May 20.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
139 
out all night. As to food for the chickens —they have ground 
barley, sometimes a little boiled rice, or dog biscuit soaked 
in water, and little pieces of cooked meat from off the 
dinner plates which are cut into small pieces. It is a rule 
with us never to give them anything which will either swell 
in their crops, or which is likely to turn sour : the chickens 
never thrived when fed on groats. We have now two 
broods hatched, February 23rd, which would he considered by 
many ready for the table; we shall consider them so in two 
or three weeks more. They are as large as a good sized 
partridge. There are also several other broods of a month 
and six weeks old, equally thriving, altogether about forty 
(not including those which have died from accidents Ac.); 
when fed on groats we never reared as many in the course 
of the summer. 
With respect to coops .—I cannot forbear giving you a 
sketch of one, which after trying all sorts we consider 
decidedly the best. The advantage of this coop is that the 
Part A, is divided off from the rest of the coop by a partition, with a hole large enough for the hen to come in and out at pleasure. 
Part B, is not divided off, and is only to put the food behind. 
hen can in rainy weather go into her sleeping house, A, 
where she is effectually sheltered from the weather, and the 
food for her and her chickens can he placed behind the 
door, B (which is made to open and shut), and the other 
fowls cannot get at it, which is the case in other coops; but 
the coop can thus be left standing in the poultry-yard with 
the other fowls. Besides, the second door, B, is used in 
cleaning the coop out. There is also a piece of wood which 
fits to the wire bars in front and reaches three-parts of the 
way up, so that at night when it is put up, the hen is securely 
shut in, and sufficient space left for ventilation. Another 
advantage in this coop is, that if suddenly a shower comes on, 
you can without the least trouble drive the chickens in, push 
down the two sliding wires, C, and the chickens are in all 
safe with plenty of room to run about;—the shower over, the 
bars are pulled up. W. H. W. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Barlf.y-sugar for Bees. — A Reader writes to us thus “ If I may 
be permitted to volunteer a word in reply to your querist B. B., I would 
say, that what he terms “prepared barley-sugar’’ for feeding bees, is 
merely barley-sugar unflavoured with lemon peel; the mode of making it 
being described in Taylor’s Bee-keeper's Manual. Where a little trouble 
is not minded, the cost is that of refined sugar. If bought at the shops, 
it is dearer, and not so good. B. B.’s plan of uniting weak stocks of 
bees in autumn is excellent practice, and ought to be universal. Not a 
bee need be lost, and brimstone may be utterly discarded ; but I always 
prefer a puff or two from the mouth (with an Oxford tube) to using 
bellows. As regards fumigating material, what is termed by B. B. 
“Neighbour’s prepared fungus,’’ is the Mouse-skin Byssus, or Racodium 
Culture, which your correspondent will find described by Mr. Taylor, who 
says truly that in some of the wine and beer vaults in London, enough 
maybe had to serve a whole county, or, indeed, a dozen counties.” 
Peach-trees Failing (/. D., Saltwood).— Rely upon it, yours is 
simply a case of immaturity in the wood, such ever presents a similar 
appearance. There certainly seems little objectionable in your border; 
but trees that are in the common acceptation “ the admiration of every 
one ” when in a young state, but too often flatter to betray. If your trees 
begin to grow luxuriantly shortly, let a trench be dug out about four or 
five feet from the wall, and parallel with it, and let every root be cut 
which projects beyond that line, even to the very bottom. If you do not 
cut now, be sure to root-prune less or more in the middle of September, 
for to do so earlier would prejudice the fruit. Moreover, we would stop 
every shoot of any strength in the end of July. Pray look over Mr. Er- 
rington’s papers for root-management. 
(Enothera macrocarpa {Sabrina).— Now is the best time to make 
cuttings of this. Slip off young shoots when they are three inches long, 
and put them under a hand-glass in a shaded place. (E. taraxifolia 
comes best from seeds, or by dividing the roots in the spring. Cuttings 
of Double Gorse, or Furze, will easily root in a sheltered situation, or 
under a hand-glass, if put in about the end of July to the end of Sep¬ 
tember. April is the best time to transplant them; but any time from 
October to May will do. Seedlings of Sparaxis and Gilias should not be 
disturbed at all the first season. In October, shake them out of the old 
soil, and put them round a six-inch pot, one inch apart, for the second 
season’s growth, after that, put them singly in pots, or three or four in 
a pot. 
Siphocampylos microstoma {J. W. T.). —It should be cut down 
late in the autumn, or early in the spring, and be allowed to flower only 
on annual shoots. The seeds of your half-hardies could not be good, or 
they would vegetate under your frame. The annual Larkspurs you 
mention take about a month to come up in the open ground when sown 
in April, but only three weeks, and not so much, if sown in May, 
Calceolaria Seed (G. Allis). —Sow it immediately in light, rich 
sandy soil; make the surface smooth but not hard; scatter the seed 
rather thinly upon it, and cover it with the thinnest possible layer of 
finely-sifted compost. Give a gentle watering with a fine-rosed put, and 
place it on a shelf in a greenhouse well shaded, or, what is better, in a 
cold frame close to the glass. Shade from sun, and water occasionally. 
As soon as the plants can be handled, prick them out into the same 
compost, set about an inch apart; and as soon as the leaves touch each 
other, pot them singly into small pots, replacing them in the cold frame ; 
repot again as soon as neeessary, and, finally, by the time winter has set 
in, have them in five-inch pots, placed upon a shelf, in a light, airy green¬ 
house, where they might remain till spring; then repot them, giving 
more water, and allow them to flower to prove them; bad ones throw 
away, and good or promising ones keep and propagate by cuttings. 
Dog’s-tooth Violets {Ibid). —These must be planted the last week 
in September. Their roots are impatient of drought. You must plant 
them in pots, placed in the shade, out of doors ; and as soon as your 
autumn flowers are destroyed, then turn them out of the pots, and no 
doubt they will flower well in the spring. 
Cut Flowers {Ibid). —The best way to send cut seedlings of plants, 
is to damp some moss, spread a thin layer over it, at the bottom of a tin 
box ; then lay your specimens upon it, wrapped in silver paper; cover it 
with another layer of moss, and. then put on the lid; wrap the box in 
strong white paper, tie it wfith some string, and seal with wax, and send 
it by the same day’s post. Your specimen will then arrive fresh, and can 
be examined, and probably named, with pleasure. 
Thinning Anemones {F. H.). —Your anemone bed sown last June 
has done well, but the flowers are small. It is owing to two things—the 
plants are too thick, and the ground is too poor. Trench a bed deep, 
and enrich it with good well-decayed dung. Thin out the plants, and 
put them in the new bed four inches apart; they will flower well next 
year, or, if fine, this autumn. Azalea cuttings do not require more heat 
than a cucumber bed. The cuttings should not exceed three inches in 
length; two inches will be sufficient. 
Gloxinias and Acuimenes {J. B. H.).— You have a small green¬ 
house, a frame, and a hotbed, and you wish to know if with these you 
can grow gloxinias and achimenes? Yes, and well too. The lowest 
temperature the above plants will bear at night is about 48° to 50°. You 
may syringe them in the frame early in the morning in fine warm 
weather, and, when it is very hot out of doors, you should give plenty 
of air in the morning, syringe in the afternoon, and cover up early. 
When your plants are large enough, and the summer is fairly come, 
remove your gloxinias and achimenes by degrees into the greenhouse, 
shading for a time till they get over the change, and are strong enough 
to bear the full sun and light. Take care of the gas. It is a good 
servant, but an exterminating master. 
