January 18, 1872. ] JOUENAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



69 



SpiNtsH.— 1. H. Wilkinson, Karbv. 2, G. Holmes. Ciicfoim.-I. H. Wilkin- 

 Bon. 2. W. Bell, Alston, fie, W. Thompson, Nentheail. c, J. Story, Alston ! 



'Poi,»NDs!— 1, J. Cliaplow. 2, P. Swindle. Chickens— 1, P. Swindle. 2, J. 



B<NT«MS — 1. G. Hslmes. 3, T Hvmors. HudRill. Jic, P. Swindle. Chickeiu. 



— l,G.Holnies. 2, A.Elliott, ftc, . I. D. Stephenson. 

 CocHiN-CHiNis.—l and 2, J. Stephenson. , ^ „ ^ 



Anv other ViBiETY.-l, D. Walton. 2. J. Taylor. Hen.i.— 1 and Cnp, G, 



Holmes. 2, H. Wilkinson. 8, Walton & Rutherford. 4, J. Brown. 5, R. 



Walton, vhc, J. J. MUlican. he, J. D. Stephenson ; T, Brown, c, T. Storey, 



J. Guthrie. Tumbkn.—l, J. Guthrie. 2. R & W. Walton. 

 CAGR BIRDS. 



Canabt — Bftoinn.-l, T. Brown. 2 and he, R & W. Walton. 



Yellow— 1. J. Dickinson. 2, E. Walton, he J. Robwn ; J. Guthrie. 



Buff —1, J. Rohgon. 2, T. Brown, he, J. Dickinson (2) ; R. Walton ; J. Erwii 

 Nenthea.l. c. R & W. Walton ; T. Brown. 



Yellow Marked.— 2, R. Walton. „ „ ,. 



BcFF Marked —1. P. Swindle. 2, R. Walton, he, R. Walton ; W. Tatters. 



Green —1. J. Richardson. 2 and he, W. Thompson. 



Dun.— 1, J. Stephenson. 2, R. Walton, he, J. Richardson ; J. Stephenson. 



Goldfinch.— 1, R. Rutherford. 2, W. Thompson. 



Mule.— 1 and 2, J. Guthrie, c, J. Hind. 



Bullfinch.- 1, R. Rutherford. 



Best Pair.— 1 and Cup, R. Walton. 2 and c, J. Dickinson. 



Judge. — Mr. E. Hiitton, Pudsey, Leeda. 



WALSALL RABBIT SHOW. 



The following are the weights, ear-dimensions, and age of the 

 irize Rabbits at this Show, which took place on December 26th, 

 7th, and 28th :— 



Ears. Weight. Agb. 



length, wdth. 



, H. Pugh, Darlaston (Sooty) 223 



, J. Pritchord, Wednesbury (Sooty) 22 



7 10 



8 12 



7 



.. 11 



H 



H 



ALL PROPERTIES 



I, F. Smallman, Walsall (Black and White 



buck) 20i 



1, D. Mavbury, Darlaston (Black and White 



doe) 20: 



., E. Pugh (TeUow and Wliite doe) 20 



1, B. PuKh (YeUow and White buck) 20] 



, J. Pritchard (Grey and White doe) 21 



!, J. Bates, Walsall (Grey and White doe) . . 19i B . . u u 



, W. Hunter, WalsaU (Blue and White doe) 18} 4J . . 8 



, J. Britchard (Tortoiseshell doe) ■ 20| 6} . . 8 2 



i, H. F. Wild (TortoisesheU doe) 20| 61 . , 7 8 



, H. F. Wild (Fawn doe) 21 SJ . . 9 12 



1, J. Pritchard (Grey buck) 21 5 . . 6 8 



WEIGHT. 



., F. Smallman (Black and White buck) . . 20J 5 . . 11 6 



!, E. Pugh (TeUow and Wlute doe) 20i 5 . . 10 2 



Extra Prize. — Silver Cup for Weight ; also for all Properties, K. Smallma; 



Judges. — Mr. J. Newton, Mr. H. Hall, and Mr. H. Hatwood. 



10 12 



4 



8 13 



8 13 



4 6 



4 15 



8 10 

 7 9 



9 14 

 9 14 



TEACHING A CANARY TO PIPE. 



It may interest some of yonr Canary-fanciers to hear that a 

 Canary is capable of learning to pipe like a Bullfinch. I had 

 a pair of Canaries from Malta, given to me by a soldier's wife 

 four or five years ago, and by frequently playing a little German 

 air (" Trab Trab") this was caught up and sung so perfectly, 

 that persons in the garden could not always distinguish the 

 song of the bird from the organ. He lost his mate last summer, 

 and though there was another pair in the same cage (a large 

 one), he moped and was silent for several months. I gave 

 Tiim another mate and the whole cage to himself a month ago ; 

 lie very shortly recovered his spirits and his song. I have 

 more than a dozen birds of various kinds in a different com- 

 partment, which when singing all together one would suppose 

 would be rather confusing, but I distinguish his sweet pipe in 

 the midst of them. By reminding him occasionaUy of the air, 

 and giving him a few hempseeds for proficiency, he remembers 

 it perfectly, and generally greets me with it the first thing in 

 the morning, or if I go to him and invite him. On second 

 thoughts, my first bird died after learning the song and help- 

 ing to educate his firstborn. — South Wales. 



[The above communication is most interesting, but it ought 

 cot to surprise ; for if a Canary can be taught one description 

 of song which in its endless variety defies any but a carefully 

 educated ear to detect its constituent parts, why should it not 

 learn another in the shape of a simple air ? Bnt more mar- 

 Tellous stUl, I know of two instances, each authenticated 

 beyond a doubt, in wliich Canaries have been taught to speak. 

 — W. A. Blakston.] 



"B. & W.'s" APIARY IN 1871. 

 I BEfiAN operations among my bees on the 22nd of May, by 

 driving my pure Italian stock b. The sw.trm was put in the 

 same place in a hive with some comb in it. Unaccountably 



this hive swarmed naturally on the 4th of July, a tiny swarm, 

 before the bees had half-fiUed their box with comb. This was 

 hived m a small box and put on my garden stand in place of 

 H (see page 407 of last volume). It remains there still, sup- 

 ported entirely upon sugar. My notion is, that b, when driven 

 ou the 22ud of May, had an old Italian queen (imported), who 

 must have died some time m June, for I observed a royal cell 

 in it. Further, I am of opinion that one of the youthful 

 princesses must have led off the July swarm. However this 

 may have been, both are alive, but the bees in the swarmed 

 stock B are the strongest ; both, too, have well-marked Italians 

 tlii-oughout. The original parent hive, out of which I drove 

 the first swarm on the 22nd, after taking out a piece of brood- 

 comb, I put in the place of d, a very strong degenerate hybrid 

 stock, which I shifted into the fowl-house to the vacant place 

 N. Out of the piece of brood-comb (pure Italian of course), I 

 made up a swarm to put in place of c, which I also shifted on 

 the 23rd of May to the fowl-house, where it now stands iu 

 place of L, previously sold. 



It was the shifted stock N whose queen, as I believe, mi- 

 grated the same or the following day back to her old stance iu 

 the bee-house (d), and led off a swarm therefrom on the 24th 

 of May, about which some controversy arose in the summer 

 between myself and your esteemed correspondent, Mr. Lowe. 

 This gentleman positively denied— too positively as I ventured 

 to think— that queens ever take airkigs in this sort of way. 

 The occurrence which I recorded was differently, and, no doubt, 

 reasonably accounted for ; but it stUl remains an open question. 

 At page 499 of last volume will be found a corroboration of 

 my own view, iu an extract from the American " Bee-keeper's 

 Journal." 



This swarm with its degenerate hybrid queen and bees I 

 placed in an empty hive on the vacant stance a, in the bee- 

 house. There it remained degenerate as ever; whereas, the 

 artificial stock d, out of which it swarmed, abounds in beauti- 

 fuUy-marked Italians, and has, I doubt not, a young queen 

 raised out of the brood-comb, which I gave them only two days 

 before the degenerates quitted it. 



June 1th. — A second awarm issued from N, which was hived 

 and placed ou the garden stand the same day, and is numbered 

 h2. These are still alive and weU. 



June 8th. — A second swarm issued from d, located on gar- 

 den stand, but bemg overlooked died of starvation in November. 



June 30th. — A fine natural swarm issued from F, which has 

 an imported Italian queen, the last Mr. Woodbury procured 

 for me. It is still doing weU as j2, ou my garden stand. 



July 8th. — A fine swarm out of a nameless stock with a 

 pure-bred Itahau queen hived as i, in the same place. 



July 10th. — A second swarm out of r, put on garden stand 

 and labelled j, by dint of feeding is stUl alive. 



July 13th. — The last swarm of the year came off to-day, a 

 maiden swarm, out of a, in bee-house. I gave them a super 

 with some 8 lbs. of honey to begin with. They are stUl aUve 

 and well. This hive, i2, makes the sixth on my garden stand. 



It wiU be seen that my apiary at the close of the year 

 numbered fifteen stocks, which stand as foUows : — 

 BEE.HOUSE. 



A. B. <;. 



Pure-bred Italian. Same as B. 



Queen b. Juno, 1871. 



NU. 

 GABDEN STAND. 

 H. I. 



Pure-bred Italian. Pure-bred Italian. 



Queen imported, 1868, Queen b., 1868. 



or pure.bred, 1871, June. 



H2. 12. J2. 



Hybrid queen degenerate, Degenerate hybiid. Imported queen, 1870. 

 b. June, 1871. Queen b. 1870. 



FOWl-HOUSE. 

 K. L. 



Nil. Hybrid Italian. Queen b. 1870. 



M. N. 



Pure-bred Italiau. Degenerate. Queen b. June, 1871. 



Queen b. 1870. 

 Besides those mentioned above, I had other swarms which I 

 gave away or returned to their hives. The year with me has 

 been prolific in swarms beyond all my experience. Of honey 

 there has been none to speak of. I obtained a fine super from 

 M, containing about 25 lbs. nett, also about 8 lbs. from c, 7 lbs. 

 from D, and 4 lbs. from E, total 44 lbs. of honey, which is the 

 smallest honey harvest that has been gathered-in by me siace 



