The record-union., 1894-02-14

sfble Comparison of Common Fowls
With Improved Breeds-Value of
Pure-Bred Stock-Peanut Cultiva-
-Strawberrfes-The Farmer and
His Work.
It is a great plesaure to the average
man and to nearly all women and chill
dren to have flowers, and it does them a
good deal of good, too. If you haven't
the flowers this time of the year the next
best thing is to look at pictures of them
and read about them. That is the reason
we so delight in turning the pages of
'Gardening.' Many farmers would open
their eyes with amazement at what they
should read of the propagation and man
agement of flowers and shrubs. and yet
it is nothing more than he himself is an
nually, but too often ignorantly, doing
with another class of plants and for the
same ultimate purpose-galn. But the
phraseology adopted by the gardeners,
and the thorough knowledge displayed
of the nature of the beautiful plants they
create, would prove an element Of inn
mense astonishment to the farmers. They
speak OF their various flowers, grasses,
ferns, etc, as the farmer speaks OF his
horses, cattle and sheep. They are
very correctly treated as living Great
ures. The breeding, food. light,
heat and other offices necessary to
the animal kingdom are all repeated
here, but on a scale so systemat C, with
such loving care, such minute attention
RoIj OnnciHQrarinn de-
tail as to render it doubly mysterious to
those who have thought only OF the ami
NAL kingdom as living creations. And
yet plants are living creatures and must
have food and drink, light and warmth,
and every junction necessary to animal
life in some form and degree. In the
matter Of breeding, from thel nature OF
plants there is almost no limit TO the
crossing and mixing Of plant food, of Gre
ating new varieties. Often hybrid even
of the first generation is produced OF such
SURPRISING beauty of form and color as to
admit of little desire for Improvement
The various kinds of food necessary to
each variety of flower and shrub are
known, and they are fed and watered &C.
cording TO their necessities as regularly as
is the gardeners horse and with as much
regard 10 its condition at the time, while
a system Of grooming and bathing is
maintained with equal regularity.
Now, if so much may be learned OF the
wants and necessities OF flowers and Or
namental plants, why may not an equal
knowledge be generally acquired of
grain, grasses, etc., by those who grow
them? Why may not every farmer so OBJ
serve and study as to secure perfect
knowledge of the treatment of the grain
and vegetables he raises as to open
wider field for DrOduct1venesS and econ
omy? They may. and many of them al
IL n
while their neighbors who scorn this
knowledge as ''book farming" have stead
ily grown poor. The same accurate
knowledge and systematic treatment it
encourages should be carried out by the
farmer toward the animals bred and
grown on his farm. There is great gain
in thus learning and following closely the
beautiful and undertaking rules Of nature
erected into code and statute by God
himself, not one of which has ever been
repealed or ever will be. 1t is true these
laws are even imperfectly understood by
few, but that few, as is the case with the
gardeners, have found that the limited
knowledge they have thus far acquired
has added immensely both to the pleas
ure and profit of their vocation.
Let every farmer take heed to this mat
ter and think seriously about it. In these
days of books and agricultural papers,
everyone is in easy reach of all that the
world has hitherto learned on the subject
the practical experience Of the Wisest
and greatest tillers of the soil, scientists
and scholars, are open before him, and he
has only to reach out his hand and take
what it cost others years upon years of
painful thought and costly experiments
to discover, and we repeat that the farmer
who avails himself OF this knowledge is
prosperous, while he who sneers at book
Farming is not, and often comes to down
THE POULTRY YARD.
The saying. with pigs, that ''all the
breed is in the trough" would be very
applicable when used with poultry, for
il is very evident that as much depends
on food, care and management as OIL a
careful selection of suitable kinds. 1t
very naturally follows that if you can
succeed well with the common dunghill
fowls you can, most asSuredly, do much
better with improved kinds, for it is an
evident fact that improved breeds ofall
kinds will give better and quicker re-
turns for good care than common or or
dinary breeds will, while, with but COM
mon care, the lower grades will give the
best returns, for they are accustomed to
such treatment, and the higher or i'm
proved grades or breeds are not.
If you do not happen to possess flock
of improved poultry, by all means be-
come the fortunate possessor at once or
else put all the old, common dunghill
cocks TO the block and in their places
substitute improved ones, in the proper
ton of one cock to six hens, and thus
commence an improved system of poul-
try management, for then you will find
it profitable undertaking, If otherwise
properly conducted.
Let me next take peep at your hen
house, and see If there has been any stint
of whitewash. This great deodorizing
and disinfecting agent should be applied
in the summer months, inside and out
side of the house, and on the rOoSt poles,
about once week, and oftener If neces-
sity requires it. Give plenty of air and
light in the summer, and restrict this TO
ventilation, light and warmth in the
winter.
There are several ways of managing
the poultry houses, adopted by persons
whose means vary as widely as do their
tastes. One very good way is to have the
house large enough with hens enough to
warrant this to have a small stove inside,
to be warmed only on very cold days, the
house the rest of the time to be kept
warm and comfortable by having it fast
eped nicely wherever the cold could gain
access.
The fowls are confined to the house
most of the day, the exception being that
about or 10 o'clock we give them run
of half an hour or so, to give them an
opportunity to exercise their rather
cramped-up limbs and to get some pure
fresh air. They are allowed to have an
other run toward evening, and we have
found that they will continue healthy if
this run" system is at all times adhered
to during the winter months, roup, pips,
cholera, etc., being prevented Ohio
Farmer.
VALUE OF PURE-BRED STOCK,
yT7l.o b~ooylc ara tbo rocnlt of hl1D6 rods
of years patient work. 1t was half a
nl-c cr,.oll ot,d hiS