Claude H. Miller - Outdoor Sports and Games

C >> Claude H. Miller >> Outdoor Sports and Games

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18

Eggs for incubators will cost about five dollars a hundred. Of course
if they are from prize-winning stock the cost will be several times
this amount. Before placing any eggs in an incubator it should be run
for two days to be sure that the heat regulator is in working order.
The usual temperature for hatching is 103 degrees and the machine
should be regulated for this temperature as it comes from the factory.
Full directions for operating, as well as a thermometer, will come
with the machine and should be studied and understood before we begin
to operate it. As the hatch progresses, the heat will "run up," as it
is called, and we shall need to understand how to regulate the
thermostat to correct this tendency toward an increased temperature.
The eggs in an incubator must be turned twice a day. To be sure that
we do this thoroughly it is customary to mark the eggs before we place
them in the machine. The usual mark is an "X" on one side of the egg
and an "O" on the other written in lead pencil. In placing the eggs in
the trays we start with all the "O" marks up, for instance, and at the
time of the first turning leave all the "X's" visible, alternating
this twice every day.

In order to operate an incubator successfully, we shall also need a
brooder, which is really an artificial mother. There is a standard
make of brooder costing five dollars that will accommodate fifty
chicks. Brooders are very simple in construction and can be made at
home. A tinsmith will have to make the heating drum. The rest of it is
simply a wooden box with a curtain partition to separate the hot room
from the feeding space. Ventilating holes must be provided for a
supply of fresh air and a box placed at the bottom to prevent a
draught from blowing out the lamp. In a very few days after we place
the chicks in a brooder they should be allowed to go in and out at
will. In a week or two we shall be able to teach them the way in, and
then by lowering the platform to the ground for a runway we can permit
them to run on the ground in an enclosed runway. On rainy days we must
shut them in.

There is always a temptation to feed chicks too soon after they are
hatched. We should always wait at least twenty-four hours to give them
a chance to become thoroughly dry. The general custom of giving wet
cornmeal for the first feed is wrong. Always feed chicks on dry food
and you will avoid a great deal of sickness. An excellent first food
is hard-boiled egg and corn bread made from cornmeal and water without
salt and thoroughly baked until it may be crumbled. Only feed a little
at a time, but feed often. Five times a day is none too much for
two-week-old chicks.

One successful poultryman I am acquainted with gives, as the first
feed, dog biscuit crushed. All the small grains are good if they are
cracked so that the chicks can eat them. The standard mixture sold by
poultry men under the name "chick food" is probably the best. It
consists of cracked wheat, rye, and corn, millet seed, pinhead
oatmeal, grit, and oyster shells. Do not feed meat to chicks until
their pin feathers begin to show, when they may have some well-cooked
lean meat, three times a week.

There is quite an art in setting a hen properly. They always prefer a
dry, dark place. If we are sure that there are no rats around, there
is no better place to set a hen than on the ground. This is as they
sit in nature and it usually seems to be the case that a hen that
steals her nest will bring out more chicks than one that we have
coddled. Eggs that we are saving for hatching should be kept in a cool
place but never allowed to freeze. They should be turned every day
until they are set. Hens' eggs will hatch in about twenty-one days.
The eggs that have failed to hatch at this time may be discarded. When
we move a broody hen we must be sure that she will stay on her new
nest before we give her any eggs. Test her with a china egg or a
doorknob. If she stays on for two nights we may safely give her the
setting. It is always better when convenient to set a hen where she
first makes her nest. If she must be moved, do it at night with as
little disturbance as possible. It is always a good plan to shut in a
sitting hen and let her out once a day for feed and exercise. Do not
worry if in your judgment she remains off the nest too long. The eggs
require cooling to develop the air chamber properly, and as a rule the
hen knows best.

Young chickens are subject to a great many diseases, but if they are
kept dry and warm, and if they have dry food, most of the troubles may
be avoided. With all poultry, lice are a great pest. Old fowls can
dust themselves and in a measure keep the pest in check, but little
chicks are comparatively helpless. The big gray lice will be found on
a chick's neck near the head. The remedy for this is to grease the
feathers with vaseline on the head and neck. The small white lice can
be controlled by dusting the chicks with insect powder and by keeping
the brooder absolutely clean. A weekly coat of whitewash to which some
carbolic acid has been added will keep lice in check in poultry houses
and is an excellent plan. Hen-hatched chicks are usually more subject
to lice than those hatched In incubators and raised in brooders, as
they become infected from the mother. Some people say that chicks have
lice on them when they are hatched, but this is not so.

The first two weeks of a chick's life are the important time. If they
are chilled or neglected they never get over it, but will develop into
weaklings. There are many rules and remedies for doctoring sick
chickens, but the best way is to kill them. This is especially so in
cases of roup or colds. The former is a very contagious disease and
unless checked may kill an entire pen of chickens. A man who raises
25,000 chickens annually once told me that "the best medicine for a
sick chicken is the axe."

A very low fence will hold small chicks from straying away, but it
must be absolutely tight at the bottom, as a very small opening will
allow them to get through. Avoid all corners or places where they can
be caught fast. The mesh of a wire fence must be fine. Ordinary
chicken wire will not do.

[Illustration: A home-made chicken coop built on the "scratching-shed"
plan]

A brooder that will accommodate fifty chicks comfortably for eight
weeks will be entirely too small even for half that number after they
begin to grow. As soon as they can get along without artificial heat,
the chickens should be moved to a colony house and given free range.
They will soon learn to roost and to find their way in and out of
their new home, especially if we move away the old one where they
cannot find it.

A chicken coop for grown fowls can be of almost any shape, size, or
material, providing that we do not crowd it to more than its proper
capacity. The important thing is to have a coop that is dry, easily
cleaned and with good ventilation, but without cracks to admit
draughts. A roost made of two by four timbers set on edge with the
sharp corners rounded off is better than a round perch. No matter how
many roosts we provide, our chickens will always fight and quarrel to
occupy the top one. Under the roost build a movable board or shelf
which may easily be taken out and cleaned. Place the nest boxes under
this board, close to the ground. One nest for four hens is a fair
allowance. Hens prefer to nest in a dark place if possible. A modern,
up-to-date coop should have a warm, windproof sleeping room and an
outside scratching shed. A sleeping room should be provided with a
window on the south side and reaching nearly to the floor. A hotbed
sash is excellent for this purpose. The runway or yard should be as
large as our purse will permit. In this yard plant a plum tree for
shade. The chickens will keep the plum trees free from the "curculio,"
a small beetle which is the principal insect pest of this fruit. This
beetle is sometimes called "the little Turk" because he makes a mark
on a plum that resembles the "star and crescent" of the Turkish flag.

Whether we can make our poultry pay for the trouble and expense of
keeping them will depend on the question of winter eggs. It is
contrary to the natural habits of chickens to lay in winter, and if
left to themselves they will practically stop laying when they begin
to moult or shed their feathers in the fall, and will not begin again
until the warm days of spring. When eggs are scarce it will be a great
treat to be able to have our own supply instead of paying a high price
at the grocer's.

The fact that it is possible to get really fresh eggs in midwinter
shows that with the proper care hens will lay. The average farm hen
does not lay more than eighty eggs a year, which is hardly enough to
pay for her feed. On the other hand, at an egg-laying contest held in
Pennsylvania, the prize-winning pen made a record of 290 eggs per year
for each hen. This was all due to better care and proper feed.

The birds were healthy pullets to begin with, they had warm food and
warm drinking water throughout the winter, their coop was a bright,
clean, dry place with an outside scratching shed. The grain was fed in
a deep litter of straw to make them work to get it and thus to obtain
the necessary exercise to keep down fat. The birds in this contest
were all hatched early in March and were all through the moult before
the cold weather came. Most of the advertised poultry feeds for winter
eggs are a swindle. If we give the birds proper care we shall not
require any drugs. It is an excellent plan to give unthreshed straw to
poultry in winter. They will work to obtain the grain and be kept
busy. The usual quantity of grain for poultry is at the rate of a
quart of corn or wheat to each fifteen hens. A standard winter ration
is the so-called hot bran mash. This is made from wheat bran, clover
meal, and either cut bone or meat scraps. It will be necessary to feed
this in a hopper to avoid waste and it should be given at night just
before the birds go to roost, with the grain ration in the morning,
which will keep them scratching all day. Always keep some grit and
oyster shells where the chickens can get it; also feed a little
charcoal occasionally.

A dust bath for the hens will be appreciated in winter when the ground
is frozen. Sink a soap box in a corner of the pen and sheltered from
rain or snow and fill it with dry road dust. Have an extra supply to
fill up the box from time to time.

The best place for a chicken house is on a sandy hillside with a
southern slope. A heavy clay soil with poor drainage is very bad.
Six-foot chicken wire will be high enough to enclose the run. If any
of the chickens persist in flying out we must clip the flight feathers
of their wings (one wing, not both). Do not put a top board on the
run. If a chicken does not see something to fly to, it will seldom
attempt to go over a fence, even if it is quite low.

It is much better to allow chickens full liberty if they do not ruin
our garden or flower beds or persist in laying in out of the way
places where the eggs cannot be found.

XII

WINTER SPORTS

What to wear--Skating--Skiing--Snowshoeing--Hockey

If one is fortunate enough to live in a part of the country where they
have old-fashioned winters, the possibilities for outdoor sports are
very great and the cold weather may be made the best part of the year
for healthful outdoor exercise. To enjoy winter recreations properly
we must have proper clothing. An ordinary overcoat is very much out of
place, except possibly for sleighing. The regulation costume for
almost any outdoor sport in winter is a warm coat, a heavy sweater,
woollen trousers and stockings, and stout leather shoes. If in
addition we have woollen gloves or mittens and a woollen skating cap
or toque, we shall be enabled to brave the coldest kind of weather,
provided of course that we have warm woollen underwear. Various
modifications in this costume such as high hunting boots, or leggings
and a flannel shirt worn under the sweater are possible. In the far
North, the universal winter footwear is moccasins. We must be careful
not to dress too warmly when we expect to indulge in violent exercise.
Excessive clothing will render us more liable to a sudden check of
perspiration, a consequent closing of the pores and a resulting cold.
Rubber boots or overshoes are very bad if worn constantly. The rubber,
being waterproof, holds in the perspiration and we often find our
stockings damp even when the walking is dry. Rubber boots also make
our feet tender and cause cold feet. Tight shoes are also bad for the
reason that they check circulation. The best footwear for a boy who
lives in the country will be Indian moccasins or shoepacs worn with
several pairs of lumbermen's woollen stockings. Such footwear would
not do for skating, as they have no soles, but for outdoor tramping in
the snow they are just the thing. No leather is thoroughly waterproof
against snow water, but by frequent greasing with mutton tallow,
neatsfoot oil or vaseline, shoes can be kept soft and practically
waterproof as long as the soles and uppers are in good condition.

[Illustration: A shoepac]

In all winter sports, especially in Canada, the custom is to wear
gaily coloured goods. A mackinaw jacket made from the same material as
a blanket, with very prominent stripes or plaids, is often worn.
Closely woven goods are better than a thicker loose weave as they are
lighter, warmer, and more waterproof.

Chief among winter sports is skating. There is no healthier
recreation, provided that the ice is safe. Even in the coldest weather
with the ice a foot thick or more we must always be sure to be on the
lookout for air-holes or thin places over springs. It is said that ice
an inch thick will hold the weight of a man, but it is better to be
sure than to be sorry, and three or four inches are much safer.

[Illustration: The club skate model]

A few years ago the height of the skater's art was so called "fancy or
figure" skating, but recently the tendency has been for speed rather
than for grace and the old-fashioned club skates have been replaced by
racing or hockey skates with much longer runners. Fancy skating for
prizes is governed by rules just as any other game or sport. The
contestants do not attempt figures of their own invention but strive
to excel in the so-called "compulsory" figures. A fancy skater can
practise from diagrams and directions just as one might practise moves
in a game of chess. In printed directions for fancy skating the
following abbreviations are used for the strokes:

R--right
L--left
F--forward
B--backward
O--outside
I--inside

T--three
LP--loop
B--bracket
RC--rocker
C--counter

Supposing the figure to be executed to be the well-known "figure
eight." It would be described as follows:

R-F-O L-F-O. R-F-I L-F-I. R-B-O L-B-O. R-B-I L-B-I.

By referring to the above table the skater can easily determine just
what strokes are necessary to produce the figure properly.

Racing skates should be attached to shoes of special design either by
screws or rivets. The most important thing is to have the blades
carefully ground by an expert. They should be keen enough to cut a
hair. To become a fast skater, practise if possible with an expert.
Have him skate ahead of you and measure your stroke with his. By
keeping your hands clasped behind your back your balance will not only
be greatly improved but your endurance will be doubled. The sprinting
stroke is a direct glide ahead with the foot straight. A trained
skater can go very long distances with very little fatigue but one
must carefully measure his speed to the distance to be travelled. When
you can cover a measured mile in three and one-half minutes you may
consider yourself in the class of fast skaters.

[Illustration: A hockey skate]

Hockey skates are somewhat shorter than racing skates although built
on the same general lines, the standard length being from nine and
one-half to eleven and one-half inches. Hockey is one of the best
winter games either outdoors or in a rink. The game of shinney or
"bandy" as it is called in England has been modified in this country
by substituting a flat piece of rubber weighing a pound called a
"puck" for the india rubber lacrosse ball, which weighs but four
ounces. The best hockey sticks are made of Canadian rock elm.

The whole idea of hockey is to shoot the puck through your opponents'
goal and to prevent them from shooting it through yours. In practice
almost any number can play hockey and have plenty of exercise. The
less experienced players should when securing the puck always shoot it
as quickly as possible to a more experienced player on their own side
to attempt shooting the goal. Skilful passing is the most important
branch of hockey and consequently good team work is absolutely
essential to success.

[Illustration: The hockey player's costume]

A regulation hockey team consist of seven players called goal, point,
cover point, right centre, left centre, right wing, left wing.

The position of goal tender is the most difficult to acquire skill in.
He stands directly in front of the goal and is expected to stop the
puck with hands, feet, and body. While the position of goal does not
involve much skating, a goal tender should also be a good skater. His
position requires more nerve and cool-headedness than any other
position on the team because the final responsibility of all goals
scored against his team is up to him. His position is largely a
defensive one and his work at times very severe. The goal keeper must
very rarely leave his position but must depend upon the two other
defensive men the "point" and "cover point" to stop the puck when it
away from the direct line of the goal. The defensive men on a hockey
team should not by any strategy or coaxing on the part of their
opponents allow themselves to leave their own goal unprotected.

The forwards have most of the work of shooting goals and advancing the
puck. Of course such a man must be very active and a good all round
player. Hockey is a poor game in which to display grand-stand playing.
The player's whole idea should be to shoot the puck so that either he
or some member of his team may score a goal.

The rules of hockey are comparatively few and simple. The game
consists of two twenty-minute halves with a ten-minute intermission
between. In case of a tie at the end of a game it is customary to
continue until one side secures a majority of the points.

A standard rink must be at least one hundred and twelve feet long by
fifty-eight feet wide. Nets are six feet wide and four feet high.

One of the most exciting of winter sports is skate sailing. The same
principles that are applied to sailing a boat are brought into play in
sailing with skates. While considerable skill is necessary to handle a
skate sail well, any one who is a good skater will soon acquire it.
The direction that you go is determined by the angle at which the sail
is held. When you wish to turn around or stop you simply shift its
position until you run dead into the wind. A skate sail should be
light and strong. A limit of five pounds' weight is all that is
necessary. The sail is a very simple device. There are a great many
kinds but one of the simplest is made from a T-shaped frame of bamboo
with a V-shaped piece of canvas or balloon silk sewed or wired to the
frame. The best skate sails are made with a jointed frame like a
fishing rod so that they may be taken apart and easily carried.

While an expert can handle a sail eight or ten feet wide and twelve
feet high it is better for the beginner to start with one much
smaller. The construction of the sail and the method of holding it are
shown in the diagram.

[Illustration: A skate sail]

Snowshoeing is another winter sport that will furnish a great deal of
pleasure and will enable us to be outdoors when our less fortunate
friends may be cooped up in the house. There are a number of standard
shapes in snowshoes, but probably the "Canadian" model will be found
to be the most satisfactory generally. Snowshoes should be from
twenty-four to forty-four inches long depending on the weight to be
carried. In order to enjoy snowshoeing we must use moccasins. The
proper method of attaching the snowshoes is clearly shown in the
diagrams. The beginner will find that snowshoeing is a very simple art
to acquire, being far less difficult than skating and with far less
danger of having a bad fall.

[Illustration: Four types of snowshoes]

The sport of "ski-running" or skiing is practised more generally
abroad than in this country. A number of winter resorts owe their
popularity largely to this sport. Skis are simply long flat pieces of
wood fastened or strapped to the shoes. The best type are the so
called "Norway" pattern. Various lengths are used from four to eight
or nine feet long, but for a beginner the shorter ones will be better.

[Illustration: To throw the lumberman's hitch, start this way]

[Illustration: Then across the toe with both ends and under the loop]

Ski-running is simply coasting down steep inclines on the snow with
the skis used in much the same way as a sled. The longer they are the
greater the speed obtained, but the longer ones are also
correspondingly hard to manage.

[Illustration: Draw the ends tightly forward to fasten down the toe]

[Illustration: Then tie the ends together in a bow knot back of the
heel]

In Norway and Sweden skis are made to order just as we might be
measured for suits of clothes. The theory is that the proper length
of ski will be such that the user, can, when standing erect and
reaching above his head, just crook his forefinger over it as it
stands upright. Ski shoes should be strong, with well blocked toes. A
pair of heavy school shoes are just the thing if well made.

[Illustration: The straps over the toe remain buckled]

[Illustration: This is the "thong" hitch but it is not as good as the
lumberman's hitch]

To learn skiing we should select the slope of a hill not very steep
and with no dangerous rocks or snags to run foul of. The best snow
conditions are usually found two or three days after it has fallen.
Fresh snow is too light to offer good skiing and snow with a crust is
also bad. In running with skis on the level ground a long, sweeping
stride is used somewhat after the fashion of skating. The strokes
should be made just as long as possible, and the skis kept close
together. In going up an incline the tendency to slip backward is
overcome by raising the toe of the ski slightly and bringing the heel
down sharply. One foot should be firmly implanted before the other is
moved. In going up a steep hill a zigzag course will be necessary.

[Illustration: Front and side view of a ski]

As an aid in ski-running it is customary to employ a pair of ski
poles, which are fastened to the wrist by leather thongs. They are
usually made of bamboo or other light material with a wicker disk near
the end to keep the pole from sinking into the soft snow. Ski poles
should never be used in attempting a jump, as under these
circumstances they might be very dangerous.

Ski coasting is the sport that most boys will be interested in. To
make a descent, begin at the top of a hill as one would in coasting
with a sled and lean well forward with the skis parallel and with one
foot slightly ahead of the other. The knees should be bent and the
body rigid. The weight should be borne by the ball of the foot that is
behind. As the start forward begins, the impulse will be to lean back,
but this Impulse must be overcome or you will take a tumble in the
snow as you gain speed.

[Illustration: A ski pole]

In jumping with skis an abrupt drop is necessary. For the beginner a
few inches is sufficient. The start is made by coasting down an
incline, and just before the take-off is reached, the runner assumes a
crouching attitude and then straightens up quickly, maintaining an
erect attitude until he is about to land, when, as in jumping, the
knees are bent slightly to break the force of landing. During the
flight the skis should be kept perfectly parallel but drooping
slightly behind.

[Illustration: The Exciting Sport of Ski Running]

The various forms of coasting with toboggan sleds and bobsleds are
all well known to boys who live where there are snow and hills. A sled
can be steered either by dragging the foot or by shifting the sled
with the hands. Sleds with flexible runners have recently been
introduced and are a great improvement on the old type.

One branch of carpenter work that nearly all boys attempt at some time
in their lives is to make a bobsled or double runner, which is a pair
of sleds fastened on either end of a board long enough to hold from
three to twenty or thirty people.

[Illustration: A bobsled or double runner]

Coasting, especially with a bob, is somewhat dangerous sport,
especially in cities or where the turns are sharp and there is danger
of upsetting. A good bob is broad between the runners and low to the
ground. The drawing shows one that almost any boy can make at little
cost. Various devices are used as brakes on a bob. Most of them are
found to be out of order or frozen when the time comes to use them. A
brake that is made from a piece of iron bent in an angle and fastened
to the side of the runners on the rear sled is the best arrangement to
have. A bobsled should not cost over ten dollars complete with
steering wheel, bell, and necessary iron work, which should be made at
the blacksmith's.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18