1863 . 
THE CULTIVATOR 
17 
damage. As a better remedy for this evil than 
steel traps—which is effectual enough, provided 
you get their foot in , to destroy or drive them 
away—I would recommend breaking down the 
banks, sloping them back at an angle of 45 de¬ 
grees. After such an operation, I will guaran¬ 
tee that the muskrat will vamose . This, too, I 
think, by well seeding the bank in the early part 
of the season, so as to give time for the grass to 
become well rooted before the season of frosts and 
freshets, will secure them from washing, with a 
little attention to points where they become un¬ 
dermined below low water mark, with the brush 
barrier, as above recommended. Yours, &c. T. 
A. S. Syracuse , Nov . 80, 1852. 
Good Management of Cattle. 
S. P. Chapman, of Madison Co., is well known 
to every reading farmer in the country, for the 
whole columns of prizes which his fine cattle have 
swept from the premium lists of the New-York 
State Ag. Society. A man who knows so well 
how to get possession of the best animals, will be 
likely to know equally well how to take care of 
them after he gets them. We therefore copy the 
following from the Transactions of tfie N. Y. S. 
Ag. Society, for the benefit of those who have 
been too much in the practice of suffering their 
cattle to take eare of themselves, and which will be 
more appropriate especially at the present season: 
“ All the cattle have ‘ good care ’ every day in 
the year. They are housed in the autumn as 
soon as the atmosphere becomes cold, and are fed 
on hay, corn stalks, pumpkins, &c., See. When 
the winter is fairly set in, the grown cattle have a 
feed of hay in the morning, and a portion of car¬ 
rots to each, 4s long as the roots last; they are 
then let out to water and exercise, during which 
time the stalls are cleaned and fresh littered. 
This duty requires about an hour. They are 
then housed again, and supplied with oat or bar¬ 
ley straw, being also well brushed and curried. 
At two o’clock P. M., the mangers are cleared 
out, which affords litter, and a fresh supply of 
straw is fed to each. At night they are again 
watered, the stalls are cleaned, and have a feed of 
hay and straw mixed. Toward spring they are 
supplied with as much hay as they will eat, and 
carrots are given more freely. The hours for 
feeding are regularly the same, and it is very no¬ 
ticeable that when the food is consumed, they will 
lie down on the clean litter, not caring to rise until 
the approach of their next feeding hour. Salt is 
always kept within their reach. An addition of 
four quarts of oat meal is daily given to such cows 
as are expected to calve within the period of 
two weeks. The calves are at all times carefully 
attended to. They are kept warm, well littered, 
and well fed. They have two quarts of oat 
meal per day, a few carrots, and as much hay as 
they can consume. Such is also the general out¬ 
line of Mr. Osgood’s system, and of most careful 
farmers.” 
Breeding Poultry— The Dorkings. 
Dear Sir —In looking through the last Culti¬ 
vator, I observed an inquiry about Dorkings, 
which you refer to some one more conversant with 
the subject than yourself. Without assuming that 
position, I will venture to offer you a few remarks, 
based upon my own observation and experience. 
It must have fallen under the notice of all 
breeders, that small accidental variations are to 
be met with in the purest bred families of domes¬ 
ticated animals, and when thought desirable may 
be so taken advantage of as to become an estab¬ 
lished feature. Such, for instance, has been the 
case with certain families of the sheep-dog, which 
are now born with only the rudiment of a tail. 
The yellow and variegated color of the caged ca¬ 
nary bird is another instance, which, in its wild 
state, is green—so with the English rabbit, which, 
before domesticated was uniformly grey, but is 
now bred of various colors, and with what is 
termed a u dewlap”—and more striking still are 
the numerous peculiarities which have been added 
to the “ Fancy Lops.” All these deviations from 
the originals, are unquestionably the result of se¬ 
lection with intent to render them hereditary, and 
that, too, without any interference with purity of 
blood. On the contrary, when varieties are pro¬ 
duced by cross-breeding, purity of blood is of 
course sacrificed, and it will be found that the de¬ 
partures are uncertain; unconfined to any one 
point, and often destructive of some valuable pro¬ 
perty. 
Now, as to the inquiry of “ A Subscriber,” I 
should have no question as to the purity of his 
birds, notwithstanding the scalp-feathers he men¬ 
tions, if they uniformly and underiatingly possess 
all the other characteristics of the breed. 
When Mr. A. B. Allen (who appears to have 
taken great pains in obtaining the Dorkings he 
brought over with him from England,) sent me 
the birds I requested him to purchase for me, one 
of them was slightly crested; and, at the time, 
liking the appearance, I soon, by care and selec¬ 
tion, bred up a yard of such fowls. I have three 
distinct yards , not divisions or pens, but three 
farm-yards , of pure Dorkings, each family pos¬ 
sessing a distinctive feature, and a most strik¬ 
ing uniformity of form and feather, with all else 
belonging to the Dorking. This of itself, to a 
breeder’s eye, would be evidence enough of their 
purity; but it so happens that every bird is de¬ 
scended from fowls imported direct from Surry, 
either for, or by myself; and as I keep no other 
variety, from the fear of an accidental cross, they 
can hardly have lost their purity in my hands. I 
presume, if desired, that scalp or crest might, by 
