Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-11-28

hScpb a record OF Ine DulleT IdI ~ O-
duction of each of his cows can elimi-
nate the "boarder cow" who produces
less than the value of what she eats,
so the orchardist can eliminate the
fruit tree which fails to pay fair rent
for the ground it occupies.
A. D. Shamel of the Department of
Agriculture, government expert who
makes his headquarters at the citrus
experiment station at Riverside, Cal,
citrus orchard near Corona to keep
records of the individual yield of $1,000
orange and lemon trees. Use of this
system for three or four years has
proved how practical and profitable it
is on a commercial basis. ..
Every tree in this orchard has a num-
Der painted upon it. Each tree is pick
ed separately. the fruit weighed and
the record entered in a permanent rec
ord book
These records soon showed that one
out of four of all the lemon trees in
the orchard failed to pay their way
Examination was made to see If the
low yield was due to bad soil condi-
IONS, gophers or gum disease. II no
such excuse could be found for the
tree, then 1t was -rebudded with a bud
from a tree whose records had proved
1T TO yield a high crop and good type
OF fruit. The first $500 trees rebudded
| all. without exception, came up to the
desired standard. and 1900 more have
now been tagged for rebuilding.
| Mr.. Shamel's experiments show that
an unproducttve tree can be changed,
! oy top-working, into good producer.
| Three years after being rebudded, one
lemon tree produced 329 pounds of
lemons During the half year ending
June 80. 1850: that is, about seven
| neid boxes. good average for the or
binary high producing tree of ten or
| twelve years.
| So the day is coming when the lazy
fruit tree will be as promptly detected
| as the lazy COW who fails to earn her
BOARD. A lazy tree, like lazy COW,
uses as much land and feed and re-
cures as much labor and care as the
| highly productive tree or the highly
productive COW.
Always bear in mind that sanitation
| IN the poultry houses is just as impor-
.ant as any other feature of poultry
| raising An egg may be fresh and
| warm from the nest and still not be
Rood or taste good if sanitary condi-
they should he. or il the hen that laid
the egg has been improperly fed.
Onions and rank turnips, if fed to the
| laying hens. will impart a sagreeab BILE
| flavor to the eggs
| Hens housed in damp. dark or drafty
houses soon become debilitated, and al.
| thoush they may continue to lay fairly
| We'll, their eggs not good for food
| any more than is the meat that comes
| from unhealthy or tuberculous cattle.
| From four to six square feet per hen
IS considered an ample allowance OF
moor space where the birds are kept in
| hooks of 100, though in the case OF
smaller fiocks the floor space per fowl
! may be increased.
That milk in any form is good feed
for poultry is generally accepted
fact. but just how good it is has never
been demonstrated more forcibly tina
in the results of experiments carried on
at the Missouri College of Agriculture
| at Columbia. The same tests also
showed the comparative value of milk
and beef scraps as feeds to make hens
lay. They show that the pen of fowls
that had beef scraps in the ration made
better laying record than the one
that had sour skim milk. or the one
that received neither milk nor beef.
But the difference in cost of the bee
scraps and the milk shows that the
miik,fed hen was the more profitable.
MIX or meat in the ration may make
all the difference between proft and
loss. says Prof. II. l.. kempster, head
or the poultry department where these
tests were carried out. We got only
no animal food, while another pen OF
hens no better in any way, but fed
sour milk, laid 1.1S3 eggs. Those fed on
peer scraps laid 1.s0c eggs. While this
IS higher record than either of the
others, the sour milk is SO much cheap
err and easier to get on most farms tina
we recommend it most highly At 90
cents dozen, the eggs from the hens
fed on sour milk brought $29s1, and
those from the hens fed beef scraps
brought $4,000. The difference wouldn' t
begin to pay for the extra cost and
trouble of obtaining the beef scraps.
Theory and experience both saw
Feed the laying hen sour milk as part
of her ration"
Ducks are more easily reared than
chickens, but this fact does not mean
that neglect viii not be well paid for
easily housed. since all they need is a
low shed providing shelter free from
drafts. and dry straw on the floor. They
need no roosts but they do need a dry
hoor Tor sleeping quarters. They are
free from vermin and subject to but
one or two diseases Of a serious nature.
A lot of dependable information on
duck raising Is given in a group Of
"donts" Just issued by the poultry. de-
partment of the Wisconsin Agricuitural
College. They are:
Don't try to raise ducklings on whole
wheat. cracked corn or commercial
chick reeds. II used at all, these feeds
should be we'll cooked, for ordinarily
ducks do rot consume enough grit to
grind dry grain.
Don't be afraid of overlooking.
Ducks should be fed four or Ave time s
daily.
Don't omit fresh vegetables and
green stuff from their diet
Don't forget plenty of clean, fresh
water. and give them a chance to rest
in the shade.
Don't let their coops get damp and
filthy"