52 



JOURNAL OP HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



[ July 11, 1872. 



condition, constitute a display, not only -valuable to science, but 

 most attractive and instructive to the public. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



under the adapt ing-board, fix a thin one, clamped at the edges, to the top of 

 the straw hive with a round rim of soft putty at a little distance from the 

 central hole, press it well but gradually down, and let it remain as a fixture. 

 You can, if you please, use a loose adapting-board on the top of this one 

 when you put on your super. 



Influence of Cock on his Posterity (P. Jlf. H.).— Your question is not 

 quite clear. If the hen, the produce of father and mother of different breeds, 

 he mated with a cock of her own breed, it must be with one produced like 

 herself. "We believe we know your meaning. For instance, a pullet hatched 

 between aDorkinghen and Brahma cock, and then put to a Brahma cock, will 

 the produce show any Dorking blood ? YeB, always. The appearance of it 

 will soon he lost, but the taint or mixture remains, and will show itself in 

 such a cross when least expected, by producing the clean white leg and fifth 

 claw of the Dorking with an otherwise apparently pure Brahma. 

 _ Various (L. V. S.).— Your first question refers to a point that is still unde- 

 cided. We cannot guess at the number of eggs. It would probably he 

 affected by the duration of the mesalliance, and also by previous and afterlife. 

 If the hen had been alone previously, and was in had company for a short time 

 only, but few eggs would he affected, and this number would be much dimi- 

 nished if she returned to another cock at once. In many cases a set of eggs 

 is affected by one visit to the cock, but it is equally sure'that when fowls run 

 promiscuously, there will be unmistakeable evidence in a hatching of eggs of 

 the presence and attentions of many different cocks. We know no process by 

 which you can make a broken new-laid egg boil as hard as a whole one. Wo 

 shall attend to your hint about economy in food in an early number. 



Poultry Food (H. 8.).~ We do not like buckwheat as well as barley or oat- 

 meal for poultry- feeding. Maize and buckwheat will make great quantities of 

 fat, but will not induce laying. If your birds ate the eggs, they would do so 

 without leaving any trace or sign in the shape of shell or yolk. We advise 

 you to do away with the buckwheat, which is too oleaginous, and substitute 

 oat or barleymeal. The latter are every way preferable, and will cause more 

 laying. As we have no doubt your fowls are excessively fat, we recommend 

 you to discontinue the maize for a time and confine yourself to our home- 

 grown cereals. 



Cochins Diseased— Weight [Evergreen),— Cochins are not often attacked 

 as you describe, but when they are the malady is difficult to cure. In the 

 early stages before they have become enfeebled, it is well to begin with a 

 smart dose of castor oil. The mouth and nostrils should be well washed out 

 with cold water, and alum or vinegar. The patients should be sparingly fed 

 on bread and ale, and have water given to them only three times per day. A 

 camphor pill the size of a garden pea should be given two or three times per 

 day till the discharge leases. The weights you mention are very fair, and if 

 as you say " all other points are good" your birds are above the average, and 

 may fairly look to be distinguished at any show. We cannot understand 

 prizes being given to fowls with diseased legs. Such decisions lead exhibitors 

 to believe these disorders are unimportant. They are not guarded against 

 nor prevented, and hence threaten to become general. From such laxity of 

 purpose, poultry elephantiasis is becoming common among us. 



Cambridge Poultry Show. — We have received intimation that the late 

 Cambridge Poultry Show was held in connection with the Cambridgeshire and 

 Isle of Ely Agricultural Society, and that the excellent arrangements were 

 entirely due to the gratuitous services of Mr. Charles Heed, and not, as we 

 supposed, of a commit teo of management. 



Exhibiting a Broken-legged Pigeon (Madoc). — We consider this a 

 matter of degree. Thus, an exhibition or show pre-supposes that the birds are 

 fit to he seen, and worthy of admiration. A Pigeon with only one leg would 

 not be so, neither would one with a leg so badly set that it could not move 

 without great lameness, and being pointed at as a cripple. If, however, your 

 Pigeon only limps a little, and that little grows each day less, we think it not 

 unfitted for exhibition. 



Brood in Supers, and Bees Persisting in Swarming (JR. W.). — We do 

 not see that you made any mistake in your early management of your bees. 

 You did quite right in using your partially filled bell-glasses. It is sometimes 

 very difficult to account for the reason why supers on aome hives should he 

 properly filled, while those on others are made the receptacles for brood. In 

 your case we should say that the cause has been from your stock hives being 

 much too small to contain all the brood that your healthy queens required 

 space for. We have always condemned the improved hive you mention on 

 that very ground, it is much too small; and a common cottage hive used for 

 supering purposes is equally objectionable for the same reason. We have 

 generally found, perhaps in nine cases out of ten, that when brood has been 

 deposited largely in the super, that hive will throw off a swarm. The largest 

 proportion of the brood in such supers is usually drone brood. When swarms 

 are united they should, if possible, be those that have issued on the same day ; 

 and you would have acted more judiciously if you had joined the two second 

 swarms together, instead of uniting a second to a first with an interval of a 

 week or nine days. When it is desirable to unite swarms after such an in- 

 terval, it is necessary to slightly fumigate both lots of bees and sprinkle 

 well with sugared water, reversing the hive containing the first swarm for that 

 purpose. While so reversed, the second lot may be dashed right down among 

 the others so as to ensure as rapid a commingling as possible. The hive must 

 then be turned over gently in the direction from front to back on to its floor 

 board, two or three wedges or sticks having been placed thereon, which must 

 be gradually withdrawn when the bees begin to settle inside. But, however 

 done, there is some risk of fighting and loss attending it. There is seldom 

 any fighting when two swarms of the current day are joined together. It is 

 hardly likely that your bees will do much more in the supers. 



Driving Bees (Zi. C). — Decidedly we would recommend you to wait till 

 the spring, and drive the bees out as you propose, only we would make a 

 swarm of the driven bees early in May, putting the swarm in the old stock's 

 place. The stock itself, after the removal of the bees, we would put in the 

 place of some other strong stock. Then, at the end of three weeks, you would 

 find the hive ready for manipulation. This, we think, you would find the 

 most satisfactory plan, although about the middle of September you would 

 find little, if any, brood in the hive : but, perhaps, the honey would annoy 

 you. We use nothing but the smoke of the brown paper itself, and find it 

 fully sufficient for all purposes short of actually stupifying the bees ; but we 

 carefully avoid stupifying them, as being unnecessary, cruel, and filthy. 



"Eradicating Larv.e of Wax-Moth {R. A. S.). — There is no effectual 

 method of getting rid of the pest in your case except by cutting out and 

 melting up the combs. If the insects have made such a head as you state, 

 he strongest colony of bees must succumb. To prevent the moth getting in 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Square, London. 



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



Datb. 



A.M. 



In the Day. 





1872. 

 July 



Barome- 

 ter at 32" 

 and Sea 

 Level. 



Hydrome- 

 ter. 



II 



a ° 





Shade Tem- 

 perature. 



Radiation 

 Temperature 



i 



Dry. 



Wet. 



Max. 



Min. 



In 

 Bun. 



On 



grass 





We. S 

 Th. 4 

 Fri. 5 

 Sat. 6 

 Sun. 7 

 Mo. 8 

 Tu. 9 



Inches. 

 30.204 

 30.236 

 30.149 

 29 963 

 29.7G3 

 29.760 

 29.852 



deg. 

 66 7 

 67.7 

 7S6 

 73.7 

 75.2 

 62 5 

 59.6 



dog. 

 57.3 

 60.8 

 644 

 63.0 

 60.9 

 57.9 

 58.1 



N.W. 



W. 

 S.W. 

 N.W. 



S.E. 



W. 



s. 



deg. 

 61.9 

 62.8 

 64.7 

 65.2 

 64.9 

 65.3 

 63.3 



deg. 

 77.6 

 82.6 

 85.1 

 85.2 

 84.2 

 71.8 

 71.1 



deer. 

 48.8 

 53.1 

 68.1 

 54.1 

 59.3 

 60.3 

 53.8 



deg. 

 129.5 

 130.0 

 123.1 

 122.S 

 129.8 

 107.3 

 116.1 



deg. 

 48.0 

 51.5 

 55.8 

 53.4 

 58.4 

 60.3 

 52.6 



In. 



0.230 



0.05ft 

 0.090 



Means 



29.990 



6S4 



60.3 





64.0 



79.7 1 55.4 



122.7 



54.3 



0.370 



REMARKS. 

 3rd.— Fine summer day, rather cloudy between 7 and 8 p.m., but only for a 



short time. 

 4th. — A very fine day, warmer than yesterday, rather thick in the evening, 



and scarce any movement in the air. 

 5th. — Rather thick in the morning, but a splendid day, though rather too hot. 



Brilliant starlit night. 

 6th. — Very fine and very warm morning ; thunderstorm commencing about 



1.40 p.m. with heavy rain and very dark, but fine after. 

 7th. — A very fine day, though looking rather stormlike between 5 and 6 p.m., 



and a few drops of rain fell. Red and white aurora between 10.30 and. 



11.30 p.m. 

 8th.— Cooler and rather dull in the morning, and partially so all day, though. 



no rain fell. 

 9th. — Rainy and rainlike in morning, and showery till the latter part of the 



afternoon, then bright and fine evening. 

 Temperature (a.m.) same as week ending on 18th of June. Mas. in shade a. 

 trifle higher, and min. 3 n higher; underground 6° higher, but the sun mas. 

 nearly the same, thus showing that the difference was caused rather by general, 

 warmth than by the influence of hot sun. — G. J. Symons. 



COYENT GARDEN MARKET.— July 10. 



The late driving weather has rapidly hastened the ripening of bush fruit,, 

 so that we have had a good trade doing in small fruit, and, as usual at this sea- 

 son, a great quantity is taken up for the northern markets. Rough goods ara 

 in fair request. French fruit is liberally supplied, and comprises the usual 

 kinds at this season. 



FRUIT. 



Apples $ sieve 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries per lb. 



Chestnuts bushel 



Currants i sieve 



Black do. 



Figs doz. 



Filberts lb. 



Cobs lb. 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse.... lb. 



Lemons 3^100 



Melons each 



8. d. s 

 3 OtoO 



3 8 



6 1 







6 





 

 





 

 1 

 

 6 

 

 8 

 



s. d. s. d. 



Mulberries ^lb. to ff 



NectarineH doz. 8 



Oranees ^100 S 



Peaches doz. 10 



Pears, kitchen doz. 



dessert doz. 



Pine Apples lb. 5 



Plums $ sieve 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries S[?Tb. 1 



Walnuts bushel 10 



ditto ^100 1 



15 

 12 O 









 



o ? 3 



25 

 2 



Artichokes doz. 4 



Asparagui ^100. 4 



Beans, Kidney.. ..per 100 1 



Broad bushel 6 



Beet, Red doz. 1 



Broccoli bundle 



Cabbage doz. 1 



Capsicums W0 



Carrots bunch 



Cauliflower doz. 2 



Celery bundle 1 



Coleworts.. doz. bunches 2 



Cucumbers each 



pickling doz. 



Endive doz. 2 



Fennel bunch 



Garlio lb. 



Herbs . bunch 



Horseradish bundle 5 



Leeks : bunch 



Lettuce doz. 



VEGETABLES. 



, d. s. d | 



to 6 Mushrooms pottle 



8 ' Mustard & Cress. .punnet 



2 Onions bunch 



; pickling quart 



S Parsley per doz. bunches 



1 6 Parsnips doz. 



1 6 | Peas quart 



| Potatoes bushel 



Kidney do. 



4 I New Vlb. 



2 Radishes., doz. bunches 

 8 Rhubarb bundle 



1 ; Salsafy ^bundle 



Savoys doz. 



; Scorzonera .... ^bundle 



Sea-kale basket 



Shallots lb. 



Spinach bushel 



7 Tomatoes doz. 



2 Turnips bunch 



1 i Vegetable Marrows. .doz. 



b. d. 8. d. 

 3 Oto'5 (>■ 

 

 



POULTRY MARKET.— July 10. 

 There have been the usual accompaniments of very hot weather. Some* 

 lots have sold very well, some have brought bad accounts. Taken as a whole, 

 prices have been higher than we expected, and higher than they usually aro 

 at this season. 



8. d. 



Large Fowls 4 to 



Smaller ditto S 



Chickens 2 6 



Goslings 6 



Ducklintrs 8 6 



Guinea Fowls 



B. d 

 4 6 





B. d. 

 



b. a 



to 



3 6 

 8 



Rabbits 



e 9 



1 G 



ID 



fi 6 





9 



10 



i 

 









 



