t89o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Trying Some of Those Eggs. 
Regarding those questions on page 321, I learned a few 
things about an incubator, costly and otherwise. Some 
may help others. I have known eggs to hatch after they 
have been for several hours in 120 degrees of heat. Another 
thing—chicks will come just to the point of hatching and 
then die, because the shell is too hard for them to chip, be¬ 
cause too dry. I found that what seemed too much water 
is required toward the end, put on warm by means of a 
wisp. The shells then appeared to rot. Again, if too 
dry, the chicks will “dry” to the membrane or even the 
shell, and I have had them bleed to death from this cause 
when the shell was accidentally broken enough to allow 
them to get out. Pans of water will not do, use plenty 
more, but warm. 
Will a duck egg hatch that has been in the water 24 
hours ? I don’t know about its capacity to do so after 24 
hours’ immersion; but I once found in a small pond sev¬ 
eral eggs laid by ducks while swimming. I got home safe 
with nine of them, set them under a hen and hatched out 
five ducks. I don’t know how long they had been in the 
water. As for that egg within an egg, if the owner will 
put it under a steady hen, he will not be long learning 
whether it will hatch. j. d. c. 
Pigeons. 
Domestic pigeons are kept for amusement and various 
other objects. Their great variety gives ample scope to 
various tastes and fancies. Some pigeons are kept for their 
performance indoors, and are never allowed to fly, such, for 
instance as Rollers, which have the peculiar habit of rolling 
over, or turning somersaults directly they attempt to fly. 
They can hardly rise from the floor or ground, so they are 
kept indoors for protection: while the High Flyer pigeons 
soar in circles higher and higher, till they are hardly visi¬ 
ble: in order to make thorn do this in perfection they are 
allowed to fly only once a day. Then there are the Tumblers 
that fly at a moderate hight, and turn over backwards some 
two or three times, while in midair. The Carrier is an 
other singular pigeon with fine, long, sleek necks, long 
heads and bills, with a large gathering of loose skin about 
the base of the bill and around the eyes. I am not writing 
a description of the varieties, and only mention the Car¬ 
riers to make clear the difference between Carriers and 
Homing Antwerps. The Carrier, although a bird which 
will find its way home from a long distance, is not the bird 
used for special service as the Homing pigeon or Antwerp, 
the admirers of which are forming special homing clubs. 
Another peculiar variety of pigeons is the Trumpeter. 
The almond, short-faced Tumblers are beautiful little 
creatures with bills so small that they can hardly rear 
their young; other pigeons have to hatch the eggs and rear 
the young. Then there are inside Tumblers that fly well and 
will perform while flying around a room. 
Of the variety of pigeons there is hardly an end, for be¬ 
sides the leading sorts there is an immense number of 
varieties in colors which are all duly noted by the fancier. 
And here is the true vocation for the fancier and the true 
meaning of the word, for pigeon fanciers existed many 
centuries before such a term could be applied to keepers 
of poultry. There was and is little profit in pigeons. Most 
of the choice birds are kept for the love of them, and a 
devoted fancier will go into ecstacies over a fine bird of the 
breed he makes his hobby, such as Pouters, Barbs, Swal¬ 
lows, Magpies, Owls, Turbits, Baldheads, Jacobins, Fan- 
tails, Runts, Priests, Nuns, etc., besides a great variety of 
German toy pigeons, and many others. So strong is the 
desire of a devotee to own one of these varieties that large 
sums of money change hands for a single fine specimen, as 
high as §75 or §100 having been paid for one bird. A single 
Pouter was sold a few years ago at one of the New York 
exhibitions for §90. It must not be supposed that many 
such birds can be bred, as the best and rarest birds are not 
prolific or rarely produce as good birds as themselves. 
Highly as pigeons are thought of in Europe and America, 
in India, the cradle of the fancy, much more interest is 
taken in them, and immense numbers are kept by native 
princes and rich men, who have leisure and money to devote 
to them It is a fancy that can be indulged in without exer¬ 
tion in hot climates. In any country fancy pigeons are an 
expensive luxury, if deeply indulged in, but in a small 
way, they afford a harmless, innocent inducement to 
study nature’s charms. The great naturalist, Tegetmeier, 
says that it was a few pigeons, when a boy, that started 
him on his lifelong career as a naturalist. 
HENRY HALES. 
Cats are very destructive to young chickens, often caus¬ 
ing great havoc before the cause is discovered. As rats 
and mice always accompany corn and such food aschickens 
consume, unless great vigilance is used, cats are very 
requisite about poultry houses, especially about farm out¬ 
buildings. I never knew cats that had been brought up 
from small kittens with chickens to molest them. I 
always keep two cats, and not one has ever touched a 
chicken or pigeon. I have put young chickens and pigeons 
into a cat’s bed with her kittens, and the mother cat be¬ 
came quite attached to them. Any one taking this little 
amount of trouble will be assured against loss by cats. 
W RY TAILS mostly occur among inbred poultry, hence 
they are most common among pure bred fowls. Carefully 
examine all the birds in your breeding-pens. Crooked 
breasts and wry tails are not so easily detected in the hens, 
their tails being so much smaller than those of the cocks 
they require closer attention. 
Squirrel tails, or tails that hang over the back, point¬ 
ing toward the head, should also be avoided. If such tails 
are once allowed to exist in a flock it is hard to breed them 
out again. They do not tell so much against some breeds, 
such as Japanese bantams, but with Games and most other 
breeds they are abominable annoyances. H. H. 
Mr. Rankin Answers. 
Tn regard to the questions that were asked in a recent 
issue of the R. N.-Y., I would say that there have been 
many complaints this season of ducks dying in the shell 
just before they are ready to come out. This arises from 
various causes where machines are used, such as giving 
them too much latitude, too much or too little moisture, 
want of vitality in the eggs owing to inbreeding, etc. Too 
much moisture will pack the chick in the egg so it cannot 
turn and free itself. The chick is healthy and well-devel¬ 
oped, but it cannot get out of the shell. With too little 
moisture the unborn chick becomes a shriveled specimen 
fastened to the shell, too weak to get out. The want of 
vitality is caused either by excessive egg production, con¬ 
finement of the mother bird, or the want of nourishing 
food. In all of these cases the result is the same—the 
chick will not hatch. A man was here a few weeks ago 
who said that he had set 13 hens and hatched but two 
chicks: but there was a full grown chick in every egg, and 
that he was tired of hens, and wished to buy a machine. 
I told him the results would probably be ju9t the same 
with a machine, as it was not probable that those 13 hens 
would all have blundered. When I find more dead chicks 
than usual in the shell I begin to look to the food and 
exercise of the fowls: for attention to these is the surest 
way to overcome the trouble. 
I have had several double eggs this season; that is—one 
was perfectly formed inside of another. I have kept them 
as curiosities ; but know of no reason why the inside one 
should not hatch. I ran an experimental machine several 
years ago in which one tray was not turned at all, the eggs 
remaining in the same position through the entire hatch ; 
one tray was turned every other day and another twice a 
day. The last did the best hatching, turning out 90 per 
cent. ; while the first hatched 54 per cent. I turn the eggs 
by moving them from the end to the center of the tray, an 
operation which requires about 10 minutes per 1,000 eggs. 
Eggs that have been in the water some time hatch just as 
well as the others. 
ARE THEY EDUCATED OFF THE FARM ? 
Many wise men undertake to prove that the agricul¬ 
tural colleges educate boys off the farm; that is, that 
what a boy learns at an agricultural college will only 
teach him to get away from farm life as fast as he can 
move. It will be interesting to know what such folks will 
have to say about the following letter which was sent to 
Fig. 1 09. 
Prof. I. P. Roberts by a former student now living in 
Minnesota. The best of it is that this is simply a sample 
of many letters received from ex-students. 
“Since coming home last April I have had a pretty busy 
time of it. Some of the time I have worked on the eight- 
hour plan—eight hours in the fore and eight in the after¬ 
noon. Well, the barn is done, and we are more than 
pleased with it. It is 44x60 feet; the entire basement is 
used for the cows’ bed room. The horses are on the floor 
above and the manure is thrown down through trap-doors 
as in the Cornell University barn. In fact, nearly every¬ 
thing about the building is patterned after that building. 
I would not take a small fortune for what I learned from 
you in the matter of farm buildings. We had a German 
carpenter who was a good workman, but who had so many 
dash-churn and pot-auger ideas about barn-building that 
it was necessary to stand over him with a club most of the 
time. Just before beginning work on our barn he finished, 
for a German neighbor, one that is a most ‘ fearful and 
wonderful ’ arrangement. The horses and cows are in 
the basement and the rows of stalls extend across the 
building : there are four different rows and four different 
outside doors to get to them, and there is no other way for 
getting from one part of the stable to another. I got our 
carpenter to put eight windows behind the row of horse 
stalls, (60 feet) and he nearly fainted when I wouldn’t let 
him make the horses stand with their heads towards the 
light. Then he thought I had gone stark mad when I told 
him to hang the trap-door over the stairway at the end in¬ 
stead of on one side: but after I had the pulley and 
weight attached he said: ‘Dot was a pooty goot ting.’ 
We have water both in the cow and horse stables. It is 
brought from either of two cisterns—one just above the 
barn on the hill-side, which catches the water from the 
barn, and another which is filled from a well by wind- 
power. 1 did all the plumbing myself. We built a silo 
14x27 and 25 feet deep. I am convinced that it is poor 
economy to open a silo before the contents begin to cool. 
We opened ours too soon and could not use the silage fast 
enough to prevent some from molding on top. 
In spite of the advice ‘ never to attempt to join stone and 
wood in silo building ’ we did it, and I think made a suc¬ 
cess of it. We used patent matched lathing, and cemented 
over the place where stone and wood joined. The senior 
member of the firm was too much afraid of fire to allow an 
engine near the barn, so we got a tread-power with the 
cutter. I like the power much better than I expected. 
We intend to exercise the horses this winter by grinding 
all the feed and cutting hay and straw. All the straw is 
35 I 
put in the upper part of the new barn instead of being 
stacked out-of-doors. 
We have dishorned all the cattle and will take the 
‘ buds’ from all the calves in future. It would be simply 
impossible to keep the cows in the basement if they had the 
use of their horns.” 
SUMMER STORAGE FOR FRUITS. 
A great many of our readers have asked for help in the 
matter of keeping perishable summer fruits. The R. N.-Y. 
has put the question to some of its fruit-growing corres¬ 
pondents and we are able to give their replies herewith. 
It is evident that one good way to have a successful 
“ fruit-room ” is to have no room at all; but to depend 
upon a succession of fruits throughout the season. 
Built In The Residence. 
For the use of a private family, a fruit room may be 
built in the residence; by preference, in a position as little 
exposed to direct sunlight as practicable. It should have 
double walls', ceiling and floor, with “ dead-air,” or some 
good non-conducting substance between ; and with double 
doors for ingress and egress. Arrangements should also 
be provided for the admission of cool air from without, 
when the outer temperature is sufficiently low for the 
purpose; also for the displacement of warm or impure air 
above, when ventilation becomes desirable. 
This arrangement will suffice only for a slight or brief 
preservation of perishable summer or autumn fruits. For 
longer and more perfect preservation, resort may be had to 
the use of ice, by means of which, in a room constructed as 
above, a temperature but a few degrees above the freezing 
point may be readily maintained, and even the most per¬ 
ishable fruits, (if in sound condition, and not already over¬ 
ripe,) can be held nearly unchanged for an indefinite 
period. Experience has, however, shown that there is 
an apparently unavoidable loss of flavor and aroma, when 
perishable fruits are thus retarded, even while maintained 
in an otherwise unchanged condition. 
Since the warmer air always rises from expansion; when 
ice is used as the refrigerating material, it should always 
be placed in the highest part of the room, and means 
should be provided for carrying the drip from it, as well as 
all condensed moisture, from wnatever source, out of the 
room, passing it through a trap in the waste pipe, to pre¬ 
vent the admission of warm air from without. 
My own arrangement for such purpose has been nothing 
more than an ordinary cupboard, built within an ice 
house, with an entrance from without through double 
doors. T. T. LYON. 
South Haven, Michigan. 
A Texas Storage Room. 
The best arrangement for a fruit-room that I know of is 
a building detached from the dwelling and built of brick 
with hollow walls. The door and window should also be 
double, and a layer of sawdust, or some similar material, 
12 to 18 inches deep, must be placed between the ceiling 
and the roof. A ventilating tuoe 12 to 18 inches square 
should run from the ceiling through the roof, with a pro¬ 
vision for closing it, when desired. Such a room is equally 
serviceable for either winter or summer use in this climate. 
As for berries, cherries, plums, apricots and peaches, I 
don’t think it is practicable to keep them any length of 
time, except by the cold storage systems, that are too 
expensive for the average private dwelling. Summer 
apples and pears keep best in small ventilated packages 
in a dark, well ventilated room, and nearly as well in 
a good cellar. JAMES NIMON. 
Denison, Texas. 
To Secure Uniformly Low Temperature. 
The most essential point in a fruit room is a uniformly 
low temperature, as unvarying as possible, and never 
warmer than 40 degrees. As regards moisture, if the tem¬ 
perature is kept low it cannot be too moist, for the amount 
of water held in solution in the air is regulated by its 
temperature, and at 40 degrees, or less, the air holds no 
more moisture than is desirable for fruit. Darkness is 
also desirable, or at least there should be facilities for con¬ 
trolling the degree of light at all times. Complete control 
of fungous growths is very desirable, and this I find pos- 
siole by free sulphurous fumigation when the room is 
empty, as it should be made at least once a year, during 
which time not only fumigation, but thorough cleansing 
and whitewashing are essential. Carbolic acid in the 
whitewash—one ounce to the gallon—is a good thing. The 
second—but hardly second—point, is easy accessibility, not 
only for persons but for carts and barrows, so that time 
may not be lost in handling the contents of the room. A 
firm floor is important in handling barrels and other pack¬ 
ages. 
Temperature is best and most cheaply controlled by 
depth in the ground, and a cave in a hillside, with a build¬ 
ing over the entrance, is excellent. On level ground a 
deep cellar, with a building over it, having a frost-proof 
floor, with an air lock (on the principle of a canal lock), for 
putting in and taking out fruit in freezing weather, is a 
convenient contrivance. The above arrangement is all 
that is needed for the winter storage of such fruits as are 
not naturally subject to early decay. But for the keeping 
of more perishable fruits cold storage is essential. On a 
moderate scale a cave or cellar, such as is referred to 
above, may be made to furnish passable cold storage by 
having a metallic ceiling (galvanized iron) over a part of 
it, so constructed that considerable quantities of ice can 
be placed upon it, and protected from warmth from the 
outside. This will cool the air in the cellar sufficiently to 
keep late summer and early fall fruit for a month or two 
which is often all that is required to secure a satisfactory 
sale. But on a larger scale, and for longer keeping, a 
regular cold storage house would be required. 
Newport, Vt. t. h. hoskins. 
