September is, 1877. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



221 



and causing such a strong flow of sap ag to make the fruit crack and decay. 

 Provision ought always to he made to throw off the rain from such a border 

 after the fruit is ripe. Do this and you may plant outside with advantage. 

 If you do turn the Vines outside during winter protect them from Bevere frost 

 with litter and mats, but if you only wish to use the vinery as a greenhouse 

 in wintw why disturb the Vines ? The temperature of a greenhouse would 

 not excite premature growth. Alicante and Lady Downe's Seedling are the best 

 late-keeping Grapes, but you must keep out plants till the fruit is used, or much 

 of it will be spoilt by the moisture arising from them. It would facilitate 

 watering and improve its appearance if the stage did not go quite to the end 

 farthest from the early vinery, but had its shelves continued along to the back 

 with a path at both ends. The heating pipes oould easily he connected with 

 those in the early vinery and put along the front as you propose. Let the 

 valve he in the early house to prevent waste of beat. A 4-inch flow-and- 

 return pipe would no doubt keep out frost in a small house, but we caunot 

 tell how much piping will be required without knowing the dimensions of the 

 house and the maximum wiuter temperature. 



Fig Cultube (C. T. J, M.), — Plant against a south or south-weBt wall in 

 soil that is not more than 15 inches deep, making the bottom hard with con- 

 crete or stone rammed down hard to keep the roots from going down. Fasten 

 the leading shoots to the wall, remove ail suckers, and nip off the spring 

 shoots at the third or fourth leaf to induce a second growth of three or four 

 lateral shoots, every one of which should have some incipient fruit at the base 

 -of the leaves near the tips. Protect the entire trees with mats or litter during 

 winter, for if the shoots are exposed to severe frost not only will the crop be 

 lost but there will be a risk of the shoots being also destroyed. If the growth 

 pro^e weakly and the fruit small apply Burface-dresBings of rioh manure, and 

 thus draw the roots to the surface and feed them as much as you please. 

 "When the fruit is half grown frequent doses of sewage or guano water poured 

 over the roots tend to increase the fruit's size and flavour. Never let the 

 trees suffer from drought, or the fruit will turn yellow and fall prematurely. 

 Brown Turkey is the best sort for your purpose. It is hardy and a sure and 

 abundant cropper. If you require large fruit plant Brunswiok, and for a 

 White sort choose White Marseilles. 



Slug from Gabden (William Qorrie).— The slugs sent by you are not 

 infrequent in the villa gardens in York Road, Trinity, Edinburgh ; and a3 

 fully as bad plant- destroyers as the several common kinds (from all of which 

 they differ in havirjg a prominent ridge or keel along their backs) ia Limax 

 Sowerbii of Ferussac (Forbes & Hanley, Brit. Molluaoa. iv. pi. eee, fig. 8.— 

 L. carinatus, Gray), common near London but rarer northwards. — I. O. W. 



Names of Faurrs {Grig}.— Dumolow's Seedling. (Knutsford).— 1, Kes- 

 wick Codlin. The others not known. 



Names of Plants (X A. M.).— Lastrea dilatata. (J. Shearer).—!, Cam- 

 panula rotundifolia ; 2, Achillea Ptarmica; 3, Polygonum Persicaria ; 4, P. 

 aciculare. (<?. 0. S.).— 1, Acanthus mollis ; 2, Phyoalia Atkekengi; 3, Gaillar- 

 dia aristata. [Mrs. Pettat). — The Lady's TresBes (Spiranthes autumnalis). 

 {Mac.).— Cyetopteris fragilis. 



POULTKY, BEE, AND PIGEON 0HR0M0LE. 



COMMITTEEMEN EXHIBITING. 



A cobbespondent ia a contemporary considers himself a 

 sufferer because at some show where he has exhibited a com- 

 mitteeman won the prize which perhaps would otherwise have 

 been his. He urges that the managers of shows should not ex- 

 hibit : in fact, he wishes himself to enjoy the fruits and pleasure 

 of exhibiting while others may do all the work. The reply of 

 the editor is very good ; he says, " It is quite certain that if com- 

 mitteemen were debarred many shows would never be held, as 

 the keen personal iuterest in the subject is the chief spur to 

 ■exertion." This certainly all Bhould readily see, and without 

 doubt once such a plan as this correspondent urges was carried 

 into effect immediately exhibitions would on all sides come to 

 a full stop. Those that remained would be merely speculative 

 exhibitions in every way, got up in 6ome favourite place of 

 resort as a popular amusement, or as a means to get people to- 

 gether; for there are indeed but few fanciers who can give time 

 and money to get up a show, and then not even have the 

 privilege of 6eeing their own birds compete for the prizes. And 

 the speculative exhibitions, they would in their turn probably 

 cease, for a bad year might come, or a wet day, and the receipts 

 not being sufficient the prizes would very possibly not be paid, 

 and tbe show would collapse. This has already happened fre- 

 quently, and without doubt the genuine exhibitions, such as 

 withstand a bad year and still bloom forth in another, are those 

 got up by real fanciers — lovers of poultry in every sense of the 

 word, who promote the show for their own pleasure and to see 

 their birds side by side with their neighbours and friends. 



We also agree in thinking the line may, however, possibly be 

 ■drawn with the secretary, as he naturally has often to be thrown 

 with the judges all the while the awards are being made; but 

 this is less difflcalt to overcome, for the secretary can be a paid 

 one, such as many exhibitions now have, though, of course, the 

 more ardent a poultry fancier a man maybe the more suitable 

 and energetic secretary will he make ; and as it would be hard 

 to cut out such a man from the chance of ever exhibiting at his 

 own show, and the fact of the secretary exhibiting was really 

 objected to, it might possibly be arranged for some members of 

 the committee to take in tarn these arduous duties which some 

 one must perform. The editor of our contemporary, however, 

 rightly admits that at some shows with some judges the fact of 

 the committeemen themselves exhibiting and oarrying off the 

 chief prizes is open to much comment. And this once more 

 opens up the case of how very important it is for exhibitors to 



insist on the names of the jodges being published; and for the 

 show-nromoters themselves, how important it is for them in 

 their own interests, if they want many entries and the birds of 

 the best exhibitors, to publish invariably this information, for 

 we have many judges whose names are themselves a guarantee 

 that all that is fair and honeBt will at least be done by them. 

 Such names we need not mention, they are well known ; and tbe 

 fancy knows that no committeeman or secretary would ever be 

 the least benefited by any sly hints or remarks they may make 

 as to the ownership of any individual pens with thoBe gentlemen. 

 "We remember a long controversy in this Journal a few years 

 ago on this subject fit is in vol. xvii.) ; and though we are far 

 from wanting to open up the subject again, we cannot refrain 

 from saying that those fanciers would be fooliah above measure 

 who tried to insist on the committee of a Bhow not exhibiting, 

 supposing they for their part had properly advertised who their 

 judge was to be, for then exhibitors oould use their own dis- 

 cretion as to exhibiting or not. — W. 



LANGSHAN FOWLS. 

 I had some chickens hatohed on the 9th of April, and on the 

 21st of August the pullets, then only four months and a half old, 

 commenced laying. I have never known Brahmas or other 

 breeds lay under five months, and then very rarely. We may 

 therefore, I think, consider the introduction of the Lingshan a 

 great acquisition to all poultry fanciers and breeders. I had 

 one of the cockerels on my table last week, and pronounce the 

 flesh to be very superior, light in colour, and moat delicate and 

 nourishing. — H. J. Buchan, Southampton. 



BATH POULTRY, &c, SHOW. 



This Exhibition was again an apparent success, for the tents 

 were thronged with people and the weather was fine, while the 

 quality of the exhibitB was extremely good. The entrieB, too, 

 in many classes were heavy. The poultry Judge was the Bev. 

 G. Hodgson. Dorkings had four olaBses, and we were sorry to 

 see so few White Dorkings. The Coloured and Silver-Grey, 

 however, made ample amends. The cup went to a Coloured 

 cockerel, the first in the catalogue ; a good bird, but hardly 

 likely to make a very large one. The third had more promise. 

 In Silver-Grey cockerels the winner was capital and well ahead. 

 The pullets, too, of both colours were also good. In Cochins 

 the champion cup fell to the Buff cockerel shown by a new 

 Cochin exhibitor. He is a well-standing good-coloured bird. 

 The first Buff pullet wanted more foot-feather, or else was of 

 much merit. All the wiuning White cockerels were good, the 

 first exoelling in shape and feather and the Becond perhaps in 

 colour, white the three White pullets were all extremely good, 

 as, too, was the cup Partridge ; in fact the latter was a marvel 

 of pencilling and a large-boned growing bird iuto the bargain. 

 Dark Brahma cockerels were disappointing. The first has no 

 promise of greater size, though now pretty. The third was very 

 square and large, but had hardly enough feathering. All the 

 pullets were pencilled, but we fancy many of them were inclined 

 to be too pale under the throat. Light cockerels were good, the 

 winner the Newbury cockerel, while the first pullet was very 

 large but cloudy and not very straight in hackles. Hamburghs 

 made good classes and show promise of sharp competition for 

 the future, but many birds were not yet well up and want more 

 time. We noticed, the Judge went in apparently for very bright 

 colour in the Golden-pencils. The first Black cockerel and ditto 

 pullet were very forward and matured. Game had all to meet 

 in the same divisions, but the quality considering this was 

 moderately satisfactory. The Leghorns had two classes, and 

 the first Whites were very fair. The Browns did not seem so 

 forward or so well matched, and in both varieties we noticed too 

 much yellow in the earlobes. The Spanish were fair. A nice 

 cockerel of Mr. Jones's from some mistake got into the wrong 

 class, or he would have run the winner close. The first pullet 

 was pretty and nice in face. The French were not up to a high 

 standard. We observed that the Judge did not object to Creye 

 combs in the Houdan cockerels, which caused a little dissatis- 

 faction among the fanciers of the breed. In Creves the first 

 pullet was larger than the others but a little rusty in colour, 

 while the first cockerel had a very poor comb. Silkies were a 

 pretty little lot, but the cup pullet had green feet and not a very 

 perfect fifth claw. Mrs. Holmes sent a good pen, and so did 

 Messrs. Fowler, but the latter were younger. In the Variety 

 class Black Polands of much merit won the prizes. Dr. Lloyd's 

 were well-grown and large-crested birds. The Bantams had 

 two classes in the Variety. A good pen of Silver-laced were 

 first and Black Eosecombs of good colour second, while Black- 

 booted of much merit were third. The Any age classes were 

 conspicuous for the cup pen of Dorkings (Burnell), the first 

 Black Hamburghs, and the two winning pens of Game. The 

 local classes were very good, and the birds would have stood 

 high in the open classes. The cup went to a beautiful White 

 Cochin pullet and the first in cockerels to a good Light Brahma, 



