The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1918-04-12
NEWS NOTES
BY A. 1. Foard, County Agent
Attention During Matching Period
VIII Prevent Loss.

VIII Prevent Loss.
When the chickens begin to hatch,
the sitting hen should not be disturbed
unless she is restless and steps on or
pick the chickens. In this case the
chicken should be removed as soon as
dry and placed in basket lined with
flannel or some other warm material
and the basket placed near a fire or
in some warm place until all the eggs
are Matched. Another plan is to re-
move the eggs from the restless hen
and place them under mere quiet
one whose eggs are Matching at the
same time.
When the eggs hatch unevenly, as
is frequently the case, those which are
slow in Matching may be placed I'M
der another hen. Hens often are
restless after part Of the chickens
are out, which allows the Remaining
eggs to become cool at the very time
when steady heat Is necessary to sue
cessful and strong matches. Remove
the eggshells and any eggs which has
not Matched as soon as Matching is
over.
The mother hen should be fed as
soon as possible after the eggs are
Matched, as feeding tends to keep her
quiet. Hens that are not so fed will
sometimes leave their nests. Insome
cases it is best that the hen remain on
the nest and brood the chickens for
at least "a hours after the Matching
is over.
1t is important at this stage to
guard against lice and mites, before
the hen and her chickens are removed
to brooding coop she should be
busted with a good insect powder.
This should be repeated every two
weeks, or as often as is necessary, un-
til the chickens are weaned. If lice
becomes thick on the chickens, or il
they are troubled with "head lice,"
very little grease such as lard or vas
cline may be applied with the fingers
on the head, neck, under the wings
and around the vent. Great care is
necessary, however, not to get too
much grease on the chickens, as it will
stop their growth and in some cases
may prove fatal.
Orchard Spraying Demonstrations
The first summer spray, known as
the cluster bud spray, was put on the
demonstration orchards this week.
These demonstration orchards be-
long to w. E. Matkin, Harvey Strong,
State Hospital No. 4, and Bismarck
School. The next spray will be put on
when about two-thirds Of the petals
have fallen. The public is invited to
attend these demonstrations.
Much interest has developed around
Bismarck in the spraying work. Sew
eral new spray outfits have been pur-
chased by the farmers there.
State Angus Sale at Poplar Bluff.
The County Agent attended the
State Angus Breeders Association
sale at Poplar Bluff last week. Thirty
five head of Angus were sold, aver
aging $194.00 per head. The sale was
topped at $400 and the top price was
tied by two bulls, one consigned by E.
Bacon Of Poplar Bluff, president of the
State Association. The other one was
consigned by E. S. B. Smith, Dexter,
Missouri.
; The sale was we'll attended and con-
sidered by the Association heads to be
quite successful.
How to Test Seed.
This is the way to test clover seed
,. for termination: Count out 100 seed
and put them between the folds of
moist paper or cloth which is placed
between two dinner plates. Keep this
tester at room temperature for four
days and then count the sprouted
seeds. II 95 seeds sprout the seed is
good; if only small part of them
sprout, the seed is either poor or the
test was not properly made. If for
any reason the termination is poor, u
sample of the seed should be sent to
your State agricultural experiment
station or to the Seed Laboratory,
Bureau of Plant Industry, United
States Department of Agriculture,
Washington, D. c., with the request
that it be tested for quality, including
percentage of purity and termination.
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