1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



31 



when they are sent to market, instead of weigh- 

 ing six pounds a pair, as the Black Spanish 

 and other small breeds do, they weigh from 

 twelve to fifteen pounds per pair. 



Of the other kinds of fowls I know but lit- 

 tle, except the Houdans, which are noted for 

 their good laying qualities, and also for their 

 not wanting to set often, though in size they 

 do not compare with the Brahmas. 

 Feeding Poultry. 



My method of feeding fowls is as follows. 

 In the first place, I keep grain by them all the 

 time ; for 1 have found from experience that 

 they will eat much less when fed in that way, 

 than when fed twice a day all they will eat. I 

 have a trough or low box, with slats nailed 

 across the top so that they cannot get into it 

 and scratch the grain out. This is kept filled 

 with corn and oats during the winter; and 

 about twice a week give them wheat screen- 

 ings, which I have found excellent food for 

 laying hens. Oyster shells should be pounded 

 for them every morning, and from a cake of 

 pork scraps, kept by them, a small quantity 

 should be chopped olF for them every morning. 

 Fresh water should be kept by them all the 

 time ; and in cold weather it should be warmed. 

 By this method of feeding about five min- 

 utes or less a day are required to take care of 

 them. 



The Hen House and its Appurtenances. 



The boxes for laying should be large enough 

 for one hen only, and should be covered if 

 possible, as a hen when laying will get out of 

 sight if a chance is given her for doing so. 



The roost should be in one corner, acd I 

 have a floor underneath so as to catch all the 

 droppings, and once a week take them all up 

 clean. The result was that last spring I had 

 hen manure enough to plant two acres of corn 

 with, which I considered worth more than the 

 same weight of superphosphate, or any of the 

 special manures in market. 



I have a small room partitioned off in one 

 end of my hen house for a sitting room, and 

 when I wish to set a hen, I take her, in the 

 evening, from the nest she has been laying in, 

 and place her carefully on the nest she is to 

 set in ; and in nine cases out of ten she will 

 set without any difficulty. 



A hen house should be built with a row of 

 windows on the south side, so as to admit the 

 sun in the winter, and a hen yard of suitable 

 size should be built on the north side of the 

 building, so that they may have a cool place 

 in the summer. 



A great mistake is made by crowding too 

 many hens into a small place. The building 

 which my hens occupy is o2 by 17 feet, and 1 

 consider 50 hens a large number to keep in it. 



To avoid vermin, which hen houses are apt 

 to be filled with, I white-wash it thoroughly, 

 taking great pains to wash the roosts, as the 

 vermin are more apt to be found there than 

 elsewhere. 



In order to show those persons who think 

 the raising of poultry unprofitable, that it can 

 be made profitable, I will give you an account 

 of my poultry kept in 18C9. I commenced 

 January 1, 18G9, with 



$113 45 Leaving for profit . $94 83 



I have given no credit for poultry or eggs 

 used in the family, which would amount to 

 quite a large sum ; nor for the manure, which 

 you will see was worth something by the state- 

 ment previously made. 



I am convinced that with more care, I could 

 have made 50 per cent, more, and there is a 

 gentleman in this neighborhood, not a member 

 of this Club, who could make a showing in re- 

 gard to his poultry for the last year, that 

 would put my statements all in the shade. 



Of the management of chickens, I shall say 

 but little. I prefer to have them hatch out 

 quite early, as soon as February, or else quite 

 late, as I have found that they generally pay 

 better. Have most always had good luck ia 

 hatching, but lose many by disease or some- 

 thing, before they mature. 



1 wish to state that my account of poultry 

 tept in 18G9, was not any guess work, hut 

 taken from actual figures put down from day 

 to dav, which any gentleman in the Club may 

 see, if he desires to do so. Any person who 

 will try the raiding of poultry, conducting it 

 in a proper manner, and not make it a source 

 of pleasure and profit, will be an exception to 

 the general class of people. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 DEEP AND SHALLOW PLOUGHING. 



Most all of the agricultural papers in our 

 land have correspondents who advocate "d«'ep 

 ploughing," but very few recommend "shal- 

 low ploughing."* Is it because deep plough- 

 ing is the exception and shallow the rule? 

 Having had experience in the matter, I have 

 decided that deep ploughing, as a general 

 practice, is detrimentdl to the interest of the 

 farmer. 



In the year 18G5, I manured very heavily 

 four and one half acres of sward land, which 

 had been in grass five or six years as pasture 

 or mowing. The soil was a clay loam with a 

 heavy clay subsoil. Having a strong team, 

 the manure and sod wire covered to a depth 

 of six and a half or M'ven inches, being one 

 inch and a half deeper than it was usually 

 ploughed. It was planted with corn about the 

 15ih of I\Iay, with well rotted manure in the 

 hills. With such liberal treatment, expectation 

 ran high as to the amount of corn I should get ; 

 but disappointment came. The corn grew 



