62 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, April 24, 1860. 
Superphosphate of Lime (I). B ).—It is a good manure for all ltitclien- 
garden crops, and has been applied with great benefit to Pelargoniums, 
Chrysanthemums, and Roses. We believe that every garden plant would 
he benefited by it; but especially those grown for their flowers or seeds. 
It is not so powerful—that is, not so stimulating as guano, as it does not 
contain ammonia. Cucumbers and Melons would not be benefited by 
liquid manure, if grown in a proper compost, and especially not if forced 
by dung-heat. 
Peaches Palling (E. T. J .).—The sun not shining upon the Peach- 
house before nine o’clock is not material, and the only cause of the Peaches 
falling when of the sine of Peas is a deficiency of a supply of sap. There 
is something wrong at the roots. These are, most probably, planted too 
deep. Remove the soil from over them, and when you reach the upper¬ 
most roots cover these with two or three inches of fresh, light, moderately- 
enriched earth, and give tepid water twice a-week. If there is top venti¬ 
lation, and the doors can bo left open when needod, the absence of front 
ventilation cannot bo important. 
Name of Plant (if. E. S .)—Your white-flowered shrub is Andromeda 
floribunda. 
POULTRY AND BEE-KEEPER’S CHRONICLE. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
May 23d and 24th. Beverley ano East Rjoing of Yorkshire. Sec., 
Mr. Eras. Calvert, Surgeon, &c. Entries close May 17th. 
June 6th, 7th, and 8th. Bath and West of England. At Dorchester. 
See., J. Kingsbury, Esq., Hammet Street, Taunton. Entries close May 7. 
June 29th and 30th, July 2nd and 3rd. Sheffield. Chairman, Mr, Wil¬ 
son Overend, Sheffield. Entries close June 14th. 
July 18th and 19th. Merthyr Tydvil. Sec., Mr. W. II. Harris, 142, 
High Street, Merthyr. 
N.B .—Secretaries will oblige vs by sending early copies of their lists. 
PROFITABLE POULTRY. 
Every one will agree with us when we say, “ that which is 
worth doing at all is worth doing well; ” and before steps are 
taken to accomplish anything, the object to be attained should 
be well defined and settled. As we have said that a profit is to 
be made by sending fowls to market, it will be necessary to go 
into detail. The largest price is to be made when poultry is 
scarcest; that will be from the end of January till the beginning 
of June. If they were intended for the London market, we 
should advise cramming; but for the country we think packing 
will do. There would, no doubt, be a sale for young fowls at 
these times, even if they were thin; but as we have agreed it is 
better to do things well, and as we know’ the outlay will make a 
good return, we advise fatting by the means we will describe. Put 
the chickens in any coop where they will have only just room to 
move and turn round. Let them be in some quiet corner of a 
dry and rather dark place, covered up with sacks, or matting, or 
old pieces of carpet. Feed them three times every day as follows : 
—Have some oats ground fine as possible, but let nothing be 
taken from them in the name of bran or anything else. Mix 
some of this with milk as slack as may be without making it 
liquid. It should be stiff enougli to lie on a flat board, not to 
stick to it, but to lie like lead or anything of the sort that had 
run till it got cold, and ceased to be liquid. Each time they 
should have as much as they can eat, and no more. The board 
on which it lies should be scrupulously clean, as, if any food 
remains, it becomes sour, and the birds then take a dislike to it. 
In from ten to fifteen days, according to the condition in which 
the fowls are put up, they will be fit to kill. 
We assume that some one among our many readers will adopt 
our plans, and we, therefore, treat this as a plain business question. 
A market is to be made, and a demand created. This can only 
be accomplished by some little painstaking. We have assumed, 
and we know that we are correct, that in most, if not all country 
markets, there is a period when poultry is said to be out of season. 
This does not arise from the absence of fowls, but from their 
being so bad in quality people have given up all idea of eating them. 
First, people must be convinced they are youug; next, they 
must be very clean and look tempting; and, lastly, the market 
must not be glutted. Having, then, fed the fowls as described, 
let them he fasted till they are emptied of food and water, and 
then killed on the afternoon or evening preceding the market day 
Send only two, it is more than probable they will not be sold the 
first or the second time. If, however, they are carefully picked, 
and look well, and it is astonishing how they will improve in 
appearance and increase in weight during ten days fatting, they 
will soon be noticed for their good looks. From that time there 
w T ill be sale for them, and birds that in August will make from 
1.?. 9 cl. to 2s., will now realize 3s. fid. or 4s. each. It is estimated it 
costs 9 d. to fatten a fowl. By that outlay, then, the bird doubles 
itself in value. Eight shillings per week will pay for a great deal 
pf food, and when the number of fowlB sent is increased, then a 
profit may be looked for. This is neither the chief nor the only 
one. The breed will soon be in repute; the “ bons vivans ” of the 
place who care and know nothing about a fowl when alive, will 
soon appreciate the tender, juicy, spring chicken they have only 
lately had at their table, and eggs will be asked for sitting. 
Chickens will be asked for as stock birds, and bought at remu¬ 
nerating though not extravagant prices. These things put 
together will soon prove that which we have asserted, that profit 
may be made out of a market. It will not be a large sum, but 
it will be enough to help many an amateur, and may by pubis- 
taking be made a consideration. 
EGGS UNPRODUCTIVE. 
I went to some expense in gelling four grey Dorking liens, 
and a cock (the latter said to lie bred by Captain Hornby). I 
have had four hens come off with the following melancholy 
results. 1 may remark that no hens c®uld possibly sit hotter. 
No. 1, 11 eggs, I hatched, (1 since dead) ; No. 2, 11 eggs, 1 
hatched (dead); No. 3, 11 eggs, 3 hatched (1 dead); No. 4, 
14 eggs, 3 hatched. So that, out of 47 eggs, only 9 chickens 
are alive. 
[Most probably if you had put, at the most, seven eggs under 
each hen, you would have had nearly a chicken from each egg. 
During the cold season of the year it is a fatal error, in most 
instances, to put many eggs under a lien. In rotation they get 
to the outside, and in rotation get consequently chilled. If you 
apply to our office, every endeavour will be made to supply the 
iudices you need.] 
REMEDY EOR GAPES. 
Observing a letter in The Cottage Gardener from “ C. R.,” 
requesting advice how to cure gapes in chickens, I enclose a 
receipt, in case you should think it worth publication. It was 
given mo by a great poultry fancier. I have used it for years, 
and have never known it fail.—A Subscriber. 
1 oz. of ginger in powder; 1 oz. of mustard flour; 1 oz. of 
black or white pepper ground ; ^ oz. of Cayenne pepper. To be 
mixed together, and one spoonful given every morning to the 
chickens mixed with their food, a teaspoonful will do for about 
sixteen chickens. 
GUINEA FOWLS. 
A correspondent, “ J. B.,” iii a recent number of The 
Cottage Gardener, suggested a class for his pet fowls. Allow 
me to remind him, for two years past the Bath and West of 
England Society lias offered First and Second Prizes for Guinea 
Fowls, and this year also £1 is given as a First, and 10s. as a 
Second Prize. I hope, therefore, to find “ J. B.” entering the 
list at Dorchester.— Same. Pitman, Steward of the Department. 
CROSS-BREEDING. 
A neighbour of mine has a black cock with rose comb, some¬ 
thing like the Black Hamburgh, only rather larger. It is, I 
believe, a French bird, from Havre. Do you think this cock put 
with Silver-pencilled Hamburgh hens would produce Black Ham- 
burghs ? I am inclined to try, as I have seen it stated in your 
columns that a Spanish cock with Silver-pencilled hens will 
produce them. In a broocl of Silver-pencilled Hamburglis 
lately hatched, one chicken has a single comb. The parents arc 
good birds and in no way related, and the plumage of the 
chicken seems right, as far as can he made out so soon. Does 
the defect in the comb arise from the same defect in one of the 
more remote ancestors, or can it be traced to some other cause? 
—D. B. 
[Such curious things happen sometimes from mixture of 
different breeds, that it is hard to say what may not be pro¬ 
duced, If it is desired to make a Black Hamburgh, we think 
the result likelier of attainment, if the cock in question is put 
to a Spangled rather than a Pencilled hen. Many breeders 
know to their sorrow and annoyance that black patches will 
come in this breed. We should say the cock is an impure 
Creve Cceur, as that breed flourishes in Normandy, anil the 
celebrated “ Poularde du Mens ’’ is made from it. If you are 
disposed to try it as an experiment or a pastime, well; but if 
you do so in order to obtain the breed, you will get it with less 
trouble and risk of disappointment, by applying to any of the 
