URAL UEW-VORKER. 
^Randolph, Orange Co., vt., Jan. 7,1S78. 
The New Year has brought a plentiful snow¬ 
fall ; December was a glorious month ; it seem¬ 
ed like delightful October, with the sunshiny, yel¬ 
low days, and genial atmosphere; but we are hav¬ 
ing a decided change. The thermometer to-day 
is 12 ° below zero, and on the streams went down 
to 30°, making pretty stinging, winter weather. 
The farmers are getting ice into their ice-houses 
and it is much better than that of last year; 
there are no bubbles in it, so it will bo likely to 
keep well. Produce of all kinds is very low in 
markot, and no prospects of brighter days, at 
present. Tho season is very healthy, there are 
no epidemics of any kind prevailing, and as 
health is a grea't promoter of happiness, every 
one should be happy. k. 
Eldorado, Cal., Dec. 27,1817. 
The blessed rain came at last, rain fell all 
over the State Saturday and Sunday varying in 
places from \x to l 1 $ inches. Apples are rotting 
fast, (perhaps decaying would have been better); 
those happy enough to have a small quantity on 
hand are disposing of them at fair prices as fast 
as possible. Tree planting lias commenced. 
From now to April it will be all “ the go.” By 
the way, one man of our town says he doesn't 
like Eastern trees ; they have a habit of getting 
up and walking off, roots and all. If you see 
any stray tress walking about, chain them down 
until a warrant cau be sent after them, as some 
of his may have gone back. w. c. L. n. 
Houston, Texas, Jan. 0 ,1878. 
For about three weeks, until New Year’s eve, 
we had quite warm weather with copious rains, 
thermometer ranging from 05° to 75°. Since 
Now Year the “ northers ” have prevailed, and 
bring us occasionally night frosts. The ground 
is so soggy that not inuoh can be done in pre¬ 
paring the land for planting. This is the 
lime when generally the first potatoes are put 
in the ground- Sometimes they will freeze down 
after they are up, but they usually sprout out 
again if the seed-tubers are not cut too scant, 
For spriDg-plantiug, we use exclusively North¬ 
ern raised potatoes. g. m. 
I have spent some time on it now. I find it to 
be from three-quarters to two inches long, one- 
half to ono Such wide, stauds out about one- 
tbird inch from the surrounding Burfaoo. It is 
easily detected on removing the skin, as it is of a 
yellowish-brown color and has a glandular ap¬ 
pearance. I don't care to make further state¬ 
ments until I have completed my investigations. 
But why I spoke of this, at all, was to beg 
owners of hogs not to allow any one to clear the 
<4 eyelet holes” of their hugs with knitting- 
needles. A fine probe can bo thrust but a short 
distance into these openings yet the “ neighbor¬ 
hood cattle doctor ” will thrust a needle two or 
throe inches through the subBtance of the gland 
and tho llesh to clear the “ eyelets.” If you 
wish to clear them, do it with soap-suds and a 
cob, rubbing the skin over the gland well with 
this. It is supposed that hogs don’t Bweat as 
other animals do but that the perspiration 
passes off wholly by these glands. I am uot 
prepared at contradict this. I will admit that it 
looks as if the stopping of them does produce 
sickness. I hope within a year to be able to 
make known the results of my investigations 
and trust that they may guide us hereafter in 
tho diaguosis and treatment of diseases peculiar 
to swine. 
C!)f |)oultrit garth 
THE LIGHT BRAHMA FOWLS. 
T. B. MINER. 
VETERINARY. 
FLAVEL S. TUOMAS, M. D,, F. M. M. S. 
ISSUES ( ) 
I know that I am not doing as I promised I 
would, but if you will allow me one article more 
I feel quite sure that I shall be ready to take up 
diseases aud treatment or domestic animals. I 
have so much fault to find that I can't put it off. 
In fact 1 may call this my first article on dis¬ 
eases of animals. 
It seems to me very Btrange, when wo hear so 
much about the “ issues ” on hog legs, that 
anatomists have not studied these glands more 
than they have. They wire found or first 
spoken of by Muller but that was many, many 
years ago, and I have found no description by 
him that shows a thorough dissection. He was 
a German, and bis writings are mostly contained 
in archives with no index, so it is hard to say 
just what he has done, until it is hunted 
up, which would bo an immense work, ns there 
arc quite a number of volumes containing 
articles on zoology, anatomy of vertebrates and 
invertebrates, with no index and without classi¬ 
fication. Owen, in his Anatomy of Vertebrates, 
Todd in his Cyclopedia of Anatomy aud Physi¬ 
ology, Mivart in his work nu Anatomy of Verte¬ 
brates, Huxley in a similar work, all have 
long articles on glands, and glands of this nature 
especially, yet none of them seems to know chat 
there is such a one as this of which we are now 
writing. Cuacjveau just mentions it but does 
not seem to be at all acquainted with it. lie 
speaks as if he had read that there was such a 
gland, but had never exaruiued it himself. In 
no work on Veterinary Medicine or Burgery 
have I seen anything about it. and I have studied 
thoroughly Williams' Medicine aud Surgery 
Dodd aud others. But 1 will make one excep¬ 
tion—Iu Cole’s little book, tho American 
Veleriuariau—he speakB of the Issues aud their 
Treatment, lie says :—'* They have issues on 
the inside of their fore-legs, just below the 
knee, which arc porous like the top of a pepper¬ 
box.” This is quite a good description, only 
they are above instead of below the knee, and to 
say that they look like a popper-box is hardly in 
my mind correct, as they are an oblong oval in 
shape and have only from one to four openings 
placed apparently at haphazard, irregularly 
over tho surface. I intend making the auatomy 
and physiology of this gland a subject of study, 
and work out what foetus to be nearly wholly un¬ 
known. Any ono knowing of any writings on 
the subject will greatly oblige by Bondiog me 
word. 
As the origin of the Light Brgbmas, aud their • 
original native country, are questions of inter- - 
eat to fowl-breeders, I will say that the state- j 
rnenta of Mr, Wallace, in the Rural of Dec. j 
29, caunot be considered as proofs of his alle- , 
gatious. He says, “ I saw a pair of Light ( 
Brahmas fifteen months before the original j 
pair came to the United States,” which would , 
have beeu in June, 1841), the first ever seen in ] 
this country being found on board an India ship 
iu September 1847. He says that the pair ho ( 
saw in 1846 were in possession of 1 ' a Captain , 
Stewart of Sea Mount, Ireland." Now, not a j 
‘ • Brahma” fowl existed iu tho whole world of that , 
name till 1S52, baviug been called “Chittagongs” 
mainly in the United States, excepting a few 
breeders, who called them “ Gray Shaugliaes,’ 
which was a gross misnomer. The Chittagongs 
somewhat resembled the Light Brahmas, and as 
they had no name .when originally introduced, 
they were so called till in 1851 ray old friend, 
Dr. J. C. Bennett of Great Falls, N. H. con¬ 
ceived the idea of naming them “Brahma 
Pootra.” I urged him to lop off the “Toolra,” 
after his name had become pretty well estab¬ 
lished, and also strongly advocated this change 
iu my paper, the Northern Farmer, published 
in Utica, N. Y.; and by 18551 succeeded in caus¬ 
ing the name to be simply “ Brahma.” 
Now, it would be interesting to know what 
name Captain Stuart's “Light Brahmas”had 
in 1846—five years before the name existed ! In 
the spring of 1862, Dr. Bennett sent the first 
pair of light Brahmas to England ever seen 
there, or in any part of Europe, according to 
hiB claim, which 1 have never seen authoritatively 
contradicted. This pair were sent to Mrs. 
Hosier Williams, Eaton, near Shrewsbury; 
and tho Doctor sent me her acknowledgments of 
the receipt of the fowls, which letter I published 
in tny Domestic Poultry Book, which I was then 
compiling. Iu closing she said : “I am, indeed, 
not a little proud to be the only possessor in 
Europe of this breed of fowls.” This, please 
note, was five years after 5L - . Wallace says that 
he saw a pair of Light Brahmas in Ireland! 
A few months later, in 1852, Mr, G. P. Burn¬ 
ham, then of Roxbury, Mass., sout his famous 
eight specimens of Light Brahmas to Queen 
Victoria ; aud from that time onward, there was 
a great excitement in England in regard to 
“Brahma Pootra” fowls, it being much more 
difficult to ohaoge the name there than in this 
country. Orders for this breed came in with a 
rush from England at euormoua prices. I re¬ 
ceived ouo order myself for a trio at five hun¬ 
dred, dollars! The English papers, as well as all 
the poultry fanciers of that time, admitted that 
tho only fowls of that breed ever seen in that 
country came from the United States. Now, 
what was " Captain Stuart” doing all these year s 
with his genuine ’ 4 Light Brahmas,' if ho had 
I them? Is it reasonable to suppose that he 
could have had them, while all England aud 
Ireland were making such a noise about them,and 
paying from $100 to $500 a trio to our Ameri¬ 
can breeders ? 1 say no; it is uot reasonable to 
suppose that “Captain Stuart” had any pure 
Brahmas. He, probably, had the Chittagongs, 
which are quite as large as Brahmas, and re¬ 
sembled tbem in some respects. 
Well, how about the Itav. Frenchman's “ book 
i of travel!,” and Dr. Hastings, “of the British 
j army of India,” whom Mr. Wallace quotes to 
1 prove that Brahma fowls exist throughout 
China, India, and Siam ? What do they prove ? 
Nothing at all. They do not, according to the 
quotations addneed, even mention the name of 
“ Brahmas." Nor do they describe this breed 
in the least. Of what value is a man's testimony 
in regard to a breed of fowls in India or China, 
when he gives no evidence that he knows the 
breed when he sees it ? Why, there are scores 
of fowl-breeders in this country to-day, who 
don’t know the difference between the old Chit¬ 
tagongs, and the Light Brahma; aud what evi¬ 
dence is there that these men, to whom Mr. 
Wallace refers, ever saw a pure Light Brahma ? 
French clergymen, and British army officers, 
are not to be supposed to be good judges of any 
breed of poultry; and much less to be able to 
give reliable teslimomy in regard to a breed of 
fowls, that for ten years went under a misno¬ 
mer, in this country and in England. Nor, 
does Mr. Wallace state the year in which the 
“book of travels" etc., were published; and 
from the tenor of his remarks, I am led to infer, 
that he quotes from memory, not having (I in¬ 
fer) the books in his possession. 
It is yery singular, if what Mr. Wallace says 
is tine, that the poultry press of the United 
States aud England, during the laBt thirty years, 
did not come in possession of the alleged facts! 
Who ever heard, till tho Rural made the an¬ 
nouncement, that “a Captain Stuart” of Ire¬ 
land had Light Brahmas fifteen months before 
any appeared iu this country, and that Mr. 
Wallace saw tfuem ? And who ever saw quo¬ 
tations from the aforesaid French clergyman's 
“ book of travels," and the writings of the of¬ 
ficer “in the British army,” in any American 
or English publication, showing in regard to 
Light Brahmas what Mr. Wallace claims ? If 
Mr. Wallace will send me any book, French or 
English, that proves what he claims, I will pub¬ 
lish the full text in this paper,—admit that I am 
“ wrong." return the hook, and send him five 
dollars for the use of it one week. My address 
is Linden, Union Co., N. J. The origin and 
“ native habitat” of Light Brahmas have been 
much discussed in this country and England, 
and it is everywhere admitted that they were 
first bred in tho United States, so far as their 
history has beeu revealed by any reliable author¬ 
ity ; aud all that now exist in the world, owe 
their origin to the pair obtained in 1846 by a 
Mr. Chamberlain of Hartford, Conn., through 
the clerk of the propeller '‘Sachem," from on 
board a ship at the dock in New York, the full 
details of which I published about twenty-five 
years ago ; and I stand ready to prove their ori¬ 
gin to be thus, against the world. 
In regard to “ Dark Brahmas,” no satisfactory 
pail 1 of them were heard of iu any couutry. 
till the Light Brahmas had existed here about 
ten years, according to the current accounts of 
them (the Darks) in this country and England. 
Mr. G. r. Burnham claims to be the originator 
of them, aud poultry breeders have never dis¬ 
puted his claim; and yet, Mr. Wallace says, 
that in 1846 a pair of Dark Brahmas wero 
brought into Ireland—ten years, at least, before 
auy existed, according to their history, as pub¬ 
lished from reliable authority! 
PEKIN DUCKS. 
This variety of duck is a great acquisition, 
not only to the farmer or poulterer, but to the 
country at large. They occupy a position rela¬ 
tive to other duc^s similar to that the Asiatic or 
China fowls do to our small breeds of poultry. 
At their first introduction—a very few years 
since—a decided attack was made on them by 
many writers to poultry papers as the last new 
bubble or humbug. There cau be no question 
but that those critics were generally persons 
who had not tosted their rueiits, or some per¬ 
sons, perhapB, who expected too much of them ; 
for, uufortunately for us all, we must keep our 
expectations within hounds with alt animated 
nature, for, like ourselves, none of them are 
perfection. Even the goose that laid the golden 
egg didn’t lay faBt euough for her owner. Yet, 
on the other band, there have been those who 
have exaggerated the qualities of these birds for 
the sake of selling the eggs and ducks at large 
prices, and in this eagerness for gain many 
Pekins have beeu crossed with other white ducks, 
and so palmed off for genuine Pekins. 
The true-bred Pekin bird is of a peculiar 
shape; the body is heavy and well down behind, 
the legs oarrieu back further than those of other 
domesticated ducks, while their tails are set up 
iu a nearly vertical position. This heavy hinder- 
part of the body, naturally makes the bird carry 
its head aud shoulders high, making its neck 
look long. The head is not quite as flat as that 
of the Aylesbury, while in size and color they 
resemble each other, boing almost pure white, 
but the Pekin, shows a tendency to a delicate, 
creamy, lomouish - yellow shade in its under 
feathering. The bill is of a bright orange color; 
the legs still deeper, almost bright red. Its 
weight should reach six to seven pounds in ordi¬ 
nary adult birds, but thoy are often exhibited 
I much larger. 
In habit this duck is much more domestic than 
any other, and shows less inclination to stray 
far away or to remain out all night. They como 
home very regularly, lay more eggs than any 
duck I have ever kept, and feed more on grass. 
They do not, however, grow as fast as Ayles- 
bnrys, while very youug, but catch up to them 
when three or four mouths old. I make most 
of these comparisons to Aylesburys, simply be¬ 
cause that breed is most like them, and at the 
same time, next to them, has more merits than 
other ducks, as far as my experience goes, aud 
I have kept other kinds for the purpose of com¬ 
parison. Henry Hales. 
Jfifltr Crop, 
EXPERIENCE WITH CORN. 
Just a few words about my experience with 
corn. Last year I bought three varieties new, 
at least to me. 
Of Lawson's Early Yellow Field I planted one 
peck, the last week in April and first week in 
May. on land that was broken up and had been 
planted with corn the year before. It was 
plowed, dragged, and holed out by hand. From 
3 to 3; .; shovelfuls of hog and cow manure that 
had beeu drawn out the previous fall, were put 
iu the hill. Wiro-worms eat up one-fourth of it. 
The stalks grew large and tho ears set from 1-4 
to 2 feet from the ground on long stems. Two- 
thirds had two ears on a stalk, a good many 
ears being from 12 to 15 inches long—eight- 
rowed. Cultivated and hoed twice ; out up the 
second week in September, when it yielded 75 
bushels of shelled corn to the acre—no soft corn 
and almost no nubbins. 
Of Improved Early Yellow Canada Field I 
planted three quarts on land that had been 
broken up the fall before, dragged in the spring, 
holed up and manured in the hill, the same as 
the other. Cultivated and hoed twice ; planted 
the second week in May ; showed the tassels by 
25th of June; ears by 9th of July: picked a 
trace ripe 15 of August; yield at the rate of 
fifty bushels to tho acre—all of it sound and 
ripe. 
Of Longfellow Yellow Field I planted three 
quarts, the same time as the last; manured and 
cultivated the same as the abova ; stalks would 
average ten feet in bight. The ears, starting four 
feet from the ground, grew close to the stalk— 
the handsomest ears of any corn I ever saw j 
eight-rowed; from eight to ten inches lODg; 
most of it capped over; a good many ears 
smaller at tho but than at the top. Ripened 
two weeks later than Canada; yielded at the 
rate of 70 bushels to the acre. 
Mass. A. W. Hinsdale. 
-- 
EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENTS’ 
LETTERS. 
ALLEGANY CO., N. Y. 
A year ago we received from you one package 
of seed of Greeu-gago Tomatoes, and one of 
Hybrid Pelargoniums, with request that we re¬ 
port success. Tomato seed was sown the 
same day with seed of Hathaway's Excel¬ 
sior— aud we gathered the first ripe fruit 
from both on the same day, but the Excelsior 
has a little the advantage as it has been our fa¬ 
vorite for a number of years, and as we always 
save tho first ripe for seed (it ripens earlier than 
when we first got them). But we Uked the 
Green-gage better than any other yellow tomato 
we ever raised and have saved seed of it. I 
have at this time thirteen fine, thrifty Pelargo¬ 
nium plants from that package of seed; but only 
about one-half of them have bloomed, In color, 
they are from pale roise to brightest scarlet— 
two now in bloom have borne tho largest single 
flowers I ever saw ; they’re beauties ! The re¬ 
mainder came up too late to bloom this year. 
And now I'd like to ask if the eeed is always alow 
1 in germinating ? Mine were all tho time from 
the middle of March until June, coming up ; and 
in the time I scratched out a number and picked 
i them to pieces trying to find out what was the 
. matter. With many thanks and my hearty good 
wisheB for tho success of the old Rueal, and 
* the Experimental Grounds, 
r Dec. 10,1877. Mrs. F. M. Beyer. 
Oub report on Locnst investigations will be 
very f ull and will bring oat quite a number of 
new and interesting facta and will show some 
important laws in relation to their history and 
habits. We have a very large amount of 
material in reference to flights. That for 1S77 
will show, I think, that but comparatively few 
ever succeeded iu reaching their original hatch¬ 
ing grounds iu that year, but that the greater 
portion wero driven to and fro until they finally 
perishvd. There is, I think, very good reason 
for behoving that swarms often fly 60 high as to 
be invisible and also frequently at night, which 
will explain their often mysterious appearance 
when nothing could be heard of their approach. 
This will also explain the difficulty of tracing 
individual swarms. 1 havo my uext Entomo¬ 
logical Report ready. It will be devoted chiefly 
to Plant-lice, Corn-insects and the Oak Tortrix, 
and will equal in size the oue you have re¬ 
ceived. Cyrus Thomas. 
Normal University, Carbondale. Ill. 
