304 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 19. 
i tious properties, which, hy the method I have de- 
j scribed in my paper upon the preservation of Roots, 
they will do until the middle of the month of 
| May. And, indeed, from the middle of the mouth of 
April, where farms have water-meadows attached, the 
Ewes and Lambs may have hurdled-off for them a 
portion of grass every day, returning to the field for 
root and hay feeding in the evening. After the 
Swedish turnips have been all consumed, Mangold 
Wurtzel will be just coming in season for feeding, and 
it is an excellent kind of food for the Lambs to have 
j cut and placed in troughs, in advance of the Ewes, 
throughout the summer, and, by preserving a sufficient 
quantity, they may be used for this purpose until the 
Lambs are fit for sale at the summer fairs. 1 do not 
hesitate to say, that stock Lambs of the very best 
description may be made at a far less cost from cake and 
corn than when they receive grass only in connection 
with those artificial feeding materials. The green crops 
of different kinds will now, after the Turnips are gone, 
be coming into use; and those crops, such as Trifolium, 
Tares, &c., should be given only as a change, which 
food they should get hurdled-off for them during the 
day, and in the evening they should be allowed to 
return to grass, or Saintfoin, where the Lambs should 
receive their trough food. This mode of feeding will 
not only effect the consumption of all these crops in 
due season, but will furnish abundance for change and 
mixture in feeding, so essential to the profitable feeding 
of stock sheep. The kind of food just spoken of will 
cai'ry the stock on to the period when the Lambs must 
be weaned; and this is an important operation, and 
should be done with care and attention. The best 
rule is to remove the Ewes from the Lambs, rather 
than the reverse, as the Lambs will be more contented 
if they are allowed to run and feed in their former 
haunts; for in case they are taken away from the Ewes, 
and removed to a strange place, they will become ex¬ 
ceedingly restless, and it is often some days before they 
take to their food willingly. The Ewes, when removed, ; 
should, if piossible, for a few days be sent to a distant 
part of the farm, and out of hearing of the Lambs, 
otherwise the call of the Ewes proves a source of great [ 
disquietude to them. 
The wool of a stock flock is of great importance in 
the economy of sheep-farming, and, as it is a double 
question, I should observe, that upon the hill farms 
the Ewes should not be shorn too early, as it may be 
deferred until the middle of the month of June, with 
advantage to the fleece and the animal. There is, 
however, another very important operation in connec¬ 
tion with the growth of wool, namely, dipping them in 
solutions of poisonous compounds, whereby the lice 
| and ticks in the wool are destroyed, it being, at the 
same time, the means of improving the growth of wool, 
i as well as the health and condition of the stock. There 
are many of these compounds, all containing arsenic, 
in use, but that known as “ Bigg’s” is very suitable, as 
well as the method of dipping by his improved 
i apparatus. Joseph Blundell. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
The Cornwall Society's Poultry Show. — When 
we hear of a Poultry Society having held its “ third ” 
annual meeting, we are ready to assign respectable anti¬ 
quity to such a body, and enquire, with some interest, into 
the practical results that may have been thus attained. 
In the present instance, the “ Cornwall Society,” being the 
first institution of this kind formed in the west of England, 
has reached this point in its career, and not merely has its 
exhibition, year by year, progressed satisfactorily, both as 
regards the quantity and quality of the pens exhibited, but 
the poultry-markets throughout the neighbourhood are now, 
by general admission, far better supplied than was the case 
in former years. This latter fact is, after all, the main 
point by which we must estimate success or failure in these 
societies; for we are firmly persuaded, that without the 
prospect of improving our breeds of poultry, in a strictly , 
economical point of view, the denizens of the poultry-yard 
would never have occupied their present position in the 
public favour. 
The Corn-chamber in Penzance, was, as previously, the 
j site selected for the show, and although an addition of fifty 
| pens appeared in the catalogue, beyond the entries of the 
last year, abundant accommodation was provided for the 
whole number. 
In Spanish, the first prize was withheld in both classes, 
no pen being altogether free from a ruddy tinge on the 
faces of some of its occupants. Many of the birds were 
well-shaped, and shown in good condition, but the absence 
of a main characteristic of this family could not allow them 
any higher position. 
Coloured Dorkings, both old and young, had the first prize 
pens from the yard of George Williams, Esq., of Trevince, 
near Truro, while the second prize fell to some good 
chickens belonging to Wm. Bolitho, Esq., of Chyandour. 
i On looking carefully at several of the pens in these classes, 
we would suggest that mere bulk and weight should not 
alone be aimed at, since form and symmetry may be present 
at the same time with the former good qualities, and, if so, 
would certainly be an additional recommendation of the. 
fowl combining these advantages. The higher bred the 
bird, provided size is duly regarded, by so much the larger 
quantity of flesh will appear on the more profitable portions 
of its body, with a corresponding decrease of offal. A | 
glance at the prize Dorkings at the recent Birmingham 
meeting would fully bear us out in the recommendation we 
offer to Dorking breeders, to seek form as well as substance. 1 
In White Dorkings, which were more numerously re- j 
presented than usually happens, all the prizes in "both 
classes fell to the birds of Augustus Smith, Esq., of Trescow 
Abbey, in the Scilly Islands; notwithstanding a rough | 
passage, the winners were in beautiful feather, and from 
the number of pens claimed must be popular in this j 
neighbourhood. 
In the whole class for Buff Shanghaes, Mr. Lawrence, of j 
Rosemorran, near Penzance, came first, and beyond all 
question, his position of honour was duly merited in every j 
respect. The second prize was taken by Mr. Branwell, of ' 
Penzance. Turning to the young birds of the same colour, j 
we find the name of the Eev. W. AV. Wingfield as the 
owner of the well-shaped and good-coloured birds that took 
the first prize ; while equal seconds were awarded to Messrs, j 
Gittus and Welch. Highly commended, and the more I 
limited token of judicial approbation, appeared affixed to | 
numerous other lots in this division of the show. Mr. ] 
Lawrence had a second prize for his White Shanghaes, and j 
the names of those who won in the chicken class included j 
the Bev. AV. AV. AA ingfield, Mr. Lawrence, aud Mr. Burton, 
of Truro. To the latter gentleman was also awarded a 
first prize for his Partridge-feathered chickens, while Mr. 
Gittus took a second for his pen of old birds of the same 
colour. 
The circumstance of a cold, wet autumn, and, conse¬ 
quently, a late and unfavourable moulting season, has, 
hitherto, told against the appearance of the adult Shanghaes, 
and their temporary depreciation in popular estimation, has, 
therefore, been apparent. This, we must say, is evidently 
unjust towards a race of fowls, possessing, as these do, such 
undoubted claims to be considered among the most 
