301 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ September 29, 1881. 
autumn mists catching the first rays of the sun on railings which 
divide some low lying riverside paddocks. Where fowls are con¬ 
fined like protections and places of escape from cold and damp must 
he provided. A perch in the middle of a yard, after the fashion of 
a common tressle perch in houses, is a good adjunct to a run, and an 
old door leant against the corner of a paling will afiord much com¬ 
fort. In spite, however, of these and similar common-sense arrange¬ 
ments, if densely foggy mornings follow cold nights in autumn 
cold and roup will sometimes prevail, and then some nourishing 
stimulant, such as our old friend Spratt’s food, should at once ho 
administered. 
Cockerels and pullets, as we have frequently observed, require 
somewhat different treatment. The former, when p r operly sepa¬ 
rated hoth from pullets and from the general stock of adult poultry, 
may without harm he brought on a little with special feeding ; this, 
however, we should reserve for some time when they seem to flag 
a little or cease growing, unless they are particularly required for 
exhibition. Pullets, on the other hand, very seldom require such 
forcing. Now and then the fancier who is particularly desirous of 
winning some prize? must resort to it. It is much to be able to 
show a pullet exactly at her best time. There is a particular nick 
of time just before she lays when a good bird of any breed looks 
handsome. Her comb sprouts and is rosy, and in a few days her 
size almost doubles When she has laid six or eight eggs this 
beauty goes off again, her form seem3 to shrink; and if she is 
allowed to lay in one place till she becomes at all broody an early 
pullet will probably go into a deep moult, and not be again in show 
condition this year; therefore some experience in bringing on young 
birds is of much value. Till a pullet has begun to show rosiness of 
comb she may be retarded in doing so and in coming on to lay by 
being moved from her accustomed run to a strange one. Young 
birds are for the most part exhibited singly in these days ; this much 
simplifies the management of exhibition chickens. When, however, 
a pair are required it is best to decide upon them some time before¬ 
hand, anfl let them run quietly together. If a cockerel and pullet be 
suddenly put together in the basket or pen a skirmish is sure to 
follow, and damage will he done. Those who breed solely for the 
table will, of course, be killing off, or have killed off, all their 
chickens as fast as they come on; we now write therefore chiefly for 
those who exhibit their picked birds, or who at least keep them 
for pleasure and ornament. A practical eye, or indeed that of any 
intelligent person, will soon distinguish those birds which are 
growing faster than their companions; if such he good all round, 
inferior ones should now give way to them. Many breeders of 
profitable poultry are now glad to purchase at moderate prices 
early chickens which fail a little in show qualities. Continue to 
weed out to the last, and there is every chance of the small and 
select residue distinguishing themselves at the Crystal Palace and 
Birmingham.— C. 
OSTRICH FARMING IN SOUTH AFRICA.* 
This work contains a great deal of useful practical information 
as to the management of an Ostrich farm in most of its details, 
and as to the kindred subjects of which it is desirable for the 
South African farmer to have a knowledge. With these matters 
we have, however, little concern, and we took up the book chiefly 
in the hope of finding something new or instructive upon the sub¬ 
ject of artificial incubation, which is largely practised upon the 
South African farms. We must confess that our expectations 
were not realised. There is a chapter upon artificial hatching, 
but it is short and chiefly devoted to the ancient history of incu¬ 
bation. Mr. Douglass, it seems, is the patentee of an Ostrich in¬ 
cubator, and there is in his work an illustration of the “ Heather- 
ton Incubating Room.” An account of his incubator and of the 
method of heating used would have been especially interesting. 
Mr. Douglass is, however, silent upon these matters, and we can 
merely infer from some passages in which he characterises the 
allegation “that the smell of paraffin is injurious to the eggs and 
chicks ” as “ utter rubbish,” and alleges that “ if anything, the 
smell is good for them, acting as a disinfectant,” that’Mr. Douglass’s 
machine is heated by lamp. From the way in which the author 
insists upon the necessity of giving the heat only to the germ 
floating at the top of the egg, keeping the bottom of the egg cool, 
and avoiding almost entirely any evaporation from the egg, it 
would also seem that his incubator is constructed upon the top- 
contact principle. The incubators are, we are told, so constructed 
that the eggs can be put in daily as laid ; and Mr. Douglass truly 
asserts that the best proof of the perfection to which artificial 
hatching has been brought is to be found in the fact that from 
* Ostrich Farming in South Africa. By Arthur Douglass. Cassell, Petter, 
Galpin & Co. 
80 to 90 per cent, of hardy chicks have been hatched from large 
numbers of eggs taken when fresh laid and incubated. All this 
renders us the more anxious for detailed information, but the 
author has doubtless good reasons for his reticence. 
From the chapter on natural hatching we learn that the birds 
vary very much in their habits of sitting, some sitting so closely 
that the eggs are never cold, while others are constantly off for an 
hour or more at a time, and yet bring out nearly every egg. Nests 
are sometimes abandoned before all the chicks are hatched, and even 
though the eggs have thus grown quite cold the author advises the 
application of artificial heat, which will most likely cause them to 
recover and hatch out. The parents assist the young chicks, 
which “they know by instinct are fast in the shell,” by breaking 
the shell with their breast bone, and “ sometimes they will even 
take the chick by the head and shake it clean out of the shell.” 
Neither of these processes would be much approved amongst fan¬ 
ciers of smaller birds, but we presume the young Ostrich is able to 
endure them without injury, as they seem to be expected from 
good hatchers. 
The chief evil to which the young Ostriches are subject is one 
which has only developed of late years, and which is known as 
yellow liver. Mr. Douglass is inclined to attribute this disease to 
continued high feeding for the purpose of increasing the egg- 
production. He thinks this may have “gradually affected the 
stamina of nearly all our domesticated Ostriches, causing the 
progeny to be weakly and easily affected by change of weather 
or other unfavourable circumstances.” From this the home- 
fancier of the large breeds of poultry, who is constantly feeding 
highly to produce size, may with advantage take a hint. As 
recently noted in a contemporary, it is an undoubted fact that 
liver disease has been far too prevalent of late years, amongst 
Asiatics especially. Here, perhaps, we have the key to the 
mystery. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Management of Poultry (J. B.). —Allow the hen to remain with the 
chickens as long as she is willing to do so. Peed them four times a day; oat¬ 
meal or barleymeal and middlings will be best for the first and third meals ; 
bread and ale for the second meal will help them to fledge, and by the time 
they have produced feathers the bread and ale may be left out and the chickens 
fed only three times. The last meal at night should bo groats now ; later on 
change for sound oats, barley, or wheat. Feed your hens in the morning with 
soft food, and give grain at night. Feed the grain separately and change it 
now and then. Mix your soft food so that it will crumble when thrown down 
and not be sloppy. Only give as much food as your hens will eat with avidity, 
and never leave any lying about. A constant supply of clean water and green 
food is most important. We published not long since a complete table giving 
the constituents of the different sorts of grain, &c. Spauish-Brahmas are a 
cross between the two breeds, and the prize-winning of the parents hardly adds 
to the value of the chickens. You had better procure some book upon poultry 
matters. We publish a small one, “ The Poultry Book for the Many,” sent post 
free for 6 \d. 
Peacomb (II., Essex). —A peacomb should not be high nor coarse, 1J or 
2 inches is quite high enough. It should be thick at the base, and fixed firmly 
on the head. The centre should have some blunt serrations. On either side, 
halfway between the base of the comb and its top, should be the distinct im¬ 
pression of another comb, similar to the centre, projecting merely, but in no 
way detached. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE,LONDON. 
Lat. 51° 32-40" N.; Long.0° 8-0" W.; Altitude.lll feet. 
date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
Rain. 
1881. 
September. 
| Barome- 
! ter at 32° 
j and Sea 
j 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. 
Sun. 18 
Mon. 19 
Tnes. 20 
Wed. 21 
Thurs. 22 
Friday 23 
Satur. 24 
Inches. 
29.725 
29.8X0 
29.861 
29.438 
29.585 
29.915 
30.186 
deg. 
58.7 
62.2 
62.3 
61.7 
53.7 
56.5 
59-3 
deg. 
673 
59.4 
56.3 
59.3 
50.6 
55.4 
56.9 
N.W. 
S.W. 
S. 
S.E. 
N.E. 
N. 
S.E. 
deg. 
55.6 
56.3 
56.6 
573 
56.8 
56.3 
56.4 
deg. 
73.7 
68.4 
7>*-7 
65.4 
60.6 
62.3 
66.4 
deg. 
53.8 
57.7 
48.4 
582 
47.8 
51.0 
54.6 
deg. 
112.8 
101.1 
103.7 
88.3 
78.7 
81.3 
91.3 
deg. 
49.4 
53.6 
43.2 
53.4 
47.0 
51.3 
51.4 
In. 
0.406 
0.010 
0.217 
0.849 
29.789 
59.2 
56.5 
56.5 
66.8 
53.1 
93.9 
49.9 
1.512 
REMARKS. 
18th.—Fine bright warm day, a little lightning in N.N.W. at 10.15 P.M. 
19th.—Fine pleasant day, but not very bright. 
20th.—Fine bright day ; rain at night. 
21st.—Very heavy rain, and thuuder and lightning about 2 A.M.; dull damp 
morning ; fair afternoon. 
22nd.—Dull day ; wet evening and night. 
23rd.—Morning dull; fair afternoon. 
24th.—Dull day; wet evening and night. 
Rather a dull week, with much rain, but the greater part of it falling at night. 
Temperature about 3° above the average.—G. J. SYMONS. 
