168 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ February 22, 1833. 
aforesaid fine skins are harsh and dry, and not like those found in 
eggs hatched in a natural manner. All this points to the fact that 
moisture drawn either from the ground underneath or from the 
atmosphere is necessary for the due development and hatching of 
the chick. We have sometimes been inclined to think that this 
moisture must necessarily come from the ground under the nest, but 
our experience this spring leads us to think it can be equally well 
supplied from the atmosphere. We have had hens sitting in parti¬ 
cularly dry places, but still every fertile egg (and nearly every egg 
has been fertile) has hatched. 
During the last few days three birds set in dusty dry places have 
brought out thirty-five chickens from thirty-five eggs, a thirty-sixth 
having been clear. We never before remember like success, and 
believe that we have to thank the incessant and otherwise disastrous 
rain for it. The lesson to be learnt from this is, that where Nature 
can be followed and the hens can be allowed to sit out of doors, there, 
as we all know, will be the best broods. All hens are not, however, 
sufficiently hardy so to sit, and all premises are not sufficiently safe 
for them to be exposed: where, then, they are set in houses these 
should not be kept too dry. Many people continually sprinkle eggs 
under incubation with water ; save in very hot weather we think 
the practice risky and likely to cause chills, and much prefer a 
sitting-house with a generally damp atmosphere. 
There is another point of importance at this season. Thousands of 
eggs are annually bought and sold by fanciers for sitting. It is 
commonly thought that an egg is an egg, and that as long as it 
arrives unbroken it must be “ good.” Indeed, we have known 
otherwise sensible people who have bought eggs quite incensed with 
the vendor if every one has not produced a living chick, and declare 
that they have been taken in. Many things are necessary to insure 
the successful hatching of eggs which have travelled. To begin, 
the germ of life must be strong. There are different degrees of 
strength in the latent life of an egg depending upon the health and 
strength of the parent and other circumstances, just as much as 
there are different degrees of strength in the newly-born offspring 
of a viviparous animal. A weak germ of life in an egg, which if 
incubated when laid may come to real life, will not do so if the egg 
is shaken about. Then the egg must be fresh; in a quiescent state, 
especially if the egg be daily warmed by the return of the hen to 
lay again, the germ of life may lie dormant for many days, even for 
weeks; but for anything like the successful incubation of eggs 
which have travelled far it is absolutely necessary that they be set 
while still fresh. Why this should be so we do not pretend to say. 
Again, they must be thoroughly well packed, so as not to be jarred 
in transit. We have often related our method of packing, which is 
by no means an original invention of our own. Each egg is 
wrapped in newspaper; then a whisp of hay is twisted round it, 
and turned over the ends; thus encased, the eggs are placed on 
end (on which end we really care little, but generally put the large 
end downwards) in a basket. They must not be so loosely packed 
as to shake about, nor so tightly as to lose the benefit of the elasticity 
of the hay. We prefer baskets to boxes for various reasons. They 
are less easily jarred, and less liable to be thrown violently down on 
the ground, if they have, as all egg baskets should have, handles. 
A layer of hay should be put in the bottom of the basket, and 
another over the eggs at the top. The lid should then be carefully 
sewn on and sealed. The latter precaution is particularly necessary. 
All will have been done that possibly can be done by the sender if 
these directions be fully carried out. Even this care will not abso¬ 
lutely insure success. We have known cases in which there has been 
the strongest proof possible that fresh eggs sent in every way as we 
have directed have arrived off a journey in such a state that it would 
have been useless to set them. We had once superintended the 
packing of some, and knew all to be fresh. They went to no 
ignorant or inexperienced person, but to a lady fancier skilled in all 
poultry matters, who at once found that the contents of some abso¬ 
lutely rattled. Let not, however, our readers be deterred by these 
warnings from sending eggs even long journeys. These accidents 
are the exception, not the rule. Thousands of eggs every day safely 
travel long distances. We once sent twenty-four Golden-pencilled 
Hamburgh eggs over one hundred miles; necessarily they were not 
all fresh, for we had but two hens. They were conveyed by country 
carriers at each end of the journey, by three rails, besides that most 
perilous of all conveyances, a transfer cart through London, and yet 
twenty-four strong chickens emerged from them. We have merely 
mentioned the possibility of even the best and best packed eggs 
being damaged in transit, because we know much of the unreason¬ 
able complaints which purchasers make if every egg does not hatch. 
As a rule, those who buy eggs are not the most experienced fanciers, 
and when failure follows, we believe it in three cases out of four to 
be the result of bad management in their incubation. 
We will briefly state the points which must of necessity be 
observed. 1, Eggs which have travelled must be set under hens 
and not in incubators. No seller can possibly be responsible fir the 
non-hatching of eggs which have travelled and then been incubated 
artificially. Why this should be so we cannot entirely explain; 
experience has taught us the fact. Probably eggs of strong vitality 
will bear one non-natural process, not two. 2, They must be un¬ 
packed immediately on arrival and set in twenty-four hours. We 
believe this to be better than to set 'hem at once. 3, They must 
be set under a quietly established hen in a clean nest. 4, A really 
good brood can only be expected if the nest be in a damp atmo¬ 
sphere or on the natural ground. In spite of many perils from care¬ 
less porters, jolting carts, and rattling luggage vans, we believe that 
if senders and receivers of eggs would alike attend to these little 
sine qua non conditions, it would be possible conveniently to ex¬ 
change eggs even with friends in the New World. We have known 
cases in which eggs have crossed the Atlantic safely and hatched well 
on the other side.—C. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Drumhead Cabbage and Thousand - headed Kale (if. Z>.).— 
These are so distinct that they can scarcely be placed in comparison in the 
manner you propose, any more than the Scotch Kale can be compared with the 
garden Cabbage. The Thousand-headed or Jersey Kale does not form “ heads.” 
It grows tall, produces large leaves, and an abundance of side growths that 
render it profitable ; it is also hardy, and freely eaten by cows and sheep. You 
had better try it yourself, sowing the seed in March, and inserting the plants 
when large enough the same as you do Cabbages. Drumhead Cabbage seed we 
sow about the middle of August for the early summer crop, and the end of the 
present month or early in March for the autumn crop, in both cases transplant¬ 
ing the seedlings when they are large enough. We have large heads from both 
sowings, but autumn-raised plants usually attain the largest size. To have fine 
Cabbages the soil must be deep and fertile. If you obtain an ounce from each 
of a dozen houses you may have a very interesting trial, and gain experience 
that may be serviceable to you. According to your letter you can lose nothing 
by the experiment suggested. 
Alderney Cow Calving Prematurely (F. S .).—A cow, after calving 
three months before her time, may, if she has always been a good milker 
when going her full time of pregnancy, will continue, if carefully milked, in 
profit by yielding a good supply of milk without becoming dry earlier than 
usual, if she has been milked previously up to the time when she was due to 
calve again in due course. If, however, she had been allowed to go dry for some 
months before calving again, and which any great milking breed never ought 
to be allowed to do, she will probably go dry earlier in consequence of giving 
premature birth. With respect to her being likely to again give premature 
birth in the future, much will depend as to whether it has happened on this 
occasion through any accidental cause which can be vouched for; if not, she 
should not be trusted to breed from again, as some cows give premature birth 
inherently or from some constitutional tendency. 
Coltsfoot in Pasture (A. ft.). —It is very difficult to eradicate without 
breaking up the turf ; and even then, if a few small pieces of the root were left 
in the land, it would increase similarly to the growth of Horseradish in gardens. 
It is worth a trial regardless of cost to take off the turf and dig out the roots, 
and then relay the turf. Applications such as salt would kill the turf if enough 
was applied to kill the Coltsfoot. Gas lime the same, but these are the two best 
applications to destroy the weed. Your land probably requires draining. 
Folding sheep on the ground in spring has sometimes a beneficial effect, as their 
continued trampling crushes the young growths and crowns of the plants, and so 
weakens them considerably. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
Camden Square, London. 
Lat. 51° 32' 40” N.; Long. 0° 8 0" W.; Altitude, 111 feet. 
DATE. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
I Rain. 
1883. 
February. 
Barome¬ 
ter at 32s 
and Sea 
Level 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
Direction 
of Wind. 
| Temp. Of 
1 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. 11 
29.589 
39.8 
38.0 
W. 
42.3 
48.0 
38.9 
80.0 
36.4 
— 
Mon. 12 
29.573 
48.4 
42.9 
s.w. 
42.1 
49.4 
40.2 
61.6 
34.2 
0.267 
Tues. 13 
29 833 
41.7 
39.3 
s.w. 
42.0 
48.0 
383 
82.4 
32.2 
— 
Wed. 14 
29.948 
46.3 
44.3 
s.w. 
41.1 
47.4 
40.7 
49 5 
35.3 
0.166 
Thurs. 15 
29.985 
47.5 
46.2 
s.w. 
42.3 
53.3 
45.0 
75.2 
40.6 
0.104 
Friday 16 
30.481 
3 5.1 
34.7 
N. 
42.0 
48.5 
31.8 
82.3 
26.9 
— 
Satur. 17 
30.401 
39.9 
37.6 
s. 
40.4 
46.2 
29.3 
67.2 
24.4 
0.452 
29.973 
42.8 
40.8 
41.7 
48.7 
87.7 
71.2 
32.9 
0.989 
REMARKS. 
11th.—Rain in early morning with 1 igh wi id ; day fine and bright. 
12th.—Fine at first; wet dull day. 
13th.—Fine generally, with bright sunshine ; 1 a'1 at 11 A.M. ^ 
14th.—Fine early, afterwards squally with rain. 
15th.—Showery, with very bright internals ; lunar halo at 6.45 P.M. 
16th.—Fine with bright sunshine ; mist in evenhig. 
17th.—Fine throughout. The heazy raiu enterel against this date fell chiefly 
between 4 and 7 A.M. on 18th. 
Another wet and warm week; very nearly a i inch of rain fell, and already 
nearly 3£ inches have fallen this month, and nearly 5J inches this year, or as 
much as usually falls up to April 10th. The temperature also continues much 
above the average—G. J. Symons. 
