4885 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
465 
A cross bred is the progeny of two different 
pure breeds, as a Polled-Shorthorn, or an Ayr- 
shire-Jersey. A scrub is in cattle, wbat a 
“razor-back” or a “rail-splitter” is among 
hogs; and is the poor wretched neglected ill- 
bred ani mtil of any breed. I have seen scrub 
.Jerseys and Short-horns as well as scrub na¬ 
tives. Now if 1 could induce stockmen to con¬ 
fine their nomenclature to these four terms I 
shall not have lived and written in vain. 
Oneraore suggestion which I would like to 
a par with the pure breeds in respect of pre¬ 
miums; and the discrimination is not only un¬ 
just but injurious, because, as 1 have said, the 
improvement of our native stock is of far 
greater importance to the agricultural interest 
than that of the pure breeds. 
tion of the houses with a mixture of one pound 
of sulphuric acid with a pailful of water. But 
the manure must be entirely cleaned out and 
the floor completely cleared, even of dust; 
then the disinfectant will do the business. So 
with swine cholera. Give a little charcoal in 
the food, but observe perfect cleanliness and 
give only pure water; then the charcoal will 
cure the cholera. Mankind like to be fooled 
and humbugged. Tell them the truth and 
they get mad. Tickle them with a little fool- 
chicks hatched from them are strong and 
healthy. My friend never allows cocks to 
run promiscuously with the hens. He claims 
that they not only eat large quantities of valu¬ 
able food, and yield uothiug in return, but 
they are positively detrimental to the produc¬ 
tion of eggs. As soon as they are large 
enough for market, he disposes of all except 
two kept for breeding purposes. 
My experience with a smaller number of 
fowls has been similar to his. There is nothing 
whatever to be gained by 
keeping a large number of 
:£f- cocks in the poultry yard to 
bght each other and harass 
thehens - Furthermore, only 
ky selecting and breeding 
from the best hens can a flock 
? t* 6 improved. A breeding pen 
jpf, - for poultry is as necessary on 
a farm as one for hogs, and 
the selection of the best fowls 
% f° r breeding purposes as 
: necessary for profit as the se- 
lection of the best specimens 
°f any other stock r. o. 
I don’t approve of the term “scrubs” as 
applied to natives. The largest portion of 
our native stock Is exceedingly valuable and 
creditable. The scrubs are numerous, no 
doubt, but all uatives are not 
scrubs and all scrubs are not 
natives. I will try to answer 
the question, “What is native , 
stock?” 
It consists of all those mil- ^ * 
lions of cattle which have 
not been entered in any one 
of the herd books. This is ; 
the general idea conveyed . d 
by the term as contradis- V '££ : - 't& 
tiuguished from the pure- : . > 
bred stock. It includes the : : 
large number of grades, but 
it is made up, as our native 
population is, of the produce 
of the heterogeneous importa- f? ; 
tionsof “way back,” of which 
no record has been kept. 
Now I would improve this 
stock within itself, as far as 
it can be done in the neces- 
saiy absence of pure-bred an- 
imals. I have said there is 
but one pure-bred animal to 
every 200 natives, counting all 
noses Ot bulls there is a much 
smaller proportion. Audas it 
is impossible to procure pure¬ 
bred bulls for every native 
herd, I would endeavor to improve these 
native herds by selecting the best and feed¬ 
ing and eariug for them just as well 
as the pure bred animals are fed end cared 
for. Aud to help this improvement, if I were 
a manager of a State fair’, I would urge that 
a handsome premium, at least as large as auy 
offered for the pure breeds, should be offered 
for tbe best native stock bred from native 
or grade bulls, f am a director of a State 
agricultural association, and shall do my ut¬ 
most to effect such an arrangement in my 
society. 
:... '• v... . '• 
■'*o 
INCUBATORS. 
HENRY HALES, 
There are a great many 
styles and designs of incuba¬ 
tors. Some of these are ex¬ 
pensive and complicated. The 
cheap kinds have no attach¬ 
ments for regulating the 
heat, and therefore require 
more attention to the lamps; 
but are just as good in 
other respects as the costly 
ones, as they will hatch just as well, if 
the heat is kept regular, by personal atten¬ 
tion, and there is no risk of the regulating ap¬ 
paratus getting deranged and spoiling the 
eggs before one is aware that anything is 
wrong, which sometimes happens when the 
incubator is left too long unattended, on the 
strength of the confidence pat in the regula¬ 
tor The principle to study in making a ma¬ 
chine (as an incubator is often called!, is to 
so construct it that a uniform heat can be 
maintained with as little effect from outside 
temperature as possible. A machine princi¬ 
pally consists of a square or oblong box, 
double-sided, with the space between the sides 
packed with charcoal or sawdust (charcoal is 
best), a chamber of galvanized iron or zinc, 
the whole size of tbe box inside, and about 
three inches deep, fixed about a foot from the 
bottom of the box, so as to leave a compart¬ 
ment for lamps under it. This metal chamber 
should be tight, except that there should be 
three short pipes soldered in tbe top, about 
equal distances from the corners. These should 
open at the top into the egg chamber to alio w 
moisture to penetrate the egg chamber to 
moisten the atmosphere. 
One great danger to be avoided is the ad¬ 
mission of the fumes of the kerosene lamps 
into the egg chamber, which would be de¬ 
structive to the vitality of the eggs. A good 
way to prevent this is, after the metal water 
chamber is firmly placed in position, to pour 
in plaster-of-Paris, prepared with water to a 
consistency of cream, between the wood sides 
and the metal; this must be kept thoroughly 
tight at all times. To prevent a strong radi¬ 
ant heat from escaping from the tank, or 
water chamber, cover the top with two or 
three thicknesses of felt. This will insure a 
more equal distribution of beat in the egg 
chamber, of which the top of the water cham¬ 
ber forms the fioor. 
Some contend that the heat should be from 
the top, the more perfectly to imitate the hen, 
but it has been proved that the direction 
from which the heat comes is not so import¬ 
ant as a perfect uniformity of heat all around 
the eggs. To secure this, the eggs should be 
placed in a drawer, with a bottom of thin 
flannel and a few strings stretched across to 
prevent sagging. This should be four inches 
smaller than the inside of the incubator, to 
allow an air-space of two inches ail around it, 
thus permitting a full circulation of heat and 
preventing outside atmospheric influences. 
The moisture pipes before mentioned should 
be in the three side spaces between the drawer 
and the sides of the case, the ends of the pipes 
being just above the top of the eggs. The 
bottom of the egg-drawer need not be over 
two laches from the floor. The ceiliug of this 
chamber shoutd be metal to radiate the heat 
and moisture, aud should be double, the space 
between the two covers being filled in like 
those between the sides. It cau be opened 
either in front as a door, with pull-out drawer, 
or the top can be hinged as a lid to get at the 
drawer. 
A lamp placed in the lower compartment 
under the tank will heat the water to the de¬ 
sired temperature. A large incubator may 
Cream oE the Field. From Nature. Fig. 103 (See page 164 ) 
ing and they think, and even swear, you are 
a wise man. 
make is this, in regard to the fears of the 
spread of pleuro-pueumomu. and the contin¬ 
ued outcry that the Government should do 
something. There is a business way of doing 
this. Let stockmen and breeders when they 
buy any animals, exact from the sellers a cer¬ 
tificate of warranty and healtbfulness of the 
animals sold, with a proviso that if the pur- 
BREED 1NG F OWLS. 
A method of breeding poultry, employed 
I shall probably be asked, “What! you ad¬ 
vocate the use of grade bulls?" Certainly, I 
do. And I can point out scores of stockmen 
who use such bulls and go to sales where 
grade bulls are offered for breeding purposes. 
1 don’t believe in “blue blood,” as this term is 
generally understood, “We are all made of 
one blood;” so we men are told, aud tbe 
mixture of plebeian and patrician blood has 
worked splendidly in building up the foremost 
nations in war and the arts of peace, and in in¬ 
telligence aud morality and physical develop¬ 
ment, in the world. And the same thing will 
hold good in regard to our live stock. And I 
firmly believe, as the present races of Short¬ 
horns and Jerseys were built up from the 
best of the “common herd” of a century or 
less ago, bo our “common herd” can be im¬ 
proved by good feeding aud good breeding, if 
every pure bred auimal were suddenly re¬ 
moved out of existence. 
Halton. From Nature. Fig. 102. (See page 164.) 
by a friend of mine, which has proved to be a 
most excellent one, is as follows: For his flock 
of 50 hens he keeps two cocks. They are not 
allowed to run with the hens, however, but 
are kept iu a separate pen. In the latter part 
of February, 12 of the finest young hens—the 
best and most persistent layers—are selected 
and placed in a breeding pen erected for their 
especial accommodation. One of the cocks is 
chased animal should prove to be sick of 
pleuro-pueumonia, and should infect other 
animals with the disease within niue months, 
(which is now said to be the longest incuba¬ 
tory stage) the seller shall be held liable 
for all damages. No one will then sell any 
animal not known to bo sound, and all the 
fuss will then be ended. This is business. 
Let the poor farmer and dairyman and 
shepherd be eucouraged to improve his stock. 
I have heard such men say “Of what use are 
all these fine cattle to us? They are not for 
such as we, who never owued, all told, enough 
to buy a little calf." Lot us teach them that 
if they will study this matter and will use 
what a kind Providence has pnt in their hands 
as well as they possibly can, with whatever 
knowledge they cau get, they may improve 
their stock gradually but surely, and soon 
double its productive value. This is wbat I 
am trying to do, and I usk all those intelligent 
men who have devoted themselves to the 
work of aiding their fellow-men in this way, 
to assist in doing it. 
As there are many weeds in every crop, aud 
scallions in every onion bed, so there are weeds 
aud scallions iu every pure-bfrd race, even 
among the recorded animals, and I would 
rather take the best uative hull I could get for 
the improvement of a hoard of native cows, 
than any second-rate pure bred auimal. This 
of course greatly reduces the proportion of 
these an imuls and makes it proportionately 
more important to improve the uatives with 
the best of the uatives. 
Potato Two and a Hale Years Old. From Nature, 
A story and a moral occur to me. A well- 
known physician was consulted by a badly 
over-fed umu. who was gouty and rheumatic. 
“Take this medicine,”said the doctor, “and 
w hile you are takiug it eat uothiug but oat¬ 
meal mush. The medicine will then be very 
useful to you.” It was pure water with a 
little chalk in it. Dr. D. E. Salmon prescribes 
for chicken cholera, the sure cure of disiufeo- 
placed in the pen with them and allowed to 
remain two days. He is then removed, and, 
the second day after his removal, the other 
cock Is placed iu the pen to remain two days. 
This practice is continued until a sufficient 
number of eggs for hatching have been ob¬ 
tained, when tbe cocks are sold, and the hens 
turned out to run at large. The eggs thus ob¬ 
tained invariably prove to be fertile, and the 
I agree with some of my critics that the 
terms scrub, full-blood, pure bred, cross bred, 
grade, native, etc., are used loosely aud with 
effect to mislead, I admit aud use only four of 
these, namely: pure bred, cross-bred, grades 
aud uatives. A grade is the progeny of a pure¬ 
bred and a uative. There is no full-blood, but 
pure-bred; if it is not pure-bred it is a grade. 
