10 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 0. 
rubrorum, and all the others we name ; hut we know of still liner ones, 
which are so scarce yet, and so dear in consequence, that we do not even 
name them. One peek of soft yellow loam, half-a-peck of such peat as 
they use for Heaths, half-a-pec'k of very rotten dung, dried and sifted 
through a coarse sieve, and a quarter-of-a-peck of clean pit or river 
sand, or the same proportions of other measures, will grow these Gladio¬ 
luses so fine that you will he sure to win the first prize in Dublin, or all 
Ireland, with them, if you happen to get good bulbs, and you grow them 
slowly all the way through. 
Bulbs (Ibid).—We are quite certain, from your “determination,” 
added to an Irish spirit, you can get into the way of growing Amaryllises 
of all sorts better than nine-tenths of our best English and Scotch gar¬ 
deners. If you simply keep in mind that gardeners kill their bulbs of all 
sorts by giving them too much heat before the leaves are full grown, we 
do not see how you can err with them. Even as it is, we would back 
you now to grow them better than the gardeners who take the show 
prizes in London! Your Deutzia scabra is all right if it is making 
suckers ; cut away the dead parts, and you might put a little fresh soil 
over the roots, but no digging near the roots just yet. 
Sambucus racemosa. — H. 31. says,—“In a notice of one of the 
meetings at the Horticultural Society, in Regent Street, on the 26 th of 
July this year, you mention the exhibition of a branch of the Sambucus 
racemosa, and speak highly of the beauty of its red berries. Can you, 
or any of your correspondents, say if, and where, this shrub is to be 
obtained in England? A few years since, I was greatly struck with the 
the effect of it in a garden at Ems, where, in every clump of shrubs which 
adorned the garden, one or more of these trees, full of berries, formed 
a very striking ornament. Returning to Ems, the following year, at 
the same season, I was, however, sorry to find no berries on the 
trees, and was informed by the gardener that they did not, as 
a matter of course, bear fruit every year, which is, no doubt, rather 
a drawback to their cult’vation. In the same garden, I saw splendid 
specimens of a very old plant, the Marvel of Peru, upwards of four 
feet high, and a yard nearly in diameter; and on inquiry as to soil, 
and treatment, to bring them to this size, was informed, it was merely 
owing to the age of the roots, which, in this case, were eight years old. 
I saw many smaller plants, which, I was told, were only two or three 
years old.” It is no drawback to this kind of Elder that the fruit does 
not ripen every season. All our fruit trees, and most of our ornamental 
fruited shrubs and trees, fail at times. We do not know where the plant 
is on sale. We have always advised that the fleshy roots of the Marnel 
of Peru should be treated like those of the Dahlia. So treated, we have 
seen plants much larger than those named by our correspondent, and we 
have recently heard that the oarieties of it will sport much if the different 
species are crossed in the usual way. 
Seeds from Kio de Janeiro (31. 31. U., Liverpool). —The twelve 
kinds of seeds gathered by a gentleman who lived several years at Rio, 
and who calls them good, and he not a botanist, norevena “plants man,” 
are very likely to be of very ornamental plants. The seeds appear to be in 
very good condition ; but the names are merelv the local names in use 
among the population at Rio, and such are not to be found in books. 
You had better keep them till the beginning of February, and then sow 
them, and put the pots into a cucumber bed; we shall sow ours at the 
same time; keep your names, and if we recognise the plants, you shall 
hear the names. There is nothing new in the heating aparatus you heard 
of in Surrey. We happen to know something of the ironmonger ; a very 
respectable man, and, like all other respectable tradesmen, he does his 
work well, and it answers well. For your propagating house, twenty- 
two feet long, nine feet wide, and eight'feet high, four-inch pipes will be 
required to do the heating well. We do not know enough of Liverpool to 
say if there is, or where there is, a wood-cutting machine in, or near it. 
Erratum.- At page 4/8, for “ Cobrea and Pentstemon, for instance” 
read, “ Pentstemon Cobiea for instance,” and aeain,/or “ few gardeners 
can manage Pentstemon and Cobiea,” read, a “few gardeners can manage 
Pentstemon Cobcea. 
Combining Shanghaes and Dorkings (An Amateur). —Where 
the supply of poultry and eggs to the house is mainly regarded, we 
believe that Shangliae and Dorking Hens, with the male birds of the 
latter breed, would be hest calculated to produce a continuous supply 
throughout the year. This subject received full attention in a recent 
article of The Cottage Gardener, No. 257, page 415. But any 
attempts to breed again from such cross-bred birds will not succeed. 
We regard the “ Rouen ” Duck as the one mest likely to be generally 
kept with profit.—W. 
Does the Nurse influence the Nursling’s disposition ( A . 
31 .).-—Your premises are so uncertain, that we should be unwilling to 
draw any positive conclusion from them ; in the first place, the chickens 
hatched are “ thought ” to be Shanghaes ; and secondly, the hen under 
which they were hatched, “ is Game, or, at least, three parts Game." 
But even with these imperfect facts before us, we should find no difficulty 
in expressing our opinion, that the difference in character of the chickens 
could only proceed from their partial acquisition of their mother’s habits 
and disposition. As to “ inoculation during hutching ” producing this 
effect, we must at once reject any such notion, for we have nothing on 
which to base the slightest probability that such could have been the case. 
The necessity for exactness in statements of this kind is still more 
apparent, when so many instances may be quoted in opposition to the 
theory built upon them. Of many hundred Shanghaes, for example, bred 
by us this year, many clutches were hatched under Game hens, without 
the slightest variation in their temper and character from those that had 
been reared under mothers of their own race.—W. 
Flower-Garden Plan (Omega). — How could you have the folly and 
impertinence to send us a copy of a plan which appeared in the Magazine 
of Botany, three years ago, vol. i. p. 199 ? If we knew you, we would 
tell you privately and briefly what we think of one capable of such con¬ 
temptible attempts at misleading. 
Geraniums and Pelargoniums (A. B. C.).— Geraniums will not 
cross at all with Pelargoniums or Erodiums either. If you turn to Vol. 
ii. you will see what you ask for at page 243. All letters should be 
addressed to the Editor at the office in London. 
. Pigeons breaking their Eggs (G. H.). —We sent your note of 
inquiry to Mr. Eaton, whose very useful and trustworthy volume, “A 
Treatise on Pigeons,” we shall notice next week. He says, in reply— 
“ I have no doubt the fault is all your own. Although rats and mice 
cannot get at them, query, are they run over with vermin, and their nest 
swarming? This will cause birds to forsake their nests within a few 
days of hatching more than anything else I know of. A careless fancier 
aids them by not making the pigeons a proper nest, as they seldom make 
themselves a good one. Nevertheless, old cock birds are seldom fonder 
of sitting than old gentlemen are fond of nursing. I gave £1 for a 
celebrated old Almond cock ; matched it up to a celebrated hen; the 
eggs always addled, determined to observe the birds ; when the cock 
relieved guard to sit, he had not been there long, before he would come 
and sit on the perch at front of entrance to his pen for an hour, and then 
go back to his eggs after they were addled. It is dangerous to trust old 
cocks to sit, if they are valuable birds, otherwise it is not of any consequence. 
The time has arrived to give up all idea of breeding this season, and 
more next. With regard to the price of Almond Tumblers, a pair may 
be dear at j£l, and another pair cheap at £10. —T. M. E.” 
Jersey (/4. Z.).—We cannot give any opinion on your poor soil in 
Jersey. In England, it would do for larch, birch, and most of the coni¬ 
fers and common shrubs ; also for.saintfoin, and ultimately, barley, oats, 
potatoes; and, last of all, turnips. 
Apple Trees (A Constant Reader). —These are planted shallow, with 
the place of union of the graft and stock above the ground. Never mind. 
By no means raise the trees, and plant them deeper; but you may please 
your ‘ blue aproner,” and do neither good nor harm, by raising a small 
mound or cone of earth around the grafted part, provided that the base 
of this cone does not exceed six or eight inches in diameter. 
Peach-Tree Gumming (Ibid). —This, and some branches dying, 
make us suspect the wood was too vigorous last season to be ripened. 
Re-planting may do good. 
Cuphea, Fuchsia, and Verbena Cuttings (Cynjro).— Keep them 
in cutting-pots, or pot singly now, just according to your conveniences. 
If you can nearly fill a pot with roots before November, pot now. If 
there is little chance of that, refrain, and pot in the spring. If you have 
only three in a pot now they will stand well.— Lignum vita, and other 
evergreen shrubs, you may move as soon as you like, and the sooner the 
better. To kill woudlice, place a little dry hay in their haunt; turn it up 
on a morning, and wield a can of boiling water over them. Place pieces 
of turnip, carrot, or potato in small pots, or bell glasses, and a little 
dry hay or moss over them. Examine in the morning, and empty all the 
captives into boiling water. For anything very particular, draw a cordon 
line of tar round it, and that is a Danube they dare not cross. 
Many Questions (A Young Gardener). —It would take a whole 
number of The Cottage Gardener to answer your many and mixed 
queries. How many trees of keeping Apples do you require? How 
to keep apples was recently detailed in our pages. Buy The Cottage 
Gardeners' Dictionary and Loudon's Encyclopedia of Gardening. No 
work is published on Orchid culture; but there was a very full and excellent 
series of papers upon the subject, by Mr. Appleby, in our fifth and sixth 
volumes. 
Poultry Queries (T. P. 31.). —We fear that the distention of the 
throat in breathing indicates diseased lungs. Pink legs, if entirely pink, 
are objectionable in Shanghaes. .They should be yellow ; but pink where 
the scales are thin is not amiss. Pullets will lay in due course, without 
a male companion, as soon, or nearly so, as they would if mated. Feed¬ 
ing twice a day, with the unrestricted run of a large meadow, will be 
enough for your fowls in the mild climate of Guernsey. The colder a 
locality, the more food is required. Buckwheat is good food, but we like 
Barley, Indian Corn Meal, and Wheat better. There is no mode of pre¬ 
serving eggs, for sitting purposes, beyond three weeks, with a certainty 
of success. 
Fowls Dung (Incubator). —The fresher it is applied the more power¬ 
ful are its effects. We should spread it on the surface, and point it in 
over the roots of the Roses, but not until the spring. 
Getting up a Poultry Show (H. IE.).—There is no magical mode. 
Form a committee; draw up a schedule of prizes and rules; let the 
prizes be liberal; fix two days for the Show; advertise in your local 
papers, and in The Cottage Gardener ; and have an active Secretary ; 
and then the pen money and the entrauce fees will pay the expenses. If 
you take care to have the birds returned immediately the Show is over, 
you will meet with still better success the next year. 
Laurels diseased (Hy. B.). —The holes in the leaves seem caused 
by gangrene, and we should think the trees are old and the soil ex¬ 
hausted. Try the effect of a good dressing of manure. 
Sale of Shanghaes (Bootham) —Consult Mr. Stevens, King- 
street, Covent Garden. 
Weakness in Shanghae’s Legs (A Subscriber, Guernsey).—We 
fear, from such symptoms, as well as “ the long feathers of the wings 
growing raised and partly spread out, instead of close and compact,” 
that there is organic disease. We should give citrate of iron, as re¬ 
commended by Mr. Tegetmeier the other day, and, in addition, add cod- 
liver oil. 
Dane-wort (B.C.). —This is the Sambucus ebulus or Dwarf Elder. 
The green leaves of this, and of the common Elder also, are said to drive 
away mice and moles if put into their haunts. 
Hollyhocks (Goddess). —These may be propagated from buds. Slips 
from the bottom of the old roots may now be planted. In our 16th 
number, page 173, you will find the whole mode of propagating by buds. 
P.lder Wine (A Constant Reader). —Pour three gallons of cold water 
over one peck of berries ; let them stand for twenty-four hours ; then 
boil the whole for twenty minutes, adding 1 oz. bruised ginger, $ oz. of 
cloves, and $ oz. cinnamon, tied in a muslin bag; strain off the liquor, 
and add 3 lbs. of moist sugar to the gallon, and boil again with the same 
spice for quarter-of-an-hour ; when cold, put it into a cask, and if re¬ 
quired for long keeping add half pint of brandy. Brown Bcurre Pears 
are preserved as all others are. 
London: Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street, 
in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, of Church Hill, Walthamstow, in the County of 
Essex, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish of Christ 
Church, City of London.—October 6 th, 1853. 
