18 



JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTURS AND COTT.\GB GAEDENER. 



I July 3, 1873. 



and five male Rabbits, obtained 1300 youiif,', ami In- im-vv intends 

 to have 200 females. By allowing these latter to produce oijij 

 every two months, instead of every month, as they can do, he 

 calculates that he can procure 500 Rabbits a-month, or 0000 

 a-year. He has had constructed a large shed, 30 yards long by 

 20 w-ide and 40 feet high, and in it are 140 compartments, of 

 which ten are set ajjart for young Rabbits separated from their 

 dams, fourteen for the adults, twelve for the males, and the 

 rest for the doe Rabbits and other purposes. Piuel makes this 

 calculation : Out of 270 Rabbits born every month, the average 

 number of deaths is twelve, so that there remain for sale 2j8, 

 ■which can be disposed of for 12 cents each, making $.56.70, or 

 $681.12 a-year. This sum is increased to $931 by the sale of 

 the manure. The expense of producing 258 Rabbits is estimated 

 at $274, so that a clear profit remains of 8657. As Rabbits can 

 be fed in gi-eat part on the refuse of the farmhouse and farm- 

 yard, it is thought that they might in many localities be bred 

 to advantage." 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Books (ApUiry). — "The Bee-keepers' Manual,"' you can have it free by 

 poet from our office if you enclose five postage stamps with yum- adtb'esa. 



Chickens III and Dying (C. HoHj.—\We are at a loss to know why yoiir 

 chicken died. It seemed to have had all that waa necessary for health and 

 comfort, hut we do not think your feeding is as judicious as it might he. 

 Indian corn is not good for chickena. Change your diet. Give them ground 

 oata or barleymeol for the first meal in the morning; give them hread crumbe 

 and table scraps afterwai-da ; at mid-day then some whole barley, and wind up 

 with a fe^d like the looming. Discontinue wheat, Indian corn, and the 

 cooked meat. If the discharge continues, give a small teaspoonful of castor oil. 



Brahma Chicken Dying Suddenly (J. E'i-hhs).— Where a well-fed and 

 healthy chicken (as yom-s was before it died) becomes suddenly ill, and dies 

 spite of remedy, we always attribute death to some poisonous food. We are 

 careful in hinting at anythJutr of the sort, because it opens a wide door, aud 

 causes au uneasy feeling which may have no real foundation. The chicken 

 arrived m a vei-y decomposed state, rendering all examination impossible. 

 Poisonous food may be picked up accidentally, without e\il act or feeling on 

 the part of anyone. Death may be the result of injury either to the head or 

 the .•^pine, and it is more than probable, as two were taken and the others 

 remain in health, that some such accident was the cause of death. The 

 evacuations from healthy birds should be brown and white. A few buds must 

 die, and we will hope these are the two, and that the others are going on 

 well. We aie always happy to answer any questions. Should you have any 

 more to ask about these chickens, give us more detailed information about 

 theii- feeding. 



Plants Supposed to Injure Fowls (T. IT.).— The flower is hemlock; 

 the leaf is a feni, which is certainly harmless. The chickens may eat the hem- 

 lock, which may cause the mortality. There is nothing among the other 

 plants you name that would kill poulti^, and there is no reason why chickens 

 should always die in May, nor do we think they would eat hemlock. 



Bone-dust for Fowls— Leg weakness (fi. E. if.).— We took the chemi- 

 cal part of your question to one who is learned in such matters. He said : — 

 "The sulphm'ic acid will not harm the fowls; it is only added to convert the 

 phosphate of the bones into super-phosphate." Of course, wo said, how came 

 we to forget that? We feel more at home about Light Brahmas and leg- 

 weakness, and BO, instead of telling you where the crushed boue can he had 

 unadulterated, we teU you, you ought not to want it at all. We cry out con- 

 tinually to follow nature. We do it with our own birds, and we have do leg- 

 weakness or anything of the sort. Eschew all modern inventions, and try to 

 feed your fowls as Pheasants and Partridges feed in a state of nature. You 

 never see them with leg-weakness — au entirely modern disorder. They get 

 nothing that you canuot give. Avoid stimulating and spiced foods. If you 

 can get ground oats, give them, they possess all the material for bone; if you 

 cannot, give barleymeal. The husks of oats and barley contain chalk. Vary 

 the mid-day meal with bread — scraps from table and kitchen. Be sure that 

 weakness is not the result of inter- breeding, and consequent weak constitutions. 

 If it is, no feciliug will cure it. 



Thorne Poultry Show.— In Silver-Grey Eabhita we oi'e informed that A- 

 H. Fasten took the lii-st, and S. Ball second. 



Parrot Suffering from Sores (L. 

 M. S. P.). — The best treatment is to have 

 a sort of cradle made, such as one some- 

 times sees round the necks of horses 

 which have sore places. It should be 

 made of pieces of wood, each, about 2 in- 

 ches long; the wood to be round, like a 

 black-lead pencil, the ends rounded to pre- 

 vent their hurting the bird, and each strip 

 should have two holes made in it a little 

 way from each end, through which holes 

 a piece of string should be passed, hut a 

 knot must be tied on both eiden of each 

 piece of wood, so as to keep them from 

 shpping out of place. The accompanying 

 sketch will give a clear idea of what wo 

 mean. We would also recommend a very 

 small quantity of magnebia to be put into 

 the drinking water of the bird now and 

 then. 



Wooden Hives (Wo/^a^/on).— If wood 

 is BO very tmsuitable a material for bee 

 hives, why is it eo largely used by Ameri- 

 can, German, aud English bee-keepers, 

 to say nothing of those of other countries 



having, with those mentioned, every extreme of temperature ? We have, for 

 many years, had colonies in both wooden and straw hives, and have generally 

 found oui- strongest and most forward stocks in the spring to l>e in wood. 

 There is frequently more or less of moisture, which may collect on the under 

 side of the cover, but we have never found it to be very injurious, provided 

 the stocks are strong and well-provisioned, and that the lloor-boards are 

 changed or cleaned in the spring. There is no objection to your proposed 

 plan of boring four holes through each tide of your hoses, and covei-ing the 



fthole with hay-bauds. Theno holes must not, however, be covered v;iih zinc 

 or the bees will soon t^how their appreciation of your eSorts to provide them 

 with ventilation, by effectually stopping up every hole in it. The best mode of 

 effecting your object is to liavo mats of straw, the bands of about 11 inch 

 thick, not too tightly twisted together, substituted in October for the "usual 

 wooden cover. They may be kept down by sUps of wood at the two sides of 

 each hive, projecting a Uttle beyond the cover, and tied with strong cord 

 passing under the floor-board. 



Distilling Rose Water (A. 8. 2. ilf.).— Put 4 lbs. of rose petals into a 

 pan with three quarts of river water, and leave the mixture four-and-twenty 

 hours; then put it into the still, and distil from it as much odoriferous 

 water as you can. Take off the still, thi-ow away its contents, and rinse it 

 out well. After this fill it to two-thirds with fresh-gathered rose petals, oa 

 which pour the above drawn rose water ; distil thi.';, and when you h ft ve pro- 

 cured as much good rose water as it will yield, let the fire go out gradually. 

 Do not continue the distillation until the petals scorch. To avoid this danger 

 the still may be plunged in a water bath, and the bath placed over the ^■e. 

 A temperature between 200= and 212= will be enough for the distillation. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERYATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



Lafc. 51^ 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W. ; Altitude 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 



23rd.— Fine day, veiy hot sun. 

 21th. — Fine day throughout. 

 A fine week of warm June weather, especially the last few days. 



25th. — Rather dull morning but beautiful afternoon, evening, and night. 



2t5th. — Moderately fine all day, but with one or two sprinkles of rain. 



27th. — A very flue day, bright aud sunshiny with a pleasant breeze, though 



sometimes rather strong. 

 38th. — Rather dull in the morning, but fine afterwards. 

 29tii.— Fine aud warm in the morning, rather doll after 2 p.m., rain in th& 



evening, at times veij heavy. 

 30th.— Rather dull morning, but no rain till about 4 p.m., after which time it 



rained more or less all the day. 

 July 1st. — Fine pleasant day. rather wai'm, but by no means oppressive. 



Very similar to the previous week, except that on Sunday and Monday there 

 was heavy raiu. The temperature in sun has also been lower. The total 

 rainfall for the lust six months of 1873 (10.20 in.), is 1.63 in. below tho 

 avoiage of the six years, 1800-65. — G. J. Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— JtJLY 2. 



Very little alteration to make, except that out-door Striwberriea have 

 come in with a glut, growers finding a ilifficulty in making a cleai-ance, and 

 prices ranging from id. to Is. Oil. per punnet. 



Apples V sieve 3 



Apricots doz. 2 



ClK^rries 1-^ box 2 



Chestnuts bushel 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



Figs duz. G 



FUborts lb. 



Cobs lb. a 



Gf^oseberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse lb. 4 



Lemons i^^ 100 6 



Melons each 5 



FBUIT. 



d. s. d. [ 8. 



Oto5 ■ Mulberries ^ b. 



3 1 Nectarines doz. 15 



G 4 Oranges ^100 4 



Peaches doz. 15 



Pears, kitchen ooz. 1 



dessert doz. 6 



10 PineAppIos lb. 4 



Plums 5 sieve 



2 6 Quinces doz. 



3 6 I Raspberries lb. 



10 ' Strawberries ^ lb. 4 



10 I Walnuts bnehel 15 



8 ditto %'-100 2 



Artichokes doz. 3 



Asparaiius Ir^ 100 3 



French 6 



BeauB, Kidney 1:^100 1 



Beet. Red doz 1 



Brocooli bundle 



Cabbage doz. 1 



Capbiiruma ^ir^ 100 



C-rrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 3 



Celery bundle 1 



Colf'woi-ta. . doz. bunches 3 



Cuenuibera each 



picidiug doz. 



F.ndivtj doz. 2 



Fennel bimch 



Garlio lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish bundle 3 



Lec-ks bunch 



Lettuce doz. 1 



VEGETABLES. 

 . d. 8.d. 



0to6 



6 



12 



6 2 6 





 



4 



1 























4 







3 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress. .punnet 



Onions bushel 4 



pickling quart 



Parsley per doz. bunt-hes 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 2 



Potatoes bushel D 



Kidney do. 



Round do. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 1 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsafy bundle 1 



Savoys doz, 2 



Scorzonera bundle 1 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 2 



Tomatoes doz. 2 



Turnips bimch 



VeRetable Marrows 



