barks, (walnuts) butternuts, and blaok-walnuts 
are all starting and so are the black mulberries. 
The latter are not nut-trees, but the fruit ia nice 
and they are new in this region. All of the 
fruit trees in this section promise abundance 
this year, not excepting peaches. 
on the fire; break a round bole in the top; 
squeeze a forked stick into the aperture, leav¬ 
ing the stem protruding; then twist the Btick 
rapidly bet ween your hands so as to bea t up the 
contents of the shell wliilo being cooked. To 
make a nice omelot: Stir some melted ostrich 
fat into the egg while roasting. Within each 
egg are generally some smooth little bean-like 
stones composed of the same substance as the 
shell, which, for the sake of your digestion, it 
would be well to reject in eating the egg, in 
whatever way it may be cooked. 
Of late, several ostrich farms have been 
established at the Cape of Good Hope for the 
purpose of supplying the market with ostrich 
feathers, and now, next to wool growing and 
diamond mining, ostrich farming has become 
the most important industry of South Africa. 
The most extensive and successful farmer of 
this kind ia Mr. Douglass who originated the 
business near Grahamstown. He started ten 
year6 ago with three wild birds to which eight 
more were afterwards added. As soon as he 
found they would lay in confinement, bo began 
bis experiments in artificial hatching. For the 
first threo years he met with little success until 
he invented his patent incubator which has 
since ootne into use among all engaged in this 
branch of industry. It is a low, ugly piece of 
pine furniture standing on four legs, and is 
about eight or nine feet long. At each end 
there are two drawers in which the eggs are 
placed wrapped in flannel. The drawers, by 
means of screws beneath, are raised or lowered 
two or three inches. Over them, along the top 
of the whole contrivance, is a tank tilled with 
hot water. When open the drawer is luwered, 
and when closed, it is screwed up so as to bring 
the side of the egg in contact with the bottom 
of the tank so as to supply the necessary heat. 
In tho oentor below the machine one or more 
lamps give additional warmth. The ostrich 
turns her egg frequently, so that each sxdo may re¬ 
ceive due attention ; similarly the ostrich farmer 
must turn his eggs at least three times a day. 
A certain amount of moisture is required, as in 
nature moisture exudes from the silting bird. 
The heat must he moderated according to cir¬ 
cumstances, or the yelk becomes glue and the 
young bird is cht ked. There are certain signs 
which indicate when tho chick ia ready to come 
to light, but it often happens that it cannot 
pierce the thick shell, and unless helped, as 
shown in one of our engravings, it would die. 
Afterwards the ostrich farmer must take upon 
himself all the functions of au ostrich n other, 
and must know all that iustiuot has taught her 
or he will be pretty apt to fail. So successful, 
however, has-e care, study and ingenuity made 
Mr. Docclass that liis eleven birds have been 
increased to upwards of 900, aud stimulated by 
his success, a large number of imitators have 
started business in the same neighborhood. Of 
these some have realized 50 per cent per annum 
on their capital, while others have sometimes 
lost their entire inve-tmout. 
Some idea of tho nature of the business may 
be gathered from the fact that an egg is worth, 
iu gold, $25 ; a chick just hatched $50,and a full- 
grown bird $375. A few years ago to purchase 
cither an egg, a chick or an adult bird, these 
figures would have to he at least doubled. 
Plucking begins when tho bird is IS months old 
and two crops of feathers are gathered eaoh 
year, each bird annually yielding the value of 
from $45 to $50 iu gold. The feathers are 
soi ted iuto various lots in a room appropriated 
for tho purpose, the w hite outside rim pin rues 
from under the bird’s wings being by far the 
most valuable. These are sold for $125 per 
pound. 
Some of the arid, waterless tracts of our 
western territories are excellently adapted for 
an experiment in this branch of industry. Mr. 
Douglass’ farm comprises 1,200 acres of rough 
ground formerly devoted to sheep-farming, but 
owing to a change of grass and other causes, it 
had so deteriorated that it was no longer profit¬ 
able for that purpose. Three hundred ostriches, 
however, find a livelihood on itH bushes aud 
grasses without receiving any supplementary 
food except, when sick or very young. In the 
latter case, a Coolie has charge of about thirty 
birds, aud from sunrise to sunset goes about in 
the lucern-fields with them, cutting up the lu- 
corn or breaking hones for them, besides sup¬ 
plying them with gravel and water. The farm 
is divided into paddocks, and of birds that are 
breeding, one cock with tw r o hens occupies each 
paddock. The younger birds—for they do not 
breed until three years old—or those which are 
not paired, run in flocks of thirty or forty. 
They are hardy brutes which can stand a great 
deal of heat and cold, oan do for long periods 
without food or water, require no delicate feed¬ 
ing or close attention, and at present prices, 
yield a very remunerative crop of feathers. It 
would be unwise, however, for a large propor¬ 
tion of OUr readers to invest their money iu ac¬ 
cordance with this hint ; for the value of the 
feathers depends in & great measure on their 
rarity; Fashion is a capricious deity; and when 
Biddy wears ostrich plumes, Arabella id pretty 
apt to lay them aside. 
EYE FOR GREEN MANURE, 
JOTTINGS AT KIRBY HOMESTEAD 
WM. J. FOWL Ell. 
COL. F. D. CURTIS, 
HOUGHTON FARM 
The experiment which I tried last fall in sow¬ 
ing rye to be plowed under this spring is a de¬ 
cided success. The rye already covers the 
ground in a dense mat and by the middle of 
May will give several tons of green manure to be 
turned under. Mnob of this will bo water; but 
for the crop I intend to plant, (potatoes) a good 
supply of moisture is quite as important as 
fertility. I more than half believe that one 
reason why potatoes are a better crop on rich 
soil than on poor is because tho rich soil retains 
moisture better in summer droughts. A heavy 
growth of rye turned under in May will decom¬ 
pose rapidly, furnishing both heat and moisture 
to the growing crop. Even as early as this, I 
can see that the rye is helping the land. Its 
net-work of roots draws moisture from the soil 
which is thrown off by the leaves, aud also gives 
considerable diainage. I can walk over a mass 
of rye in early spring, while bare ground plowed 
in the fall is too spongy aud wot to bear my 
rveigbt. I have no doubt it will pay to sow rye 
on corn or potato stubble in the fall, when it ia 
intended to plow early and sow oats or barley. 
For this purpose it should be sown very early so 
as to get as good a growth as possible in the fall. 
At the best, there cannot be much to plow under 
in April; but the increased dryness of the soil, 
enabling earlier plowing, is very important. The 
green manure under the furrow will also have a 
slight effect in keeping the soil from becoming 
too compact. In other words, it will make the 
soil warmer and dryer in early spring and 
moi8ter in the hot dry weather of July and 
August. 
Rye is an excellent crop to sow in orchards to 
ho plowed under as green manure. Young 
orchards should bo kept exclusively in hoed 
cropB; but the serious difficulty is iu finding 
manure to keep the soil in condition. Six or ten 
acres kept iu hood crops every year will require 
all the manure usually made ou a huudred-ucre 
farm. Either tho orchard must be neglected or 
profitable cultivation of the reBt of the farm be 
abandoned. Clover will not help us out here, 
for good us clover is everywhere else, it is death 
to young trees. The clover plant makes its 
growth during the summer and its roots strike 
down, robbing the trees of necessary moisture. 
What ia needed for orchards is a crop whose 
roots do not penetrate deeply and which makes 
its growth in fall or early spring whDe the trees 
are at rest. Rye answers these requirements 
exactly. Besides, with rye as green manure the 
ground is plowed at seasons when injuries to the 
roots by plowing are most easily repaired. 
When clover is plowed under in midsummer, 
tearing the roots of the trees often gives them a 
shock which does more injury than the decaying 
clover can do good. 
On other ground than orohard, clover will and 
should bo the main crop for plowing under. 
But on every farm there will always be some 
corn or potato stubble which would remain bare 
during the winter, and on such fields rye Bhould 
always he sown. It is always injurious to land 
to be left naked at any season, and during the 
winter a growth of rye is about the only practical 
mode of protecting it. 
Monroe Co., N. Y. 
Mr. C-, left two sows together until one 
had pigs,—result, one left alive out of a litter of 
eight. The next day the other one had seven 
—too much bedding—result, five left alive. 
Then he said he would make up in quality, 
what he now lacked in quantity, so he 
turned both sows together after a few days and 
the two have six pigs. This is after the .Short¬ 
horn notion to make several cows suckle one calf. 
Sows should he separated at least a month be¬ 
fore the pigs are due,aud not more than a band- 
fol of fresh straw should be given to them for a 
bed We have known pigs several weeks old to 
be laid on by a largo mother when they had too 
much bed, and the pigs to be smothered. In an 
adjoining town more than a hundred sows will 
not have pigs this spring. They were all taken 
to one sire. In another neighborhood the dama 
do not have but two and three pigs each. This 
confirms the theory that young sires arc not as 
sure as older ones, and certainly not ho certain 
as those which have been tried. Most farmers 
are stupidly willful, or willfully Htupid about 
stock animals, and this kind of practice once In 
a while hears its legitimate fruit, and maybe 
they will learn a lesson. Pigs from a well-bred 
sire are worth twice as much as scrubs to fatten, 
which auy one can prove by keeping an account 
of the feed used and amouut of pork made by 
scrubs, and the feed consumed and the pork ob¬ 
tained by the same number of well-bred animals. 
It is uot necesBy to have thoroughbreds t6 do this, 
bnt pigs ono-half pure-bred will show a marked 
improvement aud profit over common swine. 
Why ? Because they are naturally more fleshy; 
because they are quiet and do not fret and rnn 
their flesh off. More than this ; there us not so 
much food required for waste material, bone, 
bristles, snout, logs and general hogology, to 
root, lo squeal, to fight, etc., which latter habits 
& well-bred pig does not have. All these things 
are so much wear and tear which feed has to 
supply. Then there is another constitutional 
proclivity in which a pnre-bred pig exoels, and 
that is a tendency to fatten. On this account 
if designed for breeding, they must be lightly 
fed or they will be too fat and lack in bone and 
muscle. The groat trouble with the breeding 
sues is heavy feed aud a lack of oxercise. m 
kept shut up in a pen, they cannot be trusted. 
Gradually but surely the regeneration of 
this naturally beautiful estate is progressing. 
One erection of barns after another, and other 
conveniences continue to grow into prominenoe 
and to be inhabited by every variety of live 
stock. 
The mares had foals, the cows had calves and 
the sheep have lambs, so that the whole 
premises are alive with the coming and rising 
generation- A great deal of road-making was 
done last year, and substantial fencing com¬ 
menced, and doubtless another year 1 will com¬ 
plete the improvements which have already pro¬ 
duced one immense structure besides minor 
ones which have been admired by countless 
hundreds of visitors. Rather more than half 
way up the East Mountain a good graded road 
has been made, which opens an easy communi¬ 
cation with a fine level pasture ou the summit of 
the mountain where there are more than one 
hundred acres free from timber. 
This tine range of pasture will probably be 
stocked will) young cattle and oolts and the flock 
of sheep will be the chief stock in the fields 
nearer home till the fat lambs are all sold. On 
this farm it is intended to feed the stock well 
from its birth, so that there may be one course 
of prosperity till the meat goes to market as 
first-class. 
It will be arranged for every animal born to 
have from its birth a mission which has to be 
carried out. A lot of lambs intended for the 
butcher have thoir mission, which is to become 
plump and fat and the ewes have the role of 
making as much milk as possible, and the 
shepherd must do all in his power to cause a 
good flow of milk which, if he has tho food of 
the right kind, he can easily do if his knowledge 
is gained from long practical experience. The 
ewes suckling lambs intended for tho butcher 
must, of course, have first-rate feed and go to 
grass early and continue to bo fed night and 
morning in the yard with oil-cake and oats. 
It requires one continued course of good feed¬ 
ing to produce good lambs, but there appears to 
be no knowledge of the kind of early “ house 
lamb ” which has such a ready sale in London, 
England, and which is killed very young and is 
never allowed to eat. The writer of this had 96 
Dorset ewes and sold tho lambs wheu about 
eight week old at from $9 up to $10.50, according 
to the market and the ripeness of the lambs. 
Ho supposes they are much dearer now iu 
London because beef and mutton are. It was 
twenty-five years ago. o. o. 
Eight pounds of Jersey butter which had been 
left in the bottom of a stone jar in the cellar for 
nearly a year without any covering over it, 
neither salt nor brine, nothing except the cover 
of the crock, was brought up the other day and 
reworked and made into two roils, and brought 
ten cents a pound more than tho highest market 
price on account of excellent quality. It was so 
solid and firm that it had kept sweet under cir¬ 
cumstances which in onr cellar would have 
spoiled any ordinary butter. We are convinced 
from this fact that pure Jersey butter will stand 
exposure aud would be valuable for long and 
trying voyages, or for use when it is necessary 
to keep it a long time. 
When calves are three weeks old they will eat 
a little meal. We begin with a handful stirred 
into their milk. At the end of the week they 
may be given two handfuls, aud when six weeks 
old they will eat a quart and do with less milk. 
Sweet milk is costly feed to give to calves. Veal 
calves aro not worth fattening this spring as 
there is no sale. They used to bring $10 when 
four weeks old, aud gradually dropped down to 
and $5, This year, no demand at any price. 
Cows keep np in price as high as they have been 
for several years. This ia one of the anomalies 
in trade, which it is hard to understand. It must 
be that the low price of grain is causing far¬ 
mers to iucreaso their dailies. This is a mistake 
often made ; to rush from one thing to another. 
Better stick to one trade. A few years ago al¬ 
most everyone went into hops and after a con¬ 
siderable outlay were glad to hop out, 
JOTTINGS FROM MY NOTE BOOK 
LOOK TO YOUR PLANTS AMO SHRUBS. 
The caution in a recent number of tho Rural, 
against too much haste in uncovering plants 
and Bhruba, north of New York city, was very 
timely. Plants, shrubs aud vines that have 
been protected during the winter, are frequently 
injured by the impatient haste of the owner to 
remove the protection on the first indications of 
the opening of spring. There is ail the more dan¬ 
ger of this the present season, in which winter 
haB apparently closed at a much earlier date than 
is common in our climate. But I wish there had 
been an additional caution for. not unfrequently, 
the error runs to the opposite extreme, and the 
plant suffers in consequence, especially if the 
covering is deep. I have frequently seen leaves, 
coarse manure, rubbish, etc., recommended as a 
winter covering; and tho inexperienced, desir¬ 
ing to insure efficient protection, apply an un¬ 
due quantity of the material. The snows and 
rains of winter wet this and pack it down so 
closely as to exclude the air entirely, and the re¬ 
sult is that when a few warm days occur iu suc¬ 
cession, in early spring, the plant is suffocated 
from lack of air, aud becomes moldy, or mildew¬ 
ed, and perhaps heated to such a degree «s to 
destroy its vitality. This is especially the case 
where too large a quantity of manure is used, 
even if it be coarse when it is applied. 
To guard against such injury, it is well to 
loosen up the material with a Turk occasionally 
as the warm weather advances, for the purpose 
of admitting air to the plants, before it ia safe 
to remove the covering material entirely. Where 
loose dirt is used alone for covering, there is Je> a 
necessity for looking after the plant, as the 
earth itself is sufficiently porou3, and is uot 
liable to bo heated by any process of fermenta¬ 
tion. Although these hints come rather late iu 
the season, perhapB it is not too late for ttiern to 
be profitable in some localities. Clinton. 
MANURES 
Judging from letters we are constantly receiv¬ 
ing, there is a good deal of misapprehension as 
to the several objects of experimenting with 
commercial fertilizers as between the Stock- 
bridge manures and those to which we 
have referred as best suited to ascertain what 
particular mannrial ingredient any given plot 
may stand in need of. The principle of the 
Stockhridge manures is that of furnishing plants 
the food which by analyses has been found to 
cuter into their composition aud which is more 
or less deficient in the soil. It is taken for grant¬ 
ed that most soils are sufficiently supplied with 
magnesia,silica,iron. Ac., but that they need pot¬ 
ash, nitrogen and phosphoric acid, which when 
added in sufficient quantities will restore to tho 
soil aU the food wliioh the plant needs. 
Now, Boils differ. Some may contain a suffi¬ 
ciency of potash—some lime—some phosphoric 
acid, Ac. What wo propose is to ascertain, by 
using special fertilizers on different plots, those 
elements of plant food which aro already exist¬ 
ing iu the soil in sufficient quantity. If, for ex¬ 
ample, phosphoric acid were found not to add to 
the natural product of the laud,the experimenter 
would know that it would be useless to purchase 
phosphate of lime (bone) or superphosphate. 
The Stookbridgo manures are intended for the 
same purposes as stable manures. The use of 
special fertilizers upon small plots, which we 
have advocated, is intended solely to ascertain, if 
A hen was found so lame she could not walk. 
Parasites under the scales around the joint just 
at the edge of the feathers, were the cause. Two 
applications of turpentine effected a cure,follow¬ 
ed by aunointing with coal tar. The turpentine 
lulled the insects, invisible to the nuked eye, 
and the coal tar healed the soreness. 
An inspection of the baby’s nut grove planted 
a year ago is most gratifying. Tho filbert 
hushes are alive and have put forth their spring 
tassels; the Spanish chestnuts are budding out 
finely, and the English walnuts do not seem to 
have miuded the winter at all. What jelly times 
there will he one of these days, if all of these 
strangers to our high northern latitude contin¬ 
ue to grow and do well! We have faith that 
they will. The native nut trees, chestnuts, shag- 
