1849, 
THE CULTIVATOR 
249 
-©owg.were Dot inferior for the dairy. The celebrity 
which the working oxen of some districts of Maine 
have acquired for their great strength and power, had 
its .foundation in t he progeny of the long-horn bulls in¬ 
troduced by Mr. Vaughan. In Kentucky and other west¬ 
ern.states, it is admitted, that a dash of the long-horn 
blood is highly useful in giving to the cattle the essen¬ 
tial faculty of traveling well. Mr. Sanders, in the ar¬ 
ticle before refer, ed to, mentions the value of the 
breed in impafting vigor and constitution to the short¬ 
horns. 
®Ije IPoultrg Uartr. 
The Pea Fowl. 
This bird, the splendor of whose plumage has been 
celebrated from the earliest times, is a native of India, 
where it is still found in a wild state. There are two 
species; the common, and the Japanese. In size they 
are about equal; but the plumage of the Japanese spe¬ 
cies differs considerably from the other, the prevailing 
colors being green and blue, changing into each other 
67 — THE PEA-FOWL. 
according as they are exposed to the rays of light. 
There are, however, occasional variations of color in 
the common species, some being pied, and some entire¬ 
ly white. Mr. Colman, in his ‘‘Familiar Letters,’’ 
mentions having seen one of the latter color in the avi¬ 
ary of the Duchess of Richmond. A definite idea of 
the brilliancy of the peacock’s plumage, cannot be giv¬ 
en by description, but the bird is generally well known. 
The feathers which give to the peacock its most strik¬ 
ing character, are in popular language called the tail; 
though they are not the tail, but the tail-coverts. The 
proper tail is under these, and consists of short, stiff, 
rust colored feathers, which support the long “ gem- 
starred plumes.” The true tail-feathers are eighteen 
in number; the head is surmounted by a crest of twen- 
tyffour upright feathers. The female has the crest but 
not the other ornamental plumes of the male. 
The pea-fowl is usually kept merely as an ornament, 
though its flesh is, in young birds, considered fully equal 
to that of the turkey. “ In ancient times,” says 
Martin —“ no great feast in the baron’s hall was ser¬ 
ved up without this bird to grace it—it was presented 
by the sewer, well cooked, on a large dish, but re-ar¬ 
rayed in its gorgeous plumage ; and before the peacock 
and the ladies did the adventurous knight make his vow.” 
The pea-hen sometimes breeds the second season, 
and when she is only a year old, but not generally till 
two years old. She usually lays from five to ten eggs 
in a season, and the period of incubation is thirty days. 
The female should be concealed from the male while 
she is sitting, because, from a strange propensity, he 
will often break the eggs, aud will sometimes kill the 
young when they first come out. Even the chicks of 
turkeys and common fowls are not always safe if al¬ 
lowed to roam in his accustomed walks. The cock 
does not acquire his full plumage till he is three years 
old. 
ffil)e iarmevs ^Tote-Book. 
Highways. 
The greatest improvement on roads introduced 
into this quarter, consists in scraping them length¬ 
wise as soon as they become set tled in spring, or at any 
other time after wet weather. It is a great labor-sav¬ 
ing operation. One day’s w r ork with a heavy scraper 
is generally sufficient to put a whole road district in the 
finest condition,—filling up the ruts, breaking down the 
hubs, and rendering the entire surface as smooth as it ev¬ 
er is in summer. 
In years past it was the practice,—and it continues 
to be so in many districts,—to let the roads alone, for it 
was found that they would gradually become smooth in 
dry weather by the battering of hoofs, and the grinding 
of wheels; and though a long time was required for 
the purpose, it. was supposed to cost nothing; but it did 
cost the team many a bard strain, and the joints of the 
wagon or carriage many a hard wrench, before the task 
was completed. Wc have now some reason to believe 
however, that public spirit is on the increase among 
path-masters; and hope that if “two dry sticks will 
burn a green one,” two good examples will not be 
without their proper influence. 
. About the middle of the 4th month, I observed that 
the road from Aurora to Poplar Ridge, had been ren¬ 
dered beautifully smooth; and on my way to Auburn, 
similar improvements cheered rue through most of the 
distance, though more scantily as I approached that 
city, ceasing entirely a little before I entered its limits. 
In this, I was disappointed, for cities ought to be the 
head-quarters of Public Spirit. 
There is another labor-saving operation which some 
worthy citizen in the olden time had caused to be in¬ 
corporated with our Road Laws, viz: To throvj the 
loose stones out of the beaten track once a month « 
This excellent provision, however, has long since been 
a dead letter. To the traveler who goes forth in his 
own conveyance, such neglect must be comfortless, es¬ 
pecially if he has eyes to observe and faculties to think; 
and this will be increased where soft mud, or rich soil 
has been scraped in, inevitably to make mortar in a cli¬ 
mate like ours. But our whole system of road laws, 
needs revision; and the office of overseer of highways 
ought to be utterly abolished. Viator. 
Besides the defects in the management of roads men¬ 
tioned by our esteemed correspondent, there are some 
others which we think ought to be remedied. In a late 
excursion, we had occasion to feel the want of guide- 
boards, in many instances. Not imfrequentiy, where 
the roads diverged, there was nothing to direct the tra¬ 
veler to his destined point, and he could only learn 
which way to go, by inquiring at the nearest house, 
sometimes half a mile out of his direct route. We had 
supposed there were laws in most parts of our country, 
requiring the erection and support of suitable guide- 
boards. If there are not such laws, they are certainly 
needed in some communities; and if such laws exist, 
they should be enforced. Another great defect is, leav- 
