192 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ December, 1879. 



Two results have been, and are being realized by 

 tlie agitation of tliis subject ; more attention is being 

 given to the value of poultry, both for eggs and mar- 

 ket, and more than all this, the value for production 

 either for eggs or table has been n>aterially advanced. 

 Buyers of poultry for market state that they find the 

 best specimens in those communities where the 

 greatest interest is taken in breeding, and that the 

 improvement all through the country is marked. 

 Poultry is brought to market in better condition, in 

 better shape, and attention is paid to growing that 

 which will produce meat of best color and most 

 evenly distributed over the body. All of these ques- 

 tions have been considered by the breeder in match- 

 ing up his pens, and the result is manifest on every 

 hand. The fact that more attention has been given 

 to the care of poultry, their feed and health has 

 given greater value to the eggs. 



These things must enter into a consideration of 

 the worth or magnitude of poultry breeding. 



If what is claimed is true, that birds of better 

 color and size are offered for sale in our markets, and 

 that the average eggs are larger, and so uf greater 

 value than formerly, then the breeders have accom- 

 plished part of their mission. 



There is work for the future. More attention must 

 be given to the production of table fowl. There is 

 room for improvement still, and while there is room 

 we ought to labor. 



One great obstacle is the law governing the sale of 

 eggs. As long as a premium is put on small eggs, 

 the breeds which produce them will be eagerly 

 sought after. Let the law be repealed, and let eggs 

 be sold by weight, and the small, unsightly, black 

 meated, blue legged fowl will not long be seen in our 

 markets. — Zip, Town and Cuunly. 



Pure-Bred and Common Fowlss. 

 The views of the roultry World on this subject 

 are expressed as follows : A certain writer discredits 

 the claim that pure-bred fowls are better flesh and 

 egg producers than common stock. While admit- 

 ting that they do usually furnish more meat and 

 eggs than art: furnished by the farmer's Hock, he 

 thinks this is due to superior care and feeding. He 

 says that a person who pays two or three dollars 

 per dozen for eggs, or a higher price for fowls, will 

 be very apt to give them extra care. There is, no 

 doubt, much truth in the saying that " the breed is 

 in tlie feed," but it is only the statement of a half 

 truth. Good feeding and care will compel any flock 

 of fowls to do Aeir best ; but, after all, the charac- 

 teristic differences of the varieties remain, and can- 

 not be changed by feeding. These differences are, in 

 many cases, constitutional ; that is, by a long course 

 nl •jilrriinii aiid local intluences, certain traits have 



I" !• |i niiinently fixed. The blood of certain 



\Hi. 'ir- i~ vi-ry strong, and will show itself for 

 i;rij r;i iMii- in each successive cross. The Game 

 ccick Hill transmit his game qualities, his proud 

 carriage and closeness of feathering; the Leghorn 

 bis sprighly disposition and wonderful productive- 

 ness; the Asiatic indolent habits and tendency to 

 lay on nesh and fat ; all these beino- marked features 

 of the breeds mentioned. Now, feeding will not 

 alfect these distinctive tendencies— at least not to 

 any extent. They were formed by climate influences, 

 operating for thousands of years, aided by a long 

 process of selection, sometimes natural and some- 

 times guided by man. In late years we have taken 

 in hand the several families of domestic fowls, and 

 by earel'ul s-jpction anl hrcfliim- Inv "^•:iL'r"r:itPd, 



as it Wri-.-, I l|.-!r |„Tllli:i|- llMiK. r l,f. 



come \'-r\- - - Iv iii,irl>r,] . '|. , - , i , , ,: . i jmt, 



as a Brahma will do in eight or uiuc mouths, is to 

 allirm what a fair trial will show to be false. 



• Feeding Troughs for Poultry. 



Feeding trouLcbs for |icMiltry, properlyeonstructed, 

 ought to" be gc-iieraily siilistitutcil for the wasteful 

 practice of feetliiiL; Innii tin- urouml. Where there is 

 a scramble for the food that is thrown helters-kelter 

 the weak are prevented by the strong from getting 

 their share until the latter are satislied and the food 

 is trampled in the dirt. It is no advantage to fowls 

 to eat sand, dirt or gravel mixed with their food. 

 The gravel and other indigestible substances neces- 

 sary to the proper trituration of their food in the giz- 

 zard can be given separately, and should be. A simple 

 trough may be made, defended by slats placed ver- 

 tically on a convenient angle, with spaces sufficient 

 for the passage of the head, thus preventing the 

 trampling and soiling of the food, which will not be 

 wasted, as in the ease where it is thrown carelessly 

 on the ground. 



Fatening Poultry for Market. 

 No foul over two years old should be kept in the 

 poultry yard, except for some special reason. An 

 extra good mother, or a finely feathered bird that is 

 desirable as a breeder, may be preserved until 10 

 years old with advantage, or at least so long as she 

 is serviceable. But ordinary hens and cocks should 

 be fattened at the end of the second year for market. 

 When there is a room or shed tliat can be closed, 



the fowls may be confined there. The floor should 

 be covered with two or three inches of ^ne sawdust, 

 dry earth, sifted coal ashes, or clean sand. The 

 food should be given four times a day, and clean 

 water be always before the fowls. A dozen or more 

 fowls may be put at once in this apartment, so that 

 there may not be too many ready to sell at one time. 

 The best food for rapid fattening, for producing well- 

 flavored liesh and rich fat, is buckwheat meal, 

 mixed with sweet skimmed milk, into a thick mush. 

 A teaspoonful of salt should be stirred in the food 

 for a dozen fowls. Two weeks feeding is sufficient 

 to fatten the fowls, when they should be shipped for 

 sale without delay, and another lot put up for feed- 

 ing. If the shed is kept dark and cool, as it should 

 be, the fowls will fatted all the quicker for H.— Cul. 

 tivator. 



Eggs for Winter Use. 



It is a foolish plan to be seeking the best methods 

 for putting down eggs for the winter use. This used 

 to be one of the first tests of thrifty housekeeping. 

 But it is better and just as easy to have hens lay all 

 the year around. If hens have a warm house and 

 enough to eat, and of the right kind, they will lay 

 in winter as well as in summer. Farmers always 

 expect to feed some grain to the fowls, then if they 

 would save all of the waste meat and scraps that 

 accumulate from the table, and feed it to the hens in 

 winter they would be repaid in fresh eggs. It is 

 also a good plan to hatch out some early and some 

 late chickens, as in that way the late ones will be 

 laying when the older ones want to set. 



Literary and Personal. 



Farm Field and Fikeside.— Devoted to agricul- 

 ture, markets, live stock and home literature. A 

 royal quarto of 16 pages, monthly at $1.00 yer year, 

 Chicago, Illinois. 



Fine paper, fine engravings, fine letterpress, fine 

 editorials, and fine selections— in short, like all 

 Chicago publications, this one is truly what its name 

 indicates in the realm of journalism. 



Ati.as of the Coal Flora of Pennsylvania, 

 and of the carboniforous formation throughout the 

 United States. By Leo Lesquereux, fossil botanist, 

 Harrisburg. Published by the Board of Commis- 

 sioners for the Second Geological Survey. We are 

 indebted to K 'presentative Demuth , of this city, for 

 a copy of this the most creditable and best executed 

 work ever published by the Commonwealth of Penn- 

 sylvania, 87 plates with explanations. 



Department OF AnnicfLTrRE— .Special report — 

 No. 18, containing " T.-a Ciillun; ;is a Possible 

 American Industry." By William Saunders, Super- 

 intendent of Gardens and (injiiniLs, Department of 

 .Agriculture. Head before the Xc«- York Horticul- 

 tural Society at its meeting in New York city, Oc- 

 tober 7, 1879. The subject is ably discussed, but it 

 relates to an industry in which our latitu'e is not 

 mechanically interested, and yet is in sympathy with 

 its success wherever it can be made available. 



Dominion Bazaar. — ".MuLtum in Parvo." To- 

 ronto, Canada. "Published in the interest of society 

 in general, and the publishers hi particular. Office, 

 No. 3 Adelaid street. Thisisal pageddemi-octavo, 

 and is devoted to the dissemination of Philatelic 

 knowledge, or, the history, collection, exchange, 

 sale and preservation of postage stamps. Monthly, 

 at ;35 cents per annum. On the first page of the 

 November number is an article entitled "Stamp 

 Collecting Not so Foolish Aftef All," which has 

 more j'oint than many people would suspect could 

 be made on such a subject. 



Holiday— Christmas.— "A Merry Christmas 

 and a Happy New Year," 12 pages octavo, contain- 

 ing a beautiful poem, handsomely illustrated, pub- 

 lisTied only by Rowley & Chew, Mo. 712 Chestnut 

 street, Philadelphia, and specially intended for the 

 Christmas and New Year trade, in which old Santa 

 Claus figures very conspicuously, laden with his 

 holiday gifts for the children. It is snowy and 

 sleighy all through, and could only be fully realized 

 on a snowy day. Its object is an advertising me- 

 dium for holiday goods. 250 copies with bus ness 

 card on front, *7.00; 500 copies, §12.00; 1,000 

 copies, $22.00, and 2,000 copies, gli.OO. Beautiful 

 winter scenes. 



Mind and Matter. — "Physical Life — The pri- 

 mary department in the school of human progress," 

 Philadelphia, No. 713 Sansom street, $2.15 per 

 annum in advance, by the "Mind and Matter" 

 Publishing house, J. M. Roberts, editor. A remark- 

 ably fair and well printed 8 page demi folio, devoted 

 to spiritualistic philosophy. No. 1, vol.2, contains 

 a biographical sketch, and a well executed wood cut 

 of Dr. James V. Mansfield, the great medium. A 

 very intellectual looking picture, and also a very 

 positive looking one. The utterences of this journal 

 are as positive as those of the Mormon faith, and 

 time may demonstrate that either one cannot he 

 crushed out by coercion any easier than the other 

 can. They are "cither of God or of men." 



The Fanciers' Journal for "December closes 

 Vol . 6. The articles are varied and of interest to 



poultry and pigeon Fanciers. We have first the 

 Dusky or Black Duck, so well known to American 

 sporlsnK'ii. Next the new variety of bantam to be 

 reporliil La- thr Standard for the first time next 

 year, i ijc spaiii.xli Fowl, the conclusion of Exhibi- 

 tion <iaini-s. Kuli's lor Management of Laying Hens, 

 Washing Poultry lor Exhibition, and a column of 

 Poultry Shows fill the poultry bill of fare. Next 

 follow Homing matters. In this, the Journal leads 

 everything outside of Belgium. Two pages give the 

 record and pedigree of the Homing bird's of the past 

 season's flight. There is, further, a portrait of a 

 champion bird, a chapter on the care of Homers, a 

 page or more of flights of the past month, and 

 Homing items. Fancy Pigeons are treated bj J. C. 

 Lyell of Scotland, J. Matthews Eaton and others. 

 Show reports and notices, with a page of contribut- 

 ed matter upon poulti-y and pigeons, completes the 

 number. $1.50 per annum: single copy 15 cents. — 

 E. S. Starr, Editor and Proprietor, Springfield, 

 Mass. 



Southern Illinois Farmer.— "Devoted to 

 Christian and political economy, statistics, commerce, 

 agriculture, education, meehanicism, science, litera- 

 ature and news." "Independent in all things, 

 neutral in nothing." J. P. M. Howard, A. M., 

 editor, Effingham, Illinois, monthly, at $1.00 per 

 year. This is a large quarto of 8 pages; a new enter- 

 prise, the number before us being the first of vol. 1, 

 December, 1879. 



It should have specifically included poetry in Its 



catalogue of specialties, for nearly every editorial 



ixiragraph is prefaced with a poetical quotation. To 



us it very forcibly recalls the "Wag of Windsor." 



"I'm alderman and sexton here, 



My name is Caleb Quotum; 



I'm palate . glazier, auctioneer, 



lu short I am Factotum.*' 



Its typography and the quality of the paper arc 

 fair averages of country journals in general, and its 

 literary "make up" is spicy, entertaining and in- 

 structive. Indeed, having so many specialties, and 

 consequently so many sources to draw from, it 

 cannot well be otherwise than interesting and useful; 

 and, therefore, we wish it "God speed." As its 

 name implies, there is much more of its contents 

 devoted to husbandry than to any other subject, 

 which must make it a popular journal among the 

 reading farming public. 



Human Nature. — How to Study Phrenology: 

 With Hints on Co-operative Observation and Prac- 

 tice ; Directions for the Formation of Societies, with 

 Constitution and By-Laws ; References to the best 

 Text-books, etc.; also, An Outline of the Princi- 

 ples of Phrenology, by H. S. Drayton, A.M., Editor 

 of the Phrenological Journal, with forty illustrations. 



This is the title of a pamphlet specially prepared 

 for the use of students of this most valuable of 

 human sciences, in answer to the question so many 

 times asked by young and old, " How can I study 

 Phrenology?" It will be found to answer the in- 

 quiry very fully, giving names of books recom- 

 mended, and many suggestions to the student in re- 

 gard to the general and special application of the 

 subject. 



The outline of "First Principles" supplies th.e 

 reader with the name and definitions of the organs 

 of the brain, and brief expositions of the functional 

 relations of the several faculties in the action of the 

 mind. Over forty illustrations add their interest to 

 the text. 



Price, in paper, only 10 cents. Send the price, in 

 stamps, to the publishers, S. R. Wells & Co., 7:57 

 Broadway, New York. 



Department of Agriculture. — Annual reports 

 for the years 1877 and 1S78. We are indebted to 

 Hon. A.'Herr Smith tor a copy of the former, and 

 to Commissioner Le Due for a copy of the latter. 

 These two volumes contain 1,200 octavo pages, and 

 98 full page plates, and many figures illustrating the 

 various subjects treated of in the volumes ; also, 

 four folded maps, 168 pages of the letter press, and 

 •^.2 of the plates are illustrative of the many phases 

 of entomology, being the last i-eport of Professor 

 Glover, and the only annual report of Professor 

 Riley during his brief incumbency of the office of 

 United States Entomologist. Just exactly how 

 much use an entomologist may be to a nation, a 

 State, or to a local district, will depend entirely 

 upon how much use the people make of his practical 

 teachings — how much, and how understandingly 

 they read, remember, and practice what they read. 

 In the matter of remedies for the destruction of 

 insects, and especially the traps and implements in- 

 vented for their capture or extermination, a vast 

 deal has been suggested and promulgated that 

 speedily becomes obsolete ; not always because they 

 possess no merit, but because they are often expen- 

 sive, unwieldy and undurable, or not of easy appli- 

 cation. A.s a single instance. Peck's atomizer for 

 the application of liquid Paris green cost $10.00, 

 was burdensome, and required two very diverse 

 motions in its operations ; and now Peek has in- 

 vented a hand implement, of far easier manipula- 

 tion, which only costs 75 cents. Of course this must 

 supplant his first invention, and remand it to the 

 great infirmary of obsolete and superannuated im- 

 plements. The people want something cheap. 



