1907 . 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
3a9 
THE SIZE OF EGOS AND FEED. 
Can the size of eggs be increased by feed¬ 
ing? Is there any kind of feed that will 
increase the size of eggs? I bought 400 
Leghorn eggs from a fancier near me that 
were the largest Leghorn eggs I ever saw. 
He says eggs will vary in size according to 
the kind of feed used. h. h. u. 
So far as \vc have been able to under¬ 
stand the principles governing the size of 
eggs, it seems that the size of the egg in¬ 
creases slightly with the age of the fowl, 
the rate of increase being more rapid dur¬ 
ing the first few months of pullets’ laying 
period. That the size of the egg differs 
between individuals and remains practical¬ 
ly constant with each individual after ma¬ 
turity unless interfered with by some un¬ 
natural conditions. That eggs from cer¬ 
tain individuals may vary slightly from 
time to time. The more rapidly the yolks 
are formed and deposited in the oviduct 
the more demand for the secretion of the 
albumen and the shell to complete the per¬ 
fect egg, the more likely the eggs are to 
decrease in size. Both the rapidity of lay¬ 
ing and the food supply seem to be tjie 
controlling factors. When hens are laying 
at the normal natural rate with a regular 
food supply and not overstimulated, the 
eggs will be of their maximum size. We 
have a very large amount of data accumu¬ 
lated where eggs have been weighed for 
months continuously from certain hens, 
which lead me to make the statements as 
above. Therefore to answer the question 
briefly it may be said that the size of the 
egg is usually determined by the inherit¬ 
ed characteristic of the breed to lay a 
large, medium or small size egg; that this 
tendency may be interfered with by dwarf¬ 
ing the individual, which reduces the size 
of the egg, or by growing the pullet rap¬ 
idly and well, which increases the size 
of the egg; and that the feed will only 
in a slight degree change the size of the 
egg. It it a well-known fact, demonstrat¬ 
ed in many instances, that the size of the 
egg and the uniformity of its shape and 
color can be increased or decreased in two 
or three years’ time to a very marked de¬ 
gree by selecting only those eggs for 
hatching which conform to the particular 
type of egg desired. In doing this the 
size and weight of the fowl does not nec¬ 
essarily increase or decrease in the same 
proportion, although the tendency is to do 
so, because the large egg produces a lar¬ 
ger chicken than the small egg. 
JAMES E. RICE. 
SHEEP FOR NEW ENGLAND. 
As the question of raising sheep In New 
England is brought more and more to the 
front and the insane liberties allowed to 
the dog are in a fair way to be curtailed— 
for a dog should have no more privileges 
than any other domestic animal, and a 
farmer should have the right to kill any 
stray dog found on his premises—the inter¬ 
ests of farmers in sheep are beginning to 
assert themselves, but as the present genera¬ 
tion of New England farmers know little or 
nothing about raising sheep, the whole busi¬ 
ness has to be learned again. The first 
thing seems to me to be the proper con¬ 
struction of a sheep barn for say 100 sheep, 
suitable for our New England hills and 
climate. reader. 
In relation to the damage by dogs, a 
practical dog law is needed. Such a one 
has recently been passed in my own county 
of Columbia. Before the last day of Jan¬ 
uary each owner of a dog must register 
it with the town clerk, giving a descrip¬ 
tion of the same, and paying a fee of $2. 
He is then given a brass tag with the reg¬ 
istered number of the dog on it; this the 
dog must wear. All owners of dogs not 
so registered and tagged are subject to 
a fine of $5, and may be also arrested for 
a misdemeanor, unless they register or de¬ 
stroy the dog. This has put on the books 
at least a third more dogs than hereto¬ 
fore paid the tax of $1. Any dog found 
without a tag has no standing as property, 
and may be shot, even though he is not 
found worrying sheep. This is disposing 
of a lot of worthless dogs running at large. 
It seems to be better fences are needed 
rather than better barns. The woven wire 
fences will keep the sheep where they be¬ 
long—a most necessary thing—and keep 
dogs out as well. Most men cannot afford 
to build barns, especially for sheep, wor 
is it necessary. Any barn that is dry, tight 
and well ventilated will answer for sheep 
and most of the buildings on the farms 
can be made suitable at small expense. A 
room 25 or 30 feet square will accommo¬ 
date 50 sheep. Of course it need not be 
square, so long as it contains about that 
amount of space. The ceiling should be 
from seven to eight feet high and some 
means provided for ventilation. There is 
nothing better than the King system that 
has been described in The R. N.-Y. When 
tin's is not practical an overhead shaft can 
be put in, to take out the foul air; care 
being taken that there is no draft. Sheep 
do not need so warm a building as cattle, 
but they must have one that is dry. There 
-hould be windows to give plenty of light; 
and the pens provided with doors, so that 
the flock can be shut in at night or in 
stormy weather; also that they may be 
shut out when the feed is put in the racks, 
i he doors should be wide, so that the 
sheep will not be obliged to crowd going 
m or out. Place the hay racks through 
t;ie center, with the grain mangers under¬ 
neath. When the sheep begin to lamb, the 
pen can then easily be divided into two 
parts by closing the space between the 
racks. Arrange so that there are no nar¬ 
row passages or sharp corners for the 
sheep to crowd against. Water should be 
in the pens, so the sheep can have access 
tc it at all times. Outside of the pen pro- 
vde a good-sized yard, on the sunny side 
protected by a tight fence to keep out the 
wind. Sheep prefer to be in the open, and 
they are the better for it, provided they are 
kept dry. 
It is hard to say as to the best breeds of 
sheep; there are several good ones, each 
with some one or more qualities, but 
adapted to some particular purpose. On 
the broken New England pastures I would 
prefer the Delaine Merinos; a good-sized 
sheep, making excellent mutton, better 
adapted to roughing it than are the black- 
iaeed breeds. The Cheviots are also adapt¬ 
ed to a hilly country, but they need better 
fences to keep them confined and having 
an open fleece are more susceptible to wea¬ 
ther conditions. 1 he Shropshires, South- 
downs, Hamoshires and Oxfords are the 
mutton breeds of the country, and pay well 
but they must have better care than is us¬ 
ually given them to be profitable. For 
Winter lambs the Dorset and Tunis fill 
the bill; but I would keep neither, ex¬ 
cept for this special purpose. 
EDWARD VAN AI.STYNE. 
It was the same old story of a man who 
refused to tell his wife the outcome of a 
business transaction, in which, naturally, 
she took a deep interest. “No,” he 
sneered, “I won’t tell you. If I did you’d 
repeat it. You women can never keep a 
secret.” “John,” said the woman, quietly, 
“have I ever told the secret about the soli¬ 
taire engagement ring you gave me eigh¬ 
teen years ago being paste?”—Tit-Bits. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and 
“a square deal.” See guarantee, page 14. 
if^Back 
BE 
SURE 
AND 
/We will re-^B A WORK 
Ifnnd the mon-^^^k THE 
ey if Dickmore’s^^^. HOD^P 
Gall Cure does^^ inU,0b 
’ not cure collar and' 
saddle galla while! 
r the horse works. 
Bickmore’s 
Ball Cure 
is guaranteed to cure all l 
chaps, bruises, cuts, grease! 
[heel, scratches or torn orl 
/£ c !' atched teats, etc., In cows.l 
ITake no substitute. See trade! 
I mark. Every horse owner canl 
I have our illustrated Horse Book 
land large sample box Gall Cure! 
I for io cents for postage on both, j 
Write today, or ask your 
dealer. . _ „ 
Blckmore Gall 
Cure Co. 
Box ala 
*01d Town* 
> MkL Maine. 
If you can Increase your butter production 
without any increased cost or any more work 
won’t it pay you to do it? And if you can get 
more butter from you milk with leas 
work, that will be still better, won’t it? 
That’s exactly what you can do if you 
will do as Mr, Leiting did—buy a 
Sharpies Tubular Separator. Here’s 
what he says about the Tubular: 
Randolph, Nebraska, Feb. 15th, 1906. 
Gentlemen:—On the 23rd day of January. 
1906, I took a No. 4 Sharpies Tubular Separator 
on trial. On learning that I was in the market 
for a cream separator, the agent for the disc 
style "bucket bowl” separator brought one to 
my farm and requested me to give it a trial be¬ 
fore making a purchase. After giving both 
machines a fair trial, I concluded to keep the 
I ubular as I consider it far superior to the other 
machine. It skims closer, runs easier, and is 
very much easier to wash, there being so many 
less parts. From three skimmings of inllk from 
7 cows, we were able to make 1 V% lbs. more but¬ 
ter with the Tubular than we could with the 
“bucket bowl” machine. B. LEITING. 
MORE BUTTER 
MORE MONEY 
The Sharpies Tubular 
Separator 
gets all the cream there is in the milk, does it so 
easy that it’s not work to run it at all, and is so 
simple, with only one little part in the bowl to wash 
and keep clean that comparison is out of the question. 
The extra cream it gets makes the Tubular a regular 
savings bank for its owner. 
All the other good money-making points are told 
in book F-153, which you ought to read. Write for it 
today—we’ll send it free to you. 
Toronto, Can. 
THE SHARPLES SEPARATOR CO., 
WEST CHESTER, PA. 
Chicago, III. 
WEEDSPORT SILOS. 
The three styles we build are models of up-to-date Silo construction. The cut 
shows Tho Weedsport Improved Silo,” with removable sliding, interchange¬ 
able doors. and octagon shingle roof. 
Our HAYRACKS are light, strong and convenient for all purposes. We make 
Stock troughs and Cow Stanchions, Cider, Kroiifc and Spraying Tanks. 
All goods of our make are warranted to be of good material in every part and first-class 
workmanship throughout. Write for catalogue and prices. 
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BRUTUS, 1 4 ft., SB.00. CAYUGA, 14 ft., SB.OO. SENECA, 14 ft., S8.50. 
“ 16 it., lO.OO. “ 16 ft., 8 . 50 . “ 16 It., 9 . 00 . 
THE ABRAM WALRATH COMPANY, Box 83, Weedsport, N. Y. 
a 
THE LOWING OF THE KINE ” 
m 
Is simply their way of calling for Green Mountain Silage. Makes 
them thrive better and yield more milk at half the cost for feed. 
THE FAMOUS 
GREEN MOUNTAIN SILO 
has sustained many a herd through frozen winters and through long, pastur- 
age-parching droughts of summer. Has made many a farm and many a farmer 
prosperous. Agents wanted In unassigned territory. Write for free catalog p, 
STODDARD MFC. CO., - Rutland, Vt. 
66 
FUMA 
■ ■ kills Prairie Dogs, 
Woodchucks,Gophers, 
and Grain Insects. 
“The wheels of the 
gods grind slow but 
exceedingly small.” So the weevil, but you can step 
ttlLi wHh Dd “Fuma Carbon Bisulphide" are doing. 
EDWARD R. TAYLOR, Penu Yan, N. Y. 
REID’S 
Hand 
Separators 
Lightest running; closest skimmers. 
Easiest to care for. Guaranteed to 
do just what is claimed or money 
refunded. 80 days' free trial, if desired. 
Write for free descriptive booklet of 
Reid Hand Separators and priee list 
of Dairy Supplies. 
A. II. UEI1> CO., Philadelphia, Pa. 
The International Silo 
An Automatic-Take-Up-Hoop. Self Adjusting. 
A Continuous, Open Door Front. An Easy 
Operating, Non-Sticking Door. A Permanent 
Ladder Selected Tank Pine and Guaranteed 
Workmanship. INTERNATIONAL SILO 
COMPANY, Box 91, Jefferson. Ohio. 
SILOS 
The PHILADELPHIA, the Best on Earth 
Has the Longest Test and most in use. Continuous 
Openiug from Top to Bottom. The only Opening 
Roof made. TANKS AND TOWERS. 
Ask for Price and Catalog. 
E. F. SCHLICHTER, 1910 Market St., Philadelphia, Penn. 
SILOS 
The kind that “Uncle Sam” uses. Contin¬ 
uous opening Front, Air-tight Dcors, Per¬ 
manent Iron Ladder. Also Silo Filling 
Machinery, Manure Spreaders, Horse and 
Dog Powers, Threshers. 
-UL*4 
HARDER MFG. CO., 
BOX 11 , Cobleskitl, N. Y. 
-4 
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