AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
197 
they will push ahead rapidly. They are often 
raised in this way in this way in this State. If 
not needed for feed they will enrich the ground 
to the amount of at least four times the cost. 
They may be fed directly off the field, before frost, 
by turning the cattle and sheep in and letting 
them help themselves, or they may be stored for 
Winter use, when they will be found to be a val¬ 
uable addition to the store of Winter food for 
stock. Let the farmers try it, and give us their 
experience in this matter. 
-- . — -««»- - ► — - 
Curious Freaks of the Frost. 
The untimely frosts of June, 1859, will long be 
remembered by some farmers and gardeners. The 
injury done has, indeed, been found to be less 
than was feared at the time; though it is of very 
considerable local importance. 
Our purpose here is only to speak of some of 
the curiosities of the frost-work, as we saw or 
heard of them. In the garden now before us, 
(Oneida Co., N. Y., lat. 43° N ) one row of beans 
was badly nipped, while another, only a few feet 
away, was not affected at all. In another row 
every other plant, or every third or sixth or 
eighth plant, was scorched, while the others 
escaped. Out of fifteen hills of Lima beans, only 
two or three were cut off. Then again, one plant 
in a hill was nipped, and others were not touched. 
On tomatoes, the Frost-king skipped about in the 
same wanton manner. Here, he cut off the 
young flowers of a plant; there, he blackened 
the leaves, and in several instances he merely 
marked the outer edges of the leaves with a gold 
border. The only way we could explain these 
various effects, was by ascribing them to some 
slight difference in the nature of the soil under 
and around each plant. 
One or two tomato plants were covered with 
pieces of old roofing tin, bent over the plants so 
as nearly to touch them. These tomatoes were 
injured more than those which had no covering; 
and plainly, because the tin was too rapid a con¬ 
ductor of heat, and bore it off from the plants 
underneath. Nearly the same thing occurred with 
some tender flowering plants covered with news¬ 
papers ; the papers were stiffened by the frost, 
and the flowers were injured more than some 
which were unprotected. In a neighbor's gar¬ 
den, a row of tomatoes which stood near a body 
of tall mowing grass, was badly injured, while 
another in the open ground was untouched. In 
the same garden, beans, potatoes, and sweet 
corn, were nearly all cut down, while ours, only 
two or three rods distant, on the same level, and 
with the same natural quality of soil, were hard¬ 
ly touched. His garden was a new one, and the 
ground had not been as thoroughly manured and 
worked as his neighbors. Let superficial garden¬ 
ers make a note of this. 
In Western New-York, many garden and field 
crops suffered severely. Grapes trained on the 
south sides of houses, or walls, or fences, were 
only slightly injured ; others were quite generally 
destroyed. Fruit trees having heavy foliage, suf¬ 
fered less than those sparsely covered. Early 
strawberries, being about ripe, were slightly in¬ 
jured ; late sorts being just in bloom, were badly 
cut up. Tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and beans 
except those covered up, were slaughtered. One 
amateur in Buffalo, fearful of the frost, covered 
his dahlias with earthen pots, but forgot to cork 
up the holes in the bottoms. Jack Frost went in 
through the holes. Another gentleman, rising 
early, and seeing w hat the frost had done, hasten¬ 
ed to sprinkle his flowers and tender vegetables 
with cold water, but forgot to sprinkle his grapes, 
of which he had a large and choice variety. His 
fruit was nearly all killed. Another gentleman 
had a bed of Japan lilies, half of which were de¬ 
stroyed, the others went through unscathed. In 
another garden, a pail of water which stood near 
four tomato plants was frozen over, and two of 
the plants killed, while the other two were un¬ 
hurt ! 
We might enumerate a multitude of 'similar 
facts, but our w'ant of space forbids. The laws 
of frost are worthy of careful study. It is not 
easy to tell always haw much is owing to pecu¬ 
liarities of soil, position, currents of wind, mois¬ 
ture, the presence of neighboring objects retain¬ 
ing or radiating heat, and the like natural causes ; 
and how much is to be ascribed to the simple 
dispensation of Providence. Let us observe. 
For the An\> vican Agriculturist, 
The Dominique Fowl. 
This well-known and much neglected common 
fowl, is supposed to be an old and distinct variety, 
though usually looked upon as a mere farm-yard 
fowl; that is the accidental result of promiscuous 
crossing ; but there are several forms among the 
barn-yard fowls, so called, that are seen to be 
repeated generation after generation, the counter¬ 
parts of winch are met with scattered -here and 
there all over the country. The Dominiques are 
distinguished by their markings and their color, 
which is generally consideied an indication of 
hardihood and fecundity. By some they are called 
“Hawk-colored fowls,” from their strong resem¬ 
blance in color to the birds of that name. In 
England they are usually called “ Cuckoo fowls,” 
from the fancied resemblance of their plumage to 
the feathers of the Cuckoo’s breast. 
The prevailing and true color of the Dominique 
fowl is a lightish ground, barred crosswise, and 
softly shaded with a dark slaty-blue, as indicated 
in the portrait of the cock as figured above. The 
comb varies, some being single, while others are 
double—most, however, are single. Feet and 
legs light flesh-color, and yellow; bill the same 
as that of the legs. 
The merits of this breed recommend them to 
persons residing in the country, as well worthy 
of promotion in the poultry-yard. Whether as 
makers of eggs, or of meat, as sitters, or as nur¬ 
ses, they are valuable. We seldom see bad fowls 
of this variety, and take them all-in-all, the wri¬ 
ter does not hesitate in pronouncing them one of 
the best and most profitable, being hardy, good 
layers of more than medium sized eggs, steady 
sitters, careful nurses, and what is very impor¬ 
tant, the chicks are hardy, feather early, and are 
easy to rear. It is a perfect vexation to try to 
raise chicks of some of the more tender varieties, 
for they are continually drooping and dying. 
The Dominiques afford excellent quality of eggs, 
and flesh of a juicy, high flavored character—in 
the latter quality little inferior to the Dorking. 
There is a vast difference in fowls, as is known 
by every one who has paid any attention to the 
subject; while some are hardy and profitable, 
others are weakly and scarcely pay their way 
under the most favorable circumstances, and the 
best management possible. It is always a judi¬ 
cious plan for the farmer to keep a number of 
fowls of some kind upon his premises, as there is 
always enough w-aste ©r spare matter to feed them, 
and besides, they are serviceable in protecting the 
crops by destroying numerous insect depredators. 
The hen and a brood of chickens—the hen being 
confined in a coop, and the coop placed in the vi¬ 
cinity of the kitchen garden—not only keep the 
insects from destroying the tissues o>f the plants, 
but they annihilate the insects themselves, and 
convert them into a source of profit instead of a 
loss, by devouring them as food. 
To render poultry profitable, it is essential that 
great care should be exercised, not only in the 
selection of valuable breeds, but in feeding and 
raising the young. If the raiser is remiss in these 
points, no profit will result from the enterprise, 
and as a general thing he will, to use an old adage 
—“ have his labor for his pains.” The more 
quickly the market penny can be turned, ofcourse 
the greater the profit to the poulterer at the end 
of the year. C. N. Bement. 
Springside, June 1859 
*-■ » -- 
Two more Out-Door White-Washes. 
The recipe, published in the May Agricullunsl, 
p. 136, we have tried on the Lima bean frames 
described last month, and so far it appears to 
work well. We used about two heaping table¬ 
spoonfuls of tallow to half a pailful of the mixed 
lime wash. The unslacked lime was put into a 
pail, water poured on, and the tallow dropped in. 
When the lime slaked and the mixture was hot, 
the tallow was thoroughly stirred in. But little 
of it afterwards rose to the top; it was stirred well, 
however, every few minutes while applying it. 
In response to the inquiry for further information 
from thoss having had practical experience with 
other out-door washes, a subscriber in Plainfield, 
N. J., sends the following to the Agriculturist 
which he strongly recommends for both white¬ 
ness and durability : Mix Whiting (Spanish While) 
with buttermilk to a consistence a little thicker 
than common lime white-wash ; to every pailful 
(2£ gallons'!) of the mixture add two table-spoon¬ 
fuls of salt and i pint of boiled Linseed Oil. The 
writer adds that a wash prepared in this manner 
will remain white six years. If the Whiting and 
milk will make a compound that will adhere, the 
oil will probably prevent its washing off It strikes 
us that it would be necessary to keep the mix¬ 
ture warm and constantly stirred while using, or 
the oil would rise to the top. 
Another —A Subscriber at New Haven, Conn., 
sends the following, which he says has succeeded 
very well with him, it being so hard when dry as 
not to rub off even on a black broadcloth. Mix ; 
1 bushel of lime ; J lb. of white vitriol (sulphate 
of zinc); 2 quarts of salt; and 5 lbs. of sugar— 
any refuse sugar will answer. We do not see 
why a compound like this should be so impervi¬ 
ous to water, as not to wash off, which is the 
main difficulty with out-door white-wash, ex¬ 
posed, as they are, to rains and dews. We judge 
only from the chemical character of the ingredi¬ 
ents, and not from actual trial, and therefore can 
not certainly say it will not.answer the desired 
end. 
