Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 253, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1918 — Page 2

A Bird in the Hand

(Special information Service, United State! Department of Agriculture.) EIGHT ESSENTIALS FOR WINTER EGGS.

Scratching for Feed Is the Hen's Natural Exercise.

ESSENTIALS FOR EGGS IN WINTER

Stock, Quarters, Treatment, Food and Exericse Must Be Given Consideration. PULLET IS MAIN RELIANCE • ■■■ , Alm of Poultry Keeper Should Be Roomy, Clean, Well-Vent Hated and Lighted House*—Avoid Disturbing or Annoying Hen*. Some poultry keepers, seemingly without much particular effort, get winter eggs while others work hard but more or less in vain. The former knowingly or unknowingly provide essentials necessary for winter egg production while in the case of the latter some important factor is neglected. Eight essentials are necessary, according to poultry specialists of the United States department of agriculture, in securing winter eggs. They are: (1) suitable stock; (2) comfortable quarters; (3) kind treatment; (4) regular attention; (5) abundant water; (6) wholesome food; (7) liberal rations; (8) congenial exercise. Due consideration to each of these essentials will bring success, but if the results in eggs are poor—far below the moderate standard of five dozen eggs per hen in the first six months of laying—that fact is proof that the requirements have not all been fully met. Suitable Stock. Pullets that have been seasonably hatched, well grown, well matured and vigorous are good winter layers. Good laying birds usually molt so late in the fall that the molting shortens production in the .early part of their second winter. Hence pullets are the poultry keepers’ reliance for eggs at the season of high prices; and if the pullets fail in any of the specifications mentioned for good laying stock, the poultry keeper is handicapped at the start Comfortable Quarter*. A roomy, clean, well-ventilated and well-lighted poultry house should be the aim of poultry keepers who are striving for winter eggs. Provision should be made for light and ventilation so that during severe weather the house can be. made snug. Modern practice in the ventilation of poultry houses is to ventilate by means of open windows and doors, in and near the front of the house, giving all the fresh air possible without exposing the birds to temperatures at which they plainly suffer from cold. The common rule for ventilation in extreme cold weather is to give ventilation enough to prevent the deposit of frost or moisture on inside walls. Where so dry a condition of the air In the houses is maintained the birds are not much affected by low temperatures and by changes of temperature; they do not contract colds so easily, and they lay more steadily. •< .. Kind Treatment. The poultry keeper should not only be easy in .all his movements about the care of the poultry, but should take care that no one and nothing else disturbs or annoys the birds. Hens that are nervous and easily frightened should- not be kept where they are regularly or frequently disturbed, for they will not lay well under such conditions. If nervousness and excitability is a breed characteristic, and the annoyances which occur or exist can not be removed, the only remedy is to dispose of the stock and keep a breed of more phlegmatic temperament. Irregularity in attending poultry is the most common cause of unsatisfactory egg yields. Regular attention does not necessarily mean attention at frequent regular Intervals. The times of attendance may apart and infrequent, as daily, or under some circumstances at even longer intervals, between giving supplies of feed and water. The essential thing is that the hens’ wants shall always be properly provided-for tn due season. . * Abundant Water. Keeping the poultry supplied with water in freezing weather is one of

the most troublesome tasks of poultry keeping. Many poultry keepers defer giving water until late in the morning during cold weather. Whether the water is liquid or frozen (ice or snow) is immaterial, provided the chickens can get it Supplying them with dry or slightly moistened grain when they lack water causes indigestion and Is generally injurious to the birds and wasteful of the feed given them. Wholesome Feed. Shortage and high price of good poultry feed has Jed to a tendency to attempt to .economize by using lowpriced by-products and very inferior grades of the common grains. Almost, invariably it is a mistake to use such to the exclusion of better feeds. The safe and sure way is to start the hens laying by feeding good quality feeds, and then partially substitute the cheaper ones, regulating the amounts used by the readiness of the hens to eat the changed mixture and by the continuance of good condition and production. This applies to all classes of feeds —grains, vegetables and animal feeds. Sufficient supplies of the two last named determine, the wholesomeness of the diet as a whole. A formula for combining the three, for ordinary winter weather, is to reduce the meat and Increase the vegetables in warm weather, and reduce the vegetables and increase the meat in extreme cold weather.

Liberal Rations. Only well-fed hens can lay as they should. The best results are obtained when there is not more than three hours between feeds. Such a system demands too much of the poultry keeper. Economy of his time and energy ’ without waste of feeds is secured when the feed Is accessible to hens at all times under conditions that prevent waste. Dry feeding, in hoppers, of at least half of the ground grains given, and the feeding of whole and cracked grains in litter accomplish this. Congenial Exercise. Scratching for feed is the natural and favorite exercise of hens. They are not, however, inclined to scratch much when no feed rewards their efforts. Feeding the whole and cracked grain in litter deep enough to conceal it furnishes just the right condition to stimulate exercise by liberal feeding without waste and for congenial exercise that keeps hens fit without carrying exercise so far that it uses energy from feed that ought to be producing eggs.

MARK FOR EACH HEN

Ten eggs a month —60 during the next six months —should be the mark set by poultry keepers at this season for each hen in their flocks. Hens that cannot produce that standard should not-be kept. Poultry keepers who cannot reach it with ordinary good stock should quit and stop using valuable feed and time to little purpose. But no one should admit that he-cannot reach it until he is sure that he has failed after doing his part intelligently and conscientiously, and no one who faithfully follows the instructions in this article will fail to reach the very moderate standard of production demanded.

Eight Egg Essentials.

1— Suitable stock. 2 Comfortable quarters. 3 Kind treatment. • 4 Regular attention. 5 Abundant water. 6 Wholesome feed. 7 Liberal rations. 8— Congenial exercise.

Learn Lesson From Nature.

In feeding poultry a valuable lesson may be learned from nature. In the spring tbe production of eggs on the farm is an easy matter. Fowls which are at liberty to roam find an abundance of green and animal feed on their range, which, with grain, furnishes a perfect ration for laying, hens. In addition to this they get plenty of exercise and fresh air. So far as lies within his power, then, the feeder should alm to make the conditions during other seasons springlike.

THR RVBNTNO RKPTTBT.TCAN. .REWSSBI.ABR. IND.

TAKE NO ADVANTAGE OF FOE

Feudist* In Italy end South America Display Sene* of Chivalry That la Remarkable. Before one can truly realize the ter* rible depravity to which human nature can occasionally descend one has to obtain just an inkling into that horror of horrors known by the name “vendetta.” The misery, the suffering, the fear sometimes engendered by these awful feuds it is impossible to paint in language too denunciatory, observes a writer in London Answers. A gentleman not long returned from South America described the other day the end of a vendetta he once had the misfortune to witness in the Boca (lowest quarter) of Buenos Aires. The antagonists had their knives strapped to their hands so that the weapons could not possibly drop from their fingers, however badly injured they became. Before* the police had separated them one of the luckless combatants; had received no less than 17 wounds. On being examined it wds discovered that this individual had a loaded revolver in his belt. “Whyever did you net use your firearm?” asked the prefect of police. “No; it was a fight with knives,” explained the other, with a gasp, apd the next moment he sank unconscious to the ground. In Naples, where warning of a vendetta is almost invariably given in private, a member of the Camorra is sometimes called In to settle a dispute, and in this way occasionally what might otherwise have been a brutal feud ends in the chink of glasses at a sumptuous banquet. If a Camorrlst meets his death at the hands of a foe It becomes the bounden duty of some other member bf the Camorra to avehge it, notice being almost invariably given to the relatives of the deceased that it is absolutely unnecessary for them to take any steps infthe matter whatever. In Naples, curiously enough, the sympathy of the people is much more with the murderer in these cases than with the victim, judging that if he had had no grievance the former would never have bared his blade; and it is quite surprising how far people are prepared to go in order to protect him from the police. It is an unwritten law among the hot-blooded races among whom the vendetta still exists that, in an open street fight, no adversary must be assailed with a knife until he has had time to unclasp his own. Not the least extraordinary feature of several of the vendettas is the refusal on the part of its dying victims to disclose the name of those who have mortally wounded them.

Willing to Be Taught.

“Diarist” of the Westminster Gazette says he had been hearing much lately of the Americans in France and the impression made by them upon the British there. “Without giving offense to anybody," he remarks, “I hope I may say that British admiration of them has gone far beyond the limits that were considered likely to be reached, and that they have become strong favorites. But there is one point in particular which seems to have Impressed every officer who talks £0 me on the subject. They all quite expected to find the Americans fine men physically, with plenty of intelligence and their full share of courage and dash and endurance; but they agree that they have been surprised to note the eagerness of the new allies to seek' advice. ‘You have been at this game for years,’ is, I am told, the uEsual formula; ‘but we are tresh at it. Tell us what you know.’ It is an admirable frame of “Diarist,” “and one that promises rapid progress on the part of the willing students.”—Christian Science Monitor.

In Defense of Her Flag.

How the union jack was ably defended by an Irishwoman in the streets of Paris on July 4 is amusingly told: “Otftside one of the biggest drapery shops of Paris two ladies handled a union jack which lay on a great pile of flags for sale and remarked in French on its cheapness. The salesman, unskilled in accents, was rash enough to explain the low price by saying that ‘the union jack wasn’t in season.’ He received in reply the most eloquent discourse attainable by an indignant irishwoman of unblemished loyalty; and an Irish brogue speaking French is an engine of war before which the most intrepid must quail. There is one Frenchman who will never again suggest that there is a close season in union jacks.

A New Fuel.

Because of the fuel' shortage that is facing the United States and Canada a new fuel is to be introduced known as “carbocoal.” A plant is. being erected in Virginia for the,protection of this substance which is a by-prod-uct. Its use has been tested by the United States navy and two railroads, which pronounce it a valuable smokeless fuel. By r new process bituminous coal is treated in such a manner as to recover greater quantities of such valuable by-products as tuloul, sulphate of ammonia afld valuable oils. From the residue is made the smokeless fuel “carbocoal” in the form of briquettes. ,

Camels as War Animals.

The Importance of camels In transporting war supplies across the deserts has officially been recognized by the sultan of Egypt. Special medals were conferred recently upon native members of the camel corps for war service at exercises at which the presentations were made by the sultan.

The Housewife and the War

(Special InfoHnation Service, United States Department of Agriculture.) GREEN TOMATO PICKLES WHICH ARE DIFFERENT.

GREEN TOMATOES MAY BE PICKLED

Relishes, Pickles or Chowchow Give Zest to Otherwise Flat-Tasting Meal. MAKE MEAL APPETIZING ONE

Play an Important Part Right Now When Americans Are Endeavoring ■ to Use Various Meat Substitute*—Some Recipes. Pickles have their own peculiar place in the menu, although they possess little food value. They stimulate the appetite and especially now, when Americans are endeavoring to .use and like the various meat substitute dishes in place of the steaks and roasts of other days, play an important part in making the meal an appetizing one. The following recipes are offered for the benefit of those who have an abundance of green tomatoes from garden or market in the late fall whbn they must be saved from destruction by frost. In all cases an effort has been made to use corn sirups instead of sugar as far as possible in pickles The darker and less expensive sirups may be liked equally well. Green Tomatp Pickles. 1 peck green toma- % pound sirup toes 2 tablespoonfuls 2 pounds onions turmeric % to % pint salt 1 tablespoohful 3 quarts vinegar ground cinnamon 1 pound sugar, or 1 tablespoonful 14 pound sugar and ground allspice 2 tablespoonfuls 1 tablespoonful curry powder mustard Chop and slice the tomatoes and onions and sprinkle with the salt and let them stand overnight. In the morning drain off the liquid and put the tomatoes and onions in a -preserving kettle with a quart of the vinegar and a quart of water. Let the mixture boil sos five minutes and then drain. To the drained tomatoes arid onion add the spices, sugar and two quarts of vinegar and then boil for 15 minutes counting from the time they begin to bubble. Put in jars which have been thoroughly scalded in . hot water and seal.

One peck of tomatoes should make between three and four quarts of pickles. If smaller amounts are desired, use 2 pounds tomato** 2 ounces (4 table--2 onions (14 pound)) spoonfuls) sugar % ounce salt (1 ta- or sirup blespoonful) _ ' 1 teaspoonful % pint vinegar ground cinnamon 14 teaspoonful cur- % teaspoonfulry powder ground allspice 14 teaspoonful. 14 teaspoonful musturmerlc tard Tliis should’ make one pint of pickle when cooked. The spices used must be of good quality; buy only the best, especially with mustard and curry, for an inferior grade of either may easily cause the recipe to be pronounced worthless. Cardamom may be used instead of curry, for it is one of the common Ingredients of curry. Corn sirup is a fair substitute for sugar.- Brown sugar Is usually liked even better than white.

Piccalilli or Green Tomato Reiish. 2 quarts green to- 3 large cucumbers matoes 14 ounce black mus14 good sized cab- t ar d seed bage 14 ounce'tilery se*A 4 large or 5 small 14 ounce whole onions cloves 2 red peppers % ; teaspoonful 1 green pepper turmeric powder - 3 large dill pickles 14 cupful salt . or 14 cupful sugar or 14 ounce whlft muz- sirup: vinegar to tard seed cover Chop the vegetables fine; add the cloves, tied in a small piece of cloth, and other spices; cover with one-fourth cupful of salt and let stand pvernlght In bowl or other earthenware dish. Drain off the salt In the morning, and add sugar and enough vinegar to cover. (Mix the vinegar with one-third or onefourth its own measure of water If the sharpness of a strong vinegar Is obCook the mixture until tender, stirring occasionally to keep from burning. If the brown sugar is not procurable, imitate Its flavor by

Making Appetizers for Restricted

using granulated sugar or corn sirup, and one teaspoonful (or more) of caramel. To make a caramel sirup which may be bottled and kept for future use: Brown one-fourth cupful granulated sugar in a smooth Iron skillet, stirring constantly until it begins to turn black. Add one-fourth cupful boiling water, stir until all the sugar is dissolved and a smooth, dark, thin sirup is obtained, with a somewhat bitter taste. Chowchow. 2 quarts chopped % teacupful white green tomatoes mustard seed 3 pints chopped - cab- 1 eupful grated bage horse-radish 1 pint chopped (very 1 cupful sugar and 1 fine) onions and cupful sirup green peppers 14 cupful celery % teacupful dry seed mustard Add one-cup of salt to each gallon of tomatoes and cabbage and let stand overnight. In the morning squeeze dry, stir in all the other ingredients, and cover with cold vinegar. One cup of olive or other oil may be added to one quart of 'chowchow if desired. Spices may be varied according to pleasure and convenience. Boiled. Chowchow. Make the chowchow according to the above recipe and boil for 35 minutes. Green Tomato and Artichoke Chowchow. ' Follow the above recipe using equal parts of tomatoes and Jerusalem artichoke tubers (not cooked), cut into small dice. Sweet Spiced Green Tomato Relish. 3 pounds green to- % teaspoonful cloves matoes - • (scant) 2 oranges. _ % teaspoonful mus1 quart water tarct (sSant) -1 cupful sugar and 2 small Chili pep1 cupful sirup pers 1% cup&ils vinegar 14 teaspoonful black 1 lemon mustard seed % teaspoonful M teaspoonful white turmeric mbstard seed % tea Spoonful curry-1-3 teaspoonful carpowder damom seed 14 teaspoonful cin- 14 teaspoonful papnamon rika 1% teaspoonfuls salt Cut tomatoes into small pieces, grind finely the orange pee. I, add one quart of water and cook until tomatoes are tender. Add pulp of two oranges, and ange, and other Ingredients. Cook for about one hour. If desired, spices may be varied —turmeric, curry powder and cardamom may be omitted and one-half teaspoonful ginger used instead, or a little grated horse-radish may be substltituted. (Yield of recipe, 8% glasses, holding one-third pint each.) Note—lt is desirable to make tomato jelly and this relish on the same day, as the pulp left from the jelly may be used in the relish instead of buying additional tom&toes and orange peel. Particularly is this the case if the bag is not squeezed much in draining off the juice for jelly-maktag; the pulp which remains should noPbe wasted. Food'-Value of, Nut*. In connection with the campaign for gathering nut shells for gas masks, it should be borne in mind that nuts are among the richest and most wholesome of our foods. Wherever possible the kernels of the native nuts should be added to the home supply of foods. The hard shells, not the husks, of black walnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, Persian (English) walnuts, Japanese walnuts and the seeds of such fruits as peaches, plums, prunes, apricots and olives are exceedingly useful in the making of carbon for gas masks. The shells of pecans and almonds cannot be used. Seven pounds of hard nut shells, or two hundred peach pits, will make enough carbon for one gas mask.

Thousands of tons of coconut shells and shells of cohune nuts from tropical America, and carloads of fruit pits from the Pacific coast are being used. Still the supply is not sufficient. Nuts which cannot readily be cracked, those which have become stale with age, or those widely have failed to develop plump kernels should be turned over to the Red Cross. Black walnuts and butternuts which are not to be cracked may be sent In without removing the outer husk. Arrangement* for gathering and shipping nuts, nut shells and fruit pits can be made through the local Red Cross. In cleaning windows, first remove dirt with hot, soapy water, then wipe the pane* with a paraffin cloth and polish with a piece of paper.

SHORTONROMANCE

Some Eminently Prosaic Proposals of Marriage. —————— Hardly as Picturesque as the Qtiltetf Form. 80 Popular with Lover, in the Pages of Fiction, but as - ’ Perhaps the romantic proposals ofi fiction are more picturesque than the usual proposals of real life; the fact that lover* are reluctant witnesses make it hard to tell. But certainly the queer or comic proposals and attempted proposals of fiction cannot be anjr queerer than some of those recorded in actual 'chronicle of countryside tradition. Mr. Howells in his reminiscences gives an amusing middle West example of a country bachelor who belatedly made up his mind to marry, and in his default of female acquaintance took his place on the top rail of a roadside fence and called to the first woman who passed: “Say! You a married woman?” “And tjien at the frightened answer Indignantly gasped oat, ‘Yes, sir!’ he offered a mere *Oh!’ for an apology and explanation,,and let himself vanish' by falling into the cornfield behind him.” Almost equally contemptuous of finesse was a New England bachelor in middle life who had lived contentedly on his- farm under, the able administration of an aunt only a year or two older than himself. His nextdoor neighbor, and the owner of a small but cozy farmstead, was a competent and contented spinster. In whom Enos had displayed less than the ordinary neighborly interest. But one day he hailed her over the dividing fence: “Hi, Selina!” Selina did not immediately understand that she was being addressed, and so Enos leaned across the fence and* continued shouting “Hi! Hi! Hl I” until he attracted her attention. “Well, Enos, what is it?” she inquired, turning. Enos allowed her to walk close to the fence before he replied. “Aunt Jane’s going to get married, so I guess I better, too. What d’ye think about it, Selina?” “I think ye better, Enos.” “Then es ye’ll have me, guess I better marry you, Selina.” “Es I will, Enos, I guess ye better." “Will ye, Selina?” “I won’t Enos.” “Shucks, Selina, ye better.” “That’s your say-so, Enos; My Idee .s, I bettern’t!” Certainly, whether she would have bettered herself or otherwise, she did not marry Enos, and he remained a bachelor. Even less of grape and glamor attended the courtship of a prosaic youth jy the name of Joseph and his sweetheart —if that term is hot too poetic—the excellent and practical Susannah. Coming up her father’s farm lane, Joseph perceived her crossing it at the far end with a bucket of pig wash, and called to her to wait for him. “Can’t stop, Joe, the pigs are waiting !” she shouted back. “Jest a minute, Sue 11 got something to say to yet”, jelled Joe. “Ye can say. it after I’ve fed thepigs!” shrieked Susannah. Joe broke into a tun. As he approached her, where she had paused reluctantly to await him, he panted indignantly, “Ye got to let the darn critters wait for once, Sue! Hang it, I want to propose!” “Come along and propose, then,” responded Susannah with sweet encouragement. “Ye kin do it while we feed, the pigs, can’t ye, Joe?” Joe could and did; Susannah' accepted him; the pigs were fed. Whether or no the match was made in heaven, it proved as happy' as if itb atmosphere of - early bliss on earth had not been mingled with the aroma of the pigpen. —Years of My Youth. .

A Sidelight

I’ve talked with some of the infantry coming down here and they have wonderful .tales to tell. The French ire wildly enthusiastic over the Americans—one French regiment passed me going into action waving the Aniercan flag. » / gome time when T have time I’ll sit lown and analyze the sensations: they’re indelible —It’s a sort of high excitement that makes anything possible. It’s taken at least three hits to stop any of our men. Generally they keep on going, nevertheless, until they can’t go anyvfarther—then shoot from where they are until they’re picked off or the advance goes too far ahead, and the litter'bearers get them and bring them In.—From Letter of an American Artillery Lieutenant, printed in Collier’*, Weekly.

So He Passed.

From France comes the following little story of the irrepressible spirits of the Australian fighting men: Among the wounded brought into the ward was a young Billjim whom we knew at once was soon going west He was quite conscious, dnd an Australian sister set herself to make his last few hours on this planet as comfortable as possible. He wanted to be wrapped up With pillows, and to do this the nurse said: “Put your arms around my shoulders rio that I can raise you gently.” “You bet yotfr life, sister,” whispered the Irrepressible lad with a smile; “it’s a long, tong time since I had my arms around a dinkun* Aussie girt.” And then he ended his great crusade.