The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1885-12-18
FARM TOPICS.
The "PracticaI or business Hen" far Su.
perior Ia Fancy breeds OF Chickens
The POTATO Crop.

periOr Ia Fancy breeds OF Chickens
The Poiat" Crop.
How to Prepare the Soil for Growlne
Roses-Exc"Iicnt Advice to Growers
of Ynung Stock.
THE BUSINESS HEN.
NJ. +. Leroy. II French poultry
breeder, has written u work entitled
'La Poule Practique. the practical
or business hen. The chief object of
the book appears to be TO dissuade
farmers and others. who keep fowls
for profit. from investing in the fancy
breeds OF chickens, especially those
that originated in foreign countries.
He afiirms that lew breeds of fowls
are profitable in places remote from
that where they originated. He states
that the Houdans ar,. valuable in the
department oi France where they have
long been raised. for the reasons that
the incubator is there used for hatch
ing eggs, and that there is a local de-
mand for chickens that furnish very
choice flesh. The Creve Ceurs are
popular and valuable in Normandy,
chiefly because fine grass is plenty in
that department of France. Taken
to most other paris of the country,
however, ihcS suoa lose their charac-
teristics and become of very little
value. The like, he says, is true of the
Houdans, which have gone to other
countries and been welcomed by
breeders on account Of the reputation
they acquired in their native home.
The Dorking. which is the ~favOrite ia
BILE fowl in England, he firms, dwin-
dies in France and becomes Il very in
fcrier bird. Fowls of either of these
breeds begin to dc~tcriorate as soon as
they are taken to places having differ
ent climatic conditions from that
where they have been long raised and
where u peculiar practice is followed
in breeding them. To keep up any of
these breeds so that specimens are fit
for exhibition it is necessary 10 renew
the blood by means of fresh impOrta-
tiOns every two or three years. He
states that the Iloudans are essential
pen fowls. They are great eaters and
are wanting in ability or energy to Sc
cure food for themselves. They are of
little value when the incubator Is not
used for Matching purposes, and are
entirely unsuitable for the ordinary
farm.
The author Of this work has no
praise to spend on the Brahmas, Co.
chins, or Japanese fowls. He admits
that they are very large, that they pro-
duce eggs in proportion to the size of
the birds that lay them, and that they
are good settlers and careful mothers.
But he remarks that when eggs are
sold by the dozen. instead of by weight,
there is no inducement for supplying
the market with those of very large
size. He thinks that incubators are
much cheaper than hens for Matching
eggs, and believes that the time will
soon come when they will be in gen.
eral use in all countries where fowls
are kept. The flesh of all the large
breeds of fowls is course and lacking
in flavor. 1t ranks below good beef or
prime mutton. The Langshan fowls,
in the estimation of this writer, rank
tar above the Brahmas and Cochins.
Spanish hens arc praised for produc-
ing many and large eggs. 1t is adj
mitted hat most Spanish fowls are
poor eating, and that they are not
SultCu " COuhtlICS HuNih2 u NCtN COlu
climate. The Hamburgs are spoken
well of as layers, though their eggs
are so small that few like 10 eat them
from the shell. The fowls are easily
kept, however, and suited 10 the farm,
aud furnish very good eating, especial
ly when they are young.
Nj. Leroy recommends farmers to
keep the common barndoor fowls, Civ
ing preference to those raised near
where they are to be kept. He states
that they arc hardy. require little care.
and are possessed of ability To pick up
most OF the iOod they require. They
devour grass ami eat large numbers of
insects. They do not wait TO be fed in
the morning. Like the farmer who
owns them, they are in the field al
most as soon as it is light. They are
industrious birds and attend strictly
to business. They take exercise after
the manner of wild birds, and are less
liable to disease than fancy fowls OF
the fashionable breeds. The keeper Of
barndoor fowls should exercise judg-
ment in the selection. of birds TO breed
from. He should preserve for breed
ing purposes only the best specimens.
Their blood should be occasionally rem
ovated by a cross; the best cross is
with the wild Bankiva cock. If that
can not be obtained he recommends
the Indian game or large English game
cock. These birds insure hardness
and vitality. as we'll as fine eggs and
delicious flesh. He winds up his re-
marks by saying: 'ln the pen and the
farm. for the omelette and the spit.
there is but one hen, and that the
barndoor."