December 1. THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 167 
very accommodating, and speedily adjust themselves to the 
altered circumstances of their condition, yet a little time is 
necessary to enable them to do it properly, and without 
sacrifice to themselves. A bed of Onions, when allowed to 
stand two or three days too long unthinned, certainly suffer 
much in consequence, for the elongated stem, unable to 
support itself when its companions are removed by thinning, 
usually falls down and exposes some part of its hitherto 
shaded leaf blades to the action of unsparing sunshine, 
should it be such at the moment; it is, therefore, needless to 
say that such work as thinning or weeding, which is much 
the same, ought to he done in dull weather, or on an even¬ 
ing, for the plant, with an instinctive feeling of what it is 
called on to endure, will speedily erect itself (provided it is 
not too far gone), and be prepared to greet rather than fear 
that all-powerful agent of cultivation, “ the Sun.” To the 
cottager, we therefore impress on him the necessity of 
removing his weeds at once; and a scarcely less urgent 
injunction is to “thin his crops in time;” it is all very well 
to say that young plants are so accommodating as to regain 
a sturdy growth after they had been drawm up spindly and 
weak; this robust habit is attained rather in spite of the 
mismanagement than by virtue of it; and no one will deny 
that a loss of time has been sustained in the operation ; and 
hence a sacrifice. 
It has been before observed, the Garden Allotment differs 
much from the Home Garden—a more robust class of pro¬ 
duce is generally substituted at the former place, and some 
of the more delicate or tender ones omitted; flowers do not 
necessarily enter into the list of articles cultivated in such 
places; for unless they he of the more common or robust 
kinds, their presence there is scarcely in harmony with the 
other crops. However, I do not by any means quarrel with 
the cultivation of flowers, for here and there a Dahlia, or 
Hollyhock, or, it might he, a double Sweet ‘William, or Wall¬ 
flower, look very cheerful in their way; however, as the 
more legitimate crop deserves most attention, we will direct 
our remarks to that, and first beg to say, that a proper rota¬ 
tion of crops is of essential service to a place where so much 
is expected from a limited extent of ground ; and carrying 
this object out, we must not see the Cabbage succeeded by 
the Cauliflower, or anything of its own kindred tribe; but 
contrive to have a root crop, as Potatoes, Parsnips, Carrots, 
or Onions, always intervening between two such crops. This 
way of managing the cropping will he more difficult now 
than of yore, since the Cabbage-worts have formed a more 
important feature in G arden Allotments where Potatoes are 
so uncertain a crop. Now, the exercise of a little degree of 
forethought will make this duty more easy than might be 
expected; the first crop of Potatoes is off early enough to 
be followed by Winter Cabbages, and a further supply might 
follow the newly-cleared Onion bed ; while the Cabbages of 
the previous spring might remain on the ground to furnish 
nice Greens in the shape of the numerous shoots they are 
possessed of, until the return of spring reminds the culti¬ 
vator that root-crops of various kinds will be wanted. Now, 
we would not by any means sow Carrots after Cabbages, but 
Potatoes might be planted, and that with much less prepa¬ 
ration of the ground than is necessary for the well-being of 
a crop reared from a very small seed, as Carrot, Onion, Ac. 
On the other hand, when such green crops are suddenly 
removed to make way for an opposite one, some little time 
ought to elapse in order to allow it to benefit by the changes 
of atmosphere, which only full exposure will ensure to it; 
whenever, therefore, a piece of ground occupied by any such 
crop becomes empty, let it be immediately dug, unless it be 
so excessively wet as to receive injury by the operation, in 
which case, it may, perhaps, be better lying in a solid con¬ 
dition than in a fresh-turned-up one. This subject, having 
attracted much attention amongst farmers, will, probably, be 
treated of hereafter; in the meantime, let all ground on 
which Beans, Potatoes, Carrots, Onions, and the like 
have heen grown, he dug and planted with Cabbages 
forthwith, and whatever may be the character of the 
ground, light, or very stiff, observe, there are no medium 
courses of cultivation, it must either be dug or ridged up 
to receive the benefits of the frost, or it may be made 
firm by treading over it, Ac., which would not be the 
case were Cabbages, &c. dug up, and the holes they came 
from allowed to remain loose, as so many basins, to receive 
all the rain-water that fell to stagnate tliero to the injury of 
everything growing near them ; better would it be, after 
removing a crop of Scarlet Runners, or such like, to tread 
and smooth the ground well that would not endure digging 
—by this means, you will prepare a hard sealed-up surface, 
which, though impervious to the admission of the air, to a 
great extent, is still more so to the rain, and, consequently, 
escapes the souring which a too-much soddening with water 
incurs. But as the digging and trenching of ground, under 
the various conditions in which it may be placed, affords a 
wide field for inquiry, I will leave tliat for another opportunity; 
and, in conclusion of the present article, repeat the advice to 
all parties of trying what they can to increase the utility of 
Garden Allotments, where they do exist, and where they do 
not, to endeavour to introduce them, and the result will, in 
most cases, be not only beneficial to the occupants, but 
advantages also the proprietor. J. Robson. 
GREY SHANGHAES. 
Before proceeding to the substance of C. IT. B.’s reply to 
my last, I would suggest, in reference to the concluding 
paragraph of his letter, in which he requests you to publish 
his name, in order “ that at least some of your readers may 
know whether he is capable of forming an opinion on the 
subject,” that had he appended to the name he subscribes, 
that of “ Timothy Mason ” (a nom-de-yiterre by which he is 
familiarly known to most of your readers) he would have 
attained his object more effectually, and conduced to a still 
wider appreciation of his claims in this particular, as also of 
his right and title to he considered the fair and impartial 
disputant he professes. 
Mr. Brown evades my first challenge, on the pretext that 
two birds cannot be taken as a sample of “the whole Grey 
varietybut this is a difficulty of Mr. B.’s own making; for 
my proposition refers, as he must know (for I have through¬ 
out specially insisted on the distinction), not to “ the whole 
Grey variety,” but to a single and distinct strain of that 
variety; a strain which a year since had scarcely been heard 
of in this country, and a little more than two years ago was 
unknown even in America, whence the samples in this 
country were derived. But if my proposal to send “ one or 
two pairs ” for your inspection does not satisfy him, and 
this is his only objection, I will most willingly extend the 
number to one dozen ; which, indeed, would be about all I 
possess, or could send of a suitable age. Will Mr. B. pre¬ 
tend that twelve birds are too few to constitute a fair sample 
of the produce of a strain, which, as many months since, was 
unknown to our poultry fanciers, and of which, up to the 
date of Mr. B.’s, in a tone of infallibility, fulminating his 
anathema at them, as “ a very coarse variety of the ugliest 
of Shanghaes, very deficient in all the beauties we are accus¬ 
tomed to look for in Buff and other colour,s” scarcely that 
number of genuine uncrossed specimens had been imported, 
if I except the nine birds presented to Her Majesty? 
Touching the excuses alleged for not accepting my second 
challenge, though I think Mr. B. might have found a more 
potent reason than any he has advanced for not acceeding 
to both proposals; still, as it is not in my power to remove 
the obstacles he has found it convenient to raise to my 
second, I must let them pass for what they are worth, 
expressing, however, my own suspicion that were there “the 
will ” there would not be found wanting “ the way.” 
I come now to what Mr. B. seems to consider the really 
serious part of his letter, that, namely, where he declares 
his willingness to break a lance with me. “But all jesting 
aside,” he says, “will W. C. G. kindly state on what terms 
he will undertake to show the best Grey pullet he can pro¬ 
duce, for all properties, except colour, against the best one I 
can produce of some other shade; this will meet the question 
more fairly”! Now, before showing Mr. Brown (fori will 
not insult your judgment, Mr. Editor, or that of your readers, 
by supposing you will need the demonstration) the absurdity 
of this proposition, I beg to say, that whether fair or unfair 
in itself, it does not “ meet the question ” at all : for the 
purport and intention of my letter and challenge was,—not to 
prove that out of some two or three dozen Brahmas (to 
about which number alone of genuine specimens could I 
pnssibly have access) I could find a bird superior to one of 
