154 



JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 13, 1873. 



Erahmas are the next best, and tbore is uo doubt they are much hardier in 

 gome climates than Dorkings are. "We are much opposed to any cross where 

 prolit is the object of poultry-keeping, as birds produced by them are unsale- 

 able alive. The others, Iloudans, Creve-Cteurs, Ac, are uon-sitters, and 

 necessitate the employmout of other breeds. Hambui-^hs' eggs are too small, 

 and the same fault may • e found with the birds. 



PcLLETs DisoRDEKED (G. H.I.— Alteryour feeding. Potatoes arebadfood, 

 oyster shells are worse. Fowls dislike oats. Throw two or three barrowloads 

 of bricklayers' rubbish in a heap in the middle of their run. Let them scratch 

 it about, they will Jlnd shells for their eggs. Give them daily some sods of 

 growing grat-s cut with plenty of fresh earth; they will tear it to pieces and 

 eat the whole of it. Let ihem have slaked oatmeal in the morning and even- 

 ing, with Indian corn or house and table scraps at midday. They will soou 

 do well, and lay plenty of good hard-shelled eggs. 



Commencing^ Poultry-keeping (CVj. il/o.).— We advise you to keep Dark 

 Brahmas, as they do better in coniiuement than any other breed. On the 

 space you mention ynu may keep a cock and twelve hens well. If any part of 

 it is grass, so much" the batter; if it is not, we advise you to lay it down at 

 least half. In the other half let them have bricklayers' rubbish and road grit. 

 Put them in heaps, as it amuses them to scratch them down. You may also 

 advantageously plant a few artichokes. They afford both shelter and food in 

 hot weather. You will requii-o a separate sitting-house. The roostiug-house 

 may be opeu all day, but the sittiug-house must be shut. When you hatch 

 chickens you mustput the hen under her rip among the currant bushes and 

 the rhubarb. They will do good rather than harm. Place yom- buildings 

 against the north wall ; that will give you a southern aspect. Wooden houses 

 will afford all the shelter and security you require. The roosting-house may 

 bo 6 feet deep, 8 long, 8 high ; the dour at one end, and the perches at the 

 other. A sitting-house the same height, but 6 feet loug and 4 deep, will be 

 enough* Both must have earthen doors, and must bo provided with windows, 

 filled with perforated zinc for the summer, but provided with thutters for the 

 winter. The roof should be slate or tile, and if it affords ventilation just 

 under the eaves, bo much the better. These wooden erections, if they are 

 kept covered with gas tar, last many years, and they are every way more 

 deshrable than more durable and permanent buildings. We believe we have 

 answered all yom- questions ; if wc have not, we shall be happy to do so. For 

 many minor details wo must refer you to Baily's book on fowls, where the 

 subject is fully treated- 



White Silkies ( C^rsar). — Silkies should have white hair instead of feather- 

 The cock has two feathers that may be called sickles, but they are a compound 

 of the silky hair and a straight common feather. The comb should be double, 

 flattened, and blue. The face should have a bright metallic blue; the skin 

 and bones dark blue. They should be hve-clawed and have dark legs. Many 

 have a little hair on the legs, but there should be nothing like a feather. It 

 would be a disqualification. 



HoME-KEEPiNO Fq-wls {St. Edmunds). — The only fowls that will not fly 

 are Cochins and Brahmas. The Houdans are able birds, and do everything 

 well except sit, but thoy are sad ramblers. We do not like fowls with thek 

 wings cut. As you must suit your fowl to your place yom- choice is restricted ; 

 you must act accordingly. You have Buff and White Cochins, Dark and 

 Light Brahmas. Wo think the latter very handsome, and we know their 

 qualities are equal to the Dark. If you make up your mind to cut the wmga 

 you may choose any breed you like. We rather recommend you to see the 

 birds than to buy from some of the imaginative pictures. 



Brahma. Cock Dyino UNACCOrNTABLY {Our Journal). — We can only 

 imagine your bird picked up eomethiug poisonous. At his age there could 

 be no leg-weakuess, and the squatting would be caused by the beginning of 

 the attack, which ultimately killed him. Cocks die from apoplexy, especially 

 at this time of year. It may have been so in this case, but it is geuerally at- 

 tended by a symptom you -could not fail to have remarked — viz., a dark blue 

 shade on the face aud comb. Nothing but poison or an internal injury could 

 have killed the bird in so short time. 



German Paste {F. roit-filey).— Nearly every kind of soft food nowia paste, 

 and there are so many kinds of paste, one is puzzled to say which is the 

 genuine article. I can give a receipt for a very easily prepared and invaluable 

 Lark food, supplied with which they will need no other. The articles re- 

 quired ore 1 lb. of peameal, a quarter of a pound each of lord and moist 

 sugar, and one egg. The peameal is best prepared by grinding split peas in a 

 coffee-mill. The ordinary meal as supphed by flour-dealers is too fine ; be- 

 sides, if you grind your own peas you know what the product of your labour 

 is, which is more than you can say for many manufactured articles in these 

 degenerate days, when rascaUty is at a premium. Rub the meal and the 

 xord well together, and then add the sugar. The mixture will at this stage be 

 still crumbly, and of such a consistency as to be easily rubbed through the 

 hand, but on adding the egg, which muit be well beaten, it will turn to some- 

 thing like soft soap, and you will think it will never become dry again. My 

 original receipt did not include the egg, hut it was recommended to me on so 

 good an authority that I U93d it with the last lot of '* paste " I made, and 

 fearing I had spoiled it, I added as much ordinary peameal as served to dry- 

 up the Bticky mixture. Then bake the savoury dish, stirring it occasionally 

 to prevent its becoming lumpy. Stow it away in au earthen jar, and it will 

 keep good for auy length of time. As a food for Skylarks it has no superior. 



CANARY-GoLDriNCH MuLES ( Wem).— There is no sort of Canary which' 

 from any properties native to that sort, will produce what you call the best 

 Goldfinch Mules. The fact is simply this— the offspring of the Goldfinch aud 

 Canary is, as a rule, a dark self-coioured bird; but it having been observed 

 that here and there a Canary hen showed a tendency to throw Mules more or 

 less pied, such hens have been taken care of, and by judicious pairiug with 

 cocks known to be of a strain from which pied Mules have not tmfrequently 

 sprung, something like a breed which can be depended on for throwing pied 

 birds has been manufactured. This is a work of years to those interested in 

 the production of these hybrids, aud when any Mule-breeder becomes pos- 

 sessed of a rehahle strain, he values them accordingly. There is no one sort 

 of Canary to select, but as nearly every first-class Mule-breeding hen within 

 my knowledge ii pink-eyed, it seems to indicate that the Cinnamon is the 

 most likely variety to produce curious hybrids. — W. A. Blakston. 



Nmc VOMICA FOR Canary's Asthma (Spo().—"Fringii,la CANARiA"Bays 

 one drop in the water-tin each morning. 



Moving Stock into Greenhoi'se (7. M.). — It would be very injudicioui 

 to remove yom- bees at all, and particularly into a grreenhouse, which is 

 usually a most uusuitable place for a hive. If you desire an early swarm 

 give them a small quantity of food twice a-week during March and Aprli* 

 ■which will promote breeding. > 



Hive Overturned {Ignoramus). — You cannot do anything to your hive 

 now, as probably the bees have secured the combs to each other aud to the 

 floorboard. If they are li^i-ng, and take down food readily during genial 

 weather, you may, we think, hope for a swarm iu due time. We should 

 advise your substituting boiled sugar for the barieysugar during March and 

 April, feeding from the top by the bottle system so often described iu our 

 pages. Give 2 or 3 oza. twice a-week, which will promote early and increased 

 breeding. 



Evans on the Bee { W. I.) — We know nothing about the poem. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATION?, 



Camden Squabb, London. 



Lat. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W. ; Altitude 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 

 5th. — Neither thawing nor freezing, but very dark all day ; very foggy tho 



after-part of the day aud all night. 

 6th. — Still foggy, but not near so bad as last night ; veiy gradual thaw, but 



scarce any sun ; cloudy at night. 

 7th. — Very clear bright morning, aud fine all day, at some parts very strong 



Bunshiue. 

 8th. — Bark morning; fair, but not a bright day; snow not yet gone; wind 



rather high at night. 

 9th. — Sleet early, snow just before noon, and occasional sleet all day. 

 lUth. — Bright in early morning; snow between 9 aud IU, fair soon after; 

 snow at intervals all day; ground quite white at night with a splen- 

 did coating of snow crystals, some of the liuer varieties being abun- 

 dant. 

 11th. — Beep snow during the night; alternate sunshine and snow showers, 

 ground white at night. 

 Temjierature very unifurm, aud much the same as last week. Snow and 

 sleet more or loss daily, and very gradual thaw. — G. J. SviiONS. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET. -Feeruakt 12. 

 No alteration here worth notice. Prices and supply remain the same. 



Apples i sieve S to 5 



Apricots doz. 



Cuerries per lb. 



Chestnuts bushel 12 



Currants j sieve U 



Black do. 



Figs doz . 



FUuerts lb. 1 



Cobs lb, X 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse lb. 4 



Lemons ^100 6 



Melons each 1 



8. d. B. d 



Mulberrlps ¥^lb, OtoU 





 

 

 

 

 

 6 

 

 

 10 



U I Nectarin*6 doz. 







10 







S 



2 







10 











Oranges ^ Hi\) 4 



Peaches doz. 



Pears, kitchen doz. I 



dessert, doz. 8 12 



PineApplffl lb. 6 8 tt 



Plums isieve U 



Quinces doz. 



Kaspberries lb. 



Strawberries t*lb. 



Walnuts bushel 15 80 U 



ditto ^lUO 2 a 1> 



VEGETABLES. 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparagus. %*-100 



Beans, liidney #-100 



liroad bushel 



Beet, Red doz. 



BroucuU bundle 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums %+HJO 



Ca.rrot3 bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bv;udle 



Coieworts.. doz. buuchea 

 Cucumbers each 



pickimg doz. 



Endive doz. 



Kennel bunch 



Garlio lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish bundle 



Leeks bunch 



Luttuoo doz 



B. d. e. d. 

 S 0to6 

 10 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress. .punuet 

 Ouious ^ bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley per doz, bunches 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Round do. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsafy ^i^ bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Scorzonera.... %► buudle 



Sea-kale basket 



ShaUots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Turnips bnucb 



Vegetable Marrows., doz. 



POULTET MAEKET.— Febroakt 12. 

 The BOiiply is small, but the trade is wretchedly bad. 11 there were an 

 arorajjc Bupply the pricss could not be maintained. 



B. d. s. d. 



Large Fowls 4 to 4 6 



SmallcrOitto 3 6 4 



Chickens 2 6 3 



Goose 7 7 6 



Guinea Fowls SO 8 6 



Ducks 3 3 



s. d. s. d. 



Pheasants to 



Partiiages 



Harea 



Rabbits 15 16 



Wiklditto 10 



Pigeons 10 12 



