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Show IAg urovPiBQ importance Q Q Q or o56 far mind fev . J RoWILTIouWon. q (VQ f ' Sixteen 0 0 I ffc ; 1 (billion of the J 'ff I ! v ' hen fruit was con- A'"" rX ' 1 W57 U r A, ; i States last year and Wkltfz A-m&WSS& 1 we imported some WktkW mfTyf$ J'ZrrcmQ from China to W ki . I " - -tZuS, , WW wrhf cause broken eggs, although the point at A SH-hfiv tllP 111- I $ t-Ai " " issue that fertile eggs are less desir- OWJJJIJ Hl Hi I rffy t aDie for table purposes than unfertile ones. J J ii ' S'll SSV One might imagine that with the tre- CreaStng de- f 4. " meadous extent of the egg business in i - ' ' ' r this country, the market would be glut- ' maild FZOOOFPI&ZPY7?OUlr7lPOCK ted- 0n the contrary, the demand seems x t-K.- r r r ii. r t0 keep pace with the pp'y-in fact' a little f ) S ()(( III I ahead of it, or It would not be found profitable to J . J J J wy?ZJ& import eggs from China, as was done a year or dv- ? -tW'JCVVV'l two FZOCOFPWZPY7?OOTHPOCK$ iw A v 1 i ruf All over the country mammoth poultry establishments estab-lishments are springing up. Not far from Chicago is a large plant made famous by its White Plymouth Plym-outh Rocks and White Indian Runners. There are 160 acres on this farm, and houses are scattered all over them. The man who owns this big plant sells much of his stock for breeding purposes, and values some of his birds as high as $5,000. That sounds like an unbelievable figure, to be sure, but the very lowest price for which one can buy a fowl at this farm is $5. The owner has made a fortune, is a bank director and a business man who can take rank with those who manage the big industries of the city. One thinks first of eggs in connection with the poultry business, but growing and fattening chickens for the table is almost as important a branch of it as egg farming. Formerly no one thought of specially preparing chickens for the slaughter. The farmer simply went out into the f O doubt the man who paid an even xiwJ $800 for a single hen, "Lady Eglan- I XN W tine," not long ago, will get his. v vlj money back with liberal interest. I 1 The phenomenal value of this hen kigK2 1 lay in the fact that sh'e had just SjJ completed the astonishing perform-pcl-jfiOyl ance of producing 314 eggs in 365 days. It Is assumed that the prog-eny prog-eny of Lady Eglantine will also be KT'i "$5553 wonderful egg machines, for which faa6&aj.--.-i reason her eggs will command the highest prices for hatching purposes pur-poses ; as a matter of fact, they are already selling sell-ing at $5 apiece. To be safe, this is much of a gamble, but hundreds of people will be glad to take the chance. You see, the call these days is all for heavy layers, for never has the demand for eggs been so hard to meet. Sixteen billion eggs are required, tQ satisfy the Amer- yard, selected a likely looking fowl, laid it on the block, and chopped off its head. Quite different is the process now, especially in the West and in Canada, where fattening poultry has developed into more of a fine art than in the eastern states. There is a difference of from three to seven cents a pound in the price paid for well-fleshed or fattened fat-tened birds and that paid for poultry poul-try just off the range. As this means a difference of from 15 to 35 cents on a five-pound chicken, it is well worth while to fatten the fowls. POULTRY NOTES L CHICKS JtAJT fiATCKF2 fJY gjiAi ' ' In.' 7'fiE5 JATC2it;m' CtW2fM&3 SO.OOO'GZ& lean appetite each year. - ' I Egg farming has reached a point where it must be included among the big business interests of the country, and the coming of the parcel post has already given it added impetus. All over the country big plants are springing spring-ing up, where chickens are hatched by the thousands and shipped far and wide. Other plants are being established for custom hatching, just about as chicks have been hatched in Egypt since the days of Moses. Over there the hatching is done in immense im-mense brick ovens, of which there are some six hundred, in which 125,000,000 chickens are incubated each season. Camel's dung is used for fuel, and the operators have ' protect the chick from harm. If shipped as soon as dried off, no food will be required, for a chicken needs nothing to eat for the first two days of its existence after leaving the shell, being nourished nour-ished by the yolk of the egg which it has absorbed. For that reason, people who complain that the practice of withholding food is cruel are wasting their sympathies. To just what extent these new developments will revolutionize the poultry business of the country, no one can safely even guess. It is certain, cer-tain, though, that hundreds of people who formerly for-merly raised a few chicks each season with hens will now either send their hatching eggs to a custom cus-tom hatchery or buy day-old chicks. The expense is but little greater and hours of fussing with broody hens are eliminated. People living in the cities may now keep hens in the back yard, for they will need no roosters and thus avoid the complaints com-plaints of neighbors, and can keep breeds which do not get broody. One thing is certain, though. If the egg producers pro-ducers are going to make the most of their opportunities, op-portunities, many of them will have to reform their methods. The statement is made, apparently with authority, that there is an annual loss of $45,000,000 because of the improper handling of eggs. Much of this loss can be traced directly to the producers the men and women on the farms. Such facts are responsible in part for the present much-discussed high cost of living. Many farmers let their eggs accumulate until they get a basketful, although it may take several weeks. Fertile and infertile eggs are dumped Id the same lot. If a hidden nest is discovered, the old hen Is shooed away and the half-Incubated eggs are sold along with the others. This is the reason why the average market egg Is unreliable. Incubation has begun in a fertile egg before it is laid. In a few days traces of the embryo may easily be discovered, even though the egg simply be kept in a warm room or allowed to remain in the sun. Ordinarily the germ soon perishes, and then the egg is quickly added to the rotten-egg class. An unfertile egg may be kept for many weeks without going bad, although It may get somewhat stale and consequently unfit for the table. Under the present system, the customer is protected pro-tected to a large extent by the big egg merchants, who examine the eggs which pass through theii hands by means of a test known as candling. This candling is a highly important part of the business In most cities, and on the care and expertness with which the work is done depends the quality of the product which the customer secures. The men who candle eggs become remarknbly expert so expert that they can handle two eggs In each hand and grade them at a glance as they are passed quickly before a hole in a tin shade placed before a strong electric light. Eggs from flocks which contain no male bird except In the breeding season will keep longer and be better than those laid by hens with which a rooster is running. Many people still hold to the antiquated belief that hens lay better If attended by a rooster. This Is a pure fallacy. In point of fact, the roosters annoy the hens, and may Selecting Pullets. Not every poultryman can select a laying hen by her appearance. It is true students of poultry poul-try husbandry are generally able to do this, but few farmers and poultrymen are unless they have given the subject some attention. The following suggestions should be of help to you in enumerating some of the points in the making of a good laying hen. But these points will need to be verified. That is, you must practice prac-tice if you would become a good judge or at least learn how to select your own pullets for layers. And it will be necessary for you to know how to select If you are to improve your flock. Judging poultry is said to be a finer art than the selection of other farm animals, but the man or woman who picks pullets with a fine head, alert eyes and comb, face and wattles of fine texture, tex-ture, has taken the first step toward increased egg production. Good pullets should stand square on their feet, with legs wide apart, with the front end of the body slightly higher than the posterior end, and with a long back and tail carried rather high. The body should be wedge-shaped, yielding ample room for the reproductive and digestive organs. When Eggs Are Highest. How to get eggs in late fall and early winter when they are highest is a serious problem with most poultrymen. Taking it for granted that the pullets were hatched early and have made good growth during the summer season, we would get the entire flock of spring pullets, yearlings and all into winter quarters in September. That is, we would have the poultryhouse and yards put in order for winter win-ter then, so there will be no rearrangement to disturb the flock or in any way disarrange its daily routine or habits during late October, November Novem-ber and December, when we most desire the eggs. One of the principal factors for securing a high egg production in the poultry flock is exercise. A hen kept closely cooped will not lay as many eggs during a season ; she will take on fat instead and become unhealthy. Give the hens plenty of range and then get a larger basket in which to carry the eggs to market. Single Comb Black Leghorns. Not many years ago this breed was little known to breeders. They have made rapid strides and are becoming very popular. The heavy Minorca combs, high tails, very dark legs and purple instead of black plumage have all been bred out and today the Black Leghorns are as good in slope as the other Leghorns. Their combs are equally as small and neat as the whites or browns. They carry their tails low and well spread. Their legs show a good yellow color together with a good green sheen to the plumage. Among many fanciers black is a desired color and among these admirers and fanciers the Black Leghorn, in many Instances, is replacing its brown or white sister. They are persistent layers of large chalk-white eggs and there's .no reason why they should lack popularity any longer. X such keen senses that they can keep the temperature tempera-ture at close to 103 degrees without referring to a thermometer, which instrument is never employed. em-ployed. - Custom hatching in this country is quite another an-other matter, and has been made possible only by the Invention of incubators of the continuous type, heated from a coal-burning furnace and requiring only a comparatively small amount of attention. It Is a line of work which farmers' wives and other women can follow with success and to which farmers themselves, as well as the owners of large poultry plants, are turning their attention. Men and women living near the larger towns, and especially if close to the railroad station sta-tion or on a trolley line, are particularly well situated sit-uated to do custom hatching, for people keeping a few hens will come personally with their eggs and also call for the chickens just as they do in Egypt, by the way, except for the means of conveyance. con-veyance. The initial investment need not be large. One can start with a single machine and Increase the size of his plant as business warrants. A little advertising by means of circulars, or, better, in a newspaper, will bring the custom. It is first necessary, however, to learn all about running the incubator. It would be foolish to seek customers cus-tomers before becoming thoroughly familiar with artificial incubation and making several experimental experi-mental hatchings. These can be made in the fall or winter. Along with custom hatching goes the sale of day-old chicks. This is another line which men and women in the country or elsewhere who have but little capital may begin in a small way and Increase with their business. The two branches may well be combined also. If at any time there be a dearth of custom-hatching orders, the machines ma-chines may be kept running just the same to fill orders for newly hatched chickens. For hatching chicks, a charge based on the number of eggs In an Incubator tray is often made. If, for example, the tray will accommodate 75 eggs, the charge may be $2 and upwards. Just as much time and fuel are required for a dozen eggs as for 75. Of course, if the eggs to be hatched for several customers cus-tomers are received at the same time, they can be placed in the same machine, but it will be very difficult to decide to whom the chicks belong when they are out of the shells. If the hatcher is using single machines, it ly wise to employ the smaller sizes. The machinei which come in sections are most satisfactory, for they can be added to like sectional bookcases as one's business grows. Of -course the custom hatcher takes no responsibility. He does his best, and if the eggs fail to hatch, the loss is the customer's. cus-tomer's. The hatcher has no means of knowing that they were fertile, even, until a test at the end of five days Is made. Likewise, the hatcher runs no open accounts, If he is wise. A deposit should be made when the eggs are left, and the remainder paid when the chicks are delivered. Day-old chicks are best sold at a flat rate, say 15 cents apiece, with delivery charges added. Strongly made cardboard boxes especially designed de-signed for shipping chicks are manufactured and |