River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-05-24
THE OlD-TIME HEN.
why She Can Not compete with the Im,
proved Breeds of Fowls.

why She Can Not Compete with the I'm
proved Breeds of Fowls.
believe that great advance has
been made in all kinds Of livestock.
including fowls. There is OCCASION
ally found person who believes that
cattle have not improved but have
refrigerated. and that the native herds
were much more valuable than are the
herds Of thoroughbrcds. To such a
person TO call attention to the butter
qualities Of the Jersey, the great flow
of milk of the Ayrshire, the meatv
proportions of the ShorthOrn, is but a
waste of time. The natives were good
enough for him. Such persons are
also found among those who keep
fowls. 10 them the mongrel hen was
n better layer than the prolific Leg
horn, a better table fowl than the Dor
king and a better fowl for general pur-
poses than the Plymouth Rock. When
such persons are found il is useless &c
point out the improvements made in
poultry. But the improvements exist,
and there are breeds that will lay more
eggs in n year. that will produce more
meat for the amount of food CON-
sumed, that are more valuable for the
family, than the TOO common monorcl.
certainly believe and know of a
surety. that in many n well-to-do
farmers family. years ago. eggs were
exceedingly scarce in winter. The
''old-time hens they kept did not lay.
Nor do | believe that 1.-The average
farmers wife" in this part of the
country. begins as early as October
to salt down eggs for winter use,
realizing that there VIII be few If any
laid during the winter where the i'm.
proved breeds are kept. If She places
her reliance upon descendants OF
1.-The old-time hen" and upon old time
methods. she may need 10 salt down
stock of eggs for winter use. but if she
keeps the proper breed and in n com.
Portable house ( she will have all the
eggs that are necessary for family use
and some 10 help pay for the family
groceries
In the keeping of my own fowls it is
an object to prevent winter LAYING /
wish the hens to be strong and vigor-
Gus during tho breeding season, and
at that time TO produce eggs most
abundantly. II pays me better 10 sell
eggs at IS and - per dozen in April,
MAY and June than at fifty cents a
dozen in January and February. Ac-
cordingly l feed so rs 10 discourage
laying. AMI vet Ihave eggs all through
the winter there being scarcely day
that some Of my hens do not lay. One
year there was just one day in the
whole year that l got no eggs keep
the improved breeds. use no egg-p pro-
ducing foods in winter. have comfort
able, but not ariificially. warmed
houses. and the hens Law i'm spite Of my
precautions 10 prevent them:
l think that any farmer who will
provide suitable food. drink and CON-
Portable quarters for a flock of thor
oughbred fowls. and will take pains to
get those that are not ruined by close
and long-continued inbreeding. will
find in them a greater profit than can
be derived from the ''Old-time hens"
In conclusion desire 10 say that il
seems scarcely fair 10 attribute i'm
proved processes in preserving eggs
To the failure Of modern breeds to lay
rs well as those of aull lang syne-
The fact that now eggs are preserved
for winter use during the summer
months when they are produced most
abundantly. and consequently bring
low price. and were not preserved in
the ''Old-time hens day" is simply a
proof thar men of our generation are
wiser than were those of an earlier
generation, and has 20 bearing upon
ithe relative laying of fowls now and
then. - Cor. Coegsrg GeailsmGA