412 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ July, 1877 



All Styles of Chicken-Coops 



Are in UBe, and many elaborate contrivances are 

 recommended by those who indulge in the fanciful. 

 But the most economical and serviceable nest-house 

 and cage for the hen and brood, for the first three 

 months, is the common pitch-roof box, about three 

 by two and a half feet, if it can be placed upon the 

 ground or lawns. 



This should have no floor ; or, if rats are trouble- 

 some, use a floor ; but, by all means, let it be inova- 

 hlf, i. e., )io( nailed to the coop. The coop may be 

 moved about and set in a new place every few days, 

 thus aflbrding a fresh, clean groundwork continually. 

 This arrangement is an excellent one for the health 

 of the young birds. 



The coop should have an open slat front, with a 

 Ijitch-roof overhanging the body of the box two or 

 three inches to shed the rain, and near the eaves two- 

 inch holes should be bored on both sides for ventila- 

 tion . 



The chicks will runout at the front in fine weather, 

 and the mother will have ample room inside for her 

 own comfort, as weir as to brood the young when 

 needful. If the box be kept clean and free from lice, 

 the chickens will do nicely in this form of shelter 

 until they are strong enough to be transferred to the 

 larger coops of a similar formation, where they may 

 be colonized in numbers of forty or fifty together at 

 night, before they get large enough to go to the roost. 

 — PoicUnj World. 



Red Pepper and Poultry. 



A correspondent of the I'onltnj BuUetin says : I 

 do not know whether other persons who raise poultry 

 and pet birds are as much dependent as I am on red 

 jiepper ; but I have found so much benefit from its 

 use in my poultry yards and cages that it may not be 

 amiss to call the attention of others to its good pro- 

 perties. 1 do not speak of the article that is sold in 

 drug stores, (and sometimes not remarkably fresh), 

 but of the cap.sicum that grows in our gardens. I 

 have tried all the dillerent varieties, and find that the 

 must pungent and efficacious is the small kind usually 

 known by the name of "bird's pepper." The plant 

 in itself is a beautiful object, it grows about two feet 

 high, and in autumn its bright little scarlet berries 

 look like coral Ijcads peeping from under the dark, 

 green foliage. Indeed, one plant in a pot seems a 

 very pretty ornament for a flower stand. The seed 

 possesses a stimulating and reviving property, and I 

 find that two or three given to newly hatched chick- 

 ens, especially if they are weakly, have a most hapjiy 

 effect. If a hen looks feeble after moulting, six of 

 those berries or pods, given daily, in some cornmeal 

 and sweet milk improves her wonderfully. Last 

 summer two of my finest canaries began to cboop. 

 Every day I gave them each one seed of the " bird's 

 pepper," and in less than a week they were quite 

 well. The same remedy is invaluable for mocking 

 birds. 



Turkeys. 



A little experience is a very good thing in raising 

 turkeys as well as anything else. If they run wliere 

 they pJe.tse, they need nof.be fed more than twice a 

 day ; if kept in a small yard, every hour is not too 

 often while they are young. The practice of feeding 

 wet ^aw cornmeal is very injurious to all kinds of 

 fowl's, and especially turkeys. Small grain and corn 

 bread, meal just mixed with water and baked, then 

 dampened, may be fed, and the chicks will thrive. 

 A pan of sour ndlk set out to them will disappear in 

 an incredibly short time, and the curd scalded and 

 the whey poured off is excellent for them. Hens 

 should be quite young, but goljblers ought to be kept 

 over until the second year. Breaking up the nest and 

 forcing the hens to lay a second time is not best, as 

 the turkey raised with common fowls never do so 

 well, and the late chicks thus obtained do not often 

 make up in weight wliat might seem an advantage 

 in getting a few more eggs. For several years 

 eighteen nut of twenty eggs under turkeys came out, 

 and fifteen out of eighteen lived to go to market. — 

 WeMri-n Af/ricnlturlst. 



Catching Hawks. 



As the season is approaching when hawks are 

 most deslructive to young poultry, a method of 

 catching and killing these marauders will be in order. 

 It is a well-known fact that a hawk will always 

 alight on some conspicuous [ilace close to the jionltry 

 yard, from which to swoop down on his victims. 

 Taking advantage of this, erect a pole with a flat 

 surface at the top just large enough to hold a strong 

 steel trap. Fasten this trap by a chain to a staple 

 in the pole, and await results. No bait will be needed, 

 for the hawk will be quite certain to light on the trap 

 and he caught. A gentleman who has tried this 

 method has succeeded in killing all the hawks in his 

 neighborhood, and now can raise poultry without 

 loss except by accident. — CuHfornia IfortkuUurUl. 



Soft Eggs. 



O. E. F., writes : My chickens lay eggs with soft 

 shells. What sliall 1 give them ? 



Keply. — Give them a rest. They are laying too 

 many eggs, more than they have material to finish 



properly. Some bones burned and powdered should 

 always be given to fowls when laying, but if the hens 

 are supplied with a variety of food and can get plenty 

 of gravel and earth or coal ashes, and are in perfect- 

 ly good health, they will not lay soft eggs. This de- 

 fect is an indication that they are fed too highly and 

 are overtaxed. 



^ 



Dead Shot on Poultry Lice. 



Take an old wooden bucket, bore a half-inch hole 

 an inch from the brim, and cut out the half-inch 

 piece to the top of the brim ; smootli the edges of 

 this slot, grease a pine splinter, sprinkle fine sulphur 

 upon it, and burn it under the inverted bucket ; put 

 the fowl under quickly, with head through the slot ; 

 hold the bucket firmly about ten minutes ; let the 

 fowl go, and the lice will all be killed. 



Supply your chickens with milk if you can. Let 

 them have good shelter and fair attention, and you 

 will find it will pay you when you come to fix them 

 for the show pen, or oiler them for sale to customers 

 who are willing to pay fair prices for choice breeding 

 birds. 



LITERARY AND PERSONAL. 



Our Attention has been called to some new and 

 useful cooking utensils recently invented. One of 

 which is known as the Centennial Cake and Baking 

 Pan, made of Russia iron, and is so constructed that 

 after your cake is baked, you can instantly remove 

 it from the pan without injuring it ; and having a 

 raised bottom tiie cake can not possibly burn. It is 

 also provided with a slide on the bottom, so that 

 when you remove the tube, you can close the 

 hole, making a pan with plain bottom for baking 

 jelly or plain cakes, bread, etc. Another — the Kitch- 

 en Gem — is also a very useful and long-needed house- 

 hold necessity. It is a plated wire boiler or steamer 

 to hang inside of an ordinary iron pot, for boiling or 

 steaming vegetables, which, when done can be easily 

 removed perfectly dry without lifting the heavy, 

 sooty iron pot off of the stove, avoiding the danger 

 of burning the hands with the steam in pouring oflf 

 the hot water. And the vegetables can not possibly 

 burn, if the water tjoils dry, as the steamer does not 

 touch the bottom of the pot. 



These goods are sold exclusively through agents to 

 families, giving universal satisfaction, and presents a 

 splendid opening for some reliable lady or gentleman 

 canvasser of this county to secure the agency for a 

 profitable business. For terms, territory, etc., write 

 to L. E. Brown & Co., Nos. 214 and 216 Elm Street, 

 Cincinnati, Ohio. 



California Agriculturist and Pacific Arti- 

 ZAN, (Consolidated), San Jose: S. Harris Herring, 

 Editor. A royal quarto of 20 pages, including illus- 

 trated covers, with ornamental margins ; monthly, 

 |1 .50 per annum. Its editorials, its contributions, 

 and its selections are able, solid and condensed ; and, 

 including its typographical execution, it is a credit to 

 the " Golden State." The editor says : "It will be 

 what its name purports, the f'alifvmia A;/rici(lturixt 

 and Artisan, a magazine lor the workshop, farm and 

 fireside. It is not, nor does it pretended to be, a 

 newspaper, but it will be a. living conveyor of intelli- 

 gence upon the most important topics connected with 

 industrial progress, political reform and educational 

 and social advancement, in a material, intellectual 

 and mora! sense. It will depend for support upon the 

 intelligence and appreciation of an earnest people, 

 who represent many and deserving interests. It will 

 aim to promote the growth of intelligence, enterprise 

 and good will among men, and the co-operation and 

 harmony of true business interests, while at the 

 same time it will oppose all evils and evil designs, 

 and especially such as bear upon industry. With a 

 broad field, and urgent work before us, we invite tlie 

 aid and good fellowship of every one. 



The SE.Mi-TROPif:AL. — The July number of this 

 interesting Southern Magazine contains a pleasing 

 variety. "On a Semi-Tropical Sea Island," is an in- 

 teresting portrayal of a summer in Floiida, by Dr. 

 D. H. Jacques. Kev. Chas. Beecher, who now re- 

 sides at Newport, on the Gulf Coast, in an article 

 entitled " Florida a Hundred Years Hence," shows 

 the probable results of the development of the State. 

 The veteran Southern horticulturist and author, U. 

 Redmond, commences a descriptive catalogue of 

 "The Trees of Florida." Ur. '/,. 11. Mason suggests 

 some of the "Sources of Florida's Prosperity," and 

 Dr. Benjamin extols the great healthfulness of 

 Tampa and vicinity. There are valuable original 

 contribution on " Florida Internal Navigation ;" 

 " Grape Culture;" "Gardening All the 5'ear Round;" 

 "Mounds of South Florida," together with several 

 selected articles. The Editorial Department is spe- 

 cially varied and interesting, containing information 

 on fruit-cultui'e, stock-growing, poultry-raising, bee- 

 keeping, floriculture, etc. Chas. W. Blew, Jackson- 

 ville, Fla. Terms. :^0 cents a number ; i'A a year. 



Colorado Business Directory, and Annual 

 Register for 1877, containing a classified list of all 

 the business and professional men, officers, societies, 

 schools, churches, Ac, in all the cities and towns in 

 Colorado, together with post-towns, offices, expresses 



and telegraphs, railroads and stage offices, &c., in 

 the State. Denver, Colorado, J. A. Blake, Publisher. 

 A handsome 12 mo. of 247 pages, log^ether with 26 

 pages of advertisements, and 4 pages of tinted cov- 

 ering, arranged alphabetically by counties. To 

 which is added a list of the banking institutions, 

 hotels, mines, &c., officers of the State government 

 and lists of all the county offices in the State, be- 

 sides many other matters, "too tedious to mention." 



Colorado is the youngest State in the Union, about 

 which too, there was a doubt, as to whether it ought 

 to have been admitted into the Union at all. This 

 is a better arranged Directory, and easier to be re- 

 ferred to, than any work of the kind we have yet 

 seen, and is invaluable to those residing there, or 

 who propose to locate there. 



It will be a matter of interest to all our readers 

 who are desirous of adorning their homes, to know 

 that there has been incorporated in New York a Stock 

 Company with a cash capital of a quarter of a mil- 

 lion of dollars, for the manufacture of Pianos, which 

 will be sold direct to the people at factory prces. Its 

 name is the Mendelsohn Piano Co., office No. .5(5* 

 Broadway, New York. 



These Pianos made one of the finest displays at the 

 Centennial Exhibition, and were ummimously recom- 

 mended for the Diploma of Honor and Medal of 

 Merit. 



This Company are the first to do a general business 

 with the pnrcfiaxer direct, saving him more than one- 

 half the price charged by otlier .^rsi-c^ns.'; makers. 



We would recommend auyof our readers who have 

 any idea of ever buying a piano, to send for their Il- 

 lustrated and Descriptive Catalogue, which will be 

 mailed free to all. 



On the Value and Culture of Roots, for ' 

 stock feeding, by David Landreth & Sons, Philadel- 

 phia, 1877. We are under obligations for an " ad- 

 vanced copy, with the respects of the publishers," of 

 this valuable little work on an interesting and useful 

 subject, and shall not hesitate to lay it under contri- 

 bution. This is a royal octavo pamjihlet of 48 pages, 

 full of well executed illustrations, and treats of root 

 crops alone, including the turnip, the beet, the car- 

 rot, and the parsnip, and all their most approved va- 

 rieties ; giving their uses, their mode of culture, and 

 their yield and pecuniary value. To which is ap- 

 pended an excellent article on "Beet Sugar," from 

 which we learn that the product of Europe in 1875 

 amounted to 1,317,623 tons, equal to 61 per cent, of 

 all the cane sugar manufactured in the whole world; 

 the internal revenue tax on which, for 1874 and 1875, 

 amounted to over |40,000,000. 



The Breeders' Manual, and descriptive cata- 

 logue of blooded stock (second edition for 1877 and 

 1878), including cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry, pigeons, 

 &c., ic; the l)est imported and homebred strains, 

 owned, bred and for sale by Bejison it Burpee, 2Si 

 Church street, Philadelphia, is a handsomely illus- 

 trated book of 56 pages, in paper covers and royal 

 octavo size. The illustrated, thoroughbred .South- 

 down sheep, in this number of the Farmer, is only 

 a fair sample, but by no means the best that the book 

 contains. It is particularly full in poultry and 

 pigeons, which these gentlemen have made a specialty 

 for years. The book may he obtained at the above 

 address, or by mail for 25 cents, postpaid. As it con- 

 tains much that is useful to the stock grower, it 

 might be an advantage to him in treating his stock 

 on hand. See advertisement in another column. 



Rand's New York City Business Directory 

 For 1«77. — The second volume of this valuable and 

 indispensable work has just been issued by the Pub- 

 lishers, Messrs. Walter Heugh& Co., of 3 Park Place, 

 New York. No pains or expense has been spared in 

 the production of tlic present volume, to make it 

 complete and reliable. In typographical appearance 

 and binding, certainly it is a fine specimen of hook- 

 making. It contains over one hundred pages more 

 matter than the last year's volume, which has added 

 largely to the cost of the production of the work, and 

 compelled the publishers to issue hereafter only the 

 full cloth bound edition at one dollar per copy, upon 

 the receipt of which sum they will forward the work 

 to any address in the United States or Canada, by 

 mail, postage prepaid. 



Woman's Words.. — An original review of what 

 the sex is doing. Mrs. Juan Lewis, pul)lisher, Phila- 

 delphia, Pa. $1.00 a year postpaid. This is a royal 

 quarto of 16 pages, on tinted paper and in fair type. 

 This is a new enterprise. No. 2, Vol. I of which is on 

 our tabic, and contains a biographical sketch of .Mrs. 

 Clarence S. Lozier, M. D., and a portrait of that 

 lady engraved expressly for the work. The contribu- 

 tions are mainly those of distinguished and intelligent 

 women, and are of marked literary ability. It seems 

 to us that there is an opening for just such a work, 

 and women who do not encourage it and avail them- 

 selves of its advantages, the fault will be with them. 



Redeemed, by O. Gerard. — This is the title of 

 the most successful temperance song published. It is 

 uow being sung nightly at the temperance meetings 

 held in Cincinnati. Everybody should sing Redeemed. 

 Price 35 cents per copy. Can be played on the Piano 

 or Organ. Address all orders to the publisher, V. 

 W. Helmick, .50 West 4th St., Cincinnati, Ohio. 



