1868. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



531 



ble to be washed off by rains which beat upos the 

 trunli during the latter part of fall and winter, and 

 need to be repeated frequently to be effective. 

 From our own experience we prefer the plan of 

 throwing a small mound of earth around the 

 trunk, after removing grass, weeds, &c., which 

 may harbor mice. With a sharp spade or shovel 

 a large number of trees can be gone over in a short 

 time. We believe from our owri experience that 

 this is the cheapest protection known. A very 

 little earth thrown immediately against the trunk, 

 we have found effective. 



NEW AND OLD VARIETIES OF FOWLS. 



Havin-i lately experienced a fiesh attack of the 

 "hen fever," which prevailed so generally some 

 eighteen or ninctLen years ago, I wish to inquire 

 what arc now the standard works on the subject 

 of poultry. My own library contains the volumes 

 by Bcment, Bennett, Dixon and Kerr, but I 

 do not find the breeds which now seem to be the 

 favorites figured in them, while the Shanghaes 

 and Cochin-Chinas seem to have had their day. 



I find tlie farmers and poultry-keepers in my 

 vicinity prefer the Black Spanish. Brahmas and 

 Leghorns ; which two latter varieties arc not de- 

 scribed in my books. For myself, I confess to a 

 strong predikction for the old-fashion d barn-yard 

 fowl. I wish to know who among your readers 

 has the brce 1 of fowls which I used to sec occa- 

 sionally in our farm yards twenty years ago, called 

 "Creepers." I should like to see a description of 

 these fo\\ls by s^ome one who has them, stating 

 their general cnlor, size, profital)leness, &c., wheth- 

 er they are as troublesome in gardens as the longer 

 legged breeds, andhuw high a fence may ))e neces- 

 sary to confine t hem. The Brahmas I have frequent- 

 ly seen conlined with a fence lour feet high, while 

 the Bolton Greys will easily scale a fence eight 

 feet in hciuhr, find will also wander a long way 

 from home, while the Creepers possess the advan- 

 tage of being very doinesiic in their habits. I 

 should judge also that they would be unal)le to fly 

 over an ordinary fence — the shortness of their legs 

 preventing them from taking the first spring from 

 the ground. 



Another fowl that I well remember, and a favor- 

 ite in my boyish days, was a Jvind of Polish or 

 crested fowls, of a black or bluish color, with 

 feathers rough and huiiy all over. They were a 

 hardy and productive race, as I remember them, 

 but 1 have never seen ihem deseril)ed. 



Can you, Mr. Editor, tell me what works onDo- 

 . mestic Poultry have Ijcen puijlished since those I 

 have named, and where they may be procured by 

 Ax Old Subsckibek. 



Rockport, Mass., Srpt. 28, 1868. 



Remarks. — We hope some of the readers of the 

 Farmer will reply to the above inquiries of our 

 correspondent. A society was not long since 

 formed in New York that assumed the title of 

 the American Poultry Breeders' Association, 

 which has introduced some new varieties, but we 

 do not know that any recent work has been pub- 

 lished. 



GOOD CROPS OF HAT. 



Perhaps a statement of mine in the Farmer of 

 Sept. 5, in relation to the amount of hay cut from 

 two small plots on my farm, will be recollected by 

 your readers. On looking at one of those pieces, 

 that in the garden, of forty-three square rods, I 

 saw there was a large growth of the second crop, 



and as I could not turn stock upon it, and was 

 afraid it would furnish harbor for mice during the 

 winter and that they might injure it, 1 concluded 

 to mow it again, which was done Sept. 5. On hay- 

 ing it I found it weighed 1088 pounds. As the first 

 crop, cut July 18, weighed 1860 pounds the amount 

 is 2948 pounds on the forty-three rods, which is at 

 the rate of five tons and 962 pounds per acre. If 

 any of my brother farmers have beat this I want 

 to hear from them and learn how they did it. 



Orison Foster. 

 Tunhridge, Vt., Sept. 21, 1868. 



NORAVAY OATS. 



In the Farmer of August 1.5, 1 spoke of the fine 

 appearance of a field of Norway oats before they 

 were laid flat by a sort of young hurriciine that we 

 had here one night. I havi; threshed the piece and 

 have thirty bushels of good oats for the one sown. 

 My neighbors who saw them before the blow, say 

 I did not get half what the piece then promised. 

 I shall try two acres of Norways next year and 

 hope for gentler breezes. L. E. Bicknell. 



m.ndsor, Mass., Sept. 21. 1868. 



BEANS — "THOrSAND TO ONE." 



Being much interested in reading about what 

 others raise, I thought I would tell you what two 

 little beans that I planted (a kind of which I plant 

 but one in a hill) have produced. The produce of 

 one stock which I counted amounted to one thou- 

 sand and twenty-four ; the other had one thousand 

 one hundred and fifty beans. e. k. 



Royalton, Vt., Sept. 14, 1868. 



GOOD YIELD OF THE EARLY ROSE POTATO. 



As Others have given their success in raising the 

 Earlj' Kose Potato, I will give mine. From one 

 pound of seed obtained of B. K. Bliss & Son, I 

 dug 133^ pounds. One of the largest weighs 

 twenty-eight ounces. C. E. L. Iiayward. 



Hancock, N.-H., Sept. 28, 1868. 



Milk. — Serious QuESTioNS.-r-What kind 

 of milk ought to be expected from milkmen 

 who pretend to deliver pure milk ? 



We suppose most people who purchase milk 

 expect, to be cheated some, and are disap- 

 pointed if they are not. 



Should milk be delivered just as it is ob- 

 tained from the cow, or may the strippings be 

 retained, or any of the cream taken therefrom ? 



This is a towgh question. We suppose peo- 

 ple who sell milk usually consume some at 

 home, and it is human nature to prefer the 

 richer portion. They w^nt some butter and 

 this is suggestive of the saving of cream. 



The milk question is a delicate one, and the 

 more it is stirred up the more chalk will be 

 sure to come from the bottom. — Rural New 

 Yorker. 



Common Diarrucea ix Fowls. — A too 

 scanty supply of grain, which necessitates an 

 excess of green food, or an unwholesome diet 

 of any description, are the usual causes of this 

 complaint. The treatment is simple : five 

 grains of powdered chalk, the same quantity 

 of rhubarb, and three of cayenne pepper, may 

 be administered. — Tegeimeier. 



