March 2. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
429 
attention, nor want of appreciation of either their merits or 
their beauty. But the reason must be sought for in the dif¬ 
ficulty that is so generally complained of in rearing their 
chickens, and their extremely slow growth, points which the 
utilitarian character of the present day will not dispense 
with even in the details of our Poultry-yards. As profitable 
poultry, we can say little in favour of the Poland ; and thus 
we are not surprised that the anticipations of many of their 
sanguine admirers in the earlier part of the past year, which 
led them to expect greater popularity for their favourites 
than they have since attained to, have proved groundless. If 
the Shanghae, whose rapid upward course was in a great 
measure attributable to the idea of its profitable character, 
has been somewhat dimmed in its hitherto triumphant 
course, its competitors have been the useful Dorkings and 
Spanish ; and birds of feather only, Polands perhaps more 
especially, have failed to gain the vacant place, however 
meritorious in the eyes of those who are attached to birds of 
this character. 
ARABIAN LAUGHING PIGEONS. 
We have now in our possession a pair of these curious 
birds. The cock bird is pale blue, with very beautiful and 
a very strong metallic iridescence on the neck feathers. 
The hen is mottled blue and white, and much smaller than her 
mate. They are under the average size of Pigeons, and have 
red unbooted legs. The beak is somewhat more hooked 
than usual, hut otherwise there is nothing in their appear¬ 
ance, to an unpractised eye, distinguishing them from a 
common Pigeon. Their varied cries, however, are cer¬ 
tainly extraordinary. Some of the notes are those of a 
loud, coarse laugh; but it is, when they are much alarmed, 
more like a hoarse clamour. 
The gentleman from whom we have received the Pigeons 
writes as follows :— 
“ Their originals I bought and sent home by ship, They 
come from Arabia, and cost me two dollars per pair. They 
vary in colour, being mostly blue, red, and white. I have 
bred them white, pied-blue, and mottled. 
“ They stand our climate tolerably well. The different 
sounds they make are very strange, and when breeding they 
utter several different kinds of cry. Indeed, any one that 
had never heard them would be puzzled to know what was 
the cause of the sounds they make, and I think you and 
your friends will he very much amused to hear them, as my 
friends have been. They would not have thought Pigeons 
capable of making so many different sounds. I feed them 
with wheat, tares, barley, and a little hempseed, once daily. 
They are fond of different kinds of greens. 
“ I dare say you will not hear them for a day or so, until 
they get accustomed to your place. In addition to this, if 
they are disturbed at night they make those laughing 
sounds, and should they see a light they immediately com¬ 
mence, being thus almost as good as a house dog. One night 
I was aroused by them, and knew that some one was in 
their place, and on getting up found my man had got up 
much earlier than usual to commence his brewing. This 
set them all in full cry, and in one respect they are better 
than a dog, for they are not so easy to quiet. 
“ Those I have bred in this country stood the climate 
pretty well, hut I find that it is better to keep both them 
and the English Fancy Pigeons shut in when it is very cold, 
or very cold and wet with it. I find neither my Pigeons 
nor poultry stand the damp, cold weather well, especially 
[ when the wind is either in the north or east.” 
CEDAR OF LEBANON, 
At Stanford Court. 
A Correspondent in The Cottage Gardener for January 
| 2R, page 328, in speaking of remarkable trees, states that in 
I the county of Kent there are some fine old Yew Trees, and 
i he also states there is (what he thinks) the finest Cedar of 
1 Lebanon he has ever seen, but he does not state the dimen¬ 
sions. Now, I would beg to inform “A correspondent” that 
there is growing in the kitchen-garden, at Stanford Court, 
Worcestershire, a Cedar of Lebanon, which I think there 
are few in England equal to ; at least, I have not heard of i 
any; the dimensions of which are as follows:—Height, 
about seventy-five feet; circumference at two-and-a half-feet j 
from the ground, nineteen feet; diameter of branches, one- I 
hundred-and-twenty-two feet the one way, and about eighty- 
five feet the other way, and covering a circle of ground "mea¬ 
suring three hundred-and-eighteen feet. 
Although the size of the trunk may not appear very large, 
it must be borne in mind that is the smallest part between 
the root and branches, which are only five feet from the 
ground. The main feature of this noble tree is the enor¬ 
mous length of the lower branches, which are supported by 
strong props, the present number being twenty-five. This 
fine tree was planted in its present situation about the year 
1749, rather more than one hundred years since ; the soil it 
grows in is a very deep strong loam ; the soil, indeed, seems to 
supply the necessary food, for the Cedar seems perfectly at 
home there. This tree-would, I have no doubt, have been 
much handsomer, but the heavy falls of snow that we had 
some ten or fifteen years since deprived it pf several of its 
largest upper branches. 
I should be glad to hear, through the medium of The 
Cottage Gardener, where the largest and handsomest 
Cedar is to be found in England, together with height, 
width, and breadth of ground it occupies.—C. X. 
[We shall he much obliged by descriptions of Trees, dis¬ 
tinguished for their size, beauty, or local traditions.— 
Ed. C. G.]. 
DISCREPANCY IN JUDGMENTS. 
GOLDEN-TENCILLED HAMBURGHS. 
Will you kindly permit me space for a few lines in your 
paper. I am anxious to know which is the chief point in 
a Golden-spangled Hamburgh cock. I have asked many 
judges, but they have all been of different opinions ; perhaps 
some of your kind readers will enlighten me on the subject. 
Last year I bred for ear-lobe and bronze-tail, with great 
satisfaction. I witnessed the result, and obtained first 
prizes at the Baker-street, and Surrey summer shows. I ex¬ 
hibited the same birds at a small show soon after, and was 
beaten for the first prize. The cock in the first pen had 
certainly a tail of nothing but bronze, though in every other 
respect was nothing of a bird; he had no white ear-lobe, 
a comb almost round, with scarcely any point, and had bad 
carriage, too. With reference to the pullets, there was no 
comparison. Upon enquiry why these birds had the Jirst 
prize, one of the judges remarked—“ Oh! that bronze-tail 
will take a prize anywhere.” But notwithstanding this, my 
opinion is, that a bird with a good ear-lobe, a good pointed 
comb, tail nicely edged with gold, and perfect carriage, 
ought certainly to go before a tail of all bronze, if the birds 
he deficient in other points. No doubt, many of your 
friends will benefit, as well as myself, if some of your kind 
readers give us their opinion upon the matter.— Live and 
Learn. 
POLMAISE HEATING. 
I read every word of your very valuable Periodical, and I 
never consider my week’s work properly over if I omit the 
doing it, but absence from home prevented my seeing your 
number for the 8th of December, in which Mr. Golightly 
has come down so heavily upon my favourite Polmaise, 
and my attention was only called to his charge a few days 
ago. I am afraid Mr. G. will have begun to think that no 
one doubts what he has said. I am, however, glad to see, 
by your publication this week, that I shall not be the only 
champion for Polmaise. 
I warm my house by Polmaise, and no one could tell that 
they were not in the natural heat of summer; in the Tine 
stoves the air may he kept at any degree of moisture, by 
the tank for water directed by Mr. Meek to be placed in all 
Polmaise stoves, and by the application of water on the 
floors of the chambers under the beds over the walks. 
There is no smell, unless, as I admit, some accident has 
