906 
THE HENYARD 
Leg Weakness in Fowls. 
This Spring I raised 125 chickens; 
a large percentage seems to be doing well 
but I now notice that there is an epi¬ 
demic among them. The trouble is with 
the feet. The bodies seem to be strong 
and they eat heartily, but the feet seem 
to wither and cannot support their bod¬ 
ies. I have lost six this way and see 
three more are affected. Can you help 
me out of my trouble and tell me what to 
do? J. c. G. 
New York. 
From your description, I suspect that 
the trouble with your chicks is “leg 
weakness.” This is not a disease but a 
symptom of mismanagement, usually be¬ 
ing caused by keeping young chicks on 
board floors for several weeks, or in 
overheated brooders. The remedy is to 
give the chicks an outdoor run where they 
can pick at grass and dig in moist earth. 
There may, of course, be some trouble 
with the feet, as you suggest, but it is 
more likely lack of vitality, manifesting 
itself in weakness of the legs, and out¬ 
door life should correct this condition. 
M. B. D. 
Moping Chicks. 
Chicks two to three weeks old drop 
off in eating all at once, and will not 
eat anything. They stand around and 
do nothing. They are being raised un¬ 
der a hen. They run around with the 
other chickens. They have a large field 
to run in. What is the trouble? 
New York. c. w. 
The fact that these chicks stand around 
and refuse to eat shows that something 
is sapping their vitality. This may be 
some disease or it may be the ravages of 
lice and mites. If with a hen, dust the 
latter thoroughly with insect powder, 
well worked into the feathers, or apply 
a small bit of blue ointment and vase¬ 
line, half and half, to the skin just be¬ 
neath the vent, covering a space as large 
as a silver quarter; as advised in a re¬ 
cent issue of The R. N.-Y. A little vase¬ 
line or lard should also be rubbed into 
the skin on the top of each chick’s head 
and beneath each wing. Do not use the 
blue ointment on the chicks. M. b. d. 
Loss of Hens. 
Can you tell me the cause of my hens 
dying, and give a remedy? Once in a 
while I find one drooping; does not eat, 
or drink, comb turns dark, ailing about 
three days, sometimes longer. (White 
Leghorns.) I lost but two or three dur¬ 
ing Winter months, fed hot mash in 
morning (Winter months), broken grains 
their evening meal. MRS. J. E. c. 
Ohio. 
liens, like all other animals, are sub¬ 
ject to disease and death and it is not 
always possible to ascertain the cause of 
their taking off. An occasional death 
in the flock does not indicate anything 
seriously wrong with the conditions un¬ 
der which the fowls are kept and must 
be taken as one of the losses incidental to 
poultry keeping. No one could tell from 
your description alone what ailed the 
hens that you lost, though most poultry- 
men would probably ascribe the deaths 
to “liver trouble” or some other indefin¬ 
ite ailment. Nothing that you say indi¬ 
cates contagious disease and, if you give 
your flock good care, your losses will 
probably not be heavy. M. B. D. 
Poisoned Chicks. 
This week some rats caught my small 
chicks and I set a piece of meat pow¬ 
dered with rat poison and caught the 
rat; it laid dead under coop. I spaded 
the ground over and let my chickens go 
in this yard that contained the dead 
rat. These chickens are five weeks old. 
Half an hour after I let them in three 
became sick and died. Can you tell mo 
what to do with this ground so it will 
be fit again for chickens, as the ground 
contained the poison and they must nave 
picked it up. 3. 
New Jersey. 
It does not seem probable that these 
chicks could have beer poisoned fron 
merely running over the ground upon 
which the poisoned meat and dead oat 
had lain; very likely there war some of 
the meat, or poison, where they could get 
it. If care was taken to remove all 
poisonous material from the run and the 
ground was spaded, it does not seem pos¬ 
sible to me that the chicks could have 
met their death from the cause that you 
suspect. AfUr such precautions, I 
should no'- tear to let chickens have Tieir 
liberty in this run. M. B, 
Fisn Waste for Poultry 
I can get several hundred pounds of 
fish wastes (heads, tails, entrails,, etc.) 
from fish markets each day. Will it pay 
me to get this and soak it for henr and 
hogs? Would the bones he apt to hurt 
the hogs? H. J. M. 
Maine. 
Fresh fish, heads, tails, etc., that are 
not tainted are a good food for hens. 
The fish pedlar who furnishes us with 
fresh fish, used to save the heads and 
tails for me; I set a post about three 
feet high in my henhouses, on purpose 
to chop things on, and kept a sharp ax 
THE RURAL 
hanging on the wall. The hens were 
wild after the fish ; it seemed to me they 
knew when Wednesday—fish day—came. 
When I came into the henhouse with 
a pan of fish it would be necessary to 
push my way through the hens, and hold 
the pan high, and in chopping to look 
sharp to keep from cutting their heads. 
Never had one choked with a bone, but 
feeding them to hogs might be different 
Still, if the bones were cooked soft, as 
they are in canned salmon, there would 
be no difficulty. I fed the fish raw to 
the hens, but cooked would be just as 
Well. GEO. A. COSGROVE. 
Diseased Growth. 
I have noticed lately a new ailment in 
the henyard. The year-old pullets have 
growth at the right (alwuys the right) 
corner of the bill, about the size of a 
smal hazel nut. The first symptom is 
a slight enlargement on the outside, 
some yellowish-white tissue on the inside 
with a small hole about the size of a 
large needle. As it develops the hole 
widens and a black spongy growth is 
seen inside, which seems to be the cause 
of the enlargement. Over a dozen hens 
have it now and more have it in the early 
stage. It appears to be contagious. 
What can be done for it, both as a cure 
and as a preventive? R. M. D. 
Pennsylvania. 
I presume that this is some form of 
parasitic disease of the nature of thrush. 
If so, it is contagious and the affected 
birds should be removed from the flock 
and their eating and drinking utensils 
should be thoroughly cleaned and disin¬ 
fected. The building should also be 
cleaned and whitewashed on the inside. 
As individual treatment, the sores may 
be treated with some antiseptic solution, 
as a saturated solution of boric acid, or 
the more powerful tincture of iodine. 
No affected fowls should be returned to 
the flock u .til entirely well. M. b. d. 
Summer Ration. 
Would you give a good ration for lay¬ 
ing hens in Summer that have free 
range? Mine are Barred Rocks and they 
do not lay enough eggs to suit me. They 
are year-old hens and the feed seems to 
fatten. Feed is mostly oats, eorn occa¬ 
sionally. J. B. 
New York. 
The following formula, at one time used 
at the Maine Experiment Station where 
Plymouth Rocks were kept, is a good 
one and I have found it very satisfactory 
for Leghorns. 100 oounds each of corn- 
meal, wheat middlings, wheat bran, and 
gluten feed, to which is added 50 pounds 
of meat meal and one quart fine salt. 
Oats, corn and wheat should be fed in 
addition for whole grains, the mash being 
kept before the f owls in dry mash nop- 
pers. While on free range they will not, 
of course, eat as much as if confined but 
should be allowed to help themselves at 
will. If they show a tendency to become 
too fat, the corn in their ration should 
be limited. M. B.- D. 
Feeding Young Ducks. 
I should like some information on the 
rearing of ducks. Is sour milk good for 
them? What kind of food is best for 
them while young? c. M. T. 
Nev/ York. 
One of the best foods for ducklings 
just hatched is rolled oats slightly moist¬ 
ened, with the addition of a little fine 
grit and a small pinch zl salt, taking 
care not to allow any lumps t iet in. 
In r tew days change gradually tc a va¬ 
riety of ground grains, whatever . ou 
may have. Ii the ducklings are confined 
to a small run ground clover cr Alfalfa 
should fce added to the mash. Grit 
should be out in all mash until they are 
old enough to take it from a box or hop 
per. Use a drinking fountain that will 
allow them to immerse the head withou 
getting in all over. Milk, either sweo* or 
sour, is excellent, but is better : fixed 
with the mash than in a drinking ioun- 
tain. Their habit of puddling will wet 
the down on the head, matting it down 
and injuring their appearance 'f not 
their health. Provide warm, dry quar¬ 
ters at nigbt and a fiianc: to get into 
the shade during the day. As they ap¬ 
proach maturity who! corn can bo river? 
for one meal, but most of their foou 
should be mash. w. 3. 3. 
Poultry Questions. 
1. Early last Fall I purchased from a 
breeder recommenced by the N. J. Agri¬ 
cultural Experiment Station, a number 
of S. C. White Leghorn yearling hens. 
They were carried through the Winter 
without lis«ase or trouble of any Lind. 
They laid in December, 30% in Jan¬ 
uary 38% in February, 08 % ir> March, 
66 % Apri-, and averag ? 70% for May. 
I bred them tc three purebred cockerels 
and have now COO vigorous chicks on 
range. I also solo from these birds 400 
hatching eggs and 300 baby chicks. 
These hens have ear lobes shot through 
with red, some a good deal, others only 
a little but none is pure white. What 
is the significance of this defect? Is it 
in any way an indication of impure 
blood? Haf it any effect on the color of 
the eggshell? Would you consider this 
imperfection seriously on a strictly util¬ 
ity farm? 2. How long should the drink¬ 
ing water for chicks be tempered or 
warmed? 3. What is the happy medium 
between a protein-bearing ration which 
St E W-YORKER 
causes some diarrhoea, and one which 
causes cannibalism? Is bone meal pre¬ 
ferable to tested beef scrap in the chick 
ration for the first two weeks, and what 
per cent, of each would you use where 
chicks have sour skim-milk constantly 
before them? L. x. P. 
New Jersey. 
1. The appearance of red in the ear 
lobes is a minor imperfection, from the 
fancier’s standpoint, but of no signifi¬ 
cance so far as strictly utility poultry is 
concerned. In White Leghorns, the ear 
lobes should be white or cream colored, 
to be perfect. 2. There is no occasion 
for warming the drinking water of young 
chicks; give it as taken from the well. 
3. A protein diet does not cause cannibal¬ 
ism, so far as known. Cannibalistic 
traits are likely to appear when large 
numbers of chicks, or older fowls, are 
confined together, no matter what the 
diet. Bone meal may be given in addi¬ 
tion to, not as a substitute for, meat 
scrap in the ration of young chicks. The 
Cornell dry mash for young chicks con¬ 
tains equal parts of wheat bran, mid¬ 
dlings, cornmeal and beef scrap, with one 
part of bone meal added to twelve parts 
of the preceding mixture. I have used 
this formula, without the bone meal, with 
entire satisfaction, giving all the lop- 
pered skim-milk in addition that the 
chicks would eat. M. B. D. 
Loss of Feathers. 
What is the trouble with my Brown 
Leghorn hens? I have 20 of them; they 
all seem healthy in every way, but they 
are losing their feathers. Some of their 
backs are all bare, some have their heads 
bald and some their wings. They are 
not lousy; nests and roosts are clean, as 
I do not find any lice. A. R. s. c. 
New r York. 
He who says that his hens harbor no 
lice deceives himself; hens without lice 
are as rare as dogs that won’t kill sheep 
when occasion offers. However, if your 
hens have none that you can discover, 
upon close examination, they probably 
are not badly infested and those that they 
have are not the cause of their losing 
feathers. There are certain mites that 
burrow into the skin of fowls and by the 
irritation of their presence cause the 
birds to pick at themselves and the feath¬ 
ers to become broken and fall out. Rub 
some simple grease well into the skin 
over the affected parts and repeat after 
a week or two. This should kill the 
mites and permit new feathers to grow. 
At the same time, just pull down one of 
the nest boxes that are nailed up against 
the wall and lift one end of some of the 
perches and see if you don’t find a mass 
of red, blood-sucking mites. M. B. D. 
Legal Questions. 
Contract Between Father and Daughter. 
My daughter would like to buy half of 
my farm. There is a mortgage on it and 
she wants to make partial payments at 
stated intervals. J. K. 
New Jersey. 
If your daughter is over 21 years of 
age there is no reason why you should 
not carry out the arrangement as sug¬ 
gested Her half will of course be subject 
to the mortgage, unless some other course 
is arranged with the mortgagee. This 
is a case where for the benefit and pro¬ 
tection of both yourself and your daugh¬ 
ter you should have some trustworthy 
attorney draw the papers for you. It 
will not be expensive, and will be worth 
what it costs as insurance and in peace 
of mind. 
Naturalization. 
Two years ago I received my first nat¬ 
uralization papers. I was then informed 
to come in two years for my second fia- 
oerc; the time is almost at hand uurtv. 
Wih you give what information you can 
as to what I have to do be f ore receiving 
the second? R. E. H. 
New York. 
You will proceed about as follows: You 
nust first file in duplicate your petition 
for citizenship, which shall state your full 
name, residence, occupation, date and 
place of arrival in the U nited States, and 
name of vessel and many other things. 
This petition must be vended by affida¬ 
vits of two citizens to the effect that they 
have known the applicant to be a resident 
of the United States for five years and of 
the State for one year, that he is of good 
moral character and fit for citizenship, and 
if he arrived in United States after 1006, 
a certificate of the Department of Com¬ 
merce and Labor stating the date, place 
and manner of his arrival, and his declar¬ 
ation of intention. These are made part 
of his petition and filed with the clerk of 
the court on payment of two dollars. The 
clerk thereupon posts a notice of the filing 
and sets a date for the final hearing, 
which must be more than 90 days later, 
for which date the witnesses are sub¬ 
poenaed and the final hearing held, the 
applicant and his witnesses examined and 
if found satisfactory a certificate of citi¬ 
zenship issued on the payment of two dol¬ 
lars more. 
Right to Crops. 
We have lived on this place for 54 
years, and the owners have just sold the 
property. We have been in the florist 
business for the above number of years. 
Yesterday I sold some peonies, Japan 
July 10, 1915. 
maples and other shrubs. While talking 
with the customer the new owners stepped 
up and became very much put out seeing 
the shrubs being dug up. They said they 
bought the place with the understanding 
that the shrubs went with the place. I 
said to them I bought and paid for them 
and they were a commercial article same 
as the greenhouse products. They said 
they realized that part of it, but it was 
understood they were to have the plants. 
The plants and shrubs and rose bushes, 
also ornamental trees, cost quite a few 
hundred dollars, and I fail to see the jus¬ 
tice in it. I cannot afford to go to law 
about it, as it will cost so much to take 
the houses down and rebuild; they are 
150 feet long and 30 feet wide, latest 
style, built about seven years ago. I do 
not know much about the laws of Rhode 
Island ; hence I am asking you for light. 
Rhode Island. A. T. h. 
Nursery trees, vines and shrubs are in¬ 
cluded in what is termed “emblements,” 
the growth of the earth produced annually 
by labor and industry, and any of these 
emblements which mature before the ex¬ 
piration of the lease, the lessee, of course, 
is entitled to remove. Where the term of 
the lease is uncertain and the tenant has 
gone ahead and sown his crops or gone 
into the nursery business and the lease is 
suddenly terminated through no fault of 
the tenant, the tenant is entitled to the 
crops which he has sown and which ma¬ 
ture after his tenancy expires, and he has 
also the right to go upon the land to har¬ 
vest the crops. A tenant from year to 
year knows when his term will expire and 
he is not supposed to plant anything the 
last year which will ripen after his ten¬ 
ancy expires; if he does, it becomes the 
property of the owner. 
Further than this, gardeners and nur¬ 
serymen have the privilege of removing 
products of the land -which they are rais¬ 
ing for purposes of sale, such as young 
trees, which ordinarily go with the land. 
You may, therefore, remove any of the 
vines, shrubs and small trees which are 
incident to your business, before the lease 
expires, and if the notice is very short, I 
should think a reasonable time after the 
expiration of the lease. Any statement 
which the owner made to the purchaser 
concerning your shrubbery which you had 
not authorized him to make, cannot, of 
course, bind you. 
It is not entirely clear as to just what 
you mean in regard to the greenhouses. 
If you have built them on another’s proo- 
erty, without his consen 1 - to remove, then 
at the end of the term the general rul ■ is 
that they become part of the freehold and 
you couid not remove them. The general 
rules governing these matters are prac¬ 
tically the same in all the States, having 
come from the old common law. 
Contract of Infant. 
I am thinking of buying some prop¬ 
erty in Vermont or New Hampshire, pay¬ 
ing part cash. I am over 18 but not yet 
21 years of age, and I wonder if it is all 
right for me to sign the papers without 
the signature of one of my parents? 
Vermont. R. H. 
It is all right for you to sign the con¬ 
tract for property if the other party is 
willing to accept if, as the contracts of 
infants may be repudiated by them after 
they become of age. If one of your par¬ 
ents signed the contract with you, it 
would in reality be their contract. A 
suggestion is that you leave your money 
in bank or other safe place until you be¬ 
come of age and then buy your property. 
Contracts of infants are quite trouble¬ 
some at times. Blank forms of contracts 
for property and of deeds may be ob¬ 
tained at most stationers’ in large towns. 
Surface Waters. 
An open ditch running through several 
farms, including ours, has become partly 
filled up, so that it backs up water on 
land I wish to use. My neighbor to my 
face talks willing enough to clean it out, 
but has told others he never will. I have 
offered to help him, and last season I 
took a hook and cleaned it out enough to 
drain water off so I could get on with 
mowing machines. If this ditch was 
cleaned out properly, there would be per¬ 
fect drainage, but as it is now, it backs 
up water over banks of ditch on our land. 
Some say I could make him clean out the 
ditch, but if so, it would probably cause 
hard feeling, and some time I think I will 
clean it out myself and let it jo. L. D. 
New York. 
This is a question involving the dispo¬ 
sition of surface waters and the rule in 
New York is that surface water is a com¬ 
mon enemy, which every proprietor may 
fight as he deems best, regardless of its 
effect upon other proprietors, and that ac¬ 
cordingly the owner may take any meas¬ 
ures he deems necessary for the protec¬ 
tion of his own property, although the re¬ 
sult is to throw the water back upon the 
land of the upper owner, and the lower 
owner does not necessarily have to keep 
his ditch open to provide a better outlet 
for the upper owner’s drainage. Probably 
the best thing to do is to forget that the 
lower owner has told others he would not 
open his ditch and proceed on the as¬ 
sumption that he w’ill do as agreed and 
clean it out. You will get him in your 
debt in more ways than one by helping 
him clean his ditch and at the same time 
help yourself. This whole matter is a 
good chance for the display of the best 
brand of tact and diplomacy you possess. 
