ROCHESTER, N. Y.-F0R THE WEEltTNDING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1859, 
{WHOLE NO. 476, 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKllT 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
ABOUT PUMPS AND WELLS. 
FOWLS—DEBIT AND CREDIT. 
It is sided with inch and a quarter spruce plank, 
tongued and grooved. No upright timbers were 
used. The floor and roofing are of the same kind 
of plank. To guard against leakage by shrinking, 
the joints may be battened with lath, or strips of 
thin boards. An eight-square frame supports the 
top of the rafters, leaving an opening of ten inches 
in diameter, on which is placed an octagon chim¬ 
ney, for a ventilator, which makes a very pretty 
finish. The piers should be either cedar, chestnut 
or locust, two feet high, and set on flat stones. 
Eds. Rural: —Noticing II. J. E.’s poultry ac¬ 
count in your issue of Jan. 29th, I thought I would 
give you a schedule'OT what my poultry have done. 
Perhaps it may interest some of your readers who 
arc in the business: 
Poultry Dr. 
Jau. 1,1857—To 25 fowls on hand, 25c.$ 6 25 
Dec. 30,1857—To feed tor the year past. 17 96 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With an Able Corps of Assistants and Contributors. 
The Rural New-Yorker is designed to be unsurpassed 
In Value, Purity, Usefulness and Variety of Contents, and 
unique and beautiful in Appearance. Its Conductor de¬ 
votes bis personal attention to the supervision of its various 
departments, and earnestly labors to render the Rural an 
eminently Reliable Guide on all the important Practical, 
Scientific and other Subjects intimately connected with the 
business of those whose interests it zealously advocates. It 
embraces more Agricultural, Horticultural, Scientific, Edu¬ 
cational, Literary and News Matter, interspersed with 
appropriate and beautiful Engravings, than any other jour¬ 
nal,—rendering it tlie most complete Agricultural, Liv¬ 
ed art and Family Newspaper m America. 
$24 21 
Poultry Or. 
.$11 65 
. 23 40 
. 5 75 
Jan. 1, 1857—By 120 lbs. poultry. 
Dec. 80, 1857—By 1,676 "ggs . 
“ “ “ By 23 fowl* on hand, 25o 
tP~ All communications, and business letters, should be 
addressed to D. I). T. MOORE, Rochester, N. Y. 
For Terms and other particulars, see last page. 
Balance In favor—$16 59 
Poultry Dr. 
ind 25c.$ 5 75 
year. 11 41 
$17 16 
Poultry Or. 
.$7 93 
. 8 87 
. 3 42 
. 4 75 
Jan. 1,1S58—By 11& lbs. poultry. 
Dec. 30,1S5S—761 eggs . 
“ “ “ 9 live fowls sold at 38c 
“ “ “ 10 fowls on hand. 
QROUND PLAN. 
The letter D designates the door; W, W, windows; 
L, latticed window to admit air, with a shutter to 
exclude it when necessary; E, entrance for the 
fowls with a sliding door; P, platform for the fowls 
to alight on when going in ; R, R, are roosts placed 
spirally, one end attached to a post near the center 
of the room, and the other end to the wall; the 
first or lowermost one two feet from the floor, and 
the others eighteen.inches apart, and rising grad¬ 
ually to the lop, six feet from the floor. These 
roosts will accommodate forty ordinary sized fowls. 
F, F, is a board floor, on an angle of about forty- 
five degrees, to catch and carry down the droppings 
of the fowls. This arrangement renders it much 
more convenient in cleaning out the manure, which 
should be frequently done. 
The space beneath this floor is appropriated to 
nests, twelve in number, fifteen inches wide, 
eighteen inches deep, and eighteen inches high.— 
In order to give an appearance of secreliveness, 
which it is well known the hen is so partial to, the 
front is latticed with strips of lath. By this ar¬ 
rangement a free circulation of air is admitted, 
which adds much to the comfort of the hens while 
sitting. 
Balance In favor of poultry—$ 7 SI 
The foregoing has been carefully kept, and the 
prices fixed at what eggs would bring at the time 
layed, and poulf-^tafcgriyimc killed. I make no 
arcour.-' ij i,.ii ■ j ! 
tion of uavYng gotWyush eggs, and plenty of fat 
fowls at all times, pays well for the interest of 
money invested in hencry My fowls arc a mixture 
of Shanghae and commor fowls, quite large, very 
nice, very docile, and littlf trouble to keep in the 
yard. Lay very large eggs, (weight from 1% to 
2 lbs. per dozen,) are well led and pay well. 
I am a mechanic, live in the village, have a small 
place, and keep my fowls shut in the yard most of 
the time. I would like to see more on this subject 
in the Rural. Wm. B. Hatfield. 
Medina, Orleans Co., N. Y., 1859. 
THE FARM AND THE FARMER. 
“ Much of the character of every man may be read 
in his house.” This was a remark of the late Mr. 
Downing, and, though true in the pmin, must b) 
taken w^th some modification. Persons must build 
according to their means. Many, had they the 
ability, would cause their houses to tell a far differ¬ 
ent story of their character than they now do. The 
log cabin or the cottage that has weathered the 
storm for a score of years would soon come down, 
and on its ruins a mansion would arise, bespeaking 
its owner a man of taste, and munificence, with a 
spice of vanity and love of display. In one-half 
the cases, persons who build are dissatisfied with 
the work after it is completed, and too late to make 
a change, without subjecting themselves to great 
expense. The house may show the character of the 
architect, but not of the proprietor, unless it is ac¬ 
cording to his taste. Not one in a thousand, if 
under the necessity of rebuilding would make the 
second house like the first, while many who build 
fine nouses have little to do with the work aside 
from furnishing the means. 
The character of the farmer, however, may be 
read in his farm in the most unmistakable lan¬ 
guage. He may write most elegantly and truth¬ 
fully, lay down the best of rules, and exhort all to 
observe them with energy and zeal — he may talk 
most fluently, deliver agricultural lectures for the 
enlightenment of his fellow-farmers, which all may 
hear with profit—lay down maxims, which if fol¬ 
lowed would make every man a good farmer,—but 
all this tells not the character of the man. He 
may violate his own rules, disregard his own max¬ 
ims, and like the drunkard who preaches temper¬ 
ance be a living example of the evils which he con¬ 
demns. But the farm tells the character of the 
man in language so truthful and unmistakable that 
“he who runs may read.” There is *io opportu¬ 
nity for concealment—no chance for disguise. If 
the farmer is an enterprising, diligent man, it is told 
by the horses and the cattle in their rounded forms, 
sleek coats and bright eyes—in their playful, happy 
freaks, and in their quiet, comfortable repose. It 
is read in the growing crops and the well-filled 
barns—related to every traveler by the fences and 
the gates, the barns and the stables. It is heard in 
the lowing of the sheep, the satisfied grunts from 
the pig pen, and proclaimed from the very house¬ 
top, in the clarion notes of the cock. It is seen in 
thrifty orchards—in the air of neatness and tho¬ 
roughness that pervades the whole domain. The 
farm may be small, the land naturally none of the 
best, the buildings cheap ; but natural difficulties 
are, as far as possible, overcome,—and the owner, 
it is very plainly, to be seen, is the master instead 
of the slave of circumstances. 
The slothful, negligent farmer, cannot hide him¬ 
self. Ilis character and his faults are emblazoned 
on the dead tops of his orchard trees—chattered 
by the loose boards that dangle in the wind—bleat¬ 
ed by the half-starved calves — told in the pitiful 
looks and speaking eyes of forlorn horses and cat¬ 
tle. The poor fences and poorer crops—the fine 
weeds among the corn and potatoes, and finer this¬ 
tles in the meadow, speak in living words the 
habits and character of the owner. The farm may 
be naturally the best in the country, the buildings 
costly, but these things only set off in more bril¬ 
liant colors the forlornness that pervades the whole. 
Was this truth ever remembered, that the charac¬ 
ter of the farmer is seen in the farm, we think many 
would strive to have their farms speak for them 
better things than they now do. 
ANOTHER CATTLE RACK. 
Eds. Rural:— Being a willing subscriber (as 
well as an attentive reader,) of your most valuable 
paper, which, with its well stored columns of in¬ 
structive and interesting contents ever meets a 
welcome from the household band, please permit 
me (being desirous to promote its interest,) to add 
to its pages a description of a cattle trough and 
rack. I noticed several in the last volume, and re¬ 
garding the rack as being a subject of no small im¬ 
portance ; one well worthy the attention of every 
farmer, at least those who have not adopted the 
better system of stabling and still-feeding in open 
sheds or yards. 
The one which I have constructed and now offer 
to the public is superior to any I have yet seen for 
the following reasons :— It is so constructed that 
there is no danger of the larger cattle throwing the 
smaller ones into the trough, or of there in any 
It is well 
GRAVEL ROADS. 
Messrs. Eds.: —Some of the people of East 
Bloomfield are doing a good work this winter in 
building gravel roads. As such winters as the 
present are peculiarly favorable for the business, 
and as many other localities are in equal need of 
the very essential requisite of easy locomotion— 
good roads—it may be well to remind your readers 
that what we have done, others can do. Winter is 
the most favorable time for building gravel roads, 
because gravel has, in most cases, to be drawn 
quite a distance, and roads become very hard and 
smooth by use when frozen, the place where the 
gravel is dropped is solid and it does not sink into 
the earth as when the ground is soft. It is a leisure 
time for men and teams, and it gives employment 
to a class of men who need the proceeds of their 
labor to live. Probably every man thinks he 
knows well enough how to make a good road, and 
yet experience in this, as in every other branch of 
manual labor, is worth something. I therefore 
propose to describe somewhat in detail our method 
of building gravel roads. 
The gravel bed is very extensive, and of good 
quality, easily accessible by different roads, and 
near the center of the town. In the first place, all 
the wagons used have a box made for the purpose, 
having the bottom of loose plank, four or six 
inches wide, the ends rounded so they can be 
readily raised by a man at each end. The sides 
and ends are also loose so that the whole load can 
be dropped under the wagon by raising off the box, 
one piece at a time. 
When the gravel is to be drawn a mile, it will 
require fourteen teams to work to advantage, some 
five or six men in the pit to shovel, and at least 
three men at the dump where the load is dropped. 
It should be placed at least twenty inches thick, 
and every load nicely leveied as fast as drawn, the 
large stones and cemented lumps should be raked 
forward and placed in the bottom. All the coarse 
gravel should be raked to the edges, to form the 
bank, which should be just out side of the track 
of the wheels. The more thoroughly the gravel is 
worked at the first, the more compact and firm will 
the road be. As heavy loaded teams are constantly 
passing over the newly made road it requires a 
man to be continually filling in the ruts made by 
the wheels. At night the ruts should be left filled 
and smooth so as to freeze while not in use. If, 
while the road is building, the ground should 
thaw, particular care should be taken that the ruts 
be filled before freezing. 
In the Rural of Feb. 5th, I saw the inquiry about 
wells—how far water could be raised by pumps? 
As I have manufactured pumps for thirty-five years 
past, and have had a pretty good chance for infor¬ 
mation, I embrace this opportunity. I make them 
out of pine logs and put them into wells of almost 
all depths, under 40 feet. The principle is this :— 
The weight of atmosphere is the same as thirty- 
two and one-third feet of water, so that no water 
can be drawn up any further than that. But, in 
order to show what I mean, I will illustrate it.— 
Suppose a well fifty feet deep, and a pump reaches 
from top to bottom, and the water within ten feet 
of the top—then suppose another well, fourteen 
feet deep, four feet of water, and a pump in it as 
the other—these will draw water with nearly the 
same power, because the water in both is within 
ten feet of the surface of the ground. Then sup¬ 
pose a well fifty feet deep, with a pump in it, the 
water four feet deep, and the upper box, or bucket, 
that is attached to the rod and handle, is within 
two feet of the top of the well—this leaves forty- 
two feet space between tlie upper bucket and the 
top of the water—set the pump in motion and it 
will raise the water in the pump thirty-two and 
one-third feet—no further—no power can raise it 
higher. Pull out the rod and bucket and lengthen 
the rod so that the bucket shall be within ten or 
twelve feet of the water and you can raise a full 
stream, but the further, or higher, the water is 
raised, the more power it requires. I mean from 
the level of the water to the top of the ground. 
The principle of the pump is this:—it sucks up 
the water, by taking off the weight of atmosphere, 
until it gets above the upper bucket, then it forces 
it up, and will force it much further if desired.— 
Those acquainted with the principles of hydraulics 
will readily agree with me in this—water can be 
drawn almost any distance, on nearly level ground, 
also up hill, if it do not exceed twenty feet—if 
more than that it would draw too hard. 
Mareellus, N. Y., 1859. Amkry Wilson. 
way becoming entangled in the rack 
adapted to feeding straw, chaff, bran, turnips, &c. 
Being portable its position may easily be changed. 
AN OCTAGON POULTRY HOUSE. 
From the number of inquiries received during 
the last week or two, we should judge that a great 
many people are designing <o give particular atten¬ 
tion to the raising of eggs and poultry, as a source 
of profit. Some questions asked, (such as, how 
many eggs would 1,000 hens lay in a year, and what 
would they bring in the market,) we cannot an¬ 
swer, while upon others, we shall endeavor to 
throw some light. Any of our readers having valu¬ 
able experience should give it at this time, when 
there is a demand for knowledge on the subject.— 
We have on hand several designs for fancy poultry 
houses, suitable for ornamental grounds, but none 
better, all things considered, than the Octagon 
Poultry House represented in the accompanying 
engravings, as it is both neat and convenient. It 
was erected near Factoryville, on Staten Island, 
and we select it from “ Pement's Poulterers' Com- 
panionP We built one very similar but larger, 
and divided it into eight apartments for keeping 
separate this number of varieties of fowls. The 
yards were made of the same (octagon) form. The 
object of placing this house on piles was to prevent 
the encroachments of rats, mice, skunks, &c., and 
is a good method, as rats are very annoying, es¬ 
pecially where they have a good harbor under the 
house, often destroying the eggs and killing the 
young chickens. Unless elevated in this way we 
would never use a board floor. Other plans will 
be given in future numbers. 
This building is ten feet in diameter and six feet 
and a half high. The sills are 4 by 4, and the 
plates 3 by 4 joists, halved and nailed at the joints. 
The cut will explain itself. It is 14 feet long, 32 
inches wide, 27 inches high, and 16 inches from 
the ground to bottom of trough. The frame is 
made of 3 by 4 scantling — the bottom of inch 
boards — the sides and ends of two inch plank — 
the end planks rise four inches above the side 
planks to receive the ends of rack and to form a 
hinge so as to turn up against the centre post, 
where the middle rung passes between two wooden 
spring hooks which hold it while the trough is be¬ 
ing filled. The rack should be made of tough 
wood, the side pieces of 2 by 3 inch, the rungs 
inch square aud 9 1-16 inches apart. 
Lobo, O. W., 1859. A. C. 
H. T. B. ON UNDERDRAINS. 
It would seem that some of the Rural’s corres¬ 
pondents are a little outre in their attack on II. T. 
B. for his strictures on the economy of under- 
drains. If I understood him aright, he only meant 
to discourage injudicious, expensive underdrain¬ 
ing on those impracticable soils “where the in¬ 
crease would not pay the malting.” But H. T. B. 
needs no defender —he can well afford to say 
“none of these things move me.” In this little 
county of compact clay subsoils, underdrains work 
wonders, and our best farmers are laying tile in 
