218 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t March 17, 1870. 



well as their deaf ears were golden yellow. The last treacle-breasted we 

 flaw was declared by good judges to be a " child of thirty-six lathers," 

 all of different nationalities. We do not know the " marigold." 



Spanish Fowls (E. R. P.).— Wo know no such establishment as you 

 Seek. Mr. Jones and Sir. Lane aro both largo Spanish breeders at 

 Bristol. 



Brabhas and Houdans { ).— Winter laying is not the attribute or 



a breed, but the consequence of age, or rather of arriving at a certain 

 age. Pullets lay when they attain maturity, hens when the laying 

 comes. 



as the latter is 

 that weather s 

 again, other ci 

 development, 

 should lay at s 

 much later if they f 



these results are affected by weather and condition, 

 often the result of the former, it will be easily understood 

 ich as we have had is not conducive to laying. There are, 

 uses, such as insufficient food when young, causing tardy 

 The rule may be, that birds of the breeds you name 

 ths, but there aro exceptions. Again, the birds lay 

 i kept in confinement. Pullets hatched in June are 

 hatched too late for winter layers. April and May are the proper months 

 for breeding them, because they get out of their early troubles while the 

 days are still lengthening, and the nights becoming shorter. The hens 

 are mere affected by the weather than pullets. Our own hens are not 

 laying, but the pullets have been doing so regularly tho last three weeks. 

 Fowls, like all other things, are very backward this year ; till lately eggs 

 were not to be had, and now the cry is for Bitting hens. Nothing is more 

 common than for fowls to begin laying and to cease if the weather 

 change for the worse. Not only fowls but wild birds, as Pheasants and 

 Plovers do the same. You have suffered from the weather ; a change for 

 the better will make you forget all your disappointment, and you will 

 accelerate the result if >ou allow them to run every day in the kitchen 

 garden instead of every other day. 



Golden Polands (B. B.) — Either of the following contains the points :— 

 "The Poultry Book for the Many" and " Poultry- keepers' Manual." Ton 

 can have either from our office post free if yon enclose with your address 

 for the first five postage stamps, and for the second Is. lQd. 



Changes of Cock Bums (A Lover of Game Ban tarns). —If the hens 

 have only just begun to lay, we advise you to let thorn lay two-thirds 

 before you begin to set them. If the new cock was put down when they 

 had laid half their ecss, set only the few laBt they lay. You may breed 

 at the same time, and when you please, but it is very difficult to breed 

 prize cocks and hens from the same parents. 



Hens nearly Featiierless (Weekly Subscriber).— Your fowls are eat- 

 ing each other'B feathers. We are sorry we know no cure. In our anger 

 we vowed we would kill every hen we caught at it. We killed three, and 

 then reasoned with ourselves. We are determined not to be bea'eu, 

 and therefore we have seven fowls in seven pens or cages. 



Native Country of Polish Fowls (Nat Flight).— Nothing certain is 

 known about their derivation. It is probable that the Spaniards brought 

 them to the Netherlands, from whence they passed to England. In the 

 paintings of the three Hondekoeters and other artists of tho Dutch 

 school, Borne nearly 3 years old, they are almost ever present. Tho 

 youngest of the three Hondekoeters is said to have trained a cock to 

 remain in any attitude he wished whilst drawing from it. It is certain 

 that they did not originate in Poland, and their name, probably, was applied 

 in consequenco of their crests and the very peculiar formation of their 

 Skull or poll. 



Guinea Fowls (E. E. P.).— Guinea fowls are hardy and good layers* 

 They Bit well, but it is well to put some of their eggs untier common hens 

 to bring them up as tame as possible, They are fed like other poultry, 

 nothing comes amiss to them. They are good foragerB, and the real 

 "gipsy" of the poultry yard. They stray from homo and steal their 

 nests in an out-of-the-way place. There is a disputed point with regard 

 to them. Some, and we are of the number, believe them to be mono- 

 gamous, others keep one cook to three or four hens, and say their eggs 

 are good. Except when kept in pairs we have never found any result 

 from the eggs. 



i' Eggs (Idem).— They can be and are hatched 

 me food will do for both, for both are alike during 

 istence. 



Hatching Pheasa 

 Under Turkeys. Thf 

 the first days of thei: 



Versicolor Phea; 

 Of the pure Versicolor 



(L. F.). — We know of no place where the eggs 

 be bought. A pair of the birds can be had for 

 £14, and the price of a pair of tho Bar-tailed or Reeves's, £35. We know 

 no work on foreign Pheasants. They both breed at one year old. The 

 Versicolors are very numerous at the Duke of Wellington's, at Strath- 

 fieldsayc, and many other preserves, but, of course, there are none to be 

 sold. Good millet'iB good for any bird, but we prefer canary as general 

 food. 



Antwerp Pigeon (E. H. F.).— The woodcut we published is the stan- 

 dard now agreed upon. Tbe only material correction needed is owing to 

 the artist representing the flight feathers rather too long and too many. 



Mr. Watts' Pigeons.— "At the recent Show at Torquay I took first 

 prize in the ' Other variety ' class, with my Blue Swallows, and not with 

 the Maned as reported. At the Birmingham Philoperisteron Society's 

 Show the Becond prize for Blue Antwerp cocks was taken by my bird, 

 and not by Mr. Cleveland's, as stated. — J. Watts." 



Turbits (Turhita). — Turbits are light and active on the wing — indeed, 

 Very pretty flyers. A shell crown is not a defect, but a point crown is 

 preferred. If yon exhibit, both birds must be alike, both shell-crested 

 or point-crested. A pair could live, as we see they do in dealers' shops, in 

 a rabbit hutch, but how long thoy could live is another thing. 



Pigeons' Nests, &c. (B. E.).— We think straw nests, if used more than 

 once, must breed vermin. You can have the unglnzed earthen pans 

 made for yon at any pottery, 8 inches across at the top for Tumblers, and 

 8 inches deep. Fut in them short straw— i.e., straw cut up into lengths of 

 about 4 inches, and hollow the straw with your hand like a bird's nest. 

 We ourselves never use baskets or pans, but simply put a little straw in 

 the nest hole, with a strip of wood 2 inches deep to keep the nest in. 

 We should not like to eat fowls that are accidentally drowned, still their 

 flesh would not be injurious. Dragoon is tho correct spelling for that 

 variety, young or old. The bird bred from a Carrier and a Pouter is 

 Called a Pouting Horseman. 



Points of Himalayan and Silver-grey Rabbits (Nemo).— Thepoints 

 of the Himalayan lay almost entirely in the marking. The nose, oars, feet, 

 and tail must be a deep rich brown, the more intensely dark and sharp 



the better, whilo all the rest of the Rabbit mast be white. It is of the 

 utmost importance that the dark patch rising about an inch and a half 

 above the noso should not extend more on one side than the other. Suppos- 

 ing two specimens to be equal in depth of colour, and in 6traightness of 

 limb, that having the finest and most lustrous fur would be chosen, this 

 being a special property in the variety. The Silver-Grey should be light 

 rather than dark, and the light hairs should rather be of a creamy than 

 a bluish whiteness. There is some difference of opinion as to whether 

 the head should be light nr dark, Fome holding that it should be light like 

 the Chinohilla.for whose fur this Rabbit's is often substituted, but certain 

 it is that of late years the prizes have mostly been awarded to those with 

 dark muzzles and ears. The size of the Himalayan and Silver-Grey are 

 not taken much into account at shows ; it is of far more importance that 

 the pair should be a good match. 



Woodbury Hive (T. M. N.).— There should be a space of from a quarter 

 to three-eighths of an inch between the front or back of the hive and the 

 ends of the frames. The stock should not ho transferred to a frame 

 hive until the combs are completed, and tho present hive well filled 

 with bees. 



CuRrao Hams (A Man of Kent).— We prefer the Westphalian mode, but 

 we insert the Yorkshire mode also. Westphalia.— Rub the ham well with 

 4 ozs. of pounded saltpetre, and let it lie till tho next day. Boil a quart 

 of the strongest stale beer with bay salt, common salt, and brown sugar, 

 of each A lb.; pour it whilst hot on the ham, rubbing it all over thoroughly; 

 rub it in tho same manner twice every day for a fortnight, turning it 

 once a-day. At the end of that time take out your ham, and hang it 

 pretty high in the chimney with a fire made of sawdust and horse litter 

 (fresh every night), for three days and as many nights, after which hang 

 it over a baker's oven, or any other dry place where there is smoke 

 from a wood fire. Be sure you fill the hock bone with salt. Yorkshire, — 

 Beat the hams well, and mis half a peck of salt, 3 ozs. of saltpetre, £ oz. 

 of sal prunelln, and 5 lbs. of coarse salt. Having rubbed tho hams 

 thoroughly with this, put them into a pan or tub, and lay what remains of 

 the mixture over them. After lying three days hang them up ; then put 

 as much water to the pickle as will cover the hamB. adding salt thereto 

 till it will bear an egg; then boil and strain it off. Next morning put 

 your hams into the pickle, and beep them down, so that they may be 

 thoroughly covered. After lying a fortnight, take them out, rub them 

 with bran, and dry them. This is the way to cure three hams, therefore 

 to do only one the ingredients must be proportionably less. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— March 16. 



A considerable falling-off in the supply of out-door produce has been 

 the result of the late changeable weather, and this holds good of every 

 description of goods with the exception of Cornish Broccoli, for which 

 there is a steady trade. Importations of continental produce have been 

 regular, and comprise capital Lettuces, both Cabbage and Cos, Endive 

 Barbe de Capucin, Radishes, Carrots, Cauliflowers, Kidney Beans, and 

 Asparagus. There have been large arrivals of Potatoes, both by rail and 

 coastwise, and prices are falling. 



FRUIT. 



Cherries lb. a 



Chestnuts bushel 10 



Currants \ sieve 



Black do. 



Fin .... 

 Filberts . 



. doz. 9 

 lb. 



, f Mi 6 9 10 



Mulberries 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges %»■ 100 



PeacheB doz. 



Pears, kitchen doz. 



dessert doz. 



Pine Apples lb. 



Plums i sieve 



quart to 



8 13 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries oz. 4 



Walnuts bushel 10 



do .^100 1 



VEGETABLES. 



Artichokes doe. 



Asparagus ^ 10Q 



Beans, Kidney do. 



Broad bushel 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brussels Sprouts. .j s 



10 14 



10 2 



Carrots bunch 4 8 



Cauliflower doz. 3 6 



Celery bundle 16 2 



Cnh-unrtg. .doz. bunches 8 6 



Cucumbers each 2 4 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 2 



Fennel bunch 8 



Garlic lb. 8 



Herbs bunch 8 



Horseradish .... bundle 3 5 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce doz. 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress. . punnet 

 Onions bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley Bieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes .. doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys. doz. 



Sea- kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Vegetable Marrows.. doz. 



POULTRY MARKET.— Maech 16. 



We have little change to note. Trade is bad, and all pin their hopes 

 to a change in the weather. Unless it come soon, we are likely to have 

 a Bcarcity of good young poultry. 



B. d. s. d. S. d. 9: d. 



Large Fowls S 6 to 4 Partridges to 



Smallerditto 2 6 SO Pheasants 



Chickens 2 2 6 Pigeons 8 9 



Goslings 7 8 Hares 



CockTurkeys Rabbits 1 4 IB 



| Duoklings 4 5 Wild ditto 8 9 



