08 
THE COTTAGE GARJ)ENEIl. 
October 28. 
I 
parcel of the same ; hut here, witli our moist climate, ami 
our superabuuflauco of half hanly aucl liue-lcaved plants, 
we need not resort to such extremes. Yet, white sand and 
yellow gravel formed gooil auxiliaries to many of Lady 
Middleton's compo.sitions, which w'O had to fill up; an<l 1 
know of several places in which some of the old Capo 
(ieraniums, with inconspicuous llowers, are used this way, 
with very good effect as rclUJ’s, a,s wo call them; anew 
naino that 1 shall have to use often in tlii.s series. Then 
W6 sluill have neutral beds, relief beds, mixed licds, or sub¬ 
dued colours, as well as the move common terms of liar 
■monions beds, and beds eontrasled. 1 am anxious to have 
box bods, and box scrolls introduced into geometric gardens, 
as well as Yuccas, Irish Yews, and a little dwtuf Spruce 
called Abies Chmhrasilensis. These last two for strong 
contrast; the Irish YTw as a slow-growing and fastigiate, or 
guile upright growth; and the Abies of much slow'cr growth, 
and ([uite Hat on the toj), with a round head. Also the Irish 
Turzo ((Ilex stricta), and Jnniperns proslruta and squumata, 
for the same pimpose—strong contrast. 
The Irish Eurze, or Gorse, is a highly architectural plant; 
iluifii as much so as the Irisli Yew and Yucca. It was first 
disc(jvered in the Marquis of Londonderry’s Park, in the 
county of Down. It is soft and silky in the leaves and 
branches, and bears the knife so well, that it maybe formed 
into almost any shape; s(iuare on the sides, round, and 
sharp.pointed, or Hat on the top. The prostrate Juniper 
makes a beautiful bluish-grey carpet to fill a round bed 
with, and it can be cut to any shape, and is also a fast 
grower in good soil. The same are the cliaracteristics of 
the Juniper called sqnamcUa, only that it is a stronger 
growing plant. It could bo made into little weeping 
standards a yard high in the stem, and then be allowed to 
weep down gracefully on all sides. The culture and pro¬ 
pagation of them, as novelties, for the geometric garden, I 
shall explain shortly; mean time, I have one or two ob¬ 
servations to make on the plan before us. 
1 object to the four entrances at the two ends and two 
sides, in a garden of moderate extent, unless you have a 
walk all round it, or a terrace on one or two of the sides ; it 
lessens the effect of the picture, if you allow your visitors, 
or “ company,” to walk on straight to the middle of the 
scene at once, as they will be sure to do, seeing a straight 
leading walk before them, and as sure as they do, one-half 
of your garden is, in a manner, lost to them. This is a 
prevailing fault all over the kingdom, and in compositions, 
otherwise most beautifully arranged, I would x'refer each 
pair of beds. No. (I, to be united ns they now stand, or to be 
circles or ovals, at the expense of having more gravel at 
each end. Then your visitors are put off’the “ follow-the 
rest-like-the-sheep ” way of looking over the garden, and 
still they have a choice of right and left, and tlien the 
chances are, that some of them will go this way, and some 
the contrary way ; always a lucky hit for the gardener, who 
prizes himself on his pet points. There may a trick in this, 
but depend upon it, the thing is as I say, for few gardeners 
have had more experience in leading companies through 
such scenes than your humble servant, to whom all this is 
as familiar as A. B. C. 
I highly approve of beds. No. 3, being planted with 
dwarf box, and that as thick ns pussilde, to bo clipped on 
the outsides like an edging of box, and either as fiat on the 
tox) as a dining-table, for the sake of uniformity, or as 
I’ound as a globe ; and if rounded on the top, the heighth 
to bo in xu'oportion to the diameter of the bed. In this 
instance 18 or 20 inches would be about the proper heighth. 
1 would prefer the circidar beds. No. !), to be green also, 
liirt not with box; then all the circles would bo green—that 
is, uniform; a cax^ital and practical explanation of the 
word, as we gardeners apply it; but how can we make a 
j>ar/c/y in a thing we call «a//bn« Nothing in this world 
so easy ; ]ilant No. !) all round with the Rose-scented Gera¬ 
nium, and keep the growth regular with the knife all the 
season, and the thing is done to a t; and how lucky that 
!) is so far from the centre, and from the middle walks, and, 
I therefore, requiring a higher xffant than No. 3, which is 
under the eye. Still my alteration for No. 9 is not a prin- 
ciido, and I have no right to insist on it, being only a matter 
ot taste or opinion. The disposition of tlie colours by the au- 
I thor of the plan has my umiiialilied approbation.—D. Beaton. 
EXPERIMENTS ON FEEDING COCHIN-CHINA 
AND SPANISH FOWl.S. 
I HASTEN to redeem the promise I made, of stating the 
results of my trifds as to what was the cost of the food of 
Cochin-China fowls, as compared with that of others. 
In the course of a few days, 1 hope to be able to say 
w'hat has been the consumption of food (under exactly 
.shiiilar circumstances) by Dorkings, Bolton Grays, and 
some more tlochin-Chinas. In the mean time, it will be 
seen that these experiments very nearly verify wluit Anster 
Bonn, some time ago, in Tun Cottage Gardener, assured 
us was the case opinion since then seems 
entirely to havo changed), viz,: —"■That when conmion 
poultry are fed twice a-day, it is ■necessary to feed Cochin- 
Chinas three or four times, and to yivc the food so abundantly 
that some may be left after the fowls have satisfied themselves.” 
For while Spanish fowls have eaten at the rate of 2d. a-week, 
the Cochins have cost 3-Id., HRl., and 4d. This has been, 
of course, where there is no farm-yard, which is, I think, 
Anster Bonn’s case. 
Before detailing how these trials have been carried on, 1 
may add, that I give you my word that they havo been 
tried in the fairest possible manner. Nos. 1, 2, and I, have 
been caiuied on under my own eye. The food weighed out, 
and the birds almost entirely fed by myself. 
Ill 1 and 2, the birds had the range of a wire cage, about 
10 I'eet by 9 feet, with a small house attached to each cage. 
I believe the cliildren were in the habit of feeding them 
with bread, &o., but the poultry never left the inclosure 
during the week. They were also supplied with green food. 
No. 3, besides being fed as by the list, had the run of a 
large plantation and a stubble field. 1 have published the 
weights, wliioh (varying as they do, some having increased, 
some diminished) may interest your readers. This lot was 
not under my own eye, but 1 have great I'aith in the acctmacy 
of the person wlto carried on the trial. 
No. 4 had the run of a large grass field and plantation. 
I am quite sure of the accuracy of the quantity of food 
consttmed, and you will see, that under similar cu'ctun- 
stances, a lot of thirteen Spanish poultry, of various ages, 
ate very little more than five Cochin-China cockerels. 
The Spanish hens in lot 4 were deep in the moult, and 
laid no eggs ; but, pray observe, that the Cochin-China eggs 
(few in number as they w'ere) did not avei'age two ounces 
each. I may add, that I have a Spanish pullet wdio now 
lays eggs weighing three-onnces-and-a-quarter. These are 
facts, wliich I leave to the consideration of the readers of 
The Cottage Gardener; but I ought to say, that I thought 
the fairest thing would be to buy my corn in small (quan¬ 
tities (by the bushel), as a cottager would be forced to do. 
The prices I actually paid, were for 
Barley, bushel of Cl) lbs.. 
4s. 
Cd., Id. per lb. 
Wheat, „ 
70 „ 
Os. 
3d., Id. „ 
Indian corn „ 
CO „ 
4s. 
Od., ^d. „ 
Meal „ 
CO „ 
(is. 
:id.. Lid. „ 
Bran . 
... id. „ 
'These arc the weiglits and prices of this coitnty for 
yood food, and I believe it will not answer to a gentleman or 
a cottager to feed poultry on bad food. 
1 leave my cause to plead for itself, bclievingTthat truth 
will out. I fancy it is even now prevailing, as I have letters 
before me from three poultry fanciers, who do not know me 
as “ Gallus,” but who write—“ I am relintquishing a capital 
breed of Cochins. I wish to revert to the Spanish, which I 
once kept. The former are certainly good layers, and very 
hardy, but their eggs are very small, especially when com¬ 
pared with the Spanish, and they are enormous eaters.” 
“1 am giving up Cochins. 'They are good layers, hardy, 
and good ffavoured, but they are enomious caters, their eggs 
very small, and they are very awkward-looking birds when 
cooked, their thighs being so large, and their breasts bciny 
anything but plump.” 
“ I have been in the habit of keeping poultry for several 
years, and have calculated their cost per head, in the 
summer months (say from May to August) at about Id. 
for hens, and 2d. for cooks. From August to May, when 
they reipiirc better food, they cost me 2d. per head, besides 
which they had scraps from the house. 'The breeds I keep 
are Spanish, Gold and Silver Bheasant, and Game. T tried 
