108 
THE COTTAGE GAEDENER. 
Novembee 11. 
be had at anything like a reasonahle rate,l would advise 
the ainatear to have recourse to the old, hut time- 
honoured way of making walks, as practiced in years 
gone by. The site being fixed, and the edging, if of 
box, )ilantcd, some little excavation will he necessary. 
Six inches will do, unless there are other reasons for 
making it deeper—as the obtaining the soil from its 
foundation, or the burying of rough stones and other 
materials otherwise dillicult to get rid of. In that case, 
any depth yon like maybe gone into, taking oare, as you 
advance to the top, that smaller and closer fitting ones 
ho used, and, what is equally important, those to which 
worms ha.vo an antipathy may then he more freely used, ' 
and brickbats, or small stones, with mortar adhering, 
or mortar, in soine shape, may ho thrown in amongst ! 
the stones. Clinkers, or rough cinder-ashes, are equally j 
obnoxious to this class of underground enemies; hut \ 
whatever is used, ho sure that a fair share ho added, as 
nothing disfigures a walk more than unsightly worm casts, 
and nothing is more likely to prevent this disfigurement, 
than the abundance of such ollensivc substances as noted ^ 
i above. Rough gravel will follow next, and then that 
• which is firm. Now, though gravel may he said to be ' 
requisite, yeti have formed very good walks without it; 
1 two or three inches of roTigli stones, like road metal, i 
i being covered with coarse black (or any other coloured) I 
I sand, so as anqdy to hide all the stones, and the surface ' 
! being rolled and made smooth, about an inch or so of | 
! white shells was laid on: this makes, perhaps, the most \ 
I pliant walk of any, the shells soon getting broken, and | 
! every shower washing them to the top, making the best 
i appearance of anything for walks, and after rain, or oven ' 
j when it is raining, they are in hotter order than at any j 
. other time; and woods are more easily removed than | 
j when on a hard, firm-setting gravel. I would strongly 
I advocate the use of shells to all who arc within reach 
of them, and they are conveyed very cheaply to all ])arts 
I accessible by water communication. 
I Contemporarily with the formation of walks is that 
i of edgings, which, in a suburban kitchen garden, cannot 
j be better than of box, which thrives in most situations; 
1 a brick, or other fancy kerb-edging, is sometimes used, 
i but the abundance of other objects of a mechanical 
i nature renders something green a relief to the monotonous 
! linos of brick and mortar. Rox-edgings will not, how¬ 
ever, thrive in every situation; I have seen it planted 
with its roots laid into the border, instead of the walk, ' 
' as is usual, and it still refused to grow well, dying off in 
I frequent large patches. In some soils the conditions i 
necessary to insure the welfare of this and other things ! 
may be absent, hence the failure. Now these peculiari- : 
ties cannot properly he expressed by the terns light, I 
: heavy, or medium soils, because I have seen box-edgings j 
thrive in all these, and when the two opposite arc at tlie j 
greatest extreme too; the cause of failure then lies in ; 
I something else than is commonly understood. Neither j 
! lias barreTiness anything to do with it, because 1 have 
seen box-edging languish and die where the ordinary | 
garden vegetables were nourishing and thriving as well 
as could ho wished; however, I advise the amateur to 
try box, which, though occasionally refusing to grow as 
above, yet is, in a usual way, as much to he depended on 
as any thing that is planted. It may ho planted at all 
seasons, but dry hot weather is the worst. 1 am against 
cutting any of its tops when planted, unless it ho very 
jagged indeed, in which case a little may bo cut away ; 
tlio roots may, however, be pruned into order, and if dry 
weather follows its planting, watering may he resorted 
to with advantage; and in following up this subject I 
may remark, that I rarely clip box-edging more than 
once in the season, which is about the end of !May or 
early in dune, or it may he the latter end of that montli, 
, if showery weather does not intervene before that time, 
‘ as that is of more real importance than the state of the 
plant. This period, as will be seen, is just about the 
middle of the summer growth, and consC(iuently an un¬ 
favourable time to cut it with regard to the plant's wel¬ 
fare; but if the weather be dull and showery for a few 
days it soon overcomes that, and recovers so as to make a 
few short fresh shoots during the season, just sullicient to 
break the raw clipped appearance a new cut edging has, 
as well as to give it that healthy green look whicli con¬ 
trasts so strongly with the rusty brown one it often has 
when cut at an unfavourable season. Next to box, 
thrift forms a cheerful looking lino of edge, only it must 
he replanted every two years. Gcntianella will do in 
some places, hut it does not do in every case; double 
Daisies are also used with advantage; hut 1 dislike 
Strawberries, London Pride, Thyme, and other large 
growing j^hints, as unless the walk be very wide and 
long too (which suburban gardens rarely are) these are 
certainly out of place. If the above smaller growing 
plants cannot he made to grow, then a kerb or other 
mechanical edging must he adopted, of course, w'hich 
over one be used, it is imperative that it should be laid 
down the same time as the walk is made, in order that 
the latter he no more disturbed afterwards. I have not 
mentioned turf edgings, which rarely find their way into 
a kitchen garden, unless where the walks arc of that 
material, which, however, is unsuitable to the small 
spots designated suburban gardens. The preparing 
of ground, and planting permanent vegetable crojts will 
he given next week. J Robson. 
VISITS TO SOME OE THE CHIEF POULTRY- 
YARDS OF ENGLAND. 
(CAI’T.UN HOENBY’S.) 
llow many and how various are the thoughts which crowd 
upon the memory at the bare mention of the name of 
Knowsley, the baronial residence of him who sways, as his 
ancestors have often before contributed to sway, the desti¬ 
nies of liritain. Rut it is of themes other and humbler than 
tliosc which these historical n'collections conjure up tlmt we, 
who write for the naturalist, the amateur, and the fancier, 
are destined hero to speak. It was at Knowsley that the 
late Earl of Derby formed, by the labour of a life, that 
magnificent collection of birds and animals to which science 
owed so mucli; which was unequalled as a private managerie, 
and surpassed by few, if by any, public establishments of the 
kind; and which, for the pure love of science, his lordship 
kept up for a series of years on a scale almost regal. Alas! 
that we should, with a passing tribute of regret, have to 
record that his unrivalled collection is numbered “ among 
the things that were,” having been, by the unrelenting 
hammer of the auctioneer, distributed over the world. 
Subjects for our humble pen have, however, as it were, 
arisen from its ashes, for a beautiful and varied assemblage 
of domestic poultry now occupy some of the enclosures 
where all that was rare and gorgeous in the featliereil 
creation were once, as we liave said, collected together. ; 
Who, of those who have attended the poultry shows which ■ 
have long existed in the north of England, and wliich, on 1 
account of the increasing interest taken in the objects of i 
them, are extending themselves rapidly throughout the land, 
has not heard of the name of Captain Hornby, and admired 
the specunens which he has exhibited? It is to these, then, 
and to a description of their dwelling-iilaces, that we propose 
to devote the present paper. 
The hospitable cottfigo of the gallant captain is situate 
about equidistant from the mansion of Knowsley and the 
Iluyton-gatc station of tlio Liverjtool and IManchester railway. 
Here is a C('nvenient, hut rather coniined, poultry-yard, of 
W'hich as much as possible is m.ado, after this fashion w'hich 
we describe fully for the benefit of those whose space may 
also be limited. A plain brick building, fronting to the 
south, and having a roof leaning northwards, is (we speak 
from recollection) from twenty to thirty feet long, by six or 
eight wide. Of tlie height of a door behind, it rises towards 
the front sulficiently for the lean of the roof. This is di- 
