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nii Eggs In Winter. A comfortable poultry house can be cheaply and expeditiously made in the oorner of a barn, shed or any outbuilding. It should bs cheerfully lighted and face the South or West if convenient. Tarred felt paper makes a good lining and is obnoxi ous to vermin. The houae should bs di vided into pens, large enough to hold twenty fowls and uo more. Fowls do bet ter in small colonies. The laying stock must not bj crowded, or they will not be layers long. The U mperature in the cold • est weather should be high enough to keep the water from freezing—at auy rate,warm enough to prevent the combe of the layers from freezing. A wooden floor is better than any other kind In the cold weath er, the best earthen floors will get damp and keep so, and damp is disease and death to poultry. The best roost is a two by four-inch scantling, put broadside over two twelve inch boards, forming a platform to catch th« droppings, as manure is worth seven ty-five cents to one dollar per barrel. Heavy fowls should not have to jump more than eighteen inches. Each pen should contain a dust bath, so that the fowls can roil in the dry dust and keep down lice. A small box to hold broken oyster shells, o d mortar, gravel, crockery broken into small pieces, etc. Some of these sub stances are absolutely necessary to furn ish grit to grind up the food. They are the hen’s teeth. A certain amount goes to furnish lime for the eggshell, but much of the lime for this purpose can be given in the shape of proper food. The nets snouiu be kept in constant ac tivity. Alaz z hen is never a laying one. Cut straw, hay, chaff or dry leaves should be scattered liberally on the floor of each compartment, and in this all grain fed should be thrown, so that the hens will be kept scratching for it. A cabbage sus pended from the roof of ceiling high enough to make the hens jump at it is a capital way of keeping tuem busy. Oc casionally substitute a piece of cow’s liver, lights or any tough sort of meat for the cabbage. In very cold weather the chill should be taken off the water for drink. Laying fowls require plenty of fresh water, hence the importance of having the house warm enough to prevent water freezing. Take away all the male birds from the laying hens. The cock bird is a nuisance in the pen of layers. He not only monopolizes the most of the food, but teaches the hens to break eggs, and so learn to eat them. Besides, the stim ulating diet is too fattening for him, and will ruin him as a breeder. In the cold weather of winter, a warm meal in the morning is necessary to start and keep up a steady supply of eggs. A good plan is to threw all the waste of the kitchen, in the shape of meat scraps, pieces of bread, uneaten vegetables, etc., into a pot; heat up in the morning till nearly boiling, ana then mix bran, pro vender, shorts, or whatever is most abun dant or cheap on the farm, into the hot mess, dusting in a small quantity of red pepper before mixing. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes uutil the meal is nearly cooked; then feed in a clean trough, with lath over it to keep the hens from jumping in and fouling or wasting the feed m their eagrr anxiety. Feed only enough of this soft stuff to barely satisfy, never enough to gorge. When a hen has had so much food that she will go into a corner and mope she has had too much, and if the overfeeding is continued will aOon eease to lay. The laying hens are the active ones. If food is given at noon it should be oats, and scat tered among the litter on the floor. This meal should be light. The last food in the afternoon should be generous. Each hen should be sent to roost with a full crop to carry her over all the night. Green food in the shape of vegetables, usually grown on every farm, will be rel ished t>y the layers. Cabbages, turnips, earrots are generally the most convenient. Small potatoes boiled and m<xed with provender or bran is a good change for the morning meal. Some of the above named vegetables should always be in the pens of the layers. There is no danger of their eating too much Red clover hay steamed, chopped and mixed with bran and given while hot is one of the healthiest foods for the morn ing meal. Meat in some shape must be given at least twice a week, to furnish blood making material. Hens fed on meat lay well. If given no meat the hens will eat their eggs and pick feathers from one another. In cold weather warm the grain feed. What would be generous and stimula ting diet for Leghorns, Minorcas and oth ers of the Spanish family would be too fat tening for Plymouth Rocks or Brahmas. A* before stated, give enough to keep the hens active. When meat is given it is not necessary to give so much grain. For instance, if meat is fed at noon it will be only neces sary to scatter a few handfuls of oats in each pen to keep the inmates at work. When a hen becomes too fat she will lay soft shelled eggs. Where plenty of meat is to be had as one es the cheapest articles of food a greater quantity of oats may be given. Wheat is the best all round food. The waste of the farm in conjunction with meat and the hot morning meal and exercise will bring plenty of eggs. Beyond question, the best all round fowl for the farmer is the Plymouth Rock. The two bast breeds are the Plymouth itock and the White Leghorn, for the rea son, as the tables published in a preceding part of the report proves, that the Ply mouth Bocks put on flesh more rapidly, and the White Leghorn lays moreeg<is than any other of the standard breeds. Closely following come the Wyandoites as an early flesh producer and layer. Then follow the Brahmas but they are slower in development. Another auvantage in keeping Plymouth Bocks and Leghorns is that while the Plymouth Rock hens are hatching chick ens, after la ing all winter, the Leghorn* (being non-sittars) will go on laying, and pay the expense incurred while the other breed is setting.—R-port of Ottawa Cen tral Experimental Farm. Deafness Cannot be Cured by local applications, as they cannot reach the diseased portion of the ear. There is only one way to cure Deafness, and that is by constitutional remedies. Deafness is caused by an inflamed condition of the mucous lining of the Eustachian Tube. When this tube gets inflamed you have a rumbling sound or imperfect hearing, and when it is entirely closed Deafness is the result, and unless the inflammation can be taken out and this tub* restored to its normal condition, hearing will be de stroyed forever; nine cases out of ten ar* caused by catarrh, which is nothing but an inflamed condition of the mucous sur faces. We will give One Hundred Dollars for any case of Deafness (caused by catarrh) that cannot be cured by Hall’s Catarrh Cure. Send for circulars, free. F. J. CHENEY & CO., Toledo, O. by Druggists, 750. Infertility in Eggs. While it may seem a little eafly to talk about infertile eggs at this season of the year, yet to avoid all trouble in that line we must begin in time. The business hen has already moulted or put on her winter clothing and is the most desirable hen be cause she is ready for business, not so liable to disease on acceunt of exposure and not an expense without income to the poulterer. This hen now ready for busi ness is in the pink of health and will take on fat very readily. Over fat fowls are totally unfit for breeding, owing to their inability to produce strong vigorous offsprings and the tendency to infer-1 tility of '.their teggs. In fact over-fed animals of any kind, while they are pleas-1 ing to the eye, are unfit for breeding pur- 6 oses and how much more so with fowls, low can we avoid this tendency to fat in hens? We can do it by supplying more egg-producing food and giving plenty of exercise. We must feed that which does not pro duce fat and in away that they will work or scratch for it. With these precautions taken against fat; with plenty of green winter food or egg-produeing grain in abundance; with unlimited exercise, have we a right to ex pect fertile eggs ? Not yet. We are not in sured a liberal supply| u f fertile eggs yet. We must keep clear of inbreeding or incest uous breeding as it tends to increase infer tility and weakens the offspring. While inbreeding is resorted to in order to improve the outward appearance of stock, yet this should not be carried too far, as it is done at the expense of the health of the offspring. When we have been careful to feed properly, supplied exercise, and avoided inbreeding we have not yet done all. We must not allow our eggs to become chilled. They will lose their fertility if left long in a temperature below 40 degrees. There are many other things necessary to insure ferule eggs, and the poultry man who has no trouble in this line may well consider himself fortunate indeed. How to Select a Layer. The following has been “going the rounds,” but to whose credit we do not know. We present it for comment. How many poultry men can pick out a good laying hen from a strange flock? Not many can do it; yet it can easily be done after a short study of make-up and char acteristics. There goes a hen with a thick neck, large head, iii-snaped, walks listlessly about, seemingly with no inten tion or purpose in view. She doesn’t care to scratch, but hangs around the hen house, evidently waiting for her next feed. She gets up late in the morning, and goes to bed early in the evening. That hen may be put down as a very poor layer. The eggs of some of the oth er hens go to help pay her keep. Here comes another hen. She walks briskly, and there is an elasticity in ner move ments.that denotes she has something in view. She is neat and natty in appear ance, small head, with a slim neck, nicely arched or curved. She forages and scratch es all day long, and may oe too busy to come for her evening meal. She is at the door in the morning waiting to be let out. She snatches a few mouthfuls of feed, and is off to the meadow looking for insects. Before she gets out in the morning, she generally deposits her daily egg in the nest, or returns after a short forage. She is neat, clean and tidy, with a brightness and freshness pleasant to the eye. That is the hen that pays for her feed and gives a good profit all the year round. The writer has noticed these traits since boyhood, and knows that they are infal lible. By studying these traits, any man may in a few years, by selection, have a fine flock of hens.” Selectlag a Breed. Just as much care should be exercised in selecting a breed as in feeding them af ter you once have them. The breed must be suitable to the purpose for which you select them. We have known breeders to have first one breed, then another, until they have tried nearly all varieties, from the Leghorns to Cochins and failed of course. Certainly they would fail. In the first place they cnose the varieties by ran dom, not stopping to consider what were the desired qualities and in the second place they did not keep any one breed long enough to succeed with it. It is a question with us whether it is not alto gether better for a beginner to practice on any one variety that may be the most easily obtained until he forms some idea of what branch he intends to pursue. Then if he chooses poultry for eggs he can pro cure stock of the more prolific varieties, but if he should conclude to raise broilers the southern farm. JJyE i •\ * • A BATCH OF CHRISTMAS PERSENTS. The grandest distribution of presents which Thk Southern Farm has yet made. . It does not cost you one cent to secure one of these valuable"presents since we absolutely give them away freely and cheerfully. Every person who enters the contest will have an equal chance for one of the prizes. The scheme is easy, plaus ble and practical. Here it is: How Many Grains In Two Pounds of Coffee ? Everybody uses coffee, but how many people ever thought of the number of grains contained in two pounds of it All of our subscribers are invited to enter this guessing contest. The terms are as follows: One guess will be allowed for each subscription sent in. In order to get an idea of the number of grains of coffee in two pounds, it will be well for you to buy a pound of medium size green coffee and count tbe grains. Os course two pounds will be just about twice that amount. The contest will close on the 15th of December, as we want time to get all the presents to those who win them by Christmas day. On December 15th we will buy two pounds of medium size green coffee, and will put it in the hands of a committee. This committee will count the grains and make the awards. Each guess will be entered as it is received, provided it is accompanied by one dollar for a yearly subscription. In the event two or more persons guess the same number, and such number wins a prize, the prize will be equally divided between them. LIST OF FFIZFS: 1. To the person guessing the exact number of grains, ..... sioo in gold. 2. To the person guessing nearest exact number, - - - - - - $50““ 3. To person coming next, Handsome Sewing Machine, - - - - - SSO 4. To person coming next, ---.----...525““ 5. To person coming next, Ladies or Gents Gold Watch, - - - - S2O 6. To person coming next, Silk Dress Pattern, - - - - - - -S2O 7. To person coming next, China Dinner Set, .-..---sls 8. To person coming next, Cash Prize, - - - - - - - - $10““ 9. To person coming next, Cash Prize,' ........ $5““ 30 handsome doth bound books oy standard authors, - - - S3O $325 Thirty Elegant Cloth Bound Books. The following list of thirty books will be given to the next thirty guessers. Any person entitled to one of these books will be notified before the book is sent, so that in the event any particular book is desired we may be apprised of the fact, and the book desired will in each instance be sent. 10. Vanity Fair. Thackeray. 19. Ivanhoe. Walter Scott. 30. Daniel Boone. Norton. 11. Last Days of Pompeii. 20. Children of the Abbey. 31. Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte. 12. Tom Brown’s School Days. 21. The Scottish Chiefs. 32. John Halifax. Miss Mulock. 13. Willy Reilly and his Dear Co* 22. Thaddeus of Warsaw. 33. Adam Bede. George Eliot. leen Bawn. Wm. Carlton. 23. Treasure’s from Fairyland. 34. East Lynne. Mrs. H. Wood. 14. Brown’s Popular Recitations 24. Robinson Crusoe. DeFoe. 35. Irving’s Sketch Book. and Dialect Stories. 25. Arabian Night’s Entertainments. 33. Tom Brown at Oxford. 15. Vicar of Wakefield. 23. Don Quixote de la Mancha. 37. 20,000 Leagues under the sea. Jules 16. Grimm’s Fairy Tales. 27. Gulliver’s Travels. Verne. 17. Anderson’s Fairy Tales. 28. Swiss Family Robinson. 38. Tour of the World in 80 Days. Jules 18 JEsop’s Fables. 29. The Pilgrim’s Progress. Verne. 39. Star of India. Edw. W. Ellis. D O KY - ) 0 1Y) 0V" The contest Is open now. It closes December 15th. The terms are simple. You send in one guess for each yearly subscription sent us. If you want to subscribe for both Thk Farm and Weekly Constitution, send us $1.25 the price of both papers, and you will of course be entitled to a guess in the coffee contest. The money must be sent to Thk Southern Farm, however. Somebody will get these presents. Yon stand as good a showing as anyone. Address, THE SOUTHERN FARM, Constitution Building. he must look lor a more general purpose fowl or if he fancies raising capons he must select one of the larger varieties, Until judgment is used in the matter of selecting the variety of poultry we wish, we cannot expect to succeed unless it just happens to hit; for it is then merely guess work. If all beginners were more careful in this respect there would be less failures in store for the amateur poulterer. Points of Black Ltangshans. There is only one kind es Langshans recognized in the Standard, the Black. They were, says Poultry and Pets, first in troduced into America in 1878, admitted to the Standard in 1883, and at once took a front rank among our domestic p oultry for their many excellent qualities. They are a large, showy breed, very hardy, and unexcelled as winter layers, are quiet and gentle, and stand confinement well. Their plumage is a dense black throughout, with a rich beetle green gloss on back, wings and sickles, and when standing in the sun's rays the feathers reflect like dia monds. Tail is large, widespread, and carried well-up. Hackle full, lowing, ana very glossy. Head small for the size of the bird. Comb single, straight, and evenly serrated. Wattles and earlobes, a deep, rich red. Legs, a dark slate color, and feathered to the end of the outer tee. Bottom ofjeet and web between toes pink. Flesh, white, tender, and of delicate flavor, resembling when eaten that of a young turkey. The hens make good sitters and are careful mothers The chicks when hatched are black, the head and breast have different shades of canary, and the legs are of a light color when they assume their first feathers. They often retain a few white nest feath ers, which, however, entirely disappear with their moult in the fall. They are a grand, beautiful fowl, great on egg production and as a table fowl. The Standard weights are: Cocks nine and one-half, hens seven, and pullets six pounds. In Olden Times People overlooked the importance of per manently beneficial effects and were satis fied with transient action, but now that it is generally known that Syrup of Figs will permanently cue habitual constipa tion, well-informed people will not buy other laxatives, which not for a time, but finally injure the system. Atlanta, Georgia. Any of our improved varieties will pay well, and the breeder who aims at making profits en them can do so and gain a greater saving by using a little labor and skill in the preparation of the food, the time of purchasing grain, etc , the mann of feeding to avoid waste, the construc tion of their quarters, the method of keep ing them in tnrift and in laying condition, the time of marketing, and attention to other details will have much to do with the profits. If there was really no profit In poultry keeping there is enough besides to make it interesting, instructive and healthy when well attended to, but there is remuneration in it as all know who have followed tne business right along in a judicious way.—The Game Bird. “Beats Anything I Kver Used.” Westovkr, Md., Jan. 13,1892. The Lawrence-Williams Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Dear Sirs: Enclosed please find check for one bottle Gombault’s Caustic Balsam. I must say it beats anything I ever used for the purposes for which it is recom mended, Wm. M. Hunt. 7