1861 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEK. 



1-9 



Hens— Best Breeds— Hints on Breeding. 



The question is often asked, "Which is the 

 best breed of hens?" This is a very difficult mat- 

 ter to decide; nearly every variety has its own par- 

 ticular adii;irers. You may ask a dozen different 

 persons tbeir opinion on this matter, and they 

 Tfill recommend as many different varieties. But 

 "as I remarked ia a former article on the subj*-ct, 

 the profits of poultry raising depeod more upon 

 the mariner of keeping, than upon the breed. As 

 a general thing, the smaller breed will be found 

 most profitable ; at any rate, the indications are 

 that is so. as in this section all the targe fancy 

 breeds of fowls, the Shanghai, Cochin China, 

 etc., have been got rid of, as I suppose the old 

 fashioned barn-\ ard is found to be more cheaply 

 and easily raised, and to give more eggs and 

 better flesh. But, as before remarked, by judi- 

 cious crossing with some of the imported fowls 

 an improveinent is made; for instance, crossing 

 with the ^panish, the half-bloods wll itivari.'-tbiy 

 commence liyir^g younger, generally before they 

 are five months old, and earlier i-i the season 

 than the full-hlood Spanish fowls. 



Another evil too prevalent, is in-nnd in breed- 

 ing. My plan, when I commenced, was to pro- 

 cure a cock and hen from widely different parts, 

 so as to avoid any relationship. From these I 

 breed, savinsi four pul'ets, and again purchased 

 two of the finest cocks I could procure from a 

 different place. For this pains, I think I have 

 been ful'y paid, as my stock of fowls became 

 much hardier than my former stock. This plan 

 of breeding I have adopted with all kinds of 

 poultry, and I can confidently recommend it to 

 others. 



Hens will not flourish in a crowded state, 

 neither will th'.y lay so well when great numbers 

 are together. In summer, when the weathers 

 hot, if kept in close quarters, fowls will some- 

 times become lousy ; but if clean, good ashes are 

 placed wheie the hens can hav<> access to them, 

 they will dust themselves in them uniil the ver- 

 min disMope'rs. A hen is a right prudish old 

 lady, and affects great modesty in s' lecting her 

 nest, and laying her eggs, always selecting a 

 quiet, sly place, when it can be found. I -'prov- 

 ing upon this hint, fix up your boxes for the nests 

 in a corner, and in such a manner as to keep 

 them from sight when passing near them. 



A w 11 fed fowl is disposed to lay a large num- 

 ber of eggs, and they should have the material 

 necessary to form the shell supplied to them, 

 especially when confined. A good shelter should 

 always be provided for hens to roost under, and 

 suitable provision will pay in increased ■ roduc- 

 tiveness for all your trouble in the cultuj^ of 

 fowls. — C. A. Bement, in Country Gent. 



What Every Fanner Owns. 



Bayard Taylor, speaking of his farm, and sum- 

 ming up his compensations in view of the fact 

 that he does not own an entire landscape, says : 

 I own, therefore, a narrow strip of territory 

 nearly four thousand miles in length. Truly I 

 cannot travel to the end of my dominion ; what 

 of that ? — I have no desire to do so. Above me 

 the blue seas of air, the dark, superimposing 

 space — all is mine, half way to the nearest star- 

 where I join atmospheres with some far off 

 neighbor! The clouds, as they pass over, the 

 rain, the rainbow, lightnings and meteoric fires, 

 become my temporary chattels. Under rav feet, 

 what hidden riches may not exist — beds of pre- 

 cious minerals, geodes of jewels, sparry caverns, 

 sections ef subterranean seas, and furnaces heated 

 from the central fire! This is wca'tb which in- 

 deed would not be received as coUaterrl security 

 for a loan, but it is therefore none the less satis- 

 factory to the im.gination. Standing, once, on 

 the lawn at Farriugford, 1 corgratuiated Alfred 

 Tennyson of his view across the Solent, to the 

 blue, wavy outline of the New Forest. "Yes," 

 he answered. " but it wants another feature — 

 three summits of perpetual snow, yonder!" 

 pointing to the northwest. "To make my land- 

 scape complete, not only thoi-e three peaks are 

 required, (>ilso in the northwest,) but a lake or a 

 river in one of the intervening valleys. Until I 

 can procure them, 1 construct temp'irary Alps 

 from the masses r,f sun-gilded cumuli which set- 

 tle along the western horizon, and flatter myself 

 that I shall be able to see a distant river from 

 the top of my future house. The changes of the 

 atmosphere — the shifting of some prevailing tone 

 in the colors of the landscape — give me, virtually, 

 the rat.ge of many lands. My property may lie 

 in Norway, in America, or in Andalusia : it de- 

 pends upon the sky. Usually, however, it repre- 

 sents the midland valfs of England — utiuulating, 

 deep in the richest foliage, intersected with lanes 

 of hawthorn ani dotted with old stone country 

 houses and capacious barns. The sentiment of 

 the scenery is the srme — order, peace, and lome 

 comfort." 



Madeeia "Wi>:e. — The vine which has been 

 cultivated on the Maderia Island for nearly 

 threehunered years, is almost entirely abandon- 

 ed, the land being devoted to the culture of the 

 sugar cano. Tiis is owing to a dise-'se of the 

 grape which renders its cultivation unprofitable. 

 Maderia wine, however, will be supplied from 

 other sources by properly labeling the bottle. 



Corn akd Cob Meal. — The startling state^ 

 ments about this kind of food which we publish- 

 ed a few weeks since, taken from the Ohio Far- 

 mer, have brought out a flood of counter state- 

 ments in that paper as well as in our own. "We 

 shall be on the look-out for all the new facts, 

 and shall be glad of contributions to our stock. — 

 Homestead. 



The above subject is now being pretty thor- 

 oughly discussed. It is probable that cob meat 

 is more profitable to feed than corn in the ear, 

 yet we think the pure shelled corn ground is bet- 

 er without the cob. 



— An exquisitely refined lady, who regards all 

 words of one syllable as lacking in gentilitv, re- 

 cently exnressed the idea that her stove did not 

 draw well, as follows : "My anthracite consumes 

 mUdly." 



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