412 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
February 24. 
can be ascertained from the shape of the egg. A slight 
acquaintance with the anatomy of the fowl would disprove 
the trutli of this statement. The germ of the future bird is 
formed with tlie yolk in the ovary, and as it passes along 
the egg-passage—a tnh& upwards of two feet in length—it 
receives in its progress the wdiite, the skin, and, lastly, the 
shell; these being formed or secreted by different parts of 
the canal, it is evident that the shape of the egg depends 
on the sliell, which is formed after the w'hole interior of the 
egg is completed, and can, therefore, have no influence 
upon it; moreover, the alleged fact has been disproved by 
: experiment. I believe, however, that it is in our power to 
influence the sex of chickens to a very great degree. In the 
first number of the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, is 
I related some experiments on slieep, in which two flocks, of 
: ld5 ewes each, were made to produce—one, 80 male lambs 
i to Ob females; the other, 03 males to 84 females. It ap- 
i peared from these experiments that the sex of the offspring 
I was chiefly influenced by the age of the male parent; and I 
■ would suggest that those of your readers who have the 
! opportunity of experimenting on this matter should do so, 
and I think it will be as follows:—When a young cock is 
mated with old hens, there will be a much larger proportion 
of pullets liatched than when an old cock is paired with 
young liens, in whicli case the males would predominate. 
Again, when both parents are in their first year, I w'ould 
expect more pullets than cockerels. I am now trying tlie 
exjieriment myself, but a single experiment proves nothing. 
If those of your readers who have the opportunity of ob¬ 
serving would do so, and send me the results, I would 
collect them into a tabular result, and thus, from many cases, 
the truth of the opinion might he tested in one season. I 
need not stop to point out the great importance of the sug¬ 
gestion, if true ; breeders for the table, and those for stock, 
require the greater number of birds of opposite sexes.— 
W. B. Tegetmeier, Tottenham. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Melons and Cucumbers (W, B .).—Your three-light frame will be 
just the thing for these, provided you have hot dung, or tan, to form the 
bed; leaves alone, we fear, will hardly do, the autumn and winter was 
so wet as to perish them too much for effectively heating a hotbed. 
Turn and mix your heating material, as recommended so often by our 
departmental writers; and when it has attained a sufficiently modified 
heat, make up a hotbed, and place your frame on it; and the one in¬ 
tended for cucumbers ought to have a much lighter soil than the one for 
melons; but neither ought to be put in for at least a week after the bed 
is made up, and only then if the heat be moderate. Mounds at least 
fifteen inches high should be made under each light, and the plants 
planted out the next day or so, as the soil ought to be well warmed. We 
have supposed that, as you say you are a beginner, you may have made 
friends with some kind neighbour, more experienced in such matters, 
who supplies you with plants; but if you determine on raising them 
yourself, you must first prepare a sort of hotbed, as a nursery, where you 
can sow your seed in pots to plunge in the heating matter; and when 
the plants are up, they may be potted off in pairs; and when they have 
got the second rough leaf, they are then fit to plant out in the hills ; but 
if you can get a kind friend to do this preliminary part of the business, 
you will husband your heating material, and remove many difficulties in 
the way of an early crop. Other particulars relative to the melon, &c., 
will shortly follow in our pages, which we have no doubt will meet your 
case. 
Mandevilla Suaveolens (Ibid ).—This fine evergreen climber is 
best propagated by slips or cuttings of the young shoots when two or 
three inches long; but then they must have the benefit of a mild, steady 
bottom-heat, and be covered by a hand-glass; this system, however, can 
only be successfully carried out by nurserymen and others, who have 
many things to propagate, all requiring the same treatment. If, there¬ 
fore, you only want a plant or two from the one you have, try and layer 
a shoot into a flower pot, which may be secured in some way or other, 
and you will have a plant much sooner than with cuttings. 
Red Spider (Ibid ).—Moisture will usually overcome this pest; but 
when that cannot be applied, compatibly with other things, sulphur will 
effect the same purpose. Dust, therefore, the leaves of plants suffering 
from it with flowers of sulphur, and repeat the dose if required ; but some 
plants, like the melon, cannot endure sulphur. If, therefore, moisture 
be unable to combat this evil, painting the inside of the frame or pit with 
a mixture of this and clay, will, by the fumes emitted, generally effect a 
cure. But you will, doubtless, hear from us again on this subject. 
Renewing an old Garden (R. H. Gill ).—Your many queries re¬ 
lating to the formation of a new, or renovating an old garden, will be 
attended to in our next, as we have forwarded your note to one of our 
departmental writers, who will, no doubt, give you all the information 
you require; in the mean time, you are perfectly right in digging or 
trenching the ground as a preliminary operation, but you must take care 
and not turn up any useless or pernicious matter to the surface. If your 
soil be shallow, there is no harm at digging up the subsoil, but it must 
remain as subsoil still, keeping the top spit to the top again ; but more 
details will be given next week. 
Propagating Pit (W. B.).— Your small cucumber pit might easily 
be converted into a propagating pit for soft wooded plants, but would be 
too moist for heaths and the generality of New Holland plants. You 
best know whether part of it could be spared for propagating purposes. 
If you have more cucumbers than the family require, then you could 
spare part of the pit. The part for propagation should be divided from 
the part devoted to cucumbers; ior though some cuttings, such as 
dahlias, for instance, would strike easily enough in the pit with 
the cucumbers, yet many others would damp off; besides, places crowded 
with plants are not desirable. Your cucumbers would soon be full of 
red spider and thrip from the cuttings. To describe the propagating 
power at Pine Apple Place, referred to by Mr. Appleby, would occupy too 
much space here. As it appears you have seen his description, why need 
we repeat it ? 
Heath Propagating and Specimen Growing (A Fife Reader ).— 
We cannot say where you can buy “ Cushing on Propagating ; ” but if 
you had it, do not suppose that either science or practice has slept since 
his days. You have stated you have read Mr. Fish’s papers carefully 
and do not find directions minute enough. His late article on 
propagating was written for a special purpose; a house of Heath cuttings 
being adduced as an illustration. With every wish to oblige, we cannot 
agree with you, that while other “mamew” are attended to, there has 
not been a word about Heaths. Nor can we think that as an “ Old Sub¬ 
scriber,” you could have read with great attention the papers on Heaths, 
not so long ago, even by Mr. Fish alone, or you would have met with the 
most minute replies to almost every enquiry you make. See gener.al 
remarks, and raising from seed, No. 167* Propagation by cuttings ; 
sand, soil, pots, glasses; time of making cuttings ; condition of ditto, 
size of ditto, mode of making, inserting, watering, position, and general 
treatment, Nos. l 68 , 169 . Potting, drainage, compost, growing, watering, 
temperature, winter blooming, 173. 174, 178, 181. Pruning, training, 
185. Position, according to season and kind, &c., 187; besides notices, 
lists for different purposes, tStc., in many other places. All the most 
difficult hard-wooded plants have also received minute attention. Very 
likely there will be additional articles before long; but what has already 
appeared will insure success, if duly practised and persevered in. You 
will find some other matters referred to to-day about which you enquire. 
Fuchsia serratifolia (Gladiolus). —This, growing in a window, 
without fire-heat, is very rampant, but very lanky, and showing no sign 
of flowering; but it bloomed in autumn. “ Shall I cut down now, or 
when?” You may place it anywhere now, where it will have some light, 
and be free from frost; prune it well back in March or April, and then 
give it as warm a position as you can, and, when it breaks, plenty of 
light, and then it may receive fresh soil. If you want plenty of 
bloom in the autumn and the first part of winter, you cannot do better 
than plunge the pot out-of-doors in June. Mulch, and water well in 
summer; and raise the plant in October, when, probably, the roots will 
be so over the old pot that a larger one will be necessary. It will 
require to be kept in a shady, airy place for a fortnight. 
Errata. —At page 323, under 3rd, first line, leave out ^^not” —it | 
will then read, “allowing that bell glasses are essential.” Page 364 , 1 
third line from the top, “distraction” for “ destrwetion.” 1 
Calceolarias for bedding in Shades (S. S.). —There is only 
one nameless variety, a reddish-browm shrubby one, that will mix with 
yellow shrubby Calceolarias for shading. But Ample:ricaulis, Kayeii, and 
Rugosa, will give three shades of yellow, in three distinct beds, in a group 
of yellows. Kentish Hero does not shade or agree in habit with any 
other kind for mixing. The shading of Calceolarias can only be effected 
where the planting is intended for match beds, or for giving different 
degrees of height; then, each bed is of one plant, and in a different 
shade to the opposite bed, in matching, or the next bed in height, when 
three heights and three shades is the arrangement; and all Calceolarias 
are better without borders. 
Cineraria amelloides (Ibid). —We never knew it to seed. It is 
to be had only in plants, and it is altogether a different thing from the 
pot Cinerarias, so called, because not one of them will do in a bed. 
Arabis grandiflora; the double Cardamine; and the Iberis Saxatile, can 
be had in plants, but not by seeds, about London. 
Torbnia Asiatica (L. M.). —This is one of the easiest of all plants 
to root from cuttings, to grow very fast, and to flower most profusely, in 
a strong moist heat—first in hotbeds, and in the stove afterwards. After 
it comes into full bloom—say in July, August, and September—it would 
do very well to stand in a greenhouse. Very good gardeners could so 
manage with a common hotbed and a good greenhouse, but “ young 
beginners” must not expect to succeed like old practitioners. 
Vinery (Ibid). —You have made a sorry choice of Vines. The St. 
Albans, although one of the very finest-flavoured grapes, cannot be had 
in perfection except from such men as Errington and Fleming. The 
berries, in general, are hardly fit to be seen—cracking and damping 
before they are quite ripe. The Black Alicant and Black Frontignac 
are not worth house room. The White Frontignac will only answer in • 
one place out of ten, unless it is grafted on a hardier sort; and from 
such a house as you contemplate the Canon Hall Muscat will be no 
better than old leather gloves. A mistaken wish for novelties, and a 
premature desire to imitate first-rate gardeners, are the two rocks on which 
“amateurs” and “new beginners” get wrecked every month in the 
year. The old Black Hambro and the Royal Mmcadine, or even the 
common White Muscadine and the Black St. Peter, never yet failed, 
and they are as good grapes as the very best you can pick out of books. 
Millhill Hambro, and all other Hambros, and the Barbarosa, sxe 
grown to perfection by Blr. Fleming, but very likely it would take ten or 
fifteen years* practice before you could grow them fit to be seen. Who¬ 
ever told you that the Millhill Hambro requires to be left to itself, to 
“ grow aw’ay like a bramble,” took you to be worse than a simpleton. 
Eatable-rooted Tropieolums. —A correspondent ( Wnreham) says: 
“ In answer to W. D., the tubers of Tropatolum tuberosum —if that is 
what he means by Tropceolum edule (No.)—may be boiled about ten 
minutes, and the water being poured off, set the saucepan on, or close to 
the fire, for a few minutes, as with potatoes, and they may be served 
with white sauce.” 
