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POULTRY ;
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Attention to Breeding.
R' fir When man first domesticated the
fowls of the jungle he had no thought
.of the wonderful things that were to
develop from them through the scl
.once of breeding. It is altogether
likely that the first distinct breeds
' came Into existence gradually and as
a result of the differing conditions of
the countries In which they were
raised. It is believed the first fowls do-
I. .mastlcated were those of India From
that point they were taken east , north
and west. In the beginning they had
F all one general set of characteristics.
But In the course of time the fowls
if China developed in one way , the
fowls of India In another and the
" , - . owls of the various countries of Europe .
rope in other ways. At first no attempt .
+ , tempt was made by man to direct
, " , . . . his development , that Leing a result
" "
, " ' n ' : . . - Jf place and conditions So at the beginning .
; ' . ' . ' ginning of poultry history we find a
i L' : . ; . : ew distinct breeds that have since
been ; named after the locality from
which each came Thus , from the !
north of Asia we have obtained the
Langshan , tram the south of Asia
E r" . he Brahma , and from Europe the Leg-
. P
r horn and the Dorldng. These were
, pretty good breeds , when we rem em.
Del' they were the result 01 breeding
without an object. During the last
- 70 years a great many new breeds
have been created by fanciers , who
l appreciated the possibilities locked
. up in the fowls and which might be
, - . brought out by selection and breed-
ing. Doubtless the coming hundred
, r . " ' years wlll see an enormous increase
:
In the number of distinct breeds of :
. poultry and a general improvement
I . ( ' - in the special points for which each
I. , . . " ts' bred.
Every farmer should be a breeder
to a considerable extent. He may not
I' i . . , . originate : new varieties , In fact should
not waste his time in trying to develop .
t \'elop these , but he can do the same
- , f thing , in fact , that is , develop a strain
. ' Df birds of more than the common
value. Many of the breeds 'we now
: : . have are no better than the ones out
I _ of which they have been developed ,
' their distinctive markings in color
. , and ' form being about the only quail-
; ties their parents did not possess
: , But the farmer may well develop'
strains that wlll prove earlier mature
. " lug , better laying , healthier birds than
were their immediate ancestors , The
- laws of breeding are to be studied to
4 advantage and when understood will
" ' : ' _ , ' . open the way to both pleasure and
,
, ; : ' , profit. The neglect of the laws of
. . . : . . , : : Improved breeding is responsible ! for
. . much of the poor stuff now to be
, : " . found on our farms. We have to say ,
; . - ' , - . however , that there has been a great
; ' : improvement In the last ten years , at
; : ; ' : least in the matter of meat producing
\ . : birds
II . The farmer that has a flock of 10
1 hens can well afford to adopt some
regular system for his breeding opel"
atlons. If he has eggs in view he can
adopt a system of culling out all of
the poorest egg producers from year
to 'ear. By so doing he would in a
- course of years have at hand a flock
, that would be a paying investment.
I Yet there are : farms on which the hens
r have not Improved for half a century ,
, \ principally because there bas been
- ? v. ' no care taken at all in the breeding.
\
The eggs for sitting have never been
selected , and the result has been a
reproduction of the average quality
of the fiock. Attention to the matter
of breeding wlll pay every person that
I . expects to raise fowls _
, Grading Up the Flock.
There are several ways by which a
farm flock can be kept up to n. very
good standard of excellence for prat-
Itlcal purposes , by just a little effort
" 'i" ' .A : of the keeper , said J. H. Robinson In
d 'an ' address before the Massachusetts
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Ebto Lri , ar Aactinurn : ! ; . 'lath ! ,
LIO'1'O 1t t ; tt l"mtOO : : ) tt6tp : itlh11'
eggs used for b1.tctJlfu : trUG'IUtl'G \ \ gw. . -
oral flock tip 'hmti.Cl'Vi'n' ; g 11. bI
best pullets , the lneeper > w e'trSout ,
the decidedly ' inferior ( } \ HS'ysn' : t14
only wen developed males , a > n7 A ( ro of
whIch would ba cmshle.lid g. iGM r
blo breeder , the stock cannot go beats .
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very rapidly , even though , as vro tmvo
seen there might not be enough o ; the
product In any year tram , the bhJt
birds to strongly : impress their quality
on the fiock.
It Is such selection as this , accompanied -
panted by selection of the large
eggs for hatching , that Is practical on
most farms where some specIal attention -
tion Is given the matter of malting
poultry profitable. It is doubtful
whether any marked ! progress was
ever made by such methods , but they
are a long way In advance at leaving
it all to nature. At best : , these meth- -
ods aTe crude ; theIr use under the
condition described Is Jiloglca1.
The logic of such n. situation requires -
quires that a poultry keeper who realizes .
izes the importance of reserving his
best fowls to breed from , should make
sure that It Is only the eggs of his best
hens , fertilized by his best males , that
are used for incubation. The logic
of the situatIon requires that a poultry -
try keeper who thinks ; : It worth while
to select the best eggs for Incubation
should , sooner or later , come to consider -
sider It necessary to know that these
eggs wore from hens possessing the
other qualities prized , and fertilIzed
by males most suitable for mating
with t'heso ' particular hons. Selection
Is not complete if 1 It stops short of
the separation of the fowl selected-
unless the whole flock Is solect-
a thing which does not often bappen.
Profit In Young Animals.
Tune profit in beef and mutton production .
duction lies in the young animals
There was a time , but that was many
years ago , when the big boned steer
that weighed 1,800 to 2,000 pounds
was locked for lay 1 : the buyers of
beeves , but now the animal that Is
sought by the butchers is one that
weif'hs from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds
We have long since found out that
the cheapest meat is made on young
animals , and the money thus invested
is soonest ready to be turned over.
Not only is the money tied up longest .
est in' old animals but the cost of
producing meat on them Is so great
that our best beef feeders are no
longer attempting to do that. The
method advocated now Is to keep the
animals growing right along from
birth to the period when they weigh
what the market demands. Steers
are now ready for the market : at two
years old or under If all the animals
shipped to the stockyards were of
this kind there would not be much
complaint about poor returns In stock
breeding and beef malting. A good
many farmers are still trying to make
profitable beef on old steers. Brat
the young steer is the only animal ,
that gives us any promIse of a :
profit. i
Roots Versus Silage.
Tn Europe the use of roots in stock : : ;
feeding Is quite universal especially
In those countrIes that are too far
north to permit of the extensive
growing of Indian corn But In the
United States root raising Jar cattle
has never been very popular , for the
obvious reason that it Is very much
easier to grow corn than roots. We
have talked thIs matter over with
stockmen In the West and their vcr
diet Is uniformly that roots cost too
much , except when grown and fed lu
a small way , inwhich their U'O ; Is
justified as a laxative ratlJ"r than
a food. Care.Cul experimenters have
shown that roots cost about three
times as much as corn to grow , basing
ing the comparison on the dry matter.
Corn in the form of silage Is one at
the best and cheapest foods for stock.
It has been regarded as a dairy toad
par excellence and as a milk maker .
But It Is equally good for beef make
lug , and some of our leading cattle
raisers are now building silos to enable -
able them to make the be"t use ot the
cor : , crop.
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The iog's Digestive
Apparatus
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A subscriber wrItes us that in kill-
big hogs ho finds it a disadvantage not
10 know the names of the different intestines .
lestines and that such information
would he especially useful to him
when malting a post mortem oxamin-
ation , with a view to determining the
cause of death. He states a fact that
should be' apparent to all and we are
much pleased to have : the matter
brought to our attention , as the information .
formation asked for should prove Instructive .
structive to the readers of this depart-
ment. Starting at the back : of the
mouth wo come to the pharynx or
"swallow" which is the entrance to
" " the tube
the "gullet" or oesophagus ,
icading the food to the stomach. The
plg's stomach is simple like that of
the horse and has out one compart-
ment although there Is , ns In the
htH'm , a trace of two compartments
denoted by difference in the color of
the lining membrane of the organ ,
which In the pig has a capacity of one
and one-half to two gallons The all-
montar canal Is continued from the
stomach , In the abdominal cavity , by a
long tube doubled on Itself a great
number of times and which terminates -
ates at the posterior opening of the
digestive apparatus. This tube is the
Intestine. Its first portion is called
the small Intestine and Its last part
the large InteRline. The small intes-
line Is some GG feet in length and the
large intestine 16 feet. On leaving the
stomach the first portion of the small
intestine is known as the uduodenum"
which is short and curved. It is fol-
lowed by the Ujejunt1m , " then by the
uillium , " and then by the "caecum"
commonly : known as the "blind gut"
or Uwater bag " The large intestine I
now commences with the "colon , "
which is a large sac describing three
turns from right to left and three ,
turns from left to rIght , then Insinuat-
ing itself between the duodenum and I
the pancreas The latter part of t.he'
colon is called the "Hoating" colon
and ends In the rectum or "end gut "
The large intestines are 18 feet long
The liver which is an accessory organ
of the digestive apparatus , has in the
pig three well - marked lobes , the mid-
die one of which carries the gall blad-
del' In the pig a portion of the pan-
I
creas is situated under the loins , between -
twecn the large tuberosity of the
stomach and the last curve of the
colon ; the other portion wlll be found
In , a fold of the duodenum. The spleen
Is familiar In appearance to' any man
who has slaughtered a pig , but even
scientists have not yet decided the
nature of its functions in the animal
economy When malting a postmortem -
tem examination of a pig note the appearance -
pearance of the lining of the gullet and
stomach. After death the lining of
the stomach has always a pink por-
tion and a lighter portion and the linIng .
Ing Is easily stripped off ' the pink por-
tion Ie this portion has taken 011 U
livid hue inflammation has been present
ent ; if it is covered , with dark red or
purple spots , poison 01' cholera may
be suspected , and the latter disease
Is also characterized by ulcers on the
lining of the large intestines If the
small intestine is blacjt } , examine for
a ! twist or knot 01' for one portion
\-rpped I : into another or for some '
l'l1l'cign body which has lodged and
caused mortification following acute
enteritis ( inflammation ) . The liver
should have a healthy color and
should not be very flabby or brittle
It it is greatly enlarged there was .
either congestion of the liver ( acute ) , I
Indicated by presence of much blood ,
or chronic , congestion ( hepatitis ) , Indicating .
dlcatlng a long-standing disease of the
llver. In all liver disease we find as
a rule staining from bile which gives
the membranes a yellow color. This
is chiefly noticeable In the membranes
of the eyelids , but may affect all of
the membranes of the body as In
jaundice. In hog cholera , In addition
to red spots and ulcers upon the 11n.
ing membrane of the intestines similar -
Ilnr spots may appear upon the liver ,
kidneys and lungs. If lung disease
was present the light pink : color of the
healthy organ will have given place
lo darl\ : or bright red , and lr pneu-
monia has been present the lungs will
appear I1n feel like liver and sink
in wnter. It pleurisy was present the
lung will be found stuck to the chest
wall and fluid Is usually present In the
chest c4'ity. In bronchitis the air .
passages of the lungs will bo found to
contain more or Jess mucus and even
pus. A' Icosses In lungs or elsewhere
usually denote tuberculosis or acU-
nomy lsis . -A . S. Alexander In Farm-
oi s' : trJview.
Killing Peach
Borers
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Last winter I sent you an article on
the care of peach trees. One statement -
ment I made was that we were not'
so much troubled with borers as before -
fore the cold winter of 1898 and 1899 ,
which froze so many trees The "so
much" was left out , malting It read
"wo were not now troubled with
horers" whIch might be misleading to
beginners , causing them to neglect
hunting thorn out. The fact Is , they ,
arc very bad this spring , especially In
trees on low fiat land or on grassy ,
ground and need to be hunted out
with care. Where the trees were not
gone over last fall , there is quite a
brood of very small onos. They have
not done much harm ns yet , but wlll
greatly injure the trees If left in. Not
many have yet burrowed deep Into
the barIc , but most of them are still
clinging to the bark outside and bit- .
lug the bark , causing a mass of gum
lo hang around the tree. -If this Is
,
scraped off it will carry most of the
worms with It. Keeping the borers
out of the peach trees is very esse ) n-
lIal to the health of the trees.
A wax for the protection of injuries
to these cnn bo made thus : Heat In
an old kettle two quarts of rosin , ono
of propolis 01' refuse beeswax and a
lea cup of old lard. Melt thoroughJy
and stir just as hard as can be with-
out running over Then with n swab
daub this onto the injured tree while
very hot. It wlll protect the wound
for months or until the bark : grows
again. If you do not have the old pro-
polls 01' dirty beeswax the rosin will
do alone if softened with grease If
made too soft the bees will stick to It
and this wlll kill map- , After the
soft wax is put on earth can bo rubbed
on It and this will keep the bees off ;
nut it Is better not to have it too soft.
We hunt out a number of trees and
tie strips of cloth to them to mark
them for treatment , and when wo
have a number of trees ready we
treat all with the same batch. Cau-
tion must be used In melting the wax ,
as it is very Inflammable , and , If allowed -
lowed to run over , will quickly take
fire-l\rs L. C. Axtell , Warren County -
tr , Illinois , in Farmers' Review
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_ A Bird Nursery. r' 1
Andrew , head walter at the Tuttle
House , SavIn Hill , Is a southern man ,
and extremely fold of birds , says the
Boston Evening Globe Robins this
year have been unusually prolific , and
the young birds In attempting to fly
from the nest in many instances : : ; fall
to the ground and are caught by cats ,
. which destroy not a few of them. An
drew conceived the Idea of putting a
box with slats on one side on the top
of a pole , where he placed many of
the rescued birds. Their parents
come regularly to the temporary 'prJs
on and feed their progeny , who In 0
week or two are able to fly and are
released. Quite a colony of young
robins has been cared for this sum'
mer , and there are still some in the
box waiting for their wings to grow
and liberty to e.-Exchange , 1903.
\Yo have great faith in the loyalty of i
people to the Intereats of agrIculture
when Its needs are Intelllgently presented -
seated and those representing It are
sincere In their efforts for It.