352 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, September 1, 1857. 
butter rind pepper. When old the flesh may be made into soup like any 
other of the Pumpkin tribe. There is a good recipe at page 43 of our 
No. 5. 
Tomtits and Bullfinches. — E. C. K. says that if Mr. Brent 
will “ put nets over a couple of his Gooseberry trees so as to exclude 
bullfinches, &c., he will guarantee him a much finer crop on them than 
on those pecked by his favourite birds.” Our experience teaches us 
that bullfinches are mischievous both to buds and fruits, but we do not 
think tomtits are, for they are soft-billed birds. 
Grapes for Greenhouse (A. B.). —Two Black Hamburghs and 
one Black Champion, in your house twenty feet long, will be best for 
you. You must not let them exclude much light, or your flowers will 
not flourish. Two-year-old plants growing now in pots will come soonest 
into bearing turned out into the border inside the house. Four parts 
turfy loam and one part of lime rubbish will be the best compost. 
Geranium (G. A.).— It was all in fragments and dry. Damp moss 
in a stout box, and a truss with the flowers only half opened when 
gathered, are the mode to send Geranium flowers to us. 
Preserving Kidney Beans (G. T. F.), — Try the mode recom¬ 
mended for Peas in our No. 4d4. 
Diseased Grapes (Miss Peacock ),—They are shanked. The roots 
are torpid from being too deep in the ground, or from some other cause ; 
they may want more air, more warmth, more moisture, or more food. 
Names of Plants (A Young Gardener). —No. 1 Fern is the Adi - 
antum pubescens, native of New Holland. 2. Lastrcca thelypteris. 
3. A.splenium adiuntum nigrum. These two are British. ( Lonictra ).— 
Your shrub is one of the Arbor-vitses, Thuja Warreana or plicata. 
(Merioneth ).—Your plant is one of the Indian Shots, probably Cunna 
glauca. (H .).—Your plants are the Teconia jasminoides, of the natural 
family Bignoniads, and Sedum telephium, or common Orpine. ( W. 
C.). —No. 1. Gomphocarpus fruticosus, the Willow-leaved Gompho- 
carpus. No. 2. (Enothera macrocarpa, the Missouri Evening Primrose. 
(G.). —Sparganiurn ramosum, the Bur-reed. (T. M.). — Gnidia simplex, 
Flax-leaved Gnidia, a hardy, airy greenhouse plant. You can have 
the cases by post, you paying the postage. 
Green-edged Petunia (Petunia), — All shrivelled up ; but it does 
not seem to differ from many others we have had sent to us. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
September 2nd. Dewsbury. Sec., Harrison Brooke, Esq. 
September 4th. Sowerby Bridge. Sec., F. Dyson, Esq. Entries 
close August 26th. 
September 7 th, 8th, gth, 10 th. Gloucester. Sec., Mr. H. Churchill 
King’s Head Hotel. 
September 9 th. Heckmondwike. Secs., Mr. G. H. Rhodes snd 
Mr. Fred. Brearley. Entries close August 31st. 
October 1 st and 2 nd. Worcester. Sec., Mr. G. Griffiths, 7 j St. 
Swithin Street, Worcester. Entries close Sept. 19 th. 
October 7th. South West Middlesex Agricultural Society. 
At Gunnersbury Farm, Ealing. Sec., J. Gotelee, Hounslow. 
November 30th, and December 1 st, 2 nd, and 3rd. Birmingham. 
Sec., John Morgan. Entries close the 2 nd of November. 
December 16 th and 17 th. Nottinghamshire. Entries close No¬ 
vember 18th. Hon. Sec., Mr. R. Hawksley, jun., Southwell. 
December 30th and 31st. Burnley and East Lancashire. 
Entries close December 1st. Secs., Mr. Angus Sutherland and Mr. 
Ralph Landless. 
January 4th, 1858. Kirkcaldy Poultry and Fancy Bird 
Show. Sec., Mr. Bonthron, jun., Thistle Street. 
January 9 th, llth, 12 th, and 13th, 1858. Crystal Palace. 
January 19th, 20 th, 21 st, and 22 nd, 1858. Nottingham Central. 
Sec., Mr. Etherington, jun., NotintonePlace, Sneinton, near Notting¬ 
ham. 
February 3rd and 4th, 1858. Preston and North Lancashire. 
Secs., Mr. R. Teebay and Mr. H. Oakey, Preston. 
N.B .—Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
HOT WEATHER AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. 
We have sometimes asked ourselves what would he the 
result of our Chronicle appearing in blank, save one little 
note to whom it might concern, that the Editor must have 
his holiday, and that he was taking it. Does heat engender 
laziness ? We do not confound idleness and laziness ; we 
would call the former a chronic complaint, and the latter an 
accidental weakness. For instance, we are now overcome 
with the weather. We have tried a walk in Hyde Park, we 
sought the fine old trees, and we laid down under their 
shade, and we slept away the time when we should have 
been writing. When we awoke we sauntered down Rotten Row, 
and there was a solitary horseman. If we are wrong we beg 
his pardon, but we think even now he was asleep. And we 
went down St. James’s Street, and looked in at the Clubs : 
there were two members in Boodle’s, one in Brooks’s, none 
in White’s, and three in the Conservative. In Pall Mall we 
saw three Guards-men asleep in the front. The Carlton and 
Reform looked, as usual, formal and clean, and we strolled 
into the Strand. Here we found life enough; indeed, there 
was too much for us in our semi-somnolent state, and we 
joyfully turned out of it to cross Waterloo Bridge. This 
hardly suited us. There was a time when Waterloo Bridge 
was what Southwark Bridge is—a place where you would 
send a man condemned to solitary confinement; hut the 
railway has altered it, and now there is a living tide. We 
could not get up to writing pitch, we had slept in the park, 
we had walked half dreaming thence to the Surrey side, and 
the sight of people hurrying along was painful to us. We 
sauntered, our eyes partially closed, our hands crossed 
behind our back, and ran heedlessly against people without 
minding the remarks to which such a course exposed us. 
We could have quarrelled with a post. We are afraid many 
of our readers know the feeling. Had it continued we 
know not what the contiguity of the Thames might have 
tempted us to do, hut the crowing of a Bantam cock roused 
us. We woke up close to a small crowd, and in front of the 
“happy family”—two monkeys, two rabbits, a dog, two 
cats, several rats, an owl, a cock and hen, and a tribe of 
sparrows. A full-blown smile decorated our features, and 
we felt a desire to feed them. Most men in London 
who follow a trade are tolerably good judges of the 
spot most favourable for its exercise. Thus in the parks, 
in the neighbourhood of the water where the swans frequent, 
itinerant vendors of cakes are to be found. In hot weather 
gingerbeer and lemonade follow every crowd. On the ice 
in the winter hot elder wine and brandy balls meet you at 
every turn. During the crowded May Meetings in Exeter 
Hall the doors are beset by vendors of oranges, and here, 
close to the happy family, was a retailer of cakes. The 
spell upon us was broken, and we determined to study this 
“ abode of bliss.” We invested largely in biscuits, and cast 
in pieces one or two at a time. The rat took a morsel from 
the dog’s mouth, mice fed from the crumbs that fell from the 
cat, and, save that the monkeys performed all sorts of antics 
and longed for mischief, it seemed to be verily the abode 
of love. But it was evident they were not hungry, and when 
we asked the man what the result would be if they were not 
fed for two days he only shook his head and laughed. The 
truth is they prey on each other for food, not from any 
antipathy. The monkey is naturally fond of teasing, and, 
hungry or not, he worried them all. 
We continued our walk on the Surrey side, and before we 
had reached the. New Cut we were in a poultry region. 
Fowls were running about in all directions; there were even 
a few ducks. We could but reflect that wherever the possi¬ 
bility occurs, there man gives way to his natural tastes and 
surrounds himself with animals. Here they were, within 
five minutes’ walk of the busy Strand, enjoying themselves in 
the public road. The effect of the Poultry Shows of late was 
very manifest. Ten yaars since the birds would have been 
such mongrels, no one could have ventured to guess their 
breed; now it was plain in every one. They were Cochins, 
Spanish, and Golden-spangled Hamburghs. Some of them, 
clean and in good condition, would have been good speci¬ 
mens. We continued our walk a little farther, and then 
saw some of the best Game fowls we have ever seen; in 
fact, we were suddenly in a poultry district in the heart of 
London. 
BRIDLINGTON POULTRY SHOW. 
This annual gathering took place at Bridlington on the 
19th ult., when about 300 pens of fowls were exhibited. 
The entries included the names of many of the principal 
breeders of the country. The Gold and Silver Hamburghs 
were very good. The Cocldn-China pens were also very 
superior. Mrs. A. Watkin, Walkley, near Sheffield, had a 
pen of very fine birds, but the prize was awarded to Mr. T. 
H. Barker, of Hovingham. As usual, the black Spanish 
fowls commanded no little attention. These pens were 
surrounded by a crowd of spectators during the day, and 
amid the bonnets, hoops, and crinoline of the fair gazers it 
was indeed difficult even to obtain a glimpse of those fashion¬ 
able and highly-valued birds, of which no less than nineteen 
pens were exhibited. The pens of Mrs. J. C. Hall, of Surrey 
House, of the Hon. W. W. Yernon, and of Dr. Pierson, who 
has carried off the prize here for many years, and is looked 
upon as the “ Rake ” of the north, were much admired. 
