502 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Decemljer 18, 187S. 



30 lbs. of sugar boiled in 30 pints of water, which wintered 

 it first-rate, and on the 5th of October I put four swarms in 

 another hive, this one taking 28 lbs. of sugar in sixteen days — 

 these two sugar-fed stocks being equal to any I had, so that I 

 had five good stocks to winter and commence 1872 with. These 

 five stocks I artificially swarmed — one on June 7th, one on the 

 14th, and three on the 2Sth. I took them to the moors on 

 August 13th, and fetched them back on the 14th of September, 

 when I obtained from those five swarms and one old stock — 

 one glass super, 7 lbs. nett ; run honey, 271 lbs. ; pressed honey, 

 40 lbs. = 318 lbs. of honey, and 10^ lbs. of wax, out of sis 16-inch 

 straw hives, and the only feeding had been about 2 or 3 lbs. of 

 sugar each at swarming time. I united my driven bees into 

 three sugar-fed stocks, as in 1871, which, with four old ones, 

 gave me seven stocks to commence 1873 with. I would like 

 to ask Mr. Breen and all the wranglers for wood hives if they 

 had equal success with a like number of wooden hives in 1872. 



I am afraid if I went through the eventful season of 1873 it 

 would make my letter too long ; I will therefore leave it to a 

 future opportunity. In the meantime I shall be glad if, through 

 your columns, Mr. Breen will give his reasons for selecting a 

 straw hive to endeavour to win the first prize in Class A at the 

 International Exhibition at Manchester, if he had such un- 

 bounded confidence in wood, and if he wiU also favour us with 

 his balance-sheet for 1873 showing a profit of i'lO on seven 

 hives, also stating where he purchased his honey^«r ct simple^ 

 and how much he gave to his famous wood hive that yielded 

 irim such a grand super, for it reaUy was the grandest I ever 

 saw. — Thomas Bagshaw, LongnoVj near Buxton, 



Balds, Be^oids, and Mottles. — I have read the letters of 

 *' "Wiltshire Rectqu," " Would-be Exhibitor," " Turkey 

 Quill," and " Secretary," and I beg most respectfully to differ 

 from them all. If committees do not think fit to have classes 

 for these birds, as at Birmingham, X shall keep mine at home. — 

 W. WooDHOUSE, King's Lynn* 



best and most economical fencing. You asfe for the smallest space and we 

 give it. If you can increase it the fowls will do better. 



Brahjia CofKEREL DEFICIENT IN Fluff {R. 5.}.— Where a cock is de- 

 ficient you should choose hens or pullets possessing largely the points lacking 

 in the cock. Thus to the bird you mention, you should put heavily- feathered 

 hens, but avoid vulture hocks. "We never recommend dealers. Look at our 

 advertisements. There is a sale at Stevens's, 38, King Street, Covent harden, 

 every alternate Tuesday. They will send you a catalogue on application. 



Choice of Brahma Cockerels {L, J. F. C). — We have no hesitation in 

 deciding in favour of the second. 



Name of Bird. — '^ Naturalist'^ asks for the name of a bird which comes 

 in the autumn and stays during the winter months: same size as the Chaf- 

 finch, and like one when feeding with them, only the breast is a much 

 brighter colour; the head is marked with black and a bluish grey. Instead 

 of the white feathers in the wing it has yellow or gold colour. Its call note 

 is the same as a Canary or Linnet. It is called by some the French Chaffinch. 



Wax Moths (G. W. D.). — We do not know any plan to prevent moths 

 entering hives. In summer nights, an hoar or two after sunset, many moths 

 may be seen flying about the doors of hives, and sometimes going into the 

 hives when the watchmen are off their guard. We have never found moths 

 do harm in a healthy hive. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Galashiels Show (T. F.).— It was a local show not advertised. 



Egg-protecting Nest (B. Barrett).— It is in Vol. XVII., new series, page 

 427. 



Light Bhahmas {Suhscriher). — The Brahmas differ only in colour. In 

 quality one is as good as the other. 



White Bantams Dirty (H.). — Yon may wash your fowls with soap ani 

 water, using apiece of flannel for the operation. Wipe the feathers downwards 

 gently. It is only the surface of the feather that is dirty. When cleansed, 

 the feathers should be wiped as dry as possible with a clean flannel, and the 

 bh-d put in an open basket filled vdth. soft straw, and placed before a good fire. 



Ulcerated Livers (Nemo). — The only explanation we can offer is, that 

 moulting is a trying time to a fowl and a drain on the strength. Much is 

 taken out of a bird in the formation of new plumage, and an extra supply of 

 food of a nourishing character should be freely given. We are not friendly 

 to maize at that time, and the best food we know is ground oats given night 

 and morning, slaked with milk if possible, if not, with water ; good heavy 

 barley being the midday meal, varied witli table scraps. Where fowls are 

 underfed or improperly fed, at moulting or in gi-eat changes of weather, they 

 sicken, and always suffer fi'om liver complaints. At such times avoid stimu- 

 lating or spiced foods. 



Marking Fowls (T. H. E.).—You may mark your Brahmas by cutting off 

 one wing feather half way down. The feather will remain till the moulting 

 season. You may mark different broods by cutting different feathers, each 

 brood having the same feather cut. Thus : First brood, second featlier in 

 right wing; second brood third feather, and so on. Or you may sew a piece 

 of coloured cloth round the leg, the different broods being denoted by different 

 colours. Or tou may make a small steel rod red hot and perforate the web of 

 the wing, different perforations or devices marking the different breeds. If 

 you use the cloth it must be removed before they are exhibited, as any out- 

 ward mark is a disqualification. 



Crossing Dorkings and Brahmas (Linda).— The first cross is the best 

 and should be made with a Brahma cock and Dorking hens. The cock used 

 should always be pure. 



Vdlture-hocked Brahma (C. J. ilf.).— Vulture hocks are a great disadvan- 

 tage, and often a disqualification. They are always hereditary, and we strongly 

 fldviae you to have nothing to do with such a bird as a stock-getter. We 

 never recommend dealers, and wo advise you to consult our columns for 

 persons to whom you can apply for a proper bird. 



Goose Dying Suddenly (G. ill. iJ.).— We cannot in any way account for 

 the death of the Goose. It did not die from the fasting. They, like other 

 things, sometimes die suddenly without any appai-ent cause. 



Aylesbury Duck Points (J. D.).— An Aylesbury Duck should be perfectly 

 white in plumage, have orange legs and flesh-white bill. It is desirable the 

 head should be large and the bill broad. We fear there is nothing to be done 

 with your Spanish chicken. It is overgrown, weakly, and deficient in con- 

 stitution. Leg-weakness is a new but a very bad disorder. Fowls that were 

 up fattening were always subject to it, being forced by cramming, but it was 

 not general as it is now. 



Brahmas Roosting (Inquirer). — There is no objection to your Brahmas, 

 roosting on the ground. We keep large numbers : some roost on the ground, 

 some on perches— all do well alike. Where they roost on the ground you will 

 have fewer crooked breasts. The only way to make them perch is to go in at 

 night and put them on the perches. 



Space for Twelve Fowls (Smallest Spnce).—The least you can allow 

 will be 3t) feet by ^0, and then you must supply them artificially with green 

 food, such as growing grass, also with road grit. Wire-netting will be the 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 61° 32^ 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W. ; Altitude 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 

 10th. — Very foggy all day, and very cold at night. 

 11th. — Fog in the morning ; clear and very bright for a short time about noon^ 



but soon as foggy as before. 

 12th.— Frosty and bright till about 3 p.m., then rather dull and wai-m the rest 



of the day, with less fog than the previous days. 

 13th. — Dark and very foggy morning ; cleai-er at noon, dull afternoon. 

 14th. — Still fair and rather thick ; very dark a short time before noon, clear 



by 2 P.M., and so continued. 

 15th.— Very dark with slight rain in the early part of the day, and occasionally 



during the whole day. 

 16th. — Much warmer, and thongh there was a strong wind and slight rain in 



the morning, the after part of the day vfa.% remarkably fine. 

 The night temperature nearly 9 below last week ; all the other temperatures 

 about 5^ below. Fogs, at times very dense, have prevailed more or less nearly 

 all the week. Barometer still very high ; it had fallen below 30 ins. this (Tues- 

 day) morning, but has risen rapidly during the day. A great rise in tempera- 

 ture after the middle of the day on 15th, a difference of 16^ between the 

 9 A.M. reading on that day and the following one. — G. J. Svmons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— December 17. 

 The close approach of Christmas has not influenced the markets hero to 

 any extent, it is chiefly to be noticed in the presence of Holly and other ever- 

 greens, and the many varied and beautiful displays of dried Mosses, Grasses, and 

 flowers that have come so much into use during the past few years. French 

 Lettuces are now coming from Paris in good condition, accompanied by a few 

 bundles of Asparagus. The Potato trade is heavy, witli large stocks on hand- 



FRUIT, 



