probability the poor beast will be frightened, tired and cross. Talk to
it for a while, and manage, if possible, to get a collar on and a chain
attached before opening the crate. Then let Mr. Dog get out by himself,
at his own time. Walk him about for some time and let him inspect the
premises in the neighbourhood of the house. Naturally cleanly dogs
will need the exercise, so don’t curtail it. If there are any signs of
constipation, a dish of sour milk will usually correct the trouble. If,
however, the journey has the reverse effect, which is very likely to be
the case in summer, scald milk, pour over some stale bread which has
been toasted and feed when quite cool.
When the dog has finished his inspection of the premises, fasten him to
the kennel and be sure to provide a solid, heavy water-pan that cannot
easily be knocked over. Leave him to become accustomed to his new home
and to sleep off the nervous strain of the journey. Should he whine or
bark, don’t go near him. He is too excited and upset to be disciplined,
and sympathy and petting at this point would mean a prolonged fight
later.
Feed him yourself and take him for a run on chain in the evening, early
in the morning and at noon. Decide which will be the most convenient
hours and try not to change them. Two or three days are usually
sufficient to make the average dog accept a new master and claim the
kennel as his castle, so after that time he can be allowed freedom.
If the dog is young and is to sleep out of doors, he should be chained
at night, otherwise he will be apt to form the habit of wandering off
in the early morning hours or moonlight nights, but no dog, young or
old, should be kept perpetually chained. Young dogs, especially of the
terrier class, are benefited by being chained in a cool, shady spot
during the middle of the day, as they are apt to rush about and be
overcome by the heat, which often causes fits and terrifies the family
into believing that it is a case of hydrophobia.
If the new dog is under nine months of age, feed him three times a
day. Bread and milk, oatmeal, hominy, or any such food which has been
well boiled, allowed to cool and covered with milk, makes a suitable
breakfast. Lunch may be half a puppy-cake or a slice of brown bread.
The main meal should consist of boiled meat, onions and rice, mixed
with some cooked green vegetable.
After the ninth month two meals a day are sufficient. Be as careful
not to overfeed as not to underfeed. A dog should be ready for each
meal, but never ravenously hungry. Don’t give milk which has not been
scalded or potatoes in any form, if you wish to keep the puppy free
from worms. Sour milk once or twice a week is beneficial, but must not
be given oftener. Twice a week a bone with some meat on it is needed.
Some people think that raw meat is bad for dogs, but a limited quantity
of fresh lean meat is really necessary for growing dogs, and being on
the bone necessitates a lot of gnawing, which is good for the teeth and
encourages the flow of saliva which aids digestion.
If you should have a mother-dog with puppies, give her a large sleeping
place; dry and comfortably warm in winter, dry and cool in summer.
Puppies should be taught to drink as soon as possible after they are
six weeks old. Condensed milk saves the trouble of scalding cow’s milk.
Whichever is used should be given warm; never hot or cold. The puppies
will learn to eat more quickly if the mother is taken away for about an
hour before offering food. Gradually increase the length of her absence
until she spends only the nights with her babies, and weaning will be
accomplished without any trouble.
To prevent worms, the one great trouble which attacks all dogs, give
the mother a dose of worm medicine three or four weeks before the
babies are expected, and give the babies very small doses when they are
three weeks old, six weeks old and nine weeks old. After that time I
depend on sour milk, and an occasional dose of castor-oil.
House-breaking should be attended to as soon as the puppies commence
to run about. Never leave a puppy alone in a room, for one mistake
prompts others. Be watchful, and the moment a puppy begins to fidget or
to run about, put it outside or in a box containing sawdust. Patience
and perseverance are necessary at first, but in two or three weeks the
lesson will be perfectly learned, especially if the hours of taking the
dogs out are strictly adhered to.
Old dogs, whose education in this respect has been neglected, can be
taught tidy habits if fed at regular hours, the last meal not later
than three o’clock in the afternoon, the evening exercise being
postponed till about eight, after which they should be fastened to the
box or basket which acts as their bed by a chain not more than two feet
long. Release early in the morning and take out at once. They will soon
understand the discipline of enforced hours, for the close proximity of
their bed calls natural instinct to their assistance. The habit once
formed, it will prevail when allowed to sleep in any part of the house.
Bathing dogs of any kind or size I don’t believe in very much, for
it robs the skin of the natural oil which is required to feed the
hair and keep it in condition. Brushing, however, is quite necessary,
especially in the summer, when fleas may be about, and it is well to
begin early in the season to rub some good insect-powder into the hair,
then after about half an hour brush it out thoroughly.
Delicate small dogs with long hair can have a mixture of cocoanut and
sweet almond-oil rubbed into the hair once a week and brushed out again.
If any accident makes washing unavoidable, stand the dog in a small
tub half filled with warm water, rub white soap on a flesh-brush, and
brush from the center of the back with straight strokes to the end of
the hair on each side. Take the front paws in your left hand, letting
the dog stand on his hind legs, and brush from the neck down to clean
the under part of the body. The head should come last. Wash the ears
first, being careful not to let water run into them. Hold the nose up
and wash the top of the head and sides of the face, so that the water
runs backward and not into the eyes. Last of all wash the muzzle, being
very careful about soap. Rinse in two clear waters, then wrap the body
in a warm towel while you wipe the face and the inside of the ears.
When about half dry let him down for a shake, but be careful he does
not escape under a piece of furniture and roll, as he will probably try
to do. Brush until quite dry, rubbing a little oil onto the bristles,
at the end of the dressing.
Treat your dog at all ages with kindly consideration. Be patiently and
considerately firm, remembering that you must rule through affection
and respect. Don’t hector or worry all the time. Be your dog’s
playfellow as well as master, and he will soon become an intelligent
and faithful protector.
Cats can be kept in a city home with less trouble than dogs, because
they haven’t got to be taken out to exercise, a duty which can’t be
shirked with Mr. Dog. Cats are needed in suburban or country houses
at least as much as dogs. The master of the house can usually guard
against the rarely met burglar, but no human vigilance is adroit enough
to fight four-legged pantry thieves, and a farm must have a good-sized
tribe of felines to prevent loss in the barn, poultry house and
corn-crib.
Well-bred cats are just as good hunters as common ones, so it is wise
for the self-supporting home to keep aristocratic cats for the house,
as there is no occasion to do violence to your feelings when kittens
arrive, because they can always be sold at fairly good prices.
In the outbuilding we keep Maltese and very large blacks. We have
so many requests for the Maltese and blacks that even the plebeian
mothers are allowed to keep one or two kits of every litter, for
having children to provide for is a great spur to Mrs. Cat’s hunting
proclivities.
Considering the service cats perform for humanity by keeping in check
the numerous varieties of rodents which abound in cities no less than
in country places, they should be the most highly prized and cared-for
small animals we have instead of the most abused.
There seems to be a prevailing but erroneous idea that cats are neither
affectionate nor companionable. Treat a cat as you would an intelligent
dog and she will compare so favorably that Mr. Dog will have to be
extremely gifted to retain his superiority.
The outside cats should have plenty of fresh milk night and morning
when the cows are milked, not only as food, but to counteract the
injurious effect of the number of mice they eat. New milk is rich in
cream fats, and acts as an antidote to the poison contained in the gall
of the mice. Twice a week we give them a feed of raw meat, on the bone
if we can get enough bones, for even the rat-catchers must be well fed,
or they lack the vitality to hunt.
Having plenty of exercise, and being able to find grass and herbs for
themselves, barn-cats are usually normal, healthy creatures, and need
little dieting or doctoring from their owners, but they should always
have a good, warm place to sleep in.
The city house-cat leads such a semi-artificial life that she needs
more care. Milk which has stood several hours and been skimmed is not
an especially good food. It should be scalded and allowed to cool
before it is given to kittens.
People rarely think to provide water for cats, yet they really prefer
it to milk, and drink a surprising quantity when a dish of it is kept
in one regular place. Potatoes should be as rigidly tabooed in the
kittens’ diet as in the puppies’. Accustom a cat to eat cereal or bread
and milk in the morning.
Our house-cats always have a little strip of fat bacon when it has been
cut for breakfast, and I am sure that the fat and salt are useful worm
preventives. At noon they have liver or beef which has been stewed with
onions and any green vegetable which we may have; for supper a saucer
of milk.
It is very easy to teach a kitten to be cleanly if you exercise
vigilance at first and provide a shallow box or pan half filled with
ashes or sawdust. One thing which must be understood by the city
housekeeper whose pet has to depend entirely upon the box is that it
must be emptied regularly, at least once a day, and, if necessary,
twice. Neglect it and the animal’s instinct of cleanliness is offended,
and it will select some place for itself, thereby falling into untidy
habits.
RAISING CANARIES FOR MARKET
Canaries are dear, fascinating little creatures to keep, and no special
conditions for raising which cannot be successfully accomplished in a
limited space. The most fastidious woman cannot object to caring for a
few families. One male and two females will start a profitable flock.
The male bird should be selected for his voice, regardless of his color
or shape. The two other birds, on the contrary, should be selected
for those very qualifications. The male should be darker and deeper
in colour than the female. In fact, male birds, with green on their
wings and heads, mated with pale females, produce the best-coloured
young ones. Never allow two top-knot birds to pair, for, oddly enough,
the progeny will usually have bald or deformed heads. A breeding cage
with separate compartments costs at least $4, but a very good one can
be made at home out of empty dry goods or grocery boxes. Of course,
it must be a well-made, smooth one, otherwise it might hurt the
birds. Painting is not advisable, but it is well to rub off any rough
surfaces with coarse sandpaper. Remove the lid and one side of the
box. Leave the bottom, one side and ends intact. Turn the box so that
the remaining side becomes the bottom of the cage. Next get a piece
of sheet zinc, nick the corners, and turn them up all around, to form
a tray an inch deep. This is to fit inside the cage. Square-meshed,
galvanised cloth is the best for the front and top. Fasten it to the
back, ends and front with matting tacks, leaving a space at the bottom
in front for the tray to slip in under. Put a partition through the
middle of the cage, with a small door in it. A door is also necessary
in each compartment. The ordinary seed and water dishes can’t be
improved on by home contrivances, so add them to the purchased list.
Two half cocoanut shells, or small boxes, must be hung up on the end or
back of each compartment as foundations for the nest. Cover the bottom
of the tray with a thick layer of bird-gravel, and hang up materials
for nest-building in each compartment. Dried moss, bits of raw cotton,
or short fine hay, are all suitable. The material for a cage three feet
long, eighteen inches high and deep, will only cost a dollar, so the
homemade cage, in addition to being an economy, has the advantage of
size, which means a great deal in a breeding cage, as it allows the
birds so much more exercise.
Put a female in each compartment, so that they may become accustomed to
each other. In about a week, the door in the partition can be opened,
and both birds allowed the freedom of both compartments. During this
time, the male bird must be kept in his own cage, and in another room.
During these preliminary stages, which should run from three to four
weeks, the three birds must have, in addition to their regular food, a
small dish of mash every morning, made of hard-boiled egg chopped very
fine, stale bread-crumbs, and hulled oats ground (not oatmeal or rolled
oats), equal parts of each, just moistened with scalded milk, and, of
course, allowed to cool before being fed to the birds.
After the two females are on friendly terms, bring the male bird’s
cage into the room, and hang it before the breeding-cage, and out of
sight, if possible. Curiosity will be aroused, and the birds will
spend most of their time talking to each other, and endeavouring to
see each other. A week later, close the door in the partition, leaving
a female in each compartment. Put the two cages on a level; two or
three days later, open the door of one compartment, and the door of the
male bird’s cage, placing them close together. He will soon commence
going in and out of the breeding-cage, and in a day or so his cage
may be removed. After the hen-bird commences to sit, open the door in
the partition, and let the male into the second compartment. When the
second hen commences to sit, the door in the compartment can be left
permanently open, as there is little fear of the birds’ fighting, and
the male will divide his attention between the two families, helping to
feed and care for the nestlings.
Special care is necessary during the incubating period, for the eggs
of these little songsters are exceedingly fragile, and a loud noise
to which they are unaccustomed, even the slamming of a door, will
sometimes addle them. Too bright a light is also annoying, so a piece
of green baize pinned around the corner of the cage will give a sense
of seclusion which will keep the bird tranquil and happy. Allow nothing
to worry or trouble them while sitting.
Fourteen days after the first egg is laid, the young appear. The tiny
creatures are a great disappointment to those who see them for the
first time. Chicks and ducklings are lovely from the time they first
emerge from the shell; but a young canary is featherless, blind, and
has the longest neck imaginable. In a short time, however, it becomes
a golden ball of down, and its early unattractiveness is forgotten in
admiration.
Continue the mash food, but after the little ones are hatched, feed
night and morning. Add rape seed which has been boiled a few minutes,
and then rinsed through cold water. The nestlings’ eyes open about the
sixth day. After the thirteenth day they will begin feeding themselves
in the most independent manner. When the brood is a month old, remove
them to another cage. They will then begin to lose their first crop of
feathers, and must be carefully protected from draughts, lest they take
cold. At the end of this first moulting period, you can tell how the
young will develop, both for shape and song.
The mother bird will usually begin to build a second nest when the
babies in the first are about fourteen days old, sometimes keeping up
this double family from February till June; so that with good birds
you can count on having eight broods from the two females, with an
average of sixteen male birds. If the trainer--that is to say, the
bird who teaches the young ones to sing--is a good songster, the males
should bring two dollars apiece when sixteen weeks old.
The young females can, with a little patience, be trained and taught
tricks, which will make them worth as much or more than their brothers,
who have only voice to recommend them; but if the female’s education is
ignored, they are not worth more than fifty cents apiece, unless kept
to breeding age. Cages must be kept scrupulously clean, with plenty of
sand on the floor. Accustom the birds to having a bath dish put in for
a time every morning. Should the feet look soiled, or the nails be too
long, take the bird firmly, but gently, in your hand, and hold the feet
in warm soap and water, to remove all dirt and soften the nails, the
extreme points of which can be cut with a pair of sharp, fine scissors.
Take care not to go above or too near the end--the end of the nerve
that can be seen running through the upper part of the nail; for if you
do, it will be painful to the bird, as cutting into the quick of your
finger-nail would be. If you are a real bird-lover, and have time and
patience, you can accustom a flock to your presence until they will let
you go among them in a flying-room and handle them at your pleasure;
for they are naturally most affectionate, gentle little creatures, as
full of playfulness as a kitten. A solitary songster will feel neglect
and loneliness to a pitiable degree, but will respond to petting as
readily as a child. A canary from the general stock of a bird-store is
timid and reserved at first, but will soon establish friendly relations
between himself and his owner.
THE BUSINESS SIDE
To make the home profitable, there must be some system of bookkeeping
instituted, no matter how simple, also there must be some ingenuity
exercised about marketing. Take advantage of the long evenings to
start books and lay plans for the disposal of surplus products to the
best advantage. Unless you know what each animal costs to keep, and
what returns you are receiving from it, you can’t be sure what your
profits really are. I know how most amateurs hate to be bound down to
the actualities of a balance-sheet with its cold facts on what it costs
to produce this, that or the other thing. But experience has taught me
that it is the crucial point and must be ascertained. Your accounts
need not be elaborate but they must be clear and accurate. Establish
some simple system of bookkeeping and after you have once overcome
prejudice and made the plunge, it is really gratifying to know, for a
positive fact whether things are really paying or not.
The first step toward general order is keeping records of individual
animals or flocks, as the case may be, and also of the farm and garden
crops. Bestow a name or number upon each animal, and if you are going
in for husbandry in an extensive way, have a book for each variety. If
only two or three animals are to be kept, a general stock-book will do.
Each field and meadow should be named or numbered, and a book devoted
to work done on each.
Poultry also needs a special book; so do expenses.
My plan is to head a page in the cattle register with the animal’s name
or number; date of birth or purchase, with price; followed by when
bred, to whom, when due, actual date of event, sex of offspring and
name or number bestowed upon it. On the opposite page, if the animal is
a cow, the amount of milk she gives, a week after calving, and at one
measuring every month until we cease milking her. Milk is tested for
butter-fats once in every three months and the result recorded.
The record of pigs and sheep is not so elaborate, because, of course,
there is only breeding and arrival of offspring to be noted. For
poultry, the number of pens heads the page, followed by the number of
birds it contains, and the individual numbers, and on the opposite page
the number of eggs gathered each week.
The feed-book contains the amount of grain, etc., used for each variety
of stock.
The farm-book is kept in a like manner, the field number heading the
page; then, when ploughed; how and to what extent fertilised; with what
variety of seeds sown; number of times cultivated, when harvested and
the amount of the crop.
On the opposite page, in pencil, are suggestions for catch crops and
rotation for main planting for a period of five years. Small note-pads
with pencils attached are fastened up in every stall or pen of each
outbuilding, and events are jotted down as they occur, so that there
is no chance of forgetting or getting things mixed. Every Saturday the
sheets are torn from the pads and brought to the house, for the items
to be transferred to the different books. It does not take half an hour
each week to do the clerical work, and it saves innumerable mistakes
and accidents, besides furnishing proof of the relative value of each
animal and piece of land.
On one side of the expense book all money spent is entered; on the
other, all moneys received. A balance is struck every month and
transferred to a general ledger, which, in turn, is balanced once a
year.
Another thing that must be understood is that all profits must not be
considered as a bonus to be used for personal pleasure. Some part of
all moneys received should be set aside as working capital, otherwise
improvement and extension are simply impossible.
Marketing home products advantageously is of paramount importance, and
seems to be the point on which many beginners fail. Commission men
and wholesale markets should not be resorted to, because home-grown
products of all descriptions excel in quality and not in quantity;
therefore, appeal to high-class private custom, who desire the very
best, regardless of price.
I have never sold through any of the ordinary market channels, yet
have always had more orders than I could fill and received a little
more than the ordinary prices. Naturally the location of the home and
the quality of the wares must influence the returns to some extent,
but not half so much as the method of packing and shipping. Nicety in
these respects captures the favor of customers and they take pride in
exhibiting things to their friends--which is the very best sort of
advertising a home business can have.
When I had reached the point where I knew that I could depend on a
certain number of eggs regularly, I wrote to a doctor friend in the
city and told him that I could promise to deliver six dozen strictly
fresh-laid eggs twice a week for the whole year, at a uniform price
of forty-five cents a dozen; customers to pay the express charges,
which would be twenty-five cents on each six dozen. (Express companies
return empty packages free of charge.) Within a month he had found four
customers for me, who would take two dozen a week each, the box to be
delivered at his house, where the other three customers were to call
every Saturday and Wednesday.
All poultry-supply houses have wooden boxes for sale with divided
trays, made to hold three, six or twelve dozen eggs, for about two
dollars apiece. Before the year was out each of the three other
customers had interested one or two friends, with the result that three
six-dozen boxes were shipped three times a week, and the following
winter I had orders from the same people for butter and table poultry.
In this way my market grew, as did my stock, and I never had any
surplus to worry about. Of course, I realise that there was an element
of good luck in having a doctor for a friend, but when there is no good
Samaritan to start a clientele for you, energy will surely accomplish
it; for every housekeeper longs to get good, fresh-delivered table
delicacies which have not passed through a dozen hands.
I know one woman who got her first customer by writing personal notes
to women of social prominence in a near-by town, whose addresses she
got from a directory. From twenty letters she received two replies, but
they both became regular customers, and recommended friends.
Another instance of personal effort took the form of calls upon doctors
and clergymen. Still another woman interested the fashionable milliner
of her town to canvass orders among her customers, and paid for the
favour with eggs and butter.