. 
94 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 27, 1882. 
period of the trials at Reading and interfered very much with the 
trials as contemplated. Let these trials turn out as they may, we are 
not to be discouraged in this matter, and we advise the home farmer 
to make his own trials upon corn ricks, as well as hay ricks, under 
the best directions which are given by the makers of the fans for 
exhausting heat and water from the stacks. In making some obser¬ 
vations upon the subject we advise that hay should be what is called 
half made before stacking, in order when the heating takes place 
that the atmospheric air may pass into and through the rick and dry 
it as fast as the heat is withdrawn by the fan ; for at half made the 
hay may be put together, although it may have received a shower 
and is not quite dry ; but if the grass is green it will settle so closely 
that although the heat may be drawn out the air cannot follow to 
dry or cool the hay. 
PROFITABLE POULTRY IN CONFINEMENT. 
Encouraged by “ Retired Old Farmer’s ” remarks on the 
above subject in the Journal of a few months ago, I decided to 
try what I could do in the same way myself. I have now plea¬ 
sure in giving my experience, and hope it may be of use to some 
of your readers. 
Having a small lean-to shed which could be spared I soon had it 
converted into a good roosting place, in connection with which I 
manufactured a run, 8 yards long by 2 yards wide, with some 
rough slabs of timber and galvanised wire which I had by me. 
On the 18th of March last I bought twelve hens and a cock, two of 
the hens being pure Grey Dorkings, the others mixed common 
barndoor fowls, for which I paid £1 10.?. 10^. From the 18th 
of March to July 15th they have laid 612 eggs. Most of them 
were sold in the local market (those used at home were priced 
the same), and realised £2 Is. 8 d., being at the rate of 10 cl. per 
dozen as nearly as possible. I also sold a broody hen for 3s., set 
two, and have now twenty chickens, which I value at about 14s. 
Sold a couple of the oldest fowl for killing for 4s. 9 d., being the 
price I gave for them at first. The result is that I find I have 
made a profit in the four months of 18s. 1 ^d., besides having the 
ten remaining fowls for nothing. The account stands as follows : 
RETURNS FROM FOWLS. 
£ s. d, £ s. d. 
612 eggs . 2 1 8 
Broody hen sold . 0 3 0 
20 chickens. 0 14 0 
One couple sold. 0 4 9 
£3 3 5 3 3 5 
COST OF FOWLS AND KEEP OF DITTO. 
£ s. rf. 
13 fowls ...•. 1 10 10£ 
Light corn and maize, &c. 0 14 5 
£2 5 2 5 3.1 
£0 18 1J 
I may say that I had no previous experience whatever in the 
management of fowls, but followed the advice given in your paper 
as regards feeding, cleanliness, &c. Having removed my abode 
the fowls have had their liberty aDd the run of a grass field 
during the past month, with the result that they lay larger eggs, 
and that it does not cost half as much to keep them. 
I find that the Dorking does not stand confinement well. The 
sort that did the best are here called Cuckoo, and Cuckoo and 
Brahma crossed.—T. O. 
POULTRY AND PIGEON NOTES. 
The season which opened so prosperously for the poultry yard 
has sadly changed for the worse. The warmth of the winter and 
early spring was most favourable to the fertility of eggs and to 
incubation. We began with splendid broods, but, as we sub¬ 
sequently stated, a= the season advanced it seemed as if the 
parent birds were exhausted. From all directions we received 
bad reports of hatching both of Ducks and chickens, though 
we must say that we had little to complain of in our own 
yards. During the last few weeks, however, dismal accounts of 
mysterious maladies and high mortality are almost universal 
from our fancier correspondents. Even the most hardy kinds 
of fowls seem to have suffered severely, and we have heard of 
many deaths in the yard of a great Game-breeder, whose chickens 
lead the most natural and hardy lives. It seems as if the air was 
at times pervaded with influences hostile to feathered life, as 
epidemics sometimes prevail among the human race. Unfortu¬ 
nately we are quite unable to prescribe any specific for the pre¬ 
sent want of condition in chickens, for in our own broods illness 
has appeared in many forms—coughs, colds, rheumatism, and 
diarrhoea. The latter malady has been very destructive, doubtless 
from the excessive growth of rank vegetation. We have fed our 
younger broods almost entirely on rice, both boiled and raw, 
and since this regime was started the chickens have picked up 
wonderfully. The half-grown birds have suffered from a kind 
of influenza in whole flocks ; not violent cold or roup, but a 
constant coughing and thickness in the throat. Of course, it 
is impossible to administer medicine to each bird individually 
where the stock is large, so they must be treated collectively. 
The tonic mixture which we have often prescribed should be 
given in the water, and Walton’s tonic paste dissolved in hot 
water and mixed with the soft food is a gentle and excellent 
stimulant. As long as fowls are well and thriving we dislike all 
stimulants, but this is just the time for them, and their judicious 
use may change a limp and dejected lot of young birds into bright 
and vigorous specimens. When froth collects in the throat we 
have found perchloride of iron (single strength) very useful. We 
paint the throat lightly with it with a camel’s-hair pencil, and the 
growth of any canker is at once checked, otherwise a frequent 
sequel to a cold becomes chronic. 
With us the course of the Pigeon season has been the converse 
of that of the poultry. It opened badly ; the hens seemed ex¬ 
hausted with the warm winter and in many cases constant laying 
during the months of their separation ; they laid irregularly, and 
the young ones hatched were weakly and poor. Since the wet 
weather began our own birds have improved marvellously 
and are breeding rapidly, while hardly a squab has flagged or 
died. We have always found hot seasons unfavourable to a large 
increase of our Pigeons ; they dislike thundery and airless 
weather, which seems to predispose t them to 'many complaints. 
The rains we have had have doubtless cleared the atmosphere, 
which invigorates the birds. It must not be forgotten that high- 
class Pigeons likely to be required in autumn for the show pen 
must be parted early in August. We have often let our own 
continue to breed into the autumn and have always regretted it. 
The feeding of successive pairs much exhausts the parents, espe¬ 
cially the cocks, and the later young ones generally succumb to 
a cold autumn. Those who have a stock of feeders must look 
out for a pair nesting at the same time as each valuable pair of 
breeders to transfer the last pair of eggs to them. These are 
then saved, the parent cocks can be left with any squeakers they 
are still feeding for a few days, and the hens at once put into the 
separate loft or apiary they are to occupy for the winter. All 
nests and all boxes suitable to nesting should be removed, other¬ 
wise encouragement is given to the hens to keep on laying. By 
this time the sexes of early-hatched young Pigeons can generally 
be distinguished. They should be separated from the general 
flock and put respectively with the old cocks and hens. 
Some extra classes and cups have been added to the schedule 
of the Hertfordshire Show. Entries are to be kept open till 
Saturday, 29th inst.—C. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40" N.; Long. 0° 8 O ' W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
1882. 
i ci_, 
Hygrome- 
a . 
emp.of 
Soil at 
1 foot. 
Shade Tem- 
Radiation 
a 
g-MCfl > 
ter. 
32 d 
& 
perature. 
Temperature. 
cJ 
Ch 
July. 
G3 rJ»-H 
In 
On 
Htci 
Dry. 
Wet. 
5o 
M 
Max. 
Min. 
sun. 
grass. 
Inches. 
deg. 
deg. 
dee. 
dee 
dee. 
deg 
deg. 
In. 
Sun. 16 
29.621 
64.5 
56.4 
s.w. 
59.8 
72.5 
53.8 
121.2 
52.1 
— 
Mon. 17 
29.857 
63.7 
57.4 
s.w. 
60.3 
72.0 
54.8 
128.8 
50.7 
0.274 
Tues. 18 
29.905 
62.1 
56.6 
w. 
60.7 
71.4 
56.9 
127.3 
54.8 
0.059 
Wed. 19 
30.074 
65.3 
57.3 
s.w. 
60.8 
72.7 
53.7 
125.5 
50 8 
— 
Thurs. 20 
30.199 
61.6 
55.6 
w. 
60.7 
73.3 
50.6 
128.4 
47.8 
— 
Friday 21 
Satur. 22 
30.049 
62.9 
56.7 
s.w. 
6".8 
72.6 
50.3 
128.3 
45.5 
0.012 
29.858 
60.3 
57.9 
s.w. 
61.6 
68.4 
58.3 
92.6 
55.3 
0.048 
29.938 
62.9 
56.8 
69.7 
71.8 
54.1 
121.7 
51.0 
0.393 
REMARKS. 
16th.—Fine, bright, and warm. 
17th.—Fine and breezy till 6 P.M., then rain, 
18th.—Fine, bright, and breezy. 
19th.—Fine, warm, windy. 
20th.—Very fine throughout. 
21st.—Fine and bright; much wind, overcast afterwards. 
22nd.—Fine but overcast, with showers. 
The temperature continues very near the average, but more equable than 
usual, the nights being warmer and the days cooler than is generally the case, 
and owing to the amount of wind and to showers high maximum temperatures 
are altogether absent.—G. J. Symons. 
