27i 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



( March 27, 1878. 



answer for so small a number, nor do we tnow any reason why you should 

 have any tronhle with sittins hens. There arc plenty about now, and il you put 

 them in a basket or the half of a butter-tub covered at the top yon will have no 

 trouble with them. It is more than probable you have put down hens that 

 were onlv beginning to be broodv. Such are not to be depended upon. Every 

 hen should be put upon dumb or sham eggs for two or three days before she 

 is entrusted with thoi^e she is to hatch. 



EK.ir.iNG PocLTHV (A ComtaiU A-arfer).— About 103° is the temperatui-e 

 for hatching eggs ; but of course it vaiies, and falls to 90-, or even lower, when 

 the hen is oS her nest. No incubator has proved satisfactory. It you wish 

 for a cheap book buy our " Poultry 'Book ; " if you wish for the host illustrated 

 and most copious, take in Mr. Wright's "Illustrated Book of Poultry, pub- 

 lished in sliilling numbers. A good book about swine is Richardson B " Do- 

 mestic Pigs." 



Cock Hen-pecked (J. J. B.).— The hens will not give up the habit while 

 they are in conflnemenl. You must remove the naked burds, and rub the baro 

 spots with compound sulphur ointment. 



CocHis WITH Twisted Flight (F. O. IF.).— The cock is disqualihed; he 

 has a twisted flight. The fault is also hereditaiy. It is rare for Oochm hens 

 to have sweUed face, as such are not subject to roup. Wash the face with 

 cold water and vinegar, and give Baily's pills. 



Cjucken P.uluhe {Cheshire Amateur Farmer).— The foundation of the 

 failure was putting the chickens in the harness-room, and then puttmg them 

 on a brick floor. The sulphate of iron and the tonic mixtiu-e have caused the 

 increase in then- malady, and they will doubtless all die. We can only say to 

 you and many other querists, Follow nature as closely as you can, you will 

 succeed with little trouble. Eschew theories and^artiiicial treatments. We 

 have not lost a chicken. 



Cock \ii.i^a {Mabel}.— aiwe the bird a strong dose of castor oil,' a good 

 table- spoonful; follow it with bread steeped in beer, and pills of camphor 

 two per day, each as large as a full-sized garden pea. 



Indications of a Fertile Eokj {Comlant Reader). — You have no 

 means of ascertaming whether or not an egg is fertile tiU after four days' in- 

 cubation, when the first development lakes place, and is perceptible if the egg 

 be put m a strong cm-ient of Ught. The temperature must be considered in 

 fixing any time that may elapse without injury if a hen leave her eggs. At 

 this time of vear, if they are left in the early morning for two hours they are 

 placed in jeopardy ; in the summer, if very hot weather, they may be left six 

 hours ; and there are instances known of eggs having hatched after they had 

 been twelve hours deserted. It is, however, always a source of weakness to 

 the chicken if the eggs have been partially chUled. You may at present run 

 ten hens, and later in the season fifteen or sixteen. {Sitbsoribfr).— You can 

 test eggs easily. Shut yourself Into a dark outhouse when the sun is shin in g 

 brightly ; admit the light through a chink or small opemng ; form a sort of 

 tube by partially closing your hand ; put the egg at one end, and bring it m 

 contact with the ray of light ; look through the other end, and you will see 

 the first alteration in the shape of a dark streak. 



Chickens Leg-weak and Dvino— Feeding {Ncoro Wouo).— All the ail- 

 ments we hear of, unknown disorders, and leg-weakness we attribute to un- 

 natural food and to unnatmal treatment. Our fowls never have leg-weakness 

 nor epidemics. Oiu- chickens are all out of doors, and are fed as we describe in, 

 this Journal. They have curd, bread and milk, boiled eggs, bread crumbs 

 and sometimes suet ; when the weather is very cold they have beer to diink. 

 They always roost on the ground, and always have done so. Any other floor- 

 ing wiU cause cramp. If you follow this, which is natural treatment, you will 

 have no difficulty. Quackery both m breeds and treatment will give nothing 

 but trouble. 



Fowls' Livers Diseased (SiiJjscriSsr).— Constant changes of temperature 

 are always productive of more or less derangement of the liver, but that is a 

 softening and partial decomposition. The description you give is that of a 

 rabbit's diseased hver. All the animals we have to do with suffer from liver 

 complaints. Some have knotty hard callosities that form white substances 

 in the Uver ; others suffer from enlargement and as much decomposition as 

 we beUevc compatible with hfe. In wild birds, as in Grouse, the disease is 

 fatal. In poultry we treat it successfully with a dose of castor oil; then 

 camphor pills for two or thi-ee days, piU morning and evenmg the size of a 

 garden pea; and if the convalescence is. Blow, decoction of wormwood to 

 drink. 



Insects on Canaries {A Subscriber, E. If.).— I wish our entomological 

 correspondent who writes the interestmg articles on the predatory and useful 

 insects of our gardens, would cultivate the acijuaintance of the Canary 

 parasite, and tell us who and what the feUow is, where he comes from, 

 whether he goes ; in fact, write his biogi-aphy from his craiUe to his gi-ave. I 

 thmk a few specimens could easily be sent for inspection, but the better pla.n 

 would be to set our friend up with a pair of birds and aUow him to breed his 

 own vermin, and at the same time amuse himself with a nest or two of young 

 bkda. For all practical purposes I may say in reply to " E. M.," that their 

 origin is dirt, their existence dirt, then- end a thing much to be desired, but 

 not easy to accomplish. Their prevention is more easy than then: eradication. 

 Just now, when most breeders aie putting-up their bh-ds, I may say to all, 

 Give yonr caL;es a thorough cleansing. If you have only one or two small 

 ones, and they are infested with insects, scald them— put them in the kitchen 

 copper. If you have large stacks of cages pull them down and have them ouP 

 into the yard and turn on the tap. Give them pail after pail of water, and 

 afterwards thoroughly whitewash the interior with whiting mixed with thin 

 flonr-and-water ;paste to the consistency of thick cream. Fill-up every crack, 

 and especiaUy the small ones. The larger cracks, such as the spaces which 

 sometimes occur from the wood warping, are not of so much consequence. 

 They ai-e not such comfortable tenements as the minute interstices into 

 which you can hardly insert the blade of a tablcknife. Use a medium-siiied 

 paint-brush, and work the stuff well in, and finish-off smoothly. Clean your 

 perches, see that all old wire boles at ths back or elsewhere are fiUed-up, 

 examine seed-hoppers, and scald them if need be, tear down all cornices and 

 ornamental carving, and leave no hole or corner uncleansed. Keep a sharp 

 look-out for stragglers during the season, and with ordinary care and strict 

 attention to cleanliness you need not be troubled. — W. A. Blakston. 



Aviary Bibds Losing Feathers [Sutdi(fht). — Vary the diet of your birds 

 Btill more, and probably you will find the feathers soon gi-ow freely. Give 

 them every now and then, say twice a-week, a little rice boiled in milk and 

 sweetened with a small quantity of sugar. Also put a very small portion of 

 magnesia instead of saffron in theh drinking water, and in addition to grass 

 seeds and lettuce leaves give them Bome groundsel, watei-cress, chickweed, and 

 a little piece of apple sometimes. If the birds are disposed of their own 



accord to bathe, give them a tepid bath, hut be sure to keep them out of cold 

 an- draughts, and see that their sand is both dry and gritty and changed every 

 day. Discontinue the bread and milk, and do not attempt to put lard nor 

 gi-ease of any kind on the bai'e parts. Are you sure there are no parasites in 

 the cage or on the birds ? 



LiGUHiAN Bees [A Slee2)er). — Write to both pai-ties, ask for their charges' 

 and then select which you prefer. 



METEOROLOGIC.il OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Sqoaee, London. 



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



BEMABK3. 



19th. — A dull and very cold day, i^ercmg wind; veij little eun, but nu 



rain. 

 20th. — Rather dull all day ; cold, and occasional slight gales of snow, and 



wind high ; the morning the finest part of the day. 

 2l6t. — Dark disagreeable morDing, rather brighter between noon and 2 p.m., 



after then cold and miserable. 

 22nd. — Very fine morning, white Xrost ; fine and bright all day, ^ut the wind 



veiy cold. 

 23rd. — Showei7 morning, fine after; but ratber dull, though much warmer. 

 24th. — A most beautiful day — bright, diy, and warm, and splendid Btarlifc 



night, 

 25th. — A very fine day, hut the wind colder than yesterday. 



Temperature somewhat higher than last week, with larger daily range; 

 the sun at times powerful, but CuunLeraeted by the cold northerly winds. 

 The last two days mild and spring-like, almost the iu'st to which that term 

 could properly be apphed.— G. J. Syhons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET. -Maech 26. 



A LITTLE bright weather has improved the quality and colour* of pro- 

 duce from under glass, but still the quantity is somewhat limited. The 

 supply, from out of doors and the Continent, of ordinoi'y rough goods is sufficient 

 for the demand. English Apples ai-e scarcCj but American sorts titill im- 

 ported in lai'ge quantities. 



FRUIT. 



Apples } sieve 3 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries per lb. 



Chestnuts bushel 12 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 2 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse lb. 10 



Lemons ^100 6 



Melons each 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparagus ^^ 100 



French 



Beans. Kidney i;*- 100 



Beet, Red doa. 



Broccoh bundle 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums ^^ 100 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Coleworts.. doz. bunches 

 Cucumbers each 



picklmg doz. 



Enihve doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



a erbs bunch 



Horseradish bundle 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce doz 



B. d. s. d. I 



Otoi 

 



B. d. B. d 



Mulberries 1Mb, OtoO 



Nectarines doz, 



Oranges ^100 4 



Peaches doz. 



Pears, kitchen doz. 1 



dessert doz. ti 



PineApples lb. 6 



Plums i sieve 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries ^ oz. 1 



"Walnuts bushel 16 



ditto :^100 2 



VEGETABLES. 



MuBhroomB pottio 



Mustard iJi Cress, .puunet 

 Unions ^bushel 



pickling quart 



Piirsley per doz. bunches 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Futatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Bound do. 



Radishes . . doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsafy :tF* bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Scorzonera.... %*■ bundle 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows 



s. d. 6. 

 0to2 

 

 



POULTRY MARKET.— Mabch 26 

 "Vi'E have a veritable dearth of good poultry. The weather of the last two 

 months has rendered reaiiug almost an impossibiUty, hence the scarcity. It 

 will probably last a month. 



B. d. 8. d. 



Large Fowla 5 6 to 6 



Smaller ditto 5 5 G 



Chickens 4 4 6 



GoslingB 8 8 6 



Guinea Fowls 8 (1 4 



Ducklings 4 4 



B. d. 8 d. 



Pheasants OtoO 



Partridges 



Hares 



Rabbits 15 10 



Wildditto 10 1 G 



Pigeons 10 13 



