NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



65 



SPANGLED HAMBURG FOWLS. 



There arc two varieties of this breed : the Golden, 

 vhich is of a bright yellow color ; and the Silver, 

 -which is of a silvery white. The marks of distinc- 

 tion are only in color. By a cross of these varieties, 

 many other sub-varieties may be produced, Avith vari- 

 ous colors, according to the choice of the breeder. 



The Spangled Hamburg is a very beautiful fowl, 

 having a plump body, tender skin, and but little offal. 

 It has no comb, but it generally has two or more 

 conical eminences or horns just above the beak, and 

 behind this, in place of comb, is a large tuft of pen- 

 dant feathers. Under the insertion of the lower 

 mandible, or that part of the neck corresponding with 

 the chin in man, is a full tuft resembling a beard. 

 The wattles of the cock are small. The hens lay 

 freely, and the eggs are of good size. 



The cock of the Golden Spangled is of a golden 

 or orange yellow, each feather ha\-ing a glossy black 

 tip. The hen is of an orange brown, with the 

 feathers margined with black, like those of the cock. 



In the Silver Spangled variety, the ground color is 

 silvery, with a tinge of yellow, and each feather is 

 margined with a semi-lunar mark of glossy black. 

 "When the fowls arc at rest, the feathers present a 

 spangled appearance ; hence their name ; and the 

 peculiar color gives an additional name, showing that 

 mark of distinction. 



These fowls won the prize at a late show of the 

 Royal Agricultural Imi)rovemcnt Society of Ireland. 



THE MULE. 



Having noticed in the Dollar Newspaper quite an 

 interesting essay on tlic horse, the thought suggested 

 itself to present the claims of the mule through the 

 same medium, with your consent. 



Perhaps there is no animal of such value as the 

 mule, that has been so much neglected and maltreat- 

 ed; but this has in a great measure ceased to be the 

 case, and the mule now finds more favor in the esti- 

 mation of the farmer. The mule is coming into 

 more general use among farmers, — his true value is 

 being found out, also his great superiority above the 



horse for agricultural purposes. In proportion to a 

 knowledge of this fact has the price paid for mules 

 advanced, until it now nearly doubles that of some few 

 years past. There is also a great increase among the 

 number of farmers who have turned their attention 

 to raising mules instead of horses, and I think in this 

 they have manifested considerable wisdom. Let the 

 reader consider the following facts and be his own 

 judge in the matter : — The mule will answer to 

 work fully a year sooner than the horse ; he will do 

 as much work as the horse, treatment being equal, 

 upon nearly half the feed ; he will last twice as long 

 as the horse ; it is said that the m.ulc deteriorates 

 about as fast after he is twenty, as the horse does 

 after he is ten; the mule is a great deal less subject 

 to disease than the horse ; they live to bo a gvc.at 

 deal older. I was once asked, by way of calling my 

 attention to the longevity of mules, if I ever saw a 

 dead mule ? I never did. I do not pretend to say 

 they never die ; but they certainly live to be very 

 old. Pliny gives an account of one, taken from 

 Grecian history, that was eighty years old ; and 

 though past labor, followed others tliat were carrying 

 material to the temislc of Minerva at Athens. 



Much of the slowness and stubbornness attributed 

 to mules, has been the result of cruel treatment, 

 W/io, that can remember, has not often heard the 

 remark, that miiles were the very things for sciwants ? 



— and why ? Because they, as a general thing, pos- 

 sess very little humanity and care, in regard to the 

 brutes entrusted to their management. Kind treat- 

 ment and attention arc as essential in order to have 

 good mules, as they are to have good horses. 



A few suggestions in regard to breaking mules, 

 before I finish. ^Vhcn a mule gets to be three years 

 old he is then at the proper age to be broke ; but he 

 should not be worked hard until four years old. 

 When j'ou take him in hand to break him, do not 

 bo rough with him ; be sin-e to fasten hin\ so that he 

 does not get away, for if ho once breaks loose he 

 docs not forget it, and it renders him more dilHcult 

 to manage. Mules sliould always be broke to a wag- 

 on with a horse or mule that has a swift walk ; they 

 may be broke to walk swift or slow at i)leasure by 

 accustoming them to either gait at first, hence I rec- 

 omjuend them to be broke with one that has a swift 

 gait. The female mule I think preferable to the 

 male, as the former is generally more tractable, and 

 some say, will last longer. G. 11. 



Sirssr.x County, Va., 1819. 



— rhiladclphia Dollar Newspaper. 



