74 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
October 31. 
also places in unwiso alliance birds of most distinct 
features, for sucli tbo “Pencilled” and the “ Spangled” 
Hamburghs may be fairly termed. 
“Aylesbury” and “Rouen” Ducks are alone men¬ 
tioned. This wo regret; for tbo beautiful Black East 
Indian, and several varieties of the common Ducks, aro, 
in every point of view, entitled to admission. 
The rules and regulations follow the ordinary course. 
The Birmingham Society, it will bo remembered, 
have, within tbo last few weeks, made an important and 
i most valuable addition to their schedule for tbo present 
year, by giving further prizes for single cock birds. 
Their attention is announced in tbo following terms :—• 
“ In addition to the prizes enumerated in the list issued 
on the 23rd of February last, the General Purposes 
Committee of the Council have resolved to offer first 
prizes of £2, and second prizos of £1, for Single Cock- 
Birds, of any ago, of all the following varieties, namely: 
Dorking, Spanish, Cochin-China, Brahma Pootra, 
Pencilled Hamburgh, Spangled Hamburgh, Game, and 
Polish ; and that the samo shall ho entered under letters 
A to PI on the ordinary certificates.” 
The principle on which the seven silver vases were 
offered for the best pens of several breeds having been 
in some instances misunderstood, we insert the follow 
ing authoritativo explanation from the Midland Counties 
Herald, of October 19 th :— 
“ The Council this year also offer seven silver vases, 
of the value of six guineas each, instead of money 
prizes, for the best pen of Pencilled Hamburgh, 
Spangled Hamburgh, Polish, Spanish, Dorking, Cochin- 
China, and Game P’owls. The manner in which these 
distinctions are to he awarded is, probably, not well 
understood, and we may mention, in explanation, that 
in Spanish fowls, for instauce, the pens taking the first 
prizes in the adult and chicken classes, will competo 
together for a vase, which the winner will ho entitled to 
instead of a first prize of £3, and so on with the other 
classes, with the exception of the Hamburghs and 
Game fowls. In the former, the Spangled, both gold 
and silvor, competo together for a vaso, as will also the 
two varieties of Pencilled; while the first prize Game pens 
of all colours will take part in a similar contest. The 
fowls shown this year by cottagers will all he arranged 
together, and it is intended to award liberal prizes for 
good specimens. The subscription giving the right to 
exhibit Poultry has this year been raised from 10s. to 
.£1, and the number of entries is now limited to four 
for each subscriber, the classes for single birds being 
considered part of the general show, and included in 
this arrangement.” 
We have every reason to believe that the liberality 
that has directed tlioso additions to the ordinary prize- 
list, and the general arrangement and classification of 
the exhibition, will be so appreciated as to render the 
show of 1854 in no way second to its predecessor. 
With the recollection of the general excellence of the 
poultry that were assembled in Bingley Hall, in Decem¬ 
ber, 1853, wo would not venturo to speak too positively 
of a still further advance, though, in some few classes, 
this will doubtless bo attained; and we hope more 
especially to witness the restoration to their proper 
place of the adult Shanghaos, so poorly represented on 
the last occasion. 
WINTER-PRUNING.—THE GOOSEBERRY. 
Altitouoii the earlier volumes of The Cottage Gar¬ 
dener contain ample directions for pruning, yet wo feel 
it a duty to recent subscribers to return, occasionally, 
to such subjects as the present, and the more especially, 
that every year enlarges our ideas, and furnishes fresh 
hints for progress. It will bo well, therefore, to take a 
fresh glance at pruning, as a most timely affair. Those 
who have taken our advico during tho period of growth, 
will havo but a vory moderate share of labour to perform, 
as compared with those who have neglected this im¬ 
portant duty, which is not only agreeable to tho highest 
cultural principles, but essentially economical, inasmuch 
as a days labour in Juno or July is fairly worth two 
in December. 
I will begin with tho Gooseberry, which may fairly 
form the commencement of tho primer’s labours, and a 
fruit scarcely second, in general utility, to any. It is 
known that Gooseberries are of very different habits of 
growth; some, as the Champaign, shoot almost per¬ 
pendicularly, whilst others, as the Warrington, and 
several of the larger kinds, bend archwise downwards. 
This requires that the “ shortening back ” vary slightly 
iu its character. 
When bushes are very coarse, and of strong growth, 
our practice is to run the shears lightly over them first; 
this enables tbo operator to introduce bis band with 
greater freedom into the interior of the bush. Thinning- 
out is tho first procedure, and the degree to which this 
is carried varies slightly with the character of the bush. 
Such as arc weakly, and havo borne rather too heavily 
in former years, are handled rather severely with the 
knife, in order to cnablo them to make a livelier growth ; 
this is a restorative proceeding. In all cases, however, 
it is bad practice to suffer much bearing wood to remain 
iu the interior of the hush, it is there difficult to gather 
the berries, and, indeed, the produce thore is by far 
inferior to that at the exterior. We cut nearly all the 
interior spray away, merely leaving shoots qualified by 
their position and character to sustain the symmetry of 
the hush, and those cut away are pruned as close to the 
stem as possible. Nothing looks worso than a bush 
almost as thick as a hedgo, with a multitude of half- 
starved berries, scarcely above a third of tho sizo the 
kind is able to attain. Our market-gardeners, who grow 
acres, well consider tho consequences which result from 
bushes crowded in the interior; they know that such 
seriously affects tho labour question; badly-managed 
bushes cost thirty per cent, more to gather from than 
those under proper management, and the produce is 
depreciated in like manner; added to this, tho bushes 
cannot last so long. 
Enough lias now been shown to suggest the pro¬ 
priety of a liberal thinning. It is difficult to show a 
novico in this practice bow much to remove, but as a 
sort of rule, 1 should say, that were it possible the 
shoots could he made to grow in parallel lines, they 
should not remain closer to each other than four inches. 
Let us then say that the shoots should be thinned to 
three or four inches apart. Now, we have, of late 
years, adopted another practice, which deserves a con¬ 
sideration ; this practice has, I may say, been forced on 
us, through the sorious depredations committed by the 
birds, as, also, by the damage occasioned by late spring 
frosts. It consists iu leaving nearly twice the amount 
of young shoots that we do by a regular system; we, 
of course, carry double chances of a crop, as to the 
