September 8, 1863. ] JOTJBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



197 



Long Hkather foe Thatching (C. £!hs).-Aho^t B^Kshot and Wrk nj 

 we think you iniRht obtain some ; and if we required any m that newj"'""'^- 

 hood, we should write to some of toe nurserymen there and ask them to 

 tell us how best to obtain the Heather. 



Book on Mushroom-cultuee (r. S. J.). -We know of no good separate 

 work (in Mu.hroom-culture since Abercrombie's, " The tiarden Mushroom, 

 published sixty years since. It is only met with at second-hand book-shops. 



■Weeds on L*wn (T. W. O.-The way to have a clean lawn is to root 

 np all weeds as fast as they appear. Koot up Daisies, Plantain, f ™deIion. 

 with the weed enclosed, at once. Never heed what people te 1 you about 

 their a;)pearins in greater loice. It is new to hear of Plantains growinij 

 again when oiice removed, or Daisies cither. It is tap or fleshy-rootea 

 plants that have the power of forming eyes on the root after the top is 

 removed, as Docks, Dandelions, and Thistles ; but even these soon perish 

 if the top be removed iminediatcly .ifter ils re-appearancc. Cut up the 

 Dandelions with a long-bladed knife as much below the surface as possible, 

 removing Plantains, Daisies, *e., wilh a common grubber, and serving 

 P.anunculus repens the same; but the weed enclosed must be pulled up 

 with the hand. Persist in this-digging up Dandelions with the knile, 

 grubbing up Plantains, and pulling up ihe weed anl grubbing up the roots, 

 and you will find patience and perseverance will be well rewarded ; t)«t J"" 

 must not let them get ahead or the weeds will become re-established. There 

 is no plant that can exist without an annual production of leaves ; and it 

 you keep the weeds on yout lawn grubbed up as fast as they appear you 

 ■will tind they must perish as they do elsewhere. Maimte by all means 

 between now and nest March, and in May sow Clover a.s you propose, 

 but instead of white let it be the Suckling Clover (Tnfolium flliforme) 

 adding a few pounds of Festuca ovina, F. tenuifolia, Bucetum pratense, and 

 Antho.tanthum odoratum ; or obtain a few bushels of lawn mixture, to be 

 had of any nurseryman, and sow it early in April, rolling tlie la-wn imnie- 

 diately alter. As you object to manuring the lawn, mix a ton of lime witn 

 four 01 rich soil, auo apply this half an inch th-ck during dry weather in 

 March, which is a ready way of kilUng moss, besides forming a capital 

 medium for the grass seed to vegetate in. Harrowing is not necessary, a 

 good rolling being sotiicicnt to fix the seed of grasses. 



Names of Plants,— Some of our correspondents are in the habit of 

 sending small fragments of plants (or us to name. This requires from us 

 such a great expenditure of time that we are compelled to say tliafne 

 cannot attempt to name any plant unless the specimen is perfect in leaves 

 and flowers. ( Riton CUffi.-The white flower with Fern-like leaves is the 

 Spiraea fllipcndula, commonly called DropworL This plant and its varieties 

 are ornamental border tiowers, particularly the double-Nowered kinds. It 

 is very frequently found growing wild in woods, thickets, and upon chalky 

 downs. The Fern is Asplenium adiantura-nigrum, a very pretty dwart- 

 erowing hardy kind. It delights in loam and peaty soil when planted m a 

 shaded situation. The leaf is from the Dielyira spectabilis. The reafon 

 you eould not find the name under which you had it in any book on plants 

 is that ihe name was wrongly spelt. Vou will find the name ot this beau- 

 tiful plant in the •' Cottage Gardener's Dictionary," with an excellent 

 account of it too. Althoush we have it so very fine in tne open border 

 rising some 2 to 3 feet m height and as much across, very heavy rains 

 and high winds disfigure its young stems, leaves, and beautiful blossoms 

 very much at times ; but well-grown plants with plenty of pot-room form 

 ■very beautiful specimens for the conservatory or greenhouse, both lor early 

 and late spring mouths. {John Gray).-V/e only undertake to name four 

 or five speeimen-i at a time. 3, Cassebeera hastata ; 4. Allosorus crispus ; 

 5, Davallia nova:-zelandiiB (!): 6, Adiantum assiinile; 7, Asplenium fouta- 

 num ; 8, Pteris chinensis ; 9, Osmunda recalls. ( C. If. J/.).— Onoclea sensi- 

 bilis. Babington says it is naturalised in one spot near Warrington. 

 (S. T 1 —1, Tormentilla officinalis, the common Tormenlil : 2, Cenistium 

 vulgatum, the common Mouse-ear Chickweed ; 3, Cardamuie hirsuia, the 

 Hairy Bittercress. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEH OLD CHRONICLE . 



EEL.iTI'\^E EIS^TBIES OF VARIOUS BEEEDS 

 AT POULTEY SHOWS. 



In reading the repoi-t of the late chicken Shoir at the 

 Agricultural Hall at Islington, as given by a daily paper, I 

 ■was struck by the remark that Dorkings ■were at the head, 

 and that entries ■were far -more numerous than that of any 



Taking, then, the catalogue of this Show as my test, I 

 have made a fe^w calcidations ■ivhich I have tabulated as 

 follows : — 



Jfumber Kumher Amount Amount 



Breed. of of offered in obtmned by 



Exhibitors. Entries. frizes. Entries. 



£ ». d. £ 3. d 



Spanish 17 ... 30 ... 13 no... 7 lo 



Dorking 27 ... 69 ... 23 10 ... 17 5 



Cochin ..::;: 2.^ ... « ... 21 ... 1010 



Brahmas 11 ... 25 ... 10 ... b 5 



Game 25 ... 53 ... 32 10 ... 13 10 



Hamburghs 28 ... 35 ... 30 ... 8 1.5 



Polish ... 7 ... 13 ... 15 ... 3 5 



Malay .:. 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 15 



Other Breed ... 9 ... 12 ... 5 ... 3 



Bantims 30 ... 54 ... 21 ... 8 2 



Taking these figures we may notice that, albeit the Dork- 

 ing may be the popular fowl, yet in number of exhibitors 

 that breed is exceeded by Bantams and Hamburghs, Cochins 

 ajid Game treading very closely on their heels, if, in speak- 

 ing of poultry, it is allowed that they have any. Bantams, 



it must be remembered, paid only 3s. entry ; why, it is diffi- 

 cult to understand. This may not, perhaps, have influenced 

 the entries very much, but I apprehend it does more than 

 framers of regulations imagine. 



In number of entries the Dorking is at the head very 

 decidedly, giving by entry to the coffers of the Company 

 jei7 5s. out of the .£23 10s. offered in prizes— about three- 

 fourths in fact. But, what have we No. 2 as, m fact, the 

 second best payer in proportion to prizes offered ?— Listen ye 

 compilers of the Bath and West of England schedules^nd 

 ye men of Worcester and the Eastern Counties— Why, 

 Brahmas ! True, they were never before so liberally invited ; 

 but, equally true, they responded liberally to the invitation, 

 bringing back as their quota very nearly two-thii-ds of the 

 prize money. 



Some one says they were unusually numerous. 1 re- 

 ply they were unusually treated ; but it also remarks that 

 they were unusuaUy good. This, a glance at the prrze list 

 would not induce a non- visitor to beUeve. In the list of pr^es 

 and commendations there is only one new name to me, whilst 

 there are many good names unnoticed. Possibly, it may 

 be said of the classes generally, that the Judges were not 

 lavish of commending— all the more honour where obtained. 

 Cochins return exactly one-half, and Spanish somewhat oyer 

 the half. Then the " abortions," with an attached adjective 

 of the daUy paper. The little Bantams came next. I could 

 not but fancy the reporter considered they ought to be as 

 laro-e as the other breeds when he styled them as above. 

 Then comes a terrible faUing-off : Game did not bring back 

 nearly half, and Hamburghs, Polands, and Malays bring the 

 amount lower and lower. Still the former are invariably 

 offered handsome prizes. . , . , 



I have not noticed the Ducks. It strikes me tha,t here 

 the very liberal prize Ust of the IsUngton Show faUs off. 

 The prizes are very poor comparatively, and I flunk the 

 Company would be the richer if they increased them, perhaps 

 at the ejcpense of some of the other breeds which do not 

 muster as they ought. I say this although it affects breeds 

 to which I am partial. This, however, appears plainly from 

 the Islington Show, that the much-disputed breed, the 

 Brahma, does not deserve in any Show professing to be 

 good the "Any other variety " ;xs its destination. They 

 have fought theii- way up steadily but surely, and are daily 

 better appreciated, and in many situations for general pur- 

 poses are the most valuable fowl. — Y. B. A. Z. 



SPAEKENHOE FAEMEES' CLUB POULTEY 

 SHOW. 



This popular Society has for many years past been 

 o-radually increasing in public favour, until at length there 

 are very few local meetings that draw together so good an 

 exhibition of poultry as this does : consequently the com- 

 petition that invariably ensues always brings as goodly a 

 muster of poultry amateurs as can be found even at shows 

 of much higher pretensions. It is worthy of consideration 

 that the rcaUy usefid table poultry, of whatever description, 

 have always been a great feature of the Sparkenhoe Meetings, 

 and this year the same remark is equally deserved. To 

 such a meeting, and with so liberal a prize Hst, of course to 

 yvia at Sparkenhoe is invariably considered one of a poultry- 

 breeder's most anjdous desideratums. 



We beUeve this is the only Society in the kingdom that 

 offers the following premium— viz., for the best three pens 

 of any variety or breed the property of one person, and to be 

 entered solely and specially for this competition, one single 

 restriction being tha"t each pen is to contain a ma^e and two 

 females. Tliis is the point beyond all others^ that ehcits 

 pubUc attention— so much so. that the competition annually 

 becomes stronger in this class, and the anxiety tfl know who 

 may win the silver cup never flags. It is admittedly a 

 matter of considerable difficulty to get three first-rate pens 

 from any single yai-d; still, this year not less than eleven 

 competitors entered for this premium. 



The triumph was with the yard of Viscountess Holmesdale, 

 and it was to such fowls an easy triumph. The Dorkings 

 shown by this lady have thus been instrumental m securing 

 a second sUver cip in less than a fortmght for then: fair 

 owner, for at the London Islington Show last week they 



