386 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[May 26, 1863. 



Temperature for Epacriseb ahd Azaleas Cut Back [A Subscriber).— 

 The Azaleas may have 50° at first, increasing to 60°. The Epacrises much 

 the same ; bat increase the heat gradually, and give a rest first of ten 

 days or a fortnight. See "Doings of Last Week." You cannot have a 

 better guide than Keane's "In-door Gardening," which you can have from 

 our office free by post for twenty postage stamps. 



Sweet-scented Geranium and Verbena Cuttings (Ignoramus).— Nothing 

 is more easy to strike than these, especially in spring, when cuttings may be 

 put into ordinary sandy soil, with a little clean sand at top ; and the pots 

 Being half plunged into some bed, with a little bottom heat, and slightly 

 shaded for a few days, they speedily become plants ; and by being allowed 

 to remain there, the tops of Verbenas are often taken off and made into 

 more cuttings. This is especially the case with scarce ones. 



Water for a Conservatory (A Subscriber). — Why not have a tank 

 Blink in the floor, with a gutter round the eaves of the roof communicating 

 with the tank by a stock-pipe t We have found the rain collected from 

 such a roof sufficient for the supply of all the inhabitants of a conservatory. 

 lf_ you live in the east of England, where the rainfall is least, the supply 

 might not be quite enough. From such a tank, by the aid of a hydropult, 

 you might water the plants easily and efficiently. If you fear that in 

 excessive rains the tank might overflow, could you not have an escape-pipe 

 from it? The tank might be outside, and even at a distance, by continuing 

 the stock-pipe to it ; and then any little iron pump might be fitted to the 

 tank. When the tank is inside the conservatory, the water is always of a 

 genial temperature. 



Retarding the Flowering of Fuchsias, Geraniums, &c. ( W. Miller). 

 — The greenhouse varieties of Pelargonium may be kept from flowering 

 by being placed on the north side of a wall after being repotted, and 

 pinching off the flower-buds as they appear, until the time when they are 

 wanted. A like treatment will also enable you to have Scarlet Geraniums 

 in good condition ; or, if you let the latter flower as early as you can, and 

 then cut off all the flowers and repot, the second crop will come in about 

 the time you speak of. Fuchsias, when good, remain long enough in flower 

 to satisfy most people ; but you may retard them by turning them out of 

 doors ; and, if they were plunged in a gentle hotbed, with their tops quite 

 exposed, short-jointed fine-grown plants would be just coming into flower 

 at the time you want them. We do not know of any work bearing on the 

 treatment of these particular plants, but much may be learned by reading 

 our back Numbers on this subject. 



German Asters Attaczed by Blight (H. C. Morton).— This is a very 

 common occurrence, but coming at a particularly busy time it is often 

 neglected. A syringing with tobacco liquor will be of much use ; and if 

 any tokens of insects appear on the plants at the time of transplanting, it 

 is easy to dip their tops in a weak decoction of tobacco. Generally speaking 

 It is an aphis that is the cause of this evil. If, however, it be a mildew, 

 sulphur may be applied ; but this cannot be done so well except at the 

 planting time, when their tops being dipped in tobacco liquor as above, tbey 

 may then be dusted with sulphur, and will do much towards preventing the 

 evil complained ot. 



Wind Injuring Newly-Planted Calceolarias, &c. (W. C. H. D.A.). — 

 It is not unlikely but the late winds may have been hurtful, if not fatal, to 

 a great many things ; but in your case we would advise the Calceolarias 

 being left alone, when they will recover in time. We suspect your plants 

 have been too much coddled before planting-out. Ours of ihe same kind 

 were planted-out early in April, having previously been fully exposed for 

 some weeks before; and now they are dwarf, bushy, fine plants, only 

 waiting for a good rain to start them into vigorous growth and flowering. 

 Cutting down the plants in their present condition will only retard their 

 "Ultimate success. If you had taken the precaution of sticking or laying 

 a few laurel boughs over your bed, much injury from the wind would have 

 been averted. 



Propagating Double Chinese Primula (R. T. G.).— You must wait 

 until you can obtain side shoois about l£ inch long, when they may be 

 taken off with the knife and inserted in sandy peat, and placed in the 

 striking-pit or hotbed. Generally, it is best to allow a plant to grow to a 

 good size and then to cut it into pieces, and each cutting or side shoot will 

 become a plant. This is better than mutilating specimens, as they furnish 

 cuttings only tardily. 



Names of Plants [S. Lake).—!, Rhododendron glaucum; 2, Boronia 

 tetrandra; 3, an Oxalis, apparently violacea. (M. £., Staffordshire), — 

 Nothing but Cystopteris fragilis, though a small neat form. In Gladiolus 

 the accent is on the i; in fact theo is not pronounced at all. (H. P. J}.).— 



1, Koniga maritima variegata, or Alyssum maritimum variegatum ; 



2, Arabis alpina variegata. 



POULTRY, BEE, and HOUSEHOLD CHRONICLE. 



.POULTRY SHOWS. 



Mat 28th. North Hants. Sec, Mr. Henry Downs, Basingstoke. Entries 



close April 23rd. 

 June 3rd. Beverley. Secs. t H. Adams and J. Kemp, jun. 

 June 11th. Thokne. Sec., Mr. Jos. Richardson. 

 July 2nd. Peescot. Sec, Mr. James Beesley. 

 July 20th to 24th. "Worcestershire. Sec, Mr. J. Holland, Chesnut 



Walk, Worcester. Entries close June 20th. 

 August 29th. Halifax and Caldek Vale. Sec, Mr. W. Irvine, Halifax. 

 September 2nd. Cottingham. Sec, Mr. J. Brittain. 



QUERIES ABOUT BIRDS FOR EXHIBITION. 



A teky valued correspondent wishes for a sort of chatty paper 

 on points that have an interest for him just now. We believe 

 many arc in the same predicament ; and as it is rather soothing 

 to our ideas of our own knowledge of the subject and of our own 

 position in the poultry world to be appealed to, we think we 

 will have a familiar " talk " with our friends. We will dismount 

 and speak with them on level ground. 



We know the difficulty of getting perfect birds as well as any 



one — we consider it almost an impossibility. Our correspondent 

 puts it so well and truthfully, that we cannot do better than 

 quote from him. " You know the difficulty of getting a perfect 

 bird ; and when by eye you have selected an Apollo, you find 

 on handling his breast is a few degrees out of the straight line. 

 Would such a fault be destruction to his hopes as a prize bird ?" 

 If the competition were very close we say it would, but it must 

 be very close. There is only one breed in which a crooked 

 breast is a positive disqualification, that is in Game. 



We think we can easily show why that is venial in one which 

 is fatal to the other. The ends of the two breeds are opposed. 

 In one we want hard flesh and feather, perfect symmetry and 

 harmony of shape, the greatest possible endurance and activity. 

 The two last properties must depend, not only on fault ess pro- 

 portions, but on strength of constitution. 



It is undoubtedly true that in some cases a crooked breast is 

 an hereditary failing, but in others it is the result of fast growth 

 and of early hatching. The Game fowl is not hatched in Jan- 

 uary ; his properties can be developed only by taking advantage 

 of every favourable circumstance — warm weather, short nights, 

 and natural season : hence he generally enters the world in April 

 or May. He is not bred for me table, and is treated with 

 stimulantB at all ages. The Dorking is the reverse. He is bred 

 only for the table. Hardness is a defect with him when a 

 chicken ; nourishment is substituted for stimulants. He is re- 

 quired to be quiet and easy to acquire size and to put oa fat. 

 The profit of the breed depends much on early hatching. The 

 chickens see the light in January ; by dint of food and pains- 

 taking they are large chickens in March — too large for maternal 

 care, and they perch. This is the root of the evil. The sharp, 

 clever, strong Game chicken clasps the perch with his toes, 

 holds on securely and without effort in July when he is three 

 months old. The heavy forced Dorking is a large fowl at the 

 same age, and he attains it in March. He has to perch five 

 hours longer than the Game ; his large long frame and rapid 

 growth, unfavourable to muscular development, have not strength 

 in the feet to clasp a perch and maintain the position by the 

 mere fact of doing so. He attempts it, but the feet get gradually 

 wider apart, and the body descends little by little till at last 

 tlie long cartilaginous breastbone reefs on the perch, and it 

 remains there during the long hours of a winter's night. As 

 this is constantly occurring, there is small wonder if it takes the 

 form of the perch, or, at least, contracts a curve. It seems to 

 us that this explains why the same tiling may disqualify one 

 bird and be allowed in another. We still hold a crooked breast 

 to be a defect, but we do not think it should disqualify a 

 Dorking. 



Now we have to deal witli another query. " Which is the 

 greater fault — a somewhat irregular foot or curvature of the 

 breast?" 



We do not know what an irregular foot is. Has it only four 

 toes ? Is it clubbed ? Is it turned the wrong way ? Which- 

 ever it may bs, we prefer the breast-curvature for competition. 

 This latter will be detected by handling only. The other is 

 plain to the sight, and will at once disqualify, rendering useless 

 all the good qualities that handling might discover. 



" Are very early birds to be relied on for Birmingham ? My 

 January pullets are laying." 



April and in some cases May birds are early enough for winter 

 exhibition ; as a rule among pullets we would at a .December 

 show rather take May than January birds for success. The 

 latter are hens. 



"Do you think it well to keep the sexes separate ? " 

 In selecting birds either for stock or exhibition we would 

 always keep them separate if we could. It is more important 

 for the cocks than pullets. If they cau be kept separate till they 

 are eight or nine months old it is much in their favour. 



agricultural hall poultry show. 



In connection with the Great International Dog Show that is 

 held during the present week at the new Agricultural Hall at 

 Islington, a Poultry Show has been organised. 



This is held in the minor hall, a very large well-lighted 

 structure that is admirably adapted for the purpose. The pens, 

 which are of wire, are arranged round the sides, and also form 

 three double rows down the centre, with wide aisles between 

 capable of accommodating a very large number of visitors. 



The general management is in the hands of Mess.s. <)..ug^as 



