24 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 7, 1881. 
witness, and so are others I know. I neither exhibit nor sell ; 
I know none of the fanciers, and if I did it would make no dif¬ 
ference. I should judge their birds, not them. I have no wish to 
make enemies, but I must speak the truth to the utmost of my 
power, and I do not attack anyone ; but I must say that I have 
often seen prizes awarded to fowls in a Dorking class that were 
decidedly mongrels. This I know, and to my sorrow, I never had 
any sooty-legged fowls in my yard until I bought some first-prize 
birds, and now I consider my stock utterly ruined. Yesterday 
the only bird left of my old strain was killed in mowing the 
grass. She had pure white legs, feet, and toe nails. 
Again as concerns farmers. At Lewes only last week a farmer’s 
wife asked me where to get some true-bred Dorkings, as she did 
not like the new style of bird at all for the farmyard. I could 
only answer, “ I wish I knew.” 
One would be led to suppose from reading the following that it 
is only now, or since poultry shows were instituted, that there 
have been fanciers, I mean the intelligent fancier and breeder :—■ 
“ Many of the useful qualities of a breed are doubtless sacrificed 
by the fancier in his efforts to attain perfection in standard points ; 
but it must never be lost sight of that but for the fancier certain 
breeds, which are ihe most useful for the purpose of crossing-in 
with common fowls, would hardly have been produced at all.” 
Why is it so requisite that there must be crossing ? In cattle, 
sheep, Ac., the more pure the breeds are kept the better the 
farmer considers his stock, and I know the old poultry fancier 
and breeder long before the shows were in vogue was the most 
careful of the purity of his stock, and quite as proud of them 
as if he won his cups or money. The poultry, Pigeon, and 
Rabbit fancier is not a creation of to-day. He existed long, 
long before my time, and it is to him we owe the different breeds 
that now adorn our farmyards. I will not make comments on 
other breeds of fowls as regards shows ; but this I do say, that 
nothing to my mind has been more detrimental to the true 
Dorking—the old English, a fowl of world-wide reputation—than 
poultry shows and so-called fanciers.— Harrison Weir, 
PESTS OF THE POULTRY YARD. 
No one will keep fowls, no matter whether they be many or 
few, for long without finding out that numerous pests soon con¬ 
gregate about their houses and runs, and prove a source of much 
annoyance. Like the numerous pests of our gardens those of the 
poultry yard come in their seasons, and some which are injurious 
or destructive now may be harmless later on in the season. This 
applies particularly to young chicken pests, such as rats, hawks, 
jackdaws, and such like. Rats are a great pest to many poultry- 
keepers. At times they destroy much food, and when young 
chickens are about they are constantly on the alert, sometimes 
bolting off with them during the day, and killing numbers at 
night whenever they chance to get into the coop or house con¬ 
taining them. This is the case not only with chicks a few days 
hatched, but also with those which are some weeks old. Ducks, 
too, are always most liable to be destroyed by rats until they are 
quite half grown or more, and many are the complaints we hear 
respecting them and the extra labour it takes to secure them from 
being destroyed. 
The best way to reduce labour and risk is to destroy the rats. 
Putting rat-proof houses up and allowing them still to exist is 
never satisfactory. Much can be done with traps ; and poison used 
in the form of powder, so that they cannot carry it in the way of 
other animals, soon thins them. Those who have had most experi¬ 
ence with them never allow a number to be gathered together 
before beginning their extermination, but they generally catch 
every one on its arrival. 
Young chicks are not the only thing they destroy either, as I 
have known them to take eggs from under hens when they are set 
for hatching, and they have also taken eggs from the nests as soon 
as they were laid ; in fact, for some time I had an old chap in my 
yard who appeared to know the meaning of the noise the hens 
made as they came from the nests, as I had to be very sharp or no 
egg was to be found. When this began at first I was inclined to 
think that somebody was stealing the eggs, but when I had found 
one or two drawn to a hole close by the thief was soon destroyed. 
Hawks only pick up chickens when very small, and in districts 
where they are plentiful they must either be shot or the chicks 
kept under protection until they have gained some size ; but jack¬ 
daws are much worse than hawks, and lately I have lost several 
of my best chicks by them. These birds build plentifully in a 
large wood close by, and when their young are in the nests they 
will carry everything to them. When once they begin on a brood 
of chickens they seldom stop until all have been destroyed, unless 
the chicks are removed or the thieves killed. When the mothers 
are cooped up and the chickens running outside they are more 
liable to be taken than when the hen is allowed to walk about 
with her brood, as she, if a good one, is generally too strong for a 
jackdaw. 
It is a curious fact that it is only the head of the chicks that 
these depredators take, as they always leave the body entire 
behind them. When this was done with some of mine I shot the 
first jackdaw I came across, and hung up its body as a warning 
to its race close by the coop where the chicks were. When I went 
back again I found another chicken’s head gone, so that this plan 
failed ; but when the jacks were cut up and thrown in pieces 
about the scene of their crimes no more of them were ever seeu 
about that place for the season. 
Some say that cats are a pest about the poultry yard, but if 
they are accustomed to the fowls and the fowls used to them their 
presence is an advantage, and frequently saves much damage 
from being done to the fowls by the subjects we have just men¬ 
tioned ; and they also keep mice away, and these little creatures, 
although not having confidence to attack a fowl, are capable of 
making a larger hole in the grain sack than most of us like. 
I was rather astonished the other day when one of the keepers 
told me that he knew of a fox's “ nest ” little more than a rifle 
shot from our poultry .yard, as foxes are pests of the greatest 
magnitude, and the largest fowls are no safer from them than the 
smallest. In such cases open roosting must not be encouraged. 
Insects may also be included as pests of the poultry yard, but 
when these become so plentiful that they do injury to the fowls 
their owners or those in charge are much to blame, as it is only 
through neglecting the common rules of cleanliness that harm 
can come of this, and the remedy is very apparent.—M. M. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Chickens Ailing ( W. Booth ).—We can hardly tell from your description 
what is the ailment of the chickens. Is there any ulceration of the mouth or 
throat ? If so burn it with lunar caustic every three days until the ulcers dis¬ 
appear. We fear, however, that it is a general low state of the system from 
which your chickens are suffering. Is their run sweet, or have many fowls been 
upon it ? Try the effect of more stimulating food, change the Indian meal for 
barleymeal or oatmeal, and mix with boiling water or cook the food for a short 
time; give also some bread and ale once a day. You say rain water is given 
them. That may be the cause of the mischief, as this hot weather may have 
made the rainwater foul. Tut a little of McDougall’s fluid carbolatc in the 
water. Write again with further particulars. 
Cow in Calf (A Gardener ).—From our own experience we would say that 
there is nothing unusual in the condition of your cow, and that the probability 
is she is in calf. 
Prickly Comfrey—Symphytum asperrimum (T. James).—It should 
be grown in deep highly manured soil, and though it is quite hardy a good 
covering of manure placed round the crowns in winter is very beneficial, the 
manure in the spring being pointed in with a fork. Prickly Comfrey cannot 
be grown too quickly, for if grown slowly by lack of nourishment it is apt to 
be bitter ; cattle do not always eat it readily at the first, but they generally 
" soon take to it,” cat it freely, and thrive well. It is cut and given to the 
cattle in a green state, or partially withered, and in rich, deep, and rather moist 
soil it yieldB very large crops of produce. Divisions of the roots may be planted 
3 feet apart, from November onwards, in well-enriched soil; indeed, the pre¬ 
paration of the soil and mode of culture usually applied to Rhubarb are precisely 
suitable to it. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDBN SQUARE,LONDON. 
Lab. 51° 32'40” N.; Long.0°8'0" W.; Altitude.lll feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
Rain, 
1881. 
June. 
July. 
1 Bnrome- 
! ter at 32° 
1 and Sea 
1 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. 
In. 
Sun. 26 
SO. 1 63 
62.3 
50.8 
N.W. 
59.2 
73.6 
48.6 
127.3 
448 
_ 
Mon. ‘21 
29.962 
60.5 
50.0 
s. 
59.9 
63.6 
54.4 
81.6 
52.5 
0.040 
Tues. 23 
30.001 
03.4 
55.6 
W. 
59.2 
70.8 
495 
128 8 
45 3 
Wed. 2!) 
30.229 
63.1 
55.7 
N.W. 
59.7 
73.4 
49.S 
129.0 
43.6 
_ 
Thurs. 30 
30.295 
04.7 
56.6 
S.W. 
58.4 
75.5 
48 7 
130.2 
42.6 
_ 
Friday 1 
29.988 
71 4 
61.9 
S.E. 
61.4 
82.6 
54.1 
129.2 
48.8 
_ 
Satur. 2 
80.094 
67.6 
59.7 
N.W. 
63.4 
79.7 
57.6 
1261 
53.6 
— 
Means. 
30.113 
64.7 
37.5 
60.2 
74 2 
51.7 
121.7 
47.3 
0.040 
REMARKS. 
26th.—Very fine; bright sunshine throughout. 
27th.—Cool, overcast; slight showers. 
28th.—Fine, with a good deal of bright sunshine, although at times overcast. 
29th.—Fine and bright. 
30th.—Warm ; very fine pleasant day. 
1st.—Hot, very fine day, stormy appearance towards evening ; fine starlight 
night. 
2nd.—Fine, but at times very cloudy. 
A fine dry week, with the temperature slightly above the average.—G. J. 
Symons. 
