October 2, 1373. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



263 



AST OTHER Variety —1, T. H. Dowa (Red Blaspies). 2, H. Yardley. he, J, 

 S. Price (Rants); R, Fiiltoo. 



Sblltno Class-— 1. H. B. Massey ( Barbal. 9, W. A. Wren (Yellow Dragoons). 

 ft«. A. Southwell (Silver Mealy Owls); W. Nottaite. Nonhanipton (2). c, A. 

 SUyer (White Fantails); C. G. Care (Barbs); J. Wallter (White Dragoons); R. 

 P. Spencer ; R. Helliwell (Archangel). 



RABBITS. 



Lop.— Bucit.— 1. F. Banks. London. 2, J. Cranch, St. John's Wood, he, F. .T. 

 Smith; J. Hame, York; C. WinwarJ. c, Miss E. Alinston. Dof —Y.xtra, F. 

 Banks. 2. J. Hnme. he, F.J. Smith; 0. Kiim ; A. C.Wiseman; J. II. Barra- 

 cloiij;h ; R Baffbam ; K. Banks : J. C. * H. Ehvis. 



Any other Pure Breed.— Burfc.—l, C. .\rthur. Melksham. 2. J. Boyle, Jan., 

 BlaoVbum. he, F. J. Smith ; G. P. i R. Hackett ; T. Garner ; W. Bowes ; E. S. 

 Smith ; C. Winward ; W. H. Tomlinson. />oc.— 1, F. -T. Smith, East Dereham ; 

 F..^;. Smith. 2, S. Ball, Bradford. )ic, T. Garner ; W. Bower; P. Badham ; E. 

 S. Smith. 



Heaviest.—], J. Bowman, Y*ork. 2, W. HoUiday, Wakefield, hr, H. Brifigs. 



Silver.Grey.— 1, S. Ball. 2, \V. B. Etches, Whitechnrch. he, E, Brummitt ; 

 E, S. Smith ; J. Boyle, jiin. 



Seli-ivg Cr.A93.— 1. W. Beety, Long Sutton, 2, G. Goodwin, Long Sutton. 

 he, C. King; R. BnSham. c, E. Dring. 



fourteeu to eighteen pens entered, which make a splendid show, 

 and answer much better for the funds. — Nearly a B.vld and 

 Quite a Be.ied. 



POLYGAMY IN PIGEONS. 

 The second article of " R. W." on this subject treats some- 

 what over-gravely my petty-sessions anecdote, introduced by 

 me as beinj; humorous, for I like humour. Then, he thinks me 

 " hypercritical " in asking the meaning he attaches to the words 

 " I believe." I venture to think I am not. Thus, if I say to a 

 man, " Are you sure of it?" and he says, "I believe bo," his 

 meaning is, " Well, to the best of my belief it is so, but I am 

 not sure." Having been lately for several days together sifting 

 evidence, or watching ic being sifted, and finding so much ap- 

 parently true breaking down on careful examination, I was the 

 more on the look-out for any flaw in this matter of polygamy in 

 Pigeons. " R. W." speaks now very carefully, and uses the 

 words " presumptive evidence." I think it woiild be very in- 

 teresting if " R. W." would exhibit at the nest Crystal Palace 

 Show his polygamous Pigeons, both the pairs and the young, 

 with a descriptive card on the pen. — Wiltshire Rector. 



HojtE Attachiient of Pigeons. — Of the wonderful power that 

 Pigeons possess of finding their way to the cote where they were 

 hatched and reared, a case occurred in Bradford (Torks) recently. 

 Mr. John Mills, of 14, Richmond Road, who has a choice collec- 

 tion of Belgian race Pigeons, received a consignment of young 

 birds and a pair of old ones from Belgium lately. After the 

 Pigeons had been in Mr. Mills' loft a week or two the old male 

 bird escaped, and the female also managed to follow her lord. 

 It was supposed that the pair were lost, and Mr. Mills did not 

 expect to hear of them again, A few days afterwards, however, 

 to his great surprise, he received a letter from his friend in 

 Belgium, whence the birds had been brought to Bradford, to 

 say that both birds had returned to their Belgian home, and, as 

 a proof of this, the Pigeons were returned to Mr, Mills at Brad- 

 ford, and are now in his possession, along with a number of 

 yonng Pigeons from the same strain. As Bradford and Belgium 

 are separated by sevt^ral hundred miles, and the sea has to be 

 crossed, this long flight of the birds over an unknown tract of 

 country is very remarkable. 



CANARIES AT THE CRYSTAL PAL.-^CE SHOW. 



Ix reply to Mr. Blakston's remarks in your last week's Journal 

 respecting the character of the birds exhibited by Messrs. Bern- 

 rose >t Orme at the last Crystal Palace Show, will you kindly 

 permit me to vindicate the course taken by the Judges on that 

 occasion ? 



I claimed that extraordinary coloured Ticked Buff Norwich, 

 216, and it proved to bo utterly worthless, neither retaining nor 

 perpetuating the colour in the slightest degree. I have it now 

 sound in health, perfect in feather, moulted a green-tinted straw 

 colour, and in the same cage one of Mr. Flexney's and Adams 

 and Athersnch's; these have retained tlieir colour in proper 

 proportion. The price of the bird was 40s., and for the purpose 

 claimed it was not worth as many pence. I am informed I am 

 not the only person who purchased a specimen of this stamp 

 exhibited by Messrs. Bemrose .t Orme. May I ask. Would 

 exhibitors generally consider sncli birds eligible for competi- 

 tion ?— E. J. Tkoake, 12e, White Ladies' Road, Clifton, Bristol 



Weight of Eoos. — It has been ascertained, by careful experi- 

 ment, that the average weight for a dozen of eggs is 'Z2{ ozs. 

 The largest eggs weigh 24 ozs. per dozen, and the smallest only 

 141 0Z3. — {Canada Farmer.) 



Mi.sr.iKE IN Pigeon Phizes.— I wish to draw committees' at- 

 tention to a mistake in the schedules they send out in the 

 present day. They offer prizes for Almond Tumblers and 

 Tumblers any other variety, of which we generally see three and 

 sometimes fonr pens entered for competition. Then, of late the 

 committees have a class for Balds or Beards, and we see from 



THE BAR-FRAME HIVE. 



It is well known that, in my opinion, this hive is not so good 

 as some others of simpler construction for the accumulation of 

 honey, and the convenience of bees. We can teach bees nothing, 

 and common sense and experience go haud-in-hand to convince 

 honest bee-keepers that complications of all kinds in hives are 

 hindrauces rather than helps to them. Bar-frame hives are, 

 nevertheless, pretty extensively used by amateur apiarians. 

 They are useful to those who are engaged in scientific research. 

 My aim now is to ask if no imj^rovement can be made in this 

 kind of hive ? 



The most improved bar-frame I have ever seen is, I think, 

 capable of further improvement. Let the reader think for a 

 moment only of the difficulty and toil of reaching the bars inside 

 the hive. The top of the hive has to be unscrewed by the use 

 of a screwdriver — four long nails have to be withdrawn — the top 

 or lid gently raised and put aside, then both hands of the bee- 

 master are employed in lifting-out a bar of comb covered with 

 bees. In doing this, or even in holding the comb, considerable 

 risk is run of being stung, for the slightest shake of the hand or 

 puff of breath may offend the bees and cause them to rise as a 

 cloud, and dait at our faces with vicious intentions. Again, 

 when a super is placed on a hive of this kind, how can the 

 bars be got at ? The lid or top is immovealile now, and the 

 hive must not be touched or meddled with till the super be 

 removed. 



Both theoretically and practically the bar-framers are markedly 

 imperfect and unsatisfactory. These hives are solely for the 

 convenience of the bee-masters, and, therefore, let me now sug- 

 gest that an effort be made by some practical bee-keeper and 

 hive-maker to produce a bar-frame hive to open at the back and 

 not at the top. If the back part or quarter of the hive were hung 

 on two brass hinges and closed with two thumb-screws, how 

 much easier it would be to reach and handle the bars. Of 

 course, this suggestion implies that the bars would be con- 

 structed to move backwards and forwards — in other words, to 

 be easily withdrawn laterally or horizontally. A very moderate 

 amount of mechanical contrivance will enable some hive-makers 

 to accomplish this, and I think a little perseverance in the 

 same direction may lead them to an achievement that will be 

 highly satisfactory. 



Is it not possible to invent a sheet of thin elastic m.aterial, 

 call it a brush, aud fix it between the opening back door and the 

 bars, which would sweep all the bees oft the bars back iuto the 

 hive, as the bars are withdrawn ? I think it is possible to do all 

 this, aud that this kind of hive will not approach perfection till 

 some such improvement be introduced. A hive with the im- 

 provements herein suggested would do much to popularise bee- 

 keeping amongst ladies, and probably bring some of them to the 

 front as our instructors. The most timid person could then 

 with finger and thumb easily open the door, take out and ex- 

 amine the brood and honeycombs, and replace them without 

 risk or fear. 



At another time I may discuss the merits of the bar-frame 

 hive ; in this letter I am seeking to improve it, aud probably 

 some readers with more inventive genius and mechanical con- 

 trivance may be able to suggest further improvements, and 

 carry all into a hive that will command the admiration of the 

 bee-loving community. — A. Pettigeew, Sale., Cheshire. 



HONEY HARVEST IN EAST LOTHIAN. 



TnE description of the honey harvest given by " B. &W.," Mr. 

 Fox, and others, applies equally well to that of East Lothian, or 

 the county of Haddington. The clover was a total failure here, 

 and the weather so cold and dry during the early part of the 

 season that they got no honey to store — barely suflicient to keep 

 them breeding, and numbers never swarmed at all. They were 

 sent to the heather the first week in August, and the heather 

 at that time was in fine condition, and those having plenty of 

 bees in their hives had every prospect of obtaining a lot of 

 heather honey. But, alas ! our hopes are all blasted: wet and 

 cold weather have prevented the bees from getting out to gather 

 the honey, so that out of about three hundred skeps in this 

 locality, I do not expect there are a dozen finished supers, and 

 those wliich were deficient in bees have made nothing; so that 

 many will die uuless liberally fed. 



Out of twenty-oue of my own lot two are dead, and they 

 average a gain of nearly >s lbs. each at the heather, but no 

 supers are put into the body of the hive. They seem to have 

 ceased breeding shortly after they wore sent to the heather, aud 

 my average is mado-up by one or two strong, very strong, skeps. 

 One in a ten-bar Woodbury, in the spring, as soon as it was 

 filled with bees, I moved into a box with fourteen bars. When 



