Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 October 1891 — THE POULTRY-YARD. [ARTICLE]

THE POULTRY-YARD.

Do Eggs I'ay at L»o%t Prices? When eggs are as low as ten cents a dozen, do they pay? This is a question 1 that often comes up for discussion. In olden times, before the railroads had reached all points, our ancestors were content with six cents per dozen for eggs. Whether eggs pay or not depends on how much they cost. We do not believe that a farmer should feed his hens at all in the summerseasou, if they have a range. Allow a flock to have access j to the stubble of the wheat field, or where grass is plentiful, and they will secure all the food required and moro than they need, and of a variety. When insects, grass and waste grain can be j converted into eggs by the hens, there Is j simply a saving of that which might ! otherwise be wasted. Wo are partial to the active and industrious hen. She will cost her owner nothing in summer, and the eggs cau be sold low and yet give a profit. Tho lien needs no feed for five months in the year, and fifty pounds of grain will carry her over tho cold season, at which time eggs are high, in warm climates ope half tho grain only is imeded. Tho true way to keep fowls is to allow them to forage in an orchard. Poultry and fruit make an excellent combination. —[Farm and Fireside. A Fli t of llye. As soon as the fall comes lay off a plot for rye, to be used as green food for poultry after other green food has ceased to grow. It is not necessary to turn the hens on tho rye as L may be cut and fed to them, and it will also provide green food early in the spring, before anything else in the shape of green food puts in an appearance. Use plenty of seod, as the thicker the rye the better. Only a small plot will answer well.—[Farm and Fireside. Egg TontH. A good egg will sink in water. Stale eggs are glassy and smooth of shell. A fresh egg has a lime-like surface to its shell. The boiled eggs which adhere to the shell are fresh laid. After an egg has laid a day or moro the shell comes off easily when boiled. Thin shells are caused by a lack of gravel etc., among the hens laving eggs. Eggs which have been packed in lime look stained, and show the action of the lime on the surface. If an egg is clean and golden in appearance when hold to tho light it is good; if dark or spotted, it is bad. The badness of an egg can sometimes be told by shaking near the holder’s ear, but the test is a dangerous one. Many devices have been tested to keep eggs fresh, but the less time an egg is kept, the better lor tho egg and the one that eats it.