50 . 



TUE GENESEE FARMER. 



THE FERRET— DESTROYING RATS. 



B5^ We are unable fiilly 



\ ^ to answer the inquiries 



_ .sv*s^,w«n^5*^***M^**>V*~^ of a correspondent, in 



'i-^,;^^^^^^- regard to the feasibUi- 



THE FEKUET. tj aud advantagcs of 



keeping ferrets in this country, for the purpose of 



destro}-ing rats; and we should be glad to hear 



from any of our readers who have kept them. 



The feiTet is a native of Africa, and is very sus- 

 ceptible of cold. In Great Britain, ferrets are very 

 common, and sell for about one dollar each. They 

 procreate twice a year, are gra^^d six weeks, and 

 bring from six to eight young. They smell fetid, 

 especially when irritated. The young are very 

 liable to disease, and are reared with difficulty. 

 They are fed on milk or fresh meat. Salt meat 

 is fatal to them. Tliey should be kept in a warm 

 box, and be provided with a little wool, or other 

 warm substance, for a bed. They must be kept 

 very clean, or they are liable to attacks of foot-rot 

 and other diseases. The natural food of ferrets is 

 the blood of animals; and they destroy rabbits, 

 rats, and poultry, by sucking their blood from 

 the back of the neck. They seldom eat any of 

 the flesh when they can obtain a fidl supply of 

 fresh blood. 



In England, where rabbits are abundant, "ferret- 

 ing" is a very popular sport. The rabbits make 

 extensive bun-ows in the groimd, like the wood- 

 chucks of this country, Nets are laid over the 

 holes, and the ferrets, after having their mouths 

 seiced up, ai-e turned into the burrow. There is 

 very soon a great commotion, and 2>resto ! a rabbit 

 is in the net. 



Owing to their moist clkuate, the farmers of 

 England stack nearly all their grain, and thresh 

 it diiring the winter or following summer. The 

 stacks, when not built on capped frames, are much 

 infee<ted with rats, and the ferret is used for the 

 pui-pose of driving them out of their holes. The 

 sport is not unfrequently very exciting. The feiTets 

 are not muzzled, but rai-ely kill the rats, for the 

 simple reason that they can not catch them. As 

 soon a.s the rats are disturbed by the ferrets, they 

 leave the stack very precipitately, and on their exit 

 are seized by terrier dogs, which make short work 

 of them, or they are knocked over with sticks, or 

 shot on the top or sides of the stack. 



Ferrets have been introduced into this country ; 

 but owing to the severity of our winters, and to 

 the fact that we seldom stack our grain, they 

 are not as valuable as in England ; stiU, they may 

 be of service. 



SUGGESTED ITEMS. -No. 17. 



The "January instalment" of the Farmer for 

 1858 is received ; — new head, new type, fine white 

 paper, and a capital table of contents ; "thirty prize 

 essays," half a dozen editorials, eight real illustra- 

 tions, a well-set Editor's Table, etc., etc., not for- 

 getting the tabular report of the principal markets. 

 I do not envy the farmer who "can't afibrd'' four 

 cents a month in return for all this. 



^'■Undcrdraining'' is indeed a worthy subject to 

 lead otf in the practical discussions of the volume. 

 One consideration, liowever, might be urged in 

 addition — the largely increased eftect of manures 

 on drained land. Most farmers have noticed the 

 difference in the result of a dressing of manure, 

 even upon a single field, without being able satis- 

 factorily to account for the same. They see that 

 the "wet places," however highly manured, always 

 fail more or less in productiveness. The reason of 

 this may be briefly stated as stagnant water — water 

 which must pass oft' by evaporation instead of 

 filtration, — in the one case leaving the manurial 

 elements inert or floating on the surface, in the 

 other depositing them in the soil just where they 

 best aftect the growth of the crop. 



"77^6 WeM South-Boiim Sheep'''' are indeed fine 

 specimens of that noble breed ; but, well as I love 

 sheep, I can not "elevate" my ideas to the proper 

 appreciation of the money they cost, — it looks to 

 me like paying pretty roundly for "fancy." 



'■'■Lahorers'' Cottages. — Fanners'' Wives'''' will glad- 

 ly see this question agitated, for they can feel upon 

 the subject. It touches many of them more nearly 

 than any other "slavery" discussion yet brought 

 before the public. 



'■'Farmers' Cluls'''' are discussed practically by 

 your Cobourg "Tenant Farmer." Let intelligent, 

 practical men, take hold of them, and they will be 

 carried on and kept up with the spirit necessary to 

 their succe.ss and usefulness. 



'■'■Our Wintei' Evenings,'''' how shall we spend 

 them? In reading, answers J. P., of Goderich. But 

 why confine one's self to books and "non-political, 

 non-sectarian newspapers." Men of no party or 

 sect are not generally the men of most commanding 

 influence, nor of the best influence. Give me a man 

 or paper, either, of decided opinions. I can listen 

 to him, but I do not say I will believe him. 



'■'BreaMng Colts.'''' Yes, "B.," in training any 

 animal one must "keep cool" himself. Kindness, 

 patience, and firmness, will conquer ; without them 

 you only excite rebeUion. 



^'■She^p on the Prairies''^ wiU not be found very 

 generally, until a different system of fencing pre- 

 vails — until "speculation" becomes a little less 

 rampant — until prairie farmers are forced to the 

 adojition of a "mixed husbandrv'," to keep up the 

 fertility of their grain fields. Then they will find 

 sheap profitable. 



'•Wintering Dairy Coxes'''' seems weU understood 

 by Ml-. Taylor. I like his plan of racks and stalls 

 very much ; but there is an evident mistake or mis- 

 print in giving the dimensions of the mangers, — 

 should it not be ttco "feet in depth and width," 

 instead of twelve feet? [Yes.] "Hay is the main 

 thing" for feeding, unlees one has plenty of weU- 

 cured com stalks; then he may make them the 

 ".main thing," without injuring quality or quantity 

 of mUk, or condition of cows. 



