aiiO 
February 18, 
The Henyard. 
WILL BACK THE HENS. 
I do not think there is a shadow of in¬ 
sanity shown in W. J. Dougan's claims, 
nor in his proposition, page 118, for a con¬ 
test of his 10 hens versus a milk-producing 
cow, to decide as to their comparative 
money earning powers for their owners. 
Without any hint of a side bet, I would 
take Mr. Dougan’s end, with the forecast 
that, if it reaches a final settlement, Mr. 
Cloud will forfeit his cow. The money 
earning power of a dairy cow in the ordi¬ 
nary class are quite well fixed and admitted; 
those of the hen are more unstable, and 
less known. Keeping poultry being oui- 
business, we concluded on February 1 a 
one-year comparative test of 28 Lose Comb 
Brown Leghorns and 12 Rose Comb Rhode 
Islands Reds, to ascertain the relative 
money earning- qualities of the two breeds 
under identical conditions. The test being 
made for our personal knowledge for prac¬ 
tical purposes, we have been very accurate 
in keeping our records and all figures per¬ 
taining thereto were truthful for our own 
satisfaction in attaining the proposed ob¬ 
ject in view. Without giving comparative 
results of the test, 1 furnish such figures 
from it as demonstrate the possibilities at¬ 
tained with hens in the ordinary. These 
figures on which I base my opinion as to 
the probable outcome of the 10 hens and 1 
cow contest, resulting from the 12 It. I. 
Reds. Our methods for realizing from 
these varied from Mr. Dougan’s proposed 
.plan, as outlined. We disposed of their in¬ 
crease in such different ways as we deemed 
.most profitable, the bulk of cockerels being 
sold as broilers or roasters to retailers, 
at prices varying from G5 cents to 81 cents 
each ; while a percentage was sold for 
breeders in December, through an advertise¬ 
ment in The R.-N., bringing $1.50 each. 
The females were ail held and are being 
carried over, eggs being our objective. Mr. 
Dougan's proposes raising 36 chicks, so I 
conclude he will make use of incubators and 
brooders. With us all hatching and rearing 
of chicks was entrusted to the Reds, each 
hen being allowed to incubate and raise 
at least one brood, and a number, being 
of that mood, did double duty, bringing the 
average number of chicks up to 18 per 
hen unit. We had what is termed "good 
luck” as to the fertility and hatchability 
of the eggs, and the livability of our chicks 
to a profitable age. Hatches of 100 per¬ 
cent. were the rule in most cases, and 
by avoiding diarrhoea, gapes and the ail¬ 
ments of chickhood, through eliminating 
their causes, our losses were small, the 
largest percentage of them being due to ac¬ 
cidents, sometimes resulting from an over¬ 
sight. These small losses are what have 
made possible the high earning power per 
hen unit and caused the several satisfactory 
results obtained. From February 1, 1910, 
to February 1, 1911, the gross earning 
power of the 12 II. I. Reds, counting eggs, 
poultry and breeders sold, and stock on 
hand as inventoried January 1, 1911, was 
$20 per lien unit. Cost feed, etc., per hen 
unit, $10. Net returns for labor, $10 per 
hen unit. These figures in round numbers 
result from a conservative abstract of all 
our records, which are quite complicated 
by reason of the object we sought to at¬ 
tain. The test has been of great value to 
us, revealing a score of interesting and 
even surprising sidelights on practical poul¬ 
try keeping. The system followed in ob¬ 
taining these results if not all original with 
us in its parts, at least is all our own in 
its.homogeneous whole and probably varies 
very much from Mr. Dougan's system; pos¬ 
sibly his is a better one. We have read, 
barring "The Latest Hatch,” about all the 
volumes at $1 per, those of poultry 
"wizards,” and followed none of their sys¬ 
tems. Our system is a "balanced ration,” 
resulting from our own experiences and all 
we read with a good dash of personal opin¬ 
ion and some occasional try-outs. We have 
no “open fronts” nor "muslin curtains;" we 
feed no tankage, no ground bone, no meat 
scraps nor ground oyster shells nor char¬ 
coal; yet we get results that we believe 
can make the earning powers of the aver¬ 
age cow appear pro rata, very cloudy. 
Pennsylvania. goki & sox. 
IlE.N-s OK Cows.—The good wife says if 
Mr. .T. Allen Cloud is not cautious he will 
lose his tow to W. J. Dougan, and I am 
of the same opinion, because ten hens of 
the quality mentioned by Mr. Dougan could 
if properly handled and their eggs sold 
for breeding purposes, or tiie chicks hatched 
and sold at 40 cents each, as he says, pay 
a profit of a boil t $18 per head. But of 
course to do this the hens must have 
quality, either as exhibition or bred to lay 
stock, therefore must be far above the 
average flock of laying hens; likewise a 
COW that would produce a profit equal to 
10 of such hens is away above the average 
cow found in the dairy herds, so let us 
put the question this way: IIow many 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
hens such as are found on the average egg 
farm does it take to pay a profit equal to 
the profit paid by one cow on the average 
dairy farm? Let us give the egg farm 
man's side of the question as briefly as 
possible. L’nder ordinary conditions one 
man can care for a flock of 1,000 laying 
hens and raise the pullets for renewing the 
flock every two years. The hens will pro¬ 
duce 10 dozen eggs each at 25 cents per 
dozen 82.50 ; cash for food for hen, $1.25 ; 
leaving a profit of $1.25 per head or $1,250 
for the year’s work. The old hens sold 
each season will pay for producing the 
pullets needed to take their places. Now 
what can one man get for his year’s work 
on a dairy farm? jas. e. Walters, jr. 
Virginia. 
It. N’.-Y.—The statement by Mr. Benning¬ 
ton on page 129 is a fair answer. 
Planer Shavings for Poultry Litter. 
On page 110 is mentioned the use of 
planer shavings as a substitute for straw 
in a poultry scratching shed. It is a cheap 
material for the purpose, but is it a good 
one? What is the consensus of opinion on 
the subject. f. j. h. 
Los Angeles, Cal. 
R. N.-Y.—What do the occupants of "The 
Henyard” say? We like those coarse shav¬ 
ings. Sawdust is objectionable. It is too 
fine, and the hens eat too much of it in 
picking graiu out of the litter. 
Tiie Ilarrodsburg Herald gives the fol¬ 
lowing information about hens : 
Mr. W. II. Kennedy, a member of the 
Boai-d of Supervisors, informs us that he 
has discovered a groat thing, one that 
will make hens lay eggs on frigid days. 
"If the man who owns hens,” says Mr. 
Kennedy, "will only wear a red flannel 
shirt whenever working about them they 
will lay prodigiously. I don't know why, 
but there is a psychological something 
about red shirts that influences hens.” 
Mr. Kennedy says lie has tried this and 
it works. 
Mating Birds. —In order to make any 
improvement in our flock we must know 
the breeding back of the birds we are 
selecting as our breeders, and in order to 
know their breeding a record must be 
kept of each mating, and when mating the 
birds if the male bird is weak in certain 
points such as size or color then this bird 
should be mated with females that are ex¬ 
ceptionally strong in those points. Fol¬ 
lowing this plan of breeding we may rea¬ 
sonably expect improvement in our flocks 
each season. First we select our best 
early-hatched pullets, also a few choice 
yearling liens that are of good shape, size 
and color, and have proved to be the best 
layers up to the present time, and these 
hens and pulle.ts are mated with male 
birds bred from our best mating of tiie past 
season. We have several matings each 
season and a record is kept of each mating 
so we can line-breed our birds, and yet 
none of the birds are mated closely akin. 
Line breeding is the only successful way 
of improving the practical as well as 
fancy qualities of any breed of poultry 
or in fact stock of any kind. 
D. R. HONE. 
Quickest Poultry Profits 
On Smallest Investment 
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Let us prove it before you risk a cent on 
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That beats them all by S.V00 to 87.00. You'll say 
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The United 
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Company 
ficpt.Xiil 
Cleveland, 
Ohio. 
“ Hatching Facts w Free 
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* $4.85 Buys the Best Brooder 
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Both Incubator and Brooder, Ordered Together, Cost 
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J. V. ROHAN, Pres. 
140-Chick Brooder Belle City Incubator Co., Box 48» Racine, Wis. 
Perfect Equipment is THE Secret of Our Success! 
With the experience gained in operating the largest Poultry Plant in tiie World, our 
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SANITARY 
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Our best efforts are centered in the production of I >av-< >ul-< 'hicks and Hatching 
F.ggs from matured stock. No pullets' eggs are used except for table 
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also our stock catalogue on J{niieoon» Strain CIIU'KS ninl 
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catalogs. Send to-day. 
INTERNATIONAL POULTRY SALES COMPANY 
Home Office, Box 285, Brown’s Mills-in-the-Pines, N. j. 
Branch, 21 Barclay Street, New York City 
WRITE YOUR NAME 
ON A POSTAL 
and Ret this big book on Poultry! 
Raising, free, post-paid. It tolls| 
how successful poultrymen food, 
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Full of valuable hints and liolps| 
you’ll be pleased to know, 
112 PAGES 
! I;Practical Poultry Raising Experiences | 
Socrets of 
Jothers’suc-' 
cess, Plans 
for Poultry Houses.—how 
to make a first-class brood- [ ^ 
er out of a piano box. Do- ** 
scribes the 1911 Sand Tray 
PrairioState Incubators. 
Prairie State Incubator Co. 
406 Main St.. Homer City, Pa. 
Mjmey-Making Pointers 
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the self-regulating, self-ventilating, 
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Address store nearest you. 
CYPHERS INCUBATOR CO. 
I)ept. 38 Buffalo, N. Y- 
Now York City, Chicago, III. 
Boston, Mass. Kansas City, Mo. 
Oakland, Calif. 2000 Selling Aeenti. 
Poultry the Best Paging 
Branch of Farming 
The 1911 catalog by Robert II. Essex, 
poultry ami incubator expert, 
will start you right. Improved incu¬ 
bators and brooders. Read Why 
Some Succeed Where others Phil. 
ROBERT ESSEX INCUBATOR CO. 
B4 Henry St., Buffalo, N. Y. 
BUCKEYE#, 
50 EGG 
INCUBATQB 
6 
Simple, self-regulating, complete. 
Guaranteed to batch every hatchablo 
egg. Sold on 40 days trial with money 
back in case of failure. 150,000 in use. 
If your dealer doesn’t keep them write to us. We’ll send 
you our catalogue and two books, “ Making Money the 
Buckeye Way’’ and "51 Chicks from 50 Eggs,” Free. 
THE BUCKEYE INCUBATOR CO., 508 W. Euclid Avenue, Springfield, Ohio. 
Builders of Buckeye Port’ablo Poultry Houses 
Sold Choapor Than You Can Build Them. 
125-EGG WISCONSIN INCUBATOR $ 
AND BROODER— BOTH FOR 
| Wis. Inc. Co. Tolley, N. D. 
Dear Sirs:—We received the Incubator and Broodor in good 
I shape, and to our surprise, not having any experience with 
incubators, the first hatch was 94%, the second was 96% and 
the third, 98%. We did not know anything about operating 
the machine, but old, experienced poultry men say that is a 
grand record._ J. F. BELTZ, Prop, Ideal Fa rm._ 
If ordered together we send both 
machines for $lu.00—freight paid 
east of Rockies. Hot water, double 
walls, dead air spaco between, top has throe walls, double glass doors, California Redwood, copper tanks, boilers; self-regulating 
Nursery underneath egg-tray. Both Incubator and Brooder shipped complete, with thermometer, lamps, egg-testers—all 
ready to use when you receive them. Incubators finished in natural wood showing exactly the high grade lumber we 
use. If you will compare our machines with others offered at anywhere near our price, we will feel sure of your order. 
Don’t buy until you do this—you’ll save money. It pays to investigate the * 'Wisconsin'' before you buy. Read the letters 
below—they are actual proof from users, showing the success they are haying with our machines. This is th~ most con¬ 
vincing evidence you could get. Send for the free catalog today or send in your order and save time. Ask the publisher 
of Farm Journal or The Commercial and Savings Bank of Racine, Wis. about our responsibility. 
Thos. J. Collier, Mgr., WISCONSIN INCUBATOR CO. Box 118* Racine, Wisconsin 
All machines 
guaranteed for 5 years. 
Wis. Inc. Co. Evansville, Wis. 
Dear Sirs:—We are well pleased with the incubator which 
we bought of you. Wo obtained good results with it. From 455 
fertile eggs wo got 416 chicks. I think it was a good hatch. I 
do not think any incubator can beat that. The Wisconsin is 
0. K. JOHN DOUGLASS. 
Wis. Inc. Co. Lockport, Ill. 
Gentlemen:—I had good success with your incubator. I 
got 93 chicks from 97 eggs and 97 chicks from 103 eggs. I think 
the Wisconsin is a fine machine. There may be others as good, 
but I don’t think thero is any better. 1 have neighbors who 
will send for one this winter. They are so well pleased with 
mine. _ HECTOR DENNISON. 
