264 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[July 31. 
whatever they were, his friends and relations saw them not. Well might 
they love him sincerely—for in every respect, in his palmiest days, in his 
attentions and kindnesses as a son and a brother, he might be equalled, 
but he could not be excelled.” 
We have not space sufficient to specify even all the hardy plants, for which 
wo are indebted to him ; but we may remark, that the beautifully-flower¬ 
ing Currants, Clarkias, (Enotheraa, Lupines, Penstemons, and many of 
our Pines, are among the number. The aggregate amount of his disco¬ 
veries arc—53 woody plants, and 145 herbaceous; and his dried speci¬ 
mens of Californian plants alone, amounted to about 800 species. 
Meteorology of the Week. — At Chiswick, from observations 
during the last twenty-four years, the average highest and lowest tem¬ 
peratures of these days are 74.4° and 52° respectively. The greatest 
heat, 92°, occurred on the 1st in 1846, and the lowest cold, 36°, on the 
6th in 1833. During the period 88 days were fine, and on 80 rain fell. 
Before us is collected again an array of volumes claim¬ 
ing our notice, and many of them have had their claim 
neglected too long. First in the rank comes the fourth 
edition of Mr. Payne's Bee-Keeper's Ouule (T. C. Newby, 
Welbeck-street, Cavendish-square). We have often 
referred to this valuable, practical little volume, and as 
this is scarcely more than a reprint, we need only say in 
the author’s own words— 
“It was written almost entirely for the benefit of cottagers, 
and I am happy to say that for them it has more than an¬ 
swered my expectations ; because I can now point to num¬ 
bers who are paying their rents from the produce of their 
bees, but not in a single instance where the depriving system 
is not adopted." 
Although the volume is well suited for cottagers’ 
practice, it is not less so for the amateur who desires 
profit as well as pleasure from bee-keeping. The in¬ 
structions are ample, and the hives the cheapest that 
can be employed. 
The Dorking Fowl: Hints for its Management, and 
Feeding for the Table. By John Baily, Poulterer, 113, 
Mount-street, Grosvenor-square.—We remember to have 
heard a chimney-sweeper’s pronunciation of the word 
soot quoted as an authority, upon the principle that he 
ought to know best all about his especial commodity! 
and, according to the same logic, a poulterer should 
know all about the pullets and cockerels which he 
trusses daily for the spit. Honest John Baily has 
thought so too; so, after waiting “ above ten years” for 
some more stalwart champion, he has at length drawn a 
goose quill, and rushed to the rescue of “ the Dorking.” 
“ I propose limiting my observations to one particular breed, 
and for this reason, that there is none to be compared with 
it. It is the “ Dorking,” and it unites in itself, more than 
any other, all the properties requisite for supplying the 
table. It is true, birds of eight or nine pounds weight have 
been obtained from foreign stock, among others, the Spanish, 
Malay, and Cochin China; but though large, they are ill¬ 
shaped, their legs are long, ungainly, and of a bad colour, 
and their fiesh generally hard and dry. They are, also, 
difficult to fatten, as the high breeding stimulates their 
natural courage and excitability of temper, and, conse¬ 
quently, they become pugnacious and quarrelsome, which 
prevents their thriving, and renders their flesh prematurely 
hard. The hens are good setters, and good mothers ; there 
is a natural tendency in the breed to fatten, so that young- 
are made to attain to eight or nine pounds weight, and at table 
they surpass all others in symmetry of shape, and white¬ 
ness, and delicacy of flesh.” 
Now, we admire this patriotism, springing from the 
kindred feeling which urged the Norwegian to convince 
the world that Norway was where God placed the Garden 
of Eden ; yet we place our goose quill in the rest, and 
declare ourselves the champion of the Cochin China 
breed. It is quite true that Dorkings may be unna¬ 
turally fattened up to eight pounds weight, but the 
Cochins reach to ten and twelve pounds naturally, and 
with ohly moderate feeding. We deny that their fiesh, 
when young and fat, is not equal to that of the Dorking, 
and their eggs are much superior both in size and 
flavour. The hens are excellent layers and good mothers, 
nor are the cocks quarrelsome. 
It is chiefly on the preference of breed that we differ 
from Mr. Baily, for we find all his practical directions 
excellent. We select the following, only to induce our 
readers to buy the little volume:— 
“ Characteristics of a good Dorking. —I would choose them 
with small heads, taper necks, broad shoulders, square 
bodies, white legs, and well-defined five claws on each foot; 
touching the claws, I would remark it will sometimes happen 
that breeding from cock and pullet, each five-clawed, chickens 
will come, lacking that distinctive mark; it does not follow 
there is any fault in the breed, as the produce of these 
chickens will, probably, be five-clawed, but I would only 
tolerate it in home-bred chickens; in buying for stock, I 
would insist not only on the presence of the five-c’aws, but 
on every other characteristic of the breed being prominent." 
“ Feeding. —I advise, from the first, to feed the hen and 
her chickens well, in the following manner:—Instead of 
throwing down liandsful of whole corn, let it be ground and 
slaked with lukewarm milk, to such consistence that when a 
ball of it is thrown on the ground it null break and scatter 
about in particles; if there be green-meat, such as onion- 
tops, chopped fine and mixed with it, so much the better. 
The chickens should be fed in this manner three or four 
times per day, and the little extra trouble will be amply 
repaid by their growth and health. As they get older this 
may be gradually discontinued, and they may feed with 
the old fowls, on whole corn. But even with old birds a 
change of food is not only advantageoirs but necessary; and 
I would, therefore, advise that once a fortnight the food be 
changed for a day or two, and boiled or crushed corn sub¬ 
stituted for whole. They must, also, have constant oppor¬ 
tunities of pecking among grass and other herbs. Fowls in 
confinement will staiwe and pine to death, with heaps of 
barley around them, unless they have these opportunities. 
Next, as to water. It is too much the idea that any descrip¬ 
tion will do, and that provided there be some within their 
reach, though it have been there a week, nothing more is 
required. This is a mistake. AVater for fowls and chickens 
should be very clean ; the pan or vessel containing it should 
be well rinsed out every morning ; it is a good plan to put a 
little gravel at the bottom, and it should be changed twice a 
day. I am aware many will be disposed to think this unne¬ 
cessary, but I will ask any one who has the opportunity to 
try, whether, where there is a stream of water running 
through a yard, they can cause the poultry to forsake it by 
placing water nearer to their haunts : it will always be found 
they prefer going to the stream to drinking out of the pan 
or tub ” 
An Hour with the Hollyhock. — This is another of 
those very useful little pamphlets prepared by Mr. AY. 
Paul, of the Nurseries, at Cheshunt, in Hertfordshire, 
and which every cultivator of the flower should pur 
chase. It is full of practical information, but we will 
give only two extracts showing that its contents are 
varied:— 
“ History of the Hollyhock. —The old English writers spelt 
the word Hollihocke, Holyoak, and Ilolyock, whence it is 
supposed to have been derived from the Saxon ‘ Holihec.” 
Linnceus considers it a distinct genus, and named it Alcea, 
from the Greek word 'A\xh< in allusion to its medical pro¬ 
perties, on account of which it was formerly much valued. 
“ In a work translated from the German, and published in 
London nearly three centuries ago, we have the following 
particular's:— 
