March 7, 1867. ] 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



185 



HBi.TiHO A Skax.1. Greenhouse {D. DouffaD.—l^ For such a house aa 

 you describe, 15 feet long and 8 feet wide, a swing sash below the apex at 

 each end, say 2 or 2l feet as the baae of the triangle, will bo enough foi 

 top ventilation. You may have a square of 18 inches as near the top as 

 you can, if you would prefer that shape. This left always open in sum- 

 mer, and regulated in winter, would bo air enough, with or without your 

 proposed opeuing in the b:ick wall. Two sashes in front should be made 

 to move, or if you had four ventilators in the wall below your sashes, you 

 might have all the glass in front fixed as well as the roof. 2, We think a 

 .£3 Hays's stove would suit you well. You must purchase it in London. 

 S, That is one of the drawbacks of patented articles. Tho stove, we pre- 

 sume, must be sent to Glasgow, if there is no place for sale there ap- 

 pointed, and the stove will only suit if the fuel suitable is sent from the 

 emporium. Neither coke, charcoal, nor cinders will do. 4, A small iron 

 fitove with a chimney through the roof would answer for your place, but 

 it would not bo so cleanly as Huya's stove, and the latter would bo safe 

 with merely a gas-pipe from it into the open air. 



Pelargonium Sports {A Toung Beginner). — They are rarely permanent, 

 being very liable under even slight changes of treatment to return to the 

 original characters. A sport is no more liable to ^port again than its 

 parent. 



Bedding Pelargonium, Calceolaria, and Vereena Cuttings (Fred.)- 

 — Cuttings of bedding Pelargoniums and Calceolarias put in now and 

 forwarded in heat will flower finely in July or August, and throughout 

 tho autumn, but not so well as autumn-struck cuttings. It is not too early 

 to buy Verbenas; pot them, and take oflf the tops when of suificient ; 

 length for cuttings, and both the.'ie and the plants from which they are j 

 token would do for bedding out. It would be better to place the Verbenas | 

 in two-inch pots, as they are then much more easily moved; but they 

 would grow more strongly planted out in the bed. 



Gravel Walks Loose (Idem].~'We do not keep loose gravel on our 

 walks, as they would not be couifortablo to walk upon, and would always 

 have more or less of a rough appearance. The surface should be even, 

 Bmooth, and of fine gravel, kept well rolled. 



LiLiUM auratum Culture (A. H., of B.).— The bulbs we presume are 

 now in pots, and if so. and these are of a suitable size, they will only re- 



auire a top-dressing of rich soil ; but if in small pols, and not yet potted 

 le operntiou should be performed at once. A seven-inch pot will bo 

 suitable for a medium-sized bulb, cud a nine-inch pot for a large one. 



The pot should be well drained by placing a large crock over the hole, on 



that some pieces of less size to the depth of 2 inches, and over them an 

 inch or so of the rougher parts of the compost. II tho bulbs are in pots, 

 turn them out, and removu the loose soil, but do not break or injure the 

 roots ; place a few inches of soil in the pots, set the bulb in the centre, 

 and cover tho crown about an inch deep. The pot will not be full to tho 

 rim, which is all the better, an inch or two being left for top-dressing 

 when the shoots are a few inches higher than the rims of the pots. The 

 soil may consist of two-thirds turfy loam, and one-third leaf mould or 

 very rotten manure, adding one-sixth of shan) sand. The soil should be 

 kept moist until the plants arc growing freely, when liberal supplies of 

 water should be atTorded. After blooming diminish the supply of water, 

 and during the winter keep the soil moderately moist, but not wet, and 

 protect from fi-ost. Aflnrd an airy, light position in a cold pit or green- 

 house, or an open sheltered situation out of doors. 



Floweu-beds (A Cotititant Subticriberj.—Tiijth yonr proposed arrange- 

 ments are good if you ki-ep the heights of the rows correct. To make a 

 quick display you would require to plant the general stoclt a loot apart, 

 tho Lobelias from 4 to G inches, and the Cerastium from 2 to 4 inches. 



Heating a Pine-pit {\V. C. W.). — Your two-inch pipes will do for 

 bottom heat in your Pine-bed, 6 yards by 2. We prefer that these pipes 

 should be surroumled with oiJen rubblo, and covered with the same to 

 the depth of 2 inches or so, to having the pipes go at once through the 

 plunging medium, because the heat is more equally diffused, audbecause 

 the pipes would so dry the i)lunping medium that heat would not be well 

 difl'used. The pots should stand near the rubble. We would prefer tan 

 ur loaves to sand or gravel for plunging in ; but the others will do, or 

 even a bed of earth. It will be as well to have some pip^js communicating 

 with the rubble, that you may pour down wator when a moister heat is 

 wanted at the bottom. You can have the "Pine Apple Manual" free by 

 post from our office, il you enclose thirty-two postage stamps with your 

 address. 



Names of Plants {G. S.). — Your specimen is what is urjually called 

 Scilla prEecos, but we are inclined to agree with Sir J E. Smith that it 

 is only a starved form of S. bifoHa. {A. B. C.).~-2 and 8, Cupressus, but 

 species not distinguitihable ; 3, Juniperus chiaonsis ; 4, Juuiperus rigida ; 

 5, Cephalotaxus Fortaui ; 6, Juniperus inacroenrpa. (.^rdai-on).— Asple- 

 nium bulbiferum (?), and Pteris seiTulata. (O. F., and A Constant Ueader), 

 —It is impossible to name plants from such fragments. (Specimens in 

 flower are required. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the Week ending March 5th. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CfiEONICLE. 



BREEDING GAME FOWLS. 

 (Continued from page 171.) 



It is to be observed in breeding light and dark colourH to- 

 gether, that the cock should be of the light and the hena of 

 the dark colour, as in this case the hens being of the darker 

 colour will rule the colour more than the cock. If a dark cock 

 is used for breeding with light-coloured hens, the result will be 

 few or no light-coloured birds, which clearly shows that the 

 cock influences colour more than the hens do as a general rule. 



Some breeders object to dub their brood cocks at all, but this 

 is a mere matter of opinion. 



In breeding in the spring of 1848, I tried an experiment on 

 the sex of eggs, selecting eleven good eggs to produce all cocks ; 

 they were of the willow-legged breed of the Black-breasted 

 Beds. The hen hatched ten healthy chickens on the 21st of 

 April, out of the eleven eggs, and they all grew up to be cook 

 chickens, and were the most pugnacious brood of this colour 

 that I ever reared, constantly fighting. 



Some breeders choose their finest " stag " to make a brood 

 cook of, keep him undubbed, but dub all others, and put him 

 on the best walk by himself with a few hens only, to try 

 what sort of chickens he throws as a stag, before breeding 

 from him as a full-grown cock at home. Many also try their 

 best pullets in the same way before breeding from them as full- 

 grown hens, putting them with their best stag. The old 

 breeders used to try some of their stags by weighing them in 

 to fight against full-grown cooks in a main, when, if they fought 

 well against full-grown birds, they were good, if not, they were 

 condemned as bad. The shortest-legged stags were used for 



this purpose, and at least three of them, as these look most 

 like cocks, being more down on their thighs than the long-legged 

 early-hatched stags ever are as a rule. 



By mating the brood cock and brood hens about Christmas, 

 they become well acquainted with one another, and the hens 

 are well attended to by the cock by the proper time for laying 

 eggs for hatching, which is in February and March. I generally 

 mate my brood fowls two or three days before Christmas, put- 

 ting only a few of the very best-shaped hens to the best-shaped 

 brood cock — never more than six hens, of course ; and I think 

 this the best way of breeding first-rate stock birds. 



When a stock of Game fowls has been bred in-and-in too 

 long they begin to be slower in their motions, the hens and 

 pullets do not lay so well as formerly, and they moult late and 

 feather badly and slowly. When this is the case they should 

 be crossed with a strong healthy brood cock, and the progeny 

 by him retained instead of the older birds. All birds from a 

 first cross are most vigorous if the cross is good, and best for 

 the pit. Second, third, and following crosses are less vigorous 

 and spirited than a first cross, as the first mixture of different 

 blood always produces most vigour. By keeping two different 

 strains always separate, a first cross may always be had when 

 wanted. 



In breeding it must be noticed, that the best-laying hens 

 never breed the best birds — that is, hens which lay in winter 

 are not the best to breed from, having exhausted themselves 

 before the proper season. The best hens to breed good hard 

 birds from, are those which do not lay at all (after moulting at 

 the proper time), until the middle of February, thus laying 

 their first clutches of eggs at the proper season for hatching. 



As to the age of eggs for hatching, egge will hatch easily, if 

 well kept, at a month old, but this, perhaps, is rather too stale. 

 My plan was to ooDect all the eggs ten days old, or fresher still, 



