460 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE, 



[ December 7, 1871- 



DiAEEH(EA IX FovTLS (L. H. R). — Change yonr food. Give ground 

 oats slaked with milli, and add l ome pounded chalk to it. Supply them 

 plentifully with road grit. 



Aiding ^ilocLTiNG {Lemon Buff). — If your fowls have a good grass run, 

 all they require to promote growth is to be fed well and regularly on 

 ground oats. It is an advantage for growing cocks to have kitcben 

 scraps. The great secret of rearing large and strong birds, is to feed 

 them as well as possible from the first. 



HouDANS Moulting Slowly (X Y. Z.). — What age are your cocks, 

 and how are they fed? The cock is longer than the hen in petting the 

 new plumage, and the older they are the slower the progress. The 

 reparative process is slower and weaker. We know nothing you can do, 

 except to avoid heating and stimulating foods ; they cause a feverish state 

 of body, and the feathers, lacking moisture and nutriment, die away 

 instead of growing into maturity. Fowls were never intended to take 

 physic ; they seldom injure their constitutions when they are young, and 

 Nature is a better manager of these matters than we are. When fowls 

 are properly jui^ged, those who ofiBciate should be able to make a right 

 award, though the plumage should not be mature. 



Pencilled Feathers [Amateur). — You do not name the breed of your 

 fowls. We presume from the feathers they are Brahmas. We prefer the 

 feather No. 2 from the hen ; but we like neither her long back nor her 

 crooked breast. If you want a positive answer, we should, in spite of her 

 fault?, put her, being two years old, with the young cock. Either alter 

 your perches or remove them, but fowls never do so well as when they 

 perch. 



Comparative Weights of Live and Trussed Turkeys (7*. J. C), — 

 Much would depend on the condition and fatness of the bird. A lean 

 bird would lose much more in the trussing than a fat one ; but as an 

 average you may put it that a bird weighed alive and full, and afterwards 

 weighed drawn and trussed, will be found to have lost a fourth, and some- 

 times ft third of the weight. 



Light Beahmas Darker (Ignoravius) .—Yoxlt hen is cross-bred, and 

 we do not advise you to breed from her at all if you wish for pure birds ; 

 but if yon are careless of feather, it matters not which coloured cock you 

 put her to. A Light Brahma cock should have dark flights, dark tail, 

 striped hackle and saddle. Select the bird that comes nearest to this 

 description 



Undcbeed Game Cock (TT. H".).— An undubbed Game cock, whether 

 BantEm or otherwise, is disqualified. 



Rotten Duck's Plumage |G. ^.1. — Eonen Ducks and drakes should be 

 the exact reprepentations of Wild Ducks and Mallnrds, differing only in I 

 size. No deviation, however trifling, shonld be admitted. 



Golden- PENCILLED Hamburgh's Plumage (Zdcm).— The richer and 

 fuller the colour of Golden-pencilled Hamburghs. the better they are; 

 the " washed-ont " plumage that seems akin to a dirty bnffis inadmissible, 

 but no richness of colour can be allowed to palliate a bad comb or mossy 

 plumage. 



Pullets for Winter Laying (/(Z^m).— Laying in the winter depends 

 on the age of pullets. Hens do not lay in the wint-r The best breeds 

 we know for winter laying are the Brahmas and Cochins. Hatched in 

 March or April, they naturally begin to lay in November and December. 



Golden-spangled Hamburghs Lighter (Hamburgh). — It is by no 

 means an uncommon thing for old Hamburghs to moult pale feathers, 

 and even to show white spots in various parts of the body. You do not 

 state their age. The production of feathers out of season is by no means 

 favourable to colour or strength: thus in any bird, of whatever colour it 

 may be. if you will pull out a patch of feathers on a certain spot repeat- 

 edly, they will at last come white ; but that will not account for it in 

 yonr case, the plumage was there destroyed at the natural season. AU 

 breeding hens at that period have the same broken plumage. It may be 

 attributed partly to its brittle and worn-out condition. We do not believe 

 the separation of the sexes would help you in the way of plumage. 



GoLDEN-sPANGLED PoLASD PLUMAGE iH.). — The "feather you enclose 

 is not such as should come from a Spangled bird. It is laced. In the 

 earlier days of exhibitions such feathers would have disqualified, now 

 they take prizes. Such marking is objectionable ; if you can, replace it 

 with spangles. A bay tail tipped with black is a very serious fault in a 

 Golden-spangled Hamburgh cock. 



Scurfy legged Fowls (Amateur). — There are two treatments. One is 

 to keep the legs constantly wetted with oD, the other to rub sulphur 

 ointment in very frequently, and to introduce it between the projecting 

 Scales with a feather. This disease has only been known of late years. 



Malays' Legs (E. M.). — There are very good Malays with white legs. 

 Your fowl has incipient roup. Treat either with Bailj 's pills, or try bread 

 and ale for food, and doses of camphor, two pilis each the size of a garden 

 pea for a dose every twelve hours until relief is visible. 



Weight of Bantams [An Old Subscriber).— Tiie original weight of 

 these birds was limited to 17 ozs. for the cock. 14 ozs. for the hen. 

 Recent decisions have allowed an increase, and in the present day the 

 Sebrighta weigh at least 3 ozs. each more than that allowance. Till 

 within the last ten years no Bantams were ever weighed but Sebrights. 

 Black, White, and Game now outnumber them greatly, and they also 

 come far closer to the limits of weight. 



Cochin Cockerel Paralysed (Mrs. B.).— We are afraid we cannot 

 point out any cure. If the paralysis arise from an injury in the back, 

 which is very possible, he will speedily recover, but if it be cramp te will 

 not. We know nothing better than to give him a table-spoouful of castor 

 oil every other day. and to give each night two pills of camphor the size 

 of a garden pr-a. We have, however, small hope. 



Defective Game Bantams {IF. Powell). — It is never safe to breed 

 from a faulty bird. A defect is always hereditary, and none more cer- 

 tainly so than a wry tail or a hump back. 



Bantam Catarrhed [Game 5a;[/am).— Discontinue the fire in the fowl 

 house; and if it has stone, brick, or wooden floor, cover it 6 inches deep 

 in gravel or road grit. You may discontinue the pepper and substitute 

 Some bread and ale for barley at the midday meal. This is only neces- 

 sary while they appear out of health. 



Grey Eggs in Dead Hen (HI. H.).— The grey-coloured eggs you men- 

 tion are very common in old hens, but not in birils of the age you mention. 

 All you complain of may be safely set down to Potato feeding. It makes 

 nternal fat to such an extent it impedes the due action of the different 

 oirg'ins. Thus, the liver, instead of being very dark, becomes of a pale 

 buff colour, a fat liver, the celebrated *' Foie gras ;" the gall bladder no 

 longer performs its functions, but disperses its contents at random. All 

 the ingide becomes yellow. Jaundice is the nest symptom. The patient 



still makes a little fat, but loses flesh daily. All the Geese and Turkeys 

 we get from Ireland are potato-fed. They are deficient in meat, and they 

 have fat livers. Discontinue the Potatoes. Substitute good barley me^ 

 or Indian com for them. 



HouDANS (J. H ). — You will do well to examine the list of Birmingham 

 winners in our last number for an answer to your first question. Yonr 

 cross is not one that we fancy, because sitters and non-sitters should not 

 be put together. We should put the Brahma cock to the Houian hen. 



Poultry Chronicle— Poultry Company (S. Greenu-ood).—'So such 

 " Chronicle " nor other serial devoted to poultry is published in England. 

 The Company was a total failure. The work you mention is to be pub- 

 hshed in parts commencing with the next year. 



Show at Edinburgh (M. G. TF.).— There are several societies there ; 

 we believe all right. 



Taking Supers ix November (H.). — The objection to taking off supers 

 so late as you mention is that the bees are apt to take down all the honey 

 which is not sealed over, and often they will rifle and spoil the sealed 

 honeycomb in the spring. In either case your honey harvest will be 

 diminished. Of course it may happen that they are so well supplied be- 

 low as not to be tempted to touch the honey in the supers. In this case 

 the entire honey harvest above will be at the service of the bee-owner. 

 We prefer to plunder in July, for another reason — to allow the bees to 

 store up below for their own use as much of the later honey as possible, 

 which is apt to be thin and poor. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Camden Square, London. 



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



Date. 



9 i.31. 



In the Day. 





1S71. 



o|g_. 

 E„mo 



i33~ 



Hygrome- 

 ter. 



Direc- 

 tion of 

 Wind. 



Temp, 

 of SoU 

 at 1ft. 



Shade Tem- 

 perature . 



Radiation 

 Tempera- 

 ture. 



a 



Nov. it 

 Dec. 



Dry. 



Wet. 



Max. 



Min. 



In On 

 sun. grass 



^ 



We. 29 

 Th. SO 

 Fri. 1 

 Sat. 2 

 Sim. S 

 Mo. 4 

 Tu. 5 



Inchea. 

 29.S9-2 

 29S46 

 29.9S7 

 3'i.33) 

 30.l'56 

 30.155 

 S..304 



dog. 

 35.3 

 3.5 6 

 37.1 

 33.4 

 35-4 

 311 

 27-6 



deg. 

 31.2 

 34 7 

 34.5 

 32.4 

 34.8 

 30.3 

 25.2 



N. 



N. 



N. 

 N.W. 



W. 

 N.W. 



N. 



deg. 

 39.4 

 39.2 

 33.4 

 3S.S 

 38-5 

 37.5 

 37.3 



deg. 

 40.5 

 33.4 

 41.0 

 39 9 

 39.S 

 35.7 

 36.6 



deg. 

 S0.6 

 33.4 

 S3.2 

 31.2 

 31.3 

 27.7 

 24-6 



deg. , deg. 

 70.6 26.8 

 48.8 29.9 

 6 .0 319 

 67.6 258 

 63.3 28.0 

 68.0 23.9 

 53.3 202 



In. 



.090 



Means 



80.081 



33.6 



32.3 





SS.4 



39.3 1 SO.l 



63.2 , 26.6 



0.110 



REMARKS. 

 29th. — White frost in morning; fine day. sometimes very bright, clear 



evening, a few drops of rain at 1(J.30 p.ii. 

 30th. — Fine morning, becoming more and more damp, till noon, rain the 



remainder of day and night. Strong wind at night. 

 1st. — Very fine till noon, then alternately fine and cloudy, clear evening 



and night. 

 2nd. — Beautiful morning, and till early afternoon, then rather dull, 

 3rd.— A little snow, either in the night or early morning, fine but frosty 



all day. 

 4th. — White frost in morning, fine but frosty all day, a few snow crystals 



at 11.30 A. II. 

 5th.— White frost in early morning, beautifully bright till 2 30, then 



getting rather dull and thick, slight fall of sleet at 8 p.ii., but not 



a measurable quantity. 

 The dry cold weather which prevailed during November continues, 

 and by its duration becomes remarkable. The total fall of rain in Novem- 

 ber (0.60 inch) was unusually small. Gale on north-east coast on the 

 night of November 30th. — G. J. Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— DECEiiBEB 6. 



?iIaeket3 very quiet, and no alteration worth notice, the frost not yet 



having any effect upon the supply. A considerable quantity of rough 



goods have gone over to-day for another market, in the expectation of 



better prices. 



FRUIT. 



s. d. 8. 



Apples i sieve 2 to 4 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuts bushel 10 20 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 6 1 



Cobs lb. 6 1 



Grapes, Hothouse.... lb. 2 6 



Gooseberries quart 



Lemons %*-100 8 12 



Melons each 2 3 



s. d. B. 



OtoO 











Mulberries lb. 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges ^100 4 



Peaches doz. 6 12 



Pears, kitcben doz. 2 4 



dessert doz. 2 6 



Pine Apples lb. 3 6 



Plums i sieve 



Raspberries lb. 9 



Sir:iwberrie3 lb. 



Quinces doz. 



Walnuts bashel 10 25 



ditto ^100 1 S 



VEGETABLES. 



. d. 8. 



otoo 



12 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparagus ^100. 



Beans, Kidney i sieve 



Broad bushel 



Beet, Red doz. 10 3 



Broccoli bundle 6 1 



Brussels Sprouts. .i sieve 2 8 



Cabbage doz. 10 2 



Capt-icimis ^i'iO 16 2 



Carrots bunch 6 



Cauliflower doz. 3 6 



Celery bundle 16 2 



Coleworts.. doz. bimches 2 4 



Cucumbers each 6 1 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 2 



Fennel bunch 8 



Garlic lb. 8 



Herbs bunch 8 



Horseradish bundle 8 4 



Leeks bunch 



Lettuce doz. 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress, .punnet 

 Onions bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes bu&hel 



Kidoey do. 



Kadishes.. doz. bunches 



Rhubarb b- rdie 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-Kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Tnmipg bunch 



Vegetable Marrows.. doz. 



8. d. 



3 too 



1 n 

 

 2 

 

 6 

 

 9 

 

 6 

 

 6 

 

 

 6 

 G 

 

 

 S 

 



