390 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUEB AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



[ November 16, 1871. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Caution. — " Committees and manngers of forthcomxDg poultry and 

 Pigeon shows should take care, for at the late Newcastie-ou-Tyne Pigeon 

 Show my fir&t-prize Wiiite African Owl hen has had her fi'ill pulled out 

 by some malicious person, and she ig quite unfitted for future ex- 

 hibition. A liberal rewari will be given to any person who may give in- 

 formation against the offender. — Joshua Fielding jcn., Park Terrace, 

 Rochdale.'" 



NoEwiCH Show (^.).— Thanks for the paper ; when we have seen ad- 

 vertisements and prize lists we will give it such a notice as we think 

 justified. 



The Southampton Poultry Show. — In the "Other Variety" class, 

 the second prize went to Mr. T. Moore, of Portsmouth, not Fareham. 



Game Fowls' Legs Sourfv (J. TF".).— Your feeding is not good enoush. 

 Boiled potatoes and turnips are very bad food. The first are bad enough, 

 the second are worse. The only thing in the whole bill of fare that can 

 nouristi your birds is the oatmeal. Depend upon it if you persevere in 

 your present dietary, all your birds will suffer alike. Give ground oats, 

 Indian corn, and table and kitchen scraps. Your birds must be too low 

 in condition. 



What is a Pullet? (C Jtf. JT.).— Your question is somewhat difficult. 

 Many declare all are pullets till the year in which they were hatched has 

 passed away. We believe a pullet ceases to have any claim to that name 

 after she has been broody. 



Black Bantams (G. F.). — We have never had any trouble in breeding 

 any Bantams, except the Sebrights. Blacks, Whites, Game want little care 

 save that the hen should be put on a dry spot, that the little chickens 

 may neither get draggled nor cramped. It is quite a different thing with 

 the Sebrights. Many of their eggs are useless, and they are tender at 

 first, but after they are a month old they do well. We have always found 

 the earlobe to be hereditary. If you keep your Bantams dry, feed well, 

 supply them with grass and fresh earth, they will do well. When one of 

 the hens hatches, bring her out, put her under a rip in a dry sheltered 

 place, and do not let her have her liberty. She will drag all her chickeua 

 to death if you do. 



Broken Sickle Feather {H.). — Leave the perfect feather as it is, and 

 pull out the other, it will grow in two months ; even if it be not as fine 

 as the other it does not matter, provided the colour be right. Any de- 

 ficiency of feathering, or any breaking of a sickle feather, is always 

 viewed with suspicion in the breeds in which colour is the most im- 

 portant fe;iture. 



WoKm IN Hen House [Novico). — We do not think the worm came from 

 the hen, it has not the character it would have. If the foreign body in the 

 cock's mouth is of a sort of cheesy nature, pull it off. If it is firmer, cut it 

 off. If it is not developed, it can be easily removed with the thumb nail, 

 and the best treatment then is camphor given frequently in pills the size 

 of a garden pea. We never approve of putting fowls in an artificially- 

 warmed place. If they have colds, give them some bread and ate twice 

 per day. Let them have all the table scraps and odd pieces of meat, 

 skin, and fat that are left at meal times. Heat should be communicated 

 through food, and not by stoves or fireplaces. 



GoLDEN-SPAKGLED HAMBURGH FEATHERS (G. C.).— NoS. S aud 4 are 



the best feathers, the moons or crescents are good upon them. The 

 hackle feathers are good. The fault in them all is a deficiency of rich- 

 ness in the ground colour. They look a little washed out. We should 

 advise you to introduce a rich-coloured dark cock into the yard next 

 season. 



Poultry Sneezing (BZacts).— There is little doubt your fowls are 

 suffering from chill. It may be from the change in the weather, or from 

 a brick, stone, or wooden floor. The incipient sneeze is a sure sign of 

 " cold in the head." The quickest remedy to relieve the black comb is 

 to administer two pills of camphor, each the size of a garden pea, and 

 then to feed on some broad and ale. The black comb shows congestion, 

 and when all other remedies fail it is sometimes necessary to bleed at the 

 base of it. Poison would have the same effect on the comb, and so does 

 indigestion. The latter is very rare among poultry. In the stage you 

 mention it is not infectious. The Brahmas and Cochins are not subject 

 to it. The Game are, and would most likely catch it. Use btimulants 

 for present relief, then try to remove the cause. 



Light Brahmas (R. G.). — We cannot help thinking No. 1 has a crooked 

 flight, else why should his feathers be folded high on his back ? We do 

 not mind the light saddle. We dread his wings, and we disapprove of his 

 " coarse u^^ly head." We should be disposed to vote far No. 2 in spite of the 

 light flight feathers, but we do not like a crooked breast. We do not 

 think it hereditary, but it is the sign of a weak bird, and we should not, 

 therefore, breed from him. If you are sure No. 1 has not twisted flights, 

 then, ttiking his weight and good points into consideration, we should 

 overlook the light saddle and the ugly head, and give him the preference. 

 The Bingle-combed bird will not do at all. He must be got rid of. As 

 soon as the hen's crop dropped she should have been held up by the legs 

 till her crop was emptied. She should have been very scantily supplied 

 with water and have had less food; she would then have wasted. You 

 were too ready with your knife. The operation should only be performed 

 on a crop-bound bird. In that case the crop is as hard as a cricket-ball. 

 All birds of the poultry tribe waste and fatten easily, and if you had 

 fasted the hen a little she would have absorbed the fat that killed her. 

 All the eastern breeds put on fat inside. There is nothing in your feeding 

 that should cause excessive fat, unless the kitchen scraps were very good. 

 Fat makes fat. We consider the fattening an accident, and believe she 

 died from the operation. When you open another crop do not give bread 

 and ale alter the operation ; thin gruel is all that is necessary for a day 

 or two, given frequently in -small quantities. We have never met with 

 BU'ii fat about the Cfop except where fowls have been fed on meat. 



German Toys (W. TF.).— The Germans are great Pigeon breeders, and 

 are accustomed to put a number of pretty-feathered birds together, and 

 if a pair alike in plumage are produced, they gave them a pretty name, 

 and send them out into the world. Many such under various namts 

 which were seen at our shows a few years since, have quite disappeared. 

 We know nothing of " German Hermits," and they are not mentioned in 

 any Pigeon book extant. 



Antwerps [A. W.). — Show Antwerps and working Antwerps differ. Our 

 engraving was one of the former. These birds are bred carefully to 

 colour and points. The working Antwerp is the one most likely you 

 want, which is not so much a bird for the show-cage as for utility. 



Goldfinch Mules Becoming Light (JH. Q.). — I apprehend from the 

 ciaery that it is a nest of dari; self-coloured MoleSi which will remala to 



all intents and purposes dark Mules, though the dull lustreless hue of 

 the nest feathers will be exchanged for a brighter colour. Those birds 

 which come under the class of Dark Jonques will be of a bright colour, 

 while the Dark Mealies or Buffs will be of a dull leaden shade, the cocks 

 in both classes having more or less of the Goldfinch " flourish " on the 

 face, and the hens being minus that adornment, and clad in somewhat 

 more sober garments. Dark Goldfinch Mules are sometimes extraordinary 

 birds as regards colour, and very deservedly have a class to themselves 

 in every schedule worth calling a schedule. If the Dublin Society issue 

 a prize list sufficiently liberal no doubt our English fanciers will send 

 birds— possibly accompany them, for there is no limit to the pluck of the 

 fancy. But poor men, artisans, cannot affjrd tho luxury of competing 

 for honour; neither can poor men who are not artisans. I once was 

 makins? active preparations for sending a collection across the Atlantic, 

 but I found that a broaze medal would not pass current in the matter of 

 freight. I am sorry to hear that all the Canaries in Ireland are bad. 

 That can soon be remedied. I am now in communication with Australia 

 respecting a consignment of high-class birds. If they can travel to the 

 antipodes they can easily cross the Irish Sea. — W. A. Blakston. 



Treacle for Bees (J. Campbell}.— We have never fed with treacle, 

 but see no reason why it should not do for bee food. We should dilute it 

 with water if too thick, and perhaps boil it for a minute or two. 



Feeding Cows on Cabbages (A Subscriber), — They do not impart as 

 turaipy flavour to the milk. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 

 Camden Square, London. 



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



DiTB. 







9 A.SI 









In the Day 







1871. 





Hygrome- 

 ter. 



Direc- 

 tion of 

 Wind. 



Temp, 

 of Soil 

 at 1 ft. 



Shade Te;n- 

 peratur , 



Radiation 

 Tempera- 

 ture. 



a 



Nov. 









In 



On 



M 





nS""^ 



Dry. 



"Wet. 







Max. 



M n. 

 ' -g. 



Bun. 

 deg. 



grass 

 deg. 







Inches. 



deg. 



deg. 





deg. 



deg. 



In. 



We. 8 



29.453 



45.6 



45.3 



W. 



45 



60.6 



rs 



74.6 



33.8 





Th. 9 



29.765 



S4 7 



32.4 



N.W. 



i 



46.7 



0.3 



82.2 



28.3 





Fri. 10 



29.682 



36.8 



35 2 



S.W. 



i 



47.5 



Sl.9 



81.9 



29 4 





Sat. 11 



29.688 



30.5 



29.8 



N.W. 



42.8 



4i.5 



27.4 



56.8 



24.8 







Sun. 12 



30.011 



23.9 



28.1 



S.W. 



42.0 



44.5 



25 3 



72.2 



22.0 







Mo. IS 



30.295 



2S.0 



27.7 



W. 



41.1 



45.0 



25.2 



70.3 



22.2 







Ta. 11 



30.272 



34.7 



31.9 



S.E. 



S9.8 



46.4 



26.4 



66.5 



22.1 



0.223 



Means 



29.881 



34.2 



32.9 





[42.9 



45.9 



29.2 



72.1 



20.1 



0.220 



REMARKS. 

 8th.— Foggy and damp till noon, then fine and pleasant. 

 9th. — White frost ; beautiful morningand fine day. Aurora at 10 30 P.fli. 

 and subsequently mostly white, but with red streamers. 

 10th. — A very fine day, though cold. Aurora again at night, 

 lith.— Frost, but fine morning; a very slight sprinkling of rain in after- 

 noon, but fine evening. Encke's comet seen with ax^ocket telescope. 

 12th. — A very fine and bright day, though cold. 

 13th.— Rather hazy in the morning, fine at noon, but very cold. Evening 



very foggy. 

 14th.— Foggy early, a very fine bright day. but a wet evening, with blus- 

 tering wind and rapid fiU of barometer. 

 Avery cold week, the mean temperature (36 8'^) was nearly a degree 

 below that of the month of January. Frost on every morning except 

 Wednesday.— G. J. S^aioNS. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— No vembeb la. 

 The trade remains in much the same state as last week. Among fresh 

 arrivals are some good Oranges, both the ordinary and the Tangerine 

 variety, from the Azores ; fine Pomegranates and Bananas from Tene- 

 liffe. Large quantities of fine French Pears have been submitted to 

 auction during the week. The Potato trade is heavy, the best qualities 

 only commanding fair prices, 



FRtriT. 



Apples J- sieve 2 



Aijricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



s. d. B. 



Chestnuts bushel 10 20 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 6 10 



Cobs lb. 6 10 



Grapea, Hothouse.... lb. 2 6 



Gooseberries quart 



Lemons %^100 8 12 



Melons each 2 5 



Mulberries lb. 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges ^100 



Peaches doz. 6 



Pears, kitchen doz. 2 



dessert doz. 2 



Pine Apples lb. 3 



Plums J sieve G 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



Qaiuces doz. 2 



Walnuts bushel 10 



ditto ^100 1 



d. B. 

 OtoO 

 



VEGETABLES. 



8. d. 8. d 



Artichokes doz. 4 to 6 



Aaparag^is ^100. 



Beans, Kidney 4 sieve 



Broad bushel 



Beet, Red doz. 2 3 



Broccoli bundle 6 10 



Brussels Sprouts. .j^ sieve 2 S 



Cabbage doz. 10 2 



Capsicums ^I'JO 16 2 



Carrots bunch 6 



Cauliflower doz. S 6 



Celery bundle 16 2 



Coleworts.. doz. bunches 2 4 



Cucumbers each 6 10 



pickling ......doz. 2 8 



Endive doz. 2 



Fennel bunch 8 



Garlic lb. S 



Herbs bunch 8 



Horseradish bundle S 4 



Leeks bunch S to 



Lettuce doz. 8 1 



MuBhrooma pottle 10 2 



Mustard & Cress, .punnet 2 



Onions bushel 2 4 



pickling quart 6 



Parsley sieve 3 4 



Parsnips doz. 9 1 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 16 8 



Kidaey do. SOS 



Radishes., doz. bunches 6 1 



Rhubarb b:Ddle 



Savoys 02. 1 1 



Sea-Kale „sket 2 6 8 



Shallots lb. 



Spmach buehel 2 3 



Tomatoes doz. 2 



Turnips bunch 3 



Vegetable Marrows, .doz. 



