176 



JOUBNAIi OF HOETICULTURB AND COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



[ Febrnary 20, 1873 



The diarrhoea j-oii nioution is causeLl by tho fowls oatiug snow. Snow Is a 

 violent purgative to all birds, and reduces thorn to mere skeletons. 



Poultry 'MMiAaKUBUT {Comttant Suhscrlhcr).— It is always bad to have 

 but one cock, and we therefore advise you to keep both. We must warn you 

 that yon are interbreeding' in a manner that will make your birds valueless. 

 Hamburghs will not do for hitters. You should not have made the condition 

 jou did in buying, but having mado it you must keep it. We have never 

 heard of such a one before. 



Hen's Intestine Protkuding (J. H. £.)•— Heplace it with a tallow candle, 

 and then syringe gently with strong alum water. Put the patient in a small 

 basket lilled with soft straw. If there is any effort made by her as thout,'h 

 Bhe would lay. the egg passage must ha so thoroughly lubricated with sweet 

 or castor oil that the egg will come away easily. It was in trying to lay that 

 the injury was done in the first instance. It ia not incurable, but the time 

 that has elajjsed makes it serious. 



BoRKJNG Pullets Dying {C. M. H.).— It is more than probable the pullet 

 jou have lost and the present sufferer are victims of the same disorder, and 

 that one was, and the other is, egg-bound. When in that state the sutforor 

 ■walks aud stands like a penguin, with tail on tho ground and legs straddling 

 wide apart. The cause is, the egg is stopped in the passage, aud cannot be 

 laid without assistance. Pullets are subject to this obstruction with their 

 first eggs, and it is for this reason so many of the early ones are stained 

 when they are laid. The cure is to take a wing feather, dip it in a vessel full 

 of castor oil, saturate it thoroughly, and pass it up the egg passage till it 

 meets the egg. It will, probably, be laid directly. In some extreme cases it 

 is necessary to hold tho hen head downwards, and pour oil into the passage. 

 The egg must hot be handled, as in most cases it is a fatal injui-y to break it 

 in the passage. 



Cock Hen-pecked (J. C. B.).— The only plan to adopt is to separate the 

 cock from the hens till his comb is entu-ely healed. They will, probably, givo 

 him rest after a time of separation. It is quite true that the cock will stand 

 to be eaten as though ho liked it. 



Show Labels not Aruiving (7dc7Jt).— Inquire atr the post office, and 

 ascertam the cause of delay and the author of it. The entry money should 

 be returned by eome one. 



Wholesome Food (E. M. P.).— We consider " wholesome food " for poultry 

 to be the best barleymeal or ground oats slaked with water morning and 

 evening, and whole corn or house and kitchen scraps at mid-day. We keep 

 and have kept many hundreds of fowls, we give them nothing but the food we 

 have named, and if they will not eat wo starve them till they do. We thiuk 

 poorly of stock birds that have suffered from leg- weakness. Brahmas perch, 

 but they only want perches 2 feet from the ground. Common oatmeal is 

 more expensive feeding than the best. Fowls will not eat the ordinary ground 

 oats. AVheu mixed they look like wetted chaff. If you cannot get the 

 ground oats that mix into a paste, you will do better to give barleymeal. No 

 fowls can do well on a wooden floor. 



Preparing Fowls fou Exhibition {A.F. H".).— Hamburghs require only 

 to be in perfect health and scrupulously clean. Spanish improve by being 

 shut-up in a dark place for a week before exhibition. By dai-k, we mean a 

 semi-hght, but nothing like broad dayUght or sunshine. 



Promoting Laying [T. C.).— We advise no one to try stimulants to make 

 fowls lay. Feed as we have described in the last answer but one. 



Buff Cochins (F.>.— Everything you mention tends to show you have 

 very indifferent birds, faulty in shape, colour, and constitution. You have no 

 right to have "leg- weakness." Tho best thing you can do is to buy some 

 eggs from a reliable person, and sot them under your hens. Rear thorn for 

 your stock-birds, and kill those you have. Feed properly on natural food, 

 and let them roost in a house with a good, dry, clean, earthen floor. The 

 sooner you set the eggs the better. 



KouPY Fo^VLS (R. Bacon).— Try Walton's roup pills, advertised in onr 

 columns. There is nothing poisonous imparted to the flesh by tho disease. 



Hatching Pea-fo%vl's Eggs (J. P.).— Pea-hen's eggs can be set under a 

 common hen, and sho will reai- them. They require to be fod like young 

 Pheasants or Tmkeys. A large hen will cover four, a middle-sized hen three 

 «ggs. 



Pheasants, Bantams, and Pigeons (J. TT.).— They will do together in 

 an aviary. The Pigeons' nesting-place should be 6 feet from tho ground. The 

 cage should be provided with plenty of perches, as in the event of a temporary 

 disagreement they afford an escape. 



Poultry Food (Q. E. D.).— Wo have no experience of tho food yon 

 mention. Bone dust can be obtained of any dealer in artificial manures. 



Split Featbzbr (P. H.).— If by a split feather you mean a broken one 

 draw it out, aud in three weeks you will hare a new one. Or if you mean a 

 double feather, such as is frequently the centre feather of Fantails' tails, 

 though unsightly, it would scarcely disqualify. You may pluck such a feather 

 out, aud it will grow again just tho same. Wo knew a Pouter that had ttuch a 

 one aud took a prize. All such feathers are no doubt blemit'-es, as they 

 ought not to be. 



Colour of Kite Tcmuler (P. H".).— A Kite should hav« no white ; if it 

 has it most probably is of an inferior strain, or is bred remotely from a mottle 

 ibird. 



Points of Show Akt-wbup {F. S. TF.).— The beet description known of 

 this burd was given in our number for February 17th, 1870, with an engraving, 

 which number you can obtain free from our oftice for four postage stamps. 



Tree FOit Aviary (7. B.).— As you do not state the height and other 

 dimensions of the aviary, wocaunot advise you. 



German Paste [A. anowj.—A. receipt is on page 151 of onr number of last 

 ■week. 



Feeding Hen Canaries (71. E. H.).— Feed on hard-boiled egg chopped 

 fine and bread crumbs mixed. Chopping the egg is a tedious process. It 

 saves time, and does the work more thoroughly, to use a small box with a 

 bottom of perforated zinc, tln-ough which the egg can be squeezed with the 

 blade of an ordinary dinner kmfo. Stale bread is best for the piu-posc, as it 

 can more easily be crumbled by rubbing between the hands or by grating. I 

 always use the crumbs dry, mixing them in about equal proportions, bulk for 

 bulk, while the buds are quite young, and mcreasiug the quantity of crumbs 

 as they grow. Some prefer to soak the bread in water and squeeze it dry 

 before mixing with the ogg. While the hen is sitting she will not frequently 

 leave her nest except to take a hasty mouthful of food. If the cock bo kept 

 with her he will supply all her requirements ; aud it is well, especially towards 



the close of the pex-iod of incubation, to give a supply of the soft food. It is 

 decidedly best to take away the eggs till she has laid the fourth. Thisis 

 desirable on manyaccounts. Should she eviuce a strong desire to commence 

 sitting as soon as she has laid the fii-st egg, aud be allowed to do so, the 

 young ones will not all be hatched at tho same time, aud a difference of a 

 day in the ago of newly-hatched birds means this — that the older and stronger 

 will got most food, and the younger and weaker will in all probability die. I 

 know there are many who oppose the removal of thoeggs<, and who affirm 

 that their young ones arc always " chipped " all on the same morning. But 

 it's simply stuff and nonsense. It may be that a hen will occasionally pop 

 on her nest and sit a while, and may be seen doing so perhaps two or three 

 times in tho day, aud so lead an unthinking observer to suppose she has com- 

 menced to sit in earnest; but, as a rule, hens do not begin to sit till they 

 have laid theii* complement, and it is not dcGuable for the reason above 

 assigned that they should. The presence of the eggs is an inducement to sit, 

 and for that reason they should be removed. I say nothing of the risk of break- 

 age, which is great, for until a hen commences sittiug in earnest she is never 

 done scuffling about in her nest and putting the finishing touches to it, and 

 though her instincts teach her to take care of her egg. she is, nevertheless, 

 liable to prick it with her claw — to "claw-hole" it in the vernacular of the 

 fancy. The Canarj' sits thirteen days — that is, suppose you give the hen her 

 three eggs on the morning on which she lays her fourth [I put mine in over- 

 night), and that day be, say Saturday, she will chip on the Friday, which is 

 tho thirteenth morning following. — W. A. Blakston. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 

 Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 5V 32' 40" K. ; Long. 0" 8' 0" W. ; Altitude 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 



I2th. — Alternations of sunshine and showers of hail and snow during the day; 

 wind rather high at night. The hail and snow did not yield a mea- 

 surable amount of water. 



13th. — Fine in the morning, and fail- all day, at times very sunny ; fog in the 

 oveuing. 



14th. — A very hue morning, but dull afterwards. 



15th. — A lovely day thi-oughout, at times the sun vei? bright. 



IGth. — Fine early, fair ail day and pleasant, though there was but little 

 sun. 



17th. — Vei-y dark and rather thick, but not foggy, in the morning; fair all day, 

 but dull aud cold. 



18th. — Again a dark morning, and so continuing all day; dark, dull, and 

 getting colder and colder towards night. 

 A fair and raiiUess but by no means bright week; temperature uniform, 



and pressui'e extremely high, readings such as that of lath iJU.7U0 inches 



occmring but a few times iu each century. — G-. J. SviioNS. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET. -Fbbbuart IJ. 

 We have no alteration to report. 



Apples i sieve 



Apricots doz. 



CUerriea per lb. 



Oiiestuuts bushel li 



Currimts 4 sitjve 



Blaok do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 1 



Cubs lb. 1 



Gooauberries quart 



Lirupes, hothouse lb. 4 



Lemons ^>-100 B 



Melons each 1 



d. B. d. 



Oto5 

 U U 

 U 

 20 

 



2 



U 



10 



10 



MalberrlRS =^ lb. 



Wectarims doz. g 



Oranges %*■ 100 4 



pLaches duZ. 



Pears, kitchen doz. 1 



dessert. doz. 8 



PineAppl*>a lb. & 



Plums 4 sieve 



Quinces doz, 



Kaapberriea lb. U 



Strawberries If^ lb. 



Walnuts bubhol 15 



ditto ^100 2 



OtoO 

 U 

 10 

 

 S 

 U U 



VEGETABLES. 



s. d. B. d. 



Artichijbes doz. 3 OtoG 



Asparagus. ii" WO 5 10 



Beans. Kidney VIM a 3 



iJroad buahel 



Beet, Ked doz. 1 S 



broccoli bundle 9 16 



Cabbage doz. 10 16 



CiipsiJums *^100 2 8 



Cirr.its bunch 6 



Cftuntiower doz. 8 4 



Celery bundle 1 6 2 C 



i;ulewt>rts.. doz. buuthea 2 4 



Cucumbers eaou 2 4 



pickung doz. 



Endive doz. 2 



KlmiuuI bunch 3 O 



(.iailie lb. 6 



H.rba bunch 3 



aorseradish bundle B 4 



Locks bunch 2 



Lettuce d02 10 2 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress. .puunet 

 Uuiuua ^ bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley pur doz. buiicbea 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Kouud do. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 



Kliubarb bundle 



Salbufy t' bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Scorzonera.... ;(;*■ bundle 



Kea-kale basket 



ShiiUots.. lb. 



Spinach bushel 



TouiiitDos doz. 



Turuips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows., doz. 



E. d. B. d 

 1 0to2 

 



