THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
can make, there are 60,000 workhorses in this 
cit 3 r . This includes the animals driven in 
trucks, express wagons, street cars, venders’ 
wagons and cabs and public carriages. Of 
these animals 25,000 are changed every year. 
The annual death rate is about 14,000 and 
from 31,000 to 13,000 go lame or become other¬ 
wise disabled. The period of efficient service 
for the city horse is from three to four years. 
Many horses go through a longer term of ser¬ 
vice, but th?y slide down the scale of respect¬ 
ability, so to speak. When they become un¬ 
fit for heavy service on trucks or express 
wagons they may be used on the street cars. 
From this work they go down through other 
grades until they frequently drop dead in 
front of some vender’s wagon. Many are 
bought by farmers and taken into the country 
where, after a season of rest, they are made 
to do fair work. Weak or disabled horses are 
of little use on the heavy trucks and carts. 
When a horse begins to give out the usual 
plan is to sell him for what he will bring, and 
get a new one. The majority of the horses 
that die here simply “drop deadthey appear 
to work themselves out. Doubtless many of 
them are weakened by cold aod exposure, for 
most of them are out in all kinds of weather. 
The weakness of the heavy cart horse lies in the 
hoof. The hard pavements cause the hoof to 
crack aud split. Buying and selling are 
mostly done at the Horse Exchanges; there 
one can sell or buy almost any kind of horse. 
Most of the car aud carriage horses are han¬ 
dled at “Bull’s Head’’ ou Twenty-fourth Street. 
enough to attract the best birds in the coun¬ 
try, the opportunity to make sales at good 
prices will bring breeders louger distances, at 
greater expense and with more birds, than for 
any other show. Then, too, for advertising 
purposes, a premium won at New York is of 
much more value than one from any other 
place. The competition is closer, more and 
better birds are brought together, and abso¬ 
lutely no favoritism will be shown in judg¬ 
ing. The show is not run by any clique of 
breeders, aud au amateur with a single entry 
will have the same footiug as a professional 
with a hundred entries. 
Every effort will be made to make the show 
a great popular success. A great many fea¬ 
tures will be added that will make it attrac¬ 
tive to the masses, and coming as it does just 
before the Christmas Holidays, it will be vis¬ 
ited by a largo number of people who come to 
tho city at that time, aud will bring in many 
from out of town who at any other time might, 
not come. It is the best selling time of the 
whole year, as money is plenty, chicks are 
well matured, fowls are in fine feather, aud 
pets in great demand. 
The premium list is uow in preparation and 
will soon bo issued, giving full information iu 
regard to all of tho details of the show. 
oped ear of grain on about every stalk, that 
adds fully one-half to the ration, pound for 
pound. This season I drilled in my en¬ 
silage—the celebrated “B. and W.,” corn—in 
rows three feet eight inches apart, a kernel 
each six or eight inches in the row, and the 
result bus been moro liko field corn in its de¬ 
velopment of grain—uot attempts at ears, 
but full-sized ears, with filled and plump ker¬ 
nels. The stalks growing IS and 34 feet high, 
will average 20 good ears to each 25 stalks, 
aud as we cut thorn into the silo, the silage as 
it came falling from the "shoot,” seemed 
white with its mixture of corn, and must 
make a ration that has more than twice tho 
feeding value of silage that bears no grain— 
for the latter is largely lacking in sugar ami 
starch—and a proportionate smaller amount 
must have equal feeding value. My own 
knowledge in this matter is confirmed by ray 
neighbors, especially Mr. Wing and Mr. Blair, 
who each have very large dairies, and each 
year they drill in less seed corn pier acre to 
induce grain growth; then they decrease the 
size of the ration from what it was in 1880, 
aud each year obtain more satisfactory results. 
As the growth of grain Ls encouraged, one 
in this great dairy district hears less aud less 
about balanced rations, and the grain fed iu 
addition may be said to consist almost wholly 
of bran or fine middlings. The flour-like shorts 
are now discarded,ns their starchy bulk is not 
needed, as tho most perfectly ground fodder 
and its complement of com furnish all the 
needed starch and sugar; aud bran and clover 
hay—the latter for a noon-day feed or au 
evening “luuch”—seems to fill the require¬ 
ments of a perfect ratiou. As said at the be¬ 
ginning, individual practices differ so that no 
definite rule can be set down; but taking an 
average practice, the ratiou for a milch cow 
may be set dowu at from 30 to 50 pounds per 
day, together with a feed of clover hay at 
noon, and from five to eight pounds of bran 
per day. If the silage is destitute of grain, 
more grain will bo needed, and some oat-meal 
iu partial place of the brau will be better. 
The outcry against silage for the dairy has 
ceased, and no one uow disputes the excellence 
of milk made from a good silage ration—and 
to do so would be to fly in the face of facts— 
and so bow to feed silage after it has been 
“ cooked” in the pit., is of some moment. The 
silage is ready to feed as soou as the tempera¬ 
ture has fallen to about 80 degrees, which it 
seems to do readily iu about three weeks after 
putting on the covers. A very desirable 
thing to do, when ready to commence feeding, 
is to remove the covers all off from one pit, 
and remove the silage as wanted evenly from 
the surface. This method gives the silage a 
chance to become “ aired” aud lose its fresh, 
aud of ten somewhat pungeut, odor; and then 
it can uot give to tho milk any foreign flavor. 
Iu feeding the silage should be removed from 
the surface of the pit so frequently that there 
is uo chance for any change to occur in its 
chemical character: and observance of this 
rule, even with what is kuown as sour silage, 
prevents any deterioration in the milk. 
When bran is fed, it is desirable that the 
amount should be divided aud put on the 
morning aud evening silage feeds. The two 
are then eaten together, aud go through the 
auinial laboratory together for digestion and 
assimilation, and uo known method of feeding 
can better this. 
Handiness in feeding 
silage is greatly promoted 
by using a two-wlieeled 
wheel-barrow. Such a 
barrow is uot inclined to 
tip over, and if made to 
hold about five or six 
bushels, it will contain sil- 
LJ ago sufficient for about 12 
M cows. By weighing a few 
scoop shovelfuls, one can 
'—quickly learn to weigh a 
Vg Jn ration by the eye and baud, 
and the work of feeding a 
E Ti $ stable of cows or steers is 
i ite q .W quickly performed, and 
1 Isy lflF the bran can be added to 
> / \A IJy the silage in the manger, 
Nk w vJ and tho proportion for 
- W Jf W- each animal can be varied 
Q. as °' romnKt,uu;es 111 a y 
THE NEW YORK POULTRY SHOW. 
United action; a thoroughly representative 
exhibition; pigeons galore; great show of 
ladies' pets; poultry il in all styles;" 
judges; A r ew York City the best sales mar¬ 
ket; a propitious season. 
Tiib secretary of the coming poultry show 
sends us the following communication: 
The first steps toward organizing and pre¬ 
paring for the next New York Poultry Show 
were taken last March. Tho Now York 
Poultry Exchange was then organized and 
incorporated, with M. M. Pomeroy President, 
H. C. Frink Rec. Sec’y, J. F. Clark Cor¬ 
responding Sec’y, and L. N. Clark Treasurer 
aud Business Manager. The organization has 
grown in strength from the start, and its 
membership now includes a large number of 
breeders of poultry and pigeons, scattered 
throughout the country, and many prominent 
business men iu this city, who have country 
seats aud keep fancy fowls. It has received 
the co-operation and assistance of the poultry 
raisers who see the great advautage to their 
business of having an annual New York show 
aud a permanent organization in this city. 
The Madison Square Garden has been se¬ 
cured for the first show under this manage¬ 
ment, which will be held December 14 to 21 
next. It will be without doubt the largest 
ever held in this countrj r . All of the good 
features of former shows will be retained, 
aud many new ones added. 
In the poultry department a very large 
number of birds are expected. Breeders from 
all sections intend making largo entries, and 
the new breeds that are attracting so much 
attention wifi be out in force. A special de¬ 
partment of birds for sale only promises to be 
very popular. A low coop fee will be charged 
aud birds not sold before the last day of the 
show will bo put up at auction. 
The Pigeon Department will be under the 
management of Mrs. E. S. Starr, Race Seerc- 
tarj- of the Federation of American Fanciers 
of Flying Pigeons, This department will be 
a show iu itself, as it will contain the largest 
collection of high-class pigeons ever brought 
together under one roof in this country. 
There will be numerous club and special prizes 
in all classes, and an elegant silver cup for the 
best record made by homing pigeons. 
There will be a Ladies’ Toy Dog show in 
connection with the exhibition. This will 
contain a large number of all kinds of terri¬ 
ers, spaniels, pugs, poodles aud Mexican hair¬ 
less dogs, besides cats, rabbits, birds and other 
pets. This department will be iu the large 
room over the entrance as the whole of the 
Garden proper will be filled with the coops of 
poultry and pigeons. 
There will bo a restaurant in tho building, 
in which poultry will bo served in every way 
knowu to the culinary art. A special feature 
will be made of live and dressed market poul¬ 
try and eggs. Prizes will he given for the 
best market fowls. Mongrels, cross-breeds or 
thoroughbred fowls can compete for this prize, 
as utility will be the .standard. Mr. Geo. S. 
Pratt, of Bridgeport, Conn., will be hall su¬ 
perintendent during the show, and the follow- 
EN,SILAGE RATIONS, 
JOHN GOULD. 
EXPRESS HORSES. 
Horses suitable for express work should be 
sound and kind, with an average weight of 
1,250 to 1,400 pounds. The most desirable 
age is five to six years. The manager of the 
Adams Express informs us that the horses for 
this company are brought from Ohio, In¬ 
diana and Illinois. Good Percherou or Nor¬ 
man grades about 1,300 pounds’ weight, ac¬ 
tive aud docile and five years old, are eagerly 
taken at an average price of $300. Most of 
their horses are bought through agents, but 
they are always ready to buy a suitable ani¬ 
mal wherever it can be found. As a rule, 
mares are uot wanted for city work. Bound 
horses with good care generally stand the 
express work about five years unless their 
feet give out. The American Express Com¬ 
pany also buy in the West, but are not so 
particu lar. They try to obtain active “lilocky” 
horses of auy breed. They use many mares, 
aud their horses are a trifle lighter than 
those used by the Adams. They like to take 
horses on trial aud keep the best that are 
offered. The express horse must be a good 
traveler and must possess superior intelli¬ 
gence. Good express horses are about the 
most profitable animals the Western farmer 
cau raise. There is always a prime demand 
for them. A cross of a good Percherou stal¬ 
lion on a large, active mare produces a horse 
that will always be gladly bought fpr this 
purpose. 
CAR HORSES. 
Most of the horses used on the various street 
car lines are bought at “Bull’s Head.” 
Many of them are animals rejected for use in 
other lines of work. There is no particular 
breed or shape of horse desired. “ Any horse 
that can do the work ” is drafted into the ser¬ 
vice. Horses too light for truck work, too 
clumsy for express wagons or too stupid for 
lighter work will pull well ou the cars. Trot¬ 
ters that show uo speed and are too light for 
farm work, light roadsters, aud misshapen 
colts from big stallions out of smaller mares, 
all find their way in the general sifting of the 
horse business to the street car lines. The 
average weight of these horses is about 1,100 
pounds. They begin the service generally at 
about six years of age, and three years usually 
limit their effectiveness. The price paid for 
them averages £100. Most of them arc long¬ 
bodied with light hind quarters. Oue rarely 
sees a horse that would be suitable for truck 
or dray work on a horse car. 
Late increase of grain in silage corn; con¬ 
sequent curtailment of bulk of ration; less 
seed corn produces more ears aud grain; 
decrease of supplementary feed; no deter¬ 
ioration in quality of milk from silage-fed 
cows; when and how to feed silage. 
TnE individual practices of the silo owners 
of this country are so varied and the plans of 
raising silage so different that it is difficult to 
lay dowu any definite rules in regard to silage 
feeding. The original idea of ensilage was to 
secure by some means as great a growth of 
fodder as possible, paying no attention to 
grain bearing along with stalk growth. By 
this plan silage was largely ‘‘greenness and 
water,” and in feeding it a great quantity 
was necessary for a ration, and so, perforce, 
grain in form of oats, bran, linseed meal, and 
like nitrogenous foods had to be fed to give a 
balanced ration. Under this system we 
heard of cows consuming bushels, each, of 
silage per day, and a large grain ration in ad¬ 
dition. In the early days of ensilage men 
told me they fed from 75 to 100 pounds per 
day to grown animals, and the effect was 
much as it would be to gorge au animal on 
any other sort of dilute food. 
It was uot long before the advocates of ex¬ 
clusive silage feeding discovered that the ra¬ 
tiou was too bulky, aud that uot only was it 
better to direct the growth of the silage 
fodder towards grain-bearing ; but that there 
must be a rotation of crops on tho farm. 
This implied some clover and tamo hay, a cer¬ 
tain amount of stalks from field corn, which 
should be fed along with the silage; and so 
from these causes there has been a reduction 
in the amouut of the daily silage ration; aud 
to my knowledge last winter from 25 to 50 
FUTURE OF THE MARKET. 
Two classes of horses will sell to advantage 
in New York hereafter: heavy express horses 
and coaehers or roadsters. Electricity is to 
be the motive power of the future on the street 
car lines and 80 per cent of the horses now 
employed at this work will be idle. There 
will always be a vast amount of city freight 
transportation that cannot be conducted with¬ 
out borse power,and strong, active horses will 
always be cash property. At present the 
horses which are too light for heavy work and 
too slow or too clumsy for driving purposes 
flud a place ou the street cars. Ten years 
hence those who breed this class of animals 
will be unable to dispose of them at anything 
near their value. Those who breed any old 
mare to a second-class draught or trotting 
stallion will be unable to dispose of their colts 
in the New York market. 
IMPROVED 11AY PRESS. E 
Some weeks ago a cor¬ 
respondent wrote of a 
new hay press that condensed ordinary hay 
so that it had the weight and solidity of oak 
wood. This note led to so many inquiries 
concerning the press that we have decided to 
illustrate it aud describe it more at length. It 
is shown at Fig. 431. It is known us the Re¬ 
versible Duplex Press and is mauufuctured by 
P. K. Dederick & Co., Albany, N. Y. In this 
press 125 pounds of hay cau be crowded into 
a chamber 14x18 inches. The bales coming 
ihg poultry judges have been engaged: I. K. 
Felch, of Natick, Mass.; J. Y. Bickuell, of 
Buffalo, N. Y.; J. D. Nevius, of Philadelphia, 
Pa.: Geo. O. Brown, of Baltimore, Md.; Abel 
F. Btevons, of Wellesley, Mass, aud C. F. 
Thompson, of Brooklyn, N. Y., formerly of 
New Hampshire. 
This city is pre-eminently the sales depot 
for fancy fowls in the United States, and 
while the premiums offered will be liberal 
pounds, along with other feeding materials, 
was about tho average amouut fed 
Necessarily there was a curtailment of the 
silage ratiou when the idea of grain growth 
was inode prominent iu the raising of ensilage 
fodder. Gradually, in this, the amouut of eu- 
silage seed corn hus been reduced to about 12 
to 14 quarts per acre, aud this thinning out, 
not only give3 a strong, lusty stalk iu place 
of the soindliug one, but a big, well devel¬ 
