The Bossier banner., 1894-07-26

on the rear end of blackboard wagon,
and pour it over a 40-quart canful of
sour milk. The can of milk is set in
box of hot water over night, and in the
morning it is hot whey and pot cheese
instead of skim milk The hens eat it
greedily and seem to be thriving on it.
Ton ought to see them pick out the
chunks of hot cheese. At night l give
them the whole grain, either corn or
wheat. l question the propriety of
giving any whole grain, at all in win
ter. My hens are getting very plump
and fat, although they lay reasonably
well. l think l shall try keeping some
of them entirely on the more bulky
food. l can not always get the skim
milk in sufficient quantities. In that
case l use hot water to mix the feed.
My colony of small houses scattered
about over the farm and connected by
a telegraph wire causes lots of com
ment from passers-by. My man over
heard the conversation of four men the
other day as they were driving by in
carriage. One of them seemed to be
spokesman, and was explaining to the
rest that the wire was for the purpose
of conveying the eggs down to the
house. His companion happening to
spy one of the white porcelain insula
tors which break the circuit over each
building in order to send the current
down into the buildings, suddenly
grasped the others arm in great excite
ment: Great Scott" said he, ''if there
don't come one now?"
But the malt sprouts used are also
rich in nitrogen, for, while casein has
16 per cent. of the element in it, the
sprouts have about per cent and thus
this mixture is, or should be, excellent
for fowls producing eggs, and Ma.
Mapes-which is the poultryman's
name-fnds it so to be.
Mr.. Mapes is a mechanical genius,
too; and it requires genius-that is, a
man who has his wits about him-to
succeed in this busines. He has an au-
tomato nest, which has self-closing
and opening door, and when the hen
goes on the front of the box the door
opens, as if to say: ''Howdy Biddy,
walk in," and when Biddy walks in the
door closes and prevents any other fowl
from entering; then when the hen gets
off the nest, the door opens and lets
her out and closes again after her.
This kind of nest has entirely prevented
the loss of eggs by idle hens eating
them.
Mr.. Mapes also tells how last July,
when eggs were selling at thirteen
cents dozen, he packed away several
barrels of them in common salt, and
| sold them in October for twenty-five
cents a dozen. The precaution was
taken to put away the eggs the same
day they were laid.
January 25 my first brood of chick
ems for the season left the nest with
| the hen. There were fifteen eggs un-
der her, and fifteen little fuzzy chicks
filled the nest. They were put into a
glazed coop in sunny place, and to-
day, two weeks after they are all safe
and lively, taking their three meals a
| day of corn and wheat ground to-
| gether and wetted into a thick paste
with warm water. They have sweet,
warm milk to drink. 1t is very rarely
that have lost chick after it has be-
come two weeks old. am feeding pea
vine clover to my cows and horses, and
as there is good deal of seed in the
flowers, which were full blossomed
when the hay was cut, the dust from
the floor of the NOW makes an excel
lent litter for the poultry house. The
seed is eagerly picked out by the
chicks, and they have warm, dry bed
to nestle in, and lots of exercise to
scratch for the seeds. - Rural New
Yorker.