actly alike ; but we may find in feathers of 
the same part an analogy which, constitutes, 
on the whole, a regularity, a pleasing con¬ 
formity. We shall give in its proper place 
a drawing of the feather which character¬ 
izes each part, and that will serve more 
clearly to identify the appearance of each 
variety. _ t ^ 
WILL POULTRY PAY 1 
We live in a city that has 30,000 citizens, 
and we are going to start a poultry yard on 
a large scale. We intend to have from 4,000 
to 5,000 fowls of all kinds. We wish to ask 
you If it will pay V Please tell us which are 
the best fowls to raise, and if ducks and tur¬ 
keys will pay. We see in the R.Uhal New 
Yorker of June 30, 1874, the report, of C. E. 
Hayward’s large poultry establishment at 
Peterboro, N. H. We would like to have Mr, 
Hayward tell us, through the poultry col¬ 
umns of your paper, the best kind of fowls to 
raise. We intend to establish a poultry yard 
in Albion, Mich., which is 60 miles from De¬ 
troit, so we can supply the Detroit markets. 
Do you think it will pay t— Lewis Nelson, 
Secy Michigan PoalLry Co. 
We must answer this in general terms. 
Whether it will pay to keep 4,000 to 5,000 
fowls, or not, must depend entirely upon the 
knowledge, skill and resources of those who 
manage them. When a man who proposes 
to go into this business on this extended 
scale asks us “ the best fowls to raise,” we 
at once have grave doubts as to whether he 
will succeed. An inexperienced person is 
not the chap we should advance money to 
with a view of getting our interest back an¬ 
nually from keeping poultry on an extensive 
scale ourself, even with the practical expe¬ 
rience we have had and the recorded expe¬ 
rience of others we have read, except by 
beginning moderately and gradually feeling 
our way and enlarging our business as expe¬ 
rience gave us confidence. If we were going 
to grow fowls and eggs for market, we should 
not coniine ourself to any one breed—we 
should try the Brahma, Cochin, Leghorn, 
Dominique, Black Spanish, Hamburgs and 
Dorkings. We might not retain all these 
breeds, but we should try them. Each one 
has peculiarities that render it meritorious. 
There are other breeds as good, perhaps. 
But these we should try if we were going 
into the business extensively. If any of our 
readers have anything to say on this subject 
our columns are open. 
Afield 
TURNIPS-CULTURE, 
David Landrbth & Son, in their circular 
entitled, “ What wo Know About Turnips,” 
say:—Some farmers with us of Pennsylva¬ 
nia, when laying out their corn ground, at¬ 
tach to it so much land in addition as they 
propose to crop in mta bagas and turnips; 
plow it ftt the same time as the corn land, 
and whenever that crop is burrowed or cul¬ 
tivated, the root land receives like attention. 
At first this may seem a waste of labor, but 
it can be readily perceived the finer tilth 
such practice is calculated to effect, but 
especially the economy of labor when the 
seed is sown. With each previous movement 
of the soil a new surface was exposed, and 
with each the latent seeds of weeds had op¬ 
portunity to germinate, and were destroyed, 
thus slaying thousands of formidable ene¬ 
mies of the turnip crop. Now, all this may 
seem a small matter to some farmers, but 
we take leave to tell them that system and 
method in farming, as in manufactures and 
other industrial pursuits, will hereafter 
alone pay; the increasing cost of labor, and 
nil else incidental to the culture of the soil, 
must make intelligent, methodic field-labor 
indispensable. Slip-shod tillage will cer¬ 
tainly bring men into debt. It is true the 
process described above cannot be observed 
under all circumstances, as in the South, 
where turnips are frequently grown with 
most sure success within the boundary of 
the cow pen, but, even there, several plow- 
ings might be given preparatory to the 
seeding. 
In the latitude of Philadelphia, we begin 
to think of sowing ruta bagas about the 10th 
July, and, if everything is in readiness, 
make our first sowing by the middle of the 
month. The process is thus:—Plow the land 
level, harrow lengthwise and crosswise, get¬ 
ting it into fine tilth, then draw shallow fur¬ 
rows two and one-half feet apart (three feet 
is better where there is plenty of room to 
spare); in these furrows the manure is 
spread; it may consist of any fertilizing ma¬ 
terial within reach. Of course decomposed 
matter is the best, whether it be vegetable 
or animal; and here, we remark, it is a good 
plan to prepare in advance a compost, which 
will readily disintegrate when spread. 
Where such is not at hand, any of the ap¬ 
proved commercial fertilizers may be re¬ 
sorted to, but be sure and boy only from 
parties of good repute, of which, doubtless, 
tliere are many. When the fertilizer (if a 
superphosphate or other commercial ma¬ 
nure, at about equal cost, at the rate of 500 
lbs. per aero) has been spread, it is a good 
practice to remove the hind teeth from an 
ordinary cultivator so as to adapt it to the 
width of the furrow, and pass it once over 
the fertilizer, thus incorporating it with the 
soil. That done, the soil removed in form¬ 
ing the furrows, und a little more obtained 
on the opposite side is returned. This pro¬ 
cess will be found to form a ridge some 
inches higher than the level of the adjacent 
land. 
As it is not desirable in our climate, where 
heat and drouth (rather than excess of 
moisture, as in England, from whence the 
practice of ridging is derived) prevails, we 
back down the ridges until they are nearly 
level, and which brings the seed about to be 
sown near the manure, bo important to 
stimulate the young plants. Everything 
being now ready for sowing, with a Mat¬ 
thews’ drill, which is made to opeu the fur¬ 
row, deposit the seed, close the 1'urroWs, and 
roll in the seed if necessary, we proceed to 
sow. The drill should be adjusted to sow 
not less than two pounds of seed per aere, if 
in drills or rows two and one-half feet apart 
—not that so much seed is necessary, if any 
considerable percentage vegetates, and es¬ 
capes the fly, the scorching sun, and other 
unfavorable influences. It is probable that 
if two ounces of seed could be evenly dis¬ 
tributed, each grain germinate, and finally 
succeed, there would be a sufficient number 
of plants to the acre; but it would be a very 
unwise procedure to stint the seed to Bave 
(for the present moment only) the pocket. 
The English, to whom we look for instruc¬ 
tion in root culture, use much more than 
two pounds per acre, but the turnip has 
been so generally grown in their country for 
generations, that the “fly,” fed and pam¬ 
pered, has become a most formidable pest; 
so much so that great difficulty is sometimes 
found in securing a “ Btand.” 
If the sowing, which we have just de¬ 
scribed, should by any accident have failed,, 
pass along the ridges a spike-tooth harrow 
to destroy any weed seeds which may have 
sprouted, and re-sow as before. If, from 
the time lost, it may be deemed too late to 
perfect a crop of ruta bagas with certainty, 
it may be better to make the re-sowing with 
flat turnips, which mature in a shorter 
season. 
Supposing the first sowing a success, allow 
the plants to reach the rough or second leaf, 
then proceed thus:—Taking a light two-inch 
steel hoe in hand, and standing so as to bring 
a cornei - of the hoe in an oblique direction 
with respect to the line of plants, and near 
to them, the operator walks backward, 
drawing the hoe gently, and slightly skim¬ 
ming the surface of the soil, and with Jt all 
young weeds which may have sprung up 
cotemporary with the crop; returning, the 
opposite side of the row or drill is taken, 
thus leaving only a narrow line ol' turnip 
plants, nearly free from weeds. After a 
few days, when they have grown somewhat 
stronger, and are too rank for the fly to in¬ 
jure seriously, they may be “clumped,” 
which is performed by taking a sharp, light, 
steel hoe of suitable size, say two inches wide, 
and standing facing the row, cut crosswise, 
so as to leave clumps of plants at intervals 
of four to five inches. At first the operator 
will cut timidly, fearing to destroy too 
many; but in a little while he will have 
gained courage, and proceed with increas¬ 
ing speed. It is surprising with what celerity 
such work may be performed by an expert, 
which any one may become with an hour’s 
practice. We have boys who can pass along 
a row, cutting as they go, at half the usual 
walking speed. When the plants left in 
clumps have fully recovered from the dis¬ 
turbance which i3 unavoidable, and again 
stand erect, the process of “singling” com¬ 
mences; this is simply pulling out with the 
finger and thumb and casting aside all but 
the most promising plant in each group or 
clump. 
After the lapse of a few days, when the 
selected plants have become upright and 
self-sustaining, a very shallow furrow may 
be cast from each side,—the earth thus re¬ 
moved meeting in a ridge between the rows. 
If the weather is damp they may stand thus 
a few days, each day adding greatly to their 
strength ; but if the weather be hot and dry, 
it is better to proceed at once with the hoe¬ 
ing, which done, the ridge of earth is to be 
leveled down by a spike-tooth harrow, or, in 
its absence, a cultivator with well-wom 
teeth, taking care not to cast the earth upon 
the young plants. This process of plowing 
from the plants, and cultivating immediately 
after to return the soil, will need to be re¬ 
peated several times during the season of 
growth ; indeed it may be practiced with 
great advantage so long as the space between 
the rows is not obstructed by foliage, on 
each repetition inserting the plow deeper 
than before. Thus the crop will at length 
stand daily increasing in vigor and bulk, 
until the time arrives for placing it in winter 
quarters—in the latitude of Philadelphia not 
later than the 20th of November. 
OATS—AN OLD HUMBUG REVIVED. 
Andrew S. Fuller of the Rural New 
Yorker, thus exposes an old humbug in 
the N. Y. Sun :—“ We have been shown 
(says a correspondent of the St. Albans 
Messenger] a sample of ‘hull less oats,’ by 
Mr. Jacob Smith, of Montpelier, who is in¬ 
troducing them as seed for field-culture in 
this State. They resemble the common oat 
after the hull is removed. In threshing, the 
groiu conies out of the hull like wheat. 
Forty bushels have been raised to the acre 
at the West, and the grain weighs 48 pounds 
per bushel. The seed was brought to this 
country a few years Binee by a laborer from 
Belgium, who sowed it, but left before it 
was harvested, so that nothing further is 
known of its history'. It is claimed that the 
grain rnukes an excellent meal, superior to 
that usually obtained from the common va¬ 
rieties after hulling, and, as this forms quite 
an item of food at present in this country, if 
this new acquisition can be X'aiscd success¬ 
fully, it will be very useful for this purpose, 
as every farmer can easily raise suflicieut 
for his own use, at Jeast. As there must be 
at least three times the amount of meal in a 
bushel of this variety over the common 
kinds, if forty bushels cau be raised from an 
acre, it. will be a profitable crop to produce. 
But time, which proves all things, will deter¬ 
mine its adaptiveness to this country and its 
value as a crop.” 
We do not believe that our farmers will be 
benefited by another “ Ncrwuy-oat” swin¬ 
dle. or desire the dissemination of any old, 
inferior sort of oats under a new name. As 
our Vermont contempory and liis neighbor, 
Mr. Jacob Smith, appear to he :t little in the 
dark in regard to the “hull-less oats” men¬ 
tioned above; perhaps a little Nun-light may 
help them to see and know something of this 
variety. This hull less oat ix the old jldvcna, 
Hilda, or naked oat; also known in old Eng¬ 
lish agricultural works as the Peelcoru or 
Pilcorn oat. it is probably the oldest vari¬ 
ety extant, and is supposed to be the original 
“ bread corn,” cultivated by the ancient in¬ 
habitants of Britain. It was superseded by 
superior varieties in Europe long before 
Vermont became a State, as its only merit is 
hardiness ; it produces a moderate crop 
where other grain would not be expected to 
thrive. But it has been tried over and over 
again in this country during the past fifty 
year?, and condemned on account of the 
iiabiiity qi' the grain to drop before fully 
ripe, besides being less productive than the 
newer varieties. It. is seldom that a half- 
dozen years pass without this old oat being 
brought out as something new and very de¬ 
sirable; and before us is an advertisement 
of a firm in Wisconsin, who, in 1871, offered 
this same “naked oat” under the name of 
“Bohemian Oat,” for the very moderate 
price of fifty cents per quart. 
-- ♦♦♦ - 
KEEPING SWEET POTATOES. 
We have published several methods of do¬ 
ing this, and yet continue to receive 
inquiries. Here is one by a correspondent 
of the Rural Sun, which we advise the read¬ 
ers of the Rural New-Yorker to remem¬ 
ber :—I planted about equal quantities of 
Bermuda and Braziliun : dug them after the 
first hard frost; let them lay as dug until 
late in the evening. They were then put In 
piles of ten bushels each, and the old vines 
thrown over them to protect them from the 
cold night air and frost. In the morning the 
vines were removed and the piles opened, to 
give them all the sun that was possible. This 
was continued for five day*. My object was 
that sun might dry up ail surface moisture 
and thoroughly cure them before storing. 
They were then carefully carried to my 
cellar, which is under my residence, and is 
22 by 18 feet and 7 feet deep. 1 have my 
cellar arranged with eighteen inch shelves 
all around, except at one end, where I have 
a furnace that heats my house. The pota¬ 
toes were assorted and placed endways on 
the shelves, so that every potato can be seen, 
at least one end of it. Arranged this way it 
would be easy to discover any sign of rot. I 
put up about one hundred bushels, and have 
supplied my' own and another family' all the 
winter, and I have never eaten sweeter pota¬ 
toes in my life. I did not lose exceeding one 
bushel by rot. 
I commenced to use those that were cut in 
digging, but I found they had calloused over 
nicely and were keeping finely. So I quit 
using them with a view of testing the mat¬ 
ter, and they have kept equally as well as 
those that were not cut. 
1 attribute my success, first, to the careful 
sun cure ; secondly, to the manner of ar¬ 
ranging them on shelves, as it gave them air; 
and thirdly to my furnace, as it kept down 
all moisture and gave an equal temperature. 
I forgot to say that at this writing I have 
about twenty-five bushels on hand, half of 
each kind, and see no difference in the keep¬ 
ing qualities of the two kinds, but much 
prefer the Brazilian as a table potato. 
PEAS WITH CORN AND OATS WITH 
COTTON. 
As a rale, one crop on the ground at a time 
is enough, and all crowding is unprofitable. 
As a partial exception, we advise peas with 
corn, and in some cases the small grains with 
cotton, as they make most of their growth 
after the original crop has ceased to require 
the soil, and we repeat here instructions 
given last year on this point:—Oats may be 
sown at the last working of the cotton, no 
ext ra labor being required, except the broad¬ 
casting of the seed between the rows, in 
advance of the plows ; but oats sown go early 
in the season require to be fed off before the 
final picking of the cotton, to prevent them 
from prematurely throwing up the seed 
stem. Sheep do this work, with great bene¬ 
fit to themselves and with no damage to the 
cotton, provided, of course, that they are 
turned out ns soon as the outs are well crop¬ 
ped. Wheat, sown later, requires to be cov¬ 
ered with the plow or cultivator. During 
the winter, the cotton stalks must be broken 
down, when the grain will have full posses¬ 
sion of the field. This plan has been found 
to work well, when the land has been in good 
condition and is worthy of a more extensive 
trial, where labor and mule-power are 
scarce ; but it does not permit that thorough 
preparation of the land necessary to the best 
results in small grain culture.”— Rural Car¬ 
olinian. 
-- 
FIELD NOTES. 
Value- of Fodder Corn.— At a meeting of 
the Massachusetts Cheese Factory Associa¬ 
tion, Addison H. Holland, a Barre farmer, 
read an essay on fodder corn. With seven¬ 
teen cows, he experimented to see what its 
value was in producing milk; during the 
month of July ho turned his cows into a 
good pasture, after having fed them with 
fodder corn, and they showed a large falling 
off in milk. He then, through August, soiled 
them in the stable, feeding fodder corn, and 
there was a gain in the production of milk. 
In September they were again turned into 
the mowing (full feed) and they fell off. Mr. 
Holland cures his corn by spreading it upon 
the stone walls, and regards it as a valuable 
feed for milch cows, when well cured. He 
thinks fodder corn the best crop there is to 
bridge over a dry time with; fed sixty or 
seventy pounds per cow when they were 
kept in a short pasture. 
Culling Barley. — A correspondent of the 
Rural New' Yorker asks the best time to 
cut barley. It should be cut juBt as soon as 
the seed is fully developed, but should not be 
allowed to stand a day longer. If the 
stalks are partially green no matter. If we 
were to look at a field we could tell whether 
it was ready to cut or not, but we cannot 
give a rule for determining. If too ripe it 
will shell badly. The earlier it is cut after 
the kernel is developed the more valuable 
both groin and straw. 
Cutting lied Clover. — I would like to 
know the. best time to cut the flirt crop of 
common red clover so as to insure good seed 
from the second crop. Some farmers have 
failed in obtaining good seed—I think for 
the reason they cut the first crop too late.— 
Young Farmer, St. Croix Co,, Wis. 
The first crop should be cut just as soon 
as or before it blooms. It should in no case 
be allowed to develop seed. 
Clover Cured Early for Milk .—P. W. G. 
is informed that no hay that we ever fed 
ever equalled for milk production clover 
cut just as it was fairly in bloom, cured in 
the sun and put in the mow without wet¬ 
ting. It was as fragrant when it came out 
of the mow as when it went in, and as full of 
nutrition as when standing in the meadow. 
No kind of hay we ever fed caused such a 
flow of milk. 
