February 11, 1860. J JOURNAL OP HORTIOULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



113 



notiB floribnnda, Hoya carnosa, Passiflora rtaadrangularlB, and Schn- 

 bertia gniveoleus. 



Camklmas Leggy (A. flf. T.)-— The plants should bo well cnt-iu before 

 thoy bogio to Krow, uikI eucouragod with ii moist atmosphoro and brisk 

 heat of from BO" to r.O' at ni«bt, fin. I from Gtt" to 7/' by iliiy, aH'ording a 

 slight Bhado from bri^ibt Bun, the plants being sprinkled ovurhoad morn- 

 ing and ovoninj^' with wiitor, and whou thoy havo shoots a few inches 

 loug ropot, shading for a time after potting, and keeping rather close and 

 moist. 



RnoDoDKNDRONS Leggy (Itlnn).~Yon may out down the Rhododon- 

 drons, and thoy will start from neixr tho pround. It ahoulil ho done early 

 iu May, or it may bo done immediately after Uoworiug, eutting thorn to 

 tho form required. 



Roses on Walls (Q. <?.).—" Roses suitable for walls never want much 

 pruninp. Simply thin out weak shoots and cut tho stronger side branehos 

 to a good eye in riuened wood, and take oft' tho tops of thn leaders simi- 

 larly. My south frontage is a loug one, and wholly planted with Tea and 

 Tea-scontod Noisettes, in front of which are placed, on the lawn, these 

 ManetU-stocked Roses— viK., Charles Lefebvre, Maurico Ilernardin, Due 

 do Cazes, and Prince Camille do Rohan. Thoy are all very forward. I 

 took off last week the sheep hurdles which havo been loaning all winter 

 endways against the wall Roses. Some of tho shoots of such as Ciilino 

 Forcstior are a foot long, and have Rosijs formed. I shall Ut all remain 

 till I SGO what the frost (if any), will do, and then cut out damages and 

 otherwise prune tho trees, leaving on what is not damaged. I have not 



yet moved any of tho monnds roaud my Roses. Walt for dry weather 

 and then do it, as tho ground will work bettor. As soon as March arrives, 

 if weather permit, cut tho Manetti wood from tho budded stocks. Till 

 then, if severe weather set in, bed-up with litter, or wtraw. I havo not 

 yet thinned out any of my Manetti Konos. I, one year, at Husliton, did 

 not prune till the 1 llh of May. and Hiicc^odud well.— W V. UAnrLYFPE." 



NoMENCLATUUK OF I-'erns (PlcridopliUnt). — It U quite true tliat WTiters 

 on foreign Ferns dilfor much iu thiur nomenclature, but so do other 

 botanists about other plants, and thoy are still more rwprehensible for 

 olevating every abnormal frond into a variety. Such mon are great only 

 in small things. Yot to pubUsu your vituperation would do no good, and 

 is unjust as regards those who are entitled to the name of " gardener." 



Names of Plants (F. /J.).— Jhimonauthus fragrans grandiflorus. It 

 is propagated by layers early in autumn, and by seeds sown iu gentle 

 lieat during March. It has also been propagated by cuttings of the yonng 

 wood of the current year just after it was "set" in July, and furnished 

 witli loaves, the cutting pot being placed on tlie bod at the cooler end of 

 a propagating pit. (./. J. H.). — Tho Oak^i arc not Mexican, but other North 

 American specie''. Tho darker-coloured one i- Querent rubra, and the 

 lighter Q. coccinca. They may both bo propagat id by graftini? them on 

 tho common Oak ; but it is needless trouble to do so, as trees are easily 

 procurable in any good nursery. (Cnttlfrcdiih). — 1, Aspidistra lurida 

 variegata ; 2, Sanchezia nobilis vai-iegata ; 4, Platycorium alcicorne. 

 {Eastbourne).—!, Ghorozema varium. (Tcrtia).—!. Asplenium fnrcatum ; 

 2, Davallia pulchra; 3. D ch:crophyllata ; 4, Slicro^orum irioides ; 

 5, Polypodium (Phymatodos) normalo. (C. G.).— Vctthoimia viridifolia. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the week ending February 9th. 



POTTLTRY. BSE. AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. 



TRIMMING. 



I HAVEread with mucli interest the remarks of "Nemo" andothcrF, 

 with regard to trimmius fowls for exhibition. I fear that the task that 

 they havo taken iu baud is a most difficult one, as the judges admit that 

 they have not timo to scrutinise tho pens closely enough to be able to 

 detect Gvery case of trimming. I wrote on this subject some fifteen 

 months ago, and received no reply to my inquiries. For myself, I 

 shall be delighted to see all trimming done away with, but, as I (since 

 I wrote) have sanctioned trimming, I cannot, of course sigu the protest 

 which has been sent to me for signature. As I am of opinion that the 

 cleverest trimmer in the world cannot change a bad bird into a good 

 one, I do not think the subject so important as some of yonr correspon- 

 dents do. 



My trimming has been, I believe, of a mild character, such as the 

 " plucking of an occasional damaged feather." I have spoken with one 

 of our most eminent judges on this subject, and he appeared to agree 

 with me, that it is impossible entirely to prevent the practice. — A-lbert 

 O. WoRTHiNGTON, Burton-ou-lreiit. 



In" reply to "Y. B. A. Z.," the construction he has pnt npon my 

 letter has arisen through a printer's error, iu running two sentences 

 into one. If he will put a full stoj) at the end of my remark about 

 dubbing, he will see that when I spoke of fanciers who "could not 

 show their birds with this advantage," I referred to conditioning, which 

 I contend is just as artificial as the present authorised amount of trim- 

 ming, and therefore equally to be condemned. I do not, of course, mean 

 that "the pith of condition lies in dubbing," but allude to that im- 

 provement of which I believe any breed is capable by being penned and 

 specially fed some days before beiug exhibited, and which in Game fowls 

 increases the natural tightness and crispness of the feathers, brightens 

 the colour, and puts a gloss on the feathers, and adds fire and style to 

 the cani'ige of the bird. In fowl-fancying as in every other fancy, 

 there will be a certain amount of recognised trimming for exhibitions, 

 wbich is never intended to deceive, and therefore cannot he termed 

 fraudulent. 



" y. B. A. Z." does not call simple dubbing a deception, but 

 objects to it because a faulty comb may have been removed. Any 

 Game fancier will tell him that a faulty comb is very rare in a Game 

 cock, or at any rate that the combs run very much alike. If Game 

 fowls should ever be exhibited with their combs on, we shall, of course, 

 require a standard of excellence in respect to tlmt particular point. 

 The removal of the small feathers from the face of Spanish and Game 

 is almost as perceptible, and just as little likely to deceive as dubbing. 

 Of course it is a matter of taste, and by this I do not mean a matter of 

 opinion, for I believe there to be a certain standard of good taste with 

 respect to any subject, but, of course, the difficulty is to find it. The 



eye of a fancier is accustomed to tho present permissible amount of 

 trimming, and he certainly considers it an improvement. 



Our most popular poultry judge is careful not to commit himself to 

 any approval of " Nemo's" sweeping reforms, but most amply vindi- 

 cates himself from any charge of neglect to expose attempts at fraud. 

 If I am not very much mistaken, " Nemo " will have to content him- 

 self with drawing the line where I suggest — the punishment of all 

 fraudulent practices, and the continuance of all acknowledged and 

 allowed trimming as practised by all our leading exhibitors. I am well 

 aware that there is much of genuine rascality connected with onr 

 poultry shows, and if "Nemo" and " Y. B. A. Z." can suggest any 

 practical means of making the detection of it more certain, I for one 

 would gladly assist them by any means in my power, pecuniarily or 

 otherwise. At present I think my friends are over- reaching themselves, 

 and so far from the matter being '* in a fair way to have some decision 

 made," we are more at sea than ever, for no two fanciers seem entirely 

 agreed on the subject. I ho[je " Y. B. A. Z." will now understand my 

 meaning, and that he will allow me to " agree to differ" with him, as 

 I, like himself, have only the good of the fancy at heart, and trust that 

 my motives are equally pure. — Brown Ked. 



[Let it be admitted that stronger expressions than were needed may 

 have been used, and that advocates have been indignant with those who 

 differed from them ; let it also be admitted that condemnations have 

 been too indiscriminate ; and then, after all these admissions, the 

 truth remains unshaken, that bii-ds have been fraudulently altered. 

 To remove a small broken feather is not fraudulent, but to pluck away 

 all the feathers of a vulture hock is fraudulent ; to bathe a cock's comb 

 with an astringent to strengthen it is not fraudulent, but to run pins 

 along the comb to maintain its desired position is fraudulent ; to bathe 

 a Spanish cock's face to dimiuish the wrinkles covering his eye is not 

 fraudulent, but to paint his face white is fraudulent. 



We might multiply the distinctions, but we have said enough to show 

 that to draw the liue requires only the exercise of common sense and 

 common honesty by Judges and Committees to cari-y out the rule we 

 formerly suggested, and which wo are convinced would eti'ectually lessen, 

 if it did not entirely prevent, fraudulent alterations. You cannot 

 compel a man to be honest, but if his dishonesty is rendered an almost 

 certain loss, he will refrain from it. — Eds.] 



DISEASED LIVER IN FOWLS. 



At a recent meetiug of the Pathological Society, Dr. Crisp 

 exhibited several specimens of tubercle in the common fowl. 

 The birds last year were brouKht from a district in Suffolk 

 where tubercle among birds was unknown, and after being kept 

 for about six months in a very damp hen-house at Chelsea, 

 their livers, spleens, and mesenteric glands became tuberculated. 

 Dr. Crisp thought these very important specimens, as showing 



