French Broad hustler and Western Carolina Democrat. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1915-1916, 1916-02-03
FARMING or THE HENS.
New Methods of Raising Chickens and
F~attening Hogs I'm Germany ON Ae-
count Of War; The Results.

age? How do the stocks of farm ans
mails hold out in Germany? These are
Questions that must have been put by
many in this. country. While We, with
j glorious. resources. need never
pects a similar blockade, it might not
come amiss to take a peep behind the
wells and see how things look now
over there on the farms after a year
arc a half of war.
From a letter recently received and
augmented by reports from govern
ment sources, the way they farm out
animals and. take care of hogs and
chickens is at least novel, and may, in
many sections even here, deserve imi-
tation.
Owing to the fact that wheat and
wheat -four are scarce but barley oats
and rye abundant, the government has
from the first limited the use OF the
former. Bread can only be had upon
certain bread coupons, which are hand
cd out weekly to each person, hi then
only in certain limited quantities. The
use of fresh bread is altogether for
hidden. AS the oats, although ample
for all ordinary needs, have been re-
QUESTIONED for the use of the army
herses the farmer is compelled to
make his barley inc rye do the work
of all other grains. Such horses as
the farmer has been able to keep are
fed or nothing but pasture, hay an6l
straw mixed. This they have by this
time been taught to do in a very sat.
isfactory manner. Rye bread is the
staple bread now in all homes, and
barley forms the ingredient of most
soups for the people is well as the
grain portion of all feeds.
Hens on Pasture.
The public realm act, issued during
the summer gave free to every poultry
raiser having one hundred or more
hens any grain field, after the harvest
was over, to use as his henyard
SpSciaIIy-designed wagons, govern
ment owned. have. been made, that
convey the hens from their former
quarters to the fields to be covered.
A house accommodating fifty hens has
been built, on the wagon gear in such
a manner that the extra sides, which
are fastened up while driving, can be
slid down to the ground. making thus
to all intents and purposes a good,
enough house for my small flock.
AS the wagons of Germany are al
built after the shape and style Of u
ole Prairie Schooners, having a very
long wagon-boX, reports say that many
farmers have crowded a little, and
even put one hundred hens in them
with good success. These hens, when
put out in the field, dc not get any
thing at all to eat except what they
hunt up themselves. They. are water
ed should running water or ponds not
be near. but that and the egg collec-
ton is the only york ever lone with
them. As there is no dropping board,
the dToppings fall from the roost right
on the ground, and, when scratched
over q little on a rainy day, when some
OF the hens may not venture out. are
incorporated at once with the soil, 10
the best possible advantage of that
soil. While it is true, so my inform
ant says. that egg production fell off
considerably at the beginning-thls
was in July-by the time the hens
were used to this nomad way of living.
towards the end of the fall, eggs were
rather better quantitatively and quail
itatively han general found even I'M
der the former pampered home care
This is reasonable to believe, at least
SO far as the quality of the eggs is
concerned, for the chance to pick I'D
anything unsuitable and unclean is re-
duced to a minimum. The fact that
more eggs were again laid towards the
end Of fall sas to be explained by the
former rest, while the hens were
changed. and that nature would try
to strike an equilibrium as soon as the
hen had been used to the new mode
of earning her living.
While this farming-out plan of the
ole fOcks of Germany was a success
it should not be imagined that We.
with all kinds of hens. could do equal.
1y as well, should we ever try it.
Much depends on the hen. l doubt
very much if our Light Brahmas or
even all our Rocks n Orpingtons,
removed from their well-cared-for
home, could even exist, far less pro-
duce under such circumstances. It
requires an active, agile bird one that
can cover a large acreage of land f
need be in order to fill her crop. The
Leghorns, Campines and even the
H~anburgs are ideal for his p
1t they are thrown on their own re-
sources and if they find their feed
box empty and the keeper asleep, they
may sco1d for a few minutes, but then
it is off into the fields afar, where they
will hunt like our wild pheasants.
And they come home with a crop full
of the choicest possible food.
The Germans have in national
breeds only breeds of this stamp, III
fact the Leghorns. Campines, Ham
burgs, Thuringers, etc., are all active
breeds. good on the wing and long
stationed on steely legs, and it is to
be supposed that the success of the
new method is due larely to the breecs
employed.
No Grain for Chicks.
The young stock, Matched during
last spring, was similarly farmed out.
To feed grain to a chicken was consid-
cred a crime against the state, as all.
grain could be used to a more lasting
advantage in another direction. So