March 17. 
thj: cottage gardener. 
407 
members to the analj'ses of Dr. Sclileiclon, Professor in tlie 
L'niversity of Jena, and to the oiiinions on tlio subject of 
tbe I’otato disease expressed by him in his work on the 
riiysicdoffy of I’lants and Animals, and the Theory of ITant- 
cuUivation, Ibnning the thinl volume of the new Agri¬ 
cultural Knoyclopa'dia, published at Drunswiclc, in 1851). 
These opinions arc contained in the chapter reviewing Dr. 
Scliulxe’s work, entitled “ Thaer or Liebig?” 
“ Mr. W. Patterson, of East Cross Causeway, Edinburgh, 
transmitted to tlio Council an elaborate paper on the Potato 
disease, including Ids own views on the subject, and chro¬ 
nological statements di'rived from various published sources, 
ijiti'nde<l to elucidate the circumstances of its prevalence 
and progress. 
“ Tmpovkuisiiing Effects of Couch-Grass. —Mr. Miles, 
M.r., of Leigh Court, called the attention of the Council to 
the great importance of a knowledge of nutriment abstracted 
from the soil hy weeds, especially by tbe Triliciim repens, 
commonly kjiown by the name of Couch or Twitch. In the 
last number of the Society’s Journal, page 5‘-18, Mr. Hem¬ 
ming, the author of the elaborate paper on Agricultural 
Chemishy, had shown in his classilication of tabulated 
results of analysis, how little was known at the present 
moment of the composition of weeds, and, consequently, 
how much still remained to be learned of the amount of 
their injurious effects. AVith regard to Twitch, in particular, 
which, he was sorry to say, was still fearfully prevalent in 
some parts of the counlry, he conceived it would be both an 
inlerosting and important impriry to ascertain ‘ How much 
a good crop of it must consume the nutidment which should 
feed the crops of corn—say of AVheat, Barlej', or Oats.’ 
He quite agreed with Mr. Hemming in his remarks, that 
the present analyses rather give a general idea of the com¬ 
position of weeds than are adapted to any purpose of imme¬ 
diate practical use; and that there is a large field open to 
the researches of chemists to determine what weeds are 
most injurious to the growing crop, as fur as similarity 
of composition would show it, as also those that are most 
valuable for manure, from a like reason. Mr. Miles urged 
the attention of the Council to these investigations ; espe¬ 
cially to that connected with Twitch, which would, he 
thought, form an excellent subject for a lecture and dis¬ 
cussion, or for a distinct communication to the Jornmal. 
The Council received these suggestions with their best 
acknowledgments, and ordered them to be referred for a 
report to Professor Way, the consulting chemist of the 
Society. 
“Oak SOIL —Mr. Adderley, M.P., of Hams Hall, AAAr 
wickshire, transmitted to the Council a communication on 
the subject of failure in the growth of Oak, in a qiortion of 
the old Forest of Arden, where the Oaks have retained, 
from centuries immemorial, their size and vigour. In a 
fine old Oak avenue in Mr. Adderley’s Park, about ;100 
years old, two vacancies were filled up, about forty years ago, 
by young Oaks, which had grown well until the last two 
year.s, during wdiich they had rapidly died away. Their 
roots were found rotten, and covered with a fungus like dry- 
rot; although the neighbouring Oaks were very large and 
fine, and an Elm filling a neighboiu'ing vacancy in the same 
avenue was not infected, and its roots, close upon the rotten 
ones of the Oaks in question, were quite healthy. Mr. Ad¬ 
derley enclosed a sample of the top soil, twenty-two inches 
deep, and stated that the subsoil was red gravel to a consi¬ 
derable depth. The ground was dry, and did not require 
draining. — The Council thanked Mr. Adderley for this 
communication, and referred the specimen of soil to Pro¬ 
fessor MTiy. 
“The Rev. E. J. Statiiam, of Tarporley Rectory, Cheshire, 
favoured the Council with a report on the success of his 
industrial ti'aining of the cottage boys in his central national 
school, in the habits and practice of manual husbandry in 
field and garden work, paying the boys according to the 
value of their work, and their superintendent about 2s. per 
day, with a commission upon the crops raised on the school 
land, subject to a strict Dr. and Cr. account: the earnings 
of the boys being deposited in the school saving club, as 
an inducement to saving habits, and bearing a high rate of 
interest.—Air. Dalton, of Cardifl', transmitted a sample of 
AVheat from a crop sown in the last week of April, 1853, 
and yielding forty clean bushels, per acre on good strong 
loam after Turnips, from a sowing of two bushels per aero, 
the original stock liaving been ohlaiued four years ago from 
Australia.—Mr. Lcaroyd, of Huddersfield, stated that ho 
soaked his seed corn about sixteen hours in strong old 
urine, allowing it to dry before sowing, with great advantage 
to the early growth and advancement of the plant (as well 
as to its removal of disease, for which purpose that np 2 )lica- 
tion, with tho addition of quick-lime, had so long boeirmade 
to seed-corn).—Mr. J. Al. Pasquier placed at the disimsal 
of the members several samidos of qjroqiared seed-corn, with 
a request that they would test the merits or otherwise of 
tho process adopted, which was intended to supersede or 
lessen the amount of other manuring matter to tho croi). 
“ The Council having ordered their usual acknowledg¬ 
ments for the communications then made to them, adjourned 
to the 2drd of Alarch.” 
THE BEARDS OF I’OI.AND FOWL. 
Though tho minds of some appear yet uninformed, I am 
gratified to learn that my remarks (July 21st) on the (jnes- 
tion whether Polands should or sliould not have boards, 
havo been so ell’ectual in removing tho prejudice excited by 
the writer, whose dislike so unmercifully condemned the 
bearded variety. I showed that no argument whatever had 
been adduced to warrant such condemnation; and that it 
was simply an idiosincracy of taste—a mere matter of per¬ 
sonal dislike. 
Nothing, surely, can be more subversive of truthful in¬ 
quiry than the conversion of a subject into an afiair of like 
or dislike. Were such allowed, then would no property or 
attribute of poultry remain fixed or established : one might 
dislike the feathered legs of the Shanghae; another, the 
rose-comb of the Spangled Hamburgh ; a third, the vhole 
cheek of tho Spanish fowl being white, and so on. Espe¬ 
cially, then, does it behove writer's to bo careful how they 
express themselves in print, for it is wonderful how people 
will at once adopt, as an axiom and a truth, anything that 
“ they have seen in a book.” If we do not like any parti¬ 
cular properties of a fowl, yet have not proof that such are 
spurious, it is our duty to let nature alone, and the fowl 
also, and not keep it. I feel convinced that no one would 
have questioned the propriety of beards, had not a learned 
author, in his dislike, most iireverently attempted to uproot 
them. 
To remove, however, the impi-ession of dislike against 
the beard, 1 contended that, in the Spangled Poland it 
really harmonized with the wliole appearance of the bird— 
with his magnificent toii-knot, his remarkably voluminous 
and profusely-hackled neck, and with his whole dasliing and 
dehonaire deportment. 'The Poland is an exceptionable 
bird, differing in many of his most striking and charac¬ 
teristic and allowed attributes from otlier poultry; and I 
do nflinn that there is a harmony, and a keeping, and a 
consistency, between tho beard and the top-knot: that is, 
between the spreading and elongated feathers, or beard, 
below the bill, and tho elongated feathers, or top-knot, 
above it. They, together, exhibit a conformity and a rela¬ 
tion, which comprise an oneness, or complete whole. Di¬ 
minish or take away either the one or the other, and the 
whole effect is gone—there remains a nolcodness and a want; 
thus it ever is 
“ In Nature’s chain, whatever link you strike, 
Tenth, or ten-thousandth, breaks the chain alike.” 
For my own part, I would not admit the beardless Gold 
and Silver Spangled I’olands at our exhibitions ; not because 
I think them a si^ectacle of-nakedness and want about the 
head, tho neck, and the throat, but for tho graver reason, 
that I deem them spurious, or mongrel, fowl—hybrid, 1 
judge, between the Poland and Spangled Hamburgh. In 
elucidating this, unfortunately tho plumage can assist us 
little in our argument or proof, for the Golden and Silver 
Spangled Hamburghs closely approximate to tho Polands. 
There are, however, more important points than the mere 
mai'king or colour of the plumage—there are distinctions of 
shape, or configurations of the body—circumstances relative 
to that great peculiarity of Polands—the topknot, to the 
comb, a.s well as to the board, and also to the tail, that 
facihtate and satisfy enquiry. 
