AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
137 
I 860 .] 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Cure for Gapes in Chickens. 
I have tried the following plan, and found it a 
certain cure for gapes in chickens. Take a me¬ 
dium sized broom splint, with a sharp knife make 
two or three barbs near the large end. Open the 
mouth of the chicken, having its neck drawn 
straight, and, as the wind-pipe is opened for 
breath, put in the instrument, and, running it 
carefully down the full length of the wind-pipe, 
Girnit around and draw it up, when one or more 
small red worms, an inch in length, will be found 
caught in the barbs. I have taken out four 
worms at one insertion. Two or three operations 
are often necessary, but if faithfully performed, 
the remedy is sure. E. R. 
Apoplexy in Fowls. 
A subscriber writes for information about a 
disease which affects his fowls. The symptoms 
are loss of muscular power in the wings and legs, 
causing them to droop and stagger about, and 
soon to die. These appearances correspond to 
what is termed apoplexy, resulting from too high 
feeding. It is sometimes caused by confining the 
fowls to corn meal, or by feeding hemp seed and 
similar oily, hearty food, and is difficult to cure. 
A preventive is a change of diet. Give lighter 
grain, as oats, buckwheat, etc., and plenty of 
cabbage leaves or other green food, chopped 
fine, with milk curds, if they can be had. 
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The Domestic Turkey. 
Next to the common fowl, the turkey is the 
most useful, important, interesting and valuable, 
of domestic fowls. It is the most recent of our 
reclaimed birds; the care of it is quite an interest¬ 
ing part of rural economy; and it is generally 
admitted that turkeys are entitled by their appear¬ 
ance to be called the nobility of the poultry-yard. 
Buffon remarks that it was unknown before the 
discovery of America. The Spaniards call it the 
“ Peacock of the Indies,” because its tail some¬ 
what resembles that of the peacock when spread. 
The domestic turkey differs in no way that I 
am aware from the wild, except in the variety of 
colors, which vary from a pure white, through all 
shades, to a jet black. Among the full colors, 
also, we have the buff or copper-colored, the slate 
or dove colored, which many prefer, simply I 
believe, as a matter of taste, as I have never 
discovered any superior merit either in the habits 
or flesh of such varieties. The dark colored, par¬ 
ticularly the bronzed, are generally considered the 
best, hardiest and heaviest birds ; the white va¬ 
riety the most delicate, and difficult to rear. These 
with their red head and caruncles, contrasted with 
their snowv whiteness, make a very pretty appear¬ 
ance, and when feeding on the lawn add much 
to embellish the grounds around the mansion. 
The dark varieties are always most marketa¬ 
ble; their skin being white, and their flesh firm 
and sweeter ; while the 
males are larger, and the 
females are considered 
much better breeders. 
In rearing turkeys, the 
first great requisite is to 
have good stock to raise 
from, both male and fe¬ 
male. The cock turkev 
should be of large size, 
and as he does not attain 
his full growth till he is 
two or three years old, 
one of this age is to be 
preferred, though year¬ 
lings are generally made 
to answer. The color 
should be jet black or 
bronze with legs to match. There is very little 
difficulty in finding a cock turkey whose strut is 
sufficiently martial to satisfy the most precise 
stickler for a military carriage. With tail spread 
and erect (as illustrated opposite), and breast in¬ 
flated, he marches, and counter marches, a perfect 
Captain of the poultry-yard. Usually not more 
than three or four females should constitute bis 
harem. A great point is to prevent deterioration 
of stock by breeding in-and-in. It is, therefore, 
good policy to introduce a cock-turkey from a 
neighboring stock at least every second year. A 
strong and healthy brood of chicks is thus secured. 
The turkey is an out-of-door bird ; and in this 
respect he retains, even in his domesticated state, 
that love of freedom which characterizes the In¬ 
dian race of our country. The average size of 
the domestic turkey is about the same as that of 
the wild bird,but the former often excels in weight, 
when carefully bred. It is not uncommon for 
well fatted cocks, from seven to eightmonths old, 
to weigh from ten to fourteen pounds, and hens 
to weigh ten pounds. Cocks of one year old have 
been pushed to the weight of 25 pounds, dressed. 
Po'lceepsie. C. N. BEMENT. 
worked hot and cooled slowly. For all work, 
where the nails are to be subjected to bending, or 
to be clinched, they should be prepared in the 
manner described. 
j 1 £ 
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pSgiiiiMtai 
Driving A Nail. 
“A very simple operation which any fool can 
perform,” says the reader. Not too fast. Scarce¬ 
ly one person in a dozen can drive a nail well. 
Of course, practice is essential to skill, but a little 
“ gumption ” is needed, and perhaps a little in¬ 
struction may not come amiss. First, set the 
nail in all cases, so that its least width at the 
top stands across the grain of the wood. 
A carpenter would laugh at so simple a direction, 
but every second boy, and perhaps every third 
man is just as likely to set the widest part of the 
nail across the grain as with it, and thus split the 
wood. Second, a succession of light blows will of¬ 
ten drive a nail home without splitting, when 
two or three heavy blows would split or crack the 
wood. Third, simply wetting a nail will often 
make it enter much easier. Oiling or greas¬ 
ing will do still better. Fourth, annealing or 
toughening nails so that they will bend, or clinch, 
is easily done. Some do this by heating them to 
redness on a shovel, and then pouring water on to 
cool them. This toughens them somewhat, but 
they are still better when allowed to cool slowly. 
The best plan is to make them red hot, and imme¬ 
diately cover them with ashes or dry sand, so that 
they shall cool very slowly. Common nails are cut 
when nearly cold. Heating and slow cooling af¬ 
terward gives them a great degree of toughness, 
almost equal to that, of wrought nails which are 
A New Onion Hoe. 
Those who have cultivated onions to any ex¬ 
tent, need not be told how laborious is the indis¬ 
pensable work of keeping out the weeds. With 
corn it is comparatively easy, with a few well di¬ 
rected strokes of the hoe, to cut them down, but 
when they intrude among the compact rows of 
onions, it is necessary to move carefully, working 
all the time in one direction, and even then to 
go down upon one’s knees, and finish with the 
fingers. Many implements have been construct¬ 
ed to aid in this operation, but so far, cultivators 
depend chiefly upon a light-bladed, wide hoe. 
Mr. John Guyer, Fairfield Co., Conn., has shown 
us an implement of his invention, illustrated 
above, designed to work the ground thoroughly 
between the rows more rapidly and easily, than 
can now be done. 
Four small pointed blades, a, are riveted to curv¬ 
ed arms, which are attached to and play up and 
down upon the axle of the wheels, d, d. Two 
rods, fastened by nuts to the ends of the axle, 
pass up in front of the wheels, and are welded 
together at c; a shank drawn out from c, is 
riveted in the handle, h, only part of which is 
shown. A cross-bar between the point c and the 
wheels connects the two side rods, and from it 
four arms extend downward, each receiving one 
of the horizontal curved arms first mentioned, in 
a slot left for the purpose. Spiral springs, s, sur¬ 
round these slotted vertical arms, and serve to 
keep the hoes down to their place, but admit of 
either hoe rising to pass over a fast stone or 
other obstruction. Two small rods, f, / play 
upon the ends of the axle of the wheels, d, d, and 
are curved to fasten upon the ends of the axle of 
the small wheel, e. 
In working, the implement is pushed forward 
between the rows by the handle, h, the depth of 
the hoe furrows being regulated by lowering or 
raising h, thus increasing or diminishing the 
pressure upon the springs, which keep the hoes 
at their work. The wheel, e, two inches in dia¬ 
meter, passes under the onion tops that may 
have bent down over the rows, and they are 
pushed aside by the small rods,/, / out of the 
way of the wheels, d, d. The inventor claims 
that at least four times as much in a day can he 
accomplished with it, as with the common hoe. 
The implement is small and compact, two feet 
long, nine inches wide, the large wheels nine 
inches in diamet.er. The whole weighs about 
eleven pounds. The size, however, can be va¬ 
ried to suit different crops. It is drawn large in 
the illustration, to show the parts distinctly. Thg 
