76 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
Large shipments of bees have been recently 
made to California, and the demand for the Pacific 
Coast, as well as down the Atlantic, and other 
distant points, is increasing. Several inquiries 
have been addressed to us for information, as to 
the best mode of preparing them for transporta¬ 
tion, when to be carried over the water, and 
especially when to be subjected to a change of 
climate in passing through the tropics. We can 
not better answer these queries, than to give the 
accompanying illustration, which we sketched 
from one of a lot of hives, passing through this 
city on its way to California. The hive was of 
the common box form, having drawers at the top. 
A narrow strip of board was nailed upon each of 
the four corners, which projected down about six 
inches below the bottom of the hive, to form tem¬ 
porary legs. Over the open bottom of the hive 
a sheet of wire-cloth was nailed, its edges being 
bent up, and tacked to the edge ail around. Tin's 
formed an open-work box, hanging down some 
four inches, or within two inches of the bottom 
of the temporary legs. The drawers were re¬ 
moved, and wire-cloth nailed over. This arrange¬ 
ment secures free ventilation, and access to air 
and light, without allowing the bees to escape. 
When carried on land, the hives were turned 
bottom upward, but when taken on shipboard, 
they were set in their natural position. We 
learn that by this arrangement there has been 
little loss among the hundreds of swarms that 
have gone to California during the past four 
months. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
How to Baise Turkeys. 
One of the grandest sights about a farm house 
in the Fall of the year, is a noble flock of turkeys. 
What lordly struttings of tire old gobbler, raking 
the ground with his trailing wings, making 
broad his caudal phylacteries, and ejecting wind 
from his swelling breast with the fierceness of a 
locomotive! What gobblings of his eldest sons, 
as they ape the manners of the father, and essay 
to lead the flock afield ! What iridescent colors 
glow upon the glossy feathers of the whole flock, 
as they pick their morning meal! The noblest 
of all birds in the farm yard, or upon the table, 
the turkey should become a universal favorite, 
wherever there is room for him to follow his na¬ 
tive wandering habits. Though as thoroughly 
domesticated as the common hen, they can not 
be confined to as narrow quarters with profit. It 
is only upon farms where they can have a good 
range, that they can be raised to advantage. No 
kind of poultry pays a larger profit, as the most 
of the food is gathered from the field, and the 
price is always high. Farmers in Connecticut 
and Rhode Island pay a good deal of attention to 
this crop, and market it mainly in Providence 
gnri Boston. Two hundred turkeys, worth three 
hundred dollars at the door, are frequently raised 
upon single farms. 
No State excels Connecticut in the size and 
quality of its turkeys, and a few hints from the 
note books of some of our best poultry raisers 
will be acceptable to your readers. This is about 
the time, when these birds begin to think of their 
future broods, and if not already done, the breeder 
should immediately make 
A Selection of Stock. Two years old birds, both 
male and female, are to be preferred, if you 
desire fowls of the best quality. The males 
should weigh twenty-five pounds and upwards, 
and the females not less than fifteen pounds. By 
careful selection, a few breeders have originated 
a variety of large bronze turkeys, the males of 
which at maturity weigh thirty-five pounds and 
upward. Other tilings being equal, the larger 
and stronger the stock, the more and better 
birds the breeder may expect to raise. The hens 
of a year old will lay earlier, but they will not 
produce so strong chicks. 
Nests .—Though the hens are prone to stray off 
and steal their nests in woods and retired places, 
they may be induced to lay in more convenient 
spots, by preparing nests for them. Some build 
these of small stones near the fence by the road 
side, covering the top with short boards, to shed 
rain, and throwing over them a handful of brush, 
to screen the hen from observation. The more 
rude and inartificial the nest, the better. An old 
flour barrel answers a very good purpose, leaving 
out one head. The barrels should be put in some 
quiet place, not too near each other, where the 
mothers will not be disturbed. The nests may 
be made of old hay or straw, with a lining of 
forest leaves. A few tobacco stalks, or refuse 
tobacco of any kind, will guard the nests against 
lice. To entice the liens into the nests, put in 
hens’ eggs, or artificial eggs made for the pur¬ 
pose. As they begin to lay before the hard frosts 
are over, the eggs should be carefully carried into 
the house, and be. kept in a cool, dry place, until 
they are ready to set. Eighteen to twenty eggs 
make a nest full for setting. To guard the mother 
against skunks, minks, and other night walkers, 
put over the mouth of the barrel a* lattice work 
of laths, removing it every morning. 
Feeding .—This is a matter of great importance. 
The first day after hatching nothing is needed, 
and t]ie lattice cover may be kept over the barrel, 
to keep the mother at home. The second day 
the young birds may be put into a pen, made of 
four boards, about eighteen inches wide and four¬ 
teen feet in length, leaving the mother free. 
This board pen will confine the young ones, until 
they are able to jump over it, when it will be 
safe to give them more room. The pen should 
be moved every fourth day, to give the young a 
chance at. fresh grass. For the first week boiled 
eggs, chopped up fine, and angle worms broken 
up small, are the best food. After this, curds 
inay be given, and very coarse corn meal. It 
should be ground for the purpose, more coarse 
even than hominy. This may be scalded and 
mixed with sour milk, and a little sand or gravel 
thrown in, to prevent it from baking in the crop. 
Many young turkeys are killed by a too exclusive 
diet of Indian meal. As the young ones grow, 
they maybe fed with buckwheat and other grains. 
After they begin to range, care must be taken 
to house them in cold, stormy weather. Confine 
them in the barn cellar, or upon the barn floor, 
where they will have plenty of room. If any of 
them get chilled, and droop, they should be put 
in a basket with wool or cotton, and set near 
the kitchen fire, where they may feel the 
warmth. 
As they grow and begin to -shift for them¬ 
selves, roosts should be provided for them in 
some place safe from the attacks of vermin. A 
common roost is a scaffold, made by putting 
poles upon crotched sticks, ten or fifteen feet 
high. The poles should be three or four inches 
in diameter, that they may be easily grasped 
with the claws. They should be brought up 
regularly every night to the roosting place, and 
fed there. The young ones should have a 
rough pole, extending from the ground or fence 
to the top of the roost, on which they can walk 
up, until they are strong enough to fly. After 
a few days of schooling, they will come home 
regularly, and go to their places without any 
oversight. After a month or two, they will 
forage for themselves, mainly living on grass¬ 
hoppers, and such insects as they pick up in 
the fields and woods. The night feeding, how¬ 
ever, should be continued, to induce regular 
habits. 
Second broods are sometimes raised, but 
where the first has been successful, the prac¬ 
tice is not advisable. Any surplus eggs of the 
first laying may be set under hens. 
Connecticut. 
<s- 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Chinese Geese. 
There are at least three varieties of Chinese 
geese which have been imported into this coun¬ 
try—the Brown red-legged, the black-legged,and 
the White. The first two are identical in the col¬ 
or of their plumage, and must also bear close 
affinity to the larger specimens which are known 
under the name of Hong Kong. 
The prevailing color of the Chinese goose is a 
lightish brown ; the different shades are very 
harmoniously blended, and arc well relieved by 
the black tuberculated bill and markings of deep¬ 
er tints of the same color, and the greyish while 
of the abdomen. Slight variations occur in the 
color of the. feet and legs, some having them of 
a dull orange, others black ; a delicate white 
stripe of finger-like feathers is occasionally seen 
at the base of the bill. These peculiarities are 
said to he hereditarily transmitted. But the 
White Chinese goose, if it he not. specifically dis¬ 
tinct, is a variety so decidedly marked, as to de¬ 
mand a special notice hereafter. 
There is something in the aspect of the Brown 
goose—its dark brown stripe down its neck, its 
bright eye, its harsh voice, its ceremonious strut, 
and its affectation of seldom being in a hurry, all 
which seem to say it came from China. If it did 
originally come from China it has no doubt been 
domesticated for many hundreds, or perhaps 
thousands of years. This beautiful bird in its 
shape and motions in the water much resembles 
the swan. It is also like the swan in other re¬ 
spects ; it glides through the watery element with 
its neck beautifully arched, its head drawn in, its 
