The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1877-04-28

HE PRODUCTION OF CoCKERELs.--
Beginner writes to the Rural Neao
Yorker. Seeing your announcement in
the Rural in regard to answering ques-
tons pertaining to poultry, take the
liberty of asking about matter which
is in much dispute, viz: Are large eggs
more apt to produce cocks than small
ones p Answer.-If you take two dozen
eggs laid by one hen, and pick out twelve
OF the largest ones and set them, and
also set the twelve smallest ones, the
largest dozen will generally produce the
most cockerels. The first few eggs
pullet lays are likely to be the largest of
her brood, and produce more males than
eggs laid later on. A young hens eggs
have greater proportion of males than
those of an older hen. All the largest
eggs laid by one hen are not sure to be
males. No method has yet been discov-
cred by which the sex of eggs can be de-
termined, but as rule most species Of
birds lay their first egg with male
germ. We have watched many nests of
canaries and noticed that the first egg
was slightly larger than the others, also
that it Matched first and generally pro-
duced male, and we have seen it Il, be
the same with small birds. With re-
gard to eggs laid by number of heus
and mixed together, picking out the
10 h. fo,r
some hens lay larger eggs than others,
and yet produce as many pullets as the
hens whose eggs are smaller.
PFC REARING IN HUNGARY.-The
Farmer (Eng.) gives us glimpse of how
pigs are reared in Hungary and Servia.
Although these countries possess races or
breeds of swine quite distinct from those
raised in England and America, never
theless these possess valuable qualities.
A double market is open for the pro-
duce of this enterprise; either the pigs
may be sent, while still young and lean,
to the Western provinces, where they
always find ready purchasers, or they
may be kept at home to be fattened, and
then dispatched to supply the towns of
Austro- Hungary, Germany, Switzerland
and Italy. The range of these consign-
ments extends of late as far as the
United Kingdom, whose markets have
already taken up very considerable
quantity OF Hungarian swine.
In the agricultural districts of the
Lower Danube the fattening process is
practiced on large scale, and by two
different methods Either the herds are
driven to pasture, more particularly to
the woods for the sake of the acorns, or
they are stall-fed in specially arranged
buildings, called Sallasch,o which
form a characteristic feature in the
agricultural industry OF the country.
This term Sallasch or Szallasz is applied
to establishments purposely constructed
for the wholesale fattening of pigs, and
provided with stalls, court-yards, baths,
and everything necessary for preparing
and keeping the food, and for the re-
quirements of the staff, In most cases
the complete block of buildings forms a
quadrilateral, and contains from two
hundred to four Thousand pigs. In
Servia, where this system of fattening il
chiefly practiced, and where it originated
the arrangements are somewhat rough
and primitive but in Hungary they
bave attained high degree of perfec
ton, and the building OF the Hun
garian Society for Fattening Pigs
founded in 1869, may be specially in
stanced as model.
This Society carries on its operations
at Steinbruch, near Pesth. The building
are arranged to accommodate twenty-si1
thousand pigs, which are distributed
among one hundred and thirty Sallasch
or separate divisions. Each Sallasct
consists of square court provided with
a bath and an open shed in which the
animals can take shelter at night, or il
bad weather, or when the heat is ex
cessive; and in the court is an oper
space where they are able to rummagt
and grub about at their ease. As a rule
the pigs are not brought into the Sallascf
till they are one or even two years old
and have already been out at pasture
and made some flesh. The food given il
the Sallasch consists chiefly of barley OIL
maize, either stepped in warm water
with some bran and salt added, OF
simply crushed or bruised. In Servia
and also in Hungary, certain quantity
of green food is also given when it is in
season. At the Hungarian Society's es
tablishment the apparatus for crushing
or grinding the grain is driven by 8
steam-engine of sixteen horse power
which is also used to pump up the water
required for the supply of the whole
building. When the weather is exces
sively hot, hose furnished with nozzle
is attached to the water-cocks, and the
live stock are treated to a refreshing
shower-bath, which greatly benefits
them. In most of the Servian and
Hungarian Sallasch as many one-year
old porkers as adult animals are occasion
ally met with, but it is rare to see any
animal more than two years old. Fol
the first class, the average duration O
the fattenings is about five months, anc
for the two-year-olds six months.