The democrat. [volume] (Weston, W. Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-12-11
What l Know About UIouJ Farming.

Rmoi Ne,r Yorker, american .lgricui.
ha'iS, Feekly Tribune, Scientific Ameri.
can, and Josh Billings Almmar, the
rooSting poses adjusted, and the laying
boxes scientifically and elegantly ar
ranged, the covers mounted with ger.
man silver hinges uon-upsetable and
scll-supplying water fountain, and II
plentiful supply OF yellow, white and
popcorn, oii-cake, shorts, sweepiugs,
indian meal, oysters shells, ground bone,
ashes, lime, cayenne pepper, aud the
run Of three acres garden and flower
beds included I procured:
One ~ Large Spotted Hen
One ~ Small Russet "
One ~ Medium Purple Rooster az
Game)
Then nm Interested ncighbor gave mo
One ~ Dominique Pullet
Two t9) Dunghill Fowls
but rs We kept no stock the d. II. fowls
didn't do well, so we made delicious
pot.pie OF one OF them.
One 1) Banta Chicken.
] then added mammoth rooster a.
81 lbs. live weight by paying two dol.
lars and fifty cents for him, and one
dollar commission to the broker, tOgeth-
er with thirty cents TO n small boy for
bringing the little pet home.
My next care was to increase my flock
ut us little expense MS possible by ell
couraging my hens to set. Accordingly
| bought OF friend II bakers dozen (13)
of White Leghorn Eggs, at the astonisli'
ing low price OF one dollar and eeventy-
five cents, and devoted one wcll.located
laying.box to these, and several others
to the commoner sort Of eggs, with high
hopes rs to the result Of the next three
weeks.
The season was so well advanced that
the garden must he planted, and my
feathcred treasures being OF rowing
turn OF mind, instead of setting, took TO
the garden not from any special love
of the seeds therein, but soft, fresh earth
and sun-bashing, to the utter ruin OF my
future hopes and chickens. The garden
being at length given up for the seGson,
we discovered to our joy that one hen
lcds actually SeRiHg and on the SIZE
eggs too, but that the others had been
kicked out of the nest, and had become,
rs the insurance folks say, total loss.
Next being informed that our neighbors
were harassed by the creatures, we were
obliged to place item in close confne-
mcut, and from getting lousy and lack
Of range they picked Off NIL their feath-
ers and utterly refused to lay. At last
the old hen came of from the fourteen
shilling York money eggs, with this
result, viz
Eleven az mixed BOOSTERS.
One a. Snuif.colorcd Pallet
One ~ Rotten Egg.
II being now cold weather and tho
chickens could not he raised by hand Il
having other engagements of business
character we suffered neighboring
skunk to close them out raw, rescrving
the old ones for our own pilates. The
rooster that We inventoried Mt S3.7j
(only the original cost accidentally got
caught by the head and expired in the
crotch Of tree on which they all persist
cd in roosting, instead Of the lenn-to,
notwithstanding my preferences, elabo.
rate roOsting apparatus, and the 1925
cottage. The Dominique pullet and the
Russct hero each sustained fractured
limb arising from my efforts with stones
to induce them to deoist from eating our
scanty crop Of tomatoes 1.-THE Trophy and
scratching up the pnnsics and mignonettc
under the buy window. One crisp morn
ing We heard thGreport of agun near us,
by someone hunting the squirrels which
live on the hillside, and later in the day
we found the purple rooster and one Of
the dunghill fowls dead, the former hay
ing sevcnty-nine shot in his body, and
the d. II. +. looked as il she had had
bunch Of keys or an army combination
cork screw and iack.knife fired clean
through her, anuihilating our expGcta.
tons Of profit or pot.pic.
Our little flock had dwindled to so in.
significant number, and tho famed
ones not being able to strnddle about in
the snow, the conclusion arrived at by
the combined wisdom Of the family was
that they should be fnttcncd and served
up in fine style for Christmas dinner,
and in the Spring start with n new flock,
after deyoting our long Winter evenings
TO hen culture, ever hopeful of success.
Being assured OF the impossibility OF
inttening them in their then lousy con.
dition, and furthermore that the fumes
Of birthstone were death TO hen lice, so
resolving TO be thorough with it, we
burned large dish oft ut night under
the roost, but not being awakened as
usual by their o'clock "a. NJ. musical
efforts, dire apprehensions filed our
minds, when We tremblingly vcnturcd
into the lean.to only to find our Christ
mas dinner gone up, our bipeds lying
cold and stiff on the ground, excepting
one which hung by one foot from tho
perch wrong end up, past all her lame
legged troubles.
We buried them darldyat dead Of night,
And we smoothod ont each scattering feather,
And shovcled the dirt on with all om might,
Bantam, Dunghills and all together.
p. S.-From the fact that MI our fowls
escaped having the gaps, pip, roup.scald.
head, blind staggers, comb, rot, and NIL
other hen diseases, except the scratches,
and that our disasters arose only from
such causes us arc common to NIL hen
roosts, our courage Is good, and we flat
Ter ourselves that another year the bal.
ancc sheet will show large margin in
our favor, when we shall report in dc.
tail
SINGULAR GAITUWI. The Hillsboro
(Mo.) Democrat gives tho following
Some davs since n little boy named
George Cole, aged eleven years, son Of
Charley Cole, blacksmith, Of Sulpher
gnr;p,rs ,,op sittiu0 1n,rn br t1o r;tln NJ |