Pertinent Suggestions

One part of cedar oil and two parts of vaseline is an excellent treatment for sore head. When hens become too fat the result is apt to be egg bound, soft and irregular shaped eggs, dizziness, apoplexy, liver complaint and kindred diseases. Diseases of the liver are caused by overfeeding of fat producing food or by the use of too much spice or stimulating substances. This particular trouble is hypertrophy of the liver, which is an enlargement of that organ, and is often found in hens kept over the second winter. It is due to feeding too much fatty food, combined with a lack of exercise. In the early stages the disease may be arrested by feeding lightly on bran mashes and green food, and to each quart of drinking water adding one-half teaspoonful of muriate of ammonia. Some egg farmers candle all eggs each day as they are received from the nests. Their reason for so doing is to throw out all such that show blood clots - that is, every now and then a hen in straining to lay her egg is apt to rupture a minute blood vessel and this clot of blood sometimes shows itself inside the egg, and at other times we find the blood on the shell. When candling, this blood clot is easily seen if in the egg. Some poulterers, in order to obtain the best prices for their broilers, hatch from October 1 to February 1, and have all the stock marketed by July 1. The main reliance of the poultry breeder is the certainty that he will always have a fairly profitable market for his meat and eggs. This is the bedrock of the industry. The late Morgan Bates once said that the class of poultrymen that are supplying the market with eggs and poultry, are the bulwark of the poultry industry of the nation.

"UTILITY" PROPERLY DEFINED

Writing in the New England Poultry Journal, O. F. Sampson, a practical utility poultry farmer, says the days of the "mongrels" or barnyard fowl are limited. "Cross breeds, from pure-bred stock will be bred for years to come; but indiscriminate breeding of fowls on haphazard methods, or no methods at all, is a thing of the past. Farmers in all parts of the country and small poultry keepers have found our markets today demand poultry and eggs of a uniform size and quality, and that it costs no more to keep pure breeds than mongrels, with a much better profit. "The industry thus divides itself into two distinct classes - utility and fancy. As to the best class for the person starting in the poultry industry to enter, it all depends upon conditions and circumstances and the desired end in view. It is well, however, to consider here just what we can rightfully term utility poultry. For some reason this word has had various meanings as related to poultry keeping. One very unfavorable one is that in which 'utility' poultry has been classed as 'culls' from fancy stock. Birds that fanciers had cut from their pens because they could not win ribbons, or from some other defect were thus wrongfully termed utility stock, without any regard whatever to their laying or general qualities. The term 'utility' in its right sense today signifies a bird often the equal of any fancy stock and worth nearly as much money, instead of being nearly valueless or on a par with the barnyard fowl. "Somehow I feel like offering a somewhat new definition to the term utility.

To distinguish this class from the fancy I know of no better way than, to say in general the 'fancy' is distinguished from the outside of the bird, while the 'utility' is distinguished by the inside. In fact, a bird may belong by proper breeding to both classes and many of our leading breeders are solving this problem today more and more. In the past, too many of our fanciers gave attention to the show points and feathers, and too little to the general qualities of the bird. If you will refer to one of our late dictionaries you will find the word 'utility' defined thus - 'a useful thing; to make useful ; to be made profitable.' etc., etc. Thus it is readily seen that no bird unless useful and profitable can rightfully be classed as a utility fowl. In a way, perhaps, the show bird could thus be classed, but the object of creating the utility class was to distinguish the specially useful bird that didn't enter the show from the show bird. Upon this basis we class the fine layer or table fowl, or the combination of both, because the hen that lays or pays the year around is the useful bird and a valuable one. The show bird is all right in show time and commands a good price, but 80 per cent of our people keeping poultry today demand layers and payers the year around. Of course, if she can win ribbons too, she is that much more valuable. "To the person of limited means I know of no business today that will give more profit than the poultry industry for the money invested. Many persons think it is necessary to enter the fancy trade to get the profit, but in doing this one's expenses are increased many fold, and unless one has means enough to carry to the end, any plan thus started I am sure there is much more profit in the utility branch. In this, one can begin with a pen of good stock and grow in the business, learning as he advances. If success comes to him and he desires he may later go into the fancy - or increase the scale of his utility business. As a matter of fact we. have few statistics to prove how successful or profitable the fancy business is in general; while the records of our utility and market poultrymen are pretty satisfactory for the past four or five years.

"No person can better handle utility for profit than the average farmer or small poultry keeper who can raise the main part of his grains. Poultry feeds are high; with little prospects of their being lowered to any great degree. The poultryman who can raise his own feeds thus may secure two profits - from his feeds and poultry - as our poultryman can raise nearly all his com, oats, clover, etc., at a profit "One point is quite essential to be considered by the poultry breeder: nearness to a shipping point.' While the profits from the utility flock is often gotten from general local sales, it often pays to secure special egg or poultry sales to private or special trade in some nearby city. This is becoming more easy each year; and besides good profits are made from eggs for hatching, or stock you can spare if your strain is bred from good pure-bred utility stock." Give the sitting hen a nest apart where she will not be disturbed. The nest should be of fresh material and the hen dusted with insect powder to make sure of no lice. Dust again twice or three times during the sitting period. See that other hens do not disturb by laying in the nest Keep food, water, grit, and a dust bath near the nest so the hen may be accommodated without trouble. Look after your hen every day to see that nothing goes wrong and assist her in bringing off her chicks.

EGG-BOUND HENS

It is not at all uncommon for hens, specially old and infirm ones, to become egg-bound. In the early stages of this trouble the remedy is to inject linseed oil into the passage and, by dilating it with the fingers, remove the collected matter. The ailment is generally due to overfeeding of stimulating food. At least once each week the runs and the places most frequented by the birds should be sprinkled with air-slacked lime or a strong solution made from water and crude carbolic acid. Before this application is made, the filth and trash which has accumulated since the last time the ground was cleaned should be raked up, the ground thoroughly swept and then the disinfectants applied.