NOV 3 
723 
Bari). 
THE BEST BREEDS OF POULTRY. 
I. K. FELCH. 
Light Brahmab.— The question often arises, 
“ What breed shall 1 take to give rae the most 
satisfaction and profit?” The Almighty has 
so ordained things that nearly all the breeds 
of fowls will pay a profit if propefly cared for; 
but all have a special value a.s pertaining to 
breed. I have had my baud on the public 
pulse for many years, and I do not hesitate to 
say thattbe prime favorites with the public are 
the Light Brahmas, with the Plymouth Rocks 
and Leghorns coming next in the {popular call, 
and to the breeder desiriug to keep more than 
one variety, these three present a combination 
which eauuot be excelled. Why l In the 
Light Brahmas we have the best of all the 
larger breeds; for they lay more eggs in the 
aggregate than any other breed, the eggs, too, 
are larger, and they lay a greater number 
between October 1 and May 1; hence one can 
get more dollars' worth of eggs from them in 
the course of the year than from fowls of any 
other breed. Their eggs will sell in the Boston 
market for from five to eight cents a dozen 
more than those of any other sort. As poultry 
they are the only breed it will pay to winter 
for Spring prices. As broilers, they are good 
when killed at eight or ten weeks of age ; but 
as poultry from that time till they are eight 
months old they are not desirable. They can¬ 
not be said to be mature till they are past 12 
months. Therefore, with the conceded fact 
that the meat of no fowls becomes tough in 
filler till the bird is post the age of growth, we 
have in this breed good roasters till they are 13 
months of age. The male chickens, colonized 
by themselves when five months old, and kept 
thus till March and April, sell as virgin cocks 
for within five cents per pound of the price 
paid for capons, and with all the albumen of 
their systems retained, they are as fine in 
flavor, and I question very much whether the 
connoisseur can tell the difference between 
the two when they are cooked. The pullets, 
wheu six months old, are as fine poultry as any 
living breed. A product of 150 eggs per year 
besides hatching and rearing a brood of chicks, 
is the average stint of each Light Brahma hen. 
Surely that places this in the front ranks of 
poultry breeds. Then again, they are the 
most hardy of all fowls. 
Plymouth Rocks.— This popular breed has 
found admirers in many sections of tho coun¬ 
try, and captivated all who make a business 
of furnishing broilers and small roasters for 
seaside use, their great excellence being as 
broilers, for which purpose they are fit when 
12 to 16 weeks old. The growth of seaside 
and Summer resorts has added to the value of 
this breed, because, for the great consumption 
at such places, the Plymouth Rook is used as 
much as all the other breeds combined, and in 
this use I find the chief cause of their popu¬ 
larity and value as a breed. As layers they 
cannot be called as prolific as the Brahmas, 
nor are their eggs as large; but the quality is 
not inferior. The principal drawback iu the 
case of this breed is the large number of casu¬ 
alties to which the fowls are subject. Among 
adult birds the rutio of mortality is at least 
10 per cent, more than among Brahmas; yet 
their beauty and broiler merits give them a 
prominent place in the possessions of the fan¬ 
ciers of the couutry. 
The Wyandotte, the new breed, formerly 
known as tho American Sebright, will become 
a formidable rival of the Plymouth Rock; for 
fowls of this breed have all the virtues of the 
others, with better constitutions, being more 
hardy, better layers, more blocky and heavier 
breasted, and thus they are likely to become 
better broilers; and ere five years we shall see 
the poulterers’ yards largely filled with them, 
while the singular beauty of their plumage 
will give them a prominent place with all the 
fanciers. 
Leghorns. —To secure the greatest number 
of eggs, irrespective of quality, the Leghorns 
a ro, beyond question, the best breed. They 
are the liest Summer layers, and being non¬ 
sitters, they become very valuable to the 
poultry farmer. 
The ever-increasing poultry interest of the 
land is fast bringing to the front the best 
breeds, and the popular furor for any variety 
is a sure indication of merit. We are a prac¬ 
tical people, and our tastes in tho beautiful 
in these tilings are largely influenced by 
merit; and the American farmer, poulterer 
and fancier are led to say and believe that 
“handsome is that handsome dots.” 
For him who has to deliver certain quanti¬ 
ties of poultry, broilers and eggs each day or 
week, the breeds described will be very useful. 
All four of these breeds are yellow-uieated, a 
fact which renders the males valuable. The 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
Winter production of eggs by the Brahmas, 
the excellence of Plymouth Rocks and Wyan- 
dottes as broilers for Bummer consumption, 
the prolific laying of the Leghorns in Sum¬ 
mer, when the other breeds are laying less 
profuselv, serve to give an even supply the 
year round. Thus, for practical use, he who 
breeds outside of these breeds for New Eng¬ 
land use, makes a sad mistake. 
For the New York market other breeds are 
required. The three best sorts for that city’s 
consumption are the Langshan as a large 
fowl; the Houdan, as an intermediate sort, 
and the White Spauish as the Summer layer 
or Leghorn. Why? Tno Empire State pre¬ 
fers white poultry and white oggs, and iu this 
combination we have the largest number of 
layers of white eggs. We have, too, white or 
dusky-colored meat, while takiug the three 
breeds together they would be very nearly as 
profitable as those most suitable for the Bos¬ 
ton market, aud more profitable to poulterers 
living near New York City. Accordingly 
before deciding what fowls are best, we should 
bear in mind in what market they are to be 
sold. 
fciural (Topics. 
THE FEVER AND AGUE OF AGRICUL¬ 
TURE. 
JOHN M. STAHL. 
The writer recently had “the shakes.” The 
shakes are Missouri for an attack of fever and 
ague People in some localities do not enjoy 
the luxury of the shakes. They do not know 
anything of the antics malaria makes the 
human liver cut aloug the Father of Waters. 
These gymnastic performances I shall describe, 
otherwise those readers will not discern the 
beauty of the above caption. Before the 
shakes foreclose a chattel mortgage on you, 
you have a sensation as if some one had called 
for you and you were not there. Then you 
feel as if you had been shot at and missed. 
About that time you fancy you are au ice¬ 
cream freezer doubly charged with the lack 
of heat. You begin to experience the feelings 
of an iceberg. You experience more. Truth 
to tell, you have a great deal of experience in 
a very short time. You are so cold that you 
try to shake yourself and all 3 *our surround¬ 
ings into hash. A Corliss engine could not 
bold you still or put more shakes into your 
physical establishment. If you were to stand 
ngaiust the side of a stone chimney you would 
shake it down. You are a living, walking, 
breathing and swearing earthquake on legs. 
This lasts about t wo hours. Then you get 
as hot as a mustard plaster on a full-blown 
boil. You conclude that there has been a sud¬ 
den change iu the weather. It is quite warm, 
thank you. You appreciate Mohammed’s de¬ 
scription of the place that you don’t want to 
engage rooms in. If you were biuding oats 
down hill you could not bo hotter. Yet you 
don’t perspire. Your skin is as dry as an 
empty whiskey jug. Water would sizzle if 
dropped ou you. You would do for a griddle 
to bake flnp-jucks on. You feel hot streaks 
“sorter” crawling up your legs like, and cara¬ 
coling about 3-011 r spinal obelisk. 
Well, that is just the way it is with agricu’- 
ture—first hot aud then cold. Onl 3 * the chill 
is a little longer and so is the fever. The 
period of the duration of each is from one to 
five years, the duration depending upon cir¬ 
cumstances—the amount of malaria iu the 
agricultural air and of bile in the agricul¬ 
tural liver. This disease is noticeable in 
every branch of agriculture. It is seen iu 
grain-raising and stock-raising, and all their 
subdivisions. 1 shall describe it more particu¬ 
larly. 
In the region round about here potatoes are 
now selling for from 20 ceuts to 35 cents pu¬ 
blished. W h 3 ’! Because seed potatoes were 
not cheap last Spring but dear, selling for one 
dollar and a dollar and a half i»er bushel; the 
farmers thought it would be profitable to raise 
potatoes at that price, and every one bought 
several bushels of seed, because it was high, 
and each has a big crop of potatoes. Now they 
say it doesn’t pa>- to raise potatoes, and very few 
will bo planted next year—result, n scarcity 
and high prices, to be followed b> r big crops 
ami low prices the next year. 
For some years swine plague was so prevalent 
that many sold off their swine and bought 
sheep. Now there is very little swine disease 
in the country, aud the tariff on wool has been 
reduced, and they are now sacrificing their 
sheep at low figures to buy hogs. Iu a few 
years they will sell their hogs cheap to buy 
sheep at high figures. 
Last Septemlier fat hogs were scarce and 
brought eight dollars per huudred iu the Chi¬ 
cago market; later iu the season fat hogs were 
plentiful and the prices low. The farmers 
noticed this. This year they fattened for the 
September market; this made a rush, legiti¬ 
mately bringing down the prices, and specu¬ 
lators have taken advantage of it to make 
the prices still lower. Very likely the Decem¬ 
ber and January markets will rule higher. 
Then next year everybody will fatten for the 
Winter market. 
It happens, on account of too much 
rain, drought, winter-killing or insect depre¬ 
dations that wheat makes a poor yield. The 
farmer says wheat is not a profitable crop, 
and puts all his ground in corn. That year 
wheat makes a heavy yield and com is a poor 
crop. Then the farmer is ready to sow wheat 
and discard com. Or the price of wheat may 
be low and of com or oats high, and the 
fanner changes on that account. 
Grass may be low in price or a poor crop, 
in comparison with grain. Then this s um - 
mersaulting farmer flops from grass to grain. 
And thus there is a continual fever and ague 
in agriculture, 
Itisnot profitable. Frequent changes rax-ely 
are. “Three removes are as bad as a Are,” 
said Frankl m . Fanner, know j-our business 
and stick to it. Your land is of such a 
formation and the soil of such a composition 
that your farm is better adapted to the pro¬ 
duction of some crops than of others. Your 
markets are better for some crops than for 
others. Take these things into consideration 
and decide what crops you can most profitably 
produce. The size of your farm, of your 
family, and the amount of 3 -our capital will 
have something to do with your decision. 
When you have decided what branches 
of agriculture you will pursue, adopt them 
aud stick to them. Changes will result in 
loss, no matter what the fluctuations in 3 'ields 
and prices ma>' lie. If you raise other crops 
or other stock you must produce that which 
3 'our farm, your stock and your markets are 
not adapted to. Nor is this all. In the pro¬ 
duction of these particular crops or animals 
you will have gained specific knowledge and 
purchased necessary implements; these, as 
well as the crops and animals you have on 
hand, must be sacrificed when 3-011 engage in 
a new business. And when you engage in 
that new business \-ou must do so ignorant of 
many details; 3 -ou must purchase seed or 
stock, and generally at a high price; aud new 
implementsmust beobtained at a large outlay. 
HOW CITIES ARE BUILT UP. 
GEN. CASSIUS M. CLAY. 
It is a very common idea that railroads will 
of course build up a town, but this is no more 
true than that an ax and saw will of necessity 
make a carpenter. A village is generally 
composed of the merchant, the blacksmith, 
and other useful local artisans, the lawyer, 
the doctor of medicine, the priest or 
preacher, the man of leisure and capital, 
the man of leisure without capital, and the 
pauper. If a county town sells all the dry 
goods and groceries consumed in the county, 
the merchants may build a town by increase 
so long as they do a profitable business, and 
no longer. When three are doing the business 
that is needed, six are a disadvantage, for 
they consume more and lay up less capital. 
And it is better that three of them should go 
away. So of lawyers and the others—too 
man 3 ’ pull down a town instead of building it 
up. In other words, all needed professions 
and artificers, etc., build a town, and no 
others. A town can 0 UI 3 ' be built up thus by 
necessary and b 3 * product ire labor. 
Other things being out. of the way, a town 
will rise to a status limited by the whole con¬ 
sumption of the people of the town and of 
the county. Suppose this limit to be 3.000 
citizens; that number may be increased by the 
increased production of the farmers or plant¬ 
ers, and the production of the country being 
doubled, the population of the city may go up 
to 6,000 people. A railroad may or may not 
add to this increase. If the railroad merely 
introduces foreign supplies, as sugar, coffee, 
elitlis, etc., at a less cost, including the sum 
spent for its structure and running expenses, 
hut carries out the old shipments of produce 
at the same cost of transport, the county town 
gains only the difference in the freight of 
importation saved, and no more. If the rail¬ 
road costs more than it saves, it is an unpro¬ 
ductive investment, aud reduces the size of 
the town or city. 
Wheu the town has reached the number of 
3,000, as stated above, how can it be increased 
except by increasing the productive power of 
the lands ? it can be done by anv means that 
attract foreign capital. Literary institutions 
build up a town so far as they bring families 
of means to reside in the town, and to the 
extent of the sums {wild out iu the education 
aud support of the scholars there aggregated. 
So the number of professional meu may be 
increased as they are a necessity, aud no fur¬ 
ther, with profit. A town may be increased 
by fairs, art galleries, and all that, which 
attract visitors from abroad, and utilize the 
increased wealth in productive labor. But, 
above all, a town, is built up by manufactures, 
and therefrom commerce. If all the manu¬ 
factures used in a county are made in the 
county, the town is benefited to the extent of 
the increased population of the artisans and 
their profits. Then the manufactures may go 
out into other counties, States and nations, 
when the population of the town is only lim¬ 
ited by the consumptive power of the world. 
Such are the towns of London, New York, 
Paris and the great centers of world-wide 
manufacture and commerce. A town or city 
may be built up by being well governed, 
cleanly, beautiful, aud all that, as Paris, in 
France, which attracts capital from all the 
world, there expended, greatly building 
up that great city. Drunkenness, violence, 
filth and want of attractions may drain a 
town of other good elements, and even rail¬ 
roads and much talk and local newspapers 
will not save it from ultimate decay and ruin. 
White Hall, Ky., 1883. 
SAWDUST FOR ICE-HOUSES. 
In building an ice-house, it is often recom¬ 
mended to leave a space of six inches or so 
between the ice when packing and the inner 
walls of the house, and then, as the hauling 
advances, to fill up this space with sawdust. 
The great objection I found to doing this was, 
that during Summer, as the ice melted down, 
I had to take all the sawdust which was not 
necessary to keep spread over the ice, and 
store it elsewhere at the cost of considerable 
labor and trouble. 
The lower part of our house is a brick wall, 
sunk a few feet below the level of the ground. 
This is the foundation for the wooden super¬ 
structure, The outside of this is clap-boarded; 
the inside is rough boarded. As the studs are 
four inches thick, there is an open space of 
four inches between the inside and outside 
boarding, which l filled up permanently with 
sawdust, which answers as good a purpose as 
if packed m a space between the ice and the 
inside boarding. This done. I have no more 
sawdust loose in the house than is requisite 
to cover the top of the ice about six inches 
thick, and this only is left in the Autumn 
after the ice is exhausted, to be taken out. and 
stored previous to filling the house again, 
after the setting in of Winter. 
If. during the excessive heat of a few weeks 
in July and August, more covering is required 
on the top of the ice. I spread some coarse 
meadow hay over the sawdnst, and this 
answei-s just as well as if another course of 
sawdust was added. This-hav. when uolouger 
wanted there, is taken to the stables for cattle 
or horse bedding. It is much less trouble to 
handle the hay than "extra sawdust, and it 
COStS less. A. B. ALLEN. 
A village lot affords little room for doubt¬ 
ful experiments; therefore it is desirable for 
such homes to have well-tried varieties, likely 
to succeed with moderate care, unless, in¬ 
deed, the owner is expert a.s a vine dresser. 
Hence I would sa 3 ’, from m 3 ' experience, for 
one vine, plant Concord: for three vines, add 
Lady, white, and Brighton, red. For six 
vines, add to the above Early Victor, black, 
Vergennes, red, and Prentiss, white, or, in 
place of these last, take Worden, black, 
Catawba, red. and Pockliugton. white. 
Of all these, Early Victor is the earliest; 
and it is hardy, prolific, and good. Worden 
is as hardy and sure as Concord. It is a 
little sweeter aud a larger berry, but the 
cluster is not quite so perfect. Brighton has 
a beautiful cluster, often double-shouldered; 
berry of medium size; quality best; but it 
needs more care and better culture than most 
of the above. Of all white grapes. Die Lady 
is one of the earliest aud best: but, like the 
Worden and Brighton, it does not keep well. 
Vergennes is hardy, vigorous, productive, 
handsome, of fair quality, ami an excellent 
keeper. So is the Pocklington. The Cataw ba 
is onl 3 ’ fit for a southern exposure in New 
Jersey and New York, aud it yields a limited 
crop there; but with good culture a superb 
fruit is raised that with care will keep ’Dll 
Easter. The Prentiss and Pocklington both 
ripen about with the Concord, aud can be 
kept until W inter. 
With the above list of grapes under good 
culture, a farnity may have grapes from 
August 20 to Washington’s Birthday, or later, 
provided the requisite care is given in grow¬ 
ing and keeping. p. m. augur. 
Middlesex Co„ Conn. 
