438 



JOUBNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



r Jane 20. 1S67. 



made from malt. Khould the honey beer cool down too much in 

 the cooler before it con all be got together, briu^' up its temperature by 

 reheating a portion of it in a eancepan. or prevent thq escape of heat 

 by covering the cooler over with some sacUa or old carpeting. Patience 

 is a virtue in carrying out tlie fermentation of honey beer, as I believe 

 it to be in most oi aer operations. 



Now, we will i)lace our cask firmly and level on a slieleton tram, 

 elevated a foot or so from the floor, so that by a free circulation of 

 air beneath it may bo preserved from damp and injury. Make two 

 cork-holes, or one as tho ease may be ; two holes are better, one below 

 the other in the centre of tbo barrel. Take out the veut-peg, allow tbe. 

 bunghole to lean slightly to one side for the pni-pose of casting off 

 the Bcnm, because, as I just mentioned, the fermentation is sluggish, 

 and will scarcely if ever render a working-tube necessary ; slip a pan 

 nnder the barrel to catch tbe scum, adjust the tun-pail in the bung- 

 hole, and the vessel is ready to be filled. Directly the beer is all in 

 the working-tub, let this part of the proceeding be completed, and 

 ■when the cask is nearly full froth will issue violently, then take away 

 the tun-pail, complete the hlling-up with a spouted jug quietly, and 

 remove the pan or other vessel from beneath ; empty it and replace 

 it. Should the filling of the barrel be done in the evening, it would be 

 as well to rise in the middle of the night and attend to it in case the 

 fermentation should have begun and more liqnor is wanted to keep the 

 cask full. Now the necessity will be seen for having some to spare for 

 that puri)ose. 



In tbe event of the beer showing no sign of worldng in the barrel 

 after the expiration of forty-eight hours, it will be necessai-y to en- 

 courage it to do so. Take a double handful of flour, place it on a 

 plate before the hre, and stir to prevent its burning till it becomes 

 quite hot, grating into it in the meantime about 1 oz. of ginger. Enter 

 this by degrees with the left hand in at the bnnghole, and keep 

 Btirring it about the liquor in the cask with a stout lath quickly with 

 the right hand, so as thoroughly to mix the whole, and. doubtless, the 

 fermentation will soon commence. The temperature of tbe place where 

 the cask is set to work should, if possible, not be much below 60°. 

 No given time can be stated when fermentation will cease, but it must 

 not be allowed to go on too long, and as soon as it becomes gentle, and 

 the liqnor has become apparently fine, rack it off. At this stage the 

 iiaccharometer would be found of the greatest consequence, as this is 

 just the time when nine people out of ten allow their wines. &c., to 

 enter into the acetous fermentation unwittingly, from not knowing the 

 specific gravity. As soon as the liquor has attenuated itself by fer- 

 mentation to y ^ by Roberts's saccharometer, which can be ascertained 

 by occasionally floating the instrument at the bunghole. the contents 

 of the cask should be immediate]}' racked off, and the settlings or lees 

 rinsed and drained from the barrel, mixed with twice their hulk of 

 water, and applied to the roots of the rose trees showing the most 

 blossom-buds. 



After having cleaned the cask, turn it bnnghole downwards, and 

 Jlx it in that position. Then at the end of an old iron spoon place 

 about 1 oz. of flowers of sulphur, set light to it by the flame of a 

 caudle, place it at the mouth of the bunghole, and allow the fumes to 

 enter the baiTcl. As soon as the sulphur is burnt out, replace the 

 cask, and enter the honey beer into it again immediately. Further 

 fermentation will by this proceeding be nearly if not entirely arrested, 

 and there will he no danger of the liquor becoming soar. It has also 

 the effect of fining down and brightening it. 



The cask may safely be bunged down tightly in three weeks after 

 the racking. I ought, perhaps, to explain how to do that also. Force 

 in the cork at the bottom of the barrel and allow the beer to escape 

 into a cooler ; tilt the vessel when it begins to run slowly until the 

 thick grounds are perceived to escape ; then untilt immediately, fasten 

 in a new cork, and proceed as above stated. An underground cellar 

 is always to be preferred, on account of its being warm in winter and 

 cool in summer. We cottagers cannot often command such, but, 

 ■wherever it may be, an even temperature of 50^ is desirable. Frost 

 and strong light should be avoided, and gleams of suu must be as 

 •arefally excluded as from a dairy. 



Digest. 

 To make a Strong Honey bi^er. 



Quantity to be brewed . . 50 galls. 



Water required 67 galls. 



Proper temperature of 

 water to prove by sac- 

 charometer GO'' 



Proper sweetness of wort 

 by Roberts's saccharo- 

 meter 40^ 



Or, quantity of honey at 

 Si lbs. per gallon 234i lbs. 



Bo. of hops if required 

 to keep 12 mouths 4 lbs. 



Do. of hops if for 6 months S lbs. 



Do. of barm for working 3 pints 



Time for boilint,' the beer 2^ hrs. 



A good haudful of salt thrown in 

 after first hour's boiling. 



Quantity to begin to set 

 to work with 6 galls. 



Proper heat tosft towork 70° 



Time for brewing— September or 

 October. 



— Upwards and Onwabcs. 



Digest. 

 A Tabli' Honey beer Breicing. 



Quantity to be brewed . . 50 galls. 



Do. of water required. ... 67 galls. 



Do. of honey, 2 lbs. per 

 gallon 134 lbs. 



Do. of hops 2 lbs. 



Do. of barmfor working. . 2 qi"ts.' 



The table beer requires a larf^er 

 proportion of barm to carry out 

 the fermentation than the strong 

 beer. 



Time for boiling 2^ hrs. 



A good handful of salt thrown in 

 after first hour's boiling. 



Quantity to begin the 

 working 5 galls. 



Proper temperature to set 

 to work 80° 



Times for brewing — In the spring 

 and summer as wanted, and to 

 be drunk directly it is racked and 

 becomes fine in the cask. 



Bees at the Manchester National Horticultural Exm- 

 BiTioN. — We learn from the Manchester Courier that at the 

 National Horticultural Exhibition recently held at the Botanical 

 Gardens, Old Trafford, Mr. Carr exhibited two stocks of Ligu- 

 riau bees; one being in an ''improved observatory revolving 

 bar-frame hive," and the other in an " improved wnicomb 

 observatory revolving bar-frame hive." He also exhibited what 

 is stated to be "the finest bell-glass filled with upwards of 

 32 lbs. of the most splendid honeycomb ever collected in Lan- 

 cashire," and frames filled with honeycombs weighing from 

 () to 71b.^. each. Our contemporary pronounces the exhibition 

 to have been altogether most successful. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Chickens DvniG (An old Cocker).— The present warm weather will bo 

 the most effectual remedy for the dinrrhofa in your chickens. A little 

 bread sonked in ale once a-day, and a pood supply of lettuce leaves to 

 peck will be good treatment, in "addition to oats, grits, and soft food. 



Food for Bantam Chickens (.V. £.).— Custard and oatmeal would 

 miike very good food for Bantam or any other chickens. We should not 

 think it too fattening, but we should give plainer food with it, both for a 

 change and to prevent cloyiug. We do not know the Canary wine. 



Hens Sold for Pullets [JiLstitia). — Birds of 1866 would not be con- 

 sidered pullets in June, 1867. A pullet is always considered a bird of the 

 year. There is no age that constitutes a pullet or otherwise, after the 

 end of the year in which it was hatched. Thus, if it could be proved, a 

 bird hatched on the last day of December. 186G. could not be shown in the 

 pullet classes at Hirminghnmnest December; but one hatched on the 1st 

 of Januai-y would be strictly within the rules, although the difference in 

 Qgc would be only a few bours. At shows held after Christmas, if there 

 are pullet classes, it is thought advisable to add to the word " pullet," 

 hatched in 1665, 6. 7. as the case may be. We have pullets of this year 

 that show signs of being broody. (G'. H. T7.).— You should not be put to 

 any expense in the matter. We do not think yoii have been treated 

 Bright in the transaction. You are unfortunate enough to obtain only three 

 chickens from two sittings of egcs. The cockerel appears to he good, 

 the pullets not good enough to exhibit with hope of success. Yoo, apply 

 for two pullets, and choose the highest priced, in order to make an exhi- 

 bition pen. This must consist of all chickens or all adults, unless it be 

 for open competition in an all-aged class. A cock hatched in 1867, and 

 two hens hatched in 1866, would not form a pen. Late birds are not 

 desirable, and those now eleven months old must have been hatched 

 last August. Those sent to you are hens, and cannot possibly ba de- 

 scribed as pullets. 



Incubator Regulatok.— In answer to " K.," I recollect seeing such a 

 thing many years ago in Kemp's shop for chemical apparatus, in Edin- 

 burgh. The regulator was nut for sale, bat was at woi'k in the shop, 

 S^omething requiring a fixed temperature uuder boiUng point for its pre- 

 paration was placed in a water-bath, and a thermometer in the water- 

 bath regulated the flow of gas. I cannot now remember the form of con- 

 nection between tbe thermometer and the gas-pipe; but if Kemp's 

 business is still can-ied on in Infirmary Street, close to the University, 

 some of your Edinburgh subscr.btrs or correspondents might procure % 

 drawing of the apparatus for you. — Monticola. 



Cock's Feet Cramped 'A. IT.).— Give him bread soaked in ale once 

 daily, and plenty of lettuce leaves ; keep him in a warm dry place. When 

 settled dry and warm weather arrives, let him go where he pleases. 



Camphor Administered to Cure Gapes {T. F.).— The dose for a 

 chicken five or sis weeks old is a pill of camphor the size of a small 

 garden poa. Where the camphor julep given to them to drink is strong, 

 they seldom require a pill. It is the odour of the camphor that kills, 

 there is no real contact with it. It is impossible, because the parasites 

 are in the windpipe. 



Fowls Eating Each Other's Feathers (Constant Reader).— We can 

 onlv repeat the advice we gave last week. This propensity only cornea 

 to those that are in confinement. Birds that are at liberty never fall into 

 it. It arises from a had state of body ; this is caused by confinement and 

 deprivation of something they get when they are at liberty. We speait 

 practically. Ours are cured by lettuce, sods of grass, and fresh earth. 



Canary's Wing-feathers Diseased at their Root (C. A. ./.).— The 

 bird with quill-end of feathers full of blood is affected with the scurf. 

 which ixi-iiates the skin and causes the bird to peck the roots of the 

 feathers, and makes them stick out irregnlarly, bleed, and fall off. Get a 

 little cold cream at a chemist's and apply it to any parts naked with a 

 feather. Place a small pan of lulicwarm water in the cage for the bird to 

 bathe, and if it will not bathe, take a squirt or a little in the mouth and 

 spirt over it from behind, so that the water may go under the feathers, 

 and let it dry before a fire if there is no sun. liepeat this on several 

 days. Soak a piece of stale bread in hot water to extract the alum, 

 squeeze the water out. and then add a little milk and mawseed to it and 

 squeeze rather dry, give it to the bird while warm. Examine the cage 

 and nest and see if there be anv insects. Gas, smoke, or cold would 

 cause the waning of the bird, also the feathers to drop off. Give plenty 

 of air. 



POULTRY MARKET.—JuNE 19. 



This season will rank as one of the extraordinary ones. Had there 

 been anything like the average demand, such prices would have been • 

 given as were never before heard of. There is still but a very moderate 

 supply. , , 



Pheasants to 



Partridges jj 



Grouse » 



Guinea Fowls 



Rabbits 14 15 



s d. 8. d 



Large Fowls 5 to 6 



Sffaller do S 



Chickens 1 



Goslings 5 



Ducklings 2 



Pigeons 



WUddo 8 



