NOV. SO 
767 
me to plant a hundred (100) hills or more, and 
should it keep well this Winter, X promise my¬ 
self a nice crop next Summer. 
B. L. Arnold, Pres. 
State Agricultural College, Corvallis, Oregon. 
■-- 
REPORT UPON CHESTER COUNTY MAM¬ 
MOTH CORN ON THE RURAL FARM. 
New York, Oet. 23. 1880. 
Ed. Rural :—Upou the same day—Oet. 12,— 
upon which we measured the field of Blount’s 
Corn we also examined a field of yours con¬ 
taining about four and a quarter acres of 
Chester County Mammoth Corn, yellow, and 
found from a measurement of one acre the 
yield to be 236 bushel baskets of corn on the 
ear per acre. This field had some appearances 
of a greater crop than the Dent, but we could 
not ascertain such to ho the fact. Our meas¬ 
urements were as carefully made as in the 
former instance, but, time pressing ua, we 
were unable to shell and weigh the net pro¬ 
ceeds. The Btooks we found not uniform in 
size or yield, and after counting the stooka 
upon an acre, we took a few measurements of 
distances betweeu individual stooka as a check, 
and found this calculation differing somewhat. 
The stalks in this field mostly bore one large 
ear each, and the cob seeming to be large, it 
would appear that the yield of grains would 
not be so great in proportion as upon the Dent 
field of smaller ears. The cultivation, as we 
learned, was similar in both pieces, excepting 
that the Cheater was enriched by only 350 
pounds of Mapes's special fertilizer, against 
500 pounds upon the Dent field. 
In measuring an acre we began at a point 
half way between adjacent stooks upon the 
north and west, and found that 208 feet by 200 
feet, brought us again to center lines between 
stooks, this area gave 41,000 feet, or .055 of an 
acre, and counting 53 stooka, one acre should 
coutain 54 34 stooks of an average of 4.34 
bushels, or 336 bushels of ears per acre. 
Rob’t J. Dodge, C. K., 
Pres’t Farmers' Club, Am. Institute. 
W. N. Habbkrshaw, F. C. 8., 
Chemist N. Y. State Agr. Society. 
L. C. Benedict, Editor New York World. 
•»■» » — - ■ 
LARGE YIELD OF POTATOES. 
Mr. N. C. Jessup, of West Hampton, Suf¬ 
folk Co., L. I., has brought to this office some 
very fine specimens of a large white potato 
known for Bcvcral years past an the Burbank 
Seedling, of which he informs us that he has 
raised fully 1,000 bushels upon two acres of 
ground during the season just closed. The 
secdliug is a late potato, having been planted 
April 25 ;h and harvested October 1st, and very 
arge, one of them, he says, weighing two and 
one-half pounds 1 
The ground was plowed two years previous- 
y, und the first year had a crop of rye with less 
than 10 bushels to the acre. The next year there 
were 15 000 fish applied and the ground was 
planted in corn, and yielded 140 bushels of ears 
to the acre. Upon a third part of the two acres 
for the potatoes there was at the rate of 18 000 
fish to the acre applied. Upou another third 
part there were 15 loads of coarse yard ma¬ 
nure, with about 10,000 fibh. Upon another 
third part there were 20 loads of coarse yard 
manure and 400 pounds of guano applied. 
The yield was pretty nearly the same all over 
the two acres. 
In planting, the potatoes were cut three eyes 
to a piece and dropped In the furrow some 18 
inches upart, and where 60 manured the coarse 
manure was raked iu aud, with the potatoes, 
covered with the plow about four inches deep. 
The seed was dropped in every other furrow, 
leaving the rows but two feet apait. The cul¬ 
tivation was with a small, single mold-board 
plow, a single furrow, Boon after the potatoes 
were up, aud a light single furrow with a small 
double mold-board plow later. 
At the rate of 2.30 pounds of muriate of pot¬ 
ash was applied at the time of planting upon 
every other row over a small part, but the 
yield was not improved. A part of the fish was 
lightly plowed iu upon a part of the two acres 
in the Fall; the rest were spread upon the top 
of the ground before plowing for planting in 
the Spring. The manner of applying the 
guano Mr. Jessup dous not state, but the yield 
was the same where applied and where other 
manure was used. Mr. Jessup thinks that had 
care beeu used to iusure perfect "seed ” there 
would have been 50 bushels to the aero greater 
yield. The soil was from light to heavy saudy 
loam. The secret of the good yield may per¬ 
haps be found lu part iu having good seed 
potatoes, part iu the nearness of the rows aud 
the hills, and a part in the fact ihat the manure 
was applied directly where the potatoes could 
reach it, aud still another part in the complete 
covering of the ground by the vines, thus keep¬ 
ing the ground moist, light and mellow. 
A Woman’* Fir»l Potato Crop, 
Seeing in past numbers of the Rural the 
high esteem in which the Beauty of Hebron 
Potato was held by some cf your subscribers, I 
will give my experience with It this seasou. I ob¬ 
tained a small potato which weighed just three 
THE BUBAL ffEW-Y0BKEB. 
ounces. It had thirteen eyes. I cut it into 
pieces of one eye and I put one piece in a hill. 
Each hill was fertilized with a tableapoonful 
of superphosphate of lime, and the pieces 
were planted the 23nd of May. They were 
hoed but once and dug the 12th of September. 
I had a half bushel measure heaping full. 
Several will weigh a pound apiece. Several 
of my friends who Baw the "seed” before 
planting, have also Been the product and they 
think it a good yield—equal to 160 bushels from 
one bushel of seed. Who can heat this crop 
this year? The "seed’’ came from one of 
your last year's subscribers. 
Oneida Co., N. Y. Mbs. E. R. Davis. 
®jjc fottlfrg gartf. 
PREPARING POULTRY FOR MARKET 
Somp of the largest poultry dealers in New 
York have published directions for fatleuing 
and preparing fowlB for this market. The 
salient points iu the directions are:— 
Never let poultry forage and 6hift for them¬ 
selves for at least ten days betore killing 
them; lor Ihey are apt to range iu the barn¬ 
yard and pick up filthy food which defiles the 
entire bird, its tiesk on this account frequent¬ 
ly becoming so tainted that it is uufit lor lood. 
To make the best flesh the fowls should be 
constantly kept highly fed from the beginning, 
with plenty of clean, cold water ; thus they 
are always ready for the table. With but Very 
little extra attention the flesh for poultry will 
be juicier and richer in flavor than that of 
fowls fattened from a low and emaciated state, 
and it will always command a quick sale and 
the highest price. Do not "cram” a fowl 
before killing it to make it appear heavy. The 
undigested food soon begins to ferment aud 
putiifaction takes place, injuring the sale of 
the bird a great deal more thau is gained in 
weight by this dishonest practice. If allowed 
to remain in the coops 24 hours without food 
before itiskilled, the bird willkeepfresh loLger 
and present a better appearance. The best food 
for fattening fowls, old or young, is barley 
meal alone or mixed with equal quantities of 
corn meal cooked and fed warm. A small 
quantity of brick-dust iu the water is recom¬ 
mended. This will make their tte6b fatter and 
more solid, giving it a flue golden color after 
being dressed. 
The best mode of killing poultry, as it causes 
Instant death without pain or disfigurement, is 
to suspend the birds by tying their legs firmly 
to a pole or heavy wire across the killing room 
at a convenient distance from the floor, and to 
open the beak and with a sharp-pointed, nar- 
row-bladed knife make an incision at the back 
of the roof, which will divide the vertebiaj 
aud cause immediate death. Dry pluck Lhe 
leathers and pm feathers all off neat and clean 
while warm, without breaking the skin ; then 
plunge the bird into a kettle of very hot 
water, holding it there only long enough for 
the bird to " plump then hang it up—turkeys 
and chickens by the legs, aud ducks aud geese 
by the heads. Do not remove the entrails, 
heads or feet. (They must be drawn for the 
Boston market.) This mode gives the poultry 
a nice, buttery, golden color that attracts the 
eye of the epicure. 
Pack ouly when thoroughly dry aud cool 
(not frozen) in medium-sized, eleau boxes or 
barrels in thoroughly cleaued and dusted rye 
straw, and to be extra-nice wrap every bird in 
clean white (.not printed) paper, fold the head 
under its body, with the lugs stretched out; 
lay it iu the Icft-haud corner, back up, with Us 
head toward the end of the box ; till the first 
row; then commence the second iu the same 
way, ouly let the birds’ heuds pass up be¬ 
tween the rumps of two adjoiulng ones. This 
makes the packing solid, lu the last row re¬ 
verse the order, placiug the head toward the 
end of the box, letting the feet pass under each 
other; should there be space between these 
rows wide enough to lay in u few sidewise, do 
so; if not, fill It tightly with straw so the poultry 
cannot move. Over this layer place straw 
enough to prevent one layer from coming in 
contact with the other, aud add other layers 
nntil the box is fall. Great care must be 
taken not to break the skin ; for during trans¬ 
portation such places turn black and injure 
the sale. 
-»-»■ ♦--- 
DUCKS. 
For the table every one is willing to admit 
the duck’s excellence, though the want of 
cleanliness mils habits meets with everybody’s 
reprobation. As a feeder it has few equals 
while its feathers iu the market stand high 
above those of the hen or turkey and only 
second to those of its giant companion, the 
goose. 
Ducks are easily hatched and if properly 
managed they are easily raised—much more 
so thau chickens or turkeys. Probably the 
worst thing lor ducklings is the first thing 
they usually receive and that is unlimited 
range and water to swim in. The little thing 8 
are, in a measure, nude, and should be kept in 
pens with dry soil floors or stone pavement 
that can be washed down daily. No kind of 
poultry will succeed on bare beards. All the 
water they need is best furnished by burying 
an old pot in the ground and layiDg a round 
piece of board on top of the water with room 
for the ducks to stick their heads In und fish 
out the corn that is put in the water. This 
amuses them and does no harm, while, If al¬ 
lowed to go off to ponds or streams, they 
are very liable to fall a prey to vermin in 
some shape, or to get their bodies wet and 
chilled from remaining too long in the water. 
Their pens mu<t be kept clean if they are ex¬ 
pected to thrive. 
Ducks are enormous eaters. They feed not 
only incessantly all day, but if it is a moon¬ 
light night they will up and at it again every 
hour or two before morning. Owing to their 
voracious appetites they are considered non¬ 
paying fowls. It is generally claimed that 
they eat their heads off. We know of no 
statistics go : ng to show how many pounds of 
corn it requires to make a pound of duck, but 
we do kuow that ducks are very rapid growers 
and have but little doubt that if penned and 
judiciously fed enough to make the most rapid 
growth, they would return a handsome profit 
for the food consumed. L. S. Hardin. 
- 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
The season for poultry shows is approach¬ 
ing and every lover of fowls should make a 
point of attending at least one during the 
Winter. Aside from the beauty of the birds 
aud the wonderful shapeB and sizes to be seen 
among them, the exhibition may be made uselul 
by euabling each to decide which variety would 
be best suited to his circumstances, and If the 
means are not at hand to indulge in a yardful 
of full-bloods, a few pure-bred cocks may be 
purchased to take the place of those at home, 
and in one season these will work wonders In 
the flock. Grading up is not only a useful but 
an exceedingly entertaining occupation, and 
one within the means of any one able to keep 
a half dozen hens. We append a list of poultry 
shows to lake place this Winter. 
FOCLTRT SHOWS, 1630-81. 
Vermont.— Windham county Poultry and Pet 
Stock Association, lirattleboro. Jan. 4-T, 1S81. J. 
Henry Pratt, Secretary. 
Champlain Valley Poultry Association, Burling¬ 
ton. Jan. 11-14,18S1. 
’Vide Awake Poultry Club, St. John 3 bury. Dec. 
2S so, 1880. Chas. 3. Hastings, Secretary. 
Vermont Poultry Association at Rutland, Jan. 
18-21, 1831. C. C. Pierce, Secretary, Rutland. 
Massachusetts.— Southern Mass. Poultry Asso¬ 
ciation, New Bedford. Jan. 6-11, ISSl. Wm. P. 
Shephard, Fall River, Secretary. 
Central Mass. Poultry Association, Worcester. 
Jan. il-t 4 , 1831 . w. It. Fltton, secretary. 
New UA.MrsHiuE.-~ Mascoma Poultry Associa¬ 
tion, Lebanon. Jan. 18-20, 1881. Fred. Moulton, 
Secretary. 
Indiana. -Northern Indiana Poultry Associa¬ 
tion, Ft. Wayne. Jan. 18-22, 1881. F. C. Barrett, 
Secretary. 
Terra Haute Poultry and Pet stock Company, 
Dec. 14-21, 1SS0. A. B. Salslch, Secretary. 
White River Valley Poultry Association, Ander¬ 
son. Dec. 23-25,18S0. R. 1. Hamilton, Secretary. 
New York.—S prlngvllle Poultry Association, 
SprlngvUle. Jan. 12-14, 1881. A. L. Twltchell, 
Secretary. 
Union Poultry and Pet Stock Association, New 
Berlin. Jan. 18-21, ISSl. J. u. Bell, Cor. Secre¬ 
tary. 
Eastern New York Fanciers’ Association, Troy. 
Jan. 6-12,1S91. Thos. U. Richardson, secretary, 
Green island. 
Michigan .—Saginaw Valley Poultry Association, 
East Saginaw. Jan. 11-14, issi. C. T. Beatty, 
Secretary. 
Nkw Jersey.— New Jersey State Poultry So¬ 
ciety, Newark. Dec. 14-21, tsso. J. II. Baldwin, 
Secretary, East Orange. 
Pennsylvania.— Pottatown Poultry and Pigeon 
Club. Dec. 15-17, 1880 . E. L. Pennypacker, Secre¬ 
tary. 
Lancaster County Poultry Association. Jan. 
1-1-13. issi. J. B. Ltchiy, Secretary, 
Poultry and Pet Stock Association, German¬ 
town. Jan. 8-6,1881. Samuel S. Ford, Cor. Secre¬ 
tary, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia. 
Butler county Poultry Association. Butler, Jan. 
5 T, 1881, W. T. Mechllng, Secretary. 
Ohio.—C leveland Poultry. Pigeon aud Pet Stock 
Association, Cleveland. Jan. 12-19, issi. H. M. 
Sexton, cor. Secretary. 
District of Columbia.—D istrict of Columbia 
Poultry Association, Washington, D, c. Dec. ts- 
22 ,1883. s. M, Clark, Secretary. 
A Seauouuble Iliut. 
We would suggest that now is a good time 
to patch up the heu house. Maud the broken 
hinges, roosts aud nests, for there are proba¬ 
bly plenty of them needing a Blight repair. 
Cleau out the old straw from the uesti, and 
buru It. Gather together all the chicken coops 
aud nail or. strips wherever they are missing. 
Nothing gives greater delight eveu to the own¬ 
er than order aud system about the chicken 
premises, while in the end it greatly pays to 
keep things in repair and in their places. The 
younger members of the family should be en¬ 
c ouraged to do this, getting a fair share in the 
profits of the enterprise, while by regular care 
the Winter through the yield of eggs will be 
treble what it otherwise would be if every¬ 
thing about the hen-house is left filthy and at 
sixes and sevens. 
— — «»♦ — 
For Winter Latino hens should have warm 
dry quarters, but that doeB not mean that they 
should be shut up in a close room. No matter 
how cold the air is they should have a good 
sniff of it every day. and their room should be 
well aired also. A dry shed to dust themselves 
in and feed under, with an Eastern or South¬ 
ern exposure to give them a sun bath, is of 
great value to them. With these surround¬ 
ings and a regular supply of mixed feed one 
may reasonably look lor a generous supply of 
eggs. 
gctitsmait. 
ORIGIN OF HEREFORD CATTLE. 
I have had frequent inquires as to this, 
but can only answer that in common with all 
other British cattle, it cannot be traced to 
any definite beginning as now bred, but the 
progenitors, at least iu part, are supposed to 
be such as were described as far tack in the 
course of time as the 10th century, because 
there was a law then in England that a com¬ 
pensation should be paid for iDjury done by 
one prince to another, with 100 cows and a 
bull of white color with redears. Speed re¬ 
cords that Maud de Brehos, in order to ap¬ 
pease King John, who was highly incensed 
against her husband, made a present to his 
queen ot 400cows from Brecknockshire, "all 
white with red ears.” Now as pure Herefords 
of thepresentday occasionally crop outof this 
color, itis thought with good reason, that the 
above cattle might have been among the early 
progenitors of them. 
Mr. Thomas Duckham, editor of the English 
Herefoid Hird Book, siys that Lord Scud- 
more, who died in 1671, introduced red cows 
with a white face from Flanders. These 
were bred to the white cows with red ears, 
and produced those of the various colors of 
our times. The present fashion is a white 
face with a red body, but I believe a lined 
back is also admissible, together with more 
or less white ou the throat, breast aud belly. 
I believe, also, if a few white patches occur 
on the body the animal is not put aside in 
consequence of these. I have seen Here¬ 
fords of rich strawberry roan color, also pure 
red, excepting a mottled (speckled) face. 
A. B. Allen. 
-♦-»-••- 
NOTES BY A STOCKMAN. 
It is something unusual at this time to find 
a man of sufficient intelligence to write a read¬ 
able communication to au agricultural journal, 
that professes to believe in the "signs." A 
correspondent who has written some valuable 
articles about sheep iu the Ohio Farmer 
recently declared " that on reference to his 
diary he found his lambs bleated more when 
weaned with the *s>gn’ somewhere in the 
vlt Is, than when it was elsewhere.” This 
relerence to the vitals may be a sly and sarcas¬ 
tic hit at a popular delusion; doubtless a 
weaned lamb would find a sign of discomfort 
in the vitals from an empty belly, and might 
reasonably bleat more on that account. Is 
this what Mr. Stephen Powers would have us 
to understand ? 
Cincinnati is becoming a very extensive 
sheep market. The receipts of that city have 
increased from 181 673 in 1873 to very nearly 
500.000 in 1879. This is fortunate for the 
Southern sheeD interest, which is thus pro¬ 
vided with an outlet that promises to re*ach 
praDd proportions. There is no more 
promising field for this industry than the 
mountain region of the South as well as 
parts of th<? lowland region. The opening of 
a uew railroad from Cincinnati iuto the heart 
of this southern region offers an excellent 
market for sheep and lambs and nothing pre¬ 
vents the home manufacture of wool but the 
want of the raw material. 
The Fall sales of Cotswnld sheep in Ken¬ 
tucky have been unusually successful. In 
the magnificent pastures of that State this 
breed develops all the excellencies which 
mark its larger compeer the Short-horn. The 
Short-boru and the Cotswold are well suited 
for companions, aud In the rich, broad, park¬ 
like fields of the blue-grass region, both reach 
their highest excellence ; andas a consequence 
bring their highest prices. At these sales, 
rams brought from $50 to $225 per head; a 
flock of 55 head brought $3 070. E sewhere 
this breed seems to be losing ground. With¬ 
out the most luxurious pastures aud the most 
skillful feeding, Dcilher the carcass nor the 
wool reaches perfection. It is not in place on 
small farms any more than Short-horn cattle 
would be, and farmers who have not the 
requisite facilities for keeping theta, are dis- 
