350 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. MAY 29 
the polled bull Jamestown (called after the 
vessel), which gave his name to his polled pro¬ 
geny. The family was kept up by crosses on 
Ayrshire and Jersey cows, the hornless calves 
only being retained, until it grew numerous 
enough to be perpetuated without admixture 
of other blood. In 1878 it was recognized as a 
distinct breed by the Norfolk Agricultural 
Society (Mass.), and it was described and illus¬ 
trated in the Rural of January 22, 1881; but 
of late we have heard little or nothing about it. 
LADY FULTON. 
Tite head of this beautiful cow is illustrated 
on our first page. She is a cross-bred animal, 
being three-fourths Rod Poll and one-fourth 
pure Devon, bred and owned by L. F. Ross, 
Iowa City, Iowa. To our mind she carries the 
marks of her Devon blood in her face and 
head. She is a fine cow, one of the best iu a 
noted herd. These cross-bred cattle are said 
to be, in some respects, superior to thorough¬ 
breds of either breed. The potency of the 
polled breeds in producing hornless calves is 
most marked. Mr. Ross states that he produced 
a herd of “home-bred polls” by crossing the 
Devon and Short-horn on the native polled or 
“muley” cattle of Illinois. A polled bull pro¬ 
duced in this way, though three-eighths Short¬ 
horn and one-balf Devon, got polled calves 
without exception, and his progeny inherited 
this characteristic. Much experimental breed¬ 
ing has evidently been attempted in this herd, 
and with good results. 
(£l)( PoultHj IVciX 
THE GAME AS A FARMER’S FOWL. 
THOMAS W. LUDLOW. 
Independently of its great beauty of 
feather and its courageous disposition, the 
Game fowl combines important advantages 
for farmers, whether bred pure or used to 
grade up common barnyard stock. For fann¬ 
ers’ purposes, the Exhibition Game is prefer¬ 
able to the Pit Game, which averages smaller 
in size than its more showy cousins, and lays, 
as a rule, smaller eggs. Of Exhibition Games, 
the best varieties for practical use are the 
Black-Breasted Reds and the Red Piles; 
although some strains of Whites aud Blacks 
are also good. The beautiful Duck wings are 
less to be recommended to the farmer, inas¬ 
much as they are seldom so large as the Black- 
Reds and the Piles, and, although one of the 
most prolific of fowls, their eggs are usually 
decidedly small. 
There is very little, practically, to choose be¬ 
tween good strains of Black-Reds and Red 
Piles, except the color. If sought for crosses 
on common stock, the forme r will give results 
more agreeable to the eye where the prevalent 
color of the flock is dark, and the latter where 
the birds kept are white or nearly white. 
Cocks of these varieties of Games frequently 
weigh over nine pounds, and hens not uncom¬ 
monly attain the w'eight of seven-aud-one-half 
or eight pounds. Thus, while making no 
claim to rival the sluggish Asiatics in size, they 
are well up to the requirements of a fowl of 
medium weight. The meat, too, is placed 
where it is most sought on a chicken—on the 
wings, and ou the round, plump breast which 
is characteristic of the Game fowl, and is pre¬ 
served in large measure by Game crosses. 
This meat, too, firm, tender, and fine of grain, 
is superior in flavor, perhaps, to those of all 
other varieties of chickens, not excepting the 
Langshan which is admirable in this as in 
almost all other respects. 
As egg-producers, the Black-Breasted Reds 
and Red Piles have an enviable record. Their 
white, deli cate-shelled eggs are of very fair 
size, and from many strains even large; and 
they are produced in great plenty. It is safe 
to say that these Games will push the Leghorns 
very hard in the number of eggs laid iu the 
year, and that in Winter with the ordinary 
care, they will lay many more than Leghorns 
under the same conditions. Again, while if 
left with free range, the Games are unexcelled 
foragers aud will provide for themselves in 
Hummer and Autumn nearly the whole of 
their keep. If confined in even a small yard, 
they are entirely contented and continue to 
thrive and to lay when many strains of Leg¬ 
horns would pine awav for their lost liberty. 
It is an opinion very commonly held that the 
eggs of the Game are superior iu flavor to 
those of other breeds. 
The Game hens are excellent sitters, and if 
treated with gentleness they are vet y^ docile 
and submit without fuss or flurry to beiug 
handled. As mothers, they are very careful 
of their chicks, seldom trampling them to 
death, as the clumsy Asiatics do so commonly, 
aud frequently they seem even to exercise a 
thoughtful consideration for the needs and 
powers of endurance of their broods. The 
chicks grow and feather very fast. Like all 
quick-feathering varieties, they are delicate 
until well feathered, but no more so than Leg¬ 
horns; and as soou as they have become well 
covered with feathers so that the extraordin¬ 
ary drain on the system of providing so 
abundant a growth is cheeked, neither com¬ 
mon barn-yard chicks nor chicks of any other 
pure breed are hardier. 
In conclusion, the elegant form, close feath¬ 
ering and brilliant coloring of the Game are 
by no means disadvantageous, even to the 
strictly practical man. Few of us are wholly 
indifferent to beauty; and the poultry-yard 
can have no more beautiful occupant than a 
thoroughbred Game, whether it be the cock 
in his resplendent garb, or the hen in her more 
sober, but strikingly neat dress. The courage 
of the Game fowl, too, is not the least of its 
many good qualities. Both cock and hen will 
forcibly withstand a marauder, aud will cope, 
uot seldom successfully, with a hawk having 
sinister designs upon the little brood. The 
sneaking rat has not rarely had his skull laid 
bare by a blow from the beak of a mother 
Game which he has sought to deprive of her 
chicks. The writer has himself seen a little 
Exhibition Game cock of nine weeks save his 
life when, attacked in an open field with no 
refuge attainable, by a rapacious cat. In¬ 
stead of seeking hopelessly to flee, the little 
fellow ruffled up his feathers, faced the cat as 
she crouched for the fatal spring, and flew at 
her again and again with punny beak aud 
rudimentary spurs. The cat was so complete- 
ly taken aback by a stand as unexpected as it 
was bold that time was gained for the writer 
to come from a distance of several hundred 
feet, and to rescue the little champion. 
According to the well-established rule that a 
grade of a pi ire-bred animal or fowl upon a 
mongrel will retain more than a due propor¬ 
tion of the qualities which are firmly fixed in 
the pure-bred stock, crosses of Games on com¬ 
mon stock maybe expected with confidence 
to produce active fowls of medium weight 
aud good constitution, well shaped and of 
good quality for table poultry, aud very good 
as egg-producers. 
Westchester Co,, N. Y. 
HEN MANURE. 
Several careful analyses of pure hen man¬ 
ure give of the three most important plant 
food elements: 
Phosphoric acid.2.43 per cent. 
Potash.2306 •• 
Nitrogen as Ain. and organic matter.. .3.35 “ “ 
As is well known, the manure of birds is valu¬ 
able from the fact that it contains the urates 
and other highly nitrogenous subs-tunees which 
in other animals pass away iu the urine. If 
the urine of animals could be secured in com¬ 
bination with the solid excrement, the value 
of the pinduct would be greatly increased. It 
is claimed by some writers that ben manure is 
as valuable, weight for weight, as Peruvian 
guano. This is a mistake, as analysis of gu¬ 
ano shows a far higher percentage of nitrogen 
and phosphoric acid. This is doubtless due, to 
a great extent, to the fact that much nitrogen 
is allowed, by careless handling and storage, 
to escape from the ben manure. Then, again, 
the Peruvian guano is obtained from birds 
which have an almost exclusive diet of fish 
and meat. It is beyond dispute that the value 
of manure depends upon the food from which 
it was produced. But hen manure is far su¬ 
perior to ordinary barnyard manure, as will 
be seen from the following table giving the 
number of pounds of the three most valuable 
elements in a ton of hen manure and a ton of 
well rotted barn manure. 
Barn Manure. lien Manure. 
Phosphoric acid.. 
.... 6 
48.60 
Potash. 
.... 10 
41.00 
Nitrogen. 
.... U 
67.00 
Thus 400 pounds of pure hen manure would 
contain very nearly as much potash, phos¬ 
phoric acid and nitrogen as are contained in a 
ton of common barnyard manure. We believe 
that hen manure, properly saved, will prove 
cheaper, when used upon quick-growing crops, 
than any fertilizer that the farmer can save or 
buy. Witli melons aud garden vegetables we 
have obtained the best of results from ben 
manure. Its effects upon corn are well known; 
iu fact, in the regions where manure will be 
most likely to be saved, the eoru crop will be 
almost sure to receive the benefit of i Im stn:ngtb. 
We do not find it to be the most economical 
manure to use ou potatoes; a fertilizer richer 
in potash will give bettor results. There is 
considerable discussion among fanners as to 
the best methods of preserving hen manure. 
The best poultry men to-day seem agreed upon 
the fact that it is most profitable to keep fowls 
upon low roosts with a shelf below to catch 
the droppings. With this iirrdngi-ineut the 
process of gathering the manure is much sim¬ 
plified, The shelves may be scraped off every 
few days into boxes or barrels, aud the manure 
dropped ujkju the floor may be scraped up iu 
the same way. It will pay to keep the shelves 
aud floor well sprinkled with dry muck or sand. 
This will reduce the strength of the manure 
and keep it in better condition. W T ood ashes 
should never be mixed with hen manure, as 
the combination will liberate the nitrogen. 
Where it is desired to apply them together it 
is safer to put the manure in the hill or drill 
and to scatter the ashes broadcast. Plaster 
may be profitably mixed with hen manure. It 
will “fix” the ammonia securely. Many far¬ 
mers obtain their most valuable fertilizer by 
mixing hen mauure with plaster and fine bone 
flour. The manure is spread upon a Hoor and 
beaten finely with a shovel. One-fourth its 
bulk of plaster is sprinkled over it and the 
mixture raked over and into a heap, to be 
agaiu spread out and raked up. W T ith one- 
fifth its bulk of tine bone flour mixed into the 
mass in the same way, a fertilizer can lie ob¬ 
tained stronger than the ordinary superphos¬ 
phate, Where iioultry are confined in orchards 
or in various parts of the different fields the 
manure is evenly and cheaply distributed, to 
the great advantage of the soil. 
FEEDING TROUGH FOR HENR. 
Mr. J. Y. H. Nott, of Ulster Co., N. Y., Ls 
greatly pleased with his feeding trough made 
like that shown at Fig. 234. It is easily made, 
Fig. 234. 
and will keep the food perfectly clean, this 
latter item being of vital importance in pre¬ 
venting poultry diseases. It saves the feed, 
aud when filled at night, enables the hens to 
get their breakfast as early as they choose in¬ 
stead of starving for two or three hours, as is 
usual. The trough is made Of 10-iuch boards, 
six feet long, with sides five-inches high or 
wide, and with a space of four inches between 
the sides aud the cover, allowing a row of 
hens on each side to feed at the same time,say 
30 in all. The cover is made to drop between 
the end pieces, with a large nail or wire driven 
in near the edge for hinges (shown at Ihe dot 
in the Illustration), and with ear-pieces at the 
front edge to hold the cover in place. 
Field Mice and Evergreens. — I have 
recently cut out dozens of Austrian, Scotch, 
White and Cembru Pines, but more especially 
Austrians, that were killed by mice girdling 
them in Winter. These trees, used in shelter- 
belts, have been kept low-headed and densely 
bunched to the ground, so that a lot of dry 
leaves is sure to collect under their branches 
and around their stems. These give shelter to 
the mice iu Winter, and field mice always re¬ 
pay any consideration shown them in that 
respect by cutting every green thing within 
their reach. 
* * * 
Azalea amckna. —We have a large azalea 
bed which on one side is bordered for 75 
yards by Azalea aiuoena, of which there are 
125 plants, and all of thorn are now iu full 
bloom. It is a splendid show. The plants are 
hardy enough here, evergreen, and grow well 
and bloom lavishly every year. 
* * * 
Deciduous Azaleas. —Our azalea bed con¬ 
tains 2,500 plants, and is a solid bank ranging 
from 18 inches high at front to five feet high 
at back. Home of these now are in full bloom, 
and othere will keep coming in in succession 
till the middle of June. They vary in color 
from white and yellow to flame and dark 
crimson. Every little sprig will bloom. 
Among them we have many A. mollis, but I 
think it is a little more tender than the aver¬ 
age Ghent Azalea. 
* * * 
Treatment ok Hardy Azaleas.— They 
love cool,moist ground, such as Rhododendrons 
delight in, and shelter from Winter winds. 
Ours, in an open place of minimum winter 
tenqierature of six degrees below zero, thrive 
very well. We mulch the whole lied heavily 
with tree leaves so as to preserve the ground 
cool and moist in Hummer. We never dig or 
disturb the soil iu the bed. We apply the 
mulching about the end of March, and renew 
it every year. Before Winter the mulching 
will have rotted down so much as uot to afford 
shelter for mice; and It is to avoid the mice- 
plague that we do not mulch iu Fall in pref¬ 
erence to Spring. 
* * * 
DaI'UNE Cneorum is a trailing, little ever¬ 
green shrub with pink blossoms. It is now 
in full bloom, aud it will blossom a little 
during the summer months, aud yield a fairly 
good crop again in Fall. It loves a cool, moist 
nook deep in fairly good soil, and shade from 
bright sunshine, especially in Winter. It is 
hardy enough. Wo had a mass of it on a 
sunny slope in sandy land, but it was unhappy, 
so I lifted and tore it up into as many little 
bits as I could get with roots to them, and 
planted them in deep, moist ground, and now I 
have hundreds of plant.-.all pink with blossoms. 
* * * 
Daphne Genkwa is now at its best. Its 
flowers are violet-blue, fragrant, produced all 
over its naked, twiggy shoots, and distinct 
in color from the blossoms of any other sea¬ 
sonable shrubs. Our plauts are nearly three- 
feet across, very branchy, but hug the ground 
too closely to show themselves off to good ad¬ 
vantage. 1 think if it were like the dwarf 
cherry, raised standard fashion, its looks 
would be much improved. It is slow-growing, 
but with us at any rate, appears perfectly 
hardy. Our plants are growing ou au opeu 
sunny slope, in dry sandy ground that is 
kept mulched. 
* * * 
Pterostyrax hispidum.—Wo have two 
trees of equal size and some five or six years 
old. Had l allowed them to grow up at will, 
they would be ten feet high or more, but I be¬ 
lieve in trimming a tree while it is young, so 
have made them into well branched six-foot 
specimens. One of them is now coming into 
bloom. It has raeimesof creamy white, frag¬ 
rant blossoms. Its leaves are large, downy, 
showy, and remain in good condition, and 
unmolested by insects all Hummer long. Its 
outer bark comes off in shreds. Growing un¬ 
derordinary circumstances it seems quite ha r¬ 
dy. This Japanese tre® will, I think, be a 
good addition to our list of decorative trees. 
Long Island, N. Y. to. FALCONER. 
RURAL LIFE NOTES. 
Ttson Pear.—I am.sorry to see in the Rur¬ 
al the advice against planting the Tyson 
Pear. Mr. Parnell discourages its growth on 
account of its tardiness in bearing. 1 have n 0 
complaint to make regarding the Tyson in 
this respect. Having grown it both as a 
standard and dwarf for over 20 years, it has 
in every ease fruited promptly and abundant¬ 
ly during all that time. It is too good to go 
without even were it a little shy iu bearing. 
But as a matter of fact, it. often fruits too 
heavily with me, at the expense of wood 
growth ami size of fruit. Worked on large 
stocks, it will boar the second year. It is a 
fine table pear, both Iu flavor and appearance, 
and an especial favorite with ladies who are 
apt to be fond of things “so sweet, you know.” 
It must, however, be eaten as soou as ripe; the 
flavor cannot be held iu suspense for any!sidy 
The quality is rated best iu the American 
Pomological Society’s Catalogue, aud it has 
won many stars there. A hedge on the farm 
of Jonathan Tyson near Philadelphia, was the 
birth-place of the Tyson. Don’t let us give it 
up. That it was not named “Jonathan Tyson’s 
Heedliug” is an escape worthy of record. 
Shorten the Names.— Mr. Engle’s defence 
iu a late Rural of the progressive changes 
made in the last two catalogues of the Am. Pom. 
Hociety respecting the shortening of names of 
fruits was timely. That such an intelligent 
pomologist and gardener as Mr. Hovey, who 
has for so many years been a guide in the 
gardens and orchards of America, and who has 
achieved so much in behalf of the horticultural 
world, should now be disturbed into opposing 
the honest progressive efforts of our best and 
most intelligent jiomologiste and fruit men, is 
a matter of surprise and regret. Hurely one 
name Ls enough for almost any fruit, and even 
that is too much in hundreds of cases that 
might lie cited. Ix>t the ax of the “Nomen- 
olateurs” continue falling until all the pre¬ 
fixes, affixes, descriptive adjuncts, and useless 
French encumbrances are lopped off. Presi¬ 
dent Wilder is eminently right, aud I believe 
nine-tenths of the fruit men are with him. 
Snowflake Potato. —Among all the potato 
notes and literature which the Rural has so 
generously aud curefully presented to its 
readers very little lias been said of the Snow¬ 
flake. in my estimation it stands at the head 
of all potatoes yet produced for quality. Not 
one on the entire list of new and old sorts that 
I have tried quite equals it on the table. 
Smooth and handsome in appearance, keeping 
firm aud fresh till Summer, eyes scarcely in¬ 
dented at all, cooking dry, and beautiful at 
all times, and having a peculiar nutty flavor, 
it is difficult to sug g est an improvement for a 
table potato. Some have found it less pro¬ 
ductive than ft few of the newer varieties. 
With me it. has exceeded the yield of auy sort 
I ever grew. My first pound of seed, costing 
$1, gave me 150 pounds of the finest potatoes 1 
ever saw, in every respect, without an}’special 
forcing to obtain a fancy yield. I have been 
entirely satisfied with the Snowflake ever 
since. [Wc tested the Snowflake when first in- 
