April 23, 1874. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTIODLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



337 



having the young leaves made gi*ey from its ravages. Wc BhouliI oat the Ivy 

 in at onco with a pair ol shears, removing ami burning evoi7 loaf; alter 

 clearing iho wall of any leaves and rubluHh that may have accumulated, 

 syringe the wall with soapauds strained, omplnying a garden enu;ine, so as to 

 drive it with force against the Ivy or wall ; after a day syringe forcibly with 

 water, which, applied occasionally in dry weather during summer, will keep 

 this pest under. 



Stepuanotis in Consebtatoby (AlpJia).—Vn'leB3 your conservfttory has 

 the temperature of a stove the Stephanotis will not succeed, as it requires a 

 brisk moist heat. It would probably winter in a conservatory kept dry. We 

 have seen it. finely grown in a warm vinery which from February to September 

 had a temperature little below chat of the stove, and in winter it had no 

 more water than sufficient to keep the leaves fresh. Keep it in the stove. 



Greenhouse and Hotbouse Arrangements {J. S. S.). — The arrangements 

 of your houses as shown by the plan are the worst poRHible, as the greater 

 part of the area is taken up by paths. The house, we presume, is intended to 

 be a span. "We should have it a half-span, which would give you a greater 

 height at the back, or say 7 feet ; the front may be 5 feet high, 2 feet 6 inches 

 of brickwork, and the same of wood and glass. The back part of the roof may 

 be about 6 feet, with 18 inches of the upper part to open the entire length, 

 and also the whole of the front upri^jht part of the greenhouse, the top ven- 

 tilation being sufficient for the stove or hothouse. The front roof lights would 

 need to he about i) feet 6 inches long. We should have a front stage 3 feet 

 wide, with a border beneath of the same width, extending the entire length of 

 both houses. We should have the greenhouse border communicating with an 

 outside one by having the wall arched. In this structure we would have 

 Vines, planting them in the border inside the houge, and bringing the canes 

 through apertures cut in the shelves to the roof wires. Plant the end Vines 

 18 inches from the end, and the otliprs at nearly 3 feet G inches apart, which 

 will give you five Vines, which may bo three Black Hamburghs, one Fosttr's 

 White Seedling, and one Buckland Sweetwater. These would ripen in the 

 greenhouse with little artificial beat. Next the front border have the path 

 ti feet G inches wide, which will leave you 7 feet for back step staging. The 

 doors would have to correspond with the path, so that you will have but one 

 walk through the two houses. Over the path you could have a ehelf for bed- 

 ding plants. The boiler you show inside the house; there is no objection to 

 this if dust be kept down and smoke do not escape. If within the house have 

 it beneath the stage at one end of the stove, and the pipe flue from it along 

 the back of the stove and Erreenhouse ; exit where you show. The pipes we 

 should not have larger than 3-inch, and two rows all round the greenhouse 

 would not be too many in severe weather. They may be taken nearly on the 

 level, but with a sli^'ht rise so as to allow of the air rising to the highest 

 point, where there should be an air pipe, ani from thence back to the boiler 

 the pipe may be on the same level as the other, and just at the boiler drop 

 directly to the boiler return pipe. For the hothouse you will need four 3-inch 

 pipes along the front and two at the back in addition to the greenhouse pipes, 

 which will give heat in the hothouse when at work. The greenhouse, pipes 

 should he provided with valves on both the flow and return pipes, so as to 

 shut-off the heat when not required. You could an-ange for a propagating 

 bed in the stove where most convenient, for which two pipes covered with 

 9 inches of rubble would be sufficient for bottom heat. We should not have 

 Vines in the hothouse, but you might have Cucumbers or Jlelons. If you 

 have Vines you will noed an outside border, and the front sashes to take out 

 BO as to aUow of the Vines being introduced and removed from the house as 

 required. Muscat Hamburgh and ^Muscat of Alexandria, with Madresfield 

 Court would suit for the hothouse. The pipes in the ftove or hothouse ought 

 to have evaporation troughs. You might grow Peaches in the greenhouse for 

 a year or two, but after the Vines occupy the roof it will be too shaded. 



Supply of Vegetables — Labour Required (E. 7.).— To supply the 

 number of persons you name with vegetables you would need two acres of 

 kitchen garden, presuming servants are included. To keep the gardens and 

 ground in order you will require three labourers, two under gardeners, and a 

 head working gardener, along with a boy or garden woman. 



Weed Amongst (trass (WeUjij). — The weed being of a fast creeping 

 character will be difficult to get rid of. We know of nothing better than em- 

 ploying women or boys with knives to cut-up the weed by the roots, taking 

 away the creeping parts with the hand. A good top-dressing of rich compost 

 or well-rotted manure may be given ; this, by encouraging the growth of the 

 grass, would enable it overpower the weeds. 



Daphne indica rpbra Bare of Shoots (H. T.).— Out it down after 

 flowering, each shoot to within four or sis eyes of their origin from the main 

 stem ; but you may need to cut some shorter and leave others longer, so as to 

 produce a compact plant. Keep it rather dry at the root, but sprinkled over- 

 head twice daily with water, and when the young shoots are an inch or two 

 long repot, loosening the sides of the ball and removing any loose soil. Pot 

 in the same size of pot, or one that will allow of a little fresh soil all round 

 the ball. The plant should be shaded from bright sun, and kept moist until 

 it is again established, and it should be carefully watered, keeping it no more 

 than moist until the roots are working freely in the fresh soil, as may be 

 known by the growth of the plant ; then water more copiously. 



Geranium Leaves Spotted— Syringing (T. J. TT.).— The Geranium 

 leaves have the appearance of being infested with thrips, for which fill the 

 house with tobacco smr.be, shutting-up closely on a calm evening, and having 

 the foliage of the plants dry but the floor wet. Water only at the root when 

 required, watering overhead in the evening, and admitting air early in the day 

 so as to have the leaves dry before the sun acts powerfully upon them. We 

 approve of syringing stove and greenhouse plants in f,'rowth, with Ferns, 

 mornin£j and eveiiing. but some plants are injured, therefore judgment must 

 be exercised. The Gold and Silver Feras, Cheilanthes, Nothochkrnas, and 

 most kinds with hairy leaves, though requiring great moisture, arc positively 

 injured by syringing, also some kinds of fiue-foliaged plants. WTien in 

 flower and at rest plants ought not to be syringed. 



Gas Heating (J. Mackenzie). — Write to Mr. Shrewsbury, ironmonger 

 Lower Norwood, and state size, &c., of your plant house. 



Fungi in Cucumber Frame (J. if.).— The five specimens sent are all 

 common Mushrooms. 



Maggots on Pear Trees (WhifJey Hill). — They are the larvir, probably, 

 of a small moth, Pedisca angustiorana. Dust the leaves and blossoms 

 thoroughly with fresh white hellebore powder, and repeat it if necessary. 



Grubs about Strawberries {S. Turner). — The grey grubs which eat 

 through the stems of your Strawberries are the larvse of the crane-fly or 

 daddy-longlegs, Tipula oleracea. The grabs are called by gardeners 

 " Leaf her- jackets," on account of the toughness of their skins. We believe 

 that the best course to pursue is to have the earth stirred with a knife round 

 each plant, and the grubs are readily exposed. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON OHKONIOLE. 



IMPROVING FARM POULTRY. 

 I AM glad to Bee that someone has taken an interest in our 

 eflorts to induce farmers and cottagers to improve their breed o{ 

 poultry, and it is by making a beginning that improvements are 

 likely to be effected. From my own experience farmers (I do 

 not speak without exception) -will not breed Brahmas, the eggs 

 being too small and insufficient in numbers, and the birds when 

 dead do not show that beautiful whiteness so characteristic of 

 the Dorking, and which is so pleasant to the eye of mater- 

 familias when going to market — of course, I refer to the manner 

 in which fowls are dressed in Yarmouth market, not the breast, 

 &c., just stripped, but beautifully dressed and ready for the 

 spit. French will not suit them, being, as they say, too ugly, 

 and there is no doubt it is a difficult question to know what to 

 provide. I do not think you could induce them to purchase 

 cross-bred fowls. Dorkings, as a rule, are the favourites, and I 

 know a farmer who some years ago had a fine lot of DorkiugB 

 in his farmyard ; Dorkings he has still, and I have no doubt 

 they are the same stock (I cannot speak positively on this point), 

 judging from appearances, the cockerels being no bigger than 

 Hamburghs, still they go to market a good colour. I tried hard to 

 induce another farmer to purchase Dorking pullets and a Brahma 

 cockerel. The Dorkings suited, but the yellow-legged cock 

 would not, although I assured him that the progeny would make 

 as good birds for table as the pure Dorking, having had them 

 myself; and from about the 1st of October till the end of the 

 following August I had 2(503 eggs from sixteen pullets, which 

 also included a few of them hatching and rearing chickens. I 

 also had great difficulty in disposing of twenty Brahma-Dorking 

 cockerels to a dealer who did not like the yeUow tinge the 

 birds possessed when alive ; therefore I quite agree with Mr. 

 Goodenough, that it would be better for farmers themselves to 

 cross them, but I do not think to make a class for Brahma- 

 Dorkings. I am sure any committee (I speak as one of our own) 

 are only too glad if any gentleman would throw out hints for 

 their own and others' benefits. I beg to inform Mr. Goodenough 

 that the class will be open to the kingdom, and he will find in 

 No. 680 (advertisement) that the birds shown are to be hatched 

 in 1874, which will thus secure young birds. — W. J. NnTMAN,. 

 Great Yarmouth, 



REARING CHICKENS ARTIFICIALLY. 



I BEAD in The JonENAL of Hobticultube of April 9th a reply 

 to a querist respecting three chickens with leg-weakness, and 

 which had been broughtup with others under an artificial mother, 

 some remarks so condemnatory of the artificial system of rear- 

 ing, that I venture to ask you in justice to insert the follow- 

 ing, since not only has our name been largely associated with 

 this matter, but the mother used by your querist is one made 

 under our own direction. The statement runs thus: — "Arti- 

 ficial mothers for chickens are like baby-farming for children 

 — mere apologies for the real thing. We wonder more are 

 not similarly affected. We have seen thousands of chickens 

 reared in this way years ago, and it was painfully evident with 

 them all that something had gone wrong with them. Some 

 carried their heads on one side, some were double-jointed, many 

 were hump-backed, and the successful were small and attenuated 

 though old." This is a terrible indictment; but alittle attention 

 will show that these strictures are wide of the point. The 

 writer truly may be acquainted with no artificial mother capable 

 of producing good results, but in this lies no argument for or 

 against one of which he knows nothing. 



We can, however, in complete refutation of the first statements 

 made, point either to the opinions of many fanciers who have, 

 without exception, pronounced our chicks to be at least equal in 

 brightness, cleanness, and health to any which they have ever 

 seen, or to the experience of those who have accepted our 

 assistance, and whose chicks this season are being brought up 

 upon our plan, or to our own experience. With chicks under 

 hens we had fair success, but many deaths occurred each season, 

 our fate being in this just similar to that universally experienced 

 under the natural system. Feeling dissatisfaction, and thinking 

 that some advantage would be gained could steady heat be sup- 

 pUed to the chicks, we gradually reached our present method. 

 During 1872 we had one death ; 1873, none ; 1874, to the present 

 time one. We ask whether any fancier existing can, with the 

 usual method, show such a clean bill of health ? And since 

 death in a young subject is but the culmination of disease, we 

 may suppose our chicks to rank high in condition as well as 

 health. Does not our success ia showing prove this ? For ex- 

 ample, did any of those birds, of which twenty-one came into 

 the prize list during the last two shows at the Crystal Palace, 

 and not one of which had the care of a hen for an hour, rejoice 

 in " double joints " or " hump-backs ?" Again, it is universaDy 



