400 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Eebruary ua . 
feet, and about half that, or a little more, in -wiclth. To in¬ 
troduce the design in The Cottage Oardenei', into this 
space, it would be necessary not to exceed two feet six 
indies in the width of eitJier the beds or paths, M’hich, I pre¬ 
sume from the drawing, are to be each of the same width. 
Would a figure witli beds and paths only thirty inches wide 
answer? and, if so, sliould the paths be grass or gravel? 
and if grass, should an edging of sand or lime be left, with 
an inner edging of Heather round each bed ? and would box 
do instead of Heather? and what would the'pi’opPi' propor¬ 
tion for the width of sand or lime edging to a border of 
thirty inches ?—H. S. H.” 
[Your sjiace is quite large enough to admit the figure, 
and better if you give up the sand idea; but that is not the 
question in making a new fiower-garden. Will yon be con¬ 
tent to gi'ow only such flowers as are suitable for the reduced 
scale of the heels? It will go hard with you to manage 
Petunias in such small beds, and nothing stronger would 
do ; those gems of the gard<‘n are only fit for large xilaces, 
where they come in like “ grace notes ” in a tune of many 
parts. Four inches of white sand would be the pro 2 iortiou 
you ask for. It is costly, however, in many xarrts, and unless 
it is ke^it as clean and sweet as a drawing-room, it does 
not give the jn-ojjer relish—so to s^ieak-.] 
GRUBS IN LEAF-MOULD. 
“IlioUedsome Gloxinias a fortnight ago, a]id now the 
soil in the jiotshas the appearance of being full of worms, 
but on examining them I found the pots swarming with 
the enclosed grubs. I got ns many as a ]iint of them out of 
ten jiots ; none of the pots exceeding nine inches in dia- 
metei'. On examining the soil, I only found llieiu in the 
leaf-mould, which appeared to be almost full of them. 
Tlie soil has been in the shed for nearly three months. I 
shall feel greatly obliged by your informing me what they 
are, and whether the larvae will be likely to feed ujton the 
roofs of the Gloxinia, and if the insect, Avheu perfect, a\ ill 
be injurious to 2 )lants ?—AV. Ouagg.” 
[Tlie black grubs sent by W. Gragg are the l,arv,a> of tin' 
St. Mark’s Fly, Bibio Marei, a black, sluggish insect, which 
flies in May, and deiiosits its eggs in vast numbers in earth 
saturated with decaying vegetable mattei-. When the grubs 
have eaten this, they will certainly attack the roots of jilants, 
as Bouche, the celebrated gardener of Berlin, had his Ranun¬ 
culus beds much injured by them for several successiv(' 
years. He cured the mischief by repeatedly changing the 
soil: the }ierfect insects are also very easily cai)tured, their 
black wings and slow movements rendering them ve)'y con- 
s2)icuous objects.—.1. 0. W.] 
IJLT1^¥ 
POTILTEy SHOWS. 
Anerlev. .Tuly ].'•), 16 , 17 , and 18. 
Bristoi,. .Time 2,5th and 26 . Sec. Robert Hillhonse Bush, Eitdeld 
House, Clifton, Bristol. Entries close 1st of .lune. 
Essex. At Colchester, 8th, gth, and 10th of .Tanuary, i8r>7- Sec.i. 
G. E. Attwood, and W. A. Warwick. 
Norwich. .Tune 20. (Norfolk Agricultural, for Snhscribers only.) 
! Sec. Mr. E. C. Bailey, Eittle Oxford Street, Norwich. Entries clo.se 
I May 31st. 
! Wellington, Sai.op. At Wellington, Salop, 26 th and 27 th of Feb. 
I Sec. Mr. T. W. .Tones. Entries close Monday, February 18th. 
j Wharfdai.e. April 18th, at Otley. Sec. Mr. T, Metcalfe, Otley. 
I Windsor Poultry Exhibition. At Windsor, 4th, 5th, and 6th of 
I June. Secs. Thos. Cliamberlain, and Henry Thompson. Entries 
I will close May lOth. 
j N.B. — Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
MANAGEMENT OE EOWLS EOR EXHIBITION. 
Robertson, in the jireface to his *• History of Cliarles V.,” 
says —“ The warlike nations were not subjugated by one 
defeat, and the Romans gained the victory at last only by 
j discipline.” ^\e shall not stop to inquire wliat the famed 
j historian would say if ho could know his elaborate preface 
i served to furnish the subject of a poultry paper; but, tliink- 
j ing the application of it might be profitable, we have used it. 
He was writing after the events of w'hich he treated had 
happened, and could review them calmly. So we, freed at 
last from running from one Show to another, can sit down, 
balance the achievements and defeats, and inquire into the i 
causes. We can hai-dly hope to introduce any novelty, but j 
it is possible we may say sometliing to tlie iioint; we may 
discover why victory deserted a favourite standard—may tell 
the cause of defeat, or may teach others how a transient 
gleam of success may be converted into permanent sunshine. 
The nations of which Robertson treated, were, in the par¬ 
ticular case to wliich he alludes, on an equal fooling with 
regard to the great essentials of courage and warlike proper¬ 
ties. But one bi'ought the advantage of discipline, whicli 
enhanced the qualities; the other depended on the hare 
jirofession of tliem. In the same way, two yards will be 
tenanted by birds of tlie same quality: one will count its 
triumphs by a goodly array of silver cups ; the other will be 
continually struggling, but will seldom rise above mediocrity. 
The diflference will not be in the birds, seeing we admit they 
are equal. It will he in discipline, or management. 
Wherever there is great honour or profit to be gained, 
there will he great competition; and where this exists, 
while the neglect of any precaution may cause failure, the 
observance of every rule, and the skilful possession of every 
advantage, will hardly ensure success. In a recent number 
of this periodical, a writer, who signed himself “Sussex,” 
gave valuable hints aboiTt breeding the fowls intended for 
competition, and our present remarks will, therefore, tend 
shortly to their management previously to their sull’ering the 
ordeal of a show. 
All their energies will he required to support them, and 
the slight difference between two pens of almost even ineiit 
will sometimes he caused by the cheerful, we had almost 
said confident, look of tlie birds in the more distinguished 
one. Now, as confinement acts on their spints, and makes 
them dull, as it causes the brilliancy of their feathers to 
become dim, it should he avoided. Their food should be 
light, nourishing, given frequently, and in small quantities. 
In ordinary times, no stimulant of any kind should be used. 
Their training should be that of a man about to run a race. 
IMake the greatest jiossihle muscle and sinew, and avoid the 
semblance of fat. They should have a run to themselves, 
and be accustomed to be ahvays together. This is discipline, 
and most wise in the end. j 
Let us see the other side. The number of fowls all run- I 
ning together; fed, but little cared for till they are wanted; ! 
the best birds unknown and unmarked; scrambled up at ; 
the last, and put up to be over-fed; their scanty bodies i 
covered with loose fat to make Tip the deficient muscle. ' 
The cock scarred from hard encounters, and his comb still 
bearing the unhealed marks of the last fight; his tail- ' 
feathers broken, and all his plumage faded. But with the 
ivrong mates, he beats and tears them, till scalped heads 
and ruffled feathers excite the pity of the Judges, instead of 
their admiration ; and although by breed and by nature ns 
good as the others, they pass unnoticed. There was no 
discipline, and defeat was the consequence. We have been . 
content to point out the more glaring mistakes in this paper, , 
and, during our leisure time, jmrpose reverting to the sub¬ 
ject frequently,feeling, that although great success generally 
attends those wdio can afford to buy the best birds, yet, with * 
care, prizes are within the I’each of all. 
A GOOD SUGGESTION. ; 
I AM somewliat anxious to suggest, through the medium I 
of your generally-iierused and really useful periodical, a hint f 
for an e.vlra item in management connected with our Poultry 
Exhibitions, well knowing how really desirous you are to 
serve in every possible way the general intei'ests of such 
societies. I trust, therefore, you will kindly permit this 
short intiTTsion upon your space devoted to Poultry matters, 
relating, as it does, to the welfare and jTersonal convenience 
of every Poultry Amateur in the kingdom. 
The plan I propose, if tiniversaij.y adopted by the 
managing committees of our Poultry meetings, would, I feel 
confident, render capital service to the general cause; and 
the result be an extreme improvement upon our jnesent 
