212 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
June 16. 
Cactcs Seed (Z. Z. Z.).—We hardly recollect how long the seed¬ 
lings are in coming up, but not long in general. The seed should be 
washed from the pulp ; sow in light sandy loam, kept open by a little 
peat, and plunge in your hotbed. As soon as handable, prick the young 
things off, and pot when of a suitable size, growing them in heat during 
summer; and giving them the warmest part of the greenhouse in winter. 
After three or four years many kinds will bloom. Unless for hybrids, 
cuttings strike so freely that sowing is seldom resorted to. 
Diseased Chickens. —In reply to the very numerous parties from 
whom I have received dead chickens, and whom it would occupy too 
much space to answer individually, I may state, that in almost every 
case the fatality has been caused by some mismanagement; the birds 
have been either coddled, over-crowded, or badly fed ; in one case, the 
chickens were kept in a warm loft, from which draughts were carefully 
excluded. In others, they were in a space so confined, that the ground 
must necessarily have become foul. From the crops of several I ex¬ 
tracted hemp seed, large masses of meat, whole barley and wheat. All 
these circumstances tend to produce disease. Housed chickens pine for 
fresh, wholesome air, and the natural insect food, worms, &c., which 
j cannot be artificially supplied. Bleat and hemp-seed in excess, cause 
disease, both being unnatural. I believe, that when the hens arc allowed to 
! scratch for the chicken, and a supply of grits, or coarse oatmeal, made 
: into a crumbly mass, with water, is given liberally, beginning early in 
[ the morning, all that is required in the way of food is supplied, if they 
| have an out-door run among grass, &c. Out of nearly fifty chicken 
thus treated, mostly Dorkings, with some fevv Shangliacs and Spanish, 
I have lost but two, and those were weakly at birth ; the nearer we can 
approach to a natural diet the better, and small seeds, insects, and 
green herbage, constitute the natural food of gallinaceous birds. Rice is 
certainly not a good food for young chicken, it contains, by far, too small 
a quantity of flesh-forming material; but as constituting a part of 
the food of old birds, I regard it as particularly valuable.—W. B. 
Tegetmeier, Tottenham, Middlesex. 
BIilk, Butter, Eggs, and Bacon for a Family ( Clericus ).— 
Keep two cows, make use of the butter required during the summer 
months, and salt the remainder for use in the winter. The milk not re¬ 
quired for use may be given to the store pigs. Keep four store pigs pur¬ 
chased in the spring, at three months old, fed during summer upon 
1 milk, &c., and fattened in the autumn upon barleymeal, until they attain 
the weight of ten or twelve score pounds each. Keep six hens and one 
cock, to supply eggs and chicken for family consumption. You have six 
acres of land. Put four acres down in permanent pasture, half of which 
cut for hay, and feed with cows, alternately. Retain two acres in arable 
or tillage, to be cropped in the following rotation :—First year, Barley ; 
second year, root crops ; forty poles sown with Trifolium, as soon as the 
Barley is harvested, and sown with Swedish Turnips after the Trifolium is 
removed the first week in June; forty poles sown with early six-week 
Turnips, the first thing after harvest; after the Turnips are pulled, plant 
with early Potatoes; eighty poles to be tilled in the autumn, preparatory 
for sowing in the spring; forty poles with white Carrots ; and forty poles 
with Blangold. Your six acres of land, will, managed in this manner, 
I give you the following produce :—Summer feed in grass for two cows ; 
I four tons of hay for winter feed; five quarters of barley to fatten pigs, 
and feed poultry ; one-and-a-half tons of barley-straw, for fodder or litter; 
! three tons of Trifolium, as green food in spring; four tons of Swedish 
Turnips, cow food in winter; thirty bushels of early Turnips for sale; 
j forty bushels of early Potatoes for family use, and to assist in fatting 
I pigs ; six tons of white Carrots for feeding store pigs and cows in spring, 
and for sale; one-and-a-half tons of Carrot-greens, cow food in No- 
I vember ; seven tons of Blangold, cow and pig food, in spring and early 
summer, and for sale. The above amount of crops may vary a little in 
I some seasons, but in case the land is well managed, it is a near approach 
to the result. The labour required will be somewhat regular in this mode 
! of cropping, but “Clericus” must not expect one man to do it; it is, 
however, not easy to estimate the amount of labour, by reason of the 
variation of the seasons, and of circumstances in agricultural affairs 
i which can neither be foreseen nor controled. The profit to be realised 
! will be dependant entirely upon the judgment and industry displayed in 
carrying out the details of the system laid down, and cannot, therefore, 
be estimated with accuracy.—J. B. 
I Rose Stocks (B. B .). —The shoots that arc to be budded on should 
not be cut until the new buds have taken, then, if the buds arc from 
autumn-flowering kinds, the shoots may be cut back to within six inches 
of the bud, which bud will start immediately. The shoots on which 
BIoss or Cabbage Roses, and all such, are budded, need not be cut till 
| the middle of September, and then only to half their length. Blake 
choice of the two or three best shoots for budding on each stock, and 
nip off the ends of all the rest, and keep them docked all the season, not 
allowing them more than five or six inches in length, but by no means 
rub any of them off, as some thoughtless people do. 
Camellia-leaves Spotted (Devonian). —It was not the scale which 
affected the leaf sent. We have seen two or three instances of the kind 
in our practice from a bad state of the roots. Some Vines are,thus 
affected every year, but, as they cast their leaves, the evil is not heeded 
so much. Your plant may have had the disease nine or ten years, and 
if so, and that it spreads annually to the young leaves, all the gardeners 
in the world cannot cure it. 
Rhododendron Edgwortiiii (Ibid). —It was named by Dr. Hooker 
in compliment to the BI. Edgworth after whom Edgworthia was called. 
BIr. Fisher Hobbs ( Cymro ).—A letter directed to him at the Far¬ 
mer’s Club, York Hotel, Bridge Street, Blackfriars, will certainly reach 
him. The Improved Essex differs in many points from the Improved 
Berkshire breed of Pigs ; they are smaller boned, and usually all black. 
Arrangement of the Poultry Yard (Rusticus, A. B.).—There is 
no mode of teaching Shanghae, or other cocks, to be at peace with each 
other. We put one cock, five hens, and half our cockerels in one walk, 
and the same numbers in another walk* Our pullets we keep by them¬ 
selves. Shanghae. cockerels acquire their wing quill feathers earlier than 
the pullets ; but Shanghae pullets acquire their tail feathers, and general 
plumage earlier than the cockerels. 
The Cottage Gardeners’ Dictionary (Multum in parvo). —It 
gives the cultivation of plants. Price 8 s. 6 d. The roots of vines are best 
inside the house. 
Tool-House ( Juventus). —Any shed, with a shelf and a few hanging 
hooks, will answer. No plan can be required for such a structure. 
Calceolaria Seedlings (A. N. V.). — Every one shrivelled up. 
(31. H .).—Here is a contrast! the blooms came perfectly fresh, being 
packed between films of damp moss, in a tin box. No. 5, Creamy-yellow, 
with very distinct circular crimson blotches ; form good. We should call 
it “ Clown,” for it reminds us of Grimaldi’s face. No. 15, Bright crim¬ 
son, with creamy edge round the mouth and outer margin; good form. 
No. 23, Very like No. 5, but more closely blotched. No. 40, Dark crim¬ 
son, very regularly veined with pinky-white ; excellent in form and 
colouring. No. 62 , Yellow, with very closely-clustered blotches of dark 
maroon ; form good. The other specimens ordinary, but, as a whole, 
the best collection of Calceolaria seedlings we have seen this year. 
Destroying Caterpillars (J. Pine). — Dust them with white 
hellebore powder. 
Bees—Early Swarms. —We are informed of a swarm near Sheffield 
on the l 6 th, and another on the 24th of Blay. 
Water Cress (A. Mansfield). —You will find its garden culture, 
without a stream of water, in our No. 61 , page 11 ". 
Gooseberry Growing (R. J. C.).— The only good modern work is 
published by BIr. Bohn. It is entitled “The Gooseberry, its culture, 
uses, and history.” 
Strawberries (IF. Blood). — The Hautbois and British Queen 
Strawberries not bearing when growing together, was not owing to such 
neighbourship. They have been rendered fruitful, probably, by having 
their luxuriance checked by the destruction of some of their roots in the 
course of transplanting. 
Vine BIildew (IF. C..P.) —We know of no remedy but repeated 
dustings with sulphur. They should be applied immediately the fungus 
is perceived. In the winter, when the leaves are all off, dress the vines, 
and fumigate the house, as was recommended by BIr. Errington some 
months’ since. 
Pansies (J. B.). —We know of no work about them. If you refer to 
our Indexes, you will find all the information you require. 
Bees : Early Swarms. —“ I quite agree with the writer of your 
Apiarian’s Calendar for June, as regards the unfavourable character of the 
present spring for Bees ; but there must be a great difference in the state 
of stocks, in respect to swarming, as in the neighbourhood of Leeds, 
swarms are becoming numerous. A friend of mine had one come off on 
the lflth of Blay ; another party had two on the 23rd; and I had one on 
the 26th, and a very good one. It is three days earlier than I ever had 
one before, although I have kept bees the last sixteen years; probably, it 
may be accounted for, by the last season being more favourable in the 
northern than the southern part of the country. The above swarms are 
all from stocks kept in the common cottage straw hive.—T. Umpleby, 
Roundhay, Leeds. 
Names ok Plants (J. S .).—We could not recognise voui plant, but 
have been told that it is Vicia Narbonensis, var. integrifolia If so, it 
is an annual, and used in some parts of France as we use tares. (A Sub¬ 
scriber).— Yours is Dielytra spectabilis. (IF. C. P.) — Cerastis padus. 
(Scholasticus). — Cerasus serotinus. We know of no mode of destroying 
furze of gorse so effectual as grubbing it up. Cutting it down repeat¬ 
edly, and salting it heavily, might overcome it. (G. B. C.). — Ribes 
speciosum, or Showy-flowered Currant. 
Black Beetles. — C. S. A. obliges us with the following:—“ Having 
a decided antipathy to those household pests, I feel for those who are 
infested by them. ‘ Roth and Ringcrsen’s patent phosphorus paste, or 
vermin destroyer,’ may be considered an effectual remedy, if persevered 
in for a short time. We entered a house in Biarch, 1852, where we found 
them swarming in kitchen and cellars. The application of two sixpenny 
jars cleared them entirely away. At the commencement of warm weather 
last month, two or three made their appearance; we applied our old 
remedy, and have seen no more. It can be had at most oil shops, in 
3d, 6 d, and Is. jars. Dallow, at Kingsland Gate, keeps it. Cats and 
dogs will not touch it.” 
Black Beetles — Bee Glasses. —IF. L. T. says “ In The Cottage 
Gardener you ask for a mode of exterminating Black Beetles. I think 
if you try pieces of the rind or skin of the Cucumber, laid in their track 
at night, you will find them quickly diminish. Also, ‘ J. W.’ wishes to 
know where flat Bee Glasses are to be obtained. I have bought several 
of Blarriott, 72, Graceclmrch Street, City, and you can also order them 
to be made at any manufacturers ; indeed, I think there is one man in 
Bisliopsgate Street Without, who has them ready, but I do not know 
his name.” 
London: Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street, 
in the Parish of Saint Blary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, of Church Hill, Walthamstow, in the County of 
Essex, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish of Christ 
Church, City of London.—June l6th, 1853. 
