1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
3 
For drink they had water, plenty of it all the time. 
Those I sold to-day were some of the best ones. If 
things go all right, I shall have another lot ready in 
a month from now. I would have held these a little 
longer, but they were getting rather crowded, and 
then there is considerable cholera around, and I de¬ 
cided to let them go rather than run any great risk.” 
This is the keynote to Mr. C.’s success as a farmer. 
He would sell at a fair price rather than run any great 
risks. He is a good farmer, does all he undertakes 
thoroughly, and naturally grows first-rate crops. He 
keeps his stock growing from start to finish, and they 
lose no time while they are on his hands. When 
ready for market, they go, if the price is reasonably 
fair. He received $3.10 for this lot of hogs, while 
others were getting but $3 and $3.05, because they 
were a nice, smooth, even lot of animals—just the 
sort of stock that is wanted. As he says, “ farmers 
can get a good price for the things they have to sell, 
provided they have sense enough to raise the things 
that bring a good price !” fred gbundy. 
Illinois. _ 
INDIAN GAMES: WHY / BREED THEM. 
Much has been said in the past few years of the 
merits of the Indian Game. Its name makes a wrong im¬ 
pression on many people, although it resembles others 
of the Game family somewhat by reason of its uprigllt 
carriage and close-fitting plumage. The birds are 
very peaceable, and will fight no more tHam-other 
breeds. After an experience of five years with them, 
I have settled the following facts in my mind : That 
they are the best table fowl, as well as the most beau¬ 
tiful to look upon, either alive or dressed. If well 
taken care of, they are always plump 
and fit for market, something that can 
be said of few, if any, other breeds. I 
find, after keeping most of the well- 
known breeds, that an Indian Game 
cockerel will outweigh them at any 
time from one week to six months. 
This season, with the same care and 
feed, I had them weigh, at six months, 
more than Light Brahmas, though 
later on, the Brahmas will gradually 
go heavier, as they are larger at ma¬ 
turity. 
That they “ take ” in the market, is 
shown by the following: Some time 
ago, I dressed about 25 chickens about 
eight months old; 15 were Indian 
Games, and the rest mixed stock. I 
took them to a leading poultry dealer 
in Poughkeepsie ; the contrast between 
the two kinds was something to be re¬ 
membered. He wanted to know the 
name of the breed, and all about them. 
He praised them highly, saying that 
they were the finest chickens that he 
had seen—plump and yellow as gold. 
Since then, almost every time I go in 
this market, he hails me with that oft- 
repeated, though somewhat ungram¬ 
matical question, “ Have you got any more chickens ? ” 
Mr. Babcock says that any farmer who raises 100 
chickens annually, can afford to pay $10 for a male 
bird to cross on his common hens. I fully believe 
that statement, and that the increase in the weights 
of the chicks raised will more than pay for the out¬ 
lay, while the table qualities will be far better. As 
layers, they are far better than might be expected of 
fowl that are preeminently market birds. They are 
not equal to the Leghorns, but I find that they lay 
fully as well as the average breed, and better than 
the mixed fowls that most of our farmers keep. I 
have furnished Indian game cockerels for crossing 
purposes, to several farmers in this vicinity, and they 
are proving very satisfactory. One man crossed them 
with pure Brahmas and was very much pleased with 
the results ; he had faster growing chickens, and 
much heavier than his pure Brahma at the same age. 
The cross-bred pullets were of a beautiful buff color, 
while the cockerels were similar in general color to 
the parent stock. 
Another man who keeps about 100 hens, mostly 
Brown Leghorns, has, also, used the cross of Indian 
Game males on his stock, and is much pleased with 
the results. His fowls have been improved very 
much in size and table qualities, and he says that the 
Game Leghorn pullets lay well and make good sitters 
and mothers. As sitters and mothers, the Indian 
Games are by far the best fowl with which I have had 
any experience. They can be depended on, with 
very few exceptions, to hatch and raise a large per¬ 
centage of eggs and chicks entrusted to their care. 
Last spring, I had a hen steal her nest and bring off 
a brood of eleven chicks, and without any care on 
my part, she raised every one. 
As a fancier’s fowl, it is par-excellence ; the plum¬ 
age is very beautiful, and must be seen to be appre¬ 
ciated, as no description can do it justice. The male 
bird’s predominating color is glossy green black, with 
rich crimson markings throughout. The female differs 
very much in color from the male, the ground color 
being brown or bay, and each feather is beautifully 
marked with green black (lacing as it is called). 
Everything taken into consideration, I think a feather 
taken from a well-marked Indian Game female, to be 
the most beautiful thing in that line, without excep¬ 
tion. My poultry, last season, had the range of a 
patch of Crimson clover, and they have kept it pretty 
well mowed, eating it in preference to any other 
green food. E. b. underhill. 
A SMALL SOUTHERN STAVE SILO. 
CHEAP FODDER FOR A DOZEN JERSEY COWS. 
I built a circular stave silo las^»fall, filled it with 
field corn in October, opened it December 12 and 
found it good ; only abffut 12 inches at the top were 
molded and unfit for usq* This is my first experience 
with the silo, but I-find that my cows and horses 
all like it. I g^t the plan for it from Tiie R. N.-Y., 
and built it with my regular farm hands. It is 10 
fee^inside diameter, and 20 feet deep. I put up this 
ensilage to provide for 12 Jersey cows, and think that 
thqre will be plenty for them until grass comes in the 
spring. There are but few silos in Tennessee, but I 
am now well satisfied that the silo is a good thing, 
even in the South, and that many more will be built 
and filled the coming year. I believe that the stave 
or tub silo is cheapest and best for small farmers. 
In this climate, we have some advantage over the 
north in preparing to fill a silo. Your season is so 
from the bottom, the second about six feet above it, 
and both under the shelter, so that bad weather will 
not inconvenience in getting out the ensilage. My 
cutter was set on a floor overhead the horse power, 
so that only a lG-foot elevator was needed, and in 
taking out the feed, one of the doors is on a level with 
this floor, and a pair of steps leads from this floor to 
the top of the silo, so that it is not very inconvenient 
to feed our 12 cows with baskets. 
I have been making choice butter for the city trade 
for several years, but a creamery is being built within 
six miles of me, and I think of increasing my herd 
and selling milk to the creamery as, perhaps, it will 
interfere with the butter trade I have been having. 
The R. N.-Y. has come regularly every week for five 
years, and I am more interested in its arrival every 
year. Long may its good work continue, and extend 
its influence over new territory. J. v. h. 
Darks Mill, Tenn. 
MAIL CARRIERS STARTING FROM CLIMAX, MICHIGAN. Fig. 4. 
short that you have to give the whole season to a 
corn crop for the silo, while last year, I planted my 
corn for the silo on land from which I had harvested 
a crop of Crimson clover seed, making two good crops 
from the same land. The Crimson clover was cut for 
seed and thrashed the last of June, the stubble was 
turned under at once, harrowed twice and planted 
with Northern corn July 9. It was cultivated level 
and shallow, using no tool but Breed’s weeder. I 
cultivated four times, and at the last cultivation, 
sowed Crimson clover again, working the seed well in 
with the weeder. We had a very dry fall, but the 
shallow, frequent culture kept the corn green and 
growing all the time. 
By October 10, the corn was well glazed, and I 
began cutting and putting it in the silo. By hiring 
only two extra hands, we cut, hauled, and put into 
the silo 10 two-horse loads each day. The weather 
was fine, and I did not hurry. I cut the corn to half¬ 
inch lengths, using a Belle City cutter run by horse 
power. We kept the cut ensilage leveled and tramped 
carefully around the walls of the silo, putting in 00 
two-horse wagon-loads of the green corn. I finished 
filling and tramping to the top, then put on about 
one foot in depth of trashy fodder and chaff, wet the 
top thoroughly with several pails of water, and laid 
some old boards on the top to weight down the cover¬ 
ing and keep it damp, so I find very little waste of 
ensilage at the top. 
I shall feed off the top, down until I reach the first 
door, then feed from it until I reach the second door. 
The doors are put in with a bevel from the inside, 
with tarred paper to make them air-tight, and the 
inside pressure holds them in place. There are two 
doors sawed out after the silo was finished, 24 by 30 
inches between the hoops ; the first is about six feet 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Lima Beans Flat Down. —In the articles on Lima 
beans in The R. N.-Y. of December 19, the writers 
almost unanimously advise planting eye down. Re¬ 
sults from a number of careful experiments in my 
garden, have convinced me that dropping the bean 
flat is the proper way. I had for years followed cata¬ 
logue directions, and planted with eye down. On 
coming up, frequently one, and sometimes both, the 
cotyledons were broken off in breaking through the 
ground. Examination of the plants just as they are 
breaking through the ground will show that the coty¬ 
ledons will bear considerable pressure from either 
side, while a very slight pressure from the center will 
break them. By planting eye down, 
the cotyledons are likely to separate 
before reaching the surface; and the 
least pressure in that direction will 
break them. If planted flat, they are 
pushed through the soil united, and 
separate only after they are free from 
the ground. The natural drop of the 
bean from the vine, will be flat; and 
nature is, generally, a pretty safe 
guide. Soil may make some difference; 
my experiments were made on rather 
heavy soil, though well cultivated and 
not much inclined to bake. I hope 
further experiments will be made, with 
careful observation of results, with the 
two methods of planting. d. r. m. 
Shiremanstown, Pa. 
Free Mail for Farmers. —The ex¬ 
periment of rural free mail delivery 
in Michigan was begun from the Climax 
post office in Kalamazoo County, on 
Monday morning, December 7, 1890. 
The village of Climax is a little place 
of about 400 inhabitants, on the line 
of the Chicago and Grand Trunk Rail¬ 
road, 11 miles southeast of the City of 
Battle Creek. It is in the midst of as fine 
a farming country as there is in Michi¬ 
gan. The office supplies the inhabitants living within 
a radius of about three miles, perhaps 1,000 in all out¬ 
side the village. Two carriers make the delivery and 
have each to travel about 20 miles per day. For the 
present, they travel in common, two-wheeled road 
carts, but they expect to go on horseback or ride 
bicycles according to the condition of the roads. 
Their pay is $25 per month. Fig. 4 shows the carriers 
in front of the post office, all ready to start on their 
first regular trip, which they did immediately after 
the picture was taken. 
HOW SAP SAGO CHEESE IS MADE. 
A kind of cheese is made by some of the New Eng¬ 
land housekeepers called sap sago, an imitation of 
the Swiss Schabzeiger cheese, made in the Canton 
Glarus. The green coloring matter of the American 
cheese is due to sage, which is rubbed fine and mixed 
with the curd. The exceedingly odoriferous Swiss 
cheese is a product of a strange and curious manu¬ 
facture, one not likely to be transferred to this side 
of the world, we may think. In this part of Switzer¬ 
land, the pastures are exceedingly verdant, fed by the 
numerous springs flowing from the mountains, and 
the rich soil is formed of the debris of the granite 
and limestone rocks. There, also, grows a plant, the 
Blue melilot (Trifolium melilotus ccerulea), a species of 
the common sweet clover, but having a blue flower, 
and as well the white-flowered species, both of which 
mingling with the herbage of the pastures, unques¬ 
tionably confer a special flavor on the cheese made in 
that locality. 
The manner of making this cheese is a curiosity. 
The milk, first skimmed, is curdled, and the curd is 
broken up with the dried leaves of this Blue melilot, 
