116 



JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



[ Angnst 10, 1871. 



that they may be in use in many breeding establishments ; but 

 for those who have not adopted them, and want to be snccessfal 

 Pigeon breeders, especially of Short-faces, we have only to say, 

 " Try them and you will not be disappointed in the result." — 



BlEMINGHAM COLUMBAKIAN SOCIETY. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Mrs. Clarke, of Monk's Wood Houae, Huntingdon, writes ns in refer- 

 ence to wliat appeared in " Our Letter Box " last week, that sh,e " could 

 not send Mr. Corbet a pair of White Ptarmigan and a pair of White 

 Friesland fowls, valued at quite £5, for ^2 the four birds." In that case 

 we think Mrs. Clarke ought to have returned the money. 



HAnrBTjEGHS AT Cbotdon Poi ltry Show.— " Mr. Reginald S. S. Wood- 

 gate wishes to state that in the Pencilled Hamburgh class at the Croydon 

 Show his birds were highly commended, while those of Mr. H. Pickles, 

 Jan., took first and second prizes." [Mr. Reginald S, S Woodgate ought 

 to have satisfied himself as to the facts before making so positive a 

 statement as that which induced us to alter what was correct to that 

 which was incorrect, but that he was honest in making that statement 

 we fully believe from his expressed regret and the whole tone of his 

 letter.— Eds.] 



Spanish Hen Sitting (Constant Reader).~We thank you much, and 

 hope many will follow your good example. 



Breeding Lemon Buff and Cinnamon Cochins for Exhibition 

 {A. J.).— It is exceedingly difficult to breed cocks and pullets fit for exhi- 

 bition from the same parents. There is not much difficulty about colour. 

 If the parents are correct in that particular, and are pure-bred, there is 

 little doubt of their producing perfect birds in that respect. To produce 

 the Lemon, the most beautiful of all colours, you have to watch the 

 parents narrowly. There is a tendency to a darker shade of hackle in 

 the hen, and to a white patch on the wing of the cock. Both these end 

 in Silver Cinnamons. The original Cinaamons are hardly to be found. 

 The hen had a very dark brown hackle, and a body very much the colour of 

 a dark Cochin egg. The cock was all over the colour of wetted cinna- 

 mon. As a rule, all fowls take more after the hen than the cock, and you 

 should mate accordingly. Scan the size of the fatnre cup bird closely, 

 and see in what he is deficient, remedy it in the hen you choose for his 

 mate. Do the same in breeding your pullets. Breed from none with 

 capital defects, they are sure to be hereditary. 



Eggs for Table (P. H. S).— You do not require to keep a cock, but if 

 you object to that course, borrow one once a-fortnight. You will do quite 

 as well without one. You may choose between Cochins, Brahmas, and 

 Creve-Coeurs. We think the second. 



Agate Coce and Kitt: B.e-n (An Exhilitov). — Your birds not matching 

 would, we fear, greatly diminish your chance of a prize. 



Pigeons Diseased (TV. T. S.).— Your birds have roup— cold is the 

 cause ; Pigeons will bear any amount of heat, but cold weather or cold 

 draughts injure them. Some strains of Pigeons are very much inclined 

 to roup, so it would seem to depend partly on bad constitution. Mix 

 hemp seed in the food. Roup is very hard to cure ; indeed, there is no 

 certain cure. " Some get rid of it," says " A Foreigner,*' " by a dose or two 

 of charcoal powder, some by a dose of carbonate of soda or a pinch of 

 alum, and some by a dose of flowers of sulphur. Some are recovered by 

 one remedy, some by another, and some never." We believe this to be 

 the truth. Warmth keeps the roup nway, and cold brings it on. Loss of 

 an eye is no absolute disqualificntiou for a bird. 



Keeping Rabbits not in Hutches (W. H. H".).— Rabbits may be kept 

 with success in so-called pits, or artificial warrens ; perhaps a circular 

 one looks the be?t. It may be of any diameter, from 8 to 12 feet, accord- 

 ing to the number of Rabbits intended to be kept, and about 4 feet deep, 

 in a sandy soil. One half the diameter should be left at about 2i feet 

 from the bottom of the pit for the Ribbits to burrow in and make their 

 nests. The bottom and sides of the pit should be boarded or protected 

 with wire netting to prevent the Rabbits burrowing outwards or down- 

 wards, and so escaping. The whole should be covered with a roof — it may 

 be of straw to give a rustic appearance — at 6 feet from the ground, to 

 admit air and prevent too much wet. Surround the open space with 

 wire netting to prevent the entrance of enemies. A door in the netting 

 and ladder will be requisite for feeding and capture. Rabbits may be 

 kept with success in " courts "walled round on the cold sides, and having 

 mounds of earth thrown up against the will to a height of 3 or 4 feet, 

 and 2 or 3 feet in thickness from the wall, all the rest being an open 

 apace, in which they can caper about in a half-wild state, and tlius 

 treated they will no doubt pay for the expense. We should suggest as 

 the best varieties to turn out, either in a pit or court, the Belgian Hare 

 Rabbit and Silver-Greyj or either of these or both mixed with a few 

 common Rabbits. The two varieties named are now introduced into 

 warrens, the Belgian for its size, as it weighs from 8 to 10 lbs., and the 

 Silver-Grey for its more valuable skin. 



Bullfinches Losing their Feathers (C. J. B.).— The looseness of 

 feather may possibly result from hunger and their exposure to cold, in- 

 ducing a general derangement of the system. The true moulting season 

 is now just at hand. Keep them warm, and encourage them to moult in 

 earnest, and most probably they wiU take care of their new clothes. The 

 diet is excellent.— W. A. Blakston. 



Canary not Singing {A Fancier).~Yon should have detailed your 

 Sorrows earlier in the season, as it is now too late to make up lost time. 

 A whole season's good conduct on the part of a Canary is no guarantee 

 for the future, any more than a protracted period of misconduct of the 

 most flagrant character should be accepted as evidence of worthlessness. 

 I could enumerate instances without number ia which apparently sterile 

 parents have developed into fruitful vines ; cruel, selfish, indifferent 

 mothers into most affectionate nurses ; and even cannibals into decent, 

 well-conducted members of society. And the converse is equally true. 

 It by no means follows because the vendor of your bird got three nests 

 from him last season that the same success must of necessity attend 

 him this year. Such a warranty— a mere dealer's puff, should not 

 have been given, nor should any credence have been accorded to such an 

 assertion. But beyond this (and it is just these little annoyances which 

 make purchasers look with suspicion on dealers), the fault rests entirely 

 with the bird. " He was a capital singer" — itsell an evidence of health, 

 but continued to sit panting on the perch, has never begun to sing, and 

 is now going to moult. It is only an everyday instance of the fact that 



Canaries are a precarious stock. Very little disarranges them. A sudden 

 change in the weather, a draught, a chill will prove the fallacy of count- 

 ing yuur chickens before they are hatched. Keep the bird warm and 

 away from draughts ; indulge him occasionally with a drop or two of 

 sherry in his water; be kind to him, because he claims the attention at 

 your hands, but when you have nursed him through the monlt my advice 

 is. Give him away. — W. A. Blakston, 



Uniting Expelled Bees (C, G.).— The time for taking up hives varies 

 according to the district, some, such as heath countries, being later than 

 others, but, on the average, the end of August is as good a time as any. 

 It is not necessary to capture the queen, but if you can do so without 

 much trouble all the better. 



Transferring Bees from Straw Hives to Woodbury Hives (G. F. 

 Tabram). —FroYided you transfer all the combs of the straw hives into the 

 frames, and give liberal feeding in addition, there is no reason why you 

 should not be able to effect the transfer at once ; but we should prefer 

 leaving it until April of next year, when the operation will be found 

 attended with much less difficulty. We have not been in the habit of 

 reducing the size of our hives by putting in diviiHng frames, but see no 

 objection to your doing so. We prefer having hives of different sizes, 

 and shifting according to the strength of the colonies. 



Drone Slaughter (0. A. J.).— Your bees slaughtering their drones 

 does not prove that the hives have or have not queens. It is usually 

 considered to be a sign that the best of the honey season is over, at 

 least for the time. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Cajuden Square, London. 



Lat. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0^ S' 0" W. ; Altitude 111 feet. 



Date. 



9 A.11I 







In the Day. 





1871. 

 A.ngust 



Barome- 

 ter' at 52» 

 and Sea 

 Level. 



Hygrome- 

 ter. 



Direc. 

 tion of 

 Wind. 



Temp, 

 of Soil 

 at 1 ft. 



^!^- ~^ 





Dry. 



Wet. 



Max. 



Mm. 



In 

 snn. 



On 



grass 





We. 2 

 Th. 8 

 Fri. 4, 

 Sat. 5 

 Sun. 6 

 Mo. 7 

 Ta. 8 



Inches. 

 23.981 

 29.760 

 29.720 

 80.109 

 80.289 

 80.210 

 30.128 



deg. 

 6G.6 

 63.5 

 61.5 

 68.2 

 68.8 

 66.4 

 70.0 



deg. 

 68.2 

 60.0 

 68 4 

 66.2 

 64.2 

 64.5 

 64.2 



S.E. 

 N.E. 

 N.W. 

 N.W. 



N. 



E. 

 N.E. 



deg. 

 61.0 

 61.2 

 62.0 

 60.8 

 61.9 

 63.0 

 63.8 



deg. 

 79.5 

 80.8 

 64.0 

 73.8 

 80.2 

 81.3 

 79.6 



deg. 

 47.2 

 49.3 

 66.2 

 46 2 

 59.5 

 64.2 

 65.0 



deg. 

 127.5 

 124.0 

 120.2 

 125.4 

 126.8 

 124.6 

 128 8 



deg. 

 47.0 

 49.1 

 65.0 

 47.0 

 56.4 

 52.2 

 54.2 



In. 



0.060 

 O.OIO 



Means 



80.021 



65.7 



60.8 





62.0 



77.0 



62.5 



124.5 



61.6 



0.070 



REMARKS. 

 2nd. — Beautiful day, rather too warm, there being no wind to temper the 



heat. Cloudy between 4 and 5 p.3i., but no rain. . 

 3rd. — Hazy in early morning, very fine after 11 a.m. ; fine sunset ; a little 



more wind in the evening, and consequently cooler. 

 4th. — Rain in the night and early morning, showers dm-ing the day, fine 



evening. 

 5th.— A lovely day throughout : sunshine, pleasant breeze, and no rain. 

 6th. — Rather cloudy in morning, but a lovely day ; hot, but a little wind. 

 7th.— Dull early, but a splendid summer day; breeze from north in the 



afternoon. 

 8th.— Hazy in early morning, sky nearly cloudless aU day, very little wind 



till evening. 

 The warmest week this summer, and yet not oppressive, there being a 

 nice air, especially in the evening.— G. J. Symons. 



COYENT GARDEN MARKET.— August 9. 

 The supply of soft fruit has much moderated this week, and Currants 

 and Gooseberries are nearly over. Good samples now command rather 

 high prices. Importations are very heavy, and comprise Peaches, Nec- 

 tarines, Green Gage and other Plums, Apricots, and Melons. Grapes and 

 Pines are quite sufficient for the trade. 



PKUIT, 



Apples ^ sieve 



Apricots doz. 



Ciierriea lb. 



Chestnuts bushel 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, Hothouse.... lb. 



Lemons ^100 



Melons ....each 



Artichokes doz. 



Aaparatras ^100 



Beans, Kidney .. i sieve 



Broad bushel 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoh bundle 



Bmssels Sprouts, .i sieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicuma ^100 



Carrots banch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Coleworts.. doz. bunches 

 Cucumbers each 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic.. lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish , , ,, bundle 



s. d. 



to2 6 





 

 



5 

 10 



6 



Mnlberriea lb. 



Nectarines doz. 4 



Oranges ^100 20 



Peaches doz. 6 



Pears, kitchen doz. 



dessert doz. 2 



Pme Apples lb. 3 



Plums i sieve S 



Quinc es doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnnta bushel 10 



ditto ^100 1 



d 



too 

 



12 

 



VEGETABLES. 



s. d. B. 

 4 Oto 6 

 





 3 

 2 

 2 

 

 

 1 

 

 

 3 



1 6 



2 

 6 

 



a 



8 



8 



8 



6 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce doz. 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress . . punnet 

 Onions per doz. bmiches 



pickling quart 



Parsley sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



d. B. 

 4 too 

 3 1 

 

 3 







Radishes .. doz. bunches 6 



4 











6 



3 4 



2 8 



^ 4 



Vegetable Marrows,. doz. 2 8 D 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys.. doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Tumipa bunch 



