THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 7. 
I quite sure, have not the slightest idea of how ridiculous, and even dis¬ 
gusting, some of their pet names appear to ladies who are their best 
patrons, because ladies do not speak of such things out of their own 
order, except to their gardeners. “ Defiance,” for instance, is a favourite 
1 name with florists, but ladies invariably disapprove of it. Long, dog- 
latin names to garden seedlings are quite out of place, while bastard 
French ones are silly or pedantic; and I shall continue to ridicule such 
practices to the end of the chapter.—D. Beaton.” 
Glasgow Cattle and Poultry Show. —An anonymous Corres¬ 
pondent says—“ They took place on 14th of June, and, expecting to see 
a few good fowls, I went with the crowd, and certainly, if I was dis¬ 
appointed, it must have been my own fault, for all that was promised 
was prizes for the best pair of fowls of any breed, not even an attempt 
at distinction. Under these circumstances, it was not strange that only 
j mongrels made their appearance and carried off the honours of the day. 
J Had they only offered a prize for the best horse of any breed, who, I 
would ask, would have sent horses to compete ? and who would have 
i been the impartial judges ? and as that was the course pursued with 
chucky, as a matter of course, nobody thought of sending distinct breeds. 
The poultry mania has, assuredly, not reached this city of the west, or 
such a prize list would not have disgraced the members of the Glasgow 
Agricultural Show. Let us hope, however, that at their next annual 
meeting (which, in horses and cattle, could hardly be an improvement on 
this), they will have obtained a little more insight into the different and 
distinct breed of poultry, now everywhere to he met with pure and 
perfectly distinct, even as much so as the far-famed Clydesdale horse, 
with his shaggy mane and legs, and the smooth, sleek racer.” 
Sea-kale Forcing (A Surrey Subscriber). — Tree-leaves were apt to 
heat too suddenly, and then rot, last season, owing to so much wet; but, 
nevertheless, we managed our Sea-kale with them, by not having a thick 
layer, and turning them frequently. Every gardener has his troubles 
if he must depend on the farm-yard for manure. The garden and the 
farm become separate interests ; and the less the two superintendents 
have to do with each other the better. Tan is as good as dung for forcing 
Sea-kale, and a two-light box will yield you a large supply ; half-a-light 
would be enough at a time, if the roots are closely packed; and thus you 
might fill your lights at four times a week between the times. You 
would require at least from two-and-a-half to three feet of tan. Instead 
of covering the tops with tan, or a thickness of ashes either, it would be 
better to darken the box completely. In fact, a few boards, old doors, 
&c., so as you can exclude light, is just as good for the purpose as the 
finest garden-frame in the world. Do not mix old and new tan together, 
or the heat will be too violent, and of short continuance. You may place 
old tan on the top for the roots to be placed in. The same roots will not 
do the following year, unless they are planted-out early, and well-attended 
to in summer ; but they will be fine plants for a second season. Al¬ 
though involving a little more trouble, this lifting and transplanting 
mode is more economical and certain than forcing in the beds, unless 
the beds are furnished with pigeon-holed walls, and heated by linings 
or hot water. The same beds will do for Potatoes and Carrots after¬ 
wards, but you cannot mix the tan with advantage; and instead of 
attempting to make a bed large enough to suit all these purposes at first, 
it is much better to keep a supply of tan dry in a shed, and add a little, 
and fresh stir the material every time you change your Sea-kale plants, 
or when you turn them all out and bring in the bed for Potatoes. Of 
course, for the late and early Carrots, light will be indispensible. 
Bees Swarming—how to Prevent.— C. T. says—“This season I 
possessed a strong hive of bees, and about two months back I cut a hole 
in the top (being a common straw hive), for the purpose of giving more 
room, and for filling glasses—the size of the glass was ten-and-a-half 
inches high, and eighteen inches round—which they began about the 
24th of May, and have nearly filled it; and I hoped, by having it ven¬ 
tilated at top, to prevent their swarming, but for some days they have 
hung outside, and on Sunday morning they swarmed. Can you inform 
me of any certain plan to prevent their swarming ? ” Had you given 
your bees a box of three-and-a-half or four inches deep between the 
glass and the hive, or had you even raised the glass from the hive one- 
eighth of an inch, swarming would, in all probability, have been pre¬ 
vented. Boom and ventilation, if properly attended to, will generally 
prevent swarming.—J. H. P. 
Inactive Bees.— An Amateur says:—“I have several hives of bees 
which are doing well, with the exception of one. It was a new swarm 
two years ago, and is in one of Taylor’s improved bar hives. Last year 
it produced a tolerable stock of honey, and threw off a swarm. At pre¬ 
sent the bees are inactive, and make no progress whatever. It is not a 
strong hive, and the numbers do not appear to increase.” The inactivity 
of youi bees arises, in all probability, from the loss of the queen, or from 
her not being a healthy one. Your remedy will be to join a cast to them, 
ei .„® r * rom jour own, or your neighbour’s apiary, and vigorous working 
will immediately follow. Payne’s “Bee-keepers Guide ” will direct you 
in doing it. J 
Cat Nuisance (A Constant Subscriber, Hammersmith).—We can 
only say that we know a gentleman who sets a large drop trap in his 
garden, and when they see it down, the gardener, without looking into 
it, puts it under water for half-an-hour. When taken out he is surprised 
to find that a cat had got into it. If your Cockerel decreases in weight, 
the weakness of the legs you describe is a very bad symptom. If he 
fooc? 3 UP U3 WCiellt he may rccovcr > supplied freely with nourishing 
Sr,u a A re C Tnnd n MAC A H l N i ES -Apply to Mr. Cantelo, Leicester 
tinuw to use them. knows ° f a singlc amateur vvho con ' 
♦WW A W 1 - U 9 HI t c * CBNS Curtis).—We never knew these walk upon 
frequently have Shanghae Chickens done so. If fed 
liourishingly, and kept out of the cold and damp, they recovered their 
strength, and walked on their feet when about a fortnight older, 
Rose Cuttings (1001).—Early spring is the best time for planting 
these. Two buds under ground, and one above ground, arc the best. 
They do not require bottom-lieat. 
Directions ( Rhyd-y-Gors ). — The direction is Mr. John Turner, 
Parkwood Springs, Neepsend, Sheffield. 
Ferns in Glass Cases ( Curiositas ).—Wipe the inside of the glass 
dry every morning, and let the foliage get dry once in the day, and the 
mildew will disappear. 
Unfruitful Trees (K .).—There is evidently a deficient supply of 
sap to the blossom, as that where the return of the sap was checked by 
a partial destruction of the bark has become productive. The subsoil 
requires draining, or some other cause renders the root-action of your 
trees inefficient. 
Pea Sowing (Georgius ).—It is useless to think of sowing any variety 
of Peas now. The autumn night frosts and mildew would destroy them. 
Double-yolked Eggs. —Mr. Saunders, of Cowes, Isle of Wight, 
says :—“ I placed a large speckled Dorking hen with a young white 
Cochin cock, several of her eggs were double-yolked. One measured 
seven inches in circumference, and weighed as nearly as possible a 
quarter of a pound. I set one apparently double-yolked egg, but prior 
to hatching accidentally broke it, finding two chickens alive in it. A 
friend tells me that amongst his speckled Dorkings" he frequently finds 
two live chicks in one egg, but that they are either too weak to break the 
shell, or kill each other in attempting to do so, as he never hatched any 
alive.” 
Crocus-seed Sowing (G. R.). —Sow in October, in a light, rich, 
open border. The seedlings will flower the second year. See very full 
directions in The Cottage Gardeners’ Dictionary. 
Rhubarb Wine ( Rowland B.). —As you have bottled it, we should 
allow it to remain bottled until age reduces the sweetness, which will be 
in another twelvemonth. Good wine cannotr be made in a day. 
Officers of Poultry Societies (J. V.).—' The officers of these 
Societies very usually exhibit at the Shows of the Societies to which they 
belong. There is no reason against it, except such as would exclude the 
officers of local Horticultural Societies from similarly exhibiting; yet 
these almost always do so. 
Gold and Silver Pheasants (A. II/.).—You may feed these and 
their chicks just as you do common Pheasants and their broods. We 
should not give them bread and milk, but all the other foods you mention 
are unobjectionable. 
Winter Barley ( Cymro). —It is a distinct variety, sown in the 
autumn for early feed, or to be cut for soiling cattle in the spring. It may 
be procured of any seedsman in almost every district of England.—J. B. 
Slugs (A Subscriber). —Dusting over the surface of the beds with 
quick-lime is the only preventive. 
Insect (Mary). —It is the Gordian Worm (Gordius uquaticus ). There 
is a draw ing and description of it in our 93rd number. 
Archangel Pigeons (A Constant Reader). —The Archangel Pigeons 
that we have had opportunities of observing have not been subject to 
diarrhoea, or other diseases, beyond the ordinary lot of the Columbidie 
generally. We have, however, made inquiries of others who have kept 
these birds, and will communicate the result. W. 
Phloxes, &c. (H.). — Your plant enclosed to us is not a Phlox, but a 
very pretty little rock plant, Helianthemum tomentosum; the other 
kind you mention is, probably, H. mutabile. They all root readily from 
cuttings, at the present season, if planted in the shade and under a glass. 
Phlox proewmbens, and P. subuluta, you can obtain of any respectable 
nurseryman. Mr. Weaver tells us of the Gentianella, that he never sees 
it do so well as when a small bed is allotted to it by itself, and the bed 
made good previously to planting it out. The soil may be sandy loam, 
mixed with a little leaf mould, or, if a little peat be mixed also all the 
better. He does nothing more to his, in a low, wet situation, for years, 
except giving a little top-dressing yearly, and taking care that the plants 
are never over-shaded with weeds, or other flowers planted near them. 
Names of Plants (Lancastriensis). — The blue flower Thymus serpyl- 
lum, or wild Thyme. The yellow flower Barbarea vulgaris, or Herb St. 
Barbara^ A double variety of this is the garden plant Yellow Rocket. 
(D. G. C.) —Your No. 1 is the So/lya heterophylla; a green house plant 
properly, though it may do out-of-doors under a warm wall, outside the 
greenhouse. No. 2 is a hardy out-door plant, Saponaria ocymoidcs, and 
a very nice thing upon a rockery or lump of stones. No. 3, Lycopodium 
ciesium, a very pretty stove club Moss. (F. W. G.)—\. Pelargonium 
hybridum. 3. Pelargonium fulgidum. 4. Pyrcthrum parthenium, var. 
plenum. 8. Mesembryanthemuin floribuudum. We cannot undertake 
to name florists’ flowers from singlc flowers ; and the same answer applies 
to your other specimens, sent under the reversed initials “ G. W. F.” 
(Violetta).— Yours is Trigonella ruthenica. (IK. IK. Ledger).—The 
small white flower, Saxifraga cotyledon; the other a variety of Thymus 
serpyllum. (C. H.G.). —We cannot name specimens of Florists’ Pelar¬ 
goniums from such specimens. No. 20 is Alyssum maritinum ; and 15 
is Pelargonium denticulatum. 
London : Printed by Harry Wooldridge, Winchester High-street, 
in the Parish of Saint Mary Kalendar; and Published by William 
Somerville Orr, of Church Hill, Walthamstow, in the County of 
Essex, at the Olfice, No. 2 , Amen Corner, in the Parish of Christ 
Church, City of London,—July 7 th, 1853. 
