76 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 28, 1870. 



No. 3, a maiden swarm of last year, located in a Woodbury, 

 came through the winter well ; at the head of this is my original 

 Italian queen. They went into the super June 16th, and for 

 sometime worked fast; they have filled up the bars with comb, 

 but now seem unable to get honey to finish filling the cells ; 

 they have only admittance to five bars. The bive is very full 

 of bees, and the queen breeding fast. 



No. 4 is a stock obtained by uniting two lots of driven bees 

 together last autumn ; at their head is a fine hybrid Liguiian 

 queen. These wintered in two nucleus boxes placed side by 

 side, but they only filled one with comb in the autumn. They 

 came through the winter well, and are now fairly strong, but 

 have neither swarmed nor supered. This I attribute to their not 

 making use of the second nucleus bos till I shifted half the combs 

 and bees into it at the beginning of June. Strange to say, they 

 have built no drone comb, and there is not a drone to be seen 

 in the hive. I hope still that I shall get my supers finished, 

 and that when the heath comes into full flower there will be a 

 change for the better. — D. D. B. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Swelled Hocks (J. E.).— There are two causes to which swelled hocks 

 may be attributed. The first is weakness, and may be the result of over- 

 growth, or insufficient or improper food. The other is improper flooring. 

 The treatment for the first is to feed well and judiciously, giving plenty 

 of grit and green food ; above all, in such cases, we recommend the use of 

 Sussex ground oats. The only outward application is iodine. The 

 remedy for the other, if the flooring is wood, brick, stone, or asphalt, 

 is to remove it and substitute earth. Not only is there always damp from 

 each of the floors we havo mentioned, but from the hard non-yielrtiag 

 surface the toes are kept constantly stretched out, and the leg is for hours 

 in a strained and unnatural position. The overgrowth cures itself every- 

 day. 



Potjltey, &c, Dying (B. C). — At first sight wa should pronounce your 

 case one of poison, and the reason why some died while others escaped 

 would be easily found— all did not eat it. You do not, however, believe 

 in the poison. We fancy the pepper has been administered too freely. 

 We are not friendly to pepper. We have given peppercorns advantage- 

 ously sometimes, but never pepper itself. If your fields are like ours, 

 the birds would get little from them. They would more likely want 

 cooling than heating things. Have you had any thunder showers ? They 

 will sometimes cause all you complain of. Young Turkeys are very prone 

 to disease very closely akin to, if not identical with the roup, and they are 

 spiritless crtatures, giving up directly they arG attacked. Their eyes 

 swell, they refuse food, and die. Fowls and Partridges would catch it. 

 Guinea fowls seldom do. It is always a bad plan to keep Turkeys and 

 fpwls together if it can be avoided. We believe it to be a case of poison 

 from your description. If it is not, it must be either from sudden and 

 violent rainfall or from roup. We advise you, if you can, another time 

 to keep the Turkeys and fowls apart. Give the former onion tops chopped 

 fine and mixed with their food. Avoid pepper for them all. When fail- 

 ing give them beer to drink, and let them have camphor in their water. 

 There is nothing better for Turkeys and Pea fowls, if they appear droop- 

 ing, than to give them two or three pills of camphor, each the size of a 

 garden pea. 



Keeping Geese (S. Y.).— For breeding, not more than three Gsese to 

 one gander must be kept, and their breeding powers continue undiminished 

 until more than twenty years old. They require a wide range, affording 

 plenty of grass and still water. The goDse-bouse for the four should not 

 be less than 8 feet long by 6 feet wide, and high enough for a man to 

 Btand in upright. A smooth floor of brick and good ventilation are 

 necessary. Over the floor a little clean straw should be spread every 

 second day, after removing that previously used, and washing down the 

 floor. A compartment about 2^ feet square should be assigned to each 

 Goose for laying and sitting, and when one is hatching the gander and 

 other Geese must be shut out from her. Wherever a Goose lays her first 

 egg she is very pertinacious in there depositing the remainder. The 

 Toulouse Goose is a very good layer, but rarely requires to sit, and, if she 

 does, is a very bad mother. Where laying Geese are kept together, and 

 they are liable to interrupt each other, remove the eggs daily, and mark 

 on each the day it was laid. They will continue good for three weeks ; 

 but the freshest eggs should be sat upon. If the Geese keep well to their 

 separate nests let the eggs remain. March and early April is the best 

 period for goslingB to be hatched in. 



Black Specks on AYLESBUitY Duck's Bill (Aylesbury Duck).— We 

 doubt whether you will by any means get rid of the black specks. They 

 are very common, and by no means a sign of impurity or degeneracy of 

 breed. They can be rnbbed out with pumice-stone, but they often bleed, 

 and the remedy is worse than the disease. There is a sort of sand or 

 grit in Buckinghamshire, ivhich is said to exercise a beneficial influence 

 on the bills of the Ducks. We do not belieye anything will remove the 

 black spots. Your feeding is very good, and the birds will yet increase 

 in weight. You are fixing a great task when you seek to attain 18 lbs. 

 the pair. 



Hatching Artificially {A Recent Subscriber). — Whatever the source 

 of heat, the temperature needed is the same, and in answer to your query 

 we cannot do better than give the following extract from our " Poultry- 

 Keeper's Manual: " — " Anything will make a hatching-machine in which 

 the temperature can be kept regularly at 104° or 105°. Tbe commonest 

 kitchen oven partly filled with dry sand, and kept at that temperature, 

 will unfailingly hatch eggs. It can'be done with greater certainty where 

 gas can be made use of. Hatching is too often to the amateur what 

 marriage is said to bo to a man — then his troubles begin. He cannot 

 make a mother. An incubator is useful in hot weather as a means of 



providing every hen with a large brood of chickens, but the artificial 

 mother is not equal to a good motherly hen." 



Cane ee in Young Pigeons, &c. (A Constant Subscriber).— Apply a 

 strong solution of alum to the mouths and throats of the birds twice a-day 

 with a feather. It may arise from bad constitution, or the parents eating 

 dirt with their food, or drinking bad water. Sand on the floor frequently 

 changed would tend to diminish, and not encourage, vermin. 



Diiied Ash Leaves as Provender for Cows in Winter (S.).— We 

 have made inquiry amongst our country correspondents as to gathering 

 and drying the leaves of the ash for winter use, but we cannot learn that 

 the practice has ever been adopted in England. The ash plants from 

 ■which the leaves are taken must be injured in consequence, and, there- 

 fore, we cannot recommend the practice except where an ash coppice is 

 to be destroyed. It is perfectly right to endeavour to increase the 

 amount of fodder for the ensuing winter, and we intend, amongst other 

 things, to give our cows a quantity of cut straw mixed with other 

 materials from the miller, and to steam the whole, avoiding as far aB 

 possible everything likely to give the milk a taste. 







METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS 









In the Suburbs o! London for the week ending Jnly 26th. 







:e 



EABOMETEK. 



THERMOMETER . 



Wind. 





Di 



Air. 



Earth. 



Rain. 





Max. 



Min. 



Max. 



Min. 



1 ft. 



2 ft. 





Wed. 



. 20 



3X159 



30.099 



89 



51 



72 



63 i W. 



.00 



Thurs 



. 21 



30.093 | 30.043 



90 



50 



72 



63 | W. 



.00 



F.-i. . 



22 



30.109 j 30.079 



91 



57 



72 



G4 



N.E. 



.00 



Sat. . 



. 23 



30.061 j 29 957 



82 



59 



73 



64 



E. 



.00 



Snrt. 



. 24- 



29.946 ! 29.792 



84 



6J 



70 



64 



S.E. 



.00 



Hon. 



. 25 



29.789 ! 29.725 



87 



55 



69 



64 



S.E. 



•26 



Toes. 



. 26 

 4111.. 



29.S59 | 29.848 



81 



58 



66 



64 



S. 



.02 



31 



SJ.002 1 29.934 



86.29 



55 71 



70.57 



63.71 



0.28 



20. — Fine ; exceedingly fine ; clear and fine at night. 

 21. — Very fine ; fine and very hot ; clear and fine. 

 22. — Exceedingly fine ; very fine ; fine, starlight. 

 23.— Very fine ; exceedingly fine; fine and clear. 

 £4.— Cloudy but fine ; very fine ; clear and fine. 

 25.— Fine but overcast ; very fine ; clear and fine. 

 26. — Thunderstorm ; overcast, very damp ; fine. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— July 27. 



Very little variation is to be noticed here, for although there is a large 

 influx of soft fruit, the market is well attended by buyers to clear it 

 away. The demand for hothouse produce, however, has much fallen off, 

 the London season being over. In the Potato market we find a difficulty 

 in meeting with good rounds, but kidney sorts are abundant and good. 



FRUIT. 



Apples i sieve 



Apricota doz. 



Cherries lb. 



Chestnuta bushel 



Currants £ sieve 



Black , do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, Hothouse.... lb. 



Lemons ^-100 



Melons i each 



Artichokes doz. 



Asparagus ^100 



Beans, Kidney ...} sieve. 



Broad bushel 



Beet, Red doz. 



Broccoli bundle 



Brussels Sprouts. .Jsieve 



Cabbage doz. 



Capsicums ^-100 



CaiTOta bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 



Celery bundle 



Coleworts..doz. bunches 

 Cucumbers each 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 



Fennel bunch 



Garlic lb. 



Herbs bunch 



Horseradish .... bundle 



Mulberries quart 



Nectarines doz. 



Oranges ^100 



Peaches doz. 



Pears, kitchen doz. 



dessert doz. 



Pine Apples lb. 



Plums i sieve 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries lb. 



Walnuts bushel 10 



do ^100 1 



d. 6. 

 OtoO 

 12 

 

 

 

 

 6 

 

 

 3 

 6 

 

 



VEGETABLES. 



E. d. S. 

 3 0to6 

 8 































4 







6 







Leeks bunch 



Lettuce doz. 



Mushrooms pottle 



Mustard & Cress, .punnet 

 Onions bushel 



pickling quart 



Parsley sieve 



Parsnips doz. 



Peas quart 



Potatoes buBhel 



Kidney do. 



Radishes .. doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows . , doz. 



s. d. s. 



4 to 



1 

 8 

 

 4 

 

 S 

 



1 



4 

 6 

 1 

 

 

 

 

 3 



POULTRY MARKET.— July 27. 

 Prices gradually diminish, and will do so for a short time. We are led 

 by the change that is coming over the trade to think of Grouse ; and 

 then we shall drift on to Michaelmas. 



s. d. 0. d. 

 Guinea Fowls to 



S. d. 8. d. 



LargeFowls 3 6to 4 



Smaller ditto S 3 6 



Chickens 2 2 6 



Dueks 2 2 6 



Geese 5 6 6 



Turkeys 



Pigeons 8 9 



Rabbits 14 16 



Wild ditto 8 9 



Hares 



Partridges 



