March 9. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
BRAHMA POOTRA FOWLS. 
As tliere has been considerable controversy of late as to 
the Brahma Pootra fowls which have been imported from 
America being a genuine breed, I thought it might not be 
uninteresting for your readers to know that I have just 
received a very fine Brahma cock direct from China; a pair 
were taken on board the vessel, but unfortunately the hen 
died on the voyage. The bird I have received is a noble 
fellow, with a beautiful arched neck, and a bold round chest, 
compact body, and very broad behind, tail short, and slightly 
inclined, well-feathered, short yellow legs. His head is very 
perfect, he has a good, upright single comb, with short 
yellow beak, and a good sized regular wattle. The colour 
of the bird is much darker than the American Brahmas; 
his neck and back hackle are of a lightish grey pencilled 
with black, the whole of the body, with the exception of wings 
and tail, is a light grey barred with black, each bar shaded 
with green; wings black and grey shaded with green; tail 
black, and shaded in a similar manner. 
I am partly induced to trouble you with this, by way of 
proving to the author of “ The Poultry Pentalogue " that all 
Brahmas are not manufactured in America. I am not 
surprised that that gentleman should express such an 
opinion, when I know, that by reason of the scarcity of these 
birds in this country, that they have been crossed with all 
colours of Shangliaes. How frequently have we seen of late a 
pen of Brahmas, at an Exhibition of Poultry, having almost 
as many buff feathers in their plumage as a pure-bred buff 
Shanghae, and some very much like a Partridge. Such 
birds are, undoubtedly, the result of a cross with Shanghae 
fowls, and are not by any means entitled to be called Brahma 
Pootras. Last summer, I crossed a Brahma Pootra cock 
with a buff Shanghae, the result was, that the young birds 
plumage turned out a mixture of brown, grey, and black, and 
not one of them came like the old Brahmas. By breeding 
in the right strain, in every instance the young birds came 
exactly like their parents to a feather; this is a good proof 
of the breed being genuine. I consider the pure bred 
Brahmas to be decidedly the most handsome fowls that have 
been imported.—J. S. Brand. 
P.S. A friend of mine, who has been trading between 
Shanghae and Hong Kong for the last ten years, assures me 
that he has taken a great many Brahma Pootras from the 
former to the latter place. 
[The controversy respecting “ Brahma Pootras ” or “ Grey 
Sham/haes," we apprehend, stands thus, “Are any specimens 
of the birds thus designated a distinct original breed?" 
Now, the mere fact of importation, on which so much stress 
is often laid, of itself proves nothing with regard to this 
proposition, but leaves it still an open question as to whether 
these are only a variety of the Shanghaes, or the result of a 
cross, either of which conditions may be perfectly compatible 
with their importation. The P.S. to Mr. Brand’s communi¬ 
cation would even strengthen the former supposition, since 
Shanghae is there referred to as one of their habitats, a 
locality, be it remembered, far away from the districts watered 
by the river Brahmapootra, whence the distinctive name has 
been assumed. What we require as proof of the distinctness 
of any breed of fowls, would comprise permanent points of 
distinction in form, habits, or character, for colour alone, 
granting that that feature could be here established, would 
only place them in the Shanghae list, and the former 
position, we imagine, has not as yet been made out for 
them.—W.] 
419 
from ascending the stem in injurious quantities, the method 
of striking cuttings of most species of plants would not be 
so precarious a process as at present; and accordingly some 
collodion was obtained in order to make the experiment. 
“ With respect to this new process, he states, that imme¬ 
diately upon the cutting being severed from the parent stem, 
the collodion was applied to the wound, and then left a few 
seconds to dry, after which the cuttings were potted in the 
ordinary manner. 
“ To test the value of this new process more effectually, 
duplicates of all the species experimented upon were at the 
same time similarly planted, without the collodion being ap¬ 
plied to them. 
“ Experiments were carried on in two different ways ; one 
batch of cuttings being placed on a hotbed, whilst a second 
batch was planted in the open ground, without even the pro¬ 
tection of glass. 
“ First Batch .—All of which were placed on a hotbed on 
the 1st of September, and examined on the 1st of October:— 
Stove Plants. 
“ON A NEW METHOD OF PROPAGATING 
PLANTS.” 
BY E. J. LOWE, ESQ., f.R.A.S., F.G.S. &C. 
“ The author states that the experiment of a new method 
of propagating plants has been so successful, that he has 
taken the liberty of forwarding to the Royal Society this 
short paper upon the subject, for the guidance of those who 
are interested in the advance of horticulture. 
“ It had occurred to him, that if a cutting of a plant, were 
sealed at the base, so as to exclude the moisture of the soil 
Number 
of 
cuttings 
with 
collodion. 
applied. 
Name of Plant. 
Number of 
cuttings 
which took 
root. 
Number of 
cuttings 
without the 
application 
of collo¬ 
dion. 
Number of 
cuttings 
which took 
root. 
1 
Ixora coceinea .... 
i 
i 
0 
i 
Tacsonia manicata .. 
i 
i 
i 
3 
FrancisceaHopeana . 
3 
3 
0 
3 
Frariciscea Pohliana. 
3 
• 3 
0 
2 
Gloxinia Maria van 
0 
o 
1 
Houtte. 
2 
Begonia incamata .. 
2 
2 
1 
8 
Achimenes patens .. 
7 
8 
6 
9 
Hoyabella . 
2 
o 
1 
2 
Rondeletiaspeciosa.. 
2 
2 
1 
2 
Allamanda nerifolia . 
2 
o 
1 
Greenhouse Plants. 
6 
Boronia serrulata .. 
3 
G 
0 
3 
Polygala dalmaisiana 
1 
3 
0 
0 
Polygala grandiflora . 
3 
6 
2 
6 
Verbena luna. 
6 
6 • 
6 
1 
Chorozema cordata 
1 
i 
0 
1 
Epacris pallida .... 
0 
l 
0 
2 
Lesclienaultia for- 
mosa . 
2 
2 
1 
i 
Swainsonia astragali- 
folia. 
1 
i 
0 
i 
Swainsonia galegi- 
folia . 
0 
i 
0 
2 
Abelia rupestris .... 
2 
2 
4 
I’lectranthus con- 
0 
color, picta. 
2 
4 
2 
“ Second Batch .—Planted in the open ground on the 1st 
of September, and examined on the 1st of October:— 
Hardy Plants. 
Number 
of 
cuttings 
with 
collodion 
applied. 
Name of Plant. 
Number of 
cuttings 
which took 
root. 
Number of 
cuttings 
without the 
application 
of collo¬ 
dion. 
Number of 
cuttings 
which took 
root. 
12 
Gairya elliptica .... 
5 
12 
i 
12 
Erica vagans . 
7 
12 
4 
18 
Bupleurum longifo- 
lium. 
G 
18 
0 
12 
Laurus fee tens. 
10 
12 
7 
G 
Rose, Souvenir de la 
Malrnaison. 
4 
G 
n 
o 
12 
Taxus baccata, golden 
leaved var. ...... 
8 
12 
4 
