The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1886-12-03
The Farm.
Mrs. Slocum's Brahmas.
Continued from last ,oeeh.)

The prospect for balancing the poul-
try account certainly looked favorable,
for Mrs. Slocum had some eighty odd
Brahma chickens and about two hun
d1ed half breeds, and they were an un.
commonly fine lot too. All summer
che fed aud cared for them faithfully,
and took genuine pleasure in watching
their growth from day to day. Occa.
sionally hawk swooped down and took
chicken without saying 80 much as
s'by your leave" two or three chickens
ajckened and died; and one day Mrs.
Slocum found one Of her old Brahma
hens dead on the nest; bat on the whole
the chickens and fowls were remarkably
healthy, and accidents were few. This
general thrift of the flock was not ow.
ing to "luck;" at least there was no
more luck about it than usually accom-.
panies proper food and care, and strict
observance Of sanitary regulations.
There were no neglected roosting places,
indoors or out, on Slocum Farm; no
filthy chicken coops, no lousy chickens,
no dirty feed troughs, no Shiny drinking
vessels, nothing, in short, to invite
disease. Mrs. Slocum was neat thor
ough housekeeper, and she carried her
neatness and thoroughness right into
the chicken business. "But." said one
Of the chronic croakers of the neighber-
hood, "you just wait until the chicken
cholera comes along, then you'll see
that for all your fussin' and cleanin'
and whitewashin', your chickens will
up and die just as fast as the common
kind that amt fused so much with"
"Perhaps they WILL" said MIS- Slocum,
"but if take good care of my chickens
and then they die, I'll at least have the
satisfaction of knowing l did all in my
power to prevent disease"
Xxx
Along the latter part of August the
chicken cholera came into the neighbor.
hood. 1t first broke out among the
fowls belonging to Mrs. Slocum's near.
est neighbor, and in less than week
thereafter, it appeared on the next farm
south of Slocum Farm; few days
more, and the cholera was among nearly
every fowl flock in and about Plain.
Vile, and fowls and half-grown chickens
died off at 4 rate which should have
been solemn warning to all careless,
alovenly poultry keepers. But they
didn't take the visitation of cholera as
"warnin," or as the natural conse-
quence IF neglect; in their estimation,
it was owing to bad luck" As if
chicken cholera, or any other disease,
ever came by chance!
When t,e cholera first appeared
among her neighbors' fowls, Mrs.
Slocum felt uneasy, and as it continued
to spread to the right and to the left.
and all ar und among her neiehbors'
focks, she tet more uneasy; but she
was not woman to let cholera, or any
other disease get among her fowls, if it
could possibly be kept out by cleanli-
ness and care. and she believed it could
Notwithstanding the fact that she had
been using whitewash, and scattering
lime freely all summer, she now fairly
outdid all previous efforts in the way Of
cleaning, whitewashing and disnfect.
ing. A mingled odor of lime and car.
b2lic acid pervaded the whole premises.
Saint you rather overriding this bust.
ness!' ash ed Jake one day, as he peered
into the Brahma house, where his wife
was applying whitewash with liberal
hand. IL don't know; perhaps So"
she responded, "but if l make any mis-.
takes, mean to make them on the right
side For nearly month the cholera
ragged among the fowl focks in and
about Plainville, and during all that
time, Mrs Slocum cleaned, lined, fun
igated and di>infected with indefatig-
able zeal. And she had her reward, for
while the neighbors' fowls died by doz-
ems, not one of hers exhibited the
slightest symptom of cholera.
The neighbors were astonished, but
they wouldn't or couldn't believe that
Mrs. Slocum's fowls owed their escape
to the excellent care taken. One man
said that "Mrs. Slocum fed her fowls
somethin' to keep the cholera off " and
for his part he thought it was "mean in
her not to let her neighbors into the
the secret" but the prevailing opinion
was hat the Brahmas were harder than
common fowls, and one woman who