POULTRY RAISING. 
205 
ture and characteristic peculiarities of the vari¬ 
ous genera and species, the changes that attend 
their progressive development, their habits, 
food, and the time, season, and manner of 
depositing their ova, with the circumstances 
that favor or retard their appearance, the class¬ 
ification. and system of naming them, that they 
rnay be designated with precision and recog¬ 
nised with facility by others, and an inquiry 
into the extent to which they may be controlled 
by human agencies, constitute the proper ob¬ 
jects of the student’s attention. In no other 
manner can we obtain a knowledge of insects 
that may be available to the farmer and the 
gardener, the fruit culturist and the florist, the 
ship builder and the housekeeper, who severally 
feel the effects of their ravages, and appreciate 
the value of preventives against them. 
With the exception of the honey bee and the 
silk worm, the whole of the insect races are 
usually regarded by the farmer, as his enemies; 
yet, if carefully observed, many species would 
be found his benefactors. In sultry seasons and 
hot climates, they act as scavengers to remove 
decaying and putrescent animal matter that 
would otherwise act as an exciting cause of 
pestilence and promote the spread of desease. 
It is difficult to penetrate the thickets of tropical 
swamps and marshes from the swarms of ven¬ 
omous insects that assail the adventurer; and 
even in temperate climates, the myriads of mos¬ 
quitoes that haunt the borders of swamps and 
streams, render a sojourn so unpleasant that 
there is less danger of incurring disease from 
exposure to the pestilential miasms peculiar to 
these localities. The physician, the painter, 
and the dyer are severally indebted to the in¬ 
sect tribes, for the blistering fly, lac, cochineal, 
and nut galls, each in their kind, indispensable; 
and we must also place to the credit of insects* 
the first ideas they have furnished of many val¬ 
uable discoveries in the arts. The aeronaut and 
the diver have each their prototype in the spi¬ 
der, and if the fiction of the ancients is to be 
credited, man learned to spin from the worm; 
to build from the bee, and to husband his re¬ 
sources in summer to supply his wants in win¬ 
ter, from the ant. 
-- 
Steaming Potatoes. —The secret of steam¬ 
ing potatoes is very little understood, and rarely 
carried into full effect, although it is indespen- 
sable to the nutritious development of the veg¬ 
etable. The whole mystery consists in suffer¬ 
ing the steam to escape, and at the same time 
keeping the potatoes hot. 
POULTRY RAISING-. 
Raising poultry is not a profitable business, 
at least, on Long Island, where we have a ready 
market for our grain at our doors. Every 
chicken from the time it is out of the shell until 
it is fit for market, consumes about 25 cents’ 
worth of food, (more than we generally get for 
them,) besides the time spent in taking care of 
them, to say nothing of the loss of the hen. 
From six to ten weeks, poultry kept for their 
eggs is profitable, if well attended to, and not 
in too large numbers together. 
Many farmers take little or no care of their 
poultry during the winter months, leaving them 
to glean whatever they can find about the barn 
yard, and of course, they get very few eggs. I 
get quite or nearly as much profit from my 
poultry in winter, as I do in summer; but I do 
not get so many eggs; yet, they bring from six 
to eight cents more per dozen. 
I have tried several large kinds of fowls, but 
they would not answer for laying. Small birds 
are best for eggs. The best layers are a cross 
with the black-Poland top knots and the Cre¬ 
oles. Although the Polands are called ever¬ 
lasting layers, they do not lay so well, nor so 
early as a cross with some small breeds. The 
Dominiques, for instance, is a very good sort to 
cross with. 
In the March number, (1850,) of the Agricul¬ 
turist, Mr. Miner tells us that the Polands will 
mix by sight. I have had them more or less for 
20 years, and have never known them to mix, 
unless they run with other fowls. I believe 
pure breeds are scarcely to be had. They are 
frequently seen in the New-York Market, for 
sale, with yellow legs. Those are not pure. 
In order for hens to lay in winter, they must 
have some kinds of meat as an offset for the 
myriads of insects that they get in summer. 
Scraps and offal of most any kind are good. 
Also, soft-shelled clams, which can be procured 
almost any time throughout the winter around 
our bays and harbors. I boil them and jam 
them up, shell and all. The hens eat them very 
greedily. Spring pullets, if kept well, will com¬ 
mence laying in November and continue through 
the winter. H. B. Rogers. 
Huntington , Long Island , Feb., 1851. 
■- L - -- 
To Soften Hard Water.— A few ounces of 
soda will soften a hundred gallons of the hard¬ 
est water. For washing, it possesses a marked 
superiority over pot or pearl ash, giving a del¬ 
icate whiteness to the linen, without the slight¬ 
est injury.— Ex. 
