2J*  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
1055 
Do  Capons  Crow? 
Many  a  foolish  question  you  have 
answered ;  now  please  answer  this  one : 
Do  capons  crow  like  a  rooster?  The 
reason  I  am  asking  this  question  is  this, 
I  bought  .25  capon ized  young  cockerels 
with  the  understanding  that  they  do  not' 
crow,  and  now  I  have  the  finest  self-play¬ 
ing  piano  at  four  o’clock  in  the  morning 
anybody  could  wish  for  !  My  neighbors  are 
kicking  like  so  many  Alabama  mules. 
New  York.  j.  s.  z. 
The  true  capon  rarely  crows.  Now 
and  then  they  will  make  a  noise,  but  as 
a  rule  they  are  not  troublesome.  The 
trouble  with  your  flock  evidently  is  that 
you  have  a  number  of  “slips,”  or  birds 
not  properly  operated  on. 
Black  Giant  Breeder’s  Oragnize 
There  has  been  some  little  complaint 
about  the  quality  of  hatching  eggs  sent 
out  by  some  of  the  breeders  of  Black 
Jersey  Giants.  In  many  cases  there  has 
been  a  low  per  cent  of  fertility  and  some 
of  the  chicks  hatched  from  these  eggs 
have  been  off-color  and  otherwise  inferior. 
In  a  new  breed  of  this  sort,  we  cannot 
expect  that  every  chick  will  he  abso¬ 
lutely  true  to  type.  That  trouble  is  found 
in  all  of  the  so-called  “made”  breeds  which 
have  been  produced  in  America.  It  is 
also  true  of  most  of  the  heavier  breeds 
that  the  percentage  of  infertile  eggs  is 
usually  higher  than  is  found  in  the  eggs 
from  more  active  birds.  There  has  been  a 
good  demand  for  the  Giants,  and  eggs 
have  been  very  salable.  It  would  seem 
as  if  some  breeders  had  taken  advantage 
of  this  condition  to  work  off  considerable 
inferior  stock.  The  little  Giant  chicks 
are  seldom  pure  black.  They  come  in  all 
sorts  of  colors,  but  the  great  majority  of 
them  finally  develop  the  true  black  color¬ 
ing  of  the  breed.  We  have  found  that 
15  per  cent,  more  or  less  finally  turn  up 
marked  around  the  neck  or  on  the  side 
with  lighter  colors  and.  of  course,  these 
should  be  rejected.  We  must  expect  a 
certain  proportion  of  these  off-color  birds 
in  a  new  breed  like  the  Giants,  but  there 
is  no  excuse  for  selling  eggs  from  mongrels 
or  pullets  that  are  known  to  be  untrue  to 
type.  This  has  evidently  been  done  by 
some  of  the  breeders,  and  the  Black  Giant 
men  have  made  up  their  minds  that  the 
way  to  correct  this  evil  is  to  do  it  them¬ 
selves.  A  number  of  them  recently  met 
at  Hightstown,  New  Jersey,  and  organ¬ 
ized  a  society  for  the  protection  of  buyers 
and"  sellers  of  eggs  and  stock.  They  have 
devised  a  plan  for  certification  for  New 
Jersey  breeders.  Under  this  plan  a  Black 
Giant  breeder,  in  order  to  gain  official 
standing,  must  submit  his  flock  to  regular 
inspection.  This  will  be  done  by  the 
poultry  department  of  the  State  College. 
Male  birds  will  be  inspected  twice  a  year, 
and  a  sealed  leg  band  will  be  put  on  each 
bird  that  passes  the  test.  Birds  so  in¬ 
spected  will  be  given  a  certificate  of  ap¬ 
proval,  and  if  the  record  of  the  flock  is 
clean  for  two  years,  a  certificate  will  be 
given  the  breeder  which  will  qualify  him 
to  sell  proper  eggs  and  stock.  We  pre¬ 
sume  that  such  an  inspection  will  include 
an  examination  of  the  bird  for  color 
marking,  shape,  and  other  points  cover¬ 
ing  the  description  of  a  true  Black  Giant. 
Those  who  buy  stock  and  eggs  from  breed¬ 
ers  who  have  no  certificate  of  inspection 
will  have  to  do  it  at  their  own  risk.  The 
idea  is  a  good  one,  and  we  hope  it  will 
be  fully  carried  out.  The  Black  Giants 
have  some  excellent  qualities,  and  when 
the  breeders  get  done  booming  or  praising 
them  too  highly,  and  offer  them  for  just 
what  they  are,  the  breed  will  have  a  sure 
place  among  American  poultry. 
Assuming  the  conditions  to  be  average 
and  the  location  local,  by  that  I  mean 
the  ducks  to  be  of  good  strain  and  the 
eggs  to  be  sold  in  New  York  State,  I 
would  take  the  chicken  end  of  the  ques¬ 
tion  by  preference,  because  duck  eggs 
are  not  in  demand  except  for  a  very  short 
time  every  year,  while  chicken  eggs  (if 
fresh )  sell  well  all  the  year.  There  are 
exceptional  strains  of  Indian  Runners  in 
England  where  __  they  are  trap-nested 
which  produce  250  to  2S5  eggs  a  year. 
There  are  also  places  in  America  where 
duck  eggs  are  in  demand  the  year  round, 
but  without  selecting  the  exceptional  and 
accepting  the  average,  I  do  not  believe  a 
flock  of  100  Indian  Runner  ducks  will 
produce  as  much  net  profit  as  will  100 
Plymouth  Rock  chickens  of  the  144-egg 
class.  Of  course,  there  are  one’s  like  and 
dislikes  _  to  consider.  I,  for  one,  do  not 
like  chickens,  and  would  rather  have 
ducks  even  if  the  profit  were  not  so  great# 
as  life  is  short  and  hapiness  and  content¬ 
ment  priceless.  Undoubtedly  they  could 
be  cared  for  with  fewer  steps  (that  is, 
the  ducks)  and  they  would  be  subject  to 
fewer  ills  and  parasites.  I  have  never 
seen  a  pigeon  or  sparrow  hawk  take  a 
duck.  As  for  picking  Pekin  ducks,  I  have 
one  woman  who  seldom  picks  less  than 
100  a  day,  and  has  picked  138  from  7.30 
to  4.50.  All  my  pickers  do  over  60  a 
day,  at  6c  each.  roy  e.  pardee. 
New  York. 
I  take  the  side  of  the  Plymouth  Rock 
chickens.  Chickens  are  cleaner  and  are 
less  noisy  than  ducks.  What  Indian 
Runner  ducks  I  have  seen  are  a  very 
poor  meat  bird ;  they  would  not  bring 
any  where  near  the  price  of  the  Pekins, 
and  that  is  now  25c  per  lb.,  dressed. 
Rocks,  broiler  prices,  dressed,  50  to  55c 
per  lb. ;  fowls,  dresed,  40  to  45c  ( those 
prices  here  at  the  farm).  I  can  pick 
about  10  broilers  or  hens  while  I  pick  one 
duck.  Any  man  keeping  100  or  1,000 
hens  can  keep  his  place  free  from  bad 
odor  with  reasonable  care.  You  can 
smell  the  duck  man’s  place  a  long  way  off, 
no  matter  how  careful  he  is. 
Long  Island.  jules  francais. 
We  much  prefer  100  Plymouth  Rock 
hens  to  100  Runner  ducks,  as  we  always 
found  them  more  of  a  nuisance  than  a 
paying  proposition.  Hawks,  rats,  weasels 
and  almost  any  kind  of  the  cannibal  va¬ 
riety  will  kill  ducklings ;  even  the  old 
drake  will  try  to  swallow  them  whole, 
and  the  sun  will  kill  them  if  they  have 
free  access.  If  you  have  a  stream  a  mile 
away  sure  enough  they  will  find  it,  and 
then,  good-by  ducks.  By  all  means  try 
the  old  Plymouth  Rock.  You  can  feed 
200  hens  on  what  it  will  take  to  feed  100 
ducks,  and  feed  is  high  here. 
Delaware.  a.  c.  jones. 
Indian  Runner  Ducks  vs.  Chickens 
W  ould  100  Indian  Runner  ducks  pay 
as  well  as  100  P.  Rock  hens  of  the  144- 
egg  class?  Could  they  be  cared  for  with 
fewer  steps?  Ducklings  are  willing  to 
go  to  the  coop  where  they  belong,  but 
chicks  want  to  go  all  into  one  pen,  which 
keeps  everyone  on  the  jump  till  dark.  Will 
pigeon  hawks  and  sparrow  hawks  catch 
ducklings?  Owls  will,  I  know.  I  know 
surplus  drakes  shipped  alive  sell  for  about 
what  it  costs  to  raise  them,  and  I  am 
not  a  duck  picker.  I  have  picked  as 
many  as  12  Pekins  in  one  day,  which  was 
a  good  day’s  work  for  me.  c.  A.  f. 
Maine. 
Countrywide  Produce  Situation 
CROPS  LOOKING  A  LITTLE  BETTER - LOSSES 
ANI)  WASTE — GOOD  FARM 
STORAGE  SCARCE 
The  condition  of  crops  as  a  whole 
showed  some  improvement  the  past  two 
ueeks,.  owing  to  rains  here  and  there. 
Corn  is  doing  well,  but  the  season  has 
been  too  late  and  too  dry  for  most  of  the 
bummer  crops  in  the  East.  In  many 
sections  more  rain  is  needed. 
Changes  in'  the  markets  shift  worry 
from  one  group  of  farmers  to  another ; 
just  now  the  grain  regions  feel  bluest, 
while  the  price  of  wheat  hovers  persist¬ 
ently  below  the  dollar  line.  There  is  a 
world  surplus  of  wheat  this  season,  and 
with  Europe’s  money  situation  as  it  is, 
high  prices  are  scarcely  to  be  looked  for. 
I  he  project  to  hold  back  a  lot  of  wheat 
in  the  'Southwest  might  help  some  if  car- 
lied  out,  because  several  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  purchasing  agencies  of  Europe  have 
developed  a  habit  of  tiring  out  the  market 
by  putting  off  buying  until  late  in  the 
season,  when  many  holders  are  glad  to 
let  go.  If  both  sides  play  the  waiting 
game  the  chances  are  more  even. 
CORN  AND  COTTON 
Corn  at  only  10  to  15c  below  wheat 
looks  better  for  the  holders.  Peed  buyers 
should  take  notice  that  wheat  and  wheat 
feeds  are  unusually  low  as  compared  with 
corn.  Cotton,  another  great  farm  staple, 
has  been  sagging  back  toward  the  20c 
mark,  in  response  to  better  crop  pros¬ 
pects  and  more  or  less  depression  in  the 
cotton  milling  industry.  Hay  markets 
are  rising  in  response  to  the  light  crop, 
but  there  is  not  much  demand  at  this 
season. 
OVER-SUPPLY  IN  PORK 
Live  stock  and  meats  are  selling  at 
prices  better  than  the  lowest  reached  a 
few  weeks  ago,  and  there  is  need  of  fur¬ 
ther  gain.  Hogs  at  6%  to  7y2c  are  2  to 
3c  lower  than  last  year,  and  altogether 
too  low  compared  with  cost  of  corn  and 
labor.  There  is  a  world-wide  surplus  of 
hogs  and  hog  products.  It  is  a  time 
when  clover  pasture  or  the  orchard  range 
and  other  sources  of  cheap  feed  are  need¬ 
ed  to  keep  the  hog  raiser  in  business 
The  potato  outlook  is  somewhat  im¬ 
proved  around  and  west  of  the  Great 
Lakes.  There  is  still  a  chance  that  bet¬ 
ter  growing  conditions  will  prevent  short¬ 
age  in  the  total  crop.  Most  of  the  early 
crop  is  hopelessly  reduced  by  reason  of 
missing  hills  and  the  drought.  The  first 
Northern  potatoes  from  the  sandy  land 
district  of  Minnesota  made  a  poor  showing 
in  the  market  and  are  reported  not  much 
of  a  crop. 
Old  potatoes  were  shipped  to  market  in 
considerable  quantity  throughout  July; 
usually  the  old  stock  is  practically  done 
by  July  1,  but  so  much  of  the  early 
Southern  stock  was  poor,  the  prices  were 
so  high,  and  the  old  potatoes  so  plentiful, 
cheap  and  good  that  the  late  demand  con¬ 
tinued,  helping  make  the  season  a  record 
breaker.  Some  of  the  city  people  learned 
what  country  people  knew  all  along  about 
the  possibility  of  carrying  on  very  well  on 
stored  potatoes  until  the  home  crop  is 
ready. 
WHERE  WAS  THE  WASTEf 
There  was  some  newspaper  talk  about 
the  old  potato  crop  going  to  waste  for 
lack  of  demand.  A  Minneapolis  man 
sends  a  clipping  which  asserts  that  40,000 
carloads  were  lost  in  the  city  storages. 
This  looks  like  a  wild  guess.  Most  of  the 
loss  in  unsold  city  stored  potatoes  must 
have  occurred  between  January  1  and  the 
end  of  the  season.  The  official  reports  in¬ 
dicated  that  dealers  owned  only  about 
30,000  carloads  on  January  1,  and  this 
stock  included  about  all  there  was  in  city 
storage  and  a  lot  more  besides  at  country 
shipping  points.  If  the  dealers  lost  it 
all,  the  figures  would  be  less  than  those  of 
the  newspaper  story. 
It  is  not  likely  that  much  of  the  deal¬ 
ers’  stock  was  thrown  away.  Most  of 
the  losses  fell  upon  the  growers.  As  late 
as  January  1  they  still  had  85  per  cent 
of  the  stock  on  hand,  and  they  still  had 
more  or  less  of  them  at  the  season’s  end. 
Some  growers  in  remote  sections  could 
not  sell  any  of  their  potatoes.  If  the 
newspaper  statement  mentioned  were  to 
be  applied  to  the  whole  crop  it  would  be 
reasonable  enough,  for  40.000  cars  is 
only  5  or  6  per  cent  of  that  big  total  pro¬ 
duction  of  last  season.  Natural  shrink¬ 
age  alone  is  estimated  to  be  that  much. 
Then  there  is  freezing  and  besides  the 
quantity  fed  to  cattle  and  some  that  were 
never  dug  or  that  were  dumped  late  in 
the  season.  Cattle  and  hogs  probably  got 
most  of  the  No.  2’s,  and  they  should  get 
them  right  along  except  in  years  of  short¬ 
age. 
Authorities  estimate  that  about  20  per 
cent  of  the  average  potato  crop  is  ac¬ 
counted  for  these  ways,  which  would 
that  every  season  several  times 
40,000  cars  are  not  sold  or  planted  or 
eaten  for  human  food.  With  the  season’s 
shipments  of  the  previously  unheard  of 
volume  of  over  250.000  carloads,  it  does 
not  seem  that  the  waste  and  loss,  severe 
as  it  was  in  a  few  sections,  could  be  all 
together  very  much  greater  than  usual. 
SOME  PRODUCTS  HIGHER 
Milk  shippers  in  several  Eastern  sec¬ 
tions  are  getting  higher  prices,  although 
poor  pastures  have  reduced  the  output. 
Eggs  are  selling  well. 
Fruits  and  vegetables  have  brought 
higher  prices  than  last  season  and  have 
altogether  brought  in  more  money  de¬ 
spite  the  lighter  crops.  The  average 
price  of  the  leading  fruit  and  truck  crops 
in  large  cities  in  July  figures  something 
like  15c  higher  than  a  year  ago.  Even 
with  more  than  15  per  cent  fewer  ship¬ 
ments  there  would  be  more  money  coming 
in  after  market  expenses  are  paid. 
The  situation  may  change  for  a  while 
in  August.  The  delayed  season  has  been 
catching  up,  which  means  a  large  number 
of  sections  ready  to  ship  at  the  same 
time,  and  we  may  look  for  a  rush  of  stuff 
in  late  Summer.  But  the  drought  and 
reduced  acreage  may  be  counted  on  to 
keep  down  the  output  in  the  long  run. 
Fruits  will  be  plenty  enough  of  a  crop 
to  need  good  marketing.  There  will  be  a 
lot  of  Northern  peaches  and  fair  crop  of 
pears,  plums,  grapes  and  quinces.  Grapes 
have  become  the  most  important  shipping 
fruit  except  apples,  and  about  the  same 
as  oranges.  The  apple  crop  is  likely  to 
provide  enough  of  the  fruit  for  every¬ 
body.  although  the  heavy  July  crop  cut 
down  the  Eastern  yield  somewhat. 
The  market  outlook  for  potatoes  is  far 
more  favorable  to  producers  than  in  1922. 
Acreage  was  10  per  cent  less  in  the  Unit¬ 
ed  States  and  5  per  cent  less  in  Canada, 
and  the  indicated  yield  is  short  in  both 
countries.  If  the  crop  turns  out  light, 
there  will  be  a  lively  demand  for  potatoes 
to  go  _  into  storage  for  Winter  markets. 
Experience  shows  that  potato  prices  usu¬ 
ally  go  up  in  Winter  and  Spring  when 
the  crop  is  well  below  average.  G.  B.  F. 
Craine 
Triple- 
Wall 
Silos 
Three  walls — three 
hig  advantages 
1.  — Greater  strength.  Outer  wall 
of  continuous  Crainelox  cover¬ 
ing,  binds  the  inside  wall  of  upright 
staves  into  a  solid,  permanent  struc¬ 
ture,  with  every  square  inch  firmly 
supported. 
2.  — Better  silage.  Wall  of  pro¬ 
tecting  Silafelt  between  outside 
and  inside  walls,  keeps  warmth  and 
juices  in— cold  and  rain  out. 
3.  — Handsome  appearance, 
Smooth,  straight,  clean-cut. 
No  bothersome,  ugly  hoops  or  lugs. 
If  you  want  your  Craine  Triple  Wall 
Silo  this  year,  there  is  still  plenty  of 
time  to  get  it,  if  you  act  now.  Prompt 
shipments  from  stock.  Write  for  illus¬ 
trated  catalog  today. 
Old  iron-hooped  stave  silos  can  be 
rebuilt  the  Craine  way  into  firm,  last¬ 
ing,  handsome  silos  at  about  half  the 
cost  of  new  ones. 
Craine  Silo  Co. 
Box  110  Norwich.  N.  Y. 
QUALITY  CHICKS 
at  Bottom  Prices 
..  ,  25  6(1  100 
White.  Sleek  ar  Brown  Legharns . $3.00  $5.S0  $10  00 
Barred  ar  While  Racks .  3  75  7  00  13.00 
R.  I.  Rada  or  Aneenaa .  4.00  7.75  15.00 
While  Wyandetlea  orMinercas..  .  4.75  9.25  18.00 
Miaed  Broiler  Chicks .  3.00  5.08  9.00 
PROMPT  DELIVERIES.  Send  money  order, 
check  or  registered  letter.  Sate  arrival  of  full 
count  anywhere  within  1200  miles  guaranteed. 
W.  F.  HILLPOT,  Box  1,  Frenchtown.  N.  J. 
Alcmbcr  International  Baby  Chick  Association 
To  Lay  Prior  to 
October 
200  “Harry  Lewis’’  S.  C.  W.  LEGHORN 
PULLETS,  April  hatch,  $2.00  each,  selected. 
200  “Amherst”  S.  C.  RED  PULLETS.  $1.75 
each.  April  hatch. 
100  “Prolific  Queen”  WHITE  ROCK  PULLETS. 
March  hatch,  $3.00  each. 
The  HOMESTEAD  FARM 
Yarmouthport,  Mass. 
R.  I.  RED  and  WHITE  LEGHORN  PULLETS 
Bred  from  stock  of  proven  value  for  sale.  Pullets 
hatched  first  week  in  Mar.,  32  50.  Pullets  hatched 
Mar.  25th,  $2.25  each.  Pullets  hatched  Apr.  16th  $2 
each.  SPECIAL— One  lot  of  50  White  Leghorn  Pallets 
Hatched  March  5th.  Fine  large,  free  range  birds 
First  check  for  8100  takes  the  lot.  These  will  be 
real  money  makers  for  Fall  production.  Older  from 
this  adv.  and  if  not  pleased  return,  and  money  re¬ 
funded.  T.  R.  THOMAS,  THE  MAPLES,  Bristol.  Vermont 
500  Fine  Jersey  Black  Giant  Growing  Stock 
All  ages.  Reasonable.  O.  E.  LOWERY,  R.  |,  Vinel.nd,  N.  1. 
CIHirKS  C-  Buff’  *9-100-  White  and  Brown  Leg- 
U'dlVJlYO  horns, *8. 50— 100.  Rocks, *10— 100  W  Rocks 
*12—100.  Reds,  *11—100.  Mixed,  *7.50—100.  Circular  Free’ 
JACOB  .N1KMOND  McAU.tervlII.,  Pa.  , 
RELIABLE  CHICKS 
Rock,  10c;  Leghorn,  Be;  Anconas,  !2c;  Mixed,  7c. 
Arrival  Guaranteed.  Catalog  Free. 
RELIABLE  HATCHERY  -  McAlisterville,  Pa.  Box  6 
When  you  write  advertisers  mention 
The  Rural  New-  Yorker  and  you’ll  get 
a  quick  reply  and  a  “square  deal.  ”  See 
guarantee  editorial  page.  :  :  : 
5  Big  Special  Features 
make  the  Gehl  the  best  Ensilage  Cutter  Value  you  can  buy. 
L — Clean  Sheer  Cut  makes  best  ensilage  possible. 
2.  — Absolutely  self  feeding  —  no  man  required  at  feed 
table.  Saves  one  man’s  wages  every  day. 
3.  — Built  with  heavy  steel  frame — very  durable. 
4.  — Perfectly  safe — cannot  blow  up. 
5. — Light  running.  In  University  test,  Gehl 
used  only  63  %  as  much  power  as  other  cutters. 
GEHL  USED  37% 
LESS  POWER 
Due  to  its  separate  control  of  cutter  head  and 
blower  speeds,  the  Gehl  Cutter  never  wastes  power 
on  any  silo.  Furnished  in  both  Cylinder  and  Fly 
wheel  types.  Reduce  your  silo  filling  costs  with 
a  Gehl.  Ask  your  dealer  or  write  for  Catalog. 
CEHL  BROS.  MFC.  C0.t  432  So.  Water  St.,  ffwt  Bend,  Wit.  Globe  Sib  Cs.,  Agento,  Unadilli,  N.  Y. 
