19S3 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[December, 1880. 



Poultry. 



Hen Lice and Kerosene. 



, I wish to tell your readers not to be afraid of using 

 kerosene in pmiltry bouses. It lias liilled all the lice 

 and bed-buss in my hen houses, and did not injure the 

 fowls in the least. I was in Europe in 1S78, and both 

 these vermin i^ot into my poultry houses in some way, 

 and last year there was tens of thousands of red and 

 grey lice and the common beg bug. Every crevice and 

 nest was literally alive with the filthy creatures, aud 

 my poultry looked to be (and were) in a sorry plight. 

 I could not go into my house for months without get- 

 ting covered with the small grey lice. 1 really 

 dreaded to go near ray poultry or to touch them. I 

 tried all the remedies and failed. My own mind 

 suggested common kerosene, and I tried it quite 

 cautiously at first. I found it certain death to the 

 bugs and lice, I feared it would injure the hens also. 

 The results were, however, that in a few weeks (not 

 one or two dressings) I utterly destroyed 

 the foe, and now there is not a louse in 

 the nests, or on the roosts or fowls. I use the 

 kerosene quite fearlessly, as I have not found the 

 least indications of injury to my fowls old or young. 

 I pay ten cents a gallon for the common kerosene; 

 keep a two gallen can in my henhouse, and every 

 time I clean it out (twice a week), I sprinkle the 

 liquid on the perches and over the floor, through a 

 small in the cork of the can. I have proved by ac- 

 tual test that kerosene will kill lice, etc., but will 

 not hurt the fowls. — Country Oentlemen. 

 1^ 



Young Chickens and Insects. 



The practice of excluding chickens from the 

 gai'den, especially in mid summer, is bad both for 

 the chickens and for the vegetables. The young 

 chicks will not thrive in confinement, as in freedom, 

 and the growing plants are in a good measure pro- 

 tected from insects by the chickens. We have never 

 succeeded better with .young broods than by putting 

 them, with the mother, in the vegetable garden. 

 The mother is kept confined in a coop, and the 

 chickens have free access to her through the slats. 

 She follows her instinct in scratching over the ground 

 under the coop for worms and grubs, and after a few 

 days the coop is pushed along to new soil. The 

 chickens are regularly fed with scalded meal, or 

 boiled screenings ; they supply themselves with 

 animal food from the garden. The chickens are too 

 small to do any harm to plants that are well started, 

 and yet they pick up an immense number of insects. 

 The more highly the garden is manured, the more 

 rapidly do insects multiply, and the greater is the 

 need of birds aud fowls to keep them in check. The 

 Chickens can go beneath cucumbers, squashes, beans, 

 tomatoes, etc., and pick the eggs aud worms from 

 the underside of the leaves, where they are generally 

 found. They eagerly chase every moth and bug that 

 flies, and if one alights within striking distance, it is 

 sure to be devoured. When the chiclcens are large 

 enough to do injury to the plants, they are easily re- 

 move to other quarters. 



Does It Pay to Winter Turkeys, 



The general practice in the poultry districts is, to 

 fatten the early broods of turkeys for Thanksgiving 

 and the latter ones for Christmas, and to send each 

 lot to market in a lump. The advantages of this are 

 that the warmer weather of autumn is favorable for 

 fattening, and less food is consumed. The money 

 also comes in a pile, and much labor is saved. But 

 occasionally we find a farmer who feeds his turkeys 

 straight on through the winter, selling in small lots, 

 when he can get his price. When we ask him for 

 his reasons, he tells us that there is always a differ- 

 ence in sellinu' farm produce at the buyer's price, 

 and in selling it at your own price. The turkey 

 crop is mainly disposei of at Christmas — and he can 

 alway get a better price if he waits until February 

 and .March. The turkeys are all the while growing, 

 and are wanted in the village markets at reasonable 

 paying prices. There is also a good demand for 

 them as breeders in March and April. It pays him 

 to winter his flock. 



Literary and Personal. 



Eggs for Hatching. 



There are many theories advanced and ways pro- 

 posed, as best suited to preserve the germ of life in 

 the egg till it can be placed under the hen. Ex- 

 tremes of heat and cold, and evaporation of moisture 

 from the egg, are what we wish to avoid. In this, 

 as in many other matters, nature is our best guide. 

 The ground covered with leaves constitutes a natu- 

 ral nest, the tendency of which is to retain, rather 

 than dispel moisture. By putting soil and leaves in 

 a box, and placing it, with the eggs, either in the 

 cellarway (we mean the staircase between the cellar 

 and the next story,) according to the degree of 

 moisture in the two positions, we get perhaps the 

 most complete imitation of nature practicable. We 

 should prefer in winter a room warmed artificially 

 in which to keep eggs for hatching, were it not that 

 the air in such a room is almost always too dry. — 

 Poultry World. 



Annual Report of the Secketart of the 

 Interiok on the operations of the Department for 

 the year ended June :'>0, 1880 ; a royal octavo of 81 

 pages in paper cover. A copy of this excellent re- 

 port has been sent to The Farmer, " with the com- 

 pliments of the Secretary of the Interior," which we 

 gratefully acknowledge. 



We can hardly realize that an office so recently 

 created should comprise so much that had heretofore 

 been the subjects of neglect, or had been distributed 

 among other departments, where it could only obtain 

 a partial or incidental attention. It exhibits the 

 magnitude of our governmental operations —its 

 progress, its great expansion, and the effort it is 

 making in behalf of the interests of the people — their 

 physical and intellectual development. 



We have only space in this notice to mention the 

 heads of subjects comprised in the work, from which 

 our readers may be able to form some idea of the 

 scope of the Department which it represents. Indian 

 Aflairs ; their Agriculture and Herding ; other than 

 agricultural pursuits ; Education ; Indian Police ; 

 Land title in severalty; Railroads through Indian 

 Reservations; Genera! Remarks; The Utes; The 

 Poncas ; Victoria's Band of Apaches ; The Lemhi 

 and Port Hall Indians ; The Crows ; The Pi-Utes. 

 Public Lands : Public Land Commission ; Private 

 Land Claims ; Redwood and Big Trees ; Timber 

 Lands; Bureau of Railroad Accounts : Union Pacific 

 Railroad Company ; Central Pacific Railway Com- 

 pany; Central Branch Union Pacific Railroad; 

 Kansas Pacific Railway ; Sioux City and Pacific Rail- 

 road ; Texas and Pacific Railroad ; Southern Pacific 

 Railroad ; Northern Pacific Railroad Company ; At- 

 lantic and Pacific Railroad Company; St. Louis and 

 San Francisco Railway Company ; Oregon and Cali- 

 fornia Railroad ; Western Oregon Railroad ; Mis- 

 souri, Kansas and Texas Railway; Atchison, Topeka 

 and Santa Fe Railroad ; Appendix, &c. United 

 States Geological Survey ; Pensions ; Patents ; Edu 

 cation ; Tenth Census ; Entomological Commission ; 

 Hot Springs Reservation ; Yellow Stone National 

 Park ; Gas Companies ; Public Buildings and 

 Grounds ; New Public Buildings ; Reconstruction of 

 the Interior Department Building ; Hospital for the 

 Insane ; Columbia Institute for the Deaf and Dumb; 

 Freedman's Hospital. Territories: Utah; Dakota; 

 Idaho; Wyoming, Official Salaries, itc, &c., Ac., 

 of course, merely briefly discussed, and the details of 

 which will fill many volumes of various proportions. 

 Verily, the Interior Department is no " small salana- 

 ceous tuber," and if its business is efficiently con- 

 ducted,lthe hands of the various functionaries must be 

 full. In speaking of the Entomological Commission 

 the Secretary states that "the Commission has issued 

 three special bulletins during the year, one by Prof. 

 Riley, on the Cotton Worm ; one by Prof. Thomas, 

 on the Chinch Bug ; and one by Dr. Packard, on the 

 Hessian Fly. We have gratefully acknowledged the 

 receipt of the first two named, and we sincerely 

 desire to make a similiar acknowledgment for that 

 on the Hessian Fly, or for any other volumes on 

 natural science — of which we have not received 

 copies — especially the volume on the " Fresh Water 

 Khizopods of North America," by Dr. Joseph Leidy; 

 and published by the Department of the Interior, 

 under the authority of Congress, 1879, as a part of 

 Dr. Hayden's U. S. Geological Survey. We have no 

 special advocate at court, and hence must depend 

 upon our own personal solicitations almost entirely. 



" First Biennial Report of the State Board of 

 Agriculture, to the Legislature of the State of Kan- 

 sas, for the years of 1877-8, embracing statistical ex 

 hibits, with diagrams of the agricultural, industrial, 

 mercantile, and other interests of the State, together 

 with a colored map of the State, and sectional maps, 

 in colors, of each organized county, showing their 

 relation, size and location, railroads, towns, post- 

 offices, school-houses, water-powers, etc., etc. Second 

 edition, Vol. VI." 'Through the kind instrumental- 

 ity of H. M. Engle esq., we have been placed in pos- 

 session of this excellent volume, the foregoing tran- 

 script from the title page of which conveys only a 

 limited idea of the contents and the scope of the 

 work. This is a royal octavo volume of 63i pages, 

 printed on fine, heavy calendered paper, iu the high- 

 est style of typographical execution, and in addition 

 to the folded State map, and the seventy county 

 maps, there are practically, eight hundred and 

 twenty-five township maps, besides twenty-four full 

 page state maps iu colors, statistically illustrating 

 the stat'im and resources of the State; and a large 

 number of finely executed engravings, illustrating 

 the zoology, geology, archoeolgy, towns, landscapes, 

 public structures, and farming economies of the 

 State. When we contemplate Kansas to-day, as she 

 is refiected thro' her first biennial report, and call to 

 mind that only a few years ago she was engaged 

 in a death grapple with " border ruffians and 

 slavery propogandists " for her very existence as 

 a State, we must wonder at the political and social 

 insanity that attempted to a retrogressive civiliza- 

 tion. It was one of those stupendo.JS blunders that 

 often overshadow aud negative a long period of life, 

 that had hitherto been comparatively blameless. 

 Wecan hardly realize now, that not many years ago 



it was penal offence for any one to say even, " That 

 no man can hold .ilaues in Kaunas," and we may also 

 wonder what the condition of Kansas would now be, 

 had the effort to introduce slavery been successful. 

 "Vol. VI." "Second Edition," are also significant 

 terms. If we have before us only the sixth volume 

 of the first biennial report of the Store board, — even 

 if there snhould not be a seventh volume — the entire 

 report may reach four thousand pages, aud if the 

 other five are like the one before us, we know of no 

 reports that they may not be favorably compared 

 with. The demand we think must be much more 

 pressing in Kansas than elsewhere, for «uch works, 

 or it would never justify a second edition. We can't 

 say we would be oflTended at receiving the other five 

 volumes, especially if there were any on Entomology, 



Man — A weekly journal of progress and reform. 

 " Those who can read the signs of the times, read in 

 them that the kingdom of man is at hand." New 

 York, Nov. 1, 1880, published at No. 13, Dey-st., at 

 $1.00 a year, 2 cents each. This is a 16 page quarto, 

 and is the organ of the National Liberal League, and 

 this number contains the proceedings of its Fourth 

 Annual Congress, held in Chicago on the 17th, 18th, 

 and 19th of September last, and also the constitu- 

 tions of the National League and subordinate or 

 rather auxiliary leagues, besides other matters par- 

 taining to the same. VVe confess that although we 

 have frequently heard of this organization, and have 

 read some little about it, we had no idea it was so 

 "big a thing" as it appears through the columns 

 of this journal — for instance, . 12 leagues exist in the 

 United States, uamely, in New York State, 32; Mas- 

 sachusetts, 21; Illinois, 18; Kansas, 25; Nebraska, 

 15; Michigan, 17; Pennsylvania, 10; Missouri, 10; 

 Iowa, 11; Ohio, 9; Wisconsin, 7; Indiana, 5; Cali- 

 fornia, 8; Connecticut, 3; Washington Terriiory, 3; 

 New jersey, 3; Texas, 2; Idaho, 2; Vermont, 2; 

 Utah, li; Nevada, 2; Arkansas, 2; Tennessee, 3; 

 Oregon, 3; Colorado, 1; Minnesota, 1; Dakota, 1; 

 Maryland, 1; Rhode Island, I; West Virginia, 1, 

 and Washington, D. C, 1;— almost a "Solid North." 

 The last congress of this organization was mainly 

 occupied in discussing the U.S. postal laws in regard 

 to the transmission of immoral literature, in which 

 the champions were Col. IngersoU and Mr. Wakeman, 

 both able debaters, but neither of whom, perhaps, 

 can divest themselves of their Republican and Dem- 

 ocratic proclivities. Radical as IngersoU is in his 

 views, generally, Wakeman is still more radical on 

 this subject. Indeed, IngersoU in comparison Is a 

 conservative, and from the atiimus of his arguments 

 it would not be surprising to hear that he had gotten 

 down on the other side of the liberal fence. 



"Our Little Ones." — There they are, the dear 

 pets right on the title page, and as we scan their un- 

 sophisticated countenances we are compelled to con- 

 clude that " of such " must surely be " the kingdom 

 of heaven," and if they are, how infinitely far away 

 we elders must be. This is a square octavo of 32 

 pages, beautifully and elaborately illustrated on 

 every page, printed on fine calendered paper, and in 

 the plainest, clearest and sharpest typography. Pub- 

 lished monthly by the Russell Publishing Company, 

 No 149 A Tremont street, Boston, Mass., and edited 

 by William T. Adams (Oliver Optic). It nobly sus- 

 tains its claim of being "bright, lively, funny, but 

 never flippant, low or vulgar." Terms, pi. 50 a year 

 in advance, with very liberal club rates. The 

 December number of this charming juvenile periodi- 

 cal (Vol. I. No. 2) is before us, and we are com- 

 pelled to acknowledge an impulsive longing to " be 

 a boy again." 



Writing stories adapted to the comprehension, 

 amusement and instruction of children, is one of the 

 most difficult labors, and hardly one in a thousand 

 writers succeeds in it. The little publication before 

 us is perhaps as faultless as anything that usually 

 comes under our observation. No matter how 

 simple a tale is, however, there ought to be in it no 

 violation of the/ac,-(s of natural science, else we im- 

 press upon the ductile mind of childhood, errors that 

 may require mauy subsequent efforts to eradicate ; 

 and just- here we may be indulged in the statement 

 that It is not a normal characteristic of the " Chip- 

 munk" to " live in a hollow tree." This animal is 

 strictly subteranean in its habits. If M. N. P. had 

 taken the "Chickaree" as the subject of the story, 

 all would have been well. True, it is a little matter, 

 but a matter cannot possibly be so small as not to in- 

 volve apj-j«c'y.)te in the development of mind,a8.impor- 

 tant as that w hich may found and sustain an empire . 



Catalogue of Books.—" Books are the food of 

 youth, the delight of old age; the ornament of 

 prosperity, the refuge and comfort of adversity." — 

 Cicero. This is a remarkably neatly gotten up little 

 18mo. of 90 pages, by John Wanaker, for gratuitous 

 distribution, and must be a subject of gratulation to 

 the book concerns of Philadelphia— the publishing 

 houses at least. No doubt there is a great demand 

 for this species of merchandise, and Mr. W. is in the 

 effort to supply it ; but if demand alone is the stimu- 

 lant to such efforts, there is no reason why a depart- 

 ment for the sale of watermelons aud sausages — in 

 their seasons— should not also be initiated. "We 

 have the largest establishment in ihe world." What 

 an Alexandrian ambition. It is a sad thing that 

 there is nothing larger than the largest. 



