238 How THE FARM PAYS. 



of these little fowls are remarkably rich in flavor, and for the table 

 are considered the best of any fowl or bird. A very curious variety, 

 black and white in color, has recently been brought from Japan, and 

 sold as high* as $50 the pair. The demand for them at this price has 

 however been filled, but they still sell at large prices, compared with 

 their size. In breeding these small fowls, every circumstance that 

 -will tend to keep them down in size is taken advantage of, and the 

 broods are not hatched until the fall, so as to stunt the growth of the 

 chicks as much as possible by the cold weather. 



TURKEYS. 



These fine fowl are found very profitable when circumstances per- 

 mit special care to be given to them. As a rule the housewife suc- 

 ceeds best in the management of poultry, and the turkeys always fall 

 to her share, as one of her especial perquisites. There is but one variety 

 of turkey which is worth keeping on the farm when profit is the main 

 pursuit. This is the Bronze variety, a cross of the wild native breed. 

 It is not generally known that the turkey is a native American fowl, 

 and was unknown in Europe until after its introduction from this 

 continent. The wild turkey is now the finest variety existing, and is 

 sometimes found weighing forty pounds, and is frequently taken of 

 a weight of twenty pounds. The cross of this bird with the common 

 black variety, which has been made in recent years, has given us the 

 Bronze Turkey, and specimens of this breed have reached over forty 

 pounds and occasionally near fifty. It is hardy, but retains its wild 

 instincts, and loves to hide its nest, and does far better in that way. The 

 young birds, or, as they are called, " poults, " require a good deal of care 

 in shelter from rain and cold weather, and in proper feeding. Chopped 

 clover and young onions, coarse oat meal and cracked corn, are the 

 best food. One visit of the male to a flock of hens is sufficient, and a 

 hen thus attended will even lay and hatch a second brood without 

 further service. Corn meal and oat meal scalded with hot sweet milk 

 make the best fattening food. 



WATER FOWL. 



Geese deserve a passing thought, if only at those times when we 

 recline comfortably upon the soft beds made of their feathers. They 

 are more properly called web-footed fowl, because they can be reared 

 as easily out of the water as with it, and perhaps better. As market 

 fowl they are reared with good profit, and are very easily kept. Being 

 very close graziers they require a grass field wholly to themselves; 



