1J2 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 1884. 



berriCE o: ripe peaches sliced, well sprinkled with 

 powJered .vhite sugar. Cut like a pipe, and eat 

 with sugar and cream. 



RtiiUFORD Johnny Cake.— Three teacupfuls 

 white Indian meal, one teaspoonful salt, and two 

 teaspooufuls Rumford Yeast Powder. Mix thorough- 

 ly together while dry ; then add one tablespoonful 

 melted butter and enough sweet milk to make a 

 slack dougli. Roll out half an inch thick and bake 

 in a shallow pan well buttered. After it begins to 

 brown, baste it frequently with melted butter. When 

 served, do not cut but break it. 

 Gingerbread.— Take one and one half cups molas 

 see, one-half cup sugar, three quarters of a table- 

 spoonful butter, one teaspoonful ginger, one half 

 teaspoonful cinnamon, and beat all together until 

 the mixture grows considerable lighter, then add one 

 cup sweet milk, mixing well. Now take two and 

 one-half cups flour, and two heaping teaspooufuls 

 Rumford Yeast Powder ; mix them thoroughly to- 

 gether very hard and bake immediately in shallow 

 pane. 



Rdmeord Yorkshire Tea Cakes.— One quart 

 sifted flour, lossely measured, mixed with two heap- 

 ing teaspooufuls Kumford Yeast Powder. Rub into 

 It one ounce of butter, and then add one egg, well 

 beaten, and mix the whole with enough sweet milk 

 to make a thick batter. Bake immediately in small 

 cake tins or Gem pans. Have the tins or pans hot 

 before filling. 



Crumpets.— Mix together thoroughly while dryi 

 one quart sifted flour, loosely measured, two heaping 

 teaspooufuls Rumford Yeast Powder, and a little 

 salt ; then add two tablespoonfuls melted butter and 

 sweet milk enough to make a thin dough. Bake 

 quickly in muffin rings or patty pans. 



Rice Muffin.s.— One pint sifted flour, two heap- 

 ing teaspoonluls Kumford Yeast Powder, and a little 

 salt. Thoroughly mix together ; then add one cup 

 cold boiled rice, two eggs, one tablespoonful butter 

 and enough sweet milk to make a thick batter. 

 Bake immediately. 



POULTRY. 



Breeds for Laying. 



The best breeds of fowls for laying are those that 

 suit the climate in which they are kept. It is an oft- 

 repeated inquiry as to which breed is most suitable, 

 by those who contemplate poultry keeping. Such 

 inquiry can only be answered by those who have ex- 

 perimented with different varieties in diflferent loca- 

 tions. There is no doubt that the Leghorns are equal 

 to any other breed for egg-production, but it does 

 not follow that they are the most profitable fowl 

 under all circnmstancee. They are divided into two 

 classes— the single and rotecombs— and there is a 

 further subdivision, according to color. The single 

 comb varieties of fowls are subject to frozen combS 

 in very cold weather, but when properly managed 

 they escape harm. The difliculty may be overcome 

 by " dubbing " them, as is done with Games, but as 

 the principal points of the Leghorns are given to the 

 comb, they would therefore be disqualified from com- 

 petition at the fairs and poultry shows. A frosted 

 comb would not be very objectionable to those who 

 only breed fowls for profit and not for exhibition, but 

 when the comb becomes frosted the hen ceases to lay 

 until the injured member is completely healed. As 

 the comb may be fiozen several times during the 

 cold season, the loss of time from egg-production, 

 owing to the effect of the temperature, would be 

 quite an important item. The double comb varieties 

 though exposing quite a large surface to the action 

 of cold, have their combs closer to the head. 



In thus noticing so small a matter as the comb, 

 the object is to present one of the difficulties in the 

 way of keeping a breed that never sits, but lays well. 

 While the breed may not find favor in cold climates, 

 that is no reason why it should not be popular in 

 other sections. As the Leghorns have their virtues 

 and faults, so do the other breeds of fowls. In raising 



fowls for market many object to the Brahmas and 

 Cochins on account of their slow growth, and this 

 objection may be a strong one if the fowls are to be 

 sent to market as chicks, as they do not feather until 

 well advanced. If matured fowls are intended for 

 shipment the largest carcases, with fine appearance, 

 may be obtained from such breeds. The Plymouth 

 Rocks, which grow fast, and are unilorm in appear- 

 ance when young, also make good market fowls when 

 grown, but, while they are excellent layers, they are 

 liable to become excessively fat when highly fed, es- 

 pecially when they are confined, which is a hindrance 

 to egg-production. This may also be an objection to 

 the Brahmas and Cochins. The best results are de- 

 rived from Plymouth Rocks when they have free 

 range. All breeds do best with freedom, but the 

 larger ones are more contented under restriction. It 

 is best, therefore, in selecting a breed for laying to 

 take into consideration its hardiness, fitness for mar- 

 ket, time of maturity, adaptability to climate and 

 disposition. By seleting that breed which possess 

 qualities adapting them to the conditions of the par- 

 ticular section of country, the best breed for laying 

 as well as for other purposes will be secured. 



Successive Crops of Poultry. 



Where labor is too costly, says the Co-operative 

 Poultry Post, or where, as in a large family, no ac- 

 count is made of the labor of children, it is possible 

 to obtain a large income from a comparatively small 

 fiock of fowls. This is accomplished by raising suc- 

 cessive crops of chickens during the season. The 

 first crop should be out of the shell by February 1, 

 and the last installment by June 15. We are speak- 

 ing now of raising chickens for market. The first 

 hatched will be ready for market by the first of May 

 and the last by Thanksgiving. The old fowls should 

 be disposed of in July, or as soon as their services as 

 layers and mothers can be dispensed with. The 

 successive broods should be disposed of just as soon 

 as they will command a fair price. The earliest will 

 be in marketable condition in from eight to twelve 

 weeks. They can never be more profitably disposed 

 ofthanof that age, for as they increase in size prices 

 decline, and so the extra food bestowed on them is 

 actually thrown away. 



By this method of promptly disposing of the chicks 

 as they mature, the premises do not become over- 

 stocked and the soil of the runs foul, as in the case 

 when large flocks are kept throughout the season to 

 be sold at the holidays. By selling off the old stock 

 in July the greatest possible profit is obtained from 

 them. After this date they lay but few eggs, begin 

 to moult in the fall, and perhaps lay not a single egg 

 before winter. The extra pound or two of flesh they 

 put on does not pay for they feed. By killing off all 

 surplus stock by Thanksgiving the yards are cleared 

 out and opportunity is given to feed and care well 

 for the few that are to be kept over for next season's 

 breeding. The extra care these few receive will in- 

 duce early laying and broodiness in the spring, and 

 these two points are essential to success. We have 

 only ontlined a method that is followed by many in 

 the Eastern States who have been successful in mak- 

 ing money by raising eggs and poultry for the food 

 market. The plan will have to be modified accord- 

 ing to locality and other circumstances. 



Effects of Poultry Manure. 



What is the value of poultry manure ? This 

 question is often asked. I can very justly say the 

 manure is worth quite as much as the food consumed 

 by the fowls: From a flock of 22 hens last summer 

 and 44 through the winter I have gathered 16 barrels 

 of manure. Most of this I put on a snmll vegetable 

 garden in a sandy spot from which the top soil was 

 dug away three years ago five feet deep. The soil 

 was" very sandy and light in color. As it lay in 

 front of the chicken-yard most of the manure has 

 been put on this sandy spot and dug in quite deeply. 

 The soil for a foot in depth is now as dark as a 

 Western prairie soil, and rich, deep brown in color. 

 A few rows of strawberries were covered with the 

 fresh poultry manure in the winter. Neighbors 



said it would kill the strawberry plants " dead as 

 dead." They are not dead, however, but stand up 

 with an extraordinary growth, and to-day (April 28) 

 I find one plant in blossom, and nearly every plant 

 in the rows ready to burst into blossom. The effect 

 over cow and calf manure is very great. I find this 

 manure also to be grand for onions. For potatoes it 

 is not good, as it encourages scab in a most remark- 

 able degree, which is because the wire worms 

 harbor in it so numerously. Or do the fowls pick 

 up the wire worms and void the eggs of them undi- 

 gested in the droppings, and so spread this pest ? 

 Who can tell. 



LITERARY AND PERSONAL. 



The Free Lance. — "A Monthly Journal, de- 

 voted to the Exposure of Fraud and the Protection 

 of the Public." Published at 8 King street, east, 

 by Spence & Co., Toronto, Ont., Can., at 2.5 cents a 

 year in advance. Eight nages quarto, Joseph M. A. 

 Spence, editor. May, 1884, Vol. I., No. 5 ; circula- 

 tion over 4,000 copies. It is " down " severely on all 

 frauds, lotteries, bogus publications, " dead-beat " 

 advertisements, &c., and comes out pretty "flat- 

 footed." To obviate any monotony their might exist 

 in exposing the multitudes of iniquities that charac- 

 terize the present period it " leavens the lump " with 

 spicy anecdote, witicism, and plain and practical 

 selections. Doubtless it fills a " vacancy " that 

 ought not to exist whilst fraud exists. So far as our 

 preference is concerned, we would certainly respond 

 affirmatively to its request to exchange. 



Linn^an Bulletin. — From two to ten pages 

 royal octavo, issued periodically, containing a synop- 

 sis of the proceedings of the " Linntean Scientiflc 

 and Historical Society," and occasionally such papers 

 of scientific or historical interest as may be read, 

 from time to time, before its meetings. About fifty 

 copies are issued, which are gratuitously distributed 

 among its members, and other scientiflc associations. 



" Agriculture of Pennsylvania," for 188a, 

 containing the annual reports of the " State Board 

 of Agriculture," the " State -Agricultural Society," 

 the " State Dairymen's Association," the " State 

 Horticultural Society," and the " Pennsylvania State 

 College," being 452 pages royal octavo, illustrated 

 with 33 full-page plates, and 106 figures, of which a 

 few are beautifully colored. The volume also con- 

 tains copious indices to the separate reports ; charts, 

 tabulated experimental statistics, essays, discussions 

 and practical results. Perhaps the State Govern- 

 ment of Pennsylvania has never had a volume con- 

 taining better material and better mechanically exe- 

 cuted. The printer's and engraver's arts save many 

 a " dull play from being damned." 



The Poultry Keeper. — A journal for every one 

 interested in making poultry pay. Vol. 1, No. 2, 

 Chicago, 111., May, 1884. An exceedingly neat and 

 artistically executed demi-quarto of 16 pages and 

 splendidly illustrated. W. V. R. Powis, publisher, 

 at 89 Randolph street. Terms, .50 cents a year in 

 advance. A cheap publication, and yet not a single 

 cheap-lookiug thing about it. P. H. Jacobs, editor. 

 The papers published in it are all brief, pithy, and 

 to the purpose. Acknowledging that the " field of 

 poultry papers" is pretty full, yet the sponsers of 

 this journal claim that there is " room at the top," 

 and hence their ambition is to reach that point. 

 There are some excellent poultry journals in the 

 United States, but for its size and price, we have 

 seen nothing that can successfully compete with this 

 journal, and in its size we also include its quality. 



The illustration of the Plymouth Rock Cock on 

 its first page is a most magnificent specimen of the 

 engravers art. It is astonishing how bold and 

 rotund an object can be brought out from a fiat sur- 

 face by the mere employment of white and black 

 deftly manipulated by the gravers pencil. 



What must be regarded as a standing merit in this 

 journal, is, that it proposes to co-operate with other 

 journals of a high character in rooting out and sup- 

 pressing all manner of fraud, and fraudulent adver- 

 tising, through which boijus poultry men impose 

 upon the public—" a consummation most devoutly 

 to be wished for." 



