71C 
THE QARDENINQ WORLD 
September 9, 1965. 
BY OUR READERS 
To Answers in the “ G. W." Enquire Within 
Weed Killing. 
If the weeds in “ C. E. Smith’s” garden 
are chiefly of a sappy growth, as Groundsel 
and Chickweed, he cannot do better than 
trench the ground, and work the weeds well 
to the bottom ; but with “ fifteen years’ 
growth ” one may safely imagine such things 
as Docks, Thistles, Nettles, etc., are included 
among them. If so, there would be a good 
deal of burnable stuff in their woody stems, 
and then the wisest course would be to make 
“ smother fires ” on the spot. If this method 
of cleaning the ground be adopted, it should 
be begun by first cutting down the tops with 
a sickle, and allow it to lay and dry for a 
day or two before putting in lumps ready for 
adding to the fire when once started. Then 
the surface of the ground should be well 
scarified with a Canterbury hoe or grubbing 
mattock to a depth of 8 in. or 10 in. ; this 
loose material, which will consist chiefly of 
weed roots and stubble, should also be 
allowed to dry before being placed on the 
fire. These surface cleanings will also con¬ 
tain a great amount of dormant weed seeds, 
the whole forming a most dangerous and un¬ 
desirable mass, but after being passed 
through the fire it will return to Mother 
Earth much that has been taken from it in 
the form of plant food. When starting the 
fires it is best to use some thickish pieces of 
wood that a good foundation of live wood 
ashes may be secured to enable the fire to 
withstand the smother of the other mate¬ 
rials. The result of this burning process 
will be a good heap of splendid fertilising 
material, and any weed seeds totally de¬ 
stroyed. The ground may be trenched as 
usual, but the burnt material kept for work¬ 
ing on the top, using farmyard manure lower 
down. Herbert Morkis. 
The Gardens, Turkey Court, Maidstone. 
Substitute for Crocus. 
As a substitute for Crocus I would recom¬ 
mend your correspondent to try the beautiful 
little Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa Lu- 
ciliae), one of the hardiest and earliest, be¬ 
sides being one of the prettiest of our spring¬ 
flowering bulbs. I can imagine no more beau¬ 
tiful a sight than a group or border of this 
lovely plant, and it would be quite a distinct 
change from the Crocus. Its cultivation is 
of the simplest—any good garden soil will 
suit its requirements. To obtain the best 
results the bulbs should be planted pretty 
thickly in the autumn, and, unless frequent 
changes are desired, they can be left with 
advantage undisturbed for a number of years, 
as. so treated, they increase very rapidly 
both in quantity and quality. If a continua¬ 
tion of flowers was desired over a fairly long 
period, I should recommend planting bulbs 
of the Spanish Scilla (S. hispanicab perhaps 
better known as S. campanulata. This plant 
comes into flower later than the Chionodoxa. 
and if the blue, white, and rose coloured 
varieties are mixed tosetlier they form a most 
pleasing and beautiful combination. 
Dunn. 
The Apple Crop.— Out of 191 reports col¬ 
lected by a contemporary from all over the 
country, only one recorded an over-crop of 
Apples”, half a dozen an average crop, while all 
the rest were well below the average. 
Hens v. Ducks. 
It is often asked, Which is the best for 
hatching ducklings, a lien or a duck ? Those 
who have tried both methods extensively 
answer unequivocally in favour of the hen. 
In the Aylesbury district hens are invariably 
used, very- few ducks ever being allowed to 
assist in the incubatory work. Hens are far 
more reliable, and sit more closely and faith¬ 
fully than do ducks. Many ducks never show 
any signs of wishing to sit, and those that do 
are not, as a rule, very ardent sitters ; they 
are apt to get tired, forsake the eggs, and 
thus cause loss and disappointment to their 
owners. 
Incubators v. Hens. 
For some reason or the other artificial in¬ 
cubation is not very extensively followed by 
duck breeders. Why, I could never under¬ 
stand. But duck breeders are a very conser¬ 
vative lot of individuals, and they have not 
taken kindly to incubators, preferring to stick 
to hens. Few of my readers are likely to go 
into duck rearing on an extensive scale, there¬ 
fore it would be a waste of my time and theirs 
for me to enter into an elaborate dissertation 
on the artificial incubation of ducks’ eggs. 
Period of IncubatioD. 
The ordinary time for the incubation of 
ducks’ eggs is seven days longer than that 
occupied for the incubation of hens’ eggs— 
twenty-eight days. The shell and the inner 
membrane of a duck’s egg are much thicker 
than an ordinary hen’s egg, therefore the eggs 
must be well damped during the incubatory 
period. Some writers advocate the dipping of 
the eggs in water during the second half of the 
incubatory period, but I am no advocate of 
the practice. Eggs are sometimes smashed 
in the handling, and it is, therefore, in my 
opinion, much preferable to sprinkle the nests 
each day whilst the hens are off feeding. For 
this sprinkling it is advisable to use tepid 
water. When a duck incubates her own eggs 
she usually goes for a swim each day, and thus 
brings back to her nest a large amount of 
dampness. This a hen cannot do, therefore 
it must be provided in the manner named. 
Hatching Boxes. 
If hatching is carried out on an extensive 
scale it is best to have a proper hatching box 
for each hen, but where only a few hens are 
set that is hardly needful. A box about 18 in. 
square and 8 in. or 10 in. deep should be 
nearly filled with damp mould, which should 
be smoothed out into the natural form of a 
nest, and lined with a little soft hay. For an 
ordinary hen eight ducks’ eggs will he 'as 
many as she can cover. If more are given she 
will not cover them properly, they will become 
chilled, and possibly the whole clutch spoilt. 
When to Sit the Hens. 
The hens should be set at night, and the 
day, or rather evening before the eggs they 
are to incubate are given to them, they should 
be set on nest eggs. This is done to accustom 
them to the nest, and to prevent the smashing 
of eggs, as very often a hen is restless when 
brought out of the ordinary fowls’ house and 
put down in a strange outhouse. Some there 
are which never take any notice at all; these 
are most invaluable, as they invariably make 
the best of mothers, and are most attentive, 
not only to their incubatory work, but also in 
the manner in which they look after their 
families afterwards. 
Feeding the Hens. 
Each morning the hens should be taken off 
to feed. The best food for a sitting hen is 
wheat. A dust bath should also be provided 
for the hens, and most of them will use it 
when they come off for the morning meal. It 
is wise where two or three hens are sitting to¬ 
gether in one house to shut their nests off, so 
that they may not see each other. Some hens 
are very jealous, and although most faithful 
sitters when others are out of sight seem to 
have a most remarkable aversion to allowing 
other hens to sit within sight. Such hens will 
interfere with and disturb all others, and 
cause untold damage by the breakage of eggs, 
and by those not broken becoming chilled. 
Feeding the Ducklings. 
When the young ducklings are hatched they 
should be fed from the first on barley meal ; 
if this can be mixed with milk so much the 
better. After a week a little meat may be in¬ 
troduced into the meal, and this may be 
gradually increased. If two or three hens 
are set at the same time they will hatch to¬ 
gether, and all the young birds may be given 
to one hen to look after, as they need no 
brooding. Ducklings should for the first week 
be fed every two hours, after that for six weeks 
every three hours, and afterwards every four 
hours, and one great point in the successful 
rearing of ducklings is regularity in feeding. 
Answers to Correspondents. 
Black in Comb (R. J., Ealing).—Your bird 
is evidently suffering from liver disease. Stop 
all stimulating food at once. Give plenty of 
grit and feed on wheat only. Morning and 
night give a dose of Epsom salts. About half 
a teaspoonful. 
White on Face (Minorca).—You need not 
worry yourself, it is no disease. All highly 
bred Minorcas go white in face after they are 
twelve months old. It is the old Spanish 
blood re-asserting itself. 
A GIANT SCOTCH ROSE. 
The ordinary wild form of this is best 
known amongst gardeners by the name of 
Rosa spinosissima, on account of the extra¬ 
ordinary number of prickles, large and small, 
with which the stems are clothed. The wild 
plant seldom exceeds 2 ft. or 3 ft. in height. 
Idle Scotch or Burnet Rose is indeed the 
dwarfest of all the British Roses. Many 
years ago a large number of double varieties 
of different colours were raised in Scotland 
so that the Scotch Rose attained great popu¬ 
larity. It has always been known, however, 
as a dwarf Rose in gardens, and even in good 
gardens one has to be satisfied with seeing 
specimens only 12 in. to 18 in. in height. 
Therfe is, however, a giant of its kind in the 
station garden at Shepperton, Middlesex, 
where a huge bush stands about 8 ft. high. 
Tlie flowers themselves are double white, and 
the leaves of the usual small Salad Burnet 
type. P. C. 
