THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[June 27. 
192 
any given crop to perfect itself in. Of course, any of the 
winter-green family will be eligible, and if greens instead of 
root crops are preferred, few things can excel the green-kale, 
or savoy. If roots are preferred for pig-feeding, or for the 
cow', why nothing can exceed the swede turnip; and if the 
soil is too poor, and the season somewhat spent, any of the 
ordinary turnips may be sown. We have before observed, 
that fine young Horn carrots may be produced from a sowing 
made in the beginning of July on good mellow soil. 
Parsnips. —These will need little further culture ; weeds, 
of course, being eradicated, a good stirring with the hoe will 
be beneficial. 
Swedes. —These having been duly thinned out at about 
eight or nine inches apart, the future course to pursue is to 
pass the hand-lioe through them, not stirring too deep 
between the plants. Deep culture, however, between the 
drills is, in common with other root crops, of much importance. 
Need we add, that weeds must be keptcleared away at all times. 
Mangold requires the same cultural operations as the 
swedes, after singling them out to about ten or twelve inches 
apart. Our practice is to soil them slightly up the bulb when 
about three-parts grown, or rather when side fibres begin to 
show themselves above the ground level. 
Onions. —The final thinning must take place now. We 
are no advocates for great distances in this crop, finding, 
from experience, that a somewhat thick crop, by lessening 
the size of the individual onion, gives them better keeping 
qualities. They, moreover, come to hand sooner, as to their 
ripening,—a tiling of much importance in the north. If the 
grub has much thinned their ranks, something should be 
introduced amongst them which will not smother them. We 
are not aware of any better plan than sowing or planting let- 
tuGes, which cannot be produced too abundantly where a pig 
is kept. The latter may be almost entirely supported by 
this crop in summer, letting them run up a little towards 
seeding, to increase both bulk and quality. 
Shallots. —As soon as these begin to loosen their hold, 
they must be removed forthwith to a dry situation—one, 
indeed, where rain can never touch them. We have known 
them rendered very firm by throwing them beneath the bee- 
bench for a few weeks. The housing of this crop must be 
done successively as they ripen. 
Cabbages. —All that are become solid and white should be 
used up either for the family, the cow, or the pig. By this 
means they become more profitable, as they soon produce 
good sprouts. Cabbages may be considered as ceasing to 
yield profit the moment they are full grown. Those sown 
in April or May should be got out between existing crops or 
on borders; and in the first week of July a liberal sowing 
may be made to produce good autumn Goleworts; such may 
be planted on the onion ground the moment the crop is 
removed, using a little manure near the surface. The dwarf 
sorts are best. We use the Matchless entirely. 
Greens. —Under this head w r e include the savoy, green 
kale, Brussels sprouts, or indeed any other of the Brassica 
family. We cannot point to the proportion of each, or 
whether it is expedient to grow all; we may merely say, 
that July, above all the months of the year, is the most 
proper for seeming a good planting. Where early peas are 
being removed, the ground may be profitably occupied with 
these things. It need scarcely be added, that the whole 
tribe are partial to manure, but if the ground has been 
manured in the previous winter, there will be no occasion 
for more at present. 
Common Turnips. —These may be sown any time up to 
the end of August, choosing for late sowings the Dutch or 
Stone.. We merely point to these as a secondary con¬ 
sideration, or as a matter of convenience; for the swedes and 
mangold are of more importance as keeping roots. 
Leeks.—A planting of these in the early part of July, well 
manured, will give a supply until the succeeding June. 
We now take leave of our cottage friends for the present, 
and may merely observe, that during summer the hoe and 
the waterpot, occasionally, are very' profitable implements, if 
used in good time; and above all we must repeat, that cleanly 
culture, or an early freedom from weeds, is the grand point 
m allotment farming or gardening. Deep and frequent 
culture if not of equal import, is the very next; indeed, as 
cultural affairs they almost comprise all that can be said as to 
summer work. 
THE POULTRY-KEEPER'S CALENDAR.— July. 
By Martin Doyle, Author of “Hints to Small Farmers," Ac. 
Fowls Hatching. —It is very doubtful whether it be ju¬ 
dicious to give the eggs of any of the gallinaceous birds for 
hatching after the middle of July at the latest. Supposing 
that a hen sits on the fifteenth of this month, the brood will 
not be hatched until about the fifth of August. Though it 
is natural that a hen should feel the instinctive desire to sit 
in autumn as in spring, and would, in the warm countries 
from which fowls originally came, bring forth two broods as 
a matter of course in the year, it is to be remembered that 
the temperature of our climate causes a material difference 
in this respect, at least as far as the hardihood and success 
of the second brood is in question. About Midsummer is 
the most desirable time for the second course of incubation 
to commence. Late broods of fowls, turkeys, and Guinea 
fowls, are all extremely uncertain, and dependent on the 
chance of a fair or foul autumn following. The tempe¬ 
rature of any given locality, no doubt, will cause some 
difference in this respect. The poultry-keeper who lives in 
a cold wet region where an early winter sets in, and where 
chilling mists and fogs prevail in the autumn, cannot, 
with any reasonable expectation of success, rear late broods 
of the birds just enumerated; yet, in other parts of the 
United Kingdom, where the autumnal are frequently more 
mild and dry than the summer months, the breeder of 
fowls need not be discouraged from gratifying the long¬ 
ings of any hens that feel the desire for incubation, even 
to the end of July or later. It is to be calculated, that a late 
brood, if they do survive the severities of our climate, arc 
worth a good deal of money in spring. Experience, then, 
as to the average kind of weather in the autumnal months, 
in any particular district, and of the usual effects upon the 
poultry which are there hatched at an advanced period of the 
year, can best determine the question, when the last broods 
may, -with a fair chance of success, be brought forth ? 
Though so many more fowls and other poultry are reared 
by the peasantry of Ireland than by those of England, it is 
a fact, that coops—for the occasional confinement of the hen 
and the protection of the chickens, so common in England— 
are scarcely known in many parts of Ireland. The reason 
probably is, that the floor of the cabin in the latter country 
is the privileged place of retreat for young poultry, when 
they require shelter from a passing shower or from strong 
sunshine. In fact, a cabin itself is the coop, but as its scale 
is too large for the purpose required, and inconvenient in 
some respects, the true coop is a desirable substitute. We 
accordingly give here a sketch of one of the most approved 
construction and dimensions. 
By confining a hen some hours in the day to the coop 
she is prevented from rambling into danger, and yet has the 
liberty of enjoying fresh air, and the pleasure of seeing her 
chicks run in and out through the bars, and returning to her 
when her voice warns them to seek shelter, on the approach 
of a shower or of any other danger, with her in the friendly 
coop, and remain there under her wing until she thinks fit 
to let them issue forth again. The instincts of the young 
birds will generally lead them to obey her voice, even though 
it be that of a step-mother. At night they may be closed in 
by means of the shutter, a. 
But those who prefer a certain moderate to an uncertain 
large profit will act more wisely in placing duck’s eggs under 
