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Show HATCH EARLY IS MOST IfilPORTAflT Chicks Grow Faster and Stand Hot Weather Much Better. BIRDS BRING HIGHER PRICES Fu'.lets Produced That Lay When Eggs Are Scarcest Be Cautious in Starting Business of "Day-Old" "Day-Old" Chicks. Unless a special effort Is made throughout the country to haLch the 1918 chicken crop early, the nation's need for a greatly increased output of poultry flesh and eggs is not likely to be fully met. While chickens can be hatched at any time of the year, It Is the chickens hatched early In thtf spring that give the best results. Hatching should begin from February 1 In the South to March 1 in the North and West, and should be completed by May 1. The -usual time for starting the Incubators and sitting hens coincides coin-cides too closely with the planting season sea-son on the farms and hatching operations oper-ations are likely to be reduced on that account. Therefore, hatch early. Chick Business. ' The city poultry keeper should tackle the business of hatching chicks or buying buy-ing and rearing "day-old" chicks cautiously cau-tiously or not at all. Often it is inad visable to attempt to renew the city poultry flock even though the temptation tempta-tion comes strongly to the poultry beginner be-ginner with the first warm days of spring. Previous experience in the raising of chicks often increases the chances of success, but the land available avail-able to the back-yard poultryman usually usu-ally Is too small to undertake a chick business. No attempt should be made to raise chicks unless a plot can be provided separate from that to which the hens have access and upon which there is grass or where a supply of green feed can be furnished. Where these conditions con-ditions cannot be had it is better for the beginner who is keeping only hens for eggs to kill the hens as soon as they have .outlived their usefulness and replace them by well-matured pullets pul-lets In the fall. If it is believed practicable to hatch and rear a few chicks, this can best be done with hens. If it is desired to purchase and rear few day-old :bicks and no hens are available for the purpose, it Is possible with little trouble and expense to construct a fireless brooder, which will serve in place of the hens. It would be well for the beginnei to obtain from the Department of Agriculture Agri-culture or from State agriculture colleges, col-leges, publications on hatching and rearing. To Destroy Mites. In tests of a large series of Insecticides Insecti-cides conducted by entomologists of the United States Department of Agriculture, Ag-riculture, it was found that a few thorough applications of crude petroleum petro-leum to the Interior of poultry houses will completely destroy mites. |