THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
I 
October 20. 
40 
; him seeking employment in evident poverty, and possessing 
i a wretched home. • At length the secret came out. 
“ I was called upon one day by the overseer of a neigh¬ 
bouring parish, whom I had slightly known for some time. 
He asked me, if I did not occasionally employ, as gardener, 
a man of the name of Moore. I told him, without hesi¬ 
tation, that I did. Could I, then, tell him where lie was to be 
found, for he was charged with a summons for him to ap- 
i pear before a bench of magistrates, to show cause why ho 
neglected to fultil his payments to support his wife, who was 
chargeable to the parish. 1 asked what he meant, for his 
wife lived with him? “Ah ! no, sir;” he said “ she is not his 
wife, but the wife of another man; his real wife lives in our 
parish, and she who now lives with him is the wife of a 
fellow-servant, for whom he has deserted her to whom he 
was really married. ” And the truth turned out to be, that he 
had married a woman much older than himself, for the sake 
of a little property, which he quickly dissipated, and then 
attached himself to a woman as depraved as himself, and 
the wife of another man. After this he was thrown into 
prison, and the last time I saw him he was the picture of 
wretchedness and poverty, with limbs crippled by rheuma¬ 
tism. If he is not already the inmate of a union workhouse, 
with his protended wife and her unhappy progeny, he 
certainly soon will be; or probably death, e’er this, may have 
summoned him into the presence of Him to whom lie will 
have to render up a fearful account. 
“Cottage Gardeners! think well and solemnly of this! 
Moore was not a drunkard, as too many of his class un¬ 
happily are: but he lived in open and undisguised and 
deadly soul-destroying sin, which is sure, even here on earth, 
to bring its own reward ; for truly does the Scripture say, 
“ there is no peace, saith my God, for the wicked.” 
“ Readers! this is a true tale,—the history of a sinner. It 
shows us the blighting, witliering nature of indulged sin. 
It shows us how “equal” are the Lord’s ways, how “un¬ 
equal" are the ways of man. It shows us how surely the 
cankerworm feeds upon the root of worldly prosperity when 
iniquity is bound up in the heart. It shows us that neither 
planting, nor watering, can avail anything, if the blessing of 
God is withheld, which alone givetli the increase.” 
This deepy instructive narrative has been furnished by 
the same kind heart that has already given several for the 
benefit of our readers. His own eyes witnessed the circum¬ 
stances, and they are all simply and strictly time. What can 
I add to the lesson conveyed by this striking instance of 
God’s faithfulness and truth ? Let us all lay it to our hearts, 
and if we listen diligently to the “still, small voice” within, 
we shall need no man’s teaching. 
We are connected with, or interested in, agricultural or 
horticultural matters. We shall, therefore, all feel the 
power of the Lord’s beautiful history of His own gardening 
experience, and of the treatment His plants receive from 
His righteous hand. “My beloved hatha vineyard in a 
very fruitful hill: and he fenced it, and gathered out the 
stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vines, and 
built a tower in the midst of it, and made a wine-press 
therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, 
and it brought forth wild grapes. ” “What could have been 
done more to my vineyard than I have done to it ? 
Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, 
brought it forth wild grapes. And now go to. I will tell 
you what I will do to rny vineyard: I will take away the 
hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the 
wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; and I will lay it 
waste; it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall 
come up briars and thorns: I will also command the clouds 
that they rain no rain upon it. ” 
Readers! this was God’s dealing with the house of Israel, 
His vineyard: and with “the inen of Judah, His pleasant 
plant.” It is Ilis dealing with all His people everywhere; 
and will be our portion if we deal wickedly: it was the por¬ 
tion of Edward Moore! Yet what does the Lord say further 
to us ? “ Repent, and turn yourselves from all your trans¬ 
gressions; so iniquity shall not bo your ruin.” “ For I have 
no pleasure in the death of him that dicth, saith the Lord 
God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” Readers! 
this word is for you. 
POULTRY IN MORTON’S CYCLOPAEDIA OF 
FARMING. 
(From a Correspondent). 
The 23rd part of “ Morton’s Cyclopaedia of Farming,” re¬ 
cently published, contains an article on “ Poultry,” of which 
the perusal of the first few lines would have afforded an 
easy clue to the author, even supposing his initials had not 
been appended. 
It is, unquestionably, a very able abstract of the volume 
on “ Ornamental and Domestic Poultry,” but the rapid pro¬ 
gress of improvement in the poultry-yard that has now been 
going on for the last two years, has not, we think, been duly 
recorded. A reference to the illustrations confirms us in 
this view. The Cochin-Chinas, for instance, although they 
might possibly have passed muster in the early days of 
their race in this country, are such as would now be at once 
discarded. A foot-note, indeed, announces, in apologetic 
strain, that “ both birds have too much tail,” but we should 
i equally dissent to their figure also. There are other points 
connected with this breed to which we should have expected 
the attention of the writer would have been especially 
directed; among these might be enumerated the singular 
origin of the great majority of the black birds, and the 
equally curious fact of some of the best specimens of the 
white birds, having been bred during the present year from 
l parents of which fine was black. The alleged descent, too, 
of the white strain that has most distinguished itself in this 
country, from buff ancestors, would have been a topic highly 
interesting to the poultry-keeping public, and on which, 
therefore, some little space would have been well bestowed. 
1 These are matters that have only recently attracted notice, 
and which are, in a great measure, subsequent to other pub- 
; lications of this description. 
Assuredly the writer has not been fortunate in his artist, 
| for the illustration of the Game Cock conveys the idea of a 
' well-conditioned Dorkiny, rather than the nervous and 
| muscular, but yet agile form of the former bird. The Ham- 
' buryhs are better, but the crest of the white top-knotted 
: Black Polish Hen is such as would at once condemn her. 
It is no fault of the author, whose descriptions, indeed, in 
frequent instances, would correct the errors of the draughts¬ 
man, but the portraits are on too small a scale, and lack, 
: moreover, the effect of colour. Without this latter adjunct, 
indeed, such representations are of little utility. The 
arrangement of the light and dark portions of a bird's 
plumage is all that plain black and white is capable of, and 
when we remember, that in many ox the ornamental 
varieties, different shades of the same, or allied colours, are 
the source of importaixt distinctions, the value of coloured 
portraits becomes apparent. 
We find, at page 715, the repetition of the opinion put 
forth in “ Ornamental and Domestic Poultry,” as to the 
; varieties of the Domestic Goose being merely nominal. 
Enough, however, has elsewhere been shown on their 
points of distinction to earn the position of “ permanent 
| varieties” for the Emden and Toulouse families. But where 
a “ permanent variety” ends, and “ specific difference” com¬ 
mences, we should be unwilling to decide. The subject is 
one that requires more careful investigation, which, indeed, 
may be materially assisted by the singular points of re¬ 
semblance between the Toulouse and the Grey-lag Goose, 
“Anas ferns” or “ Palustris.” 
The directions for poultry-management are concise and 
practical, but a sentence at the conclusion, we should fear, 
was more likely to bring the disease of “ gapes ” to a fatal 
conclusion than to effect a cure. “ Another successful 
remedy is to take a pinion feather, and strip it, excepting 
one-and-a-half-incli at the end, thrusting it gently down the 
bird’s throat, turning it round, and drawing it out till all the 
worms are extracted.” The extreme delicacy of the mem¬ 
branes connected with the throat must always render such 
treatment extremely hazardous, and cases of recovexy, we 
imagine, bear a very small proportion to those on which 
this operation has been attempted. Whether the “ Epsom 
Balts,” or the other saline preparation more frequently heard 
of in connection with pigeons than other birds, is efficacious 
or otherwise, we can neither affirm nor deny ; but it is our 
strong opinion, that if nature fails to cany the chicken 
patient through this disease, our assistance confers but a 
