28 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
January 13, 
GEESE AND RHODE ISLAND REDS. 
The industries of Rhode Island are 
many. It is the Summer home of a large 
number of the so-called leaders of fashion. 
It produces textile goods, rubber boots, 
fine R. I. Greening apples, garden truck, 
chickens, ducks and big fat geese and tur¬ 
keys, tender and juicy, worth eating at 
Thanksgiving or any other time. Anyone 
who thinks that Rhode Island is a small 
State will change his mind after walking 
25 miles in one small corner of it, as I did. 
On the little strip of land shown by this 
. East Island 
map of the southeastern portion of the 
State is one of its very live industries for 
here the goose and duck, and that truly 
American hen, the Rhode Island Red, are 
right at home. From Tiverton 4 Corners 
to Little Compton, along the Sakonnet 
River, there are few farmers who are not 
more or less engaged in poultry raising. 
The plan of housing followed gives the 
country a strange appearance. 1 he fields 
are dotted with little colony houses, some 
sections looking almost like an army 
camp, at a distance. The colony plan 
seems to be preferred, in fact 1 did not 
find any large raiser who is using any 
other. These houses are of many sizes, 
varying with the ideas or experiments of 
the builders. It has been found that the 
• exact size is of little account other than 
as a matter of convenience or individual 
preference. I found one kind S x 12 x 6 
feet high, the home of 40 laying hens, that 
seemed to be about right. Others are 
4 x 5 x 3, for GO chickens six to 10 weeks 
old. 
The number of chickens raised runs 
from 100 up to thousands. One man told 
me he kept about 1,800 hens and aimed to 
raise 3,000 chickens. In addition he had 
about 100 geese, as many ducks, seven or 
eight cows, and considerable tillable land 
- to work. He was surely a busy man yet 
. he moved around with the calm and self- 
possessed air of a man who is master of 
the situation. One of the most interest¬ 
ing features of a trip through a section of 
- specialized farming is the matter-of-fact 
way in which people are handling what 
seem to an outsider astonishingly big jobs. 
They have been through the a b c of the 
business, with perhaps father and grand¬ 
father as teachers, and it seems nothing 
unusual to keep a thousand or more hens. 
Yet what nonsense it would be for an out¬ 
sider to look over two or three of these 
poultry farms and then start in on the 
same seals. The experience that makes 
such a business a success is gained in 
small bits through many days and years, 
instead of being swallowed in a few big 
i chunks. 
In the feeding of these hig lots of poul¬ 
try there is a wide range of method. Ihe 
standard grains, both whole and ground, 
are used, and large quantities of beef 
scrap. Yet the variety of combinations 
- and individual preferences is striking, even 
with the most successful, which emphasizes 
the absurdity of laying out cast-iron ra¬ 
tions or methods for poultry farming. 
Climate, surroundings, and, most of all, 
the individuality of the hen. must be con- 
„ sidered. William N. Sisson, a successful 
and extensive breeder of Rhode Island 
Reds, geese and ducks, gave me the fol¬ 
lowing feeding facts: 
“The first feed for chickens in the morn¬ 
ing is a mash, two-thirds cornmeal and 
one-third bran, with a few beef scraps, 
mixed dry, so that it will be crumbly. At 
noon and night I give a mixture of equal 
parts wheat, hulled oats and cracked corn. 
This is the feed for chickens until they are 
old enough to eat corn, after which they 
have whole corn and wheat. The ration 
for laying hens is a mash in morning com¬ 
posed of equal parts of cornmeal and 
bran, and about 20 per cent beef scraps. 
At night I give mixed oats and wheat, 
equal parts, a quart and a half to a flock 
of 40. Corn is kept before them all the 
time, and in Winter they have sliced raw 
beets.” 
Keeping corn before the laying hens all 
the time is a somewhat unusual practice, 
but Mr. Sisson finds that with the variety 
of other food given there is no danger of 
their eating too much corn. 
The goose industry is quite extensive in 
this section, although' not so many .are 
raised as in former years. Western geese 
are now shipped to the large eastern mar¬ 
kets at a price which Rhode Island grow¬ 
ers consider too low, and many of them 
have practically dropped geese, finding 
more profit in chickens. The eggs are 
hatched with incubators, hens and geese. 
An average sized hen can cover only about 
five goose eggs, but she does a thorough 
job, and makes a good mother, though one 
can hardly help feeling sorry for the hen 
as with frantic anxiety she sees her family 
wade out into a sizable puddle of water 
and calmly leave shore. Geese are great 
grazers, and after getting a good start, 
will do fairly well on pasture alone, though 
some of the growers feed them grain all 
the time, and the professional buyers claim 
that they should never be made to depend 
on pasture. This applies specially to 
Spring geese that are to be fattened for 
the Fall market. A duck properly han¬ 
dled is ready to market at 10 weeks, but a 
goose must be kept longer. Some grow¬ 
ers fatten their own geese, but more de¬ 
pend on buyers who go about with crated 
wagons picking up geese that are old 
enough to shut up and fatten (about 10 to 
12 weeks). Mr. Sisson, quoted above, 
gives these feeding hints for geese. 
“The goslings at first have clear corn¬ 
meal mixed with water. As soon as 
hatched they should he put where there 
is plenty of short tender grass. When 
fattening I give a mixture of five-sixths 
meal and one-sixth beef scraps.” 
I was told that the Rhode Island grow¬ 
ers ordinarily get about $2 a pair for 
geese ready to fatten. One of the largest 
buyers in that immediate section is E. A. 
Cornell, of Adamsville. Mr. Cornell told 
me that he did not have many this year, 
only about 2,000. He had many times 
handled 8,000 or more. But the 2.000 made 
themselves heard so well that I knew I 
was on the right road some distance 
away. The geese are put in comparative¬ 
ly small yards, fed whole grain for a 
time and finished up with beef scrap and 
cornmeal. In these small yards the geese 
get very scary. 1 hey feel that they are 
helpless, and are frightened at any strange 
noise or sight. A special feeder is em¬ 
ployed to look after them, and they get 
used to his ways. But when a stranger 
appears they are alert and noisy. Dogs 
are particularly destructive, chasing the 
geese much as they do sheep, and a floex 
once worried will never fatten as they 
ought. Mr. Cornell has a very fine lot 
of domesticated wild geese and crosses 
of these with the tame breeds. These 
wild geese were really very tame, and a 
handsomer lot of birds I have never seen. 
A little of this blood is supposed to im¬ 
part hardiness and a slightly gamy flavor 
to the meat. 
When killing, the flock nearest fit is 
driven to a barn, and the best ones picked 
out. They are bled in the mouth and 
picked dry. Picking is a tedious job. 
Good workmen get so that they can 
handle 25 or 30 a day. About 10 cents 
apiece is paid for this work. Mr. Cornell 
markets through New York and Boston 
dealers. At one time he had a farm near 
Tarrytown, N. Y., where he fattened geese 
raised in the West, selling to the New 
York live poultry trade, these geese being 
bought sometimes for $1 a pair, though 
not considered equal to the Rhode Island 
raised. 
The Rhode Island poultrymen have un¬ 
usually good market facilities. Newport 
and neighboring Summer resorts use a 
large quantity of the choicest products. 
Fall River and Providence are nearby 
and Boston and New York within easy 
reach. B, 
THE BIG TRUTH 
STICK 
smashes^^w^ 
WORTHLESS 
•SEPARATORS 
FOR YOU 
1 Put Facta and Common Sense to* 
work on a Tubular Cream Separa¬ 
tor and you know it must be easy 
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it is easy to operate. In the light of truth, the out- 
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Which kind for you, the 
Tubular or 
Low Can or 
Simple Bowl or 
Enclosed Gears or 
Self Oiling 
“Bucket Bowl” 
High Can 
Bowl Full of Parts 
Exposed Gears 
Oil Yourself 
Write for it. 
Catalog 0153 tells all about Tubulars. 
The Sharpies Separator Co 
Toronto, Can. WEST CHESTER, PA. Chicago. 
The World' s Standard 
DE LAVAL MM 
CREAM 
SEPARATORS] 
700,000 In Use. 
Ten Times 
All Others Combined, f 
8**« $10 - per Co* 
Enr; Tltr of Utl j 
over til 
Bruit) Setting 8)tttmt 
end $5 - per Cow ' 
ever til 
Imititing 8tptrttort. •—- . / 
Send for new 1906 Cntnloga*. 
THE DE LAVAL SEPARATOR CO. 
Canal A Randolph Sts.. | 74 Cortlandt Street, 
CHICAGO. I NEW YORK. “ 
OV BE b.OOO BRANCHES AND LOCAL AGENCIES 
Convenience. 
Why not get it in your cream separator when 
every other essential goes with it? That’s 
the difference between the separator of 
today and the old machines. The new 
Papec 
Cream Separator 
doesn’t require you to lift the milk as high as 
your head to fill the can. A child can fill it. 
That counts when you use it every day twice 
a day. Mind you, this is not attained at the 
expense of clean skimming, easy turning, or 
cleaning. Handiness is not inconsistent with these 
things. Tlie Papec is the separator that has them all. 
Let us tell you all about it. Our free book will do it. 
THE PAPEC MCH. CO., 
Box IO, Lima, N. Y. 
COOK YOUR FEED and SAVB 
Half the Cost—with the 
PROFIT FARM BOILER 
With Dumping Caldron. Empties its 
kettle ia one minute. The simplest 
and best arrangement for cooking 
food for stock. Also make Dairy and 
Laundry Stoves, Water and Steam 
Jacket Kettlea, Hog Scaldere, Cal* 
drone, etc. tar Send for circulars. 
D. It. SPERRY & OO.. Batavia. Ill. 
BEATS THE 
Grindstone 
Ten Times Over. 
Grind any tool, knife to mower 
sickle, with the 
Practical 
Grinder. 
3.000 revolutions of 
carborundum wheel 
per minute. Greatest 
abrasive known. No 
pressure needed, does 
not draw temper or ‘ 
heat tools. Every * 
home needsit. Write 
for price and circu¬ 
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agents wanted. 
ROYAL MFC, 00., ttQ C, Walnut St., Lancaster, Pa. 
Warsaw- Wilkinson Co.. 
Jf ' WARSAW. At. Y 
t ' 
Climax Carrier. 
Feed, Ensilage, Litter. 
Astable help that saves labor. Brings feed from 
Bilo or bin to manger, carries manure from all 
stablings to same pile or dumps oa wagon. Easy 
lift, light running, positive dump. Made of steel. 
Straight or curved tracks to run anywhere and suit 
any stable plan. Write for descriptive circular. 
Warsaw-Wilkinson Co., 
50 Highland Ave., Warsaw, N. Y. 
Steam 
Is the reliable power. Don’t be 
misled on the power question. 
Don’t buy any until you know 
what you can do with steam and 
A Leif el 
Engine. 
y ' The line is specially adapt¬ 
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on skids, on boilers, for wall¬ 
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i i n, power for many years. Lef- 
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a score of uses for such a power. Let us send you our 
little book, “Power Economy and Efficiency.” Free. 
The James Lettel & Co., !lo]^M^>Brlnfllleld^0. 
THIS COOKER 
makes feed go twice as far, 
cooks all kinds of feed, serves a 
dozen other farm purposes. The 
Farmers’ Favorite 
Is made to last; heaviest strong¬ 
est low-priced cooker made. 
Model service in sugar and ap¬ 
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etc. Write for circular and prices today. 
L. R. Lewis, 12 Main St. Cortland, N.Y. 
IHB CUTAWAY HARROW CO. 
CLARK’S REV. 
BUSH PLOW and HARROW 
Cuts a track 5 feet wide, l 
foot deep. Connects sub¬ 
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newly cut forest, stump, 
bush or bog land. 
CZ AllK’S Mbl. ACTION 
CUT A WA r Moves 18,000 
Tons of Earth in a May. 
Send for Circulars. 
HIGGANUM. CONN., U.S.A, 
15 DAYS 
FREE 
TRIAL 
To prove to you that the MONARCH 
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Our freecatalogueshows the many ways 
the Monarch is superior to other mills. 
SPROUT, WALDRON &. CO., 
P. O. Box 263 Muncy, Pa. 
