£46 
7ht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
June  10,  102.1 
sound  heavy  barley.  Grind  fine  and  sift  out  hulls. 
About  5  per  cent  each,  by  weight,  of  good  quality 
fine  ground  fish  scrap  and  good  fine  beef  scrap  may 
be  mixed  with  above  mash  Also  thoroughly  mix  in 
J/?  lb.  of  table  salt  to  each  100  lbs.  of  mash.  “Mixed 
feed,’"  mainly  wheat  bran  and  middlings,  is  often 
hopper  fed. 
As  early  as  chicks  will  take  it  they  get  chick-size 
cracked  corn  and  occasional  feedings  of  wheat. 
Later  they  get  larger  cracked  corn  and  then  whole 
corn.  Either  milk  and  milk  mashes  are  fed  freely  or 
beef  scrap  is  kept  always  before  the  birds  in  a  hop¬ 
per.  Usually  green  food  is  fed  less  freely,  or  with¬ 
held  altogether,  the  last  week  or  10  days  before  mar¬ 
keting.  and  the  chickens  confined  to  houses  and 
small  yards,  though  some  growers  of  fine  chickens 
ilo  not  favor  the  plan. 
When  season  and  other  conditions  permit,  the 
small  chicks  until  almost  full  grown  are  given  liberal 
outdoor  range.  Common  mistakes  in  brooder-house 
operation  are  to  fail  to  supply  sufficient  fresh  air 
and  to  keep  the  house  too  dry  for  the  high  tempera¬ 
ture  maintained.  Air  of  desert  dryness  will  kill 
chicks.  I  have  seen  brooder  houses  where  the  air 
was  so  dry  that  a  good  hydrometer  would  probably 
show  a  relative  humidity  of  not  much  over  20  per 
cent,  which  is  dryer  than  the  great  Sahara  desert. 
Brooder-house  atmosphere  ought  to  show  00  to  05 
per  cent  humidity,  which  is  plenty  dry  enough.  Pans 
for  evaporating  water  should  be  placed  on  heating 
equipment. 
CAPONIZING. — The  operation  of  caponizing  or 
castrating  cockerels  is  the  same  that  makes  a  steer 
out  of  a  young  bull,  or  a  barrow  of  a  boar.  It  ren¬ 
ders  the  animal  more  quiet  and  docile,  the  meat  re¬ 
mains  tender  longer  and  is  of  better  quality  and 
flavor.  Experienced  caponizers  perform  the  opera¬ 
tion  rapidly.  The  usual  charge  is  5  cents  per  chick¬ 
en.  Some  “slips"  or  imperfectly  castrated  specimens 
occur.  These  latter  are  marketed  as  early  as  possi¬ 
ble,  as  they  quickly  become  a  nuisance  in  the  flock. 
Dealers  who  supply  caponizing  instruments  also  can 
furnish  instruction  books,  and  there  are  a  number 
of  books  on  the  subject.  Spring  chickens  should  be 
operated  on  when  from  1  *4  to  2  lbs.  weight.  Fall 
cockerels  are  easier  to  caponize  when  they  reach 
from  3  to  3%  lbs.  Cockerels  are  not  fed  for  about 
36  hours  before  they  are  operated  on.  They  should 
be  allowed  water.  It  is  customary  to  shut  them  up 
at  night  after  supper,  keep  them  shut  in  all  the  next 
day  and  allow  no  food,  only  drinking  water;  then  on 
the  following  morning  operate.  There  are  very  few 
losses  from  the  operation  when  performed  by  a 
skilled  operator.  Usually  the  birds  are  given  their 
liberty  and  permitted  to  feed  as  soon  as  freed  by  the 
operator.  They  are  not  very  active  for  a  day  or  two, 
but  soon  return  to  normal  activity. 
HOW  TO  KNOW  WHEN  A  ROASTER  IS 
“RIPE.” — A  roaster  is  “ripe”  to  market  when  it  has 
about  completed  its  growth.  Just  as  with  any  other 
farm  produce,  the  time  to  sell  is  the  time  when  they 
are  ripe  to  market.  A  pullet  is  “ripe"  when  her 
comb  begins  to  redden  and  she  shows  signs  of  being 
about  ready  to  drop  her  first  egg,  if  she  is  otherwise 
in  “good  order,"  i.  e.,  plump  and  well  meated  for  her 
size.  An  experienced  man  can  tell  them  by  the  feel. 
When  a  capon  approaches  the  ripe  stage  the  spurs 
begin  to  swell  and  grow  larger,  but  remain  soft  and 
retain  color  of  shank.  As  the  bird  nears  the  finished 
stage  the  spurs  begin  to  get  white,  hard  and  horny. 
Until  one  becomes  experienced  in  handling  this  sort 
of  market  poultry,  he  will  be  wise  at  this  time  to 
select  a  few  specimens,  leg  band  them,  and  keep  a 
record  of  their  weights  each  week.  A  good  speci¬ 
men  ought  to  gain  from  y2  to  %  lb.  a  week  at  this 
stage.  If  the  weekly  gain  falls  below  this,  or  if  it 
stops,  the  bird  should  be  marketed  at  once.  The 
appearance  and  feel  of  the  flesh,  which  should  be 
noted  when  weighing,  and  the  shedding  of  neck 
feathers  are  also  indications  of  ripeness.  These  indi¬ 
cations  can  only  be  learned  by  experience.  The 
novice  will  be  likely  to  carry  some  birds  until  they 
are  “over-ripe,”  but  may  not  lose  much  thereby  and 
may  gain  a  good  lesson.  The  time  of  marketable 
ripeness  should  be  just  a  little  before  the  bird  ceases 
to  make  weekly  gains  in  weight. 
KILLING  AND  DRESSING. — All  soft  roasters, 
both  pullets  and  capons,  are  killed  by  bleeding  and 
sticking  through  the  mouth  with  a  sharp  killing 
knife,  and  are  dry  picked.  Both  are  dressed  clean, 
all  feathers  removed.  The  United  States  Depart 
ment  of  Agriculture  issues  a  bulletin  on  killing  and 
dry  picking  poultry  which  may  be  had  for  the  asking, 
and  should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  poultryman.  On 
the  South  Shore  it  is  customary  to  cool  chickens, 
after  dressing,  in  ice  water,  to  remove  animal  heat. 
A  cooling  room,  where  temperature  is  just  above 
freezing,  for  dry  cooling,  would  be  better.  After  the 
chickens  are  thoroughly  chilled  they  are  hung  in  a 
well-aired  room  to  dry.  They  are  packed  in  boxes 
for  shipment,  weighed,  and  a  bill,  giving  gross 
weight  of  packed  box  and  net  weight  of  roasters  con¬ 
tained,  is  packed  in  box,  a  duplicate  bill  being  re¬ 
tained  for  personal  delivery  to  the  buyer,  or  to  be 
sent  by  mail. 
Very  few  growers  do  their  own  killing,  dressing 
SMALL  SOFT  ItOA  STEMS  A  AD  BROILERS 
COMPARED 
The  birds  at  the  left  are  prime  small  soft  roasters, 
weighing  5  lbs.  each  at  age  of  4*4  months;  value,  $5 
the  pair.  The  broilers  at  the  right  weighed  2  lbs.  each 
at  eight  weeks  old  ;  value  $2  per  pair.  Photo  by  Dr. 
Woods. 
and  marketing.  It  is  usually  more  satisfactory  to 
sell  the  birds  alive  to  a  reliable  buyer,  who  attends 
to  the  marketing  end  of  the  business.  If  a  good  co¬ 
operative  poultry  association  can  take  up  this  work, 
establish  a  local  county  killing,  dressing  and  ship¬ 
ping  station,  make  regular  collections  and  shipments, 
and  conduct  the  business  as  satisfactorily  as  “Joe” 
Curtiss  used  to  do  it.  the  soft  roaster  industry  may 
We  want  you  to  meet  Miss  Carmen  Ethel  Billrey,  of 
Liberty,  N.  Y.  She  may  be  called  the  youngest  reader 
of  The  It.  N.-Y.  The  picture  was  taken  on  February 
10,  1923,  at  which  time  Carmen  was  only  seven  days 
short  of  two  years  old.  Yet  she  had  been  reading  the 
paper  for  fully  three  months.  She  has  the  paper  in  her 
hand  as  we  see  her  in  the  picture.  We  hope  that  in  the 
year  2023  The  R.  N.-Y.  may  print  another  picture  of 
her — still  holding  on  to  the  paper. 
be  brought  back  to  the  Massachusetts  South  Shore, 
and  other  such  organizations  ought  to  spring  up 
everywhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  our  better  large 
city  markets.  Even  though  the  demand  is  limited  to 
no  greater  volume  than  that  of  a  dozen  years  ago, 
Boston  market  alone  can  handle  a  great  quantity  of 
prime  soft  roasting  chickens  in  season,  and  there  is 
room  for  many  large  and  small  soft  roaster  plants  in 
the  district  where  they  were  once  so  plentiful. 
Massachusetts.  prince  t.  wood.  m.d. 
Growing  Cow  Peas  and  Soy  Beans 
I  am  going  to  plant  about  20  acres  of  cow  peas  and 
Soy  beans,  and  would  like  to  plant  about  half  of  them 
for  seed  and  half  for  hay.  I  have  had  no  experience 
with  them.  Would  someone  who  has  had  experience 
advise  how  best  to  plant  in  rows  and  cultivate,  or  drill 
broadcast?  a.  w. 
Maryland. 
SOY  BEANS  PREFERRED— We  have  been 
growing  cow  peas  and  Soy  beans  for  several 
years,  but  have  been  gradually  getting  away  from 
cow  peas,  as  we  believe  that  Soy  beans  are  some¬ 
what  superior  to  the  pea  for  every  purpose.  These 
are  both  warm-season  crops,  and  for  that  reason 
they  should  not  be  sown  until  the  ground  has  thor¬ 
oughly  warmed  up,  or  until  after  corn  planting 
time.  We  have  always  had  best  results  when  we 
seeded  either  of  these  crops  betw'een  May  20  and 
June  1.  although  they  may  be  seeded  later  than 
this  and  still  have  time  to  mature. 
SEEDING  METHODS.— When  raising  cow  peas 
or  Soy  beans  for  seed  we  sow  in  rows  32  in.  apart 
and  plants  from  2  to  4  in.  apart  in  rows.  The  rows 
may  vary  from  24  to  40  in.  apart,  but  the  average  is 
perhaps  between  30  and  36  in.  When  sown  in  this 
manner  it  will  require  from  two  to  three  pecks  of 
seed.  Some  objections  have  been  raised  that  the 
cultivation  is  too  difficult  when  seeded  in  rows.  We 
use  a  spike  or  spring-tooth  harrow  the  first  two 
cultivations,  or  until  the  plants  are  from  3  to  5 
in.  high.  We  can  cover  15  acres  a  day  and  no  more 
harm  is  done  to  the  plants  than  when  the  same 
method  is  followed  with  corn.  Later  cultivations 
are  given  with  a  riding  cultivator  covering  two 
rows  at  a  time,  and  we  are  now  going  to  use  a 
three-row  cultivator,  which  will  cut  down  the  time 
and  expense.  For  hay  or  to  turn  under  we  seed 
broadcast  with  a  grain  drill  set  to  seed  one  and  one- 
half  to  two  bushels  of  wheat,  and  for  best  results 
it  may  be  policy  to  use  the  oat  cups,  but  we  have  had 
no  trouble  either  way.  We  like  the  rows  about  6 
in.  apart  and  the  plants  near  together  in  the  row. 
This  method  will  take  from  six  to  nine  pecks  of 
seed,  depending  somewhat  upon  the  variety.  We 
like  many  others  in  this  section,  like  to  sow  a  com¬ 
bination  of  four  pecks  of  Soy  beans  and  two  pecks 
of  cow  peas  together,  as  this  makes  a  good  hay, 
and  the  beans  help  to  hold  the  more  viney  peas 
off  the  ground. 
SOIL  INOCULATION. — We  use  inoculation  on  all 
land  that  has  never  had  these  crops,  and  are  firmly 
convinced  from  experience  that  it  pays  to  inoculate 
all  legumes.  This  year  and  last  we  used  inoculated 
soil  from  one  of  our  fields  that  had  these  crops, 
and  used  about  a  quart  of  soil  to  the  bushel  of  seed, 
as  we  sifted  the  soil  through  a  fine  screen  onto  the 
seed.  Some  growers  nse  inoculated  soil  right  in 
the  seeder  with  the  seed,  sowing  both  at  the  same 
time  and  have  got  good  results,  while  others  use 
the  artificial  inoculation  according  to  directions  on 
the  bottle.  Both  of  these  crops  will  grow  and  pro¬ 
duce  a  good  crop  on  acid  soil,  but  we  have  in¬ 
creased  our  yield  of  seed  and  hay  by  the  use  of 
lime.  Just  how  much  lime  to  use  is  a  question  to 
be  solved  by  the  grower,  and  he  can  readily  do  this 
by  having  his  County  Agent  test  the  soil  for  acidity. 
CUTTING  AND  CURING.— They  may  be  cut  for 
hay  at  any  time  from  the  time  the  seed  begins  to 
form  until  the  leaves  begin  to  turn  yellow,  but  we 
try  to  cut  them  when  the  seeds  are  well  formed 
and  before  many  of  the  leaves  have  turned.  If 
cut  before  this  time  there  is  more  protein  in  the 
hay,  but  it  is  harder  to  cure,  and  the  yield  is  smaller, 
while  cut  later  many  leaves  will  have  dropped,  and 
much  loss  will  arise  from  shattering.  We  have 
never  had  any  more  difficulty  curing  Soy  bean  hay 
than  we  have  in  handling  clover  hay ;  in  fact  one 
can  be  handled  very  much  like  the  other.  Begin 
cutting  as  soon  as  the  dew  is  off  and  continue  all 
day  if  necessary,  and  leave  it  in  the  swath  until 
wilted.  Then  put  it  in  windrows  or  small  loose 
bunches  for  a  day  or  two,  depending  on  the  weather, 
or  until  the  leaves  become  dry  and  brittle,  when  we 
place  it  in  shocks.  If  these  shocks  are  made  fairly 
high  and  narrow,'  and  topped  off  properly,  they  will 
stand  right  smart  rain  and  wet  weather  without 
injury  to  the  hay.  After  several  days  of  fine 
weather  we  open  up  these  shocks,  and  in  a  short 
time  put  the  hay  into  the  barn.  W'e  have  tried 
curing  Soy  bean  hay  on  curing  frames  but  do  not 
follow'  that  practice  except  under  bad  wreatlier  con¬ 
ditions.  Soy  bean  hay  should  not  be  housed  until 
wTell  cured,  and  the  fact  must  be  kept  in  mind  that 
the  leaves  are  the  important  things,  and  for  that 
reason  the  method  of  cutting  and  handling  must 
