382 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ May 26, 1870. 



with dark Coleas, a row on each Bide of Ceotaarea, then a row on each 

 Side of Mrs. Pollock Pelar.'onium. and then next the grass a row all ro and 

 Of Golden Pyrethrum. Here you have a double yellow so far, and tbe 

 yellow bronze next the white. Wo think it would bo better to have Cen- 

 iaorea in the middle, Coleus round it, and then the Pyrethrum or Mrs. 

 Pollock, with blue or purple ruund it ; or, as you state, Colens for centre, 

 Centaarea next, followed by scarlet, and thf-n Mrs. Pollock, &c. Then as 

 respects the ribbon border, instead of having Reet, brick row, Bijou Pelar- 

 gonium, and Calceolaria, we would, if tbe plants were a fair size, have 

 Bijou, Beet, Calceolaria Aurea floribunda. W« cannot, however, say we 

 fancy Beet, it reminds one so much of the salad We would prefer Coleus, 

 Perilla, Iresine, &c. All such beds wouid be improved by a string of 

 Cerastium, of which you say you have plenty, next the grass ; and a little 

 Olne Lobelia between it and yellow would tell well. 



Evergreen Climbers For Conservatory (B. B.}.— For the back 

 nothing answers so well as Oranges or Carmd dap, though if the wall is 

 not shaded, or but slightly so, Habr-ithamous elegms, Luculia gra- 

 tissima, and Habrothamnus auraritlaoaa, are Bne winter or early spring- 

 blooming plants, the last two sweet-scented and fine for cut flowers ; so, 

 too, are Oranges and Camellias, which are wbut wo recommend. If you 

 wish for a plant for the b ick part of the roof, Lipageria rosea succeeds 

 well in such a position. For the front Jasminum grandiflorum, Kennedya 

 Marryattte, Mutisia Clematis, Puss flora c^rulea racemosa, P. Comte 

 Nesselrode, Mimosa prostrata, Sollya heterophylla, and Tacsonia Van- 

 Volxemi. 



Names of Insects (C. C. E.).— The caterpillars sent are part of a quite 

 young brood of the common Lackey moth, Bombyx Neustria, which 

 generally live in large companies in a web on fruit trees. We believe 

 the mischief to the buds was not occasioned by th*se caterpillars, but by 

 one of the destructive bud-feeding weevils (Curculio oblongus, or one of 

 the Otiorhynclius genus), or probably by the larvae of some Tortrix. 

 (A. E. C,).— The Beetles sent are the common R/i?e Beetle, Cetonia aurata. 

 They are not carnivorous, but feed on vegetable matter underground in 

 the grub state, and npou leaves aud flowe-s in the perfect state. They 

 lie underground for some time after assumiug the perfect beetle form, 

 ready to emerge on the firet hot day. This has come in the present year 

 before the Roses are in bloom, and with us in Oxfordshire they are now 

 swarming on the Lilac— W. 



Names of Plants. — We have received aorae specimens from " Jago," 

 and from Truro, so defective that it i* impossible to name them. Speci- 

 mens should be sent in a box that will resist the post-office stamps, and 

 packed in mosd slightly damped. (Apt, Dublin).— Not one of the speci- 

 mens was numbered. (Julia). — Circrea Intetiana, tbe Enchanter's 

 Nightshade, a de'dly poison. (W. Harker). — Jasminum Maid of Orleans, 

 a very double variety of Jasminum Sambac. (A Novice).— I, Anemone 

 nemorosa flore-pleno; 2, Ranunculus aquatiUN ; 8, Cardamine pratensis. 

 (It. J.). — 1, Y^rbaseuin, the species not yet recognised; 2, Saxifraga 

 granulata flore-pleuo ; 3. The Snowflakf, Lencojum cestivalis. (W. God- 

 bold).— 1, Forsythia viridissimi; 2, Suffered from the stamping in the 

 post office. Kindly send a further specimen. (H. D.).— 1, Not recognised; 

 2, Persian Lilac, i-yringa peraica. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



BROWN RED GAME BANTAMS. 



I am glad that "Gallus" has called the attention of com- 

 mitteemen to the subject of classifying Giime Bantams in such 

 a way as would be most likely to commaud both a good entry 

 for their show, and also greatly encourage the improvement of 

 the breed whose interest be advocates — namely, Brown Bed 

 Game Bantams. I think that this variety is at present very 

 little appreciated because its beauties are very little known, for 

 it only requires that anyone should see a perfect bird in order 

 to at once fall in love with the breed, in preference to the Black 

 Beds, Duckwings, aud Piles, attractive as they are in colour. 



I do not, however, wish to depreciate these varieties, for I 

 myself am an ardent faucier and exhibitor of them ; but am, 

 nevertheless, of opinion, that wero the fanciers of Brown Beds 

 to improve their breed it would have a tendeuoy to spur on the 

 Dackwing and Pile fanciers to do likewise, especially if com- 

 mittees make the schedules with the classification advised by 

 " Gallus." 



I am certain that if any of us Game B.ntam fanciers were 

 to patiently parsae the process adopted in proouring Black Red 

 Bantams from their big great-grandfathers, and try it with 

 respect to Brown Beds, that we would have something in Game 

 Bantams far surpassing iu style aud beauty even our Black 

 Beds, near as they are to their model. But breeders must have 

 gome encouragement, and for this they must look to commit- 

 teemen, who can give it hy placing in competition in the 

 same class birds of an equj], and not more advanced, stage of 

 development. 



At Epworth Show, held a fortnight since, there was a very 

 large entry of Game Bantams, notwithstanding the fact that 

 there was only one class for them; but Duckwings stood first, 

 Brown Beds second, Black Reds taking third, thus revers- 

 ing a rale, if rnle it is, that Black R^ds are to take the prefer- 

 ence of all the other varieties in a mixed class when merit is 

 about equal. In fact, so much is this held to by some judges, 

 that I have seen Black Reds of very inferior merit take the 

 prize against splendid Duckwings and Brown Reds of much 



superior style and points. Of coarse such judgment has the 

 effect of discouraging breeders of Brown Rsds and Duckwings ; 

 and I was glad to find that at Epworth Mr. Hutton was not 

 disposed to keep to the opinions of some judges, who, perhaps, 

 would have left all varieties out of the prize list exoept Black 

 Reds. 



However, I hope with "Gallus" that committeemen will 

 pay a little attention to this point, and I also hope in a few 

 years to see an exquisite variety of ornamental poultry brought 

 out in all its beauties and perfection. — Alektor, Lancashire. 



JUDGES REPORTING. 



Many complaints have been made during the last season as 

 to tbe judging, and although it will be next to impossible to 

 satisfy every exhibitor, I am of opinion there is nothing like 

 publicity for the purpose of procuring a remedy for any abuses 

 which may exist. 



The cause of complaint I have is "that one of the principal 

 arbitrators is also reporter to a leading and highly respectable 

 journal," and it does appear to me exceedingly unfair that a 

 judge should be in a position to report in a public newspaper 

 on, and to praise, his own awards, which cannot fail in a 

 measure to tend to the exclusion of unbiassed opinions thereon. 

 I do not for a moment assert that partial reports have resulted 

 from such a position, but I do think that one judge should not 

 be more advantageously placed than the remaining gentlemen 

 who accept that onerous post, and who are always open to have 

 their awards criticised by the public generally. This criticism 

 must, to a certain extent, be limited in any journal where the 

 reporter is a judge. To my knowledge several exhibitors have 

 expressed their intention not to exhibit where it is known that 

 any gentleman in the position I have named is to be the arbi- 

 trator ; amongst them is — Columea. 



[We consider that our correspondent has stated his objection 

 too broadly. There can be no objection to a judge sending a 

 report of the exhibition at which he officiated if he has nothing 

 to do with the editing of the paper to which he sends the re- 

 port. We insert many such reports, but that would not re- 

 strain ns from inserting adverse criticisms if valid grounds of 

 complaint were shown to exist. — Eds.] 



NEW BOOK 



The Canary : its Varieties, Management, and Breeding. With 



Portraits of the Author's own Birds. By Rev. Francis Smith. 



Groombridge. 



Fancy poultry, fancy Pigeons, Canaries, and " such small 

 deer," were formerly very badly treated. We recently fell in 

 with a copy of a work published thirty years since, but oh ! 

 the ignorance of the writer ; and as to engravings, the Game 

 cock looked like a Dorking, and some of the birds unlike any 

 fowls that ever lived. Then, also, books on fancy Pigeons were 

 of a similar stamp, and in respect to those that treated of the 

 Canary, all the varieties were jumbled together, or, if the 

 writer were a Londoner, the London Fancy was described only 

 as if it were the Canary of the world in general. The reason 

 of all these blunders was that publishers thought that " such 

 small deer " were too humble to be treated carefully : hence 

 bookmakers, who never kept a bird, were not unfrequently the 

 writers. But of recent years there has come a great change 

 and improvement. Fowls, Pigeons, and cage birds are written 

 of by those who understand them, who huve kept many, and 

 watched and noted their habits carefully. Thus Mr. Lewis 

 Wright and others have written works on poultry fully under- 

 standing their subject ; while the accurate and practical Brent 

 wrote on fancy Pigeons aud Canaries, and Mr. Blakston has 

 followed suit concerning the latter, with a more airy but equally 

 accurate pen. 



It is now our pleasant task to review the book at the head of 

 this article. It is written in a happy story-telling vein, that 

 would make strangers to the Canary read to the end, and then 

 rush out and get one specimen, at least, of each variety ; and 

 as to Canary fanciers, they will, as we do, rejoice over the 

 book. We read it at a sitting, as many have and will. 



Mr. Smith was, and perhaps is, a Manchester clergyman, 

 blessed with four young daughters. The father and one of the 

 four got smitten with a love of Canaries, or rather are smitten 

 over and over again, for just as they get possessed of one 

 variety they want another, and so on, until they have in their 

 aviary specimens of every variety of the bird. 



