The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-05-02
FoR "THE UNION
HEN WISDOM.

The day for the nondescript mongrels of the
oldtime barnyard is fast disappearing and the
royal bloods are taking their place, much RI the
delight and profit of the true chicken fancier.
In days gone by any old thing in the wav Of a
hen was sufficient to satisfy the demands ar tho
farmers wife. Just so as she could find eggs
enough for the family use all went well and no
complaints were ever heard against old "R;idv
NO accounts of any kind were ever kent a. TO
profit and loss, and no doubt it was good thing
for the hen that it was so. as many good for
nothing would have found an untimelV end had
the owner ever fully realized the few number of
eggs each hen layed during the year.
Eggs in midwinter were thing not looked for
and as we all know, that is the only time we ca n
make good profit on our hens, when eggs are
bringing % to 35 cts per dozen. There is nothing
in eggs at 10 or 10 cts. dozen. 1t hardly pays
for the grain they eat. So it is very plain that
if our hens only lay in summer that we are keep
ing the hen and not making the hen keen her
self. as she should do, and make us goodly sum
in the bargain.
But as time and tide wait for no mann things
in henland have continued TO improve from wear
where the poultry conditions have not been i'm
proved in some way-things kept more hyQieuic,
a certain time for feeding, warm roosting
wears gone by I'm mothers time" as Won SO
often hear someone say, 1.-The old way was GOOD
enough" but mother is dear and so are the old
time ways of keeping poultry.
Instead of the tumble down hen-house always
found on the farm we now see nice warm. dry,
sunshiny room, well ventilated and cleaned
daily, where cut straw or QrleQ leaves are RtreWQ
on the floor about five or six inches deep. into
which all the grain fed is thrown, thus necessi-
tating the hens to work for all they eat and q
busy hen is always healthy, happy hen. and
these are the kind of hens that do the heavv law
ing the year around.
Now what do we gain by all this fuss and
feathers new hen house and new way of feed
ing? you may ask yourself, as you look around
and take notice for the first time, perhaps of
how dilapidated your old hen house really is.
plainly showing that you are very nearly related
n Peter TnmhlQ0OWn-i,
Well, in the first place you will find that YOUR
pocket, which is always very near to the heart
of man, to say nothing of the other sex, will be
greatly benefited by the increase in the number
of eggs daily found in the new hen-house and
where you once had only sufficient eggs for the
d da.g s5yd 9H n sd nave many sna 60 Y
stiles. which is another way of saving the pebket
In the old way you lost many old hens Turing
the winter from the cold and exposure they
were forced to endure that could have leen fat
tened and sold for goodly sum.
You now find that your flock can be rell kept
on much less grain than formerly, as tfp old way
of just throwing the corn to the hensthe year
around in the mud and snow, as thu weather
conditions may be, is anything but CONDUCTIVE to
good health. Your hens should neyeIbe allow
ed to eat the snow, as it will Immediately affect
the egg organs, and it will be severalweeks be-
fore they will fully recover.
The oldtime hen-house was the ore building
on the farm we really dreaded to enter. for over
the door was plainly written, "All " who enter
here must scratch" But how different all this
is now. We take our friends to zee our new
buildings and with much pride throw open wide
the door that all may plainly see tlat filth is a
thing unknown in these parts. Nowhere can
lice be found, and 1T is a pleasure to visit each
day such home of perfect contentment Good
results only could come from such arrangements
as these.
Now as to what kind of birds you had better
keep. 1t is well for you to think and read wise
ly before making up your mind. There are sew
eral hundreds of pure bred varieties, each with
its special merits, and the kind to keep is the
kind you like the best for If your heart Is not in
your work you had better not startin the chicken
business. Where enthusiasm is lacking failure
is already assured.
Many people, in fact most people. labor under
the erroneous opinion that the poultry is a thing
to be taken care of only by the women not re-
qu1ring the greater mental capacity of the mas
culine gender; but they were never more mis-
taken, Tor the up-to date poultry business is one
that requires all of your mental capacity, and
the more brains the more profits will be found
every time. You will be surprised to find as you
progress from day to day how much there is to
learn as to the feeding, breeding and general
care of large number of chickens. Bykeepng
strict account of all your dealings you will be
able at the end of the year to know just what
you have been making as reward for your
faithful and untiring care.
There is lots of work to be done to attend to
every detail in the right way. But what bust
ness is there where you can make nice profit
without hard work of some kind. / am sure it
has not yet been found. 1t will always be hard
for lazy men and women to make living in
any way.
We are none of us ever too old to learn, and
right now is the time to sell off all of our old
mixed hens and after knowing just what we
really want to keep, buy some few pure bred
chickens or eggs and make a new start in the
right way, for the oldtime hen and big profits
will not travel together.
Many people keep their hens from year to year
until they hardly know how old they really are.
After hen has lay ed her three full winters she
is only fit for the soup pot.
The Plymouth Rocks are what may be called
the farmers favorite,' but of the other breeds
1 shall write another time. Let's all now try and
make good start for the spring of 1903.
T'T1E NFxUTrAfr IJrsu