28 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 4, 1872. 



every desirable quality, but useless for show, at this price), "will 

 be .£3 10s. ; and if all their eggs were set and reared for market, 

 this extra cost would be many times repaid in the extra weight, 

 hardiness, and early maturity of the produce. And though these 

 parent birds would be such as by the amateur are vulgarly called 

 " screws," they are such as will never be reared by the mere 

 farmer. The birds of fanciers attain a size which is never kept 

 np long by the commercial breeder, simply because they get 

 such food as the breeder or farmer will never give. The best 

 milk, the best meal, eggs, meat, assiduous care — are all devoted 

 to them; and the despised amateur thus maintains the stock 

 which furnishes the raw material for all real improvement in 

 market poultry. — From Weight's Illustrated Book of Poultry, 

 for July. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Light Brahmas at BrrariNGHASi. — Mr. J. Rodbard, Aldwick Court, "Wring- 

 ton, Bristol, writes to say that the cup and first prize for light Brahma 

 hens, in Class 14, were taken by him, and not by Mr. T. A. Dean. 



Lice in Ttireets (A Subscriber). — These vermin in poultry are effectually 

 destroyed by thoroughly dusting flowers of sulphur down to the roots of the 

 feathers twice or thrice, with the interval of a day between each two dustings. 

 The best conrse of procedure, however, when you detect lice, is to give im- 

 mediate relief by putting a little sweet oil with the ringer on the poll of the 

 head and under each wing ; then let the birds have a dust bath. Thoroughly 

 dry coal ashes are best for this bath, and mix a pound of flowers of sulphur 

 with the ashes. 



Food for Chickens (Little Chickens). — The best food yon can give little 

 chickens is curd, chopped boiled egg, bread and milk, and cooked meat 

 chopped fine. 



Purple Lumps on Dead Fowls (Stoncy Fields). — Your fowls pick np 

 something tbat disagrees with them, and they are not in condition to get 

 over it. "We advise yon to alter your food. Give ground oats or barleymeal 

 morning and evening, Indian corn at midday, and discontinue the scraps at 

 present. 



Introducing a Ligtjrian Queen (H. F. £.). — We would advise you not to 

 attempt substituting aLigurian queen for a black_ queen in the case of a 

 swarm. We do not think it at all practicable. Nothing is easier than to 

 catch the queen of a swarm : you have only to hive the swarm, and then dash 

 them out on the ground and watch for the queen. If you put the empty hive 

 near them you will see her marching towards it. We have often caught queens 

 in this way, young and old. If you fail in seeing her the first time dash them 

 out again, and so on till yon see her. But although it is easy enough to 

 catch the old queen, we doubt very much whether the bees would take another 

 in her place. Perhaps some of the readers of this Journal have had some ex- 

 perience in this direction ; if so, will they kindly give it ? An old hand would 

 tryitbysubstitutinganotherqueenwhilethebeesai'e on the ground and watch- 

 ing the issue. The- instinct of fear does certainly paralyse bees, so that wonder 

 ful things can be donewith them at such times. But we would not make the 

 first trial with a valuable Italian queen. As you confess yourself a novice we 

 should not advise you to attempt it. There are generally a quantity of drones 

 with all swarms, but this would not matter the first year, because your 

 Italian queen would be impregnated already when yon bought her. In the 

 case of a common straw hive, being an old stock, you cannot catch the queen 

 without driving; but when driven the queen can be as easily caught as in_ 

 the case of a swarm. "We would then return the bees and put them on then- 

 old stance. Nest cut out a piece of the straw at the top of the hive together 

 with the comb attached to it, so as to allow for the admission of a " cage, 1 ' 

 into which we would slip the Italian queen as soon as the bees had well dis- 

 covered their loss. "We believe yon can procure one of these queen-cages from 

 the Messrs. Neighbour, the same as were used by the late Mr. "Woodbury. 

 The queen must be left in this cage for a day or two, and then liberated. In 

 the case of a bar-and-frame hive you may catch the queen at any time you 

 please, and substitute the Italian queen by means of a cage as describedabove. 

 The month of August or September we think far better than before for sub- 

 stituting these queens. They will almost immediately begin to lay (especially 

 if you quicken them by feeding), and not wait till the following spring. 

 Maiden swarms are exceptional in this country. They rarely issue from any 

 but early May swarms, and are seldom worth anything. We have had them 

 several times, hut consider them a misfortune. They will issue sometimes as 

 early as the middle of June, but rarely before July. 

 Cats Invading (T. S.). — Tho best mode of excluding them was published 

 by ns some time since ; wo republish it 

 for the aid of you and others — " The 

 grandest discoveries have ever been of 

 the simplest character. Fasten wire- 

 netting flat on the top of the wall or 

 fence, like a coping, projecting 2 feet 

 on each side — if it bend down by its 

 own weight and form an angle so much 

 the better — I have for now six months 

 been able to defy all the assaults of the 

 enemy. I have seen many a grimalkin, 

 perched in a tree, with wistful eye 

 * view the landscape o'er,' but never 

 yet has one managed to cross. It 

 might be asked, Why have the wire on 

 your own side too ? Stop a bit ; the 

 foe may get in through a gate or window 

 carelessly left open, and, then, if anyone 

 is fond of what our neighbours call ' le 

 sport,' if he admires feats of agility, 

 he will wish to keep the intruder from 

 getting out immediately. ' Let him 

 close the gate and begin." 



Smell of Paint {Alice). — Sprinkle 

 a little chloride of lime on some hay, 

 and place it on a plate in the newly- 

 painted room. It is said that it will remove the smell. 



Cows and Pigs (Novice). — We cannot tell you how yon " ought to balance 

 their numbers." " Every cow should fatten one pig," is an old rule and a 



good one — that is, the daily product of a good cow should be in butter-milk 

 and whey enough to feed one pig. 



Erratum.— Number of Drones in a Hive (M. F. S.).—Iii our reply 

 last week (page 532) under this heading, we are, by a printer's error, made to 

 utter a libel against many of the first authors on bees. Instead of asserting 

 that, " We do not know of any reliable author on bees who much under- 

 stands the number of drones, &c," we wrote that we do not know of any who 

 much understates the number, thus meaning to uphold their judgment 

 rather than to cast a stigma upon it. 



Sheep (Cosmopolite). — Milburn's "Sheep and Shepherding" is a very 

 good little volume. " 



Stall-feeding Cows (TeignmoutJi). — "The Cow," by M. Milburn, is an 

 excellent book, and includes stall-feeding. There is also a very superior 

 essay in the "Quarterly Journal of Agriculture,' 7 vol. i., page 170, entitled 

 "On House and Yard-feeding Cows for the Supply of Milk." 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



Lat. 51° 32' 40" N. ; Long. 3 8' 0" W. ; Altitude 111 feet 



Date. 



A.LI. 



Ik the Day. 





1872. 





Hyfrrome- 

 ter. 





. e3 . 



Shade Tem- 

 perature. 



Radiation 

 Temperature 



3 



June. 





Sis 



I'l- 









M 



and 



'S'SSS 









In 



On 





Jnly 



a- Cl- 



Dry. 



Wet. 



o = 





Mas. 



Min. 



sun. 



grass 









inches. 



aes. 



dejr. 







deE. 



deg. 



deg. 



deg. 



In. 

 0.130 

 0.250 



We. 56 



29.867 



64 4 



54.0 



s.w. 



61.6 



67.5 



52.S 



117.9 



52 



Th. 27 



29.995 



63.3 



55.S 



s.w. 



60.2 



6S.9 



48 9 



121.5 



47.2 



Fri. 28 



29.814 



63 2 



57.5 



w.s.w. 



60.5 



71.2 



55.4 



121.3 



66.0 





Sat. 29 



29 954 



61.3 



528 



w. 



59.8 



73.3 



46.5 



130.5 



42.3 



0.1SO 



Sun. SO 



29.972 



67.1 



57.1 



s. 



61.0 



75.3 



45.9 



120.9 



41.9 



Mo. 1 



29.836 



59.7 



56.6 



w. 



62 8 



71.9 



57.1 



120.1 



55.5 





Tu. 2 



29.980 



65.1 



59.6 



w. 



61.9 



76.0 



55.2 



130.3 



52.6 



" 



Means 



29.917 



63.4 



56.2 





61.1 



72.0 



51.7 



123.2 



49.6 



0.560 



REMARKS. 

 26th.— Fine morning; frequent showers, and some of them rather heavy, 



during the afternoon ; fair evening. 

 27th.— Fail- but cold in morning; frequent and heavy showers in the after- 

 noon and evening. . - 

 2Sth.— Very windy morning, but fair ; and getting more so gradually to the 



evening, which was fine. 

 29th. — A lovely dav, sunny and bright, hut not too hot. 

 30th.— Rather thick in the morning ; fine and bright in the middle and after 



part of the dav: rather cloudy in the evening. 

 July 1st.— Heavy rain in early morning; but getting gradually finer till mid- 

 day, after which the weather was splendid; but rain again at midnight. 

 2nd.— Slight rain early; but afterwards a most agreeable day, sun bright and 



warm, but not oppressive. 

 Not quite so warm as the two previous weeks, although the temperature in 

 the sun is higher than any week this year ; hut there having been more move- 

 ment in the air and frequent showers, this excess of radiant heat has not 

 materially affected the temperature of the air. — G. J. St^ions. 



(COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— JutY 3. 

 What few changes have occurred here are scarcely worth quoting, 

 house fruit is scarcely so good a trade as last week. 



FRUIT. 



a. d. s. d 



Apples * sieve to 



Apricots doz. 2 3 



Cherries perborc 2 4 



Chestnuts bushel 10 20 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 6 12 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 6 10 



Gooseberries quart 6 9 



GrapeB. hothouse.... lb. 3 7 



Lemons ^100 7 10 



Melons each 5 10 



B. d. a. £ 



Mulberries ^-lb. OtnO 



Nectarines doz. 8 b 



Oran 2 es ^100 4 10 



Peaches doz. 10 24 



Pears, kitchen doz. 



dessert doz. 



PineApples lb. 5 8 



Plums M ieT e 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries ^lb. 10 5 



Walnuts bushel 10 25 



ditto ^100 1 G, 2 



VEGETABLES. 



Artichokes doz. 4 to 6 



Asparagus ^100. 4 8 



Beans, Kidney. ...per 100 1 2 



Broad bushel 



Beet.Red doz. 1 



Broccoli bundle 9 



Cabbage doz. 1 



Capsicums ^100 



Carrots bunch 6 



Cauliflower doz. 2 



Celery bundle 1 6 



Coleworts.. doz. bunches 2 



Cucumbers each 6 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 2 



Fennel buncb S 



Garlic lb. 8 



Herbs buncb 3 



Horseradish bundle 5 



Leefcs : bunch 



Lettuce doz. 9 



d 



! Mushrooms pottle 



I Mustard & Cress. .punnet 



Onions bunch 



pickling quart 



Parsley per doz. bnnches 



6 Parsnips doz. 



6 Peas quart 



Potatoes bushel 



Kiduev do. 



New ^lb. 



Radishes., doz. bunches 



Rhubarb bjDdle 



Salsafy ^bundle 



Savoys doz. 



Scorzonera .... $* bundle 



Sea-Rale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



Tomatoes doz. 



2 Turnips bunch 



Vegetable Marrows. .doz. 



0to3 

 



POULTRY MARKET.— July. 3. 

 There is little alteration in the supply or price, hut a diminution in tho 

 latter may be looked for daily. 



