166 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. { February 23, m2, 
required for market. We have seen various Hamburgh crosses, 
the hens of which seemed to vie with their Hamburgh relations in 
laying powers, and whose eggs have been considerably larger, but 
then they are of little value as birds, and most people now-a days 
like to have all their live stock “ good of its kind.” We have often 
written on the advantages of a pure over a mongrel race, and are 
not here going to take up that theme again. Suffice it to say that 
pure-bred birds are always more or less saleable, and their parti¬ 
cular qualities can be calculated upon with greater certainty than 
those of crossed strains. 
We have lately met with an offshoot of the Hamburgh family, 
which strikes us as being peculiarly suitable for those who require 
a laying breed : we mean “ Derbyshire Redcaps.” We had often 
heard of them, and had some vague idea of a Lark-crested fowl 
associated with them; they are not, however, such. When visit¬ 
ing the great Knighton yards during a particularly chilly fit of 
weather in chill October our attention was attracted by a handsome 
and bright pen of birds in rosy condition when all others were 
moulting. They were Derbyshire Redcaps. In colour they re¬ 
semble Golden-spangled Hamburghs, though their markings are far 
less distinct. In size they are larger than exhibition Hamburghs, 
and rather longer in body and leg. They have rose combs regular 
and coral-like, from which of course they derive their name; more 
after the form of very good White Dorkings’ combs than those of 
Hamburghs, and even in confined quarters they have a look of 
hardihood and blooming condition. Long ago we possessed a pair 
of what were then called (and in some places are still so called) 
“Pheasant Fowls,” not unlike them. 
We had no opportunity of personally testing their good qualities, 
but from those who have we hear high praise of them. In their 
native county and neighbouring regions they are much prized. 
Many a fancier in a small way who does not care to keep mongrels, 
and for whom exhibition breeds are, when good, too expensive, 
would find them a boon as a breed at once pure, pretty, profitable, 
and procurable at a moderate cost. That they are no product of 
modern crosses is proved by the fact that we find them mentioned 
by Dixon in 1850 under the heading of Hamburghs—“The Red¬ 
caps in our list are a family of the breed, with their combs some¬ 
what more developed than would be considered a model.”—C. 
POULTRY NOTES. 
We have been struck with the fact that several well-known and 
very practical fanciers have been offering their incubators and 
artificial mothers for sale lately. It would be interesting to know 
why they are returning to natural mothers—whether because they 
have lost faith entirely in artificial incubation, or because in their 
particular circumstances they find it troublesome. 
Incubators remind us of .the protracted controversy about the 
Hemel Hempstead incubator contest. We had hoped that it was 
long dead and buried ; but not so by any means, for we have 
lately heard on the highest authority that the poultry world is 
soon likely to have its cause cel'ebre, and that the whole question 
will soon be revived in the law courts in a suit for libel connected 
with it. 
We have always thought that one of the most objectionable 
malpractices connected with poultry and Pigeon shows was bor¬ 
rowing and lending of birds, now happily a rare occurrence at 
our great shows. Of course it immediately matters bttle if birds 
are exhibited in one name or another, but the inevitable result of 
borrowing is intentional or unintentional dishonesty. Too often 
the winner with hired specimens advertises his birds or his eggs 
as from the stock which has won at such and such a show, while 
the birds on sale are not in the remotest degree related to them. 
Even if this should not be the case his stud gains fictitious fame, 
and so a fictitious value. We have been astonished to hear from 
a high foreign authority that at the Paris Poultry Show just held 
it was a well-known fact that many winners shown by Frenchmen 
were simply English birds sent over for the occasion for hire ! 
This is equally discreditable to English breeders and French 
exhibitors. _ 
We have already observed one or two cases of gapes in early 
chickens. As a rule we do not expect to see the disease till later 
in the spring. There seems great doubt and obscurity about the 
origin and generation of the red parasite in the throat which 
causes it. We should be obliged to any of our readers who have 
studied the subje.ct scientifically, or who have made any practical 
experiments upon chickens affected with it, to give us the result 
of their experience. 
We were lately writing about rare Bantams; since then we 
have received an interesting account of a pair, unfortunately both 
hens, imported some time ago from India. They sound like mini¬ 
ature Aseels, and are described by their lady owner thus—“ They 
are a purple black, about the size of a Blackbird, and fly just as 
well as that bird. They are very tame, hardy, and very good 
layers of a round egg, but they will not lay in a house.” 
We were much struck with the excellence of the catalogue of 
the Poultry Club’s Show at Cambridge. The short descriptions 
of the various breeds and their characteristics were, with perhaps 
the exception of that on Turkeys, most excellent. The awards 
were printed at the side and not on those troublesome loose 
sheets, and all this for dd. ! What must not some shows make 
by their clumsy catalogues sold at Is. ? It has occurred to us that 
it would be a benefit to “the fancy” if the Club were to draw 
up an official description, or rather issue officially these descrip¬ 
tions of the various breeds, and allow them to be inserted in the 
catalogues of the many shows now held under its rules.—C. 
POULTRY DYING. 
There is little difficulty in discovering the most probable 
cause of the death of Mr. A. Nelson’s fowls. His general 
management as to cleanliness, &c., is fairly good, but he evi¬ 
dently neglects one most important point—an easily accessible 
supply of pure water. His birds are poisoned by drinking the 
impure water from the manure heap. This produces diarrhoea, 
which, being neglected, in time causes death. The remedy is to 
be found in a constant supply of pure water, and, if necessary, 
excluding the birds from the part of the yard where the impure 
water lies. 
The best treatment for the birds already affected would be a 
good dose of castor oil, followed by rice boiled in milk, with as 
much powdered chalk as would lie on a threepenny-piece mixed 
therewith. We may further note that the bran probably aggra¬ 
vates the diarrhoea by irritating the bowels. Coarse middlings is 
no more costly than bran, and is much superior for general 
purposes.—Burp. 
Crested White Ducks.— Can you, or any of the readers of your 
valuable Journal, kindly inform me if the beautiful white-crested 
Ducks we sometimes see are of foreign origin, and of a distinct breed, 
or if British ? Where is their native district for procuring birds or 
eggs ? Any information will greatly oblige—A Constant Reader. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Spanish, &c. (J. II .).—We never recommend individual fanciers. You 
had better get a catalogue of a local or metropolitan show and choose for your¬ 
self. We prefer dry earth to any other flooring. Asphalte or cement covered 
with sand or earth makes an excellent floor. As regards rabbits, we hardly think 
you will be able to obtain what you want. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE LONDON. 
Lat. 81° 32'40" N.; Long.0° 8'0” W.; Altitude.lll feet. 
bate. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE BAY. 
5 
‘3 
1882. 
February. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32° 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Birection 
of Wind. 
| Temp, of 
Soil at 
| 1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Bry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
cleir. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg 
deg. 
In. 
Sun. 12 
29.917 
4 ;.4 
45.8 
S.W. 
38.4 
55.1 
35.8 
78.8 
32.1 
_ 
Mon. 13 
30.0.3 
47.7 
45.4 
s. 
3d o 
52.4 
35.6 
55.9 
34.0 
0.083 
Tues. 14 
3U.I7G 
50.6 
48.3 
W. 
41.2 
55.7 
47.0 
88.3 
42.8 
0.363 
Wed. 15 
30.783 
39.8 
39.7 
N. 
42.4 
81.8 
39.8 
75.2 
38.9 
0.083 
Thurs. 18 
30.410 
36.7 
34.9 
S.W. 
41.4 
49.4 
31.4 
57.9 
23.7 
— 
Friday 17 
30.231 
47.2 
44.7 
w. 
41.3 
53.3 
36.3 
86.7 
33.4 
— 
Satur. 18 
30.258 
48.0 
45.2 
w. 
42.3 
53.0 
44.2 
95.4 
38.3 
0.017 
30.257 
45.2 
43.1 
40.9 
53.0 
38.6 
76.9 
35.2 
0.546 
REMARKS. 
12th.—Bull with slight rain in early morning, afterwards very fine and mild. 
13th.—Overcast, damp ; windy. 
14th.—Rain in morn ng ; fine, bright, spring-like day. 
15th.—Strong wind during night; sharp shower of hail at 8.20 A.M. ; dull rainy 
morning ; afterwards fine with slight showers ; bright starlight evening. 
16th.—Fine, bright, frosty morning; overcast and -howery afterwards. 
17th.—Overcast and high wind at first; fine day w th bright sunshine. 
18th.—Fine breezy morning ; bright sunshine ; showery after 5 p.M. 
High barometer, and temperature nearly that usual in the middle of April.— 
G. J. Symons. 
