APRIL S 
per cow. It. must he evident that herds like 
the latter are not rapidly bettering the fortunes 
of their owners. And yet this thing goes on 
from year to year without the proper effort 
to get out of the rut. 
The statistics of the cheese factories in the 
State of New York, I am sorry to say, show 
many inferior herds that do not yield on an 
average much above 3,500 pounds of milk per 
herd during the year, whereas the average 
should be at least 5,000 pounds. The milk of 
every cow should be tested as to quantity and 
quality, and inferior cows discarded. It is 
better to pay a good round price for a superior 
milker than to take a poor one at any price, 
since the cost of keep on the latter will most 
likely insure loss. There are instruments now 
which will determine quickly and easily the 
pei’centage of butter in any sample of milk 
and with sufficient accuracy for all practical 
purposes, so that by weighing the milk, from 
time to time, the real value of a cow as a milk- 
producer may be known, and such tests are 
imperative if the best results in dairying are 
to be obtained. 
Dairymen should breed their own stock as 
the surest way to get superior milkers at 
moderate cost, but in breeding dairy stock 
care should be taken that calves be raised only 
from deep milkers, aud it is quite as import¬ 
ant that the sire should be of a deep milking 
family as the dam. 
■-- 
A Goon and Painless Remedy for Warts 
on a Cow’s Teats. Grease the teats very 
freely with hog’s lard immediately after milk¬ 
ing, do this every time that you milk, and the 
warts will gradually diminish in size, dry 
away and soon cease to be troublesome. If 
the weather Is cool, warm the lard enough to 
make it plastic. A cow on this farm had very 
bad warts and was treated in this way w ith 
good success. s. h. b. 
Huntingdon, Conn. 
el)c poultvij ])avl>. 
FRESH NOTES FROM THE POULTRY- 
YARD. 
HANDY SITTING BOXES. 
At the close of the hatching season all my 
nicely contrived sitting boxes were stored in 
the barn, but only a few days be: to 1 had in¬ 
tended to take them out us a beginning for 
the approaching -oasun, die bare ts burned 
aud they with it. When we had recovered a 
little from the confusion of the fire we held a 
couucil over the situation. John liked things 
shapely and so did I; but time was pressing, 
materia) and tools were lacking, anti clucking 
hensquarrtliug with the layers in thepoultry- 
houso over the laying-boxes, warned us not to 
delay, so I decided to “rough it” for one year, 
and the next morning i sent to the one store at 
the Corners for boxes that would do for hens’ 
nests. The answer came back: “ We ain’t 
got nothiug but what’s too big or too little, 
except cheese-boxes. We’ve a cart-load of 
them you can have, and good riddance, if you’ll 
send for them.” As there was no alterna¬ 
tive, they were sent for, though I felt sure 
they would never do; but they proved so 
handy that cheese-boxes were my choice for 
nests ever after. 1 began with them by burn¬ 
ing straw in one and covering the fire with 
another, placing them top to top. This gave 
a smoked, charred surface in which vermin 
would not lodge. Then each was filled to 
within four inches of the top with earth I had 
stored in the Fall. This was packed down, 
a slight hollow being made in the cen¬ 
ter ; then I moistened it thoroughly with 
tepid water made rather strong with carbolic 
acid; over this a dust of dry earth, then a cov¬ 
ering of straw from a well-worn bed which I 
had saved, packed and headed up in a barrel, 
since the last Fall cleaning. This made a nest 
that was vermin-proof, convenient for the 
hen to get upon, and for me to keep watch of. 
If 1 bad a refractory hen I would cover her 
nest with a bushel basket, removing it in the 
evening by lamp light to give her aehaneeto 
eat. In a short time she would return of 
herself to the sitting, when I would leave 
the basket off. 
LESSONS FROM A STOLEN NEST. 
“ A stolen nest gives a full hatch,” said 
John, one day when he called me to see Old 
Buff as she came from the raspberry patch, 
with fifteen chickens following. “And she one 
of the very poorest sitters under even my 
very best management” I answered. Old Buff 
was a buff Cochin, and such a mass of fat 
that her eggs were invariably so oiled from 
her body that their batching was impossible. 
She had rotted two sittings already that sea¬ 
son, and 1 had shown her out of the yard in 
disgust, aud was heartily glad when she disap¬ 
peared. I knew there waB some reason be¬ 
yond mere luck in her doing so well away 
from my “ best management,” and made up 
my mind to find it out. I bunted the nest and 
found it close to the north side of a fence on 
a mound of earth kept moist by the shade of 
the fence and the rank raspberry growth. 
There still remained the egg shells, but not an 
unhatched egg. “ I’ll tell you,” says John, 
“ our nests of straw only were too dry and 
heating. The cool, moist earth did the busi¬ 
ness. Then when she went off the nest to 
look for food she hat) to hunt round through 
the weeds aud grass, getting her under feath¬ 
ers wet with dew. The cold and damp mod¬ 
erated the heat of the body and prevented the 
fat oozing out over the eggs as it did on the 
other eggs.” The note I made was, “ the nest 
should have a damp earth bottom, and if the 
hen can’t get out into the dew.she should have 
her under-feathering moistened well by rub¬ 
bing a dripping sponge over it.” Further ex¬ 
perience added, “ Eggs, during incubation 
need moisture, else the membrane lining 
the shell and euvelopiug the chick will be. 
come so dry and tough the chick will not be 
able to get out, and will die. Too much mois¬ 
ture is quite as bad iu causing the chick to 
grow beyond the limits of the shell, so the 
parts crowd against each other and again the 
chick dies.” 
Old Buff’s performance startfd my inqui¬ 
ries upon another track, i.e., the heat given 
out by the hen during incubation. This we 
found to lie greater at the beginning than 
toward the close ; also, that it was greater 
iu some varieties than in others. W hen, believ¬ 
ing ns I did in “ the eternal fitness of things,” 
came the question, “ Do some varieties of eggs 
need more heat than others I” and we agreed 
that they must, and to have perfect success 
in hatching, the mother and eggs must be at 
least of the same order. My experience veri¬ 
fied this also in the percentage of hatched 
chicks being greater under such circum¬ 
stance, other things being equal. 
CONTROLLING SEX. 
I was greatly troubled in my poultry keeping 
by the contrariness of the sex of the hatch. 
There was always a surplus of pullets of the 
breeds I wanted in cockerels, and of cockerels 
when i wanted pullets. I understood the 
characteristics of the several varieties of 
poultry, and finding my profit in the cocker¬ 
els of one sort and the pullets of another, I 
could see that all lying between “ making 
poultry pay ” was to be able to control the sex 
of the hatch, 1 tried every theory that was 
advanced, selecting long eggs for cockerels, 
round eggs for pullets ; this to no purpose. I 
held every egg for setting before a light, 
selecting for males those with the air bubble 
square on the end, aud for females those with 
it at the side. This too, was a failure. 1 
even, in desperation, acted upon John’s sugges¬ 
tion aud carried the to be cockerel eggs to the 
nest in a hat, the pullet eggs in a sun-bonnet, 
and w as no nearer the r suit. The thought 
came, “Try to coutrol the matter back of the 
laying in the mating.” It was a happy 
thought, for I soon found I had the right idea; 
but it took me long with the aid of many ex 
periments to reduce the result to anything like 
a certainty. My market called for both table 
poultry and eggs, and my experiments re¬ 
solved themselves into this:—For table poultry 
the hatch must be cockerels, because these 
gain greater weight than pullets in the same 
time and upon the same quantity and quality 
of food, i. e., I get more pounds’ weight at no 
more outlay. Now the table fow l must be 
flesh not fat, and the flesh must be where it is 
of the best quality, upon the breast and 
thighs. Now of what variety can I best make 
such birds? 
To have the greater part of the hatch males, 
the mating must he of pullets with a cock at 
least two years old. They must be well fed, 
he must be fed scantily. The difficulty was to 
find pullets of the flesh producing varieties 
which could be fed well and yet continue lay¬ 
ing, as generally they w T ould become fat and 
cease laying. I finally found my triumph in 
Dorking and Dominique pullets, and the cock 
a Brahma. Cockerels of this cross were ready 
for the market early, were well fleshed, of 
good color, and the percentage of offal was 
small. To have the hatch pullets, the mating 
was a vigorous cockerel with two-year-old 
hens, the male bird fed well and above his 
mates. I bad no difficulty in finding the cross 
for egg-producing. I tried several of the 
non sitting varieties, and with equal success. 
My preferenc - was for the Black Spanish be¬ 
cause of its large, white eggs. The best result 
of this mating for sex was in the last year. 
For the cockerel yard, about seven-tenLhs were 
males, one-tenth females, two tenths infertile 
eggs. In the other, the result was about 
eight teutbs females, two-tenths males, no 
infertile eggs. This I think is as good an 
average as could be obtained. 
LESSONS IN HATCHING. 
My notes for the hatching season are: March 
and April will do to set for early broilers, pro¬ 
vided the arrangements for keeping and care 
are such that the expeuse ami trouble w ill not 
exceed the profits, For pullets to lay iu early 
Winter, May and J une birds are best. A good 
rule is not to have chicks break the shell until 
they can see to feed at six o’clock in the 
morning, aud as early in the season as tbis 
only when there are warmed quarters to keep 
them iu. The reason is, if fed at dusk and 
again at daylight earlier in the year, the fast 
W'ill bo too long and the chicks, if they sur¬ 
vive, will be stunted. 
Don’t feed Cuyenne-seasoued food except it 
may be on a cold, dump morning, or to 
counteract the effects of a day or a night out 
iu a storm. The only value of auy stimulant 
lies in the occasional using, to lift the system 
above the uveruge, to meet some extra demand 
upon it. Bread soaked in old ale and squeezed 
almost dry is an excellent stiinulaut. 
Mark all eggs for hutching when fresh layed. 
This will ©liable yon to keep track of their 
age. Before setting them mark with pen aud 
ink the date of the sitting; then if eggs are 
laid afterwards they ean be distinguished and 
taken out. Examine the nests daily to remove 
any eggs that may have been broken, and to 
see that the hens leave the nest to dust and 
feed. This latter ean be known by Jeeling 
the crop. If the hen has not bueu off, remove 
her. If she will not dust, hold her by the feet, 
head downwards, and throw dust into her 
feathers. 
At the end of the first week examine the 
eggs by holding them one by one before a 
strong light. If any are clear they are infer¬ 
tile-remove them. Bet two or three or more, 
if possible, bens at the same time. Usually at 
the end of the first week the nests can be so 
doubled up that fresh eggs cun be given to one 
at least. 
The shell of the egg will in a measure speak 
for the calcareous condition of the hen laying 
it, and for the vitality of the chick that will 
come from it. A thin shell will show a lack 
of calcareous mutter iu the hen,shell and while 
of the egg, consequently in the chick. 
Eggs for hatching should he placed, when 
waiting to be set, broad end down in bran. 
The bran will keep them steady and apart 
from each other. Large end down, the con 
tents rest on theelastie base of the air bubble. 
Never set a hen with scabby legs. The dis¬ 
ease is caused by an insect and is “ catching.’’ 
The chicks w T ill surely be troubled with it A 
liberal application of kerosene will kill the 
insect and restore the condition. 
Avoid using lard, oil or grease of any kind 
about a hen or nest during incubation. A 
greased egg cannot hatch. The pores of the 
shell are closed by the grease, causing sus¬ 
pended action within, under the influence of 
heat from the body of the sitting hen, decompo¬ 
sition follows, and there may be an explosion. 
AILMENTS AND REMEDIES. 
Look out for vermin. Lice like warmth 
aud always seek a dry place. This is why 
they are always so abundant upon sickly 
birds: the surface of the body is dry, feverish 
and free from oil. This shows prevention to 
be in keeping the fowls in condition, and care 
to be in the use of oil. Lice never deposit 
their nits upon oily feathers. The oil closes 
the breathing pores of the insect and the air 
cells of the nit. Sulphur iu the food is effica¬ 
cious because of its specific action upon the 
skin rendering it moist and oily; but sulphur 
must be used with the greatest care, or iu its 
effects be worse thau the evil it is used to 
remedy. An overdose will cause the feathers 
to fall, the skin to become diseased, and the 
birds to dio. The best poulterers will not allow 
the use of sulphur in any form upon their 
premises. 
The aliments in the poultry yard during 
Spring arise either from cold or indigestion 
There is sometimes a rattling of mucus in the 
throat. This may be relieved by adding a few 
drops of nitric acid to the drinking water. 
Sometimes a bird has a severe cough. A few 
drops of spirits of camphor in the thanking 
water will relieve this. For acute roup—that 
is, running at the nostrils and frothy eyes—re¬ 
move to warmer quarters. Reduce the 
amount of food for a day, theu add half a tea¬ 
spoonful of castor oil to a small quantity of 
water and give this for the first drinking in 
the morning. The oil floating upon the water 
will be the first swallowed. If taken in time, 
the fourth day should find the bird well enough 
to return to its old quartern and regular diet. 
For feather eating and pulling, pass a quill 
about three iuchos long through the nostrils of 
the offender. Scatter feathers about the coop 
or yard. They will be eaten with apparent 
relish. Borax pounded fine is eaten eagerly 
by feather-eaters. Following the example of 
a French neighbor, I gathered all the bits of 
broken crockery and pounded them fine. My 
fowls ate every scrap that was small enough 
for them to swallow. Why I don’t know. s. 
NOTES AND COMMENTS. 
Yes, Hordeola, it is time that the Little 
Gem Tomato was dropped from the cata¬ 
logues. With me it is only three or four days 
earlier than the Conqueror, and this is not 
much in its favor when its small size is con¬ 
sidered. All l can say iu its favor is that it 
is not subject to the rot which proved to be so 
destructive and annoying lust season. 
Mr. Allen’s notes on the American Won¬ 
der Tea (see page 1)4) prompt me to say that I 
am more than ever impressed with the fact 
that all of our varieties of peas would be more 
productive if the plants wore not permitted to 
stand so close together. Throe inches apart is 
certainly close enough for the plants to stand. 
In addition to Ib rticolu’s notes on the poin- 
settia (page 105), 1 would say that I consider 
the white variety, F. ulbida, to be deserving of 
a place in all collections where poinsettias ure 
grown. The bracts of this poinsettia are of a 
creamy, not pure, white. With me it has not 
proved to be so robust in growth as the old 
sort, but it is worthy of more attention than 
has been given it. The contrast between the 
two varieties is very striking, and no plant in 
my collection Inns attracted more attention 
than this. 
Titk two earliest varieties of dwarf and 
bush beans are the Early Fcjee and the Early 
Mohawk, the latter being the most product¬ 
ive. For a succession the Early Mohawk and 
the Early Valentine are both good sorts, while 
for late crops, as well us for pickling, the 
Refugee is considered the best. Iu order to 
obtain a constant supply it will be found to 
lie necessary to make a sowing every two 
weeks, and 1 think that the plants will be ren¬ 
dered more productive if the beans are drop¬ 
ped three or four iuehes apart. Care should 
be taken not to hoe when the plants are wet, 
as the earth, or even dust, scattered on them, 
will cause them to tustaiul thus greatly injure 
the crop. 
I kind that both the Black aud White Wax 
B.ish Beaus are most decidedly objected to by 
many persons on account of their retaining 
their yellowish color when cooked. It is to be 
regretted that some people are so fastidious as 
to uppeantneo, for, when properly prepared 
for the table, the Wax Beans are without an 
equal. Where their color is not objected to 
they are worthy of cultivation, to the exclu¬ 
sion of all other sorts. They are among the 
In the Country.— Fig, 118. 
