! MANUAL

SITT

ON

^POULTRY

PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMISSIONER OF
AGRICULTURE OF GEORGIA.

J. T. HENDERSON, COMMISSIONER.

SECOND EDITION.

1883.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA:

JAS. P. HARBISON & Co., PRINTERS.

1883.

A MANUAL

ON

^POULTRY

PREPARED JUNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMISSIONER OP
AGRICULTURE OF GEORGIA.

J. T. HENDERSON, COMMISSIONER.

1883.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA:

«JAS. P. HAKBISON & Co., PRINTERS.

1883.

SF

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

It is with pleasure that acknowledgment is here made to Messrs.
J. T. Scott & Bro., Breeders of Fancy Poultry, Italian Bees and
Queens, Crawfish Springs, Walker county, Ga., for^the following
electrotypes illustrating the breeds and varieties of Poultry]:

AMERICAN DOMINIQUES,

BLACK COCHIN,

BLACK-BREASTED RED GAME,

BROWN LEGHORN,

BRONZE GOBBLER,

BUFF COCHIN,

DARK BRAHMA,

HOUDANS,

JAPANESE BANTAMS,

LA FLECHE,

LIGHT BRAHMAS,

PARTRIDGE COCHINS,

PEKIN DUCKS,

PLYMOUTH ROCKS,

RED PILE GAME,

ROUEN DUCKS,

SILVER SPANGLED HAMBURGS,

SILVER PENCILED HAMBURGSr

TOULOUSE GEESE,

WHITE COCHINS,

WHITE LEGHORNS, , .

WHITE CRESTED MACK ^bLISH,

WHITE- ;CR^TK? '.WRITE, POLISH,

WHITE FACED 'BLACK SPANISH.

INTRODUCTORY.

While the Act establishing this Department and defining the duties of
the Commissioner does not especially mention Poultry as one of the sub-
jects to which his attention should be directed, its importance as one of
the productive industries so closely connected with Agriculture, in the
opinion of the Commissioner, justifies the attention which he is about to
devote to it in this little work. Indeed, so much depends upon the intel-
ligence and care bestowed upon the small industries of the farm that he
would feel that he was not fully discharging his duties to the people of the
State, did he not supply the information at his command on a subject so
closely connected with their health, comfort and profit.

The following pages will be devoted to practical information suited to
the use and application of the wives of farmers — such information as it is
hoped will aid the housewives of Georgia in not only substituting, to a
large extent, eggs and poultry for pork on their table?, but stimulate them
to the production of a surplus of these wholesome articles of diet to be
sold to the less fortunate dwellers in towns and cities.

The work is not intended for the fancier, nor for those who pursue the
business on a large scale, but for the farmer's wife. There will be much
in the work which to the fancier will seem crude and unnecessary ; but
in order to instruct those without experience or knowledge of the busi-
ness, it is necessary to present the appearance (to the well informed) of
presuming very far upon the ignorance of the reader.

One of the secrets of the success of French agriculture is the attention
bestowed upon the small industries of the farm, and one of the principal
obstacles to successful agriculture in the Southern States is the neglect of
these industries. The dairy, garden, poultry yard, apiary, and fish ponds,
should, not only contribute largely to the food supply of the family but
should, by the sale of surplus products, materially supplement the princi-
pal sources of income of the farm.

The hope that the information conveyed in this little work may induce
the bestowal of more and better attention upon the important industry of
which it treats, and thus increase the health, pleasure, profit and comfort
of the families of Georgia, induces its publication.

272082

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

According to Darwin, who has given the subject a very thorough
and systematic investigation, our domestic gallinaceous fowls have
all descended from one common source, viz : the wild Gallus Ban-
Jciva of southeastern Asia.

The black-breasted red game cock resembles very closely the wild
Gallus Bankwa cock of India.

Mr. Darwin experimented with various crosses of domestic breeds,
and observed that there was invariably a tendency to a reversion to
the original red color of the wild fowl.

All breeders of improved stock, of whatever kind, are familiar
with the fact that a constant tendency to reversion to the original
type exists, and must be guarded against by careful, judicious elec.
tion, annually repeated.

Peculiarities of form and color have been seized upon as starting
points from which to establish new breeds, by in-breeding and sub-
sequent crossing with the original. After a few distinct varieties
were established the multiplication of breeds became an easy mat-
ter. Breeds of cattle, horses, sheep and swine have been multiplied
in the same manner.

Sub-varieties are produced by election of breeding stock of a par-
ticular type or color, and by breeding the offspring back to the sirey
until his type is sa fixed in the offspring that it becomes capable of
uniformly reproducing its kind when bred inter se. Breeds hare
thus been multiplied both by following up accidental peculiarities,
and by systematic mating of birds of different established breeds.

**

DEPAR-TKE^T OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BREEDS.

GAMES.

This seems to be the typical breed,
most closely resembling the wild
parent, Gallus Bankiva.

The game is notoriously the most
hardy breed of chickens in the whole
catalogue, and independently of their
value as fighters in the cock-pit, with
which this work has nothing to do,
they are well worthy of cultivation,
purely for their economical qualities.
The hens are good layers, superior
sitters and unsurpassed mothers. A
serious objection, however, to them
as mothers is that they are too much disposed to fight the young
chicks of other broods. This propensity brings with it, however?
a compensating quality, viz : that 'of defending with great spirit
their own brood against all intruders.

The chicks are bright and hardy, but mature slowly. The flesh
of the game is considered of superior quality, though less in quan.
tity than in birds of the same age in most other commonly culti-
vated breeds.

There are many varieties of the game differing but little in essen-
tial qualities, the distinctions being based mainly upon the color of
the plumage. As plumage is a matter of small importance, so far as
the objects of this work are concerned, further than to aid the
reader in recognizing pure bred birds, the varieties of the game will
not be described, but only a description covering the distinctive
characteristics of the game as a breed, since this will enable one to
recognize a game wherever seen and of whatever color.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF GAMES.

The head is long, thin and tapering, with beak more curved than
that of any other breed. Color varies in the different varieties.

Comb thin and straight, single and low in front. A game cock
with a full comb is rarely seen. They are usually dubbed Jn both
eomb and wattles.

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

Ear Lobes red and smooth.

Neck long, well-arched and tapering. Hackles short.

Body firm, broad across the shoulders, and tapering towards the
tail.

Tail full and slightly drooping.

Legs stout, rather long, and set well apart.

The principal varieties of the
game breed are the Black, Black -
breasted Red, Blue, Brown-red,
Yellow Duck-wing, Silver Duck-
wing, Gray, Ginger-red, White-
Pile, Red-Pile, Derby, White and
Spangled.

The opinions as to which of
this list is the most desirable va-
riety are quite conflicting, though
the majority seem to give the
preference to the Black-breasted
Red and the Derby. BED PILE GAME.

There are other varieties, but the list embraces those principally
grown in America.

The Gam,e Hen in form resembles the cock, her neck seeming
rather out of proportion to her body. The head is neat and ,
with clean face and small, erect comb; ear lobes and wattles small.
In color the plumage approximates that of the cock, making due
allowance for sex. The feathers should lie close to the body and
the tail feathers be held closely together, and not collectively fan-
shaped.

The cockerels intended for stock birds may be dubbed when four
months old, but must not be turned with each other while the
combs are freshly cut. Birds true to the desired type should be
selected for stock purposes in order to perpetuate uniformity of
form and color.

The chicks are somewhat delicate when first hatched, and hence,
unless provision has been made for protecting them for some weeks
from cold wind, rains and dew, they should not hatch before spring
is well advanced. The hens with broods should not be cooped so
near each other that the chicks of one brood will invade the coop

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

of the other, lest the hens, which are quite savage towards other
than their own chicks, destroy them.

THE ASIATICS COCHINS AND BRAHMAS.

The following description
of the distinctive character-
istics of the Cochins will an-
swer for all of the varieties
so far as the substantial feat-
ures of the breed are con- <
cerned.

The principal difference
between the varieties of the
breed is found in the color of
the plumage or in non-essen-
tial features.

The following extract from

PAKTRIDGE COCHINS.

Hewitt's description of the Bun!
Cochin is found in The
Poultry Book, by W. B.
Tegetmeier :

"In size and weight the
larger the better, if with-
out coarseness. Sometimes
the cocks attain the weight
of thirteen and a half
pounds; but from eleven
to twelve pounds are good
average Mrds. The hens
f weigh from eight to ten
as pounds, if they continue
B healthy and are well fed,
^ they generally increase im
weight until their third
year.

BUFF COCHINS.

"The carriage and form of the cock should be tine, nobie and
very majestic ; the breast very broad, forming a straight line frost
the crop to the thighs ; the back short and wide ; the tail only very
slightly raised, compared with that of other fowls ; the wing* «x-

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

ceedingly short, and held tightly to the sides ; the legs, thighs and
saddle unusually large in proportion to the rest of the body ; tb«
head small and carried well up.

" The carriage of the hen similar to that of the cock in general
character, but the head is carried much lower, and the neatness and
fine expression of the face are extremely pleasing in really high-bred
specimens. •*$

" The plumage in the cock is very soft, owl-like, and exceedingly
downy, giving a peculiar softness to the general appearance.

11 Cochins possess a great bulk of feathers, each one being wider
across than in other fowls. In the hen the peculiar softness of the
plumage is more marked even than in the cock, especially on the
thighs and saddle.

44 The neck-hackle of the cock is extremely full, * * * spread-
ing over the base of the .wings.

" The thighs of the cock are stronger than those of any other va-
riety ; exceedingly heavy in the feathering ; all the feathers sit very
loosely, and 'are peculiarly downy, forming in part what is com-
monly called the f fluff.' The shafts of these feathers should be
weak and flexible, contrasting with the firm stiff feathers producing
the ' falcon-hock,' which is to be regarded as a defect. In the hen
the fluffiness is far more conspicuous than in the cocks.'5

The Cochins are good winter
layers, good sitters and fair
mothers. From long disuse of
their wings and their heavy
weight they can fly but little,
and hence can be easily restrain-
ed within the desired bounds
without expensive fencing. Their
roosts should not be more than
two feet from the floor of the
house, so that they may easily
reach them and to prevent break-
ing their feet and breast bones
in flying down. If they are re- BLACK COCHINS.

quired to perch upon high roosts they are liable to contract club-foot,
a trouble resembling stone-bruise on the human foot, which generally
destroys the usefulness of the birds. They bear confinement better

10

DEPARTMENT OP AGEICULTURE GEORGIA.

than the smaller breeds, and hence are better suited to small lots,
In which they must be confined to very contracted quarters.

The chicks of the Cochins are remarkably hardy, grow' rapidly,
and acquire sufficient eize to be used by the time they are feathered
over. The principal objection to the Cochins as a table fowl is the
smallness of the development of the breast in proportion to that of
less desirable parts. They are conspicuous for their large thighs
and broad and meaty backs.

The cross of the Cochin cock on the common dunghill hen pro-
duces a grade which is hardy and thrifty when young ; matures
rapidly, and as a table fowl gives general satisfaction.

The Cochin hens, as well as
their half-breeds, make excel-
lent sitters and mothers for the
yards in which the non-sit-
ting breeds, such as Leghorn,
Spanish, etc., . are principally
employed.

The principal varieties of
Cochins are : Buff, Partridge,
Pea-comb Partridge, White,
Black and Cinnamon — all of
which correspond closely in
essential characteristics, the
WHITE COCHIN. chief difference resting in the

color of the plumage.

THE BRAHMA FOWLS

Resemble the Cochins very closely in genera! characteristics. In-
deed, it is claimed by some that the Brahmas were derived from the
Cochins. Be this as it may, the two are very closely allied, with no
greater difference in essential characteristics than exist between sub-
varieties in some of the standard breeds.

The light Brahma is one of the most popular breeds, having large
size and hardiness, both in the- young and adult birds. The flesh is
well distributed over the most valuable and desirable parts. In
color they are mainly white, but with black in the main feathers of
the tail and the flight feathers of the wing, and the hackle feathers
have a decided black stripe down the centre of each.

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

11

LIGHT BBAHMAS.

The hens are good layer?, reliable sitters, arid careful mothers.
Like the Cochins, they do well in confinement within limited
bounds, where they are restrained without difficulty, since they fly
but little.

The Dark Brahma is not quite
so heavy as the light, the standard
weight of ccck and hen being
each one pound less than in the
Light Brahma. The prevailing
color of the Dark Brahma cock
is black, with silvery white hack-
les, wing, crest and saddle feath-
ers.

The hen "corresponds very
closely in color' with the male,
making allowance tor tbe'cliarac^
teristic differences be~tween~the
sexes. Brahmas are usually bred
with what are~called"pea-combs, which have the appearance of three
combs united^that^in the centre a little taller than the other two.
Each comb is separately ^serrated.

DARK BBAHMAS.

12 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

MALAYS.

This breed is grown to some extent pure, in England, on account
of its table qualities, and has been used to cross the Game. Owing
to their ill-nature, the poor laying qualities of the hens, and the
tenderness of the chicks, they have not been grown to any extent
in this country.

LEGHORNS — BROWN AND WHITE.

BROWN LEGHORNS.

This breed is deservedly one of the most popular bred in the
United States, on account of their superior laying qualities, neat
and handsome appearance and hardiness. They are " high flyers,"
active, good foragers, and to give best results should have ample
range. If they have their liberty they will range over five to ten
acres of laud.

As summer layers, the Leghorns are unsurpassed, and when well
fed and allowed their liberty they furnish rmre or less eggs through-
out the year. They are non-sitters, and hence a few common hens
or Brahmas should be kept for the purpose of hatching and rearing
the chicks. The Brahmas are reliable sitters and good mothers ;
besides, they are good winter layers, thus supplementing the Bupplj

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 1$

of eggs at the season when the Leghorns lay least. Leghorn pullets,
of the early spring-hatching, commence to lay early in the fall and
•ontinue, under good treatment, through the winter.

Again, the cross of the Leghorn upon the Brahma produces a
hardy, thrifty, early-maturing bird, with superior table qualities.

The Brahma hens may be required to hatch some of their own.
«ggs in the latter part of winter for a supply of early spring
chickens.

The Leghorns should not be hatched very early in the spring,
except enough to supply pullets for fall layers, so that a supply of
early spring chickens may thus be grown before commencing to
hatch the Leghorns for stock fowls.

The Leghorns mature so rapidly that they can be hatched ou;
later in the season than the larger breeds. The young Leghorns
make very choice broilers — equal in quality to those of any other
breed at the same age, though smaller than some of them. The
pullets mature very rapidly, and often commence to lay at from
four to five months if well fed or allowed their freedom on a good
range.

If kept for several generations in small enclosures the Leyhorn
will decline in size, while, if furnished a large range on which they
find an abundance of food, a decided increase in size will result in
a few generations.

A dozen Leghorn hens will furnish an abundant supply of eggs

for an ordinary family for about
nine months in the year, and, if
well treated, will furnish some
during the remaining three
months.

As egg producers they have
no superior.

Mr. Felch mentions a state-
ment made by Mr. Whitman in
1873. He says : " With fiftj-
one Leghorns, which laid two
hundred and seven eggs each,
WHITE LEGHOBKS. which he sold for thirty-one

cents per dozen, the*cost of keeping the fowls being $1.13 each>
he shows a profit of £4.04 per head."

14 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

While this is perhaps an extreme case, it serves to show what may
be accomplished by the exercise of extraordinary care and skill in
rearing and managing poultry.

There are only three varieties of the Leghorn grown, viz : The
Brown, the White and the Dominique. Each has its advocates, but
the Brown seems to be the favorite with a large majority of the
breeders.

DESCRIPTION OF BROWN LEGHORNS.

The cock should be black-red in color. The breast, wings and
tail all black, hackles a golden bay, back dark red, legs bright yel-
low, comb bright red, large and upright, deeply serrated with from
four to six points, face red and smooth, wattles large and pendent,
ear-lobes white or creamy white, but in no event red or tinged with
red.

The carriage of the cock should be bold, manly and full of gal-
lantry towards the other sex.

The hens should be medium in size, the body varying from dark
brown on the back to a lighter shade underneath ; the wings and
tail feathers a dull black; comb, paler red than that of the cock,
thin, single, deeply serrated, free from side sprigs, and drooping
gracefully to one side ; face and wattles smooth and red; ear-lobes
white ; legs yellow.

The stems of the feathers of the body are penciled in the center
with a lighter color than that of the feathers.

The above description will answer for the white variety in every
respect except in color.

There are Black Leghorns and Dominique Leghorns, but they
have not been so generally grown as the brown and the white.
They differ but little from the last two, except in the color of their
plumage.

They are all famous layers and are non-sitters.

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

SPANISH BREEDS.

\ •

Of these the white-faced Black Spanish
is by far the most important, since it is
the most showy and useful. These birds
are of medium size, the cocks weighing
seven and the hens six pounds each. The
cock should possess style in his carriage.
The plumage should be a deep black
with glossy reflections in the light. The
comb above medium, single, deeply ser-
rated with not more than six points.
The face and ear-lobes white through-
out.

The legs are blue or of a dark lead-
color. The legs are long, but the bodies WHITE-FACED BLACK SPANISH.
of both sexes are plump and larger than they appear. The color
of the face is considered important in this breed as the most dis-
tinctive indication of purity of blood.

The chicks are very tender when young, tbough the adult birds
are quite hardy. The hens are good layers of large white eggs,
which are claimed by their advocates to be larger than those of any
other breed. They rank, perhaps, next to the Leghorns in egg-pro-
duction.

Of the other varieties of Spanish fowls, the Minorca resembles
the white-faced Black in. many respects, but is decidedly larger.
These are excellent lasers, and the chicks are quite hardy. The
white differs from the Minorca, very little, except in the color of
the plumage. 9

The Andalusians are slaty-blue in color of plumage, and resem-
ble the Minorcas in many respects, but are more hardy.

There is, however, no need of the Spanish breeds so long as we
have the Leghorn, which have, to a large extent, superseded the
Spanish, and probably will do so completely when they are fullj
appreciated.

DORKINGS.

This is a valuable breed, which some claim originated in En&.
land, while others say they were cultivated by t:ie Romans [
described by Plato and Columella.

1C

DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

The Dorking is of large size and of superior table quality, though
the chicks are rather delicate when young. A peculiarty of the
breed is that they have a fifth toe in the rear. The varieties are
the white, silver-gray, and gray or colored. This breed is very
popular in England, but has not been appreciated in America.

HAMBURGS.

This is a beautiful breed, exceedingly

showy in bearing and plumage. They are

very fine layers, but produce small eggs.

Their great laying qualities procured for

them the name of "Dutch every- day lay

ers." They are now, however, surpassed

by some other breeds.

They have rose combs and opaque

white ear-lobes. Their plumage is very

distinctly marked. In size they are rather

below medium.

The varieties are Golden Spangled, Golden Penciled, Silver

Spangled, Silver Penciled, White and Black.

Their general characteris-
tics vary but little, the princi-
pal difference being in the
plumage. They have never
been popular in this country,
except with a few, who fancy
their stylish carriage and
.beautiful plumage. They have
good qualities, but are sur-
passed by other breeds.

SILVER PENCILED HAMBUBQS.

SILVER SPANGLED HAMBURGS.

THE POLISH BREEDS.

These are breeds of great beauty, with valuable qualities of a
•aore useful character ; but the characteristic feature of the breed,
and that which is most conspicuous in its beauty, the crest, is a
source of diseafie.

The Poland fowls all have a protuberant growth of bone upon

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

17

their heads, from which a luxuriant crest of feathers grows, causing
a peculiar and rather pleasing appearance, but really impairing the
usefulness of the fowls by rendering them more subject to disease
-and more liable to be taken by hawks.

The Polish fowls are good layers and possess fair table qualities.
They are in size about medium ; in beauty they are unsurpassed,

WHITE-CRESTED BLACK POLISH.

but it is a beauty which will attract the amateur fancier, rather than
the practical breeder, who looks to profit as well as pleasure in the
•conduct of his poultry yard.

While the Polands are prolific layers under favorable sircum-
stances, and possess good table qualities, they require greater pro-
tection from inclement weather than any other breed. The heavy
crest of feathers upon their heads renders them peculiarly subject
to cold and damp, since these feathers become wet if they are ex-
posed to showersjind thus increase the tendency to cold and other

18

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

affections of the head. Three varieties of this breed have a well
defined beard.

The varieties, as now known, which are classed under the general
name of Polish, are White-crested Black, Golden, Silver, White,

Bearded Goldeil, Bearded Silver, and Bearded White ; alljbeautiful
birds and very superior layers, but too delicate to thrive^under ordi-
nary treatment.

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 19

THE FRENCH BREEDS.

This class embraces the Breda or Gueldres fowl, the^Houdans
the La Bresse, the La Fleche and Crevecceurs. The Houdans, the
La fleche and Crevecceurs are all breeds of decided merit. Some

HOUDANS.

who have bred the La Fleche in Georgia pronounce them superior^
as a combination fowl, for the production of both eggs and poultry
for the table, even to the Plymouth Rocks.

They are large, hardy except when young, showy, prolific layers-
of large eggs, grow rapidly, and make superior table fowls. They
have crested heads and combs divided into two projections resem-
bling horns.

The ear-lobes are white in the La Fleehe and red in the Oevecoeuiv

The plumage of both black, with
a metallic lustre ; feet and legs black
or slate-colored.

Speaking of the La Fleche, Mr. 1
K. Felch, author of the "Breeding*
and Management of Poultry or Thor-
ough-breds for Practical Use," says r
"A good healthy hen of this breed,
we believe, will lay more eggs from
March to October than any other
breed, not excepting the Leghorn/*
The La Bresse is not bred, so fair
as known, in this country, nor haye
LA FLECHE/ they ever been extensively bred any-

where except locally where they originated.

20

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

The Iloudans are large and hardy, and quite popular with those
who have tried them.

Mr. Wright/ in his "Practical Poultry Keeper," remarks in regard
to the Houdans : "We have in this breed the size, form and quality

of the Dorking, with earlier maturity. The hen is a most prolific
layer of good-sized eggs, which will almost invariably be found fer-
tile— a point the Dorking is very deficient in, as all prize breeders
know to their cost. The chickens feather very rapidly and early,
but are nevertheless exceedingly hardy, perhaps more so than any,
except Cochins or Brahjias, and are therefore easily reared with

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

21

little loss. They are emphatically the fowl for the farmer, and will
yield an ample profit on good feeding, both in eggs and flesh."
This is high encomium from good authority.

The Breda has not yet been introduced into this country so far as
is known.

This is a valuable breed, hardy and prolific, and of medium size.

In color they are a slaty blue, having each feather penciled across
with bars of darker blue.

22 DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE — GEORGIA.

The comb is red in color, and in form what is known as a rose-
<eomb, flat on top and covered above with spikelets, and terminating
in a longer spike at the rear.; ear-lobes and wattles red ; legs yellow,
and in size a little above medium. As a combination fowl for the
farm they have few superior?.

There is no breed more popular as a combination fowl than the
Plymouth Rocks. They are above medium in size, the cocks
weighing ten pounds and the hens eight, some even exceeding
•these figures. The hens are good layers, of medium size, reddish-
yellow eggs, which resemble, in size and color, those of the Cochin.
They are reasonably good sitters and excellent mothers. The chicks
-are hardy, grow rapidly and produce a superior table fowl.

There is an unfortunate disposition on the part of some breedeas
"to increase the size of these birds, to their detriment as a breed.
They will prove more profitable and give more general satisfaction
if bred to the standard size of ten pounds for cocks and eight for
liens.

The breed has originated in America, and is a triumph of the
•skill of its originators. Mr. I. K. Felch, in his " Amateurs' Manual,"
spedks of their origin as follows : " This breed, in its different
families, is cross-bred in foundation blood, with top-crosses of the
'Dominique to secure the color. To notice some of the modes
-which have produced these beautiful birds, we cite :

'"1. Black Spanish on White Cochin — top-crossed with Domi-

" 2. Black Spanish on Gray Dorking — top-crossed with Domi-
.mique.

u 3f Dominique on Buff Cochin liens, reaching the result, through
"the strong breeding-color quality of the Dominique, by years of
Breeding.

"4r. White Birmingham on the Black Java — top-crossed with
Dominique.

a 5. White Birmingham on the Black Java, and the progeny
"bred together, the progeny coming white and black and Domi-
nique. These Dominique-colorod birds, bred with the males pro-
duced by mating No. 4, produced the best and surest breeders for
•color of plumage and legs, and were known by many as the Essex
strain, being the same in foundation blood as seen in the eo-called
Mark Pitman birds, of 1872-'3."

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 23

It will be seen that in four of the five instances, black birds were
•crossed upon white, or light-colored ones, with similar results, after
top-crossing with the Dominique.

The Plymouth Rock cock is a showy bird ; beak and legs yellow,
plumage bluish-gray, each feather having a penciling of darker
color across it, comb, ear-lobes, face and wattles all red, comb small,
single and erect. Red or white feathers are not admissible in either
cock or hen.

The hen is marked like the cock, except that the plumage is
darker in color.

This is, at present, the most popular combination breed for eggs
and table use.

The cross of the Plymouth Rock cock on the common hen pro-
duces a marked improvement upon the latter. The chicks are
hardy and mature early. It is far more profitable, however,, to
breed the Plymouth Rocks pure, since after stock to start with are
procured they cost no more than the grades of common fowls,
while the sale of eggs and stock birds is very profitable at the
prices which now prevail.

BARN YARD FOWLS.

The great bulk of the fowls cultivated in Georgia belong to no
particular breed, though traces of improved breeds may be seen in
many of them as the effect of crosses of some of the thorough-
breds.

Indeed, grades of superior quality are often found among the
poultry sent to our markets.

Crosses of the cocks of the Asiatics, or those of other large
breeds, upon the common dung-hill hens produce superior table
fowls. The chicks are har.dy and mature rapidly.

The continued use of the thoroughbred cocks will build up a
yard of fine fowls, but if the grade cocks are used rapid deteriora-
tion takes place, the tendency being, in accordance with natural
laws, to revert to the primitive inferior type. The present thor-
oughbred types of poultry are triumphs of the skill of breeders,
just as are the Short horn cattle and the Berkshire pigs of the
present day, and constant, careful selection is necessary to sustain
the breeds in their purity, and to counteract the natural tendency
to revert to the original type.

24 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

BANTAMS.

These diminutive birds afford entertainment to the fancier, es-
pecially if young. They make very interesting pets, and are good
layers, sitters and mothers. While no one would select them solely
on the ground of the profit to be derived from them, except by the
sale of birds to fanciers, yet on small lots they may be profitably
grown and kept healthy where larger birds would not thrive. They
are good egg producers and make very nice broilers.

JAPANESE BAIsTAMS.

When allowed a wide range on which they procure a variety of
food, the broilers are almost as nice and but little larger than par-
tridges.

There is a number of varieties of this breed, all of which are very
pretty — some are exceedingly handsome.

The varieties differ but little in economic value, while they serre
the purpose for which they are intended, viz : Gratifying the taste
of different fanciers.

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 25

BEST BREEDS FOR GEORGIA.

This is a very important question to those who propose devoting
much attention to breeding poultry, either for market or for an
abundant family supply of eggs and broilers for the private table,
and one which has been quite definitely settled by the most progres-
sive and best informed breeders.

The preponderance of evidence reported by correspondents is in
favor of the Plymouth Rock as a combination fowl for the farm
where only one breed is to be kept. The next in favor for general
purposes is the Light Brahma.

The verdict is almost unanimous in favor of the Leghorn for egg
production, the preference being generally given to the brown va-
riety.

One of the most experienced breeders -in the State (Mr. Edgar
Ross, of Bibb county), after experimenting with the following va-
rieties, viz : Light Brahma, Dark Brahma, Buff, Partridge, White
and Black Cochins, Plymouth Rocks, Houdan, Crevecceur, LaFleche,
Black Spanish, White and Brown Leghorn, Black, Silver-laced, Sil-
ver-spangled and Golden-spangled Hamburgs, Black-breasted Red,
Derby and Brown-red Game, and Game, Black and Seabright Ban-
tams, in answer to the following question : "Which variety has
given the most satisfactory results as a combination fowl for eggs
and table use?" says, "Brown Leghorn, because they are excellent
egg producers, summer and winter, and the chicks mature rapidly,
being ready for the table at ten weeks old — flesh of excellent qual-
ity."

In answsr to the question, "Which has given the most satisfactory
results as egg producers ?" he says, "Leghorns. The White Leg-
horns are as good layers as the Brown, but I prefer the latter on ac-
count of their color. They lay at five months of age." As a table
fcwl he prefers the Light Brahma.

In regard to crosses, he says : "I have made every conceivable
cross with twenty odd varieties of thoroughbreds, besides crossing
them on common stock." He reports as giving the most satisfactory
results Leghorn on Light Brahma.

In reply to the inquiry as to the respect in which the superiority
of the cross consists, Mr. Ross says : "Brahmas are excellent moth-

26

DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE —GEORGIA.

ers and good egg producers. Leghorns surpass all other varieties
as layers, but are non-sitters. The cross possesses both qualities to
perfection — loses the clumsiness of the Brahmasand inherits the ac-
tivity of the Leghorn."

There is no better authority on chickens in Georgia than Mr.
Ross. He lets the small breeds roost in trees, and has had no dis-
ease since adopting this plan.

AMERICAN SEABRIGHT.

Mr. F. N. Wilder, of Monroe county, has bred the Light Brahma,
Dark Brahma, Brown Leghorn and Plymouth Rocks, and prefers
decidedly the Light Brahma as a combination fowl. He says the
Brown Leghorns lay the largest number of eggs, but the Light
Brahmas more in weight. He thinks the Light. Brahma unsurpassed
as a table fowl. He says the cross of the Brown Leghorn on the
Light Brahma makes a superior egg producer and table fowl, but
not reliable as sitters. His opinion in regard to the comparative
weight of eggs produced by the Brown Leghorns and Light Brah-

MA.NUAL ON POULTRY. 27

inas does not correspond with the experience of others. The half-
bred Leghorns have generally in other hands proved reliable sitters
and good mothers.

Mr. Wilder says : "The Light Brahmas with me are very hardy,
good layers, sitters and mothers, and the eggs large and very rich.
When well fed they mature early for the table. They are good
winter layers, and often attain to a very large size.'' He says: "I
have had no disease. I feed regularly, and always have fresh water
accessible to them in clean earthen vessels, putting in a few drops of
carbolic acid twice a week. I keep their quarters clean and free
from vermin; provide them with good dust baths, into which a
little sulphur is occasionally sprinkled. Haul occasionally a load of
cinders from the blacksmith's shop into their yards."

Messrs. J. T. Scott & Bro., Crawfish Springs, in Walker county,
North Georgia, derive satisfactory results from some breeds not ap-
proved by breeders farther south. They have bred the Dark
Brahma, Light Brahma, Partridge Cochin, Buff Cochin, White Co-
chin, Brown Leghorn, White Leghorn, Plymouth Rocks, Black
Hamburgs, Golden-spangled Ilarnburgs, Houdans, etc.

The American Seabright is a new breed which promises well, but
has not been sufficiently tested to justify more than a passing notice
here.

28 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE FLOCK

The variety to be grown having been decided upon, the breeder
should fully determine upon a definite system of management, and
provide for housing, feeding and otherwise caring for the birds in
such manner as will insure success and profit.

The variety to be grown should depend upon the surroundings
of the breeder as regards the extent of the range available. As a
general rule, all of the smaller birds require a liberal range for
maximum production. The larger breeds, such as Cochins, Brahmas,
etc., thrive better with reasonable liberty, but suffer less from close
confinement than the smaller varieties, such as the Leghorns,
Games, etc. If it is necessary to conlne the fowls to a contracted
area, the breeder must, as far as practicable, supply by artificial
means the conditions of this natural range.

Birds that have the liberty of a farm supply themselves with
three classes of food and gravel, by means of which their food is
prepared for digestion. They find on the natural range seeds of
various kinds, a variety of green vegetable matter and insects, the
three together supplying for them bread, vegetables and meat. If
the birds are deprived of making their own selection of these
classes of food in a natural manner, by reason of confinement
within limited inclosures, they must be supplied by artificial means
or the fowls will suffer from the privation and be unprofitable to
their owners. Generally there will be no practical limit to the
range available for fowls on the farm, and hence it will be assumed
that poultry have free access to grass or small grain throughout the
year, and ths.t, except during the winter, they will be able to secure
a reasonable supply of meat in the form of insects. During the
winter, scraps of meat from the table will supplement the short
supply of insects.

If there is not an abundant supply of perennial grass to which
the fowls have daily access, small grain of some kind should be
sown to supply pasturage for them during the fall, winter and earlj
spring.

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 29

HOUSES AND SHEDS.

Breeders of poultry in Georgia should not be induced to follow
the practice of those in more northern climates in constructing
houses for the accommodation of tbeir flocks. Here, where the
mercury never reaches zero and seldom falls below twenty degrees,
very close houses are neither necessary nor desirable. On the con-
trary, close houses, in our warm climate, are often fruitful causes of
disease and death among poultry that are required to occupy them.
Let any one who is skeptical on this subject enter a close house in
which a large number of poultry are roosting on a warm night and
observe the foul air which the poor birds are compelled to breathe,
and the correctness of the above statement will at once be recog-
nized. Close barns, built after the pattern of those of the Northern
States, have been repeatedly tried in Georgia, and as often aban-
doned as unsuited to our climate. Close houses are no better suited
to poultry than to cattle in warm climates. They may be used during
the winter months to advantage if well ventilated, but the fowls
should be excluded from them from May 1st to October 1st, and
required to roost either in trees or open sheds. Thorough ventila-
tion is absolutely necessary, even in winter, to prevent disease.
This should be provided for by a " lantern," rising above the center
of the roost and provided on the sides with slats arranged after the
manner of Yenetian blinds, or by having the south side of the
house, from within three or four feet of the floor to the top, closed
in with one by three slats, leaving a space of one inch betweeu
them. The roof should be sufficiently tight to perfectly protect
the interior of the house from rain, and the north, west and east
sides so close as to exclude cold winds. Fowls will suffer more
during cold spells, if confined in a house in which they are exposed
to draughts of cold air, than if roosting on trees where the whole
body is exposed alike to the cold. This is illustrated by the injurious
effects of a draught of cold air upon the person of a human being
while sleeping. The roosts need not be more than thirty inches
from, the floor of the house, and eighteen inches from the wall,
especially if the large breeds are kept. At eighteen inches from
the floor place a shelf two feet wide, extending immediately under
the roost. Dry earth, coal ashes or cotton seed should be sprinkled

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

over this shelf to catch the droppings, and to facilitate their collec-
tion, at intervals of two or three days.

The nests may be placed against the wall of the house, under
this shelf, and thus be entirely protected from the droppings and
sufficiently secluded to suit the hens. The droppings can be very
easily swept from this shelf, into a vessel placed under it, without
defiling the floor. The droppings should be removed two or three
times a week and stored under shelter away from the fowl house.
The floor of the house, if of dirt, should be filled two or three
inches deep with dry sand, or clay, which should be dug up and
removed once a year and replaced with fresh soil. Whether of dirt,,
cement or plank, it should be occasionally sprinkled with diluted
sulphuric acid to destroy all germs of disease which may have found
a lodgment there. The sulphuric acid should be carefully handled
revent injury to the clothing or persons of those applying it.
The house should be thoroughly whitewashed twice a year to purify
it and to destroy insects injurious to the poultry. Crude petroleum,
or, if this cannot be had, kerosene oil, sprinkled over the roosts and
sides of the house, will be found beneficial in destroying the
insects.

Thorough fumigation with tobacco smoke while the fowls are
confined in the house will prove efficacious. In order to secure the
full benefit of this, however, the house must be made close enough
to retain the smoke.

Fowls are, however, far more healthy in our climate if required
to roost in trees during the summer. Indeed, they will be more
healthy if required to roost on trees throughout the year; but will
not produce so many eggs in winter as they will if kept during the
cold months in comfortable houses.

Nests, on which hens are expected to sit, should be made upon,
the ground rather than upon plank. If made upon the latter it
will be well to place upon the bottom of the nests a fresh sod before
sitting the hens. Hollow out the sod in the form in which the hen
prepares it when left to her own instincts, and make a nest of green
cotton seed, preserving the same form. The green cotton seed are
in some way offensive to mites and other insects injurious to fowls.
Some years since an experiment was made with green cotton seed
in nests by the side of others in which grass was used. While eggs

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 31

in the latter were infested with mites daily for many days in suc-
cession, those in the former were entirely exempt from them.

After nests have once been used by sitting hens they should be
thoroughly renovated. The material of which the nests are made
should be entirely removed, and either burned or thrown into the
manure pile.

In -addition to the house, there should be a shed with southern
exposure, under which the fowls may shelter themselves from cold
wind and rain. This shed should be provided with dust-baths of
dry earth mixed with ashes into which flower of sulphur is occa-
sionally sprinkled.

The droppings of both animals and birds furnish a fruitful source
of disease ; hence the importance of extreme caution in removing
promptly all droppings from the house and frequently using disin-
fectants about the houses.

This subject will be further treated under its appropriate head,
and extracts from recent scientific investigations given.

INCUBATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS.

If practicable, sitting hens should have a separate apartment
where they will not le disturbed by others seeking nests; but this
can seldom be arranged on the farm. The next best arrangement
is to provide woven wire gates, or doors, for the nests occupied by
sitting hens, to prevent intrusion from others, and at the same time
afford ample ventilation. With this arrangement it will be neces-
sary to remove the hen once a day to take food. No inconvenience
will arise from this if the hens are as gentle as they should be. It
will not be necessary to keep the door of the nest closed regularly
unless there are other hens disposed to intrude upon the sitters. It
is well, however, to have ready a means of protecting them when
necessary.

Eggs should be marked when placed under the hens in order
that those laid after she commences to sit may be readily distin-
guished and promptly removed. The number of eggs to be put
under a hen will depend upon the season of the year and the size of
the hen. In winter, when the temperature is so low that the par-

82 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA.

tial exposure of an egg would prove destructive of the chick, fifteen
eggs are enough for a large hen and thirteen for a small one.

Later in the season, when the thermometer ranges from 70° at
night to 80° or 90° at noon, nineteen or twenty-one may be set
under the hens of the larger breeds and fifteen under those of the
smaller breeds. §

The eggs should be frequently examined, and if any have been
broken those remaining should be carefully washed in milk-warm
water, and, as promptly as possible, gently wiped and returned to
the hen. If this is not done, the chicks will die in all of the eggs to
which any considerable quantity of the contents of the broken ones
has adhered. Whether this results from the stifling odor of the
decaying eggs, or from suffocation by closing the pores of the shells,
is not known, but the fact is known to every experienced poultry
raiser, though the remedy is seldom applied.

If hens are set upon nests with plank bottoms it will be found
advantageous to sprinkle the eggs with tepid water daily during
the last week of the incubation. During very dry spells this will
be found to be beneficial even when the nests have dirt bottoms,
unless the hen seeks her food, while off, in grass wet with dew.

If nothing goes apparently wrong with the hen, it is best to dis-
turb her as little as possible during her incubation. When hatch-
ing commences all that is necessary is to remove the shells that have
hatched to prevent them from covering the pipped eggs and stifling
the chicks. It will sometimes be necessary, if the hatching is con-
tinued longer than twenty-four hours, to feed the hen to prevent
her from leaving her nest before the hatching is completed.

The best food for the young chicks, for the first few days, is hard
boiled eggs, but very few will be willing to use eggs in this way.
An excellent food for them is curds, or plain corn bread crumbled
in buttermilk or clabber. Soft, sticky, raw dough should never be
fed to young fowls, and is not proper food for adults. Wheat bran,
or shorts, mixed with corn meal and not made too wet, or baked
into bread, will be found suitable food for growing chicks and
adults as a morning feed. If they have a liberal range, two meals
a day will be sufficient, giving dry dough, or bread, in the morning
and grain of some kind just before they go to roost. If fed on meal
at night it is so rapidly digested that the crop becomes empty before
morning, and the birds consequently suffer.

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 33

The food should be varied during each week by using different
combinations of meal, shorts, bran, etc.. for the morning meal, and
the different grains for evening.

It is a good plan to sow plats of Egyptian wheat, Dourra corn,
German millet, rural branching sorghum, or millo maize, sorghum
cane, field peas and chufas, for pasturage. With such plats accessi-
ble to the poultry no more feeding will be necessary than just
enough to keep them gentle, and to collect them daily to be counted
and examined. These crops will come into use in succession from
July until mid-winter. The chufas will not be noticed by the
poultry until all of the seed of the other plants have been con-
sumed. After the tops of the chufas die down, a few bunches
should be upturned to attract the attention of the chickens. When
they once learn where to find them they will continue to scratch
for them as long as a nut can be found.

With these crops and small grain accessible to the fowls, very
little feeding will be necessary, and the poultry will be more
healthy than when they are abundantly fed at regular intervals
without such range.

Pure fresh water should be always accessible to the poultry in
either iron, stone or earthenware vessels.

If disinfectants or tonics are necessary they can be very easily
and conveniently administered through the water.

3

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

FOOD YALUES OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS.

The following table is copied from "Wright's Practical Poultry
Keeper."

THERE IS IN
EVERY 100
POUNDS OF

FLESH-
FORMING
FOOD.

WARMTH-GIVING
FOOD.

BONE
MAKING
FOOD.

og

^s

.1*

WATER

Gluten, etc.

Fat or Oil.

Starch', etc.

Mineral
substances.

Oats

' 15
18
18
12
11
11
7
25
VA

6
6
6
3
2
8
a trace
2
3

47
63
53
70
60
65
80
48
5

2
2
5
2
2
1
a trace
2
X

20
2
4
1
14
5

8

10
9
14
12
11
10
13
15
86%

Oatmeal

Middlings .

Wheat

Barley

Corn

Rice

Beans and Peas...
Milk

Commenting on this table Mr. Wright says : "To show the prac-
tical use of this table, it may be observed that whilst ' middlings,'
from its flesh-forming material, is one of the best summer ingre-
dients, in winter it may be advantageous to change it for a portion
of Indian meal. It is, however, necessary to avoid giving too great
a proportion of maize, either as meal or corn, as the effect will be a
useless and prejudicial fattening from the large quantity of oil it
contains ; it is best mixed with barley or bean-meal, and is then a
most economical and useful food. Potatoes, also, from the large
proportion of starch contained in them, are not good unmixed as a
regular diet for poultry, but mixed with bran or meal will be found
most conducive to condition and laying.

" In mixing soft food, there is one general rule always to be ob-
served, it must be mixed rather dry, so that it will break if thrown
upon the ground. There should never be enough water to cause
the food tojglisten in the light, or to make a sticky, porridgy mass,
which clings around the beaks of the fowls and gives them infinite
annoyance, besides often causing diarrhoea. If the weather be

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 35

dry, and the birds are fed in a hard, gravelly yard, the food is just
as well, or better, thrown on the ground."

If, however, such ground is not accessible, or if fed in a shed, a
vessel protected by wire or slats driven around it to prevent them
from walking over the food or scratching it out will be better.

As before remarked, pure water is as important as good food.
The water vessel should be so constructed that the fowls cannot
scratch dirt into it. There are several forms of poultry fountains
which answer well for this purpose.

Tonics and disinfectants can be administered in the drinking
water. On this subject Wr. Wright says : " It is well in winter to
add to the water a few drops of a solution of sulphate of iron (green
vitriol), just enough to give a slight mineral taste. This will in a
great measure guard against roup, and act as a bracing tonic gen-
erally. The rusty appearance the water will assume is quite imma-
terial. The best plan, perhaps, is to keep a large bottle of the cele-
brated l Douglas Mixture,' respecting which we can speak with
unqualified approval, as a most valuable addition to the drink in
cold weather of bo -a i< *v and chickens. It conists of half a pound
of sulphate of iron and one ounce of sulphuric acid dissolved in
two gallons of water, and is to be added in the proportion of a
teaspoonful to each pint of water in the fountain. Whilst the
fowls are moulting, the above mixture, or a little sulphate of iron,
should always be used ; it will assist them greatly through this, the
most critical period of the whole year.

" A little hemp-seed should also be given every day at this season,
at least to all fowls of value, and with these aids, and a little pep-
per on their food, with perhaps a little extra meat, or even a littie
ale during the few weeks the process lasts, there will rarely be any
lost. With hardy kinds and good shelter such precautions are
scarcely necessary, but they cost little, and have their effect also on
the early recommencement of laying.

" In addition to their regular food it will be needful that the fowls
have a supply of lime, in some shape or other, to form the shells of
their eggs. Old mortar pounded is excellent; so are oyster-shells
well burned in the fire and pulverized ; of the latter they are very
fond, and it is an excellent plan to keep a saucer full of it in their
yard. If this matter has been neglected, and soft shell-less eggs

36 • DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

have resulted, the quickest way of getting matters right again is to
add a little lime to the drinking water."

Whether the fowls occupy houses or trees as roosting places, the
droppings should be regularly collected at short intervals and kept
under shelter until needed. Since the solid and liquid parts of the
manure from fowls are united, it is highly aminoniated, and while it
furnishes an admirable application to the class of plants requiring a
liberal supply of nitrogen, it contains an excess of nitrogen for most
of our cultivated plants if used alone. It is therefore well to mix it
with an equal weight of superphosphate and a small quantity of
kainit, thus producing a complete manure of superior merit. If
cotton seed are used for nests they form a valuable addition to the
manure heap when discarded from the nests to make room for a
fresh supply.

DISEASES.

There are only a few diseases of fowls which need notice here.

Prevention is the best policy, and this may easily be accomplished
by using the necessary precautions as regards the use of disinfec-
tants and insecticides, with proper attention to cleanliness and judi-
cious feeding.

If contagious diseases appear in the flock, the best policy is to
kill the diseased birds as soon as the character of the disease is ascer-
tained.

The dead birds should be either burned or deeply buried at a
distance from the run of the balance of the flock, and vigorous
measures at once adopted to perfectly disinfect the premises, re-
moving, if practicable, the well birds from the yard which the dis-
eased birds have used, until thoroughly disinfected by the use of
sulphuric acid.

No one who values his poultry should allow disease to appear
among them. Its appearance is generally the result of criminal
neglect in the management of the flock. It often results from the
weakening effects of insect vermin where fowls are required to roost,
lay and sit in neglected houses.

It not unfrequently arises from the foul air produced by accumu-
lations of their droppings upon a damp floor, intensified by confine-
ment in too close and contracted quarters.

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 37

Another fruitful source of disease is found in stagnant or pol-
luted water with which the poor birds are compelled to slake their
thirst.

As usually watered in flat, open troughs, the fowls are frequently
required to drink a solution of their own droppings. With such
treatment health cannot be expected.

Irregularity in feeding is another fruitful source of disease.
During the winter months when insects are scarce and the birds
consequently find but little meat on their run, they are freely fed
with bred or grain. When spring arrives and insects become
abundant they get little except meat, and the feeding is too often
discontinued under the impression that they procure abundant sup-
plies on the run and do not need feeding.

They thus have a bred diet in winter and one principally of meat
(insects) in summer, and the natural result of such management is
indigestion, disease and death. Fowls, no matter how good their
range, should be fed twice a day — morning and evening — the quan-
tity of food given depending upon the character of that accessible
to them during the day.

In winter meat of some kind should be mingled with their bread,
and in summer they should have bread to mix with their daily
catch of meat (insects).

A free use of flour of sulphur in their nests, and dust baths, and
an occasional dose in the food of small chicks and stock birds will
prove beneficial. The houses should be whitewashed inside and
out with a mixture of lime, salt and carbolic acid, and the floor occa-
sionally sprinkled with sulphuric acid, to destroy all germs of dis-
ease tnat may have found a lodgment there.

DISTEMPER.

Mr. I. K. Felch, in his " Breeding and Management of Poultry,"
says : " This disease all chickens are heir to, and generally is taken
about the time they are twenty-two to twenty-six weeks old, and at
the time they are shedding their second chicken feathers. * * *

" If carefully watched, little or no medicine is needed, and so light
is the disease that it hardly deserves a place in this catalogue. Yet
if not jealously watched it becomes the most frightful in the intro-
duction of ronp and consumption.

38 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

" Symptoms. — A listless, quiet mien ; a disposition to remain on
the roost in the day-time ; face and comb quite red, and a puff or
fullness of the face under the eye. The second day a white froth
is discerned in the corner of the eye. A decided loss of appetite is
also noticeable.

" Treatment. — If noticed, and the disease taken in hand before
the appearance of the froth in the eye, it will usually only be nec-
essary to wash the head and beak clean, and blow down through the
nose into the throat either with the mouth, or by means of a rubber
nipple, thus clearing the tear tube, and bathe the head and wash the
throat with a solution of carbolic acid — one part acid to ten parts
water. The birds should be kept in a quiet place and allowed noth-
ing but water.

" The third day they will regain their appetites and all is over.
Many of them have this distemper so lightly as not to be noticed.
In aggravated cases, when the eyes and face are much swollen, the
head and throat should be thoroughly steamed by the use of a large
sponge and hot water. The tear tube should be cleared (as before
explained), a dessert spoonful of castor oil given, and the bathing
of the face and throat with the solution of carbolic acid continued
at short intervals. This distemper may be called a cold, or the in-
cipient stages of the roup. We will not quarrel about names, but
simply say that in our opinion it is no more roup than a cold is
measles. There is no offensive smell to the breath as in roup, but,
if neglected, it will excite roup. We have not the slightest doubt
of this ; in fact know it to be the case, and the breeder has the
choice of adopting the adage, ' a stitch in time eaves nine,' and at-
tending to this mild, easily managed distemper, or to neglect it and
have that scourge of a poultry house, ' the roup,' to contend with.5'
In regard to

EOUP

The same author says : " When roup appears, our advice is to
kill the affected one and turn our attention at once to the flock,
giving sulphur in the ratio of a tablespoonf ul to fifteen fowls every
other day for a week, feeding tincture of iron, eight drops to a hen
every day in their soft food, which will pay to be boiled rice, until
treatment is over. With this be sure that the ventilation is com-
plete and free from direct draughts upon the fowls. For the ben-
efit of those who wish to cure the disease, we give the following
symptoms and our method of treatment :

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 39

"Symptoms. — Swelling of the head, watery discharge from the
eyes and nostrils, which are very foetid and offensive to the smell,
following which, these discharges become acrid and result in a con-
gealed yellow coating to the mouth and tongue, called canker,
which we term a poisonous fungus growth in the blood.

"Treatment. — Wash and steam the head and throat with hot water
in which a dash of carbolic acid is added. Clear the nasal passage
to the throat by an injection of carbolic water, one part of carbolic
acid to ten parts of water. Gargle the throat and tongue with a
solution of potash, but do not peel the canker off, if to do so causes
any bleeding, for that would only aggravate the disease. Give a
dessert-spoonful of castor oil, and each morning give nearly a gill of
milk in which three or four grains of hyposulphite of soda have been
dissolved. At evening, after the washing and steaming, the cleans-
ing of the nasal passage and the gargling give a gill of milk with
eight drops of tincture of iron.

"The milk can be easily administered by taking the bird by the
under beak and drawing the neck upward till straight, when the
milk poured from a tea-pot will run into the crop without the
effort of swallowing.

"At the end of about four or five days the effect of the hyposul-
phite of soda in the blood, and the solution of carbolic acid as a
wash, may be seen in the sloughing off of the cankerous substance
from the tongue and mouth, when the fowl will commence to mend.
The treatment at this stage should be nourishing food, with occa-
sional doses of sulphur, and the fowls will regain their health and
eprightliness. Six-sevenths of the cases of roup are curable, but its
extreme contagion makes the cure a questionable policy, and it
should never be undertaken unless the affected fowl be at once re-
moved from the flock and fowl-house.''

Gapes is common among chicks from four to six weeks old when
supplied with foul water, especially if poorly fed during wet spells.
Mr. Wright says : "The disease consists — at least so far as actual
symptoms extend — in a number of small worms which infest the
windpipe, and cause the poor chicken to gasp for breath. If taken
early, it will be sufficient to give every day a morsel of camphor the
size of a grain of wheat, and to put camphor in the drinking water,
or a little turpentine may be given daily in meal, taking care, of
course, that the deficiencies in diet and shelter be amended. In fully

40

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

developed cases the worms must be removed by introducing a loop
of horsehair into the trachea, or windpipe, and turning it round dur-
ing withdrawal, the operation to be repeated several times till all
the worms appear to be extracted. A feather, stripped almost up
to the top, may be used instead of the horsehair."

CHOLERA

has been the especial scourge of the poultry yards of the South, and
until recently has baffled the skill of all investigators. Dr. D. E.
Salmon, of the Veterinary Division of the United States. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, has for several years been pursuing a system-
atic, scientific investigation of this disease with very instructive re-
sults. Be has succeeded in cultivating the virus containing the
gesms of the bacteria, which cause the disease, and by diluting it in
different degrees has been able by inoculation to produce the disease
at will in virulent or mild form, according to the strength of the
virus used.

The theory on which he proceeds is, that by successive cultiva-
tions he will so far weaken the virus as to be able to produce by in-
oculation effects similar to those resulting from vaccination of hu-
man beings.

All medical treatment failed even in his skillful hands. He found
that the germs of the bacteria, voided in the increment of diseased
fowls, retained vitality and was capable of producing the disease in
fowls fed upon the flesh of dead birds that had been frozen. He
found also that the virus, after six successive cultivations in a flask
prepared for the purpose, had lost but little, if any, of its viru-
lence.

His experiments showed that burial of the fowls, that had died
with cholera, for six months, destroyed the germs of the bacteria.
He expresses the opinion that putrefaction destroys the germs, but
when protected from this, as in the case of frozen flesh, vitality is
retained. Under the head of

THE EFFICIENCY OF DILUTED SULPHURIC ACID AS A DISINFECTANT,

Dr. Salmon says :

"The solution of commercial sulphuric acid of the strength of one
part to two hundred of water, which I have heretofore recom-
mended as a cheap and most efficient disinfectant in this disease, has
jbeen in continual use during these experiments. I have sho-wn. in

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 41

my former report how dangerous it is to place susceptible fowls in
coops that have been occupied with those sick with cholera when
no disinfection is practiced. Daring these experiments it has been
necessary to use the same coop over and over again, and frequently
it was impossible to place them upon fresh ground, and in some
cases even the accumulations of excrement were not removed ; at
all times reliance was placed upon this disinfectant, and the water-
ing troughs, coops and grounds thoroughly saturated with it. In
no single instance out of more than a hundred have the most sus-
ceptible fowls contracted the disease from such disinfected grounds
or coops. The value of this agent is, then, fully confirmed by a
large number of cases. It deserves even more credit for efficiency
than I have before given it, since considerable accumulations of
virulent manure have been rendered perfectly harmless after a
thorough saturation with it. As a disinfectant, therefore, it cannot
be too highly recommended, and it should be largely used by all
who suffer from the ravages of this plague."

In order, therefore, to prevent this so-far incurable disease, all
breeders of poultry should use this simple, cheap and efficient dis-
infectant at intervals of not more than a month.

BUMBLE FOOT OB CLUB FOOT.

This is generally caused by heavy fowls flying down from too high
roosts. It resembles what is known as "stone bruise" in the human
foot. On this subject Mr. Felch remarks : "The flesh of the foot
being so tough, the pus cannot escape; therefore, if not attended
to, it must congeal and an ungainly, troublesome foot be the result.
"When discovered before the pus congeals, lance the swelling at
the rear of the foot, and the pressure upon it in walking will presa
the pus out and there will be a much smaller callous than if allowed
to settle down of its own accord. We have treated cases by making
an incision in front and rear of the foot, and those on the shank by
opening at top and bottom, and by the use of a syringe and a solu-
tion of carbolic acid, of one part of acid to ten parts of water,
cleanse tbem thoroughly when they all heal up." This is seldom
attended to in time to prevent evil consequences.

THE BED SPIDEB LOUSE MITE.

Mr. Felch Bays :

"This pest is the scourge of the poultry-house, and the source of

42 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

more trouble and annoyance than any other hindrance to poultry
keeping. The quarters often become literally alive with them be-
fore the breeder is aware of their presence. They sap the life-blood
from the fowls and reduce to skeletons and debilitate a flock to
such an extent as to make the season unprofitable. Working only
in the night, they escape notice and have things their own way.

" Fowls that are sitting upon eggs are generally the greatest suf-
ferers, for these lice instinctively seek out such hens as are about to
hatch their brood, and many a hen sacrifices her life to her mother-
hood.

" In this case the hen becomes sallow in the face, and comb actu-
ally bloodless, the lice having consumed the blood to such an extent
as to cause death, and many fowls, whose death has been attrib-
uted to disease, have been murdered by these pests.

" The quarters should be constantly watched, and all the cracks
and knots on or about the roost saturated with coal tar and kero-
sene oil or carbolic acid. The houses must be kept free from them,
for the exhaustive influence of these marauders not only entails the
loss of blood to the fowls, but by reducing their strength renders
the flock more liable to the diseases we have described.

" It is therefore the best and surest step, toward warding off dis-
ease, to have an absolutely clean poultry house. If from one to
three pounds of sulphur be mixed with the loamy sand and gravel
covering the floor, in which the fowls may dust themselves, and ker-
osene oil used as described, the fowls occasionally dusted while on
their roosts with a dredging box filled with sulphur and Persian in-
sect powder, or carbolic powder, their quarters will soon be cleansed.
Cleanliness, coupled with judicious feeding, is what makes fowls
profitable. So great a nervous irritant are these species of vermin,
that in two flocks, equally well feed, the flock which occupies quar-
ters infected with lice will not lay at all, while those free from this
annoyance will lay nearly every day. This fact proves them to be
an expensive enemy to the breeder. We do not go so far as some
writers, and say that all disease is caused by lice, but will say that
many a fowl would not have suffered disease were it not for this
barn or spide louse. Breeders, look for them at all times. Do
not wait for them to make themselves known and force their ac-
quaintance upon you."

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 48

THE PIP.

Writers generally ridicule the idea of classing pip as a disease.

Mr. Wright says : " Pip is no dif ease and demands not reatment,
being only analogous to a ' foul tongue ' in human beings. Cure
the roup, or bad digestion, or whatever else may be the real evil,
and the thickening of the tongue will disappear too."

Whether it be classed as a disease or not, it has its well-defined
symptoms, and whatever be the cause the remedy is simple and
effectual.

The tongue becomes coated over with a horny substance which
so stiffens that organ as to prevent its use in taking food. If not
attended to promptly the fowl gradually declines until starvation
terminates its existence.

Remove the coating from the tongue and the bird at once returns
to its food and recovery is rapid. Few practical poultry raisers
have not had experience with the removal of this horny substance
from the tongues witii perfectly satisfactory results, the bird re-
turning promptly to its food and rapidly regaining health and
strength after the removal of the " pip."

Those who wish to follow Dr. Salmon through the details of his
investigation of fowl cholera will find his reports in the United States
Department of Agriculture, reports for 1880 and 1881-2.

As before remarked, the safest policy in nearly every instance is
to kill the diseased birds rather than attempt treating them, devot-
ing at the same time the utmost energy to the protection of the re-
mainder of the flock by the use of disinfectants and by a thorough
renovation of their quarters.

If proper attention is given to cleanliness, feeding and the use of
disinfectants, there need be no disease among fowls, and there should
le none.

OTHER POULTRY.

TURKEYS.

It is agreed on all sides that the turkey is a native of the West-
ern Continent, some maintaining that the wild and domesticated
birds have a common origin from the wild variety now in our for-
ests, the variations having been caused by the influences of domes-
tication, while others contend that there were three original types
of the wild turkeys, viz : the Mexican, Honduras and the Bronze
turkey still found in the United States.

Be this as it may, it is of little importance to the practical breeder.
Naturalists have given to the three varieties the following names,
viz : Meleagris Oaellata, to those from Central America ; M. Amer-
icana, to the wild American species such as are found in our for-
ests, and "M. Mexicana, to the Mexican species.

If it is true that all of the varieties of chickens have been pro-
duced from a single original, the Gallus Bankiva, as claimed by Mr.
Darwin, it is not difficult to believe that all of our domestic breeds
of turkeys have a common origin.

The principal varieties which claim distinctive characteristics
are the Bronze, the Cambridge, the White Holland and the Nor-
folk.

The Bronze resembles very closely in plumage the M. Americana,
or common wild turkey of our forests, and seems to have been the
result of a cross of the wild gobbler upon the domestic hen. They
are very handsome and hardy and attain to a greater size than the
other varieties, the gobblers weighing as much as forty pounds.

They are more disposed to range than the other breeds, and hence
cannot be kept, except where abundant range is afforded on the
premises of the owner. The other breeds are more domestic, but
less hardy and of smaller size. The variegated colors of many tur-
keys result from crosses of the different breeds.

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

They have not been bred with the same care that chickens have,
except, perhaps, the Bronze variety, which has received much at-
tention within the last few years.

It is rarely profitable to breed turkeys on a small scale or on

BRONZE GOBBLER.

small runs, but on farms of considerable size, where small grain is
grown, and where the turkeys have the run of the stubble after the
grain has been harvested, they can be reared at small cost and with
but little trouble.

The hens commence to lay in early spring and lay from twelve
to eighteen eggs each. If allowed their liberty they usually seek
their nests in some quiet, secluded spot where they are least likely

46 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

to be disturbed by the gobbler. Some allow them to select their
own nests for both laying and sitting ; other smove them to houses
when they show broody propensities, and confine them upon a sit-
ting of eggs, removing them daily for the purpose of taking food,
while others still confine the hens daily until they have laid, thus
requiring them to lay in the house where they have to sit.

The hens are very close sitters, and, if not disturbed, usually hatch
well under any of the three plans.

The chicks are apparently stupid when first hatched, and inexpe-
rienced breeders become impatient of their delay in taking food.
A few hen eggs should be put under each turkey hen six or seven
days after she commences to sit upon her own eggs. The chickens
will soon teach the young turkeys, which are quite imitative, to eat
if such teaching is necessary.

The young turkeys are very tender and delicate when first
hatched, and require very careful housing and feeding for several
weeks. If many hens are kept a number of them should be set at
the same time, so that the young turkeys hatched by the whole
number may be given to a few hens, and the remainder set at liberty
to lay another sitting of eggs. ,:

If only a few hens are kept, and it is desired to secure the maxi-
mum number of eggs from them, they need not be allowed to sit
at all, but the eggs hatched under chicken hens.

A larger per cent, of the young turkeys will generally be raised
in this way than by the turkeys themselves, and they will have, when
grown, less propensity for rambling.

Again, under this system the turkey hens will lay twice as many
eggs as when allowed to sit. Young turkeys are so senitive to cold
and dampness that the hen carrying them should be inclosed for
some weeks in a well sheltered pen in which there is a plank floor.
The young ones may be allowed the liberty of a small run in dry,
pleasant weather, but must be scrupulously protected from rain and
not allowed to run in grass which is wet with dew or rain.

The floor of the pen must be kept clean, and dry, and pure, fresh
water kept constantly within their reach. The vessel in which water
is given them must be so shallow as to avoid all risk of drowning
the young.

For some weeks after hatching the young turkeys are very sub-
ject to diarrhoea, and hence the utmost care must be exercised in

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 47

feeding them. Hard boiled eggs, or curd, pressed every day, will
prove the safest food for the first two weeks, after which bread
soaked in just enough milk to soften it may be used to advantage.
The tender tops of onions, garden fennel, purslane or dandelion,
chopped fine and mixed with the other food, will be found beneficial,
contributing materially to the health of the chicks.

On pleasant, bright days the hen may be allowed to take out the
brood on the run, but must be carefully watched to prevent being
caught in rain.

The gobbler will sometimes maliciously destroy the young tur-
keys, and hence prudence demands his confinement when the hens
come off with their young. He will destroy many by merely tramp-
ling upon them, but will often peck them until all of the principal
bones in them are broken. If there are hens still laying, with whom
he consorts, there is less risk of his injuring the young turkeys, but
it will be prudent to prevent any risk of his giving vent to his ma-
licious propensities.

The wild turkey hen instinctively conceals her nest and her young
from the gobbler. When the young turkeys acquire sufficient
strength and activity to keep out of the way, the gobbler may be al-
lowed his liberty, even in company with the mother birds and their
young, but even then he will be a disturbing element in the flock.
The young turkeys do not become hardy until the red begins to ap-
pear upon their heads. After they reach that staeje they are quite
hardy, and will take care of themselves if allowed a liberal range.

Turkeys are not profitable unless they glean a large share of their
food from the fields, where what they gather would otherwise be
wasted. They are ravenous eaters and very destructive of some
kinds of vegetation.

THE GUINEA FOWL.

The guinea fowl is noted for its great egg producing qualities.
The hens commence laying in May and continue through August.
Generally a number of them will lay in the same nest ; indeed, so
great is this tendency that it is difficult to induce enough of them
to have neets to themselves to secure sitters to keep up the stock.
In view of this difficulty, therefore, it is well to set the early laid eggs
under chicken hens.

48 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

The guineas seldom sit until too late in the season to rear a good
brood, but if they can be induced to sit they generally hatch well
and are remarkably successful in rearing their brood.

Another advantage in having chicken hens raise the young gui.
neas is that they grow up more gentle and manageable than when
reared by the guinea hens. Guineas have a natural disposition to
roam, and are disposed to seek their nests in secluded spots at a dis-
tance from the farm house. They will pair off if the number of
males equals that of the females, but if the number of the latter is
in excess of that of the former, oiie male will consort with more
than one female. In this case, however, the tendency to use the
same nest will be increased.

Guineas are very cross to other fowls, and by their nervous, sud-
den mode of attack so surprise less active fowls that they gain the
mastery over those much larger than themselves. We have no
domestic fowl equal in table qualities to half grown guineas.

In quality and flavor of the flesh they approach those of the pheas-
ant. No farm yard is complete without guineas. They famish an
abundant supply of eggs during the warm summer months when
the chicken hens, except the Leghorns, fail.

In addition to the other good qualities of the guineas, they sound
a note of alarm at any unusual occurrence during the night.

THE PEAFOWL.

This is a highly ornamental bird and is generally grown with
special reference to this quality. They are, therefore, suited only
to spacious grounds and lawns, in which they are peculiarly appro,
priate.

They are out of place in a general poultry yard on account of
their ill nature, the mail taking special pleasure in annoying a hen
with a brood and killing the chicks. One indulging, therefore, in
the luxury of the peafowl as an ornamental bird must weigh well
its disposition to destroy the more useful part of the flock.

It requires three years in which to reach maturity. The hen lays
the second year, seeking a secluded, retired spot for her nest. She
lays from five to nine eggs about the size of those of the turkey
hen. The time of incubation is from twenty-eight to thirty days.

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 49

The chicks are almost as tender as young turkeys, but on account
of the shyness of the old birds must be left to the care of the parent^
who cares for them for six months.

WATER FOWL.

Under this head only ducks and geese will be treated as the only
birds of practical utility. Swan's are merely ornamental and require
more water for successful culture than is at the command of most
breeders.

PER IN DUCKS.

While ducks and geese may be successfully grown under domesti-
cation, without access to more water than an ordinary drinking
trough will afford, still in their natural state they live upon the
water, and under domestication will seek water if in reach.

The five principal varieties of thoroughbred ducks are the Pekin,
Aylesbury, Rouen, Cayuga and Muscovy, each of which has its ad-
vocates among breeders.
4

50 fcErARTMENf OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA.

Of these the Pekin is the largest and most showy, is a voracious
feeder, and when well fattened makes a fine table fowl.

The voraciousness of these birds is an objection to them unless
they are grown on the farm where there is much waste from the
grain fed to stock.

The Pekin is the largest variety of ducks ; plumage pure white,
beak and legs bright yellow. The profit in breeding them depends
upon the cost of the food furnished them. If it must be purchased
there will be little if any profit in breeding them.

THE AYLESBURY

Is a favorite variety with many breeders and is a very valuable bird.
They, too, are voracious feeders, but consume so much that chickens
will not, that they can be largely supported on waste.

Mr. Fowler, good authority on such subjects, says of the Ayles-
bury :

"My idea of a perfect Aylesbury drake and duck is, that in plum,
age they should be of the finest snow white all over. The head
should be full, and the bill well set on to the skull, so that the beak
should seem to be almost in a line from the top of the head to the
tip. The bill should be long, and when viewed from the front ap-
pear much like a woodcock's. It should be, in prize birds, of a deli-
cate flesh color, without spot or blemish, and with a slight fleshy
excrescence where the feathers commence. If it occasionally has a
very slight creamy tint it would not disqualify, but any approach to
dark buff or yellow is fatal to the pen ; eye full, bright and quite
~black. The legs should be strong, with the claws well webbed, and
in color of a rich dark yellow or orange. Body rather long, but broad
across the shoulders, and the neck rather long and slender. The
drake should have one and sometimes has two sharp curls in his tail.
The weight of each bird in a show-pen ought to be about nine
pounds, but this is not very often attained."

These ducks commence to lay in winter, and if not allowed to sit
themselves they will lay a large number of good sized eggs during
the season. A large number of the ducklings may be put with a
single hen in a close warm pen where they are fed liberally upon
meal mixed with boiled meat chopped fine. They will grow very
rapidly under this treatment, and when two months old be ready
for market. They should be kept supplied with fresh, clear water

MANUAL ON POULTRY.

51

BOUEN DUCKS.

i +

in a shallow pan, but not allowed to go to branches or ponds until
four or six weeks old, lest they be destroyed by turtles or become
chilled and die from cramp.

THE ROUEN DUCKS

Are treated as the Aylesbury, but do not commence to lay so early
jn the season. They usually commence in February or Jlarch, ancl if

52 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

not allowed to sit will lay a large number of eggs. In color they
should be exactly like the wild Mallard from which they seem to
have originated. The Rouen is more hardy than the Aylesbury or
the Pekin, but not so large as either, though equal to them in table
qualities.

THE BLACK OAYUGA

Has black plumage, approaching brown, with a white collar. It is
not quite so large as the Aylesbury or Rouen, but of superior flavor,
and with greater aptitude to fatten than either of the above men-
tioned breeds. It originated on Oayuga lake, in New York. It is
hardy and a good layer — weight six to eight pounds.

THE MUSCOVY,

Or Musk Duck, so called from the decided odor of musk emitted by
the drake, is a very common and hardy breed, which has not been
bred to any uniform color, being either white or black, or a ming-
ling of these in every conceivable manner. There is more than the
ordinary difference between the size of the drake and the duck.
Their table qualities are inferior to those of the breeds already men-
tioned, though when well fattened they are of fair quality. The
drake is exceedingly quarrelsome, and hence is a disagreeable com-
panion in the poultry yard.

This seems to be quite a distinct breed, as its cross upon others is
generally unfertile. The duck lays a large egg, but a much smaller
number than either the Aylesbury, Rouen or the Black Cayuga.

THE COMMON DUCK

Seems to be a degenerate descendant of the Rouen as its plumage
resembles that of the latter very closely. They are prolific and
hardy but small, and are rather disagreeable additions to the poul-
try yard on account of the perpetual "quack," "quack" of the female-
They are good layers, and when well fattened possess excellent table
qualities.

All varieties of ducks are careless as to the deposit of their eggs,
dropping them indiscriminately on their run or in the water, and
hence it is well to keep them in the house until nine o'clock each
morning during the laying season. They invariably lay early in
the morning, and hence by this means all of their eggs will
ally be secured,

MANUAL ON POULTRY. 53

DUCKS AND CAKP PONDS.

As carp culture is now becoming so common a few suggestions on
the above subject will be appropriate here. Whether the ducks
seek the eggs of the carp while they remain attached to the grass on
the margin of the pond is not fully determined, but there is
no question of the fact that in seeking their food in the shallow
water, as they are fond of doing, the ducks incidentally desiroy a
great many eggs. They should therefore be carefully excluded
from the ponds during the spawning season of the carp, which
extends from the first of April to August. After that time the
ducks may frequent the ponds to the advantage of both the fish and
the ducks until the return of the spawning season.

The tadpole of the bull frog is very destructive of the eggs of the
carp, and as they are at their most destructive stage during the early
part of the spawning season, they should if possible be destroyed.
Ducks are exceedingly fond of them and are very successful in de-
stroying them, while they do not disturb the young fish.

In order to test this, a pond which contained a large number of
small carp was drawn down to a depth not exceeding two feet at the
deepest part and ducks given free access to it. They were watched
for two days, during which time they destroyed large numbers of
the tadpoles, but were never seen to catch a fish.

Again, a large Muscovy drake was seen to swim repeatedly over
a small pond eight by twenty feet in area, containing perfectly
clear water not exceeding one foot in depth. In this pond were
fifty six small fish. The drake observed the fish as he passed over
them but made no effort to catch them. The conclusion, therefore,
from observations thus far made, is that ducks may with advantage
to both fish and ducks have free access to the carp ponds from
August to March, inclusive.

54

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

GEESE,

While not generally prolific, can be more cheaply raised than any
other kind of our domestic fowls if they are supplied with abundant
green pastures. The goslings need feeding only a few weeks, when
soaked bread or boiled potatoes mixed with meal may be given them

TOULOUSE GEESE.

while running on grass with the mother goose. After two weeks
they may be fed on grain placed in a box containing a little water.
If, however, they have access to tender grass they will thrive well
without other food, provided they have dry shelter in cool nights*
Their growth is very rapid even on grass without other food.

The principal breeds are the Chinese or Hong Kong, as they are
sometimes called, from their supposed origin, though writers on the
subject assert that there is no such domesticated breed in tlie vicinity
of Hong Kong.

ON

Mr. C, R. Belcher, of East Randolph, Mass., gives in Miner's Do-
mestic Poultry, the following description of his China geese : " The
bill is black, with a black or dark-colored protuberance surmount-
ing the base of the upper mandible. A feathered wattle hangs
under the throat ; a dark brown stripe proceeds from the back of
the head down the neck, until it reaches the upper part of the body
between the wings ; the fronts of the neck and the breast are yellow-
ish gray; the abdomen is white; the back and all the upper parts
of the body are of a dark, grayish color, and the legs dark, with
black feet.

At two years of age, or when mature, they weigh twenty or
twenty-five pounds. They are more prolific than any other variety,
laying from early spring until late in the summer. It is claimed
that they will hatch three broods in a year.

TKere is also a white variety of the Chinese geese which possess
the general characteristics and qualities of the dark breed, the prin-
cipal difference being found in the fact that these have pure white
plumage. The other principal varieties are the Bremen, African
or Guinea, Indian Mountain, Poland and Common — any of which
may be made profitable under proper management and surround-
ings, but no one should attempt to breed geese unless provided with
pasturage for them in an enclosure separate from that occupied by
other domestic poultry.

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION.

This subject has attracted a great deal of attention for the last
ten years. The incubators and artificial mothers have been so far
improved that both are now an assured success under intelligent
manipulation. There are several patents which have given very
general satisfaction.

The heat is applied by an ordinary lamp, by means of which a
chamber, in which the eggs are placed on drawers, is heated to 102°
or 303° F.,and so constructed with valves as to regulate the temper-
ature within a limit of two or three degrees above or below 102° F.

Some use dry air chambers, while others transmit the heat through
water tanks. All of the more modern machines apply the heat
from above the eggs, and supply the necessary conditions of moist-

* AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA.

lire by an evaporating pan plased beneath the egg tray. They have
even succeeded in arranging an apparatus by means of which the
eggs are turned in imitation of the practice of the hen at such inter-
vals as experience has shown to be necessary.

Turning them four times in twenty-four hours, or every six hours,
has been found to give most satisfactory results. Those who have
tried them have found no difficulty in hatching a larger per cent, of
the eggs than by sitting them in the natural way under hens. It
is not necessary, as has been generally supposed, to place the full
number of eggs in the machine at one time, but they may be added
each week as the eggs are laid. No attempt will be made at a de-
scription in detail of either the incubators or the artificial mothers,
the object of this notice being simply to invite attention to the
means of artificial propagation and rearing of poultry in order that
those who desire to experiment with them may pursue the inquiry
further. Information in regard to the different styles of machines,
their comparative merits, etc., can be easily obtained by correspond-
ence with the manufacturers.

The machines hatch successfully the eggs of every species of do-
mestic fowl.

No one should embark in artificial hatching without ample prep-
aration for rearing the young poultry. Warm quarters must be pro-
vided for those hatched in cool weather, and provision made for
supplying them regularly with meat and vegetable food. In a word,
natural conditions must be imitated as nearly as possible.

The principal advantage derived from the use of the incubators
and artificial mothers is in securing a better supply of early broilers
than can be obtained by the natural process.

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272082

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY