THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 12, 1861. 
F “!“ s l T - IL JO—The Vines having their 
for r.l nts h ^rl fnv l v V *5* aRthe b , etter : The glass will do admirably 
ioi plants, and for Vines if not forced early—that is to sav if nnf inn 
A b Sum F e r an , nUalS ta A ke Ul 1 fol . lowin S : —Acroclinium roseum (h-li.a.); 
Aoeiatiim cceruleum, A. ccelestinum nanum (h-h.a.), A. mexicanum. 
A. odoratum; Alonsoa incisifolia, A. Warczewiczii; Alyssum areentcum 
ibeHdifoliaTh ; Barton’iaa^laTBecome 
morata C Tn-\ tkmson . iana > C ' atro-sanguinea, C. mar- 
Danula’mmondr; OaHiehroa digitata, C. pedata (h-h.a.); Cam¬ 
panula specula, Cladanthus arabicus ; Clarkia milehelbi (’ -lllvi anri 
CoUinsia, sorts (sow twic/)? 
Eutoci 0 f kinT. rnf o i etleS j . Dla » th " s Heddewigii; D. laciniatus (h-h.a.) 
Jdauoca ol kinds , Godetia rubicund?., G. Lindleyana, G. rosea alba • Hi his 
cus ncanus, and others; Iberis of kinds, but must be"fi5»yed 
Lobeb'fs'n a . ,nello T ldes ; Leptosiphon of kinds, must be prevented seeding ■ 
S?? 81 ! L ' grac . iIis > L ‘ ramosa > &c. (h-h.a.) • Lupinus nanus for 
variegated Smnnh?.*5? man /., mo . re . for . taU bcds 1 Mimulus, mixed 
.1° damp place Nemophila msignis, sow in April and Tune 
ffl taraxifona 8 X e . ; ^ era feitchii, <E. D^mmondi^ana,’ 
rh h=\ ii ,’ S c,; PenlIa nankinensis for foliage: Petunias of sorts 
foi sandl Lsl X ,i Dr T m ° ndi v ? rieties ( h - h - a >! Portulaca of colours h!foa) 
and others 8 ? ^rn!L P f 06 ®£ rr0L L k 1 W0rk 5 Saponaria calabrica; Silene pendula 
,„r“ eis ’ Tropseolum Tom Thumb, scarlet,!, yellow; Verbena vennsa 
n ^° tbers f ; , ani i add China Asters, Stocks, Marigolds, Zinnias &c H-h a 
means half-hardy annual, to be raised in heat and planted out! 
th^paragraph^unti?toodatef ^° U qUite rigbt; ™ did not notice 
when co!ked AT vet LT t ? R0STED f [ E - H.)~-Though they taste sweet 
planting them/ ’ th y 11 vegetate > we 6hould ba ve no hesitation in 
Melon Culture Myrtle Frosted ( W. B.). — Treat the Melon the 
le^/fr • t a? fi CUCUmb r- 0nl T give a ^'le more /eat bv a sponger itfng or 
ilints have three nrT g I ? am \ nStead of U * ht ,ich loam, when t our 
tblee four large leaves. Then, as the fruit gets to its 
last swelling, keep the atmosphere dry ; and if water is needed trv *vnd 
given without wetting the surface of the soil. Kndeavou” alsoto let as 
I 1 " 1 , 1 as T° u ? allt at once. One plant would be enough for a space 
6 feet by 3 feet, and about four fruit would be enough. If not set at the 
settfne more hefo ^ - S S?t a " d takc T S the lcad - >’ ou will have difficulty in 
IZ 1U SZ° ? b ? e U *? ripening. Leave the Myrtle alone, keep it cool 
and when it pushes cut back to the live wood, and not before. ’ 
iTs G Buns EI fV A « A p IC ;' NS t.? R0WI ;V G ™ly—Cyrtoceras reelexa shedding 
IkLiY? 8 ,^0.—Plunge the Gardenia in a sweet bottom heat of tan or 
When d done bllSf off f ° l \ the greenhouse as the plants comein bloom. 
When done blooming, repot in peat and loam, and encourage growth 
keot t//w/t , mIn‘ / hT (now called Hoya corincea ), will drop its buds if 
Tho/°-? ^ 6t ii u b du weatber - or very dry during several bright days 
The soil should not be too retentive of moisture. b * 
wW 10 ^^ Roser L (-JT- M. P .)—Your request is only another form of 
Taimot y® ® xplamed from the beginning as an impossibility. We 
x Pl ? We haVe not scen ‘ If y° u will first arrange and plant 
simLa- y p aD ° r v l roserv, and send it to us for our opinion and for such 
suggestions as may be thought useful, you may command our aid. IIow- 
®J® r ’ Roses > no matter how arranged, will never rise higher in the 
accent g eT en Ti S of Ro '"' f er gardens than as neutral beds, white kinds being so 
aC ^ ed Y Tbe wisest resolve which we have registered since the new year 
d£nrf n by P onald * of Hampton Court, in which he is to plant aU the 
We a hLfthrt^l la hi^e?f: den ° ntIleir ° Wn roots and ’ n neutrai beds. 
Planting Old-fashioned Flower-beds (S .).~You have reallv suc- 
ceeded m making the best of a very difficult garden to plant. 9 and 26 are 
the only two beds we disapprove of. Pass 9 round as edging to 15 and 19 • 
remove ^6 and put it in 9; then, if you could repeat 7 in 26, vou would 
make a gem of it. If not, any Diadematum or young Prince of Orange 
would match 29 better than the Unique. g 
,V N V A n S near Drawing-room, &c. [BelfastSi(bscriber).-Wne Nemo- 
phila,_ Collinsia bicolor, Gillia tricolor, and the purple and white Clarkias 
and circles of Mignonette round the beds, are the best annuals for vour 
purpose for the first part of the season; and to follow them use China 
Asters, Stocks, Ten-week Stocks, French and African Marigolds, Lavatera 
and Persicaria. And if you could get up Saponaria calabrica, so as to 
transplant it out in July, and use it like Mignonette in broad belts round 
the outsides of the beds, it would make a good addition ; but to attempt 
flower-gardening with annuals is a chimera—they are only fit as helps to 
supplement the permanent bedders. The Magnolia fuscata you have iust 
heard about seems to be the very plant to suit the back of your greenhouse 
It is very easy to make it grow if you get a good plant and see that a fresh 
border is made for it. 
Salting Asparagus-beds (A Header ).—Your employer is quite right 
Do not give the beds a heavy coat of salt at the time you fork the surface’ 
but merely a slight sprinkling, and repeat that sprinkling once a month 
until the stems are dying off in the autumn. Asparagus is a native of the 
sea-coast, as is the Sea-kale, and both of them are invigorated by salt. 
Names of Plants (W. IL). Your plant is Chaerostoma polyanthum, a 
native of the Cape of Good Hope. There are a drawing and description of 
it in the “ Botanical Register ” for 1847. {Mrs. Boucher).—A. verv good 
specimen of Lastrma filix-mas var. incisa. 
POULTRY AND BEE-KEEPER’S CHRONICLE. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
March 13th and 14th. Plymouth. Sec., Mr. \V. R. Elliott, 5, Windsor 
Villas. Entries close March 1st. 
April 1st and 2nd. Sunderland. Sec., John Littlefair, 6, Bridge Street 
Entries close March 19th. ’ * 8 ’ 
May 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. Chesterfield and Scarsdai.e. Hon See 
Mr. Thos. P. Wood, jun., Boytliorpe House, near Chesterfield. Entries 
close May 1st. 
May 22nd and 23rd. Beverley. Hon. Sec., H. Adams. Entries close 
May 4th. 
and 7th. Bath and West of England. Steward, 
S. Pitman, Esq. Entries close May 1st. 
June 28th and 29th. Taunton. See., Mr. Charles Ballance. Entries 
close June 14th. 
July 2nd and 3rd._ Blackpool. Sec., Mr. E. Fowler, jun. 
Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
MORTALITY AMONG DORKING CHICKENS. 
I have lost a quantity of my Dorking chickens this year, the 
cause of which I cannot discern. At about ten days or a fort¬ 
night old they drop their wings and appear to have no use in 
their legs; at the same time eat well. I have kept them from 
the time of hatching in a second-floor room (wood floor), and 
fed upon crumbs of bread, boiled eggs, wheat, rice, groats, and a 
little cooked meat. Sand is thrown about the room, and, of 
course, they have a good supply of water. —Banker. 
[The cause in all probability of the mortality among your 
chickens is divided between the locality and the diet. On a 
boarded floor young chickens will not thrive, and would do 
| better under a shed or even under the shelter of a dry bank. An 
artificial floor is much against them should they live ; they 
generally become deformed both at the knee-joint and toes • 
the nails of these latter turning up in the air instead of being 
hooked and adapted for scratching in the earth. All Cochin 
fanciers will remember how many birds with these defects were 
seen in the days of the “mania,” when birds were forced into 
early maturity in greenhouses and warm rooms to get them into 
the market before the price declined. We remember seeing the 
birds of one lady, an enthusiastic fancier, who had given up her 
conservatory to her chickens. Their toes from the hard floor had 
all taken the upward direction ; and to remedy this she manu- 
factured several sets of splints for their feet, and the unhappy 
chicks wore them by turns. With regard to the food, it is all 
good except the rice and meat. For some of the groats and hard 
corn you should substitute meal, or else you give the digestive 
organs of birds so young too hard a task, and that under cir¬ 
cumstances in which they can get but little help from Nature. 
If you have no other place than the chamber you mention for 
them, give them in one corner a good heap of ashes to dust in, 
and some rough grit (not sand) from which they may get little 
stones, &c. Some fresh lettuce leaves, if your garden now 
affords them, would be appreciated by them much.] 
POULTRY KILLED BY EXCESSIVE FEEDING. 
We have lost two Ducks and three hens. They have laid up 
to the day of their death. The Muscovy Duck accompanying 
this took its breakfast well and heartily. She was discovered 
two hours afterwards lying on the ground with her legs stretched 
out straight behind, snorting and breathing violently, had a 
succession of struggling fits, which were relieved by chloric 
ether and plunging her in hot water, after which she was quieter, 
and laid an egg on the hearthrug before the fire. We then gave 
her castor oil in a little sherry. She slept about three hours, 
when the fits came on again. We had no more chloric ether at 
hand. She died in the second fit. 
The Brahma Pootra hen sent with this went into the nest on 
Sunday, as if to lay. Remaining three or four hours and not 
laying, was taken off. She walked very well across the yard, 
and ran into a corner. She voided slime, white and yellow like 
half-formed eggs, was put in a basket, had a pill of calomel, and 
tartar emetic, supposing it to be disease of egg-organs. Next 
morning seemed better, ate nothing, died 10.30, by side of 
parlour fire. 
Food .—Indian corn boiled six hours, barley and oats al¬ 
ternately, scraps from kitchen, and one-quarter hour daily run in 
garden.— Daisy and Lady. 
[After a minute and careful examination of the hen and Duck, 
the only conclusion we can come to is, that they were killed by 
kindness. On opening the hen the gizzard, intestines, and ovary 
were all found to be enclosed in solid yellow fat, just such as is 
produced by an Indian corn diet. The embryo eggs had burst 
and lost all shape, forming a mass of fatty, pulpy matter mingling 
with the intestines. The gall-bag had disappeared, the liver was 
very pale and flaccid, and the heart very fat, the lungs healthy. 
From the great quantity of fat in the bird it is a wonder that 
she had not died in laying before now. 
The Duck had been diseased for some time; but all the 
