FANCIER S’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE 
567 
many of which were quite well booted, which is not often 
the case with Turbits brought from England. Brent says that 
dark tails in the shouldered birds were not objectionable. 
I have occasionally seen birds colored in this way, but did not 
consider them as a pure variety, but supposed them to have 
been bred by crossing the shouldered and tailed birds 
together. Shouldered Turbits without caps are also fre- 
quently met with in this country, and were once much 
more common than now, and are often sold as “ Shouldered 
Owls.” Most of the specimens I have seen had the 
appearance of being produced by a cross between the two 
varieties. The two latter varieties or colorings I have 
never known any fancier attempt to breed pure, but 
have only occasionally seen them in the hands of dealers. 
Jos. M. Wade. 
I J E JVI S. 
In order to make our “Item ” column as interesting as possible, we 
would be obliged to our readers for contributions of original matter, how- 
ever short — yes, let it be condensed and to the point, in a variety of 
style — facts and fancies interesting to fanciers. 
In an address at Trenton, before the fruit growers of 
New Jersey, Mr. Quin gives the strawberry crop of that State at 
two millions of quarts, which at fifteen cents per quart, would 
be worth $300,000. Of blackberries, raspberries, and grapes, 
there are about as much more, and he estimated the cran- 
berry crop, 125,000 bushels, to be worth about the same. 
Thus the cultivation of this delicious fruit, which has brought 
into use thousands of acres of otherwise unemployed swampy 
lands, gives New Jersey the credit of raising half the entire 
cranberry crop of the United States. 
The late Doctor Guthrie, we are told, had a favorite 
dog, “Bob,” black, rough, and ungainly; much attached 
to his master, but in no way amiable to other men and dogs. 
This animal at times insisted on going into church while his 
master was preaching, and the minister in the midst of his 
sermon would open the door of the pulpit and let him in, 
evidently to keep him quiet. It is recorded that on one 
occasion, after the blessing was pronounced, “ Bob ” raised 
himself on the bookboard, the great black head appearing- 
above it, gravely to survey the departing congregation. 
Lice on Chickens. — The following will kill lice on 
the first application : Put six cents worth of cracked Cocculus 
Indicus berries into a bottle that will hold a half-pint of al- 
cohol ; fill the bottle with alcohol, and let it stand twenty- 
four hours. When the hen comes off with the young- 
chickens, take the mixture, and with a small cotton rag wet 
the head of each chicken enough to have it reach through 
the little feathers to the skin ; also, with the same rag, wet 
the hen under her wings. I have used this three years, and 
know it to be a “ dead shot.” Be careful that no child, nor 
any one else, uses it, because it is a deadly poison. — Ex. 
[Why use the above when pure lard will answer the same 
purpose, and be perfectly safe. — Ed.] 
ggg“ Packing and Preserving Eggs. — Use a half a 
barrel of lime and a quart of salt in 125 gallons of water. 
Use no more water at first than will conveniently slake the 
lime; then, after the lime is slaked and still warm, put in 
the salt and the remainder of the water ; stir it well while 
putting salt and water in. After the eggs are in the pickle, 
and the package they are in is full, cover them with muslin 
(but do not let the muslin hang over the edge, as it will ab- 
sorb all the pickle), and put the sediment of lime on the 
muslin to hold it down and exclude the air. When taken 
out they must be washed off in clean water, and well dried 
before packing for market. By using salt in the above pro- 
portion, the eggs will never be discolored; but too much 
lime cannot be used — the more the better, as it can never 
make the pickle too strong of lime. 
A traveler from Pekin to Siberia, across the great 
desert of Gobi, tells us that whenever a camel’s feet have 
become tender and sore from long marches, the poor creature 
lies down. His driver knows at once that his feet hurt him, 
and looks to find out if the thick skin of the feet is blistered. 
Whenever a blister is found, two or three strong men, usu- 
ally Mongols, keep watch of the camel until it is not notice- 
ing them. At just the right moment, they make a rush all 
together upon the camel, throw it over upon the side, and 
make it fast. Then, with a needle made for that use, they 
sew a square piece of leather, large enough to cover the hurt 
place, over the camel’s foot, the skin of which is quite thick 
enough to sew through without hurting the animal. With 
his new shoes on, the animal is quite ready to get up and 
march on. The pieces of leather are very carefully pre- 
pared for this use. It sometimes happens that a camel lies 
down in the midst of his long march across the wide desert 
and dies. The natives take the thickest part of his skin to 
make shoes of. These bits of skin they take out, day after 
day, when on the march, and pull until they become so soft 
and yielding that a camel with blistered feet seems grateful 
to have shoes made of it, although he would resist the shoe- 
ing to the last, were he not held so that he could not move. 
There are few railroad station-masters more vigilant, 
brave, and intelligent than the wonderful dog “Knapp,” 
engaged at the Searsdale depot, on the Harlem .Railroad, is 
reported to be. “ Knapp ” is a shepherd dog, and seems to 
be gifted with intellectual faculties far above those of mere 
imitation. He can tell by looking at the clock when a train 
is coming, and takes a lantern or flag of the right color to 
signal to the engineer safety or danger. Moreover, he 
knows the difference between express, mail, and way trains, 
acts as flagman during the switching of freight trains to sid- 
ings, and, after their departure, examines the switches to 
see that they have been turned the right way ! He has 
twice saved the lives of children ; once by dragging a child 
from the track, and once by signalling a train to stop when 
children were on the track. A mere recital of his frequent 
acts is sufficient to convince any one (who believes the tale) 
that all his wisdom could not have come from powers of im- 
itation, for it is doubtful whether “ Knapp ’’ has ever seen a 
station-master so faithful to his duties. Unfortunately, how- 
ever, railway companies can place no more reliance upon an 
educated dog for a station-master, than upon some human 
employes, for “Knapp” has already begun to follow his 
master’s vices, as well as to transcend his virtues. “ Knapp,” 
after the labors of the day are over, takes a pipe of tobacco, 
sits on a chair, “ and smokes with as much apparent ease 
and comfort as his master.” It will not be long before we 
hear of him drinking liquors with even greater ease and 
comfort, and then of his imitating his master by taking a 
“ nap ” shorter, but more disastrous to passengers on the 
Harlem road, than the “ Knapp ” with which his master 
daily amuses himself, and through the newspapers, the world 
at large . — Public Ledger. 
