Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-12-02
INTERESTING FARM NOTES.

AN NAHAeubAiksV IhtM NUl UuI
The danger of deep plowing after
corn has formed roots is apparent.
Very often a good field of corn is
badly damaged by running pillow
deeply between the burrows, which
tears the roots and reduces the feed
ing capacity of the plant.
If the army of the birds were
destroyed, it has been estimated that
in the course of nine years the world
could not be inhabited by man, and,
in spite of all the sprays and poisons
that could be manufactured for the
destruction of insects all crops,
all fruits, everything which supports
human life, would, i'll acomparatively
short period of time, be destroyed by
slugs and insects. In some parts of
the United States bounty is placed
on the head of the red shouldered
hawk and few other birds, but it is
the conclusion of those who have
examined into the case that if the
bounty could be $500 fine on those
who kill the bird, instead Of 25 cents
to the bird slayer, our laws would
operate on the right side. A red
start has been known to eat 600 flies
an hour. and a blackcap has de-
stroyed 200 green flies from a rose
bush in a green house in few hours.
The wren feeds her young thirty. six
times an hour. A young robin kept
in captivity required sixty earth
worms day, and pair of blue jays
were once fed q half million cater
pillars in one season. The habits of
the chipping sparrow have been
closely watched, aud it was found
that the parent began feeding the
nestlings at few minutes before 4
o'clock in the morning and ended at
7:27 in the evening. The longest
rest taken during the day was twenty
seven minutes in the afternoon.
Two hundred visits to the nest were
made by the parents during the day.
The English sparrow is one of the
few birds that are not helpful.
No one is better situated to raise
capons than the farmer. On the
average farm the additional work
required to raise from 100 to 200
capons would not be noticed, and
the most of this work can be attended
to in the winter when time is plenti-
tnl with the farmer. In the neigh
borhood of Fairbury, Illinois, great
many capons are raised every year
and are found TO be very profitable.
The ordinary capon will grow to one
or two pounds more than the ordinary
uncaponized cockerel would in the
same time. The operation of capon-
izing does not require much skill,
though the beginner will probably
kill two or three at the start, which
will not be lost, for they bleed to
death in about the same time as if
their throats had been cut, and are
exactly as good for table purposes as
If bied in the latter way. A set of
tools for caponizing costs from $1.5O
to $500, and with each set is sent
directions that any one can follow.
On March 3Ist, good capons sold
readily in Chicago at IL cents per
pound, as against 10 cents for dressed
chickens. AS the average Plymouth
Rock capon will weigh seven or eight
pounds, it will be seen that the capon
sells for from 40 to so cents more
than the chicken of the same age, and
the difference in the cost of raising
is Insignificant. The writer has
known of flock of 400 capons that
cleared nearly 81 each. However,
these were extras-sold in Philadel-
phia, the greatest capon market in
the country.