1875.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



169 



HEN'S-TEETH— BONE-DUST. 



To the Kditor of The Lancahteu Kakmeh, 



While tile aliove question is agitatins the minds of 

 thinking men over the whole eountiv, I tie;; leave to 

 add my niite to the great fund of kniiwleilge on the 

 .subjeet; antl althtmgh it is still aii open tinestion as 

 to whether the tirst hen was i)rodneed IVoni an egg, 

 or the tirst, egg was produced by a hen, we do know 

 that they have kept up an unbroken ehain of alter- 

 nates down to the present time, ami are likely to eon- 

 tiiuie to do so until '* time shall be no longer.'* 



We learn many things about them through our 

 daily intercourse with them, and by our humane care 

 of thom from the tirst down t(i the last "pen feather.'* 

 There are, doubtless, others who know more aliont 

 the seienee of cookery than I di». who may he able to 

 convert those long-spurreil and shell-hark legg<'d sidi- 

 jects intoyaesj/za/csof that much coveti-d dish known 

 among epicures as " sjiring chickens;" neither do 

 I presume to he a professor in the art of " counting 

 chickens before they are hatched;" nevertheless, I 

 may he able to testify to that which 1 know and have 

 seen. 



The lirst point I wish to ventilate in this article, is 

 in relation to the most proper fotid for hens, having 

 in view the greatest ])roduetion of eggs. 1 have, for 

 several years, had charge of .Mr. Milton B. Kshle- 

 nian's Bone-Du.sl Matnifaetory, near I.eaman Place, 

 in this county, and have the privilege of keeping fowls 

 in and about the buildings, and I hav<' long since dis- 

 covered that I get eggs when other people get none; 

 and that my hens average a greater jtrodui'tion of 

 eggs than any I can hear <.)!'. and that they keep in 

 good laying order almost constantly. They are very 

 fond of the small particles of grcmnd bone, and I tind 

 it is not merely an acquired taste, for any strange 

 fowls I procure take as naturally to it as a eat does 

 to milk. The philosophical theory of it .seems to be 

 that the rough edges of the inirticles of Ixuie perform 

 the same function in the gizzard of the fowl that is 

 usually performed by sand and gravel, and while 

 these bone fragments assist in The digestion of other 

 food, they become rounded o(f, and tinally dissolve 

 themselves, thus furnishing just so much more nutri- 

 ment in proportion to bulk, and dispensing with the 

 weight of gravel, which passes through the animal 

 unchanged, and is therefore a dead weight to the 

 fowls all the time. 



The second point will become manifest, I think, on 

 looking a little farther. The hone is composed mainly 

 of three substances, namely, oil, lime, and phospho- 

 rus, all of which the hen requires to facilitate her 

 physical development, and increase her laying capa- 

 cities. Practically, it may be said that the oil feeds 

 and furnishes her flesh, the phosphorus builds up her 

 bones, whilst the linu' produces shell material for her 

 eggs. Very few ]iersons think of their hens during 

 the hard freezing winter weather : how impossible it 

 is for them to obtain lime and sand. They will give 

 them more or less corn, and wonder why their liens 

 don't lay eggs under such eircumstanccs. And you 

 will tind thatthis almost invarlablyoccurswhen eggs 

 happen to be very high in price. Again, chickens 

 are the most tender of all domestic animals, and often 

 suffer very much from the effects of cold; and we can- 

 not keep them in warm apartments because they re- 

 quire so much ventilation, and tlius they become 

 thoroughly chilled, and while in that condition they 

 cannot thrive, and will not lay. Therefore, the ex- 

 tra heat produced by phosphorus in their systems, is 

 of great benefit to them; at all events such seems to 

 be the case according to my experience. — James 

 Hathaway, Evergreen Milh, Oct. oU, 1ST5. 



We commend the above to the consideration 

 of tlie cultivators of hens and their inodiKt, 

 as coming from a practical and respectalile au- 

 thority in our midst, suggesting that tliere 

 must be acau.se for tlie ett'ects he has recorded, 

 whether he has hit upon the real cause or not. 

 According to accredited authorities on the 

 question of aliments, they may be classed into 

 proteids, fats, amyloids, and minerals. The 

 proleids are generally known as albiimiudus 

 substances, and include gluten of grain and 

 seed, the whites of eggs, the muscle of rtesh, 

 and the casein of cheese, &c. The/(((»- inchule 

 all oil, wliether animal or vegetable, as butler, 

 fat meats, nuts, &c., and are called hydro- 

 carbons. The umyloids include starch, sugar, 

 gums, &c. ; they are also hydro-carbons, but 

 the hydrogen and oxygen are in the foini of 

 water. The inuiprfi/ji are certain salts of alka- 

 lies, phosphorus, lime, &c., but none of these 

 alone will perfectly nourish the body — all must 

 be present. There is only one substance in 

 nature which perfectly illustrates a combina- 

 tion of all these substances, and that is milk, 

 the tirst and only substance whicli niatnmals 

 can partake of immediately after they are born. 

 The chief function of the proteids is to con- 

 struct and repair the tissues of the body; the 

 fats are generators of heat; the amyloids pro- 

 duce fat ; and the minerals produce bones and 



teeth. It will thus be seen that our corre- 

 siionilciil not only speaks from expi'rience, but 

 also from authority, for these laws are as ap- 

 lilicable to hens as to in;inniials. 



CORN-STALK WEEVIL. 

 iSphfmtphvrtiM Xi'tt.) 



Hardly a season passes that we do not re- 

 ceive, during the month of .hnie, from some 

 locality in Ltincaster comity or elsewhere, 

 more or less black snout beetles, that have 

 been detected boring into the young corn, tit 

 or near the base of the stalk. Sdinelinies these 

 are sent to us as rare ciiriosilies, luit ipiite tis 

 often they iire acconipanieil l>y coinplaints that 

 tliey are destructive to tlie young corn. Oin' 

 illtistiations do not accm-alely represent a 

 Sphenophorwi, when closely examined. TIk^ 



itiitemiif 

 inst ead 

 of issii- 

 ingfrom 

 near the 

 apex, 



shi«ild be from near the base ol the snout. 

 The lines on the wing covers should be piuic- 

 tured, and the thofiw should exhibit polished 

 irregular ridges. Our artist reports his speci- 

 mens taken out of a moist piece of rotten 

 wood, very early in spring. FUj. a. represents 

 the lufvd' about the natural size. >'»;/. b. is 

 the pupil, and /•'/'/• ''• "'^' imcgo, or jierfect 

 beetle, both of which are greatly niagnilied. 



We did not see tlie speeinu'iis from which 

 these drawings were made, and we merely 

 give them in illustration of the theory that 

 many of the beetles belonging to Ibis tiimily 

 (Curlioxid.k), whicli are injurious to veget;i- 

 tion, pa.ss their larval and pupal periods in 

 saturated rotten wood ; and in corr<iboration 

 of this we are able to state th;it we have, often 

 founil various species of them so circumstanced. 

 These facts may suggest that the removal of 

 the cause would diminish the number of the 

 no.xious jiests. The genus Sjihrmijihorus is a 

 very large one, and in structure is netirly al- 

 lied to tlie wheat and rice weevils (Sit'ipholis), 

 but differ very materially from them in their 

 habits. The '"Corn Splienoiiliorus" is about 

 three-tenths or a quarter of an in<:h in length, 

 not including the snout, and it is generally 

 found of a dull black above, and a polished 

 black lieneath. Like many (jther species be- 

 longing to its family, however, very recent 

 specimens, or those obtained immediately after 

 they hav<! emerged from the imjia state, are 

 covered with a grayish or yi'llowish dust, 

 which is easily wiped olf by friction. 

 . AVe are often asked, "What shall I do about 

 it ?" To which we can only iidd to the sug- 

 gestions already made, "hand-iiiek ihem."' 

 As soon as we can learn more tibout their lar- 

 val history, and are able to identify it with 

 the itiKKjo, we will publish it with accurate 

 illustrations. 



THE NEWLY MARRIED. 



The lirst thing a young iii;nricd couple generally 

 do, is to endeavor to furnish their rooms or house just 

 as richly as their means will possibly admit of. In- 

 deeil, as a rule, they go beyond their means in this 

 respect, the wife's standaril not liciiig what they can 

 get along with anil be coinfortabli', but to have her 

 apartments furnished so that her neighbor, .Mrs. Smith 

 or Mrs. Jones, cannot have the pleasure of being sujie- 

 riorlo her. Now this is all wrcMig. The lirst objei't 

 of a married <-onplc- should not lie to own furniture, 

 but a house and lot. In that there is iirolit; in the 

 furniture there is none. We care not how economi- 

 cally or wisely furniture may be puicliasi'd, nor what 

 care may be bestowed in preserving it fr0114alm.se, it 

 will never bring the priie paid for it, whether the re- 

 sale of it is made the day after its purchase or five 

 years thereafter; but a house and lot, wisely selected, 

 is always worth its cost, and, as a rule, a eonsiderahle 

 advance on that cost, the rule being, the longer the 

 time since purchase the greater the advance. Kree 

 rent and independence are the result of house owner- 

 ship, while neither is attained by the ownership of 

 the finest furniture. Married jieople beginning life 

 should prefer a house and lot of their own, with the 

 house even half and very plainly furnished, to a hired 

 house or rooms with the very best of furniture. Let 

 this fact be remembered, t(Ki, If a house and lot is not 

 acquired by a couple iu moderate eircumstauces dur- 



ing tlie first tlin'e years of llielr imirriage, their 

 chanees of seeurliig one after that is conKlaiilly 

 lessening. 



There Is so much in the above, which we 

 clijifromtlieeohmmsof the Mnlriiii'iiiinl linznr, 

 that approximates so nearly to a very import- 

 ant domestic Irntli, that welnive no tiesitaney 

 in transferring it to the columns of Tmk I''ah- 

 y\V.\v. !i truth, too. whi<'h it woul<l lie well to 

 consider and act niion, in ahnosi ;iiiy walk of 

 life, and especi;illy among the middle classw-.s, 

 ortho.se who "love their neighbor and live by 

 labor." Then' are, no doubt, thousands of 

 married jieople who have made the discovery 

 that they committed a grave error in this re- 

 spect, and although n-aiiy may have retrieved 

 it aflerwaids. many more have never been 

 able to eonie up with the loss llii-y have sus- 

 tained in the early |M'riods of iheir married 

 career. In nine eases out of ten, if a property 

 has thus been obtained at any reasonable jiricc, 

 and at any rea.sonable pl:iee. it will Increase ill 

 value the longer it is kept, if any ordinary care 

 is bestowed upon it to keep it in repair. If 

 the iier.son purchasing properly under such cir- 

 ciimslaiic<'s is never able to jiay for it, it may 

 still he a great advantage to liitn in more wtiys 

 than one. In the lirst place. It gives him a 

 credit — :i standing in society — a position of re- 

 sponsibility that he. ]ierliaps, would not other- 

 wise pos.sess. In the second pkti'e, the inter- 

 est on the money invested is lixed by law, and 

 therefore be has perfect control over the 

 amount of his own rent, which is not theca.se 

 when heoecitpies :i house belonging to another 

 per.son. In the third place, so long as he pays 

 iiis interest iiidinptly. his obliLralion is easily 

 reiK'wable or transferable; and fourthly, when 

 he is compelled to sell, he is likely to realize 

 more than he paid for the pro|ierty. In nine 

 cases out of ten, also, when an obligation is 

 foreclosed, and the property is dispo.sed of un- 

 der the sherilT's haininer, it is because the 

 owner has been delinc|uent in the payment of 

 his interest and his taxes. Of course. We would 

 not advise a young man to encumber liimself 

 with a jiroperly who could not save enough 

 from his occupation to pay his interest and 

 taxes, in addition to his family expenses ; for 

 such a course w<»uld only end in domestic dis- 

 aster. 



As a single illustration, we will mention one 

 among the many cases of which we are cogni- 

 zant. A young man purchased a house and 

 lot for one thoiisiind dollars, gave a Judgment 

 bonil for eight hundred, and a promis.sorv note 

 for two hundred dollars. Tliis latter obliga- 

 tion he paid off ill "dribs," running over a 

 period of seven or more years, but he never 

 paid anything on the judgment except the an- 

 nual interest, and tlie obligation was from 

 time to time amicably renewed. For many 

 years his rent was only the interest on eight 

 hundred dollars. (^-IS.OK) while, in time, all 

 the houses ;iround him, of the same size, ad- 

 vanciMl in rentids from sixty to one hundred 

 and lifty dollars. After pos.se.ssion for twenty 

 years he .'<old his ludpiMty. ami realized two 

 thousand five hundred dolkirs from it. One 

 year titter he bec;iiin' its possessor, the house 

 would have brought twelve hundred dollars at 

 a forced .sale, and at no time during the hust 

 ten years of his ownership would it have 

 brought less than two thousand dollars. That 

 is the way such things work, if the lirst in- 

 vestment and the terms have lneii judicious, 

 and the interest and taxes are promptly paid. 

 There are many men of mediuiii means who 

 jirefer to invest their money in ivtil estate at 

 six per cent, interest rather than in .stocks and 

 Ixuids, where a higher intcri'Sl is ouiy pro.s- 

 pective. Ajudi;ment Ixindora mortgage that 

 is amply .srcnred. in no respect dilTei-s from a 

 government bond in its intrinsic ipiality, pro- 

 vided the interest thereon is promptly paid 

 when due. 



There is no community more contented, 

 more thrifty, more independent, and morei)er- 

 manently fixed than that in which every 

 man owns the jiroperty he and his family 

 occupies. 



We liavo penned this, because there is a ten- 

 dency almost everywheri? tiniong young mar- 

 ried people towards di.splay in their house- 



