1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
351 
right; but of all the tables I have seen, I find too 
much fat-formers in all grains and by-products for an 
ideal egg-producing food. J- e. stevenson. 
Messrs. Seely and Rankin Talk. 
My experience with ducks is that they will stand a 
good deal of forcing, and for that reason, I do not 
feed as narrow a ration as I do to chickens. The 
droppings are a good indicator of the feed for any 
kind of animal or fowl. 1 find green cut bone the 
dearest, and the best kind of meat, except that, when 
I am ready to fatten them, I have had better success 
with dry ground meat. james ii. seely. 
I have read Mr. Truslow’s article, and I think that 
he is, in the main, right, that tne droppings of a fowl 
are the true indicator of its condition. I have not 
the faith in green bone for poultry that others have. 
It is very easy to feed too much. I think that ducks 
require more animal food than hens. Fish stands 
first, then fine beef scrap comes next. I like food 
rich in muscle-makers for egg-production and good 
fertility, though there is more in the quantity fed, 
and the manner of feeding it, than most people think. 
Ducks will not stand as highly concentrated food as 
hens, while both should be fed differently for egg- 
production than for market. james rankin. 
THE CAUSE OF SOFT-SHELLED EGGS. 
A Lame Hen Theory. —M. B. S., on page 272, in¬ 
quires about soft-shelled eggs and lame hens. I agree 
with P. H. Jacobs, 
that soft-shelled 
eggs are caused by 
the hens being 
o v e r f a t. Hens 
should be fed only 
twice a day, a 
mash in the morn¬ 
ing, consisting of 
three-quarters 
bran and one- 
quarter provender 
mixed with boiled 
potatoes and tur- 
n i p s enough to 
make it crumbly ; 
do not make it 
into a mush. At 
night, feed oats or 
wheat, and in the 
winter, corn 
should be fed with 
judgment. Use 
very little corn in 
summer for laying 
hens. Green food 
may be fed at any 
time during the 
day. One great 
fault is over-feed- 
i n g, letting the 
hens gorge them¬ 
selves. I would 
rather keep them 
a little hungry, 
for then they will 
be more active 
looking for more. 
The lameness, 
Mr. Jacobs says, is 
caused by the heavy fat males causing an injury to the 
spine. I cannot agree with him, for I have seen hens in 
the same condition described by M. B. S. that had not 
been with the males all winter. But the trouble is 
right here ; having all they can eat all day, they be¬ 
come fat and lazy. They stuff themselves full, and 
then huddle together in a corner, waiting for the 
next meal. They do not get the required exercise, 
become sluggish, the blood does not circulate as it 
should, and, in fact, all the organs of the body do not 
work as they should. The fat crowds the ovaries and 
oviduct, so that, taking all these together, when they 
first begin to lav, there is such a strain on them, that 
it uses up all their strength and they become more or 
less paralyzed until the egg is laid. I have seen hens 
lie on their sides with their legs stretched out straight, 
and panting for breath, until the egg was laid, when 
they would be all right again. 
If M. B. S. will cut down on his feeding, feed the 
mash and oats, and make his hens work and scratch 
more, they will be all right. A. j. l. 
Auburn, N. Y. 
Work Cures Them. —M. B. S. complains of soft- 
shelled eggs and lame hens. I could not better de¬ 
scribe the condition that my hens (one pen) were in. 
I do not agree with P. H. Jacobs as to the cause, for 
my hens were not fed three times a day, they did not 
lay double-yolked eggs, neither was there any male 
with them. When they were in that condition, 12 
were confined in an 8xlQ-foot house with a scratching 
pen, 8x12, with shredded stalks to scratch in, which 
is much better, I think, than straw or chaff, as they 
will stay dry longer. By the way, that is the way to 
handle stalks if handled right. As soon as I could 
build a fence for a yard, I turned them out; before 
this, they would not eat. After they had been out 
three or four days, they would make the stalks fly 
when I fed them. Then I got a Buff P. Rock male 
and put with them ; they were Buff Leghorns. I feed 
mostly wheat and buckwheat, and corn two or three 
times a week. o. p. h. 
STRAWBERRY AND CABBAGE PARTNERS. 
One of the most important things to be considered, 
is the selection of the soil. From my experience, I 
would say that, to get the best results, one must 
have a soil that has been enriched by manuring for 
several successive years. I do not believe that one 
can take a poor soil, however heavily he may manure 
it with stable manure, and get, the first year, the 
large growth of plants necessary for a large crop the 
next year. I would plow in a good coat of manure, 
plowing and re-plowing until the ground is as mellow 
as an ash heap. Then I would lay it out in shallow 
furrows, 3% feet apart, and set the plants about 18 
inches apart in the row. I would begin cultivation 
before the weeds appear, if possible, using a light, 
one-horse, cultivator, running it close to the plants. 
A wheel hoe may be used to finish up with, leaving 
but little hand weeding. This plan may be followed 
until about the first of July, when the runners are 
allowed to grow. 
About this time, after the last cultivation with a 
horse, I make a shallow furrow half way between the 
plants, and in this I set Early Winnigstadt cabbage 
plants. I plant this variety because of its earliness, 
and because it has less outside leaves than some other 
kinds. After this, all cultivation must be by hand, 
and the best implement is a double-bladed hoe with 
one blade made narrow so as to work in the small 
spaces between the plants after the runners have set. 
The runners, as they grow, should be thrown around 
the plant something like the spokes in a wheel, 
allowing them to set about six inches apart, leaving 
spaces large enough to work in with a narrow hoe. 
I remove the late runners, as they produce only small 
fruit. 
Frequent and shallow cultivation is now the plan 
to be followed. About September 1, I remove the 
outside leaves of the cabbages, to prevent their shad¬ 
ing the strawberries ; the runners will set very close 
to the cabbage plants. The cabbages are removed by 
the first of November, and the strawberry plants are 
then mulched with coarse manure. I find that it pays 
me to mulch heavily with manure, as it prevents the 
weeds from growing, retains the moisture, and keeps 
the plants back in the spring, so tHat there is less 
danger from early frosts. One should not make the 
mistake of planting too many early varieties, unless 
sure of the market. In many places, the later varie¬ 
ties coming in after the rush in the market is over, 
bring better prices. The Warfield No. 2 is the best 
early variety 1 have yet tested. For later varieties 1 
use Downing, Bubach and Gandy. w. H. jenkins. 
Delaware County, N. Y. 
ON WHAT DO 17-YEAR CICADAS LIVE? 
In response to my answer to the question, “ Why 
does an enormous apple crop always come the year 
after the 17-year cicada ?” (The R. N.-Y., page 53), 
A. W. II. evolves an exceedingly interesting theory 
(on page 115), to support his conclusion set forth in 
the question. So far as “ the belief that the cicada 
exercises a beneficial influence on vegetation ” is con¬ 
cerned, the theory may apply in many cases where 
the cicadas are exceedingly numerous. But the theory 
does not prove that there always is or ever is the con¬ 
nection between the apple crop and the cicada inti¬ 
mated in the question as first propounded. The well- 
known angleworms are much more efficient aids than 
the cicadas in draining, mulching, cultivating and 
fertilizing the land, as these operations are understood 
in A. W. H.’s theory. In certain soils, angleworms 
have long been recognized as efficient aids of the 
farmer ; but no one, so far as we are aware, has ever 
thought of attributing a very noticeable increase in 
the apple crop to their meanderings through the soil 
beneath the trees. 
M. J. G. gives, page 115, what I believe to be the 
only possible connection between the apple crop and 
the cicadas; and 
there is yet no 
definite proof that 
the insects have 
increased, or ever 
will greatly in¬ 
crease the crop in 
the way suggested 
M. J G. askswhat 
the young cicadas 
or nymphs feed 
upon and at what 
depth they feed. 
The mouth-parts 
of the cicadas, 
either as nymphs 
or adults, are 
built only for 
sucking the juices 
of plants. Their 
mouth organs are 
formed into a beak 
with which the 
nymphs pierce the 
tissues of living 
roots of all sorts 
of vegetation, and 
suck out the j uices. 
They are often 
found on the roots 
of fruit trees, but 
more often in the 
forest; hickory or 
the oaks are favor¬ 
ite foods. The in¬ 
juries caused by 
the nymphs are 
hardly apprecia¬ 
ble, for their 
growth is so very 
slow, and is extended over so long a term of years, 
that it is not often that the vitality of the vegetation 
attacked can be materially impaired. There are few, 
if any, cases on record where the injury can be directly 
traced to the work of the nymphs. 
I cannot explain the occurrence of the nymphs in 
such large numbers near the decayed Red oak stump 
mentioned by M. J. G., unless they found sufficient 
subsistence (which is quite probable) on the roots of 
surrounding grasses, etc. They have not been re¬ 
corded as feeding upon decaying vegetation. As to 
what depth they work, it may be stated that they 
have been found from six inches to 10 feet below the 
surface. Usually, they, probably, work at a depth of 
from one to two feet; they will be found the thickest 
where there are the most succulent roots. 
M Y. SLINGERLAND. 
A Chance for an Argument. —I would like to 
read an article in Tub R. N.-Y. from some one who 
went from the East to the West and farmed there, 
and has come back to the East and is farming here. 
Why did he go? Why did he come back? Can he 
make a living by farming here as easily on the hilly, 
stony land, as he can on the more level, fertile soil of 
the West ? Are not prices in the West as good in pro¬ 
portion to cost of growing, as in the East ? Cannot a 
man grow four bushels of corn in the West to one here? 
New Jersey. c. r. w. 
R. N.-Y.—Here i» a chance to compare notes. 
TYPICAL EARLY SETTLER’S HOME, WALLKILL VALLEY, ORANGE COUNTY, N. Y. Fig. 114. See Page 356. 
