122 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
May 18. 
3. C.decurrens (Running-down).—Harvey says this plant 
seems almost exactly intermediate between C. rtibrum and 
C. (liaplianum. It is from six to eight inches long, and is a 
pretty plant; the joints rather beaded; clear in the middle, 
but with cells at the ends. 
4. C. deslongchampu. — Chauv .—On rocks and algoe be¬ 
tween tide-marks; three or four inches high; much branched; 
with slender smaller branches, forked or simple; “ the frond 
variegated with dark purple, and, to the naked eye, having a 
blackish look.” It is found in England, Scotland, and Ire¬ 
land. Dr. Landshorough finds it in rich tufts, in early sum¬ 
mer, on the pier at Saltcoats. 
5. C. diaphanum (Transparent).—A beautiful plant; the 
markings of the joints are so distinct and clear. It grows 
on other small algce; in pools left by the tide; from two to 
six inches high; as thick as bristles, and tufted. 
fi. C. grach.limum (Most-slender).—Found in the west of 
Ireland, and south of England. A beautiful little plant, 
j growing on mussel shells, <fcc.; from two to three inches 
long, and finer than hair ; of a dark red purple. 
7. C. strictum (Upright).—On shells in pools. “ Fila- 
| ments as fine as human hair, densely tufted; colour of the 
tufts dark livid purple.”— Harvey. 
8. C. nodosum (Knotted) “On sandy shores; often at 
the roots of Zostera marina; from three to six inches long; 
in bushy tufts.; rigid and harsh ; does not adhere well to 
paper.” 
0. C. fastigiatum (Pyramid-shaped).—A very pretty 
species, but rare; from four to five inches high. “ Colour 
of the tuft pinky-purple.” Plymouth ; Mrs. Griffiths. 
10. C. flabelligerum (Whip-like).—“On the smaller 
algffi, between tide marks; frond two to three inches high, 
as thick as hog’s bristles; this plant resembles a small I 
variety of V. rnbrum, for which it may readily be mistaken, 
if attention he not directed to the solitary thorn with which 
the joints are armed.”— Harvey. 
11. C. kchionotum (Spine-marked). — Not uncommon 
growing on rocks and piers, and on small algre. Much 
tufted; from two to six inches high, and very dark purple. 
It has a solitary spine or prickle, which is a distinguishing 
mark. 
12. C. ciliatum (Hair-fringed).—On rocks and corallines 
in the sea, dense bushy tufts, of paler purple than the last, 
from which Harvey says it may at once be known by having 
numerous whorled prickles on each joint; he also adds, that 
it is a beautiful object under a low power of the microscope. 
—S. B. 
(To be continued.) 
THE MISCELLANEOUS FOWLS, AS RECENTLY 
EXHIBITED. 
Distinct breeds, or such as lay claim to this character, 
are those that require our attention under this head. The 
policy, indeed, by which prizes have been occasionally offered 
for “ barn-door ” and other cross-bred fowls, is now gene- 
| rally repudiated, and, in our opinion, most wisely so. We 
| are not in ignorance of the merits for the table possessed 
by some of these first crosses, though we may even here 
reasonably doubt whether these surpass the pure breeds ; 
but the proper object of Poultry Societies that justly attri¬ 
bute such great importance to an unstained pedigree au¬ 
thorises their exclusion from the exhibition room. The 
permanent improvement of the various breeds of domestic 
poultry is the end proposed by associations of this descrip- 
| tion, who cannot, in consequence, look favourably upon a 
; process which, however successful in its immediate result, 
| must inevitably, if persevered in, be followed by eventual 
degeneracy. 
Many varieties that we have been accustomed to see in 
j this class have been already alluded to in these papers, 
such as the Grey Shanghaes, the Black, White, and Buff' 
Polands, and the Andalusian or Blue Spanish. Henceforth, 
i we hope that these may always appear in their proper posi¬ 
tion with the other members of their respective families, 
leaving the miscellaneous class for such birds as may have 
been either recent introductions, or which, though their dis- 
I tinctive characteristics may he admitted, are considered as 
not of sufficient importance for a separate class. It is clear, 
that any bird shown in this “ extra” class, of any variety of 
which special notice has been made in the schedule of 
prizes, should be at once disqualified; as, for instance, 
“ Golden Spangled Hamburghs,” when these appear as 
“ Pheasant fowls ; ” hut of this full warning has been more 
than once given by Birmingham judges passing over pens 
thus wrongly entered. 
Of those that remain, wc may enumerate “Silk Fowls,” 
“ Scotch Bakies or Dumpies,” the “ Ptarmigan ” fowl, the 
“ Bumpless,” the “ Frizzled,” and some few others, such as 
the “Breda,” the “Jerusalem,” the “Columbian,” the 
“ Russian,” and the “ Brazilian ” fowls, of which, although 
they liavo been brought forward for some two or three 
seasons, we are unable to detect any specific distinctions or 
meritorious qualities in other respects. The Creve-cccur 
fowl has also had representatives, but in a very different 
form from what we have been accustomed to regard as the 
type of that breed, now, as we imagine, all but extinct. 
The best “ Silk Fowls ” of the past year were some shown 
at Cheltenham, and Form, Feather, and Condition, gave those 
specimens a just pre-eminence. Peculiarity of plumage 
being the very recommendation of these birds, saving their 
merit as mothers, they attract notice by their singular ap¬ 
pearance, which, not being hacked by economical merits, 
reduces them to the position of mere fancy fowls. The 
White variety is decidedly the best. 
The stumpy “Bakies” belonging to Mr. Fairlie, of re¬ 
duced Dorking proportions, are certainly curiosities, but not 
appearing to lay claim to greater constitutional strength 
than the latter breed, must be content with a subordinate 
position in the utilitarian estimate of the present day. 
The “ Ptarmigans ” have had much urged in their favour, „ 
and if it he desired to introduce extreme novelty of form, 
irrespective of mere profitable considerations, these birds 
will fulfil that character. Sweden and Norway, it is said, 
were the habitat of the strain that has attracted most atten¬ 
tion in the year now past, and this assertion has, probably, 
been thought favourable to the idea of their in part sharing 
the nature of the bird whence their name has been assumed. 
We have objected, on more than one occasion, to the system 
of nomenclature by which, in other similar cases, the 
Shangbae has been called the Ostrich fowl, and the Golden 
Hamburgh, the Pheasant fowl; the latter, more especially, 
has given rise to many as improbable a tale as ever served 
to confuse the Natural History of our poultry-yards. That 
the Ptarmigan fowl exhibits any opposition in its choice of 
food to other domesticated gallinaceous birds, we think most 
unlikely; and assuredly, the evidence as yet adduced fails j 
to make out this fact. Animal and insect food is always a 
tempting morsel to the whole family, and obtains a pre¬ 
ference over grain ; the habit, however, depends, in part, on 
the character of the bird, ^whether rambling or otherwise, 
and the extent to which such food is available. No fowl, 
indeed, has a more carnivorous taste than the stay-at-home 
Shangbae, whose relish for the mice disturbed on the 
moving of a rick, testifies to their appreciation of their 
flavour. But have we never had birds of this character in 
England previous to the introduction of the strain that 
we have just spoken of ? At a show at Plymouth, in July 
1853, there were two pens labelled “ Turkey Fowl,” whose 
importation from the East, some twenty years previously, j 
was mentioned to us. Continuous breeding-in-and-in had 
somewhat reduced their size, but their figure, the varied [ 
form of the comb, their colour, and, in some instances, 
heavily-feathered legs, betokened close alliance with the 
recent Ptarmigan, Another similar lot, which we did not I 
see, were said to have been brought from India. 
Fit companions with these for the yard of the “ curious 
fancier” are the “Rumpless” and “Frizzled," of both of 
which we have had excellent specimens of late; those at 
Birmingham, indeed, were as good as any we had hitherto 
noticed. 
“ Russian ” fowls seem to claim their denomination from 
the possession of a feathery heard depending from the 
higher part of the throat; whiskers, moreover, are a fre¬ 
quent appendage. Any other characteristic distinction we 
have been unable to recognise in the birds exhibited under 
this title. The Cinnamon Mongrel fowl, being constantly 
thus decorated, might be permitted to pass muster among 
