Oatober 17, 1867. 



JOURNAL OF HOHTICDLTURE AND OTTAGE 'JARDENEB. 



306 



foot and a half of snow on the ground, or a November mist that 

 looks as if you might slice it witli a carving-knife, so that going 

 out is an utter impossibility, these young people are consf- 

 qaently together every Jay, and all day long. The good-natured 

 lady of the house leaves them in the morning with, " I know 

 you wo'n't mind my being ab.'sent." Well, ton to one but these 

 young people begin before the week's out to bill and coo, and 

 actually arrange to be man and wife. Oh ! this shutting-up 

 system is far more fatal than archery meetings, or croquet 

 parties. Thus it is as I have said with two Pigeons of opposite 

 sexes, let them be with others they take no notice of each 

 other, but shut them up ia a cage or rabbit-hutch in a quiet 

 place where they have only their own sweet company, and in a 

 very few days they will pair, and tliis is all about it. Feed 

 them with hempseed, and the process is probably hastened by 

 a day or two. Once well mated let the hens have a home of 

 their own — i.e., a nesting place. Enclose them in it for a few 

 days with a wire front, allowing room for food and water, and 

 they will adopt it as their home for ever, and be infinitely 

 happy, cooing, nesting, laying, sitting, hatching, and rearing 

 up their young. 



But what of the loft ? Few people are able, or inclined to 

 build one, but usually make use of any suitable place — thus, a 

 portion of a room over a stable or coach-house, or any little 

 building that comes hauJy. The great point is to be certain 

 that neither rat nor cat can find admittance. I put aside all 

 ideas of pole-houses and of lockers, triangular or otherwise, 

 nailed to a wall. Some hardy Pigeons may exist in them, but 

 cannot be happy. Rain, sleet, enow, wiud, and sun, render 

 such places by no means homes, and a Pigeon must have a 

 home. You never need fear that a loft will be too warm, for 

 Pigeons like warmth. My present loft is a ceiled room over 

 my coach-house, and very hot it is in summer, as the aspect 

 is south, and theie is only one little window, oat of which the 

 birds fly, and yet in eleven years I have had no disease among 

 them. 



Some rich fanciers build a range of hut-like wooden erections 

 along a south wall, with au outer court, or wired enclosure, in 

 which the birds take exercise. One variety is kept in one com- ' 

 partment, another in the next, and so on. One thing is certain, ' 

 that Pigeons greatly prefer having their nests on the ground. [ 

 Put up any number of neat boxes, paint them pure white, make 

 every preparation, but in spite of all the first pair of Pigeons 

 will occupy for a nest, the snuggest, probably the darkest corner 

 of the flooring of the room ; the next pair the next snuggest, and 

 so on. Then they will have nests between, until there is a line ; 

 of nests on every side of the floor. Meeting this wish and pre- 

 ference of Pigeons, I always have nests prepared for them on ' 

 the floor, allowing two for each pair. This is my plan — a plank 

 of wood forms the top of the nests, then divisions are made of a 

 foot square, the floor forming the bottom, but every alternate 

 dividing-board is made to project a foot out from the nest, j 

 This plan breaks the line of nests into parts, each part con- j 

 taining two nests, and also a pugnacious cock cannot run along 

 the front and possess the whole range to himself, as such cocks 

 are apt to do. A moveable slip of wood 2 inches high keeps 

 the straw in, and being moveable the nest can be easily cleaned. 

 I also keep a wire front, which will enclose a now pair of birds 

 in these two-roomed houses. Blocks of wood a foot or two 

 high serve for resting and roosting, and keep the birds clear 

 from their own droppings. Gravel on the floor, and a heap of 

 broken mortar, and a bit of salt in a pan, complete my arrange- 

 ments, as my Pigeons have their full freedom. It is well that 

 the landing-board outside, and inside, too, should be broad, as 

 broad as a good-sized tea-tray, as the Pigeons, especially the 

 young fliers, and the new birds, can more readily alight on it, 

 and get in or out. The entrance should be closed at night ; a 

 cord and a pulley attached to a latticed shutter effect this. 



When you buy new birds draw the flight feathers of one wing, 

 and by the time they grow the Pigeons will be settled in their 

 home. 



If you are beginning the fancy, shut in your first pairs for a 

 fortnight or more, but have a hollow square of wire placed on 

 thealighting-boird, so that the birds may come out, sun them- 

 selves, and grow familiar with the surrounding scenery. This 

 they must learn, because if kept a year and let out without pre- 

 vious knowledgi of the surroundings of their home, it is ten to 

 one they could not find their way back again after a flight. 



Hopper or feeding vessel I use none, but others can. I prefer 

 my pets feeding at my feet on the gravel path. Water-bottle 

 yon can have. I have galvanised iron pans, which I insist 

 upon being supplied every day, and re-supplied in case the ' 



Pigeons wash and scatter out the water. Tares, if old, beans, 

 and peas, are excellent food for Pigeons. Then come barley, 

 Indian corn, and wheat. Hempseed I call Pigeons ' "goodies," 

 for they love it as children love sweetmeats. By hempseed you 

 can always tame them, they will follow you anywhere for a few 

 grains — get under the crust of pie, I verily believe, but much is 

 not good for them. Pigeons that have their liberty pick up all 

 sorts of seeds, Ac, and really do no damage. A young pair 

 just out of the nest amuse me infinitely ; their parents will not 

 feed them, so they peck and squeak, squeak and peck, and are 

 very miserable, and evidently think it a horrible world because 

 they are obliged to feed themselves. — Wiltsuuse Heciob. 



PAST BEE SEASONS. 



In the Journal of the 2Gth of September, page 247, " B. & W." 

 writes, " In ISlil we had a very bad year, I never knew a worse 

 at that time ; but 18C7 has proved hitherto fur worse." Has 

 not your excellent correspondent made a slight mistake in at- 

 tributing the character of an exceptionally bad season to 1861 ? 

 18C0 was terribly bad; 1801 was with us by no means an un- 

 favourable vear ; then again, 1862 was, if possible, worse than 

 18()0. 



In 18G1 I devoted the chief resources of my apiary to stock- 

 ing Laugstroth hives, either by transferring combs and bees 

 into them, or by making artificial swarms, yet I was enabled to 

 take a good harvest of honey. On referring to the account of my 

 apiary in 18fjl, which appeared in the Journal in April 1862, 

 I find as follows : — " This concludes the category of my hives 

 in 1861. It will have been apparent to those who have perused 

 these articles, that I was more desirous of transferring my 

 stocks into Langstroth boxes, or of peopling the same with 

 artificial swarms, than of reaping a good honey harvest. Had 

 the entire resources of my apiary been devoted to the object of 

 obtaining honey, I believe the amount would have been very 

 far beyond anything ever before experienced by me. I never 

 remember honey to have been anything like so abundant as 

 during the months of April, May, and June of last year (1861), 

 but in addition to the swarms obtained, and stocks established, 

 I was rewarded with about IT.'i lbs. of honevcomb, most of it of 

 superior quality." Since writing the abo\e, I have turned to 

 " B. & W's." account of his apiary for 1801 ; written on the 

 29th of October of that year. " I may further state that my 

 honey harvest has reached the amount of 207 lbs. weight of 

 honey and honeycomb, of which I have sold upwards of 1 cwt, 

 for £7 0»-. 2i/., some of it fetching as high a price as Is. 6<i. 

 per lb. This is decidedly the best honey harvest I have ever 

 had from only seven hives partially plundered. — B. & W." 



I think our friend must in his recollections have confounded 

 one of the two bad years I have named, with 1861. The sea- 

 son of 1859 was a splendid one with me. I obtained a greater 

 number of fine supers than I had then ever before taken — viz., 

 one of 52 lbs., one of 4.") lbs., another of 41 lbs., ,tc. In 1860 I 

 took no honey, in 1861 as described above ; in 1862 about 

 12 lbs. of honey rewarded my efforts, with other supers partially 

 filled but unsealed. 



1863 was a splendid season, one super of 5i lbs., besides 

 many others of great weight. 



1864 also as good, or better ; one super of 75 lbs. taken from 

 one hive, and 480 lbs. from twelve hives. 



1865 a good season, about 280 lbs. obtained. 



1866. Part of the season good, the rest but middling ; one 

 super of 80 lbs. being splendidly filled. 



1867. This year has been exceedingly bad. No honey, 

 no swarms, and hives very weak in population, and but mode- 

 rately supplied with stores for the winter. — S. Bevan Foi, 

 Exeter. 



HUMBLE BEES FOR AUSTRALIA. 



The Melbourne Acclimatisation Society is exceedingly anuons 

 to obtain an importation of humble bees, and I have received 

 applications from two different gentlemen for advice and assist- 

 ance in attaining the desired object. At first I was very much 

 puzzled and quite at a loss to imagine what the Australians 

 could want with humble bees in a land where the hive bee in 

 both its European species^Apis ligustica as well as Apia 

 ni'l i.lca — flourishes to an almost unprecedented extent. This 

 enigma has, however, received a remarkable and most complete 

 solution, since I learn by a recent communication from a much- 

 esteemed correspondent that red clover, which is, I believe, 



