May 5. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
91 
mossed as to obtain for it the flattering title of the Queen of 
the Mosses. 
“ Added to the Hybrid Bourbons we have a fine flower in 
Paul Ricaut, vivid crimson, of good shape ; one of the best 
adapted for exhibiting singly. 
“ In Hybrid Chinas the most recent introductions are the 
four French Generals, Allard , Chanyarnier , Lamoricicre, and 
Jacqueminot: the first is reddish rose-colour, of good shape, 
and a good pillar Rose ; the second, a fine, large, deep 
crimson; the third, a bright pink, well formed; and the 
last, a dark red, and a model in shape; the first and third 
frequently giving autumnal blooms, particularly if some of 
the longest shoots are reduced to half then' length during 
the summer.” 
SHANGHAES AS A COTTAGE FOWL. 
No sooner said than done. I told you that I must have 
a pair of fowls, and that I thought they should be “ Cochin- 
Chinas.” I have now to inform you that I have got a pair, 
and beautiful looking chaps they are. They are but small 
yet, but I must try if I cannot make them larger.* I was 
informed that their father weighed 141b., and their mother 
101b., and that their owner had them from a friend that 
imported them; whether this is true, I know not, but this I 
know, that I am very well satisfied with them, and with what 
I saw of the stock they came from. 
I promised to tell you how I got them, and you shall now 
have it as fast as I can pen it down (and I hope it will 
encourage you never to be daunted, though the matter be 
ever so deep). I wrote to a gentleman, whom I believed 
had the best stock of Cochin-Chinas in England, telling 
him that I was a poor man, and yet had a great desire to be 
in possession of a pair of these fine birds, and hoped he 
would be so kind as to let me have a pair of late hatched 
chickens as reasonable as he could; and he kindly wrote me 
an answer back to say that he had a few late hatched ones, 
but that he did not generally sell them under To per pair, 
but, as I styled myself a poor man, he would let me have a 
pair for T4. Now, you will know by my other letter that I 
thought one guinea a large price for a pair, so from that 
you will guess how I was taken by surprise. 
When 1 received his letter my wife laughed at me, and 
told me she should think that would cure me of thinking 
about Cochin-Chinas, particularly as my landlord would be 
coming to see me in a short time; but 1 was not to be 
daunted at this. When you see me daunted you will see 
the Wrekin fall. I straightway wrote to another gentleman, 
telling him the same tale, and he kindly sent me word that 
he would let me have a pair for one guinea, but he should 
pick them from his second class birds. Now this is what I 
call honesty ; and should I ever want to deal with a gentle¬ 
man again, to save breeding in-and-in, this is the man that I 
shall apply to. 1 do know a little of this gentleman’s birds, 
for the five that I mentioned in my last letter were bred 
from his stock; hut between the time that I wrote to this 
gentleman and received his answer, I heard of a few to be 
parted with not far from home, and as the gentleman knew 
me to be a poor man, he kindly let me have a pair for less 
than one guinea, and now all that remained for me to know 
was whether they were well bred— so, of course I must go 
and see them, and take my judgment along with me; and 
here you shall have a look at it, as 1 got it from The Cot¬ 
tage Gardener, and I hope you will tell me how far I am 
off being right. • 
Moderate length of legs, rather too short than long; 
the legs to be yellow, or yellowish, well covered to the 
toes with feathers; head rather small, and narrow; comb 
single, and rather small; tail very short, particularly in 
the hen; wings small, the extremities of which should 
be almost hidden before under the breast feathers, and 
behind by the saddle feathers; body deep from back to 
breast, wide on the rump, and very broad behind, which 
part, as well the thighs, ought to be covered with abun¬ 
dance of soft, downy feathers, and although a good horse is 
never of a bad colour, still I must have them buffs, as I 
believe they carry the sway, and I should rather have a few 
* This was written last autumn.—E d. C. G. 
dark-pencilled feathers on the neck than not, as I believe that 
adds to their beauty. 
Now, with all this in my head, off I went to pick out my 
first pair of poultry, with quite as much caution, and rather 
more, than when I went to pick out my wife ; and now with 
this judgment, and the chickens before my eyes, I don’t 
think that any man in England would have sent me a pair 
that would have given me more satisfaction. I have also 
met with a friend that has promised to give me a sitting of 
Spanish eggs as soon as I have got a hen that will sit upon 
them. So you see what may be done by pressing forward, 
and the main object that I have in view, is to encourage 
poor people to press forward. No man knows what he can 
do till he tries, as I have shown in the sketch of the early 
part of my life, But I must wish you good-by for the 
present; but if I am alive and well, you shall soon hear 
from me again ; and if I am only able to awaken one poor 
cottager out of his sleep, and set him agoing, it will give 
me great pleasure indeed.— A Poor Man’s Well-wisher. 
(2’o be continued .) 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Polyanthus (G. J. G .).—The pips you have sent are all good, but 
especially 5 and 6. 
Ants (C. H. Wind/e ).—These do no harm to plants, but, on the con¬ 
trary, are enemies of the plant-lice. 
Leg Spasms in Suanghaes (P. W .).—Keep the chickens cool, dry, 
and not on stimulating food. Treat them as recommended to “ G. F. D.,” 
at page 13. 
Golden Polish Pullet (Charlotte Elizabeth ).—There were some 
good ones sold by auction the other day. Poultry sales are good places 
to pick one up at; or from some of the parties who advertise in our 
columns. 
Vine Pruning (A. B.). —“ Roberts, on the Culture of the Vine,” will i 
suit you. 
Rustic Gates and Seats. —We shall be obliged by any reader 
sending us a drawing of any of these which they know and admire. 
Management of Silkworms. — J. H. A. wishes to know of some 
good work on this subject. We have six in Italian, and wish that some 
of our readers would undertake to translate one of them, for insertion in 
our columns. - 
Golden Poland Fowls Eggs (TV. W. Sims ).—We cannot tell where 
you can get any. 
Weight of Dorkings (Margaret),— It is only by careful selection 
of stock, and breeding from the heaviest birds gleaned from different 
strains, that you can attain to such weights as cocks of 10 lbs. and hens 
of 8 lbs. These are attainable weights, for in January last, Captain 
Hornby had Dorkings half-a-pound beyond those weights. Between y 
and 8 lbs. for the cock, and 6 lbs. for the hen, are fair average weights 
of birds that come into the market. 
Roses (G. S. IV .).—There are certain other Roses quite as good in 
their way as Ne Plus Ultra, which show the green centres nine times out 
of ten, and nothing will ever cause them to be otherwise in our climate. 
All those who pretend to cure such things arc just so many quacks. 
Burn or throw away at once, and for ever, all Roses that do not suit your 
soil, for there are many hundreds to choose from that will suit it. There 
is not a single “ hardy and pretty creeper,” for covering the handle of a i 
basket, “ that would not grow too bushy.” We, ourselves, would give a 
good price for such a creeper, to get rid of the half-hardy Maurandyas, 
Lophospermums, and all such. None of the Clematises, or Honeysuckles, 
or Roses, or climbers, or creepers, or twiners, that are quite hardy, come 
up to our ideas for a basket-handle. In fact, like yourself, we suspect 
we are too particular. 
Pyracantha Seeds (Zoe ).—Gather the haws now, and put them in 
sand, in a box or jar, and bury them in the garden, and next October 
take them out, and sows them in a bed, in a w ell-sheltered place, and 
the seedlings will come up this time next year. 
Verbenas (Ibid ).—Unfortunately, there are no five distinct colours to 
be had among all the Verbenas, after you have Defiance, and White 
Perfection; for a purple, Emma, is still the best; Beauty Supreme is as 
good a pink or rose as any ; lmperatrice Josephine for blush; Emperor 
of China for crimson; Valentine dc Saveuse is a lilac-blue; Heloise is a 
bluish-purple; Psyche, a rosy-purple; Bry, a fine white; and St. 
Margaret is a crimson, with a lighter centre. These are all very good 
established kinds. 
Horticultural and Pomological Association (Ibid). — You 
cannot get anything from this Association without being a member. 
They are not a trading body, but their charges go to pay their own inci¬ 
dental expenses—that is all. They will collect from the different seeds¬ 
men and nurserymen what you require, and send them in one parcel to 
you. They are agents, but nothing more. 
Plants falsely Named (S. Y.).—If you have copied the names 
correctly, all of them belong to a new “ Natural Order,” called nonentity, 
and to a section of that order called rascality. You deserve to be duped 
to the very bottom of your purse, if you allow “ any nurseryman ” to 
send in plants without you ordered them. There are no such names as 
those you have sent. 
Ipom.ea Horsfallia: (Ibid ).—It must not “be cut in freely ” at 
any time. It will not bear to be even cut to the .ripened wood nine 
