Vol. LVII. No. 2511. 
NEW YORK, MARCH 12, 1898. 
?l PER YEAR. 
IN THE WHITE LEGHORN COUNTRY. 
WHERE SNOWY EGGS ABOUND. 
How Hens and Eggs Are Produced. 
The White Leghorn flourishes in the country about 
Groton, in Tompkins County, N. Y. Nearly every 
farmstead boasts its flock, while several establish¬ 
ments make egg-raising a specialty. This concentra¬ 
tion of the business has developed a market. Buyers 
are alert to pick up the pearly eggs, for the great 
cities want them at fancy prices. The enhanced price 
has, in its turn, stimulated the ingenuity of the egg 
farmers. It may be of interest to study a representa¬ 
tive plant in some detail, even at the risk of being 
tedious, for perhaps some principles of general appli¬ 
cation may be discovered. 
On the ridge overlooking Groton, Mr. H. J. Blan¬ 
chard’s place is located. Fairview is an up-to-date 
hen farm. Perhaps the slopes would be found too 
steep in general agriculture, but the hens like them. 
Mr. Blanchard has his buildings grouped conveniently, 
for he cannot get along without going several times 
a day “ to see to things’’. He has 500 pullets, and 100 
yearling hens, besides a dozen or so cocks. These are 
kept in double houses, about 120 in a 
house. While he makes everything do 
duty at this season, from the oldest shed- 
roofed house to the brooderhouses, his 
standard house is the kind which may be 
described as follows : 
Housing the Flocks. 
The standard henhouse is 40 feet long, 
16 feet wide and 7 feet high to the top 
of the plate. A solid partition, pierced 
by a door only, divides it. These houses 
have board floors. The walls are double- 
boarded with Neponset paper between. 
The scantlings that tie the building to¬ 
gether serve, also, to carry a light scaf¬ 
folding, so that the peak of the roof may 
be stuffed with straw. As the houses 
run east and west, all the windows are 
in the south side. Each flock has three 
sliding sashes of six lights, 9 x 13 inches. 
These windows are placed about two 
feet from the floor. The perches are 
along the north side, three feet from the 
floor, and have boards beneath to catch 
the droppings. “The hens shall have 
all the floor space ”, is the rule ; the only 
exception allowed at Fairview, is the 
ledge for the water pan. Even the nests 
have to perch out of the way. Fig. 
Though the wind that January afternoon was keen 
outside, and the morning had seen zero weather, the 
houses were not damp. Mr. Blanchard explained, “ I 
believe in ventilation whenever the weather is suit¬ 
able ; when it is not, the straw in the attic absorbs 
the dampness, and this dries out when the windows 
are opened again. This ventilating freely on all but 
the coldest and stormiest days accustoms the fowls to 
a cooler atmosphere, so that cold snaps do not seriously 
affect their laying.” 
It was a revelation to observe the absence of am¬ 
monia smell in these houses, yet no ventilating shafts 
are present. The straw must absorb various other 
gases besides water vapor. In one house, I had ob¬ 
served elsewhere in the neighborhood, the scaffolding 
was nearly tight ; practically a close floor. That 
house was damp. The litter on the floor had absorbed 
what it could, and one could feel a little dampness on 
the wall. Evidently the abundant straw in the peak 
could not help unless the damp air could get to it. 
The attics are filled at thrashing time, and are drawn 
on as the litter needs renewal. 
1 regret to need to observe that the Fairview pullets 
do not recognize that, after drinking, it is unbecom- 
STEER, HOG AND KAFFIR CORN. THE GREAT OKLAHOMA TRIO 
Fig. 77. See Page 190. 
_ 78 shows how 
they are bracketed above the floor and away from the 
wall. The wide, light door-cover, when raised, allows 
the attendant to gather eggs without stooping; and 
no broody hen can scuttle beyond reach and bid de¬ 
fiance. 1 he strip for a walk does not allow rubbish 
to accumulate, and is readily scraped off. The front 
•of the nest boxes may be raised to allow of sweeping 
out the old nesting material. Then the fresh straw is 
just overhead. The run-way openings have neat 
porches over them. The double-boarded doors open 
out, a convenience in building; it allows, also, of 
hanging slatted doors inside. 
Mi. Blanchard says that he believes in making his 
fowls comfortable in Summer as well as in Winter. 
In one house—his newest—he has accomplished this 
by arranging a chance for the hens to get under the 
house to wallow in the cool earth. These summer 
quarters face the northwest. “ Kerosene is cheap, and 
vermin are expensive”, is a rule at Fairview. 
The hens were not disturbed by our presence. “These 
are the 4 wild Leghorns’ peoph talk about”, said Mr. 
Blanchard. “ These were raised in brooders, and are 
not afraid of people.” 
ing to their complexions to take a bath. In bathing, 
too, they are quite forgetful of casual visitors, and 
raise such a cloud of dust as nearly to choke one’s 
enthusiasm over the performance. Perhaps these cus¬ 
toms may be allowed them, as they keep cheerfully at 
their business, and shell out 200 eggs a day. 
The Layers and Their Breeding. 
The size of the pullets and the size of the eggs were 
remarkable. It is evident that the Groton breeders 
have been picking for layers of large eggs, and at the 
same time, selecting larger fowls. This element of 
size was particularly noticeable in the pen of oldest 
pullets, made up of those which began laying in Sep¬ 
tember. It might be well to observe that winter eggs 
at Fairview mean eggs before .January. 
How were the pullets produced? Last Spring, Mr. 
Blanchard made up a breeding flock of selected birds, 
and filled his incubators, so that two hatches would 
come in April; these were the best, but later ones 
were hatched. The four 300-egg Prairie State ma¬ 
chines were kept going, and later three brooders 
3*4 x 12 feet set going. Mr. Blanchard says that he 
needs another brooder and another brooderhouse. He 
gives his chicks free range after they get started and 
the weather warms up; those confined have large, 
grass-covered yards. He aims to have vigorous birds, 
and his handsome flocks attest his success. 
Regarding eggs for hatching Mr. Blanchard says : 
“Hatching eggs for shipment should be perfectly fresh, 
as they hatch much better after their journey than 
eggs not entirely fresh. Here the extensive poultry- 
man has the advantage over those who keep small 
flocks.” Eggs for hatching are packed with great 
care with material to deaden the jar, and each egg is 
isolated. 
Mr. Blanchard finds a breeding flock of 50 hens and 
three males convenient. As he needs to use but 3,300 
eggs to supply him with his pullets, one must con¬ 
sider his plans economical. 
Ihe surplus cockerels are sold when quite young as 
broilers; but many are consumed at home. There 
are always some eggs too large -to go in the filler, and 
a few undersized or otherwise defective. These suffer 
home consumption. 
Feeding the Flock. 
I he feeding of so large a flock is a matter of im¬ 
portance. Early in the morning, a little 
grain is thrown into the litter, and the 
hens scratch lively for it. Presently, 
warm water or warm swill is given them. 
A liberal warm mash is the midday 
allowance. The basis of this is boiled 
turnips; into these, 10 pounds of meat 
meal, nine pounds of oil meal, and a 
mixture of meal from corn, oats, and 
rye with bran, are stirred, to make a 
crumbly mass. At night, all the mixed 
grains are fed which the hens will eat 
clean, which is about 1% bushel. Every 
day, mangels are fed to the hens. They 
like them, and Mr. Blanchard considers 
them cheaper than cabbages. 
The hen yards are 40 x 250 feet in size. 
They are planted to plum, cherry, peach 
and pear trees. No attempt is made to 
grow anything else in them ; green feed 
is furnished by chard and other soiling 
crops. The grains are purchased in 
wholesale lots. “This is the sort of 
•condition powders’ I prefer,” said Mr. 
Blanchard, as he reached into a wheat 
bin. He has a storehouse full of sup¬ 
plies ; earth bins, gravel bins, wheat 
bins, sacks of shells, sacks of meat meal 
and sacks of buckwheat hulls. In the 
barn, are further supplies, for Mr. Blanchard deals in 
these things, besides using them himself. From the 
hydro-safety lamps for the brooders, to the scale truck, 
this is a complete establishment. The impress of the 
enterprise and ingenuity of the proprietor is upon it. 
I asked Mr. Blanchard whether he thought that he 
could discover why some other large flocks are not 
laying. “ Perhaps I could, if I could go where they 
are and study how they are fed and managed for a 
few days. This observation is of interest from an ex¬ 
pert. It means that the nice distinctions of the busi¬ 
ness can be experienced rather than derived from in¬ 
struction. 
We also visited the farm of Mr. A. G. Chapman. The 
element of especial interest is the enthusiasm with 
which this man has forgotten his three score and ten 
years in his study of poultry keeping. He uses smaller 
houses than Mr. Blanchard, stuffed with straw in 
walls and roof. His hens are laying as well as any. 
We discovered Mr. Chapman busy building brooders ; 
he knows how to put in his time to good advantage. 
He feeds his flock, apparently, more cheaply than his 
neighbors, having arranged a cutting box so that the 
lengths of the clover chaffed by it are but about one- 
