Golden Pheasants, but improperly. They 
are an excellent fowl. Their color is golden 
or orange-yellow, each feather having a 
glossy dark-brown or black tip, particularly 
noticeable on t he hackles, wing-coverts, and 
also on the darker feathers of the breast of 
the cock. The plumago of the hen is yellow 
or orauge-browu, margined (as in the case 
of the cock) with glossy black. 
parcntly healthy skin. No symptoms of 
lice exist. Asks what ails them and what 
to do for them. Your fowls evidently need 
animal food. Give them fresh meat two or 
three times a week and burned bones or 
oyster shells, charcoal, and plenty of good, 
clean water. 
ABOUT PIGEONS 
FLOWERS FOR BOUQUETS, 
The Archangel Pigeon.—The illustra¬ 
tion of a pair of these pigeons, which we 
give, will attract attention. This pigeon is 
not easily obtained. It was introduced into 
England from Russia. We. never saw one 
in this country. Its coloring is rich and 
unique. The head and neck-hackle should, 
after the first molt, according to Teget- 
MEtn, be of a deep and brilliant copper-red, 
changing into dark bronze; the wings and 
back of a deep black, shining with a bril¬ 
liant burnished luster, and reflecting the 
richest iridescent hues of blue-green. The 
flight feathers are of dusky black. The tail, 
when flrst imported from Russia, was black, 
but was found by T. to be of a dull blue 
at the base with a black bar at its termina¬ 
tion. The eye is a bright, golden, orange 
red. Some of the birds are penrl-oyod. 
The small feet should bo of a bright, deep 
red. The tuft is formed at the junction of 
the feathers of the skull w T it.h those of the 
nock; these feathers should not be suffi¬ 
ciently long to overlap, and should end in a 
llaely drawn point at the back of the head. 
Any approach to a broad shell-tuft, resem¬ 
bling the Trumpeter, is to bo regarded a de¬ 
fect. This pigeon has a smart carriage, 
stands well on Its thighs, the head well up, 
the shoulders close set, and (ho girth nar¬ 
row. These pigeons are prolific and make 
good nurses. 
I want a special catalogue of the best 
flowers for bouquets, up to the present time, 
to be grown, summer and winter, in the 
open border, in the green-house, or in the 
conservatory or stove room. Has auv pub¬ 
lication been issued on the special subject 
of out flowers ? Can a conservatory be 
beated satisfactory without Injury to plants 
by an anthracite coal stove, wherein the 
heat can be regulated?—D. R., St. Paul, 
Minnesota. 
There is a great variety of plauts which 
are indispensable for the conservatory or 
green-house in winter, but of no value for 
out flowers In summer. We will first give 
a list of shrubs or woody plants that bloom 
freely in winter. Azaleas Chinese; Ca¬ 
mellias; Daphne ndora, flowers purplish 
white, very fragrant. PUtosporuui vari- 
egatum % flowers white. A bullion Mesopo- 
tanlcmn, trailing or drooping habit, free 
bloomer, the calyx scarlet, the petals gold¬ 
en yellow. Poinscttia pulchertma , a trop¬ 
ical plant producing bracts six to eight 
inches in diameter of a bright scarlet. 
Ltbonia Jlnrllxunda ; this is t ruly a great 
acquisition to our winter blooming plants; 
tubular flowers an inch in length, orange 
scarlet. Liouvardla Hogarth, bright scar¬ 
let, trusses large, free bloomer, the best of 
all colored varieties. li.-Jasminoides, pure 
white, branching habit, good growers and 
free blooming variety. /I. Duvlsonii ; (low¬ 
ers white, but not a very vigorous grower. 
Calceolaria in variety. Gardenia, Florida; 
flowers white. Double white flowering Al¬ 
mond. Dculzla gracilis; flowers pure 
white. D. crenala flora, plena , pinkish 
white. Welgela nlvea; though the above 
four shrubs are hardy, they are indispensa¬ 
ble to the green-hou6e. 
Half Shrubby and Herbaceous 
Plants.—Monthly Carnation. La Purite, 
carmine color, the best of all pinks for 
forcing. President Degraw; pure* white, 
deeply fringed. Edwardsti; similar to De¬ 
graw, but of a much freer growth, Calla 
Ethtoptca; flowers pure white. Cvphea 
platycentra; scarlet. Double white Chi¬ 
nese Primrose; probably no plant*gives 
better satisfaction than the Primrose; a 
strong plant will produce from three to four 
hundred flowers during the winter. These 
plauts require plenty of pot room to make 
them bloom well. Eupato rhim, arboreum, 
bluish white. E, consplcuum; flue white. 
E. elegam; pure white, very profuse 
bloomer. Fuchsia speclosa, F. scrrallfo- 
Ha; two bost varieties for winter blooming. 
The plants should not bo allowed to flower 
much through the summer where one in¬ 
tends to have them bloom in winter. Gera¬ 
niums in variety; the double ones do not 
bloom ua freely in the house as the single 
ones. Heliotropes; if these are wanted for 
winter flowering tho plants to be takon up 
should be severely pruned in August; this 
will cause young shoots to start out. Tho 
plants require plenty of room and a place 
near the glass. Maher nla odorata ; flow¬ 
ers bell-shaped, yellow. M. vttata; crim¬ 
son, blooming in carlv spring; very fra¬ 
grant. Myrsiphyllum asparagotdes (Smi- 
lax); a trailing vino extensively cultivated 
in cities for its leaves, which are used in 
cities for making wreaths, etc. Salvia 
splcndens ; an old variety, but a very showy 
plant on account of its flowers, which are of 
a bright scarlet. Stcvia■ compacta; fine 
compact truss of puro white flowers. Of 
Roses there is a groat variety; but there 
are but few good wiuter blooming sorts, as 
most kinds are subject to mildew. The fol¬ 
lowing wo think among tho best:—La Pac- 
lole.; canary yellow. Countess de Perth a; 
ono of tho very host, and very fragrant. 
Agrippina ; bright crimson. Svffratio ; or- 
ango yellow. This is a standard sort and 
highly prized, it being a free bloomer and 
strong grower. Bon Sllcne; this Is a very 
flue rose, the bud being very large, of a pur¬ 
ple and carmine color, grown very exten¬ 
sively by florists, it being ouo of the best 
for forcing in winter. 
Eggs Disappearing from Under a 
Sitting Hen.—L. VV., Mamaroneck, N. Y., 
has a Light. Brahma hen sitting, from under 
which several eggs have disappeared, leav- 
Spanglecl Silver Hamburgs.—In reply 
to the inquiries of 0. F. Tyler, “What quali- 
POULTRY NOTES AND QUERIES 
Hens Laying Small Eggs. —I would 
like to aslc if any of the readers of tho Ru¬ 
ral New-YPrker can tell me what makes 
our hens lay so many small eggs ? We al- 
waj's have more or less of them, but this 
season a great many more than usual— 
sometimes two or three a day. They are 
all sizes, from a robin’s egg to a quail’s. 
The eggs are perfect in shape, and have a 
good shell on them. Their feed is corn, 
oats, wheat screenings, tallow scrap, etc. I 
used to think that it was tho last egg that 
a taou laid when 1 find a small ono; but now 
I tliiuk I have some bens that lay all small 
eggs. If I knew which ones lay these small 
eggs, I could soon put a stop to it; but tho 
trouble is to liud out. Our fowls are of sev¬ 
eral different breeds, mixed, such as Black 
Spanish, Black Hamburg, aud one or two 
other kinds. I do not. think other people’s 
hens trouble them in this way; at least I do 
not hear any complaint. Our hens lay pret¬ 
ty well, generally, haviug averaged, in years 
past, 100 eggs to the heu, in a flock of from 
70 to 00. Hoping some one can give us a 
little light on tho matter, and will do it 
through tho Rural, 1 am—N., Westport, 
Conn. 
ARCHANGEI 
ty have silver-spangled Hambnrga to com¬ 
mend them except beauty ? Will they endure 
confinement well?” I would say, they are 
the most, prolific layers of all varieties of 
fowls. Their eggs are not large, but their 
weight per annum, probably, will exceed 
all others. They will endure confinement 
as well as any of the small-sized breeds, but 
not so well as Brahmas and Cochins.—J. 
Clarence Si dell. 
J PIG 10 ON y . 
ing no trace whatever. No other hens can 
get to her. Aslca what has become of them. 
He concludes she has eaten them. 
Lice on Young Chickens.—“A Con¬ 
stant, Reader” asks for the best, known 
remedy for lice ou young chickens. Let 
thoBe who have good and sure remedies re¬ 
ply. 
Scurfy Legs. — In answer to Rouert 
Tease in Rural New-Yorker, March 9, 
and also to,I. A. K., in Rural, April 13, I 
would say their fowls have scurfy legs. Two 
or three applications of turpontiuo to the 
legs in as many weeks will cure them. I do 
not mean spirits of turpentine. — I'. H., 
Lynn, Mass. 
Tf Robert Tease will grease his fowls’ 
legs with kerosene oil once or twice, they 
will soon get well. I have tried it on my 
own, and never knew it to fail.—A. 0, s. 
VINEYARD NOTES, 
Preserving Grapes. — Here is a new 
English device for preserving grapes with 
the stems in water, of a class with those 
heretofore given in those columns. Instead 
of a series of bottles, or of tubes, as recent¬ 
ly given, a zinc trough is substituted, and 
the sterns are thrust through the rails. A, 
is tho front view; B. side view of the sup¬ 
port; D, edge view of the (rough; C, side 
view of trough. This method of keeping 
grapes—by putting the stems in water, as 
Limed-Leg Disease.—J. A. K.’s fowls 
are afflicted with the liraed-leg disease. He 
must cure them, or they will die. Take 
Pulling Peacock Feathers.— I see au 
inquiry in Rural New-Yorker of April 
13, as to what time a peacock's tail should 
be plucked. We have had a fowl of that 
kind for six years. We pull his tail from 
May until the last (just as we can get hold 
of him, as he is very wild about pulling 
time, and seems to have a knowledge of 
what is going to take place). If left longer 
than tho last of May, he begins to loso it. 
At the time above mentioned I strip him of 
ull of his beauty; the breast aud n*3ck 
feathers are very nice for raakiug lamp 
mats, decorating home-made picture frames, 
etc. Our fowl is very quarrelsome with 
male turkeys; we are obliged to keep two 
gobblers all the time, one alone he would 
soon put out of tho way. The peacock is a 
bird of great activity; wo would not do 
without ours for twice tho worth of him, he 
is so lively and such a curiosity to persons 
that have never seen one strutting. — Mrs. 
C. L. Waters, Clarksburg, W. Va. 
Packing Eggs.—I wish to inquire of 
some of your readora if the method of keep¬ 
ing eggs, published last December and en¬ 
dorsed in February, will preserve those put 
down early in the season, say in May aud 
June? Last year I used lime water—a reci¬ 
pe that I saw in the Rural— 1 pint salt and 
one pint lime to one pail water. It pre¬ 
served thorn perfectly; but the shells of 
part of the eggs were badly disoolored, 
which raises objections In the market. If 
any one can give me a better plan, or tell 
me how to prevent the disooloration, it will 
be gratefully received by — One Rural 
Reader. 
Golden Pheasant Fowls.—G. R. Cran¬ 
dall asks for a description of Golden 
Pheasant fowls. We know of no distinct 
breed of fowls with that name. The Golden 
Spangled Hamburgs are sometimes called 
FLORICULTURAL NOTES 
The Odor of Flowers.—A scientific con¬ 
temporary says:—“ It may be laid down, as 
a general principle, that a larger proportion 
of white flowers are fragrant than those of 
any other color; yellow come next, then 
red, and lastly, bine; after which, and in 
the same order, may bo reckoned violet, 
green, orange, brown and black.” 
AN ENGLISH PLAN FOR PRESERVING GRAPES. 
equal parts of sweet oil and oil of turpen¬ 
tine, and apply to their legs twice a week 
The best time to doctor fowls for such dis¬ 
eases is when thev are at roost.— J. l. c. 
heretofore described—is obtaining great fa¬ 
vor among the gardeners of England, and 
will be found useful here. A prominent 
gardener says: — “ There Is no question 
about its being the right courso to pursue 
with late grapes. It not only relieves the 
vines, and allows one to clear the house, and 
utilize it for any other purpose, but tho 
grapes may be kept perfectly for months,” 
Poultry with Denuded Necks.—J. M. 
W., Batavia, N. Y., writes that a large 
number of his fowls have their feathers 
picked off tho neck, leaving a bare, but ap- 
A Bouquet of beautiful Wild Flowers 
was received by mail, (male?) at tho Rural 
sanctum last week. From whom ? 
