312 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 20. 
part with tliem ; hut when tliey do, rely on tlieir returning, 
tliough they are brought to England. 
It is surprising what distances they will return, and how 
little training they want, so that they would quite astonish 
our pigeon-dying gentlemen. 
A variety of Antwerp, better known in England, are the 
short-faced Antwerps, also renowned for the long journeys 
they will perform. 
In the Rhine pro\dnoes of Prussia, whore I resided some 
time, the Turbits or Owls (for they do not discriminate 
between them there) were the oidy pigeons known as letter- 
carriers. Tliroughout Belgium these pigeons were at one 
time generally used as such (at least so I have frequently 
been informed), and, therefore, it ;is not to be wondered at 
that they should have been crossed wth the true Antwerps. 
This, then, I have not the least hesitation in saying, is 
the origin of the short-faced Antwerp. These are small 
pigeons with a short beak, more or less of the Turbit's 
gullet, and occasionally have a few feathers turned up on the 
chest something like the pearl of the Turbit or Owl pigeon ; 
they are either blue or mealy-coloured; they are good 
breeders, and not so wild as the former, and as they are 
good dyers, and more easily obtained, are much better 
known here. A cross with these and the Dragoon is generally 
used for dispatches in England; they are larger, approaching 
more to the make of the Dragoon, with shorter bealis, and 
scarcely any wattle, and I think are generally liked better 
for short journeys ; for as an old dyer of pigeons from Calais 
to Dover informed me, “ he liked the half-bred birds best, 
as the Dragoons, ijut more sense into them; for the Antwerps 
often over-dew themselves in their short stages.” 
Tliere are several other crosses of little note, and, there¬ 
fore, not worth mentioning; but 1 believe they are all known 
by the name of Antwerps.— B. P. Brent, Bessel’s Oreen, 
near Seven Oaks, Kent. 
FUNGI AS USEB’UL PRODUCTIONS. 
Not only are Eungi despised as articles of diet, but as 
useful or even interesting productions they too usually 
either pass unnoticed, or are looked upon as objects the 
sight of which is rather to be shunned than sought after. 
Nor is this to be wondered at, when we allow ourselves to 
be guided by the prejudiced opinions of others, who, in 
most cases, have no real knowledge of the good or bad 
quaUties of those things they are condemning. That such 
a large proportion of the whole vegetable kingdom should 
spring up (at two periods of the year when vegetation 
generally is most dormant) and dourish and decay without 
rendering man any service, appears to me unreasonable to 
expect; and that the same shoidd be allowed to perish 
unemployed, year after year, I consider cannot be too much 
regretted. In addition to the importance of Fungi as an 
article of diet, many might prove of great value for a variety 
of purposes, indepiendent of their interest as objects of 
beauty and curiosity. 
As medical remedies, we are well aware that many of the 
most active species, formerly in great repute, are now rejected 
and forgotten ; but that many are employed at the present 
day by eminent members of the medical profession, and are 
considered to surpass some of the more modern discoveries 
which, in some instances, have taken their place. 
The Lycoperdons are used for a variety of purposes, as stop¬ 
ping blood, which they do mechanically by means of their 
spores; and stupifying bees, which is done by the smoke 
arising from them when burnt. Also, as tinder they have 
been much used, and for this purpose are saturated with a 
solution of saltpetre and then dried. In northern countries, 
where the neighbours live far apart, they have been em¬ 
ployed to convey fire from place to place. Polyporns 
iynarious, and J'omenlarious, are extensively used in the 
manufactory of Amadou, which is used for the following 
purposes : for staunching blood; as a material for paper- 
making ; and steeped in saltpetre to form tinder; it is 
also made into dresses by the inhabitants of Francoirid; 
is burnt by the Laplanders to protect their rein-deer 
from the attack of gadflies; it is used for surgical pads; 
and when sliced, and formed into extensive sheets, it has 
been employed largely by the medical profession to protect 
the backs, &c., of the bedridden iirvalids, as it is more 
elastic than chamois leather, and less hkely to crrrmple. It 
has been coirsidered far super-ior to many substances in 
more comrrron use, also, for a coirrpress over var-icose veins, 
as it supports tlie distended vessels without pressing too 
tightly upon the limb. The Swedish peasantry use Amadou 
to alleviate pain as follows: Wherever they suffer pain, 
they bruise some of the dried Fungus or Amadou, and 
pulling it in pieces, put a small heap of it on the part 
nearest the seat of pain ; it is then set fire to, and burning 
away it raises a blister on the skin; and, although this may 
appear to some persons a rough method of treatment, it is 
generally a very successful one. 
Salmasius describes the following method of making 
Amadou : The Fungus is to be first boiled, then beaten to 
pieces in a mortar, next hammered out to deprive it of its 
woody fibres, and lastly, being steeped in a solution of salt¬ 
petre, exposed to tlie sun to dry. (I should imagine that 
the saltpetre was omitted except when it was required for 
tinder.) 
Polyporns sqiia7nasus forms a razor-strop superior to many 
patented ones in general use, when prepared as follows : 
Cut it fresh from the Ash-tree, in autumn, when it has 
become dry and hard ; flatten out and press for twenty-four 
hom-s, then slice longitudinally, and with a piece of pum- 
mice stone ground flat, rub to a level surface those strips 
which ai-e free from the erosions of insects, which may now 
be glued upon a w'ooden stretcher, and when di^ will be 
ready for use. 
Polyporns annosus is reported by the Sw'edish peasantry to 
be a cure for snake-bites. Polyporns snlphureus is employed 
in dyeing. Tremulla mescenterica is reported to dye yellow. 
Tremnlla Jimbriata has also been used in dyeing; and the 
Russians employ for dyeing those Bolcti which change to 
blue or green colour when cut. Agariens atramentarius, and 
other deliquescent species, have been used in the maniifac- 
ture of ink and dyes. 
Phallus falidus may be considered more as an object of 
interest than a useful production, from its quick growth and 
rapid decay. It passes through its ephemeral existence 
unnoticed; and probably the strong odour which it produces, 
which is far more offensive than putrid flesh, induces many 
to avoid rather than seek by such a guide one of the greatest 
cm-iosities of the vegetable Idngdom. Flies, snails, and 
slugs, are so fond of it as to flock to its resting place to 
regale themselves with the delicious food it affords ; and had 
not provident Nature supplied us with a root which, like the 
potato, throws off offsets, it would soon become extinct. 
The offensive odour it produces is very great when diluted 
with the surrounding air, but hardly perceptible when brought 
in close contact with the nose, and in this manner it may¬ 
be readily conveyed home for examination. The odour has 
induced some to believe that the taste is nauseous and highly 
poisonous. Those, however, who are bold enough, may eat 
them without fear; and it has been asserted, that the white 
stalk is rather agreeable than otherwise. F. Y. Brocas. 
CROSS-BREEDING AND DISEASES OF FOWLS. 
Your correspondent, “A. S. AV., Glasgow," suggests, in 
your December number, no doubt with the amiable inten¬ 
tion of terminating the hitherto unceasing war that has pre¬ 
vailed between “fancy men” as to the merits of Shanghaes, 
Dorkings, and other varieties of poultry, the propriety of 
crossing some of the best breeds, in the hope of producing a 
class of birds that shall combine the multifarious qualities 
of all. And he himself has made the experiment of cross¬ 
ing a Shangbae cock with a Poland hen, the offspring of 
which he speaks most highly of. My object in addressing 
you, is not to find any fault with his very laudable efforts to 
improve his stock by expei-iments of this natiu-e, but to cau¬ 
tion him as to the unsoundness of drawing any conclusions 
from a first generation. 
Now it is a well-known fact among sheep-breeders, that 
nothing is more unsuccessful than the attempt to perpetuate 
the stock of a cross-bred animal. They degenerate to a 
mai-vellous extent with every succeeding generation, until at 
last the sheep become quite weak and sicldy, having none 
of the chai-acteristics of purity and health. Arguing from 
