The Augusta herald. (Augusta, Ga.) 1914-current, December 07, 1914, Home Edition, Page SIX, Image 6

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SIX rRAP NEST SOLVES PROBLEM OF LOAFERS AND LAYING HENS Gives Valuable Information as : to Types and Breeds That |. Are Best Producers. ;| Can Be Used With Very Little Effort and a Minimum of i Time. (By Michael K. Boyer ) [{(Poultry Editor of the Farm Journal.) (Copyright, 1914.) The only way bv which egg pro ducers can be surely known Is by the use of trap nests. Their value his been known for twenty years and to day they are indispensable on a well regulated farm. The trap nest tells not only which hens are the layers, but which particu lar type or breed is a producer, and what kinds of eggs they produce. Ac curate, scientific knowledge is in this wav obtainable and hit or mins meth ods are eliminated Many a poultry man has been put on the road to profit by the use of this unique de vice. The trap nest is a Yankee notion now In practical use for about twenty years. It Is the only method by which the actual layers can be known, and the only way to tell the color of their eggs, as well as the size and shape. It enables us to find the lien that gives strong fertility, and the one that gives poor. It picks out the winter lay ers; it arrests the eggoater; it pre vents broken eggs in the nest; it , makes hens tame. It is more profitable to have a dozen selected layers than double the number of doubtful ones. The labor in attending to traps should not ex ceed ten minutes for fifty nests pro viding they are conveniently arranged. A pullet that will lay HO eggs from November 1 to June 1 Is n phenomenal layer; 125 eggs is very Rood laying and no pullet should be retained for breeding that will lay less than 100 eggs In that period. I have known of traps being used thirty years ago. hut it was nut until the last twenty years that their value has been acknowledged. A trap nest is a device that nllow'S the hen to readily enter, hut which does not per mit her to leave until released by the attendant, who makes a note of the number on the band that Is placed on her leg. In this way the actual num ber of eggs to her credit can be ascer tained. As to Egg Types. I believe that by an examination of the pelvic bones It is possible to de termine which are layers, but we do not know how good they are. Neither do we know what class of eggs they lay Some hens lay a dark brown egg. s utie a light brown, some a pure white and some a creamy white. Suppose we are aiming for a dark brown, or for pure white eggs, how can we ties! se cure that object when we are unable to pick out the hens that give us what we want? It is true that we can gradually brtng about that condition by using only the dark brown or tho pure white eggs for Incubation, but it is a long road to travel. If we can tick out those layers, nnd keep only such vve are more sure of our results. Put there are more Important uses pi the traps. We can pick out the hens that lay deformed eggs, or those that lay eggs of undesirable shape We can know which hens give us the host fertility, and which the poorest. We can know which hens lay best at the season when eggs command the high est prlres, and we can pick out the heavy summer layers We discover which are the drones, hens that do not pay their board. We are thus able to arrest the egg-eater We catch her right In the act We have less brok en eggs In the nest, generally due to several hens crowding In at one time. We can tell which hens lay the snvill eggs, and which the Inrirer ones. We know how many times individual hens become broody, which bens are the the best for incubation and brooding We know the exact time our pullets started to lay and how regularly they deposit their eggs. fi Better Posted on Flock. Then, too, by this regularly handling of hens we get them more tame. They do not become excited by handling. We also readily denote their condition whether they are too fat. or too thin, or If they are starting scsles on the legs, or if there Is some other trouble. The trap nest affords a dnllv Inspec tion and consequently we are better acquainted with our stock When trap m>o ■ ir*■ used the hen take* the first available one, but In open nests It is not uncommon to have the hens select only one or two and never use the others. Eggs allowed to remain in the nests until night are often staled by a number of hens set ting on them during the day. With the use of trap nests this trouble Is overcome Trap nests give us a svatem of weed ing out which no other method af fords This system means a saving of feed and room. A dozen selected layers will give a greater profit than double the number in which are good bad and Indifferent. It is not worth the little extra labor necessary to at tend to these nests? 1 have proved the fact that I can secure 10 per cent more eggs with !l per cent, less hens, by breeding onlv from my best hirers T have In one of my yards White Wy andotte yearling hen* that were hatched from eggs laid by hens that, us pullet*, gave a record of not loss than Jf>o eggs each. These ten hens du plicated the work of thetr dams To these bens is mated a male bred from a 299--egg hen In this way 1 pro pose to grow until every hen on the place Is a 200--egg hep. Can It be done’ I believe, in fact I know, it can by the use of the trap nest If 1 .-an get 100 hens to give me the same num ber of eggs that formerly 200 hens rave me, look at the saving 1 will have In feed and house room Is not such an object worth working for* Will not this saving more than com pensate for the extra time required In attending to those nests" Very few eggs are laid before nin<> o’clock In the morning and after X o’clock in the afternoop If a nest is allowed for every three hens In the pen. It will not he necessary to look after them oftener than four times a day—hut even If It would be necessarv to go ground every hour during that BLACK LANGSHANS ■ ■ "| 11 ' -i -1 . -i■■ . (By Louis Paul Graham.) Shortly after the Celestial Empire was opened to foreign trade in IBfi2 many of its distinctive breeds of fowls and animals were imported to Europe, chiefly through England. From the I.angshans district in china. came the big beautiful black fowls which bear the name lamgshans and as sueh they were known until In later Im portations some white and some tnottled l.angsbans were found. Then the first I.angshans were distinguish ed by pre-fixing lllack. History does riot record their date or manner of origin. Inquiry among tho Chinese brought nothing more than "I tin not know; It was always so." They are peculiar to the Eangshan district, anil have been from time Immemorial. The great size of this breed and Its wonderful laying qualities unde It an Immediate favorite In England. Its fame spread to Australia and the Unit ed States ami the fowls followed their fame. Many were Imported to Am erica from England and many were im ported direct from China. These all possessed the same good qualities and for many years w'ere very popular. Valuable Utility Fowl. The American breed In the United States and the Orpington In England laying period, It would be time pro ] titaHy apent. If the traps are con veniently arranged, one man can look after fifty nests in ten minutes. Trap Nest No Guesser. The trap nest is no guesser. II de velops a positive fact. II tells the truth. The cackling hen caught in a trap Is proved to lie either a layer or a liar. There are too many of the latter class in almost every farm flock. 1 do not follow trapping the year round. 1 am more anxious lo have strong winter laying than l am year round records. 1 prefer starting my traps November 1 and discontinue their use May SI. This gives me seven of the heat months, and 1 know that 140 eggs laid in that period show the hen to lie a 200 egg per year layer. 1 also feel that 125 eggs in those seven months would about equalize a 200- egg layer. And nnj pullet that will lay not less than 100 eggs in that time Is om worth breeding from. I want eggs when prices nre high. By breed ing up my strongest cold-weather layers I can get them. 1 do not like trapping during the re maining five months (June 1 to No vember li for the reason that it Is the season for much broodlnes. in the flocks, and the weathers during the summer is too hot. Next week Mr. Reese V. Hicks, man ager of the Rancocas Poultry Farms, Brown's Mills, N. J. and former presi dent of tho American Poultry Asso ciation, will contribute an article on "The Importance of Poultry Shows.” Tbe illustration, by Louis Paul Gra ham, will show "White Cochins." Instructions To Sailors After Ship Wrecked London. "Den’t take your clothes off. don't try to swim; don’t lot so of your hammock." This Is tho advice to British sailors, who by reason of destruction of their ship hy submarine* or otherwise are forced to take to tho water. It is contained In a current Issue of the !<ondon Lancet and ts founded on the measures found most helpful hy the Japanese during the war with Russia. It must he explained that the ham mock refert oti to Is bouyant and la used on most British warships. The warmuk not to attempt to swim is ut tered to protect the man In the water frofn exhaustion when, being support ed, there Is no need of violent motion; while the admonition to keep the cloth ing on is based on the fad that long experience has shown that clothing, no matter how heavy, not only keeps the body warm for a time hut contributes Its share of bouyancy, until thorough ly soaked. "A man in the water," says the lan cet. "should not try to swim except for some definite purpose. hut should be content to float and be satisfied If he can just keep his mouth above water. In this he will be greatly as sisted by the air collars provided by the admtnuty The best Ufe-bouy. short of a cork jacket. Is a lashed up hammock—lt does not turn over and there is always the lashing to bans onto, a hammock ha* been known to keep a man afloat for twenty-four hours "When a man ha* been rescued, get Copyright, 1914. BLACK LAN GSHANS. and Australia had much to do with their decline in popularity, but they are yet widely esteemed and bred for their valuable utility qualities. In Australia within the last ten years, a pen of I.angshans in a laying compe tition extending over one full year, with all varieties of poultry represent ed, won first place with the highe.st total of eggs laid In America they are widely bred in the South and probably some of the very best specimens exhibited In our poultry shows are from that section. This fowl belongs to the Asiatic family, which it resembles in size and weight Full-grown specimens weigh 8 to 10 pounds for females, and 9 to 12 pounds for males. The hens do well either in confinement or on free range nnd nre good winter layers of large, rich, brown eggs, nnd all eggs make splendid table poultry. Their rich, glossy, greenish-black plumage contracts pleasantly with (heir bright combs, wattles and ear lobes. and the plumage does not show the soil when the fowls are kept in small quarters. Chicks grow rapidly and reach broil er size il an early ago while the ma ture young fowl Is much esteemed for roasting purposes. his wet clothes off, wrap him In dry blankets, give him a hot drink (not alcoholic) and lay him down in a warm part of the ship.” “After ali '* said the editor’* assist ant "the old Jokes are the best." "Why shouldn't they be?” demanded the editor; ’'there's no competition.’’— Philadelphia Ledger. Daily Pattern f \jiliilnill ill TO|llll ail i, °* 1109—SPLENDID MODEL FOR SCHOOL OR GENERAL WEAR. Girls Dress With Gulmpe. Hlue nnd white striped cotton goods was used for the dress. The gtiimp* whs made of white nainsook. The col lar of white pique. This style Is good for all wash fabrics The closing ts practical and the line* are gnu-etui and comfortable. The skirt la a three-piece model. Joined tn the Mouse under the holt I’lald woolen In soft blue and Uuv tunes or red cashmere with a simple braid trimming In Mack would develop this stvle nicely. The patern Is cut In four Hlsce «. 8, 10 and 13 veers, and requires Bv* viuxls of 40. Inch material for a 13-year slsa, for tho dress, and 3 1-4 yards for the gulmpe of 37-Inch ma teria'. A pattern of this Illustration malted to «ny address on receipt of 10 cents In sil ver or stamps. No Slse Name Street and No. ...... .... u ....... (Tty State THE AUGUSTA HERALD, AUGUSTA, GA “BACK TO THE FARM" VIII. —The Country Girl’s Career. C. V. GIREGG&Y. ICopyrlght, 1910. by American Press Asso ciation.! OUR most appreciated blessings are seldom the ODes that are closest at hand. Just as the country bred boy sometimes gets an idea that he has a genius too broad to be con lined between the bound arles of his futher’s farm, so the girl who has grown up In the country sometimes gets a longing for a glimpse of the unknown world within the city’s walls. The Imaginative girl often feels that her talents will be more appre dated In the city than In the little THE COUNTRY GIRL TINDS A LARGE BHAUJ OK HER CAREER IN HER OWN HOME. home town. She Imagines herseli burning with a genius for acting, per haps, and longs for the glare of tbe footlights and the plaudits of the crowd, or perhaps It Is art In one of Its many disguises that Is calling hot to tbe artificial life of paved streets and brick walls. Occasionally It Is the lights, the music and tbe pleasures of a swift'v flowing city lifo that attract the girl from the country, but not often. The girl who is a true daughter of the conn try Is seldom deceived by the glnre of a light whose shadow covers tears and sorrow or the pleasure that is but a mask for pain. We are told that the “glamour” of the city life is tbe force that draws the country girls to town Nothing of the sort. There is little glamour about the city for the healthy girl. The first thought of the countn girl when she finds herself in the city Is “how dirty” or "how awfully crowd eo.” But notwithstanding the dirt and the crowds she often remains. Sli stays beoaus» she Is ambitious to have a “career." There Is a true hearted farmer boy back home probably who would be glad to take her Into part nershlp. But in the past the girl has seldom been taught to look forward with pride to becoming a farmer’s wife or to regard a life on tbe farm as he ing a career worthy of her ambition. This Is the natural outcome of the conditions for the quarter of a cen tury when farmers were selling their produce below cost. The lot of the farmer's wife was one of almost un relenting toll, as was that of the farmer himself. There was little to lighten the monotony of the ceaseless grind of housework. Her horizon was limited by the kitchen walls, and her highest ambition was to keep the boys out of the “best room.” It Is little wonder that she hoped for some thing better for her daughters. She saw unfolding in them her own girl hood, and she dreaded to see them spend their lives in tbe hopeless task of keeping body and soul together as she had done. Her Idea of city life was vague. Most of the city women she saw were well dressed, unwrinkled and seemingly happy. They were living the kind of life she would choose for her daughter. The toil of the wives of the poorer laborers she did not see. One of the main reesons that all through this period the conn try looked up to the city and the city looked down on the country was that country people saw only the best side of the city and the city people saw only the worst side of the country. The change that has come about in country life In the past decade and a half Is so great as to be almost un believable. Many of the country people themselves refuse to believe It. They reed the reports of high prices skeptically, and not until tbe produce Is sold and the money In thetr hands will they really believe their good fortune. Even then they will shake thetr heads nnd say that prices will surely go down before they have an other crop reedy for market. They hare so long been content with a small return for their labor and no READ HERALD WANT ADS. allowance at all for Interest on their money or for the fertility which they are selling away from their laud that they can hardly believe that the time has come when the farmer Is getting enough for his produce to enable him to put farming on a business basts. Probably this change has affected no one on the farm more than the women The country girl has a different idea of a career now. She lives in a mod ern farm home, or if she doesn’t she knows that such homes exist and are well within the range of possibility for her. She has bad her longing to see the world satisfied by visits to city friends and relatives. She has seen that all the conveniences of city homes are duplicated in the country. She has admired the spacious lawns and beautiful grounds of some of the best of the city houses, but she has been observant enough to note that such houses belong only to the few. She has gone to the theater with her friends and enjoyed it. but no more than she enjoys the homemade the atricals In her home town or the plays and lectures she has attended in the lurger country towns by trolley. She has been surprised to find that her friends In the city do not know their next door neighbor. The excuse that “they are not in our set” has puzzled her democratic little soul. It Is dif ferent in the country, where every one sympathizes with every one eise’s sor rows and laughs with all In their joys. The girl comes back from a trip to the city better satlsQed than ever with her country home. Her father may not be worth more than $5,000 or $lO,- 000 or $15,000 measured in money, but his bouse and grounds are equal in all essential respects to many of the mil lionaires’ residences she saw in the city. Her girl friends in the city were coaxing their father to buy them an automobile so that they could ‘‘go somewhere.” The country girl and her mother have a horse and buggy that are sacred to their use. The horse is so gentle that he will not even bat his eyelid at an automobile nnd the buggy so shiny that they are proud to be seen anywhere in it. They can hitch up and go where and when they please. The laundry in the basement has tak en away the terrors of wash day. The conveniences in the kitchen have great ly lessened the work of feeding the hungry men folks. The farm reading table Is strewn with the latest magazines, and the girl ha- a piano or at least an organ. A piano dealer in one of the middle west ern states recently told me that he sold fifteen pianos to the farmers in one township last year. If the farm er’s daughter wants a piano he Is go ing to get it for her. He may have to raise a few more hogs next year to pay for It. but that is easily done. Taking everything together, any com parisons that the country girl may be able to draw are favorable to the farm. She has been raised In the open air The pigs and the calves and the chick ens are her playmates. The colts will come when she whistles, for who ever heard of a country girl who couldn’t whistle? She can name all the trees In the wood lot. and she knows the note of every bird that sings in their branches. Every day is full of sun shine, and she sings for the very joy of living where air is free and room Is not bought and sold. She still longs for a career, but It is a career of a different sort. She wants to live the rest of her life on the farm, and she looks forward to the day when she will go into partnership with some ambitious, resourceful young farmer. To be a successful wife, to help make the most out of the old farm and to do her part to make her community the most progressive in the country—this is the career that appeals to the mod ern country girl. Schools have been provided to teach her the things she needs to know about her coming busi ness. If she is in one of the most up to date communities, she begins to learn sewiug and cooking in the rural achool. If not given there. It comes In the high school or the preparatory achool or the small college. All of ;v -v* - ' -■ ; ' Sr v| n s . . \ THE COUNTRY OIRL OUTDOORS AT HER these institutions are providing courses In domestic science. They do not dls puts the fact that love U the basis of a successful marriage, but they realize that a good digestion is the basis of a loving disposition. Iu awakening the community to the realisation of its own duties nud Its possibilities the Influence of tbe farm er’s wife is even greater than that of the farmer himself. It is the women ou whom the social life of the country communities must largely depend. The problem of rural life Is largely a social one now that conditions have eolved the financial problem. READ HERALD WANT ADS. Making the Little Farm Pay By C. C. BOWSFIELD For quick money making, with small investment and oasy work, no branch of farm Industry surpasses pork rais ing. No feature can fit better Into a little farm program, and no line of production is safer and more profitable on a large place. Hogpens may be of the most Inex pensive kind, but they must be kept clean. They need to be proof against drafts and storms. Clean premises are also essential in guarding against disease. Two to five acres of alfalfa or rape and an acre or two of arti chokes will provide ail the fodder re qulred by a herd of fifty to 100 pigs from weaning till fattening / /ttme. If a supply of skitnmilli for whey is available it will pay to it, and a light ration of corn or peas once a day *rt.\ - ■ ■ . , 'V" ‘, \ m .... . \ m . jn - fr $ > .J. £v z •< ; . TITS MALE SHOULD HE PURE BRED. will be a help. The rape and arti chokes may be depended on to bring the animals on at a fair rate of growth all summer. Liberal feeding of corn for three or four weeks before mar keting will assist weight and quality of llesh. There is a distinct public demand sot tbe meat of lightweight hcjrs tanging from 200 to 300 pounds. The most profitable pork Is that grew-n In eight to ten months, or from April to De cember, so that most of the growth is obtained from field forage. Perhaps as good a plan is to market the majority of tbe hogs late in the fall and carry over the remainder mi til they nre sixteen to eighteen month old. The bacon market calls for tin larger animals, and prices are higbei in winter ami spring than in fall. All the breeds of hogs have their ad vocates. For general purposes noth lng Is better than to use dams of Ches ter White, Tamworth or Duroc type crossed with males of the Poland-Chi na or Berkshire variety. This kind ol breeding will give large litters and good sized animals. In this country the most populai breed has been the Poland-China This breed has many good character lstics. It is a rapid grower, makes good use of food supplied and can In kept ready for market at any time ei ther as a sucker, porker or baconei The litters are rather small, however and for this reason, ns well as to gel a more rangy animal, farmers are dis posed to cross the breeds. The selection of the male is of greal Importance, as he directly Influences every pig one may have to fatten and it depends on his breeding very largely whether or not the pigs can make prof itable use of tbe food given them. As in tbe case of all sires, the male should be pure bred, of approved strain, both with regard to capacity to put on flesh rapidly and to’influence the sow In the production of large litters. The dam need not necessarily bo pure bred, provided she is of good type. She should be selected from a prolific mother, as fecundity is heredi tary. Tbe teats should number at least twelve, fully developed, set well apart, even in size and the front teats well forward on tbe body. The number of teats does not indicate al ways tbe number of pigs she is likely to have. Whether on range or in pen, hogs should have a medicinal ration made np as follows; Une pound each of wood charcoal, sulphur, salt, baking soda and sulphide of antimony. Pulverize and mix thoroughly. Use a tablespoon ful dally for each pig from the time they are old enough to run in tbe field. Add a tablespoonful of bonemeal for each animal and mix the whole lot with enough moistened meal or bran to make n palatable mess. Olean wa ter and shade are essentials. Dipping is also advisable. In cases of sickness keep those affected away from the sound ooes and take prompt action to prevent the spread of disease. The animals should be carefully guarded against vermin, and if lice appear there must be n thorough overhauling of the premises and the application of reiia ble vermin destroyers. Care of House Palms. Browning at the tips usually come 9 from trouble at tbe roots. First over watering: secoud. worms ou tbe roots; third, lack of plant food. The first Is the trouble In nearly every case. The worm that gives the trouble Is not the ordinary earthworm, but a little white, harmless looking creature that emerg es Into the air as a small fly. Dis solve n piece of quicklime as big as a teacup Iu three gallons of water. Aft er It Is through sputtering and the milky mixture has cleared pour off the clear part and soak yonr soil with it. Do not dilute, for the soaking should he thorough. To provide plant food stir small quantities of bonemeal and .'rood ashes Into the surface or In place n * ordinary watering occasionally use manure water or ammonia water (a teaspoonful of ammonia to a quart of water) Trim off the brown tips, as they will never recover READ HERALD WANT ADS. MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 FOR WOULD BE FARMERS. Should Try It Out First as Farmhands Before Buying Farms. The United States department of agriculture receives many letters from city people who have read glowing ac counts of the wealth that may be made on the farm. A large percentage of these people have already bought farm land. Some of them appear to believe that the reason all farmers are not rich is because of extravagance, wastefulness, ignorance and a lack of business ability. To these letters the department’s specialists reply much a* follows: “As a matter of fact farmers, as a class, are intelligent industrious and economical, and many of them are men of good business Judgment Further, those who have made a thorough study of the business side of farming know that it Is not an easy matter to make mouey on the farm. Only the moat practical and experienced farmers are making any considerable profit out of their business. Most of the money that has been made on the farm in re cent years has been made, not by farm ing, but by tbe rise of price on farm lands. In (he nature of things this rise cannot continue indefinitely, and Bomo one will own this land when the price becomes practically stationary or perhaps starts to decline. “While it Is true that occasionally a city bred family makes good on the farm, this is the exception and not the rule. It is always a risk to invest in a business without first making a thor ough study of that business. Many city people who have saved up a few hundred dollars and who have had lit tle or no farm experience, but who are imbued with a rosy vision of the Joys and profits in farmings buy poor land at high prices and thereby lose the savings they have been years in accu mulating. One city family paid $lO,- 000 cash and assumed a $12,000 mort gage on a farm worth only about sll,- 000. Another paid $2,000 cash and signed a mortgage for SO,OOO on a farm that was later appraised at $3,000. A city family that had saved $2,000 used this money to make a first payment on cheap farm land and when their eyes were opened found they still owed considerably more than the farm was worth. For seven years they have worked night and day to meet the in terest without being able to reduce tbe principal. These instances could be multiplied almost Indefinitely. “In purchasing a farm great care should be taken to get a good farm at a fair price. To pay or agree to pay more than the farm is worth is to in vite failure. From a business stand point no farm that does not pay inter est on the total investment, deprecia tion on equipment and wages for all labor performed on that farm is suc cessful. “Even when great care is taken in making the investment only in excep tional cases shonld the city bred fam ily attempt farming. Generally the best advice than can be given to the city bred man who desires to become a farmer Is that before purchasing a farm he work as a farm hand for two or three years. This will give him an opportunity to learn at first hand many things about the business as well as the practical side of farming. In no other way, as a rule, can he get good farm training and experience ut less trouble and expense or without danger from financial disaster.” Vermin Proof Rooets. One of our largest poultry men uses gas pipes instead of the usual wooden fixtures to support his roosts and thus makes them nlmost entirely free from mites and other parasites which are so troublesome to poultry raisers. The pipe is bent as shown in the illustra tion and to bold the roosts In place holes are bored at proper intervals, through which bolts are inserted, pro jecting far enough above the pipe to hold the roosts in position. The roosts are made as usual and are laid on the pipe without fastening, thus making it easy to remove them for cleaning, etc. The pipes need not be over three fourths of an inch in diameter and will be found to be one of the most satis factory supports for roosts yet devised. Cornstalk Disease. A serious cornstalk disease that has reduced the crop on some farms In lowa this season Is under Investiga tion by the botanical section of the lowa agricultural experiment station. Dr. L. H. Pam me l, who Is In charge of the Investigations, says that In some fields the damage amount* to 15 per cent or more, due to fallen or bar ren stalks or undeveloped ears, “This disease.” says Dr. Pommel, "may be recognized quite readily by fallen stalks, which look as though they bad been blown over. However, there is this difference: The diseased stalks break at the nodes." A fungous parasite Is responsible for the trouble. Where It attacks the stalk there Is a brownish and sometimes ptnklsb dis coloration of the fibers, and a little mold may also be found on the out side at the base of the leaf sheath. The roots are decayed and have a plnk-\ lsh color. Such diseased stalks are of- t ten barren or have ears that are rudi mentary. Sometimes the stalk may remain standing where the disease U not severe READ HERALD WANT ADS.