May 18, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OP HOETICULTDRE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



399 



BTicoessful keepor of poultry would ont open the gizzard of one 

 of his fowls after killing he would find it filled with matlod 

 hnaks and the hard fibres of roots and grass, but no grit. Per- 

 haps a few buttons, bits of bono or coal, that the hen may have 

 picked up for want of something better to assist her digestion 

 may be met with; but he should find the gizzard about one- 

 third full of small stones. If he does not, then his fowls need 

 grit. It is just as necessary to them as teeth to himself. 



The best grain to feed with is Indian corn or maize. One 

 bushel will feed any of onr smaller breeds for a year without 

 adding any other food than the fowl can pick up on a good grass 

 run. Shorts are first-class food in summer, mixed stiff with 

 cnrdled milk or water. Always give your fowls as much grain 

 as they can eat before they go to roost. If you find them moped, 

 stopping on the roost in the daytime and not generally inclined 

 to move about, give them a few peas — say one feed instead of 

 corn — give peas alone unmixed with anything else. If they 

 cannot get saflicient insect food give lean raw meat. Liver or 

 pluck cut up into small pieces will pay at any time by adding 

 to the number of eggs. Ton should also change the food occa- 

 Bionally. Wheat makes a good change, barley also is very good ; 

 but for regular feeding none of them is equal to Indian corn. 

 Always mix some of this latter with the other grains when in- 

 troducing changes. Give plenty of good clear drinking water 

 in shallow pans, so that the chicks cannot get drowned. 



In makin? nests put in first a shovelful of ashes or dry sand 

 mixed with one handful of powdered sulphur. Then make the 

 nest with straw and put in a dummy. Every time a hen sits 

 remove the straw and put in fresh. 



The best food for your Ducks and chickens when hatched is 

 hard-boiled eggs chopped fine and moistened for the Ducks. 

 After the first day add a few crumbs of bread to the egg. You 

 can then, as soon as they will eat it, feed your chickens with 

 wheat and your Ducks with shorts mixed with water or curdled 

 milk. When yonr Ducks are seven weeks old mix with their 

 shorts grease or chandlers' waste (the refuse of rendered lard), 

 and you will find your Ducks fat at ten weeks old. Pen them 

 for the last three weeks, and give water only when you feed. 



Twelve Ducks will eat in ten weeks ten eggs, 3 lbs. of wheat, 

 100 lbs. of fine shorts, and 1.5 lbs. of lard waste. The best time 

 to hatch chickens is April if you intend keeping for two years, 

 and June if only for one year. Generally speaking, it is best 

 not to keep them over two years laying. — W. W. H. — [Canada 

 Farmer.) 



THE LANGUAGE OP FOWLS. 



Is there anyone who keeps fowls who has not noticed the great 

 variety of sounds they make expressive of their feelings ? It 

 amounts almost if not quite to a language, probably more so 

 than any other creature except man. 



Even the modulation of noises made is very significant of 

 meaning. First there is the piping of the little chick, calling 

 for the care of its stately mother, who continually keeps answer- 

 ing with the assuring " Cluck, cluck I" As the chick grows a 

 little older the piping is succeeded by a chirrup ; then there is 

 the trilling song of pleasure they make under their mother's 

 wings when sitting down to rest; but just put your hand under 

 the mother and pull out one of the little chicks, and hear its 

 sharp cry of terror mingled with the defiance, and abuse of its 

 parent. 



Throw a large beetle into their coop, and hear the conster- 

 nation uttered by all the little family mingled with the warning 

 voice of their matron. Now throw some dainty bit, and hear 

 how soon her voice changes ; her children understand there is 

 something extra nice for them by her peculiar declamation, 

 which brings in all stragglers in a great hurry. How well the 

 little things comprehend the peculiar cry of their mother in 

 case of danger, such as the approach of cats or hawks; or let a 

 little straggling waif peep into the coop, and hear her timely 

 warning to keep out. 



In the course of time the mother tires of her charge and gives 

 her children the slip, who express their forlorn feelings by a 

 whining cry while hunting around for her. 



In due time the young gentleman chick tries his voice at a 

 crow. Could anyone ever believe that such stammering, such 

 straining and croaking, would ever reach that clear rich song 

 that has been celebrated in the history and poetry of all the 

 great nations of the earth, and caused bo many great "awaken- 

 ings " in all classes of society ? 



Soon he begins to feel gallant, and if by chauce he finds some 

 rare bit he calls some of his nearest belles to partake of it, but 

 they frequently arrive just in time to see him bolt it himself. 



One of the next musical strains is the prating of pullets when 

 they feel happy and well ; then there is the alarm when startled 

 by anythii'g strange, also the shrill cry raised by all should a 

 hawk appear. Another peculiar noise is made when you approach 

 their roosts at night, uttered and answered all round — a slight 

 trilling noise, as much as to say, " Hark ! What's that strange 

 noise ?" which is deepened into a sharp " Tut tut " if danger is 

 suspected, and into a shrill piercing cry if taken from their 



perches, evidently suspecting that you may be thinking of 

 chicken pot-pie. 



I think there is no domestic animal that has a less offensive 

 voice than the domestic fowl. It will compare favourably with 

 the voice of the Dock, Turkey, Guinea Fowl, Goose, or Pea 

 Fowl. Their loudest noise has a charm for many a fancier wliea 

 they set up the cry, " Come I Come ! Come ! iTake the egg." — 

 H. Hales. — [The America?), Pet-Stock Sulleiin.) 



UTILISING QUEEN CELLS. 



" Bees swarming I " is a cry we may fairly expect soon to hear, 

 in spite of tho bitterly cold easterly wind now blowing, and in 

 anticipation of that happy time arriving I should like to say a 

 few words on the utilisation of queen cells. 



On the issue of a swarm, whether natural or artificial, the 

 parent stock is of course left queenless; in the former case 

 it remains so generally about a week, and when the swarm is a 

 forced one ten to sixteen days. The young queen when hatched 

 seldom becomes fertilised under eight days, then one or two 

 more days elapse before eggs are deposited, and another twenty- 

 one days before young bees emerge from their cell-cradles. 



During the first three weeks young bees are hatching in full 

 numbers from the eggs of the old queen, and then we have from 

 seventeen to twenty-six days, when the bees die fast from hard 

 work, and none hatch to replace them, and in cases where second 

 swarms issue this evil is aggravated by the number of days that 

 elapse between the birth oif the first and second queens. A little 

 consideration will at once convince anyone that to abridge this 

 lost time will be a gain of many thousand workers to carry on 

 the business of the stock. The skilful apiarian has long ago 

 realised this, and practised several methods to economise time, 

 some of which I will now explain. 



We will first consider what happens consequent on a natural 

 swarm. The life of the colony depends on the raising of a queen 

 and her becoming fertile ; the bees, instructed by Providence, 

 foresee this, and generally have queen cells seven or eight days 

 advanced to maturity ; the number of these vary from one only 

 to twelve or even twenty. The firstborn queen will, guided by 

 instinct, destroy her unborn sisters unless prevented. When 

 the swarm has been forced by driving or other means the bees 

 have of course not foreseen their losa, and have to build queen 

 cells from the foundation, so that it will be a few more days than 

 in the case of the natural swarm before their young queen can 

 gladden the hearts of her faithful subjects. When the bees are 

 in straw skeps manipulating with queen cells is awkward work, 

 and the inexperienced hand will most probably fail, but with 

 frame hives the case becomes much easier. Probably the best 

 method to pursue where a man is the owner of a plurality of 

 hives is to artificially swarm one eight or ten days in advance of 

 the others ; the fiist will start queen cells, and, their number 

 being noted, all but one may be cut ont and grafted, one in each 

 of the later-swarmed hives. Great care must be taken not to 

 bruise the queen cells or get them chilled, or their inmates will 

 die. They should be cut out with a triangular piece of comb 

 attached and inserted in an aperture of like shape in the comb of 

 the foster stock, of course after the swarm has left it. 



A much preferable and more scientific manner of proceeding 

 is by means of what is termed nucleus queen-raising. To fully 

 describe this would occupy more space than can he spared here. 

 As there are several methods, each having their advantages, so 

 I will be content to describe one. The desideratum is to have 

 always on hand a fertilised queen ready to occupy any vacant 

 throne at any moment. The nucleus hive is made of wood 

 measuring inside 3| inches wide, 9 inches deep, and 74 inches 

 from front to rear — just sufiicient capacity to hold two small 

 frames, one of which must have fitted in it comb containing 

 honey, and the other comb containing brood and eggs, to which 

 must be added enough bees to well cover at least one comb. It 

 is advisable to confine the bees for a day or two within the 

 nucleus hive, when they will form queen cells, which having 

 been allowed to mature, as many more nuclei should be formed, 

 and a queen ceil be grafted into each. The bees will take care of 

 them, and when the young queens hatch they may be left in the 

 nucleus hives to get fertilised, which having happened they are 

 ready to supply any swarmed hive requiring them, the usual 

 precautions being taken to prevent murder. 



Queen-raising I think is one of the most interesting operations 

 of scientific bee-keeping. I enjoy it immensely, and hope to 

 raise many during the next few weeks. The cold up to this time 

 has kept my nucleus hives almost idle. The last week in April 

 I had three in work — but alas ! after a bitter cold night I found 

 the bees of two frozen stiff, and of course the royal pupa; dead; 

 the third, however, hatched its queen on the first day of May, 

 and is ready for any vacant throne. 



I may here say that several readers of the Journal of Horti' 

 culture have during the last six or eight months written to me 

 desiring permission to see my apiary ; reluctantly I was com- 

 pelled to refuse, as business detained me from home during the 

 short daytime. Longer and warmer evenings have now arrived. 



