2©8 
THR RURAL NEW-YORKER 
March 2. 
An Honest Poultry Man. 
One of our readers sends us the fol¬ 
lowing letter which he received from 
a poultryman. Our friend was after 
eggs for hatching, heard of this hen 
man and wrote for prices. This is 
what he received: 
Your letter In reference to Rhode Island 
Red eggs 1 received yesterday. I would 
naturally suppose by the number of eggs 
you want from me in February and March 
that you would want me to retire from the 
poultry business and give up my position 
as sewer inspector of the city, and retire 
on my money July 4, 1912. Let me ex¬ 
plain : I never sold more than 15 eggs at 
one time and those times were far apart. 
I have a little backyard chicken house in¬ 
cluding CO pullets, two hens and two 
cockerels. Not two of my pullets are of the 
same shade of red, some very dark and 
some light. Not one that would come out 
of a poultry show alive, let alone with a 
ribbon. Not the kind you read about in 
poultry books, but for all I love them just 
the same—because they are gentle and tame 
and as good layers as I ever saw. 
In February, March and April I sell a 
few sittings for $1 and .$1.25. If the buyer 
is well dressed he will pay $1.25; if he 
looks poor he may get a sitting for 50 cents. 
So you see I only do a little bit in the 
chicken business, and as my stock is not up 
to the standard I would not send you eggs 
without yo'u saw my stock. It seems to 
me that some of my good friends have been 
saying things about me and got me in 
wrong. Kindly inform me who it was. 
Wishing you good success with your Reds, I 
remain. 
Now just think what would have 
happened if that letter had gone on the 
nest of some henmen we all know! 
What prospects they would have 
hatched out of it. They would have 
gone out and picked up eggs as they 
found them and sent them in at a 
good round price. This letter is a 
sample of the plain commercial honesty 
which ought to be as common as sun¬ 
shine and which lies at the basis of 
all social progress. 
THE EGG LAYING CONTEST. 
“Storrs, Conn., Feb. 3.—That a hen can 
lay two eggs per day has been demonstrated 
beyond dispute in the international egg- 
laying contest at the Connecticut Agricul¬ 
tural College. 
, “Twenty hens in a pen owned by E. L. 
Edgerton, of West Willington, have laid 40 
eggs daily. They are Rose-combed Rhode 
Island Reds, and there is no doubt of the 
feat, as the liens are trap-nested and care¬ 
ful watch kept of the eggs.” 
The above clipping from the Washington 
(D. C.) Post shows what ridiculous things 
some newspapers will print. The first para¬ 
graph is really true. It was demonstrated 
beyond any possibility of doubt that five 
pullets actually did lay six eggs in one 
day. I have had this happen in my own 
experience twice in 18 years. Probably two 
yolks get detached from the ovaries, having 
both developed at about the same rate, and 
are passed along the oviduct to where they 
are surrounded with the white, and farther 
along the shell is deposited and the egg 
extruded. Probably the time between the 
extrusion of the first and second egg is the 
time required to surround the yolk with 
the white and the shell. It is not uncom¬ 
mon for two yolks to mature and become 
detached at the same time, but usually 
when this happens they are both passed 
along the oviduct together and both sur¬ 
rounded with the white, and the shell de¬ 
posited over both yolks, giving usy the 
double-yolked egg, which is not at all un¬ 
common. 
But the second paragraph of this clip¬ 
ping, stating that “20 hens in one pen have 
laid 40 eggs daily,” is too absurd to need 
denial. The Mr. Edgerton named is vice- 
president of the Connecticut Poultry Asso¬ 
ciation and a friend of mine whom I highly 
respect. It is certain that no such state¬ 
ment ever came from him. He has reason 
to be proud of the actual performance of 
his R. C. Reds, they having laid 195 up to 
February 6, and 26 the last week, out of a 
possible 35; nearly a 75 per cent lay. A 
pen of Single Comb Reds have exceeded 
this a little, their record showing a total 
oft 208 eggs, 19 during the last week. The 
English pen of White Leghorns also laid 19 
last week, their total being 259. The only 
other pen which has reached the 200 mark 
is the Single Comb Reds named above. 
Every pen of every breed is laying now ex¬ 
cept one pen of Black Minorcas. The total 
number of eggs laid during the week end¬ 
ing February 6 was 1211, which was an 
average of 2.4 per bird for all the fowls 
entered. No pullet last week laid every day, 
though this has been done several times in 
previous weeks. Which reminds me of a 
nine-year-old boy, Master Wilbur Wood, a 
neighbor, who hatched seven pullets last 
June from some White Wyandotte eggs I 
let him have; these pullets laid 90 eggs 
in January, and last week laid 21 eggs in 
three days. That beats my record this 
year. Naturally the boy is quite elated. 
Comparing the breeds, the average number 
of eggs laid by each pen last week is as 
follows: 
American Dominiques .22 
S. C. R. I. Reds.19.5 
Partridge P. Rocks.20 
Buff Orpingtons .18.25 
Rose Comb It. I. Reds.17.6 
White P. Rocks.14.5 
White Wyandottes .12.9 
Buff Wyandottes .13 
White Orpingtons .13.4 
Black Langshans.14 
Barred P. Rocks.12 
Columbian Wyandottes.12 
White Leghorns .10.3 
Silver Wyandottes .13 
This comparison could only be fair to 
each breed if an equal number of pens were 
entered. For instance, the one pen of 
American Dominiques laid 22 eggs; if there 
was 31 pens of that breed entered—as 
there are of White Leghorns—the average 
would probably be much less than 22. The 
same thing applies to the Partridge I’. 
Rocks, Silver Wyandottes, Langshans, Buff 
Wyandottes, and several other breeds where 
but one pen is entered. It is astonishing 
how the English pen of White Leghorns 
keep up their laying, notwithstanding the 
fact that every bird in that pen froze its 
comb. Some tests as to the body tem¬ 
perature of different breeds has brought 
out some very remarkable facts. The aver¬ 
age temperature of 10 It. I. Reds was 
106%, the temperature of 10 Barred Rocks 
was 106%, the temperature of 10 White 
Leghorns was 107%. The temperature of 
a pigeon was 109. Probably the tempera¬ 
ture of a little snow bird would be 112 
or 115, and that is why he can roost all 
alone and be comfortable in an atmosphere 
far below zero. The normal temperature of 
a man is 98.2; a temperature of 106 would 
kill him in a few hours. Is this high tem¬ 
perature the explanation of the open-air 
house? GEO. A. COSGROVE. 
Mice in the Hen House. 
Can you give me any assistance in rid¬ 
ding my poultry houses of mice? They 
seem to be field mice of some sort, and 
evidently have their nests under the floor. 
The tunnels which they dig at night cause 
draughts in the sleeping quarters. It would 
not be safe to use poison, and an ordinary 
mouse trap seems to offer no temptation to 
them. I have never heard of anyone being 
troubled in this way, and even the “Busi 
ness lien” fails to help us in this. h. b. 
Hempstead, N. Y. 
Sometimes a case like this calls for very 
simple remedies. I have had a great deal 
of the same trouble not only’ with mice but 
with rats in my laying houses. As in your 
case, I have been at a loss for anything 
safe and at the same time effective. Poison 
you cannot use, and traps are dangerous 
You can sometimes get results by stopping 
of some of the holes and using carbon bi¬ 
sulphide, the fumes settling in the bottom 
of burrow and killing them. Again a verv 
simple remedy is a dish of water so that 
the mice can get to it. and in trying to 
drink will drop in and be drowned. But 
this will not get them all. The most suc¬ 
cessful I have yet found is to get a kitten 
from a good mouser and bring her up in 
the henhouse itself. Feed her there, make 
her think it is her home, and the mice will 
disappear. A neighbor of mine followed 
this method, and although he feeds from 
hoppers, is not in the least troubled. This 
may seem a little too “easy” in this age of 
wonderful invention and mouse catchers, 
but don’t be afraid to try it. It is only a 
way of getting back to Nature that we 
hear so much about; why not in ca-tching 
mice? r. b. 
When you write advertisers mention Tiie 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
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THE GRIT THAT’S ROUGH 
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JJTENS prefer it to 
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to the digestive pro¬ 
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TRADE MARK 
Why the Missouri hen is famous 
A hen is like a human being—she will work better when she is comfortable 
and well cared for. Missouri climate is just to her liking—neither too hot 
nor too cold. Especially in the hills she thrives amazingly and produces 
accordingly. Here is a good example of what the Missouri hen will do 
when rightly cared for. 
$2.72 a year net profit per hen 
Mr. J. M. Clark, who follows his trade as carpenter, in Windsor, Mo., 
operates the Red Walnut Poultry Farm, 10 acres, one mile from town. 
During 1910 Mr. Clark collected 6336 eggs from 60 hens, incubated 480, 
and hatched 417, (87%). He realized $108.27 from eggs sold, and $94.01 
from chickens sold.. His feed cost him $39.65, leaving a net profit of 
$162.63 or an average of $2.72 per hen. 
Any man living along the Rock Island 
Lines between St. Louis and Kansas City, 
who is in a position to ship fresh eggs to 
these big nearby markets can get fancy 
prices. 
Poultry and eggs can be produced In this 
lection of the Missouri Ozarks at the 
lowest possible cost—the climate, soil, 
and pure water make for ideal conditions 
in poultry raising, 
If you are not getting good results you 
may not be located right. This matter of 
location is worthy of serious thought. 
There are some particularly good locations 
for profitable poultry raising, along the 
Rock Island Lines. Professor H. M. 
Cottrell, an expert of national reputation, 
formerly Professor at the Kansas and 
Colorado Agricultural Colleges, and now 
in charge of the Rock Island Lines, 
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Book on 
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This book, written by Prof. Cottrell, embodying the experi¬ 
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is worth dollars to you. Write for your free copy today. 
The statements herein made have been fully investigated 
and can be absolutely relied upon. 
L. M. Allen, Passenger Trsffic Manager, Rock Island Lines, 
460 LaSalle Station, Chicago 
John Sebastian, Third Vice-President 
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get your share of the 
POULTRY KEEPING” 
11 I oo AC Is the amount cleared by F. H. Dunlap, of West Salisbury, N. H., 
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THERE ARE CHEAPER VESSELS 
than Po-Pig'e Canteens for Watering' Poultry— 
a tomato can, a cup and saucer, a pie pan, 
antediluvian types of galvanized iron fonts at 
any old price; hut every one is a death trap. 
Contrariwise a Po-Pige Canteen is a life pre¬ 
server to baby chicks and a comfort to old 
ones. Simple in construction, wonderful in 
action. Not a valve or other contraption of man 
to govern the flow of water—just God’s free 
air. Never too much water, never too little, 
just enough. Always on tap. 
See the cuts in The Rural New Yorker, Feb., 10, 1912. 
POULTRY APPLIANCE CO., 
Desk 8 
Hazleton, Pa. 
Keeps Water Pure Jgll 
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Will not slop over—dead air space 
keeps water cool in summer, warm in 
winter. Fill from top—no valves to 
get out of order. Holds one gallon. 
If not at dealers, sent on receipt —“— 
cf $1.25. Satisfaction guaranteed. 
Otis & Moe, 540 s. Dearborn St., Chicago 
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Box I I, Cobleskill, N. Y. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
