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NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Dec. 



HOW TO FATTEN CHICKENS. 

 We make the following extracts from an arti- 

 cle on this subject in the London Cottage Gar- 

 dener, and commend them to our readers : 



"It is hopeless to attempt to fatten them while 

 they are at liberty. They must be put in a prop- 

 er coop ; and this, like most other poultry ap- 

 purtenances, need not be expensive. To fatten 

 twelve fowls, a coop may be three feet long, 

 eighteen inches high, and eighteen inches deep, 

 made entirely of bars. No part of it solid — neith- 

 er top, sides, nor bottom. Discretion must be 

 used according to the sizes of the chickens put 

 up. They do not want room ; indeed, the closer 

 they are, the better, — provided they can all stand 

 up at the same time. Care must betaken to put 

 up such as have been accustomed to be together, 

 or they may fight. If one is quarrelsome, it is 

 better to remove it at once ; as, like other bad 

 examples, it soon finds imitators. A diseased 

 chicken should not be put up. 



"The food should be ground oats ; and may 

 either be put in a trough, or on a flat board run- 

 ning along the front of the coop. It may be 

 mixed with water or milk ; the latter is better. 

 It should be well slaked, forming a pulp as loose 

 as can be, provided it does not run off the board. 

 They must be well fed three or four times per 

 day — the first time as soon after day-break as may 

 be possible or convenient, and then at intervals 

 of four hours. Each meal should be as much 

 and more than they can eat up clean. When 

 they have done feeding, the board should be 

 wiped, and some gravel may be spread. It caus- 

 es them to feed and thrive. 



"After a fortnight of this treatment you will 

 have good fat fowls. If, however, there are but 

 four or six to be fatted, they must not have as 

 much room as though there were twelve. Noth- 

 ing is easier than to allot them the proper space ; 

 as it is only necessary to have two or three pieces 

 of wood to pass between the bars and form a par- 

 tition. This may also serve when fowls are put 

 up at diff"erent degrees of fatness. This requires 

 attention, or fowls will not keep fat and healthy. 

 As soon as the fowl is sufficiently fatted it must: 

 be killed ; otherwise it will still get fat, but iti 

 will lose flesh. If fowls are intended for the mar-1 

 ket, of course they are, or may be, all fatted at 

 once ; but if for home consumption, it is better 

 to put them up at such intervals as will suit the 

 time when they will be required for the table. 

 When the time arrives for killing, whether they 

 are meant for market or otherwise, they should 

 be fasted, without food or water, for fifteen hours. 

 This enables them to be kept for some time after 

 being killed, even in hot weather." 



that is necessary for the transport of the heavi- 

 est load. The three wheels being almost close 

 together, the act of turning the barrow in the 

 smallest space becomes as easy as possible. The 

 workman has but to lean on one of the handles, 

 and the front wheel is lifted from the ground 

 leaving the barrow free to be manoeuvred like a 

 common hand-cart. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 DISEASED APPLE TKEES. 



Mr. Editor : — I am desirous of ascertaining 

 from yourself, or some of your numerous sub- 

 scribers, what ails my apple trees. I noticed last 

 season on several of my trees, which are young, 

 thrifty Baldwins, Hubbardston Nonsuch, &c., 

 that the bark on the south side from the lower 

 limbs to the roots had a black appearance, as 

 though a fire had scorched them. I did not pay 

 much attention to it then, as it was late in the 

 season when I made the discovery, but the 

 present season the same appearance has extended 

 itself to quite a number of other trees, invariably 

 on the south side of the trees, the bark turning 

 black and assuming a charred look, and becom- 

 ing loosened from the tree and falling off, leaving 

 the wood bare for large spaces. 



These trees have been standing in grass land, 

 on au elevated situation, the soil of a clay loam, 

 until two years since, when the ground was broke 

 up and cultivated with potatoes, and manured 

 from the barn-yard, for the benefit of the trees. 

 In removing the bark from one of the trees with 

 the point of a knife, something having the ap- 

 pearance of a white worm or grub, apparently 

 about one inch long, fell to the ground, but could 

 not be found afterwards. Is it probable, that so 

 extensive and destructive an effect could have 

 been produced by the operation of any kind of 

 grub, worm, or borer ? I greatly fear, that un- 

 less the cause can be discovered, and an effectual 

 remedy applied, I shall lose my trees, which have 

 cost me much time and care, and be disappoint- 

 ed in my long-cherished anticipations of having a 

 good bearing orchard of choice fruit. Any infor- 

 mation calculated to throw light on the subject, 

 will be read with much interest by at least one 

 subscriber to the monthly J^ew England Farmer. 



Still River, Oct. 21, 1859. 



A New FRENcn Wheelbarrow. — The new 

 wheelbarrow, which is worked by the men em- 

 ployed to repair the damages occasioned by the 

 fetes in the gardens of the Tuilleries, is attract- 

 ing much attention. The novelty of the ma- 

 chine consists in two legs of the barrow being 

 replaced by two wheels, smaller than the one in 

 front, which are fixed immediately under the body 

 of the barrow. The handles are raised so as to 

 be on a level with the hands of the workman ; 

 and thus, upon a level road, a slight push is all 



Remarks. — We have seen no trees in the con- 

 dition of those described, and cannot with any 

 feeling of certainty tell either cause or remedy. 

 We do not, however, think the injury is occa- 

 sioned by an insect — it must be climatic. We 

 have several hundred apple tree's, but they have 

 no "ails" such as you describe. We hope or- 

 chardists will be able to throw light upon the 

 subject. 



There are four millions of people in France 

 who eat no bread. Some eat chestnuts, and 

 some other kinds of vegetables. The people of 

 Ireland, for a long time, subsisted mainly on po- 

 tatoes. These facts prove not only that there 

 are large numbers in civilized countries who do 

 not raise their own bread, but an equally impor- 

 tant fact, — they have not the means of buying it. 



