Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-12-28
0Q(ortester Daily Spp.
The Farm, the Garden and the Household
FrOm the American Alriclrltnrist

A LADY's EXPERIENCE WITH PouITRy -
Three years ago | moved into the country
hlled with dreams of industry, early rising
anu, aboye all, fowl raising | think NV nre
decessor vas also imbued with a like idea for
found ample and well conlriyed accommo,la.
ton for the slender stock of poultry whose ev-
istence had contrived to prolong in a limited
back yard, In the close built town | had ouit
ted and whose numbers and capacity for law
ing now proposed to myself to Wonderfully
augment. AS winter came on | kept my hens
smut up on every cold day; which / have
proved to be necessary, if you want them to
lay well The most abundant feed will onIv
keep vitality in their chilly bodies, if they
must stand shivering under the cutting winds
OF mld-winter True, they will often go out
OF their own accord, if the door is left open,
put they do 1t only from habit, instead of
hunting Tor food, they huddle in the most
sheltered places near their house.
The hens once warmly quartered how can
they be fed cheaply SO as to average one egg
daily, in all the 800, and still be kent fat
Profound question, wherein agricultural Jour
nails have uttered wisdom from all time The
nrst winter OF my experience, marvellous rec
!pe stared from every newspaper impossible,
1t said, to tail OF the above results 1t was an
ingenious conception. First you were to take
quantity OF bran, roast potatoes hot from the
oven then rake out shovelfu of hot Goals,
and lastly add egg shells, birthstone, and salt
DlaDohcal, slightly, yet morning after morn
ing patiently deCocted this internal broth. 1t
would nave drawn tears from an ordinary
grlndstore to have beheld the hapless fowls
shifting their legs and peering their eyes toward
lt,weighing,it would appear, the choice OF going
hungry or scalding their crops with the seetll-
ing mess. L imagined their steady laying
solely attributable to my perseverance, yet
the next winter, when abated enthusiasm led
me to adopt simpler method, L could per
ceive no falling off at all. Hence, | infer,
fowls will lay on anything eatable only SO
they have enough of it.
L commenced my first spring with about
twenty-five fowls, both cocks and hens. and
by fall had increased my stock to ninety, be.
side having killed dozen or so during the
summer. have gone on since with propor
tional success, have eggs in greater or less
numbers, according to the season, all the year
round. 1t Is expensive work. | have found
to starve hen; therefore they are fed plenty
Of corn, wheat screenings and whatever odds
and ends are convenient which they will eat
occasionally including bran mixed with warm
water. They are exceedingly fond of fresh
meat chopped fine, which also stimulates them
to lay.
For persons living in the country and hav-
ing no constant social occupation, it is posi-.
bic for a little fowl fancer.ing to become very
interesting. 1t is really amusing to watch
their endless maneuvers, and study their va.
rious characters. Now "green" person sur.
veying regiment Of dame partletS and con.
sequentlal gallants, would perceive no differ
ence, save in shape and tints AS well 90 in.
to human gathering and conclude all there
tol oil /.
after the universal model. do not believe
there are many leading instincts in the human
mind, which do not find their counterparts in
these bipeds. In our own collection we have
fowls of every shade OF Characteristic weak
minded hen, the well balanced biddy and the
regular virago. Hens there are whom one
positively respects for all those qualities which
demand the same sentiment in humanity. 9th
ers we equally despise-" shiftless" hens, hens
who have the moral courage to sit the allotted
three weeks, or if otherwise, to bring up
family with any success. A heu we respect.
is generally designated cold biddy," while
nothing is too contemplate for the Others
Among these latter we have one invcterale
old cackler in half mourning, long known as
"WidOw Bedott," while a stately pulet who
has reared numberless broods in entire respec-
liability, answers 10 the call OF "Mrs. Hannah
More"
The "PHILosoPHY" OF WASHING THE
HANDs.-Some PHILOSOPHY" is useful in
even so simple matter as washing the hands;
il any one doubts it, let her with microscope
examine the surface to be cleansed by water
and she will be Interested, and perhaps shock
ed, at the discoveries made. Instead of a
smooth surface of skin, presenting, when I'M
washed, dingy appearance, there will be
seen rough, corrugated surface, with deep
irregular burrows in which the foreign parti-
Giles are deposited like earth among the rough
paving stones of a street If they lay loose
ly, it would be an easy matter to dislodge
them with little cold water; but the pores,
the waste pipes Of the body, are continually
discharging into these open drains, perspira-
ton and oil, which, by evaporation, become a
cement to hold the particles of dust, etc, and
to remove them, requires both chemical and
mechanical action. Warm water softens this
cement, expands the burrows, and makes the
skin pliabe, SO that by rubbing the soil is dis
turbed and partially removed. But chemistry
must aid little before the process is com.
plete and soap is added the alkali of which
unites with the oily matters, and the whole is
then easily disposed Of
The wash cloth is useful, because its threads
or hbres work down among the burrows, like
so many little brooms sweeping them out
is preferable to cotton for this purpose, and Il
sponge is the best of all. Rough coarse cloths
are Objectionable, as they abrade the skin and
leave it rough and more easily filled with dust
than before. Harsh, strongly alkaline soap
should be avoided tor the same reason it abb
stracts all the oil from the upper layer of the
skin, and makes it chap or crack. Where
sponge is not obtainabe, a very neat and ser
viceable wash cloth may be knit OF soft cotton
Irvine either with the crochet or with coarse
wooden needles knitting back and forth, as
garters are knit. A mtten knit Of tidy cotton
with the crochet needle is very handy for this
purpose, and makes Il neat article for the wash
stand. A wash rag will not be tolerated by a
tidy housekeeper. Ii cloths are used, let them
be neatly trimmed, and kept scrupulously
clean. Applying little vinegar and water to
the hands or laco, after the use of soap, and
rinsing off the vinegar with clean water, is a
capital process to prevent chapping or rough
ness. The acid neutralizes the alkali of the
soap, aud keeps it from destroying the skin.
Try this frequently especially on washing
days, Diluted vinegar or other acid is excel
lent for the face after shaving.
JACK FROST IN THE CELLAR.-Look out
for the burglar He will do no harm to silver
or gold, but he will heave your house from its
foundations, crack your walls, throw windows
and doors out OF gear, and do sad work with
the apples, winter pears, potatoes, and other
good things laid up for the seasons use. So,
guard against him betimes. If your cellar
walls are old and poor, it may be well TO bank
them up with tan bark or saw dust, eighteen
inches or two feet thick. Don't use manure
from stables as is sometimes done--a most
untidy thing Good soil is suitable, if saw
dust or bark cannot be had. Ii there are
cracks between the top of your cellar walls
and the sills, get mason to come and point
them up ON the inside with mortar; or what is