396 



jotjEnal of horticulture and cottage gaudenee. 



[ June 1, 1871. 



and bees at once and for ever. Drone-brood is easily distingnislied 

 from worl;er-brood by its being in much larger-sized cells, that sealed 

 having a more conves and projecting surface. — Eds.] 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Maeking Fottls (A. A.).— The best plan is to sew a piece of list round 

 the leg. If it is a feathered breed then sew the list so that it shall hold 

 withont being tight enough to destroy the feather. This will be accom- 

 plished if the upper edge of the cloth be put beneath a stout feather, and 

 the lower sewn a little more tightly than the top. The material is so soft 

 and pliable that it does not injure a feather. If it be a good broad strip 

 it will do no injury. It need not be tight. It will not slip over the foot, 

 it cannot pass over the body. The advantage of this system is, that if 

 five or si^ broods run together, they may always be distinguished by the 

 colour of the worsted round their legs. When it is no trouble to catcb the 

 fowls, they may be marked in a different manner, equally efficacious but 

 not visible. Bum them through the web of the wing with a red hot 



knitting needle, mark the different broods thus:— '. :: : "'. 



and so on. It cannot be obliterated, and need be known only to yourself. 

 CmCEENS Dead rx the Shell (Sutton).— Yonr question occurs and 

 is answered every week. The eggs are too dry. It is for that reason the 

 chickens die in the shell. The inner membrane of the egg becomes in 

 colour and substance like gutta percha, and the chick, unable to force its 

 way through, dies in its hopeless prison. The eggs should be moistened 

 daily for ten days before they are hatched, you will then have no trouble. 

 All birds following the course of nature, leave the nest at early dawn in 

 search of food ; they find it in meadows and com fields ; in search of it 

 they wander over t he wet grass or com, every leaf is "aden with mois- 

 ture, which communicates itself to the breast of the hen, and in that 

 state she returns to her eggs. Copying nature, many people moisten the 

 breast feathers of the sitting hen when they return her to her eggs. By 

 one of these or by some other means, eggs to be successfully hatched 

 must be thoroughly and frequently wetted. 



Eggs Covered with Excdatign (ST. ii.).— Our impression would have 

 been that one egg had been broken, but you say there were but nine, and 

 there are nine. Such being the case, there is no doubt exudation takes 

 place from one of the eggs. If the hen was fastened closely down by bars 

 on the nest, it is quite possible she may have sustained an injury that 

 would cause the appearances. 



Eggs Sjiall A^-D Yolkless (3r. F.l.-^Such a state of things as you 

 describe can only exist where fowls are very much out of condition. This 

 may be brought about by confinement, or by improper feeding. All your 

 eggs are abortive, and the secretions are at fault ; thus, one egg is too 

 small and has no yolk, another is soft-shelled, mis-shapen, and has a 

 large yolk. If you had described your treatment, it would have been 

 easier for us to try for a remedy. Your result will prove you wrong. We 

 will tell you what those do who are right. Whether fowls are at liberty 

 or not, they must have access to lime in some shajie for the formation of 

 the egg-shell ; nothingis so useful for this purpose as bricklayers' rubbish, 

 old ceilings, brickbats. &c. Road grit or scrapings are excellent placed 

 in heaps ; let the fowls level them, and then you have them thrown up 

 again, li they are in conflnement give them some sods of growing grass, 

 and some fresh-pulled lettuces. Feed on ground oats or barleymeal 

 slaked with water in the morning, with maize or barley, table and kitchen 

 scraps at mid-day, and with ground foad again in the evening. It will be 

 a good thing if you give every bird a tablespoonlul o£ castor oil twice at 

 twenty-four hours' interval. If necessary you may follow it with Baily's 

 pills. We have no doubt this treatment will put things right. 



TniE Guinea Fowls Sit {31. E. M. £".}.— The hatching occupies from 

 twenty-eight to thirty days. 



Pigeons in a Garden (X Y. 2.).— They will do no harm to your garden, 

 for if once or twice scared from it they will be long before they again visit 

 it. 



Glasgow Pouters and Cure fob Wing Disease (C. G. IT.). — The 

 very valuable articles on Pouters, by Mr. Huie, of Glasgow, and other 

 Scotch breeders, are in our fourteenth volume — that from January to 

 July, 1868. There are many of them, so we cannot siiecify numbers. As 

 to wing disease, we recently had in our own loft a very deUcate Scotch 

 Fantail with the wing greatly swollen, and even black with inflammation ; 

 towards the quills there was a quantity of yellow matter, and the bird 

 was a perfect cripple. We drew aU the flight feathers and let out the thin 

 matter near the quills. Gradually the inflammation subsided, and by 

 the time the feathers had grown the bird was perfectly well, and now 

 flies with the rest, and equally easily; 



Canaet Becoiie Blind (G. fl". K).— Blindness will be no drawback to 

 the bird as a songster; the probabiUty is that it will sing more strongly 

 than before. We sometimes hear of the barbarous practice of depriving 

 a bird of sight by searing the eye with a hot iron, which is supposed by 

 some to have the effect of making it a more finished songster. We know of 

 nothing which will cure it. It will have no difficulty in finding its seed 

 and water. 



Rats (E. L. H".).— Have them ferreted, and after killing as many as you 

 can, pour a little coal tar into their holes. 



Dead Lart.e Brought out of Hive {A Cottager).— Your bees bring- 

 ing out dead larvae, shows that some of the young grubs have been chilled 

 in the cells owing to the sharp nights we have had, and that the bees are 

 adopting this means of getting rid of a nuisance. 



Bees Dying (ilfou.«7fy).— We do not know whether you mean the origi- 

 nal stock or swarm, as the one in which the bees are dying. We do not 

 think there is anything at all strange in the fact of half a dozen bees 

 dying every day. At this season of the year, in the natural course of 

 things, mortality is very rapid. If you mean the stock hive, you may put 

 on a cap immediately after swarming ; if the swarm, about a fortnight 

 afterwards if the season and district are good. 



Super on Hive in Winter, &c. (G. C ).^You had better leave your 

 super on the hive until the young bees are hatched out, then if the queen 

 in the meantime has descended to her proper quarters, the cells will be 

 most probably filled with honey. Of course, your super is to a great 

 extent spoiled, but there may bo some good honeycomb which may not 

 have been bred in. In our own practice we often have adopted the follow- 

 ing plan:— As soon as we first discover the presence of brood in the 



super, we remove and turn it up, and with a curved honey-knife cut 

 away all the parts so affected. The super is then returned to the stock, 

 the bees of which generally repair and fill with honey the fractured 

 combs, which are seldom re-occapied by the queen, who, if not in the 

 lower hive at the time of the operation, usually quickly retires there on 

 the super being replaced. We always endeavour, if possible, to utilise 

 the brood comb thus cut out by fixing it in frames, and giviug it to some 

 young swarm or backward stock. You surely do not espect bees to work 

 in supers without clustering in them. " Langstroth on the Honey Bee * 

 may suit you. It can be ordered through any bookseller. Write to Sir 

 W. J. Pettitt, Dover, who makes hives on the principle yon require. 



I 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATION'S, 



Casiden Square, Londos. 



Lat. 61° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W. ; Altitnde 111 feet. 



Date. 



9 A.M. 



Is THE DAT. 





1S71. 





Hygrome- 

 ter. 



Direc- 

 tion of 

 Wind. 



Temp, 

 of Soil 

 at 1 ft. 



Shade Tem- 

 perature. 



Radiation 



Tempera- 



tm-e. 



1 



Mar. 







In 



On 



= J=~ 



Dry. Wet. 







Max. 



Mm. 



Bun. 



grass 





1 Inches. 



des. 



de». 





deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



In. 



We. 2i 29.934 



67.5 



.w.n 



E. 



55.2 



7S.5 



45 1 



118.2 



41 R 





Th. 25 



29.818 



69.0 



,53.8 



S.E. 



57.2 



79.0 



55.3 



124 



51.2 



0.140 



Fri. 26 



29.964 



58.7 



53.S 



S.W. 



57.8 



66.8 



50.S 



122.0 



52 2 



0.010 



Sat. 27 



80.008 



58.6 



52 5 



N. 



56.8 



65.4 



41.3 



117.0 



40.8 



0.140 



Sun.28 



80.103 



54.0 



62.6 



N.E. 



55.4 



74.0 



49.0 115.5 



50.0 





Mo. 29 



30.260 



57.7 



54.6 



N. 



55.7 



71.2 



47.3 



116.2 



45.8 



_^ 



Til. 30 



80.228 



59.7 



56.8 



N.E. 



57.0 



78.8 



42.0 



120.0 



42.2 



— 



Means j 30.045 



60.7 55.4 





56.4 



73.1 



47.3 



119.0 46.3 



0.29D 



REMARKS. 

 ■24th.— A lovely day thi-oughout, only rather too warm, though there was 



a cool breeze. 

 25th. — Fine morning, close at noon, and looking storm-like ; a few very 



large drops of rain at 4 30 p.m., showery tQl 7 p.h., then fine. 

 23th. — Fine till 6.40 p.ii., when it clouded over for a short time, then 



cleared off with a magnificent rainbow, though no rain fell here. 

 27th. — Fine morning, slight shower about 11 a.m., thunderstorm from 1.42 



to 3.20, showery the remainder of the day, and much cooler. 

 2-Sth. — Rather dull and cold in the morning,'warmer and very fine from 



noon to night. 

 59th.— Very fine all day. 

 3Jth.— Much warmer, but though very fine, not oppressive till the even 



ing. Barometer falling till midnight. 

 Fine warm week, air frequently very dry. — G. J. SmoNS. 



COYENT GARDEN MARKET.— May 31. 

 A moderate supply and steady demand for most descriptions of fruit 

 and vegetables, hothouse produce now being ample for all requirements. 

 Continental goods have been coming in very irregularly lately, but we 

 hope soon to find the transit working better. Kent Peas and Ashleaf 

 Potatoes are now excellent, old ones quite at a discount. 











FRUIT, 















.j sieve 



doz. 



lb. 



s. 

 2 

 2 

 1 

 

 

 9 

 6 

 

 2 

 

 6 

 6 

 G 



d. s. d 

 to5 

 3 

 3 

 

 

 

 12 

 2 

 2 6 

 6 8 

 12 

 10 

 12 



VEGET 





lb. 







10 



6 



12 











6 















6 



10 



1 



a. s. 

 too 



20 

 10 

 24 

 

 

 10 

 

 

 

 10 

 16 

 i 







Apricots 







n 



Oranges 



Peaches 



Pears, kitchen .. 

 dessert 



...%>■ 100 

 . . . doz. 



doz. 



doz. 



lb. 



f) 



Chestnuts 



Currants 



Black 



, bushel 

 ..J sieve 

 do. 





 

 I 

 





lb. 



Plums 



. 1 sieve 



n 





lb. 



... quart 

 e....lb. 

 ... ^100 



n 







lb. 





Grapes, Hothona 

 Lemons 



Strawberries ., 



Walnuts 



ditto 



lb. 



. bushel 

 ...¥•100 





 



n 







ABLES. 











8. 

 4 

 4 

 2 

 

 2 

 

 

 1 

 

 

 6 

 1 

 3 

 

 

 2 

 

 

 

 3 



a. s. 



Oto 6 

 8 

 3 

 

 8 

 9 1 

 

 2 

 



5 1 

 10 



6 2 

 6 

 6 1 

 

 

 3 

 8 

 S 

 6 



a 





 

 

 

 

 6 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 6 

 

 



s 





 



Leeks 



Lettuce 



Mushrooms 



Mustard & Cress 



Onions 



pickling 



. bunch 



doz. 



. pottle 

 .punnet 

 . bushel 

 . . . quart 



a. 





 



1 





 7 

 

 S 

 

 2 

 2 

 3 

 

 

 

 D 

 



4 

 

 



a. 8. 



i too 



6 1 



a 



2 

 6 10 

 

 6 

 9 1 

 4 



4 

 Q i 

 6 1 



1 

 

 

 6 

 6 

 6 

 9 1 

 



4 



Asparagus 



Beans, Kidney . 



Broad 



Beet, Red 



.. »100 

 ...¥■100 

 . bushel 



....doz. 





 6 







n 



Broccoli 



Brussels Spronte 



Cabbage 



Capsicuma .... 



Carrots 



Cauliflower 



Celery 



Colewort3..doz. 



Cucumbers .... 



pickling 



bundle 

 ..isieve 

 ... doz. 

 ...^:>-loo 

 ..bunch 

 ....doz. 

 . bundle 

 bunches 

 ... each 

 doz. 





 n 



Parsnips 



Peas 



Potatoes 



Kidney 



Radishes .. doz. 



Rhubarb 



Savoys 



Sea-kale 



Shallots 



— doz. 

 .. quart 

 . bushel 



do. 



bunches 

 ..bundle 



doz. 



..basket 

 Ih. 





 

 

 

 

 

 

 



q 







Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Harrows . ,doz. 









lb. 









. bunch 

 . bundle 



li 



Horseradish .. 







POULTRY M.i.RKET.— Mat 31. 

 There are not wanting indications that the supply of young poultry 

 is increasing, and that prices will consequently fall. 





s. 



'.'!.' 4 

 .... 3 



d. s. 

 6 to 

 6 6 

 3 

 2 

 6 

 



d. 

 11 

 

 6 

 6 

 6 

 





s. 

 



a. a. a 



9 to 10 



Smaller ditto 



Rabbits 



Wild ditto 



.... 1 

 



4 1 fi 

 9 10 



Ducklings 



Hares 



.... 

 





 



Pheasants 



.... 



Grouse 



.... 







