the fowls; but this I prevented by putting on a 
cover which allowed uo bird to enter, but had 
spaces through which they could roach the 
water all round the vessel. As far as the ducks 
were concerned this was of no ubo, as they kept 
drinking and slopping the water, lotting it run 
down their breasts until the floor all around waB 
flooded and filthy. 
Now of all things in this world, hens are 
among the most contrary. It is not enough to 
have things right for them, but matters must be 
so arranged that they cannot go wrong, other¬ 
wise, the birds will be sure to find out the wrong 
way and foliow it. Instead of drinking decently 
from the clean water in the vessels, they all in¬ 
sisted on drinking disreputably from the dirty 
puddle on the floor, which would soon have made 
them all Kiok. 1 need hardly say that out. at 
once, went Mr. Drake and Mrs. Duck to their 
own chillier quarters. 
Cleanliness, especially while fowls are con¬ 
fined, is a matter of the highest importance. 
Hence my advice is, never confine ducks and 
hens together. H. n. 
trast of purple in this variety with the white 
luster of its hark is very striking. 
The Purple Elm ( U Irons montana purpurea) 
has fine, luxuriant foliage, quite purple in 
June, but greening more or leHs in later summer. 
Two remarkable Purple Oaks Quercus pertnn- 
culata atropurpurea and nigricans ) present 
this species with original Illustrations have 
already appeared in the Rural New-Yorker of 
July 1st, yet it seems appropriate in noticing 
red-leaved trees, again to revert to the wonderful 
combination of purple, rose and pink exhibited 
in their finely-cut foliage. One variety, Acer 
polymorphum albo-roseo-variegatum has, we be- 
State, in answer to which comes the following: 
I have your note of the 14th, and wish to say 
that I examined my Eucalyptus a few days ago 
and found it quite dead, the bark being cooked 
black clear to the ground. I hud it protected 
with pine brush stuck iu the ground all around 
it and hay strewn loosely over that—the freeze 
here was unusually severe ; tin rnjometer regis¬ 
tering as low as 15° which is about two degrees 
lower than our hardest winters in this climate. 
My Eucalyptus was a beautiful tree and admired 
by all who saw it. The foliage was of a sweet 
gum color, the bark a glossy green, as if it had 
been varnished. Compact and erect form and a 
very rapid grower. I now agree with Mr, Berck- 
SEASONABfcE HINTS ON TEE POULTRY' 
HOUSE. 
THE GRAPES WE WANT 
It must bo admitted that 
Now that winter has set in in all its severity, 
it is well to look carefully to the stock, to see 
what can be done for their comfort while they 
are in the house, weather-bound. When the 
ground is snow-dad, they do not care to leave 
their quarters, as they well know that nothing 
can be found; consequently, all they require 
must bo supplied by their keepers; what is not 
supplied, they go without. 
Although these things have been said repeat¬ 
edly, yet when occasion urgently requires it, it 
iu well to refresh thq memory. First look to the 
dust-bath. Coal or wood ashes and sand in equal 
parts, make the best, to which some powdered 
sulphur should be added. On entering your 
hennery to see a favorite cock decked in all his 
beautiful plumage—a prize bird which you have 
either paid a good price for, or taken much pains 
to rear—what can there be more provoking than 
to behold him meekly standing with half a dozen 
admiring hens around him, picking oil' lie. feath¬ 
ers and swallowing them one by one, while be 
seems to be enjoying the attention paid him? 
This habit is always contracted while birds arc 
confined, and is almost incurable 
Moreover, it 
spreads from one bird to another, and often from 
house to house. 
I once knew a fancier who kept in separate 
but adjoining houscs^five or six varieties that 
had entirely stripped each other, so that he had 
to kill them all. At. the first symptoms of such 
a habit, supply the birds with more animal food; 
should one or two birds persist in such tricks, 
remove them and, if not valuable, hand thorn 
over to the cook. See that the nests are clean 
and ready for the reception of eggs. Keep the 
house so ventilated that there will lie no bad 
odor. Clean out the droppings every day if pos¬ 
sible, and bo sure no dirt accumulates; once or 
twice a .week sprinkle a little carbonate of lime 
or carbolic acid. On a mild day, when the fowls 
can go out, fumigate with tobacco and sulphur. 
With these precautions, not only will poultry 
pay during winter, but (hey will corno out in the 
spring line, healthy, hardy birds. n. h. 
EUCALYPTUS IN GEORGIA. 
Mr. Rhea whose note appears below, wrote uh 
sometime since that he had a beautiful Eu- 
RED-VARIEGATED DECIDUOUS TREES, 
The more or less protracted redness of the 
leaves of many Dees determines their valuo for 
the more distinct contrasts of landscape garden¬ 
ing. • Brief flushes, iu early spring of Scarlet or 
Sycamore Maple do not suffice. The period 
must last long enough to make a continued, and 
therefore distinct impression on the common 
mind. Much enjoyment may be derived from 
the coloring of such, for at least two months; 
and if summer suns fade they never entirely 
destroy the characteristic shading. 
The Purple Bccch (Fagus sylcalica purpurea), 
with its wide celebrity and sturdy growth of 
glossy leaf and bark, ranks first In quality. 
Compactness and symmetry mark the foliage, 
aud the finest contrasts of color may be obtained 
by planting it among light-groen trees. Care 
should be taken to employ only plants grafted 
with well colored varieties. 
>Ve nave no doubt Dial there are any number 
of persons ready to assert that grape seeds will 
injure no one when taken iu moderate quanti¬ 
ties, and the same may be said of cherry stones, 
and some may he found who would feel safe in 
following the Irishman’s example who, upon 
eating his first peach in America, said in reply 
to a question as to how he liked ft, that the 
"juice was foin, but the sade scratched mo 
throat.” But any number of instances where 
apparent injury does not follow the Inking of 
such hard, indigestible masses into the stom¬ 
ach, would not prove them to be entirely harm¬ 
less. 
To obtain varieties with a brittle flesh or pulp, 
so tender that the seeds may be readily separated 
therefrom, should now be the aim of the raisers 
of new sorts, then wo shall have something 
which will successfully compete with the foreign 
varieties in a medicinal point of view, and 
“ grape cures ” may become as popular in tLo 
Atlantic States as they now are in some parts of 
i, as many seedlings, 
arid even portions of the best developed trees, 
show little or no purple. The requirements of 
a graceful outline point to the low-grafted form, 
with foliage trained from the* ground, as best 
adapted in all cases for lawu trees. The early 
red tints of this Beech are very brilliant, seen 
against the sun. 
The Purple Birch (Ectv.la alba atropurpurea) 
is a now acquaintance from Prance, extremely 
dark, and possessed of all the delicate, weeping 
beauty of the parent. Fine touches of the same 
dark color renew themselves on fresh growths, 
as the maturity of autumn draws on. The con- 
I’ig. 3 —RUSTIC BUMMER-HOUSE 
tion, also suffuses its broad leaf with irregular calyptus globulus tree wl: 
ruse -pu» pie tints. and he thought would pro 
Lut the crowding triumph of the Maple borhood. We asked him i 
family, is the Japanese Acer polymorphum mits of this Dee next spring £ 
variegated forms. Remarks on the varieties of as to its hardiness auvwhe 
