im 
tentioned hen. And this is the way it is 
made. 
A box (see Fig. 196) 1(5 iuehes square each 
way, is lined with (launel or carpet or. hair 
boiler felt; it is covered with several thick¬ 
nesses of the same material outside, and then 
of their white feathers, so even and true as to 
astonish us when we remember that they are 
entirely an artificial fowl. Their combs are 
rose, legs dark blue, and the cocks are the 
only inales in the chicken kingdom having no 
sickles, but tails exactly like the hen’s. Pekin 
Bantams (see Fig. 205) are of “Heathen Chinee’ 
origin, and were first CP. 
brought to England by 
an Euglish otticer, who gv t, A 
took them from yards 2$ jl 
in the Emperors palace 
grounds at Pekin, China, 
when that city was 
sacked by the French, in ' 
1861. The pair we Ulus- pjg oq 5 
trate were imported 
from Shanghai, China. Except being 
relatively more compact, shorter in body 
and logs, they resemble Buff Cochins. The 
cocks, however, are richer in color, many be¬ 
ing of a lustrous mahogany hue. Their combs 
are single and their legs and feet completely 
hidden with feathers. 
If vou are at all familiar with the oddities 
~ of things Japanese, 
you will not he 
l’ surprised to learu 
" iat ^ u> ^ io ' is ' ,ue 
J / -JP^v with black tails are 
; * Ja l ,H - “Mikado” 
Wv ami “Yum-yum” 
are the pair we il- 
Fi ,r 2(H) lustrate atF ig.SOU; 
l»oth are imported. 
The stock all came from Japan a few years 
ago, and is the only contribution from 
which it acquires from its parents during in¬ 
fancy. 
This is not merely a topic for idle discussion, 
but it lias an important and practical tearing. 
If it be true that natural characteristics are 
transmitted from parents to offspring, we 
cannot examine too carefully into the pedigree 
of the animals we purchase or raise for breed¬ 
ing. For example, if this be true, the foal of 
a mare living in a hilly section, would have 
those muscles required for ascending and 
descending hills more fully developed than 
one whose parents lived in a level country, 
and would consequently be more valuable to 
a dweller in such a country. Or a calf whose 
parents were rustlers, compelled to seek their 
own living on the plains or along the hedges, 
would l»e better for a dweller on a poor farm 
than the dainty offspring of a St. Lambert. 
With poultry this subject is of equal, if not 
greater importance than with other animals. 
If eggs from hens accustomed to a warm cli¬ 
mate do not produce as hardy cbicks as eggs 
from bens accustomed to the cold and storms 
of the North, it is important that farmers 
and fanciers should know it. Birds whose 
parents have never seen mankind with a gun 
or other weapon, have no more fear of him 
than of any other large animal; while our 
local birds, although they never saw a man or 
the effects of a gun, will not permit us to come 
within even shooting distance. This must he 
either a hereditary trait or communicated 
from parent to offspring. The former is the 
more probable. Lust Spring I purchased a 
setting of Wyandotte eggs, set them under an 
ordinary hen. and in due time they were 
hatched and followed their step-mother in a 
very natural way. At the same time I set a 
(Continued from page 301.) 
ft.tv.r. 
Fig. 196. 
witli an outer ease like a second box. This is 
to retain the heat. A thick door is made for 
it, and a shelf is put acroas it half way. It 
then appears as in the drawing, the door not 
being shown. The door has a window in the 
upper part. The shelf is made of laths to let 
the heat up, and a nest-box, covered, for 
cleanliness, with paper, is placed on the shelf. 
Below is a tin box with a screw capsule,which 
is filled with boiling water. It is wrapped in 
a piece of blanket and is put iu the lower 
part, aud the heat is regulated by the use of 
more blankets over the heater to retain the 
heat,or by ventilating holes, closed with corks 
to keep the temperature at 00° or at 80" or 70" 
as the chicks get strong. I have kept a brood 
in such a warm closet for several days wait 
iug for another oue to come out, to double up 
the two in ouo coop, with one hen; and the 
chicks could just as well have bee» kept until 
they were able to be put iuto a coop by them¬ 
selves. The chicks begin to pick crumbs of 
cracked wheat before they are six hours old, 
but they need to be taught to drink by taking 
one in the hand arid dipping the bill in a lit¬ 
tle saucer of water, after which it will drink 
and the others will imitate it. There is noth¬ 
ing else that l know of that will so much 
please the young folks, even the baby, as one 
of these brooders, w hich may be kept on a 
stand in the sitting room, with its little fami¬ 
ly of clucks in it which amuse us by their 
cunning ways a,id funny tricks; nor is there 
anything that will tend more to make careful 
and successful young poultry fanciers, n s. 
- KuralNE^ 
W** Yorker. 
CHEAP HEN HOUSE. Fig. 197. (See page 303.) 
that country to our list of fowls. Their 
wings often sweep the ground, so short are 
their legs. The tails are black; the sickle 
feathers of the cock are laced with edging of 
white; otherwise the feathers are pure white, 
except a few of the flights iu wings. 
The White Polish (see Fig. 207) is truly 
rrs 
number of ordinary hens on their own eggs, 
which also hatched in due season. I soon 
noticed that the Wyandotte would uot asso¬ 
ciate with the ordinary chickeus, and as soon 
as their foster-mot her left them, they went off 
by themselves to roost. It was really comical 
to see them avoid their pjebian cousins; they 
would walk away in the most, approved aris¬ 
tocratic fashion when the commonplace chick¬ 
ens appeared. 
These peculiar traits must have been inher¬ 
ited; they could not have been the result of 
education; neither could they have resulted 
from the difference in the natural character¬ 
istics of the breeds or from any distinction in 
their treatment. A brood of chickens which 
have “come by chance,” will sometimes, by 
reason of the surroundings, habits of roosting, 
etc., remain separate from the rest of the 
CLEANING THE POULTRY HOUSE 
A good way to manage daily cleaning of 
the poultry house, especially during thesnowy 
weather, is to have the perches ranged along 
one side of the building, the floor under them 
strewn with straw enough to keep It dean, and 
that wall of the poultry house which is in the 
real- of the pen-hue, fitted with a hinged shut¬ 
ter, opening outwards, the entire length of the 
porches. When this shutter is raised and 
fastened with hooks to staples above, a gar¬ 
den rake passed through the opening aud 
manipulated with a little care usually brings 
the whole bedding, droppings and all, atone 
pull. An armful of clean straw is thrust in 
and spread under. With an old broom 1 sweep 
thoroughly along the edges of the opening, 
drop the shutter to, hook it on each end, aud 
and entirely an American breed, and the 
result of perseverance in special breeding. 
They are miniature copies of the largo, white 
Polish fowls, and have only of late years been 
introduced to the public, but they are still so 
rare as to Command the highest prices. Ban¬ 
tams are easily raised, stand close confine¬ 
ment, and are generous in the supply of eggs, 
that are nearly all yelk, and especially rich 
and valuable for invalids. 
Bantams are naturally tame, making the 
most delightful pets, and are always loved by 
their owners aud admired and coveted by 
visitors. As we should not devote all our 
money and time to the severely practical, we 
BANTAMS. 
At Fig. 204, ’5, ’6, aud 207, illustrations are 
given of handsome specimens of the newer 
strains of Bantams. It is true that farmers 
seldom indulge in feathered pets, and yet why 
should not the farmer enjoy the beautiful aud 
rare in nature as well as the merchant or pro¬ 
fessional man if Would not these little beau¬ 
ties add some life, some variety, and enough 
beauty to the farmer’s home surroundings 
to pay for the little room and feed necessary 
to keep them f If you want to please the boys, 
and make them lmppy, give them something to 
care for, and thus teach them valuable points 
about poultry culture, and those habits of 
care and thoughtfulness which ownership al¬ 
ways brings. 
The Silver Sebrights (see Fig. 204) are an 
THE USE OF AN ARTIFCIAL BROODER. 
A yoitno chicken needs only warmth for 
the fii-st 24 hours after its birth from the egg. 
More chickens are lost by being crushed or 
chilled in the nest than by any other fatality. 
Every chick of a brood may bu saved by tin- 
use of a very simple brooder in which the 
newly hatched nestlings or even the chipped 
eggs may bo placed as they are taken from 
the nest, and kept at a temperature of 90 de¬ 
grees until the whole brood are out, when they 
can be given to the hen in a coop. Incuba¬ 
tors are not for the poultry rank and fi'e. 
They may do for the professionals who have 
nothing else to do but watch the thermome¬ 
ter and sit up nights to keep the lamp trim¬ 
med and save the eggs from baking Or chill¬ 
ing. Bit every one who has a dozen fowls 
should haven brooder, if only to avoid the 
misery of seeing poor weaklings crushed fiat 
under the big foot of the fussy but well iu- 
my hen-house is cleaned, freshly strawed and 
ventilated in leas than five minutes, aud hard¬ 
ly a chicken is sufficiently disturbed to leave 
the roost. 
My poultry house was originally made with 
boards nailed on up and down, but it took the 
carpeuter only an hour and a half to tear the 
boards off that, side, nail them crosswise, hinge 
aud cleat the shutter and put on the hooks aud 
staple, as shown at Fig. 194, p. 998. the hooks 
were made of old pail bails, and r.ho staples 
were left over from the wire fence-recently put 
up. The hinges were uot mates, being old ones, 
two in number. The perches, of three stout 
poles, were arranged ns shu wn at Fig. 195, p.298. 
The place is always clean. In warm weather 
V7h- very small eggs had bet 
UpTshould not be kept over ten 
itting, and uever be set after 15 - 
OueeusCo., L. 1. P- B. 
ERED1TARY TRAITS IN 
Fig. 204. 
English importation and the result of nearly a 
lifetime of experiment in crossing by Sir John 
Sebright, and are the perfection of beauty in 
the fine, clear lacing of black around the edge 
The question is often asked, 
lvironruent and habits of paren 
pon the offspring?” As a matte 
lis question carries with it the 
lat only such characteristics as 1 
is at its birth are meant, aud no 
f-TUT 
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