1350 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
August 4. 
I water. The bulb, in a specimen measured by Mrs. Griffiths, 
I from deep water in Torbay, was a foot in diameter, and 
j supported a frond, which, when spread out upon the ground, 
formed a circle of at least 12 feet in diameter.” 
8. L. Saociiarina (Sweet).—“ On rocks between tide- 
marks ;*very common.” 
4. L. Phyllitis. —“Growing either on stones, or the 
stems of other Algce.” This plant, when gathered young, 
j makes very pretty specimens for the herbarium, adhering 
closely to paper. 
5. L. Fascia.— “ Frond 4 feet 12 inches long, and from 
two lines to an inch in breadth ; of a delicate membranous 
substance, and olivaceous colour.” 
CHORDA. 
“Root scutate; frond simple, cylindrical, tubular. Its 
cavity divided by transverse membranous septa into separate 
chambers. Fructification, a stratum of obconical spores, 
much attenuated at the base, covering the whole external 
! surface of the frond. The name signifies a cord.”— Harvey. 
Chorda filum (Thread-like).—In the sea, on stones and 
rocks ; very common ; the length to which it grows is sur¬ 
prising, being some times forty feet long. Dr. P. Neill says, 
“ In Orkney we have sailed through meadows of it in a 
pinnace, not without some difficulty, when the water was 
between three and four fathoms deep, and where the waving 
weed must have been from twenty to thirty feet long. This, 
too, was the growth of one summer, for the storms ol winter 
completely sweep it from the bay every year.” 
2. C. Lomentaria. —“Rocks in the sea; common. Fronds 
8—16 inches long, constricted at regular intervals into a 
series of bag-like articulations.”— Harvey. 
S. B. 
{To be continued.) 
POULTRY YARD REPORT. 
If you think the following of any use, in furtherance of 
your purpose in publishing the accounts of poultry keeping, 
I shall be glad to have sent it; you may rely upon its cor¬ 
rectness. I have ten Poland Hens, hatched last August; 
seven of these commenced laying in December at eighteen 
weeks old, the others in January; and to the 30th of June 
they had laid, in 
December - - - - 24 
January - - 125 
February - - - - 151 
March - - - - 181 
April - - - - 185 
May - - - - - 205 
June - • ' - - 109 
Total - - - - 1040 
They were fed on barley and oats, ground oats and bran, 
with cabbage leaves and the run of grass, at a cost of £4 8s., 
i or l%d. per week each, for ten hens, two cocks, and six 
ducks, wholly confined to the yard with the fowls, from the 
i 31st of August to the 30th of June, being forty-three weeks. 
I have neither set hens nor ducks, but when the hens were 
broody shut them up alone two or thi-ee days; they generally 
laid during the time, and continued to do so afterwards. 
I The greatest number laid by one hen was 138 eggs in 190 
i days ; and the fewest, 67 eggs in 154 days. They are still 
laying well.—J. S. 
' 
t - 
i 
PLANT COLLECTING TN BRAZIL. 
I am quite sure that your excellent correspondent, Mr. D. 
j Beaton, would be the last man to lead any one astray, or to 
’ take the part of the goat, in the Fable of “ the Goat and 
Sheep at the well," so well told by iEsop; yet, reading his 
most attractive article on “Brazilianplants,” in The Cottage 
Gardener of the 14th July, would almost tempt any one to 
take a trip out to Rio to see the floral wonders of that 
most beautiful country. Having resided there myself, I 
must, in justice, give a few words of warning before any 
ardent Florist rushes oft’ to secure the talked-of prizes. 
The aqueduct, truly, does run from the Corcovado to Rio ; 
but let not the innocent stranger imagine that he can stray 
away a few yards from it to secure some admired prize. If 
he did, he would soon find himself faster secured than 
Abram’s ram in the thicket, and will be only too glad to be 
cut out of the wood by his companion, if he is so fortunate 
as to have one. I have seen a friend, who endeavoured to 
secure a bird that he had shot, so entangled, in trying to get 
through ten yards of the underwood, that he, literally, could 
not stir hand or foot. 
Besides, the country for miles and miles, or rather leagues 
and leagues, about Rio, has been thoroughly pilfered by 
professional botanists, of whom there are plenty, both black 
and white, to provide the unwary stranger with any plant he 
will ask for; or something as like it as they dare tender as 
such! Then, again, poor Marsh, alas! is no longer in the 
land of the living to gladden his Rio friends with a hearty 
welcome, or to assist an enterprising botanist with his 
valuable advice and services. He has been dead some years, 
and his place is not what it was. 
Let all your readers beware of sending orders to corres¬ 
pondents for cases of plants. Such a venture will not 
answ r er, as too many know already to their cost. 
The Morro de Flamingo is no longer open to the botanist; 
for it was so plundered of its floral treasures, that the old 
lady to whom the estate belonged would allow no trespassers; 
but I fear she was only locking the stable after the steed 
was stolen. 
Last, but not least, that deadly scourge, the yellow fever, 
attacks all new arrivers, and but too few return to tell the 
sufferings they undergo.—W. X. W. 
COCHIN-CHINA COCKERELS AS NURSES. 
In last week’s Cottage Gardener, your correspondent, “A 
Poor Man’s Well-wisher” mentions having a Cochin-China 
cockbird which makes a capital nurse for young chickens. 
He seems desirous of having a confirmation of the fact. I 
have two young cockerels, both of which brood chickens as 
well as any hen can do, and also forage about for insects for 
them; they are not particular as to the breed of the chickens; 
they are at present brooding Dorking, Chittiprat, Spanish, 
and Cochin chickens, from three weeks to two months old ; 
during rainy weather the cockerels take the chicks under 
shelter and brood them, and will not eat themselves any 
food which I give them until they first see that the chickens 
have sufficient; when I give the cockerels any bread crumbs 
to eat they immediately call all the chickens, and break the 
large crumbs for the little chickens to eat, and will not suffer 
any of the hens to ill-treat any of the chickens under their 
cave. I have had about 200 chickens this season, and find 
the brooding propensities of the Cochin cockerels very 
useful, as my hens leave their chickens too early. 
Practical Man. 
THE SHARP-SHOOTER BUSH. 
Urtica serpylifolia, alias Dasyphylla, alias “ The Burning 
Bush.” This is the best looking, and the most harmless 
plant among all the Nettleworts, and yet, in some respects, 
it is the most formidable plant in the vegetable kingdom, or 
any other kingdom or state. When I was at the Oxford 
Botanic Garden, last autumn, I saw this little wonderful 
plant for the first time, and when I heard that one could 
learn all the manoouvers and stratagems of war from its 
natural disposition, and now being past the age at which 
they cease to enlist for militia service, and, also, having then 
not had the slightest idea of there ever being a camp at 
Chobham, or Cobham either, which is still nearer to me, I 
had but a slight chance of ever learning much about soldier¬ 
ing ; but still, having the fear of invasion before my eyes, I 
thought I could do no better than ask for a cutting of the 
war-like plant from Mr. Baxter, grow it at home, and learn 
