i8 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Jan. 14 
much shorter time under the action of ammonia when 
they are mixed under earth which contains a consider¬ 
able quantity of lime than without the alkaline addi¬ 
tion.” 
Furthermore, Winogradsky proved that the ferment 
which converts ammoniacal salts into nitrate is vigor¬ 
ous and effective only in the presence of lime, damp¬ 
ness and air, and indeed much air. Now the question 
is, where to find the ferment; how is it to be generated? 
The answer is: “ The ferment which converts the am¬ 
moniacal salts into nitrate is plentifully found in 
every fruitful field where the soil has not been ex¬ 
posed a long time to great heat or dryness.” Mr. 
Winogradsky then describes his method of composting 
manure and adds: “I know that the directions are 
heretical and opposed to all usage, and yet I am sure 
that every one who will follow the same for a year will 
always continue to do so.” The method then, in brief, 
is to make a compost of a layer of dung, one of lime, 
and next one of earth, and so continue till the heap 
is completed, lie recommends doing this under cover 
and saturating the heap occasionally with the drainage 
of the manure pile, etc. With this exception, the 
method is precisely the same as that practiced by 
many English farmers for centuries. My father used 
such a compost on permanent meadows. My impres¬ 
sion is that when I first studied agricultural chemistry 
I thought I knew something and I tried to dissuade 
him from making these compost heaps and especially 
from using lime and manure in the same heap. But 
he was right and I was wrong. That the mixture pro¬ 
duced a compost of considerable value there can no 
longer be any doubt; whether with our high-priced 
labor it will pay in this country is not so clear. Pos¬ 
sibly now that we know, at least in part, what the 
changes are that take place in the compost, we shall 
be able to adopt a cheaper method of accomplishing 
the object, or at any rate we can certainly make the 
compost richer in those elements that are most needed. 
It is quite probable that one reason for the remark¬ 
able effect this compost produced on permanent 
meadows may be found in the fact that it would con¬ 
tain a considerable quantity of the yeast or ferment 
which causes the decomposition of nitrogenous matter 
in the soil. On arable land the exposure of the soil to 
the air by plowing, cultivating, etc., favors the growth 
of the yeast plant, but in permanent grass land, 
especially on land overflowed in the spring, the air 
is partially excluded, and hence it is pronable that a 
small dressing of compost containing millions of these 
yeast plants would have an excellent effect. And, in 
addition to this, the change of the nitrogen and am¬ 
monia of the dung into nitrates would cause it to pro¬ 
duce an immediate effect. It is, in fact, equivalent to 
a direct application of nitrate of soda. 
BEST LIVE STOCK ON THE FARM. 
A man may become famous as a hen man, or sheep 
man, or horse man, but, after all, the best young stock 
he can ever have about him are the little ones in the 
house, who are to bear his name and grow up to imi¬ 
tate him and pattern after his life and character. 
Never should there be anything of the scrub about the 
little children—the little folks who are so small and 
helpless in youth, yet who take such a slice out of 
father’s and mother’s life when they pass out of it. 
There is nothing scrubby about the little ones shown 
at Fig. 5. This little group is taken from life. The 
photograph was taken by Frank Wilson, and the 
children are his brother, James E.’s, both members of 
the well-known firm of Wilson Brothers. There is solid 
happiness for you ! It is hard to say which of the three 
babies is having the best time—they are all pro bably en¬ 
joying themselves up to the extreme limit of happiness. 
And that is as it should be. It is one of the best things 
in life to have a bright, happy childhood to look back 
to. Live for your children, you people who feel that 
your own youth has pissed you by. Cultivate their 
trust and respect. Give them pets and teach them to 
see all the bright and beautiful things about them. 
Child culture is the greatest of all sciences. Your 
other live stock is of secondary importance. Have 
nothing but thoroughbred children about your home. 
JOSEPH HARRIS. 
The picture shown at Fig. 6 is a good likeness of 
Joseph Harris, whose death was announced some 
weeks ago. Mr. Harris was an Englishman by birth, 
and was 64 years old at the time of his death. He had 
lived at Moreton Farm, near Rochester, N. Y., for 
nearly 35 years. He came to this country “early in 
the fifties,” then a young man full of enthusiasm and 
hope for the future of scientific agriculture. He had 
studied and worked with Sir J. B. Lawes and brought 
with him the love for scientific accuracy and intelli¬ 
gent investigation that characterized all the workers 
at Rothamsted, which was then practically an agricul¬ 
tural college of a high order. After some years’ ser¬ 
vice on other papers, Mr. Harris joined the staff of the 
old American Agriculturist, where his seriesof “Walks 
and Talks ” became famous. To-day, these same 
articles, printed in book form, make our best and most 
authentic work on manures. The article begun on the 
first page of this issue is among the last Mr. Harris 
wrote. The world has been made happier and better 
because Joseph Harris has lived in it. The wealth 
such as he helped to create will bless and not curse 
those who touch it. 
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH THE FARMER 
AND HIS HEN ? 
Partnership with “the Business Hen;” Why Hen Part¬ 
nerships Fail; How to Make Them Succeed. 
C. H. WYCKOFF. 
Part III. 
Get Rid of Every Scrub Hen. 
The first thing to be done in the line of reforming 
the poultry interest on many farms is to dispose of the 
entire stock of scrubs usually kept, and purchase eggs 
Very Promising Young Stock Fig. 5. 
or a stock of thoroughbreds of the preferred breed from 
parties who are known to be reliable breeders of it 
and whose stock can show useful qualities. Why do 
this? Why not improve the stock on hand by grading 
them up, using a thoroughbred male, and by proper 
attention to feeding, housing, cleanliness, etc. ? Be¬ 
cause I believe the other plan not only the quick¬ 
est and surest, but also the cheapest. Remember it is 
easier to go down hill than up, and that, while it 
is an easy matter and one that is often accomplished, 
to breed scrubs from thoroughbreds by an almost 
total disregard of their wants, subjecting them to the 
evils of hunger, exposure, filth and vermin, it is a task 
that requires years of time and the best of care, study 
and attention, to give to a race of scrubs the desirable 
qualities of the thoroughbred. 
An Unhoused Hen is Handicapped. 
The next essential is housing; for without a suitable 
building to properly house the flock but little progress 
can be made. It matters little what the form of the 
house may be so that it is large enough to allow to 
each member of the flock a floor space of not less than 
five or six square feet, and more rather than less 
should be the rule. It should also be warm in winter 
as well as light and cheerful, and so arranged as to be 
easily cleaned and kept free from vermin. The perches 
should be placed so that the hens can reach them with 
but little effort or flapping. There should be a plat¬ 
form underneath to catch the droppings so that they 
can be cleaned out conveniently as often as necessary. 
The nest boxes should be placed in a partially dark posi¬ 
tion ; under the platform is a good place. A dust box 
filled with dry road dust, should always be provided, 
and a quantity stored up for winter use, as every day 
some of the flock will make use of it when the oppor¬ 
tunity is offered. I do not favor a large amount of 
glass, but sufficient to make the house light and cheer¬ 
ful when aided by thoroughly whitewashed walls. 
The whitewashing should always be repeated in the 
fall, if not oftener, so that the hens may have the 
benefit of the extra light thus afforded during the 
short, dark days of winter when they are mostly con¬ 
fined to the house. 
Feed Is the Equal of Breed. 
Feeding, although mentioned last, is of no less im¬ 
portance than good stock or proper housing, and one 
of the first and most important things regarding it is 
to know for what one is feeding, because too many 
farmers feed merely to keep their hens alive and satisfy 
their hunger, and give the matter no further thought. 
Now, as eggs are the objects most desired by the great 
majority of hen keepers, and as an egg is largely com¬ 
posed of albumen, it stands to reason and has often 
been proved that the food given should contain a good 
proportion of this element, while a variety has given 
better results than any one thing. Were I to have 
but one kind of grain for my hens, I’d prefer wheat, 
and yet how many farmers there are who raise a crop 
of wheat every year whose hens never get a taste of 
it, except perhaps a few kernels picked up about the 
barn, that would otherwise have gone to waste. Another 
grain which I prize highly as hen food is oats, although 
farmers have told me that their hens would not eat 
them. I imagine they made this discovery by throwing 
out to them grains blown from the tail end of the fan¬ 
ning mill, containing no meats. No hens want to eat 
such oats, and they would starve to death on them if 
confined to them. Barley and buckwheat are also good, 
and, in connection with wheat and oats, make an 
excellent ration to be fed whole. To this mixture to 
be ground for morning feed, I would add peas, corn 
and wheat bran. I would feed but little corn except 
for fattening purposes, on account of its highly car¬ 
bonaceous nature. I feed some, however, in connection 
with the other grains mentioned ground as morning 
feed, as it is greatly relished by the hens. Cooked 
vegetables, such as potatoes or turnips, mashed and 
added to the above, are also good. Lean meat in some 
form, in small quantity, should also form a part of 
this meal, and I prefer to feed a little every day rather 
than a large quantity two or three times a week. 
Skim-milk to moisten the morning feed, or as drink or 
both, is excellent, and, in fact, I know of no better 
use to which it can be put than to feed it to laying or 
moulting hens or growing chicks. 
Hens that are confined either in winter or summer, 
should never be without a feed of green grass or 
vegetables at least once a day. Green clover or grass, 
cut fine, kale or cabbage leaves in summer, with cab¬ 
bage, beets or turnips in winter, will supply their 
needs. They should always be provided with a supply 
of pure water. They drink little at a time, but often, 
and consume much more in a day than most people 
are aware of. Crushed oyster shells as grit to assist 
in grinding their food and to furnish lime for the egg¬ 
shells are also a necessity, except where they have a 
wide range, and can pick up many things that answer 
the same purpose. While ground feed is most con¬ 
veniently fed in a trough kept for the purpose, whole 
grain fed at noon and night, should always be thrown 
among clean straw, or other litter upon the floor, to 
compel them to exercise in scratching for it, as exer¬ 
cise prevents, to a great degree, the formation of bad 
habits, such as egg eating, feather pulling, etc., and 
also keeps them in the bright, healthy condition, with¬ 
out which but few eggs need be expected. The 
amount of food must be regulated by the appetite of 
the flock, and will vary considerably at different 
times A flock when laying steadily will consume 
and require more than when not laying; therefore the 
best rule, and one I find good enough in my practice, 
is to feed whatever amount they will eat up readily 
without destroying their appetites for the next meal. 
Sitting- Hens. 
While I believe that incubators and brooders have 
come to stay, and that the time will not be long until 
they will be found in common use on many farms, at 
present most farmers prefer to depend upon hens to 
do their hatching, and those keeping the non-sitting 
breeds will find it necessary to keep a few others for 
that purpose, and in order to induce these to begin to 
sit early enough in the spring to give their chicks 
time to grow up and mature before winter, it is only 
necessary to winter them well, and get them laying 
early, when they will generally become broody as 
soon as wanted. 
