34 



Hen's Eggs — Lime — The Farmer'' s Life. 



VOL.V. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet, 

 Hen's Eggs. 



I NOTICE in the Farmers' Cabinet for 4th 

 mo. last, p. 275, an inquiry as to the truth of 

 the assertion, that hen's egg's which are 

 round produce female chickens, and those 

 which are long or pointed, produce males. 



When a boy, I was in a situation to be able 

 to indulge my fondness for fowls, and often 

 raised chickens; — without ever having heard 

 of the above facts, I discovered that the eggs 

 which approached the nearest to roundness 

 always produced females, and those which 

 were pointed at one end always produced 

 males — I acted accordingly, and always suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining females or males, accord- 

 ing as I wished. 



After a lapse of a number of years, being 

 in Philadelphia market, I happened to men- 

 tion the fact to one who raised chickens for 

 sale, and who preferred the males, because 

 they grew larger — the information was re- 

 ceived with some surprise; but I advised the 

 person to try it, and afterwards was informed 

 of the entire success of the experiment, all 

 males being produced by selecting the long 

 or pointed eggs. 



I since find the fact was mentioned by a 

 writer over 2000 years ago. I. H. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Lime. 



Mr. Editor, — In the Geological Reports, 

 when speaking of the limestones of the dif- 

 ferent sections of the country, I find this ex- 

 pression, " though an impure limestone, it 

 yields good lime for agricultural purposes." 

 Now, this is strange, and may account for 

 much of the contrariety of opinion which ex- 

 ists on the subject of the good and bad effects 

 of lime, when applied to land as a dressing. 

 According to my experience, lime cannot be 

 too pure, and that which yields the most car- 

 bonate is the best for agricultural purposes; 

 in an impure stone there may be various mat- 

 ters injurious to the growth of vegetables, 

 and when, in the aggregate, they amount to 

 more than one-half of the whole, it is easy to 

 see how the farmer may sustain a loss of 

 more than fifty per cent, upon the first cost 

 of the article, besides the carriage of half 

 the quantity of useless matter, to say nothing 

 of the deleterious effects which such might 

 exercise upon his crops.* Now, need any 

 more be said to account for the very great 

 difference, which at present exists in the 

 opinions of men of first-rate character and 



* I known limestone quarry which has been opened 

 at the foot of a hill, in the hope to save the expense 

 and labour of climbing it for a supply of lime — it has 

 been abandoned, however, as the stone was found to 

 be so impure as to be totally unfit for agricultural pur- 

 poses. 



ability, respecting the real value of this all- 

 important article? I wish we could be fa- 

 voured, through the pages of the Cabinet, 

 with the continuous experience of such men 

 as Mr. Mahlon Kirkbride and Mr. Abbot At- 

 kinson, who have had so much cause to com- 

 plain of the disappointment of their hopes in 

 the use of lime, to confront with the experi- 

 ence of others, whose success has been as 

 singularly eminent ; light would, no doubt, 

 emanate from such collision, by which the 

 truth would be made discernible, and great 

 and lasting benefit accrue to the agricultural 

 community. Agricola's paper " on the ana- 

 lysis of limestone" at p. 308 of the 4th vol. 

 of the Cabinet, has been to me also of more 

 value than many times the amount of my 

 subscription — which, by the bye, I see is now 

 due for the 5th volume. I therefore forward 

 it by mail, and beg to point out to my fellow 

 subscribers the pleasure they will experience 

 in thus practising the first rule in all good 

 husbandry, namely, always to he up with the 

 seaso}is. Let us unite in strengthening the 

 hands of the present proprietors of the Cabi- 

 net, by a large subscription-list all paid, and 

 enable them to carry out their intentions of 

 rendering the work worthy the notice and 

 support of the state and the country. The 

 idea of making the Cabinet subserve the cause 

 of American stock-breeding is very happy; 

 the value of the beautiful delineations of fine 

 stock which we have already received in the 

 three last numbers, far exceeds the cost of the 

 work, which deserves the countenance and 

 support of an enlightened community, and 

 reflects very great credit on all concerned in 

 the undertaking. A Subscriber. 



July 29, 1840. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 The Farmer's Life. 



Mr. Editor, — 'T is very pretty to talk and 

 sing all about the pleasures of a farmer's life! 

 Upon paper he has but little to do and less to 

 care for ; all is blue sky and simshine, and 

 afler the pleasxires of the day, he has only to 

 retire to his cheerful hearth, where there is 

 nothing to vex or annoy him ; enjoy himself 

 in his " old oak chair," and sing " over the 

 hills and far away" with some pleasant neigh- 

 bour, for a couple of hours, and then retire to 

 his peaceful pillow and sleep away the hours 

 of night, until the bright morning calls him 

 forth to worship at the shrine of nature, with 

 the song of birds for music and the glorious 

 beams of the sun for altar-fires — and so 

 forth ; and then away to enjoy the pleasures 

 of another day, preparatory to such another 

 night, and so the world goes round ! Oh ! 

 'tis all very pretty, and it must all be true 

 too, for we are told so in almost every book 



