fresh water. The host way to improve farm 
poultry is to use thoroughbred males and 
change them every year; use large, vigorous 
birds and select the best chicks raided each 
year. 
Mace the eggs for hatching in a cool, dry 
place in pans partly filled with oats or bran. 
Set them the small end down, and do not keep 
them longer than one week before setting. 
Although eggs will hatch after having been 
kept for four weeks, the chicks will never be 
so strong as those hatched from eggs uot so 
old. 
There is no farm stock that will pay as well 
as thoroughbred i>oultry or give quicker re¬ 
turns for the money invested. 
Windsor Co., Vt. a. a. halladay. 
NEST BOX. 
FEED FOR SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN 
AND WINTER. 
The laying hen not a market fowl; corn is 
an expensive food for laying hens; vari- 
ety; do not feed corn in Summer; food 
for moulting hens; fowls for market. 
Feeding in Spring is to make allowance for 
change in temperature, and as the fowls will 
very expensive feed for laying hens when fed 
almost to the exclusion of other grains. The 
hen in her natural condition is compelled to 
work. She not only travels over a large space 
in search of food; but scratches industriously 
for it, and as she feeds on both animal and 
vegetable substances her range for procuring 
food is very wide, and she requires a variety. 
She performs more work as a producer than 
POULTRY CULTURE. 
H. A. MANSFIELD, 
Seven year’s ex 
of -to acres; "none 
:perlenec with this novelty: a range 
better if .is good." Eggs in season. 
Breeder of Wyandot tes, F.rminetw. Plymouth Rocks 
Lt. Brahmas and the Rankin strain of Be it In Ducks. ' ’ 
nays rxcepteui. w ni semi .lames Rankin’s ”16 years’ 
experience In Artiflclnl Poultry Raising" with each 
order. C O L. It, J, HAM1 1. TON,Springfield, Mass. 
Plymouth Koe k*.American Dominiques,Wvandottes, 
single comb W lute and llrown Leghorns, Silver Siam 
4886 
strains of Leghorns; they are very hardy, 
quiet, easily confined, and while not inveter¬ 
ate sitters, they make excellent mothei-s. As 
table fowls they are not surpassed by any, and 
are equaled only by the Dorking. They are 
bright and active, with small bones, white 
flesh and thin skin. They are natives of the 
coldest part of China, and are perfectly hardy 
even in our coldest climates. I believe pure¬ 
bred Langxluins have more good and less poor 
qualities than any other breed. 
My experience is that good, sound wheat is 
the Cheapest egg-producing food of all the 
small grains. In the morning I give a warm 
feed of scalded oats and corn ground together: 
at noon, whole wheat, sometimes oats; and at 
night sifted, cracked corn with, of course, 
cabbage and other vegetables added two or 
three times a week. 
The feed and care of chicks while growing 
have much to do with the size and hardiness 
of the mature fowl. Young chicks should be 
allowed a free range, with plenty of food of 
all kinds, and. above all. wif.h i.lnntv nf nnm 
The best breeds; farmers should keep fairly 
targe breeds; perches; damp houses; kill 
when about 18 months old; pi'ojits. 
I think the safest rule is not to keej) more 
than 40 or 50 fowls in one house. The yards 
should be so large that there will always in 
season be a supply of green grass for them, or 
they must bo let out each day for an hour or 
two to graze. An orchard with plenty of 
shade is the very best location. The better 
the land the better the fowls that are raised 
on it. Everything in the house must lie per¬ 
fectly dry, with no floor but the bare ground 
that is dry enough for a dusting bath. Keep 
the premises clean. Always have clcau, pure 
water before them, and feed so that they are 
anxious for more, and success is certain. 
The kind one keeps is immaterial, there are 
many good varieties which are profitable if 
well eared for. 1 keep Dark Brahmas and find 
them satisfactory; but Plymouth Rocks, Light 
Brahmas, or the old American Dominiques 
are all as good. For farmers it is well to 
keep a fairly large fowl for two reasons; when 
killed there is more meat, and all large varie¬ 
ties are better winter layers than the small 
breeds. 1 am quite sure more fail on account 
of over-feeding, and having damp quarters 
thau from all other reasons combined. Mauy 
lix the perches too high aud make them too 
small. For the largest fowl* it would be as well, 
or bettor to.have no perches at all; provide 
leaves, chaff or straw for them to sit on, and 
they will do quite well. Uf course their nests 
should be movable, so that they can be clean¬ 
ed and occasionally white washed. Choose box¬ 
es are as good ns auythiug, where one is not 
particular to fancy fixtures. For farmers, the 
best way is to kill everything when about IS 
months old, supplying their places with chick¬ 
ens hatched the last of the preceding Spring. 
The man who cannot make, on an average, a 
net profit of $3 per lieu from his flock, must 
manage very poorly, I have made $;i per hen 
a year clear on a flock, estimating everything 
at ordinary market prices of eggs for table use; 
to say nothing of the value of the fowls for the 
block, J recently killed a year-old cockerel 
that dre.ssQdSft pounds, and would be worth 
$1.75 if l hud Ismght him at the market. The 
same bird weighed as much bust Novemlier, 
and would have sold then for over 83, so that 
if then sold, his winter feed would have been 
saved. If a man raises 800 chickens, and half 
are cockerels, he can kill and sell these, when 
six or seven mouth* old, for enough to leave 
him tlie pullets for nothing just when connneu- 
eiug to lay, aud this they will continue to do 
all Winter if hatched in April. 
The best fowls for formers are undoubtedly 
Light or Dark Brahmas and Plymouth Rocks, 
all being large, hardy and good winter layers. 
Ot all things, keep the fowls where they can¬ 
not eat filth. Hens that run in a hog jh>u lay 
eggs that no one can enjoy. Let auy doubter 
boil one, break it and see how it smells. Fried, 
the odor is uot so noticeable. Farmers should 
get a few good fowls that they like; take good 
NEST BOX. Fig. 192. (See page 803.) 
require less food for the creation of bodily 
heat, and a large proportion of that which is 
essential to egg production, the poultryman 
must arrange his methods of feeding accord¬ 
ingly. It may be stated, however, that auy 
mode of feeding that keeps the fowls in health 
will answer for all the seasons, and the great 
obstacle most frequently met with is overfeed- 
any class of animals, for while the cow re¬ 
quires mouths for the development of its 
young within the body, the heu stores up the 
necessary material for the development of the 
young chick in a few hours. Hence she re¬ 
quires uot only a large amount of food, but 
that which consists of all the elements essen¬ 
tial for the purposes to be achieved; and, it 
THE RURAL IN A NEW “ROLE.” Fig. 194. (See page 808.) 
i fron l th " f olJowlnK birds that won luO Prem. 
winter and scored from 91 to 97. 
Laiigvdiaus, n Brahma. Ply. Rook, Black Brown R. 
L. Brown Leghorn, Pekin Ducks *1.25 per setting; three 
sittings $3.(J0. Illustrated Circular free. 
A, F. WILLIAM?*, Bristol, Conn. 
ifthok ! ]> ver for 18 . 
L.rAriiOK>iS, K. C. Brown—Eirirs. si ror itt 
POLISH. W. C. Black—Eggs. $fur 13 
..LANGSHANS-Eggs, *2 for ]£ 
FOWLS for sale. JOHN L. RICE. 
RENSSELAEKVILLE, N. Y. 
IvISCO MOUNTAIN Strain of line Wyandotts 
semi ror descriptive Catalogue and price list before 
purchasing either eggs or fowls. Address 
K1SC0 MOUNTAIN POULTKY YARDS 
Mount Kisco, New York. 
HOUDANS, 
Eggs, *3 for 18 ; $5 for 20. Eront Premium Stock. 
C. E. ROCKKNSTYNE, Albauy, N. Y. 
Pure Brown Leghorn*. 
I Will furnish Eggs from pure stock, nicely packed In 
baskets, for *1 ..VI for 13; *2.51' for 26. 
H. W. BRINK, Middletown-, n. y. Box 161 . 
Eggs for Untcbing.—Wvandottes and R. C. B. 
IjCghorns l»>*t strains aud hign set>rerr. ,2 for 13. 
Registered Dome-Jersey and Chester White pigs. State 
fair prize winning herds 1 * 6 . A. J. C. C. Bull Calf, 
b'l. !*1 LlKht Ea ' vu - full black points, Alphea and Rex 
H. 6. HA VILA XP, Glens Falls, N. Y. 
'•BROWN LEGIIOKN8.*’ 
*2 for 13; #3 for 26. Neatly packed aud shipped h 
baskets—order early and semi 2 c. stamp for circular. 
Address C. A. PETERSON, 
_ Troy Road, Albany, X. Y. 
R. G. BUFFIXTON, 
FAL.X, K.IVKH., MASS, 
Mogic Egg Koxl 30 cent-; ptir pound - 
Send for Circular. 
COL. HAMILTON’S POULTRY YARDS, 
TX • TTT* 
mSKSSP 0 "* EGG *> 
W^ G IUpVl.SH per setting 
«.«. POLISH { of 13 
Iu It all fine stock.. Public welcome all times (Sun- 
Purdue’s Light Brahmas. 
My Birds won FIRST PRIZE on Chicks and SPECIAL 
on Cockerel, at New York. 1 * 6 . also four FIRST PRIZES 
at Philadelphia, the past season. 
Eggs per setting, *5. 
A few choice Cockerels ami Pullets for sale. 
GEO. PURDUE, East Orange, N. J. 
PETER BEl ERLEIX. 
ENTER PRIZE POULTRY FARM, 
Newtown, Long Island. New York. 
Breeder of Prize-winning Single Comn White Leg 
boms. My -core at Great National Show, at Madison 
Square Garden. 1886-96 14 on Bullet, the only oue on 
exhibition with perfect comb. Eggs. $2 for 13. 
My Imported Brown Leghorn Cock. 
PRINCE GARIBALDI. Iron. Italy. 
Judges.vnd breeders at above Show pronounce him 
the richest plumed bird on exhibition. Eggs from 
this strain, §t for 13; *5 for 26. Also Brooder of R. C.. 
,. ? U< T^\- Eeghorns, Wyandotte*. Plymouth Rocks, 
Light Brahmas, and Pekfu Ducks Eggs, $2 per setting 
Send for UL circular. Eggs nicely packed amt shipped. 
BLOOD WILL TELL. 
Have bred line Poultry for fifteen years and am sell¬ 
ing a superior stock of Poultry and Eggs of the follow¬ 
ing varieties: 
ing. With the advent of poultry literature 
came au improvement iu the management of 
poultry, but iu a majority of eases the neglect 
and ill treatment of former years have been 
supplanted by au extreme iu the other 
direction. 
The first lessou for the beginner to learn is 
that the layiug heu is uot a market fowl; 
that is, she should be fed differently from cue 
may be added, above all substances, she re¬ 
quires pleuty of drinking water, as an egg is 
95 per cent, water. 
The same mistake is made iu feeding hens 
that is made iu feeding swiue. Too much con¬ 
centrated foot! is giveu, aud uot enough of 
that which is bulky. Grass, vegetables (either 
raw or cooked), aud iuseets (or meat) arc the 
liest for layiug liens, with a graiu ration, once 
Bird Hamburg*, and Peklu Ducks. Am breeding from 
high -coring bird* rhat have won the hlghc-t honors l>< 
the show room. Price of Eggs: WvandotD- 
S 6 . 10 for 11 ), Allother varieties $2.00 for.' 
t wo or mureset (Ings. Egg* unci 
go safely any distance. Send ' 
JONES Wl 
P. O. Box 10. Ka 
CALL AT THE OLD, RELIABLE, KSTA 
HEADQUARTERS FOR 
PI KE ICKI.ll POLTIj_ 
OK AU. VARIETIES 
Oyster Shell, Beef Scrap. Bone and Bone Meal. I 
vent disease by Using Havens Condition Powder am 
Yankee Roup Pills. 
Hatch your Eggs with Pacific Incubator, cheap prac¬ 
tical. and reliable. All for sale by 
.1. C. LONfi, Jr., 
62 OU'BTl.AN N E\V YORE CITY. 
At the Great N. Y. Poultry Show. 
THE SILVER CUP. 
value RSO.tX), ottered by Rend & Barton for the largest 
percentage of chickens hatched was awarded to 
THE STANDARD INCUBATOR. 
Manufactured by L. N. CLARK * SON. Dealers In all 
the leading Incubators, Poultry Rupplles, etc. 
3S DKY STREET, NEW YORK. 
Mention this paper, 
RAL ME 
R 
and ^unttry. 
ER. 
. Ubolce EgKM.-Langshans. S. H. Hamburgs. B. Leg- 
horns A WhiteBantains, 13 for ?I. A.RArp.Hofland.N.J. 
BANTAMS, all varieties; Wyandnttes, Polish, 
Sumatms, Silkies, Pheasants, Ducks, finest quality. ’ 
Free Circular. JL PERRY, Woo dbury, S. j. 
Try SKILTON’S BROWN LEGHORNS. Perfect beau- 
ties and prolific layers. *1 for 1 dog. sure hatch. 
J. Sklltun, Lock Box 18. North no no, Mass. 
EGGS from W. Leghorns. P Rocks, or Black-Red 
Gaines. <1SO for 13. Kuos from Choice i'oteht onlu- 
Mention this paper. C E. RICK, FURvrEw Ib, 
, l LTR Y It A ISERS should read our pamph* 
let and learn how to . tire gaps, poultry cholera, etc . 
every time. Recommended by the Editor of the "Rural 
h rv« a v '0 free by m « 11 ; Address WM. 
RUST & SUNS, New Brunswick, N. j. P. i). Box 1201. 
3 \villowi,ale poultry YARDS. 
rAKJI.S. | tr\ leading varieties. Eggs for hatch¬ 
ing a spe I V clalty. 1 Tices moderate. New 
circulars now ready. T. B. 11 OO VER &- SON, 
__WELL3VILLE, PA. 
PURE BRF.il POULTRY. 
1 A. Brahmas, I. Cochins, and Wyandottes-Eggs, 
ft } , B ? clcs - . w hlte anti Brown Leghorns— 
*1 per 13. Fowls for sale at all times. 
T. PATTERSON, BRIDGEPORT, CONN. 
care of them, and increase the number after 
the owners see that they are the best paving 
stack on the farm. They will eat the small 
potatoes boiled, mashed with wheat bran; 
drink the skim-milk, and return more for 
them than pigs twice over. 
Middlesex Co., Mass. 
I that is intended for sale. Poultry for market 
I should be fat, and as heavy as possible. The 
. laying hen is by no means at her best when 
j very fat, aud often cannot lay, while soft- 
shelled eggs, weak legs, infertile eggs, aud lia¬ 
bility to l>owel diseases are also to be contend¬ 
ed against when she is in that condition. 
There is no grain as cheap as corn; but it is 
