1867. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



27 



especially the cocks too long. We introduced 

 him to one of our market men who deals largely 

 in live poultry — frequently bujing several tons 

 per week, and consequently at times has large 

 numbers on hand. His advice to our friend 

 ■was direct : "If you have money that you want 

 to get rid of, go ahead, — not otherwise." 



At a late meeting of the New York Farmers' 

 Club, Solon Robinson said that every attempt 

 of that kind in this country had proved a la- 

 mentable failure. Dr. Crowell said he had seen 

 a very large establishment near Paris, which 

 contained two hundred thousand young chick- 

 ens at the time he visited it. Another gentle- 

 man said he had lately seen it stated that this 

 great French establishment, about which so 

 much has been published, had proved as com- 

 plete a failure as any which has been attempted 

 in this country. 



Mr. Carpenter said, Warren Leland keeps 

 a thousand or moi-e fowls together in West- 

 chester county, which are fed upon orts from 

 the Metropolitan Hotel ; and that the poultry 

 business is successful and profitable. A skill- 

 ful man is employed to attend to it. General- 

 ly speaking, people keep too many cocks with 

 their hens. 1 have only two for seventy hens 

 which are sufficient. 



N. C. Meeker — I have been traveling for 

 seven years as a coi-respondent of The Tribune. 

 During that time I have visited several poultry 

 factories. Some of them had a fair start ; the 

 owners were encouraged. They have all failed. 

 When confined, the hens ate their chickens ; 

 where they had no chickens to eat, they ate 

 one another. In all cases they ate the bot- 

 toms out of the pockets of their owners. 



A gentleman whose name was not announced 

 was called upon, and somewhat reluctantly 

 made the following statement : 



I have probably spent five thousand dollars 

 in persevering attempts to raise poultry upon 

 a large scale. I have tried it in Westchester, 

 Orange, and Columbia counties, N. Y., where 

 I could procui-e cheap food from the city. In 

 one case, the cost of keeping a thousand fowls 

 was $1,100 and the net results $950. I 

 changed my location twice, hoping for better 

 success. Then I concluded to go to Illinois, 

 where grain was cheap. The result was the 

 same. I have spent my time and money, and 

 made, as Mr. Robinson says, a "lamentable 

 failure." I have come to the conclusion that 

 raising poultry upon a large scale in this coun- 

 try is not profitable. If others think it is, they 

 can easily try it. 



At the Fair of Russell Co., C. W., beside 

 several addresses, two young ladies read essays 

 on "the requirements of a good farmer's ^vife." 



CATTLE SHOWS IN KENTUCKY, 

 A correspondent of the Canada Farmer who 

 attended the late Kentucky State Fair at Paris, 

 remarks as follows upon certain features of the 

 exhibition wliich were new to him : 



All the stock is shown inside the circle of a 

 large amphitheatre, capable of seating from 

 ten to fil'teen thousand persons, so that all have 

 a fair chance of seeing the animals. In the 

 centre of the circle is the judges' stand, the 

 upper story of which is occupied by a band, 

 which furnishes music at intervals, making it 

 pleasant for the people, as well as causing the 

 stock to show to better advantage. The ani- 

 rnals in the different sections are called in by 

 ringing a bell which is hung in the judges stand, 

 A blue ribbon is tied on lor the first prize, and 

 a red one for the second. A marshal proclaims 

 to the crowd the names of the successful com- 

 petitors of each section. When the names of 

 fortunate men are announced a cheer is gener- 

 ally got up by their friends, or those partial to 

 the prize animal, for there is great interest ta- 

 ken In the decisions ; a good deal of excitement 

 prevails, and among a certain class considera- 

 ble betting is indulged in on the chances of the 

 judges' decisions. The judo;es are appointed 

 some time previous to the Fair, and their names 

 appear in the printed prize list. If any of 

 those appointed fail to appear, others are cho- 

 sen by the Board of Directors, and in case a 

 majority of the committee fail to agree as to a 

 decision, another is called to decide. No tick- 

 ets are placed upon the animals. The judges 

 ask no questions with regard to breeding or 

 owner, but take the animal on his own merits, 

 and are not supposed to know who is the own- 

 er until after the decision is given, and the 

 marshal enquires of the groom the owner's 

 name and announces it to the crowd. 



SWISS FARMING. 



New England is sometimes called the Swit- 

 zerland of America. However striking may 

 be the similarity of the scenery, there must be, 

 we think, quite a diversity in the habits of the 

 people, judging from the following account by 

 "Carleton" of the Swiss style of "getting up 

 wood," "going to mill," and "making hay." 

 In approaching Mont Blanc, he says : — 



We meet a woman with a great basket 

 strapped upon her back filled with faggots ; 

 another one passes us on her way to mill, her 

 "grist" in a bag Ijing on her shoulders and a 

 strap from the bag crossing her forehead. In 

 the field opposite, a third woman is mowing.. 

 She stops to sharpen her scythe, and we have 

 an opportunity to inspect the implement. No 

 bushwhacker in the United States — no farmer's 

 boy in all the Union — swings so heavy a sc}'the 

 — sixteen inches long, four wide, and thick 

 enough for the track of the Metropolitan horse 



