Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-11-18

The aim Of the experiment stations
has been to show. by careful tests OF
various kinds, what feeds are best
adapted to egg production. how the
egg production Of the flock can be i'm
proved through selection and breeding.
what type OF house is best suited to
the needs Of the fowls. and how dis
eases may be treated and eliminated.
In fact. all important phases Of poul-
try keeping have received careful con-
sideration and study. From this work
there has accumulated vast wealth
of information. available to every poul-
tryman for the asking.
That farmers and poultry keepers
generally have failed to make use of
this knowledge Is well known. Many
farmers and commercial poultrymen
past year because Of high-priced feeds.
1t Is impossible, they say. to make any
profit under present conditions.
Why Some Breeders Fail.
On the other hand. We find any num-
Der of poultry keepers who are making
money and planning to increase the
extent of their operations as fast as
possible.
What is the difference between these
two classes?
Observations have convinced me that
the failure of the former 10 due to the
fact that they have not kept abreast
of the times. They fail to see the need
Of utilizing the information that has
been obtained from experimental work.
To them q hen is a hen. regardless Of
her egg production. They don't know
that when wheat reaches a price that
hi re re-
substituted by other feeds. Only a few
days ago a poultryman told me there
was no use fooling with hens II wheat
had to be omitted from the ration. If
results of recent feeding tests he would
not have made such a statement.
The Wheatless Ration.
For more than a year the government
has been trying out what II known as
the wheatless ration. The results OBJ
tanned from the experiment have been
being advocated all over the country.
The scratch feed Is composed of two
pounds of cracked corn and one pound
of oats, and the mash IL made up of
pound of beef scraps. The mash Is kept
in a hopper. to which the birds have
free access at all times and the scratch
feed is given in the litter. The aim is
to regulate the quantity OF scratch iced
so that the fowls will consume about
equal parts of the scratch and mash.
Similar feeding experiments are con-
stantly being conducted by the differ
emit poultry experiment stations in va
rious parts Of the country. The poultry
keeper who hopes to feed his flock eco
nomically must keep in touch with this
work. Write to your state experiment
station and ask for wartime feeding
literature, and then put the suggestions
into practice.
A comparative test between purs-bred
fowls and mongrels. staged by q GER
tain experiment station several years
ago. demonstrated very clearly the su-
periority of the pure-breds over dung
the former returned a profit Of slight
latter. Yet in the face OF the evidence
sway on farms all over the country. The
farmers who persist in following the
old ruts have only themselves to blame
If farm poultry fails to return q good
profit over the cost Of feed.
The breeding experiments at the
Maine station, together with those of
New York. Connecticut and other
states, have shown how the farmer and
poultry keeper can improve
egg production without the use Of the
trap nest. Trap nest records of thou
sands of fowls kept At these institu-
lions show that the late molter 10 gen.
orally a good layer; that early produc-
ing pullets are usually high producers;
that pale-colored shanks In the fall in
the breeds that have yellow shanke are