born of -well cows, tbo actual value of the 
calveB from a 30-pound cow might be rea¬ 
sonably $100 each, or $76 clear after paying 
the service of the bull. This would add, on the 
basis of the computation above, $130 more for 
the value of the cow ns a breeder, supposing 
each calf, male or female, were worth $75 
clear at its birth; or a total value of a 20 pound 
cow at two years, of $530. Bat as a cow can¬ 
not be expected to bo at her prime at that 
age, and if sho is older she will bo worth less 
for each year added to her age, and the risk of 
disappointment is very great, no two year-old 
cow, whatever her promise, could be reasona¬ 
bly worth more than half the sum ubove men¬ 
tioned and should be worth less than that, be¬ 
cause of the great risk of disappointment. So 
that the very highest actual value of a two- 
year-old candidate for the houor of becoming 
a 30-pound cow, on a reasonable business basis, 
would not be more than $200, and a man that 
should buy to day for dairy purposes, a 
herd of 10 of the most promising two-year-old 
heifers for $2,000 would be making a fair busi¬ 
ness operation, and no more, And if there is 
m.y other source of actual value from Jersey 
cows or bulls, thau dairy purposes, I don’t 
know of it. The conclusion therefore is that 
no dairyman or farmer can afford to give 
more than $200 even for a heifer promising 
2) pounds of butter a waekjwhon mature; and 
of course all that might be paid in excess of 
that amount, maybe called tbe fancy price, 
and the “bric-a-brac” value of the animul, 
paid merely for the pleasure of owning it. Of 
course, no limit can be placed on t l ii» value, as 
it depends wholly upon the fancy aDd the 
pocket of the ultimate owner, and tbe specu¬ 
lative recklessness of the intermediate dealer. 
H. Stewart. 
and back, and have slat fronts. The bottom 
should lie of slats so that the dung can drop 
down. There should be a sliding bottom, in¬ 
stead of tbe coop being open all round, as the 
birds must be kept from drafts; or the coops 
may have a floor bottom covered by any light 
substance, such ns sand or sawdust, to be 
cleaned out every day or t w o. The coops should 
be whitewashed before admitting the fowls; 
and birds which are brought up together will 
agree best in a coop. Any quarrelsome ones 
should be removed. When settled in the coop 
they should not be fed for a few hours till 
they are quite hungry. As to food, there 
is much conflict of opinions; some prefer Luck¬ 
ily use was to cut the heads off and pack in 
barrels sunk half-way io the ground, and then 
banked up to near the top. An old carpet or 
a bundle or two of straw over the top would 
keep out the frost, and the cabbage could be 
taken out at any time. A bushel or two of 
sawdust rouud the barrel would prevent the 
feet from getting muddy. 
Cabbage with loose heads could be set out 
in o. bed three or four feet wide, ict in so as to 
touch each other, and protected with leaves, 
and they would bead up during the Winter. 
Those who had tried blanching celery in 
barrels and boxes in tho cellar were much 
pleased with the practice. From 10 to Id 
plants could be set in a barrel with the roots 
well packed in earth; set the barrel in the cel¬ 
lar and cover to exclude tbe light, and the 
celery will soon blanch to tbe tips. It was 
stated that potatoes buried did not sprout or 
wilt BO badly as those in the cellar and conse¬ 
quently had more vitality and were much bet¬ 
ter for seed. A thick coating of coarse ma¬ 
nure, straw or corn-fodder should bo applied 
to the pits after tho first freeze. 
The third sub topio was “Supply of Wood 
and Kindlings.” The question, should coal- 
oil ever be used to start fires developed a safe, 
practical and economical method of using it, 
follows- Fill an old tin can with the oil and 
page 743, as to tne merits ann ueauty ui mm 
breed of fowls. They are a great ornament 
to the poultry yard, and, according to my 
fancy, the most superb of its denizens. I bred 
them for several years, but at last gave them 
up for the following reasons. 0« ing to the 
extra toe—this breed possessing five—when 
attacked by the scale, it was much more diffi¬ 
cult to get rid of it than in the cose of four¬ 
toed fowls. Oq account of top-knot and the 
muffie, if lice got on them, they were not so 
easily eradicated as on smooth headed birds. 
This top knot also partially blinded the chick¬ 
ens, making it more difficult to raise them, 
and the parents could not take so good care of 
themselves in consequence of it. Not being 
■ - - - • . 1 
The Rural New-Yorker circulates among 
the best farmers, fruit growers and gardeners 
in. the country. It treats of every branch of 
rural industry Its influence in promoting 
agricultural experiments andsial has been 
greater than that of all the other farm 
papers put together, subscribe for one year 
$2.00 in alliance. We have no club or 
Xf40nd price. 
New Sunrise.— From Nature. —Fig 444. See Page Sir 
wheat flour; otheis, oatmeal, barley meal, etc. 
As most of these suggestions come from a 
foreign source, where Indian corn is not as 
available as other grain, it is well to experi¬ 
ment and trurt our own observation in this 
matter, using all the principal species of grain. 
I have found more fattening properties in 
Indian corn than in any other grain. I have 
no doubt it. is the same with Ihe Indian meal, 
and certainly all kinds of poultry prefer it. 
Indian meal scalded or boiled, mixed some¬ 
times with wheat middlings, barley meal, oat¬ 
meal, or buckwheat flour for a change, h the 
iilbiCtU aiumis 
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A TWENTY 
POUND COW? 
What is the value of a cow? It clearly de¬ 
pends most upon her product. Let us tak9 a 
RURAL BRIEFLETS, 
Mr. H. A. Chask, of Geneva, N. Y., writes 
us:—“Referring to the engraving of the Chi m- 
pion Quince in the Rural of November 13, I 
infer there must be eome local cause for tbe 
apparent failure of the Champion on the 
Rural Grou ds. I have seen considerable of 
the fruit this Fall, and it lias been of large 
size and good form. The Champion, like any 
other Winter fruit, cannot be expected to 
ripen on the tree. It should bo picked when 
fully grown and allowed to ripen in the 
hous- or cellar.” Accompanying this are tes¬ 
timonials from P. M Augur and other well 
known horticulturists to tbe effect that the 
Champion Quince is in everyway an excel¬ 
lent variety. There seems little doubt that 
it does not do itself justice in the Rural 
Grounds... 
Sweet corn will shrink more than dent; 
dent, more than ilint. Three years ago w T e 
weighed a quantity of tho Chester Co Mam¬ 
moth on Nov. 1st and aguin on May 1st. The 
loss was 35 per cent. Of course, there is a 
great difference in the shrinkage of different 
varieties of dent. Of all that we have ever 
tried the Chester shrinks the most.... 
The KickkerPkar —All of our readers sre 
aw are that the Rural has not spoken in high 
terms of ibis new candidate for public favor. 
From specimens shown ui after it was first 
advertised for sale, we judged it to bo of low 
quality. The tree, it was claimed, w as blight- 
proof. It appears now that the tree is not 
blight proof and that the quulity is inferior 
to-that of the Duchess. When well grown, 
however, the fruit is large and showy, so that 
it may become, like the Duchess and B our re 
Clairgeau, a lavorite market variety. 
Ten years ago we laid a drain of hemlock 
boards three feet deep. We find that those 
boards, judging from an examinat ion of them 
in one place, are still quite sound. We 
FATTENING POULTRY, 
f. 
%. • atsBKyAdh ;*«& y 
Poultry, to be in the best condition ror tne 
table, should be at least moderately fat; the 
flesh of any lean animal is not in a choice con¬ 
dition, for without a mingling of fat with the 
lean, the mentis not juicy and full flavored 
The more rapidly new' flesh is mode on an old 
fowl the tenderer it is. lu making this re¬ 
mark I do not wish to lie understood to mean 
that it is good to keep fowl.-, in poor condition 
until wanted to fatten; on the contrary, it is 
better to have all fowls so well fed that they 
require but little more fattening at any time, 
and birds so kept ere preferred by some per¬ 
sons to those fattened in confinement. 
go ne varieties of poultry take on fat 
readily when confined, while others will pine 
and lose flesh. Such is often the case with 
turkeys, in which event liberty with liberal 
feeding is best. Dnoks fatten when first con¬ 
fined, but booh lose flesh again, if not kille 
or released. Fowls fatten readily if confined 
under favorable conditions, such as a warm 
place kept very clean, nourishing lood, and 
he birds in a strong healthy state. Some 
breeds fatten much more easily thau others. 
All the Asiatics are inclined to fatten, some¬ 
times too much so, when all the Indian corn 
they can eat is given them, even when they 
have their liberty, but this is in the case of 
adult birds. Plymouth Rocks are somewhat 
so inclined; but it is a very uncommon thing 
for other breeds to get too fat while at liberty. 
1 know the question has been often asked, 
sometimes through tbe Ruhal, how a bird 
can be too fat. Well, every fancier who has 
had much experience with breeding Asiatics, 
knows enough to shun hens with much fat 
behind, as they are often sterile. 
To comma ce tbe business of fattening 
fowls in confinement, have the coops just 
high enough for the birds to stand in so as not 
to jump up and worry, and let them hold a 
dozen fowls each at most comfortably, without 
crowding. Let them be covered at top, sides 
Wall’s Orange as Grown at the Rural o 
best food. Skimmed milk is the best for 
drink, aud it is also mixed in tbe food; but 
care must be taken that it does not sour 
iu tbe food or pans. After the first feeding, it 
in best to have a curtain of seme kind hung 
loosely iu front of the coop to darken it and 
keep the fowls quiet during the process 
of fattening. 
As soon as the birds are fat they should be 
killed, or they lose flesh. This is easily 
accounted for as their systems after a certain 
time become surfeited, and the fowls naturally 
require a change, which is denied them in con¬ 
finement. The food should be of the con¬ 
sistency of stiff dough, fed from a board or 
t.rnmrh twice or tiiricB a day. Lot them have 
