all wbo are interested in poultry, yet, as 
stated before, the hen teaches many facts 
which are often overlooked when tbeeggsare 
hatched artificially. She carefully attends to 
all the essential details, and allows no dis¬ 
turbance of the eggs, while nature does not 
allow the heat at any time to exceed 104 c , 
though the eggs may be cooled to a point but 
little above freezing. Nor does she keep the 
eggs at a uniform temperature, though the 
temperature seldom varies more than once in 
•M hours. This may be made plain by 6tating 
that the eggs in the center of the nest are 
warmer than those on the edges, but during 
the 21 days of incubation, the average heat of 
all the eggs is the same. Hence we have a 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
quired, but something depends upon the judg¬ 
ment and skill of the operator, though success 
is within reach or all who are anxious to 
sucoeed, 
ijitsbnm'x'i). 
A GROUP OF LINCOLN EWES. 
At Fig. 528, we show a celebrated group of 
sheep, consisting of five Lincoln ewes bd ong- 
ing to Mr. Wright of England. These sheep 
have been remarkably successful iu the 
English show ring, securing three first prizes 
at the principal shows. They are considered 
•on record. They also yield a very large clip 
of wool. The present improved breed is 
descended from a race of large, ‘’dabby” 
sheep Fouud of old iu Lincolnshire. The 
improved Leicester rams of Mr. Blakewell 
were used upon this old breed, aud as a result, 
after many years of careful breeding and 
feeding, we have th9 Lincoln of to-day. All 
animals, man included, show iu their physical 
development, something of the character of 
the soil upon which they were reared. The 
massive Lincoln could not have been produced 
upon a light, sandy soil. They needed the 
richest food, the best of care, and a pasturage 
where extended exercise was not necessary. 
Deprived of these conditions, the race would 
DEC 5 
Fig. 524 represents a front and Fig. o*o n 
side view of the rack aud mow. The V-shaped 
rack at the bottom is formed of rounds having 
the ends, set in solid scantling, far enough 
apart to allow the hay to be drawn through 
by the sheep in feeding. 
Above the rack is a box, or mow, with a 
slanting roof, like a shed, aud an opening along 
the whole front under the roof. This mow 
should be 2d feet long, 11 high, and four wide, 
so that it will contain just a tou of hay. The 
hay can be stored in it when first cut, the roof 
preserving it from the ill effects of bad wea¬ 
ther, while the opening will insure perfect 
ventilation, so there is no danger of moulding. 
The inventor estimated that it would afford 
GROUP OF LINCOLN EWES. (Re-engraved from the London Live Stock .Journal.) tig. o28. 
feed for 35 sheep all Winter without replen¬ 
ishing, but, of course, the amount of fodder 
required is a matter for each farmer to decide 
for himself. The shape of the mow, corre¬ 
sponding in length and width with the 
rack, allows the hay to settle as fast as the 
sheep eat, so that the rack is always full as 
long as any hay remains in the mow. And 
when all is eaten out, it can be easily refilled, 
taking a whole load at a time. ThiB is a very 
desirable form of rack for field or yard feed¬ 
ing. A roof can be attached to each side, as 
shown by the dotted lines, so as to keep the 
sheep entirely away from storms, and dry 
while eating. 
- >♦ .-— 
J. G. Striding, of Pendleton, S. G., says: 
“I notice the Kurai. New-Yorkkr stops 
short off at the expiration of subscriptions. 
This is a polite and genteel way of doing 
business, for a paper that does not possess 
value, or merit enough to visit its patrons 
upon this plan should be treated as an intol¬ 
erable bore who persists in calling at one's 
house without invitation .” 
degenerate, just as a highly-bred Short-horn 
brought from the Blue Grass region ot 
Kentucky to the sand of Cape Cod, could 
never maintain the vigor of his race. The 
Lincoln sheep is a product of the highest 
right to suppose that frequent variation of the 
temperature in an incubator should not be 
allowed, and that any temperature above 104 
is injurious, as at no time does the hen impart 
a greater degree of heat. Yet but few oper¬ 
ators have conducted batchers in strict 
accordance with that fact. 
While many inventors have solved the pro¬ 
blem of imparting heat to the egg, the matter 
of supplying moisture in proper proportion is 
still a subject for investigation. If the air in 
an incubator is dry. it will take up a certain 
quantity of watery vapor from auy source, 
and is supposed to deprive the egg of its 
moisture, which has prompted the inventors 
to keep trays of water, or sponges, in the egg 
drawer, in order to afford moisture to the dry 
air rather than to supply it to the eggs, as it is 
well known that the hen will hatch out a 
brood in the hay loft as well as on the ground. 
The conclusion, therefore, on the part of some, 
is that the egg contains within itself not only 
moisture, but also oxygen, and that the only 
precaution to be observed is that the uir sur¬ 
rounding the egg should be kept at a proper 
degree of humidity in order to prevent it from 
attracting moisture from the egg. 
Whether the egg should be subjected to a 
constant current of air or not is another mat¬ 
ter open for consideration. On the nest the 
hen seems to exclude as much of the surround¬ 
ing air as possible, a9 though she considered 
its admission to the eggs not only unnecessary 
but likely to cause a loss of moisture. It is 
noticeable, however, that she exposes the eggs 
to the influence of the atmosphere for 15 to 20 
minutes daily, regulating the period somewhat 
according to the temperature of the atmos¬ 
phere. We may reason that the chicks do not 
receive air through the pores of the shells 
when the eggs are heated, as the exhalation of 
carbonic acid gas from them is constant aud 
allows of no vaceuum for the admission of 
THE WILD POTATO—DECAY. 
PROF. W. J. HEAL,. 
I think it will be six years next Spring 
since we received some tubers of a wild potato 
from the Botanic Garden at Cambridge, 
Mass. The Garden received it from Mexico 
uot long before. The potatoes were white, 
with lather deep eyes, most of them nearly 
globular, and the largest perhaps was an inch 
in diameter. The tops were rather long and 
spreading, and closely resembled those of 
a cultivated potato. They have blossomed 
regularly and have produced an abundance of 
berries with seeds. For the last, t luree years, 
they have changed considerably. Without 
any extra treatment, the tubers have gradu¬ 
ally enlarged till, this year, the largest is two- 
and-a-half by three-aud-a-half inches, and 
very slightly compressed. Only a few have 
been raised, and no test has been made of 
their quality, nor have any seedlings been 
raised. 
In this vicinity this year, potatoes have 
generally rotted quite badly. This wild 
potato has uot proved an exception, fully one 
quarter showing decay. Thi9 will not look 
very encouraging to those who have advocated 
the notion that we must secure new wild 
stock for the production of varieties which 
would be free from rot. 
In our botaDio garden, we have now raised 
for three Bummers, tubers of Solanum Jamesii 
secured in Arizona. When obtained, the 
tubers were about half an Inch in diameter, 
nearly globular. The surface was quite dark 
and somewhat spotted with warty bunches of 
cork. This year they are nearly an Inch iu 
diameter, and one in particular, is whiter aud 
much smoother than formerly. 
Ag. College, Laming, Mich, 
raised two years at 
Front View. Fig. 524. 
farming. It is doubtful whetner lc coum ue 
largely bred to advantage iu this couutry. 
--- 
COMBINED SHE EP-RA CK AND MOW. 
F. B. BROC K. 
Wb give a design for a self-feeding sheep 
rack on which the patent has expired. The 
remarkably fine ram. The Lincoln sheep are 
not very well known in this country A few 
flocks have been started here, and the sheep 
have been somewhat used to improve other 
breeds, but they have never become so num¬ 
erous that farmers understand their special 
merits. In England, the Lincoln is considered 
There are several points to be observed, which, 
though seemingly unimportant, are really at 
the foundation of success. They are, that the 
heat must not exceed 104 degrees; that while 
moisture is required, it should not be iQ ex¬ 
cess, as it will condense if the temperature is 
low, and close the pores of the shells, thus pre¬ 
venting the exit of carboric acid gas and 
poisoning the chicks; that the hen, in chang¬ 
ing the position of the eggs, also turns them, 
thus Imparting heat to all portions; that ab¬ 
solute rest and freedom from molestation or 
disturbance are necessary, while Borne birds 
consider handling the eggs an injury to them, 
and forsake their nests under such conditions; 
that when the time for the chicks to emerge ap¬ 
proaches, the heat most be kept as uniform oj* 
possible, and should not be subjected to the 
slightest variation until the little things are 
thoroughly dried; and that the vigor and 
vitality of the parents have more or less in¬ 
fluence upon the success of batching. A close 
study of the hen on the nest will assist very 
materially In ieBseuing the difficulties incident¬ 
al to artificial incubation; for what the ben 
does on the nest must be done by the operator 
who is imitating her with the incubator. 
Attending to the machine must not, however, 
be looked upon as a pastime, or as a matter 
to be entrusted to careless or incompetent 
persons, for not only is the strictest care re- 
[Solauum Jamesii was 
the Rural Grounds; but as the tubers did not 
increase appreciably in size, and they “stiag- 
gled” several feet from the plant, we gave 
them up.— Eds.] 
SHEEP RACK. Section Elevation. Fig 525. 
advantages claimed for this device are, saving 
of hay, and also of the daily labor of refilling 
required by the ordinary rack. 
the largest-bodied sheep in existence. Two- 
year-old sheep frequently dress 150 pounds, 
while many very much heavier carcasses are 
