158 



JOURNAL OF HOKTIOULTXJBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Augast 13, 1874. 



Lave been brought under our notice, and for country houBea 

 they will be accepted as a great boon. 



Management of Eauthenwake. — New earthenware Bhould, 

 before being used, be soaked in cold water for twenty-four hoiirs ; 

 this will render it less liable to crack, as well as enable it to 

 be made thoroughly clean. For washinj^ articles which are not 

 greasy, such as tea things, &c., every housekeeper should be 

 provided with a good-sized wooden bowl, for by contact with 

 this they will be less liable to be chipped and broken than when 

 an earthen basin is used. Still further to avoid the danger of 

 breakage, one article only should be put in at a time. A small 

 cloth should be kept with which to cleanse them while in the 

 water ; for merely rinsing them and then wiping them on the 

 tea-cloth will not ensure cleanliness. For washing the insides 

 of jugs, a miniature mop, with a handle a foot long, like those 

 sold for cleaning the chimneys of lamps, is indispensable. A 

 little soda should sometimes be used for washing jugs, and if 

 the same is occasionally used for washing tea-things, it will 

 make them look much cleaner and brighter. Soda should, how- 

 ever, never be izsed except in small quantities, nor should it be 

 constantly employed, as ifi has a tendency to injure the glaze. 

 Soap or potash has not this injurious effect, but neither cleanses 

 so thoroughly as soda. For tea-cloths linen must be used, as 

 cotton fabrics are not sufficiently absorbent to dry the earthen- 

 ware. For washing greasy earthenware, two tubs of suitable 

 size should be provided ; one, in which to wash them, must 

 contain hot water, with a little soda, or, for the reasons stated 

 above, potash or wood ashes, and the other, in which to rinse 

 them immediately after they are washed, must be filled with 

 clean cold water. After rinsing they should be placed in a rack, 

 and they will be dry and fit to use or put by in an hour. With- 

 out the soda or some similar substance, perfect brightness and 

 cleanness will not be secured. For keeping earthenware, a dry 

 closed cupboard is to be recommended, for if the articles become 

 either damp or dusty they will not look bright or well, even 

 though they may be wiped when required for use. — {CasseWs 

 Household Guide.) 



PLURALITY OF QUEENS. 



The experience of bee-keepers is asked by Mr. Boulton, of 

 Ulverston, in the number of July 16th, on the subject of a plu- 

 rality of queens in a hive. In the year 1850 I put a swarm 

 with three-year-old queen into a uuicomb hive, June 17th. On 

 August 11th I observed two queens, one old (which I could dis- 

 tinguish by a defect on one wing), the other plump and young. 

 They were perfectly amicable. I saw them lay eggs in con- 

 tiguous cells. This continued for some time, and after a while 

 the old queen was missing. Does this not indicate that, under 

 peculiar circumstances — e.g., the failing powers of an old queen 

 at a time of year when there are no drones, the natural hos- 

 tility of queens is repressed, and thus a wise provision made for 

 the preservation of hives which would otherwise perish ? 



The season about here has been this year peculiar. I have 

 ten hives, eight of them being very forward, hanging-out and 

 with drones at the end of April. Then came the bitter weather 

 of May, when they killed the drones, dragging-out the larvje. I 

 have had but one swarm, and have taken' 100 lbs. 4i ozs. in 

 glasses, side boxes, from eight of these hives. There has been 

 no white clover, and the pastures are dried-up. No honey was 

 gathered after the second, week in July. 



My neighbours in Rutland have had very few swarms, and 

 some of them very little honey. — C. Axlison Holmes, Thistle- 

 ton Rectory, Grantham. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



BRAmiAs AND Pheasants Listless and Ajltoo (One Anxious for his 

 Pets).— Yon give no symptoms of rheumatism. It seems to us your birds 

 suffer from mistakea care in some respects ; instance, they are shut up in a 

 nice shady yard during the heat of the day. A yard suggests to us a place 

 with a flooring or pavement— brick, wood, or stone. Either would cause the 

 maJady you complain of. We cannot imagine a good run when the birds 

 cannot find sufficient shelter. We have no respect for sharps, nor for tincture 

 of aconite. We are by no means sure the birds want the latter. Let them 

 have the run all day. They will find shade. The PheaHants may still roost 

 under the rip with the hen. Shift the rip every morning. Feed on ground 

 oats or barleymeal in the morning, maize and scraps at midday, and ground 

 oats in the evening. These latter should ba mixed with milk. Let all feed 

 alike, except that you may add some curd to the Pheasants' food. The 

 Pheasants should roost under the hen, and the chickens also as long as they 

 will. After the hen refuses to hover thera at night she may be taken away, 

 and the chickens will roost in the rip she has vacated. Feed them well; they 

 will gain strength and appetite. The Pheasants want feediug oftener than 

 the ohickend. 



Leicestee Poultry Show.— "In your report of Leicester Show in last 

 week's Journal, yon have H. Thompson as winning the first prize for Buff 

 Cochin chickens. I beg to say 1 won the first prizes for both old birds and 

 cliickens. — H. Tomlinson." 



Canary Asthmatic (B. Walpole, jun.).~lt the bird be moulting now it is 

 not out of due course, and ought not to interfere with any local ailment from 

 which it may be BufEering. You can do nothiug but keep it in a warm place 



away from draughts. It may last the winter and sing again, but the chances 

 are against it. Give a drop of cod-liver oil occasionally from a pointed stick, 

 and a httle bread and milk in the mornings.— W. A. B. 



Book (David Bruce).— We never heard of any book by the writer you 

 mention. 



CANARfES Ruptured (E. B. T.).~l have always found castor oil a tolerably 

 certain cure if admmistered in time. A homteopathic authority who has 

 wonderful succeps in his bird-room advises the following: — Lycopodium sixth 

 dilution on first appearance, afterwards Calcarea carbonica sixth dilution; 

 and if thomughly prostrated, and afttr diarrhoea has set in, Arsenicum sixth 

 dilution. Give two drops to an ordinary water tin, which must be thoroughly 

 clean, particularly on changiug the medicine. These medicines can be had 

 in tirf. pbials of any homceopathic chemist, and must be kept in a cool place, 

 — W. A. B. 



High-coloured Canaries [T. S.).— We reprinted the recipe last week. 

 No particulars as to quantities were given by Messrs. Bemrose & Orme. 



HoNEY-GATnERiNG.- " I beg to gtate that I am not the * Sir. Shearer' who 

 has informed Mx'. Pettigrew of the wonderful feats of honey- gathering by 

 bees, as stated by him in page ia4 of last week's Journal.— Alex. Sheahek^ 

 Yester Qardins." 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



Lafc. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0^ 8' 0" W. ; Altitade 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 

 5th. — Cloudy till noon; frequent slight showers in afternoon; in fact, a 



cheerless damp day. 

 6th. — A lovely day throughout ; dry, cool, and very bright. 

 7th. — Rather dull morning, afterwards cloudy, windy, sometimes almoafc 



rainy, but with bright gleams of sunshine in between. 

 8th. — A very pleasant day, sume parts of it particularly so. 

 9th. — Fine till about "J p.iii., when it clouded over. Rain began at 7 p.m., atid. 



continued to fall more or less all the evening. 

 10th. — Dull morning ; rain before 10 a.m., thunder at 1.40 to 2,30, and between 



6 and 7 p.m.; alternate sunshine and shower.^. 

 11th. — Fine, but very boisterous wind till the afternoon, when it gradually 

 lesseued, and the evening was quite calm. 

 A slight fall in the temperature, cautied, probably, by the frequent showers 

 which have alternated with bright sunshine during the week. Many of the 

 showers, though very short, had all the appearance of thunder showers in th© 

 largeness of the drops and the puffs of wind by which they were preceded. 



Erratum.— In the remarks appended to last week's table the word "some" 

 of the recent storms is printed, instead of " none " of the recent storms. — 

 — G. J. Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— August 12. 

 Supply well kept up, and a fan- average amount of business doing. 



Apples i sieve 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries Vlb. u 



Chestnuts bushel 



Currants i sieve 4 



Black do. 5 



Figs doz. 8 



FUbertB lb. 1 



Cobs lb. 1 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse.... lb. 1 



Lemons w 100 I'J 



Melons each 3 



a. d. 9. < 

 1 Otol 



10 

 6 



Mulberries ^Ib, 



Nectarines doz. 6 



Grantees ^100 4 



Peaches doz. G 6 



Pears, kitchen doz. 



dessert doz. 2 



PineApples lb. 2 



Plums i sieve 3 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 6 



Strawberries ^ lb, 



Walnuts bushel 10 



ditto i^lOO 2 



s. d. B. d. 



I otoo o 



15 



VEGETABLES, 



S. d. P. d. 



Artichokes doz. a Otob 



Asparagds ^lOt) 4 8 



French ') 



Beans, Kidney,... J sieve 3 



Broad bushel 4 



Beet, Ued doz 1 



BroccoU bundle 9 



Cabbage doz. 2 



Capsicums T* 100 



Carrots bunch 6 



Cauliflower doz. 3 



Celery bundle 1 6 



Coleworts, . doz. bunches 2 6 



Cucumbers eaoh 4 



pickling doz. U 



Endive, doz, 2 



Fennel bunch 3 



Garlic lb. 6 



Herbs bunch 8 



Horseradish bundle 3 



Leeks 3 





 4 



Lettuce.. doz. 



MasUrouma potiie 



Mustard^ Cress. .punnet 



Onions busbe] 



pickling quart 



Parsley per doz. bunches 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



New ^ lb. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsafy biindle 



Scorzonera bundle 



Sea-kale basket 



ShaUots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Turnips bunch 



VeKetablo Marrows ..doz. 



J. d. s. 



1 Uto2 



a s 



2 

 5 



