The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-26
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r TME ALABAMA POLYTECHNIC INBTl II ready among the most prosperous of the many and varied new industries in and about Savannah. is that conducted by MT Robert saussy at the Bona Bella farm. lo- cated at the station by that name between Thunderbolt and sandfy, on the Savannah Electric Company's road.
 The place is an ideal one for the busi- ness as is shown by the success that has already been achieved--in fact. poultry raising on rather . largo scale has been con ducted on the farm for about eighteen years though only since Mir. saussy took hold of the business has it been put on . plane to make it commercially important. The farm
 sbuts on e stretch of marsh and the first
 effort in raising poultry was devoted to
 ducks. of which large quantities were solj to the New York market. but high trans portation rates and other considerations finally caused this branch of the business to be abandoned, and then the attention of the owners was devoted to chiciens.
 When the property came Into the hands of its present owners. one of whom is Mir Saussy, the stock of chickens consisted of about three hundred head of grown barred Plymouth Rock fowls. This breed appears to be among the best fowls as layers and for the table. and 50 no change was made. but the flock was added to by breeding at the farm until 1t now numbers about two thousand The property contains some thirty three acres. and as each acre of ground will support one hundred hens. the stock will be increased to something more than three thousand.
 A large part of the revenue of the farm is derived from the sale of eggs. of which from twenty-five to thirty dozen are secured . day during the laying season, but a large part of these are also matched to keep up and increase the stock of brood fowls. The remainder are for the market.
 The matching is done by means of three incubators, two of them with q capacity of 800 eggs each, and the third capable of ac- commodatins s5o eggs. It is usual to secure chickens from about 75 per cent of the eggs. The temperature of the machine is kept at 103 degrees and the heat Is secured and regulated by . system of hot water pipes with which the machine Is fitted
 The water Is heated by several self-ad- exact amount of heat being maintained by means of an arrangement that adjusts the temperature automatically. After the chickens are matched they are kept in the machine for thirty-six hours. then taken to the brood house. and later to the pens. The matching season begins in September and ends the last of April.
 Because of the care required by the bid dies when they are very young the hatch ings are arranged that only one of the machines shall turn out a brood at 6 time. so that by the time the new brood arrives the youngsters of the previous one are fair ly able to take care of themselves They are we'll taken of, too. and from a chickens standpoint can have nothing to complain of. unless 1t be their ultimate fate. to furnish the piece de resistance at a din- ner later on.
 While still young the chicks are fed five times a day. their food consisting chiefly of cracked wheat. As they grow older the number of feeding times is cut down until the second late in the afternoon. The grown chickens are fed on bran, corn meal and meat scraps in the morning and cracked corn and oats in the afternoon. A variety is given the menu by furnishing them from time to time with shrimp and with crush ed crabs Tn addition they have the run of a certain amount of grassy land. and. fur ther. are furnished with an abundant sup ply of lime, gravel and grit The last named material is broken granite and is brought all the way from New Hampshire.
 The greater number of bullets are re- served to increase the number of layers, while the cockerels are sold for table use. The proportion of roosters in an average hatch of eggs is a little over one-half. The proportion kept in the flock of breeders Is one to twelve hens. The present stock on the farm consists of 500 bullets. 300 cock erels, 150 one-year-olds and $50 two-year- olds.
 The quarters of the chickens consist of ten houses, which will accommodate 100 fowls each. twelve houses for the young chickens and twelve mating houses. These quarters are kept in the best of condition being kept clean and wholesome by daily cleaning and freed from insects and para sites by being sprayed once a week with a solution of promo -naph olium, with which all parts of the quarters are sprayed. The efficacy of the precaution is shown by the fact that no distemper has ever been known among the chickens. and the loss of life is exceedingly small
 Possibly another reason for this satisfac- tory condition of affairs is to be found in the fact that MT. saussy has caused to be bored an artesian well and has a system of pipes that furnish a constant supply of pure water in every pen.
 Chickens are not the only interest at the farm. however. for many crops are grown on the lands and a large quantity of fruit. pears, figs and peaches being the principal ones. There is a grove of forty pecan trees bearing. and the farm also supports a mum. Der of cows, the nucleus of a drove that MT. Saussy intends to secure with a view of conducting a dairy farm in connection with his chicken raising.