June 3, 1905. 
THE HARDENING WORLD 
463 
Few are there who can but agree that in 
levotin" a small amount of space week by 
.veek to the interests of lovers of poultry and 
,tiler home pets the Editor of The Gardening 
IVorld will be conferring a distinct benefit 
ipon many of his readers who, in addition to 
heir gardening pursuits, are more or less 
nterested in the keeping of fowls, pigeons, 
abbits, and other live stock. At his request 
[ have consented to manage this section of 
the paper, and in furtherance thereof I shall 
be pleased to from time to time receive the 
experiences of my readers; to answer any 
cpieries which they may care to address to me 
through the Editor, and thus help them in 
any difficulties which present themselves. 
With the advent of hot weather the troubles 
and trials of the poultry-keeper are great. 
Vermin flourish and multiply during the 
summer months, and if a full egg-basket js 
desired they must be fought determinedly and 
[fiercely. The ends of the perches in the roost¬ 
ing house should be well painted once a w’eek 
with carbolic acid, as may be the cracks and 
crevices in the nest-boxes. The houses must 
also be regularly cleaned once a week, and 
the birds, if penned in a confined run, must 
have plenty of clean dry earth or ashes in 
which to dust themselves. These latter re¬ 
marks, of course, cannot apply to birds on a 
farm, as with a free range they find plenty of 
opportunities of dusting themselves in the 
hedgerows; and they need it, for farmers, 
generally speaking, are not at all particular in 
keeping the houses clean. If fowls are to pay 
their way on a farm or elsewhere it is im¬ 
perative that they and their houses be kept 
clean and free from vermin. 
Just now chickens are growing fast, and the 
early broods are thinking of perching at night. 
When and wherever possible they should not 
be allowed to do this in the same house as 
the old birds. Young stock do a great deal 
better when they are given a house to them¬ 
selves. 
A point of the greatest importance, if eggs 
aie expected by and by in the cold and dreary 
months of the year, is the feeding of the 
chickens now. They must be kept growing, 
and this is best accomplished by a varied diet. 
Variety m their feeding not only promotes 
len glowtli, but it wards off many diseases, 
ourteit, diarrhoea, and sickness are usually the 
attendants of a long unvaried diet. They are 
chicken 11 * 8 wl “ ch carry off man y a promising 
Cleanliness in feeding is another great con- 
nmn 'T- ^ 6Ter allow the food ^ be 
trampled in the ground. Feed just what will 
U P a t each time of feeding, and no 
for t e he chicken feeding troughs are best 
about in ft f °° d ' Some breeders scatter grit 
the oft f T S ' i 1 Pr6fer t0 mix a 1; ttle with 
economic f oT d GaCh m T? m g- Tt ^ much more 
srrnnud b 35 n0ne ° f S ets trampled in the 
get grit and J0U ar6 C6rtain that the chicks do 
tlm 11 ? 8 in c onfin ement must at this season of 
year be well supplied with green food 
They cannot possibly be kept healthy and in 
good la y mg condition if they are not. In 
tied nif l , een food . to fo wls in runs it should be 
fowls L! th V lde ^ the run, so that the 
y peck at it without trampling it 
down. Green food which has been trarnplod 
down, and then, when practically decayed, 
picked up, has caused the death of many a 
good hen. 
Water, fresh and in abundance, must be 
given during the summer months. Fowls 
drink a great deal of water, and it is most 
essential it should be given often. Give it fresh 
twice a day, and be careful to place the drink¬ 
ing vessel in a shady place. Sun-heated water 
is apt to give the birds diarrhoea. 
To keep the runs fresh and sweet use plenty 
of slaked lime. Poultry runs should be dug 
over at least once a week and given a good 
dusting with slaked lime. 
Weeds are growing apace in the gardens 
just now. Do not burn them, but throw them 
into the fowls’ run; the yield of the egg- 
basket will be appreciably increased thereby. 
Amongst the weeds the fowls will find many 
a dainty tit-bit in the form of slugs, snails, 
caterpillars, and other insects, all of which 
are stimulating to the egg-producing organs. 
The weeds themselves afford a nice change in 
the green food dietary, and assist in purifying 
and cooling the blood, whilst the exercise 
which the birds get scratching and pulling 
the weeds about will also be beneficial. 
Where there are young chickens, all runs, 
coops, and houses occupied by them should be 
thoroughly cleansed and whitewashed once a 
week, so as to keep down vermin and prevent 
that fell disease, gapes. 
Small chickens should be carefully looked 
over the last thing at night, for, should any¬ 
thing be wrong, the morning may be too late 
to rectify it. Many chickens die owing to 
their becoming vent-bound. The excreta ad¬ 
heres to the feathers of the vent, form a hard 
solid mass, and prevents the passing of the 
motions. If a chicken looks sleepy, dull, and 
languid its vent should at once be examined, 
and if it is found that the excreta is adhering 
to.the feathers it should be immediately re¬ 
moved, and this simple action will save many 
a life. 
When you are in difficulties write to me, 
and I will endeavour to help you in these 
columns. 
Asperula suberosa. 
Our common Woodruff (Asperula odorata) 
is by no means a useless plant, for if liberally 
treated it carpets the ground with foliage of 
a fine fresh-looking green, and exhales a 
peculiar odour that is distinctly invigorating 
reminding one of the hay fields. But one 
must confess this homely plant loses points by 
comparison with A. suberosa, which is really 
a lovely little gem that should be growij by 
eveiy lover of hardy plants. A fair-sized 
patch of this plant is an ornament to any 
rockery, and a fit companion to the choicest 
of Alpine plants. The stems and foliage are 
so densely clothed with downy and silvery 
hairs as to give the whole plant an appear¬ 
ance of having been smothered with silken 
fluff, and the delicately tinted pink flowers 
harmonise so sweetly with the colour of the 
leaves that one cannot pass by without noting 
the chaste beauty of every leaf and flower. 
It is not difficult to grow if given a gritty 
compost in a well-drained spot, but in 'times 
of excessive rain it is well to place a sheet of 
glass over it lest the moisture settling amon^ 
the downy leaves cause them to decay^ 
thereby robbing the plant of its beauty. 
Heather Bell. 
All the hospitals and almshouses in Berlin 
are regularly supplied with flowers from the 
public gardens of the city. 
East Winds and Frosts. —The Clerk of the 
Weather has been behaving in a most unpar¬ 
donable manner. Keen north-easterly winds 
prevailed, during nearly the whole of May. 
London escaped with little effect of frost, but 
in many parts of the provinces the visitation 
has been more severe. There were nine 
degrees of frost in the Yale of Bucks and at 
Oxford, and ten at Newark. Snow fell last 
week in the counties of Huntingdon and 
Northampton, and serious hailstorms in other 
parts. The consequence is that great damage 
has been done to the fruit and Potato crops, 
and Beans and Strawberries have suffered 
badly. It is stated that such a cold May has 
not been experienced for fifty years. 
* * * 
Wild Flower Robbers. —In some parts of 
England certain of our wild flowers are in 
danger of extinction. Local ordinances for 
the protection of wild flowers are not unknown 
in this country, but Cape Colony is doing the 
thing thoroughly, and means to give as full 
protection to wild flowers as to wild birds, and 
so put a stop to the indiscriminate plucking 
or uprooting of them. The Bill which is 
before the Cape Colony House of Assembly 
will require every dealer in such flowers to pay 
a substantial fee for a licence. 
* * * 
Fruit, Flowers, and Vegetables from the 
Continent. ■—- Fresh fruits imported from 
Calais last year totalled 5,000 tons, flowers 
31 tons, Potatos 10,246 tons, and vegetables 
677 tons. From Boulogne we received 27,628 
tons of fruit, 12,787 tons of vegetables, 1,937 
tons of flowers, 35,088 tons of Potatos, 2,309 
tons of Walnuts, and 1,634 tons of Chestnuts. 
Havre sent us 58,876 cwt. of table fruits, Caen 
1,930 tons of fruit, Dieppe 2,325 tons of Apples 
and Pears and 4,511 tons of other fruit, and 
Honfleur 4,017 tons of fruit. 
* * * 
A Schoolgirl s Bull. —A teacher in a 
middle-class school in the Wirral district has 
made a collection of curious comments by 
children which have come under her notice. 
Some of these, vouched for as absolutely 
genuine, have just been published. The fol¬ 
lowing, which occurred in an essay on 
Fruits, was surely the work of an Irish 
S 11 ^ ■’ Not many native fruits are found in 
England, and the few that there are grow 
abroad! ” 
* * * 
Forced Strawberries. —The forced sup¬ 
plies of tliis delicious fruit are abundant just 
now in Covent Garden, and may be had as low 
as Is. a pound wholesale, though the choicer 
grades will be worth from 2s. 6 d. to 4s. One 
grower in Middlesex has over 100,000 pots of 
i-tiawberry plants, nearly 30,000 of which are 
now in full fruit. Prices have been somewhat 
lower this season, which fact is said to be 
owing to the enormous quantities of choice 
late Apples that have been marketed. 
* * * 
contributions to this fund up to Saturday 
evening May 27tli, are as follow Previously 
acknowledged, £35 16s. 9d. • Dr. R, Boxall 
Is. ; Mr. C. W. Breadmore, 5s. ; Mr. G. 
Crabbe, Is. 6 d. ; Mr. J. Fraser, 5s. ; Mr. E. F 
Hawes, 5s. ; National Sweet Pea Society 
il Is. ; Rev. L. Knights-Smith, 5s. ; Mr. j 
Watson, jun., 2s. ; Mrs. J. W., Is. 
