24 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 6 , 1882. 
prefer to keep them apart, if in confinement, or to let them fly at 
large. As the term “ Ringdove ” has been variously applied, we 
may as well say at once that we do not mean the larger British 
ringed Turtle Dove, but the little pinkish grey Dove with a 
black ring round its neck, otherwise called the collared Turtle, 
well known in cage and aviary, but seldom seen at liberty in 
this country. So sweet and soothing is their note, and so elegant 
their flight, that any true lover of birds may well long to have 
them at liberty in a garden, which is by no means an impossibility. 
Our fancy for them carries us back many years in recollection. 
We have at intervals kept them under various conditions, and will 
briefly give our reminiscences of them. We first recollect Ring¬ 
doves in the aviary of a rich and eccentric lady ; her method of 
keeping them, however, we do not entirely recommend to our 
readers. Doubtless there had been small beginnings of her fancy, 
but in the days of our childhood it had somewhat outgrown the 
limits of reason, and we should think of pleasure too. Her flock 
then was supposed unvaryingly to consist of three hundred. In 
winter they lived luxuriously in rooms at a bailiff’s house ; towards 
summer they were removed to a gigantic aviary, the construction 
of which must have cost a perfect fortune. The interior of it was 
a substantial wooden house, fitted elaborately with perches and 
every convenience for nesting. The external wire enclosure was 
of immense size, not unlike several of the western aviaries of the 
Regent’s Park Gardens thrown into one ; it was partially roofed 
and partially covered with arched wire like a bird cage. Perfect 
groves of shrubs were planted in it, and a bird flying from end 
to end might well believe itself at complete liberty. The spring 
and autumn removals of the Doves were a great event in the 
establishment, for their summer and winter quarters were distant 
at least half a mile. They were carried in portable cages made 
on purpose, with handles at each end for the bearers, in palan¬ 
quin fashion. Near at hand their cooing must have been some¬ 
what overpowering ; we can well remember that to us more than 
half a mile from their summer residence it sounded soft but some¬ 
what melancholy. Of course when the flock had become so 
numerous eggs were destroyed in quantities to prevent its further 
increase. 
The end of this dovecote was somewhat sad. A sportsman, 
but not a lover of birds, succeeded to the place and property. 
The aviary was required for laying Pheasants. The Doves were 
suddenly turned adrift. Had only a little kindness and care been 
bestowed on them we believe they might easily have been accli¬ 
matised in the sheltered groves round their former abode, but 
they were left to chance. They flew into the surrounding gardens 
and thence dispersed about the park, not a small one, and filled 
with suitable shelter for them ; thence they wandered in search 
of food into the cornfields and country beyond. Every idle 
urchin hunted them. They were caught in troops, in pairs, and 
singly, caged in thrush cages, and penned in rabbit hutches. For 
a few months they were to be seen hung out at many a cottage 
door, and were to be bought cheap of low bird-vendors in the 
neighbouring towns. In a year’s time all were gone, and the 
country people only talked of the days of the Doves at - 
Park. This complete dispersal was, of course, due to the utter 
neglect of them, or rather we believe to the fact that their new 
owner really wished to be rid of them entirely. Far kinder it 
would have been to give some away and kill the rest that were 
not required. On the other hand, we have often known them, as 
the author of the charming “ Dovecote and Aviary ” calls it, play 
at liberty in gardens. They are, we believe, natives of North 
Africa, Asia Minor, and the southernmost parts of Europe, and so 
prefer a warmer and drier climate than our own. We have seen 
them in perfect happiness flitting about among the exotics of 
the Borromean Islands in the Lago Maggiore, and in other of the 
famous Italian gardens. In those of the Vatican we fancy there 
were some at large. There certainly in the time of the late 
Pontiff was a large open aviary full of them at the entrance to 
the poultry yards. We have seen them, too, in English gardens, 
generally among Pine trees. Once during a visit near Bourne¬ 
mouth in frost and snow we used to watch them flyiDg about in 
perfect health, sunning themselves in the morning and coming 
down for crumbs on to a terrace walk. Their only shelter was a 
pole house. 
They must be gradually accustomed to this kind of life. We 
remember to have seen them breeding well in a Middlesex 
garden. They had been reared in a well-appointed aviary, the 
doors of which were thrown open in early summer. If this be 
done the risk of cats or other vermin getting in is very great. We 
should prefer the plan that we once adopted. The old favourites 
were not turned out, but some young birds through their first 
moult were hung up in a cage in a Pine grove. The top of the 
cage was covered with waterproof stuff, and there they lived till 
quite accustomed to their surroundings. Then the door was 
thrown open, and they quietly flew out. The Pine grove was in 
an extensive poultry yard, enclosed with netting 6 feet high. This 
afforded some protection from prowling vermin. By degrees the 
Doves became very strong and fleet on the wing, and though they 
often flew far beyond their enclosure, they always returned at 
night to roost on one Pine branch. 
There is little difficulty in rearing Doves. It should be re¬ 
membered that if kept in cages they require some salt, grit, and 
mortar to help their digestion. So happy and contented are they 
that these little necessaries are often forgotten, simply because 
they seem healthy without them, but they would not be long- 
lived. Dixon speaks of one as alive and well which had been 
caught eleven years before. We have one which was found ex¬ 
hausted in our garden eight years ago. The best food for them 
is wheat and millet; occasionally some maize and hemp may be 
given for a change, and in hot weather rice both raw and boiled. 
The cock and hen sit by turns on the nest, and their eggs hatch 
in fourteen days. The young ones grow very fast, and if their 
abode be tolerably dry are hardy enough. In a damp place, or 
in very bad weather, they sometimes fail at about a week old. 
Strangely enough the parents then often turn one out of the nest 
to die, and give their whole warmth of feather and affection to 
the remaining one. We have sometimes been in time to save the 
outcast by restoring it at a fire and then returning it to the nest. 
One caution may be given—Doves are peculiarly likely to be in- 
bred, they are not of sufficient value for people to take trouble 
about mating them. In the case of such semi-acclimatised 
foreigners, in-breeding is specially detrimental to hardihood. 
The fancier who wishes to succeed in having Doves at liberty in 
his garden must from time to time make exchanges or purchases 
from another stock. They are the earliest of birds, and their 
sweet plaintive note is to be heard at dawn, or occasionally all 
night long when the moon is bright. 
Nearly allied to them is a somewhat darker sub-variety, com¬ 
monly called African, and a pure white one. They will inter¬ 
breed, and their produce crossed is almost always of the com¬ 
moner ringed type.—C. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Bird’s Neck Featlierless (C. A. J .).—The cause is a defect of whole¬ 
some and green food. The remedy, good feeding and plenty of green food ; at 
the same time rubbing the bald place with mercurial ointment, and giving a 
five-grain Plummer’s pill every second day for a week. Separate the bird from 
the others, or they will probably aggravate the evil by pecking at the affected 
part. The Ducks referred to by our correspondent are not, we think, his own 
property, but we will endeavour to ascertain. 
Rearing Guinea Fowl Chicks (T. S .).—Chicks of the Guinea Fowl 
require food soon after they are hatched. Their troughs should be constantly 
supplied, for they die if kept without food for three or four hours. Have the 
mother under a coop in a warm corner of the garden, and facing the south. 
Egg boiled hard, chopped very fine, and mixed with oatmeal is their best food. 
At the end of six weeks, if hatched under a Bantam or Game hen, they may be 
allowed to range with her, and be fed at the same time and on the same food as 
other chickens. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden SquiitK, London. 
Lat. 61° 32-40" N.; Long. 0° 8 0" W .; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THB DAY. 
fl 
•5 
M 
188*. 
June. 
July. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
1 Temp, of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
snn. 
On 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
dee. 
deg 
deg. 
deg 
deg. 
In. 
Sun. 25 
29.987 
59.4 
55.6 
N.W. 
57.2 
7!,0 
54.4 
124.1 
54.1 
Mon. 26 
30.-29 
62.2 
56.3 
N.E. 
57.3 
68.4 
4S.8 
116.0 
45.0 
0.04* 
Tues. 27 
30.101 
64.2 
57.9 
N.W. 
57.3 
74.3 
49.0 
124.6 
47.3 
Wed. 28 
30.19 1 
64.9 
58.8 
W. 
58.8 
72.3 
53.7 
119.2 
50.0 
Thurs. 29 
30.166 
62.0 
58.4 
N. 
59 8 
74.3 
56.6 
119.2 
54.3 
_ 
Friday 30 
30.132 
58.6 
57.1 
N. 
59.3 
66.4 
51.8 
77.0 
46.2 
Satur. 1 
30.125 
59.8 
54.2 
N.W. 
58.3 
75.0 
46.0 
128.2 
44.1 
— 
3M03 
61.6 
56.9 
583 
71.7 
51.5 
115.5 
48.7 
0.04* 
REMARKS. 
25th.—Rain in early morning; fine, bright, and warm. 
26th'.—Rain at noon, with slight thunderstorm 0.20 to 0.25 F.M.; afternoon 
bright, evening overcast. 
27th.—Fine, bright, and warm. 
28th.—Fine and warm. 
29th.—Overcast, storm-like, and close. 
30th.—Cloudy and cool, latter part of day much brighter. 
1st.—Very fine, calm, summer day ; lunar halo after 11.15 P.M. 
A generally fine week; temperature almost exactly the average.—G. J. SYMONS. 
