116 



JOUKNAL OF HOETICULTTJBE AKD COTTAGE GABDENER. 



[ August 11, 1863. 



Figs Falling {£. S., West TricA:/(a//j)-— On your graveily Boil there is a 

 deficiency of moisture, probably at ihe roots of the trees. Kaise a Kiw bank, 

 at about 3 feet Irom the stem, round each tree, and pour into it a bucket of 

 ■water. Then put on ^ome mulch and repeat the watering twice weekly, 

 whilst dry weather continues. 



Variegated Ahabis Propagation (M. F.). — As rooted offsets are not 

 furnished very abuinJantlv, we fjenerally put in a good batch of slips any 

 time during showery weathtr in tiie summer. \Ve sometimes put tliem in 

 as early ys March, and at others as late as Noveinbtr, the plant being so 

 accommodating as to strike well at all times. Of course cuitinE> [lUt in late 

 gentrally remain in their place until spring. We yearly rair-c a gouil qudn- 

 tiiy fiom spring or early summer cuttings to plant in the beds that tiera- 

 niump, &c., ht'.ve been removed irom in autumn. Any comu^on sandy soil 

 will do to strike them in, shading them for a time in sunny we»lher. 



Peaches Nearly Ripk Falling (A. if.}.— The trees are probably de- 

 ficient in moisture at the routs. Treat them as we have told another cur- 

 reepondent to treat his Fig trees. What you lerm "rotting" in your 

 Grapes is probably " the spot." The roots ot the V nes shonlti have some 

 rich compost applied to them, and be liberally watered with tepid water. 

 More air also should be given by day and night. Sirawbtrries becounng 

 mouldy in the forv:ing-house intimates that the air was kept too moist and 

 stagnant. It certainly was not caused by " too muck drainage." 



Goldex-lkaved Geranivm (Aji Amafeur).— Therein a marked difference 

 in the flowers of Cloth of Gold and Golden Chain, the former being a good 

 scarlet almost equal t> Geranium Tom Thumb, the latter a dull red, and 

 not so good a shape; the loliage is much alike. We may, however, say that 

 amongst the various kinds of this class that we grow, we like Golden Circle 

 best, as it is a free-grower and is only a shade less yellow than the best of 

 them. We have upwards of one hundred plants of each of the loUowing 

 kinds: — Golden Chain, Golden Fleice, Golden Ivy-haf, Golden Circle, 

 Goldtn Vaise, and Ctoth of Gold; and in smaller quantities Gold-leaf, Mis 

 Pollock, and some others. Not any of them comes up to our notion of what 

 13 wanted of a gold-etlged Geranium ; but we may be fasiioious. In many 

 insiances the summer growth is so esoeeciingly small that propagation is u 

 slow affair, excepting under glass in the winter an i spring uionths. Fui ther 

 articles on variegated Geraniums will be forthcoming shoitly, and perhaps 

 other kinds noticed. 



Names of Plants ( TT. Jf^. WHsoti).—}, the Purple Vine Bower, Clematis 

 viticella purpurea ; 2, Sophora japouica pendula, a free and fast-grjwing 

 tree; 3, Gleditscbii tiicanthos, the Honey Locust Tree; 4, Catalpa syriu- 

 gaefolia, common Catalpa, or sometimes cdled eignonia catalpa ; 5, Datura 

 stramonium, common Thorn Apple. (An Old Subscriber).— the large leaf 

 is from Cissus discolor; the jomted leaf is from Phyllarthron comorense 

 (Bojer), a native of the Comoro Islands, from which it must have been intro- 

 duced to Brazil, whence you ?ay you had it. probably either through Kew 

 Gardens or by Mr. Dufcan, Director of the Mauritius Botanic Garden, who 

 exchanges plants with a Brazilian correspondent. (6^. C). — It is a Lobelia, 

 but not to be named Irom a small spray quite dry. (J?. J., Spring Bank]. 

 — Hordeum jubatum, or Long-bearded Barley Grass. A hardy biennial ; 

 Dative of North America. [G. A///(J.— Gnapliaiium lanatum, so much em- 

 ployed now as an edging plant. {J. R. It, lioniton). — I, Drosera rolundi- 

 folia; 2, Erica tetralix ; 3, Sphagnum, or the tii'^y Bog Moss, tht: peach- 

 coloured variety of Sphagnum palustre of Withering. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE, 



SELECTING BERDS FOR EXHIBITION. 



It is important that those who intend to be competitors 

 for the great events of the poultiy-yard, should now make 

 selection of the bu-ds on which their success may dej^end. 

 There is, perhaps, no tune of the year when tliis can be 

 done as easOy as at present. The evidences of gi'owth and 

 fi'ame are unmistakeable, and faults are equally developed. 

 It has always been ova opinion that those intended for 

 Birmingham should there make their debut. Admitting' 

 that they are perfect in size, shape, and condition, they 

 have nothing to spare — all is required for success in that 

 great contest. If that be true, nothing that is faulty can 

 hope: no bad comb, faidty claw, or deformity can be 

 tolerated. It is particularly at this season of the year, when 

 the weather is hot, when meat does not relish, and when 

 vegetables ai-e good, young, and cooling, that poulti-y is 

 most in request. It is now that the broods are scanned with 

 an eye that threatens death to many an inhabitant of the 

 yard. While a proper selection wiU certainly swell the 

 profit column at the end of the year, so an improper one 

 will assuredly put profit out of the question. When two 

 large, wliite, succulent Dorkings appear on the table, they 

 are not the less relished because the pullet was foui'-clawed 

 on one foot, and the cock was decidedly weak on his legs. 

 When two pretty Hamburgh chickens, round, short, and 

 fuU-breasted are being admired, no one wiU know they were 

 both single-combed. It is the same with all. Every ad- 

 vantage of food and run should be given to those that ai'e 

 intended for stock or exhibition ; and it is well, if it can be 

 done, that all faulty chickens intended for the table should 

 be withdrawn from the yard, and put in a place apart. 

 Dorkings will, some of them, come with hideous legs, long 

 thin claws going up all one side of the leg ; others sin in 

 an opposite direction and fail in the number — they have 



four instead of five. Some appear of such colours that, al- 

 though we are latetudinarians in that particular, we cannot 

 advise them to be saved. Hamburghs will sometimes sport 

 single combs and five claws. Spanish, instead of being long, 

 thin, gi'eyhound-looking fowls, will oome dumpy, and squat- 

 formed pullets. Indeed, every breed at times sends forth 

 its defects. 



Where eggs only are required, it stands to reason faulty 

 bu-ds will lay as well as perfect ones ; but care must be 

 taken none such are put under hens to produce chickens, 

 as experience proves defects ai-e more certain of transmission 

 to offspring than virtues are. This is another reason why 

 we advocate the separation of the table and faulty birds 

 fi-om the perfect ones — there is no possibility of a mistake 

 in the eggs of either. It may apipear of little import now, 

 but it is possible, axrangemeuts may be making at this time 

 that are to last thi-ough the ^vinter ; and it would be more 

 than th-esome to find the eggs set to produce chickens in 

 January, to be the unmistakeable produce of the pariahs. 

 If it can be conveniently done, it is advisable in both in- 

 stances to keep the sexes separate. Early maturity is 

 desirable neither for the table nor for exhibition. In the 

 first instance it hardens the flesh, in the second it stops 

 growth. Chickens grow and ripen slowly in the winter ; and 

 even if they are one month too old for the table of a gour- 

 mand, yet at that time of the year, if they are kdled when 

 quite empty of food and water, they may be kept tiU they are 

 tender, and they will be full of flavour. As this is intended 

 for those who eat poultry, we wUl endeavour to leave no- 

 thing unsaid on that part of the subject. Although fowls 

 that have arrived at " a certain age " may be kept tUl they 

 are tolerably tender, it is not desirable to keep them till 

 they attain that age. Care should, therefore, be taken to 

 kiU-oft' the oldest brood fii-st, and not to take up the first 

 two or tliree that come to hand. Often one is killed twelve 

 weeks old and put with another that is sixteen. If the 

 sixteen-weeks brood is killed first, there is a month before 

 those at twelve in which they wiU improve daUy. The ob- 

 servance of these trifling rules will make the poulti-y-yard 

 of the cottage or the "ferine ornt'e " what it should be — a 

 valuable adjunct to the table and larder, and a self-sup- 

 porting and amusing hobby. 



SPAJS^ISH FOWLS FOE A SMALL ENCLOSURE. 



Will you tell me the number of fowls (Spanish) I can 

 healthily keep in a yard 25 feet square ; also the best way 

 of building at its end a fowl-house 25 feet by 6 ? — A Countet 



POULTBY-FANCIEK. 



[You can easily keep ten or twelve Spanish fowls in a 

 yard 25 feet squai-e. They are not fowls that require much 

 liberty, although, when they have it, they enjoy it to the 

 full. That number would not want a house as large as you 

 propose to make. If you erect a wooden building in one 

 corner it need only be 12 feet long by 6 deep. The door 

 should be at one end of it, and not wider than is necessary 

 for a man to go through. It should be the height of the 

 building, not less than 7 feet. The laying-boxes, three in 

 number, should face the door, and the perches should be in 

 the sheltered part, and not more than 2 feet from the 

 ground. If the house has a window so much the better. 

 The floor should be of gravel, and there shoidd be holes for 

 ventilation all round the top.] 



Chickens Desteoxed by a Hedgehog.— Perhaps some of 

 your readers may not be aware of the destructive qualities 

 of the common hedgehog. It is one of those unhappy 

 animals that are always killed, if not tortui-ed, by country 

 lads. If you ask them why, they are immediately ready 

 with a host of accusations, wliich I had hitherto considered 

 as absui-d and incapable of proof as the supposed venomous 

 natui'e of toads, sloivworms, and other innocent reptiles ; 

 but this year I have had evidence to the conti'ary. It was 

 obsei-ved night after night that a chicken was taken away 

 fi-om a brood about a week old, which was placed under a 

 coop in the rickyard. As the yard was known to be infested 

 with rats, the loss was attributed to them ; so the hen and her 

 chickens were removed and placed under a window where the 



