POULTRY. The Committee on Poultry, consisting of Wm. R. Putnam, Thomas H. Cutter and James Flint, submit the following report :— They found twenty lots upon the poultry stand, yet but few of the competitors complied with the request of the Society in furnishing written statements of the method of keeping, and the amount of eggs produced. It is difficult for any one who does not keep his fowls confined all the time, to give an account of the expense of feeding. There was but one lot of turkies exhibited, that by Jonas Holt of Andever. His statement gives us no data by which we can form any estimate of the expense of raising turkies. Our impression is, that unless we take into the account the good done by them in destroying insects, they will not pay for the grain consumed, to say nothing of the young cabbages, beets and other vegetables destroyed by them; yet we think that when we take into the account the benefit received from them by destroying grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects, they may, on some farms, be profitably kept. It is a pleasant sight to witness a flock of turkies moving with military precision through a field, driving or capturing every insect, and thus converting them into food for man. Naturalists tell us to spare the crow, for the good he does in destroying insects. Is it not better economy to keep domestic fowls for this purpose, which will not only destroy the insects, but convert them into wholesome food? Of the comparative merits of the bronze turkey with the other breeds, we have no practical knowledge. Mr. Holt's statement shows that they have some good traits. There were but two lots of geese exhibited. Andrew Woodbury, of Hamilton, sent a flock of ten wild geese, as they were called, or the descendants of a pair that were wounded, and caught as they were flying over that place a few years since. They are kept in a pasture, by clipping one wing to prevent their flying away. thinks that they are any better than the old domestic goose. Byron Goodell, of South Danvers, sent one pair of wild geese. We do not know that any one There were two lots of ducks shown. We have the impression that ducks are such great consumers that they cannot be profitably kept unless a person is favorably located for the purpose. Their rapid growth and early maturity enables some to raise them with profit. We found a good show of hens. The most numerous' were the Brahma Pootra. Of the comparative merits of the different breeds, we speak only as far as our own observation has gone. The black Spanish are great layers. We have found one objection to them—the young hens will not sit long enough to hatch the eggs, but are sure to sit so as to spoil them, and then desert. The Brahma Pootra are quiet in their habits; not so much disposed to ramble as some other breeds. In selecting hens, we prefer the yellow-legged and mediumsized, if we wish to raise chickens for early market. The profit or loss of keeping hens, depends not so much upon the breed, or the cost of food given, as the care bestowed upon them; and this remark will apply to all the animals upon the farm. When hens are kept confined, they need a variety of food to make them lay,-grain, vegetables, and animal food of some kind, must be furnished, or they will cease laying,—and they need something to enable them to form the shell; bones, oysters shells, or lime in some form, must be given them. Some think that the soil and the grain contain sufficient quantity of lime for this purpose; but our experience has led us to the conclusion that they need lime in some form. We know that Nature has made provision for this want, by enabling the hen to draw from her system for the supply-and when left to follow her natural instincts, she will not suffer for the want of it; she lays her litter of twelve or fifteen eggs, and then sits upon them, and there is no further draft upon the system for lime; but when we keep them laying most of the time for many months in succession, the system becomes exhausted, and they lay eggs without shells, or stop laying, if they are not supplied with lime. We would not advise any one to keep hens for the profit of it, if they had all their food to buy; but there is much upon every farm that they will consume, that would be lost if they did not eat it, and they destroy many worms and bugs that would be an injury if they did not eat them. We know that they do better when allowed to have the range of the farm; but it is not pleasant to have them spend the night in the vicinity of the best tools and carriages, or to have them scratch, as they delight to, in the best prepared spot in the garden. At some seasons of the year, they may be permitted to go at large upon the farm without doing injury; at other seasons, they should be confined. The statement of Mr. Ives shows that he can make it pay to keep hens confined. The Committee recommend a gratuity to $2 $2 $3 $2 $1 $1 $1 $1 50 cts. Wm. C. Beckett of South Danvers, for Dorkings fowls, 50 cts. Alexander Lewis of South Danvers, Joseph Chase of Manchester, for fowls, $1 50 cts. Robert Robinson and Daniel Buxton of So. Danvers, 50c. each. Samuel Newman of South Danvers, 50 cts. William Cutler of Salem, Edward B. Hanson of Salem, John A. Melcher of Danvers, 50 cts. 50 cts. 50 cts. STATEMENT OF JONAS HOLT. To the Committee on Poultry: GENTLEMEN,-I present for your inspection eight full blood. Bronze Turkeys; two of them are sixteen months old; the old cock weighs twenty-five pounds and the hen sixteen pounds, and they are not fat. The chickens weigh, on an average, ten pounds. They are three months old, and have been fed only occasionally since they were hatched. They are a very quiet breed, not moving about so much as the old kind, and they take on flesh much faster than any other kind I ever had; besides, their meat is much more tender and juicy. All of which is respectfully submitted. Andover, Sept. 24, 1861. JONAS HOLT. STATEMENT OF JOHN S. IVES. To the Committee on Poultry : I present for exhibition my entire flock of Brahma Pootra Fowls, with the statement of my experience in the management of, keeping, and the result, &c. I wintered nine Pullets from Nov. 1st, 1860, and kept an accurate account of their eggs, which is as follows: Expense of keeping four months-Meal, $1 67 Corn, 1 25 479 $10 14 Four bushels Carrots and Turnips, 1 12 Net profit, March 1st, I added 9 hens to my flock, making 18 in all, which I enter for premium. They layed in Expense of keeping 18 fowls 6 mos.-Meal, $4 90 As a part of the 171 doz. eggs were set by myself, and the balance sold for the same purpose at $1 per dozen, I have averaged the market price at 20 cents. I also present two coops of Brahma Chickens, one coop of Muscovy Ducks, one Egyptian Bantam. Respectfully yours, Salem, Sept. 24, 1861. JOHN S. IVES. |