Aprii. 29. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Books and treatises without number have been written, 
containing instructions, good instructions, as to the kinds 
of food best for fowls, and I believe it would be difficult to 
find any good, wholesome food, which is not good for them ; 
but the advice which I at present wish to impress on poultry- 
keepers, is—whatever the food, let them have plenty. At 
this season especially, when the hens require warmth and 
plumpness for hatching, and when we must remember that the 
young chickens have not ouly growth, but feathers to make, 
liberal feeding is even more necessary than at other times ; 
the mother hens, particularly, should not be allowed to drag 
! their chickens about, seeking for themselves and little 
I families a scanty subsistence. 
I will conclude by mentioning the feeding which my fowls 
! get, not with a wish to dictate, or to make others, whose 
S plans may be as good or better than mine, change, but 
i because a comparison of management is often found useful. 
When the fowls first run out in the morning, they have as 
\ much corn of different sorts given to them as they can eat; 
| that for the young chickens having been previously broken 
j in a mill. Two hours after this, a small pan of porridge, 
with a little rice mixed in, is given to each brood of chickens, 
and (to prevent jealousy and robbery) a large pan of 
porridge is at the same time carried out to the old fowls; 
enough for them to peck at when they like for the rest of 
the day. This porridge is made of either rice-meal, barley- 
meal, or middlings, and is mixed either hot or cold, which¬ 
ever may be found most convenient at the time. In the 
afternoon some more corn is given with potatoes, and any 
refuse from the kitchen that there may happen to be, and 
another little feed of corn at roosting time. 
The fowls run out into an orchard for several hours of 
each day, and have besides a supply of green food. The 
young chickens are fed very often, and both old and young 
are gifted with excellent appetites. It must not be forgotten 
that the stimulus of a little meat is very important, and also 
that an occasional change to other kinds of food then these 
which I have specified, may be very beneficial to both old 
and young. 
I will also take the present opportunity to advise, during 
the chicken-hatching season, that the hens be set on the 
ground. I have had more reason this spring than ever, to 
notice the superior advantage of a moist situation, especially 
for the process of hatching. In six broods, three cases in 
which the hens were obstinately bent on choosing a nest 
which was raised from the ground, one, four, and six chicks, 
respectively, were the result. Three which set on the ground 
produced, the first, nine chickens from ten eggs, and the 
other two (it was a sort of partnership concern) eighteen 
from nineteen eggs. I am led to enter upon these details 
from haring heard repeated complaints from amateurs this 
season, of poor success with the early chickens. If the 
hens are set in a warm, moist place, and watched when they 
leave the nest to feed, I think the end will be generally 
more fortunate.— Anster Bonn. 
BREAD MAKING. 
The following method of making and managing bread 
has been practised for the last thirty years without a single 
failure ; it appears to give less trouble, and to be open to 
fewer objections, than any other I have seen, and the bread 
is invariably light and good. The quantities here given are 
for a small loaf, and only need to be increased in the same 
proportion for any weight of bread. One pound of best or 
second flour; one tablespoonful of solid ale yeast; one gill 
of skimmed milk, with as much hot water in it as will make 
it warm as new milk in summer, and a little warmer in 
winter. Add the yeast to it, stirring them well together; 
then pour the mixture through a fine sieve over the flour, 
and work it well in with the hand till the dough leaves the 
sides of the mug and the hand without sticking to them ; 
this, if actively done, takes from five to ten minutes, ac¬ 
cording to the quantity of dough. On finishing the knead¬ 
ing, put the dough at a distance from the fire to rise, near 
enough for the outside of the mug to be kept as warm as 
the mixture of milk and water, and not more. Cover it 
with a cloth, and in an liour-and-a-half or less it will have 
risen to show signs of cracking on the top; when it does 
71 
this it is ready to lie put into the bread tins, which should 
be rubbed over with butter or lard. Fill them half-full, and 
be careful not to use more flour in making up the loaves 
than will prevent the dough sticking to the fingers and 
board. Do it lightly and quickly. Cover the tins, and let 
the dough rise again nearly as long as before, till half as 
high again as when put in ; at the same distance from the 
fire also. Prick each loaf with a fork as it is put into the 
oven, and not sooner; two or three pricks are enough for a 
small loaf. Have the oven a moderate heat, and about an 
hour-and-a-half will bake a loaf the size here given. The 
mug or pan used for kneading, and the bread tins, do better 
if made as warm to begin with as the dough should be kept 
while, rising. 
Observations on making Bread .—If milk cannot be had 
the same quantity of water must be used; the measure 
should be exact, as these proportions have been very care¬ 
fully tried. The family sending this receipt have not found 
that milk dries the bread sooner than water, though it is 
said to do so, and much prefer using it. An ounce of 
butter to fiftdkn potuids of flour is an improvement. Salt 
may be used or not as preferred. If German yeast is liked, 
half the weight answers, as it is double the strength of 
common ale yeast. It may be well for young bread makers 
to know that too hot or too cool an oven prevents the bread 
from rising. 
Experiments in making Bread .—Wishing to find out 
whether a smaller quantity of yeast than that above-men¬ 
tioned would answer equally well, the following proportions 
were used in three small loaves, made with the same flour 
and the same yeast, and the same weight and measure of 
flour and milk. One loaf had the proportion above given, 
namely, a tablespoonful of yeast; another had exactly half 
this quantity; and the third had half the last quantity, 
which was a quarter-of-a-tablespoonful. These loaves were 
equally light when baked, and the only difference needed was 
in the length of time the dough took to rise. The last loaf 
required rather more than as long again as the first; the 
middle loaf half-way between the other two. These loaves 
weighed alike to a quarter-of-an-ounce, each weighing one- 
pound-and-a-half within half or a quarter-of-an-ounce. This 
experiment, and the well-known fact in chemistry, that fer¬ 
mentation once begun is certain to go on if the proper 
temperature is kept up, show that careful attention and 
scientific exactness meet nearly at the same point. It is, 
however, worthy of the notice of those who have time and 
qualifications for it, that kitchen chemistry is too little 
studied by those whose education ought to fit them for the 
skilful management of domestic affairs. Were it better 
understood there would be fewer failures in the simple 
process here described.—S 
THE DOMESTIC PIGEON. 
(Continued from page 409, Vol. vii.) 
COUPLING- OF PIGEONS. 
When anyone wishes to preserve his race of pigeons in all 
their purity, he must carefully watch the coupling of the 
males and females; in short, pair them himself. We have 
before remarked that it is the male .alone which transmits 
to its posterity the characteristics of its species, at least, as 
regards form. We must, therefore, make him our first 
choice. When we have procured such as we desire, we seek 
a female for him ; the more pure his race is, the better hers 
should be, but this is not so important as the other. The 
male easily couples with the female assigned him, but she 
does not always do so as readily. If this forced union 
displeases her, she constantly repulses the male. The 
tender caresses, amorous cooings, numerous turnings; all 
these weary and annoy her, and she returns all his forward 
advances with blows, until the lover, in his turn disgusted, 
changes his love into hatred, and his caresses into fury. 
Sometimes they may remain six months, or even a year, in 
this state of enmity, and the amateur is obliged to renounce 
his hopes, and set them at liberty to couple with others. 
Fortunately, these examples are very rare; it more fre¬ 
quently happens that after fighting for eight or fifteen days, 
they conclude by pairing and living happily together the rest 
of their lives. 
