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"GUESS MY AGE, SAID THE GHICKEN whea the w<JL'» dub If our' BY MICHAEL K. BOYER. For some reaaon or other poultry writers st««r clear of th« subject of (tetermininK th« ag« of fowls. Th*y may not know of a method, or they may be afraid of advancing their pet theories. I don't know that I blame them, for I have searched and search- ed the poultry boolu and lua^zines but can find nothinir, or very litt'.e, that might be talcen as * guide. Once in * great while I have gath- ered a littlo data, and I have been on the loolcout for a number of years. It may be that there Is no w*y ; but then, on second thought, why shouldn't there be? If we can tell a horse's age by bis teeth, why not the hen's by some outstanding mark? First, there are the spurs. For years folks relied on the size of the •purs. But I have found that that does not always hold good; besides, it is seldom we find a hen with spurs, and we are more concerned witli the ben's age than we are with the cock's. In looking over some old English writings, I find that the old English Oamo hens sported spurs Just like the males, and some of the five-toed breeds of hens found In Kent, Sussex and Surrey bad spurs, and even do to-day. Anyway, this spur businesa applies to the male sex, and in excep- tional cases to the female sex. ANALYZING THE BPUK. The spur, like the horn of an ani- mal, rests on a bony part â€" the core â€" and is covered by a bony sheath which increases more or less in length every year. But the growth of the spur can be hastened, or it can be checked or retarded by some accident. I had a cockerel that showed a spur large enough for a two-year-old bird; and I also owned a cock in which the spur never advanced beyond the cockerel etage. So there was no telHng the age by the spurs in those birds. Ordinari'.y, however, a cockerel that Is not over five months old seldom has any spur, but if we look closely we find a scale that is somewhat larger than the others, at a point where the spur Is to grow. In time this scale rises, and a knob is formed, at the centre of which there is a clear'.y defined point. When a cockerel is seven months old this spur may lie one-eighth of an inch long, and four months later it will be about five-eighths of an inch in length, generally straight, with a rounded end. At two years of age, this spur may measure from one inch to one and one- eighth inches, with a curve upwards or downwards. A year later it may be from one and three-eighths to one and one-ha'.f inches, and have a curve, the end usually turning upward. The growth of the spur continues all through life, but the quickest advance is made during the latter part of the cockerel age. After the third year the growth is very slow, but the spur becomes harder and thinner. I have had cock birds which, when four years old, had very long spurs, and in some caaes tbeae spurs eurved or rolled upon themaelves. So while spur* may be our best guess in determining age, there still la no absolute guarantee. The next clue I discovered was the color of the leg. This is supposed to vary with age â€" a black leg becoming bluish, a yellow leg becoming pink or white, a gray or mottled leg becoming blue, and a pink leg turning red. The turkey leg is black when the fowls are young, but it redden.i conspicuously aa the bird grows older. The red color shows that the bird is no longer young, but how old it does not tell. And in the case of the yellow-leg hei^ ihe white or pale leg may indicate age, or the pale color may be due to heavy egg production, as authorities on cull- ing would have us believe. | We do know that with pullets the scales ot the legs are smooth, shiny, fine, hardly visible, very soft to the touch and hugging closely and firmly to the leg. But each year these scales become wider and longer, and rise lit- tle by little, until finally they become hard and tough. Yet while by these scales we can distinguish the hen from the puHet, we have no guide to show us the years-old of the hen. Along comes a Canadian writer who tells us to look at the skin. If the flank feathers of a young hen are pu4(wd ipart, he says, a silky, long, ligl^e'Cremely-thin down will be seen grrowtag -fairly regular between the other featb^, which cover all parts of the body. He says the skin is of a uniform tissue, fine and pink, covered with a network of very fine, bluish veins. When the hen is over a year old the down and veins have disap- peared, and the skin is of a dull white color, dry, not so smooth or elastic, and somewhat mealy. A GOOD METHOD. Here is a method which appeared in print some ys^rs ago, which sounds good: A six-mohths-old pullet, and even until it is 14 months old, will have the first secondary feather in its wing, near the axrle featljers, shorter than the rest, and the quill will be more central, bending in a short point, slightly prominent. There is but one secondary feather on each wing presenting these char- acteristics until the next molt, after which the second feather is also short- er than the others. In other words, after the fall molt, when the fowl is one and one-half years old (by which time the feathers are fully developed), there will be found two secondary feathers having the characterietic markings, although the bird completes its second year only the following spring. After the second molt â€" that is, when three or coming three years old â€" there are three shorter feathers in each wing. After each succeeding molt one more feather comes in short- er. What is your method for determin- ing a fowl's age? THE SADS OF THE "Grannie," said Julia, running into the house excitedly, "Mrs. Eastman says she doesn't want any more of ber gooseberries, and that if you care for what are left on the bushes you are welcoms to them." "That's very kind of Mrs. East- man," said Grannie, looking up from ber sewing. "We shall certainly en- Joy the jam. You'd better go over now, Julie; they ought to be picked IKt once. Take the big basket that hangs under the !>tairs and a straw- berry basket. Then you can "pick into the small basket and empty into the larger one." Julia's face fell "Do I have to pick all the gooseberries. Grannie? There are lots of bushes, and they're â- o prickly!" "You like the jam, don't you, dear?" fmswered Grannie, "and I'm going to make the jam, you know." "Yes, Grannie, I do," said Julia, flfiving her a hug and kiss, "and I'll pick every one of them, you'll see, and I won't grumble another bit!" And off she ran. But wjit"! she got to Mrs. East- man's gardens and counted the bushes â€" ^ten of them â€" and looked at all the berries hanging among the prickly branches, she didn't feol quilte so courageous. She started on the bush nearest and picked a few berries. Then she lifted up the branches, one by one, to see how many more berries were hiding underneath. Then she heaved a litt'.e sigh and set to work a^in. Somehow the little basket seemed to fill very slowly, and she couldn't help thinking how many more bushes there were after this one, and the task seemed endless. Just then Mrs. Eastman came into the garden, holding a qoeerly-shaped (lass. It was round and flat on top and bottom like a circle, and sloped to the middle from both ends, like two funnels meeting in a point, and one part seemed full of fine sand. "Here's an hourglass, Julia," she •aid. "Perhaps it will make the pick- ing easier. It takes the sand just an hour to run down from the top half to the bottom through the nar- row space between. Watch it run.- It doesn't hurry but it doesn't stop. It Jnst keeps right on and on, a few sands at a time, and almost before you know it, all the sands have run through, the hour 6as gone, you turn ] the glass upside down, and the sandj start running again." Julia took the glass and watched the sands falling, a few at a time. "They just keep right on, don't they?" she said. "What is it for, Mrs. Eastman?" "It was used for counting time be- I fore there were any clocks," answered i Mrs. Eastman. "We'll set it on this I stump where you can watch the sands I run while you pick. When they have ru.i out, you can turn the glass over and they'll start afresh." ! So Julia started picking again with : the hourglass for company, and things ' did go much better. Instead of count- ! ing the bushes or looking at the un- picked berries, she tried to keep up ' with the hourglass. In no time at all, I it seemed, â-  the little basket was full. Twice she turned the hourglass. But before it needed another turn, the buslies were empty and there were seven quarts of lovely gooseberries in the big basket. "It was fun, too. Grannie," she said, as she showed the basket and told about the hourglass. "I wish we had one." I ! "Now that I think of it," said Gran- j ' nie, "I believe there is an hourglass in an old chest up in the attic. We'll i have to find it." And they did. I Julia used it again when she topped and tailed the berries for Grannie. 1 And when the jam was made, she | took Mrs. Eastman a jar and told hsr what fun it was keeping up with ' "the sands of time." * Fun in the Old Swimming Hole. I Boys, did you ever talk or sing under water? It is great sport andi another boy will ho able to hear youj very plainly quite .some distance away, j i Here's how it is done. Place a wide- ; mouth pail over your head and'sink down into fairly shallow water. The air in the pail will keep out the water and have a tendency to puli you to tl» surface again, so it is necessary to hold on to a rock or something at the bottom of the pond. Now start to sing in k>ud, clear tores, or call out the other boy's name. When this boy puts his head under the water some dis- tance from you he wiM hear the song or his name very distinctly, as water is a very food conductor of sound waves. When the Woman's Club in our town naked the Girl Guides to take! charge of the candy table at their j annual fair last year, we thought it; was going to be a tremendous task. I We held a meeting to discuss ways and j means, and whiln we were trying to I think up a new kind of booth to build, | Frances Alcock had a brilliant idea. "Why have a booth at ail?" she asked. "I've noticed that the girls who take the candy round among the crowd in baskets, as they so often do, â- ell lots more than we who stay be- hind the counter. Why don't we plan to sell ours that way?" And tbat's what we did. Seven of the gir'.s were asked to b« sales girls and circulate among the crowd with their wares. Each girl Vore a costume, and the idea made a great hit. Marge Smith was the cutest little Chinese gW, with her smooth black hair, with two huge paper chrysanthemums tucked behind her ears and wearing Miss Sear's lovely red Mandarin evening coat. She sold T'ang Hu La, the candy the Chinese children love to buy. We read about it at the library and then made it ourselves as near like theirs as w« could. It consists of several pieces of candied fruit and nuts run onto little sticks. We used toothpicks, candk. clierries, dates and walnuts. The girl who sold the pralines was dressed like a colored mammy, with a big gay apron and a bandanna. She blackened her f(tce. We just asked the foCks who were going to make fudge to drop it in round wafers in- stead of making it in squares for her to sell. Maud Perkins made the prettiest Scottish lassie, with plaid skirt and short stockings, and she sold "toffies," which included caramels. Another girl dressed in a short white dress, with long curls, a blue sash and socks, was a French doll and sold bon bona. Frarces was the hit of the evening in her cambric parka and hood, as an Eskimo. A girl in a Swiss costume, a full red cheesecloth skirt, white blouse and black bodice, sold sweet chocolate. And we made the Turkish paste that Mabel Elliot, in scarlet trousers and fez, sold from her tray. It was not hard. The recipe called for a box of gelatin, a cupful and a third of water, two cupfuls of sugar and half a cupful of fruit juice. To make it, bring two-thirds of a cupful of water and the sugar to a boil and add the gelatin soaked in the rest of the water for a few minutes, and boil slowly for twenty minutes. Add the fruit juice, turn into a tin pan wet with cold water and let stand over- night, or until firm. Dip the pan in hot water, turn out on a board, cut in squares and roll in powdered sugar. Some of us used orange juice with the grated peel and some lemon juice and made a pretty yellow paste. Strawberry juice made pink paste, and one of the girls colored hers green with veg^etable coloring. â€" Ella Pea- body. Does Trap-Nesting Pay? One of the important matters which every commercial poultryman must decide at some time in his career is that of whether or not to install and use trapnests. The decision is often the turning point around which a large poultry business builds success or failure. If one can first determine what trap-nesting will cost and second what it will return, the answer should be fairly easy. Trap-nesting is costly where any great number of hens is concerned. The nests cost considerably more, and more are usually required for each 100 hens, because the traps are visited only at stated times, and a hen can- not leave the nest when she pleases, but must wait to be released. The time involved In making the regular trips to the trap-nests is con- siderable, even under the most effi- cient arrangement. It is not unreas- onable to say that the number of hens one man can properly care for will be reduced at least one-half if he decides to use trap-nests. From trap-nesting one gets a very nearly accurate record of the exact number of eggs laid by each hen in the flock. This makes possible a careful sort- ing of the hens on the basis of actual performance. However, except from the standpoint of one who is trying to â- earn how to judge hens, it is question- able whether trap-nesting for this purpose is worth while or worth any- where near what it costs. When one adds the cost of leg'bands, record forms and additional clerical work it is clear that the cost of get- ting a trap-nest record is high. Unless the i-ecord is used as.^rt of a definite pedigree-breeding program it has little value. Hens can be ?orte<l for production with a very fair degree of accuracy without the use of trap-rests; and in the long run it iS infinitely more im- portant to know what kind of sons and daughters a hen wiJl produce than to know how many egrgs she herself will lay. The Canadian Homlmakej^ jt mH«» V" »*'^{y articTas toueritij. PLANNING . BUILD I NQ . FINANCHMQ DECORATING . rURNI5HINQ . GARDCNINQ m By Richards & Abra, Architects. Many homes are called semi-buogap lows simply because their exterior ap- pearance suggests that the habitable second floor area Is not equal to that of the first. Really, with the excep- tion of this rather Insignificant detail, they are to all Intents and purposes two storey houses absolutely lacking in any form of semblance to bungar lows. When one remembers tliat the chief characteristic of the latter type of home fa ground floor bedrooms, the why and wherefore of the application of the term aeml-bungalow to any one and a half or two storey houses having all the. bedrooms on the second floor Is a bit perplexing. The floor plans for this house show that one of the bedrooms and a bath- room are on the ground floor. There are two more bedrooms and another bathroom on the second floor, so that REAL SEMI-BUNGALOWS while the bungalow Idea Is not quite getting an "even break" It Is at least a compromise and one which assures much comfort and convenience. The foundation of stone or concrete la flnlshed off with a dressed stone course above grade. The walls from the top of this stone course to the cor- nice line are veneer construction In rug or tapestry brick with white stucco gables. Stained cedar shingles laid on asbestos paper provide an attractive i and serviceable roof. The central entrance opens Into a good sized stair hall which gives direct ' access to the living and dining rooms. The kitchen Is well lighted and laid out for the convenient arrangement of cupboards, refrigerator, etc., and also has convenient and direct access to the front door. Opening oft the vestibule Is an outside lighted and ventilated coat cupboard. The living room opens Into a good ; sized verandah, and tbo ground floor" bedroom has conveniently arranged cupboard and bathroom, and Is very suitable for the owners' room. On the first floor the bedrooms are fairly roomy and havo good cupboards and ready access to tiio second bath- room. There are hardwood floors through- out with good pine finish suitable for paint or enamel. Bathrooms are fitted with tile floors and dadoes and good quality built-in fixtures. The dimensions of this desirable home are 25 ft. x 41 ft. and Including hot water heating the appro^clmata cost is J7,5<)0. Readers desiring further Information regarding the plana and specKlcatlons of this house should communicate with the architects direct. .Address, .Messrs. Richards & Abra. 126 Sparks Street, Ottawa. Ont. Boy Fodder in a Barrel. Clams, green corn, fish, potatoes, game and almost anything good to eat | can be cooked in a barrel after this i fashion: Find a clean barr«I and wash ' it. Gather clean grass or something of that nature that will not give the' food a bad taste. If it is dry, wet it. I Build a good-size fire and heat enough j stones to fill the barrel about one- quarter to one-third full. Place a' thick layer of grass in the bottom of ' the barrel. Drop the stones in with a' pitchfork or shovel. Kesp a layer of grass between the hot stones and the! sides of the barrel so as not to burn ' the wood. Cover the stones thickly , with more grass. Put in a layer of j corn or game, or wl'.utever you have fro I cook. If there are several kinds of ! grub, put in a layer of each, with ; layers of grass between. Fill the barrel and cover it with two or three thicknesses of burlap or other heavy cloth. Tack it tight around the ed^es. In a few minutes the barrel will be spouting steam from every crack. In ^ an hour boy fodeJer will be done to a turn. Potatoes and meat need more cooking. Enough food for twenty boys can be cooked in one barrel. ; When to Sell Cockerels. Summer plowing is not a plea.^nnt subject â€" that ii. if you have to use rtor«e«. The stubble ground is most always hard, the weather is hot and the flies are bad. A tractor doe-.'.n't mint! hard ground and hot weather â€" anJ if it is a good tractor, thcie are nc fliei' on it. The pwnt is, though, ground for fall wheat ought to be plowd as early as possible. Tho later yo'i wait, the it-wer the yield will be n€>t year. Now, do as we say and plow early. *•'• - I A somewhat novel test has b??n I tried out at Cap Rouge, Que., experi- mental station. Tho object w.is to ascertain whether it pays belter to sell surplus cockerels as broKers, as < fryers, or as roasters. For three years forty-five cockerels of broiler size, from 1% to 2 pounds each v/i;re I put aside each season. Fifteen were - sold inimrdiately, fifteen were l<opt until ihey averaged about four pouiHs ' each and the balance were sold around the middle of November. The fryers and the roasters respectively gave far tiie fifteen 80 cents and 5.43 more profit than tho broilers. Dr. G. A. Langelier, the superintendent of the station, in his report for 1925, says Jthnt though it is too early to arrive at de.inite conclusions it must not Iw forgotten that no account was taken of housing room or of the poultry- ' man's labor; aL<«o the average price of j 48 cents per pound for broilers on July â-  12 was low compared with .31 cents for fryers on August 27 and 26 cents for SOME INGENIOUS HINTS AND DEVICES Try sweepiTig the stairs with a make a shield of .stiff cardboard by painter's brush in-stead of an ordinary : cutting a hole the same size and shape dusting brush and note the difference, j as the brass plate. Sew small chamois leather to the! To prevent cakes from burning centre of a dusting cloth. I place a shallow tin filled with salt -â- Vrtic'es drawn up by tape or elastic I at the bottom of tho oven when bak- are usually tiresome to wash. This is' ing. easily obviated by putting a small i To loosen glass stoppers, rusty safety-pin at each end of the elastic, ; screws, etc., pour on a little vinegar, the article can then be dra\vn out to then turn sharply. full length and ironed. The pins will I To hide an isolated fruit stain on a sor\e as bodkins to draw the tape as ; fresh tahlecloth cover with a piece of required. whito stamp paper. Boil new clotheslines before using! Lemons will keep fresh for a con- theni. They will last longer. ! siderable time if covered with water Get an old sunshade or umbrella, ' v/hich is changed daily, strip off the cover, enamel the fram?; Paint can be removed from windows white, and hang it by the handle, from with hot vinegar. Paint brushes which a hook in the ceiling, over yoTir cooke r, h ave become hard will soften if im- or range. You have a splendid dd^^^ersed in hot vinegar, or airer which will hold a large quI^I^To prevent grease from splashing tity of collars, handkerchiefs, ttc.^^JJIKvhen frying put a piece of bread in can be closed when not in use. ! the pan and fry at the same time. When dyeing stockings or socks also I If a little common .=alt is put round put into the dye a small quantity of the top of a candle before lighting, it darning wool. Iv/ill not drip at all. To make mint sauce quickly and ; If one has cracked eggs on hand easily sprinkle with -granulated sugar 'and no time to poach them, wrap them before chopping. j in a twist of tissue paper and boil in A piece of zinc nailed over half the the usual way. kitchen table, makes an excellent sur- 1 The dirtiest frying-pan will come face for chopping onions, etc., and can clean if sonk?d for a few minutes In be etisily cleaned. j ammonia and water. Try adding mustard to butter before; To prevent salt lumps in a .shaker spreading sandwiches. | place a few grains of ric3 in the Mildew on cheese can be prevented shaker, if a lump of sugar is placed in the! To prevent silver from tarnishing cheese dish. If a piece of cheese is put a few pieces of cnraphor into the carefully wrapped in a cloth wrung drawer. out in vinegar it will neither dry nor To s.ave time in hunting for spools gather mold. of cotton, thread ther a!! on a wire To make boiled bacon really deli-' (ordinary cot*^on-covered wire not cious, add to the water s teaspoonful string) and form into circle. Thur of vinegar, 2 cloves and a nutmeg. 1 every thickr?ps and color Is at hand. To keep a doorstep whi'e in wet. and the thread will run quite ea.sily. weather use plaster cf paris instead I of whitening. To prolong the wear of gloves place a small piece of cotton wool in the tip of each finger and thumb. To prevent jams growing moldy on top soak the parchment rounds in milk. To prevent milk from burning sprinkle a little sugar over the bottom The grinding of the food in the giz- zard may be heard by placing the ear close to the body of tho fowl at night, while it is on the roost. -» Why doe- paper roofing wrinkle so after it is laid? Here is what m\e man of the pan before putting in the milk, i thinks about it and how he deals with To st.op cabbage from boiling over i the difficulty: The wrinkling ^s due roasters on November 15. Awaitin? put a piece of butter or dripping the to heat expansion after the papvr has size of a wa'nut into the water as'b*n put on. To prevent this, cut the further data Dr. Langelier suggests that farmers would prcrfbably do better to sell all surplus cockerels at as early a date as pos«ibI«k soon as it crmes to a boil. To prevent foiliiig 'ho woodwork when e^eaning brass kaockers, ' eUt, strips, lay them ir. the sun to stretch for a few hour.*, 'hen put th«m on asdj you have a roof that will not wrinklt^;