Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-02-01

and fruit combine successfully,
both as 10 management and returns.
The grounds Of the young orchard
may be sub-let 10 the poultry, while
bees ask little space.
An old lady whose name must have
been Mrs. Commonsense gave a demon
stration in economies when she declined
To take all her eggs TO market ~ one
basket. Though this principle may not
apply TO every business with equal APP
propriateneas. its force must have been
fclt by poutrygrowers during the past
few wears Of difficulties When the poultry
man began to be oppressed by scarcity ot
feeds and high prices by advancing cost OF
labor and equipment, he was lucky indecd
II he had other irons IN the hre
No business connected with the vlc-
tlralizing of the nation weathcTcd storm
ier sea than did poultry keeping only
the sturIiest survived Ii II estimated
that the unfavorable conditions affected
least the poultry on farms. that IS 10 say,
farm fiocks were maintained at the usual
number, whereas many plants strictiy
gwen TO poultry were forced out 0i blsi-
ness This was doubtless because gram
| of some kind is usually available on farms
And most farmers keep poultry better
| than they keep books
II is almost impossible To render exact
expense accounts Of fowls on farms. Such
| live stock maintains thrifty existence on
| dropped waste gruins not precisely az
scayengers. but as a feothered salvage
| corps In the ward devoted to poultry,
| circumstances are less benign a rigid
impartial account uf disbursements re-
veals only too often s narrowing margin
of profit. BESIDES, room and range add n
/ the food resources Of farm focks, an
asset not easily computed, and yet need
to he met in raiioning pcn,
The small poultry farms which nave
managed to keep their heads above the
submerging difficulties have done 80 mainly
bv neat calculations and deft manipula-
tions No war profits for them
Under existing conditions, despite the
demand and necessity for Quantities of
fowls. poultry BUSINESS standing alone
without the support Of side lines, means .
genuine CARVING OF all one > eggs in one
| basket. just now, whatever may be the
case at other periods, poultry-raising y
safer combined with other lines Of work,
preferably along kindred lines. these
NAV be dovetaied into each other, rs It
were. run with the same labor. sharing eX-
penses and maintaining the balance of
production Alone, they are eggs-In-one
! basket occupations; together, they cher
security. Had there not been compensa-
tons in other directions, more poultry
| raisers would have been squeezed out by
| the pressure OF increased production dur
ing the war period The farms, Tor IN
| stance, could not have met the demand,
and the effect on the nation IL meat supply
would have been very paIpabie Eggs IN
! particular which are not 30 much .
specially on farms as on chicken-ranches,
| would have been decidedly scarcer
TWO ANCHORS TO wIsDwARD.
Among minor occupations which may be
| associated with poultry raising advantage
ouslv and without interference, are bee
keeping and fruit-raising. Their comDIna-
ton makes profitable trio.
Orchards, family or commercial, are
always desirable The work involved l.
seasonal rather than continuous. Ihe
cultivation requisite 70 the quick growth
and healthy development Of trnt-tree'
makes the Young orchard with Its OFT
turned soil the IDEAL run for poultry. Tbs
period Of growth preceding its coming int
bearing Is one OF non return fcr invest
rnent IN every respect unless It IS used ioI
poultry In the case of apple or nut
trees that period Is extended. Long before
If had become impracticable 20 plant 1t Il
vegetables As the trees spread IN tollage
they afford a shade mitch appreciated b1
poultry III sultry days
WORK OF POULTRY IN ORCHARDS.
On the other hand, fowls are inde
fatigahle lnsect-hunters, with profit Z
themselves and to the trees Besides, they
fertilize the soil, stimulating tree growth
Temporal crops, such as buCkwheat
scarlet clover in fall, rye or wheat tth'
last two not permitted TO form gram may
| be planted between rows, furnishing greer
food through several months In ole
i orchards, the permanent sod IS excellen
pasture, and popular as runs for al
fowls, geese, hens, turkeys, ducks anC
guineas At one time only Is it detrimental
When fruit falls In great quantities, II be
comes a menace even to chickens OF 70
bust digestion and death to more dehcat
fowls, such as turkeys and gulneas.
The grounds of the newset orchar'
may readily be divided INTO chicken
yards Movable colony houses may b
stationed conveniently and wire run
built Orchard situations are Away
healthiul because they are well dralne'
and usually more or less shielded
The labor employed about the poultry
plant is sufficient TO share the work Incl
. heaviest nj certain seasons, such as spray
ing and pruning IN spring or fall, an
cultivation, which Is not continuous
" hen fruit bearing begins, and the OK
chard becomes profitable, the plckln
and marketing usually can be accomplish
ed with labor already employed.
For the person of placid Temperament
; and the taste the ancient and honorabl
business of bee-keeping forms a thir
: source of income with minimum OF labo
and expense A few hives OF superior bee
tucked away in a protected spot among TIA
trees mean many pounds OF honey, nc
alone for family use, but for sale.
now DoTH THE BUsY-BEEf
During the depressed period OF th
COS with wheat at 60 cents and corn at ?
cents, a small farmer Of my acquaintanc
! managed Il good living from his vel
tended orchard and his hives, which te
gether exceeded the total returns frol
5 his other products. That farmer IS no
: dead, but his son in law continues I'll
business Of fruit and honey as an inporf
ant source Of income A stimulatin
sight are the rows and rows OF hives ln
+ spring orchard with their myriads /
/ winged workers.
These active creatures accumulate +,
| markable stores of honey when a ric
! territory is adjacent The product Is d
: ways in demand, only needing ha.yestin
t once or twice year. Except at speci;
seasons, they require little care For Tia
reason, the Tee keeping consorts mos