July, 1915 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
□ 
Coops with earth floors are better than 
those having board floors at this season, 
but they must be kept clean or moved 
often. Poultry writers commonly advise 
keeping the chickens shut in every morn¬ 
ing until the grass is dry, but whether or 
not that advice is good is a question open 
to argument. Chickens confined for a few 
days after having been allowed their 
liberty will actually lose in weight as a 
result of fretting and loss of appetite. Un¬ 
less the grass is very wet and the weather 
cold it is probably as well to let the 
chickens out early as it is to keep them 
shut up until the forenoon is half gone. 
It is a mistake to keep chickens and 
ducklings in the same yard. Not that they 
will fail to get along peaceably enough, 
but the ducklings will foul the water by 
dabbling in it almost as soon as the water 
dish is set in the yard. They like to settle 
down comfortably in front of the water 
and play in it. In fact, if an open dish is 
used they will climb into it by the time 
they are two days old. For that reason it 
is better to use a chick fountain, which will 
prevent some waste and keep the young 
ducks from getting wet before they acquire 
feathers. 
It is not too late to hatch turkeys, al¬ 
lowing the turkey hen herself to sit on the 
eggs. There must be no lack of shade 
for the turkey poults, though, and every 
effort must be made to keep them free 
from lice. If the hen be lifted slightly 
when she is covering her poults at night 
and sulphur be sifted on the backs of the 
youngsters the lice will beat a hastv re¬ 
treat. Lice, filth and dampness have 
caused more losses than turkey growers 
are usually willing to admit. 
Bantam eggs and pheasant eggs may 
still be set. Much interest in pheasants 
has been shown of late, and these hand¬ 
some birds in several varieties are now 
to be found on many estates, large and 
small. Although robust enough when 
grown, and, in fact, after a few weeks, 
pheasants are extremely delicate at first. 
They are very susceptible to lice and for 
that reason some breeders transfer the 
eggs to incubators a few days before they 
are due to hatch and raise the youngsters 
in brooders. A newly-hatched pheasant is 
very tiny, but very alert. When hens are 
used it is necessary to run a little fence 
around the nest box, or the first birds to 
break out of the shell will wander awav 
before their more belated brothers and 
sisters appear on the scene. Some breed¬ 
ers put the mother hens with the little 
pheasants into boxes for a few days. Then 
they spread a white cloth over the box 
and find that if there are lice on the hens 
large numbers of the pests will gather on 
this cloth, which makes their extermina¬ 
tion an easy matter. It is only necessarv 
to souse the cloth in boiling water. 
If there be a surplus of cockerels to be 
sold it is well to have them on the market 
before the middle of September, for as 
fall comes on prices drop. 
E. I. Farrington. 
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J. T. LOVETT, Box 152, LITTLE SILVER, N. J. 
For thirty-seven years a Strawberry Specialist 
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