318 



NEW ENC^LAND FARMER, 



April 20, 1S31. 



^WW J2ST(a-ILilSriD I?ilI2Mi:SI2j 



BOSTON, WED.NESDAY EVENING, APRIL SO, 1831. 



POULTRY. 



CnnlinueJ frnni prige 994. 



The Turkey, (Meleagris Galtipavo, L.,) is a 

 native of America and was introduced into Europe 

 by the Spaniards, according to Loudon ; though 

 some autliors say tliat the turkey derives its name 

 from the country from which it was first imported. 



Breeding. — One turkey cock is sufficient for six 

 hens or more, and a hen will cover from 9 to 15 

 eggs, according to lier size. The lien is apt to 

 form her nest abroad in a liedge, or under a bush, 

 or some ot^ier insecure place. 'She lays from 

 eighteen to twentyfive eggs or upwards, and her 

 term of incubation is tijirly days. She is a steady sit- 

 ter, even to starvation, and therefore requires to be 

 regularly supplied with food and water. Buffon 

 says that she is a most affectionate mother, but 

 Mowbray observes that from her natural heedless- 

 ness and stupidity, she is the most careless of moth- 

 ers and being a great traveller herself, will drag her 

 brood over field, heath or bog, never casting a re- 

 gard behind her to call her straggling chicks, nor 

 stopping while she has one left to follow her. The 

 turkey differs from the common hen in never 

 scratching for her chicks, leaving them entirely to 

 their own instinct and industry, neither v/ill they 

 fight for their brood, though vigilant in the discov- 

 «ry of birds of prey, when they will call their chick- 

 ens together by a particidar cry, and run with con- 

 siderable speed. Hence when not confined within 

 certain limits they require the attention of a keeper. 



Tuj key chicks should be witlidrawn from the 

 nest as soon as hatclied, and kept very warm by 

 wrapjiing them in flannels, or putting ttiem under 

 an artifiiial mother in a warm room or other warm 

 place. Various nostrums, (says Loudon) are re- 

 commended to be given and done at this season, 

 OS a pepper corn, and a tea spoonful of milk, im- 

 mersion in cold water, &c. Mowbray wisely re- 

 jected all these unnatural ])racticcs, and succeeded 

 by giving curd and hard eggs or curd and barley 

 meal kneaded with milk and renewed with clear 

 water ratlier than milk, as he found the last often 

 scoured them. A sort of vermicelli, or artificial 

 worms from pulling boiled meat into strings he 

 found beneficial for every s])ecies of gallinaceous 

 chrcken. .Two great objects are, to avoid super- 

 fluous moisture, and to maintain the utmost clean- 

 liness for which purpose as little slopfood is given 

 as possible. A fresh turf of short sweet grass 

 should be daily given as green food, but not snails 

 or worms, oats, nettle seed, clover, rue or worm- 

 wood, as recommended by the elder housewives. 

 Water is generally preferable to milk. When the 

 weather is favorable the hen is cooped a!)road in 

 the forenoon. During the rest of the day and 

 night, for the first six weeks, slie is kept within 

 doors. After that the hen may be cooped a whole 

 day externally, for another fortnight, to harden 

 the chickens ; and afterwards they may be left to 

 range, within certain limits, being fed at going 

 out in the morning and returning in the evening. 

 Their ordinary food may be that of common 

 cocks and hens. They will jnefer roosting abroad 

 on high trees in the summer season, but that 

 cannot, generally, be permilted without danger of 

 their loss. 



Fattening. — London says ' sodden barley, or bar- 

 ley and wheat meal mixed is the most approved food 



i"or turkeys, and the general mode of management 

 is the same as that of the common cock and hen. 

 They are generally fed so as to come in^t Christ- 

 mas, but they may be fattened early or late. Some- 

 times, though rarely they are cajionized. The 

 living and dead, weight of a turkey are as 21 to 14. 



R. Weston, an English writer of reputation, in 

 a work entitled Tracts on Practical Agnculture 

 and Gardening has the following obsc^rvations on 

 fattening turkeys as well as other poifliry .' 



'Boil some rice in water gently, till it be 

 l)lumped np, and very tender ; add abou| two 

 ounces of very brown sugar to every pounil of rice 

 just before it is boiled enough ; let the fowls be fed 

 with it three times a day ; in ten or twelve days 

 they will be fat, but if they were in good condition 

 when put up to fatten they will be ready in seven 

 or eight days ; they must by no means have any 

 water given theiti in sunnner ; too much rice must 

 not be boiled together, because of its soon turning 

 sour; nor is milk so good for that season as water 

 only ; besides, the milk is very liable to make the 

 rice burn tu the pot. 



' Frequently offal rice is to lie bought very 

 cheap of the grocers in the city. The rice causes 

 Ihe flesh to be remarkably white, and to have a 

 fine delicate flavor.' 



Mr Cobbett in a work entitled Cottage Economy, 

 makes the following remarks : 



' The great enemy to young turkeys (for old 

 ones are hardy enough) is the wet. The first 

 thing is to take care that young turkeys never go 

 out on any account, even in dry wealher, till the 

 dew is quite off the ground ,"and this should be ad- 

 hered to till ihey get to the size ofan old partridge 

 and have their backs well covered with feathers, 

 and in wet weather, they should be kept under 

 cover all day long. 



' As to feeding them when young, various 

 nice things have been recommended. Hard 

 eggs chopped fine with crumbs of bread, and a 

 great many other things ; but, that which I have 

 seen tried, and always with success, and for all 

 sorts of young poultry, is, milk turned into curds. 

 This is the fi)od for young pnultry of all .sorts. 

 Some should be inwAe fresh every day ; and if this 

 be done, and the young turkeys kept warm, and 

 especially/rom iw/, not one out of a score will 

 die. When they get to be strong, they may have 

 meal and grain, but still they always love the curds. 



When they get their head feathers they are 

 hardy enough ; and what they then want is room 

 to prowl about. It is best to breed them under a 

 common hen ; because she does not ramble like a 

 hentmkey ; and it is a very curious thing that the 

 turkeys bred up by a hen of the common fowl, do 

 not themselves ramble much when they get old ; 

 il.in which a more complete proof of the great 

 ])ower of /in'')V, is not perha|)S to be found. And 

 ought not I his to be a lesson to fathers and moth- 

 ers of families ? Ought not they to consider that 

 the habit which they give to children are to stick 

 to them (luring their whole lives? 



'The hen should be fed exceedingly well too 

 while she is sitting and after she has hatched : 

 for, though she does not give milk she gives heat ; 

 and let it be observed that, as no man ever yet 

 saw healthy pigs with a poor sow, so no man 

 oversaw heallhy chickens with a poor hen. This 

 is a matter much too little thought of in the rearing 

 of jionltry ; but it is matter of the greatest conse- 

 quence. Never let a poor hen sit ; feed the hen 



r 



while she is sitting; and feed her most abundai 

 ly wdien she has young ones; for then her labor 

 very great; siie is making exertions of some slfr' 

 or otly^r during- the whole Iwentyfonr hours ; &{ j.' 

 has no rest ; constantly doing something or ott 

 to i»rovide food or safety for her young ones. 



As to fatting tmkeys, the best way is nev 

 to let them be poor. Cramming is a na^ 

 tiling and quite unnecessary. Barley meal mixl t 

 with skim milk, given to them fresh and fresh 

 make them fat in a short time. Boiled carrots aj^ 

 Swedi.-h turnips will help and furnish a cham 

 of sweet food. 



To be continued. 



The Committee of the Massachusetts Ilorticnltur 

 Society for offering and awarding preminms upc 

 the products of tlie Kitchen Garden, submit the fo 

 lowing list of premiums for the ensuing season, viz. 

 Asp.iRAGUS, the two best bunches, 25 in a 



bunch, iki ( 



Bkf.tb, six roots, the best blood, 3 I 



BaocoLijthe two best heads, 1 ( 



Beans, large Lima, 2 qts. earliest and best, 1 ( 

 CnccMBERS, best four, forced, 1 C 



" " " in open ground, on or 



before the first Saturday in July, 2 C 



Carrots, six roots, the finest orange color, 2 ( 

 Celfry, four roots, the best, 2 



Cauliflower, the two best heads, 2 



Corn, sweet, one dozen, the earliest and best, 2 

 Lettuce, two heads, the best, 1 



Melons — Water, the largest and best, 2| 



" Musk, two, finest flavored, 3| 



Peas, one peck, the best, on or before the first 



Saturday in June, 2| 



Peas, one peck, the best, having regard to the 



quality and yield, 

 Potatoes, one peck, the best, forced, 



" one peck, the best, in the open 



ground, on or before the last Saturday in 



June, 3] 



." for winter, the best, not less than 25 



bushels, having regard to their productiveness 



and quality ; samples to be delivered to the 



Committee for trial. 

 Salsify, six roots, the best, 1] 



Savoy Cabbage, four heads, the best, 2] 



The Committee will attend at the Hal! of the 

 ciety, every Saturday, from 12 to 1 o'clock, for fh' 

 examination of such articles as may be left, hibellet 

 with the owner's name (for premiums.) Sucli a 

 intended for exhibition only, will be labelled accord- 

 ingly. No premium to be declared until atfor the 

 season is over. A particular description of the me- 

 thod of planting and growing will be required of 

 those who send in vegetables for premium. 



N. B. Members of the Society are particularly 

 requested to send in their finest vegetables, either f« 

 premium or exhibition, (all of which will be reported 

 in the New England Fanner,) stating their good 

 qualities, size, &c, and the raiser's name. 



The Wicked Tariff.— Whnt shall be done -with 

 it ; we seriously ask our farmers who have sheepi 

 how they can approve of such a Tariff.' Within 

 a week an agent has been in this town offering as 

 high as sixTYSEVEN cents per pound .'"or wool, not 

 of the best quality. Our advice to the fanners of 

 this section is, not to sell at present, or rather not 

 to engage, for if agents are sent out thus early to 

 purchase and will offer the jirices that were oiTe^ 

 ed here, it needs no great foresight to see, that 

 iiefore the month of June goes out, it will be much 

 higher. It must be so. Vast quantities of sheep 

 were, driven out of the country the last year, and 

 it cannot help raising the (irice of wool. — jViw- 

 Uampshire Post. 



