1849. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



45 



SHORT HORN OATTLE. 



We propose giving] in the present volume of the 

 Fanner, portraits of animals of the various unproved 

 breeds. It will be our aim to presenl figures which 

 shall convey as correct an idea of the distinguishing 

 points of each breed as possible, in order to instruct 

 our young readers and others unacquainted with the 

 subject. With this object in view, we present the 

 accompanying portrait of a properly shaped Short 

 Horn, with explanations of the particular points of 

 the animal, which must prove highly interesting to 

 young farmers. 



For this engraving we are indebted to Lewis F. 

 Allen, Esq., author of the American Herd Book, in 

 which work it originally appeared. In the introduc- 

 tion to his work, (which contains a history of Eng- 

 lish and American Short Horns,) Mr. Allen says: 

 "It is a mooted question with many of our 

 American breeders as to what extent short horns can 

 be profitably substituted for our native breeds. In 

 this, circumstances must measurably govern. So 

 far as climate is concerned, they have flourished 

 equally well in all the northern, middle and the 

 upper southern states. That they will equally suc- 

 ceed in the southern states, including Florida, Lou- 

 isiana, and Texas, provided they be supplied with an 

 abundance of their natural food, and sheltered from 

 the extreme heats of the summer sun, is not yet a 

 settled problem. Time will investigate this. A 

 good, and a productive soil, yielding an abundance 

 of pasturage in summer, with a fair quantity of 

 winter forage, will content them. True short horns 

 are moderate consumers, compared with their ca- 

 pacity to yield both milk and flesh. 



There is an economical question connected with 

 Short horns, which to the American breeder has great 

 importance. If we are to become a beef and tallow, 

 as well as a butter and cheese exporting country, as 

 from the complexion of late events in Great Britain, 

 it would appear, it is of the last importance that we 

 produce a race of neat cattle w r hich will give a high 

 quality of beef, and that in the greatest quantity, as 

 well as those possessing large dairy properties. 

 Now, no animal whatever, is more strongly developed 

 in the choice beef and tallow-bearing points, than the 

 short horn. To illustrate our position we present a 

 cut of a properly shaped Short horn, with desig- 

 nations of the particular points of the animal. 

 This was drawn from hints by Mr. Rotch of Otsego 

 county, New York, than whom few have a more 

 accurate judgment in neat cattle." 



POULTRY FEEDING -HOPPERS. 

 BY C. N. BEMENT. 



It is the practice with most farmers to feed their 

 fowls grain, by strewing it on the ground from the 

 hand. This is, however, considered by many as 

 a slovenly and wasteful mode, and well calculated to 

 invite rats and mice. 



From experience we have found it more economi- 

 cal to keep grain constantly before them, where they 

 can help themselves at all times ; and for that pur- 

 pose constructed several kinds of feeding-hoppers, 

 but have been constantly annoyed by the depredations 

 of rats and mice. Soi.'e of the patriarchs, grey 

 with age, would not only help themselves sump- 

 tuously, but actually drive the fowls from their food. 



Now, to obviate this difficulty, and to render them 

 rat -proof, we present a plan, a figure of which 



accompanies tins, which is so simple, that any man 

 or boy who can handle a saw, a plane and a hammer, 



with a tew nails, could make one in a few hours that 

 would cost little or nothing. 



Poultry Feeding - Hopper. 



First make a platform of boards, say three feet 

 square, then make a square sixteen inches in diam- 

 eter of strips of an inch and a quarter plank, and 

 three inches wide ; nail this in the centre of the 

 platform ; saw four strips one and a quarter inches 

 square, for the posts, which should be about eighteen 

 inches high ; nail strips of plank two inches wide 

 to the posts at the top, to secure and steady them ; 

 then take common sawed lath, or thin strips of board 

 one and a half inches wide, and nail them to the top 

 and bottom, up and down, leaving a space of two 

 inches between each slat, which will enable the 

 fowls to insert their heads to pick the grain. The 

 roof may be formed four square like the figure, or 

 may be made flat, or pitched on two sides, like the 

 roof of a house, and should be detached, so that it 

 can be moved when grain is to be put in. Now, to 

 make it proof against rats and mice, it will be 

 necessary to elevate it a few feet from the ground, 

 and this can be done by suspending it with wires, or 

 setting it on a post firmly set in the ground, as rep- 

 resented in the figure. The wires being small and 

 smooth, they could not pass down on them, and the 

 platform projecting so far from the post, they would 

 find it rather inconvenient to climb over the edge 

 of the platform. 



The fowls will soon learn to leap upon the plat- 

 form, and feed from the grain-box between the slats. 

 From ten to twelve fowls can feed at the same time. 



This may be made self-feeding, by setting a funnel 

 shaped box within, the small end reaching down to 

 within half an inch of the bottom. The size or 

 capacity may be varied according to the number of 

 fowls kept. The foregoing is calculated for about 

 one hundred fowls. — Amer. Jour, of Agriculture. 



Gutta Percha — What is it ? — This question is 

 asked by thousands who have heard the name. It is 

 a gum, similar to that of the caoutchouc or India 

 rubber, but susceptible of more varied uses. It is 

 thicker and heavier. Hose and gas pipes, boot and 

 shoe soles, book bindings, canes, buckets, bags, 

 cloaks, coats, and various other articles are made of 

 it ; and, altogether, it may be considered the most 

 valuable vegetable gum ever discovered. — Ex. 



See that all your domestic animals are properly 

 attended to " about these days." 



