354 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( May 7, 1868. 



— 60° for example, then it should be raised more slowly in 

 proportion. By the time 70° is reached doubtless the worms 

 will be fuUy coming out of the eggs ; and it will be as well to 

 temper the dryness by sprinkling a little water in the room, 

 which will have a good effect on the worm?, facilitating their 

 exit from the shells. Some persons Lang wetted towels below 

 the eggs, which answers the same purpose. 



Presuming the eggs to have been preserved well, and there- 

 fore not so near hatching, it is desirable to extend the raising 

 of the temperature over the space of fivs or six days before 

 arriving at 7(f. Bring the eggs from the cellar into a place 

 but little warmer the first day ; give more heat the next, raising 

 the temperature in proportion to what it naturally is only 

 rom 2° to 5° daily. 



The eggs may probably not hatch before eight or ten days, 

 bat the worms will then be finer and stronger. They generally 

 come out of the eggs in the morning soon after sunrise. Ob- 

 serve when hatching to keep a screen before the fireplace or 

 stove, to prevent the artificial heat playing directly on the eggs, 

 which would injure them. A thermometer shoilld always be 

 near them, and it is as well to have another outside the window 

 of the room, that it may be known when the temperature there 

 is Buoh that more air may be admitted. The earlier or later 

 hatching of the e;g3 is always in relation to the more or 

 less elevated temperature at which they have been preserved 

 from the end of January. Hardly any decree of artificial 

 heat would hatch them before this month. The formation of 

 the worms in the epgs may be known by the change from 

 the ash colour to a darkish white, after which thoy soon come 

 forth. 



Probably the first day- only a very few hatch and are not worth 

 collecting, as also may be the case on the last day ; therefore 

 it is a good plan to set hatching an eighth more in weight of 

 eggs to provide for loss of this kind, as also for bad ones, 

 besides the death of some worms during the rearing. 



I intend showing the management requisite with worms 

 irom one ounce of eggs, which quantity will suffice to fill two 

 of my castles as described, supposing all to arrive at perfection, 

 which is not likely ; but an eighth more in weight of eggs pro- 

 vides for all contingencies, and even presuming every egg to 

 come to maturity there would still be room. For this small 

 quantity of eggs, stove, fireplace, or lamp heat would be used, 

 with my gutter paper instead of a box. The morning when 

 the worms are seen hatching, lay over the gutters the tender 

 leaves ; the worms soon crawl on them, and when the leaves 

 are tolerably well covered with woi-ms, but not crowded with 

 them, gently lift them on to a sheet of paper, and place them 

 on the third stage of a castle, which is a convenient height, 

 allowing of a standing position while attending to them. The 

 removal of the worms to this sheet of paper may generally be 

 executed in two operations — viz., one at 10 a.m., and the other 

 at 1 P.M., after which no more eggs are likely to hatch until 

 the following morning. Each day's lot is to be kept on sepa- 

 rate sheets of paper, and four sheets will probably hold all, pre- 

 suming they are hatched in four days. — Leonakd Hakman, jcn. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Feeding Pocltrt <G.B.SX — ^Youcanonly arrive at a proper estimate 

 <jI the food necessary for ten fowls by feeding them yourself, and takins | 

 the average of seven or eipht days. The only point of difficulty you will 

 have will be to make allowance for the condition in whieb they are when 

 the experiment is begun. Fowls that are badly kept eat more at first, 

 but as soon as they are in condition, they eat regularly. Rice is not good 

 food. Where you have conveniences, it is best to buy your food wholesale, 

 and having doe regard to weight, the heaviest is the best. 



FowTS CniLLED (J. P. S.).—Yom- fowls are suffering from a chill. 

 Discontinue the Indian com and rice, give ship bread well ni'-'istened with 

 ale, put camphor in their water, and supply them dailv wiih large sods 

 of growing grass, with plenty of fresh earth on these. Tell us next week 

 of what material the floor of your house is composed. 



Markings of Houdan Chickeks (Rinrr Dotterel).— The Houdan. 



chickens are black or nearly so when hatched. In selecting, we should 



choose those lightly spangled, aa they all become more spotted as they 



grow older. In all breeds it is well to defer weeding as long as may be 



conveniently andiH-ofitably done 



Rearing Woodcocks and Snipes (Z(£cjh).— We have reared both Wood- 

 cocks and Snipes, and have kept winged birds of the former. In every 

 instance we found it necessary to cram the birds for some days. This 

 was the great difficulty with young ones, as their long bills are so tender, 

 and are easily injured. We fed them entirely on worms, introducing 

 these at the comer of the mouth, aud pusliing tiiem down the throat with 

 a feather. After a couple of days, although they will not pick up the 

 worm, they will swallow it of their own accord as soon as it is put in 

 the mouth. At last if live worms be put in a very shallow vessel, and 

 covered with mud one-eighth of an inch, they will pick them out and eat 



them. The Woodcock is easier than the Snipe to manage. We have 

 Ruffs, and Reeves and Godwits now, and have had them out of doors 

 throughout the winter. We imagine a Ruff could only be shown at a 

 Ci^stal Palace bird show. 



Carolina Ducks {CaroH)ia).~CtLvolina. Ducks are bii'ds of feather, not 

 of size. There is but one point— (.c, beauty and condition of plumage. 



EANTAiis Pecking Kach Other [B. W. fl".).— The propensity you 

 name is an unnaturalone. Failing any other solution, we iilways imagine 

 such arises from a vitiated state of hudy. The first advice we "can give is 

 to separate thf Bantams from the Doik'ings.ncxt to give less stimolating 

 food than they have hitherto had, and lastly to let them bare a good 

 grass run. In the young grass there is plenty of natural poultry medicine, 

 and they will find it. In a recent number we gave ample instructions for 

 marking chickens. 



PitoiioTiNG Growth in Chickens {Bmi*).— Hamburghs feather much 

 earlier than Cochins. While the latter are covered with down, the former 

 show spangling or lacing. Discontinue the rice, it is no better for 

 chickens than sawdust would be for children. Biurley is only good ab 

 occasional food. Give i.atmeal or ground oats slaked with milk, and 

 bread and milk. Continue the cooked meat, and give occasionally some 

 bread and ale. Miiy chickens are fit for winter shows. 



Peotbacted Hatching Time (W. P^id^:aux).~T\ro things suggest 

 themselres to us. It may be that the hen which did not hatch until the 

 twenty-fourth day didnot sit closelv tbo first few days, or at any rate the 

 first day, not closely enough to cause any change to take place ; or itmay be 

 the eggs were kept too dry. and it was only after long effort the chicken;- 

 could free themselves from the egg. It is common out of a sitting of thir- 

 teen to have eight out at night, and the others not till the following morn- 

 ing. It is never safe to condemn a sitting because the twenty-one days 

 have elapsed. Very lately we were asked to look at some eggs that had 

 been bought, put under a good hen, and were all addled. The purchaser 

 was angry. We thought the egg neither felt nor sounded like an addled 

 one, and we dropped it on the ground, it contained a chicken that would 

 have been hatched in a few hoars. Nearly all the eggs were the same. 

 It is always unsafe to condemn eggs till after two day's grace. W* 

 have heard of prolific peas, wheat, and barley. We ndvise Mr. S. to 

 advertise his prolific poultry. We never before heard of three eggs per 

 day. 



Deformed Chickens (G. P.).-—V/c cannot account for the deformity 

 of the Houdans. From the number (seven) that are hatched all with 

 wry necks, we should be disposed to alter the breeding stock, 



SiANisH Hen's Disease ( Cob^e((). ^The Spanish hen was opened and 

 carefully examined. Her liver was extensively diseased and enlarged, 

 when di-sided large quantities of blood escaped from it. There was 

 great inflammation on the bowels, which appeared to have come on 

 suddenly, as the bird must have been in health shortly before death. As 

 these appearances are often suspicious, we examined the contents ol 

 the crop, it contained small seeds like tares, quite whito inside when> 

 divided. Could they be poisonous i' 



Pbeseeving Eggs tT7iom««}.~You can preserve your eggs in limu. 

 Fill u large pan with eggs till the bottom of it is covered, then havelime 

 slaked with water till it forms a sort of smootn concrete, pour in till the 

 eggs are covered ; after the lime is firm put in another layer of eggs, 

 cover a iin with lime, and so on till the vessel is full. 



Establishing a Poultry Show (Mcdicus liiisticm). ~Yoa had bettei 

 write to two or three of the secretaries of the poultry shows of which' a 

 list appears in this Journal. Ask for a prize list and rules, and enclose 

 two postage stamps. You will find them nearly similar. 



Centrifugal Honey-extracting Machine (C.A. J.).— "I hope soon 

 to redeem my promise. Absence from home and other matters which 

 would not brook delay, have hitherto combined to hinder its fulfilment.— 

 A Devonshire Bee-keeper.'" 



Early Drones (J. L. S., East Cornwall). — The appearance of a couple 

 of drones (April 25th), in a strong stock at this season, does not denote 

 a drone-breeding queen. They may merely he accidental, as stated in 

 page '201 in reply to " T. W.," and in this case the Ligurians may yet be 

 first in drone-production proper; or the black bcLS may take the lead in 

 droue-breeding without being the stronger colony, either by reason of the 

 queen being an old one, and therefore prone to lay drone eggs, or merely 

 from the accidental presence of drone cells in the "brood nest-" 



Parrot Self-plucked (£. TV.).— The plucking is induced by irritation 

 of the skin. Do not feed on animal matters or herapseed FruitS' and 

 sopped bread should be the bird's diet, and let it have a tepid bath, daily. 

 Put a soup plate filled with the tepid water for the bird to make use of. 

 If it does not bathe voluntarily, pour the water over it through the rose- 

 of a garden watering pot. 



Gold Fish (S. Shepherd). — It is quite impossible for ns to tell what is 

 the cause of your gold fish dying, not knowing the symptoms. It is 

 possible that zinc tank may have a prejudicial influence. 



Cattle Insurance {H. F. F.). — There is no company in London novf- 

 in which you could insure the life of your cows. 



POULTRY MARKET.— May 6th. 



We have still a wretched supply of poultry, and if the trade were not 

 worse than the supply, prices would be higher than they have been for 

 mauy years, 



d I 



G| 



4 6 I 



3 6 

 7 6 



4 6 I 



Large Fowls G 



Smaller do 4 



Chickens S 



Goslings 7 



Ducklings 4 



Pigeons 



d. s 

 to G 



10 



Pheasants 



Partridges 



i Guinea Fowls 



Hares 



Rabbits 1 



Wild do 



