370 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
February 9. 
falling so that the overplus water may he conveyed through 
pipes to the lower terraces, and thence to one immense 
cistern. By these means, all the rain falling, which could 
in any way be injurious to the property, or among the neigh¬ 
bours below, is saved, and may, should circumstances require 
it, be forced up to the highest part of the premises, to 
water the Vine borders, &c. 
I should have said enough respecting this ornamental 
and useful place to have called the attention of all horticul¬ 
turists towards it, but I cannot stop yet; my thread is not 
run out; and here I must inform your readers, I have seen 
Hawthornden and Ribston Pippin Apples ripe in August; 
Apricots by hundreds; Plums and Pears by bushels ; and 
small fruit by the cwt. Enough fruit is now grown on 
this cotil and once barren piece of ground to supply a 
whole regiment, 1000 strong, and every man to have as 
much as would do him good during tho season, besides 
flowers growing and thriving in the most exlniberant state. 
Here 1 recollect seeing Digitalis purpurea, or the Fox¬ 
glove, growing in the most beautiful variety, from pure 
white to the original purple, and some with the most beau¬ 
tifully spotted throats in almost every intermediate shade; 
the central spikes of bloom being from seven to eight feet 
high, with from thirty to forty minor and lateral shoots, 
making altogether the most splendid pyramids of bloom 
that can possibly be imagined. The Double Yellow Provence 
Rose also thrives well here a very strong plant; growing at 
the foot of one of the flights of steps, producing abundance 
of splendid, large, yellow flowers, as large and as double as 
the Old Provence Rose. This seems to be a peculiar plant, 
outwitting the most witty of gardeners as to the best mode 
of cultivating it. It seems as if it would only grow where 
it liked. Here it thrives in the greatest luxuriance and 
beauty. The Fuchsias, Pceonias, Boses, and most other 
flowering shrubs and plants may here be seen thriving with 
the same luxuriance of growth and abundance of bloom. 
I would recommend all the lovers of horticulture and 
floriculture visiting the Island of Jersey not to leave it 
without endeavouring to make time for a visit to this 
establishment.—C. B. S., Jersey. 
BANTAMS AS RECENTLY SHOWN. 
(Concluded from page 345.) 
Whatever tho causes to which we should assign the 
falling off in the “laced" birds that we recently com¬ 
plained of, it is satisfactory to observe that other varieties 
have, at the same time, more than held their own. In the 
“ black" Bantam Class, for instance, birds of the highest 
merit have been abundant, and both at Leeds and Birming¬ 
ham pens of these birds have been shown in the year just 
passed that would have stood the severest criticism, and it 
may be fairly said, that throughout the regions of Poultry 
Shows these have been eminently good. No complaints 
are heard of the unfertile character of the black Bantam’s 
eggs, hardy, vigorous little balls of dark fluffy down are 
always abundant, and neither in chickenhood or maturity, 
under ordinary care, need we feel anxious about their well 
doing. But all this is widely different to what takes place 
with the subjects of our last paper, viz., the laced birds, 
both gold and silver. Yet this might well be expected, 
since, in the last case, the characteristic features of the 
healthy male bird arc deemed blots and blemishes, and 
our anxious and continued efforts are devoted to their eradi¬ 
cation as far as our powers go. But look at the parent of 
our black Bantam brood—a vigorous, high-couraged little 
fellow, with so much masculine energy as enables him to 
lord it over fowls twice his size, and possessing his male 
attire as brilliant^ relieved from that of his mate as we find 
in black fowls of any kind. 
The tail is here loft an open question, since, although 
there are many by whom the preference would be given to 
one of rather a square character, no one, we think, should 
find fault with the most ample sickle-feather, provided 
there be no undue excess of size or loss of symmetry. 
Another point, on which we have heard various opinions 
expressed, concerns the ear-lobe, which, to our own eye, 
appears best when white, or but slightly blushed; good 
judges, however, ai’c found who do not object to its being 
red, but when this is the case, the loss of the contrast, so 
strongly exemplified in the black Spanish, or the black 
Hamburgh, seem to deteriorate from the general effect. 
“ While" Bantams, also, have progressed rapidly of late, 
and the coarse birds that were frequently seen in former 
years, more allied apparently to the white Dorking than 
belonging to the family wo aro now speaking of, arc rarely 1 
thrust forward for judicial disapprobation. The July Ex 
liibition, at Plymouth, had some excellent birds in this class, : 
perfect in form as well as feather; and at Birmingham, also, 
they came forward with equal credit. Here we first come to 
a question relative to the “ comb," for in the laced and black 
varieties there can be no question but that that appendage j 
should be in the rose form. The single comb, however, is I 
said to be admissable in white Bantams, though, whenever ! 
it is substituted for the former, the bird appears to disad- j 
vantage, in our eyes, to fully the same extent as with the j 
white Dorking. The compactness of the rose-comb harmo j 
nises with the general character and form of these diminu- j 
tive birds; and both here, as in the case of other rose- j 
combed fowls, the intensity in colour of the comb appears ■! 
to exceed that of single-combed specimens. May not this j 
be, perhaps, attributable to the formation of the first so I 
clearly resembling the coral, from which we are accustomed 
to derive an epithet for the comb generally ? Be this as it 
may, our verdict goes unhesitatingly for rose-combed white 
Bantams, though admitting the excellence in other points 
of very many single-combed pens that have been recently 
exhibited. 
Considerable surprise was felt by many exhibitors at a 
decision in the Bantam classes at the recent Metropolitan 
Exhibition. We allude to the first prize awarded to a pen 
of “ booted and tufted white Bantams,” which were placed 
over the head of several pens of the clean-legged birds, to 
which last custom has hitherto limited the class in question. 
According to the wording of the prize-list, the Judges might 
have felt themselves bound to award the prize to any birds 
of that “ colour ” that might seem to them best to deserve 
the honour; and, in saying this, it must be remembered that 
we are not here discussing the question of whether they 
were the best birds of their class, or not; but, simply, 
whether they were admissable, or otherwise. The clean¬ 
legged white Bantam has, unquestionably, been generally 
considered as the best form of that bird, and nothing of 
recent introduction has induced us to change that opinion. 
The “ booted ” birds have, also, during the past year, been 
assigned, in many instances, a separate class, where the 
birds possessing this peculiarity, no matter of what colour, 
should all be arranged. The fact of prizes for “ booted, or 
feathered Bantams ” would at once disqualify such specimens j 
when shown in the other classes that have previously been j 
occupied exclusively by the clean-legged birds; but it is by 
no means equally clear that the former would be necessarily 
included among those “ of any other variety.” 
Beyond the four varieties already enumerated, the com¬ 
petitors for fame among the other Bantams were, till the ! 
last year or so, comparatively scarce; nor, indeed, were tho j 
merits of such as did appear sufficient to make us anxious 
for their further acquaintance. The period over which this 1 
remark is extended is not designed to go back to those 1 
times, now some twenty or thirty years back, when the j 
booted Bantams, and the unfortunate Creepers and Jum- , 
pers were, among others, objects of popular favour; but we 
refer only to the later epoch of Poultry Exhibitions, dating, j 
perhaps, from their first inauguration at Birmingham. 
Among the miscellany that the class for odds and ends 
frequently submits to our notice, the “ Spangled ” birds are 
frequently seen, but these are rarely satisfactory, too com¬ 
monly reminding us of imperfect lacing, which is dege¬ 
nerating into spottiness, rather than showing the clear 
ground colour and distinct spangle which should be required 
here ns rigourously as with the llamburghs or Polish. 
The “Game Bantams ” have had among their number 
some specimens of extreme beauty, especially those minia¬ 
ture Duckwings so deservedly the objects of general admira¬ 
tion at the Metropolitan Exhibition in the early part of 
1853. 
Reduced fac similes of the black-breasted and other reds 
have also been successful on several occasions, and both 
