The advocate., 1897-09-08
Poultry in Orchards,

Poultry in Orchards,
Mr.. Tegetmeier, the famous English
authority on poultry, in commenting on
the value of fowls to orchards, says:
For many years have advocated the
introduction Of poultry into apple Or
Chards, maintaining that they do good
service in two very distinct modes
first, by manuring the ground, and, Sec
ondly, by the destruction Of insects and
grubs that hibernate in the soil. The
apple maggOt appears to be extending
in America, attacking the favOrite Bald
win, which is so well known as being
imported largely into this country, and
rendering it entirely unfit for use, but
the spraying the trees with Bordeaux
mixture and Paris green has appeared
to prevent all serious attack Of this in,
sect. In the mature state this insect
is a fly, which deposits its eggs in the
apple beneath the skin. The young mag
gots grow within the fruit, which they
render worthless, and when mature
emerge from the apple and go into the
ground, lying in the pupae state UNDER
meath the surface soil among the grass
roots Samples of the earth, six inches
square, were taken, and the number of
maggots under the trees varied accord
ing to the size, from 1000 to more than
10000 under each tree, the pupae some>
what resembling kernels Of wheat. Now
comes the point which was particularly
interesting to me. The experiment was
tried as to whether poultry, if confined
to small range and encouraged to
scratch, would destroy these pupae. A
large, movable wire fence was placed
about tree whose fruit had been de-
strOyed by insects. One side Of the fence
was raised and about fifty hens were
called into the enclosure. The fence was
let down and they were confined to the
space around the tree AS soon as they
had eaten the corn they naturally began
to scratch for the pupae, and in the
course Of three or four days it was found
that the latter had disappeared. AS
these insects remain in the pupae state
from the fall of the apple to the follow.
ing spring, when they appear, it may be
expected that next year the number of
flies breeding the apple maggOt will be
greatly diminished in the localities
where this plan is followed. From per-
sOnal experience, extending over many
years, can speak positively of the ad-
vantages of allowing chickens a free
range in apple orchards. They not only
manure the soil and destroy all insects
harbOring in it, but they find,, for some
weeks, a considerable proportion Of their
own fOod-the windfalls, which they de-
YOUR greedily, with any grubs they may
contain. The raising of poultry for sale
may be much more advantageOusly car
ried on where the land is made to pro-
duce two crops-namely, apples and eggs
than where only one is gathered"
The Importance Of Good Seed Wheat.
A Missouri correspondent of the Jour-
nal of Agriculture says truthfully:
There cannot be too much said in
regard to the importance of good and
clean seed wheat, for on that depends
much of our success in wheat-raising.
We should not be too easily pleased in
selection. The writer last season bought
seed wheat the third time, and made
money by so doing, and out-yielded the
farmers who used their so-called good
seed wheats by nearly one-half. Nor is
that all; raised a quality superior to