1905. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
A WOMAN'S WORK WITH CHICKS. 
From Bees to Poultry. —My story is 
old, and with many variations has been 
told and re-told, but as there is nothing 
new under the sun, it may give a little 
help to some other woman in search of 
health, or dollars, or both. Always rather 
frail, years of teaching left me with shat¬ 
tered nerves and weak body, a semi-in¬ 
valid for several weary years. When at 
last, strength began slowly to return, it 
was apparent that outdoor life and inter¬ 
ests were more imperative than medicines. 
A colony of bees was the first venture in 
this direction, and paid well, but, in a 
couple of years the apiary grew beyond 
my care, and my husband assumed the 
greater part of the work. We still win¬ 
ter 50 or 60 colonies, and I help in swarm¬ 
ing time, and in the cleaning and grading 
of honey, etc. But it is of chicken rais¬ 
ing that I would tell, in my own way, 
being not a “hen woman,” but a “chicken 
woman.” When the bees got beyond me, 
I commenced, in a small way, with chick¬ 
ens, and have gradually increased the num¬ 
ber each year. I now raise only Single 
Comb White Leghorns, of good strain 
and careful breeding, as experience has 
shown that this breed matures more quick¬ 
ly than those of the heavier varieties. The 
360-egg incubator is set for the first hatch 
the last of March, bringing off the chicks 
in April and May. It is placed wherever 
most convenient, but I prefer to have it 
in the cellar. Formerly we used a 200- 
cgg machine, and had to start earlier, in 
order to get chicks enough by the last of 
May. The incubator is run according to 
the manufacturer’s directions, which is not 
a difficult task, but it requires some at¬ 
tention at the right time and in the proper 
manner. If all has gone well, the chicks 
begin to appear on the twentieth day, but 
it is best to keep the incubator closed until 
the hatch is well completed, which ought 
to be in about 36 hours. 
Moving Inio the Brooder.— Meanwhile, 
I get things ready for the babies. The 
brooders are set in sheltered, convenient 
places, near the house, (to be moved far¬ 
ther away laler), clean chaff spread on 
their floors, and they are heated, for sev¬ 
eral hours, up to 95 or 100 degrees. A 
basket, lined with old flannel, with a flan¬ 
nel cloth to throw over it, is used to carry 
the puffballs to the brooders, which is done 
as quickly and carefully as possible. My 
brooders cost $5 e; ch, and I have learned 
by better experience that crowding does 
not pay. and that 50 chicks to a brooder 
are enough for best results. I give them, 
at once, plenty of sharp sand, clear water, 
and feed nothing but fine dry bread 
crumbs, all they pick up clean, every two 
hours, for several days, adding, gradually, 
rolled oats, 20-minute-boiled eggs, mixed 
with the bread crumbs.(the eggs tested 
out of the incubator, at the first and second 
tests, are kept for this purpose), cracked 
wheat, johnny cake, millet seed, etc., milk 
and water always in the fountains; and ; 
when they are about three weeks old, I 
commence, once a day, with a mash, made 
of meal, bran, and middlings, equal parts, 
a little beef scraps, table refuse, salt to 
season, and all mixed well together, with 
sweet skim-milk. This mash, with wheat 
at noon, and cracked corn at night, is 
my “stand-by,” and I keep feed of some 
kind always before them, but never feed 
anything sloppy or moldy. As they have 
free range, in an orchard, they get their 
own green food, but plenty of good grit 
must be provided at all times. 
Further Care.— The temperature of the 
brooders is kept at about 95 degrees for 
the first week, gradually lowering to 75 
degrees, the third week. 'Plenty of venti¬ 
lation is essential, and they are better a 
little too warm than too cold. My brood¬ 
ers. had. no thermometers, and as I don’t 
believe in compelling the chicks to register 
the temperature for me, I suspended a 
cheap thermometer in each brooder, six 
inches from the glass, with the bulb two 
inches from the floor. Artificial heat, ex¬ 
cept on wet days, can usually be dispensed 
with at five or six weeks, sometimes 
earlier, depending on the weather, and 
the lateness of the hatch. There are al¬ 
ways some weak chicks, and probably a 
few cripples, and these would better be 
killed at once, however hard it may be to 
do so, for they will probnbly die, or worse, 
grow up to be unprofitable culls. Hawks 
and crows sometimes get a few, but can 
usually be kept away by streamers of gay 
colors hung about. Rats are also a terror 
to be fought. As the chicks never see a 
hen, they have no lice. Mv chicks have 
never had bowel trouble, and I believe this 
is as often caused by keeping them too cold 
as by improper feeding. The brooders 
325 
must be kept clean and dry, and the lamps 
attended to twice each day; even if they 
do not need filling, they must be trimmed, 
to insure a steady blaze, and prevent “run¬ 
ning up,” which is the cause of most 
brooder fires, they must also have plenty 
of air, and it is well to leave the door open 
a little in muggy weather. I see to the 
lamps at night about 6 o’clock, visit them 
again at bedtime, and, if the weather is 
cold or changeable, at least once during 
the night. 
Marketing.— The cockerels are sold 
alive for “squab broilers,” as soon as they 
weigh 12 to 16 ounces, to a meat market, 
in a nearby Summer resort, for 25 cents 
each, this being slightly more than is paid 
farmers for mixed lots, as these are all 
white, plump, and yellow-legged. The best 
of the pullets we keep, the rest are sold 
at four to five months, to anyone wanting 
them, for 50 cents each, and we never have 
half enough to supply the demand. When 
the chicks outgrow the brooders they roost 
in the low trees, without which roosting 
houses would be necessary. By berry¬ 
picking and bee-swarming time they do 
not require so exacting care. By Septem¬ 
ber the surplus stock is usually disposed 
of, and by October the rest removed to 
Winter quarters, when my care of them 
ceases, although it is a satisfaction to 
know that I could continue it, if neces¬ 
sary, and probably earn an honest living 
thereby. 
What the Work Means. —Raising 
chickens bv this (or any other) plan, is 
not fun; although it is not hard, it is ex¬ 
acting work, and requires time, patience 
and judgment. I think anyone who would 
take good care of children would succeed 
with chickens. It pays me, in more ways 
than one. I can work out doors, gain 
steadily in health and digestion, and hire 
the sewing done that would make my head 
and back ache. My hands get brown, my 
calico dresses faded, and sometimes (it 
must be confessed) are far from clean, 
but the invalid is gone, and in her place 
is a woman, doing all the housework for a 
small family, making butter from six Jer¬ 
sey cows, raising chickens, watching the 
bees, and making herself otherwise use¬ 
ful about 16 hours a day, all through the 
busy season, and putting in a fair day’s 
work all the year ’round. 
DELL S. PETRIE. 
MILK OIL DIP 
FOR 
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REMEDY Positive and Permanent. 
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$1.00 Package curesany 
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$3.00 Packagecures«»y 
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Sent postpaid on receipt 
of price. Agents Wamt- 
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Mineral Heave Remedy Co., 4614th Ave., Pittsburg, Pa. 
No wonder it’s good! 
Pratts Veterinary Liniment. 
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The WAGON to BUY. 
Properly con¬ 
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STEEL WHEELS S L 
Your address on a postal will bring you free catalog. 
The Geneva Metal Wheel Co., 
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WE LEAD THE WORLD 
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BOX 17 HAVANA. ILL 
When you strike a stubborn case of Spavin, 
Ringbone, Curb, Splint or any other 
form of lameness, use 
KENDALL’S 
SPAVIN CURE. 
Men who have used it all these long years 
assert that it is infallible in the treatment 
of these diseases of the horse. You need not 
take our testimony—take theirs. 
Central Bllssville, Sunbury County, N. B. 
January 18, 1904. 
DR. B. J. KENDALL CO. 
Dear Sirs:—l havo a horse that had a 
hard lump of two years standing, it was on 
the forward pastern, right above the joint. 
I got a bottle of your Spavin Cure and did 
not have to use over half of it to take the 
lump all away smooth. I think every bot¬ 
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to any lame horse. Kindly send me a copy 
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geo. h. McLaughlin. 
or sale by all druggists. Price $ 1; six for 
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equal. Ask your druggist for Kendall’s 
Spavin Cure, also “A Treatise on the 
Horse,” the book free, or address 
OR. B. J. KENDALL COMPANY, 
Enosburg Falls, Vt. 
DEATH TO HEAVES 
NRWTOIPS Heive, Cough, Dis¬ 
temper and Indigestion Care. 
▲ veterinary specific for wind, 
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Strona recommend* $1.00 per 
can. Dealers. Mail or Ex. paid. 
The Newton Remedy Co., 
Toledo, Ohio. a 
A 
~*f§glg|$ fBEfcNanun. 
^ W Spreader 
and Pulverizer 
Makes fine and spreads evenly. Every¬ 
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Sand lor Free Catalog M • It describes the 
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Cowy Sme/is 
feed and stable odors left In milk 
mean quick souring and low grade 
butter and cheese. The 
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Every particle exposed to the air. Simple, costs little, 
most convenient, many sizes. Write for circulars. 
L. R. LEWIS, Mfr., Box 12, Cortland, N. Y. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
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"a square deal.” See guarantee, page 14. 
\{/ Chicks 
Without ’* M 
Lice 
If you will.iprinkle the setting hen and ■ 
nest thoroughly with Instant Louse 
Killer, we will positively guarantee 
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instant 
Louse Killer 
Is also equally effective In destroying lice 
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1 lb. 25c. (Except in Canada 
„ ■< and extreme 
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8old on a Written Guarantee. 
Manufactured by 
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Ashland, Ohio. 
LABEL 1 
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30 KaDcxx Bldg. ROCHESTER. II. t. 
s 
MAKE MORE MONEY FROM MILK 
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[I] 
1589 HASTINGS ST. 
| jimiiniDUiiimj 
uiiiiiiaunij 
jiiiiiiilllllMl 
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