Evening star., 1916-03-19

Efficiency in poultry raising. in
these days of increasing cost of feeds,
grams, etc, and of sharp competition,
is as necessary as in any other line
OF human endeavor. Haphazard meth
DDS bring haphazard results with poul-
try as well as with everything else.
The up-to date farmer would no more
think of running his farm with scrub
horses, Improbable cows, ancient,
rickety machinery and the like than
he would think of trying to grow crops
without fertilizing his land But the
same farmer seems never to think of
the advantages of breeding up his farm
flock of poultry, raising none but pure
bred fowls that know how to convert
the feed they consume into eggs and
meat; and this is the reason that even
today the poultry on many farms is
Gull stuff that brings low prices even
for broilers, and lays no eggs during
the months when eggs are worth al
most their weight in silver.
Improve the flock; it always pays.
Many of the farms have good stock.
but the trouble is they have too many
kinds of it. 1t is A poor policy to buy
up pure-bred stock and turn it loose
among half dozen other kinds, some
any KIND of treatment: yet this is a
rule on many farms. If you give all
extra care, the pure-bred will respond
to the good treatment and do good
work as long as they live. but the pure
pred seldom do good work under neg
lect: they are not used to it. The
good trea tment the ure-bred get to
brinS them up to the right standard
becomes necessity, and they suffer
ana lose out under rough conditions.
If your stock is run down improve it,
Get rid of all poor stuff. Don't be
AFRAID to Gull. and Gull closely. Weed
out weakly, understood hens Say that
you have a mixed flock. with fair
sprlnkling of barred hens or any color
that is in close resem blance to some of
the Pure-breds and yet you know they
are not pure bred, there is nothing to
hinder YOU from making those barred
mems or the buff or white-whatever
you may nave majority of-the basis
lor an improved flock that will come
up TO the pure-bred in size and looks.
the selected hens. If there are no cock
and strength because of the late
crosses in their blood
1T is true that If YOU will improve
you must breed from one color You
must set aside ten or more of your
best marked hens of the color decided
on, which may be barred. If you have
q cockerel or two well marked as
these hens and large as the barred
breed requires. keep these to mate with
the selected hns. If thre ar no cock
erels of this variety to breed from it
bred
There must he some arrangement
made for keeping these male birds and
the selected hens in "A pen to them
serves during the breeding season The
| expense OF such a pen is very light
You cannot expect to improve Your
nock without some slight expense
! Zen or fifteen hens will give you all
| the eggs you need for breeding stock
next year, even after close culling BN
another year you should be able to dis
card all your mixed stock and rely or
| flock, which will yet demand cullinc
and good selection each year
| Poultry keepers may easily reduce
the percentage of dirty or soiled eggs
and losses entailed to insignificant,
| figures. First, an ample number oi
nests is, of course. necessary, but al
ample number means no more than
and probably not as many as. are usu.
ally directed by poultry writers. Lay
ing houses are, rule. provided
with q sufficient number. but where
| the Keeper falls down is in failing tc
supply enough nesting material anc
I floor litter.
| Obviously the nesting material mus
be clean. or the eggs become soiIed By
| contact. and it must be sufficient il
quantity. or the eggs are often broke er
by dropping upon the hard floor of the
nest
| In houses where the dropping boards