116 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
GAPES IN CHICKENS, &c. 
We have four communications on the management of 
chickens, relating principally to the cause, preventive 
and cure of the gapes. As we have not room for them 
all, we extract from each of them the most essential 
parts. “ A Poidlerer' 1 inquires the cause, and asks for 
preventive and cure. He describes the disease as fol¬ 
lows :— 
“ So far as my observation has extended, and from the 
information of others, I gather the following facts rela¬ 
tive to the disease. Upon dissection there are found in 
the windpipe, several small red worms, varying in size 
and length—some half an inch and more in length. 
The heart, also, is much enlarged, quite soft and suffus¬ 
ed with blood. It is supposed that these worms conti¬ 
nue to increase in size, until the windpipe becomes com¬ 
pletely tilled up, and the chicken suffocates. The dis¬ 
ease first shows itself when the chicken is between three 
and four weeks old, and not generally after, by causin'* 
a sneezing or snuffing through the nostrils, and a fre¬ 
quent scratching of itself at the roots of the bill. In 
two or three days it commences to droop and grow stu¬ 
pid, and at every breath raises its head and gapes, appa¬ 
rently for the want of breath. It thus continues for a 
week or ten days, when it dies, perfectly emaciated. 
The appetite continues good, and it will eat greedily so 
long as it lives. The disease is attended with much fe¬ 
ver, so much so, that the end of the tongue becomes 
white, and so dry that it curls up.” 
From the communication of “ A. S.” of New-Wind¬ 
sor:— 
“ Can you give your readers any information as to the 
best methods for rearing chickens ? I have taken a great 
deal of pains, but have invariably been but poorly paid 
for my trouble. In the first place, my hen-house, in the 
warm season of the year, is so infested with hen lice, 
as they are called here, that it is almost impossible to 
make the hens stay on their nests until the eggs are 
hatched. The moment a person enters the door, they 
appear to come from every direction right down upon 
him ; and if by any chance, there happens a few eggs to 
get hatched out, the chickens are soon taken with a disease 
called the gapes, and very few if any survive. The best 
thing I have ever yet found for this disease, is ground 
black pepper and butter, mixed well together, put down 
their throats; this, if applied soon enough, I think is a 
pretty certain cure. Any information upon either of 
those evils would be thankfully received ; also the best 
method for building hen-houses, so that they may be the 
easiest cleaned, accommodate the most hens, and keep 
them the warmest in winter.” 
Mr. Eli Westfall, of Rhinebeck, gives the follow¬ 
ing remedy:— 
“ Remove the worms out of the windpipe and they 
will get well. This can be done with safety and facili¬ 
ty after a little practice, in the following manner. Let 
some one take the chicken, holding itg legs in one hand 
and placing the other over its back, so as to hold it firm; 
then let the operator take a small hen’s feather or a large 
pigeon’s feather, and strip off the feather from.the stem 
excepting about an inch or inch and a half from the tip 
end, according to the size of the chicken. Wet it a lit¬ 
tle, and strip that part back so that what remains on the 
stem, will stand back like the barbs on an arrow, ex¬ 
cepting the extreme point, which roll a little so as to 
make a point; then let the operator take the head of the 
chicken in his left hand, placing his thumb and forefin¬ 
ger on each side of the bill, in such a manner as to hold 
the mouth open, the neck gently but firmly drawn out 
in a straight line ; then observe the opening back in the 
tongue, place the feather as near to it as possible, and 
when the chicken breathes, the windpipe will be open, 
enter the point quick, and fear not after the point is en¬ 
tered; push down gently from two to three inches, 
(don’t be in too much of a hurry;) then draw out, and 
turn the feather as it is drawn, and the worms will ad¬ 
here to the feather, and others will be loosened, and the 
chicken will sneeze them up frequently, so that they 
will fly out of their mouths. It is not advisable to enter 
the feather more than twice at one time ; let the chick¬ 
en go, and if it gapes, the day after, you have not got 
them all; try again. This is a sure cure if attended to; 
generally you need not perform the operation more than 
once, but sometimes oftener. My chickens, over 100 in 
number, never had it worse; the greater part have had 
it, and I have lost but one, and that was doubtlessly ne¬ 
glected too long; and I never saw a lot of chickens 
thrive better in my life. I have taken out as many as 
eleven worms at one haul. One of my goslins, not long 
since, appeared to have the gapes. It was something 
new to hie, I never had heard of goslins being subject 
to it; I thought the goslin would .soon die; it occurred 
to my mind that it was not an impossibility. I tried the 
remedy, and the goslin is now well and thriving.” 
“ J. R. A” of Fultonville, says:— 
“ Hens having chickens are usually kept confined while 
the chickens are small, and too often so that they can¬ 
not get to the ground. When thus confined, it should 
always be on the ground, and in a good sized moveable 
coop, which should be moved so as to occupy a new po¬ 
sition on the ground, as often as once in ten days. 
Such a course will have a tendency to prevent the young 
hrood from becoming lousy ; for it is well known chick¬ 
ens cannot thrive if covered with vermin. I not only 
feed and water such broods several times in a day, but 
I cut grass and clover into short pieces and place it in 
the coop, and have the satisfaction of seeing it greedi¬ 
ly devoured. In addition to this course of treatment, I 
almost daily*, dig earth worms for them. I hear my 
neighbors often complain that their chickens are lousy, 
or hd*Pe ‘ the gapes,’ either of which will destroy them. 
I seldom lose chickens from either, and attribute my 
success to the course of treatment as above recommend¬ 
ed. Thousands upon thousands of chickens would pro¬ 
bably be saved annually, by a little attention to the 
course I pursue. Lice may be destroyed by placing lard 
beneath the wings and on the back of the chicken. A 
sure remedy for the gapes I have not yet discovered; 
but have heard a very simple one given, which I have 
had no opportunity to test. It was to extract a few of 
the end feathers from the wings, the barrel of which it 
is said will be found to be black. Fowls, while laying, 
should be well fed, and the size of the eggs will gene¬ 
rally determine their keeping; as the eggs are largest 
when the fowls are best fed.” 
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Dutchess Co. —We have inadvertently omitted to no¬ 
tice the formation of an agricultural society in Dutch¬ 
ess county in March last, on which occasion an excel¬ 
lent address was delivered by H. Wheaton, Esq. which 
has been published in the papers of that county. We 
had intended to have made room for at least a part of 
this address before this, but the press of original pa¬ 
pers has prevented. The following persons were ap¬ 
pointed officers: 
President, Abraham Bockee; Vice Presidents, James 
F. Sheafe, Morgan Carpenter, Henry Staats, Theodore 
Allen; Corresponding Secretary, John B. James; Re¬ 
cording Secretary, John Bodden; Treasurer, George 
M. Hatch; Executive Committee, Edward K. James, 
Poughkeepsie ; Henry Mesier, Frshkill; Philip N. Bone- 
steel, Red Hook; John Wilson, Milan; Freeborn Gar- 
retson, Rhinebeck ; Abraham Suydam, Hyde-Park; Dr. 
Wheeler Gilbert, Beekman; Gilbert V. Wilkinson, 
Union Yale; John Thompson, Stanford; Moses Clark, 
North East; ObadiahTitus, Washington; Allen Thomp¬ 
son, Pine Plains ; Alexander H. Grant, Dover ; Thomas 
Swift, Amenia ; Martin W. Collins, Pleasant Valley; 
Dr. John Dodge, Clinton; Peter R. Sleight, La Grange; 
Albert T. Akin, Pawlings. 
On the 3d of June, a meeting was held at Pawlings, 
at which “The Young Men’s Agricultural Society of 
Eastern Dutchess,” was organized. Edward Merritt 
was appointed President; Isaac Aiken, Vice President; 
Geo. H. Tabor, Secretary; and D. J. Wing, Wm. H. 
Aiken, R. T. Osborn, Wm. A. Seely, Wm. Pearce, and 
Aaron Burr, Executive Committee. We tvish them 
every success in their laudable enterprise, and hope they 
will by their energy and efficiency set an example wor¬ 
thy to be followed by their seniors. 
Genesee Agricultural Society. —At a meeting 
held at Rochester, on the 28th of May, a society was 
organized under this name. Its officers are Lyman B. 
Langworthv of Greece, President; Micah Brooks of 
Mount Morris, Isaac W. Smith of Lockport, and Wm. 
Garbutt of Wheatland, Vice Presidents; H. M. Ward, 
Rochester, Recording Secretary ; M. B. Bateham, do. 
Cor. Sec’y; Henry E. Rochester, Gates, Treasurer; 
Oliver Culver, of Brighton, Rawson Harmon, Jr. of 
Wheatland, Enoch Strong, of Perinton, John J. Thomas, 
of Macedon, John B. Smith, of Ogden, Thomas Wed¬ 
dle, of Greece, John H. Robinson, of Henrietta, Mana¬ 
gers. 
NOTICE TO AGENTS. 
We have a large amount charged on our books to 
agents, for the current vol. of the Cultivator, which it 
would greatly oblige the proprietors to have liquidated 
with as little delay as possible. Those who have not 
paid their subscriptions, would materially aid us by 
making immediate payment to the agents to whom they 
subscribed, so as to enable them to settle their accounts. 
Notice to Correspondents, &c. 
Postage of the Cultivator. —We have complaints 
from several post-offices, in relation to the charge of 
postage on the Cultivator, some postmasters charging 
as high as five cents per No. The Postmaster-General 
has decided, that it is subject to newspaper postage only, 
viz:—one cent if within this state, or within 100 miles 
of Albany out of the state, and one and a half cents if 
more than 100 miles from Albany out of the state. 
Parker’s Butter Table. —We sent the inquiries of 
“ W. T. L,” to Mr. Parker, and shall publish his reply 
when received. 
The Barberry. —An answer to the inquiries from 
Skaneateles, on the subject of the Barberry, illustrated 
by engravings, will be given next month. 
Gypsum.— A letter from Mr. H. Hawley says, “ I would 
solicit information with regard to the chemical agency 
of gypsum. The necessity of this will be seen, if Mr. 
Doubleday’s theory (current vol. Cult. p. 50,) be cor¬ 
rect. I hope that gentleman will write again. I should 
also be happy to see any interesting account of facts 
and experiments, with all the details, on this subject.” 
Corrections. —In the last sentence of the article 
headed “ mortality among swine,” page 90, for “ con¬ 
sumption,” read constipation. 
Mr. Lossing desires us to say, that an error oc- 
cured in transcribing the description of the Berkshire 
pig, in his communication published in the May No. 
page 70. Instead of “ the tail invariably white,” it 
should read “ occasionally white.” 
We trust our old friend, J. F-, of Springfield, 
Ill., will excuse us for the omission of his rebuke. It 
is our aim to avoid every thing that savors of personali¬ 
ty. All who are engaged in promoting the interests of 
agriculture, are enlisted in a good cause, and their er¬ 
rors or foibles should be treated with lenity and correct¬ 
ed in kindness. We thank him for the information he 
has given us, as it may be useful hereafter. 
Several communications now in type, are neces¬ 
sarily deferred till next month. 
THE MARKETS. 
New- York, June 27.—Pot Ashes are in request at $4.50, and 
Pearls dull at $5.50. The sales of cotton for the week foot up 
6000-bales.—Uplands and Florida 6|a9) cts; N. Orleans and 
Mobile 7allcts. Flour. —The sales of Genesee are at $4.56 
a62, and sometimes at $4.50; Ohio, &c, $4.25a37. Sales 
of Ind. Wheat, via New-Orleans at 95a98 cts. Northern Rye 
at 52; Oats, 24a25 cts. for Southern, and 34a35 cts. for North¬ 
ern. A cargo of prime White Virginia Corn sold at 52 cts. 
per bu. cash, 56 lbs; Northern Wkite 53 cts. and Yellow 
55 cts. Nothing new in Hemp. Beef. —Mess, 14al4.25. 
Pork, mess, 14.7oal5.25, prime 9.75al0, cargo 6,a6.50.— Lard 
lOalOj.— Butter, Goshen, 15.— Cheese, 5a6.— Hams, smoked, 
10all.— Wool, Sax. fleece, 32a35—full blood Merino, 30a33) 
and | blood, 25a30—native, 20a23. 
Boston, June 27.—WooZ—All kinds are uncommonly dull. 
Some small parcels American, of the new clip, have sold this 
week, but at low prices, below our present quotations, which 
are nominal. 
Grain—The sales of yellow corn have been at 54 cts. and 
white, of good quality, at 51 cts. A few cargoes of rather or¬ 
dinary, have sold at 50 cts. Sales of Southern Oats at 32a 
32) per bushel. Rye is dull, and no sales making. Sales by 
auction of foreign white Beans at $1.50a$2 per bushel, cash. 
Hops —Sales of 40 or 50 bales, growth of 1838, at 20 cts. 
per lb. cash. There are none of last year’s growth in market. 
Philadelphia, June 26.— Flour and Meal —The stock is small, 
receipts light, and prices fully maintained. Fresh ground has 
been sold at an advance of 12^ cts. per bbl. The supplies will 
probably be moderate till after the harvest. We quote Ohio $4§ 
a$4.50; Pennsylvania old, $4.62); fresh ground, $4.75; Bran¬ 
dywine $5 per barrel. Sales of 100 hhas. Corn Meal at $13 
50. Rye and Corn Meal in bbls. $2.75. Cleared this week, 
3296 bbls; superfine Flour, 56 hhds. and 1313 hbls. Corn Meal, 
and 875 bbls. Rye Flour. 
Grain —Wheat is steady, with small receipts, sales at 98a 
100 cts per bushel; Yellow Corn afloat, quick at 50 cts; 
White do. 46 cts.—an English order at that rate in market for 
10 or 12,000 bushels. Oats, afloat by the cargo at 28 cts. per 
bushel. Exported, foreign, 700 bushels. 
Hemp —18 tons clean Kentucky to close sales at $150 per 
ton. 
Provisions —Sales of Beef and Pork at former prices for 
ship stores. Bacon finds ready sale at 7, 8, and 9|al0 cents 
for Shoulders, Sides and Hams; but little more expected this 
season from the West. Lard is scarce; a lot of 110 kegs un¬ 
inspected, sold at 10 cts. 
WooZ—The new clip is just coming in, but the depressed 
state of Woolen manufactures keeps the article dull and with¬ 
out anv fixed price. 
Richmond, June 25.—The effect of the late foreign news has 
not been manifested in any very great change in prices, but 
operations in all the staples of our markets have certainly les¬ 
sened to a considerable extent. The article of flour seems to 
have felt some shock, and sales cannot now be made at 
former rates. Holders offer it, at $4.50, at which price any 
quantity might be purchased, hut no buyers can be found in 
the market. Should the fears of some be realized, and from 
the late northern accounts it would seem likely they should, 
the article will fall even as low as $4. The recent commer¬ 
cial reports from New-York, hold out the idea that flour can¬ 
not be shipped from that port at a price over $4, to realize a 
profit to the exporter. Should this be true, the article must 
fall much lower than it has been for years. The crops in Eu¬ 
rope being two months later than ours, are by no means made 
yet, and much still depends upon the favorable or unfavorable 
state of the weather there. 
Flour —No sales. Holders offering at $4). We can re¬ 
port nothing decisive about wheat. Millers exceedingly shy, 
and offers have not been made, or if they have, they are not 
public. Some rumors are afloat that the opening price has 
been fixed at 90 cts. but we have no authority for saying so 
Contents of this Number. 
Management of Bees—Silk, Preparation of Cocoons,... 
Massachusetts Premiums—Mr. Colman’s Third Report, 
Culture of Wheat—Mr. Webster and English Agriculture, 
Reclaimed Meadows—The Hop Fly—Valuable Import-) 
ed Stock—N. Y. S. Ag. Society—“Impositions of> 
Seedsmen”—Injurious Effects of Weeds,.) 
Belgian Husbandry—Planting Trees on Clayey Soils —) 
London Farmer’s Magazine—Germination,.\ 
Disease in Cows—Late Sown Wheat, Information' 
Wanted—Disease among Horned Cattle—The 
Horse and Spirit of the Times—Analysis of Soils— ) 
Specimens of Silk—Transplanting Evergreens— I 
Great Calves,.7. j 
Dictionary of Terms used in Agriculture—Large Year- ? 
ling Bull,.) 
Short Horn Bull President—Geological Survey of New- 
York'—Report of the Regents of the University, - • • 
Plan of a Cottage—Booth’s Cidef Mill—Bodden’s Har¬ 
row—Plan of a Piggery,. 
Meetings of the. State Ag. Society—Berkshire Pigs,. — 
Billardeau Cabbage—The Galactometer—‘Notes of a 
Torn-—Draining—Catttle, Sheep and Swine,. 
Bloody Murrain caused by Leeches, • .. : 
Peach Trees—Cleaning Window Blinds—Painting— 
Experiment in Feeding Sugar Beet—Transplanting 
Grafted Fruit Trees—China Tree Corn—Sheep— 
Importation of Stock,.. 
Management of Pigs,... 
Mr. Emerson’s Address,.. • .. 
Gapes in Chickens—Agricultural Societies—Notices to 
Correspondents and Agents—The Markets,. 
101 
102 
103 
106 
113 
116 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
Fig. 62—Short Horn Bull, President,. 108 
Fig. 63, 64—Plans of a cottage,. 109 
Fig. 65—Booth’s Cider Mill,. 109 
Fig. 66—Bodden’s Harrow,. 109 
Fig. 67,68,69—Plans of Piggery,. 110 
