THE BUBAL f3EW-¥©BiCEB. 
JAN U 
22 
on the inside wood-work was used. In cities 
where brown stone houses were built, brown 
stone color was added to match some parts of 
a building; but the triumph of color for inside 
walls was French gray, as it was called, em¬ 
bracing all shades, between a gray, lilac, or 
lavender. Add to this drab for a kitchen,and 
you have the whole range of colors used in a 
painting business 35 years ago. Even decora¬ 
tive painting done by competent foreign ar¬ 
tists had to be kept down in coloring and or¬ 
nament to a cold, stupid imitation of stucco 
work, and it was miserably misnamed “fresco 
painting.” This was used in houses, churches, 
theatres and every kind of public building 
alike, without any regard to the appropriate¬ 
ness of the designs. The only work done in 
those days, that showed care and talent was 
some excellent imitations of woods by skilled 
grainers; but the popular introduction of hard 
woods has now driven wood graining out of 
the field. 
As luxuries began to increase and our people 
traveled abroad, colors began to be more ap¬ 
preciated. A revival of coloring and decorat¬ 
ing in a more refined taste had made headway 
in Europe, and was soon afterwards introduced 
into America. Our frame houses, with many 
members of enrichment, gave good opportun¬ 
ity for displaying taste on outside work, and 
the more recent style of architecture, sup¬ 
posed to be Queen Anne; but which in reality 
is more of an admixture of Old English, Swiss, 
and new ideas, offers greater facilities for 
painting in decided colors than were attained 
before. The beach cottages were the first to 
lead off with the many gables, hoods, veran¬ 
das and curtains, and so much is this style ap- 
preeiated that it is becoming universal wher¬ 
ever new houses are built in the country. So 
convenient and cosy are these cottages that 
they are taking a distinct style,more American 
than anything else, and will without doubt 
form a national style, rather than a Queen 
Anne or any other order of architecture. Since 
these pretty homes are springing up all over 
the country, it is a necessity to paint them to 
the best advantage and with good taste. This 
requires skill and care to bring out some parts 
and to retire others. This style of architect¬ 
ure will stand and even demands strong tints 
and some bright coloring to beautify and do 
justice to the various parts of the work, setting 
it off to the best advantage. This order of 
buildings offers a wide field for cultivating a 
taste for colors and effective painting. 
Of all countries, America is the one where 
colors should and will be appreciated, with 
our gorgeous autumnal foliage filling the 
whole landscape with brilliant tints, while 
every waste nook, as well as our roadsides, is 
lined with wild asters and the bending golden 
rod; while the whole is crowned with a glor¬ 
ious sunset, illuminating the great arc above, 
reflecting its golden tints over the whole sur¬ 
face of nature and affording a scene which 
America alone can show. Most of us can re¬ 
member such sights that have left an indelible 
impression on the mind; tints that linger in 
the eye for many years. Why should not 
these memories imbue us with a love for 
colors? When composed in harmony and good 
taste, where can we better use the soul-inspir¬ 
ing art of painting than on our own country 
homes. 
FEEDING AND MARKETING BROILERS. 
P. H. JACOBS. 
The two all-important points; improvements 
in feeding broilers; constipation due to 
lack of warmth; ventilation for brooder- 
raised broilers; dressing and marketing; 
weights; creating a home market. 
The main points in raising broilers are the 
heat and the feed, and though attention was 
called to the importance of warmth in a pre¬ 
vious article, yet it may also be stated that 
the more comfortable the chicks the less food 
they require. Feeding is always a matter of 
experiment on all the broiler farms here, and 
this season less labor has been needed and 
fewer losses have occurred owing to the fact 
that better methods have been practiced. 
Formerly nearly all the food, composed of 
equal parts of ground corn and oats, mid¬ 
dlings and ground meat, was cooked, being 
baked as cakes and crumbled. Now the 
cooked food is given only in the morning and 
at night, the pin-head oatmeal being kept be¬ 
fore them all the time, while wheat is given as 
soon as they are old enough to eat it. Ground 
meat may be kept in the troughs also, but 
should it begin to affect the bowels, it should 
be withheld until the difficulty has passed 
away. This saving of labor in feeding is an 
important item, as it was formerly necessary 
to feed them every two hours, and when it is 
considered that 3,000 broilers are raised under 
helter and require large quantities of food, 
the matter of mixing and cooking the food 
call? for constant attention, but now the work 
is easier. 
The large majority of those who have at¬ 
tempted the raising of broilers in brooders 
lose them from constipation of the bowels. 
The loss is usually attributed to lack of green 
food, but with us there is no such difficulty, 
as we have arrived at a knowledge of the fact 
that this difficulty arises from lack of warmth 
in the brooders, the result being that the 
brooders are always kept warm, about 90 
degrees being the correct temperature. No 
thermometer is necessary, for the chicks will 
nestle close together if the heat is insufficient, 
while they will separate and “spread out” if 
the brooder is warm. Always observe this 
fact in raising broilers, for upon it, more than 
the food, depends success. A plan of the sys¬ 
tem of brooding has been given in a former 
number of the Rural New-Yorker. 
Another error lies in the supposition that 
the chicks may die for want of fresh air, 
and that they must run outside. True, they 
are allowed out on clear, dry days; but until 
they are a month old they are kept inside. 
The warm air coming into the brooders pro¬ 
vides sufficient ventilation, and as we have 
tried both the outdoor and indoor methods, 
we find that the birds grow much faster, and 
the losses are fewer, when they are carefully 
kept inside, and made warm and comfortable. 
No objection can be made tb feeding them 
anything that they will relish, but in this sec¬ 
tion grass is a luxury, while cabbages and 
other vegetables are supplanted by fruits, and 
hence are scarce. We raise thousands of 
chicks that never see an ounce of green food 1 
Some of the broiler farms have all the appli¬ 
ances for preparing the food, and heating in¬ 
cubators, and even slaughter houses are at¬ 
tached to the buildings. 
During the shipping season (from January 
19 to June 1) the chicks are sold in the dressed 
condition. There are parties who make a 
a special business of preparing them for mar¬ 
ket, at from five to 10 cents each. No deduc¬ 
tion is made for size, as the smaller the chick 
the more labor is needed proportionately. 
They are hung up by the feet, one man sticks 
them in the throat, another quickly plucks 
off the largest feathers, and women and child¬ 
ren carefully pick off all the pm-feathers. 
They are not fed for 24 hours before killing as 
the crops must be empty. After allowing all 
the animal heat to escape (some drop them in 
ice-water and then wipe them dry) they are 
packed nicely in boxes or barrels, and sent by 
express to market. They aie never scalded, 
and if the skm is torn or broken in any place 
it is carefully sewed to avoid detection. 
Everything depends on the appearance, for a 
young chick is not easily fatted, the lood go¬ 
ing mostly t© bone and muscle, and when 
killed and picked it looks very long-legged, 
thin and poor, but the points to examine for 
fat are along both sides of the backbone, the 
rule being that the more fat indicated along 
the back the fatter is the whole body corres¬ 
pondingly. Plenty of breast meat is also de¬ 
sired, but this depends more on the breed 
than on the feed. Where eggs are collected 
promiscuously, as is done here, the quality of 
the broilers of course varies. 
No correct estimate can be given of weights. 
No matter how much food may be given, the 
rapid growth depends upon the warmth of f he 
brooder. Some persons will have chicks 
weighing two pounds when they are ten weeks 
old while a neighbor, with a house and sys¬ 
tem of brooding exactly the same, but who 
lets in plenty of “ventilation” (i. e., lets his 
warmth escape) may not have his chicks reach 
two pounds each in three months. The aver¬ 
age weights may be given as 10 ounces at five 
weeks old, a pound at seven weeks, and two 
pounds at 11 weeks, and as compared with the 
chicks raised by hens brooder-raised chicks pre¬ 
sent a more attractive market appearance, and 
are free from disease. A duck at 10 months 
old will weigh 4% pounds, but the chicks bring 
prices that more than compensate for the dif * 
ference in weight. 
The larger number of chicks are shipped to 
New York, the Fulton Market dealers taking 
the bulk; but they will not accept of any that 
are inferior, which compels the sale of some 
lots by commission merchants. No item in 
broiler raising, therefore, is so important as 
quality, and nothing assists more in that re¬ 
spect than good crosses, among the best being 
Wyandotte,Dorking, or Plymouth Rock cocks 
with females of the Brahma or Cochm breeds, 
but it is not out of place to state that yel¬ 
low legs and skin add to the apparent market 
quality, and that is what we must cater to; 
but a nice, plump-breasted Game chick, with 
flesh-colored legs, will not be objected to. 
Never use dark-legged breeds for broilers, as 
there is a strong (though foolish) prejudice 
against them; but they are really the best, if 
buyers would only believe it. Dealers will 
come for the broilers when they learn that 
you have choice stock, and as our poultrymen 
are organized, we are beginning to create a 
demand on the ground, as any number can be 
supplied when desired, and the prices obtained 
are equal to those in the large cities. Much 
as has been done, there is more to learn, and 
Rural readers must not be surprised if 
we discover in the future that there is still a 
better and simpler mode, as that which may 
be considered perfect to day may be improved 
upon to-morrow. Though experience has 
taught us how to succeed, yet we have more 
to learn. 
TIMELY POULTRY NOTES. 
Bumble Foot and Five-toed Breeds — 
Some grave writers have given out their opin¬ 
ions that Dorkings and other five-toed fowls are 
more subject to bumble foot than other birds; 
this is a singular stupidity. In what way is 
there any more connection between the fifth 
toe and bumble foot than between a corn on 
the bottom of a man’s foot and his little toe? 
The bumble foot is directly under the center 
of the bottom of the foot and the fifth toe is 
the furthest off. I have seen bumble foot much 
more on the lightest breeds than on the heavi¬ 
est, having been communicated by infection. 
The Fifth Toe. —Some of the same grave 
authorities call the fifth toe a deformity. It 
must be a very old one, as it was described by 
the Romans before the Christian era. There 
are several breeds of fowls with five toes. The 
Houdans, Dorkings, some Polish often develop 
a fifth toe, and the Japanese Fur Fowls also 
have five toes; so have some other subbreeds 
in England and on the Continent of Europe. 
If it is argued that the fifth toe is useless, 
so are top-knots, gills, long tails or even 
combs. As to being in the way of chicks, 
facts do not prove that it is troublesome, as 
there are no mothers that surpass Dorking 
hens. -:- 
Wild and Domestic Turkeys. —It is so 
generally believed that our domestic turkey 
is a descendant of our common wild turkey— 
Meleagris gallopavo, that it may surprise 
some to know that it is not; for it was shown 
years ago to be a descendant from the Mexi¬ 
can turkey—Meleagris gallopavo, var. Mexi- 
cana. 
Fowls Returned from the Exhibition 
Rooms w'ant extra watching. They are very 
ant to be pugnacious and fight desperately 
with any other cocks which have occupied 
the premises during their absence. As a sani¬ 
tary precaution al ways give them tonics for 
the first day or two when they reach home. 
henry hales. 
TYPICAL PAIR OF WHITE MINORCAS. 
Considerable has appeared in the Rural 
of late about Minorca fowls,and especially the 
White Minorca breed. At Fig. 10 we present 
to our readers likenesses of a typical pair of 
White Minorcas, re-engraved from the English 
Fanciers’ Gazette. In England, as well as in 
the United States, this breed is rapidly com¬ 
ing into public favor, though the “bocm” it is 
enjoying on the other side of the Atlantic is, 
the Gazette says, due more to the demands for 
it on this side than to any special efforts made 
on the other. 
Jn'ijnsi'l %ocietu$. 
SYRACUSE FARMERS’ INSTITUTE. 
RURAL SPECIAL REPORT. 
“Classified knowledge ” for agriculture; 
“sense and nonsense in wintering sheep? 
high praise for ensilage; adulteration of 
dairy products; “ofeo,"’ tobacco handling; 
handling manure ; common sense in horse- 
breeding; feeding pigs for fat and lean; 
lively questions; nitrogen , potash and phos¬ 
phoric acid; soil exhaustion; summer fal¬ 
lowing. _ 
The first New York Farmers’ Institute of 
the year held under the auspices of the State 
Agricultural Society, convened at 10 a. m. at 
the Alhambra, Syracuse, with an attendance 
of fully 500. 
The first speaker was Dr. Peter Collier, of 
the State Experiment Station at Geneva. 
His subject was Scientific Agriculture. He 
said: “We have in the past too much ig¬ 
nored the value of such assemblages as these. 
Agriculture is more than an abundance of 
knowledge. It is classified systematic science. 
The very first power which develops itself 
in the child is the last, by our present meth¬ 
ods, wdiich is cultivated, viz: the power of 
accurate observation. One of the criticisms 
brought against science is that it is so very 
particular; this is the very kernel of science. ’ 
“Sense and nonsense in wintering sheep’ 
was discussed by Secretary J. S. Woodward. 
He said: “There are certain principles which 
must be kept in view. Under the most favor¬ 
able circumstances 20 per cent, of the cost of 
feeding sheep can be counted as profit; GO per 
cent, of the food of our animals is used up to 
keep them from freezing. Anything which 
decreases the growth of flesh decreases also 
the growth of wool, and vigor. The most 
profit comes when we secure the greatest in¬ 
crease in wool and meat for the least exp ;ndi- 
ture of food. The skin of the sheep is ex¬ 
tremely delicate, and it is a great fallacy to 
say that the cold wind does not cause suffering 
and diminish profits. The close housing of 
sheep under proper conditions would greatly 
assist in the economic feeding not only of fat¬ 
tening sheep, but of store sheep as well. 
Plenty of good water, easily accessible, is a 
necessity.” E. A. Powell thought that far 
more exercise than was recommended by Mr. 
Woodward was necessary for the highest con. 
dition of health. Mr. Woodward explained 
the conditions under which his sheep are 
housed and claimed that all the exercise neces¬ 
sary could be obtained by placing 20 sheep in 
pens as many feet square. 
W. H. Gilbert, of Richland, N. Y., next 
read a paper on ensilage. He said he was a 
convert to ensilage. He had obtained the best 
results from large Southern corn put in the 4 
silo after the kernel was glazed. He estimated 
that he had an average of 50 bushels of corn 
per acre. The cost of culture was §84; cost of 
seed and harvesting and filling the silo, 
§176.90, making a total of §260.90 or a cost of 
§10.87 per acre or §2.90 for the principal ration 
of a milch cow for seven months, equal in 
value to 25 to 30 dollars’ worth of hay. He 
