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fowl matures 
NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N. Y, NOV. 14, 1874. 
j PRICE SIX CENTS. 
1 #3.50 PER YEAR. 
VOL. XXX. No. 30. I 
WHO I.E No. 1394. 1 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by the Iturul Publishing co mpany, in the offic e of the Librarian of Congress at Washington,] 
milch enlarged, each lobe being as large as 
the palm of my hand ; the heart was also 
very much enlarged, quite soft and surround¬ 
ed with this liquid. Does and one know 
what the disease is, what the cause, and 
the remedy ? Aunt Lou. 
Princeton, Ind. 
Fowls in Winter. —W. M. Tuthill, Suf¬ 
folk Co., N. Y., writes the Bulletin :—"One 
of the most essential things, in winter, is to 
have a warm house for chickens to roost in. 
The best way to have a house constructed 
for winter use is to have it partially under 
ground, facing the south, with a slanting roof 
reaching within three feet of the ground on 
the north side and the front or south side 
covered with windows, so that the fowls may 
enjoy tlic warm rays of the sun without be¬ 
ing exposed to the piercing winds and freez¬ 
ing cold. For a summer house the building 
should be above ground, with ventilators, so 
that the fowlscan be keptcomfortableduring 
the hot nights of summer. In the fall, as 
the weather becomes cool, shut up your sum¬ 
mer roost, and your fowls will soon take to 
their winter quarters again. In winter I 
give my fowls a warm pudding for break¬ 
fast, then keep corn by them during the day. 
I also keep scrap-cake by them from early 
fall till spring.” 
Canary Parasites. — A correspondent, over 
the signature of “ J. B.,” writes to the Lon¬ 
don Fanciers’ Gazette to say that “ a drop of 
linseed oil put on the ends of perches in the 
cages of Canaries, where the red mites some¬ 
times breed by thousands, will instantly kill 
them ; and if applied occasionally will keep 
others away. They can easily be kept out 
of the nests by dredging the box or basket 
with quicklime inside, ami then making a 
nice nest with clean moss.” Another cor¬ 
respondent, “ Fringllla,” writing upon the 
same subject, says: —“ I paint my cages with 
carbolic acid, pure or mixed with water ; to 
dip the edge in a solution is simpler. Don’t 
let the birds enter till the cage is dry. Six 
months have elapsed since 1 doctored my 
cages, and I have not seen a mite since. My 
birds are allowed to bathe frequently.” 
Golden Pheasants.—(A Subscriber.)—The 
head of a Golden Pheasant cock bears a crest 
of amber-colored feathers. The back of the 
head and nock is of a beautiful orange red, 
passing low down the breast into a deep scar¬ 
let, which is the color of all the under parts. 
The neck feathers are arranged like plate 
armor and are often erected by the bird. 
The back is a deep gold color, the tail coverts 
being laced with crimson ; tail - feathers 
brown, mottled with black. The hen is of a 
more sober tint, being of ft general brown 
Color with dark markings. Such is Mr. 
Wright’ 3 description, and it is probably suf¬ 
ficiently correct as a guide to your judg¬ 
ment. 
To Distinguish Young from Old Fowls 
when dressed, the Mirror and Farmer gives 
the following directions:—The rear end of 
file breast bone in a chicken is soft, a gristle, 
which, us the fowl grows older, hardens into 
solid bone ; by pressing inward upon this 
bone it can readily be ascertained whether 
the fowl has been wintered or not, as it will 
easily bend in a chicken but cannot be bent 
in an old fowl. All edible birds when young 
have the lower part of the legs, the feet, and 
the under part of the feet soft, but a3 the 
foultug faijd. 
BUFF COCHINS. 
“A Constant Readeh” asks Should 
Buff Cochins have double combs, and feath¬ 
ers on their legs ? or should they have a few 
black feathers on their tails and wings ?” In 
response to our correspondent’s inquiries we 
give portraits of a Buff Cochin Cock and 
Hen and the following requisitions from the 
English standard of excellence : 
Color of Cock.—Comb, face, deaf ear and 
wattles, brilliant red. Head rich, clear buff. 
Hackle, back, wings and saddle, rich, deep, 
golden buff ; the more uniform and even in 
color the better ; quite free from mealiness 
on the wing. Breast, thighs and fluff of 
uniform, clear, deep buff, as free from mot¬ 
tling or shading as possible. Tail rlcli, dark 
chestnut, or bronzy chestnut mixed with 
black. Dark chestnut is preferable. Legs 
bright yellow. Feathers clear, deep bluff. 
Color of lien.— Comb, face, deaf ear and 
wattles brilliant red. Plumage uniform, 
clear, deep buff throughout; the more uni¬ 
formly clear and free from mottling or 
shading the better. A clear hackle prefer¬ 
red, but a slight marking at the end of the 
feathers of the neck not a disqualification. 
Legs bright yellow, with feathers the same 
color as body feathers. 
According to the People’s Pract ical Poultry 
Book a black tail in the cock is admissible ; 
but the principal feathers, if bronze in color, 
add very much to the appearance of the 
bird. Both primary and secondary quills 
should be clear buff, without admixture of 
colors. The legs should bo very heavily 
feathered, short, and wide apart. The comb 
in the cock and hen should be very flat, 
evenly serrated and perfectly straight, with¬ 
out any inclination to either side. This an¬ 
swers our correspondent, we believe. 
Please tell me what ails my chickens. 
They have been dying for some time. Hav¬ 
ing kept them confined in a small yard and 
given them all the watermelon riuds and 
vegetable offal not only from my own house 
but that of a neighbor, I supposed this was 
the cause of the trouble, the larger number 
confined so closely, and unable to obtain any 
food except such as was given to them, they 
had not the power of making use of their in¬ 
stinct iu feeding upon such correctives of dis¬ 
ease as nature furnishes. I liberated them 
and the disease seemed checked, but the 
hens particularly still droop and die occa¬ 
sionally. There is but slight tendency to 
diarrhea as in cholera, but great stupor, the 
fowl either standing about or sitting as if 
asleep the greater portion of the time, and in 
u few days die. 
A short time since I killed an apparently 
healthy pullet for the table. She seemed 
remarkably heavy for her size. On opening 
her 1 found the cavity of the stomach and 
bowels (not the intestines) filled with a liquid 
of yellowish tinge, which on cooling became 
jeliy-like and tinged with red. The liver 
was much enlarged and the heart flabby and 
somewhat softened. (I didn't eat her, how¬ 
ever.) In a few days a large hen died. I 
dissected her immediately after death, and 
found evident indications of the cavity hav¬ 
ing been filled with this liquid, although it 
was partly absorbed ; the liver was very 
POULTRY NOTES. 
BTJFE COCHIN- COCK. 
AUNT LOU’S CHICKENS ILL. 
DUFF COCHIN IIEN. 
