16 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[January, 1881. 



stimulatinff and the latter because it is too fat- 

 tening and difficult of digestion. Meat, offals and 

 scraps, broken victuals, vegetables and the like are 

 valuable additions to the daily ration, but they are 

 unsafe if fed in large quantities, for they not only 

 injure the health of the fowls, but impair the quality 

 and flavor of the eggs. One essential point vphich 

 must not be forgotten in the make up of the daily 

 rations— in cases they are not principally wheat and 

 sour milk— the constituent element of bones and egs 

 shells must be furnished in the shape of burned 

 bones, broken small, or ground oyster shells. — Xew 

 England Homestead. 



Fat Makes Hens Lay. 



There is much refuse fat from the kitchen that can 

 be turned to good account by feeding it to the hens. 

 Of course where soap is made it will be used up in 

 that way, but it is a question whether it is not much 

 easier and more profitable to buy soap and make 

 hens lay by feeding them with fat. Everything that 

 is not wanted for drippings for cooking purposes 

 should be boiled up with the vegetables for the fowls. 



Fowls. 

 With half the farmers their fowls cost them more 

 than they get from them. They feed them just 

 enough to keep them alive and to enable them to 

 lay an egg now and then. When a dry time comes, 

 very likely they do not have any water, and hen 

 ■without water do not do well. They should have 

 plenty of clean water always accessible. It is the 

 extra feed an animal gets over and above what 

 required to sustain life, which makes the profit. 

 With poultry it will make eggs in the season, and 

 with all animals flesh, which is gain, and the gain is 

 profit. '^ 



Literary and Personal. 



Dairy Farming— Being the theory, practice and 

 methods of dairying, by J. P. Sheldon, assisted by 

 leading authorities in various countries. Published 

 by Cassel, Potter, Gilpin ifcCo., London, Paris and 

 596 Broadway, New York. The 18th part of this 

 beautifully illustrated quarto has been placed upon 

 our table, and it more than sustains the deserved 

 reputation it started out with some months ago, not 

 only in quantity but more especially in q'ualitv. 

 The full page colored plate, illustrating Welsh cattle, 

 is unsurpassable, and, indeed, the illustrations 

 throughout are executed in the highest style of art. 

 "BuflTalo grass" and "Bermuda grass" are so per- 

 fect in their delineation and execution that the 

 novice in botany ought to be able to recognize them 

 without referring to the explanatory letter press. 

 The botanical contributions to this journal are most 

 ably discussed, both practically and scientifically, 

 furnishing the intelligent and progressive dairyman 

 with the very fundamental elements of his profes- 

 sion; for if there is no butter in the plant food he 

 will not be likely to extract it from the lacteal of his 

 animals any more than he would "blood from a 

 turnip." Nineteen pages of this part is devoted to 

 "the dairy cattle of America"— their history, breed- 

 ing and management— cross-bred buffaloes, produce 

 of dairy cows, prices of cattle, &c., &c., from which 

 we learn that "the first domestic cattle in America 

 were brought over by Columbus on his second voy- 

 age in 1493." This paper is very elaborate and 

 thorough, and introduces many familiar and distin 

 guished names in the cattle operations of the country. 

 The illustrations: "Cross-bred Buffaloes," "James- 

 town Cattle," "Cross-bred Jersey Ayrshire Heifers," 

 "The Oaks Cow," "Old Creamer" and "Jersey 

 Belle of Scituate' are among the finest cattle por 

 traits of this artistic period. Of course, as the title 

 of this journal indicates, it discusses the subjects of 

 its specialty from the standpoints of produciiveness 

 and quality. As an absolute factor, form only occu- 

 pies a secondary relation to "butter, cheese and 

 cream," although, in conformity with physiological 

 law, intrinsic excellence will exercise a perceptil)le 

 influence upon extrinsic texture and form. This 

 work is published in monthly parts at 40 cents each, 

 and when compared with other works of the same 

 quality we regard it as the cheapest publication in 

 the country. 



The American Bee Journal- Devoted to 

 scientific bee culture and the production and sale of 

 pure honey. This, the leading apicultural journal in 

 the Union, was heretofore published as a monthly 

 octavo ; but now it is changed into a four-columned 

 weekly quarto, and from this time forward will be 

 publ shed in that form. Thomas C. Newman, editor 

 and proprietor, Chicago, Illinois. Terms, *2.00 a 

 year, in advance. When clubbed with the Farmer 

 the two journals will be furnished for ?2.85 a year. 

 The Bee Journal enjoys the enviable reputation of 

 having been the first periodical exclusively devoted 

 to apiculture in America, and it is at this time the 

 only meekly paper devoted to that specialty in the 

 world! It is a remarkably clean and clear print, 

 on fine calendered white paper, and we commend it 



to our pations and the public. Each number will 

 contain eight pages (32 per month) at least an inch 

 longer and wider than the Farmer, and well filled 

 with the most ably conducted bee literature in this 

 or any other country; and at the end of the year its 

 patrons will possess 41(5 pages of the choicest and 

 most reliable bee literature extant. We know from 

 many considerations that this "departure" will be 

 acceptable to the old patrons of the Bee Journal 

 (and their names ought to be "legion") not only in 

 America, but wherever the English language can be 

 read, or bee culture pursued. It affords ns unalloy- 

 ed pleasure to notice these indications of progress 

 on the part of our contemporaries, and especially 

 those engaged in illuminating the realm of "beedom." 

 And here we would respectfully suggest that so able 

 a specialist as the editor of this journal should solve 

 the problem, if possible, whether bees do really tear 

 open and destroy the pulp of grapes or not. That 

 charge rests upon them hereabouts, whether true or 

 false, and we would like to have the sentiments of 

 those who are able to speak with authority on this 

 much mooted subject. 



The Texas Sun, for October, November and De- 

 cember, 18-iO, is a large double folio, published at 

 San Antonio, Texas, in the interest of Texas and 

 Mexican lands, railroads, mines, mercantile opera- 

 tions and stock raising, at .50 cents per annum, 12 

 copies to one address $3.00. Copyrighted in 1879. 

 No man, or family, or company of men, designing to 

 settle in Texas or contiguous Mexico should fail to 

 consult this journal, if he desires to act intelligently 

 in the matter, whatever his special occupation may 

 be, even if he possesses other sources of information 

 upon the topics It discusses; for "in a multitude of 

 counselors there is safety." It contains a map. of 

 western Texas, illustrating its ereat railroad from 

 San Antonio to El Paso, on the Rio Grande del 



The Kansas Daily Tribune, of December 14, 

 1880, comes to us freighted with the "Great Law- 

 rence Sensation," in relation to " The Western Farm 

 Mortgage Company ^^^ which, according to the public 

 statement of Mr. J. B. Watkins, of the firm of J. B. 

 Watkins & Co., must be an arrant fraud. But 

 whether a fraud or not, or whether mere business 

 rivalry or not, the expositions involved will not be 

 hurtful to outsiders, and especially those at a dis- 

 tance. If Mr. Watkins' story is true, then we have 

 as emphatic an illustration of the monkey seizing 

 the cat's paw to scratch his chestnuts out of the fire 

 — in the person of .Mr. F. M. Perkins— as ever was 

 placed, on record. Equal to a "brass mine." 



The "Holiday Number" (vol. 1, No. 3) for Jan- 

 uary, 1881, of Our Little Ones, was duly received, 

 and we are in accord with the press in general in re- 

 gard to its merits. It will no doubt be hailed with 

 acceptance by the parents and the appreciative chil- 

 dren of the nation. We had occasion to notice a 

 previous number of this excellent juvenile publica- 

 tion in a former number of the Farmer, but the one 

 now before us is far superior to the former one, and 

 indicates a progressive future, and must elicit a 

 hearty welcome in the liearts and homes of our com- 

 mon country. It is very profusely illustrated, and 

 the illustrations are almost uuexceptioually good and 

 finely executed. This is trnlv a holiday number, 

 and faithfully caters to the holiday fancies of the 

 "little ones." In scanning its paircs the children will 

 be rollicking in the pleasirjg realizations of the pres- 

 ent, whilst the dim recollections of the elders will be 

 descanting on the past, perhaps with some regret 

 that the halcyon days of youth have forever fled. 

 But for them there is a delightful compensation in 

 seeing others delighted, especially children. Surely 

 with all the advantages possessed by childhood in 

 this pregnant age, the future generations ought to 

 exhibit a higher state of mental and moral develop 

 ment than the generations that have passed. Pub- 

 lished by the Russell Publishing Company, 149 A 

 Tremont street, Boston, .Mass., at $1..50 a year in 

 advance; 8 numbers *1.00, 16 numbers 8 '.00. Club 

 rates, two copies one year $2.80, 3 copies $1.00, 4 

 copies J.i.00, and 5 copies $15.00. Every household 

 blessed with children should have it. 



The American agriculturist. The American 

 Farmer, The Gardener's Monthly, and The Poultry 

 World, January, 1881, are now before us, and may 

 be regarded as fair representations of the specialties 

 to which they are severally devoted. Each occupies 

 a different position, and covers a somewhat different 

 ground, but all are excellent of their kind and ex- 

 hibit unmistakable evidence ot jnogrets. Of course, 

 these journals are too old, too prominent, and occu- 

 py too large a space in the field of agricultural liter- 

 ature, and moreover, are too ably conducted, to need 

 any special commendation of ours ; neither is this 

 our purpose on this occasion. They speak to a bet- 

 ter purpose by speaking for themselves. But we no- 

 tice nnr special spicing in them(which we, alas, lack) 

 without which no journal can make itself always in- 

 teresting, acceptalile and instructive to its readers, 

 and that is their many able contributors and corres- 

 pondents. Their columns are fairly "peppered and 

 salted" through and through by a cordon of contrib- 

 utors who seem to be habitual thinkers, and who 



know how to place their thoughts on record, Sup- 

 pose every publication in Lancaster county were 

 stricken out of existence to-day, would it be a sorrow 

 or a joy '. a joy that we might then enjoy a surcease 

 from reading and writing, and vegetate to the "top of 

 our bent;" a sorrow that no avenue existed through 

 which we only can talk to the world . The one in- 

 volves a candle in a candlestick, the other a candle 

 under a bushel. "He that hath an ear to hear, let 

 him hear." 



The Home Almanac for 1881 is a perfect bijou in 

 its way — absolutely the prettiest little publication 

 that has 'come under our observation "this year." 

 Most beautifully and elaborately illustrated, after 

 paintings of celebrated artists. It only includes 36 

 pages 8 vo. in paper covers, but among those are 

 nine full page pictures of the most interesting char- 

 acter, besides about a score of half and quarter page 

 pictures. Published and distributed by the Rome 

 Insurance Company of New York. It contains the 

 usual calendars, besides appropriate poems, and de- 

 scriptive and historical matte"-. If the external is 

 any indication of the i7iternal, and we had occasion, 

 we should not hesitate to patronize the Some. 



The Musical Herald. — This super royal quarto 

 for January, 1881, has been received, accompanied 

 by one of the most liberal premium lists that has 

 ever been issued in this country, including 130 pre- 

 miums, ranging from $1.00 all the way up to $1,000. 

 It has been many a long day since we were "music 

 mad," but persons who take part, or who are inter- 

 ested in music, cannot afford to lose sight of the in- 

 structive articles on this subject, which are being 

 published in the Musical JTerald from month to 

 month. It is published at $1.50 a year, but it is 

 worth ten times its cost. All who are engaged in 

 the study of music in any of its branches will find 

 the able articles from the thoroughly educated 

 writers in its editorial corps, as well as its other con- 

 tributors, worth many times the cost of the journal, 

 and, apart from the teacher, really the best means 

 for securing the valuable information they seek. 

 We have been particularly interested in the series of 

 papers for some time being published, on the subject 

 of musical instruments, ancient, medieval and mod- 

 ern, and in this connection we would respectfully 

 ask, when, and by whom, were the "bones," or 

 bone castinets, first introduced into Atnerica ? 

 Sixty years ago an old African itinerating minstrel 

 sang, and accompanied himself with "hones and 

 bell," in Lancaster county. Poor old Ben Caywood 

 was frozen to death just thirty years ago in a barn, 

 where he had betaken himself for a night's repose 

 in the frigid month of January. But he was already 

 famous Ions before any other professor had "rattled 

 the bones" in this region. 



The Musical JTerald is published by a company of 

 that name, at Music Hall, Boston. 



The Drainage and Far.m Journal. — Devoted 

 to farm drainage, progressive agriculture, and the 

 manufacture of drain tile. Published monthlv by J. 

 J. W. Billingsby & Son, Indianapolis, Indiana, n( 

 one dollar a year. The January number of this pe- 

 riodical has been received (vol. Ill, No. 1.) It is an 

 octavo in form, and contains 32 pages of mat- 

 ter relating to its specialty, and 18 pages 

 of advertisements, many of them relating to the man- 

 ufacture of drain tiling. Drainage in some localities 

 is absolutely indispensable, and ought to be resorted 

 to by many who pay little or no attention to it. 

 Much otherwise useless land could be reclaimed by 

 drainage, and even that which has long been culti- 

 vated might be improved by this process. Although 

 tnis journal contains useful information on various 

 subjects, yet it is mainly the repreeentative of the 

 tiling interests in the land. Send and get a catalogue. 



Breeding, Raising and Management of 

 Horses in Kansas. — The Fourth Quarterly Report 

 of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture for 1S80 

 has been received. It is a pamphlet of 134 pages, 

 containing statistics relative to live stock of the State, 

 the production of butter and cheese, number of acres 

 in farms, meteorological data, quarterly report upon 

 the condition of crops and farm animals. A short- 

 account of the Inter-State Agricultural Convention, 

 at Springfield, Illinois, together with valuable papers 

 on bee-keeping by prominent apiarians in various 

 parts of the State. The special feature of the re- 

 port, and probably the most valuable one, is that 

 portion of the volume devoted to " Breeding, Raising 

 and Management of Horses in Kansas." Com- 

 mencing with a short descriptive history of the 

 thoroughbred, the trotter, Percheron-Norman or 

 French draft, and Clydesdales, the papers, sixty- 

 three in number, giving the experience and observa- 

 tion of breeders from every part of the State, aggre- 

 gate a vast amount of practical experience of great 

 value to the farmers of Kansas. This portion of the 

 report is followed by a short paper upon epizootic, 

 and extracts from Dr. D. E. Salmon's article upon 

 Texas cattle fever, recently published by the Com- 

 missioner of Agriculture. "The last paper of the 

 volume is an illustrated essay upon " Insect-Eating 

 Birds." This report may be obtained by inclosing 

 two three-cent stamps to the Secretary, J. K. Hud- 

 sou, Topeka, Kansas. 



