146 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ February 1G, 1882. 
them under that price. But it does not pay so well to mate them 
larger, as the price recedes as the calves become too heavy for the 
best trade. Dairy cows are doing well and mating greater quantities 
of good butter than usual, owing to some grass being found in small 
quantities in consequence of the mild winter; this grass raises the 
quality of the butter if care is taten to give bran or Wheat offal and 
meal, and not too many roots, but brewers’ grains are best for milt- 
sellers. 
POULTRY IN CONFINEMENT. 
Ten shillings per hundred is a price seldom attainable for eggs, 
and they are selling in the Merse of Berwickshire this day 
(February 8th) at three farthings each, and if this fine weather 
keeps much longer a bawbee will be about their value, Mr. Ells- 
worthy of Court Hay is wrong if he concludes that a grass run 
is indispensable for keeping hens in comfort and profitable. My 
run is 16 feet long by 3 feet wide, and during the year 1881 my 
stock of cocks and hens has never been under three score, and 
the death rate per annum has not during thirty years exceeded 
2 per cent., and the only difficulty that I have to contend with is 
that my poultry are apt to get too fat and lazy. Being from 
home at present I am unable to refer to my balance sheet for 
a true and most particular account of the cost that my hens 
give me eggs at, but I am quite justified in saying they do 
not cost nearly Gd. per dozen. My treatment is entirely my 
own, and is within the compass of every householder that has a 
plot of ground and can give or entail upon himself a little 
attention. I do not say trouble, because my poultry give me as 
much pleasure as does the beauty of my lovely garden, which, by- 
the-by, is also under my own peculiar care, and both afford to 
friends and visitors something to look at and admire. If agree¬ 
able, on my return home I shall be glad to give an account of the 
way that I raise eggs at about 4|rZ. per dozen. During a long 
lifetime I have been Jack of all trades, now I am master of none, 
yet a retired happy— Old Farmer. 
[It will be most agreeable to us and our readers to have the 
particulars suggested.—E d.] 
RESULTS OF POULTRY-KEEPING. 
“ Da they pay ?” is the first question generally asked relative to 
fowls. I for one say Yes, if properly cared for and fed judiciously. 
I consider overfeeding quite as detrimental to their egg-producing 
as underfeeding is. If fed continually with Indian corn fowls 
get too fat internally. On the 1st of January I had nine mixed 
hens and one cock. The first commenced laying on the 16th, and 
from that date till the 23rd of October I had 942 eggs ; but in the 
meantime I killed two hens in June, which reduced my stock 
to seven hens. Putting the eggs at Id. each would be worth 
£3 18^. 6 (l. ; the amount paid for corn was £1 Is. \lcl., leaving a 
profit of £2 185. 7 cl. They had besides the corn, house scraps, 
crusts of bread, &c., that would have otherwise been thrown away. 
They are chiefly penned, only having an occasional run out for 
perhaps an hour or two in a week, with plenty of green Cabbage 
and such-like given to them when confined, and clean water con¬ 
stantly. They have a dry roosting place well ventilated, but free 
from draught. The pleasure and convenience of having fresh 
eggs when wanted would be a sufficient return for the food they 
eat. Spanish bear confinement, and are good layers of large eggs. 
—S. Taylor, Acacia, Ramdon, Leeds. 
POULTRY NOTES. 
The Bath and West of England Show will this year be held 
at Cardiff. Arrangements are being made for it to be at Bridge- 
water next year. _ 
A Poultry and Pigeon Show at Taunton is fixed for Wednes¬ 
day and Thursday in next week. It is, we believe, many years 
since a show was held there. It is certainly somewhat late for 
a show, but we do not disapprove so much as some of our friends 
do of shows at this time of year, as long as breeding pens are not 
separated for exhibition. Birds hatched in the summer of last 
year ought, after such a winter as this, to be in the pink of con¬ 
dition, and now at last have a fair chance of winning before they 
are put into breeding pens for the later season, 
A show of Bantams and Pigeons will take place at Ross, 
Herefordshire, on Tuesday next. We remember some years ago 
a very pretty spring Bantam show at the Crystal Palace, and 
shall be glad to see another devoted entirely to the miniature 
varieties of poultry._ 
Recognition on the part of France of the services of British 
jurors at the French International Exhibition of 1878 has come 
somewhat tardily, but it has come at last. Some few months 
ago splendid bronze medals were forwarded to them from the 
Ministry of Agriculture, and from time to time the official reports 
on the various sections of live stock are presented. It seems that 
when all have arrived the late jurors will be provided with small 
French libraries. The subjects of the said reports are sometimes 
a little abstruse, those of the two last volumes being respectively, 
“ The Useful Insects,” and “ Fish and Crustaceous Animals.”—C. 
POULTRY DYING. 
Would you, or some of your numerous correspondents on 
poultry, give me advice about a disease that has been going on 
amongst my poultry for the last six months, during which time I 
have lost a dozen or more of old and young birds ? I will now 
describe the disease and how it attacks them. First of all the 
combs becomes discoloured, then they pine away, which lasts for 
about two months, then they die. During the period of illness 
they eat quite ravenously, and their eyes have a staring look, and 
at times they twist their heads about and fall over. Their food 
consists of bran and Indian corn meal and refuse from the house, 
with a feed of barley and oats morning and evening, and they 
have a grass run of about eight acres. The poultry house is 
entered from the dung fold. After rain small pools of water 
gather in the yard. The birds seem to prefer drinking that rather 
than to go to the pond where they can get plenty pure water. 
The poultry house is not ventilated from the top, but plenty of 
air passes in from below. Its dimensions are 12 feet long, 8 feet 
wide, and about 13 feet high at back, sloping down to about 6 in 
front, and cemented floor. It is brushed out two or three times 
a week, and limewashed over once a month. Upwards of forty 
fowls roost in this house every night. I hope by the description 
I have given someone will be able to give advice or a cure.— 
A. Nelson. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Calves Dying (R. J .).—You do not say whether your two Alderney 
cows which have dropped their calves prematurely at six and seven months 
gone respectively were still giving milk, although you say that four others of 
the herd are doing well, and all now appear healthy. We do not approve of 
giving Mangolds, especially at this time of year, when the cows receive a liberal 
allowance of pollard and good hay, with a run in dry meadows during the day. 
We think cabbage is not only the most healthy food at this time of year, but 
better for the milk and butter if of the Savoy variety. If more than about 30 lbs., 
or even less, of Mangolds per day has been given it might have produced abor¬ 
tion ; it might have also been produced from the cows being in too high con¬ 
dition, for internal fat in the breeding cows is always dangerous during any 
stage of pregnancy. Eating Poplar boughs would not have injured them, 
particularly as they never exhibited any distressing symptoms. It is not said 
how far distant the neighbours’ cq,ws are away from yours, or which had lost 
their calves first, for in our experience a cow at any time may bring a dead calf 
without any cause assigned, but others are sure to be affected more or less if 
they are within reach of the affected animal because of the noxious odour arising 
from it. In this way enormous losses have occurred in some herds. Cows 
having their calves are never after safe breeders. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square London. 
Lat. 51° 32'40" N.; Long.0° 8'0" W.; Altitude,111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
1882. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32° 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
a . 
3 d 
I Temp, of 
Soil at 
| 1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
d 
ci 
February. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
U >-*• 
So 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
gr&ss. 
Inches. 
30.4.52 
deg. 
33.4 
deg. 
32.2 
s.w. 
deg. 
36.6 
deg. 
88.4 
deg. 
29.5 
deg 
39.7 
deg. 
24.2 
In. 
30.501 
35 8 
35.2 
E. 
86.9 
4L0 
29.1 
49.5 
28.4 
— 
30.547 
40.3 
4D.0 
E. 
85.6 
45.6 
3.5.2 
50.5 
34.7 
— 
Wed. 8 
30.453 
38.1 
36.9 
K. 
38.3 
43.3 
36.8 
43.5 
34.4 
— 
Thurs. 9 
30.405 
36.3 
34.8 
S.W. 
38.3 
38.5 
33.4 
39.0 
272 
— 
Friday 10 
Satur. 11 
30.248 
35.5 
35.0 
s. 
38 1 
45.0 
33.1 
63.3 
32 8 
— 
29.955 
86.4 
35.9 
E. 
37.8 
50.8 
33.5 
72.7 
25.9 
— 
30.366 
36.5 
35.7 
37.7 
43.7 
32.9 
51.2 
29.7 
— 
REMARKS. 
“5th.—Thick, gloomy ; very calm. 
6th.—Foggy early ; fine calm day. 
17th.—Overcast: calm. 
* 8th.—Clear and fine. 
9th.—Cold ; fair. 
10th.—Very fine bright day. 
11th.—Foggy early ; fine day with bright sunshine. 
Temperature rather higher than in the previous, and exactly the average. 
Barometer high, very little wind, and no rain.—G. J. SymonsTj 
