JAN* 29 
@8 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
unfit for market or for table use. These af¬ 
fected or Infirm specimens should not be all 
lowed to remain in the cellar to pollute the air 
in rooms above with noxious odors, but they 
should be turned to good account by feeding 
them to stock. 
Manure. —Winter is the season for making 
and saving manure. Theieis no more cheap 
or convenient wav of increasing the manure 
supply than by the use of an abundance of 
absorbents, it haB been repeatedly proven 
that the liquid voidings of stock are nearly 
equal to the solid in manorial value, and yet 
we find in the majority of barn-yards, the 
larger portion of them wasted from neglect to 
use sufficient absorbing material. 1 prefer 
straw as an absorbent for general use. It, 
should be used in abundance in both stable 
and barn-yard. Keep the barn-yard eleau and 
dry by frequently littering it with dry straw. 
This will make it more comfortable for the 
stock, and add largely to the quality and quan¬ 
tity of the manure. g. a. g , jr 
Elmira, N. Y. 
RURALISMS. 
The editor on page 24, gives some ex¬ 
cellent and timely advice to farmers in 
regard to setting apart an acre or so for 
fruit, and how a selection should be made. 
One very important item of advice, how¬ 
ever, is overlooked, and one that the edi¬ 
tor is as familiar with as anybody can be. 
After consulting the best catalogues, and get¬ 
ting the advice of your neighbors as to the 
kinds best suited to your locality, the most 
difficult thing of all remains to be done, and 
that is, to gel the kinds you want true to name. 
My advice is, avoid the tree peddler as you 
would a den of rattlesnakes. Do not be al¬ 
lured by hiB fine pictures aud glib tongue. 
Dealing with him, the chances are that you 
will not get more than two trees in ten of the 
kinds you want, and all are likely to be the 
refuse of some nursery lately cleaned up (or 
out.) If the trees should happen to grow, im¬ 
agine your feelings at the end of eight or ten 
j ears, when you find that you have not only 
not got what you wanted, but instead kinds 
that are quite worthless to you. You have 
been robbed of ten (yes, twenty) years of pre¬ 
cious life that can never be renewed. This 
has happened to thousands, and prevented the 
planting ol fruit trees to a very considerable 
extent. Send your order to a reputable nur¬ 
seryman, and request him not to substitute 
other kiuds for those you have named, and 
the chances are altogether in favor of your 
getting healthy young trees, and all true to 
name. 
I like Kit’s protest against stocks, and the 
introduction of foreign terms when we already 
have those that answer the purpose, with the 
advantage of being understood by everybody. 
Many so-called Americanisms are pointed and 
expressive, and have as good grammatical 
forms as most of the foreign terms. More¬ 
over, it is at least in bad taste to multiply 
terms to express the same thing. If the for¬ 
eign term, however, is really better, let us 
adopt it i otherwise let us keep to our own. 
I “ go in” for the best of everything. 
A new carnation was shown me a few days 
since with which 1 was very much pleased. It 
is a seedling belonging to the tree or perpetual 
blooming elass, and was raised by Mr. John 
Reid, who has given a good deal of attention 
to this class of plants. It ha6 been named 
Firebrand. Tbe flower is large, very full, of 
excellent form, of a bright scarlet in color; a 
color much needed in this class. The buds 
were abundant on all the shoots, showing it to 
be a free bloomer. It is to be hoped that Mr. 
Reid w ill place the plant in the hands of some 
florist for distribution. It is too good to be 
kept private.* _ 
I want to suggest another plant for the 
Rural's list of shrubs. I allude to Slyrax Ja- 
poniea, introduced a few years since from 
Japan, where it has the common name of 
Snowflake tree, on account of the appearance 
it presents when in bloom. 1 have grown it 
three years, starting with a plant two inches 
high, and it has thus far proved to be hardy. 
It has small foliage, is very symmetrical in 
growth, and makes a pretty tree like shrub, 
growing about four feet high. Mr. Thomas 
Hogg Informed me that there is another 
species oi Styrax growing in Japan much 
larger than this, and even finer in its bloom ; 
but I have forgotten the name. I would sug¬ 
gest thal the soil for this Styrax be not en¬ 
riched. 
A very good plant lor the Rural's shrub list 
Is the Climbiug Hydrangea (Schizophragma 
hydrangeoides). This is another recent intro¬ 
duction from Japan, and 1 have found it to be 
quite hardy. The best place for it is at the 
foot of some rough barked tree, and I know of 
none better than the Elm. Tbe tdantis thickly 
furnished with air roots, and it clings to the 
bark like an ivy. It will also grow on a brick 
or stone wall or house; and it will handsomely 
carpet the ground or rocks, but in this case 
the flowers will not show well. A tree, how¬ 
ever, is the most suitable object upon which 
to grow it; moreover, it will grow very much 
faster upon a tree than it will trailing the 
ground. The flowers are about the size of 
those of the common hydrangea, and resemble 
them very closely. I consider it a valuable 
acquisition, and worthy of wide distribution. 
It should go od the Rural’s list, since we have 
comparatively few ornamental plants that will 
climb and cling at the same time. The young 
shoots being fastened in their place on the tree, 
they will thereafter take care of themselves. 
Hokticola. 
[Rorticola is possibly not aware that the 
Rural presented, Feb. 15, 1879, a portrait of 
this vine, the first published in this country, 
with very full notes regarding it. It has since 
been growing at the Rural Grounds, but we 
cannot say that we prize It as highly as he 
does.—E ds] 
- ♦♦ ♦- 
In our “ want” column will be found a call 
for a gardener. We know this to be an un¬ 
usually desirable one, especially for a young 
man who desires to educate hitnself in Botany 
and Eutomology. 
jsdicntifk auti fistful. 
AN ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON. 
One of the most beautiful astronomical phe¬ 
nomena ever seen in this latitude was wit¬ 
nessed December 31. 1S80. Just before the 
sun arose above the horizon there appeared 
four sun-dogs, two north and two south, rival¬ 
ing it in brightness. The sky was clear, but 
the air was filled with frozen mist that 
sparkled like diamonds. About 10 a m. there 
appeared a circle around the sun, the outer 
edge a spectrum, and the circle divided into 
four parts by light bands. East and west of 
the sun, at the intersection of hand and rim of 
circle, were Buu-dogs. From these extended a 
luminous belt encircling the heavens about 30 
degrees above the horizon, and on this circle 
were lour other suu-doga, the two farthest 
from the sun being the brightest. In the zenith 
t.heje appeared a beautiful solar spectrum in 
the form of a crescent, though a faint luminous 
line completed the circle. The accompanying 
rough diagram will give a better idea than 
words of tne wouderful sight. With the baek 
to the north, imagine this suspended avast 
distance overhead. It will show three circles, 
one around the sun divided into quarters, a 
grand circle enclosing two-thirds of the visible 
heavens, a magnificent rain-bow in the zenith, 
and six sun-dogs. This grand display lasted 
about three hours. C. C. Cone. 
Chilton, Calumet Co., Wis. 
|oulfrj garli 
YOUNG CHICKS IN WINTER. 
L. S. HARDIN. 
I have always been a constant and diligent 
reader of poultry journals aud of books, pamph¬ 
lets, standards aud other printed matter made 
up in the interest of breeding fowls; but, after 
all is told, howlitlle real, true information can 
be gathered fiom these sources! To be sure, 
all that i6 pleasant aud bright and of a seduc¬ 
tive nature about the busiuess; all that will 
lead the unsophisticated to embark in the 
charming industry, is told in glowing terms. 
But when it comes down to the real facts, hard 
labor and unprofitable returns, we hear never 
a word ; nor do we of the dirt, disease and in¬ 
numerable deaths in the flock of the average 
breeder; nor of low prices when he wauts to 
Bell, and extravagant rates for feed that he 
must buy. But all this, true as it is, is not 
what I started out to complain of. 
It was always a wonder with me why chicks 
were not raised all the year round, Winter as 
well as Summer, and, as I could gaiD no in¬ 
formation on the matter from the books and 
papers, I determined to find out for myself, so 
I started that incubator in the Fall and was 
getting along finely, with everything flourish¬ 
ing, until the “ blizzard,” or cold wave, struck 
us, when the hottest fire in my stove failed to 
keep the temperature of the chicken-room 
above 70 degrees, and the low temperature had a 
marked effect upon the chicks. As the cold 
weather continued, though the thermometer 
never reached the freezing point and the room 
was comfortably warm in the day-time and 
nearly all night, yet almost every one of the 
chicks, from tbe oldest to the youngest, was 
attacked with leg weakness—cramp or rheuma¬ 
tism, whichever it may have been There was 
no sign ot sickness among them, their appe¬ 
tites remaining good as long as they ci.uld 
creep to the feeding-dish; bin as the weaklings 
were run over aud trodden upon by the other 
chicks and iujurud at uight, they were sure to 
die in h week or two. The trouble was not 
confined to the older ones, but attacked all 
alike, even those only two or three days 
old. Out of more than 100 chicks probably 
not one dozen were free from this trouble 
when I concluded to close out tbe experiment 
aud took their heads off only iu anticipation 
of their early death by the slower action of the 
weather. Many of them had attained market 
size and proved of the finest quality for broil¬ 
ers for our owu table, but I did not choose to 
start a market reputation with stock not free 
from every blemish. Then again, while the 
incubator was turning out chicks every day, 
the cold weather had nearly frozeu tbe hens 
up, so that it was next to impossible to procure 
eggs at all, and for those that could be get the 
exorbitant price of 40 cents a dozen was ask¬ 
ed, and as it required three of them to make a 
chick, and that chick was sure to die of rheum¬ 
atism, I concluded to hold over for warmer 
weather. With my experience, I am satisfied 
chicks cannot be raised in an atmosphere that 
is allowed for any length of time to remain 
below 70 degrees, and I should want it most of 
the time about 75. In support of this opinion, 
1 may say that I have looked into the manage¬ 
ment of a man who tried to raise Winter broil¬ 
ers several years ago in Ibis neighborhood. 
He nsed a hot-house, with sash over manure 
beds for runs, aud in this way raised the young 
chicks as he would tender plants. He aban¬ 
doned the business because it was so hard to 
procure enough sitting hens. That was before 
incubators had been perfected. 
The question was, of course, raised iu my 
miud whether the trouble with my chicks did 
not come from the incubator, as has ofteu 
been claimed. Fortunately for my ease, only 
a few doors from me the experience with 
chicks hatched and brought up by a hen was 
the same as my own with chickens hatched by 
an incubator aud fostered by the artificial 
mother. A woman had a hen with 6even chicks 
that were nearly two months old when the 
cold weather came on. By that time two had 
already died from leg weakness and two 
more were showing signs of it. Since then all 
have died. They were kept in a very warm 
cellar that was dry for a cellar, aud the hen 
was given every attention, having food before 
her all the time. The warmth of her body 
could not be perfectly utilized by the large 
chicks as they increased in size, and it was 
only then that they succumbed to the cold, 1 
believe the rapid growth from high feeding 
had much to do with the disease in my flock, 
rendering them “ weedy ” aud soft iu the bone 
for chicks of their size. If the precautions 
tuken this Winter had been put in practice 
last Winter there is but little doubt that, owing 
to the mild weather, the experiment would 
have proved a success. As it is, the experi¬ 
ence gained is valuable, and will point out tbe 
precautions to bo taken this Summer to pre¬ 
pare for a Winter's campa'gn, The important 
question is going to be—can a heat of 70 de¬ 
grees be maintained without a eost iu excess 
of profitable management. With proper pre¬ 
caution and rooms admirably adapted to the 
purpose, I think it can be done, though 1 
should hope for a less severe Winter than the 
one we are now passing through. 
What I started to complain of was the false 
teachings of some couteinporay periodicals on 
this subject. I find the last issue of the Poul¬ 
try Bulletin saying: " Artificial heat is neces¬ 
sary in rearing very early birds, aud this can be 
supplied better with a medium-sized coal stove, 
which keeps up a more regular heat than a 
wood fire, aud it is less dangerous. As it is only 
necessary to keep up a low or slow fire, a half 
tou ol coal should last eight or ten weeks, all 
that is really necessary beiug to keep the chill 
off the room, more than that being injurious 
rather than beneficial.'' This advice will lead 
tbe breeder luto trouble. Men should some- ’ 
times practice things before they preach them. 
TIME TO BEGIN WITH THE SITTERS. 
It is time uow to mature plans for the com¬ 
ing year’s campaign in the chicken yard. It 
matters not whether your purpose be to raise 
only common fowls for home use and market 
or whether you are of a more ambitious turn 
ot mind and have some pet projects among 
the higher types of fowls, by the middle of 
January a selection of eggs for hatching 
should commence. If the eggs are kept in 
bran and placed in a room where the thermom¬ 
eter will not mark lower than 40 deg., they 
will ke *p several weeks and make a fair hatch¬ 
ing. If they are to be purchased, then order 
them from breeders living as near to your 
home as possible, so that freezing weather 
may not catch them in transit. With reason¬ 
able precaution on the part of the shipper, 
weather for shipping can be selected that will 
reduce the chances of a severe freeze to the 
slimmest possibility. 
After the eggs have arrived the next thiug is 
to get a hen with a brooding fever on her. If 
your own Hook is large, a week or two may be 
risked in waiting for one to show signs of 
brooding, and to detect this condition it is well 
to fill a nest with a half dozen artificial eggs. 
Eggs for this purpose I always preferred to 
get turned out of soft wood. They cost but 
little and never break and are not apt to crack 
real eggs when laid in the same nest with them 
as those made of hard substances often do. If 
a hen must be procured from a neighboring or 
distant farm, a little extra trouble will go a 
long wav towards insuring success in getting 
her to stick to her work after she begins the 
incubatiou. By strictly pursuing the following 
plan, I have succeeded, in niue cases out of ten, 
in getting out of the stiange hen the best work 
she was capable of performing. A box is made, 
Fig. 30. 
fig. 39, and a nest made in it of sho cut traw. 
In this nest are put eight wooden tggs Late 
iu the afternoon when brooding hens are 
always on the nest, 1 get the wagon aud start 
out with several of these boxes. After dicker¬ 
ing with the farmer about the price of pur¬ 
chase or hire—for the heu can be returned 
when the chickens are taken from her- until the 
hen iB mine I place tbe box as near as can be 
to bur side, with as little noise and fuss as 
possible. Then place both hands under her, lift 
her gently but quickly on to the nest of wooden 
eggs in the box, aud close down the lid. By 
the handle on the top of the box It is carried 
and placed in the wagon, and I move on to the 
next farm. At home an empty room is used 
as a place for the sitters. At this time of year 
a cellar is a good place, though with plenty of 
6iraw and a reasonably close room a good 
hatch may be looked for. In this room place 
the boxes aB far apart as the size of the room 
and the number of boxes will admit, so that 
the bens may remember their owu neats. Let 
them sit at least 12 hours iu the boxes without 
raising the lids ; then 24 hours longer on the 
wooden eggs with the lids up. By this time 
they will have become perfectly accustomed 
to the new order of things, and will settle down 
to regular business, so that it will be safe to 
put tbe setting of eggs under them. 
Iu tbe room should be placed an abundance 
of shelled corn. It is better than soft feed as 
it remains in the crop longer aud thus keeps 
the heu satisfied. Tbe dust bath in a box is a 
great thing, but ie not so much needed at this 
season of the year as in warm weather. A dish 
of water must be at band, aud the floor should 
be sprinkled liberally with dry ashes. The 
nest and eggs should be examined every two 
or three days to see that no broken eggs are 
befouling others and to see that the heu does 
not scratch or work too much of the straw out 
of the nest. It is well to watch a hen for the 
first day or two, aud if she leaves the Dest too 
ofteu or stays off too long, put her on and close 
the lid down, otherwise if 6he behaves herself 
the lid may be kept up all the time. The hingeB 
beiug made of soft leather, allow the lid to be 
turned baek and laid on top of the box. Holes 
must be bored iu the sides and top for ventila¬ 
tion. The lid can be fastened by a button or 
elects at the corners. 
Iu handling sittlug hens there must be no 
fear of their pecking, or trouble will be the re¬ 
sult of it. The most vicious hen will be sub¬ 
dued by a fearless operator, while the peck is 
generally more alarming than dangerous. If 
