4388 
THE BUBAL HEW-YOBKIB. 
583 
Cato. 
'•'■Every Man ispresumed to know the Law. 
Nine-tenths of all Litigation arises from Ig¬ 
norance of Law." 1 ' _ 
L. T , Tremont , N. Y .—Who pays the fee 
for registering a mortgage on real esta'e, the 
lender or the borrower ? 
Ans. —The mortgagee, or lender, is bound 
to pay the fee for recording the mortgage, 
although sometimes all the expenses are, by 
agreement, charged to the borrower or mort¬ 
gagor. 
S. M., Cohoes , N. Y.— In this State in an 
action for the recovery of real property the 
time is limited to 20 years by the “ Statute of 
Limitations.” When was the law passed, and 
when did it go into effect ? 
Ans. —The Statute was enacted May 5,1829. 
and went into effect January 1, 1830. 
GREEN AND MEAT FEED FOR FOWLS IN 
SUMMER. 
During the summer many farmers shut up 
their poultry in inclosed yards. This, in a 
great measure, stops their laying, and they aro 
often quite unprofitable during their confine¬ 
ment. This is in a great degree owing to 
their loss of green and animal food. The first 
may be supplied by scattering a lot of oats 
over the ground and raking them in, before or 
after a shower. Of course, the hens will 
scratch away and eat many of them, but 
sufficient will remain covered to come up 
and supply their need at least for a while; if 
a few rows of fodder corn are sown deep be¬ 
fore sowing the oats, they will come up later 
and furnish good food. Beef heads or bones 
hung up will serve them for meat. Fowls 
may often be made profitable in summer 
under such conditions when they would other¬ 
wise be profitless. In hot weather keep the 
drinking water vessels under the shade of a 
tree, or shade it with a board or box; wash 
out with a stiff brush when renewing the 
water. 
Time to Build Poultry Houses. —Hav¬ 
ing had some experience in building poultry 
houses, I will give a few hints. In using cheap 
lumber, as is usually done, it is generally very 
damp and shrinks much afterwards. In build¬ 
ing a roof with hemlock tongue and grooved 
boards last August, the boards were well 
seasoned during dry, hot weather. It is as¬ 
tonishing to see how tight all the joints keep, 
actually making it unnecessary to cover the 
roof with felt. It was twice painted with 
heavy coats of paint, and battens can now be 
put over the joints which will insure a tight, 
cheap roof, dispensing with the tarred paper 
which so soon becomes useless. I built anoth¬ 
er roof in February with the same material. 
The weather was damp and the wood could 
not be dried out properly. The result is that 
the joints, although driven close when put 
together, are now so shrunken as to draw the 
tongues out of the grooves. The first roof is 
worth twice the value of the last. 
Exhibiting Poultry. —The time for coun¬ 
ty and State agricultural fairs is approach¬ 
ing, at which poultry form an interesting 
feature. Only a very few years ago the fowls 
sent to such fairs were of a poor, miserable 
character; such a lot of shabby mongrels as 
to attract no attention. In fact, most of them 
were sent by young folks who wanted a free 
ticket to the fair. Now, some of our best 
birds are sent and in large numbers, and have 
become quite an interesting department of 
our agricultural displays. Those who intend 
to exhibit must look out iu time to get their 
stock in condition—not to fatten them, except 
in the case of market fowls, but to see that 
they are properly cared for and get good food, 
and are not cooped up with birds that disfigure 
their plumage. Get them as tame as possible 
by little attentions. Thin out the poorest 
birds and send nothing but such stock as will 
be a credit to the exhibitor. 
Look up sitting hens about the corners and 
by-places. Put them together in small coops 
on the ground. This will soon break up the 
sitting fever, and they will lay again while 
eggs are dear. h. h. 
■-♦ ♦ ■+- 
SUCCESSFUL TURKEY RAISING. 
A farmer’s daughter. 
My success in raising young turkeys has 
been so remarkably good during the last four 
or five years that I think it may, perhaps, 
_ benefit other poultry-raisers to know some¬ 
thing of my method. In many instances only 
three or four young ones out of a flock of 75 
or 80 have died before reaching maturity, and 
their death was usually the result of accident. 
To begin with: Strong, healthy, vigorous 
birds must be selected to raise from, for the 
feeble progeny of a degenerate stock cannot 
be induced to live on any terms. 
The Dark-bronze is my favorite breed; they 
are easily kept, grow rapidly and are very 
docile and quiet. It is best to procure your 
fowls in the fall, for their usefulness in the 
spring depends to a great extent upon the 
way they are wintered. During moderate 
weather they may be permitted to roost at 
night out-of-doors, but through the long, 
cold, snowy, or sleety spells of weather they 
should remain under shelter and be carefully 
fed, so as to keep in good order, for a hen that 
is either very fat or very poor will not lay 
well in the spring. 
About 16 pounds is a good weight for the 
hens; if they are heavier than that they are 
apt to crush the eggs in the nest, for as the 
time for hatching approaches the shells become 
very brittle and are easily, broken. 
Before the laying season begins I have the 
hens driven up every morning into a well- 
ventilated out-house where nests have been 
prepared. Here they are fed and watered 
and confined for several hours each day, so as 
to accustom them to the house, so that when 
they begin laying they naturally seek these 
nests instead of wandering off, nobody 
knows where. The sitting hens should be 
carefully handled and kept gentle so that the 
little turkeys may be taken from the nests 
without disturbing their mother. The little 
things are so tender aud easily crushed that it 
is best to remove them as soon as they are a 
few hours old. I usually put them in a clean 
flannel cloth in an open box or basket and 
keep them away from their mother for several 
days until they learn to eat heartily and to 
stand firmly upon their uncertain legs. 
If the weather is warm and bright I take 
them out upon the grass for an occasional 
airing, and offer them something to eat which 
they always scornfully refuse for the first day 
or two. The preparation of the food is very 
simple: into a shallow pan placed over the fire 
pour one pint of fresh sweet milk, and into 
this put two eggs well beaten, and stir the 
mixture without cessation until it boils and 
assumes the consistency of jelly. 
A pinch of black pepper sprinkled into this 
is very wholesome, but for the first day or 
two it is better to offer it to them without 
auy seasoning, as they like it best that way, 
and it is very important to persuade them to 
eat something. 
The bright yellow color of the custard at¬ 
tracts them more than the taste, for if they 
get a small bit in their mouths they instantly 
try to throw it out, and they will peck at a 
gold ring upon your finger with quite as much 
eagerness. 
After a few days, however, they get to like 
the custard very much, and as they have 
learned by this time to know my voice and to 
come and eat from my hand when I call them, 
I put them with their mother who by this 
time has finished hatching and been put out 
on the grass in a large coop. The coop is best 
made without a floor, and so light that it can 
be easily moved every day to a clean spot on 
the short grass. It should be tall enough to 
allow the hen to stand erect, and well ventila¬ 
ted about the eaves, but close enough below 
to prevent the little turkeys from slipping 
through the cracks. 
Many persons confine the brood in plank 
pens until they are old enough to fly over the 
wall, but this is a bad plan; the floor of the 
pen becomes very dirty, and young fowls 
will not thrive unless they are kept perfectly 
clean and dry; then, too, the sooner they are 
allowed to run at large and catch bugs and 
grasshoppers, their natural food, the healthier 
they will surely be. 
For the first few days after letting them out 
the hens must be closely watched, for some¬ 
times they have what the darkies call a 
“ wandering mind” and run their little ones to 
death. Of all young fowls little turkeys are 
the most delicate; they spend their time try¬ 
ing to commit suicide, running headlong into 
all sorts of dangers, and getting hurt in every 
conceivable way. They must be protected 
from morning dews as well as from sudden 
showers 
After they are a week old chopped onions or 
lettuce can be mixed with their custard, which 
can then be thickened with the crumbs of corn 
bread, and after two or three weeks they may 
be taught to eat batter-bread soaked in sweet 
milk. 
Milk, either sweet or sour, is good for them, 
but it must be put im shallow pans, else they 
will manage to get themselves thoroughly wet 
in it aud then lie down and die. When they 
are very young they require food several 
times a day, but as they grow older and take 
a wider range, twice is often enough. 
I do not know much about the diseases of 
young fowls. Mine are always very healthy, 
their feathers never droop, nor has there ever 
been a single case of roup in any flock, which 
disease I am told is brought on by exposure to 
cold and dampness during winter and early 
spring, and by insufficient nourishment. 
These seem like a great many unnecessary 
directions, and no doubt every poultry-raiser 
will say it is all nonsense taking so much 
trouble with young turkeys, but I have tried 
it for a good many years and find it is the 
only way to make them live. After a month 
or two, a flock of fifty turkeys require no 
more attention than one brood of chickens, 
and the pleasure of seeing mine grow off so 
strong and healthy, while my neighbors have 
lost at least half of theirs, fully repays me for 
all my care. 
Woman’s Work. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAFLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
Judging by appearances, ailments and af¬ 
fections of the eyes must be on the increase. 
Notice in every public assemblage how large 
a percentage of the people present are wear¬ 
ing spectacles or eye-glasses, old and young 
alike. Lately we have seen several little tots 
of four or five wearing grandmother’s specta¬ 
cles. 
Where optical defect is not congenital, it 
very often results from general ill health. 
Especially is this true in connection with 
many of the nervous ailments by which we 
women are martyred. Ailments of the teeth 
too often cause defect of vision. 
Certainly, in such ailments an ounce of pre¬ 
vention is better than a pound of cure. Care 
should be taken from the time a child begins 
to read, that the eyes are not over-taxed. 
They should never be used when they are 
tired, or by a dim or flickering light. Change 
of occupation will be found resting, too. 
Certainly, the practice of reading in the 
cars is a very great mistake, and must be re¬ 
sponsible for many cases of defective sight. 
We have often seen people reading on the 
Harlem Railway just going out of New York, 
where the train goes along a dim cut, with 
archways wherever the streets cross, making 
a dazzling succession of light and shadow. 
This must be terribly irritating to the eyes, 
but many seem to think they must read the 
daily papers when on the train, whether it re¬ 
sults in partial blindness or not. 
* * * * 
The first piece of advice we should give to 
any one suffering from a disorder of the eyes 
is, don’t meddle with them but go to a physi¬ 
cian. It is unwise to trifle with such a delicate 
organ. But where cold or some such cause 
produces a slight inflammation, bathing in 
tepid milk and water, or tepid, weak black tea 
—both grandmother’s remedies—will usually 
give relief. A sty, which is a very disagree¬ 
able, as well painful affliction, can usually be 
relieved on its first appearance by placing 
upon it, when going to bed, a poultice of tea 
leaves inclosed in a small bag of soft muslin 
and softened with warm water. If these 
exasperating little tumors appear frequently, 
it is best to consult your doctor, because, 
though constitutional with some, they are 
often the result of a disordered system, espe¬ 
cially in the case of young people. 
* * * 
Smoked glasses are certainly a rest to the 
eyes, in a glaring sun or during snow-time; 
otherwise they should not be used without 
medical advice. Very often sufferers from 
intense nervous headaches will find that their 
ailment is due to defective sight, and it will 
be remedied by suitable glasses. Close appli¬ 
cation to sewing or fancy-work by lamplight 
is certainly harmful, though too many busy 
house-wives are compelled to do all their 
mending during the comparative leisure of 
the evening. 
A good many young women sacrifice their 
eyesight on the altar of crocheted edging. It 
is not a specially economical practice, because 
machine-made Hamburg edging often costs 
no more than the cotton expended in crochet¬ 
ing, but many girls think it looks lazy to trim 
underwear with bought edging. It is a mis¬ 
take, although we believe in “catch-up” work 
to occupy one’s-self in odd moments. We should 
be more intelligent and entertaining all round 
if half the time spent in needless crocheting 
were spent in good reading. Every womanly 
woman loves fancy-work or needle-work, of 
some kind or other—our own favorite is hem¬ 
ming fine table linen—but no one should cul¬ 
tivate her fingers to the neglect of her mind. 
It is quite as bad as to cultivate the mind to 
the exclusion of feminine graces. 
WHAT WE ARE READING. 
We hear so much in condemnation of so- 
called “ light reading ” that I hesitate to de¬ 
clare that our family reading consists largely 
of fiction. But we don’t think it hurts us a 
bit, for it is pure in tone, and instructive as 
well as entertaining. Take, for example, 
William Black’s clever story “The Strange 
Adventures of a House-boat.” It is not only 
delightful reading, but it tells so much about 
rural England—the flowery meadows where 
Shakespeare walked, and the quiet streams 
where Izaak Walton fished. We know so 
little about English by-ways that it is delight¬ 
ful to travel them in such pleasant company. 
Black loves Americans too, and the Brooklyn 
girl who picks her banjo all through this book 
is a most charming heroine. 
Ideas about light reading change constant¬ 
ly. Nowadays, people who object to ordina¬ 
ry novels make an exception in favor of Scott, 
because in reading his works we are studying 
history. But years ago even Scott was looked 
upon by strict people as objectionable, my 
mother—naughty girl !—read Waverly and 
Ivanhoe on the sly, smuggled away in her bed¬ 
room. Yet many of us have gained our only 
knowledge of feudal history from Scott. 
If we want to learn how other people live 
and work, we should read some of Walter 
Besant’s books. “ Katherine Regina” will 
give us plenty to think about. And no girl’s 
education is complete until she is familiar 
with the author of “John Halifax.” “My 
Mother and 1” is the sweetest girl’s love story 
in existence, and I wish that every girl who 
imagines that her life must be a blank through 
some such heartache as comes to us all, would 
read the little story of “ Miss Tommy.” 
I don’t wonder that any sensible mother ob¬ 
jects to such trash as the fiction of the cheap 
• story papers, but good novels are simply good 
society bound in paper covers, and they will 
lighten many a lonely life. 
PATTY GARTON. 
A SUMMER BEDROOM. 
It may be urged that most people require a 
bedroom all the year round, and that conse¬ 
quently a “summer bedroom” is a luxury 
that few can afford. Well, my summer bed¬ 
room is the guest chamber, and as we live in 
the country, it goes without saying that we 
have it occupied only in summer. 1 wanted 
it dainty and attractive, and there was very 
little money to spend. Cottage sets at $25 
do not meet my ideas of the aesthetic; besides, 
it costs as much to buy springs and mattresses 
for such furniture as for any other arrange¬ 
ment, and, furthermore, that was all that we 
could manage to lay aside for the spare room, 
consequently it had to include those articles. 
First I painted the floor with light oak 
stain—cost 35 cents—and gave it two coats of 
varnish which brought the “carpet” up to 
one dollar. Next I bought an iron bedstead 
with brass knobs at each corner for five 
dollars; this I painted white and varnished— 
cost 50 cents. Tell it not in Gath, I bought 
the mattress and pillows at an auction store 
in New York, and paid five dollars for the lot 
—a veritable long-hair mattress, and pillows 
of real feathers, too, and in such nice, clean 
ticking that it was difficult to believe they had 
ever been used. Fourteen yards of Bombay cloth 
at eight cents a yard, furnished long curtains 
for the two windows and spread and pillow- 
shams. The cloth of a texture much re¬ 
sembling cheese cloth, was of a pale ecru 
ground, with stripes of pale blue and pink. 
The spread and pillow-shams were lined with 
blue cambric. The corners of the shams were 
finished with bows of pink and blue ribbon. 
Cost of all, including ribbon for looping 
curtains, $2.50. My bureau and washstand 
were packing boxes, stood on end, with a 
board of the requisite size firmly nailed on 
top. These were draped with the Bombay 
cloth, and cost another dollar. A beveled 
mirror, with a wide frame of a sort of compo¬ 
sition resembling very heavily carved antique 
oak, cost $3. A toilet set, including china 
slop jar, was picked up at a great bargain at 
this same auction, for $2.50. It was white 
with bands of delicate pink. This left me 
$4.50 for chairs. A little rush-bottomed 
rocker, of light wood cost one dollar. This I 
painted white, and varnished to match the 
bed, ornamenting it with a cushion of pale 
blue tied on with pink ribbons. A couple of 
light chairs with wicker backs cost $1.00 
each, and the $1 50 which remained purchased 
three very pretty etchings, such as may be 
bought at old book stores in New York for ten 
cents each. These were framed with ash, for 
forty cents a piece, and if any Rural sister 
can produce a prettier room for twenty-five 
dollars, I should like to hear from her. 
MRS. H. a. c. • 
FOR MOTHERS. 
“ Her voice was ever soft, 
Gentle, and low,—an excellent thing in woman.” 
The above lines from Shakespeare always 
