132 
THE COTTAGE OARDENER. 
May 25. 
We have now before us the weights of two Shamjhae 
Pullets and Cockerels, exactly nino weeks old, and they 
appear as follows. They were hatched on the 15th of 
March, and they were weighed on the 17th of May. 
There is no error in the statement, and we can vouch 
for entire accuracy:— 
1 Buff Cockerel . 3 lbs. 
1 Buff Cockerel ... ... 2 lbs.-10 oz. 
1 Buff Pullet ... ... 2 lbs. 8 oz. 
I Hark Cinnamon Pullet ... 2 lbs. !) oz. 
Captain Hornby has also furnished us with some 
facts on the same subject, and we cannot do better than 
publish them in his own words:— 
“ The remarks made in one of the numbers of The 
Cottage Gardener, as to the weights of chickens of this 
year, sent you by Captain Snell, induced me to weigh some 
of my own chickens of 1854. I had never before tried the 
weights of such very young birds, but I now enclose the 
results, which you are welcome to make use of in any way 
you like. 
“You will see that my chickens are older than Captain 
Snell’s, and the warm weather may have been much in their 
favour, but still these weights seem to me to bear out the 
statements of the ‘Amateur,’ whose correctness Captain 
Snell seemed to doubt, when he said he had chickens of 
1854 weighing 2§ lbs. each. 
“I believe the age of those quoted by Captain Snell, on 
March 28th, as hatched January 8th, would be eleven weeks 
and two days. I weighed May 13th. 
Age. Weight. 
Weeks. Uays. lbs. ozs. 
Shanqliae Cockerel, hatched February 1 , . . . „ 
3rd, 1854 . } 14 1 4 8 
Shanghae Pullet, hatched Februaryj .. „ „ 0 
22nd, 18.54 . j 11 d ~ J 
Dorking Cockerel, hatched February) . 
21st,' 1854 . J 11 4 ,J 1 
“ I have, also, this morning (May 10th) killed two cockerels 
hatched February 7th, 1854, whose joint weight was eight 
pounds six ounces, or fourpounds three ounces each. Judging 
from these weights, I see no reason to doubt the assertion 
of the (to me) unknown amateur, that at that time, March 
28th, he had chickens of 1854 weighing two-and-a-half 
pounds each. Much may 7 be done, by early attention and 
good feeding, in putting weight on early chickens, as I have 
before told you. 
“Of course, I am not aware to wjiom Captain Snell 
alludes, but my experience tells me, that to make mere 
weight a test as to whether the chicken is an early spring 
bird or not must generally prove fallacious. 
“ One feeder will make half as much again of a bird as 
another. I believe, also, that the same bird which, hatched 
in February, attains, at the age of fourteen weeks, the weight 
of four pounds eight ounces (which is pretty good), would, 
under the same judicious treatment, have attained a still 
greater weight if hatched in April; and, I believe, in nine 
cases out of ten, an April-hatched bird, would, under the 
same treatment, beat its ‘ fellow bird,’ in all points, by the 
end of December. I think, in short, that very early birds 
are not, eventually, the best, though, of course, it is an 
object to have early chickens for the early shows." 
INSECTS IN THE FRUIT-GARDEN. 
Extensive, indeed, is the catalogue of evils to which 
fruit-trees are subject; but notwithstanding the grave 
charges brought against the pernicious influences of 
untoward seasons &c., still, in my opinion, the injuries 
sustained through the depredations of insects are more 
serious by far. 
Extermination, or a close approach to it, must be the 
good gardeners maxim; and this requires an amount 
of assiduity that not every one cares to put in practice, 
or, indeed, has the means of doing, for it necessarily 
involves a considerable amount of labour. However, 
there is an old saying, “ Whatever is worth doing, 
is worth doing well,” and this is as true now as when 
lirst coined; nay, more so, inasmuch as the spirit of 
competition is so much increased. 
My chief aim in this paper is to impress on the 
minds of the readers of this work the real necessity for 
paying the very highest regard to the importance of 
freedom from insects in all fruits; more especially the 
Peach, Apricot, Cherry, and Plum. Let not, however, 
the matter be despised as to other fruits. 
1 will now run over some of them, and endeavour to 
show how things should stand in the end of May. 
Aptucots. —These are likely to prove a capital crop in 
these parts; at least, so 1 am informed, although, 
of all the fruits we have here, and which are generally 
much admired, Apricots are the least successful. How¬ 
ever careful we may be to destroy the eggs of the Red 
Bar Moth, still caterpillars will be found, and the trees 
must be hand-picked. The caterpillar is coiled up 
in those patchy clusters of foliage which every body 
must have noticed, and that should be unfolded, and 
the caterpillar crushed. Ours have been done a long 
time, and we have scarcely any damage. The worst of 
these proceedings is, that the ordinary clumsy labourers 
consume so much timo over the operation, and in these 
days of strikes it requires some nerve to dare attempt 
good gardening. With the gardeners of our aristocracy, 
especially, great difficulties exist; if the employers, 
through old attachments, desire to keep their old 
retainers through many years, these old squires, 
especially, in “striking" times, become so independent, 
that a fair day’s work is not easily obtained; the very 
knowledge of the humane desire acting on an under 
current spoils all: such is human nature. 
However, to set the labour question aside, high 
principles of culture, if their essence or relative degree of 
importance has to be set forth in print, would lead to 
induce retrogression. But, as to picking, it may be 
observed that it is not uncommon for careless fellows to 
rummage about a tree for an hour or two, and, after all, 
uot to destroy a score of these caterpillars. It is of 
little use unfolding the leaves and tumbling the creature 
on the ground, from whence it will assuredly ascend the 
tree again; it must be crushed. The unfolding the 
leaves is, of course, essential to the well-being of the tree 
in general, but more especially to the spurs from whence j 
the next year’s crop must proceed. 
The Aphides, too, must be looked after on the Apricot. ! 
There is a greenish-purple kind, which is very apt to 
infest them, and is probably the same which some- j 
times infests the Plum. This may be looked for on \ 
the young shoots, especially during a very dry period. 
It is almost needless to say, that this insect is very 
prejudicial to the free extension of the shoots of the 
tree, to say nothing of the perversion of its juices ; and 
that it does more damage still to young trees in course i 
of training; such are sometimes completely stagnated, 
and make little way for a year or two if neglected. 
Tobacco-water is here the best remedy; if the tree is 
generally attacked, the application maybe general; if 
only a few points, the best way is to put the liquor in a 
bowl, and to dip them. • Six ounces of good shag 
tobacco to a gallon of water will settle the affair; but 
these insects have such a greasy coat, that much pre¬ 
caution is requisite. My plan is, to operate on a fine 
evening, safe from rain. On such an occasion, we 
syringe the trees with a fine rose, about four o’clock, 
p m., with clear water, this is followed, by dipping in 
the mixture about six, and a second dipping, if possible, 
at seven, or, in default of that, on the succeeding 
evening. Do what we will, we may account one dipping 
incomplete, and the satisfaction is great (although the 
