Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-01-05
AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN.
Interesting Letters from Hancock
County Farmers.


The last bulletin Of the state board of
agriculture is devoted principally to a
discussion of poultry-raising, and con
tains an unusual number OF very interest
! ing letters from Hancock county farmers.
Below are II few of them:
SEDGwICK-The poultry business gives
| better returns than most other lines OF
work ON our Maine farms That are To-
| Gated at considerable distance from the
! markets, provided thHI the business Is
lhoroug nIN understood, aud eternal Wig
| lance and care exercised 800 days III the
| year ana every fourth year 800. ! find he
business requires tine most Constant Work
oil any branch OF farming, ana the man
| VINO wants TO attend the grange meet
| lhgs, dairy meetings, farmers Institutes,
| fairs, horse truts, etc, | would advise to
keep out off the poultry business, for II Is
very seldom taG competent persons can
| be mad 10 look after 1t III ones absence;
| nor can you give the hens warm break
| last III he morning before daylight and
| leave them untli alter dark before giving
them their supper, and have them do
we'll, for Blddy will not eat or work III
| the dark. Mr.. Bachelder, III his lecture
| nj the DAIRY meeting, laid parllcu
| stress upon regularity in feeding the
dairy COW. Now | believe that applies
equally As well to the hen business, for
notice That the hens, instead OF being off
about their work, are on The anxious
" hen IL comes about feeding time, and
remain there until they are attended to.
As to breeds, every one to his fancy, Tut
| for all all around business hen | don't
| think we have any breed that beats the
Plymouth Rock, aud with them for
siLters and mot hers we don't need incu-
bstors and brooders unless the business is
to be conducted on a large scale. l keep
my flock pure by buying Il sitting OF eggs
| from some reliable breeder each year, and
| saving the cockersls to mate with my
| best mems. Much has been said about
raising turkeys, and no doubt they can be
grown successfully i'll many sections OF
the State, but here on the coast " here we
have fog t~ enty-six days in the month,
| III which to rear The turkeys, and 50
many foxes. cOons and wildcats to devour
what survive the business is hardly to be
| encouraged. One thing needs To agl
| tated and corrected before we can sue
| ce,sfuly compete with the West III this
business, and that /. the freight rates
| which are higher from here to Boston
than hey are from the West to Boston.
| | have paid at the rate of SIS per ton for
freight on chickens, and cents per dozen
on eggs, prices that will ruin any bust
ness. 2. b. FRIEND.
SOUTH PENoBsCoT-My experience in
the poultry business is very limited.
have few light Brahmas, thirteen pull
lets, which are laying quite we'll. They
were Matched May 10, and commenced to
lay the last OF October. | am feeding
them i'll the morning brown middIings
and Pratt's food mixed, at noon refuse
from the table, ct night whole barley or
corn one day, the next day barley, meal
and potatoes mashed up togeth her thus
changing from day to day. Would it be
a good cross to mate light Brahmas wit h
Plymouth Rocks?' am not much nc
qualhted with incubators. but if | were
II hen think | should like the oid way
he best, and l guess 1t is about as we'll to
let nature have its way part Of the time.
In regard To stock feeding, | have never
fed Tor HE dairy, but have had some eX-
ptrIencc IN raising beef oxen in years
past. My practice has been in raising
calves to let them suck the COW unit / they
are from to weeks old, then take them
off and teach them to drink skinned
milk, and give them what hay or gra,.
they VIII eat up clean and a few oats or
mddllngs. l think oats are the best
pr"Vender tor calves that you can get.
They Will grow nicely on hay and oats,
with few roots. Feed three times Il
day when they WiIl eat up clean. From
t he time n calf is nine months old untll
he is four years old, he should be fed SO
hat he Will gam two inches month, or
nearly that. the better you feed, the
better it will pay. Never let a creature
make orts; II cattle are fed on good hay
or poor, they should be fed so they will
eat all up clean. II they do not eat
everything clean that you feed them,
you may make up your mind that some
thing Is wrong. \. +. NORTON.
i 'Some very satisfactory results have been
obtained from such Il cross, but the breeder
must go back again after that. But ON gen
4 eral principles we prefer keeping the breeds
VI pure--Secretary.
DEER IsLE-In this town but few make
business OF poultry raising, though al
most every family keeps a flock OF hens
other fowls receiving but little attention.
Turkeys are usually n failure, perhaps
from the dampness of the sea air and the
fog at the time when they are most ten
der; but whatever the cause, few care to
take he risk OF trying to raise them. As
to feed, nearly everyone has some pecu
ways OF his own, but we find the sea food
great help, CLANS, musseIs, etc, being
easy to obtain, and nothing Is better to
make hens lay. For myself, ! have never
found anything better than the cheap
wheat " hlch Is sometimes on the market
to go with other rations. Hens need II
variety and il fed on corn alone, rs many
feed, Will fHtten too much. For layers,
the brown Legho can hardly be eX-
celed, but the Plymouth Rock is liked
here rs an all round fowl. A. to feed of
stock, there Is no variation here from the
usual custom. The large crop of hay VIII
1 cause less mill feed to be used, but no
other change viii be made.
K. ;. WARREN.
I.AMOINE In relation to stock feeding,
hut very little coarse fodder i raised III
this town except English aud Hungarian,
and a very little oat hay. Most Farmers
feed he Hungarian first of all the folders,
aud most get good results. oar practice
! was to feed it With addition of three
or four pounds daily Of gluten. The COWS
/ did not shrink in milk on being taken
from the pasture, and did good work.
! Owing to the late planting season, the
silos, OF which there are three in this
town, are probably not giving perfect
atisfaction. As far a. the grain ration
is concerned, can only tell what We are
doing ourselves. We feed about t u hteef
pounds of mixed hay per day, divided
into two feeds, with Il small feed of bar
ley straw at noon. For grain we feed four