August 7, 1868. ] JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



Ill 



Variovs IBiu).— 1, The Scarlet Goranlums in pots, placed on the lawn 

 una Intended tor the same purpose next year, ire would merely noose 

 before frost, keep them rather dry all winter, give any little pruning they 

 wanted In wring, and i,,p .l>. --, in the same pets after serum the drain- 

 ace was ill olear. We have a few line plants which have hren about 



eventei i roars in the same pots, 2, Tho best time to take outUngs of 



i' oiookl i whon yonoan obtain them— all the summer and autumn 



and then in the spring months. The host time to lake tin' plants out ol 



tin ground is as early as yon can do so. say by the im.H i oetoher. 



8 Geranium and Calceolaria cuttings : You .-an take the first as oon a 

 von like. Woprofer the latter in October j but you em malic them now 



if youkeep thorn in the i lost place yon can Mini, under a frame or a 



hand-light. No bottom heat. I, Tho Fancy Geraniums done blooming 

 will be I est sei in an open place out of doors, and m dry weather wet 

 the ground on which they stand instead ol watering the plants much. 

 When the wood is well hardened prune back, but not so much as the 

 othor kinds, and whenmaking gr iwth shift into similar-sized, or smaller- 

 sized pots. 5, You may sow Dutoh Clover and tho finei lawn seeds now, in 

 fact, any time when damp. 6, i'ou may prune Laurels and Laurustinus 

 any time before winter. 



ciN-.-i hiobkmxs Withering (A Oomtant Subteriber). Jour plant 



Would have A bettor if you had cut it down last autumn orwinter.and 



had all the growth .if this season. As it is unsightly, you had better take 

 it up, cot it, place it in the reserve garden, keep it from frost in winter, 

 .ami iu winter or early in the spring cut it down to the ground. 



Pruning Bi.airii No. 2 Rose— Arranciinii Plants in a Stove (An 

 TrUh Subteriber).— At to Hlairii No. 2, out out all the smaller shoots, lay 

 in a suitablo number of this season's shoots, stop them In autumn, and 

 you will have plenty of flowering short side shoots next season. The 

 plants in the body of your house would look well from your proposed 



balcony; it will shade the plants below it, but that would do for plants 

 likin" 'shade as Ferns. Would vmi not oMaiu room more easily by 

 some kind of a stage 1 Tho abovo considered, however, we have no fault 

 with the balcony. 



Fm •i'i-Tiii-.K PBUriua (8. Jf. £.).— Wo quite approvo of your observa- 

 tion with reference to tho pruning of pyramid fruit trees, that "it l] 

 to be an unnecessary expenditure of sap and loss of time to wait until 



the end of August and then cut back to eight lOBVOS." OUl principle is 



to prevent the development of nil urois««ory wood, and economise as 



much as possible the vi ir of the tree for the production of fruit-bearing 



spurs and the inerease of the fruit. Wo therefore advise th it pil 



he regularly practised during the whole of tho summer, and performed so 



closely that it shall not cause those buds which are desired to f -no 



fruiting spurs to be for 1 Into leaf hearing shoots. The three-feot-long 



shoots should never be permitted. 



Selections of Geraniums (Amateur).— A list such ns you suggest 

 shall appear shortly. Ficns ropens is a stove evergreen. 



Gbapes SoAiDiHO (Woodford).— This is caused by excessive heat of 

 the sun and the want of Buffloiont ventilation. Give all the air you can. 



Name of Plant (S. C'.).— Acanthus spinosus. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the Week ending August 4th. 



San. . . 29 

 Men... 80 

 Tues. . SI 

 Wod. . 1 

 Thurs. 2 

 Fri. .. 3 

 Sat. .. 4 



Mean 



B.1ROSIETER. 



Max. 



29.646 

 B9.761 



29.744 

 39.879 

 99.686 



29.777 



•_.l.lo''. 



•JO 7.. I 



Min. 



99.509 



29.727 

 2'.! Kill 



29.749 

 29.483 

 29.738 

 29.603 



TI1F.UMOMETF.R. 



Max. Min. 1 ft. dp. 9 ft. dp 



71 

 70 

 65 

 75 

 74 

 74 

 71 



29.C81 ; 71.43 48.00 



44 

 39 



47 

 58 

 49 



45 

 40 



64 

 03 

 62 



60 

 I'M 

 68 

 63 



cm 



60 



60 



59) 



59" 



591 



60 



59.78 



Wind. 



N.W. 



N.W. 

 W. 



s. 

 w. 

 w. 

 w. 



Rain in 

 inches. 



General Remarks. 



.12 

 .00 

 .13 

 .08 

 .04 

 .00 

 .00 



Overcast ; very fine ; rain ; cold westerly wind. 



Light clouds and cold wind ; partially clouded ; only 7 above free/ 



Cold rain ; cloudy and showery : rain at night. [ing at night. 



Fine, but cold and damp ; very lino ; overcast ; rain. 



Rain ; cloudy ; overcast. 



Densely nncl uniformly overcast : cloudy. 



Fine but windy ; boisterous ; somo white clouds in deep blue sky. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



FOWLS TO BE KEPT. 



Before deciding on the breed of poultry to be kept, it is 

 necessary to take into consideration that which is required 

 from tie fowls, and also the conveniences possessed by the 

 intended owner, and the nature of the soil on which they are 

 to be kept. Unless these matters be well weighed, it is use- 

 less to ask which are the best layers, or which breed is most 

 profitable. 



Where poultry-keeping is a hobby or a fancy, the breed that 

 is preferred will be kept, as emolument is not sought; but 

 where a return is looked for, and a balance-sheet thought of, it 

 is well to prepare for the profit by using such means as may 

 seem likely to secure it. The first that suggests itself is, 

 Where is tho market, or what is the made of sale, and which 

 is in the greater request — eggs or poultry ? Some people break 

 off here ; they cannot bear the idea of selling poultry — it seems 

 infra dip. We think them wrong, but there is an escape for 

 these. The poultry man or maid will do all the trading, merely 

 carrying out the instructions of the master or mistress. We 

 know an instance of a lady worth many thousands who has a 

 large milk trade at her house on her own terms. She charges 

 more for her milk, and buyers have to fetch it, yet she sells 

 all, and others who carry round cannot sell. She never ap- 

 pears in it, the dairymaid does everything. We know another 

 who supplies a whole neighbourhood with eggs and poultry, 

 the dairymaid mannges all. This must, then, be considered — 

 whether it is intended to sell in this way, or whether there are 

 conveniences for sending a basket of chickens to market. Dif- 

 ferent markets have different habits. In some poultry is a 

 trade, in others it is an exception ; but it is certain that 

 wherever good poultry is taken it will create a demand, if none 

 exist, provided the place where the market is held be a 

 populous one. There is, however, a demand everywhere for 

 eggs, and at very remunerative prices during the winter months. 

 Then there is always the last resource of the Loudon market. 

 With much experience of markets, we prefer local ones ; there 

 are many drawbacks in connection with the metropolitan — car- 

 riage, commission, baskets, sending to the station ; all these 

 take from the return. 



Having satisfied yourself cf the requirements of the place in 



the way of contribution to the food stock, next study the place 

 itself. If there is a demand for table poultry, and you have a 

 tolerable range— above all, if you have a farmyard, even a small 

 one, keep Dorkings, none will pay you better. If your space 

 is limited, and you have no farmyard, keep either Brahmas or 

 Cochins. If the demand is for egg3 rather than fowls, keep 

 Spanish, Creve Coeur, or La Fleche. Chooso a light soil if 

 you can. 



We have always preferred pure to cross-bred fowls. We 

 think them more profitable, much handsomer, and we always 

 know what we are about to breed ; but if crosses are resorted 

 to, even by those who manage them most skilfully, there is 

 always doubt. We should not advise the plan of any one who 

 would for market purposes cross a Dorking with a Brahma 

 Pootra. The rich deep breast of the former would be dimi- 

 nished, and a large-boned, yellow leg substituted. The best 

 cross is, perhaps, between the Dorking and the Game. There 

 is nothing in it that offends ; but while strength of constitution 

 is gained, the placidity of temper that is so valuable in a bird 

 intended to be fattened is entirely lost, and the cross between 

 the Game and Dorking must be killed at least a month younger 

 than the pure Dorking. We said, however, that by keeping 

 pure birds we knew what we were breeding. A cross is generally 

 adopted in order to develope in one breed some quality that 

 excels in another, and then the cross is bred out. Thus, Game 

 cock and Dorking hens, to give more strength of constitution 

 to the latter. Second year, son to mother; third, son to 

 daughter: fourth, son to grand-daughter, and then all appear 

 pure Dorkings. Nothing may appear for years to indicate any 

 mixture, and then a dozen years afterwards a friend to whom 

 you have given somo of your celebrated " Dorkings," writes 

 you that he has bred pure Game cocks from them. This is the 

 history of all crosses. 



TUDSEY POULTRY SHOW. 



(From a Correspondent.) 



The third annual Show of Poultry and Pigeons took place on 

 Saturday, the 28th nit., in the extensrru grounds belonging to the 

 Prince of Wales Cricket Clul). Unfortunately tho weather was any- 

 thing but favourable, as it rained all day, bnt the ponltry were pretty 

 well protected, and the Pigeons wore shown in a spacious tent. 



The pens of poultry wero exceedingly good in quality, but in some 

 classes the entries were very few. It cannot be said that a single 

 unhealthy bird was sent, and not ono bad pen, excepting the birds 



