Deckmber 18. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
,805 
motion. From all which, T have ccniip to the conclusion, 
that tishes have no sense of hearing.—.1. 'Wiohton. 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
SHIFTING rOT-BOUNI) rEACII-TREES. 
“ We have received some Peach-trees of a fruiting size 
j in 1‘2-inch pots, and much pnt-hound, and think of giving 
I them a shift into a size larger; when should it be done ? 
We want them to fruit next season. 
“ We do not get 3 'onr journal anj' sooner now, than when 
it was published on Thursdaj’; it be had sooner?—A 
Eeadeu.” 
[You had better shift into a size larger pot, but be careful 
not to injure the fibres. 
You should complain to j’our bookseller about the late 
deliverj’, there is no delaj' at our office. If you send 
postage stamps to our office fur a year’s subscription, you 
can have the paper, free by post, on your breakfast-table 
every Wednesday morning.] 
LARGE PUMPKINS. 
“1. What is the weight and girth of the largest British 
and foreign-grown Pumpkins on record? Any information 
as to the variety, when, where, and by whom grown, will be 
very acceptable. I am induced to trouble you with this, 
because I have this j'ear grown one six feet six inches 
round, that weighs 137 lbs. It may be seen at Messrs. F. 
and A. Dickson and Go’s, Seed Merchants, &c., 14, Coporation 
Street, Manchester. 
“ 2. What is the difference between Gourds and Pumpkins? 
“ 3. IVill the Cuciniiis iitilissimus, and the Gizaumont, or 
Turban Gourd, come to perfection in England? and if so, 
where can I obtain some seed ? 
“ The Pumpkin alluded to was grown in the open ground 
after early Potatoes, forced with liquid-manure, and at one 
particular time it increased sixteen inches in circumference 
in seven days.—G. Wilson, Shavinijtun, Cheshire." 
[We have no register of the size of Gourds and 
Pumpkins, but yours is, certainly, a very large specimen. 
We have seen them weighing 132 lbs. The Gourd is the 
Lagamria vulgaris, and the Pumpkin Gucurbila pepo. The 
Turban, or Turk’s Cap Gourd ripens in the open air in the 
neighbourhood of Loudon, but we doubt if Uucumis ulilis- 
simus would.] 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
Essex. Dec. 28th, and 29 th, at Colchester. Secs. Mr. G. E 
Attwood, and Mr. W. A. Warwick. Entries close December loth. 
; Hants (South). Uth and 15th January, at Eareham. Sec. James 
I Janies, Esq., Fareham. Entries close December Slst, 1855. 
I LiVerpooi.. l6th, l/th, and 18th of January. Sec. W. C. Worrall, 
I Esq., 6, Lower Castle Street. Entries close December 21th. 
I Nottinghamshire, at Southwell, IQth and 20th of December. Sec, 
j R. Hawksley, jun.. Esq., Southwell. Entries closed November 20th. 
I Preston and North Lancashire. Jan. 9th and lOth, at Preston. 
I Sec.s. Messrs. Burnett, Leigh, and Hayhurst, Preston. 
I Vale of Aylesbury. January 2nd and 3rd. Secs. J, D. Muddiman, 
and Jas. Allen. Entries close December 20th. 
N.B.— Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
BIRMINGHAM POULTRY SHOW. 
No one who saw the small unclertalciug seven years 
since, in this town, where a few pigs and a little poultry 
were got together in a yard and loft, could have dreamed 
that it would end in anything like the grand exhibition 
we have now to notice. And it may not he amiss, now 
that shows are so general, to look for the cause that has 
made success a certainty with them, and has enabled 
tliem, wliile making their oivn terras with exhibitors, to 
run an uninterrupted career of prosperity. IMany have 
attributed it to the fact, that Bingiev Hall offers facilities 
possessed liy no other city or town in the kingdom for 
. an exhibition ; but tliey entirely forget the fact, that it 
I was built by the Cattle Show Committee for the purpose. 
! That Committee is fortunate in possessing gentlemen of 
I much energy and perseverance as members of their 
council; and their real strength is, that from the first, 
they have pursued a course of undeviating rectitude and 
firmness. This has gained them the respect of all par¬ 
ties, and has given them the power to offer to the lovers 
of poultry such a treat as we have to record. This is 
but half the good they have done. 'They gave the signal 
note for the shows that have followed; they first called 
the attention of all classes to the fact that poultry was 
capable of improvement and worthy of attention. 
Those who have not seen the shows can form no no¬ 
tion of the influx of strangers; and those who have not 
j stopped at an hotel, know not the accession of business 
; such a show brings. Being now in a discursive mood, 
j and treating of that which is essentially preliminary, we 
j have no doubt that the hotel and tavern keepers of Bir- 
I mingham will thank us for the suggestion, that a piece of 
plate offered for competition, on such terms as the Com¬ 
mittee might suggest or approve, would be a graceful 
acknowledgment of their obligations to those gentlemen, 
seeing that their only object is the success of the show 
and the good of the town ; and no benefit to themselves, 
beyond that of helping to diffuse comfort and prosperity. 
It is well, at the out-set, to meet all objections; 
and as it has been thought that the time of exhibition 
being the same as that of the London Cattle Show was 
a symptom of antagonism, we speak confidently, and, 
from careful inquiry, when we say, that no such feeling 
exists. 'This has not to do with jioultry, properly speak¬ 
ing; but, as the two are combined in Birmingham, and 
as many are interested in both pursuits, we speak of it 
here. 
Most persons are aware that this show had, three 
years since, attained such gigantic proportions, that the 
space originally allotted to the poultry proved insufli- : 
cient, and it became necessary to conceive a plan, by ' 
which the exhibition should be unimpaired either in 
utility or attraction, and yet be kept within moderate 
bounds. The first step was to do away with the class 
ibr fancy poultry, but this was not enough. The council, 
therefore, determined to allow none but subscribers of 
iT to exhibit, and to limit the number of entries by 
each to four. Even under this arrangement the pens 
; have this year increased. ; 
I Admirers as we are of this exhibition and its pro- 
! moters, we say, long^may it be supported as it deserves, 
' and may success ever reward those who first conceived 
j the idea, and then carried it out. Not even the most j 
I fastidious could this year object either to the design or j 
j execution of the Silver Cups which formed the prize for i 
: the best pen in each class, and nothing could be more ! 
, creditable to the taste and workmanship of INIessrs. . 
i Mapplebeek and Lowe. They are beautilul cups, with ! 
: handles and covers. Another boon conferred on exhi- 
i bitors was, that in all cases, even third prizes were to be 
' taken in the shape of silver medals. 'This is a boon, 
because many persons who are careless of fifteen shil- 
I lings think biglily of a silver medal. 
I 'Those who read the jirize list and the report,in which 
I it is stated that this w’as the best show on record, will, 
' perhaps, be surprised at the apparent fewness of com- 
, mendutions ; but it must be remembered they were 
general. Indifferent specimens were the exceptions, and 
excellence was the rule. 
