130 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[November 28. 
peated till the nest is entirely lined with a thick coating of 
mud, which, when done, the bird dries by its own warmth, 
by sitting in the nest thus recently made for a day or two. 
Should it, however, happen that the mud is not sufficiently 
i moist, or, as I have seen it occur, there has been no mud at 
all within its reach, but dried parched up earth, then the in¬ 
stinct of the bird prompts it to take in its beak this dried 
j earth, and then to the fountain of water, into which it would 
dip the earth, and then deposit it in its nest, afterwards re¬ 
turn to the fountain and have a thorough bath, making its 
breast feathers thoroughly wet, and then like a plasterer set 
j to work, turning every now and then so as to complete the 
j circle, and render its work round and smooth. 
In the course of a few clays four or five eggs are deposited, 
1 and the hen patiently sits about 14 days before hatching is 
! completed. Should it rain during the process of incubation, 
the bird spreads out its wings, entirely covering the nest, so 
that the rain pours oil' the wings over the nest, and thus the 
little nurslings are kept from being wetted. She feeds them 
entirely on insects and worms, and, in their absence, with 
meat. Immediately after the food is put into their beak and 
swallowed, the little bird elevates its hinder part of the body 
and discharges the excretion in a membraneous bag, which 
the parent bird seizes in its bill, and dies off with to some 
distant spot. Both parents are engaged in feeding the 
young, and they appear to know which has been led. and 
which not, as I have patiently watched them by the hour 
feeding them one after the other in regular succession, so 
that I knew when the parent arrived at the nest whose turn 
it was next. While sitting on the nest my birds, which were 
always very tame, would let me stroke them on their head 
and back; but if I attempted to touch their eggs, would im¬ 
mediately peck my fingers, and that sharply, while they re¬ 
mained sitting on. 
At one time, when I was looking at the hen thrush sitting 
on her nest, I fancied I saw something black move under¬ 
neath its wing, and upon further inspection I found a hen 
bullfinch had deposited four of her eggs in the same nest as 
the thrush, and both were sitting together, hatching each 
their young, without any molestation on the part of mistress 
thrush. They both sat until they hatched, but the small 
birds were overpowered by the larger, and thus perished. It 
was, however, a curious coincidence that both should occupy 
the same nest. The bullfinch could, and did after, make a 
separate nest, which is mostly composed of short sticks. 
After the first brood is reared, the mother bird then sets 
about another nest, going through the same process as the 
former one, and, if means be short, pulling the old nest to 
pieces to build the new one. She never resorted to the old 
one except to pull it to pieces, while the male bird took care 
to see after the first brood, and feed them until they could 
take care of themselves. 
In the autumn, and even in winter, if there should happen 
to be a sunny bright day, the young birds would begin to 
sing, and in February and March would pour forth their 
melodious notes from morning till night; and often in the 
summer time, my parlour being lighted with gas and shining 
through the window, the thrush would continue his song till 
past midnight, and only seemed to cease when the shutters 
j were closed and the light excluded. I have noticed the 
I thrush would sing much louder and more frequently just 
j before rain and during a gentle shower. 
I have observed persons shade their birds when in cages 
from the sun, but in my aviary, as the sun took its circuit 
and shone on parts of the aviary in different places during 
the day, that all the birds, in the hottest days especially, 
j were always sure to be lying in the sunshine with gaping 
j mouths and outstretched limbs, and ruffled feathers; and 
i till my children and others have hastened to me with such ex- 
j clamations as, “ Oh! the birds are dying; come and look." 
I Instead of which, they were only enjoying themselves in the 
! sunshine, and invariably removed themselves to that part 
} where the sun was shining, if it left the spot they were 
| enjoying a few moments before. W. Rayner. 
ROSES IN POTS. 
In compliance with your permission and wish that I 
should iuform you of the mode adopted by me in growing 
roses in pots, as specimen plants, and for exhibition at our 
local shows in the months of May and .Tune, I will begin 
by observing, that the method does not in principle differ 
from that so abl.y laid down by Mr. Beaton in a recent 
number, but simply so as regards little matters of detail in 
the difference of time recommended for the necessary opera¬ 
tions of pruning, re-potting, &e.; and hope you will excuse 
my being somewhat lengthy in my observations, as I feel 
that omitting the most trifling operation will sometimes 
hazard the success of an undertaking. 
My first consideration in growing “roses in pots” is to 
procure some pots that are well cleaned, or, what is better 
still, quite new ; and may here observe, that 24’s are a very 
convenient size to commence with. I then, at the com¬ 
mencement of November, proceed to Messrs. Paul, of 
Cheshunt. Having recommended them many customers, I 
presume in consequence and make, I believe, a somewhat 
unusual application to be allowed to select at once and take 
up such roses as 1 wish for the purpose,—a request which 
young Mr. Paul kindly accedes to, and accompanies me 
himself to assist in the selection. It is as well here to 
state, that experience shows mo that worked roses are 
preferable, for pot purposes, to those grown on their own 
roots; and in consequence I select such as are dwarf 
standards only, and worked close to the collar, so that when 
the rose is potted the stem is scarcely visible. I also find 
that Tea, China, and Bourbon, or their hybrids, are better 
suited for forcing and pot plants than Noisette and Hybrid 
perpetuals,—the two last named class of roses growing to 
greater perfection in the open air. Amongst Tea roses I 
would recommend Snffrano, Devoniensis, Compte de Palis, 
Nephetos, and Princess Clementine as unrivalled. Mrs. 
Bosanquet, Duchess of Kent, with a few others amongst 
Chinas; Souvenir de Malmaison, Leveson Gower, and Du- 
petit Thouars amongst Bourbons. Of the above, Souvenir 
de Malmaison is unrivalled as a pot rose. Having se¬ 
lected my plants, I without loss of time, and before the roots 
have got dry, pot them (having first pruned the strong 
roots) in a mixture of old cow dung, leaf-mould, silver sand, 
and yellow loam, in the following proportions of half yellow 
loam, and the rest, as regards the cow-dung, leaf-mould, 
and sand, in equal parts ; but find that a greater proportion 
of loam may be added with advantage, should the rose to be 
potted happen to be a Bourbon or Hybrid perpetual. 
My plants being potted—which operation is complete 
about this time,—I place them on ashes under a north wall 
in some sheltered part of the garden, until the frosts of 
November compel me to put them in cold pits, keeping 
them, since their being re-potted, as dry as I can to prevent 
growth, but not sufficiently so to cause the plants to flag or 
their roots to get quite dry. I then, about the commence¬ 
ment of December, prune all that I intend bringing into 
the greenhouse in the early part of January, for blooming 
in May and .1 line, anil stimulate them gently by applying 
water at a temperature a few degrees warmer than the 
atmosphere of the pit where they still are, so as when they 
are introduced into the greenhouse at the commencement : 
of January, at a medium temperature of 45°, they are just j 
beginning to push strongly. 
About the commencement of February a little more heat 
is given, and weak liquid manure is applied about twice j 
a-week, which is strengthened as the plants increase in | 
vigour and have their buds well set. About this time ! 
syringing over head with lukewarm water, or steaming, may t 
occasionally be had recourse to, as it tends to give strength i 
to the plants, and keeps away the aphis and other enemies. ! 
Lastly; when the shoots are sufficiently long for the pur- ] 
pose, they are gently brought down to the sides of the pot, , 
or staked to such places as they arc intended to occupy, so j 
as when the plants are ready for the show, these appliances | 
may be removed, and the plant still preserve a round and 
uniform appearance. 
I had almost forgotten to add, that it is necessary at all 
times when the temperature is at 50° or above, to give as 
much air as possible; and this may even be done when a 
gentle fire is going. J. R. S. 
