Northern States, but succeeds very well in 
the Middle States. The branches are very 
coarse and few in number ; the wood is also 
qnite brittle, consequently, when the trees 
become large, they are liable to be injured 
by the wind, unless growing in a somewhat 
protected position. The flowers are white 
and very large, usually from ten to twelve 
inches in diameter. A noble, tropical-look¬ 
ing tree, and well worthy of culture. 
M-umbreUn, or Umbrella Magnolia, also 
called M-fnpetala, or three-petaled, is a tree 
somewhat like the last, but the leaves and 
flowera are smaller. The tree is also more 
hardy and grows a little taller, but does not 
quite equal the next in bight. 
M-Fraseri, somc+iines called M-auriculala, 
or the ear-leaved Magnolia, is quite a hand¬ 
some tree and hardy as any of the species 
found in the Middle States. 
Trees suitable for planting out of any and 
all of the above can be had at our nurseries, 
as well as of the sweetest scented, and. I bad 
almost said, best of all, the Jf-pfcu/ca, or 
small, swcel-scented Magnolia, also known 
as Sweet Bay. Common as this shi nli or 
small tree is in the swamps of some of our 
Northern States, it is far too seldom seen 
under <mltivation. It is my first choice 
among the magnolias, and I should tiy to 
find a place for “ just one more ” if it came 
in my way. The leaves arc oblong, deep 
green above and whitish beneath, remain¬ 
ing on the plants nearly the entire winter. 
Flowers are about two inches in diameter, 
pure white and deliciously fragrant. Plants 
taken front the swamps are not difficult to 
make live if severely pruned at the time of 
removal. 
Whatever other faults New Jersey may 
have, she lias at least one redeeming feature 
in her Magnolia Swamps, which are capable 
of supplying the world with this magnificent 
shrub. 
Tegetmeier, and it has been ascertained that 
it depends on the presence of a minute oca- 
rus allied to the itch insect in the human 
subject. The remedy is to soak the legs in 
warm water, so ae to remove the scurf with¬ 
out, injury, and then to apply sulphur oint¬ 
ment, or the ointment of green iodide of 
mercury may be used, as it is very destruct¬ 
ive to acari and is a specific in mange in 
dogs. 
ABOUT MY HEN HOUSE 
DAILY RURAL LIFE. 
From the Diary of a Gentleman near New 
York City. 
ABOUT MAGNOLIAS. 
Dec. 28 —Perhaps it is rather early in the 
season to think about gardening, still, as the 
cold northwest wind whistles and the snow 
lies deep upon the ground cue might as well | 
be summing up past experience and laying 
plans for the future, as doing nothing. 1 
have been reckoning up the weeks which ' 
must pass before the first llowers of spring 
will appear, provided some Millerlte does not 
get into the machinery and clog the wheels. 
First we will see the Snowdrops, Crocus and 
fdmilur low-growing plants, then the pink 
Me zero n and Golden Forayth la will swing 
out their banners, followed a few days later 
by the showy Chinese Magnolias. 
This reminds me that neither the native nor 
exotic species of the Mugnolia are half 
so plentiful either in suburban or country ; 
grounds os their merits deserve. Perhaps 
one barrier to their more extensive culture 
has been the high price charged by our nur¬ 
serymen for trees of a suitable size for trans- I 
planting ; but this in a measure is being 
obviated by the increase in numbers of prop¬ 
agators, which tends to competition and the 
lowering of prices. Another obstacle to their 
culture bo the great care required to make 
the trees live when transplanted ; not that 
the operation is so very difficult, but a cer¬ 
tain amount, of care and a certain kind, is 
necessary to success. The roots must never 
be allowed to become dry or in the least 
shriveled during the time of removal; nei¬ 
ther will it answer to puddle the roots with 
clay as frequently practised on more hard- 
wooded kinds of trees. 
Then, again, it is not safe to plant Magno¬ 
lias in the Autumn, especially in cold clim¬ 
ates, where the. wounds made on the soft, 
spongy roots are exposed to cold, wet earth 
during a long winter. But if carefully dug 
and as carefully packed in moss, or well 
wrapped in some similar material while 
being transpoited from the nursery to the 
place where they are to be set out, followed 
by ordinary good care in planting, there is 
very little danger of Magnolias dying. 
DESIRABLE SPECIES AND VARIETIES. 
The Chinese species are, as a class, far more 
showy than the native, although the trees do 
not grow as large as some of the natives. 
Magnolia couspicua is one of the very best 
of the Chinese species, its flowers being large, 
pure white, and appear before the leaves in 
spring, making a grand show at a season 
when one is likely to admire such sights more 
than at any other. Next to this I would 
place If. soulungeana, which is said to be a 
hybrid of this aud the next. Its flowers are 
white, tinged or striped with purple, and 
appear at the same time as the conspicua. 
Magnolia purpurea is another of the same 
origin, but the llowers are purple on the out¬ 
side and nearly white within, but appear a 
little later than the first, and before the 
leaves are fully expanded. A variety of this 
tree known os M. Not but lana, has deep 
otherwise, very similar to 
CHICKEN KILLING 
1 must not let this year entirely pass with¬ 
out taking up my pen once more for the 
Rural Nkw-Yorker. Chjcken killing shall 
be my theme. I like to raise chickens. I 
like their eggs and their meat; but oh ! the 
killing 1—that is something horrible. How 
shall it lie done 1 Cut off their heads, you 
say, and it. is soon done. Yes, and from some 
cause, make a miss of it, and dig the corner 
of your ax in the poor creature’s eyes, or 
perhaps cut its head half off and let it go. I 
have tried that myself, and come to the con¬ 
clusion that 1 am too nervous a subject to 
renew the attempt. Pity for the poor crea¬ 
tures, and an anxiety on my part to kill as 
quickly as possible and with as little suffer¬ 
ing, led me to the construction of the fol¬ 
lowing machine, which I now invariably use 
and with good results. 
Take a block of wood and bore holes in it, 
about two inches deep, with a three-eighths 
A or half-inch bit, the holes about 
one inch apart; then take a piece 
ffl jl T Ihiu board and cut in in the 
■ill | 1 shape of Fig. 1. Slide the prongs 
! ||iP“l| |9 A A into the holes bored in the 
| | 11| block and you will have t,he thing 
ffll 1 all perfect, appearing as in Fig. 2. 
II Lay the chicken’s head upon the 
/\ A block and secure it there by 
Fjg. i, meanBof the above contrivance, 
pressing the prongs into theblockunt.il the 
head is secure ; then take the fowl by the 
legs and, drawing back a little, strike. The 
blow is sure —the head off in a trice. 
] have philosophized a good deal on this 
matter and have come to the conclusion that 
chickens would rather be killed as above 
than in any other manner, contending, as I 
do that there i» no suffering after the head 
and warmth. These windows are placed 
near one end, as we did not want the glass 
over the roosts, which were at the other end, 
with sloping shelf underneath to carry off 
the droppings. Under this shelf and con¬ 
necting with the hall partition are the nest 
boxes, 14 in number, with little doors open¬ 
ing from each nest into the hall, so I do not 
have to go into the chicken room proper 
only to feed them, and the feeding arrange¬ 
ments are the best of all. 
I don’t know as 1 can make all understand 
me, but will do my best. My husband took 
a board 18 inches wide and 2 feet long, nailed 
a shelf on the bottom end about 6 inches 
wide, with an edge sotting up all around 
this shelf one inch wide ; then near one edge 
of the board is fastened a box 4 inches deep, 
6 wide, and a foot or more in hight, with a 
cover which can be removed for liJling pur¬ 
poses. Any kind of grain can be used. This 
box, which is bottomless, is raised half or 
three-quarters of an inch from the shelf, and 
as long as there is any feed in the box the 
chickens can get it. 
Near the other edge of the board is a large 
two-quart bottle for drinking fountain, which 
is made by simply inverting the bottle into 
an old saucer, which is placed on the shelf, 
letting t te nose of the bottle be about one 
inch from the bottom of the saucer; the 
bottle is held in place by wires fastened into 
the board and so arranged that the bottle 
can be removed for filling. At the top of 
thii board is an augur hole, and the whole 
arrangement is hung on the wall, jtxsh high 
enough for the chickens to eat and drink 
comfortably. 
The earth to 12 or 18 inches in depth was 
removed aud gravel filled in, so that the 
floor is dry and warm. This house will ac¬ 
commodate 20 chickens comfortably, and, 
by the way, 1 would say here, if you want 
eggs, do not feed too much corn ; wheat, 
Bcreauings, and ground feed mixed with hot 
water are much better ; put plenty of red 
pepper on the mixed feed, and give them 
ashes, with a good deal of charcoal inter, 
mixed. Mrs. L. M. Kjlbourne. 
Dakota Co., Mlun. 
DENOUNCING “MONSTER FARMS 
A CORRESPONDENT of the RURAL NEW- 
Yorker asks us to “protest against t'e 
‘monstrous farms’ which are so frequently 
described,” aud predicts that “these large 
land-holdings will yet be. a great curse to the 
country.” Wherefore should we protest ?— 
unless, indeed, we adopt the doctrine of the 
land reformers who assert that the land be¬ 
longs to the people, and that no man has a 
right to more than he erm till, and therefore 
it should be divided among those who have 
got none, and who havo been too indolent or 
unfortunate to acquire it. We must frenkly 
say that we do not believe in this ‘ all things 
in common” doctrine. It is as vicious as is 
the practice of feeding free soup to strong, 
healthy men in this city, without giving 
them opportunity to earn what they eat. 
As a rule, men never value what they do not 
earn, and seldom use it without abusing it. 
We are certainly opposed to government 
land grants, either to individuals cr corpora¬ 
tions. But even these grants aie not so 
vicious in their effects up on the people of tins 
country as the land reformers would have 
us believe. 
Without a law of primogeniture and a 
legalized system of entail, lands must be and 
continue to be divided and subdivided among 
the pecple. The man with a “monster 
farm,” w ho has the capital, enterprise, busi¬ 
ness ability and skill to render it ptcfitsbly 
) rc cm tivr—cs Fen e of three “n titter far¬ 
mers” notably 1 s’ t—is c ring fi i mm geed 
thru harm. ‘Michael £ullivant, fci ex¬ 
ample, with his eight-rr ijts-ioca) e Illinois 
faim, his LOCO xmiks arc hemes, 60 y< ke of 
t xen, 20,000 acres of corn. SCO miles cl’ csege 
Ledge, 1,000 Legs and 600 head of cattle, is 
giving the 600 m en he employs a better edu¬ 
cation as agriculturists, in "many meeds, 
than they can obtain at any agricultural 
college in the land. Why ? Becsuse they 
learn his comprehensive business system, his 
methods of culture ana mode of handling 
his produce. They see daily the evidence 
that, brains and business lact’are as essential 
to success as muscle and hard work. They 
are taught the- use cf and how to use and 
value the best farm machinery—how neees- 
FIG. 2. 
there be any suffering when there i9 no con¬ 
nection of the nerves with the brain. For 
this reason I contem! that the French 
lotine is a far more humane instrument of 
death than our hangman's rope. Am I right 
in this 1 And all this fuss about killing a 
chicken I Pray, Mr. Editor, don’t tell any¬ 
body who is the author of this production, 
for if you did they would surely call me 
Chicken-Hearted. 
CATARRH OR ROUP 
To “A Correspondent.”—If your fowls 
have catarrh simply (which is similar to and 
often results in roup), they should be sepa¬ 
rated from the healthy fowls, put in a dry 
place, warm and of equable temperature, 
and given pills, made of the size of a large 
pea, of mashed potatoes, with Cayenne pep¬ 
per placed in the center, and given to them 
every other day at feedin ; time for a few 
days. This has proved an effectual remedy, 
and we do not know why it should not again. 
The head and nostrils should be kept clean 
by washing, as in the case of roup. Vinegar 
is excellent for cleansing. A remedy highly 
recommended for roup (since you do not 
think much of roup pills) is to take nitric 
acid, strip a feather to within half or three- 
fourths of the end, dip the feather in the 
acid and thrust it in the nostril of the sick 
bird, giving it a twist while in. Repeat this 
twice or three timeB a day, removing the 
burnt scab before applying the acid. We do 
not vouch for this as a remedy, though ex¬ 
cellent poultry-keepers have done so. An¬ 
other remedy is confinement of the sick 
fowl in a warm, dry place, and the giving a 
tablespoonful of castor oil every morning for 
a week, meanwhile feeding with soft food 
only, mixed with ale and chopped vegeta¬ 
bles. 
There are at least a dozen other remedies 
that are vouched for, but we have given suf¬ 
ficient, perhaps, to meet your wants. 
purple flowers ; 
it6 parent. 
Lennc is a comparatively new sort, with 
quite large, reddish flowers, which promises 
to be of considerable value. There are also 
several other Chinese varieties, but those 
mentioned above are the best I have seen. 
NATIVE S.’fCIES. 
Among the native species the M. Qrandi- 
flora of the Southern StatcBis a superb ever¬ 
green tree, but unfortunately, it is not hardy 
at the North, although an occasional speci¬ 
men will survive when planted in cily yards 
where protected from the cold winds. I 
have known a few’ in and about New York 
City to live quite a number of yearn in such 
situations, but they seldom flowered and 
were altogether unsatisfactory. 
Magnolia acuminata, better known as the 
Cucumber tree, grows to a tall, handsome 
tree, and being a native of the Northern 
States, it is quite hardy. The flowers are 
about three inches broad and of a pale, yel¬ 
lowish color, appearing late in spring. It i3 
an elegant, rapid-growing ornamental tree, 
readily propagated from seed, and Is quite 
abundant in cur nurseries. 
M-i ordala . or yellow flowered, is a native 
of the Southern States, but is quite hardy 
even in New England. It is a low-growing 
tree anti not particularly desirable, except 
as a variety In extensive grounds. 
M-wncrophylla, or the great-leaved mag¬ 
nolia, is not perfectly hardy in the extreme 
POULTRY NOTES, 
Sulphur on Chickens .—T. J. McDaniel, 
in Poultry World, says the use of sulphur 
and lard mixed in the form of a paste, ap¬ 
plied to chickens to kill lice, killed several of 
his chickens, causing nearly all of them to 
be afflicted with sore eyes and swollen heads. 
His remedy for lice is “ Take common yel¬ 
low snuff and put on and through the feath¬ 
ers of the sitting hens once a week, while 
sitting, and afterward at night, while hover¬ 
ing their chickens, and if the hens run at 
large you will have no trouble with lice.” 
is,—(C. B. T.) These are very 
Peldn Duck 
highly commended by interested parties, 
who may or may or may not be entirely 
honest iu their commendations. We know 
nothing about, them except what we have 
read from those who have them—hence wo 
do not know whether to advise you to send 
for eggs or not. We do not propose to aid 
you in “putting your foot in it,” unless we 
know it, will pay you to do so. 
Shipping Eggs .—An experienced breeder 
and grower of poultry came into the Rural 
New-Yorker Sanctum, the other day. and 
said, “1 know that there is no need of peo¬ 
ple complaing that eggs shipped to them do 
not haicli provided they have been properly 
fertilized. The pest year I have had expert- j 
ments which satisfy me.” 
__HP _ „ -how neces¬ 
sary it is to save, ar.d what means to api.ly 
to secure a saving of every cent on a bushel 
of grain that can be saved iu its cost. 
We venture the assertion that this single 
“monster farm” is graduating annually 
more good farmers, " ho w ill go on to fai ms 
of their own in the West and win success, 
than the Fame area in small farms in any 
state in the Union, But it must not be 
understood that we are opposed to small 
homesteads. We believe that the area of 
land held by a farmer shou t! be iu exact 
proportion to his capital and ability to render 
it productive and profitable. If this iule 
were appl : ed rigidly in det ermining the num¬ 
ber of acres a farmer should hold, would not 
the area of tens of t housands of small farms 
be cut down one-half or more? We think 
so; and that it would be profitable to their 
owners if it were done. 
SCURFY LEGS IN FOWLS 
In answer to an inquiry the Editor of the 
Field says The. scurfy matter on the legs 
of the hen is very common in Cochins and 
Brahmas. It has been examined microscop¬ 
ically with great care by Dr. Hoxen and Mr. 
