jANOAnY 13. THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 291 
Norman rapn is exliaustod ; it is scarcely yet louclied upon, 
and promises to lie as inlerestint; to the urlist and the unli- 
i^uary .as tliat of Norman architecture. 
Normandy is milder and damper than I’ieardy. A very 
few slight observations will tell long tales about the meteor¬ 
ology of any country. A gardener especially has his eyes 
open to these trilling hut signilioant phenomena. Where 
1 am writing, we have standard fig and apricot trees. 
Wherever standard fig trees answer, the winters cannot he 
very severe; and wherever standard apricots bear good frifit, 
the summers must he tolerably genial. Ferns are seen 
growing in spots where they could not easily exist if they 
were usully surrounded by an arid atmosphere. The adver¬ 
tising appendix to my “ Murray’s Handbook,” contains some 
beautiful little fronds gathered on the granite rocks at 
Vize. The thatched cottages in Norman villages are very 
fond of wearing, on their ridge or backbone, a decoration 
which looks like the erected bristles of an angry wild- 
boar : it consists of a row of iris, or orpine, or poly pody, 
according to the taste of the proprietor, planted in a line 
of clayey-earth along the very top of the angle formed by 
the roof sloping each way; and it mostly flourishes, and 
flowers, and waves in the wind, with a luxurance unattain¬ 
able were it not frequently watered by a supply of visible 
or invisible moisture. Notwithstanding this, Normandy is 
one of the healthiest provinces in the world. 
For comparison’s sake, I may observe, that the climate 
of the north-east corner of France is more variable than 
in most other parts of the country. The map will show 
that a north or a north-east wind reaches it unmitigated 
from the North Sea itself; whereas, the departments but 
a little to the west are sheltered from these inclement 
breezes by Great Britain, which tempers their rigour and 
breaks their force. On the other hand, a wind from the 
south and the south-west comes charged with all the 
warmth it has collected in passing over an extensive 
continent, so that within the course of a few days very 
considerable alterations of temperature, of drought and 
moisture, may bo felt. At the beginning of the week 
you are melting with Italian heats—at the end of it you 
are shivering with an Orkney chill. Hence the loc.al 
proverb respecting the month of April, which might, with¬ 
out injustice, bo extended to May. 
Avril, il est doux; 
Quand il s’y met, il est pere de tons, 
April and May are soft and mild ; 
When they once set to work, they’re the Worst of the wild. 
Against these sudden changes, delicate and susceptible 
constitutions should be on their guard, by keeping warm 
clothing ever at hand; otherwise, the country in the uplands 
is very healthy. The pure air of the. hills, the gales that 
sweep over the uninclosed fields, and, for a great part of 
the year, the extent of the dry-growing woods, manifest 
their usual effects on the appetite, the spirits, and the com¬ 
plexion. But towns situated low, at the mouths of rivers, 
or on the site of ancient marshes, as Gravelines, Dunkerque, 
and St. Omer, are apt to have insinuations thrown out 
against their character for salubriousness. Normandy is 
also variable, the Cotentin particularly so; but except in 
one or two spots on the Seme, and there only in the autumn, 
I have not heard a whisper of malaria.—D. 
ON CIDER-MAKING IN THE COUNTY OF 
HEREFORD. 
As “ Somersetensis ” wishes for information respecting 
the mode of making Cider in the counties of Hereford and 
Glos’ter, the writer, who has, during the last few years, visited 
the former county during the cider season, is willing to 
afford such information as he is capable of doing, and which 
has passed under his general observation. 
There is much to be said in favour of their system, still 
the process is of that slow nature that few Somerset cider- 
makers, who generally make from 100 to a 1,000 hogsheads 
annually, would adopt it, as no doubt much waste would 
occur from the fruit getting too decayed before it would be 
possible to make it into Cider; as I should think, that with 
the miUs and screw presses used in Somersetshire, five 
hogslieads are made with the same labour as one in Here¬ 
fordshire. 
As you travel through the counties of Hcioford and 
(ilos’ter, you are not struck with the (luantil.y of orchards 
(as in Somerset), .and the trees .are generally small. The 
])ear trees seem to thrive much bolter than the, apple trees, 
and they .attain an immense size, from which a great 
quantity of Ferry is made. Tho same mills suffice for both, 
and, as before said, the quantity of Cider not being large, 
the (piality is of great importance, and that is obtained by 
the means of crushing and grinding their apples under a 
heavy stone cylinder moving vertically in a circle, which, 
being fixed in a frame, is propelled by a horso round a bed 
or trough into which the apples are placed. The pulp is 
scraped into the centre of the bed, by means of a scoop 
attached to the frame, and following immediately behind the 
stone, which continues to roll round tiU even the pips are 
entirely bruised, from which a strong aromatic flavour is 
obtained, and which adds so much to tho quality of the 
Cider. As soon as tho pulp is sufficiently ground, it is 
placed in horse-hair bags, and the juice immediately pressed 
from it, which has such a muddy, filthy appearance, that no 
one would imagine such a delicious beverage could after¬ 
wards be obtained from it. The usual ferntentations and 
rackings then take place as is practised by experienced 
cider-makers in Somersetshire. A few enterprising farmers, 
in the neighbourhood of tho city of Hereford, lately ob¬ 
tained some of the Somerset mills and presses, imagining 
that from the quick mode of making it they should save a 
great amount of labour, but I believe there is not an ex¬ 
ception in which they have not all discarded them, and 
returned to their old system, finding they lost in tho quality 
as well as quantity of their Cider.—T. D. 1’. 
MISCELLANEOUS REMARKS ON POULTRY. 
Feeding.— This subject is not generally so well attended 
to as it deserves; it is true, whore fowls have a good run 
they can provide themselves with many a dainty morsel, 
and will do well with one good feed of corn per day; but it 
is not always that persons keeping fowls can accommodate 
them thus extensively, and it is therefore necessary to 
provide what they require by artificial means. Most fanciers 
are aware that fowls require other things besides sound 
corn for their welfare, such as green, and animal food, 
calcareous matter, and grit; and I consider it absolutely 
necessary for them to be supphed with these more parti¬ 
cularly while laying and moulting. 
The green food may consist of grass, lettuces, chicory, 
cabbage, Ac. The animal food is, naturally—snails,beetles, 
grubs, worms, maggots, &c.; and, when a supply of these, 
fail, then butchers’ offal, tallow chandlers’ greaves, or any 
refuse meat, will be found very advantageous. In winter, 
an allowance of fat will be found beneficial, as, by the in¬ 
ternal combustion of the carbon, of which fat is principally 
composed, the animal heat will be sustained, and, con¬ 
sequently, laying will be promoted. 
Calcareous matter enters largely into the formation of 
bones and egg-shells. Chalk, in small pieces, is recom¬ 
mended ; but I do not find the fowls very fond of eating it: 
naturally, they eat the shells of snails, and other small land 
shells, which, with the hard covering of beetles and other, 
insects, contribute largely to the production of egg-shells. 
Egg-shells, thrown from the house, are greedily eaten. The 
best substitute I have found to consist of bone-powder, a 
small quantity of which may be given daily in their food; 
and this I have found to cure some of my high-bred hens 
of laying soft eggs, when a regular cramming with chalk 
did not succeed. Hempseed, linseed, and sunflower-seed, 
are very nutritious, and conducive of laying. 
For rearing young chickens, I have found milk-curds 
(where easily obtained), mixed with ground oats, to be the 
best food; where not obtainable, I use ground oats, mixed 
with water, with a small quantity of bone-powder added ; or 
rice, parboiled and rolled in ground oats or barley-meal, so 
as to separate the grains. And a piece of bullocks’ liver, 
boiled hard and grated, is also an excellent occasional treat 
for the little chickens, Ducks are famous trenchermen, 
