THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
417 
! September 1. 
No duty presses more imperatively upon a public 
journalist than the exposure of frauds; and, however 
unpalatable the duty may be, it is one from which we 
have not, and will not shrink. Two cases of deception 
have recently been brought to our notice in poultry 
transactions, and we lose no time in recording them as 
warnings to our readers. 
The prevailing taste dictates that those buff Shanghae 
pullets are to be preferred which have no black feathers 
in their hackle. One was bought recently in which no 
such black marks appeared, but, after being kept a short 
time, some spots began to peep forth. Upon a closer 
examination, it was then found that many of the ob¬ 
jectionable feathers had been plucked away, and that 
the black points of others had been ingeniously re¬ 
moved. The scissors had been employed in this 
instance; but we are told that in some other cases the 
blackness had been removed, or mellowed down, by the 
gentle but repeated use of the pumice stone. 
The next instance of fraudulent deception was in 
the case of a Spanish cockerel. His white face was 
unusually large and well-developed for so young a bird; 
indeed, so much so, that a good judge of this breed of 
fowls gave for him a large price. Since the purchase, 
it is discovered that the bird’s cheeks had been shaved 
and painted white! 
We know dishonesty is so prevalent among horse- 
dealers, that any fraudulent iniquity among them is 
considered customary and unexceptionable; indeed, we 
know of an old horse that was so metamorphosed by 
one of the profession, that its former proprietor bought 
it as a young horse a few months after selling it. Such 
deceptions, we hope, will not prevail among poultry 
fanciers; but we fear that the only safeguard is vigil¬ 
ance on the part of the purchaser. He must not only 
be vigilant in examining birds before buying them, but 
he should be well acquainted with the character of then- 
vendors. Sorry are we to have the conviction forced 
upon us, that there are among these some from whom 
we are entitled to expect purer conduct than evidence 
now before us permits us to think really characterizes 
them. 
THE PLANTING SEASON. 
We are now approaching that period of the year 
when most good and experienced planters like best to 
carry out planting operations; more especially of large 
evergreens. A few years since, the questions of autumn 
and spring-planting were much mooted, and, at the 
commencement of these debates, the advocates on either 
side seemed to be nearly equal; since then, however, 
there can be little doubt that a vast number of the 
spring planters have either come over to the supporters 
of the autumn side of the question, or have ceased to 
press their own views. 
For my own part, I confess to a decided prepossession 
in favour of autumn-planting ; I cannot remember the 
time when I could feel a bias in favour of the operation 
in spring. I have been in the habit of removing trees 
and shrubs annually for some thirty years, at least, and, 
therefore, must lay claim to a fair share of experience; 
and having moved them at various periods, the spring, 
-_*_-_ 
generally only as a matter of necessity, I have been 
able to mark the various degress of success. 
In order to understand the true bearing of this 
question, it may be well to chat over the atmospheric 
conditions prevalent at the respective periods of autumn ! 
and spring; to examine what the probabilities are, and 
what the conditions most suitable to the planter; after i 
this, I will take the liberty of pointing to a few import¬ 
ant practical facts. 
One feature, of no small consequence in autumn¬ 
planting, presents itself on the very face of the subject; 
and although not involving, by itself, any great principle ; 
connected with the well-being of the tree, is worth 
placing in relief—it is the economical bearing of the 
matter. If I can show that the chances are in favour of 
autumn-planting, I can also show that such recommend¬ 
ation comes with double force in the eyes of practical 
men; and to hint that the out-door demands on labour 
is by far greater in the month of March than in Sep¬ 
tember or October, is to point to a mere truism. 
Perhaps this may be thought to account for the predi¬ 
lection our old practicals have, in the main, for getting 
such work a-head. 
.But now to the arguments in favour of autumn-plant¬ 
ing, or rather to the pros and cons in the affair; for we 
must look both sides full in the face. What, then, are 
the conditions most favourable to the speedy rooting of 
a shrub or tree, be the period of the year what it may ? 
First, bottom warmth, equal to keeping up the vital or 
active forces of the tree; and not only that, but one 
superior, by a few degrees in the average, to the heat of 
the surrounding air. Secondly, a rather moist condition j 
of the atmosphere, if not for the purposes of absorption, 
at least, in order to act as a check on the perspiratory 
organs of the suffering tree, which is now in a condition 
ill qualified to afford the copious perspirations of estab¬ 
lished trees. And, thirdly, a steady ground moisture, to 
which may be added, the absence, as far as possible, of 
drying winds. 
Any one who will take into consideration, fully, the 
respective characters of the autumn months and those 
of the spring, will at once see the vast superiority of the 
former as to planting. That the desirable conditions 
enumerated are correct, in the main, our first-rate 
gardeners will, I am persuaded, bear a ready witness. 
Men who have been familiar with the art of propagation 
by cuttings, &c., for many years, both in a scientific and 
practical point of view, are, it must be admitted, in a 
good position to ascertain the value of such consider¬ 
ations. It may appear strange to some to talk of 
propagation by cuttings, as bearing on the subject of 
transplantation; but,-probably, a familiarity with such 
gardening necessities is better calculated to create a 
correct judgment as to planting matters than most 
gardening processes. , 
The argument concerning the great utility of ground- 
heat, has been, in my opinion, too much neglected in 
this question. Mere novices in horticulture, would, 
perhaps, wonder at a practical for making a fuss about 
some four or five degrees of ground-heat, when the 
subject to be planted is nothing but a huge Holly or 
Laurel. But such should learn, that it is with Hollies 
or Laurels, as with Turnips and Cabbages. He is the 
best planter who can, in the most speedy way, coax the | 
tree or plant to become familiar with its new locality, j 
Now, it is quite clear that September and October 
possess considerable advantages, in this respect, over j 
February and March, or, indeed, any intermediate 
month. It is perfectly superfluous to go over argu¬ 
ments to prove this; and 1 proceed on the assumption 
that I have made the case out. 
The second consideration is about the average 
amount of air-moisture, taking it for granted that dry¬ 
ness in the air, by robbing the newly-planted tree of | 
