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JOUEKAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



I Jnl; 30, 1868. 



temperatnre in order to re-establish respiration, giving the 

 worms small and frequent meals of good leaves rather dry, or 

 which have been gathered a day or so. This cure, however, is 

 not always effectual ; indeed, 1 am a small beUever in the cure 

 of silkworm diseases when established. 



The Mcmmt Disease, so called because the worms dying of it 

 become black and mummy-like inside their cocoons. It is not 

 discoverable what morbid action precedes, for worms appa- 

 rently in good health mount and spin their cocoons, but after- 

 wards are found dead, either in the worm or chrysalis state, 

 black and solid, although there is a modification of this dis- 

 ease, and the worms instead of becoming solid remain soft, of a 

 Boapy nature, and acquire a foetid smell. The cocoons remain- 

 ing in this state propagate a quantity of insects, which eat out, 

 spoiling the silk for reeling. 



The Calcine Malady. — Writers generally do not agree in 

 respect to this disease, for while some aiiirm it to be identical 

 with the mummy complaint, only differing by reason of some 

 atmospheric or chemical combination, producing calcination ; 

 others teach that it is totally different. Be this as it may, the 

 symptoms are certainly different ; nevertheless, I am inclined to 

 think the causes of it may be similar, as, indeed, I do in regard 

 to most of the complaints of silkworms. Certain atmospheri- 

 •al changes may produce diseases which man could not always 

 prevent ; but my opinion is that the majority of cases arise 

 irom neglect to keep the worms clean, by frequently removing 

 their refuse, excrements, &c., which, left to accumulate, ferment 

 and produce gases infecting the air of the room, which too 

 often is not kept properly renovated with fresh from without. 

 Often worms are allowed to be too thick on the stages, with the 

 idea of economy of space. Most of these errors produce an 

 obstruction of the respiration of the insects. I myself incline 

 to think with Moretti, that this disease is contagious, and com- 

 municated by the lime-like powder covering the bodies of the 

 worms dying of it. Sometimes the calcine disease does not 

 show itself until the worms have completed the cocoon. The 

 danger from it, then, is over, the only defect being that such 

 cocoons are lighter and of no use for breeding purposes ; the 

 quality of the silk is just as good. Such cones being much 

 lighter are worth more money, for the insects drying up quite 

 hard lose in weight, producing in proportion more silk. — 

 Leonakd Harman, jun., Old Cation, Norwich. 



STEWED APRICOTS. 



As some of your readers may be at a loss to employ their 

 abundance of apricots agreeably, I beg to be allowed to tell 

 them how they may be made into a wholesome and pleasant 

 dish. I daresay the recipe is very old, and was perhaps known, 

 if not to Adam, at least to our mother Eve. 



To employ the phraseology of the cuisine a la Glasse ; take 

 youff apricots, cut them in halves, tike out the stones, blanch 

 the kernels, break them, and mix them with the fruit, which 

 should be placed in a pie or other dish, and powdered loaf 

 sugar thickly strewed over them. The dish should be closely 

 covered and suffered to remain in the oven about an hour, 

 depending upon how hot it is. They will come out floating in 

 their transparent juice, and should be served cold either among 

 the sweets or with the dessert. They are wholesome and per- 

 fectly deUoious. — Mr. Glasse. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



DoEKlNGS iH. Boven). — We hardly underetfind you when yoa ask it a 

 Grey Dorking cock will do to put with your half-bred hens. Do you 

 mean a feilver-Grey ? Wo only know the Grey as distinguished from the 

 White. Either in our opinion will do, because just as you have the 

 speckled breast in the Grey, eo you have the black one in the Silver- 

 Grey. Both are met with in the coloured Dorking cock. The Silver- 

 Grey Dorking pullet has points in common with a good pencilled Brahma 

 ben ; for instance, the striped hackle and the grey body. The resem- 

 blance ceases there. We believe the only two decent crosses are Brahma 

 and Game, the latter the better. We conclude by advising yoa to use the 

 Silver-Grey cock if you have one of that kind. 



Chickens Hatched Latk in April {F. C.).— They will be young to 

 exhibit, but we have seen good winners that were no older. That they 

 should be thin is natural, as much of the food they consume goes into 

 growth. You are feeding very badly when yoa give brewers' grains. 

 They are too stimulating, and induce a fevered and unwholesome state 

 of body. They cause the feathers to grow under the skin. Instead of 

 picking theee out draw the end of the feather through tho skin with a 

 needle ; it will grow well afterwards A few days' confinement often add 

 considerably to the weight of Brabma or Cochin chickens. Feed them 

 frequently tlms, recollecting you have an especial object in view : — Give 

 in the morning ground oats or oatmeal mixed with milk, afterwards give 

 them the bcinps from the breakfast table, pieces of cooked meat, and 

 ci'nmbs. Wo have little faith in thirds when we want to push chickens 

 along, and none in porridge oaleas we.kngw its component parts. Our 



food would be chopped cooked meat, kitchen scraps, good barley, gronnd 

 oata or oatmeal mixed with milk, and stale cruets steeped in strong broth. 

 For a change give every other day a handful of Indian corn. If on ex- 

 amination yon find them put on weight, and we think you will, continue 

 them at liberty. If they do not, put them in comparative confinement, 

 not in a very small place, but in one where they will not have the oppor- 

 tunity of gnawing all the flesh off their bones. It is diSicult to explain 

 some judgments, but, as a rule, the oldest chickens f;et tho prize, and 

 justly— they are the earliest, and that is a great point. The deformity 

 you mention is not important, and would probably never be noticed. 



White-crested Black Poland Cock (Z.).— He should be straight- 

 backed, full-breasted, proud and upright in his carriage, and have dark legs 

 Unlike many of his brethren, he should have full gills. His plumage, 

 should be scrupulously black, without any mixture of any other colour. 

 The topknot should be entirely white, composed of long hackle or saddle- 

 shaped feathers, growing all over the head and falling outwards. This 

 topknot should be large, and in good specimens there should be no 

 hollow in the middle of it. 



Dark Brahma Pootra Cockerel (C Z.).— He is hardly in formed 

 plumage at sixteen weeks old ; we have a weakness for the white hackle 

 and saddle, hut seldom meet with them. They are generally mnro or lees 

 striped. In a very choice specimen we should ask for the white hackle 

 and saddle, spotted breast, black thighs, black and white wings, black 

 tail, and yellow legs. We should ask in vain. Perfect Brahmas are as 

 scarce as perfect men. We should not then object to the few white 

 feathers. — B. 



PuoLiFic Canary (T. C. Hose).—" A Norwich Canary producing flfterai 

 young ones is unusual, inasmuch as it is far above the avernge, but it is 

 not extraordinary. Such instances of fertility and good nursing are by 

 no means rare. I have several in my memory at this moment. If the 

 whole fifteen, however, are all • well marked,' that is unusual— very 

 unusual. Bearln mind there are marked birds, and marked birds I If the 

 ben be in health and apparently not distressed, let her try once more, 

 and give the Canary world the history of the result. I see no reason why 

 she should die in moulting, but it is probable that before she succeedB 

 in bringing up another nestful she might commence moulting, in which 

 case she would refuse to feed.— W. A. Blakston." 



Poultry— Bees (Overdessel).— Brahma- Pootra puUets and a Dark 

 Dorking would be most useful. Ynu can have " The Poultry Book " free 

 by post from our ofiBce if you enclose seven postage stamps with your 

 address. So you can have " Bee-Keeping," a new edition of which_ is in 

 the press, if you enclose five postage stamps. Nutt's collateral hive is one 

 of the most objectionable. You will find full particulars in the book we 

 have named. 



Driving Bees (B.fl.E'iiweiZj/l.— The best modes of driving and uniting 

 bees have been repeatedly described in our pages. We may particularly 

 refer to an exhaustive series of articles on " Utilising and Uuitins Con- 

 demned Bees" from the pen of Mr. Woodbury, which commenced in 

 January and was concluded in April of the present year. As. however, 

 you may not be able readily to obtain access to them, we extract the 

 following from the "Beekeeper's Calendar" of "The Gardener's 

 Almanack " for 1868. " i'riving should always be performed in the day- 

 time, and the beginner had better wear a bee-dress and a pair of stout 

 gloves; hut the only absolutely essential implements are a couple of 

 empty hives (one of which should be of the same diameter as the hive to 

 be operated upon), an empty bucket, a long piece of stout linen (a roller 

 towel with the seam ripped answers admirably), a sufficient length of 

 small cord or large twine, and a lighted f umigator or cigar, or a smoulder- 

 ing roll of linen rag. The bucket having been placed eo as to stand 

 firmly on the ground, about a yard from the stock to be operated upon, a 

 little smoke should be blown into the entrance; as soon as the hees 

 retire, the hive must be slightly raised from its floor-board, and a few 

 whiffs of smoke blown under it all round. Then raise the hive altogether 

 from its place, and steadily invert it on the bucket, covering it immediately 

 with an empty hive of the same diameter, and closing the junction 

 between the two by first winding the cloth round them, and then securing 

 it by four turns of string, taking two turns round the upper and two 

 round the lower hive. The bees within being thus safely eubconced, the 

 second empty hive may be placed on the floor-board, to amuse those 

 returning from the fields, and tho united hives, with the bucket, conveyed 

 to a shady spot at a little distance. Here it will hf found very convenient 

 to have a couple of kitchen chairs, upon one of which the hives and 

 bucket may be placed, whilst the operator seats himself on the other; 

 and then a smart and regular rapping of the full bive with the palms of 

 the hands should take place. In about ten minute'', the great majority 

 of the bees will generally be so alarmed as to quit their own hive and 

 take refuge in the empty one— a fact which may be ascertained by 

 listening to the noise made by them in ascending. The cloth may now be 

 removed, and the hives sufliciontly separated by raising one side of the 

 upper one to admit of inspecting the interior. If nearly all the bees have 

 ascended into the hitherto empty hive, the operation may be deemed 

 complete, the remaining bees being brushed out with a feather. If, on 

 the other hand, many bees still adhere to their original domicile, or if, aB 

 is sometimes the case, only a few stragglers are found to have quitted it, 

 one side of the top hive should be up-raised a few inches, and an iron 

 skewer having been stuck into the edge of the lower hive to prevent 

 slipping, kept steadily in that position, with the lefc band, whilst the 

 under bive is rapped smartly with the right. When all, or nearly all, 

 have quitted, the upper hive should take the place of the decoy one upon 

 the stand ; and when stragglers have collected, the whole may, iu the 

 dusk of the evening, be united to another colony, by being knocke^l out on 

 a cloth spread on the ground, and having the inhabited hive stood over it, 

 supported on a couple of thick sticks, laid on the cloth to avoid crushing 

 the bees. Earlv the next morning tbe now doubled hive should be placed 

 on its own stand, and all wilt then generally fall to work in peace and 

 with renewed vigour. 



Driving Bees {C. R. Norwich). — The bees in your three hives can 

 readily be expelled by driving, and advantageously added to other stocks 

 in tho manner described above; see also page 59 of " Bee-keeping for the 

 Many." No one who has once witnessed the effects of chloroform on bees 

 would be likely to repeat the operation. 



Wine Fining {J. R. M.i.- The recipe will suffice for sixty gallons. Of 

 course, put back the four or five gallons. The time elapsing before the 

 fining is effected varies with tbe temperature and other circumstances. 

 You must draw out some of the wine from time to time until you find it 

 is clear. 



