February 4, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND OOTTAQE GARDENER. 



103 



Yoa had better use four 18-inoh flower pots, putting a cork into the dramago- 

 hole of each. 



Bedding Plants from Seed (C. ii.).— In addition to Lobelia, Pyreth- 

 rum, Dell's Beet, and Phlox, you may have Ageratam Imperial Dwarf (blue), 

 AlysBura maritimum (white), Centaurea candidiasima (white foliage), Cine- 

 raria raaritima (white foliage). Cuphea platyceotra (red and purple), Linura 

 granditiorum coccineiim (crimson). Nasturtium King Tom Thumb Scarlet 

 (this ia the best scariet), N. King Tom Thumb Goldon, Sapouaria calabrica 

 (roBe), Scabious Dwarf, double (red, white, crimson, aud maroon), thene are 

 fine for cutting, Seiiecio elegaus, double vars. (crimson, Ulac, dai-k purple, 

 red, and white), Tagetes siguata pumila (yellow), Tropoaolum compactum 

 coccineum (scarlet), and T. oompactum luteum (yellow). 



Heating a Greenhouse {Idem). — Your house having two 4-inoh hot- 

 water pipes along the front and one end, and the cubic contents being 

 12()0 feet, would be heated numciently to exclude frost. The bore of the 

 barrel pipe will not, we presume, ho less than 1^ inch — it ought not, and the 

 boiler must be of suflioient power to maintain the 4-inch pipe surface at a 

 temperature of not less than 18'-. 



Sea-kai-e Forcing (H. A. P.).— The bed of Sea-kale may at once be forced 

 without fear of its coming weak, as it will now start freely with only a gentle 

 heat. 



Potatoes for Forccng {Llcm). — Queen is not good, nor any of the 

 Victoria type. Forcing Potatoes require to have a short haulm, and mature 

 early. Sandringlmm Ashleaf, Myatt's Prolific, and Veitch's Ashleaf are the 

 best kinds, and the last-named the best of the three. 



Jasminum nddiflorum il(iini). — The leaves are those of a sickly Orange, 

 and have been covered with fungus arising from scale. Sponge with soft-soap 

 solution 4 ozs. to a gallon, and at a temperature of 120-. The flower ia 

 Jasminnm nudifiorum. 



Soil of New Garden (H. B.). — Burn 2 feet in depth of all the subsoil clay, 

 and mix it with the one foot of the lighter surface soil. 



POULTET, BEE, AND PIGEON OHRONIOLE. 



THE EXHIBITION DOEKING.— No. 7. 



BY T. C. BURNELL. 



No difficulty will be found in making a broody hen take to a 

 strange nest, the only precautions necessary will be to move her 

 when it is dark, to give her a china 

 nest egg or two, and to keep her 

 shut in upon the new nest till she 

 becomes accustomed to it. It will 

 not be advisable to put the good 

 eggs under her for a couple of 

 days, till she has become tho- 

 roughly used to being taken off 

 and put on the nest again by 

 strangers. This should always be 

 done every morning, and the hen 

 put into a coop or other conveni- 

 ent place where she can be easily 

 caught, with food and water for 

 her to eat, and left there for about 

 twenty minutes, and then be re- 

 placed on the nest by hand and 

 shut in. If a regular system be 

 adopted it is astonishing how 

 many hens may be kept going in 

 this way with very little trouble. 



Two days before the eggs are 

 due to hatch they should be well 

 soused in tepid water when the 

 hen is oil the nest, and after being 

 left in the water for two or three 

 minutes they should be replaced, 

 and the hen put on top of them. 

 This will go a long way in pre- 

 venting the chickens from becom- 

 ing stuck to the membranous 

 lining of the shell. If fresh, Dor- 

 king eggs will hatch on the twen- 

 tieth day; but if stale they may be a day longer. For this 

 reason the eggs in a sitting should as nearly as possible be of 

 the same age, so as to hatch out altogether ; but on no account 

 shonld the hen be interfered with till the expiration of at least 

 twenty-four hours from the appearance of the first chicken. I 

 consider it waste of time to help chickens out of the shell. I 

 have often done so, but believe it to be far better to let them 

 die at once, as if they are not strong enough to get out of the 

 shell they are pretty sure to die afterwards, and at all events 

 will never make prize chickens. If possible it will be better to 

 sit two hens on the same day, so that if the eggs hatch out badly 

 we may be able to make up one good brood by putting all the 

 chickens under one hen. A little sulphur should always be 

 sprinkled in the nests of the sitting hens, or otherwise they are 

 likely to become infested with vermin. 



The hen-coop as illustrated in the accompanying sketch is 

 well worthy of the attention of amateurs. It has been designed 

 by Mr. Henry Lingwood, who for many years has been one of 

 the most successful exhibitors in the poultry fancy. Last year 



he very kindly let me have one as a pattern, and I found it 

 answer so well that I have asked and received permission from 

 him to have it drawn for general information. It combines 

 every requisite for rearing chickens successfully, and with it no 

 shed or coop-house ia required. It also possesses the merit of 

 being vermin-proof when shut up, and this, too, without the 

 ventilation being at all impeded. Owing to an error in shading 

 the engraving is not so intelUgible as I could wish ; but I will 

 endeavour to make it a little more simple by explanation. 

 Most hen-coops are entirely inadmissible for outdoor chicken- 

 rearing for two reasons : one, that the wet drives into the front of 

 the coop ; the other, that in heavy rain the wet runs in under- 

 neath the sides. In Mr. Lingwood's model coop both these dis- 

 advantages are avoided, as the roof projects over the open front, 

 and efiectually keeps out the rain ; while a wooden tray is mad© 

 to fit inside (which should be always kept filled with sand or 

 dry earth), which entirely keeps the little chickens out of the 

 wet. The ilap-door, which in the woodcut is seen lying on tho 

 ground, hinges at bottom on hooks, and when turned up and 

 secured with a button, fastens the coop up for the night, secure 

 against fox or rat. The top part of the open front is made of 

 small-mesh wire, and should be placed perpendicularly, and not 

 be made, as in the drawing, to lean forward. This, besides 

 giving light and ventilation, will be found convenient for feeding 

 the chickens through on a very inclement morning when it is 

 not desirable to let them run out at once. 



When twenty-four hours old the chickens may be safely put 

 into such a coop as I have descriljod, or into any other descrip- 

 tion of coop with a waterproof roof. The hen should be fed and 

 watered, and the chickens too should receive their first feed of 

 bread crumbs softened with milk, canary seed, or some such 

 little delicacy. 



HARD CROP, OR CROP-BOUND. 



This is undigested food in the crop either of fowls or Pigeons. 

 It arises from being fed on food hard to digest, and consequently 

 digestion does not take place fast enough to satisfy the cravings 

 of hunger, hence the fowl or Pigeon keeps eating until it gorges 



Fig. 27.— Hen-ooop. 



itself. Hard crop will be caused by the bird being chilled while 

 at roost. I advise all to avoid strong draughts of air. There 

 needs no surgical operation for either fowl or Pigeon. By 

 taking a penny tin extinguisher with the top cut oS you will be 

 provided with a funnel of proper shape, but I prefer a gutta 

 percha one, as it is not so likely to hurt the throat or mouth of 

 the bird treated. Place the funnel in the mouth, and then pour 

 in as much warm water as the crop will hold ; then work about 

 with finger and thumb, squeezing well about till you get it into 

 a liquid state ; then place the finger of the left hand between the 

 sides of the beak, the front finger of the right hand upon the tip 

 of the lower half of the beak, and with the thumb of the same 

 hand you may easily empty the crop in a few minutes. Then after 

 awhile refill the crop as before with warm water, and so on till 

 quite empty ; then rinse-out well with warm water, and give the 

 fowl some bread soaked in some warm milk. Some give bread 

 soaked in ale, but unless the bird has fallen away in flesh or is 

 weak it does not require it. Do not let the fowl have any hard 

 food for a few days. In the case of Pigeons, if the bird will eat 



