ROCHESTER, N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1866 
ESTABLISHED IN 1850, 
HOW TO MAKE POULTRY PROFITABLE 
the onion crop, bnt one thousand bushels per 
acre have been grown. 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER, 
AN ORIGINAL WEEKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 
About the Horse Hay-Fork. 
Mr. M. H. Silverthorn, in a communica¬ 
tion to the Rural, thus “pitches in” against 
the general utility of the horse hay-fork: 
“Among the many so-called improvements 
we find from experience there are a few that in 
themselves are of no benefit, and in this cata¬ 
logue I rank the horse hay-fork. In proof of 
this I will give some of the disadvantage# of a 
fork used by tnyscl f for four years. Any fork 
can be so constructed as to unload bay very 
quick, but the act of putting a load of hay into 
the mow or stack quick, does not accomplish all 
that is desirable about haying. If, whenever 1 
move my fork, I speud time enough In getting 
it re-adjusted to pitch off four loads of hay by 
band, and then have but six loads to throw off, 
I conclude I have gained nothing by using the 
fork. Again I find in using the fork to put hay 
into a very large mow— where the time gained 
by its use Is considerable—that there is damage 
done to the bay. The fork deposits it in large 
masses in the center of the mow, and from not 
being pitched over, loosened, and scattered, the 
hay heats and moulds much quicker than if laid 
in with hand-forks. With my fork I can unload 
a tun and a half inside of five minutes, having 
timothy hay to handle; but the quicker the 
worse for the reason above given. 
I am led to write this article by seeing so many 
new Inventions connected with the horse pitch- 
fork, and all claiming to ho of stich incalculable 
benefit to hay-makers. But ray experience, all 
things considered, is tliat they are a damage to 
all hay-makers that use them.” 
Our correspondent gives one side of the ques¬ 
tion, but we hardly think lie has made a strong 
case against the power “pitch-forks.” 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With n Corps of Able AjwktanU end Contributor*, 
HENRY S. RANDALL, LL, D., 
Editor of the Department of Sheep Husbandry, 
B37“For Teems and other particulars Bee last page 
POULTRY UOUSB — ELEVATION, 
and the more eggs that can be produced in the 
winter time, the greater the profit therefrom. 
The object, then, of the poultry keeper should 
be to raise early chickens, and make his hens lay 
abundantly in winter. Both these results can 
easily be attained. 
Au abuudance of eggs in winter, after furnish¬ 
ing the fowls with proper food, depends a great 
deal on the age of the hens. Early chickens are 
the best for this purpose. If they mature in the 
fall they will then commence laying, and con¬ 
tinue all winter. In February they should begin 
to sit.. By the 10th of May all the chickens 
should be brought out. As fust as hatched these 
should he transferred to the coops—two or three 
VARIOUS TOPICS DISCUSSED 
Does it Pay to Cut Corn Stalks ! 
Practical men differ widely in regard to 
the utility of com stalks for cattle food. With¬ 
out any preparation it is well known that any 
kind of stock will eat but little of the stalk, 
after stripping off the leaves and husks. By cut¬ 
ting it up fine and starving them down to it, 
cattle and sheep will consume a part. If meal 
or mill-feed be mixed with the cut stalks they 
will eat more, aud if the whole be steamed, 
Boftened, and cooked together, they will pretty 
much clean out the troughs. 
Chemical analysis shows bnt little assimilative 
substance in corn stalks. The pith is worthless, 
and the outside is of such a hard, flinty nature, 
that, unices it is cooked and Eoftencd, it injures 
the mouth and stomach of the animal. The 
natural instinct of animals causes them com¬ 
monly to reject improper food, and they seem to 
bo guided by this instinct when they refuse 
unprepared com stalks. Doubtless the only 
time when stock should be forced to cat them, 
is when they have been steamed and softened 
and then mixed with richer food. But then does 
it pay to incur this expense and labor? Here 
again men of experience differ widely In their 
views. It is noi probable ihat stock would 
thrive well on steamed corn stalks alone, aud 
where meal or other rich, concentrated substance 
is mixed with them, their greatest benefit is to 
give the requisite amount of bulk to the food. If 
this be the ease something cheaper, considering 
apparatus aud labor, should be used. We think 
straw or hay less expensive. 
In one light it is a good practice to cut corn 
stalks. They are then in better shape to go into 
the manure heap — xo fork over in the spring, 
and to absorb the liquids with which they may 
come in contact. Their light, porous structure 
makes them excellent absorbents, and we almost 
think it would pay to increase their capacity 
and utility in this respect by cutting. 
Take Care of the Harness. 
Before spring each harness you have should 
ho carefully overhauled, repaired, oiled and 
blaekcued, so us to be in perfect readiness for 
use when the hurrying spring-time arrives. It 
is a good plan to store in some suitable place all 
of the odd straps, and old harness that, you have 
east aside, as frequently buckles, rings, or some 
other portion will come handy iu repairing, aud 
various other uses will be found for it. The 
stable which is commonly used by farmers, is a 
poor place to store harness, as the vapors which 
arise from the manure are very destructive to 
leather. The carriage house is a better place, 
and there the harness is not liable to be kicked 
clown, and trampled under foot, or bitten and 
injured by colts. If it is too inconvenient to 
hang it elsewhere than in the stable, a case of 
matched boards, with ft close fitting door, should 
he made to hold it. 
The harness should he taken apart completely 
for washing and oiling. Cleanse it with soap 
and tepid water. When nearly dry rub the oil 
into it patiently until it is perfectly pliable. It 
is a good job for a stormy day. A very good 
composition may be made by mixing together 
one quart of ncats-foot oil, four ounces of beefs 
tallow, and half an ounce of lampblack. Let 
the harness hang a day and then rub it off with a 
sponge saturated with Btrong eustile soap-suds. 
A varnish for the buckles and rings may be made 
by dissolving black sealing wax in alcohol. 
GROUND ELAN. 
D, Doors; P, Passage-way; W, Windows: N, Nest; R, Roost 
hens being allowed to twenty-live or thirty 
chickens. When the weather is pleasant the 
chickens should bo- turned Into the yard a few 
hours each day, but nights and in stormy weather 
they ought invariably to be kept iu their coops. 
After eight weeks the hens may be taken from 
them. A hundred of the earliest, pullets should 
he kept to replace the old hens in the fall, and 
the remainder can be sold as they mature through 
the season. The hens will produce eggs again 
when removed from the chickens. Iu the fail, 
when the young pullets begin to lay, the old hens 
should be fattened and sold. This brings us to 
the end of the year, with a hundred young hens 
to begin the same course again. 
CARE AND FOOD. 
We have remarked that one dozen full grown 
fowls are as many as ought to he kept together, 
in one apartment of the poultry house. These 
ought to be strictly confined only during ex¬ 
treme cold, snowy weather, aud the period of 
Incubation. A liberal range should be allowed 
to them, and a variety of food. The floors of 
their houses should be of earth -, dry sand is a 
good material, often renewed, A box half filled 
with ashes and dust, is essential for them to 
bathe in. Whitewash the inside walls frequently, 
and rub kerosene on the roosting poles, and 
CUICKEN-COOE—GROUND PLAN. 
Six hundred chickens can be raised from 1,000 
eggs. One hundred of these must bo reserved to 
replace the old hens. At present prices the re¬ 
maining 500, together with the old hens all well 
fattened, would bring three hundred dollars. 
This sura would make the total receipts from 
the poultry live hundred dollars. The feathers 
and manure would also be worth qnite a sum. 
The farmer would raise his own feed, and sell it 
thus at a good juice. But estimating it at its 
market value, it is probable that two hundred 
and fifty dollars would buy all the food the fowls 
would consume in one year. 
How to Make New Rope Pliable. 
Considerable difficulty is sometimes ex¬ 
perienced in handling new rope on account of 
its stiffness. This is especially the case when it 
is wanted for halter and cattle ties. Every 
farmer is aware how inconvenient a new, still', 
rope halter is to put on and tie up a horse with. 
And new ropes for tying cattle are frequently 
unsafe, for the reason that they are not pliable 
ffciougk to knot securely. All this can be 
remedied, and new rope made as limber and soft 
at once as alter a year’s constant use, by simply 
boiling it for two hours in water. Then hang it 
in a warm room, and let it dry out thoroughly. 
It retains its stiffness until dry, when it becomes 
perfectly pliable. 
Since writing the above we have had a series 
of engravings made for the Rural, illustrating 
a poultry establishment. To economize space 
they are not on a scale quite large enough to 
keep one hundred fowls, but the plans can be 
readily enlarged or cut down to suit the require¬ 
ments of any number, without alteration iu the 
general features. They are plans of bnildlugs in 
actual use. The letters iu the engravings (which 
are from the Report of the Commissioner of Ag¬ 
riculture,) will be readily understood. 
How to Fill an Ice-House. — The Utica 
Herald says that the iee-housc of L. R. Lyon, of 
Lyon’s Falls, N. Y., has not been empty for 
twenty years, nor has a pound of ice ever been 
put into it. The building is constructed after 
the ordinary method, and when it ia designed to 
fill it, a rose jet is placed upon the water pipe, 
and, as the water comes through it is cLllled aud 
drops into the house, where it forms solid mass. 
CHICKEN-COOP — ELEVATION. 
other places, to destroy vermin. Remember, it 
Is essential to success to give plenty of food and 
a variety,—fowls like grass, turnip-tops, cab¬ 
bages, and meat, as well as grain — absolute 
