300 
TFIE COTTAGE GAEDENER. 
Fkbruaky 12, 
( for slio was (lion a ropuljlir,) to his son.—Granted, on tho 
part of Sweden, provided, llint she should exercise the 
usual privilotje of naming the child; which she insisted 
should he called, Shadrach Meshach Abednego! 
Impossible 1 shouted Francis the First in a rage! go, go, 
pay her, pay her IMesseur le I’rcmier, in money !—“ Sire, i 
your Majesty has not 50,000 golden crowns in your treasury.” I 
Then by Jove, s.ays Francis the First, pulling up his 
breeches, we'll go to war with ’em! 
Now, I .assure you, my dear readers, that I do not state 
the above, as a mere skit,—a satire, on the often trilling and 
foolish causes of war. ’Tis but to show you, what sad 
work may come of it, when we indulge the conceit, of nick¬ 
naming the creatures of the earth,—whether they may be 
our children, or our chiclcens. 
IVe’ll go to war with ’em, said Francis tlie First, pulling 
&c.;—we’ll go to w.ar with ’em, says Tristram Shandy, 
pulling down his wristbands! And I declare to you, m 3 ' 
gentle readers, despite of .all tho tittering that may be going 
on among you,—I declare to you, in all my wonted gravity 
and seriousness, that if, instead of the Golden Pheasants 
having been nicknamed Spangled Hamburghs, they had 
called them Apmu/Zed Shadraclis,—Spaiijiled ]\leshachs ,—or 
SpaiHilcd Ahedneejoi), T would not have said one word ! I 
would have passed it over, as a piece of merry sport,—as a 
random satire, on the new and line names given to some ; 
fowls, “ in the any other variety ” class: or even, ns a 
delicate compliment to Sweden ; our ally. ; 
Surely no fowls have been so “luightily abused” as 
have the Golden Pheasants ! ’Twas not enough to change 1 
their very nature—to mongrelize them—to cross them with 1 
the Game cock to give them full, flowing black tails; aye, j 
and mark ye, irridescent Hack tails ; and hackles, and long 
saddle feathers, instead of spangled ones:—but, as if to 
carry extermin.ation to its utmost limit, or to annihilate 
identity, some yet more conceited innovators, changed their 
very name! and, of all towns in the wide world, Ifum- 
hin-f/k —I say, Hamburgh, was fixed upon. “ Oh, for .an 
ounce of civet, good apothecaiy, to sweeten my imagina¬ 
tion!”—they were called ITamhurghs, inasmuch as they did 
imt come from Hamburgh. 
Tt is difllcult, even for a person of my own quiet, demure, 
and smooth temper of mind; whose very pen is dijiped in 
the milk of human kindness, to iireserve, even a moderate 
degree of composure, while I denounce the flat ignorance, 
but lofty conceit of those, who “ filched from them their 
good name” of Golden Pheasants. A name they liad always 
borne in Yoikshire, their especial habitat. A name, most 
happ 3 '—most expressive.—aye, and a name in exact ac¬ 
cordance with scicntijic nomenclature and vsage ! 3 'et, cliange 
it forsooth! 
Put patience, my dear readers, I beseech you ! Call not 
the perpetrators fools, dolts and donkies—neither noodles, 
nincompoops, nor ninnyhammers—at least not yet. Put, 
you are excited—let us cool ourselves a l»it, in a little 
philosophical digression. 
Now, of all sensations, tittilations and excitement, none 
are equal to sneezinij !—’Lis the very quintessence of 
pleasure—the rit, tit, tit, of sensation. Yet, withal, ’tis a 
villanous modifier of manly beauty.—Put with you my fair, 
and therefore to me, dear, readers, ’tis not to be thought 
of; — away with the anti-angelic idea!—but smile — ever 
smile my fair friends, and continuq to your own dear 
Tristram, the very poetry of his existence; which, you too 
well know, hangs as it were, by a silken thread, allixed to 
your own eye-lashos, and sweet corners of your mouths ;— 
a momentary clould there—and Tristram would droop :— 
but, a sneeze! Yenus defend us !— 
Put, all this, is a digression in a digression ;—let us to 
the point. "Twas a tenet in Greek philosoph}', that, there 
was much hidden danger in sneezing ;—hence, whenever a 
man was heard, or what is still worse to the beholder, seen, 
to sneeze, his friend immediately exclaimed “ Zethe,” 
“ Zethe ”—that is, “God bless you”—“I wish you well 
through this bout of sneezing ! ”—Now, ’tis a tenet of tho 
Shandyan philosophy, that there is Just as much danger in 
laughing, as in sneezing;—and, as I am now going to 
plunge all of you, my dear readers, into such a shaking, 
rousing, fit of it, as you never endured in your whole lives, 
I make it a point of conscience, to forwarn you. (’Tis 
anent the imposition (truly an imposition) of the name of 
Spangled dramburghs, on the tlulden I’heasauts!) Put, 
as I’m certain that you cannot, at present, bear the 
violence of the concussion, and succession of such a fit of 
laughter—and, as I have already said so man}' good things 
in this chapter, T must give you one week of preparation for 
the onset;—I conclude, tlien, by heiu’tily exclaiming “ Zethe, 
Zethe”—“may you all, good folks, get well over it, next 
week.”—TiUSTHAM Shanuy, Hull. 
PIGEONS AT EXHIBITIONS. 
In 3 'our last number, “ Tiiistuam Sii-ANuy” gives as his 
opinion that Pigeons should he made the chief feature at a 
Poultry Show, and by the term Pigeons he means, I sup¬ 
pose, only J^onters, Carriers, and Ahnond Tnmhlers. Now, I 
have always been under the impression that Shows were ' 
established for the encour.agemcnt of the breeding of useful 
poultiy, and I do thiidc that the bumptious amateur of 
Cochins, Ac., is much better employed than ho who applies 
his skill to dwarfing the beak of a Tumbler, elongating the 
toe-nail of a Pouter, or enl.ai'ging the fleshy protuberance on 
the face of a Carrier. The latter is worth}' only of being 
classed with the breeder of the lop-eared rabbit, or the toy 
spaniel, since each endeavours to produce an animal whicli 
may, iierhaps, be admired, but is, certainly, utterly useless. 
T grant, that in an exldbition of fancy Pigeons, the varieties 
which are most valuable, and difficult to procure, should 
take precedence of the common sorts; but if “ TristuajM ” 
sends liis I'igeons to a Poultry Show, he should, I think, be 
content with tlie inferior position assigned to him, and not 
chum for them the preference over poultiy, which are really 
useful, quite as ornamental, and (although he seems to 
doubt it) much more valuable, as the lists of sales at Liver- 
I 100 I ami Pirmingham will testify. ' 
In conclusion, I must say that I regret extremely this 
coutrover.sy has arisen ; for if the decisions of the Judges 
are to be called in question, and found fault with by every 
unsuccessful exhibitor who fancies his own geese to be 
swans, there will soon be no Poultry Shows for want of ■ 
•fudges. Let those Pigeon-fanciers, therefore, who cannot 
hear to see their birds beaten, refrain from sending them to 
the exhibitions. The Poultry Shows will get on quite as 
well without them, and they themselves will have no cause \ 
for complaint.— Ax Arjiirer of Useful Poui.tra'. 
PRODUCTIVENESS OF A DORKING HEN. , 
As I am prepared to prove the truth of the following 
statement of tho performances of a hen, nearly pure Dork¬ 
ing, in the past year, I send it to you for insertion, thinking 
it m.ay interest some of your numerous poultry readers. 
On the 12th of January she hatched thirteen chickens; 
she reared twelve, and left them at eight weeks old. Laid 
twenty-three eggs ; sat on seventeen ; hatched them all, and i 
reared them. Laid again nineteen eggs; sat on and hatched ; 
thirteen, and reared theju all.— John Daily. j 
HAAIBURGII-POLANDS. 
My attention has only just been called to ilr. Williams’s ' 
question, or I would have answered it earlier. Alluding to ! 
some remarks I made (under signature “B.”) he says, “ He 
sjieaka of Hamburgh-Pidands. Does he know of any birds 
coming from Poland ? ” Now, if my words implied as much, 
it was not my intention they .should do so; tho universally- 
accepted name on this side of tho water for crested fowls 
being Poland or Polish. I called them Hamburgh-Polands 
from tho locality they come from, ami to distinguish them 
from the very superior birds we now ptossess, which are 
hardier, less subject to disease, bear confinement better than 
many sorts, and being non-sitters, are jirolific layers. A great 
desideratum for their well doing is, that birds with strong, 
well-formed crests should be selected, and no prize or com¬ 
mendation should ever be awarded to others. As to the 
vexed question of a name for them, which Mr. Williams is 
