178 



JOURNAL OK HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ Februarj ID, 1374, 



method ia to throw down a baiTOwful of bricklayers' rnbbish near to their j 

 house. Throw it in a heap, it affords them amusement to get what they 

 want. If your fowle have tliis, and aro still in the habit of laying soft eggs, 

 there is something wroni:,' in their secretions. They ai-o cut of health. 

 Either their food is at fault, or they lack eomething ueceseary for them. 

 Tour meagre information will not allow us to guess the cause. Soft food is 

 the beat for sittkig hens, Creoles are not a distinct breed. Creels are much 

 esteemed in some districts. 



Cochins and Brahjias (H. Cojb), — Glad to hear of some of our old birds- 

 There are none such now. Wo never ai)prove of crosses between sitters and non- 

 sitters. We are not very friendly to any crosses, and believe that any reason- 

 able expectationB in the way of poultry may be realised With pure birds. We 

 cannot say what the effect of a mixture of Dorking, Houdan, and Brahma 

 ■would be, nor do we think you would from a sight of the birds. If you mean 

 to cross, confine yourself to Dorking and lirahma. That will give you a good 

 table fowl. We have no doubt you can get the Brahma pullets you requii-e at 

 25«. each, but we have left Winchester and aro now Londoners. If you run 

 Light and Dark Bralima3 together they will do to eat or to make broth, but 

 they will be neeless as stock fowln. Judging from your letter we suppose you 

 have two runs. Allot one to your pure Dark Brahmas for one reliable and 

 saleable breed. In the other keep what you like. You must not mix Light 

 Brahraas with White Cochins. You will lose comb, markings, and all that 

 constitute a Light Brahma, while yon will get a comb and black feathers in 

 the Cochins that will make them valueless. 



Cockerel's Foot Crushed [Dover). — We should fear the bone is crushed 

 or very seriously damaged. We shduld poultice while there was the discharge 

 you mention, but as soon as that lessened we should keep the foot bandaged 

 in its proper shape, and dreased with citron ointment. The ball of the foot 

 may be injured by the fowl walking on it. In that case bind three or four 

 splints round the leg, and let them reach hall an inch below the foot. The 

 bu-d will nmke a bad walk for a time, but if the foot gets well he will soon 

 walk straight. 



Brahma Pullets not Laying (Brahma).— We expect yon will have egga 

 before you read our answer. For winter layers, pullets should be hatched in 

 May. There is gi-eat difference in three months' growth, or in three months' 

 approach to matmity. After June the days shorten, and the sun loses power, 

 People wUl smile at this, but we will ho judged by those who breed for a 

 livelihood all the year round, and will ask them the difference in rearing April 

 or June chickens. We see no fault in your feeding except the buckwheat. 

 That ia too fattening. Pullets naturally put on flesh and fat before they 

 begin to lay. When over-fat they cannot lay. Anything that tends to make 

 fat should be avoided. 



Hen Dying Suddenly (G. H. L.). — There is nothing in your description 

 of the dead hen that is inconsistent with " natural death." Such is not un- 

 common both in cocks and hens at this time of year. Did yon find the egg- 

 orgaus quite healthy ? Death is often caused hy straining to lay an ^gg that 

 is impeded by fat. 



Fence poit Poultrt-vard (J. H, T.). — A 3-feefc fence is insufficient to 

 confine a Dorking cock at any time. You may render the exploit much more 

 difficult by cutting all his flight feathers down almost to the quill on one 

 wing. Cut them as low as you can without causing bleeding, and cut off ten 

 feathers. Constancy is not a gallinaceous virtue. 



Laying Obstrtjcted {F. T. L. T.). — It is always a difficulty for a pallet to 

 lay herflrst egg, and Nature-seems to have provided it shall always be a very 

 small one, probably the smallest she will ever lay. It is nevertheless voided 

 with difficulty, and is always mora or less streaked with blood. The treat- 

 ment is to lubricate the vent with oil, and to continue till there ia a plain 

 action of opening and shutting. When this is seen the feather should be 

 introduced still farther, and this should be repeated till the egg is laid. We 

 never venture on an incision ; we consider the ovary the most delicate part of 

 a pullet's body. We see nothing to hinder the bird from laying her eggs and 

 performing all the functions a good hen should do. Hens sometimes suffer in 

 the same way, but that is generally caused by internal fever. The treatment 

 is the same — a wing or tail feather saturated with oil, and introduced till it 

 reaches the egg. No violence must be used, as a broken egg in the egg- 

 passage is a fatal accident. Where the oil is freely used nature will do the 

 rest. 



Breeding Age (.7. P.). — Much depends on the time of year at which the 

 bird is hatched. A bird hatched in March, although only seven months old 

 in October, is a stouter and more serviceable bird than one hatched in June 

 ■will be in the following March. No cock should run with hens till be is sis, 

 or, better, seven months old, even if brought into the world under most 

 favourable circumstances. You may safely set the eggs after he .has been 

 mnning four days or a week ; the fii'st is long enough if there is harry.' -,You 

 may keep twenty-five or thirty fowls. 



Uniting Swaum and Oast [A Young Apiarian).~Yo\i will certainly suc- 

 ceed in transferring all the bees from your straw to bar-frame hives by driving 

 Eill out of the former on the same day as the first swarms leave them, and 

 casting them together in any way you like. Better do it on the day of swai-m- 

 ing than leave it for a day. or two later, for there is a peculiarity of smell in 

 every colony of bees different from all otihers; and as bees know each other 

 and strangers by smell, the swarms should be united before they become, as 

 it werOf separate families. The day. after swanniug may answer for the 

 unions to take place, but the sooner it is done the better. There are so many 

 ways of uniting sworma, that we hardly knowwhich to suggest in your case. 

 If you raise the bar-frame hivos off their boards by wedges, and throw the 

 bees from the old hives on the flight boards, or put the driven bees down so 

 that they can pass out of the one hive int* the other, they will speedily run 

 into the bar-framed hives, and be received by their old comrades. There will 

 be no queens amongst, the second lota of .bees taken so soon after the first 

 swarms. 



A Large Super on Two Htves (Tdem). — Two swarms will -not work 

 amicably in separate hives in filling a large super. Better have a super on 

 each hive. 



HrvES (A.). — The hives used by* Mr. Pettigrew are made of straw, and aro 

 large, and neatly sewn. He uses three sizes — viz., IG, 18, and 20 inches wide 

 inside, all 13 inches deep. He considers them incomparably better for bees 

 than wooden hives, and better as storehouses for honey than straw hives 

 with bar frames, but they are without windows. They ore also very much 

 cheaper than any other hive worth using in this country. No better bar- 

 frame hive than Woodbury's can he obtained, for it is made of straw. We 

 do not recDmraond makers of and dealers in hives. If you wish your supers 

 filled with comb for home use, wo would advise you to use those made of 

 straw or wood without bar frames ia them. They are not only cheaper with- 



out frames, but very much better. Where honey is the object sought, com- 

 plications in hives and supers should be avoided. 



Cleaning Hive's Floor-board (W. E. 31. ).— The best time of day for 

 cleaning the Uoor-boards of your hives is early in the afternoon on a still and 

 warm day. We should first of all break the hives fiom the boards (in bee 

 dress and gloves) with a screwdriver or strong knife; then blow a little 

 smoke (tobacco or brown paper) into the hive to quiet the bees. Then, 

 having ready a new board, gently lift up the hive and place it on the board, 

 which can be put exactly where the hive stood before. The old board con 

 then be scraped and washed with hot water, and given to another hive, and so 

 on through the apiary. The operation need not take more than two or threa 

 minutes in the hands of a skilful workman. If done carefully no serious dis- 

 turbance of the bees can occur. 



Roasted Birds for Bf.f.s (.-f. P.). — You ask for our " readers' opinion as to 

 giving sparrows and blackbuds (roasted) to bees for food," and say that "it is a 

 common practice here in Ireland." You moreover state that "healthy hives 

 with plenty of honey in them relish such food." Your statements are certainly 

 novel to us. We never heard of bees taking to food of this kind; but there is 

 no denying what you say, that, if these are facts, " however ridiculous it may 

 appear, it cannot be nonsense." Still we demur to the "facts." Have you, 

 seen the banquet with yonr own eyes ? and can you tell whether the bees de- 

 voured bones and all ? It may turn out that they merely licked the salt of tho 

 butter in wliich the spaiTows were roasted. 



Suitable Hive {A. D.).— As you cannot devote mnch time to your bees, 

 and therefore require a simple form of hive, we think you cannot do better 

 than adopt an improved cottage hive. As the sight of such hives is better 

 than mere description, we will refer you to our " Bee-keeping for the Many," 

 which can be had from our office by payment of five stamps. Any hive- 

 maker in your neighbourhood would construct your hives, if of straw, at a 

 much cheaper rate than you could buy them by advertisement. 'What you 

 seem to require is a plain flat-topped straw hive, with a hole in its crown and 

 a cap or smaller hive at top. All this can be covered in the usual way with 

 a straw covering, or " hackle," as it is called. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 51** 32^ 40'^ N. ; Long. 0^ 8' 0" W. ; Altitade 111 feefc. 



EEMAHK3. 

 11th.— Very cold, But fair; a fine winter day. 

 12tli. — Rather tliick in the morning, more so at no6a, and continuing all ijay ; 



very mnch warmer in the evening. 

 13th.— Rain for a short time ; dull all day, and rain again at night. 

 14th. — Windy and boisterous in the fore part of the day and at night, bat 



more calm in the middle of the day. 

 15th.^Showei7 morning ; fine afternoon. 

 16th. — Rainy morning, and more or less so all day. 



17th.— Wet uncomfortable morning, clearing off soon alter noon; very 

 pleasant in the latter part of the day. 

 The temperature in all cases except underground and in sun nearly identi- 

 cal with the week before last, and about 10= above that of last week.— G. J. 

 Si'aioss. ^ _^_^__ 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Febeoart 18. 



■There is no improvement to notice, the supplies being ample arid tho 



general trado very quiet ; indeed, the higher class of business which nBUftlly 



prasailB in London at this season, is nowhere to ba heard of. 



PRniT. 



B. d. B. d. 



B. d. 8. d. 



Apples i sieve 1 otol 6 



Cbestnula bushel 10 20 



Filberts lb. 1 16 



Cobs lb. 1 16 



Grapes, hothouse lb. 2 7 



Lemons 1*100 4 12 



Melons «aoh 10 3 



Oranges -^100 4 0tol2 



Pears, kitchen doz. 10 2 



dessert doz. S 10 



PineApples lb. 8 6 



Quinces doz. 



Walnuts bushel 10 18 



ditto *>100 a 2 G 



VXOETABLES. 



Artichokes doz. 8 



Asparagus VIOO 4 



French 13 



Beans. Kidney.... *• 100 2 



Beet, Bed doz 1 



Broccoli bundle 



Cabbage doz. 1 



Oapsicuma V 100 1 



Carrots bunch 



CanliSower doz. 8 



Celery bundle 1 



Coleworts. . doz. buuchea 3 



Cucumbers each 1 



pickling doz. 



Entiivo doz. 2 



Fennel bunch 



Garlio lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish bundle 3 



I.eeks buncb 



I Lettuce doz. 1 



0to6 

 





 



25 



" 







1 



1 8 











6 











6 



































MuBhrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress. .punnet 

 Unions bushel 



pioklinij quart 



Parsley per doz. bunches 



Parsuips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kitlney do. 



Round do. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Salsafy bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Scorzitnera bundle 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows 



a. d. 8. d: 

 1 otoa 

 " 







i 







3 



4 

 4 

 



