5(4 
l HE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
au® i 
should be classed the Guernseys, also Channel 
Island cattle and bred for butter-making. 
They have never made the butter records of 
the Jersey?, but their standard is high. The 
differences in color are slight. The Guernseys 
are mostlj' fawn or yellow with white noses 
and patches and larger in size than the 
Jerseys. 
AN EXCELLENT BUTTER COW. 
Mr best cow we have always called a good 
cow, but we have proved her good qualities 
the past season. Hex - calf died immediately 
after it was dropped, so I thought it a good 
time to test her milk and butter qualities. She 
came in Dec. 29th, 1684, and during the 
montliB of January and February we sold 100 
pounds of butter from her, (grocer’s weight) 
besides what we used in our family of two. 
During the first 13 days after we saved her 
milk, I weighed it night and morning, and it 
averaged 40 pounds per day, or 480 in 13 
days, and the whole amount of salted butter 
made in 12 days from the 480 pounds of milk 
was 86 pounds, or three pounds per day. Her 
food during the 12 days was the same I fed all 
Winter, (no extra pains being taken,) which 
consisted of a bran mash twice daily, seveu 
ears of corn, and a liberal amount of hay and 
water. She was stabled nights and stormy 
days, and out duiiDg pleasant weather. 
She is not a cow with a long ppdigree, but 
was bred.from good healthy stock. Her sire 
was a large Short-horn, her dam we bought 
without knowiug her breed. She, herself, is a 
large, red roan, weighing about 1,200 pounds 
in common flesb, seven years old, and re¬ 
markable for raising good stock. I sold one of 
her heifer calves for $50 when two years old, 
and being dissatisfied with the sale, sent my 
brother to bay her back. 
Barry Co. Mich. R. a. Daniels. 
PIG WEANING. 
COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
In weaning pigs, there is something more to 
be considered than simply taking them away 
from their mother. They should be weaned 
gradually so as not to get any stunt or set¬ 
back. To take pigs a way from their mother 
and little home, before they have been taught 
to eat, gives them a check for at least two 
weeks, and this is quite a little part of their 
lives, if they are designed for slaughter when 
they are six to eight months old. Feeding 
them in a separate place, to which they have 
access, will accustom them to eating, and 
when deprived of their mother’s milk, they 
will not refuse to eat until driven to it by 
hunger. 
They must not be fed too much at a time, 
or they will eat so much that they will become 
poddy. When their food is very sloppy, they 
will take so much that the stomach will be 
distended beyond its natural size, and the re¬ 
sult is a pot-bellied pig, which means a pig 
with an unnatural and disordered stomach, a 
mean-looking pig,and one which never makes 
a good animal. It makes hog enough, for it 
always has an unnatural appetite to fill the 
big void made by the washy or excessive food 
it had when young. A little aud often should 
be the rule with pigs when weaning, and also 
afterward. A healthy hog has a very quick 
digestion if the stomach is not over-crowded. 
When this rule is followed, they will grow 
faster and keep their shape better. The little 
pigs should never be fed more than they will 
eat up clean; for if they have any swill or milk 
left over, they will muss in it, and drop their 
excretions in it, so that it will become very 
foul and unhealthfuh 
Five times a day is often enough to feed 
pigs when they are suckling, and if they get a 
good supply from their mother, three times 
will do, or when the old one is fed. When fed 
five times, the first feeding should be in the 
morning; the next in the middle of the fore¬ 
noon ; then at noon; again in the middle of 
the afternoon, and finally at night. These 
are the best times to feed all through the sea¬ 
son; and any amount of food fed at these 
intervals, will make more growth, in a given 
length of time, than the same quantity of 
food given three times a day. A hog will al¬ 
ways eat to excess if confined and fed all it 
can take. It will always do the same if it 
breaks into a field of grain or when first turned 
into a freih field of corn or peas. After the 
first gorge, if left alone, it will eat only a good 
meal and lie down by the food with a com¬ 
placent expression, as much as to say,“Here is 
enough.” 
It is important that the troughs should be 
1 0W , in which the little pigs eat. When a 
young pig hangs on its stomach to eat out of 
a trough, it is in just the position to hump up its 
back and spoil its shape. It may be noticed 
that I have not recommended corn for pigs. 
This is because it is the worst kind of food 
which can be given to them, although the 
commonest. A little, mingled with oats, or 
wheat middlings, will do no harm, but good; 
but au entire feeding of corn is a violation of 
sanitary law, aud does not evince good sense. 
IMPROVED AUTOMATIC HOG FEEDER. 
To those feeding shelled corn, the self feed¬ 
er shown at Figs 353 aud 854 will be found 
very convenient, while its use will effect a 
considerable saving in corn. Its design is en¬ 
tirely original, so far as known to our friend, 
A. B. Tucker, of Jones County, Iowa, who hit 
upon it last Spring, and sent us the descrip¬ 
tion and drawings. We certainly agree with 
him that it is a very baudy device. When it 
is once filled, there will be little or no trouble 
for quite a long time, and while the bogs can 
not waste a grain, they can get all they want 
at all times. 
The one shown at Fig. 353 is 11 feet long by 
five feet wide, and is large enough to feed 50 
to 75 hogs, as some will eat aud go away, 
allowing others to take their places. The bin 
has a V-shaped bottom, under which is the 
feed-trough. This is divided off into sections 
one foot wide, so that the bogs cannot crowd 
each other or get in the trough. The roof ex¬ 
tends over the sides far enough to prevent 
rain from falling into the feed-trough. The 
bin will hold nearly 200 bushels of shelled 
corn. 
At Fig. 354 is an end view. B B show the 
bottom of the bin; E E are the partitions in 
the troughs; D is the corn in the trough; and 
A A are boards fitted in so as to prevent too 
much corn from running out; C C are slides 
to cover the augur holes bored iu the bottom 
of the biu to allow the corn to flow out. By 
means of the slides, the holes on one or both 
sides can be covered whenever desired. Two 
adjoining boxes can be filled through a single 
hole over the partition between them. The 
slides should be strong and solid, and one 
should project through each end of the biu 
with a lever so attached that it can be re¬ 
moved when not in use. Two iron rods across 
the bin prevent it from spreading. The cuts 
so fully explain the construction that a few 
minutes study of them will euable anybody 
to make such a self-feeder for himself. 
A NOVEL PIG-CATCHER. 
The accompanying illustration represents 
a device for catching and bolding swine. The 
instrument is extromely simple and renders 
the pursuer as powerful at the end of a long 
pole as he would be if his hands were actually 
around the leg of the animal. 
By referring to the drawing, shown at .Fig. 
357, it will be seen that the invention consists 
of two curved arms, one of which is fixed to 
a long pole and the other pivoted upou the 
fixed arm. These curved arms have rounded 
and enlarged ends which overlap each other 
when the device is closed, as shown in the 
dotted lines. To the pivoted arm or lever is 
attached a cord which passes through au eye 
in the shank of the arm which is fixed to the 
pole, aud extends to the end of the pole so as 
to be held iu the hand. In using it, the cord 
should be held slack and the arms open, as 
represented by the illustration, until the ani¬ 
mal’s leg is between them, when, by tighten¬ 
ing the cord the arms are instantly brought 
together, and the instrument forms a firm 
metal catch about the leg, as seen by the dot¬ 
ted line. 
<l\)t PoultYl^Mrih 
WHITE LEGHORN FOWLS. 
The Rural gives a good description of 
these fowls on page 487; but it says they 
‘•will scale high fences so easily as to endan¬ 
ger the adjoining gardens iu the neighborhood 
of the Rural Farm.” This scaling of fences 
can be easily obviated by cutting the feathers 
of one wing close up to the bone. In attempt¬ 
ing to fly, then, the fowl after rising about 
three feet, is turned to one side and gently 
falls to the ground. 
Yards are attached to my poultry houses, 
fenced with boards nailed on close to each 
other, from five to six feet high. The fowls 
are never able to scale this fence, I here 
keep them inclosed till about three o'clock P. 
m. By this time they are generally through 
the day’s laying, and I lose no eggs from their 
laying outside among bushes, which Leghorns 
are apt to do, if allowed a wide range all day. 
Three or four hours’ range in the afternoon I 
find sufficient to give the healthy exercise they 
need and for picking up insects gravel, or any 
thing else they may crave; and especially for 
foraging on grass, of which they are extremely 
fond. 
To supply greeu food in Winter a small 
patch of rye or wheat is grown close to the 
poultry yards. I think the tender leaves of 
these grains better than cabbage leaves; and 
at any rate, the fowls are more fond of pick¬ 
ing them when the ground is free from snow 
Iu addition to properly confining the fowls 
when required, in yards, these tight board 
fences confer two other material benefits:— 
They protect the fowls from cold, bleak winds 
in Winter, and shade them from the hot sun 
in Summer, as the birds ataud or lie up close 
alongside of the fences, which they are glad 
to do, and dust themselves, in hot or mild 
days. 
You add that the Leghorns are “good layers 
aud poor sitters.” Non sitters is a bettor term 
to apply to them than poor, for scarcely one 
out of u dozen ever wants to sit, and this one 
perhaps, after sitting a few days, wearies of 
the task and leaves it—nor can any persuasion 
make her go on to the eggs again. For this 
reason I don’t trust them to sit They are 
great layers of extra-large eggs, considering 
the size of the hens. Their eggs are usually 
as large as, if not larger than, those of the 
Asiatics or Plymouth Rocks, which are, on 
au average, from two and-u half to four 
pouuds heavier in weight of bodies. 
Some say Leghorns are not good table fowls. 
This comes from their not properly fatting 
them, which cannot be done unless they are 
shut up two to three weeks in a roomy house 
or yard, and fed chiefly on cracked corn, aud 
given pure water in abundance to drink. 
Chickens thus fattened after they are three 
months old, are particularly delicate, roasted 
or grilled—even tho skin of their bodies is 
delicious. Boil or fricasee old fowls and they 
are very tender and savory. a. b. a. 
§0dicwltiiml. 
NOTES FROM PRES. MARSHALL P. 
WILDER. 
I am very much pleased with your enter¬ 
prise in obtainiog responses in regard to the 
most successful varieties of the grape, straw¬ 
berry, etc., and from so many quarters of our 
great country. These are exceedingly valu¬ 
able, and worth more than the paper costs for 
many years. 1 like your impartiality and in¬ 
tegrity in describing fruits, etc., as you find 
them on the Rural Grounds and from personal 
examination, thus saving your readers much 
loss of money, time and di appointment, which 
we have too often experienced by the laudatory 
and money making advertising of new things. 
Your experience with the Jewell Strawberry 
corresponds with mine; the only fault is its 
need of a little more flavor, which is so com¬ 
mon in all very large varieties. This is the 
case with its mother, which is otherwise a 
magnificent strawberry. If it had the high 
flavor of the Prince, it would be wonderful. 
Jewell is better in this respect and remark¬ 
ably solid. Mr. Hovey has had the Jersey 
Queen this year 22 to the quart. Hervey 
Davis maintains its excellence, and Charles 
Downing and Kentucky must ^remain; the 
latter in good beariog to-day.' 
In regard to peas, I should be content with 
the American Wonder, Mclean’s Advancer, 
Stratagem and Champion of England. The 
Stratagem is right in every respect. I am 
anxious to see what you have to say about 
the Marlboro Raspberry. We gathered sime 
berries on the 4th, and the bushes are now at 
their best. The great number of big suckers, 
four to six feet in bight, detract from the 
size and earliness of the fruit. It is the earli¬ 
est I have, audit the sucker's had been treated 
as weeds, 1 have no doubt that the size, earli¬ 
ness and quantity of fruit would have been 
much increased. I have never seen a rasp¬ 
berry of such robust growth and productive¬ 
ness of annual plants before, most of which 
must be destroyed if you wish for a crop of 
fruit. It Is perfectly hardy, canes eight 
feet iu length not injured at all. The Sou- 
chetii, or White Transparent, is uow coming 
in; if you have it not, I should be glad to 
send you plants. 1 would not part with it.— 
[Thanks.—E ds. 
STRAWBERRIES OF THE NORTH. . 
CHAS. A. GREEN. 
Uow far north can the strawberry be grown? 
Where hill culture is preferable. Straw¬ 
berry fertilizers. Irrigation. 
I am of the opiniou that the strawberry will 
grow nearer the North Pole than most of our 
cultivated fruits. It will succeed far north of 
the com growing belt. I have seen it succeed 
where the frosts that entered the wells during 
the Winter often remained all Summer. It 
will be interesting to know how far north the 
strawberry will succeed. Its being capable of 
being protected gives it an advantage over 
other fruit. It is quite a consolation for those 
living far north to know that while they may 
be deprived of many valuable fruits, they may 
Indulge iu the delicious strawberry grown in 
their own gardens. 
One serious drawback to strawberry culture 
in the north Is the effect of late Spring frosts, 
but 1 doubt whether strawberries at the North 
are more seriously, or oftener injured by late 
frosts than at the South. As the strawberry 
blossoms so early, it is always more or less In 
danger from this source. When we stop to 
think of it, the strawberry is really a phenom¬ 
enon. Its ripening in such a brief space of 
time is nothing less than marvelous. What 
other fruit or vegetable have we wheu the 
strawberry ripens! At its approach the grow¬ 
ing season has just commenced, and the har 
vest of most products is far in the distance. 
I have u low muck lot ou which we huve 
planted strawberries successively for many 
years. This lot has never escaped the frost 
entirely until this year, aud still we have al¬ 
ways gathered a fair crop of berries there. 1 
am not discouraged in growing them ou this 
piece of ground, as the plants increase there 
rapidly, and plants are my object more thau 
fruits. 
For a distance of six or eight miles from the 
great lakes frosts are hardly ever knowu to do 
any damage In the Spring, the influence of 
the lakes being such as to prevent heavy freez¬ 
ing. This kind of protection l>y bodies of 
water should be considered by every person 
locating a fruit farm. Such protection is de¬ 
sirable not only for strawberries, but equally 
so for grapes, pears, aud apples. 
The strawberry at the North has fewer iu- 
sect enemies thau the strawberry of the 8outh, 
the white bug being the roost troublesome, and 
that only appearing at long intervals. For 
seven years we escaped the white grub 
AUTOMATIC HOG FEEDER. Fig. 353. 
