240 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 2(1 
Class 63.—Ducklings (Rouen).—First prize, Capt. Fred. J. Isaacke, 
Woodview, Donnybrook. Second prize, Capt. Fred. J. Isaacke. Com¬ 
mended.—197* The Countess of Meath, Kilruddeny Bray. 
Ducks (Black South American).—Prize awarded to the lot No. 205. 
The Countess of Mayo, Hayes, Navan. 
PIGEONS. 
Class 64.— Carriers. —First prize,Miss White, Bernardville,Rathmines, 
Commended.—207- Richard W. H, Nash, Dumcondra. 211. Mr. John 
Dobbyn, D’Olier-street. 
Tumblers (Almond).—Prize, Mr. John Dobbyn, D’Olier-street. 
Tumblers (Mottled).—Prize, Joseph F. Durley, Upper Leeson-street. 
Tumblers (Bald Pated).—Prize, Peter Jones, jun., Amicus-street, 
Dublin. 
Trumpeters.— Prize, Richard W. Herbert Nash, Drumcondra Terrace, 
Dublin. 
i Fantails. —Prize, Peter Jones, jun., Amicus-street, Dublin. 
Barbs. —Prize, Miss White, Bernardville, Rathmines. 
i Nuns. — Prize, John Dobbyn, D’Olier-street, Dublin. 
Turbits. —Prize, John Dobbyn, D’Olier-street, Dublin. 
Jacobins. — Prize, Peter Jones, 12 , Amicus-street. 
< Class 65. — Rabbits. —First prize, John N. Jemison, Drumcondra 
; Terrace, Dublin. Commended.—240. Richard W. Herbert Nash, 
i Drumcondra Terrace. 
PTARMIGAN, OR TURKEY FOWLS. 
A FEW words ns to the history of the Ptarmigan, or Turkey 
Fowl, may bo interesting to the readers of The Cottage 
Gardener, to whom this variety was introduced, about two 
years since, at the instance of Dr. Burney, who appeared to 
have no information as to the country from whence they 
come. Having, through the kindness of a gentleman, who 
bought some chicken of Dr. Burney, some Ptarmigans, and 
i liking them, because they combine utility with beauty, as 
; fully as auy sort of fowls I know, I have made some 
inquiries as to their origin and history, and the following is 
I the result:— 
Some fourteen years, or nearly, ago, Mr. J. E. Elworthy, 
! of Plymouth, had four fowls sent him by a friend, an officer 
| in the Royal Navy, which had been bought at Constantinople. 
| These fowls were much admired by those who saw them, 
and Mr. Elworthy gave chicken and eggs to many of his 
friends; amongst others, Mrs. Shortland, of Lipson, Ply- 
! mouth, had some, and at this place they have been kept as 
a distinct variety to the present time. Mrs. Shortland pre¬ 
sented some to Mrs. Lowe, of Ivingsbridge, and several 
years since, Mrs. Lowe presented some chicken to Mrs. 
Dr. Burney. In 1852-3, when attention was called to these 
fowls, Dr. Burney would seem to have forgotten whence 
he had obtained the variety, although he had bought Mrs. 
Lowe’s stock, with the view of getting all the sort into his 
own hands. 
If other evidence were required, as to these Ptarmigans 
being imported from Turkey, it is furnished by the facts, 
that during the past year, several lots of the same descrip¬ 
tion have been received from Constantinople and the Bos- 
! phorus. Captain Russell, the commander of the celebrated 
steam ship, Himalaya, has brought over some procured at 
Constantinople, clearly of the same variety as Dr. Burney’s ; 
and a gentleman of Devonport, who sent out to a friend of 
his, in one of the ships on the Bosphorus, but not a fowl- 
fancier, to send him home some of the fowls of the country, 
and has received the same variety. 
They are hardy, small, active, handsome, prolific layers, 
and good table birds. Are they synonymous with those 
recently shown as “ Fowls of the Sultan?”—W. H. 
THE AMERICAN MILK TREE. 
What most interested us, however, were severallarge logs 
of the Masseranduba, or Milk Tree. On our way through 
the forest we had seen some trunks much notched by per¬ 
sons who had been extracting the milk. It is one of the 
noblest trees of the forest; rising, with a straight stem, to 
an enormous height. The timber is very hard, fine-grained, 
and durable, and is valuable for works which are much 
exposed to the weather. The fruit is eatable, and very good, 
the size of a small apple, and full of a rich and very juicy 
pulp. But strangest of all is the vegetable milk, which 
exudes in abundance when the bark is cut; it is about 
the consistence of thick cream, and hut for a very slight 
peculiar taste could scarcely be distinguished from the 
genuine product of the cow. Mr. Leavens ordered a man 
to tap some logs that had lain nearly a month in the yard. 
Lie cut several notches in the bark with an axe, and in a 
minute the rich sap was running out in great quantities. It 
was collected in a basin, diluted with water, strained, and 
brought up at tea-time and breakfast next morning. The 
peculiar flavour of the milk seemed rather to improve the 
quality of the tea, and give it as good a colour as rich 
cream; in coffee it is equally good. Mr. Leavens informed 
us that he had make a custard of it, and that, though it had 
a curious dark colour, it was very well tasted. The milk is 
also used for glue, and is said to be as durable as that made 
use of by carpenters. As a specimen of its capabilities in 
this line, Mr. Leavens showed us a violin he had made, the 
belly-board of which, formed of two pieces, he had glued 
together with it, applied fresh from the tree, without any 
preparation. It had been done two years ; the instrument 
had been in constant use, and the joint was now perfectly 
good, and sound throughout its whole length. As the milk 
hardens by exposure to air, it becomes a very tough, slightly- 
elastic substance, much resembling gutta-percha; but not 
having the property of being softened by hot water, is not 
likely to become so extensively useful as that article.— 
Wallace's Travels on the Amazon and Bio Negro. 
THE GLASS TRADE. 
In a lecture delivered in Sunderland, by Mr. James 
Hartley, on the art and manufacture of glass, the following 
interesting facts were stated in reference to the trade.— 
“ Previous to the repeal of glass duty, in 1815, there 
were fourteen companies engaged in the manufacture of 
crown and sheet-glass; they were increased during 18-10 
and 1847 to twenty-four, and now are reduced to ten. In 
1844, the last year of the duty, there was made by the four¬ 
teen companies, 0700 tons of crown and sheet-glass, paying 
4500,000 duty; there are now ten companies working forty 
furnaces, with 284 pots, making 05,500,000 feet annually, 
equal to 15,000 tons, value 4225,000, being an increase of 
considerably more than cent, per cent., and at a charge to 
the public of less than one-half of the former duty. In 
polished plate, there are six companies, being the same as 
existed in 1837, and, consequently, their number has re¬ 
mained stationary since the repeal of the duty, hut their 
production is estimated to have doubled. They now make 
3,000,000 feet of polished plate annually, equal to 0500 tons, 
valued at 4450,000. Of Hartley’s patent rough plate, which 
has only been fairly in the market about two years, the 
quantity now manufactured annually is 2,200,000 feet of 21b. 
to the foot, valued at 430,000. The produce of the little 
kingdom of Belgium, the greatest glass-producing country 
in the world, is 50,000,000 feet of sheet-glass annually, equal 
to 22,300 tons, dr twenty-five per cent, more than is made 
in England of both crown and sheet-glass. They export of j 
this quantity eighty-five per cent., of which six per cent, j 
comes to England, and they retain fifteen per cent, for 
home consumption ; England retains eighty-five per cent, of 
its produce for home consumption, and exports fifteen per 
cent., being about double what she imports. In Hartley 
and Co’s glass tariff, there are 7329 figures; also seventeen 
descriptions of glass, with fifty-one thicknesses.” 
QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 
GARDENING. 
LAMARQUE ROSE NOT BLOOMING. 
“ I have a beautiful and vigorous plant of Lamarque Rose, 
on its own roots; hut for the last four years, the time I 
have had it, it has not produced one flower. It is planted 
against a south wall, in a good Rose soil, and annually makes 
plenty of strong shoots, hut is barren. It is the only Rose ! 
