Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1891-09-17
THE FARMERS COLUMN.
USEFUL INFORMATION FOR RU-
RAJ READERS.
Farmer's ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ing the Pea Weevil--A Curiosity
in Gardening--Destr the
Vice. s--Poultry on
the Farm.
poultry on the Farm.

offowls we have, is being gradually
notified in shape in order to secure a
heavier-feathered toe. AS this is done
simply to obtain specimens for dis
play in the showroom, and at the sac
rifce of all the best points of the
breed, it is not only absurd but a real
wrong What the ordinary poultry
owner wants is not show points, but
capacity for egg production and good
market qualities.
A correspondent OF Farm Poultry
has remedy for lice on fowls which
he says is sure. To each one-half pint
OF kerosene add one tablespoonful of
crude carbolic acid. To clean a lousy
house, use pump or anything that
will throw fine spray, and go over
the whole inside, ground and all, with
the mixture, being particular to force
it into all cracks and around cleats
that are nailed to the building. 1.-THE
house is a new one, this will never
have to be done, because you can
keep them destroyed by going over
the roost poles every two weeks the
year round. The roost pole is their
stronghold, and from these (if allowed
to go nnchecked) they will spread all
over the house. If you attend to- your
roosts as above, you will never have
ascabby legged fowl on your place.
For the cure OF roup the following
mixture is recommended: Five drops
each of turpentine and castor oil, to-
gether, about one-half teaspoonful ev-
cry morning. In addition to that put
one drop OF turpentine in the nasal
organ and rub their heads with salty
grease if heads are sore. Separate the
sick from the we'll ones and feed and
water the sick ones regularly. Also
thoroughly cleanse the building and
coops where they have been, and FUN
igate with sulphur, keeping them
closed for several hours.
ut takes a live Yankee to grow
poultry on large scale, because ev-
erything must be cared for" said that
experienced poultry raiser, Mr.. James
Rankin, at a recent meeting. This is
a perfectly sound view, but it does
not preclude the keeping of a. small
number OF fowls by farmers, for, as
has been we'll said, the farm is par ex-
cellence the place for poultry, which
ought to be one of it's regular occu-
pants.
Many farmers dislike to keep hens,
and very naturally. since they make
no suitable provision for them, but
allow them to scratch for themselves
for a living, and roost wherever they
can. A small flock OF some good
breed with properly constructed
hennery and suitable care, will yield
as good a profit on the outlay as any
live stock on the farm.
One OF the best grains for growing
chickens is barley, which is especially
rich in mineral matter. Good oats
are also an excellent feed; but a COM
bination OF wheat, bran, middlings,
barley and oats will give the most
satisfactory results in yield of eggs and
soundness of health.
Nothing can be done in securing
special qualities in hens by the use OF
common males. They donot produce
any beneficial results. The chicks
sired by common male will not be
uniform, and nothing can be expected
from them; but chicks sired by pure
bred male will be uniform in color,
size and characteristics in general,
even when the hens from which such
chlcks came were mongrels. The
breed is everything in poultry keeping.
Farmers Investments.
Some farmers-in fact, agreat many
farmers-are out of debt and have
surplus cash to invest, and the ques-
for them to consider is where and
IN what can they make the safest and
most profitable investment. This
question the American Cultivator an
swers by advising them to invest in,
not in buying more land, but improv.
the acres they already possess. They
should but their surplus into their
business, as the wise merchant or
manufacturer does. The Cultivator
says:
when a thoroughbred or high
grade COW will make $1OO worth of
outter in a year, and a scrub COW only
$40 worth, while it cost but little
more to feed one than the other,
money invested in improved breeds Of
COWS, or in a pure male from which to
raise up a herd of grades, will pay
better returns to the dairymen than
can be obtained from bank stock or
railroad shares or Western farm mort
cages.
When a small extra investment in
better seeds and more liberal manur-
ing will increase the labor of cultiva-
zion, or when extra cultivation will
increase in the money return four
times as great as the expenditure;
when better tools will save their cost
IN one seasons labor, while with care
they will do good work for five or ten
years, then is the time when the
farmer can make money by spending
money. a,
When the expenditure of$25 Of $35
per acre for tile drains will enable a
neld that now yields less than $40
worth ofpoor grass season to pro-
duce $35 worth of the best. and Sit it