I'obruiiry n, 186R. ) 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



119 



Pot VrvE in a Ground Vinery (Jlu.flbj/).— Your Vine wonM have dnno 

 better if planted out under your ground vinory in the autumn, nod tbo 

 ground mulched over it. To obtain us much fruit us possihhi from the 

 Viuo this year, wo would break hoU^s in the pot. plun^'o the bitter over- 

 head, andpbice good, fresb, rifh soil nil round it, to let the roots ro out. 

 To do tho l)e>^l for tbo Vine penuaneutly, but nt a loss for this season, 

 turn it out of tho pot and epread out tbo roots, bueh a Vine may bo 

 raised at the time you name, but we would prefer a young Vino from a 

 rutting now. We would keep the ground vinery over tho Vino all the 

 winter. 



Forming a Vine Bordeii— Vines for a GBEENnonsE (0. W. 0.).~ 

 You mav make the border as wide ns tbo house, or \lh feet, but half the 

 width w'iM do at ftrsl if that is an oLjc-t. With nuch uuitminl, wo would 

 to every 2 yards, or two loads of soil, add two bushels of lime rubbish 

 and half a bushel of charcoal and broken bones. In sufb a bouso wo 

 would plant ten Vines— namely, 1 Buckhmd Kweetw»tor. 1 White Fron- 

 tiRniiu, 3 Uoyal Muscadine, H Bbick IIambnr^;b!3, 1 libick Muscat of 

 Alexandria, and 1 Esptrionc. These will ripen with little Hro heat. 



Distance of Plants from Hot-water Pipes f.f. /).).— There will be 

 no danger from the hot-water pipes if tbo shelf is 12 inches from it. Mr. 

 Robert Pettit, of the Botanic Gardens, Bury St. Edmunds, had a fine 

 collection of succulents. 



Weight of a Sack of Potatoes (J. K).— In the London markets a 

 sack of Potatoes is required to weigh lUH lbs. Consequently, in answer to 

 5'oui' query, it contains 21 stones, of 8 lbs. to the stone. 



Flower Garden Planting (Fred].— AW wo would Ruffgest ia moro 

 unity and completeness, by edging all yonr beds instead of part of them. 

 Thus— as 2 is edged with Xobelia, we would edge 3 with Cerastium, 

 4 with purple, 5 with lilac, and so on. Without such arrangement there 

 will bo a want of completeness. 



ARAUCAniA CuNNiNGHAMii SINENSIS — " Mr. Thomas Winkworth (see 

 page 91), states that it baa withstood tho t>ov»'riLy of our winters unin- 

 jured. He would oblige by stating if it has wiLbstood tbo severe wiutera 

 unprotected.— L. X." " lu'itead nt being tbo tiillcRt of this Conifer at 

 Elmham Gardens ' is now C feet high,' as stated at page 91, it should have 

 been * the tallest is now 10 feet high-'- Thomas Winkworth." 



Vine in a Fern Case (A*. D.). — It is quite possible to raise the Vine in 

 a Fei-n case 2 feet high, and 12 or 1:J inches wide ; l)Ut, then, of what ns© 

 would it be except for foliage ■:• and a more moderate-growing plant would 

 be better. Even for such a case you could not have less than G inches of 

 s<.il— in fact, the Vino would be better kept in a pot. Tho Iloyal Musca- 

 dine would be as good as any. To do any good with a Vino the case 

 ought to be from 6 to 10 feet "in length, and oven then we would prefer 

 tho Vine to be at one end in a box that would bold at leai^^t three- 

 quarters of a bushel of soil, instead of turning it out in the case. Loamy 

 soil is the best. 



Nasies of Plants {A. D.).— Mesombryantberaum gracile (narrow- 

 leaved) ; M. crystallophanes (broad-leaved). {F. W.).— As the Moss is not 

 in fruit, and a bad specimen also, it cannot bo named. {tV. R. Hoisell).— 

 1, Cephalautherapallens; 2. Orchis incarnata ; 3,0. variegata; 4, Pro- 

 bably Orchis latifolia in a yuung state. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the week ending February 4th. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



FOWLS FOR A CLAY SOIL. 



I FANCIED Dorkings were not given to eccentricities, but met 

 with a yard where a cock of darli grey colour at his last moult 

 became pure white. However, that is not my theme. 



After thirty years' experience — eighteen on gravel, I could 

 tell a sad tale of several years' on a clay soil, where Cochins, 

 Spanish, Dorkings, and Brahmas successively formed a 

 hospital, and j-et worse, too often successfully dehed the phar- 

 macopj'ia and every attention. Some Game-looking, badly 

 marked, Golden-spangled Hamburghs, however, turned up, 

 direct from Yorkshire, and a three-years trial has proved them 

 hardy, great foragers, small eaters, non-sitters, and excellent 

 layers even in winter. 1 believe they are almost identical with 

 those recommended by Jlr. Hewitt in his valuable article of 

 April 3rd, 18G0, as the produce of a cross between a Game 

 cock and Golden-spangled Hamburghs, or Pheasant fowls ; he 

 adds, " The cross with Moonies was not so productive." Now, 

 as Ambition whispers sometimes, Procure a purer stock, which 

 of the five varieties of Spangled Hamburghs — viz., Golden 

 Moonies, Golden Pheasants, Silver Moonies, Silver Pheasants, 

 and Black Pheasants, is the most hardy and productive ? I 

 hope this year, by a visit to the north, to be able to speak with 

 authority about these beautiful fowls, too Uttlo cultivated in 

 the south of England. 



" K. S. S. W.," finds Brahmas perfection"; I must disparage 

 them, but I trust in that friendly spirit which has ever dis- 

 tinguished your columns. I admit that strains vary, and mine 

 were hardy, and fair winter layers, but consumed an enormous 

 quantity of food, and in summer the hens were always wanting 

 to sit, and had a remarkable tendency to accumulate internal 

 fat, and produce shell-less eggs. — Heneicus. 



BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY. 



The usual meeting of the Council of this Society was hi'ld on 

 January- '2vSth at Taunton, under the presidency of Sir J. T. B. Buck- 

 worth, and was more numerously attended than on any former 

 occasion. 



With regard to the Falmouth Meeting of 1368, it was resolved 

 to celebrate the opening of the Exhibition on Monday, June 1st, by a 

 public luucheon in tile show yarcl, in accordance ^vith the practice in- 

 augurated last year at Salisbury with so much satisfaction to 



members and the public. For tho information of exhibitors, it may 

 be well to state that the Falmouth Local Committee have very 

 handsomely undertaken, at their own cost, to convey all machines, 

 implemeuts, live stock, poultry, and other articles to and from the Fal- 

 mouth Railway terminus to the show yard free of cost to exhibitors. 

 This concession will go very far towards removing any objection that 

 may esist in the minds of distant exhibitors on the gi-ound of expense. 



A letter was read from tho Hon. and Rev. S. Best, on behalf of tha 

 Southern Counties Association, established several years ago, very 

 much ou the model of the Bath and West of England Society, but 

 proposing to direct its efforts more particularly to the six southern 

 counties— viz, Hampshire, Sussex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey, and 

 Kent. In this letter overtures of amalgamation between the Bath and 

 West of England Society and tho Southern Counties Association were 

 made by Mr. Best on behalf of the latter Society, and a scheme or basis, 

 on which it was tliought by them that an amalgamation of tho two might 

 be carried out, was stated in detad by that gentleman. 



With reference to the overture contained in this letter a long and 

 animated discussion arose. By some it was contended that the Society's 

 area was already sufficiently extensive and ought not to be in any way 

 enlarged ; but it was shown by reference to the early records of tho 

 Society, that at the annual meeting in 1779 it was resolved that tho 

 counties of Berks, Hants, Devon,' and Cornwall should be included 

 within the district of the Society's operations ; and in December, 1'790, a 

 farther resolution was passed, that on account of tho established 

 character of the Society aud tho widely extended residence of its 

 subscribers, the title of tho Society should become altered from "the 

 Bath Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, &c.," to " the 

 Bath and West of England Society." Stress was also laid on the fact 

 that the Society in It^.^lj affirmed 'the dcshahUity of holding meetings 

 not only in Somerset, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, and Cornwall, but 

 also in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and South Wales. 

 Eventually a Committee was appointed to confer with a Committee ap- 

 )>ointed by the Southern Counties Association, and the Secretary was 

 lUrected to acknowledge with thanks tho communication of the Hon. 

 and Itev. S. Best, in regard to the proposed amalgamation, and to 

 inform him that the Council thought it would be impracticable to effect 

 such amalgamation on the basis proposed by him, but they had 

 appointed a Committee to confer with the Committee appointed by the 

 Southern Counties Association. 



It was resolved that for the present year only, the Council Meetings 

 held in the months of Febrnarj-, March, and April, shall be held on 

 the last Saturday in the month, instead of the last Tuesday. The day 

 of Meeting in the other months will remain unchanged. 



WESTON-SUPER-MARE POULTRY SHOW. 

 C.\N you inform me what the distance is from the railway 

 station to the yard of the late poultry show at 'Weston-super- 



