THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



415 



coast of Normandy, drawn up for the considera- 

 tion of the late Board of Acriculture. Under the 

 head, Parsnips in the Island of Jersey, he says: 

 "Horses eat this root greedily, but in this island 

 it is never oriven to them, as ir is allrc^ed when 

 kept on this (bod their eyes are iDJiired." Again, 

 in the Island of Guerns|*;, he eays : — "To 

 horses, parsnips are frequent^given, and have the 

 property of making them sleek and fat ; but in 

 working, they are observed to sweat profusely. 

 If new, and cut sufficiently small, no other ill 

 effect results, except indeed, at one period of the 

 year, towards the close of February, when the 

 root begins to shoot ; if then given, both horses 

 and horned cattle are subject on this (bod to an 

 inflammation in the eyes, and epiphora or weep- 

 ing ; in some subjects perhaps producing blind- 

 ness." Trusting the above extracts may prove 

 interesting to your correspondent. I remain, &c., 

 A Devonshire Farmer. 



DOMESTIC FOWLS IN WINTER. 



From ttie Albany Cultivator. 



One of the greatest errors that prevail in the 

 management of the domestic fowl, and one which 

 must be destructive of ail profit, is the common 

 practice of leaving them to "shirk (br them- 

 selves," during the winter months. There is no 

 animal on the (arm that better repays good keep- 

 ing than the hen, and with it, the rest, none that 

 affords so much profit on the capital employed. 

 The hen should have a close warm roost, for there 

 are few creatures that suffer more from the cold 

 than fowls; they should have a box of gravel, 

 sand, ashes, &c., for them to roll and dust them- 

 selves in, to prevent the attacks of those insects 

 to which fowls are subject; they should have ac- 

 cess to pulverized limestone, or limestone grave), 

 as this will give material for shell, and contri- 

 bute to the health of the hens ; they should have 

 abundance of water, clean and pure, for few 

 animals will drink more frequently or eagerly 

 than the hens, if water is within their reach ; and 

 no one need expect healthy (owls, or a plentilijl 

 supply of eggs, who does not pay strict attention 

 to their supply of food. Indian corn, peas, buck- 

 wheat, oats or barley, may be fed to Ibwls. Po- 

 tatoes, steamed or boiled, are excellent (bod for 

 them, but must be fed while warm, as fowls will 

 not eat a cold potato unless driven to it by hunger. 

 Fowls should have access to a warm yard in the 

 sunny days of winter, as warmth is particularly 

 invigorating to them. If confined for any time 

 in a close ill-ventilated room, they will become 

 diseased and feeble, and will require extra atten- 

 tion to repair the evil generated. 



KILLING WORMS. 



Hellebore, it is well known, is an active poison, 

 and fatal to most animals, and in the form of the 

 powder of the shops, or in a strong decoction, has 

 proved a most efficacious agent in freeing goose- 

 berry and currant bushes from the myriads of 

 worms that at times infest them. If used dry, 

 the powder is dusted over them from a flour box ; 



if in decoction, from the nose of a fine rose water- 

 ing pot. A writer in the Gardener's Chronicle, 

 says that he mixed the powder with soap suds, 

 watered his bushes, and in six hours the bushes 

 were free from worms, Ihey having fallen dead 

 by thousands. Might it not be used to destroy 

 other worms as well as these? — Cultivator. 



RYE FOR WINTER AND SPRING FEED. 



To tlie Editor of llie Farmers' Register. 



On opening the Register this morning, the first 

 article which met my eye is of much importance — 

 sowing rye for winter and early spring feed. I 

 have been an eye-witness of its beneficial results. 

 Gen. David R. Williams was one of the very 

 be&t planters on the waters of the Great Pee Dee, 

 and was the first to turn the attention of the 

 planter to the improvement of his lands in this 

 section. He was not only the best, but decidedly 

 the neatest and most systematic I ever knew. I 

 was frequently on his plantations. He, years be- 

 .'bre his death, made a communication to the edi- 

 tor of an agricultural paper in Charleston, S. C, 

 if my memory does not betray me, to this amount: 

 Sowing largely of rye and oats ; the rye some- 

 what pastured in the winter and spring, the stock 

 taken off in time to permit the rye to recover from 

 the effects of grazing, so as to give a fair remune- 

 ration in grain. His work horses and other stock 

 permitted to gather the grain (rye and oats) at 

 maturity, leaving the straw on the lands. The 

 general always considered his lands as benefited — 

 his stock certainly was, and with truth particu- 

 larly the hog — portions or the entire field was fre- 

 quently sown in pease. The general was the first 

 to establisfi any thing like a regular system of 

 penning his stock winter and summer. I consider 

 him as great a loss to the agricultural community 

 of Pee Dee, as to the state, in a political point of 

 view. His industry, ardor, good judgment, flind 

 of useful and practical knowledge, urbanity of 

 manners, together with the neatness of every 

 thing by which you were surrounded, made a visit 

 to his plantations a most delightlul recreation. But 

 I did not set out to eulogize the general, but to use 

 him as authority. As it regards the rye, oats and 

 pease, they all met his approbation, ((br he prac- 

 tised the use of them,) as improvers of the soil, 

 and, to a considerable extent, the rye, as benefi- 

 cial to stock, both for winter and spring grazing, 

 as well as in the manner above stated. And here, 

 sir, where we are unable to have our clover fields, 

 as with you, small grain and pease are invalua- 

 ble for slock, and where fed off on the lands, (ex- 

 cept in our stiffest clay lands, on which the stock 

 should not be permitted to run,) the benefits are 

 sreat both to stock and lands. Pee Dee. 



SHIP3IENT OF BONES. 



The ship Savannah recently cleared from Phi- 

 ladelphia, with a cargo of 400 tons of bones, 

 which were purchased at 812 to ^13 per ton. 

 — Cultivator. 



