4888 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
pearancos it would pass for fair-quality wheat. 
The ouly way to test these damaged kinds of 
wheat is by tasting. Take a little in your 
mouth and chew it; if it is endurable, you 
will soon find it out. The best is that dam¬ 
aged a little by (ire aloue, which tastes a little 
smoky, and is perhaps a little crispy from 
being partially roasted. This is fairly good 
food with corn, and the fowls will like it as 
well. In all cases, the gluten and starchy 
qualities should be found unimpaired. The 
presence of these can be detected by the 
grain, when broken up in the mouth, ad¬ 
hering together, as well as by the taste. 
When the grain chews chaffy it is of 
little use, but when sour it is worse than 
useless, yet some looks so nice that un¬ 
less tasted the poor birds that might be fed 
on it would become diseased and starved 
through the ignorance of the purchaser of 
such rubbish. But of all, the crudest substi¬ 
tute for food is skimmings from the barley 
vats of breweries. This trash finds im¬ 
mense sales with some poultry keepers. It is 
simply husks or thin oats and barley, that do 
not contain sufficient weight of grain to sink 
in water, and are skimmed from the top, 
dried and sold to millers or poultrymen; so 
either poor horses or hens suffer from the 
fraud. Certainly they will eat these husks 
like the “Prodigal Son” if they can get 
nothing better ; but how can they be ex¬ 
pected to lay on such an apology for food. 
Well, some think they have found out the 
secret by giving them brewers’ grains to stim¬ 
ulate them, but this kind of feodiug shortly 
brings on scouring and death. 
POULTRY NOTES. 
Golden W yandottes. —The Wyandottes 
were not all black-and-white when first intro¬ 
duced some years ago as American Sebrights. 
I remember seeing some yellow in place of the 
white. These are now brought up to such per¬ 
fection that a place is claimed for them as 
Golden Wyandottes, and they may be looked 
upon as a new breed. There is no doubt they 
will have many admirers, and there is no rea¬ 
son why they should not become as popular as 
the Whites and other breeds. I do not hear 
that any better qualities are claimed for them 
than other varieties of Wyandottes possess, 
except color. _ 
Accommodations eoii Poultry.— Many 
farmers are not yet awake in poultry matters, 
especially in regard to the accommodations of 
birds. Although a moderate number of fowls 
will pay a greater percentage than most other 
investments on the farm, they are far too often 
given only a cold, sunless, dirty corner of a 
miserable shed, or a few boards nailed up in 
the back corner of hovels to partition them 
off from the cows. This is generally on the 
north side, with cracks open to the northern 
blasts of winter. If they lay, well and good; 
if they die, amen. It seems incredible that 
such old-time notions are still retained by 
any, while many intelligent farmers in all di¬ 
rections have built neat poultry houses facing 
the south, with a smiling, sunny window, and 
other appliances for the comfort and well- 
beiug of their stock. The instances are very 
rare where such improvements have not given 
perfect satisfaction and remuneration. 
Sunlight and Sunshine areas much need- 
'ed by animals (covered either by fur or feath¬ 
ers) as by vegetation. For perfect health for 
none of our domesticated animals is it a 
greater necessity than for poultry. The least 
acquaintance with their habits will demon¬ 
strate this. In winter they will huddle on the 
least little spot of sunshine and show their ap¬ 
preciation of it by putting themselves into 
postures that will enable them to gather in 
all the invigorating rays possible, especially in 
cold weather. 
Nest Eggs —Many farmers lose eggs in win¬ 
ter by leaving one behind as a nest-egg. It is 
much more profitable to buy a few glass ones 
than have good eggs frozen when worth four 
or five cents each. Glass-eggs will not cost 
over three or four cents each, and will last 
any length of time, with care. Collect eggs 
as soon after they are laid as possible, in cold 
weuther; otherwise they will get chilled and 
will not hatch. A case has just come to my 
knowledge where 350 eggs were collected and 
put into an incubator under careful manage¬ 
ment, and only twenty-five proved fertile, 
the others being damaged principally by being 
chilled, in all probability, in the nests. 
MORE ABOUT WEATHER REPORTS. 
The science of predicting the weather a 
short time in advance is now so far advanced 
that it is highly appreciated by those whose 
interests and business are likely to be affected, 
and who are able to obtain the weather re. 
ports soon enough after their publication to 
arrange their business accordingly. But there 
is a large class of people living outside of 
cities—the farmers—who, as the matter now 
stands, are not able to obtain the “weather 
reports” soon enough to be of much practical 
value. How to reach this class, so as to give 
them the benefits of the weather reports, has 
been the study of many who have the inter¬ 
ests of farmers at heart. 
It has been suggested by some that a system 
of signals by flags displayed upon the cars as 
they pass through the country would inform 
a large number who live along the lino of the 
railroad. But a system of signals by sound 
could be arranged that would reach a much 
greater number. Steam has done a great deal 
for the people of this country, and it can bo 
made useful to produce sounds through one or 
more steam whistles, which, by means of a 
code of signals arrauged for the purpose, would 
give information of the “probabilities of the 
weather” to people of the surrounding country. 
The sound from a steam whistle on a locomo¬ 
tive, if the air is still or the wind in the right 
direction, can bo readily heard for several 
miles. The railroads are now required by 
law in many States to signal by the whistle 
the approach of the cars at the crossing of 
every common road, and the signal that is 
used to convoy information in regard to the 
probabilities of the weather would also ans¬ 
wer as a warning of the approach of the cars, 
thus doing a double duty. 
The probabilities of the weather are made 
from previous observations, and are dated 1 
o’clock a.M , and are given out by telegraph 
to the press of the principal cities to be pub¬ 
lished in the morning papers. Each of the 
engineers of the first passenger trains leaving 
the cities after the weather reports are pub¬ 
lished could be furnished with a copy, and as 
trains pass through the country they could give 
such signals at the crossings as have been ar¬ 
ranged previously. This plan would require 
the co-operation of those in charge of the 
Weather Bureau, as well as the press and the 
railroads and their employes, who would 
have the final duty of letting the people along 
the line of the road know the probabilities of 
the weather for the day. 
If possible, the locomotive that is used to 
furnish the signals should have whistles of a 
different key from those of the other locomo¬ 
tives running on the road, so that there should 
be no mistake about the signals, and if a 
“signal code” were published in connection 
with the “probabilities of the weather” the 
people would soon learn it. 
Another plan to let the people who live in the 
country know the “probabilities of the wea¬ 
ther,” would bo for those interested to select 
some mill or factory where steam is used as a 
motive power every working day, and arrange 
with the proprietors to furnish the siguals by 
means of one or more steam whistles 
arranged in such a manner that all who heard 
could understand the indications. This plan 
would not be dillicult, provided the mill or 
factory was connected or near the telegraph 
or telephone station as many of them are, or 
so that they could get the “probabilities” from 
a morning paper in season to be of use to 
those who wero most interested. This plau 
could be adopted by any community which 
could furnish the means to put it into opera¬ 
tion, which need not be very expensive. 
Whatever plan is adopted to furnish the 
“probabilities” to those living outside of cities, 
it will seem that signals given by means of a 
code of sounds to convey information, presents 
advantages over others which have been 
mentioned. All practical plans should receive 
consideration from those having charge of the 
weather reports, who should furnish the 
farmers, who of all people are most affected 
by the conditions of the climates over which 
they have but little or no control, the earliest 
information possible n. B. SRENCKR. 
Cuyahoga Co., Ohio. 
I am glad to see the criticism on that article 
about weather signals. T. F. W. is right. It 
would cost a large sum, takiug the whole 
country through, to give notice of weather 
probabilities; still I think the cost would be 
slight when the benefits are considered. The 
signals should certainly bo accurate, but as it 
would not interfere with a day’s work if the 
signals were set early enough in the morning, 
it should not cost much to hire a reliable man 
to attend to one station. If the government 
would supply the necessary telegraphic sig¬ 
nals, the rest might, perhaps, be left with the 
towns, ami only such a number of poles should 
be set up as might be actually needed and asked 
for by the inhabitants. In regard to the sig¬ 
uals on trains, the objection most noticeable 
is the short distance on either side from which 
they mav be seen in an uneven country. There 
would be some cost here as the railroads could 
not be expected to do all this for the dear pub¬ 
lic without pay. The method of giving sig¬ 
nals by whistles from the passing trains is 
sometimes advanced, these to be repeated by 
the whistles from factories, etc. The distance 
to which they can be convoyed in this way 
would depend on the direction and force of 
the wind. Some people, however, who live 
I? 
near the railroad think there is already more 
than enough of this noise. 
Warren, Me. F. w. G. C. 
I have seen a number of articles about sig¬ 
nals from the Weather Bureau. Could it not 
i use sky rockets or something similar for sig¬ 
nals, using different colors for the changes of 
weather ? There could be a fixed time for 
signaling. The farmer could thereby correct 
his time-piece if wrong. Three rockets could 
be sent up within five minutes of each other, so 
that the farmers would have a chance of seeing 
one or the other. They could be sent up just 
after dark to tell the weather for the next 
24 hours. The advantages of using these 
would be, 1st, the stations would not need to 
be located on the highest hill-tops, as the 
rockets could be seen from the surrounding 
country, if sent up from the villages ; 2d, 
stations could be further apart, which I think 
would make this method cheaper providing 
the rockets did not cost too much. 
Oneonta, N. Y. a. i. G. 
A STOCK BARN FOR THE PRAIRIES 
OF THE NORTHWEST. 
T. B. TERRY. 
A farmer on one of the prairies of the Red 
River Valley, in Minnesota, has been feeding 
and taking care of 70 head of stock this past 
winter. The animals were sheltered in sheds 
made of light frames, covered 
with hay or straw, with no place 
under cover for fodder. Ho 
writes: “When one has to dig the 
hay out of a snow-bank, and carry 
it into the stables as needed, often 
with the wind blowing a gale and 
fearfully cold, the work ceases to 
be pleasant or profitable.” Next 
winter our friend wants to keep 
about 60 head of cattle, 18 or 20 
calves and the same number of 
horses. He wants for the purpose 
a barn as cheap as possible, for 
money is scarce, but affording as 
much warmth and comfort as can 
be obtained in a plain, snug build¬ 
ing. People out there stack their 
hay in large quantities, without 
putting it on a wagon, so he isn’t 
particular about a largo amount of storage 
room for hay. A cellar for some 2,000 bushels 
of roots is also wanted. He says thousands of 
farmers are in just his fix, changing over 
from wheat to stock, and in want of good 
barns. 
After making many inquiries by letter, and 
studying over the matter for weeks, the 
writer suggests the following plan: Fig. 210 
shows the ground plan of a basement barn 
45x105 feet, with a roof-shed over the door 
at the east end 20x45. This barn is designed 
to stand with the back to the south. Our 
friend’s location is such that he will probably 
have to put the back to the east, and perhaps 
will want the shed on the other end. The 
shed, of course, can be left off until funds aro 
more plentiful; but it will be found very use¬ 
ful when it can bo afforded. If possible I 
would build with the back to the south and 
have the yard on the warm south side, and 
then the chance for sunlight in the stable 
is better, an important point. Sixty head of 
cattle can be arranged for, 30 on each side of 
the feeding alley. The outside walls of the 
cellar would need to be made frost proof. 
Eighteen calves can be put in the two pens, 
and will winter very comfortably thus. There 
aro four box-stalls on this floor, for horses or 
cows at calving time. Doors at each end of 
the barn make it very handy to draw manure 
out with a team. It will bo but little trouble 
to get it out of the calf-pens and box-stulls in¬ 
to a wagon or sled. I should let it accumu¬ 
late in these places to the depth of a foot or 
more, until I was able to build a water-tight 
cement floor. This would bo the best plan for 
cattle stables too. 
D shows whero I would put the doors, and 
W shows the windows, and g the gates. I 
would make this basement story nine feet in 
the clear, and there should be sliding windows 
in the upper three feet out of the way of ani¬ 
mals. The scale of the plans is 24 feet to an 
inch. 
When but four or six horses are kept this 
basement will hold all the stock; but our friend 
wants to keep a large number of horses. To 
econsmize room, wo must put a part of them 
in the second story (see Fig. 217). They aro 
put right over the cattle, and trap-doors 
should be put in through which the manure 
can be shoved down, so that it can be used as 
an absorbent in the cow stable. This is an ex¬ 
cellent way, which has been adopted by many 
of our best farmers. The floor of a horse 
stable above must be water-tight. One way 
to make such a floor is of boards two or three 
thicknesses, breaking joints, and using hot 
gas tar. Another is to make a plank floor, 
very solid, and then a cement floor on top. 
Well done this will last a long time. If horses 
are shod, keep plenty of straw and manure on 
the floors, so that they will not cut the cement. 
In this stable you can tie up 12 horses and 
have two box stalls. A swinging partition 
can be hung between those that are tied up if 
they are not friendly. The hay for these 
horses can be thrown down on the floor and 
taken in the feeding alley between the stables. 
You will notice a trap door and two chutes 
for throwing hay down to the cattle feeding 
alley, one in the corner of the box stall. There 
is one through which hay can be furnished 
to the box-stalls below, and a trap-door in the 
barn floor through which hay can be thrown 
M/ 
/V 
trrze 7nc&i 
Fig. 217. 
