1854. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



191 



surroundings, when tbe out-buildings are compact- 

 ly placed near the dwelling-house. But no gen- 

 eral rule can be laid down as to how far apart the 

 buildings sliould stand ; that will depend upon 

 various circumstances, such as the nature of the 

 ground, the supply of water, and the particular 

 kind of business for which they are to be used. 



A moderately sized, but well-finished dwelling 

 house, I should strongly recommend. A large 

 house, partially finished, has an unthrifty appear- 

 ance to the traveller, is cold, inconvenient and 

 comfortless to the fixmily,and is a reproach to the 

 owner, if he planned it himself. There is one 

 room, however, in the dwelling of every farmer, of 

 which I will speak, because if he does not find com- 

 fort and convenience tliere, it is quite likely they 

 will not be found on his premises anywhere : — that 

 room is the kitchen — the place where cluster the 

 family and the afiections, as well as the bountiful 

 products of the farm ; it is not the outer court of 

 home, but the centre of home itself, on the farm, 

 and the index either of the prosperity or decay of 

 its occupants. The kitchen should be ample in its 

 dimansions, and supplied with all the nameless 

 conveniences which are of more consequence than 

 the aid of foreign "help.'" Dry wood and soft 



black spot in the centre of the abdomen ; the belly 

 paler than the back. The extremity or tail, light- 

 colored and furnished with two horns above, and 

 two feet by which that part was slightly raised 

 when the worm was in motion. By lamp-light, 

 we could discover no other feet, or stripes, either 

 lateral or longitudinal. Mr. F. found these 

 worms in large numbers on the snow, in a state of 

 great activity, and not only upon the surface, but 

 an inch or more below it. The snow lay upon a 

 reclaimed meadow, the ground bare near it, but 

 no trees or bushes within twenty rods. When we 

 saw them, they had been confined eleven hours, 

 but were still as active as arc insects in June. 

 What are they^ Where did they come from? 



The President then announced the subject for 

 the evening's discussion, viz. : — What are the best 

 methods of raiiing, keeping, and feeding Poultry 

 and Swine ? 



Mr. C. W. GooDxow said the rearing of poul- 

 try had become fashionable, and he considered it 

 a fashion which afforded many conveniences, a« 

 well as a pleasant occupation. He had instituted 

 experiments with some degree of exactness, and 

 found that it takes 4-5 of a quart of corn to keep 

 a hen one week, making 1^ l)ushels a year; 



water are indispensable, and should be near at l^^ns, on an average, cost 37 cents, which makes 



hand. In this climate, the kitchen should be on 

 the south side, but protected from summer suns 

 by shade or piazza. In such a kitchen the graces 

 will bloom as well as the posies, and virtues will 

 rise as well as the buckwheat cakes ; the presiding 

 genius, whether over the stove or over the tub, will 

 be good nature, and the children will remember 

 the dear old spot, where they first cracked jokes 

 arid nuts, or perhaps kissed a pretty girl while 

 playing blind-man 's-buffjas the sunny place of ex- 

 istence, and ever turn to it from the turmoil of 

 life, with unabated delight. 



The corn-crib or barn should be separate from 

 the other buildings — but with this exception I 

 would have all the others under one roof. The 

 rooms for carriages, implements, &c., should be 

 separated by tiglit partitions. Horses, oxen, cows 

 and young cattle, should each have their particu 

 lar places assigned. There should be a good cel- 

 lar for roots under tlie barn, into which, if sufii- 

 cicntly large, th(i wagons and carts might be win- 

 tered. If I could avoid it I would have no manure 

 under the barn. Witli sucli an arrangement, and 

 the possession of a common share of philospiiy and 

 good nature, the farmer ouglit to be a happy 

 man. 



Mr. Jacob B. Farmer then presented a bottle 

 containing some 30 or 40 worms, some of them half 

 &n inch in length, somewhat resem!)ling canker 

 worms, though not having the same motions. 

 The head is bla^k, tlic body of a brownish gre;!n, 

 and sufliciently transparent to show an internal 



the hen and keeping cost §1,(J2 ; a hen will lay 

 on an average, 82 eggs, wliich, at 15 cents a doz- 

 en, will give $1,03 as income. Now add 37 

 cents as value of the hen, and you have a remainder 

 of $1,40, making a loss of 22 cents on each hen. 

 But in order to illustrate the subject more 

 fully, he had taken pains to call upon some 

 of his young friends, who, he knew, were largely 

 engaged in rearing poultry and kept precise ac- 

 counts, for statements which would be more satis- 

 factory than any he could make himself. In re- 

 sponse to his inquiries, James A. Barrett has 

 furnished him with the following statement : — 



Sir, — At your request I have looked up my ac- 

 count of the expense and income of my fowls for 

 the year 1853. 



I commenced the year with ninety fowls ; but 

 in the course of the first nine months, I reduced 

 them to thirty -five. 



They laid during the year six hundred and six- 

 teen dozen of eggs. I have raised about one hun- 

 dred chickens. Their food has been mostly dam- 

 aged corn and wheat, oats, sweepings of mills, 

 meat, &c. 



The receipts, including epffs, chicken.s, &c., after 

 re-sorving enough to ni.iko up the original num- 

 ber of ninety, amount to $157,71 



Manure, or guano, estimntcd at 20,00 



Making in all $177,71 



Cost of keeping $106,95 



Leaving a net profit of $70,76 



Mr. BARRKTT'sstatinnent, I think, is somewhat 

 incomplete, and cahnilatod to give too large an 

 idea of the profit of raising hens. I would, how- 

 ever, recommend to every one who conveniently 



