128 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[August, 1878. 



POULTRY. 



The Narragansett Turkey. 



This is one of tlie lare:est and hardiest of all breeds 

 of turkeys. It is raised in the greatest perfection in 

 Southeastern Conneeticut and Rhode Island, a region 

 famous for its fine poultry. Turkeys do remarkably 

 well along the sea board, and almost every farmer 

 remote from the village has his flock. It is 

 not uncommon to find flocks of from one to 

 two hundred birds, the product of about a dozen 

 hens, under the skillful management of a poultry 

 woman or boy. Of course they do some damage to 

 grain ; but this evil is counterbalanced by the 

 enormous destruction of insects secured. From June 

 to September they subsist mainly upon grasshoppers, 

 crickets and other insects, ranging for the most part 

 in the pastures and woodlands. They are fattened in 

 October and November, and it is not uncommon for 

 a lot of eaily chicks to reach the average weight of 

 fourteen pounds, dres.sed, at Thanksgiving or Christ- 

 mas. The common run of turkeys sent to the New 

 York market do not average more than eight or nine 

 pounds. The Narragansett is a very large, healthy 

 bird, and has been bred for size for many generations. 

 Most of the birds sold in the Boston and Providence 

 markets under the name of Rhode Island Turkeys, 

 or Extra No. 1, are of this breed. The farmers are 

 «areful in the selection of their breeding stock, taking 

 young gobblers that will weigh from twenty-two to 

 twenty-eight pouuds, and hens that will weigh from 

 twelve to sixteen. Where the birds are kept over 

 gobblers will sometimes dress thirty-two to thirty- 

 four pounds. For making poultry for market the 

 Narragansetts have no superior. The prevailing 

 colors are white and black, with a large patch of 

 white upon the wing bow, giving the general impres- 

 sion of a gray bird. They are not uniform in the 

 shading, but with sufHcient painstaking could be 

 bred to a feather. — IV. Clift, in the Poultry World. 



A Varied Diet for Fowls. 



There are no animals more omniverous than fowls ; 

 fish, flesh, herbs and grains being devoured by them 

 with equal relish. We say equal, for though they 

 commonly pounce upon meat with greater avidity 

 than upon grain, this is generally because it aflords 

 a rarity, and a ilock kept for awhile almost entirely 

 ■on animal food will show the same greed for a few 

 handfuls of corn. 



Now, those animals accustomed to use a varied 

 ■diet should not be confined to an unvarying one. 

 There are, todiwd, some species which are naturally 

 limited to one or a few kinds of food. Thus, cattle 

 ■do well enough, although kept month after month 

 on gra«s alone, and a tiger will thrive with nothing 

 tut leaai meat upon his bill of fare. But with other 

 animals, as with the human race, for instance, the 

 ■case Is ditferent, for no person can maintain the 

 highest eflicicncy when confined to one article of 

 food. No matter how fond we may be of a particular 

 ■dish, we lose relish for it when allowed nothing else 

 for a number of consecutive meals, and the intense 

 •craving for variety indicates as its source something 

 imore than mere appetite. It gives evidence of real 

 ■necessities of the system which are constantly vary- 

 ing with the changing circumstances of weather, 

 ■employment and other conditions. 



The fondness for variety shown by fowls is as 

 significant of real needs as we have found it to be in 

 ourselves. In purveying for them, a judicious 

 variety, selected from the three general divisions — 

 fresh vef^etahlea, grain and aidtjial food — is at all sea- 

 sons absolutely necessary for young and old, in order 

 to make them perfectly thrifty. True, they will not 

 starve on hard corn and water, neither will they pay 

 a profit 60 kept. — The Poultry World. 



Origin of the Domestic Turkey. 



Many suppose, from its name, that the Turkey 

 originated in the East. Not only does the English 

 name give support to this belief, hut the French 

 name, diiidon, a contraction of Oiaeau d^ l7ide, (bird 

 of India,) shows that the same is held in Europe. 

 Professor S. T. Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 than whom there can be no better authority, has in- 

 vestigated tlie subject and finds that we have two 

 distinct species of turkey in North America : " One 

 confined to the more Eastern and Southern States, 

 the other to tlie southern Rocky Mountains and ad- 

 jacent parts of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and 

 Arizona ; that the Latter extends along eastern Mexico, 

 as far south, at least, as Orizaba, and that it is from 

 the Mexican species, and not that from eastern North 

 America that this domestic turkey is derived." One 

 of the points of diiference between the two, and the 

 one believed to he constant, is in the color of the tips 

 of the tail-feathers and of the feathers overlying the 

 base of the tail. These ara creamy, or yellowish 

 white, in the Mexican and typical barnyard birds; 

 while, in the wild turkey of eastern North America, 

 the same parts are of a chestnut brown color. The 

 domestic turkey was introduced into England in 

 I'Zil, and some years later became sufficiently abun- 

 dant to afford the farmer his Christmas dinner. 

 When the Spaniards conqured Mexico the turkey 

 'Was found In a domesticated state, and it probably 



had been reared as a tame bird for several centuries 

 to that time. 



Keep Your Birds Tame. 



There is one point in poultry management to 

 which we wish to call especial attention, as but few 

 persons who rear poultry for profit ever attach much 

 importance to it, notwithstanding it has a great in- 

 fluence upon the profits. It is to keep your birds 

 tame, whether they are kept up in suitable enclo- 

 sures during the entire year or permitted to have 

 unlimitted range, for it pays to do so in many ways. 

 If you keep your birds tame so they will come to 

 you quickly at the call and eat out of your hand 

 without any sign or fear or distrust they will always 

 be quiet and content, and will fatten and thrive 

 much better. This matter is well understood by 

 breeders of the larger kinds of stock, such as cattle, 

 horses, sheep and swine, while there are a sensible 

 few who apply the same principle with poultry. 

 Many a fine nest of eggs has been destroyed by a 

 wild and frightened hen, a hen which had early 

 learned to fear her master or owner. If uniform 

 kindness and gantleness had been resorted to, the hen 

 would sufl'er herself to be handled while on the nest, 

 and never once think of leaving it in such a hurry as 

 to endanger the eggs. If the poultry on the farm is 

 kept tame it is not a "very dilBcult matter to catch 

 one or more when wanted for table or other uses. — 

 America7i Poultry Journal. 



Save the Best Fowls for Breeding. 



It is the worst possible policy to kill all the best 

 and handsomest fowls, and save only the mean and 

 scraggy ones to breed from. This is precisely the 

 way to runout your stock; for like tends to breed 

 like, and the result is, that by continually taking 

 away the best birds, and using the eggs of the poor- 

 est, your flock will grow poorer and poorer every 

 succeeding year. 



It would seem as though this was too plain to be 

 insisted upon, but, in fact, "line upon line" is need- 

 ed. It is the crying want of the poultry upon the 

 farms the country tlirough — this careful and intelli- 

 gent selection of the best for breeding. 



Nothing is lost by a little self-denial to start with. 

 The extra pound or two of poultry flesh that you 

 leave on its legs, instead of sending it to the market, 

 is as good seed, and will bring forth tenfold and 

 twenty-fold in your future broods. Save your best 

 stock for breeding. — The Poulp-y World. 



Cheap Poultry Yard. 



Set posts firmly in the ground, six feet high, eight 

 feet apart. Take No. 9 wire, and stretch from post 

 to post outside, fastening with staples made of wire 

 driven into posts. Place three wires one inch apart, 

 one foot from the ground ; another three at three feet 

 ten inches from the ground ; another three at top of 

 posts. Take common laths and weave in, leaving 

 three inches space between sides of each. This 

 makes the fence four feet high. Then take other 

 laths, picket one end, and chamfer the other like a 

 chisel blade, and interweave among the top wires; 

 then shove the chamfered edge down beside the top 

 of the bottom lath, lapping under wires two inches. 

 This makes a cheap, durable, pretty fence, that is 

 seven feet and ten inches high, and fowl-tight. Wires 

 should be left somewhat slack, as interweaving the 

 laths will take it up. — /. W. Lang in the Poultry 

 World. 



LITERARY AND PERSONAL. 



AiB-TionT Butter Packages. — A. J. Finnegan, 

 Minneapolis, Min., patentee and manufacturer. 



Home-made marures, by Harrison Brothers & 

 Co., analytical chemists, Philadelphia, Pa. 



Complimentary Notice. — Parents and young 

 ladies, read the advertisement of Trinity Hall School, 

 Beverly, N. J., and send for catalogue to Miss Hunt, 

 Principal. » 



The attention of tree-dealers, planters, etc., is 

 called to the advertisement of E. Moody & Sons, 

 Lockport, N. Y. This house is one of the oldest and 

 largest in the nursery trade in the United States. 



E. P. Roe's " Gold Medal " strawberry plants. 

 Price list, testimonals and how to cultivate them. 

 Octavo pamphlet of 'li pages. Cornwall-ou-the- 

 Hudson, Orange county, N. Y. 



Burpee's Breedino Manual and illustrated 

 descriptive catalogue of thoroughbred live stock, in- 

 cluding cattle, sheep, swine and fowls. 21\ Church 

 street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



IIF.ARINft KESTORED.— Great invention by 

 one who was deaf for L'O years. Send stamp for par- 

 ticulars. Verry & Harper, Lock Box 80, Madi- 

 son, Indiana. 



Naturalists' Leisure Hours. — A monthly 

 bulletin, by A. E. Foote. Octavo. 50 cents a year. 

 1223 Belmont avenue, Philadelphia, Pa. Interesting 

 and useful In scientific practice, and we wish it could 

 push out of circulation the masses of sensational 

 trash that is poisoning the minds of the young men 

 and women of this generation. 



Newark, July 22. 



Mr-Rathvon — Dear Sir: I see in the Farmer ad- 

 vertised, the Art of Propagation. I inclose 40 cents 

 for the same. I think the Lancaster Farmer is what 

 every farmer should take. Most every number is 

 worth the year's subscription if they would only put 

 it into practice, hoping it much success in the future. 

 Respectfully yours, Wm. R. Andrews, 

 143 Belleville Avenue, Newark, N. J. 



The August number of The Pennsylvania 

 School Journal is just received. It contains the 

 usual variety of valuable m.atter. The leading arti- 

 cle is a very full and complet* sketch of the life and 

 work of Dr. Thomas Arnold, the great Head-master 

 of Rugby. No earnest teacher, whether man or 

 woman, can read this article without profit, and 

 there are those to whom it may come marking an era 

 in their lives. The letters of the State Superintendent, 

 Dr. Wickersham, now in Europe, are also an inte- 

 resting feature of the numbar before us. Teachers 

 and Directors especially should be readers of The 

 School Journal. Subscription rate per year, ^1.60. 

 Five copies, ?7.00. Address J. P. Wickersham & 

 Co., Lancaster, Pa. 



Elwanger & Barry's catalogues of ornamental 

 Trees, Shrubs, Roses and Flowering plants for the 

 fall of 1878 have been received. Also their Descrip- 

 tive Price list of strawberries, giving directions for 

 their cultivation. Their nurseries are located at 

 Rochester, N. Y., and bear the promising name of 

 "Mount Hope." Established in 1840. These Cata- 

 logues are very interesting and elaborate in their de- 

 tails, being beautifully and copiously illustrated 

 from begining to end. This enterjirising firm is al- 

 ways in advance of all others, and if this be an un- 

 mistakable indication of success, then their estab- 

 lishment must be one of the most successful in the 

 country, an<l from their long experience in the busi- 

 ness, this is doubtless the case. 



Employment for Ladies and Gentlemen at 

 Home. — Our attention has been called to some new 

 and labor-saving cooking utensils — recently invented; 

 one of which, the Universal Weight and Measuring 

 Utensil, for weighing flour, sugar, butter, and meas- 

 uring molasses, milk and all kinds of liquids used 

 in cooking, entirely superseding expensive scales. 

 The Patent Centennial Cake Pan, the Best and most 

 convenient cake pan ever made, and which every 

 housekeeper will have when they see its advantages 

 over all others. Also, the Kitchen Gem, a plated 

 wire boiler to hang inside of an ordinary pot, for 

 boiling all kinds of vegetables, eggs, etc., which, 

 when done, can be removed at once pefectly dry 

 without lifting the heavy sooty pot off of the stove. 

 These goods are sold exclusively through agents to 

 families, and offer a splendid opportunity to some re- 

 liable lady or gentleman canvasser of this county to 

 secure the agency for a very profitable business. 

 For terms, territory, etc., write to L. E. Brown & 

 Co., No. 242 Elm street Cincinnati, O. 



Harper's Magazine for September, 1878. — 

 Harper's Magazine for September, with the two 

 serial stories by Black and Hardy, representing the 

 best work of these two great novelists ; three bril- 

 liant short stories by Mrs. E. W. Latimer, Rebecca 

 Harding Davis, and Rose Terry Cooke ; a dramatic 

 sketch of thrilling interest, by T. B. Aldrich, with 

 three admirable illu&trations by Abbey ; a humorous 

 sketch by Charles D. Deshler, entitled " Ab'ra : A 

 Glimpse of Modern Dixie,", illustrated by Pyle; an 

 illustrated poem, of pathetic interest, " The Fore- 

 closure of the Mortgage," by Mrs. E. T. Corbett; 

 other poems by Ruth Dana and Harriet Prescott 

 Spoftbrd ; several illustrated articles, covering a 

 variety of subjects ; timely articles of great and 

 immediate interest to all readers, and the five ad- 

 mirably sustained editorial departments — is an ex- 

 ceedingly rich, beauiiful and entertaining number. 



The opening article, by Clara F. Morse, entitled 

 " Sheen, the Beautiful," is an interesting description, 

 with fine illustrations of Richmond Hill, Twicken- 

 ham, (with Pope's villa), and other English scenes 

 of poetic and historical interest. 



Dr. Tomes's paper on "Reformed Wiesbaden" is a 

 picturesque revelation to American readers of this 

 famous German spa, formerly the capital resort of 

 gamblers. The article is embellished with twenty- 

 one excellent illustrations of character and scenery. 



W. P. Garrison contributes a critical but popular 

 paper on Thomas Bewick — the father of Lnglish 

 wood-engraving — with an eft'ective portrait and 

 twelve illustrations or reproductions of Bewick's en- 

 gravings. This article is especially interesting, fol- 

 lowing, as it does, the paper on the "Golden Age of 

 Engraving" in the August Harper. 



In Mr. Rideing's paper, "A Spring Jaunt in Staten 

 Island," the most picturesque features of that island 

 are portrayed not only by the writer's pen, but also 

 by numerous illustrations contributed by some of 

 our best artists. 



Mary P. Thaeher contributes an article on our wo- 

 men teachers, entitled "The School-mistress," and 

 Miss Charlotte Adams treats a subject which is now 

 one of great interest, involving the most dramatic 

 episode in tlie history of the island of Cyprus — 

 namely, the intensely interesting career of Catharine 

 Coruaro, the Queen of that island from A. D. 1473 

 to 1489. 



