TURN SURPLUS COCKERELS INTO CAPONS yS '?7?V irwMlinin tern ... r v far : . , g KMM bMVM iml tVQ rtl. - UtUmtimMlatttm;tlmtfKmtMrtaskM. -Riadr Many farmers and poultry fanciers Have found it profitable to turn all their surplus cockerels Into capons by altering or castrating them; others think they can-do better by selling the cockerels as broilers as long as prices hold up and caponize only later- batched chicks. The capon or castrated rooster bears the same relation to a cockerel that a steer does to a bull, a barrow to a boar, or a wether to a ram. As with other male animals so altered, the dis position of the capon differs materially from that of the cockerel. As a result of the more peaceful disposition of the capon he continues to grow and bis body develops more uniformly and to a somewhat greater size than is the case with a cockerel of the same age. Time to Caponize. In so far as the effects of the opera tion and the rapidity and ease of heal ing are concerned, the time of year when the operation is performed is of little importance. The age and size of the cockerel, however, are very impor tant.. As soon as the cockerels weigh two to three pounds, or when two to four months bid, they should be opera ted upon. .. , Operation of Caponlzlng. Before beginning the operation two conditions are absolutely essential. If these are not favorable, do not at tempt to operate. The first of theBe is that the intestines of the fowl should be completely empty, so that they will fall away and expose the testicle to view. This can be accomplished by shutting up the fowls and withholding all food and water for twenty-four to thirty-six hours before the operation. Thirty-six hours -is better than twenty four, especially for a beginner. The second condition Is a good, strong light, so that the organs of the fowl may be clearly and easily distin guished. Direct sunlight is best for this, and in consequence it is well to operate out of doors on a bright day. Methods of Holding the Fowl. When ready to operate, catch the bird and pass a noose of strong string about the legs. Do the same with both wings close to the shoulder Joints. To the other end of the strings are at tached weights of sufficient size to hold down and stretch out the bird when placed upon the head of a bar rel or box of convenient height, which is to serve as operating table. - Having fastened the fowl, be sure that all the instruments are at band. It is also well, though not necessary, to have ready some absorbent cotton nd a dish of water to which has been added a few drops of carbolic add Having once started, carry the opera tion through as quickly as possible. Moisten and remove the feathers from .a small area over the last two ribs Just In front of the thigh. With the left hand slide the skin and flesh down toward the thigh. Holding It thus, make the incision between the last two ribs, holding the edge of the knife away from you as you stand back of the fowl. Lengthen the inolslon in each direction until it is one to one and a half Inches long. Now Insert the spreader into the inclBlon, thus springing the ribs apart. The intes-IC tine, win now h .i.im. . tines will now be visible, covered by a thin membrane called the omentum. Tear apart this membrane with the hbok, and the upper testicle, yellow or sometimes rather dark colored and about the size and Bhape of an ordi nary bean, should be visible close up against the backbone. By pushing aside the intestines this can easily be seen, and the lower one also, in a similar position on the other side of the back bone. Expert operators usually re move testicles through one incision. Inexperienced operators will usually find It well to attempt the removal of the upper or nearer testicle only and to make a second Incision on the op posite side of the body for the removal of the other testicle. If both testicles are to be removed through the same incision, remove the lower first, as the bleeding from the upper might be sufficient to obscure the lower. Each testicle Is enveloped In a thin membrane. This may be and probably is best removed with the testicle, though some operators tear It open and remove the testicle only. The delicate part of the operation is at hand, due to the close proximity of the spermatic artery, which runs back of the testiole and to which the testi cle Is in part attached. If this is rup tured the fowl will bleed to death. The cannula, threaded with a coarse horse hair or fine wire. Allow the hair or wire protruding from the end to form a small loop just large enough to slip over the testicle. Work this over the testicle, being careful to inclose the entire organ. . Now tighten up on the free ends of the hair or wire, being careful not to touch any part of the artery. If the spermatic cord does not separate, saw lightly with the hair or wire. When the testicle is free, re move it from the body. If only the up per testicle has been removed, turn the bird over and proceed in exactly the same manner upon the other side. After removing the testicle, if the bleeding is at all profuse it is well to remove a portion of the blood by in troducing small pieces of absorbent cotton into the body by means of tha hook or nippers, allowing them to bo come saturated and then removing them. ' Be sure to remove all blood clots, feathers -or other foreign matter. After the testicles and all foreign mat ter are removed, take out the spread ers, thus allowing the skin to slip back over the incision. SONG SPARROW AN OPTIMIST Cheery Bird, Permanent " Resident) Asks Little for 8ervlces, Which , Are Valuable. The song sparrow, cheery-voiced forerunner of spring, is the subject of an article by Miss Harriet E. Bancroft, which appears in the Ohio Arbor and Bird Day Manual, Issued by the state department of public instruction for use in the schools. In telling about the song Bparrow.Mlss Bancroft says: "There are so many different klr.is of small, sober-hued birds, which look alike, and yet are not alike, that you wonder how you are to distinguish this one from the others. Each bird bas his recognition mark and song spar row's is the spot in the middle of bis speckled breast; and while in color he Is of the earth, earthy, and bears upon his breast a spot, you must not think that these are the outward signs of an inward blemish, because be hasn't any. "There 1b great variation in the hab its of different sparrows with respect to migration. The tree sparrow Is with us only In winter, the field spar row - Is a summer bird, the white crowned migrant; that 1b, he pays us a short visit in the spring and again in the fall, while on his way to more re mote regions; but song sparrow is a permanent resident in nearly all partB of the state. He shares with us the storms as well as the sunshine of the rounded year. "His cone-shaped bill tells you that be Is a seed-eating bird and the weeds yield him a plentiful supply of them. He also eats slugs and worms and. ". Z I J , Z 7 . . . Tre be "ad, and his choice of diet ground-inhabiting Insects when they makes him a valuable assistant to the farmer. He helps him In bis warfare on troublesome weeds and harmful In sects. "It is not too much to say that who ever or whatever helps the farmer to grow better crops, helps the whole world along; but song sparrow's serv ices do not stop here; his finest is that which he renders to our weary spirits when he cheers them with his song. For all the help he gives he asks nothing In return but the privilege of living out his little life unmolested. "It Is said that be and his mate will raise three and even four broods In a season, If the weasels, the red squir rels, the cats, the crows, the hawks, the blacksnakes and other Ill-disposed creatures do not harry their lowly nest, which distressing occurrence is all too frequent." Water for an Army. One of the numberless" tasks of the general staff of a great army is to pro vide water for the soldiers and the horses. The Scientific American de scribes some of tbe methods em ployed. Only running water Is used. In the German army the upstream water Is used for drinking, and" the downstream water for watering the horses and for bathing. Suitable signs notify the men which water tbey may safely drink and which they may use only for bathing. In shallow or narrow streams basins are dug or small dams built, in order to form reservoirs of sufficient size. Stepping stones are put down so that no one need walk through the water, and the banks are shored up with boards to keep them from crumbling into tbe water. Basins 'are dug at which to water the horses; when troughs have to bo used, they are supported on posts and filled by meanB of pumps. If water lies at a reasonable deptb from the surface that is, not more than twenty feet pipes are driven that, according to their size, deliver from four to twenty-five gallons of water a minute. If the water lies very near the surface, .a hole Is dug, and a cask, the bottom of which bas been knocked out, Is put Into the hole to hold the sides In place and to pro tect the water from dirt. If the wa ter lies at a greater depth, box sec tlons are driven in, one on top-of an other, to tha required depth. CLING TO BLEAK LAND NATIVES OF SHETLAND ISLAND LOVE THEIR HOME, Have Hard Work to Coax a Living From Almost Barren Rock, But Leave It Unwillingly Spot - Hat Figured In History. Fair Island, 25 milts south of all the other Shetlands, has bad a strange enough pageantry , passing over its rocky surface. For not only was It the home of the Plots, and then of the Norse; and for the Norse, the signal beacon to give warning of the coming of the hostile sail; besides that, It Bnpplled a chapter in the ro mance of the Spanish Armada, - . For here was wrecked the ship of Don Gomez de Medina, and that nobla and his men were for a time most generously entertained by thelsland- -era, writes Maude Radford Warren in Harper's Magazine. But time passed, . the Spaniards stayed, the meal and the mutton diminished. Then the Island ers, wrapped In by tbe wild storms, unable to get to any jrther Island, fearful of famine; Md their food. Tha forced guests grew weak, many died of starvation, anil seme, It is said,' were pushed over tbe tall cliffs Into the sea. : ' At last one Andrew TJmphrey took the Spaniards away In a ship, and since that day the name of Umphrey bas been powerful in the Shetlands. .. The Fair Island people show plain traces of Spanish blood, but they re sent the suspicion of It, saying that the Spaniards were Isolated wben on the Island. It is hard to conceive how isolation could well be possible on an island two miles square besides, the Fair island people do not deny that the strange patterns and the lichen dye ing of the stockings and caps and shawls their Women knit were taught them by the Spaniards, and indeed the same sort of handicraft is found to this day in country places of Spain. The Fair islanders were great smugglers In the old days, and they are still good bargainers. They are very intelligent, seeming to know In stinctively how to read; and not so -very long ago they would follow the mail steamers In their light canoe-' shaped boats, which none but them- . selves can manage,, begging for news- , papers and boekfc:. une or tnem terrors is or Infec tious disease; Shbther is of the dog tax man, against whose coming they are said to hang and drown their dogs; another Is of emigration, for they love Fair isle. Yet emigrate they must; about forty-five years ago a hundred of them went, unable longer to coax a living from their bare rock. Their greatest joy Is the occasional visits of the minister, more frequent ly now than Jn the old days, when he arrived but once in about two years to marry and christen. He preaches every day of his stay, and tbey pro long his visit on every possible pre text, using, when all else falls, the solemn prophecy of .a storm. Bad Points In All of Us. - Better for you to nreaent the good points and features of h. one under discussion If you do not want mm to snow up some of your bad points some day. You have them. Everybody has them. Wa urn nil h. man and the perfect man does not exist Fan It Run by Alcohol. A fan has been nerfected that n,a with alcohol. A little lamp operates It by heating air In a cvlindor Tha expansion and contraction of the air is ingeniously utilized to provide tha motive power for the fan. Rami.M. results have been obtained according w um company manufacturing It ft 1