. s 
MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
THE FOOD OF SWINE. 
It has always been inferred that hogs were 
melancholy animals ; bnt so long as people 
are to eat them, it is hardly advisable to act 
on this supposition. Doing so for successive 
generations litis developed new and terrible 
diseases in swine unknown thirty or forty 
years ago. The Detroit Tribune discourses 
as follows on this subject : 
If there is any one thing in rural practice 
which needs reforming more than another, 
it is the manner of raising and feeding swine. 
From the time they are large enough to eat 
they are offered all manner of refuse, about 
the place, such as rank weeds, filthy slops, i 
spoiled vegetables and meat, dead fowls, &c. I 
They are allowed to rummage the dung-yard, t 
and glean the refuse of food hi the fieces of 
cattle and horses, on the ground of economy. 
But we imagine that the quantity of food 
saved in this way is very insignificant—not 
to exceed the value of a bushel of shelled 
corn a year among the whole stock on an 
ordinary sized farm. The objections to the 
practice of keeping swine in this way are so 
serious, however, that the reasons in favor 
of it liave no force nr. all. 
The. origin of trichinosis in swine may be 
always traced to the consumption of vile 
stuffs in their food, or to being housed and 
yarded amid filth and foul air. Every few 
months the press unnouncos a case of trichinae 
in an individual or a whole family, with all 
the horrible details and sufferings which at¬ 
tend the parasitic attack. Only lately some 
now cases are reported hero in the West, 
which arc alarming. We are quite sure that 
every farmer and every one who feeds and 
fattens a pig will only need to have their at¬ 
tention called to so important and serious a 
matter to secure a complete reform in the 
practice of feeding an animal winch will 
take whatever is offered to it, and will live 
in the most filthy holes. 
On the farm the swine should have clover 
pasture, and for swill only milk and corn- 
meal, no dish-water or meat scraps from the 
table, as they are sure to putrify and poison 
the mass in the barrel or tank. Pure water 
with a little meal added is preferable. The 
dish water may go to the compost-heap, and 
the scraps from the table to the poultry, 
while they are fresh. Spoiled meats should 
be buried or mixed with composted mate¬ 
rials ; they should never be given to any do¬ 
mestic animal. Large numbers of Bwine ure 
frequently confined in small quarters with 
very little regard to cleanliness or pure air. 
Of course, some of them will lose appetite, 
the first sign of the derangement of the or¬ 
gans of nutrition and assimilation. They do 
not thrive, but they are kept along till 
slaughtering time, and are dressed and 
packed among the lot. Such animals are 
extremely liable to be infested with trichina' 
and other parasites, and those who consume 
them as food expose themselves to sickness, 
disease of a lingering nature, and to death in 
a most horrible form, 
Interests, therefore, as dear as health and 
life require a thorough reform in keeping 
and feeding swine. Let their food be as pure 
as that which other animals consume. Let 
them be kept in clean quarters and have 
pure air. Let diseased or unthrifty animals 
be separated from those in health, and we 
may have no fears of trichinosis among 
either swine or human beings. 
THE HOG MARKET. 
For a year we have been trying to impress 
upon the farmers’ minds the importance of 
taking care of the pigs, and enforcing as 
much as possible the growth of the hogs on 
hand, feeling certain they would commaud 
a good price. Many of the farmers are afraid 
that while they may get a good price this 
fall, they will get very little next, and thus 
incur a loss. Of this we have but Little fear. 
The high prices this fall and large demand 
will cause them to be butchered off closely 
and leave the number none too large for 
next year. 
There is a great amount of damaged wheat 
this year, which may be fed to advantage. 
The phosphorus contained in the wheat is 
calculated to make bone and muscle, and 
thus a very large growth may be made—the 
process of laying on fat begins later in the 
season, by feeding corn. The wheat also 
contains enough fatty matter to give that 
process a good start, which should begin on 
those intended for market, as soon os the 
corn is matured. Fat is laid on more rap¬ 
idly and more economically in moderate 
weather than in cold. By keeping up the 
growth of the summer pigs they may be 
made a good, paying size for the June mar¬ 
ket.— St. Louis Journal and Fanner. 
. ■ -+■•»» 
FEEDING PIGS FOR MARKET. 
Farmers who design to feed either pigs or 
cattle for market or home consumption are 
reminded that a bushel of meal fed before 
the weather is uncomfortably cold is worth 
two fed after that time for putting on fat. 
much scarcer within a score of years, I 
think the Green-Winged Teal is more fre¬ 
quently seen in our waters now than form¬ 
erly, especially about the shores of Lake 
Champlain, where, within a few years, I 
have several times seen quite large flocks of 
them in autumn, paddling about and feeding 
on the shallows or basking on the rocks or 
sands of the beach. If they resort much to 
the streams, it is probably at night. It. does 
not arrive from the North as early as the 
TITE GREEN-WINGED TEAT. (ANNAS GREOCA.) 
Now is the time to begin. Feed moderately 
and regularly, and keep the animals as com¬ 
fortable as possible and quiet. A hundred 
pounds of meat will cost a great deal less 
money. A steer or cow intended for the 
shambles can digest nioro food than it is 
likely to get in the pasture now. There are 
various sources from which supplementary 
feed may be procured without the use of 
grain. Fodder corn, fresh mown rowen, 
turnips or other roots, may be used to good 
advantage. If nothing else, is available, it 
is better to begin feeding meal.— VI. Farmer. 
Blue-Winged, being less sensitive to the. cold. 
Its flight resembles that of the latter bird, 
and it takes wing with equal celerity. 
Jndustpl 
AMERICAN GAME BIRDS.-XIV. 
THE QUEN-WIHOED TEAL ‘AHHAS CRECCAt 
The Green-Winged Teal has been supposed 
by many naturalists to be identical with, or 
only a variety of, the European leal, but, 1 
believe, it is now conceded to be distinct 
from it, and peculiar to this continent. The 
white band or bar on the shoulder is the 
distinguishing mark of the American bird. 
This duck is dispersed throughout the 
country during autumn and spring, and 
during winter it is very abundant through 
the Southern States. It breeds far to the 
North. 
Its bill is as long as its head, black. Upper 
mandible, with sides convex, edges soft, 
with about 5G lamillae; lower one with 130. 
Head of moderate size. Body, full, de¬ 
pressed. Wings rather small. Feet short, 
light-bluish-gray, placed rather far back. 
Plumage dense and soft. Feathers of tho 
middle of the head and upper part of hind 
neck very narrow and elongated ; of tho 
rest of bead and Upper parts of neck, very 
short; of the back and lower parts in gen¬ 
eral, broad and rounded. Wings of moder¬ 
ate length, narrow and acute. Tail, short, 
rounded, acuminate of 10 feathers. Head 
and upper part of neck, chestnut brown ; a 
broad band from the eye down the back of 
the neck, deep, shining green. Upper parts 
and flanks beautifully undulated with nar¬ 
row, brownish-black, and white bars. Before 
the wings is a short, broad, transverse band 
of white. Wings, brownish grey. Lower 
part of speculum violet black; uppe), bright 
green, margined behind with white; before, 
with reddish-white; a patch of black under 
the tail. Length about 14 inches. 
The female wants the elongated crest and 
differs much in coloring from the male. The 
head aad neck are streaked with dark 
brown and light red. Upper parts mottled 
with dark brown. The green of the Bpeeu- 
lum is less extensive; lower part of fore neck 
tinged with yellowish-red and mottled with 
dark brown, as are the sides ; the rest of 
lower parts white. 
Wilson says the Green-Winged Teal “ fre¬ 
quents ponds, marshes, and the reedy shores 
of creeks ami rivers ; it is very abundant 
among the rice plantations of the Southern 
States; flies in small parties and feeds at 
night; associates Often with the Duck and 
Mallard, feeding on the seeds of various 
kinds of grasses and water plants, and also 
on the tender leaves of vegetables. Its flesh 
is accounted excellent.” 
While the Blue-Winged Teal has become 
PROGRESS IN FARMING—THE RECENT 
RAPID ADVANCES OF OUR AGRI¬ 
CULTURAL POPULATION. 
Tins greater portion of mankind in all ages 
have been Farmers—tillers of the soil, shep¬ 
herds or herdsmen. The reason is obvious. 
In all ages it has required the care, thought 
and labor of a majority of mankind to pro¬ 
vide the necessaries of life, and most essen¬ 
tial of these are those which the farmers’ 
labor supplies. With increasing intelligence 
labor is more effective, and civilization be¬ 
gins, It is a remarkable fact that until quite 
recently human progress has been mainly in 
fields outside tho Agricultural. At the very 
base of all civilization the world had the rude 
methods, the loek of skill and the ignorance 
of tho great producing forces which marked 
the ages of barbarism. Serfs, slaves and 
boors were the producers of the world’s 
food, and it was thought impossible 'that 
there should be any other. 
That this condition of things has happily 
changed all men know. How it, has been 
done is equally clear to thoso who have 
watched as we have the increasing intel¬ 
ligence, thrift and enterprise of American 
farmers. AGRICULTURAL NEWSPA¬ 
PERS were the first and most important 
agency in effecting this good work, and we 
. take pride in thinking of tho part which the 
Rural New-Yorker, one of the pioneers in 
its class, has performed, and is still doing 
with uudimiuished zeal and vigor. 
Following these are farmers’ associations, 
Fairs for exhibition of improved stock, clubs 
for the discussion of agricultural subjects, 
ami, as the latest and most popular method 
for bringing farmers together, wo have the 
Grange, forming a farmers’ club in every 
town and neighborhood, and removing the 
barriers wlfich have kept farmers from asso¬ 
ciated effort. 
There is a vast amount of thought, skill 
and intelligence among the six million farm¬ 
ers, planters, gardeners and fruit-growers of 
those United States. There has beeu a 
notable progress in these millions within the 
Rural New-Yorker’s remembrance. They 
have added to industry enterprise, to en¬ 
terprise skill, to skill intelligence, and have 
kept the homely virtues of purity, honesty 
and charity. Social culture and organized 
effort alone are needed to make the influence 
of American farmers commensurate with 
their wealth, numbers and intelligence. The 
agricultural newspapers now abounding in 
every part of the country, together with 
other agencies named, are rapidly bringing 
about this result. The farmers—the tiller's 
of the soil—are coming to the front, and 
having worked earnestly and not blindly for 
many years to secure this result, the Rural 
New-Yorker canuot do otherwise than con¬ 
gratulate itself and tho people of the country 
on the fact. In this prosperity of Ruralists, 
which la surely coming, their friends, the 
i Agri cu Rural Press, will not be forgotten, 
AN UNPROFITABLE CROP, 
The Peninsula News and Advertiser (Dela¬ 
ware) speaks as follows of tho recent peach 
crop in that State, which appears to liave 
beeu decidedly unprofitable : 
Peaches have been shipped to a small ex¬ 
tent during the present week, but the busi¬ 
ness is now about ended for the season. The 
total shipments by Delaware Railr oad have 
been seven thousand nine hundred and forty 
car loads (7,1)40), or 8,170,000 baskets. By 
other conveyances enough have gone to mar¬ 
ket to swell the amount to 4,000,000 baskets, 
while two millions more have been used in 
the canneries, dryerios, distilleries, or liavo 
rotted in the orchards. Tho amount of 
freight paid the various transportation com¬ 
panies on the shipments is $1,000,000, while 
one-fourth of the amount is about all that 
has come to the producers. The consumers 
have paid $1,850,000 and tbo producers have 
received one-fifth of tho amouut! it is very 
near ly on this scale that the farming busi¬ 
ness of the country is everywhere carried 
on. Is it any wonder then that the farmers 
have been driven into the organizations of 
the Patrons of Husbandry ! Some remedy 
is to them absolutely necessary, It' they 
could obtain the prices paid by consumers 
they would be satisfied and their business 
would be good enough. As it is the trans¬ 
porters arrd middlemen obtain the bulk of 
the value of the crops and the growers only 
an amount equal to a moderate commission 
on the value of it. It is only when farmers 
are so it ear a large market that they can go 
directly to the consumers, without the inter¬ 
vention of transportation companies or mid¬ 
dlemen, that they are able to make anything 
more than a bar© living at their legitimate 
business. All their efforts should be directed 
to bringing the producer and consumer 
nearer together and lessoning the expense 
of doing this. For such a purpose combin¬ 
ation and co-operationare indispensably nec¬ 
essary. 
Jwlustifral j&rcieties. 
THE WYOMING COUNTY FAIR. 
The Wyoming County (N. Y.) Fair was 
held Sept. 21 and 23. The weather the first 
day was unfavorable—cold with some rain ; 
the second day clear, but too cold for com¬ 
fort. The attendance was not as large as 
usual, and t he receipts were, as l hear, seve¬ 
ral hundred dollars less than the expendi¬ 
tures. The show of Stock, as I am informed 
by stock men who have attended every ex¬ 
hibition of the Society, was the beat ever 
made. The display of colts was particularly 
fine. Fullington & Brown entered several 
well-made carriages, which took all the first 
premiums in that line. IIoagland & Cum¬ 
mings of Castile were on hand with a large 
collection of farm implements, plows, wheel 
and one-horse cultivators, harrows, rollers, 
etc. Most of their wood-work is striped and 
varnished, showing the grain and quality of 
lumber used. Several of their plows were 
coated with porcelain, which prevents rust, 
Olid makes the draft lighter than that of 
steel plows. In the collection was a side- 
hill and a subsoil plow. They also exhibited 
an amateur press, which did some very good 
card printing. Edgar B. Smith of Warsaw 
exhibited a new refrigerator and a trans¬ 
portation Ice-chest. He has subjected these 
articles to the severest, tests with the most 
satisfactory results. With an outside tem¬ 
perature of 150* the inside temperature has 
been kept for fifteen days between 32° and 
34". in mid-summer and mid-winter fruits 
and meats can be shipped securely from one 
side of the continent to the other in these 
chests. They not only maintain a uniform 
temperature, but, by a system of free circu¬ 
lation, they keep the air pure from all foul 
gases arising from articles placed in them. 
The Warsaw Nurseries were represented by 
a large assortment of fruit and ornamental 
trees and vegetables. The space in the Hall 
between two bents was very tastefully fitted 
up as a window garden by Miss Mary E. 
Dann, who received six first premiums for 
flowers. Arched over the window, in large 
letters made of white asters on a green 
ground, were the words “ Floral Department 
of Warsaw Nurseries.” Mrs. Dann took 
eight first premiums for canned fruit and 
pickles. C. 
---- 
The Fair season of 1875 has nearly closed. 
Farmers who attend fairs and keep their 
eyes and ears open learn many important 
facts which they should give the public 
through the Rural. 
