1877.J 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



95 



Some may think It costly feed ; but take into con- 

 sideration tlie yield of sweet potatoes and corn, corn 

 yielding llilrly bushels per aere, swtwt potatoes 150 

 to 'iAd bushels per aere, and eorn sonu'linieB worth 

 twiee as much per bushel as potatoes. However, all 

 are not alike .situated. .Surne <-aii ({row eorn ami 

 sweet potatoes. When potatoes do well, thc'V innke 

 a jjikhI substitute lor coni.—l'ruirir Fiiniui-. 



Against the World. 



In February last Uiehard llarrisuii, living near 

 iteeklesstown. slaui^jhtered li8 hojis, wliieh wel^jhed 

 us follows ; .'iU.'j, 5T."», ^uh, .'i77, ;"i77, .")7it, 571», ■")7'.*, t}<l, 



tM, 5h'5, sw, aw,, 6ii:i, (io.'i, tiu.'i, cm, uiii, ra.t, ivr.r,, 



»B9, ti-O.'), fiCi.'i, (!77, 7U1I, Tl.'i, 7:1.5 and 74'.l— inakinir an 

 tt^^rei^ate of 17,:'.:i8 pounds — an averai^e of (Jl'.t ;vI4 

 pounds. This Is pretty bif; for liii;h. Mr. llarrihon 

 slaiitjhtered about S,."IUO pounds of pigs for market 

 with this famous lot of jHirkers. 



But if any'eoinity in this State, or any other State, 

 can beat I hi' abovi' exhibit, we pr<-8ent for eonsidera- 

 tiou the erop of .lof-eph Carter, on the farm of 

 Anthony Hulloek, in the same neij^'liborhond. This 

 lot was killed on Monday, and was worth a journey 

 to see swinffini; on the •rallows. There «iTe '.'0 hfad 

 weifrhins as follows : .W.I, .5(11, ot;.';, .WI , .')07, lidl, 



Oai, 1)49, (LIS, C.ll.'i, r.77, «!!.'>, 7(1.1, 



ri:i, 721,7 i7 



74, 8(15 anil 9(1.") pounds. Total weight, l:!,.'')t;.'i 

 ponnils. .\veraire, (17Si^ IHiunds. The live lieaviest 

 weiirhed over 4,U(IU pounds. We rest on these llyureB. 

 Mr. Carter also killed five hogs lor bis own use that 

 weighed about 2,(1110 pounds ; and about (i.llOO pounds 

 of pigs for market. Taking the whole 2.') hogs the 

 average is nearly (!4.S pounds. 



Wi- have reeeivod the weights of these hogs from 

 the purchaser also, Nathan Folwell, stock dealer at 

 Bordeutown. The figures vary a few jwunds — (•ur 

 flirures giving the weights on the day of slauiihter, 

 Mr. l-'olwell the weights when ileli'vereil to him. 

 The total marketed crop of Mr. Harrison, hogs and 

 pigs, aggregated i5,4:!(> pounds, for which Mr. Fol- 

 well paid 8 cents per pound— $2,0.1.5.(i.S, cash on 

 delivery. 



Several hundred people congregated on the killing 

 days at the aliovc places to witness the uuprecedented 

 spectacle. — Burlington county, iV, /., Paper. 



Half-Bred Buffaloes in the Dairy. 



The long mooted c|Ueslion whether the butfalo can 

 be successfully utilized for dairy purposes, says the 

 Turf, Fiehtaial fur in, is now in a fair way of being 

 Balisfactorily settled. The apprehension hitherto en- 

 tertained regarding the untamable nature of the 

 buffalo, and that the characteristics of this branch 

 of the bovine family would be certain to crop out 

 through indefinite crossings, appears to be totally 

 groundless. The bulfalo, or more properly the Ameri- 

 can bison, is being used extensively in portions of the 

 State of Nebraska, bordering on the wild plains of 

 the far West, for stock purposes, aud half aud quarter 

 bred females of the bison family yield an abundant 

 supply of rich milk. A remarkable feature coirtiected 

 with this cross of the bison with domestic cattle is 

 the fact that the color of the bison and the majority 

 of its distinguished characteristics disappear after 

 successive crossings. Its outward conformation is 

 also, in process of time, in a great degree lost sight 

 of. The hunch or lump of ilesii covering the long 

 spinous process of the dorsal vcrtebrip, becomes di- 

 minished with each successive cross, and will, doubt- 

 less, also disappear entirely as the origimil type be- 

 eoiues merged in the domestic animal. 



Garget in Cows. 



N. G. E. writes to the Western Farmer and says : 

 From inquiries made it appears that it is not gene- 

 rally known that saltpetre is a remedy for garget in 

 cows. Now to such as want information ou t he sub- 

 ject 1 would say that I have kept cows nearly forty 

 yearsjind the best and surest remedy for garget tha"t 

 I have found is, when the cow shows signs of gariret 

 by giving curdled ndlk, to pound up a table-spoonful 

 of saltpetre, put it into a quart or two of meal and 

 give it to her to eat. If she shoiiM object to eatin" 

 it you may mix a little line salt with it. 



But I consider a preventive better than a remedy, 

 1 think every mau that keeps cattle and has drV, 

 sandy land, ought to jilaiit and grow the garget roo"t, 

 or as It IS more comniordv called, shoke root. It can 

 be raised in such land with but little trouble, ;ind if 

 fed Ircely in the 8|iring of the year it will prevent the 

 disease ellectually. The roots should be covered iu 

 winter with leaves or straw. But every one that 

 feeds it should be careful and not give it to horses, 

 as it was said in the lower part of New Hampshire to 

 be poison to horses, tint then' is no danger of feeding 

 it too freely to horned lattle or hogs, as it is very 

 beueticial to the health of both. 



Manchestek, Iowa, has become famous as a but- 

 ler market. During the past year no less than 

 eeventy-eight ears of butter were shipped from that 

 place, making 1,'.>00,000 pounds, which, at twenty 

 cents per pound, would aggregate the nice little sum 

 of ?:U2,000. This only includes the full ear loads 

 aud not the scattering lots that belong to promiscu- 

 ous shipments. 



THE POULTRY YARD. 



To Exterminate Parasites. 



"One ounce of prevention is better than a pound 

 of cure," says the old adage. In reiraril to parasitic 

 insects (d" poultry, this i.s particularly true. It is 

 much le.ss troulile to keep them down, so as to be al- 

 most entirely i-lear of them, than it is to tight a host 

 of vermin. 1 said almost, for there Is, no doubt, a 

 remnant always remaining of some lice, for no 

 sonrici- are the ordinary eleanliness and vigilance re- 

 laxed, lliaii they again show themselves. If fowls 

 are kept in a clamp placeS without dust or ilry earth, 

 thi'se insectK immediately appear in large numbers. 



The methods of destroying most of them are very 

 easy. The poll-tick is prevented or got rid id' by 

 sligjjtly greasing the heads of the chicks as soon as 

 hatched. The same process, repeated once a week 

 foi- about two oi" there wei^ks, will carry them be- 

 yond further danger. I will not, on this suliject.give 

 the Latin names of insects, as 1 find so much \'aria- 

 bleness anil so few varieties desci'ibed that. It is well 

 to employ the terms in common use. Of the var-ie- 

 lies that still remain ou the fowl, there are two dis- 

 tinct classes; Lice that suck the blooil from the 

 fowl's body, all of whi(di havi' their mouths near tlu' 

 ends of their noses, and another chihs that live on 

 and eat the feathers. These latter have their mouths 

 ntider the middle of the bead, and of them there are 

 several varieties, ditl'eriug from >'aeb other in form, 

 color and size. Both kinds can be got rid of by 

 dusting sulphur well into the feathers of the birds. 

 If the ebickeus are young and under tlie ben, ilust 

 the hen tborouirhly with sulphur, and, provided tlie 

 usual dust bath be supplied, this treatment will keep 

 the fowls clean, if repeated about once a week. 



Of the gape worm, it is ditlicult to say anything 

 positive, though, of eimrse, prevention is best. In 

 order to get rid of tills pest, the surest way, when a 

 yard is once infested, is to remove the fowls entirely 

 away from the contaminated ground. I know 

 of a yard that was once infested for many 

 years. One year the chickens were all taken across 

 a brook to another part of the farm and not allowed 

 to visit the old ground until too large to get the 

 disease. No trace of the gapes has been seen there 

 since tlien, although several years have elapsed. 



.Some poultry authorities say that there is a con- 

 nection between the gape-worm and a kind of louse, 

 and that the latter either introduces or extends the 

 gape-worm ; but, after some experiments, I am 

 satisfied no such connection exists. Of the remedies 

 for gapes I cannot say much as there are as many 

 advanced with as much positiveness as there are 

 cures for the toothache. If attended to in time, the 

 worms can sometimes be drawn out with a horse 

 hair or a thin feather. Care must be taken that the 

 hair enters the windpipe, as the worms are lliere and 

 not in the throat. Details of this process would 

 make too long a cliaitter, so I simply generalize the 

 subject until properly treated. Carbolic aciils in- 

 haled by the chicks, either in a box or by holding 

 the chick oyer the acid, heated hot in a s]ioou over a 

 lamp, will also .sometimes dishnlge them ; but when 

 the worms get low down in the throat, where the 

 windpipe branches, there is not much hope for the 

 sutferer. 



The honse-mite or spider, that lives in the wood- 

 work of dirty nests, is easily got rid of by cleanliness, 

 whitewash or petroleum, and fumigation. A good 

 way is to saturate all the insiiie wood work with 

 crude petroleum. For scaly-leg itch, soak the legs 

 with kerosene oil, holding the toes upward, so that 

 the oil will run well imder the scales. Two or three 

 applications generally eHeet a cure. Intestinal 

 worms are dislodged Ity a decoction of wormwood, 

 or the leaves may be cut up and given in food, or a 

 pill made of aloes may be admiuistereil ; but these 

 pests are rarely numerous enough to be of serious 

 consequence. — Henry Hales. 



A Word of Caution. 



We have ad\(.>cated in the jiages of T/ie Poultry 

 Wurhl, not iiifrei|uently, the use of kerosene for de- 

 stroying lice upon tlie fowl-house roosts, and have 

 advised the application of this pungent oil oceasion- 

 ally, witli a mixture of lard, to be used upon adult 

 fowls — under the wings and at the back of the neck 

 — for a similar purpose ; while, at the same time, we 

 know that its use in removing the scales upon the 

 lets of old fowls is an excellent remedy for that un- 

 sightly alfection so often complained of by |iouUry- 

 breedcrs. 



But we have always intended to commeml due 

 lantion in the use of this powerful inseet-deslroying 

 agent, inasniuch as, though it is an admirable thing 

 if judieioualy usi'il. it is over-liarmful if not prf»perly 

 applied, and in moderate quantity. 



At this season of the year, for example, vhen tre 

 are tleniruuit to hare the ei/tjK hutch iretl, little or no 

 kerosene should be made use of, where the laying 

 and brooding-bens come in contact with it. Iu hot 

 weather, when vermin germinate rapidly and nume- 

 rously, both ujxiu the body of fowls and in their 

 roosting-places, it is well to apply It, freely ; but 

 during cold weather it is not so necessary; and 

 where heua arc laying or hatching, the less kerosene 



used that may reach the ci/ri» we wtn/i to hatch — either 

 in the laying or the sitting-nests — the better. 



The penetrating qualities of this crude oil are so 

 strong, and tlie dcstrnctioii to Insect-life (where it 

 coincK in contact with these parasites) is so certain, 

 it is but reasonable to understand tliat its fumes, 

 when allowed to reach the porous shells of eggs, may 

 injure their yolks, or even destroy their vitality, 

 oftentimes. 



For this reason we advise caution in a|iplying 

 kerosene directly upon the bodies of laying or sitting- 

 fowls duriny the Itrecdiriy xeatioH. For the few wt^eks 

 while they are laying and sitting it may well be dis- 

 penseil with alttigether, where there is danger of 

 their eggs lieeoniing smeared with it. We have no 

 doubt that the careless or too free usi* of this article, 

 at the period mentioned, has bad its inlliieiiee ujiou 

 many a hatebing nest, where the owners of fowls 

 have injudiciiMisly applied It. 



It is all very well to kill lice with ; but you can 

 unipiestioiiably kill the genu In your eggs with it, If 

 you indulge in a reckless ap|dieation of it at a time 

 that it is not so much neediMl as it Is in the warm 

 moiitlis of the year, when you do not set the eggs 

 your hens lay. 'fhrough the months of March, .\pril 

 and .May, therefore, we hUggest that the use of kero- 

 sene be dis|>eiised with among the laying and breed- 

 ing fowls. — i'oultry 'Wurlit, J/url/orit. 



Poultry-Keeping by Boys. 



It is one of the most proniising indications of 

 character when a boy shows a disjiositiou to earn 

 something. Tills desire to hold something in fee- 

 simpb' is tlie very opisisite of truiupism. Among 

 boys, the enjoyment of owning, buyimr ami selling, 

 is very keen, and is often grajified in the getting of 

 knives, old watches and trinkets, and making ex- 

 changes with each other. Who iloes not remember 

 the wonderful dicker and trade of his boybooil / It 

 was only the begiiiiiiug ol' a develo|)meiit, or, rather, 

 a self-education. Tliis matter should not be per- 

 mitted to go without some guidance. Parents and 

 guardians should take an interest in it, not exer- 

 cising a meddling iiiterlereiice, but inspiring confi- 

 dence, so as to be able to co-operate, plan and watch 

 the results. 



Now comes a scheme that is just right. How can 

 we teach a boy business habits belter than by giving 

 him an opportunity to "run" a hennery i The 

 accounts must be accurately kept ; there must be 

 buying and selling ; there must be bantering; there 

 ought to be profit ! A miniature huxintas springs 

 up ; and, inasmuch as it is real, why is it not as good 

 as a business college ? It may be better; for it may 

 prevent spending time in the streets, or away from 

 liome, perhaps among questionable companions. A 

 love of home is fostered by the ownership of fiowcre, 

 small fruits and poultry. A fondness for the finest 

 things produced in our climate — to cultivate them, if 

 belonging to the vegetable kingdom : to breed, foster 

 and pet them, if belonging to the animal — is not only 

 a source of keen enjoyment, but indicates good traits 

 and a certain elevation of character aliove that 

 which is brutish. Young people should be deftly 

 guided, step by stei), through pleasant paths, with 

 here and there a little job of eariust irork, maile easy 

 by social frolic and recreation, which come after iu 

 their proper place. With a little encouragement, 

 boys may become quite familiar with the jioints of 

 excellence in high-class jioullry, pigeons and other 

 pets, and learn the best methods of breeding ami 

 management . 



They may learn when and where to purchase sup- 

 plies to the best advantage, and how to sell the sur- 

 plus products so as to give the most profit with the 

 least expense. A pleasant self-reliance and good 

 business habits may be growing, and, at the same 

 time, a love for nature, for refinement and hu- 

 manity. — The J'onttry World. 



"Plymouth Rock" Fowls. 



This fine breed of domestic poultry, w bicli has beeu 

 steadily growing in favor among farmers and small 

 poulterers, for a few years past, has now come to be 

 a general favorite witli fanciers and breeders in all 

 directions, if we can form an opinion from the niinier 

 oils letters we are constantly reeeiying, regarding tlie 

 iutriiisie merits of this popular moilern variety. 



They have proved very hartly, easy to keep, are 

 excellent layers, they do not Incline to trouble the 

 keeper with the inclination to sit so persistently as 

 do the Asiatics, they are ample in size (when selected 

 from the best strains) and altogether they have 

 turned out a valuable accession to the list of Ameri- 

 can standard breeds. 



A singular fact has been demonstrated in the in- 

 stance of the " I'lymouth Kocks." It is known that 

 this fowl is a cross of the Black Asiatic (or .lava) 

 with the Dominique variety. For. several years after 

 their original production, the color of these birds, 

 both male and female, was uncertain and irregular. 

 By a judicious method in mating and selecting, in the 

 haiid.s of the most careful manipulators of this stock, 

 the last year's birds were ou the average much better 

 in uuiformily of size, and much more even in general 

 color and marking of plumage, than hitherto. 



This year's fowls, maturing this spring, are au 



