<THEJ RURAL NEW-YORKER 
6Q5 
1913. 
The Henyard. 
THE “UNIT” HEN SYSTEM. 
In a recent issue of The R. N.-Y. 
0. W. Mapes gives a description of 
his poultry houses and methods of car¬ 
ing for his hens and raising chicks, and 
leaves the impression that he has reached 
a finality in the poultry industry and is 
on the road to prosperity. He tells us 
that by working three hours a day he 
can take care of 1,900 hens, thereby 
clearing a profit of $1,900 a year, and he 
advises other people to go and do like¬ 
wise. Now, Mr. Mapes is well known 
as a contributor to The R. N.-Y., and 
as such cannot be accused of being a 
"nature faker.” I do not question the 
truth of his statements, but I doubt the 
wisdom of his advice. To begin with, 
is Mr. Mapes sure that he has the ‘‘last 
word” in the knowledge of the chicken 
business, and that he is insured against 
all failure? If my memory is not at 
fault, in his various experiments Mr. 
Mapes came to grief a number of times. 
How does he know that history will not 
repeat itself? Because he is successful 
this year it does not necessarily follow 
that success will always crown his ef¬ 
forts. A poultryman should be the last 
man in the world to indulge in prophe¬ 
cies. 
But leaving Mr. Mapes’ own successes 
or failures out of consideration, it seems 
to me that his advice to the farmer and 
suburbanite is likely to do much harm, 
regardless of what his intentions may be. 
He says: “If a man can take care of 
eight units of 250 hens by working a 
third of his time, what is to hinder a 
farmer from employing a little more 
capital and keeping 24 such units?” The 
average farmer cannot do anything of 
the kind for the reason that the “little 
more capital” is beyond his reach and 
that success would by no means be an 
assured fact. The poultry industry is 
not an exact science like mathematics; 
it is really a matter of personal judg¬ 
ment. One may possess all the book 
knowledge concerning poultry that has 
been printed since the invention of the 
printing press, and yet fail. In my own 
neighborhood there is a man who in in¬ 
telligence and knowledge is vastly supe¬ 
rior to the average man, but he cannot 
raise chickens, although he made an 
earnest attempt for the last five years. 
All his knowledge is of no use to him, 
for he lacks just one thing, and that is 
chicken sense, if I may use such an ex¬ 
pression. You can give a person the 
benefit of your experience, but it will 
be of no avail unless you can always 
supply the same conditions. In the hands 
of another person Mr. Mapes’ method 
may result in disaster. 
I lie writer of these lines may not be 
a Solomon, but he is not inferior to the 
average farmer in intelligence; he be¬ 
lieves in efficiency and in making the 
head save the heels, and yet he knows 
from personal experience that lie cannot 
take care of 1,900 hens in three hours. 
Again, a few years ago he lost several 
hundred chicks by experimenting with a 
hover that was highly recommended by 
a prominent poultryman. It seems that 
in the poultry business what is sauce for 
the goose is not always sauce for the 
gander. 
I here may not be as much money in 
the dairy business as there is in the 
poultry industry under faz'orable condi¬ 
tions, but it is much safer; at any rate, 
the risk is not so great. What is true 
of tlie farmer is also true of the sub¬ 
urbanite. Mr. Mapes asks: “Why are 
there not plenty of suburban locations 
where a man can keep five or six such 
units on a small plot of land, and make 
a comfortable living by working tw r o or 
dnee hours a day, better than lie can 
make by going into the city and working 
eight or ten hours?” Well, it takes 
more than “a small plot of land” to 
keep five or six units, and land in sub- 
11'nan locations is very expensive. Be¬ 
sides, the average suburbanite who works 
eight or ten hours a day in the city 
generally earns enough money to sup- 
P > himself and his family with all the 
necessities and sometimes even with the 
comforts of life; but let him follow Mr. 
1 a P e ® a dvice and keep five or six units 
md the probability is that he will never 
lc a '’| e to make both ends meet, no mat¬ 
ter whether lie works three or 10 or 15 
hours .a day. CLEMENS P. berylson. 
Sullivan Co., N. Y. 
THE FOWL TICK IN TEXAS. 
Diseased Hens. 
Hast year one of our readers in Northern 
Mexico sent us a remarkable statement of 
the eggs laid by his hens. They were cer¬ 
tainly wonderful Iayere. In telling his ex¬ 
perience, this man stated that his worst 
trouble was in trying to keep the bedbugs 
away from his birds, but he stated that the 
bedbugs provided food for the liens. The 
man was reliable and trustworthy, and we 
printed his statement as he made it, but it 
called forth a blast of ridicule and protest 
from many of our people, who protested 
that a hen would not eat a bedbug, and 
also that bedbugs would not bite hens. We 
found that these critics were arguing from 
what they thought ought to be, or ought 
not to he, and not from personal experience. 
Now comes circular No. 140 from the Bu¬ 
reau of Entomology at Washington. This 
discusses the fowl-tick, an insect found in 
I would like to know what kind of dis¬ 
ease my S. C. White Leghorns have and 
what to do for them. Would it be best to 
kill the ones afTected? Large yellow 
blotches come on the legs and underside of 
fowls. They act very droopy. I have been 
running them through oil for scale on their 
legs, oil in pails 1% inch deep. W. L. t. 
New York. 
You do not say what kind of oil you 
have treated your hens with ; we have had 
reports of bad sores resulting from the ap¬ 
plication of coal oil to fowls' legs, and this 
may be the cause of your trouble. The 
writer and his neighbors have practiced dip¬ 
ping scaly legs into refined coal oil (kero¬ 
sene!, for the destruction of the scale mite 
and have never seen any bad results, though 
hundreds of birds have been dipped. It is 
possible, however, that crude oil, or even a 
too frequent application of kerosene may be 
dangerous, and this nmy be the cause of 
your trouble. We would keep those fowls 
in a dry place and anoint the sores with a 
little pure vaseline. si. b. d. 
the Southwestern part of this country, and 
seldom met with outside of that arid section. 
The insect is otherwise known as the 
chicken-tick, the blue-hug, and the blood¬ 
sucker, and is certainly worthy from its 
behavior of other and stronger names. We 
think that this insect is what our Mexican 
friend called the bedbug, and the descrip¬ 
tion of the insect and its habits shows that 
he was right in his report. This tick most 
frequently attacks the chicken, but is also 
found on other domestic fowls. In rare 
cases it is also found on cattle and jack 
rabbits; also upon rats and mice. In Per¬ 
sia this tick is said to attack man, and to 
cause him serious trouble from its bite, aud 
is often mistaken for the true bedbug, as 
its life habits are very similar to those 
of our well-known nocturnal disturber. The 
eggs of this tick are deposited in cracks 
and in crevices about the roosting places. 
During warm weather the insects hatch 
in from 10 to 15 days. In the Winter the 
hatching period may last three months. 
Within a few days after hatching, they run 
about searching for a host or an animal 
from which they can obtain blood. They 
attach themselves to the chicken and suck 
the blood until engorged, which requires 
3 Yi to 10 days. Then during the night they 
drop from the host, change their form and 
return to the host. This goes on until the 
insect changes again and deposits its eggs 
for another brood. The female tick lays 
on the average 537 eggs, which shows what 
a family of them could do if undisturbed 
through a single season. Wet weather de¬ 
stroys the tick, and thus it is not found 
out of the arid region. The worst damage 
is done during the hot, dry seasons. There 
are not many natural enemies. Black ants 
destroy the eggs, the spiders also obtain 
many of them, as do rats and mice. Chick¬ 
ens eat this tick greedily whenever they can 
find it, so that our Mexican friend was 
evidently right in his statement. One of 
the suggestions for cleaning out the tick Is 
remarkable. A tick-proof house is suggested. 
This is made of all metal, such as iron or 
steel rooting, fastened together for both 
sides and top. It is said that such houses 
are used in Southwestern Texas, and are 
practically tick-free. These houses are very 
hot during the day, and it is necessary to 
provide outside shade for the chickeus. This 
fearful heat of the metal and lack of pro¬ 
tection are the chief features in killing 
out the tick. Whenever the insects do get 
inside of such a house the fixtures are all 
taken out and a fire of straw or like ma¬ 
terial is started inside, so that all parts 
are made very hot or reached by the flame. 
Tick-proof nests are provided, and generally 
all the inside fixtures are made of metal, 
so that they may be taken out and heated 
in a fire to clean out the tick. We are 
glad this insect is not to be found in New 
Jersey. These notes will not be of great 
service to most of our readers, hut they are 
interesting as showing what poultry keepers 
find to contend with. 
Disinfecting Land. 
Can you tell me of a good disinfectant 
for gapes to be used ou the land? I read 
two or throe years ago that creolin was 
good to disinfect laud where gapes has pre¬ 
vailed. but it did not tell how much to 
use. Cau you tell me how much creolin 
to use to a gallon of water to disinfect 
grounds where poultry run, aud about how 
many gallons it would need for one-half 
acre? Is the creolin poison? If so, how 
soon would it be safe to let my poultry 
run on the land where it had been used as 
a disinfectant? Would it do any harm 
to White Dutch clover (Trifolium repens) 
and Alfalfa if it was sown on the land 
soon after the creolin was used, sav a week 
afterwards? The piece of land I have for 
a run is badly infected witli gapes. There 
are a few apple trees ou it for shade, the 
hogs have been turned in for a while 
every year, and have rooted it up well, 
but the gapes seem to be about as bad as 
ever. i. E . B . 
New York. 
I very mnch doubt the feasibility of dis¬ 
infecting a half acre of land with chemical 
disinfectants. A two per cent emulsion of 
creolin in water is a valuable local disin¬ 
fectant. having but slight poisonous prop¬ 
erties, hut I think that you would find it 
entirely impracticable to use it on a large 
area of land. Sulphuric or salicylic adds 
in the proportion of one part to'one hun¬ 
dred of water have been recommended as 
disinfectants for land infected with gape 
worms, but, while having never tried them, 
I should have no confidence iu being able 
to rid land of gapeworms through their 
use. Earthworms carry the embryos of 
gapeworms in infect.xl ground, aud these 
would have to be gotten rid of as well as 
the eggs and embryos in the soil. Build¬ 
ings and utensils may be disinfected with 
comparative ease, but infected soil should 
not be used as a run for chickens until 
after several years of cultivation. 
M. B. D. 
When you write advertisers mention Thb 
R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a quick reply and a 
“square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
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Shipm’ta from New York, Clacago.KanBasCity 
CAWN AND WHITE INDIAN RUNNER 
• DUCKS and S. C. White Leghorns. Eggs, day- 
old Chicks and Ducklings from bred-tolay. free- 
range stock at farmer's prices. Catalogue free. 
2C0 RREEDING HENS - 51 EACH. 
PATTERSON POULTRY FARM, Clayton, N. Y. 
Dorsey’s American Dominiques 
are thoroughbred. Lay like Leghorns. Bast 
for market and beautiful show birds. Eggs 
B. J. DORSEY, . 60, Leon, N. Y. 
WHITE WYAMDOTTES, IAKENVELDERS, BUFF LEGHORNS. 
” The kind that please. Lotto and Leghorn eggs 
reduced prices: 51—15; $1 75—30; $3—60. Circulars. 
OWNLAND FARM, - Box 497, - SO HAMMOND, N. Y. 
C—FROM WHITE ORPINGTONS, winners in 
the show room: also in egg-laying 
contests. 53 U0 per 15. Write for mating list. 
GOLDEN ROD POULTRY FARM, - Gloversville, N. Y. 
DARLINGTON WHITE ROCKS —A combination of quality 
“ and utility bred birds, from the best strains in 
America. Start right. Try a pen of them at$2 and 
$3 each bird as to quality, or 100 eggs at 5c. each for 
balance of season. References furnished; saiis- 
faction guaranteed. JAMES T. JONES, Darlington, Md. 
Mammoth Pekin Duck Eggs 
$5—:00- Buff Orpington Chickens, $4—100 In buy¬ 
ing our stock pone was too good for ns. Take ad¬ 
vantage. - EVERGREEN. Suffern, N. Y. 
INDIAN RUNNER DUCKS $1 EACH 
HAVE WON THE BLUE WITH THEM. 
ALBERT SHEFFIELD, Athens, N. Y. 
ROSE COMB BROWN LEGHORN 
AND WHITE ORPINGTON 
$1 per 15. Mrs. Arthur Hawkins, Goshen 
N. Y- 
RARRFD RnriT* bred in the very best blood 
DAIYIYLD RULIYD | in0S Eggs. $1 per 15 and 
$4 per 100. CHAS. T. DOWNING. R. 2. West Chester, Pa. 
BARRED ROCK EGGS 
Nonpareil Strain, utility bred, $1 per 15, $3-50 per 100. 
B. H, HENION, - Brockport, IV. Y. 
Baby Chicks 10c' 
-S. C. W. leghorn Eggs. 
$3.50 hundred. Baby 
Ducks, 15c: Mammoth Pekin Eggs. 15 for $1; $5 a 
hundred. TRI STATES POULTRY FARM. Port Jervis. N Y. 
Silver Spangled Hamburgs 
Black Langshans, Anconas 
6 White Crested Bl’k Polish 
Eggs 5 
cents 
apiece 
Austin Jackson, Mineral Springs, N. Y. 
Northern-bred White Wyandottes 
(The Hardy Trapnested Egg-Fowl). Eggs—15. $100. 
Baby Chicks, 15c each. Copeland's Hennery, Canton, N.Y. 
Barred Rock Day-Old Chicks 
12c each. From large, vigorous, 
free range and farm-raised hens. 
MRS. JOSEPHINE CARPENTER, QOUVERNEUR, N. Y. 
Rarrori Rnrif FffffQ—Special mating, $1 per 15: 
DullGU flUbn L O q0 utility. $4 per 100. Indian Run¬ 
ner Duck eggs. $1 per 12. Also 50 Barred Rock 
heus. J. I. HERKTER, R. D. 4, Gettysburg, Pa. 
Davis Poultry Farm 
s. c. U. I. BEDS 
ALSO BARRED AND WHITE ROCKS. 
Haw Oltl f liirlr * - * 15 P er 10 °- Fal1 count guar- 
V&y '-'ill V-ihlmn autced ou delivery. Hatching 
Eggs. BERLIN MASS. 
SINGLE COMB WHITE LEGHORN EGGS 
Stock selected for vigor and given freerangeon largo 
farm. In the Cornell Breed Testing project last year 
one pullet from this flock laid 216 eggs, another laid 
212 eggs. The ten pullets laid 17351 eggs. Eggs $6.00 per 
100. Eggs that fail to hatch replaced at half-price. 
Fi E. STRONG, R. O. 2, - • - ITHACA, N. Y. 
H ATCHING KGGS—From trap-nested W. 1’. 
Rocks. $6per 100. A. S. BRIAN, Ml. Kisoo, N.Y. 
B l t'K WHITE LKUIIOKNS, S. C. It- I. RKI>S— Efts*. 90c. p«r 15 
$1.60 |*er 30. Mottletl Anconas. HI. Minoruas, esss, $1.00 pei 
15; $1.75 per 30. Catalogue True. Johu A. Koth, Quakertown, Pa 
IMPERIAL RIN6LETS, BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS, ex- 
■ clnsively direct from Thompson eggs. $1 and $2 
per 15. J J*\ I.AIlil.E, Newark, New York 
Pratts Animal Regulator 
dad lor lorty years been the standard Live-stock 
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