THE AURAL NEW-YORKER. 
(Continued from page 303.) 
POULTRY AND POULTRY RAISING. 
C. S. COOPER. 
The best breeds: why? feed and feeding; 
liow best to grade up; henneries; incu¬ 
bators ,, success with. 
The question as to tlie best breed is difficult 
to answer satisfactorily—about as difficult as 
selecting a wife. There may be 50 girls in a 
neighborhood, and a young man will select for 
his wife, one that many others have passed by, 
because she suits his fancy: so it is in selecting 
a breed of fowls, each person has his favorite. 
Leghorns are generally kept by most farmers. 
Ask them why these are selected, and they 
will tell you they are the host paying birds on 
account of their great laying qualities. Are 
they not mistaken ? First, they are not good 
poultry for table use; second, unless kept very 
warm and given daily nursing, they will not 
lay many eggs in Winter, when eggs are 
worth most; third, when fatted for market, 
they will weigh at the same age one-third less 
than many other varieties; consequently there 
is a loss of one-third in cash from the number 
of pairs sold. It is an admitted fact that 
half the chicks raised are cockerels, and they 
must be disposed of as market poultry with 
the aforenamed loss in weight. During my 
29 years of farm life, I have given several 
varieties a fair trial, talcing quality and defects 
into consideration, I have endeavored to ob¬ 
tain a breed of hardy constitution; these will 
lay most eggs in Winter. I believe in pure¬ 
bred stock; hut if I were to cross, I should do 
so withVither the Wyandotte or Light Brahma, 
preferably the Wyandotte for the following 
reasons: they are as docile and as easily con¬ 
fined as the Brahma, lay many more eggs 
under confinement, are ready for the spit at 
any time, are more toothsome, and mature 
much earlier. 
My adult fowls are kept mostly on wheat; 
but two or three days out of seven, they are 
kept on oats, except the morning feed, when 
they get mashed potatoes. I also feed wheat 
bran, corn-meal and ground beef scraps on 
alternate days. A sprinkling of Cay¬ 
enne pepper I find beneficial. My young stock 
I keep on corn and wheat mixed while they 
are growing, giving as much as they will eat 
without wasting. They are generally in a 
condition for market after they have been 
conlined and thus fed for a week. 
To grade up his stock at a small cost, a far¬ 
mer can always procure at a reasonable cost 
one or more cockerels of pure breed; or, bet¬ 
ter still, he can procure two settings of eggs 
that at ill give, him all the cockerels ho needs 
for crossing, and have some pullets of pure 
blood to breed from. New breeds can only 
he produced by crossing. It is of slow pro¬ 
gress, requiring from 12 to 20 years to breed 
true to feather. 
In establishing a hennery, I would advise 
that dry laud be taken—sandy or sandy loam, if 
possible. Chickens thrive best on such soil. Mud 
and pools of water generally produce disease 
and death. A hennery built on an eastern or 
southern slope, with the rear walls in the bank, 
is much warmer in Winter, aud should be on 
soil naturally dry, or well uuderdrained. I 
prefer raising my chicks early in the season. 
Theyferow much larger; the . nils can he sent 
to market, and command a larger price; they 
begin to lay eggs before Winter, and during 
cold weather eggs pay best. 1 have now about 
250 as flue-looking chickens as can be found. 
T raise nearly all my chickens with an incu¬ 
bator and brooders. Eleven days ago I re. 
moved 12$ chicks from my incubator, and in 
the interval T' have lost only four of the lot. 
They were weakly on leaving the eggs; now 
they arc robust. Four .lays ago, I put 30 
chickens with hens; now there are left only 18 
of the 80. One of my lions hatched seven 
chicks on the same day I took the 128 from the 
incubator; now she has only five, and they 
are not so large as those brought up in the 
brooders. Evidently as “mothers,” the brood¬ 
ers are better than the “biddies.” 
Bergen Co., N. J. c. s. cooper. 
BREEDING AND FEEDING. 
The Plymouth Rock or Wyandotte is the 
best fowl to use in crossing on the common 
stock of the country; because they are hardy 
broods; arc of good size: have clean, yellow 
legs, with plump bodies, and dress a golden 
yellow'. They mature rapidly; are good lay¬ 
ers, and are the two best general-purpose 
breeds living. 
How shall we improve farm stock ? is a 
hard question; but I would advise buying 
fowls instead of eggs to obtain birds to im¬ 
prove the original stock, or to embark in 
pure-bred poultry ; because with ordinary 
care one has no chances to run,such us broken 
or bad eggs, poor batches, etc. Yes, thor¬ 
oughbred poultry will pay on the farm (pro¬ 
viding birds or eggs are purchased from good, 
reliable breeders), as it costs no more to keep 
and care for such fowls than for common 
stock, while they will lay as many or more 
eggs, are handsomer and are always in de¬ 
mand at better figures. 
We have found that winter laying is large¬ 
ly the result of good care, warm quarters, 
and early hatched pullets. There is no one 
food that is best suited for producing eggs. 
A variety is what fills the egg basket. In 
cold weather give a warm morning meal of 
three-fourths corn and oats, and one-fourth 
wheat middlings, seasoned with salt and occa¬ 
sionally some Cayenne pepper or eggine, with 
wheat, oaks, buckwheat, or screenings of any 
grain, scattered among the straw on the floor 
in the henhouse to keep the hens busy through 
the day, and reward their labor with a good 
feed of corn just before they go to roost. I 
find this way of feeding very satisfactory 
while the birds are confined in winter-quar¬ 
ters. Besides this, they should have gravel, 
ground shells, and a feed of moat in some 
form every two or three days, if the very 
best results are expected. Hens are like all 
other farm stock — they will manage to sur¬ 
vive on poor rations and in poor"quartors; 
but if extra returns are expected, extra care 
must be given, and tho large profits come 
with extra care. F. b. zr mater. 
Warren Co., N. Y. 
CARE OF TURKEYS. 
The turkey is tender when young, but 
hardy when matured. The greatest difficulty 
with young turks is when they are feathering: 
then they need an almost unlimited supply 
of food of the best quality, and variety. They 
feather so rapidly that they are ’soon able to 
fly. but this progress is made at the expense of 
a great loss of vitality. They cannot endure 
confinement, even when young, and the 
poultryman must, therefore, not Only give 
them their liberty as soon as possible, but 
must not subject them to the loss of a single 
meal. The turkey hen is a very persistent 
sitter, requiring 28 days for incubation. She 
is a careful and attentive mother, aud re¬ 
mains with her yoiuig until they voluntarily 
forsake her. 
For the first 24 hours the young turkeys 
should be kept in a close box, quiet and un¬ 
disturbed, in order to allow them to rest and 
appropriate the food derived from the yelks, 
which they absorb. They should then be fed 
on finely chopped eggs every two or three 
hours, for the second day, and after that 
time, a mixture of soaked wheat bread and 
milk, mixed with eggs and finely chopped 
onions will be excellent Do not feed eggs 
longer than three or four days, but vary the 
food to mashed potatoes, cooked oatmeal, 
chopped onions, chopped meat and cracked 
wheat or coni. 
Keep the hen confined in a roomy coop for 
the first week, and allow her to^take her 
brood out for exercise; but she should be 
watched carefully, in order that the young 
ones may be fed as often as convenient, mak¬ 
ing meat and ground bone a special object in 
their meals. The young turks cannot endure 
the slightest dampness, and under no circum¬ 
stances should they be allowed out of their 
coops until the ground is perfectly dry. 
As a single union of the cock and hen fertil¬ 
izes all the eggs of the latter for the season, 
the former will he serviceable fora dozen hens 
if judiciously managed. Turkeys cannot be 
kept under confinement or restraint, and re¬ 
quire plenty of room for foraging. They will 
go over the highest fences and stray off for 
miles, and can therefore be raised only on 
large farms, or where there is room for them. 
The best variety is the large Bronze, which 
sometimes attains the weight of 10 pounds 
when two years old, though such weight is 
rather an exception. A cross of the wild and 
Bronze gives a very hardy turkey, and if the 
eggs are hatched under common hens with a 
few chicks as companions, the little turks can 
be encouraged to roost with the other fowls, 
and will lose much of their inclination to 
wander. 
Turkeys ore always profitable, as they re¬ 
quire no care after they have passed the 
critical period, aud although the strictest 
attention is necessary with them when they 
are young, when matured they endure greater 
cold and exposure than any other class of 
poultry; yet they give the best results when 
properly eared for. They are subject to both 
roup and cholera, but as they are in the fields 
the greater portion of their time, they do not 
come so frequently as other poultry in contact 
with filth and other causes of disease. While 
large (locks cannot be conveniently kept by 
every one, yet a few should lie raised on all 
farms. _ _p. h. j, 
MANAGEMENT OF GEESE. 1 
Geese are great foragers, aud although they ' 
are partial to ponds and streams, yet they 
should have an open range with plenty of < 
grass. The goose seldom lays before she is a 
year old, and often the eggs from young geese 
do not batch well. If the eggs are removed 
from the nest, she will sometimes lay as many 
as 40, but a smaller number isusnally the rule. 
It requires about a month for the incubation 
of the eggs, and when the goslings are out of 
the shells, theyimust be kept in a dry, warm 
place for a few days, when they may be 
allowed in the fields; but under no circum¬ 
stances should they be allowed near the water, 
as, contrary to the old adage, “water is not 
good for young goslings or ducklings.” If 
this precaution is observed, there will be less 
loss. After they are 20 days old, they may be 
allowed to go with the old ones anywhere they 
prefer. 
The food of young goslings should be rather 
bulky and soft. An excellent mixture is 
ground meat scraps, corn meal, bran, mid- 
lings, and ground oats, scalded aud mixed 
with the same quantity of mashed potatoes or 
turnips, with chopped onion or grass added. 
A little bone meal or milk will also be of 
assistance, and when a month old they will 
require nothing from the owner^but a feed of 
mixed grain at night. 
The Chinese geese lay the largest number of 
eggs; the Toulouse are the largest, and the 
Embdeu the most attractive. The latter being 
entirely white, their feathers are preferred to 
those from the others. A cross of the Toulouse 
gander and Embden goose gives the best bird 
for market. Only young geese are able to 
realize the highest prices, but as the old ones 
are best for breeding purposes, age is no dis¬ 
advantage. 
Geese are profitable only when there is un¬ 
limited range, for they will not thrive in con¬ 
finement. They are usually self-dependent, 
and being grass-feeders and not very choice 
in the selection of their food, they will not 
cost the poultrymeu a large sum. A pot of 
turnips or chopped clover, with plenty of 
drinking water, and a feed of grain in Winter, 
will be all they require. They may be plucked 
twice a year, though some perform the opera¬ 
tion oftener; but it is injurious, entailing upon 
them loss of vitality. They should have an 
open shed for shelter at night, and be protected 
from their enemy, the fox. h. 
RAISING DUCKS FOR PROFIT. 
Ducks are very hardy when young, and 
grow faster than any other class of young 
stock. They require but very Little brooding, 
and if fed all they will eat, with plenty of 
drinking water, they can be made to attain 
the weight of five pounds in ten weeks from 
the time they are hatched. They require 
mixed food, which should consist of meat 
scraps, mashed potatoes or turnips, and scald¬ 
ed bran, meal, and nndlings. They come into 
market after the prices for early chicks begin 
to decline, thus extending the season for secur¬ 
ing the highest prices. It is best to hatch 
chicks early and then follow with young 
ducks. 
The favorite breeds are the Pekin, Ayles¬ 
bury and Rouen. The first are easily kept 
in confinement, and require no ponds of water. 
The adults should have a large trough of fresh 
water, but ducklings should not get their bod¬ 
ies wet from the time they are hatched, till 
they are marketed, although until recently it 
was supposed that a pond of water was neces¬ 
sary. 
The Pekins lay when five or six months old, 
aud the favorite month for laying by all the 
breeds, is February. Plenty of nests should 
be provided, as ducks usually lay very early 
in the morning. In feediug, tiie cheapest 
mode is to give them plenty of bulky food. A 
lot of clover hay, chopped fine, scalded and 
mixed with mashed, turnips, and thickened 
with bran and ground oats makes a delicious 
meal for them; but they should have meat 
once a day. Duck eggs command at the 
present time double the price of those from 
hens, and as they will lay as many as 140 a 
year, they are capable of yielding a fair profit 
for all that may be invested iu them. The 
feathers are also salable, and usually pay for 
the labor of killing aud picking them for 
market. The best crosses are the Pekins aud 
Aylesburys. The Muscovy drake and Rouen 
duck produce a large ami elegant carcass for 
market, but the produce is sterile, and a sec¬ 
ond cross cannot be made from it. When 
roaming at large, a pond and plenty of grass, 
with a good feed at night and warm, dry 
quarters, will keep the adult ducks thrifty 
and productive. j. h. p. 
DUCKS. 
In regard to ducks the principal objection 
to all breeds is the grosasnessof their appetites. 
All tho larger breeds, as the Pekin aud Rouen, 
are gross feeders, and their eggs arc but little, 
if auy, larger than those of the Aylesbury. 
The latter will not come home at night as well 
as Pekins, nor are they quite as hardy. Rou- 
ens are not as good layers as either of the 
above; nor are they any better flavored, nor 
are any as fine-flavored as the Black Cayuga, 
which are a little smaller on the average, 
though their eggs are of about the same size; 
although they are the quietest, still, they are 
objectionable in color of plumage, not being 
easily found when straying away at night, as 
most ducks are apt to do at times. h. h. 
chicken notes. 
The cheap drinking fountain noted in re¬ 
cent Rural. suits me exactly. I had one 
made from the illustration. I furnished the 
can and the tinman charged me 30 cents. I 
recently cured a hen of roup and another of 
blind staggers by giving two teaspoonfuls of 
alcohol in a little water three times per day, 
and forcing soft, warm food down their 
throats. p. c. 
Leominster, Mass. 
-■ ■ - 
Langshans as Winter Lavers. —I have 
three Langshan pullets and one rooster that I 
raised the past year. I separated them from 
my other chickens on February 28, and from 
that day to March 18—28 days—they laid 67 
eggs. Then one of them began to sit. All the 
house they have had is a dry-goods box about 
three feet sauare. Considering the weather 
we have had, I think this is doing pretty well. 
Seven eggs weighed a pound. G. b. c. 
Wyandottes in Colorado.— Our friend 
Will D. Sawyer, of Greeley, Colorado, sends 
us the following practical poultry note: “I 
obeyed the Rurai. and bought Wyandottes. 
When a neighbor drops in and tells about get¬ 
ting eight or ten eggs per day from a flock of 
50 or 75 hens, I tickle him a little by telling 
him how I get four and sometimes five eggs 
from only six pullets about nine months old. 
First egg December 1; since then, SI days, 196 
eggs.” 
CATALOGUES, ETC., RECEIVED. 
Riverytew Poultry Yards.— Circular 
from A. C, Hawkins. Lancaster, Mass. Pic¬ 
tures of the Wyandottes which won the prizes 
at the New York poultry show are given, as 
well as of the splendid Plymouth Rock 
cockerel Perfection 3d. The “Hawkins 
Strain” is a famous one. The fact that it is 
advertised in many of the poultry catalogues 
is the best recommendation it could have. 
Send for the circular, and road the list of 
prizes won by members of this famous flock. 
The eggs are high-priced, but they come from 
prize fowls. 
How To Succeed With Small Fruits 
and Poultry.— Pamphlet from Rob’t. Coates, 
Norwood Park, Ill. A neatly arranged book 
of 110 pages, well illustrated and printed. 
The design of the book is to show that small 
fruit culture and poultry raising can be profit¬ 
ably combined on the same farm. This de¬ 
sign is well carried out. The 40 pages given 
up to poultry, their feeding, breeding and 
disease, contain much sound advice. The 
book is sold at 35 cents. 
High-Class Standard Poultry.— Circu- 
lar from Smith it Walker, Lee. Mass. Wyan¬ 
dottes, Plymouth Rocks: Light and Dark 
Brahmas: Langshaus; Hamburgs: Dominques; 
and Brown ami White Leghorns are pictured 
and described. It is claimed that the Wyan¬ 
dottes; Brahmas aud Plymouth Rocks are all 
of fine strains. 
Mapi.k Lawn Poultry Yards.— Circular 
from Wesley B. Barton. Pittsfield. Mass. 
Poultry aud Scotch collie dogs are offered at 
fair prices. Agent for the “Simplicity Brood¬ 
er,” Wyandottes, Plymouth Rocks, Leghorns 
and Pekin ducks. An effort is made to deal 
squarely and fairly with customers. All eggs 
are guaranteed to be fertile, and all infertile 
eggs will lie replaced. Send for the circular. 
Silver Gray Dorkings.— Circular from 
John L. Rice, Rensselaerville, N. Y. A short 
description of Dorkings and reasons why they 
should he secured. It is claimed that the Dor¬ 
king produces the best and finest of all 
poultry meat, that the hens are fair layers, 
good sitters, good mothers and not roamers. 
Saybrook Valley Poultry Yards.— 
Circular from Orson Winans, Oak Hill, 
Greene Co,, N. Y. Wyandottes, Plymouth 
Rocks, S. C, White Leghorns and Bronze Tur¬ 
keys are offered. The breeds are described 
and some space is given to methods of handling 
and shipping eggs. 
Mill Brook Poultry Yards and Ken¬ 
nels.— Circular from Wiu. Montgomery, Jr., 
Bergenfield, N. J. Plymouth Rocks, Wyan¬ 
dottes, Langshaus, Games. Leghorns, Houdans 
and Scotch Collie aud St. Bernard dogs. 
Ford Brook Poultry Yard.— Circular 
from A. F. Williams, Bristol, Conn. Light 
Brahmas, Langshaus, Plymouth Rocks, Leg- 
