THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



She gOULIiI^Y yAi^D. 



CULLINQ OUT THE STOCK. 



By P. jr. Jarof'S, Wayne, lU. 



Tbe fall is the season for culling out the infe- 

 rior stock and disposing of the surplus. It is a 

 very dithcult matter to go among a flock and 

 select the hest. The desire is to combine beauty, 

 vigor, utility, and hardiness, and in making se- 

 lections there will always be found objections of 

 some kind to the best in the flock. 



The proper way to select the hens that are to 

 be retained is to first cull out all that you are 

 sure you will not keep, which will leave the 

 better ones from which to choose. This being 

 done, examine each hen 'closely. In the tii'st 

 place, do not dispose of your very early pullets 

 at all, if it c^n be avoided, as they will be your 

 winter layers. Examine the combs, and give 

 preference to the ones that are small, in order to 

 avoid having them frosted in cold weather. Dis- 

 card all that show signs of scaly leg, or that are 

 so fat as to be very hea^ry in the re.ar. Choose 

 large hens, if possible, that are well feathered, 

 and especially if the combs are red and healthy. 

 Some of the hens will soon begin to moult or 

 shed their old feathers, which process requires 

 about three months. The earlier they begin 

 moulting, therefore, the sooner they will ^et 

 their new feathers, and if they finish the process 

 before the advent of cold weather, they will be- 

 gin to lay before winter sets in, and continue 

 doing so; but should they be late moulting, they 

 may not la.v until spring. It is best to sell all the 

 bens that do not moult before October. When- 

 ever it can be done, give the early-hatched pul- 

 lets the preference over the old hens. Do not 

 "waste time with those hatched after June, as the 

 chances are they will not lay before spring. 



Most persons give a large rooster the prefer-, 

 ence, which is a mistake. .-V medium-sized, active 

 bird is better. Nothing Is more ungainly than 

 clumsiness, and if the hens are large, a Leghorn 

 or Dominick cock is better than one from the 

 large breeds. The eggs will hatch better, and he 

 will induce the hens to take exercise by calling 

 them from one place to another. It chicks are 

 desired next spring, for market, give the prefer- 

 ence to yellow legs and beaks, as buyers are par- 

 tial to such. But it is suggested, however, that 

 some of the best table fowls have dark legs, such 

 as the I.angshans and Houdans. 



Another point to observe in hens intended for 

 winter laying is to have them active. Hens that 

 squat around and act in a lazy manner, will often 

 lay well for a while, but tlie.v usually become too 

 fat for service when confined during the cold 

 months. Always sacrifice the lazy hens and 

 keep those that are active. No hen will possess 

 all the requisites, and something must be sacri- 

 ficed, no matter how carefully one may select, 

 and the judgment of the breeder must be used 

 carefully. First cull out the inferior stoclt, then 

 decide what you want, and keep such as will 

 come the nearest to that desire. 



FORCING YOUNG TURKEYS. 



The young turkey is the best, but there are few 

 persons who make a specialty of forcing them to 

 attain great size, allowing them only the range 

 of the fields during the summer and fall. The.v 

 undoubtedly secure a sulflcienc.van that man- 

 ner, but turkeys are no exception to the rule, 

 and can be made to grow much faster and larger 

 when fed early in the morning and late at night. 

 When they begin their work in the morning they 

 are usually hungry, and do not become satisfied 

 until they have foraged over quite a space of 

 ground. We are all familiar with the fact that 

 by vai'.ving the food of chicks, and inducing 

 them to eat often, tliey will grow I'ast. The same 

 applies to young turkeys. Give them a good 

 feed in the morning, before the.v go to the fields, 

 and they will show the effects of it until time for 

 marketing them. At night they should have a 

 good meal of grain. Size is very desirable in a 

 turkey, and the difference of a pound or two in 

 favor of each member of a fiock amounts to. a 

 considerable sum, and pays well for the expense. 

 Late in the season, after the cold weather begins, 

 fe^d them allthe grain they will eat, in order to 

 have them as fat as possible, which will also in- 

 crease the price as well as the weight. 



THE SOIL FOR POULTRY. 



On 'jld fhrms, where the hens have had the run 

 of the farmyard for years, there ',s gradually ac- 

 cumulated a certain amount of decomposed mat- 

 ter from the drf>ppings, whicli is not distinguish- 

 able from the dirt with which it is mixed. This 

 condition is the eause of gapes in chicks and 

 cholera in adults, as has been repeatedly proved 

 by those who have tried the experiment of feed- 



ing chicks on board floors, by which means the | 

 gapes were avoided. We do not allude to yards , 

 in which fowls are confined, but the farm-yards, j 

 in which they are supposed to have plenty of j 

 roorn. Gapes and cliolera are more prevalent in i 

 farm-yards than in the small yards used for con- j 

 fining fowls, for the reason that the small yards 

 are frequently cleaned and turned up with the 

 spade. If tfle farm-yards could be occasionally 

 scraped over, and t hen thoroughly sprinkled with 

 a sohition of chloride of lime or copijeras, it 

 would do much to prevent disease. What is bet- 

 ter, is to mi.x an ounce of sulphuric acid with a 

 bucket of water, and .sprinkle the yards, but it is 

 not as easily handled as the chloride of lime or 

 copperas water. A pound of ciiloride of lime to 

 ten buckets of water, or a pound of copperas to 

 four buckets of water will answer the purpose. 



PROTECTION AGAINST DEPREDATORS. 



What is meant by depredators are minks, 

 skunks, rats, owls, and hawks. These enemies 

 cause greater loss to poultr.vmen annually, than 

 all other difficulties conrbined. They must be 

 avoided^TVt night as well as during the day. The 

 mink is the most mischievous, as he will often 

 destroy a whole flock in one night. He does not 

 burrow into the coop, but usually finds entrance 

 through a knothole or some other small opening, 

 as he is capable of forcing his body tlirough a 

 space that would not be supposed large enough 

 for that purpose. There should be no openings 

 if minks are to be avoided. They live near small 

 running streams, and venture to great distances 

 in search of prey. The skunk will also enter, 

 but only kills enough for a present supply. 

 Hence, when a single fowl is found dead in the 

 morning, the ciiances are that a skunk hius been 

 there, but if a number are dead, it is a mink or 

 weasel. Rats do not often kill adult fowls, but 

 are very destructive to the chicks. Tliey will 

 not be able to secure a lodging-place, however, if 

 the floors are not raised for them to go under. 

 .Should board floors be used, have them high 

 enough for a cat or small dog to go in and out 

 under them. 



At night the onl will go into the coop if he can, 

 nut precautions against minks will ki'cp the owl 

 out. The hawk does his dam.age during the day, 

 and will even attack small hens. If there are 

 plent.\' of k>w bushes under which tlie chicks can 

 find shelter, they will be safe, but a.s the iiawk 

 usuall.v surveys the surroundings befoie begin- 

 ning work, he will alight on a tree or post for 

 that purpose — the post preferred. Knowing tlie 

 habits of hawks, some persons attach a trap to 

 tlie top of a post, which is erected for their special 

 accommodation, and thereby secure them with- 

 out difliculty. 



POULTRY SCRATCHINGS. 



No\'Ei.TiES. — Frizzles, liussians. Silkies, and 

 Sultans are poultr.v novelties, being aln\ost use- 

 less except as oddities. For profit they should be 

 avoided. 



The Nests.— Tbe.se are the pest houses in which 

 are bred the lice. Keep tobacco stems or refuse 

 in them always, which will prevent the lice from 

 infesting them. 



Curing Feathers.— Plate them in a bag, 

 steam them thoroughly, and then expose them 

 to the sun in a wire-netting box, until well dried. 

 If they are fumigated with sulphur, it will be an 

 advantage. 



Peeservisg Eggs.— As we stated before, dry 

 salt is as good as any material that can be used. 

 Pack in boxes, titrning the boxes twice a wee'k, 

 in order to prevent the yolks from setting to the 

 inner sides of the shells. 



DRE.SSISG Poultry.— Kill by .sticking the fowl 

 in the throat, first hanging it up by the legs. 

 Pick while the flesh is warm, Singe off the pin 

 feathers, and immerse the bodies in cold water 

 for twelve hours before sending to market. 



Geese.— With the exception of our common 

 breed of geese, all others have the male and fe- 

 male alike in plumage. Where pure white 

 feathers are desirable, the Embden serves best, 

 but for the table a cross of the Tolouse and Emb- 

 den is better. 



B.\nTAM Ducks.— The Call duck is the bantam 

 among ducks, and the smaller it is the bet^ 

 ter. Lil^e bantams, the.v should be hatched late, 

 in order to shorten the time for growth. They 

 are not as jirofltaljle as the larger kinds, but are 

 very attractive. 



Nest Eggs.— Medicated eggs are unneccessarj-. 

 Rotten eegs should never be used. Glass esgs 

 are now f»bjeclionable. as the.v often break the 

 eggs in the nest. There is yet an opportunit.v for 

 the invention of a nest-egg that will not injure 

 the genuine ones, such as could I)e made of rub- 

 ber or .some other substance that yields to .sudden 

 \ pressure, and then reassumes its original shape. 



Never Grease Fowls.— Grease is injurious to 

 fowls, and the.v abhor it. Many hundreds of 

 young chicks have been killed by greasing them 

 for lice. It should not be used in any shape ex- 

 cept on the lop of the head and on the legs, but 

 never on the body. 



Veal for Poultry.— We are informed by a 

 prominent poultryman tliat he finds it a cheap 

 mode of leediug meat to use young calves ttot 

 are sold to the butchers as *' bob " veal. They 

 can be bought at a very low price, and answer 

 the purpose of poultrymeu well. 



.Salt for Poultry.— The supposition that salt 

 kills chicks i.s true, if they are fed too inucli of 

 it, but the fowls require salt as well as animals, 

 and a small quantity should always be given 

 them in their soft food, especially where they 

 have access to plenty of green niaterial. 



Brown Leghorn's.- This breed is one of the 

 most beautiful we have, and excels as layers. 

 Tlie only objection to them is their small size 

 and large combs. Crossed on Partridge Cochin 

 hens, the progeny are among the best for all pur- 

 poses, being of fair size, active, and good layers. 



Moulting Hens.— Feed moulting hens meat 

 three times a week, as well as broken bones. Give 

 them a little sulphur once in a while, and avoid 

 feediiig corn, as they fatten very readil.v while 

 moulting, though debilitated by the process, as 

 the new feathers take up all the phosphates and 

 nitrogen of the food. 



CHE.iP Foods.— Tliere is always a quantity of 

 broken rice, hominy refuse, and other waste, at 

 the grocery stores that can be utilized for poul- 

 ^■y, not excepting the bones from meat, cheese 

 parings, and stale bread. Boiled rice and beans,, 

 mixed and thickened with- ground grain of any 

 kind, make an e.xcellent egg-producing food. 



Late Ducks.— Ducks may 'be hatched t h i s 

 month, if desired, as they grow ver.y rapidly and 

 sell well when about four or five months old. At 

 this season, if tliey are left to the care of tbe old 

 ducks, instead of to Jiens, the.v will pick uji 

 nearly all their subsistence, and cost but ver.v 

 little, though it is best to feed them once or twice 

 a day. 



A Good Lice Powder. — Grind one pound of 

 tobacco refuse to a fine condition, and add two 

 ounces of Persian Insect Powder. Mix thoroughl.v 

 and dust over the chicks. Persian Insect Powder 

 alone, is better, but more expensive, while a 

 mixture of the two will often answer the same 

 inirpose, with the advantage of being much 

 cheaper. 



China Geese.— Though much smaller In size 

 than some of the other breeds, yet they lay a 

 larger number of I'ggs and hatch out a greater 

 proportion of goslings. Being more prolific, they 

 compensate thereby for lack of size, and have 

 proved, themselves profitable with those who 

 have given them a place on the farm. There are 

 two kinds, the brown and tlie white. 



Bronze Turkeys.- The gobbler, when ma- 

 tured, should not weigh less than 25 pounds and 

 the hen 16 pounds. They are a brilliant bronze 

 ill plumage, and the gobblers should not have a 

 trace of white on any part. In young birds the 

 legs are dark, but sometimes change to flesh 

 color in adults. The edging of the featkers on 

 hens is generally a dull white or gra.v. 



Dark and Light Eggs.— The supposition that 

 dark-colored eggs are richer than those that are 

 light-colored, is onl.v a popular notion. The shell 

 gives ver.v little indication of the quality of an 

 egg. Dark yolks are sometimes preferred, owing 

 to the deeper color, but ver.v often the light-shell 

 eggs will contain darker yolks than those that 

 are dark-colored on the shell, and something de- 

 pends also upon the feed. 



About Buying Eggs.— No doubt our readers 

 have patronized the breeders tbe past season, 

 and in answer to inquiries in regard to what may 

 be expected, we will say that seven cliicks from 

 thirteen eggs is considered a fair hatch. No 

 breeder can ffriarmitce his eggs to hatch, as that 

 is beyond his knowledge. The best he can do is 

 to send eggs from strong, vigorous birds. Much 

 of the dilficulty is .with buyers, who suppose 

 because a hen sits well, the eggs vitist hatch, 

 when, in fact, some hens do not create sufTicient 

 heat from their bodies for t^iat purpose. 



Cut Off the Cojies.- As soon as the codes and 

 pullets .are four months old, they may be dubbed, 

 if of tbefeegborn breed, or where flic combs give 

 promise f>f being very large. To do this, use a 

 shari> ]iair of shearers, or a razor. Cut the comb 

 and wattles close, and bathe the partswilh strong 

 alum water. Coop tlie fowls until bleeding ceases, 

 and aiifiint the jiarts with wood-tar, to which a 

 few drops of carbolic acid has been added. If the 

 bleeding is jirofuse, sprinkle fine pulverized alum 

 over the surface of the cuts. This process, though 

 j apiiarentl.v cruel, will save much i>ain to the 

 i blr^s during tlve winter from frosted combs. 



