56 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Februauy, 
good care of tkeui. He wants to raise and fat 
a few pigs to sell and to eat. There is in his 
neighborhood thorough-bred Essex, Berkshire, 
Suffolk, Small Yorkshires, Large Yorkshires, 
Chester Whites, Jefferson Co., and Magie pigs, 
which shall lie use ? I should have no hesita- 
tion in replying, Essex. 
I do not claim great size for the Essex. They 
belong to the class of " small breeds." They 
are the largest of the small breeds. They are 
larger than the small Berkshires, larger than 
the Suffolks or the small Yorkshires. What I 
claim for them is high quality of meat, a large 
proportion of flesh to fat, and lard remarkably 
white and firm. They are the most gentle of 
all pigs ; good breeders, careful mothers, and 
good sticklers. They have a minimum propor- 
tion of offal, are good graziers, and will grow 
rapidly iu proportion to the food consumed, and 
are fit for the butcher at all times — can be sold 
at three to four months old, and afford the most 
delicious of fresh pork, or can be kept till four- 
teen months, and then dress over 400 lbs. And 
last and best of all, our American bred Essex, 
imported from the late Fisher Hobbs, by such 
men as Morris and Thorne, and bred by them 
and others who know the value of pedigree, 
are of unquestioned purity of blood, and will 
stamp their form and characteristics on their 
offspring, even from common sows, with the 
strength of a steel die. 
I am fattening a pen of five cross-bred Essex 
and Berkshires. There may be larger pigs of 
their age, but I have never seen handsomer. I 
had two of them weighed to-day (December 23). 
They are spring pigs, not quite nine months old. 
One of them, a sow, weighed 370 lbs., and the 
other, a barrow, 374 lbs. The man also weighed 
one of the young thorough-bred Essex sows, six 
months and eleven days old, and designed for 
bleeding purposes. She turned the scales at 
171 lb3. A young sow, four mouths and one 
week old, weighed 110 lbs. I think these 
figures speak well for their early maturity. 
There is not one of these pigs, unless it is the 
young sow, that would not dress 85 per cent on 
this live weight, and there is no better test than 
this of good breeding. I should also state that 
though the Essex are entirely black, they dress, 
all but the hoofs, perfectly white, and the lard 
and fat is whiter than those from any white pig I 
have ever seen killed. 
Dyking Swamp Land. 
Mr. Chas. Bradley, of New Haven, has 5 
acres of meadow land which is more or less 
overflowed by tide-water at times, but is hard 
and smooth euough to be mown with a ma- 
chine without clogs on the horses feet. It has 
been dyked, but has been supposed to run 
down, owing to the persistent ravages of musk- 
rats. He asks whether he shall undertake its 
improvement, either by rebuilding the old dyke, 
or by making a new one. There is a dyke on 
the river below which keeps off ordinary sum- 
mer tide, but is only an insufficient protection 
to the 200 acres of meadow lying above it. He 
asks what is the best material to build the dyke 
of, stone being too costly, and musk-rats burrow- 
ing through earth, loose stones, shells, and every 
material that has been tried, except stone laid 
in mortar. He suggests the following plan : 
Dig a ditch 2'|» feet by 3 feet, and then set a' 
tight, hemlock fence close to the wall of the 
ditch, on the meadow side, 2 feet above the 
level of the meadow, which will be out of the 
way of tidewater; the fence above the meadow 
to be banked with earth, to make it tight. He 
thinks the musk-rats might go under the fence 
at the bottom of the ditch, and so they might. 
We know of but one way to protect a dyke 
against the ravages of musk-rats, and that we 
believe to be effectual. It is to have it some 
distance, say at least from 6 to 10 feet away 
from the ditch, and to have a ditch only on one 
side of it. If Mr. Bradley will dig a ditch 3 
feet wide at the top and 3 feet deep, wheeling 
the earth 10 feet from it toward the water side, 
and will then make a dyke 3 feet high, covering 
it as soon as possible with a good turf, he w ill 
probably find the job satisfactory. Musk-rats will 
only burrow into a dyke when they can crack 
it from below the surface of the water, and 
they will not intentionally burrow through it; 
if they want to get to the other side they will 
go over the top. The mischief is generally 
caused hy two different colonies burrowing from 
opposite sides and meeting within, or from ac- 
cidentally making their holes so near to the out- 
side of the dyke as to enable the water to force 
a way through. The plan here recommended 
will be much cheaper, and we think better, 
than to use boards, as proposed. 
Poultry Yard. Appliances. 
NEST-BOX. 
as applied. 
Under the term of " Poultry Appliances," we 
notice that poultry fanciers and premium lists 
include all those little conveniences which make 
up the furniture of a good poultry house and 
yard. It is certainly 
more correct than "fix- 
tures," for many of 
them are movable, and 
it is more compre- 
hensive than "fittings" 
or "furniture," so it 
is probably best to 
The late show of the K. Y. State Poultry 
Society brought out a number of new affairs of 
this kind, some of which, we think, it may be of 
use to our readers to know something about. 
Galvanized Iron Nest-box — (Figure 1.) — This 
consists of a plain box, twelve inches wide 
by fourteen inches iu length, with an alight- 
ing step in front, having its edge rolled over 
a wire, to give a secure footing. It affords no 
harbor for lice, is inaccessible to rats, if hung 
up, and is easily shifted into the sitting apart- 
ment whenever it is desired to set a hen. 
Suspended Feed-hopper— (Figure 2.) — This is 
also of galvanized iron, and is made of various 
sizes. It is adapted to feeding dry grain of any 
kind, and may be hung against a post or parti- 
tion out of the reach 
of rats and mice. It is, 
besides, light, easily 
cleaned out and re- 
filled when necessary. 
Suspended Water- 
fountain — (Fig. 3.) — 
This article is made of 
the same material, 
galvanized iron, and 
of such size only as 
may be dipped in an 
ordinary water-bucket, 
for filling. It is adapt- 
ed to hang against a 
partition of a small 
house or of a coop, 
thus occupying no 
Fig. 2.-FEEDING HOPPER. 
room upon the floor, and not being liable to be 
much dirtied by any thing thrown into it by 
the scratching of the fowls, like open troughs. | 
WATEU-FOUN- 
TAIN. 
Folding Coop. — Figure 4 represents an excel- 
lent folding coop for exhibiting poultry or for 
other uses. It is made of clear pine, lurch, or 
other wood not liable 
to split, and capable of 
being worked smooth. 
The top.two open sides, 
ends, and bottom, are 
each one piece, and the 
six pieces are hinged to- 
gether, so that they can 
be quickly and com- 
pactly folded up, as 
shown in figure 5, and 
iu this state stored' or 
shipped. When set up, 
the bottom is level with 
the frame of the lids in 
front and rear, hence is 
easily cleaned out. It is 
firm and substantial, 
and lighted from above, 
and took the first prize at the show above named. 
All the above-named articles were exhibited 
by their inventor, Mr. A. M. Halsted, of Rye, 
who, although expecting to profit by their manu- 
facture and sale, places no restrictions upon 
those who wish to make them for their own use. 
Feed and Water Trough, for Show Coops. — ■ 
The most convenient arrangement we have 
seeu for providing feed and water to fowls con- 
fined during several days in show coops, is 
shown in figure 6. It consists of a tin or gal- 
vanized iron box, or trough of such a size, that 
it will slip through between the bars of the 
coop if desired, and provided with a socket, 
soldered on, which will slide over an iron pin 
iu the frame of the coop or cage, and thus sus- 
pend the trough within or without the coop at 
pleasure. The trough may be divided by a 
light partition, and feed placed in one side and 
water in the other, if desired; but it is prefer- 
able to use two troughs, and always best in ex- 
hibition coops, except in the case of very wild 
fowls of some sorts, to hang both feed and water 
vessels upon the outside of the coops. With 
water-fowls this is imperative, as duck3 and 
geese make a great dripping and splashing of 
Fig. 4.— folding coop. 
water if they have the opportunity to do so. 
When coops are made with wire netting, 
through which large-combed fowls cannot get 
their heads, of course some other plan should 
be followed — Mr. Halsted's, for instance, as 
shown in figures 2 and 3, just described. 
Oleeton's Sectional Coop has been lately intro- 
duced, aud ought to be mentioned in this con- 
nection. It is chiefly excellent, because its low 
price brings it within the reach of all, being 
quite as cheap as an equally good coop could 
be made to order. It can be packed in very 
