450 
THE COTTAGE GAKDENER. 
March 10. I 
fowls held out the longest, and kept their condition better 
than any other poultry, which was a set-off against their 
almost intolerable clamour. The poultry of the ship were 
cared for well, ns far as giving water and grain twioe-a-day, 
and now and then sand. T'he man or boy who had charge 
seemed to know nothing about diseases, nor was any sepa- 
I'ation ever made of the diseased from the healthy. T'he 
ship's steward, being aware that fifty per cent at least 
would never live to bo produced on table, thought to remedy 
the matter by filling the coops so that the birds found 
hardly room to turn round; the strongest forced themselves 
to the front, particularly at feeding-time; the weak, hinder 
I occupants could hardly see their food and water, much less 
taste of them. Death remedied the over-crowding ; so in a 
short time there was room for all to walk about. 
I will mention one more evil, which was, the punishment 
intlicted by the healthy birds on the sickly, which no doubt 
helped to clear the coop. T'he food of the birds was always 
dry rice in the husk, called “ paddy,” diflering not much in 
appearance from barley. Can you give a chapter in your 
proposed book as to the best method of preserving fowls on 
shipboard ? Might it not be worth while making experi¬ 
ments on shore with birds in coo]is, in order to discover 
what space should he allotted; what kind of food would 
keep them in the best condition; and what substance 
should be given to assist digestion, instead of sand, which 
is certainly ineffective? Ignorance of the deepest shade 
prevails with regard to correct treatment on shipboard, and 
the consequence is, waste of money in the first instance, 
and bad food, if not the descent to salt-junk, for the 
passengers in the hitter part of the voyage. Excuse my 
troubling you. The matter, for all I know, may already 
have been provided for sufliciently in some woi'k of which 
I never heard. I see you have methods of physicking fowls. 
I A pamphlet on the subject of treatment of all sorts, if pro- 
i vided for all ships’ stewards, would add very greatly to the 
oomfort of the passengers, and save money to the ship¬ 
owners or commanders. With regard to ducks, they do 
better than fowls. Geese are hardly worth taking on board 
for long voyages, so juiceless do they get.— V>. C., Elmjield, 
I Sotilhatnplon. 
[.\ more useful subject of inquiry could hardly be sug¬ 
gested than that contained in the above letter. And we 
trust to be enabled to devote some portion of our space in 
the forthcoming “ Poultry B<wk ” to its careful consideration. 
We should be glad, in the meanwhile, to receive any in¬ 
formation bearing on the management of “ Poultry at sea," 
that our friends may be possessed of. The opthalmia 
(which, probably, often terminates in roup) alluded to 
would be easily accounted for by the dirt in which the birds, 
from their crowded position, were forced to exist, without 
referring to the etfect of the “paddy,” or unhusked rice, 
which constantly produces the same effect. Even the best 
samples of rice in this country would be injurious to the 
health of fowls,./"roni its disposUioii to sivell in the stomach if 
(jiven unboiled for any length of time. Eice, indeed, as 
poultry-food, should always be either steeped or boiled, the 
latter by preference. We will merely add, at present, that 
roomy coops, with floors boarded in front, but with open 
bars behind; sheltered from the weather, but with fresh 
air in abundance; regular feeding, with change of diet; 
a liberal supply of water, and gravel to aid their digestion, 
which, under such circumstances, must be sorely taxed ; 
are such essentials, that, unless they are duly attended to, 
the salt junk, however uninviting, would probably be moro 
I tempting on the dinner-table than those unhappy inhabitants 
! of the East Indiaman’s hen-coop.—W.] 
GOLD FISH IN VASES. 
A New Subscriber, in No. 228, enquires for a work on “ the 
I management of Gold Eish in Glass Vases.” I know of none 
I such, nor indeed is any needed; so simple is the treatment 
1 they require, that it may be rendered in these few words: 
Cliange the water as soon as it becomes turbid. They re¬ 
quire no other food than what the water may contain. 
I once kept four fish, each about four inches in length, 
I in a glass vase which contained about two gallons ; the 
water being changed once a week in summer, and every 
fortnight, or thereabouts, in winter. T’hey wore thus kept | 
in apparent health for four years, and might have lived 1 
much longer, had not tlie cat been tempted by their glitter¬ 
ing scales, and, to my regret, succeeded in catching the 
whole. ; 
I usually take the fish from the pond in my garden on 
the approach of winter, and put them in a vase in the 
greenhouse ; this vase, contains about three gallons. They 
are never fed the whole winter. The plants are watereil 
from the vase, which is again filled from the pump. About 
three or four times during the season the vase is emptied 
and cleaned, when it is again filled with clear pump-water.— 
W. Savage. ; 
DISEASES OF FOULTRY. 
INFLAJIMATION OF THE STOMACH. 
A FORTNIGHT siiico my advice was asked respecting a ' 
valuable young Shanghae hen, which had suddenly ceased ' 
laying, refused her food, and manifested oveiy sign of 
severe illness. On examination, I found her extremely 
weak, very thin, and most unwilling to move or stand. 
There was no purging, nor running at the nose, nor were 
the eyes aftected, although they were usually kept closed. 
From so short and imperfect a view of the case, I was 
unable to decide on the exact nature of the disease. 1 
could oidy say it was not roup, nor fever, nor was the head 
afleeted. I suspected inflammation of some internal organ, 
and pirescribed one grain of calomel. The gentleman to 
whom she belonged thought some stimulant was necessary, 
and added a little cayenne pepper. T'he woman who had 
charge of her had constantly crammed her, and I found the 
crop ijuite full. I expressed a strong objection to this 
proceeding; but it appears that the fowl was fed by hand 
until its death. One week afterwards I was informed that 
the hen liad improved fur two or three days after taking 
the medicine, but had .relapsed. I again ui’ged its not 
being fed by hand. On calling the following week, the dead 
fowl (having been killed piuposely some hours previously) 
was brought for my inspection. On removing the skin of 
I the breast, I found the flesh wasted to an extreme degree; 
the crop, which was healthy, contained a large handful of 
whole Indian corn; the enlarged part of the gullet that is 
situated within the body, and which almost appears to form 
part of the gizzard, was in a violent state of inflammation, 
the inner lining being blotched -with red, and the whole 
organ somewhat thickened. It is in this part (which is 
termed, by comparative anatomists, the proventiicuius) that 
the food, after it has been softened in the crop, is subjected 
to the action of the digestive fluid (riz., the gastric juice), 
the gizzard being merely a grinding organ. The other 
organs of the body were in a healthy state. The ovary 
contained an immense number of very small ova, and the 
egg-passage, or oiiduct, was small in size as in hens that 
are not laying. I could not trace the disease to any par¬ 
ticular cause. The hen had recently, with others, been 
removed from the country to a large stable-yai’d in town, I 
and well supplied with fresh vegetable food. I mention ! 
the case as a warning against the injurious, and, in this case, 
as it turned out, excessively cruel practice of cramming a 
sick bird. The sutt'eriug occasioned by forcing food into an 
inflamed stomach must have been intense. In the inflamed 
state of the part no digestive fluid could be found, and the 
food, consecpiently, was undigested, the intestines being 
empty, and the bu-d thin from want of nourishment. Had 
the calomel been given without the cayenne, the bird kept 
comfortably wann, and supplied with some thin fine oat¬ 
meal and ivator, or boiled rice, cooked potato or tiu’nip 
there would have been a \ery good prospect of recovery 
As it was, the fowl was literally killed with the mistake 
kindness of the woman who had it in chai’go. 
W. B. Teoetmeier, Tottenham. 
EARLY LIFE OF THE POOR IMAN’S WEI 
WISHER. 
{Continued from page 272.) 
IIavhng told you how I persevered in learning to rea 
will now tell you how I learned to write. Dly first plac , 
