JULY 30 
veloped for his age. 3. Is buttermilk worth 
50 cents per 40-gallon barrel to feed to sows 
and young pigs i 
Ank.— 1. You should have given a list of the 
foods at yourdisposal or to be easily obtained 
in your vicinity. This always influences the 
make-up of a ration for any given place. The 
various rations of different localities produce 
equally good results, so that there is no one 
special ration that can bo said to be the best 
for all localities More depends upon the 
quality of the feed, method of feeding and 
care of the colt, than upon the make up of tho 
ration itself. For a growing colt, there is 
probably no better bone and muscle-forming 
food than oats; and if to Vie fed alone they 
would usually lie chosen. But oats can best 
he supplemented in part by other foods, tho 
choice of which depends largely upon the sup¬ 
ply and cost in the local market. The kind of 
coarse fo r d used should also influence the 
given ration. In a general way an excellent 
ration for the colt could be made up of equal 
parts by weight, of ground oats and wheat 
bran with one-half pint each of corn meal and 
linseed meal, feeding two or three quarts two 
or three times daily with a small quantity of 
good, clean hay. This would be best fed by 
cutting the hay, slightly moistcuing it, and 
mixing the ground feed with it, to be all fed 
together. During the summer the pasture or 
cut grass is an excellent and even desirable 
substitute for dry hay; and the ground feed 
can bo fed dry night and morning in such 
quantities as the colt appears to require. The 
quuutity of grain to lie fed must always be 
left largely to the judgment of the stockman 
in charge. 2. Usually it is considered best not 
to use a colt for service before two years of 
age, and for only' a few mares, between two 
and three years of age. But a well developed 
colt might perhaps safely lie used to serve oue 
or two mares when ho is only eighteen months 
old. As a rule, however, it would ho better, 
both for the young stallion and his colts, that 
lie bo not used too young. 
3. Buttermilk contains about 00 per cent, of 
water: the dry matter consists of some little 
fat and all the casein, sugar and salts of the 
milk. The following table gives tlie figures: 
Water.....90.00 
Fat.<>J 
Casein amt albumen... 3 95 
Sugar. *. ‘1.61 
Ash...... 
100.00 
The value of 100 pounds of it is equal to 
about 10 cents for the casein and four cents 
for the sugar, or 20 cents in all; this is 2} 
cents per gallon of eight pounds or $1.00 
for a barrel of 40 gallons. But the milk could 
be actually made worth more by mixing it 
with some other food containing starch and 
fat, such as corn menL Buttermilk contains 
some lactic acid, which gives tn it its smooth, 
viscid character and this acid forms a portion 
of the gastric lluid which is the digestive agent 
in the stomach. Hence, when fed in modera¬ 
tion, it exerts a healthful effect upon the di¬ 
gestion and its value may be estimated at at 
least 50 per cent, more than its actual nutri¬ 
ment might warrant, as an aid to the digestion 
of other foods given with it. I f a pound of 
corn meal were added to each gallon of the 
buttermilk, both of tho foods would be in¬ 
creased in actual nutritive value. 
LAMENESS IN A COLT. 
C. N., Petaluma , Cal.— My two-year-old 
eolt is so lame that he is unable to use oue fore 
leg, which ho drags, barely touching the 
ground with the toe. There is no nail in the 
foot, and the stable is well bedded. There is 
fairs is that they cannot lie allowed their 
liberty. If allowed to fly they would frighten 
many visitors, and occasionally some one 
might be stung. Not only this, but the bees 
visit the candy, lemonade and cider stands, 
and tho result, is a “row.” If (he keepers of 
booths would make it a point, not to allow a 
loaded bee to leave forborne, killing every bee 
that alights, there would belittle trouble, as 
these bees soon return followed by large num¬ 
bers of their comrades. It, is difficult, how¬ 
ever, to get the candy meu to faithfully per¬ 
form this task; and, after an experience of 
several years in exhibiting bees at, fairs, 1 
have learned that the only way is to use hives 
with glass sides, fastening the bees in and giv- 
ingau abundance of ventilation. About dark, 
after visitors are otf tho grounds, the hives 
may he carried out and the bees allowed to 
fly. When bees are to be eon fined several 
days, as they are at a fair, there should be 
wire cloths both above and lielow the frames, 
also a spare space of two or three inches be¬ 
tween the frames and wire cloth. An obser- 
ary. It requires at least ten weeks for a hen 
to shed her feathers and put on a uew plu¬ 
mage, and during that time she ceases to lay 
and becomes an expense. Her usefulness, 
however, in the future, depends upon her 
treatment during the period of moulting. 
Although tin* process is oue that debilitates 
and enfeebles the hens, yet they become fat 
while moulting, due to the fact that, the 
feathers appropriate all the nitrogen and 
phosphates of the food, leaving the carbon to 
be stored as fat in the body. The hens may 
therefore be well fed and yet go through 
moulting with difficulty. A mess of meat, 
once a day should always be given the moult¬ 
ing hens, in addition to the regular food, and 
bone meal should also be mixed with their 
soft food. If the early moulting hens are 
thus assisted they will begin to lay in the 
commencement of winter, and lie in good con¬ 
dition to supply eggs at that time, but should 
they fail to begin moultiug until late they 
will not only postpone laying till spring, but 
also have a prospect of succumbing to the 
cold. All the males should lie removed from 
tho moulting beus, and the hens and pullets 
should lie separated, or the vice of foather- 
pulliug may be acquired, A pullet hatched 
this year is not liable to moult until the sum¬ 
mer or fall of next year, as they are continu¬ 
ally making new feathers during growth. 
Warm and dry quarters, witli protection 
work equivalent to about one twenty-sixth 
part of a horse power. 
Ag’l Coll., Lansing, Mich. 
SPANCEL FOR KICKING COWS, 
I have tried about all the iufallible meth¬ 
ods for breaking in heifers, kicking cows, etc., 
that I have read of, with very limited success. 
1 fouud that a cow that has a sore teat or is 
otherwise vicious and means to kick will do it 
without regard to most kinds of fetters. 
The amplest, preventive method L have 
found is a strap and buckle of good length, I 
buckle the hind legs together just above the 
gambrel joints; wrap the strap around the 
opposite leg twice to prevent, it slipping down 
during a struggle; then cross it, between the 
legs and buckle up tightly. A cow can stand 
easy and after a few struggles will behave 
herself. The stool or bench 1 use to sit on is 
for no other purpose. If a cow is “jawed” 
and mauled with a bench for every little mis¬ 
demeanor, she will soon develop into a dairy 
kicker. h. c. g. 
Orange Co., N. Y. 
TO PREVENT CALVES FROM SUCKING. 
A new and easy method to prevent calves 
from sucking is to hang a ring in the nose. I 
know of a farmer who was seriously perplexed 
during the past winter and spring by a calf 
that persisted in sucking two of his best cows. 
The spiked halter was used, ns usual; but the 
calf would rub this off in a few days and 
again rob the farmer of the milk, Au experi¬ 
ment was tried by putting a piece of common 
fence wire through the nose of tho calf and 
bending the ends of the wire so they could be 
hooked together. The experiment worked ad¬ 
mirably. After the several long, unsuccess¬ 
ful attempts to get the teats in her mouth, the 
calf gave it up as a bad job and ever since the 
farmer has got a full mess of milk. The riug 
hangs over tho calf’s mouth enough to pre¬ 
vent the teat which hangs down from being 
taken in, but does not interfere with the tak¬ 
ing of food. c. P. GILLETTE. 
IlOTTDA NS 
Tins excellent breed of fowls, a typical spe¬ 
cimen of which is shown at Fig. 288, is daily 
increasing in prominence among American 
breeders, and seems destined t,o gain the well- 
deserved appreciation which it has long main¬ 
tained iu France. The district, of lioudau 
has for years given to the French metropolis 
the choicest of tho table poultry exposed for 
sale in the public market, and to the breed 
bearing the name has been accorded t-he high¬ 
est, praise from the epicures of that nation, 
who know lest the mysteries of the cuisine, 
and whose approval should make a trade¬ 
mark for the civilized world. 
The features, or, iu chicken talk, the 
“points,” of the breed are sufficient to gratify 
any desire for fancy breeding, while in a prac¬ 
tical point of view there can be no objection 
offered by those providing for either market 
or family use. Seldom, and in most specimens 
never, showing a disposition to sit, their 
physical efforts are given to egg-producing, 
and while disposed to readily lay on fat, 
they can, by judicious feeding, be easily kept 
within bounds. Good foragers, naturally, 
they are, by reusou of their crests, also easily 
restrained from high flying. By eminent au¬ 
thority they are said to produce, ns a breed, 
the greatest weight of eggs in the year,and in 
number are only excelled by the Leghorns 
and Hamburgs. Properly mated, the eggs are 
seldom infertile, the chicks are hardy and ae 
five, feathering out rapidly, developing into 
flue broilers at a very early age, and, old or 
young, they endure severe cold and heat, but, 
on account of their crests, require protection 
from dampness. They are large, henvy-bod- 
ied, full-breasted fowls; have short legs and 
are noted for smallness of bone and ab¬ 
sence of much offal. They ure one of the few 
breeds which combine eggs and excellent 
flesh qualities. c. E. rockenstyre. 
Albany Co., N. Y. 
TYPICAL HOUDAN HEN. lie-engraved from Vinton’s Gazette. Pi 
Beeswax may be molded into many fantastic 
shapes. Bee-bives, honey and wax extractors 
and other implements form a part of au exhi¬ 
bit in which all bee-keepers are much inter¬ 
ested. Specimens of honey producing plants, 
pressed when iu bloom and mounted upon 
sheets of white paper, make a flue background 
when tacked upon the wall behind the exhi¬ 
bit. Michigan has a splendid premium list— 
$3(X) in the aggregate—and Michigan bee¬ 
keepers tako a tent to the fair and camp out as 
one big family. For solid comfort and enjoy¬ 
ment this encampment is far ahead of any 
fashionable watering place. Let others do 
likewise. 
Genesee Co., Mich. 
be giveu the moulting hens, as they easily 
take cold aud perish. Iron in the drinking 
water will be found an excellent tonic for 
them. 
THE FOWL SIGHED FOR. 
“Oh, for a fowl that will eat potato beetles, 
etc., etc.,” says u late Rural. The Pekin 
duck is the “fowl” wanted. I have tried 
these fowls for two years, and know they eat 
the beetle, and have, with me, completely ob¬ 
viated the need of Paris-green, etc. The 
Guinea aud turkey are close after them, but 
are not so efficacious as the duck. 
W. O. MATES. 
[R. N.-Y.—All honor to the duck, suy we. 
We have often heard that “a duck will eat 
anything.” Wo believe it now.] 
A GOOF RECORD OF A “MIXED” BREED. 
In a late Rural a correspondent who gave 
a record of 100 fowls, said that Thorough¬ 
breds lay more eggs than mixed breeds. Now, 
I have a mixed lot of 50 hens and five roost¬ 
ers, whose record is ns follows : January, 258 
eggs; February, 557; March, 810; April, 905; 
May, 742; June, 752. Total,4,024. 
Hackensack, N. J. o. c. d. 
THE MOULTING HENS 
At this season, as the hens begin to shed 
their feathers, and cease laying, the probabil¬ 
ity is that many farmers will market them 
and retain pullets instead. This practice is a 
mistaken one, as tho early moulting hen will 
finish the process and be ready for laying by 
the time the cool season sets in, while the pul¬ 
lets, if of the large breeds and not hatched 
early, may not begin to lay until after Janu- 
.non an 
FOOD FOR A YEAll-OLD STALLION; VALUE OF 
BUTTERMILK AS HOG FEED. 
C. C. 11 ., Alden , Iowa. —1. What is tho best 
feed for a one-year-old stallion colt l 2. 
Would it be wise to use him on one or two 
mares this fall ? He is remarkably well do- 
APIARIAN EXHIBITS AT FAIRS. 
HUTCHINSON, 
The oue great difficulty in showing bees at 
