THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
January 22 . 
2«2 
flowers, fruits, or vegetables, and much depends on the skill i ,f those to 
whom we send. 
Roses to Cover High Walls (A'.). —The first thing is to make a 
good border round the walls twenty inches deep at least, and four feet 
i wide, and after planting the Roses, to put a layer of gorse bushes, or a 
net, all over the border to keep the fowls from scratching it up for the 
first two years. Felicite Perpetuelle, Garland, Myrianthea, Princess 
Louise and Ruga are the best Roses for the twenty-feet high walls ; for 
the ten-feet wall. Crimson Boursault and Laure Davoust, with Tyrian 
Purple and Gloire de Rosamene, all round to keep the bottom full. 
Read over again what Mr. Reaton said lately on climbing Roses. Young 
Spruce Firs, six or seven feet high, are the best to plant in a fowl-yard ; 
i the roots to be protected from the birds, and when the trees are high 
enough stop their lenders. 
Bearded Polish Fowls. — Incubator says, “ I think it will interest 
your readers (such as were not present at the Birmingham Show) to 
inform them, that in the Golden Poland Fowl Class, prizes were in three 
instances awarded to birds with “muffs or beards” under the beak. This 
decision will, I think, not only interest those who keep this particular 
variety, but all poultry fanciers, as the judges have, by this decision, 
violated a rule laid down by two modern authors on the subject of poultry, 
as the following extracts from the works of the Rev. E. S. Dixon and 
Mr. Nolan will show (the Rev. E. S. Dixon, I see, was one of the judges, 
I presume, therefore, his opinion was outweighed by the other three). 
Speaking of the Golden Polands, the former gentleman observes, p. 325, 
“ Many of them are disfigured by a muff or beard, but no such bird 
should be allowed the entree to the poultry-yard, but be dispatched at 
once to the fatting-coop.” “ Nolan on Poultry” says, “One of the 
distinguishing characteristics of the Spangled Poland Fowls, is the ab¬ 
sence of the ruff under the beak.” Comment, J think, is almost unne¬ 
cessary ; but, I may add, if the judges break through a rule, laid down by 
authors for the guidance of poultry fanciers, in one case, it requires no 
great stretch of the imagination to suppose they will do so in others. I 
think you will agree with me, that it must have been very vexing to those 
exhibitors who, acting upon the above advice, had “ dispatched to the 
fatting-coop ” numerous birds which (independently of the disfigurement 
of the ‘ruff’) were perfection, to see the very birds which they had 
been weeding out carrying off all the prizes. Although not an exhibitor 
of this variety this year myself, I hope to do so next ,- but I shoidd like 
to know the opinion of your readers on this point, if you would kindly 
submit it to them. My birds (as you will already have gleaned) are free 
from the ruff, and if they coincide with the judges, I, of course, shall 
stand no chance next year.” 
[Incubator has acted judiciously in consigning all his bearded Polish 
fowls to the fatting-coop. Had he sent clean-chinned specimens, good 
in other respects, to Birmingham, he would not have found them slighted 
by the judges. Great misunderstanding has arisen from Nolan’s and, 
Richardson’s original Confusion between Hamburgh and Polish fowls ; 
but bearded Polish are Polish still. It is probable that next year bearded 
birds will be relentlessly swept by the judges into the class for odds and 
ends, and then, if any make their appearance with beards reaching even 
to the ground, they can be dealt with according to their merits.—D.] 
Bulbs in Pots {Claude). —It is not safe now, to make a bed of 
Hyacinths, Anemones, and Gladioli, that are growing in pots. If the 
leaves have grown a few inches in a mild atmosphere, the first hard frost 
will kill them. Keep them very cool to the middle of February, and then 
you may plant them out. The proper greenhouse heat, by fire heat, is 
40° during frost, and from 35° to 45°, according to the weather, when it is 
not frosty. 
Name of Insect (Echinus). —The small white powdery insect found 
on your brocoli and cabbages, is the Aleyrodes proletella, which Linnmus 
mistook for a little moth, but which belongs to the order Hemiptera, and 
is closely allied to the aphides, having similar habits with those pests of 
the gardeners, and which can only be destroyed by the same means as 
would be applied against the green fly in similar situations. We think 
you wrong in concluding that the same insects attack your pears. Can 
you send us some of the insects from these trees ? 
Weedy Garden ( G. Trobridge). —If the weeds are perennials, such 
as Couch Grass, Docks, &c., fork them out thoroughly, and burn them ; 
if only annual weeds, such as Groundsel, dig them in. 
Air Moisture and Temperature in Stove ( A.B. ).—Keep pans 
of water upon the flue, and water the paths morning and evening. The 
temperature of your plant stove should be, by day, in spring, t>5° ; sum¬ 
mer, 70° ; autumn, 60°; winter, 50°, but ten degrees higher derived from 
sunshine, will be well. By night, spring, 55°; summer, 55°; autumn, 
50°; winter, 45°. You had better go to some first-rate nurseryman, and 
select such plants as suit your taste and pocket. 
Telekia speciosa (W. C.). —This is a hardy herbaceous perennial. 
The plants raised by you from seed in 1850 will probably flower in the 
open border in duly without any particular treatment. Do not let the 
soil be rich. The Broomhum Hull Melon is a very good variety. 
Calf diseased (H. H.). —The scour, or diarrhiea, arises from bad 
management; the animal has been subjected to sudden changes of food 
and temperature, and as it is too weak to rise without help, it will pro¬ 
bably die. Shut it up in a warm house ; mix together four ounces of 
prepared chalk, powdered canella bark one ounce, laudanum one ounce, 
and water one pint. Give, as the calf is about a year old, a tablespoonful 
three times daily. Our correspondent wishes for some very fine Red- 
spangled Dorking Fowls. Six pounds is a good weight for an Aylesbury 
Duck, but the prize birds at the.Birmingham show averaged more than 
eight pounds each. 
Cineraria maritima and Ageratum mexicanum. —If S. F. will 
forward his address on an envelope, and two postage stamps, we will fur¬ 
nish him with the address of a party who will supply him. 
Salvia nemorosa. — Apiphilus may obtain any number of plants in 
February by applying to N. S. Hodson, Botanic Garden, Bury St. Ed¬ 
mund’s, where it is cultivated extensively as a bedding plant, producing 
a succession of bloom during the summer and autumn, by cutting off the 
stems close to the roots when done flowering, and leaving the young 
shoots to flower late in the season. 
Yellow-berried Holly (Margaret). —This, and all the numerous 
kinds with variegated leaves, are merely varieties of the common Holly. \ 
The yellow-berried is mentioned as long ago as by Ray. The difference | 
of colour in the berries, is mentioned in the seventh edition of Withering, 
in Smith’s English Flora, ike. It can be propagated by grafting on the 
red-berried. An answer to your other query next week. 
Potting Roses. —W. M. N. says:—“I have some roses that were 
put into 4-inch pots last September, after having been nursed in a bed of 
very rich earth for two seasons. Now, would it be right for me to shift 
them into larger ones in the spring, as I want them for gentle forcing?” 
It will be quite right for you to pot your roses, but not unless you can j 
let it be done immediately. You may buy lights for a frame of any hot¬ 
house builder. 
Various Queries (II. T. N.). — Dipladenia crassitioda three years 
old, and getting too large. Prune the shoots back to within a bud or two 
of the older wood, when the young shoots have started. You may examine 
the roots, remove a portion of the soil, and add fresh, anil see that the 
drainage is all right. If you are sure on the latter point, and find a j 
difficulty from the trellis in shifting, you may pick off some soil from the 
surface, and top dress. Equal portions of sandy peat and libry loam, with 
a portion of charcoal will do. If you have kept your plant growing 
during winter, and it is now full of young healthy shoots, you had better 
let them alone, as you would both weaken and retard your plant by 
pruning it. Stephanotis Jioribunda. This will do well in the same pot 
for years, with top dressing. You must not have it too thick on the 
trellis. Though it frequently blooms well on last summer’s shoots, we 
have had it do better still by thinning these well out after blooming, and 
then the young shoots kept blooming all the summer and autumn. Ron- 
deletia speciosa. Unless in extreme cases, we would never prune this 
into the old wood, but when finished flowering, and allowed to rest a 
little, we would prune it back near to the old wood, so that a bud was 
left. 
Epacrises (J. C.). —These, going out of flower, we would not cut 
down now, as the shoots ivill strengthen the roots, but in a month or six 
weeks time it should be done. We generally prefer seeing them produce 
their bloom on long shoots,—a mass of flower from end to end. If this 
is your plan, and, indeed, whatever be your mode of flowering them, you 
cannot err in pruning back the shoots that bloomed to from one to three 
inches from the older w'ood. The plants must be kept closer and 
warmer afterwards, until they break freely. 
Boiler for Heating Tank (Ibid). —We do not know anything of 
the patented boiler, holding about four quarts, and looking like a block 
of iron, though there is nothing unlikely in its answering; but, take our 
word for it, that all things considered the simplest and cheapest will be 
the best for your purpose. Your tank is 40 ft. by 3 ft. 6 in., and for that, 
a small boiler will be sufficient. We cannot be decisive as to expense ; 
there are so many things to be considered. A tradesman had a fair profit 
in supplying a nurseryman with a small boiler, with four flanges, for 25s, 
but then he would not do the same for us. In this case, the water was 
conveyed to and from the tank in lead pipes. If your tauk is shallow 
(and there is no necessity for having it more than two dr three inches), 
then we have no doubt but that any boiler-maker would supply you with 
one for something like 10 s. 
Bridal Bouuuets. — E. R., the Wife of a Clergyman, asks, “Why 
Orange blossoms form a characteristic part of the dress of a bride, and 
why the Acorn is assigned to the gentlemen’s bouquets forming the 
wedding guests?” It is fashion only that determines the flowers assigned 
to the bride ; and Orange-blossoms have been adopted from the French, 
who, from time immemorial, crowned with them the new-married pair. 
In Germany, the crown is of Myrtle. In Switzerland, it is of mixed 
artificial flowers. At Rome, and even in England, as late as the time of 
Henry VIII, the bride’s garland was of Wheat-ears. Herrick tells us 
that bridal flowers were “roses and lucky four-leaved grass; ” and Hacket 
speaks of Primroses, Maiden’s-blushes, and V'iolets, as used upon the 
occasion. Rosemary was also used at weddings, as well as at funerals, 
for, in an old ballad, “The Bride’s Good-morrow,” it is said— 
Young men and maids do ready stand, 
With sweet Rosemary in their hand, 
A perfect token of your virgin life. 
The bridal garland, says Leland, “betokeneth gladness, and the dignity 
of wedlock.” Of the oak, or of its acorn, as a bridal plant, we know 
nothing. 
Weedy Lawn (P. S .).—What you sent as a specimen is moss, and we 
do not object to a mossy lawn. To extract the dandelions and daisies, 
employ a woman to take them up by the roots, with a spud made of a 
broad chisel somewhat curved, and its edge made into teeth thus—VVV’ 
Any blacksmith can make this for you. If you wish to destroy the moss, 
try this remedy, furnished us by A Worcestershire Man, which he says 
his “experience” shews to be effectual:—“ If you wish to destroy moss 
on a grass-plot, get some hurdles, and pen some sheep therein, moving 
the hurdles as the sheep tread the grass-plot bare. When the grass is 
apparently well trodden into the earth all over the plot, remove both 
sheep and hurdles, and the moss will disappear when the grass again 
springs up.” 
Iron Stoves (A Worcestershire Man). —If you send us any “ proofs 
that iron stoves are troublesome and inexpedient,” you will find we have 
no more hesitation in inserting your information than we have that which 
we give about hot-water boilers and flues. All that we require upon any 
subject are facts told inoffensively. 
Rhubarb Forcing (J. C.). —Cover the roots with earth whilst forcing. 
If yod try both inodes, with equally strong roots, you will find the 
difference. Flowers would not do in your heated cellar, owing to the 
deficient light. 
Name of Plant (R. P.). —It is the Sea Ragwort, Cineraria mari- 
tirna. We know of no pamphlet about rearing young pheasants. 
London: Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street, 
in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, at the Office, No. 2, Amen Corner, in the Parish of 
Christ Church, City of London.—January 22nd, 1852. 
