The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-11-06
The Farm and Farmer
By WILLIAM n. sANBoRN =

4. SANBORN
resulting in an increased food supply,
for the home first, and for the rest OF
creation, from the surplus.
Speaking only for ourselves we do
not approve of gaudy wall paper and
cheap chromos. Something quiet and
refined will be better. Useless to try
to match the colors of the flock in
hen-house furnishings and decorations.
Besides you may bump up against a
fifty cents per roll combination and
the eight.hour clause in the paper
hangers union, with a dollar minute
for overtime. All this is a needless
expense. For these pertinent reasons
we advise whitewash, it is cheaper;
reflects the light best on gloomy days,
when the chicken world is inclined to
NOPE and to ask-'whats the use?'
Nickel plated baseburners and hard
coal are too expensive for chicken
house use this season.
What Feathers Are For.
Poultry fanciers of rare thought and
experience have come to the conclu-
sion that the feathers are designed to
keep the birds warm. Maybe they are
right 1t has also been observed that
the birds obtain new suits every year,
always on the installment plan. They
get a few new feathers daily, while in
the moult. They never put on the
whole new dress at the start. Neither
do they put off all their old clothes
while their new garments are being
tailored by mother nature. This proves
their shy and retiring nature. They
are also careful of their suits and
dresses. They make them last like
new, throughout the year.
Preparing for Winter.
Having decided that you will decor
ate your chicken house with white
wash as a matter of sanitation, and
economy, you find that you need to
do a lot of housekeeping, first of all.
Open all doors and windows on a
warm, clear day, and fall to it. Brush
cobwebs and dirt from walls and cell
ings. Clean the floors thoroughly
Remove roosts and nests and take
them out of doors to clean. Use a
broom or mop and plenty of hot water
after thorough scraping. Then
spray or brush the outfit with good
disinfeCtant, just as you should the
walls. Eight tablespoonfuls of cresol
to the gallon of water makes a good
solution will be just right to kill the
-, mites and germs in nests and cracks
and on walls.
This work should be done early in
the day, at this season, to prevent
dampness at night. The withdrawing
may be left until the following morn
ing. In summer, when the house can
be left open all night, the damp walls
will not matter. If you have a place
TO keep your chickens in cold weather
unit Inir IL dry ND
in sanitary condition, so much the
better.
Government Whitewash.
On returning fixtures to place throw
a good litter of bright straw or leaves
on the floor. Also put a deep layer OF
straw in nests. both for warmth OF the
hens and to keep the eggs from freez
ing. Perhaps you would like the
government recipe for preparing q
sticky, durable whitewash. Here il
is:
Slack half a bushel of unslacked
! lime with boiling water, keeping il
covered during the process. Strain il
and add a peck of salt, dissolved ir
warm water: three pounds of rice pu
| in boiling water and boiled to a thir
paste; half pound of Spanish whit
ing and pound of clear glue, dissolved
in warm water; mix these well tOgeth
er and let the mixture stand fol
several days.
Always Apply Ht.
Before applying above whitewasf
heat it, and apply it hot. This vii
insure the killing of the last mite oil
! egg, also that the wash will stick like
glue. Moreover it will be really white
! and good to look upon, either on in
; side Of tile house or as an outside
paint Furthermore il will be in the
i best sense sanitary and lasting.
A strong mite and other inseCtkill
| ing solution can be mixed with this
! wash and either brushed or sprayed al
over the interior of the chicken plant
and there will be no harm in white
washing the inside of the nest boxes
! if unused until thoroughly dry. CHECKER
mites and lice cause the loss of mil
lions of eggs and arc responsible fOl
| the loss of thousands of chickens an
nually. This is an easily prevented
waste; the treatment Just outlined
will settle them, and there are simply
| treatments for the birds which vii
l.1 ibcn1