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4 THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS—POULTRY, PET AND LIVE STOCK SECTION, P oul try Department Poultry Accessories (W. R. Gilbert in Farm Journal.) A good supply of coops Is essential for tlio chicken raiser, and there is no better time to make them than during the winter. They should be 24 inches square at the bottom and be built of stout wood, tongued, and quite water proof. It pays in the end to have them really serviceable. They will last many years if the owner takes the trouble to paint and store them in a dry place each season when not in use. Cheap coops let in the water in bad weather, and the test of a coop Is that it gives adequate protection to tho inmates when they most need it; and this Is ex actly what makeshift coops fall to do. Very Important points are: The coops when shut up should be rat-proof; the front (every coop should have a detach able front) should fit securely, keeping the chickens In and the rats out; fail ure in this respect has cost the lives of many chickens. Ventilation, of course, should not be forgotten. It Is best sup plied by a few holes bored at the sides close under the roof (which should be built overlapping on all four sides), and by a strip of perforated zinc let in at the front above the bars. The floor should be detachable. There should be two bottom boards for each coop and then they can be changed dally. The next stage in the career of grow ing chickens Is when they are trans ferred to a chicken house—a light, mov able house with a board floor. They should not be allowed to sleep In coops after they are three months old; coops are too stuffy, and by that age chick ens should perch at night. Rearing artificially entails far more outlay. We need an Incubator and two brooders, or foster-mothers, to every Incubator in use, as chickens should be kept six weeks In the brooder, after which a coop or cold brooder will serve. The choice of an Incubator requires some consideration. There are several excellent patterns on the market and competition Is very keen between rival makers. The public benefits as It gets the machines far cheaper than former ly. We must not however, be guided entirely by price. Makers charge some thing tor their name, and rightly,, for the best known are the best tested, and, therefore, the most reliable. Whether the hot air or the hot water style is the bettor still remains an open question. The one weak spot among the acces sories of today Is the modern foster- mother, or brooder. It Is far better than thoso of yesterday, but it Is still far from perfect; It can not rear chickens with as small a death rate as the aver age hen, unless the attendant Is extra vigilant. The chief trouble Is the ven tilation. The air has to be heated by means of a lamp, and generally the chickens breathe far too much hot, dry air. Deaths thru lung troubles are very numerous among brooder chickens; sometimes, too, the temperature rises to an unbealthful degree, a thing impos sible when a hen is employed. Alto gether. it is in foster-mothers that a better class of goods Is badly wanted; in other words, we can hatch eggs in Incubators far more easily than we can rear chickens in brooders. The cost of the brooders, too, is often against them. I am writing from last year’s point of view. Let us hope a cheap and really rellable foster-mother will be put upon the market Modern poultry houses are greatly improved. For one thing, they are bet ter ventilated, and the ventilation is un der better control. No house should hold more than 40 hens: It is better to have them too big than too small. All these appliances are necessities, but there are so many that can only be called luxuries, and which will not oven be considered by the farmer. But the domesticated barn-door fowl can not be treated like a pheasant, and left prac tically to shift for itself. For one thing, the more poorly fowls are housed, the more they "steal” their nests In the summer; and thus there is a great waste of eggs. Some eggs are lost en tirely, while the hatches the hens bring off are far from good, as the eggs have been laid at different times. We must keep poultry entirely under control, wblch means using a suitable "plant," and unless we do this the fowls will contribute no profit toward the ex penses of the farm. (Editor’s' Note—There are many good brooders on the market now that have stood every reasonable test to which they have been subjected, and the blame at failure of brooders to do their work satisfactorily Is usually the fault of the buyer, who is “penny wise and pound foolish.” None but the best brooders should be purchased; by the best, I mean a standard, such as are used by the successful poultry raisers of the country. The saving of a few dollars in first cost Is not advisable. A good brooder Is generally worth the price asked for it and while it may be a few dollars higher than some other, It Is well to remember that Just a few more chicks raised will more than pay the difference.) Rose Comb Rhode Island Red (V. M. Couch in American P. A.) The man who has the poultry business In his mind or is about to take up the work, naturally la Interested in learning how successful poultrymen feed, how such and such a one handles his fowls and so on. Especially if he has made a beginning which Is not turning out quite to his expectations. Whenever he hears of unusually good results, big egg records, etc., he inquires to know Just what the hens were fed and how oared for that he may apply the same methods. Prince Albert Rose Comb R. I. 1911. Owned by J. R. Merideth, Farming and orange culture have for years been the leading industries of Florida, but recently many new enter prises have sprung up and are pressing hard for the leading place in the work of the state. , One of these Is poultry culture, which has made such wonderful strides to ward a leading position In the last two years. Chickens have been raised in the state from Its first farming history. f° r the ideal climate and soil here made the raising very easy work, except when Jtggers or an especially wet sea son greatly diminished the flock. Meat was scarce and in demand and so “fried chicken” played an impor tant part In the family bill of fare. The cost of the raising of these chickens, mostly scrub or mongrel stock, was not considered, as they were raised principally for family use and fed on scraps from the table, and some grain. The ones not needed for home consumption were sold at very low prices and the eggs ••traded” with the town grocer. Recently, however, many Northern ers and some of our own people here realize that poultry raising on a larger scale and with thoroughbred stock could be made a paying industry- The first cost to establish a poultry plant was not a third of what it would be in a cold climate, the question of “winter laying * ceased (here) to be a problem, and this enterprise fitted lu well with the already established lead ing industries of the state. Many good sised plants have already been established, some for fancy breed ing and ethers to produce market poul try and eggs on a large scale. Some well known breeders from .. ■ F ,'. r * t R - *• R «d hen, Atlanta, Ga., 1911, owned by J. H. Perm,, Meridian, Mies. cockerel, Atlanta, Ga., Northern states have moved here, bringing their best birds with them, and In breeding pens, mated up lor fancy stock this year, are some that would be bard to beat anywhere. With the Improvement in quality of the stock kept the market prices for poultry have increased. Instead of paying 50 cents for a large old hen, whose slow growth and extremely free range made her so tough that an all day's boiling was necessary to make her edible, now for twice the price a young quickly grown (partly confined during growth) young roaster can be bought. Instead of sinewy poor friers abundant in black pin feathers, bring ing 25 cents apiece, one now sells plump, tender broilers for from 30 to 35 cents a pound. An egg is an egg to most people and the Improvement here may not be so apparent to the buyer, tho the greatly increased number of eggs per hen from the Introduction of better varieties and laying strains in the poultry yard has made the Improvement of marked value to the farmer. Then the feeding of pure feeds to the hens, confining them so that they are kept away from places of filth, and the regular collecting and marking of eggs should Increase the value of the egg as an article of food to the consumer. That poultry culture will very soon be among the leading enterprises of Florida is beyond question, and in writ ing this series of articles for The Geor gian we shall from time to time tell somewhat of our own experience In the South and help to make the way tor success clearer to the new-comer. C. FRED WARD. Lakemont Poultry Farm, Winter Park, Fla. Harwell’s White Plymouth Rocks STOCK AND EGGS AT ALL TIMES Visitors Welcome Every Day Except Sunday C. O. HARWELL, 883 Seaboard Ave., Cor. Hurt St. MAIL ADDRESS, 113 N. PRYOR ST. methods to meet these varying condi For example, two of ns may each have a hundred white Leghorns. One may he a strain bred expressly for heavy laying, while the other may have been bred more for exhibition or perhaps are made up by promiscuous breeding. I might feed and handle the same as the other man, but I would not get the same results, for some years at least. Different breeds and strains vary In vlgorousness which must be considered when following up the plans of someone else; the amount of room al lowed per head, the dlmatlo location, quality of food. etc. must also bo taken Into consideration. You may follow tho plan of the most successful poultryman In the country, but that will not guarantee to you the some success he has, until all conditions are equal. Yet the man who makes money on his poultry is a good guide to go by, and he who follows such a man's sys tem and plans, provided he makes the proper allowance for varying conditions, will succeed sooner or later. Good Judg ment well applied Is a great thing In the poultry business. The spring chicken Is one hatched not earlier than February nor later than May, and Is of market weight at two or three pounds.