February 29, 1S72. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



such an explanation attached to Class A, as to allow of no mis- 

 conception as to its meaning. Of the two " Clear for choice " 

 Jonques of last year, one was Evenly-marked ; and among the 

 four Buffs there was at least one which had eye marks, a dark 

 feather in the tail, and a saddle ! 



In dividing the Mules into two classes this year I meant to 

 suggest that the one should comprise the Evenly-marked bii'ds, 

 and the other all the rest ; and my reason for suggesting that 

 the Clear birds should go into the " Any other class," was that 

 there is more analogy between an iiTegularly-broken bird (in its 

 various degrees) and a Clear one than there is between an Evenly- 

 marked and a Clear one. From the Clear bird to the Ticked is 

 but a step, and from the Ticked bird to one more or less broken 

 is but a step, but no reasoning can bring a Clear and an Evenly- 

 marked bird together. Either is perfection in its way, and 

 either represents the head of two classes very ^dde apart ; the 

 one a class in which a body mark (as distinguished from flight 

 or tail marks) is only a blemish capable of measurement, the 

 other a class in which even a tick is fatal. My idea, therefore, 

 was that if in the " Any other class " an absolutely Clear bird 

 was found, it should receive a special prize, which should not 

 detract from the value of those succeeding it, so that the pro- 

 bability of such being exhibited would not act as a bar to pro- 

 bable success. Even if a Clear bird received a iirst, leaving it 

 to the rest to fight out the battle for second and third, I stUl 

 contend that irregularly-broken birds of size, colour, and quality, 

 would have a chance of scoring, since the number of absolutely 

 Clear birds in exhibition can be counted on your thumbs, while 

 the number of those which lay claim to be called " Evenly- 

 marked " is sirch that it is simply an impossibihty for irre- 

 gularly-broken birds to approach within three steps of the top 

 of the ladder. I maintain that though it is capable of improve- 

 ment, even this year's arrangement is better than last, and has 

 secured a much larger entry. 



Mr. Doel was first and second in the Evenly-marked Jonques. 

 No. 567, first prize, was a grand bii'd, large, gi'aceful, rich in 

 colom-, lightly and evenly marked, and everything one could 

 desire in a Mule. It was catalogued at £1000, but up to four 

 o'clock on Monday had not been claimed ! No. 568, second, was 

 another fine bird, but decidedly inferior to 571 (Mr. Ashton, 

 third prize), which must have lost from want of condition. It 

 was very lumpy. No. 569 (Doel) was a fine sis-marked bird, and 

 570 (Doel) either had St. Vitus's dance or was subject to fits. 

 Mr. Stausfield's 573 is a pretty Mule, but, unfortimately, the eye 

 marks stretch over the crown, detracting from the merit of a 

 really excellent bird. 



In BufEs Mr. Baxter was first with something in hand. His 

 588 is a gi-eat Mule, and -n-iU take a deal of beating. Of 586 

 (Stansfield), second, I am son-y I can say nothing. I have 

 either made a mistake in my notes, or have overlooked it en- 

 tirely, and the same with 585 (T. E. Jeffs). They must, however, 

 have been something out of the common when such birds as 

 582 (W. C. Bm-niston), 584 (J. Stevens), 591 (Needier), aU birds of 

 note, stood beneath them. 



Mr. Ashton obtained a special prize in the " Any other class 

 of Yellow " with a Clear bird. I have myself given it a first as 

 a Buff, as have other judges. Mr. Doel says it is either. In 

 that case it is neither !" But it is a yery useful bird, which can 

 win in two classes. On the wings and breast it is very high- 

 coloured, but the head and neck is decidedly Mealy. It is a 

 splendid bird. Mr. Doel monopolised the rest of the honoiU'S 

 with a portion of his extraordinary stud. His 595 was a blaze 

 of colour', and had a most per-fect cheveral head ; ditto 596. 



In the coiTesponding class of Buffs Mr. Doel was first with 

 neither more nor less than an "Evenly-marked" bird. A 

 majestic Mule it is ; but if a distinct mark in front of each eye 

 does not constitute even marking, what does ? On the assump- 

 tion that these marks (which, though decided, are faint) are re- 

 garded as simple ticks, and that the bird more closely approxi- 

 mates to a Clear Mule than to anything else, the award is justi- 

 fiable, not else. No. 614 (Ashton), good, one black feather in the 

 tail being its pass. No. 621 (Jeffs), a nice bird, too, and 613 (Doel), 

 looked very pretty, with good eyes and saddle. 



I need hardly say that Stevens " walked in " with that awful 

 Dark Jonque of his, and that something remarkable will have 

 to be bred before Mr. Spence and Mr. Stevens can be deposed 

 in the Linnet Mule class. 



Remarkable hybrids were exhibited in the " Any other 

 variety of Mule " division, in which, to some extent, the question 

 of beauty of plumage is ignored in favour of rarity or singu- 

 larity. It is a class in which everything is left to the Judges' 

 discretion. But how a very inferior " Greenfinch and Goldfinch " 

 could supplant the glorious " Bullfinch and Goldfinch " Mules 

 is a thing no " fellah " can understand, and appeared to excite 

 considerable surprise. Of hybrids which one has never met 

 before it would be absurd to express an opinion, but their 

 genuineness ought to be ascertained beyond a doubt. 



The groups I must pass, wondering the while why neither of 

 Walter's three splendid lots was deemed worthy of even an 

 extra third, and how the six white hens came to be second. 



The " miscellaneoais " might well be dispensed with, and Mr. 

 Gardiner's aviary, which was ci"ammed with hvely little chaps, 

 suggests what might be done if a class for aviaries was sub- 

 stituted. 



I have already extended this notice to an unreasonable length, 

 and must pass the British birds without comment. The foreign 

 birds are not my speciaUty, but Mr. Judd drew my attention to 

 a Grey Parrot, which he said " had eaten his ticket because he 

 was ashamed of it !" — W. A. Bl.u;ston. 



LAEGE VERSUS SMALL HIVES. 



Your correspondent under the nom de plume of " The Bee 

 Hive" writing on this subject states that his experience, ac- 

 quu-ed dui'ing three years' observation of ten Woodbury hives, 

 seems to prove that only eight of the ten frames composing a 

 fuU-sized hive are ever in use at one and the same time for 

 breeding pui'poses. My own experience has been, that not only 

 are the whole of the ten frames in the stock-box frequently 

 occupied by brood in various stages of development, but that 

 several combs in a large super may in addition be almost 

 eutu'ely filled with brood. It may be a question of district, 

 but it certainly is a question of the bee-master's keepiug-up 

 his stocks to the utmost point of population. With mode- 

 rately strong colonies, the side combs, and possibly too large a 

 proportion of the more central combs, are filled by the bees 

 with honey, so that the queen is not able to use them for the 

 deposition of her eggs. I have known, when an early honey 

 harvest has set in, even the central combs to be almost eutu'ely 

 filled up -with sealed honey, thereby paralysing the powers of 

 the queen, and seriously affecting the prosperity of the colony. 

 Your correspondent, if he had removed the two combs he states 

 to have been full of honey, and bad substituted frames with 

 empty combs in theu' stead, would in all probability have found 

 that the queen, it of average breeding capacity, would have at 

 once appropriated nearly every cell for her own use, to the ulti- 

 mate very great benefit of the colony. 



Lest it should be supposed that I use small hives, I may 

 state that my own ten frame hives are of considerably greater 

 internal capacity than the Woodbury hives ; in fact I always 

 considered my late friend had adopted too small a hive for 

 moderately good honey districts. Noticing how frequently 

 prolific queens occupied every avaOable space in my stock 

 hives, a few years since I deteimined to endeavour to test theu' 

 breeding powers to the utmost. I therefore constructed a box 

 about 2 feet 6 inches in length, by 15 inches in -width, to hold 

 twenty-one frames of my ordinary boxes, the entrance being at 

 one end, into which I hived a strong swarm. The queen was 

 a hybrid Ligurian and very prolific. All the frames except the 

 last three were more or less filled with comb, when a splendid 

 swarm was thrown off. I examined the combs, and counted 

 thii'teeu of them more or less occupied by brood, ■with by no 

 means a large quantity of honey. To prove that honey was 

 abundant, another hive in the same gai'deu that summer gave 

 a super of 75 lbs. The following season I altered this mam- 

 moth hive by fixing two di-vision boards, ha-ring longitudinal 

 apertures for communication, which I was enabled to open or 

 close at pleasure. The central compartment held nine frames, 

 and the two side ones five frames each. A colony was trans- 

 ferred into this modified arrangement of aNutt'shive. The 

 foUowiug year the communications into one of the side com- 

 partments were opened and some frames with comb added. 

 These were quickly filled with eggs by the queen, and every 

 comb was in use for breeding at the same time. A super was 

 placed on the top, and subsequently removed with 40 lbs. of 

 honeycomb. This last experiment was cai'ried out almost in 

 the centre of the city of Exeter — not, it would be supposed, the 

 most favoiu'able locality. 



To sum up : I believe it comes to this, that a prolific queen 

 with a sufficient number of subjects, can fill almost any amount 

 of available comb -with eggs. Of course it is obvious that no 

 more brood wUl be hatched out than the population present 

 can properly attend to, nor can such combs be made use of for 

 brood if ah'eady fiUed up with honey. The prudent bee-master, 

 therefore, who uses frame hives, will see that his breeding combs 

 are not clogged up -with honey. — S. Beva:^ Fox. 



Your correspondent " The Bee Hive" asks for my opinion 

 on this subject in connection -with his proposal to use " Dummy 

 Frames," by which I suppose he means frames of solid wood 

 introduced into the larger-framed hives so as to contract the 

 space. I have used them myself hi former years, and they 



