The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-12-10
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD
Selecting Poultry.

FAfM, 6AhDEN AMI HUUSEhOLl
Selecting Poultry.
s I send the following which I have oh
served for some years in purchasln
poultry, and which may be ofuse to som
of your readers who may not be famiia
with the age Of poultry:
Few housekeepers, and fewer cooks
are as good Judges of the age of oultr.
( as they ought to be. We all know whel
, poultry comes upon the table, whethe
it is tender or tough; and there SHOULD
be no difficulty in knowing just as GER
tainly whether 4 chicken. duck, goose o.
turkey is old or young, when it is Offered
for sale. Now the following is Offered
as rule. by which poultry can be safely
Judged, which if read over for few
times and then laid away for ready
reference when needed, no person need
purchase old, tough poultry unless from
choice.
If hens spur is hard, and the scales
on tie legs rough, she is old, whether
you see her head or not. but the head
will corroborate your observation. II
the under bill is so stiff that you cannot
bend it down. and the comb thick and
rough les We her, no matter how fat and
plump, for some one less particular. A
young hen has only the rudiments of
z spurs; thescales on the legs are smooth,
glossy and fresh-colored, whatever the
color may be; the claws tender and
short, the nails sharp, the under bill
soft. and the comb thin and smooth.
The old hen turkey has rough scales on
the legs. callosities on the soles Of the
feet and long, strong claws; young
one is the reverse of all these marks.
When, the feathers are on and the old
turkey-cock has long tuft or beard, q
young one has but a sproutless one; and
when they are off the smooth scales on
the, legs, decide the point, besides the
difference in size of the wattles of the
neck and the elastic shoot upon the
nose.
E An old goose when alive is known by
: the roug gh legs, the strength of the wings,
particularly at the pinions. the thick
ness and strength of the bill, and the
fineness of the feathers; and when
plucked,. by the legs, the tenderness 0
Gthe skin under the wings, by the pinions
and the bill and the coarseness OF the
6 skin. ~
Ducks are distinguished by the same
means. but there is this difference-that
a duckling's bill is much longer in pr {
norton to the breadth of its head than
81 the old duck. A young pigeon is dis
tinguished by its pale colors, smooth
scales, tender, collapsed feet, and the
yellow long down interspersed among
its feathers. A pigeon that can fv has
always red-colored legs and no down,
and is then too old for use.-German-
torn Telegraph.
Feeding Pigs.
OF different food for pigs: "After trying
nearly all the different kinds of cereals,
and weighing my pigs once in fourteen
days, have come to the conclusion that
if, you want to gain weight fast, give
, plenty of barley meal and milk. Corn.
meal may be substituted for the barley"
Indian corn" says DR.. Voelcker, an
eminent authority, "is richer in fat
forming matters than almost any other
description of food. The ready-made
fat in corn amounts to from five and a
halfto six per cent. But animals should
, MT be fed exclusively on Indian meal,
/ because the llcsf-forming matter in it is
, small, Bean meal. Cor pea .meaD sup
plies the deficiency" Five pounds of
Indian corn-mcal to one pound of pea
meal is ~ mixture which contains the
8 proportion Of fcsfhforming and fattening
8 matters nicely balanced. If the farmer
& has not the pea-fneal to mix with the
( corn he may use oatmeal as L substi-
tute A very common food for hogs is
boiled apples and potatoes, mixed while
hot with corn meal. This is good
r. food. but Jack; in the heterogeneous eie-
1'mcnt, which should be supplied either
by the addition ofcotton seed meal. bran.
pea meal or oat meal. If cotton seed
~ meal is used, only one part to ten of corn
meal would be about tie right proper
ytion, while one part of the other kinds
. to five of corn meal might be used. Any
one who has had any experience in tecd-
- ing pigs must have noticed the differ
ence there is in the readiness and cheap
ness with which some can be tattened as
compared with others. In Lawes' and
fGilbert's experiments two pigs in eating
sone. hundred pounds of corn gained
three pounds, while one pig, which ate
one hundred pounds of corn during the
same time gained nineteen and one quar-
ter pounds. 1t is readily seen that it is
highly important to secure the right
kind of pigs if the feeding of them is to
be made the most profitable possible.
With Ijudicious selection of pigs and
the right kind Of feeding and general
- management, there is money to be made
.on our farms in pork-raisiHg, notwitt-
standing the gloomy picture of the busi.
ness presented to the public during the
political campaign by Solon Chase
Lewiston Journal
Sc =. s Whenito Apply Manure.
Z ! The common practice among farmers
is TO make general clearing Of the yards
and barn cellars once year. either in
the spring or fall. Either practice makes
a heavy draft upon the teams, and it has
its disadvantages, If this work is done
- in the spring, it is when the ground is
wet and other work is exceedingly press.
ing. II the manure is drawn out in the
hill and dropped in heaps upon the field
- to be cultivated next season, there is
: more or less waste by teaching and by
evaporation. There is growing dispo-
sition among our intelligent farmers to
apply manure directly to growing crops
or smear the time Of planting and SOW
ing as possible. 1t is felt that the sooner
p, manure is put within reach of the roots
of plants the better for the crops and
their owner. Manure is so much capi.
tai invested and bears interest only as ii
is consumed in the soil.
The barn cellar may be so managed as
to manufacture and turn out fertilizer:
every month in the year, so that the
efarmer;may suit his convenience in ap-
? plying them to the soil. When manure
is not wanted for cultivated crops, it il
2 always safe to apply it to the grass crop
either in pasture or upon meadows after
moving. Top dressing is growing ir
favor with our intelligent farmers. Grass
pays better than almost any farm crol
in the older States, and the spreading O
compost saves the necessity of frequent
blowing and seeding. By top dressing
at any convenient season of the yeal
fields may be kept protitablv in grass fol
an indefinite time.-Rural Sun.
AGood Japanese Story.
A very economical fellow namet
Kisaburo took lodgings near a shop tt