NoTember SO, 1871. 3 



JOURNAL OP HOBTIOULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



425 



rich, add lime rubbish, and some of yonr mountain soil. We hardly 

 understand about Irish peat. If it is such as has been formed under 

 water, and used as fuel, we would not use it at all in a Vine border. 



Heating (D A.). — There can be no difficulty in keepinc* out frost from 

 a house 20 feet Ions by 14 feet wide, without goinGT to the expense of a 

 boiler and pipes, &c. We do not know the radiating stove of which 

 you ppeak, but ai>y 8*ove will do if there is an outlet for the smoke. 

 We kept the frost out of a lofty corridor, painted buck wal!, hipped roof, 

 front glass to the frround some 10 feet in height, width of house 10 feet, 

 and length about 40 feet, with a round stove of Brown & Green'?, about 

 12 inches in diamet<?r placed at one end, and plants were kept in bloom 

 all the winter and spring We have an old iron stove in the middle 

 of a house 7l) feet by 11 feet, and that has kect Scarlet Geraniums and 

 other plants safe as yet. As the stove is very old, we have moved all such 

 tender plnnts to-day for a couple of yards from the extreme end. For 

 yonr half division, 20 feet, you might have less trouble with a small iron 

 stove, the fire-box lined with firebrick. As you wish to study the greatest 

 economy, we w^uld have a brick stove, in the mode referred to at page 

 402. We should say the want of colour in the Grapes was more owing to 

 bulk of crop than want of heat ; however, a little heat would assist. 



Naute of Fkuit {TV. K., Angmerino). — Morris's Nonpareil Russet. 



Names of Plants {F. H.).—1, Leucopogon lanceolatus; 2, Hemero' 

 callis fulva variegata ; 8, Selaginella pubescens ; 4, Pt-^ris, apparently 

 some form of P. aquiina, not typical however ; 5, Eleehnum occidentale ; 

 6, Woodwardia radicans ; 7, Gaultheria Shallon ; 8, Platyloma rotundi- 

 folia. (W. W. W.). — Pelargonium echinatum. a very interesting as well 

 as beautiful plant, the great wonder is that it should be so little known 

 and appreciated, 1, Microlepia nnvre-zelandiEe ; 2, Pteris serrnlata ; 

 8, Pteris C'etica alho-lineata ; 4, Litobrochia pedata. in all probability, 

 but very young, scarcely in character. We do not at all approve of your 

 plan of u-'ing the refuse of your faggot-heap, unless, indeed, it be quite 

 free from fuogi, which is scarcely likely. In any case use it more in the 

 place of a subsoil, and give it a good surfacing of some better material 

 if you wish to utilise it for the purpose you name. We should certainly 

 do this in preference to mixing uniformly. (Bush). — Nerine undulata. 

 (IF. TF.).— The Palm bearing the Dates sold by grocers is the Phceuis 

 dactylifera. 



POULTRY. BSE, A^D PIGEON CHROI^ICLE. 



BIRMINGHAM POULTRY SHOW. 

 The greit annual reunion to "whicli so many — may we nofc say 

 all ? — poultry fanciers look forward, manifests this y-ar a marked 

 superiority in many classes ; and, indeed, as a w^hole, the quality 

 of the birds is better than usual, though the number of i^ntries 

 is slii^htly less in the poultry classes through the Crystal Palace 

 competition. The total number of poultry entries at the present 

 Show is 2087, against 2125 last year, and it may be interesting 

 to give the comparative numbers of the different breeds, which 

 are as follows : — 



1870. 1871. 



Dorkings 294 .. 2S0 



Cochins 3^3 .. 261 



Brabmas 261 .. 346 



Malays 27 .. 16 



Creve-Cceurs 41 .. 3S 



Houdnns 58 . . 42 



La Fleche 8 ,. 10 



Spanish 72 ., 86 



Hamburcfhs 195 . . 105 



1870. ' 1871. 



Polish 68 .. 58 



Apy variety 44 . . 19 



Game' 342 .. 882 



Bantams 59 .. 44 



Game Bantams ..115 .. 109 



Ducks 120 .. 103 



Geese 36 , . 30 



Turkeys 67 .. 55 



It will be seen that the decrease is pretty general throughout 

 the classes, but e-pecially in Hambur^hs, which number little 

 more than half of last yeai's entries, and '' Any variety " are even 

 less than half, the mistaken policy of cutting down the latter to 

 only one class of three prizes thus bearing its legitimate fruit. 

 Spanish show a small increase, but the only marked growth is 

 in the case of Game and Brahmas. The increase in these latter 

 ia the most marked feature of the present Show. 



In proceeding to go through the awards, we ou;^bt to remark 

 that the light was unusually bad even for Birmingham, the day 

 being dark and *' muggy." Hence the Judges had to act under 

 very unfavourable circumstances, and it is, perhaps, much easier 

 to point out real mistakes with the aid of a catalogue than to 

 avoid them without such a guide as the names of noted exhibi- 

 tors afford. Yet to do so is, nevertheless, the duty of an im- 

 partial reporter, and we shall proceed to give our honest im- 

 pressions of the Show. 



DORKINGS. 



Codes. — First of all in the catalogue comes the cup cock, a grand 

 heavy bird, and we were glad to see the honour once more awarded to 

 light colour. The second-prize bird was of medium colour and large, 

 with unnsnally good feet. Third came a very dark and big bird, one 

 of the best in the class but for the very unsatisfactory state of one foot. 

 Fourth was a small bird, and in our judgment much inferior to Mr. 

 Wheatley's 13, one of the noted winners last year. 



Cocl-erels. — The first prize went to a fine bird, not so large as several 

 others, but with the best feet in the class. The second was a very 

 poor bu'd. Silver- Grey in colour, and not large enough for a Grey 

 Dorking. Third came a very excellent dark bird, shown in a very bad 

 light, which in our opinion kept him from taking the second place. 

 The fourth-prize bird was also very fine and large, but the fifth was 



not so good as the sixth, and both of these last we thought inferior tc> 

 several others. 



HeJis were a fair lot, and both the first and second were really good 

 pens and rightly placed. The third contained one grand hen, with 

 another only poor. The fourth-prize birds were quite small for old 

 Dorkings, and much worse than the fifth, which last were a bar© 

 average, and neither pen equal to No. 133. 



Pullets. — The first-prize pair was good in every way, being large,, 

 dark, good in feet, and well matched. Second came a very poor pair 

 indeed, only entered at two guineas. Those which were third were 

 very much better, and good, but we thought the fourth should have had 

 the second place. Fifth and sixth call for no remark. 



Silver- Grey codes were a fair class. The first prize was taken by a 

 large but rather coarse bird, too dark for our fancy ; the second very 

 similar in both body and colour. The third and fourth-prize birds 

 were the best in colour, but not so large. The fifth-prize bird was not 

 pure either in the white or black, and several better birds coald have 

 been found for the honour. The first-prize hens were a very old but 

 fine pair with long spurs. Second came a taking pair in the dark, 

 but later in the day appearing very broken in colour, and one pullet had 

 a very misshapen foot. The third prize went to a pair of pretty good 

 old hens ; fourth were pullets by no means pure in tint, red showing 

 on the wings. This class was not so good as the cocks. 



The White Dorldngs were good, and the third-prize bird, though not 

 large, was, perhaps, the best in carriage, and well deserved his place, 

 though only entered at a guinea. The hens and pullets were not so- 

 good, and none but the prize pens could be called really good. 



COCHINS. 



Buff cochs were a good class. The first-prize was well put, Mr. 

 Taylor winning with a grand real Lemon Cochin. Second a much 

 darker, also very grand bird. Third of immense size and good colonrr 

 but not a good carriage. Fourth also rather clumsy, bat sound in 

 colour. Fifth had a slipped wing, or would have probably been third. 

 The next two ©lasses contained the "sensation blots" of the Show; 

 and while knowing, as we do, how unpleasant it is both to the winners- 

 and the Judges to call in question the awards, we feel bound in 

 simple justice to re-judge both classes, premising that we were born& 

 cut by all the Baff breeders present. The best bird in England, 

 which won the Palace cup, and has had no equal for five seasons, was 

 put sixth ! The sixth prize should have been cup ; second, a grand 

 bird which will be better yet, in his place ; the cup bird third ; Mr. 

 Tjmlinson's, fourth ; Mr. Taylor's fifth as he was ; and Mrg. AUsopp's 

 bird sixth. There were many really fine birds in this class besides ; 

 but the sixth-prize was so markedly superior that we cannot attempt to 

 account for the mistake. Hens were little better, the first-prize birds- 

 being a comparatively worthless and mealy pair. Mr. Lacy's second- 

 prize pen should have been first; Mr. Lloyd's fifth -prize pen second, 

 his pen 377 third, putting the third-prize fourth. In the fifth-prize 

 pen wag far the best single hen in the class, or which we have seen ioc 

 a long while, the other being very good, and the two only inferior to- 

 Mr. Lacy's pair. This was an excellent class. 



The pullets were very fairly put, but as a class far from equal in shape 

 to the hens. The fourth -prize were parHcularly narrow at the tail, and 

 the sixth pen contained one very good bird with one as bad. 



The first-prize Partridge code was well placed, being a really good 

 one. The second we did not like much, and the third was badly 

 feathered. In cocherels Mr. Tadman took his old place with a bird- 

 hardly mature, but in faultless condition and with all the stufi in 

 him of a good Cochin. Second, a good colour, but wanting in shape. 

 Third, a better, rather, and deserving his place. In hens Mr. Tudman 

 was first again with birds grand in size and shape, but not first-rate 

 in marking by the modern standard. Second, well marked, but 

 inferior in development. Third also veiy pretty pencilling, but want- 

 ing in size and good Cochin carriage. First-prize pullets beautifully 

 coloured, and if one were rather better fea hered they would be very 

 hard to beat. Second, both grand birds, but badly matched. Tiiird^ 

 a fair average pen and no more ; this class poor. 



Whites. — The first-prize old cockwas very old, rather heavy -looking, 

 and by no means so good as the second-prize bird, except in colour, 

 which was better. Third, a very good cock, but not good in style, in 

 which the white cocks generally are falling off. In cocherels we 

 thought Mr. Chase's pen, 511, the best in the class, certainly better 

 than his first-prize. The second deserved his place, and the third was- 

 also good and well feathered. The three prizes in he7is were also 

 grand pens, with little to choose. Pullets were not nearly so good, 

 and none really first-class, except the first-prize, all the rest being 

 wanting in shape. 



BRAHMAS. 



In old Barh codes the cup was secured by the Crystal Palace first- 

 prize bird of Mr. Taylor. Second, a very good average bird. Third, 

 a very light " washy " bird, scarcely able to stand, and inferior to 

 at least four other birds in every way. The codeerels formed the 

 largest class of any breed ever yet seen .at any show, showing the 

 amazing number of 105 entries. "With so many birds, many really 

 good, it may easily be believed judging was very difficolt work, and it 

 can, perhaps, scarcely be expected that any after-critic should altogether 

 agree with the awards. The Crystal Palace crip bird was first, and 

 rightly. The second, third, and fourth were all excellent birds 

 evidently, or at least apparently, own brothers, as we believe they are. 

 Fifth was rather showy, but valueless for breeding, and we Hked the 



