1875.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



125 



Wc have iilrrmly puhlislicd so iiimOi aliout feeding 

 It is lianlly iieicssaiv, in this arti<lr, with llic i-xccp- 

 tioii (if a IV-w ;;oiK'ral remarks : Tlic iireolcr must. 

 uiKk'i'staiul thi' properties of the (litlerent liiiuis of 

 (.'rain, ete., to feeil iiitelliuently, ami for a purpose. 

 For instance, he should l<ii()\v that eorn, Inielcwheat 

 flour, Ijoileil potatoes, jieas, milk, ami seraps, fatten ; 

 that for ei.'i;'-lini(liu'ini;, wlieat, rye, oats, l)arley ami 

 lean meat, are l)est. Where ei^^^s are llic olijeet, and 

 the lary;e bree.tls are kept, the f^iod that fattens must, 

 be used sparingly, for over-fat I euiin; disposes to 

 bro(Mliness and sluufiiisliness. Where e()rn is used it 

 is l)est io mix it witli eoarser qinUilies of food, sueh 

 as Ijran, (ground (»ats, barh*y, boiled turnips, ete. 

 Two meals a day are sutlieient, and tliey ouijiit not to 

 he fed more tlian tliey eau eat u]) in tliree to live min- 

 utes, or of eooked foed, al»out a tal)iespiH)nful t(t eatdi 

 fowl, anil of ^rain, one grali of tlie lianil will do for 

 two or three fowls ; we prefer to !,'ive a hot eookeil 

 mess in the morning and ijrain in the afternoon. The 

 soft food should not eoutain more than one-fourth 

 coriuneal in summer, and not more than one-half in 

 winter. The balanee may consist of i;i-<iund oats, 

 barley, sereeiuni^s, bran and tiuishi'il miildlim^s, with 

 boilei! vi'i^'etables in the shape of turnips, potatoes, 

 cal»baji:e, ete. The use and proportions of these may 

 be varied, to aive variety, as fowls do not relish the 

 same dish or a mess always served the same « ay. 

 One variety of grain may be given each day, lor the 

 sake of a change, or the grain may be mixed. In 

 feeding grain it is best to scatter it as much as iK)Sfii- 

 ble, as this prevents the fowls eating it too rapiilly, 

 anil gives them exercise. The smaller breeds ar(^ 

 nan-e active, ami there is not the danger of ov(^r- 

 I'attening them. As a rule, we would give them all 

 they want, and they may even be allowed constant 

 access to grain without injury. — 7'he J'outlry Xutiun. 



Poultry at the International Exhibition. 



The prospect for a granil disi)lay of poultry at the 

 coming Ccnteniual is now quite well assured, and those 

 . having a fancy for line fowls will doubtless have am- 

 ple opportunity to study and investigate every known 

 vaiiety. 



It is to be hoped that the display of poultry will be 

 in keeping with the enterprise and advancement of 

 the nineteenth century, in that direction. 



Thiit contributions of stock will be made from all 

 parts of the poultry worlii, and we doubt not Ameri- 

 can breeders will contribute in a way that will do 

 credit to an occasion which can come but once in a 

 hundred years. We appeud a notice issued by the 

 United States Centennial Commission : 



■' It is desired by many that there be a permanent, 

 as well .IS a tsmporary exhibition of poultry, and if 

 ai>plications for sjjace for the exhibition of fowls dur- 

 ing the six months covered by the exhibition, arc re- 

 ceived in suflii-ient numbers to warrant the outlay, 

 the Commissiini will [irobably adopt some measures 

 to allbrd the proper facilities. 



"If the design of a permanent exhibition be carried 

 out, the display should he sueh as woulil impress tlie 

 character id' cacdi breed upon the mind of the observer. 



"This cannot be ilune when the exhibition is con- 

 fined to trios in separate coops, but only by the dis- 

 play of as large a number as can be placed in one 

 enclosure; thus allbrding by the multiiilieation of 

 individual birds, each of the same breed, an O]»portini- 

 ity of studying the characteristics of each particular 

 family. Prominent poultry breeders could readily 

 supply the birds for sueh an interesting and instruc- 

 tive' exhibit. 



" The temporary exhibition will commence on Oc- 

 tober 2i;th, bSTti, and last till Novcnd)er lOlh, a period 

 of lift ecu ilays. TIk- Coinnnssion willercc-t. shedding, 

 and the birds will be exhibited in the sann- boxes or 

 coops in which they were transiiorted. For thi' jiur- 

 po.se of i)re.serving unilbrnnly, these boxes will all be 

 made according to speeilieatious furuished by the IJu- 

 rcau of Agriculture. 



■' Exhil)itors will be required to assume all respon- 

 sibility of feeding and general attendance on their 

 birds. ' 



" Only such speeimens will be received" as are of 

 jmre breed, and even these must be highly meritori- 

 ous. 



"Further information may be liad by addressing 

 the Chief of the liureau of Agriculture, International 

 Kxhibiiion, I'hiladclphia." 



Judging Poultry. 



.1. W. P. Ilovey, writing in T/u: Ponllnj Xalinyt, 

 eonsiilers Ihesubjeet of judging poidtry from a dill'er- 

 cnt stand|>oint than the one usually taken, lie s.iys, 

 "there arc few men, (perhaps very few, and certain- 

 ly too few,) wlio are compcteni to judge at our ' big ' 

 shows. Who, then, shall do it at the multitude of 

 Stale, anil county, and even district shows, which 

 are held all over the country, in which the exhibitor is 

 so often injured and ilisgustcd ? We want a grow ing 

 crop of judges who, by practice at the smallcrshows, 

 shall liiM'ompetent at least to criticise, and. by thus 

 doing, insure greater care and better judging at the 

 larger galhiriugs. Again, we need better juilffcs 

 among the exhibitors, which would enable tlicm to 

 select their best birds, i nd properly match them. At 



one show at whicli I acted on Asiatics, the largest 

 exhibitor, who had the best eollei-lion of fowls, failed 

 to receive the premiums, his due, from inaliilily to 

 match his trio.s. Before 1 had looked through' the 

 poultry, or conunenced judging, I ri'ipicsted of the 

 Kxeeutive Commitlee to be allowi'd to change a few 

 birils into ditlcreut cofips, but the refjuest. was very 

 properly denied, and thi' best stock failedto winwhat 

 it deserved. The point I wish to make is this : Kvery 

 poult ry -breeder sliouhl practice juilging on his own 

 poultry. Every year destroy the culls. Watch the 

 growing tloi'k, and thin, thin, thin out. Editors say, 

 ' lioil down your articles.' Nurserymen say, 'It is 

 always the lime of year to imine when the knife is 

 ehar[).' Fruit raisers say, ' Thin out the fruit, as a 

 bushel of choice will bring more money than three 

 bushels of inferior." That these rub's apply to 

 choice ])oullry, however choice, I am satislied. W'ateh 

 your growingchickens, thin them out, giving the best 

 a better chance. It is always the right time lo kill 

 otV the poorer and l)oil them down, literally, unless 

 you prefer a broil or roast. Hceause yonr iirecding- 

 stock cost big money, don't save a mean product; 

 and renu'nduT, too, you are practicing the first h'.ssons 

 which may make you capable of judging at Chicago 

 or Bull'ah) in the future." 



THE FARM AND THE DAIRY. 



Hungarian Grass. 



The cultivation id' this speeiesof millet is bcglmdng 

 to attract some attention in this county, and ini|uiries 

 were nnide eoneerniug it at a recent meeting of our 

 Agricultural Society. It is extensively grown with 

 Jirolit in our neighlioring county of Chester. The 

 following, from a reliable authority, may interest 

 some of our readers : 



This is a variety of millet that was originally intro- 

 duced into cultivation in France as early as bSl.5, and 

 has since been introduced ami cultivated in this 

 country, where it is regarded as a very useful addi- 

 tion to our forage plants. Its value has been more 

 fully appreciated within the last three or four years, 

 on account of the .severe droughts and the open and 

 severe winters, which have greatly injured our mow- 

 ing lands, killed out the true grasses in many jilaces, 

 and reduced the yield very generally, making it ne- 

 cessary for farmers to adopt some plan, late iu the 

 season, to meet the exigency of a short eroj) of hay 

 ami high prices in prosjject for a coming winter. 



Hungarian grass, or as the French call it, Mo>ia de 

 Jfouf/rie, or Ilungarian millet, is the Vaniciiin (jcr- 

 maniaim of Liun;cus, and dill'ers from common millet 

 iu appearance by having a clo.se and upright heiul or 

 jianicle, while that of common millet is open and dif- 

 fuse or spreading. It is thought to be more nutritive, 

 also, while the yield is quite as abundant, and by 

 nuiny thought to be much more so. 



Hungarian grass is an annual, and requires to be 

 sown every year. It it) best adajited to light lands, 

 and enduresourdroughts remarkably well. It should 

 be sow u late. The firstof June is quite early enough, 

 and it will do as well as late as the tenth, tifteenth or 

 twentieth of that month. This gives an opportunity 

 to turn over any "bound out" old sward laud, or to 

 use any piece of laud that could not be planted with 

 corn. It requires good corn weather and good corn 

 land, and does not make much growth till the warm 

 nights come. If sown early it will conu- up, but will 

 not make any growth lo speak of till the season is 

 well advanced, and then it will grow with great ra- 

 pidity, and may be cut in the ndlk in July or early in 

 August, so that it oceu|>ies the land but a sliorttinic. 

 If the laud is iiiowed early in the .s|>ring, and allowed 

 to lie a little while, the weeds will start, when a 

 thorough harrowing, and cross harrowing occasion- 

 ally, will destroy them. It operates as a fallowing, 

 and by repeated surface cultivation the soil is mel- 

 lowed ami the weeds destroyed. We have found the 

 Shares or the Nishwitz harrow very excellent for this 

 work. They do not tear up the obi sod as much as 

 the common tooth harrow. U])on sod land turned 

 over in the fall or early spring we use the Shares har- 

 row first, after the weed seed, if there is any in the 

 land, lias germinated. Tlien, a few days after, we 

 harrow crosswise with the Nishwitz barrow. That 

 has a series of sharp disks, that chop and cut up the 

 weeds most admirably, leaving the ground meUow 

 and in good tilth, without making the surface rough 

 and uniuauagealile liy turning uji the sods. 



It is easy to see what cU'ect a repeated cultivation 

 of this kind, which does not take u|i much time or 

 expense, has. It destroys the weeds. That is of great 

 imi)ortanee. It gives a mellow surface lor a seed 

 l)ed, and file work comes after the planting season 

 and the great hurry of sjiring work is over. If the 

 manure has all been used up on the corn, potatoes 

 and roots, use some concentrated fertilizer that con- 

 tains plenty of ammonia, ]ihosphoric acid and )H)Iash. 

 Ward's .special grass f'erlili'ier gave excellent results 

 last year, and wc know of nothing better. Four 

 hundred ixiuuds per acre of this article ought to in- 

 sure a satisf.iciory yield. 



A half buslicl per acre of Hungarian grass seeii is 

 a heavy seeding. If it, is all fresh and good, fourteen 

 quarts is abundant, but we always make a little at- I 

 luwance for i)oor seed and loss by birds, luodeep coy- I 



crlng, and other casualties. It is to he harrowed and 

 brushed in jusi as is common wllh other grain crops 

 or grass seed. The time lo cut Is soon after I he hlos- 

 Bom has jiassed, or when the seed is in the milk, and 

 it is excellent feed for milch cows and horses. It is 

 good, also, to cut grceu, ns fodder. 



Practical versus Fancy Cattle Breeding. 



On reading from fliiu- lo time the wonilerful ac- 

 counts of the Shorthorn sales that are taking place, 

 I am at a loss tn know the reason why such large, 

 and, lo my mind, ridiculous prk-cs are given for eat- 

 tic; for, after all, they are. In a practical sense, only 

 means for producing so many [Miunds of human fcxxl, 

 and caimot be used, like race-horses, for In.stanee, to 

 win large amounts of money. Perhaps some of your 

 correspondents could Inform me why. In the interests 

 of farming (putting aside fancy aliogetlicr), a pure 

 Bates Duchess is so eagerly sought after, for exam- 

 ple. Is that particular trilie of cattle eapabfe of 

 making more imumls of beef In a shortiT time, or of 

 inodueing more ndlk and butter than any other ? [f 

 not, why are sueh prices given as we hear off Some 

 argue that Booth cattle are superior, and some Hates; 

 either, no doubt, are g(K)d enough for anv practical 

 puriwses. All the high priced fancy tribes are Iu 

 hands of large landed proprielors and rich men ; it Is 

 simply an ambition among them lo obtain the largest 

 average at their ammal sale, just in the same way as 

 to kill the best bag of hand-reared |ilieasaiits. and 

 have something to talk about and make thiinsilves 

 remarkable. Of course it Is lo the Interest of every 

 fanner to breed from pure bulls of goml peiligree,but 

 I maintain that a man would obtain just as gixKl ani- 

 mals for use and the market, if he purchased a sire 

 of any well known strain at a nioilirale price, as If 

 he were to buy a pure Duchess bull. Why is that 

 particular tribe so much run after? Surefv for no 

 )iraetical end. I am eoidident that if the2,(P(l(i gs. bull 

 was called some other name, and If he were bought 

 by a farmer, and used on his stock, he could do no 

 more practical good than any other bull of good ped- 

 igree with color, size and quality. Again, in compar- 

 ing Shorthorns with lleivfords, I do not think the 

 latter are sulliciently known beyond their own [lartic- 

 ular districts, although they are extensively bred In 

 the colonics and other places abroad. I hear in .\u8- 

 tralia they are becoming tnore liked than the Short- 

 horns, owing to their being so much more hanly. 

 They will live, without doubt, on less and coarser 

 food than Shorthorns, and the way they are reared 

 gives them constitutions that will stand any clini.ate 

 and resist nearly all the diseases so prevalent among 

 the Shorthorns, sueh as quarter felon, ideuro-pneu- 

 nionia, and ndlk lever. The general practice is to 

 rear the calves on their dams, and if thcv calve in 

 the fields when the w eather is at all favorable, they 

 seldom require bringing Into shelter. They are Iho 

 more suited to rough it than the present fashloiialile 

 Shorthorns, which are pampered from the day they 

 are calved. At all the large fat stock exhibitions 

 they hold thcirownlioth in weight and quality. Why, 

 then, are the prices for the best Ilen-f'onlsso much 

 less than those paid lor the best Shorthorns ? It must 

 be fancy. They have been tried together in every way, 

 both in the stalls and as graziers, and theirwor'st 

 enemies cannot say that they do not compare well 

 with their rivals. Perhaps they are not, as a rule, 

 good milkers ; but then neither are the highly prii'i-d 

 Shorthorns unless bred es|H-eially from milking tribes. 

 And as lately as the Croydon show the best animal in 

 the yard was a HerefonI bull. Why do they then 

 average, say .'50 gs., for all ages in a large sale of a 

 crack heni, while the Shorthorn avcrave their 'i<K» gs. 

 and P.m) gs. Surely a great deal of this must be fancy. 

 One great reason no doubt is because the Hcrcfonls 

 are almost entirely in the hands of tenant farmers, 

 who keep them as rent-i>ayers and not as fancy stock . 

 Of course the high prices paid for the most fashiona- 

 ble tribes of Shorthorns have a eorrcs]«indinginllnenec 

 on all the breed. 1 exjH'ct if .some of our leading 

 aristocracy were lo takeupllerefordsinthcsame way 

 they have done Shorthorns their prices would rise ac- 

 cordingly. The great mistake made in all breciling 

 is the keeping the young male animals intended for 

 sale in t(«) high couditlim, it often leads lodisapiioint- 

 meiit to the imrchascr. This applies in a great degree 

 to Kams which arc fattened to such a degree that they 

 arc perfectly useless. I wish some rule could be made 

 to pn'Vent breeding animals, shown in an unprofitable 

 state of fat, being awarded prizes; it is very hanl to 

 draw the line, as some of Ihc most noted prize-takers 

 have bred constantly— but I think it is far worse in 

 the male I hail in the female animal. — London Aijri- 

 cnllnral (lauUv. 



Butter-Making. 



Pennsylvania is the great liuttcr-making' State, for 

 which purpose her soil is well-adapted. If rightly 

 managed there Is doubtless mon' profit in the manu- 

 facture of butter Ihan any other branch of dairying 

 taki-n alone, provided a tlrst-rate article be made and 

 I>ul u|x>n the market iu the best (jussiblc coudilion, 

 and this will always be so froiu the fact that more 

 Ihan two-thirds of all the manufaeturirs of buffer, 

 even in Pennsylvania, fall tu nutkv a really firsl-ratu 



