328 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



bles, with which we have never had any experi- 

 ence ourselves. 



Examination of Soils.— Prof. C. B. Chapman i 

 suggests in the Western Farmer the following ex- 

 periment with soils for the purpose of determining 

 more exactly than can be done by examination, 

 the proportion of sand, clay, &c., which they con- 

 tain. Put some of the soil into a dish containing 

 a sufficient quantity of water to allow the particles 

 to move freely when stirred. After being well 

 stirred, allow it to settle quietly. The heavier sand 

 will form a strata at the bottom, while the lighter 

 clay will form a strata upon the top of it. The 

 water may be turned off after it has become clear. 

 These layers of sand and clay may then be exam- 

 ined to ascertain the comparative thickness of the 

 two strata. This will furnish much information 

 with regard to the relative proportion of the sand 

 to the clay which had existed in the original ho- 

 mogeneous mass of loam. The experiment may 

 be rendered still more accurate by the careful sep- 

 aration of the clay from the sand ; then drying 

 them and ascertaining the comparative weight of 

 each. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 KAISINO TURKEYS. 



I paw in your paper a request that some one 

 •would inform the writer how to raise young tur- 

 keys. As 1 have had years of experience and 

 have been very successful, I will give your 

 readers two methods of raising turkeys, by 

 way of contrast. 



1 have known many young people, and some 

 that were not so young, to embark in the en- 

 terprise in a very cheap way. They would 

 buy one or two small late turkeys, such as they 

 could obtain cheap, and with an expenditure 

 of one or two dollars at most, commence op- 

 erations. In the spring their turkeys would 

 lay a good number of eggs, and the owner 

 would think they were doing nicely. But such 

 hens always hatch out small, weak young tur- 

 keys, and with the best of care it is very diffi- 

 cult to make them live. They are often fed 

 as soon as they are out of the shell, and the 

 mother is either tied with a string to her leg, 

 or placed in a !<mall low coop which is allowed 

 to remain in the i-ame place for days and even 

 weeks, and as her brood is diminished in num- 

 ber, the anxious inquiry is made. What is the 

 matter? This is no exaggeration. 1 have 

 seen many persons go on in just this way and 

 worse. 



I always make the best possible selection of 

 those to winter over from a large flock of tur- 

 keys, choosing carefully only the largest and 

 best, and if at any time I find those that are 

 better than mine, I purchase at once, without 

 regard to cost. 1 keep the Bronze turkeys — 

 they are larger and more hardy that any other 

 variety that 1 liave ever raised. By the mid- 

 dle of Match or first of April, I begin to feed 



well, and make nests in different places in the 

 barn and sheds, and put in a hen's egg, at the 

 same time scattering a little corn around these 

 places to get their attention. Thus they may 

 generally be induced to lay in these nests from 

 choice, and much time and trouble is saved in 

 finding their nests. These nests should be 

 suitable for them to sit as well as to lay in. 

 They should have a board of not less than a 

 foot in height around them, to prevent the 

 young turkeys from crawling away as soon as 

 hatched. The eggs should be removed as fast 

 as laid, leaving the hen's egg in the nest. 



After the turkey shows signs of wanting to 

 set, I put in the nest from 18 to 22 eggs, ac- 

 cording to the size of the turkey. If I don't 

 have turkey's eggs enough I put in, in just one 

 week, a few hen's eggs. I have often had a 

 turkey bring up a mixed brood and do well. 

 When they are hatching, I do not go near the 

 nest, except sometimes to remove the shells, 

 till the young are from 24 to 48 hours old. 

 I then prepare a coop of good size, with open 

 places through which the young turkeys can 

 run out when they choose, and put the turkey 

 and her brood into it. 



I then take some wheat bread, soak it in 

 milk, and scatter small pieces inside and just 

 outside, and continue to do so occasionally 

 until they eat, which they will soon learn to 

 do. They require but little for a few days, 

 but want it often, and of the best quality. As 

 they grow older, they can be fed with curd, 

 boiled potatoes, dough, and after they get a 

 start, with almost anything. The coop should 

 be moved every day. This is important, and 

 should not be forgotten. It is a good plan to 

 have a place of shelter for them nights. See 

 that they are in their place every night in 

 good season. They are creatures of habit, 

 and will soon learn to come of their own ac- 

 cord, and save a great many steps in running 

 after them, besides being out of the way of 

 foxes and skunks, which often destroy whole 

 flocks at night. A Farmer's AVife. 



Hyde Park, VL, April, 1870. 



DISCUSSION ON HAVING. 



We make the following extract from a re- 

 port in the Maine Farmer of a discusj^ion on 

 the Hay Crop by the Farmers' Club of Levant, 

 Me:— 



Mr. J. West, Secretary, says early cut and 

 well cured clover hay is undoubtedly superior 

 to all other kinds. The Vermont clover is 

 preferable to the Northern or large variety, 

 as it matures earlier and makes finer and bet- 

 ter hay. This locality, however, is not adapted 

 to the extensive cultivation of clover. The 

 yellow weed and white weed should be cut 

 first, and then the other varieties in the order 

 of their maturity. Is in favor of cutting early ; 

 cut one year after the seed had foimed and 

 the result was the rats and mice injured it very 



