238 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ September 7 , was. 
one (Corsica). The Oat crop is described as being very good in 
twenty-two departments, good in fifty-five, pretty good in three, and 
inferior in seven. The Maize crop is very good in two departments, 
good in twenty-four, pretty good in three, and inferior in'six. Rye 
is described as being very good in six departments, good in fifty-one, 
fairly good in eleven, and inferior in eight; while the Barley crop is 
very good in fifteen departments, good in forty-five, pretty good in 
nine, inferior in four, and very bad in two. The report is, therefore, 
upon the whole a very favourable one. 
Prizes for Crops in North Durham.— The Judges appointed 
by the East Chester Ward Agricultural Association to adjudicate 
between the competitors for the prizes for the best crops offered by 
the Association for its members have given their decisions as follows : 
—Wheat—first, Mr. William Ebdon of Fill well; second, Major Briggs, 
Hylton Castle. Potatoes—first, Mr. Wm. Snowdon, Harton Down 
Hill; second, Mr. John Douglass, Whitburn Bent. Even upon this 
strip of fertile land along the coast the Judges say the crops are not 
above the average ; but they are glad to place on record the fact that 
up to the time of judging no disease is to be seen among Potatoes. 
Hat Mites — Salt in Stacks.— Many years ago after stacking 
Italian Rye Grass hay, grown from seed imported direct, and from 
which I had two cuttings, both bearing seed, available for the follow¬ 
ing year, salt was scattered upon the hay when stacking, and around 
the base of the stack a few weeks after was found a heavy line, par¬ 
ticularly on the southern side, of buff-coloured insects dead. I at 
once came to the conclusion that seemed to be the only reasonable 
one—that the animalculae escaping from the salt in the interior had 
come to the outside, and then, dropping to the ground from the eave, 
had perished in a body. When the cattle were supplied with the hay 
in winter there was a marked improvement in their condition and 
yield of milk, partly, I suppose, due to the superior quality of the hay, 
and partly to its having been sprinkled with salt in stacking.—N. 
(Irish Farmers' Gazette.) 
LATE POULTRY SHOWING. 
It is not long since we gave our opinion generally upon the 
early showing of young poultry— i.e., the exhibition during the 
summer months of forward young birds of the year. We freely 
expressed ourselves against it as the general rule, though it has its 
use in particular cases and for particular breeds. We much prefer 
late showing— i.e., the exhibition of young birds in autumn which 
have nearly or quite reached their growth for the first year, and 
they have or ought to have strong and matured constitutions. For 
the former chickens must necessarily be forced if they are to make 
a good appearance, in the latter case those reared under the most 
natural circumstances are frequently the most successful. 
Autumn is near at hand, and it is high time for the poultry 
fancier to have his eye upon those birds likely to be the representatives 
of his or her yard at the great autumn shows. Now, therefore, is 
the time to give some instruction for their management henceforth. 
Those who only attend to their poultry just before the time of 
shows can hardly expect to be successful. All chickens with glaring 
faults have of course long ago been weeded out. From time to 
time unfortunately something will go wrong with some of those 
which have seemed the most promising. Over-quick growth brings 
wry backs, and abnormally heavy frames cause weak legs; but 
even after the further deduction of the stock that follows such 
misfortunes there will be differences in the residue. A quick eye 
will observe a chicken here and there which seems to grow faster 
than its fellows of the same age ; often it may for a time appear an 
ungainly creature, but experience becomes prophetic and teaches 
to descry in it the signs of future excellence ; or in a bird of colour 
here and there a back or hackle feather of surpassing richness or 
purity will peep through the chicken garb, hitherto mixy and un¬ 
promising. We need hardly say that such birds should have the 
best runs, and that all inferior birds should be made to give way to 
them. This holds good for all kinds, from the largest Brahma to 
the smallest Bantam. The fewer fowls that are kept together the 
better they thrive. Beyond this, however, there is considerable 
difference in the treatment proper for birds of mere feather, and for 
those which must be large as well as of typical beauty. We will 
take the two classes of varieties separately. 
1. In the case of those kinds in which size is of no advantage, as 
Hamburghs and Polands, or is a positive disadvantage as Bantams, 
we should generally leave the chickens of both sexes together, un¬ 
less the cockerels become very troublesome and spoil the pullets’ 
plumage. Full development of the male plumage, especially of flow¬ 
ing tails and well-grown hackles, is in nearly all these a great point, 
and this is promoted by the presence of hens. It is, too, absolutely 
necessary that a show cockerel should not be bullied. In the case 
of' Hamburghs and Bantams we have specially observed that the 
cockerel of the walk advances in sickles far beyond his subordinate 
brothers. It must therefore be managed that any very promising 
bird may have command of his run, either bv moving him to a 
vacant one or by the removal of all others likely to clash with him. 
Stimulating foods always stimulate pugnacity, and should there¬ 
fore never be given so long, as it is desired to keep a large party as 
a happy family. 
It must not be forgotten that a had fray even between half-grown 
cockerels is a serious matter. The crest feachers torn from a 
Poland chicken will often not be replaced for months, and a tear 
in the lobe of a Spanish, a Hamburgh, or a rose-combed Bantam 
may spoil him for life as an exhibition bird. If any tendency to 
bickering shows itself such cockerels must at once be separated. It 
is impossible to keep any number of cocks whose beauty is so easily 
damageable without many small enclosed runs in which they can 
be isolated or mated with a hen or two. As long, however, as 
all goes on quietly, and the favourite cockerels are not kept under 
by others in such a way as to retard their due development of 
plumage, we should leave them together quite into the autumn. On 
large premises, especially where the birds form themselves into 
parties which range in different directions and do not interfere 
with each other, this arrangement may long continue with a little 
management. We have in this way kept many show Hamburghs 
together, even after the cocks had frequently been shown ; it is not, 
however, an experiment to he tried by a beginner. 
As the day of exhibition approaches, say ten days beforehand, the 
chosen young chanticleer, unless he be veritably the cock of the 
walk, should be put with a couple of hens in a run by himself and 
well fed. A very few days of such treatment will make the greatest 
difference in his looks and courage. Pullets of such breeds, if tole¬ 
rably early hatched, seldom need any special preparation beyond 
confinement for two or three days, not necessarily the last days, 
before exhibition in a show pen to accustom them to it. This 
makes a great difference in their chance of success, if they are at all 
wildly inclined.—C. 
(To be continued.) 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Italian Rye Grass ( Farmer ).—This will last the second year, but will 
not be so profitable as during the first year, as it is apt to die and become hollow 
at the bottom in the winter months ; but still it will give large crops in succes¬ 
sion, especially if nitrate of soda is applied immediately after each cutting, at 
the rate of 1£ cwt. per acre, and the best foreign seed has been sown in the first 
instance. We recommend that the back number of this Journal should be 
obtained dated the 24th of July, 1879, wherein the cultivation, &c., of Italiau 
Rye Grass is set forth iu every detail. It cau be had from our office in return 
from 3 \d. in postage stamps sent to the publisher, with the date of the paper 
required. 
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. 
d 
'a3 
1882. 
August. 
September. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32« 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
I 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. 27 
29.789 
60.0 
55.9 
N.W. 
58.0 
66.2 
50.8 
96.3 
49.S 
— 
Mon. 28 
29.791 
5S.8 
55.0 
S.W. 
68.0 
66.3 
46.5 
96.3 
40.2 
0.098 
Tues. 29 
29.418 
59.3 
53.7 
s.w. 
57.6 
65.3 
51.5 
115.6 
46.2 
0.102 
IVed. 30 
29.943 
59.4 
53.4 
N.W. 
57.5 
69.5 
50.2 
122.3 
50.2 
— 
Thurg. 31 
30.070 
58.5 
53.0 
N.W. 
57.4 
64.4 
45.0 
S2.5 
4.5.0 
0.278 
Friday 1 
29.774 
60.6 
59.4 
s. 
57.4 
65.7 
54.3 
79.4 
54.8 
0.152 
Satur. 2 
29.542 
61.3 
58.8 
s.w. 
! 8.7 
69.8 
59.1 
119.9 
56.2 
— 
29.781 
60.1 
55.6 
£7.8 
68.7 
51.1 
101.8 
48.8 
0.625 
REMARKS. 
27th.—Overcast with scarcely any sunshine. 
28th.—A little sunshine in the afternoon, but generally dull and overcast; heavy 
shower at 8.30 P.M. 
29th.—Morning showery ; afternoon and evening fine and bright. 
30th.—Heavy clouds in morning ; bright afternoon and evening. 
31st.—Dull overcast morning ; very wet afternoon and evening. 
1st.—Morning bright at intervals ; showery afternoon and evening. 
2nd.—Cloudy with high wind, but on the whole fair. 
A dull and cloudy week with a good many showers. Mean pressure slightly 
below that of the preceding week ; mean temperature about the average, and 
almost identical with that of the preceding week, but there was less sunshine.— 
G. J. Symons. 
