JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
T 
246 
[ March 24, 1881. 
some Dark Dorkings from one of the oldest breeders of them. 
They are the real original Dorking, and have the points so accu¬ 
rately delineated by Mr. Cresswell. They are really splendid 
fowls, and it would indeed be a pity were another form substituted. 
What I want to suggest is this, Let all interested in Dorkings 
read carefully Mr. Cresswell’s remarks, adopt his opinions as a 
standard to breed to, and there will not be the slightest danger of 
the Dorking losing its best qualities.— J. Muir, Margam. 
CROSS-BRED POULTRY. 
It has often seemed to us a pity that some of the many poultry 
fanciers who wish to make their yards useful as well as orna¬ 
mental do not take a little more trouble in trying the results of 
various first crosses of pure breeds. We should indeed be the 
last to depreciate really pure-bred poultry ; the particular require¬ 
ments of each breeder can be satisfied by them, and their special 
excellencies are known beforehand ; the advantages to be derived 
from keeping them distinct are manifold, and we have often 
dilated upon them. There are, however, cases in which first 
crosses are advisable. We say first, for beyond these the special 
benefits derived from a cross generally seem lost. Cross-bred 
birds are proverbially hardy, and can be reared in adverse cir¬ 
cumstances. The subject of this article has been suggested to us 
by the frequent appearance in show schedules of classes with 
liberal prizes for cross-bred fowls, which one would expect to 
find well filled with useful plump-looking birds. Such is not, 
however, the case ; indeed we hardly remember having seen 
a class with more than one or two pens really adapted to the 
table. The best class of the kind we ever saw was two years ago 
at Scarborough ; but even then great size, such as it is well known 
that the Brahma-Dorking cross produces, seemed to have been 
more thought of than the production of small-boned plump fowls. 
At Guildford, one of the centres of the poultry-breeding districts 
of Surrey, liberal prizes were offered by a gentleman for cross¬ 
bred fowls, but the winners of them had the appearance of being 
picked up from a miscellaneous lot. Now the schedule of the 
Birmingham Dairy Show is before us. In it are classes with four 
prizes in each both for trios of cross-bred fowls of 1880 and 1881, 
open to general competition ; there are also similar prizes confined 
to Warwickshire tenant farmers and cottagers. The season is 
almost too far advanced for the offer of these prizes to stimulate 
breeding this year, but we hope that it may do so against the 
dairy show of another year. The Brahma-Dorking cross is often 
quoted as the best ; birds, however, produced by it must be eaten 
early or they become coarse ; they are generally too large in bone. 
Houdans or Creves crossed with Brahmas produce very hardy 
and useful fowls, the hens generally wonderful layers. Dorking 
and Game has always been a favourite cross with us; we 
suspect, however, that Polish and Dorking would produce a 
most useful fowl and excellent for the table. We have of late 
quite disproved in practice the theory that Polish are delicate 
fowds ; Dorkings, too, in fairly favourable circumstances are as 
robust as most breeds. We are much inclined to think that the 
union of the two would be a great success ; at any rate this and 
many other crosses are quite worth while trying, and we shall be 
glad to know the results of any experiments. Of course there 
are in all such experiments two distinct objects which may be 
aimed at—firstly, the production of a good table fowl, and secondly 
of a race of good layers. For the former the most hardy, healthy, 
and shapely specimens should be selected ; for the second it is 
also of great advantage that hens known individually as the best 
and earliest layers should be chosen. We are persuaded that in 
this respect pullets as a rule follow their mothers, and that conse¬ 
quently much might be done by careful selection. Year after 
year in our own yards the same hens lay first, and often birds 
of three or four years old quite anticipate all the pullets. Such 
are very valuable, and might be made the beginning of improved 
strains.—C. 
POULTRY NOTES. 
It is instructive to observe the effect which different seasons 
have upon the health of poultry. A good indication of it is the 
proportion of eggs, and still more the proportion of fertile eggs 
we get. We have always observed that in winters and springs 
when there are many alternations of frost and thaw there are few 
fertile eggs. This winter, in spite of the intense frost, in which 
our birds suffered terribly from frost-bitten combs, we have had 
a very large proportion of fertile eggs, indeed we have hardly had 
a clear one. We attribute it to the fact that the spells of weather 
have been longer and less variable than usual at this time of year, 
and that almost ever since the frost the ground has been moist, 
and so given plenty of insect food. 
We hear of some good hatches in incubators ; doubtless the 
absence of drying winds has favoured artificial hatching. 
We observe in the schedule of the Birmingham Summer Poultry 
Show that the rules of the Poultry Club are in a general way 
adopted, among them “Any exhibitor who has been disqualified 
for fraudulent practices is ineligible to compete at this Show 
also, “ No person is allowed to exhibit borrowed birds.” The 
general adoption of such regulations will check much cheating. 
We suppose that the schedule in question has been drawn up with 
the object of encouraging the breeds of poultry suitable to farms. 
If so we regret that some of the sorts remarkable as layers, such 
as Minorcas and Leghorns, have no classes. We believe that there 
is in England quite as wide a field open for the producers of 
eggs on a large scale as for the breeds of poultry.—C. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Materials for Eggshells (IV., Essex ).—The best supply for laying liens 
is a heap of bricklayers’ limy rubbish. Oyster-shells burned in the fire until 
they can be easily pounded are also efficient in supplying calcareous matter for 
the formation of the eggshells. 
Field Culture of Potatoes (A. E .).—In reply to your questions we must 
first take into consideration your statement that you have grown Potatoes with 
advantage in different fields for your own use, but not for sale; also, that your 
arable land is a strong loam fairly drained, and that you have a good supply of 
farmyard manure. All these points are favourable, and induce us to think that 
the growth of Potatoes for sale would answer a good purpose, especially as 
your land is within two and a half miles of a railway station. We should think 
that with ordinary care and cultivation you may calculate upon about 8 tons 
per acre as an average crop in your loam. You do not, however, say whether 
your land is undulating or lies flat; this is very important in determining to 
some extent the distance of planting between the lines. In planting such 
sorts of Potatoes as Magnum Bonum and Champion we think that if the laud 
is undulating they may be set at the distance of 30 inches between the lines 
and 15 inches in the rows, and that having been liberally dressed either with 
yard dung or guano, and horse and hand-hoed, and earthed up in the usual 
way, the crop may probably escape the disease in a great measure even in a 
wet season. If, however, the land lies flat with a strong subsoil the Potatoes 
should be set at 36 inches apart between the lines, and 15 inches in the rows. 
When they are set at this width the cultivation may be different, and done by 
the one-horse plough entirely instead of using the scarifier ; and as soon as the 
Potatoes are up so as to plainly see the lines, the plough should be used between 
them, turning away two furrows, one on either side of the lines—that is, four 
small furrows, leaving only about 15 inches unmoved where the Potatoes are 
growing ; this space only will require liand-hoeing as soon as the plants will 
bear it. Then as soon as the weeds are dead turn two furrows up to the plants 
on either side; this will destroy all the weeds and leave the land in a loose and 
healthy state for the Potatoes to root in. But as soon as the runners begin to 
extend, instead of earthing or hilling the plants in the usual way with a 
single furrow on each side, let two furrows be again turned towards the plants. 
After this is done carefully there will be a deep furrow between the hills of 
Potatoes, and it should be deep enough to break up some soil below where the 
plough has previously worked, then complete the work by the use of the double 
mould board plough in the furrow. This will give a free run for any excess of 
rainfall, and the broken subsoil will readily absorb a large quantity of water, 
leaving the hills high and dry, which is the best safeguard against the 
disease. We have, moreover, in this plan a space between the hills unde enough 
to admit the sun and air so essential to healthy vegetation, and by the plan we 
have stated nearly all the tubers will be of a marketable size in consequence of 
the space the roots have to feed in. We reckon 5 cwt. of Peruvian guano per 
acre to be equal to 15 tons of the best yard or town dung. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE,LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8'0" W.; Altitude,111 feet. 
bate. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
Rain. 
1881. 
March. 
| Barome- 
i ter at 32° 
j and Sea 
I Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Iu. 
Sun. 13 
29.978 
41.6 
40.6 
S.E. 
44.6 
48.7 
39.2 
7L.2 
39.2 
_ 
Mon. 14 
29.862 
40.4 
38.0 
E. 
43.4 
47.6 
38.6 
82.6 
.37.4 
_ 
Tues. 15 
30.194 
43.3 
40.6 
N.E. 
42.6 
54.7 
34.6 
92.3 
31.3 
_ 
Wed. 16 
29.385 
42.9 
40.4 
N.E. 
4>.3 
56.6 
32.4 
82.0 
27.6 
_ 
Thurs. 17 
30.523 
45.3 
42.4 
N.E. 
41.8 
59.3 
34.7 
97.8 
28.7 
_ 
Friday 18 
30.492 
45.3 
43.6 
S.W. 
42.0 
00.3 
38.2 
103.6 
33.0 
— 
Satur. 19 
30.213 
47.1 
43.7 
S.W. 
43.5 
57.3 
41.4 
102.4 
37.4 
— 
Means. 
30.238 
43.7 
41.3 
48.0 
54.9 
37.0 
90.4 
33.5 
— 
REMARKS. 
13th.—Fine but overcast; sunshine only for short time at noon ; lunar halo. 
14th.—Fine, with bright sunshine. 
15th.—Very fine bright day. 
16th.—Fine, with some haze ; fog in town. 
17th.—Fog in early morning ; very fine spring-like day. 
18t'i.—Fine bright hot sun ; high wind, and much dust blowing. 
19th.—Very fine, bright, and clear. 
Temperature still above the average, but the nights colder than in the previous 
week ; grass frost on three mornings ; no rain, and much dust.—G. J. SYMONS. 
