TITE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 2G, 1859. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Various ( Mina Ma). —Pansies -with extra petals are not uncommon; 
nor are semi-double varieties desirable, being less handsome than the single. 
Seedlings from Pelargonium seed sown in autumn will not bloom nextyeor. 
There are many white-flowered varieties. There is no pure white or pink 
Pansy; but there are light blue and orange. Raising varieties of Pansies 
and Pelargoniums may be effected without expense; therefore there can be 
no harm even if you do not raise any that are superior. If you do raise 
superior kinds they will reward you for your patience and perseverance. 
Sow the Dog's-tooth Violet now. We know of no yellow Verbenas. 
Large Hydrangeas in Small Pots—Lifting Vines ( T . Evans). —You 
put your letter in the wrong box, it ought to have been put into the 
Editor’s. But you people near Liverpool seem to think any port will do 
in a storm. The ivay they get those enormous large heads of Hydran¬ 
geas jn 48-pots is this':—They have strong old plants to get cuttings from; 
and in September, or later, 'or earlier, when they can feel the top of a 
shoot is set for bloom another year, they instantly cut it off with three 
joints, put it in a 60-pot, plunge it in a warm bed, and root it quickly 
without forcing the flower-bud any farther. Early in the spring they 
shift into the next largest size pot, and humour the plant so as to enable it 
to make the bloom as large as it would be if the shoot had never been cut 
off. Your plants struck this spring will make a bed next summer; but 
ten thousand of them would not furnish one bloom such as you want. 
The middle of September is the best time to lift Vines for making a new 
border; but all the materials ought to have been well mixed, turned over 
and over, and be ready on the spot by the 20tlr of the month ; then to 
begin at one end, and open the whole width of the border, get out the 
roots of the first Vine, pack them in damp mats till that part of the 
border is finished; then to spread out the roots, and to put only six inches 
deep of the compost over them atfirst; soon with the next and next Vine, 
till the last; hut if the drains are faulty, get the front one done right 
before you begin the trees, and the cross drains can be made as the border 
is being made. 
Bitterness in Cucumbers ( E. C. 7?.).—We have always suspected the 
reason why Cucumbers are bitter ; and the chief clue will be found in the 
fact, that they seldom are so except in the heat of summer and autumn, 
and rather fully exposed to the sun. The quicker grown a Cucumber is, 
the sweeter and crisper it is. It may be called a fruit, but, as used, it 
partakes of the general characteristics of a succulent vegetable. Give the 
plant full exposure to a powerful sunlight, thin the leaves, so that the 
fruit is also exposed, keep the plants dry, and not only does the fruit 
perspire its juices like the leaves, but its exposure causes it to assimilate 
properties, which it does not do when grown in moisture and kept from 
the sun’s rays either by shading or covering by its own leaves. At any 
rate, we have had frames yielding fruit that were as hitter as soot, hut 
when the larger ones were cut out, a little top dressing, and a good 
manure watering given, and shade also given in powerful sun until the fine 
foliage gives shade enough, the fruit from the same plants were as crisp 
and sweet as ever. Extra dryness, extia heat, and extra exposure to 
sunlight, in our opinion, are the causes of bitterness. What say our 
coadjutors! 
Hardy Ferns to Mix with Geraniums (An Amateur, Tyrone ).— We 
should select Ailiantum pedatum, Dastrcra intermedia, Osmunda regains, 
and Struthiopterispensylvanica. They are of different habits of growth, 
and may be obtained of Mr. Sims, nurseryman, Foot’s Cray, Kent. Dahlia 
is pronounced Dd-le-a, and Gladiolus, Gla-df-lus. 
Iron PuMrs (A Subscriber) _ Vf6 have seen very ornamental pumps at 
Messrs. Warner and Sons, and Messrs. Tyler and Sons. They will send 
you prices if you write to them. 
POULTRY AND BEE-KEEPER’S CHRONICLE. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
August 10th. Ormskirk and Southport. Sec., Mr. James Spencer, 
Ormskirk. Entries close the 22nd of July. 
August 19th and 20th. Bradford. Sees., Mr. A. Hardy, Bowling Old 
Lane, Bradford, and Mr. E. Blackhrough, Black Bull Inn, Ive Gate, 
Bradford. Entries close August 12th. 
August 23rd and 24th. Whitby. Sec., S. Burn, Esq., 1, East Terrace, 
Whitby. Entries close August 13th. 
August 25th, 26th, and 27th. Macclesfield. See., Mr. W. P.oe. Entries 
close August 10th. 
August 27th. Halifax. Sec., William Irvine, Holmfield, Ovenden, near 
Halifax. 
Acgust 29th, 30th, 31st, and September 1st. Crystal Palace. Poultry, 
Pigeons, and Rabbits. Sec., William Houghton. Entries close Saturday, 
July 30th. 
September 22nd. Bridgnorth. Sec., Richard Taylor, Bridgnorth. 
October 11th, 12th, and 13th. Worcestershire. Sec., Geo. Griffiths, 
7, St. Swithin Street, Worcester. 
Novf.mbf,r 28th, 29th, and 30th, and December 1st. Birmingham. See., 
Mr. J. Morgan, Bingley Hall, Birmingham. 
. N.B .—Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of tlieir lists. 
PARALYSIS IN CHICKENS-LEGS AND TAIL 
OF POLANDS. 
“ I hare lost several fine promising; chickens of six weeks and 
t wo months old in the following manner:—They suddenly lost 
the use of their legs, which were sprawled out sideways, and in 
some cases one or both wings were also affected. I had two of 
them killed, and the others lived for a few days only and then 
died. They appeared to be in perfect health all the time. I could 
not account for these sudden seizures till one day, when I saw an 
old hen with some young chickens peck one of the older ones, 
which was attacked directly in the way I have described. I then 
imagined that ;m injury of the spine was the cause of these attacks 
of paralysis ; and in all the other eases I traced it to injuries of 
the back, and yet no bruise or mark was visible. I shall be very 
much obliged to you to inform me in your next paper if any 
thing can be done, should I have any more birds affected in the 
same way. 
“ T, also, should be much obliged to you, to tell me the reason 
of Polands’ legs turning white when two and three months old. 
The birds appear in excellent health and condition. Would it 
prevent their taking a prize at a Show ? or will they turn to a 
blue colour again P Also, should a Silver Poland cock’s tail be 
white tipped- with black, like a Silver-spangled Hamburgh’s, or 
is it of no consequence if partly black ? Is it detrimental to a 
young Dorking cock to have the fifth toe growing up against his 
leg ? Would it disqualify him at a Show, being good in all other 
respects ? 
tf I wish you could persuade some of your poultry correspond¬ 
ents to give, through the medium of your columns, an account of 
their success in rearing chickens this season, as I feel sure it would 
be interesting to all the readers of The Poultry Chronicle .”—A. 
[We thank our correspondent for her letter, and will speak of 
the last part first. We also wish some of our friends would give 
the results of their hatching and reaving; also of their general 
poultry experience during the season. Many persons fancy they 
have nothing worth communicating; others feel diffident about 
appearing in print. Both are wrong. It is impossible any one, 
endowed only with the most moderate powers of observation, can 
follow a pursuit without obtaining knowledge of some facts 
valuable to those similarly engaged. No power or practice of 
writing is necessary for the exchange of such knowledge in our 
columns, and it is only free intercommunication that can carry 
out our title of The Poultry Chronicle. 
The cause of the appearance and death in the chickens is an 
injury to the spine between the neck and the hips; it causes 
paralysis. If behind the hips it would cause drooping of the 
tail. If the chickens were dissected, the injury would be dis¬ 
covered. Some Spanish fowls of our own were in the habit of 
trespassing on a neighbouring cottager’s garden. Without any 
malicious intention, the owner struck a very valuable hen with a 
switch behind the hips : the injury was small, hut she has never 
held her tail up since. It is a very rare occurrence for them to 
recover even partially. 
The change in the colour of Polands’ legs is the result of age, 
just ns in the top-knots of the Golden variety, which become 
whiter as they get older. We doubt whether they will ever re¬ 
gain their original colour. Light-blue legs would not disqualify, 
but white ones would. 
It is very desirable that the tail of a Poland cock should be 
pure white tipped at the ends, like that of a Spangled Hamburgh; 
but it is difficult to get, except at the price of the lacing and bar¬ 
ring of the wings, and the spangled breast. Almost all are partly 
black, and a clear tail is only one, though an important point. 
It is not a disqualification that the fifth toe of a Dorking cock 
should grow up against his leg, unless it were joined to and 
formed part of it—that would be a great defect. The only 
essential is, that the claws should be five in number, and well 
defined.] 
MERTHYR TYDFIL POULTRY SHOW. 
This pleasant annual gathering is gradually assuming the 
importance due to the exertions of its promoters. It is what it 
should be—a meeting not only for the rank and fashion of the 
neighbourhood, but for every one. It is not only a Show for 
Poultry, but for Flowers and Fruit. We are sorry we are unable 
to speak critically or instructively of the latter; hut we may 
repeat what we heard from the Judges, and can chronicle what 
we saw. We saw three large stands full of Pines, several 
weighing over 0 fits. We saw every other description of fruit, 
Nectarines, Peaches, Ac. We saw a very tempting Exhibition. 
Two Vines growing in pots were trained up till they formed an 
arch, from which very numerous and large bunches hung 
temptingly within reach. A placard requesting that the fruit 
migliff not bo touched only afforded increased food for the 
imagination, and allowed us to conceive how refreshing they 
would be on such a hot day. Devices of flowers were numerous 
and some of them of surpassing beauty and taste. 
