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wmvc rural new-vorker 
cumulate in large quantities and noted the effects 
upon hatching by increasing the rate of ventilation, 
but small quantities were present in the incubator. 
THE LIMIT.—Possibly the easiest method of ex¬ 
plaining the effect of carbon dioxide is to say that 
the normal fresh air contains three parts of carbon 
dioxide in 10,000 parts of air. When the ventilation 
was cut down to a slow rate the carbon dioxide 
reached over 500 parts in 10,000 and only about 12 
per cent, of the fertile eggs hatched and half of 
these were crippled chicks, showing that amount 
was not good for the chicks. To find out how much 
carbon dioxide there was in under the liens during 
incubation the air was drawn through a wooden 
egg placed in the center of a nest (see Fig. 201) and 
the carbon dioxide usually reached 55 parts as a 
maximum. In order to duplicate this ventilation, 
the experimental incubators were run with five 
cubic feet each hour, and the results each time close- 
ly approximated the percentage hatched under the 
hen. It was found, however, that good hatches 
were had when the carbon dioxide went higher than 
this, but that they were reduced after the amount 
exceeded 150 parts. In the commercial incubators 
tested the carbon dioxide seldom exceeded 50 parts 
or closely approximated the conditions under the 
hen. The chicks hatched well in air varying in 
amount of carbon dioxide from 30 to 150 parts in 
10,000 within the experimental incubators. The hen 
and the commercial incubators tested did not exceed 
these limits in any case. It was proved conclusive¬ 
ly that the normal commercial incubator is not 
faulty in the amount of carbon dioxide. Mammoth 
machines were not tested. Carbon dioxide was 
added artificially, and it did not produce bad re¬ 
sults until it occurred in large amounts. 
DON’T WORRY.—Incubator operators need not 
worry about the carbon dioxide factor. If more 
was beneficial all that would be necessary would be 
to reduce the speed of ventilation. In case the 
operator has had very poor results with eggs from 
hens that are hatching well in other incubators and 
are known to be strong then he might do well to 
inspect his heater to find if any part had been bent 
in shipment and in case there was a defect have 
another supplied. Heretofore, the value of carbon 
dioxide in incubation has been a much debated point, 
some holding that it was beneficial to the develop¬ 
ing embryo and others feeling that its presence in 
the fumes of the lamp was the reason for poor 
hatches. Incubator manufacturers not knowing its 
value or danger have experimented on the public by 
changing the amount of ventilation in their incuba¬ 
tors and have even sought to increase carbon dioxide 
artificially, so that while the value of these experi¬ 
ments does not come directly to the poultry man it is 
hoped that they may in a measure pi’otect him from 
being a future object for experiment. 
Without holding any brief for the incubators or 
incubator manufacturers, experiments have shown 
that there is more liability of poor results in hatch¬ 
ing from weak germed eggs than from any other 
source, and that it will be easier to hatch more 
chickens from eggs containing strong germs under 
poor incubating conditions than it will be to hatch 
from the weak germs under the most ideal incubat¬ 
ing conditions of temperature, moisture and ven¬ 
tilation. G. H. LAMSON, JB. 
ARE TOM BARRON’S HENS WYANDOTTES? 
As it was a very serious question in my mind 
whether any “Standard” Wyamlottes could make the 
unusual egg records which the “Barron” birds have 
made at both Storrs and Mountain Grove, I wrote 
to both Prof. Quisenberry and to Prof. Kirkpatrick, 
and asked to have an opinion on the “type” of these 
birds. Prof. Kirkpatrick sent me a photograph of 
the cockerel, stating: “I think as I see them they 
are considerably different from our American type 
of Wyandotte. They are longer in hod //.” I sub¬ 
mitted this photograph to Mr. W. B. Atherton, the 
editor of the American Fancier and Stockkeeper, who 
said, “The bird is a Rhode Island Red shape and 
type, white, with a rose comb and poor carriage.” 
Prof. Kirkpatrick wrote to me as follows: 
I am pleased to advise that Judge W. II. Card visited 
ns a few days ago, and I took the liberty of asking him 
to pass on Mr. Barron’s Wyamlottes, and am at liberty 
to give his opinion. I felt that perhaps as a judge his 
summary of the case might be a little more trustworthy 
than my own. 
Unless I am in error, Card does not think Barron’s 
Wyamlottes would score 75 in the Boston show. lie 
says they correspond more nearly with, and in fact, are 
almost typical Rhode Island Whites with their long 
horizontal back and body, that they are not true Wyan¬ 
dotte shape by any means. Card thinks furthermore 
that the little white in their ear lobes probably indi¬ 
cates Mediterranean blood, and they are also oil in leg 
color. This may, however, be due to their excessive egg 
production. Card adds, however, that these birds are 
the most energetic, “snappiest” bunch of hens he has 
seen for a long while. They go for their food not ex¬ 
actly as if they were starved, but as if they were en¬ 
joying it and meant business. 
Mr. Barron deserves great credit for making a 
Wyandotte-Legliorn cross that will lay well, but 
what about the hundreds of innocent purchasers of 
this hybrid stock, who believe they have standard 
Wyandotte type? 
I notice that Mr. Cosgrove and others report that 
the “Barron” Leghorns lay an off-colored egg. This 
would indicate the same White Indian Game blood 
that was crossed on Leghorn some years ago to cor¬ 
rect the whitish legs coming from the Minorca blood 
used to give the old Leghorn size. Anyone who 
handled large flocks of Leghorns for commercial 
egg production, say 10 years ago, knows how hard it 
was to eradicate the off-colored egg layer, and as 
off-colored eggs cut the price on “fancy selected 
white” grades, some of the best looking and laying 
liens had to be disposed of. These off-colored eggs 
were never hatched and finally a white egg strain 
was established. There are several strains in the 
East that have been brought to as high an average 
as the Barron birds, but they lay a clear white egg. 
New Jersey. buciiaxax bukk, m. d. 
Well, What Of It? 
It will require the strongest evidence to convince 
us that Tom Barron has entered any “mongrel” or 
hybrid birds in this contest. There is no question 
about the ability of these Barron hens to lay eggs, 
and the sensible poultry keeper can easily forgive a 
hen which lays 200 eggs a year if her shape and 
clothes are not cut after the exact pattern. In 
order to get at the facts we wrote Judge W. II. Card 
for liis real opinion—here it is. We see no evidence 
in it to justify any criticism of Mr. Barron. If 
TESTING AIR UNDER THE HEN. Fig. 291. 
there are breeders who have the birds which can 
beat these champions, what are they doing up on 
the fence crowing about it? Let them get down into 
the contest pen. 
We have also obtained special permission from 
President Thompson of the American Poultry Asso¬ 
ciation to reproduce from the Standard of Perfec¬ 
tion the ideal picture of a White Wyandotte. It is 
found on page 725. Compare this with the Barron 
Wyamlottes and read what is said on page 724. 
Poor Exhibition Birds, But Mighty Layers! 
As regards the Barron Wyandottes, from the show 
room standpoint they are poor exhibition Wyan¬ 
dottes; we can’t say that they are not Wyandottes 
at all, but surely have the shape of the Rhode Island 
Whites or Reds, which is the antithesis of true 
Wyandotte shape. They have a little white in ear 
lobes, which might indicate Leghorn or Mediterra¬ 
nean blood; their legs are not a bright yellow, in 
fact nearly a White Orpington color, yet this may 
also indicates excessive laying, which often causes 
the leg color to fade. 
In so Tar as they have a rose comb, and are white, 
with what might be called yellow legs and beak, 
and are also a good-sized fowl, they could be called 
White Wyandottes of a pronounced utility type, 
similar to the fowls found on many White Wyan¬ 
dotte utility plants; which generally have a long 
body and back almost horizontal. Many White 
Wyandotte show birds have white in lobes, and it is 
not counted a disqualification in the Standard. 
This bunch of birds (Barron's Wyandottes at 
Storrs) are certainly the liveliest, snappiest lot of 
hens I have ever seen together. When feeding they 
pick up their grain, etc., in a very decisive manner, 
not as though they were starved, but as though they 
relished it, and wanted the world to know it; for 
example, just as an energetic person goes about his 
work with a snap, a know-how and a vim : in short 
they acted as though they thoroughly enjoyed living. 
One point which seems to me not exactly accord¬ 
ing to Hoyle is the fact that every Wyandotte breed¬ 
er hails the Wyandotte as the breed with the right 
May 16, 
shape for a layer just because of these big egg rec¬ 
ords made by these utility liens, which have not in 
any particular the true Wyandotte shape, when it 
is a well-known fact that the show Wyandotte type 
is a very poor layer; it is really booming the breed 
under false pretenses. The 1915 new Standard will 
call for a shape more like utility type, although far 
from the extreme type seen in Barron’s birds. Un¬ 
derstand me, I have only my observation of these 
birds to say they are hybrids; but they look the 
part all right. 
Utility White Wyandottes are not show birds, and 
White Wyandotte show birds are about as good lay¬ 
ers as the Game. There are two sides to this ques¬ 
tion. Much credit should be given any breeder or 
breeders who can evolve a breed into such laying 
wonders as are these Barron hens; further than 
that, all utility Wyandotte breeders have come to 
know that the longer bodied type are great layers, 
which is along the same plane as Barron’s ideas; 
therefore I have nothing to criticise except the atti¬ 
tude of show bird breeders claiming all the thunder 
of the utility people without having the goods that 
produce said “thunder.” For my part I would like 
to see the Wyandotte come into its own. As roast¬ 
ers and broilers they are unequaled; yet this is 
show stock that have these qualifications; a bird 
modified from both types would be the thing, and 
that is what the standard makers are striving for. 
W. H. CARD. 
HAY FROM CRIMSON CLOVER. 
Is it wise to cut Crimson clover for hay? At what 
condition of growth is it best to cut it? How late can 
it be used for hay before it is dangerous for stock? I 
have a young orchard under my care which was sown 
to Crimson clover last year for green manuring. It 
has made such a rapid and thick growth that it will be 
impossible to turn it under without plowing very deep. 
The orchard had been neglected and the roots are there¬ 
fore near the surface. The orchard is now bearing. I 
would like to cut this Crimson clover for hay and then 
plow under the stubble. Is it wise to do so? w. s. f. 
Gunston, Ya. 
Here comes this yearly question. We have it from 
at least a dozen people. Crimson clover makes ex¬ 
cellent hay for cattle. We consider it superior to 
Red clover for hay, when cut early. There has been 
some trouble from late-cut Crimson clover when fed 
to horses. After the bloom heads turn brown you 
will find upon examination, hard little spines or 
hooks—quite perceptible as you pull these dry 
heads through your fingers. There have been cases 
where these little spines formed lumps or balls in 
the stomachs of horses so that they died of colic. 
Many horses fed on this kind of hay never suffer, 
but some have done so, and it is safe advice never 
to feed this late-cut hay to horses. Cut early in 
bloom there will be no trouble, and cattle eat the 
hay safely in any event. We should by all means 
cut this clover, as it shows the red bloom freely and 
make hay of it. If you have other hay we should 
feed it to the horses or mules and feed the Crimson 
to cattle. Plow the stubble under as green manure. 
At Fig. 293 are pictures of two of these balls found 
in the stomach of a horse. This picture is re¬ 
engraved from a government bulletin on Crimson 
clover. 
RAW PHOSPHATE ROCK AND MANURE. 
On page 598, II. W. C. asks J. A. V. for his author¬ 
ity that stable manure will convert the phosphoric 
compounds in raw rock (phosphate) into more avail¬ 
able forms. I can quote E. E. Miller, in “Fertilizing 
for Profits,” page 25. last paragraph: "When (raw 
rock or floats) mixed with stable manure or with 
any considerable quantity of decaying vegetable 
matter it will, however, gradually be changed into 
forms that plants can use.” 
And why not? The phosphate compounds of floats 
ground finely are readily broken up anyway, and 
why should not acids formed in decaying vegetation 
be used to break up into more available forms of 
phosphate, as well as sulphuric acid? While doing 
so the add which some claim sours land when de¬ 
caying vegetation is plowed under, is used up in its 
work on the floats, and is then no longer an acid 
to sour land. Therefore the floats is then a “sweet¬ 
ener” of souring manure, and used in this way les¬ 
sens the necessity of lime. 
Many times I have seen in The It. N.-Y. advice 
to use acid phosphate to soak up urine in stables 
and as a dust on droppings boards of henhouses. 
“Floats” is cheaper, will work better owing to the 
action of acids in droppings acting on floats. Then 
too you run the risk of liberating the ammonia of 
the droppings by acid phosphate. I should prefer 
the use of land plaster on hen manure (droppings 
boards) also in stable, for the ammonia will readily 
unite with land plaster, forming sulphate of am¬ 
monia, a now-volatile compound, and this can be 
then applied to the soil and plants get ammonia, 
