72 



NEW ENGLAND FAEMER'. 



Feb. 



cooked to be eaten with meat, is worth more than 

 three pounds of extra meat. It is also very ex- 

 cellent and nutritious mixed in the bean soup. 



Another \cvy excellent, nutritious, economical 

 article of food is dried peas. They are general- 

 ly a little more costly than beans, but some think 

 thej' will go further. At an}- rate they are good 

 for a change. It would be good for a change for 

 those who are put to their wit's end to know how 

 to get food enough to feed their families, if any- 

 thing that we have said shall put tliem in a way 

 of 



In stock $54 50 



In food 65 56 



Total $120 06 



It produced 26S dozen eggs 48 76 



" 5 loads manure 5 00 



Stock on hand at the close 113 00 



Total $166 76 



Deduct 120 06 



Profit $46 79 



Besides this profit, it produced 61 fowls, weigh- 



^ , . , , i^ , .^ ^ , - |.^.g about 200 lbs. In other words, it gave 



changingsomeoftheirokhabits, soastobuy 23 cents per pound for the privilege of being 



rh articles as will satisfy^hunger, while giving j^^^^^^j^^ ^y^^ ^.,g^ pig ^^,^^. J ^,,.^^tous as thisi 



We have tried pork-growing for the same two 



them health and strength, for less than half the 

 money they are now expending, though living only 

 half comfortably.— iV. Y. Tribune. 



POULTRY CHEAPER THAN PORK. 



Mr. Editor : — Allow me to sa^^ a few words 

 in your paper in behalf of that much neglected 

 class of stock that are usually found upon a far- 

 mer's premises without "a location," if they 

 have a name. They are not thought worth 

 enough to have quaj'ters of their own, and so 

 shift for themselves upon the first fence, tree, or 

 out-house that alfords rest to their feet. Even in 

 these days of hen-fever, and of feathered stock 

 imported from the farthest India and beyond, 

 there are thousands of fiirmers who have no shel- 

 ter for their fowls better than an apple-tree or 

 open shed. " The merciful man is merciful to 

 his beast ; " and it would be a good lesson for the 

 improvident owner of these abused bipeds, if he 

 could exchange places with them for one Decem- 

 ber night, when the thermometer stands below 

 zero. The sty must have a place and the grunters 

 be made comfortable, with a Avatei'-proof roof 

 and a warm bed ; for pork cannot be made to 

 good advantage without proper attention. Pork- 

 growing is a main reliance to pay tlie rent of 

 their hired hands. Poultry is more plague than 

 profit, and the less care bestowed upon them the 

 better. We intercede for the " biddies," and 

 beg for them a little of the attention that is lav 

 ished upon their more gross and less attractive 

 neighbors. Give them a fair trial, and they will 

 pay any farmer for his care much better than 

 pigs, and will supply his table with greater lux- 

 uries, and at a cheaper r&te. And to establish 

 this position, we will tell you a tale quite as 

 literally as some others founded on fact. 



In the year 1850, my poultry yard cost me — 



In stock $?.» 96 



In food for fowls 39 81 



years, and dealt as liberally by the sty as by the 

 poultry yard, but with a very different result. 

 The account stands thus : — 



Bought a pig May 13, 1850. 

 Food 



Total $79 77 



It produced in eggs 34 92 



" in manure 5 00 



In stock at close of year 50 00 



Total $89 92 



Deduct expense 79 77 



Profit $10 15 



It produced about this time 91 chickens and 

 fowls, weighing about 300 lbs. In other words, 

 the yard paid three cents a pound for all the 

 poultry used in the family. When did a porker 

 ever pay you for tlie privilege of eating him! 

 Even Charles Lamb's roast pig will have to knock 

 under to tlie biddies. 



In 1851 my yard cost me — 



Total $19 82 



Deduct S loads of manui-e 8 00 



$1182 



He produced 206 lbs. of pork. Divide the cost 

 by this, and it gives a little over five cents per 

 pound, as the cost of production. 



He must be a very skilful farmer who can pro- 

 duce pork for four or five cents a pound. Most 

 of the pork made in New England costs six or 

 seven cents, the full market price ; so that there 

 is no advantage in producing it, except as it makes 

 a valuable manure upon the farm. The farmer 

 who can make pork for nothing, or what is 

 better, can make it pay him thrice the market 

 value for being eaten, is a man yet to be heard 

 from. The best husbandry will probably never 

 be able to accomplish this with any breed of pigs. 



But the fowls will pay their own way, with 

 proper care, and will give you a certain amount 

 of poultry, without other cost than your own 

 trouble in rearing tliem. Each hen, well cared 

 for, will yield a clear profit of at least ^1, or, in 

 other words, will give you eight pounds of poul- 

 try for nothing. 



We say, then, especially to the boys, take care 

 of the " biddies." Let them have a warm place 

 for a roost, a dry cellar, if possible, in winter, a 

 variety of grain and a little animal food, clean 

 water to drink, and lime in some shape for egg- 

 shells. Take care of the fowls, and they will 

 take care of you. — Cor. Plough, Loom and Anvil. 



Drew's Rural Intelligencer. — A new paper 

 published at Augusta, Maine, by Wm. A. Drew, 

 and filled with everything good in the way of ag- 

 riculture, horticulture and the news of the day. 

 Brother Drew holds a strong pen, is acquainted 

 in the field in which he is to trot, and will not 

 come out second best. 



The Practical Farmer. Vincennes, Indiana, 

 S. Burnett, Editor. Harvey, Mason, & Co., Pub- 

 lishers. — It gives evidence of plenty of mind, but 

 wants more ink. Our copy was all "/j-ia?-.?." 

 We cordially grasp your extended hand, brother 

 Practical. 



