Vol. LXII1. No. 2830. 
NEW YORK, APRIL 23, 1904. 
?1 PER YEAR. 
4 CHICKEN RANCH IN THE SAND. 
WHITE LEGHORNS FOR E(»«S AND BROII.KRS. 
Business in Business Birds. . 
Near Lakewood, N. J., is one of the most conspicu¬ 
ous poultry farms we have yet seen. Lakewood is an 
inland Winter resort about 12 miles from Long Branch 
and Asbury Park, the noted Summer seaside resorts 
for city people. This poultry farm lies midway be¬ 
tween Lakewood and the ocean. The land for miles 
around is flat, sandy and studded with a somewhat 
stunted growth of pine. The tiresome monotony of 
the country is relieved as one suddenly comes in view 
of the poultry farm at a sharp turn of the road, with 
its snug dwelling, spacious poultry houses and numer¬ 
ous red brooder houses spread all over the farm, each 
surrounded by its flock of white birds in various 
stages of development. I came upon the place en¬ 
tirely by accident, and at once pulled up and found 
the manager in the 
hope of getting some¬ 
thing for The R. N.- 
Y. family. The busi¬ 
ness is an incorpo¬ 
rated company, and 
Austin G. Brown is 
manager. Mr. Brown 
is an enthusiastic 
White Leghorn man, 
though he keeps 
some White Wyan- 
dottes. He also has 
a few Buff Leghorns, 
but is getting rid of 
them. In all he has 
about 3,000 hens, and 
marketed 7,000 chick¬ 
ens fcst year for 
broilers and roasters. 
He also makes a big 
feature of egg pro¬ 
duction for consump¬ 
tion. 
I expressed some 
surprise that Mr. 
Brown preferred 
White Leghorns to 
the heavier breeds 
for broilers and 
roasters. 
"That is because 
the White Leghorn 
is not fully appreci¬ 
ated,” he replied. ‘‘In 
eignt weeks I can 
make these birds 
weigh 3 y 2 pounds. 
They look like a squab, and bring $1.50 per pair. 
They make a more attractive broiler, are meaty and 
of high quality. It takes the heavier breeds longer 
to mature; it costs nearly double as much to house 
them, and fully double as much to feed them.” 
He has 15 incubators of 320-egg capacity each, which 
are kept in a sub-basement in a house by themselves. 
When the chickens are ready to remove from the 
machines, they are taken to a large brooder house, 
which is heated by pipes running the full length of 
the house, and connected with a boiler at one end. 
The space of this long, narrow house is separated 
into narrow partitions with corresponding outdoor 
runs. The yards are separated by nettings. Besides 
this permanent brooder, a number of the small, porta¬ 
ble brooders are used and heated in the ordinary way 
with oil flame. These are placed within the small 
houses scattered over the fields and pine woods, so 
that the youngsters have a double protection and such 
broods are seen all over the place. The laying hens 
are kept in houses 16x16 made of double boards with 
wire netting runs. Mr. Brown estimates it costs about 
$1 a head to house White Leghorns. 
‘‘Tell just how you feed the chicks from start to 
finish,” I suggested. 
‘‘For the first three days we feed on pin-head grit 
and oatmeal; after that we make a chick food as 
follows: Six parts cracked wheat, two parts cracked 
corn, one part rolled oats, two parts granulated beef 
scraps. We feed this five times a day; after a few 
days, say a week old, we feed a mash in middle of 
day composed of two parts cornmeal, three parts 
ground oats, four parts wheat bran, one part beef 
scraps. We feed grain in litter; mash on clean boards. 
With clean water and warm, clean houses we have no 
trouble to raise fine, high-grade stock. When we 
want to fatten our cockerels for market, say from 10 
to 12 weeks, we feed a mash of two parts cornmeal, 
two parts ground oats, two parts wheat bran, one 
part beef scrap, cracked corn and w*neat for grain 
food. We always feed our chicks green food; early 
in the season mangel-wurzel; as the season comes on 
green rye, oats, clover, rape, buckwheat, etc.” 
‘‘Very good. That’s clear enough. Now tell me 
how you feed the laying hens?” 
“To laying hens we feed a mash as follows: Three 
parts wheat bran, one part ground oats, one part 
cornmeal, one part beef scrap, one-fifth the bulk of 
cut clover, or whatever green food we have, cabbage, 
mangel-wurzel, etc. Corn, wheat and oats are fed in 
litter. With grit and oyster shells and clean houses 
well built, good stock should lay if hatched early and 
kept growing while chicks. For our breeding birds 
we use wheat and oats rather than corn, and we 
make them scratch out in the open air. If we find 
a cold snap coming, add a little corn or cornmeal. 
The White Leghorn is our choice for a laying bird 
around New York. Our climate is just right for a 
Leghorn at Lakewood, and we believe them to be the 
most economical egg producers on earth. As you 
know our main business is producing eggs.” 
One building contains the office, packing room and 
a feed bin for each kind of food used. Mr. Brown 
makes a feature of producing sterile eggs for table 
use free from bacilli and germs. This he effects by 
breeding healthy birds, keeping them clean and 
healthy, and feeding clean food and pure water. The 
eggs are packed in paper boxes holding 12 eggs each 
and bring from 40 to 60 cents per dozen in neighbor¬ 
ing markets. 
I would not give the impression that there is any¬ 
thing fancy about this place. It is simply a poultry 
farm, run on business principles, and for that reason 
successful. While Mr. Brown is enthusiastic he is 
also practical. Here is a sample of the sensible way 
he talked on the industry: 
“In writing up poultry culture facts are what read¬ 
ers are after, and a lot of this trash and over-esti¬ 
mated poultry talk 
does the business 
more harm than 
g<~>od. The poultry 
business as a busi¬ 
ness is my choice, 
and I have never re¬ 
gretted it. It is a 
business that many 
would succeed at if 
they would not be 
influenced by this 
boom talk, or I 
should say, writing, 
of many farm and 
poultry papers.” 
Thus in brief clean¬ 
liness, warm houses, 
pure water, intelli¬ 
gent feeding, includ¬ 
ing green food of 
some sort the year 
around, opportunity 
to get air and exer¬ 
cise, and the belief 
that he has the 
breed best adapted 
to his conditions 
and purposes, are 
some of the ele¬ 
ments contributing 
to Mr. Brown’s suc¬ 
cess. To these must 
be added a certain 
i n d e s cribable but 
n e c e s s ary “know 
how” which one 
gains by constantly 
working at a business that is to his liking, and which 
makes greater profit possible. i>- 
WHAT TO SOW IN AN ORCHARD. 
I have a pear orchard five years old on sand. The 
sand is 20 feet deep in places; clay crops out here and 
there. The trees are Keiffers mostly. What crop will 
grow there (the seed not being too expensive to buy) 
that would enrich the soil by plowing under? h. 
Ontario Co., N. Y. 
I take it that the land is very poor, and will not 
grow everything. I think I should commence by 
seeding to buckwheat as early in the Spring as the 
season would permit, using some fertilizer, and plow¬ 
ing under as soon as matured, and reseeding to buck¬ 
wheat to be again turned under and followed by rye 
to cover the ground through the Winter. The rye 
should be plowed early in the Spring and the ground 
seeded with Mammoth Red clover. If I get a good 
stand of clover I should leave it two years at least, 
and mow it, leaving it upon the ground as a mulch. 
LAYING IIENS IN THEIR BUSINESS OFFICE. Fig. 143. 
