The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-03-14
AGRICULTURE.
Farm Work for the Spring Time
What to Do and How
to Do IL.
Poultry and Their Care-some Cheap
Homemade Mnnures that South
ern Farmers Neglect
Minor Notes.
POULTRY.


DO not neglect 10 keep your poultry houses
dry. Poultry cannot remain healthy for any
considerable length Of time II compelled to
rooyt In damp houses, and especially II there
Ii manure on the floor, which Is fermenting
more or less all the time II the floor Ia damp;
md the poisonous gases from the fermenting
manure are very Injurious to tho health Of
fowls, causing cholera, roup, diphtheria,
rheumatism. etc.
Feed your fowls at regular hours two or
three times per day. according to clrcum-
stances. II they have good, large range,
twice per day Ia often enough To feed adult
FOWLS unless the weather Ii very severe and
the fowls remain In their houses; during
such times three times per day is not too
My morning feed the year round for adult
fowls Ia one-half each In bulk, not weight, J
corn meal and good, rich wheat bran. well
mixed and thoroughly scalded with boiling
Irish potatoes are not too high, | add about u
gallon Of well cooked potatoes to the peck Of
meal and bran dough about every other morn
Ing, or half gallon every morning. When
feed potatoes add about q tablespoonful each
vi red pepper and salt to the gallon III pota-
toes. My evening feed is either oats, wheat
or corn, except during cold weather, as corn
Ia too heating. Fowls that have not good
grassy range, should be supplied with plenty
Of good, green vegetable food, such as cab
expect them to be real thrifty and do
well. When your fowls cannot pick up q
sutlciency OF insect food, such as bugs,
worms and the like, they should DO
plastering, lime mortar, etc. During hot.
dry weather in summer, when insect food Ii
scarce and fowls are moulting and young
fowls are feathering up, and growing very
fast, II they We're fed plenty Of meat
scraps, broken bone or such food, do not
think one-foulth as many fowls would die
oil cholera as do. They need this material to
produce bone, einews, feathers, etc, and II
they cannot get suiflcency OF such ma
terial their. constitutions must suffer.
need broken bone, lime mortar or some such
material to produce egg shells; and unless
they can get suficiency OF such material
some OF their eggs will become broken and
the fowls will soon acquire the habit Of eating
eggs. Fowls that cannot get sutliciency Of
animal food are apt To eat Oil the eggs they
can find, especially after they have gotten q
taste OF them and have learned how to break
then.
II there ID not running stream OF water
accessible to your poultry at all times, they
should be supplied with clean fresh water Id
troughs three times per day. During hot
weather the water should be protected from
the sun and the trouRhs scalded thoroughly
with boiling water every few days, In order
70 keep them clean and pure. Keep plenty OF
coarse sharp sand or fine gravel where your
fowls can get ut II ut oil times. as It IL essen
tial for fowls to have such material as 1t is
for them to have food
RAISING EARLY CHICKENS.
Poultry raisers are generally DESTROYS OF
obtaining all the eggs they can during the
early mart III the season. III hens show dis
position to sit after they have laid their first
lot Of eggs, as those over year old generally
.~e.
vent them. They want eggs during the
spring to eat and sell. After the weather be-
comes warm eggs are In less demand. and the
keepers VI hens are then DESTROYS that they
shall take to their nests for the purpose Of
raising chickens. There are many reasons,
however, why hens. old hens especially,
should be allowed to sit as early In the spring
MS they manifest q disposition to. Ordinarily
about three weeks time Will elapse between
the period OF laying two lots OF eggs, and this
time can be employed to better advantage Ia
hatchihg chickens than In scratching up seeds
tn the garden.
Hens that raise brood OF chickens In the
spring will generally lay q large number OF
eggs In the latter part Of summer or during
the early part Of autumn. In the spring
hens are we'll feathered, and are accordingly
Ia the best condition TO set on eggs. Later in
tho season they lose most Of the feathers on
the lower portion Of their bodies and gen.
orally become poor and restless. In this con-
dition they will not sit patiently On the nest
When off the nest they are extremely quar-
relsome. When they return to 1t they are
likely to break the eggs In the nest and to
show fight when any one approaches them.
The temperature Of spring Ia more favorable
to Matching eggs than that Of the latter por
ton uf summer. The atmosphere Is some
what moist, and q fair degree Of moisture is
essential to Matching eggs. Setting hens will
leave their nests for shorter periods during
the spring than during the hot weather In
summer.
Chickens Matched In April make better and
more useful birds than those Matched In July
Or August. They will be large enough to
command the highest prices. Chickens
Matched in early spring will sell for more
when three or four months old than late
chickens will after they have been fed
year. The earlier chickens arc Matched the
sooner they will be ready for market. and the
sooner they are In the market the more money
they will bring. Chickens Matched In April
will be more hardy than those that leave the
nest late Ia summer. They will learn to take
Of cold weather, and will often commence to
lay by Christmas. The first eggs laid by fowls
In the sprlng are almost always fertile and
generally produce very vigorous birds.
SWAMP MUCK.
Many farms contain swamps rich In de-
posts OF muck, which, II properly utilized,
would furnish exhaustless supplies OF ma
Is worth more than ton OF average farm
yard manure; but all muck Is not equally
valuable. In bottoms which have been filled
In by washings OF sand the vegetable matter
is so largely mixed with sand as to make 1t
comparatively worthless for manure. When
fresh dug II contains large amount OF water,
at least one-half its weight. and 1t should,
therefore, be allowed to drain before 1t is
hauled out. The valuable part Of muck is the
vegetable matter contained In 1t, and OF
course the greater the proportion of vegeta-
BILE matter, the greater it, value. Prof.
large number Of analyses made by him,
over two per cent Of ammonia In dry
swamp muck, and In one instance as
high as per cent, whereas good quality OF
tanning per cent. These results indicate the
manurial value OF good muck bed on the
farm. The best mode to render 1t available
Is to dig bitches through the swamp for the
uatad nunE into heans xhera II will dry