I THE QUAIL'S SUCCESSOR IN AMERICA. | 11 BREEDING MONGOLIAN PHEASANTS, AND jfc HOW IT IS DONE. The pheasant of the Mongolian kind vill in a few short years succeed the nail as the popular American game jird. The pheasant has not only its ootlisome qualities to recommend it, mt its beauty, in waving plumage of •avishing hues, and therefore will >rove a prize that every sportsman vill endeavor to secure when the sea ion is once open for its slaughter. It tas unduly attracted the attention of ■ur sporting gentlemen for many years n consequence of its successful in troduction on the Pacific Slope, and IOW mauy Eastern States are introduc ng the Mongolian bird into their lomains. In Ohio alone over 200 >irds were liberated this year, and in >everal Southern and Eastern States he bird has been introduced for breeding purposes. The male bird has the cheeks naked *nd the bightest scarlet, minutely specked with black; the crown of the lead bronze green; on eaoh side of lie occiput a taft of dark golden green catliers capable of being erected at tleasure, antl very conspicuous in the >airing season; upper part of the neck lark green, glossed with purple and dolet blue; lower part of the neck, •reast and flauks deep reddish orange, howiug in some positions beautiful eflections of light purple; each feath r bordered and termiuated with pansy urple; center of the belly and thighs lac-kish brown; center of the back nil scapular feathers black or brownish lack, surrounded with a yellowish •hite baud and bordered with deep eddish orange; lower part of the back nd upper tail covert green, inter linged with brownish orange and urplish red; tail feathers brown rossed by bands of black and fringed •ith reddish brown; bill pale yellow; igs and toes grayish black. The imale has cheeks covered with small losely set feathers, and the whole of ue plumage yellowish browu, mingled ith different shades uf gray, brown ud black. Iu a recent article in Recreation, a porting magazine, G. M. Miller, 'of Ingene, Oregon, tells of the Mongolian heasant which was introduced into lat State about twenty years ago -om China aud which has attracted ae attention of hunters throughout Ue Unitod States. Mr. Miller says 112 this interesting bird: "It was introduced into Oregon by udge O. N. Deming and has multi lied until, in the prairie sections of Vestern Oregon, it outnumbers any ther game bird. The reason of the reat increase probably lies in the faot liat it hatches two broods, of sixteen • J twenty, each season. When the hicks are about three weeks old the en turns the family over to the care 112 the oock, she laying again. The 3ck is not a Mormon, in any sense of ie word. He selects one hen, and 'forsaking all others cleaves unto her.' Hence, to breed these birds success fully it is essential that a cock be pro vided for each hen. "The Mongolian pheasant is a prairie bird and is seldom found in or about the timber. He likes the tall grass, ferns, wheat stubbles and low bushes, such as the wild rose and the buckbrush. After the young birds reach full growth they do not congre gate in large flocks, as do the prairie chickens, but are found alone, in pairs, or in n small flocks of five or six. , They feed on grain, insects and green vegetables, such as red clover, cab bage, etc. These birds are great favorites with sportsmen. The mag nificent plumage of the cock almost rivals that of the peafowl in beauty. His prevailing colors are gold and bronze, with touches of black. He also has a clear white ring about the neck. The head and upper half of the neck have a bluish green of change able shade, similar to that of the mal lard duck. "The pheasant gives out a'stronger scent than the blue grouse or the i prairie chicken, and lies better to the dog. During the open season, Sep tember Ist to December Ist, an hour's I drive iu any direction from Eugene will bring one into the shooting grounds. The law limits a shooter to twenty birds i each day, but this number is often : killed in a few hours. "With suitable inclosure and a rea . sonable amount of patience these t>irds • can be successfully propagated any where if the climate be not too severe. They canuot be tamed or domestica ted. After months of captivity they are as wild as when first taken. They are 'game' first, last aud all the time. "The flesh of the Mongolian pheas ant is almost as white as that of the domestic chieken and has a pronounced 'gamey' flavor, much appreciated by all lovers of wild meat." j Following are instructions, given by I a writer in the St. Louis Star, for I propagating pheasants: A bos should first be constructed. The runway, which is covered with wire netting, is detachable from the box at the end, wherein the hen is set, and where the hen and young birds . are protected from storm and cold, i Both the ninway and the box are placed on the ground. ' To construct a nest take a square • piece of sod about the size of the box 112 and in the centre cut out a round ' space about the size of a common hen's 3 nest. 1 Very little dry leaves or chaff should 1 be placed i i the bottom of the nest, s Disinfect the hen with insect pow -8 Tn >e^ Jre P' ac ' u S her upon the nest, u The hen should be placed upon the ? nest with some common eggs for at least two days before placing the pheasant eggs under her. This is done to tost her staying qualities. The egga should then be placed under the hen at night time, after removing the hens' eggs. Food and water should be placed in the runway so the . hen can subsist during incubation. Tlie eggs should be examined every day, and for this purpose the lid or roof of the box should be lifted while the hen is out in the runway, so that none become broken or soiled. Should any of the eggs become soiled from broken eggs or otherwise, they should be cleansed by taking a rag wet with tepid water and wiping them, but do not place the eggs in water. It takes from twenty-two to twenty four days for the eggs to hatch. After the eggs have been under the hen twenty days, they should be sprinkled with lukewarm water twice a day. This is necessary in order to aid the young birds to leave the shell. The runway and box should fit olose to the g|ound to prevent the young birds from leaving, as they will surely leave the hen as soon as they are oat of the shell, unless this precaution is heeded. The hen and young birds should be kept closely in the box for twenty-four hours after they are hatched, and should not be allowed to have either food or drink. At the end of twenty-four hours both hen and young birds may be let out into the runway. Give the hen all the corn she will eat. This will keep her from eating the food of her young. The food for the young birds for the first week should be of custard, made of milk and eggs, and should be given fresh at least five times a day. Care should be taken not to feed [too much at a time, so as to keep the coop clean, for if the place becomes foul it will tend to breed disease, and the young birds may die from diarrhea. The food for the young birds for the second week should consist of custard and milk curd. The custard should be given three times a day, aud milk curd, which should be mixed with equal parts of ground hemp and canary seed, should be given twice a day. A common coffee mill will an swer the purpose for grinding the seeds. Some young lettuce and young onion tops, chopped fine, should be added to both the custard and milk curd. The young birds should be given plenty of green food by placing lettuce or young clover in the coops. Am". Ancient Toll Abolished. Windsor bridge across the Thames has just been freed from its two-penny toll through the greed of the corpora tion. This had an undoubted right to collect tolls from prescription as they had been taken since the reign of Henry VI. It asked Parliament in 1734, and again in 1819, for power to charge additional tolls, and obtained it for a limited number of years. The privilege expired about ten years ago, but the corporation continued to col leot the money till a litigious Briton refused to pay, thus bringing the mat ter to the attention of the courts. In Mexico City "first-class Ameri can butter, made by an expert," is ad vertised at fifty and fifty-six cents a pound, at wholesale and retail, re t-eetively. THE* FARM— RF. Sand in the Food. Sand is no substitute for gravel, anil the mixing of sand in the poultry food is useless. Whan coarse grit is swal lowed by the fowl it is voided before it becomes as fine as sand. Grit pro vides the mechanical appliances for grinding the food in tlie gizzard. It really cuts the food,hence the sharper the edges the more it is preferred by poultry. When grit becomes worn until round and smooth it is passed on as useless. In using grit, there fore, endeavor to secure that which is hard and sharp. Sand is of no value whatever as grit. Nut-bearing Trees. The chestnut, black walnut, butter nut, shellbark, hickory and Japan walnut may all be grown in your vi cinity. There are no varieties offered of the butternut and black walnut and Japan walnut, and yet some improve ment on the ordinary form can be had by planting only nil's from trees bearing choice fruits. Of the chest nuts there are many varieties, some of which had originated from our native chestnuts, and others from the Euro pean and Japanese forms. Seedlings from our best native sorts have gen erally proven most profitable in culti vation, though tlie nuts may not be as large as the grafted kinds. Among the best of the foreign kinds, and per haps of all named sorts, is the Par agon chestnut. There are several va rieties of the shellbark hickory, but they are propagated with so much un certainty that they are very difficult to obtain. Among the best is Hale's paper-shell hickory, which has been propagated in a small way. The chestnut undoubtedly promises better returns in cultivation than any other of our cultivated nuts. —Farm News. l'otatoen Hotting in Cellar. There is a great deal of rotting among potatoes, and yours rot prob ably all the worse because kept in a cellar where the temperature is sure to be too warm, says the Bostou Cul tivator to a correspondent in Pawlet, Vt. The bulk of tlie crop where many potatoes are grown should be stored in pits, and some lime sprinkled over them as they are put in. The lime dries the moisture and prevents the spread of rot should it begin. We think that rot in potatoes is due to a deficiency of carbon in the tuber ow ing either to disease of the vine and leaves or their destruction by the po tato beetle. The sap goes from root to leaf, where, if the leaf be whole and healthy, it is filled with carbon from the carbonic acid gas which the leaf has absorbed from the air, and this is what makes the starch of the tuber. If the sap is not charged with carbon by the leaves, it makes the potato watery and waxy. It is then easily the victim of the spores which in any potato crop are nowadays produced in abundance and which cause rot. There is no year when some potatoes will not rot. But lime spread over them corrects the deficiencies of the potato so far as it can reach its juices. It is possibly this as much as its drying ef fects which checks the spread of rot. Poor I-'ooil Make. Poor Manure. There are a few points of prime im portance in the production of man ures, and the experience of scientific investigators is free to all who care to learn. We might expect that the quality of the manure will depend upon the character of the feed. Poor food makes poor manure and \ ice versa. There is 110 magic in nature, she is a very strict accountant, and just to give for value received. But it often will happen that the feed given to stock does not cost either in pro portion to its feeding value nor in pro portion to the value of manure pro duced. A relatively poor feed in these respects may be high in price, while that feed which is rich may be bought low. Few would believe that a ton of good clover hay is a more val uable feed for some stock and produces more valuable manure than a ton of corn. And yet the experimenters so teach. The elements of prime importance in manuro are nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, and if the feed con tains these constituents in good meas ure the excrements will contain them to almost the same extent. For it is quite well settled that from 65 to 90 per cent, of these coimtituents are re covered in the excrements. Hence, if we feed stuff that is rich in these elements the manures resulting will also be rich. Headers of the Epito mist doubtless know that the follow ing common foods contain these ele ments in large measure and in the order mentioned: Cotton cake, lin seed meal, peas, beans, bran, oats, clover hay, and these feeds will give the richest manures. It is not claimed that these feed stufi's are better than corn for fattening purposes, but first that they yield the richest manures and second that they supply the ele ments especially for all growing stock. Hence, it is good policy sometimes to sell corn and buy bran. There are seasons of the year when bran is very low in car lots, as low as timothy hay, while the brail if almost twice as valuable for feed am' manure as the hay. Sometimes one can sell timothy hay aud clover hay to advantage. A little clear knowle lgi? , and thought are as important to the farmer as to the banker. Of securities whose safety is undoubted it needs but a little in the life and income ol the paper to determine which the banker will buy. Ami why should not a farmer buy and sell with as much intelligence as a banker?—The Epi tomist. Out-door ICeurlncr of Swln*. There are great advantages iv rais ing swine in open lots or fields ovei that of in pens or other close confine ment. Pure air and the exercise that can here be taken, help to make pure blood, which in the course of nature builds up healthy bodies. However, pigs thus reared with a free run and plenty of exercise would not be sc likely to show so well at the fairs, ami would likely be passed over by both judges and people, simply because it has become the prevailing idea that only the great, gross, helpless pig is the model of improvement. Of course such pigs are well adapted to fill lard cans, but not so likely the larder with good, helthy pork or bacon. Pigs which are reared in open pas tures are most likely to be well de veloped, any way, much more so than those reared inclose confinement; they have good appetites, promoted by fresh air, and exercise,hence ihey will eat a great variety of food, and better digest it than when confined in pens. Also a great saving is made by it, for they will consume all the refused fruits, roots, and all kinds of vege tables, and these serve to stimulate their appetites and make them grow. By extending the root patch, and planting the fodder-corn thinner, sc that some corn will form on it, and by having a little clover lot from which to cut soiling feed, the number of pigs may be proportionally increased. Aud a very great advantage where it can be had, is a clover field for the pigs to run on, both as a matter of health and economy, as they will keep in good condition, and grow rapidly thereon, with but little other food. Where they can be had, there should be three pastures or ranges for hogs, one for the dry sows aud store hogs, one for the sows which are suckling pigs, and one for the young pigs when weaned. With such arrangements the most economic management may be had. Dry sows and shoats or store pigs need but little, if any other food than the pasture affords—especially if of clover—while the sow's suckling pigs require pasture and some feeding, and the pigs wheu three or four weeks old also need extra food. There should also be had a pen into which the pigs could slip, that they may be fed to themselves. The extra or third pas ture mentioned, if connected with tlie one in which the suckling sows run, is the place to feed the suckling pigs, and if older pigs run in here, a pen should be built to feed thein in; then when weaning time conies they will be accustomed to the place,and it will be an easy matter to shut them into this pasture for extra feeding. Altogether for the improvement in the condition and health of swine, the production of better aud more whole some pork, it is certainly of the first importance to keep them as much as possible out on the broad, airy pas tures. It does not take many genera tions of confinement and lack of stic cnlent food, with excessive fatness as is produced from corn feediug, to break down and destroy the vital en ergy of any animal, anil especially so of swiue, as is attested where confine ment and high feeding has been the rule.—J. I. Baird. Poultry Notes. Put the growth on the chicks before freezing weather comes, for then it will take more feed and the chicks will stop growing. The duck is what we call a "water fowl," and yet Mr. Hankin, the noted poultryiuau of the east, raised ducks with only enough water for drinking purposes. Do not feed heavy one day and light the next, but give the poultry just as much as they need and no more; and give it to them at regular times each day. Keep as many fowls on the farm as you can properly care for. There is no danger of the market becoming overstocked and having to sell poultry and eggs below the cost of raising. . To keep fowls free from vermin aud disease needs constant attention and a good deal of dirty and disagreeable work. But you caunot expect TO suc ceed unless you give them this atten tion. Floorless houses, well sanded, per mits the hen to "kill time," and tc secure exercise by scratching, aud if the foundations are well built with stone no refuge is afforded for rats aud insects. Warm, substantial henhouses that do uot have to be artificially heated nicau a saving in feed and an increase in eggs. Houses that are neither wind nor weather proof are a source of continual loss. Fowls lose theii natural hardiness aud vigor wheu win tered in artificially heated houses. Build them as warm as Wards, lath, plaster aud paper can make them, and if possible located in a sheltered spot. NEW UNIFORMS FOR THE ARMY. Undo Sign's Men to We Clad in the Pret tiest Uniform* in the World. The United States Army is to change its style of dress uniform. General Miles and his staff have been consider ing the matter for some time, and the suggestions which the General has de- OLD AND NEW CAVALKY UNIFOKMS. oided on will in all probability be adopted at the present sitting of Con gress. The cavalry will be putin hussar uniforms of black fur busby, tight tunic braided across the breast, riding trousers and Hessians boots. They will excel even the smartest of the English, French, German or Austrian cavalry, and will make that branch of the United States Army one of the prettiest dressed in the world. The helmet will be entirely discarded. For the artillery and infantry will be adopted a busby similar to those worn by our cavalry in the Revolution, and by the city troops to-day. The change in the artillery and infantry uniforms will bo slight. The picture on the left shows how Uncle Saul's cavalry now looks. The one on the right portrays how he will look in his new clothes. Largest Mule In the World. The largest mule iu the world c. rived in Chicago 011 Saturday, and is staying at the stockyards for a short time. The animal is not destined to be slaughtered, for it is bound for London, where it is to become the star attraction in a menagerie, and it will doubtless be placarded as "an average American mule. The mule is nine teen hands 2i inches high, and weighs 1830 pounds. It is nine years old. The discoverer of the animal is F. P. Brown, a stockyards dealer, who found it on its native heath in South western Missouri. He believed that his find was not in its proper environ ment, and succeeded in disposing of it to an Euglish animal tamer.—Chi cago Dispatch. A Peculiarity of Blind Fishes. The great majority of fishes can change their colors to adapt them selves to their surroundings. Some fishes can make extraordinary changes; there are many that can make them selves so like the rocks near which they may be, or the bottom in which they lie partly imbedded, that they are practically indistinguishable. It is a striking peculiarity of the blind fish that it does not change its colors with its surroundings, but remains al ways the same, and the uniform color which it thus preserves is always darker than the normal color of the other fishes of the same kind in the same waters.—New York Sun. An express driver in Chicago, who was locked up over night for driving bin horse and delivery wagon in a funeral procession against the protes tations of the mourners, pleaded in the morning that his horse once be longed to an undertaker, and he could not overcome in the brute the influ ence of old associations. He was dis charged without fine. The Most Interesting Monkey in Existence. You see here a young lady protege of Professor James Harvard's, psycho logist and authority on thought trans ference. The young lady's name is Sally and she is the side partner of Joe, who is not less accomplished than Sally as an educated chimpanzee and all around cultured Bostonian. Sally is about the most human monkey in the world. She has very pronounced SALLY, BOSTON'S EDUCATED MONKEY. likes and dislikes. She abhores to bacco, but has a soft spot in her heart for perfumes, jewelry and other things dear to femininity. She sleeps in a real bed with real bed clothing and likes to be tucked in snug, and she dresses herself unaided with all the care of a debutante.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers