437 
FEB. 28 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Co . Fair Haven. The samples were taken on 
Nov. 34th, 1839, by Dr. Armsby, with the as¬ 
sistance of Mr. Barnes, who has also supplied 
the following data descriptive of the samples. 
338. is unscreened oyster shell lime, slaked 
the day the sample was drawn. 
339. is unscreened oyster shell lime, slaked, 
and about six weeks old. 
330 is oyster shell lime screenings. 
The two samples of slaked lime are fine and 
in good condition to apply to land, 338 being 
quite dry in handling, 339 damp and coherent. 
The slaked and unscreened lime which these 
two samples represent is sold by measure and 
not by weight. The price, in November, 1879, 
was 8cts. per bushel at the works, and 9£ cts. 
per car load, shipped in bulk at R. R. Depot. 
The average weight of the screened slaked 
lime used for building purposes is stated to be 
47 pounds per bushel. As the screenings 
amount to 3 to 5 per cent, of the total, it is not 
far from the truth to assume that the un¬ 
screened will weigh 50 pounds per bushel. 
The cost of the lime would be 16 cents per 100 
pounds at the kilng, or $3.30 per ton. Shipped 
in casks bolding 16 to 35 bushels, the lime 
would cost about 1£ cents more per bushel and 
the casks cost $1 each, which would bring the 
cost of a ton up to about $6.40, two casks in¬ 
cluded. 
The screenings, 330, consist largely of im¬ 
perfectly burned shells, entire or in fragments. 
They arc not shipped but are sold at the kilns 
for 4 to 6 cents per bushel. 
3:28 
329 
330 
.64.47 
63.60 
63.82 
. .41 
.32 
.24 
. 1.56 
1.43 
1.14 
. .16 
.27 
.15 
. .04 
.06 
.03 
. 7.7H 
8.89 
22.34 
. .52 
.69 
.23 
. .04 
.09 
.01 
. .17 
.19 
.15 
. 2.24 
2.41) 
. 6.08 
2.86) 
6.12 
. .65 
.94 
2.60 
.16.93 
38.33 
13.17 
100.00 
100.00 
lou.uo 
Analyses of Oyster Shell Lime and Screenings 
Lime. 
Magnesia.!ii 
Oxide Iron and Alu’na.. 1.60 
Bods.16 
Potash. 04 
Carbonic Acid.7.7 h 
Sulphuric acid.62 
Chlorine. 04 
Phosphoric acid. 17 
Silica. 2.24 
Sand. 5.08 
Coal.65 
Water (by difference).16.93 
In the subjoined statement are given the 
proportions of the various chemical compounds 
that probably exist in the samples. 
330 
50.62 
33.29 
.49 
.33 
.24 
■U4 
.24 
.02 
1.14 
6.12 
2.60 
4.97 
100.00 
338 339 
Carbonate of lirno.17.45 19.73 
Hydrate of lime.68.64 62 34 
Sulphate of lime. 1.12 1.48 
Phosphate of lime. 37 41 
Silicate of lime. 4.33 4 66 
Magnesia. 41 ‘33 
Carbonute of potash. 06 09 
Carbonate of soda. 22 '43 
Sodium chloride (com. salt)... .07 ’03 
Oxide of irou aud alu’ina.1.50 1 43 
811ica... .j 
Sand. 6.08 2.85) 
Coal.65 .94 
Water. 00 15.29 
100.00 100.00 
A brief review of the chemistry of lime man¬ 
ufacture may bo serviceable. Clean oyster 
shells consist chiefly of carbonate of lime. As 
they are nsed in lime manufacture they con¬ 
tain probably about seven per cent, of mois¬ 
ture and organic matter, about six of soil and 
sand, and 87 percent, of carbonate of lime. In 
passing through the kiln the carbonic acid 
is mostly expelled. If completely expelled 
the loss would be 3S pounds of carbonic acid 
for 100 pounds of shells, leaving 49 pounds of 
quick lime (calcium oxide). With this would 
of course remain the sand, mud, etc., that orig¬ 
inally adhered to the shells, together with the 
ashes of the coal used in burning. 
The lime thus obtained is slaked by throw¬ 
ing on water, in order to reduce it to a powder. 
Iu this process of slakiDg, water aud lime en¬ 
ter into chemical combination, the 49 parts of 
lime becoming 61 parts of hydrate of lime. In 
practice 6ooie carbonate of lime remains unde¬ 
composed by the burning, and in the slaking 
pi ocess, the use of insufficient water may leave 
6ome quick lime unconverted into hydrate, or 
excess of water may remain as moisture, as is 
the case with sample 339. 
When applied to land, oyster-shell lime may 
act as a, fertilizer strictly speaking, or an amend¬ 
ment. Commonly, both kinds of action are ex¬ 
erted, and the distinction between fertilizer 
and amendment is not generally recognized in 
practice, although very important in consider¬ 
ing the effects of this substauce. Lime is used 
as an amendment on heavy clay soils, two to 
three or more tons being sometimes applied 
per acre. On loams or light lauds 1,000 pounds 
or 20 bushels of oyster shell lime, applied once 
iu two or three years, is a usual application, 
equivalent to the addition of 300 to 500 pounds 
to the acre, auuually. It is evident that the 
small quantities of potash, magnesia aud phos¬ 
phoric acid contained iu such doses of oyster 
shell lime can have no sensible effect upon 
crops. It is the lime, afoue, therefore, to which 
any benefit must be ascribed. A consideration 
of the modes of action of hydrate of lime, when 
applied as a fertilizer, will make evident that 
it is one of the most valuable atds to the fanner 
and deserves more attention from Connecticut 
land owners than it has received. 
Our cultivated crops contain on the average 
as much lime us potash. The necessity for the 
application of potash Balts is fully recognized, 
but probably the lack of lime is as common a 
cause for unfruitfuiuess; for while potash sel¬ 
dom wastes from the soil to any serious extent, 
and is found in spring, well, aud river waters 
in extremely 6mall quantities, lime freely dis¬ 
solves in water and rapidly wastes from the 
soil, so that other things being equal, there is 
more need for its restoration. 
Sairg pnstrauirg. 
NEW YORK STATE DAIRYMEN. 
[Rural Special Report.] 
This Association held its annual meeting at 
Utica this year, and while the attendance was 
not large, the interest shown was enthusiastic 
and the addresses most admirable. Taken as 
a whole I believe they were the best and most 
practical it has ever been my pleasure to listen 
to. The opening address was given by Mr. M. 
Folsom, of thiB city, the president of the Asso¬ 
ciation. He reviewed the past and present 
state of the market and called attention to the 
want of reciprocity on our protective laws and 
drew a glowing picture of what might occur to 
this country should England pass laws protect¬ 
ing her dairymen to the extent that many inter¬ 
ested, are protected in this country agaiuBt 
the manufacturers of England. He approved 
of making the Commissioner of Agriculture a 
member of the Cabinet, so that he could look 
after those interested, that the farmer was too 
busy to attend to himself, among which he 
named the grasshopper plague, cattle plague, 
army worm, the Colorado beetle and other 
bugs. He strongly condemned the return but¬ 
ter pail aud advocated a simple uniform, pack¬ 
age that should go with the butter when sold. 
New York butter is a little under the average 
this year while cheese is better than ever. 
After a lively debate on the gang press un¬ 
pleasantness which Messrs. Whitman & Bur¬ 
rell have happily settled by buying up all the 
conflicting patents, a box of different varieties 
of foreign cheese, a present from the Messrs. 
Thurber was opened and greatly relished by 
the dairymen present. This has been a charm¬ 
ing feature of a number of dairymen's con¬ 
ventions ‘this winter for which the Messrs. 
Thurber are entitled to the thanks of all 
present. 
In the evening the firet speaker was Mr. L. 
8*Hardin, whose address concerning the Na¬ 
tional Dairy Cattle Club was the same reported 
in this paper from the Verinout Dairymen's 
Association. 
Mr. Hardin was followed by Mr. B. D. Gil¬ 
bert, the Secretary of the Association. His 
subject was importation of foreign cheese into 
the United States. The flue foreign display of 
the Messrs. Thurber at the first International 
Dairy Fair first opened the eyes of the dairy¬ 
men of this country to the excellence and 
variety of this class of cheese. The trade 
which represented 3,120,113 pounds iu 1875, 
has, however, gradually diminished until it 
has reached the sum of 2,618,793 in 1S79. 
By comparison with the cheese production 
of this country, it will be seen that as one in¬ 
creased the other decreased. That ia, the more 
we made of cream the less we needed of a for¬ 
eign make. Our foreign supplies came from 
England, France, Germany, Italy, Holland and 
Switzerland. Limburg, be says, ia no longer 
imported. “It has grown with our growth, 
though it will hardly need to strengthen with 
our strength." Our dairymen can make nearly 
all the imported kinds, but they must bear in 
mind that many require a full year to ripen for 
market, so that ready money could not be 
looked for in this quarter. It would also re¬ 
quire new fittings for the factories. He advo¬ 
cated a widening of the dairymen's business by 
creating a larger demand for varieties of dairy 
products. “There is," he says, “no foreign 
cheese brought here to-day the price of which 
would uot enrich any man in a short time, pro¬ 
viding that he could manufacture it at home.” 
Mr. Gilbert was followed by X. A. Willard on 
the commercial history of the dairy. This ad¬ 
dress was mostly taken up with statistics. He 
divided the subject into decades of ten years 
each, aud told how prices had gone up and 
down, while the production had gradually in¬ 
creased. Prices have maintained a pretty even 
balauee from 7^ cents a pound for cheese aud 
15 ceuts for butter in 1825, when the make 
could not have exceeded a few thousand 
pouuds, to the average of the last decade of 
about 10 cents a pound for cheese, when the 
export trade alone demanded over 158,000,000 
pounds. He questions if present prices for 
cheese can be maintained in view of the low 
prices of beef aud pork sold tu England. He 
calls for a better quality of uiuke and warns 
the dairymen against adopting new methods 
blindly. Mr. D. W. Lewis, ol this city, deliv¬ 
ered a very funny address on the effect of 
greenbacks on the butter aud cheese trade. 
Reports of committees were received ap¬ 
proving the efforts made to have the Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture made an executive depart¬ 
ment [ that Congress take measures to stamp 
out pleuro-pneumonia; that the tolls ou salt 
shall be abolished ; that the thanks of the So¬ 
ciety be tendered to the Messrs. Thurber for 
the present of foreign and domestic cheese; 
that freight discriminations against farmers 
be legislated against; that the interests of the 
dairymen of New York would be enhanced by 
visiting the various dairymen’s associations, 
and that all lawful means shall be taken to put 
down the unlawful traffic m oleomargarine. 
After this the election was held, and, in ac¬ 
cordance with the suggestion of Mr. Folsom, 
the retiring President, that none but dairymen 
should hold office in dairymen’s associations, 
Mr. Robert Me Adam was elected President for 
the ensuing year, and Mr. Gilbert retained as 
Secretary. 
Prof. I. P. Roberts, of Cornell, gave an ex¬ 
ceedingly interesting address on cattle, their 
food and management. All his illustrations 
were taken from actual experience at the col¬ 
lege farm. In regard to cutting bay, he said 
it had been chemically determined that neither 
early nor late cut hay was most nutritious, but 
that cut intermediately between the two; that 
the best air for the stable was neither extreme 
heat nor extreme cold, but medium and espe¬ 
cially very dry. Cows should have exercise. 
In Holland, where cows are kept up the whole 
winter, he had noticed large lumps on their 
legs and that they walked as if sufferiug from 
rheumatism. He could find no profit in steam¬ 
ing food. He gave the exact figures of what 
his cows had done in milk and the money re¬ 
ceived for it. and said the movement now un¬ 
dertaken to induce farmers to keep the records 
of their cows’ performances was the greatest 
effort ever made to improve the condition of 
the dairymen of the world. h. 
|oaltrg §ari), 
FANCY PIGEONS. 
CARL VERA. 
Fancy pigeons! what are they good for ? 
This is a question that is often asked, and it is 
sometimes put in a criticising and scoffiug 
manner by prominent horse fanciers and even 
poultry fanciers. With the same propriety 
might be asked : What good are any kind of 
birds? What good are flowers? Why were 
they given to us? For there is just as much in 
the scores of varieties of pigeous to claim at¬ 
tention and interest as in the birds or flowers. 
The dove, or pigeon, ia associated with all that 
is holy in Christianity, and with much that 
was held sacred iu mythology. Its very name 
in Hebrew, “ Jona," is derived from a word 
signifying gentleness, and from the day it 
brought the olive-leaf to the Ark, both the plant 
and its winged bearer have been esteemed em¬ 
blematic of peace. That the pigeon fancy is 
of very old date will be seen by au examina¬ 
tion of the works of classic writers, and many 
extracts might be taken, were they needed, 
from such writers as Shukspeare, Teuuyson, 
Pope, Moore, Hood and others. 
One extract from Thomas Hood—he who 
sang the “Song of the Shirt”—I cannot for¬ 
bear giving, it so aptly expresses our idea of 
a deserted home: 
No dog was at the threshold, great or small, 
No pigeon on the roof—no household creature,— 
No cat demurely dozing on the wall— 
Not one domestic feature." 
We all have our fancies; these fancies ex¬ 
press themselves in various ways. A man 
must have leisure to enjoy a fancy, or money 
to pay for it, and either presupposes a state of 
society where one does not have to work him¬ 
self to death to obtaiu a living, or one where, 
mayhap, fortunes are accumulated and heredi¬ 
tarily descend to the one who pocsobses the 
fancy". The pigeou fauey ia ornamental, in¬ 
structive and lasciuatlug. Why it is lasci- 
na'ing is very 6imply and easily 6tated. It is 
the cultivation aud pursuit of ideal beauty in 
its highest forms ; it is the constant effort to 
approach a standard of perfection impossible 
of attainment; it is progress ever approaching 
completion, y et never completed, towaids a 
beautiful shadow which ever and anon seems 
witlxiu reaeh, yet which is never grasped. It 
thus presents all theencouragemeutof success, 
with all the stimulus of failure; all the satis¬ 
faction of good work well done, with all the 
desire for greater perfection yet to be accom¬ 
plished. Such statements aud comparisons as 
these may, peihaps, provoke ridicule, but, if 
so, most unjustly, for iu their truth lies the en¬ 
grossing interest of pigeon-breeding to those 
who follow it, and the reasou why, if a man 
becomes fond of pigeons at all, he becomes so 
very fond of them. For this reason some of 
the busiest aud best of men become pigeou 
fanciers under the ever-increasing pressure of 
the battle of life in which they are engaged. 
They need—they crave—something which shall 
afford them relief from their eares, reaction 
for their wearied minds, for the mind—far 
more than the body—needs it in those days; in¬ 
terest and enjoyment for their leisure hours; 
aud they find it all in the pursuit of the pigeon 
fauey, which unswers most exactly in all these 
respects to the culture of flowers. 
Like the florist, tho pigeon fancier seeks to 
develop what he calls the “ beauties " of his 
pete, and, artificial as his ideals are, they are 
scarcely, if at ail, more so than those o> a gar¬ 
dener. No one feels surprised that men should 
love flowers, and as our natures are not all 
alike, some of us cannot have flowers; some 
of ns want more return than flowers can give. 
We would have their beauty, but we crave an 
eye that can meet onrs, a pet that will welcome 
our approach and show that our regular visit 
is a joy to it. If only the beautiful flower 
could turn round at onr coming; it it could 
acknowledge gratefully the refreshing shower 
we bestow upon it; if it could meet glance 
with glance, to show us that it shared the joy 
of every meeting; if, I say, a fiower could do 
all this, then it would answer in nearly all re¬ 
spects to a fancy pigeon. To the true fan¬ 
cier, his pigeons are just such beautiful, rare, 
living flowers. 
The pigeon fancy is assuming vast propor¬ 
tions in the United States. Within the past 30 
years the buying, selling and importation of 
pigeons have caused to spring up a number of 
business houses devoted entirely to the pur¬ 
pose of supplying such pets. Germany and 
England are the countries from which the 
largest number of birds are imported. The 
love for pets evinced by the people of both 
nations has produced, within the last few cen¬ 
turies, numberless combinations of colors and 
points of greater interest in this class of the 
feathered tribe. Each of these people has, how¬ 
ever, had its own peculiar fancy. The Ger¬ 
mans, living so near the birth-place of fine art, 
have devoted their time and 6kiU to the pro¬ 
duction of brilliancy of coloring or odd con¬ 
trasts of colors, and the toy birds have it sued 
from their bauds in every conceivable combi¬ 
nation of hues natural to pigeons or striking 
to the eye. The Euglisb, ou the contrary, 
turned their attention to shape, or whatever 
was odd and curious, and by long selection and 
careful breeding, have obtained what are called 
the high fancy birds; viz: the English Pouter, 
Carrier and Almond Tumbler. We Americans 
should be thankful that those two nations de¬ 
voted themselves to such opposite purposes. 
Between them they have worked to our advan¬ 
tage We now have all the varieties ready¬ 
made to our hands, whereas, if both had 
worked towards the same desires, there would 
h ive been a much shorter and more imperfect 
list to choose from. 
I will not. however, infringe further on the 
valued space of our esteemed Rural, but in a 
subsequent uuiuber, wifi speak of the several 
varieties and in regard to their breeding. 
-♦ ♦ ♦- 
A New York Poultry Account. 
Having had some experience in poultry 
raising. I give it for the benefit of Rural read¬ 
ers After I left school iu June, 1878, I com¬ 
menced taking charge of father's hens and am 
still iu the business. I kept an accurate ac¬ 
count of every thing the first year. Although 
I do not think the record is extraordinary, it 
shows that hens can be made to pay their way. 
My account is as follows:— 
Amount received for chickens and ckks sold.$50.63 
Amount paid for feed, repairs and losses. 25.22 
. Profit.. 25.41 
We kept about 25 bens which were a mix¬ 
ture of Brahmas. Leghorns. Houdans aud barn¬ 
yard fowls. We used $12 95 worth of eggs and 
poultry at home. 1 have made the hen house 
warmer by battening and banking, as it was 
formerly so cold that we got very few eggs in 
all winter, but now the heua lay about as well 
in winter as iu summer. I fed corn, oats, 
wheat screenings aud corn meal and wheat 
bran dough—the last on the coldest days. I 
gave the hens burnt bones and egg shells 
broken fine often, and fresh meat occasionally. 
Last spring I had several sick hens ; one died 
and I opened her crop which was filled with, 
some charred corn I had fed them. I gave 
the others eaeh a “ Parson's pellet,” and they 
all recovered. 1 received all of my instruc¬ 
tions in poultry raising from the columns of 
the Rural. L. L. Allen. 
Jefferson Co., N. Y. 
-«- 
A Southern Poultry Account. 
I started in on Jan 1. ’79 with 30 hens and 
two cocks, pure-bred aud grade Houdans. 
This number was much reduced one way and 
another, so that when the last day of the year 
came around I could strike the average at 23 
hens; 10 of this number hatched and cared tor 
chickens. No pullets laid during the fall. The 
liens were one. two and three years old. They 
were allowed unlimited xange; were liberally 
fed with corn twice each day except during 
June and July when the wheat fields furnished 
ample foraging grounds. They were never 
permitted to become lean or lousy. In this 
climate, there are lew cousecutive days when 
dry earth for wallowing is not to be found 
without special provision. A few burnt bones 
were the only addition to their diet besides 
that mentioned above. Results as follows:— 
Eggs gathered Jan. 144; Feb. 311; March, 432; 
April, 407; May, 221; June, 291; July, 273; 
Aug. 145; Sept. 77 molting; Oct. 184; Nov. 
124 ; Dec. 177. Whole number 2,786 or 232 1-6 
dozen. Average price for the year 12$c. per 
dozen. “Nothing to brag of” to be sure. 
Still I am pretty well satisfied with the re¬ 
sults. No account was kept of the corn. 
Warren Co., N. C, M. P. Prince. 
