had no guarantee or assurance that it would 
succeed in any such locality. But it had Been 
highly recommended as au improved variety, 
and we were kindly furnished with an oppor¬ 
tunity to test its value (or our own use, with¬ 
out any expense to Ourselves other than the 
trifling trouble of plantiug and cultivation. 
And yet, in looking over the several reports of 
those who have beeu thus favored, it has really 
seemed to me that some of them itidulged a 
sort of feeling that they had been almost im¬ 
posed upon by being persuaded to make the 
trial, when the simple announcement of the 
fact whether the corn would or would not suc¬ 
ceed in their locality, aud if not why, would 
seetu to be all that it was necessary to report, 
that such report might be beneficial to others. 
Neither the Golden Rural uor the Acme to¬ 
mato may suit every one, but, at the same 
time, many may be highly pleased aud duly 
grateful that they have beeu introduced to 
their noiiee, aud another advantage of that in¬ 
troduction may be in stimulating others to ef¬ 
forts in the production of other improved 
varieties, so that eventually the tastes aud 
wishes of a larger number of the lovers of this 
valuable vegetable or fruit may be gratified. 
Many of my age eau well recollect when the 
tomato was first iuuodueed to our tables as au 
article of food. We have also witnessed, with 
much satisfaction, the great improvement 
that has beeu made by tfie introduction of uew 
varieties, uot only iu form aud flavor, but iu 
the time ol ripening, 
For one, I confess to a weakness (if you 
choose so to term it) lor testing uew varieties of 
seeds and plants, aud have frequently suc¬ 
ceeded, very much to my own satisfaction, 
where otheia Jailed. 1 am now anxiously 
wailing (or au opportunity to test the seeds 
which the Rural so kindly promises to furnish 
to its subscribers for the coming year. 
These remarks remind me to speak of tbe 
llovycr beeds distributed from the Ritual ollicc 
by its prescut managers, i have beeu pained, 
I might almost say disgusted, at times in read¬ 
ing the reports made by bevel'll of the recipi¬ 
ents. Too many of Iheiu read like these, for 
instance: •• Ihe llower seeds you scut tue 
proved an entire failure i” or, •* (July oue or 
two of the flower seeds ever made their ap¬ 
pearance;” or, "The season was so dry that 
the dowers were a failure or, " The flower 
seeds were neglected till it was too late for 
them to succeed etc., iudicatiug clearly, to 
my miud, that the fault was with the recipi¬ 
ents, and not in the 6eeds. 1 eau truly say 
that, with the niauy seeds received from the 
Kukxl oilice at variuus times, i have been 
quite successful—more so, i have thought, 
liiau with those purchased of the dealers. 
Poafiibly 1 have beeu more careful wilh them, 
iu view oi the source from which they came. 
At uif events, i. eau vouch for the genume- 
uess of tbe seeds furnished, and if, iu any ease, 
1 have tailed of success, i am frank enough to 
attribute tbe failure to my own ignorance of 
the correct manner of troutmeut, or to borne 
accideulul cause. 1 would, therefore, respect¬ 
fully suggest to the recipients of llower seeds 
from the Kukal office, il they have no taste fur 
their cultivation or uo time to devote to Lheir 
proper euro and attention, that they kindly 
hand them over to some friend or neighbor, 
who they are sure will give mem a lair trial, 
at the same time informing him of the source 
from which the seeds came, aud the manner of 
distribution. In so doiug they will uot only 
give pleasure to the individual, but may aid 
m gaining a uew subscriber for the Kukal. 1 
am cerium 1 have induced more Liiau oue to 
subscribe by caliiug attention to this tree seed 
distribution to subscribers, ami, in some eases, 
giving them a poniou of my seeds lor trial. 
Althuugb tbe taste lor the cultivation of 
dowels has beeu so largely improved witliiu 
my recollection, aud has uuw become quite 
popular, yet it is surprising to see how many 
there arc Who profess to have a tabte in that 
direction, while in laet it is evidently a mere 
pretense made for the purpose of being sup¬ 
posed to be ou the popular side. 1 have always 
given freely of seeds or plants to those who de¬ 
sired them, even to uty own inconvenience 
many a time, as 1 Lake pleasure iu encouraging 
their cultivation. But i have beeu surprised 
to notice how rnauy there are, even at this 
day, who, ou being inquired of afterward as 
to their success with them, have confessed 
either that they lorgot to pluut them, or that 
the weeds had choked them, or eveu that they 
had not looked at them since they were plant¬ 
ed. With all such persons, my confidence iu 
their professed love lor the cultivation of 
plauts or flowers is very much weakened, to 
say the least of it. 
I fully indorse what has recently been said 
iu the Kukal, under the head of " Miniature 
llot-Beds 1 aud “ Floriculture for Youug Peo¬ 
ple, etc. After the plain aud simple instrue- 
tious there given, no amateur cultivator, who 
has ever read them, if possessed of a modicum 
of common seuse, will hereafter be war¬ 
ranted iu reporting that the seeds gratui¬ 
tously furnished frorq the Kukal ofiico " al} 
failed to germinate.” 
Oneida Co., N. Y, 
away down, which, to say the. least, does not 
improve the appearance of the fowl. In the 
method which 1 have suggested, all this is 
avoided by first dressing the birds aud theu 
cutting off tbe heads before going to market. 
Even theu, if the skin has a tendency to draw 
away from the neck, it eau be tied over the 
latter. 
The fowls should bo picked while yet warm. 
They should be picked dry, if il can be done 
without tearing the skin. If this is tender and 
liable to be torn, which always spoils the ap¬ 
pearance of poultry, then a siugle dip in scald¬ 
ing water for barely an instant will prove a 
certain remedy. Scalding rather improves the 
aspect of poultry, giving, I thiuk. a fresher 
and bettor appearance to the fowl than if it 
were omitted. Some fowls, as geese and 
ducks, it will be found necessary to singe , iu 
order to remove the Hue downy feathers which 
can be removed iu no other way. This is ac¬ 
complished by making a good blaze with a 
quantity of paper, and then taking the fowl 
by the legs aud neck aud turning it once around 
iu the blaze. A single instant will be found 
sufficient, and there will be uo appearance of 
smoking or scorching. 
After being picked, the fowl should bo 
"drawn;” that is, the inside should be re¬ 
moved. Thu heart aud liver aud the gizzard, 
after having been cleaned, should be replaced. 
This is au operation that should be performed 
with great care. It is only necessary to make 
au opening large enough to insert the two 
forefingers. I have seen towls almost ruiued 
by "boggling” done in dressing. I have this 
much to say in reference to "drawing" a 
fowl—that uo amount of instructions will 
tuke the place of actual experience. Too 
much care cannot be observed iu order to pre¬ 
vent the fowl from looking “ mussy.” This is 
oue of the cases where ueatness "tells.” After 
the fowls are drawn, they should be prepared 
for market. It is hardly possible they will be 
marketed the same d ty they are dressed; at 
least, they should uot be, as they are not nice 
to handle. Take the larger birds, such as 
geese aud turkeys; tie their legs together to 
facilitate hanging up; pass a cord around the 
body, eonfiuing the wings close to it. This 
will very much improve the appearance of the 
fowl iu market aud make it much easier to 
pack, if it is desirable to do so. After this has 
beeu all attended to aud the fowl has been well 
washed, both inside and out, with warm water, 
and rimaffi iu dear cold water, it should be 
hung up iu some cold room aud allowed both 
to drip and stilfeu. 
If the fowls are to be sold to private cus¬ 
tomers, too much care cauuut be exercised iu 
preparing a good article iu a ueat manner. 
Purchasers are apt to take notice of careless¬ 
ness, aud are also sure to know when they 
have received a poor article. Let the lowl be 
u good oue. and sell it for just what it is. Do 
not sell a live-year-old gobbler for a young 
turkey. Prepare the birds nicely, aud if there 
is any profit iu the business, poultry handled 
in this manner will be pretty apt to realize it. 
if the fowls are consigned to commission 
men or jobbers, let the same care be observed 
iu preparing them for market. They should 
be closely and carefully paeked iu boxes or 
barrels and consigned to uoue but reliable 
dealers. And here the same good faith should 
be observed. The farmer should resist the 
temptation to slip iu a poor fowl with the good 
ones. No box or barrel of fowls should be 
shipped without marking iu plain letters the 
name of the consignee ou the package. I 
think that poultry dressed and marketed in the 
inaunorlhave suggested, will be found rea¬ 
sonably profitable—ut least such has beeu my 
experience. 
St. Lawrence Co., N. Y. 
until its introduction with the Cochins and 
Brahmas. These grand, massive birds brought 
us cholera too; but at the 6ame time they 
brought a constitution almost proof against 
cold. While all other breeds are more or less 
sensative to this, these heavily-feathered birds 
appear quite indifferent to it, and lay on 
through the coldest weather; whereas other 
breeds do not seem able to keep up enough in- 
tornal vigor to make eggs iu very severe cold. 
During chicken hood they are also very hardy 
and easily raised. 
One would certainly expect the largest breeds 
to be longer-lived than the smaller ones, but this 
is not always so; the large Asiatics are not as 
long-liVedas most of oni ordinary-sized poultry 
nor do they keep up their laying qualities like 
many fowls. After they have attained the age 
of three or four years, they seem infirm, get¬ 
ting very fat when well fed, and unproductive, 
while Dorkings are uotiu their prime till they 
are two years old, and keep up their vigor for 
seven or eight years. I know of a Silver Gray 
Dorking heu ten years old, that still keeps lay- 
iug. I had one eight years old that brought 
up two broods last year; bur. the Dorkings 
have uot the constitution while they are young 
that the former have, but get strong wheu full- 
grown. Their principal weakuess when young 
appears to be in the throats aud breathing. 
They seetu to outgrow their strength, for when 
they attain a certain size they are then hardy. 
Spanish fowls feather very slowly, and are 
sensative to wet aud cold during their half- 
naked period. Leghorns, although of the 
same class, feather very quickly, and the 
Browu arc specially hardy when very young; 
but are not hardier than most others wheu 
adult birds. They are then as much liable to 
roup as many other breeds. All the Hamburg 
family are predisposed to roup, so are Games 
and Bantams. The Polish are very delicately 
constituted; so are the French, of which the 
Uoudans are the hardiest. The cross that pro 
dueed the Plymouth Rocks seems to have"" 
grafted the weulher hardiness of the Asiatics 
on the already comparatively hardy Dominique. 
In giving this comparison of constitution, 
let it uot be supposed that I recommend or dis¬ 
favor any of thu breeds ou account of con¬ 
stitution alone; they have all their respective 
merits that are not to be overlooked. My 
object is now simply to classify their weak¬ 
nesses, which every breeder should under¬ 
stand, especially the young fancier and farm¬ 
er. I kuow there in a great disinclination 
among breeders of poultry to admit these facts; 
but why '< They are sure to bo found out some¬ 
time or other, aud by knowing beforehand what 
to expect, oue is better prepared to encounter 
or eveu prevent the ill effects of such, consti¬ 
tutional weakness. 
PREPARING POULTRY FOR MARKET 
FORREST K. MORELAND 
Butchering on tbe farm is uo small task. 
The work itself, wheu once fairly commenced, 
is not so difficult, but it is au unusual task and 
one that is dreaded to some extent. Killing 
and dressing poultry are a task that usually 
falls to the lot of the women. 
it is the practice ou many farms to get ready 
for killing, get some assistance aud butcher 
the hogs, aud, perhaps, one or two beeves at 
the same time. The occasion is usually taken 
advantage of by the women folks to kill aud 
dress all tbe turkeys, geese, ducks aud chick¬ 
ens, aud get rid of everything of this sort at 
ouce. There is a show of reason for this plau. 
Butchering, at best, is a very disagreeable 
matter, and by attending to it all in one day, 
there is much less trouble and anuoyauce. 
When the poultry is all killed at ouce, it must 
be marketed at the same time; and, of course, 
it is sold for shipment or to sonic dealer to be 
retailed. In either case, a somewhat lower 
price must lie accepted than if sold iu another 
manner, if, indeed, the farmer should not be so 
unfortunate as to strike a glutted market. 
Another method of disposing of poultry, aud 
one which I have followed for years aud have 
fouud to be uniformly profitable, is to procure 
a number of good customers w ho will lake a 
certain quantity of poultry regularly uutii the 
entire stock is disposed of. Those who wish 
to sell their poultry iu this manner will find it 
indispensable to success to observe a little care 
iu fattening their fowls and preparing them 
for market. It will not do to sell old liens for 
spring chickens, uor will it do to stuff their 
crops after they are dressed or to send to 
market carelessly-dressed poultry. When 
care is taken to have a good article neatly 
dressed, fully twice as much can be realized 
from it. if retailed in the inauuer I have sug¬ 
gested, thau if sold to commission men or 
retail dealers. I have fouud it well worth 
the extra trouble. 
Fowls should uot have access to feed for 
from i'2 to lb hours before killing. This may 
be accomplished by putting the fowls to be 
killed iu au iuelosuro by themselves for that 
length of time. No more fowls should be 
killed at once thau eau be dressed before they 
get too cold. They are much more easily 
picked while warm. There are different 
methods of killing fowls—goqd, bail aud in¬ 
different. Oue method, much practiced, is to 
have a suitable block of wood in some con- 
veuieut place ; grasp the fowl firmly by the 
legs with oue baud, and with a sharp axe— 
sometimes a dull one—sever the head lrom 
its body at a single blow—if two or more 
are uot required Wheu tills is accomplished, 
the fowl is left to thrash around ou the ground, 
getting its feathers all besmeared with blood 
aud dirt. This is the bad method of killing 
poultry. There are a great mauy indifferent 
methods and some very good ones. Inasmuch 
as iudiffureul methods of killing fowls are mat¬ 
ters of utter indifference to the readers of ag¬ 
ricultural papers, I shall pass them by, audeu- 
deavor to give a few practical suggestions that 
may lead to somu slight improvement iu dress¬ 
ing poultry. One method of killing chickens 
is to take the bird by the head aud swing the 
body around two or three limes rather quickly, 
which breaks the vertebra) aud causes death 
speedily. Another is to give the fowl a sharp 
blow ou the back of the neck with a small 
stick ; this also causes death. Still another is 
to ruu a sharp penknife up through the roof of 
the fowl's mouth, penetrating the brain amt 
causing death almost instantly. The method 
of killing poultry that suits mo best aud one 
in uo way objectionable, is to tie the fowl’s 
legs together and hang it up, head dowuwards, 
ami with a sharp knife make a slit through 
its neck in such a manuer as to pierce the 
principal vein. Wheu the killing is performed 
in this manner, the fowl is thoroughly bled, 
and wilh birds whose feathers are valuable, it 
is the best possible method of killing. The 
feathers are perfectly clean and uot disagreea¬ 
ble to handle. 
There is another advantage in favor of this 
method aud one which will bear mentioning; 
aud that is, that iu fowls whose heads have 
been cut off, the skin on the neck is drawu 
A Profitable Sueei* Account.—O n Nov. 8 
Abel Hoyt & Son gave a statement in the 
Kukal of their gross income—812S 35—in one 
year, from a llock of IS ewes and one ram. In 
our issue of Nov. 2!) a N. J. correspondent, 
mistaking the gross for the net income, asked 
for an account of the outlay for keeping the 
animals. Messrs. IL & Son write us that their 
object in giving the account was to show farm¬ 
ers in different parts of the country what the 
entire income lrom sueli a small Uoek of sheep 
might be, each being able to judge best for 
himself what the cost of maintenance would be 
iu bis locality. In estimating the cost of keep¬ 
ing them, our correspondents offset two cows 
against the flock, or nine sheep to a cow. Eight 
full-grown sheep might be a fairer proportion, 
but five of these were yearlings or lambs. It is 
geuerully estimated that 2„ tons of bav are re¬ 
quired to winter oue cow; and hay in their 
neighborhood, Saratoga Co., N. Y., was worth 
aevuu dollars a ion last year in the barn. A 
small union ut of grain was fed during lambing 
season. The usual price for pasturing one cow 
there is eight dollars, so that the account would 
be about as follows :— 
Gross mooruo... $ 12 S <15 
Outlay— 5 tons of hay, g) 7. $35 66 
Pasture . . Is.'ou 
Gram (.estimated). 5.00 5 s. 00 
Not Profit.$ 7 L 35 
With regard to care, all needed attention is 
thought to have been amply repaid by the 
manure. 
CONSTITUTIONS OF POULTRY 
HENRY HALES. 
After considering poultry as one species, it 
is not a little remarkable that the various 
breeds show a considerable diversity of eou- 
Stitution aud longevity. Domestication not 
ouly brings out various colors aud sizes, but 
every so-called breed of fowls differs in many 
other respects from the others, even as regards 
constitution aud liability to certain diseases, 
some of which are kuown to have beeu import¬ 
ed with the birds; for iustauee. scaly legs—ele¬ 
phantiasis—was never seen in our poultry 
FARM IMPLEMENTS & SEEDS 
York, lor "Whatever you want of the above. 
Address 189 & 191 Water St. 
HALL, ELTON & CO., 
Electro-Plated Ware, German Silver and Britannia Spoons 
“EASTLAKE.” LPatented.] 
Salesroom, 75 Chambers St.. New York 
Factories, Wallingford, Conn 
