THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, November 10, 1857, 
01 
TO CORRESPONDENTS* 
Flower-garden Plan (M. (?.).—The plan of this flower garden, 
or one just like it, lias been three times through our hands. It is the 
best plan we ^ ave seen f° r making the best of Verbenas. A middle circle 
seven feet across, then a circle of grass or gravel three feet to walk on ; 
outside this eight beds in a circle, each ending in the side of the 
walk; and an outer circle of beds, iti which each bed lies opposite the 
centre of two beds of the first circle. Mixed Verbenas, or variegated 
Geraniums, or a collection of mixed plants for the centre bed. Any two 
Opposite beds of the first circle of beds should be white flowers, which 
would leave three beds on each side of the whites. The middle bed of 
each three sets may be either scarlet or yellow, and the other two either 
yellow or scarlet, and all should be of dwarfer habit than the plants in 
the outer circles of beds. Scarlet, yellow, pink, purple, and blue for the 
outside beds, but every alternate bed in this circle may be mixed like 
the centre one—that would be the most telling way for the colours. Hut 
you might plant the centre beds with Salvia patens or Ageratum, so as 
not to see the beds behind till you came round ; then, by not seeing over 
the figure all at one view, any of the colours would do in any of the beds, 
so that pink or light purple does not come next a scarlet. We must 
not name particular plants for reasons often given. 
Red Spider (W. C.). —Keeping the airmoisterin the frames, dusting 
under the leaves with flowers of sulphur, and sprinkling sulphur over 
the surface of the soil, are the best remedy for the red spider on your 
Violets. They have been kept too close and too dry. 
Froit Culture (A Young Gardener). —We promise you that in our 
“ Fruit Gardening for the Many,” price fourpence, you will find all that 
you asliTor. Ample direc.ions for the cultivation of fruits, with lists of 
the best, and their merits. 
Outdoor Fernery ( Quercus ).—Make it next February, and plant 
the Ferns at that time. Sow acorns when they drop from the tree. 
That is the best time. If you keep them until spring they must be 
preserved in sand and sown in March. 
Orchids (S. J.). — We cannot help you as to the envelope. Send 
better specimens in a tin box packed in damp moss. Your tin box of 
the 24th arrived safely : the plant is Pitcairnia integrifolia. Hot water, at 
a temperature between 148° and 154°, will kill all the scale and not 
injure the plants. Apply it with a sponge gently, but quickly ; then lay 
the pots down on their sides, and syringe them with clean water of the 
same temperature. Repeat the application often, or until the pest is 
removed. 
Grapes {Mrs. Standen ).—Apparently Black Hamburgh, well ripened, 
but not of the usual size, nor well coloured. The Vine is too young. 
Removing Cryptomeria Japdnica (S. Y.). —This, twelve feet high, 
is a mere sapling, and may be removed without any danger. In its 
native country it reaches to a height of 100 feet. 
Names of Plants {F. G. Dutton). —Your Fern is Platyloma cordata, 
or Heart-leaved Platyloma. A very elegant species, native of Mexico. 
It requires the protection of a greenhouse. It is not particularly rare. 
(Clodhopper). —Your most beautifully - leaved plant belongs to the 
natural order Convolvulacete, and to the genus Argyreiu. It is pro¬ 
bably A. speciosa, and figured in the Botanical Magazine, under the 
name of Ipomcea speciosa. They require to ramble extensively before 
there is any chance of flowering them. The flower, if it is A. speciosa, 
is purple withinside and whitish outside. 
Moving Old Rose Trees. — (A. T.). —If the Roses are near the spot 
where they are to be now transplanted, and have green, healthy tops, as 
most perpetuals have just now, it is best not to cut them till the end of 
February, or later, but they should be very securely tied to stakes. The 
reason is this—the healthy leaves will so act upon the roots as to cause 
them to throw out young rootlets immediately, as Mr. Appleby con¬ 
templated in his instructions last week. Rut, on the other hand, if the 
leaves get the smallest damage between the lifting and the planting, or 
if they flag in the least, it would be folly not to prune the Roses at once, 
as bare shoots or browned foliage can add nothing to the secretions of a 
Rose or any other plant, and, meantime, may waste a large portion of 
the juices from which the secretions of next year will partly be derived. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
November 25th and 26 th. Gloucestershire. Sec., Mr. E. Trinder 
Cirencester. 
November 30th, and December 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Birmingham. 
Sec., Mr. John Morgan. Entries close the 2 nd of November. 
December 8 th and qth. Crewe. Secs., S. Sheppard and D. Mar- 
getts, Esqs. Entries close November 26 th. 
December 16 th and 17 th. Nottinghamshire. Entries close No¬ 
vember 18th. Hon. Sec., Mr. R. Hawkslev, jun., Southwell. 
December 30th and 31st. Burnley and East Lancashire. 
Entries close December 1st. Secs., Mr. Angus Sutherland and Mr. 
Ralph Landless. 
January 1st, 1858. Paisley. Poultry, Pigeons, and Fancy Birds. 
Sec., Mr. W. Houston, 14, Barr Street, Paisley. 
January 4th, 1858. Kirkcaldy Poultry and Fancy Bird 
Show. Sec., Mr. Bonthron, jun., Thistle Street. 
January 9th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, 1858. Crystal Palace. Sec. 
Mr. W. Houghton. Entries close December 12th. 
January lath and 14th. Dublin. Secs., T. M. Hutton and R. P. 
Williams, Esqs., Council Rooms, 212, Great Brunswick Street. 
Entries close November 21 st. 
January 19 th, 20 th, 21 st, and 22 nd, 1858. Nottingham Central. 
Sec., Mr. Etherington, jun., Notintone Place, Sneniton, near Notting¬ 
ham. 
February 3 rd and 4th, 1858. Preston and North Lancashire. 
Secs., Mr. R. Teebay and Mr. H. Oakey, 25, Fisliergate, Preston. 
Entries close January 18th. 
N.B .—Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
PRESTON POULTRY SHOW. 
Will you allow me to call the attention of the Com¬ 
mittee of the above Show to what appears to me to be 
an extraordinary omission in their prize sheet, whicli in 
every other respect is a handsome and liberal one? I 
allude to the Bantam’ classes, for which no plate is offered, 
and tor what reason 1 am at a loss to understand, unless j 
it be that the diminutive specimens are intended to he 
overlooked or slighted on account of their size. If that is 
really intended let them also pay half price tor admission; 
but if not, and a full admission fare be demanded, why not 
admit them to full privileges ? Are they really to he slighted 
because their crow is not loud enough to make itself heard 
in the committee room ? The only plea that appears at all 
reasonable under such marked ill-treatment is that the 
chances in competition are less. 
It this be the reason, the Committee have placed them in 
their present ignoble position. 1 beg to refer them to last 
season’s entries, where I find 11 'entries for Gold-laced, 
8 for Silver-laced, and 9 for any other variety of Bantams. 
These are not very heavy entries I will grant; hut if they 
will please now to compare these with a few other classes 
they will see at once that Bantam exhibitors have cause of 
complaint. Class 12, Pencilled Brahma Pootra, last 
season only four entries. Class 14, Light Brahma Pootra, 
only two entries. Yet these two classes have this season 
two pieces of plate and four money prizes to compete for ; or, 
in plain terms, there is a prize for every entry of last year. 
I do not wish to impugn the motives of this liberal Com¬ 
mittee, but it does strike me as rather singular that last 
season three silver cups and one second prize fell in the 
Brahma classes to one of the Secretaries of the Society. 
To this I have no objection, supposing them to have been 
fairly awarded; hut the competition was so small that the 
Society should have hesitated before it increased the pre¬ 
miums in these two classes, whilst it was decreasing in other 
classes where there was more competition. The White 
Dorkings last year only numbered three entries, yet the 
list for this season offers them three prizes. There are 
also some other classes in which the entries were fewer than 
the Bantams, and yet they have had their prizes increased. 
Will some plucky little (Preston) Bantam plead our cause 
in the committee room ? And ye noble Spanish knights, 
come gallantly to support your down-trodden, hut not crest¬ 
fallen, Little Brother Dandy. 
Nottingham Central Association for the Exhibition 
of Poultry, Pigeons, Canaries, and Rabbits. —This Asso¬ 
ciation will have its next Exhibition on the 20th, 21st, and 
22nd of January, and with every prospect of success. The 
prizes, and the extra prizes of seven cups or pieces of plate, 
and extra prizes of money, varying from £i 0 to «£4, are very 
liberal. We recommend the prize-lists to the attention of 
exhibitors. That for Canaries is unique. We have one 
question to ask, however. Upon what grounds have the 
Committee totally separated the Brahma Pootra class from 
the Cochin-China classes ? Hamburglis and Malays are 
placed between them. Now, there is no doubt that Brahma 
Pootras and Cochin-Chinas are merely sub-varieties of one 
and the same breed. 
HINTS ABOUT POULTRY SHOWS. 
“In medio tutissimus ibis.” 
(Thou slialt go most safety in a middle course.) 
As an old correspondent of The Cottage Gardener I 
think at this season of the year a little gossip concerning 
future exhibitions of poultry would not be out of place. The 
statements in a recent number headed “ Entry Charges 
and Sale Prices” I fully endorse, and would descant on 
the former comments as being especially opportune at this 
date, seeing that various programmes of future exhibitions 
are promulgated. In the first place, have the extensive 
prizes for poultry been productive of corresponding entries 
and gain ? Most certainly not; and most undoubtedly they 
