4 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
January  2 
Eye  Winkers. 
The  following  verses  come  to  us  from  a  good  friend 
In  Maine,  who  writes  :  “  The  foundation  of  all  good 
In  this  world  Is  a  good  home.  My  home-maker  Is 
gone— the  wife  and  mother— and  I  am  left  desolate  In 
this  broken  home,  after  It  had  been  graced  by  her 
presence  for  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century.”  We 
print  them  without  change  : 
A  Little  Family  of  Three. 
On  a  little  farm,  In  a  little  old  house, 
In  the  shade  of  a  maple  tree, 
Was  as  happy  a  home  as  e'er  was  seen 
Of  a  little  family  of  three. 
Joyous  our  lot  on  this  sacred  spot, 
The  mother,  the  boy  and  me, 
As  we  walked  life’s  way  together  there. 
Our  little  family  of  three. 
My  boy  Is  out  In  the  wide,  wide  world, 
To  ride  on  life’s  rough  sea  ; 
A  cloud  hangs  o’er  this  once  bright  home. 
Of  this  little  family  of  three. 
For  the  mother  Is  gone  on  a  journey  long 
Will  ne'er  come  back  to  me  ; 
I’m  all  that's  left  In  the  little  old  house 
Of  the  little  family  of  three. 
They  say  she  has  gone  to  another  home, 
A  fairer  home  to  be, 
Where  we  shall  meet  and  always  live  — 
Our  little  family  of  three. 
God’s  ways  are  right— He  makes  darkness  light. 
And  will  lead  my  boy  and  me 
To  that  sweeter  home  the  mother'll  make 
For  our  little  family  of  three. 
One  of  our  friends  up  in  Wisconsin  says  about  the 
It.  N.-Y.  No.  2  Potato:  “  I  never  had  such  large  pota¬ 
toes.  Hots  of  them  would  weigh  over  two  pounds 
apiece,  and  all  were  smooth  and  sound:  but  the  best 
of  all  Is  their  good  quality  when  cooked.  They  are 
No.  1  Instead  of  No.  2.  All  the  other  seeds  I  received 
from  The  Rural  did  remarkably  well,  and  my  little 
four-year-old  boy  would  say  when  eating  the  melons, 
“  The  RURAL  New-Yorker  Is  an  awful  good  man.” 
8ome  of  our  readers  have  been  complaining  of  too 
much  wet  this  season.  They  should  have  evened 
things  up  with  the  folks  In  Polk  County,  Wls.  There 
they  had  practically  no  rain  at  all;  but  they  had  frost 
every  month  in  the  summer.  And,  In  addition, 
“The  forest  tires  were  terrific,  destroying  hundreds 
of  acres  of  good  pine  and  burning  the  swamps  and 
marshes  to  the  depth  of  four  feet  or  more  in  many 
places,  and  doing  an  immense  amount  of  damage  to 
fences  and  buildings,  and  burning  a  good  deal  of  wild 
hay  on  the  marshes." 
An  Oregon-bred  stallion  eight  years  old  lately  ex¬ 
hibited  in  this  city  has  a  fortune  in  his  hair.  His 
mane  Is  14  feet,  foretop  9  and  tall  12  feet  long. 
The  mane  and  tall  have  grown  two  feet  In  the 
past  two  years.  The  hair  is  carefully  washed 
out  each  day  with  cold  water.  Before  he  Is  placed 
in  his  stall  the  hair  is  drawn  out  and  divided  Into 
several  thick  strands.  From  his  mane  four  such 
strands  are  made.  Each  strand  Is  then  tied  around 
once  every  six  Inches  about  to  the  end.  It  Is  then 
rolled  up  and  put  Into  a  bag.  For  his  mane  and  fore¬ 
top  alone  live  bags  are  required. 
At  a  recent  dinner  in  this  city,  a  turkey  was  served 
that  had  been  kept  frozen  for  10  years.  The  diners 
reported  that  “the  fowl  was  perfect  In  shape,  and 
without  taint  of  any  sort,  but  its  meat  was  utterly 
tasteless  and  void  of  all  the  flavor  and  juices  proper 
to  a  well  roasted  turkey.  The  fat  and  juices  had 
entirely  disappeared,  leaving  only  bone  and  muscular 
fiber.”  It  is  concluded  that  while  long  freezing 
arrests  decay,  it  does  not  entirely  prevent,  evapora¬ 
tion  or  drying. 
The  R.  N.-Y.  wishes  that  Dr.  Salmon  of  the  Agri¬ 
cultural  Department  and  Dr.  Billings  of  Nebraska, 
would  stop  their  childish  discussion  and  “  get  to¬ 
gether.”  For  years  Dr.  Billings  attacked  Dr.  Salmon 
In  the  most  intemperate  language.  We  admired  the 
latter  for  the  dignity  of  his  printed  replies.  Now, 
however,  the  bulletins  of  the  Department  are  attack¬ 
ing  Dr.  Billings  In  a  silly  and  childish  tone,  which 
will  hurt  the  Department.  It  is  all  about  Inocula¬ 
tion  for  swine  plague.  We  are  Informed  that  a  test 
of  the  two  methods  Is  now  being  made  In  Illinois, 
which,  we  are  told,  Indicates  a  victory  for  the  Depart¬ 
ment.  We  suppose  Dr.  Billings  will  dispute  this. 
For  some  time  past  the  papers  have  contained 
statements  to  the  effect  that  Florida  farmers  are 
growing  roots  of  the  Calla  Lily  for  food.  This  root 
Is  “  destined  to  supplant  the  potato”  they  said.  The 
Florida  Agriculturist  says:  “There  Is  at  least  one 
case  on  record  of  a  child  being  violently  poisoned 
from  eating  a  piece  of  a  Calla  Lily  leaf  stem,  and  it 
was  saved  from  death  only  by  the  prompt  summon¬ 
ing  of  a  physician,  and  an  attempt  to  eat  the  roots  of 
this  highly  ornamental  plant  would  very  likely  be  fol¬ 
lowed  by  serious  results.  It  Is  a  common  ornamental 
plant  both  South  and  North,  and  some  people  use  It 
as  food,  but  when  it  supplants  the  “mealy  Murphy” 
we  shall  expect  to  see  the  light  of  old  Sol  supplanted 
by  that  of  the  primitive  tallow  dip.” 
Poultry  Yard. 
A  New  Jersey  Hen  House. 
reach  until  feeding  time  comes  again. 
The  house  is  for  several  flocks  of  20  or  25 
chicks,  to  be  partitioned  off  at  intervals 
of  about  seven  feet.  I  would  have  a 
window  for  each  pen  of  chicks ;  if  the 
windows  and  roosts  are  on  alternate  sides 
the  house  will  be  well  lit  and  no  chicks 
will  roost  in  front  of  the  windows.  I 
would  change  the  yard  from  one  side  of 
the  house  to  the  other  every  year  and 
have  my  garden  in  the  old  yard.  For  lice 
1  would  get  a  spraying  outfit  and  soak 
the  inside  of  the  house  with  kerosene. 
It  gives  the  lice  fits.  For  oyster  shells 
place  a  tin  pan  on  the  side  about  one  foot 
from  the  floor.  Hang  two,  three  or  'our 
feet  of  old  stove-pipe  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
above  the  bottom  of  the  pan.  A  nail 
driven  through  the  top  will  hold  it.  Fill 
the  pipe  with  the  ground  shells  and  they 
will  come  down  as  fast  as  eaten.  To  clean 
the  house  run  a  wheelbarrow  in  the  hall 
and  use  a  basket  to  gather  the  droppings. 
T.  w. 
Hen  Comforts  Considered. 
We  must  keep  watch  of  poultry  lice ; 
for  although  the  weather  has  become 
colder  yet  the  activity  of  these  pests  is  by 
no  means  lessened.  Prepare  a  good  dust 
bath  of  dry,  sifted  coal  ashes,  dry  loam 
or  muck,  and  give  the  fowls  access  to  it, 
and  they  will  rid  themselves  of  the  gray 
body  lice,  without  trouble  to  any  one. 
There  is  another  species  of  parasite, 
however,  that  is  far  more  troublesome. 
These  are  popularly  called  the  “  red 
mites.”  In  the  day  time  these  blood¬ 
thirsty  creatures  remain  concealed  in 
cracks  and  crevices  upon  or  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  the  roosts,  and  run  up  the 
fowls’  legs  and  feast  on  their  bodies  dur¬ 
ing  the  night.  Kerosene,  coal  oil  and  coal 
tar  are  the  best  remedies  in  this  case. 
Take  a  small  brush  and  thoroughly  paint 
the  roosts,  together  with  their  bearings, 
with  one  of  the  above-named  substances, 
and  repeat  the  “  dose  ”  as  often  as  once  a 
week  or  fortnight:  for  parasites  of  this 
class  are  especially  noted  for  their  tena¬ 
cious  hold  on  life. 
The  mistake  into  which  poultry  keep¬ 
ers  will  be  most  prone  to  fall  in  feeding 
their  fowls  this  winter  will  be  neglect  to 
provide  sufficient  variety.  A  grain  diet 
must  not  be  too  closely  followed.  Cab¬ 
bages,  potatoes,  turnips,  etc.,  are  juicy 
and  succulent,  giving  tone  to  the  system, 
and  greatly  assisting  the  digestion  of  the 
more  solid  substances  which  figure  in  the 
bill  of  fare  of  poultry.  Beyond  a  doubt, 
the  best  animal  food  for  laying  hens  is 
fresh,  raw  meat  or  butchers’  bones  finely 
cut.  Here  we  get  all  the  nutritious  ani¬ 
mal  juices  entire  ;  whereas,  after  they 
have  been  boiled,  much  of  their  virtue 
has  departed.  Don’t  forget  to  scatter  a 
layer  of  leaves  over  the  floor  of  the  poul¬ 
try  house.  This  will  keep  the  fowls’  feet 
warm,  and,  if  oats  are  mixed  in,  the 
birds  will  delight  to  scratch  for  the  hid¬ 
den  morsels,  and  will  thus  be  induced  to 
take  the  exercise  which  is  so  essential  to 
stead  of  giving  plenty  of  corn,  she  should 
feed  but  little  clear  corn,  and  in  the 
morning  give  a  warm  feed  composed  of 
one  part  each  of  corn,  oats,  barley  and 
wheat  ground  together,  and  mixed  very 
thick  with  boiling  water,  and  allowed  to 
stand  overnight,  and  be  cooked  in  its  own 
steam;  it  will  be  ready  for  the  hens 
as  soon  as  they  can  see  to  leave  the 
roosts.  Only  what  they  will  eat  up 
clean  in  about  20  minutes  should  be 
fed.  Let  the  rest  of  the  feed  through 
the  day  be  composed  of  small  grains 
and  cracked  corn  scattered  in  cut 
hay,  chaff  or  leaves — any  thing  to  keep 
the  hen  busy.  I  think  the  result  will  be 
much  better  than  when  the  fowls  are  fed 
on  plenty  of  corn  and  water.  Plenty  of 
milk  is  also  a  great  addition  to  their  ra¬ 
tion  for  egg  production.  ,  w.  c.  8. 
Ducks  and  Potato  Beetles. — On  page 
523  we  gave  an  account  of  some  Kansas 
ducks  that  got  into  the  habit  of  feasting 
on  potato  beetles  for  breakfast  every 
morning.  This  pleasing  occupation  gave 
lots  of  fun  to  the  ducks,  and  made  the 
potato  vines  proud  of  themselves.  Now 
comes  a  Maine  man  who  says  in  Insect 
Life  :  “  Here  is  a  little  experience  of  last 
year  in  my  garden,  where  I  had  a  small 
patch  of  potatoes.  To  this  patch  my  two 
ducks  and  one  drake  were  very  partial 
and  not  one  of  the  Philistines  (bugs) 
could  be  found.  We  thought  they  had 
left  for  better  clover  feed,  but  on  reading 
the  article  about  those  Kansas  ducks  my 
experience  affords  another  proof  of  the 
ducks’  usefulness  in  that  field  of  labor  or 
direction.”  We  know  that  there  are  ducks 
in  the  world  that  will  not  eat  beetles — or 
at  least  do  not  “  hanker  after  them.”  If 
some  poultry  keeper  will  go  ahead  and 
breed  this  “bug  eating  propensity”  into 
a  race  of  ducks,  so  that  they  will  run  for 
the  beetles  without  being  told,  he  will 
win  a  deserved  fortune  and  the  thanks  of 
his  fellow-men. 
Poultry  receipts  in  Western  New 
York  were  not  heavy  for  the  Christmas 
market;  but  the  birds  were,  for  the  most 
part,  in  good  condition.  The  ruling  price 
for  turkeys  was  12  cents,  though  13  was 
offered  for  some  choice  flocks.  Chickens 
drawn  for  the  home  market  brought  12 
cents.  Grain  was  so  scarce  and  high  last 
spring  that  comparatively  little  poultry 
was  raised  in  this  section.  The  season 
was  unusually  favorable,  however,  and 
the  standard  of  excellence  is  higher  than 
usual.  It  is  quite  probable  that  another 
year  will  see  the  poultry  business  over¬ 
done.  The  average  price  of  eggs  was 
much  better  during  the  summer  than  has 
been  the  case  for  many  years. 
s.  a.  little. 
THE  NEW 
Potato  Culture. 
By  ELBERT  S.  CARMAN. 
Editor  of  The  Rural  New-Yorker. 
Originator  of  the  Foremost  of  Potatoes— Rural  New 
Yorker  No.  2. 
This  book  gives  the  result  of  15  years'  experiment 
work  on  the  Rural  Grounds. 
How  to  increase  the  crop  without  corre¬ 
sponding:  cost  of  production.  Manures 
and  Fertilizers.  The  Soil.  Depth  of 
Planting:.  Seed.  Culture.  The  Rural 
Trench  System.  Varieties,  etc.,  etc. 
Nothing  old  and  worn-out  about  this 
book.  It  treats  of  new  and  profitable 
methods,  in  fact  of  The  NEW  Potato  Cul¬ 
ture.  It  is  respectfully  submitted  that 
these  experiments  at  the  Rural  Grounds, 
have,  directly  and  indirectly,  thrown 
more  light  upon  the  various  problems  in¬ 
volved  in  successful  potato  culture,  thaD 
any  other  experiments  which  have  been 
carried  on  in  America. 
Price,  Cloth,  75  Cents;  Paper,  40  Cents. 
BIND  YOUR 
PAPERS 
A  Handy  Binder  that  will  hold 
compactly  and  conveniently  fifty- 
two  numbers  of  The  Rural  New- 
Yorker,  will  be  sent  by  mall  on 
receipt  of  75  cents. 
How  to  Propagate  over  2,000  varieties  of 
shrubs,  trees  and  herbaceous  or  soft- 
stemmed  plants :  the  process  for 
each  being  fully  described. 
All  this  and  much  more  is  fully  told  in 
The  Nursery  Book. 
A  new  book,  by  L.  H.  Bailey,  assisted 
by  several  of  the  most  skillful  propaga¬ 
tors  in  the  world.  In  fact,  it  is  a  care¬ 
ful  compendium  of  the  best  practice  in 
all  countries.  It  contains  107  illustra¬ 
tions,  showing  methods,  processes  and 
appliances. 
Over  300  pages.  16mo.  Price,  library 
style,  cloth,  wide  margins,  81.  Pocket 
style,  paper,  narrow  margins,  50  cents. 
THE  RURAL  PUBLIHSING  CO., 
Times  Building,  New  York. 
PLAYS 
Dialogues,  Speakers,  for  School, 
Club  and  Parlor.  Catalogue  free. 
T.  S.  DENISON,  Publisher,  Chicago. 
PATENTS 
THOMAS  P.  8IMPSON,  Washington, 
D.C.  No  attorney’s  fee  until  patent  is 
obtained.  Write  for  .Inventor’s  Guide 
I  TrilTO  F&ANKLIH  H.  HOUGH,  Washington 
ft#  ft  I  !■  N  I  \  D.  C.  No  attorney's  fee  until  patent  i» 
|nl  bl*  ■  w  obtained.  Write  for  Inventor ’«  Ovids. 
30  NEW 
STYLES  Of  CARD8  FOR  18W  AND 
2c. 
FARMERS 
Saw  and  Grist  Will.  4  H.P. 
and  larger.  Catalogue  free. 
DeLOACH  BILL  CO.,  Atlanta.  6a. 
Beet,' 
Latest  Improved  ■  and  Cheapest,  Our  Perfeetiea  and 
Empire  Pumps  stir  the  li^uid^automaticallj  and  will  spray  100  Trees  Per  Hwur. 
We  make  the  Little  Gem  aud  I 
1  Kaapsack  Sprayers  and  the  VermereL  Bne 
spray  nozzle,  moBt  economical  spray  nozzle  in  the  world.  Also  a  Horse  Power  Sprayer  at  low  price. 
_  We  sell  Sulphate  of  Copper,  Paris  Green  and  London  Purple  at  wholesale  prices.  Catalo.ue  free,  writ* 
Address  plainly .giving  eeunty .FIELD  FORCE  PUMP  CO.l  1 8  Bristol  Ave. LOCK  POUT, N.  Y, 
THREE 
STYLES. 
FIVE 
SIZES, 
Thousand* 
sold. 
MORGAN 
Spading 
Harrow 
The  Best  nil  around  Rotary  Harrow  and  Pulverizer. 
■/5I  |  a  |  for  Fall  plowed  land,  Stubble,  Vine- 
.UUML  yards  and  Peach  Orchards.  Leaves  no 
furrow  or  ridge.  Angle  of  teeth  adjustable.  Send 
for  Catalogue.  Mention  this  Paper.  Address 
D.  S.  MORGAN  &  CO.  Brockport, N.Y 
Here  is  a  drawing  of  a  chicken  house 
which  for  convenience  and  room  is  hard 
to  beat,  see  Fig.  7.  The  hall  in  the  center 
and  the  roosts  are  hung  from  the  rafters, 
leaving  the  floor  surface  clear.  I  would 
have  a  board  floor  by  all  means  ;  scatter 
sand,  ashes  or  dirt  on  it,  and  all  can  be 
swept  easily  and  quickly.  The  first  set 
of  boxes  above  the  feeding  board  are  for 
egg  laying  and  the  second  for  sitting 
hens ;  all  have  doors  opening  into  the 
hall.  From  the  hall  floor  slats  run 
up  to  the  top  boxes.  The  chicks  stand 
on  a  one-foot  feeding  board  and  feed  out 
of  troughs  in  the  hall  through  the  slats. 
The  feed  can  then  be  pulled  back  out  of 
health. 
W.  PERKINS. 
Feed  “Cow  Leavings”  to  Hens. 
On  page  842  of  The  Rural  Annie  L. 
Jack  asked  if  pickings  of  the  barnyard  and 
stables  are  necessary  to  success  in  egg 
raising.  If  the  sweepings  from  the  feed¬ 
ing  floor  in  the  barn,  consisting  of  fine 
leaves,  seeds  and  crumbs  of  meal  that 
cattle  drop  and  cannot  reach,  are  saved 
and  carried  to  the  hen  house  every  day 
and  scattered  on  the  floor  for  the  fowls 
to  pick  and  scratch  in,  I  think  she  will 
very  soon  come  to  think  that  they  are 
very  beneficial  for  the  health  of  the  hens  . 
and  also  for  an  increase  of  the  eggs.  In-^jj 
BOTH  ONE 
YEAR  ONLY 
$2.50 
The  Rural  New-Yorker 
AND 
0 
THE  AMERICAN  AGRICULTURIST 
They  Cost  Separately  $3.50. 
Arnrr  CDCPIMCIJ  PflDV  of  the  American  Agriculturist  will  be  mailed,  on  application  to 
I  DLL  OrLUlYlCM  UUr  I  tbe  publishers,  to  all  who  wish  to  examine  It.  Address  all  orders  to 
AMERICAN  AGRICULTURIST, 
New  York. 
THE  RURAL  PUBLISHING  CO. 
New  York. 
