XXII. NO. as. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



181 



cr to an inquiry as to what it haJ cnst t!iein, 

 that thoy had pniil as hiyh as §500 per an- 

 inanure ; and they fonnd the more lliey 

 ind pnt on the land, the better they could 

 pay for it. The next object which at- 

 ny attention was tlie great quantity of 

 their Plum trees. They informed mo that 

 \v years since, they were unable to save 

 his fruit, from the ravages of that destruc- 

 :ct, the Curculio, until they were advised, 

 irted to saturatin^i; the jjround, for some dis. 

 uud the trees, with salt ley, since which 

 e found no trouble from the Curculio. 

 t ley is the soapboilers' refuse, a highly sa- 

 slance: the query in my mind is, whether 

 ne substance does not destroy the Curculio 



From the American Agriculturist. 



III.V TS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF HENS. 

 The recipes for producing eggs are innumera- 

 blo. One proposes retaining no male bird in the 

 flock; another would have one to each half dozen 

 hens. One requires, as the sole condition of their 

 laying, that they be furnished with lime ; a second, 

 a warm room ; a third, plenty of gravel : and a 

 fourth, parched corn ; while some would allow a 

 nest full of eggs to lay to, others would not per- 

 mit the poor biped even one she may call her own. 

 There is scarcely anything on which there is more 

 twattle and quackery ; and to remove equally the 

 whims and ignorance connected with it, we devote 

 a few niinutes for the purpose of partially ehicida- 



■ub form, in the earth ; if so, then llie diffi-, ting the subject, 

 the way of a plentiful crop of this very 

 t is entirely within the control of the cuU 



at so cheap a rate that no one need hesitate 



ly it. There is no country in the world 



he Plum tree flourishes better, or fruits 



:)fusely than in the Western country ; and 



e is perhaps no country where less Plums 



ight to maturity. If, therefore, any meth- 



i)e discovered by which this common ene- 



le Plum may be destroyed, we shall add 



I the luxury of the dessert, in this delicious 



I hone, therefore, that your readers will 



3 subject a fair trial, and report the result. 



y visit to the new grounds of the Messrs. 



at Cambridge, I was much pleased with 



jrprising spirit with which they are pro- 



y in their operations. The location is a 



; for a public nursery, and they have made 



beginning. They have erected a handsome 



acious green-house. Their collection of 



is good, especially in that of the Rose, 



is large, and very fine. Their collection of 



i is also good. They have quite a respec- 



umberof fruit and ornamental trees, to which 



making rapid additions, and will, without 



rank in a very short lime among the best 



=hnienl3 in the country. 



attention was next directed to the nursery of 



•nuel Pond, of Cambridgeport. 'I'liis gen- 

 deserves much credit fur the neatness and 



n which he keeps his grounds, and every- 



:onnected with liis business. His trees look 



nionly fine, and although his grounds are not 



ive. he appears to understand the true meth- 



urning them to the best account. He has 

 liimself to be a most successful cultivator, 



ly of treo-s but also of fruit, especially of 



rrant, by his fine displays at the Horticultu- 



oms in Boston.* I am told that his method 



ting the Currant is, having planted out the 



)rt8 in rows a suitable distance apart, he runs 



)w between the rows annually, throwing the 



"rom the plants ; he then fills the furrow 



Id, well-rotted manure, then turns the earth 



vith the plow. This, with a suitable spring 



g, secures to him an ample reward for his 



in an abundant crop of superior fruit. Would 



be well if our fruit growers could be induc- 



pay a little more attention to this fruit .' 



th your leave, I will trouble you with a few 



abservations, in a future number of your ex- 



t paper, and in the mean time I remain yours, 



nuch respect, A. H. ERNST. 



The hen is peculiarly an egg-produoing bird. 

 She has the same predisposition for laying, that 

 the cow has for secreting milk. Some breeds are 

 better adapted for this object than others ; but in 

 all that have over come within our notice, the prop 

 er food and circumstances are alone wanting to 

 produce a reasonable quantity of eggs. What are 

 these requisites ? Let us first inquire what it is 

 we wish to procure, and the answer will enlighten 

 us materially as to our first queries. 



The egg consists of three distinct parts — ^tlie 

 shell, the white, and the yolk. A good-sized egg 

 will weigh 1000 grains, of which about 107 are 

 shell, 604 are white, and 289 are yolk. Of the 

 shell, 07 per cent, is carbonate of lime, 1 per cent, 

 phosphate of liine and magnesia, and 2 per cent, 

 albumen. The white consists of 12 per cent, of 

 albumen, 2.7 of mucus, 0.3 of salts, and 8.5 of wa- 

 ter. The yolk has about 17-4 per cent, of albu- 

 men, 28. C of yellow oil, 54 of water, with a trace 

 of sulphur and phosphorus. The above are the 

 constituents of eggs, which have been formed when 

 the bird has free access to the various articles 

 which constitute her natural food. But they vary 

 with circumstances. When full fed and denied 

 all access to lime, she will form an egg without 

 tiie shell, and deliver it enclosed in the membrane 

 or sack which always surrounds the white when 

 covered by the shell. When scantily fed, they 

 will frequently iay ; but from a deficiency of nu- 

 triment, the eg^ will be meagre and watery, and 

 po.isess but a small portion of the nutritious quali- 

 ties peculiar to them. To produce the largest num- 

 ber of good eggs on the least quantity of food, 

 several things are requisite, the first of which is an 

 abundance of the right kind of food. This is the 

 most readily obtained in part from animal food. In 

 warm weather, when they have a free range, they 



matter, it must be given in grains containing it. 

 Indian corn has but a very small proportion, yield- 

 ing only about .lU per cent, of nitrogen. Oats 

 hiive a much larger proportion, alfording 2.2 per 

 cent., being more than eleven times as much as 

 corn, pound for pound. U heat has from 2 to .'} 1-2 

 per cent. Barley affords more than corn, but much 

 less than oats. Many of the vegetables yield ni- 

 trogen in small quantities, such as potatoes, which, 

 when boiled, are a favorite, and perhaps economi- 

 cal food for hens. But alter supplying them with 

 a due proportion of animal food, which under favo- 

 rable circumstances, they will procure for them- 

 selves when enjoying a good range in summer, the 

 most economical food is oats. When wheat is 

 grown on the premises, it is probable that is the 

 next most economical, the much larger quantity of 

 nitrogen contained in it, being more than a com- 

 pensation for its increased price. 



Hens will do much better to have a free range, 

 as their instinct enables them to select food pre- 

 cisely adapted to their wants; and the exercise 

 and rolling in the dirt are essential to their health. 

 If confinement is necessary, in addition to the food 

 above, they must be furnished with plenty of clean 

 water, gravel and lime. Gravel is necessary to 

 grind their food, and without lime they cannot form 

 their shells ; for though a small portion exists in 

 all grains, it is not in sufficient quantity to afford 

 the amount required for the formation of the shell. 

 A small amount of sulphur and phosphorus is found 

 in the egg, but this exists to a sufficient exlent in 

 their ordinary food, nearly all substances yielding 

 a portion of each. In winter, hens should be kept 

 warm, or they will not lay to any extent. If sur- 

 rounded with a comfortable temperature, with the 

 addition of the food above indicated, they will lay 

 nearly all the lime. 



There is great economy in keeping hens where 

 there are suitable conveniences for them ; for if 

 furnished with plenty of proper food and a warm 

 room, even in winter they will produce two or three 

 limes the value of their food in eggs, as they com- 

 mand a larger price at that time. At all other 

 seasons when they run about, they select for them- 

 selves nearly all the food they consume, which 

 would otherwise be of no use to their owner ; nay, 

 frequently lis consumption is of positive benefit to 

 him. Such are all insects, grubs, worms, and their 

 larva;, and any animal or vegetable food scattered 

 ro\ind the premises, that would otiierwise become 

 puirid, and taint the atmosphere. 



If to the usual qualities of hens, a breed of pe- 

 culiar elegance, of graceful forms, and beautiful 

 plumage, be added good layers and good carcase, 



can generally supply their wants, in the abundance | we have a combination of utility, luxury, and taste 



? presume the writer here alludes to some other 

 nor as having been particularly successful with 

 irraot — probably Mr A. 1). Williams, ofRoxbury. 



of insects, earlh worms, and other animal matters 

 within their reach. How greedy do they show 

 themselves of everything of an animal character. 

 There is nothing scarcely of this nature they re- 

 fuse, and 80 ravenous are they for this species of 

 food, that 1 have seen them fasten to ihe entrails of 

 a slaughtered pig, a part of which they had swal- 

 lowed, and were unable to separate it from the ad- 

 hering mass ; and who that has heen familiar with 

 rural scenes, has not often ohserved them in sum- 

 mcrj with a snake 13 or 18 inches long squirming 

 in their beak, or an unlucky toad, as large as one 

 of their own eggs, dangling in their bill, a prey to 

 their carnivorous propensities. The large propor- 

 tion of albumen contained in their eggs, requires 

 that much of their food should be highly nitrogen- 

 ized, and when they cannot procure this in animal 



n this bird, which should commend them as gene- 

 ral favorilies. 



I will add a fact, which is not known, except, 

 perhaps, to some of peculiarly discriminating and 

 highly cultivated palates, that in addition to their 

 stronger claims on the score of beauty, the (lesh of 

 the yellow. legged is iwuch richer, and more highly 

 flavored, than either the white or the black-legged 

 liens. R. L. ALLEN. 



Salting Stock. — Stock of all descriptions require 

 to be salted at least thrice a week ; and if, instead 

 of giving them all salt, equal parts of salt, lime 

 and ashes were mixed together, the compound 

 would prove cheaper and more health-preserving. 

 — Jlmer. F r. 



