THE mmt HEW-YORKER 
as many readers may desire further inform¬ 
ation wo will state that Hammonton has a 
poultry association of nearly 00 members, 
of which Major Charles M. .Iordan (late post¬ 
master at Summerville, Mass.) is secretary, 
and ho av ill kindly answer all inquiries or 
show visitors the farms. In describing Mr. 
Howe’s place, we at the same time describe 
many similar, though smaller establishments, 
while limited space prevents giving other 
methods which are in use; but uono equal the 
hot water method. The total capacity of all 
the brooders in Hammonton is estimated at 
50,000 chicks every 10 weeks, yet the prices arc 
high, and the market far from being over¬ 
stocked. _ _ _ 
THE CARON. 
. On the subject of caponizing there are a 
number of suggestions to be made which will 
quiet many fears and doubts existing in the 
minds of many and be of advantage to the 
farmer and poultryman alike, 
The capon is comparatively little known in 
this country, except on the bills-of-fare in our 
largest hotels and upon ( lie tables of epicures; 
yet for ages it has absorbed much attention in 
England, France and Italy, and especially in 
China, where capon izing, perhaps, originated. 
It is a mistaken Idea that groat skill is re¬ 
quired in capon izing. Some think that it can 
be successfully done only after long practice, 
while others contend t hat to do it properly the 
services of a veterinary surgeon arc needed. 
Farmers’ wives, however, do the work in 
Frauce, and in Italy children frequently per¬ 
form it. 
Before caponizing, it is necessary to coop 
the chickens to be cut and leave them without 
food for about 84 hours, so that the belly may 
be as empty as possible, thus leaving the testi¬ 
cles plainly in view while the work is going on. 
Lay the bird on a table on Its left side with 
its bead toward the right hand. 1 tind no 
occasion for tying it down or fixing a table 
with levers and straps, at considerable ex¬ 
pense, to secure it. It will usually lie per¬ 
fectly quiet during the operation, except 
when the iirst cut is made. 
In fact I have taken my hands entirely off a 
cockerel and have seen it remain motionless 
for some little time. Place the bird on the 
table, as mentioned, draw both wings back 
and bold them in the left hand, then draw the 
legs back, the top one us far as possible, and 
hold them firmly under the elbow of the left 
arm. This leaves the heud free, which is es¬ 
sential. Then bare a spot near the hip joint 
either by curling the feathers under or [duck¬ 
ing them out. The space thus uncovered 
should be about an inch square. With the 
scalpel make an incision about an inch from 
the backbone, place the spreader in position 
to keep the ribs apart so that the operator 
inay see what he is about. The hook is used 
to tear away the tissue and the forceps are 
applied to the testicles mid they are removed 
one ut a time, hi caponizing a pullet the op¬ 
eration is rnueh the same, except that it is the 
ovary that is cut. 
When care is exercised in this work, the 
deaths, even at the hands of a beginner, 
should not exceed two per cent., and a skillful 
operator ought not to cause loss of life to 
amount to anything. As a consequence of the 
operation the capon is shunned by all his for¬ 
mer mates, and li ves a solitary life, free from 
the usual excitement; lienee lie moves about 
sluggishly and has nothing to do but to grow 
fat, proper food being given. 
The meat of a capouizcd fowl is sweeter, 
whiter, and retains the tenderness of spring 
chicken. Then again, the capon is left to fat¬ 
ten, uud when the “broilers” can not be pro¬ 
cured the capon fills the bill, and a few 
mouths after the operation the bird Is about 
twice the size of the spring chicken and worth 
about ten cents a pound more. I can think of 
no reason why a poultryman or u farmer 
should not lie successful in this business, 
The Brahmas, Dorkings, Cochins, etc., are 
good breeds for making capons; iu fact, any 
breed that is naturally large and easily fat¬ 
tened is desirable. Capons grow to the weight 
of eight or teu pounds when 18 or 15months. 
Philadelphia, Pa. E. A. Y. 
- M l 
POULTRY NOTES. 
A whiter in a late Rural says hens can he 
cured of eating eggs only by putting them in 
the pot. I have cured several by shutting 
them up in a box or coop with a nice nost con¬ 
taining two or three porcelain eggs. 1 gener¬ 
ally keep them three or four days and let them 
exercise themselves eating or trying to out tho 
porcelain eggs. 1 watch them closely and if 
they lay I at once remove the oggs so that 
only the porcelain eggs remain for them to 
Worry over. Whenever they quit [locking 
them, 1 let them out and have no further trou¬ 
ble. I wish some one else would try it aud re¬ 
port. We take old shoe boxes and knock off 
half of one aide and then divide the box into 
two or three nests, put a cover over tho top, 
and turn the open side to the wall,lea ving only 
room enough for tho hens to go in. I like this 
better than any of the patent nests I have 
seen. J. f. h. 
LIVE STOCK NOTES FOR MAY. 
HORSES. 
“All flesh is grass.” This is true in tho 
same sensa that grass feeds all the domestic 
animals, and that a good supply of grass is 
indispensable to their welfare. It is especially 
useful for horses, aud every farmer should 
insure it for this reason. Farmers may learn 
things from city people. If they go just now 
to a large city they may find bundles of green 
rye for sale at the stores for tho noon feeding 
of the horses employed on the streets. Few 
farmers are so thoughtful of their horses, and 
rarely put in a piece of rye in the fall for use 
iu the spriug. But if a small plot of rye is ap¬ 
propriated to this use as soon as it is large 
enough, aud a small quantity is given to tho 
workborsemat noon, it will he of great use. 
It is medicitinl, uud cools the blood heated by a 
winter’s dry grain feeding, and will keep the 
skin in good working order. 
Attention is to be given to the proper fitting 
of the harness. Bee that the buckles do not 
gall the skin; if they do, fasten shields of 
smooth leather to the straps under Hie buck¬ 
les. Wash the neck and shoulders with a so¬ 
lution of alum and salt, which hardens tho 
skin and euresgnlls. Keep the skin thorough¬ 
ly well brushed aud free from scurf and dust. 
“The righteous man is merciful to his beast,” 
and he will let his working annuals rest uu 
the Sahbftth Day. It is no rest to hitch horses 
to a carriage aud keep them on the road, or 
let the hired men drive them out on pleasure 
jaunts. The seventh day’s rest is as necessary 
for the horses as for men. 
BROOD MAKES AND COLTS. 
Brood mares near their fouling time need no 
extra care or attention excepting to watch the 
springing of the udder. If this is excessive 
and the mare is in good condition the feed 
should b« reduced at. once. No other farm an¬ 
imal needs less attention at this time, or to he 
let alone more, and no other brings its young 
into the world more quietly mid safely. When 
the foal appeal's give the trm.ro a drink of tepid 
water with fine oatmeal aud bran stirred in it. 
The third day the regular food may be given 
and a quart or two of brim extra on account 
of the colt. The rnnre should rest for two 
weeks until the colt is strong enough to follow 
her about. It is now that the farmer who is 
wise enough to rear a colt or two every year, 
finds the value of a few small grass lots, sown 
with Orchard Grass, for early pusture. 
COWS AND CALVES. 
The first of May is celebrated in European 
countries as a f£te day, and the cows decked 
with Mowers and bright ribbons, and the dairy¬ 
maids equally bedecked, go in procession with 
music to the meadow' for the first time. No 
pasturing is permitted until tho grass has be¬ 
come verdant under the effects of the April 
showers and sunshine, aud the cows can get a 
full bite. We should take a lesson from this. 
“Between hay and grass is a critical time” 
only for the liulf-sturved creatures which will 
bloat themselves upou the unusual feed. A 
little provision of green rye will easily bridge 
over this dreaded interval and make thiugs 
safe. Feed makes milk and milk makes profit. 
No farmer or dairyman can make his cows 
profitable without good feeding. The loos¬ 
ened coat of the cows should he carefully 
brushed off lest, it get into the milk. A wire 
card is very useful for this purpose, uud a 
brush puts on a neat linish. Why should not 
the cows be kept as sleek aud clean as the 
horses, even for the sake of appearance} 
Calves should be kept glowing from the 
start. They do not need cream. Skimmed 
milk warmed to 80 degrees will rear as good a 
calf as need be. A mouth-old calf should 
have an ounce or so of oatmeal or lino bran 
every day. Carefully guard the young things 
from two common dangers: viz vermin aud 
overfeeding. Thrifty yearlings turned out 
to grass are iu danger from blackleg. To 
avoid this always fatal disorder, give tho 
common mixture of sulphur, molasses and 
eroam-of-tartar, every morning—one table- 
spoonful at a dose. For diarrhoea, a pint of 
hot new milk given every two hours and no 
other food, will be immediately effective; but 
never give alum or other astringents which 
only make mutters worse. Accustom tho 
yearling heifers to lie handled as cows are. 
Brush them aud handle tho udder and teats 
and make them acquainted with the duties 
which will cotno upon thorn in time. It 
will save a world of trouble afterwards. 
Working oxen should have places upon a 
great many farms where now they are de¬ 
spised because they are not handled prop¬ 
erly. iu training young steers, teach 
them a quick step and steadiness at a pull. 
Those are learned only by degrees and by not 
giving them impossible tasks at the first. 
Confidence is gained by success, and light 
tasks invariably well performed lead up to 
heavier work. Shoes should be used for oxen 
working upon stony roads. In field work 
these animals should ho permitted to rest a 
full hour at noon, and their feeding should bo 
finely ground feed and twice its weight only 
of finely cut bay. To permit of the needful 
rumination give them a few minutes’ rest oc¬ 
casionally through the day. 
SWINE. 
“A hog must root or die.” This is true in 
two souses. It must root to find its most ac¬ 
ceptable food, aud its health is better secured 
by this natural proclivity. Opportunities 
should be afforded for It. A fallow field may 
be usefully turned over in this way, and if it 
is sown with a few quarts of corn occasionally 
it will encourage the pigs iu their useful la¬ 
bors. A pig is, or may bo made, the most 
profitable of farm stock, if it is only reasona¬ 
bly well treated. Bows with young litters 
should have the ruu of an old pasture, which 
is nlways infested with cut-worms ami grubs. 
These will be pagerly hunted aud the land 
cleared of them. Ad orchard may also be 
occupied by them with advantage to the trees 
as the fallen and wormy fruit will be con¬ 
sumed. Binall pigs for market are the most 
profitable and by feeding March pigs well they 
will weigh 150 or 200 pounds by September. Do 
not feed them for fut, but for lean and fat to¬ 
gether. Feed will make the fat uud exercise 
will secure the lean- meat. Above all things 
carefully guard pigs against filth in feed, wa¬ 
ter and lodging. No other animal is more 
healthful if so kept. 
SHEEP AND LAMBS. 
It is better to shear sheep in the grease than 
to undertake the okl-fasliioned washing in a 
stream, or pond. A good way of washing is 
to make a tank large enough to hold a sheep 
completely immersed. Have a supply of hot 
and cold water by which the tank can be kept 
properly filled. Each sheep is immersed and 
by the help of soft-soap is cleansed in three 
minutes; 20 sheep can be washed in one hour. 
The wool thus washed dries soft. Keep the 
sheep in a dean pasture and shear in a week. 
The old method is a barbarism. For cuts 
made in shearing apply common pine tar. 
Peed tho ewes that are intended for sale: it 
will help the lambs as well. Keep a close 
watch over the owes from which lambs are 
taken, and milk them if necessary. Do not 
forget to snlt the sheep once a week. Tag all 
the sheep that are are on young grass to keep 
them clean and avoid fly-blow. Dip the 
lambs in tobacco water to clean them of ticks, 
or use crude petroleum as described several 
times iu the Rural. Pare the feet of the 
old sheep and shorten the toes before they are 
turned out. 
Good Treatment for any Disease. —One 
word more about tlmt “hollow horn.” As to 
that treatment given on page 802,1 think that 
J. P. aud the “cow doctor" together did the 
animal more good than either of them could 
have done alone. As to the “high authorities” 
spoken of by the Rural I have nothing to 
say. I have kept cattle for30 yours and have 
in thut time hud several cows that suffered 
from an ailment which is known as “hollow 
horn,” whatever Its real muuo or character 
may be. In tho disease I speak of, the eyes 
have a strained look, the countenance is beg¬ 
gared, the hair is rough and stands out, while 
the horns are cold at the base. 1 would not 
bore a horn, though I have seen it done and 
found the born as hollow as a gourd aud de¬ 
void of blood. Poor, old cows just after calv¬ 
ing are prone to tho disease. I know that 
cows which have poor treatment and are ex¬ 
posed to bad weather are most liable to lie 
sick, though I have seen fat cows in summer 
time troubled with the disease. I believe it 
to be due to some spinal affection. My remedy 
is to put the animal iuto warm quarters, give 
Olio tnblcspoonful of pulverized saltpeter, rub 
tho horns at the head with a little spirits of 
turpentine, give one-half tablespoonful of 
black pepper iu a bran mash, rub the back 
briskly, first with the hand aud afterwards 
with a horse brush, keep out of cold storms 
and wind and give plenty of good, nourishing 
food. w. s. T, 
Sonoma, N. C._ 
The Best Calf-Feeder. —I have never 
used a calf-feeder, but I agree with H. B. Q., 
that the best feeder is the pail. I leave the 
calf with its mother three or four days. It. is 
then not much more trouble to teach it to 
drink, it gets a more natural start, and is a 
great help iu getting the first few days’ milk. 
Where hut one calf is raised, tho little trouble 
a feeder might save would hardly pay for its 
expense. When half a dozen calves are 
raised, you would have to stand by and feed 
them one at a time, or have a half a dozen 
feeders. It would save time and trouble to 
feed them all out of a trough where all could 
feed at one time. 1 do not see how meal, bran 
or middlings can be fed with the drink in a 
feeder. Then it strikes me that constantly 
sucking at, this rubber teat would keep the 
calves in mind of sucking the cow so that it 
would be hard to break up the habit. Btill I 
believe that a calf would naturally feel bet¬ 
ter satisfied if allowed to suck its food rather 
than to drink it, and I think it would thrive 
better for awhile nt least, if it could suck in¬ 
stead of dnuk the same quantity of milk. All 
things considered 1 would take the old way. 
Morins Co. N. J. chan. lee. 
The System ok Soilin' a Cattle lias been 
discussed at our Farmers’ Club. As usual, 
letters were requested from those who had 
practiced the system. After these were rend 
the members discussed the points brought out 
in them. The advantages claimed for soiling 
appear to lie that from two to three times as 
many head of cattle can be kept on the same 
land as under the old system. No inside 
fences ere needed on the farm, more manure 
is handily saved, it necessitates a cleaner cul¬ 
tivation, cattle are loss liable to disease, and 
tho milk and butter are less liable to be taint¬ 
ed from noxious woods. No man can make a 
success of it unless be has first-class help or 
does the work himself. Good, convenient 
barns are necessary. Rye should be sowed 
so as to be ready to cut by the last of May. 
Then Orchard Grass,Rod Clover,barley or oats 
and corn fodder in succession will give an 
abundance of green food. Rye should be cut 
before it is too far advanced. The same is 
true of Orchard Grass. When left too long 
they become hard and woody. In sowiug 
fodder corn the great error is to sow it too 
thick. It was claimed that oue-half a bushel 
per acre, planted in drills, will produce as 
much nutriment as when or two bushels 
uro sowed broadcast or drilled. d. l\ h. 
Auburn, N. Y, 
*•» — 
A Sure Cure for “Hollow Horn." —The 
Rural states that there is no such disease as 
“hollow horn.” Tho horns of thousands of 
cattle freeze in winter. In fact, the horns of 
all cattle exposed to the frosty air of cold 
nights will lie chilled either up or down ac- 
cording to the age of the animal. Tho older 
tho animal and the smaller the horn, tho 
greater the danger from freezing. When in 
the spring t he oldjfarmer found his cow droopy 
uud the horns hot aud appetite poor, and bored 
a hole m the horn, and gave the “horn ail” 
vent, he did a good thing. If he had cut off, 
ns late ns March, two or three inches from the 
tops of the horns, proof would have been ap¬ 
parent from the foul smell, and pus exuding 
that something was surely wrong. He would 
have done much better if ho had cut off tho 
horns close up to tho head. To uriderstaud 
this liorn freezing matter, suppose you had 
two fingers at the top of your hen-l each a foot 
long, and for gloves had a pair of sheet iron 
horns. How would you stand the cold! If 
left out in the frost “neuralgia” and “born ail" 
would surely result. Chill or freeze an ani¬ 
mal’s horns and it can be pardoned for having 
the “hollow horn.” Many cattle on the plains 
suffer horribly from frosted horns. Dehorn¬ 
ing becomes merciful in such cases. 
Henry Co., Ills. H. h. haaff. 
■ «»> 
Feeding Cat.vkk. —I let a calf suck two 
days; by that time it is strong and bright to 
learn. Then I take it away and teach it to 
drink by putting its head in the pail, insert¬ 
ing a finger into its mouth; then I slip it out 
os soon as it commences to suck. In a few 
<iuys it will drink from the pail without evon 
holding its head. In two weeks’ time i pour 
the milk into a trough, uud after the calves 
have drank that up, 1 put some oats in the 
trough. They grow .strong and fast. I uso 
new milk at first, but after about, two weeks 
I give them sweet, skim-milk. I no not feed 
corn meal as it causes indigestion. H. i>. 
Greenwich, Conn. 
Pain) i)vi5Irani)n). 
AN INTERNATIONAL DAIRY SHOW IN 
ITALY. 
PROF. J. P. SHELDON. 
Objects of the show; classificat ion mul prizes; 
the curse of oleomaryarine; great injury 
caused by it to American dairy interests. 
From the Minister of Agriculture, Industry 
aud Commerce of the Kingdom of Italy, I 
have received the rules, prize list und entry 
form of an International Dairy Show which, 
under the auspices of the Government, will bo 
