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


The trouble started almost with the
beginning of our career 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 1 can't
think of a more complete example of
futile endeavor than trying to hatch
chickens from infertile eggs An Edison
would fail just as thoroughly as John
Smith or Bill Jones.
The next cross We had to bear was
the terrifically high rate of mortality
among the baby chickens, when We
finally did get some Matched. They drop
ped OF by twos and fours and by the
dozens One morning there were forty
dead in one brooder. Poultry experts
a 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 it was back
in the good old days when the farmers
wife depended on hens to hatch and
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 il it had been done at the expense
of vitality. No doubt this is all right
for the owner of the farm who does
his Matching in mammoth incubators,
10000 or more at a time. If he matches
a third of his eggs and raises half the
chickens he matches We may be able
to stand It; but how about the people
TO whom he sells eggs for Matching at
~ ana $1O or more hundred? II the
purchaser OF Matching eggs gets as low
percentage of hatchability and ivabil-
ity from his $6 hundred eggs, each
Hvaole chick would represent an initial
Investment OF about 80 centstand SO
one In the world can make money in the
chicken business with such expensive
stock AL the writer's in the poultry
magazines preach the doctrine of pure
A nr
tainly is pleasing to the eye. but just the
same Jane and know a woman out here
VINO got eggs all last winter from her
hundred or so mongrel hens and this
spring Matched eleven eggs out or every
dozen she put under hens and raised
eaght out Of every ten chickens She
Matched. S-Ao
Weather Deals Hard Knocks.
But am wandering away from nv
theme OF the impotency of man in his
strusgie with nature. 1t by no means
apphes to live stock alone. We came
Out mere the 1st Of March. and / ex-
pected to be planting my garden by
81 Patrick's day. There is a theory,
you Know. that early potatoes should
Dc planted on st. Patrick's day and be
ready to dig the 4th of July. l was pre-
pared TO conform to the theoretical
practice. had my seed potatoes and fer
tlhzer bought and man engaged to do
it otherwise. l have forgotten whethsr
the ground was still frozen on ST
Patricks day. but l know it was In no
condition to plow. Nor cid it get in
conoluon unth weeks Of watchfuI and
weary waiting had gone by. 1t kept on
raining and was cold. and it would have.
been worse than labor wasted to have
broken up the soil. l didn't determine
this from my own knowledge. Of course.
edge OF farm practices. despite my ON
nivorous reading, but 1 do claim credit
Tor having sense enough to heed the ad-
Vice of my practical neighbors
Finally it did quit raining and the
ground dried out enough to plow and
plant But the trouble was that, having
quit, 1t neglected to resume. All through
May and well into June there were only
a Few weak limitations of rain The
more We had grumbled because early in
the spring it rained too much. the harder
we kicked now because it didn't rain
at 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 II Just the same. And you're 60
ing to keep right on doing it all sum-
mer, despite the TOO abundant rains we
have been having lately.
Potatoes as an Example.
For example. new potatoes ought to be
getting cheaper in Washington. now that
1t Is time for early local paintings to
be coming on the market. But they're
not. for the simple reason that the early
planted local crop is almost a complete
failure. The reason 1t 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
a. no doubt 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 else you did without peas
4~ $tn~- II