Evening star., 1914-07-18
Eggs That Wouldn't Hatch.


Eggs That Wouldn't Hatch.
The trouble started almost with the
beginning of our career as breeders of
stock and tillers of the soil. First, there
were the eggs. for which We paid a hign
price. and which wouldn't hatch i can't
think of more complete example of
futile endeavor than trying to hatch
chickens from infertile eggs. An Edison
would fail just as thoroughly as a John
Smith a Bill Jones.
The next cross had to bear was
the terrifcally high rate of mortality
among the baby chickens, when We
finally did get some hatched. They drop
ped off by twps and fours and by the
dozens. One morning there were forty
dead in one brooder. Poultry experts
and farm scientists claim to have done
great deal for the chicken business.
and. no doubt. they have. But the death
rate among newly Matched chickens must
be several times as high as il was back
IN the good old days when the farmers
brood her chicks. 1t isn't to be disputed
that on commercial poultry farms the
average egg yield per hen has been
largely increased but it looks to me
as If it had been done at the expense
OF vitality. No doubt this is all right
Tor the owner of the farm who does
nus Matching i'll mammoth incubators
AOoo or more at a time. If he hatches
chlckens he hatcnes we may be able
70 stand it; but how about the people
so wnom he sells eggs for Matching at
70 anu siV or more hundred? If the
PUIchaser OF Matching eggs gets as low
percentage of hatchablilty and liyabil-
3ty from his Sc hundred eggs. each
uvable chick would represent an initial
NV Investment OF about 30 cents-and SO
0oe IN the world can make money in the
cncken business with such expensive
elock- All the writer's in the poultry
1hagazines preach the doctrine OF pure
oleu STOCK. flock or pure-breds GER
sdihly Is pleasing to the eye but lust the
same Jane and know a woman OUT here
VINO got eggs all last winter from her
nuiiofeu or 50 InonSrel hens. and this
Sozns Sp,s natcned eleven eggs out OF every
uoLeh She put under hens and raised
sight out OF every ten chickens shs
6atched. sue
Weather Deals Hard Knocks.
But am wandering away from nv
tneme OF the impotency of man in his
struggle with nature. II bv no ueans
dpphes to live stock alone. We can.
out mere the list of March. and I e.-
pected to be planting my garden bv
81 Patrick's day. There is :. tb.or,
you Know. tina; cary potatoe. should
oe planted on St. Patrick's dav and he
ready to dig the 18th of July 1 was pre-
pared TO conform to the theoretical
practice. had my seed potatoes and for
tNzer fought and man engaged to do
my pioWinS. But the weather wiJ}ed
o'her"ise; have forgotten whether
Tue ground was still frozen on 81
Patrlck S day. but l know it was in No
condiuon to plow. Nor did it get in
condition until weeks of watchfuI and
wsary waiting had gone by. 1t kept on
tanning and was cold. and it would have
peen worse than labor wasted to have
broken up the soil. / didn't determine
tnfs from my own knowledge of course.
LOT l mad precious little useful knowl-
eaSe OF larm practices, despite NV ON
mvorous reading, but l do claim credit
Tor having sense enough to heed the ad-
wee or my practical neighbors.
f1naiiy II did quit raining and the
ground dried out enough to plow and
Oant But the trouble was that, having
quit, II neglected to resume. All through
MAY and well into June there We're only
q Few weak limitations of rain The
more We had grumbled because early in
the spring il rained too much. the harder
We kicked now because it dfdn', rain
| q ALL
Why don't you folks who live in town
DO some grumbling about those long.
dry weeks? I'll tell you why It's be.
cause you don't know that right now
you are digging down In your pockets
for dollars TO help foot the bill. You re
doing it just the same. And you're GO
ing TO keep right doing it all sum
xner. despite the too abundant rains we
aAve been having lately.
Potatoes as an Example.
For example. new potatoes ought to bs
getting cheaper In Washington, now tina,
u Is time for early local paintings to
be coming on the market But they're
not. for the simple reason that the earl,
planted local crop is almost a complete
failure The reason it is a failure is
because the "spuds'' should have been
making' in May and early June, and
there wasn't moisture enough in the
ground to make" them. 1t looks as
II / would have a good crop of potatoes
aS no doubt r. great many other people
will. but we'll have them solely because
we didn't succeed in getting our seed
in the ground at the time early potatoes
should have been planted, That's one
case where the bad luck We growled
about turned to our advantage.
Nor are potatoes the only things upon
which you are being forced to help pay
the dry weather bill. You were taxed
on peas. or elsA you did without peas
becauss they wsIS too outrageously high