800 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
The New Red Champions 
[The event of the season in utility 
poultry circles is the remarkable record 
of the' pen of It. I. Red pullets entered 
by II. 1*. Walker at the Vineland poultry 
contest. At the end of the week of March 
20 these 20 pullets had laid 1,772 eggs, 
far ahead of any other pen. In view of 
this record the following report from Mr. 
Walker’s home lldck will be interesting.] 
I'p to a year ago I was using the pen 
pedigree system, marking the chicks from 
each pen and those from a few of the 
best layers. Using the toe puticn, there 
were not enough different marks to do 
more. Last year I decided to mark each 
chick with'a distinguishing mark, but the 
plan that I used, tattooing, was a com¬ 
plete failure, so that l lost the pedigree 
of all my chicks, excepting those from one 
peu that I toe-punched. My contest pen 
at Vineland contains fi-e of the toe- 
punched birds, the other 15 being picked 
from the flock at large wi'li nothing but 
external points to go by. Another trouble 
I had in selecting the pen was that the 
pullets had matured so early that I had 
very few birds that were not laying 
heavily to select from. Under these cii- 
cumstances I have been surprised at i'he 
record my pen is making. The records 
for the individual birds vary from 5 to S7 
through February 20th. My flock as a 
whole seems to average about the same 
as the - contest pen. it. is impossible to 
compare them exactly, as iny pullets have 
been under artificial light since Novem¬ 
ber 22. I figure the’ lights could have 
made no difference before December 1, and 
about 25 per cent of my pullets averaged 
20 eggs a month or better from the time 
they began to lay up t<> December 1. 
Ninety pullets were hatched March 7, and 
(‘>8 of them were laying in August. Also 
five pullets hatched April I were laying 
in August’. . 
Perhaps the following average monthly 
production will give the best idea of how 
the birds have done: _ 
You will notice that the average per 
bird is the average for all the birds in 
the pens, a d not for just those that were 
laying. A number of the poorer layers 
will be weeded out as soon as the Spring 
laying season is over. 
I have this year adopted the Vineland 
system of feeding, which is practically 
the same system I have been using for 
the last six years, excepting that the 
scratch ration is considerably reduced. 
Just lately, however, I have found my 
birds getting too thin, and have increased 
the scratch feed over the amount recom¬ 
mended by the New Jersey Station. My 
birds have laid better this year than ever 
before, but how much of it is due to the 
feeding and how much to the breeding if 
is impossible to say. My birds have laid 
better each year since I began breeding 
for egg production. ifl’XKY p. WALKER. 
Massachusetts. 
are as follows in favor of the ducks: 
Hardier and more easily raised, not be¬ 
ing subject to disease, lice. etc. 
Require less expensive buildings, fenc¬ 
ing, etc. 
Will outlay the most prolific hen, 200 
to 250 eggs per year being the average of 
her strain. 
Eggs in good demand and command a 
premium of 5c to 15c per dozen over hen 
eggs. 
Such statements are often made. Is 
the Indian Runner Duck superior as a 
profit-maker to a well-bred White Leg¬ 
horn ? 
I have talked over with Prof. Rice the 
points which you raise regarding Indian 
Runner ducks. As a result of this discus¬ 
sion I think we can say it is agreed at 
the outset that ducks arc hardier, more 
easily raised and not so subject to dis¬ 
ease' and parasites. It is further true 
that they require less expensive buildings 
and other equipment of this nature. \\ hen 
it conies to the statement that they will 
outlay the most prolific hen to the extent 
that they will average 200 to 250 eggs per 
year, we are not so sure. It is agreed that 
they are very prolific, but I think the 
yield stated "is exceptional and quite a 
long way from being average. I should 
moreover take exception to the argu¬ 
ment that the eggs are in good demand and 
command a premium of 5 to 15c per doz. 
over hens’ eggs. I think figures will bear 
out the statement that in most markets 
they are lower than liens’ eggs and by 
most consumers they are not used at all. 
This does not mean that it is impossible 
to secure the premium stated, but it does 
mean that the Indian Runner duck is 
probably not superior as a profit-maker 
to the well-bred White Leghorn. Prof. 
Rice is inclined to the opinion that the 
in the woodpile” is the cost of 
both young and mature ducks, 
do not have any figures to prove 
LESLIE E. CARD. 
"nigger 
feeding 
but we 
this. 
Damp Henhouse 
Evrey time it rains or snows the straw 
on the floors of my chicken houses gets 
very damp. The roofs do not leak. 
Would more ventilation help? J. b. 
Missouri. 
It probably would. It is uot possible, 
however, without artificial heat to keep 
the air within a poultry-house more free 
from moisture than that of the out-of- 
doors. All air contains a certain amount 
of watery vapor, invisible, but still there. 
The warmer the air. the more of this 
vapor i P avill hold in suspension. Tin 1 
air within a poultry-house holds, not only 
the natural amount of water in the air at 
that time, but an additional amount given 
off. from the bodies of the fowls. If this 
heavily laden air is exchanged at suf¬ 
April IT, 11)20 
ficiently frequent, intervals with the drier 
air outside of the building, the interior 
of the building will be as dry as ventila¬ 
tion can make it. If ventilation is im¬ 
perfect. the interior air becomes so 
charged with moisture that it cannot hold 
it in suspension and a portion of it is 
deposited upon the windows, walls and 
litter. When the temperature is low 
enough to freeze the moisture so deposited, 
it accumulates ,in the form of frost. 
Frost, therefore, does not penetrate from 
the outside, as many think; the low tem¬ 
perature outside at times so chills win¬ 
dows. walls, etc., that the moisture of the 
air within freezes upon them, doing this 
most readily, of course, upon the glass of 
(Jet rid of the moisture- 
exchanging it for drier air 
The more completely this 
without injurious drafts 
the fowls, the better the 
the henhouse, 
laden air by 
from outside, 
can be done, 
directly upon 
ventilation and the healthier the animals 
confined within the building. >i. B. D. 
Distinguishing Sex of Guinea Fowls 
Would you tell me how to know the 
sex of guinea fowls? I have some, but 
cannot tell one from another. c. T. 
The males may be distinguished by 
the spike or helmet on their heads, which 
is larger, also their car lobes are larger. 
They hold their heads higher, and make 
a screeching noise. The females make a 
noise that sounds like ‘‘too quick.” 
Birds 
Birds 
Eggs 
Av. per 
*’ .. V 
in pens. 
laying. 
laid. 
bird. 
August . .. 
. . . 200 
ini 
051 
3.20 
September 
. . . 200 
138 
1.874 
0.37 
< >ctober . . 
. . . 200 
1+iO 
2.707 
13.90 
November 
. . . 10!) 
185 
2.(500 
1.9.11 
T leeember 
. . . 107 
TOO 
4.232 
21.48 
January . 
.... 105 
195 
4.158 
21.32 
Construction of Dry Mash Hopper 
I wish to build a large hopper in my 
poultry house for dry mash. Donld you 
tell me In / to build a dry-mash hopper? 
The Iowa State College lias a fine-ap¬ 
pearing hopper which they illustrate in 
their bulletin on ‘‘Tile Poultry House Con¬ 
struction.” They give dimensions and 
material, but my carpenter cannot figure 
out how it is made, as to frame and par¬ 
titions. L. ii.L. 
Equinunk. Pa. 
The detail plan of (he food hopper men¬ 
tioned appears lo show transverse par¬ 
titions spaced 12 inches apart. Such 
partitions arc noli needed, and servo no 
purpose that I know of. If more than 
four feet in length, it would be well to 
have a center partition to stiffen the walls 
and keep them from spreading at (be 
joints. Such a hopper needs no frame if 
built of inch stuff, the end walls and 
center partition serving the purpose of a 
frame. The width of the throat at its 
narrowest part is not shown in the dia¬ 
gram. but has the appearance of being too 
narrow, though it has a vertically sliding 
gate to close it still further. If drawn 
to scale, the plan shows a throat only an 
inch and a half at its narrowest part; 
the vertical height of the spreader being 
taken as representing the scale, viz., one- 
sixteenth of an inch equals an inch and a 
half. Such a throat would clog with dry 
mashes, and the A-sluiped spreader should 
he sufficiently narrow at its base to give 
at least, a four-inch throat, and five would 
probably be better. Many bulky dry 
mashes do not feed down well through a 
narrow opening. Omitting the unneces¬ 
sary adjustable gate for closing the feed 
opening, tiliis hopper is of the conven¬ 
tional type universally used for keeping 
a dry mash before fowls. m. n. n. 
The Leghorn vs. Indian Runner Duck 
One of our readers writes that lie has 
been informed by a breeder of ducks that 
the Indian Runners are far more profit¬ 
able than While Leghorns and other 
chickens. The arguments put up to him 
Hatched 
How Many Will You Raise? 
The loss in little chicks that die the first few weeks after hatching amounts to 
millions of dollars each year. Everybody must cut down the losses and increase 
production to the limit this season. How many chicks do you lose from Gapes ? 
Diarrhoea ? Indigestion ? Leg Weakness ? Weakness from Rapid Growth 
<of Feathers ? Prepare them to withstand little chick ailments by feeding 
Dr.Hess Poultry Pan a ce a 
Eemember that disease takes the weaklings — not the strong and healthy. 
And remember that indigestion is at the bottom of many little chick ailments. 
Pan-a-ce-a prevents and cures gapes. Pan-a-ce-a regulates the bowels. 
Pan-a-ce-a prevents and cures leg Pan-a-ce-a produces appetite; 
weakness. it promotes digestion. 
And remember good digestion is most essential during the 
rapid growth of feathers. A Pan-a-ce-a chick will outfeather 
a non-Pan-a-ce-a chick every time. 
Your dealer is authorized to supply you with enough Pan-a-ce-a for 
your whole flock, with the understanding that it’s to prevent and cure 
Gapes, Indigestion, Diarrhoea , Leg Weakness; that you are to see marked 
results during the growth of feathers; otherwise, he will refund every 
cent you have paid. 30c, 75c and $1.50 packages. 25-lb pail, $3.00; 
100-lb. drum, $10.00. Except in the far West and Canada. 
DR. HESS & CLARK, Ashland, Ohio 
Dr. Hess Instant Louse Killer Kills 
