DibberDibber.
The hoe is of very great use, both to hoe up weeds and to form drills. We have spoken about its former use,and shall now say a word or two about the latter. In forming a drill for peas, beans, or other seed, one thing is above all things requisite, namely, that it should bestraight. A drill resembling a dog's hinder leg, never looks well in a garden, and therefore the little gardener must have recourse to hisline. This ought to be long enough to stretch quite across his ground, and when he wants to strike a drill, he should stretch it across from path to path, and, taking his hoe in his hand, cut or scrape a little furrow, about three or four inches deep, by the side of his line. In sowing peas and beans, the drills are generally a yard apart, and between them other crops are sometimes sown. Very often a crop of spring-spinach or of radishes is sown between lines of peas, and so on of other intermediate crops.
The line is very useful in all kinds of planting. In planting broad-beans, they are put into the ground by adibber, which is a piece of wood with a pointed end and a handle. The holes are to be dibbed along the side of the line. The same tool is used in a similar way in planting potatoes, strawberries, cabbage-plants, and a variety of other roots, which require to be planted in straight and equidistant lines.
There are a great many vegetables which require to be transplanted,—some from the hot-bed, and some from the open ground, where they have sprung from seeds, to their destination in the garden. All transplanting should be done with care. Some plants, such as cabbage plants, do not require so much care as others, but everyplant to do well should be well planted. Young gardeners are liable to many mistakes in transplanting; one is, that they often put the root of the plant into the ground bundled together; another is, that they make the hole too large with the dibber, and are not careful in pressing the mould to the root at the bottom of the hole, so that the root of the plant has nothing to feed upon. All this the thoughtful little gardener will avoid; and when he puts a plant into the ground, he will reflect that if it be not wellplantedit willnot grow. The young plants of the more delicate flowers should be moved with the greatest care into spots congenial with their natures. Some plants require a warm, some a cool situation, some a moist, some a dry one, and these will be ascertained by studying the nature of the plant.
Boys generally fancy there is nothing like watering, and they are very pleased when they get the watering-pot in their hands. They always like to be watering,—no doubt thinking that the more the seeds and plants are watered the better they thrive; but this is a mistake, moderation in all things should be the motto. When a plant wants watering artificially, it in general shows its wants by very unequivocal signs, namely, by a drooping of its pretty head and leaves; and then, if too much water be given to it, it soon springs up with great luxuriance; and the first burning day of sunshine is likely to kill it, or to do it great injury. The rule should be, to water as little as possible, and to wait as long as possible for nature's heavenly rain, which is better than any artificial watering. Plants should never be wateredduring the middle of the day, but early in the morning, or when the sun is descending in the evening. Pump-water should never be used if rain or pond-water can be obtained. Much good often results to plants and seed-beds from the use ofliquidmanure. This can be easily prepared by getting an old beer-cask and knocking out the head. The bottom should then be fixed in a hole dug to receive it, and the earth allowed to reach to the brim. Some of the best manure to be had should then be put into this, with a pound or two of guano, and pour upon it three pails of water. It should then be allowed to stand for a week or two, and used as required. The effects will soon show themselves in the increased growth and vigour of the plants.
Besides sowing seed and rearing plants from them by transplanting, there are many other ways of propagating plants, namely, byoff-sets,suckers,layers,divided-roots,cuttings, andpipings. If tulips and hyacinths be examined, it will be found, that besides shedding seed, the bulb of the plant very often makes a smaller bulb on the larger one, and this, if taken off and planted by itself, becomes a new plant: many plants may be propagated in this way. The strawberry also, will be found to send off a long shoot, and, at about a foot distant from the parent root, a little knob appears, having a bud to spring into the air and a root to work into the ground: this is called arunner. These may be cut away from the parent and planted separately, and willbecome a new plant. Many other plants, such as roses, raspberries, and lilacs, send from their roots little thin stems: these are calledsuckers, and may be removed from the parent shrub and planted by themselves, when they will become separate plants. Many plants can be propagated by what are termedlayers. To do this, nothing more is necessary than to select a shoot, as near the root as possible, and having partially divided it with a knife, make an upward slit in it, and then placing a bit of twig between the divided parts, press it down to the ground, burying the joint beneath the surface of the soil. To plant fromcuttings, some care is necessary as regards green-house plants, but nothing is easier than to rear fresh stocks of roses, currants and gooseberries from cuttings, as it is only necessary to cut the shoots cleanly off, and, after reducing them to about six inches in length, to place them in the ground with the shooting end upwards. They should be planted about six inches apart, and after the first year be removed to their proper situation; and they will bear fruit in the following year. To plant frompipings, such as pinks and carnations, it is only necessary to pull off one of the tubular stems, and dividing it at or near the joint, pull off the surrounding leaves, and insert the end or jointed part in some fine sand-mould, placing a glass over them till they have "struck," that is, formed roots, when they can afterwards be transplanted.
Gooseberry TreeGooseberry Tree.
Currant TreeCurrant Tree.
Little gardeners ought to know something of pruning trees. To cut or prune gooseberry and currant-trees isvery simple. Gooseberry-trees should be cut differently from currant-trees. In gooseberry-trees, much of the fruit grows on wood of the last year's growth, but on currant-trees, the fruit is, for the most part, found near the knob or joint between the old wood and the new. To prune gooseberry trees, all the old dead wood should be cut out, and every branch that trails on the ground should be cut away, all branches in the centre of the tree that intersect each other, and all ugly branches, should be removed,—all suckers should be taken from the root, and the stem of the tree left straight and free to about ten or twelve inches from the ground, and the tree trained to throw its branches into the kind of form in the margin. The branches should then be cut, i. e., about half of the white or new wood should be cutcleanlyoff with a sharp knife, and the cuttings carefully gathered up.
In cutting currant-trees, nearly all the white wood should be cut away, leaving only head shoots to some one single or middle shoot of a main branch. The under-wood, old wood, and irregular and ugly wood, should also be cut away, as recommended at the cutting of gooseberries. In pruning or cutting raspberries, the old wood should be cut quite away, and the stems of the last year shortened about one third.
Grafting is the transferring of a shoot of one tree into the stem of another, called thestock. Into this a slit is made; and then the scion or shoot is cut into the form of a tongue and inserted into it. The head of the stock is then cut off in a slanting direction, and the two are then tied together, or closely wrapped together, in moss, covered with grafting clay. No book can give directions so clear for grafting, as to enable the young gardener to perform it successfully. He must see it done, try it afterwards, and then ask if he has done it correctly; and to learn grafting and budding well, it is only necessary to get on the right side of the gardener. The same may be said as regards the pruning of vines, fruit and wall trees. Ten minutes' experience with the gardener will teach more than twenty volumes on the subject.
Crops must not be grown twice in rotation on the same ground. Peas and beans should be the crop after any of the roots, such as potatoes, carrots, and parsnips. Cabbages, and plants of that kind, may be sown and grown intermediately. The best rotation of crops will be found in any gardening book on the subject, and this the young gardener should make a subject of some study.
The chief wish of the little gardener this month is to take advantage of the hard frosts, and during their prevalence, to wheel upon his ground such manure as may be necessary. It should be wheeled in at this time, because, while the frost is hard, the wheelbarrow can pass over the paths and beds without doing much injury, nor will the dung and rubbish in its moving make more dirt than can be easily swept up. The manure should be left in heaps, and not spread till the time comes for digging it in.
In the middle or latter end of the month, should the weather be fine and open, attention should be given to the cutting of the gooseberry, currant, and raspberry-trees, and to the planting of off-sets from each, or of cuttings, as directed. A crop of peas might be sown, as well as mustard and cress, and a few broad-beans for coming in early. The peas and beans should be sown in rows, about a yard apart, and a little spinach might be sown in a broad drill, made by the hoe between them. The gravel-walks should be turned up in the first thaw and left in a ridge, ready for turning down and rolling when the weather becomes fine and dry.
Radishes may also now be sown in beds prepared by digging and freshly turned up. The seed should be thrown in, not too thickly, and raked over. Straw should then be placed upon it to keep off the birds, or a Guy and feathers. The straw must be kept over the bedsin the frosty weather and during the night, and taken off in the morning.
Now is the time to plant bulbous roots, such as snow-drops, crocuses, tulips, hyacinths, jonquils, daffodils, and flags; and off-sets of bulbous roots may be planted in beds. Anemones and ranunculuses may also be planted in dry weather, and some of the most hardy of the perennial and biennial shrubs, as asters, Canterbury-bells, and campanulas, may be planted.
In February, the young gardener will find much to do. In the flower-garden, he may finish planting the remainder of the bulbous roots, such as the star of Bethlehem, fritillarias, narcissuses, and gladioluses, in beds or borders, all for flowering the same year. Some may be planted in pots to flower in the house, or they may be placed in the hot-bed for early flowering. Some of the hardy annual flower-seeds may now be sown.
In the kitchen-garden, if we may so call it, a little crop of turnips may be sown to come in early. Cabbage-plants may be set in rows; and a little lettuce-seed may be sown under the frame in the hot-bed. This frame should be well covered at night, and slightly raised in the day time, when the weather is mild, to give the plants within it light and air.
In the flower-garden, the gardener may begin to sow in beds, borders and pots, larkspurs, candy-tuft, lupines, sweet-peas, Venus's looking-glass, pansies, stocks, sweet-scabius, and many others.
In the culinary department, now is the time to sow a little bed of onions in a well-manured bed. A bed for carrots may also be prepared, and the seed sown and well trodden down. A bed of parsnips should also be prepared in the same way; and another crop of peas of the marrow-fat kind may be planted in drills in the same manner as the former. And now, perhaps, the cabbages will require the earth to be drawn to their stems; and, if the little gardener has room, he may plant three or four rows of early potatoes. They should be the cuttings of large ones, with not more than two eyes in each piece, and should be planted with manure in rows, about two feet and a half apart and about a foot distant from each other.
Now is the time to begin sowing the more tender annual flower seeds. Some should be sown in the hot-bed; such as African and French marigolds, Indian pinks, China-asters, yellow-sultanas; and many others of the hardy kind, wall-flowers, Canterbury-bells, French honey-suckles, mignonette, pinks, and daises may be planted.
In the kitchen department, kidney-beans may be sown, and at the latter end of the month scarlet-runners and French-beans may be planted. It is not a bad plan to raise a few scarlet-runners in the hot-bed, and to plant them out when they have formed roots, and two or three leaves at the head. But as these kinds of beans are very tender, they should be carefully watched, and covered with straw on the sudden appearance of frost, which often takes place in this month.
Now may be sown the tenderest of the annuals in the hot-beds, as cock's-combs, tricolors, balsams, egg-plants, ice-plants, and others of that kind. Dahlias may also be placed in the bed in this or the former month, and suffered to sprout, previous to planting in the open ground. Bulbous roots of every flower now out of bloom, and the leaves decayed, may be taken up and the off-sets separated dry, and housed for future planting.
Now is the time to plant melons, gourds, and pumpkins. The seeds of these should be sown in April in the hot-bed, and the plants should be transplanted into good ground in a warm spot, about the latter end of the month. They will grow freely and produce ripe fruit in August. Common pumpkins may be sown on one of the dunghills. The gourds, such as the orange-gourd, may be planted near an arbour, and be trained up the principal parts. French-beans and scarlet-runners may also be planted, if not done before; and should the young gardener have raised any tomatoes or capsicums in his hot-bed, now is the time to plant them out, as well as the slips of geraniums and tobacco-plants.
The young gardener will now find employment in sticking peas and beans, weeding and transplanting. And such broad-beans as are now in blossom, should have their tops nipped off, to promote the setting of the pods. But let him be very careful to look after the weeds, which now grow in great abundance; and let him rake nicely all his borders and keep everything clean and neat, as this is the most brilliant time of a garden's beauty.
Look well to the strawberries, and see that they are well watered, which operation should be performed in dry weather every other day. These plants will by this time have made their runners, and these should be cleared away, except those that may be required for making fresh beds, which may now be planted. Trim the roots a little, and cut off the strays or runners from each plant.
Look well at this period, morning and evening, for snails and other insects, and after showers of rain in particular. If there should be any small cherry trees or other fruit trees, they ought be netted or well watched, or the birds will eat them.
All sorts of flowers may now be planted out into the borders. Some may also be put in pots, such as balsams. Take care, however, that they are removed in damp or showery weather. In dry weather, take up tulips, crown-imperials, and jonquils, such as are past flowering, and pluck away the off-sets: let them be well cleaned and dried in the shade from the mid-day sun; then put each sort into separate bags or boxes, and keep them in some dry apartment till September, October or November, at which time they will have to be planted again. Most other bulbs may also be now taken up and put away for future planting. June is also the proper time to propagate pinks and carnations by pipings.
This is the time to plant out savoys and cabbages for winter use. Brocoli may also be planted, and someseed sown for a late spring crop. The plants raised from this seed will be ready to put out, finally, in the middle and towards the latter end of August and the beginning of September, and will produce small heads in April and in the beginning of May. Lettuces may be now planted out, and other seed sown for future use. Spinach for winter may also be now sown; for this, that part of the garden should be chosen that has the most of the winter's sun upon it. Now is the very best time in the whole year to sow the large black turnip-rooted radish for autumn and winter. The young gardener must at this period be on the watch for such seeds, both of flowers and garden vegetables, as are ripe. This should always be done in dry weather,—cutting or pulling up the stems with the seeds in. They should then be spread in an airy place where the sun and wind will dry them thoroughly.
The various herbs, such as balm, penny-royal, sweet-marjorum, sage, lavender, marigolds, should also be gathered up for winter use. Slips may now be planted from any of these. Take the side shoots of the branches four or five inches in length, and plant them in a shady border, and do not forget to give them water.
The ground should be kept clear at this period from refuse leaves, stumps of cabbages, haulm of peas and beans, and from all decaying rubbish and litter. Cut box-edgings also; and if the operation of budding is to be performed, now is the time to do it.
Look over the flowers in borders from day to day, to see what they require. When the shoots of ramblingflowers interpose with each other, they should be shortened, so that every plant may stand singly, as they always appear to best advantage when they stand clear of each other.
In this month, we must still continue to look out for ripe flower-seeds; also, there are several kinds of autumnal flower-bulbs, which may be planted, such as the autumnal crocus and Guernsey-lily.
Now weed and water seedlings, and shift such pot-flowers as require it into larger pots. In doing this, rub off the moulds and matted fibres from the roots, and throw away part of the outward, loose old earth. Then, having put a little fresh earth into the old pots, with a piece of broken tile over the hole in the bottom, put in your plant, and fill all the sides round with nice soft mould.
In the third or fourth week of this month, it will be proper to begin to plant the choice hyacinth and tulip roots for an early spring blossom. The bed should be dug at least one full spade deep, breaking the earth fine and laying the bed even by raking, and then plant the bulbs about six inches apart. Ranunculus beds or borders may be prepared in the same way, and the plants planted similarly, about two inches deep. Take care of the new carnation and pink pipings or layers, and let them be transplanted as soon as convenient. Perennial plants, such as carnations, pinks, and sweet-williams, may now be transplanted. Now may be sown the seeds of bulbous flower roots, as tulips, crown-imperials, hyacinths, and most other bulbs. Evergreens may now be transplanted,and much work be done in the preparation of manure, and gathering in crops of various kinds.
This month again ushers in planting in various ways. In the kitchen department, beans may be planted for an early crop in the succeeding spring; that is, if the frost does not nip them. A warm border, under a south wall is the best place for them. A few peas may be sown also, to try the chance of the winter. Sow lettuce and small salad and radishes; also transplant lettuces to situations to stand till the spring. A few rows of cabbages for the winter and spring should now be planted, and winter spinach sown. Now is a good time to begin to dig up parsnips and carrots to store away for winter; and now all ground not in use should be well dug up and trenched, to lie ready for the winter's frost to act upon it. Now gather various fruits as they are fully ripe, and choose dry days for so doing.
The season is now closing, yet a good deal is to be done by those who love a garden,—a vast deal of planting and transplanting of every variety of flowers. Roots of many may be separated, and fresh sorts planted. Nearly every kind of bulbous roots, if not previously planted, may now be put in the earth. The cuttings of gooseberry and currant trees may also be planted, and young trees raised in the spring be transplanted to their proper situation. It is also a good time to plant filberts, hazel-nuts, and barberries. Strawberry plants should have a dressing of good manure.
Make neat the borders, dig all loose ground, turn the manure, plant suckers from old roots, roll green and gravel walks, gather seeds on fine days, cut away old wood, nail fruit trees, prepare hot-beds, get matting to put over tender plants during the frost, look over seeds, and see that they are dry and properly put away and make all clean, nice, and neat for the coming spring.
Such is an outline of what a boy may be expected to do with his little garden. A great deal more is to be learned than can be learned from a book; but if the young gardener will keep his eyes open, reflect on the reasons for doing things, and pay attention to the voice of experience, he will probably reap more real delight from his few yards of ground than from all the toys and playthings he ever possessed.
Carpentering
There is not a more useful and pleasant amusement than that of "Carpentering." Every boy should be able to do little jobs with the plane and chisel; for whether he may turn out a gentleman or a poor man, it will be of great use to him. If a gentleman, he can amuse himself with it, and if a poor man, it will be of essential service to be able to put up a row of palings in his garden, to make a gate, to build a pig-stye, to make and fix up shelves, build out-houses, and perform sundry odd jobs about the house for his comfort and convenience.
Every boy should have a box of tools, and a bench to work at, also a little room or loft for a workshop. He ought to obtain good tools, and by no means buy the boxes of rubbish sold to boys for their amusement.He should go the ironmonger's and purchase the following tools; of course, out of his own savings,—his own pocket-money,—and not apply to his parents for it.
He must also manage to obtain a carpenter's-bench, which he cannot very well do without, and then he may begin carpentering with expedition.
The Saw.—Before a saw can be used after it is purchased, it generally has to be "set," as it is termed; that is, its teeth are to be sharpened and placed a little outwards from the plane of its length. There are several kinds of saws, namely, the common hand-saw, the key-hole saw, and the small-toothed saw. The first is tocut planks and thick pieces of wood; the second is to cut holes in planks or boards; the third is to cut small pieces of wood, or those that require to be very nicely divided.
The Plane.—The plane is used to smooth boards with. There are several kinds of planes. The long plane and the short plane are the principal ones. Within the plane is the knife, which is fastened in by a knock of the hammer on the wedge inside, which is made so as to fix the edged knife at any distance from the bottom of the plane, either for thin or thick shaving. A very little direction from the carpenter will enable the young carpenter to fix his knife properly; and a knock on the end of the plane with a hammer will loosen it in a moment. The knife should be sharpened from time to time on the stone or hone. This should be done with great care, so as to preserve a proper angle at the edge and great evenness in every part, otherwise, the planing will be very imperfect.
In planing, the wood to be planed is either laid flat on the bench, with its end against the little pin, to prevent its moving, or fixed in the screw of the bench, and the plane being brought upon the top or edge of the wood, is pushed carefully, but somewhat sharply along. The shaving comes through the hole in the plane, and must be cleared away, from time to time, out of the way of the knife. Everything planed should be planed perfectly level, smooth, and even.
Mortice And Tenon
The Chisel.—The use of the chisel is to cut square or sharp-cornered holes in wood, especially mortices.Amorticeis the hole cut in a post or other piece of wood, in which another piece of wood cut to fit it, called atenon, is put. The tenon and mortice should both be cut exactly, and so that they fit at right angles, firmly and securely. Tenons and mortices are of perpetual use in carpentering, and the young carpenter should learn as quickly as possible to make them.
The Malletis to be used instead of the hammer for a variety of purposes. In cutting mortices, it is the mallet and not the hammer that is used, and in almost all cases where the chisel is employed, the mallet should be used. Were we to use a hammer to knock the end of the chisel, we should soon split its handle, or so bruise it, as to make it unservicable.
The Gimlet and Bradawl.—The gimlet is used to bore awls with, so that nails when they are driven in may not split the wood. Bradawls are used for the same purpose, before smaller nails, calledbrads, are put in. A bradawl is sometimes called a nail-piercer. There is a thread gimlet now come into use, but this requires much care in handling: it must be very gently put in, and very gently taken out, or it will snap like a piece of glass; but it is a very useful tool, and is a great improvement upon the old gimlet.
Pincers and Plyers.—Pincers are used to take loose nails out of wood, to wrench off staples, or otherthings that have been attached to wood. Plyers are a smaller kind of pincers, and are used for small work in the same way. They are very useful tools, and it is impossible to do without them.
Hammer
The Hammer.—Almost everybody knows how a hammer is used: it is used to drive nails with, and also to take them out. The hammer used to take out nails, is called a claw-hammer, from its having a claw at one part. The claw is placed under the head of the nail, when the handle of the hammer becomes a lever, and the head the fulcrum; and, placed in this position, the hand acquires great power,—sometimes amounting to at least a hundred-weight. In using a hammer, we should always be careful to use the kind of hammer necessary for the work to be done.
Files.—Files are of various uses, and we cannot do very well without them in carpentering. There are several kinds of files: one kind flat on one side and rounded at the other; another is flat on both sides, and another kind has three edges and three flat sides. The first is used for rasping wood or other things down to a level; and the others are used to file things into a point, or to cut them in pieces.
The Screw-driveris used to drive in and take out screws. It ought to have a very hard tough edge and a long handle. When placed in the head of the screw, to drive in, it should be turned from left to right, andin taking out, from right to left. There is a particular way of getting out a screw, which is only to be learned by a little practice. The knack consists in combining with nicety the pressure on the screw-head and the turning of the driver. The young carpenter will now and then find a very stubborn screw and fancy it quite impossible to get it out; but by a little perseverance, he soon finds out the knack of doing it; and what seemed immoveable yields to his skill and strength. There is one thing young carpenters frequently do, and that is, to use their chisels for screw-drivers; the consequence of this is, the spoiling of the chisel, for the edges are sure to break away.
Level
The Level.—Every piece of work should be square and level, except when it is of a curved form, and then it should be reduced to the principles of the circle or ellipse. The level is used in putting up posts, palings, or work of any kind in an upright position. It consists of a hoard of wood, upon which a string is suspended, having a plummet at the end of it, which falls along a straight line at a right angle with the bottom of the level. To obtain a perfect perpendicular and perfect horizontal, the level is placed on the work till the line falls exactly over the nick at the top of the hole. The square is principally applied to things made at the bench, and is used to bring everything made to aright angle, so that a true level and perpendicular is thus secured.
The young carpenter will find it very difficult to work without stuff. He ought, therefore, to purchase a deal sawed into planks or boards, consisting of one three quarters of an inch thick, another one inch thick, and another half an inch thick. He ought, also, to obtain a slab not sawed at all, to cut out as occasion may require. He will then be provided with wood. He must also lay in a stock of various kinds of nails, screws, rings, hasps, hinges, etc., and, above all, a good substantial box to keep his tools and other matters in. This should be divided into compartments, and everything should be arranged in it with neatness and order.
The young carpenter ought to be fond of work; and to feel a pleasure in it. Should this be the case, there is scarcely an end to his labours. He may make his hen-houses, his rabbit-hutches, his summer-houses, his boxes, seats, rustic-chairs, lattice-work and palings for his garden, build out-houses, and make book-shelves; in short, amuse himself with the manufacture of a great variety of things, both for use and ornament, and of which he may justly be a little proud.
Such an amusement is infinitely superior to feats of conjuring and legerdemain, tricks with cards, and impositions of various kinds, which are put in some books for the amusement of young people, and which are highly pernicious both to their mental and moral progress.
Keeping poultry is an innocent amusement both for boys and girls. Domesticated animals, unlike the free inhabitants of the country, do not suffer from the loss of liberty, and when they are well housed, fed, and attended to, they are as happy in their state of domestication as they would be in their wild state of liberty; perhaps, more so, and therefore it is quite right to keep them.
There is something very pleasant in watching the old hen as she sits so patiently on her nest, and to see the little birds issue from the eggs, with the proud but careful mother strutting by them, and scratching and toiling to obtain them food; and nothing is more touching to a sensitive mind than to behold her at the least chill of air, or overcasting of the clouds, calling her young brood under her wings for warmth, shelter, and security. There are many lessons of good to be learned in fowl-keeping.
In proceeding to keep poultry, the young poultry-keeper should first secure a proper place to keep them in. He ought to be able to build, if not the whole, a great portion of his poultry-house, which need not beon a very extensive plan; but there are a certain number of little requisites belonging to it which ought not to be forgotten.
Keeping Poultry
Side ViewSide View.
The situation of a fowl-house should be such as to afford sun and warmth in winter and spring, and shade in summer. It should be well covered in at the top, free from damp, have good ventilation and light, with windows of lattice-work, with boards behind to open and shut. It should be placed against a wall with a slanting roof. The side should contain one latticed window (A); the front, also, a latticed window (B), with a hatch-door,partly latticed and partly boarded at the side. A little door for the fowls should communicate with a fowl-yard, as seen below.
Front ViewFront View.
Fowl Yard
The above is a sketch of the ground-plan of the house and fowl-yard. H is the fowl house. No. 1 is a small pit filled with dry sand and ashes, in which the fowls may roll to free themselves from vermin. No. 2 is another small trench or pit, containing horse-dung and rubbish of various kinds, to be frequently renewed, in which they may amuse themselves in scraping for corn and worms. No. 3 is a square of turf, on which they may pasture and amuse themselves. Two or three trees ought to be planted in the middle of the run, andthese might be cherry or mulberry trees, as they are very fond of the fruit. Nos. 4 & 5 are two little stone tanks for water, and No. 6 is a pond for the ducks, in case it should be thought advisable to keep such, which I should strongly recommend to be done.
Within the fowl-house there must be perches put up for the fowls to roost on. These should be placed one above another at the corner, and so disposed, that one range of birds does not sit quite under the other, for reasons which need not be explained. At the bottom of the fowl-house, but not under the perches, should be placed the nest boxes, from four to six, as may be required, in which straw should be placed for the hens to make their nests with. The fowl-house and everything about it should be kept scrupulously clean, and be frequently white-washed; and it is good, occasionally, to fumigate the house by burning herbs, and juniper and cedar woods.
These are very numerous, and are becoming more so every day. Among them are the following:—
So named from the town of Dorking in Surrey. It is one of the largest of our fowls. It is of an entire white colour, and has five claws upon each foot,generally, for some have not. They are good layers, and their flesh is plump. They make excellent capons.
The Poland fowls are greatly esteemed, but they are seldom to be met with pure in this country. They were originally imported from Holland. Their colour is shining black, with white tufts on the head of both cock and hen, springing from a fleshy protuberance or "King David's crown," the celestial in heraldry. This breed lay a great quantity of eggs, and are sometimes called "everlasting layers." They quickly fatten, and are good eating.
The Spanish fowl, with the Hamburg and Chittagong, is a very large fowl, laying large eggs, and all seem more or less allied to the Polish family. They are well adapted for capons, and produce eggs nearly equal in size to those of the Malay hens. This breed is now common, particularly in London.
This breed is small, but very beautiful. It came originally from India. They are frequently feathered to the toes; but booted legs are not exclusively peculiar to Bantams, for Bantam fanciers, with Sir John Sebright at their head, prefer those which have clean bright legs without any feathers. The full-bred Bantam-cock should not weigh more than a pound. He should have a rose comb, a well-feathered tail, and a proud lively carriage. The Nankeen coloured and the black are the greatest favourites. The Nankeen bird should have hisfeathers edged with black, his wings bordered with purple, his tail-feathers black, his hackles slightly studded with purple, and his breast black, with white edges to the feathers. The hen should be small, clean-legged, and match in plumage with the cock. For young persons, Bantams are the best kinds of fowls to be kept, as they make but little dirt, and are very gentle and pretty.
In commencing fowl-keeping, it is important to choose young and healthy sorts. There should be a two year old cock, and pullets in their first year. In choosing them, we should note that the comb is red and healthy, the eyes bright and dry, and the nostrils free from any moisture. The indications of old age or sickness are paleness of the comb and gills, dulness of colour, a sort of stiffness in the down and feathers, increased length of talons, loose and prominent scales on the legs.
There should be from four to six hens to one cock, the latter being the extreme number; and the conduct of the cock towards the hens should be watched, for if he should be of a sulky, selfish, persecuting and domineering disposition, the hens will be unhappy, and he ought to have his neck wrung, as a just reward for selfishness and tyranny.
Fowls must be well fed, but they should not have too much. Over-feeding is as bad for fowls as for men.They ought not to be fed with stale or bad corn, but of the best, and now and then with a little buck-wheat; with cabbage, mangold-wurzel leaves, and parsley, which should be chopped fine. Where they are likely to be stinted for insect food, small pieces of meat chopped up should occasionally be added to their food.
On the floor of the fowl-house, a little sand should be occasionally spread, and sandy gravel should be placed in the corners. The small sharp stones found in gravel are absolutely necessary to fowls, as they are picked up by the birds and find their way into the gizzard, where they perform the part of mill-stones in grinding the corn.
The early period of spring, and after a cessation at the end of summer, are the two periods at which fowls begin to lay. When the period of laying approaches, it is known by the redness of the comb in the hen, the brightness of her eyes, and her frequent clucking. She appears restless, and scratches and arranges the straw in her laying place, and at last begins to lay. She generally prefers to lay in a nest where there is one or more eggs; hence it is of use to put a chalk egg into the nest you wish her to settle on.
The eggs ought to be taken from the nest every afternoon, when no more are expected to be laid, for if left in the nest, the heat of the hens when laying each day will tend to corrupt them. Some hens will lay only one egg in three days, some every other day, and some every day.
To promote laying, good food in moderate quantities should be given to the hens, and also clean water. A hen well fed and attended to, will produce upwards of one hundred and fifty eggs in a year, besides two broods of chickens. Some half-bred game hens begin to lay as soon as their chickens are three weeks old.
To preserve eggs fresh for a length of time, it is only necessary to rub each egg with a small piece of butter, which need not be larger than a pea, or the tip of the finger may be dipped in a saucer of oil and passed over the shell in the same way. Eggs may be thus preserved for nine months.
The eggs given to the hen to hatch must be perfectly fresh; they should be large in size, the produce of the most beautiful birds, well shaped, and the number put under the hen should vary according to her size, and may be from nine to thirteen eggs; odd numbers, old housewives say, are theluckiest.
When a hen wants to sit, she makes a particular kind of clucking, and goes to her nest. Here she fixes herself for a period of three weeks, at the end of which time, the young chickens break the eggs and come out perfect beings. They run about as soon almost as they are out of the egg, and in twenty-four hours will take food.
On the first day of their birth, chickens require nothing but warmth, and they must be kept under themother in the nest. The next day, they may be put under a coop and fed with crumbs of bread soaked in milk, a few chicken's groats being added, and the yolks of eggs boiled hard. After being kept warm under the coop with the mother for five or six days, they may then be turned a little in the sun, towards the middle of the day, and fed with boiled barley mixed with curds, and a few pot-herbs chopped up. At the end of a fortnight, they may be left entirely to the care of the mother, who will be sure to perform her duty.
Such are the principal particulars regarding the keeping of fowls. There are many books written on the subject: one of the best of them is called the "Poultry-yard," which may be consulted for further information.