26G 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  24,  19C4. 
broody  hen  is  2s.  6d.  In  the  event  of  obtaining  a  hen  from 
a  neighbour,  it  is  well  to  try  her  first  for  a  day  or  two  on 
sojne  ordinary  eggs  before  trusting  her  with  a  selected  sit¬ 
ting.  At  this  present  moment  we  have  two  hens  under  trial ; 
one  promises  well,  the  other,  when  looked  at  an  hour  ago, 
was  in  a  restless,  fidgetty  state,  and  we  fear  she  is  quite 
‘'oil  "  her  broodiness.  It  is  always  a  good  point  to  set  two 
the  same  date,  so  that  if  from  any  cause  one  or  neither  has 
a  good  clutch  ”  the  forces  may  be  combined  uirder  one 
mother,  and  the  other  hen  allowed  her  liberty. 
As  to  what  eggs  to  set,  that  opens  up  so  wide  a  subject 
that  we  are  fearful  of  offering  an  opinion.  Leghorns,  both 
white  and  buff,  are  good  layers  ;  Indian  Game  make  fine 
table  birds  ;  Plymouth  Rock  and  Minorca  are  hardy.  Some 
folk  faucy  Ilouclaiis,  aud  it  is  never  much  use  to  argue  for  any 
variety  against  a  niau’s  (or  womauts)  inclination.  At  any  rate 
supposing  the  eggs  have  had  a  journey,  it  is  well  to  keep 
them  a  day  or  two  to  settle  before  putting  them  under  the 
hen. 
All  sellers  of  sitting  hens  aver  that  their  birds  are  healthy 
and  have  unlimited  runs.  Imagination  often  has  a  good  deal 
to  do  with  the  “unlimited  run  ”  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  those 
birds  which  have  access  to  green  food  and  are  on  fresh  clean 
ground  produce  the  fertile  egg.  If  it  is  possible  to  see  the 
birds  and  their  suiroundings  the  egg  buyer  would  be  able 
then  to  judge  as  to  what  risks  he  was  running.  It  is  all  very 
well  for  the  seller  to  say  “all  unfertile  eggs  replaced.”  We 
had  a  case  of  that  last  year  where  the  eggs  were  a  total  blank. 
What  vexed  us  most  was  that  the  three  weeks  were  entirely 
lost,  and  the  services  of  one  of  our  best  hens  rendered 
useless. 
Eggs  will  hatch  out  under  nearly  all  circumstances,  but 
the  best  results  are  obtained  from  nests  on  or  near  the 
ground.  A  good,  or,  indeed,  the  best,  nest  is  made  of  a  thick 
grass  sod  (grass  side  downwards),  the  rooty  part  hollowed  out 
to  form  a  nice  receptacle  for  the  eggs.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
remark  that  sitting  hens  are  best  in  a  place  apart^ — i.e..  not 
with  the  rest  of  the  fowls  ;  but  it  should  be  so  arranged  that 
the.se  mothers  can  get  in  and  out  at  will  for  food  and  water. 
Sitting  hens,  if  at  liberty,  prefer  to  feed  in  the  very  early 
morning,  and  they  will  come  back  to  their  eggs  with  more  or 
less  moisture  on  their  feathers.  By  instinct  they  know  that 
the  eggs  are  better  for  a  little  moisture,  and  they  also  know 
that  a  daily  airing  and  turning  are  advisable.  A  dust  bath 
is  as  necessary  to  a  hen  as  her  daily  food,  and  with  this 
luxury,  and  perhaps  a  little  attention  from  her  owner  in  the 
way  of  insect  powder,  on  and  about  her  nest,  she  will  get 
through  her  twenty-one  days’  confinement  pretty  free  from 
all  irritatina  visitors. 
It  is  well  after  a  hen  has  been  sitting  a  few  days  to  test 
the  eggs  to  see  whether  or  not  they  are  fertile.  An  egg  held 
before  the  strong  light  of  a  shaded  lamp  will  reveal  its  con¬ 
tents  at  once.  If  perfectly  clear  it  should  at  once  be  put 
aside,  and  it  will  come  in  afterwards  in  the  shape  of  a  hard 
boiled  food  for  the  young  chicks.  If  the  eggs  from  two  or 
more  hens  prove  to  be  unfertile,  it  is  not  a  bad  plan  to 
make  up  one  nest  (if  not  too  many)  of  the  good  eggs,  and 
start  the  quietest  and  closest  sitting  hen  with  a  new  lot :  it 
will  only,  after  all,  be  treating  her  as  though  she  were 
engaged  for  the  four  weeks  that  ducks’  eggs  require. 
Chickens  that  need  to  be  helped  out  of  the  shell  never  come 
to  any  good — if  they  have  not  strength  to  start  the  battle 
of  life  they  certainly  have  not  strength  to  maintain  the  very 
unequal  combat.  A  chicken  worth  rearing  will  make  itself 
manifest  by  the  twentieth  day  ;  that  is.  with  very  few  excep¬ 
tions  ;  and  once  out  and  about  the  first  difficulty  is  sur¬ 
mounted.  It  is  always  well  to  have  hens  and  broods  in  a 
yard,  field,  orchard,  or  paddock  by  themselves,  where  the 
ground  is  fresh  and  clean  ;  that  is,  from  all  poultry  con¬ 
tamination. 
For  the  first  day  very  little  interference  with  the  hen  is 
best.  The  chicks  need  warmth  rather  than  food,  and  when 
tney  do_  re(niire  food,  their  first  meal  should  be  of  the  dis- 
(Tirded  hard-boiled  egg-,  and  a  little  oatmeal  (dry),  and  some 
(‘hopped  grecju-mcat;  —  little  aud  olten,  and  no  leaviugs. 
Just  scatter  what  they  will  cat  as  you  watch  them,  and  then 
tuey  will  ‘“'ume  with  appetite  for  the  next  meal. 
Peopjle  ciiller  very  much  as  to  what  is  the  best  food. 
Small  rice,  uncotiked,  we  prefer.  Others  like  it  best  cooked 
]jast-e.s.  still  and  dry — but  always  a  bit  of  green  should 
I  e  given.  Paisley  or  Lettuce  is  good.  If  the  birds  are  set 
U'wn  on  _  gl  ass  they  will  soon  be  taught  by  the  old  hen  to 
■'■sample  ’  the  delicate  blades.  Veiy  fine  grit,  sand,  and 
!  .“'‘‘V'  .recorte.  aud  mv't  have.  Drinking  water  must 
'  ■  a"-''h'v:nv  ivne.  an  1  -  \  washed  daily.  dVeter 
fountains  into  which  the  most  mischievous  chick  can  by  no 
means  get  itself  may  be  bought  for  Is.  or  Is.  6d.,  and  amply 
repay  the  outlay.  It  is  wonderful  how  soon  the  mother,  if 
at  liberty,  will  take  her  chickens  off  on  journeys  of  discovery, 
from  which  they  return  with  full  crops.  They  get  and  pick 
up  food  stuffs  which  to  us  are  invisible,  and  still  they  are 
always  ready  for  any  contribution.  They  like  variety,  too. 
and  pay  for  it  by  extra,  healthiness.  House  scraps  of  all 
sorts  (cooked)  should  be  saved  up  from  meal  to  meal,  and 
given  fresh.  It  is  not  waste  that  a  friend  gets.  If  milk 
should  be  plentiful,  we  make,  or  have  made  for  us,  a  big  bowl 
of  curd.  There  is  no  living  thing  which  is  not  better  for 
milk  in  some  shape  or  form. 
Some  varieties  of  fowl  feather  hardly,  or  shall  we  com¬ 
pare  it  to  the  difficult  teething?  In  cases  of  this  sort  they 
must  be  extra  well  fed,  and  kept  comfortably  warm  till  they 
get  fairly  going  again. 
It  is  bad  economy  to  let  chicks,  or,  indeed,  any  young 
stock,  “go  back.”  The  pullets  need  all  superfluous  energy 
for  the  production  of  eggs,  and  the  young  cockerels  must  be 
got  off  as  soon  as  possible  to  make  the  roast  chicken  of 
commerce.  It  is  a  most  provoking  thing  that  so  often  there 
will  be  from  the  best  eggs  a  plethora  of  male  birds  just  when 
the  pullets  were  most  desired.  There  is  no  known  means  by 
which  this  matter  of  sex  can  be  determined  by  inspection  of 
the  egg  ;  this  matter  has  to  be  left  to  chance.  We  do  our 
best,  and,  after  all,  a  fat  cockerel,  though  he  may  not  be  wdrat 
we  desired,  is  not  an  unpleasant  addition  to  our  menu. 
We  have  taken  up  so  much  space  about  the  young  stock 
that  there  is  hardly  room  to  say  aught  of  the  laying  fowls. 
Liberty,  water,  green  food,  no  Indian  corn.  Le£  the  corn 
be  sound  and  good.  Don’t  waste  any  ;  but  don’t  stint.  Lime 
is  needed  for  shell,  and  grit  for  masticators.  If  the  range  is 
wide  enough  we  should  almost  advise  that  the  meal  of  soft 
food  be  put  aside  just  for  the  present  ;  that  is,  if  the  weather 
does  not  turn  bitterly  cold,  as  it  did  last  Easter,  when  vege¬ 
tation  and  insect  life  both  got  such  a  check.  As  the  days 
lengthen  the  fowls  should  be  let  out  early.  Remember  the 
worm  retires  betimes,  and  it  is  a  pity  for  the  fowls  to  miss 
him.  Clean  hen  houses,  clean  nest  boxes,  no  overcrowding, 
are  as  essential  as  good  food  and  water. 
Now,  all  these  things  have  been  said  time  and  time  again. 
There  are  always  amongst  us  young  beginners,  and  it  is  no 
use  to  deny  the  fact  that  even  the  old  practitioners  faint  and 
are  weary.  There  is  no  royal  road  even  to  poultry  rearing. 
But,  we  may  say,  aud  say  with  truth,  the  pastime  ia 
itself  becomes  so  attractive  that  we  forget  the  drudgery. 
Woli  on  tlie  Home  Farm. 
We  have  had  three  sharp  fro.sts  during  the  week,  and  fairly 
fine  weather.  The  land  was  drying  nicely,  and  horse  work  was 
again  possible,  but  we  had  a  deluge,  and  we  are  in  as  bad  a  plight 
as  ever.  It  will  take  another  week  to  put  things  right  again. 
W  e  are  just  approaching  old  Lady  Day,  and  we  have  not  heard 
of  one  instance  of  oat  or  barley  sowing.  Surely  this  must  be  a 
record  as  regards  delay  of  spring  work.  We  were  able  to  ridge 
out  Potato  land  on  two  days,  and  now  this  work  is  completed  we 
are  ready  for  planting,  and  shall  proceed  to  plant  in  a  couple  of 
days’  time  if  no  more  rain  comes.  Having  manured  the  land  in 
autumn  we  have  not  that  arduous  work  before  us  now,  and  we 
can  get  the  Potatoes  put  in  very  quickly. 
We  also  avoid  the  heavy  carting  whiclf,  with  the  land  so  wet, 
would  make  present  planting  almost  inqiossible  and  very  impolitic. 
We  like  to  plant  between  diy  ridges,  but  with  so  much  work 
staring  us  in  the  face  we  must  go  forward  with  something,  and 
this  planting  is  prcfei’able  to  sowing  corn  or  ploughing  wet  land. 
The  rain  following  the  frosts  has  made  the  turnip  folds  impass¬ 
able,  and  all  the  sheep  have  been  taken  on  to  grass  to  save  them 
from  being  bogged. 
The  lambing  still  proceeds  satisfactorily  ;  a  loss  of  two  per 
cent,  of  ewes  so  far  vill  do  very  well.  Tlie  lambs  are  health.v, 
and  the  ewes  having  a  liberal  allowance  of  cake  are  milking  well. 
Wo  use  a  mixed  corn  and  oil  cake,  v,  Inch  lambs  will  begin  to  eat 
at  a  fortnight  old.  and  it  is  astonishing  what  a  difference  to  their 
growth  this  little  bit  of  help  makes. 
It  is  fortunate  that  we  do  not  need  much  assistance  in  the 
form  of  cow’s  milk,  for  cows  are  both  scarce  and  very  dear. 
Dairymen  are  complaining  much  of  the  difficult.y  of  picking  uj) 
useful  cows  at  fair  prices.  Many  cows  and  heifers  must  haw 
proved  barren,  and  been  fed  off,  which  ma^'  have  also  had  some 
influence  in  keeping  down  beef  jjrices. 
Sheep  are  now  being  clipped  for  market,  but  it  has  been  easier 
to  get  them  washed  than  to  get  the  fleeces  drv  for  clipping.  We 
hear  there  is  more  life  in  the  wool  trade.  We  need  a  little  help 
from  that  (luarter,  for  there  arc  many  years  of  low  prices  to  maki’ 
up  for.  There  are  s.everal  cases  cf  severe  influenza  amongst 
hor-P'  ^  re  th  ni  :  no  farm.  Vt'ry  few  foals  Itave  arrivi  tl  yet. 
