Mar 21, 1868. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE ANP COTTAGE GARDENER. 



381 



boring holee in n cank with an aapor, in rows 3 inches asnndor, and flllin« 

 it ap with aUcrnato layers of sand and roots, with the crowns protruding 

 through tho holt-.-'. The cask in then placed In a dark cellar, and tho 

 sand is then nioistt-ncd if itbcrnines too dry. In this way Hovoral cuttings 

 of blanohod leaves may bo obtained till the roots are oxhaustod. Thia 

 method Is ^jometimos adopted on board of ship." 



EBKCTrea A Pine Vzt, Ac. (A. Franri>i]. — We mast give yon the same 

 modifled answer as we gave to another correttpondent in page 192. To 

 make the most of such a housn, HO by 12 foot, you might havo tho front 

 wall 4 feet hif^b, and the back wall feet hipth, and a path of 3 feet at 

 back, with shelves against tho back wall. Tho bed would occupy the 

 whole front, li foot high in front, and 2,\ feet behind. What would be more 

 convenient would be lo havu a path '2\ feet wide all round, and n bed of 

 7 feot wide in tho middle, then the front wall from tUo floor would bo 

 6 feet, and the back wall 11 feet hif;h. The first plan would afTord most 

 room for the Pines, but you could not got at them so well ; but by sinking 

 2 leet as yon have dune, your front wall would only be '2 feet above the 

 gronnd level, so that by tilting tho sash you could easily reach tho plants 

 in front. For a fixed roof ii will bo best to havo the bed in the middle 

 of the house. For such a house we would advise you to havo hot water 

 instead of flues, and the simplest plan would bo to take threo flows fur 

 top heat and return them under the bed for bottom heat, 



ToRRKYA nuANDTS [T. C.).— This IS tt Taxad or Yew-liko tree, and per- 

 fectly hardy, but of slow growth. It would be interestiuR to know what 

 soil it succeeds best in, and whether it has been proved hardy every- 

 where. 



Potting and Dividing Maidenhair Ferns (M. II.). — The best time 

 to repot them is when they are beginning to grow ; the ball may then bo 

 reduced to any extent necessary to get it into a smaller pot, or if the 

 plants are largo they may be di\-ided at the time of repotting. March is 

 in general the best time to divide the plants ; but this operation may be 

 performed at any tiuie if a good quantity of soil be preserved with each 

 dinsioQ. It is not advisable to pot Ferns in the autumn. 



BtRD'S-NEST Fern Blackened (Idem).— Yonr plant is not kept suflS- 

 ciently warm. Give more heat and avoid Byrincjing over tho fronda ; it 

 is impatient of water on them whilst in a young state, and condensed 

 moisture frequently causes their disfigurement. Keep the plant near 

 the glass, but shaded from bright sun, and maintain a brisk heat of 55^ 

 at night and 7.')' to 80-^ by day, with plenty of moisture, but not oTer the 

 fronds. Afford a moderate amount of air, but avoid cold currents. 



Making a Wooden Roof Waterproof (A ConMant licadfr). — We pre- 

 stHne the boards fumiing the roof overlap each other to some extent, and 

 in that case they will only need to have two coats of boiling pitch and 

 coal tar, 1 lb. of common pitch being added to every gallon of coal tar. 

 Apply with a brush and sprinkle the roof lightly with dry sliarp aand, 

 and the wood must be dry, otherwise the pitch and tar will not adhere. 

 Unless the wood be dry and well seasoned it will crnck and let in the wet, 

 therefore such roofs are generally covered with the felts made for the 

 purpose. 



Aphelandtia Porteana CnLTTTRE {I'i I mome). —This plant requires a 

 3tove temperature, and that may be from 55- to 60^ at niffht in winter, and 

 fram 65^ to 70"^ by day ; in summer the temperature should be from 60^ 

 to 65" at night, and from 75^ to 80^ by day, and higher with sun aud air. 



A position near the glaBi is essential, likewise a fair amount of ventila- 

 tloH. It succeeds in a compost of une-third turfy sandy peat, two-thirdH 

 fibrous loam, aud a free ndniiKture uf Hilver auitd and piuces of charcoal 

 from tho size of a pea up t'» that of a hazel nut. Provide good drainage, 

 remove all the old soil x>artiji!:^ readily from the root'f, aud use a pot rather 

 small for the size of the plant. The potting should take ptaco in I^Tarch, 

 and a moist heat with a close atmosphere should be maintained until tha 

 plants become re-established. Water sparingly uutil the roots are work- 

 ing freely iu tho fresh soil, then water more freely, but be careful not to 

 over-water at any time, and do not give any until it is required, at tho 

 same time do not allow the foliage to Qnti from tho want of water. If 

 l)ottom heat is at command tho plant will bo much benefited by being 

 plunged in it for some time after repotting. If the plant grow well 

 shift it into a larger pot in Juno. Wlien tho plaut flowers it should be 

 well supplied with water until tho bloom in past, thou keop it dry, and 

 afford a season of rest, cuttins tho plant down, and wlieu the new shoots 

 are a few inches lonij repot. If the plant do not flower be careful not to 

 saturate tho soil with water, but wive no more in winter than is sufficient 

 to keep it in a healthy state, but dry rather than wot. Afl'ord abundance 

 of light and air. 



Leschenaultia Cultcre (Idem). — A cool airy greenhouse, and a 

 position near the glass without shade are requisite. Use a compost of 

 tibrous sandy peat with about one-sixth of silver sand, and the same pro- 

 portion of charcoal broken, and not larRer than a hazel nut. Good 

 drainage should be given, and the collar of the plant ought to bo kept 

 rather high in the centre of the pnt. In pottiuR he careful not to injure 

 the roots, and remove no more of the old soil than that not occupied with 

 the roots. The size of the ball will determine tho size of the pot to be 

 nsed, which should only admit of a little soil being added all round the 

 ball. Pot rather firmly, but not very tightly. Water sparingly untU the 

 plant has recovered from the potting, and then Rive more copious sup- 

 plies, but avoid heavy waterings. If the plant is young it may be potted 

 in June, the first potting taking place in March ; but if an old plant the 

 time of potting will be regulated by the time of flowering, tho plant being 

 rested for awhile. Cut-in any irre<!ular growths before repotting. Young 

 plants should have all irregular (growths stopped up to July, when stop- 

 ping should be discontinued. From Juno to October tho plant will do 

 better in a frame or pit than in a greenhouse, the pot being set on coal 

 ashes, and abimdance of air given, especially at night. Be careful not to 

 over-water in winter, and keep the reverse of a moist, close atmosphere, 

 affording a position near the glass and plenty of side room. It will be 

 sufficient if frost be excluded. 



Gratei. on Walks not Setting (rdcm).— Your gravel is too loose : 

 from its being free from clay or loara. Wo do not know of anything so 

 likely to make it bind as to sprinkle it with some loamy sand, and after 

 the first heavy rain roll well with a heavy iron roller. Roll frequently 

 whenever the weather is wet. We think a good rolling would make it 

 firm. 



Names of Plants {T. J. L.).— We cannot identify plants from their 

 leaves only; we must have flowers. {J. T. B.). — Thalictrum alpinum 

 (Alpine Meadow Rue). (</. E. P.).— Orchis morio. (E. G. R. F.).—\, Sa- 

 ponaria ocymoides ; 2, Saxifraga aizoon ; 3, Garden Phlox ; 4, Euphorbia 

 cyparissias ; 5, Geranium pratense ; 6, Potentilla geranioides; 7, Ceras- 

 tium grandiflorum ; 8, Saxifraga hypnoidea. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS iu the Suburbs of London for the week ending May 19th. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



GAME FOWLS. 



Adverting again to the two articles on Game fowls in the 

 number of the '23rd of April, the writer of the first of these 

 seems to hint that I prefer a featherj- bird with a broomy tail, 

 whereas, on the contrary, I advocate a short, close, hard, and 

 scant feather, both in body and in tail. A great many good 

 cockers' birds, with the open or spread tails carried high 

 have the very hardest and shortest feather, aud good feather is 

 not at all confined to the birds with the drooping, falling. Malay- 

 like tails. The true type of the old English cocker's Game 

 fowl is best seen in and near Manchester, Wolverhampton, and 

 London, at which places the birds are of a different type from 

 our large, heavy exhibition birds, being smaller, harder, and of 

 greater endurance. These birds have, in general, neat short 

 tails, carried well up and open or spread ; the sickle feathers 

 with a short curve, and not nearly straight, as in some exhi- 

 bition strains. The extreme type iu the latter birds puts one 

 rather ia mind of the Malays. I maintain that the very best 



birds are to be bred from the best cockers' strains just named, 

 and not from the large, heavy birds. 



The present type of our exhibition birds is one made of 

 late years expressly for exhibition, and unlike the old style of 

 bird in their increased size and weight ; aud great attention is 

 paid in breeding them to very scant feather and to the form of 

 tail, which latter point is the least important one iu a fight- 

 ing bird, so long as the tail is not feathery or broomy, with a 

 lot of curved " side streamers " in addition to the "leaders," 

 which is very bad, as every judge well knows, and none better 

 than 1 do myself as an old breeder. 



I have already stated that the " whiptailed " are the favourites 

 at exhibitions, being considered neater birds ; but cups and 

 prizes at exhibitions are not in all cases a guarantee of thorough 

 gameness, though some exhibitors seem to fancy that they are. 

 The form of tail that I prefer is not so very essentially diffe- 

 rent from the usual form of tail in prize birds, but I like tails 

 more open, carried higher, and more sickled than the extreme 

 exhibition type of the whip tail. I well know that many whip- 

 tailed birds are good and fast birds ; but still I am convinced 

 that, as a general rule, " a droopingtail shows a drooping spirit " 

 in a Game fowl, and such tails have the feathers falling to- 

 gether too much, and do not show the proper shape of the 



