March 23. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER 
483 
much as possible, and then to apply Gipsyncum, which may j 
be had of any Chemist.* It should be used by a feather 
being dipped in it, and then well rubbed inside the mouth 
and throat, and repeated twice a day, until a cure is ob¬ 
tained ; which, with care, may soon be effected. Great care 
should be taken to remove all birds affected with it, as it is 
highly contagious. 
I have no hesitation in recommending the above, as I 
have frequently tried it, and always with success. 
Your Correspondent, C. Ii. B., at page 130, No. 2G8, states 
that he has kept fancy Pigeons for years, and never but on 
one occasion knew them to eat green food, which, I should 
suppose, was caused by their not having the chance to get at 
it. I have kept them for many years, and always found 
them to be very fond of Cabbage leaves, and of almost any 
sort of garden stuff'. 
If my birds have been confined to the aviary for a few 
days, through high winds, or other cause, I have noticed 
them, on being released, fly straight to the garden, and ■ 
seem to enjoy themselves wonderfully with a little cabbage. 
I should recommend all fanciers who do not allow their | 
Pigeons their liberty to supply them with green food, for j 
I consider it conduces greatly to their health. 
I know that many persons keep open pans of water in 
their aviaries for the Pigeons to wash, which I strongly object 
to. I frequently allow my Pigeons to have a bath about 
once in a fortnight, for a few hours, but on no account 
would I let them have it regularly, as I consider that it 
causes many diseases in the birds, owing to their drinking 
the water they wash in.— Orix. 
HARDY BORDER PLANTS. 
(Continued from page 44G.J 
OMPHALODES VERNA. 
VENUS’S NAVELWORT. 
This pretty little early-flowering plant belongs to the na¬ 
tural family of Borageworts, and its little light blue blos¬ 
soms look so much like the true Forget-me-not (Myosotis 
palustris), which grows so plentifully by the sides of our 
river banks, that this plant is often called by the same re¬ 
membrance-asking name. It is true, both plants belong to 
the same Natural order, and the blossoms of each are ex¬ 
tremely beautiful, but the O. verna, of course, is a very' dif¬ 
ferent plant to the other, and delights to be grown in the 
warm sunny borders, or upon a rockery, where it seems 
just in its element. It is of rather a wandering or stolo- 
niferous habit; therefore, when grown as a bunch plant in 
the neatly kept tiower-borders, that is, where the plants are 
kept as medium sized bunches, at proper distances from 
each other, then this is a plant that will often require .to be 
taken up, or carefully separated, leaving the best portion of 
the bunch to form the future plant. 
This is one of those plants that should not bo chopped 
round for the purpose of leaving just the centre part to re¬ 
main, for in this, that happens to be just the worst part of 
the plant and being thus chopped all round is placing 
the plant, in so much the poorer condition, besides 
taking away just all the best flowering parts, which are the 
points of its stoloniferous crowns. 
When these plants appear to us to be too large, we take 
up the whole plant, well work up the soil, either change it, 
or add a little fresh, and divide the plant, taking care to 
plant again one of the best side pieces. This we do in the 
spring months, at the time we may be dressing the bor¬ 
ders, and whether it is in bloom or not. 
This delightful little dwarf plant is a native of South 
Europe, and was introduced to this country in the year 1633. 
The whole herbage of the plant is of a pale green colour; 
its leaves stalked and egg-shaped ; and the light blue 
flower produced in little clusters from the latter end of 
February to the end of April. Being so dwarf it is a trout 
row plant in the borders. T. 'V. 
* Our correspondent must mean JEguptiacum. It is an old remedy 
for ulcerations in the mouth or throat of animals. It is thus prepared. 
Powdered verdegris, half an ounce; honey, two ounces; vinegar, eight 
ounces. Boil them together slowly iu an earthen pipkin for teu 
minutes. 
SPANGLED HAMBURGH FOWLS. 
As an old breeder of the Spangled Hamburghs, I was 
glad to see we were beginning to have a little discussion 
upon the points of excellence of this much-admired and 
justly popular breed. As a frequent exhibitor of the Ham¬ 
burghs, I feel the same anxiety your correspondent does 
(who designates himself an admirer of the saddle-feathers), 
that some definite rule ought to be agreed upon by the 
managers of the various societies, and that after coming to 
a decision as to whether we are to have lien-feathered cocks, 
or those with the long saddle-feathers, that it would be well 
to insert in the rules, that in such a class the judges would 
be requested to award the prizes only to hen-feathered, or 
saddle-feathered, as the case may be decided upon; by that 
means exhibitors would then know what to show; and, as 
we are rarely in possession of information as to who the 
judges are to be, and, perhaps, even then not knowing which 
they prefer, we are at a loss to know what to exhibit. 
Your correspondent is misinformed in saying, that in 
Yorkshire none but those having the saddle-feathers would 
be considered pme. I can say, that nine out of ten prizes 
awarded to the Golden Spangles, in Yorkshire, are given to 
the hen-feathered. The hen-featliered Silver Spangles are 
more uncommon, and have as yet been but very little exhi¬ 
bited iu Yorkshire. A first piize in Silver Spangled chickens 
of 1853 was awarded to a pen with a hen-feathered cock at 
the late Manchester show; and although an unsuccessful 
exhibitor in the chicken class, I must confess a bettor pen 
of birds I never saw. 
As a breeder, I decidedly prefer the hen-feathered, the 
cock being spangled all over the body, similar to the hen, 
but the colours much more brilliant. Some of your corres¬ 
pondents think the eggs from the lien-feathered not so 
prolific as from the saddle-feathered. I do not find that to 
be the case from my experience. I am aware good hen- 
feathered cocks are much more difficult to breed than the 
saddle-feathered ones, but I do not think that is a reason 
why we ought to discard them. The very high price that 
some of the hen-feathered cocks have been sold for proves 
the estimation they are held in by the fanciers of this breed, 
and I think we need no further proof of their popularity 
than that. Much has been said about which breed is the 
most profitable. I am inclined to think none are more so 
than the Golden and Silver Spangled. The quantity of eggs 
laid by them in a season is unequalled by any other breed, 
and I have no doubt we shall long see them cultivated, when 
many of the new and worthless varieties are extinct. 
James Dixon, Bradford, Yorkshire. 
THE AUSTRALASIAN BOTANIC AND HORTI¬ 
CULTURAL SOCIETY. 
Intending emigrants will be pleased to see that Australia 
has institutions similar to those of “ the old country," and 
in the list of Roses exhibited upon the occasion we now re¬ 
port, they will see none but those with which they are, or 
may be, acquainted in our own Rose Gardens. The meet¬ 
ing was at Sydney, on the 3rd of last November, which is 
the height of summer there. 
“ We were delighted to be present at an attempted resusci¬ 
tation of the monthly meetings of this Society, which were 
originally intended for the display of specimens, for dis¬ 
cussion on the subject and the specimens brought 
j forward, and for the receipt and reading of papers forwarded 
to the secretary. A vigorous attempt is now being made to 
I carry out these good and judicious intentions of the founders 
| of the Society, and the meeting of yesterday, though but 
| thinly attended, from a waDt of knowledge of the attractions 
j it presented, is an auspicious omen of future success. 
“The secretaryship of this Society has at length fallen into 
hands which will be responsible for neglect and maladmi¬ 
nistration of its duties, and iu congratulating Mr. Catlett 
upon his appointment, we can only say, that should ho suc¬ 
ceed in working up the Society to the position it originally 
aimed at, and which it ought to hold, he will have done 
good service to the citizens of Sydney, and to the colony at 
; large. 
