$;iu> §ouIti[g-fat[(l. 
THE URAL ICE PIGEON. 
This Pigeon is of German origin. There 
are many sub-varietieB of it, some of which 
are of a pale silvery blue, without wing- 
bars, and without being penciled or span¬ 
gled, and are designated Plain or Self-color¬ 
ed Ice Pigeons. Others have wing-bars, and 
are long-muffed or feather-legged. This 
sub-variety occasionally Is to be found span¬ 
gled, but too often imperfectly bo. 
The whole plumage of the Ural Ice Pigeon 
is of a very pale, silvery blue, with the ex¬ 
ception of the tips of the tall and flights, 
which are a dark, slaty color. The wing-bars 
are formed by neat black zigzag lines, and 
the penciling or spangling on the shoulder 
is neatly defined. The eye is of a hazel col¬ 
or, and the genera] contour of dove-like ap¬ 
pearance, but in size much larger. The 
neck should be of graceful formation, with 
a slight infusion in the hackle feathers of a 
dai-k greenish tinge, showing a various iri¬ 
descence. The mandibles are slightly curv¬ 
ed, and of a bluish-bluclc color; the feet and 
legs when not clothed should be of a coral 
red. 
The Ice Pigeon is naturally of a wildish 
disposition, and a very high flyer, but soon 
becomes docile, and accustomed to locality, 
more especially if there are gardens, where 
it will roam undisturbed for hours together. 
For country amateurs this variety is rec¬ 
ommended, being a good breeder, feeding 
and rearing the young moderately well, and 
generally breeding true to feather. 
A flight of the Ural Ice Pigeons on a 
bright summer’s daj lias u novel appear¬ 
ance when the rays of the sun shine on 
their delicate plumage, showing the pale 
silvery hues, which could not fail to please 
the eye of the most fastidious fancier. 
This Ural Ioe variety of Pigeon has figured 
most prominently at many {of the loading 
shows, being Jess common and more grace¬ 
ful than the plain long-muffed variety. 
The Siberian or Russian Ice Pigeons are 
similar to the Ural Ice, but more delicate in 
their markings, They received their ap¬ 
pellation from a well-known retired German 
fancier and keeper of these varieties. 
Many good specimens of Ice Pigeons are 
to be found with orange and gravel eyes, 
which are equally admissible with the hazel 
eye, yet this color is more frequent. Some 
have been seen with pearl eyes, though 
rarely. 
-- 
ABOUT INCUBATORS. 
I notick an article under the “ Poultrj'- 
Yard," headed “Incubators,” in which a 
correspondent asks whether any one, how¬ 
ever unskilled, can operate one successful¬ 
ly. Now, this is a rather delicate question 
to answer, as one would not suppose that 
any person entirely unskilled in the hatch¬ 
ing of chicks would wish to dip into ar¬ 
tificial incubation; but this much ( can my, 
that during the last Winter I purchased an 
Incubator of -manufacture (I do not 
propose to advertise any maker) and at the 
first attempt made a most beautiful fail¬ 
ure , hatching only three from fifty-one eggs, 
whioh was enough to discourage most poul¬ 
try breeders; but having the old maxim 
before me, that " if at first you don’t suc¬ 
ceed, try, try again.” I kept, at it and cun 
say that I would not be without one under 
any circumstances (if possible). The greater 
portion of my fowls have boon hatched with 
an Incubator, and 1 can truly say that it 
has greatly exceeded my expectations. If 
your correspondent has purchased'one and 
cannot work it, and will call on me, I will 
be happy to give him all the information I 
can, or if he desires any information and is 
unable to call I will do the best 1 am able 
by letter. Edward A. Rowe. 
Tremont, Westchester Co., N. V. 
POULTRY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Partiality among Cocks.—A henwife 
in Massachusetts, says the Massachusetts 
Ploughman, when remonstrated with for 
keeping two cocks with a flock of twenty- 
five fowls, explained that one cock was 
partial to a part, of the hens, and showed a 
decided dislike to the others, and she was 
satisfied that was the reason why about 
half the eggs site had set had proved to ho 
rotten, when the balance would bring forth 
bright and lively chickens. If your readers 
will watch when they feed their hens, they 
will often see the cock maliciously run at 
and fight a part of the dock, showing a con¬ 
stant dislike to them. Be sure not to set 
MOOSE’S BUBAL NEW-YORKER. JULY 13 
eggs from those rejected hens, as they 
1 would not prove fertile, but select eggs 
from hens to which the cock is partial. 
Inquiries About Pigeons.—Your cor¬ 
respondent would like some information on 
the subject of pigeons, particularly on the 
following topics:—1. What kind of a house 
should they have for shelter, and how should 
THE IT It .VI, 
it be planned and be built? 2. What ar¬ 
rangements must be made for raising t hem ? 
3. At what age do they reproduce? 1 What 
food do they require at different periods? 
5. How should they be oared for in Winter? 
6 . What is the average ratio of increase, an¬ 
nually, under ordinary circumstances ? 
By answering t he above questions, or fur¬ 
nishing an article on Pigeon Culture, from 
some source, you would greatly favor many 
who are interested in this subject.—J ohn 
Q. Adams, Kent Co., 11. 1. 
Fowls Hying.—A Jamestown, N. Y., 
correspondent has been troubled for two 
years with his fowls dying. “They sit 
around, stupid for some days—some a week, 
and some only a few hours. They get white 
around their heads, their comb becomes 
white, their droppiugs are thin, and some- 
limes a greenish and sometimes a yellow 
color. We have sometimes had a dozen die 
in one day. Who can give us a preventive 
or remedy? ” 
“Big Things” in Fowls.— E. D. Wilt 
writes us:—“I have a cross-bred hen that 
laid an egg every day for ten months and 
two weeks in the years of 1870-71; that is, 
from October, 1870, to October, 1871. I also 
have, alive and well, in my yard a full 
Brahma hen seven months old, that was 
hatched from a double-yolked egg; also a 
pair of chicks that were hatched from a 
double-yolked egg. 
cJ[loric t ulfiu|itl 
FLORICULTURAL NOTES. 
Erythririo Herbacea.—I inclose, for 
name, the leaf and two flowers of a plant J 
have. The root is perennial. It grows lux¬ 
uriantly from 1st May to early frost. Is 
now in bloom. The flowers are in spikes, 
with nine blossoms in u (fluster around the 
stem—the whole spike containing some ten 
or twelve of these clusters. The flower 
spike Is directly from the ground iroot), and 
has no leaves on it. The plant is a shrub, 
growing during the season as much as six 
and eight feet. It throws up a great many 
stalks (leaf) from the root; on those stalks 
the leaves are alternately placed, not in cir¬ 
cles as in case of the blossoms. It is a very 
handsome plant, and the flower spikes beau¬ 
tiful.— Franklin Garrett, Monroe, La. 
A beautiful plant, the name of which is 
given above. 
Seeds from the South.—Through the 
medium of the Rural’s columns, I formed 
the acquaintance of a Southern lady, to 
whom 1 am indebted for many rare and 
beautiful plants, natives of Mexico and 
Texas. Several species of C’acti have 
proven nearly hardy', and two are the most 
persistent bloomers. I have Erythrina, 
Acacia, and scarlet-flowered Pomegranate 
growing nicely in the open ground. I re¬ 
ceived the seed of several varieties of wild 
plants without names. They germinated 
with difficulty, but the plants look so well 
as to amply repay the care they required.— 
Rose Geranium, Luzerne Dale , W. Va. 
Salt Water Sand for Propagating 
Purposes.—B. S. P. is advised if he can get 
fresh water sand, for propagating purposes, 
he had much better do so. Salt sand is not 
highly esteemed for this purpose by florists. 
It soon becomes covered with a green fun¬ 
goid. which is fatal to plants. 
Ants and Peony Buds. — What will 
keep ants from destroying Peony buds 
when nearly ready to bloom ? — Western 
Mountain Girl. 
Sit lrh tut, lime or ashes; but are you sure 
that the ants are destroying your Peony 
buds? Look Closely and see if they are not 
attending to th<‘ ylphides that are on the 
buds. We should always be careful and not 
accuse an insect ol‘ doing harm until we are 
quite certain of I lie fact. 
§mn of ;t UtoraM 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
FROM THE DIARY OF A GENTLEMAN NEAR NEW YORK CITY. 
Dwarf June Berry .—June 26.—I men¬ 
tioned this beautiful variety of the common 
shad-bush or June berry in my Diary of 
June 9th, 1871; but the plants are hearing 
so profusely again this year that J cannot 
allow the opportunity to pass for calling at¬ 
tention to it again. The past cold winter 
did not injure the plants in the least, and 
every sucker of a foot high is covered with 
dark purple berries. It is true that they 
will not compare with strawberries or rasp¬ 
berries in flavor; but when we take into 
consideration the beautiful show that the 
flowers make early in spring, it cannot ho 
denied that tills June berry is an acquisition 
to our gardens. The berries commenced 
ripening early in the month, and the bushes 
are still loaded with ripe and green fruit. 
Birds and children at least will favor the 
cultivation of this shrub, even if there is 
no demand for the fruit in market. 
Among the Black-Caps.— Jane 27.—The 
earliest of the black-cap raspberries are ri¬ 
pening quite rapidly, and I am looking 
about to see which 1 can spare best among 
the few that were saved from the bonfire 
last spring. In examining the garden black¬ 
cap, sent out a few years since by Mr. Doo¬ 
little, I have been somewhat surprised 
that any man should have dared to risk the 
dissemination of such a worthless fruit. 
Now Mr. Doolttlk gained quite a world¬ 
wide reputation in disseminating what is 
known as the Doolittle Black-cap Rasp¬ 
berry, and although lie was neither the 
originator or discoverer of this sort, still 
his name became attached to it through his 
advertising the plants, and thus he became 
quite famous in the horticultural world. 
He evidently considered fame as a salable 
commodity, hence the sending out of his 
“ Red-fiavored Blaclt-eap;’’ but afterwards 
changed to “Garden Raspberry,” which is 
neither a black or red raspberry, but a dull 
maroon, appearing to be half decayed even 
before it is ripe; and in flavor it is no bet¬ 
ter than in color. It is a great pity that so 
many men will work years and spend a for¬ 
tune in gaining fame and an honorable rep¬ 
utation, and then let it all go for a “ mess 
of pottage." Of coarse we are all inclined 
to be charitable and remember a man’< good 
deeds; still the stench of the bad ones will 
lurk in his surroundings. 
I could not help thinking of this last fall, 
when Mr. E. W. Bull’s new grapes, Una 
and Cottage, ripened. Mr. Bull, as every¬ 
body knows, was the originator of the fam¬ 
ous Concord grape, which has pleased more 
people and given better general satisfaction 
than any variety of grape ever grown in 
this country; but he was not satisfted with 
all this, and must try to make a little more 
money out of grape vines, and so he sent 
out the Una and Cottage, two of as vile fox 
grapes as ever I met in any Northern forest. 
Oh! Mr. Bull, the fragrance of the Con¬ 
cord is strong enough, but the stench of the 
Uua and Cottage will linger about your 
name for years to come. But it will not do 
to tell the whole truth, even sub rasa, about 
fruits, their merits, or how they were in¬ 
troduced; for there is many a flower, etc., 
and we must, be content with the good, and 
in this we arc blessed with an abundance. 
If there happens to be a few black rasp¬ 
berries like the Garden, there is also plenty 
of good ones—I. e., to those who like this 
fruit. Among the curly sorts, Fay, Doo¬ 
little and SVestchoater suit me best. Sur¬ 
prise, Elrie. Seneca and McCormick or 
Mammoth Cluster are my choice in the later 
sorts. Of course, there are several other 
varieties almost, if not quite, equal to some 
of these, as, for instance, the Canada, On¬ 
tario, Lum’s Everbearing and Miami; but 
as they are not superior to them, it is use¬ 
less to multiply names and varieties with¬ 
out adding merits. 
Early Red Raspberries. —June 28.— 
There may be localities where the very best 
of our improved red raspberries will not 
succeed, and as a dernier resort t he black 
raspberries should bo cultivated. I have 
known persons who preferred them to the 
more juicy and luscious varieties of other 
species; but. there are very good red varie¬ 
ties that will succeed as far Nort h as Hud¬ 
son’s Bay, and there are feiv people who 
want fruit in a more Northerly locality. 
The black varieties are usually supposed to 
ripen a little earlier than those of other 
species; but the first dish of raspberries 
gathered from my garden this year was that 
old, but still valuable sort, the Kirtland. J 
thought when spring opened that the canes 
were so badly Injured that they would bear 
no fruit; but in this 1 was mistaken, for 
they are now loaded with brilliant light 
crimson fruit whioh is both handsome and 
good. The berries arc not quite as large as 
some of the European sorts, hut are firm 
and of excellent flavor, and it is also one of 
the hardiest of our native varieties. 
My next best of the thoroughly tested 
early native sorts is the Snsqueco; also 
known in some localities as the Cumber¬ 
land. The plant is rather dwarfish in habit, 
the canes seldom growing more than three 
feet high; but it is very productive and the 
berries large, handsome, bright color and 
excellent quality. Some persons would ob¬ 
ject to this variety on account of its habit 
of producing a great mimberof suckers from 
the roots; but I have never considered this 
us a serious objection, because one must 
cultivate the ground about the plants, and 
the suckers are as readily killed as weeds. 
With all varieties that produce suckers very 
freely, it is necessary to set out new planta¬ 
tions every three or four years; at least in 
my experience I have found that this was a 
milch more economical plan than to retain 
the old plants and endeavor to keep up the 
vigor by manuring and extra cultivation. 
It is neither an expensive or very laborious 
task to plant an acre of raspberries; and 
rotation may be practiced in small fruit 
culture With as much profit as in ordinary 
farming. 
The llerstine Raspberry.—I have this 
new sort in fruiting for the first time, and 
I am much pleased with its appearance and 
quality. The canes were not protected the 
past severe Winter, but they are fruiting 
abundantly. It is among the earliest of the 
red varieties, and t he berries very large, 
equaling some of the best of the foreign 
sorts. Of course one j’ear’s fruiting is not 
sufficient experience to determine its value; 
but I must say that it promises to be one of 
the very best, if not the best, of our native 
varieties. 
