I 12 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 10, 
HENS IN CLOSE QUARTERS. 
About two years ago H. E. Cook told of 
experiments he was making with hens 
crowded closely in warm quarters. I was 
much interested. Can you tell me if he 
still manages that way, and with what re¬ 
sults, taking the year as a whole? s. s. c. 
Vermont. 
Yes, we are still keeping hens in the 
same house, and they are warm. They 
are White Leghorns, active, and perhaps 
get more exercise in a small room, and 
need a higher temperature than the Rocks 
or that type. As a Jersey or Holstein 
needs a higher temperature than a Short¬ 
horn, so perhaps these fowls do propor¬ 
tionately better under our conditions. The 
whole question, as I see it, is not against 
warm quarters, but against foul air. The 
hens have been and are healthy; they are, 
however, kept clean. There is no decom¬ 
position from dirty floors. A concrete 
floor is cleaned weekly, and kept at all 
times covered with clean dry straw. Do 
they lay? Why, yes; fairly well; I don’t 
think their record this Winter is a boast¬ 
ful one, but perhaps better than an aver¬ 
age; 100 hens laid 62 dozen eggs in De¬ 
cember. That would be an average of 
nearly 25 eggs a day. This will no doubt 
be much above the average of the country. 
January is not complete as I write, but 
will average not far from 40 eggs a day. 
This much I do know. In this cold north¬ 
ern section where we live, we have had 
much better results since keeping our 
fowls warm than we did beforg. It is 
only a question of keeping them in pure 
air. As a rule, in cold weather we con¬ 
sider warm air and foul air synonymous. 
If we live up to modern sanitation, and 
have fairly good ventilation, warm air will 
not be bad air. If we compare hens with 
cows, which may not be quite fair, we 
shall find on a basis of five square feet 
per hen and a room seven feet high, the 
air space per unit of live weight would be 
equal to a 1,000-pound cow given a stall 
containing 5,.500 cubic feet air space, a 
floor space 20 x 30 and nearly eight feet 
high. It would not be a problem of ven¬ 
tilation in this case, because we would at 
the least put 11 cows in this space. I 
know excellent results are being obtained 
with cloth windows, but when the ther¬ 
mometer marks below zero and the snow 
fills the air, as it often does, (this Winter 
excepted) our bens will -not know what is 
going on outside, are happy and lay eggs. 
This may not be the correct system for 
everyone, but it works here. We keep 
hens, hogs, cows and horses, and all at 
high temperatures. They are healthy, 
happy and produce well. H. E. cook. 
NOTH INC POSITIVE IN HENDOM. 
After reading with much interest the hon¬ 
est confession of Mr. Mapes, on page 47, 
and knowing my own experience, and gath¬ 
ering from (lie experience and observation 
of others along similar lines. I am absolutely 
certain that there is no royal road to success 
in getting eggs or coaxing hens to lay high- 
priced ones during the cold Winter months. 
So mucTi is dependent upon local conditions, 
that it is dollars to doughnuts, for anyone, 
professional or amateur, always to hit the 
nail on the head in either feeding or general 
management. Then, too. the average hen 
is seemingly a very fickle little creature. As 
a neighbor of mine once expressed it, there 
was a time when he thought that when a 
hen commenced to lay, she would of neces¬ 
sity be compelled to lay a certain number 
of eggs before she stopped : but be bad found 
out that she could lay but a single egg 
and then quit if she wanted to. I know of 
individual flocks in the same neighborhood 
this season where the owner of one is get¬ 
ting a good egg supply, while the nearest 
neighbor gets none: and that, loo. where the 
feeding nnd management would seem to 
favor the latter. I have two pens, the first 
consisting of 13 White Wyandottes. nnd the 
second of 10 Barred Rocks and four and six 
Light Brahmas and Golden Wyandottes, re¬ 
spectively. Both pens are composed of hens 
one. two and three years old, although fully 
half of them are yearlings. The second 
flock commenced to lay three to five eggs a 
day the first days in December, and about 
10 days later the White Wyandottes also 
commenced, and about a week later I was 
getting 12 and 15 eggs a day from the two 
pens, the White Wyandottes giving as high 
as six eggs a day for a number of days in 
succession. Both flocks were fed as exactly 
alike as possible—a liberal allowance of 
corn, oats and damaged wheat scattered in 
straw in early morning, and a mesh of 
ground corn and oats, combined with an 
equal amount of bran and middlings, with 
Alfalfa and animal meal added. Now to Il¬ 
lustrate a point in practical experience; 
.lust, as I was beginning to feel that I was 
achieving success in the production of then 
30-cent eggs, my supply of oats and poor 
wheat gave out, and a number of days of 
much colder weather struck at the same 
time, and on January 8 my egg record had 
dropped to six, and later to four and five 
eggs a day; and up to this time, with all 
the coaxing and a rapidly declining egg 
market, I have simply been unable to get the 
number back above 10. Now I think the 
above change in weather and feed condi¬ 
tions wholly responsible for my loss in egg 
yield, borne out from similar experiences and 
that of others. I have also found that the 
so-called “balanced ration” and the methods 
so often written about by others cannot safe¬ 
ly be followed by anyone else; but that each 
henman must simply work out his own sal¬ 
vation by studying characteristics of his 
own individual (lock and local conditions. 
In feeding methods. I obtain best results 
when feeding liberally of oats and the mash 
at night. I think Mr. Mapes at. fault in his 
too-many-in-a-flock method and keeping birds 
too old. I would not give a picayune for 
any breed of hen over three years old for a 
Winter layer for me; while a good yearling 
moulted in good season, I would bank on 
sooner that I would the majority of early 
pulletS. 51. I,. DORMAN. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y. 
Selecting Laying Hens. —A California 
pool try man says that “trap nests" for test¬ 
ing hens requires too much care. He pre¬ 
fers keeping pairs of birds sej>arate in small 
pens; “I consider the management of ten 
pairs of birds, with only a pair in each pen, 
will give better results by housing and yard¬ 
ing in this manner than 10 hens and one 
cock that are handled by the trap nesting 
system. Fowls can lay at will, get off their 
nests and go at will when penned this way. 
Otherwise they may remain for hours in the 
trap nest before being liberated. One can 
learn the habits of each individual while in 
single pairs more than if 10 were together. 
Much depends on having the males that have 
produced the best laying strains, and this 
yarding in pairs gives the testing of nine 
birds that the trap nest system w’ould not 
give.’’ 
Bran and Silage for Cattle. —Regarding 
the article on page 800. silage and bran 
for cow feed, I would like to say from that 
same article printed 12 years ago we gave 
our cows no hay at all for six years. We 
used cotton-seed meal all the time, some 
middlings, hominy feed and cornmeal at 
times, but bran, cotton-seed meal and silage 
was their regular diet. They did well as 
far as milk went, but when it came to looks 
they w’ere not perfect. ’Hiey resembled 
good road horses. They will not eat enough 
to keep their ribs out where they ought to 
be. If you can feed them one good forkful 
of hay per day they are all right. a. 
Connecticut. 
Barn Ventilation. —Concerning article of 
.1. I). ITickett (which I consider an extra 
good one) page 37. in which bo says where 
they have to depend on window ventilation 
they might better go back to the cracks as 
being cheaper and better, instead of this 
I would suggest a different plan. Take some 
strips and make a frame to fit the window, 
as for a fly screen, and tack on one thickness 
of muslin. Put this in the window and you 
will have an abundance of dry pure air and 
no wind. This is one of the cheapest and 
best methods of ventilation known, and may 
be used to as good an advantage in a sleep¬ 
ing room or chicken house. w. n. 
Pratts, the name of 
the best Stock and 
Poultry Foods and 
V eterinary Remedies 
in the world. Read 
that over again. In 
use over 30 years. 
ABSORBINE 
REMOVES 
BURSAL ENLARGEMENTS, 
THICKENED TISSUES. 
INFILTRATED PARTS, and any 
FUFF OR SWELLING, CURES 
LAMENESS, ALLAYS FAIN 
without laving the horse up. Does not 
blister, stain or remove the natr. 82.00 a 
bottle, delivered. Pamphlet 1-B free. 
ABSORBINE, ,TR., for mankind,81.00 
Bottle. Cures Synovitis, Weeping Sinew, 
Strains, Gouty or Rheumatic Deposits. 
Allays Pain. Book free. Manufactured only by 
W. F. YOUNG, P. D. F., 88 Monmouth St., Springfield, Mass. 
Tuttle’s Elixir 
Our old $100 offer always good 
for failure to cure, when cure is 
possible, anycase of splint, curb, 
colic, thrush, etc. "Veterinary 
Experience," the horseman’s in¬ 
fallible guide. Valued every¬ 
where. A copy mailed free. Write for it. 
Tuttle’s Elixir Co., 
30 Beverly St., Boston, Mass. 
No More Blind Horses 
sore eyes, BARRY CO,,IowaCity. Iowa, have sure cure 
IDEAL ALUMINUM LEG BAND 
To Mark Chickens i 
CHEAPEST AND BEST 
12 for 15c., 25— SOC., 50—50c., 100—75c. 
Frank Myera, Mfr„ Box 57, Freeport, lil. 
GG5 fROfl BOINE 
Green cut bone doublesegg yield. More fertile 
eggs, vigorous chicks, early broilers, heavyfowls. 
MANNtC LATEST MODEL 
IVlArill « BONE CUTTER 
10 days free trial. No money in advance. Send it 
back at our expense i f y ou don’t li ke i t. cat’ig free. 
F. W.MANN CO., BOX 15 ,Milford, Mass. 
ooooooooo 
P, 0 U LT R the i 
iPOULTRY LINE— Fencing, Feed, Incu-J 
ibators. Live Stock, Brooders—anything—J 
jit’s our business. Call or let us send you. 
I our Illustrated Catalogue—it’s free for the< 
(asking—it's worth having. , 
i Excelsior Wire & Poultry Supply Co.,< 
iDcp H. G. 26 & 28 Vesey Street. New York City.( 
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•POULTRY SUPPLIES' 
P 
I Vc sell everything the poultryman needs. Incu- 
I baton*, Brooders, Food*, Tonics* Powders, 
Fences, Bone Cutter*, Egu* Boxen, etc. 
Write to-day for a free copy of our 
I Poultry Supply Catalogue. You’ll be 
I yy surprised how much you can save by 
buying all your supplies from one place. 
I* 
- 
JOBIAH YOUNG, 
2 ? Grand Street, Troy, N. 
When you write advertisers mention Tiie 
I t. N.-Y. and you'll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 14. 
WHITE LEGHORNS Breeders 
WHITE PEKIN DUCKS class single 
—» a n d Rose 
Comb White Leghorns, White Wyandottes, White 
and Barred Plymouth Rocks, Imperial Pekin Ducks, 
Winners of 4 Ribbons at Madison Square Garden 
Shows 1006, and 18 Ribbons at Dutchess County Fair. 
1005. Eggs from prize matings our very best $2 for 15, 
$15 per 100. High class utility stock, specially fed to 
produce fertile eggs, $6 per 100, in any quantity; ail 
clear eggs replaced free if returned express prepaid, 
puck Eggs ready March 1st, $8 per 100, $75 per 1,000. 
80 pens, 2,000 layers; cut of same in Cyphers Catalogue 
and their authorized agent for this section. Bonnie 
Brae Poultry Farm, New Rochelle, N. Y. 
DLUL kiddun Basket. 
Barred Plymouth Rocks, 
White Wyandottes, 
White Leghorns. 
Eggs. $1.50 per 15; $2.50 
LT 
COTT, P. O. Box 3, 
SURF TO GIVE 
A 
SQUARE DEAL. 
per 30. J. HOWARD 
Moorestown, N. J. 
K 
Wh.Wyandottes Exclusively hatching E ? s fom 
standard bred heavy laying stock. All infertile eggs 
replaced free. Ad. E. Franklin Kean, Stanley, N. Y. 
EGGS FOR HATCHING. 
BARRED KOOKS—Best blood; bred for vigor 
and utility. Free range and eggs of high fertility. 
$1.50 per 15. Grant Davis, Whitehouse, New Jersey. 
I IGIIT BRAHMAS, prize stock, A few good birds 
^ C. GORDON, R. F. D. 1, Sprakers, N. Y. 
EMPIRE STATE S. C. WHITE LEGHORNS 
Winners at N. Y. State Fair, 1904-05. Trios, $5. Eggs 
for hatching, $1.00 per 15; $5.00 per 100. Catalogue 
free. C. H. ZIMMER, R. D. 41, Weedsport, N. Y. 
Darred, Buff and White Rocks, Wyandottes B. &. W 
Minorcas and Leghorns, Mammoth Pekin Ducks 
$3 each, $7.50 for trio. Eggs $2 for 15, $3.75 for 30, $i 
for 45. Duck eggs $1.50 for 11, $2.75 for 22, $5 for 44 
Edward G. Noonan. Marietta, Lancaster Co., Penna 
90 
War's Poultry, Pigeons, Parrots, Dogs, Cats 
Ferrets, etc. Eggs a specialty. 60 p. book; 10c 
Bates free. J. A. BERGKY.Box8,Telford,Pa 
Buff Rocks— 200 for sale; a few Solid Buff Cockerels 
58 premiums last winter. Dr. Coolidgo, Warner, N.H 
Prown Leghorn Ckls. of great egg-producing strains 
also collie pups. NELSON Bros., Grove City, Pa 
Poultry Catalogue Free. Reasonable prices. Satisfac 
tion guaranteed. Fairview Farm, Shrewsbury, Pa 
MANOKIN White LEGHORNS SATISFY 
No experiment, bred 12 years for heavy laying, from 
best blood In America. Stock and eggs at farmers’ 
prices. R. B. FUSEY, Princess Anne, Md. 
1()0 Barred and Bull Rocks, White and Partridge 
Wyandotte Cockerels at $2.00 each, also Pullets and 
Golden Seabright Bantams. Pure bred, vigorous, 
good size. DR, 8< C. MOYER, Lansdale, Fa. 
BUFF. White Leghorns. Eggs 75c per 15. $1 25 per 30, 
$2per60. Cir. free. JOHN A. ROTH, Quakertown, Pa. 
HENS 
If you are a lover of pure blooded pouj- 
, try, if you are tired of producing mon¬ 
grel breeds and desire the best strains of 
Barred Plymouth Rocks, Single Comb Brown Leghorns,White 
Wyandottes or White Plymouth Rocks, send for descriptive 
circular. We have bred superior birds for years. For 10c. we 
will send you a copy of Green's Book on Poultry Keeping, 
regular price 25c. Now i s the time to order birds for breeding, 
or eggs for hatching. We sell eggs for hatching at $1.00 and 
92.00 p«rl3. Breeding birds 12.00 to 93.00 each. Grwn'fl Nurwrj and Imple¬ 
ment Catalog, also copy of Green's Big Fruit Grower Magazine free on ro- 
quostb, pofltaieuti. GREER’S NURSERY CO., Rochester. N. T. 
S PORTING AND PET DOGS 
of all kinds for sale. Pigeons, Ferrets. Bel¬ 
gian Hares and all breeds of Swine. Stamp 
for reply. Chas. G. Lloydt, Athens, Bradford Co., Pa. 
nEGISTERED ANGORA GOATS.— Pairs or 
*\ trios. REGISTERED RAMBOUILLET RAMS. 
Write for prices and information. 
MELROSE STOCK FARM, Cincinnatus, N. Y. 
C Q CAI C MALE AND FE- 
■ DHLL MALE ELK at 
The Michigan School for the Deaf, Flint, Michigan. 
Knowledge- 
not guesswork 
DR. HESS, M.D., D.V.S*. 
in ms 
LABORATORY 
Dr. Hess (M.D., DfV.S,) who formulated Dr. Hess Stock Food is 0 
regularly licensed Doctor of Medicine and a Veterinary Surgeon. He 
is a graduate of the University of Wooster, Cleveland, Ohio; Ma¬ 
triculate of College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, Md. and 
a graduate of the Chicago Veterinary College, and in addition is a prac¬ 
tical stock feeder of many years’ experience. Dr. Hess Stock Food is a 
medicinal food prepared from a highly successful prescription used by Dr. 
Hess in his many years regular practice-before the food was put on the mar¬ 
ket. It requires only common sense to see that unprofessional manufacturers 
cannot equal a preparation formulated by a practical physician and based upon 
accurate knowledge, long experience and observation. Furthermore, 
D3 HESS STOCK FS 
FOR CATTLE, HOGS, SHEEP AND HORSES 
is sold under a positive guarantee to do all that is claimed for it. It contains tonics for the digestion, iron for the blood, nitrates 
to expel poisonous materials from the system, laxatives to regulate the bowels. The ingredients of Dr. Hess Stock Food 
have the endorsement of the Veterinary Colleges and the Farm Papers. Recognized as a medicinal tonic and laxative by our 
own government, and sold on a written guarantee at 
5 (t per lb. in 100 lb. sacks; ( Except in Canada 
25 pound pail $1.60 \ West and South. 
A tablespoonful per day for the average hog. Less than a penny a day for horse, cow or steer. If your dealer cannot supply 
you, we will. Remember, that from the 1st to the 10th of each month, Dr. Hess will furnish veterinary advice 
and prescriptions free if you will mention this paper, state what stock you have, also what stock food you have fed, and en¬ 
close two cents for reply. In every package of Dr. Hess Stock Food there is a little yellow card that entitles you to this free 
service at any time. 
DR. H ESS STOCK BOOK FREE, if you will mention this paper, state how much stock you have and what kind of stock 
food you have used. 
DR. HESS & CLARK, Ashland, Ohio. 
Also Manufacturers of Dr. Hess Poultry Pan-a-ee-a and Instant Louse Killer. 
