288 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 



[ April 8, 1875. 



or nick with a fhree-sqnare file. The glass is then placed on 

 the board with the marked Fpot exactly over the depression. A 

 gocd steel drill fixed in the stock of a common bow or Archi- 

 medean drill, and of the dimensions snitahle to the hole required, 

 is to be dipped in oil of turpentine and then into fine emery. 

 Placing the point of the drill over the marked spot, the ope- 

 rator proceeds to communicate rotary motion, without, however, 

 exerting any considerable pressure, especially towards the end 

 of the operation. It is by no means necessary that the drill 

 should be excessively hard: even a copper drill, if duly supplied 

 with emery and turpentine, will do the work effectually. Should 

 it be desirable to produce apertures of considerable diameters, 

 such as from a quarter of an inch upwards, it is advisable to 

 make some little change in the arrangement. Thus the drill 

 must be grasped both above and below by a " collar " to prevent 

 any change of position while rotating, and the head of the drill 

 should be weighted by means of a hinged lever, which is fixed 

 by the hinge to any convenient spot and weighted at the other 

 extremity, the head of the drill- stock supporting it in the centre. 

 By this means an equable *' feed*' is secured. Instead of a steel 

 drill, a brass or copper tube of the size of the aperture required 

 IB fastened to the stock, which, for this purpose, should work 

 with a bow. By moistening the tube conttintly with a solution 

 of camphor in spirits of turpentine, and feeding with fine emery, 

 a true and smooth aperture may be quickly cut. — [English 

 Mechanic.) 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Chickens Cramped {B. H. r.).— Your chickens die of cramp. If they are 

 bronght tip en wooden, brick, or stone floors they are the cause. That will 

 probably explain to you why the greenhouse did not afford a cure. If you will 

 put the hens in a sheltered spot on the earth with plenty of dry road grit to 

 Bcratch in, and feed well on bread and milk, chopped cooked meat, chopped 

 egg, and curd, with some beer to driok, we think you will stay the cramp 

 among them. If you cannot alter your flooring cover it some inches deep 

 with grit or even sand. 



Fowl HorsE {A Constant Eeadtr). — For eighteen Spangled Hamburghs 

 your house may be 12 feet square and 10 or 12 feet high, 3 feet of brickwork 

 from the flcor, above that wood. The brickwork need only be 4^ inches, 

 or 9 at the outside. It must be well ventilated under the roof. There 

 BhouM be glazed windows, one at each side. They shoold open in the 

 summer. We find the Bridgewater tiles very good roofing. The door should 

 face to the south or the west, and should be in a comer. 



Golden Pheasant HYBBms (AJpha). — The instances of a Golden 

 Pheaeant crossing with any other bird are very rare. We know only of three 

 instances, and they were all with common hen Pheasants. If you are disposed 

 to try we shculd advise you to put the Golden cock Pheasant to a Golden or 

 Silver Sebright Bantam hen. If you have leisure and convenience the best 

 plan you can adopt is to set some Golden Pheasant eggs and eome Sebright 

 eggs under the same hen. Let them be brought up together and never 

 separated. It will be a long process, as you cannot depend on the cock 

 Pheasant to breed from till the second season. 



Call Ducks ( T. H. T.). — You may not have been cheated. It ia probably 

 a drake that has assumed hermaphroditic plumage, or sported in moulting. 

 We have known a Duck assume the curly tail, and we have known a drake 

 moult only half its plumage, failing to attain its nuptial plumage during the 

 whole year. These vagaries are not very unoommon. Take for instance the 

 hen-oock among Pheasants; the alteration of comb, hackle, and tail in 

 common fowls. We once had a Widgeon that missed his male plumage in 

 moulting, but grew a curling crest and mane. 



Supply of Duces' Eggs (S. S.).— There is little doubt that if all the 

 Ducks' eggs are put under bens they will produce twenty-four ducklings, even 

 allowing for ^ome bad ones. Something depends on the breed. The Ayles- 

 buriee are very good layers, and if they are kept we should expect more. 



Judges of Pigeons at Hdll.— In our report of the Hull Exhibition our 

 reporter omitted to state that the Judges of Pij^eons were Capt. Hill, Ealing, 

 andF. Gresham, Esq., Sheffield. 



Foeetgn Owl ViGEOiis.—*' Foreigner" wishes to know the names of the 

 prizetakers at York., 



Canary {M. H. F.T. — The substance ia only mucus. 



Canary Wheezing {4 iJ^odcr).— Your bird is attacked with asthma, or in 

 a slow consumption, not an uncommon matter with Canaries, especially when 

 kept and suspended near the ceiling or in front of a window. Birds so kept 

 in a room where fire or pas are used at certain periods, and the birds having 

 to endure the chilling night air are so weakened as to be continually casting 

 or throwing off their featherp, or otherwise attacked with disease. Whether 

 your bird's illness has been brought about in a similar manner is not for us to 

 say, but wo know many instant es where the lives of many good birds have 

 been shortened through a want of knowledge In keeping them in good health. 

 One very importaot point you inform us of, that of occasionally giving your 

 Canary a *' lump of sugar." For what reason ? Is it because the bird utters 

 a sound resembling the word " sweet." that you so indulge it with sugar ? 

 To a certainty you have done your pet more hami than good. We have often 

 been pained when noticing birds in cages hnrg up high in heated rooms. If 

 anyone wishes to try the experiment of breathing with diflicnlty let him 

 elevate himself upon a chair or table, and then he will know the kind of air a 

 bird has continually to endure. There is no wonder at birds being afllicted 

 with panting and wheezing, for the air becomes poisonous and loses all 

 elasticity. Under such circumstances dipeaee is encouraged. The sugar not 

 only impedes the breathing organs, thus producing the wheezing, but the 

 digestive functions become interropted. The appearance of the raffled 

 feathers and occasional distension are signs of nature labouring under 

 difticnltiep. Duriog th-j birfl's illness you may disonntiaue the rape seed for a 

 time and give Canary seed, linseed, anl proatn; administer one or two drops 

 of castor oi!, auJ sipply a breaii-aid milk de'^ for two or three days; after- 

 wards let it have a free diet of Wiiteic-ess, small salad, and dandelion; now 

 and then a liftle crashed biscuit and half a teisfoonful of sherry wine in its 

 water foouta'n, besides keeping the ein a rusty nail, will tend to strengthen 



the sofferer. Stale bread soaked, the wafer afterwards freed from it, and 

 half a dozen drops of cod-liver oil added as an occasional change. Supply 

 grit, sand, and a small piece of salt in the place of the sugar; keep the bird 

 free from draught, and the cage covered over during the night whilst the bird 

 ia so unwell. 



Book (T. P.). — Mr. Pettigrew's second edition is just out, price 3s. Gd. 



Best Hives {F. ./.).— Your question is a difficult one to answer, especially 

 as you do not t-ay whether you want straw or wooden hives. Mr. Pettigrew, 

 Sale, near Manchester, who is a most successful bee-keeper, finds large straw 

 hives the most profitable. If you want such write to him for particulars. 

 Mr. Abbott, of llanweli, near London, N., will supply you with excellently 

 made wooden bar-framed hives for cottagers at a very low rate. If you obtain 

 a model yon can doubtless have them made to suit your own wants from some 

 villafie carpenter or basketmaker in your own neighbourhood. Experience 

 will be yoar best guide as to what is the best hive for your own purposes. 

 We ourselves do not believe in the existence of any " best" hive. This Is the 

 very best time in the year for the purchase of old stocks, but you must be 

 quick about it now. Bees rarely fly beyond a radius of one and a half mile 

 from home, although they have been traced much further to good pasturage. 



Commencing Bee-keeping (J9. V. A. H.).— If for profit and little trouble, 

 use Woodbury's hive, and have a swarm of common bees put into it next 

 month. To prevent Kwarming in a common hive is very difficult, and to a 

 beginner almost hopeless. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Camden Sqcare, London. 



Lat. 61^ 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0= 8' 0" W. ; Altitude, HI feet. 



REMARKS. 

 3l8t.— Rather dull morning, bright in the middle of the day ; very little 



wind. 

 April 1st. — Dull morning, bright before noon, and a very pleasant day. 

 2nd.— Beautifully bright till 1 p.m. and all day, finer than any day for some 



weeks. 

 3rd. — Dull windy morning, bright about noon ; windy at night. 

 4th. — Bain in the night and early moruing, but fine before 9 a.m ; very bright 



till 3 P.M., then dull ; a little rain between G and 7, but a fine night. 

 5th. — Windy and wet early, but fine before 10 a.m., and very bright from that 



time to p.m., then dnll ; but a fine starlit night, though windy. 

 6th. — Bright from 10 to 12.30, then a few diops of rain, and a sharp though 

 short shower a short time after ; but fine evening and night. 

 The temperature has risen about 4'', and the weather on three or four days 

 been very bright and eunny, but the wind is still cold and trying. — G. J. 

 Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— April 7. 



We have no change to report in the markets, the supply and demand being 



of the average condition for this stason of the year. A few more StrawberrieB 



and some better Grapes can be obtained. English Pines are in very little 



request ; the latest from St. Michael's being of excellent qoality. 



Apples i sieve 2 



Apricots. dozen 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bushel 10 



Currants j sieve 



Black do. 



Figs dozen 



FUberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



GooBeberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse.... lb. 12 



Lemons ¥^100 8 



Melons each 



Artichokes dozen S 



Asparagus ^100 8 



French bundle 6 



Beane. Kidney.... q;" 100 2 



Brnad bushel 



Beet, Red dozen 1 



Broccoli bundle 



BruBsela Sprouts J sieve 3 



Cabbage dozen 2 



Carrots bunch 



CapsicumB ¥^100 



Cauliflower dozen 4 



Celery bundle 1 



Coleworts.. doz. bunches 5 



Cucumbers each I 



pickling dozen 



Endive dozen 2 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish bundle 



d, B. d 

 6 to 3 

 

 



20 

 



12 

 



Mulberries lb. 



Nectarines dozen 



Oranges ^r^ 100 



Peaches dozen 



Pears, kitchen.... dozen 2 



dessert dozen 



Pine Apples lb. 



Plums i sieve 



Quinces dozen 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries ^ oz. 



Walnuts bushel 



ditto ^100 



VEGETABLES. 



Oto6 

 12 

 20 

 3 

 

 S 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce dozen 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress. .punnet 

 Onions bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley.... doz. bunches 



Parsnips dozen 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bUHhel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsafy bundle 



Scorzonera bundle 



Seakale basket 



yhallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes dozen 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows. .doz. 



