1882.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



191 



Sheep. 



American slicpherds have nuuli yet to learn in re 

 eard to the management of tlielr flocke. For ex- 

 ample, the sheep in Siberia arc never exposed to 

 much rain. Shelter and shade are provided for 

 them. Nor are they exposed to dust, for that Is 

 known to be injurious to the lleece. The greatest 

 possible care is taken in the breedinfr. Men of ex 

 perience are employed to co from farm to farm to 

 examine the sheep and select the best rams that can 

 be found. The rams are closely examined as to 

 their lleeee-bearing properties, and all but the very 

 tiest are siild off. The whole economy of the sheep 

 farm is af perfect as intelligence and industry can 

 make it. A ton of wool is worth .?7.")0 at :!.5 cents a 

 pound or $200 at 2.5 cents. A ton of wheat is worth 

 about ?:;■_', and of corn about Slii. The freight is 

 about the same for each, anil is thus '2!> times more 

 for wheat and nearly ■''I' times more for corn than 

 wool. This is worth considering, and shows how 

 much better it is to turn corn into wool than to sell 

 it. 



Cattle Range of Wyoming 

 The great cattle range of Wyoming, under the 

 military protection of Fort McKinney, is about ROO 

 miles square. In this area are now grazing .500,000 

 head of cattle, worth S27 per head, amounting to 

 $].<,400,000, to which can be added the value of 

 horses and ranches of the cattle men farmers, and 

 the stock of the granger.', making at least Slo, 000, 

 000 of property under the protection of this post. — 

 TtuUauapoIis rrtcr Current, 



Training Horns 



If it is desirable to straighten a horn, you may fre- 

 quently scrape with a piece of glasfe, or a knife, the 

 hollow side, which will cause it to grow faster on 

 that side ; but, in that case, it must not be scraped 

 deeply, for then it becomes weaker on that side, and 

 will be turned towards the weaker side. Some 

 scrape the side towards which they wish to turn the 

 horn qui'e thin, and then scrape the opposite side 

 just enough to make it grow faster, and that will 

 turn it towards the thinly scraped side. If you wish 

 ro lurn a horn up, .scrape on the under side just 

 enough to make it grow faster on that side. A very 

 barbarous way to turn a horn is soineiimes prac- 

 ticed, by searing with a hot iron on the side towards 

 which the horn is to be turned. This prevents the 

 growth of horn on that side, and the growth upon 

 the other side turns the horn. 



Tlie horns may tie polished by rubbing them with 

 fine sand paper, and then with pumicestone, and 

 oiling them. But this artilicial mani|iulation of 

 horns is seldom necessary. The horns of well-fed 

 cattle will generally irrow in comely shape if let 

 alone. 



The hair is sometimes oiled lo give it a glossy ap- 

 pearance, but the best gloss is jiut upon the hair by 

 rich and appropriate feeding. Nature, under proper 

 conditions, docs this work best. — National Live 

 Stock Jourtial. 



Poultry. 



Poultry Nonsense. 

 It is safe to say that more silly writing finds its 

 way into print on the subject of the poultry yard and 

 the care of poultrj, than upon any other that can be 

 named. As a rule this nonsense is uttered by ama- 

 teurs who have lately taken up the business of poul- 

 try growing and who in three cases out of four are 

 unable to distinguish a chicken from a turkey. But 

 the silliness does not all make its appearance in the 

 country newspapers. Poultry journals, that are 

 suppo.sed to know and ought lo know a good deal 

 about domestic fowls and their raising, admit arti- 

 cles into their columns that are simply astounding in 

 their ignorance. We remember, f r instance, one 

 of the best known poultry journals contained a long 

 article which was intended to prove that corn should 

 not be fed to domestic poultry. He neglected to say 



it ought to be fed exclusively to donkeys like himself. 

 The editor of that journal expressed no op'nion of 

 his own about the matter, prcit)ably because he knew 

 no better himself. 



In a well-known agricultural newspaper, pub- 

 llshed in a neighboring county, the BikI,-!i Cuiiiiti/ 

 TtiteUificnccr, we saw this : " The best way to pre- 

 vent or cure gapes in chickens is to commence feed- 

 ing them whole grains of corn as soon as they are 

 old enougli to swallow them — say two or three weeks 

 •Id. The elfort made by the chick to swallow the 

 whole grain will kill the little red worms in the 

 throat, wlueh are the cause of the gapes, and it is 

 easier and safer to kill the worms in that way than 

 to attempt lo take them from the throat witli a bent 

 horsehair, as is sonietinies done." The learned 

 poultry editor of the above journal must have un- 

 usual luck in growing chicks which at the age of 

 two or three weeks are capable of swallowing whole 

 grains of corn. Bnt even if he ever achieved that 

 feat we inform him be might pour the entire corn 

 crop of Illinois down the throats of his infected 

 chicks without destroying or removing a single one 

 of the " little red worms which are the cause of the 

 gapes," and for the very simple reason that none of 

 these destructive parisites ever find their way into 

 the throat. They are always in the windpipe and 

 there they remain, unless removed artificially, until 

 tlley cause sulTocation and death. So mueli for tliis 

 learned essay on gapes in chickens. 



The riiiladclpliia Record in its agricultural depart- 

 ment had an article on the management of young 

 fowls, in which, after saying "gapes are a disgrace 

 to the poultry yard, and their prevention should he 

 sought instead of their cure," proceeds to tell how 

 this can be done. " The disease can be avoided alto- 

 gether by feeding the chicks on a board or some 

 other hard, clean surface." Chicks find a portion of 

 their food themselves on the ground, where the dan- 

 ger of infection is always present. It is practically 

 impossible to carry out the suggested pian, and ex' 

 nerience has taught us the evil would not be reme- 

 died if it couhi be. The same article says " young 

 turkeys, and in fact all young fowls, should be kept 

 away from wet grass or exposure to dampness until 



well under feather The omission of a single feed 



is sometimes fatal, for once the young fowl becomes 

 debilitated, its progress receives a check from which 

 it seldom recovers." The only way young turkeys 

 can always be kept dry that we know of is to keep 

 them under roof. That plan would prove more fatal 

 to them than a two weeks wet spell. How do the 

 young of the wild turkey manage to survive ? Are 

 they not exposed to wet grass and all the rain and 

 moisture that falls ? Does not the dotnesticaled 

 turkey at once lead her young brood into the fields 

 and remain there for the most part until they are 

 half grown? We have tried the plan suggested 

 above year after year, but our success was always 

 better when we turned the brood adrift, whether the 

 grass was dry or wet. Of course, we do not believe 

 a soaking rain will benefit young turkeys; what we 

 mean to s.iy is that the coddling plan is unnatural 

 and unsatisfactory. These are merely a few speci- 

 mens of the poultry literature with which poultry 

 authorities abound, and which do far more more 

 harm than good, to say nothing of their irredeemable 

 nonsense. — Xetx Sra. 



Poultry. 



The approach of Christmas suggests to our mind 

 how very careless the major portion of our farmers 

 and suburban poulterers are, when they have every 

 facility to raise turkeys every year for market, but, 

 after all, fail to do so. Ducks and geese of the im- 

 proved breeds are profitably raised on many farms. 

 If a supply of water can be given them, all the bet 

 ter. Good feed Is more important than water to 

 swim in and fish for bugs. The Kouen duck stands 

 pre eminent among ducks where size is the con 

 stderation ; the Aylesbury drake sometimes attains I 

 equal size, but the Aylesbury or any other duck 

 seldom does. The white China geese have their 

 admirers, for they have merits of no mean order, 



though for size the Toulouse geese are preferred to 

 the former, while the Enibdenor Bremen have many 

 enthusiastic friends. — Weslerti Agrlcnllurisl. 



Womjn as Poultry Raisers. 



The custom practiced In France of allowing the 

 wife so many francs a mouth or year as pin money, 

 to use as she pleases, is one that should be generally 

 adopted, especially in the United .States. On the 

 farm the care and profits of some, if not all the 

 poultry, could be very properly transferred to the 

 woman of the household. The care of poultry Is a 

 business naturally ailapted to woman, as It requires 

 patience and attention, and, at 'he same, klndnees 

 anil gentleness, traits too often lacking in the sterner 

 sex. There is no event in connection with jKiultry 

 raising, during the whole year, which has not Its In- 

 terest lor those who care for the innocent creatures 

 of the fariii yard. VVhelher it be feeding grateful 

 bipeds, gathering egt's, hatching the chickens, or 

 reducing the Hock in the fall to suit winter quarters — 

 all have their charm, and excite the Interest and 

 8vmi)athy of their faithful attendants. There It 

 much complaint among physiologists that American 

 l.idies lose health and beauty earlier than they ought 

 lor want of sufileient out of door air and exercise, 

 and this occupation has, among its other benefits, 

 that of sending them daily abroad into the pure, 

 outerair, and inciting a love for rural, natural beauty 

 not found among those whom no such beauty tempts 

 from the fireside. — Lufnijcltc, fnd., .ruurnal. 



To Fat en Fowls or Chickens in Four or Five 

 Days. 



Set rice over the fire with skimmed milk, only as 

 much as will serve one day. Let it boil till the rice 

 is quite swelled out ; you may add a teaspoonful or 

 two of sugar, but it will do well without. Feed 

 them three times a day, in common pans^ giving 

 them only as much as will iiuite fill them at once. 

 When you pui in fresh, let the pans he set in water, 

 that no sourness may be conveyed to the fowls, as 

 thai (irevents them from fattening. Give them clean 

 water, or the milk of rice to drink ; but the less wet 

 the lalter is when perfectly soaked, the better. By 

 this method the flesh will give a clear whiteness 

 which no other food gives, and when it is considered 

 how far a pound of rice will go, and how much time 

 Is saved by this mode, it will be found to be as cheap 

 as barley meal or more so. Th(' pen should be dally 

 cleaned, and no food given, foi sixteen hours l>efore 

 poultry are killed. — .<. P. Index. 



Winter Rations for Hens. 



Fanny Field, who is famous for her success in 

 making her hens lay in winler, tells the Prairie 

 Fanner how she feeds them, as follows : 



" .My way of feeding fowls in winter — and It works 

 wonderfully well — is to give them a warm break. 

 fast every morning just as soon as they can see to eat, 

 a few handfuls of grain at noon, and a full feed of 

 grain at night. The warm bre;ikfast is made of veg. 

 etables, turnips, beets, carrots or potatoes boiled 

 anil mashed up with wheat bran, or oat meal scalded 

 with skim milk; or refuse from the kiteheu boiled 

 up and the soup thickened with bran; and when 

 sweet apples are plenty, we boil them, and mix 

 with corn meal — sometimes one thing and some 

 times another ; we don't believe in feeding one thing 

 all the time, and the hens don't believe in it either. 

 I don't think that my biddies need the noon feed be. 

 cause they are hungry, but I give it t.o them to make 

 them scratch for exercise, and to keep them out of 

 mischief. 1 scatter it around among the titter under 

 the shed and let them dig it out. This Munch' Is 

 generally oats or buckwheat, aud once In a while 

 sunflower seed. At night I generally feed corn, but 

 if I could get wheal cheap enough, I should feed 

 that at least half of the time. .My fowls have 

 water or milk by them all the time and green food 

 is supplied by fastening cabbage heads up where the 

 fowls can help themse ves. Sometimes, when some 

 body has time to attend to it, we give them a change- 

 of green food in the shape of raw turnips or sweet 

 apples chopped fine. 



