480 



JOURNAL OF HOHTICULTURlii AND COTIAGE GARDENER. 



[ June 12, 1873. 



much ; it Joes not, in the event of accident and adhesion, require so mDch 

 trouble to remove. "Whenever an egg breaks and makes the others sticky, all 

 the whole ones phould be removed, washed in warm ■water, and thoroughly 

 dried before the hen returns. 



Duck-keeping {Aspirant). — Three drakes to six Ducks is one diake too 

 many. If the birds are not akin to each other, and you have all the con- 

 veniences necepsary for each run, we advise you to pen them separately. 

 Three rune if you will, but they will do jn?t as well in two — a drake and three 

 Ducks in each. There is nothing gained by having too many drakes. Ducks 

 at four years old and older are very heavy, and useful lor exhibition, but we 

 should not breed from such a one. 



Fo^x-KEEPiNG {Iih:m). — Your Houdans will do far better at Ubcrty than in 

 ooutinernent. No fowl prefers being shut up. It is only a makeshift for 

 thope who have no other means of keeping them. You can breed good 

 ohickena from the two sittings of different strains if you cross them, putting 

 the cocks of one to the pullets of the other, and vici.--vcr.^d. You can judge 

 for yourself about the ground oats. If properly ground, they mix into dough 

 as smooth and soft as the best harleymeal. There are only two or three 

 places where they are made. Ordinary ground oats mix as if they were com- 

 pounded pai-tly of chaff. Fowls will not look at them. 



More Ciiicks than Eggs (H. I. L.). — There is no mystery and less diffi- 

 •nlty in that which you note. After the hen was put on the eggs she laid 

 two. We know that impregnation, if not interfered with, lasts fui weeks. The 

 fact of their cross breed proves theu" origin. 



Fo^xs FOR Table (Gallus). — Wherever fowls are wanted for tablo pur- 

 poses, we advise Dorkings. You are about to fall into a common and fatal 

 error when you talk of trussing and drawing chickens intended for sale. You 

 take thereby much unnecessary trouble, and diminish the value of your goods. 

 "When your chickens are lit for the moiket have them fasted twelve hours 

 before killing, and picked clean while they aie hot. Do no more to them. 

 Avoid crosses, and eschew Polands for your piu-pose. None fatten so well as 

 the Dorkings. 



PouLTHY Peckikg THEIR LEGS (L. A. B.). — The birds aie suffering from 

 itching. We advise you to confine them separately, to rub their legs with 

 grease which has no salt in it, and to feed them on cooling food, especially 

 lettuce. It is more than likely the Turkeys ate the feathers from the 

 Brahma's legs. That operation caused them to bleed. Ihe sight of blood 

 induces allpoulti-y to pick, and they would devour the legs till the bird died, 

 or the boue only was left. 



Feeding Young Tvukeys INcio Ross). — Your feeding with curd, hard egg, 

 nettles, and pepper is judicious. You may now begin to give aome gi'ouud 

 oats if you can get them: if not, give some barleymeal mixed with milk. 

 Continue the nettles and the curd. For some weeks the hens must not bo 

 allowed their liberty, at any rate not till the sun is well up and every place 

 di-y. As a security, you wiU do better if you keep your hens \mder rips till 

 the poults are at least a month or six weeks old. An empty china crate is 

 a good rip for a hen Tmkey ; there is room for her to move about, and it 

 enables you to feed the poults without their choice food being taken by other 

 poultry. Let them have grass at will, lettuces, and all things of the sort. 

 "When they are two months old .you may give them dough made of two-thirds 

 barleyratal, and one of giound beans aud peas, mixed with milk. Even when 

 the hen has her liberty it must not be till all is hot and dry. The hen would 

 di-ag them about through white frost and culd dew, and though she started 

 with fifteen and came home with four, she would " rest and be thantful," and 

 ask no questions. 



Artificial Hatching (Incvbatrix). — There is little difficulty in hatching 

 chickens artificiaUy, but the difficulty commences after they are hatched. "We 

 have known many incubators bought, iried, and abandoned. 



Starting a Pigeon Loft (Inquirer). — You can start a Pigeon loft at any 

 time of the yeaj'. Now is by no means a bad time, as the birds would breed 

 at once, and consequently settle soon in theii- new home. With respect to 

 varieties for profit, if you had some common-bred Dragoons aud some mode- 

 rately-sized Bunts, they, if crosfccd, would produce good breeders and large- 

 sized Pigeons. The very large Runts, the prize birds, aie very dear, and also 

 bad breeders. A stout-built common Pouter cock or two answers to cross for 

 profit, but not Pouters by themselves, or the long thin prize birds. Your 

 having "ample room" is a gieat thing. Lots of young birds and "ample 

 room " go together, provided the old buds are well fed ; whereas, if the room 

 is small, quarrels, broken eggs, and young ones pecked to death natmally 

 ensue. Keep the new buds shut-in a month, and let them out at fiist in the 

 evening. 



Bee Memoranda (Nnc Subscriber). — Mr. P. Eevan Fox wriles in reply to 

 your queries. '* 1st, The hive mentioned by mo at page 383, No. 632, is not 

 manu.actured for anyone for sale, but I could get them made for a ' New 

 Subscriber' if desired. At the same time I think the Woodbury hive, 

 which can be obtained of Messrs. Neighbour, of Regent Street, London, would 

 equally answer his purpose, though the dimensions of hive and frames are 

 Bomtwhat smaller. 2nd, Ihe advice given by ' B. & W.,' jia^e 422, as to the 

 iitijiiediate removal of a swarm to the old stock's stand, is quite sound. 

 No bees will be lost, as all the stragglers, on finding no queen at the place 

 where they first settled, will return to their old position, and there discover- 

 ing the object cf their affections, will gladly settle into their new quarters. 

 3rd, Bees can be kept in a room having a covered passage under the window, 

 or thruugh the wall, but the distance thc-y would have to travel in the plan 

 drawn by your coiTcepcndent would be much too great for success. 4th, 

 The combs are built straight on four of the bai-s of * New Scescrieer's' 

 hive, but the fifth comb is ccnstructcd close to the fourth, and the proper bar 

 is neglected. This should be rectified at once; the misplaced comb should be 

 cut out, secured to the bar, and reinserted. It would be advisabls to take out 

 the other combs, reverse the order of their standing, and perhaps shift them 

 so as to drop down the fifth comb between two regularly built ones. If by 

 this alteration of their positions, any portions of the combe should come into 

 contact, the projecting parts may be pared away at the next examination, and 

 straifiht combs ensured. Bar or frame hives are of no advantage, unless per- 

 fect facihty in rtmoval of combs is attained." 



Ants in a Bee-hive (A Young Apiarian).~Ant8 are very difficult to get 

 rid of, but they can be prevented from crawling up your bee-stands by keep- 

 Dg up a constant taning of the under side of the stands. They will not 

 cross wet tar. We have got rid of them by pouring a quantity of petroline 

 about the stands from time to time. 



Moving a Stock (J. N., Tiignmouth). — You acted very unwisely in re- 

 moving your hive 80 yards. The cluster of bees you discovered on tho old 

 stand was not a swarm as you supposed, but the poor unfortunate foragers 

 ■which retuiTied to the place where they had been accustomed to find their 



home. Sisters in affliction, not knowing what had become of their home and 

 of their beloved queen, they gi-adually clung together. No hive or feeding you 

 could give them would save their lives. The food was probably appropriated 

 by robbers. 



Takjng-off Glass Supers (Alicia). — We think it better to take the super 

 off directly after swaiming if there is no brood in it. Should the super not 

 be full you can give it to some other hive which may want such a ddition, as 

 we often have done, after getting rid of the bees. 



Wasps Attacking Hites (Belturbef). — We never heard of wasps destroy- 

 ing bees so early in the season as this. About us queen wasps are only begin- 

 ning their labours. Hang up bottles with sugared water ; this will trap a 

 great many and destroy the nests. Above all, look out for queen wasps and 

 kill them when you can. One year we killed as many as fifty in May and 

 June, and were remaikably free from wasp«, while om- neighbours a mile off 

 were plagued with them. They do not go far- from home. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS , 



Camden Square, London. 



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



REMARKS. 



4 th.— Dull morning; thunder and heavy rain for a short time in the after- 

 noon ; wet evening and night. 



5th.^Yery dark all the morning, and at noon thick also, hut altenvards bright 

 aud fine. 



Gth. — Dull morning ; fair aU day, hut with a cold wind and very little sun. 



7th. — Dull moi-ning, hut getting brighter and blighter from noon. 



bth. — Dull early, but very fine by noon, and so continued all day. 



9th.— Fine from 11 am. (dull previously). On the whole a veiy pleasant day, 

 bright without being either too hot or too cold. 



10th. — Rather dull day, hut little sun and strong cool wind. 

 Generally fine ; although northerly winds continue, the temperature has,riaen, 



especially at night.— G. J, StMONS. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— June 11. 

 The markets generally are very steady, and prices remain almost without 

 alteiatiou. Continental suppHeshave been unusually heavy duiing the past 

 week. 



FBUIT. 

 s. d. B, d. I B. d. 8. d. 



Apples isieve 8 0to5 ' Mulberries ^ lb, OtoO 



Apricots doz. 2 3 | Nectarines doz. 15 30 



■^ - • " ~ ^ I Oranges ^100 4 10 



n ■ Peaches doz. 16 n 80 



; Peare, kitchen aoz. 10"" 



CJierries T7*-box 2 6 



Chestnuts bushel 



Currants 4 sieve 



Black do. 



S 



1 



dessert doz. 6 lb 



Figs .'....' doz. 6 ]0 Pine Apples!.'! lb. 8 12 



i Plums M'e^e 



2 6 Quinces doz. 



6 Kaspberries lb. 



12 Strawberries ^ lb- t* ** *^ 2 





 

 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 2 



Gooseberiics quart 3 



Grapes, hothouse lb. 6 — „ , ._....^„^^...^„ r --- - 



Lemons ^100 6 lu Walnuts buthel 15 aO 



Melons each C 12 | ditto ^100 2 2 6 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparagus q*^100 



French t> U 



Beans. Kidney %* 100 1 6 



Beet. Red doz 1 



Broccoli bundle 9 



Cabbage doz. 1 



Capbieums q+ ll;0 



Carrots bunch 6 



Cauliflower doz. 3 



Celery bundle 1 6 



Coleworts. . doz. bunches 2 6 



Cucumbers .^ tach G 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 2 



Fennel bunch 3 



Garlic lb. 6 



Heibe bunch 8 



Horseradish bundle 8 



Leeks bunch 2 



Lettuce doz. 1 



VEGETABLES. 



d. s. d. 

 0to6 

 6 

 12 

 6 2 



Mushrooms pottle 



Muttard & Cress. .punnet 

 Unions buthel 



pickling quart 



Parsley pei' doz. bunches 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Round do. 



Eadishes.. doz. bunches 



Bhubarb bundle 



balsal'y bundle 



Savoys di'Z. 



f corzonera bundle 



Sea-kale basket 



thallots lb. 



spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Turnips bunch 



VcRetable iiaiTowa 



10 

 6 



. d. B. d, 

 (jto2 

 2 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





 



1 



G 



1 



2 



1 

 

 3 



2 

 2 

 8 



POULTRY MARKET.— .Tune 11, 

 The supply contiDues small, while tho trade improves. It will be long 

 remembered as a had breeding and late season. 



8. d. 



8. d. 



Large Fowls 6 to 6 



Smaller ditto 6 



Chickens 3 



GoslJugB 7 



Grefn (iecae 



Ducklings 



6 

 6 4 



7 



Pheasants 



Partridges 



Bares 



Rablii'.s 1 



Wildditto 



Pigeons 



d. s. d 

 to 

 







1 G 

 10 

 10 



