_ggLui.i 
/culturE’HB 
EXCELSIOR 
PER YEAR. 
Siinsle Ao., Eight Cents, 
•II l’nrli ltow, IVeiv York 
82 lltilVulu St., Rochester, 
FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, MARCH 4 ,1871 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in tho year 1871, by D. D. T. Moore, in Lite office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.] 
millions a total of 350,000,000. The aver¬ 
age of the country districts was placed even 
higher than this, while the aggregate French 
product has been estimated at between seven 
and eight thousand 
of (lie ilomo iy„iiicc 
n u ally 100,000,000 Sm 
eggs 
it; and yet, taking the figures above quoted capital, which would be invested under these 
as trustworthy data, they point to the con- two favorable circumstances, that there 
elusion that there’s money in the business, would he immediate returns for the outlay 
Borne years ago we read an interesting ac- and an excellent market for the produce. 
' '— 
in others. Why cannot they be gathered 
and transformed into eggs? This will prove 
the corner stone of success in making eggs 
cheaply. Food of any kind always goes fur¬ 
ther when cooked, and animal food and a 
certain degree of warmth, arc essential to 
early and prolific laying. 
Other details will readily suggest them¬ 
selves. There must, lie sheds for the accom¬ 
modation of the poultry without undue 
crowding, and these must be kept perfectly 
well ventilated and artificially heated in 
winter. Coal is u cheaper fuel than any 
kind of food, Layers, sitters aud fattening 
birds must be kept separated. Quietness 
and cleanliness should reign everywhere, 
and all outside intruders must he rigorously 
excluded. Plenty of fresh, pure water is a 
necessity, and a portion of the old stock 
should be. regularly renewed, as only from 
young and vigorous fowls could the best re¬ 
sults he obtained. 
We say nothing of chickens, though these 
would doubtless form a useful department 
in the outline here faintly limned, Nor do 
we enter into any calculations as to the 
amount of profit to be realized. This would 
depend largely on personal qualities. A re¬ 
cent writer in one of our farming papers 
claimed a profit, of $10 per hen per annum 
oil It small scale. We believe that with 
New York to furnish the scraps for almost 
nothing, and buy them back in the shape of 
eggs at a good market price, a greater aver¬ 
age may be achieved; and are certain that 
a much lower figure would be largely prof¬ 
itable. 
THE WHITE FANTAIL PIGEON. 
This is one of our most beautiful pigeons 
—one belter suited to the house, as a pet, 
than most kinds. Our engraving, which we 
copy from the Loudon Poultry Chronicle, 
represents the White Fantail to perfection. 
There are several colored varieties of this 
pigeon, such as White, Blue, Silver, Black, 
Yellow, Red, Frizzled and Laced, but of all 
the colors, we deem the White the most 
beautiful and desirable. 
The pure-bred Imd should be of snowy 
whiteness, with long and delicately curved 
neck, which much resembles that of the 
white swan, both in formation and gait. 
These pigeons are con ceded ly popular with 
those who have bred them, as they are 
readily reared and domesticated, and soon 
become pets of the household, not easily to 
he dispensed with. 
The Fantail, or Shaker, ns it. is sometimes 
called, should possess a tapering neck ; 
the breast full and prominent; the tail nl- 
lr.-ivs erect, ami never containing less than 
twenty-four or thirty-six feathers; other¬ 
wise, the tail will droop, and the beauty of 
the bird be considerably marred. Though 
there are instances of birds having as many 
*is forty-eight tail feathers, that number de¬ 
tracts from their beauty, and makes them 
appear uncouth and clumsy. 
The dove-cot of the Fantails should he 
built near the ground, as the birds are not 
given to taking high flights; or if the cots 
are attached to the barn or carriage-house, 
the roosts should not lie more than six to 
eight feet from the ground ; in fact, the 
nearer the ground they arc placed the bet¬ 
ter. With ordinary attention these birds 
will prove hardy and prolific in any section 
of the country. 
the principle that an _ 
is equal in nutri¬ 
tious value to a quar* .;:i— 
ter of a pound of meat, ^ 
would represent an 
average of twenty-five pounds of flesh-meat, 
per year, for every man, woman and child 
in the metropolis. The cash value of this 
product cannot be less than two millions 
of dollars, while the demand for the article 
and its selling price are steadily increasing. 
These figures show that trifling in detail 
as the egg trade may seem, in the aggregate 
it is an important business. And they sug¬ 
gest, also, the question, 
How Can tlit* Supply be Increased? 
Unlike a great many other occupations, no 
one seems to make egg producing a specialty, 
witli a single eye to making a living out of 
POULTRY NOTES AND QUERIES. 
To Correspondents. 
We have before us several inquiries of 
correspondents, far and near, for information 
relative to the rearing and breeding of 
poultry; how many fowls to keep on a 
given space; the form and size of poultry 
houses; the best fowls to keep for market, 
and as egg producers, &c., &c. It would 
take nil the available space we have in this 
department lo answer these queries; there¬ 
fore we must say, that they will be found 
fatty answered in the pages of “ The Peo¬ 
ple’s Practical Poultry Book," together with 
much valuable information for the amateur, 
and those about to commence in the busi¬ 
ness of rearing poultry, on a large or small 
scale. The work will he fully illustrated, 
neatly printed and furnished from our office, 
early in March, at the exceedingly low price 
of $1.00, being the cheapest poultry hook 
ever published in this country, and contain¬ 
ing all the information desired on the sub¬ 
jects treated. 
manufacture—or perhaps production would 
he a better word—of eggs and chickens for 
the Parisian market. It was on an immense 
scale, and was a great success. Why cannot 
we have large henneries near each of our 
principal cities? Or, to limit the inquiry to 
a single case, why cannot some enterprising 
person or persons, for there is room for 
dozens, establish one or more egg manu¬ 
factories on the outskirts of New York? 
Let us see what preliminaries would be 
necessary for such an undertaking. 
1. A fair but not excessive amount of 
4. A good supply of food. This Is impor¬ 
tant. 11 Hen-laying,” says Air. I -eland again, 
“is hard work, and requires high feeding.” 
This is very true, and a false economy here 
would be fatal. But lie points out also a 
cheap and excellent source of supply. “ Much 
of my success,” he adds, “is due to the fact 
that my liens get all the scraps from my ho¬ 
tel.’’ In a large city, like New York, these 
scraps could he obtained for a trifle in many 
cases, lor the mere trouble of collecting them 
I have heard so much about Bronzed 
Turkeys, but never having seen a portrait of 
them, I should he glad if you would give, 
through the Rural New-Yorker, an illus¬ 
tration and description of them. —II. L., 
Lima, Inti, 1871. 
In compliance with the request of our cor- 
lopondent, we give a fine engraving of the 
premium Black Bronzed Turkey of the late 
New York Stale Poultry Show, prepared for 
tlie forthcoming “ People’s Practical Poultry 
Book.” These turkeys are said to be a 
cross between the domestic, or tame, and 
a\ ild turkey, and make the finest and strong¬ 
est birds, resembling as they do, as closely 
as possible, the original stock, and look not 
dissimilar to wild birds, and next to them 
weigh the heaviest, fatten the most rapid¬ 
ly, and can be reared with much less trouble 
than any other variety. The bird which 
our engraving illustrates, weighed upwards 
of thirty-six pounds, which was considered 
extraordinary for a yearling bird. Borne 
turkeys we have seen are of a coppery tint, 
some of a delicate fawn-color, while others 
were parti-colored, and gray and white. 
Yhese arc, however, regarded as inferior to 
the Bronzed Black, or Black, as their color 
indicates something like degeneracy of con¬ 
stitution, if not actual disease. 
VVImt ASIw My llcim? 
They eat well, are iu pretty fair condi¬ 
tion, but four or five of them breathe as if 
they lmd a cold hi the head. They have a 
good dry place to stay, all the corn, scrap 
cake, anil water they want, and a few boiled 
potatoes once in a while. I have got seven 
eggs a day from twenty hens for quite a 
number of days. Tim first hen that laid 
will OUt-Wheeze all the rest They arc light 
Brahmas, or nearly so— II. C. ’Fenny, Au¬ 
burn, _/V, Y. 
If our correspondent will consult the last 
volume of the Rural New-Yorker lie will 
find the disease troubling bis fowls there 
fully described and a remedy given. They 
have the catarrh. 
Piceonsi Hr fit in ilii* Country, 
John J. Chambers, New York city, 
writes us to inform our Vermont correspond¬ 
ent that all the varieties of pigeons bred in 
Europe are also bml in this country, and 
may be procured of dealers in New York 
city. It would be a very good idea for some 
of these breeders to let the fact be known 
through tho advertising columns of the 
Ruu vl New-Yorker, as to price, etc. “A 
word lo the wise,” Ac. 
hochstem 
