63o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 20, 
Live Stock and Dairy 
MAPES, THE HEN MAN. 
Buying Yearling Hens. 
Would it: be advisable to buy liens one year 
old to keep for layers the coming Winter and 
Summer? I have kept about 100 liens for 
several years, and made them pay. I expect 
to build a new bouse this Fall, but cannot get 
pullets enough to stock it. 1 can buy yearling 
hens. Some of my hens get lame in one leg 
for a time; then in a short time get so they 
cannot walk, and have to be killed. Their 
feed is oats, wheat, buckwheat and corn, fed 
alternately; corn at night, with a mash of 
bran, shorts and meal two or three times a 
week, with oyster shells all the time. Skim- 
milk to drink. What is the trouble? 
Conneatitville, Pa. w. I. h. 
Buying yearling liens for layers will be 
all right if good judgment is used in the 
purchase. A few main points should be 
borne in mind in order to make it profit¬ 
able. In the first place, they are not likely 
to lay enough to pay their board through 
October, November or December, on ac¬ 
count of the moulting vacation. Then, 
again, prices of all kinds of poultry may 
be counted on as being at the lowest dur¬ 
ing the Fall rush to market, and an ad¬ 
vance can confidently be counted on be¬ 
tween the holiday season and the Spring, 
when everything that will lay eggs is apt 
to be withdrawn from the market. A 
wise buyer will keep these points in view, 
and wait until the time for this rise in 
the market is about due. A rise of five 
cents per pound is no unusual thing be¬ 
tween January 15 and March 1. A four- 
pound hen can often be bought early in 
January for eight cents per pound, which 
will weigh five pounds before February 
is over, and sell at 13 cents per pound in 
the open market. If she fails to lay dur¬ 
ing this time at all, she is sure to increase 
in weight if well fed, insuring a good 
profit, eggs or no eggs. After March 1 
anything in the shape of a hen will be 
profitable for a number of months, and 
enable the owner to raise a pullet to re¬ 
place her if ne wishes. Do not be in a 
hurry, therefore, but let the present owner 
feed her just as long as you dare, being 
sure to get possession of her before the 
they can easily be removed to a fresh loca¬ 
tion as often as desirable. It is a question 
which each can best decide according to 
surroundings, etc. Where lamp brooders 
are to be depended on, I should favor the 
colony plan. If coal is to be used for 
heating, the long house is almost a ne¬ 
cessity. 
A Stone Henhouse. 
What is your opinion of stone as a mate¬ 
rial for a henhouse? I have a great abund¬ 
ance of stone of all sizes, common cobble¬ 
stones up to rocks half as big as a load of 
hay, on my farm, and it is a great problem 
to know how to get rid of them, so I want to 
put them into all buildings where a stone 
building will do good service. I also have 
plenty of sand for mortar, and can get ce¬ 
ment and lime at a reasonable price. The 
only question is, will a stone house be dry 
and comfortable'for the hens? e. h. 
Stanton, Mich. 
There is a popular prejudice against 
stone for poultry houses on account of 
supposed difficulty in avoiding dampness. 
How much of this is founded on fact I 
do not know, having had but little experi¬ 
ence with stone or concrete buildings. I 
should suppose that stone walls would be 
more expensive than wood in such a State 
as Michigan unless the wages of stone 
masons are much lower than in New York 
State. Stone is a better conductor of 
heat than wood, and condensation of 
moisture would be likely to occur more 
readily than in a wooden building, but 
with proper arrangements for ventilation 
I should be willing to “risk it” if cost is 
not too much greater than wood. Stone 
would make a cool house in Summer and 
by lining with cheap boards the walls 
could surely be kept dry in Winter and 
be easily warmed either artificially or by 
the animal heat from the hens themselves. 
'I he only stone hennery which I ever saw 
was very damp in Winter, but no atten¬ 
tion had been paid to suitable ventilation. 
The thick walls also prevented sufficient 
light to enter through the usual sized win¬ 
dows to make it cheerful. o. w. mapes. 
BUYING AN ABANDONED FARM. 
by frost, and would endure our cold Winter 
better.” 
Wyandotte Virtues.—A nother thing about 
the Wyandottes is iuat they sit well and 
make excellent mothers. It is often an ad¬ 
vantage to hatch eggs under hens, even when 
incubators are used. Mr. Cosgrove says he 
has had hens that remained broody for 12 
weeks or more. Some of them hatch out 
three broods in succession without a murmur. 
I asked him what seemed the most trying 
times in caring for hens. 
“Caring for the little chicks and feeding 
the young pullets just before they are ready 
to lay. The little things are tender, and need 
constant care. This comes natural to the 
man who lias learned the lesson by experi¬ 
ence, but often discourages the beginner! It 
is also a trying time just before the young 
pullet begins to lay. She is then a greedy 
eater, and should be fed meat and well cared 
for. If she is not pushed at this time she 
will not be profitable, and will not lay eggs 
when they bring big prices. It takes all a 
man’s nerve to pour out the feed at this sea¬ 
son without a cent coming in, yet it must be 
done. 1 plan to sell young roosters and old 
hens at this time, so as to have an income. 
You feel better over it when there is some¬ 
thing coming in than when it is all outgo.” 
“Are not the brown eggs of the Wyan¬ 
dotte an objection?” 
“The color is an advantage in our markets. 
My eggs are sold in Worcester, Mass. In 
most New England cities the brown color is 
an advantage.” 
Mr. Cosgrove’s success with poultry has ad¬ 
vertised his hens. lie does not pretend to 
have fancy stock, but people have an idea 
that fowls that will pay for a farm are better 
than those bred merely for fancy points. Mr. 
Cosgrove's experience merely shows what has 
been demonstrated time and again. Let a 
man go into any community and put skill and 
love and care into a hen, a cow, a potato or 
an onion, and in time people will come ready 
to pay an extra price. Mr. Cosgrove feels 
hopeful for the future of New England. In 
his section land is increasing in value, and 
is becoming more salable. A new State road 
from the railroad to the village helps in this. 
Swedes and other industrious foreigners are 
taking up farms. This increase in land 
values helps in various ways. Insurance 
companies are more willing to write policies, 
and it is easier to borrow money on farms. 
Let some one demonstrate what a man can 
do at growing apples on this rough land and 
Connecticut farms will regain much that they 
have lost. h. w. c. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
I t. N.-Y. and you will get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 8. 
OEDJNTEY FARM 
L. E. ORTIZ, General Manager 
HIGHEST GLASS JERSEYS 
Breeders’ Directory 
Send for circular. 
Now Is the time to purchase the REST, and the 
REST can be found at 
ALTAMONT STOCK FARM, 
Millbrook; N. Y. 
Pr^nerty of G. HOWARD DAVISON. 
R egistered shropshires of choicest breeding 
forsale. Large and well-built yearling Rams; also 
choice large March Ram Lambs. Cheap for quality. 
NUTWOOD FARMS, R. F. 1)., No. 4, Syracuse, N. Y. 
™» HOLS I til* CATTLE 
Good one*, and all ages. Fine Yearling Bulla 
ready for servloe. 
RAMBOUILLET SHEEP. 
BERKSHIRE SWINE. 
Write DELLHURST FARMS, Mentor, Ohio. 
STAR FARM HOLSTEINS 
THIRD MID-SUMMER OFFERING. 
30 Registered Holstein Cows, due to freshen within 
60 days 20 Registered two-year-old Heifers, bred to 
Aaggie Cornucopia Paulino Count, No 20642, the 
Champion Bull of the World. 10 Registered Holstein- 
Friesian Service Bulls ready for immediate use. 2 
Registered Holstein-Friesian male calves from Mer¬ 
cedes Julip's Pietertje Paul, No. 29830. 
HORACE L. BRONSON, Dept. D., Cortland, N. Y. 
Choice young stock of the bes breeding for sale. 
Prices reasonable. Every animal registered. 
WOODCRE8T FARM. Rifton. Ulster Co .N. Y. 
pUREBltEir liULMi lA HULL CALVES, 
.Chester Whites,all ages: bestof breeding, Forsale 
at reasonable prices. Chas. K. Record, Peterboro.N.Y 
HOLSTEIN BULL CALVES. Scotch Collies, Spayed 
* * Females. SILAS DECKER. South Montrose, Pa- 
ANGUS & HOLSTEIN CATTLE 
Registered end grades all ages and sexes, 
and of champion blood for the beef and milk 
strains aad at moderate prices. Also Nursery 
sto ck of all desc riptions. 
MYEH dfc SON 
IJridgevIlIe, Delaware. 
REGISTERED O. I. C. PIGS 
at farmers’ prices. July and August farrow. Extra 
flue stock. J. D. DATES, Ludlowvi lie, N. Y. 
nURITAN HERD OF CHESTER WHITES.— 
*Thepeerof any In America. Write yourwants to 
WILL W. FISHER. Ii. 2. Watervliet,Mich. 
CHESTER 
>tb O. " _ 
W H I T E S 
Both O. I. CT and Todd strains. 
Standard bred pigs for sale.. 
Honest dealing my motto. M. L| 
Bowersox.U.3; Bradford, Dk. Co.O 
expected rise in market values, after the 
rush of Fall marketing is over. Another 
year’s experience confirms me in my pre¬ 
vious belief that a hen’s usefulness as a 
layer is not over by any means when she 
is a year or 18 months old. We are now 
well into August, and our yearling hens 
are laying not a whit better than those 
that arc three or four years old. This 
might not he true of the Asiatic breeds, 
but the Mediterranean or American breeds 
surely will bear me out in this position. 
Sufficient information about lameness is 
not given to prove any opinion as to the 
cause of the trouble. The system of feed¬ 
ing is all right, and should give a profit 
in a favorable location with cither 100 
hens or 10,000. 
* Long Brooder or Colony Plan. 
Would you advise a long brooder house or 
colony brooder houses where one wishes to 
raise 350 pullets for layers? Economy of 
space no consideration. Does not the soil 
about a long brooder house get very foul in 
time? if. w. r. 
Preston, N. Y. 
“Three hundred and fifty pullets for 
layers” means a hatch of at least 1,000 
chicks, enough to warrant the building 
of a long brooder house with an auto¬ 
matic brooding system. Spring-hatched 
chickens should be ready to remove from 
the brooder house in time to start a crop 
of vegetation of some kind each Fall. 
This will keep the soil from getting 
“foul.” With wire-covered frames in use 
as runs, such as 1 have’described in recent 
numbers of The R. N.-Y., the runs can 
easily be picked up by two men and re¬ 
moved, making it easy for the whole space 
about the brooder house to be plowed and 
sown to rye, or some other crop. Of 
course with colony brooder houses and* 
unlimited space this is not necessary, as 
The Hen Lays the Home. 
Taut II. 
The Business Hen. —What then has paid 
for the farm? The Wyandotte hen. I hap¬ 
pen to know several men who left the city 
when over 50 years of age to make a living 
in (he country. All have succeeded, and all 
made poultry-keeping the.foundation of their 
farm plans. In the hands of a careful man a 
good hen comes as close to being a “sure 
thing” as any living thing on the farm can 
he. Dairying will pay many, and so will 
sheep or hog raising, hut for a man who loves 
her the hen is a noble partner on a poor farm. 
Mr. Cosgrove says that if he were a younger 
man and could reasonably hope to see or¬ 
chards in full bearing he would plant apple 
trees on the hills. Mr. Cosgrove will tell us 
from time to time about his methods of hen 
keeping. It is said that there are different 
breeds of poultry because there are different 
kinds of men. Each breed has some strong 
character which fits her for the purpose which 
some man has in view. I asked Mr. Cos¬ 
grove why he kept Wyandottes, and he gave 
several reasons: 
They save fencing. They do not fly readily, 
and are quiet, so that a comparatively low 
fence will hold them. It probably does not 
cost GO per cent as much to fence Wyan- 
dottes as White Leghorns. The Wyandottes, 
or at least a good strain of the breeu, are 
natural Winter layers. The fieghorns are 
good when warmly housed, but the Connec¬ 
ticut hills are cold, and warm houses are ex¬ 
pensive. The Wyandotte has a small head, 
and can easily put comb and all under her 
wing so that it cannot freeze. Let a Leghorn 
try to put her big comb entirely out of sight 
and see how uncomfortable the bird is. A 
lien with a frostbitten comb cannot lay eggs 
and he comfortable. 
Mr. Cosgrove says that if he were keeping 
Leghorns for Winter layers he would clip the 
combs and wattles off the pullets before cold 
weather set in. 
“Doesn't that hurt them?” 
“Not much. I have clipped comb and 
vat lies in this way and had the bird turn 
around and eat them at once. Tt is no more 
painful Ilian dishorning cattle. A Leghorn 
pullet trimmer in this way when her head 
healed would be far less liable to be injured 
GOLDEN STREAMER 65000 
Son of Forfarshire out of Golden Stream 8th, 
born Feb. 22,1901, and considered the best Jersey bull 
that ever crossed the Atlantic as a t wo-year old. 
Specialty— Young Bulls and Heifers, all ages. 
Also Imp. CHESTER WHITES and BERKSHIRE 
PIG8. Standard-Bred BLACK MINOKCAS and 
WHITE WYANDOTTES. 
IF - Correspondence solicited. 
GEDNEY FARM, White Plains, N. Y. 
Combination and 
Golden Lad. For 
sale 12 cows, 6 heif¬ 
ers, and 21 bulls. 
S. E. NIVIN, LANDKNBERG, PA. 
JERSEYS! 
Jersey Bulls, Berkshire Boars 
Good Ones—Registered—CLeap. 
R. F. SHANNON. 907 Liberty Street. Pittsburg, Pa. 
ANGORA GOATS. 
27 Registered Bucks. 
200 Does. Some Kids. 
POULTRY and FOX TERRIERS 
(FOR PLEASURE AND PROFIT.) 
Catalogue free. Established 1888. 
Elm Poultry Yards, Box Y, Hart ford, Conn. 
For Sale.— Scotch Collies, magnificently 
bred. A. J. BENEDICT. Bristol, Wls . R. F. D. No. 2. 
.DEATH TO HEAVES 
HBJTTON’S Heave, Cough, Dis¬ 
temper and Indigestion tar«, 
A veterinary specific for wind, 
r. throat and stomach troubles. 
Strong recommend* $1.00 per 
can. Dealers. Mail or Ex. paid. 
The Newton Remedy Co.* 
Toledo, Ohio. 
HARNESS AT WHOLESALE PRICES 
We made 100 styles and sell direct to consumer. 
Send for Catalog F. 
KING HARNESS CO., 6 Lake St. f Owego, N. Y. 
A 
THE CHACE BASIN \— 
FOR WATERING 5T0CK IN 5TABLE5 ^1 
Sample Basin Sent 
On Approval 
Send for Catalogue 
and Price List. 
F. R. OH ACE, 
Sherman, N. Y. 
Reg. P. Chinas, BerKsiiires and C. Whites. 
8 wks. to 6 mos. mated not akin. 
Service Boars, Bred Sows. Write foi 
prices and description Return If not 
satisfactory; we refund the money. 
HAMn/TON & CO.. Ercildoun. Chester Co., Pa. 
IMPROVED 
LARGE YORKSHIRES; 
all ages, from imported stock, 
atmodestprices. W.H. Fisher, 
Spahr Building, Columbus, O. 
IMPROVED LARGE YORKSHIRES SKS" 
\Og. Pigs of all ages from imported stock for sale. 
MEADOW BROOK STOCK FARM. Rochester. Mich 
SPRINGBANK BERKSKIRES 
and Oct.boars, 
.0 Fall farrowed sows, 2 yearling Boars, and Boar 2 
years old next Sept; 6 Sows bred to farrow In May 
and June for sale at prices that no man in need of 
Berkshires can disregard. Fl-sUelass Individuals In 
all respects. J. E. WATSON. Marbledale. Ct. 
WANTED 
—50 Pullets, Leghorns or Cro*s, 
one to two pounds. I J. 
ST BINGHAM, Glen Cove, L. I. 
EGGS 
BY HUNDREDS AND SETTINGS, 
White and Brown Leghorns, Barred 
Rocks, White Wyandottes, R.I. Reds- 
Pekin Due k. Catalogue free. 
ARTHUR McCAIN & CO., Delaware, N. J. 
EMPIRE STATE S. C. WHITE LEGHORNS. 
Cockerels and Pullets, five months old, $1.00 each- 
heavy Winter laying strain. Catalogue free. ’ 
ZIMMER BltCS., R. I). 41, Weedsport, N. Y. 
90 
Var’s Poultry. Pigeons, Parrots, Dogs, Cats. 
Ferrets, etc. Eggs a specialty. 60 p. book. 10c- 
Rates free. J. A. BEUGEY,Box 8,Telford,Pa- 
nFATII TO I IPC on HENS and CHICKS, 
1 P • V UlUC 64-page book FREE. 
D. J. LAMBERT. Box 307. Apponaug. It. I. 
r ooooooooo 
We kee 
I erythin; 
fn 
ev- 
the \ 
■ I■ m m erytiling in th< 
ipOULTRY LIN E-Fencing, Feed, Incu 
,bators* Live Stock, Brooders—anything— 
jit’s our business. Call or let us send you 
lour Illustrated Catalogue—it’s free for the 
iasking—it's worth having. 
Excelsior Wire & Poultry Supply Co., 
'Dept. H G- 26 & 28 Vesey Street. New York City. 
<^OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOC 
BROOKSIDE-M OYERDALE HERD. 
Having just purchased the entire MOYEHDAl.K li 1C K l> OF HOLSTEINS we " 
selection from over 200 head of the highest class animals ever collected together. To reduce our 
_ stock at once we offer special ind ucements til rough August 
STEVEN’S BROTHEHS, LACONA, 3NT. 
