Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-13
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| feeding or a sudden increase in the
| ration will not cause blackhead. but
frequently causes death of birds in
| which blackhead is present
| The bodies of all birds which have
died of blackhead should be burned or
| buried Immediately.
ton to put into practice all of these
recommendations, especially those in
regard to the isolation of the flock. The
| to mingle with the other fowls Unless
| these recommendations can be rather
| closely followed. however, it is not ad-
tlsanie 70 attempt to raise turkeys af-
ter the disease has once made its APP
pearance. The turkeys in your flock
which do not appear to be Infected may
become chronic carriers of the disease.
\ II u is necessary for you to rear tur-
keys next season on ground which
has heen occupied by fowls or by dis
eased turkeys. You are very likely to
Head points of poultry as Indications
OF the qualifications of the fowls in the
matter OF egg production or table quail
| ny might be taken more seriously in
TINS country than they are, according
to an article in a recent issue of a
farm publication of vide circulation
| Ihe writer of the article says the Bel
| glan peasants. as we'll as peasants and
| farmers or other continental European
| countries declare that yellow or red
! -
or table, qualities; that white earlobes
marx the reproducing fowl, and that
smooth, kidlike texture of the earlobes
'nd a. a. csr smo9th.shelled eggs.
which fecundity has been developed
and maintained to the highest degree,
| notably the Mediterranean and west
| ern European races. have white ear
| iopes. whereas those that are specially
! designated for their flesh properties
even though the meat is pure white, as
| IN the Dorking, the Game, the Bresse
ana La Fleche. the Malines and the
butt and the White Orpingtons. have
| red earlobes. Yellow seems to take the
| place OF red in the American varieties
II Is upon these lines that the Bel
glans and the French have made Sc
! lection simply because they have found
mat development in one direction is
accompanied by variations such as are
here indicated. l am not aware of any
previous records in which figures are
given as to actual productiveness in
| reiations to variations in the tint or
color or the ear1obes. 1t is not the size
of the earlobe. but the color
further point is with respect to the
comb. but this is understood to a great
er extent. Recognition is given to the
iact mat all the best laying races have
combs that are large in relation to the
SIZE OF body. The Belgians operate on
the principle that pullets of the races
| or families in which the cockerels show
their sex by growth of comb at an
early age are always those that begin
to lay soonest, and vice versa in that
there. is a direct correlation between
the comb and wattles and the repro
ductive organs. and that redness of the
former is not arrived at until the latter
are active They also believe the crow
Is sure indication, which opens an
other question.
The texture of the comb and wattles
is indicative of the grain in flesh or
ha bod 4
comb and wattles found where the
flesh is similar. When these two head
ornaments are coarse or rough the
HeSh upon the body is the same.
Up to the present time little atten-
tlon has been paid to the practical val
ue OF external characteristics. study of
! ton In the drafting of standards for
breeds many mistakes have been made
not few of which are result of alb
sence of positive knowledge. For what
are known as utility breeds 1t would
be of the greatest Importance If such
were available. How far increased
whlteness in earlobes and paleness in
! beaks and legs are due to and betoken
loss of virility or are due to other
| causes has yet to be determined.
a strong argument against using
| pul!ets as breeding stock is made by
! HroI. W. A. Lippincott of Kansas Ag-
ricultural College, who says series
! OF experiments and long continued in
xestigation have proved to his salts
| faction that the continued use of such
| Dfeedlhg stock is the cause of small
| fowls and small eggs.
al. The pullet.'' says Prof. Lippincott.
begins to lay when she is six to nine
with the individuals and breed Be
1 cause she lays. however, it does not
| follow that she has reached maturity
| fullets eggs are considerably smaller
| than hens' eggs. In fact, If you were
| a Ia Nv fc
and weigh them and the following year
you were to weigh another hundred
eggs from the same birds you would
| find that the hundred eggs laid after
! they had reached maturity were some
| thing more than one and three-quar
| tiers pounds heavier than the eggs laid
/ the previous year The size of the
chick at birth is in direct proportion
to the size of the egg. and, further
| more. it has been shown by careful ex-
| pertinent that a chick that is behind
| the rest at the start Is slower in ma
| turing, grows slower and, as gen
era1 rule. never does attain the size
OF its brother which had the head start.
| This is just as much rule of poultry
| raising as of any other line of ANNA
husbandry. A pullet lays small egg
that matches a small chick that fails
to reach the size attained by another
pullet Matched from a hen egg. In the
course of time she comes into laying
and produces an egg that Is slightly
I
was matched. which in turn produces
a chick that is slightly smaller than
she was at birth. This gradually sub
| tracts from the size of the race. In
| addition. on an average the percentage
of hen eggs that hatch compared with
pullet eggs is 10 per cent greater.
| Chicks Matched from hen eggs show
| a mortality of per cent, while those
| from pullet eggs show a mortality of
! Az per cent in experiments conducted
| at the Kansas station"
In descriptions of poultry houses refer
screens. Actually muslin is not often
used because it is too thin to exclude rain
and in extremely cold times is almost
too open. In eastern Pennsylvania six
ounce duck gives the best ventilation.
Farther north. as in Maine. ten-ounce
duck is generally used. In more south
era sections, or where the temporal ure
is moderated by some cause peculiar to
that part of the country. muslin would
probably be heavy enough. For the front
heavy enough, except In the northern
part of the country. where six-ounce
duck would most likely be needed
In 1850 the average annual egg yield
OF each hen in the United States was
thirty seven, while now it is seventy
good way to feed large beets and
mangels is to lay them a heavy plank
and drive a spike through the vegetable
and far enough into the plank so it will
hold the beet in place so the hens can