204 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 4, 
The Henyard. 
CHEESE-BOX BROODERS. 
My article on fireless brooders made 
from cheese boxes seems to have at¬ 
tracted considerable attention, judging by 
the number of questions being received 
in regard to it, and it is singular what 
questions people will ask. One man 
wants to know “if the chicks are fed 
in the cheese box or in the yard.” He 
might as well ask if you feed chicks 
while they are under the hen. There 
is a nest of hay in the cheese box and 
it is more or less dark in there; they 
must be fed and watered in the yard 
of course, and the yard should have 
sand or fine gravel in it, and cut clover 
or Alfalfa to scatter the dry feed in, to 
make the chicks scratch. There must 
be shelter from rain and wind, either by 
putting the cheese boxes under a shed 
or in a larger box with lid that can be 
lifted to let in the sunshine, and shut 
down to keep out rain. Mr. Gammack 
uses his old brooders, taking out all the 
inside parts, retaining, only the four 
sides and the top, and putting the 
cheese boxes inside with the little paper 
yard attached. The object of the “yard” 
is to keep the chicks close to the 
brooder, to keep them from straying 
away and getting chilled; it also serves 
to help force them into the box, for the 
paper fence is tacked to the cheese box 
at opposite sides just at the outer edge 
of the entrance holes, so that the chicks 
when they begin to get cold and crowd 
into the angle formed by the fence and 
the box they crowd themselves through 
the entrance holes into the box. In the 
regular Philo brooder, a square box 
with ait entrance hole in the middle of 
one side, it is necessary to push the 
chicks in by hand for the first three or 
four days, or until they learn to go in 
themselves. This can be hastened by 
placing a hot-water bag or a hot brick 
on top of the blanket under which they 
nestle, the smell of the warmth being 
an inducement to enter. After they have 
learned to go in there will be no further 
trouble, they run in and out as they 
feel inclined. That strong and healthy 
chicks can be raised in this way there 
is not doubt whatever. 
GEO. A. COSGROVE. 
The Poultuyman’s Friend. — That is 
what I call the little dog shown in picture. 
This little fellow can make about as much 
noise as a large dog, very much easier kept, 
does not trample new-made garden and 
flower beds, as do the larger breeds. I 
know this by experience, as my neighbor 
keeps a large dog. This little fellow goes 
THE HENYARD FRIEND. 
with me on my rounds through the poultry 
houses, always looking for mice. The liens 
are not afraid, as they were brought up 
with him. A few days ago he caught the 
only rat I have seen about the place for a 
year, while my neighbor with the big dog 
is over-run with rats. This point of ex¬ 
cellence 1 consider the most important, as 
the rat is the hardest thief to keep out 
of the poultry house. 
F. M. VAX SYCKLE. 
The Village Flock.—A village family 
wishes to start a small flock of hens this 
Spring, planning to keep about a dozen, for 
a home egg supply. They will be closely 
yarded. Should they buy mature hens, 
young pullets, or baby chicks for a start? 
They" a re disposed to buy yearlings, and try 
to hatch two settings of eggs in May. What 
advice is offered? 
R. N.-Y.—Will the back-yard hen men 
please answer this from experience? We 
should follow the last plan suggested. 
To rid a building of hen lice, first take 
out all the detachable parts, such as nests 
and roosts. Should the building be papered 
on the inside, this should be removed. The 
Interior of the building should then be 
sprayed with lamp oil to which has been 
added one-half ounce of carbolic acid to 
each quart of oil. See to it that all the 
crevices are well sprayed, including those 
in the floor and ceiling. f. t. f. 
Catching Pigeons. — I would like to know 
bow I could trap my common pigeons. They 
roost about the barn in different places, 
where I cannot get to them to catch them. 
I notice they are very fond of rock salt, and 
as I keep it in the barnyard for my cows all 
the time, the pigeons will come down and 
eat salt in flocks. Can some reader suggest 
a trap to catch them? I think the rock salt 
would make very good bait. At this time of 
the year there is not very much for them to 
get to eat themselves, only what I feed 
them, and I thought they would be more 
easily caught now than later on in the 
Spring. A. J. A. 
Salem, N. J. 
Dusting a hen according to the usual 
method is not a pleasant procedure. The 
bird is held by the legs, head downward, 
over an outspread newspaper, and then 
the powder is rubbed in among the feath¬ 
ers all over the body, especial care being 
taken to get it in thoroughly along the 
neck, under the wings, and about the 
vent. The plan works well ■when the hen 
koeps quiet, but when she struggles _ and 
flaps her wings and envelopes you in a 
cloud of insect powder there is apt to be 
a severe strain upon the temper. There 
is a way to prevent this, when the hen 
is tame,* by letting her stand upon the 
paper and applying the powder to her 
neck and hack while she is in- that posi¬ 
tion. Then slip the thumb of the left 
hand under the left wing and the fingers 
under the right wing and grasp the wings 
firmly together so that she cannot flap 
them. The hen may then be raised up 
and held in any position while the powder 
is rubbed into the feathers. w. it. F. 
“Pullets for eggs and hens for chicks” 
is an old saying that has the surest sort 
of a foundation. If all poultry keepers 
would use the eggs of their pullets for the 
table and take only the eggs of mature 
birds for hatching purposes there would 
not be so many complaints about infertile 
eggs in the early Spring. This implies 
that the male bird should be mature, also. 
The mating of immature cockerels and pul¬ 
lets is a common cause for infertility. No 
cockerel should be allowed to mate until a 
vigorous growth of his spurs indicates 
that he is fit to become a breeder, and then 
his companions should be full-grown hens. 
As a rule the strongest chicks result when 
both parents are well developed and ma¬ 
ture. w. r. P. 
Let Us Send 
You Free 
Let us send you free our “ GEARLESS ” 
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It is brimful of interest to the farmer w'ho 
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The “ GEAR LESS” HAY LOADER is built 
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The - “GEARLESS” is so simple that a boy 
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It is wholly free from the many troublesome 
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Our Free Booklet will interest you. Write 
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LA CROSSE HAY TOOL CO. 
THIRTY-FIFTH STREET, CHICAGO HEIGHTS. IL.L. 
Why Grow Potatoes. 
Simply because they pay. They find 
a ready market at good prices and 
bring in more revenue per acre—more 
net profit—than do many other farm 
crops. In all parts of the country where 
potatoes are grown as a farm crop, the 
Evans Potato Planter, manufactured by 
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and then go to your implement dealer 
and insist on seeing the Evans. 
“©Eil IPZiilLY 
BUYING AHORSE AND - ' 
SMITH NEEDED A HORSE. HE KNEW LITTLE 
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BUYING 
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THEPRG3ABILIT1ESARETHAT, 
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THE SUI 
IATCH 
Government 
Experts t 
Farmer’s Bulletin No. 236 on Incubation and 
Incubators, issued by the U. S. Dept, of Agriculture describes a 
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