THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 7, 1858. 
150 
few eyes of each kind at a moderate price? I wish to get them for the December 29th and 30th. Burnley and East Lancashire. Sec., Angus 
purpose of trying some experiments in crossing.” Sutherland. Entries close December 10th. 
Budding Vines (TFesf House). —They can be budded, an 1 the best time 
to perform the operation is when the sap begins to flow. This is in early 
spring, when the Vines are out of doors, but varies with the temperature in 
vineries. When the buds commence swelling is the time there. 
Tritomas, &c. ( R. Anderson). —Nobody can yet tell if all Tritom as are 
hardy. T. uvaria is most likely to suit you. Eucharis amazonica is a 
stove bulb, but might he moved out of doors in summer. The best Gla¬ 
dioluses are those produced by crossing oppositifolius and Natalensis , of 
which is Gandavensis. They are in all bulb catalogues. We have fre¬ 
quently given lists of herbaceous plants. 
Transplanting Large Myrtles (A. I).). —Myrtles are easy things to 
remove, on account of the vast number of small roots they make. We 
never yet met with a Myrtle with long, bare roots ; hut if we did, we should 
need to take it up with much greater care than is usually necessary. The 
last half of September is the best time to renkpve Myrtles, where they re¬ 
quire no protection in winter, as in some parts of Ireland, and the south of 
England. In all other places the rule is, to remove them when the Ivy is 
clipped, at the end of the spring; and that is, according to the season, w hen 
they make the first new leaves for another growth. At that particular 
time the Ivy is green again in ten or fifteen days after every leaf and young 
shoot is clean clipped off; and the Myrtle makes fresh roots equally quick, 
to supply the place of those that were cut or deranged at the moving. 
But, hi order to make up for any lost time, it is a good plan to water 
Myrtles very liberally the first summer after they are transplanted. It is 
not a good plan, how’ever, to mulch Myrtles in summer anywhere, if they 
must be covered in winter, and for this reason,—all plants root up towards 
the surface, more or less, if they are mulched in summer, and by encourag¬ 
ing the roots of half-hardy plants to the surface, they are more exposed to 
the frost. Such plants ought rather to be mulched in winter, to keep out 
the frost, and to go bare in summer, to cause the roots to seek away from 
the sun. Standard Myrtles are usually too much top-heavy for the strength 
of the stem ; therefore, they need supports more, and much longer than 
more common plants; but they do not like stakes. Three ties from half¬ 
way up the stem to three stakes driven into the ground, and sloping in¬ 
wards, like tenthooks, are best. Such stakes, or hooks, should be only one 
inch out of the ground, and from ten to eighteen inches below the surface. 
Strawberry Forcing, &c. [A Surrey Subscriber). —Strawberries are 
not put into houses till they are beginning to go out of bloom. Some 
plants are now in cold frames, or other cool places, for the first crop, and 
people bring them forward according to their convenience. Ours will be 
iu cold flames to the end of February, when we begin forcing the Peach- 
house, to W'hich they will be removed, and remain there till they are fit for 
the hothouse. Some people can never put them into hothouses, and only 
give them a top shelf in a greenhouse : February is early enough for that. 
It is a question of convenience entirely. If the gardener had used “ cow- 
dung to Chrysanthemums, according to our advice,” he would have been 
right. But their roots will make suckers, and suckers will make plants 
next year. Spruce and Scotch Fir are the best to hide the building. Ra¬ 
nunculuses come as easily from seeds as Cowslips, and in the same way, 
and both are equally difficult to get good sorts from seeds; but good seeds 
of good kinds of them, and of Aster, will produce some good seedlings, if 
the flowers were not contaminated with bad sorts. All depends on that. 
Cerastium tomentosum Cuttings—Variegated Mint (C. IF.).—The 
best way to increase Cerastium tomentosum is by cuttings in the autumn, 
or in the spring, exactly like Verbena cuttings. Every morsel of the young 
tops will strike under a handglass in August and September; but in March 
and April the quickest way is to do it like the little blue Lobelias, and it 
roots just as fast as they do. In dry, healthy soil, a good edging of it ought 
to last thrde or four years; but we are not quite sure of that in practice. 
Forty years back it used to keep, in patches on rockwork, for ever so long, 
much longer than Aubretia purpurea, and it had to be cut round the edges 
every spring, to keep it from spreading too much. The variegated Mint 
must be renewed by cuttings every year, for edgings; and they root in 
the autumn without glasses ; but for planting with variegated Geraniums, 
it is sufficient to take up the old plants, or roots, in April, and to divide 
them into small pieces,, or patches, just like common Mint, and they are of 
equal hardiness and duration of life. Strong patches, or old-established 
plants of the variegated Mint will throw up shoots from two to three feet 
high ; and in that state it looks well among low evergreens—as Bcrberis, 
Dapline, Rhododendrons, and so forth, host-office orders for advertise¬ 
ments in The Cottage Gardener are to be taken out in the name of Mr. 
Angel, at the publishing office, 20, Paternoster liow, London. 
J. N. C.—Your letter has been received. The volumes could be sent by 
“book post.” 
Evergreen i-or Latticework [J. II'.).—Nothing will answer your 
purpose better than Ivy, with some plants of Virginian Creeper, treated as I 
mentioned some time since by Mr. Beaton. This would give you crimson 
foliage in autumn, but you would lack the desired red berries in winter. 
The best tiling for that purpose would be the evergreen Thorn, Crataegus j 
pyracantlia. Nothing can be more beautiful in winter. But, perhaps, it j 
might not grow so fast as you would wish. Were we in your case, we 
should be disposed to plant the pyracantlia, —say, six feetyipart,—and fill in j 
between with strong Ivy plants, in pots, or boxes, so that the roots did not 
interfere with the Thorn, and cut away the Ivy as the Thorn needed the 
room. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
Dkcemeer 7th and 8th. North Durham. Secs., R. C. Coulson, J. T. 
Duncan, and T. Wetherell. Entries close November 22nd. 
December 8th. Wiltshire. Sec., F. W. Phillips, Devizes. Entries 
close November 30th. 
December 17th and 18th. IIalieax Fancy Pigeon Show. Sec., Mr. j 
II. Holdsworth, 57, Woolshops, Halifax. Entries close the 20th of I 
November. 
January 3rd, 1859. Kirkcaldy Poultry and Fancy Bird Show. 
January 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, 1859. Crystal Palace (Winter 
Show). Sec., W. Houghton. Entries close December 11th. 
January 18tli, 19th, and 20th. Chesterfield and Scarsdai.k. Secs., 
W. M. Hewitt, and J. Cliarleswortli. Entries close January 4th. 
January 20th and 21st, 1859. Liverpool. 
February 3rd and 4th, 1859. Preston and North Lancashire. 
Secs. R. Teebay, and H. Oakey. 
February 9th and 10th, 1859. Ulvekstone. Sec., Thos. Robinson. 
February lGth and 17th, 1859. Poulton-lk-Fyi,de. Sec., J. Butler. 
June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 1859. Bath and West of England. At Barnstaple, 
Devon. Director, S. Pitman, Esq. 
N.B.— Secretaries will oblige as by sending early copies of their lists. 
THE BIRMINGHAM POULTRY SHOW. 
This was the tenth great annual Show. The poultry world is, 
indeed, indebted to Dirminghani. Let us ask ourselves for what ? 
It must be conceded to us, that this is (lie great parent of all 
Shows, and then we will rehearse some of the benefits it has con¬ 
ferred. 
It has added to the food of the country ; it has increased 
Dorkings, on an average, one pound weight per bird ; it has added 
three pounds each to Geese, and one pound to Ducks. If this 
could be computed from correct statistics, the amount of extra 
food would be astonishing. It has greatly increased the number 
of eggs. But the greatest of all changes is the general improve¬ 
ment of poultry throughout the country. It is known to all 
those who frequent markets, that, whereas formerly a little dry, 
shabby fowl, was the only one that was to he had, now a good, 
fleshy, large bird is to be had at the same price. Thanks to this 
Show, poultry has been eateu during the last few years by people 
who never dreamt of it before. Wiser far than the Royal Agri¬ 
cultural Society, the Council of this Show has always clung to 
poultry, not as a proud poor man puts up with the society of a 
humble, but not common rich one, of whom he borrows money, 
but as a good useful friend and ally, and the connection has been 
mutually advantageous. The science and end of agriculture is, 
to provide food for the population ; and let those who are dis¬ 
posed to look down on poultry, ask those conversant with the 
subject, what is the importation of eggs and poultry into England 
in a year? They will be astonished. But we see strange things 
in the world, and we believe there are those who, internally, 
still pray for protection from the foreigner in corn, and do all iu 
their power to give him the poultry trade. 
Not so Birmingham. The gentlemen who form the Council of 
this Show saw at once the importance of poultry, and they have 
no reason to regret the support they gave it. Their wits were 
kept bright by constant competition in everyday life, and they were 
fully aware, that, although a society may apparently prosper for 
a time on a narrow basis, yet it is only because it is carrying out 
certain experiments; and, when these are finished, its avocation 
is gone, its usefulness ended, and its exclusiveness becomes its 
ruin. While Birmingham gives every encouragement to cattle 
of all sorts, and to roots, and thereby holds out inducements to 
the agriculturist, she also offers a very liberal prize-list to poultry 
amateurs. This gives her a broad basis. Nothing identifies any¬ 
one with a show so much as to be an exhibitor, and hence it is, 
that any large agricultural show is deficient if it does not include 
poultry. There are thousands of amateurs who wish to exhibit, 
who like the little excitement and recreation of competition, but 
who — although they would cheerfully enter the arena with cattle 
of all sorts—are precluded—either by their calling, or the neces¬ 
sity for living iu towns—from keeping them. But the pen of 
poultry causes them to become subscribers, and gives them an 
interest in the prosperity of the Society. The statistics prove 
they support it. The present is the largest entry since the pro¬ 
mulgation of the new rules ; and a casual glance at the list of the 
subscribers will show the ramifications poultry gives to the under¬ 
taking. If the system that was followed formerly—of allowing 
one person to exhibit as many pens as he pleased— still prevailed, 
it would be impossible either to guess at the number of pens, to 
provide room for them, or Judges to make the awards. In those 
days it was common for one exhibitor to send forty pens, and we 
could easily name those who were in the habit of doing it. Thus, 
the year 1853 produced 1,995 pens. This number allowed the 
necessity of some check, and the Council wisely resolved to limit 
each subscriber to four pens. The 1,330 pens of this year show 
