482 
THE COTTAGE GARDENETl. 
March 3. 
trees that are to stand for posterity at the distances they will occupy 
when fully grown. This, of course, depends upon the extent of your 
plantation. If you are about to plant an Arboretum and a Piuetum, you 
ought to call in an experienced man who thoroughly understands the 
art of planting, and is well acquainted with the habits of every kind of 
tr^^e you wish to plant. He w'ould point out at once the space of ground 
your permanent trees each of them would require. To give full directions 
on every tree you name would occupy a volume; besides, a great deal 
depends upon soil and situation, of which you do not say a word. In 
thill soils, ami exposed situations, the permanent trees w’ill never grow 
so large as they would do in good soil and sheltered places. 
Ca?t. Hornby’s Spanish Fowls. —“ In The Cottage Gardenke 
of Kebruary ITth, I obsei^'e, with extreme surprise, an advertisement 
signed by Timothy JIaaon, asserting that he has Spanish fowls and eggs 
from different breeders, including Mr, Poole, who, he asserts, is the 
breeder of Captain Hornby's best birds. To this statement, I am bound 
to give tlie most unqualitied denial. I have not got one fowl in my yard 
of Mr. Poole’s breed.— Windham Hornby.” 
Salvia-sowing (D. J, M.). —The blue and scarlet Salvias will flower 
in the autumn from seeds sown now in heat, and kindly dealt with. 
Poland Fowls {Scrutator), —In our previous remarks on your com¬ 
munication, the extreme beauty of the specimens of Gold and Silver- 
laced Poland sent for inspection was duly noticed. We are strongly, 
however, of opinion, that both form and carriage are no less to be re¬ 
garded than mere beauty of plumage, and that the union of the three is 
essential to constitute a perfect bird. Indeed, we cannot even assent to 
your opinion that plumage should occupy the post of honour, in these 
days, moreover, a fourth test will probably be insisted on by the public, 
and that is excellence in an economical point of view; and we cannot 
but regard this demand as both just and equitable. You have placed a 
wrong construction on our words, in reference to our allusion to the 
spangled birds as distinct from the laced; this does not necessarily 
infer a distinct origin or parentage, but simply distinctness of appear¬ 
ance; just as we should speak of the single and rose-combed Dorkings 
us distinct; though, very possibly, as in the case of these Polands, both 
were hatched from the eggs of the same bird. The true laced birds 
should have the preference ; and had your friend been disposed to exhibit 
at the late Metropolitan Show, he would have found the judges well- 
disposed to acknowledge the beauty of his favourites, supposing them 
meritorious in the other necessary points. But, at the same time, good 
birds have been shown, and distinguished by prizes, where the markings 
partooR more of the nature of a spangle than lacing. You must re¬ 
member, that on the subject of beards or no beards^ many Polish fanciers, 
who have long and zealously given their attention to the subject, hold for 
the former as stoutly as you would argue for the latter. _ A letter is even 
now before us, from one to whom every variety of Polish has been the 
subject of diligent enquiry, and his specimens have been obtained from 
all parts of England, and also from the Continent, and with him, beards 
are viewed in the most favourable light. We do not, ourselves, here 
express any opinion as to the propriety of their presence or absence, but 
would leave it, as the Birmingham aud other Poultry Societies have 
themselves done—an open question for further consideration.—W. 
Advice {Anti-humbug), —We are exceedingly obliged by you, or by 
any correspondents, taking the trouble to point out what you or they 
consider erroneous in our pages. Such advice is always read patiently, 
though often occasioning a smile at the total forgetfulness by the writer 
that his judgment may, perchance, not be in unison with the judgments 
of a majority of his fellow-readers. We endeavour never to lose sight of 
the objects for which this Journal was established—the improvement of 
the gardening, other rural occupations, and domestic comforts of the 
majority of our countrymen. As our circulation, and, consequently, our 
profits have increased, we have increased the number of our pages ; but 
we cannot give that increase entirely to gardening. We give now, and 
shall continue to give, double the amount of horticultural information 
that any other weekly publication affords for twice the price. It may 
seem to some that we have given, lately, too large a portion of our 
columns to poultry intelligence, but it has been only in accordance with 
the growing desire for information relative to that useful description of 
agricultural stock. That information has been most valuable, and we 
shall always dwell with satisfaction on the aid we have been empowered 
to give to this source of comfort, pleasure, and profit, to so many,of our 
countrymen. This information will continue to be afforded, but by 
degrees it will not be so largely required; and we are making arrange¬ 
ments to have a department devoted to that numerous class of readers 
who require information as to farming the few acres they hold. It will 
enable us to afford, however, some hints to those who are more extensive 
agriculturists; will be equally useful to allotment holders, and shall not 
trespass in any way upon the space we have uniformly devoted to gar¬ 
dening. 
Dr. Latham’s Mode of Preserving Animals. — Scrutator, and 
some others, have quite mistaken our object in publishing this. We did 
not intend it for more than we stated—an interesting, unpublished MS. 
of that great ornithologist. To put the matter beyond all doubt, we 
publish the following from a very obliging note signed M. D.“ As a 
regular subscriber to, and reader of, your Cottage Gardener since its 
commencement, and from whose pages I have derived both pleasure and 
much information, I am naturally anxious that all its articles should be 
of first-rate quality, derived from the most modern and best sources of 
information, and the data confirmed by the practice of the best modern 
arti-its in their respective departments. I have been led to make these 
remarks from reading an article in yours of the 10th of February, on 
the Preservation of Birds, &c., by Dr. Latham, whose directions 
(whatever his ability might have been considered in his day) must now 
be thought obsolete, completely out of date, and useless. The merest 
tjTO in the art, now-a-days, would laugh at the baking process, pinning 
down the specimens, cutting out the flesh, the preserving powders, the 
painting black beads for eyes, when glass ones of every shade and hue 
may be bought for a mere trifle, &c., therein described. Animal spe¬ 
cimens of every kind w'ere never better preserved, or set up, than at 
present; witness the celebrated Waterton’s, surpassed by none, the 
beautiful collection of Humming Birds shown at the Zoological Gardens, 
and many others. Everything now, except the skull, and simple bones 
of the extremities, are removed from the skin, an arsenical soap, pre¬ 
pared and sold for the purpose, or a solution of muriate of mercury, as 
used by Waterton, applied to its surface (with the certain effect of pre¬ 
serving it for centuries), and the mode of setting-up, which is totally 
different, as the slightest comparison will prove. One of the best publi¬ 
cations, though that may be improved in some parts soon, is a small 
work on the art called Taxidermy, that I have met with. Extracts occa¬ 
sionally from which would teach the tyro artist, and youthful amateur, 
the way they should go, which practice in a little time would perfect, if 
it is your wish or intention to include the above subjects in the list of 
your articles treated of.” 
Hybrid Between the Pheasant and Fowl. — W. L. B, has 
obliged us with the following: — ‘‘At page 392 you state, ‘a cross 
between the pheasant and the fowl there never w’as, nor ever will be.* 
1 thought so for years, and never succeeded in hearing of one, though 
many keepers where large numbers of pheasants were raised have told me 
of their endeavours to hatch eggs of the common fowl crossed by the phea¬ 
sant. The pheasant cocks readily have connection with the hens, but the 
eggs, I was informed, always proved barren. Last year, a friend of mine 
procured eggs from a cottager near a cover where there were pheasants, 
and from which cover a cock pheasant regularly, for weeks, came to the 
hens ; but, out of more than twenty eggs, none proved fertile. I should 
mention the cottager had only hens, and I can enumerate other instances 
of want of success. Last winter, the keeper of Joseph Neeld, of Guttleton 
House, M’ilts, told me, that out of sixty eggs from hens to which cock 
pheasants had access, he hatched three chickens, which he stated I might 
see at Guttleton House; but I never saw them, and cannot state this as 
a fact. I believe, in one of the cases of birds at the Great Exhibition 
there was a bird of this cross. I saw the bird, and so did others of my 
acquaintance. If you will refer to ‘ Yarrell’s Birds,* vol. ii., page 284, 
you will see what he says of this cross, and at pages 309—311 you will 
further see instances of crosses between pheasant and black grouse. Still, 
as I stated before, though I have for years made inquiries, and have been 
in the habit of seeing large numbers of pheasants raised by keepers,— 
still, I never could hear of an instance till Mr. Neeld’s keeper told me. I 
never could hear of an instance in Wychwood Forest, though the keepers 
all kept fowls in the forest.” Another correspondent {Scrutator) writes 
in a strongly contrasted tone on the same subject:—“ In the first place, 
your correspondent states that ‘ there never was, nor ever will be, a cross 
between the pheasant und the fowl ;* and further, that you might as well 
try to cross a Shrubland Geranium with a^ollyhock. Now, to a natu¬ 
ralist, these sweeping assertions are particularly disagreeable, when it is 
well known that these hybrids have been repeatedly exhibited on the 
table of the Zoological Society, both alive and preserved ; and, moreover, 
one was seen by half London at the Metropolitan show last month. 
Again, he talks of the merest novice of a hen, agreeably with nature’s 
dictation, assisting at the parturition of the chick, when it is a well-esta¬ 
blished fact that the mother renders no assistance whatever. Let him 
go and see Cantelo’s machine, or buy the Key. Mr. Dixon’s work on 
Poultry; in the latter he will be taught that the chicken is provided with 
I an instrument, at the end of the beak, wherewith it is enabled to cut its 
way out. He also talks of Pheasants hatching on or about the 19^/t day ; 
he never knew any such thing; they certainly vary as to time, but the 
23rd or 2‘lth day is early, and the 26th not unusual.” 
[Of course, “ Upwards and Onwards” is wrong as to the hen aiding 
the chicken to break the shell. As to the other points, we leave them to 
the disputant parties.—E d. C. G.] 
Glass for Greenhouse (Hcj).—T he furrowed specimen sent byyou 
will do very well for the purpose. 
Pruning Young Trees {A, P, X .).— Your Apricots, Nectarines, and 
Peaches, planted three months since, should have been pruned at the 
time. Let it be done immediately. 
Cucumbers (A Subscriber).~-yor table purposes, and growing in heat, 
none are better than the Brownston Hybrid and Sion Hozise. For out- 
of-door culture, the common Short-prickly for abundance, and the Long- 
prickly for finer fruit. We cannot remember who the party was who 
subscribed himself “A Subscriber,” at page 26 l of No. 199* 
Murrain in Cows {A Farmer). —Give them each ^Ib. Epsom salts, 
2 oz. of bruised Coriander seeds, and 1 oz. of Gentian Powder, mixed in 
a little warm water. Keep them in a warm shed. The symptoms will, 
probably, soon disappear. If not, you had better consult an educated 
veterinary surgeon. 
Pansies. —Mr. L. Fleming, Secretary of the Eastern Border Horti¬ 
cultural Society, Berwick, would be obliged by Pansyiana ” communi¬ 
cating to him his address. , 
Legs of Shangiiae Fow'ls (G. J2., Essex), — Whoever told you that i 
yellow legs in these will never gain a prize knew nothing about the i 
point. Yellow is the colour of the legs of the pure breeds, tinged some¬ 
times in places with red where the skin is thin. The white or blue legged ; 
always are avoided. 
Names op Plants (D. P.). —1, Asplenium sp.; 2, A. diversifo- 
lium ; 3, Blechnum sp.; 4 and 5, Doodia caudata, fertile fronds; 6 , Ly¬ 
copodium denticulatum (?); 7, unknown to us ; 8 , Adiantum cuneatum; 
9, Lycopodium flabulare; 10, unknown to us; 11 , Gymnogramma chry- 
sophylla; 12, Lycopodium Galeottii; 13, Adiantum hispidulum; 14, 
Lycopodium helveticum; 15, Doodia caudata, sterile frond; l 6 , Poliqjo- 
dium sp.; 17, appears to be a bit of a Drynaria; 18, Pteris scrrulata; 
19 , Lycopodium circinatum. If our correspondent had sent these spe¬ 
cimens at three enclosures, and better specimens, we should have been 
able to have given the desired information more correctly, as many , 
of the specimens sent are too diminutive and crushed for examination ; ' 
besides, the Ferns exhibit such a variety ot forms as they grow on, that | 
a bit sent may not show the real character of the plant it is taken from. | 
London: Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street, , 
in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by William ! 
Somerville Orr, at the Ofiice, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish ot 
Christ Church, City of Loudon.—March 3rd, 1853. 
