The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1893-06-14

stroy Them-MiScellaneou Items.
The announcement of chicken ailments
comes to US yearly, with the greatest regu-
larity imaginable. We look for it as wo
look for April showers, May flowers and
June foliage-and we are never disap
pointed. The information that the chick
ems are dying is usually accompanied by
the query, "What shall 1 do for them ?
They NOPE around, refuse to eat" and so
on, and SO forth, but the finality is that
they die, and no man knoweth the cause
thereof. What allied them? How shall
we doctor them?
We will not undertake to answer the
latter question after the fashion of doc
tor, with prescriptions of medicine.
There is a good deal of quackery in re-
ceipts for curing chicken ailments. But
as 10 what allied them, we will state that
nine-tenths of all the myriads of chick
ems that die of disease each year are
Killed by one, or all, of three things.
The name Of the first is lice; of the sec
ond, poor feeding; of the third, exposure.
1t IS necessary, SO long as there are
aud there always will be-inexperienced
beginners, TO set forth the why and the
wherefore, to iterate and reiterate the
methods by which novices can rear
chicks with a small per cent. OF loss from
disease. If we keep back the evil trio Of
Vermin, poor food and bad quarters, we
give that ounce of prevention worth so
much more than all the cures of poultry
doctors. In the first place, then, the
chick is the result of what it eats. When
II is young, say for the first month from
the shell, it should not be fed as it may
safely be after once fairly set to growing.
\ 81 old 10 ralv
Jured by its food; it will eat, and eat, and
It's powers Of digestion and assimilation
resemble those of an ostrich. But the
little chick cannot safely be fed so liber-
ally; Its appetite needs to be stimulated
not by feeding bountifully at all times,
but by a regular, sound, spare diet. We
don't advocate starvation, but insist that
TO feed we'll is to iced regularly, and not
too much at one time. A chick that can
not go at its food with keen appetite
should not be fed till it is positively hun
cry. AS has been said, baby chicks must
be treated like babies; what would not
lnlure the tough old fowl is often death to
the weak young birding.
AS TO the kind Of food, we elsewhere
strongly recommend boiled wheat. This
we DO, not from any theory or INFESTED
notion, but because III practical expert
ence with large numbers of chicks we
have found boiled wheat to be one of the
very best OF foods for young chicks. 1t
should not be cooked to a sticky mush,
but boiled until the kernels will crush
easily between the thumb and finger.
Then let 1t steam out dry and feed it to
the chicks three times daily. 1t is a
cooked grain Iood, yet as easily fed as if
uncOOked. But don't feed it when it is
sour and moldy; have it fresh and sweet
as II you yourself were to eat it.. Too
much work? Well, thousands of babies
die annually because it is too much work
for some one to take proper care of them.
W e are telling you how to feed chicks, so
that whatever else may kill them it will
not be bad food. And bad food Stays le-
gions Of them each season.
We Will make short work of lousy
chickens by asserting that no chickens
We're ever killed by Vermin where the
coOps were kept clear Of lice. The little
chlcken-coops where the chicks rest at
night need the same cleansing and atten-
ton given to the larger hen houses. No
one needs to be told how to do it-lice
will not find harbor in hencoop with
dry sanded floor, and every crack filled
with whitewash, or it may be cheaply
and effectively lined with tar paper.
As To exposure, it is the province of
poultry journals 10 give suggestions re-
garding The care of chicks, but it cannot
build cOops; their owners must do this.
and the man or woman that negIects to
provide good, dry, rain-proof, weli-venti-
lated shelter for the young bird may we'll
write TO us that My chickens are dv-
ing" but should never ask what ails
them."-Pacltic Coast Fanciers' Monthly
FANCY CHEEsEs.
Most OF our so-called fancy products of
the farm pay much better profit than the
ordinary, and farmers who engage in this
speciality reap rewards often far beVond
the special knowledge required. Fancy
products never become glut in the mar
ket, while The common goods generally
*
loss in raising the fancy fruits, vegeta-
bles, live stock, or other farm products
Very few farmers have the patience to
become skillful in this line, but the few
who are endowed with this quail ity are
pretty sure TO make rapid strides ahead
This is as true of fancy cheeses as OF
any other farm product. In MANY in
stances these so-called fancy cheeses are
only appreciated by those who have ac-
quired taste for them, and heretofore
they have been made chiefly abroad. This
is an important branch Of our cheese and
dairy industry, and if pursued with en-
ergy it Is pretty sure to pay in the long
run. w have the climate and the Yege-
talion to supply all the essentials Tor
these fancy cheese, and the cost OF max
ing them Is usually not much more than
for the common kinds. Nearly all of
these imported fancy cheeses sell for more
than double the amount that our common
kinds do, and those that are made in the
United States by expert dairymen can
hardly be distinguished from the foreign
products.
The consumption of fancy cheeses is
increasing rapidly every year, and our
imports have increased until within the
last few years, when home dairymeu
have made an effort to supply part of this
demand. The acquired taste Is becoming
popular taste, and on the tables OF our
leading hotels and restaurants they ap-
pear regularly now. This does not in any
way diminish the consumption OF the
cheaper factory-made cheese, which will
always be in demand, but it opens up a
new department OF the dairy business
which should be studied Just now care
fully.
Dairymen are now in a limited way
making the leading cheeses here, such as
as the Brie, Neufchatel, CamemberI, Linn
burger, Swiss, Edam and Gouda, all of
which have their followers and admirers.
American Roqueiort and Parmesan
cheese have also been placed upon the
market within the last year or two, and
the experiments made show that they
can be manufactured here as successfully
as abroad. Stilton cheeSeS, by many con-
sidered the finest in the world, are also
being manufactured here on a small
scale. and the little known, but very ex-
callent. imported cheese, known as
Gerome, has been attempted with good
results Many of these fancy cheeseS re-
ouire methods somewhat similar to each
other. and a dairy provided with the
rroDer cold and warm curing rooms, and
other essentials, might easily make a
snerialtv OF several of the fancy cheeses
Quantities. The pioneersin this line may
-so.,t artiS eSDariallV those who