February 17. 
THE COTTAGE GAEDENER. 
389 
sort of maid-of-all-work. It is best not to expect too much 
of tliem; and a little patience in bearing with faults we 
know, rather than flying to others that we know not of, is 
not unfroquently rewarded by the discovery of many latent 
virtues. The grand mistake lies in too often looking for 
imi)ossibilities, and vainly expecting to And an ordinary and 
rather humble servant endowed with qualities not always 
met with in the most favoured of his kind. 
The Baron Cuvier has told us that horses are used up in 
England ten times as fast as in any other state of Europe. 
It is the speed that kills them, generally speaking; the 
speed first of all, and next the enonuous loads which we 
put behind them—enormous, I mean, considered in relation 
to the too usual rate of travelhug ; though probably, in 
regard to the class of horses of which I would be under¬ 
stood to treat, not such heavy loads after all, if the speed 
were slackened. Hei'e then, at once, is opened a wide field 
for wandering in — I mean the matter of cai’riages and 
draught; and yet I can give but little advice about the 
choice of a horse, or his subseipient management, unless 
we have come to a clear understanding about what he has 
to do, and what weight to draw. 
In general, country carriages are too heavy and too fine. 
They are mostly ordered in town, where they are intended a 
good deal for display, and are more of a luxury, and less a 
matter of a necessity, than in the country, and are kept by 
people of ample income almost exclusively; again, the dis¬ 
tances in town are shorter, and the road more level and 
better kept. The distance between the hind wheels and 
tlie fore should be no more than just to enable you conve¬ 
niently to ascend between them; yet for London work, 
where ladies are continually stepijing in and out of the car¬ 
riage, this distance between the wheels is in general much 
too great. The wheels themselves, also, are gener ally too 
small. The power of the wheel, considered as a lever, is 
directly as the semi-diameter, and inversely as the semi¬ 
diameter of the axle in the box. 
In all cases of the lever, however, viewed as a mechanical 
contrivance, the necessity of economising power has its 
limits. Mere mechanical power is sometimes constructed 
in order to attain rapidity and safety of action, neatness, and 
convenience; and hence, not seldom, as in animal mecha¬ 
nics, so in mechanical contrivances to ecorromize animal 
power, a form of lever is adapted which, at first view, seems 
to irrrply a considerable waste of str'errgth. The Londoir 
birilder, then, was probably not far rvrorrg wherr he designed 
that very light-looking, but rrncornmorrly heavy-following, 
vehicle, which you have errcumbered yorrrself rvith to begiir 
with. It woirld answer the purpose of London callirrg, shop- 
pirrg, or park work, pretty well, I dare say; but ten miles of 
country work orr end, uporr inditt'erent roads, rvitlr a stiff hill 
or two to every mile of the wa}% and with a horse who had 
rrot yet leartred to know his work, and a driver still less ac¬ 
quainted with the profound secret of adopting his speed to 
the road; a day’s worrying with sitch a bargain as I have 
supposed you to have picked up, and a new horse, is just 
the thing to set all awry at the very first. It takes from six 
to twelvemonths to train an ordinary horse before he knows 
how to draw a pheaton without fatiguing himself, supposing 
even that he is not greatly overmatched with the work to 
begin with. 
Now, my mare, “ the maid-of-all-work” is to bring us all 
the manure into the hay-field ; she shall fetch hme ; coals 
for the house ; frequently tum over (after the first plough¬ 
ing, which requires two horses) some part of an acre of 
“field-garden” attached to the ground, wherein early pota¬ 
toes, mangold-wurtzel, carrots, cabbages, &c., are produced 
in help of the winter provision ; she shall fetch the market- 
stuff, new gravel for the walks, and what not. She must 
not take too much grooming; that will never do. I propose 
that she be turned out every night for the whole of the 
summer; and merely eat a couple of small feeds of corn 
during the day, in which case she will not require a great 
deal more looking after than a cow. And, if you are in pretty 
good health, gentle reader, and inclined to busyyourself and 
Laleb BaJderstone, your man, in the garden, and the weather 
is favourable for long walks, why you must really give “ the 
maid” a few weeks run out altogether, night and day, during 
the early part of summer. 'Tis the best method of i)ro- 
longing the usefulness of the horse that I know. In the 
stable it is, I think, indispensable that my horse, which has 
not got a groom on jourpose to give the exact proportion of 
daily exercise, should have a large box, wherein to turn 
about, and shift from one posture to another. Take it alto¬ 
gether, I almost think that as much work may bo got out of 
“all work” without interfering with the pretty frequent 
occurrence of pleasure exciu-sions : almost as much work as 
will pay for the grooming; that is, .supposing tlie lady or 
gentleman of the family usually drives. It is a serious 
matter, if the man-servant has anything else to do, that he 
should be perpetually taken oft’ his work; put into livery, 
and set to drive about a gypseying, or taken to a country’ 
market town, perliaps to loiter about wldle his master and 
mistress is engaged. It is the ruin of a good hard-working 
servant; and a man who is expected to execute some remu¬ 
nerating labour for his wages. 
By-the-by, I would never recommend you to load home 
your own hay from the field with your own horse. He is 
only occasionally put into the cart, and the. hun’y of the hay- 
field, the dangerous operation of loading, to say nothing of 
the casualties from a slippery barn-floor in unloading, all 
make it desirable that only practised horses sliould be em¬ 
ployed in this process ; and as any talk about making hay 
at Christmas is somewhat unseasonable, I think it is still 
better to turn my by-the-by into a good-bye, at least, for the 
present.— ^'ibgyor. 
(To he covlinued.) 
POULTRY SHOWS 
Reigate. —This Show was on the 1st and 2nd instant 
but being confined to birds belonging to residents within a 
circle of fifteen miles round the Town Hall, was propor¬ 
tionately deficient in interest and utility. The object of 
such exhibitions ought to be comparison with the produce 
of distant localities. This aft'ords stimulus to fresh exertion, 
and a good test of merit. To be the best at Reigate is very 
far below being the first where all England competes. The 
following is a list of the prize-winners'. Classes in which 
no prize was awarded are omitted. 
Class I.—SPANisn. — For the best Cock and two Hens of any age. 
First Prize —No. .3, C. Alloway, Dorking. Second —No. 1, J. Ivery, 
Dorking. Third —No. 2, J. Thompson, Wolvers Farm, Reigate. 
Class 2.— Spanish. — For the best Cock and two Pullets, chickens 
of 1852. 
First Prize—No. 4, C. Alloway, Dorking. Second —No. 5, C. Alloway, 
Dorking. Third —No. 1, J. Nicholson, Reigate. 
Class 3.— Dorking (Single-combed).— For the best Cock or two 
Hens of any age. 
First Prize —No. g, Earl Cottenham. Second —No. 8, .T. Wicks, Cot¬ 
tager, Leigli. Third —No. 2, J. Iverj', Dorking. 
Class 4.— Dorking (Single-combed).— For the best Cock and two 
Pullets, chickens of 1852. 
First Prize —No. 2, S. Roots, Kingston. Second —No. 3, R. Clutton, 
Reigate. Third —No. 5, J. Lee, Horley. 
Class 5.— Dorking (Double or Rose-combed),— For the best Cock and 
two Hens of any age. 
Second Prize —No. 1, Rev. J. Herbert, Leigh. 
Class 6.— Dorking (Double or Rose-combed).— For the best Cock and 
two Pullets, chickens of 1852. 
First Prize —No. 5, J. Hitchens, Horley. Second—No. 2, R, Wol¬ 
laston, Reigate, 
Class 7-—Dorking (White).— For the best Cock and two Hens of 
any age. 
First Prize—No. 1, Emmeline Parrat, Effingham. Second —No. 2, 
J. Giles, Betchworth. Third—No, 4, J. Compton, Reigate. 
Class 8.— Dorking (White).—For the best Cock and two Pullets, 
chickens of 1852. 
Third Prize —No. 1, D. B. Hunt, Edenbridgc. 
Class 9.— Cochin-China (Cinnamon and Buff).— For the best Cock 
and two Hens of any age. 
First Prize—No. 12, E. George, Coulsdon. Second —No. 2, T. H. | 
Potts, Croydon. Third —No. 8, E. George, Coulsdon. 
Class 10,— Cochin-China (Cinnamon and Buff).— For the best Cock 
and two Pullets, chickens of 1852. 
First Prize—No, 15, W. W. Hayne, Sutton. Second—No, 10, E, 
George, Coulsdon. T/iird— No. 8, C. Rawson, Walton. 
