The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-02-19
FARM AND HOUSEHOLD.
SOME RRRQRs Of THOSE WHO
KEEP POULTRY.
An Argument In Favor Of Raising Regular Crops
OF Notwithstanding Now About Oats
S Interesting Items for Beekeepers
--Housshold Hints, Etc. +.
Errors in Keeping Poultry.

Errors in Keeping Poultry.
Though there are many widely
different breeds of fowls, adapted
more or less. to the varied wants Of
the farmer, there are some general
rules for their management which are
applicable everywhere. One serious
error is the common custom of keep
Ing Rens until they become too old for
profit, because they were choice birds
and good layers when young. A hen
OF any breed will l2y only about half
as many eggs the second year after
she commences laying. All fowls
kept by farmer after they are 2
years old are kept at loss, so far as
the money is concerned. When d
whole flock is allowed to run without
killing off the old ones and replacing
them by pullets, disease is sure to at
tack them. If the. plan of keeping
only pullets is once followed am sure
that no farmer will ever abandon it.
Another bad practice is that of allow
Ing fowls to become wild, so that thew
are afraid of any one and hide away
their nests and the few chickens they
hatch lose their lives for want of food.
10 be sure, chickens Matched late in
the summer and brought up in the
fields by a wild mother are hardy, but
this practice is not profitable as the
cost of winterlng exceeds the summer
returns AS general rule, however,
summer chickens are more profitable
than the very early ones, as they get
more varied diet, better exercise and
are healthier in every way. But fowls
to be profitable must be kept tame.
If, however, the chickens are to be
grown for sale, for breeding or for
show purposes, it is necessary that
the chickens should be Matched as
early in the season Is possible, so that
they may attain full growth and feath-
ering by fall. Am. Agriculturist.
Potato Growing Profitable.
There is probably no farm crop in
which inexperienced farmers suffer
greater disappointment than in pota-
toes. They read in the papers of large
yields. and observing that the market
price is high, a great many rush into
the business, and of course overdo it.
This is cause number one. Potato cul-
ture in these times requires a great
fund of practical experience. 1t also
requires the man who begins it to be
prompt with every demand, whether
it be in cultivation, in bug poisoning,
and in late years in Spraying the vines
to prevent mildew and blight, which
are the usual causes of rotting of the
crop. It is no wonder with so many
things to attend to that some are neg
lected. Hence potatoes are commonly
deemed precarious crop. Accidents
OF season excepted, they need not be.
We believe it possible every year to
grow potato drops that will pay larger
profit than any grain crop, provided
the proper conditions are fulfilled.
In the first place, the farmer who
would grow potatoes extensively must
be near a market, by which we mean
a good shipping station, where there
is enough competition to insure fair
prices. Farmers who are within three
or four miles of freight cars can draw
two and sometimes three loads per
day. When the distance is so far that
only one load per day can be drawn,
it ADDS heavily to the expense of mar
ketihg, and requires a high price to
make the crop pay. This high price
cannot always be depended on. Every
few years the potato market is liable
to be glutted, and only those who keep
expenses down SO as to be able to
market cheaply can come out without
loss. Am. Cultivator.
Buckwheat for Stock.
An inquirer asks if buckwheat is
good for stock. That depends. For
the feathered stock most emphatically
yes For cattle and hogs not always
rarely for the latter. The hull of the
buckwheat is not digestible, and hence
Is not fit for food. The bran or the
buckwheat w hen run through the mill
should have the hulls taken out. The
bulls will cause piles in pigs. Hulls
are valuable to use as absorbants in
the manure pile, but not otherwise.
The colored part of the grain, the vel
low part next to the hull. is rich in