154 



JODBNAL OF HORTIOULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAaDENEE. 



[ AugTUt 19. 1809. 



mat in a flerore nlgbt, and a goUon botUc fiUod with hot wator will also 

 greatly help yon. 



Heated GRESNnoCBE (ilf. E. G.}.~With yoor trellis from 9 to 12 inches 

 from tho wnll, you may f^ow tbo Pnesiflora nod the Ipomrca well, without 

 anything behind it ; but you miKbt have some rou^b clinkers sgninst 

 tho floo or chimney. If yon covered Ibo trellia with tho PaBsiflorfl, Ac, 

 yon would not have ll^ht cuough for Moasee and Furna iu tho space 

 between tbo wall and trulUt?. Tuo most^, cocoa-nut, &c., would also be 

 apt to gink, and if kept dump, as you BugRcst, it would Boon rot the 

 trellis. Yon miKht combine bolli puiTiOHCS ; have archen t^pannod for the 

 climbers, and make a roufih irregnlar wall with Htunou, bouldurR, cUnkors, 

 and cement, with spaces left for tbo Ferns, Mosbp^, He^'onins, &o. 



Names of Plants {F. E. H.). — Tacsonia moUiBsinin; Dcsfontainia 

 Bpinof a. {Sarah J'lVrjoa).— 1, Leaf of tbo Tulip Tree, Liridooodron Tulipi- 



fora ; 2, Cystoptcris fragilis ; S, Ithyncbospfrmnm jflsminoides, now 



callfd PartcbileB Thanbcrgii. (IF. O.).— 1, Adiantnm capilluK-VtneriB; 



*i, Mlcrok'pin iiOvic-zcInndiK> ; '3, Adtautum hiepldnlnm ; 4. not receWed; 



6. Selagiuclla KransUana; 6, Doodla candata. {D. C. O.).— 1, Bednm 



ihcricum ; *A Sedum ecxaogulare ; 8, Pellrca rotundifolia; 4, Davalli* 



8olida; &, Adiantum fonnoGara ; G, A. afflne. (K. L. J.)-— ^. Litobrocbia 



incisa ; 8, Aaplenium monanthomum ; 4, is most probably a btate of L&Htr«a 



Filix-mas. [Q. S.). — iEsculus macrostachya, or Pavin macrostccbya. 



(W. >r., 7i^adi«ij).— Momordica cbaraulia. '{M. i/.).— 1, Vcrbascum pblo- 



moidcB ('.>); 2, Verba&cum austtiacum i?); a, Htliantbus perfoUatns ; 



4, Francoa Bonchifolia. (J. H. S.K— Hhua cctinus, the Sumach tree. 



I (/). O.).— 1, LaBtrcaoreoptcris; 2 and 4, both C^htoptoris fragilis; 8, A»- 



■ plonium viride; 4, Nophrodiom eflTusum. (C. U'i7Iijm«on).— NcpeUr 



1 cn:sia. 



METEOROLOGiay^ OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the week ending August 17th. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



NOTES MADE DURING SOME RUSTIC 

 RAMBLES. 



Wh.vt an odd littla place is this ! Tlie aeilioa is so low that 

 I am positively nervous when I rise from my chair. A gioat 

 beam rans aoross tbe room, reminding one of generations that 

 have passed aw.ay who knew no better, but jet did what they 

 could, and that is all we must expect. Tbe room adjoining, 

 designated the hall, but evidently intended for a sitting-room, 

 althougb the front door opens into it, smells strongly of some- 

 thing quite the reverse of agreeable. What can it be? " Oh, 

 sir," says the hostess, "it's only the straw beneath the matting, 

 put there to keep the damp away !" Yet as I look out, there 

 are evident signs of modern ideas and modern improvements. 

 Elaborate iron supports for wheat-ricks, costing, I am told, £15 

 each, demonstrate the care the owner takes to guard his produce 

 from petty thieves : while the new buikiiugs, with the noble and 

 really handsome hay-ricks in the yard, prove that a vigorous 

 mind rules around. Look, too, at the horses, grand specimens 

 of their class, evidently intended for work, and yet as hand- 

 some OS one could wish. But the men interest me most ; for 

 they are snch as I should like to see oftener — .=turdy, stalwart, 

 stout-built, Sussex peasantry that would gladden the heart of 

 Mr. Fawcett, if only he could see them. To crown the prospect, 

 there rises at no great distance a school newly built, the gift 

 of a proprietor who recognises the saw of good ilr. Drummoud, 

 thot " properly has its duties as well as its rights." With 

 such pleasant sights around, I must admit Uiat I care little 

 for the low ceiling o£ my sitting-room, or the damp smell of 

 the hall. 



I fear, however, I am rambling too far. I sat down to say a 

 feiT words on poultry, but have not yet reached the starting- 

 point. The Speckled Dorkings in front remind me of the 

 theme I should pursue, while the crossbred Ducks confirm 

 what I have always heard, and my host assures me is the case, 

 that tho Aylesburys ate not adapted for the ordinary purposes 

 of the farmyard. 



How different was the scene a few days since 1 In a remote 

 village of Northamptonshire I happened to hear that an old 

 hen-wife had souio White Doikings which she highly valued. 

 Prooeediog to her house, I learnt she had kept the same strain 

 for twenty years, obtaining them originally from one sitting of 

 eggs, and never having iutroduced fresh blood from that time 

 to this. The statement may appear incredible, but I believe 

 it to be true. You can easily imagine tbe result — crooked 

 backs and stunted forms appeared on all sides. " How many 

 chickens have you this year?" I inquired. The old woman 

 shook her head mournfully. " I set two hens, but have hud 

 no chicks." " Hjw many did you have last year ?" " It may 

 be a dozen or fifteen," she replied. " I kept a few, but moal 



on 'em I killed. Eat I ba'nt agoing to keep any more, as I 

 find they don't pay me." "Of course they dcu't," was my 

 answer ; " if you fjrming folk refuse to apply to your poultry 

 the same observation and skill you aro compelled to apply to 

 your land, you must not expect them to pay." 



Rimbling five miles further, I heard of a young farmer who 

 was reputed a great fancier, and who, at all events, is the first 

 of his class that I have met who attempts to keep poultry on 

 a large scale and on a scientific system. I have for some time 

 intended to advocate his plan in the columns of the Journal ; 

 now, however, I can only describe what I have seen, while 

 possibly some of your readers can give further details from 

 their own experience. His plan is as follows : — 



He has a number cf small houses which run on wheels, and 

 which are capable of accommodating from forty to seventy fowls. 

 The cost of each of these he tells me, is from .€3 10*. to £4, so 

 that the experiment is at all events not an expensive one to 

 begin with. These houses he places iu the midst of his grass 

 fields, as well as close to the ploughed lands, allowing them to 

 remain there about a fortnight. They are cleaned out every 

 day, and the manure is spread over the adjoining land. The 

 allowance of food, a question often asked, but rarely answered, 

 is a gallon of barley or oats for twenty- four fowls per diem. 

 On the whole, he seemed quite satisfied that the experiment is 

 a satisfactory one. Yet, I must confess, I was not quite satisfied 

 with his management. Examining his yards I found that he 

 had a large number of old birds, than which I cannot conceive 

 a greater mistake, if fowls are to bo profitable. No hen should, 

 in my opinion, be allowed to live beyond a year or eighteen 

 months, it profit is an object, and no ccck beyond two years. 

 You thus obtain a far larger number cf eggs, and tbe hens, 

 moreover, are fairly good eating when they are killed. But 

 little regard, moreover, seemed to be paid to the sort of fowl, a 

 point which is certainly of great importance. It is commonly 

 said, that a cross between a Light Brahma and a Dorking is 

 the most useful for practical purposes ; but on this point I 

 should like to hear further evidence. A henwife who supplies 

 tho London markets with early chickens, tells me that size is 

 not a matter of importance, as small fowls bring as good a 

 price as large ; but it is important to keep a sort of which the 

 chickens are not difficult to rear. The waste. I can apply no 

 milder term, of poultry in most farmyards, is something terrible. 

 This year I Iiavo lost five or six chickens, many of them 

 hatched early in March, out cf about seventy Dorkiugs ; and 

 yet I could name several farmyards where the loss has amounted 

 to nearly 50 per cent., and generally, as it seems to me, through 

 carelessness and neglect. 



I cannot but believe that the system of keeping poultry in 

 moveable houses would answer, if corried out Evstematioally. 

 An elderly man beyond hard work might be employed, at a 

 cost of 9s. or ICs. per week. He would see the houses moved, 

 and cleaned, the chickens fed, the doors closed at night, and 

 the eggs duly oollooted. I should imagine that iu this way ia 



