geuus of fruit, and it is to be hoped may 
lead our poruologists to pay more attention to 
our native varieties. 
If those who find wild sorts of more than 
ordinary merit would savo the seed and 
plant them or send to others who would 
there is little doubt that rapid progress might 
bo made towards improving this fruit. 
We should bo pleased to receive specimens 
of fruit or seed of such ourselves, because our 
faith in the persimmon is strong and we 
believe it will, at some not very distunt day, 
become one of our popular fruits. 
fat.” 
One word as to purchasing food. If it is 
hoped ever to make fowls pay ; the grain and 
meal must not be bought in small quantities. 
Some friends of mine insist on purchasing it 
by the gallon, the result being that their 
birds often have none at all, and what they 
do have costs twice as much as ray own. 
Very little may be said on the score of 
drinking water, save that it should be 
changed every day, aud is best kept in iron 
•vessels, as these are not easily broken, and if 
a little rusty will give a chalybeate taste 
which will be very beneficial, For a number 
of fowls an iron pig-trough will answer very 
well, while those that are sold as dog-dishes 
will do very well for a few. 
A WORD ABOUT STRAWBERRIES 
THE BEST FEED FOR FOWLS. 
T. C. Burnell is writing a series of articles 
on the Dorking fowl in the Journal of Horti¬ 
culture. In the last number we find the fol¬ 
lowing excellent suggestions on the feed of 
fowls, which may be valuable to those having 
any breed. 
Barley is commonly thought to be the 
only food that fowls can possibly require, 
and many wretched buds are shut up in a 
small yard with nothing but a scanty allow¬ 
ance of tb s grain, and, to their owner’s as¬ 
tonishment, do not pay. Fowls may be truly 
said to be omnivorous ; they will eat and en¬ 
joy green food, grain, seeds, insects, worms 
and a thousand things we wot not of. They 
also require access to a heap of lime rubbish, 
which is to them what salt is to us, besides 
helpiog to form the egg shells ; and in addi¬ 
tion to this they must have a supply of small 
The “coming” strawberry which was to 
drive all the old favorites out of cultivation 
appears to be still in the “dim distance,” 
judging from the reports of exhibitions in 
this country and in Europe. The old British 
Queen still wins first prizes at the exhibitions 
in Britain, although competing with the 
latest novelties from all parts of Europe. 
But it seetns that wo caunot fling dirt at 
Johnny Bull for being non progressive in 
strawberry culture while llovey’s seedling, 
of forty years standing, can win the first 
prize at a great strawberry exhibition, as it 
did this summer in Boston. Will some of 
our celebrated originators of new sorts tell 
us what it all means, that their wonderful 
productions remain so long in the back 
jrround, or fail to drive these old half-cetiten- 
narians oil the stage. The Wilson's Albany, 
which came in twenty years later than the 
Hovey, has certainlyjdonejwell, for it drove 
almost everything else out for awhile, and is 
still more extensively cultivated than any 
otherone sort, acid and ugly in color as it is, 
but it has merits which tell in the producer’s 
pocket, hence its hold upon their “affections.” 
STRAWBERRIES FOR MARKET 
liberty to trouble you. We cultivate Wilson's 
Albany, Downer’s Kentucky, Charles Down¬ 
ing ; have cut out Nieutior, too small for 
profit, but first, lor flavor and table use. Ju- 
cunda not suitable for my soil. Intending to 
engage plants for four acres, any informa¬ 
tion will greatly oblige— John Ripley. 
The first throe varieties named are among 
the most popular market sorts with with 
which we aro acquainted. In certain soils 
we would add Green Prolific and Triomph de 
I land. Probably four-fifths of all the straw¬ 
berries coming to New York City market aro 
Wilson’s Albany, although more than two 
hundred new sorts have been introduced 
since this old favorite was first brought to 
notice. We may also add that every one of 
the two hundred newer varieties were 
claimed to bo at the time of introduction 
superior to the Wilson. In fact, this suit 
has been decried over aud over again, and 
still it puts in its appearance year after year 
of all denunciations of Iho introduc- 
REMEDY FOR CHICKEN CHOLERA, 
Good rules for success in the management 
of fowls : 
1. Good dry houses, well ventilated, avoid¬ 
ing draughts. 
2. Keep your hen-houses clerm, and the 
floor covered with ashes. 
3 . Whitewash inside monthly from March 
first to October first. 
4. Feed regularly, but never over-feed; 
cease feefling when the fowls cease to run for 
it. 
5. Scatter the food on the ground when 
the weather will permit. 
G. Feed mixed grain, or alternate, as corn 
one day, oats next, wheat next, etc. 
7. Allow adult fowls freedom as early 
morniugs as they desire. 
8 . Keep hens with chicks in small coops 
(well covered and dry) until the chicks are 
three weeks old. 
'J. Feed chicks morning, noon and late 
afternoon ; cooked food morning, and grain, 
as broken corn, wheat, etc., noon and after¬ 
noon. 
10. Mix ground black pepper with the 
food for chicks twice a week, one 
It will be at once seen that, however goou 
barley is, it is insufficient by itself to keep 
birds in good health, aud it almost amounts 
to cruelty to try to do so. For an occasional 
food it is well enough, but, in my opinion, is 
not equal to Wheat. 
The best wheat is at the present time sell- 
fag at about 5s. 0 d. a bushel, and at this low 
price is by far the cheapest and best food we 
can use. I do not approve of tail or offal 
wheat, as I am sure with all grain the refuse, 
though low-priced is by far the dearest in 
the end. It is very well for a farmer to use 
such stuff, for it costs him nothing, but to 
buy such rubbish is a great mistake, more 
especially in barley, t he lightest of which is 
all husk, and has no kernel. Good wheat, 
then, is my idea of a food, and oue of which 
the fowls are particularly fond. They lay 
and do well upon it. aud I think no one can 
err in giving their fowls oue feed a day of it. 
Peas and beans are not generally used for 
fowls, but I can strongly recommend them. 
White peas are the best, and the 1 eans 
should be cracked in a kibbling machine. 
They both form a capital occasional food for 
Btock, aud will bring the birds Into 
•. They must not be given in 
- — chickens which are intended 
Hundreds of new aud apparently remarkable 
varieties have been brought forward in the 
mean time, but those which have achieved 
anything like a widespread popularity can 
be counted on the fingers of one’s baud. 
The cause of all this seeming failure of 
what are termed new and improved sorts, 
can probably be attributed to the non adap¬ 
tation of vai ieties in general to a wido range 
in soil and climate. There is perhaps one 
in a hundred varieties which is adapted to 
what may be termed “general cultivation,” 
in spite 
ers of newer sorts, 
morning 
tablespoonful pepper for every 30 chicks. 
11 . Grease the hen well under the wings, 
breast and Hull' feathers as soon as the chicks 
arc taken off, with ointment made of lard 
and carbolic acid ; ten drops of acid to two 
tablespoonfuls of lard. 
13. Observe the above rules strictly, and 
you will have healthy fowls. 
If cholera should appear have the follow¬ 
ing prepared at any drug store, aud follow 
directions : 
Black pepper, one drachm ; sulphur flour, 
one drachm 
laying 
splendid feather, 
excess, nor to chickens wmon are ltncimeu 
for the table, as they will make the flesh very 
hard and tough ; but as old cocks and hens 
are generally pretty much this way already, 
no harm can be done them. 
Maize is at the present time rather dear, 
and 1 do not recommend it except for an 
occasional change once a week, aud then not 
to the white-feathered birds, or it will most 
certainly turn their plumage yellow. Some 
people may laugh at this idea, but such have 
only to see what cayenne pepper will do for 
their canaries to be at once convinced. 
Maize is fattening, but is not a good egg or 
flesh-former, so is oue of the worst foods for 
growing or laying Btock. 
Oats will be relished for a change, but they 
must be sound and heavy or the fowls will 
not eat them. 
Buckwheat is strongly recommended by 
some, but I could never get my birds to eat 
it. I have tried it several times, both for old 
birds and chickens, but it always ended in 
waste. 
A very little Hempseed is not a bad thing 
in the early part of the year to startthehens 
laying, but if given in excess it is too forcing, 
and will cause them to lay eggs without 
shells. If given in the moulting season it is 
said to cause the new feathers to come of a 
darker color, but os to this I cannot speak 
from experience, for I do not use above a 
quart of it in a whole year. 
Ground Oats is generally considered to be 
the best staple food, and my own birds have 
one feed a day of it ail the year round. It 
must be borne in mind that ground oats are 
not the same as oatmeal, but the whole 
ground up, husk and all 
Barleyoieal by itself is too sticky and 
clams to the birds’ bills, but if mixed with 
flue bran it will answer very well. 
Some green food is absolutely necessary. 
If not to be obtained in their yards they 
should have some given them daily. Mangel- 
wurzel is the best thing I know of, especially 
as the roots are very cheap and will keep all 
through the winter. They should be chopped 
in half ; the fowls will very soon eat the 
heart out of them. 
My own Dorkings are fed twice a day- 
early in the morning aud the last thing before 
roosting time. In addition to this 1 usually 
culturist in the course of Ins practical en¬ 
deavors. An English paper. The Cultivator, 
says: 
We ofteu see extravagant statements by 
which the ignorant are imposed on. Some 
years ago a story went the round of the 
newspapers that if the Peach were grafted 
on the Willow, the fruit would have no 
stones. A similarity lu the shape of the 
leaves tad some to believe that grafting 
would succeed, though the two trees aro far 
separated iti affinity. The statement was 
true that there would be no stones, for there 
would be neither peaches, stems, nor leaves. 
Some years ago we saw a “ professional ” 
grafter inserting oions of the Chestnut into 
trees of the Horse Chestnut. A similarity iu 
the name and a fancied resemblance of the 
nuts had suggested the attempt. The owner 
called to us, “ Mr. T., can we graft the com¬ 
mon Chestnut upuu the Horse Chestnut?” 
“Certainly,” we xep’lied. “Will they be 
pretty sure to grow?” “Not atoll ; they 
will never grow—belonging as they do to 
widely separate natural orders.” The dead 
grafts remaining, showed the result. 
extract gentian (solid) one 
drachm ; extract stflhngia compound (fluid) 
one drachm. Mix. Make twenty-flour pills. 
Give two pills night and morning for two or 
three days. 
1 have thoroughly tried these pills, and 
liave not lost a single fowl. When my lit’le 
chicks look droppy, I make twelve pills of 
one of the large ones and give them night 
and morning. I have not lost a chick except 
by hawks and drowning this spring.— Cor. 
Plantation. 
ABOUT PERSIMMONS 
The mere mention of the name “persim¬ 
mon ” will no doubt make the mouths of 
many of our readers “pucker,” for wo 
could hardly conceive of a greater punish¬ 
ment not positively dangerous to a human 
being thau to compel a person to eat “ green 
persimmons,” still with all Its acridity and 
puekery properties while green it frequently 
becomes agreeable if not really delicious 
when fully ripe. We do not know in fact 
but what the persimmon in its natural state 
is a superior fruit to the pear or apple, and 
even i 
FEEDING TURKEYS, 
A CORRESPONDENT asks what and how we 
would feed young turkeys. Oar rule is to 
feed very little while the turks are young 
aud nothing the fir‘C twenty-four hours after 
hatching. Then give hard boiled egg in 
small quantities, crumbled line. A very little 
of this will do. Later, feed curdled milk and 
still later, corn and oats ground together. 
This is better than clear corn rixeal which is 
too heating. Eucourage the hen and brood to 
go off and get their own living as early as 
possible. If the season is dry the brood will 
j keep itself, only giving a feed once in a while 
at night to bring them home. More turkeys 
at this distant day we have seedlings of 
the two latter fruits which would stand a 
fair chance of winning the prize for acerb 
qualities. 
The persimmon is generally referred to in 
books as a fruit which does not become eat¬ 
able until frozen or ripened by frosts, but 
this is au error, at least there are many ex¬ 
ceptions to the rule, for their are occasional 1 
wild varieties ripening long before cool or 
frosty weather. 
Knowing what, we do of the history of our 
cultivated fruits aud tr.cir inferior origin we 
may safely anticipate for the persimmon 
considerable notoriety in the future. It 
naturally possesses many valuable properties, 
such as a handsome form of tree aud leaf, 
even superiority in this respect over the 
apple, pear, plum or peach. The fruit is 
also of good size, color and a melting, rich, 
saccharine flavor when fully mature. Of 
course we are now referring to the best wild 
sorts which should be taken as the basis 
upon which to make improvements. The 
trees are readily propagated from seed, and 
as our native species show a tendency to 
vary considerably there iB every reason for 
believiug that under cultivation much wider 
variations would be produced. The late in¬ 
troduction of a Japanese species of the per¬ 
simmon has awakened a new interest in this 
ARBORICULTUHAL NOTES, 
Freddas and their 'Came ,.—Freckles are 
not easily washed out of those who have a 
florid complexion and are much in the sun¬ 
shine ; but the following washes are not only 
harmless but very much the best of anything 
we know. Grate horse-radish fine, let, it 
stand a few hours in buttermilk, then strain 
and use the wash night and morning. Or 
squeeze the juice of a lemon into half a gob¬ 
let of water and use the same way. Most of 
the remedies for freckles are poisonous, and 
cannot lie used with safety. Freckles indi¬ 
cate a defective digestion, and consist in de¬ 
posits of some carbonaceous or fatty matter 
beneath the scarf skin. The diet should bo 
attended to, and should be of a nature that 
the bowels and kidneys will do the.r duty. 
Daily bathing with much friction, should not 
be neglected, and the Turkish bath taken 
occasionally, if it is convenient .—Herald of 
Health. 
The Own Tree and the Vine Pest .—A 
writer in the Temps mentions a singular 
effect—namely, that parasites (Phylloxera, 
See.) disappear from vines growing near the 
Eucalyptus. The experiment, made durii g 
several years and in several Vineyards, hail 
been unitorm in its results. It is interesting, 
in connection with these facts, to observe 
that the leaves of this plant contain an 
ethereal oil, of which even half-dried leaves 
contain 6 per cent., and that this oil, accord¬ 
ing to Gimpert, is a very powerful antisep¬ 
tic,—London Garden. 
Carbolic Acid for Poultry Houses.— 
A writer in the London Field strongly 
reeommends the use of carbolic acid for 
destroying insects in pigeon and poultry 
houses, asserting that it neithei injures the 
birds nor tends to drive them from their 
nests. He uses it in the form of a solution of 
two ounces of common carbolic acid to three 
quarts of water, applying this once a week 
with a watering-pot, after the house has 
been carefully swept out. Besides the lice 
and acarides that it destroys, it is also 
efficient iu driving out fleas. For the pur¬ 
pose of expelling lice from ths bodies of 
pigeons, the proposed method is said to be to 
mix one part of Calvert’s liquid carbolic 
