1570 
points which undoubtedly will come up as we learn 
more about this use of artificial lights in poultry 
houses. By enumerating all these precautions it is 
not the purpose to frighten anyone from the use of 
the artificial illumination, but to lay before you food 
for thought on this subject. 
RESULTS OF EXPERIMENT.—From the results 
which have been obtained in experiments and tests 
it is safe to advise the rational itse of artificial lights 
in poultry houses during the Fall and Winter on 
flocks from which it is not the purpose to breed. By 
using lights systematically and carefully, one is able 
materially to increase Winter egg production. In a 
great many tests which have been carried on, this 
increase in egg production has been 100 per cent, 
which, of course, is a tremendous gain, especially if 
one will stop to think that the increase in produc¬ 
tion of this kind will more than quadruple the net 
returns from the flock, because this gain is almost 
300 per cent “velvet,” so to speak. 
SEASON OF LISE.—A latitude corresponding with 
the section between Philadelphia and New York will 
probably show best results when lights are used from 
September 1 until some time during the month of 
March. This not only includes the early hatched pul¬ 
lets, but includes the late ones as well. The differ¬ 
ence in the management of an early flock of pullets 
and a late flock under lights should be in the ration 
fed. The earlier pullets, if they are in good condi¬ 
tion. should be fed heavily on laying rations, whereas 
the later hatched pullets should have from two weeks 
to a month on a conditioning feed composed princi¬ 
pally of scratch feed in which from 50 to 00 per cent 
should be corn. This should give these pullets under 
lights a good reserve to maintain a good lay during 
the following Fall and Winter. After the middle of 
March, although the practice of using lights is fol¬ 
lowed in some places, the effect is probably not so 
noticeable as it is from the six months previous. Oc¬ 
tober, November, December and January especially 
are the months which will be the most effective. 
HOURS OF LIGHTING.—From 14 to 15 hours of 
total daylight, including the natural daylight, has 
been found so far to be probably the best. This 
means that when the nights have got longer than 10 
hours, light should be used. Without considering 
other matters, lights used in the morning entirely 
seem to give the best results, as far as the birds are 
concerned, although the diffei’ence in using them all 
in the morning or half in the morning and half at 
night is not so great. Using them all at night is 
probably not so good as either of the other two. 
Using them until 7 or 7 :.°>0 in the evening, and start¬ 
ing them again at around 5 o’clock in the morning, 
seems to be the most acceptable among many com¬ 
mercial poultrymen. as it does not tie them down so 
long in the evening. 
TYPE OF LIGHT USED.—All kinds of lights, 
from kerosene lanterns to electric light, have been 
used effectively. It is needless to say that the elec¬ 
tric lights are the handiest, probably the best, and 
usually the cheapest in the end. A 90-watt light in 
a house 20x20 ft. for approximately 100 birds has 
been found to give excellent results, although good 
results have been obtained where only 50 watts have 
been used in the same-sized house. There are a 
number of makes of gasoline lanterns on the market 
which are extremely good and economical. Most 
of these are not dangerous to fire. One ordinary 
gasoline lantern is usually sufficient for a house 
20x20 ft., or for 100 birds. Where nothing else can 
be had or obtained, kerosene lanterns will do, but a 
great many of them will be necessary. Not less 
than four should be used in a house 20x20 ft, and 
these should be kept in good clean condition and have 
reflectors on the back of them. The practice of using 
dimmers to put out the ligut gradually in the even¬ 
ing when it is time to have the birds go to roost is 
used. With the gasoline c kerosene lantern, these 
are gradually turned down. With electric lights 
usually dimmer bulbs are used, or a resistance coil. 
SCRATCH FEED GIVEN.—Feeding birds under 
lights a light scratch feed of about 3 lbs. to 100 
birds should be given as the bird comes down from 
the roost, or should be fed the night before if the 
lights are switched on from the house; 2 lbs. at noon 
and 5 lbs. late in the afternoon. During the severe 
and coldest part of the Winter an extra 2 lbs. of 
scratch feed can be given at 10 o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing. A laying mash composed of from 15 to 20 per 
cent of meat scrap should be left in feed hoppers 
available to the birds at all times. Where milk or 
its by-products are used. 12 to 15 per cent meat is 
ample. 
A MATTER OF ASSIMILATION.—The effect of 
artificial lights in poultry houses is no more or less 
than a matter of feed. It is not a ease of lengthening 
the day as much as it is of shortening the long nights. 
The idea is. that the bird in going to roost in the 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Spring of the year, when normal egg production is 
at its maximum, and a bird is in heavy laying condi¬ 
tion, assimilates the heavy feed which she has be¬ 
fore going to roost, in about 10 hours. Assuming 
that it takes the same length of time to assimilate 
the ration which she consumes before going to roost 
during the seasons of long nights, then she is on the 
roost from three to five hours without feed. This, as 
can be readily undersood, is quite harmful to egg 
production, as well as to the condition and health of 
the birds, as she comes down from the roost in the 
morning, not in a hungry condition, but in a starving 
condition, and when a bird is starved in this way, 
Foddering Cows on Pasture. Fig. 502 
naturally the first way it affects her is in her egg 
production. She must necessarily stop laying on a 
starvation ration. The idea of the use of artificial 
lights is to give them to the birds just at this time 
when they have assimilated all the feed which they 
had in their last ration before going to roost. 
PHYSICAL CONDITION IMPROVED—The birds 
in the experiments and under observations, under 
artificial lighting, have been found not only to in¬ 
crease the egg production tremendously, but to be 
in much better condition physically in every way 
than the birds not under lights, and in those flocks 
which have had epidemics of Winter diseases, such 
as chicken-pox, roup and canker, have got over it 
Getting Ready -for Halloiceen. Fig. 503 
and straightened up much more quickly under lights 
than where no lights were used. It certainly is to 
be recommended on flocks kept for egg production 
alone, during the Fall and Winter. Only a little 
work has been done experimentally on lights for 
breeding birds, and although this is not as yet at a 
point where it can be recommended, still there is a 
great deal of room for research work on this point, 
and it is reasonable to expect that good results will 
be forthcoming. victor q. aubry. 
What Ails the Gasoline Engine? 
Could any of your farm mechanics tell me what is the 
trouble with this gasoline engine? It is a 15 horse¬ 
power. It was bought new ; was only run about one 
day and the cylinder and piston were overheated, so 
that cylinder had to be sent to factory for reboring and 
October 25, 1019 
a new piston and rings. It is all together again. Right 
after .we got the cylinder and piston we put it together 
and the engine ran well. The engine was not belted to 
any machine. The engine was not used at all for any 
work. We tried to start it, but it only runs a little 
while, then stops. There is no compression; it leaks 
out through the piston rings. It has no power what- 
ever. Would a heavy-bodied oil like tractor oil. hold 
the compression? Could it be that the piston rings are 
stuck? The piston that came with the engine was so 
heated and scratched that when the engine exploded it 
would shoot right out past the piston instead of through 
the exhaust. The cylinder and piston are terribly over¬ 
heated. Has that anything to do with the present run¬ 
ning of it? We are afraid the same thing is going to 
happen with it again. We give it lots of oil and keep 
the hopper full of water. What makes this engine do 
that? We give it lots of oil; so much, in fact, it fouls 
the spark plug so the engine stops. Take the plug out. 
clean it off, and it runs a few minutes again till fouled. 
We are used to gasoline engines and have two besides 
this one. We know a little about running them ; the 
timing of valves and spark is all right on this engine, 
but the rest (or the way this engine acts) we do not 
understand. j,. g. 
Gardiner, N. Y. 
AULTY IGNITION.—-There are so many differ¬ 
ent things that can ail a gasoline engine that it 
is very difficult to tell, without seeing the engine, 
just what is the matter. Where an engine stops 
suddenly, however, nine times out of 10 it is the 
ignition that is at fault, and when the trouble is not 
definitely known it is well to begin with the assump¬ 
tion that the ignition is wrong. Carefully examine 
the wiring, following it right through from the source 
to ignitor to make sure that there are not spots from 
which the insulation is worn, which would permit 
the current to “ground” on the engine frame or other 
metal part. See that all parts of the ignition sys¬ 
tem are working properly. If a jump spark is used, 
remove the plug, and after laying it on some metal 
part of the engine, turn the engine over through a 
cycle to see if a spark passes from point to point as 
it should. If of the jump-spark type of ignition and 
the same spark plug is now in the engine that was 
in it at the time it was so severely overheated, it 
may be that the jacket was cracked, which permits a 
leak here; that is, an electrical leak. A cracked 
spark plug is sometimes very difficult to detect, but 
careful cleaning in gasoline or kerosene will usually 
show up the defect. If the spark plug is suspected 
of making the trouble, and no flaw can be seen, a new 
one can be used as a trial to prove the old one, either 
good or bad. 
INCORRECT TIMING.—So much for the elec¬ 
trical system. Another frequent cause of trouble is 
incorrect timing. Nothing will cause an engine to 
heat up much more quickly than having the spark 
retarded or set to occur too late. With the slow- 
burning fuels in use today the spark should occur a 
considerable interval before the piston reaches the 
inner end of its stroke. The mixture is then burning 
in good shape, and ready to exert the greatest force 
of expansion possible when the piston starts forward. 
If not set to take place at this time very little power 
will be developed, and the surplus heat will be taken 
up by the cylinder walls.. The sparks should occur 
when the crank lacks from 15 to 35 degrees of reach¬ 
ing the inner dead center. This position can be de¬ 
termined by measuring the circumference of the fly¬ 
wheel and dividing by 360, each part then represent¬ 
ing one degree. From a point in line with the crank 
the number desired can then be laid off on the bal¬ 
ance wheel and the adjustments made. Usually there 
are witness marks on an engine to show position of 
correct firing and valve opening, one method being 
to mark the teeth on the half-time gears that should 
mesh together. Sometimes in overhauling an engine, 
as has been the case with this one, the gears get 
shifted, with the result that the engine is out of 
time, little power is developed, and the engine over¬ 
heats badly or refuses to run at all. The exhaust 
valve should be set to open somewhat before the pis¬ 
ton reaches the outer end of its stroke. 
COMPRESSION.—In regard to the lack of com¬ 
pression, if this is the trouble I could expect the 
engine to be very difficult to start. The engine should 
be tight enough to resist turning over strongly, and 
when bounced back against the compression it should 
rebound, swinging back and forth several times be¬ 
fore coming to rest. If there is a hissing sound as 
the engine is turned over it indicates a compression 
leak, which may be in any one of several places; 
past the rings, through the exhaust or admission 
valves, through a sand hole in the piston, or a leaky 
gasket. Listen to see where the gas seems to escape. 
Tf it hisses badly at the open cylinder end it is prob¬ 
able that the rings are at fault; if at the valves, look 
for a leak here. If the valves have not been touched 
it is likely that they became warped, especially the 
exhaust valve, at the time the engine was overheat¬ 
ed, and will either need replacement or grinding in 
to secure a gas-tight tit. The instruction book fur¬ 
nished with the engine no doubt gives directions for 
valve grinding. Another frequent cause of valve 
leaks is too close an adjustment. Either the valve 
