391 
THE COTTAGE GARDENED AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 27, 1880. 
and scores of them in Ho. 32-pots for specimens. Bijou 
(Bisho) is one they speak highly of, as proved last year 
m their Italian Flower Garden. Variegated Prince of 
Orange, Lady Plymouth, and Dandy, three evidences 
against the stupidity of calling the variegated Alyssum a 
Koniga. Each of these three variegated representing 
that form of three wild Cape Geraniums, and more dif¬ 
ferent from the wildings than the variegated form of the 
Alyssum is from the common green sweet-scented kind. 
Dandy is to be the best-foot-foremost plant of this season 
for pincusliion-beds, and Oxalisforibtmda is to be the 
genteel edging plant to beds of minimum Geraniums, as 
Dandy, Baron Hugel, I I ark away. Gulden Chain, Cloth 
of Gold, the Queens Favourite, and most of the other 
minimum Geraniums. 
Ho plant is easier to keep and to propagate than that 
Oxalis, and there is a large stock of it in this nursery. 
Mr. Kingdom's Christine Geranium is an excellent 
bedder, with a shade between the Cerise and the Lucia 
rosea breeds. They have it in quantity. Also, Ivy-leaf, 
Tom. Thumbs, and all. 
The Fern-house and show-house very gay with spring 
flowers. Oue the finest plants of medium-sized Acacia ar¬ 
mada I ever saw, and in a half forcing-house, or say a house 
about 50° at night, a host of early spring plants of the 
bettermost class arc there, after being cut down on pur¬ 
pose, or for cuttings, so as to get a very early growth, 
and an earlier setting of bloom-buds than common, so as 
to come in next winter and early in the spring with little 
or no forcing. All the Epacriscs belong to that class; 
all dwarf Acacias, Boronias, MonocJmimn ensiferum, 
Croweas, Pleromas, Tetrathecas, Corneas, and, indeed, 
most of the May-blooming, greenhouse, woody plants. 
Out of doors— Magnolia grand.iflora; largo Hollies : 
long standards of the handsome variegated Negundo Ivy, 
in pots, up to 10 feet high in abundance ; whole quarters 
of trained and maiden and orchard-house fruit trees ; all 
round the walls filled with the best kinds ; a very superior 
Privet, called Ovatifolia ; Vines, Pampas Grass, Ame¬ 
ricans, Yuccas, and the usual run of pot and border ever¬ 
greens, in their best looks, and. as at Highgate, a rattling 
good trade*, and the largest quantity of Sea-kale for the 
trade I ever saw. The Vauxhall men were always cele¬ 
brated for that root. 
Mr. Alfred Chandler, who made the drawings and 
coloured them for Chandler & Booth’s Illustrations, &c., 
of the Camellias, has just finished two coloured drawings 
on tinted paper of Camellia elegans, showing the common 
plain-coloured flowers and the present extraordinary 
degree of variegated of all the hundreds of flowers on 
the large specimen plants, and of the presont state of the 
wonderful variegation of the large Chandleri Camellia. 
As an artist Mr. Chandler is the first hand in Europe on 
the Camellia; and either of those drawings, as they stand, 
might be mistaken for a natural branch in bloom at a 
short distance. Both these drawings arc to be sent to 
the Royal Academy to be exhibited there ; and as few 
have ever seen these two Camellias in such richness and 
perfection, all who can embrace the opportunity ought to 
see the plants themselves before they aro out of bloom, 
as^ they may not be seen to such advantage again for a 
lifetime. I). Beaton. 
I 
! 
I 
I 
HOW TO FARM TWO ACRES AND MAKE 
THE MOST OF THEM. 
(Continued from pays 378.) 
—- I 
THE COW. 
Opinions and individual tastes differ very much in the 
choice of a cow. In the west of England the Devon and 
Hereford prevail ; the latter ranging northward into 
Cheshire, with, however, a considerable mixture of other 
breeds, as well as crosses in every imaginable way. In 
Suffolk a hardy polled breed is the prevailing kind in 
general use; while in Sussex a formidable “long-horned” 
animal of large size is common, the bullocks of that breed 
being often worked. This breed, though dangerous- 
looking by the length of their horns, are perhaps the 
most docile of any—certainly they are much more so 
than the polled Suffolk cow, which is a restless animal, 
and not well adapted for a “ single eow r ,” as a quiet 
animal is as much a point to be looked at as appearance 
or a good milker. In fact, all these qualities ought to be 
blended in the single cow ; and they are very often to be 
found in some of the judicious crosses to be met with— 
not the mongrel heterogeneous mixtures so often seen, 
but say a cross between an Ayrshire and Alderney makes 
a nice little cow ; the hardihood of the one blends well 
with the rich milking qualities of the other. A cross 
with the “ Short-horn ” produces a larger animal; but 1 
would not advise the pure Alderney to be kept on any 
but very sheltered warm situations, and only where the 
lood is good and abundant. On the dry, chalky, or 
gravelly soils they will not do, and at the best their 
appearance is never so good as that of most other breeds ; 
but the inexperienced in such matters ought to consult 
some respectable dealer to get him such a cow as has 
been proved by the impartial opinion of those in the 
neighbourhood to answer best, as good advice in that 
way ought not to be despised. It is all very well for the 
wealthy and spirited to introduce their favourite breeds, 
or, it may be, their supposed improved implements and 
machinery into the husbandry of the district; but the 
man ot limited means, anxious to show a respectable 
balance-sheet at the end of Ihc year, ought to be more 
careful. The best practical farmers in the neighbour¬ 
hood are those best qualified to give advice, and not the 
more fashionable amateur. The one, most likely, has 
devoted a long life to rural aflairs, and his prospering 
with it proves his judgment to be good ; the other, most 
likely, draws heavily on his banker to make things meet 
It woidd, therefore, be better for the selection of a cow 
to be left to a respectable dealer; stipulating, of course, 
that she must not bo an old one, and that she is quiet and 
tractable, and likely to settle in her solitary quarters. 
It is not often that a good cow that has been accustomed 
to graze alone is offered for sale, their numbers being 
few; and those that arc for sale may often be suspected 
of not answering. It would, therefore, be better to buy 
one out of a herd rather than have the single one, unless 
recommended from a source to be relied upon. 
THE COW-HOUSE. 
Much difference of opinion exists on this point. In 
some parts of England the milk cows are tied up in a 
rather dose shut-in building almost all the winter; while 
in others they have the liberty of the farmyard, with a 
covered shed at one side, usually the north side of it, for 
them to roam in ; and as this plan seems to answer every 
purpose, it might be taken as a guide for those having 
only one cow to keep. A small yard might contain the 
pigstye and the cow-shed; the cow-shed being on the 
north side of it, and the piggery on the east or west. A 
thatched roof is better than either slates or tiles for the 
cow-shed; but if that be inconvenient, let it be arranged 
for some straw or other litter to be put under the slates, 
to keep it cool in summer and warm in winter. A wall 
around a yard is much the best way, and a gate large 
enough to admit a cart easily to carry out the dung, &c. 
There ought also to be a building adjoining the cow-shed 
for hay, roots, or anything else that it may be necessary 
to store away. The cow-shed itself might also be so 
arranged as to have temporary doors or tarpaulin put 
against the opening at such times as when the cow calves, 
when a little extra warmth is required ; but even this is 
not so necessary as many suppose. Plenty of fresh air 
