August 28.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
345 
Some persons content themselves with making boxes on 
hoards, of eight inches each way, with an edge jutting out 
in front, or simply with a roost, as we have just said. They 
make the opening a little narrower than the interior of the 
box, so that the sitting pigeon can better defend itself 
against those that would drive it from the nest. This would 
be a more advantageous manner, because it would be easy 
to clean the nests, and in cold seasons the young ones are 
warmer on wood than brick; but it has the serious inconve¬ 
nience of retaining bugs and other insects in the dove- 
house, and of concentrating the heat too much in the nest 
during summer. The flooring must be perfectly square, to 
prevent rats and mice from opening a passage into it. We 
ought even to place vertically all round a row of square tiles, 
inserted in the wall, so that these animals cannot make 
trenches in the foundation of the brickwork. 
The interior and exterior of the nest, the walls, as well 
inside as out, the timber, and, in short, every part of the 
habitation, should be painted white, with several good layers 
of whiting, which we should take care to renew every time 
they begin to get yellow. Pigeons are singularly fond ef 
this colour; besides which, it enables them to discover their 
dwelling from a great distance, and to direct their flight 
accordingly. Besides the window we have mentioned, there 
are also one or two more shutting with a groove, and, above 
all, perfectly close, so as not to allow the cold to penetrate. 
Whenever the air is soft and mild we must open it to renew 
the air, and draw out the unhealthy smells. This precaution 
is extremely salutary. 
DESCRIPTIONS OF PIGEONS. 
TENTH RACE. 
{Continued from page 248.) 
Persian or Turkish Pigeon (Columba turcica ).—These 
superb birds form the natural link between the Waited and 
the Runt pigeons. They have, like the first, a very large 
mushroom on the nostrils, a great fleshy ribbon extending 
round the eyes from the beak, and a very large body; but 
they resemble the Runts in their thighs, legs, and neck 
which is much shorter, and in their long wings. Some 
modern authors have fallen into the same error as M. 
Buffon, in supposing that all the varieties of this valuable 
race ought to be tufted. This mistake has been occasioned 
by the rarity of these birds in all their purity. 
The Crested Persian Pigeon (Columba turcica, of 
Brisson, Frisch, and others) is best known in England as 
the Mawmet, or pigeon of Mahomet. It has a large ex¬ 
crescence above the beak, and a red ribbon extending round 
the eyes; is very large; has stockings on the thighs; is large 
in the body and wings; colours varied, dun colour, brown, 
almost black, iron grey, craem colour, &c. These birds, 
which are very heavy, and do not stray far from their dove¬ 
cote, are lost in France, and are seldom to be met with in all 
their purity, except in Germany. 
The Common Mawmet, or Persian (Columba turcica 
vulgaris ).—This large variety is getting very rare, notwith¬ 
standing its beauty, and great prolificacy. It only differs 
from the preceding in not having any tuft. (See cut.) 
(To be continued.) 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Habrothamnus fascicularis (F. W. T.). —We are sorry that you 
failed ; you must give it more light. Pinch out the points of the shoots 
now, but prune it not at all, or but little, in spring. In your severe 
pruning last year, you removed the flowering buds, and the strong subse¬ 
quent growth was quite a matter of course. 
Stepiianotis floribunda (Ibid). —We are glad that the advice 
given, vol. v., p. 27, has answered so well in your experience. You can¬ 
not get the young plant upon the balloon trellis too soon. If you wish 
to cover it quickly, you must sacrifice bloom to growth for a year, by 
stopping, &c., unless your plant is large enough to cover it at once thinly. 
You will frequently have more flowers with the shoots eight inches apart 
than where they are three. A plant taken from a rafter, as you say, will 
not look well at first, but the leaves will soon accommodate themselves 
to the change, and turn up their upper sides to the light. A twelve inch 
pot, and a balloon trellis, 3^ ft. in height by 2 ft. in diameter - , would be 
suitable for your plant. To bloom it quickly, if you wish it to grow 
freely, a 15-inch pot may be substituted, and a much larger trellis ; these 
are all matters of taste and convenience. What you require in Heaths 
will be attended to ere long. 
RipeningWall Grapes (Pitti). —See what Mr. Errington says to-day. 
Mulberry against a S. Wall ( P. B. C.).— A strong mulberry 
planted this autumn, in a sandy loam, about fifteen inches deep, might 
be made to produce fruit, we think, in the summer of 1851, but root- 
pruning would have to be resorted to in the year 1853. Let the standards 
you allude to be severely root-pruned in the middle of September, and 
we think they will be brought to bear. Peaches will be more certain. 
Our correspondent says, “ I must tell you I have this year a convincing 
proof of the soundness of this theory, namely, a fine tree well laden with 
the Moor Park Apricot, which I may say is a very rare, if not a single, 
case in West Norfolk.” 
Geranium Cuttings (J. W.). —When the weather gets cold, towards 
the end of September, is the time to pot the geraniums struck in the 
open ground ; these must be kept in pots, and u'atered all winter. The 
old geraniums are the sorts to keep dormant in cellars all winter; they 
are first pruned close, then dried slowly in a shed before they are put into 
the cellar, but unless the cellar is quite dry they will all mould and rot in 
six weeks. The top of the house is a far better place for them. Fancy 
geraniums will not at all keep that way. 
Yucca Culture (Rev. G. M.). —Your plant of this is quite wrong, 
and very likely half-starved for years. No plant flowers more freely in 
very good soil, but it must be good, and plenty of it, to get it to flower 
well. The Yuccas are shamefully used all over the country because they 
will live out a wretched life anywhere. Dig down outside the roots to the 
depth of 20 inches, and pick away as much of the poor soil from among 
the roots as you can, and fill in with two barrowsful of very good soil 
from the kitchen-garden, but do only one half at a time for fear of letting 
it tumble down. Leave the suckers on till April. 
Climber for a Bee-House (Ibid). —The grape vine will do very well 
as you propose; it w ill cover your bee-house soon, and be less trouble¬ 
some to keep than most climbers in so low a place. We will enquire 
about the Botanic Garden. 
Bedding Plants (J. Betsworth). —“A small pit with a flue in it ” 
will keep bedding plants better than a greenhouse, unless you were to 
devote the house entirely to the bedders; and if you did, the only dif¬ 
ference between a pit and the house would be the size and the convenience 
of the latter. This is the first question or letter we have had from you, and, 
as we want particularly to make a good gardener of you, let us hear from 
you again when you decide in your own mind which of the two you will try. 
Cinerarias (W. H.). —A spent hotbed is an excellent place for 
rearing your cinerarias during the next three or four months. Put a thin 
layer of screened ashes on the surface, to stand the pots on ; they will 
help to keep down the damp when the nights get long. 
White Azalea Indica (Sarah). —Take your sickly plant out of the 
pot and adjust the drainage ; clear off a little from the bottom of the ball 
and put it in the same pot; scrape the surface a little and put a layer of 
fresh sandy peat on the top ; water sparingly, and keep it from the rain, 
but the middle of September will be time enough to put it in a pit or in¬ 
doors. Your Camellia has “ set its flower buds,” and is going on well; 
keep it out till the end of September. Unless your Brampton Stocks 
stand too thick you might leave them as they are till next spring, but 
they may be planted in October. They flower next May and June, for 
six weeks. Plant out part of the biennials next month, and part in the 
s]iring, to give them two chances. 
Transplanting Roses (E. S. R.). —There is not the least danger in 
removing all your roses next Michaelmas. An article was published by 
us last September or October to meet your case ; we also transplanted 
roses last Michaelmas with perfect success. Have them pruned a week 
or ten days before you take them up, and then the distance to carry them 
makes no difference, if you pack the roots in damp moss, or any other 
damp packing stuff. The only secret in removing roses any day from the 
middle of September to the end of October is, to keep the roots damp all 
the time they are out of the ground. 
Planting Evergreens (Julius). —To make “a dense shrubbery” 
with evergreens, the weight of the purse is the rule, unless you happen 
to have the plants by you; in other words, plant thickly in the first 
instance, and thin out in time. If you buy the common Laurels, let 
