56 



THE LANCASTER FARMER 



[April, 



again, there are here herds of grade Jerseys 

 and Ayreshires that are kept in the usual 

 manner, running in pasture from spring till 

 fall without any extra feed, as long as they 

 can get a living in the lots, and if the doc- 

 tor's theory were true they ought to give good 

 returns, for they have breed, which is before 

 feed. But I know of herds of such cattle 

 with this treatment giving only 1-25 pounds of 

 butter per head— barely enough to pay their 

 keeping, to say nothing of risk, labor and 

 expenses." 



MATING OF FOWLS. 

 Many persons who breed fowls do not give 

 proper attention to the mating of the fowls. 

 This is very important when the permanency 

 of the colors is sought, to say nothing of the 

 points that make the fowl a competitor in the 

 show room or the yard. A flock of white 

 Leghorns are seemingly alike to a novice, but 

 the breeder who mates them sees quickly 

 many defects that might be overlooked by 

 one not an expert. Although the comb is a 

 useless appendage yet thirty points in the 

 full complement of one hundred are devoted 

 to the head of a Leghorn cock, which makes 

 it imperative to begin examination at the 

 beak, following all the parts of the body to the 

 feet. In order to breed chicks that prepon- 

 derate as the possessors of the greater number 

 of desirable points the defects, if any, exist- 

 ing in the hens, should be corrected by the 

 reverse conditions existing in the males. 

 Then the relative ages of the fowls should be 

 considered, and every indication that may en- 

 lighten the breeder in any manner carefully 

 noted. The fact that the fowls were pro- 

 cured from a reliable breeder does not insure 

 a flock of young birds like the parents, for 

 the breeder himself is compelled to use care in 

 mating, and this care must be exercised an- 

 nually, or failure will be the result. A flock 

 of dark Plymouth Rock hens, if mated to a 

 cockerel of dark color, may produce black 

 pullets, and light fowls may be the parents of 

 cockerels nearly white. The slightest twist 

 in the comb, or uneven serration thereon, is 

 cause for rejection, for the tendency is to 

 breed true to feather and form. 



The above is applicable to birds of the best 

 markings, but the system is demanded also on 

 tlie farm. In crossing barnyard fowls the 

 thoroughbreds should be used, and much de- 

 pends upon the range and manner of feeding. 

 If the fowls have a run over an extending 

 area, and are expected to derive a portion of 

 their food by their activity, the mating should 

 be done by selecting cockerels from the 

 Houdan, Leghorn, or Hamburg breeds. If 

 the hens are very small, crossing with cooks 

 of the large breeds, such as Brahmas or 

 Cochins, is not the better plan, as the medium^ 

 sized breeds are more suitable for the first 

 cross. Mating small cocks with large hens is 

 an excellent plan and while some of our best 

 breeds possess tall combs it is more desirable 

 to cross with the rose combed varieties for 

 protection against extreme cold in winter. If 

 chicks for market are the preference, the hens 

 should be mated with Plymouth Eock or 

 Wyandotte cocks, but if the object be the 

 production of eggs exclusively, select cocks 

 from the non-sitters. The best fowl for a 

 combination of purposes is yet to be discover- 



ed, as no particular breed possesses every 

 trait necessary, but the Langshan is not in- 

 ferior to any other variety in many respects. 

 It is a large sized fowl, matures early, and 

 lays well, while the chicks grow rapidly, but 

 the legs are dark and the color of the feathers 

 is black, which is often objectionable. This 

 objection, however, rests upon but little 

 cause, as the flesh is fine-grained and the 

 skin white. In mating fowls the breeder 

 should first consider what he wishes to breed 

 for, and then carefully acquaint himself with 

 the characteristics of the several kinds of 

 fowls, the variety best suited for this purpose, 

 receiving the preference.— City (tncl Country. 



ORNAMENTAL TREES. 



The Silver Spruce is one of the handsomer 

 of evergreens of the large size and is really a 

 very beautiful tree when set singly with room 

 to spread and shoot up, and needs no training 

 except a few very low limbs after ten years 

 growth. 



Next to these for beauty, size and dura- 

 bility is the Norway Fir. For wind-breaks 

 these may be planted in clumps or rows, as 

 the case demands, and they are not only beau- 

 tiful and hardy, but of etticient utility in 

 moderating the violence of storms, of high 

 winds and winter's cold where the location is 

 high, and we have never seen them broken 

 and disfigured by sleets, as is always the case 

 with the'black and white pines. These need 

 no trimming except a few low limbs when 

 they become large. 



For a smaller tree, of the evergreen family, 

 the Hemlock spruce is very graceful and 

 hardy either singly or in clumps and makes 

 the most durable hedge of any evergreen we 

 know of. 



All of these are healthy and handsome trees 

 for large grounds. Then for smaller trees, 

 not so hardy, though very ornamental, comes 

 the Chinese and American arborvitaj, much 

 varied in appearance and colors and only 

 suitable for single setting or figure groups, or 

 for edgings of clumps of trees or flower beds, 

 and lastly, the "box bush," now nearly out 

 of fashion an account of being too common, 

 though none the less beautiful to behold. 



The larch is bea jtiful in summer, but loses 

 its foliage and does not deserve a place among 

 evergreens. 



Among deciduous trees the variety is so 

 great that we shall not attempt a lengthy de- 

 scription here. The most fashionable, of 

 course, are foreigners naturalized. Yet none 

 of these exceed in beauty our own native 

 Ashes, Walnuts, Gums, Birches, Maples, 

 Hickorys and the various Oaks and Beeches 

 for large trees; or our Dog-woods, Hawthorns 

 Wild Plums, Sassafras and burning bushes, 

 for trees of smaller growth. At the present 

 time Maples of foreign origin, in this section, 

 are very popular, and they are a very pretty 

 and clean shade tree when not -'lobed off like 

 the French horses tails and the sportman's 

 setter dog or rat terrier's ears !" 



But to our taste no Maple equals our own 

 native tree, found at the head of every spring 

 of water, and which thrives and grows beau- 

 tifully on any well-kept lawn. 



WHAT GRASSES SHALL I SOW ? 

 It has been repeatedly shown that a judi- 

 cious mixture of several varieties will produce 



a larger yield than can be obtained where one 

 variety is sown by itself. This is a rule in 

 nature as well as in farming. Many sorts 

 will usually occupy the ground more com- 

 pletely than one sort and help keep out the 

 weeds. " Every species has some special 

 niche to fill." Animals have their likes and 

 dislikes. A grass may be thrifty, but not 

 very nutritious. It may be native to the 

 country where it grows, but this is no sign 

 that it thrives better than would a foreign 

 grass. As an illustration, we have only to 

 think of the success of some of our worst 

 weeds, most of which are foreigners. 



There is no one model grass— a general- 

 purpose grass — any more than there is one 

 best, kind of horse, sheep, cattle, wheat, corn, 

 potato or apple. What do you want it for ? 

 After this is answered, any one with the 

 requisite knowledge can make a selection. 



Some grasses start too slowly in spring, or 

 they are too sensitive to frost or drought, the 

 stems are too woody, the leaves too thin, the 

 tops too short, the aftermath is of no account, 

 or the herbage is bitter or innutritious. Is 

 the grass needed for one year? Then the 

 seeds must be rather large and germinate 

 quickly, and soon produce thrifty plants. It 

 is to the advantage of a grass if it seed freely, 

 if the seeds are large and healiliy. 



The success of grasses depends very much 

 on the supply of moisture. Liberal Spring 

 rains, with milil weather, make a thrifty 

 growth in meadow or pasture. For some of 

 the Northwestern country a grass must root 

 very deeply to endure dry weather for months. 

 It must sometimes endure freezing with bare 

 ground, with the mercury down to 40° or .50° 

 below zero, or endure a burning sun, with the 

 mercury at 100° or more in the shade. It 

 must not be killed by fires in dry weather. 

 In the South it must stand much heat, much 

 moisture, much drought. 



For alternate husbandry a grass must not 

 be hard to kill, like quick grass. 



With a large area of meadow land it is 

 often convenient to have different sorts of 

 grasses, that they may not all be fit to cut at 

 the same time, thus prolonging the season of 

 haying. For a meadow they should mature 

 about the same time. For pasture the time 

 of flowering, or of most rapid growth, should 

 vary and extend from early spring till late 

 autumn, or in the South it should extend over 

 a good portion of the "year. 



M. Goetz found out what grasses were best 

 adapted to his soils by a slow process of test- 

 ing each separately ; then he used a mixture 

 of the seeds of those species which he had 

 found did the best. 



In England thirty-nine species or more of 

 true grasses are recommended for use by some 

 one. Besides these, twenty-one species of 

 clover, or other plants, are on lists for pas- 

 tures or meadows, making about sixty species 

 or varieties in all, a single mixture often con- 

 taining twenty or more kinds. 



Moisture makes the meadow. A free and 

 correct distribution of moisture will make 

 good pasture, even on soils of inferior quality. 

 Pastures on poor soils in Wales and Ireland 

 will improve under treatment that would be 

 quite insufficient on the Eastern Coast of 

 England. 

 In a recent admirable essay by C. L. F. De 



