June 17. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
173 
Palace. Within its walls, all the charms of the country will 
be perpetuated through winter and summer, and wind and 
rain, and the well-known inclemency of our climate will 
form no obstacle to the perfect enjoyment of visitors ad¬ 
mitted to the genial atmosphere of a winter-garden eighteen 
acres in extent. 
“ At Versailles the great attractions of the Palace are its 
fountains; at the Crystal Palace it will be possible, for the 
first time in England, to enjoy a spectacle which has always 
been regarded as the most grateful and soothing that even 
Royal munificence has been able to command. With our 
power of steam and mechanical resources, it will not be 
difficult to render the fountains of the Crystal Palace the 
finest in the world. 
“ The sculptures of the most eminent living artists of 
every nation, casts of the works of eminent sculptors in 
every age, architectural remains, and casts of architectural 
monuments of past and present times, will occupy every 
salient part of the building. The French, Germans, and 
Italians will cease to be the only European nations busy in 
educating the eye of the people for the appreciation of art 
and beauty. The most interesting models of machinery at 
work will present to the artizan, as well as to the student, 
the means of acquainting himself with the processes and the 
products of every great staple manufacture in the country. 
The lesson taught in Hyde Park, where the cotton entered 
in the berry and emerged in the bale of goods, where linen 
rags were passed through the paper-mill, and issued in 
broad sheets of instructive literature, will be repeated in the 
People’s Palace, where every great victory of machinery will 
find its enduring record and safe depository. Geology, 
mineralogy, and botany mil be illustrated on a far greater 
scale than lias ever before been attempted; and trees, plants, 
architecture, costumes, and manufactures will be so laid out 
as to present, as far as practicable, a study of every country in 
the world, with all its natural stores and industrial products. 
The Royal Commissioners were obliged to take, almost with¬ 
out discrimination, all that were sent to them by local or 
foreign Committees, and thus many acres of space were 
filled with useless and uninteresting objects, and the same 
description of objects was repeated time after time in every 
division of the building. In the new building, on the other 
hand, the classification of the objects will be much more 
complete and instructive, and the vacant space will be filled 
by beautiful plants, flowers, and fountains. 
“ Surrounding the palace will be the Crystal Palace Park, 
constructed with all the peculiarities for which the parks of 
England are world-famous. One hundred and fifty acres 
will be filled with every tree and plant which England’s 
atmosphere has adopted or acclimatized. The Crystal Palace 
Park will be as thoroughly English in its aspect, as the 
Palace itself will in its contents be a miniature of the world. 
“ Periodical shows of flowers and plants will be held in 
the Palace, but the general amusements of the tea garden 
and the dancing saloon will be strictly excluded. Care will 
also be taken to secure a supply of refreshments of the best 
description, but intoxicating beverages will not be sold. In 
a word, throughout every department of the national work, 
that character will be stamped upon it which it has already 
won. The Ciystal Palace shall suffer no deterioration in 
consequence of its removal from its present aristocratic site ; 
shall lose no part of its claim upon the gratitude and ap¬ 
plause of the public, by reason of its transmission from the 
hands of Her Majesty's Commissioners to those of the 
people.” 
A correspondent, T. D., writes to us as follows :— 
“ I never heard of Tropoeolum speciosum doing so well with 
any one before, as with E. M. mentioned at page 150. I 
feel persuaded that the last paragraph of the writer’s note 
ought to be kept in mind. “ I live in a very cold county." 
I have seen it grown, and have grown it, planted at the front 
of a south wall, in a soil that is rather rich, but it never has 
made much growth with me, nor in other places where I have 
seen it grown. I have no doubt but that it is owing to our 
planting it in such a situation that it has not done better. 
I find here (north-east of Essex) that the Abutilon striatum 
survives through the winter, and flowers well, grown against 
a south wall. Although it is of the Malva family, it never 
receives much water, but does well,” 
The following is from A Subscriber, whose address we 
have:— 
“As your publication invites information as to the Cochin 
China fowl, I cannot do better than give you the result of a 
sale .wliich took place lately at Kensington. The collection 
consisted chiefly of some birds which had obtained the 
prize and extra medal at the Birmingham exhibition last 
December; a few chickens bred from them; about thirty 
pair of chickens, from eight to thirteen weeks old, and 
several cocks and hens, Ac. I consider one of the extraor¬ 
dinary facts of this extraordinary age, to have it to record 
that the produce of this sale amounted to a sum bordering 
on £100. I have attended sales of agricultural stock; I 
have had a well-bred bull calf knocked down to me for £5, 
but here that price was commanded by a hen, while her 
mate fetched the sum of £8 5s. If this poultry mania goes 
on, our farmers had better convert the bullock-pens into 
chicken-coops, as fowl will be more profitable than flesh, and 
the sooner the better, in my opinion, as what can be so de¬ 
testable as prize beef or prize mutton, covered with 
mountains of fat. I wonder Mr. Punchard, -or Mr. Anster 
Bonn, do not establish an annual sale somewhere. I had 
this morning six chickens, the produce of thirteen eggs, so 
that the little animals have cost me balf-a-crown a-piece 
before they left the shell, and I still have to run the risk of 
rearing them. In future, to secure a large brood, I intend 
always to sit two hens on the same day. I think a shilling 
a-piece for eggs too dear; fid. is a good remunerative price, 
and I shall be glad to establish a correspondence with any 
gentleman possessed of good stock, upon these terms.” 
We are obliged to Mr. R. Pettit, gardener to Sir H. 
E. Bunbury, Bart., Great Barton Hall Gardens, near 
Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, for the following particulars 
relative to the crops in that neighbourhood :— 
“ Apples, abundant. Apricots, very abundant, where covered 
with calico on splines, rolled up in the morning, and let 
down in the afternoon. Cherries, botli on the walls, and 
dwarf standards, a full crop, particularly of Morellas. 
Currants, very heavy crop. Gooseberries, an average crop. 
Plums, both on the walls and standards a good crop. Pears, 
both on the walls and standards, an extraordinary crop. 
Peaches and Nectarines, an average crop, without protection ; 
trees clean. Raspberries and Strawberries, abundant promise 
(now in bloom). Peaches, Nectarines, and Grapes in the 
houses, a very fine crop. The Plums on the walls are I 
now being attacked with insect.” 
The following is a list of the Horticultural and 
Poultry Shows of which we are at present aware. We 
shall he obliged by any of our reader’s sending us ad" 
ditions to the list, and giving the address of the Se¬ 
cretaries. 
HORTICULTURAL SHOWS. 
Barton-upon-Huhber. First show 14th July (Sec. C. 
Ball.) 
Bath, June 24th, July 29th, Sept, lfith. (Sec, H. T. St. 
John Maule, Esq.) 
Botanic (Royal), June 30. 
Bridgewater, June 23 ; Sept. 22. (Secs. Mi’. J. Leaker, 
and Mr. J. Hayward.) 
Bric.g, July 7tli, Sept. 15th. (Sec. Mi - . D. Nainby, Jun.) 
Bury St. Edmunds, June 25, at Sir H. Bunbury’s; i 
July 30 (Bicotees); Sept. 10 (Abbey) ; Nov. 26 (Chry¬ 
santhemums). (Sec. G. P. Clay, Esq ) 
Caledonian (Inverleith Row), Edinburgh, Aug. 7, Sept. 2, 
Dec. 2. 
Cheltenham, Aug. 26. 
Chiswick, July 10. 
Clapham, July 8, Sept. 11. 
Colchester and East Essex, June 23, at Mr. J. Taylor’s, 
West Lodge, Lexdon Road; Sept. 8, at the Rev. T. 
Round’s grounds, Holly Trees, All Saints. 
Derby, Aug. 4. 
Dinnington (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), July 14; Sept, 8, 
(Sec. Rev. J. M. St. Clere Raymond.) 
