into this country, not haring seen them on 
exhibition at any of our shows. 
These pigeons are described as being gen¬ 
erally of a silver or pale blue color, and of 
the ordinary dove-house form. The wing- 
bars are while, and beautifully edged with 
a black circle, as shown in the illustration, 
which has a tendency to set them off to good 
advantage; their legs are well feathered, 
showing them also slightly hocked. Many 
of them have checkered wings, with the tip 
of their tails margined with black. They 
are said to be, like the Lelz Toy Pigeons, 
perfectly hardy. 
COST OF FOOD FOR HENS 
AGITATING MILK 
We have been asked the question repeat¬ 
edly, “ What does it cost for food for one 
fowl per year ?” Never having kept a re¬ 
cord of the same, we find the following given 
in the Buffalo Live Stock Journal, as an ex- 
A CORRESPONDENT inquires concerning 
the most simple way of using the waste 
water from cheese vats for moving an agita- 
tator in the milk during the night, and 
whether such appliance is regarded as use¬ 
ful in preventing the cream from rising, and 
at the same time preserving the milk in 
good order. 
The cheese factory agitator is, without 
doubt, a very useful appliance. It has been 
very thoroughly tested, and in no instance 
have we heard of any objections to its use, 
while, on t he contrary, the results from its 
operation are very highly commended. 
When the night’s mess of milk comes to 
the. factory in a warm condition it must be 
properly cooled and st irred or it will not 
keep lu good order during the nigbt. The 
usual plan pursued before agitators came 
into use was to introduce cold water be¬ 
tween the vats and to stir the milk by hand 
until the mass was reduced to a tempera¬ 
ture of about 00% when it. could be left for 
the uight wit h fair prospect of its keeping 
in good order until the time for cheese 
making on the following morning. Where 
large, quantities of milk were to be cared 
for, the st irring of the milk at night was an 
onerous task, not unfrequently being car¬ 
ried far into the night, thus encroaching 
upon the hours of sleep, and often bearing 
hard upon the labors of the overtasked 
hands. Then, again, there were no means 
to prevent the cream from rising upon the 
milk in the vats. It had to be removed in 
the morning and incorporated again in the 
milk as best it could. To obviate all these 
difficulties an agitator was devised for stir¬ 
ring the milk during the night, and worked 
by the waste water of the vats. 
The first form employed was simply a 
small overshot water wheel, After this a 
box was arranged at the end of the vat 
which gave, the power for moving the floats 
at intervals in the milk. The subjoined cut 
illustrates this appliance. 
Northern Ohio Poultry Show.—A 
well-known correspondent of the Cleveland 
Herald, after speaking of the grand success 
of the recent show, gives the following as 
his experience with poultry and the con¬ 
clusions he draws therefrom. lie says ho 
has “ had, for nearly twenty years, some 
practical knowledge of such matters, at 
that time paying eighty dollars for a pair of 
White Brahmas, and breeding one season 
eleven varieties of fowls, and for some five 
years thereafter breeding more or less of 
breeds, and studying each, looking to its 
legitimate use, viz:—that the fowl must be 
studied relative to its hardihood, produc¬ 
tion of eggs, size and quality of flesh; and 
we to-day fail to see wherein any advance 
has been made over the Speckled Dorking 
for general use. Wo acknowledge extra 
size in the Brahma, as in the Cochin, but 
with it is st ring!ness of liber and a waut of 
richness ami delicacy of flavor. Again, no 
bird of Brahma or Cochin will at four 
months present the size, form, perfection 
of flesh, etc., that comes from the Dorking. 
If eggs, or beauty of fowls, with hardihood, 
are alone wanted, as is perhaps most profit¬ 
able, und especially to those who live near 
a city market, then there is none superior 
to tin- Bolton Cray or Creoles. If chickens 
alone are to be grown for profit, then the 
Brahma hen crossed with the Dorking oock 
makes the best and earliest returns. If 
winter layers alone arc wanted, and to be 
kept ill a city yard, then the Brahma is the 
bird; but if eggs, flesh, form, etc., are aU 
counted in, then our experience since 1816 
is in favor of Speckled Dorkings, and we 
feel to-dav, as we write, that we have a half 
dozen birds of thut breed which we should 
be unwilling to exchange for any shown at 
the recent exhibition.” 
11 K PIGEONS. 
periment gone into by the editor thereof, 
and give it as we find it. for the information 
of our correspondents, who can, if they de¬ 
sire, approximate what it costs per year to 
keep poultry running at large or in confine¬ 
ment. Any of our readers having facts 
that they can give, from practical experi¬ 
ments upon this subject, we should be glad 
to print for the information of breeders 
generally. The article referred to reads as 
follows: 
“ Repeated experiments by ourselves and 
others, show that one bushel of corn per 
year is sufficient to keep one fowl, which 
runs at large, in addition to the insects and 
other tilings obtained by foraging. Hens 
that are shut up should be allowed uo more 
grain than those at free range, but they 
should be given grass in summer, mowed 
often so a - to be kept short and tender, aud 
in the winter raw cabbages, or boiled pota¬ 
toes, or fresh vegetables of some kind. Also 
as an equivalent to the insect s they are de¬ 
prived of by confinement,, given small, daily 
ration of animal food, such as sheep's lights 
aud livers, either raw or cooked, finely 
minced; or. which arc the cheapest and 
Como ready cooked, chandlers’ scraps, crush¬ 
ed. The value of a year’s proper allowance 
of vegetables and meat, per head, will be 
I?A lit OK 
of milk furnished by different parties to 
the Crew Cheese Factory, Cheshire, Eng¬ 
land, it appears that an ale gallon of milk 
varied in weight from 10pounds 21-2ounces 
to 10 pounds h ounces. The milk was weigh¬ 
ed at a temperature of 70" Fab., and thir¬ 
teen out of the nineteen samples weighed 
at the rate of ten pounds four ounces to 
the gallon, and two of the thirteen reach¬ 
ing one ounce more. A gallon of water at 
the same time weighed 10 pounds 1-2 ounce. 
From these figures it would seem that 10 1-4 
pounds may be taken as a gallon of mills, 
beer measure. 
At the New York cheese factories milk is 
nearly always weighed ; but at the butter 
factories it is generally received by meas¬ 
ure, the wine gallon being used. 
In the commencement of the cheese fac¬ 
tory system, milk was not unfrequently 
taken iti at the factory by measure, the beer 
gallon being used, on account , we suppose, 
of more readily determining the quantity of 
cheese which a given quantity of milk would 
make. A beer gallon of milk, about ten 
pounds by weight, if was found would make 
a pound of cheese and so the beer gallon was 
adopted as a matter of convenience. But 
the measuring system soon gave way to 
weighing, and we’know of no cheese factory 
where measuring tile milk is practiced. 
Milk is sold to village and city consumers by 
wine measure. Indeed we have uo know¬ 
ledge of any place where milk is bought or 
sold by beer measure, except, perhaps, in 
exceptional cases, where a sharp contractor 
engages milk from a farmer who is not 
posted as to the difference between wine 
and beer measure. 
Catarrh in Fowls. — J. D. W„ New 
Brunswick, N. J. —From the description 
given of the disease of your fowls we should 
say they have the cat arrh ; if it is not speed¬ 
ily checked it will run into that scourge of 
. The disease aots 
as it does on human 
Place the birds affected with it by 
drypeu, protected 
the poultry yard—roup 
on fowls the same 
beings. 
themselves, in a warm 
from the cold, bleak winter winds, (a south¬ 
ern exposure is tho best,) and feod plenty 
of nut ritious and stimulating food. Cooked 
corn meal and mashed potatoes, well mixed 
with cayenne or black popper can be used 
to good advantage, if fed warm. 
Acknowledgements.— 1 Thanks are due 
S. J. Bestok of Ilartrord, Conn.; Geo. H. 
Warner, New York Mills, N. Y„ and E. S. 
Ralph, Secret ary of tho Western New York 
Poultry Society, Buffalo. N. Y.; the former 
gentlemen for their circulars and price lists 
of fancy fowls for 187:1. and tho latter for 
Prize List and Rules of the Western New 
York Poultry Society, whose exhibition is to 
be held at Buffalo, Jan. 18-23, 1872. 
Choice Fowls.— E. B. Phillips of Kan¬ 
sas gives, in the Lawrence Journal, his ex¬ 
perience with Brahma fowls, which, like all 
experiments with this and other choice 
breeds, shows a large profit from a small in¬ 
vestment. For general use, the Brahmas 
are probably the beat fowl to raise. They 
are very quiet; they lay well if well fed, and 
they grow from eight to twelve pounds. 
Fowls Wanted.— Jas. Andrews, Wyo- 
oming Co., N. Y.—The fowls you desire cun 
be purchased of almost any breeder. Turn 
to the advertisements under the head of 
“Stock and Poultry," in the Rural New- 
Yorker, you will there see the breed ad¬ 
vertised you desire, and then send for a cir¬ 
cular and you will undoubtedly get the re¬ 
quisite information as to price, &c. 
Inquiries and Answers.—J. N. Bal- 
THts _Musk and Brazilian Ducks are known 
among breeders as one and the same thing. 
—E. R. wishes some one to inform him how 
to tell a male from a female dove; also, why 
his dove’s eggs do not hatch. —R. M., Oswe¬ 
go Co., N. Y —We are of opinion you cau 
make it profitable to rear ducks for market. 
Any of the poultry advertisers in the Ru¬ 
ral will furnish you the information you 
desire by addressing them. 
tity of milk in the vnt. (*> is t-ho box at thu 
end of the vat. It, has a partition in the 
center and rests on a circular bottom so 
that a weight at one end of the box will 
carry it down. There is an orifice at each 
end of the box, for discharging water. The 
water from the fountain enters the space 
between the vats ot D, and Is discharged at 
the other end of the vat into one of the 
partitions of the box. It accumulates here 
sufficient to carry the box down, which 
moves the float across the milk in the vat. 
Then, while the water is being discharged 
from t he box. the waste water from the vat 
is flowing into the other partition and ac¬ 
cumulates in sufficient quantity to carry 
that end of the box down, and thus alter¬ 
nately the floats are kept moving from time 
to time in the milk. 
We regard these agitators as very useful. 
They not only keep tho cream from risiug 
on the milk, but by stirring the milk and 
exposing its particles to the air the odors 
pass off and the milk is kept in good order 
during the night. Wo do not know but 
there are other simple devices for stirring 
the milk at factories during the nighl. but if 
there be any they have not come under our 
observation. 
The Cream Dipper,— George W. Hass 
writes:—“In the Rural Nr. w-Yorker of 
Dec. 9, 1871, I see you claim the cream from 
^ deep setting of milk must !»e 
K dipped off with a properly shaped 
vessel. Please let us know what 
that is.” 
The vessel used is a funnel- 
shaped cup with a long handle. 
Tn removing the cream the cup is 
simply pressed down into the 
f milk until tho cream flows into 
and fills the cup. when it is with¬ 
drawn aud the cream emptied. 
The accompanying cut illustrates 
the form of this “ skimmer,” or, 
1 more properl}', “cream dipper.” 
f it will be seen from the form of 
the dipper that it can be used 
without, agitating the ceam or 
milk very much, and as the lower 
stratum of cream in “deep set¬ 
tings” is always quite thin, it is 
removed by the cup without ditil- 
By pushing the vessel gently down in the 
liquid an<l allowing only the cream to How 
into the cup, und thus repeating the opera¬ 
tion unt il the. blue milk becomes visible, all 
the cream is readily removed without being 
stirred up and mingled again with the milk. 
It is a very useful implement that any handy 
tinsmith can make, and there is no patent 
upon »t. ____ 
A Make of Cheese.— Mbs. Alvin Mid- 
i) a coil of Scio. Allegany County, N. V. 
made. Nov. 27 aud Dec. 4, from 1,340 pounds 
of milk, 198 pounds of pressed cheese, after 
talcing 40 pounds of butter from the same 
milk, and the cheese sold a cent higher than 
the others on the same shelves.— Joseph G. 
Ackerman. 
POULTRY NOTES AND QUERIES 
SELLING MILK BY MEASURE 
which wo deem of sufficient note and novel¬ 
ty to transfer to our columns, for the benefit 
of those engaged in, or who may desire to 
procure new and fancy varieties. These 
birds are largely represented in England at 
the. pigeon shows, having been recently in¬ 
troduced in that country from Germany. 
They are making a great furore, and are 
much sought after by fanciers in England 
and France. We are not advised as to 
A correspondent writes us as follows: 
“ What is the difference between a wine 
gallon aud a beer gallon of milk, by measure 
and by weight? Is it usual to sell milk 1»> 
the beer measure, and is that the measure 
by which milk is sold to city consumers in 
New York? I am told that when milk is 
gold at the cheese and butter factories by 
measure, it must be taken at beer measure. 
Please answer through the Rural New 
