270 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, .January 25, 1859. 
August, all the young shoots, except the leading one, should have one 
Inch of their top pinched off. Repeat all this treatment annually. 
Flowers of Sulphur (M. P .).—You are quite incorrect in your welL 
meant correction. “Flowers of sulphur” is the old chemical name. In 
the chemical nomenclature of our forefathers, the light powder obtained 
hy converting a solid body by heat into a vapour, and cooling that vapour, 
■was called “ flowers.” Thus, there were “ flowers of benzoin,” “ flowers 
of antimony,” &c. The Calendar you speak Of we have already promised 
to furnish,’ It will begin in April. 
Wild Rose Stocks (G. L.). —Y T ou must hud on the young wood ; and, 
therefore, you must leave the branches on the stocks. 
Aciiimknes (Rose). —Some nurserymen are obliged to keep a few of all 
these roots; hut the demand for them is so limited, that they make no 
return for their keep. Every plant which does not pay must either go 
out of the trade, or be sold dearer than its real value. Tritonia aurea 
will in a few seasqns he plentiful enough, and within the reach of all. 
Before Acliimenes can he cheap, there must he a great demand for them. 
Iron Hotbed Frames (J. K. II.)— We would never have a single iron 
frame for Cucumber and Melon beds, or pits, if we could get wooden ones. 
Any cast-iron merchant will supply you easily enough; hut first, they are 
heavier to move; the rocking in moving them is apt to jar and break the 
glass more than wood ; they will he hotter in warm weather, and colder 
in cold weather than the wood; and they will entail more expense in 
painting, &c., in keeping them free from rust outside, and free from rusty 
droppings inside; these are only some of the disadvantages. 
Glass for a Stove ( IF. I Y. B.).— Decidedly use Hartley’s patent glass 
for your roof. If you have front glass, and wish to see through it, use 
crown glass for that. The rough glass for the roof will give you enough 
of light in winter under ordinary circumstances, and will save you from 
much annoyance otherwise in effecting shading in summer. 
Vegetables between Wall TreEs (C. V.). —Many men, many minds. 
A few such things as Lettuces may he placed at the foot of the wall in 
winter and spring. Three or four feet from that the borders may he 
cropped with anything that does not grow tall in winter and spring. It is 
more important that such borders should be empty in autumn than at any 
other time, in order that the trees against the wall, to ripen their wood, 
may get the full benefit of the heat reflected from the border. Of course, 
things should he grown that require no deep digging. 
Saunders on the Vine (A Young Gardener). —It is published hy Reeve, 
Henrietta Street, Covent Garden; price low. 
Names op F’ruit (IF. II. II., Littledenn). —Pear No. 1. Raster Beurre. 
2. Unknown; seems as if it never would ripen. Apple, Court of Wick. 
(A Constant Subscriber ).—Of your Pears, the largest is not known—it is 
Ilk e Flemish Beauty ; the middle-sized is Winter Nells; and the smallest 
is a small Passe Colmar. 
Names of Plants (D. G .).—Specimens too imperfect to he certain. But 
we think No. 1, is Statiee mucronata. 2. Callitriche aquatica (?). 3. Hyperi¬ 
cum piliferum (?). ( Clericus). —No. 1. Leonotis leomtrus. 2. Justkiapicta 
(crimson). 4. Tro’pmglum Lobhianutn (?) . 3. Is a single leaf. How can we 
tell from this! We might almost as reasonably he expected to tell whether 
a cow was a Hereford’ from one of her hall's. A leaf must he very ex¬ 
traordinary to proclaim its parentage. 
THE POULTRY CHRONICLE. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
February 3rd and 4th, 1859. Preston anb North Lancashire. 
Secs. R. Teebay, and II. Oakey. 
February 9 th and 10th, 1859. Ulverstone. Sec., Thos. Robinson. 
February lGth and 17tli, 1859. Poulton-le-Fylde. Sec., J. Butler. 
May 25th and 2Gth. Beverley. See., Francis Calvert, Surgeon, &c. 
June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, 1859. Batii and West of England. At Barnstaple, 
Devon. Director, S. Pitman, Esq. 
N.B.— Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
DISC UK SITE POULTRY PAPERS. 
Did any of our readers ever notice the beautiful, active, little 
dogs, carried, or led, by strange looking men, half grooms, half 
keepers, in the Quadrant. Smart, clean, active, little animals. 
When put on the ground, to show to the old lady who has stopped 
her carriage to look at them, they jump and frisk about. None 
of our readers ever visited a rat-pit in the “Dials,” where a dog 
not much larger than the rats themselves, kills them against time. 
If they had, they would see condition the result of moderate and 
judicious feeding. Now, the old lady we have just mentioned 
bought one of these beautiful little dogs, which soon after might 
be seen, on the front seat of the same carriage, a fat, sleepy, 
wheezy, ungainly mass of flesh. Poor little thing! it has been 
“taken care of,” and has been “kindly treated.” 
“ Lucky for it,” says the old lady, “ it is always ill, and it 
would have died if that man had kept it. Ho starved it! ” 
Look ! Miss Jenkins, “ It will not eat a piece of the white meat 
of the chicken, without butter. Its appetite is so had ; and when 
it came, I was afraid to feed it; it U3ed to jump so at the food, I 
thought it would bite me. It has a nice little bed, and, in the 
winter, nice thick blankets; hut it is very poorly, and takes no 
notice of anything.” 
The truth is, pets of all kinds (we arc afraid we may sometimes 
class children with them) are “ killed with kindness.” 
A London family takes a house in the country. Most people 
prefer that which they have not, and as, in London, there were 
no fowls to feed and look after, that was one of the anticipated 
pleasures. Some must be bought, and there is a large farmer in 
the neighbourhood greatly renowned for his poultry. Our friends 
are hardly settled,—half the things are not unpacked,—when a 
morning is devoted to a walk, or ride, to ask him to be good 
enough to let them have a set. “ What a beautiful sight the yard 
presented ! What plumage! What ruddy combs and gills! But 
could they not see them nearer? ”—“ Oh, yes.” 
The appearance of a basket, and a few grains scattered about, 
brought them all up, and then the questions,—“ How often do 
you feed?” “When do they roost?” “What makes them 
so hungry ? ” 
The pen was purchased. “ Ah! ” said the young ladies, as 
they rode home; “ the fowls have made a good exchange. We 
will take more care of them than that.” 
Well, the fowls came home, and were put into the house where 
they are to roost, with plenty of food. There was plenty— 
enough for a week. They are let out in the morning, and will 
not eat the barley. It is supposed they do not like it. “ Try some¬ 
thing else: give them sotae bread.” They pick only a few 
crumbs. “Well, leave it in the ground, and they will feed 
when hungry.” Day after day goes on, and the anticipated plea • 
sure is not realised. The fowls are dull, careless of food, are fed 
twice as well as tlieyever were, and only get worse. * 
A friend suggests, that a trough shall be provided where they 
can feed when they like. 11 is done, and it stands in the yard 
full of barley. The birds go to it sometimes, take a mouthful or 
two, and then ru-h to the water, where they drink greedily. 
The birds are evidently going back, and it is necessary to call 
a council, and hold a consultation as to what shall be done with 
the tiresome fowls. The only member of the establishment who 
is an authority, is an odd man—half gardener, half servant, who 
lived with the former owner of the house. He .is consulted :— 
“ Did his former master keep fowls ?”—“ Yes.” “ What 
breed?”—“Don’t know, he was not particular.” “Were they 
ever ill ?”—“ Never.” “Did he take much care of them?” — 
“No, none.” “ Did he feed them much ?”■—“No.” “Did they 
lay then ?—“ Oh, yes ! well.” “ Did he know anyone who 
understood fowls ?”—“ Yes, Mr. Taplin.” 
Mr. Taplin is one of a very useftd class. An active, well-in¬ 
formed country gentleman, of small fortune. He possesses a 
knowledge of gardening ; he is a good judge of a horse or a dog ; 
and an authority on pigs, poultry, and cows. He has good taste 
in laying out a garden. He has good taste in another way—he 
does not intrude all these subjects when in the society of ladies, 
but waits till his opinion is asked. He is an indispensable man 
to a London family settling in the country, and just now is talk¬ 
ing to the head of the family in the kitchen garden. His advice 
is asked. There is a quiet, humorous smile, or curl, about his 
mouth, while he draws from his young querist the history of all 
she has done for her new pets ; and when she winds up by 
saying, “ It is so provoking, that the birds looked so well when 
they were neglected, and now fell off when they were well at¬ 
tended to,” he heartily, but not rudely laughed. Seeing some 
little dismay and chagrin on the young lady’s countenance, he 
apologised for doing so, and saying her father was coming over to 
see his kitchen garden, he invited her to see his poultry. 
Everything was correct about his place. Most beautiful 
Dorkings were running in the yard. Cochins were in a pen 
looking into a small orchard. Sebright Bantams were in another. 
All were in startling conditition. The young lady sighed as she 
mentally compared these birds with her own. These were so 
bright, so healthy, and so hungry. Had they been her own, she 
would have been delighted to see them all rush after a few grains 
that were thrown down. Having found it was feeding-time, she 
waited to see in what way it would be done. Mr. Taplin was 
provided with a small tub of slaked meal. “Was that all he was 
going to give to thirty fowls ? “ Yes ; and they would not have 
all of it.” He took a small piece in his hand, and threw it down, 
not at his feet, but a long way from him. Such a running and 
scrambling for the morsels as the little lump broke and scattered 
ahout. When all was eaten, then another lot was thrown down. 
There was the same struggle for it. But after a few more, the 
anxiety had ceased, and they pecked leisurely. No more was 
given. “ Surely,” said the young lady, “ that is not enough.”— 
“ Plenty,” was the answer. “ If they want more, they must find it.” 
