482 
As this column is to take in household pets 
as well as poultry, my notes this week will 
be devoted to Canaries. Doubtless some oi 
my readers indulge m the hobby of canary- 
keeping and possibly breeding. This being 
so, a few hints on the moulting of their pets 
will be of service. It is known to most people 
that the rich-coloured birds, which one sees 
upon the show benches at our great exhibi¬ 
tions held at the Crystal Palace and else¬ 
where are not entirely the production of 
Nature—that is, so far as their rich, gorgeous 
plumage is concerned. This deep colour is 
obtained by feeding on certain Colouring 
agents during the time the birds are moulting, 
as only during the moulting time can the 
colour of canaries be so affected. _ 
"Whilst not fox one moment imagining that 
my readers wish to imitate the professional 
breeders in the obtaining of high-coloured 
specimens, I have no doubt that many of them 
would like to be able to improve, m some 
slight measure, the ordinary or natural colour 
of the birds which they have been fortunate 
enough to breed. My reason for dealing with 
this subject just now is because the early-bred 
canaries will shortly be. breaking (to use a 
technical term) into moult, and the colouring 
agents used must be given for some little time 
before, or ihe birds will present a patcliy, un¬ 
even annearance in the plumage when the 
moult is complete. 
It is not advisable for me to give the con¬ 
stituents of the colouring agents which are 
used, because readers of this column will not 
breed extensively enough to require such quan¬ 
tities as to make it necessary for them to mix 
their own. Colour food preparations are sold 
at most bird dealers’ stores and also by many 
corn chandlers, and the ordinary amateur 
should obtain his or her supply from such. A 
food which, whilst giving the maximum 
amount of colour with the minimum of dis¬ 
comfort or annoyance to the birds which have 
to consume it, is the one most to be desired, 
and such a one is that sent out by Spratts 
Patent, Ltd. It is sent out in two strengths— 
one giving the birds a bright clear orange 
colour, and the other imparting to- them a 
deeper tone bordering on red. In purchasing 
yon must ask the dealer for the colour you 
require. 
The mode of administering the colour food 
is by the aid of the ordinary egg-food. Full 
directions as to the quantity required is given 
with the tins, and these must be carefully fol¬ 
lowed, and close adherence given to the quan¬ 
tities. Do not think that an increased quan¬ 
tity of colour food will give you more colour, 
because it will not. The system can only 
assimilate a certain quantity of the food, and 
if you overdo it you will cause discomfort to 
your pets, and possibly illness. The great 
Secret of colour-feeding canaries is to give 
the food little and often. If the food contain¬ 
ing the colouring matter is given three or four 
times a day the results obtained will he far 
more satisfactory than if it is only given twice. 
During the time the birds axe moulting they 
should be given a little green food every day. 
This keeps the liver in good working order, 
and assists in the deposition of colour in the 
blood. Twice or thrice a week a little sul¬ 
phate of iron should be placed in the drink¬ 
ing water, a piece about the size of a pea to 
THE GARDENING WORLD . 
each wineglassful of water being the proper 
proportion, or, if preferred, a few grains of 
citrate of iron and quinine. The effect of this 
will be to tone the system, enrich the blood, 
and tighten the plumage. 
I hope my readers will avail themselves of 
the opportunity which this column affords of 
asking me questions. It is my wish, and also 
that of the Editor’, to make this column of 
real practical service to our readers, and I 
shall be most pleased to help my readers in 
solving any of the difficulties they may have 
to contend with in the management of their 
pets. 
Two Fine Hybrid 
. . . Rhododendrons. 
R. sisterianumj is a very fine hybrid, the. 
result of crossing R. cilliatum with R. Edge- 
worthii. The influence of R. Edgeworthii is 
very pronounced, both in habit, and flowers, 
together with the sweet fragrance.. The brown 
downy tomentum, however, is absent. A 
better result might have been obtained had 
Edgeworthii been the female parent; at least 
I should like to see the effect tried, and if 
possible introduce the cilliatum character. 
R. kewense is decidedly a handsome 
■hybrid, the result of a cross between gi'iffith- 
ianum and Hookeri, the influence of both 
parents being equally blended in this plant. 
The flowers have the griffithianum texture and 
habit, and the foliage that of Hookeri. The 
arrangement is admirable, entirely doing, 
away with the straggling, trailing habit of 
griffithianum, and still retaining its hand¬ 
some flowers, with .the addition of a greeny 
tinge on the posterior lobe of the corolla. The 
compact habit and. large glossy green leaves 
shew the influence of Hookeri This plant is 
flowering, well in the Himalayan House at 
Kew, and has been now for some time. Rhodo¬ 
dendrons in flower at present are R. Dalliou- 
siae, R. Standishii, R. serpyllifolium, R. 
yunnanemse from Yunnan, R, campylocar- 
pum, R. glaucum, and varieties of R, 
arboreum and R. indicum. 
A Great Lecturer. —Lecturer (proudly): 
“ Yes, gentlemen, I’ve delivered one lecture 
before amateur and other horticultural socie¬ 
ties for over 200 consecutive weeks.” Jones 
(sadly): “ That’s nothing. My wife has 
delivered one lecture to me, without missing 
a night, for over seven years ! ” 
“ Big ” Dinner.— A dinner was recently 
served by an American farmer, says a corre¬ 
spondent, to twelve persons, which consisted 
of one Potato weighing 5g lbs., one 15-lb. Cab¬ 
bage, one 6-lb. Turnip, one 2-lb. Onion, a 
10-lb. chicken, and three pies made from a 
lg-lb. Apple. 
The Garden of Eden at the North Pole. 
—It seems we have been looking in the wrong 
place all this time for the Garden of Eden. 
According to Professor W. F. Warren, 
late president of Boston University, U. S.A., 
the earthly Paradise was at the North 
Pole. He argues his case in his re¬ 
markable hook, “ Paradise Found,” very 
clearly and logically, supporting his thesis 
with an immense amount of learning. 
As to warmth and luxuriant vegetation at the 
Pole, Professor Oswald Heer, the greatest 
living authority on fossil flora, has demon¬ 
strated “ that there must have existed a warm 
climate and a rich tropical vegetation in the 
highest Arctic circles, and that the mother 
region of all the floral types of the more 
southern latitudes was originally in a great 
continuous continent within the Arctic circle.” 
Well, and so we suppose must perish another 
pet notion of the children of Adam. 
June 10, 1905. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may cove, 
any branch of gardening. Questions should be a, 
brief as 'possible and written on one side of the pape, 
only ; a separate sheet of paper should be used foi 
each question. Readers are invited to give theii 
fellow gardeners the benefit of their experience by send¬ 
ing supplementary replies—see Prize Competitions. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who would make the 
best use of this column are invited to prepare and 
forward to us a rough outline drawing or plan of their 
gardens, indicating the position of beds and lawn; 
the character and height of the fence or wall ; position 
of vegetable garden, orchard, etc. The north side of 
the garden and any overshadowing buildings should 
be denoted. It should also be slated whether the 
garden is flat or on a declivity, and all large trees 
should be marked. Particulars of the nature of the 
soil will also help us to give satisfactory replies. 
When such plans are received they will be carefully 
filed, with the name and address of the sender, and 
will be consulted by the Editor whenever an enquiry 
is sent. 
Grapes Rusting. 
Some of the lower bunches of our early Grapes 
are covered with a sort of rust. Can you suggest 
any reason for this, as we were very careful in 
thinning them not to handle the berries. (C. M.) 
It is difficult in many cases to suggest tlie 
exact reason why the berries should become 
rusted, as it depends very largely upon the treat¬ 
ment they have received. Just about the time of 
thinning, or for some weeks after they have set, 
the skin of the berries is very delicate and liable 
to get injured. If the berries have not been 
rubbed with the hand or scissors, it is possible 
they have been subjected to the fumes of sulphur 
placed on the hot water pipes to keep down red 
spider, lou state that only the lower bunches 
show this rusty condition of the berries, and that 
being the case, it would suggest, as we stated, 
sulphur fumes from the pipes, or overheated 
air from the pipes, owing to these being kept 
at a great heat during cold weather. On the 
other hand, if these berries are near the door 
or the ventilators that have been open at any 
time, thus causing a draught in cold weather, tbe 
damage might be due to this state of matters. 
These are suggestions which we would throw out 
so that you may be able to trace the damage to 
its_ true source. One other suggestion is that 
sulphur fumes may have got in from the stoke¬ 
hole, following the course of the hot-water pipes 
through the wall. It would be worth while 
determining whether sulphur-charged air could 
have got into the house by such means. The 
obvious remedy would be to close up the space 
between the pipes and the wall. 
Peach Leaves Curled. 
Some of our trees present a blighted appear¬ 
ance like the leaves enclosed. Will this affect 
their fruiting, as I notice a good few fruits on 
them? (Peach.) 
The leaves were affected with what is known 
as the Peach blister, caused by the fungus named 
Exoascus deformans. The vegetative part of the 
fungus really grows inside the tissues of the 
leaves, and only the fruiting portion appears on 
the surface in order to provide for the scattering 
of the spores. Unless the trees are very bad in¬ 
deed you may expect a fair crop of fruit if they 
are set on healthy branches, but it may be pointed 
out that the branches, and especially the younger 
shoots, get affected with the fungus, and in many’ 
cases the fruits themselves also get attacked. In 
order to lessen the evil the best plan would be to 
remove all the worst of the leaves and burn them, 
to prevent the spores scattering about. It seldom, 
happens that all the leaves on a tree get affected 
at the same time, so that your aim should be to 
save as many healthy leaves as possible, as the 
