California Agriculturist and Live Stock Journal. 



bably the best single grain for chicken 

 feed, but a variety is better than any one 

 kind of feed. If chickens have all the 

 wheafthey want and a variety of other 

 grains to pick at, they can best select 

 what the}' want and need. Milk is an 

 excellent feed, and should always bo 

 given when one has it to give. Wheat 

 bran mixed in milk is an admirable side 

 dish for poultry, to be set where they can 

 get at it continually, 



We wish to call particular attention to 

 the necessity of supplying green feed of 

 some kind to poultry. In our climate, 

 where, at this season, but little green is 

 to be seen without irrigation, manj' lots 

 of poultry are without green feed of any 

 kind for months together. This is one 

 leading cause of ill success. Poultry 

 should have green feed the year round, 

 and must have it, too, or some substi- 

 tute, or they will surely suffer. They 

 are great grass-eaters, and must have 

 some succulent feed to keep healthy. 

 Hens are scratchers and shonld have 

 some place to scratch, and something to 

 scratch for. At this season, on most 

 places, the ground is hard and unyield- 

 ing. It should be plowed and harrowed 

 up to encourage the chickens to scratch 

 and wallow in the dirt. If the wheat for 

 feed is sown thickly and harrowed in so 

 that they will have to scratch to find it, 

 it will give the fowls employment and 

 healthy exercise. 



Much more might be said upon this 

 subject. But a few rules observed, a 

 thorough system jjursued, and common 

 sense and good care used, will in every 

 case pay in rearing poultty on the farm. 



HATCHING CHICKENS. 



The best season in which to raise 

 broods of fine, healthy fowls is in the 

 fall of the year, in California. The cool, 

 moist weather when the rainy season 

 commences seems to be much more con- 

 ducive to health of young fowls than 

 the warmer and dryer season. Thous- 

 ands of seeds are sprouted with the rains, 

 the soil is softened, and there is better 

 picking and scratching for them, some- 

 thing tender and green to pick up, and 

 little annoyance from chicken lice at this 

 season when nights are frosty. 



Of course, shelter should be provided 

 for young fowls, so that they can keep 

 dry during storms in winter. But they 

 should be alloweil as much liberty, when 

 large enough to scratch as the range will 

 admit. Pullets raised from eggs set this 

 mouth will be ready to lay in early sum- 

 mer, and when poultry is a good price 

 the roosters can be disposed of to best 

 advantage. 



February is also a good nujuth to sit 

 eggs and hatch out chickens. As soon 

 as hot weather commences, the hatching 

 of chicks should cease for the season. 



Fowls that are moulting, as most old 

 birds are, just at this time, are of course 

 unfit for marketing. This fact is not 

 generally appreciated. But the moulting 

 process is a species of skin disease, w ith 

 domestic poultry; that is to say, during 

 the weeks that the old plumage is drop- 

 ping away, and the time that the new 

 feathering is forming, the fowl's flesh is 

 in a fevered condition, in consequence of 

 the death and slow departure of the pre- 

 vious year's coating. 



At such a period, the older fowls are 

 quite unfit for the table, though thous- 

 ands of such birds are kept by their own- 

 ers up to this natural change in the fo^W's 

 life -which succeeds the laying of their 

 annual litter of eggs, usually— and are 

 then killed off, because they are com- 

 monly at such time in good condition 

 apparently. 



If these older birds are to be slangh- 

 tered at all, they should be killed before 

 the moult commences, or they shonld be 

 kejit over to cold weather, or until their 

 new feathering is fully out. This may 

 be decided upon by taking your fowls 

 from the roost at night, and examining 

 the skin. If the body is covered with 

 blue-shafted "pin-feathers," such birds 

 ought to be kept till November or De- 

 cember before killing. If these pin- 

 feathers have not yet begun to show 

 themselves, then the bird may be proper- 

 ly used for marketing. 



With fall chickens, the case is some- 

 what different, though it is dependent 

 upon their age. Usually, by October the 

 spring chicks' first moult is completed, 

 and the jiiu-feathering is mm cd upon 

 their bodies. But, in either case, if 

 there be a show of this, upon examina- 

 tion, birds should not be killed, for eat- 

 ing. These pin-feathers may be scalded 

 off, or picked out, through careful pluck- 

 ing. But no one who knows anything 

 about the above facts will ever choose a 

 chicken in market whose skin is covered 

 wilh these ofl'ensive blue, dead-blood- 

 filled feather-shafts, and no poultrymau 

 should ever kill a bird to ofl'er for eating, 

 young or old, that is going through its 

 moult. — Faiidef's Juuriuil. 



R.HSINO TuEKEYS. — The most success- 

 ful turkey raisers feed the chicks for the 

 first few days of their lives ui^ou finely 

 chopped, hard-l)oiIed eggs, and keep 

 them from wandering oft" by cooping up 

 the hen. After the chicks are a week 

 old, scalded wheat, or oaten grits and 

 cornmeal may be given, but until they 

 are f idly fledged, they should be careful- 

 ly i^irotected from rain storms and wet 

 grass. 



§m\miiL 



Woman's 'Work. 



BY ANNIK IIAI.LS, 



To ^vnah aixl l'ak*\ to iin'iid an.1 make, 

 Tlie w.aiy Ktf|>s nf toil to t;ike ; 

 'I'll ('link ami .SL-our, to ihi.st and sweep. 

 And all the Iiuubc ju urder keep. 

 To rise at. nioni and o'er and o'er 

 J)o duties doue the day before, 

 And know that in to-morrow's train 

 Tlie H;iine tilings will come o'er again. 

 And otten to herself to say, 

 The oI<l. old lines in weary way, 

 "From flawn of day till setting snn 

 Woman's work is never tlone. " 



To watch and pray, to gladly take 

 Love's cruBses for loves crowning sake. 

 To love and gi-ieve, to smile and weep; 

 Her deepest thought in silence keep. 

 To te,ach and lead, to hope and trust — 

 Have trust betrayed -as woni,an must. 

 To g.iitly ehide. to cheer and bless. 

 And til ar witli i,;(ti. lit tenderness 

 Her l-uutiiis all ; Tinr shrink away, 

 liut bravely Imik alirad and say. 

 "From dawn of life to setting sun. 

 Woman's work is never done," 



Preserving and Keeping Toma- 

 toes. 



J^'IvCrS. ROMA W. WOODS, in the 

 ■ ll Western Farm Journal, says; 

 ill The first and most important 

 _'J,^ thing to remember is this: that 

 i'O^ all fruits which mature quickly, 

 as rapidly decay; they simply reach per- 

 fection, and at once begin to die, and 

 when decay has once commenced it can- 

 not be permanently arrested. So I use 

 under-ripe rather than over-ripe toma- 

 toes. If they are free from soil or other 

 dirt, they will not need washing before 

 scalding. As you take the skin from 

 each, slice it twice, and drop into your 

 porcelain kettle. When nearly full pin 

 a piece of mosquito netting over it, and 

 put the kettle over the fire; stir frequent- 

 Ij' with a silver sjioon or hard wood pad- 



dle, and -when you are sure that the mass 

 has all boiled, dip it out into your glass 

 cans, which should be standing on sev- 

 eral thickness of cloth, folded smooth, 

 which has been -wet in cold water; pour 

 the hot water out of the cans, and fill 

 nearly full. Leave them on the cloth 

 and open, until you can hold your hand 

 upon the side of the cans. Put on the 

 rubbers, fill one can fidl of boiling water 

 or boiling tomato juice, and put the top 

 on, and screw it tight; and so on until 

 your cans are sealed. Wipe each can 

 thoroughly, first with a damp cloth, then 

 with a dry cloth, .iml put them in a 

 dark place until the next day. If they 

 are perfectly dry you may put them 

 away in a dark, cool place, and in win- 

 ter keep glass cans where they 'will not 

 freeze. 



In preparing for the table ( do not use 

 iron or anything with the tin worn oft' to 

 cook them in), season with salt, pepper, 

 butter and white sugar; and when they 

 boil up once, remove from the fire and 

 dish them; too much boiling extracts 

 the bitter principle in the seeds — stand- 

 ing in tin wM also make them dark and 

 bitter. 



To MAKE washing days more endurable 

 on the farm, and less wearying to the 

 female portion of the family, one of the 

 men-folks should see to it, every Mon- 

 day morning, that wood and water are 

 provided in abundance. If the clothes 

 can be collected the day before and put 

 to soak, either in warm or cold water, all 

 the better. Half the merit of the new 

 soaps and washing powders which are 

 continually being brought forward, and 

 urged upon our attention as labor-savers, 

 is due to the observance of the "rules 

 and directions" which usually accom- 

 pany them. 



A fault of many economical house- 

 housekeejiers shoAvs itself in the small 

 quantity of soap used for washing 

 clothes. It is both easier and cheaper, 

 in the long run, to dissolve the dirt by 

 the free use of soaii, rather than attenqjt 

 to rub it out by friction between the 

 washboard and the hands. Bed clothes 

 and many others may often be thorough- 

 ly washed by simply boiling them in 

 soap suds, and then rinsing in clear 

 water. Cold soap suds will dissolve 

 much dirt, but hot soap suds will remove 

 much more. 



Moths. — Moths will work in carpets 

 in rooms that arc kept warm in the win- 

 ter as well as in the summer. A sure 

 method of removing the pests is to pour 

 strong alum water on the floor to the 

 distance of half a yard around the edges 

 before laying the carpets. Then once or 

 twice during the season sjjrinkle dry 

 salt over the carpet before sweeping. 

 Insects do not like salt, and sufficient 

 adheres to the carpet to prevent their 

 alighting upon it. 



EtTLES FOR Action in Casks of Acci- 

 dent. — Professor Wilder, of Cornell 

 University, gives these short rules: 



F'or dust in the eyes, avoid rubl)ing; 

 ilash cold %vater in them, remove cind- 

 ers, etc., with the round point of a lead 

 jiencil. 



Remove insects from the ear by tepid 

 water; never put a hard instrument into 

 the ear. 



If an artery is cut, compress it above 

 the wound; if a vein is cut, compress it 

 below. 



If you are choked, go on all fours and 

 cough. 



For slight burns, dij) the part in cold 

 water; if the skin is destroyed, cover it 

 with varnish. 



For apoplexy raise the head and body; 

 for fainting, lay the person flat. 



Squash Pancakes — Having some cold 

 boiled squash left over one day, mother 

 thought to experiment; so she mixed 

 with it, after thoroughly rubbing all 

 lumps out, '2 eggs, salt, a little baking 

 powder, sweet milk and flour enough to 

 make a stiff batter, and fried it on the 

 griddle. They were delicious, and now 

 squash pancakes are a regular dish at 

 our house. They are light as feathers. 

 — Cor. Rural World. 



No MEAL should be considered com- 

 ple without fruits. Laboring men are 

 apt to consider them more as matters of 

 taste and ornament than of use or niitri- 

 ment. Often, in our ordinary eating, 

 they are the one most important item 

 lacking, and needed to keep the system 

 in easy working order. I know it is not 

 an easy matter to have fruits in much 

 variety in early summer, unless we can 

 draw on the last year's supply. The 

 latter, however, we ought to be able to 

 do, and now is the time to make the de- 

 sired arrangements for another season. 



Mr. Wm. Emerson Baker, a Massa- 

 chusetts gentleman, who is described as 

 an "eccentric millionaire," has turned 

 over to ex-Gov. Gaston and four other 

 trustees, a farm containing fifty acres of 

 land, and added f 50,000 in money for 

 the purpose of founding a school of 

 cookery. May it prove a success. 



To make apple-tea, pour boiling water 

 over roasted sour apples, and let them 

 stand until the water is cold. This is a 

 very palatable drink for invalids. 



The Angora Coat. 



An average quality of Angora fleece 

 realizes, according to the fluctuations of 

 the market, from 70 to 80 cents a jjound. 

 Pure Angora of the finest quality can be 

 sold for a dollar. An average fleece will 

 weigh from four and one-half to five 

 five pounds, thus realizing from two to 

 three times the present value of an ordi- 

 nary sheep. The first cross with the 

 common goat will pay to shear. The 

 fleece of the third cross sells at fiO cents. 

 A fourth cross fleece fetches from 70 to 

 80, and after that there is no dift'erence 

 from pure bloods. England imports 

 7,000,000 pounds annually, and mohair 

 goods are in demand. When the busi- 

 ness has proved a failure it has been for 

 want of proper attention, or beause the 

 location is unsuitable. All animals val- 

 uable for fleece thrive best upon succu- 

 lent food. Hence Angoras have proved 

 profitable in all jiarts of Oregon 

 where grass can be had the year round. 

 The mountain counties of California are- 

 suited for the business because succulent 

 food is there abundant in the fall. Snow 

 does not hurt Angoras, although rain 

 and sleet proves injurious. Those per- 

 sons in Nevada who have engaged in 

 the business have jiroved it profitable, 

 and they have proved that .Vngoras will 

 live through a htird winter upon browse, 

 which is usually obtainable, notwith- 

 standing there may be 10 or 12 inches 

 of snow on the ground. Calif (U'uin jiro- 

 duced .'50,000 pounds of Angora fleece 

 last year,and this year's clip is estimated 

 at 10,000 pounds iuore. H. H. Farr A 

 Co, of the Holyok<! Mills, Mass., and 

 Hidl iV Turner, of Princeton, New Jer- 

 sey, are ready to purchase all the mohair 

 (Jalifornia can supply. Besides the 

 fleece, Angoras are valuable for their 

 jiolts, which, when died, make admirable 



j:^ If you want stocking and kitting 

 yarn, send for list of prices and kinds to 

 J. -T, Pfister, dealer in the Lamb Knitting 

 Machines, ]'20 Sutter street, S, F. 





