JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
382 
[ May 12, 1881. 
dwarf and dense, and small plants in 4 or 5-inch pots are charming 
for table decoration, the colours being such as to show with great 
advantage under artificial light. The central portion of the leaf 
is of the palest possible amber, clear and transparent, occasionally 
approaching white, the margins and tips being deep green. For 
several decorative purposes Croton Hawkeri is a plant of consider¬ 
able promise, and is worthy of the necessary cultural care to 
produce it in its best condition. The Floral Committee of the 
Royal Horticultural Society have placed the stamp of their 
authority as to the merits of this plant by awarding it a first- 
class certificate when it was exhibited by Messrs. Yeitch a few 
months since. 
THE LATE AURICULA SHOW. 
I WAS hindered from being present at the late Show at South 
Kensington owing to parish matters detaining me at home ; and 
as I have not been in the way of seeing any Auricula growers 
since, the observations I now make are entirely derived from what 
I have seen in the Journal and other papers ; and as I am now 
unhappily only an outsider I hope it will not be supposed that my 
remarks are dictated by any “ envy, malice, or uncharitableness.” 
In the first place, then, I would ask, Does or does not this, the fourth 
Show of the Southern Section as it is euphemistically called, of the 
National Auricula Society, bear out the assertion which I made 
some years ago, that the cultivation of florists’ flowers is at a 
discount in the south ? and have all the very laudable exertions 
of those who set out to prove that I was wrong been able to bring 
forward a large accession of exhibitors from the metropolis and 
from the south of England generally ? Well, let us see. There 
were, as far as I can gather, nine exhibitors—(I do not include 
Alpines, or Fancy Auriculas, or Polyanthus, or the class for fifty, 
in which Alpines were allowed to be exhibited)—and of these 
just one, Mr. Douglas, hailed from the south. Of the others, Mr. 
Horner and Mr. Simonire were from Yorkshire, Mr. Gorton and 
Mr. Barlow from Lancashire, Mr. Penson from Shropshire, Mr. 
Llewelyn from Wales, Mr. Bolton from Cheshire, and Mr. Hay. 
Amongst these were divided the fifty-one prizes offered, of which 
Mr. Douglas secured twenty-two, Mr. Horner six, Mr. Penson ten, 
&c. Now I fail to see in this any proof of the increased interest 
in the Auricula in the southern portion of the kingdom. People 
may admire it, may go into raptures over its beauty, may buy 
plants ; but as to the more serious business of exhibiting, I think 
the publication of these lists fully bears me out in the assertion 
that in and around the metropolis the zeal there was in the growth 
of florists’ flowers has vanished. 
Then I think it evidences how very much the conditions of 
Auricula-growing are altered. The season was said to be back¬ 
ward, and in fact we know it was ; and yet flowers from the very 
north of England carried off many of the chief honours. They 
must, then, have been subjected to a considerable amount of heat 
to bring them forward, and as a consequence, which I see noted 
in some of the papers, many of the flower stems were drawn, and 
required what an Auricula ought never to require—a stick to 
support it. 
In looking at the names of those varieties which obtained the 
prizes a few things are noteworthy. I see in one of the second 
prizes that Colonel Champneys was included. As a variety that 
increases rapidly, and from its vigour of constitution as a deco¬ 
rative plant, I have nothing to say against it, but as a Show 
Auricula it has not anything to commend it. It is utterly despised 
by the florists of Lancashire. It has a watery eye, an edge that is 
neither grey nor white, a body colour that runs largely into the 
edge, and a pip which is cup-shaped instead of flat. Then we 
see that while the more modern flowers, such as George Light- 
body, Lancashire Hero, Alex. Meiklejohn, take very honourable , 
places, they do not quite jostle out the older sorts. Thus in the 
class of seifs, to which we have a comparatively large number 
added of late, yet that fine old flower Blackbird took first, third, 
and fifth prizes, while in whites Sunley Beauty took the first and 
second prizes, while in the Northern Show such old flowers as 
Kenyon’s Ringleader takes a first place. Now I think this is 
encouraging to those who cannot afford to pay a guinea a piece 
for new sorts, as they need not think that because they have not 
obtained these that they cannot hope to win. 
I do not see anywhere any statement as to who the Judges 
were.—D., Deal. 
THE UTILITY OF BIRDS IN GARDENS. 
Birds are so intimately connected with the garden and 
gardeners that I think they are, as a rule, worthy of being de¬ 
scribed as beneficial friends. Yet there are many who think the 
reverse, and some birds are considered useless without the slightest 
acknowledgment of the good they do, for 1 am fully convinced 
they more than repay us in the end for the mischief they commit 
at certain times. 
The town garden is most likely to suffer from their attacks 
owing to the scarcity of food. During the recent dry weather I 
have noticed the sparrows eating the Primroses, chaffinches doing 
the same with young Turnips, Lettuces, &c. Blackbirds and 
thrushes, too, have completely stripped the Ivy of its berries, the 
ground being so dry that worms have retreated out of their reach. 
The most familiar and the most persecuted bird is the house 
sparrow (Passer domestica). It is needless to point out its faults, 
which are well known, but it is my object to show that it does 
good as well as injury. It has frequently been said, and no doubt 
is yet believed, that sparrows are not caterpillar eaters, but I have 
found they are, and they feed their young with such food, which 
also forms a large portion of their own diet. I have often seen 
the sparrow venture into the plant houses where Roses, &c., were 
infested with green fly, often revisiting the house. 
The chaffinch (Fringilla ccelebs) also feeds on insects to a large 
extent in summer time, the young being principally fed with 
caterpillars and aphides ; the latter especially I have frequently 
seen them scrape off the young shoots of Plum trees. They are 
amongst the most useful birds as ground insect eaters. 
Of the Tit family there are four species more useful than in¬ 
jurious—viz., the great tit (Parus major), the blue tit (Parus 
cseruleus), the cole tit (Parus ater), and the long-tailed tit (Parus 
caudatus). The first two mentioned are addicted to do injury 
occasionally, and therefore are out of favour with most gardeners. 
Both of these tits feed their young principally on caterpillars ; in 
fact, it is only on rare occasions they intrude on the gardener’s 
property to do any damage. The cole tit and long-tailed tit are 
both insectivorous; the first is a great destroyer of caterpillars, 
feeding the young entirely on them. I have more than once 
known them nest in a garden wall, and from watching their pro¬ 
ceedings I ascertained they were valuable friends. The long¬ 
tailed tit is certainly a great destroyer of insects, but is of more 
benefit to the woodman than the gardener. Yet I have an instance 
of their doing good on one occasion. In the autumn of 1878 
every day a number of the long-tailed tits visited a plantation 
of Black Currant bushes which were covered with brown fly, 
which the tits did not cease to visit until all the insects were 
destroyed. 
Among the migratory birds there are many insect eaters. Two 
of them are much alike in their habits and nature—the blackcap 
warbler (Sylvia atricapilla), and the garden warbler (Sylvia 
hortensis), both of which are guilty of eating Raspberries, but I 
believe the cause of their doing so is to find the tiny grub that is 
well known to exist in the fruit; but the havoc the two warblers 
commit in devouring caterpillars during incubation is enough 
and more to repay for the spoiling of the Raspberries. 
The chiffchaff (Phyllopneuste hippolais), is one of the earliest 
of migratory birds, and the latest to depart. Although the last to 
mention, it is the most useful of all birds connected with the 
garden. In the latter part of summer I have seen a dozen in one 
large Apple tree continually on the search after insects. It 
appears to me but little known among gardeners, but deserves 
every protection. There are many other birds of great use to a 
garden ; but sufficient has been mentioned to show that we are 
indebted more to birds than many persons are aware of, therefore 
we should protect, not destroy them.—A Gardener. 
EXTENSION-TRAINED PEACH TREES—LOW 
TEMPERATGRES FOR VINES. 
Perhaps I should say not a word on this subject, for what the 
phrase exactly means I do not know. I am not possessed of 
Mr. Simpson’s book, but I think the system, as I understand it 
from what the critics say, is nearly one hundred years old. To 
prove this perhaps you will allow me to quote a very old gardener, 
famed in his own time, and quoted and copied by many since. 
I refer to Mr. Nicol, who practised in Fifeshire about the end of 
last century. Speaking of Peach trees in the open air he says, 
“ These trees ought to be trained in the fan manner. It is not 
practicable to train them to any considerable extent horizontally. 
. . . The shoots of these often require to be shortened. This 
is to be understood of such as are hurt by frost (not being fully 
ripened to their extremities), and more particularly of those from 
which it is wished to produce a supply of other shoots, either to 
fill a vacancy or for the extension of the tree.” He then goes on 
to state reasons why shoots should be shortened, and how much 
they should be under different circumstances, chiefly because of 
unripened and damaged wood. “ Unless for these reasons the 
middle-sized, hard, and well-ripened shoots which abound in fruit 
