DDDDDDDDnoDDDDDnnnnanDnDnDDDDnDa n a D D n D D ^ o« H'^s 5"-. a D -■c^ A. % D a a D D a > gl rw |S m D a ^ ^\W J W H D D ^ ^VaM ? Cs D D D ''•^^^ >' n n D n D D 1— 1 D D D D D D D D n D D D D D a D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D a D D UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS LIBRARY D D D D D D D a D a D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D a D **i' UBRftRY F :riL.^\w»jf [ Jnly 18, 1871. THE JOURNAL OF HORTICULTIIEE, \%;''^'' COTTAGE GAEDENEE? COUNTRY aENTLEM^N, BEE-IvEEPER. AND POULTEY CHRONICLE. A JOURNAL OF GARDENING, RURAL AND DOMESTIC ECONOMY, BOTANY, AND NATURAL HISTORY. CONDUCTED BY GEOEGE W. JOHNSON, E.R.H.S., and ROBERT HOGG, LL.D. THE FRUIT AND KITCHEN GARDENS, by Mr. J. Robson, Gardener to Viscount Holmesdale, M.P., Linton Park; and J. Douglas, The Gardens, Loxford Hall, Essex. THE FLOWER GARDEN, by Mr. G. Abbey ; Mr. T. Record, Gardener to the Marquis of Salisbury, Hatfield House ; and Mr, E. Luck- burst, Old Lands, Buxted, Sussex. STOVE, GREENHOUSE, and WINDOW GARDEN, by Mr. R. Fish, Gardener, Putteridgc Bury, near Luton. FLORISTS' FLOWERS AND FLORICULTURE, by the Rev. H. H. Dombrain. GARDENING CALENDAR, by Mr. WilUam Koane. POULTRY-KEEPING, by Mr. J. Baily ; E. Hewitt, Esq. ; and L. Wright, Esq. PIGEONS, AVIARY BIRDS, &o., by "Wiltshire Rector;" W. A. Blakston, Esq., and others. BEE-KEEPING, by T. W. Woodbui7 Esq.; "B. & W.J" and Mr. 8. Bevan Fox. HOUSEHOLD ARTS, by the Authoress of "My Flowers," and others. VOIjUMB XX., NEW SERIES. VOL. XLY., OLD SERIES. LONDON: PUBLISHED FOR THE PROPRIETORS, 171, FLEET STREET. 1871. a /\*to-«^ V- C. LONDON : PRINTED AT THE JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE OFFICE, 171, FLEET STREET. Jnly 13,1871.] JOtENAL OP HOETICtLTtEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. TO OUR READERS. What we should have said to you for this — the forty-fifth — time must ever remain among the things unknown, if the International Exhibition had not brought to London, and so inevitably to our office, that spade 's-a-spade-calling woman. Miss Penelope Pomeroy. There's her chair, just as she has left it, appropriately all a-twist, and the hum of this really Cornish Bee is still upon our ears. She is a bee, because though she stings with a will, she also affords honey — she subscribes regularly, pays promptly, praises us when absent, and sends us Pine Apples. " So you have turned reformers, I see. If people choose to pay a guinea a-pound for Strawberries, why not let 'em ? You will not be the better for having them supplied for half that money. Eemember, Lord Melbourne was a reformer, and his reforming taught him a lesson. Whenever a change was proposed he always said, ' Can't we leave that alone ?' So I say. Can't you leave the Covent Garden monopolists alone ?" With becoming dignity, and in a tone and words well expressing, we replied that we felt it our editorial duty to be guardians of the public interests. "Guardians of public fiddlesticks! Pooh! If you are bent upon needful reforms, reform your own pages. You begin to need new type ; you ought to report more coimtry shows — I mean horti- cultural, not cock-a-doodle shows, we have enough of them." We looked at each other — that is, we two Editors did, and the least young, with apparent humility, and certainly with great command of temper, said that both those refoinns were contemplated, adding, with his usual ingenuity, " We shall not inquire, like Lord Melbourne, Can't we leave that alone ?" " That's right," said Miss Penelope, rising, " and if I were a man I'd give each of you a Cornish hug," which, as she is fifty and not well-favoured, we looked as if contented to have been spared. We thought she was gone when the least old of us had closed the door, but it re-opened, and the comment reached us — "You've some rational new contributors. I am well pleased with them." No response could be given, and was not wished for, for the door was reclosed promptly and sharply. We looked at each other as men look when they feel inclined to be indignant, and yet think it best to seem indifferent. " Never mind," said the least young, " we will tell our readers." July 13, 1871. 1 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. INDEX. Aberdeen Poultry Show, 73, 9S Abronia umbellata, 221 Abutilon, cnlture, 90: striatum sow- ing:, 168 ; venosum culture, 187 Accrinpton Poultry Show, 360 Achimenea culture, 426 ^chmea fulgenB for table decoration, 418 Afiavc ixtlioides, 200 Almond plantintr. 51 Alocasia culture, 72,242 "Alpine Plants," 2iil, 288 AmarvJUs, list and culture, 92; Ray- neri, U5, 20') Amateur, who is an ? 260; defined, 445 Amateurs beware, 103 America, jottings in, 238 American bl'pht, 446 American wild flowers, 402 Androsace camea v. eximia, 426 Annuals, lor border, 108. 168 ; for flower beds, 261; for frreeuhouae, 204; for early sowing, 168 Asthurium Scherzerianum, 408 Ants, 367, 409; banishing, 187; in Cu- cumber bed, 344, in house, 242 ; puzzling, 261; on lawn, 327 Appleby's fumigatsT, 279 Apples—preservation of, 285 ; stock propagation, 169: trees, rabbits at- tacking, 124, budding, 445, mildewed, 373: leaves witherini^, 358; Croft- en-Eeich, Galloway Pippin, 2S6 Apricot, leaves curling, 309 ; trees gum- ming, branches dying off, 375, 374 Araucaria imbricata at Bicton, 435 Arbor-VitiB hedge cutting. 2b0 Arboricultural Society's Trans aotions, 387 Ai'pemone mexicana, 305 Artisan, who is one ? 408 Arum niaculatum, 285 . Arundo donax, 221 1 Aristolochia Duchartrei, 29 Ash, grafting weeping, 261 Asparagus— beetle, 401; Connover's, 408; culture. 292, 428: cutting. 889; forcing, 32, 48 ; weak. 308, 826, 327 Aspect for glass structures, 148 Aephalte walks. 93, 260 Asters, growing for eshibition, S74; perennial. 279 Asystasia violacea, 29,200 Aacubas, 54, 278 j bennes, 13 ; berried, 326 ; from berries, 168 ; for conserva- tory, 826; grafting, 344 : sowing, 13 Auriculaa, 286; stace, 440 Australian seeds, 127 Azaleos, after flo^Ycrjng, 341; thrips on, 278 ; weak, 13 ; white, 147 ; Fanny Tillery and Acme, 272 Baildon Bird Show. 189 Banks, raised, in kitchen garden, 71 Bantams, 390, 410: cock's weight, 298; feather-legged, 40 ; Black cock's tail, 113; with Dorkings, 450; Game. 40, i 428; breeding Game, 60; breeding 1 Sebrieht, 172 Baptisia leucopha"a,352 I Barkeria spectabilia culture, 147 I Barrow Poultry Show, 94 I Bath and "West of England Poultry Show, 392 Bedding-out. 888 i Bedding plants, a few tine, 272 ; fail- ingin frame, 205; discordant opin- ' ions on, 238; house for wintering, 373 ~ Bedliogton Poultry ShoWt iU Bees— apiary, largest American, 248 ; apiary extensive, 282 ; Association, American, 298; cheese boxes for, 172 ; in a chimney ; 432 : coal tar for bouse. 40, 95; eniptv white comb, 156 ; for cottagers. 329, 345. 431, 467 ; dead in combs, 248, deserting hive, 362 ; dirt from, 362 ; drones on Lady- day, 266; dying, 60, 396; dysentery, 96 ; eggs, are all of one sex ? 468: Egyptian, 329; fighting, 266; foul brood, 19, 77, 113 ; gas tar on roofing, 95; hermaphrodite, 247, 314, 361; hives, cleaning. 60; new depriving, lofi; hinges of bar-and-frame. 467; without a queen, 378; size ot, 297; Stewarton, 265; for super honey, 114 ; ventilation, 265 ; unicomb, 154 ; "Woodbury, 226, 414: hive-breakers, fmstrating, 192; honey days, first, 801; disqualifiying candied, S78; honey spurious, 18; Irish-keeper's difficulties, 449; keeping, &c., 862; dead larvae ejected, 396 : Ligurians, 40; propagation of, 394; manage- ment, 132 ; messing a hive, 414 ; manner and customs, 345 : perishing in winter, 377 ; Mr. Pettigrew's ba- lance-sheet. 247; price, 192; pro- sperity, 156; poison medicinal, 296; queenless hive, 416; queens, death of. lo2 ; introducing. -ISI; piping 467; leaving hives, 467: regicide, 171: stocks examining. 131 : super- stitions, 207 ; dui-ing snow, 95 ; supers putting on, S30; in winter, 396; swarms artificial. 282, 36-3, 395: escaping, 414; early. 346, 361 ; loss of 346; transferring. 132; uniting, 414; ■wintering. 18 ; winter ventilation, 191, 225. 246, 281 ; near Wolverhamp- ton. 170 ; production of fertile workers, 467 : not working, S62 ; *' The Honey Bee," 171 Beet as a bedder, 839 Begonias, crinita, 272; decaying, 186 ; winter-flowering, 41 ; with small flowers, 92 Beleperone ciliata, 200 Berberry planting, 54 Beta braziliensis culture, 261 Bignonia jasminoides not flowering, 242 Birmingham Columbarian Show, 74, 189 Birmingham Rose Show, 285 Blackbeny orchard, 28 Blackcaps, rearing, 432 Bopgy soil, cover plants for, 167 Boilers, 221; setting a conical, 109 Bombyx Neustria, 257 Bones, for chickens, 40; disEolving, 148 ; utilising. 358 Borecoles, 53 Botanic Gardens. 100 Botanic (Eoyal) Society's Show, 212, 271,382,420 Botany, lectures on, 386 Bottle-brush Plant culture, 204 Bottom heat on a large scale. 23 Bouquets, 204; hand. 215; Princccs Louise's wedding, 232 Box. cuttings foredcings. 186; hedge straggling, 93; trees, transplanting, 3C9 Brahmas— chickens croolicd-breaslcd, 20 ; cup for Liulit. 34. 72 : crop dis- eased, 40; cockerel vulture-hocked, 60 ; prize cup for Light, 93 : laving intermitted, 114 ; back featherless, Dark or Light, judging, 155; hene BiiAMWAS— Continued. featherless, 208; cock, 248; tails, 298; and Dorkings crossed, 282; out of condition, S46 ; breeding, chickens cramped, hen dying sud- denly, 330; not laying. 362; hen, separating from her chickens, 378 Bran for poultry. 172, 192, 226 Krecon Poultrv'Sbow, 57 Bristol Poultry Show, 16, 34, 78 Brittany, seaweed and market gar- dening of. 353 Broccoli, lifting in autumn, 287 ; cul- ture, 451 ; varieties, 434 ; what is ? 415. 434; for winter, 228; Cattell'e Eclipse, 398 Broom cnlture in Madeira, 805 Buckwheat culture, 187 Budding fruit trees, 464 Bulbs, from the Cape, 389 ; manage- ment, 126 Bullfinch cage. 298 Bustard, 246 ; in Wilts, 153 Batterfliea, Cabbage, 289 Cabbage Butteefly, 385 Cabbages, forwarding, 125 ; introduc- tion, 66 ; planting, lb7 ; wintering, 106 Cactaceff, 68 Cactus culture, 90 Caladiums, culture, 2C4; soil for, 221 Calceolarias— bed. edging for yellow, 261 ; bedding in 1870, 44 : for bedding, 149. 168; culture, 178, 213; culture and failures. 81; compost for, 373; cuttings, 428; failures. 137: flower- ing late, 209; herbaceons, 428: planting, 147 ; sowing shrubby, 92 ; weevils on, 409 Camellias— buds falling, 34, 127; cul- ture, 67, 133. 158; cuttings, 294; not flowering, 148; after flowering, 242, 341 ; flowering In cold pits, 445 ; leaves blotched, 13; leaves spotted, 204; in cold pits, 294: repotting, 808; old, 84; sicltly, 34; Eiot,293 Camphor for fowls, 226 Canaries — silver cups for, 77; prize cups for. 93: not singing, 156; ma- nagement, 156; scurfy-headed, 156; skin irritated, 156, 192; conserva- tory for. 156; silver cups at the Crystal Palace, 118; Mules at the Crystal Palace, 190; room, notes from my, 207, 225, 245, 265, 313, 8S3 : spring moulting, 226; judging at Woodbridge, 264. 281; pip in, 298; eggs unfertile, 314; avoiding pnra- sites, 346; mice in cage, 362; two hens to one cock, piclting them- selvee, 432; at Stroud, 412. 448; be- come blind. 396; Bullfinch Mule, 192 Canary-fancier's wife's remonstrance, 246 Canna culture, 108 Cannell's boiler, 274 Carbolate of lime, 846 Carbolic acid r. vermin, 15 Carnations, in a bed, 205; culfnrc.863; sowing, 326; Perpetual or Tree. 863 Carter's prizes, 85, 87; Boot Show, 402 Cauliflowers, 524; buttoning, 464 Caution, 846 Ceanothus azureus as a climber, 100 Cedar, a large, 288 ; transplanting, 221 Celery culture, 91, 219. 227 Centaurea candidissima, propagation, 167; sowing, 54 Cereus giganteus, 68 Chaffinches in garden, 342 Chaniffirops Fortunei in a Wardian case, 409 Cheilanthes elegans culture, 342 Cheimatobia bruiuata, 50 Cherries, summer-pruning, 408 Chichester, Mrs., 411 Chickens, dead in the shell, 192,208, 396; distinguishing, 208; dying, 450: two sorts in one egg, 281.362; par- tially hatched, 861; marking, 346; rearing, 844. 328, 359,875,410; vora- cious and giddy, 378 Chiswick Garden, 102 : of Koyal Hor- ticultural Society, 886 Chitteprats. 248 Chlorocodon Whiteii, 272 ChryEanthemums. culture, 7, 45: cut- tings, 221, 427 ; plunging potted, 176 ; Ftopping, 308, 409 Cinders and fowls' feet, 226 Cineraria culture, 284 Cirsium Grahami. 145 Citrus japonica culture, 242 Clematises, new cross-bred, 337 Clianthus Dampieri culture, 390 Clifton College Botanic Garden. 353 Climbers— for conservatory, 148 ; for greenhouse, 90 ; for a porch, 149 ; fur south-east wall, 445 ; for south wall, 108, 342 ; under trees, 842 CobEea scandens. culture, 242; seed- lings, variegated, dyintr, 374 Cochins- not broody. 330; character- istics, 96; comb black. 78; comb drooping. 247; comb purple, 40; comb tips white, 156; dying sud- denly. 266; early laying, 414; eggs hatching, 298; leg scurfy, 155; mating, l.'ifi; pullet paralysed, 172; pullet prolific, 361 ; Lemon Buff, 156 Cock and hen, prizes for, 410 Cockerel's weight, 464 Cock's comb purple, 40 Cock one-eyed, 468 Cockroach, 233 Colchester Poultry Show, E4, 1S8; Rabbit prizes, 95 Cold, intense, 6 Coleus propagation, 310 Columnea Schiediana flowers falling, 826 Comb of cock sore, 248 Compass Plant, 803 Compost for plants, 326 Condiments for fowls, 40 Coniferre from seed, 178 Conifers, near the sea, 221 ; from seed, 241; seeds, 260 Conservatorv, climber for east wall, 445; plants for, 278, 842 Convolvulus, eradicating wild, 409 Coprinus comatus. 309 Cordyline heliconifolia, 808 Coriaria thymifolia, 288 Cork Poultry Show, 56 Cornwall market gardening, 402 Coasus ligniperda, 32 CostuB Blalortieanus, 272 Cottager, Who is one ? 358 Cottagers, gardens for, 437 Covent Garden Market, 20.40,00 7fi P6, 114, 132, 156, 172, 192, 208, 226. 248* 266, 282, 298, 814, 330, 346, 862, 378. 396 414,482,450,468 Cow dung, insects in, 242 Creals, white-necked, 208 Creve-Ccpiu's claws, 172; car-lobcs, Cripps, W. T,, 442 Criticism, anonymous, 45, 85 JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDENER. [ July 18, 1871. Crooked-breasted fowls, 132 Cross-b reeding fowls for table, 114 Crystal Palace, 369 ; Bird Show, 129, 152 : Cntbusli's flowers at, 211 : Rose Show, 459 ; Show, 866 ; a florist's notes at, 366 Cnckoo-splt insect, 404 Cucnmbers— sowing for Au^st, 221 ; in bed, 426; beds. 202: covering, 446; culture, 257; damping-off, 409; deformed, 109 ; disease, 271, 803, 349, 898, 435 ; preventing. 364 ; in green- house, 34, 294. 326; house for. 55,91, 204 ; house failures, 143 ; for house, 278 ; in an unheated honse, 374 ; in a lean-to, 427 ; impregnating. 309 ; leaves scalded, 279, blistered, 344; spotted, 446; planting hardy, 445; pit for, 205 ; shrivelling, 3S9 ; sum- mer-growing. "209 : not swelling, 359 ; thrips on, 359; training, 146; Blue Gown, 72 Cup poultry prizes, 244 Curcuma albiflora, 423 Currant, aphides on. 374; Black, 390; Clearwingmoth, 256; cuttings, 108; trees, blighted, 358, caterpillars on, 39 I, mildewed, 373 Custard for chickens, 330 Cuttings, bark bed for, 109; m akin g and forwarding, 203; ripe and un- ripe, 240 Cyclamens, culture, 24, 127; flower- less, 204; hedersefoUum culture, 261; seedUnga early-flowering, 6; sow- ing, 91 Cydonia japonica, pnming, 260 ; sow- ing. 168 Cynodon Dactylon, 821 Cypripedium, Dominianum, 182; ni- veum, 338, 350 Cyrtanthera chrysostephana, 145 Damson, 365, 381; the Crittenden. 800, 349 Dandelion salading, 446 Daphne indica treatment, SOS; stop- pinfr, 310 Darele, the, 322 DarUngtonia califomiea, 9, 4^0 December, flowering plants in, 46 Desfontainea spinoaa, propagating, 205 Deutzia culture, 147 Dianthus Heddewigi seedlings, S71 DiatThcea in fowls, 346, 432 Dielytra cucuUaria, 301 Digitalis genus improving, 98 Diunei'-table decoration, 103, 181, 200, 251 Disa grandjflora, 92 Doab grass, 321 Dorkings— and Brahma cross, 78; chickens dying, 191, 282 ; early chickens. 248; chicken's toes dis- torted, 156; combs. 114; cross-bred, 414 ; diseased, 155 ; Duck-footed, 266; egg-bound. 113; fattening, 191; tongue diseased, 226 ; legs paralysed, 114; difference between Grey and Silver-Grey, 20; Silver-Grey, 450; White. 96 Dorstenia Mannii, 423 Dracjena leaves brown, 55 Drake-Duck, 310 Drills, garden, 232 Drive, cost of maldng, 108 Drymoda picta, 423 Dubliji Poultry Show, 20G, 314 Ducklings' asc, knowing, 413 Ducks— and fowls for eggs. 204; eggs discoloured, 156; eggs not hatching, 846, 378; eggs' yolk dark, 298 ; food for, 191 ; imported, 432 ; Kouens with East Indian, 266 Dumfries Poultry Show, 75 Dung, heat from, 33 EifiTHiNO-uPt 433 Earwigs, 890 Faster, white flowers for, 18 Edging, for a border, 310 ; for kitchen garden, 149 Edinburgh Columbarian Association, 89, 75 Edwardsia microphylla, 809 Egg-bound hen, 208; eating hens, 208, Eg«s — aeccrtaining fertility, 302 ; chickens in double, 298; chilled, H46; cracked hatching. 878: beat hatching time, 878; deficient, 210; fieBtroying vitality, 172; double- yolked, 96 ; exudation on, 596 ; flavour of, 248; fowls for, 132, 156; iirtsorving. 26-1. 266,830; price near I-onrlon, 172; production, 450; sex of, 862. 410; hhcll-lcRH, 220; small yolklcBS, 396; tor sitting, 814; sup- idv, -10; unfertile, 59; wetting in- cubating, 880 Eloplmntiasis in fowls, 191 Elm tree, soil against, 842 EngliHh modern gardening, who most promottrd ■/ 195 Entomological S«ciety'8 Meeting, V,7 180,2IR, 258, 804.807, 4:S7 Epimcdium, foliage, 836 ; orectum, 8G2 Epiphyllum flowcrH drooping, 54 Epwoitb Poultry Show, 844 Eucalypti, ubcs of, 805 Eucalyptus globulus warted, 147 Eucharis amazonica. culture. 92, 381 ; flowering, 261 ; -winter flowering, 278 ; four times flowering, 295 Evergreens, for lawn, for ^vinter beds, 242 ; pruning, 342 Exeter Poultry Show, 466 Exhibition fowls over-fattened, 281, 328 Exhibiting together differently-aged fowls, 20 Export of fowls to America, 40 Faeringdon v. Co^-ent Gabden Market, 353 Feather-eating fowls, 172, 450 Feathers, stiff, 463 Feet of bii-ds ulcerated, 18 Fermenting material for pit, 221 Ferns, exotic, 79, 427; drying, 427; fastening di-ied, 310; culture. 858; re-tubbing tree, 168; under trees, 295; Haresfoot, 338 Fernery construction, 295 Feverfew, sowing Golden, 54 Ficus elastica propagating, 221; not thriving, 222 " Field Quarterly,"' 9 Figs, sexes of, 210; Koyal Vineyard, 200 Filberts unproductive, 389 Fittonja ai-gyroneura shoots dying, S2 Fitzroya patagonica, 42 Floorfor shed, 464 Flooring of poultrv run, 156 Floral Society, Metropolitan, 28 Florida gardens, 405 Florists' notes at South Kensington, 211 ; garden, 365 Flower, garden arrangements, 42: beds, circular, arrangements, 122 Flowers, annuals for cut. 221; seed sowing, 147 ; for spring, 464 Flue, return, 464 Food, fashion in, 468 " Forester, The," 217 Form and colour, 335, 315 Fountains, 338 Fowls— dung. 278; dying suddenly, 172 : losing feathers, 1S2 ; foot swollen, 413; handling, 222 : hardy, 78; hunchbacked, 114; over-lat, 450; in rooms, 191 ; shooting straying, 132; sick, 20; for small space, 78; for show, preparing, 314 ; most pro- fitable, 314; versus Ducks. 314; throat, rattling in, 378 : trespassing, 226,260: under trees, 59 Frames, box, 134; calico for covering, 343 Fraxinella sowing, 312 Fremontia califomiea, 441 French fowls, 72, 78 French gardening and the war, 165; horricuiiurists' relief fund, 161, 162, 177, 232 Frosts, effects of winter's, 302; in- juries from, 357; in Norfolk, 29; V. vegetation, 162 Fruiterers' Company, 239 Fruit- culture aided by bees, 405 ; dropping prematurely. 463 ; growing commerciallv. 420, 438 ; growers, hints to, 251 : prospects, 316. 832, 889 ; room construction, 186: stone, far north, 162; walls, glass against. 342; trees, for the north, 5: barked by hares, 13: laid in, 5i: for small gardens, 84.242: unproductive, 327 : stopning, 358: newly planted, 186: not thinninc, 409 Fachsias, leaves spotted, 373: select smgle, 13; sessilifolia, 423; Father Itmatius, 34 Fuel economy and slow combustion, 8, 26, 66, 67, 163 Fumigatmg Peaches in flower, 168 Funtii, 827 ; coats, 409 Funkia grandiflora flowerless, 445 Fungoid parasite, fatal, 235 Fungus, edible. 309 Game, cocks at Exhibitions, 16: head oiling, 330: moping, 830: wry- tftilfid, 182; at Nantwich, 205; blue cocks, 208; varieties together, 248; exhibiting, 414 ; Blue Dim, 222 Gander and Goose, detecting, 461 Gardenia culture, 260 Garden, for profit, 298; plotting and levelling, 7, 27, 63, ICO, 214, 269, 354, 386, 423 Gardeners— and gardening, 21 ; cares. 836; Company, 238; examinations, 82; exchanging phmtfl, 285, 317; gun license, 90; Improvement Societies, 217; Hoyal Beiu-vokiit Institution, 231, 437 ; tux on, 83 ; in wet weather, 824 ; working hmirs, 409 Gas, extinguished liy a down-draught, 83; light's effect on plants, 136 Geese, Toulouse, 861 Geraniums- bedding, 22, 168 ; compoBt for, 261, 873 ; cuttings not rooting, 809; edging for aomc beds, 359; in a frame, 408; frosted, 32 : leaves spot- ted, 1G7, 242, 873 : variegated, 873 : fading, 54, 826, 327 ; in the open air, 487; seedling, 437; turning out, 204 ; croHB-breeding Tricolor, 229 ; Tri- color flowering, 809 ; wild, 251, 301 Gesnera culture, 73, 825 Gibraltar garden plants, 451 Gilia Uniflora, 272 Gillyflower. 3G8 Gladioli. 271 ; culture, 34; dracocepha- lus, 145; planting spawn, 149; of the past season, 5 Gladioluses in pots, 827 Glass, clouding, 149; plant culture under, 97 Glasgow International Show, 305 Glazmg, 138; laps in, 210; wall, 46; without laps, 827 Goat moth, 82 Gooseberry, cuttings, 108; trees, worsted on, 241 Goose eggs not hatching, 282 Gough, Mr., dinner to, 320 Gourd planting, 445 Grafting, new mode, 305 Grape house, a large, 273 Grapes— am atem-'s success, 1S8 ; dis- eased, 326, 408; exudation in, 343; growing in Scotland, 26; inarching, 278: keeping cut. 13; new, 335; re- cently introduced, 43 ; selections of, 4.65; setting, 63. 97, and crossing, 84; syringing, 232, 250; thinning. 301,357; varieties, 92; on Vine first year, 858: undeveloped, 295 : Golden Champion, 195, 250, and Black Muscat of Alexandria, 228; Gros Colman, 250; Queen Victoria, 278. See also Vines. Grass, under Beech, 309; mats, 321; seeds, sowing, 186 Grasses, ornamental varieties of na- tive, 116 Great Harwood Show, 318 ; 328, 360, 375 Green fly, preverting, 342 Greenhouse- back wall. 168; cheap, 220; climber border, 295; climbers, 332; cistern in. 55; construction, 342 ; glazing, 148 ; plants for, 72, 168, 267,290,380: blighted, 34 : not thriv- ing, 127: for north wall, 890; and stove, 389; tank, 204; and vinery communicating, 358 Grubs in soil, 310 Guano liquid manure, 445 Guinea Fowls. 814, 450; layiDg, 378; sitting time, 899 Gynmogramma, scale on, 464 H.EUANTHTIS OOCCINEUS FOR AuGCST, 309; defoimis, 352; tenuiflorus, v. coccineus,29 Hamburghs— cock, 346; cock's comb purple, 432; combs, 182; leathers, 172; hackle off, 33ii; hardiness, 132; breeding Black, 96, 132, 156; cross with Black Game, 156 ; crossing with Game, 2^6: Golden-spangled, 20, colour of, 346 ; hreedintr Golden- pencilled, 59 ; Silver-pencilled, 132, 172, 248 : Silver- spangled, 132, and Black, 222 Handling fowls, 243 Hants and Berks Poultry Show, 465 " Hardy Herbaceous " and Alpine Flowers," 257 Hares, barking trees, 92 ; and Rabbits versus trees, 804 Hartweg, Mr. T., 199 Hatching disasters, 359, 392 Heaths, ■winter-blooming, 278 Heat, obtaining moist, 66 Heating, by hot water, 212, 374; by stove with a chamber, 409; vinery and conservatory, 464; Riddell's ap- paratus 374 Hedaroma tulipiferum, 308 Hedge, evergreen, 92 Hedycliium culture. 212 Helianthemum vulgare variegatum, 212 Hen-cock, 248 Hens— dropping eggs, 132; fattening, 248 ; fighting. 266 ; house aspect, 226 ; in confined space, 862 ; legs coarse, 191; nesting but not laying, 191 Herbaceous plants from seed, 93 Himmelstera, 428 Hoar frost, 49 Hollies, heading down, SIO Holly hedcc neglected, 92 Hollyhocks, notes on, 235; planting, 127 ; select, 167 Honeysuckle, Japanese, 399; flower- ing. 415 Hnoker, Dr., in Morocco, 273 Hops, culture, 62, 231, 270: for orna- ment and use, 136: for an arbour, 809 Horse Chestnut bleeding, 446 Horseradish inferior. 168 Horticultural (lloyalj Society's Com- mittees, Sliows, &c., 47, 121, 161. 198, 252, 286, 318. 351, 400, 436, 456 ; Annual General Meeting, 116; balance sheet. Ac, 120; Congress proposed, 427; Council, 48; Report of. 118; en- tomological prizes, 288, 8rj3 ; Horti- cultural Directors' Report, 120 ; Mr. Marshnll's exhibition scheme, 162; prizes, 235, for Primroses and Hj*- acinths, 122; schedule, 82; Super- intendent at Kensington and CJiis- wiek, 87 Hotbeds, 259 ' Hothouse on a slope, 827 >, Hot water, increasing heat fron | ^ failure, 33 ; circulating downwardt ' Houdans, 191; moulting, 40 Houses for fruits and plants, arrange ment of, 186 Hovea culture, S31 Hugel, Baron, death of, 253 Hyacinths— in February, li glasses, 168; in the open grbunci 278 ; prizes, 100 ; ahort-stemmed 147 Hybrid and cross-bred plants, prize for, 193 [29 Hybridising and cross-breeding, rales i^ Ice, house, aib cihculatinq tH, 88 converting building, on glasB roofa 188 ; versus glass, 49, 63, 178 Icing fruit trees, 12 Inarching, embrj-onic, 352 India, gardening in, 305 ludiarubber Plant, 221, 222 Influence of male bird, 280, 828 Ink plant, 288 Inquirj', 16 Insect-destroying solution, 852 Insects, some garden predatory, B( 86, 179, 233, 256, 289, 297, 367, 385. 403 International Exhibition, horticiUti ral part, 401 Ireland, notes made in, 143. 236, 821 Iresine, Herbstii sowing, 54 ; Linden propagation. 464 Irish Royal Horticultural Society' Showj 302 Iris reticulata not flowering, 295 Ivied wall, 139 Ivy. pruning, 148, 221, 261; againe netting, 279 Jacobis, mating a blue, 172 Jonquil, culture, 178; not flowerinp 221 Judtres claiming biida at ponltr- shows, 149, 169 Juniper fungus, 295 Kale, culture. 5 ; variegated, 194 Kendal Poultry Show, 73 Kent, W., 347 Kidney Beans, early crops, 872 Kiln, fowls near, 172 Kirkcaldy Poultry t- how, 37 Kitchen garden sowing, 166 Kohl Rabi culture, 445 LACKEr Moth, 257 Landscape gardener, our first, 347 Lantana culture. 90 Lapageria. alba from seed, 168; rose; in pot, 91 Larches dj-ing. 359 Larkspur, candelabra-flowered, 29 " Laurel Joe," 321 Laurels, pruning, 72 Lavender disease, 445 Lawn, Grass and the Daisy, 421 ; fail ine. 427; grass seeds for, 147; top dressing, 108: manuring, 91; worm and moss on, 884 ; patchy, bare, 204 weeds on, 185. 374 Leaf and root, 425 Leaves— blighted, 118; coloui's in an tumn, 162; discoloured by svring iug, 309; mould, 129, 148; propu gation by, 220 Leeds Park Show, 189 Leg-cramp in chickens, 172 Legs 0f hen rough, 60 Leicester Square for a flower market 142 Lemon trees, mealy bug on, 375 Lettuces, planting, 146; grubs at roots, 4G4 Lice on fowls, 208 Lichens on Apple trees, 241 Lilium tigriuum flore-pleno, 145 Lily of the Valley, culture, 344 : flower- less. 294, 389 ; Bowing, 408 ; in sum- mer, 464 Lijium trigj-nmn culture. 278 Liquid manure evaporating, 279 Loams defined, 148 Locuat-bean meal for fowls, 468 Lomaria gibha, 342 Loudon, G.,195 Lonicera aureo-reticulata fruiiiJiff, 438 Lowestoft Poultry Show, 94 Loxford Hall, 419 Maonoliaf, cuttings, 416; in potb, 278 Malays, 244; characteristics, 78 ; fea- ther-eating, &c., 282; prizes, 96, 114 ]\Ialvei-n NaturaUsts' Club, 288 Manchester and Liverpool Poultry Show, 891 Manchester PouHi-y Show, 16, 20 Manchester Naturalists' Society, 273 Maudevilla suaveolens culture, 242 Maun, death of Mr., 100 Manure watering, 185 Manures, liquid, 218 Manuring, surface, 372 March high temperatures, 162 Hi fcli July 13, 1871. ] JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. vii Jarkets. 20, 4e, 69, 78, 96, 114, 132, 156, 172, 193. 208, 226. 2iS, 266. 282, 298, 314, 330. 846, 3G2, 378, 396, 414, 432, 450, 4GS; proposed new, 320 Marking fuwls, 396 Slassonia odorata. 200 Master and servant, 141 Melons— disease, preventing. 364; for frame, DO; fraaaes, covertng, 446; for house, 279; for June, 91; leaves scorched. 327 ; in pots, 358 ; planting, 221: Biilphuretted, 14 Meteorology, 60 Meiropolitan Floral Society, 838 Mice, keut from bulbs, 46; poisoned, 302 Mignonette, culture, 418; tree ma- nagement, for July show, 30b Miliiewin conservatory, 4^4 Millipedes in soil, 310 Mimetic plants, 338 Mimulus, cross-breeding, 849 Mint sauce in winter, 414 Mole Cricket, 233 MonochiEtum ensiferum culture, 2C4 Mooney. the Lancashire, 123, 243 Morels, 327 Moss, on wood path, 343 ; for Orchids, in yhrul)bery.374 il«und, shrubs for, 148 WulLierry propagation, 72 Mulching. 372 Musa Cavendishii after fruiting, 72 Mushrooms— bed makiDg, 148; beds, temperature, 225, out of doors, 374 ; in a cellar. 54, 109. 889, 427 ; failures, 426; growing, 445; house shelves, 33; management, 53; salt for, 72; spawn eccentric, 61; on Vine borders, 40J Musk, compost for, 373 * Mycological Illustrations," 424 Myosotia dissitiflora, 303, 333 Nantwich Poultry Snow, 111 Narcissus not flowering. 221 Native plants, ornamental varieties, 28 Naturalising plants, 853 Nematus Ribeaii, 368 Nemesia sowing, 408 Nemophilas in pots, 167 Nenthead Poultry Show, 56 Nerine pudica, 352 Nests for egg-hatching, 281 New England poultry doings, 331 New Year's hopes, I New York Poultry Show, 57 New Zealand, feathered emigrants, 430; plants for, 205 Night soil utilising,46i Nitrate of soda as a manure, 445 Northampton Poultrv Show, 77, 205; dyed Bantams at, 223 Nothoscordum aureum. 272 Nurserymen's prices, 90 Nut trees, pruning, 809 Oakwood House, 334 Oats, ground, for poultry, 153, 172, 192 Oleander stem bare, 92 Oncidium tigrinum, v. splendidam, 29 Onion culture, 92, 407 Oranges, leaves and flowers falling, 16S ; scale on, 261 ; trees, mealy bug on, 375 Orchard, house cleaning, 1&8; fruit trees, 72. 91, 453, scale, on, 390; ma- nagement, 115, 220. 277 ; pots frozen, 14 ; prospects and Communists, 379 Orchard trees, pruning newly-planted, 279 Orchids for a conservatorv, 5, 91 Ormson's mode of ventilating, 253 ijsicr bed. forming, 109 Otalieite Orange culture, 242 Outrages on prize poultry, 73, 149, 187, 2-1.'), :i22,245 Oyster sheila for Vine border, 358 P.EONIA WlTTMANNUNi, 369 Page. Mr. W. B., 305 Paint, removing old, 342 Paisley Poultry Show, 38 Palms, compost for, 374: seeds sow- iog. 90 Pampas Grass protecting, 13 Pansies, for spring flowering, 374; propagation, 389; B0^\■ing, 326 Parallelogram, forming, 54 Parent, influence of each, 312 Pans, inside, CI ; Jardin des Plantes. 87 Parks, new Superintendents, 183 Parrots, management, 114; moultinp:, 15« Parsnips not forked, 108 Partridges, rearing, 362, 414 Paasiflora quadrangularis, 193 Paullinia thalictrifotia, 29 Peaches— heavy crops, 418 ; out of doors, 46J ; falling, 308; forcing, 90 ; defective growth, 212; in the north, 213 ; white spot in peachery, 899 ; trees, heading maiden, 143: cover- ing for, 201: in orchard house dis- eased, 341: red spider on, 278: in- aect on, 279: in pots failing, 294: pruning, 241: salphate oi iron for, 'Peacsi^s— Continued. 342: leaves blistered, 343: falling, 204: fruiting shoots, 294 ; Lord fal- merston, 352 Pears— in April, 275; core decayed, 90: perverse, 159; not setting, 341; warming ripe, 14 ; trees, caterpillars on, 390: cutting down young, 3a9 : insects on, 127: leaves blackened, 342, 389 : pinching espalier, 389 : planting, 186: scale on, 127, 242: summer pruning, 427; Autimin Josephine, 29; Brockworth Park, 29; Cassante du Comice, 30; Doy- enne d'Aleni,^on vermis Eastt-r Beurre, 98 ; Doyenne d'Alencon, 135 ; Doyenne d'Hiver Nouveau, 13r. ; Enfant Pi-odigue, 10 ; Fondante du Comice, 10; tjansel's Seckle, 30; Maud Hogg, 30; Millot de Nancy, 10 ; Olivier de Serres, 275 ; Passe Crasanne, 135 Peas, in autumn, 452 ; early, 373; late, 9; leaves for soup, 107; mildewed, 295; northward, 9; raising early, 157,167,194,211,235,240; for show, 108 ; stalks and leaves yellow, 374 Pea weevil, 290 Peat, 242 Pelargoniums— bedding, 32 ; double for bedding, 62 ; double-flowered, 177, as bedders, 103 ; variegated for bedding, 148; planting in beds, 342 ; failing, 445; forcing, 157; leaves spotted, 295; losing colour, 221; leggy. 108 ; early- flowering show, 299 ; list, 205; pinching. 127 ; select, 327 ; stopping. 211 ; Tricolor and Bronze, 2i)5; Tricolor cuttings, 428 ; Madame Vancher weak, 358 Penrith Poultry Show, 224 Pentstemons, select, 13 Perilla seed failing, 221 Periwinkle, variegated, 409 Petunias, seed failing, 221 ; select double, 13 Phalaenopsis bearing offsets, 91 Pheasants not poultry, 155 Philodendron Williamsii, 352 Phcenix Park, Chief Secretary's, 99 Pieea Pinsapo cones, 342 Picotee sowing, 260 Plena ErassicK, 385 Pigeons— action for lost, 361 ; clear eggs, 432, laying soft, 298; com- n7encing keeping, 468; cramp, 314; fancier's notes between Birming- ham and Smyrna, 76; in a garden, 396; head turned, 298; injured, 132; losing feathers, 314; oil gland re- laxed, 293; portraits. 298; race, 466; sick, 40, 362; varieties to keep, 376; vagaries, 414; water trough, 206; from Turkey, 206: unable to stand, 226; White-eye, 414, 45-; wing dis- ease, 393; Archangels, 208; Barbs not breeding. 4S8; young Carriers dying, 432; Carrier, 55; Black Car- rier. 40: prizes for Carriers, 112,130; exhibiting Carrier, 149 ; Courier, 412 ; BlueDra^oons' rumps, 78 ; Dragoon, 40; matching Dragoons, 192; Fan- tail, 58, 112, 130; the Jacobin. 311 ; Blue Jacobins, 314 ; Glasgow Pouters, 396 ; the Owl, 429 ; Runts, 414 ; Egyptian Hunts, 156 ; Tumblers, 414; Birmingham Tumblers, 57; Flying Tumblers, 16, 156, 188 ; muffed Tumblers, 76 ; Turbits, 208, 263 Pine Apples, large-crowned, 91 ; seed- ling, 140 Pinuses sowing. 446 Pipes choked, 127 Piping for hot water needed, S3 Pit, construction, 374 ; converting to a house, 390, 427; flue-heating, 2G1 ; for Cucumbers and Melons, 186; making a cold, 242 Plantago lanceoiata variegated, 135 Planting, 167; and potting deep, 24) Plants, anomalous, 67 ; not flowering, 353 Pleroma culture, 331 Plums, summer-pruning, 403; on leaf- less shoots, 464 ; trees, heading down, 168 : roots diseased, 34 Plymouth Poultry Show, 114 Pogogyne Douglasii, 145 Pomts, breeding for, 243 Pointer diseased. 20 Poinsettias, culture. 80 ; growing dwarf, 23 ; pulcherrima dwarf, 3 Polands' claws, 298 ; crests dirty. 93 Polemonium caemleum culture. 342 Polyanthus, Giant. 320 Pond, clearing water, aquatics for, gold fish in. 374 ; plant near, 309 Poor-man's Pipe, 278 Poppy, the Prickly, 305 Portable house, heating, 33 Portable sti-actures. 13 Portsmouth Poultry Show, 128 Postage stamps, payment with, 283 Post, seed packages by, 165 Potatoes — American, &8, 137 ; con- demned by the Horticultural So- ciety's Committee, 69 ; disease, 80 ; top-dressing, 127 ; early, 371 ; earth- ing-up, 399, 407, 417, 433, 462; esti- mate of some, 173 ; forcing, 89 ; frosted, 55; growing early, 23; for light and heavy soils, 64 : merits, 80 ; plant, uses of, 803 ; planting, 3, VoT/LTOEa— Continued. 83, 149 : produce in 1869-70, 163 ; red and white exhibition, 25 ; for show, 108; forncxt spring, 339: Flounder. 26 ' ; Red-skinned Flourball, Presi- dent Lincoln, 261 ; Webb's Imperial, 213 Pot-pourri, 468 Pot saucers. 143 Potting and repotting, 126 Poultry— breeding on farms, 150,170; in confined space, 40, 249,264; coat of show, 248; as an employment, 131; experiment, 262; farm. South American, 428 ; handling, 187 ; house, floor cleansing, 4ii8, heating, 20; keeping balance, 262; keeping under difficulties, 446; killed by a dog, 188; lore of 1870,14; marking, 114 ; outrages on prize, 109 ; pro- tecting exhibited, 241; results, 93, 109, 128, 109; show officials, are ihey liable for the debts? 187; shows, not advertised, 20, management, 264, uses of, 262; trespassing, 208; what to keep. 390 Powerscourt, 236, 321 Primulas, after flowering, 127 ; cor- tusoides aracena, 303, 332; and its culture, 303, 364 ; culture of Chmese, 230; japonica, 423 Propagating house, heating, 55 Propagation, various, 168 Protecting garden crops, 195 Protection, 12; glazed, 14 Pruning fruit trees, 89 Pullets, feather-eating, 96; not seeing food, 314 Pyrethrum, Golden, 316 ; culture, 268 ; planting Golden-feathered, 163 Pyras japonica on north wall, 409 QCISCE STOCK PKOPAGATIOK. 169 Rabbits— AND Apple trees, 124 ; Club, United Kingdom, 170. 190, 207, 245, prizes, 113; at Colchester and Portsmouth Shows, 59, 76; ('.Coni- fers, 383; fancier's troubles, 191; tancy declining? 131, 153; fleas on, 414 ; and hares r. trees, 352 ; in- jured, 114; scab nosed, 432; at Stroud, 413, 449, 450; and trees, 44 Railway delay, case of, 245 Rats, 396 ; and mice. 269 Red lead, v. mice, 46 ; lead on seeds, 90, 261, 269, 292 Red spider, avoiding, 109 [869 Resemblances, vegetable protective, E.hipidopteri3 peltata, 389 PJiododendrons, fine, 231 ; flower buds injured, 261 ; from seed, S27 ; dwarf- fing, 342 ; shows, 399 ; sinense, 423 Rhubarb forcing, 48 Ring Doves in a greenhouse, 20 Rivers, portrait of Mr., 11, 48. 82, 189 Robson, Mr. J., presentation to, 177 Rockville. 148 Romford Poultry Show, 447 Roost-house floor, 78 Roots, tap. 268 Roses— ants on, 464; aphis on, 344; buds yellow, 427 ; caterpillars on, 390; cuttings, 221; early blooming, 90; exhibiting, 427: forcing, 54, 342; frosted, 241 ; fowls' dung for, 108 ; fungus on leaves, 373 ; yellow fungus on, 445; grubs, 308; guano liquid for, 373 ; in India. 221 ; list. 190, 261 ; liquid manure for, 279; notes, 416; pigmy, 305; in pots, 91; for pats, 308; prospects, 832; pruning. ^50; picking off dead, 464 ; old and new, 221 ; on own roots, 327 ; retrans- planting, 34 ; from seed, 108 ; tops of stocks, covering, 186 ; show, 459 ; for table decoration, 365 ; washing, 221 ; watering, 389; pruning Biinksian, 409 J the two Devoniensis, 409 ; Felix Genero, 250; Manetti stocks, 373; 3Iarechal Niel, 308, 834, 424: Monplaisir, &c., 64; Tea, aspect for, 174, culture, 43, shoots blind, 241 Roup, 191 Rumex obtusilolia variegated, 158 Salt for fowls, 468 Salvia, splendens, repotting, 42G ; cutr tings, 464 Sawdust uses, 25S Saxifraga longifolia, 200 Scion, bud of to prefer, 827 Sea Anemones, tenacious of life, 353 Sea-kale, forcing, 48, 202, 276; an- blanched, 825 Sea sand and fowls' legs, 468 Sedum acre aureum, 212 Seedling trees fruiting, 434 Seedlings, pricking-out, 203 Seeds, red-leading, 125 Selkirk Poultry Show, 112 Sesia Tipuliformis, 256 Sewage, for gardens, 407 ; utilising, 55 Shaded border, plants for, 54 Shamrock, 241, 310 Sheep's paunch for fowls, 450 Shrubbery borders, 221 Shrubs, have they flowered? 294] evergreen and variegated, 310? re- mo ring, 163 Sidney seed-sower, 278 Silkies not Bantams, 390 Silphium laciniatum, 25, 304 Sitona lincata. 290 Small-pox, plants for, 258 Snails, destroying, 408 Snow i'. glass, 49 Snowdrops after flowering, S4 Sobralia macrantha var. albida, 370 Solanum, capsicastrum se-^dlings, 103 sowing. 16a; ciliatum,164 Soot water for syringing, 842 Sowing in summer, 407 Spalding Poultry Show, 465 Spanish— cock's, comb drooping, 60, face, 114, excess of, 78. scaly, 361, ulcerated, 330, white, 378 ; wounded, 220 ; Black. 00 ; fowls for exhibition, 78; hen's crop, 247 Sparrows, puzzling the, 215 Spasms in heus' legs, 06 Stakes for flowers, &c., 12 Stangeria paradoxa, 48 Statice Holfordi not flowering, 127 Stephanotis floribunda, mealy bag on, 295; seeding. 341 Stock, change of, 60 Stocks, sowing Intermediate, 242 Stove, Blow combustion, 69,101 ; heat- ing by, 70 Strawberries — bloomless, 343 ; cul- ture, 350, 382, 3'J8, in pots, 268; de- ficient in bloom, 293 ; forcing, 176, 186, 2S0, 320, 409, 846 ; layering for forcing. 416; forwarding, 416; in ground vinery, 14 ; in pots, 90, 356, for next season. 427; manure water for, 204; plant insect, 222; plants, packing, 464 ; prospects, 350, 364, 399, 414; selecting runners, 409; this year, 317 ; Dr. Hogg, 382, 388 ; air Harry, 408 Stroud Canary Show, 265 ; Poultry Show, 281, 295, 313, 32y, 344, 393; Rabbit Show's schedule, 208 Subtropical, 341 " Subtropical garden," 441 Sulphunug overmuch, 357 Sundials, 464 Suttons' annual Root Show, 369 Swans, food for, 96 Table decoeation plants, 229, 232, 418 Tacsonias, S43; mollissima planting, 148; Van-Volxemi declining, 168 Tandy, Mr., his garden, 365 Tank heated, cover for, 55 Tanners' pit liquor, 428 Tedworth conservatory, 273 Temperature of the British Isles, 353 Tender plants, prizes for, 6 Theophrasta imperialis culture, 92 Thinning fruit, 403 Thirak Bird Show, 39. 313 Thomson. Mr. W., dinner, &c., to, 402 ; testimonial, 258 Thome Poultry Show, 448 Thrush and Redwing, GO Thyrsacanthus rutiians, ctdtore, 27S fur December, 261 Thujas, 408 Tiger Lily, double, 145 Tillandsia ionantha, 200 Titmouse ravages, 13 Torquay Poultry Show, 150 Toxteth Park Gardeners' Asaociation, 421 Tradesmen and servants, 83 Trapping. 292 Tree-killing solutions, 234 Trees, planting under, 72 Trenching, penalties of rash, 234 Triteleia umflora culture, 309 Tritoma seeds failing. 310 Tropsolum Jarrattii and tricolorum culture, 54 Try-I will, 420 Tulips, bulbs, 291; National Sccitly, 52; short-stemmed, 147 Tumour in pullet, 191 Turf bare under tr^:es, 103 Turkeys, breeding, 114; cramming, 345 ; for table, 60 Tumip-topa forced, 107 VaBEEGATED native PLANTS, 212 Variety class at shows, 15 Vases before house, plants for. 326 Vegetables, culture on peor soils, 397; substitutes for usual, 135 Ventilation, 294 Ventilating glazed wall, 204 Verbenas, bed, 241; blighted, 279; euttinps, 102, 112, 203, tailing, 142, 181; disease, 210; shrivelling, 13a; spotted, 175 Veronica Chamffidrys, 270 Vineries— grooud, 24 ; and plant house, 320; plants lor back wall, 841; management of early, 174; planting, 91, 169, 204; span-roofed, £89 ; Vioes for cool, 260; wiring. 147 Vines— air giving, 320; bearing irre- gularly. 24a; in houbc with bedding plants, 373; borders, 175, 343, un- covering, 308; breaking too early, 358, irregularly, 408; as bushes, 14; canes lead, 326; complaints and remedies, 383 ; culture, 33, 221, 249, 308, cutting newly-planted, 204 ; from viii JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ July 18, 1871. Vines— Continued, cuttings and eyes, 108; death unexplained, 124, 159; disbuddincr, 148, 221 ; flowers, 271 : not fruit ing, 390; gi-alting, IGS. 279; new meibod of growinR young, 61; in greenhouses, 168, 242, 40S; inarch- ing, 92, 222. 2D5 ; insect on buds, 810 ; leaves with edges brown, 342, flag- ging, 295, unhealthy, 103, small. 358 : mildewed, 326, 408: planting, 168, 169, and pruning, 186: in pots, 14, 109, 174, broken, 33; propagating, 1S6; report on, 189; roots diseased, 279; culture, 107; educating, 194; rootlets from branches, 374 ; scorch- ed, 342; selection, 127, 194; shoots destroyed, 390; prematurely start- ing, 204 ; spotted, 342, 358; stoma brown, 213; on hardy stocks, 2ii0, 899; sulphuring, 242; tendrilled but fruitless, 138; tendrils bleeding, 294; training newly-planted, 204. See also Graiu-s. Viola, californica, 868; cornuta alba, 64; genus, improving, 98; lutea grandiflora and cornuta as bedders, 335 Violet-gi'owers, advice to young. 25 1 Violet, 185, 368; a new, 8; culture, 350 ; kinds and culture, 283 ; Novem- ber blooming, 295 ; varieties, 391 ; white, 309; white, green- centred, 205; Roman and Double Pink, 369 Wages, is foel, &c., 91; insufficient, 278 Walks, 389 ; preserving from weeds, 419 ; preventing weeds, 327 Wallflowers, 32ti Wall, glazing, 356; tree borders on bad subsoils. 46; fruit trees, prun- ing, 326 ; plants for a north, 180 War on French gardeners, 8 Warrington Show, extra cup,20G Water Cresses in a garden, 310 Water, for boUer.?, 210; hard, 322: raising, 427; supply, 18:i; supply ana storage, 384 Watering, 372, 426 ; and water-collect- ing, 443 : with hot water, 83 Waterproofing calico, 51 Waverley Poultry Show, 169 Weather, effects of, 393; the severe, 87 ; predictions, 101, 142 Weeding mulched border, 310 Weed, what is. 133 Weeds, culture of, 234 Wellingtonia gigantea, 288 Wharfedale Poultry Siaow, 312 Whitefield Lodge, 99 Whitehaven Poultry Show, 129 Wierton, Polyanthua, &c., at, 355 Window-box plants, 293 Window-gardening, 70 Winter— auomalics, 393; _ conse- quences, 63 ; evergreen cuttings for, 67: bed plants, 326; effects of, 184, 216.350; in Lincolnshire, 100; Nor- folk, 101; flowering plants, 309; moth, 50; prognostications of the present, 83 Wireworms, 130, 187, 393; death to, 230 Wisbech Poultry Show, 110 Wistaria, sparrows attacking, 8 stem decaying, 374 Wolverhampton Poultry Show, 110 Wonders of an amateur, 143 Woodbridce Poultry Show, 223. 22 378; Canary Show, 225; judpn 244. 243 Woodlice, 32G ; trapping, 303 Worma in pota, 204 XlPHION JUNOKUa, 208 Yew, pruning, 148 Yorkshire Grand Gala, 410 ; bird bUot 447 ZEA .TAPONICi CHLTUBE, 108 Zinc labels, writing on. 408 Zinnia, double white, 51; weevils o 409 WOODCUTS. PAGE, Apple, Croft-en-Ecich, or Galloway Pippin 236 Auricula stage 440 Bee-hiveB— Ecoaomic depriving? 155 „ Unicomb 154 Boiler, Cannell's Economising 274 Bombyx Neustria 257 Cercopis spumaria 404 Coreus giganteus 68 Clieimatobia brumata 50 Ghelonia Caja ; 86 Criooeris Asparagi 404 Gypripedinm Dominianam 182 „ niveum 839 Dargle, The 322 Darlingtonia californica 4G0 Dinner-table arrangement 105 Drills, garden 233 Flower-beda, circular 122, 128 Fountain, garden 838 Fremontia californica 441 Grafting, new mode ot 80G Groenhoueea 290, 291 Ground levelling and garden plotting, 7, 27, 83, 160, 214, 269, 854, 886, 423 Nomatas Ribesii 368 Pear, Autamn JosipUne SO PAo: Pear, Crassante du Comioe 3 „ Enfant Prodigue 1 ,, Fondante du Comice 1 „ Gansers Seckle „ Maud Eogg ,, Millot de Nancy „ Olivier de Serrea 27 Pigeon, Fantail ,, Jacobin 31 „ Owl 4S „ Turbit 26 Water trough for ao '^{] Powerscourt Waterfall Rockvillo Fernery 14 Sesia Tipxaliformia 25i Sitona lineata 29i Sobrnlia macrantha albida S7i Solanum ciliatum 16 Stove, slow combustion CI Vinery roof 8[t Vines, eleven months from eyes C] propagating by eyes lot Wall, glass-covered 34: Wireworms 110 ^ Zinnia, new double white CI I Sll 14 It! ef( % ii a I k 111 k fa «it ill! •I 1 Dl IIDli tie I K'l Janaary 5, 1S71. ] JOURNAL OP HOETICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. WEEKLY CALENDAR, ~^^ v UTf Day ot UontU Day of Week, Th F Tn W JANUARY 5—11, 1871. Epiphany. 1 Sunday after EpipnANY. Average Tempera- ture near London. Day. NiRht. Mean 41.4 27.3 34.4 41.1 28.6 84.8 41.7 29.1 35.4 41.0 SOI 35.5 41.a 30.8 36.0 42.0 30.3 .36.1 41.5 SO.l 35.8 Rain in 43 years Days. IS 14 17 14 15 18 22 Sun Rises. m. li. Saf8 7 8 7 8 6 8 6 8 5 8 5 8 Sun Sets. 4af4 6 4 7 4 8 4 9 4 10 4 12 4 Moon Rises. m. h. Oaf 3 48 3 17 Moon bets. m. h. 48al6 44 7 S3 8 14 9 48 9 16 10 40 10 Moon's Age. Days. 14 O 16 17 18 19 20 tuS°'>'q5''"%Tii,"Z'nW ? "f ^°?il°° darina forty. three years, the average day temperature of the week is 414° and its tUTB .i9.5 The greatest heat was 54', oo the 7th, 18J5, and 9th. 18.W : and the lowBiit Lw Ro „„ „,„ ,,„, „„., S»t ,„J, ",.;. Cloclt before Sun. 5 35 Day of Year. raiH was 1.00 inch. 7th, 18 J5, and 9th, 1832 ; and the lowest cold 6', on the 7th and 8th, 1861 The gSesUaToi night tempera- NEW YEAR'S HOPES. H. KENT— whether Mr., or Mrs. or Miss I liiiow not— you are responsible for my sitting down to write another New Year's paper, your kind words in the last number but one beckoned me to my chair, bade me get out the accustomed paper, and dip my pen into the ink, your genial expressions having warmed my heart; I therefore summon up memory, and write yet again, as tliere may be other A. H. Kents who dislike not a ketching pen, and who care, now and then at least, for omethmg in addition to business details. I have put for itle the words " New Year's Hopes ;" and never were men iiore in need of hope than now. " Hope sprmgs eternal in he human breast," and well that it does. A poet of our entury picturing a time (so like the present), " When murder bares her arm, and rampant war Yokes the red dragons of her fiery car :" Vhen all seem to forsake, when peace and mercy are anished, he adds — " Yet Hope the charmer lingers still behind." -0 at the beginning of this year, in spite of the sad past !t us indulge in Hope— hope for more peaceful days, hope lat the New Year may not see, as the old one did the tbours of the husbandman, the Vine-dresser, and horti- Jltunst trodden beneath the spoiling foot of ths soldier The greater number of our readers and writers delight I a garden ; a great, perhaps the greater proportion, are rotessionally engaged in horticulture. Amid their dis- )uragemeuts. and all callings have manv, yet gardeners ave many things which, borne in grateful recollection •e suited to comfort them, and make them content' bey are for the most part removed from the corrupting fluences of large towns ; tho wages are more likely to be isbanded carefulty, books to be studied, and the m'inds of )ung men better trained and disciplined, and the winter's ;emngs better employed. Are they young married men itH iamihes'?^ A cottage in a garden, with garden and iral surroundings, is an innocent atmosphere in which to ■mg up children— healthier and purer for mind and soul 18 a blessed thing to be able to rear our young ones ray Irom VICIOUS scenes, and with the teachings of Nature tore tlieir eyes. I have known where a country-s,ient yhood has been a great means of preserving a pure raan- od. Well said Lord Derby at the last dinner of the u-deners Royal Benevolent Institution-" A man mi-ht dk through a picture gallery, and see a great picture°or itiie, and yet i won d only create within him a feelin" admu-atioa. But take the dullest lout out of the streets" the most savage Arab that ever slept under a dry arch t liim amongst flovvers and trees, these will do him good' they are hiugs which appeal to something in man that f^'™s,withm him a consciousness of his duty to his further, working gardeners with large families will soon ro a chance for their chUdrea which they had not so !to. 610.-VOL. XX., New Seeies. readily before— I mean the advantages of a Sta'te-watched- over and therefore an efficient education. This will in future years give boys a great advantage— grant to all boys the opportunity of an equally good education ; subtract from their number the idle, the dull, and perhaps the sickly • then the remahuler will have a capital opportunity of " going to the front," and doing well in the world. In Scotland, a country up to the present tune far before us as regards elementary (not higher) education, this has often been seen. The father of Robert Burns was a gardener ■ he sent his son to school at six years of age, it was aU his good father could do for him, but what a result ! Had the parents of Burns, for I must include the mother's influence as well, been content to let their boy wander about with- out learning of any kind, one great name would have been blotted out of the roll of British Uterature. Therefore many parents with large families may take comfort, for if they send and keep their children to school they may have sons, aye and daughters too, known ha the future ; for " to the front " wiU go in years to come the educated, the clever and the industrious. ' But with the thought of the increased brain-work in England comes also the thought of the increased need of wholesome recreation. England is further and further receding from the " merrie England " of olden time, which meant to a great degree holiday-making— May-pole dancing Christmas and Twelfth-night romping, and keeping all the many holidays of the old calendar. Now it is work- ing England, and he who provides a wholesome recreation for his fellows in this brain- exhausting age is a public benefactor. But nothing gives such a change and benefit to men, to those, especially " in populous cities pent " as a glimpse of Nature. A recent writer in the ISaUmhiii heriew says well—" In the way of recreation one view of Hampstead Heath is worth whole volumes of tropical travel : and a linnet in a Surrey hedge gives a fresher idea of Natiu-e's charms than all the stuffed specimens in the zoological department of the British Museum " But no object to pursue daily and constantly equals horticul- ture for providing wholesome recreation, and, let me add for promoting good temper. AVonderfully fascinatuig is it' Deny a garden ; yet he who loves one will not be beaten Thus we all remember " Picciola, or the Prison Flower " and he who watched it with intense delight as it un- folded itself from its first pair of leaves to its full ttowerino- Then there is Dickens's story of the boy, crippled and bed-^ ridden, who was devoted to his plant in the broken iutr in the witidow ; yes, and what comfort it gave him. ° It is wholly wrong to ridicule one who has found some hobby, though we may not care for it. I have read of a very hardworkmg clergyman whose delight was to see and measure large trees. Every spare hour he could get away he was looking for a large tree ; he had trees on the brain He dreamed of trees of vast girth and height. His yearly holiday was devoted to searching for large trees In a happy time of longer leisure he crossed the Atlantic, saUed up the mighty Amazon, and sought and found vaster trees than before. He collected pictures of trees, books on trees facts about trees, and I should fancy drew from trees, as No. 11C2.-V0L. XL v., OlD Sekies. JODENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. [ J.inuary C, 1371. well he might, many an illustration in his sermons. Was that a man to be laughed at? Certainly not. He had found a de- lightful, health-giving hobby ; how much better was he situated than the multitudes of travellers who, aimless and yawning, pass through Europe with Murray in their hand. Oh ! bless- ings upon every hobby that takes a man face to face with Nature. I like to hear an artisan grow eloquent over the beauties of his pets, be they fowls, or pigeons, or canaries. I like to see the entomologist start ofi with his net for the country. " See to the shady grove be wings bis way. And feels in hope the rapture of the day; E^ger he looI:s : and soon to glad his eyes, From the sweet bow'rs by Nature formed, arise Bright troops of virgin moths and butterflies." But to have full enjoyment you must take care and pains ; as one of our writers well said in regard to poultry as a hobby, "to be fond of poultry is not merely to keep cocks and hens, but to multiply surface, to overcome difliculties, to supply that which is wanting, to concentrate (this is the point) on a cock and five hens the interest enjoyed by those who have thousands of acres and hundreds of fowls." Perhaps viewed in this light is the special value of florists' flowers — flowers which I humbly think are now too much neglected ; but what happiness do they give ! The man with an atom of backyard yet has a fund of enjoyment in it because of his Auricula stand, or his two dozen or so pots of Carnations or Piootees.. One of my boyhood's friends was a tailor, a careful, com- fortab]y-off man, who sought not his happiness at the public house, but in his little town garden, where he found room for prize Carnations and Gooseberries, fancy pigeons and bees. Then there is the time which will come, or has come to us, the time — " When life's day draws near the gloamin." When as Crabbe's middle-aged hero said — " I rode or walked as I had done before, But now the bounding spirit was no more. I showed my stranger guest those hills sublime, But said, * The view is poor, we need not climb.' For home I felt a more decided taste. And must have all things in my order placed; In fact, I felt a languor stealing on : The active arm, the agile hand were gone. I loved my trees in order to dispose ; I numbered Peaches, looked how Stocks arose." And had Crabbe lived in these days, he might, perhaps, have added something of this sort — *' For quiet pleasures I began to seek. . Kept fancy pigeons, learned to x>lay bt'zique." A garden and home-bound pleasures have, we know, special charms for the retired and middle-aged man, and a happy thing it is when he takes to them. One caution or two as to hobbies. Always bear in mind that people have various tastes, and do not cram your own special hobby down everybody else's throat. Then do not follow your hobby in order to stifle serious thoughts, nor love your pets better than your fellow Christians. All must be loved in order : the Creator first, then our fellow men, then the lesser, because soul-less, works of His creation. We should also cultivate a useful mode of applying observation. Bearing upon this, Addison in " The Spectator " (Does any body read it now in these sensation-novel days?) says, " My friend Sir Koger is very often merry with me upon my passing so much of my time among his poultry. " The Spectator was spending a month with the worthy knight at his country seat in Worcestershire, who complained, " that his ducks and geese had more of hia guest's company than himself." Addison replied, " I am infinitely delighted with those speculations of Nature which are to be made in a country life, and as my reading has lain very much among books of natural history, I cannot fail to recollect upon these occasions the several remarks which I have met with in authors, and to compare them with what falls under my observation." Now, this Journal does much in leading minds to the gardens, and lo nature generally, and to the poultry yard especially, and so contributes, I believe, not a little to wholesome recreation. Among all longings none are bo strong as the town man's longings for the country. " I long," said a Londoner to me, " to lie on a summer day on my back on the grass and look up into a tree." Even where the whole day is not spent in a town, yet if the day's occupation be in- doors the same feeling for bringing nature, or a reminder of nature near, is not un- frequently seen. The shoemaker and the tailor, and others of like in-door occupation are, and always have been, among the most ardent bird-fanciers ; the goldfinch in his cage bringing the Furze common and the healthy glow there found, before the man's eyes and feelings, shut up though he be iu a hot workshop. * 1 had an instance to the point brought before me this last spring. I was spending the day in one of the most lovely spots in this county, amidst scenery bordering upon the bold and romantic. I had walked through the wild wood that covered a hill top, from either fide of which was a noble view. Then descending, I wandered along the margin of a most me- andering trout stream that glittered in a more than spring sunshine. It was one of those rare and superb spring days, occurring rarely, when the weather is summer anticipated. " The yonng lambs were bleating in the meadows, The young ijirds were chirping in their nests ; The young fawns were playing with the shadows ; The young flowers were blowing toward the west." Still I wandered on in the bright sunlight by the glittering stream, when I came upon an old, very old, paper mill, with its heaps upon heaps of rag bundles outside, the whole cue blotch on fair nature, a proof how man's nastineas can mar God's beautiful earth. I almost cursed the thing for btiog there by the bright stream and the wild, yet, being the west of England, well-clothed landscape. Loathing I entered the old mill, and was soon among the dirt-coloured machinery, inside the dust- coloured mouldy walls, coarse shed-like walls, where all day long the wheels were droning and turning. Pmch-faced men in paper caps, old weasel-like withered men, were moving slowly here and there. Young men were there too, and women, and girls. Coarse paper in all stages of manufacture, from pulp to parcels ready for sale, was around me. All, wheels, budding, living creatures, all, exactly like a scene in the heart of a manufacturing town, and I could not believe that outside, just outside the cobweb-covered windows was a lovely scene in all its spring beauty. I sickened at the sight, when turning I saw on a rude partition of unpainted and worm-eaten boards a picture, a good engraving, of a Eose, with some pretty lines beneath it. How dearly must the one who placed that picture there have loved flowers ; gathered flowers would soon have died in such an atmosphere. It was only a picture flower that would last. The picture cheered my eyes, and seemed to say there was something better in the world than rags, and pulp, and coarse mercantile paper ; and though the wheels kept on droning and turning, and dinning my ears with their metallic noise, yet the Rose, and thoughts connected with it, in a mea- sure atoned for all. We are told that Dickens had always before his eyes in his study at Gadshill vases of flowers, and that he never worked happily unless in their presence. Flowers may be regarded so variously. They call up reading and memory in regard to them, as one says — " It is always pleasant, walking in a garden, to remember the native home of the flowers, and imagine them surrounded bytheir own scenery. It gives them a new interest and a fresh beauty. We see them growing ; the dewy Auriculas among the moss and snow of the Lower Alps ; the Guernsey Lily in the Japanese meadow ; the Eanunculus in the fields of Cyprus ; the rich-dyed Pelargonium in the rank kloof of the Caftre frontier ; the flaunting Dahlia in the plains of sunny Mexico ; the burnished Eschscholtzia in the sands of golden California ; the gay yellow bladders of the Calceolaria in the forests of Chili. Think of them with these surroundings, and you will see how the flowers fit their own special countries. A Caiire beauty would twist a thick cluster of dark crimson Pelargonium in her black oily hair. The dashing Mexican horseman, all leather and lace, would stick a huge white Dahlia in the band of his enormous sombrero. A Japauese lady would pace over the bamboo-bridge with a Guernsey Lily carried like a sceptre in her hand. Just so it is with vegetables ; they, too, have their history, their legends, and thtir poetry. It is not uninteresting to recall whence they came, and how they reached in slow procession their great parliament house in Covent Garden. Crusaders, merchants, pilgrims, and monks brought them to us from eastern hill and southern plain, from northern meadow and from western forests." But now let me turn to " our Journal," a great promoter, I know, of happiness in many homes, where its advent is looked for with pleasure, as said to me one constant reader of every one of its pages—" I look for it as I used to look for a love- letter from the post." I have met it this year in cottage, villa, and even in the precincts of a royal palace. Shows, I hope, will contain in future a more varied collection of birds, as did the Portsmouth Show, of which the report opened thus—" Com- bined with poultry and Pigeons the Committee offered for the January 5, 1871. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENEK. first time liberal prizes for cage birds and rabbits, and thus (mark the ' tluis ') secured the attendance of a very large body of vi.-itors." The war in France has brought two things before us which it would be well to remember. First, we in England, ilepending so much upon France for eggs, may soon be suffering by still gicater dearness of eggs. We ought to be able to supply eggs for our home consumption. Every cottager living by a road- side could cheaply keep fowls ; landlords should be less jealous of their doing so, and neighbours less ti£fy. Small farmers could add largely to their income by keeping more fowls ; but for idleness and ignorance poultry would be kept la thousands where now only tens and hundreds are seen. Then the French war has taught all readers of newspapers the value of Carrier pigeons. If I ventured in general company to speak of the wonderful homing properties of the Antwerp I was smiled at, and heard the words " electric telegraph." Now it is all dif- ferent. As in the siege of Constantinople ad. 139, so in the ei^ge of Paris ad. 1870, the Carrier is the only safe telegraph. The electric wires in war are at once destroyed ; if laid under- ground, as near Paris, they are found and dug up, or, worse for the besieged, " tapped," and their secrets known and revealed. Had the Parisians and French generally been as keen pigeon- fanciers as their neighbours in Belgium and Holland, there would not have been, as now, a scarcity in Paris of good and safe birds. Safe, for what hawk could catch a well-fed, well- trained Antwerp? I look, then, for poultry to be kept more generally, and homing Pigeons to be much more widely known. By the way, I would remark upon the great improvement in appearance of Antwerps as exhibition birds at the Crystal Palace Show. The three winning pens " of six working Antwerps in each," were beautiful in feather and matched well. If beauty and usefulness be combined I am sure they will be kept very generally. I notice sometimes that odd questions are sent to our Editors. Now, to anticipate one and save them trouble. If any Pigeon- fancier is plagued with cats who make sad depredations on his birds, I will by all means recommend him for a sure and cer- tain cure to get a dog of the following kind, that if if he can. Mr. Pepys, in his Diary, saith, September 11th, IGCl. " To Dr. Williams, who did carry me into his garden where he hath abundance of Grapes : and he did show me how a dog that he hath do kill all the cats that come thither to kill his pigeons and do afterwards bury them, and do it with so much care that they shall be quite covered ; that if the tip of the tail hangs out, he will take up the cat again and dig the hole deeper, which is very strange ; and he tells me that he do believe he hath killed above a hundred cats." That is the breed of dog for us Pigeon-fanciers to keep. But 'tis time I should conclude. To some this is the only weekly periodical where there is a large family and careful parents, and " our Journal" forms, therefore, the chief even- ing reading. I know that a kindly article lights up into cheeri- ness many a quiet group, in a neat cottage, in a garden. A worthy Gloucestershire gardener, who being a Welshman, and whose name not being Jones — he bore of course one of the other two Welsh names — told me, warmly grasping my hand, he read all aloud to bis wife. A good wife that, taking thorough interest in her husband's calling, as wives should. My New Year's hopes are that this may be a happy new year. I hope the present war will cease and no other begin, and that the peaceful Eden-like labours of the garden will prosper. I hope there will be peace and plenty. I hope men will grow wiser, better, kinder, more loving, more brotherly and brother- like. Cultivate kindness — kind words, looks, and a kind present do wonders ; it need be but a little one and of trifling value, but it warms the heart. One more word, and that a serious one. I have spoken of flowers being gathered from far-distant and different lands into our gardens ; but there is another process of selection going on — the gathering of men into a better garden. May all who read these words be among those so selected, so gathered. — Wiltshike Eectok, IliUtop Rcctorij, Kilts, Kexo Year's-eve, 1870. POTATO PLANTING. On looking over the papers Mr. Lewis has written on this subject, I see he has not mentioned the way in which the Potato is planted in some parts (in Devonshire, for instance), as I suppose he wrote principally for amateurs and cottagers. X venture to add this plan, thinking it far supersedes those he noticed, although very similar to the one he mentioned for field planting. Should he not have said, The horses ought not to be worked abreast, or they will trample the Potatoes that are in the furrow, but that they should be worked one before the other ? What an immense saving there is in this way to that of drilling out the ground first, and then carting the ma- nure between the drills afterwards. One plough puts in one acre per day, and one man and a lad put in their quarter of an acre per day, and leave off at five o'clock. As, I believe this is not generally attended to, I will detail the simple way in which they do it. Each allotment is half an acre, and we will suppose that the quarter of an acre of ground has been turned-up during the winter. The cottagers on the estates of the Earl of Devon, and I hope on all other estates, are allowed to keep their pig — the very life of an allotment— so that with a few bundles of ferns, long grass from hedges and ditches, and the straw from the quarter of an acre of Barley, which each cottager is bound to grow every year as per agreement, he thereby, with all his gleanings, manages to prepare from four to six good loads of manure. The ground is planted alternately with Barley and Potatoes. The manure is thrown in heaps in the middle of his Potato ground a day or two before planting ; he has been busy for a night or two preparing the seed by cutting and making each sort ready for the eventful day ; and whether he puts them in himself or hires, the work is begun early the next morning. There is one thing he will surely not forget — the few coppers, or maybe a bit of silver, he has hoarded up in some snug corner " vor a drap o' cider vor tatty planting." The dung is spread evenly over the ground first, the Potatoes are placed in convenient lots, and now the work begins in earnest. The line is stretched across at the lower end of the ground ; the man with his mattock digs out the furrow, the lad with his basket of seed Potatoes drops them about 10 inches apart ; the line is then shifted 22 inches eft'. The iad, with a good- sized iron-toothed rake, next rakes in the dung on the Potatoes, the man follows him, making another furrow to cover it, and the end being gained, he wheels round and makes another furrow for the next row ; the boy following, drops the seed as before. The row finished, and the line shifted, the boy rakes in the dung, the man following covers it with the next furrow, and so on to tho end. Thus it will be seen the man is always in his work, not having to walk a foot without tending to diminish his clay's work, and this, too, without leaving a footmark behind him, and the soil is laid on the Potatoes in the lightest possible manner. The Potatoes all in, the paths are shovelled up, and all is left until the Potatoes are beginning to make their ap- pearance, when a rough rake is run over the whole to knock down clods and to kill all seedling weeds. All hoeing and earthing-up is done during the mornings and evenings by the cottager and his family, the allotment being within a few minutes' walk of the village. It often happens that the cottager is short of garden room at home, and then he will drop a few Broad Beans in every three or four rows at planting-time, or scatter a pinch of Turnip seed after they are earthed-up, which seems not to interfere with the Potatoes. It is a pleasing sight to walk through these allotments on a fine evening, and see the many little happy groups at work with an earnestness that ought to shame the man spending his last farthing in the tap-room, or the land- owner who says, " I could not think of taking away a field from my farmers to lay out in allotments." The noble landlord and his late worthily-esteemed lady, whom I have named, have given prizes every year for the cleanest and best-kept allotment, and for the best piece of Barley, Potatoes, and Mangold Wurtzel, &o. The competition is very spirited, and produces the best results. — J. Taylok, Macsgtcynnc, Soutli Wales. DWARF POINSETTIA PULCHEREIMA. Mr. Fish in his " Doings of the Last Week," December 22nd, gays — " The Poinsettia can never look compact so as to have a fine head of crimson floral leaves." As I read those lines I had a plant on the table before me, which I measured ; it stood 5* inches high from the pot, a 4-inch one, and the floral bract measured exactly 8 inches across. I then measured another in the conservatory, in a G-inoh pot, which had two floral bracts, one was 4 inches high and 7 inches across, the other 5 inches high and about 8.J inches across. These were taken off the old plants and struck after July Ist, though I do not exactly remember the date, and were merely joints with eyes, as I cut the long shoots I took off the old plants into JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. [ January 5, ISTf. three or four cuttings according to the size, and I find the joints of the older wood make better plants than the points. They have been growing without any check in a very light house with plenty of moisture, and all that struck have flowered, and all, except one that pushed two eyes, are in 4-inoh pots. I intend to try experiments next summer by taking cuttings at different intervals, and pinching-back the earlier-struck ones, as I think if they are not overpotted, but kept growing in plenty of light, and with moisture enough so as not to let them lose any leaves, they may be kept very dwarf. The old plants (two iu number), from which I took the cuttings, both pushed fresh blooming shoots, but were too tall and straggling to be ornamental. I do not pretend that the floral bracts of young plants treated in this way, are so fine as those on strong unchecked shoots on old plants, but they are more ornamental, and occupy but little space. — C. P. Peach. SELECTIONS OF GRAPES.— No. 1. Peoeably there is nothing so perplexing to the amateur and practical horticulturist as choosing from the numerous kinds of fruit trees named in catalogues those best suited to his re- quirements. All the varieties enumerated may be really first- rate for some particular want of the horticulturist, each may supply some need, or answer a particular purpose, but though it may suit one person, it may not suit another, because the means are diiJerent. One may have an unheated house, and the other's house may not only be heated, but have the border inside, and not unfrequently it is furnished with chambers for hot-water pipes, so that the soil can have artificial warmth as well as the atmosphere. So varied, indeed, are the means or conditions of culture, that instead of looking at the long lists of varieties in bewilderment, I have learned to esteem them. Our nurserymen are not slow in bringing into notice any new and good varieties of fruits ; they cling to old and justly valued kinds of proved excellence ; at the same time they are not long in expunging from their lists what the popular voice says is su-perseded by other and better kinds, as regards quality, size, and productiveness. Judging from your correspondents' column, some of your readers experience a difficulty when they have erected a vinery in regard to what kinds they.should plant, iu order that, with the means they have provided and can afford, it shall' give them in due season Grapes in perfection. On the varied conditions under which Grapes are grown in this country, I purpose at this time to make a few remarks, and my doing so will, I hope, elicit from others their experience. OuT-Doon Grapes. — History informs us that Vines were planted on more than one southern slope of this country, and Grapes grown which if not such as might be taken from the Vine and eaten, were good for making wine. Though I am no be- liever in the value of wine of whatever brand as a beverage, or for any purpose, though it may be of value medicinally, yet there are many at the present time who would, were it prac- ticable, grow, as did our ancestors, Grapes for making wine. " Upwakds A^•D Onwards " has proved that some little dis- tance north-west of London — namely, at Woodstock, in Oxford- shire, with the aid of walls. Grapes can be grown of a quality suitable for making wine little if at all inferior to many foreign vintages. There can, therefore, be no doubt as to the possibility of growing out of doors iu this country, by the aid of a wall or other means. Grapes suitable for wine-making; but it remains, es far as I know, to be proved whether they can be grown iu any part of the kingdom without some artificial aid beyond culture on southern slopes. I am in hopes that such may prove the fact ; but so far as I have experience it must be in some warm spots in the far south, and there only. So far north as here (Yorkshire) Grapes from Vines against walls with south aspects, are when at their ripest so sharp in flavour that few can partake of them, but I have seen Grapes ripened against walls both in the north and west that could not bo devoid of sugar, or the wasps would not have devoured them 80 greedily, and I have no doubt they would have made very good wine. Indeed, for eating they did not compare unfavour- ably with imported Grapes. From want of thinning, however, they were tmall in berry, and the shoots not being stopped sufficiently, nor due regard paid to the laterals so as to con- centrate as much as possible the energies of the Vines on the bunches of fruit, these did not ripen so well as they other- wise might have done. Another disadv.intage of Vines out of doors is their often being planted in soil wholly unsuitable — heavy or wet — so that they are late in starting into growth, and do not ripen the long sappy shoots which are produced in great profusion. Under favourable conditions of soil, a light and dry one, and against sunny warm walls, especially the walls of houses with projecting roofs, they may be grown to a considerable degree of perfection. I have known them grown successfully on the south wall of a cottage at Weston, in Shrop- shire, and also as far north as Acomb, York. The finest Grapes I have seen grown out of doors were at Oxton Hall, Tadcaster, by the aid of a fined wall, about twenty years ago ; and at Parlington, Brjam Hall, and other places, good examples of out-door Grape- growing might at one time have been seen; but of late years glass has been so cheap that this mode of Grape culture has been neglected. A selection of Grapes for out-door culture is as follows : — Eoyal Muscadine, round berries, and rather large ; this kind, as far as I have experience, is the beat of all, ripening with the greatest certainty and perfection. Early White Malvasia; the berries are much smaller than the Eoyal Muscadine, and the Vine a great bearer. Early Malingre, round or slightly oval berries, small ; it is a great bearer. White Eomain, berries oval, small; great bearer. Grove End Sweetwater, berries round, medium-sized ; good bearer. These are all white or amber-coloured when ripe. Of black or purple sorts, Black Cluster, berries roundish oblong, and small, and so the bunches also are. It is, however, the best of all for out of doors. Cam- bridge Botanic Garden, berries oval, rather larj^e ; bunches short ; a great bearer. These two are the best black Grapes for walls. Ingram's Prolific Muscat, berries oval, small. Es- pirau (Esperione), berries large, roundish; abundant bearer, and hardy, but not so hardy as the two first-named black kinds. These are all the kinds I advise for growing by the aid of walls, and those who can afford to cover the wall with glass would be acting wisely and well to do so, the kinds named being well- suited for a glass-covered wall in a cold climate, where by such an aid they may succeed as well as or better than they do against an open wall in a more favourable climate. ViNE3 IN Unheated Houses. — The houses may be of three kinds — viz., 1, Ground vineries ; 2, Orchard houses ; 3, Lean- to houses, or a wall with a south aspect covered with glass. 1. Ground Tinerics. — Of these I have not sufficient expe- rience to warrant my giving a selection. I have no doubt of succeeding with them, but I have grave doubts of some kinds flourishing as they do in a house with a larger amount of en- closed air. Perhaps some of your correspondents will favour us with their experience, naming the kinds most suitable for ground vineries. 2. Orchard Houses. — I am equally at fault with this kind of house as with ground vineries. By an orchard house I mean a house constructed of wood and glass, and detached from walls or other buildings. Of it, as regards Grape culture, I have Ko experience. By reporting progress those who have expe- rience in this mode of culture would confer a benefit on myself and others. 3. Lean-to Houses against IValls or Buildings with a SoiMi or South-u-est Aspect. — Narrow houses sufficient only for a path answer well, but there is no disputing the fact that large houses are the best ; 18 to 20 feet I consider quite wide enough. I have seen and grown very good Grapes in houses but 12 feet wide. The chief considerations to be taken into account for the successful ripening of Grapes in cold houses are — 1. To have the border considerably above the surrounding level, one half its depth above it under any circumstances, and entirely when the situation is low, and water inclined to lodge. 2. To concrete the bottom of the border, both inside and out- side, with the needful incline for water to run to a point whence it can be carried oS by a drain. 3. To have as much of the border inside as possible, though part outside is not bad, but, on the contrary, I believe beneficial, i. To drain the border well. 5. To make the border of fresh and not very rich com- post, open, and not likely to settle into a close soapy mass. C. To have front and top ventilation to effect by air-giving a thorough change of air, as well as to prevent damp. 7. To husband the sun's heat by early air-giving, and sbutting-up whilst the sun has considerable power, always leaving on a little air to prevent the scorching of the leaves. 8. To employ 110 more wood in the construction of the house than is abso- lutely needed for stability, having the tquares of glass of good size, and not being too sparing as regards its weight ; 21-oz. glass is the lowest weight that ought to bo used ; 2C-oz. and oven 32oz. will not be too heavy. Avoid the best quality of glass ; 3rds will be qnito good enough. Lastly. If a spnn-roofed house be employed have it wide, not loss than 20 feet, and have the sides wood and glass, the light coming to within a January 5, 1371. ] JOUBNAL OF HOBIICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. foot of the border. Narrow span-roofed houses I have found neither so warm nor even-temperatured as those which are larger. A selection of Grapes for houses such as those above referred to may consist of the following : — Black Champion, berries roundish oval, good bunches ; earlier than the Black Ham- burgh. Trentham Black, berries oval, large ; good bearer. Black Haaiburgh, berries oval, bunches and berries large. Frankeulhal (Pope's or Victoria Hamburgh), berries roundish oval, large ; undoubtedly the most useful Grape in cultivation. The above are all Black Grapes of first-class excellence. Of the white or amber-coloured kinds I would recommend Buck- land Sweetwater, berries round, large ; a great bearer. Foster's White Seedling, berries roundish oval, of good size ; this must supersede the Royal Muscadine. Chasselas Vibert, berries round, large. General della Marmora, berries round, large; a good bearer. Sarbelle Prontignan, berries round, small, but a good early free-bearing kind with the full Frontignau flavour. ■The foregoing are all first-class Grapes, having large berries and bunches, except the last, which is given to meet the taste of those requiring the Muscat flavour. White Frontignau I have found ripen fairly in a cold house, but to do so fully it requires a good heat, and then it is a first-rate Grape. — G. Abbey. THE GLADIOLI OF THE PAST SEASON. Of these there were thirty-two, divided into various sections according to their price. The first class comprised Armide, La Candeur, Orphee, I'erioles, Kobert FoTtnne, and Rosa Bonheur; the second Agalhe, Delicatissima, Elizabeth, Horace, and Syl- phide ; the third Adanson, Bijou, De Humboldt, Rosea Per- fects, and Sultane ; the fourth Lacepude, Livingstone, and Eubis ; and the fifth Angele, Anna, Canova, Cleopatra, Donna Maria, Elegans, Hortense, Irma, Laure, Marthe, Picturata, Begina, and Spectabilis. As these are all seedlings of M. Sou- chet, it will at once strike anyone acquainted with what raising new varieties is, and the difiiculty of obtaining good varieties, that the number is a great deal too many : and so in truth we have found. There are some even in the first class which will not long remain in select collections, while in the fifth class there is probably not one that will be grown. They are all more or less pretty, but do not fulfil the requirements of those who regard quality and excellence of fiower and spike as amongst the first requirements. It is ever thus with raisers. Nor are they alone to blame. The craving of the public for novelties is such that they will devour anything; and hence raisers are tempted t^ seleoi from their seedlings flowers that they would have otherwise consigned to the rubbish heap, or, as in the case of the Gladiolus, thrown into mixtures. The following judgment on them is the result of observations on my own bulbs, supplemented with, in a few instances, notes taken at the Royal Horticultural Society's Special Show, and the Metro- politan Florists' Society's Show at the Crystal Palace. Armidi:, — Large and good-shaped flowers ; of good habit. The substance of the petals is such that it remains some time in bloom. Colour, white tinged with rose, and flamed and blotched with bright crimson. It seems to be an early-flowering variety like Shakespere ; at least my bulbs of it had flowered out before August 15th. La Candeur.- — I cannot understand why this should have been placed in the first series ; as a white it is inferior to Madame Desportes, while the petals are pointed and the spike by no means good. Orphee. — This I regard as about the best variety of the year. It has along noble-looking spike, a blush white ground strongly flamed with bright carmine, and is altogether a very fine flower. A capital constitution, and prolific in spawning. Pericles. — This bloomed very late with me. It is another of the light rosy ground flowers, margined and striped with rosy purple, with pure white blotches. My impression of it is that it will not hold its ground. Robert Fortune. — A very long spike ; cerise, largely margined and blotched with dark crimson , violet throat. The petals have a line of pure white in their centre. A very fine fiower. -Rosa Bonlicur. — Very long spike ; the flowers large, white ; fine large purple blotches. The top petal has the habit of lapping over backwards, which somewhat detracts from its meiits ; but I believe, with all that, that it will make a valuable variety. Arjathe. — Large flowers, and a good spike flamed with rose and yellowish blotches, carmine margin. This, too, I believe to be a good variety, although some have dissented from my view of it. • Delicatissima. — I was greatly pleased with this flower. It is of a peculiar shade of colour — white, slightly sufiused with lilac, while the lower petals are white. A very distinct sort. Elizabeth. — Long spike ; large flowers, deep rose, strongly flamed with purple ; large purple-carmine blotches with white stripes. A fine variety, and at times very brilliant. Horace. — A good scarlet, with white lines in the centre of each petal ; brilliant in colour, and I think likely to be valuable. Sylphide. — White ground, slightly flamed with carmine. Although the spike is good the petals are pointed, and I do not think it can be regarded as a good exhibition vaiiety. Adanson. — Large and well-opened flower of a peculiar colour, somewhat in the style of Anais, and very desirable for the con- trast of colour. It would do well for the front row of an exhi- bition stand. Bijou did not bloom with me (cerise orange), but I heard it but poorly spoken of by those who had bloomed it. De Humboldt.— litLTge, bright carmine, flamed and margined with carmine ; crimson blotches on white ground. Eosea Perfecta. — A very pretty variety, rose tinted with violet ; all the petals with a white line in them. Sultane. — Bright rose purple blotches, not first-rate. Lacepede. — I did not bloom this, but Mr. Eelway (no mean j'udge) thinks well of it. Rosy violet, and striped with lilac. Livingstone. — Small, but exceedingly pretty ; bright violet cerise with a sort of metallic reflection. Very good for the first row of a bed. Ruhis. — Long spike and large flower, blotched carmine on a white ground. All the petals with a white line. Of the other flowers I know nothing, but I fancy from the estimate placed on them as to price that I have no great loss. It will thus be seen that I regard Orphee as the premier flower of the season ; that I have a good opinion of Robert Fortune, Rosa Bonheur, Armide, Agathe, Delicatissima, Horace, and Rosea Perfecta. My estimate may be wrong, but I question if it will be very far out. Our hopes of getting the new Gladi- oluses of 1870 are becoming fainter every day. Oh ! what a terrible comment on the message of " peace and goodwill " is that cruel devastating war. — D., Deal. ORCHIDS FOR A CONSERVATORY. I SHALL be very much obliged by your stating the names of a few Orchids that could be successfully grown in pots in a con- servatory, where the temperature ranges from 46° to 55° day and night. I have now only one Orchid, Dendrobium nobile, which last year flowered beautifully, and I should be very glad to add a few others that a similar treatment would suit. — Sigma. [The following would succeed in your conservatory : — Cypri- pedium insigne, Odontoglossum grande, Odontoglossum Alex- andra;, Lycaste Skinneri, Lycaste Harrisonife, Epidendrum viteliinum, Zygopetalum Maokayi, Oncidium bifolium, L.-elia maj'alis. Lfelia albida, Barkeria Skinneri, and Barkeria spec- tabilis.] FRUIT TREES FOR THE NORTH. The result of my continued experience in fruit-growing in these parts may be interesting and of importance to those of your readers who contemplate planting new and improved varieties of fruit trees. It is a very fatal mistake to be guided entirely by " descriptive catalogues " of fruit trees which refer only to the climate of the south of England ; but those sub- scribers who reside in the north of England, or in Scotland, may presume that varieties which succeed in this latitude will also prove successful with them. It is not uncommon to find a gardener occupying his attention and a valuable space on his garden wall in an abortive attempt to grow Chaumontel Pears, or some other variety of fruit equally unsuited to the climate ; and it is to guard against such a tantalising proceeding, as well as to encourage the growth of the many new hardy and deli- cious varieties of fruit that have lately been brought into cul- tivation, that I venture to record the result of my experience. Some of the finest fruits ripen in great perfection with us. You must excuse me reminding you that for Marie Louise and nine other varieties of dessert Pears, my predecessor in this garden was, at Ghiswiok, awarded a Banksian medal. About twenty-five years ago there were upwards of ninety JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENfiR. [ January D, 1S71. varieties of Pears in this collection. These have been gradually reduced, by removing those not well adapted to Ihe climate, to nearly one-third of that number, even while including some of the best varieties lately added. By a careful selection of these for each season an abundant dessert may be procured for almost the whole year round. I shall, therefore, for the benefit of amateurs or the uninitiated, give the seasons at which each variety is fit for use in the following list. For gardens that are not too dry for dwarf or Quince-rooted Pear trees, and for Apples on the Paradise stock, I would re- commend these ; they occupy half the space, come immediately into bearing, and the fruit will be larger and earlier than on trees of a different description. LIST OP FRUIT TREES ADAPTED FOE CULTURE AT ELGIN. PEARS FOR THE WALL. Doyenne d'Ett?, or ) July and Citron des Carmes [ August. Jargonelle. August and September. Summer Bcurre d'Aremberg. Oct. Sinclair. October. Eeurre Superfin. Begin, of Nov. Marie Louise. November. Doyenne du Cornice. December. Hacon's Incomparable. December. Winter Nelis. January. Josephine de Malines. February. Easter Beurre. filarcb. Bergamotte Esperen. March. Beurre de Rauce. April. Fortunee. May and June. TEARS rOR STANDARDS. Doyenni' d'Ete. August. tViUiams's Bou Chr,^tien. Sept. Beiiri'e d'Amaulis Panache Oct. Autumn Bergiimot. October. Beurrt!- Superfin. November. Aston To'n':^. November. Muirfowl's Egg. November. Beurre d'Aremberg. Dec. and Jan. Forelle. January. Doyenni'- Defais January. Beurre de Ranee. March. Beurre Giffard. September, PLUMS FOR THE WALL. Rivers's Early Favourite. July. Bryanston Gage. August. Reine Claude de Eavay. Sept. Cob's Golden Drop. October. Bine Imperatrice. October. Jelferson. September. TLCJIS FOR STANDARDS. Belgian Purple. Denniston's Superb. Lawson's Golden Gage. The following also succeed :- Van Mons Leon le Clerc. Thompson's. Brown Beurre. Beurre Bosc. Passe Colmur. The following dessert Apples have lately come into bearing, on Paradise stocks, and have been much appreciated : — DESSERT APPLES ON PARADISE STOCKS. Irish Peach. August. Kerry Pippin. September. Margil. October. Pitmaston Pine Apple. October. Cox's Orange Pippin. November. Blenheim Orange. Nov. and Dec. Sam Young. December. All sorts of large kitchen I Ribston Pippin. January. Melon Apple. January. Screveton Golden Pippin. Feb. Duke of Devonshire. March. Lodgemore Nonpareil. April. Reinette du Canada. May. Allen's Everlasting. June. Apples bear abundantly. — J. McCuLLOCH, Gardener, Diiffus, near Elgin, N.B. P.S. — For the present 1 withhold any report upon Peache.", Aj)ricot3, Nectarines, or Cherries, all of which we grow suc- cessfully. [You will oblige us by sending your other notes. We covet all records of the results of practice. — Eds] EARLY- FLOWERING PERSIAN CYCLAMEN SEEDLINGS. As you have invited your readers to detail their mode of growing the Persian Cyclamen so as to flower early, I have been induced to give my experience relative thereto. Having procured a packet of seed early in the spring of the present year, and having made up in readiness a hotbed of fermenting materials, I sowed the seed on March S:h, and kept the young plants growing in their seed pan until Ihe middle of April, when I had them potted ofi singly in thumb pots. I plunged them in the same frame as before, and towards the end of May I gave them a shift into 4-inch pot?. The compost I used in potting was a mixture of peat soil, a little loam, leaf mould, and cow dung. They were forthwith taken to the stove, placed on a shelf near the glass, and always kept pretty moist, being well watered about once a-week with weak liquid manure made from pigeon dung. They grew remarkably fast — so much so, that from their size I thought I would require to give them a larger shift ; however, I did not do this, thinking that they would flower earlier if left in the same pots than they were likely to do had they been shitted. To my delight and aston- ishment I observed the first flowers showing in the first week of September, and they came generally into flower by the end of October. — Hoon Kose, The Gardens, Granycmuir. I SOWED a packet of Cyclamen persicum seed on March 3rd, lH7tJ, and some of the earlier plants bloomed in October. I have now corms about 2 inches in diameter with many flowers fully out, and with from twenty to thirty more buds to come out. Of cjurse these are the most forward and best amongst the seedlings. The seeds were sown in pans in a lurtiog pit. I pricked out the seedlings as soon aa they had two leaves, and constantly repotted them, some being now in 36-pots. As soon as the heat seemed to draw them they were moved into a cooler place, and some have been put back for a week or so into the forcing pit to bring on the flowers. I cannot qfite decide whether the corms do best covered with soil or entirely raised above it. The seedlings had no special soil, excepting a good allowance of silver sand and plenty of drainage. The great point is that they have never been forgotten for a day. Some of my corms showed bloom when very small. — A Lady Amaieuk. Although we have not plants like Mr. Clarke's " fit for exhibition," we have a few dozen plants in 5-inch pots, many of them in bloom, and all showing abundance of flower buds, from seed sown at the beginning of last March. The corms are from 1 to 1{ inch in diameter, each supporting erect about thirty finely variegated leaves varying from 2 to 4 inches across. The seed was sown during the first week of March in small seed pans, well dr.'\ined, and filled to within an inch of the top with a mixture of loam and leaf mould, with a little silver sand ; the soil patted down to keep the seed at the desired depth, and watered through a fine rose ; then the seeds were sown as quickly as possible, and finally covered with about an eighth of an inch of silver sand. If sowing is performed quijkly the moisture will penetrate through the sand and render another watering (which is very liable to wash the seed bare) unnecessary. The pans were then placed in the stove with a pane of glass over them, and a piece of white paper laid loosely over the glass for shading. They were frequently examined, and when found dry were gently dipped in the tank, so that suiBcient water should flow over the rim to moisten the whole surface. The glass was gradually raised as the seedlings touched it, and when they had formed two leaves they were carefully pricked off 3 inches apart in boxes drained and filled with Ihe following compost — dried cow dung two parts, leaf mould one part, turfy loam one part, and a little silver sand. The cow dung is collected from a pasture after it has been well balied iu the sun. It is a good plan after it has been sifted to water it with boiling water, which kills a great number of vermju liable to be injurious to the plants. The loam is used quite dry, and rubbed through a half-inch sieve. The boxes were next placed iu alow span-roofed house, where Camellias and other plants were making their growth. The young plants were allowed to remain in the boxes for about two months, when they were lifted with balls and liahtly potted in GO-sized pots, with the same compost, which I may here mention is used with good results for all our Cyclamens. They were then plunged in bottom heat in the same house, and re- potted, as the roots reached the sides of the pots, in 4-inch, and finally in 5-inch pots, always returning them to their quarters in the bottom heat as quickly as possible. — J. Er.Aiin- WAITE, The Gardens, Verulam. PRIZES FOR TENDER PLANTS. We have a village show, a very healthy baby two years old, and growing fast ; we want to offer £10 for six stove plants, open to the world if we can get any competition. Our idea is to have an annual £10 prize — viz., £5, £3, and £2 for first, second, and third prizes for a varying article. This year we say six stove plants ; but some suggested it should be for stove and greenhouse, others think that the six should he stove only, not mixed with greenhouse plants — they might come in their turn in future years. How say you ? Is the £10 better divided into three prizes or given all in one ? We have three good growers near here, but we must; induce strangers to compete. How can we best do so ?— C. E. Ellison, Bracehridge, Lincoln. [It is quite certain that you will do wisely to divide the £10 into three prizes as you propose, and we recommend them to be oilered for "Six stove and greenhouse plants. N.E. — Either six stove or six greenhouse plants, or a combination, not more than six altogether, of stove and greenhouse plants, may be exhibited in this class." — Eds.] Intense Cold.— It may be interesting to some to know how we fare at Prestwich willi the frost. Commencing withDecem- Jannary 5, 1871. ] JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. hfr 20th, the thermometer registered 8' of frost ; 21st, 10° ; 22ad,20'; 23rd, 2i°; 2ith,28°; 25th, 26°; 26tb, 18°; 27th, 18°; 28;h, 14°; 29th, 12°; 30th, 17°; 31et, 25°. The readings are taken from a registering thermometer every morning at 8 o'clock. It faces the north, and is 4 feet above the gronnd. The rime is truly splendid, especially on the Pinnses, Araucarias, and Holly. The Rhododendrons and Aucubas look very drooping. ■ — Stephen Castle, Bent Hill Gardens, Prestwich, Manchester. GROUND LEVELLING AND PRACTICAL GARDEN PLOTTING.— No. 10. DRAWING PLANS. Fiff. 33 consists of eight hexagonal beds, and is drawn and I inserting a staki transferred to the ground in the following manner : — Draw | stakes a and h, parallelogram a e c d and the diameter lines e f and G H. Draw lines 1 2 and 5 4, being half the dis- tance between a h and h b. Where line 1 2 crosses line E p is centre o ; from centre a, with radius a i, draw circle /. Where line 3 4 crosses line e f is cen- tre b ; from centre 6 draw 6 circle with the same ra- dius as a;'. Find the dis- tance from centre o (the point is where the two diameter lines cut each ether) to centres a and h, mark the same distance on each side of centre o on line g h, as points c and d, and with the same radius as a i draw a cir- cle from centres c and ((. With c and d as centres find points / g and e li, which is done in the fol- lowing manner: — With^-i radius c a draw an are as in /"on line 1 2 ; where the arc cuts line 1 2 is centre ;', as shown : also draw an arc as in g on line 3 4; where the arcs cut the line is centre g ; with radius d a find centres e and !i in the same manner, then draw the circles with the same radius as a i. Apply the radius six times to the circumference, as chord r s, and it will form the hexagon. To trace it on the ground, the base line a e is 41 feet 4 inches long. Insert stakes in points a and B ; from e to c is G2 feet ; insert a stake at point c. With a and o as centres find point d, and there insert a stake. Lay . lines joining points A B, EC, CD, DA, then lay the diameter lines E p and gh. i7 Fig. S3. Scale 12 feet to the inch. e at each point. Find half the distance between and insert a peg as at point 1. Find half the distance between stakes h and E, and insert a peg as at point B ; find the cor- responding points on line CD, as points 2 and 4. Lay lines joining pegs 1 2 and 3 4 ; where line 1 2 crosses line E p insert a peg as at centre a. With a string 6 feet long trace circle t, as shown by radius a i ; where line 3 4 crosses line e p insert a peg, as at centre b. From the peg at centre b, with the same length of string as a i, trace a circle from peg 6. From centre o measure 10 feet 4 inches on the diameter line towards g, and insert a peg as at centre c. Cen- tres a and c are equal distances from centre o. From centre c trace the circle with the same radius as a i, with c as centre. With radius c a ov c b trace an arc cutting line 1 2, as shown in /, also trace an arc cutting line 3 4, as shown in g ; where the arcs cut the lines are centres / and g. Insert a peg at each point, and with the same radius as a i trace the circles. Cen- tres e, d, and li are found in the same mmner. To form the hexagon inside the circle, apply radius a i six times to the circumference, as shown in r s ; insert a peg at each point, as at points r s. When the six sides are found lay a line from peg to peg and cut out the beds. Proceed in the same manner with the other beds until thedesign is complete. — M. O'Don- NELL, Gardener to E. Leeming, Esq., Spring Grove, Richmond. CHRYSANTHEMUM CULTURE. I CAN assure Mr. H. Benham (see vol. xix., page 472), I have EO wish to mislead him, nor anyone, in my notes on Chrysan- themums ; and when I said. Give no manure water till the buds are formed, I merely gave my mode of treatment for the last three years. I am perfectly aware I differ on this, as on several other subjects, from many practical gardeners, still as long as I confine my remarks to what my own practice has taught me, no harm can be done. Reverting to the subjeci of liquid manure for the Chrysanthe- mum, I say pot the plants in good rich compost, withholding manure water till the flower buds are well set, then give it in moderation. I might possibly be tempted to use it earlier had I not the material suitable for their growth. My own opinion of manure water is, that it has a tendency to create an undus circulation of the sap, thus causing the plants to make more wood than is necessary, and not giving any addition in size to the flowers, whilst by giving it as I do when the buds need additional stimulus, it improves them very much. I am per- fectly aware that this is quite at variance with the practice of most good growers, but having tried theirs under various cir- cumstances, I prefer my own system. Plunging is and may be very well for those who have not the time nor means to attend properly to the watering, for, as I said before, nothing suffers more than the Chrysanthemum from being short of water. I consider it better to be without them if you neglect them once. I am perfectly aware of the extra water they 8 J.OUEKAL OF HOETICULTUKB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 5, 1871. require, but where there is a regular system of watering, and one man for his own work, no evil results can accrue to them owing to their not being plunged. In my own case I prefer my plants not to be plunged, as less skill is then required to water them. Plunged plants have this disadvantage, that they require far greater attention in watering. 1 have seen plants which have died simply through overwatering. Of course, a keen practical man can tell at a glance the plants which require watering, but to an inexperienced hand the difficulty is great. The Chrysanthemum is naturally a gross feeder and likes plenty of water, still it is possible to overdo the watering. I this year had an argument with a gentleman respecting plung- ing plants out of doors, and the gist of my argument was, that I considered the water that passed from the plants, especially if manure water is given, had a tendency to become sour, and unless the bed or whatever they were plunged in was well drained, the plants would in a manner absorb their own refuse. My idea may be wrong, still it is so. I have for three years given the bulk of my Chrysanthe- mums their last shift the first week in August, and, of course, I should not do so, it being as convenient for me to pot in July as August, if I found no beneiit from it. The Pompons and a few early kinds are potted in the first or second week of July, but the plants I have now in flower were potted in August. I have a very distinct recollection, in the year 1864, I being then in Cheshire, of potting in the middle of August a few Chry- santhemums which had been overlooked at the early potting, and notwithstanding the prediction of the head gardener as to their failure, they proved the best of the season. A consider- able amount of care and thought will be required as to what plants are best suited for late potting, so as not to overpot them ; for my own part I would not repot a plant in August unless it was in good condition and likely to be benefited by the shift. In potting in the first week of August the roots should be at the sides of the pot at the end of the same month, thus leaving the whole of September and two weeks of October for the plants to make and perfect their flower buds. I am open to conviction, and no one can read the Journal withmore interest than I do, though I find much to differ from ; and in writing these short notes and in all others, I give to the public a few of my practical observations, trusting they will be received in good faith, even though they do not coincide with the general statement of things. — Stephen Castle, Bent-Hill Gardens, Prestwich. _P-S. — Since writing the above I have been referred by a friend to an excellent article in the Journal of August 19th, 1869, written by Mr. B. Fleming, gardener to E. Houghton, Esq., Sandheys, Waterloo, Liverpool, in which, though his treat- ment differs from mine in many respects, still on the subject of manure water, he says that the time to apply liquid manure is when the plant shows the buds. In this, of course, I per- fectly agree. WAR ON FRENCH GARDENERS. A LETTER which bas been received by field post from a young German gardener with the army roand Paris, dated 4th of December, will be read with interest. The letter runs as follows : — " Alas, that I should have such sad things to tell you of the gardens ! they are completely deserted, and all the fine collections are left to ruin. I speak e.>ipecially of the establishment of Messrs. Croux, Durand, & Son, at Bapnenx. Croux's establishment is occupied by the Bavarian artillery ; in the large Palm house the horses are put, which eat the tall plants like fodder. The splendid Conifers (Welling- tonias, Picea Pinsiipo, Deodar, etc.), which lately were there in large numbers in their greatest beauty, are ordered to be made into a, hedge in order to Hock out the view fiom the batteries of the French torts. " But still worse is the condition of Croux's establishment at Anlnay. In the Jardin pour etudes Pomologiques the splendid trained tree.9 are quite destroyed from the brealdng of the wires which sup- ported them, and now about two thousand sheep and from eighty to a hundred cows are iu the gardens, and of course eat up evei-ything. " Kot less sad is it to seethe state of the gardens of Durand tils, near Clamart. The greenhouses are mostly destroyed by the thicl; shower of bullets, and the plants in them withered or frozen. The day before yesterday these were exposed to — 6" K. [ISJ'' Fahr.], and yesterday covered with snow." [The above extract from a Gorman newspaper has been sent to us by a correspondent at Hamburg. ] New Violet, — A correspondent in Honolulu, after making a b&tanical tour in the Kaala range, says, " Botanising on this Upland is not without considerable danger. Only imagine de- scending a steep decline of 70", which had to be done chiefly by swinging from the roots of one tree to the branches of the next one below, and that at a height of 2000 feet above the deep gorge beneath our feet." Nature, however, seems in all cases to provide a reward for her admirers who voluntarily expose themselves to such dangers for the purpose of bringing to the eye of science her numerous hidden beauties, for the writer continues to say, he was not a little surprised by the discovery of a Violet with splendid snow-white waxy flowers, some of which were almost half an inch in diameter, and ex- quisitely perfumed. He considers it probably a variety of Viola chamissoniana, which he found in its ordinary state lower down in the forest ; but the pure white flowers stretching out their long peduncles above the surrounding low undergrowth, and luxuriating in the full sunshine of an azuie blue sky, far exceed in beauty those of V. chamissoniana, which are of the ordinary violet colour. — {Nature ) SLOW COMBUSTION, AND ECONOMY IN FUEL. I OESBKVE in your Journal of October 27th, that " E. S." has succeeded in keeping up the heat of his greenhouse by having two holes drilled in the ashpit door. Will he kindly say is it the ashpit door he had the holes drilled in, or the fire door ? because very few flues have doors to the fire as well as the ashpit. Would you state if it would not be better to have a regulator on the fire and ashpit door to regulate the fire, instead of the damper ? as I fancy the damper prevents the heat rising. My boiler is a conical one with a jacket, and the fire, to go up the chimney, has to go through it, but it takes a great deal of fire and attention to keep the heat up. Can you give me any idea how large a fireplace should be to allow of suffi- cient coals being put on to burn and to keep up the heat during the night ?— A. Y. [We have no doubt that " E. S." in alluding to the boles made in the ashpit door, at page 321, does mean the ashpit door, and not the firebox, or furnace door. Perhaps " E. S." may have something to add to his interesting article. Mean- while, we may say that where economy iu fuel, and sufficient heat, and slow combustion are required, both the furnace door and ashpit door should be made to fit as closely as possible. Many of the best makers of these doors send out ashpit doors fitted with a valve or other moveable opening to regulate the draught, and this would avoid the expense of cutting out the hole and fixing the valve over it. We should not like to intrude an opinion into this domain of " E. S.," though we should incline to think that one hole in the centre, with the valve, would have been sufficient. When once a fire is lighted and burning freely, it is amazing how small a quantity of fresh air is necessary to support slow regular combustion. On this prin- ciple all our best iron stoves are made. The valve in the ashpit door can thus be screwed up, so as to let. ve not more air on than that alluded toby "E. S." It is by the ashpit opening that the combustion must be regulated. Many iron stoves have also a small valve opening above, and, therefore, over the firebox and fuel — not so much or at all for ensuring combustion, as to pre- vent smoke going up and choking the small iron chimney. When you inquire whether it would not be well to have a regulator on the furnace as well as the ashpit door, to regulate the fire, instead of the damper, we must answer Yes, and No. Yes, so far as we have stated above, the ashpit regulator would regulate combustion, and that can be done to a nicety only as the result of watchful attention, and noting the state of the weather. Yes, too, so far as a very little air coming over the fuel would tend to lessen, and mostly consume the smoke. But,;then, as to these rendering a damper unnecessary, when a small house is to be heated economically from a boiler, we say decidedly No. In heating by a flue, a brick stove, an iron stove, or an earthenware stove, in a house of any sort, there is no necessity for a damper. After the fire is fairly going, a little slit in the ashpit door will not only regulate combustion, but will concentrate the most of the heat in the flue or stove. But with boilers, and especially conical boilers such as yours, where the heat passes so quickly into the chimney, a damper is important for concentrating that heat round the boiler, instead of allowing it to go up the chimney so easily. If the damper is close-fitting, it should not go quite home, but a quarter of an inch or less would permit of slow combustion. We find this matter is simplified by having a close-fitting damper across the chimney, but witli a hole an inch in diameter in the centre, so that there shall be a passage January 5, 1871. JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 9 ior smoke and heated air, and yet a surface presented to throw back the greater amount of rising heat over the boiler. There are here two things well worthy of attention. First, many of our readers who are new to such matters become con- fused in so much talk about slits in furnace doors and con- fiaing heat by dampers. This woald be simplified if it were understood that a good heat must first be obtained before either regulating slit or damper can be used. In producing that heat there is no means for preventing waste of heat up the chimney at first. Thus, if we went to the furnace of " A. Y.," with the fire out, we would clean out the firebox, clinkers, &c., keep- ing 'the ashpit door shut, then we would clean out the ashpit, making for our own comfort as little dust as possible. In all that " E. S." says of a clean ashpit we thoroughly agree. Were this little matter better understood, we should not have young fellows coming in dire perplexity telling us that the fire would not draw, and no wonder, when the ashpit was stufied up to the bars with ashes. Any old washerwoman would have shown more sense. Catch her suffocated with smoke because the ashpit was filled up ! On lighting the fire we would leave the ashpit door open to have a good draught, waste of heat notwithstanding, just as in lighting a fire in an iron stove we would leave the ashpit door partly open until we had a good fire. It would only be whe-i we found the pipes from the boiler getting warm we would ■partly shut the furnace door ; then when warm enough, shut it altogether, and merely admit a little air by a valve or otherwise, and shortly afterwards we would use the damper, as our object would be to continue the heat by slow combustion, and not to make it greater. It is possible by a careful use of the air at the ashpit door that the damper may be rendered as unnecessary in the case of a boiler, as in that of an iron or a brick stove, but according to our present impressions we should like to have the damper in addition. We have frequently stated that for a small single house heating by hot water cannot but be expensive, as the waste is so much greater in proportion to the small apace heated. Hence, for small detached greenhouses, heating by a flue either above or below the floor will always be more economical and require less trouble than hot water. In large houses, or a series of houses, the matter ie different. The economy con- sists in the heat being pretty well absorbed in a clean fine before the heat reaches the chimney, and then because the material of the flue holds heat once given to it longer than water. Oar experience with stoves led ns first to be thoroughly con- vinced of what we had previously acted upon — the small quantity of air sufficient to keep up a slow combustion and the neces- sary heat after that heat had first been obtained. Just bear in mind that the damper and ashpit valve become valuable only after heat has first been obtained. Here we may add, that provided " A. Y." has a close-fitting ashpit door, he might have three or four holes drilled in the centre of it, each about one-eighth of an inch in diameter, be- fore going to the expense of braes valves, and it he do so, will he kindly report the results ? We shall be sure to find better data in such cases than from the furnaces of large places, as there it is so diflioult to get little matters attended to — even valves are knocked to pieces with a stroke of a poker, or a barrowload of fuel is pitched over them, and there is nobody to bear the blame. Attentive amateurs will be our best help as respects economic heating. The second matter to which we wish to allude is simply this, that a small boiler and as small a furnace aa possible are by no means synonymous with economical heating. A gardener of large experience, who has taken to a small nursery, has lately told us the trouble he has had in heating a house with a small boiler, and the furnace so small that two or three spadesful of fuel fill it. Now, in such a case there must have been almost constant poking, and, of course, valves and dampers must have been at a discount. The boiler in this case was placed accord- ing to what we believe to be a too-general error; small as it was, it rested on the level of the firebars ; the belief somehow having got about that the more the boiler formed the firebox, the greater would be the heat absorbed. Now, in several such cases as that referred to above, great advantage, and economy in fuel too, have been obtained by letting the little boiler remain as it was, and sinking the firebars beneath it to the depth of one or two firebricks ; more firing could thus be used at a time, and when the heat necessary was obtainecl, the con- tinuous heat could be easily regulated by the ashpit door and clamper, without so frequently and wastefnlly poking the fire. We think these simple matters more important than what " A. Y." further requires, " How large a fireplace should be to allow of sufficient coal being put on to burn, and to keep up heat during the night ?" but we shall be glad if some reader will contribute to the object desired. For ourselves, long ago we made some experiments in this way, but we found that dif- ference of fuel and difference in circumstances made such astounding differences in results, that we came to the conclu- sion that no rule thus obtained could ever take the place of careful watchful attention to individual cases. A furnace to consume such fuel as " R. S." uses, may be much smaller than a furnace to be supplied with ashes, cinders, breese, or the cheapest and best heat-giving fuel. A very small furnace, unless for a very small place, is generally a mistake every way, and by the poking, and punching, and frequent supplies re- quired, consumes more fuel than if it had been larger. A similar error is constantly committed by those who have their little houses heated by hot water, which houses could only be safe in such severe weather as we now have, by heating the water nearly to the boiling point. It would be far more eco- nomical in the long run, and better in every way, to have a third more piping, and never have the water higher in tem- perature than from 160° to 180°. A first saving here is any- thing but ultimate economy. — E. F.] NEW BOOK. The "Field Quarterhj Magazine and Review." Vol. I. London : H. Cox. Four issues of this quarterly publication are now united in a well-bound volume. The contents are exclusively good selec- tions from the Field weekly newspaper, and combine especially information relative to all our national sports and the country house. LATE PEAS NORTHWARDS. After two months' silence Mr. Porter now says I put Veitch's Perfection in the wrong place as a late Pea, which I emphati- cally deny ; I say this as my own experience, which is more than Mr. Porter can say, for had he grown it and Ne Plus Ultra side-by-side, he would have proved the difference to be in favour of Veitch's Perfection. It this has any weight, I may say that I exhibited at the Prestwich Floral and Horticultural Show in August, 1870, a dish of Veitch's Perfection as well as Ne Plus Ultra, and the first prize was awarded to Veitch's Per- fection, which also took the same honour in September at a local show held a short distance from here. Has any practical gardener (which Mr. Porter is not) accustomed to this part of Lancashire seen Peas late in November ? Certainly neither Mr. Porter nor anyone has done so this year, though it is a pity he does not state the exact date (be says late in November), and if he saw Peas growing after the 20ih of November. Between November 20th, and the same date of December, the frost at night varied from 3° to 9°. Ne Plus Ultra is undoubtedly a first-class Pea, as I said at page 324, but I have yet to learn that it is better than Veitch's Perfection for late supply. I distinctly remembered that when I pulled up, at the end of October, the haulm of Veitch's Per- fection, sown at the same date as Ne Plus Ultra — though Veitch's Perfection was a week later in coming in — Ne Plus Ultra was quite dry, while the other was quite green. Though, as I stated, I gathered the last dish on September 30th, it was by no means the last of the Peas, as I found them very useful for soups up to the end of October. I have no doubt what I gathered for soups would have made some families dishes, but I ceased gathering as soon as the cook said the peas boiled irregularl.y. I intend seeing whether it is possible to gather good peas, say, at the end of October and beginning of November. I have not seen any at that time good, but merely fit for soup, whether in Staft'ordshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, or Lancashire. — Stephen Castle, Bent Hill Gardens, Prestwicli, Ulanchestcr. DARLINGTONIA C.VLIFORNICA. Messrs. Veitch & Soks have grown this plant for a con- siderable time in their houses at Chelsea. In London, as in California, this curious plant possesses the same irresistible attraction to insects, and as I have repeatedly examined living plants at Chelsea, perhaps the following notes may have some interest. ■ihis so called Pitcher Plant, when fully grown, resembles in 10 JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. [ January 5, 1871. shape the upraised head and body of an excited cobra, ■with hood expanded and prepared for a spring ; the head is at right angles with the hollow vertical body, and apparently presents no opening by which an insect could enter ; nnder the place where the lower jaw would be, hang two large reddish appendages like the wattles of a fowl. At Chelsea this plant possesses such an extraordinary attraction for flies (principally blue-bottles), that the hollow " pitchers " are generally full of their dead bodies ; what this attraction is I am unable to say, as the plant is scentless. Last year I had a Darlingtonia before me for some three or four hours, whilst sketching it, and I then observed that the blow-flies made straight for it immediately they entered the room. Insects alight on the red wattles and then fly upwards into the (previously unseen) red-lipped entrance to the tube ; owing to the sudden twist in the neck of the pitcher, they are at once compelled to descend the hollow body, and, as far as I have observed, they never return alive. They keep up a buzzing noise for half an hour or so, and then apparently die. The old pitchers are generally full of dead flies, &c., and the lowermost insects, in rotting, cause the pitchers to decay and split, the flies within being then displayed. These dead flies often drop out through the fissures and become grouped round the bottom of the plant.— Wobthington G. Suits.— (Nature.) NOTABLE PEARS. FoNDANTE DU CoMiCE.— As a Bocioty there is none which has done more for the advancement of pomology than the " Cornice Hortieole of Angers." Like the Eoyal Horticultural Society of London, it is one of the few that enjoy the privilege of possessing a garden where horticultural experiments are conducted, and where pomology receives more than ordinary attention. The number of new varieties of fruit which have originated in that garden is sufiicient evidence of this state- ment; and the mere fact that such Pears as Doyenng du Cornice, Fondante du Cornice, and Gassante du Cornice, have originated there speaks highly in favour of the establishment. specimens of the new varieties of fruits raised in that city, we now acknowledge ; and during the past season it has fruited in the garden of the Eoyal Horticultural Society at Chiswiok. Having now ascertained to what extent this variety is adapted to our climate, and having found it worthy of notice, we take an early opportunity of making our readers acquainted with its merits. It is only when foreign varieties have been grown in this country that any confidence can be placed in their reputed characteristics. ... This variety is obovate in shape, even and regnlair in its out- line, smaller and more symmetrical than when grown on the Continent, where it is rather uneven. Skin smooth, of a uni- form yellowish or pea green, covered with distinct markings of russet and russet dots. Eye small and open, with erect acute segments, set in a very deep and smooth round basin. Stalk woody, also green like the skin, about an inch long, and inserted obliquely with a fleshy lip on one side of it. Flesh white, crisp, very juicy and sweet, slightly acidulous, and very refreshing, being in this respect somewhat similar to the old St. Germain. . , ^, , Eipe in the end of October, and the beginning of November. The tree is a good bearer, and not at all a strong grower. It succeeds best on the Pear stock, and as it makes rather an awkward pyramid, the bush form will be the most proper for it. Ekfant Pbodigue (stn. Rotisselet Enfant Prodigue : Nec- tarine of Leroy, erroneously).— This is one of numerous va- rieties raised by Van Mons, which keep cropping up perio- dically, as additional evidences of the indefatigable labours of the industrious Professor. It was raised about 1830 m his garden at Louvain, and although it is well known on the Con- tinent, it has never been much cultivated in this country. 18 is not always of first-rate quaUty, but in situations such as the west of England, and other favoured localities, where it does succeed, its fine brisk sweet juice and high flavour commend it as a variety well worth growing. The fruit is variable in size; the specimen here figured being larger than is usual. It is uneven and bossed m its out- line. The skin is clear dark green, changing as it ripens to pale yellow, which is sometimes quite obscured with veins and Fondante du Cornice. Fondante du Cornice, which we now introduce to our readers, first fruited in the Society's garden at Angers in the year 181.1. It has been slow in coming into notice in this country, pro- bably from the ignorance of cultivators of its merits Six year's ago we met with it in the collection of M. Andrfi Leroy, at Angers, to whose courtesy in furnishing us with numerous Enfant Prodigue. mottles of cinnamon-coloured russet. Eye large and open, with broad, flat, leaf-like segments set in a rather deep and uneven basin. Stalk half an inch long, woody, set in a wide shallow depression. Flesh greenish under the skin, cnsp, and half melting, very juicy, sweet, acidulous, and with a tine aroma partaking of that of the Seckle. Jannary 5, 1871. ] JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 11 An excellent Pear, with a fine acidnlous flavour, ripe in the beginning of October, and continuing in use throughout tha month. The tree is a good bearer, and forma a handsome pyramid. JIiLLOT DE Nancy. — We have here a posthumous variety of Van Mons', of which the earliest information we have is in IS-iS, when it wag named by the son of the Professor in honour of M. Millot, oi Nancy, an ardent pomologist. We have grown it for the last twenty years in this country, and proved it to be of the highest excellence. In some seasons, as for instance in 1866, it was somewhat astringent in flavour, but generally it has proved excellent. Millot de Nancy. f The fruit is roundish, inclining to turbinate, even and hand- some in its outline. The skin is smooth, of a uniform coppery red or warm cinnamon colour caused by a coating of russet over its whole surface, and dotted with ashen grey dote. Eye rather small and open, set almost level with the surface. Stalk about an inch long, woody, fleshy at the base, straight, and obliquely inserted in a very slight depression. Flesh whitish, half melting, very juicy and tender, rich, sweet, brisk, highly flavoured, and with a fine perfume. It is a first-rate Pear, ripe in October, and during November. PORTRAIT OF MR. RIVERS. The following additional subscriptions have been received :— £ .?. d. Barron, Mr. A. F., Chiswick 0 10 6 Eivett, Mr., Stratford, Essex 1 1 0 WORK FOR THE WEEK. KITCHEN GARDEN. It is hoped that, ia accordance with repeated injanctions, the wheeling of manure and trenching-up vacant quarters in this department have been regularly and systematically followed up in favourable weather. Let this kind of work be continued as often as opportunity offers. All green refuse and decayed matter when trenched-in should be strewed over with lime to hasten decomposition and destroy insects. Choose also the opportunity of dry frosty mornings to fork-up ground pre- viously trenched, so as to get the surface in good working order ; if severe weather continue but little can be advised in the way of cropping. If, however, a change take place and the ground can be worked, the first opportunity must be seized to make a second sowing of Broad Bearis and Peas on a warm border. Sow a moderate breadth of Early Horn Carrot and Short-top Radish, to be sown in drills alternately, covering with healthy sandy soil, and protecting with any available matter. An ex- cellent method of fastening down such mateiial is to place long willow rods at convenient distances, pegging them down at each end with a strong hook. Caulijloicers under hand- lights require constant attention. Keep the surface stirred. An excellent plan to catch slugs among these is to sp)it large Carrots and lay the pieces about the plants ; by picking them ofi on mild mornings, an immense number of slugs may be taken. FRUIT GAKDEN. Continue the pruning and nailing of the hardier kinds of fruit trees at every opportunity, have a good plank to stand upon, and if very cold wear also a large pair of wooden dug.--. No considerate master will ever censure a man for being careful of his health. In pruning and nailing wall trees let them be entirely removed from the wall, which should be swept with a birch broom, if there is any fear of insects lodging in the crevices ; the trees should then be renailed with fresh nails and shreds, using as few as possible, and of strength according to the size of the branches. The pruning of Currants and Goose- berries should be deferred for a time, as if sharp weathfr prevail during this and part of next month, birds are apt to be very destructive to the buds. Prune espalier Apple and Pear trees, and fork-up the ground about them in frosty weather to disturb and destroy insects. In the orchard thin out cross and crowded branches from Apples, Pears, and Quinces, it is a great mistake to leave too much wood. Scrape oH moss and lichen from the stems, and if time will serve, dress both thejs and espalier trees with a mixture of quicklime and clfl;y brought to the consistence of thick paint. If this be done well, there will be no need to scrape them for some years. FLOWER GARDEN. All is hard as adamant here ; we can do little until the Snow- drops begin to peep up. Some kinds of ground work may be proceeded with, and the mattock or pick will be in request. Should the present severe weather continue, the chief oper- ations will consist in giving additional protection, and in covering those plants which in ordinary seasons it is not ni- cessary to protect. Roses must have additional coverings to the roots — such as litter, moss, leaves, or sawdust, and the tops must be protected with straw, hay, fern, or evergreen boughs — in fact, anything of the kind, and the drier the material used the better. The same remarks apply to climbers on walls ; over these mats may also be fastened, for although coverings are not required to be firm, the mats are useful in keeping ILe other materials dry and clean. Auriculas will now begin to require some extra attention independently of keeping them perfectly clear of dead leaves, which must be removed very gently for fear of injuring the root or stock. They may iu mild weather have an occasional watering, carefully guarding against any moisture remaining iu the heart. Give all the air possible, taking care to cover the frames well at night. Look over the beds of Pinks and Pansies ; plants which have but lately been removed are very liable to be raised by the frost; these must be carefully fastened by pressing the soil gently to them when it is tolerably dry. The soil which has been exposed to the action of the frost, may the first fine day bo returned to the Ranunculus beds in order that they may settle down before planting. Carnations must be carefully gone over, those in beds fastened if loose, and cleared of dead leave.'', which when lodged on the plants retain moisture which is injurious to them. GREENHOCSB AND CONSERVATORY. Keep the conservatory ata temperature of about 4.3° by night, raising it to 55° in the day, with plenty of air at every favour- able opportunity. Keep the atmosphere moderately moist, as much for the preservation of the flowers as for the comfort of the visitors. Keep every part of the house as clean as possible. Remove flowers as soon as they become shabby, and endeavour to concentrate the floral beauty of the place in this one house. Stove plants will suffer no injury for a few days in the above temperature, but hardwooded greenhouse plants, as Heaths, should not remsin more than a few days at a time in such a temperature. Take care that the Camellias do not suffer from want of water now they are blooming. Prune, train, and clean the climbers on the rafters, Sie. The greenhouse in the gene- rality of establishments ia a mixed affair, where hardwooded and softwooded plants are obliged to be together. In such places a compromise must be made in the treatment by keep- ing it a few degrees warmer than Heaths and other Cape plants require, and yet sufficiently waim for Pelargoniums, Calceo- 12 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 6, 1871. larias, &c. Arrange the plants in groups, so that air can be admitted to the Heaths at times when it would be injudicious to admit it to softwooded plants. Admit air at all favourable ■opportunities, but be careful of north-east winds. STOVE. Now that the shortest day is past, some of the plants which it is intended to make the most of during the growing season may be started gently, preparatory to being potted, towards the end of this or the beginning of next month. Among these, such plants as Ixoras, AUamandas, and Dipladenias may be started. Do not increase the temperature much this month, except by taking advantage of sunny days, and then a syiiage- ful of water may be drawn over the plants without any risk of doing injiiiy. All the plants wanted for late blooming must be kept back for the present. If not done before, the whole of the Clerodendrons must be shaken out, their roots reduced, and repotted in small pots in light sandy-loam compost. Place them in heat until they have made shoots about an inch long, and then, unless required to bloom very early, they may he preserved for a time in a lower temperature. Luculia gratis- slma, as soon as it has done blooming, must have the side branches shortened-in a little, and be placed in heat to pro- duce cuttings for propagation. As soon as the shoots are 2 inches long tie a tight ligature below the lowest joint, and when the bark has swelled a little, say in about a fortnight, the cuttings may be taken off, potted singly in very small pots, plunged in a gentle bottom heat, covered with a hand-glass, and they will strike very readily. FOKCING PIT. Remove the plants to the conservatory as fast as the flowers expand, and introduce others from the reserve for succession, placing them first at the cool end of the house or pit, so as to excite them gradually. A few Pinks and Sweet Williams may be started, and plenty of Lily of the Valley, Sweet Briar, and other sweet-smelling plants. Gardenias must also be started, and as the Stephanotis is a great favourite with the ladies, a plant or two should be placed in the warmest end of the pit. Maintain a growing moist temperature of from C0° to 65^ or 70° with sun heat. — W. Keane. DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. On New Year's-eve we have similar weather after a week of teen frost, as we had at Cbristmas-eve. Very fortunately the frost has been greatly counteracted as respects vegetables and Wheat fields by the frequent fall of snow, which will be of great protecting benefit to everything beneath it. Our chief work out of doors (for ground work or moving earth was impossible) was wheeling the rubbish-heap and soil, and, on cutting a spinney, collecting flower stal:es and Pea stakes, stakes for Hollyhocks, Dahlias, Ac, in a rough state, so that we conid finish them at home in unsettled weather. We prefer for flowers clean straight stakes with the bark on, to deal and lath sticks, however nicely whittled. The object of a stake is merely to support a plant, but the less the support is seen the better. In most gardens the number of sticks required from onp- eighth of an inch in diameter to 2 inches across is astoDishing. Preferring those with bark on them as less conspicuous, it is always advisable to have a quantity laid up in store, and not be forced to try and find some at seasons of the year when going into a coppice for them might give offence, from dis- turbing young game, &a. A gardener now-a-days, to obtain what he wants, must keep hie eyes about him. When such small sticks are pruned and straightened, it is well to put them into bundles, tied firmly, which keeps them in the desired position. Pea stakes can also be arranged in sizes, and pointed on bad days, whan men could scarcely stand out. Collecting and bringing them home was good work for the frosty weather, as most of the snow has come on at night. Some time ago we made remarks on pointing sticks. F. r good-sized ones, three strokes of the bill are sufficient. F.^r small flower sticks, two strokes of the knife are sufficient — Uie first slips elf the half of the diameter at the base, the other takes away the half of what remains, leaving a neat point. We have seen more whittling over the point of a little stick than would have done for more than half a dozen of a similar size — a matter of importance where myriads of these are used. In-doore, besides tha general attention as alluded to lact week, the chief work has been cleaning and picking over plants where they had any leaves not quite healthy, and attending to their various wants, giving as little water as could be to keep things right in such severe weather. The following matters have also received, or should now demand attention : — The orchard houses, on cutting the last Grapes, the roofs being covered with snow, were again well smoked by burning partly broken and bruised laurel leaves. This was done gene- rally by way of precaution, as it could do no harm, and few insects can stand the pungent smoke, quite as obnoxious to some insects as the smoke of tobacco, whilst it costs nothing but getting the laurel leaves and young shoots. The roofs being rather open, it would of little use smoking the houses unless they were covered with snow. Some Pear trees that had a little scale on the branches we meant to have syringed with water during this keen weather, so as to surround the branches leith a layer of ice, but en examining those we meant thus to serve, we find that the heat of the day had sufficiently melted the snow to enclose the wood in a film of ice. As it would be impossible for air to pass through a good ice covering, we found frequently that when such ice scaled ofl' in a change of temperature, the scale, &c., peeled away with the ice ; the more firmly the ice surrounds the branches, the more effectually will it act as an insect-de- stroyer. Sheeting fruit trees on walls with ice is, therefore, often a benefit ; we have consequently found it useful in severe frost to syringe a tree all over, and for convenience and greater benefit to use heated water, as the transition fi-om heat to cold was all the gre?,ter. We never knew hardy trees injured by this treatment, whilst the water filled all the crannies in the wall, and made that too a sheet of ice, shuttiug-up from free access to air what living things might be in holes and crannies. There is, however, one drawback against such a water appli- cation to wall trees in severe frost in winter. If the wall should be of stone, soft and porous, or of bricks rather soft and not thoroughly hard burned, if the frost should be severe and continuous, there is a risk that the ice will bring pieces of the wall along with it, and thus accelerate its decay. It is anything but economy to use soft inferior bricks for garden walls. They absorb moisture like a sponge, and when once the outside peels off, they become little better for all practical pur- poses than so much dried hard-pressed mud. We should not like, therefore, to resort to such a plan where the walls were soft. On wood fences there could be no such objection, and we have known of several cases where, from using such inferior bricks, walls would not hold a nail at length, and then it became necessary to front them with wood. Fruit rooms and late Grapes needed looking over, as lately stated. Pears still being behind Apples as respects keeping. Dahlia tubers. Potatoes, &c., needed more protection from the severe weather. More litter was also placed over Mushroom beds in an open shed. Protection. — Where a high temperature is required, a little protection over the front glass does much to render less firing necessary, and thus there is less drying the air inside, and less neaessity for moistening that air artificially, and in ordinary cases getting the moisture condensed so as to fall over the plants in the house. Common iron roofs not kept thoroughly painted soon show themselves in this way, ns every rusty water- drop leaves a stain behind it. When a high temperature is used moisture must be given in proportion ; but iu such weather it is often better to let the temperature fall 5° or 10°, so as still to be safe, instead of using more fire heat and consequently more vapour in dull cloudy weather. All things in cold pits and frames covered up on Christmas- eve have remained covered up ever since. When the thermo- meter fell more than 20° below freezing point more litter was added, and in one or two cases even above a layer of snow. In such weather, however, we are loth to disturb a surface-cover- ing of snow, as from its open character and white colour it forms one of our best protectors. We just peeped in at limes to find all was cool and yet safe. With continuous covering there must be no incitement to growth. Such a week clearly demonstrates the importance of a small house in which you can walk and work, over a pit or frame in which one can do nothing without opening the sishes. We should have liked to have done work in frames or pits, but the opening of the sashes, except for a very short time, would have been dangerous in such weather, when even plants at all tender could only be moved by placing them in covered boxes or baskets, to prevent their feeling the extremes of temperature. We would have done more potting and proceeded with more January 5, 1871. ] JOUENAIi OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAtlDENER. 13 cutting-making, if, without moving sashes, we could have more easily reached the plants. Obtaining fresh platforms and repairing others prevented our doing so much as we might have done iu houses to which we could gain access. Merely for the sake of getting inside, by opening and shutting a small door, a little house will always be better than a place of the same size where every attention and regulation of the plants must be given from the outside. "We may mention that though the wind seems to be veering to the south, the irost is still as severe as ever, and if it should continue a week or two longer we shall let Calceolarias, y^ung Cauliflowers, &c., remtiin cjveied up jast as they are. When the thaw comes, the cautions given last week must be attended to. In such weatlier, where there can be no growth, covering and uncovering each day are little better than labour thrown away. See what was said lately as respects forcing shrubs, Koses, bulbs, itc. All these will be benefited by a gentle bottom heat and bringing them on by a gradual increase of top temperature, the more gradual the better in every way ; the buds break more regularly, and the flowers come finer, and on the whole are sooner fit for gathering. All forcing of fruit trees, if not far advanced, should proceed very slowly, until this keen frost pass away. With the roots pro- tected, if outside, the frost itself would not be a drawback ; it is the foggy, cloudy weather that, when much heat is used, causes growth to be more weak and juicy than when we can have the help of more sunshine. Many tubers and bulba may now be potted, and placed in a cool place. Some of the earliest tuberous Geaneras, may be put in pans until growth is pro- gressing, and then the mode of flowering may be decided on. The tubers of Gesnera zebrina do not keep well unless rather dry, and the temperature not long under 5(/. The tendert-r Caladiums, if dry, will keep in an average temperature of GO" ; if much lower for any length of time they sbrivel and rot. Most of the Achimenes will be safe in a temperature of from 45° to 50°, either in dry soil or sand. These may be picked out now, and placed in small pans in a mild heat to set them going. The same may be said of Gloxinias, easily wiotered under stages, &c. They may now be repotted for early bloom- ing.—K. F. ^ TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. B. S. Williams, Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, Upper HoUowav, London, N. — Dcscri-iitive Catalogue of Fioicer^ Vojetahlc^ ami Agri- cultural Sci'ih. Charles I'nmer, Royal Nurseries, SIonRh. — Catalogue of Seeds for the Kitchciu the Flov:er Garden^ and the Farm. Child (fe Lorimer, 49, Darley Street, Bradford, and Bradford Nur- series, Shipley. — General Seed Catalogue and Garden Guide. TO CORRESPONDENTS. *** We request that no one will write privately to any of the correspondents uf the *' Journal of Horticulture, Cottnge Gardener, and Country Gentleman." Ey doing so they are subjected to unjustifiable trouble and expense. Ail communications . should therefore be addressed solclij to The Editors of the Journal of Horticulture, d^'c, 171, Fleet Street, London, E.G. "We also request that correspondents will not mix up on the same sheet questions relating to Gardening and those on Poultry and Bee subjects, if they expect to get them an- swered promptly and conveniently, hut write them on separate communications. Also never to send more than two or three questions at once. Books (Siijma). — You can have the " Orchid Manual"' free by post from our utfiue if you enclose thirty-two post-office stamps, with your address. All the leading nurserymen iniblish priced and descriptive lists of C i- mellias. They would send the lists by post if asked. iG. B. Ansiruthrr). — The price of the " Cottage Gardeners' Dictionary" with the Appendix, is 6s. Gd. You cf\n have it free by post from our ollice for Sti. extni. (.-I Subscriber).— '^ Flotists' Flowers for the iljiny" gives full directions for Pelargonium culture. You can have it from our oiiice post free fur five postage stamps. Cyclahif.n Seedlings Blooming (J. Wigoins).— Though you have not succeedeil in blooming them until they were fourteen months old, it is quite certain that others whose communications we have published, have bloomed them when ten montbg old. Read what they say and are still saying. PoRTABLF. Orchaed AND GREENHOUSE (fl". O.— If the woodwork is not fixed into tho wall, nor to the brick foundation, tiie whole may be removed legally. Roses [W. H. B.).— The Roses named are nearly all of them old sorts, which have been superscdtid by newer and better ones. Fr.nU(;ois Arapo is velvety maroon, a robust strower, and still a good liose, though too flat. Madame Laffay, red, moderate grower, far surpassed now by other va- rietiep. La Reine, bright rose, largo and full, but often opens badly; at times a very fine Rose, but very capricious. Cutherine Guillot, deey rose, a Bourbon, and a free bloomer; still worth growing. Reine des Violettes, violet rose, a bad-shaped flower, apt to fade. Jacques Lafitte, deep rose, a strong but coarse flower, and not free ; no longer worth grow- ing. Abd el Kader, dark plum, not full, shy bloomer. Of the seven, only Fi-iin<;ois Arago, La Reine, and Catherine Guillot are worth growing, and not one, we think, worth naming in a list of fifty, thongh if we were plant- ing one hundred varieties, we should find room for them. Pear {J.B. White.)— Colmav Epincus is a synonym of the Passe Colmar. Nuts {C. N. £.)•—" Fruit Gardening for the Mony " contains what you require. You can have a copy fvom our office free by post if jou enclose liye postage stamps with your address. Sowing Auctjba Berries (A Subscriber, Tra^ec).— When the ben-ies are ripe, which will be known by their parting readily or falling from the plant, sow thera in well-driiiued pans three parts filled with turfy yellow loam two-thirds, and one-third loaf soil, and cover with a thickness (f fine soil equal to the diameter of the berries. A gentle watering should then be given, and the pan placed in a cold frame. The soil being kept moist, the seeds will vegetate, if good, in due season. The Egyptian Melon (Cf. S.).— We believe it ia to be had true. It is in the catalogues of trustworthy seedsmen, and many gardeners preserve the seed for home use. Protecting Pampas Grass (Anthony and others).— The following from a correspondent opportunely answers your inquiry—" A good protection for the Fampas Grass is a hamper without the bottom, turned the wrong way up, and filled with dry leaves.— C. L." GnApEs {A Grou-er of Orai}cs).—li the Tokay Grape that was exhibited was the true one it is an excellent late-hanging Grape, but certainly inferior to the White Muscat of Alexandria. We cannot, on any principle of common sense, understand why at the Darlington Show black Grapes should be judged by appearance and white Grapes by flavour, ihe black being Lady Downe's and Oldaker's West's St. Peter's, and the white, Muscat of Alexandria and Tokay. If no condition to that efifect was given iu the rules it is an injustice to exhibitors; and the judges who would act thus on their own responsibility are unfit for their office. Young Trees Barked by Hares {J. A'.). — If your trees are barked completely all round to the height of a foot you may take them up at once and plant afresh. If only barked here and there in that space,, cover the wounds with some graUiny-wax or other similar protection, aud dre-3 the whole of the trees withm reach of the hares with a thick paste of night soil and stale urine from the stable. Select Single Fuchsias (A Subscriber) —Dark : Vesta, Enoch Ardent- Lord Derby, Mr. Disraeli, Father Ignatius, nnd Glowworm. Li(jht : Mrs- Blnnd, Mrs. Shirley Hihberd, Rose of Denmark, Picturata, Brilliuntissimar and Guiding Star. Select Pentstemons. (Idem) —Arthur M'lTardr, James Roth?child, Leon Laprevote, Purple King, Flower of the Day, John M'Pherson, Miss Carnegie. Surpasse Victor Hugo, Sunrise, 5Irs. A.Sterry Illuminator and Stanstead burpris<*. The habit of Christine Kosegay is good, but as we have seen it, scarcely so free-blooming as could be desired. Angular Flower Beds (Pcnnmhra). — These will be duly noticed iu Mr. O'Donnell's directions. Your plans are neat but not novel. Dwarf Fruit Treks (An Old Subscriber, Bandon). — Rivers's "Minia- ture Fruit Garden" and Brehaut's "Cordon Training" contain the directions you require. White Flowers for Easter (R. L,).— Lily of the Valley, Spirrea japonica, Hyacinths, Narcissus, and Deutzia gracilis are all first-rate. Wo knuw of no flowers that sown now would bloom at that time. Crocuses and Snowdrops ought to be planted without delay, and they will flower naturiilly by the time you name, or if not, they may be placed in the greenhouse a short time previously. Camellia Leaves Blotched (J. P.I.— The leaf sent us is blotched by tho sun's rays falling powerfully on it whilst wet. The blotchicg may have been a result of syringing or of condensed moisture falling on the leaves from tbe roof. The rtmedy ia to give air so as to have the leaves di-y before the sun shines powerfully on them, or to shade from very bright sun. We cannot name plants h'om leaves only. Azalea Weak {Inquirer).— We would not pot the plant until it had flowered, and then we would shift it, giving a good- shift; but coiild you not reduce its ball, and repot in ibc same gi/,e of pot? Two parts of fibrous sandy peat, half a part of loam from turf, and the same of old cow dung, with plenty of sand, will grow Azaleas well. Good drainage is neceasury. Encourage fresh growth by a brisk moist heat, shading from bright sun. We think tbe growth will be stronger another year. We would not top-dress now, but when the buds bet^in to swell, you may water with manure water, not guano, but sheep droppings, one peck to thirty gallons of water, or cow dung, one peck to twenty gallons. It is not likely you will succeed in getting leaves as large as those of the young plant, for young Azaleas, as a rule, have larger leaves than plants of conbiderable size and age. Select Double Petunias (Idem). — Mademoiselle Marie do Saint Innocent, Achille Ragon, Victor, Monsieur Daroy, Gloire des Petunias^ Honour, or Gazelle. Pavaces of the Titmouse (IT". H).— You ask if we have known "Tom- tits " take Peas out of tbe pods. The firi-t year we grew Dickson's First and Best Pea, we found the peas taken out of the pods as they filled. Sparr'i«s were blamed, as ihey are for everything, but we found the depredations were committed by the small blue Titmouse, or, as it is known iu Yorkshire, " Billybiter.'* About 20l) vards awny from the Peas tbe bird had its nest in a wall, and the two old birds came to the Peas, one of them every three minutes, and returned to the nest with a pen for the young. The' small blue Titmouse is a great destroyer of fruit tree blossom buds, and is very fond of pecking nt fruit, while Peas are its delight. Tbe large Titmouse is fond of bush fruit bud?, but wo think its attacks end there, nt least we have not seen it interfere with anything except Apples and Pears. "Tomtit" in YorUshire is the Wren, which is a sportive innocent creature, perfectly insectivorous. Keeping Cut Grapes (F. C.).— Cut off G inches of the lateral with each bunch, put that lateral into a bottle filled with water, and ttore inlh cool, dry, dark place. 14 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 5, 1871. OncnARD-nocsE Pots Frozen {An Old SubscribcT), — A littlo frost will do no injury to tlie roots of fruit troeij in pots in an orcliurd bon^a. If the soil lit the surface is rather dry. frost will do still less harm ; Imt it is well to protect from severe frost with a little litter or moss over the pot. Strawberries in Ground Vineby (Idem). — To grow Strawberries in ground vineries, the simplest plan would be to yrow them in such a place without the ;t;;lass the previous year, so as to be well established. If you t^Tow tbem in pots you will be able to remove an unfruitful pot iind replace it by another. Wheu so grown the puts should bo plunged in the autumn. It matters but litile what the mnterinl may be — earth, ashes, cocoa-nut tibre, He, but if in pots we would place a bttle rich soil be- neath the bottom of the pots when the plants showed their flower trus-^es. Each m-inch pipes below, and two above, but they are not enough in cold weather without covering. Tho damp that is troubling you in the new pits, heatt'd by two o-iuch pipes Ju a chamber below, with a platform of boards, on which tho plants stand near the glass, may be owing to the damp remaining in tho new walls, to a damp floor in the chamber beneath, to using rather ton much water, nnd to lotting it go from the boards to tbo floor to be raitiud again by evaporation. Tho bimplest remedy would be to use more heat in the pipes durin? the day, and Give more air in consequence, and in mild weather tilting the sash a little in front as well as at the back. In frobtT weather a very small quantity of air at the back will prevent the condensation of moisture on the glass, aud thus prevent the moisture falling on the plants. In cold weather a covering on the outside of tbe glass at night would also remedy the evil. As palliatives, if the floor beneath the flue is wet, remove the wettest, ant cover with very dry ashes, better still with lime slacked, and not too fresh. On the boards then;i5elves place a thin layer of dry ashes, and give no more water than is absolutely necessary ; aud, until you get rid of the damp, lift the pots out that need watering, and replace after the extra moisture has drained away. Most likely some of these hints may be useful, but in a pit kept at from i-i^ to 45', the simplest remedy would be more heat and air during the day, and less heat at night. Names of Fruit (W. H. S.). — 1, Eeurre Diel ; 2, Greenup's Pippin; 3, Ravelston Pippin; 4, Hunthouse. (T. Ji.).— 1, Winter Franc Real; 2, Spanish Bon Chretien ; 3, Uvedale's St. Germain ; 4, Flumiih Bon Chre- tien. We do not know tbe other Apples. POULTEY, BEE. AND PIGEON CHSONICLE. THE POULTRY LORE OF 1870. We are thankful that we have been spared another year to review the past as regards poultry, and truly grateful in these days of war and bloodshed that we have to do only with things of peace. Although poultry plays but a small part, and enters for little in the food of a people, yet it is not without its importance, and if it were developed to the full scope of which it is capable, it would assume an importance which is hardly deemed possible. The contempt for cookery that makes a pound of meat in England do less for the support of a family than half the quantitv does in France, and the Britannic craving for roasted and boiled masses, banish poultry from many tables where it might often appear as a bonne houche ; and the two chickens that now serve meagrely to dine three of a family of eight, would form the foundation of a savoury and wholesome dish sufficient to dine all. In the course of our remarks we shall have to note a wonderful increase in many breeds, but we shall never get them large enough to supersede the leg of mutton or the sirloin. Our purpose would be fully answered if we could by any labour or remarks of ours introduce them to tables where they arc now only seen on very rare occasions, as weddings, christenings, aud the like. We have no increase to note in Dorkings ; indeed,' we do not see how it is possible we should have. They have almost attained their limit. Cocks of 12 lbs. and hens of from 8 to 10, would almost justify us in thinking the breeders of these birds have been trying to qualify them for becoming joints. We have been glad to see many new names among the prize- tikers, and this not to the exclusion of time-honoured exhi- bitors, but as recipients of the extra prizes called for by the numbers of entries. There is no progress to call for special mention among the Spanish. They are not so numerous as they were some years since ; and although, taken as a class, they are of superior average merit, yet we do not think the most distinguished among them are equal to those that held the same high rank ten years ago. We should be sorry to see them decline. They have a rare merit, inasmuch as they may be kept in health where others would die, and their plumage enables them to live in towns without losing beauty. Our old friends the Cochin-Chinas hold their own : Baft and Cinnamon, Grouse and Partridge, and the White. We have bad most excellent birds of all these commonly shown in 1870. If we were asked to name the colour in which there has been most progress, we should be disposed to give the palm to the Grouse. They have been largely exhibited at all the leading shows, but are seldom found at the purely agricultural meetings. They are kept by dwellers in towns, and at the suburban villas, but they find no favour with the farming interest. Brahmas now form one of the largest classes, so large, in- deed, that it has been necessary to divide them; and instead of the one or two pens of Light birds seeming out of place among their Dark brethren, they form a large item in every show. There has been wonderful progress in these birds ; im- mense weight aud perfect plumage are attained. Those who are familiar with our ideas know we are not lovers of crosses ; but if any cross is useful, we believe it is one between the Dorkings aud Brahmas. The latter take somewhat from the delicacy of the flesh of the former, but make ample amends by the strength of constitution they infuse. We have been very pleased to see an increase in tbe entries January 5, 1871. ] JODKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 15 of Polands, the birds composing tbem being of bigh merit. They are great ornaments to a show. Tbe Hamburghs in their different c'asses have sustained their old reputation. The Capulets and Montagues of the Spangled, represented in the feuds of beu tails and full tails, have ceased the wordy war of bygone days and adopted the decisions of judges ; a hen tail is now never seen. The pen- cilling of the Golden is very superior to that of the Silver, and a desideratum appears accomplished, inasmuch as in many pens we have seen the tails as well pencilled as any other part of the body. We think the Golden birds of both breeds have been shown as nearly perleolion as is possible, and certainly superior to the Silver. The recent introduction of classes for Black birds of this breed has added a beauliful variety to our exhibitions. The glossy black plumage, the bright red comb, and the pure white deaf ear, form a striking contrast. Black and Brown R^d Game run a neck-and-neck race. When looking at the Blac'.: we award them the palm, but when we come to the Browns w« reverse our deci^on. It is certain both are nearly perfect. Old cockers sometimes grumble, and say *' the birds of the present day are too leggy." The other Game cinsses make little progress, and we are sorry to see a falling-ofi in the Diackwings. We know no more beautiful bird in our eyes than the Duckwiug Game cock. But very few years since the French brteis showed an occasional pen in the Variety class. Then there were two ; then more ; and at last an experiment was tried by offering prizes for any French breeds ; then they were divided, and now the Ciefe-Cfcars and Houdans form large classes. The La Fitjehe have bten failures. Those who appreciate large eggs and plenty of them, will like the CiiJvu-Ctv-urs ; those who care not so much for large eggs, but want hardy fowls, will like the Houdans. We can say little in favour of the La Fle.che ; they are good for the table, they lay large eggs, but they lack constitution, or the climate here is unsuitable to them ; thej' are well in the morning, and at night, without any visible reason, they are at death's door. Malays, once so popular, have now few admirers, if we may judge from their entries. The beautiful Sabrights seem losing ground. Some one should step in to the rescue ; they are far too beautiful to be allowed to lose merit, and, being a composite breed, they go back if net renewed from time to time. The Blacks and Whites are hardly shown so good as they used to be. The Game have irresistible charms for Bantam-breeders. They are bred to high perfection, and their entries are suffi- ciently numerous to justify an increase in the number of prizes offered for them. The quaint .Japanese Bantam is ex- hibited in considerable numbers. They are familiar little creatures, and from their attachment to man, would seem to be among fowls like the Robin among birds. While speaking of Bantams, it would be unjust not to mention the beautiful Buff Cochin Biutams that have been seen at. some of the shows during the past year. In every way the Aylesbury Ducks have quailed before the E:>uens; their numbers have been fewer, and their weights less. The Rouens now form the largest class. The Black Buenoa Ayreans have shown well, but will still bear reducing in size. A pair of Mandarins or Carolinas caused a sensation a few years since, but they are now shown by dozens. Geese go on increasing. The Whites hold their own in weight, but the Toulouse are far more numerous. In both classes birds of 2Slb3. each are required for tirst-prizetakers — no mean success, when we consider that a few years ago 9 lbs. were the average, and 11 lbs. a marvel. Turkey cocks have been shown 30 lbs. in weight, young birds of the year more than 20, and young hens of 1.5 lbs. each. These are some of the results of careful breeding, and they are not mean ones. When we are sufficiently advanced to have correct statistics of poultry sold for food, those who now speak lightly of it will alter their opinions. It may safely be said that of late years, since the poultry movement took place, fowls, Geese, Turkeys, and Ducks have increased nearly a third in weight. If we could ascertain the numbers that are sent to market, and thereby publish the extra amount of food produced only by choosing the breeds adapted to the places where Ihey are to be kept, and by proper and judicious feeding, it would astonish many, by showing the enormous increase in the delicate food for which we are indebted to the poultry-yard. The progress has not been confiaed to this one part of the question. In the early days roup was the bane of the breeder. Two or three days' confinement, a fortnight's damp cold weather, or a prevalence of east wind caused it to appear. Birds were bred in-and-in, they were little oared for, and they took their revenge by their proneness to catch any disorder from which a few of the yard were suffering. At shows a good part of a class was often removed because the fowls composing the pens were diseased. It was never safe to turn down fowls that had been to a show till they had performed quarantine. Now show after show miy be visited without seeing a diseased bird. It is not only at; shows this is observed, but its happy effect is seen in every yard and run. The result has been attained without expense. It is the reward of more careful breeding and of some painstaking. Those who are close observers have seen with much interest the ease with which the requirements of judges have been carried out. The hen-tailed cocks of Hamburghs, the combs and gills of Polands, the drooping combs of Spanish, and many other such defects are now never met with. When we come to the question of eggs we again lament the want of statistics. Hundreds of millions are consumed every year, many of them imported. Notwithstanding the war, the number of eggs, more than 22 millions, imported from France last November, was about the same number as imported in that month of 1869. In every way the production of eggs is too little cared for in England. We have concluded our poultry lore, hut gratitude compels us to say a few words ol ourselves. We profess, as poultr.y I chroniclers, to hold an impartial balance on all matters con- j nected with the subject. We deprecate anything like person- aliiy, and while we give an outspoken opinion on every ques- tion that Comes before us, we can safelv say we never knowingly 1 print a line that shall cause pain. We have our reward in an I increased and increasing circulation, and in the confidence of our readers. We thank them for it. We pledge ourselves to continue a line of conduct consonant at once with our feelings, j and productive of our readers' approval. We thank our sub- scribers, readers, and contributors, and we heartily wish them all A Happy and Prosperous New Tear. THE ANY VARIETY CLASS. I QUITE concur with the remarks of " Y. B. A. Z.," and think that the " Any other variety " classes should have awarded not less than six prizes to them, as such classes generally bring together many varieties of fowls thit are seldom seen, and birds of superior merit. When four and even six varieties are brought together, how can a judge do justice to the whole if only two or three prizes are given ? " Y. B. A. Z." says that Malays ought to have a class to themselves at all established shows, and so I think, as it is not fair to see Malays clas.=ed against Black Hamburghs, Saltans, and Polands. At the Durham Show a pen of Malays was not even commended, and this pen had taken honours at Birming- ham three times. The first prize went to Black Hamburghs ; the second to a pen of Malays — a pen, I understand, which gained prizes at Birmingham and the Crystal Palace. — R. D. CxiRBOLIC ACID AND INSECT VERMIN. The Canadian Poultry Chronlch: for December contains the following valuable remarks on this subject, which I know will be useful to many readers here : — "All amateurs and poultry-breeders are but too well aware that parasites are the pests of poultry houses, more especially in towns and cities, where poultry are kept within confined limits. Without, as the owner thinks, any real cause, the fowls begin to droop and look sickly, and, after a little, one by one die off. He then becomes alarmed; examines them, and finds them covered with parasites ; he looks into his fowl house and examines the cracks and chinks in the boards, and finds them filled with insects, living insects. He is astonished ; he cannot account for it; and then the question aiises in his mind, ' How can I get rid of them?' Scores of times within the last few months has this question been asked of us, and our answer invariably has been. Use carbolic acid. "But how to use it is a matter of importance. There can be no doubt about its efficacy, but it becomes everyone to exercise care in handling it. The acid is sold by all druggists in its crystalline and liquid form. In crystals, it dissolves in twenty times its weight of water — that is, 1 oz. of the crystals requires 20 ozs. of water to dissolve them. Thus dissolved, it is entirely too strong for any ordinary use. Dr. Emerson gives recipes for preparing this powdsr for disinfecting and other purposes. 16 JOUKNAL OF HOETICULTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENES. [ January 5, 1871. As a whitewash for walls, for protection against insects, bugs, &o., he says, ' Pat 3 ozs. of carbolic acid into 12 quarts of lime- water or whitewash.' Whitewaeh the walls of the poultry house well with this wash, and no more living parasites will be seen ; their death is inevitable. A weak solution may be made to wash fowls in : one part of the acid to sixty parts of warm water; let it cool, then dip the fowls in it until the feathers become thoroughly wet and the solution reaches all parts of the body. Afterwards place the fowls on clean dry straw, where the sun will reach them, until they are dry." I may add to the foregoing that the most handy and useful thing I know of to have about the poultry yard is carbolate of lime. It is a powerful and at the same time pleasant dis- infectant, whilst it will also answer most purposes in the way of destroying insects, if dusted liberally against the walls or other infested parts. Being a powder, it may also be dusted amongst the straw in the nests, and in other places where a liquid cannot bo used ; though in very bad cases the more searching wash above given will be necessary. The price in most towns is about 4(i. per pound, and a regular sprinkling on the floors of the houses, I can say from experience, adds greatly to the comfort of all coneerned.^L. Weight. EXHIBITION GAME COCKS. I MOST fully concur in the remarks on Game fowls in your last number by your correspondent "Yoekshiee." Some of the specimens of the Brown Eeda shown at many exhibitions really put one in mind, so to speak, of a cross between " a Malay and an Ostrich," it such a cross were possible. The brassy or straw-coloured Brown Beds, especially, that I have Been at exhibitions, were very poor thiug3^as Game cocks, stand- ing in their pens, with tails carried horizontally, and hiding their heads in the farthest corners of the pen without crowing at all. I have, however, seen some excellent cockers' birds of this colour, called in some places brass cocks. Those birds I allude to were bred from good daik-legged Brown Red cocks put to good yellow-legged Diickwinghens, and were great favour- ites and very quick birds. Our judges of Game fowls certainly keep up the wrong type, in the exhibition Brown Reds moie especially, though I do not like a full-feathored bird resembling a farmyard Game cock. — Newmaeket. BRISTOL AND CLIFTON POULTRY SHOW. 'Sue total entries for this Show, the judging of which takes place to-day, are 1306, which, by an extraordinary coincidence, are just cue more than last year. From information which has reached ua we are able to say that in many of the classes there will be the best show of the season. Partly in consequence of the retarding influence of the dry season many of the finest chickens have not been previously ready for exhibition, and in nearly all the classes there are entries, from eminent exhibitors, of first-rate birds never before shown. The Spanish as usual are in great force, the cockerels cum- beiing thirty-three and the pullets twenty-three entries. We bear, also, that a better show of Buff Cochins than has yet been seen this year is anticipated. But the most remarkable classes will be the Dark Brahmas, which in numbers have beaten every other breed. The cockerel class contains the extraordinary number of forty-five entiles, and tte others are in proportion. With the exception of Bantams and Pigeons, the pens at this Show will be, as usual, arranged in single tier, while for light the exhibition hall has perhaps no equal. Altogether, both to the experienced and the tyro, this Show will offer opportunities and advantages for the real study of their pet hobbies which have not previously offered during the present season, and which none who can enjoy should lose sight of. THE FLYING OR SKY TUMBLER. Two peculiarities are omitted in tho description of this class of Tumbler in your Journal of December 29lh, and which the Birmingham Columbariau Society will accept, peihaps, from an amateur. I refer to the occurrence of clear-legged and odd- eyed birds (a hazel and a pearl eye), in, the Birtaingham Muffed Tumbler broods from parent birds both muffed in legs, and with pciul or silver eyes, and vice vend— i.e., niuffed-legged and silver-eyed brood from clear-legged and odd-eyed parentage. So it occurs in my own flight of about a score of tbuse muffed Tumblers had from Birmingham, and I presume the occur- rence is not an exception. Allusion is made, in the description I mention, to a Dutch import of this variety of Tumbler, and, I think, very appro- priately ; for doubtless the Birmingham Roller or Tumbler is a cross between our own old English and the European Dutch or German feather-legged Tumbler, "improved upon," cer- tainly, by English blood. Hence the occasional clear leg ap- pears ; the odd eyes dating back, however, I cannot guess whence, save of hazel-eyed, Bald, or Magpie ancestry. Can the Birmingham Columbariau Society inform us further upon the features I have noticed ? As additional testimony to the cross suggested, the Birming- ham Tumblers derive, I infer, their high or sky-flying propen- sity from our English blood, and their rolling properties from the continental admixture. What " Young England " fancies is our own dainty, fairy little Sky Tumbler, innocent of feathered legs, red as coral, with eyes of transparent pearl and studded jet, and in all colours, from those of the harlequin Almond, ermine Mottle, and varied Splash, to the sombre selfs — red, black, yellow, silver, drab, and blue — birds not heavier than a Starling, and whose home appears to be in cloudland or on the roof alike, as caprice or nature prompts. — Eeabee. INQUIRY. I Am-EitTiSED in your Journal some Call Ducks, and amongst other applications received one from W. George & Co., poultry merchants, 42, Great Wild Street, Covent Garden, for four pairs, and another from George White, 147, Culford Road, N., for six couple. I replied, giving a reference to a tradesman in London, and requesting post-office order before forwarding the birds. I have heard nothing further. Does any reader of thi& Journal know them ? — J. N. Peeston. MANCHESTER POULTRY AND PIGEON SHOW. [From tiro Con-esjioiidenfs.) The tenth and most successful poultry and Pigeon Show ever held in Manchester took place on the Bf'th and 31st of December. On both (lays the attendance of visitors was very great, and, to some extent, will recoup the spirited proprietors for the loss they must hava sustained last year, when, if we remember aright, it rained nearly all the time of the Show. The arrangements were excellent, and if any fault could be found, we thought it would have been much better, both for the poultry and Pigeons, had the magnilicent rooms been better heated. Old Coloured Doylnig cocks were rather a poor class, nearly all bad in feet or toes, yet there were several very large birds amongst them. The hens were very good in quality, but not numerous. The cockerels were a very good class, which was well filled. The class for Coloured pullets consisted of a remarkably good lot of birds. Silver- Grey Dorkinj^s were not good. All the S'jiani^ih classes Tvere very good, but many of the birds showed pigns of suffering from the severe weather ; in fact, a few were so affected with the Irost, that tb-y would have been far better at home. The first-prize hens were claimed at £15 immediately the Show opened. The CucJiin classes were all re- markably line, though some really good bii'ds appeared quite out of condition from being over-exhibited. The iirst-prize pair of Buff pullets were in beautiful condition. The Dark Byahitas were both remarkably good classes, but, as in the Cochins, a few of the best birds were in bad condition. Lij:;ht Brahmas were not good. Poland cocks were excellent, and a few of the hens were as good as could he ■wished for. The Gmiic classes were the best by far in quality I have seen this season. All the classes were remarkably good and well filled. Duel's, Gccse, and Ttirh'i/s, as may be seen by the prize list, were wonderful. In /[(naburghs the Spangled were good, and very far better than the Pencilled. Bantams were worth a long journey to see, and no class in the Show was more crowded than the tiame Bantams. PIGEONS. In tho Pouter classes, unfortunately for Mr. Gamon, of Chester,, his four fine birds were entered in wrong classes, otherwise we feel sure some of them would have been in tho prize list ; and, again, a pair of his splendid Yellow Dragoons were passed over, owing to the hen bird being marked, she havuig a piece of string tied round one of her legs. There were 307 entries of Pigeons, and representatives from most of our best lofts. Many pairs of Pigeons arrived too late for compe- tition, we believe tho whole of those belonging to Mr. Van HaauB- bergen and Mr. Sharp, of Johnstone. The judgment appeared to give almost universal satisfaction, and we never heard fewer com- plaints, although a few unsuccessful exhibitors, as usual, attempted to convince novices their unnoticed pena were better than the best. Tho Pouters wero good ; Black Carrier cocks excellent, nnmbering fourteen pens, the winning birds being placed the same as at Birming- ham Show. Black Carrier hens were very good. Had pen 1043 boeu January 5, 1871. ] JOUBNAL OF HOKTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENEK. 17 owned by an artist, it would have tnken tlie first prize. Dun cocks we thou^lit were a poor lot, but the hens maile up for them ; what should have been Blue Carriers were mostly slate-coloured, hut they are im- proving. The Yellow Dragoons were all good, the first prize being ■won by, we are told, the same pair that took the silver cups at the Crystal Palace and Bingley Shows. In "Any other Coloured Dra- goons," the most magnificent pair of Keds we have seen for many years deservedly were first. We were informed they were bred by the London fancier who bred the first-prize Yellows. Blues were second. All the birds iu the class were good, and very properly highly com- mended. There were twenty-eight entries of Antwerps, hnt neither Judges nor exhibitors appear to }.:aow what they want. The first prize went to a pair of hard-coloured, useful-looking Blue-chequered, and were claimed for £5 ; the second-prize birds were Meally-ash. Jacobins, excepting those which took the first prize, were only moderate. The second-prize pair we took for two cocks. What has become of all the good Jacobin fanciers ? Mr. Firth was first and second in Barbs •with, perhaps, two of the best pairs in England, the first-prize cock Ibeing a wonder. There was a lot of good Blue (or should-be Blue) and also White Fantails, but many of the Whites appeared to be snfi'ering from over- showing. Almond Tumblers were very good, also the Beards, Balds, and Any variety of Tumblers. The Nuns, the poor Nuns ! the whole class were disqualified for over-trimming ; it is but just to Str. Graham and Mr. Haansbergen to say that they were not included, their bii-ds not being sent, or had not arrived. The two prize pairs of Magjiies were charming. Turhits were also very good, particularly the first- prizo pair ; but here, again, pens 1221 and 1224 were disqualified for being so badly oiled. Swallows and Archangels were fair. English Owls were very good, and many pens reminded us of the time when foreign ones were not * known at our shows. The improvement in this breed has been very marked the last few years. The foreign Owls were veiy good. The first-prize Kunts weighed 4 lbs. 12 ozs. The whole class of Trumpeters was splendid ; first Black, second a beautiful pair of Whites. The birds in the Any variety class were all pretty. We very much admired a pair of Dutch Pouters shown by Mr. Tegetmeier. DoRKiN-Gs {Coloured, except SilTer-Groy). — Cock. — 1, J. White, Warlaby. 2, D. Parsons, Cuerden, Prestun. S. Admiral W. Hornby, Kaowsley. he, R. 1>. Holt, Orrest Head, Windermere, c, Mrs. F. S. ArkwriRht, Sutton Scaisdale. Chesterfield; S. H. Stott, Quarry Hill, Rochdale. DuBKiNGa (Coloured, except Silver-Grey).— H('».^. — 1. Mrs. F. S. Arltwj'ight. 2, J. White. 3, Admiml W. Hornby, he, T. Eridcn, Earby, Skipton ; Hon. H. W. Fitzwilliam, Wentwoi-th Woodhouse; Henry Lingwood, Barking, Need- ham Market; W. W. Ruttlidce. Shortend. Kendal. Dorkings (Coloured, except SUvfr-Grf-y).— Coc/i^crc^— 1, Mrs. E. Wheatlev, Ingatestone. 2, Mrs. T. W. L. Hind, Kendal. 3, H. Pickles, jun., Earby. he, T Bnden; Miss Davies, Chestei- {'2); R. D. Holt; J. Longiaud, Giendon, Narth- amnton; Rev. F. Taylor, Kirkaudrews Re>.'toi->*,LoDfrton; J.^Tiite (2). c, Mrs. F. S. Arkwright ; H. Lingwood, Barkinsr, Needham Market. Dorkings (Coloured, except Silver-'>rev).— PitUcts. — 1, Mrs. E. Wheatlev. 2. Mrs. F. S. Arkwright. 3. W. H. Kine, Sanda^ld. Rochdale, he. Rev. E. Bartrum, Great Berkhanipstead ; Mrs. F. S. Arkwright: Miss Davies; Miss Fairhurst, Ormakirk; T. L. Jackson, Bush of Ewea, l.iiUgholm; J. Long! and W.Harvey, Sheffield. Dorkings (Silver-Grey).— Cor/:. — 1. T. L. Jackson. 2, Hon. H. W. Fitz- william. 3, Hon. J. Masaey, Limerick. Dorkings (Silver-Grey).— Hf7is or Pullets— I, R. D. Holt. 2, J. Longland. 3, W. W. P.uttlidge. he, T. L. Jackson; R. Smalley, Lancaster, c, Rev. J. F. Newton. Dorkings {Rose-combed or Any other variety).—!, Miss Fsirhurst. 2, D. Parsons. 3, Miss E. AVilliamB, Henllys Berriew. c, Countess of Aylesford, Leamington Spa. Spanish. — Cue/-;. — 1. H. Lane, Bristol. 2. C. W. Brierler> Middleton. he, Burch * Boulter, Shelfield ; Hon. Miss D. Pennant, Penrhyu Castle, Bangor <2). c, J. Thresh ; R, Teebav, Fulwood, Preaton. Spanish.— HcHS.—l,R.Teebay. 2. H.Lane. 8. J. Thresh, Bradford, ^^c. Miss E. Beldon, Goitstock, Ringlry; Burch & Boulter; F. & C. Haworth, Newiield, Haslingdf^n. c. Hon. Miss D. Pennant. Spanish.- Cocfct'jv/.— 1, C. W. Brierl^v. 2. Hon. Miss D. Pennant. 3, H. Lane, he, W. R. Bull ; R. Davis ; F. fc C. Hnworth : Hon. Miss D. Pennant : .T. Thresh; C. W. Brierley. c, Burch & Boulter; J. Mausell, Longton, Stafford- shire. Spanish.— P»?/fis—l,W. R. Bull. 2, Hon. Miss D. Pennant. 3, E. Teebay. he. H. Lane : J. Thresh. Oochin-China (Cinnamon and Buff),— Coc/i-.-l. H. Yardlev, Birmingham. 2,E. Thomas, Barlow Moor, Didsbury. 3, T. Strnteh, Ormskirk. he. W. A. Em-nell, Southwell (2) ; W. A. Taylor, Manchester ; E. White, c, N. Dawdon, Beverley ; W. Sandy. Cochin-China (Cinnamon and Bnff).—H^ns.—1, W. A. Burncll. 2, W. A. Taylor. 3. W. Sandy, Ratclifte-on-Trent. /(/'. C. Felton, Biniungham. Cochin-China (Cinnamon and Bnif). ~ Piilhts. — l, J. Sicbel, Timperley. 2, Henry Lingwood. he, T. Evacegirdie, Sale, Manchester; Henry Lingwood, Barking, Needham Market ; T. Stretch ; W. Sandy. Cochin-China (Brown and Partridge-feathered).- CocA-.-l. T. Stretch. 2, E. Leech, Rochdale. 8, E. Tudman, Whitchurch. Salop, he, Mrs. K. White, ShefBeld ; J. A. Taylor, c, Furness & Sudall, Hasliuffden. Cochin-China (Brown and Partridge-feathered) - flt'»'J.-l. J. A.Taylor,Man- Chester. 2. R. E. Wood, Utloxeter. he, T. Stretch ; E. Tudman. OocniN-CriiNA (Brown and Partridge-featherefD.—Pzt/^'/s.— 1, J. A. T.iylor. 2 and 3, H. Crossley, BroomfieUl, Halifax, /it;, T. Stretch; P. H.Jones, Fulham. c, Horace Lingwoorl, Creeting; J. Palmer. Cochin-China (White).— Cocfc.—l, R. Smalley. 2. J. SichPl. he. H. YardJey. Co en in-China (White).- Bens or PalleU.~l, K. Smalley, 2, J. Sichel. c,'F. and C. Haworth. Brahma Pootra fDark).—Co[.'fc.— I.Hon. Mrs. A.B. Hamilton, Woburn. 2, J. H. Dawes, Birmingham. 3. J. S. Tainton, Glou-.ester. he. W. Hargreaves, P.acup; Horace Lin^'wood; Hon. Miss D. Pennant (1); W. Whitclev, Sheflield. c, T. F. Ansdell, St. Helen's : J. H. Dawos. Brahma Pootra (Dark).— HmAo.—l and2, T. Statter. 3. C. P. Adders, Abram. Wigan. he, T. Burns, Abram. Wigan (31; Miss DaWes (3) ;.W. Evans. Prescot; W. Gamon ; S. H. Stott : T. Taylor, Kendal. Duces (Rouen).— i)Hcfc8.—l, J. K. Fowler, Avleaburv. 2, T. Scatter. 3, C.P. Ackers, he, T. Bams; W. Evi-is; S. H. Stoit; H. B. Smith, Broughton, Preston ; T. Statter ; J. Wood : T. Wakefield. Dugks (White Aylesbury).— 1, E. Leech. 2, Mra. M. Seamons, HartweU, Aylesbury. S. J. K. Fowler, he, Mrs. M. Seamons ; E. Leech. Ducks (Black East Indian).-!. S. Burn, Whitby. 2, Rev. W. Serjeantaon, Acton Eurnell. he, S. Burn, c, H. B. Smith. Ornamentajl Waterfowl.- 1 and2. J. Jennison & Co., Zoological Gardens. Manchester (2) (Vidnata Whistling Ducks and Carolinas). 3, T. Haslam (Shovellers), he, C. N. Baker. Chelsea ; fi. B. Smith (2) (Shield and Carolinas) ; C. W, Brierley: M. Lcno, Markyatc Street (Mandarins); J. Goodwin, West Gorton (Mandarins!; J. Jennison &, Co. (3) (Mandarins, Teal, ai:d Tufted Divers), c, C, N. Eaker(2) ; J. Knott, Kirmanshulme, Manchester (Pochai'da); M. Leno (Carolinas): T. Haslam (BrO"wn Chinese Geese). GeebE (White).— (?rt/Jrier.—l and 2, E. Leech (301b. 0» ozs. and 30 lbs. loz.). 3, Rev. G. Hustler, Still in g-fleet Vicarage, York (29 lbs. 10 ozs.). he, T. Statter, jun. (2). Geese (WhiiQ).— Geese.— 1, E. Leech (57 lb. 4 oz.) 2, Rev. G. Hustler (49 lb. 14 oz.). 3, J. & W.Rostron,Leren9huhne,Manchesti'r{4olb}. /ic, T. Statter. jun. Gefse (Grev and Mottled).— G««(/*t.-1, Mrs. M. Seamons (33 lb. G oz.). 2. J.K. Fowler (321b.). 3. E. Leech (29Ib. 4 oz.). /ic, J. Lycett, Stafl'ord; E. Leech. GfESE (Grey and Motlled).-GcPi?.-l, W. Tippler, Chelmsford (41 lb.). 2, E. Leech (41 lb). 3, H. Crossley (Sy lb.), he. J. Lyeett ; Rev. G. Hustler. TuiiKEYS.— Cocfc.— L F, Ljthall. BanbuiT (341b. 15 ozs.). 2 aud 3, E. Leech (321b. 7 oz. and 32lb. 6 oz.) he, J. Kershaw, Heywood, Manchester; G. K, Pearson, Witbam Common, Grantham ; Rev. N. J. Ridley, Newbury. TritKEYS.— JETc^s.—l, E. Leech{S71b. 2oz.). 2, F. E. Rawson. Thoi-pe, Halifax (30 lb. 11 oz.). 3, Rev. N. J. Ridley (29 lb. 14 oz.). he. Mis. J. Muyhew, Great Baddow; E. Leech; G.R.Pearson. ExTBA Stock (Anv variety).— 1, Funaess& Sudall (Cuckoo Cochins). 2, Hon, H. W. Fitzwilliam, Wentworth Woodhonse (La Fleche). hr, W. A, Hyde, Ash- ton-under-Lyue (Japanese Silkies); J. Kitchen, Feniacowles, Blackburn (Aa- conas); Mrs P. Ta;ife, Plunket, Ireland (Black Cochins). HAMBURfiHs (Black).— Cocfc.—l, T. Walker, jun. 2. Rev. W. Serjeantson. 3. Stuttard & Heyea, Accrjngton. he, J. A. Taylor, c. Mason &. "^Valker, Denton, Manchester; Rev. W. Serjeantson. Hameukghs (Black).— Heiis or PuUetn.-l and 3, T. Walker, jnn., Denton. 2, G. Lingard, jun. ?ic, H. Beldon, Goitstonk, Bingley ; E. Brierley: J.Lan- cashire, Chadderton ; N. Marlor ; Mason & Walker: Rev. W. Seijoantson. Hambdrghs (Golden-spangled).— Coc7:—l and 2, J. Buckley. Taunton, Aeh- ton-uuder-Lyne. 3, J. Ogden, HolUnwood. c, H. Pickle.s, jun, ; Miss C. E. Palmer, Lighthorn, Warwick ; Duke of Sutherland, Trentham. Hameorghs (Golden-spangled).— Hf?js or PtiHets.-l, Chadderton & Schoies. 2, J. Ottden. 3, N. Marlori Denton, he, J. Buckley; W. McMellon, West Glossop; J. Ogdon. Hamborghs (Silver-spangled).— Cor7,-.—l, Ashtnn & Booth, Mottrara. 2, H. Beldon. 3, Miss E. Bro\\-ne. Charrtlfigh Green, Chard, he, Ashton ^: Booth ; J. Fielding, Newchurch ; J. Howe, Denton. Hambukghs (Silver-spangled) —Ht'Hs or Pullets —^, Ashton & Booth. 2, H. Beldon. 3, J. Fielding, he, J. Howe; J. Lancashire; D. Lord, Stacksteads, Manchester; W. McMellon. ^ Hamburohs (Golden-pencilled).— CocA-.—1, Duke nf Sutherland. 2, Burch and Boulttr. 3. H. Beldon. he, S. Burn ; W. Schofield, Hej-wood, Manchester; T. Wriglev. jun.. Tnuge, Mii^dleton. Hambubghs (Goldon-pencillcd).- Hc^w or PicUcts.-l, Enrch & Boulter. 2, T. Wrigley, jun. he, H, Beldon : H. Pickles, jun. Hambuughb (Silver-pencilled).- Co c A:.— 1, H. Beldon. 2, Duke of Sutherland. C, F. & C. Haworth : H. Pickles, jun. „ „. , , . ^ , Hamburghs (Silvei--pencilled).— fffns or Pullets.— I, H. Pickles, jun. 2, Duke of Sutherland. Game Bantams (Black-breasted Reds).— Cocfc.— 1. J. Blamircs, Grcni Horton. '' T Sharpies 3, J. Bamber. .Accringfon. 4, Williams i*c Str.-.w, Farnsfield, Southwell, he, J. Blamires ; H. J. Edge. Basford, Notts ; G. Hall. KenMal ; E. Hudson. Ulverston (2): T. C. &E.Newbitt; Stuttard & Heyea ; T. Sharpies, Rawtenstall ; W. Adams. Ipswich, e, J. Howe ; R. Swift. Southwell. Game Bavtams (Black-breasted Reds).— Hch.5 or Pullctt.—l, G. Daft. Jan., Halloughton, Southwell. 2, J. ■\^^ IVIorris, Rochdale. 3, T. Sharpies, he, J. Crosland. jun., Wakefield ; R. H. Flint, Warley Town, Sowerby Bridge; G. Hall; J.W.Morris; R. Swift. 18 JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 5, 1871. Gajie Bantims (Brown-breasted Reds).— Cock.— 1, T. C. & E. Newbitt. 2, W. Adams, he. .J. Points of both cock and hen." If you eucIoBe seven postage stamris with ynur address we will send you, post free, " Poultry Book for the Slany."' It contains the points of all the varieties. Eaton's book is out of print. The late Mr. Brent edited " The Pigeon Book." You can have it post free for twenty postage stamps. Exhibiting Together Dipfrrently-aged Fowls (Amateur). — Where there is no restriction, and no rule to the contrary, birds of different ages may be shown tocfpther. When the classes are defined and se- parated, it must not he. as it is at least a dishonourable proceeding. In raakinp up a pen (sf different ages you must be careful that all the birds match in sizs and appearance. Although nothing is more difficult than to tell the exact ages of fowls after they have reached maturity (say ten months), yet there is often a perceptible diffwrencs between a pullet and a hen, and if the juderes are hard run, they are glad of finything that will justify them in sirikinfi out a pen. Brahma Chickens Crooked-ereasted (W. J).— The crooked breast- bone does not make the bird delicate. We should be disposed to attribute the defect to their having perched too early. Erahmas are birds of quick crowtb, and are lanky when young. If put on the perch too soon their legs are not strong enough to bear the weight of their bodies by grasping tlie perch with their toes, and, coneeqnentiy, they rest their breasts upnn it. As the breast-hone is then little hetter than a cartilage, it takes the impress of the perch. We do not for a moment believe you will find it hereditary, any more than you would expect a child to have a contracted form because its mother when young laced too tightly. They will soon lay, but, as a rule, birds that are meant to do so before ChristmaB iiould be hatched either late in April or very early in May. We breed many fowls, and are, unfnrtuuately, overrun with rats, but we do not think our chickens in danger when they are large enough to remain on the perch when put there. Sick Fowls (Siihxcriher). — Give No. 1 Bnily's pills, and add to them one pill dailv of camphor the size of a garden pea. Give No. 2 Baily's pills, and follow them, when the bird ia convalescent, with meals of bread and ale three times per day. Give No. 3 castor oil, a table-spoonful every day, till the hlood and yellow matter have cRased, and the evacuations are brown and white. You must watch thatslie be not too much reduced. If she is, f^ive her bread and ale. Case Xo. 3 is the worst. Heating a Barn for Fowls {R. S ).— Wo are not friendly to heat derived from a Hue for poultry. It has a tendency to enervate them. They no longer wander abroad in search of food, hat lintiiDg it cold out of the house they return to it, and squat about in it all day. The proper ■way to make fowls lay, and to keep thera warm is to feed them well. All they require at niffht in tha way of warmth, is to ho lodged in a dry place thoroughly protected from drnuRht. If you keep as many as a thousand, or even five hundred fnwls, you will do better by dividini; them in several hnu«cs rather than pnttintr them alt in oue. It is far healthier. If you intend t • make a profit from the sale of epgi^, you must be careful to rr ^ n I'lnply ill the winter when they are most saloable. For this >ou 1' ill have to 'fiep ])ullet3 hatched in April and May. Wo think you will (^o as well wit I bniiuwas and Oochius as with any breed. They sire very Btiongand healt ovE3 (R. I,.).— We have frequentlv known them kopt in green- houses all the year, and never heard of their suffering frwm the humii atmosphere. Htpo-sdlphite of Soda. — This was erroneously printed hypo-sulphato on page 525. Pointer Diseased (J. P. C.).— The convulsive jerking and twitching of the neck and chest indicate chorea. Meyrick, in his excellent little volume on dops, gives the following directions :—" The general health and diet must first be attended to. A few doses of castor oil are usually necessary; accompanied by blue pill (dose five grains), if the liver is deranged, as shown by the clay colour of the fasces. The food should be givn twice a-day, and should consist principally of vegetables, potatoes, oatmeal porridge, &c. When a batter state of health is established, it will be time to give medicines to remove the disease itself. For this pur- pose it is best to begin ^\'ith liquor arsenisalis, mixing two drops with each meal, so that the dog will take four drops in the day. The quantity must be gradually and cautiously increased bv one drop daily, and so increased for a week. The same quantity must then be continued, and will often have to be given regularly every day for a month before a perfect cure is effected. As Boon as the dog rejects his food, is bloodshot in the eyes, or htis a runnint; at the nose, it is necessary to stop the medicine, at least for a time. If it has hid no perceptible effect in subduing the convulsive jerkings of the muscles, it would be advisable to try, night and morning, a ball containing sulphate of zinc, two grains; powdered gentian, ten grains; syrup of ginger, qu. suff." Waterproofing (J. D. I,.).— The composition varies according to the object to bo attained ; state for what you need it. METEOROLOGICAL OBSEKVATIONS In the Suburbs of London for the week ending December 27th. BAROMETER. THERMOMETER. Wind. Date Air. Earth. Eain Max. Min. Max. Min. Itt. 2 ft. Wed. . . 21 29 888 29.662 82 21 43 43 E. .00 Thurs. . Hi 29.864 29 844 28 a 40 41 E. .00 Fri.. .. 'M 39 888 29 800 84 6 35 89 N. .00 Sat. ... a* 29.696 29 614 28 2 85 88 N.E. .00 Sun. . . 2.5 29.646 29.598 84 14 84 M N.E. .CO M,)n. . . 2« 29.888 29.724 84 16 84 86 N. ,0J Tues... 27 n.. 29.844 29.686 31 25 35 86 N.E. .00 Mea 29.802 29.701 31.57 13.29 35.71 83.71 ■• 0.00 21. — Overcast; snow; cold wind, sharp frost. 2i, — Sharp frost ; snow; clear and frosty. 23.— Intense frost ; fine, frosty ; clear and frosty. 24. — Intense frost ; frosty fog; frosty fog at night. 25. — Sharp frost ; cold wind ; overcast and frosty. 26. — Overcast, cold wind; densely overcast; slight snow. 27.— Sharp frost ; overcast ; heavy fall of snow. COVBNT GARDEN MARKET.— January 4. Business transactions are limited to supplying the daily wants, and Saturday is now the only market day on which we are likely to get what wo require. Hothouse produce, however, is suRicieut for present pur- poses, and does not meet with tho demand usually experienced at this season. Potatoes are amply supplied. Trade ifl dull. FRUIT. B, d. R. d Apples i sieve 1 0 to 9 0 Chestnuts bushel in 0 18 C Filberts lb. 0 0 'i 0 Coba lb. 2 0 2 6 Grap«a, Hothoiiae.... lb. 4 0 SO Lemons ^100 G 0 10 0 Malona each 10 t 0 s. d. a. d Oranges l;"^ 100 6 0 tolO 0 Pears, kitchen doz. 10 2 0 dessert doz. 10 3 0 PineApples lb. 3 0 fi 0 Plama i sieve 1 G SO Walnuts bushel 10 0 16 0 do 1^100 10 3 0 VEGETABLES. Ppflns, Kiilney ....V 100 3 Beet, Red oi;Ho Pheuyauts .... 7 .... 2 6 S d. s. d. 9 to 0 10 4 1 5 3 0 ID C 4 II 6 1 » 0 0 U January 12, 1871. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 21 WEEKLY CALENDAR. Day of Month Week. JANUARY 12—18, 1871. Average Tempera- ture near London, Rain in 15 years. Sun Rises. Sun Sets. Moon Rises. Moon Sets. Moon's Age. Clock before Sun. Day of Year. Day. Night. Mean. Days. m. h. m. h. m. b. m. h. Days. m. s. 12 Th 42.1 29.5 35.8 18 4af8 14af4 49afl0 latU 21 8 30 12 13 F Cambridge Lent Term begins. 43.0 29.3 36.2 19 3 8 15 4 morn. 21 11 22 8 5S 13 14 S Oxford Lent Term begins. 42.1 29.9 86.0 19 2 8 17 4 5 0 41 11 ( 9 15 14 ■ 15 Sen 2 Sunday afiee Epiphant. 41.7 289 35.3 13 1 8 19 4 25 1 after. 24 9 37 15 16 M 42.0 31.0 86.5 20 0 8 20 4 49 2 30 0 25 9 58 16 17 Tu 42.6 28.7 85.6 15 59 7 21 4 9 4 3 1 26 10 18 17 18 W Royal Horticultural Society, Fruit, Floral, 42.6 81.3 S0.9 18 58 7 S3 4 30 5 45 1 27 10 88 18 [anii General Meeting. From observations taken near London (luring forty-three years, the average day temperature of the week is 42,3^, and its night tempera- tore 29.8'. The greatest heat was 54", on the 12th, 18j2 ; and the lowest 3old 3', on tho 13th, 1367. The greatest fall of rain was 0.86 inch. GARDENERS AND GARDENING. I HOUGH this is a subject to -whicli I have given much thought, it is one which I ap- proach with diffidence, foi- I by no means pretend to the possession in person of all the qualifications to which I shall allude, but it is from a desii'e to draw attention to the subject, more especially the attention of youthful aspirants, that these notes are written. It is an acknowledged fact that second and third-rate gardeners, or, to speak more correctly, men who will give their services at a comparatively low rate of remuneration, are much more in request than first-class men. This may easily be accounted for from the fact that -small gardens are more numerous than large gardens ; and although, as a rule, the pay is low in small places, there are always plenty of men of moderate capacity ou the out-look for such vacancies, many of which are not unfrequently filled by persons professing to be able to do things quite beyond their abilities. Another reason worthy of serious consideration is, that the majority of men trained in large, or even in moderate- -sized establishments look down with contempt on small gardens and those who have charge of them, and yet I have known many a small garden so skilfully managed, and everytliing in it so thoroughly well done, that it quite surpassed its larger neighbours. To have the charge of a large garden is a laudable ambition, but when the object of this desire is attained it does not always bring with it the expected gratification, for many large places have serious drawbacks, such as deficiency of labour power, little manure to renovate the soil, a poor supply of water, and other hindrances to success ; so that a man, however zealous he may be, may spend his strength in vain efiorts to overcome such formidable obstacles. " Whatever is worth doing at all, is worth doing well," 13 a maxim which gardeners above all other men should apply to their work, and, therefore, before taking charge of a garden, it is very important to ascertain if the assist- ance and working materials are in proportion to the size of the place, and if not, it is much wiser not to run the risk of failure by entering upon an engagement which is likely to prove unsatisfactory. "When a man deliberately takes charge of a garden it should be with the firm resolve to strive for success to the utmost of his abilities. Garden- ing is an arduous pursuit, fraught with many difficulties which only the really earnest man can hope to surmount ; it has no royal road to success, but demands unceasing diligence, foresight, and care. To the man who likes it for itself, and is thoroughly devoted to it, success is the best reward, and whether the garden under his hands be large or small will be not so important a consideration as that every plant and crop may be brought as near to perfection as possible. Let us now consider what are the requisite qualifications of a good gardener. As I have before said, he should be thoroughly devoted to his calling, earnest, diligent, ener- No. 511.— Vol, XX., New Sep.ies. getic, and thoughtful : he should not be content to take things for granted, but should strive to search into cause and efl'ect for himself; not given overmuch to experiments, and yet ever seeking for reasonable improvements with a view to the advantage of himself and his fellow-men ; for he should be altogether free from that narrowmindedness which seeks to withhold knowledge, but should be ever ready to impart or receive instruction. In controlling his assistants and labourers he should, by a judicious exercise of firmness and kindness, see that his rules are strictly acted up to and his orders obeyed to the letter, Harsli language should never be resorted to ; it is degrading both to master and man. Amongst a number of men there are certain to be a variety of dispositions and character — some will be cringing or officious, others dilatory and careless, while a third party will quietly obey orders without any display of overmuch zeal, and it is this latter class who generally prove to be the best men. But, whatever may be the dispositions of the men, a quiet, firm rule, tempered with kindness, is by far the best method of controlling them. In his intercourse with his employers and all others of a higher station than himself there can be no necessity for cringing or an excessive display of humility ; all due respect should, of course, be paid, and every wish and order carefully attended to. A man can be respectful with- out cringing, and quietly study the wishes of his employers without officiousness. Ill the management of a garden, close attention should be given to the smallest details — nothing should be over- looked or done in a slovenly manner ; there should be no neglected corners, weedy paths, nor dirty houses ; but cleanliness, order, and exquisite neatness should every- where prevail ; even the very heaps of soil and rubbish should possess a trim appearance. Great care, too, should be taken to name each plant correctly with neat labels and plain writing, without any display of flourishes or fanciful colouring. A gardener ought, certainly, to be acquainted with the nomenclature of every plant under his care, but too little attention is given to this in private gardens ; even when plants appear to be carefully labelled, the spelling of the names is often very faulty, and that, too, in many of our leading gardens. While devoting proper attention to this important point all pedantic display should be avoided. The mouthing of scientific names, if profuse, becomes ridiculous. The difficulties which beset the gardener in the pursuit of his calling are undoubtedly very numerous ; but then, if he be a man of energy and resource, every trial acts as an incentive to increased" exertion. The experience gained in all such struggles is of the highest value, and when once the habit of boldly facing a difficulty is formed, it becomes part of one's nature. In thinking over a gardener's difficulties, his position as a servant naturally comes to mind. It is to be feared that there is a lamentable spii'it of mistrust and antagonism existing between many gardeners and their employers. This is very much to be deplored, for its existence must seriously afl'eot the enjoyment of the one in his garden, No. 1163.— Vol. XLV., Old Series. 22 JODENAL OF HOKTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEK. [ January 12, IS71. and the efiorts of the other in his care and culture of the plants entruBted to him. A very common subject of complaint is, that in the garden the gardener aeeumes to be " Lord para- mount," entirely ignoring all knowledge of his butinees in those who employ him. It is to be feared that this is not unfrequently the case, but it surely ought not to be ao ; common courtesy, to say nothing of duty, should teach one to receive the commands of those whom one serves with the greatest respect, and if possible to carry them out to the letter ; if this cannot be done, a respectful remonstrance should suffice. Very much has been written concerning the tiials and diffi- culties which beset a gardener in the pursuit of his calling, but it ia very rarely indeed that anything is said about the privi- leges and enjoyments which are his. I will venture to step out of this beaten path, and forget for a moment the anxieties of frosty nights, unkindly seasons, and all the ills which endanger our tender crops and delicate exotics, and will glance at the " bright side of things." Surrounded by Nature's choicest gems in an endless variety of form and colour, each season presenting its peculiar attractions — the freshness of spring, the richer developments of summer, the fulness and abundance of autumn, and the soberness of winter, all are peculiarly his to enjoy. Then there are the multitude of interesting objects constantly claiming his attention, and if many of them do try his skill to the utmost, why the greater the exertion the greater the enjoyment of the success which generally follows. There can be no complaint of sameness, but rather of repletion, for novelties of all kinds are constantly pouring in upon us, ex- citing much interest, and affording much amusement in the comparison and trial of their merits. And so I might go on, and enumerate all the brightness and beauty which we enjoy, but I will rest contented with observing that we may all be happier, better men if we go through life without giving undue weight to its cares and sorrows, but rather striving to realise its blessings, of which many of us possess a much greater share than we are aware of until they are taken away, — Edward LuciHURST, Old Lands, Buxted, Sussex. BEDDING GERANIUMS. Thoxigh I am afraid some of your readers will be tired of the subject of bedding Geraniums, yet there are others who may be interested in some notes I made last year, at the establish- ments of three of the principal raisers of Zonal Geraniums — namely, at Mr. Pearson's, ol Chilwell ; Mr. W. Paul's, of Wal- tham Cross; and Mr. Laing's (of the firm of Downie, Liird, and Laing), at Stanstead Park. I name them in the order in which I visited them. Ohilw«ll Nurseries have been bo well described by your able correspondent Mr. Luckhurst, that I shall not say much with respect to the nurseries themselves, but merely confirm what Mr. Luckhurst says with regard to the thorough way in which Mr. Pearson carries out all he does there. I consider Mr. Pearson's glass ranges models of what glass houses ought to be, and I agree with him in what he said in his article on horti- cultural fallacies, that it is very astonishing to see the old moveable sash-lights and slides, with heavy rafters, still being bailt. My first visit this year at Chilwell was on the 24th of June, when, owing to the exceeding drought, the Geraniums had not sufficiently recovered their planting-out. Among the seedlings sent out by Mr. Pearson in 1870, I consider the best to be William Thompson (an improvement on Bayard), Thomas Speed, and Douglas Pearson (also an improvement on B»yard). Of these three Thomas Speed is the darkest, a crimson ; and Douglas Pearson the brightest, a scarlet crimson. Duke of Port- land and Duke of Devonshire are more of the true Zonal, and likely to be very good for pot culture. E. J. Lowe is a very fine rose pink, with large pip and truss, which may prove too strong for bedding. Lawrence Heywood is a peculiar shade when bedded, lilac rose, with a fine head of flowers, though rather weak in the flower stalk — in fact, I think the chief fault of the Geraniums sent out by Mr. Pearson in 1870 is, that the trasses are too large for the stalks, having too much of the Black Dwarf strain. This fault is remedied in seedlings of 1870, which will most probably be sent out in 1872, as he has several very valuable strains from Violet Hill, one of which (he has named it Miss Eose Peach), will, if it turn out as well as it promises, give us one of the desiderata, a dwarf pink bedder. Another, a lilac seedling, called Mrs. Eeynolds Hole, is also of great promise. He has also several fine seedlings of 1870, of the Bayard strain, with stiffer flower stalks ; but of these I hope to give a further account next summer, and I hope, as the EoyaJ Horticultural Show is so near Nottingham, that we shall see some of his seedlings there. It was still more difficult to test the 1869 seedlings, the best of which had been saved and worked-up for stock, and the dryness of the weather had pre- vented them showing to their best. My second visit to Chilwell was on the 5ih of August, when 1 looked through several hundreds, if not thousands, of seedlings. Several very good pinks and lilacs of the dwaif section had bloomed since I had been there before. Many of them were put aside for future trial, and almost any would be valuable as bedders, the great difficulty being to select the best. The Tricolors had much improved, and one called Mr. W, Sunday (after an old and valued friend of mine, an eminent champion with Leicester sheep), is one of the most distinct and striking among the Tricolors, as a bedder, that I have seen as yet. Other very good ones were Mrs. Edge and EiJi b Pearson. It was still difficult to judge of the 1869 seedlings owing to the very trying summer, but where there are so many seedlings to select from, and with the care which Mr. Pearsoa personally gives to the selection, the public may safely try any Geraniums, especially Zonal Nosegays, sent out from Chilwel)_ The next nursery I visited in pursuit of new Geraniums was Mr. W. Paul's, at Waltham Cross. Having gone up to London to assist at the inauguration of the Metropolitan Floral Show, I went on September 7ih to Waltham. I was very unlucky in my day ; it began to pour just as I was starting, and owing to the causeway in the Strand being all pulled up for repairs, I missed the train at Bishopsgate Street by a few seconds, the door of the station being closed as I was paying the cabman, and 1 had to wait for nearly two hours. When I got to Waltham it still kept on a pouring rain, and I had to see the Geraniums under an umbrella. It was, therefore, a great trial to them, especially as there had been heavy rain several times during the ten days previous, but the Geraniums bore the trial well. Among the best were : — Bonfire, a fine scarlet crimson, largo truss, dwarf habit, with good footstalk, apparently a very free bloomer, and a very desirable sort. Eobinson Crusoe, magenta crimson, with a flame on two top petals, a fine flower to look close at, and good for pot culture. Titan, fine rose, but too strong a grower to please me for bedding. Waltham Nosegay, well known, much like Waltham Seedling, but with a plainer leaf ; and while referring to Waltham Seedling I cannot refrain from mentioning one of its most valuable qualities which i« too often lost sight of, the continuity ol blooming. I have two letters from friends to whom I recommended it, saying it had lasted longer with them than any other sort, and I have heard since from Mr. Paul, that he has had the same testimony from Mr. Moore and Mr. Gibson. The young ladies of Beulah Cottage condemned it for its smallness of truss. I can only say I have measured the trusses from 4 to 5 inches across, and though I quite agree with the young ladies that one of the greatest merits in a bedding Geranium is size of truss, still freedom and constancy of bloom, with a good habit of footstalk to show the bloom to advantage and stand weather, are more valuable still, and in this Waltham Seedling and Violet Hill are as yet unbeaten. But to return. The next marked in my note-book was Eain- bow, something of the colour of the old Sutton's Perfection, but a Nosegay ; then Vesta, a dwarf dark scarlet, very favourably reported on in the Chiswick trials (first-class certificate). Next came Comet, a fine orange scarlet, not quite orange enough, but of a very striking colour and fine habit of growth, dwarf and compact. A fine pure orange is still wanted. Evening Star, a peculiar shade of soft rose, also dwarf. Boadicca, i a'her like Eobinson Crusoe, but not so dark in colour ; likely to come out well in autumn. Cyrus, an improvement on Glory of Waltham, more dwarf and free-blooming. Lilac Eival, of which I cannot recall the habit. Dante and Ptnelope, both very good rose pinks, adapted for pot culture, but also good for stronger beds or ribbon borders. Claude Lorraine, another fine shade of magenta, likely to prove a good bedder. I had not time to go through Mr. Paul's seedlings as I should have liked, as I was due at Sawbridgeworth at 3 20 to see Mr. Eivers's nurseries, and I had not time either to take special notes of the Tricolors or white-edged varieties,, of which Mr. Paul has so good examples in Avalanche and Waltham Bride. The next day I went to Stanstead Park to see Mr. Laing's nurseries, and was more favoured in my weather. I especially went to see bis seedling Bronzes, but there were Nosegay seedlings as good as the Bronzes. Several of them I have already described, and they are known to many of your readers. Jajiuary 12, 1871. ] JOUENAL OF HOBTICUIjXUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB, 23 Lady Kirkland, which I had only judged before from a eingle plant in my possession, which I had thought most promieing, more than verified what I expected of it. The trusses are very fine, and I especially remarked the whole bed had not a seed pod on it, and Mr. Laing said it hardly ever showed one during the exceedingly hot weather. In colour it is something like Dacbess of Sutherland. Lady Hawley, another sent out by Mr. Laing this year, was also very good, fine scarlet, a crimson shade, not orange, dwarf, and free-blooming. Sunshine and Sunlight, also good. They have bloomed exceedingly well with me in small pots this winter, cuttings struck in August being in good bloom now. Of the Zonal Nosegay seedlings not yet sent out were Star of Fire, scarlet crimson, very vivid colour, free-bloom- ing and spreading habit, sure to be a good bedder ; and Phrebe, orange cerise, of nearly the same habit as Star of Fire ; Moor of Venice, pure crimson, fine colour and good halit; George Peabody, somewhat similar in colour but more scarlet, also not seeding, in habit putting me much in mind of Mr. Pearson's strain. Mr. Laing had several of the French seedlings planted out. but all seemed to me to be wanting in firmness of petal. Bat the gieatest acquisition among new seedlings was a pink Zonal Nosegay called Pink Queen, a basket of which Mr. Laing had shown at the Metropolitan Floral Show at the Crystal Palace, and which I here saw planted out. In colour it is more like Helen Lindsay than anything else, but it is of a finer tint, and has a large truss instead of a small one, as Helen Lindsay has ; to judge from the way small plants of it bloom it is likely to prove a moat valuable bedder, Mr. Pearson's seed- ling Miss Eose Peach being the only rival to it I have yet seen. To turn to the Bronze and Gold section. There were many fine unnamed seedlings planted out, though as bedderg none, I think, surpass two Mr. Laing has already sent out — Impera- trice Eugenie and Crown Prince. The first, Imperatrice Eu- genie, Is the most brilliant in point of colouring of any Gera- -ainui I have yet seen bedded in mass ; and next to it comes Crown Prince with a stronger habit, though it will never be coarse, as it has so little green in it. Mr. Laing had most oi his best seedlings at the Crystal Palace, but as they were still unnamed it is not possible to particularise them. In my opinion, however, in aiming after form and breadth of zone he has rather lost colour, some o! the zones in the Bronzes being so broad as to leave very little centre or margin ; but for those ■who like very circular fiat leaves and dark- coloured zones of the Black Knight type there are some very fine sorts. Kext "to Imperatrice Eugenie I class Brilliancy in point of colouring; then come Mrs. Alan Loundes, Harrison Weir, Princess of Wales, and Charming. Mrs. Lewis Lloyd, a fine gold colour •with only a narrow zone of red, makes a very striking bed. One ■peculiarity of this type of Bronze is, as I have before remarked, that they do not turn green as they die off, but a lighter colour, the zones sometimes crimson, and the effect in a bed is very Temarkable ; in fact, the colour of a bed of Impfiratrioe Eugenie is more gold and red than bronze. They require warm treat- ment in winter and good food in summer to bring out their colours, and they well repay all care. I would again repeat what I have said before : If people wish to have Geraniums in good order when planting, and to make a garden gay early, never let them be too cold in winter. Hardy though they are, a cold damp treatment is the worst they can lave. Keep them growing, with plenty of light and air, and a temperature never under 45° nor above 60°, and a garden will be gay a month or s^x weeks sooner than if they had been what persons call hardened in the winter, which is really no hardening, but a stagnation of lite from which the plants recover with diificulty. I have now all my cuttings, which were not taken from the beds till the middle of September, potted off, and they are more forward than if they had been struck in the open ground in August and then kept in cold frames and pits, and they mill be still more forward by bedding-out time. — iC. P. Peach. The Advantages of Bottom Heat ok a Large Scale. — One of the most curious phenomena in connection with coal mining is exhibited at the Bink Colliery, near Eotherham, the property of Earl Fitzwilliam. This pit caught fire one hundred years ago, and all the efforts of the workmen at the time, and subse- quently, have been quite ineffectual to extinguish it. A short time ago it was ascertained that the flames were approaching the bottom of the shaft, and it was then resolved, if possible, to stay their progress, so that they might not extend to other parts of the workings. At length the superintendent of the collieries, Mr. T. Cooper, conceived the idea of building a wall to shut in the fire, and in order to ascertain the best site for this wall, several of the officials crept on their hands and knees, through the dense stifling smoke, as far as possible into the workings. Their efforts were successful, and a wall is now completed nearly 1000 yards in length, and varying from 9 inches to 5 feet in thickness. At distances varying from 30 to 50 yards metal pipes have been inserted in this wall, which are securely plugged at the end, so that at any time, by removing the plugs, the state of the air on the side of the fire, and even the position of the fire itself, can be ascertained. So intense is the heat arising from this fire that people possessing gardens above the colliery declare that the growth of plants is materially affected, and that they are enabled to obtain two and three crops every year. GKO^VING EARLY POTATOES. Any method by which the easy culture of early Potatoes can be accomplished is sure to be of service to those on whom there is a great demand for them early in the spring, and to that end the following paper aims. A method usually adopted for obtaining early Potatoes is to prepare a bed of fermenting materials in a pit, or to form one on which frames are laid, and after the soil within becomes warm, to plant the sets at once without any careful preparation. As a matter of course the Potato is soon at work, the heat from the bed forcing it rapidly, and at a season when much air-giving is seldom admissible ; the consequence is too frequently an abundance of haulm, with a light crop of tubers. I invariably obtain good crops of early Potatoes by potting some in Sinch pots the first week in January, using a handful of fresh horse droppings over the crock, and light fresh soil for potting in. Having the set disbudded to one shoot, and giving the Potato a cut about an inch in length and depth at its base, I place the set low down in the pot. The pots can be stored in any structure affording a gentle warmth until the leaves break through the soil. By this time a slight hotbed is ready for them, the depth of fermenting materials being about 2 feet ; on this is laid to the depth of 6 inches soil, which should be rough and light. On it the pots are placed for about a week or ten days, admitting air in abundance at all favourable opportu- nities. When the stems are 4 inches high, the plants are turned out of the pots and planted at distances of 18 inches by 1 foot, opening up the soil sufficiently to admit the ball to half its depth. The soil removed is then earefully Viorked round each plant, scarcely covering the roots. When the growth is 8 inches high, warm soil is worked in between the rows up to 2 inches above the original ball of earth, leaving the whole surface flattened. The plants seldom require water, the moisture arising from the bed being nearly sufficient for them. Give air at all favourable opportunities, covering well up on cold nights, but having constantly a slight amount of air. By the time the foliage commences to curl the Potatoes will be rapidly forming, after which scarcely any water should be given, other- wise it will materially interfere with their flavour. The best variety for frame work, if steadily grown, ia Hyatt's Prolific, the tubers coming out very even in size, about 2 inches under the surface of the soil, and passing beyond the original ball of soil some inches. I also find it serviceable to pot in 10-inoh pots a quantity of the Cockney, an early dwarf-topped Potato, well adapted for pots, the tubers forming close at home, and being of good size. This is done in the first week of April, placing them in any unheated house or frame, and when fear of frost is past, a trench is then opened on a south border, in which they are placed, still remaining in the pots, over and between which the loose soil is carefully worked, leaving the mound of soil about 4 inches above the surrounding level. By this means I obtain an excellent lot of young Potatoes a fortnight sooner than from the open borders. — T. C. Sage. GROWING DWARF POINSETTIAS. When the Eev. C. P. Peach is trying his experiments with the dwarfing of Poiusettia pulcherrima, as I see he intends to do next year, may I ask him to try the plan of growing four plants in a pot, and flowering them as dwarfs ? If he succeeds, of which I have no doubt, I think he will be highly pleased. I have not yet had the opportunity to do more than try two or three pots, and these gave me satisfaction. They were so very handsome and effective when placed in a row with the Single White Boman Hyacinth, and edged \sith small plants of Sela- 24 JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTIAQE GARDENER. [ January 12, 1871. ginella denticulata, that I have decided to grow more of them when convenient. My plan was to take the points of the medinm-sized bloom- ing shoots, and make them into cuttings about 4 inches long, taking cfl: the bottom leaf only; to place each cutting in a very small pot, say a 72, or 2-inch pot ; and to strike them in a brisk bottom heat and a moist, close atmosphere. Afterwards I put four of these cuttings in a G-inch pot ; the tallest in the centre, potting it rather higher than the others, and three round the sides. Place the latter slantingly and equidistant. I used a rich turfy loam, a handful of rotten cow manure, and Band. I kept them in close quarters until established, and then allowed them more light and moderate air. They cannot grow tall with such moderate-rooting space, but instead of that the nourishment the plants take from the soil will not only give the foliage a good colour, but will develope as fine a lot of floral leaves as can well be wished for, and the pot and plants will not, perhaps, exceed 1 foot high. The cuttings, I think, should be selected just as the shoot has ceased growing, and is about to form its tiny floral bracts.— T. Kecobd. GROUND VINERIES. I HAVE read much and heard much for and against ground vineries, and one Journal went so far as to say that they were unworthy the attention of gardeners, excepting tor the growth of vegetables in winter, but they might do for amateurs. Even the inventor a week or so ago, in writing to " our Journal," said that he did not believe in them. However, being very fond of Grapes, and, moreover, being an amateur fruit-grower, I thought I would try some of them three or four years ago. So I wrote to Mr. Eivett to send me half a dozen of his pattern of ground vinery. On receiving them I saw it would be an im- provement to do away with the groove for the glass to rest in, instead of which I made it to lap, and fixed with iron hooks, by which means I also got rid of the putty. I also strengthened the ends with a light iron cross-bar, and supported the ridge woodwork by bracing it to the lower wood on each side with a light iron bar. This prevented warping, which otherwise was apt to take place, and then the glass fell out. Instead of slates I paved the bottom with tiles, which I thought would hold both heat and moisture. To each Vine I allowed a growth of 21 feet— that is, three 7-feet lengths of lights. The sorts I have planted are Black Muscat of Alexandria or Muscat Hamburgh, Foster's White Seedling, Lady Downe's, Frankenthal, Black Hamburgh, Black Hamburgh (Morris's variety). Early Golden Frontignan, General della Marmora, Fintindo, La Viile de Bruxelles, Golden Champion, Trentham Black, and a seedling of my own. Some of the Vines have fruited, others not yet, but I will give my notes of those that have. Early Golden Frontignan bears well, and was ripe and of excellent flavour in the first week of September, both in 1869 and 1870. Foster's White Seedling. This is a fine Grape, and succeeds remarkably well in a ground vinery. It was ripe in the middle of September. Trentham Black did not set well in 1869, but set well in 1870. In colour it is jet black. Its flavour was all that could be desired. It was ripe in the last week of September. General delta Marmora is a free bearer, but I do not think much of the flavour. It is poor in quality, at least with me. This I shall dig up or graft. Fintindo, a black Grape, loose in the bunch, and which does not require thinninj?, or at most very little. It is smaller in the berry than the Black Hamburgh, and not so good. Frankenthal and Black Hamburgh both did remarkably well, were fine in colour and flavour, and were ripe in the last week of September and the first week of October. Black Muscat of Alexandria was large in bunch and good in colour, and delicious. Lady Downe's became black at the beginning of October, and was cut ripe on the 4th of November. A very free bearer. Morris's Black Hamburgh I bought as earlier than the Black Hamburgh. I have not found it so, nor to my thinking is it BO good in other respects as that variety. The rest of my Vines I have not allowed to bear yet. As far as 1 have gone I deem my ground vineries a great success, as they supply me with excellent Grapes more than two months in the year with comparatively little trouble. Many of my friends, after seeing the Vines and tasting the produce, have taken the measurement of the frames and had some made, and are now growing for themselves. I do not pretend to say that the growth is equal to the fruit grown in my heated vinery, but I aver the Grapes are good and rich in flavour, equal to, nay better, in quality than many that I have seen grown in cool houses ; and I would say to my brother amateurs, Try one Vine, such as the Trentham Black or the Franktnthal, and if you succeed as well as I have done, I think you will not regret the experiment. One word more, Do not have the glass less than 21-oz., and if the weather is very hot whiten the glass on the side nest the sun. — Hakrison Weik, Weirleiijh, Kent. CYCLAMEN CULTURE. Before recording my experience on Cyclamen culture I wish to give this warning — with proper attention it is one of the most easy plants to cultivate, but without that it is one of the most difficult. I can assure Mr. W. Scott he can not only have good blooming plants in ten months, but in eight months useful ones with from two to ten dozen blooms, and I believe for general purposes from October till May they are not equalled, especially for London rooms. For exhibition purposes, I think as a rule they should be shown in collections independently of size of pots, taking thfr quality of flower and foliage into consideration as the colours are so various, and perhaps in several collections of six or twelve they may be nearly all equal but different in colour. I think in time a good Cyclamen will equal what our best Fuchsias are now in shape and substance of petal ; good dis- tinct-based flowers — that is my standard of excellence. To have good plants in eight or ten months sow the seed any time after January, allowing eight or ten months according as the plants are wanted to bloom ; 5-inch pots or pans will do. Sow about 1 inch apart in a gentle bottom heat. When the plants are up keep them as near the glass as possible, giving air gradually ; and after this time they should have all the air possible, dependant upon the external temperature, and night and day during the summer months. As soon as they have made three or four leaves pot off the plants singly in small 60-sized pots, reshifting, as the roots find their way to the out- sides of the pots, to large 60'e, 5-inch, and 6-inch pots, returning them to the bottom heat, as they are very susceptible of any check, which will keep them on the standstill for a mouth or six weeks. The soil should be either warmed or the pots raised from the bottom heat two or three days before shifting, I do not recommend planting two or three plants in a pot, nor planting them out. A frame is the best place in which to grow them during the summer months, shading at all times from strong sunshine j and as a good show of bloom entirely depends upon clean healthy foliage, the plants should be syringed at least twice a-day to preserve cleanliness, and to savo the foliage from red spider, which appears to be their chief enemy. Not later than September plants should be removed from the frames to a stage or shelf in the greenhouse or conservatory, as after that time they are subject to damp, maintaining just enough fire heat to expel frost and damp, and giving plenty of air without cold currents. If they are kept in a damp, close atmosphere whilst in bloom during the winter months, anyone can have spotted varieties to his heart's content, but such 1 consider a disfigurement. After the blooming season place the plants in a cool pit or greenhouse, and gradually withhold water, but never allow them to become dust dry. After they Lave lost all or the greater part of the leaves, shake them out, repot, and return them tc- a cold frame, sprinkling twice a-day overhead, and watering at the root very cautiously at first, increasing the supply as the foliage increases. Return them to a stage in the greenhouse at the end of September. In two or three years good specimen plants can be had from 18 inches to 2 feet in diameter, with corms of from 4 to G inches. The amateur may rest assured Cyclamens can be grown quite as well without bottom heat as with it. Sow the seed in October instead of in spring, place the pots on a shelf in fi> greenhouse near the glass, and grow the plants in a cold frame during the hot summer months. I find the best compost is one-half good fibrous loam, and one-half leaf mould and well-rotted hotbed manure. Avoid cow dung, as it contains so many grubs, and should any be missed in the potting, they will completely destroy the plant, commencing with the roots and finishing at the corm. A few words about the ten-months collection of plants ex- hibited at South Kensington by Mr. Clarke, of Twickenham, January 12, 1871. ] JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 25 well-tnown as one of the largest, most successful, and scarcely- eciaalled forced Strawberry-grower for maket. He forces some thousands of plants, and when in full work the fruit is a sight not seen every day, and probably he is able to gather from SO lbs. to a hundredweight several times a-week. He conse- quently requires a large area of glass in frames and houses, and they are of the best form I have seen for the purpose. The Strawberries are first started in frames in bottom heat, and drafted to the houses as wanted. The Cyclamens then succeed them in the frames, and are grown in a gentle bottom heat during the summer, and removed to the houses in September, the Strawberries again following them for the winter. It must be understood his collection of Cyclamens was exhibited as a collection of about eighty or a hundred plants for quality and variety of colour, all in 48-pots, with from five to ten dozen blooms. Mr. Clarke's houses are now all filled with them, their number amounting to some thousands, all for market, in different stages of bloom, and, taking the whole as a lot of ten- months plants, I think they are not to be equalled. The plants in the early house, which is about 1"20 feet long by 12 wide, are now in bloom, and a sight worth going miles to see. — Geoege Edgeeton, Straxi-herry Sill. [Mr. Edgerton sent us some fine specimens. Some of the flowers were semi-double. — Eds.] RED AND WHITE EXHIBITION POTATOES. Really it does seem like a reverse of history when a " Ealeigh " comes to seek instruction from a " Fenn " relative to Potatoes. Yet so it is, and I beg to inform a correspondent — "Sir Walter Kaleigh " — who wants "red varieties and white varieties, both Kidney and Rounds, for exhibition" pur- poses, that he cannot do better at the present time than to procure the Early American Rose, a flattish obtuse Kidney ; and there is a rather early red round, rough-skinned Potato, which I often meet with wrongly shown as the Red Regent; it has various local aliases, but mostly bears the name of the Prince of Wales. If " Sir Walter " can secure it he will gain a fine model for a round red Potato, and well-flavoured, though it is yellow of fleeh. The next shapely round, though a later and a larger sort, is Buttons' Red-skin Flourball. Two models for exhibition, and really first-class second-early white Potatoes, are Thomas Almond's Yorkshire Hero, a flat obtuse Kidney, and Transell's Seedling, Round. I have grown the latter as large as my child's head, but that only happens when two or three tubers are found at one root, which often occurs in a breadth of this variety ; and then I know of no other sort that produces such perfect spheres, unless it be the Royal Albert, but that is a smaller, and altogether an inferior kind to Transell's Seedling. It has always been a scarce kind, and should " Sir Walter" find it difiicult to procure, there is the King of Potatoes, whose feature is to "run out" in sample, and it would give him both Rounds and Kidneys sufficiently large and shapely to suit. Rintoul's New Early White Don also yields very fine round tubers, and it is withal one of the best modern sorts, a capital market and household potato. I recommend the above sorts to be planted on good ground at the following distances apart between the rows : — Early Rose, 2f feet; Prince of Wales, 31 feet; Suttons' Red-skin Flourball, 3,( feet ; Almond's Yorkshire Hero, 3 feet ; Tran- sell's Seedling, 24 feet; and the New Early White Don, 3 J feet. — Robert Fenn, Rectory, Woodstock. NOTES ON SILPHIUM LACINIATUM, L. THE COMPASS PLANT. \Tliad before the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. \ It is at once the strength and the weakness of science that it takes little on trust. One would suppose that after the positive facts given by President Hill in his paper before the recent meeting of the American Association, there was no room for doubt that the edges of leaves of Silphium laciniatum had an average bearing north. But I find men — excellent acute ob- servers— who doubt the facts. They say, " We took the trouble to examine the plants on the spot, and found not the slightest trace of any such tendency ; we want no better evidence than that of our own senses." L As before suggested, it is an excellent habit to veiify, for our- ■ selves, the facts reported by others — there is far too little of P this habit — but when the observations conflict, it is safer to g assume that both are right, and that there is something yet undiscovered which would harmonise the opposition, than that either one is wrong. In this matter of the Silphium or " Compass Plant," I was able to find this missing link, and to see that both parties were right. When I first saw the Silphium to any great extent in its native localities, there was not the slightest indications of this northern tendency. It was a great surprise, as a limited know- ledge of it before had taught the reverse. I determined to watch a plant carefully on my own ground the next year. The result was just as described by President Hill. There was the unmistakeable northern tendency in the edges of the leaves when they first came up, and until they were large and heavy, when the winds and rains bore them in different directions, and they evidently had not the power of regaining the points lost. This often took place by their own weight alone, especi- ally in luxuriant specimens. Mr. Hill said it was in June when he saw them on the prairies, all bearing north ; when I saw them, and not doing so, it was early in September, and then no doubt the mechanical causes I have referred to had been in operation. The plant I have had in my garden, now for some years, affords much interest in many respects. I learned a useful leason from it this year in reference to the relative rates of growth in the different parts of the inflorescence. Noticing that there appeared to be no growth in the disk florets in the day, I determined to note accurately, one morning during the last week in August, exactly when growth did commence. The ray flowers close over the disk during night, and at i a.m., with day just dawning in the east, I found the ray petals just com- mencing to open back. In the disk there are about fifteen coils of florets in the spiral. There appeared no motion until 4.40, although no doubt growth commenced at 4, when the ray petals were in motion, but too slow to be perceptible. At 4.40, however, the five outer circles were evidently slightly elevated above the others in the disk. Then follows the follow- ing record in my diary : — 4.4.5, the five divisions of the corolla split open. 4.50, corollas grown three thirty-seconds of an inch. 4.55, divisions of corolla fully expanded. 5, florets two-eighths ahove the rest of the disk. It might he well to Bay here, that there was no growth in any this morning but in the five outside rows we are speaking of. 5.5, 5.10, no apparent change except that some which were not so perfectly opened as the others seemed to become so. 5.15, pistil and masses of stamens slightly elevated above the level of the corolla. 5.20, corollas now about five-sixteenths of an inch above the othersj n disk. Pistils ami stamens about two lines above the corollas. Long yellow ray petals half open, with no appearance of pollen on their pistils. From this time forward there was no further growth of the corolla, so that this portion of the daily labour was accom- plished in about three-quarters of an hour. 5.25, pistUs and stamens beyond the corolla 1-32 inch. 5.30, „ „ „ 1-16 „ 5.35, ,, ,, ,, 1-8 ,, 5.40, ,, ,, „ 3-8 „ 5.45, 5.50, no change. 5.55, pistils begin to project beyond the stamens. The first insect, a sand wasp appears. He inserts his proboscis down between the clavate pistil and the stamens, carrying away the poUen, which ia all over his head. 6, 6.5, pistils one line, stamens no longer lengthen. 6.10, anthers are falling away from the pistils, which are two lines beyond. 6.15, no change. 6.20, the ray petals now fully open, that is horizontal. No change was noticed after this, except the free visits of the sand wasp, none of these however, carried any pollen to the pistils in the ray florets. About 9 o'clock (there had not been the slightest indications of any growth since G.20) heavier insects began to arrive, and then the slightest touch broke off the florets, which fell on the ray pistils which happened to be below them, and in this way they were fertilised. 'These pistils died very soon after. Those pistils on the uppsr tide (the flower leaning a little) were quite fresh the next morning, awaiting some chance to be fertilised, insects evidently not performing that office. We here see that there were three phases of growth, willi a slight rest between each, the pistil taking the most time, then the stamens, and the corolla the least, but the whole growth of the day included within two hours. I have used the word pistil for the clavate process which 26 JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTIAGE GARDENER. [ January 12, 1871. ocenpies the place of the true organ in perfect flowers. Of course only the ray florets of Silphium have perfect pistils. This clavate false pistil or ovary has hitherto been snpposed to be a necessary production for the fertilisation of the plant. It was supposed to push out the pollen, which was thereby scattered to the ray florets about it. Eat these observations show that this is probably an error, and that fertilisation is chiefly carried on by the easy falling away of the mass of stamens, as I have shown in a paper on Euphorbia jacriuinia;- florain last year's proceedings, U the case with that species. I am anxious to call particular attention to the different ratios of growth in connection with the appearance of the difierent floral organs in this plant ; because I think I see traces of a general law in plants that there are vibrations or varying intensities during each season's gro.wth, and that the production of the various organs depends on the degrees of these vibrations.— Thomas MEEam.— (American Gardener's Monthly.) GRAPE GROWING IN SOOTLAND. Scotland has of late years taken a leading position in the production of Grapes. This was first demonstrated at the Great Exhibition of Fruit held in Edinburgh in 1865, where many of the leading Grape-growers of Britain, and even France, pnt in an appearance, yet first honours were retained in Scot- land. Again, in 18C9, we had another Grand International Exhibition in Edinburgh, when the triumph of the Scotch growers was as marked as before. These remarks, however, refer more particularly to Grapes grown in the gardens of the great of the land, and not to such as are grown for commercial purposes. We have, however, to notice a notable step in advance in this latter direction also in Scotland. Some four or five years ago, Mr. Lindsay, of Dryden Bank and Physio Gardens, Edinburgh, who is a most exten- sive importer of every description of green fruit, built at his country residence two splendid vineries, each 100 feet long and about 18 feet wide. These are built on what may be called the lean-to principle. Their construction and heating are of the most substantial character. Their borders were formed after the most approved method, and the results have been highly satisfactory — the crops of Grapes having given ample evidence that the foundation was well laid, and the after-management aU that could be desired. We believe Mr. Thomson, of Dal- keith Park, was the architect of Mr. Lindsay's vineries, and we are going to refer to what he is now doing in the same direction for himself in Selkirkshire, where he has feued land near the Clovenfords Station of the railway leading from Galashiels to Peebles, about three miles from Galashiels and one mile from the classic grounds of Ashiejtiel, where Ssott wrote the greater portion of " Marmion," and from which he dates many of the introductions to his cantos. We believe Mr. Thomson selected this spot because of the excellence of the soil for Grape-grow- ing, the supply of water, and the facility with which the fruit can be sent on to London by express trains from Galashiels. He has named his establishment The Tweed Vineyard, but Grapes are not the only fruit he means to produce ; he has made arrangements for fruiting about a thousand Pines annu- ally, besides Melons, Cucumbers, and other fruits. It is but a year since he got possession of the ground, and those who have »eaa the place recently can only marvel at what has been done in «o short a space of time. Hothouses have been erected requiring thirty tons of glass to glaze them, and three miles of hot-water pipes to heat them. The great central blocks of glass for the production of Grapes consist of three span-roofed houses, each 200 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 17 feet high. These are placed 21 feet apart, and parallel to each other, t'?rminating at one end in a house run- ning along their ends and forming a corridor for them ; this corridor is of the same height, 135 feet long, and 25 feet wide, and in it are placed all the appliances by means of which the ventilation of the whole block of glass is effected ; it is inter- esting to observe that this is done in as little time and with as great ease as an ordinary three-light frame, such is the per- fection of the gear employed. Two of the long houses have eight rows of pipes in each, one has twelve rows, and the corridor has ten rows. This, with some connecting pipes, gives 7000 feet of 4 inch pipe, which is all heated by one lioilar, of an entirely new conslrnction, which Mr. Thomson has had constructed of boiler plates. It might be called the telescope boiler, for it is some 20 feet long. The Vines are all of the most approved sorts. In addition to this grand block there is a pinery 120 feet long and 13 feei wide against the boundary wall; another 145 feet long and 13 feet wide ; a third 200 feet long and 5 feet wide along the front of a Cacumber house of the same length and 13 feet wide. In addition to these there is a Pine pit irt course of construction 200 feet long, and a plant house 100 feet long. The Cucumber house, it is calculated, will produce in four months three hundred dozen fruit — more, probably, than is consumed in Scotland in a whole year. The Vines with which the vineries have been planted were all struck from eyes and grown on the spot, and they have made such progress that about 3000 lbs. of Grapes may bo ex- pected from them next summer by cropping a set of Vines called supernumeraries, which will be removed when the per- manent ones completely occupy the houses. Such extensive preparations for supplying the market with Grapes, when taken, in connection with many similar establishments that exist, especially in England, must of necessity diminish the cost price of hothouse Grapes, and bring them within the reach of a class of the community from whom their cost hitherto has excluded them ; and in tbi^ we rejoice, especially when we con- sider what a boon they must be to invalids and all who are of delicate constitutions, proving to them both food and drink when they often loathe everything else. We learn that Mr, Thomson has resigned the situation he? has held for so many years as gardener tj his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch at Dalkeith, and in May will take the personal superintendence of The Tweed Vineyard. Mr. Thomson is well known to be the highest authority on Grape cultivation in this country, and in the foremost rank as a practical cultivator. The important enterprise now undertaken on the banks of the Tweed could not have been inaugurated under more auspicious circumstances. — {Daily Mail) SLOW COMBUSTION— ECONOMY OF FUEL. FoK " A. Y.'s " information (see page 8) I may state that the- valve is fixed on the ashpit, and not on the furnace door, and that both doors fit quite closely. Although the valve answers admirably, yet I quite agree with Mr. Fish that a single hole with a screw valve would be preferable to my sliding valve, as I think it could be more accurately regulated. I had an opportunity only last week of observing the woiking of one in a close stove in a large warehouse, and saw at a glance that it was preferable to my sliding valve. Nevertheless, I have no fault to find with my present plan. It has been fairly tested during the present severe frost, and it has proved to be- all I could desire in its results. It was only the other day that the builder (a nurseryman) who constructed my house called, when I asked him to look at the furnace. Upon seeing the fire he immediately remarked, "That's capital; it is perfect; you cannot want anything to work better." It was then half-past 9 a m., and the fire had been made up at half-past 8 the previous night, and had con- sequently been burning for thirteen hours, and still was a good fire. The thermometer showed at the time 16° of frost in the external atmosphere. The glass inside the house stood at 40°. The fire was made up last night at a quarter -past 9 ; at half- past 9 this morning there was still a good lire. The thermo- meter inside the house marked 45°. The frost during the night had not exceeded 4'. I mention these particulars to show how the plan has worked during this severe weather. In stating the quantity of fuel used to burn the length of time I have mentioned, I will give my experience as correctly as may be. I cannot give the quantity of coal, but "A. Y." wilf probably be able to form a tolerably accurate estimate. He must bear in mind that I use a tubular boiler of the smallesfc size, and that I burn anthracite coal only. The boiler is fixed about G or 7 inches above the firebars, and the diameter of tlia furnace below the boiler is about 21 inches. When I make up the fire for the night I fill up to about 4 inches above the bottom of the tubes in the inner circle of the boiler. The fire in the space between the outside of the tubes and the brickwork is below the boiler ; the fuel, in fact, forms a flat- topped cone-shaped mass. Were I to fill up higher- than I have stated, the heat would be too great. My con- sumption of coal is as nearly as possible half a ton per month. I may add that since I have used anthracite coal I have never been troubled with clinkers; the firebars are always clear. I should, perhaps, mention that the iuEide course of brick- work in the furnace is made of firebricks. I hope this information may be of use to " A. T." He must January 12, lS7t. ] JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENEB, 27 remember that I only give the result of my experience witli one kind of boiler and one description of fuel. I do not pre- tend to state that similar results would follow with different materials to work with. I merely give my experience, and how obtained. From observation I am disposed to think that if X had to construct another furnace I should make the space greater between the boiler and the firebars ; instead of 7 I would make it 12 or 14 inches, contracting the sides towards the bottom. By this plan, as the fire burnt out, it would drop closer together, and keep burning, instead of going out, as it does in broad- bottomed furnaces. The quantity of fuel consumed would not be greater than, probably not so much as in the ordinary way of setting furnaces. I remember the old-fashioned circular-bottomed stoves used in bedrooms. As the fuel burnt the fire dropped down closer, and kept bright for a long time ; whereas, with the modern broad flat-bottomed stoves, the fuel is soon burnt right out. If something like the principle of these old-fashioned grates were applied to greenhouse furnaces, making them for slow combustion, as great or greater results would be obtained with less trouble and a smaller consumption of fuel. Does Mr. Fish think a screw-valve in the fireplace would-be an improvement ? — E. S. GROUND LEVELLING AND PRACTICAL GARDEN PLOTTING.— No. 11. DRAWING PLANS. 1.5 le, 21 22. Lay lines connecting pegs 15 16, 17 18, 19 20, To draw and transfer /, and insert a peg as at point 23. From stake B measure 2 feet on line B A, and insert a peg as at point 11 ; also from stake B measure 2 feet on line e c, and insert peg as at point 24. From stake c measure 2 feet on line c B, and insert peg as at point 14 ; also from stake c measure 2 feet on line c b, and insert peg as at point 12. From stake D measure 2 feet on line D c, and insert peg as at point 2 ; from stake D measure 2 feet on line d a, and insert peg as at point 13. Lay lines con- necting peg 1 2, 11 12, 13 14, and 23 24. On each side of the diameter line e f measure IS inches, and insert pegs as at points 17 18, 19 20. From the stakes at points e f on each side measure 3 feet C inches, and insert pegs as at points and 21 22. On each side of diameter line g h measure 18 inches, and insert pegs as at points 5 6, 7 8. From the stakes in points g h measure 8 feet 6 inches, insert pegs as at points 3 4, 9 10. Lay lines connecting pegs 3 4, 5 6, 7 8, 9 10. On each side of the diagonal lines a c and b d measure 2 feet, as shown; in points c and d ; extend^line b a to 6, which is 2 feet, insert a peg as at point b ; extend line d c to a, and in- sert a peg as at point a ; lay a line from peg b to thej peg at point; [12, and from the peg at point 1 to the peg at point a. From stakes b and D find corre- sponding points to b 12 and 1 a ; lay the corre- sponding lines. Extend the line a B to M, which is 4 feet 3 inches, and insert a peg as at point u. From the stake at point E mea- sure 4 feet 3 inches on line B A, and insert a peg as at point r. Extend line c D to s, whieh is i feet 3 Inches, and insert a peg as at point s. From stake d measure 4 feet 3 inches on line D c, and insert peg as at point t. Then lay a line from peg r to peg s, and from peg ' t to peg M. From the stakes at points A 0 find the correspond- ing points to r s and t u, and lay the corresponding lines. From the centre, with a string 9 feet 6 inches long trace arcs c, c,c,c ; reduce the string 2 feet, and trace arcs d, d, d, d, d, d, d, d ; reduce the string 3 feet, and trace the circle 9 feet in diameter. Lay lines to the arcs (with pegs as before described), also to the ciiclei which com- S 5 M 7 9 Fi2. 84. Scale 12 feet to the inch. 28 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTDEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 12, 1S71 plete the figure. The points where the Jiaes cross each other are the angles of the beds and grass verges, r,, beds ; g, grass ; w, walks. — M. O'DoKNELL, Gardener to E. Leeming, Esq., Spring Grove, Richmond. ORNAMENTAL VARIETIES OF OUR NATIVE PLANTS. I HAVE been looking out amongst our British plants for orna- mental and variegated forms, or any departure from the normal condition, with a view to selecting such as may be thought worthy of a place in our gardens. I have been rewarded with many interesting varieties of Grasses, Veronicas, Lamiums, Glechomas, &o. The variety of Malva sylvestris called crispa must become a favourite winter-garnishing plant, as I see the French Mallow is cut-up with the frost, and my Mallow will Stand any amount of cold without injury. The Grass, which I think is Poa annua, is considerably shorter in its growth and flower stems than Poa trivialis argentea. I have also a new Daotylis glomerata, the whole foliage assuming a creamy-white tint in the spring, but not so good in the summer, and a Phleum pratense aureo-variegatum, which is very ornamental during the summer. I was the raiser of Bull's Holcus lanatus variegatns, Alopecurus pratensis variegatus, and Phleum pra- tense albo-marginatnm ; also Henderson's Limium aureum, and Thymus citriodorus aureus, and a new variety of Sedum acre, and of Helianthemum vulgare, to be sont out by a London firm as soon as sufficient stock shall have been raised. My stock of new British plants comprises some one hundred sorts of greater or less merit, and I can assure you that my wanderings in search of novelties have been a labour of love. Some of these plants have been propagated from the most trifling beginnings. The Mallow, for instance, I dis- covered on the wayside at Old Charlton, Kent, with only one curly leaf upon the plant. I dug it up, potted it, and it pro- duced another curly leaf or two, all the rest of the foliage being perfectly plain. I gathered the seeds from the side of the shoot with the curly leaves, and they produced a progeny with some plants all curly, some all plain, and some partly curled ; but the parts of partially-curled plants that were curled were as well curled as the plants that were all curled, and I find that the all-curled plants come perfectly true from seeds. Being very prolific it will make a cut-and-come-again garnishing plant from the autumn till late in the spring, when it loses all its crispnesa and cannot be distinguished from the normal state till the autumn again comes round. I have also a new gold-striped Lily of the Valley, and several beautiful forms of Arum maoulatum — viz., aureo-marginatum, and albo-marginatum. My plants are all original and collected by myself, and al- though there have been varieties of variegated plants, such as Glechoma and Veronica, found before, there are in every fresh one differences which are very interesting. — Wii. Elliott. [We hope to hear often from Mr. Elliott on this subject. — Eos.] THE METROPOLITAN FLORAL SOCIETY. It will, I am sure, interest some of your readers to know what progress we are making in our attempt to bring more prominently into notice those favourites, yclept florists' flowers, which we believe have been too much shoved out of the way by things more easily managed, but, we think, not half so beautiful. I need not say that there was an immense difficulty in or- ganising a new Society ; for many would be ready to imagine that it was the result of spleen, and, as I had had a pretty continuous fight with the existing Societies (especially with the Eoyal Horticultural Society, on what I honestly believed to be blunders and mismanagement), that in a spirit of opposition I had originated this movement. As I felt perfectly at ease on this score I did not much care what some might think, so long as the point we had in view was gained. The liberality with which our advances were met by the Crystal Palace Company, and the kind thoughtful manner in which the arrangements were carried out by Mr. 'Wilkiason, tended to make our first show the most successful autumn exhibition ever held iu the metropolis. Thus encouraged we have made another move. We felt that it would never do to originate separate exhibitions — that would have had the appearance of opposition ; moreover, we could not have made them sufficiently attractive, and we could not run the risk of failure. Wu therefore felt that it would be better to connect our prizes with some existing ma- chinery. The months in which we proposed to offer prizes were April for Auriculas, May for Tulips and Pansies, Juno for Ranunculuses and Pinks, and July for Cirnations and Picotees. In the first and last of these months it was decided that it would be desirable to connect our exhibitions with the Eoyal Horticultural Society, and in May and June we felt that there was no choice left, as the Crystal Palace Company had ofiered to help us materially in our prize list. Communications were opened with the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society, and arrangements were made advantageous to both. The Royal Horticultural Society will gain the advantage of having, we hope, an attractive addition made to two of their minor shows, while we shall gain a place to exhibit our flowers where they will be seen by many lovers of flowers. These preliminaries having been arranged, a meeting of the Committee was held at St. James's Hall on Tuesday the 3rd inst. to determine what was to be done. The Committee felt that it would be very unwise to venture too much. Societies are often vigorously taken up at first, and then people cool on them ; and if plans are arranged on the larger scale, then there comes the necessity of clubbing together to pay debts— a most unprofitable proceeding. Hence if the schedule of prizes agreed upon may seem to be small after so much talking about them, let it be remembered that our motto is "festina Icnte," freely translated, " Slow and sure goes far in a day." I should add that the Eoyal Horticultural Society have con- sented to the Society having their own judges. We propose, therefore, to ofJer the following prizes to be competed for by members of the Metropolitan Floral Society alone : — la April— 6 Auriculas (amateurs) £2, £1, 10s. 1 do. Green edge (open) Ts. 6(f , 53., 2s. &d. 1 do. Grey edge (open) 7s. fici , 5s., 2s. &d. 1 do. White edge (open) 7s. (itZ., 5s, 2s. *-VL 1 do. Self(open) Is.Cd., 58, 2s.M. In May— 36 Pansies (open) £2 £1 10s. £1 24 do. (amateurs) £2 £1 10s. £1 12 Fancy Pansies £1 15s. 10s. 36 Tulips (open) £i £1 ins. £1 12 do. Camatears) £i £1 10s. £1 InJune— 24 Pinks (open) £2 £1 10s. £1 12 do. (amateurs) £2 £1 10s. £1 24 Ranunculus (op»n) £2 £1 10s. £L 12 do. (amateurs) f 1 10s. £1 10s. In July — 12 Carnations (amateurs) £1 l'?s. £i lOs. 12 Picotees (amateurs) £llOs. .£1 10s. The prizes offered at the autumn show will be on the same liberal scale as last year. Having thus explained our present position, I hope that we shall receive such additional encou- ragement as will enable us another season to place a more liberal scale of prizes for the florists to compete for. Our object is not only to encourage those who already cultivate florists' flowers, but also to induce others to attempt or recom- mence their culture. — D., Deal. A MAMMOTH BLACKBERRY ORCHARD. One of the most interesting calls we have made this year was to the great Blackberry patch of John S. Collins. The following, from the Practical Farmer, gives an excellent idea of things as we saw them. We visited about the middle of the past month, approaching but not quite at the height of the picking, the large Blackberry patch of our friend, John S. Collins, near Merchantville, New Jersey, about four miles from Camden. It comprises seventy- five acres, all planted iu Blackberries, and now bearing pro- fusely, but far yet from being up to its maximum production. They were planted mostly three and four years ago. The day of our visit, 7000 quarts had been picked ; 14,000 quarts were fully expected the day following, which would be a full day's work for the hands employed, who, when we saw them, were quietly resting or lounging about under the shade of trees, and recruiting for the morrow — 7000 quarts being about half a day's work. A visitor to this patch would at once be satisfied that there is many a homely adage less truthful than the very' trite one, " as plenty as Blackberries." Here were seventy-five acres occupied with nothing else than Blackberry plants— thousands of the bushes bending nearly to the ground under their weight of fruit. The rows were 8i feet apart, and the plants 4 leet to 4 J in the rows. The tillage had- been excellent, no weeds at all to be seen, for the simple reason, we presumed, without asking the question, that the berries brought a better price in the market than weedp, and the proprietor, being essen- tially a pr.actical man, had given the strength of the soil and the labour of cultivation to the crop which brought in the most January 12, 1871. ] JOURNAIi OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. 29 money. People's mental organisations differ widely, as also their reasoning processes and conclusions. This was indicated by a field adjoining the Blackberries, where the owner had evi- dently concluded that the crop for him to raise was "mullens." We have seen no " muUen " crop equal to them this season, and think we never saw a better one anywhere. They have grown G feet high, without any expense of cultivation. The inference we drew was, that a " muUen " soil was also favourable for Blackberries. By far the largest portion of the Blackberries were the variety known as Wilson's Early. This seedling, of a few years since, ranks in importance with the Philadelphia Raspberry. It is the best Blackberry out, has been tested thoroughly, differs from the Lawton in being ripe when black, is of good size, melliug, and juicy, which, with its earliness, being the first in the market and treading closely on the heels of the Raspberry crop, always secures the best price. J. S. Colling was receiving 20 cents per quart, wholesale price, at the time of our visit, which, with li.OOO quarts, make the round little sum of 2800 dols. for one day's picking. Can the " mnllen " grower show as large a record? One of the most interesting features of the business, to ns, was the quiet, thorough, and systematic manner in which everything was done. Each row had a marked stake at the end. Hand A undertakes to pick rows 55 and 56 — was so marked by the clerk in his book, and they were required to pick them clean, and to go back if they were not so. The price paid for picking was li cent per quart, and a constant super- vision being exercised over the work, the hands soon discovered it was easier to pick a row thoroughly than to have to go back. Very few cases occur where they are so continually careless as to require to be discharged. The average is 100 to 150 quarts per day to each hand, but they sometimes run up to 200 quarts per day. While a harvest was being evidently reached by the intelli- gent and far-seeing projector of this Blackberry patch, it was also no less a Blackberry festival for the hands employed. On inquiry where they were from, we were surprised to find them to have come mostly from that aristocratic (?) portion of Phila- delphia, Bedford Street. Is it possible, thought we, thus to utilise Bedford Street ? Here were one to two hundred hands employed, of what is known as the very scum of creation, men with their wives and children, gathered about in clumps; and in passing among them, we did not hear it profane or improper word, all quiet and orderly. The change from damp and crowded cellars and filthy dens and alleys, to the green grass and pure air and beautiful trees of the country, where all Nature was pleasant, and the birds sang merrily, most evidently impressed and reached the latent spark of these depraved specimens of humanity. As they stay over the Sabbath, what a place and an opportunity for those rightly qualified to give religious labour for operating on such a class. As the filled boxes are brought up to the clerk, 3-ct. or a larger denomination of tickets are given out, which are always good tor the money whenever asked for. The ticket system undoubtedly induces them to save till toward the end of the season. A large open shed is erected, with rough tables and benches, which may be called the restaurant, where plain meals are cooked, and provisions sold, of course with the entire absence of intoxicating liquors. The barn as well as shanties erected about, are used to lodge in ; and there can be no doubt the hands return, when the season is over, improved in mind, body, and estate. — (American Gardener's Monthly.) December 25th, i" below zero. The thickness of the ice on the lake on December 26th was 5 inches. This is the coldest weather we have experienced here since December 25th', 1860. — Wii. Sjitthe, The Gardens, Elmham. THE CANDELABRA-FLOWERED LARKSPUR. I DO not very much affect annuals, although some of them are remarkably handsome, but one was sent to me last year by Messrs. Dick Eadclyffe & Co. under a name quite sufficient to deter anyone from growing it — Delphinium Consolidum cande- labrum flore-pleno. However, I tried it, and can conscientiously recommend it as one of the prettiest things I know in its way. It is dwarf, and the arrangement of the branchlets is exactly like that of a candelabrum. They go out horizontally from the stem, and then the flower stands up in a perpendicular position. It is of various shades of colour, and altogether it is a very great addition to our pretty annuals. — D., Deal. Feost and Snow in Noefolk. — Snow 1 foot deep. The ther- mometer (Negretti's) registered on December 2Jtth, zero; on PORTRAITS OF PLANTS, FLOWERS, AND FRUITS. Oncidium tigeinuh var. splendidum (Splendid Tiger-maiked Oucid). Nat. ord., Orchidaoea;. Linn., Gynandria Monandria. — Native of the Iraptean Mountains, Mexico. Flowers pale yellow striped with brown. — (Bot. Mag., t. 5878.) Paullinia thalicteifolia (Thalictrum-leaved Paullinia). Nat. ord., Sapindaceos. Linn., Octandria Trigynia. — A atova climber with graceful Davallia-like leaves. Native of Rio da Janeiro, Bi&zil— [Ibid., t. 5879.) Akistolochia DncHAHTREi (Duchartre's Birthwort). Nat. ord., Aristoloohiacere. Linn., Gynandria Hexandria. — Native oi the Upper Amazons. Flowers cream-coloured, thickly blotched with reddish brown. — (Ibid., t. 5880.) HiiiANTHTjs TENUIFLOECS Var. cocciNEUs (Crimsou Slender- flowered Hfemauthus). iVarafius above, as if for growing in a darkish Mushroom house. We do not generally do so, as for roots taken up to force we prefer a box with a slight hotbed beneath it, so that the young shoots may be alike tender and green from the full light enjoyed. But frequently we have had fine Asparagus by placing the roots on heat in a Mushroom house or other dark place, cutting them when of the proper size, then setting them in a saucer with just a little water at the bottom, packed in damp moss for 2 inches of their height, and exposing the top to full light for two or three days in a house averaging from 50' to 55' or CO' in temperature. The tops thus treated become nice and green. It is a mistake in forcing Asparagu; t? give cold air, or otherwise greatly to oool the grass, even to green it, as such treatment has .a tendency to make even very good Asparagus hard and stringy. TKUIT GAEDEN. We have done little out of doors except frightening birds from the buds of fruit trees, but ii bad weather we proceeded with pruning and washing trees f.nl walls in the orchard house, having much of such work still in reserve. We first of all syringe the glass, woodwork, and trees with warm water with a little soap in it, the water averaging 180° to 200°; then we draw the brush or cloth over the glass and woodwork, and syringe again, driving the water as well as we can into every crevice and opcting. S':ch washing we resort to as a means of prevention, as we in general are put to little expense afterwards in the way of destroying insects. We shall have enough of such work and cleaning for many a wet and boisterous day for six weeks. ORN'AJIENTAL DEPARTMENT. In moving tender plants we had to use boxes and baskets covered to cany them through the open air. We have pre- pared some places for propagating, seed-sowing, and potting. We are fuvnifbing our fruit houses with strong new wooden stages, of which more anon. Houses have been kept low when the weather was dull, and all extra moisture avoided. Camellias and Azaleas coming on had warm water given to them, and all watering was given with water a little warmed. The chief work on the 6th and 7th was washing the glass and walls of corridors. Beautiful as the snow is in its whiteness, it seems to bring with it almost everything that is dirty and smoke-begrimed in the atmosphere. S^one p'lthwaya in arcades, the exposed walls of corridors painted of a light colour, and glass at all exposed with flat roofs, all looked as if a sweep's bag had been pulled over them when damp. All were brushed with warmed, weak, soap water, then with clean water, and the stones well scrubbed with sand, and the iftect was most cheering. Even on the score of cleanliness and freedom from soot- encrustations it is of importance in new places so to arrange the houses at once that one chimney at a little distance from the houses, and where it can be concealed, should be used instead of several or many. In old places, where a glass house has been added here and another there on different levels, and on no definite plan, it is difficult and expensive to secure these advantages, and in many cases the disadvantages must be put up with. In a few cases in flat-roofed houses, after the snow has left its distilled matter behind it, some of the outside glass, quite clean in the autumn, looks as if a soot-brush had passed over it. Such matters must wait for the present. — E. F. TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. ■\VilUain Paul, Waltham Cross, London, 'S.—Sdci't List of Vegt- taNe, Flovcr, and Farm Seals, Gladioli, tic. Dick Eadcljffe & Co., 129, High Holborn, London, yV.C.SjiriiiTj Catalogue of Vegetable, Agricultural, and Flower Seeds, &c. Arthur HeiKlerson & Co., Pine Apfle Place, Maida Vale, London, W. — Catalogue o/ Kitchen Garden, Farm, and Flo user Seeds. TO CORRESPONDENTS. Books lWell-K-!$hcr). — You must consult tbe cat.a^ogues of the British Museum for " all " the books on rircbids. You can have the " Orchid Manual" free by post from our office if you enclose Ihirty-two postage stamps with your address. Williams's " Orchid-Grower's Manual " is 5«., and can be obtained through any bookseller. Gaedeners' Examinations (G. IF. C ).— Write to J.ames Richards, Esq., Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, W., and he will give you the necessary information. Or you may appiy to the Secretary of the Society of Arts, Adelphi, and he will inform you the nearest place to you where you can go up for an examination. You can be examined either by the Royal Horticultural Society or the Society of Arts. Various ; Thos. JVlhon]. — The King Apple of Lancashire and Yorkshire you will find mentioned in Hogt^'s '"Pomology" and " Fruit Manual '* under the name of Warner's King. The baking Apple is Toker's In- comparable. The defect which you complain of in the Black Alicante Vine will be remedied by age. We cannot suggest anything better for arrest- ing the extension of the EIrch branches tban that which you have adopted, except that you might take out some of the longer branches at the same time that you curtail the roots. This might be done without disfiguring tbe outline of the tree. Prize for Strawberries at the Oxford Exhibition (T. Elcovio). — If the prize was offered by the Royal Horticultural Society, write to Mr. Richards, Assistant Secretary, Royal Horticultural Society's offices. South Kensington, London. If it was a local prize, write to the Secre- tary of the Oxford Horticultural Society. Tree-eoring CATERriLLARs {J. Grce7i). — They are the larvre of the Goat Moth (Cossus ligniperda). When the existence of one of these creatures is detected in the trunk of a tree by its excrement, relief comes too late for the tree, even if wc are able to kill the caterpillar, the mischief being already done. Notwithstanding this, the caterpillar should never be left undisturbed, and an attempt should be made to reach it by enlarging the opening with a garden knife, or endeavouring to kill it by thrusting a piece of pointed wire up the hole. It is called the Goat Moth from the peculiar smell both of the insect and its larva. Pine Apple (17. Wafsoii). — Our correspondent wishes for information respecting a variety called Prince .\lbert, the usual weight, quality, and if best in summer or winter. Geraniums Frosted (Novice). — At present we would only cut away the frosted parts, deferring cutting down until they were beginning to grow ; or prune them at the beginning of March, and encourage growth with a gentle heat. "Watering "with Hot Water (D. M.). — It is advisable to water plants with water somewhat warmer than the temperature in which they .arc growing in order to prevent checks, which are apt to result from using water colder than the honae. Beyond this there is no advantage in using water warmer than the atmosphere — it stimulates the roots ; but watering with warm "n'ater may be carried too far, as it is evident that though the hot water may for a time excite the roots to growth, it falls t& the temperature of the house, and though not so immediate in its effects, the chill is quite as disastrous as watering with water which is too cold. In a house at 5.t , we consider 75- too high a temperature for the water ; 55^^ to 6u- would be quite high enough, and in no case would we use water higher by 5' than the mean of the hous.i, or that of the bo J the pots may be grown in or on. Wo have known Pine- Apple plr.nts in a hotbod of tan supplied with water at Gy, whilst tbe pots were pluused in a hotbed "^^-here the temperature at 1 foot deep was 90', in effect like a fall of snow at midsummer. FiTTONiA ARGYRONEURA SiiooTS DYING (Idem), — We think it is caused by the plants being grown in a variable temperature. It may also be a result of cold air in combination with an excess of moisture. Apart from that we consider it is mainly duo to the low tcmperatnro. The tempera- ture ought to average 60- at this season, and especially as the plant is but young. Treatment of Bedding Pelargoniums— Forcing Bulbs (A ScoicU Garthiicrj.—Vie have no doubt your treatment answers your purpose, but wo do not see auv necessity for first placing three or four plants in a pot, and this month shaking tb'ora out and potting singly, then enconr.aging growth tor a few weeks. Wc think they would bo better potted ofl' singly at first, bv which means you would save the labour of the first potting aud shaking out, which latter is attended w"ith the loss cf any newly- formed fibres. We have known a good display of bloom from autumn- struck bedding Geraniums ; but we prefer keeping all the old plants we can, as they bloom earlier and more profusely tban cuttings of the pre- vious autumn. Tbe treatment of the bulbs could not have bf en better. For eailv flowering thev should bo potted much earher than tbe 2Cth of October'; indeed, "ive would pot in September at the latest for blooming at Christmas and the New Year, and afford them a month, or, better, six weeks to firm roots before being introdnced into boat. Both Hyacinths and Tulips may bo successfully forced from October, but the bulbs must January 12, 1S71. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 33 be potted etirlj', so as to afford time for roots to form before the leaves stftrt into growth. Cinerarias are much injured in a tempersiture of from 60^ to 65^ They can be forced ; indeed we have now in a pit at 45- to 50^ upwards of a hundred plants tbfit will flower finely next month. They are in 8-iiich pots. Of Primulas in a temperature of tiO" to G5- we have no experience. Ours are now in fine bloom in a greeuhouso at a tempe- rature of 40'^ to 45^, the highest temperature they require. We know that Geraniums may be packed away in autumn in a cool dry place, but safe from frost ; and if potted in March and encouraged with heat and moisturp, they will be in good condition by the end of BIny— quite as good as those wintered in a glass structure. "VVe see nothing in your treat- ment but what is sound. IscREAsiXG Heat from Hot "^ater (H. Foy). — You cannot do better than as you propose— add another pipe all round, connecting the flow and return with 1-inch piping. Strong pipes may be had with a screw formed at each end ; or you may have one screw, and the other end to go tirmly into a socket pipe. We have found that by connecting with inch pipe in the mode proposed, if the inch pipe is inserted in the side, and the added pipe is on the same level, the fresh pipe will be scarcely so hot as the first are; but if the inch pipe is inserted near the upper sur- face, and the fresh pipe is an inch or two higher all round, then the heat will be about equal. Vines in Pots Injured (G, B. ^.}.— Under the circumstances we would cut the Vines as low as convenient, and let them start naturally the first season, taking one shoot from each. You can give a little extra heat in summer and autumn to ripen the wood earlier. Gas ExTiNGUisnED by Down-deaught (S. K.) — Try suspending a thin sheet of talc or of iron over the gas lights. Air Circulating in Ice House (B. H. P.).— The propriety of air X^assing through an ice well, or house, would depend on whether the bouse was empty, and whether the air was warm or frosty. In keen frosty weather free air to the ice house would be an advantage. We prefer di-y straw to cover ice, though we seldom use any. Tax on Gardeners— Heat from Dung (T. H. T.}.— Every gardener, whether he lives on the premises or not, subjects his employer to a tax on his account. In fact, more than that, according to the celebrated decision in the Duke of Marlborough's case, every old l.ibourer who carries a broom in a garden or pleasure ground, may render his employer Uab'e to a similar tax. This, however, is seldom resorted to in practice, and it would be very hard if gc^ntlemen who kindly employ a number of extra men on their demesnes, when work is scfirce in winter, would also be mulcted by a tax on their generosity. Fresh dung merely thrown together into a bed will not keep heat long, but will soon heat itself dry, and especially in such weather as we have lately had. If you turn it over now and add a little more water where dry, it will soon heat itself again. If you cannot do that, then prepare a little more dung, get it hot, and take what you can away from the outside of the old bed, add the fresh, and watch the results. We know of nothing bettor ns a weeping tree exposed to the sea air than a Weeping Willow, or a Weeping Ash, but near Ilfricombe we would try the beautiful Sophora japonica pendula, grafted some 12 or 15 feet from the ground. The wood has a beautiful tinge even when the leaves have fallen. Cupressus macrocarpa planted six years may be transplanted, if care be taken to trace the roots and take' it up with a ball of roots. We would, however, defer the operation until the end of March. Wardian Fern Case (E. S.). — We know of no makers but those who advertise in our Journal. Write to Mr. Fox, Arcade, Royal Horticultural Society's Garden, South Kensington. He may give you information. Cheap Hot-water Apparatus (Lancashire).— Th&nks^ we will ascer- tain if it is suitable. Hot-water-heatisg Failure {E. C. S.).— We think that if you will read can-fully the article of " R. S.," page 821, October 27th, and the questions and the answers respecting it, at pages 8 and 9 of the current mouth, you will most probably find out the cause of your w:int of success. If your boiler is sufficient for double the piping, it still must be rather small, when, though tubular, it can hold only about half a bushel of coke. In such a case we would not use the coke over-large, but break it suffi- ciently to be close together, but not to make it too small, yet so that the largest pieces should be from the size of eggs to that of walnuts, and the smallest from the size of beans. If you could obtain it we would have lialf of the coal u=;ed by " R. S." The great cause, however, of your failure from the fuel caking, and the fire going out beneath it, we think is owing to the admittance of too much air from the ashpit door. This better attended to, with the last feeding of the furnace pressed doun rather firmly, and the help of a damper, would, we think, do away with your troubles. But this will not he the case unless two things be kept in mind and acted on:— First, That every furnace and every boiler, though apparently scores of them seem exactly alike, will each have some little peculiarity, and that peculiarity can only be known by practi- cal observation. Secondly, In adding fuel to a furnace for the last time at night in severe weather, it is well to boar in mind, that the fuel added is less intended to raise the temperature in the house than ti keep it from falling over-much It is, therefore, important to have a good heat before adding the last fuel. Hot-water Piping Necessary [W. G.).— For a span-roofed house 16 feet by 10 feet, we do not think that one 4-inch pipe as a flow, and a &imilar pipe as a return, would be sufficient to keep up a temperature of 4,° in such weather as we have had lately. Such pipes all round wouM be safer. Much, however, would depend on how near the glass comes to ■the ground on each side ; if within a foot or so of the grounil, a third pipe •at the side and end would, at least, he necessary, not but that the pipes ,1ll^^ded to would throw ofi" much heat if the water were near the boiling point, but it is always a waste of fuel to make it so hot. Four-inch glazed 4rain-pipos well cemented at the joints, would do for hot water just as well as iron pipes. In the first house we saw heated by hot water, such pipes wero used. It is well to have an iron pipe for at least a yard from the boiler— flow and return. Considering the number of joints, if the pipes are of the usual size, and their greater liability to accidents, they are, on the whole, not equal to iron pipes. As you have them, you might make your two iron pipe?, with the exception, of that ne^^ the bottom of the boiler, flow pipes, let them terminate in an open cistern at the end of the house alluded to, and from that take one or two of the glazed pipes on a lower level as returns. Wc regret we cannot say more of Bishop's boiler than is stated in the " Heating Manual,'* and page 134 of the twenty fifth volume of the old series, but the chief advantage of such a boiler consists in its being made by a clever handy man. When that cannot be done, it will generally be better to use a common saddle-back or conical boiler. Boilers may be extremely simple and eS't:ctive, as Mr Bishop's, but then sucli boilers can only be made so as to bo marketable where there is a good supply for them. Perhaps Mr. Bishop or Mr. Allen may see this, and then give a more definite reply to our correspondent. For houses of all such sizes we consider that hot water is the most expensive mode of heating. Supposiag that in this ]0-feet span house the pathway is in the middle, then a 6-inch-wide flow and return flue under the path- way, with the furnace at onj end outside, would be by far the cheapest and most comfortable mode of heating it. A small irjn stove inside, with a flat top for an evaporating-basin, would cost much less than either, but the firing would be more troublesome. However, let every- body have hot water if it so please them. The heat i:i genial, and there is less likelihood of accidents. Heating a Portable House (New Suhscriber).~lt is very difficult to secure all that you want, simply and economically, because tbe place is so small, and all must be portable. The house is 12 feet by 8 fett, the height at back 9 feet, in front 5^ feet, all of 1-icch deal, except the roof and front of glass. A hotbed is wanted for raising seeds, and we are asked our opinion as to a flue, hot-water pipes, and tanks, hut all these or any one of them must be portable, and require little attentinn in stoking, &e. We can hardly see how you could have a portable flue, unless it were an iion one, and the furnace could not well be portable. We do not know how you are situated, but if you could obtain gas easily, a gas-stove and small boiler would be the very thing for you, with a very small pipe leading from the furnace to the open air. (See No. 311, on gas stoves.) With such a stove in the centre of the house in front you could take 2-inch hot-water pipes each way, and the whole of that space you could enclose in a chamber from 18 to 24 inches wide with sbeet iron, and set glazed eases over it for propagating, or you could do tbis, covering in half of the length, leaving the other exposed for heating the house. We have seen plans of gas stoves and boilers by a Mesfrs. Wright & Co., where the stove is fitted with three lengths of small piping for a space of nearly 5 feet. Now the furnace boiler left exposed, and all the pipe part shut in, would ftrm your bed for seed-raising, &c. There is no ptan so simple as gas, where you can have it handy. Another simple plan and portable, would be to have a low, square, flat-headed, iron stove to be fed from either the inside or outside of the house, a space shut in to form a cham- b-^r, the top of the chamber to be 2 or 3 inches higher than the top of the stove. The whole space in front may he enclosed for 18 or 20 inches in width; but the greatest heat will be next the stove. We would use stout sheet iron for the top of the chamber, which would thus be the bottom of the hotbed. A few sliding openings in the side of the chamber next the pathway would enable you to regulate the heat of the hoasi as desirable. Once more, suppose you had a small iron stove to heat tli3 house so as to keep your plants safe, and if you do not wish a large propagating-bos, and if you are at all near a kitchen boiler, what would you say to this ?— viz , a stout wooden box, say from 3 to 4^ feet long, 20 incbea wide, and 3 inches deep, set on any suitable height, made waterproof inside, covered on the top securely with plate iron, and furnisbed with small wooden boxes, pay two or three, or all in one piece according to the size of fhe shallow box, and glazed «ith a moveable sash, if that should be a single square or frame. There might be a taj) at bottom to take out water, and one pipe at the top to be closed with a cork when not wanted, and to admit *a fsunel when necessary; and by means of a potful of warm water you could regulate the heat in your little pvopag'iting-bed_to a nicety, by simply drawing ofi' cold water and addicg hot water. Twice in the twenty-four hours would generally suffice, so far as heat was cancerned. McsHROOM-HousE SHELVES (A\ il/.). —We think you mu^t have missed what has been said as to the material of iJlushroom shelves. The rusting of iron was referred to, and ignorance confessed as to how long galvanis- ing would save iron from rusting. Your x>ractice may warrant your pre- ferring wood to slate for shelves, but we must own we never could see much diflerence as respects the produce, when both have been managed with equal care. Slate gives no harbour to some enemies, as wood does, especially when it begins to decay. The mere extra coldness in a house is of little moment. We use wo^d ourselves, but we by no means disparage slate. Vines in Pots {TT". B.).— We have no doubt that Vines in pots will succeed very well on the top of the back flue in the vinery as you propose ; and if the pot stands on a large flat, and the flat on the top of the fius, it would be well to have three pieces of something inside the flat or saucer, for an inch in depth, for the pot to stand upon, and the water in the saucer should never be higher than the bottom of the pot All watering should be given at the surface, but if more comes into the saucer it should be removed. Such Vines, according to their strength, maybe left from 3i to 5 feet in length. Unless you make an unusually good bargain we have little faith in your doing much with Vines sold at 5.t. each. Good fruiting Vines in pots require so much care, labour, and room to well ripen the wood, that we think good fruiting plants cannot he had for that money, unless the holder is very anxious to sell. The mo;le refei-red to — placing the pots in pans, is not so good as having a box stpirated from the flue by a brick laid fiat, and the box large enough to permit of the pot being plunged in tan or leaves. The giving enough of he,»t in the flue at the bock of the house, to stu't these Vines now will undoubtedly influence the other Vines in the house and cause them to break sooner in conse- quence, though not so soon as the Vines in pots. If you wish to keep the house Vines back and get the pot Vines forward, you would require to shut in with glass the pot Vines, and give more than the usual quantity of air to the front of the house. By such means the Vines in pots may ba strong before those Vines planted in the house begin to swell. With the house all open you may get the pot Vines to ripen their crops a month earlier than the Vines in the house ; but where anything like two crops in one house i^ desirable it is essential that one part should be shut in, or that the late Vines should he takeu out until it is deemed necessary to intro- duce them. Labelling Fruit Trees.— "W. R. J." prefers numbering the trees, and having a plan and numbers on it in his pocket, and his gardener having another. This does not facilitate the acquirement of the names by visitors or other members of the family. Auricula Shows, — " E. R." wishes to know when an Auricula Show is to be held in London or elsewhere. 34 JOURNAL OF HOKTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. f Jannary 12, 1S71. Fuchsia Father Ignatius (A Ladi/ in Cheshire).— It is namei as you conjecture. Corolla cup-pliaped, indipo, sometimes striped with rose; tube and sepals scarlet. The plant ia of compact free-blooming habit. Hot Water Circulating Downwards — "' Poor Gardener' asks me to explain how hot water will descend 22 feet in 100 feet, and then return to the same point on a level. When I wrote btfore in reply to ' Poor Gabdener's ' lamentations I ought to have mentioned that the flow-pipe first rises from tbe boiler to heat a propagating pit which is much higher than our gretnhouse; the same pipe branches off to heat this pit, and continues its flownwavd course to lieat the greenhouse. The return-pipe in this greenhouse goes back to the boiler after passing through the bottom of the bed in the propagating pit mentioned above, beiug quite on a level, but not below the level of the boiler. I may mention tbnt the air-pipe at the elbow of the hot-water pipes at the farthest end from the fall-pipe in the greenhouse has been some time broken off, and I have it plugged up so that only the air-pipe at the top of the fall-pipe is of any Bsrvice to the piping; still the water circulates freely without the other air-pipe — R. Giddings, Gardener to W. H. Michael, Esq., Cholmeleij Park, Highgate." Cucumber Raising in a Greenhouse [M. P.]-— Unless youhave means of covering the bed in front of your greenhouse with lights, or keep the temperature higher than is required lor any greenhouse plant, you can- not raise or grow Cucumbers there. We would cover the space with lights, having a box made about 15 inches high at back, and 9 inches in front or nest the walk, and, to cover it, lights hinged at back. It would in that case be a sort of propagating-box, thin which nothing is more useful. There should be one in every house. The space for fermenting materials over the flue we would fill with well-sweetened horse dung, as free of straw as possible, but spent hops are good and inove Usling than dung. Surely tbnsQ vou used last rear were old. Fill quite fall of the fermenting material in the first instance, all but space fur (i inches ol plunging material, as cinders, cocoa fibre, or sawdust, and in three or four days the bed will be warm. It will be a good placo for cuttings and raising from seed plants which need such forwarding. Old Camellias Sickly {Camellia).— W a had a lot of similar plant?. They had been cut hard and been potted a long time. Early last April we turned them out of the pots, picked away all the old soil we could from amoncst tbe roots, and potted most of the plants afresh in the same size of pot, but some we transferred to larger pots. We used the top inch layer of pasture where the soil was light, and midway between loam and peat, such ns is to be had on many commons. It is a soil in which Gorse is plentiful, also Brake and Foxglove where there is shade. This compoat was chopped small, and the pots being well cleaned and drained, we pu' in the plants so thit the setting on of the roots was about half an inch below the rim of the pots. Then we iiotted, taking care to work tbe soil woU in, and leave no cavities, and the compost was put in rather firmly. The soil was neither wet nor dry. After potting the plants were placed in a vinery, and were syringed twice a-day, and they started into growth very weakly or tardily, but recovered very quick'y, and have exceeded our expectations. Though the plants may not have such foliage as we could wish, the leaves of the past year are txcellent, both in colour and size, and they are now in splendid bloom. We advise this pKin Jo all who have sickly Camellias. The plan wi'.s first broached in this Journal by our esteemed correspondent Mr. Pearson, of Chilwell. Re-transplanting Ropes (it. S. Z).).— The Roses planted last Novem- ber may safely be taken up and plantt'd where you require them, either this month or in February, before they begin forming fresh roots. The earlier this work is done the better, the weather being mild and the ground not very wet. Greenhouse Plants Blighted (H. L. B,).— One of the leaves sent us is covered with black fungus, caused by the secretion of some Coccus or scile insect. The remedy is to dip the plants overhead for about a minute in a solution of 3oz3. of soft soap to the gallon of water, with about twelve drops of spirits of turpentine. Use it at a temperature of 140^ for plants that have the wood well ripened, but to those which are partially growing at 125\ Tbe other leaf, which appears to bo that of a Myrtle, syringe with the same solution, laying the plant on its side and turning it round, so as to thoroughly wet every part. Keep tbe solution in all cases frt-m the soil. It is infested with red spider, and we think thrips. To free the leaves of the black fungus, wash them with a sponge and the solution above named. There is no preventive of insects ; they ome in the best of structures under the care of the most skilful hands. Gladiolus Treatment (Idem). — Except in very sheltered positions, or warm and diy soils, and those inclined to a sandy peat in character, the bulbs bhijuld be taken up in autumn as soon as the leaves begin to turn yellow, be dried in a cool airy place, and kept In ft cool plaee, yet safe from frost. Plant them about the middle of March In ground that has been well and deeply dug, exposed to the weather during the winter, and liberally manured. Water freely iu dry weather, both overhead and at the roots. Wo do not take up our bulbs, for our soil just suits them, and they spread and grow in open places in the shrubberies as if they were indigenous. They are, indeed, very hardy, but do not like wet soils. Under this treatment they flower in July and later. Camellia Buds Falling (.4 Young Beginner).— yVcihinli tho cause of the buds falling is the roots not supplyiog sap for the proper expansion of tho flowers. In fact, the roots are probably unhealthy, though the evil may be a result of too raoist and cold an atmosphere. We advise you to follow tho instructions given above. Pldm-trke Roots Diseased (Cf70-— The roots sent are destroyed by the mycelium of some fungus, the odour of which is very powerful and ofi'ensive. Wo have no doubt it has found its way into tho border through using manure, leaf soil, or other material containing tho twigs or branches of trees ; or it may be that the border was previously occu- pied with fruit trees, tho old roots of which havo been left in the ground, and from one or other of those causes the mycelium has found its way to tho roots of tlic young Pluru trees. It is doubtful if anything caii be done to save the trees from farther decay, but we would adviso giving the ground a soaking with sa't water, 4 ozs. of salt to tho gallon of water, making holes bo ns to admit it more freely to the border. We think your only eflVctual remedy will he to clear out the trce.^, remove all tho soil that exhibits tho "mouldy" appearance, and replace with fresh corap^st and trees; but we would try the s^ilt solution and free waterings next souson. Apply the salt solution between nov/ and March. Names op Fauixs (J. Br^an).— Your Apple is Coe'e Golden Drop. Names of Plants (E. L. J".).— Zygopotalum Mackayi. ((?. H. W,). — Lfelia anceps. {Rau-liiig,i). — 1, Adiantum formosum ; 2, Asplenium .Adi- antum-nigrum ; 3, Asplenium marioura ; 4, Platyloraa rotundifolia. (J. R. P.). — Pittosporum crafsifolium, a New Zealand plant, and quite capable of enduring greenhouse treatment. By no means should it bo classed as a stove plant. (A Lady Subscriber). — Acacia lophantha. POULTRY, B3E. AND PIGEON CHRONICLE. CUP FOR LIGHT BRAHMAS. Having nudertakeu to get up a subscription cup for the best pen of Light Brahmag at the forthcoming Portsmouth Show, will you permit me, through your columns, to thank those Light Brahma-breedera who have already subscribed, and to make an appeal to other friends of our beautiful and popular breed to lend a helping hand? The sum already promised or paid amounts to £-1 7s. Two or three additional such subscrip- tions will complete the requisite amount, and I dare say there are some of your readers who, seeing these lines, will be willing to contribute. The Portsmouth Show, though of recent origin, promises to be a success, and will combine with her elder sisters, the neighbouring exhibitioup, to take away the reproach from tbe south of England of being behind the northern and midland counties in the number and excellence of poultry shows. — John Pares, Pusfjord, Guildford. COLCHESTER POULTRY SHOW. TotjR readers will see in an advertisement that there is to be another poultry show in addition to those that have been an- nounced for the last six monlhg — viz., an exhibition of Poultry, Pigeons, and Babbits, at Colchester. It would be difficult to arrange a more comprehensive schedule than is issued by the Committee. There are forty-eight classes, comprising twenty- six for fowls (including three for Ducks), with the first prize, £2 ; the second, £1. Pigeons secure seventeen classes, includ- ing a class for the best four pairs of working Antwerps. The war excitement and contingencies have caused us to go back some centuries by using the Cirrier Pigeon for the swift dis- patch of important messages. It will be well to increase this breed in the same manner as they are increasing our weapons of defence, for both would be found of great service in ths event of a war with this country. Whoever has a stocked loft of good Antwerps at euch a cii^is will realise something hand- some. The first prize for Pigeons is £1, tbe second lOs. The great success of the Eibbit Show at York, with 123 entries, and undoubtedly the best collection of Babbits ever brought together, have induced the Committee to offer £12 in four classes — viz., first prize £2, second £1. There is one class each for Lopears, Angoras, Himalayan, and " Any other variety ;" ft pen to consist of a single Eibbit, either buck or doe. There is a class for dead poultry. In a railway point of view, Colchester is in a good position, being only forty miles from London, and iu direct communication, via Cambridge, with the Great Northern, Midland, and Lmdon and NorthWesteru Eailways. With these advantages it is to be hoped Ihit aggravating non- arrivals of stock will be avoided. Another poultry show is tiiUitJ of in connection with a fat cattle show to be held in Ck)lobMt»r during December. Years ago Colchester had poultry shows with seren hundred entries, when but few towns had any, and there was scarcely any know- ledge of the instruction and amusement to be derived from them ; it now seems as if it intended to begin again, and to hold its position as one of the originators of this national pastime. — David P. Goodino, Colchester. BRISTOL AND CLIFTON POULTRY SHOW. Tnis now celebrated Show, on the whole, more than answered our expectations last week ; and if the selling classes, which wcro wautiug here, are deilucted from the Ci7stal Palace, it has again maintained its position as having the next largest number of entries of poultry to Birmingham, whilst in point of quality several of the classes were by far the best we have setn during the season. In spito of the lato severe weather the birds were mostly iu fme order, and tho number of empty pens not so great as might have been expected. Of the ar- rangement.s we can only say they were as good as usual, this Show beiug always enviably distinguished for absence of complaints and mischances, while the plan ado])tcd of printing tho awards iu the margin of the catalogue adds greatly to the convenience of visitorF. DOhKIXGS. 1. At this Show chickens always come first. Mrs. "Wheatley came January 12, 1871. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 35 to tlie front with a grand cockerel, again bearing out onr remarks on this class at BirmiD^ham. The second and third-prize birds were little behind, and all the prize birds were remarkable for the sound state of the feet. This remark applies to all the Dorking classes, and is the more singular when compared with the tender feet seen at all previous shows. Mr. Martin's bird was not sent. 2, The cup pen contained the very best pullet we think we ever saw, her couipaniou not so good, but would have looked grand any- where else, and Mr. Patton amused himself and the public by putting £1000 upon this pen. "Well, he had a right to be proud of them, though a "■ cool hundred " used to be thought sufficient to deter pur- chasera. The second-prize pen was also very good, and Grey, like the firet ; third, a fair peu, very dark in colour, soon claimed at £10. Boih these classes were equal to anything seen this year. 3, i. Old birds, hardly so good. The first-prize cock was a good bird, a little defective in one foot, but beating easily Mr. Martin's Rose-combed bird, which had evidently had more work than was good for him, though still good enough for the second prize ; third fair. The first-prize hens we thought a mistake ; they were very dark birds, but not so fine as the Grey second-prize pen. Third again a dark but small pair, and there seems to us to be an evident tendency in the Judges this year to make Dorkings birds of colour. The highly com- mended pens, (JU and 63, were grand bii-ds, and the hens on the whole were better than the cocks. Except this last class, we thought the Coloured Dorkings remarkably well judged. 5, 6. Silver-Grey cocks were far from equal to those sbown at Bir- mingham, or perhaps London, but the prize birds were fair and well placed. In the hens the prize birds were equal to any yet shown, but the rest only modei'ate. 7, 8. In White cocks we thought an unnoticed pen, 93, as good as any. First prize very good ; second very small ; third a lar^^e bird, but coarse in comb. The first-prize hens very imperfect in the Dorking toes ; second very fair in quality ; but the third hardly equal to the highly commended pen 99. Both White classes were very moderate in quality. COCHINS. 9. Buff cockerels a fair class, but behind Birmingham. The cup pen was a very fine bird, in spite of decided faults, and honestly shown ; a little hocked, comb badly serrated, and a little heavy in carriage, but a tine, even, deep gold colour, and shown with all his tail in. Second came a rather clumsy and rather hocked birtl, but equal to the average this season ; third also hocked, and with a slipped wing, but fine in colour, also too much tail, but shown with it "■ all there." 10. The pullets, on the other band, were by far the best class of the season. First-prize rather wanting in shape, and decidedly not equal to the second, which was Lady Gwydyr's old grand pen, and, in spite of a bad match, the best this year. Third pen tine shape, but bad combs, and one a very bad colour on the cushion. The highly commended, 134, was a really good pen, but the high com- mendation of 138 must have been meant for 139, the colour being very bad, while 139 was fair in every way. Another good pair was dis- qualified by plucked hocks. 11. First-i^rize old cock beautiful colour, large and maseive ; second very good, but a trifle clumsy ; third good in colour, but nar- row in the saddle, and wretchedly feathered. A middling class. 12. Hens, on the contrary, were a small but very good collection. First a grand pair of light Buffs ; second a medium colour, and only inferior in leg-feathering ; third well feathered, rather darker ; the two highly commended pens also good, and the three prize pens decidedly the best three pens seen together this season. 13. Partridge cockerels a fair class. First a good colour, but bad in every other point, and very small ; the third-prize bird worth a dozen of him ; but had Mr. Tudmau's highly commended pen 170 more leg feather, he would have been better than either. Fee 173 ^unnoticed) also a good bird. Second-prize a moderate bir3, but in first-rate order. Pen 173 appeared to us to be the same as the first at London, and was probably passed for his hocks. 14. First-prize pullets a grand pair in every way ; second bad and streaky, and far worse than Mr. Crossley's, the hocks of which, how- ever, appeared doubtful. Third-prize moderately good in marking, but beautiful in shape, and deserving their place. 15. 16. The first-prize Partridge cock was of very bad carriage, actually drooping to the tail ; second-prize far better, but on the whole we preferred the third-prize bird, though coarse in the head. Pen 201 a fine bird, but sadly knocked up, and not fit to show. Of hens there were only four entries. The first took the cup, and was a truly grand pen ; second not far off in quality ; third middling, one bird having a very coarse head ; the fourth pen had one very good bird, but the other spoilt the pen. 17, 18. First and second White cockerels very good ; third and the rest not up to the mark, and we thought it a poor class, the Judges thinking the same, only one other pen being noticed. Pullets much better, and the prizes well placed. 19. The first-prize old White bird was very tine in every way, but a little scaly on the feet ; secoud-prize very large, but we liked the third better, in spite of a little yellow. 20. The White hens were the best class of all the Cochins, or of all the year ; we were truly glad to see the true old shape, the true old ■ colour, and the true old feather back again. Every pen but one was mentioned, and the prize pens were simply maauificent. It really sur- prised us to see such a class after what we had seen at the previous shows. Wherever have the birds been to in the meantime ? BRAHUAS. 21. The Dark cockerels were a remarkable collection of forty-five entries. Mr. Moor repeated his Palace success with a bird rather small and low in saddle, but of excellent colour and general shape ; second-prize a bird never before exhibited, quite different from the ordinary type of Brahma, standing very tall, and with hardly the accepted tail, but of extraordinary symmetry and grace for so largo a bird ; the second-prize Birmingham bird came third, the Birming- ham cup and many other well-kuowu winners being only highly com- mended. Altogether the quality of this class was beyond anything we have ever seen. 22. Pullets not so good, but better than at any previous show this season. First-prize, large bird, of fine dark colour, aud in good con- dition, but bad shape, coarse in the head, and mossy in pencilling; second a good pair, oue very heavily hocked, but not plucked ; third very poor, both in shape and marking, and much worse than several other pens. Pen 322 we thought the best in the class, though only highly commended. Besides the prizes, thirteen pens were noticed by the Judges. 23. The cup was taken by Mrs. Hurt's first-prize cock claimed at Birmingham, which won also at London and Manchester, and in spit& of his white tail we thought him well placed ; the second was in wretchedly bad condition ; third very tine, being the same as took second at Birmingham. 24. The cup was taken by the tirst-prize Birmingham pen, though only highly commended at Manchester the week before ; such is the uncertainty of judging. We liked the second best of all, being grand in shape, but < n ; bird had a tumour on the breast ; third a fair pen. This class was very middling. 25. 26, 27, 28. The Light Brahmas were at this Show far behind, the Dark in quality. The first and second cockerels were first and second at Birmingham, both small, but of beautiful shape. The first-prize pullets were Mr. Crook's well-known pen ; second dirty, bat very good ; the third contained one very good bird, but the other poor. The cocks looked mostly out of condition. First a fine massive bird of beautiful colour, but very coarse in the head ; second very good indeed; third wanting in colour, and very yellow. First-prize hens, hardly equal to second, though more showy. SPANISH. 29. The cockerels were a grand class, and far surpassed all pre- vious collections, though not equal to what we expected owing to the weather. The cup and second were correctly judged, though the cup- bird went " all to pieces " next day, which occasioned many remarks' on the judging by those who had not seen the cup bird as he was ; the' third-prize was wry-tailed, which should have disqualified him. The cup Palace pen arrived in bad condition, and was passed over, but picked up wonderfully during the Show. Many other birds were very good. 30. Spanish pullets were a very hard class to judge. On the whole^ in spite of much discussion, we thought the awards well placed, but the six higbly-commendeds by no means reprenented the full merit of the class, which was really wonderful. This was partly owing to the ungalvanised wire fronts of the pens being rather injudiciously oiled, and several of the birds poking their fair heads between the bars paid the penalty of feminine curiosity by showing stains which did not really belong to them. 31. 32. Old cocks were not up to the Bristol standard, owing to the severe weather, only one pen besides the prize bens being commended in a class of eleven. Hens were a small class of six. The first-prize took the cup and were magnificent, the second being not a long wa^ behind ; the third only of fair average quality. FRENCH FOWLS. 33, oL There was not a eingle La FK-che cocli in the French class, and only one pair of hens, which took the third prize and deserved it. The first and third-prize cocks were Crcve-Cceurs, and we thought the third best. The second was a Houdan, and iu his right place. The first-prize hens were also Crcve-Cceurs, and the second Houdans. These classes were not of remarkable merit, and, with perhaps the exception named, weie certainly well judged. HAMBURGHS. 35, 36. Nearly all the Hamburgh classes were a treat to inspect. Gold-spangled were very thickly commended, and deservedly so. The cocks were well placed. We remarked with regret in this class several combs which had evidently had the razor across them. In hens, the first were very neat aud almost too dark on the breast, but it must be considered they were thown genuine. Second beautifully marked, but not a perfect match. Third middling in quality, but shown in splenditL condition. 37, 3S. As a class, the Silver-spangled were not equal to the Gold, though iu both classes the cups went to this breed. Cup cock a beauti- ful tail and breast, but not perfect in bars. Second a little clouded in tail, but a good bird ; still, iu every point, we thought him inferior to- the third. The one highly-commended bird was also very good. The prize hens were all good, and Mr. Howe's highly-commended peu, LUG, was well worthy an extra prize. 39, iO. The cup Gold-pencilled cock was a beautiful bird, with th& 36 JOURNAL OF HOETICULTaRE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 12, 1871. deflneil dark tail so needful for pullet-breeding. Second almost if not quite as good. Third much more bronzed, but ■svith nice carriage. ^Ye remarked many other bronze tails, to which the pullets owe their failins^ colour. Pen 640 was a beautiful bird, and ought to have been hifrhly commended instead of simply commended. The cnps hens ^rere dense black in the marking, and the second little worse. Third a middling pen, but in fine order. Pen 649 better in colour than either, but email and out of condition. Pen 652 one exquisite bii'd, i>ut the other poor. Pen 661 one of the best marked in the class, but one hen had an immense overgrown comb, which spoilt the pair. -41, -±'2. In Silver-pencilled the first-prize cock was a small bird, but good in comb and tail ; the third better than the second in every point except tail, which was mossy. Hens were better than usual of late, and the prize pens well placed. 43, 44. Black cocks as good as ever, and the winners rightly selected, several competitors at recent shows losing through want of condition. Black hens won the cup, and were a perfect pair in splendid order. Second and third also good, and not a bad pen in the class ; but we never remember seeing a pair quite equal to the winners. 4.4, 46. Cup Black Red cock a fine bird, perhaps a trifle heavy. Second rather dark in colour, but we almost liked him the better. Another unnoticed pen of the same exhibitor ought to have been at least highly commended. Third rather small, but a model in shape. A highly-commended pen, 715, was a beautiful bird in ail but his sharp Malay shoulders, which also disfigured many other birds in this class. The hen awards were much discussed, but we thought them pretty fair, changing our own opinion after handling one of the birds, which looked rather soft, but was just the contrary. Mr. Matthews's unnoticed pen, 751, was, however, one that ought to have been highly commended. 47, 48. The cup Brown Red cock was a " clear c a?e *' as to his merit, but very short of hackle. Second a very large bird — too large, but good figure nevertheless. Third middling ; and the highly commended jien, 763, must have taken his place, but the comb was badly dubbed and had grown again. Hens were barely an average, except the prize birJs, which well kept up the old standard. AYe noticed, however, that most of the birds are getting too red in the face, which is a pity. 49, 50. Duckwing cocks a small but unusually good class, several very good birds being passed over, probably for severe trimming. The third-prize biid was in the best condition decidedly, and many thought should have stood first, but all three were so good there was little to complain of. Hens not so good in our opinion, and we did not ihoroughly like any but the prize and the commended pen, 810, 51, 52. In the " Any variety," all the prize-winners were Piles. "First-prize cock a beautiful bird. Second not a good colour ; and third decidedly too big. Hens were also on the large pcale, all but the third prize, which we liked best, being a hard bird of beautiful pro- portions, and with a true Game head and carriage. Both these classes were decidedly poor. POLISH. 53, 54. The cup and second-prize Polish cocks were good Silvers ; the third a Black. The highly commended pen S12 was a fine Gold bird ; we regretted not to see it in the list. The cup hens were also Silver ; second an unusually good pair of Golds ; and third again a neat pair of Blacks. The hens were a really beautiful class ; the cocks iiardly so good, ANY YARIETY. 55, 56. In the Any variety class for cocks Mr. Hinton topped the list with a fine Malay; second was a handsome Sultan, and third Malay again, A Scotch Dumpy only was highly commended, and a Black Cochin commended ; all the rest — Andalusiaus (good), Cuckoo Dorkings, and a Dominique being passed over. In hens Minorcas were first, Dominiques second (a very good award, as being a new breed in England), and a nice little pair of Pekin Bantams third. We think the last is the first pair of Pekin hens ever shown together. DUCK5 57 — 60. Aylesbury Ducks were fair and no more ; Eouens a fine class, and several pens changed hands. Blacks mustered eleven pens, and on the whole seem getting a little smaller, which is well ; the first- prize pen was exquisite both in shape and plumage. The Any variety class, as usual now, consisted mainly of Muudarius and Carolinas, and the whole class was specially highly commended by the Judges. The third prize, however, wont to a nicely marked pair of Sheldralies. GEESE AND TURKEYS. 01, 02. Geese were up to the Birmingham standard, and the best collection ever sent to Bristol. The first and second were white, the third Grey. Between the cup and second-prize Turkc_i s was a very close shave, and the Judges finally changed their first opiuiou, and gave the cup to the celebrated American bird sent to BirmiuKliara by Mr. Simpson. He has certainly goue very shaky in his legs and feet, but ^ve still think the cup rightly given. BANTAMS. C3, 64, 65. The first-prize pen had a beautiful cock but only fair hens ; second, exquisite hens but an inferior cock ; third, not so good ns several others; and pen 10l4 ought to be at least highly com- meudcii. Brovvn Reds were poor iu numbers and quality as a whole, but the cup pen was really exquisite as to colour, carriage, and con- dition. In the class for Auy othor variety of Game first and second came Duckwiugs, and third a beautifully shaped, but, as regards the hens, not over-well-matched pen of Piles. 66, 67, i'^S. Sebrights, a small but beautiful class, every pen but one being mentioned. The first and second were, however, a long way ahead. Blacks were the best of all the Bantam classes, so much so that one of the Judges promised a cup for them next year. All the prizes were in their place, the first being very good, second rather a large cock, but good in head and carriage. Mr. Cambridge's best pen, containing the best cock we ever saw, has never recovered his visit to the Palace, and before Saturday hid to be removed to save his life. Third also a nice pen. "Whites a middling class, all but the winners, which were good. 69. In Game Bantam single cocks, the first i)rize left nothing to complain of ; but certainly the next best, if not the very best, in the class, was passed by altogether, being the winner at both Birmingham and London. It may have been on account of the sickle which was so disgracefully abstracted at Birmingham ; if so, wo can only say that disqualification for such a cause is the way to drive exhibitors into inserting new tails. Second and third both rather poor, and up to the last day of the Show the latter had not been claimtd at two guineas. The total number of entries was 1308, or just one more than at Manchester. The average quality may he partly gathered from the unusual amount of sales, which exceeded .fSOO in actual cash paid over, and included Mrs. Arkwright's third-prize Dorking pullets at £10 ; third-prize Doi'king cock, £5 ; Mr. Heath's first-prize Buff pullets, £10 10.s\ ; Mr. Ensor's first-prize Dark Brahma pullets at £20 ; Mr. L. Wright's commended pair ditto at £10; Mr. Curzon's Dark cock at £15 15.?.; Mr. Morrell's second-prize Dark hens, £10; Mr. Beldon's cup Gold-pencilled cock at £6 6.*;., and his first-prize hens at the same price ; Mrs. Seamons's Aylesburv Ducks at £5 5s. ; and the cup Black Red Bantams at£!0 10s. Mr. Hewitt was to have been one of the Judges, but his sudden illness necessitated some revision of the intended arrangements, and gave the remaining three Judges rather hard work. Mr. Teebay judged the Brahmas, Spanish, Game, and Game Bantams ; Mr. Teebay and Mr. Dixon the Hamburghs ; and the Rev. G. Hodgson and Mr. Dixon the remaining classes, while the Pigeons were judged by Mr. T. J. Cottle, of Cheltenham. The weather throughout was very bad, but we trust the heavy sales will to some extent make up for this drawback to the attendance. Dorkings {Coloured).— Cockerel.— 1, 3, and Cup, Mrs. E. Wheatley, Ingate" stone. 2, L. PaltoD, HUlmore, Taunton, he, Mrs. Arkwri^bt, Sutton Scars- dale, Chesterfield; R.W.Beacbey.Kingskerswell (2); L. Fatten; K.C.Forster, Bath ; W. "W. Ruttlidge, Kendal, c, Mrs. Hind, Kendal. Dorkings (Coloured).— pK^/cfs—l and Cup, L. Fatten. 2, Mrs. E. Wheatley. 3. Mrs. Arkwriffht. he, G. J. Mitchell, Burton-on-Trcnt (2); L. Fatten; E. Smalley. Lancaster. DoBKjNGs (Celoured).— Coc?.-.— 1, L. Patton. 2, J. Martin, Worcester. 3, Rev. J. D. Hoysted, Bradenstoke, Chippcoham. he, Mrs. M. D. Dunn, Hungerford. c, S. H. Stott, Eochdale. Dorkings (Coloured).— Hc^fS.—l, R. W. Boachey. 2, L. P.itton. 3, Mrs. Ark- wrifTht. he, Henry Linpwood, Barking, Needbam Market; L. Patton (2); J. White. Warlaby. Northallerton, c, Rev. J. D. Hoysted. Dorkings (Silver-Grev).— Coc/i-tn-/ or Cock.—l, O. E. Cresawell, Hanworth Rectory. 2, Hon. J. Massev, Limerick. 3 W.E. Gaor^e, Stoke Bishop, Bristol. he, Hen.H.Fitzwilliam.W'entworth Woodhease; J. Longland, Grenden, North- ampton. ,„ _„ Dorkings (Silver-Grev).— PuiZcfs or Hens. — I, O. E. Cresswell. 2, W. W. Euttiidge. 3, W. H. Denison. he, W. E. George (2). c, J. Longland. Dorkings {White)— Coekerel or Coek.—h Miss Fairhurst, Ormakirk. 2, E. Williams, Henllvs. Eerriew. 3, J. Choyce, Alherstone. Dorkings [yVhiie]— Pullets or Hens.— I, Mrs. M. A. Hayne, Fordington, Dor- chester. 2 and he, J. Chovce. 3, Mrs. Hartnell, Bridgewater. Cochins (Cinnamon and Buff) —Cockercl.-l and Cup, Lady Gwydyr. Stoke Park, Ipswich. 2, Mrs. Wilkin, Bootle. 3. H. Ltoyd. jun. /ic, W. A. Taylor, Manchester: Mrs. Wilkin: J. Watts, King's Heath; D. Yoang, Leamington ; Mrs. P. V. M. Fillt'ul, Weaten-super-Mare. c, Mrs. AUsopp, Hiudlip, Wor- cester ; J. Dawea, Birmingham. Cochins (Cinnamon and BnS).— Pullets.— 1, G. Heath, 2, Lady Gwydyr. B.L.Fatton. /;(?. W. A. Tavlor ; Miss J. Milward. Newton St. Loe, Bristol; C, Blnodwerth, Cheltenham. >, Henry Lingwood; A. Darby, Bridgaorlh. Cochins (Cinnamon and Baff).-Coc/f.— 1. W. A, Taylor. 2, C. Felton, Bir- niinKbam. S. R. Dawson, Beverley, he, W. A. Burnell, Southwell (2); Mrs. Wilkin; J. Watts: Henrv Lingwood ; E. Thomas, Didsbury. CccHiN-s (Cinnamon and Buff).— Se7i3.—l,W. A. Burnell. 2.W. A. Taylor. 3, C. Felton. he, J. Watts ; A. Darby. , , ^ ^ ^^., ^ ^^ ^ ^ ^ CociiiNs(BrownaudPftrtridge).—(7oc^TrfL-l, C.F.Wilson, Totten. 2,W.A. Tavlor, S E. Leech, he, E. Tudman, Whitchurch, Salop: G.Lamb, Comp- ton. Wolverhampton, c, J. K. Fowler. Ayle&bury ; J. Stephens, ^ alsall. CocniNs (Brown and Partridge).-Pi(//f;H.7 1, W. A. Taylor. 2, G. Lamb. 3, S. Stretch. Ormskirk. ,,„,,, x. /> ■. o t. Cochins lErown and Partridge).— Cocfc.—l, T. M. Derry, Godney. 2,E. Tudman S W. A. Taylor, he, Mrs. R. White, Sheffield ; J. Bioodwortli. Cochins (Brown and Parlriage)— HcHa.— 1 and Cup, W. A. Taylor. 2, E. Tu-iman. 3, J. Stepht-ns. ,„,.,. , . , « — -,, Cocni.vs {Volute).'- Cockerel— -1, Mrs. A. Wilhamson, Leicester. 2, E. Fearon, Wlutehavcn. 3. Miss E. A. Stephens, Dublin, he, J. Bloodworth. CocniNS {^\hi'-e).—Pnll€ts.—l, R. Smalley. 2. G. -SUrimptou. 3, R. Chase. Wylde Green, Birmingham, he, R. Chase; Mrs. A. Williamson; R. S. S. Woodf^ate. r, G. Shrimpton, Leighton Buzzard; J. Weeks, Bootlo. CscuiNs (White).-Cocfr.— 1. A. J. E. Swindell, ICnivcr, Stourbridge. 2, W.E. George. S, J. Sichel. /ic, R. Smalley. , „. ^ , « t. e ,^ Cochins (White).~H<-H8.— 1, G. Shnmpton. 2, J. Siehel. 8, R. Smalley. he. W. E. George ; E. Fearon ; F. Brewer, c, S. Felgatc, Ipswich. ^ ^ . , ^ Bbahmas (Darki.-C'oc/:crr/.— 1, H. P. Moor, Langley Burrell. 2, L. Wright, Bristol. S, W. Adams, Ipsmch. he, A. O. Worthiugton, Burtouon-Trent; J. Kin-'don.Caiiie; T.F.AnsdclI, St. Helen's; J. H. Pickles, Birkdale, South- port : K. BrowuUe, Kirkcaldy : W. Hargrcaves. Bacup ; H<'U. m^n D. Pennant, pL-nrh;n Caa;le, Bangor; H. Lacy, Hebdcn Bridge; O. Claypole, Stoko Bishop, c, Rev. J. J. Evans, Brecon ; A. O. Worlhm^tuu ; H. Ferns, Cleeve. BitAHMAS (Diiv]:).—PiiUet8.~l, E. Ensor. Bristol. 2, Lady Gwyilyr. 8, Mrs Hurt, Alderwablev, Dorbv. hc.U. B. Morrell, Clyro : Rev. J. liowen. Treffgarne ; Lady Gwydyr; if. B. Morr;.-ll; L. Wright (.i) ; Mrs S. Vigor, Uxbruge; J. Walls; W. Whittnker. Belper; H. Lacy; J. K. Fowler, c, W. Whiteley. Shcflield; T. Pomfret, Preston. January 12, 1871. 1 JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 37 ERiHMAS(Dai-]0.— CocA-.— 1 and Cup, Hon. Mrs. A. B. Hamilton, Wobum. 2, H. Lacy. 3> Horace Liug^ood, CreetiBg-, Keedham Marktt. he, liev. J- Bowen: J. P awes; L. 'Wright; J. a. Tainlon, Glcuce&ter; E. En£or; V,'. "Whit taker; Hon. Mies D. Pennant. Brahsias (Dark).— Hi'?is.-1 and Cap, T. F. Ansdell. 2, H. B. Morrell. 3, Mrs. Hurt, /jf, Kev. J. Bowtn ; Horace Lingwood ;W. Ganion; J. Watts; H. Lacy. Brajhuas (Lighl).— Coctfjc?.— 1. M. Leno. 2. "NY. T. Slorer.Brewood. S.H.Rl. Blaynard. Hulnicwoud. Isle ofWigM. he, A. O.Wortbington; J. Watts; W.T. Storer ; F. Ci ouk : J. R. Kodbard, "Wrington, Bristol, c, H. W. JIayiiard. Brahmas {'L^•i.^l\).—Fltllets.—l, F. Crook. 2, T. A. Dean, Mureton-on-Lustr. .A. O. Worthiiigton. he, C. F. Wil6on ; E. Eoare, Woliton (2); J. Watts ; J. Eloodworth; Mrs. s. Vigor. Bkahmas (Light).— C'ocfc.—l, Mrs. A. "Williamson. 2, H. Dotvsett, Pleshey, Chelmsford. S, H. M. Maynard. he, F. Crook, Forest Hill; W. J. Cradiock, Maiudee, Nev.'puit, Mon. BEAnaiAS (Lighl).— fit'?ts.— 1, J.R. Eodbard. 2, F. Crook. 3. H. M. Maynard, he, A. O. 'Worihinpton; Mrs. A. ■Williamson, c, J. Pares, Pestford, Guiliitord. Spanish.— CotA-LitL—l and Cup, F. Jomes, Peckham Rye. -2, E. Jones, Clifton. 3, Mrs. Alisopp. /ic, E. Jones (i); Eoulton & Gliddon. Bristol; G. Tonkin, Bristol ; J. Barry. Toiterdo-wn, Bristol, c, EouJton &. Gliddon. SPAiiiin.—Pidh'U.—l and c, E. Jones. *J, K. Lnne, Bristol. 3, T. Bamfield, Brandon Hill, Brittol. he, Boulton & GlidLon; Miss E. Bro^-nc; E. Jones (2j: J, K. Rodbard ; T. Bush, Cleeve, Bristol. Spanish.— Coc/i-.-i and 2, H. Lane. 3, Miss E. Browne, Chard, c, Mrs. Allsopp. Spanish.— Hf»s.—1 and Cup, T.Bamfield. 2, H. Lane. 3, Hon. MissD. Pennant, c, J.R. Rodbard. French ¥iAvi.s.-Cockercl or Cock.— I, W. O. Quibell, Newark (Crfve-Cffiur). 2, R. B. \Yood, tttoxeter (Houdan). 3^ \V. E. Park, Jlelrose (Creve-Cccur). hc,C. H. fcmith, BadcUffe-on-Treut (Creve-Cceui-); Rev. J. Richardson. Sandy (Creve-Cceur) : \V. Tippler, Chelmsford; W. Boutcher, Netting Hill (Crtve- Cceur); W, O. Quibell (Houdan). _ French Yowh^.— Pullets or Hens— I, W. R. Park (CrtTe-Co?url. 2. Hills and Co., Brighton (Houdan). 3, Hon. C. ^V. Fitzwilliam (La Fleche) he, H. Wyndham, Brotkbanipton, Worcester (Creve-Coeur); "W. O. Quibe.I (Creve- Cceui') ; J. K. F^owler. Hamuukghs (Gold-spangled).- CocAvn^? or Cock. — \, "W. Driver, Kdghley. 2, H. Beldon, Go.tstuck, Biuffley. 3, J. Buckley, Taunton, Ashton-under-Lyne. /tc, W. deWinton, Durdham Dow-n, Bristol; J. Medway, Newton Abbott; T. Mayo, "Wolverhampton ; Miss C. E. Palmer, Lighthorne, Warwick; W. A. Hyde, Ashxen-mider-Lvne ; J. H. Macnab, Barrhead, c, C. Bloodworlh. HiJiBURGHs (Gold-spau"led).— PiiHfis or Ecns.—l, J. Eucldey. 2. J. Ogden. 3, "SV. de ^Vinlon. lie, W. Driver; J. Ogden, Holhnwood; H. Beldon; Mrs. J. Pattiaon. c, C. Parsons, Wolverhampton; W. A. Hyde. Hamburghs (Silver-spangled).— CocA-e7'ci or Cocfc.— 1 and Cnp, H. Beldon. 2, Miss E. Browne. 3. J. H. Howe, he, N. Barter, Plymouth, c, Miss E. Browne ; J. Ncwick, Taunton. Hamburghs (bilver-spangled).— P"?fffs or Hens.— I and Cup, H. Beldon. 2, J. Newton, Silsden, Leeds. 3, G. C. Holt, Lawton. he. Miss E.Browne; J. H. Howe, Denton; H. Pickles, jun., Earbv. Hamburghs (Guld-poucilied).— CocXytp/ or Cock.— l and Cup, H. Beldon. 2, W. R. Park. S, F. Pittis, jun,, Newport House, Isle of Wight, he. Rev. A. L. Willett; N. Barter; B.Bee, Goosnargh; F. Piitis; J.Preston, Allerton, Brad- ford, c, J. Wulker, P.ipley ; H. H. Tompson. Hamburghs (Gold-pencilled).— Pu?ie?s or Hens.—l. H. Beldon. 2, J. "Walker. 3, J. K. Fowler, he, F. Pittis ; R. R. Parker, Ipswich, c, J. Preston. Hamburghs (Silver-pencilled).- Coctt'rci or Cock.—l, H. Pickles, jun. 2, J. Bairstow, Fearntlifie, Bingley. 8, H. EeliTon. he, H. Smith, Jioreton Banks, Keighley. Hambdrghb (Silver-pencilled).— Pu He (s or Sens,— I, H, Pickles, jun. 2, J. Bairstuw. 3, N. Barter, c, J. Walker. Hamburghs (Black).— Cotfcerf? or Cock.—}, N. Marlor, Denton. 2, Eev. W. Serjeautson, Acton BurnelL 3, W. A. Taylor, he, Hon. and Eev. i. Dutton, Burford. Hamburghs (Black).— P»i/ff3 or Ecns—1 and Cup, Rev. W. Scijeantson. 2, N. Marlor. 3, Hon. and Rev. F. Dutton. he, C. Sidg\\ick, Keighley; J. M. liilvert, Wera. Game (Biack-breasfed ReAs).— Cockei-cl or Cock.—l and Cup, S. Be-ghton, FarntiJield, Southwell. 2, J. Forsvth, Wolverhampton. 3, W. H. >tagg, Nether- avon. he, C. H. Ames, Henley;" J. Frith; S. Beighton. c, T. Mason. Green Ayre, Lancaster. Game (Black-breasted Reds).- PtiZ?ei or Ben.— I, J. Laming. 2. W. J.Pope. 3, W. H. Stagg. he, W.J.Pope, Biggleswade (2); W. H. Stagg (2); W. Boyes. c, J. Laming, Cowhurn, Spalding ; Mrs. Arkwright. Game (Bruwn-breasied Beds).— Cockerel or Cock.—l and Cup, W. Boyca. 2, J. Laming. 3, W. Soncibutts, Nant^\ich. he, 3. Laminfj; G. Doubleday, Upton, Southwell: T. Mason; G. Lunt, Market Dr.iyton; J. W. Jones, New- port, Monmouthshire, Game (Bruwn-breasted Reds). — PuUet or Hen.— I and Cop, S. Matthew, Stowmarket. 2, W. Boyes. 3, T. Burgess, Burleydam. /iC,W. Perrin,Bristol ; W, Sowerbutts. Game (Duckwings and other Greys and Bl-a^i). — Cockerel or Cock.— l, S. Matthew, 2. J. Laming. 3, J. Frith, Chateworth. he, W. Boyes ; J. Lamina. Game (Duckwings and other Greys and Blues).- Pif^^fi or Hen.—l, W. Boyes. 2, E. Bell. 8, T. West, he, W. H. L. Clare, Try Cross, Atherstone. c, J, Laming ; J. Jekeu, Eltham. Game (Any other yai-iQiy).—Cockercl or Cock.—l, J. Frith (Pile). 2, H. C. and W. J. Mason (Pile). S, S. Matthew (Pile), he, J. Tiley; J. Laming; E. Holland. Game (Any other vorieij).— P idle t or Hcn.—l and 3, J. Frith. 2, Rev. G. S. CiTiwys, Cruwys MorcUard, Tiverton, he, G. Lunt iPUe); W. H. L. Clare. Game Baxtams (Black-breasted Reds).— 1 and Cup, E. Paj-ne, Cordifl". 2. J. W. Morris. 3. AVilliams & Straw, Farnstield, Southwell, he. Miss E. S. Corn- wall, Wotton-uijdtr-£ d^e ; J« H. Nicholls, Lostviithiel ; J. R. Robinson, Sunder- land ; R. Erowulie. Game Bantams (Brown-breasted Reds).- 1 and Cup, T. C. & E. Newbitt, Epworth. 2, W. Adams. 3, H. Shumach. Game Bantams (Anv other variety).—!, H. Shumach. 2 and he, T. C. & E. Newbitt. 3, J. Eaton, Southwell (Pile). Game Bantams (Any vaIiet^).— Cock.— 1 and Cup, J.R. Robinson. 2, Mrs, H. Tongue, Farnstield, Suuthwell. 3. H.P. Leech, lie, 3. W. Morris, Rochdale; T. Davies, Bristol ; Mis. E. Crawford, F am s field ; J. H. Howe; J.H.Glossop, jun., Weston-super-Mare. Bantams (Gold acd Silver Stbrights).- 1, 2, and Cup, M. Leno, Markyate Street. 3, J. Watts, he, J. Watts; B. C. Greenhill, Bndgewater; Eev. G. S. Cruwys. Bantams (Black Clean-legged).— I, J. Walker. 2. E. Cambridge. Eris'.ol. 3, J. Walker, /if, Mrs. T. Bush, Bristol; W.A.Taylor; H.M. Mavnard, Holmewood, Isle oi Wight; H. Beldon, Goitslock; T. Davies; H. Pickles, jun. Bantams (White Clean-legged).— 1 and 2, S.& R. Ashton, Moitram. 3, Rev. F. Tearle, Gazeley Vicarage, Ne^Tuarket. Polish (Any variety).— Coc/.-ctcI or Cock. — l, 2, and Cup, G. C. Adkins, Birmingham, 3, D. Mutton, Brighton (White Crest), he, M. NichoUa, Peel, Isle of Man; W. Gamon, Chester ; G. C. Adkins; H. Beldon ; T. Dean, Polish (Any variety) —P^W^f^5 or Hens.~l and Cup, G. C. Adkins. 2, H. Beldon. 3, Mrs. J. M. Proctor, HulL he, Mrs. J. M. Proctor ; J. Hiuton, War- minster; G. C. Adkins (2). Any other Variety.— CocA-frt'? or Cock.—l, J. Hinton. 2, Mrs. Llewellyn, Bndgend (Sultans). S, S. Eooth, Chesterfield (Malay), he, Miss C. E. Fnlmcr (Scotch Dumpies), c, R. Hawkins, Bristol (Andalusian); F. Wilton (Black Cochin). Any other Vaejety.- Ph/?c?s or Hens. — I, J. W. Brown, Bristol (Black Minorcas). 2, J. Whittaker (Dominiques). S, H. Beldon. he, Lady Gwydyr (Silkies); Mrs. Llewellyn (Sultans); J. Watts, c, W. B. Payne, Shrev.st)ury (Malay). Duchs (White Aylesbury).- L E. Leech, Rochdale. 2, J. K. Fowler, Ajies- bury. 3, Mrs. M. Seamons. Aylesbury, he, Lady Gwydyr. Ducks (Rouen),— 1 and Cup, L. Patton, 2. W. Gamon. 3, S. H. Stott. ;ic,H. B. Smiih, Broughton, Preston; L. Patton (2); J.N, C.Pope, Stoke Bishop ; J. K. Fowler. Drciis (Black East Indian).— 1 and Cup, S. Burn, Whitby. 2 and /ic, W. E. Geor^'e. 3. Eev. W. Serjeantson. Ducks (Anv other variety),— 1, S. Burn (Mandarin). 2 and 3, H. B. Smith (Carolinas and Sheldrake). Whole class highly eommtnderi. Geese (Any variety).- 1 and Cup, Rev. G. Hustler, faiillingSeet Vicarage, York (White). 2. Mrs. M. Seamons. 3, S. H. Stott. he, J. Baily, jun.. Mount Street, London (Bernicle, Egyptian, and Toulouse) (3) ; C. Homfray, Glen Usk, Caerleon (Spanish); J. K. Fowler. Turkeys (Any variety).— 1 and Cup, F. Lyihall, Banbury (American and Cambridge. 2, L. Patton. 3, Rev. N. J. Ridley, he, L. Pait.n; Miss J. Mil- ward (Cambridge). PIGEONS. Carriers (Blue or White).— 1 and Lup, J. Watts, vhc, J. C. Ord, Plmlico. he, E. Fulton, Deptford. Carriers (Black or Dun).— 1 and Cup, E. Horner, Harcwood. 2 and he, E. Fulton, vhe, F. T. Wiltshire, Crojdou (Black); G. S, Hockey; H. "Yaniley, Birmingham. Pouters.— C(icSrs.—l, 2, and Cup, F. Gresham, Strefford. vhc, E. Fulton, c, R. P. Jloon, Driffield. Hcns.—l, F, Gresham. 2 and c, K. Fulton, he, K. T. Uevr, Weston-super-Mare (Blue). Tumblers (Almond).— 1 and 2, R. Fulton. i;7ic, F. T. Wiltshii-e (2); J. Ford^ Munkwell Street, London, e, E. T. Dew. Jacobins.— 1, R. Fulton. 2, E. Homer, c, W. B. Van Haanshergen, New- castle-on-Tyne ; E.Fulton. Barbs.- 1 and Cup, R. Fulton. 2, J. Fielding, jun., Rochdale, he, J. C. Ord J. Baily & Son. Mount Street, London, e, E, Horner. Tumblers (Any other variety).— J, J. Ford. 2, K. Fulton, c, J. Fielding, jun, Fantails.— 1 and Cup, C. Bulpin, Bridgewat&r. 2, J. F. Loveraidge, Newark. vlic, J. Elgar, Newark, c, J. Baily &, Son. Trumpeters.- 1, P. H. Jones, Fulham. 2, E. Horner, he, C. Eulpin. Owls (English),— L P- H. Jones. 2, C. Bulpin. Nuns.- 1, T. A. Dean. 2, C. Bulpin. Turbits. — 1, G- South. 2. E. T. Dew, he, T. Waddington, Feniscowles^ Blackbura. c, 0. E. Cresswell, Hanworth Rictory ; G. H. Gregory, Taunton ; J. Fielding, jun. ; H. Yardley. Dragoons.- 1. J. Holland. Manchester. 2, W. Bishop, Dorchester, vhc, G. South, he, J. Watts, c, W. W. Grainger, Clifton ; W. H, MitcheU ; H, Yardley. Antweeps.— 1, E. Horner. 2, C. Bulpin. /(c, H. Yardley. c, C. F. Copeman^ Binuingbam. Any other Variety.- 1, J. Bowes, Heme Bay (Archangels). 2, H. Yardley, vhc, E. Horner ; S. A. Wyllie, East Moulsey (Runts), c, X. Waddington, KIRKCALDY POULTRY AND CANARY SHOW. The Fife and Kinross Ornithologieal Society held its twentieth annual Show in the Corn Exchange, KirhcaUly, on the '2ud and Srd inst. Year by year these exhibitions have been steadily increasing in the number of birds shown, and improving in the quality of the stock brought forward. The entries this year considerably exceeded those of any former year. The list of exhibitors embraced most of our Scotch breeders, whose names are now widely known, as well as many promi- nent English prizetahers, the Emerald Isle also couliibuting her quota. A noticeable feature in the classes is the increase of Pigeons and the decrease of Canaries, there being a larger number of the former and a smaller number of the latter than at any former show. Brahr^as^ too, have of late years been stipersediiig Dorhings, but we "were glad to observe an increase in the number of Dorking pens this year. ^ _ Game and Game Beoiioms were the largest classes exhibited, infe was famous for her fighting Game in the days of yore, and now that exhibiting has taken the place of fighting she is not behind her former self. There -were fifty-eight pens of Game, eighty-three of Game Bantams, and in all the classes of these the quality of the birds was excellent. The competition was a close one, and the Judge must have had some trouble in making his awards. There was not a bad pen in the Hall, and had " Yorkshif-e," who criticised the Game at Leeds, been here, he would have found all the essential characteristics of the breed that he seems to have there missed so much. There was the firm compact body, welbdeTeloped muscular thigh, strong bill and snake-like head, with the bold defiant carriage, that give these birds their sprightly bearing. Dorlhvjs were more numerous than for some years past, and, in the opinion of the Judge, of finer quality than those shown at Birmingham and Manchester. (Mh'uis were on the whole a good class ; and the first-prize cockerel shown by Mrs. Oswald, of Dunnikier, is deserving of special notice as a bird of rare excellence. The first-prize hens shown by Mr Green, Belfast, were also very fine. Brahhu's were a large and good class, the cocks predominating in numbers, but we thought the hens were of better quality. The pair of Mr. Eaines, Stirling, which won the cup, were magnificent birds. Sjianhh were a smaller class than usual ; the hens taking the cup were in all points excellent birds, navihur'jhs mustered strongly. Golden-pencilled and Spangled being much superior to the Silver classes. Fowla, " Aaiy other variety," and Dvchs were both poor classes. , There was a marked improvement since last year in the i HjCons. Pouters were a very good clasp, the silver cup being carried oil by a re- markable pair of "Whites belonging to Mr. McGilh Elie, wbo took also the silver cup at the late Edinburgh Columbarion Show with the same cock. Carriers were a more mixed lot, some of them being of con- siderable merit, others very poor. Fantails showed to more advantage, there being some excellent birds amongst them; good, well-spread, compact tails, with fine carriage and tremulous motion. There would have been a different distribution of prizes, however, had the matching of the pairs been more judicious. Nuns were a good class honestly shown ; there had evidently been no tampering with them, but the matching was not in all cases first-rate. Jacobins were on excellent 38 JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 12, 1871. class, the first-prize particularly so, and none of them bad. Turbits and Owls were on the whole a splendid class. The foreign Owls shown by Mr. Paterson, Melrose, are deserving of special notice, they being very fine birds indeed. Tumblers were a small class and of no par- ticular merit, with the exception of Mr. YarcUey's first-prize pair. Barbs were not numerous, and they were generally poor, excepting the first-prize pair belonging to Mr. Yardley. The Any variety class was numerous, varied, and generally very fine. The north end of the Hall presented a gay appearance witb its rows of beautiful singing birds, principally belonging to the " Scotch Fancy," hung in neat cages on a green cloth background. The Show, altogether, was of a most satisfactory nature, and the arrangements reflect great credit on the managing Committee. It was visited during both days by a large number of people. Oame.— Coc/.-.— Cup, J. W. Will. Errnl 2, J. Stark, CrosagateB. 3, J. Andef son, Blaiigowrie. he, R. StewarL Kelty, Blaira-lam ; P. Campbell, Old What- New Deer, c, C. Jamieaon, Forfar. Iieds.—\. R. Stmvart. 2 and R, W. Mtl' djrum. Forfar, he, J. W. Will ; J. Stark : J. Wishart, Kirkcaldy ; J. H. Herriot, Kirkcaldy; J. Livc-ston, Forfar. Chicke»8.—\, J. W. Will. 2, W. Meldmm. 3. J. Wishart. he. T. W. Mitchell, Perth ; W. Chambers, Leslie ; C. Jamieson ; J. Liveston ; A. Liveston, Forfar, c, J. Blair, Dollar. Any other colour.— 1, Mrs. Harley, Edinburgh. 2, J. W. Will. 8, J. Anderson, Kirkcaldy, he, A. Spalding. KiDfrinnie, Dundee; H. Geodall. Chiclcem.—l, 3. Elder, Kirkcaldy. 2 and 3, J. Anderson. Dorkings (Any variety).— CocA-.—l, D. Gellatly, ISIeie;If!. 2, Mrs. Morrison, Stirling. 3, T. Raines, Bridge Haugh, StirlinR. he, D. Gellatly; T. Raines; Mrs. Tullis, Markinch. e.Ji. Annan, Cupar ; Mrs. Olacdnnald. Errol. Hens.— 1. A. Hanngtown. 3. R. Andrew, Barrhead. 4, J. Gray, ha and C, P. M'Farlane, Pollockshnw. c. J. Gray. Ant other Variety- 1, J. Allan. ICllbirnie. 2, B. M. Knox, Kilbimie. 8, J. Fulton. Beith. 4. A.Williamson, Grangemouth. nvrKH.—Ayleshuru—^, W. Mullitran, Sprin^ifield. Belfast. 2. Z. H. Heya. 3. A. Robertson. 4, R. Campbell. Jfo((en.-l, W. Mu ligan. 2 and 3, J. Pollock, Mparns. 4, A. Robertson. BANT4MS.— (7a77(p.— 1, Z. H. Heys. 2, Bellingham & Gill, Burnley. 3, J. Mitchell, Perth. 4, T. R. Hnniilts-n, Ayr. r. J, Griy. Blaek.—l. ^. Mitchell, Paislev. 2.S. &R. Ashton, Mottram. 3, J. Waddell. 4 J. Wilson, Bnith. Any other Variety.—}, S. A R. Ashton. 2, J. D. S. Crawford, Kilbarchan. 8, J. Waddell. 4, A. Grant, Kilbarchan. he, A. Yendell, Galston ; H. Yardley, Birmingham, c. T. Craig. Paislev. Selling Class.- 1, Mrs. Alston. 2, H. Paton (Cnchin-Cbina). 3. C.Wilson (Haraburcrhs). 4. J. Gow, liilbarchan. c, D. Skeoch, Stewarton; H. Fleming, Belfast (Hamhuighs). PIGEONS. Pouters. ~Bi'(/'.—l and 2. J. Millar, Glasgow. 3, J. Cochran, Glasgow. he W. Nelson, Jobnstone. Black.— I and 3, J. Millar. 2. .T. Sharp, Johnstone, White.— I, H. Vardlev. 2 and 3, J. Sharp, he, G. B. Philips, Ayr. Any oth^r Colour.— }. J. Miiir. Kilmarnock. 2. J. MiUiir. 8, J. Cochon, Glasgow. TviiJi-LT.nR.—f!hnrt-fa.red.—l and 3, T. Wilson. 2, H. Yar^lley. /(C, J. Shai-p. Auy other Variety— I and 2, R. Blair, Johnstone. 3, W. Reid, Lochwinnock. he.'.}. Wallace. Airdrie. Cafrihbs.— 1, H. Yardley. 2. J. Mair. S, J. Richmond, Kilmarnock. Fantails.— 1, T.Wilson. 2, J. Gait, Kilbirnie. S,J.Sharpe. /ic, W.Anderson, Glasgow. Jacobins.- 1 and 3, J. R. Rennards. 2, J. Sharpe. c, H. Yardley. NuNs.~l, J. Murray. Darvel. 2, T. Imrie, Ayr. 3, G. Gilchrist, Darvel. he, 3. Lflmbie. New Cumnock Turbits— I, J. Sharp. 2. J. R. Rennards. 3. R. Gibson, Kilmamock. Common.- 1,C. Kerr, Beith. 2. J. Wilson. 3. R. Stfvensou, Bei'h. Any oTnRR Variety.— 3, J. Mair. 2, H. Yardley. 8, J. Sharp. /icJ.Millar. c, R. M. Banks. Avr. _ : Selling Class.— 1, R. Niven, Paisley. 2, J. Murray, Darvel. 3, J. White, Paisley. CANARIES. Paie or Clban.— 1 and 3, A. Kelly, Paisley. 2, J. Gray. 4, T. Buchanan, Glf^ sffow. Yellow— Coc7,-.—l, J. Mcldrnm, Glasgow. 2. W. Love, Kilbirnie. S, J. Barr, GlasKow. 4, T. Feriiie. Paislev. H«l.— 1, R. Cron. 2, W. Wrigbt, Greenocn. 8, W. WebBtcr, Kilbarchan. •!. R. Houston, Kilbirnie. ., ., BOFF.— Co«fc.— 1 and Special. J. Conn, Alnwick Lodse. 2, W. Paterson, Alnwick Lnd"e. S, J. Richmond, Kilmarnock. 4. J. Crawford, Dairy. Een.—'i, R, Calderwood, Kilmarnock, 3, M, Barr, Paisley. S, A. Millar, Ratherglen, 4, J. PiEEAin.- 1, A. Kellv. 2, J. Gray. S, R. Wood, Paisley. 4. A. M'KesRpok. Dairy. Yellaw Coek.—l. .1. Petticrew, Carlnke. 2, K.Murray. 3, A. Millor, 4 ,T Barr. H^?7 —1, N.M'Lean, Glasgow. 2, D. Haldnne, Alnwick Lodge. 3,A. Crawford, Johnstone. BnfT Cockt.-l and Special, .T. Pettigrew, 2, A. Lees, Beilh. 3, J. Gray. 4, W. Paterson. Bena.—i, A. Crawford. 2, G. Burgess, Dumbarton. S, A, Reid. 4, J. ^11116, Mules, 1, J. Gray, 2, A. Liggatt, PAISLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL SHOW. The seventeentU annual Exhibition was helil on the 2nd and 3rd inst., in tlie Drill Hall, which was closely packed with cages, there being upwards of 150(1 birds for competition. The show was admir- able. GiiMC and llumhurijlis were present in preat numbers. Perhaps there has never been a larger and bettor exhibition of riijcfms. The great interest, however, was centred in the Canary department, in which were 2Hl entries. A-ltogether the Show was a great success, and ,far exceeded those of previous years. Spanish.— 1, J. Dunlop. 2, A. Walker, Kilmamock. S, J. Hftmiltonj Salt. cnatw. 4, Mias Rae, Garngad Hill, GlaeKow. /(C, .1, M'linies. e, J. Gray, Au'drie, <'/Hc/,fm(.— 1 and Special, A, Yuill, Airdrie. 2, W, Ped<:ii, Craighead. 8. W. C. llfirdio, Carron. 4. Foster, Green, k Co., Bollast. he, Mrs. Gillison, Milnguvie, .c, J. Uamilton. liens,— I, A. Sbiphard, Keggle, Yorkshire. 2, W. C. Hardie. GoLDFivcn.— 1. J. Muir, Dairy. 2, T. Reive, Glasgow. Airdie. 2. R. BpII, Paisley. ^ , , , ^ Home on Fokeion Bikes.— 1, W. SpierF, Overton, Johnstone. Paisley, he, A. EaRlesim, Paisley. .Judges.— Pow^^v;.- Mr. J. Stewart, Helensburgh ; Mr. J. M'Lach- lan, Paisley ; Mr. W, Farquhar, Barrhead ; Mr. J. Lindsay, Stewar- ton ; Mr. J. M'Inncs, Paisley ; and Mr, E, Calderwood, Kilmarnock. ri'ieniis: Mr. J. Muir, Milport. Cafie Sinl.s : Mr. J. Mair, Kil- mamock ; Mr. A. Mitchell, Paisley ; Mr. G. Grant, Glasgow ; Mr. J. Kelly, Johnstone; Mr. J. White, Paisley; and Mr. E. Paterson, Howwood. __^ RABBITS AT THE YORK SHOW. No doubt many of your readers, especially those in the Eabbit fancy, will remember the letters in " our Journal " on the above subject. Of one writer, who signed himself "J. B.," the grcitost objection to showing at York was the fancy varieties having to be shown in pairs, he being afraid of his does being in young after such a show. But upon a letter appearing signed " M. Millington, Vorh," stating the fancy varieties were to be shown in separate pens, I (who am " J. B.,") was induced to send five pairs. They arrived home perfectly safe, but to my extreme surprise and indignation I found my finest Himalayan doe had kindled on I'riday the 6th inst. upon the bare straw without any nest whatever. I ranv mention she is very young, and this is her first litter. Will Mr. Miliington, as the manager of tho Eabbit de- partment at York, be kind enough to explain how this has happened if tho Knl)bit3 were put in separate pens ? They wore sent in separate compartments in the boxes. 1 should be glad to hear if any of tho January 12, 1871. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGK GARDENER. 39 other exhibitors of the fancy kinds have experieneeil the same.- JiMES Boyle, jux., BUickhurii, THIRSK CANARY AND FOREIGN BIRD SHOW. Thiesk does everything properly ; so it advertised, and its Show wm a great snoeess. It was anfortnnate that there were, I think, no less than four shows fixed for the last week iu the old year. It was a mistake ; but, once committed to the responsibilities of a show, it is diificult to withdraw. Three out of the four I knew something of, and wrote to the secretaries, advising them of the possibility of a collision, and suggesting means to make each subservient to the other, and the whole a success. Darlington, the first iu the week, collapsed, which I am sorry for, as under careful management it should have pulled through. Of Stokesley, the last show of the week, I do not know the result, not having seen any return, but I trust the exertions of its com- mittee were not in vain. There are, however, wheels within wheels, and motive powers in the machinery of a show, which do not always appear on the surface, and with reference to this, committees will tiud that independent action will tell best in the long run ; and any town ■which can hold its show only by consent of its neighbour, bases its claims to public support on a sandy foundation, and should carefully study the fable of '" the old man and his ass." I found Thirsk in the same place, and the yellow 'bus with the pair of greys seemed as though it had been waiting in the snow since last Christmas to carry us (for my wife and the black bag went to see the Show) to the door of the "Black Lion," where the worthy host and hostess gave us aright hearty Christmas welcome, doing all that genial hospitality could do to remind us that Christmas comes only once a-year. As soon as I was thawed I went to the Show-room, to wish Mr. Bailey the compliments of the season, and we sat chatting " Canary lore " over the fire till the small hours of the morning, when I left him try- ing to find out the softest board in the floor for a bed, as no persuasion could induce him to desert his post as night watchman over the fires. The result of his careful attention was apparent when I entered the room to judge. Among three huntli-ed entries there was not a bird to be found suffering from the inolement weather, and it is only giving Mr. Bailey his due to say that a more careful, conscientious custodian of birds it has never been my pleasure to meet. Of the Canaries I shall only say that they included the best speci- mens of the year. The Mules formed an excellent collection, Mr. Ashton taking the principal honours in Jonque and Mealy Goldfinch ; and Mr. Stansfield runumg first iu the " Anj other Variety " with his splendid Bullfinch and Goldfinch. The rara avU of this cbiss was Mr. Ashton's Bullfinch and Linnet Mule. As a hybrid it is unique, but is not just now iu good show condition. Mr. Robinson's Brown Linnet Mule in the same class I noticed iu my notes on Darlington. It has improved greatly. A most prominent feature in the Show was the splendid exhibition of Foreign Birds, of which there was a large entry ; Mr. W. Bailey, of Parfleet, Essex, making a great show, and carrying off the greater part of the prizes. Both the Secretary and his brother are great admirers of the more gorgeous birds of warmer climes, and Mr. Vf. Bailey's name will be familiar to all visitors to the Crystal Palace Annual Show, where he has always been a successful exhibitor. I think that at no distant date the readers of our Journal may expect to see a aeries of articles from his pen on tho different varieties of foreign birds, with hints on their management. Such papers will be read with interest, and will lead to an extension of our prize schedules iu this direction. 'W. A. BLiKSTOX. P.S. — I have said nothing about somebody subsiding gracefully into the snow. I promised I would not, and I have kept my word. Belgian.- rc»t)ic, Clrar or Ticlird.—I, J. M. Harrison, Belper. J, Slevena ana Burtsn, Muldlesbrou:;!]. S, VVilhUcId. Buff, Clear ur Ticked.—! and 2 J Close, Derby. 3, J. M. Harrison. ' ' Norwich.— Jonjiic.—l and 2, Moore & Wynne, Northampton. S. R, Hawman MiddlesbruUKb. kc, W. Bailey, Essex. Biiff.—l and 2, Moore & -Wynne. 8 K. Hawman. Evenly-marked Jonque.-l, R. Hawmau. 2 and rlic, Moore and "'^°^,-„'' E- "''"''' Sunderland, c, H. N. Frosbrook, Doncaster. Eeenlv- ^i'Sf''' S"^-!} "f'VI. "o?" & Wynne. 8, E. Mills, he, W. & C. Burniston, MiadJesbrough. c, H. N. Frosbrook; J. Calvert, York. CiK-yMoK. -Jonque— I and 2, S. Tomes, Northampton. 8, Wells 4 Clarke Hatheld, Doncaster. e, E. stamsfield, Bradford: Moore & Wtnne. Buff — 1 and 3. Mooro & W j-nne. 2. S. Tomes, lie, R. Hawman ; Moor? & Wynne -iORKSHiBE.-lR Hawman 2, E. Mills. 3, A. Webster, lurkstall. rhf, Stevens and Bnrton ; E. Stamsfield ; J. Taylor, Middlesbrough. )i<-, G. Hornar Tblrsk : H. « W. Wmter, Gun)borouq;h. l,iz,.RD.-aoldeiMimnoled.-l, Stevens & Bnrton. 2, J. Taylor. S, R. Haw- man. /ic.E. Mills; H.ABh'on, Prestwich; J.M.Harrison; Stevens A Burton. Sllver-spaiialed.-l, H. Ashton. 2 and he, Stevens ,S: Button. 8, J. M. Harrison c, R. Hawmun. Chested (Any breed).-! and 2, Moore .S -Wynne. 3, H. N. Frosbrook. ,-;,c,R. Hawman. /(C, T. Iroug : W. Bailev. ' GoLDFixcn MVL-E.-Clear or Marked Yellow.-l and 2, H. Ashlon. 3, W. Bailey. Clear or Marked Buff.-l, H. Ashton. 2, W.& C. Burniston. 8, H. and W. Winter. Mule (Any other v.irietj).-!, E. Stainsfleld. 2 and vlic, U. Ashton. S, C. Kobmscn, Gainsford. ' Green CANAHr.— 1, Stevens & Burton. 2. Moore & Wynne. GoLDFiNou.— 1, J. M. Harrison. 2, J. Calvert. LrsNET (Brown).— 1, T. Bailey. 2, J. M. Harrison. Bullfinch. -2, J. Calvert. British Sono Bird (Any other variety).— 1, A. Webster. 2, T Ballov Love Birds.— 1, W. Bailey. 2, T. Bailey. PARAKEETS.-.-liM(ra!mii.— 1, W. Boiley. 3, J. Calvert. Atm oihrr Tariehl.— 1,W. Bailey. 2, J. Nicholson. Cockatoos or Macaws (.4ny varielv).—!, W. Eailev. Parrot —Grcu.—l. W. Bailey. 2. A. Milner, Thirsk. Ann other rariety.— 1, W. Bailey. Any otltcr Variety.— 1, T. Bailey. 2, W. Bailej-. Best Collection of Foreign or British Birds, - Bailey. Judge. — Mr. "W. A. Blakaton, Sunderland. 1, W. Bailey. 2, T. THE SCOTTISH COLUMBARIAN ASSOCIATION, EDINBURGH. The Society. — Although the Society has been established but a few months its dcOiit may at once be recorded as a success, contiuuinp and in some respects even rivalliug, the oft-repeated successes of tho Glasgow fanciers. At the outset its prospectus recalls the advanced and still advancing estimation in which Pigeon culture is now hehl. The many artistic phases of this pursuit and the curious naturalistic phenomena it discloses have long been recognised iu tho middle-clafs world ; but the charmed circle of fanciers is ever widening, and " right honourables " may now be found therein aspiring to columbarian dis- tinction— a sign of the times again attested in the acceptance by the Earls of Had(iington and Kosslyn of the Honorary Presidency of the new Society In association with these gentlemen follow Messrs, Huie and Ure as President and Vice-President ; two of our most ardent fanciers, and who, by great personal exertion, have forwarded the new undertaking, assisted by Mr. Robert Blair as Treasurer, and specially aided by the unremitting and good-humoured labours of Mr. Joseph Luis, the Society's Honorary Secretary. The members — principally residents of Edinburgh — must not be left out of account, for to them is due the merit of enabling the Association to appear in public furnishtd with superior plant, and with a sufficiency of entries to secure the treasury from embarrassment. The Show, announced as the first annual exhibition of the Asso- ciation, was held in the Music Hall, George Street, a room of com- manding proportions, elaborately decorated, thoroughly lighted, in every sense commodious, and above all wel'-iffected by the Edinburf;h public. The choice of head-quarters so suitable harmonises with tl© refinement which should always influence our exhibition arrangements. A liberal policy marked the classification ; the provision for young I birds being too lavish, however, as an arrangement for repetition, although perhaps well advised for the special occasion. 465 entries were brought out by the schedule, comprising in all some &20 birds ; and the arrangement of these in double rows, tho contrast of the varied plumage with the white drapery, the shapely form of the cages, the liveliness of their occupants, the moving groups of visitors, and the hall itself — all contributed to a most pleasing cnsi'inhk'. Viewed from tho orchestra or gallery, whence a comprehensive survey of the whole scene could be taken, the effect was particularly striking, especially eliciting the admiration of tliose who were making their fir., t acquaintance with a Pigeon exhibition, and even the oldest fanciejs confessed that such a combination had rarely before been presented to their notice. Without Pouters a show iu Scotland would scarcely be acknowledger!, Pouters, therefore, as ever, occupied by far the larger half of the pen- . The very recent criticism of this variety in all its divisions leaves bnt little of general advancement to chronicle. With but trifling modifi- cation the remarks of a twelvemonth ago apply now ; and, indeed, within the compass of a single season but a step or two only can be gained. It will, therefore, be almost sufficient to report clear evidences of progress as displayed — first, by the presence of a more than averaf e number of specimens conspicuous for structural refinement ; and next, by the eagerness of most exhibitors to possess themselves of crossi s from stocks of sound pedigree. In Blacks the Vice-President carried many honours, showing no less than one-third of the number exhibited. So pronounced an effort on the part of an experienced fancier, together with the general usefulness of the birds possessed by other competitors, should be the " foreshadow of coming events." Proverbial philosophy completely breaks down before the continued plumage-debasement of the Reds. " When things come to the worst they are sure to stand still," appears to be for them the reading of the old adage. But whether or no they are at their worst, or standing still, or are mending, matters but little. To the fancier of taste and skill they present an opportunity in the art of colonr-enrichmenfr which assuredly will not be lost, the more so as a basis of strnctuie and carriage sufficiently sound remains. The Blue classes were distinguished not only by numerical strength, bnt also by excellence. Birds of mark and character appeared at every turn ; and, for the encouragement of English breeders, it may be stated that the class for young Blue cocks was headed by the London-bred bird which the week before had won the Crystal Palace cup for the best cock bred iu 1870. As White Pouters display no special structural advantages over theii coloured kindred, purity of plumage is their essential distinctive title to consideration. This essential is being disregarded, even at Edin- burgh, where better things might have been expected. Although many shapely birds enriched the White division, it must be insisted upon that an Adonis-like form is no apology for dirt, but rather intensifies the disfigurement. The bird's demeanour even favours the bad^ impression, and, any way, he is the worse of a town life. Of other salient points in the Pouter classes much in praise might be said did space permit, but it will be enough to add that a deter- mined spirit of progress is manifest amongst the Scotch fanciers. It is felt that the combination of superior form with refined colour and. marking presents an unlimited field for tasteful exertion, and it 40 JOURNAL OF HORTICULXUKE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 12, 1871. desired more and more to stimulate higtly selective matching. Another communication will deal with the remaining features of this exhi- bition.— "W. VOLCKMAS. [Want of space has obliged us to omit some paragraphs. — Eds] POULTRY CONDIMENTS OR TONICS. Me. Mills, an apothecary in France, recommends from ex- perience tbe following as an unfailing tonic or stimulant for debilitated fowls, and especially for young Turkeys during the critical stage, when he says its eft'ee',3 are most marked and salutary. The prescription is copied from the French Journal to the gizzar 1. We have known such a thing, and once took out a carrot 3 inches in length. Gasie Bantams (5. G.).— If there is no special clause to allow it, the iindubbed bird will be disqualified if shown against dubbed ones. The operation may be performed any time except during a frost. Wo do not advise you to pull out the flight feathers of the cock. If detected it will lead to a painful disqualification, and such things may be practisetl but ■they are not allowed. You may exhibit the Duckwing puliet with a good lirospect of success if you put her with a good cock. Wo know no work ■devoted to Game fowls. Egg Supply (.f. Jlf.).— Yours is a deserved eucceas. You hatched your chickens at the right time for laying. It is as natural for a Hamburgh pullet hatched in April to lay in Beccmber as for a man to cease grnn ing <\t twenty-live. They have lived and laid in spite of the sawdust, and n 4 because of it. Feathered-legged Bantams (An Admirer of the Bantajii's Form).— The Bantams you speak of were formerly called" Booted Bantams. Tbey are principally excluded from the shows because none are shown. They do not lack admirers. Fowls in Confined Space iJ. Z>.).— You may keep a cock and four, sis, or eight hens in the space 20 feet by 9, and a fowl house. The number will depend on your management and supply. We hirdly need tell you such a limited space does not provide the many things that are essential to a fowl's well-doing. Road grit, growing grass*, fresh mould, bricklayers' rubbish, lettuce or other green food must all be snppUed according to the number of fowls kept. Tbe best birds will be Creve-Cceur, Spanish, or Brahma, for egg-producing. Cock Pcrplkcojieed and Moping (Young JP^fjnfHfr).— Separate the cock from the hens till his comb is thoroughly healed. They will eat it as long as tlure is any wound or sore. Purge the cock thoroughly with castor oil, then give Billy's and camphor pills. UirnRELLAs AND STICKS AT POULTRY SHOWS. — " J. H " ioforms U3 that the Committee of the Barrow-in-Furness Show have adopted his sugges- tion, that all sticks and umbrellas are to be left at the door. HouDANS ASD Creve-Cceurs (Reader).— A full description with illus- trations was published in Nos 62 aud 63 New Series of this Journal, and repuUiehed iu a collective form in our " Poultry-keepers' Manual." Antwerps at Manchester (TF. Jiw^ifc}.— You have adopted the right course. We cannot insert any relative statement until both sides have been heard. Ground Bones for Chickens (A Constant Subscriber). — The smaller tbe pieces the better. We prefer the powder, but the sample, the frag- ments the size of pins' heads, will do. Green bones are quite as useful for the purpose as drj' bones. Thirsk Snow f.-J. J. TV.).— Mistakes will occur, aud you will see in our report that Mr. Bailey did not shrink from his labours. East Kent Poultry Show.— Mr. G. Raynor informs us that the third prize for Game chickens was awarded to him, and not to Mr. T. G. Ledger. Sick Dragoon (A Wcelchf Reader).— Yonr bird has roup; we gave the most probible cures for this complaint in our number for November 17th, to which we refer you. Points in Black Carrier (T. .4. Dfan)— Skull long, straight, narrow between the eyes, and flat at the top Beak long, straight, thick; length of skull aud beak 2| inches. Eye red ; wattle of tbe eye round and regu- lar—i.^, of equal width. Beak-wittle tilting forward aud st'inding well up. The plumnge should be dense and close, so that the bird may have a solid look. The carriage should combine grace and strength. Shoulders broad, chest full, limbs long, head well up. so that the eye is directly over tbe toes, neck long and thin, back rather hollow. Ligurian Bees (ET. Jcnner).—yo\i may obtain a Ligurian queen either direct from Mr. Woodbury, or from those who adveitise them in our column?, but you are not likely to get one until May or possibly June The price varies with the season. Tbe best mode of uniting queens is fully described in our number published on the 5th August, 1869. You will find a smouldering roll of linen rags of not less than an inch in diamtter, and lighted at one end, the smoke of which may be directed by the breath as required, the most efficient means of controlling and sub- duing vcur vicious bees. COVENT G.\RDEN MARKET.— January 11. We have no alteration worth quoting this week, and our supplies are sufficient for tee meagre attendance of buyers we have now. B. d. a. Apples j sieve 1 0 to 2 Apricots doz. 0 0 0 Cherries lb. 0 0 Chestnuts bushel 10 Carranta i sieve 0 Black do. 0 Fi^s doz. 0 Filberts lb. 0 Cobs lb. 2 Gooseberries quart 0 Grapes, Hothouse.... lb. 4 Lemons ^t^ 100 6 Melons each 1 Artichokes doz. 0 AgparagTis >* 100 7 Beans, Kidney ....T^lOO 2 Broad bushel 0 Beet. Red doz. 2 Broccoli bundle 0 Bmssels Sprouts . . J sieve 2 d t 0 Mulberries lb. 0 I Nectarines doz. 0 0 1 Oranges 1+ 100 0 18 0 j Peaches doz. 0 0 0 Pears, kitchen doz. 0 0 0 I dessert doz. 0 0 0 i Pine Apples lb. 0 2 0 Plums i sieve 0 26 Quinces doz. 0 0 0 I Raspberries lb. 0 sol Strawberries lb. 0 10 0 Walnuts bushel 10 0 4 01 do V*100 VEGETABLES. d. 8. OtoO 0 10 Cabbage doz. Capsicums 1:+ 100 Carrots bunch Caulitlower doz. Celery bundle Colowort3..doz. bunches Cucumbers each pickiing doz. Endive doz. Kennel ..bunch (rarlic lb. Herbs bunch Ilorseradish . ... bundle 8 0 1 6 S 0 2 0 0 0 6 0 2 0 6 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 E 0 Locks bunch LcttucB doz. Mushrooms pottlo Mustard & Cress, .punnet Onions bushtil pickling quart Parsley sieve Parsnips duz. Peas quart Potatoes bushel Kidney do. Radishes .. doz.bxmcbes Rhubarb bundle S;ivoys doz. Sea-kale basket Shallots lb. Spinach bushel Tomatoes doz. Turnips bunch Vegetable Marrows . . doz. 3. a. R. a 0 OtoO 11 0 0 11 0 6 0 III 11 0 0 11 II 1 0 V. 11 1 0 3 n S (1 5 0 1 6 3 ion is the best flavoured of all the new Grapes ; none of the otLer so-called Black Muscats have the flavour so fully developed ai this. It is a shy bearer, requires heat, and colours badly. It does best grafted on the Black Hamburgh. Royal Ascot has proved to be an excellent sort, and has im- proved ii appe r.ince and quality ; as a black Grape, both for early and late houses, it is well worthy of cultivation. The bunches are large, sometimes shouldered ; berries large, black, and covered with a dense bloom ; the flesh is firm and richly- fl woured. I have it grafted on the Black Hamburgh, but the White Frontignau is the best stock for it. I was much sur- prised last season at the effect of this stock on the Black Ham- burgh. A grower in this neighbourhood, who sends his fruit to Covent Garden, had some \Yhite Frontignans planted in the same house with the Black Hamburghs ; as the fruit could not be disposed of to the best advantage, the Frontignans were grafted with Hsmburghs, and the Grapes from the grafted Vines were superior in every respect, the berries being larger and more highly fiuished ; the plants had also the same pecu- liarity as the stock — viz., that of being the first to be attacked by red spider. Of white Grapes the recent introductions are not numerous. Golden Cliami>ion is a very distinct sort, both as regards flivonr and appearance ; it has succeeded best grafted on the Black Hamburgh. The berries are large, with a pecuhar and rich flavour. I think it tender, and not likely to put up with the treatment to which the Black Hamburgh is often subjected ; it has, however, been exhibited in such magnificent style that those who have not been successful should try again. I fruited it for the first time last year. Madrcsficld Court Elack I have not grown, but having seen and tasted it iu the hands of others, it seems to be a very desirable variety. The flesh is not so firm as that of Mrs. Pince, and it is said not to keep well after Christmas. The bunches are large, and the berries large and quite black. It is again very highly recommended by Dr. Hogg in the " Gar- deners' Year Book " for 1871.— J. Douglas. TEA ROSE CULTURE. The answer to your correspondent at paga 433 had deter- mined me to continue the subject of my special favourite, the Tea Eose, but the many calls on the clergy at this season o£ the year prevented me from doing so before, and now Mr. Kent has forestalled me in some of my remarks. I am but a beginner, so offer you my notes in all humility, and I shall be most grateful to anyone who will set me right if I err. I have about sixty varieties of Tea and Noisette Eoses, and if I were asked to name my favourites they would be as follows : — Maiechal Niel, Celine Forestier, Souvenir d'un Ami, Eubens, Madame Falcot, Madame Margottin, Comte de Paris, Archimeie, Niphetos, Madame Willermoz, Madame Bravy, Mar- quise de Foucault, Monsieur Piton, Madame Charles, Souvenir d'Elise, President, Sombreuil, and last, though not least, Gloire de Dijon. These have done all I could wish ; they stood the past winter in the open ground, and bloomed profusely all the summer. I describe my treatment below. La Boule d'Or will not do here without the protection of glass, it will never open ; the same is my experience of Maiie Sisley ; under glass both are fine. Now, I would ask your readers to tell me about Mon- plaisir ; I have been much disappointed with it. On hearing its character I bought four as fine plants as one could wish to see ; I treated them to some of the best places I could find — against a sheltered wall, in an open border, and planted out against a conservatory wall. I did not obtain during the season one flower worth looking at. It was shy to bloom, and when a bloom came it was as ragged, ill-shaped a production as you could well find. Archimede is a great favourite of mine ; it is always in bloom, and if thinned out, so as to leave one bud on a shoot, expands like a beautiful white Camellia. I find that the strong growers of this class do best on a very sh' rt Briar, Marechal Ni;l I I a e against a wa'l, under glass, and as a standard ; it is never bad anywhere, and with the tying up, described below, is as good in the open as under glass, perhaps even better, as I find the blooms larger. I am very favourably inclined towards Unique ; it is a good grower, and its peculiar flower is very pleasing. Many of the newer Eoses, including Belle Lyonnaise and Madame Levet, which, for the information of Mr. Kent, is one of the new seedlings from Gloire de Dijon, I have not yet bloomed, though I have plants of them. In my judgment many make the mistake of planting Tea Eoses in situations where they get the full heat of the sun all day, which causes the flowers to expand so rapidly that they lose both shape and colour. My Tea border is under a wail facing due east, but protected from the north. The soil, being stiff clay, was deeply trenched, some of the subsoil burnt, and a good supply of manure and old leaves worked in. The plants are in rows, with occasional trenches between, which trenches in summer are filled with good, rich stable manure, well trodden by pigs, and from time to time water is pumped in by means of a hose. I am constantly among them with the aphis brush dipped in a concoction of 1 lb. quassia steeped in two gallons of boiling water, and half a pound of soft soap. I pinch out all superfluous buds. When I want Eoses of extra size I tie a piece of tracing or tissue paper, dipped in oil and then dried, round the stem of the bud, leaving the paper to project about IJ inch beyond it; this draws out the bud, and causes it to elongate and to swell gradually. The paper must be increased in size according to the growth of the bud. The oil throws off the wet, which would otherwise cause the paper to adhere to the bloom ; it also causes ants to keep their dis- tance. I had many a fine bud destroyed by these pests last 44 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ JannaT7 19, 1S71. season ; they eat their way into the very heart of the expand- ing bloom. Madame Falcot when treated in this way was as fine as Marechal Niel. All my Roses ai'e now snng beneath a covering of about 3 inches of cocoa-nnt refuse and long stable manure ; they are so near the river that I dread frosts ; last year I lost but three out of four hundred. Next year I mean to be daring enough to try my luck on the exhibition table. — Stiff Soil. BEDDING CiyLCEOLARIAS IN 1870. I Eo not think that the cause of Calceolarias dying-oH so extensively as they have done for the last few years has ever been discovered, although numerous opinions have been ex- pressed upon the subject, nearly every gardener having a dif- ferent one. Some of the theories advanced appear reasonable, and those who had the energy and opportunity have set them- selves to prove their truth, and I believe with good results. Although the past summer has been an exceptionally dry one, quite unfavourable to the Calceolaria, especially with so much sunny weather, I thiuk in many places this favourite bedding plant has never grown better; and in many other places, as far as I have seen, there has been less loss from disease, as it is called, than formerly. This, I conclude, is because the grower pays more attention to the cultivation of the plant, especially from the time of propagation till it is placed in the flower garden, and even in the latter department gardsn'rs find it ad- vantageous, when it can be done, to make special provieion for their Calceolarias. Some of the growers of the Calceolaria who were most suc- cessful during the past summer, tell me that they propagate as late as the middle of November, if the weather will allow, and make their cuttings as short as possible, most of them without a heel to them, the object being to delay the rooting until the New Yaar. They use a finely-sifted heavy rather than light soil, and when the cuttings are well rooted the centre shoot of each is nipped out ; this checks their rapid growth into bulky plants until the days lengthen, and they can have more light and air to encourage a healthy growth. The youug plants are kept as cool as possible both night and day, and in a short time every shoot each plant makes is again pinched. While the plants are breaking into growth again, a suitable place is being prepared for them either in cold pits or frames, or in trenches in the open ground ; if the latter, the trenches are made 4 feet wide, and a good spit of earth thrown out on each side makes them about 18 inches deep. The bottom is covered with any rough siftings of soil, and the remainder is made up of similar soil to that in which the plants are to be grown in the flower garden. I might remark that if protection can be found the trenches are to be preferred on account of the want of every foot of space under glass at that time of the year, and the trenches afford the plants a similar position to that which they are to occupy in the flower garden. The transference of the plants from the cutting-frame to the trenches is effected in the most carefal manner. With a view to facilitate this the cuttings at propagating time are placed as iar apart as circumstances will allow, in order that the plants may be taken out without root-breakage, and the same cars is taken when planting in the trenches. There is another ad- vantage in using trenches — namely, a convenient space can be allowed to the plants. At all times they are exposed to the sun and air when the weather is not frosty. 1 am told that to plant out early is a great point in their favour, for if left until ordinary fcedding stock goes out, which, perhaps, is as late as June, the Calceolaria is to a great extent exhausted, and the roots become EO entangled, and the process of moving at that time so difficult and dangerous, that the plants scarcely recover until the sum- mer is nearly gone. I think this is a reasonable excuse for early planting ; and again, we all know that if the plants are too large the shock of moving causes the wood to ripen-off, and then there is a great chance of the first flowering carrying them off entirely, and those which do not die fail to produce blooming wood until too late. In the flower garden the wants of the Calceolaria must not be neglected, and as the plants like a cool moist bottom, it has been found beneficial to place a moisture-retaining soil under them at about 1 foot deep, and quite 0 inches thick. If the soil above is light, make it heavier by suitable additions. A rather close soil I have always found to be more suitable, provided it is not too poor, but it should be made good to a considerable depth, as Calceolarias, like most bedding plants, root very deeply into the ground. I think trenching should be carried en as systematically in the flower garden as it is in the kitchen garden, because it would afford the plants a beneficial change of soil. Where the soil has been worked for a number of years for the same purpose, it would be better to take it out to a good depth and add fresh soil made up with a large proportion of good peaty loam. This experiment has answered perfectly well during the past summer with the Calceolaria ; therefore it is to be recommended for other bedding plants, excepting those which would be liable to grow too coarse at the expense of bloom. Watering and mulching during a long period of hot and dry weather are such essential points in the culture of the Calceo- laria, that they ought to claim special attention, for then it is, and when there is an absence of dewy nights, that this plant appears to suffer most. The difficulty lies in keeping the plants growing and the wood from ripening-ofi under the burning sun, so as to insure a continuous blooming time ; but during the past summer much of this difficulty has been overcome by attend- ing to the above details. Although in what I have stated there is nothing new or more than what an anxious cultivator would think of, I am not afraid that this plan will bo less success- ful with those who practise it than the rough-and-ready treat- ment which very many growers pursue with this the most useful, and one of the oldest and most popular bedding plants we have. After a dry summer, or if the month of September should be showery, it is surprising how suddenly the Calceo- laria commences a healthy and luxuriant growth, which would, if the season could be prolonged, produce one of the most brilliant masses of bloom ever witnessed, and such as no arti- ficial treatment could, perhaps, ensure. Still I think this dis- position of the plant is a good guide to the cultivator as to the wants of the Calceolaria, and should be imitated as much as possible, for of all the hardier sorts of bedding plants it re- quires the most careful treatment. — T. Recced. RABBITS AND TREES. Hating from time to time seen communications on this sub- ject in Thk Jouenal ofHoeticultuee, especially from persons anxious to get up patches of evergreens in game coverts, I send you a few remarks, the result of several years' experience in planting. If it is practicable entirely to exclude rabbits and hares from the parts planted, I would advise that the wire netting used be not less than 3 feet wide, and not of larger mesh than 1 j inch. It should be fixed to upright stakes, and be, well pegged down. Three inches at the bottom should be turned outwards, and laid flat on the ground, which should be levelled, and made up over the bottom of the wire along the whole length. The rabbits, hurting their claws without result in the buried hori- zontal portion of the wire, soon give up scratching at it ; but some one should occasionally go round and make up the ground to the wire where required. I wish, however, to speak more particularly of planting single trees or shrubs in bare parts of coverts or plantations. It is provoking to have these devoured year after year, and I think it better to plant fifty with efficient protection, than five hundred to be barked and mutilated, to take their chance of surviving in a deformed and stunted condition. It is known that trees when first planted are especially liable to be attacked by rabbits. We observe loppings of trees in coverts entirely cleared of bark, whilst branches and twigs of the same size growing within reach are untouched. In the same way recently- planted trees are sure to be selected amongst others of the same kind and size. I have found the recommended preparations of night soil, gas tar, train Oil, quicklime, &o., both bad for the tree and inefficient, unless renewed every month. I have used cradles made of common wire netting 2 feet wide, 2 inch mesh. This I cut or rather break across into lengths of about 2 feet. These I place round the young trees with the rough ends of the wire at the bottom and the top, and bring the level sides together, fastening them with soft wire previously cut into lengths of 3 or 4 inches. About 2 inches at the bottom and top of the cradle should be turned outwards, which gives ad- ditional protection. Each cradle should be pegged down with two pegs. The diameter of these cradles will be about 8 inches, the height about 18 inches, and the cost about Zd. This may seem a large cost to protect a tree worth only a penny, but much vexation is saved, and they require no renewal. The labour of fixing is inconsiderable. I can fix from twenty to thirty in an hour with ease. Such trees as Lirch and Spruce, if 3 feet high, which I find the best size for planting from my January 10, 1871. ] JOUBNAL OF H0RTICT3LTUEB AND COTTAGE GASDENER. 45 own nnrsery, into whioh I introduce them at 1 loot, will, of course, have their lower branches compreBsed by such cradles ; bat I do not find that this interferes with their growth. The same may be said of Hollies, and other evergreens. If larger cradles are desired, the netting may be obtained of any width, and the width must be three times the diameter required for the cradle. Babbits are more likely to jump inside the larger cradles, which should, therefore, be higher. Much additional protection is obtained by putting pieces of Gorse or Thorns inside the cradle, and reaching over the top of it. I tried this .year tying Gorse twigs with the bushy end resting on the ground about 2 feet up the tree. This appeared to answer until the late snow, when the rabbits ate first the Gorse, and then the tree. Thorns out up into short pieces are a much better protection. A few handtuls of these placed round the tree to a width of a foot and a height of 18 inches, seem as good as the wire cradles, and cost less. I warn your readers noi to be misled by lists of trees and shrubs which it is said that rabbits will not eat. I have tried nearly all, and the only evergreens I find untouched are Yew, Box, and Ebododendron. My plantations are mostly narrow, bounded by grass or arable fields, and I keep no more rabbits than I am obliged to do in jastice to the foxes, that these im- portant animals may earn an honest livelihood, and not be driven to rob the farmyards. Larch is the worst of all trees to get up amongst rabbits. They bark it even in summer, and eat it quite down. Spruce, Silver Fir, and Scotch Fir, are all eaten down in severe weather, especially when rabbits can reach to the top of them, though their bark seems less attractive. Do not, however, confuse the work of rabbits or hares with that of squirrels, whioh bite off the leaders of young Spruce, apparently to exercise their teeth, as they leave the tops on the ground. Squirrels must be killed if Spruce are to be reared. Oak, Spanish Chestnut, and nearly all forest trees are liable when first planted to be barked by rabbits, and should be protected as directed above. Of Holly, Privet, and common Laurel, rabbits and hares eat both bark and leaves. Broom hares bite quite down, even when of large size, and eat the young twigs. Berberis Aquifolium and Portugal Laurel are amongst the last shrubs touched, but in the present severe weather the rabbits are attacking young plants of both, biting the leaves off the former, though they do not seem to eat them, and barking the latter, though to no great extent. I have not spoken of choicer Conifers, but I find that Abies Donglasii, Capressus Lawsoniana, Wellingtonia, and probably most of the others suffer more or less. I may conclude by saying, thai; where cover for game is the chief object, nothing answers so well as the common Bramble or Blackberry, and the varieties of Briar or Dog Kose, including Sweetbriar. These take readily to any soil, require no nursing, grow very fast, and as shelter are far preferred by pheasants to the smooth-leaved Berberis, and to Ehododendrons.— C. W. D. ANONYMOUS CRITICISM. I HAVE read the article, "New Tear's Hopes," by "Wiltshike Eeciok," in No. 510 of The Journal of Hokticultcee for this year, an article beaming with truth and kindliness. But I fear the medal has its reverse, and we should not, I think, refuse to look on the other side if by so doing we can effect further good. _ After reading that article I was led to reflect on horticultural literature in general, and on the anonymous part of it in par- ticular. For my present purpose I will divide our writers on horticulture into two classes. First, those who sign their names and addresses to their writings, and secondly, those who write anonymously. It is to the latter anonymous writers that I would now specially address myself. I do not condemn anonymous writing altogether. What we call " leaders " may very properly be published anonymously, because in that case there is a clear and acknowledged editorial responsibility. Many good things have also been written anonymously, which, probably, never would have been written if the writer had been compelled to complete them by attach- ing his or her signature. But I think if a writer says any- thing that is derogatory to the productions of another, he is bound in honour to attach his name to his opinion. I will state a case which 1 think those who regularly peruse our hor- ticultural periodicals will admit not to be an imaginary one. A cultivator, after years of thought and labour, succeeds in raising something different from what has gone before. It is exhibited, and obtains a mark of honour, and he sees, or fancies he sees, a pecuniary as well as an honorary reward looming in the distance, when lo ! some anonymous critic starts up, and by faint praise or subtle insinuations produces a state of scepticism in the public mind, which causes his novelty to fall flat in the market. The motives for this line of action are doubtless various. I need hardly pause to speak of those who from prejudice reject a good new thing, because they are punished severely enough by finding their neighbours' gardens or tables rejoicing in the possession of gems or viands which their warped judgment has rejected. The anonymous critic may be some brainless man, who cannot distinguish between a good thing and a bad one. Ho may be brainless, and envious in addition ; himself incapable of producing anything superior, he endeavours from sheer envy to lessen the value of what others more skilful or persevering than himself produce. Or he may be a rival in trade — one of the sharks of society, who knows full well that if he can only induce the public to wait until he has purchased and raised a large stock of the novelty, he will reap a larger share of the profits. I was told by a nurseryman of respectability and position not many months ago that the loudest declaimer against a new plant of his — a plant of rare merit — was the largest purchaser of it ! And after this declaimer had purchased and raised a large stock of it, knowing that its merits must in time becomo known and cause a large demand, coolly changed his opinion, recommended it, and pocketed considerable profits. Now this was an injustice to the public, because everyone is anxious to possess a good thing as soon as possible ; and it is a still greater injustice to the raiser or introducer, for it deprives him of the fair reward of his knowledge, skill, and labour. It is worse than the infringement of a patent — it is cowardly as well as dishonest, because here the patentee, so to speak, has no redress at law. I think I have said enough to show that this is a blemish in our horticultural literature whioh calls loudly for a remedy. I admit that many indifferent, nay, worthless, things are con- tinually palmed on the public by dint of puffing ; but even here, as the puffer usually attaches his name, it would be more manly to question their merit by an open than by an anony- mous attack Let me then, in conclusion, deferentially and kindly, but earnestly, entreat my brother writers in horticulture not to abstain from expressing any adverse opinion they may hold on any new thing, but to place their names manfully in sup- port of their opinions, that the public may know what weight to attach to them, and that those opinions may be fairly and honestly canvassed. — William Paul, Waltham Cross, N. CHRYSANTHEMUM CULTURE. I AssuEE Mr. Castle that I have no wish to disparage his mode of growing the Chrysanthemum, my object in writing being to elicit a few practical truths. I do not believe a Chry- santhemum grown from a cutting will in one season ever pro- duce too much wood to form a specimen, and it is a well-known fact that some varieties will not produce enough under the most favourable circumstances. A point in favour of the use of liquid manure is the production of good foliage, which I con- sider contributes much to the beauty of the plant ; and if vigorous wood and foliage be grown, large flowers will be the result. I cannot conceive why the plants should require ad- ditional nourishment after the flower buds are formed, as I think there must be a greater demand on the resources of the plant during the formation of the buds than in the development of the flowers ; but I am not surprised that Mr. Castle's plants require additional stimulus by that time, for I am convinced that plants not plunged will require watering once, and in hot weather twice a-day, and I am of opinion that such frequent waterings with clear water for several successive months must greatly impoverish the soil. I must confess to never having seen a Chrysanthemum die through being overwatered ; and were such a case to come under my observation I should at once assume the cause to be insufficient drainage, and not the too frequent use of the watering pot. In plunging I make a practice of placing a piece of brick or an inverted flower pot under each plant for the purpose of drainage, and to prevent the roots from protruding through the bottoms of the pots. I still maintain that it is absolutely necessary to plunge pots in the open air to protect the roots from the vicissitudes of heat and cold. As regards the extra skill required in watering, I should hope there are very few men employed in gardens who have not intellect enough to id JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. [ January 19, 1871. know whether a Chrysanthemum rf quires water or not. In a former paper Mr. Castle recommencls August as the 'time for giving the plants their final shift, but he now recommends the first or second week in July for Pompons and early-flowering kinds, which is more in accordance with my own -views. As Mr. Castle hopes his writings will be received in good faith, I beg to assure him that they will be received in such by me; but as he differs from so many practical gardeners on various subjects, I think readers should be cautious not to arrive too hastily at conclusions. — H. Benham, Upper Hollou-atj. PLANTS IN FLOWER DURING DECEMBER. Dec. 1. Veronica speciosa Ajidersoni salicirulia Candida deutata incana Bibirica Cheirantlius fi-uticulosa HcUebonis atronibc-ns foetidus niger Liatris spicata Lupinus albus ■ Chelone barbata Konifra uiaritima Hypericum calycinum Liuaria Cymbalaria alpina Linum grandlfloriim perenne alpinum flavum Mah-a Mi.renii Vinca minor purpurea Centaurca Cj anus depreasa Euphorbia amyfrdaloides Aiuga reptans aJba Campanula garganica mnralia pumila ., P. GaiUardia picta grandiflora Kichardi Alcliemilla alpina Eryngium alpinum Cedronella cana Gyneriuni argenteiim Nlerembergia gi acilis Tritema Uvaria Verbena venosa Jasminuni nudiflorum Alyssum saxatile Geum rivale (Enotbera macrocarpa acaulis Lamarcliiana biennis Drunimondl IMimulus maculosus Viburnum Tinus Arabis lucida Zausclineria californica I — M. H., AcUam Hall, Bliddlesbrough ). Scabiosa atropurpurea Vi*tadenia trilnbata Ulirabilis Jalapa Delphinium Belladonna Andi'omeda floribunda Crocus Auclicrii Boryi Pentsteuion glabrum Sf-ouleri procerum [. Antholyza coccinea Erigeron Villarsii IMonarda purpurea Thymus vulgaris Achillea tomentosa macrophylla compacta aurf a Tricyitis hirta Statice bellidilolia incana alba Aconitum aulumnale versicolor Omplialodes vema Stenactis speciosa Phlox setacea verna Euta graveolens S.antoliua incana PolemoniuTTi ca^nileum Anbrietla IWooreana Salva fulgens Primula acaulis Colchicum autumnale fl. pi. . Plumbago capeusis Scutellaria galericulata Centranthus ruber Asperula odorata Potentiila alba Sedum album dentatum purpureiim CineX'aria maritima Antirrhinum Tom Thumb Silene pendula Bupthalmum salicifolium Polygonum Sieboldi Erunoni Sedum creruleum Stacliys lauata Armeria vulgaris Polygonum orientale Delphinium Ajacis Nigella bispauica ■on-Tecs. GLAZED WALL. JvsT as I was about to accept an ofTer made me of twenty ground vineries at a certain price, a week or two back I ob- served your recommendation, for Vine-growing, of glass being put against a wall in the shape of a lean-to house, which article suggested to me that we should build a house 120 feet long and 12 wide against a certain wall covered with nice young I'each trees, &c., allowing them to remain there, and growing Vines as ■well up the It-fcet roof. AVe also wished to make this the home of bedding stuff during the winter. What size of saddle boiler should I require to heat such a place, supposing that 40 feet were heated by a chimney laid down as a flue, and the rest of the length by 4 inch hot- water pipes? Could we not have the house all in one, or would it be a disadvantage ? Which is the best white Grape for a cold vinery ? — Suhsceiher. [We approve of your covering your Peach wall with a lean-to glass roof. The modes of doing so we have frequently alluded to. To do justice to the Peaches, the Vines up the rafters or roof should be fully 6 feet apart. Those spurred will allow a very fair amount of light to reach the back wall. Royal JIus- cadine and Buckland Sweetwater will answer well in such a house, and so will Calaln-ian Eaisin as a late Grape ; but as j-ou intend the house for wintering large quantities of bedding plants, it would be as well not to encourage late Grapes, but such kinds as you would cut by the middle or end of October. In such a length of house we would prefer a division of glass in the centre. We approve of taking a flue along one end of the house from the boiler, and that Hue will keep out frost foi' the 40 feet proposed. Two 4-inch pipes to the other end from the boiler would also keep out frost. If more were wanted, more piping would be necessarj'. Were we heating such a house we should be inclined to make the one end from .50 to 60 feet long, put the furnace and boiler at that poin', take the flue to one end and pipes there too, and pipes to the other end ; thus you could have the one end of a 12C-feet house much earlier than the other. We would use a saddle boiler 24 inches long^22 wide, and 20 inches high, or about that size, which would enable you to have more piping if desirable ] RED LEAD PROTECTING BULBS FROM MICE. In answer to the inquiry of the " Eev. C. P. H," in vol. xix. page 477, respecting keeping mice from bulbs, I am enabled to state that I dust all my bulbs with red lead, and that not one of them has been touched by mice. Last year I did not dust the bulbs, and the result was that they were nearly all carried away by rats or eaten by mice. I dust all my seed Peas and Beans in the same way, and not one of them is touched ; but if by chance I sow one line with- out red lead they are usually nearly all devoured by mice. I may add that I do not find the red lead injure the Pea crop nor the bulbs. I have known the mice bore after the Peas and Beans, and, finding them red-leaded, leave them untouched. — G. W. MAKING BORDERS FOR WALL TREES ON BAD SUBSOILS. On an entire renovation of the garden being made here, and when starting to take out the foundation for the wall, we had to go to the depth of 6 feet before a solid foundation could be got. After 20 inches of soil on the top, all the rest was loose red sand. I decided to concrete both sides of the wall to the width of 14 feet. When the wall was finished, the little good soil on the top was removed to the garden quarters, the sand wheeled right away to the depth of SO inches at the wall below the ground-level, and 33 inches at the out edge, so that there is plenty of fall for water to run off ; and along the front a drain was cut, s inches deep, and the width of a spade. Being all ready for the concrete, there was brought niee-sized gravel, laid in quantities of about four tons, and one ton of coal-ashes, to which was added one ton of lime fresh from the kiln, which had as much water thrown on it as make it fall ; then it and the gravel were mixed together, covering all over with the ashes. After letting it lie in this state for twelve hours, it was well mixed by turning it over several times, adding more water if required, but keeping it rather adhesive than otherwise (as it sets quicker when not too free), and laying it on at once to the depth of 3 inches all over, beginning at one end, so that there is no treading on the concrete until perfectly dry. When smoothing it down, if found too firm and not smoothing well, have a watering-pot with a rose, and sprinkle a little water over it, but no more than will enable the operator to level it properly, bearing in mind to let it have the same fall from the wall to the outside as the foundation of sand on which it is laid. It must now be let alone until it is thoroughly hard, which will be in about ten days if the weather is fine and dry, when some nice round boulders were put all on the top, to the depth of 4 inches, and filling up the drain in front at the same time to the same level. Then a good thick sod, with (he grass side downwards, was laid all over the drainage, before the regular filling-up with soil was commenced, which, when done, was raised 6 inches higher than the natural ground, to allow for subsiding, keeping it always a few inches hither at the wall — giving a gentle fall to the Bos-edge. From the nature of our subsoil here, I have found these borders, through the very dry season which we have had, to contain more moisture than other parts of the garden which are not concreted. Not wishing to spoil the wall by nailing, which has several objections, studs with eyes were put in between every third line of bricks, standing about an inch from the wall, having stronger ones at the ends to act as stretchers ; and after the wire, which was galvanised, was passed through all but the end ones, and drawn tight; a 0-inch in length piece of small rod- iron, with an eye at one end to fasten the wire to, and nearly all the length, had a screw-thread worked on, when the wire had been fastened to the other end, put through the end stud ; then a screw-nut was put on, so that all was made as tight as required. The first outlay may be a little more than the yearly bills for nails and shreds, but a very few years would soon cover the first expense, as a few mats go a long way in tying. ( January 19, 1S71. ] JOURNAL o:f horticulture and cottage gardener. 47 Trees trained to the wire here, in a general way, do not bloom so soon in spring as when close to the wall, and the fruit is cleaner and more regular in colour ; and as for insects, there is no harbour at all for them. From the success attending the above operations, I am in- duced to send them, knowing that where such a subsoil exists, if followed, the results will be as successful as here. — A, H., Tliorcshy Park Gardens. — [The Gardener.) [The Editor of " The Gardener " remarks, " The young wall trees at Thoresby are models of health and fruitfulness " — just, we may add, as every department of that great garden is an example of Mr. Henderson's good management. — Eds.] ROYAL HOPtTICULTURAL SOCIETY. January ISth. This was the first meeting of the year, and though the day offered a favourable contrast to those we have lately had, still everyone was suii)rised at the number of plants exhibited, and the unwonted gaiety which the Council Room presented, so early in the season. Fruit Committee. — G. F. Wilson, Esq., F.R.S., in the chair. Messrs. Veitch & Sous, of Chelsea, sent excellent specimens of Snow's "Winter White Broccoli, which was highly commended by the Com- mittee. Mr. Tillery, of the gardens, Welbeck, sent a brace of Cucum- bers, the variety raised by Mr. HoUah, of Rufl'ord Abbey. Mr. Tillery stated that he had been cutting from two to three brace every week for the last eight weeks, and he considered it the best winter Cucumber. Signer Domeuico Piccorillo, -11, Wigmore Street, sent a quantity of Naples Giant Chestnuts and Sweet Oranges. The Chestnuts were very large and fine, and a special certificate was awarded to the exhi- bitor. Mr. Osman, gardener to R. Holland, Esq., Stanmore Hall, Middlesex, sent a dish of nice St. Michael's Oranges, but they were not ripe. Col. Le Couteur, of Bellevue, Jersey, sent a dish of Bahia Navel Orange, the pips being produced in a nipple on the end of the fruit. The flavour was good, though rather acid. Alfred Smee, Esq., F.K.S., exhibited specimens of Lemon from Sicily, severely attacked with a scale which has attacked the Lemons all through Sicily with the exception of Palermo. Wherever this attacks the fruit it never ripens. This scale is allied to that which attacks the Oleander. Mr. Meredith, of Garston, near Liverpool, sent splendid bunches of Muscat of Alexandria Grapes, which received a special certificate. Mr. Tillery, of Welbeck, sent a bunch of Gros Guillaume and Trebbiano Grapes which had been cut for a month and kept in a bottle of water. Messrs. Carter & Co., of Holborn, sent a dish of their Main Crop Potato, some of which were boiled to test the favour, which the Com- mittee did not consider of any special merit. Col. Le Couteur sent a collection of Pears from Jersey, consisting of Colmar d'Aremberg, Jaminette, and Pengethley, none of which were ripe. Mr. W. Ewart, the girdeus, Apthorpe, near Wansford, sent a dish of very fine Easter Beurre Pears, which received a special certificate. Mr. Clark, the gardens, Roehampton Lodge, sent a good dish of Glon Mor9eau Pear, which received a special certificate. Mr. Jennings, of Shipston-on- Stour, sent specimens of Fairy Apple, which was much admued for its ornamental character. Mr. Miles, the gardens, Wycombe Abbey, seut a dish of the Black Crab, or Pomme Noire. Messrs. Backhouse & Son, of York, exhibited a dish of Galloway Pippin, a handsome Apple, which was ordered to be cooked and then submitted to a sub-committee to report to the next meeting. Mr. Scott, Merriott Nurseries, Crewkerne, sent 2o0 varieties of Apples grown on the Para- dise stock. These were sent to show "how well Apples keep when wrapped np iu old newspapers. Mine were mostly sound. They keep until May, hardly any of them going off." The collection was in good condition, and received a special certificate. Prizes were offered in Class 3 for the best three dishes of Kitchen Apples. The first prize was awarded to Mr. Turner, for remarkably large and fine fruit of Golden Noble, Alfriston, and Blenheim Pippin. The second prize went to Mr. Parsons, gardener to K. Atteuborough, Esq., Acton Green, for Golden Noble, Blenheim Pippin, and Dume- low's SeeJling, large and well ripened, though not equal in size to those from Mr. Turner. Good dishes of Blenheim Pippin, Bedford- shire Foundling, Gloria Mundi, Alfriston, and Golden Noble were also shown by other exhibitors. Class 1 was for Kitchen Pears. The best three dishes came from Mr. Turner, and consisted of Catillac, LTpedale's St. Germain, and Vicar of Winkfield. Mr. Gardiner, Lower Eatington Park, was second. Flor.vl Committee.— Mr. Eraser in the chair. From Mr. Den- ning, gardener to Lord Londesborough, Grimston Park, Tadcaster, came a splendid collection of Orchids, among which were magnificent specimens of Ljelia anceps, L.^lia autumnalis, Saccolabium giganteum, and Lycaste Skinneri ; also Calanthes, Dendrobiums, Odontoglossums, and Oncidiums, and a beautiful specimen of Barkeria Skinneri su- perba, and a fine deeper-coloured variety of Ljelia autumnalis. A special certificate was given for the collection, and special certificates for the fine specimen of Lielia auceps and Barkeria Skinneri. Messrs. Backhouse & Son, of York, sent a fine example of Lseha autumnalis, a large-2owered variety, which received a special cer- tificate. Messrs. Veitch, of Chelsea, seut a fine collection of Orchids and other plants, for which a special certificate was given. In this were a large plant of Lcelia aucepg, a fine Mormodes Colossus which had a second-class certificate, Bolbophyllum auricomum bearing much re- semblance to a Grass iu flower, several Odoutoglossums, La'lia auceps Dawsoui, a beautiful variety ; Cypripediumvexillarium, a finely- coloured hybrid between C. Fairrieanum and barbatum, which received a first- class certificate; Phajus irroratus, a hybrid between P. graudiflorus and Calanthe vestita alba; several Palms ; and an unnamed species of Stenorhynchus from Chiriqui, with waxy purplish-rose flower heads. Mr. Burnett, gardener to W. Terry, Esq., Peterborough House, Fulham, sent a good example of Anrectochilus Lowii, Augrcecum sesquipedale with five flowers ; Cjpripedium longifolium, delicately coloured, and very pretty ; and Saccolabium Harrisonii and giganteum. Mr. Green, gardener to W. Wilson Saunders, Esq., Hiilfield, Rei- gate, sent a small group cousistingof Soncbus platylepis, a handsome large-leaved Sow Thistle from Teneriffe ; cut specimens of ionium Holochrysum from the Canaries, forming very pretty golden pyramids, and Maxillaria leontoglossis, veiy pale yellow, spotted with purple. Mr. WilUams, of Holloway, exhibited a pretty group of Palms, Dracfonag, Geuetyllis Hookeri in excellent bloom, his hybrid Solanums loaded with fine high-coloured fruit, and several fine-foliaged plants. A special certificate was given. Messrs. Lucking Brothers sent forced flowers, such as Hyacinths, Azaleas, and Tulips, iu ornamental baskets and china pot-holders, likewise several remarkably tasteful bouquets. For these exhibitions a special certificate was awarded. From the Society's garden, Kensington, came a collection of Orchids, including fine specimens of Cattleyas, Lycaste Skinneri, itc. For this a special certificate was given. Mr. Ware, Hale Farm Nurseries, Tottenham, had a special certifi- cate for an interesting collection of Succulent plants. Mr. Turner, Slough, sent Tricolor Pelargoniums Mrs. Headly and Mr. Rutter, which is to be seen again ; also Chinese Primulas blush, Ulac, and red. A special certificate was awarded Mr. Turner for these, also one for a fine collection of seedling Aucubas in berry, some with green others with mottled leaves, varying in the depth of their colour, and some of them bearing a remarkable profusion of berries. Mr. Stevens, of Ealing, sent a collection of well-bloomed Chinese Primulas and one of Cyclamens, for which a special certificate was given. From Mr. Williams came an Aucuba with large yellow berries, which, however, do not show to such advantage as the red berries ; also Aralia plitaui- folia, which is likely to ^irovo a handsome plant for subtropical gardens. Mr. Wiggins, gardener to W. Beck, Esq., Isleworth, sent a fine collection of Cyclamens, a white, called album fimbriatum, being nicely fringed; Mi. Goddard, gardener to H. Little, Esq., Twicken- ham, several finely-coloured varieties, Snowflake, a fine white, and one called fragrans, delicately scented. A beautiful spike of Odonto- glossum Bluutii came from Messrs. J. Brooke & Co., Fairfield Nurseries, Manchester. This was awarded a special certificate. Mr. George, gardener to Miss Nicholson, Putney Heath, seut a yellow- berried Solanum of the Capsicastrum section, but the fruit was only partially ripe. Messrs. Dobson & Son, Isleworth, had a special cer- tificate for a collection of Chinese Primulas, of various colours, of a fine strain. E. J. Lowe, Esq., Highfield House, Notts, contributed a rather numerous collection of new forms of British Ferns ; of these Adiantum capillus-Veneris admirabile, and Scolopendrium vulgare consummatum, received first-class certificates. Messrs. Cutbush and Son sent Aucuba japonica foem. aureo-maculata with a large yellow blotch in the centre of the leaves, a finely-marked variety ; and from Messrs. Carter & Co., High Holborn, came a case of the fruit of Sola- num ciliatum (Lamarck), of which it is stated the plant gi'ows from 12 to 18 inches high, has shining dark green foliage, and is well adapted as a pot plant for table decoration. The fruit is highly oruamRutal, being upwards of an inch in diameter, and of a fine reddish-orange colour. Messrs. A. Henderson & Co., Pine-Apple Place Nurseries, received a special certificate for a fine pot of Lily of Valley, exhibited along with a group of Palms, in which were several very ornamental species for table aud room decoration. A special certificate was given for the group. Messrs. A. Henderson likewise had a second-class certificate for Ficus lanceolata, an elegant dark-leaved species. Prizes were offered for the best nine Ivies in pots. The first prize was taken by Mr. Turner, of Slough, with Hedera Helix lucida, a fine shining-leaved kind ; latifolia maculata, lobata major, aurea, algeneusis, heterophylla, grandiflora pallida, the small-leaved variety, and ma- culata. These plants were trained as cones. Messrs. Lane sent a collection trained as pyramids on wire, among which were Rsguer's, Gold-blotched, Clanwoodiaua, and canariensis, all of which are very pretty. Messrs. Cutbush also sent two collections, among which were several of the above aud other fine varieties. Mr. W. Robinson sent a number of horticultural tools and instru- ments which he had collected during his recent travels in America ; also various dried fruits, as Peaches and Plums, fruits preserved fresh in cans. Asparagus similarly treated, Indian Corn fresh, aud pi'epared as Pop Corn pepper, in which state it is said to be like arrowroot for puddings ; as well as Apples, Onions, and Potatoes, many of them from the Salt Lake. Dried specimens of a pretty alpine plant, from the summit of the Rocky Mountains, attracted considerable attention. General Meeting. — G. F. Wilson, Esq., F.R.S., in the chair. After the election of thirty-two new Fellows, aud the announcement 43 JOUENAL OF HOETICULTTJBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 19, 1871. of the Committee awards, the Ktv. M. J. Berkeley directed attention to some of the most remarkable snbjeetg exhibited. With regard to Ficns lanceolata, he consideredi it would be extremely valuable if it proved as hardy as Ficus elastica, so would be the yellow-berried Aucnba if its berries retained that colour when older. The beautiful branched sjiike of Odoutoglossum Blnntii also deserved particular notice, more especially as he believed it was the iirst time a branched raceme of it had been shown. He considered he ought to mention that the Kaster Beurre Pears from Apthorpe Gardens were the pro- duce of gi-afts he had brought from LUIe, inserted in a Potato, in 1838 ; that winter, some would remember, was excessively severe, and it was many weeks before the grafts could be worked, and yet they had grown, and the tree was now in the most flourishing condition. The peculiarity of the Navel Orange, from Bahia, producing seeds only at the apex, and not in the pulp as with other Oranges, was then referred to as having a parallel case in the Portemanteau Gourd. Of Ada aurantiaca it was stated that a Frenchman, lately looking out for subjects for ornamental pottery, was enraptured with it, considering it one of the most beautiful of all plants for the purpose. Mr. Berkeley said he would mentioa, as an ornamental species, the Sonchus shown by Mr. WUson Saunders but principally because there were other plants from the Canaries to which he wished to call attention, parp ticnlarly the many shrubby species of Eehium, which it would be ex- tremely desirable to re-introduce for greenhouse decoration. Mr. Berkeley then drew attention to the fruit of Stangeria paradoxa, the first, he believed, that had ever been perfected in this country, though male cones had been. This singular plant was allied to the Cycads, but was so like a Fern that it had been at first described as a species of Lomaria. The " Botanical Magazine " of 1S59 contained a good figure of the male plant (t. 5121), and it was there remarked, " This very remarkable plant, which in its habit and foliage resembles no other of the Katural Order to which it belongs, was first in 1835 imperfectly noticed by Kunze as a South African Fern (Lomaria), and was sent by Dr. Stanger from Natal to N. B. Ward, Esq., and by him given to the Chelsea Botanic Gardens long after — viz., in 1851. It was first described by Mr. Moore, from imperfect specimens, as a 'Zamialike Fern,' or 'Fern-line Zamio,' and the opinion expressed that its aiilnity appears to be rather with Cycadere than Ferns, which has since proved to be quite correct. In 1854 specimens with cones were exhibited to the Linnrean Society by Mr. Stevens (Proc. Linn. Soc. V. 2. p. 310), and since then both male andfemale cones have been produced at Kew, but unfortunately not in the same year. Of these, a pair of female cones, formed in April, 1858, produced perfect ovules, and withered away ; and in the same month of the present year another plant produced the male cone figured in our plate." Frequent complaints, Mr. Berkeley said, had been made by persons who had sown Aucnba seeds that they could not get them to germi- nate ; he believed that this was owing to want of patience, for the seeds lay in the ground several months before germinating. Dr. Thomson had found them come up very well at Kew when sufficient time was allowed. The same remark applied to the Scarlet-berried Elder (Sambucus racemosa), to the beauty of which when in fruit in Aberdeenshire he had at a former meeting called attention, and he had since procured a mass of seed for distribution among the Fellows of the Society. If seeds slow of germination were sown in autumn they would mostly germinate in spring, but if sowing were deferred till spring they would often not germinate till the following spring. He would therefore recommend all persons to have the pots in which seed was sown properly labelled, and not to throw the seed away rashly. Mr. Kobinson's collection, already noticed, was next referred to as being of an interesting character, especially the preserved fruit ; and in connection with the Pop Corn used in puddings, Mr. Berkeley said the small compact varieties were the best for the purpose. He then produced some heads sent by C. W. Strickland, Esq., grown fourteen miles north of York, their perfect state of ripeness being in his (Mr. Berkeley's) opinion a great triumph for so northern a latitude. Mr. Marshall said all must have noticed the frequent complaints which had been made of the similarity of our exhibitions, the same- ness of the exhibitors and the subjects, and he would submit a proposi- tion which he thought would tend to effect an alteration in this state of things. It was, however, only a proposition, and no doubt would admit of considerable modification and improvement, and in what points he would be glad to learn. It was this— that those who might be desirous of competing should send in their names to the Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society, accompanied with an entrance-fee of £5, and at the same time name the twenty stove or greenhouse plants which they would prefer to grow, and out of which they were to exhibit ten in May or Juno, 1873. These were to bo bought on a given day, in G-inch pots, of any nurserymen who might bo agreed upon by vote among the subscribers ; tho plants to be marked by means of a piece of tape, tied and sealed round the stem or lower branches, for the purpose of recognition, and be inspected once a-year, or more frequently if considered necessary, by some one ap]?ointed by the Council. The Society to give a challenge cup, value ^50, which if won three times by any one person was to be his property. Tho entry fees to be divided into first, second, and third prizes, according to their amount and number. This scheme Mr. Marshall thought would remove what had been so often complained of — that young exhibitors bad no chance against those who hud been longer in the field, inas- much as all would start at one time and show at one time. The Chairman remarked as no one had come forward to claim Mr. Eateman's prizes for cut Cattleyas, they would be offered again at the next Committee meeting, which would be held on February 15th ; also that the Annual General Meeting would take place on Feb- ruary llth. At the meeliDg of Council this day, it was decided to recom- mend Messrs. J. Bateman, F.E.S., John Kelk, and E. J. Lowe, F.R.S., to the Fellows for election at the next annual meeting, in place of Messrs. Andrew Murray and Sigismund Eucker, and Dr. Thomas Thomson, F.R.S., who retire. Mr. John Glutton is recommended as Treasurer, and Lieut.- Co!. Scott, R.E., as Secretary. Messrs. Wilson Saunders, John Clnttcn, and Sigismund Eucker are nominated for the Expense Com- mittee. POKTRAIT OF MR. RIVERS. In addition to those already announced, suhscriptions have been received from the following : — £, s. d. Neame, J. R., Esq., Cambridge Terrace, Hastings 0 10 0 Pearse, Miss, Launceston 0 10 0 Tillery, Mr. W., The Gardens, Welbeck Abbey . 0 10 6 FORCING SEA-KALE, ASPARAGUS, RHUBARB. AND A DISH of compact bushy Sea-l^alc from 4 to 6 inches in length is very different from that from heads which average from 8 to 10 inches long. We have several times been non- plussed at seeing in some of our largest places Email houses filled with Asparagus before Christmas and onwards, and hun- dreds and hundreds of heads of Sea-kale coming in at once in a warm dark place. We felt ourselves at a loss as to how this could be done. We have looked at the large gardens and the large space devoted to Asparagus and Sea-kale, but knowing something of the little space a large piece of such plants can be squeezed into in a forcing house or pit, the wonder with us was where the plants were to come from year after year. We knew a clever cook who would not be satisfied with strong white Sea-kale some 5 inches in length, but would merely nip out the central part, about li inch in length, and who wanted, therefore, an immense quantity for a dish. Why, the whole of our little kitchen garden, if all Sea-kale, would hardly have kept up a good succession from November to May at that rate. In seeing these large beds under forcing treatment, seeing also a good stock of such vegetables in summer, the wonder to us was — knowing that Asparagus plants taken up and forced are of no use afterwards — where these forcing plants could come from ; but we are not at all surprised at some such cases now when we find that all the earliest successions are, as respects the plants used, bought every season. Under such circum- stances Asparagus and Sea-kale may be had every day in winter, even if the garden is not very large. Such a daily gathering would be impossible where only a small space can be devoted to such vegetables, and dependance must rest on home- raised plants in the open air. We have thought it right to mention this so prominently, because many who, seeing what others have, are dissatisfied with the amount of Asparagus they have in winter, would be still more dissatisfied if they were not well supplied with shoots from the open air in spring. The gentleman who purchases freely in this respect, and has but a small kitchen garden, must have a greater and more regular supply than a proprietor in similar circumstances who depends entirely on plants of home growth. All this, simple though it be, is often apt to be overlooked. Unless the ground is very suitable, deep, rich, and rather light, it is not often that Asparagus is worth taking up to force until it is four or five years old from the seed, and then the plants are of no further use. This taking-up plan and giving the help of a hotbed or a pit is, perhaps, the best for the first or earliest crop in winter ; but it is ahvays expensive, owing to the loss of the plants. For successions, it would be more economical to grow plants in beds, that could be forced by hot water or dung linings, forcing these beds every alternate year. The most of us with limited room take up a piece evei y year, and at first are satisfied with occasional, instead of daily gatherings. For the later spring Sea-kale some similar plan to that re- ferred to as respects Asparagus in pits may be adopted, and thus the same plants may pretty well be forced every year. For early supply we think it in every way the most econo- mical to take up a lot of roots at the end of October, and place them for successions in a warm dark place — Bay in a tempe- January 19, 1871. ] JOtTBNAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 49 ratnre of from 53° to 60°, with 10° more at the roots. There is not the same loss with them as with Asparagus taken up, as instead of being of no further use after forcing, every bit of the forced roots, when cut up into 4 or 6-ineh lengths, hardened oft, and planted out, soon makes a fine plant. Of late, partly owing to birds interfering with the seeds, we have raised few Sea-kale plants from seed. We prefer planting the pieces of the roots in rows in the way referred to, and lind they make better plants than seedlings. Sjme of these pieces grew so strongly the first season, that we have taken them up in the following November ; but in general we let them have two summers' growth before raising them. Thus, supposing we plant the root pieces in March or April, 1871, we should gene- rally lift to force again in October or November, 1872. Ehuharh taken up to force may be transplanted again in the same way ; but it is as well that each piece should have a bud. There is no necessity for anything of the sort as respects the roots of Sea-kale ; we have used them as small as a straw of wheat ; but we like them better it as large in diameter as our little or even our middle finger. These cut at bottom and straight across at top, and of the lengths specified, are planted with the dibber firmly in rows 2 feet apart from row to row, the upper end being close to the surface of the ground. To keep vermin from them, a cone of ashes is laid along the row. As the spring advances the upper end will bristle round the edges with buds, and the only trouble required is to thin these out to two or three. With seedlings there will only be the one bud. From seed sown in April we have had fine plants for forcing in the second autumn, but we think there is less risk from fly, birds, .&o , by Bsing pieces of the roots. Oar reason for alluding to the matter is, that we know there are thousands of oases in which the holders of gardens are satisfied with Sea-kale in the spring months, by placing a pot over it, with or without protecting material, as leaves or litter. They look upon getting fresh plantations, rearing seedlings, as something to be shunned. Many of these might have a dish not every day, but frequently during the winter, were they con- vinced that the roots taken up could be cut to pieces and planted again. We have seen very fine Sea-kale in a common cellar without any covering, where it was dark enough ; and when wanted early the roots were packed in large pots, watered with water at about 100°, and pots placed over them and kept close to retain the heat. We have seen it very fine in a close box near a kitchen fire. In fact, it will do very well in any place where a little heat can be obtained along with darkness. In the open air after this time, where appearance is no object. Sea-kale may be forwarded after the frost is out of the ground, by placing over it a foot or even less of clean tree leaver. The shoots will make little mounds in the leaves before they are 6 inches in length, so as to show you they want looking at. On taxing our memory, perhaps the very sweetest and whitest Sea- kale we ever saw was gathered from beds out of doors, covered in the autumn with 7 inches of bog earth, and that covered with a foot of litter. We have had it very fine covered with clean ashes, but these do not fall oft so clean as the bog earth. Under pots it can be had very clean, the great point is to cut in time before it becomes lanky, and then every bit, except a scale or two at the base, should go to table. Much ground would be required if only the heart bit were cooked. — E. F. HOAK FROST. When summer droughts are gone, and autumn rains have ceased to fill the running brooks and flood the river banks — when the short sunless days and long cold nights have stolen Jrom the soil its generous warmth— then the keen, mastering, all-subduing Frost wakes up from his long summer sleep ; by slow degrees he throws aside the torpor of inactivity, and musters all his powers for the coming struggle with winter storms. With a cruel smile he mocks at summer's beauty and autumn's lingering growth, and in his long duration threatens to rob spring buds of their promise. Down from snow moun- tains, and over icy plains, and across frozen streams he comes nearer and nearer ; a clear bright sky, not blue but white, and a sharp ringing air through which sounds travel fast and far, herald his approach. Through the dark hours of the night he steals silently along, working best and surest when night is tljing into morning. Nothing can stay his progress, every- where he spreads his pure garment ol dazzling beauty ; over fields, and hedges, and woods, and broad highways leading to busy cities, and lonely footpaths leading out into Nature's desolate places, he throws his glittering array. Nothing too high or too low ; he climbs the loftiest hills, and sinks into the lowliest valleys ; he covers with an equal grace thatched cot- tage, and ancient church, and stately hall, and sloping lawn, and creeping moss, and withered Ferns, and tiny pebbles. He passes through quiet lanes and breathes his destroying breath on every wayside weed, or wandering insect seeking too late its winter home ; he crosses with rapid strides the wide open common, and uttering a cry of distress the birds seek the shelter of the nearest covert ; he lingers in the forest where the tall naked trees stand forth in their magnificence of form and branch and interlacing twig, and turns each venerable Oak and sturdy Elm into coral reefs of glittering whiteness ; he hangs graceful plumes on the lady Birch, yet leaves not the smallest blade of grass or fallen acorn unadorned. He creeps into every hole and cranny, looks over every garden wall, enters every open door and unclosed shutter. He paints his colour- less pictures on every cathedral window, and writes in pencil lines of exceeding beauty the ancient story of his visit on every pane of glass. He silences the sweet music of the run- ning brook, changes all its laughing smiles to still cold stone. He interrupts the current of the mighty river, driving to its deeper depths the lives that sported near its surface. He presses on closer and closer to the homes of men, hangs glittering icicles round cottage porch where Eoses and Jasmine BO lately bloomed, and stands waiting for admission at the well-guarded door of princely mansion. He lays a cold heavy hand on every living thing that comes unfriended within his reach ; he overtakes the laggard gardener, and seals the death warrant of his tender treasures. He hushes all too soon the redbreast's song, and tracks the thrush to its safe retreat within the warm entwining arms of the thick Holly. All around the dwelling places of men he weaves his sparkling web, turning each drop of moisture to brilliant crystal, sub- duing all colour to his ghost-like whiteness. He finds his way to every town and village, passing noiselessly through the open squares where wealth and plenty are safely sheltered from winter frosts ; through narrow streets and dark alleys, where the want of, food and fuel makes his presence keenly felt. He pushes his way through the porous walls of mean-built houses, sits by the hearth an unbidden guest, steals from the fire its accustomed warmth, from the home its welcome comfort; he brings strength to the strong, and weakness to the weak, en- feebling the feeble step, and blanching the maiden's cheek, and imparting a deep joy to the ycuag strong life that can bear his keenest blasts. Over all the hoar frost throws a charm, a marvellous grace, reveals to us a new creation, before which we stand in reverent wonder. — Maud. SNOW AND ICE DESTRUCTIVE TO GLASS ROOFS. We may here make some remarks as respects lean-to orchard houses that are at all flat, in reference to their carrying a good weight of snow when glazed with large squares, say 20 inches across from bar to bar. These lean-to's are rather more than 11 feet wide, 10 feet high at the back, and from 4 to 4i feet high in front, according to the ground. Such a roof would" sub- tend an angle of from 55° to 60°, and, therefore, be consider- ably flatter than a roof at 45°, the angle subtended by a right- angled triangle. On a roof at 55° the snow will lie longer than on one at 45°, but until this season we never knew it lie long enough to do any harm. In our larger house we do not think a square of glass was cracked, for the snow, as it got heavy, slid off, or melted gradually away. Here, however, nothing was done to interfere with the cold and the snow except keeping the house shut. In the smaller house other matters were alike, except that for securing comfort and preserving some things that otherwise might have been injured, a little firing was used in an iron stove, which tended to melt the snow a little towards the top of the roof, and the moisture trickling down towards the front under the snow froze in the sharp frost, and became a firm mass of ice and snow, which we could not move if we wished. The greater weight of this mass told on the glass in some cases, so that in looking over we found we had to replace two squares broken outright by this congealed weight, and we find there are four or five more squares cracked in the middle, which we shall replace the first fine day. Now, the cracking of these few squares we attribute not at all to con- traction or expansion, but merely to the weight of the frozen mass of ice and snow over them, and that weight would not have been felt but for the heat from the iron stove and the keen frost acting together, nor if, whilst the snow was soft, we had swept the snow from the lowest part of the roof, as 50 JOUBNAL OP HORTIOULTDEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 13, 137L then that on the upper part would have slid right off. The truth is, that we wanted the snow to lie as a good protection, and even in this respect we shall be gainers by it, as the benefit derived will greatly exceed the value and trouble of replacing five or six squares of glass. From such a simple matter a useful lesson may be learned. If there had been no artificial heat, if the lower snow had been moved, if the squares had been 4 or 5 inches less in width from bar to bar, or if the squares had been 21 or more ounces to the foot instead of about 15 ounces, then in either case it is likely that no square would have been broken. We are quite aware that glass is often broken by iee forming and expanding in the lap betwixt the panes of glass. In steep- roofed houses, and even in sashes to pits that have a good in- cline, this is most apt to take place in frosty weather at the lowest squares, where the first square rests upon the wood, and that all the more in proportion to the heat used inside and the severity of the frost outside. When long squares are used, this often entails great loss from the chipping and cracking in front of these terminal squares. We have known cases in which, owing to very sudden and extreme changes of tempe- rature, this cracking from the expansion of frozen water would take place here and there over a whole roof. Generally, how- ever, it is the terminal front square of glass that suffers most from this cause. We say nothing now of puttied laps, and glass laid edge to edge without laps, and how far these would in the body of the house neutralise this ice-expansion. In our practice we have without glazed laps, but narrow laps made in the usual way, the glass lying as close as possible, square to square, suffered very little from the ice-expansion generally ; but we have had a good many front squares cracked where the glass joined the wood. To counteract this, many years ago we had small squares of zinc, say, according to the space between the sashbars, of from 3 to 6 inches in depth, that terminated the glaz- ing in front, the zinc instead of the glass resting on the front wood. The zinc was roughly grooved beneath to let condensed moisture out. In severe frost we have had these small zinc squares raised from the wood fully an inch in the centre by the expanding ice, but the squares of glass behind them were un- touched. The zinc squares were easily brought to their level when the frost was gone. We have nothing of the sort in the orchard houses. As it is, we think we have escaped very well with so few squares cracked. It is where heat is used inside that the ice is so apt to accumulate at the bottom squares of the roof. With improved rafters and sashbars, to collect the condensed moisture, so that it shall neither fall over the house inside nor find its way out over the front plate of the sashes, there would no doubt be less of this accumulation of moisture and ic8-espansion ; but most of us are glad to get common ponveniences, though we duly estimate all improvements. There is another case in which these small terminal zinc squares are useful. Sashes for frames and pits are now often made with a narrower rail or plate in front than used to be the custom. These are often moved from the front as well as back. It matters not if you have ever such a nice handle for this purpose, if the front rail is at all narrow, the chances are if one hand holds the handle, the other seizes the front rail or plate, and smack goes a heavy thumb on the front glass, almost with the certainty of cracking it. The zinc terminal would save the cracking. " Ah ! but how careless and slovenly." True, most true ! but, unfortunately, the careless and the slovenly geem inbred and natural to most of us. You may paint all your garden and house doors very nicely, furnish them^ with all needful handles for opening and shutting, and you will be fortunate if in a fortnight you do not find your paint disfigured with dirty thumb and finger marks above and beneath the handles, where there is not the least occasion for them to be. Even nice finger-plates screwed on will not thoroughly save you from the annoyance, and yet the handle would have been snfSeient for all that was wanted, without using the other hand to the style of the doorway at all.— E. F. Male. SOME PREDATORY INSECTS OF OUR GARDENS.— No. 2. So>n3 persons when hurrying along a country road or lane on a cold day in December or January, and endeavouring to per- suade themselves that because they were walking quickly they were really getting a little warm, may have given a glance in passing at a paling or wall, and seen there sitting very corn- posedly some male individuals of the Winter Moth (Cheimatobia brnmata), shown in the accompanying figure. The dumpling- Female. Cheimatobia bramata. bodied females are, however, rarely seen in such positions, their business lying elsewhere. A momentary feeling of surprise may come across the observer, if he is at all interested in natural phenomena, that in the winter season insects should thus come forth ; and if he think about it, he may propound the theory that the specimens are in a state of hybernation, and are waiting for the advent of spring. This is not BO, however. The Winter Moth comes out from its state of torpor in the chrysalis state, and though it usually emerges during some mild break in the weather, it will live a certain time through frost and snow, A pleasant windfall many indi- viduals prove to certain hungry spiders, who make prey of them in fault of better food. The appearance of this Moth seems suited to the season. It is not at all downy, but the wings present a bare aspect, which befits its wintry though brief hfe. Now this brumata, harmless as it might be deemed when viewed only in its moth state, is a terrible destroyer of vege- tation. The ravages of the species are to be noted most years, sometimes in the woodland scene, sometimes in the orchard, then again in the garden ; for the caterpillar, though it has a great liking for Hawthorn, is in no wise particular, and will transfer itself very comfortably from one species to another as opportunity offers. But its jiencliant for Hawthorn is a decided annoyance to those gardeners, of both sexes, who pride them- selves especially on their trim and verdant hedges. In other days I can remember more than once being warned off sternly by the owner of a garden plot, from whose hedge I bad simply plucked a few leaves, without injuring a bough or even a twig ; and in fact there have been cases where persons have been absurdly particular about their hedges enclosing their grounds, which said hedges were seen by their neighbours, and yet almost careless about the arrangement of the ground within and not open to inspection. Are not these persons comparable to cer- tain others one meets with, who devote much time to the deco- ration of the exterior of the head, and trouble themselves very little about the right ordering of the brain which fills it ? To return to our Winter Moth, however. It is clear that a garden pest of this sort can only be effectually kept under by attacking it in its various stages at the different seasons of the year. Mr. Newman, whose labours in this direction — that is, in the investigation of the economy of predatory insects — have been so persevering, and as yet scarcely appreciated, points out minutely what may be done. The eggs of this moth, which are greenish white and of a tolerable size, are laid by the wing- less females in crevices in the trunks of trees, sometimes also on the branches, and in nooks and corners. Every batch of eggs destroyed means not only the reduction of the caterpillars in the coming season, but cuts off also those of which, had they lived and thriven, they would have become the parents when they emerged as moths. Egg-hunting of this sort is tedious work, though one way of killing these eggs, Newman shows, is by deferring the pruning of fruit trees until after they are deposited, when the prunings will carry away a number of eggs with them. Of course it is understood then, that they must not be buried or scattered about. The moth is, perhaps, the most important object to attack, for it is as certain that dead moths lay no eggs as it is that dead men tell no tales. The German mode of proceeding is to daub a composition around the trunks or stems of trees likely to be ascended by the female moths. The best composition for the purpose, says Mr. New- man, is a mixture of Stockholm tar and cart-grease, a sticky- enough compound ; and since the absence of wings necessitates the use of legs, and the moths, when they quit their chrysalis state in the earth, naturally move upwards, they may be taken in numbers by this expedient, the capture of the males being a matter of secondary importance. The number of eggs deposited by each female varies from 1.50 to 200 ; and when thousands of these are thus entrapped and settled, the following spring is likely to show a great dimi- nution in the number of caterpillars infesting the garden. Nor does any evil result then ensue to the trees or shrubs about which a circle of this composition is drawn, though it is ad- mitted that " applied in the warm weather of April and May it has proved destructive in many cases, probably from its greater Jannary 19, 1871. ] JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 51 fluidity at that time, allowing the tree to absorb it in drying." Also we note, " the composition tightens the bark, which should therefore be slit the next SBmmer." Of the caterpillars while young the gardener generally takes little heed, and indeed it would be by no means easy to hunt them up when newly hatched, since they appear at the first expansion of the buds, which buds afford them their first supply of food. This is in the month of April, at which time the sparrows and other species of birds may be noticed to be busily engaged in an attack upon the buds, giving rise thereby to some controversy. It is asked, "Do they visit the buds for the sake of the caterpillars, or because they admire the flavour of the early vegetation ?" Now, though birds are extensive destroyers of insect life, I conceive in this case that the buds are the primary object sought, the caterpillars being then very minute ; still, as many are thus killed it lessens our indignation, and the birds' conduct may be deemed partly justified by the result. " There's no place like home," says the song, but if you have no home yon cannot enter into the spirit of the utterance. Acting upon this, the caterpillar of the Winter Moth, as soon as it can, provides for itself a home amongst the leaves, and its food being all around, it can feed if it chooses without exposing itself much to view. Many must, in spite of this, be carried off by parent birds to their nestlings, and swarms are also killed while very young by the cold winds and spring raios. The colour of this caterpillar varies much from a pale green to a smoky black ; it is one that even the entomological tyro at once recognises as belonging to the family or subdivision known as the Loopers (or Geometra;), though it usually rests, when getting of some size, in a one- sided posture, with the head curled round. I believe that a period of five or six weeks is generally sufficient to mature the caterpillar and prepare it to become a chrysalis. In some places children have been employed to pick off these caterpillars from bushes and the lower branches of trees. They may be beaten off in quantities also, as they readily drop from their retreats if this expedient can be ventured upon. I referred in my previous paper to one conspicuous pest which annually visits our Currant and Gooseberry bushes. A little investigation will enable us, if we wish, to discover the eggs of the PLctnix Moth (Cidaria ribescaria) in those districts where it occurs, for it is not uncommon in various parts of the British islands, though I have not detected it in those places within the London district with which I am acquainted. These, which are deposited by the moth during the summer, are to be found in the bark of the bushes named, where they remain through the winter. The shape of these eggs is rather singular, resembling that of a powder-flask in miniature, and marked with ridges. The caterpillar rarely occurs in sufficient abun- dance to do any marked damage, differing therein from the too- well-known V-Moth (Hulia wavaria), which, at the moment our bushes are getting a little reprieve from Abraxas grossu- lariata, begins to attack them unsparingly ; and those who pick Gooseberries and pop them iuto their mouths without scruti- nising them, are likely enough to eat a wavaria or two, as I have myself done. The V-Moth also deposits its eggs in the summer, and those who make a point of looking after the eggs of insects when there is little to be done in the garden, may succeed in detecting and extinguishing some of these. The caterpillars are unpleasant in appearance, warty, and very variable in colour, falling readily from their food with a slight shake, and remaining doubled up a long time. The chrysalis is placed amongst the leaves in a slight web. Though usually a July moth, in early seasons it may be seen in June — as, for instance, in the very warm summer of 18G8, I noted some spe- cimens were flying about at the middle of that month. This species is decidedly cockneyed, and succeeds in attaining its full dimensions in spite of London smoke— indeed some town specimens surpass in size others from a distance cS. One of the most curious particulars connected with entomo- logical science is that regarding the long gaps which occur in the history of some species— how they are seen and then lost sight of for scores of years, to turn up again ; or how some modern investigator verifies a fact which had been noted by a man who lived in the times of his great-grandfather. During the past year a new item of information turned up relative to a small beetle (a weevil), which Mr. Newman states was first written about in 1833, and subsequently the " Letters of Rustieus " contained some account of it; then, though often named as one of the enemies of the Turnip crop in field or garden, nothing of importance was recorded about it until Mr. Cordeaux observed its habits last winter. This little black weevil (known as Nedyua contractus), in spite of its size, is capable of inflicting considerable damage, and is only one, too, out of four or five insects which are partial to these vegetables. The author of the " Letters " had stated that " the eggs were laid on that part of the bulb which is above the ground, and the grub which comes from it eats into the rind of the Turnip, making it hump up into warts and all manner of rugosities." Mr. Cordeaux exhibits specimens "more or less covered by a mass of knobs and rugosities, in many cases completely aller- ing the shape, and impairing both the quality and growth of the root. Each of these knobs or excrescences contains a small white grub, much sought after both by rooks and wood- pigeons, which come daily to feed upon them." It appears aleo that though all kinds of Turnips are attacked by this, the Swedish suffer least, being harder. How to best meet this enemy is a difficult question ; the encouragement of the birds named, or of others which may play a similar part, would not do much good, for it is stated that their mining operations ex- pose the roots to the influence of rain and frost ; and, more- over, so determined are they to get all they can, that they pierce the bulbs in search of more when they have exhausted the knobs. As prevention is better than cure, some plan might be devised for the assailing of the imago, which, probably does its business in the early part of the autumn.— J. R. S. C. NEW DOUBLE WHITE ZINNIA. Why has not the double Zinnia been more grown than it is ? During the hot summers of 1868 and 1870 it ought to have done especially well, and in the former year I saw it in the gardens of M. Souchet, at Fontainebleau, very fine indeed, while some fine stands were exhibited at the Metropolitan Floral Society's Show at the Crystal Palace last September ; still they ought to be more grown than they are, and when "well done " there are few flowers more effective. There have been atttmpts to prove that there are a dozen or more varieties of colour, but this is not so, some three or four — scarlet, orange, purple, and lilac, being clearly marked. I have now to announce a novelty in the way of a good double white. There is a dirty white in S2 JOUKNAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENEE. [ January 19, 1871. commerce, but it is a vaut rien. This has been raised in America, and the stock has passed into the hands of the firm of Carter & Co., of High Holborn. The figure which is here given will afiord some idea of the form and character of this fine novelty, although, of course, no idea can be given of its purity and elegance. — D., Deal. National Tolip Society. — At a meeting of the subscribers of the Society held at Cambridge last year, after the annual show, it was resolved that the Exhibition for 1871 should bo held in Manchester, and the Council of the Botanical Garden there have given £15 to the funds, will provide a tent for the Exhibition, also bottles and other things necessary, and will advertise the Exhibition along with their own. The Exhibi- tion will be held on the 26th and 27th May, in conjunction ^vith the National Horticultural Exhibition. Mauy growers have already entered, and, including the £15 donation, above £50 has been already subscribed. WORK FOR THE WEEK. KITCHEN GiKDEN. But little out-door work can now be done where snow has fallen, and it has done so pretty generally ; men should there- fore be employed about such work as can be done within-doors, which I have already pointed out. Set traps for mice, and destroy all vermin. Look after the crops of Peas and Beans in the ground. See to the manure heaps, prepare road- sarapings and charred refuse ; and mix the rubbish wheeled from the vegetable ground with salt. This will form a valuable manure for the land. If possible do not employ the same description of manure twice in succession on the same laud, a change will produce the greatest results. As soon as the young Carrots in the hotbed are about an inch high, thin them out to 3 or 4 inches apart. F^adishcs are sometimes sown on the same bed ; when this is the case they should also be thinned out, and when ready for use they must be drawn with care, so as not to itinre the tops of the Carrots. Should the weather continue severe, the frames containing young plants of Gaull- ftoircrs and Lettuces for spring supply, and the Cabbage Lettuce for present use, must be covered-up and well protected. Mush- room beds shonld now be made in sheds or houses purposely fitted-up for a spring supply. The horse droppings should be wtU beaten down, and the bed should not be less than a foot iu depth. Temperature-sticks should then be thrust to the bottom iu several places and examined daily ; when the heat has become somewhat regular and not exceeding 90°, the spawn may be inserted just below the surface, and the bed afterwards €arthed-up. Continue, as occasion may require, to cover a portion of Sea-kale. Hhuharh may also be forced in a similar way. ritm-T GAEDEN. The general pruting and training of wall trees and eppaliors may be proceeded with at all times, except during severe frost. Peache«, Nectarines, Fig.?, and Apricots are, however, better left for some time yet. Gooseberries and Currants may be planted in rows 5 feet apart, and trained as low espaliers. Where room is an object, this is an economical mode of grow- ing them. These fruits may now have the necessary pruning. Tike advantage of frosty weatlier to wheel manures to such fruit quarters as require that assistance. Newly-planted trees of all kinJs should have their roots protected from frost by a mulch- ing of litter or short dung. ELOWER GAEDEII. The stock of bedding-out plants should now be looked over ; it the stock of anything is short remove a portion of it into a warm house to produce cuttings fur propagation. It is often difEcult in the autumn to procure sufficient plants of some hinds, and cuttings of all the more softwooded plants struck iii this and the next mouth and properly hardenod-off, will bloom equally well with those struck the previous autumn. It is, however, advisable that bedding-out Geraniums and other woody plants which require to be of a certain age and size before they are transplanted to the open borders, should have been struck and v.-ell-established before winter, as fresh-struck plants of such are apt to grow too fast to produce a fine show of blossom. Be on the safe side as regards numbers, tliere is rarely an overstock at planting time. In all large places BOmo odd corner is set apart for growing the shrubs and plants most commonly required to fill-up vacancies ; where such is the case, cuttings of the more common ornamental shrubs may now be put in, with Honeysuckles, Eoses, &s. Every de- scription of plant used for the above purpose should be pro- pagated, and the more showy herbaceous plants should always form a part. The stock of evergreens should be frequently lifted, that their final removal may be effected at any season without risk. In severe weather beds of Pinks are apt to be eaten down to the stumps by rabbits. Many florists' gardens are exposed to this serious disaster ; it is advisable to protect the beds with galvanised wire-netting, placing some larch stakes, 2 feet out of the ground, at short intervals round the bed, to which the wire should be fastened. The depredations of rabbits would thus be effectually prevented, and I know of nothing better, even when there is none of these vermin in the vicinity, than a close-meshed wire net as a protection to beds of Pansies, Carnations, Tulips, &;., which are often more in- jured in spriflg from cold cutting winds than from frost. The Eanuneulus bed should have attention ; give it a slight forking over, throwing it up into little ridges ; these can be levelled- down at any time previous to planting. Look over the col- lection of roots, separate the ofi'sets from those which are large enough to bloom for planting in the reserve bed ; these will flower sphnUdly the succeeding season. It is from want of this that we often see large spaces in the amateur's Eanuneulus bed without a bloom. HoUjhocks appear to be coming fast into favour, not only as beautiful border plants, but also as a florists' flower for exhibition. Those planted in the border are extremely subject to the attacks of slugs, which greedily feed on the fleshy shoots ; a dusting of soot occasionally will make these less palatable. Those plants which are wintered iu pots must have the decayed leaves carefully removed. If flowers are required to occupy in spring the beds which are afterwards devoted to the usual bedding-out plants, they will have been planted, and such being the case, some choice ones now pushing may require a slight protection from severe frost. Sawdust, leaf mould, or old tan may be put over the best sorts of Anemones, Seillas, Hyacinths, and Tulips, covering the ground afterwards so as to resemble that of the other beds. The pleasure ground will require frequent sweeping and rolling, the walks to be rolled, especially after frost, and every attention ought to be paid to neatness and order. Deciduous trees and shrubs may now be thinned-out and pruned if necessary; evergreens, however, had better remain untouched for the present. Planting, too, should not be done at this season except in extreme eases, but ground to be planted may now be prepared with advantage. QKEENHOUSB AND CONSEEVATOEY. Although it is not yet desirable to shift the general stock of stove and greenhouse plants for a few weeks, under some cir- cumstances a part may require fresh potling at this time. When such is the case room must be made to keep them apart from the general stock for a short time afterwards, as their treatment will be somewhat different. Most softwooded plants require heading-back or pruning at the present season, and this should always be performed a sufficient time before the plant is repotted, in order to enable it to make a fresh growth. It is likewise often necessary, with this class of plants, to dis- root them to some extent at this potting, which is an additional inducement to defer repotting till the plant has made sufficient growth — say young shoots an inch long — to enable it to bear the o.>eration without injury. ■ Attend to the training of plants on wires and trellises. Fast-growing plants, such as Tropie- olums, will require frequent attention. Cinerarias will now require some assistance in the shape of weak manure water. Watch for green fly, to which this plant is very liable. As the principal kinds of Begonias will now be showing bloom, they may be advantageously removed to the conservatory, previously stakiug them carefully to preserve their fine foliage from being damaged. In some old conservatories the flues frequently run under the pathway, and are only separated from the bed in which the plants are growing by -liuob brickwork. Where this is tho case it may reasonably be expected that the soil in immediate contact with the brickwork will become dry at the bottom if fires are required, and yet may appear moist at the top ; the soil should in such cases bo examined frequently, and have water accordingly. STOVE. Stove plants will be much benefited by bottom heat and a moist temperature till active growth commence. Thin and tie out the shoots as they advance, to form the plants into the desired specimens, and guard against injuring the foliage. Much of the beauty of plants consists in their having clean, healthy foliage. Dry roots of Gloriosa, and a portion of the Jannary 19, 1871. ] JOUENAIi OF HOETIGULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 53 stock of Gesneras, Gloxinias, Aoliimenes, and other herbaceous stove plauts, may now be plucged in bottom heat to start them previously to potting. — W. Keane. DOINGS OF THE LAST WEEK. When writing on Saturday week the snow bad all gone, and it has disappeared again on this the 11th, after quite as sudden .a thaw ; but the /rost during the week has doue more irjnry than the more severe frost preceding it, as eveu a day or two of mild weather, after an attack of frost, makes the plants more sentitive afterwaidt:, and requires more care and con- sideration on the part of the gardener. KITCHEN GABDEX. Though we used litter and laurel branches when this week's rost set in, we fear that some of our earliest Broccoli and our earliest Cabbages have suffered considerably, eveu though we took these means to keep the frost from them. Lettuces and Endive of any sizo have also suffered a little, all plants from the previous mildness of the weather being full of juices and tender. We trust that when the weather changes there will be less injury than we imagine, but it will be prudent to sow some Lettuce, Cabbage, and CaulifloKer in a slight hotbed, or in boxes in heated houses, so that any loss may soon be replaced. As yet Brussels Sprouts and the different Borecoles have stood well. The greater portion of our Sivoys were used, but a number of heads of good fiza, though protected by the sno*, have been injured in the heart, and therefore will be of little use. We are rather surprised that so many of our cottage gardeners seem to have no relish for Borecoles, as Cottagers' Kale, Scotch Cabbaging Kale, and Brussels Sprouts, as they stand the -winter when Broccoli seems to have a hard fight for it. We hear sad complaints amongst our cottager friends, who live in low positions, as respects their Broccoli, which they will persist iu planting largely. True, a fine large Broccoli is a regular fill- pot, and is something tor a family to come and go on, but when you cut the head it is all that you generally get, for we suppose, on the same principle, few of our cottagers care about the Sprouting Broccoli, whiih jieldssuoh en amount of pioluce; whilst, on the other hand, with Brussels Sprouts and tie Kales it is cut and come again without end. When once the top is gone — and what can be more sweet after the frost has just mollified them a little? — there is no end to the shoots and sprouts from the stems. Though for a definite purpose we are fond of such Kales as the Scotch Cabbaging and Veitch's Dsarf, yet for a cottage garden we think there is little better than the tall Scotch Kale, as the supply from the stems in the spring months is next to inexhaustible, and well cooked they are not inferior to flavour to the best Broccoli. We so far join with Dr. Johnson as to have a high regard for the Cauliflower, but frequently we have found young Coleworts excel the most compact Cauliflower in delicacy of flavour. We shall not have written these few lines in vain, if thou- sands more of cur cottage gardeners be induced to grow more of these hardy vegetables, which nothing but a winter close on zero seems to kill. We fear that one reason why these hardy vegetables do not occupy almost every part of a cottage garden in winter is, that so frequently they are so badly cooked as to be both unpleasant and unwholesome to the person who eats them. With all the good properties of our English housewives, and in some respects we consider them unequalled, we fear that, as respects simple cookery, the statements made by a French refugee lady in the papers lately have too much truth in them. We have not been much in the habit of going to great dinners of late, but when we have gone to public, or at least large dinners on public occasions, it has often surprised US how difficult it was to get a well-cooked Potato ; and the vegetables were so bard and yellow, that in the summer we have been glad to tall back on a little salad, or a simple bit of Lettuce, which the artistes in the vegetable department could not spoil. It is, therefore, not to be wondered at, that our simple lasses in the country do not know how to make the most of the hardiest herJlh-imparting vegetables. A few lessons from the French lady, or any other lady, would be of importance. We fear that in this frosty weather, serious illness has been caused ly cooking frozen vegetables before they have been thoroughly thawed in cold water. In such a condition they are next to poison. We know that in some hard limy waters it is not easy to boil vegetables jelly-soft without wast- ing them, or to prevent them turning out of a dirty yellow instead of a rich green ; but even in such water a piuch of carbonate of soda will make the vegetables retain their proper colour, and the soda would do no barm to anyone. We like greens to be served green. Others may have them as yellow aa they please. But for the weather we should be thiuking of putting Peas and Beans, and even a few Potatoes iuto the ground. We mutt forward them under a little protection. We were so far glad that we had a store of Sea-kale, Ehub.irb, and Asparagus up as we could raise uoue during the week, the ground was so cxcessivc-ly hard ; trenching and digging therefore were quite out of the question. These winter vegetables forced, along with Mushrooms, help us very much in the winter season, when we have less variety out of doors. Their goodness very much depends on their texture. Mushroom House — We have made our first bed in our reno- vated house, rather late as it happens. The bed was made chiefly of long litter, with a mixture of droppings, as they came from the stable, turned over and watered until it became about halt as much decomposed as the old gardeners wuuld have required for a Cucumber bed. It will soon be fit for spawning, when an inch or two of droppings will be added on the turface. A little dry turfy soil was added to help to consolidate it. Before commencing, the ceiling was run over with a thin coat of oil and antieorrosion paint to prevent condensed moisture resting there, and as all the platforms are of wood well seasoned, which, with the exception of the spars for the bottom of the beds, we shall expect to last at least twenty years, we had the- whole, with the exception of the spars, coated three times with antieorrosion paint to keep the damp out. If the wood had not been so thoroughly dried and well seasoned, wo should have preferred retaining it in its natural state, but nicely planed. We are quite sure that under some circumstances wood will last longer unpainted than painted. Painting greea unseasoned wood is one of the best means of securing premature decay from dry rot and internal fermentation. Something would be gained in this direction if the f-imple fact were more acted upon, that wood will last longer when always dry or always damp than when frequently exposed to. extremes of wetness and dryness : hence it is next to incal- culable bow long sound piles of wood will remain sound when kept several feet below water-level. A good oak post will remaiu sound for many years when kept in a pretty equable state as respects moisture under ground — much longer than the bulk of the post above ground, subject to greater alternations of heat and cold, dryness and wet, and the wasting influence of the air on each crack and cranny. But the greatest and the most rapid decay takes place close to the surface of the ground, be- cause there the greatest extremes of dryness and wet are the most frequently experienced. Wt) have hinted above that we had our Mushroom house repaired, and not too soon, as en a cold snowy morning during the week we lost the old thatched rodf of the old shed from which we have obtained large quantities of Mushrooms. We fear the beds bearing will have been greatly itjured. The root was picturesque enough in its worn-out mossy condition, and we felt sorry to lose it, and all the more, as we cannot be sure as to how. It is just possible that there might have been a live cinder in fresh scot placed there the night previously, but if so, nothing was seen until morning, and then, wet as the outside of the roof was, it was soon in a smouldering state from end to end. It is also possible a spark from a tobacco-pipe in dry litter might be the cause. We can never be too careful in little matters. We should not like to interfere with the lovers cf " the weed," but we do know that many smokers are exces- sively careless of lucifers and sparks from their pipes. When we have it on good authority that men will be heedless enough of consequences to smoke even in a powder manufacto)-y, we need not be so much surprised that there will be smoke amongsti- combuslible materials in farms and gardens. All such care- lessness is very reprehensible, and we have no doubt disastrous consequences frequently ensue. There are right times and right places for doing most things. There are men who seeni to have a pleasure in doing a thing just because it is forbidden to be done : hence the zest wiih which a stolen pipe, as it were, is smoked because the time and place are strictly forbidden. These stolen pipes are the dangerous pipes. There is often gross selfish injustice in such practices. We have travelled in railways much less of late, but now, since for the accommoda- tion of smokers there are smoking carriages, why thould almost every carriage be tainted with tobacco, to the discomfort of those who detest it, whilst the smoking carriages are seldom filled ? When we went to the great show at Oxford our clothes 54 JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ January 19, 1S71. were tainted for twenty-four hours. More than half the pas- sengers in crowded ordinary canisges smoked heavily the whole way, without the slightest apology, whilst we noticed that the c-moking carriages were not half filled. Now, we will only say, that be a smoker a garden labourer or a gentleman, there is nothing manly or honourable in smoking in a wrong place. A man worthy the name of man would scorn to realise a paltry pleasure which he saw to be a cause of discomfort and often of it) jury to others. FRUIT GABDEN. We have done little except in the way of pruning, wateiing a Peach house beginning to push, cleaning and pruning other houses, and taking more Strawberry plants into a little heat. Unfortunately the mice have attacked the buds again, notwith- standing all precautions. It is very annojing after getting fine plants. Beginners in setting their potted plants in houses would act wisely in using no eaucers until the flower trusses appear strongly. Stagnant water at the bottom at an early Btage, and eafurating the buds with water, make a wreck of many a fine Strawberry pot. In moving the plants into houses all the old outside leaves may be removed, and a little fresh surfacing given. The bcttom of the pots should also be exa- mined to see that the hole is not clogged up outside, which it often will be if the pot has stood on the gravel. All forcing, where very early produce is not required, should go on but slowly in such weather. Where Peaches happened to be in full bloom during the last three weeks, how great must have been the disadvantage as to their setting well, with scarcely a blink of sun to cheer them ! We shall be later with many things than usual, owing to changes in the houses — heating, staging, ORNAMENTAL DEPARTMENT. Here, out of doors, the work has chiefly been conflned to sweeping walks, and pruning Laurels, Ivy hedges, &c., burning the mere rubbish, and using and storing the best for protect- iag purposes. We have also collected a good store of pea sticks and material for flower stakes — a matter of importance where coverts are sacred grounds in summer — also a good quantity for fire-lighting purposes. As we had to move a lot of cut Black and White Thorn, we did not care to be troubled with it for furnace or other fireplace purposes, so we set fire to a number of leads, and turned it quickly into charred refuse, merely covering it with damp rubbish to subdue the flame, and clear- ing out as soon as charring was (iiected. In a few hours we thus obtained some cartloads of charred rubbish, much not better than charcoal dust, but there were many little bits ranging from I inch to 1 and IJ inch in diameter. For all such small wood we find we obtain the greatest quantity of charred material by charring and removing it quickly. For large wood the old mode of covering up with turf and earth is the best, and watching it properly night and day before all the heap is charred, allowing no more air to enter than will sup- port slow combustion. We have prepared places for propagating, potting, Arc, yet we were disinclined to move plants much in such weather, but if the thaw continues, nest week we shall do much in this way. Those who are inexperienced have little idea how soon plants suffer from great extremes of temperature, even for a short time,— R. F. TRADE CATALOGUES RECEIVED. E. G. Henderson & Sou, Wellington Koad, St. John's "VVoocI, London, N.W. — CittalofjHC of Vc'jttahlc awl Agricultural Sads. W. CutLush tfe Son, Highgate, London, N. — Catdlogiic of Vtijctahh, Floioer^ and Farm Seeds. Butler, McCulloch, it Co., Covent Garden Market, London, W.C— l