1904 
MAPES, THE HEN MAN. 
High-priced Eggs. 
It is not very profitable to have Righ 
m-irkel when you have nothing to sell, and 
having spent 25 years on a farm in Dutchess 
County I know it is near impossible to get 
ocgs with the thermometer at zero. When 
eggs get as high as they are this Winter 
tiio dealer can only stand behind the 
counter and tell the price of eggs. You 
can sell but few at the prices they have 
been this Winter. A good fair price is 
better for producer, seller and consumer. 
Such we have not had the past Winter 
Your eggs are the finest I ever saw, which 
is no flattery, but fact. Keep the price 
down what you can, for I would like to 
’^il few. Ship iTiG another case this 
week if you can. J - H - T - 
New York. 
The above from a grocer to whom we 
have lately been shipping a few of our 
eggs is published to show how the high 
price prevailing for eggs the past Win- 
ter appears from the dealer’s standpoint. 
It sounds rather incongruous for a 
farmer to be asked to “keep the price 
down,” does it not? Notice, however, 
that in the next sentence the order is 
enlarged, though prices were still at 
highest notch when this was written. 
Several Hen Questions. 
How many hens do you keep? To what 
age do you keep them? What breeds. 
Principal feeds? About how many do you 
raise each year? Do you sell to middle¬ 
men or consumers? B - 
Medford, Md. 
The above correspondent has a knack 
of asking many questions while econo¬ 
mizing words. In a general way will 
say that we keep hens for egg produc¬ 
tion, and sell the eggs to grocers who 
want a grade of eggs that they can 
“swear by every time.” They are kept 
on the colony plan, in small houses 
scattered about on rough pasture land, 
giving the hens free range. In Winter 
the hens are kept closely confined in 
these small buildings 10x12 feet, about 
50 in each flock. No yards are used, but 
we depend entirely on the homing in¬ 
stinct of the hens to keep the colonies 
from getting mixed. The houses are 
from five to eight rods apart, and no 
trouble is experienced with the colonies 
mixing. It would take “a man and two 
dogs” to drive one of the hens in the 
wrong house when night comes. This 
hen dairy from which our cash sales of 
a little over $2,900 were made last year 
contained an average of about 1,500 
hens. Some of the time a little less, 
and towards the close of the year a lit¬ 
tle more. If enough stock had been 
sold to reduce the flock to the usual 
number the cash sales would have been 
fully $3,000. We keep most of the hens 
until four or five years old unless they 
happen to “kick the bucket” before that 
time. The breed is mostly White Leg¬ 
horn. A few of the older ones are 
Black Minorcas or White Wyandotte, 
but none have been raised recently ex¬ 
cept Leghorns. We abandoned the Mi¬ 
norcas because the cockerels and old 
hens are not wanted by butchers on ac¬ 
count of the black skin and pin feath¬ 
ers, while the Wyandotte eggs are dark 
shelled, and white eggs are wanted by 
our customers. Principal feeds are corn 
and wheat for grain, with milk or meat 
in some form for animal food. During 
most of last year corn alone was fed 
for whole grain, this being balanced by 
an anti-corn mixture fed as a mash, con¬ 
sisting largely of wheat middlings, 
bran and gluten. We raise about 1,000 
young birds each year in order to keep 
up stock. 
Starting a Poultry Plant. 
I have be^n farming, my wife and I, for 
about six years; we have 75 acres of land— 
40 available for cultivation, including a 
100-tree orchard. We have kept, or rather 
had on hand, about 100 hens of mongrel 
breed—a dash of Leghorn and a trace of 
Barred Rocks, sometimes laying well, 
sometimes not. We contemplate under¬ 
taking poultry right. We would like the 
“sage of the henhouse” to tell us one or 
two things. Would he confine his hens to 
pens if he had a wood lot they could run 
in? If confined, how large a pen and house 
would he use for 50 hens? How many 
hens could be cared for if a good part of 
the farm and fair share of time were de¬ 
voted to poultry? J. T. N. 
Virginia. 
In regard to the first question, I 
should sometimes like to have a pen or 
yard in connection with each flock, to 
be used when occasion called for it, 
though I have never yet seen the time 
when I cared enough for them to go to 
the trouble and expense of building 
them. In the case of the wood lot for 
a run, it is possible that if shade is 
dense some of the hens would steal 
their nests outside. A'small yard, say 12 
x20 feet, in which the flock could be con¬ 
fined until towards evening, when most 
of the eggs have been laid, would then 
be an advantage. This would also help 
to a more uniform feeding of the flocks, 
where more than one flock is to be kept, 
as the last feed of the day could be 
given just, before they were released 
from confinement. A good run in search 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
2 19 
of grass, insects, etc., every evening is 
desirable, both for the health oi the 
hens and as a labor saver. Such hens 
require less attention than those that 
are confined all the time. More fertile 
eggs and more vigorous chicks will also 
be secured in this way. As to the size 
of house for 50 hens, we keep that many 
in a house 10x12 feet, and have yet to be 
convinced that they are too crowded for 
good results. In the climate of Vir¬ 
ginia where this correspondent lives, 
this question is of less importance than 
here, since only a small proportion of 
the year would be unfavorable for out¬ 
door exercise. “How many hens?” Bet¬ 
ter settle this after a beginning has been 
made, and each man judge by his own 
experience and ambition. More can be 
cared for in flocks of 100 or 200 than in 
smaller flocks. With buildings as I 
could now plan them, and the vim of 25 
years ago, 3,000 or 4,000 would not 
frighten me. 
A Damp Henhouse. 
Our henhouse is well built and lined with 
tar paper. The floor is of clay. The litter 
becomes damp and the walls on cold morn¬ 
ings are frosty. How can we get rid ol 
this moisture? B - 
Indianapolis, Ind. 
What is the cause of this moisture? 
Most of that on the litter of the floor 
comes from the excrement of the hens. 
If the bowels are kept in best condition 
for egg production, this trouble will be 
augmented. The remedy is obvious. 
Dry litter must be substituted frequent¬ 
ly. The more crowded the quarters the 
oftener it will need renewing. We do 
rot think of bedding a calf or a horse 
in the Fall to last all Winter. The 
moisture on the sides and ceiling comes 
from the breath of the hens. The at¬ 
mosphere in the house becomes laden 
with an invisible gas called vapor of 
water. This seldom causes trouble dur¬ 
ing the day, as the sun’s rays keep the 
surfaces of the building somewhat 
warm. During cold nights, however, 
these surfaces become colder than the 
atmosphere in the house, and the vapor 
of water freezes to the cold surfaces, 
very much as a white frost is formed 
on grass, etc. The remedy is either to 
keep these surfaces from becoming cold 
enough to freeze, or else keep the at¬ 
mosphere of the house from being sat¬ 
urated with moisture. The latter can 
be accomplished by opening enough win¬ 
dows on the side least exposed to cold 
winds, but in so doing much desirable 
warmth is sacrificed. A little artificial 
heat on cold nights where this is prac¬ 
ticable, will accomplish the former. I 
am not sure but this frost and moisture 
could be avoided by covering the sur¬ 
faces with some substance that will not 
collect frost as readily as wood or 
tarred paper. This idea occurred to me 
since receiving the above question. Fol¬ 
lowing it out, I tacked up a square of 
woolen cloth, one of cotton cloth and 
one of burlap yesterday, in a building 
in which 50 or 60 shotes sleep, on which 
the frost sometimes collects a quarter 
of an inch thick. This morning was not 
cold enough to furnish a very good test 
(only four degrees above zero), but 
there was some frost on the siding sur¬ 
rounding the squares of cloth, and not 
a particle on either the cloth or the sid¬ 
ing under the cloth. The burlap or the 
muslin would be cheap enough to be 
practical. Woolen cloth would be ex¬ 
pensive, but would doubtless be better. 
O. W. MAPES. 
A Household i 
Necessity 
is a good lantern. A 
poor one—the smok¬ 
ing, flickering, faintly 
gleaming kind which 
blows out easily—is an 
abomination. You’ve 
seen them, perhaps 
you own one. The re¬ 
liable kind is the 
DIETZ 
Cold Blast 
^LANTERN. 
They are the lanterns of 
bright, clear, strong, 
.white light,thethorough- 
lly convenient and safe 
lanterns. No other ap¬ 
proaches them for satis¬ 
factory service. Local 
dealers every where carry 
them. We send you lan¬ 
tern book on request to 
make selection. Write us. 
R. E. DIETZ COMPANY, 
83 LaiuhtSt., New Yurk. 
Established 1840. 
SPdVlllS'rLEM.scs _ 
. quick and sure spavin cure, 
riirod nVrtflO Thousands cured by this 
VU1CU U) UI1C wonderful 45-minute method. 
. , Guaranteed always. Free 
/IC.miniltrt Book about Spavin, Curb, 
llllllUlV. Ringbone, Splint, etc.Write. 
-_.__ - FLEMING BKOS., themlsta. 
ireaimeni tulon Stock Yd».Chicago,111. 
DON’T MAKE A MISTAKE 
IN BUYING l 
CREAM SEPARATOR. 
The average farmer can’t afford to make a 
mistake in buying a Cream Separator. It is some¬ 
thing he is only likely to do once in a lifetime—at 
any rate if he does it right. 
Why not profit by the experience of the oldest, 
largest and most competent users of Cream Sepa¬ 
rators. These it may readily be learned are almost 
universally users of the 
DE LAVAL MACHINES. 
Send for catalogue and name of nearest local agent. 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO. 
Randolph & Canal Sts-, 
CHICAGO. 
1213 Filbert Street, 
PHILADELPHIA. 
9 & 11 Drumm St., 
SAN FRANCISCO. 
General Offices: 
74 Cort/andt Street, 
NEW YORK. 
121 Youville Square, 
MONTREAL. 
75 & 77 York Street, 
TORONTO. 
248 McDermot Avenue 
WINNIPEG ■ 
The 
EMPIRE 
'cream separator. 
There is no other cream separator like 
j t _ no other cream separator which will 
make you so much money and save you so 
much work. It is without question the 
simplest in construction, the easiest in 
operation, the most durable, the most 
satisfactory in every way. If you milk 
cows, few or many, send for our 
books. They’re worth reading. 
EMPIRE cream SEPARATOR CO 
Bloomfield, N. J. 
Chicago, Ills. 
It’s the Saving 
of cream, ease of running and easy 
cleaning that people are looking 
for in Cream Separators. These 
are strong points with the 
American 
For the proof try it on your own 
premises before buying. We rely 
on its work to sell it to all. 
. * Everybody likes its popular 
wrfii price. Catalog free for the asking. 
AMERICAN SEPARATOR CO.. Box 1066, Bainbridgo N.T. 
SUGAR BEETS FOR STOCK FEED 
BETTER THAN MANGELS 
Breustedt’s “Elite” and “Elite A” Sugar Beet 
Seeds yield 1500 to 2500 bushels per acre 
H lb.. 25c; X lb., 40c; 1 lb., 75c; 2 lbs.,S1.25; 4 11 ) 8 , 
or express, not prepaid. Cash with order. 
E. C. POST, M. E., DUNDEE, MICH. 
Sole Agent for United States and Canada. . 
SHARPLES Separators, 
There are two kinds of cream 
separators and only two. 
OURS and the OTHERS* 
The Tubular bowl. The bucket bowl, 
i The patent protected kind* The free for all kind. 
I Th« bowl without compll- The bowl with disc*, 
‘ cation, that It .wily cones, graters or con- 
cleaued. traptlona that can t be 
1 kept clean# 
I The entirely clean skimmer The fairly clean skimmer 
under nil conditions. under favorable condi¬ 
tion!. 
The can’t get out of order The bound to give tron- 
klnd. i>le kind. 
There is a lot of real dif- 
f ference in the two kinds 
and it amounts to big money 
in a year’s time. Investigate. 
I Separators are different. 
Free Catalogue No. 153. 
P. M. SHARPLES, 
West Chester, Pa. 
THE SHARPLES CO., 
Chicago, Ills. 
.CIENTIFIC GRINDING MILES grind Com 
k In the ear, or Grain in any form. Strong, exact, 
? on. 
SILOS 
A 12 by 30 -$ 120.00 
Patent airtight inside coating. 
Patent continuous doors, which 
save labor. 
Patent Combination Coupling 
Standard, guarantees firmness. 
Features possessed by no other 
Silo. Send for Booklet E. 
NATIONAL SILO & LUMBER CO. 
LINESV1LLE, PA. 
s I L. o S 
1904 . 
Six Kinds of Wood. 
11 n \lf to build, plant, fill and 
nUtl feed. Your post office ad¬ 
dress calls for free Illustrated Jour¬ 
nal on silos and silage and VUnUU 
many things you should IV11U 1* 
alamazoo Tank & Silo Oo#, 
Michigan. 
Local agencies and complete repair stocks everywhere 
DEEPING 
HARVESTERS 
International Harvester Co. of America, Chicago, TJ. S. A. 
