Bellefonte, Pa., February 23, 1917. om WAR. There's war in Europe, I've heard men say, And there's carnage, and havoc, and blood to pay, And they've bombs and pistols and guns that slay, And rows of bayonets. There's war to the west and war to the east, There's passion’s dance and murder's feast, And they've lost their love for church and priest, And the bridled war-horse frets. And they've trenches and caves and cabins of sod, And millions of men that bleed and plod; But they've somehow lost their hold on God, And they've emperors for pets. And they've captured cities, and ruined lives, And they've killed their children and slav- ed their wives; In Europe, they say, the war dog thrives, And God's own sunlight sets. There's war in Europe, I've heard men say, There's war out there—but peace our way. Haven't got time, in an eight-hour day, To massacre and fight. But suppose the warlord, drunk with blood, Mad and insane beyond all good, Starving for victory-—and for food. And sick with power’s blight. Suppose he tries. in his passion’s lust, To steal our homes, our hearts, our crust? Will we fight like men? We will—we must ; Though our dead lie still in the night; Though the warlord wins, with his wick- ed host; Though God seems gone, and the world is lost ; Though the earth is numb in the killing frost And the devil reigns in spite. But think you so the world will set? Madness will meet its master yet; Insanity will pay its debt ; God will uphold the right! CATHARINE WHARTON MORRIS. LIFE STORY OF NEW HEAD OF DUAL EMPIRE. Charles I of Austria, the new ruler of the dual Empire, was born on August 17, 1887, at the imperial chat- eau of Persenbeug, overlooking the Danube valley. His childhood train- ing was entrusted to the Archduchess Marie Therese and the Archduchess Maria Josefa, assisted by an English governess. He is credited with hav- ing shown a considerable precocity in learning to read and write and to have developed a special ability in ac- quiring languages. When he was 17 years of age the young prince joined the First Regi- ment of Uhlans as lieutenant, and was later transferred to the Seventh Reg- iment of Dragoons. His military ed- ucation was interrupted in 1907, when he commenced the study of law at the University of Prague. He was graduated the following year, and re- turned to his regiment, being pro- moted to captain on November 1,1910. Three weeks later he was married to Princess Zita of Parma, a member of the Italian Bourbons. He remained with the army, and in 1912 was pro- moted to Major, and two years later reached the rank of lieufenant col- onel. The assassination of his uncle, Archduke Francis Ferdinand at Sara. jevo on June 26, 1914, made him the heir to the throrie, and on July 25 of the same year he was appointed col- onel of the First Hussar Regiment. The opening months of the Eu- ropean war were spent by the heir apparent at the headquarters of the Austrian commander-in-chief, Arch- duke Frederick. In January, 1915, he went to the headquarters of the German Emperor on a special mis- sion, and in July of last year was promoted to major general and rear admiral. Subsequently he spent con- siderable time inspecting the troops on the various fronts by command of the Emperor Francis Joseph, and in March, 1916, was created field mar- shal and vice admiral, receiving at the same time the command of an ar- my corps on the Italian front. The Emperor took part personally in the great offensive against the Italians in May of the past year, and his services were rewarded by the German Emperor by the Iron Cross of the first class and the Order of Pour le Merite. In July of the past year he was transferred to the com- mand of an army in East Galicia consisting of a composite force of Austro-Hungarians, Germans and Turks. Last October the new Em- peror took charge of Austria’s ar- mies against Rumania. Emperor Charles is reported to be a great favorite with the soldiers and to like to talk familiarly with the man in the trenches. He is tall and slender in build with a very round, ruddy face and a hearty laugh. He is credited with being a man of mod- ern views and highly progressive ten- dencies, and it is believed that under his administration the Austro-Hun- garian governmental system will un- dergo many changes. PERSONALITY OF NEW EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA. With the advent of the new Em- press Zita, curiosity naturally will be aroused as to her personality and ac- complishments. From her early days she has been studious and is an ac- complished musician and well versed in literature, history and philosophy. She also is fond of society and is a graceful dancer. Empress Zita was born in the Villa Reale at Pianore, in the Italian Prov- ince of Lucea, May 9, 1892, the daughter of Duke Robert and Duch- ess Marie Antoinette of Parma. She is of Bourbon descent, but rapidly be- came Viennese, owing to the fact that life in the capital on the Danube in- terested her exceedingly. Her early training was in the hands of the Mar- quise Della Rosa. Later she entered a convent at Zangbert, where she ad- vanced rapidly in music, now and then as organist in vent chapel. After her father’s death the then Princess Zita in 1908 spent some time in the Rye Abbey, England, where her Adelaide, is a nun. Here among the French sisters who had been com- pelled to leave France owing to the church reform law, she studied mu- sic, literature, Latin, philosophy. Princess Zita made the acquain- tance of Archduke Charles Francis at Franzenbad, Bohemia, in 1909, while the guest of the Archduchess Marie Annunziata, her cousin. Later, Princess Zita and Archduke Francis met at balls and other festivities at the Hofburg palace, and occasionally at the hunting lodge of the Archduch- ess Marie Therese. On the occasion of a court ball ear- ly in 1911, Archduke Charles Francis is reported to have declared his love for the Princess. Another version of this story, however, is that the Arch- duke, having his attention drawn to a particularly graceful dancer, said: “Oh, I have liked her for a long time.” On June 14, 1911, the engagement the con- sister, Princess of the Princess and the Archduke was | announced, and on October 21 of the same year they were married, neither expecting that ultimately they would ascend the Austro-Hungarian throne. The marriage took place in the castle at Schwarzenau. Cardinal, then Mon- signor, Bisleti, Major Domo of the Vatican, officiated, assisted by an uncle of Archduke Charles Francis. An interesting feature of the event was the bringing of wedding presents by an aviator. The young couple spent their honeymoon in the castle at Brandeis. The first household of the Archduke and Archduchess was established at Kolomea, Galicia, where they had oc- casion to enjoy the splendid hospital- ity of the Polish nobility. Their first child was born November 20, 1912, and was named Francis J oseph Otto. He is now heir apparent to the Aus- trian throne. The Emperor Francis Joseph was very fond of the boy. The other children of the couple are the Archduchess Adelaide, born Jan- uary 3, 1914; Archduke Robert Charles Louis, born February 8, 1915, and Archduke Felix Frederick Au- gust, born May 31, 1916, the date on which his father was a victor in the battles at Asiero and Asiago, in Italy. Turning Point in War, British News- papers Think. British newspapers think the turn- ing point in the war has been reach- ed. An indication as to how import- ant they regard the situation may be judged from the fact that one edition devoted from forty to sixty ver cent. of their editorial and news pages to the American situation. American news and analysis of American naval strength was featured almost to the exclusion of news from the various fronts and discussion of Britain's own internal affairs. Naval experts’ opinions were spread over columns in the newspapers. Their discussions centered on the pos- sible «td that might be expected from America on the seas. The experts disagree on many points—even while they argue from the same sets of tables showing American naval strength—and probably the same pictures. Pictures, incidently, are printed in remarkable profusion. The naval experts are practically unanimous in their opinion that the main American fleet will not serve any purpose which is not already adequately met by present forces of the allies. The greatest attention is centered on weapons which might be used to combat the submarine menace. Some opinions bewail the failure of America to provide fast cruisers; others take satisfaction in the large number of destroyers and gunboats listed in the American register. The most interesting comment noted was the belief that something new will be produced from Thomas A. Edison’s ‘invention board,’ appointed as a consulting committee by Secre- tary of the Navy Daniels. Some pre- dictions were that a master weapon against the sumbarine would be re- vealed once the United States entered the war. Without exception the most favor- able attention was given to critics to the mobilization of volunteer motor- craft, whose recent maneuvers in mock warfare against submarines were apparently keenly watched from this side of the water. The Britains call these motorboats adversaries of the submarine “sea wasps”, They hold that the addition in large numbers of these submarine hunters to the allies’ effective naval forces would be of the utmost value at the present juncture. The organization of this force, the London Express ob- serves, proves the “American navy department has not been slow to learn the lessons of this war.” All British newspapers united in lauding the spirit of the American navy. “Everything justifies the confidence which the United States reposes in its naval strength,” declared the Times. “Its officers and men are real sailors,” declared the Standard. “The standard of discipline is dif- ferent from ours—it is democratic, although efficient, nevertheless.”—Ex. ——At Ann Arbor, Mich., workmen recently repaired the outside stairs of old University Hall. The building was constructed in the seventies, and complaint was made at that time that the stairway was too narrow to per- mit the co-eds to pass comforta ly, as the era of the hoopskirts was on then. The stairway, though rebuilt, 1S as narrow as the original passage- way.—Ex. To Be Abolished. Hog raising within the city limits of Philadelphia is to be abolished on or before March 15. Director Krusen served notice on all pig owners a few days ago, that they must dispose of their animals before that date or the city would confiscate them and destroy the pig pens.—Ex. : history and | presiding | | Isle of Wight, | Some Aspects of Munition Manu- facture. Dayton Insistent on its Reform. a: In spite of predictions that Day- : The National Geographic Society | ton’s plan of city government, known ' has issued a bulletin dealing with the | as -the commission-manager plan, geography of munitions with refer- | would soon go the way of all systems ence to the war in Europe. In this | not supported by a determination to bulletin the society shows how almost | have clean government at any cost, every nook and canny of the world the city’s affairs continue, after has been called upon for materials out of which the mations at war may fabricate the thunderbolts of Mars. The demands which the war in Eu- rope has made upon the countries of the earth for materials with which to : prosecute it are as vast in the range | has been called the “one conspicuous of materials used asin the quantities | failure in American government,” required. One can scarcely travel far they are obliged to see the thing enough afield to get away from the through at any cost. But from the war trade. Only by going into those results achieved it is most probable remote interiors of the tropic world | that they are so well satisfied that and the polar regions where civiliza- | they would not part with the plan. tion has only a fitful occupation can They have succeeded so well with it one get away from it. Even in going | there, men. are handicapped by the demands of the war. For instance, Bartlett and Amundsen, in their plans to drift through the Artic ocean, find that it is costing them just about twice as much to outfit as it cost in normal peace times. From the deep forests of Brazil ere comes much of the rubber that required. From the waste places the world there come the cheap furs which are used in the making of | felt. From the gas house and the tar pot come those wonderful substances out of which are prepared the terrific explosives which are being used in such extensive fashion. From Chile | come the nitrates which are so vitally | demanded in war-time. Thousands of I locomotives and hundreds of thous- | ands of care ave required. Steel rails by the shipload are ever in demand. Automobiles by the tens of thousands are constantly moving in endless pro- ! cession toward the battle front. The | 1gne earth is ransacked for metals, rare | which it and plentiful alike, to aid the pro- | ; . cesses of making munitions. The cot- no ash or rubbish collection, and only ton field, the mine, the cattle ranch, part of the garbage was collected. the forest, the land, the sea, and even | the sky itself, as it were, are forced A adequate to show the result of good manage- i ment, says the Indianapolis News. Perhaps the people of Dayton realize that, having set themselves up as pioneers in the reformation of what ed the same plan, which would indi- | cate that in the right hands the plan is a success. A report of conditions since the years the infant mortality rate was decreased from 124 a thousand—the rate which prevails in the United States at large—to 87.2; the death rate has been reduced from 15.7 a thousand to 13; the tax rate from 14-4 to 13.4 and the city debt has been re- duced $75,000, while additional service to the people valued at $90,000 has been provided out of equal expendi- tures. Before the flood of 1913 demonstrated to the Dayton the glaring their municipal management city was in a bad way. defects in the pairing. There was a water system was trying to supply the and placed on a paying to contribute to the great and greedy | basis; all garbage is collected by the | maw of war. | city and disposed of in a reduction Tin is widely used in the manufac- | plant built under the supervision of | ture of anti-friction metals, solders | engineer members of the city govern- and gun metals. The Malay States | ment. It pays a net profit of $17,000 produce about one-half of the world’s | a year. Loan sharks have been driven normal output of 120,000 tons. The | out of the city. Vacant lots to the lack of tin has forced Germany to | number of 840 have been plowed at find other materials to substitute for | municipal expense and turned into it. That country has prohibited the | gardens. A workhouse with a new use of solder containing more than 30 | system of handling habitual drunk- | And the | per cent of tin, and that so used must | ards has been established. 1 have been recovered from scrap. The | short ballot and numerous other im- making of soldered joints has been | provements have been adopted with restricted to cases where lapping, | great success. riveting and electro-welding are im- | practicable. The Allied countries pro- duce all but 1% per cent of the nickel | in the world. Most of this comes from Canada. Nickel is an almost indi- spensable part of gun and armor plate steel, and of the modern bullet and armor-piercing projectile. It is doubt- ful whether any satisfactory substi- tute is known. Hardly less important is chromium, an essential constituent of armor plate and armor-piercing projectiles. Rhodesia and New Cale- | donia furnish between them the bulk of the chromium ore. Russia pro- duces substantial amounts. More ferro-tungsten and manganese is uged today than was ever used before in the history of the world. Tungsten that used to bring from $6 to $7 per unit, is now bringing as much as $66 for the same quantity. Every manganese mine in the world is being worked 24 hours a day in the effort to turn out enough of this wonderful hardening substance for the preparation of war materials. Brazil alone has contract- ed to supply 200,000 tons of man- ganese at approximately $7,000,000 laid down. All kinds of old scrap is now worth from two to three times as much as it was before the war broke out. Many a railroad is able to sell its old rails for more than they cost when they were put down new. When Italy entered the war she combed the whole United States for old locomo- tives and car axles. Practically every old fuel dump in all of the coal dis- tricts is now being profitably worked because of the high prices prevailing. Practically every shop in the United : States that has a lathe has found one way or another to participate in the munition trade. There are even cabinet factories which have gone into mak- ing one or another kind of munitions. In Canada a maunfacturer of under- taker’s supplies joined the ranks of the munition makers, furnishing drop metal for the manufacture of shrap- nel. It is surprising how far-reaching the effect of the war has been on those countries which have not had facili- ties for counteracting some of its in- fluences. It is said that if it had not been for the corborundum industry in the United States when the war stopped the supply of abrasive ma- terials from Turkey and Asia Minor, a thousand industries would have had to slow up. It is estimated that only one-fifth as many automobiles could have been turned outin this country during the war, if we had not been independent of the ordinary supply of natural abrasives. Likewise, it is said that a cessation of the supply of ferro-silicon would shut down every steel mill in America. When the munition factories of the world were being equipped, there was an unprecedented demand for tung- sten. This material practically mul- tiplies three times the speed of every tool machine in which it is used. Alloys of ferro-tungsten cut shavings one and a half inch wide, one-half inch thick and forty to fifty feet in a minute. England is said to have pro- duced a new kind of high speed tool steel which is called reactol. It con- tains neither tungsten nor cobalt, re- quires neither forging, hardening nor tempering, but merely has to be ground into shape in order to make it ready for work of the heaviest kind. With ordinary high speed tools at a recent test, it took fifteen minutes to rough a shell, but reactol roughed 14 similar shells in nine minutes. Wherever one turns, he finds such instances as these of the new inven- tions and the new substances that are being employed, and they will prob- ably mean a very great deal to civili- zation in the years that follow the war. If there ever was a time when necessity was the mother of invention it is in the stress in Europe today. And Europe seems to be making the Our Presidents Long Lived. The longevity of the Presidents of the United States is remarkable, says the “London Lancet.” Their ages at death were as follows: 67, 73, 80, 78, 79, 68, 53, 65, 74, 64, 717, 56, 66, 63, 70, 49, 56, 71, 67, 58 years. Those at 56, 49 and 58 were, respec- tively, Lincoln, Garfield and Me- Kinley, who were assassinated. The ages of these 24 men totalize 1,663 years, or an average of 69 years each, showing, as is believed, that the stress and responsibility of leadership seem to have no effect on longevity. The following causes of death are those popularly accepted: Washing- ton, pneumonia (more correct ac- counts state dematous affection of the windpipe, or membraneous croup;) J. Adams, debility; Jefferson, chronic diarrhoea; Madison, debility; Monroe, debility; J. Q. Adams, paralysis; Jackson, consumption and dropsy; Van Buron, asthmatic catarrh; Har- rison, bilious pleurisy; Tyler, bilious attack (with bronchitis); Polk, chronic diarrhoea; Taylor, cholera morbus and typhoid fever; Fillmore, debility; Pierce, dropsy and inflamma- tion of stomach; Buchanan, rheumatic gout; Lincoln, bullet wound; Johnson, paralysis; Grant, cancer of the tongue and throat; Hayes, paralysis of the heart; Garfield, bullet wound; Arthur, Bright's disease, paralysis and apo- plexy; Cleveland, debility; B. Har- rison, pneumonia; McKinley, bullet wound. Fun All Around. A city man recently visited his country cousin. The man from the city, wishing to explain the joys of urban life, said: “We certainly have been having the fun the last few days. Thursday we autoed to the country club and golfed until dark, then trol- leyed back to town and danced until morning.” . The country cousin was not to be stumped in the least and began telling some of the pleasures of the simple life: “We have had pretty good times here too. One day we buggied out to Uncle Ned’s and went out to the back lot where we baseballed all afternoon. In the evening we sneaked up into the attic and pokered until morning.” And a sturdy old farmer, who was listening, not to be outdone, took up the conversation at this point and said: “I was having some fun about that time myself. 1 muled out to the cornfield and geehawed until sundown. Then I suppered uptil dark and piped until nine o’clock, after which I bed- steaded until the clock fived, and then I breakfasted until it was time to go muling again.—The Auto Era. Display-Type Faces Cast on Slugs by Machine. One of the important improvements effected in the printing industry of late has been the invention of a ma- chine for casting display composition on slugs. Some of the advantages are that cost is reduced, an unlimited supply of clean, new type furnished for every piece of work, and time and floor space materially saved. Further- more, expensive foundry type is con- served, and without reducing the qual- ity of the work. The matrices which are used are set by hand in sticks of a special kind, locked in the machine, and a slug cast. Sticks are made for lines as long as 10% in.,, but when these are used, more than one casting is made, the machine taking care of the justification automatically by in- denting one slug and overhanging the next. When many duplicates are wanted, as in the cases of blanks, rules, borders, and similar things, the machine will recast until stopped.— almost three years of the new plan, that some 40 other cities have adopt- plan was adopted shows that in three | people of The | old administration had run up a debt | "of $6,000,000, of which much went for such running expenses as street re- | designed for a town of 30,000 with | needs of a city of 125,000. There was | The waterworks has been made | 90, 83, 85, | FOR AND ABOUT WOMEN. DAILY THOUGHT However vexed you may be overnight. things will often look very different in the | morning. If you have written a clever and conclusive but scathing letter, keep it back till the next day. and it will very often never go at all.— Lord Avebury. If you have money invested in rib- bon mines of ribbon wells or whatever one calls the place from which ribbons i by the yard emanate, you may feel perfectly free in planning a trip to Florida or Southern California, or ‘anywhere else you choose. For rib- bons are coming into high favor, and | ribbon stock must be paying good dividends. : Quite the smartest finish for one’s spring blouse is to have it completed ' with a square neck in front. This is a very new idea and is shown on some perfectly exquisite new blouses of French voiles, or cobwebby weave and shell pink tint. The collar was of Filet lace and the square neck was immensely effective. New and fetching tailored suits are of midnight blue garbandine high-waisted style, with many fine pleats and many black bone buttons. Collar and sleeves are rather tailor- ish, and the new, well-cut skirt was not quite so short as last season’s models. Among the attractive weaves for sports suits and other costumes are Poiret twill, crepe poplin, basket cheviots, velours and Bolivia cloth in cream color. Smart sports suits for young women are of wool Jersey in the new clay color, which, as you'd imagine, is ! a variation from the sand color of ‘other seasons. The suits have pleats, belts and pockets in the approved i sports style. Poult de soie is a lovely white silk | which is a combination of satin and taffeta. It may be used for sports | suits, skirts, coats or blouses, is quite | wide and but moderately priced. Cold though it be, it will, neverthe- less, soon be time for spring wraps, and already the question begins to concern fashionables. Many of the new spring coats are in three-quarter and seven-eighth lengths, but quite a number, especial- ly motor wraps, cover the entire dress. | Among the full-length models is the | coat that pretends to be a frock, and | this model is expected to meet with | high favor. | Most of the new spring coats are ; along straight lines, having less flare | than those worn during the fall and | winter. Not a few models have sashes land belts, and the high, normal and | low waistlines apparently share equal approval. Some charming and youthful models show the Directoire influence, having fitted, double-breasted lines in the upper section, with the fullness gathered on at a high waistline. Moyen-Age lines are again suggested and characterize some very beautiful i models. | Most of the sports models are of | three-quarter length, some slightly | shorter. Lines vary, the coats some- times hanging loose from the shoul- der or from a narrow yoke, or in other styles being broadly belted. Fancy pockets are a noticeable fea- ture. The collars are round or sailor in effect, large, and may be worn open or closed. Sports materials this year are wide in range, many 1917 novel- ties being shown, including wool velours in plain and fancy weaves; wool jersey, in plain colors and stripes; English and Scotch mixtures, checks, hopsackings and tussahs, in plain color, polka dots and stripes. The lace around the neck or collar of blouses or dresses often gets soil- ed. To clean, take boracic acid pow- der, rub well into lace, and leave for a day or so. Then shake out, when the dirt will be quite removed. The disagreeable smell which onions leave on pots and pans can quickly be removed by washing and drying the pans, scouring with common salt and placing on the stove until the salt is brown. Shake often, then wash the pan as usual. When putting away best silver after use try placing a piece of loaf sugar in both teapot, coffee pot and hot water jug to absorb any moisture that might be left in, and leave lid open. When you have a small amount of cream to churn try putting it into a half gallon fruit jar, adjust the rub- ber and cover, wrap in a cloth to avoid its slipping around, and place it on the treadle of the machine. You may then either slip off the band and run the machine rapidly for a few minutes, or place the jar between your feet on the treadle and go on with your sewing, and in a very few minutes you will have a nice dish of butter. More than a half pound of butter may be made in this way. To keep the napkins in good shape take them by opposite corners when they are wet and twist round and round. Do the same with the other corners. You will find that this squares the linen better than all the pulling and coaxing into shape when ironing time arrives. Don’t wear thin shoes and gossamer stockings in cold weather, or you will have that pinched, chilled look which is so unbecoming. Don’t economize in shoe leather, a; it is economy that is likely to cost you dear. Don’t give up taking exercise, even if the weather is bad. A brisk walk on a cold day is a splendid complexion beautifier. Wear a veil if your skin is susceptible to cold winds. It is better not to wear heavy headgear, as it is bad for the hair. Do not let your rooms get hot and stuffy, and always have a window slightly open at the top. Don’t forget to dry your hands thoroughly after washing, if you wish to prevent them from getting chapped. Eggless Cake.—One cupful of sugar, one-third cupful of shortening, three cupfuls of flour, one cupful of sweet milk, three tablespoonfuls of baking powder. Beat thoroughly to From the February Popular Me- most of it. chanics Magazine. make this light. Flavor with an ex- tract. in a | FARM NOTES. —The feed allowed brood sows just , prior to farrowing is of vital import- -ance. Sows should not be overfat at farrowing time. If too fat they will be feverish, constipated and may far- row all the pigs dead. A suitable grain ration recommend- ed by the Pennsylvania State College school of agriculture and experiment station for sows prior to farrowing Is one consisting of corn, 400 parts, middlings 300 parts, tankage 100 : parts and bran 50 parts. Oil meal may be substituted for tankage and the ‘amount increased to 150 parts in the { mixture. . A week or ten days prior to farrow- !ing the sow should be removed to a farrowing pen which should be dry, | comfortable and roomy. Farrowing | pens in a centralized hog house eight i feet square, with lots opening outside ! make the best quarters. | The day before farrowing the sow ; should receive only a light feed of | bran fed wet. For the first thirty-six | hours after farrowing the sow should | be fed very lightly. Heavy feeding at {this time will produce heavy milk { flow, which in turn is apt to cause | scouring in pigs. | At the expiration of the thirty-six hour period the sow may be started ! gradually on a ration of corn meal seven parts, tankage one part and ' sweet skim-milk in the proportion of one pound of grain mixture to one pound of milk. Early hatching is the secret of win- | ter egg production, say specialists in | the United States Department of Ag- | riculture. The pullet that is hatched | early matures early and is ready to lay eggs in the fall when the supply { is scarcest and prices highest. Chick- ens that are expected to be revenue producers for their owners later in the year should be out of their shells by April 30 at the latest. If they are properly cared for thereafter they will begin to lay eggs at the very time that the eggs are most wanted. To a great extent the poultrymen of the country have overlooked this simple fact. For one thing, birds hatched later in the spring or summer are not inclined to become broody until late the following season and thus an unprofitable circle is formed. Each year pullets mature too late to produce in the fall and winter, and they sit too late for their offspring to do better. The poultryman who wishes to get really good returns from his flock must break this circle. The growing use of incubators has | made this comparatively easier. There {is no reason why incubators should not be filled in March and early April and the hatching over before May 1. If no incubator is available it may be possible to secure broody hens in the neighborhood. That they will repay the trouble and expense necessary to obtain them, is indicated by results at the govern- ment poultry farm in Maryland. There it is not unusual to get a daily aver- age of one egg for every five hens throughout the fall and winter, and in some pens the average has been as high as one egg for three birds. If anything like this percentage could be obtained on farms, the ordinary poultry farmer would derive real benefit from the high prices which eggs invariably bring for a period of several months. Three things are necessary to pro- duce a profitable number of eggs in any flock, no matter what the breed- ing. These are exercise, green feed, and animal feed of some sort. I have secured best results from scratch feed composed of corn, wheat and oats, equal parts—about one pint for each 12 hens, morning and night, feed in deep litter. For a grain mash I use wheat middlings, 25 pounds; wheat bran, 25 pounds; ground oats, 25 pounds; corn meal, 20 pounds; and meat scrap, 10 pounds. This dry mash is fed from a dry-mash hopper. When pullets are early hatched, properly housed, and are being fed a mash such as I am recommending and poor results follow, try giving them a hot mash just about sundown. Chop up fine green feed, such as tur- nips, mangles, turnip tops, young oats, wheat or rye from the field, or cabbage or collards, and mix this with the above dry mash mixture, then pour on boiling water or, if you have it, boiling buttermilk or sour skim milk, and thoroughly mix the mass. Make it crumbly moist, not too wet, and feed just enough so that they will clean it up in about twenty min- utes. This will take about one ounce ‘of dry mash to each bird, a bucket of fine chopped green feed for each 200 birds, and nearly a bucket of boil- ing liquid. Give this mash as hot as the bird can safely eat it. Test the mash with your fingers; it should not be hot enough to burn the mouths of the hens and yet hot enough to warm them up thoroughly. This plan must be carried out diligently each evening, as to obtain the best results it is ne- cessary to care for the birds “like clockwork.” I have recently tried out this feed- ing plan on six flocks of pullets. One flock producing one to two per cent of eggs increased to 10 per cent in ten days, and in another ten days they were laying 20 per cent, and this rate should be steadily increased as the weeks go on toward spring. Another lot increased to 30 per cent egg pro- duction in three weeks. Eggs for hatching shoud be select- ed, and only those having normal shape and weighing at least two ounces, with clean, smooth, strong shells should be used. Cracked eggs as well as dirty eggs, rough shells, weak shells, abnormal shapes, and ex- tremely long or short eggs should be avoided. There is no means of determining whether or not an egg is fertile ex- cept by incubation. The fresher the egg, the better it is for hatching. The vitality, however, is lowered but little when the egg is held for 10 days or two weeks. Extension Circular No. 47, of the Pennsylvania State College school of agriculture and experiment station states that eggs for hatching should be kept in a dry, cool place (50 to 60 degrees F.) laid on their sides, and turned occasionally. The germ starts to develop at 68 degrees F. In cold weather eggs should be collected as often as possible, to pre- vent chilling. ——Subsecribe for the “Watchman”. ¥
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers