65o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 26 
FIGHTING LICE AND MITES. 
THE PESTS OF POULTRY. 
I am told that sassafras oil, fed to hens, will 
keep them free from lice. How much and how 
often is it necessary to feed ? Is there any substi¬ 
tute that is not so expensive ? What is the best 
remedy for mites and lice ? f. o. c. 
Kansas. 
ANSWERED BY SAMUEL CUSHMAN. 
I have had no experience in feeding 
sassafras oil to hens to keep them free 
from lice ; neither am I favorably im¬ 
pressed by such a scheme. It may be 
possible so to impregnate fowls with 
this oil that their skins, or the oily 
secretion with which they anoint and 
dress their plumage, would be very 
objectionable to lice. Sassafras poles are 
used as hen roosts by many because they 
repel lice. Possibly lice multiply less 
rapidly on wild birds on account of the 
spicy buds and other aromatic and 
strong-flavored foods which they eat. 
They may serve other purposes than 
appetizing dainties. However, their free 
habits and extreme nervous activity, 
make them less liable to become infested 
as well as more energetic and persistent 
in dis!odgiDg these enemies. 
Raw onions are found to be a preven¬ 
tive against gape worms, if fed fre¬ 
quently to chickens. The volatile essen¬ 
tial oil is supposed to reach and kill the 
embryos or young worms that pass into 
the trachea or windpipe. It is known 
that the oil of onions has a soothing or 
medicinal effect on the nervous system 
of persons, and if they also act as a ger¬ 
micide or vermifuge, they are especially 
desirable as green food for chickens. 
Onions, when fed to fowls, surely con¬ 
tribute to their health and thrift. 
I am informed that some poultry keep¬ 
ers feed strychnine or nux vomica to 
their chickens to kill the hawks that 
trouble them. They claim that enough 
can be fed them to make their flesh death 
to hawks without injuring the chicken 
in the least. Possibly sassafras oil can 
be used in the same way without injur¬ 
ing the chicken. I should prefer to use 
less expensive and more certain means 
to conquer hen lice and mites. 
Clear Hens and Chicks of Lice. 
No one who will take the proper pre¬ 
cautions, need ever have his fowls 
troubled or injured by lice, chicken 
mites, gapes or scaly legs. If poultry 
are active, lively and have a chance to 
wallow or take a bath in dust or dry 
earth as often as they choose, they rid 
themselves of most of the lice that infest 
them, and thus prevent their multiplica¬ 
tion to any extent. If confined where 
they cannot dust themselves, or if they 
have, for some reason, become listless 
feeble or discouraged, they cannot keep 
the lice thinned out, and they breed so 
fast that the birds soon become overrun 
with them. When badly infested, they 
lose flesh, grow weak and often die. 
Many poultry keepers will not believe 
that lice are present, and doctor them 
for some disease when the birds are 
swarming with vermin. Ihese inactive 
or feeble specimens that are covered 
with lice, come in contact with the well, 
active fowls, especially when large num¬ 
bers are crowded together in a yard, and 
the latter are thus frequently reinfested. 
The intelligent poultrykeeper who has 
sufficient energy to act promptly, may 
almost keep the lice and mites exter¬ 
minated. One or two treatments of his 
fowls and buildings will do this, but 
lest the few that escape multiply and 
become numerous again, these treat¬ 
ments should be frequently repeated 
during the warm months, to keep them 
from again getting a start. The fowls 
and chickens should be periodically 
dusted with some powder that kills lice, 
and at the same time effective means 
should be taken to exterminate the lice 
and mites in the house. 
For dusting them, tobacco dust (the 
See advertisement for a farmer, breeder 
and dairyman as Superintendent of Rose- 
dale Plantation in S. W. Georgia.— Adv. 
sweepings of tobacco warehouses), pow¬ 
dered sulphur, and wood ashes are each 
effective, and they may be used in com¬ 
bination. Nothing is better, however, 
than fresh Dalmatian insect powder. 
Although expensive, it goes further. 
The cost of the powder, for even a large 
number, is very slight if the dusting be 
properly done. By holding the fowls 
and chicks inside of a box or over a tray, 
while dusting them, the powder that 
falls is caught and saved, and excessive 
waste is avoided. We place the powder 
in bulk in the bottom of the box, lay the 
fowl in it and with the hand sprinkle it 
among the feathers thoroughly from 
head to tail. Then as much as is possi¬ 
ble is brushed off into the box and the 
fowl, before it is released, is allowed to 
struggle or shake itself while in the box, 
to dislodge more of the powder. When 
large numbers are to be dusted, they 
may be quickly and effectively treated 
by confining them in a cask in which 
the powder has been placed, and rolling 
or turning it rapidly a few times. 
The large head lice of little chickens 
require something besides the dusting. 
A single large louse on the head of a 
little chicken will cause it to droop, and 
may be the means of its death. When 
they droop and look sick apparently 
without cause, look for large gray lice 
on their heads, necks and vents. Fre¬ 
quently examine their heads close to 
their bills and combs, and on the front 
and sides of their throats where they are 
found motionless,attached by their heads 
among the down or feathers. They very 
much resemble a sprouting feather, and 
are often mistaken for one. The ap¬ 
plication of a little grease will kill them. 
Never grease the chicks’ bodies except 
very lightly, as it may kill them. A 
spoonful of kerosene mixed with a tea¬ 
cupful of lard, makes a good prepara¬ 
tion for this purpose; a larger propor¬ 
tion of kerosene is too irritating. Rub 
a little in where you find the large lice. 
I prefer to use the carbolized vaseline. 
It is sold in pound cans by all druggists. 
Every fowl in a house should be dusted 
once a month, or oftener, during the hot 
weather, and once in two or three 
months the rest of the year. If a few 
fowls are not dusted, they infest those 
that have been. If one dust the fowls 
and not treat the house at the same time, 
they become infested again when they go 
to roost. Make thorough work of it. If 
not done at stated intervals, even the 
experienced poultryman is liable to let 
it go too long, and his fowls become 
sufficiently infested to cause them dis¬ 
comfort, and affect the egg product, or 
cause loss of little chickens before he 
realizes their condition. 
To Rid the Henhouse of Lice and Mites. 
Although lice often crawl about the 
roosts, and are found in the straw of old 
nests, they live mostly upon the bodies 
of fowls, where they multiply. They lay 
their eggs among their feathers, to which 
they are attached or glued, and are in¬ 
cubated by the heat of the fowl’s body. 
Red mites, however, inhabit the cracks 
and crevices of the henhouse during the 
day, and attack the fowls at night. They 
are the bedbugs of the henhouse. They 
lay their eggs in cracks and crevices, and 
breed with astonishing rapidity during 
the hot months. At night, they make 
their way to the fowls, and suck their 
blood, which gives them their red color. 
When not filled with blood, they are 
pale brown in color. If numerous, they 
deplete the fowls very rapidly, and are 
more to be feared than lice. The fowls 
confined to the house at night are help¬ 
less and cannot protect themselves, and 
soon look pale and bloodless. 
Although deprived of a chance to suck 
the blood of fowls, the mites can, it is 
said, live for months. Rough perches, 
rough boards, and numerous cracks and 
crevices about a building to which they 
can retire, favor their development. To 
exterminate them, every deep crack and 
crevice must be reached, as well as the 
inside of the building. 
Therefore, whitewashing as ordina¬ 
rily done, does not exterminate them, 
but leaves many which retreat to the 
deepest recesses, and emerge after the 
whitewash is dry. If carbolic acid be 
added to the whitewash, it is more 
destructive, and its effects are more 
lasting, but when applied often enough 
to be effective, it accumulates in an un¬ 
desirable way; neither does it penetrate 
the cracks as well as a thinner solution. 
I find nothing that gives better satisfac¬ 
tion than a solution of crude carbolic 
acid. It is the unrefined acid—a dark, 
tarry-looking liquid — and may be 
bought at a low price of any whole¬ 
sale druggist. We buy it by the 5-gal- 
lon can. I prepare the solution as 
needed, by adding a half pint to a pail 
of water. It floats much like kerosene, 
and at first does not mix well. It com¬ 
bines with hot water better than with 
cold. It may be applied with any of the 
fountain pumps or sprayers used for 
washing carriages or spraying trees. 
Thoroughly saturate, the roosts, nest 
boxes, and every board, crack, or 
crevice. It should be applied early in 
the day when the weather is pleasant, 
and every door and window should be 
opened to allow the house to dry out. 
After applying the carbolic mixture, 
the boards, when dry, will glisten for 
some time from the minute crystals of 
carbolic acid left on them. 
An improvement might be made by 
preparing an emulsion of carbolic acid 
which will mix with water as readily as 
milk. The crude acid might be added 
to the regular kerosene emulsion as pre¬ 
pared by fruit growers. It is made by 
dissolving one-half pound of hard soap 
sliced fine, in one-half gallon of boiling 
water, then adding to it a gallon of 
kerosene, after which it is agitated 
rapidly with a force pump, if possible, 
for 10 minutes. If the emulsion be per¬ 
fect, a creamy mass that becomes a jelly 
when cold, is the result. For use, this 
is diluted with 10 parts of water. A 
gallon or half gallon of the crude acid 
might be added, in addition to the kero¬ 
sene. Washing roosts with kerosene or 
supporting them in receptacles contain¬ 
ing kerosene or carbolic acid, acts as a 
partial barrier from the mites that roam 
the house. Their complete extermina¬ 
tion should be aimed at. The frequent 
use of the carbolic solution is, also, a 
preventive of roup, scaly leg, chicken 
pox and other diseases which are a great 
hindrance to poultry raising. 
PORK MAKING IN ARKANSAS. 
Mr. Simpson tells us this week some¬ 
thing about the chances for success at 
market gardening that are to be found 
in a State like Arkansas. Bulletin 41, 
of the Arkansas Station gives the details 
of an experiment which shows how the 
same advantages of soil and climate 
may be utilized in pork making. By 
using a rotation of clover, sorghum and 
peanuts—all harvested by the hogs— 
and feeding for a few weeks at the last 
on shelled corn, a fine quality of pork 
was produced at a cost of 1J£ cent a 
pound. Most of us regard the peanut 
as a luxury rather than as an article of 
food. In the South, however, it will 
produce more actual stock food per acre 
than any other cultivated plant. The 
hogs do their own digging and harvest¬ 
ing. About all the care they need can 
be given by a strong fence. 
In the experiment under considera¬ 
tion, the sow farrowed five pigs on 
March 3. She was fed slops until March 
23, when sow and pigs were turned on 
lContinued on next vuge). 
BELLE CITY 
FEED AND ENSILAGE CUTTERS 
AretheMOST PERFECT 
cutters made. They are 
both hand and power 
and in all standard 
sizes. Carriers of 
any length can be 
attached. For 
running these 
and other farm 
machinery we 
make a full 
1 ine of Sweep and 
Tread Bowers. 
Have also hand 
and barrel carts,I 
Root cutters, Saw 
frames. Harrows, 
Cultivators, etc. | 
Send for FREE 
catalogue andUSgN. _ _ 
treatise on silos and ensilage. 
BELLE CITY MFC. CO. Box23, Racine, Wis. 
eapest 
Full- 
^ I Quality b est 
IT’S 
The Best and Chea 
Mill on Earth, 
warranted. Will not 
choke. Write £ 
once for prices 
and Agency. 
Prices lowest. 
It 
grinds 
e grain 
to any degree 
fineness than 
any other mill. 
Corn, ear or shelled. 
Oats, Wheat, Ac., fine 
enough for any purpose. 
Made only by 
SteyensManuM’g Co 
JOLIET, ILL., 
Jobbers and Manufact¬ 
urers of Wagons. Farm 
Machinery, Windmills. 
SUCCESS ONE HORSE 
Tread powe r 
THE MOST 
Successful and 
Satisfactory 
power for running 
('ream Separators, 
Churns, Pumps, be¬ 
cause it has a Gov¬ 
ernor which regu- 
Llates the speed to a 
1 nicety. A success¬ 
ful power for run- 
_ ning small Grind¬ 
ing Mill, Feed Cutter, or any machine, because the 
largest horse can work in it with ease. SIMPLE, 
EFFECTUAL AND LASTINC. We make2 and S 
horse Tread Power-, also Ensilage Cutters. HERO AND 
AMERICAN FEED MILLS. Shellers, Wood Saws Sweep 
Powers, THE CELEBRATED GOODHUE WIND MILLS, etc, 
Our 150 page illustrated Catalogue SENT FREE. 
APPLETON MFG. GO . batav!a s ills. 
VICTORY 
Feed Mill 
Grinds Corn and Coband 
all kinds of Small Grain. 
Made in four sizes, for 2, 
4. 8 and iOhorse power. 
Send for catalogue 
and prices. 
THOS. ROBERTS, 
Springfield, Ohio. 
excellence 
are svnonomous terms when applied to our FEED 
AND ENSILAGE CUTTEES. They are unsurpassed 
in rapidity, strength and durability Straight and 
anglecarriers, all lengths. Write for our book on 
Silos and F.nsilage construction, with valuable 
hints to Dairymen. ITS FREE. 
Silver Mfc. Co., Salem, O. 
) l DAM S r F 
\ A 
5 0RTA 
W 
ble C0RTCRiBS3 
. Two styles. ) 
jjna Four sizes each, > 
1m Adam’s No. 1 Crib, ) 
Sa J he best made. ) 
l|j| Adam’s No. 2 Crib \ 
B for One Cent per ( 
H bushel. Ask your f 
B dealer for them or ) 
iA™ wr'te ) 
w .1 AnAM S 
Cheap and ConvenienLjJo^ 
MILL b ?LuL a GOLD MINE: 
The Scientific 
The best on Earth. Grinds 
all grains, including ear com. 
Numerous styles and sizes 
for all power. Send for catalog. 
THE FOOS MFC. CO, 
Springfield, Ohio. 
