7$ THE COTTAGE GABDENEE AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, M1y 4, 1858. 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
BBseS (fr. IT. A.F.). —Mr. Rivers, of the Sawbridgeworth Nurse¬ 
ries, Herts ; Mr. Paul, Cheshunt, Herts ; Messrs. Lane and Son, Berk- 
hamstead ; and Mr. Francis, Hertford, will supply any Rose which can 
be had. The nearest to what you mention as the Rose of Sharon 
Rose, seems to us to be the Tea-scented Rose, called Moiret in the 
Rose nurseries. It might be called Rose of Sharon, on account of its 
differing from all other Roses in its exquisitely-delicate perfume. It is 
our own next favourite after the old Cabbage Rose. We remember 
an old variety called the Rose of Sharon. 
Culture of Himalaya Rhododendrons (An Old Subscriber). —A 
very damp, dull, cold pit, with a north aspect, suits best for the whole 
race, until some of them get too big for it; aiid when they ate planted 
out, they do best in moist shady situations. From February to October, 
the sun should not reach them till late in the afternoon. To stand a 
week; in summer, in a common greenhouse, would ruin the appearance 
of many of the kinds, unless they were under the eye of a scientific 
gardener. 
Gold Fish (J. Reed,). —The diseases of these prisoners usually arise 
from the want of proper vegetables in the water. In our numbers 422 
and 430, you will find the chief information we obtained on the subject. 
Ink for Zinc Labels ( Gfulielmus ).—Scrub the labels bright with 
coarse sand paper, and write on them immediately, by the aid of a 
quill pen, with the ink made thus:—One drachm of powdered verdigris 
(acetate of copper), one drachm of powdered sal ammoniac (muriate 
of ammonia), half a drachm of lamp black, and ten drachms of water. 
Mix these together in a two-ounce phial, and shake it every time before 
using. It is ready for use as soon as the verdigris and sal ammoniac 
are dissolved. 
Work on Practical Gardening (J. Havard). —Buy “ The Garden 
Manual,” published at our office. It will show you how to form a 
garden, and how to manage it. 
Rogiera amcena, &c. (A Country Admirer, <£c.)—Your plants are 
suffering from the Scale insect [Coccus). Paint them over with the 
usual mixture of soft soap and sulphur. The plants seem to have been 
kept in too dry an atmosphere. 
Early Sydenham Potato. —“ I have made every inquiry for J. Vaux, 
respecting the Early Sydenham Potato, in order to ascertain wiiere he 
might get it, and I am sorry to inform him every one round this 
neighbourhood is planted ; but, if he will favour me with his address 
by taking-up-time, I will send him a few tubers.” —Edward Bennett, 
Perdiswell Sail, Worcester. 
Names of Plants (IF. O .).—Your plant is the solid rooted Fumitory, 
once called Fti maria solida, but now known as the Bulbous Corydalis 
(Corydn/is bulhosa). It belongs to the Linnean class, and order Dia- 
delphia Hexandria. This species of Fumitory is considered a rare 
indigenous plant, having been found growing wild in some counties of 
England. It certainly merits a place in the flower garden, or wilder¬ 
ness ; it flourishes in any soil, or situation, and thrives well under the 
shade of trees. We should object to it as a bedding plant, on account 
of the short duration of its flowering season; but we admire it as a 
bunch plant in the mixed flower borders, or as a margin plant in the 
plantations. (C. R. Manning.) —The plant, of which you sent a leaf, 
is unknown to us at present, but we have the plant growing, and will 
make known what it is as soon as possible. We have twice before been 
asked the same question. ( Inquisitive ).—Your flower is an Alonsoa, 
and we believe it is A. Warsccwicsii, but cannot be certain without 
seeing some of the lower leaves. ( Y. Z .).—Your greenhouse plants 
are as follow :—1. Cytisus rhodopheria. 2. Polygala grandiflora. 
3. Swainsonia galegifolia. 4. Agathosma villosum (?) ; and 5.'Aga- 
thosma ciliatum. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
May 26th, 27th, and 28th. Birmingham (Summer). Secs., Messrs. 
Tittcrton and Cattell, 26, Worcester Street. Entries close May 10th. 
June 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Bath and West of England. Sec., Mr. 
John Kingsbury, Hammet Street, Taunton. 
June 9tli and 10th. Beverley and East Riding of Yorkshire. 
Sec., W. W. Boulton, Beverlej', Yorkshire. Entries close on the 1st 
of June. 
June 28tli, 29th, and30th, and July 1st. Sheffield. Sec., Wm. Henry 
Dawson, Sheffield. 
July 8th. Prescot. Sec., Mr. James Becsley. 
August 7th, 9th, 10th, and 11th. Crystal Palace (Summer Show). 
Entries close July 10th. Sec., W. Houghton. 
August 18th. Airedale. Son. Secs., J. Wilkinson and T. Booth, 
Shipley. 
August 30th and 31st, and September 1st. North Hants. Sec., Mr. 
T. Moore, Fareham, Hants. 
November 29th and 30th, December 1st and 2nd. Birmingham. Sec., 
Mr. J. Morgan, Entries close November 1st. 
December 17th and 18th. Halifax Fancy Pigeon Show. Sec., Mr. 
H. Holdsworth, Woolshops, Halifax. 
January 8th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, 1859. Crystal Palace (Winter 
Show). Sec., W. Houghton. 
N.B .—Secretaries will oblige us by sending early cojnes of their lists. 
JUDGES AND MANAGEES OF POULTEY 
SHOWS. 
I think there must be some misunderstanding with respect 
to the duties of a poultry Judge. I would ask your corres¬ 
pondent, who signs himself “Honour Bright,” if any j 
person is fit to be a poultry Judge, who can be influenced by 
either Secretary or Committee ? If a Judge can be found base 
enough to divide his awards amongst the Committee, Secre* 
taries, and the getters up of the Show (irrespective of the 
quality of their birds), simply because they are his employers, 
the sooner poultry exhibitions cease the better. Poultry 
Judges must know that there are hundreds of breeders and 
exhibitors who have been labouring for years ; and have 
attained something like perfection, in many cases ; will they, 
thd poultry public (though the Judge’s decision be law), when j 
they see awards wrongly placed, suffer them to go unnoticed ? 
I think with “ Honour Bright,” in this case; that no ex¬ 
hibitor ought to have anything to do with arranging the pens, 
or of entering the Show till the time of opening to the public 5 
and officials ought never to enter till that time. I mean by 
officials, Secretaries and Committees, who employ servants to 
arrange the pens, &c. 
With respect to the general management of Poultry Shows, 
I have no hesitation in saying, if your correspondent, who 
will send no more birds to Liverpool, will examine his own 
argument, he will see that awards wrongly placed have 
nothing to do with general management, though he himself 
throws out broad hints of the venality of both Committees 
and Judges. As for myself, I neither belong to Liverpool, 
! nor Preston, neither did I ever show a pen at either place in 
my life, yet 1 feel an interest in seeing Poultry Shows judged 
and conducted in such a manner that we shall have the least 
possible grumbling. Therefore, I would suggest to Com* 
mittees of management, the desirability of calling in a new 
but experienced man, to go along with one of the old Judges; 
one who has had great experience amongst the Hamburghs. 
Take one from Yorkshire, or Lancashire, to judge along with 
any of the southern Judges. Numbers can be found who 
have bred and shown poultry ever since the commencement 
of Exhibitions, and if one of this description was to go along 
with any of the old Judges, it would give general satisfaction. 
I think I could name the best Hamburgh judge in England.— 
J. H., Bradford. 
IS EGG-BUYING A SATISFACTOEY WAY OF 
IMPEOVING OUE POULTEY STOCKS ? 
I was not surprised to find from The Cottage Gardeners 
of last month, that many of those who have purchased eggs 
for sitting have so often met with disappointment. I have long 
been convinced, that this is the most unsatisfactory mode by 
which a collection of poultry can be commenced or improved, 
and out of many instances, I do not recollect one, in which 
the result has been satisfactory. Either the eggs have yielded 
a very limited produce, or the chickens have done little credit 
to the stock from which they were derived. I have myself 
paid as much as 5s. each for eggs, with additional charges for 
boxes ; but, from the small per centage of birds I have obtained 
from purchased eggs, there has never been one, I thought, 
worth keeping. As to the small per centage of chickens, I do 
not think the motion in travelling is sufficient to explain it, for 
I have known eggs, which have travelled between 200 and 300 
miles, hatch quite as w T ell as if they had never been removed 
from the nest in which they were laid. But it is not so much 
the limited produce, as the inferior quality of the produce, 
obtained from eggs from the choicest stocks, that is the chief 
I subject of complaint. Many openly declare that they have 
been deceived, but I am confident the majority of those, wdiose 
names are in your advertising columns, are incapable of selling 
anything which is not what it professes to be. I will now 
attempt to explain what, in my opinion, is a frequent cause of 
disappointment to the egg purchasers. In many instances the 
eggs advertised for sale are those of prize birds, and probably 
the owmer sits as many as he requires for his own purposes, 
before he supplies the public, and when the trade is brisk 
every expedient is adopted to obtain as many eggs as possible. 
But, unfortunately, no hen, whatever her merits may be, is 
capable of producing an indefinite number of eggs, which will 
hatch first-class chickens. Every observant breeder knows 
that the first sitting 01 two, laid by a hen in the commence¬ 
ment of the season, are far more valuable for breeding pur¬ 
poses than any she may afterwards produce, and must, I think, j 
