lanimmei^ 1 TO SUmY NEW YORK'S EBBS | 2 LUXURIOUSLY HOUSED HENS. £ EW YORK Is soon to have I in its suburbs the larg- I est chicken ranch in the (J" world, states the Herald. At Manasquan, N. .T., a com pany has secured a tract of three hun dred acres to establish a giant hen Industry, conducted on scientific meth ods. The company, say its promoters, in tends to control the New York market for "guaranteed" fresh laid eggs. They will, they say, deliver eggs lu boxes, «ach box stamped with the date of laying, and delivered to customer with in twenty-four hours after the eggs are laid. The city of New York last year paid $20,000,000 for eggs, most of them more or less stale, the consumption being 100,000,000 dozen. The first year's output of the enormous new chicken ranch now bping laid will be thirty million eggs. This will be the product of a laying "herd" o£ from one hundred and fifty thousand to two hundred thousand chickens. The es tablishment is being planned to rapid ly increase to double that amount. These flocks will be herded under the system invented by Mr. J. R. Ben son, an authority on everything per taining to the hen and its product. Mr. Benson is the general manager of this gigantic concern, which will be the biggest in the world. In a recent lecture Professor A. A. Brlgham, of the Rhode Island College of Agriculture, at the Poultry Experi ment Station, Kingston, said: "To make an industry of the chicken and its product is not a question of Ihe market, which can always be had. It is not the expense of keeping, which is. always low. It is not a question of profit, which, if properly conducted, is large. It is the question how to reach and conduct on a business scale large lierds of hens, the chicken busi ness of to-day being merely a home In dustry. Something, therefore, must be done to mnke hen raising a national business on a business scale." This will be accomplished, says Mr. Benson, at the Manasquan egg farm. Under his system any number of chick ens can be herded. Instead of allow ing them to run at large and mingle freely, as of old, picking their food from all kinds of refuse, they are to be divided into colonies of not above Nv SESUOTUi. /$/ \ for corn /? p> W • "tTS . Ek WORK. PIEMEN'S A If v/EjshT feS 1// n « j K. n Jpfr • / •*?'"< \ \ \VvV v .' > *.• •. i \ .. • t *. • • \ v ••• ' PATENT POOD DISTRIBUTOR, OPERATED BY PRESSING A BUTTON. thirty hens. Each colony will have its own reservation, kept in hygienic cleanliness and order, and separate and Isolated at all times from the others. This makes feeding of each fowl possible to Insure the greatest product iveness,with, as experience has proved, an average yearly yield of two hun dred eggs from each lieu. The sec ond advantage of the segregation of the fowls Is tluit should n chicken by any chance become sick or breed ver min. the trouble cannot spread beyond INCuOAT°rc fl°U3t j££JVHMOL S^HEORHK^ .r^^TMiv that <UI« IV*>TVUIIOII HT'FURI I It I* «!••- TUT-1T IL, Ll*>nc«i IHTM «HU UOUA OF TLIF opitlfiiiicit wttli'h li*v« kiiiuvtluimi l»ln)cil havoc with lb«» tancy Mwk fowl on rhlt'kcii (arma >lurio*»r, Uio nt-w ayati-ui (H-riulu iln* liuiuvtllat* Identification of any hen falling In pro ductiveness, and her prompt replace ment by one able to keep up to the high average. The system Includes the extensive use of several pateuts, which bring the business of chicken ranching and egg producing to a new perfection. One of these Is an automatic nest. Without this It would be impossible, where more than one hen is kept, to guaran tee that an egg would be free from the taint of Incubation. When hens lay In the same nest and from one to a half dozen sit on the nest jvhlle laying, the process of hatching has actually begun before the eggs are gathered for the market. This Is the main cause why so many eggs spoil. The new system is the only one which prevents eggs from undergoing some degree of incubation, because the egg Is taken from the nest immediate ly after It is laid. The invention con sists of a nest with a hole in the bot- INTERIOR OF LATEST IMPROVED BROOD ING HOUSE FOB CHICXENS. torn suspended immediately over a re volving disc, which receives the egg as soon as it Is laid and moves It away from the nest when released by the rising of the hen. The disc Is then ready to receive the next egg. and In this way no egg Is Incubated for an Instant. The second invention saves the ex pense of numerous attendants and the lives of the smaller hens. One of tilt greatest troubles and trials of poultry farms has been that of feeding. Un less time were taken to scatter the food far and wide the larger fowls beat away the smaller from It, and the result was that the smaller were Imperfectly nourished, impairing tlieir laying capacity. As small hens may be as prolific as larger ones, and as overfeeding produces fat and dimin ishes the laying, the importance of fair and even distribution of food to laying hens is plain. To make this cheap and easy, an electric food scattewr has been Invented. The attendant places the feed In It and upon pressure of a button at a central station the food is scattered simultaneously in all sections evenly over the surface of the reservation. The third Improvement is to destroy the vermin, the enemy of fowl. Most vermin pass from fowl to fowl at night, when the fowls are roosting,and crawl up the walls of the chicken house aud out upon the perch. These assaults are rendered vaiu by a perch which Is set In a cup. In which the ver min are caught and destroyed before they can reach the fowls. The eggs will be collected from the nest disc several times a day. Packing and shipping will goon continually.. A few hours will bring them to New York In the cars of the company and delivered by their own trains each morning. The fresh laid eggs will be packed and shipped in pa|»-r boxes iinilalnliitf flout tine half iloaau to ttircf liuaen. Kut h Im>« will U> awurMl Ujr a a<al«*il lal*>l xiainpril with tbw tiat# of laying. Tlif eatttui of Una raurti la to U< *«t> great. Nutlilug Ilk* It wstota Buy where. The largest chicken farm to day Is at Sydney, Ohio. This plant has the capacity of raising one hun dred thousand broilers per year, but it does not sell the egg product. To accomplish this it has a flock of less than fifteen thousand hens. Gudahy, the great packer, has a chicken farm of eighteen thousand head near Mil waukee, and this Is considered one of the largest in the country. One New Jersey concern is said to l>e the largest chicken and egg purchaser in this country, but never have Its flocks ex ceeded eighteen thousand. "Few people know that the insig nificant little hen is one of the great est profit makers and wealth produc ers. The revenue from keeping fowls for eggs If the herds can be properly handled, watched and controlled Is greater than In any other industry," said J. It. Benson. "Becoming convinced years ago that there was big profit and room for great Improvement in poultry raising, I started experiments and study, not in methods of breeding, but to devise proper methods of herding. I found that it is possible on a small area to keep an unlimited number of small herds. This system caused the great est production. Two hundred eggs per year per fowl was not a high aver age, and each hen could be made to pay a profit of at least $2.50 per year. I started with fifteen liens, then in creased this to ten families of fifteen each. The result was the same If not better." Mr. C. H. Wyckoff, of Groton, X. Y„ one of the successful small poultry rais ers, keeps about six hundred head of laying fowls. In small colonies, solely for eggs for the market. His total egg yield was 117,000 eggs for the year ending October 1, 180!). His receipts were $4.08 per year for each of the six hundred hens. He figures SI.OB per year per hen for keep and expenses, showing a net profit of $18(X) per year for this colonised flock of six hundred. And this is the profit, says Mr. Ben son, on an investment of less than SfSOO. Mr. Benson estimates that this mam moth egg ranch will cost, equipped and stocked with 150,000 hens ready for a daily lay of 80,000 to 100,000 eggs, about $260,000. The yearly ex pense of running this plant will be, including feed, delivery system, etc., about $'210,000. The yearly income Is figured at $510,000 for eggs aud $75,- 000 for non-producing fowls sold as broilers, etc.. or a total of $585,000. If *OKKN H j m I-C I SHED Mr- - n SEBARAE IKB this Urge gain Is home out in practice, as these gentlemen confidently be lieve, the docile little lieu will become a bigger money mnker aud profit bring er than even the biggest of money making Inventions and Investment!!. Cerll Khodes and lhe l.adlea. It is said by those who know Mr. Co ell lthodcs,the South African magnate, that he has, in common with Lord Kitchener, a strong aversion to the opposite sex. While on a visit to I.Oll dou before the commencement of the j war lie dined a! the house af a very j wealthy lady of title, and .ater, when | lie was discussing Hie affair with ItU secretary, tliolaiteritskcd: "And whom 1 did you take *•> dinner ?" "Oh, I don't kltow Some I .inly Somebody. was | the reply. "Hut what did you call her?" "Didn't call her anything— never spoke to iter."—Argonaut. Hut tied li'vltuit I'Hriiifrt. About Moo Icelanders emigrated I t out ' Liverpool to Quebec a few days ago, i eii route for Manitoba and the tiorlh ! west. The reeent older ill council T rendering compulsory the slaughter of foreign sheep and cattle at the port of arrival in Great Britain has ruined ' the pros|H>cts of nuili.v Icelandic farm ers, whose sheep require Hrltlsh pas turage before they are 111 for killing. This hit* Induced litany of the Isluud crs to leave for Canada with their families London Chronicle. Mia l*ur|»aae. So man proposes to remain slugl* When he proposes he elpccts to gal married. Philadelphia Ui'tunl. THE YOUNGEST OFFICEHOLDER. Superintendent or Squirrels Now. Bui Mrty Be President. Francis M. Marriott, Jr., aged six years. Is the little lad who lias been ! commissioned by Governor Nash as "superintendent and general attendant of the squirrels in the State House yard, Columbus, Ohio," and has re ceived his elegantly engraved commis sion signed by the State's Chief Ex ecutive. Air. and Mrs. F. M. Marriott and their son were with the Governor last summer on a vacation trip through the St. Lawrence and Saginaw River val leys. On this trip Master Francis be came very much attached to the Gov ernor, and the Chief Executive found | a warm place in his heart for little i Francis. Since the Governor has taken his seat Francis has called on him regu larly when he came to Columbus. The little fellow has a love for pets of all kinds, and lias been greatly Interested in the large number of squirrels In the State House yard. Little Francis Is enthusiastic over his commission. He talks of It thus: "I like Governor Nash because he has given me all the squirrels I want. I am going to feed them every time I goto Columbus. Fapa has promised to get. me a nice uniform like Dewey FRANCIS M. M VRRIOTT, SUPERINTENDENT OF SQUIRRELS. wears, and when I feed my squirrels I | nni going to wear it. I am going to feed them hickory mits and peanuts. ; mil I don't know if they like sweet (take or not. but I will Rive them some ; if they want it." I Francis lias been widely congratu lated over his appointment, and re ; reives a very heavy mail every day. ■ He is very well known, and thinks that lie will have to get a private sec retary to take care of the work that lias come to hint through his new ' office. Minima (lot Tired. "Mamma, does money make the ! nan?" I "I am sorry to say It does sometimes, ' Pommy." ! "Money will make a mango any ' ivhere. won't it?" "I suppose so " "If it was down in Cuba would Honey make a mango to raising tuau yoes?" j "Don't bother me." "Do monkeys eat mangoes, niam | Jin?" "1 presume so. 1 wish you wouldn't :alk so much." ' 'Then if money makes the mango i to raising mangoes, ami monkeys eat i mangoes, don't the monkeys make the i jiango JJO " I Whack! Whack! "Ouch!"— Chicago Tribune. Xow It'* an Automobile tlorar. Objection having been made to the automobile on the ground that it has nothing In front of It to "steady" It. ind therefore does not look right, an ingenious man lias Invented and pat- I *ated an automobile horse. This horse s not to be placed In front of an auto mobile carriage, but Is to he "hitched up" »o any carriage. He has the work .if locomotion "in Ills midst." and will lraw the carriage after him Just as the •rilK LATEST At'TOMumi.X, ordinary unpatented horse would. The j motor in chutilsm lu the horse couslsts I i.' wo electric motors, supported upon bars, and driving through chain* ind belt- the shafts of the driving wheels mounted on the horse's hllut 1 e(,s 'l'he steering is effected by reins 1 it-lil by ilie driver, the neck of the I torse for tills purpose lielng luterseet •<l and mounted II|HIII ball I sailings, j ind there I IIS attached to a irosaluuul uouiiteil on a vertical spindle. This .pllldle goes down l ll io lite horse's forc es;*, and by It the legs ean be twisted li any direction. The aiitouiobllu ltors« ■an ls» ridden as well as drtwn to bar ters. When lie Is used as a saddle torse lie call Ist steered by turning tits roashead with one hand The auittial i warranted sound soil *'tnl //' \ "Very l>llte a Wbale." A.n Elephant come to the sea, meaning to take a swim. He spied a bather near the shore and thus accosted him: "Pray can you tell, my little friend —I am so big, you see — If there is any pool about that's deep enough for me?" A mighty Whale raised from the deep a head so huge and tail, The pompous Elephant sank down; he felt exceeding small. "Yes," roared the Whale: it's deep enough for uie, and so I think You may find room —if not afraid. Why linger on the brink?" —Christopher Valentine, in St. Nicholas. Tlie Sparrow Hawk. The sparrow hawk is a fiery bi d that pursues its prey with great speed. Darting downward, it forces the hap less sparrow, its usual victim, to the ground. But sometimes the hawk is baffled. One morning a troop of spar rows were wrangling before a house, when, without any warning a keen eyed sparrow hawk pouneed down among them. Instantly their uproar ceased. One unhappy sparrow had been singled out by the huwk. The poor bird had almost been caught when a companion came to its help. The rescuer darted so furiously at the hawk that the latter stopped for an Instant. The frightened sparrow it had been swooping down upon thus had a chance to get away. But the angry hawk now turned on the other bird that bad spoiled all its plans. But the first bird, not willing to leave Its rescurcr to such a fate, dashed fiercely at th'i hawk. In the end both birds escaped. Sad Romance of a Chinese Ilell. China is a place of great mystery and strange people and things from an American point of view. The country is so very, very old that nearly every thing tdd in it dates back to some leg endary time. Thus nearly all the Chin ese jokes are dated back several thous and years, to give them dignity and force, and In the course of time these jokes may reach the United States ai d be told about as new and strictly "up to date." But the old thing that I am going to tell you about is what is said to be the largest hanging be'.l In the world. It Is In a Buddhist monastery In Canton, is of solid bronze and meas ures 18 feet in height and 45 feet in circumference—a great, deep and sweet-toned hell 15 feet in diameter. It is said that the reason the bell is so sweet-toned Is because a Chinese girl gave up her life to make it so. and this Is the story: The euiperor of China ordered the royal founder to cast a bell having per fect purity of tone, but the founder failed so many times that the etnperor threatened to behead him, as Chinese emperors do when their subjects don't act to please the ruler. The bell found er was in despair and consulted some wise men to learn why he could not cast a pure-toned bell. The wise men told him that the blood of a fair girl should mingle with the molten bronz • of which the bell was to be cast before the instrument would sound as desired. The founder wept bitterly and prepared to be beheaded, for be knew of no way to get the blood of a young girl to mix with the bronze. But his beautiful daughter asked him to try once nior.' before giving up. So the founder made a giant mold and heated the bronze to make a final trial. When the bronz-v was all boiling the beautiful daughter plunged into It and was Instantly de stroyed. So the bell was cast and It* tone was perfect, for the maiden's bio k1 was in It. And the emperor bestowed great honors upon the founder, but the poor man mourned the loss of his daughter and ever stayed by the teinpie where his wonderful bell was hung, claiming that every time the bell rang the voice of his child sang to him from the paradise to which she hnd gone. This Is the story of the great bell of Ta-Cung-t*. Chicago Hicoid. Mar-fUli and Oyster. I low tho Htartitili out* an OJKI »r Is told by 11. W. Conn in St. Nicholas. The oyster when at home lives lu a hard lime shell which ulcely protci t< him from the attack of enemies. Man. with his tools, can open the shell aud remove the soft animal, but besides Ilia it lite oyster has few foes. Odd'y enough, his greatest foe Is not, us might be expected, an ttliltnal with powerful Jaws aud strong teeth, but otic wholly without jaws. It Is the common startlsh. MI common e\ery w here at the sea shore. Now. the starfish Is a soft, flexible creature, very sluggish, seemingly helpless, ami illterlV tutu) le to attack such tin animal as the oyster. Its liiotlllt. which Is lit the center of the disk. has no teeth or Jaws How can MII It a Itelpli »s • nature open the tor unliable oyster shell, and get at the anliiuil concealed within? Its uietlliHl of doing So is isld <ll otlgli. It Urst clasps the oyater lu its arms, wrapping Its tine arms around the shell tightly. Having thus soUcd It, It quietly waits, .lust exactly what liap|M'iis licit even our scientists do not exactly kltow. The two shells of the ouster are held together by it hinge w htch Is o|ioiifd by a spring The spring Is so adjusted that the •hells Mill be pushed open lllilcaa they are held together by Hie muscle*. Home scientists tell us that, after lb • starfish has held tils oyster fur a Millie, Hie O/Stvr <ns-us Its sU-H lu uittor to get food, and the starfish tint has been waiting for this, now Injects In to the shell a little reddish liquid. This acts as a poison, puulyzing the This nets us a poison, puralyzlng the muscles und thus making it impossible for the animal to close its shell. Others tell us that the process is simpler, and that the startisli simply holds the shells tightly together until the oyster is smothered. As soon as It Is stupefied by the suffocation, the. muscles relax, and the shell op.'iis. Whichever of these two accounts Is true. It is certain that, after a little the oyster shells fly open. Now comes the oddest feature of all. The stom ach of the starfish Is very large and elastic, and it is now thrown out of the animal's mouth much as one could turn a bag inside out. This stomach is then thrust within the oyster-shell, and wrapped around the toft animal, beginning at once to digest it. The star fish does not take the trouble to remove the oyster from the shell, digesting it in its own home, and eventually crawl ing away, leaving behind the gaping, empty shell. The Commander. "I speak to be captain!" cried Luke Edwards, just as soon as he put his head round the corner of the b:irn where the other boys were already assembled. "Well, you won't be!" retorted Tom my Green, indignantly. "Twa'n't fair coming on us that way. You're al ways doing things when we ain't ready, to get ahead. You didn't think of the company. Willie Jackson spokt of it first und asked us to meet here, and this is his barn, and we're to train 011 his land, and of fours a he ought to have the iirst chance." "Then he ought to have spoke first." mocked Luke. "He didn't, so lin captain." "But you don't know so much 'bout training." expostulated Tommy, al though less vehemently. "Will e a brother's a soldier, and he under stands things, and—and is int'rested." "Well, I guess I can walk 011 ahead and give orders and wave my swo: d. j can't IV" demanded Luke, aggress! ve ; ly. "That's what a captain's for. And j then I'm the biggest, and I spoke first." | "Ob. let him be capt lin if lie wanti j to," interposed Willie, gene, orsly. : "What's the odds." j "But he can't do as well as you." ! "He can learn." smiled Willie. | "That's what I'm trying to do. If 1 i find out anything he don't know I can ; show him." | So, in spite of a general 112. cling or 1 discontent, Luke became captain, and | walked 011 ahead and waved his 1 sword, and called out sharp aiul.con ; trudictory commands which the 1- boys tried to follow, because Willie as sured them that a soldier's first duty was to obey. But ns to accepting Willie's advice, that was sonn thing i that Luke would not do —it was a re flection 011 his d'gnity as captain to receive advice from the ranks. And more than that, lie ins'sted in putting his brother as lieutenant and his two cousins second lieutenant and ser geant; and to keep the peace, Willis persuaded Ills companions to accept the situation. Thus it went 011 until along In Octo ber, when the town was th.own into sudden excitement by the unrxp ctid arrival of an old res dent who had gone away, and in 20 years bad risen to be a famous general. Of course there was a hurriedly arranged parade, in wlileh tlii' prominent tin 11 and th > band and the school children took part, and in which -to their < 011 t t nation and delight—the Invincible' were asked to Join. They were at the very end of the parade, and when they came opposite the piazza of the l.ttle hotel, the spectators were astonished to see the general suddenly leave hi* chair and approach tin in. "Very good, very good indeed." I'B commended. "It makes ine think of 11 little company that 1 < omnuindid on this very street some 40 years ugo. But 1 have a proposition to make, boys, that I hope you'll agree to." "We will!" they vrl« d in chorus. "Wait till I g.t through," genially "There are some defects in .vour m 1 neuverlng which 1 noticed and would like to remedy. If you will let lue re organize the company, I will give you a full outfit of cap* and belts and wooden tfiitis. ami swords for the oft! cers. Do you agree':'' "Yes! yes! yes!" cried the boys. "Uooill Now go through all yout movement* carefully. I want to study each man." At the end of i!n minutes lie held u;i his hand. "That will do!" he .ai d. "Tli b.y with tli - brown cap will step from th* line, lie will lie your . apta 11 " The boy with the brown tap was Willie Jackson. ••Now that boy In tiie baseball suit, ami tin* other one w.th the rid t e. and the one that carrle* a broom handle. They will be your Hist and second lieutenant and serg ant " The boy In the baseball suit wa« Tommy Green, the others were two who hud chisel) followed Willie's ad vice to obe) ol'Ue ». I-Uke K Iward* Mured at tie* w n-in! Incredulously. • Hut \i liat'll I be'?' lie demanded, '•oil. yoti will have to 150 hack tnt" the ranks. 111) hoy " tin- generalsml ed "It will be for your own « od N.i one can command until h • I aru how." Youth's «'om|>uuloit. 1 he II •••lion k«lau«*». Solomon was III' wisest of men ll* knew enough to cut Ids copy up IBM short paragraphs. In itiai way lis »*»• reviled In netting his wmtUtfa f**d IkMtvH T aM»-r.|>t.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers