Rural riddles
Jeremy Hobson solves more of your pastoral problems Perfectly imperfect
PIPE DREAMS Q
Digging over the clump of nettles that
apparently (according to our French neighbours) used to be a potager, the pride and joy of a previous owner of our house here near Limoges, I came across this – and wondered if you had any ideas as to what it once might have been? Beth Duncan
A
I thought at first that it might be the top of one of a
fireside ‘companion set’ (small dustpan, brush and poker) but that would most likely have a screw attachment at the base whereas the base of this one seems totally flat. With that in mind, I’m heading towards thinking that it might be an old pipe-tamper. In the past, many pipe
Ok to eat? Q
Would you happen to know why one of the six
hens bought from our local market seems to be laying a ‘deformed’ egg on occasion? We assume that it’s the same hen but can’t be 100% certain… all six have laid well through the summer and the other eggs we collect are ‘normal’. The misshapen ones we have been giving to our dogs for breakfast! Martin Davidson
A
There may be several reasons. In general,
‘wrinkled’ eggs tend to be laid by older hens who are perhaps retaining the egg within the egg shell gland for too long – or are simply taking longer to lay an egg. If younger birds are the source then it is possible there are other underlying issues. Stress and overcrowding
can cause imperfect egg shells but I don’t think this likely to be the case in your particular
SNAIL TRAIL Q
There seems to be many ideas for
preventing slugs and snails attacking hosta plants in pots. In the summer, I tried using one of them – copper tape – and can report that it doesn’t work! Do you have any ideas that will? Debora Barrett
A
Some say ground egg shells, or proprietary
recycled whelk shell sold under a variety of names, sprinkled around the base of the plants will work. Others say to spray the pots with WD40 (other brands are available!) or to
situation. If, as I suspect (from other comments in your email), the environmental conditions are optimum then a defective shell gland is most likely the reason. Your dogs’ sound to be the
lucky beneficiaries of the misshapen eggs – although they don’t look all that attractive, I know of no reason why they cannot be used in the kitchen along with the ‘normal’ ones.
Put that in your pipe!
cover the soil around the plants with wool mulch or tree bark. Used coffee grounds spread similarly have their devotees (perhaps quantities can be obtained from your local bar/tabac or café?). A French neighbour once suggested standing the pots on upside- down pots of the same size in a shallow tray of water – but to make sure that the water is topped up regularly as it evaporates quickly during the course of a hot day in France. If thinking environmentally,
nematodes might be worth trying. Encourage hedgehogs
104 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: November/December 2023
“smokers were economic and burned their tobacco to the very bottom of the bowl, pressing the ashes down by means of a stopper.” Made of wood, metal, ivory
Hostas are a delicacy for slugs!
into the garden (they eat slugs) and generally, make sure the pots are spaced to prevent access to the leaves from other plants.
and other materials, their designs varied and might have included a variety of subjects. Some in France depict the bust of French Revolutionary characters, Napoleon and other leaders, or were just quirky and whimsical (a man’s leg, for example!). This one is seemingly a
mother and child; bearing in mind the fact that France is/ was such a devout country, might it be religious I wonder?
smokers also used tampers (sometimes known as ‘stoppers’) when, as described by Berthold Laufer in The Introduction of Tobacco into Europe (published 1924):
© M DAVIDSON)
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