May 29, 1866. ] 



JOUIiNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



409 



Azaleas IK Room (M. C.).— Providiuy the room is light, and the plants 

 kept near the glass, yon may keep Azaleas there Jn autumn and winter ; 

 bat they will not dn so well as if kept in a precnhonse ; and thoy will need 

 placing in a warm and moist house to make frrnwth after Ilowering, to 

 secure new growth, and the sotting of the bloom-buds. Though you can 

 keep them in a room,itisnot desirable to do so longer than can be'helped. 

 A few days whilst in bloom do not do them any groat harm ; but, as a 

 rule, it shonld be restricted to that. 



EucHARiSAMAZONicAKOTRr.noMiNG(Mrm).— Your plant does not bloom 

 becanse the annual growth it* not well ripened. AftertliegroMh is made, 

 expose folly to Hght and air, give no more water than sufficient to prevent 

 the foUflge flngging. and it will bloom in due season. Get a good growth, 

 and well ripen it off. 



Geraniitm Lord of the Isles Bloom (Idrm).~Thc flowers of this 

 have a tendency to be crumpled and not t.. open flat, it being aggravated 

 Z °i**' ventilating so as to avoid cold currents, and the absence of a slight 

 shade will cause it, as will the plants being attacked by aphis. 



Wall for Peach Trek (.1 Subscriber, i,i/u/).— Your wall (8 feet), la 

 sufficiently high, and the trees should bo pruned level with the top of 

 the wall. Yon may also raiso the wall as you propose, but it is quite un- 

 necessary, unless you have some other object in view. 



Seedling Scaelet Pelargoniums ; ThomaJt .9a»t;Mon).— Your seedling 

 Pelargoniiinia appear tu be of the right sort, and although similar to 

 some already before the public, they are of great merit. The deep 



rose flower of the Christine section is very good, and thn brilliant scarlet 

 Nosegay a very promising flower. There is groat substiuuce and Bmuoth- 

 no?s of petal in all thii a<^odling55, but to arrive at their reapeetivo nierita 

 they must be cnmparcil with others. Seedling PelargnniuiiW are In- 

 numerable. Could you not name thom ? Send some plants for the opinion 

 of tlio Floral Committee, South Kensington ; you would then ascertain 

 their value and merits. 



Glass (NpoMin^).— Hartley's rough plato glass is the kind you alluda 

 to, probably. Any wholesale draler in glass who advertises in our columns 

 can supply you. You had better write to one or two for prices. 



Scale (S. ^.1.— The sc.ile ()n your Plum tree may bo a new species of 

 Coccus, but more i)robably C. porsica.'. 



Applying Guano Water m Dry Weatiier (.^/rn^s)-— There is not the 

 least objoetion to your using guano water, 2 ozs. to the gallon of water, to 

 Strawberries and Roses during dry we.ither; but at such times, and such 

 only, can manure water bo of beiieflt, for in moist weather water is not 

 needed, and any manure applied then are hest given on the surface so 

 that the raius may wash it in. Guano water will injure the blossoms if 

 it touches them. It should be appUed between the ro.vs of the Straw-, 

 berries, a good watering being more efficacious than many dribblets. ,_, 



Names of Plaitts (H. K".).— Caladium Belleymei. {M. E. M.).—l, Blech-', 

 nam occiilentalo ; 2, Scolopendrium vulgare. rar. cristatum; 8, Asple- 

 nium bulbifcrum. (F. Anoei).—!, Aster fruticosus ; 2. Ciatus ladani- 

 ferus; S, Lisianthus; 4, Cantua buxifolia ; 5, Solanum capsicastrum. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the Week ending May 20th. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE- 



WOODBrJDGE EXHIBITION OF POULTRY. 



Tms Show has now heen most successfully carried on for the last 

 five years, and year by year its imi>roved cbaraeter has reflected mnch 

 credit on its management. The whole of the suiTonndin^ neighbour- 

 hood is most rural and pleasant ; and the spring-tide of the year, when 

 the leafage shows in such splendid contrast to the blooms of the Horse 

 Chestnuts, now at their prime, is just the season of all others to attract 

 the visits of those persona whoso lot it may be to spend their days 

 within the limits of popnlons towns. To such individuals the contrast 

 of a " country out " is most covctable, and the attractions of ringing 

 of the church bells, and the perfonnances of the Third Volunteer 

 Band, togetber with a local drum and fife band, each and all vied to 

 draw together as large u company as possitle. Again, the suburbs of 

 Woodbridge are notorious for the abundance of its Nightingales — so 

 much so, that it is not by any means an nncommon occnrrence to 

 hear three or four of these birds singing at the same time on the show 

 grounds, and not a few visitors availed themselves of thii^ opportunity 

 of listening to these charming songsters. In the burial ground belonging 

 to the Seckford Almshouses, not far distant, the Nightingales may 

 also be heard to great advantage, both by night and day, singing as it 

 were a requiem over the bodies of those aged participators in this very 

 excellent charity who are already called to their *' long homo." In 

 proof of the salubrity of this situation, by referinng to the numerous 

 tomhstones we find the shortest-lived had weathered through eisty- 

 four summers, and that the majority had closely approximated to one 

 hundred. 



By the very kind permission i>f Colonel Long, the Abbey Grounds 

 were thrown open, as heretofore, for the purposes of the Poultry Show. 

 They ore singularly well adapted for such a meeting, and two largo 

 tents erected on the lawn provided thoroughly against every possible 

 exigence of weather that might have aii.sen, but most fortunately the 

 day was very propitious. Mr. Cooke, of Colchester, provided the pens, 

 than which none can he better suited for the purposes of a show. The 

 gi-eatest cleanliness was observed throughout, and the popular ex- 

 pression of gratification was general among all comers. 



The Woodbridge Show was strong in the (iame classes, Mr. Ma- 

 thews, the well-known Game breeder of Stowmarket, exhibiting a 

 most splendid collection, and as will be seen by consulting the prize 

 list appended, taking no inconsiderable portion of the prizes allotted 

 to these classes, and in the first class all three. A most capital Duck- 

 wing hen shown with one toe altogether deficient, from some previous 

 mishap or other, lost this gentleman, we are told, still another side- 

 board trophy. Sir. James Fletcher, of Manchester, showed some ex- 

 cellent Ductwings, and also obtained a plate premium. The Vvrking 

 does contained a most worthy muster of good birds, but from their 



owner's mismanagement great numbers of them were sadly diseased in 

 the feet and toes. It cannot be too strongly impressed on Dorking 

 breeders, that the perches used as roostiug-placcs for these weighty 

 birds shonld never bo above 2 feet from the ground. If placed higher, 

 bruised toes and nlcei-ated feet are the inevitable result. Many verjr 

 good individual birds of this breed were shown in the " Selling Class, ' 

 but not matched in feather properly for exhibition. In Cuchim, the 

 Partridge-coloured were mostly very pood, whilst many pons of good 

 Buffs were also shown. The three prize pens of Black iipwnsh wero 

 capital birds, and the two principal ones were exceedingly well shown 

 In Ihahmus. the dark-feathered variety were worthy of especial 

 mention, and obtained the extra cnp for Brahmaa. " dark or light- 

 coloured." The latter variety were deficient in substance. The 

 Golden-spangled Il(imlmrqh.t were remarkably good, and the Silver- 

 spangled but' little inferior. In the last-named class we regret to find 

 Mr. A. K. Wood, of Bumside, Kendal, lost a most excellent hen. She 

 was reported as being dead by the guard in charge of the tram on the 

 railway, on her reaching the" Bishopsgate Station, and certainly ap- 

 peared on her arrival at Woodbridge to have heen dead a considerable 

 time. It is a serious loss to the owner, as it will be an unusually 

 difficult task to replace her. She was without any delay repacked in 

 a small basket and sent back to the owner ; the cock, however, re- 

 mained a solitarv ocenpant of the pen allotted to them, and was a re- 

 markably good specimen. The Silver-pencilled Hamburghs were not 

 at all a first-rate class, bnt the class for " Any other variety of fowls," 

 was capital. La Fliche. Houdans, and Silver-spangled Polands were 

 tho successful breeds ; bnt Rnmpless, White Silks, and a very smgular 

 pen of Cuckoo-coloured Rnmpless, are mentioned in tlie prize list. 

 We cannot speak so highly of the Game Bantam class as of single 

 Game Bantam cocks, the excellence being limited almost exclusively 

 to the winners only. In " Any other variety Bantam class,' Birchen 

 Greys stood first, and some good Japanese were the recipients of the 

 second prize. .,,..■, i-i- 



The Kouen and Aylesbury Durhs vrere good, bnt the competition 

 was vei-j- limited. Tlie same may be said respecting both the Oeeae 

 and Titrkpiia. . . 



The /Vi/ivx! premiums being confined to a first and second pm« 

 only, drew out but few competit-n-s, though any breed were "'>• able 

 Tho tirat was taken by Black Carriers, and the soi-oud by Black 

 Magpies. - , , ., 



Vei7 unfortunately from some mismanagement on the part ot uie 

 raUway authorities, a verj- considerable number ot pens were delayed 

 until tho morning following the arbitrations, and were of neces.sity 

 entirely thro™ out of all chances of prizotaking. In faot, """"Of 

 the baskets of fowls were actaally just come to the Woodbridge Railway 

 Station, when the Judge was baring tho next morning. 1 he re ap- 

 peared to be above a dozen in number by tliis train, mdopendcntly of 

 even a hirger nunntity, that were too late for oompctitiou the night 

 before, though the awBrda had been purposely delayed till erenrng 

 It certainly appears at first sight somewhat inexpUcoble how it should 



