Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1855-04-19
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Practical Hints About Poultry.

Whether the large. sized varieties
of fowls which are .sall the rage" now
amongst fancy breeders and dealers
are really preferable to the old-tash-
Toned barn-yard fowls is a subject on
which there are two opinions among
those who have tried both. Te say
nothing Of the enormous prices which
they occasionally command, they.
weigh heavily inSthe market scales.
or fill large platter on the dinner
table. But, on the other hand, they
are great gormandisers themselves,
and are generally considered diff
cult to raise. BOOSTERS should be
changed as often as once in two
years, if not annually; and pains
should be taken in replacing them,
to procure strong, healthy, and per-
feet birds the hen will lay better
and hatch more chickens. Only a
small number Of hens should be kept
in one house, together, We have
known repeated instances in which
keepers Of poultry have become dis
3 gusted at their failure to lay, and
have determined to kill them Off
They have commenced reducing the
number, which was perhaps forty or
fifty, and when. they got down to
bali dozen, we're surprised to lind
every one of the hens laying, and
the supply Of eggs for the family
better than the whole number fur
.nished. As to profit, we doubt
whether, If all their food be bought,
the eggs and chickens produced by
any breed, and sold at the regular
sanarket prices, for the table, will pay
the expense Of keeping; but it by
no means follows from this that hens
are not a source Of profit on farm.
They eat much of what would other
wise be entirely lost and wasted; and
"a small patch OF buckwheat, soyn at
a triGing cost, and left on the ground
where they can stroll over it and feed
.at their pleasure. will keep them as
fat as butter. The main point is,
the great value of the manure of
poultry. The hen roost is the place
where most farmers should &c for
their guano. If obtained there, it
will Invariably. prove Of good quality.
There need be no fear for those who
get their guano from this source that
it will turn out TO be spurious or IN
ferior. We doubt whether even in
teIligent farmers would estimate at
more than one-hundreth part of
its amount the quantity OF excel
lent manure which can be made IN
this way in the course of the year
The hen, duck, goose, and turkey
.roests should be supplied with several
loads. of peat, swamp muck, or loan,
spread eyeEly over the surface OF the
floor, and on this there should be
scattered thin layer of sand or
gravel. On rainy days, when the
work can be done as we'll as not
and as often as practicable this
should be all shogeled over, and the
manure thus mixed with the other
Ingredients. The compost soon be-
cornos strong, when it can be re-
moved, and fresh supply of suita-
Bile material be thrown in. The
house is kept sweet, clean, and
healthy fo: the fowls; and if any
; farmer will adopt this plan, and Prac.
tice it faithfully for five years: and
keep an accurate account of the crops
raised directly from the compost
made with the poultry manure, and
from the manure made By feeding
those crops out 10 their turn,
he will be amazed at the amount of
cash which he will have realized, and
at the permanent improvement OF
his farm.
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