482 



JOUBNAL OP HOBTICULTUEE A^'D COTTAGE GAKDENER. 



t Jimo sc, isee. 



Steam fbom Zinc THorcns (J. F.).— We baTcbnd an open tank of zinc 

 and ncvor Innnd the rtcftui ansmg from it in nny wny injuri'ius to tiiu 

 plantB in the houBO, nnd wt- hnvo hndtronphf inadt'of zim- to lit tht- flow- 

 pipe of a \incry. aud tho^^■h we kept them full vt watt-r tlic '■tL-am did 

 not in the slightest degree prodnce any EcorcbinR effects on tJie loaves of 

 the Vines. Wo can only account for the leaves brink' Hogrchid by sup- 

 posing tbem to have hud the moiBtarc frnui the trou^'hs condenbcd on 

 them dnring the nigbt, and the snn shining; on the leaver whilst wet 

 wonld, enpiiusiiip tbcrt; wni^ no air, cause tscorcbinp. Through B>Tinging 

 the pipes on a dull mcming to rai^o stcaui, and Uic »iiu brc-akiuK out 

 imexpoctedly, we have bud leaves ecorcbcd when no air was given to 

 allow of the egcapo of the moisture as it beeanio rapidly heated I<y tho 

 Bon'fl rayp.or rather from tho atmosphere being Batnrnted with moisture, 

 BO that there was no evaparatioii of the water on tlio loaves ; tho water 

 standing on tho leaves eonscqucntlj became i>o heated as to scordj 

 them. 



Slugs (E. B.).— All that you can do to protect yonr plants, either in the 

 kitchen garden or flower giirden, is to water the surface slightly ever>' 

 evening with limo water. Sprinkling slaked lime among tlio kitchou 

 garden crops will also keop tho Blugs in check. Ax the soil is naturally 

 wet, the only ellectual preventives will be druiuiug it, and burning about 

 six inches of tho entire surface. 



Plants Eaten bt CATF.RpiLians fG. K. 5.1.— We think the Icstm of 

 tbu Calcoolnrias and Verbeniu cnclosod are oaten bv wime caterpillar, 

 wliich we think you will find if yuu eiainine tho under tide of the leaves 

 minutely. Your only plan wUl he to have them picked off bv band. Per- 

 haps if yon were to look later in tho evening than seven o'clock yoa 

 would be ablu to find your eneuiy at wi>rk. To the kitchen garden w« 

 Would advice a dressing of fresh-blacked limo over the whole <jf the crops, 

 and sprinkling drj' soot over Uioso imrticiilarly infested. Apply the Umft 

 iu tbu evening before dark, but the laU-r the bettor. 



Exudation on Black HAHBumiU Gkapes (3/. A. JT.).— Tho Orapo 

 was crushed by tho stamping of the post-office officials, so that no ex- 

 udation could be detected. Probably it arises from the very vigoroas 

 growth of the Vinos. Admit air more liberally, and keep the roots dxior. 



Seedling Calceolaiuas iS. W. A'.).— Tbey arc pretty, but for inferior 

 in size and form to many others. The culijiin* and marks are not novel. 



Names of Plants (iv. T.).— 1, Clematis montana; 2, Linaria cvmbala- 

 ria; S, Sedum aero: 4, Taxodium distichum. p/r«. J/.).— CalHstemon 

 lauceolatuf^. (Afr ^f(/r<-rf).— Ruhnsodoratus. (f«a).—p9a. uncertain what 

 species. {L. A.). — I, Escallonia rubra ; 2, Lcncatboe axillaris. Tar. 

 {Alex. In/}ram).~Tho iragments forwarded to us are iu'>u^citiat for 

 determining onjlUiug more than the family. 



IIETEOROLOGICAL OBSEKVATIONS in the Suburbs of London for the Week ending? June *23rd. 



POULTRY, BEE, aad HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



POULTRY AT READING. 



It is always agreeable to the feelings to look upon robust old 

 age — old age when the mind is strengthened rather than weak- 

 ened by time, and the body stands, as stands some ivy-covered 

 Gothic tower, strong as the day it was finished, and far more 

 ornamental. Such was the old age of our Lyudhurst and Pal- 

 merston ; and not nnfrequently we clergymen find aged poor 

 whose minda have been in their latter years improved and 

 refined by religion, while their bodies have continued perfectly 

 ■rigorous. Next to persons, I like to look upon places that are 

 old, but bear no traces of decay. Such, for instance, is Read- 

 ing, where was buried, iu a rich and noble abbey. King Henry I. 

 — a place of mark then, in the twelfth century ; and in the 

 time of the civil war Eeading was esteemed a place of consider- 

 able strength, and the king's garrison which lay nearest to 

 London was here, and 18,000 men — so formidable was Eead- 

 ing — were obliged to carry on the siege by regular approaches, 

 BO that it was a town having a large population in the seven- 

 teenth century. And now in the latter half of the nineteenth 

 centui-y I find Keading rich, and busy, and increasing, as its 

 new houses for rich and ])oor, and its new churches, plainly 

 show. So here is an old town \ngorous and thriving, extending 

 each year further and further, and holding up its head as im- 

 portantly as ever among the towns of gravelly, sunny, Thames- 

 bounded Berkshire. 



I found the Show at a convenient distance from the station ; 

 and although my eye was as yet somewhat filled with Salisbury 

 Show, and therefore almost any such meeting must look small 

 by comparison, yet I soon found that I was present at an ex- 

 hibition well worthy in all its parts of careful attention. I 

 was among those early ones who were kept waiting outside the 

 gate until the ckck struck eleven. It is always pleasant to be 

 early at a show. " The early bird gets the worm," (how foolish 

 of the worm not to go to his bed a little sooner) ; and one who 

 arrives first is sure to be rewarded with some extra amusement 

 in watching the coming-in of others. Away at once to where 

 those vigorous crowings beckon me. I find myself almost 

 alone, save those sleepy-looking guardians of their master's 

 and mistress's fowls, who delight to loll on bundles of straw 

 or sit on empty hampers, and then dose and yawn. Soon 

 come in the exhibitors, breathless, highly exoited, as eager to 

 know their fate as ministers after a reform debate. There at 



a quick march, almost double quick, come a brace of ladies. 

 An eye-glass is raised, and 1 hear a loudly expressed "Well 

 done ! I have won the first prize. 'U'hat a triumph ! How 

 very nice, dear 1 " Then the answer from the devoted friend 

 whose vision is clearer — " I don't think those are yoirr birds, 



dear. The catalogue says they belong to Mr. ." The 



delighted smile gives place to a look of amazement, that to dis- 

 appointment, that to despair and depression combined, soon, 

 however, alleviated by a good fit of grumbling, in which th« 

 Judge, tlie Committee, and the other exhibitors are not spared ; 

 and ten minutes afterwards self-complacency is entirely re- 

 stored, and the words, "Wo'n't I beat next time, that's all !" 

 are heard. The poultry tent was of sufficient size ; so were 

 the pens, which were not made of wood with wire fronts — not 

 pens, in fact, of the rabbit-hutch typo — but the sides were of 

 galvanised iron, and top, back, and front wire. Hence there wag 

 a lightness and coolness, for a sunSmer show especially, which 

 was excellent. Then, the middle rows standing back to back, 

 you saw through two pens at once, and the effect was very 

 pleasing, and the Show appeared twice its size. It was the 

 difference between an ugly wooden fence and a division of light 

 iron railings. Away, then, with the wooden rabbit-hutches. 

 Let committees of smaller shows hire these pens. I heard 

 they came from Sheffield. They are light for carriage, and I 

 think take to pieces, and if so, would pack in small compass. 

 Let us everywhere have these, or Buch-Uke elegant, durable 

 pens, where no vermin can lurk, and where the means of 

 seeing is so much improved by there being light at the back of 

 the birds. 



I foimd that tho Dorkings were here Class A — their right 

 place in my humble opinion, as they, beyond all fowls, are the 

 most useftJ. It was a strong class, there being fourteen pens, 

 but Captain Lane's was by far the test ; the cock is a wonder- 

 ful bird. The youngest amateur present would as readily have 

 given the first prize to this pen as the Judge, the superiority of 

 the bird was so marked. Miss MUward was second, Mr. Parlett 

 third. The Game class was a good one, especially con- 

 sidering that not one pen came from the north of England, so 

 without such mighty help we could look npon good birds, 

 whieh was creditable to the south. Polands, — there were my 

 old black friends from Lyndhurst, and it is encouraging to the 

 few Polish breeders that every one of the four pens was dis- 

 tiuguished by prizes or high commendations. Spanish, only 

 three pens present ; Mr. Heath's were entered, but did not 

 appear, probably worn out by their week at Salisbury. A week 

 is too long a time for a summer show, bnt one day is certainly 

 too short for such a show as the Hants and Berks. X forgot to 



