Augnat 22, 186;. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



159 



PnoPAr.ATlvc. PllLOX Dni:iraoNDl (7\ f. W.).— Huvn llio need from the 

 dnoKt flowers. They will give ii liirifo piT-oiiutiiKo ot tlnw.irs iMiuill lu tin' 

 pari'nlB, uud mimy \vu di.iibt not HUliorior lu tlioni, lLi.ui;li tli.-y luny not 

 be u( the same culour. CutliiiKa of the Ki-owiiiK purts iiiit iii now will 

 strike root freelv in Kentle heiit, anil nmy be iiotlecl off when rooted into 

 sninll pots, und ^Town iu ml airy purt ot tlie Kreeuhouse m every wnv the 

 same as Petmiiar.. CiittinKs nniy bo taken in »prin« troia tlie plantB 

 struck iu lUltnmu, and tlioy nmke Kood plants for bedd.ni? out m May. 

 Wo were in the habit .4 ijrowinK PLlol Criterion for beddiii),' oul, and wo 

 treated it like the Petunia; but it (.'railiially wore out. and lor this reason 

 wo strongly advise vou to save seed from your present strain, and troin 

 none but extra tine 'floworH. propauatiug by cuttinn whou the colours iiro 

 re.iulred separately and with e.Ttainty. Plnut iu beds of rich soil, other- 

 wise the bkauu will uot bo gooil. 



SnEi.TErax'o a Oauuen (.1 .SiiJxeriftrr).— With so small a garden wo 

 should think a wall 8 or 10 feet hiwh would be suMeient protection. Trec'S 

 shade so much (jround and occupy so mui:h with then- roots, tliat room 

 ciiiuiot well be nfforded them in a small pardon. Poplars woulil Krow the 

 fastest, und the Lombardv V<:\)li\t would take up ttie least room. Next to 

 that tho Black Italian and Ontario are rapid ^Towers, and would do better 

 iu stroiiK' soil than the Loiubiu'dy, though they all like moisture. The 

 Wliitc or .\bclc Poplar is worthless for shelter, and equally so is tho 

 Aspen. Poplars are tho worst of trees to be near a garden, their roots 

 run 30 fai- und so near the surlnce. Deeeh is tho best; and ymi may cut 

 it into a hedge, and thus prevent tho tops overshadowing or the roots 

 extending too far. The growth, however, is much slower than that of 

 Poplars ; but Hecch or Hombciui, which will bear any amount of cutting, 

 is to bo prefeiTcd to Poplars. 



SCPPLVLNG A Fountain i-ostinuousi.v with the same Watf.h (H. J. H.). 



-There are miniature fountains a good deal on this iirinciple, but they 



are chiefly toys, and would not be of auy use for a fomitain iu a garden. 



For such 'we know ot no plan by which you can uso the same water over 



ng.lin, except collecting it iu a tauk or reservoir, and then pumping it up 



into a roservoir suflleiently elevated, from which it sliouU again flow to 

 tho fountain. Thu toy fountains are nnnle on the principle of those of 

 llcro, of ,\lexandria. two air-tight vessels lieiug coMuected by tubes, and 

 the upper vessel tilled with water ; and water p(mring down through a tube 

 into tho lower vessel so compresses the air that tho water iu the upper 

 vessel is thrown up through the jet ; this continuing only so long as the water 

 in tlie vessel lasts, und the pressure is kept up. For practioul puri*oses, 

 we know of no plan better than the force pump, however that may Ixi 

 applied. 



Names of Insects (O. SA. — W'o cannot undertake to name outomo1ogi< 

 ral specimens, except when they directly relate to gardening. {¥. Z.). — 

 Tho insects oro .slimy grubs, Selandriu lethiops, and are killed by dustini; 

 with lime. {A. M. A'.). — The caterpillars are those of tho Goat Moth 

 (Cossus lignijierda), \*hich ore very destructive to trees, attaclting even 

 those which are hard-wooded as tho Kim uud Oak, but preferriug fruit trees 

 and tlinse with softer w.ioil. Thrusting a wire into lluiir holes would pro- 

 bably kill them, uud the French have used chloroform with a like object. 



Nami;s of Fkuit (.1 Htihscrihcr). — Tho Apple is Kerry Pippin. Plums — 

 1, Nectarine ; 2, uot known ; 3, Oisboriie's; -1, Pond's Seedling; G, Standard 

 of England. 



Na-viks op Pl.vnts (.7. .1/.). — Tho glob:ilar fungus is Solorodomia 

 vulgare, cimimon in woods, and <)f no value as an article of food; tho 

 other, an Agaric, but not iu a state Ht for dotermiuaticui. [Alphn, Actfin). 

 — 1, Nephrolopis tuberosa ; 2, Pteris hastata macrophylla. Tlio Oak Fern 

 is Polypodiiiiu dryopteris ; the Parsley Fern Allosorus crispus. [Inquirer). 

 — The Caladium is Calftdium bicolor; tho Begonia, B. frigida? \(Ht can 

 obtain No. 187 from our office by sending your address and four postage 

 stamps. (G. B. li.). — It is impossible to name plants vdth certainty from 

 mere leaves. (A. .7. T.}. — 1, Veratrum nigrum ; 2, Ksehscholtzia califor- 

 nica ; 3, Tradeseantia virgiuic'i ; 4. Calendula officinalis; .5, Gentiana 

 aselopiadea ; 6, Veronica spieata, var. ; 7, Veronica spicata. {Old S\ib.<rri- 

 ber}.—Oae is Polysticliuiu preiiferuni, tlio other .\thyrium Filix-fcemiua. 



METEOROLOGICiVL OBSERVATIONS iii the Suburbs of Louaou for the Week ciulmg August I'.lth 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



AVITHHOLDIXG PRIZES. 

 .\s the approach of .autumn, and the growth of chickens, and 

 ;1.'' receipt of schedules remind us of the season of shows, 



iteurs look at their stocks before thej- make entries, and ask 



Miselves where thej' shaU send, and what their chances will 

 f success. There are two classes of exhibitors. The first, 



i oldest class, sought and seeks to breed and exhibit only the 

 best and most perfect birds of the sort admired ; the second 

 - to take the first prize under .any circumst.ances. Our 



I birds and most reliable inforraatiou are derived from the 

 irst. Those who form it are chiefly men of education, leisure, 

 mans, and intelligence. Possessing these advantages it is not 

 ur]irising that they should excel ; yet, with these means and 

 ii'pliances to boot, they constantly need the help of the second 

 .•I jirocure the fresh blood necessary for keeping their str.iin iu 

 he lirst r.ank. We recently had a letter from a correspondent 

 who has bought a bird for this purpose, advertised as a first- 

 ['li/.etaker on three occasions. The bird is in muny respects 

 tiiulty, but has one fault that should disqualify him anywhere — 

 uf course he is worthless. Inquiry proved the truth that he had 

 taken the first prize as represented. When the defects and 

 di.;((ualitication were pointed out, the answer was a truthful 

 iu(i ready one — "he was not a very good bird, but he was the 

 hest bird in his class." So long as schedules offer prizes for 

 ;he three best pens of birds shown in such a class, first, second 

 ind third prizes, and committees tell judges not to withhold 

 prizes because it discourages exhibitors, so long will these ano- 

 malies exist ; but if judges are desired to recollect that they 

 may withhold prizes from pens that do not deserve them, it 

 will induce a far better state of things. Cheap success, where 

 it is not intended as an advertisement, is appraised at its pro- 

 per value, and undeserved honour is ligbtly esteemed. " Show- 

 ing, in many cases," said a good exhibitor to us, " has become 

 an absurdity — I sent a faulty pen for sale, and it took first 



prize." So far from being encouraged by it he is annoyed, and 

 says at present he shall give it up. 



We all know how difticult it is to attain anything like perfec- 

 tion. Wo would not, therefore, make a lirst-prize pen depend 

 on the exploit of reaching it ; but we would insist on its pos- 

 sessing sufficient merit to justify the awards in the eyes of one, 

 who, needing such, and trusting to the judges, would send his 

 money on the strength of it, in answer to an advertisement 

 offering it for sale. We believe the effect of withholding would 

 be to multiply shows and entries, because it would increase the 

 sale of first-prize birds. It would make exhibitors more care- 

 ful in their selection. It is notorious that at many of the 

 small local shows the best birds are not sent, because inferior 

 ones get first prize ; but if it were found that on such occasions 

 the first was withlield, better birds would soon be forthcoming. 

 No pen that is not highly meritorious should ever take a first 

 juize. Where there are not such, let the first be withheld ; 

 award the second and third. Again, if only one pen is shown, 

 and it deserves it, let it have the first. When a good exhibitor 

 writes from the north of England that a good white deaf ear 

 in Spangled Hamburghs is seldom seen at the shows there ; 

 another that a first-prize Game cock had such a crooked breast 

 that it was visible to the eye ; and another that the first-prize 

 Game Bantam had a squirrel tail ; it is necessarj- eitlier that 

 more pains be taken iu judging, or that more competent per- 

 sons be employed in the office ; or, and we think the mischief 

 lies here, that first prizes be withheld from inferior birds, 

 though they may be the best in their class. 



GAME BANTAJM PRIZES AT BIRMINGHAM. 



Will Game Bantam breeders join me in subscribing for an 

 extra cup to be oft'ered at Birmingham for the best pen of birds 

 iu cla.sses 82 and 84 .' I should also like to offer one for the best 

 bird in classes 8.'> and 86, if we could obtain the necessary funds. 

 If Cochin fanciers can raise £2.5 I think we ought to be able to 

 get £15 together. I shall be glad to give a guinea, and to receive 



