422 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Sept. 



poultry-raising, to excel in the latter respect, while 

 they are exceeded by the Shanghaes and Dorkings 

 in the former. The White Dorkings are beautiful 

 birds. They are of a middling size, entirely white, 

 have partially feathered, yellow legs, and are good 

 layers and mothers. They are a little inconstant 

 in sitting, and inclined to sit too much. Their 

 flesh is juicy, tender and delicious, and comes 

 nearer the common fowls of New England many 

 years ago, than any other we have ever tasted. 

 The Speckled Dorkings are also superior fowls, 

 having the broadest bodies according to the whole 

 weight of any fowls we have ever seen. Dr. Eben 

 Wight, of Dedham, who has imported several 

 varieties of fowls — and among them the Speckled 

 Dorking — sent us a splendid pair of them last 

 fiill, which now promise to be an unequivocal ad- 

 dition to our poultry-yard. The doctor has con- 

 ferred great pleasure, as well as profit, upon poul- 

 try-raisers by his attention and excellent judg- 

 ment in the introduction of superior breeds of 

 poultry. 



The BraJima Pootra fowl is highly esteemed by 

 many, and our own experience coincides witli this 

 good opinion. Mr. Ives, of Salem, who has had 

 much experience in rearing poultry, gives this 

 breed the highest praise, both for beauty of ap- 

 pearance and profitable products. 



"The chicken," says a late writer, "is classed by 

 the naturalist in the tribe of the Gallinacecc, form- 

 ing part of the order Rasores or scraping birds." 

 These fowls swallow their food without mastica- 

 tion, a process which is rendered utterly superflu- 

 ous by the provision of an apparatus denominat- 

 ed a "crop" which bears a very near resemblance 

 to the first stomach of the cow, and in which the 

 food received is speedily macerated, and to a cer- 

 tain extent dissolved or digested by the action of 

 secreted fluids. Belov/ the crop there is a second 

 cavity or sac-like organ, into which the food in 

 its partially macerated state passes, and where it 

 is again subjected to the action of the stomachic, 

 or animal solvent or digestive fluid, and is finally 

 transmitted to the "gizzard," or last stomach, which 

 is furnished with muscular and cartilaginous lin- 

 ings of very considerable strength. Here it is in- 

 turated and converted into a thin paste, prepara- 

 tory to its reception into the chyle-gut, from 

 which it passes finally into the circulation. The 

 muscular force of the gizzard is so great that even 

 glass is in a few hours reduced to powder when 

 submitted to its action, and even the roughest and 

 hardest bodies are not proof against its force. 

 Spallanzani is said to have introduced into the 

 gizzard of a fowl a leaden ball, with a dozen need- 

 les so fixed in it that their points protruded a 

 quarter of an inch from the surface in various di- 

 rections, yet this formidable machine, instead of 

 proving of the slightestinjury, was in itself broken 



down, and the sharp needles demolished entirely, 

 in the brief space of a little more than two hours ! 

 Instinct leads the barn-door fowl to swallow 

 gravel, shells and glass, to facilitate and hasten 

 the comminution of the food it partakes of, 

 whether animal or vegetable. While having the 

 free range of the fields, a very considerable pro- 

 portion of the food of most fowls is derived from 

 the insect tribes. This fact suggests the impor- 

 tance of supplying them liberally with meat, when 

 confined to the hen-house. A hen restricted ex- 

 clusively to a vegetable diet, no matter how liber- 

 al may be the hand that feeds her, will be far 

 less profitable than one fed on a mixed diet of 

 meat and vegetables. 



Fur the New England Fanner. 

 FENCES. 



So much has been said of late in the Farmer 

 about fences, that the subject may seem almost 

 exhausted, yet as this is one of the most impor- 

 tant items connected Avith the business of farming, 

 it may not lie unprofitable to your agricultural 

 readers to have theii- attention called to it once 

 more. 



Farming, without fences, is of course an im- 

 possibility. Good farming, with poor fences, is 

 equally so. With poor fences, a man may not 

 expect to have peaceable cattle or good neighbors, 

 nor can he feel any security for his crops, as they 

 are hourly exposed to destruction. Under such 

 circumstances, (which are by no means unfre- 

 quent,) is it strange that farming is regarded as 

 the most vexatious and uninviting of all employ- 

 ments ? If, then, good fences are one of the essen- 

 tials of farming, of course the question at once 

 arises — what kind of fence is the most profitable 

 to build ? 



Mr. I. Palmer, of South Hampton, N. H., has 

 mentioned in your paper several varieties which 

 he regards as good, and Avhich are, without doubt, 

 a grc»it improvement on many kinds now in use ; 

 but there is a kind of fence coming into use in 

 this vicinity, which, in my opinion, is far superior 

 to any which Mr. P. has mentioned. I refer to 

 that known as Smith's patent, a description of 

 which has recently been given in the Farmer. I 

 lived for several years near jSIr. Smith, and have 

 seen his fence thoroughly tested in a variety of 

 ways. It works equally well on swampy, clayey 

 or ledgy kwid, and fully comes up to any recom- 

 mendation which has been given of it. 



Mr. Palmer inquires how the braces are to be 

 tied to the boulders ? This is easily ione by 

 means of looped wire, or pieces of iron set in 

 brimstone, which, if properly done, are perfectly 

 immovable. I built some of this fence around 

 my barnyard last year, which, to keep ofl" the 

 storms, I made tight and high, and it stands now 

 just as firm as though the posts were frozen into 

 the ground. As for its durabihty, it is difficult to 

 tell what part of it will fail first. If any of your 

 readers have occasion to pass through Haverhill, 

 N. H., tell them to call on Mr. Smith and exam- 

 ine for themselves, and if they have heretofore 

 been skeptical on the subject, they will lie likely 

 to be so no longer, for "seein? will be beiieviag." 



