401 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 30 1858. 
beds, or pots, nor begin before the middle of April. That is all the 
secret. The next best way is to treat them in all respects like Cauli¬ 
flowers ; the third best is to do them like Brussels Sprouts; and the 
last way is to sow where they are to flower, like Mignonette. A 
very slight hotbed, with a couple of handglasses, is better than the 
best hotbed. Cover the bed with two inches of finely sifted leaf mould, 
with a small portion of very light soil; press it, sow thinly, and keep 
down the glass till the seeds sprout; then tilt, and give abundance of 
air all day. When the plants have four good leaves, prick them out 
on a bed three inches thick, of one-half very rotten dung and one-half 
soil, just four inches apart; from that move them to the best and 
richest piece of ground in the garden. 
Australian Seeds (B. and JF.). —The best way to treat all these 
seeds would be to make a present of them, for they are not worth the 
trouble of rearing. A shilling packet of mixed seeds, from some 
flower garden, would be worth a bushel of them. But if you make a 
“ close hotbed ” of a one-light box, with a bottom heat of 75°, all that 
are alive of your seeds will come up ; sow them in any light kind of 
soil, and prick off the seedlings in three parts peat, one part loam; 
and, after the plants are well rooted, treat them like Geraniums. 
Greenhouse Vinery {Amateur). —You should have commenced with 
45°. You will not manage Vines and bedding plants too well, in the 
same house, if you commence so on the 1st of March; but would do 
so if you delayed three weeks or a month. You ask, however, so many 
minutiae, that we shall try and answer more in detail, in a week or two. 
Glass for Vinery {S. C. G.). —Decidedly, if you use Hartley’s 
Rough Patent, you will want no shading. If you have front lights, 
most people would prefer crown or sheet glass there, that they might 
see through it. 3 
Seeds of Aquatic Plants ( J.G .).—No such seeds are to be obtained. 
The plants are propagated by division. 
White Wash for Labels {A Lad;/) .—That sent seems to have been 
white lead, made very liquid with spirit of turpentine. 
Hot Ammoniacal Wash for Trees [E. if.).— You have had full 
particulars from “ Upwards and Onwards,” and we can only add 
that he is quite trustworthy. 
East Aspect for a late Vinery [Amateur). —The aspect is not so 
desirable as one more south, but it will do very well, especially if you 
do not attempt to force early. If the south end at least had glass, 
mstead of brickwork, it would be all the better. 
Heating a Small Greenhouse {Rcrm Matthias). —For a house 
twenty-two feet long, fourteen feet wide, and fourteen feet high at the 
back, sixty feet of two-inch pipe would not enable you to keep out frost 
in general winters, far less to keep in health such "plants as Passiflora 
alata. Such plants may be kept safely for short periods, and also 
Allamandas, from 42° to 45° ; but the last should be looked upon as 
their lowest average during the winter ; along with comparative dry¬ 
ness at the roots, and a good increase from sunshine when possible. A 
safer average would be 50°. We do not fancy two-inch pipes, but 
would rather never use them less than three inches, for reasons given 
several times ; sixty feet of these will be also insufficient for your pur¬ 
pose. We should like three times as much, or four pipes of four-inch 
size, and laid almost level, as practised by Mr. Hume, at the Poles. If 
it was only a greenhouse, from which in severe weather you merely 
wished to exclude frost, two four-inch pipes would do, or three of 
three-inch. It is a mistake to suppose, that for such a house hot water 
will give less trouble, and incur less expense than a flue. You would 
not like to go to the expense of a large boiler, and when the fire is out 
the water will soon cool, and much heat will escape by the chimney; 
but in a flue a great quantity of heat is absorbed by the bricks, and will 
be given out to the house, even after the fire is out. The fruit of Pas¬ 
siflora edulis is good to eat. Your plant, we suspect, was killed by 
frost before you raised it. 
Error. —InMr. Fish’s able communication on “ Social Economics,” in¬ 
stead of “ from Tweed to Fatherland,” read “ fromTweed to Sunderland.” 
Petunia British Quben.— The Rev. F. W. Adey, the Cell, Mark- 
gate Street, Herts, wishes to obtain cuttings. 
Zoophytes. — A Subscriber will be obliged by being furnished with 
Mr. Hall’s address. 
THE POULTRY CHRONICL 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
April 7th and 8th. Newcastle and Northumberland. Sec., Mr. 
W. Trotter, South Acomb, near Newcastle. 
June 2nd, 3rd, and 4tli. Bath and West of England. Sec., Mr. 
John Kingsbury, Hammet Street, Taunton. 
June 28th, 29th, and30th, and July 1. Sheffield. Sec., Wm. Henry 
Dawson, Sheffield. 
July 8th. Prescot. Sec., Mr. James Beesley. 
August 30th and 31st, and September 1st. North Hants. Sec., Mr. 
T. Moore, Fareham, Hants. 
N.B.— Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
OFFICIALS EXHIBITING- AT THE POULTRY 
SHOWS OYER WHICH THEY PRESIDE. 
I think much of the ill-feeling, lately displayed in your 
columns against Mr. W. C. Worrall, is due not only to his 
attack upon a poultry Judge, who (to say the least) is amongst 
poultry breeders very popular, but to the fact of reports Hying 
about that are quite as likely to damage the Liverpool Show 
as Mr. W. C. Worrall. 
^ It is notorious that the two Secretaries of the Liverpool 
Show almost divided the principal prizes amongst them, while 
another member of the Committee was a successful candidate 
also. I am told by good judges that they deserved all their 
success, and I have no doubt of it myself, from what I know 
ot their birds; but still, is it well that exhibitors should be 
officials at the same Show ? I know not the course at Liver¬ 
pool, but elsewhere the Committee arrange the placing of the 
pens, the Secretaries also accompany the Judges, and book 
their awards; and when other breeders, on the first opening 
of the doors, rush in to know their fate, they would think no 
worse ot their ill luck if they did not find themselves beaten 
by the worthy officials, who they see, perhaps, ticketing 
“Commended” on their unfortunate pens, while the Cups 
go to the aforesaid Secretaries, or Committee men. 
Perhaps, too, at the doors are buyers, who are waiting (in 
good time) to get the first cheap lot that meet their views; 
and, although absolutely first spectators of the Show, will 
find (three seconds after the opening of the doors) “ Sold ” 
on several cheap prize pens. 
For my own part, 1 think no exhibitor should have any¬ 
thing to do with arranging the pens ; much depends on this : 
nor should he, or his agent, be allowed to enter before the 
appointed hour of opening. What say you, Mr. Editor ? 
1 see, in No. 494, a Mr. Gilliver mentioned; also, com¬ 
plaints as to eggs ; but let us, as poultry breeders, keep our 
Shows and names above even a shadow of suspicion, and thus 
keep our— Honour Bright. 
[We think that Mr. Worrall showed great want of judg¬ 
ment in attacking a Judge’s opinion at all, publicly : he should 
have complained to the Committee. But he was still more 
particularly wrong in attacking Mr. Hewitt’s judgment of 
Hamburghs; for we think we had evidence, last year, that 
Mr. Worrall not only lauded Mr. Hewitt’s knowledge of that 
variety of poultry, but asked him to purchase for him any 
which he considered of superior excellence. 
We begin to incline to the opinion, that the officials of a 
Poultry Show should, at that Show, neither directly, nor in¬ 
directly, exhibit fowls. We know, during the past year, great 
disgust expressed at Secretaries carrying off rnanv prizes. 
There was nothing wrong, probably, in these triumphs ; but 
they had better have been achieved at some other Exhibition. 
—Ed.] 
LIVERPOOL POULTRY SHOW. 
If “FairplaY” lias no very prudent motive for with¬ 
holding his real name, and will communicate it through your 
columns, I shall be happy to reply to his questions about the 
favour said to be shown to Wm. Gilliver, at Liverpool; 
otherwise, having an objection to this un-English bush¬ 
fighting, I must decline to do so. 
I humbly suggest to you, that it would place poultry cor¬ 
respondence on a better footing if all such communications 
as that of “ Fairplay” were withheld until proper signatures 
are attached, as required in your reply to “ J. IL,” in “ Our 
Letter Box” of the 16th inst.—W. C. Worrall. 
[If “Fairplay” had not sent us his real name and address, 
his communication would have received the same reply which 
we gave to “ J. H.”—Ed.] 
HAMBURGH FOWLS AT THE PRESTON 
SHOW. 
Mr. Worrall’s letter in The Cottage Gardener, dated 
23rd of February, with respect to the judging of Hamburghs, 
ought to be endorsed by every exhibitor in that class. Let 
exhibitors of that class of poultry either have a Judge, who 
understands every point in the Hamburghs, or let them cease 
to exhibit. 
Mr. Worrall’s was not the only case, at Preston, where 
awards were given to birds that were worthless. Now, mark 
j ou, I am speaking of the Hamburghs, as I do not understand 
any other class. At a great many other Shows such has been 
the case. I have seen first prizes awarded in numerous in- 
