December 26 
894 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
equivalent in grain, etc., two tons; income from 
them, 830. 
The feeding season in this vicinity begins about 
November 1 and continues until May 1, except for 
dairy cows, and their extra feed in September and 
October is not included in the above estimate. About 
50 loads of stable manure were made from 10 cows 
properly bedded, on an average.. c. t. Leonard. 
Ashtabula Co., Ohio. 
On a Southern Ohio Farm. 
We fed during the year to 12 cows and two horses : 
25 tons of hay at *15.$375 00 
Stalks from 15 acres of corn. 50 00 
000 bushels of corn at 40 cents. 240 00 
200 bushels of turnips at 20 cents. 40 00 
6*4 tons of bran (bouKht). 100 00 
One ton of linseed meal (bought). 18 00 
Total value of feed.$823 00 
Value received from the above feed as follows : 
3,280 pounds of butter at 25 cents. $820 00 
Four veal calves. 20 00 
Six heifers at $15 apiece. 90 00 
Hogs. 100 00 
From chickens. 50 00 
150 loads manure. 75 00 
Total value received.$1,155 00 
Value of feed. 823 00 
Profit. $332 00 
Eight tons of straw were also used up as bedding 
and entered into the manure. The hogs and the 
money from the chickens were due mostly to the milk 
fed, although they received some corn. 
Scioto, O. farmer’s girl. 
“The Best Vermin Dogs. ” 
THEY SEEM TO RE ADI. “BEST.” 
On page 833, a subscriber in Edwardsville, Ill., 
wanted to know which breed of 
dogs would prove most satisfac¬ 
tory in a poultry yard for catch¬ 
ing rats, minks and other ver¬ 
min. It is evident from the fol¬ 
lowing notes that there is much 
interest in the subject. 
The Fox Terrier Beats the 
World. 
My experience with regard to 
dogs for killing rats, minks or 
weasels, is decidedly in favor of 
the fox terrier. I have owned 
one for two years and find him 
most persistent in his war on 
these pests, never giving up 
when he finds one until he 
gets him. I have known him to 
work for hours for one. More¬ 
over, animals of this sort are 
splendid watch dogs, always on 
the alert. J. J. M. 
Troy Hills, N. .1. 
The Terrier is a Mink Terror. 
The best dog for minks, rats 
and mice is the terrier. It makes 
little difference whether it be 
Scotch, English, fox or bull, 
provided it is lively and knows 
how to attack a mink or rat. A 
mink is as quick as lightning 
and is a very dangerous animal for a small dog to at¬ 
tack, but I have seen a terrier catch one 18 inches 
long and reduce him to insensibility in 10 seconds. I 
have also seen one not over 12 inches long keep three 
big common curs at bay easily enough. The incisors 
of a mink are as sharp as needles, and whenever he 
bites these teeth invariably meet. Experienced ter¬ 
riers generally seize the animals “amidships” and 
flap them about so rapidly that they don’t have any 
chance to bite. Minks are almost as hard to kill as a 
Canada thistle. They are not dead when they appear 
to be. When trapping I never considered a mink safe 
until its brains were out, and I lost no time in getting 
them out. A collie is very good at killing rats.’ but 
not nearly the equal of the terrier. The latter will 
catch and kill a rat before a collie can turn around. 
Such dogs are especially useful about poultry yards, 
making it very unhealthy for minks, rats and mice, 
while they do not, like cats, kill more chickens than 
they are worth. It is not very difficult to trap minks, 
and a skillful trapper will catch all in a neighborhood 
in a very short time. They are also easily poisoned, 
and if I were very much annoyed by them I should not 
hesitate long about resorting to that sort of medicine. 
Morrisonville, Ill. f. g. 
The Skye Terrier is True Blue. 
The little dog shown at Fig. 333 is a prize Scotch 
terrier bitch bred and owned by Geo. Stephens, of 
Aberdeen, Scotland. What we know (outside of bench 
shows) as Scotch terriers include any breed of rough- 
liaired rat dogs, while in fact there are many breeds, 
such as Yorkshire, Skye, Dandie Dinmont, Irish, 
Scotch, Clydesdale, and others which escape my mem¬ 
ory. Any of these, except the Yorkshire, ought to 
be able to handle minks and smaller vermin. I have 
a Scotch puppy nine months old that can handle a rat 
well; then I have had others that were no good what¬ 
ever, but a poor ratter of the above breeds is an ex¬ 
ception. Personally I prefer a Skye as nearly of the 
true wire-haired sort as possible (but these are scarce) 
as I consider this kind more persistent in hunting 
than some of the others. The fox terrier is a very 
game dog and usually very sociable and has the advan¬ 
tage, with his black and tan relation, of a short coat 
which is easily kept clean and free from fleas and 
burrs. If you buy a puppy, train him by catching live 
mice and letting them out in a closed room, and then 
young rats as he grows older. It is a great advantage 
to be tutored by an older dog. But a dog of any breed 
is apt to turn out a ratter ; one of the best vermin 
dogs I ever owned was a big Newfoundland, and to 
see him kill mice was very funny. r. f. s. 
Pittsburg, Pa. 
[The R. N.-Y. has a big dog, one-half Newfound¬ 
land, that will catch mice and rats wherever he can 
get at them. He will knock over a big shock of corn 
to catch one little mouse. Eds.] 
A Good Word for the Beagle. 
I have kept beagle hounds for the last 18 years, and 
have had no trouble with vermin of any kind. Rab¬ 
bits, minks, groundhogs, skunks, rats and mice are all 
game to them, and if they get any of the above ani¬ 
mals cornered, they need no help to destroy them. 
When my teams go to the field for corn or fodder, the 
dogs (two of them) run barking ahead and hunt rats 
or mice in the shocks both above and below ground. 
I am in the nursery business, and could not get along 
without them. wm. jackson. 
Madison Co., Ill. 
The Fox Terrier Loves Company. 
After more than forty years’ experience in breeding 
all kinds of terriers, I believe no dog is equal to a 
well-bred fox terrier. Dogs of this sort are very game; 
will take to water as readily as water spaniels as soon 
as they are a few months old. In the house they are 
quiet and very fond of children, and having a short, 
smooth coat, they bring in no dirt, which is not the 
case with the rough Scotch terrier. If, however, any 
one wants all such vermin as minks, rats, skunks, 
groundhogs and raccoons killed without any trouble, he 
must keep a pair of these dogs, for, like boys, they are 
fond of company. While a single dog will stay around 
the house unless his master takes him out, a pair will 
steal away together, and often it is only by their scars 
that one knows what they have been up to. Twelve 
years ago I bought 25 acres on the bank of the River 
Thames, and the hill-sides were then overrun with 
groundhogs and skunks, and my neighbor on the other 
side was in the same fix. I then had a pair of fox 
terrier bitches, and by the end of two years they 
cleaned the whole neighborhood. I have not seen a 
groundhog on my place or neighborhood for the last 
three years. c. I. f. 
Delaware, Can. 
Still Another Terrier Named. 
If the man who wants a dog to kill rats and minks 
will try an Airedale terrier, he will find him very 
nearly perfect for the purpose. He is stout, brave and 
courageous and has almost the sagacity of a collie and 
is often used as a sheep dog, and as a watch dog is 
surpassed by none. Such dogs will be much better 
for the purpose after the second or third generation, 
taking naturally to the scent of such vermin. They 
are probably the toughest dogs known, standing a 
world of hard treatment and being in every way 
worthy of the attention of farmers’ boys. w. k. m. 
Charleston, S. C. 
FREE DELIVERY OF RURAL MAILS. 
Do the Farmers Want Free Delivery ? 
I was a good deal surprised on opening the December 
issue of The Farm Journal to read in its editorial page 
an article against the free delivery of mails from rural 
post offices. It is the first and only word of dissent to 
the plan that I have seen, and I feel like saying some¬ 
thing about it. The article asserts that the people do 
not demand free delivery. This is a wrong statement, 
I am persuaded. As things now are, farmers must 
either go after their mail or send by a neighbor. In 
the busy season it is often impossible to spare time to 
go for several days, and, no matter how important it 
may be to get the mail, either the journey or the work 
must be neglected. The majority of farmers live at a 
distance from the post office ; many are from three to 
five or more miles away, and it is no small task, after 
a hard day’s work, to drive after the mail, especially 
in stormy or muddy weather, and when my horses 
have been working hard I do not want to drive them 
six miles when I know they ought to be resting. I 
believe that the farmers want free delivery, and I am 
very glad that the matter has 
been taken up by The Rural 
New-Yorker and some other 
agricultural papers. 
As to the alleged enormous 
cost, it would be vastly cheaper 
for carriers to go around and 
carry the mails than for the 
farmers to go after their letters 
and papers. One carrier, travei- 
ing at the rate of five miles an 
hour, coxild easily deliver mail 
to 80 families on a route 30 
miles long, allowing three min¬ 
utes for each stoppage. Com¬ 
pare the outlay for his trip 
with that of the 80 farmers, 
each of whom would have to go 
after his mail; isn’t there a big 
difference? If the farmer does 
not go after his mail he must 
send, and he is not always sure 
of getting it. A few weeks ago 
I sent for my mail by a neigh¬ 
bor’s boy, and that week my 
R. N.-Y. was missing. I did not 
want to lose it, so 1 sent for an¬ 
other copy. Some time after¬ 
ward the neighbor found the 
paper in his house. Not long 
ago an important letter was 
found by a neighbor’s boy in 
his pocket, where it had lain for 
three weeks, he having missed it when he took out my 
mail. A year ago I had to attend to a very important 
matter, which required the frequent and prompt de¬ 
livery of letters. I could not get to the post office every 
day, and by failing to get my letters in season, I missed 
two meetings at which I ought to have been present. 
Often I can get my mail but once a week, and there is 
then so much of it that I am crowded with reading 
matter, some of which is old, and I do not receive from 
it half the enjoyment I would if I could have my mail 
daily. 
Of course there are farmers who take no paper and 
who have no mail oftener than once a month, and such 
men do not want free delivery, but the great mass of 
wideawake, intelligent, progressive farmers and dwell¬ 
ers in the country do want it. The readers of The 
Rural New-Yorker belong to this class, and each 
should sit down at once and write a line or two to his 
Representative in Cong-ress, his Senators, and to Post¬ 
master General Wanamaker, saying he wants free 
delivery. j. w. newton. 
Opposed to Any Increase of Expense. 
I do not know what would probably be the expense 
of free mail delivery in country places ; but I am op¬ 
posed to anything which will increase the expenses of 
the general government so long as the present in¬ 
famous system of raising funds for its support is con¬ 
tinued. If the funds for its support were largely raised 
by a tax upon property, like those for the support of 
the several State governments, I would not object; or 
even if each citizen were equally and directly taxed. 
But so long as a system of indirect taxation, which en¬ 
ables the mill owner to collect a tax of two or more 
dollars for every one collected by the government, and 
A Sheaf of Grain Bound With Grass Twine. Fig. 330. 
