National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1871-03-10
Farm, Garden anil Household.

Wickham, of Big Run, Ohio, wrote
asking whether fattening hogs need salt
Mr. Curtis said Hogs confined il
pens require something more than rs nc
cessible to them there. hence it is wei
to furnish them with little silt now and
then, and ashes and sulphur are alsc
good There is LITTLE danger Of their eat.
ing too much of either of these sub.
stances.
WINTER CARE OF POULTRY, The
Committee of the Farmers Club APP.
pointed to visit poultry yards, and as
certain the best mode Of carrying feath
cred stock through cold weather, re-
ported progress as follows;
"On Wednesday last, we spent the
day at the farm of Warren Leland, at
Rye station, and have derived. from II
careful survey of yards ideas which We
consider important We find him car
rying l5C turkeys, about 300 hens, n
large drove of ducks, .nd several dozen
Of geese through the winter, without
losing any of his stock by disease of any
sort and without the freezing of their feet
or their eggs We learn that he never
has malodies among his poultry, that he
Wv ~''"''' l'"'' va nc nuns w
Sit II, tHe sIrAhS, ana each OF Them Will
N'eid an average brood OF Ten chicks so
.'at ne WAL RAISE apout o,ooo chlckehs
from MS present mock, ana ms losses ne
very few How does he do it l. His
hens, ducks, and geese have the best
winter quarters of any we have vet seen
provided for any of the feathered tribes
Their main barrack or hennery is n stone
puiialhS seVehty-ilVe leet long ana TWEEN
" ieet "ide' ana faces south. me open
inSs Oh tle horth siue are siiliiI ana nlled
WIN "lhdoW-giass, ana In some cases
WIN double sash. Those on the sou'h
sideare much larger consisting OF double
doors, wnlcn are opened on sunny days.
IN the middle OF the north side is large
old.iashiohed fireplace, with crane, and
plg camp Kettle Nearly every day
III winter gre Is III ana ied WIN chunks,
kho,S' ana oio logs tnat would otherwise
DE thrown away ana LETT TO rot IN fence
corners Inc walls are OF stone, and the
iioof OF rock or earth, so the hre can be
isit without 'he least danger IN cold
uhyS' ana especially IN cola rams, the
mems gnther before TINS hre, and warm
themselves ana trlm thclr feathers: The
cil1hiney can easily DE closed, or me logs
."neo gu, iii'o 'ie hiiddie OF the bulid-
ing, ana Ie''iierS or sulphur used 10
hi''Ne luiii'en'loo' Inns Is aone wheh-
ever ti,e nen-l'ce appear ana the open
,ngs o, 'ie mousse can ne closed SO as To
hoio 'iie i'ihii8atioh ,lll u penetrates ev-
cry crack smoke ne mas better than
carpohc acid' or Kerosene, or whltewash
70 diiVe Verinih.
=, ne roosts are OAK STATS an inch
,illek ny Two ana nan lnches WIDE, las
eheo 10 the faiters near the ridge. they
IRE haiieo at intervals al ai'iefeht heights.
ABOUT ."o leet peiow lhe pcrches is
srni'.ia vi poaroS ,iat NJ qnite closely
tl'is is IRON time To ume covered with
pias'er ana hshes ABOUT once month,
lhe "ccu,hu'auohs are shoveiied down
ana plied up Tor the corn-held. lie cal
culttes that MY mems yleld IN the course
on tle year as much compost as would
pe worth 500 III bone-meal ; that Is to
say, II he threw away his hen dropp,ngs
and had to buy the same amount of fer
tlllzlng salts III bone dust, 1t would cost
HIM 800 to replace fifty hens ms produ
GERS OF manure. lie has paid special at
tention to the comfort of his hens on
the perch. They sit on slat two and
half inches wide; their breast feathers
come down and cover their feet, and pro
tcct them from freezing the coolest
nights. Oh course, there is no lack of dry
ashes IN their house, and he finds that after
the fire goes out, the hens use the hearth as
a place to nestle and shake ashes through
their feathers They ENJOY it, and it
keeps them sound and comfortable.
The ollal OF the farm, such rs en-
trails, feathers, heads, scraps from lard,
and the odds and ends from the kitchen.
are thrown into this house, and the hens
pick 1T over eating all they want. Then,
as sooI as spring opens, all this trash is
scnped and shovelled out, composted (
and taken to the con-iield, Besides +
this refuse, his poultry eat bushel of t
corn in winter day, and half bushel /
III summer. He raises large crops of
corn because he has strong manure to /
feed his crops with lis calculation be /
ing that poout FUR acres i'll corn go to /
feed and fa'' n ms poultry. In spring,
after p \ a has hatched, her nest is taken
out, The straw burned, and the box white
washed inside and out, then filed with
fresh straw and put back for another
family party. After many trials of breeds,
he has settled upon the White Brahmas
They lay more uniformly the year
through, make the best mothers, and
the chicks grow the fastest During sum