May 18, 1876. 1 



JOURNAL OF HORTIGULTOBE AND COTTAGE GABDENER. 



307 



good taste, bnt the varleRateil foliage would certainly prove most Btriking 

 outeide. Goldon Pyretlirum is only Rooi next the f^rass in a dry peasou, a, 

 little exoeea of rain causing it to bocomo cffensively greeu. This was 

 atrikingly exemplilied at the Crystal Palace last year. 



Cabpet Bedding (Joseph Carrick). — Most of the snccalents suitable for 

 this purpose may be kept in a cold frame from which frost and excessive 

 moisture is excluded. Some of the moet ustful are Ecbevcria secunda 

 glauca, E. glauca major, Kleinia ropons, Pachyphiton bracteosum, and Ha- 

 worthia cymbiforrais. Sorts that are quite hardy are alao Duraerous. The 

 tbres most popular are Sedum glaucum, Sempervivum cilifornicum, and 

 Sempervivum montanum. These-^with the aid of Golden Pyrethrum and 

 blue Lobelia, the hardy pearly grey-leaved Santolina incana, and equally 

 faardy Arabia alpina variegata— will afford material for some pretty designs, 

 which could of course be materially enriched and divcrsilied if you have any 

 means of procuring or wintering the more delicate Culeus, Alternantheras, 

 Ireaine, and variegated Mesembryanthemum, as tlten yon would he enabled 

 to add deep crimsons, pint, carmine, and pale yellow to your designs. 



Peach Leaves Spotted (E. B. T.).—lt the leaves eent are fair samples 

 of the foliage we cannot coincide with your opinion that the ppots are the 

 result of ricti soil. "We rather suspect that you have been cropping your old 

 trees too heavily, and perhaps their wood in consequencD wis not thoroughly 

 matured last autumn. Certainly the loaves lack vigour, being small, thin, 

 and deficient in colour. Foliage of this character is especially Busceptible of 

 injury, and great care in ventilation is necesflary— a little air btiug admitted 

 all night, addmg more a3 the temperature rises very early in the morning. 

 If jour trees are heavily cropped we should thin-out the fruit, pick off all the 

 worst-affected leaves, and give the roots a soaking with tepid soot and guano 

 water. Immerse a peck of soot in about thirty gallons of water, and add to 

 €ach gallon at the time of applying it half an ounce of guano. A syringing 

 also of perfectly clear soot water would be beneficial. We think deficient root 

 action is, in a great measure, the source of the injaiy of ■»hich you complain. 



Painting Hot-water Pipes (Horace). — Brunswick black mixed with 

 linseed oil may be used without injuring the plants. 



Urine as a Manure (H. F,). — You had better mix with every 71ba. of it 

 1 lb. of gypsum (sulphate of lime). The fresher the nrino is when so treated 

 and applied to the soil the better. It is a very powerful manure, and a very 

 email quantity is sufficient for flowering plants. To kitchen-garden crops it 

 may be applied more liberally. 



UNDERaRowTH AMf^NG SCOTCH FiRS (Thiiigs Wick). — Provided the trees 

 are not bo close as to make a dense shade, and the soil being sandy, the very 

 beet plant for your purpose is the wild Fine-leaved Heath (Erica cicereal, and 

 with it you may mingle the Ling (Calluna vulgaris). Pat in very small plants 

 of not more than two or three years' growth a few inches apart, let them grow 

 freely for a couple of years so as to become thoroughly established, and you 

 may then treat them as you please, for they bear close-pruning admirably; 

 and you might either keep the whole of them clo^o to the surface by means of 

 an annual mowing with a scythe, or part might bo so treated, leaving an 

 occasional clump to grow wild. By no means attempt doing this with old 

 plants, as failure would inevitably ensue. Should you follow our advice in 

 this matter, and require a little variety in the clumps— Ivy, the small-leaved 

 Periwink'e and St. John's Wort (Hfpeiicum calycJnum) will all flourish 

 under trees, and are all desirable from their evergreen character. A little 

 Bracken and other hardy Ferns would also tell well in summer. Moss is not 

 recommended for such a position, from its liability in sandy soil to become 

 parched and rusty-looking iu hot weather. 



Insect on Feens IE. S. r,).~It is the turtle scale (Coccus testudo). Dip 

 the Ferns into a mixture of soft eoap and flowers of sulphur, each half a 

 pound, of tobacco a quarter of a pound. Mix the sulphur and soap into a 

 paste, boil the tobacco in a quart of water, mix it with the paste, and add 

 the whole to a gallon of water. 



Insects o:i Babk op Pear Tree (H. H. B.). — Tbe small grubs which 

 have formed burrows in the bark of yonr old Jargonelle and Swan Egg Pear 

 trees are the caterpillars of a small moth, probably (Ecopophora sulphorella. 

 We believe it is only in the dtad and decayed bark that they occur. If so, 

 the bark should be rasped o2.— I. O. W. 



Names of Fruits (Connaugkt Subscriber). — 1, Winter'Codlin ; 2 and 3 

 cannot be identified. 



Names of Plants (R. t7.).— 1, Leaves only; 2, Veronica salicifolia; S, 

 Berberis Darwinii. ( T. P.). — 1, LunaTia biennis ; 2, Ribos flavum. ((?. J.). — 

 Acerplatanfjidee. ( W. T.). — Berberis Darwinii, Darwin's Berberry. (Jackson). 

 — 1, Polygala busifolia ; 2, Pteris cretica, var. (?) ; 3, Deutzia crenata, fl.-pl. ; 

 4, ErioBtemon buxifolius ; 5, Diosma ericoides, L. 



POULTRY, BEE, AND PIGEON OHEONIOLE. 



POULTRY AND BIRD NEWS AND QUERIES. 



We have in one of our chicken bonseB two hirds' nests. The 

 house is thatched, and under the thatch a Wren has built its 

 little home, and now has six eggs; while the Blackbird built 

 on a cross beam where some furze had been placed to keep birds 

 from roosting, and has four eggs due to hatch this week. They 

 are excellent friends these two couples, and are very tame. The 

 door is always open, in fact has been removed that a hen coop 

 may always be there in shelter for a young brood. The inmates 

 of the coop are Silkies, and the Wrens would go into the coop 

 and pick up the silky feathers which fell from the mother hen 

 before our eyes to line her nest. Unlike most Wrens, they do 

 not mind how often we put our fingers in the nest, and have 

 never objected from the first. The cock Blackbird is generally 

 Bitting on the coop when the hen is on her nest. 



We have just received the Portsmouth schedule. It is that 

 of the " Ornithological and Zoological Society." It is very 

 good in every way ; and though we have given up noticing the 

 schedules of the smaller shows, for from their immense number 

 we could not act fairly to all, stili we call attention to this one 

 because the whole ot the poultry cups are " point cups." For 



instance, instead of a cup for the best pen of Brahmas, it is a 

 cup for the greatest number of points iu the Brahma claBues. 

 The table of points is not in the schedule, but we learn that a 

 commendation counts one; high commendation, two; very high 

 commendation, three; fourth prize, four; third prize, five; 

 second prize, six ; and first, seven. The object of the point 

 cups we hear is "to pive a reward to all those who otherwise 

 only get commendations, the cups being generally taken by some 

 few gentlemen possessing a few good pens and entering them 

 at every show." We shall be curious to sec how the system 

 answers iu the way of the number of entries. The judges aro 

 not announced, which we always consider a great mistake. 



We have a strange Peacock come to us. It appeared one 

 morning, and has become quite at home. It is not in good 

 plumage, and looks as if it had been confined. Anyone having 

 lost such a bird can send a description to us through the Editors, 

 stating the locality where it was lost. 



We are receiving much better accounts of the hatchings in 

 various places. Some yards will be very late, but we think 

 many are in the same boat. The accounts of hatchings are very 

 different. We hear from Lincolnshire of one Cochin fancier 

 who hatched in February thirty-four chickens from thirty-seven 

 eggs, and all are doing well ; while another Cochin fancier iu 

 Somersetshire only hatched in February and March about 

 twenty-five chickens from 163 eggs. We believe a great deal 

 depended this season on the condition and coustitutions of the 

 breeding pens. 



At the late Maidstone Dog Show the new plan was tried of 

 putting catalogues in the hands of all the Judges, and so they 

 had no means of pretending to be ignorant as to the owners of 

 the animals. We believe the system would work well with 

 poultry exhibitions, and we should like to see it tried. It would 

 anyhow stop all those unpleasant whispers which will get circu- 

 lated of birds and numbers being known beforehand, and would 

 at least enable all committees to announce their judges' names 

 with impunity. 



The Alexandra Palace Grand Chicken Show is arranged for 

 October 14th, ICth, and 18th. We believe the schedule is in 

 course of preparation, as is that of the Great Oxford Chicken 

 Show. We believe both Secretaries— viz., Mr. W. J. Nicholla 

 or Mr. P. H. Jones of the former, and Mr. J. King of the latter, 

 will be glad to advance any breed by giving a class if a little 

 help is provided in case of a loss. Consequently all admirers of 

 the less cultivated breeds should lose no time in communicating 

 with those geutltmen. 



Mr. T. A. Dean's sale of adult Light Brahmas was not a very 

 great success in the way of long prices. The fact is it was a bad 

 time for such a sale. Many very good birds fetched only a few 

 shillings, but the quality was sufficiently good to make us expect 

 a good muster of valuable young birds at his coming chicken 

 sale. " Young Hero " was bonght-in. 



The next chapters of "Les Basses Conrs d'Angleterre " will 

 be on the yards of Mr. O. B. Cresswell of Bagshot, we hope with 

 an illustration, and on some of the great eastern yards. They 

 will recommence next month. 



Those who want shade in the scorching suns of July and 

 August in their poultry runs, should at once sow seeds of arti- 

 chokes, sunflowers, and hollyhocks. The seeds had better be 

 sown in some good soil and transplanted when sufficiently 

 grown to where they are wanted to grow. The seeds of the 

 sunflowers are very wholesome for the poultry and stimulate 

 laying. We saw last year a bare run made quite ornamental 

 with a grove of Jerusalem artichokes in the centre, and holly- 

 hocks of all colours round them. It the birds are in the runs 

 where their shade is wanted, the plants or seeds must be fenced 

 round with wire until the plants are sufficiently strong and 

 large to withstand the movements and scratching propensities 

 of the birds. 



All who are short of grass runs and can spare a few feet of 

 garden ground should now also seeds of the Swede turnips or 

 mangolds. It is marvellous how the birds enjoy the roots, and 

 do not leave them alone until they have scooped-out every 

 morsel of fleshy matter, leaving only the bare skin or shell. 

 These roots not only keep the birds in health by affording vege- 

 table matter, but by continually keeping the birds occupied and 

 busy. Mr. Burnell we know uses them extensively, and Mr. 

 Norwood, the White-crested Black Poland breeder of SaUsbury, 

 sets aside annually a goodly piece of his garden for the pro- 

 duction of these roots. We have the strongest belief in large 

 quantities of vegetable produce for birds kept in confinement, 

 and we would recommend plenty of lettuces being raised by 

 those who have space for the birds in the hot summer months, 

 for after the salads have been prepared for the house, all the 

 outer leaves and plants which ran to seed make capital green 

 food for all birds. — W. 



The degree of cold which a hen's egg can bear without losing 

 its power of development has lately been investigated by 

 M. Colasanti. Having first observed that salt water at ordi- 



