wide reputation, my grandmother 
was one of the experts. One of my earliest recollec¬ 
tions pictures her at work in the cool cellar of the old 
farmhouse, while Grandpa Mapes called the pigs by 
turning the crank of the squeaking chain pump which 
lifted the buttermilk from the milk well at the hog¬ 
pen, into which it ran from the cellar through a ce¬ 
ment pipe. He fed his pigs buttermilk exclusively all 
Summer, and corn exclusively in Autumn at fatten¬ 
ing time. Since then, we have learned that it is more 
profitable to combine the milk and corn throughout 
the whole season. Are we not now to learn that we 
can consult, the instinct of the pigs with profit? Ihe 
milk should always be allowed to become thick before 
feeding, as sweet milk often has a laxative effect on 
the bowels. 
PASTURING HENS.—The plan of placing hens out 
to roam in pasture fields in Summer is entirely prac¬ 
ticable. In fact, it is just the plan I am following, ex¬ 
cept that my hens are kept Winter and Summer in 
the outlying houses. There will be no need of wire 
enclosures, provided the pastures are far enough re¬ 
moved from Winter quarters, so that the hens do not 
come back to their old roaming grounds. Fifty or 
sixty rods should be far enough away to insure their 
staying away. Where ground is reasonably smooth 
it would be entirely practicable to build good houses 
on wooden runners, using the same house for both 
Winter and Summer. A good team would move them, 
hens and all, back and forth from place to piace. It 
is better to locate the.m in an open field in Summer. 
If too close to an overhanging tree, the hens are liable 
to take to the tree during the hot nights of Summer. 
When this occurs, it is almost impossible to teach 
them to go back to the perches upon the approach of 
Winter. I have a number of houses without founda- 
is a good way removed from a state of nature, when 
she only lays one or two sittings of eggs in a year, 
storing up vitality in her system throughout the re¬ 
mainder of the year to be drawn on for those occa¬ 
sions. This certainly is a subject worth careful study. 
O. W. MAPES. 
Jarmers Club. 
[Every query must be accompanied by the name and 
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Rose Cuttings; How to Handle Them. 
At what time of the year should I take cuttings from 
roses, and how shall I proceed with them after cutting? 
Junius, N. Y. E - R - Q - 
Outdoor roses are mainly propagated by budding, 
though in a few instances suckers, layers and root 
cuttings are successful. Most roses are grown in this 
country from cuttings of blooming shoots grown un¬ 
der glass during the cool months of the year, and 
rooted in moist sand on a propagating bench, in a 
close greenhouse, heated to 55 or 60 degrees. Some 
hardy roses, however, will root from cuttings of new 
growth cut with a slight “heel” of the old wood. The 
cuttings should be about eight inches long and the 
foliage trimmed off the lower six inches. A half 
dozen or more may be firmly set in sandy soil in a 
moderately shady place and covered with a two-quart 
glass fruit jar, firmly pressed in the soil, to keep in 
moisture. The earth about the jar should be sprinkled 
every day, and the sun not allowed to strike the glass 
on a hot day or the foliage inside will soon be cooked. 
If successful some of the cuttings should be rooted in 
six or seven weeks. The cutting may be made any 
time in July or August. A few roses will root from 
cuttings of dormant wood put in like currants or 
gooseberries, but the operation is very uncertain. 
Kieffer Pear and San Jose Scale. 
It has been stated that the Kieffer pear tree is im¬ 
mune to the attack of the San Josfi scale. Is the state¬ 
ment correct? We find the Kieffer, when grown upon 
light sandy soil, to be very nice eating when well colored 
by the sun. Along toward Christmas we find it about 
equal to a Bartlett. h. h. b. 
Jewett City, Conn. 
The Kieffer pear as a variety is not immune to the 
scale mentioned, but individual trees seem to resist 
it very effectually. It is hoped a race of practically 
immune Kieffers may be bred by selecting buds and 
grafts from these resistant trees, but little has yet 
been done in the matter. 
Dwarf Apples. 
How soon after planting will dwarf apple trees bear? 
What is the advantage of planting them instead of the 
standard kinds? J- s. 
Berwick, N. S. 
Dwarf apple trees usually begin to bear within three 
or four years after planting. They are grafted on a 
dwarf stock that will not allow them to grow fast, 
and this keeps them within small space. The advan¬ 
tages claimed for them are early bearing and close 
planting. For a town lot or a fruit garden, where 
there is little room, they are very convenient. Besides 
they are usually quite reliable and prolific bearers. 
As trees in a commercial orchard they are not so 
good as standard trees, in my opinion, even for fillers, 
because of the greater cost and rather too small size. 
I have seen them tested. n. e. van deman. 
Budding Peach on Native Plum. 
I wish to bud some peaches on native plum suckers. 
How can I cause the peach to form buds early enough to 
bud them before the plum suckers are too hard? d. s. 
Scotch Grove, Iowa. 
There is considerable doubt of the peach doing well 
budded on wild plum stocks because of 
their uncongeniality, although I have 
never seen it tested. There are usually 
some peach buds near the base of the 
young shoots that will be well enough 
developed to insert before the bark on 
the plum stocks gets tight. If there is 
danger of this not being the case they 
can be somewhat hastened by pinching 
back the shoots. This will cause some 
of the buds near the tips to start into 
growth but there will be enough that 
will remain dormant below. The whole 
matter of budding is simple enough. 
There are two points that are especi¬ 
ally important. One is that the stocks 
peel readily and the other that the buds 
be strong and well developed. Some¬ 
times dry weather will cause the bark 
to cling, and after a rain it will again 
be very loose. I have poured water 
over the roots of a few stocks that I 
was very anxious to bud in a dry time 
and flushed them enough to enable me to do the work. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
Strawberries and the Complexion. 
Doctors say that strawberries and bad complexion go 
together. Do you know anything about it. and could you 
give me the analysis of it? a. c. c. 
Wauchula, Fla. 
Strawberries occasionally irritate delicate stomachs, 
and this is reflected on the skin, temporarily roughen¬ 
ing the complexion, but if the berries are sound and 
ripe even this seldom happens. The acids of ripe 
strawberries are very acceptable to most persons, and 
are more likely to clear the complexion than injure it. 
Much of the irritation charged to strawberries comes 
from unripe or spoiled berries, and from the excessive 
amounts of sugar consumed with them. Occasionally 
the rash caused by eating strawberries is so severe as 
to simulate scarlatina, but it is very transient, and not 
at all dangerous. Experience will teach individuals 
whether to eat strawberries freely or avoid them. 
HEAVY STRAWBERRY YIELD—At the recent 
strawberry meeting held on the grounds of T. C. Kev- 
itt one field of the Glen Mary variety made a fine 
showing. The plants were large and vigorous, and 
the berries about perfect in size and color. We print 
a picture of the field at Fig. 199. Of course a small 
picture cannot give a fair idea of the vines and their 
habit of growth. Mr. Kevitt claims to have picked 
27,000 quarts of berries from an acre of Glen Mary 
strawberries. This will seem like a tremendous story 
to those who did not see this field. Those who had 
a chance to examine it personally will be likely to say 
that the story is quite possible. The plants were care¬ 
fully spaced ail over the field, so that they stood about 
a foot apart in each direction. They had been kept 
clean and well fed, so that each gave its share of fruit. 
