Middletown transcript., 1895-07-06
Agrnultural.
OF Interest
ITO Farmers


A writer in recent number of the
Country Gentleman, gives the following
interesting experience in raising gum
eas: 1t it strange that we see so few
guineas on the farm-they are such in
teresting fowls, SO peculiar in their
habits, the noisiest AID yet the quietest
of domestic poultry, and according to
my experience about the most profita-
BILE when we'll cared for and kept gen.
tie.
Just now mine are as mute as mice,
slipping about among the chickens,
making their nests in the yard and gar
den, and letting us know every time
when a small brown egg is deposited
by their low chatter, which, by the
way, is continued for such very few
moments that one has to listen atten-
lively to get the direction from which
it comes, in order to place the nest.
Very sly indeed are they in hiding their
nests under tufts of high grass, bunch
of spreading dock leaves, or out in
the fields among tangled briers and
bushes. But ours have never wan
dered so far-not farther than the gar
den or orchard. My neighbors say it
is because they are all hens; that the
roosters have wandering minds" "and
are not nearly SO gentle and harmless.
l got the eggs and Matched them un-
der chicken hen, and kept her and
the little guineas in close box until
they learned the cluck of their foster
mother and became accustomed to the
presence of the person who fed them.
A few days suficed to make them gen.
tie, after which there was no more
trouble. put them out in coop on
the grass, under big apple tree, fed
them like chickens and allowed them
to run with the chickens. Guineas
when first Matched are beautiful little
things, their soft down having about
the color of that of young partridge,
prettily striped with two shades Of
brown, with beak and feet of a cora
red. Their first feathers, too, are OF
light and dark brown; so that even
when the size of the grown partridge
hey are almost the same color, after
which, one blue-and-white feather af.
ter another appears until the guinea az
sumes its natural tint.
1t is the nature of the guinea never
to wean its young, and when raised
with chicken hen, as my own were
the little things are greatly distressed
when their foster mother disowns
them. They would run all over the
yard looking for her, crying most pit
eously, and when the search was fruit.
less, l used to find them perched like
birds on the low limbs of a peach tree
in the most hopeless and disconsolate
manner. When they began to lay the
next spring, they made their nests with
the chickens, but later on in summer
they took to the garden and orchard
so we get the most of their eggs. They
are more gentle even than my chickens
can catch one at any time by throw.
| ing down few crumbs, and frequently
have to push them out of the way with
my hand when feeding young chicks.
Guineas are rather tender fowls,
seem to suffer greatly with cold
and are glad to 60 into the poultry
house in winter to roost with the
chickens; but with milder weather in
spring, they return to their roost in
the big apple tree, the same which
sheltered them when they were tiny
chicks. AS they fly like birds, no fence
restrains them; the garden is their fav
orite hunting-ground, where they
catch thousands of bugs and worms
and really do great deal of good
They do not scratch for their food like
chickens; only when making theil
nests do they hollow out little cup
shaped receptacle iE the soft earth
and these are sometimes found running
over with small brown eggs, for the!
are prolific layers. 1t fact we keel
them chiefly for their eggs, and becaus'
they are such pretty, harmless littl'
things and serve to give variety to th'
place.
The eggs of the guineas are rich ant
we'll favored, preferred by many house
keepers for cake and other nice cook
ing. 1t is common saying that whel
broken their eggs are as large as hem
egg, owing to the fact, as l suppose
that the yelk is larger in proportion
The shell is remarkably thick, so hare
to break that, if the eggs were round
the boys might take them to play mar
bles with.
But few farmers get as many eggs il
proportion totheir flock of guineas al
we do. They are allowed to run wilt
over the place, and make their nest
SO far-a-field that the crows get mos
of the eggs. When one Of the 1ocE
is wanted for table use it is shot like