JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
162 
VARIETIES. 
The Mechi Fend. —The following letter has been received by- 
Mr. Samuel Morley, M.P., in reply to an application addressed by 
him to Mr. Gladstone in the interest of the “ Mechi Fund —“ I 
shall be prepared to recommend a grant of £200 from the Royal 
Bounty Fund for the benefit of Mrs. Mechi. I have learned with 
satisfaction that the subscription which you mention has been under¬ 
taken on her behalf, and I wish it success, as an acknowdedgment of 
Mr. Mechi’s great and long-continued services to British agriculture. 
—W. E. Gladstone.” 
- Suttons’ Farmers’Year Book. —This annual which, besides 
giving instructions for the cultivation of some of the principal root 
and forage crops, contains a”concise calendar of farming operations 
with special and excellent articles on the vermin of the farm, and the 
chemistry of farm crops, which may be read with advantage by 
those engaged in agricultural pursuits. 
- The Formation of Permanent Pastures. — This pam¬ 
phlet of Messrs. Webb & Sons, of Wordsley, Stourbridge, contains 
practical instructions on the drainage of land, preparation of the soil, 
seeds and sowing, with notes on the after culture and management of 
pastures, and a list of forage plants suitable for various soils. 
- Cereals in India.—S ome experiments have been made at 
the Cawnpore Experimental Farm during 1879-80 on the cultivation 
of imported English and American Wheats and Barleys. The result 
seems to point to the conclusion that the time available for the 
growth of cereals in India is too short to allow of English and 
American varieties being grown with success, unless possibly the 
seed is sown in September and runs a risk of being damaged by ex¬ 
cessive heat. Experimental sowings were made of three kinds of 
English and three kinds of American Wheat, as well as of three kinds 
of Barley. All nine sowings were complete failures. The seeds in 
most cases germinated freely, and the plants spread out into stools in 
a manner very different to the habit of country Wheat. But all 
crops grow extremely slowly, and were still green when native 
Wheat had finished ripening. In consequence the hot winds of March 
completely shrivelled up whatever grain had been formed, and no 
crop worth the name was gathered.— (Nature.) 
- Work for Women.—T here is nothing connected with poultry 
raising, whether for exhibition or for market, that a woman cannot 
do better than most men, and I would advise all women who from 
choice or necessity desire to enter the ranks of the producers, and 
who possess the facilities for poultry raising, to turn their attention 
to this agreeable pursuit. Mrs. Harrison has warned women not to 
expect to find a “ bonanza ” in bee-keeping, and I can assure them 
that poultry keeping is no “ royal road to wealth but I know that 
any woman who possesses a fair share of energy and brains, and 
who can devote a part of her time to the work, can make it fairly 
remunerative. Will farmers and farmers’ wives think of what I have 
said ? and if they will put their thoughts into words for the benefit of 
our readers so much the better.— Fanny Field (in Prairie Farmer). 
-Birmingham Agricultural Exhibition Society—Pre¬ 
sentation to Mr. Lythall.— At the last meeting of the Council of 
this Society, held at the Queen’s Hotel, a conversation took place 
with reference to the necessity of postponing the Shorthorn Show, 
which had been fixed for March 9th and 10th, on account of the pre¬ 
valence of foot-and-mouth disease in the country. Ultimately a 
resolution was passed, on the motion of the Chairman, seconded by 
Mr. Holliday, postponing the Show till April 27th and 28th. The 
Council fixed the Cattle Show for November 26th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 
and December 1st. The Chairman, on behalf of the Council, presented 
Mr. Lythall, in recognition of his services as Secretary for a period 
of twenty-one years, with a richly chased and engraved “ antique ” 
pattern silver tea and coffee service ; silver-mounted oak coffee tray, 
with shield and ebony handles, with pierced decoration ; a richly 
ornamented silver biscuit box, a handsome timepiece, and a pair of 
bronze vases to correspond. The articles, which were supplied by 
Messrs. Mapplebeck & Lowe, bore the following inscription: — 
Presented by the Birmingham Agricultural Exhibition Society to 
[ February 24, 1881. 
Mr. J. B. Lythall, in recognition of his valuable services as Secretary 
for a period of twenty-one years. January, 1881.” In making the 
presentation, the Chairman said it would be in the recollection of the 
Council that in January last a sub-committee recommended that Mr. 
Lythall’s salary be increased by £100 per annum, and that in consider¬ 
ation of his twenty-one years’ service the sum of £100 should be 
appropriated for the purchase of a piece of plate. The recommenda¬ 
tions of the sub-committee were adopted by the Council. Mr. Lythall, 
instead of selecting one piece of plate, selected a number of articles 
of a useful as well as of an ornamental character. He thought 
Mr. Lythall had exercised great discretion in the selection he had 
made, and, on behalf of the Council, he had very great pleasure in 
making the presentation to him. The presentation was not solicited 
on Mr. Lythall’s part; it emanated entirely from the Council itself. 
Mr. Lythall, in returning thanks, said it was particularly gratifying 
to him to find that his endeavours to perform his duties during a 
period of twenty-one years had met with their approval. He took 
the opportunity of thanking those gentlemen who had acted as 
stewards and taken an active part in the management of the shows 
for the kind assistance and support which they had given him during 
the whole of that period. For the very handsome present which the 
Council had given him he returned his most sincere thanks, and he 
assured them it would be highly esteemed by himself and his family. 
d 
M 
FOWLS EATING FEATHERS. 
I read with great interest Col. Taylor’s “ Poultry Experiences ” 
on page 122. I was exceedingly pleased to see that he alluded to 
that pernicious habit—feather-eating, and I have no doubt, like 
myself, many readers of your esteemed Journal will feel grateful 
to your correspondent for the remedy he has recommended. I 
have been perplexed with my fowls for the last two years owing 
to their feather-eating propensities. I have been trying the 
flowers of sulphur, but I am at a loss to know how much to use. 
I have thirteen fowls ; would two or three tablespoonfuls be too 
much for the above number ? and should it be given on successive 
days, say once a day, or at intervals ? 1 should feel greatly 
obliged if Col. Taylor would oblige me with the desired informa¬ 
tion. 1 am also at a loss to know what induces fowls to eat their 
feathers. I am disposed to think that feather-eating might be 
caused by a deficiency of grubs and insects. Three years ago I 
lived in the neighbourhood of London, and I had a quantity of 
fowls in confinement, and they never took to feather-eating. I 
had facilities of obtaining quantities of cheap meat, and I used to 
give them a little of this every day ; here I do not possess those 
advantages. I think a little meat daily might prevent feather¬ 
eating. My fowls acquired the bad habit when they were con¬ 
fined in a very small house and run. Twelve months ago I had a 
larger house and run constructed ; at present the fowls look much 
better, but several of them have just commenced the bad habit 
again. I don’t think it affects their laying properties, but they 
look miserable. The opinion of some of your able correspondents 
on the above subject would be very acceptable.— John Melyille, 
Great Tew Park, Enstone. 
POULTRY KEEPING DOES PAY. 
I think the above has been very clearly proved by many of 
your correspondents, and I feel assured that if it pays to keep any 
sort or breed of fowl for their eggs and table qualities it will pay 
much better to keep a “ pure breed,” so that you can sell the eggs 
for sitting and the chickens you rear at a good if not at a fancy 
price. I enclose you a statement of my poultry account for the 
past year, and I may add that my accommodation is very limited 
—in fact, all my birds are wired in, and only have a little run ; 
but I give them plenty of good food and a hot meal of scraps 
boiled together and mixed with barleymeal every day, in which 1 
put occasionally a little cayenne pepper or flowers of sulphur. I 
also throw in all the garden refuse, which they are very fond of 
picking over, and when it begins to decay I turn it out and turn 
up the soil with a fork every few weeks. By this means I have 
kept all my fowls in good health, and made a very good profit. 
I keep Golden-spangled Hamburghs, and I have found them 
