ER 
POULTRY  KEEPING  IN  ENGLAND. 
Dr.Kn  Rphal  1— Though  far  from  home,  1 
receive  my  Rural  regularly,  and  on  breaking  its  | 
wrapper,  as  I  eit  in  my  cozy  broakfaHt  room,  I 
almost  imagine  that  I  cau  ijeent  “  a  breath  from 
homo,”  from  between  its  frenh  pagea  1  am 
glad  to  Bce  that  you  have  opened  a  corner  of 
j'ourpaijor  for  the  “Poultry”  intorcBt,  and  its 
execUeut  arlleles  have  been  read  hero  with 
much  plcasiiro,  and,  1  may  add,  freely  but 
pleasantly  commented  upon. 
in  the  English  agricultural  papers — 1  cannot 
say  “  our  ”  papers — for  Ilf  teen  years  in  England 
have  not  made  me  less  an  American — the  poultry 
interest  figures  largely,  and  it  has  often  occa¬ 
sioned  remark,  here,  that  I.he  matter  is  not, 
apjKirently,  one  of  greater  interest  to  American 
fanners.  Here,  one  of  the  first  things  to  strike 
the  atlcntiou  of  the  “  city  ”  visitor  in  an  English 
farm,  is  the  fine  appearance  made  by  the  barn¬ 
yard  poultry,  and  the  farmer’s  wife,  or  daugh¬ 
ters,  will  tell  you,  as  they  ix;iut  with  jjardonablo 
piide  to  the  handsome  fiock,  that  “  'ushand  an’ 
I,  an'  children,  wo  thinks  all  an’  all  on  our  chicks, 
we  do ;  an’  they  bo  'an’souje,  beu't  they,  zur  ?” 
Th*iy  are,  indeed,  and  well  may  “  usbaud  an’ 
children  ”  and  wife  bo  proud  of  their  broods. 
They  will  tell  you,  too,  that  they  arc  well  fed 
and  cared  for,  and  when  you  ask  “  does  It  i>ay  ” 
— the  universal  American  standard— the  good 
wife  will  answer,  “  Aye  zur,  it  do,  an'  pay  well ! 
Wo  fill  ’e  potato  pot  for  chicks,  and  chicks  they 
fill  it  twice  for  us  with  eggs.  Aye,  zur,  it  do 
pay.” 
“  Wo  fill  ’o  potato  pot  for  chicks.”  There  lies 
the  secret.  The  chicks  are  well  fed,  and  it 
would  be  well  for  our  American  fai’mers  if  they 
would  learn  this  lesson  from  their  English 
cousins.  A  few  days  since  1  was  at  Bingley,  a 
quaint  old  town  In  Yorkshu'e,  and  remained 
over  night  at  a  snug  little  inn—”  The  Golden 
Eleocc” — where  I  was  accommodated  with  a 
room,  looking  out  on  the  pleasant,  cheery  iim 
yaad,  with  its  stables  and  kennel,  its  dove-oote 
and  its  mosS'lbatched  well.  One  of  the  first 
sounds  1  heard,  as  I  lazily  drew  my  curtains  in 
the  morning,  was  the  gleeful  cackling  of  the 
chickens  in  the  yard,  and  the  merry  call  of  the 
children  of  the  household,  as  the  dock  was 
summoned  for  its  early  breakfast.  I  pulled  to 
one  side  Uio  heavy  curtain  and  looked  out  on  the 
scene,  and  a  pretty  one  it  was.  The  chicks  had 
run  In  from  the  hedges  and  mossy  lanes  close  at 
hand,  and  were  clustered  about  the  children 
whoso  little  legs  wero  half  bared  as  they  held  up 
their  short  drosses  half  filled  with  grain  and 
“  bits  ”  with  which  to  food  their  pots. 
In  England  the  fowls  are  largely,  the  care  of 
the  children,  and  adiuuablo  little  matrons  they 
are  in  watching  their  charge.  The  fowls  are 
not  left  In  the  cool  autumn  mornings  to  look  for 
their  breakfast,  in  tbo  cbance  droppings  from 
the  manger,  or  any  “odd  luck”  upon  which 
they  may  come,  after  long  search,  as  is  too  often 
the  case  on  the  American  fai-m,  but  a  beaity 
meal  is  given  tbom  in  the  early  morning,  and 
then  they  arc  scat  out,  ligbt-hoartod  and  clieery, 
to  begin  their  rumbles  for  the  day,  and  to  searcb 
the  fie.sh  hedges  and  lanes  for  “  a  good  digest¬ 
ive  '■  to  their  morning  meal ! 
llow  dill'erent  is  it  on  many  American  farms, 
whore  the  farmer  is  too  likely  to  leave  the 
chickens  to  shift  for  theuwelves.  He  seldom 
throws  them  more  than  a  handful  of  gi’sin,  and 
yet  complains  that  “  them  ’ere  chickens  is  always 
hungry!”  They  must  forage  from  dawn  till 
dusk,  and  “  keep  on  the  run  ”  too,  in  order  to 
earn  scanty  daily  food,  and  yet  he  expects  them 
to  lose  an  liour  of  that  precious  daylight,  laying 
eggs  for  him !  He  searches  high  and  low  for 
stolen  nests,  “  for  them  ’ere  chickens  is  off  to 
the  woods  the  first  thing  every  morumg”  he 
says,  nut  remembering  Giat  the  poor,  hungry 
things  must  travel  far  and  near  for  that  which  is 
denied  them  at  the  stable  door— enough  to  cal, 
“  Them  iicsky  chickens  don’t  lay  wortli  a  cent 
and  1  wish  all  their  heads  were  off — for  chickens 
don't  pay  nohow!  They’re  off  in  that  bit  of 
timber  now,  and  I  can't  find  one  of  them,  and  1 
believe  the  hull  lot  has  got  nests  hidden  up 
there  just  to  spite  me !”  And  while  he  is  curs¬ 
ing  his  Jmngry  fiock  they  arc  all  hard  at  work  at 
the  bottom  of  little  ravines  and  cuts  lookiug  for 
a  scanty  meal  in  those  cool  autumn  days. 
The  good  wife's  plans  were  the  best.  “  Fill 
’e  potato  pot  for  clacks,  aud  chicks  ’ll  fill  it 
twice  for  us  with  eggs  -.aye,  zur,  it  do  pay.”  Aud 
it  doen  pay.  'J’ry  it,  and  see  for  yourself.  I 
have  tried  it,  and  the  answer  was  in  the  afiirma- 
tive,  and  a  decided  aftirmative  too. 
London,  Kng.,  oct.  6.  Ukohob  Uerbv. 
■  ■*4-¥ - 
BREEDING  FOB  QUALITIES  NO.  1. 
Evert  observing  breeder  will  notice  some 
f  peculiar  tendency  in  each  variety  of  his  stock,  to 
breed  to  certain  colors  or  admixtures  of  colors, 
some  of  which  he  wants  to  avoid  entirely ;  others 
he  would  regulate  to  certain  proportions  or 
markings,  in  order  to  come  nearer  the  points 
laid  down  in  the  standard  of  excellence ;  or  to 
the  quaUties  generally  accepted  as  constituting 
fine  fowls  of  any  variety. 
Breeders  of  white  fowls  have  black  and  yellow 
to  contend  with.  Breeders  of  bluxik  and  white 
varieties,  as  Silver  Haraburgs,  Silver  Laced, 
Houdans,  Silver  Polands  Ac.,  have  the  proper 
in  this  issue  the  Granok  Mill,  made  by  Hesby 
H.  Swift,  Millbrook,  N.  Y.,  which  has  been  de¬ 
vised  to  combine  efficiency  with  cheapness  and 
convenience.  It  is  cajiable  of  a  wide  range  of 
work,  and  can  be  used  with  any  sort  of  power 
and  readily  regulated  to  use  a  greater  or  leas 
amount. 
This  mill  is  recommended,  by  rcsjxmsiblc  par¬ 
ties  who  liavo  used  it,  to  do  aU  that  is  claimed 
for  it.  Any  faxmor  can  readily  sharpen  It  when 
'X'lIK  CillA-NGK  IV11JL,L 
proportions  of  each  color  to  maintain.  Of  black 
fowls,  that  strong  brilliant  metalic  shade,  is  the 
objective  point,  also  to  avoid  splashes  of  whito. 
Those  breeds  of  yellow,  red,  brown  and  block, 
such  as  Game,  Brown  Leghorns,  Gold  Laced, 
Golden  H-unburgs,  Partridge  O.ochius,  Brahmas, 
Ac.,  are  all  liable  to  breed  more  or  less  “  off 
feathers,”  as  it  is  termed  by  fanciers.  Black- 
breasted  birds,  as  cocks  of  Silver  Gray  Dorking, 
Dark  Brahmas,  Duck-wing,  Game,  Ac.,  are  very 
liable  to  white  splashes  on  the  breast.  The  hackle 
feathers  of  Bods  are  liable  to  run  yellow  near  the 
tips.  Obtaining  aud  maintaining  the  liesired 
uniformity  is  the  breeder's  aim.  It  is  my  object 
to  look  into  thu  laws  of  nature  as  far  as  we  know 
thorn,  aud  to  follow  out  as  far  as  possible  those 
which  tend  to  the  desired  ends. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  our  fine  breeds  of 
domestic  fowls  are  all  deconded  from  one  com¬ 
mon  origin,  as  time  and  science  have  proved  of 
the  domestic  pigeon.  The  theory  of  crosalng 
with  olbor  spedes  of  birds,  to  produce  a  breed, 
is  fast  giving  way.  Some  people  still  cling  to 
the  theory,  that  game  fowls  arc  improved  by 
crossing  witli  the  Pheasant,  common  Ducks  with 
the  Musk  or  Brazilian  Duck  Ac.;  but  after  care¬ 
ful  Avatching  for  many  years,  1  have  never  been 
able  to  find  a  single  instance  of  such  a  crop, 
ever  breeding  agaiu.  1  know  this  is  hard  for 
manv  to  believe  who  have  not  taken  the  trouble 
to  investigate,  especially  in  those  Darvviuiaji 
times,  when  so  many  aio  ready  to  belieye  in 
the  commingling  of  species,  yet  rtof  one  single 
specimen  bred  from  animals  so  crossed  is  shown 
as  a  result  of  their  scientific  experiments. 
H.  Haleh. 
- - - 
HOUSE  SCRAPS  FOR  FOWLS. 
As  the  weather  gets  colder,  fowls  are  cut  off 
from  many  insects,  fruits,  seeds,  Ac.  To  com¬ 
pensate  for  tills,  it  is  necessary  to  aupifiy  your 
birds  AviOi  an  equivalent  in  nice  fiiis.  This  can 
often  Ijo  done  with  scraps  from  the  table,  loaves 
of  vegetables,  Ac.  This  is  ospceially  required  if 
fowls  are  limited  to  a  small  nui,  for  though 
every  one  who  keeps  fowls  may  not  own  a  live- 
acre  lot  for  them  to  run  in,  yet  he  can  keep 
them  in  health  aud  with  profit  to  himself,  by 
givTUg  them  proper  attention. 
When  fowls  are  supplied  with  the  change  of 
food  they  require,  they  seldom  peck  Off  each 
others'  feathers,  but  if  they  once  commence  it  is 
veiy  hard  to  break  them  of  such  a  habit. 
Pieces  from  the  table  ai'C  used  with  more  profit 
to  feed  poultry  than  pigs,  and  they  supply  that 
variety  which  nature  requires.  U-  h. 
i:imu  ?!|hicl)intii), 
THE  GRANGE  MILL. 
The  cost  of  griuding  grain  is  one  of  the  heavy 
expenses  of  the  fai-m,  and  the  loss  is  still  greater 
if  it  is  used  or  fed  unground.  A  really  effective 
and  easily-managed  mill  is  one  of  the  most  pro- 
'  fitable  machines  a  farmer  can  use.  >Ye  illustrate 
worn  or  dulled  by  long  use,  which  is  a  great  ad¬ 
vantage,  in  a  iiecuniary  point  of  view. 
We  recommend  oui*  readers  to  investigate  the 
points  of  superiority  claimed  for  this  mill,  and 
the  most  direct  way  to  do  so  is  to  write  to  the  man¬ 
ufacturer  for  any  information  desired,  which,  we 
liavo  no  doubt,  will  be  furnished  promptly  aud 
cheerfully. 
Diiicimtii. 
mv.  4 
PACKING  GRAPES. 
A  correspondent  of  the  Vinton  Co.  O.  Record 
gives  the  following  advice,  in  regard  to  packing 
grapes ; 
“  I  wish  to  offer  a  few  suggestions  to  the  grape 
growers  in  reference  to  packing  grapes  for  ship¬ 
ping  to  market.  The  manner  of  packing  has 
much  to  do  with  tbo  price  obtained. 
In  the  first  place  grapes  should  never  be  gath¬ 
ered  when  Wet  with  dew  or  rain.  The  best 
method  that  I  have  tried  for  gathering  grapes  is 
to  take  a  pair  of  sharp  shears  (pruning  shears 
answer  very  well)  or  a  sharp  knife  with  hooked 
blade ;  take  hold  of  the  bunch  with  one  hand 
and  cut  the  stem  of  the  grapes  with  the  knife  or 
bhetixa  held  in  the  other  hand,  and  take  off  all 
decayed  or  green  berries;  lay  it  carefully  in  a 
basket,  then  proceed  to  the  next ;  when  the 
basket  is  full,  carry  it  to  the  place  of  packing, 
wbioh'sbould  be  uudor  a  roof  ;  the  next  operation 
is  to  pack  the  buuebes  in  boxes,  which  should  be 
both  light  aud  strong ;  twelve  by  eighteen  inches, 
and  four  or  five  inches  deep  is  a  convenient  size. 
Such  boxes  will  hold  from  sixteen  to  twenty 
ixmuds  if  properly  jiacked.  To  do  this  aright 
will  take  some  experience. 
I  would  recommend  that  the  boxes  be  sotou  a 
table  of  couvenieut  height,  having  the  back  end 
of  the  box  elevated  thi-ee  or  four  inches  by  plac- 
hig  something  under  it ;  then  eommence  at  tlie 
end  next  to  you  and  lay  the  hunches  in  carefully, 
pressing  them  together  geuGy,  but  not  hard 
enough  to  break  the  berries.  When  the  bottom 
of  the  box  is  covered  one  layer  deep,  commence 
at  the  front  again,  put  in  a  second  layer,  placing 
the  larger  bunches  in  the  low  places,  thus  keep¬ 
ing  them  as  level  as  possible.  Proceed  in  this 
manner  until  the  box  is  full,  being  careful  to 
have  the  box  as  level  as  possible  when  done. 
Cutting  bunches  to  fill  up  cavities  is  not  a  good 
practice,  as  large  bunches  sell  best. 
When  tho  box  is  full  set  it  aside  and  iiroceed 
to  fill  another,  aud  so  on  until  all  are  full.  The 
boxes  thus  filled  should  be  allowed  to  stand  until 
the  stems  of  the  grapes  are  wilted  aud  become 
pliable,  which  will  take  from  six  to  twenty-four 
hours;  then  take  a  board  and  cover  the  box, 
placing  one  hand  under  tho  box  aud  the  other 
on  the  cover,  then  set  the  box  on  one  end,  hold¬ 
ing  the  cover  securely  in  its  place  with  one  hand, 
then  shake  or  jostle  the  grapes  till  they  setGe 
compactly  together,  which  is  easily  accomplished 
after  the  stems  are  wilted;  this  will  cause  a 
cavity  at  the  upper  end  of  the  box,  which  should 
be  carefully  filled  with  grapes  that  have  had 
their  stems  wilted,  in  order  that  they  may  pack 
closely. 
Great  care  should  be  taken  to  avoid  rubbing  » 
the  bloom  off  the  grapes,  as  it  injures  their  ap¬ 
pearance,  aud  it  is  thought  they  will  not  keep  as 
well.  Care  should  be  taken  to  hide  tho  stems  of 
the  last  layer  and  have  the  stems  lottk  level  and 
even  on  the  top.  Grapes  should  not  be  allowed 
to  stand  in  tbe  sunshine  after  they  are  gathered. 
Grapes  transported  according  to  the  above  di¬ 
rections  can  be  carried  a  long  distance  without 
injury.” 
THE  COLORING  AND  FINISHING  OF 
GRAPE  VINES. 
A  CORRESPONDENT  of  tho  Farmer  (Eng.),  in 
writing  of  what  he  terms  the  coloring  and  finish¬ 
ing  of  grapes,  throws  out  some  ideas  which  may 
be  useful  to  our  vineyardists  and  those  who  grow 
grapes  under  glass : 
It  is  of  much  importance  to  know  the  best 
means  of  coloring  grapes.  These  are  very  sim¬ 
ple,  and  may  be  epitomized  into  a  ratlier  low 
temperature  and  a  moist  atmosphere.  Of 
course,  low  temiierature  must  be  taken  in  a  lim¬ 
ited  sense.  Grapes,  for  instance,  during  their* 
swelhng  period  will  enjoy  a  temperature  of  from 
75®  to  85®.  After  they  begin  to  color,  70®  Is  a 
sufficient  maximum.  From  05®  to  70'®  may  bo 
accejited  a.s  tbe  beat  coloring  tcnijieratoro.  Ex¬ 
citing  treatment,  the  basis  of  which  is  a  high 
temperatnro,  generally  tends  to  finish  black 
grapes  of  a  claret  hue,  and  to  moke  white  grapes 
green  instead  of  golden.  It  may  be  dillicult, 
perhaps  impossible,  to  explain  tbe  cause, of  this. 
But  of  the  fact  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  ; 
experience  estabhshes  It  beyond  controversy.  If 
any  doubt  it,  lot  him  Gy  to  finish  grapes  in  a 
high  temperature,  and  they  will  reap  colorless  or 
imperfect  color.  Perhaps  tho  great  artist,  Na¬ 
ture,  can  neither  mix  nor  apply  her  colors  only 
in  a  rather  cool  medium  ;  assurodly  it  is  so  in 
autumn-tide  when  tho  sun  is  losing  power,  aud 
the  nights  become  long  and  dewy,  that  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  fruits  are  colored ;  and  wo  can  hardly 
do  better  than  follow  the  load  of  Nature  in  the 
matter.  Some  only  copy  half  her  example,  and 
fail.  They  depress  tomperaliire,  but  forget 
tbe  dewy  nights.  Nay,  they  reverse  this  lesson, 
and  keep  their  vineries  abnormally  dry  during 
the  coloring  stage.  Of  course,  anyfhing  hke  a 
saturated  atmosphere  is  to  be  avoided.  Tbe 
grapes  are  too  near  maturity  to  bear  any  exces¬ 
sive  amount  of  moisturo  with  impumty.  Aud 
some  grapes  ate  sensitive  to  any  excess  of 
vapor,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  Mudrusfield 
Cou'*t,  Josliu's  St.  Albans,  tbe  Golden  Champion, 
and  others.  But  in  avoiding  an  excessive  hu¬ 
midity,  we  must  beware  not  to  rim  into  the  op¬ 
posite  extreme  of  aridity.  .\ny  thing  approaching 
this  will  arrest  coloring,  or  render  the  process 
thin  aud  imperfeei. 
Neither  must  tho  temiierature  bo  so  low  as  to 
arrest  growth,  any  chock  at  this  stage  ivill  inter¬ 
fere  with  the  coloring  of  the  grapes.  Ifittlo 
growth  of  Avood  or  leaves  may  be  made  ;  but  it 
is  needful  to  keep  tbo  fluids  of  the  phiuts  in 
motion.  During  tho  coloring  of  tho  frmt  that 
motion  is  compound — downAvards  as  Avell  as  up¬ 
wards.  Possibly  the  dowiiwai'd  motion  is  most 
potenGal,  aud  that  color  is  the  product  rather  of 
the  descending  than  tho  ascending  sap.  If  so, 
that  partially  explains  tho  reason  Avhy  a  lower 
teiuperature  is  needful^  Withdraw  the  two 
stimulants  of  heat  and  vitality  and  the  law  of 
graATtatiou  comes  into  full  play,  and  brings 
down  tho  highly  elaborated  sap  to  complete  or 
perfect  the  coloring  of  the  fruit.  Be  that  how¬ 
ever  as  it  may,  a  rather  loiv,  regular,  unexciting 
temperature,  with  a  moderate  amount  of  mois¬ 
ture  in  the  air,  seems  that  best  adapted  to  the 
perfect  oolwing  of  the  fruit.  It  may  be  well  to 
explain  somewbut  definitely  what  is  meant  by  a 
moderate  amount  of  moisture  in  the  air.  No 
one  of  experience  would  think,  for  instance,  of 
syringing  grapes  oA-erhead  dming  the  coloring 
stage.  That  would  ruin  the  tine  bloom  of  grai>os 
by  mechanical  abrasion,  as  well  as  llnow  an  ex¬ 
cessive  amount  of  moistui'e  into  tbe  atmosphere. 
But  during  dry  weather  paths,  stages  aud  inside 
borders  might  all  be  damped  down  with  advan¬ 
tage,  say  at  7  A.  u.  and  5  p.  m.  In  cases,  too 
where  tho  stems  of  the  vines  are  trained  near  to 
'  hot  Avater-pipes,  the  stems  should  be  kept  moist 
doling  tbe  coloring  process  by  frequent  syriug- 
;  iug. 
The  greatest  strain  is  probably  on  the  vine 
[  throughout  the  coloring  of  the  grapes.  Nothing, 
I  perhaps,  proves  this  more  than  that  mysterious 
I  disease,  shanking.  No  doubt  this  is  caused  at 
t  times  by  other  causes.  But  another  explanation 
is  that  it  id  a  natural  provision  inherent  in  the 
I  vine  to  enable  it  at  the  last  and  most  trying 
•  moment  to  rid  itself  of  an  excessive  -crop. 
.  Hence  while  other  bunches  proceed  to  color  and 
swell,  the  shanked  ones  suddenly  color  a  little 
j  and  wither  up  or  shank.  No  one  of  experience 
I  can  have  failed  to  note  that  oA’er-croppiug  is  one 
k  great  source  of  failure  in  coloring.  There 
I  either  seems  not  sufficient  color  available  for  so 
