THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
127 
1 November 17. 
I have invariably found soft food essential to well-doing 
in all cases of sudden confinement; and I feel perfectly 
assured, that if exhibitors, generally, would feed less liber¬ 
ally when about to despatch their poultry, and on such food 
as Scotch-oatmeal and barley-flour, mixed with water, the 
same plan being adopted immediately on their return, we 
should find a very large discount from the almost universal 
complaints now afloat as to “ Exhibition Fever.” Hard 
corn should, too, be given in very spare quantities during 
exhibitions, and that only about mid-day—more to promote 
exei’cise than feeding—and if green-food could be placed 
within reach of each fowl, the benefit would be very great, 
whilst a constant supply of clean water is an attainment 
j that is obligatory and must be ensured. To be brief; if 
fowls were fed more naturally for exhibitions than is now 
generally practised, it would remove a very great impedi¬ 
ment to their coveted success ; and even slight fasting 
would entail far less injury than over-repletion. I am not 
I an advocateof excessive feeding of “ Brood-stock';” let them 
1 be fed liberally, as a general rule, by all means, and on good 
| grain; but, if over-fatted, the dearly-bought experience of 
many of your readers (concurrent with my own) as to un- 
: shelled eggs, or, perhaps, scarcely any amount of eggs at 
all, will be the best attestation of the verity of my state¬ 
ments.— Edward Hewitt, Eden Cottage , Spark Brook , near 
Birmingham. 
HARDY HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 
(Continued from pnyelll.) 
ACHILLEA TOMENTOSA. 
This, the Woolly Milfoil, is a very desirable little ever¬ 
green, hardy plant, and is readily known from all the rest of 
its family. Its flowers, like the Caspian Milfoil, are of a 
beautiful golden-yellow colour, produced in close, compact 
heads, or corymbs. Its leaves are all finely and many-times 
cut, both root-leaves and those of the stems, too, and woolly, 
especially when the plant is flourishing upon high ground. 
Botanists describe the leaves as pinnatifid, or doubly pin- 
natifid, the segments crowded, linear acute. 
This plant rises from nine to twelve inches in height, and 
flowers from May, more or less, to the end of September. 
Its height tells us that it should be a front plant in the 
flower borders. It is a delightful plant for the Rockery, 
and once well-planted, either in the dry open border, or 
upon the Rockery, it may stand in the same spots for years, 
if the plants are kept clear of fallen leaves and the like, 
which are. so apt to be a harbour for slugs and other vermin, 
during the winter months, and which are very destructive 
to it, 
It is readily increased by root-division, either in the 
autumn or spring months. Indeed, I would not refuse a 
slip of it in any month in the whole year, if I was in want 
of it. The same facility in rooting occurs almost with all 
hardy border plants. They will admit of a slip being taken 
from them almost at any time. 
In low, damp situations, where there is much chance of 
losing this plant during the winter months, lift up a plant 
or two out of the borders towards the end of September or 
S beginning of October, and pot them ; and, if any one time 
I is better than another, this is the best time to make an in¬ 
crease of this plant by division. When potted, the plants 
'■ should be placed out in some place where the eye will be 
upon them now and then, to see that they are not being 
eaten up by slugs, or wanting for a supply of water, and the 
like, as it is soon lost, much sooner than many persons are 
: aware of. 
Plants, in pots, like this, should always have some sort 
of protection during severe frosty weather, and, like the 
Cauliflower, should have all the open air possible in favour¬ 
able weather. 
In Curtis’s Botanical Mag., vol. 11, page 498, he says, 
“ This plant grows naturally in Spain, the South of France, 
the Valais, and Italy; and was cultivated in the Oxford 
Botanic Garden, in 1058.” It may be supposed the plant 
was not very commonly to be seen then, neither is it half so 
plentiful as it deserves to be now, although, since then, its 
I name has crept into our English Floras. In Lindley’s 
“ Synopsis of the British Flora,” he says, speaking of its 
localities, “ It is found in dry, hilly pastures, in Scotland and 
Ireland.” This points out to us, that open, dry situations 
are where we should plant it in our flower gardens. Ba- 
bington, in his “ Manual of British Botany,” says, “ This plant 
is an escape from cultivation, or a doubtful native; but 
whether properly indigenous or exotic, it ranks in the list 
among our choice Hardy Herbaceous Plants.” T. W. 
DISEASES OF POULTRY. 
ROOT. 
Although I have been for many months engaged in 
making a series of experiments on this disease, I have 
delayed communicating the result, in the hope that I might 
be able to furnish some satisfactory hints as to its cure. 
Roup is, essentially, a disease of the lining membrane of 
the nose, the eyes and mouth becoming affected secondarily. 
In the first instance, this membrane is slightly inflamed, it 
thickens, and thus partially obstructs the narrow passages 
of the nostrils, and as the fowl habitually breathes through 
the nose, and not through the mouth, a greater effort is 
required to force the air through the narrowed passages, 
and this produces the distention of the top of the throat, 
and under part of the mouth, which is much dwelt upon, by 
some writers, as an early symptom of the disease; at the 
same time, or shortly afterwards, a thin, clear discharge 
may be seen issuing from the nostrils, this dries upon the 
beak, or by its stickiness collects small feathers, &c. In 
many cases, the disease makes no farther progress, and 
many remain in this state for weeks, without change, when, 
perhaps, it should rather be deemed catarrh than roup. 
In severe cases, the difficulty of breathing through the 
nose increases, and part of the air is forced through the 
tear passage (that leads from the front corner of the eye 
into the nose), and causes a degree of frothiness which 
partially obstructs the sight, and which is very characteristic 
of advanced stages of the disease; the discharge at the 
same time loses its clear transparency, and becomes 
creamy and offensive, and from the almost entire closeness 
of the nostrils it collects internally, in the cavity of the 
nose, in some cases becoming quite solid; the irritation 
caused by that portion of the discharge which passes 
through the eye produces great swelling and purulent in¬ 
flammation of the eyelids, which, in severe cases, are entirely 
closed from the discharge being so long retained in the 
nostrils; it becomes putrid, and of an exceedingly offensive 
and well-marked odour, which has sometimes reminded me 
of that of bad glue. The constitutional disturbance is very 
considerable; the fowl is feverish, unwilling (or, perhaps, 
from blindness, is unable) to eat, but drinks freely, and 
very frequently sinks under the disease. 
Anxious to put to the test of experiment the contagious 
or non-contagious character of this disease, I obtained, 
from a neighbour, three chicken in the worst possible stage— 
so severely were they affected, that one died immediately 
after reaching my house ; these birds I placed in an empty, 
dry attic, freely open to tbe sun and air, and they were sup¬ 
plied daily with fresh mould, turf, water, food, &c. Imme¬ 
diately on receiving them, I took two perfectly healthy, 
robust chickens, two months old, and placed them in the 
same room ; into the nostrils of one I rubbed the discharge 
from the dead fowl, and the other was merely placed in the 
apartment for a week; these two fowls, thus treated, were 
unaffected, and I began to suspect roup to be non-contagious. 
At the end of that time, the chicken that had not been 
rubbed with tbe discharge showed signs of the disease, 
which ran rapidly to a fatal termination. 
Now, when we take into consideration the fact that this 
bird was amply supplied with wholesome food, the room 
dry, well ventilated, and kept clean, it appears to mo as 
strong a proof as one case can be, that roup is contagious, 
for no fowl could be in more unlikely circumstances to 
contract a catarrh. The other chicken that I endeavoured 
to inoculate showed no signs of the disease for a fortnight, 
when (the two remaining original patients being disposed 
of, one by death, and the other having recovered under 
treatment) I most thoughtlessly placed it again in tho yard 
