The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-11-18

certain experiment station several years ago, demonstrated very clearly the superiority of the pure -breds over dunghills The actual figures showed that the former returned a profit of slightly over 50 cents more per bird than the latter. Yet in the face of this evidence we find that the mongrels still hold sway on farms all over the country The farmers who persist in following the old ruts have only them selves to blame if farm poultry falls to return a good profit over the cost of feed.
 The breeding experiments at the Maine station, together with those of 1 New York. Connecticut and other 1 states. have shown how the farmer and l commercial poultry keeper can 1m- rrove egg production without the use l of the trap nest. Trap nest records or thousands of fowls kept at these in- i stitutions show that the late molter is generally a good layer; that early ] producing bullets are usually high pro- ducers; that pale~colored shanks in the fall in the breeds that have yellow l shanks. are a good indication of high i performance; that the first and second 1 years of a hens life are the most pro = | ductive; and that hens must possess strong, vigorous constitutions to with stand heavy production.
 1 In addition to these pTdCllCdi icS- sons, there is available, to the poultry keeper who wishes to practice careful pedigree breeding, great mass or data ! covering the different phases of such work.
 i CULLING UNDESIRABLE To make a profit today the poultry keeper must offset the disadvantage oi high-priced feed by getting rid of the drones. Every bird must pay profl' above the cost of her feed, and if the early molters. slow developing bullets hens that are two years old, and the sickly, anemic individuals are elim- N mated, this is easily possible Apply the lessons drawn from experimental work and cull everything that does not come up to specifications.
 Several experiment statics= havs carried out elaborate investigations II connection with the housing of poul' try A great many different types o houses have been tested and the re suits invariably show that the high est degree of health and productive ness obtain only when the house Is dry | well ventilated and so constructed tha the interior is flooded with sunlight Yet it is no trouble to find any mum Der of poultry houses that are damI very poorly ventilated and seldom warmed with ray of sunshine. Thei
 
 ops colds and roup and fails to Ia. during the winter months. High~price' feeds will surely drive such husband men out of business, unless the, change the quarters of the layers t' conform with the housing require
 ments that careful experiments hay
 established. On receipt of a postal re
 quest your experiment station will for
 ward complete details of modern poul
 try housing.
 In addition to the work on feeding breeding and housing. there is grea 1 mass of miscellaneous information o
 untold value. Such subjects as the car
 and feeding of chicks, operation of tn
 incubator and brooder. how to prepar
 Homemade lice powders and disin
 fectants, how to treat common disease
 and a hundred and one similar ques
 tions are carefully worked out in de
 tail Most of this information is com
 piled in pamphlet form and furnishe
 free,
 AVOID HAPHAZARD METHODS
 Tn the prewar days it was compara lively easy to make profit fror
 poultry with haphazard methods Q