232 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 21, 1871. 



queen will often continue laying as if nothing had oeourred. — 

 J. H. Thomas. — [Canada Times ) 



[We have had considerable experience with Lignrian bees, 

 and have hived many awarma of them, but we have never found 

 any greater difficulty in inducing theae bees to " settle," than 

 with swarms composed entirely of the ordinary variety. Mr. 

 Tiiomas ia quite correct in h s ideas regarding their more easy 

 management where artificial swarming is practised. — Eds.] 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



A Prize DoRKiNa Cock {An Old Subscriber). — The cock has done well- 

 Snccesa ia unmi stateable evidence, and in your place we should per- 

 petuate the strain. You must be the judge of appearances. If he seem 

 in vigorous health we should put him, not to hens, but to strong forward 

 pullets, not more than two or three. It will probably be his last season. 



HouDAN Cockerel Hoarse {E. W.). — Camphor given in pills two at a 

 time, the size of a garden pea, will probably restore the crowing capa- 

 bilities of the Houdan cock, but as you say he is in perfect health we 

 advise you to let well alone. At the same time watch him ; if, as we 

 think lltely, the dumbness is the result of cold, it may get worse, and 

 that is not desirable at this time of year. Bread and a!e are very good 

 things for a cold. While on the subject of crowing we can answer 

 another question from " Gallus" who says his cocks crow day and night, 

 and wishes to know if a narrow strap round the throat will prevent it. 

 If buckled very tight it will prevent it, but it is injurious to the bird. 



Sending Fowls et Kailway {Ducklings). — Get a round basket high 

 enough for the cock to stand upright in, and roomy enough for the three 

 birds to squat in. Cover it with coarse canvas, put some oat straw at 

 bottom, and despatch your birds. Send them off by a night train, and 

 they will want no food nor attention. There is no physic for Ducks, and 

 therefore when anything ia amiss we always try change of food. Dis- 

 continue the potatoes and Indian corn. Give the ducklings some gravel 

 mixed up with their food. If they are in confinement give them in the 

 vessel with their meal a sod of growing grass with plenty of mould. 

 These are very conducive to digestion. 



Consequences of NoN-PREPAraiENT. — "A man, signing himself * R.H. 

 Ellison,' wrote to me a fortnight ago from Roby, near Liverpool, asking 

 me to send him some Partridge Cochins which I had advertised for sale. 

 I am sorry to say I complied with his request. The letter appeared to be 

 genuine, and was written on deep black-edged paper. I have not heard 

 from the man since, though I have written to him for the money, and all 

 I can find out is that he sends for his letters to the Roby post office, and 

 has had many lately. — Fred. Temple Hilltakd, Souiftam, WaTwickshire." 

 [Inform the "Liverpool police.— Eds.] 



CoTTiNGHAM SHow.-Mr. R. P. Moon, of Driffield, informs ns that he 

 won the first prize for Trumpeter Pigeons. 



Our Pigeon Portraits (A. C. fi.)-— Since the Fantail in No. 512, the 

 following portraits have been published by us : — The Turbit, No. 523 ; the 

 Jacobin, No. 526; the Owl, No. 533; and the Beard and Baldhead in 

 No. 541. 



Pigeon Book {W. H., Leeds). — It will be the same as the last edition, 

 and will be ready in a week. 



Skins of Himalayan Rabbits (J. D. C). — The skins of the Himalayan 

 Eabbit are not so valuable as those of the Silver-Grey, yet both are of 

 use to the furrier, who will generally purchase them if in the season. If 

 they are not purchasers themselves, they will furnish you with the ad- 

 dress of dealers who will, and at more than the price you name per skin. 



TORKING-OUT Belgian Hare-Rabbits (Idem).— They and Silver-Greys 

 also are profitable for turning down; the former to increase the size of 

 the common Rabbit, and the latter to increase the value of the far. Both 

 are sought after for the purpose just now, yet they should be five or sis 

 months old to insure their doing well, and should have some protection 

 from the cold. We would advise the spring, or even now if four months 

 old, to be fully grown by the breeding season. We recommend the intro- 

 duction of the largest specimens obtainable, eapecially of the Belgians. 



Uniting Bees (R. F.). — If you can shift your two hives, a foot at a time, 

 rather nearer to each other, it would be as well to do so ; but if not able to 

 do so, perhaps you could manage to drive the bees of both stocks into the 

 same empty hive, and then shake them into the one they are intended to 

 occupy. There would be little risk of fighting, or of many bees being 

 lost by returning to their former stand. We should not recommend your 

 putting the expelled bees into an empty side box. We have known bees 

 refuse to unite under such circumstances, and to be individually killed 

 as they attempted to leave the hive for forage or exercise, to say nothing 

 of a general slaughter. 



What is Foul Brood? (Idem).— The disease called "fonl brood" con- 

 sists in the death and decomposition of the brood. The cells so affected 

 have usually little perforations in their centre, and on the sealing being 

 removed there will usually be found the remains of the tenants in a more 

 or less advanced stage of corruption. Some healthy larvaa may be brought 

 to maturity in the vicinity of, or surrounded by cells so affected. Eventu- 

 ally, however, the entire breeding space becomes so clogged-up with the 

 remains of the victims of the disease, that the queen cannot find room 

 for her eggs, the bees gradually dwindle away, the hive perishes altogether 

 and is visited and robbed by the bees of other stocks, who convey the 

 contagion into their own habitations. Even the honey the diseased stock 

 may contain is contaminated, and will be the vehicle by which the malady 

 ■will be conveyed from one colony to another. When its existence is dia- 

 oovered in any hive, burn the combs and bees; if the hive is not very 

 valuable burn that also ; if otherwise, thoroughly cleanse it by scraping 

 and boiiing water, and wash it out with a super-saturated solution of 

 chloride of lime. If you can refrain from nsing the hive for a couple of 

 seasons, so much the better. 



Foul Brood (D. N. Caniab). — Although the piece of brood comb sent 

 seems to possess some of the symptoms which indicate the presence of 

 the disease, yet we are not quite satisfied on the point, and hesitate to 

 pronounce a decided verdict. We nhould recommend the combs to be 

 examined in three or four weeks' time, and if, in addition to the present 



symptoms, some of the cells have perforations in their covers, with a 

 dark viscous fluid within, and the hive's interior gives forth a nauseous 

 smell, your friend may at once condemn the combs, frames, and bees to 

 the fire, treating the hive as advised to another corresjwndent. We 

 believe that there are two kinds of the disease called fool brood, one 

 malignant and incurable, the other not malignant, and not only curable 

 by treatment, but such as may die out of itself. The latter may, and 

 often does, pass into the former. 



Feeding Bees (R. W.\. — You had better remove the super entirely, 

 passing the string through as you did before. You will probably find 

 less honey in the comb than when you previously examined it. Having 

 removed the super, you will be able to ascertain, by lifting the stock, 

 whether it requires feeding, and if so, you will have no difficulty in using 

 the bottle-feeder. If your hive is made of straw, you may put down the 

 weight of hive, combs, and board, at about 10 lbs. or 12 ibs., and deduct 

 that amount from the gross weight. If made of wood a larger aUowanco 

 must be made. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude 111 feet. 



Date. 



9 A.U. 



In the Day. 





1E71. 



Barome- 

 ter at 820 

 and Sea 

 Ijevel. 



Hygrome- 

 ter. 



Direc- 

 tion of 

 Wind. 



Temp, 

 of Soil 



Shade Xem- 

 peratnre. 



Radiation 

 Tempera- 

 ture. 



.9 

 1 



Sept. 



Dry. 



Wet. 



at 1 ft. 



Mai. 



Mln. 



In 1 On 

 8im. 1 grass 



We. 13 

 Th. W 

 Fri. 15 

 Sat. 16 

 Saii.l7 

 Mo. 18 

 Tu. 19 



Inches. 

 30.231 

 30.277 

 30.937 

 30.224 



3ai35 

 30.114 



deg. 



61,8 

 59 8 

 65.2 

 64.0 

 69.6 

 56 8 

 54.8 



deg. 

 56.3 

 54,2 

 6S.6 

 60.0 

 56 3 

 49.5 

 48.7 



N.E. 

 N.E. 

 S.E. 



E. 

 N.E. 



E. 

 N.E. 



deg. 

 62.2 

 62.0 

 61.5 

 61.8 

 61.5 

 60.5 

 59.9 



deg. 

 71.8 

 71.6 

 73.0 

 74 3 

 69.2 

 6'>.1 

 65.1 



deg. 

 55.3 

 56 

 53.8 

 53,0 

 52.0 

 51.2 

 49,2 



deg. I deg. 

 118.S 1 54.2 

 104.0 ■ 54.3 



115.4 50.0 



121.5 52.5 

 1'j6,0 : 49.8 



111.2 48.6 



113.3 49.2 



In. 



Means 



30.203 



60.3 



54.8 





61.3 



70.2 1 62.9 



112.8 61.2 



- 



REMARKS. 



13th. — Fine day, but at times oppressive and stormlike ; heavy clouds at 

 sunset, afterwards very clear till 9 pm., at which time a very pecu- 

 liar cloud (more like the smoke from a distant fire) suddenly 

 spread nearly all over the sky, the parts between looking an intense 

 blue from the contrast. 



14th. — Rather dull all day. but no rain. 



15th,— Rather dull in early morning, but very fijie after, the sun being 

 bright with a cool breeze. 



16th. — Fine morning, lovely day, wind rising at night. 



17th. — Very fine all day, but quite cool in the evening, 



18th. — A similar day, but if anything more chilly and antumn-like in the 

 evening. 



19th.— A rather dull and autumnal-looking day, and cloudy at nisht. 

 Cooler than last week, but temperature still above the average. Dry 



easterly winds prevalent, and no rain during the week.— G. J. Symons. 



COYENT GARDEN MARKET.— Septbmbeh 30. 

 Business transactions continue to be of the usual character at this 

 season. We have a fair supply of Peaches and Nectarines, but that of 

 good descriptions of Apples and Pears of home-growth is somewhat 

 limited. French varieties comprise Duchesse d'Angouleme, Louise 

 Bonne, and Jersey Gratioli. Hothouse Grapes are abundant. 



Apples ) sieve 



ApriootB doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bushel 



Curranta J sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



FUberta lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, HothoUBS.... lb. 



Lemons ¥*^100 



Silelons eaeh 



. Artichokes doa. 



AsparaKUB ¥»- 100 



BeanB, Kidney .. i sieve 



Broad bushel 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



BruBeels Sprouts . . k sieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capgicuma Tf^-lOO 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Coleworta.. doz. bunches 

 Cucombers each 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish ., ., bundle 



B, d. s. 



2 to 4 



4 









 



Mulberries lb. 



Nectarines doz. 1 



Oranees ^ 100 20 



Peaches doz. 2 



Pears, kitchen doz. S 



dessert doz. 2 



Pine Apples lb. 8 



Plums \ sieve S 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bushel 10 



ditto ^100 1 



d. a 

 6 tol 

 8 

 

 S 

 

 8 

 5 





 





 16 

 9 



VEGETABLES. 



d. 



Oto 4 

 

 

 



Leeks buseh 



Lettuce doz. 



Mushrooms pottle 



MuBtard & Cress, .punnet 

 Onions per doz. bunches 



pickling quart 



Panley sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peaa quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes .. doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys. doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 3 



Tomatoes doz, 1 



Tamipa bunch 9 



Vegetable Marrows . . doz. 1 



d. 8. 

 S too 

 S 1 



POULTRY MARKET.— September 20. 

 Grouse continue plentiful, though the glut is over. Partridges are 

 scarcer than they have been for many years. There are very few young 

 birds. 



