338 



NEW El.CLAND FARMER, 



APRIL S, 1840. 



and horticultural rkgister. 



Boston, WeunesdAv, Apbil 8, 1840. 



POtJI.TKY MANAGEMENT. 



RoxBUHY, Mass.- April, 3, 1840. 

 To the Etlitoi- of the New England F;iimer : 



Dear Sir— In the last number of jour valuabh; peri- 

 odical, I noticeil an article upon " Poultry Management," 

 over the signature of Mr Thomas P. Hunt. Some of the 

 suggestions contained (herein arc new, and (as the author 

 has been kind enough lo observe that '• any farther re- 

 marks will be cheerfully made when requested,") iliave 

 taken the liberty of proposing a fcW iitquiries on the sub- 

 ject, most of which have been elicited by the communi- 

 cation above referred to. By giving them a place in your 

 journal you will very much oblige one interested in the 

 subject. 



1. Mr Hunt says, " never lot yonr rbosters run togeth- 

 er." In a large poultry-yard, how can it be avoided.' 



2. Should their " animal food" be cooked or given 

 them raw ? In what quantities, and how prepared .'' 



3. What temperature is requisite to keep fowl?-" warm" 

 in the old season, and at the same time be heirftlij ? 



4. What degree of heat is required to raise chickens 

 successfully, in " a room warmed by a stove" .'' 



5. What should be the size of the room say for 200 

 chicks hatched on the same day, and would so rminy do 

 well together ! 



C. Would it not be well to put one old hen in the 

 room at the lime the chicks ere placed there.' 



7. What should be the furniture, etc. of such a room, 

 and how should it be arranged forthe best advantage.' 



8. How soon after hatching should the chicks be lak&n 

 away from the hens (to be raised in this manner,) and 

 what disposal should be made of the mothers .' ' 



9. How long would it be well to confijve the chicks in 

 the room .' 



10. Why are not sugar beets, carrots, Tuta baga, or oth- 

 er roots, when boiled or steamed, good food for poultry ? 



11. How long does the " moulting season" continue ? 



12. Are the " Creole"'fowls a native breed, and can 

 they be obtained ? What is their color and particular 

 shape ? 



13. Whi-re can the " Booby" Towls be purchased? 

 My stock consists of about two hundred, and the breeds 



are the Poland, Dorking, Surrey, and Malay, with a few 

 Creepers and common fowls. .To the first named I give 

 the preference. 



Respectfully, T. W. 



We publish the above queries, an'ilhope we may hear 

 from our friend Hunt in reply Ashe is now in Penn- 

 sylvania, this cannot be immediately expected We re- 

 gret that wo cannot fully answer the questions of our cor- 

 respondent at once. 



In respect to the 1st question ; wo believe it would be 

 impracticable, unless there are enclosures or yards which 

 are completely fenced and secured from intrusion. 



2. To the second question, their food may be given 

 them either in a raw or cooked slate. It is generally pre- 

 ferred in a raw state. The amountcannot be prescribed, 

 but they may be fed with liver or coarse pieces of meal 

 occasionally. Some animal food is indispensable to their 

 health. 



3. Artificial heat can only be necessary in inteiisi cold. 



Let the hen-house he faced to the south, and thoroughly 

 closed at the back side ; let it be glazed so as lo admit 

 the sun; let the entrances bo near the ground, and in 

 winter not numerous, and capable of being closed at night, 

 and the roosting places so that they can sit together; and 

 they will be comfortable enough. 



4 After the first few days 45 to 50 dcg. will bo warm 

 enough. 



5. 20 ft. by 30 ft. and 15 ft. in height would be ample. 

 The floor should be the ground ; and cleanliness is high- 

 ly important ; so al.so is fresh air. 



6- It is not necessary. A celebrated poulterer near 

 London, had sonic statues of he«is made of wood, with 

 their wings and ho-lies covered with flannel or woolen, 

 under which the chickens nesllcd. Those are said to 

 have answered very well. 



7. If far chickens e-xclusivcly, nothing but roosting 

 phices and inclined steps to reach thetn are needed, with 

 the wooden mothers above referred to and a watering 

 tub. If for a poultry house, to which ingress and egress 

 may be free, boxes to lay in and poles upon which to 

 roost. 



8 The mothers will dispose of themselves The 

 chickens may 'betaken away at a week old, if due provi- 

 sion is made for their comfort. Excepting in cold weath- 

 er, an open yard is much preferable for them to range in 

 at pleasure than confinement in a covered building. 



9. According to your discretion. 



10. Do not know of theirhaving been tried — but proba- 

 bly not comparable to potatoes. 



1 1. Two to three months in autumn. 



12. Cannot answer. The best fowls for the produc- 

 tion of eggs which have come within our knowledge arc 

 the Sicilian ; a dark colored, full sized fowl, with a low- 

 ering plume. 



13. Know boobies enough, but not of the feathered 

 tribe. A friend has told us that he found at Head's table 

 in Philadelphia on one occasion a pair of fowls weighing 

 17 pounds, and' that Mr Head said they were common in 

 that market. These we should think were the "Great 

 Boobies " They were piobably originally from Calcutta. 

 We have had of this kind, which we suppose may be the 

 Malay, referred to by our correspondent. The roosters 

 of this tribe must not be placed with our common fowls. 



We are inclined to believe that the Poland hen is the 

 same with the Sicilian. 



We trust our friend Hunt will answer in due season, 

 and with allfit learning and experience. W^e throw out 

 these hints merely as an apology for an answer. 



H. C. 



Boston, 2d March, 1840. 



To Benjamin Guild, Esq., Corresponding Secretary Massa- 

 chusetts Agricului.^l yociety-: 



Dear Sir — At the request of some of the Trustees I 

 submit to you some account of the process adopted by 

 Mrs Harriet F. Blake, on the farm of Geo. Denny, Esq., 

 Wcstboro', of making butter, a sample of which I had 

 the pleasure of submitting lo the Board at their last meet- 

 ting ; and a small sample of which I send to-day. 



The cows, as I. have seen, are kept with most exem- 

 plary neatness, certainly not excelled in 'my observation. 

 " The fore part ot the winter," Mr Blake says, " the cat- 

 tle are fiid with cut feed (Green's straw cutter is used,) of 

 meadow hay, barley-straw, husks, allowing each cow half 

 a bushel of rula baga per day. Since the cows have calved 

 they are allowed two parts of English hay and one of 

 meadow hay or barley-straw, with one peck of carrots 

 twice a day to e.ach cow. They are kept clean and fed 

 with regularity." 



The milk is placed in tin pail.s, the pails put in a cal- 

 dron of boiling water and allowed to stand until scalding 

 hot, and then put in pans to cool and remain until the 

 cream is taken ofl". At the time of churning, a pint of 

 heated milk is put into one pail of cream. The cream is 

 not allowed to come near the fire, as it has a tendi.'ncy to 

 make the butter oily and of a light color. The time oc- 

 cupied in churning never exceeds half an hour. The 

 butter is taken into a marble tray; the buttermilk all 

 pressed out with the hand ; the salt rolled to a fine pow- 

 der and thoroughly blended with the butter. 



Mr Denny adds in a note; *' Three years ago I pro- 

 cured a marble butter tray with a hole through the cen- 

 tre, that the buttermilk might escape as expressed from 

 the butter. The object was, that the butter might be 

 worked in icffrm weather without ice; and presuming 

 that it would be sweeter than wood during warm weath- 

 er." 



The sample of butler which I presented at the last 

 meeting, was made when t!ie cows were fed on carrots. 

 The sample which I send to-day was made when the 

 cows were fed one week upon beets instead of carrots. 

 Mr Denny adds : " The color of the butter is changed, 

 and I think the quality also. I have always leaned on 

 the side of carrots ; aud on the whole am of the opinion 

 that for neat stock they are the best and most profitable. 

 Perhaps," he adds, "you will observe that the butter has 

 more of a putty appearance when cut than that made 

 from carrots. I have no doubt that beets will produce 

 more milklhan carrots, but inferior in quality." 



I am of opinion that the trustees will con.*!ider this sam- 

 ple of butter as of superior quality, especially for winter 

 butter. The trustees will understand tlint Mr Denny 

 had no view to present this matter to the Board ; and has 

 given this account at my request. The butter seemed lo 

 me to be of .such remarkable excellence for winter butter, 

 that I know the exhibition of it would gratify the trus- 

 tees ; and especially as showing, that with proper feed- 

 ing of the cows and neat and skilful dairy management, 

 almost as good butter may be sent to our market in winter 

 as in June; and this deserves encouragement. 



Should the trustees be of opinion that Mrs Blake's 

 neatness and skill, as well as her husband's good man- 

 agement of his cows, deserve their commendation, an 

 honorable notice of them, if it were only Ihe expression 

 of their favorable judgment in the case would, I am per- 

 suaded, conduce to farther enterprise and improvement 

 in this matter of simple and innocent, luxury. 

 I am, sir, with the highest respect. 

 Your ob'l serv'l, 



HENRY COLMAN, 

 Commissioner of .igricvllural Survey. 



At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Massa- 

 chusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture, held March 

 21, 1840, MrColman, the Commissioner of Agriculture 

 for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, having present- 

 ed some butter of great freshness and excellence from the 

 dairy of Mrs Blake, on. the farm of Mr George Denny, 

 at Wcstboro' — 



/( was voted, that the Treasurer be authorised to pur- 

 chase and transmit to Mrs Blake, as a premium for her 

 skill and success, a cream-pot or any other article of sil- 

 vei of the value of twelve dollars, and that the commu- 

 nication of the Coniuiissioner be published. 

 A copy of the record. 



(Signed) BENJAMIN GUILD, 



Boston, Gth April, 1840 ' Recording Sec' ry. 



The Commissioner had great pleasure in receiving and 

 tran.smitting the above well deserved premium to Mrs 

 Harriet F. Blake, of Westboro', on Saturday last. 



