The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1899-01-04
AGRICULTURAL.
A Little Hen Talk and a Good Poultry
Paper.


Paper.
Hens are handsome, hens are useful,
that is if they are from some good
breed. The mixed common kind are
not handsome and many of them are
far from useful, but take a Plymouth
Rock, WyaDdotte, or Leghorn, aud
in them you can get beauty and utility
combined. A good many farmers have
learned the folly of keeping poor
COW when cool COW on the same or
very little more feed will bring in a
third or a half more in products. 1t is
just 80 with the poultry. The poor
scrubs will not bring in more than a
small fraction of the profit which can
be secured from good stocV. But the
good stock must have good care; neg
lect is waste, whether in caring for cat
tie, hens or crops. If you are going TO
keep fowls, you must expect to take
care of them. And proper care may
mean the opposite of what you think it
does. Two families lived near together
in southern state where there is but
little snow. One of them carefully fed
the hens once or twice day on corn,
the hens on the other place were not
fed the whole winter through; even
when there was snow on the ground
the hens had to rough it. Now every
BOD, bpA hat 10 fot nd
it is not matter of surprise that the
corn fed hens fatted up and did not lay
at all. They had enough to eat with
out effort, they stood around and fatted
up from idleness and gormandizing.
But those unfed hens had TO literally
scratch for living. There were seeds
which they could get by dint of hard
work. They had no time to waste in
moping on the roost or standing on one
leg in the SUI. They worked and
they laid, laid all winter. Now there
was case of unnecessary care, care
that was misplaced and lost. The
proper care Of hens does not consist in
stuffing them with corn or corn meal.
That is never proper care. Feed the
hens on egg producing food, and give it
to them 80 that they will have to
scratch for living. Have a scratching
shed or something of the kind where
you can keep lots of leaves, chaff, litter
and such things as hens delight to
work in. Give them about half break
fast of hot dough and then mix well
with the scratching material enough
seed to keep them busy all day. The
seed is preferably mixture of grains,
but most of it should be small like mil
let seed. Pure air and plenty of scratch
ing are the best things to make hens
lay and keep them well.
Vermont farmers ought to make
more OF their hens. On scores of farms
there should be young people who are
taking an interest in the poultry. The
keeping of good fowls and taking prop
er care of them is one of the ways in
which the farmers can make a part OF
their living. Young people especially
and older ones as well, ought TO learn to
take the best care of fowls so as to Sc
cure the most paying results from
them. Learn all you can in every way,
and let us say that one of the best plans
to get instructions in this line is to
read a good poultry paper like Farm
Poultry. 1t is a semi-monthly of the
size of the Youths Companion, twenty.
eight pages and many valuable illustra'
tions. AS to the matter printed, we
have found it to be the most practical
interesting and helpful of any similar
paper we have ever found. We think
it would pay any one who has place
for poultry to read this paper. II
would save many times its cost in al
most any farm home. The price il
only 81 per year, and the numbers il
carefully kept and stitched together OF
fastened with a binder, are worth 6
great deal as poultry book for constant
reference. Issued by l. S. johnson &
Co., 20 Custom House street, Boston
Mass.