No. 7. 



Poullrij. 



217 



and ruta bag-a, and were either one out of 

 rciclil should rest satisfied witii the other as 

 one of the jrreatcst hixurios for our cattle 

 during the winter, and a rich mine from which 

 to increase the quantity oi'uKuuire, and con- 

 pequontly tlie crops to wiiich manure is ap- 

 plied; I cultivated both, in order to arrive by 

 experiment at some conclusion as to their 

 relative value; the season has been unpro- 

 pitious for all root crops, it is said ; as for mo I 

 cannot complain ; one sixteenth of an acre 

 planted with beets without manure (but in a 

 deep rich soil) twice ploughed, and four limes 

 harrowed, gave GJ bushels; at tlie rate of 

 10 K) busiiels per aero. One fourtli of an 

 acre of rutabaga on an inferior piece of ground 

 on which was jnit three two horse loads of 

 manure, twice plougiied and tiireo limes har- 

 rowed, gave 12U bushels ; equal to 480 bushels 

 per acre. 



P. S. I have never seen the carrot grow- 

 ing; butan intelligcntgcntlemanonce advised 

 me to let them alone; "they are," said he, 

 "difficult of cultivation while young, requirinf 

 three tin)es the labor that beets do; are 

 c(iually valuable, bushel for bushel, when 

 grown, but would never give me more than 

 half as many bushels per acre, and then you 

 are almost tempted to wish for a steam engine 

 to help you pull tl^em out of the ground." 



M. S. K. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Poultry. 



The rearing of poultry prnduces luucli profit on a small 

 inveslinont. 



Those who increased their stock of poultry 



during the last year, have been reaping a rich 



reward in return (or their increased attention 



The beets Iiad a fair chance; it was nothing 11 ^'^ this interesting branch of domestic econo- 



but straight forward work witli them from 

 planting until gathering time ; but the pooi 

 ruta bagas had up hill work for six weeks at 

 the beginning; the drought, the grass-hop- 

 per and the turnep fiea did their work soeftec- 

 tually that I abandoned the crop in despair; 

 however when the rains came on many seeds 

 which had lain in the earth vegetated and 

 grew so luxuriantly as to give the above 

 result, where every one who saw the ground 

 predicted there would not be five bushels; 

 with a fair chance, I firmly believe my quar- 

 ter acre would have yielded 250 bushels. 



As to the relative value of the rival crops, 

 I cannot say any thing with accuracy farther 

 than that when our stock of beets was ex- 

 hausted, and we commenced feeding the ruta 

 bagas, although I have not been able to detect 

 any difference in the qmuitily of milk in tiie 

 pails, the quantity of butter on the second 

 week of turnep feed was reduced one third, 

 at which point it still continues; the quality 

 is about the same. 



I have no otiicr facts in possession which 

 will warrant me in giving the beet the pre- 

 ference. The cattle eat the turneps with the 

 same eagerness as the beets, and present 

 the same healthy appearance. The horses 

 and store hogs 1 find give preference to the 

 beet, the sheep to the turnep, and all the 

 fault I have to find is with my.sclf tor not 

 raising enough to let the above mentioned 

 worthies come in with the cattle for their 

 daily rations of roots. Others have no doubt 

 dipt into this subject more deeply tiian I have, 

 and are conseipiontly tnuch better qualified 

 from experience and longer observation to 

 arrive at more positive conclusions ; will they 

 let us hear from them .' 



Mahlon S. Ki!iKn:;iDf;. 

 Morrjsvilla, 1st mo., Ijtii, 1S3'J. 



It has brought a very generous price, 

 and eggs have been not less liberally paid for. 

 Many chubby boys and rosy cheeked girls 

 have oflen had their hearts made glad, when 

 " father" has returned from market, and an- 

 nounced the grand price for which he sold 

 the turkeys, the ducks, the chickens and the 

 eggs ; hx there is in many farmer's families a 

 perquisite arising from sales of this descrip- 

 tion of stock, which inures to the younger 

 branches of the family as a reward for their 

 ingenuity, care and industry, in attending to 

 the rearing and protecting the poultry, and an 

 encouragement to future good conduct and 

 obedience. 



The multitude of grass-hoppers which inun- 

 dated the country last pummer, with myriads 

 of other insects, furnished an abundant sup- 

 ply of meat for the fowls without apparently 

 reducing the supply of it, and there was but 

 little necessity for giving them other descrip- 

 tions of food during the season. A farmer 

 who regularly attends market, sold during 

 the last year poultry and erra^ to the amount 

 of about one hundred and fitly dollars, and the 

 expense incurred in their production was so 

 small as scarcely to be appreciable; this 

 should encourage others to do likewise, and 

 they will have their reward proportioned to 

 their works. 



Guinea fowls make an agreeable variety in 

 a poultry yard, and they furnish more eggs 

 than common hens; they sell well in market 

 without being picked, and their vigilance in 

 guarding against danger, and the great alarm 

 they sound when it approaches, so terrifies 

 the hawk, that he rarely ventures to pounce 

 on a chicken when guinea fowls are in the 

 vicinity. Some people rear and keep them 

 on purpose to guard the poultry from the 

 depredations of their enemies, and it is thought 

 they find their interest promoted by it. Rome 



