JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t Feliruai-y 1, 1872 



heated by the sun, the forcing would probably tend to weaken the yines,_ iu 

 consequence of the growth of the top bemg in advance of the roots, which 

 would in pai't be destroyed by the removal of the soil. 



Covering for Frames (R. H. F.)-— Shutters made of lye or wheat straw 

 are the best, but not neai'Iy so durable as those of wood, which aie the best of 

 all. They should be slightly raised above the frame so as to admit air, but if 

 this be done the frame Ughts should fii*Bt be covered with mats, and then 

 with the wooden shutters. The space need not exceed an inch, and an 

 ordhaaiy fi'ame may bo put on close, as, from the glass being lower than the 

 wood bars, a small space will be left between the shutters and the glass, 

 which will be closed in sevei'e weather by the mats. 



Hollyhocks {Inquirer). — Your mode of treatment seems to us to be quite 

 coiTect, and we do not know how we can assist you. Probably something is 

 radically wrong with yom- soil or the site. Hollyhocks like au open situation 

 exposed to the full sun, and require to have plenty of air, but to be sheltered 

 fi'om cutting winds by objects at such a distance that they will not shade nor 

 affect the Hollyhocks. The groimd should be a good rich loam, light rather 

 than heavy, enriched with plenty of manure ; it must be trenched, manured, 

 and thrown-up roughly in November, and turned over in frosty weather. 

 Of com-se, it must be well drained. If the ground is heavy add sand or 

 ashes to the soil. If it is in good order you may plant out with every con- 

 fidence early in April. The plants should have protection from frost for a 

 short time. Beyond staking, and supplying them liberally with liquid maniu-e, 

 we do not find they need any further care, only to reduce tiie shoots thrown- 

 np to two, or at most thi-ee, of the strongest. Tiventji-four good sorts are: — 

 Brilliant, rosy scai'let ; Conquest, scarlet triiiisiiu; Ge'>ri,'e Johnston, rosy 

 cilmsou; Lord Napier, scarlet ciimson; ^'i KiL'lit. ikLp glossy maroon; 

 Marvellous, deep orange buff; Su- John Sinclair, m-y salmon; Mrs. P. Bruce, 

 light rosy peach; Joy, delicate flesh; J^-.wU ^■u},\\i vtllnw; Mrs. F. IT. 

 Douglas, light rose; Alba superba; John JlcI'unaM, u ' ■ ' ■ ;i, 



Moiiou. pm-plish rose; James Mclndoe, rosy eriiji ^a: i. 



deep rose ; Sovereign, claret crimson ; The Prince-. <li<ii i . 

 dehcate flcyh, flushed with rosy coi-mine; E. T. I\hiL-lijii ■ ■ ■ >; 



John Gail-, rosy peach; Her Majesty, white, slightly shauLu; iTtii. euiuer, 

 pale yellow ; and filis. Dowuie, soft salmon rose. 



Apple Tree Diseased (TF. H. Bennett]. — The disease on your Apple tree 

 is caused by American blight {Aphis lauigera). We have found boiled oil an 

 effectual remedy ; we simply apphed it to the affected pai-ts with a small 

 brush. We found the insect appear to a limited extent six months after- 

 wards, and another application effectually destroyed it. 



Verge-cuttek (/. Lumli n). — In our last volume, page 380, you will see a 

 drawing of oiu' im . nii [ u, .Mr, McLachlau. What yom's may be we do not 

 know, but WL- 1 1 ■ ( nirse to gain anything by it will be to offer it 



to some of tli- j 



• Destroying V...ii:.i., jn Lawns (J. ff.).— It is true that 

 limate, about hall an ouuce to fifteen gallons of water, will compel worms to 

 come to the surface, but any fowls that ate them would be poisoned. Lime 

 water made by thoroughly mixing a peek of fieshly-made quicklime with 

 forty gallons of water, and when quite clear applying it through a rosed 

 watering-pot, will be as effectual. 



Names of Plants (J. Bell). — Odontoglossum Cervantesii, Lindl, a very 

 pretty species, veiy similar to O. membranaceum, LintU. {Robert). — The 

 Christmas Rose, HeUeborus niger. {J. T. L.). — Eupatorium glabratum, 

 native of Mexico; a plant we have seen cultivated in gardens under the 

 eiToneous name of Ageratum glaucum. {A Market Gardener). — 1, Pteris 

 longifolia; 2, Asplenium flaccidum ; 3, Litobrochia vesper tihonis. (A Coit- 

 slant Read'-r). — 1, Asplenium Trichomanes; 2, Pteris longifolia; 3, Blechnum 

 polypodioidcs ; 4, Cereus flagelliformis ; 5, Pellia epiphylla, in all probability, 

 or perhaps P. calycina, one of the Liverworts. We recommend you to adopt 

 ^your idea of damping your Fenis overhead, modifying it, however, according 

 as the weather is bright or cloudy. The Brainea niii:iit be.nnie so affected 

 by being in a cnn-ent of dry heated air, or by dtfr. tivt v, atniii^', or by the 

 soil becoming foul, either from the presence of cntli ^-Minn- ov defective 

 di-ainage. {Paganini). — 1, Probably Aspidistra liuiila \;irie^'!ua; 2, Oue of 

 the smaller-crested varieties of the Lady Fern lAi'Jjyii'ii^ lilix-foemina) ; 

 3, Not in good condition, probably Cystopteiis fragiiis ; 4, Nephi-oilium gla- 

 belliun ; 5, Young state of Polystichum angulare; 6, Asplenium marinum. 

 iJ. G.). — 1, Asplenium flabelliformis ; 2, Polypodium vaceinioides ; 3, Pro- 

 bably Leucostegia immersa; 4, Asplenium Veitchianum (otherwise known as 

 Bellangeri) ; 5, Pteris pellucida; G, In very bad condition when received, 

 probably Hypolepis repens. (Quercus, Coi'k]. — Elseagnus ai'boreus variegatus. 



POULTEY, BEE AND PIGEON OHEONIOLE. 



FOWLS FOR PEOFIT, AND AS A MEANS OF 



SUBSISTENCE.— No. 1. 

 The rearing and management of poultry as a source of in- 

 come is, generally speaking, very little imderstood. In putting 

 these papers before the public I shall endeavour, as briefly 

 and plaLaly as possible, to show every poultry-keeper how his 

 or her poultry-yard can be converted into a valuable soui'ce of 

 income, instead of being, as is usually the case, an ill-arranged 

 non-payiug business. The invariable answer I receive to any 

 question I propound to the small farmer or cottager with 

 regard to the economy of keeping poultry, is, " Oh, sir, they 

 don't pay." Now I have enjoyed a life-long experience in 

 fowl-keeping, and know that they not only do pay, but that to 

 those who ecouomically and properly manage them they will 

 afford a valuable means of subsistence. This may appear to 

 some a startling assertion, nor do we wonder that it is so 

 when we see daily such ill-bred pigmy specimens, utterly un- 

 worthy of the name of poultry, but which are annually bred 

 often to the positive loss of the owner. I will state plaiuly 

 what anyone may ea.sDy make by poultry, without in any way 



teaching extravagant \iews. I have calculated the profits in 

 moderation, and the expenses ai-e quite as large as they will 

 ever amoiuit to if strict attention be given to the birds and to 

 their requirements ; and what line of business can be expected 

 to retm-n a profit unless attended to ? 



Selection of Beeed -n-HEN Unconfined. — No cross-bred fowl 

 wUl produce as many eggs as one which is pm'e bred. Now as 

 the largest number of eggs that a hen is capable of producing 

 is required, and that the largest and finest-fleshed fowls and 

 chickens must be obtained to make a poultry -yaixl pay in per- 

 fection — my advice, founded upon reason and experience, is . 

 that two breeds must be kept. As I am regarding the 

 domestic fowl solely as a source of profit, the greatest im- 

 portance must be attached to obtaining the proper breed, as 

 there are many breeds which will not pay as egg-producers, 

 and others, on the contrary, -which if reared for the table or 

 for market purposes would be a positive loss. 



Proceeding upon the assumption that the fowls have the 

 advantage of a good rim, say a field or farmyard to roam in, 

 I should recommend the Black Hamburgh fowl to be kept as 

 an egg-producer ; it is truly called an everlasting layer, and 

 will, without doubt, produce fully twice as many eggs of 

 ordinary size that any other known breed will do. It is a 

 noble-looking bird, and brUUant black" with a metallic lustre. 

 This breed is non-sitting, therefore we must keep another 

 breed for the production of chickens ; and I would strongly 

 recommend the Brahma Pootra ; the chickens rapidly put on 

 flesh, and grow to a very large size, being fit for the table at 

 the age of three months. The heus are good sitters and careful 

 mothers. They wUl become broody in tlie winter, if attention is 

 paid to their feeding and they are waimly housed ; but should 

 this not always happen at the time wished, a hen may be 

 persuaded to sit at any time of the year. The Brahma chicks 

 being naturally strongly constituted, wUl thrive weU at any 

 season. I would not advise a sitting of the Hambm'gh eggs to 

 be made before March. 



It has often being m-ged as au obstacle against keeping two 

 distinct breeds of fowls that there is a difficulty in keeping 

 them separate. It is of course imperative that this shoiUd be 

 done, for if the cock of either breed were to obtain five minutes' 

 freedom in the poultiy-yard or range this mischance would 

 spoU the breed for twelve months. This difficulty may be 

 easUy obviated by keeping the cock always confined, which is 

 a very simple matter, as wiU be seen in a subsequent paper. 

 The age of the cock should not be less than twelve mouths, 

 nor should he be kept after he has attained his third year. 

 Six or seven hens are sufficient for one cock, but where a 

 number are kept, say twenty-five hens, three cocks will be 

 sufficient. 



As profit is our object, the pullets hatched in the spring 

 must not be kept after the July or August twelvemonth, as they 

 will then moult and become for some time unprofitable. The 

 cockerels of each sitting, no matter when hatched, must be 

 sent to market or used for the table when from three to four 

 months old. If kept longer than this they must remain untU 

 full grown, as they always faU off in condition after the period 

 of chickenhood is terminated. At this age they ought to 

 weigh not less than 5 lbs. each, and I have known them to be 

 heavier. The hens may be kept for sitting until three years 

 old ; they are better sitters, generaUy speaking, than pullets, 

 but after that age they often become cross-tempered, and 

 shoiUd be replaced by younger birds. I have heard of capons 

 having been trained to rear young chickens, so that the hen 

 may recover her vigour' and begin to lay again. Of tlris I have 

 not had any experience ; and as the Brahma fowl wUl generally 

 lay again in a few weeks, and at the same time take chai'ge of 

 her brood, when this breed is kept it is unnecessary to de- 

 prive the mother of her own progeny. — Vincent Fbaseb. 



A PLEA FOE JUDGES AT POULTEY SHOWS. 



I BELIEVE every exhibitor of poultry will endorse the remarks 

 made by " D.," of Deal, on poultry-judguig. I have been an 

 exhibitor and breeder of poiUtry for the last twelve years, and 

 never have I heard such complaints — loud and long — from men 

 who do not generally grumble, as during the season just past. 

 It is essential, I fully believe, to remedy this state of things, 

 and that judges must have one enth-e day to make then' awai'ds. 

 More judges must be employed ; and at the lai-gest shows, aud 

 where the funds wUl permit, as at Birmingham, the Crystal 

 Palace, Bristol, &c., amateur breeders of the different varieties 

 should be sohcited, and would be glad, I doubt not, to give 



