Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1899-10-20

time to steal march on them. II
you have had them this summer at all,
begKi campaign against them now,
even though you are not able to find
one. A thorough whitewashing of the
house should cover up all mites, and
by this means perhaps you will be able
to exterminate the last one. Many a
poultryman conducts his business for
years without ever having red mite
on his premises. So 1t is possible to
be entirely free from this pest.
Another bad habit is reported to be
gaining ground among shippers OF
poultry-the marking OF their ship
ments at few pounds more than they
actually weigh and demanding returns
from the commission man accordingly
The commission men have found 1t out,
but do not like to refuse to make re-
turns according to markings, for fear
of losing customers. II the habit Is
not abandoned 1t will simply lead to
the commission men getting even with
the shippers by some smart practices,
for which they have abundant oppor-
tunity. In a game of this kind the
shipper is certainly not in a position
to beat the middleman, and he nau
better give it up. 1t moreover partakes
of the character of dishonest act and
will not pay in the long run. What we
want in the whole commission business
is strict honesty in dealing, and we
have even had laws passed to force the
commission men to be honest. 1t Is
not wise for the shipper to thus set
the commission man an example in
dishonesty.
There is no money in the poultry
business without work. In many cases
it requires more than work-study.
The man that expects to keep large
flock Of hens by simply having good
houses and yards will fail. He cannot
run a flock of 100 or 200 hens by just
running out in the morning, throwing
out a few measures of grain, giving
them a supply of water and going
away at the same Quick-step at which
he came. That may work for awhile,
but he will soon find either that his
fowls are not doing well or that they
are dying off from. some mysterious
disease. A man will simply get pay
for the time he puts in and not for
time that he spends at other affairs.
A man who attempts to keep 100 hens
will be surprised at the amount OF
time it takes him each day to look
after them. When it Is not one thing
to use up his time it is another. But
there is money in poultry for the man
who expects to attend to it as he would
expect to attend to any other kind OF
business.
We see that writer in noted poul-
try journal attacks the feeding OF sour
milk to fowls. The article starts out
with almost a promise of proving that
sour milk is detriment to the health
of the fowls, but ends up with the ad-
vice to feed the milk mixed with the
ground food. The chief argument Is
that when the milk is fed in bulk the
hens and chicks get wet in it and then
get covered with dirt and flies, on ac-
count of which they present very
sorry appearance. One would think, to
hear the argument, that there was no
possible way of feeding milk to fowls
without doing so in way that would
permit them to bath in it at the same
time. But experienced poultry raisers
know a good many ways to prevent
such an episode The writer feeds sour
milk to his hens in large quantities.
He does so by feeding in a large pan,
only an edge of which is in the poultry
yard The fowls can come and drink
at leisure and at will, but they get no
chance to battle in the milk. The
ground around does not become soiled
and filthy as the writer in the con-
temporary complained. The milk is
eaten with avidity and we have never
been able to detect any but good re-
suits from its use.