THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Novejiber 18. 
]:10 
Mr. LawTence is fortunate in tlie possession of a run for 
his birds in a walled garden near the Roman Catholic 
Chapel, in addition to his poultry-yard at home. Eut other 
claimants now demand our attention, and with good cause. 
Some Spaninh are before us with the perfect white cheek, 
so characteristic of tlieh- breed, and the graceful carriage 
so pecuUarly their own. Their character, in an economical 
point of view, standing so high, no wonder they come into 
competition with Cochin-Chinas and other favoured races. 
Eut, meritorious as are the specimens it now contains, Mr. 
Lawrence’s poultry-yard, we are given to understand, is 
about to receive a valuable addition in this class from the 
hitherto unrivalled stock of Capt. Hornby, ll.N. We wisli 
liim success with them, such as his past efforts have un¬ 
deniably merited. 
But our catalogitc of Mr. Lawrence’s poultry-yard is yet 
far from completed. Here are speckled Dorkimjs, as good 
as we need desire; and the Malays, which although first- 
class birds, must, we fear, share the fate of their race by 
gradually yielding to the greater merits of tiieir oriental 
neighbours, the Cochin-Chinas. Here also are specimens 
of the birds that excited our admiration at 'Truro—the 
White Indian Game fowls, the beauty of whose form we 
cannot but admire, tliough altogetlier iguorant as to their 
possession of the courage of their English relatives. 
'The meaning of the word “ pencillinij," so often used in 
describing poultry, cannot be better illustrated than by re¬ 
ferring to a pair of silver pheasants belonging to Mr. Law¬ 
rence. With a touch more delicate tliau the finest camel’s 
hair brush is equal to, is each single plume of its feathers 
marked—clear and distinct as the choicest specimen of the 
florist’s most cherished bloom. Thus gloriously clothed, its 
crest of crimson velvet, confirms our hehef that of all the 
feathered race none can boast of greater symmetry of form, 
or a more stiiliiug combination of colours in its apparel. 
In courage, also, it takes no second place to the game fowl 
itself, and thus strict seclusion becomes necessary where 
more than one male of these birds are kept in aviaries 
howe\'er extensive. 
Mr. Lawrence’s stock, like some of his neighbours, has 
of late rapidly decreased, so many, both of this neigh- 
hourhood and elsewhere, being desirous of possessing stock 
selected with so much judgment. To those who think 
favourably of Cochin-Chinas, it is satisfactory to hear that 
the experienced owner of so many varieties of fowls has 
it in contemplation henceforward to limit his attention to 
Cochin-Chinas and Spanish ; and wherever facilities exist 
for keeping them distinct, his example is, doubtless, worthy 
of imitation. 
Mr. W. C. Pennington also has a portion of this garden, 
where we saw some good Spanish and grey Dorkings, prin¬ 
cipally, we believe, from the stock of Mr. Lawrence. 'These, 
tliough as yet young, may still do much before Christmas 
next, and heartily do we wish success to hlr. Pennington, who, \ 
from the first formation of the I’enzance Society, lias given j 
it his best assistance in every way. His pen of golden phea- i 
sanls at our last exhibition will long be remembered, and most 
deservedly were they tlieu distinguished by a medal. Mr. 
Pennington had also purchased some of the best specimens 
of Malays that were shown at Birmingham, but an unfor¬ 
tunate catastrophe occurred, and they are no longer in ex¬ 
istence. An aviary of bright-plumaged canaries shows that 
Mr. Pennington’s partiality for the objects of natural histoi’y 
is not limited to poulti 7 alone. 
We are all aware of the indefatigable zeal and industry 
by which so perfect a collection of British birds has been 
formed by Mr. Rodd. The peculiar character of our 
district has probably afforded greater facilities for such a 
work than any other part of England would have given, and 
the Scilly Islands have also contributed many rare speci¬ 
mens. Eut, however interesting a task to enumerate the 
vai’ious treasures that have been here accumulated, our 
present task is with the living, for Mr. Rodd’s patronage has 
been shared by them as well as by the fortunate occupants 
of his glass cases. Some white Dorkings, which, passing 
into other hands, won a first piizo at the Penzance Exhi¬ 
bition, were the first inhabitants of his poultry-yard, but 
their plumage was better suited to a rural than a town 
abode; they were therefore succeeded by grey 1 lorkings, 
birds that fully bore out the reputation of hlr. Daily, the 
dealer from whom they were obtained. Mr. Rodd is also in 
possession of some very handsome game fowls, whose 
martial carriage is, probably, a true criterion of the courage 
they would manifest were the barbarisms of other days 
ever likely to be renewed. The Penzance Poultry Society 
has been greatly indebted to this gentleman for the con¬ 
tinued assistance which, as Secretary, he has always be¬ 
stowed upon it. W. 
{To he continued.) 
SUEEOLK HEATHS. 
I CAN scarcely conceive a greater treat for the lover of 
nature than a ride or walk over one of our Suffolk Heaths 
I in the month of .Tune, when the Furze or Whin is in full 
I blossom. These heaths extend .along the coast, with slight 
interruptions, from near my residence for upwards of thirty 
miles. In some places, as far as the eye can reach, scarcely 
is anything to be seen but AVhins with their yellow llowers 
waving like a sea of gold. 'They vaiy in height from two to 
eight feet; and a person no sooner enters amongst them, than 
he is struck with the beauty and variety of their fantastic 
i forms. There is hardly any ornament or order in architecture 
which cannot be recognized; domes, columns, pyramids, 
broken arches, &c., all gilded, appear to be scattered ai-ound, 
like the ruins of some ancient city. There is one nan-ow 
gorge in particular, about a-mile-and-a-half in length, and 
where no two persons can well pass, up which I often ride, 
I literally buried in flowers, the sprays being above my head. 
I Their perfume is that of the cocoa-nut. These wild and beau- 
I tiful places were much resorted to formerly by smugglers, who 
I there secreted tlieir booty. If a run of spirits or tobacco 
was landed and found its way into these heaths all chance 
of discovery vanished. “ 'There were three gangs of 
smugglers here,” said an old shepherd to me tlie other 
day; “ I knew all the fellows well; and often have I driven 
my flock of sheep to and fro in the early morning over the 
wheel-marks of the previous night to obhterate their traces, 
and my rewai-d for this service was a bottle of brandy.” 
Smuggling is not so much carried on now. 
AVhins are largely used for fuel, fencing, and draining. 
'The parishioners in our parish have a right to cut Whins at 
pleasure ; and the farmers who reside near the heaths have 
the liberty of using them by virtue of their occupations. 
'The latter employ a labourer, to whom they give Is. per load 
of forty faggots for cutting and binding; the load sells for 
ds. on the spot to the cai’ters, who retail them round the 
neighbourhood at 4s. a load. Fires sometimes occur on 
the lieaths, and then the church-bell is rung, and all who 
can repair to the spot prorided witli various missiles to 
extinguish it; when this is accomplished, men are left to 
watch, for the smothered flame will often break out afresh 
and run in different directions. Acres of AVhins are by this 
means sometimes consumed, and a bright greensward 
springs up in their place. Notwithstanding their great 
annual consumption. Whins are still on the increase. 
There are two sorts [with us, the Ulex Europteus, which 
blossoms in the months of May, June, and July; and the 
Ulex nana, or Dwarf Furze, which blossoms in September, 
October, and November. Between these periods, the purple 
Ericas, or Heaths, come into flower, and form, with the 
Hawkweeds and Harebells, an interesting link in the floral 
chain. 'Thus Nature, on the wild heaths, crowms barrenness 
with beauty. Among the Ericas grow the Ferns, and both 
together cover large tracts ; they arc principally used as 
litter for faiTU-yards and cattle-sheds, and tread down into j 
excellent manure. P.artridges nestle in the Ferns, hatching 
there their young broods; and for this reason they are 
mostly preserved. Lichens and Mosses furnish a varied and 
elastic carpet. Crabbe, of whom Byron has said that he 
was “Nature’s sternest painter, but the best,” has given us 
in his Poems many faithful pictures of our Suffolk coast; 
he writes:— 
“ I loved to walk where none had walked before. 
About the rocks that ran along the shore ; 
Or far beyond the sight of men to stray, 
And take my pleasure when I lost my way ; 
For then t’was mine to trace the hilly heath, 
And all the mossy moor that lies beneath : 
Here had I favourite stations, where I stood 
And heard the murmurs of the ocean-llood, , 
