Novemheu 18. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
138 
slio oneo oalclips sight of 3 'onr cj’o watcliing lior, she 
stoaltliily and qniolly creeps olf her nest, and running along 
th(! ground some distance, at length takes to flight. The 
male bird is usually singing on a tree very close to the nest, 
which J have often discovered by observing the ni.alc bird, 
after singing, descend to visit his mate. They will breed in 
confinement, which has been the case with me; this I 
attribute to my having brought the birds up by hand.— 
Wir.r.i.vM Rayneu. 
DISEASES OF POULTRY.—T,ayino Soft Eons. 
SoAiF, time since I noticed in your p,a]ier a request for .any 
information respecting the Diseases of I'oultry, and their 
treatment. For some j'ears I have relinquished the use of 
the lancet for that of the pen, but when opjiortunity ofl’ers 
I emjdoy my medical experience (now getting somewdiat 
rusty for want of use) in allovi.ating the disorders of my 
domestic pets. I need sc.arc.ely say, that all oinpii’ical 
remedies, such as llue-pills, ite., d'c., meet with no cn- 
coui'agement fro)n me; but that 1 endeavour to treat any 
disease on ordinary general principles. IMy medical ex- 
' ])erience with regard to Poultry is rather limited, my stock 
consisting of the progeny of two hens, and a cock of 
Daily’s grey Dorkings, which I have, found to he as hardy 
and lie.althy as it is possilde for fowls to be; I h.avo not 
lost this year a single chicken, altliougli some of the 
breeders of Cochins in the immediato neighbourhood lost 
scores of their birds. The only disorder that I had to treat 
was till' laying of soft and p.artly-formed eggs, which 
occurred in one Dorking hen, and in a h.alf-bred Fochin. 
It appears to me that the laying of soft eggs must arise 
from one of two causes ; cither a deficiency of lime rubliish, 
or old mortar, for the fowls to peck at., which was not my 
case; or from an excited nr inflamed state of the oviduct. 
'I'hns a hen (.^scaping into the street, and being driven, will 
often fay a sofi egg or two. 'J’be Dorking hen above allndecl 
to began to lay exactly one montli after hatching, and laid 
very barge eggs, some weighing more than 3§07..; slie then 
laid several soft eggs when at roost, and others of which 
the skins wore not closed; the feathers over the back were 
raised ; there was great effort made to get rid of the 
imjierfeet eggs and general fevenshness; all the symptoms 
betokened inflammation of the eggqiassagos, and the treat¬ 
ment was evident. I emidoyed the same remedies that 
would be used to subdue inflammation of the raucous 
membranes in the human subject,—ono grain of Calomel, 
and one-twelfth of a grain of 'Tartar emetic, were made into 
a pill with bread-crumb, and readily t.aken. The next day 
no egg was laid; but on the following day a well-forimd 
hard-shelled egg. Some week's or months after the com¬ 
plaint recurred, w.as mot by the same treatment, .and a hard 
• egg was again laid on the second day. The half-bi-ed 
i Cochin hen was treated in the same way, ami with jirecisely 
i the same result. 
I There ends my poultry medical experience. Should I at 
any time have any extension of ])raclieo, or any po.s/ minicms, 
I will, if you think my notes worth inserting, send j-ou the 
! result. 
I As 1 have thn pen in hand, T may perhaps ho allowed to 
give _you mij opinion respecting the Cochin controversy. As 
fancy birds T admire them ; those sold at Daker-street from 
Mr. Sturgeon’s stock were truly magnificent. As table 
birds, it ajipe.ars to bo very doubtful whether (notwithstand¬ 
ing their groat size when full grown) they can be fatted to 
; eight or nine pounds at four or five months, like the 
Itorkings. Again, their fat and flesh come in the wrong 
place ; their wings are so imperfectly developed that they do 
; not tly; and the muscles which move tho wings, and form 
: tho mass of flesh on the breast, are slightly develo])ed also. 
I 'Then, although ‘‘ dc yuslihas non cst (lispiil.HiulKni," 1 doubt 
I very much the delic.acy of that palate that jirefers a Cochin 
I to a Dorking. As to eggs; tho fact that the hens become 
broody several times during the season must lessen their 
\ i)rnductivenGSs below that of tho Dutch ot'ory-day-hayers, 
i who never sit; .and it appears to me, that if an equal 
I number and weight of eggs can be obtained from a Cochin 
I and a naniburgh, the latter must be tho most profitable; 
j for the larger bird must require a larger amount of food, to 
supply tho function of nutrition and tho production of 
animal warmth. 
Another point, and I will finish this rambling, desultory 
letter. Will jou lend j'our aid to securing uniformity in the 
n.ames of the Polish and llamlmrgh. Daily, in the new 
edition of his book on Fowls (which, hy-tho-hj', is ono of 
I the very best really praotic.al books 1 have seo'n), 'Trotter, 
I Dixon, and llichardson, all agree in terming all tho top- 
j knots, “ Polands,” whether they have small combs or not, 
j and they confiuo the term “ Hamburghs ” to tho Dutch 
ovory-day layers and its varieties, which are all without a 
I top knot. If this ex.amplo is followed, there will ho a unifor- 
j mity of nomenclature, which I was sorry to see ono of your 
recent ooiTOspondents ondeavoured to overset. It aiipears 
I to me, that it would add much to j'our usefulness, if those 
j desirous of exchanging cocks, to prevent breeding in-and-in, 
; were to communicate to yon; and, if you permit such a 
I notice, I would say that 1 should ho glad to exchange one or 
1 two very iironiising grey Dorking cockerels for equally 
j good birds, or for cither gold nr silver-spangled Ifam- 
! burghs.— W. D. 'Teoetmeieb, ToUcnhmn, Middlesex. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
We request that no one will write to the departmental writers of 
TriE Cottage OARnENEB. It gives them unjustifiahle trouble and 
expense. All communications should be addressed To the Editor of 
the Cottage Gardener Amen Corner ^ Vaternoster London.'^ 
To ALL Correspondents.— In self-defence wc are reluctantly com¬ 
pelled to announce that wc must decline inserting any announcements 
of articles to be sold, or rcfpiircd, except as advertisements. We are 
compelled to adopt this resolution, because wc find that a contrary 
course is misinterpreted, lays us open to the cliargc of giving preferences, 
ami has led to impositions, not only upon ourselves, but upon our 
readers. Our resolution is sustained by the following letter, hy which 
we arc much obliged ;—“ Kudosed you h.avc payment for inserting the 
advertisement herein. Should this not be correct, please let me iiear 
from you. You will, I have no doubt (when I tell you that myself and 
other gentlemen, your constant readers and well-wishers coincide with 
me), understand me when I tell you, with the very l>cst intentions and 
most friendly feeling, that you do not get the support to nearly the extent 
you would do from gentlemen having a few “spare Cochin-Chinas,** 
K'C., to dispose of— {a numerous hodif now) — in consequence of allowing 
any one who writes to you to append to his communications an advertise- 
inent of this or that sort of /om7, or a few ‘ Spanish * to be disposed of, 
ifit;. In one case an advertisement appeared in the regular character, and 
on the same page, three or four communications of this very nature, and 
each appearing in tlie very article before put before the public. It lias 
been thought that this favour was only allowed to correspondents who 
were also subscribers, or well known to the editor. But this is not so ; in 
one ease, at least, when fowls were purchased from one of these favoured 
ones, and the purchaser was most shamefully cheated and imposed 
upon ; whereas, not unlikely, the honest advertiser came off without a 
sale, and minus the money sent for his more expensive, Imt less favoured, 
advertisement. It strikes everyone so clearly that this is not the kind of 
way an honest advertiser should lie treatetl, that I am sure I have only to 
name this to secure better treatment in future. In conclusion, I 
wish you every success, and hope, in future, I shall sec ‘ The Country 
Gentleman’s Companion* increases in circulation, and made a medium 
for advertising to the extent its editor’s most sanguine desires can wish.” 
We now state most distinctly and unreservedly, that when we liave 
allowed such notices to appear, it has only been on some plea which we 
thought called upon us to sacrifice our own pecuniary interest. In 
future we must be more firm—for the sake of others as well as of our¬ 
selves. 
Silk Fowls (//. S. B.). —There may be a variety of these in Cochin 
China; but they have no relationship to the Shanghac fowl. The Silk 
fowl is a native of the warmer parts of the East Indies. We never heard 
of a cross between them and the Shanghae fowls. 
PiNETUM. — Ignofvs has the following— Cupressus strietny C. Gove- 
ninna, C. maerocarpa, C. funebris, Araucaria imbricatay Juniperus 
commwiis, J. Chinensis, J. excelsn, a deciduous Oppress, Cedar of Leba¬ 
non, Pimts c.rce.lsa, P. insignis, Crpptomeria Japonica, Taxodiuni sem- 
peridrens, Abies Canadensis, A. jioufrlasii, A. Menzesii, and wants a 
few more of the Abies tribe, or other fnstigiate evergreens. A few more 
desirable additions to your list arc— Abies niortnda, alias or 
Khutroiv, for the three arc the same. Then the Silver-fir tribe, or Piven, 
as P, Cephulonica, P. Fraseri, P. Webbiana, and P. Pinsapo. Tlie old 
Sih'cr-fir is as handsome as any; and, where the soil suits it, the Balm- 
of-Gilead-fir, or P. bnlsanira, the same. Phiuspinea, or Stone-pine, P. 
Sabininna, and P. LamberCama; Cupressus torulosa unA C. Uhdeanu; 
and of the very newest, if you can spare a guinea for it, Fitzroi/a Pata- 
gonica —a fast-growing and beautiful tree, after the manner of the Cy¬ 
press. Of Junipers, plant o.ryeedrus and thurifera. The Virginian 
Cedar (Juniperus Vii'giniann), and Chinese Arbor vit^p, are not in your 
list; neither are the Deodar and Moujit Atlas Cedars, all of which should 
he in every selectioii of the order. 
Hints and Annuals (S. S.). —We quite agree with you that it 
would be desirable to have monthly lists of Annuals and other things 
