TWR RURAb NBW-YORKBa 
SELLING THE BABY CHICK. 
The last few years has seen the devel¬ 
opment of the baby chick business to a 
point where it is now considered a 
branch of the poultry industry, well 
worth the attention of both buyer and 
producer. Less than 10 years ago a 
New York farmer was asked to supply 
a beginner in the poultry business with 
500 White Wyandotte baby chicks. It 
was at that time the largest single order 
they had ever received. Since then the 
business has been taken up everywhere, 
and last year among the many orders 
booked by this farm was one for 5000 
Single Comb White Leghorn baby 
chicks. A few years ago such an order 
would have created a sensation in poul¬ 
try circles. 
In this case, the business of supplying 
baby chicks began with small numbers 
the eggs that were under her. You have 
the chicks, in any number and at any 
particular time you want them, and can 
get good blood on request.” 
That baby chicks can safely be sent 
on considerable journeys has long been 
an established fact. Of course, losses 
sometimes occur, but these are now re¬ 
duced to a minimum. Properly con¬ 
structed shipping boxes have made 
shipping safer, and the extent of this 
business has familiarized the majority 
of the express company employees with 
the nature of the shipments and im¬ 
pressed upon them the necessity of care¬ 
ful handling. 
You might ask how can the baby 
chick producer afford to assume all the 
risks of incubation and deliver the chicks 
at a reasonable price? To do that, and 
make a profit on the transaction, he 
must thoroughly understand the care of 
his stock and must keep it in the very 
best of breeding condition. Not only 
must his stock produce fertile eggs but 
they must be fertile eggs that will hatch. 
Many a beginner has realized too late 
that there is a distinction. Modern in¬ 
cubators, including the mammoth ma¬ 
chines in which many thousands of eggs 
may be set at one time, have made 
hatching on a large scale not only pos¬ 
sible but practical. That the baby 
chick business has come to stay is now 
an assured fact; that it has reduced the 
sale of eggs for hatching is true beyond 
a doubt. It is also true that the baby 
FRONT OF HENHOUSE. 
hatched for neighbors, and gradually de¬ 
veloped into a large industry. At first 
the chicks were shipped in all manner 
of homemade crates, to-day special 
cardboard boxes are made. These are 
extremely light, reducing the express 
charges greatly, but strong and durable, 
and constructed to assure the comfort 
and well-being of the babies en route. 
The safe arrival of an entire shipment 
after a trip of 48 hours is common. 
“Is it cheaper to buy baby chicks than 
eggs?” was asked. “We believe it is,” 
reph'H the owner. “When you buy eggs 
chick business is not a get-rich 
undertaking. Many are rushing into it 
without experience, just as some did 
in the broiler business many years ago, 
only to find that it requires something 
more than the machinery of a hatchery 
to produce baby chicks. That something 
can only be gained by experience. 
T. A. T. 
Henhouse Plan Criticized. 
I intend to build a new henhouse this 
year and I send drawing herewith; would 
like to see if the henmeu of The R. N.-T. 
thinks it practical. It seems to me a very 
good one. How is a henhouse built of 
cement? Will it be damp in Winter? I 
could do it cheaper if I could use cement. 
SIDE VIEW. 
you first of all assume the risk of break¬ 
age en route. Then you have the ex¬ 
pense, care and worry of the three weeks 
of incubation, with the attending risk 
of breaking eggs during that period, and 
chances of lamp troubles ,and so on. If 
you put the eggs under hens your trou¬ 
bles are usually manifold, for each in¬ 
dividual biddie is apt to furnish a sepa¬ 
rate source of annoyance. When you 
buy baby chicks you avoid all these 
troubles. You do not have any infertile 
eggs or dead germs to contend with; 
no eggs smashed in the nest, and no 
‘broodie’ quitting the job and spoiling all 
If a cement house is not very good, will it 
be practicable to make floor and one foot 
six-inch wall of cement? e. z. 
I regret that I cannot share your good 
opinion of the hen-house plan that you 
send, and would suggest as improvements 
the following changes: Remove the interior 
partitions and give each hen the use of 
the whole building for exercise, make the 
building face slightly southeast instead ot' 
southwest, make end and rear walls tight, 
save for door, use glass instead of muslin 
for tlie two front windows at the ends, 
and make centre window a wire guarded 
opening, protected by muslin curtain in 
stormy weather, bring glass windows to 
within two feet of the floor to admit more 
sunlight, and make your building 16 instead 
of 14 feet deep for economy in material. 
Concrete may be used for part or all of 
the walls, and will not make a damp hen¬ 
house if properly ventilated. Either solid 
walls or concrete blocks may be used. 
M. B. D. 
EMPIRE 
Cream Separator Factory 
WORKING NIGHTS 
We owe a great deal to our friends, among: whom are 
many very particular people. They recommend Empire Cream 
Separators so enthusiastically, that our factory is compelled to 
work nights to meet the demand. 
Empire Cream Separators are wonderfully efficient, remark¬ 
ably sanitary and world renowned for easy, quiet running 
and great durability. 
The adjustment and care of an Empire could not be simpler. 
When properly adjusted and cared for, the Empire will start 
under the weight of the short, light crank and the machine 
runs so quietly, at full speed, that it would not wake the 
average child asleep in the same room. You may have 
A FREE TRIAL 
| in your own home. Exchange your present sepa- 
} rator in part payment for a brand new Empire. 
Write for Catalog No. 112 
You will receive the prompt and courteous atten¬ 
tion you expect from the makers of the world’s 
most perfect Cream Separator. 
EMPIRE CREAM SEPARATOR COMPANY 
Chicago, III. 
BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY 
Portland, Ore. Toronto, Can. 
Winnipeg, Can. 
Run on gasoline, kerosene, distillate, 
any cheap fuel oiL Cost less to run— 
develop more power. Pateot throttle 
gives three engines in one. Many other 
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trial. Send for catalogue today 
EM* Engirt* Co., 5 Mullet St., Betroltj Ml ell 
MAKE BIG PAY DRILLING 
WATER WELLS 
Our Free Drillers' Book with 
catalog of Keystone Drills 
tells how. Many sizes; trac¬ 
tion and portable. Easy 
terms. These machines 
make good anywhere. 
KEYSTONE WATER DRILL CO. 
Beaver Falls, pa. 
Your Soil Is Alive 
T O all intents and purposes, soil is alive. It 
breathes, works, rests, it drinks, and, most important 
of all, it feeds. It responds to good or bad treatment. 
It pays its debts, and pays with interest many times compounded. 
Being alive, to work it must be fed. During the non-growing seasons 
certain chemical changes take place which make the fertility in the 
soil available for the next season’s crop. But this process adds no 
plant food to the soil. Unless plant food is added to soil on which 
crops are grown, unless the soil is fed, in time it starves. There is one 
best way to feed your soil. Stable manure, which contains all the 
essentials of plant life, should be spread evenly and in the proper 
quantity with an 
I H C Manure Spreader 
I H C manure spreaders are made in all styles and sizes. There are 
low machines which are not too low, but can be used in mud and deep 
snow, or in sloppy barnyards. They are made with either endless or 
reverse aprons as you prefer. Frames are made of steel, braced and 
trussed like a steel bridge. Sizes run from small, narrow machines 
for orchard and vineyard spreading, to machines of capacity for large 
farms. The rear axle is placed well under the box, where it carries 
over 70 per cent of the load, insuring plenty of tractive power at all 
times. Beaters are of large diameter to prevent winding. The teeth 
that cut and pulverize the manure are square aud chisel pointed. 
The apron drive controls the load, insuring even spreading whether 
the machine is working up or down hill, or on the level. I H C 
spreaders have a rear axle differential, enabling them to spread evenly 
when turning corners. 
A local dealer handling these machines will show you all 
their good points, and will help you decide on the one that 
will do your work best. Get literature aud full information 
from him, or, write 
International Harvester Company of America 
Uncorporated) 
Chicago USA 
When you write advertisers mention The R.N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick 
reply and a “square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
