ACCURATE POULTRY ACCOUNT
FARM m ORCHARD
Notes and Instructions from Agricultural Colleges mnd Experiment Stations
t Oregon and Washington. Specially Suitable to Pacific Coast Conditions
VOYAGINa on the "calm belt"
of the Pacific la, In some re
spects, disappointing. The
ocean traveler, accustomed to
more temperate latitudes,
. misses the bracing quality of the At
lantic breezes, the shifting panorama
of a sea whose winds are never the
t- same, and whose restless moods find
no counterpart in the monotonous blue
billows of the South Paclc.
It Is a shipless, deserted ocean,
where, unless there blows up a hurri
cane, there is no change In the unwa
vering current of the mild trade winds
blowing steadily in their allotted
courses the whole year around. Sea
and sky unite In a monotony which is
only broken by the wonder of the sun
seta. And it la warm uncomfortably
warm "beastly hot," as the English
man will say when he reminds you
that your tepid, salt water bath af
fords you no relief. Yet, when the
cloud-capped headlands of Tahiti come
up upon the horizon, you remember
only that you are at last in sight of
those fabled wond6lands, the "Islands
of the Blest."
To those to whom the Islea of the
South Seas mean little more than a
school book memory, or a mental pic
ture drawn from Stevenson'a letters,
1 from Pierre Lotl, or the tales of Jack
London, a reminder may be necessary.
The Society islands, a colony of the
French republic, are situated approxi
mately 2,000 miles south of our own
Hawaiian isles. 4,000 miles south
southwest of San Francisco, upon the
direct route of New Zealand, and In 18
degrees of south latitude.
Commercially, as well as in point of
size and in .population, Tahiti is the
principal Island of the group, the capl
tal city of Papeete, whose population
represents perhaps one-third of the
whole colony, lying under the lofty
mountains upon Its western shore.
In Cloud-Capped Tahiti.
Comfortable 8,000-ton steamships
carry you there from San Francisco in
NATIVE DANCING GIRLS
12 days, a voyage which represents
nearly one-half of their running time
to Sydney, Australia, the final port of
call. Three days out from the Qolden
Gate you are in the tropica. You don
your white duck or pongee, your Eng
lish and Australian friends cease from
troubling you with strange questions
about "your country," and the after
noon game of cricket upon the boat
deck appears less Inviting.
A day of excessive heat and humid
ity confronts you In the "doldrums,"
but, after crossing the "line," the
southeast trades begin to blow In over
the bow, and you are in comfort for
the rest of your Journey. Shortly be
fore Tahiti is sighted, the steamship
passes the first land visible since leav
ing San Francisco the outlying atoll
of Tltlaroa, and four hours later you
enter the narrow opening n the bar
rier reef, and are at anchor off the
waterfront of Papeete, with the
French trl-color flying above the
white government buildings, and from
the staff of the giant semaphore upon
the hillside behind.
No understanding of conditions, so
cial, commercial, or otherwise, upon
the Islands, can be reached without at
, least a fundamental conception of that
peculiar topography which explains to
a great extent the limitations to which
they are subject, both aa a place of
business and as a permanent place of
abode. Taking Tahiti as typical and
In nearly every sense save for unusual
1m It It we find a body of land, cir
J3
defiles . between these ridges, the
mountain streams, fed by Innumerable
waterfalls, find their way into the
broad lagoons within the coral reefs
which protect the low-lying shores.
Vanilla and Cocoa.
Encircling this unexplored and inac
cessible Interior lies that speclea of
alluvial plain which comprises the
only Inhabited portion of the Islands.
Here on the gradual slopes between
the rugged mountains and the sea
coast well shaded, as is necessary
the' vanilla grows; and, covering the
wide beaches, the cocoanut that oth
er staple of island production rears
its tufted branches of palm-like leaves
above the curving and graceful trunk
so familiar to the eye.
From every viewpoint, excepting the
picturesque alone, the Islands may be
said to consist entirely of this narrow
plain, in places but a few rods wide,
and rarely attaining a greater width
than half a mile according to local
measurement, perhaps a kilometer.
The fact that the arable land from
which the Islands derive their wealth
is thus limited in extent may be suffi
cient reason in Itself for the fact that
during the past decades these coun
tries have made so little advance com
mercially, and are still comparatively
unknown.
The raising of vanilla and cocoanuts
Is still almost exclusively In the hands
of the natives, who farm and cultivate
on a small scale, who hold under a
complex system of titles and who are
content to cultivate the land only to
the extent necessary to satisfy their
simple needs.
' They control the land, are loath to
part with It to the foreigner, and, be
ing satisfied with conditions as they
are will not trouble to Increase its
productivity under his direction.
"Copra" and vanilla are raised and
cured as they were 40 years ago, and
as the demand for both articles is un
limited, and they represent substan
tially the entire export trade of the
cular In shape, approximately 30 mile
In diameter, of markedly volcanlo
origin, and covered with a, tumbled
mass of Jagged mountains, whose high
est peaks plunge into the clouds at an
altitude of nearly 8,000 feet From
these towering summits, the land falls
away in sharply defined ridges, cov
ered from top to bottom with the Im
penetrable masses of the "lantana," a
dense, tropical growth which reaches
a height of 12 feet and makes climbing
or exploration Impossible, except with
the aid of natives armed with the
machete. Down the dark and narrow
islands, It can easily be seen that
while present conditions exist, busi
ness conditions will remain unchanged
also.
And present conditions have been
bettered by the apparent policy of
lalsser-aller pursued from the begin
ning by the French. A protectorate
since the days of Louis Philippe a
colony almost as long Its masters
have built roads, drainage and water
systems, and district schools. They
have aided the work of the mission
aries; their government has. been pa
ternal In many senses of the word.
Yet In matters of commercial advance
ment a certain energy seems to have
been lacking, which cannot be laid
solely at the door of the tropical
climate.
Many a man sacrifices his principle
to sucoess, and considers that he la
getting It cheap at that.
Of Much Importance That Record
Should Be Kept to Ascertain Just
What Flock Is Doing.
(By A. J. WILDER.)
An accurate account should be
kept to find out whether the poultry is
paying a profit, and Just how much.
In doing this, don't forget to give
them credit for the frying chickens,
broilers, roasters and all the eggs used
in the home. Quite often this is over
looked and the poultry receives no
credit for saving us what would be a
good deal of expense If we had to buy
our fresh eggs and all the poultry we
used. i
This Is not so hard to keep track of
as one would imagine. I find that the
easiest way to keep the egg account
is to set down every day the number
of eggs gathered that day. Aa a rec
ord la kept of all the eggs sold, the
difference would be the number used
at home.
It Is important that we should keep
an account with the poultry and know
Just what they are doing. When all
kinds ol feed are so high-priced and
can be sold, or fed to advantage to
other stock, we can not afford to keep
a large stock of poultry at a loss.
If poultry is not making you a profit,
remedy the difficulty and get a profit,
or else keep only enough poultry to
supply the family.
BUILD SUITABLE HOG HOUSES
Building May Be Cheap and Simple In
Construction, but Should Be Con
venient Easily Arranged.
When hogs are handled in large
numbers, or where twenty or more
brood sows are kept, a hog house
large enough to accommodate the ma
jority of the stock Is often found.
This system has the advantage of en
abling the breeder to handle his hogs
with less expenditure of labor and
time than is possible If they are scat
tered over a larger area.
When such a house seems desirable,
it may be cheap and simple in con
struction, but should be convenient
It should run east and west, and Is
most easily arranged with a row of
pens on each side of an alley way,
which extends the entire length of the
building. The walls may be of one
inch material siding, but should fit
very close In order . to prevent
draughts. The roof should be moder
ately high, to provide sufficient venti
lation. Quite a number of windows
should be installed In order to pro
vide sufficient sunlight to keep the
pens dry and free from disease. The
pens should be 7 by 8, or, for large
sows, 8 by 10 feet.
There are many things to be said
In favor of individual houses. First
of all the hogs can be scattered more,
thus lessening the chances of disease
spreading through the entire herd.
Secondly, fields and pastures may be
utilized regardless of their location or
Desirable Type of Sow for Producing
Large Litters.
proximity to other farm buildings.
Third, such buildings aTe quite inex
pensive, and the number can be in
creased as the herd increases In size.
There are many types of these
houses. For a single sow, the A type
is usually built 6 by 8 by 6 feet high.
The rectangular type la built 7 by 8
feet for one sow, pr 9 by 12 and divld
ed Into two compartments. Those
with the higher roof and with provi
slons for opening either the sides or
the roof, have so far proven the most
satisfactory.
Cheapening the Rations.
The Iowa station has found that a
small amount of oil meal or cotton
seed meal added to corn and oats Im
proves and cheapens the ration for
work horses. A mixture of 77 pounds
of shelled corn, IS pounds of oats and
eight pounds of oil meal gave excel
lent results. Cottonseed meal gave
somewhat better results than oil meal
and the ration was a little cheaper In
the proportion of 79 pounds corn, 16
pounds oats and 6 pounds oil meal.
Green Feed for Hens.
If you have a hay mow in which you
keep alfalfa or clover you will more
than likely find the floor covered with
the leaves that have been shattered
off. These leaves will make the best
green food obtainable for your chick
ens, either fed dry or moistened with
hot water and allowed to steam before
feeding.
Chicken Pox.
Chlckenpox among the fowls can be
avoided by feeding plenty of charcoal
and occasionally some sulphur. It Is
a blood disease,' aggrevated by un
elaaa aurroundlnca
Nitrogen From Plowed Under Legumes
Oregon Agricultural College, Corval
lis. "A heavy crop of vetch or crim
son clover turned under as a green
manure affords more nitrogenous mat
ter than the same amount of stable
manure," said Professor H. D. Scud
der, agronomist of the Oregon agri
cultural college. "The green crop Is
likewise more free from disease germs
and weed seed than the stable prod
uct. It Is cheaper, too, if the cost of
labor is considered. -And Its effects
in producing acids In the soil are but
little greater than those of stable
manure.
"The acid effects, whether caused
by the stable manure or the green
manure, may call for the use of lime.
Certain it is that if lime is to be used
It may well be used in connection
with the green manure. The present
prices of quick lime make its use al
most prohibitive, but it ought to be
possible to secure ground limestone
at reasonable prices In the near fu
ture. There are mountains of lime
stone In southern Oregon, and It Is
hoped that companies will be organiz
ed to grind the rock and put the prod
uct on the market in time for next
season's crops. Ordinarily not more
than f 3 per ton can be paid for ground
limestone, if it is a profitable Invest
ment. But the acid-forming action of
green manures is not serious enough
to deter us from using these great
soil builders, while awaiting a lime
supply.
"The crop to be used as green ma
nure should have grown to a height of
20 Inches or more, and should yield
not less than ten tons to the acre. It
must be turned under early in April
and thoroughly chopped up and Incor
porated with the soil by disking, both
before and after plowing. If the best
results are to be obtained. Other
wise it decays slowly, releases its
plant food too late, and dries out the
soil. It should be followed by culti
vated crops, such as potatoes, corn,
roots, etc., as they secure the highest
values from either green or stable
manure, being what may ; be called
gross feeders. '
"The actual fertilizing value of ten
tons of crimson clover or vetch, green
weight. Is shown by analysis to be
about as follows: Nitrogen . 160
pounds, phosphorus 20 pounds, and
potassium 120 pounds. The value of
the nitrogen is $24, and the value of
all the fertilizers contained In the
crop is $32 at fertilizer prices in east
ern markets.
"There is enough nitrogen in the
ten tons of clover, or vetch, green
weight, to produce 100 bushels of
wheat, 1800 bushels of apples, 9000
pounds of beef, 10,000 pounds of pork,
or 130,000 pounds of butter.. The fer
tilizing effects extend through a long
period of years. Aside from the plant
food value, the green manure has
highly beneficial physical effects on
the soil.
"The amount of plant food contain
ed in a crop of vetch is practically
as great as that contained In the clov
er. In both crops, from 60 to 80 per
cent of the nitrogen comes from the
air, and practically all of It is a gain
to the soli." '
The Cost of Living.
A study of family budgets Involv
ing certain observance of the manner
in which different families adjust or
fail to adjust living to Income, and
the assembling of statistics upon this
subject, is a task recently undertaken
and reported upon by advanced stu
dents in the department of home eco
nomics of the state college of Wash
ington. The following citation Is tak
en from the reports
"The cost of living la a problem
which concerns everyone. It is cus
tomary to lay the blame on economic
conditions, and on them alone; but a
part of the trouble lies in the lack
of proper apportionment of the Income
and in the lack of ideals and stand
ards of living. The only practical
remedy yet provided Is education in
true standards of living, in what con
stitutes better homes, more comfort
able condition's, and in clear percep
tions of those tendencies toward more
imitation and luxury which lead to
degeneration of mind and body,"
In citing a classification of living
there are enumerated, food, clothing,
housing, operating expense; and a di
vision of expenditure looking to the
gratification and betterment of the
Intellectual and spiritual nature. Food
la asserted to be the most Important
factor In the outlay for living. The
first motive of clothing Is, or should
be, protection from heat and cold, as
contrasted with the too prevalent de
sire to gratify and please the world at
large, regardless of the sacrifice of
bodily comfort. Operating expenses
consist, largely, of the outlay neces
sary to keep a house warmed, lighted,
clean and In repair. Here, as well as
with food and clothing, It Is the de
gree of knowledge and skill and sound
Judgment possessed by the woman in
the home which most often deter
mines efficient or inefficient expendi
ture. The need of certain expenditure for
social betterment is cited as highly
important, but too often neglected.
Families with annual incomes of less
that $800 are found often unable to
consider this development Other
families of ample income, slight this
phase of life the outlay for which
should Include travel, recreation, lit
erature, art, church, charity, and In
vestments and savings. It is assert
ed that the essentials of higher life
are vitally .neglected on the farm; that
this will be overcome only when the
farmer realizes that comfort, happi
ness and education are more import
ant factors in the home than the
"dollar."..
An example of good management
on narrow margins of expenditure is
cited In the family budget of a har
ness cleaner. There were eight chil
dren in the family, ranging in age
from thirteen years to six months.
The total earning of the man and the
oldest boy was $870. , It was spent
as follows: ,
Rent L. $156.00
Food at, $8.50 a week 442.00
Clothing 69.80
Light and fuel 57.20
Recreation 5 00
Insurance 68.24
Papers .. 5.72
Car fares 2.00
Doctor and medicine 11.50
Man's spending money 18.20
Store, $14; house furniture $10 24.00
Church 8.00
Sundries (Soap, washing ma
terials, etc.) 12.34
JS70.00
Food, it is observed, cost $8.50 a
week. The weekly expenditure was:
Milk, two bottles a day $1.12
Egga : 60
Three cans condensed milk for
tea and for bread in place of
butter '. ... ' ,27
One quart of potatoes a day at
10c a quart .70
Vegetables, 10c a day .70
Bread, five loaves a day at 6c 1.75
One and a half pounds of butter
at 30c a pound .45
Jam', 5c a day, except Sunday .30
Half pound of tea .20
Can cocoa .18
Seven pounds of sugar .40
Meat, 25c a day 1.75
Sundries .18
The housewife made the children's
clothes: hut In thpir rpnnrt fha ntii.
dent investigators expressed doubt as
to wnetner a lamily of ten could be
properly clothed on $69.50 a year.
There is no recreation, except that
the two boys were given twenty-five
cents a week for car far? all summer
to play ball once a week. Father,
mother and seven children were In
sured, amounting to $58.24 a year. The
man did not drink nor use tobacco.
In conclusion, the following budget
is suggested for a family of five, with
a yearly income of $900. -
House rent $225.00
Food 225.00
(Dry groceries, meat, fish,
vegetables, fruits, milk, but
ter, eggs, bread, cake, con
fectionery.) Operating expenses 180.00
(Fuel, light, water, ice, serv
ices, laundry, soap, station
ery, postage, car fare, doctor,
dentist, drugs, etc.)
Clothes 162.00
House furnishings : 18.00
Higher life ; 90.00
(Religion, books, music, news
papers, magazines, recreation
and travel, gifts, amusements,
insurance, investments, sav
ings.) $900.00
Eastern Markets.
Oregon Agricultural College, Cor
vallla. Eastern pear markets offer a
wonderful opportunity for Western
growers, according to the observations
of Professor C. I. Lewis, horticultur
ist of the Oregon Agricultural College,
who has made an extended Investi
gation of Eastern market conditions.
He visited the leading cities of the
Middle West, the East, and New Eng
land, and found a good deal of West
ern pears on the markets, with strong
demands. The near market u like
wise quite free from the speculation
mat controls apple prices.
"But there are two things to be
done before Western growers fully
reap the benefits of the Eastern pear
trade," said Professor Lewis. "There
must be creater para In
handling the pears, and more wide and
systematic advertising. I purchased
pears from Fruiterers in. Chicago, New
York and Boston. And frtunH tltaf 1
much of the fruit waa distinctly in-
icnur. come 01 me pears were gran
ular and soft, others were wilted and
leathery,
"Pears are not handled in " large
quantities, as are the apples, and but
verf little of H In nnncml fn. ..l. i-
boxes. Most of them are unpneked
unwrujipea ana displayed for sale In
pyramids. They have lost both la
bels that Of th VinT on th.
" Milt VUO Wltll
per and have no means of identifi-
uuon. some or the dealers attempt- 1
ed to Placard the fruit with it.
- - - " -... no ynjym
name but were generally wrong in
men BBieuuon oi names. I found Win
ter Nellis labeled Boscs, and in a
restaurant I found a ioiinin,.. a-.
paraded on the bill of fare as 'Anchoa
Pears. 1 asked the waiter what they
were, and he said they were Western
Anchou neara. T.ntor ha a
for a little pointed information.
io prevent tnese mistakes, grow
ers might nines lnrcn
the name of the pears and the district
wuem mey were grown on top of the
fruit boxes. Then, when the dealer
unpacks he can h&ne th mm i ...
- - o u..u 111 ,1 UUV
of the pyramid, thus giving legitimate
uiiuiumuuu 10 vne puDiio and adver
tising the fruit districts."