im.j 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



79 



two drachms of tlie powdered gentian root. For the 

 purpose of ready administration such a powder may 

 be mixed with a teaspoonful of honey or treacle, 

 and in the shape of thick paste or electuary, smeared 

 upon the root of the tongue, which is far preferable 

 to drenching. It Is best given in the morning, an 

 hour before feeding. A frequent change of food, 

 plenty of sour milk, and always ready access to pure 

 drinking water, are esseotial.— A^nfionai Live Stock 

 Journal. 



Exercising Cows. 



A correspondent of tlie Country QentUman writes : 

 In countries where cows are the most productive 

 they are not allowed to range at will, but are con 

 fined in comparatively close quarters. On the 

 Channel Islands where the Jersey and Guernsey 

 cows are bred, they are tethered and kept confined 

 the year round. The Ilolsteins live with their own- 

 ers, generally under the same roof, while the bonnie 

 Ayrshire almost shares the bed and board of her 

 master. These customs have perl'ected breeds of 

 cows and made them profitable, while the American 

 system of pasture ranges and barnyard "exercises" 

 has perfected nothing, and never will, and in most 

 cases has afforded really no profit. On the one side 

 Is philosophy and cow sense ; while on the other, old 

 notions and human prejudice govern. Result, we go 

 abroad to improve our cows and iuerease our profits 

 and still hug the delusions of our fathers. Gentle- 

 men, this is not progressive. 



Tender and Small Feet. 



A horse with tender, thin-walled, and small front 

 feet is certainly better off without shoes on ; and the 

 longer time he can be spared from work, the better. 

 Such a horse should not be k^pt tied in a single 

 stall, but should be given outdoor liberty when the 

 weather permits; and when indoors he should go 

 loose in a comlbrtableshedor box-stall, with earthen 

 floor. Look out for corns. A few months' liberty 

 on pasture in the spring would be beneficial. Such 

 a horse should never wear heavy shoes, and the 

 smith should be told not to draw the nails tight when 

 shoeing. — National Live-Stock Journal, Chicago. 



Apiary. 



Practical Bee Culture. 



At the session of the Northeastern Bee-Keepers' 

 Association, held at Syracuse, N. Y., during the 

 past week, Mr. Bacon, of Oneida, took strong ground 

 in favor of allowing bees to stir about and clean up, 

 while others as strongly objected, saying that if kept 

 on pure, good honey and illowed to remain dormant 

 no cleaning is needed. The President took the latter 

 ground, and stated that he kept his bees dry, and at 

 a low enough temperature to keep them quiet, and 

 never disturbed them until the blossoms of the soft 

 maple are out, which he regards as a fair indica 

 that the cold weather has left and that bees will be 

 able to live and work. 



Another question, as to the relative amounts of 

 honey consumed, was raised. Mr. Baer claimed that 

 he raised honey enough in a single season to pay for 

 his bee-house. Mr. Snow claimed that he had all 

 the honey left that he cared for, and preferred to 

 have the honey used from the comb, in order to 

 vacate the cells for the use of the queen. Mr. Koot 

 had weighed two swarms and found that indoors the 

 swarm used four and a quarter and five and a half 

 pounds during the winter, against six and three 

 quarters and seven pounds used by those left out. 



Some further discussion took place, and it was 

 finally resolved to take up the question of the best 

 method of caring for bees in the spring. The dis- 

 cussion was very warm, and the views of several 

 membei-6 were strongly expressed. Several mem- 

 bers took the ground fhat an early fiight was desira- 

 ble, and others opposed it as being a fruitful source 

 of disease and spring dwindling, which so many com- 

 plain of. The president took the ground that an 

 early flight and a subsequent return to the dormant 

 state was a detriment to the health of the swarm. 

 He keeps his bees as quiet as possible, but when the 

 blossoms start he places them on the summer stands, 

 taking all necessary care to insure sufficient mois- 

 ture, which he deems necessary at this time, and al- 

 lows them to begin work and also to brood. He 

 feeds them honey in the comb, simply breaking the 

 ceiling of the cells, thus giving the comb to the 

 queen to be used for breeding. He believed dysen- 

 tery among bees was caused by early exposure and 

 by allowing them to get cold water. Several mem- 

 bers expressed the same views and the sentiment of 

 the convention was found to be in favor of the plan 

 adopted by Mr. Koot. 



A Good \A^ord for Bees. 



A correspondent of the LuUana Farmer writes : 

 While most all other industries are full to overflow- 

 ing, that of bee culture is just beginning to attract 

 attention. Our own State is about as good as any 

 other State for honey. Where white clover, golden 

 rod, Unn, poplar, or basswood and many other honey 



trees and plants abound, bee-culture can be made 

 profitable. We have hundreds of people in our State 

 of small means who micht as well as not engage in 

 the bee business and make it profitable as well as to 

 enjoy the luxury of eating honey. The outlay to the 

 beginner need not be very great. One hive will do 

 for a start. A book giving instructions on bee man- 

 agement Is almost Indispensable. The art of hand- 

 ling bees must be learned in some way, or failure 

 will be the result, sooner or later, and the sooner 

 cenerally comes first. The best way to learn an 

 occupation is to go to work with some one that 

 knows how . Bee-keeping Is no exception to this rule. 

 My experience has taught mc this much, that very 

 little valuable instruction is got from patent bee-hive 

 men. They will tell some big thing about their hive 

 to make It sell, whether it is true or not. Men who 

 can count their colonies by the hundred, and are 

 making money at the business, certainly know what 

 a hive should be. Some of the most successful ones 

 use a common affair. A hive of bees can, with 

 ordinary management, be doubled every year for 

 five years. In the fall of the seventh year we have 

 (54 colonies ; 'M pounds of honey to the hive every 

 year will be a low average for that length of time ; 

 l.") cents per pound is not high for honey ; we have 

 2,.')40 pounds for the seven years ; that is, at 1.5 cents, 

 makes |:i81,if I have made no mistake. The 04 

 colonies at the low price of $7 per colony makes 

 ?44S ; this added to the value of honey gives the 

 snug sum of $829. This is no big thing but it is 

 enough to pay for all the trouble It costs. Some 

 will say it looked well enough on paper, but not one 

 man in fifty can do that well. I believe it can be 

 accomplished every time with proper care. I would 

 like to hear from some of our bee-keepers on the 

 subject. If they think that I am extravagant in my 

 calculations let them say so. 



Farmers and Bees. 



Everything in bee-keeping does not depend upon 

 location. The manner in which many farmers keep 

 their bees, almost forces one to conclude that they 

 are either too indolent or ignorant to keep them suc- 

 cessfully, and that in reality they should not make 

 any attempt. I will enumerate the kind of farmers 

 who can keep bees, at least enough to supply them- 

 selves with honey sufficient for the wants of their 

 own families. The farmer who has sufficient sense 

 to plant corn at the right time, and energy to eradi- 

 cate the weeds and stir the soil to insure a good 

 crop, can keep bees. The man that adorns his home 

 with shrubs and fiowers, delicious fruits for his table, 

 and desires the education of his children in every 

 useful art that agriculture and home affords, will 

 keep them. Ou the other hand the one who has not 

 the interest or energy to do all these things, need not 

 expect to get either money or honey from bee-cul- 

 ture. Some of the requisites to care, even for a few 

 stock of bees, are, first, a love for the bees. No one 

 succeeds well who keep bees with only large profits 

 in view, for in this business " he who'maketh haste 

 to be rich," will surely fall into a snare. Second, 

 knowledge and energy to do the right thing at the 

 right time. This can be attained by" reading and ob- 

 servation, and time and money thus expended will 

 prove a good investment. Third, faith that bees will 

 pay if rightly kept. A like faith is necessary in this 

 vocation as that which the farmer exercises in all 

 his farm matters. — O. \V. Niehardt, in Bee-keepers' 

 Guide. 



Poultry. 



How the Young Bird is Hatched. 



What more wonderful provision in nature is there 

 than that by which the young bird is vitalized and 

 matured in the egg. As all who have paid any at- 

 tention to embryology know, the germ of the future 

 bird is placed on one side of the yolk, and that side 

 is always uppermost, being suspended by chalazae 

 or twisted cords in the albumen of the egg. 



If you take an egg, and placing it on its side, 

 break out a circular hole in the upper side of the 

 shell you will always find the blastoderm or embry- 

 onic shield, as it is called, on the upper side of the 

 yolk looking you in the face, almost like an eye. 



The reason that this embryonic shield is always 

 held uppermost is because the parent bird in incu- 

 bating applies the hot surface of the skin directly to 

 the upper side of the egg, and that the embryo may 

 receive its proper heat' and receive no injury it is 

 suspended in a thick and elastic deposit of albumen. 



The parent bird in the period of Incubation, know- 

 ing by instinct that the eggs in the middle of the 

 nest receive more than their proportionate share of 

 her heat, she Is often employed in changing the po- 

 sition of the eggs, putting those that were on the 

 edge in the middle and those that were in the middle 

 on the outer edge. Observe now how this very act 

 beautifully carries out another provision of nature ; 

 If by chance a bird could impart to her eggs the 

 same degree of heat throughout so that there would 

 be no necessity for changing their position, the young 

 birds would not hatch ; because, the heat being ap- 

 plied to the eggs at one point without change, the 



veins which are thrown out to the shell to obtain 

 oxygen for the embryos would be over stimulated 

 anil strong at that point, and weak and powerless at 

 all other points, where the heat was not employed. 

 The result would be that the chicks would be con- 

 fined or anchored to one side of the shell, and, as 

 they could not turn around in the shell In order that 

 they might break a circle around it to liberate them- 

 selves they would die at the time they should break 

 their prison walls. 



Nature thus Implants In the parent bird the in- 

 stinct to keep changing the position of the eggs. In 

 order that the embryos may be born. 



"What Breed Shall I Keep ?" 



In the long list of questions which established 

 breeders of poultry are called upon to answer, there 

 Is none that appears more frequent than the one at 

 the head of this short article. 



The breeding of thorougliI)red poultry for profit or 

 amusement is becoming general, and each one cm- 

 barking in the enterprise asks this question first, 

 " What breed shall I keep ?" 



To answer this question, as it should be answered, 

 requires that we should know the tastes and habits 

 the person, the buildings, and time to be given for 

 eare and feed, and the amount of yard room and 

 grass run which a fioek would have. Of course the 

 breed 1 keep is the best for me, and also all others 

 who have a moderate amount of room. This Is a 

 natural conclusion, and yet before I settled down to 

 the breeding of Plymouth Hocks, I had tested the 

 other leading varieties, and failed to realize what / 

 hai'c realized during the five years I have bred tbU 

 variety. In egg production they have surpassed 

 anything I ever had, not excepting the Leghorns, 

 while the weight, and consequent value was much 

 greater. 



For table uses they are not equaled by any variety 

 of breed, the flesh being more evenly distributed 

 over the body, and especially on breast and sides of 

 breast bone. They are large, and yet compact ; 

 heavy, and not bony ; with bright yellow legs, and a 

 disposition to take on fat ; making them the best for 

 all practical purposes. They do not have a disposi- 

 tion to roam, and are easily kept within bounds, a 

 four foot picket fence being all that is necessary. 



One cannot ask for chicks larger than this breed 

 secures, as cockerels five months old dress from five 

 to six pounds. They are hardy, and remarkably 

 free from disease. 



The hens have a moderate desire to set, but, with 

 my experience, not sufficient to make them good 

 sitters or mothers. Some of my flock, three years 

 old, never having shown any desire to brood. 



The Plymouth Rocks are of good form and fine 

 color, and so please the eye of all, while their in- 

 trinsic worth made them favorites everywhere.— O. 

 M. Twitchell. 



Eggs and Egg Culture. 

 The traffic in eggs in this country Is estimated, by 

 competent authorities, to equal ?1.'>0,UOO,000 per an- 

 num. New York receives in a single year 530,000 

 barrels of eggs, valued at ?9,000,000. In 1877 there 

 were exported from this country .5,20J,"20.5 dozen 

 eggs, valued at $668,701. It Is claimed that Phila- 

 delphia consumes daily 80,000 dozen eggs. The ap- 

 proximate receipts of eggs In Boston for the year 

 1878 have been as follows : 107,627 cases, containing 

 49 dozen each ; 43,000 boxes, containing 100 dozen 

 each, and 17,7{>3 barrels, containing 70 dozen each. 

 These figures give as a result, 108,410 packages, 

 containing 6, .51.5,052 dozen eggs, or 78,187,^36 single 

 eggs. It is estimated that fully 95 per centum of all 

 receipts are consumed in Massachusetts, and that 

 about 80 per centum are consumed in and near Bos- 

 ton. In nearly all small towns and villages enough 

 eggs are raised to supply the local demand. The 

 number of eggs consumed in this Slate, when com- 

 puted, is found to be at an average of 5.! eggs per 

 year to every inhabitant, or one egg per week. All 

 these eggs come to Boston from various sections In 

 about the following proportions : Eastern eggs, most- 

 ly from .Maine, by boat and rail, at all seasons of the 

 year, 24 per centum of total receipts ; Northern eggs 

 from Northern New York and Canada, 37 per cent- 

 um ; P. E. I. eggs, from Prince Edward's Island, be- 

 tween the months of April and November, 17 per 

 centum ; Western eggs, 19 per centum, and Southern 

 e^'gs, from Virginia, during a few weeks in the 

 spring, 3 per centum. Of the Northern eggs the 

 greater part comes from Canada, and this trade is 

 constantly increasing. A single Boston firm, the 

 largest receiver of eggs in this market, bandied 

 nearly 000,000 dozen eggs last year. 



What I Know about Roup. 

 Dear Sir : I would like to tell what I know about 

 roup. The symptoms are various. A sniffing and 

 sneezing, sore eyes, swollen head, a discharge from 

 the beak and nostrils, and a loss of appetite, are all 

 indications of roup. Another good way of discerning 

 roup is to take the fowl on your lap, open its beak 

 and smell of its throat. If it smells badly, your 

 fowl has the roup. At the first appearance of roup, 

 the fowl should be promptly removed from the rest, 

 and treated as described below. 



