Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-05
PARNELL'S HOME
NOW A HEN FARM
Special Cablegram to The Star.

Special Cablegram to The Star.
DUBLIN, August 4.-Avondale Mr. Par
nelrs old property. is being turned into a
chicken fattening institution. Here about
200 chickens are bought weekly, kept on
an average about month. and sold fat.
These chickens are reared in the district
round about, and are brought in daily by
the owners at the rate of about 200 per
day. When brought in they correspond to
Gamers" in cattle phraseology-that is,
they are lean, and are purchased for fat
tening. Each bird is paid for in proper
ton to its condition.
For the first twelve to fourteen days the
fowls are fed from little troughs in front
of their coops This food is very sloppy,
and is composed largely of oatmeal bar
ley meal, skim or butter milk, with lit
as they care to eat, and as they get no ex-
ercise they lay on flesh very fast-at least
as long as their appetites last. Whenever
their food begins to pail on them, cram
ming is resorted to. This may be carried
out by two methods. The food, In the
shape of small balls, may be forced into
the crop of the fowl by hand, or it may be
done by machine in the state of porridge.
pump, actuated by the foot of the person
in charge, and fed with sloppy food instead
of water from hopper above. On the
outlet of the pump there is about a foot
and a half of half-inch rubber tubing
The attendant takes the bird under his
left arm, opens its beak with his right
hand, and inserts the tube down to the
crop. This done, he puts his left hand
on the crop while he holds the pipe in po-
sition with the right. He then puts pres
oil Of laa ooh inc an CO
forces food into the crop of the bird till
he feels 1t distended to a degree which
from experience he knows to be safe. III
extra pressure was used in filling the crop
the bird would be killed. The time oc-
cupied is much less than IL has taken to
describe it, the operation requiring only a
few seconds. The fowls seem to enjoy
taking their food in this way, all thrust
their necks through the coops in their s-nx-
iety to be fed.
The new railway between Rosslare har-
Dor and Waterford, which was formally
opened by the lord lieutenant of Ireland,
has the longest viaduct In Ireland, the
new bridge across the River Barrow be-
fore its junction with the SUR being 9,131
feet between the faces of the abutments.
1t consists of thirteen fixed spans. with
a swing span over the river.
X X
The betting prosecutions just started In
Dublin illustrate the incongrllous condition
of the law on the subject There are pros
ecutions for betting In the street and for
betting In the shop, and in both cases fines
are being imposed. It was plain that the
defendants, and possibly the magistrate,
regarded the fines as a kind of an assess
ment of income tax on the takings OF the
f.x.xrf 49, To- .nfl
that as the defendant had been previously
convicted he would fine him $25. Mr..
Friery asked that the fine should be- re-
duced to $1b, as business was bad. Bet
ting In shop Is manifestly less objection
able than betting In the street. But 1t IL
more profitable 20 the fine was adjusted to
So instead OF SIS There is the fu,ther
anomaly that what II crime In the street