i08 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Dp’.cember 4. 
or rock, in wliicli to place the Carp, with a few Tench, for six 
weeks before they are wanted for the table, and to feed them 
with crumbs of bread, to which has been added a few drops 
of oil of spike. Although T am not so infatuated as a certain 
Commissioner of Fislieries in Ii'eland, who, on a visit to 
a bay on the west coast of Ireland, advised the fishermen 
to manure the sea it they wanted to catch lish ; his manure 
consisted of the entrails of the fish they caught, soaked in 
oil of spike, and thrown into the sea; from experience, I 
can say, that the oil of spike gives a line llavour to the fish, 
makes it feed better, and eat firmer.—G. W. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
TREE ROOTS MUST NOT RE COVERED DEEPLY. 
“ During the time of making some alterations in my 
employer’s front garden, it was found needful, for the beauty 
of the place, to fill up a piece of ground occupied by some 
Sycamores and Elms. Three of these trees would have to 
be filled up to the height of four or rive feet. Upon con¬ 
sulting the skill of the neighbourhood, whether these trees 
must be filled up with the soil close to the stem of the tree, 
the verdict was given that they must be walled round Rom 
the root to the required height, two feet from the bole of the 
ti’ee, else death would be. the consequence. 
“ Now, these holes of four or five feet deep are in a close 
proximity to the house, and near to where the juveniles take 
their exercise; if one of them, in skipping about, should 
have the misfortune to fall in, a dislocated )ieck,or fractured 
limb, might he the consequence. Now, IMr. Editor, I want 
your opinion on tliis knotty question. Would it really kill 
the ti'ees if these holes were filled up witli soil, or ashes, 
or broken stones, or anything, so as to make them less 
dangerous than they are at present? 
“We liave, in the back garden, an arbour of wire-work; in 
the winter season it looks very bare. Tdops are grown over 
in summer. Would Ivy cover it, and fraternise with the 
Hops ?— ExcEJ.siort.” 
[The skill of your neighbourhood is quite correct. Your 
trees must have a wall built up at two or three feet distance 
from the bole of each tree. If the roots are entirely 
buried close up to the stems, four or five feet deep, they will 
certainly die. Elm-trees may put out fresh roots in the 
well formed by the walls, and if they do so, then yon may 
gradually fill up the wells. Sycamores do not root so freely. 
To prevent the juveniles, as you term them, falling into 
the wells, you might easily cover these over with strong wire, 
close enough in mesh to catch a juvenile ball, which wire 
would not prevent air descending to the roots, and thus 
preserve your trees alive. 
Ivy would certainly, in time, cover the wire-work of your 
arbour in the back garden, and Hops would grow along with 
it; but the latter must be kept within hounds, or it would 
smother the Ivy in summer.] 
THRIPS ON SIKKIM RHODODE-NDRONS. — SKIM- 
MIA J.4rONICA.—DESEONTAINEA SPINOSA. 
“ I have several young Sikkim Rhododendrons, and some 
Hybrid ditto, which have had their leaves affected, more or 
less, by what I supposed might be the very dry season, in 
my very dry and sandy soil, during the summer and autumn. 
“ They are, however, all planted in excellent bog earth, 
three feet deep. I have since been told, that the worst of 
insect pests, Thrips, has been the cause of these blighted 
leaves. I enclose you a specimen of the worst, from the 
Sikkim Rhododendron Lmicifulhmi. A small plant at pre¬ 
sent; but, with the exception of the affected leaves, very 
strong and healthy; and having, with twelve others of the 
kind, withstood the last seven winters and spring extremely 
well. 
“ I should be glad to see your opinion as to the cause of 
the evil; and, if it is Thrips, the way to destroy or guard 
against it in future ? Not very easy, 1 fear, in a shrubbery. 
“ I have lately had very nice young plants of S/dmniia Ja- 
pouica and Desfonlaiiiea spiiwsa in pots. Would you plant . 
them out at once; or keep them in the greenhouse till next 
spring?—H. A.” , 
[No. They ought to stand in a cold pit till the middle of 
j April, unless you are quite certain they were never in heat; 
I in that case, you might, or rather ought, to plant them out 
, now, and the sooner the better. The Thrips sucked the leaf - 
I as dry .as a pie-crust, and this insect will give you a vast deal ! 
' of trouble before you can get rid of it. No insect is more ! 
injurious to ifiants, and none is half so difficult to eradicate \ 
completely. Three years is the shortest peiiod in which it ! 
can be got rid of, when it has been allowed to get the mas- i 
tery, as with you; but if yeu had taken the precaution of ; 
smoking it, and then keeping it in a damp state with to- | 
i hacco-liquor for the next ten days, or a fortnight, you might j 
I have been freed from it by that time. As 3 'our plants are in | 
I a good bed, try the clay paint on the wood, after removing 
all the affected leaves.] 
. rr g 
j POULTRY SHOWS. 
. Birmingham, llth to t4th of December. Sec., 3. Morgan, jun., Esq. 
! Entries closed November 10th. 
I Durham and North Yorkshire, at Darlington, 6th and 7th of De¬ 
cember. Sec., J. Hodgson, Esq. Entries closed. 
I Essex. Dec. 27 th, 28th, and 29 th, at Colchester. Seos. Mr. G. E- 
Attnood, and Mr. W. A. Warwick. Entries close December 15th. 
Gloucestershire Agricultural. At Cirencester, Dec. Cth. Sec, 
E. Trinder, Esq., Cirencester. 
Hants (South). Dec. 31st., and Jan. 1st., at Fareham. See. James 
James, Esq., Fareham. 
Nottinghamshire, at Southw'ell, 19 th and 20th of December, Sec. 
R. Hawksley, jun,. Esq., Southwell. Entries closed November 20th. 
Preston and North L.ancashire. Jan. 9th and 10th, at Preston. 
I Secs. Messrs. Burnett, Eeigh, and Hayhurst, Preston. 
j Vale ok Aylesbury. January 2nd and 3rd. Secs, J. D. Muddiraan, 
I and Jas. Allen. Entries close December 20th. 
N.B .—Secretaries vhU oblige us by sending early copies of (heir lists. 
, When next oiiv weekly sheet is in the hands of our 
readers, the great Poultry Show of the year will be i 
open. Birmingham will be crowded with visitors, and 
the winners at every show throughout the kingdom will 
have met to try their fortune against each other. 
Whether we view it as the ne^ilus ultra of a show, or as 
' the place of all others where the amateur, the tyro, or 
the breeder for profit should resort, it stands alone, 
i Apart from any other consideration, it claims admiration 
: for the magnitude of the enterprise. Thousands w'ere 
I invested, and the only certain return whicli could bo 
i looked for was from the exhibition of cattle and poiiltry 
! during four days in ilecember. But it not only de¬ 
mands admiration, it is entitled to respect. Like Ctesar’s 
wife, it should be above suspicion; and it is so. It lias 
' gone oil for years, and increases its claim every suc- 
I ceeding exhibition to greater support and respect from 
' all wlio take any interest in the subject. The proof of 
I this was, that three years ago the entries reached the 
! number of two thousand peus; and allliough a large 
! space was devoted beside that originally set apart for 
I Poultry, yet there was not room for all. There was 
' then a wise resolution passed, that no subscriber should 
j e.xhibit more than four pens, and yet they number six- 
I teen hundred entries. When it is remembered none 
! but the Mte are deemed lit for competition, it will be 
seen how great the treat must be to all. 
We say nothing to those who have been, they are sure 
to go again; but to those who have not, we say,—If i 
you would see of what the Poultry movement is | 
I capable; how a show should be managed; and if you i 
would form an idea of the beauty of the difl'erent breeds 
