1172 
THE MAILBAG 
Weevils In Feed 
I bought l.OOO lbs. of barloy and malt. 
It i.s <-()V(*r(‘d on the outside of baps with 
little brown insects called, I believe, wee¬ 
vils. IMcking up a handful of the grain 
it moves, so full is it of animal life. The 
man I bought it from has always been 
honest and reliable, and says it will not 
hurt in feeding chickens or even cows; 
says he has seen outside of l)ags literally 
covered with these weevils, and it has 
not harmed for feeding chickens. What 
is your opinion? G. w. 
New York. 
We have often fed grain containing 
weevils to poultry without any ill effects 
whatever. The presence of weevils in a 
feed, however, suggests the i)OS8ibility of 
the feed having been stored away and 
kept for some time—the longer the period 
the more weevils. If the feed is of such 
!i nature that it will heat or sour, this 
would do more damage than the weevils 
if so affected. Therefore, feed which is 
so full of animal life should be examined 
caiefully for mold and souimess as a re- 
s\ilt of long keeping, and rejected for poul¬ 
try feed if affected. c. S. G. 
Cost of Raising Chickens 
Will you give figures as to the cost of 
fe<‘d per bird from the day of hatching, 
for each week, up to six months of age? 
I refer to chickens of course*. c. i). C. 
New Yoj’k. 
We have printed s<‘veral estimates 
showing the amount of food reepiired to 
bring a chicken to the age of six monihs. 
One of the most careful estimates was 
made by Prof. P. hi Card of the ('onnecti- 
cut Experiment Station. We printed ; is 
figures some time ago and, briefly stateei. 
they show that to grow a Rhode Island 
Red up to 24 weeks takes about 24 lbs. 
of feed. A T>eghorn of the same age re- 
<iuires about 20 lbs. After that the con¬ 
sumption is fi'om 11/4 to 2 lbs. (>f feed jier 
week for each bird. These figures will 
vary somewhat with the breed and the 
amount of feed that the birds are able to 
pick up on a wide range, but they are 
probably as fair as anything we can get 
for the Eiustern States. The cost of the 
feed will, of course, vary in different lo¬ 
calities, and to this feed cost must be 
added the risk of mortality, accidents, 
and many other things which all poultry- 
men will recognize. 
Cows in the War Zone 
I have seen an item in a farm jiajier to 
the effect that the cows which were near 
enough the battle fields to hear the noise 
did not give ns rich milk. Do you think 
this can be so? j. n. ir. 
New York. 
At first glance this hardly seems to be 
a chemical problem but in fact it bears 
directly on one of the most obscure facts 
of physiological chemistry, the influence 
of the nerves on the chemical composition 
of the secretions of the glands. The milk 
glands are no exception to the general 
rule that any disturbance or anxiety in¬ 
fluences the secretion for the worse. 
Whether the cows in this ca.se were men¬ 
tally disturbed, or whether they were 
merely made restless, .so that they did 
not eat enough to give a normal milk is 
not made clear from the story ; each, or 
both causes might aid. Just how far ll-.e 
owner would be responsible for tlu- ((iial- 
ity of the product and how far he <‘ould 
blame it on the war is another matter. 
And yet—well, it was some years ago 
when we went .one pleasant Summer 
evening, to see the man whose milk had 
gotten the dealer into trouble with the 
board of health. We iiointed out that 
we knew' exactly where that can of milk 
came from, and what had happi'iied when 
it w'as tested. The ju'oducer listened in 
saddened silence to our tale and then ad¬ 
mitted that that particular can might 
have been a little W'eak ; tlu* fact was, he 
said, that just as he was low'ering that 
can into the spring-hole a big bullfrog 
had jumped and startled him so he let go 
one handle and maybe just a little water 
got in. The dealer was a silent man, 
and w'e rode back in silence through the 
sweet Summer lanes, heavy with hard- 
hack and goldenrod, and vocal witli 
cricket and katydid. Finally he .spoke: 
“I’ll bet Jim has got that bullfrog 
trained !” f, p. c. 
Curing Sunflowers 
We have a great many sunflowers on 
our place this year, which we are very 
desirous of harvesting to be* used as chick¬ 
en feed this Winter. Can you give us 
any method to follow in taking can* of 
them so they will not mold? Grain is 
so high it is well w'orth while to take 
care of all things that will help out. 
Pushkin, Pa. c. N. g. 
You w'ill find it diflicult to cure sun¬ 
flowers. They contain so much oil that 
unless they can be iiromptly and thor¬ 
oughly dri(*d they will give trouble. We 
W'ait until the seeds are well formed in 
the head, and the sunflow'er is evid(‘ntly 
ripe. Then we go through w'ith a sharp 
knife or corn cutter and cut the heads off, 
leaving four or five inches of the stem for 
a handle. The.se heads are collected in 
baskets and taken to a dry airy shed. 
The best way to dry them is to put them 
Ufie RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
in racks, such as are ti.sed in ripening 
scpiash. These racks or bins can be made 
either with, a bottom of slats or wire. 
'J’he sunflowers are thrown in about three 
layers in each bin. and left where the 
air can circulate in and around them. 
Handled in this way they msually dry 
out in about three weeks. 
In feeding, the heads can be thrown 
directly to the poultry, .and they will do 
their own separating, or the heads can 
be thrown on a firm, hard floor and 
beaten out with a heavy stick. When 
grown on a large scale the heads are run 
through a separator. The chief point is 
to cut the heads early and dry them as 
promptly as i>ossible. 
Roasted Wheat Breakfast Food 
Will .T. G. advise me what to do with 
the roasted wheat after it is ground fine 
in order to eat it (see page 1074)? Do 
you cook it, or how do you prepare it? 
Brooklyn, N. Y'. J. S. 
As the wheat is actually cooked in the 
roasting process, thus making the food a 
little more palatable, it is cooked for the 
table the .same as any of the grain break¬ 
fast preparations. Our plan is to add 
two heaping tablespoonfuls of the meal to 
about a half teacupful of cold water and 
set over a gas flame and cook until the 
food swells out plump and “looks” well 
cooked, and serve with milk or whatever 
be.st suits. The above is for one person ; 
multiply this by the number of adults. 
The secret is to roast the wheat so as 
neither to .scorch or burn it, but get a 
rich, golden brown. .j. g. 
Crops and Farm News 
This is a dairy section. Most of the 
milk goes to a plant at Westfield, Pa. 
They jaiy per cwt. for fl.7 per cent 
milk for September. Hay was a fair crop. 
Oats are good, .some yielding 40 bu. per 
acre. Nearly all the farmers have Spring 
wheat for the first time this year. Seems 
to be good, but is not thi'ashed yet. Corn 
is very late; most of it is for the silo. 
Potatoes look well; not as many planted 
as last year; buckwheat is a good cro;); 
apples are plenty. There are many cattle 
buyers here; cows are from $100 to $105 
for grades; heifers, $.‘>0 to ,$75. Horses 
are cheap. Not as many hens as usual; 
eggs, 52e per doz. ii. n. n. 
Potter Co., Pa. 
In my imnu'diate neighborhood there is 
but little farming done. We are located 
in ii sort of a neck by the bend of the 
river, which makes the farming district 
far back. Most of our farmers only farm 
enough for their own stock. I’hey are 
engaged in raising garden truck, dairying, 
etc.; some are in the coal business, some 
do teaming. My business is market gar¬ 
dening, with only a little farming. I 
would not know where to go to buy a 
bushel of corn or wheat. Oats have been 
a good crop. Crops were fair this .season ; 
corn promises better than was expected 
some time ago, owing to the late rains. 
At our retail stores corn is $2.55 bu. ; 
hay, $.55 iier ton ; oats, 95c bu.; S5c by 
50-bu. lots. Milk, ISc per qt.; butter, 5()c 
lb.; eggs, 00c. Sweet corn, 50c doz.; to¬ 
matoes, 10c per Ib.; green beans, $1 peck ; 
cabbage, 5c lb.; kraut, 10c lb.; apples, $2 
bu. H.F. w. 
Westmoreland Co., Pa. 
All produce marketed in this section 
goes to Scranton. There is a curb market 
which seems to be getting most of the iiro- 
du^e. Corn, sweet, wholesale, $1.25 and 
$1.50 per doz. ears, according to quality. 
Potatoes, wholesale, $1.75 per bu. There 
are some small pigs in this section sold 
from $14 to $17 per pair. Cows, fresh, 
from .SI00 to $125. Milk is sold by the 
League on flat test of 5.0, and is hauled 
to Scranton on trucks at 2.5c per can. 
Corn looks fine for time planted, but field 
corn for ears will not mature on the late 
idanting in this .section. Potatoes are poor 
and very scarce at this time. Later ones 
look to be a fair crop. Oats in this sec¬ 
tion very good. Buckwheat does not look 
to be filled very Avell. Apples are very 
scarce. No peaches; pears ai'e very 
scarce and so are plums. Cabbage i.s the 
poorest for years; the grasshoppers did 
great damage with us. Cabbage is very 
scarce and high, selling for $50 to $55 
jier ton at this time. As to the outlook 
for farmers in this .section, unless dairy 
feed takes a droj) or milk raises there will 
be scarcely a chance to break even this 
Winter, ns this is a dairy section and 
farm labor is very scarce and poor. 
Wyoming Co., I’a. n. w. n. 
I have not been able to buy Avheat bran 
for less than .$2..55. J’he farmers are get¬ 
ting $2 per bu. for potatoes. The labor 
problem is getting wor.se for the farmer 
all the time. The apple men are paying 
40c per hour and the men expect the farm- 
;rs to pay 5()c per hour for corn harvest¬ 
ing. We simply cannot afford to pay so 
much, and will have to continue the 8- 
iiour day. I mean eight hours in the fore¬ 
noon and eight hours in the afternoon. 
But who will jiay us for time and half 
time, etc.? Our wheat crop was about SO 
per cent, but of excellent quality. This 
year’s acreage w ill be above the average. 
October 12, 1918 
The corn will average about half a crop. 
Much of it was planted over and needs 
considerable time yet to mature. The 
young grass is very poor, owing to a lack 
of rain in July. Many of the farmers 
have sown about half of their wheat in 
order to start cutting corn as soon as po.s- 
sible. Farm buildings, fences, orchaixls, 
etc., are showing a lack of attention, ow¬ 
ing to a scarcity of help. w. t. u. 
Franklin Co.. I‘a. 
Farmers are receiving 48c for eggs and 
50c for butter; wheat, .$2.10; old corn, 
.$2; oats, new, 70e. Hay sold out of the 
field for $15. Potatoes a failure ; dressed 
beef, 2.5c lb. Fruit scarce. Some seeding 
done, but most to do yet and so wet we 
cannot Avork in the ground. Wheat, oats 
and hay are fairly good; corn will be 
light, owing to dry weather in Julv and 
.\ugust. The outlook for the farmer is 
very good, except shortage of help. Land 
IS Jiish. I,-. „. 
Mifflin Co., Pa. 
The prices in our locality are wheat, 
.$2.20; corn, .$1.70; oats, (5.5c; potatoes, 
.$2; cows from $50 to $125; calves. 1.5c 
per lb. live Aveight; milk. .$5 per cwt. 
for 4 per cent; chickens, young. 28c; old, 
22c; butter. .50c; eggs. 42c; common 
labor, $2 to .$2..50, and hard to get; lard, 
.50c per lb. .j. m 
Northumberland Co., Pa. 
AVe have a curb market well attended 
by dealer and buyers. .8weet corn, 40 to 
4(5c per bu.; Sheldon pears. $1 per 
basket; peaches. 25c Vj. peck ; eggs. 00c ; 
chickens, 4(k' per lb., live weight; horse¬ 
radish, 10 to 1.5c per glass; Eggplant, 
4i)c per doz.; Sheldon pears, $1 per 
matoes. 80c basket; white grapes, 25c 
lier box; jiotatoes, .$1.15 .a basket; cot- 
hi^ge cheese, by package, 8c; string beans, 
25c i/j peck; peck large onions, 25c ; 
strained honey, 45c per pint, 90c qt. ; 
pumpkims, 15c; blue grapes, 10c Imx. 
Phoenixville and Mont ('hire are very 
proud of our curb market. We are a 
patriotic peojile, proud of our Valley 
Forge hills, which^ we can see Avhile w’e 
are in our fields. We are a very busy class 
of jieople. The Phoenixville Iron Works, 
which employ about four thomsand men, 
also the Heinz Safety Boiler Co., who 
employ 400 men. all on government work, 
working day and night to win the war. 
Montgomery Co., I’a. g. v . h. 
Havi.xg finished his meal, the diner 
called for his check. “Let’s see,” said 
the waiter, “what did you have?” “Can’t 
tell you for the life of me.” Avas the reply ; 
“but what I ordered Avas minced chicken.” 
—Boston Transcrijit. 
UNICORN DAIRY RATION 
^ Mr. Carter, of Asheville, N. C., after 
visiting the dairy sections of Ohio, Illinois and 
Wisconsin to buy some superior milk cows, 
purchased a promising young heifer at 
Wauseon, Ohio. 
^ Mr. Carter discovered that Unicorn 
Dairy Ration was being fed to nearly all record 
breaking cows, and adopted it for his feed. 
In a 30 day test at 4 years old 
Wauseona Pansy Korndyke Queen produced 
2080 lbs. Milk. She was charged 72 cents 
per day for Unicom Dairy Ration, roughage 
and labor, leaving a net profit of $2.50 per day. 
Unicorn Dairy Ration 
like good cows, costs more than the inferior 
article, but pays a larger profit. 
