Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, May 30, 1917, Page 3

THE BEMIDJI DAILY PIONEER Farming and Is Sending Bulletine > Broadcast Through the Country Urg- ing Home and Vlc‘i!'_ Lot Gardening lice, _sanitary conditions and'a close watclifulness enabling them to check aud drive out threatened infestations st’their beginning. If the owners of t?;lrin‘ ‘Down Food/Coet; - “Farm your back yard and help re- duce the high cost of living,” is the of the department of agricul- “Uncle Sam has taken a flier in city farming and is- sending broadeast through the country ‘bulletins in order to arouse a feeling of interest among + thevpeople -and induce-them to take a chance in home and vacant lot garden- | , ‘ing, which he ‘believes is one of the . mist logical. soliitions -of -the serious problem of the high price of food con- fronting all classes of. society, but weighing heaviest on the man of small salary and large family.’ The ‘department has undertaken . this educational -campaign- not only from the atandpoint of the growing scarcity of food supplies, the rapid advance in prices and the difficulties of transporta- it belleving that tional - preparedness. If the country :should-_become -involved.4n - wapthe: necessity for harboring every resource would be more easily met. " In a.recent speech before a meeting of the Federation of Women’s Clubs in the District Carl--Vrooman, assistant secfetary of agriculture, asked his au- dience if they had thoughs of what the price of food would bedn the event of the United States going to war and the government commandeering all trans- | portation “and - taking over the" food -supply ;for..the, army. - Mr, Vrooman sald: “As a matter of food prepared- ness, as well as economy, I urge you to utilize the vacant acres for farming purposes. Make each region agrical- turally independent. It can be done with profit.” . i “He .called - attention ' to the fact that the.people called on the federal govern- ment to reduce the high cost of food- i stulfs’ 'when they were notlifting a hand to help themselves, He cited sev- era] cities where-city farming had been adopted .a few. years ago, and where they were ‘entering ‘on’'a néw campaigh |- with’ #igor, profiting by past experience | . . and getting ready-to;promote the work among all classes.” “The public had "a rade awakeding séverdl wéeks mgo by paying prices for many ‘articles’of food which exceeded those: commanded by -the :same com- | modities in some of the warring coun- tries of Europe. When Ambassador Gerard arrived in America from-Ber- lin he was surprised o find; potatoes selling here for the same price’ per peck; retail,.that they were bringing In Italy, reputed as one of the poorer countries' of Europe and at war for nearly two years, wheat bread was selling at 4.1 cents a pound last Octo- ber, the last month for which figures were obtainable, and wheat flour at 4.3 cents per pound. Contrast this with the average price per pound of bread in this country in November, which was 6.8 cents. and a pound of flour 5.6 cents. During February flour re- tailed in Washington at 5.4 cents a pound, or $1.35 for one-eighth of a barrel. Comparisons may be uncom- fortable, but the startling fact remains that for several articles of food in the daily diet of American families living in modest circumstances prices are higher than they were in the last year of the war between the States. If scientists who spend their lives in working out problems for the better- ment of their fellow men believe that back yard farming is the logical solu- tion in the present situation it is the duty of every patriotic American to rally to their standard and take their advice. To facilitate back yard farming many authorities are of the opinion that the solid board fences. so evident in many eities and towns, should be done away with and replaced by wire or picket fences. This would give a Detter chance for nature to do her part. B small flocks” on’ farms and in back yards would observe simple precautions in building chicken houses pest trou- bles would be negligible. suggestions as to how buildings may be ‘made parasite proof are given in a new publication of the department of agriculture, - farmers’ bulletin 801, “Mites and Lice on Poultry,” by F. C. Bishopp and H. P, Wood. % Selecting a Site For the House. Many times it is possible to avoid in- ‘sect troubles by building in a spot fair- ly well ‘isolated from other poultry. The yard first should be securely fenced and new buildings and runs constructed. ‘The flock should be start- od with incubator chickens hatched on the premises, and all fowls brought on the place should be first treated. Sec- ond band crates should not be brought on the farm unless carefully disinfect- od beforehand. The possibility of in- sects being carried from infested quar- ters on clothing, wagons and so on should be kept in mind as well as the pessibility of their carriage by spar- 5 rams. wddequate air space, lighting and ven. t on should be provided, and the en- tid¢-Mouse should be cleaned out at fre- . intervals. While these things cannot. be; depended upon to control mites: and lice, they aid the poultry- mén in‘determining when these pests ate present, and furthermore the fowls ave-kept in vigorous condition, which is-conducive to the control of various pests. The following suggestions on -} the:comstruction of the roosts and nest' boxes may be followed in old as well as new buildings: Removable Roosts. The roosts should never he nalled to’ the side of the building. but arranged 80 as to be easily removable. The sup- ports for the roost poles should con- sist of two 2 by 4's. on edge in a hori- zontal position. The ends of these rest in notches cut in the ends of four up- rights made of 2 by 6's and driven into the ground or nailed to the floor. :The roosts should consist of smooth Lby 3's or'2 by 2’s, the ends résting in notches cut in the 2 by 4’s. If the notches fit the poles closely it is unnecessary to X i o r & '¥- BREEDING HOUSE IN GOVERNMENT POULTRY FARM, VILLE, MD,- nail the latter. The roosts can be re- moved easily when the chicken house is-to be cleaned, and a coat of one of the mite destroyers can be applied to the ends of the roosts occasionally. If dropping boards are used they can be made to fit the four posts. In larger houses the horizontal 2 by 4’s may be fastened to the back wall with hooks or screen hangers. Another method of constructing the roosts, especially applicable to the southwestern states where the chicken tick occurs, is to suspend a frame from the ceiling on baling wire and place the roosts across this frame. None of the structure should be allowed to come in contact with the walls. There is then little opportunity for mites to reach the chickens. The under side of the roosts must be watched, however, to see that mites have not been intro- duced accidentaliy, as they have heen known to breed even under such condi- tions. g BELTS- Easily Cleaned Nests. The nests preferably should be en- tirely apart from the roosting quarters. | They may consist of boxes, which are { easily handled, cleaned or if infested destroyed. A series of nests made of boards is not objectionable if placed on a framework free from the walls of the henhouse and easily removable for cleaning. Wooden. or iron brackets are fas- tened to the wall. and upon these is laid a twelve inch board. This board Itoms the bottom of the nests. The S —— = _ RS Important back of the mests is formed by the wall, end the partitions are made by cutting a twelve inch board into pieces twelve inches long. beld upright by a°'1 by 8 natled on top even with the back edges and a similar strip nafl- od along the-tront at the bottom, , The partitions and the bottom can be lifted off reidily and thoroughly cleaned th'w;&}l behind treated. to new '?um!’n‘ it i3 desirable that they be kept three days and nights in a pen 8o that the mites will leave thq, ¥ POULTRY CLUB BOYS SUILDING POULTRY HOUSE. and in the quarantine cage should be treated in order that any mites which have left the fowls may surely be de- stroyed. Dust Bath. ' While it is well to provide a good dust bath for chickens, it cannot be depended upon for louse and mite con- trol. The main difficulty about de- pending upon dust baths for lice is that some fowls seldom dust them- selves and the others never free them- selves completely. The dust bath should be kept under cover and may consist of fine road dust with coal ashes added. FEEDING BABY CHICKS. Tee Liberal Rations the Cause of Much Bowel Trouble. My experience has proved that the best early feed for baby chicks is stee) cut oats, writes a correspondent of the American Agriculturist. I have made it the only feed for eight.to ten days for a number of flocks with good suc- cess. I sometimes mix hard bolled eggs crumbled fine with the oats if the eggs are fresh. One time I put sixty baby chicks into the brooder, the bot- tom of which was covered with finely cut straw. I fed them a tablespoonful of the steel cut oats every three or four hours the first day. I sprinkled it in the straw, and soon they were scratch. ing for it. I have found that overfeeding at the start 18 the cause of much bowel tron- ble, and so I um careful to k the little fellows hungry most of mm. They will make lots of racket calling for feed, but their appetites will be keen and their bowels bealthy. An owner can regulate the feed by feeling their crops and feeding when they are almost empty. The baby chick should also have free access to charcoal and grit. After the first.week; the commercial baby chick feed may be given, but I always learn its composition hefore feeding. N Sour Milk For Chicks. The feeding of sour milk to young chicks as soon as they are taken from the incubator appears to be the most successful treatment toward controll- ing white diarrhra. The purpose of the sour milk 1= 10 <nppress any intestinal putrefaction w! 'ch the bacillus may set up. In other words, the sour milk contains ferments or bacteria which are calculated to counteract or offset the parasites of the white diarrhea. Lacking the sour milk, it has been found that fifteen grains of powdered catechu dissolved in.a gallon of drink- ing water tends to prevent the develop- ment of the diarrhea. This treatment should be continued for about ten days. or until the danger period is past. When the turkey hen wants to sit she will have to be given the eggs. If this is not done, by the time she is bro- ken of sitting, lays and sits again the first laid eggs will be too old to hatch. Care is needed to see that the hen goes to the nest free from lice. No grease must be used to kill lice while sitting. Use some good louse powder for this purpose, Some feed in the way of corn and water should be kept near the nest while the turkey is sitting. It is seldom if ever necessary to shut the hen on the nest. Turkey eggs incubate in about twenty-eight days. Do not disturb the hens too much at hatching time, especially if the fowl are a little wild. TELLILIELLLLLLELEY LICE AND MITE REMEDIES. All lice of poultry succumb to sodium finorid, a white powder, which can be dusted on or dis- solved in water and used as a dip. One application, costing only half a cent a fowl, is a complete eradicator. Mites require a different treat- ment, Sprays of crude petroleum or certain coal tar products ap- plied several times to the roosts and interior of the poultry house will kill or drive away this pest. Directions for using these in- secticides are given in farmers’ bulletin 801, “Mites and Lice on Poultry.” LR LR R R R LROR R R R RGE R R R GECR SRR TR ————— e LR RUE CRUR R R R LR R R R DR R SRR CRUR R R CLLETILELLLLLEERES W e M Mot Rl i S OO o LI R D OO, S0 R T 3 W5 et S RS SG MM TSHERS nv oovi it ooy el S U 20 JG — O w‘ Z ‘are to be transferted: —you’ll undoubtedly find it the most satisfac-. ing tobacco you ever tried. After in_30c ltemized Statements e ________} Promptly and Correctly Rendered Mean Much to the Retail Merchant combine the Ledgerand State- ment work and reduce labor about 50%- Sim‘flifiu bookkeeping and eliminates disputes with cus- tomers. Statements itemized to date and may be delivered on de- mand. This loose leaf system fits everyg retail business. ~We will lad| lain its to gldy Sxplain f et e on your part. THE BEMIDJI DAILY PIONEER e P e . ing. " Try it today; you'll be glad you containers. Y chewmg‘. — % ] = — = H = 3 = = E— — ] = = = _ = = = = = = = = = = = 3 = = = — — — — — = = == = = 3 = = § 3 — = 3 = = = = 3 3 — = = — = — — = — — == 3 — = — — = — = = = — = — = = = = — — = — = — — = — - = = = - = — = S = — = — = = = — —3 = — n— = = = | = = = E— = %