201 



JOUhNAL OF HOBTIOULTUBB AND COTTAGE GARDENBB. 



[ March IS, 1877. 



third, betwixt which there wis not mnch choice for places. In 

 Classes 22 and 23 Mr. Fairbrass was cock of the walk, taking 

 first in " broken " Golden, and first, second, extra second, and 

 third in " broken " Silver, the other prizes beiug disposed of to 

 Mr. Salt's 665 (second), which we thought good enough for a 

 first; and Mr. Bassell's 667 (third), cheap at the selling price of 

 15s., although there were other birds in the class we preferred. 

 Sixty-three Yorkshires were entered, of which number Mr. 

 Thackrey was the winner of three firsts, two seconds, and two 

 thirds out of his twenty-throe entered, whilst Messrs. Wilkinson 

 and Holroyd won a firot and second, and Mr. Belk a couple of 

 thirds, all fine birds of their respective breeds. In the bigh- 

 ooloured Cinnamons Mr. Pope of Brighton must have felt happy 

 in winning first in Yellow and first in Buff with two such 

 splendid birds, which, we believe, were (juickly claimed at 

 £2 12s. Gd. each by Messrs. J. & W. Waller of Finsbnry, the 

 noted breeders of the London Fancy and Cinnamon birds. 

 Although the noted Coventry breeder of Cinnamons (Adams) 

 was kuocked back a peg, still his Buffs were all there for colour, 

 quality, and condition, and were awarded second, third, and 

 extra third. We must not omit mentioniug Mr. Munnes' 

 second Yellow, Mr. Athersuch's third (iuother noted Coventry 

 breeder and exhibitor), and Mr. Pope's extra third. Mr. Salt's 

 (794) extra second and Mr. Caplin's (SOfij third prize both did 

 credit to their respective owners. The Cinnamons (not of high 

 colour) in the next two classes bore a more modest appearance 

 compared to their high-coloured compeers in the previous two 

 classes, and were we to make choice of birds for breeding pur- 

 poses we would rather choose those not peppered. Class 30 

 commenced the Y'ellows, and Mackley Bros., who headed the 

 list, chalked first and third, Mr. Irons cf Northampton being 

 second with a fine-feathered bird. We ar,3 always pleased to 

 hear of new exhibitors entering the competing arena, and we 

 fancy such is the case with Mr. Kinderman of Putney, who 

 won first honours in Class 31 with a fair bird, exceeding cheap 

 at the catalogue price of £1, although we preferred Mr. Smith's 

 second-prize bird. 



Time pressing somewhat close upon ns, and having a wish to 

 devote a little attention to the Mules, we passed hurriedly over 

 Classes 32 and 33, both numerously represented with birds of a 

 varied kind. We could not help noticing that in the latter class 

 there were birds present which had no claim to a position, owing 

 to the stipulation that the class was for " Any other variety of 

 Canary not previously specified." Thiswas not adher^ to; but 

 we are not going to condemn entry ',112, which stated the bird 

 to be '■ twice crossed, threc-rinarter L jndon Fancy and remainder 

 Lizard!" A little of the Darwinian study here evidently. After 

 leaving cage ',122, a " wild Canary from St. Helena, a capital 

 songster" (no doubt incur absence) — we cime into immediate 

 contact with the Mules. We were not carried away with surprise 

 with the eleven entries in Class 3t, Evenly-marked Yellow Gold- 

 finch Mule. Mr. Doel of Plymouth headed the class— his old 

 place — the first-prize ticket being attached to cage 923, contain- 

 ing a seven-months-old bird, valued at i'lOu! We have seen 

 better Yellows shown by Mr. Doel, notably a couple of beauties 

 about five years back. As to condition the bird was all there, 

 and was well backed-up with two other specimens for second 

 and extra third places. Mr. G. P.usseH's equal second was sent 

 in exhibition form, and Mr. Salt's third Yellow would have 

 shown to greater advantage had it been in better condition. 

 Mr. John Brown, a well known Mule exhibitor hailing from 

 Penrith, gained a very deserving extra third prize with a good- 

 conditioned bird. The Even-marked Buff cla's contained seven- 

 teen entries, the first-prize bird, exhibited by Mr. Doel, being 

 the very best Even-marked Bafl we ever saw, and that is saying 

 a great deal. Its general ftyle, condition, and plumage was 

 really superb. The same exhibitor also took second and third 

 with birds in the pink of condition and plumage. Two equal 

 seconds were awarded, one to Mr. Steven's bird. No. 9i6, a fine 

 six-marked specimen, which, however, had one dark feather, the 

 side of its tail slightly broken ; the other to Mr. Salt's 941, which 

 at first sight appeared very attractive, but which had a feather 

 in its right wing misplaced, and appeared somewhat the worse 

 for the dark feathers up the left shoulder. 930 (Salt), a fair bird, 

 lacking somewhat in dash and general style. The clasn, how- 

 ever, was one of the best iu the show. Classes 36 (Unevenly- 

 marked Y''ellow) and 37 (Unevenly-marked Buff) were fairly 

 represented, the latter especially with twenty-nine birds. Here 

 again Mr. Doel was the chief winner, taking first, second, and 

 third honours with extra showy Yellows, Mr. Russell again 

 coming in for a very capital extra Eecond, and Mr. Willsher for 

 an extra third. In the Buffi out of seven Mules exhibited Mr. 

 Doel gained the premier p'ace besides second, third, and an 

 extra third, three others being very highly commended. An 

 extra second was also given to a splendid bird belonging to Mr. 

 Salt, and a nimilar mark of distinction to Mr. Luke Belk's bird. 

 Two special prizes wc^re given in the class to two beautiful 

 Mules full of quality, which no doubt were wcrlhy of the prizes 

 considering that the breeding of such choice specimens are of 

 BO rare an occurrence, the owners of the birds being Mr. C. J. 



Salt, Burton, and Mr. Brown, Penrith. Classes 33 and 39, Dark 

 Mnles, Yellow. — Mr. Salt was the winner of the three prizes, 

 whilst Mr. Bexon was awarded first position in Buffs, a mistake 

 certainly, the second-prize bird belonging to Messrs. Cox and 

 Griffin being vastly superior. Classes 40 and 41.— The prizes in 

 the former, as usual, were disposed of thus : first and third to 

 Mr. Stevens, and second to Mr. Spenoe, both noted north-of- 

 England exhibitors. Of their kind the birds were particularly 

 choice. In the latter class (Dark Linnet Mules) the north 

 again triumphed over other parts, Mr. Tenniswood of Middles- 

 borough being first and Mr. Stevens of the same town second, 

 There were some very good cages of six in Norwich, Lizirds, 

 and Mules, the chief prizetakers being Messrs. Mackley Bros., 

 Fairbrass, and J. A. Sleep of London. The Lancashire Coppy 

 and Plain-head class filled very well, but several of the entries 

 failed to put in appearance, owing to some unfortunate mistake 

 occurring in the non-delivery of the labels, which we were 

 assured were posted at the same time as others. Mackley Bros., 

 Wright & Smetharst, Salt, and Thackrey were the prizewinners. 

 Class 47, Scotch Fancy, numbered fourteen entries, which was 

 good considering the distance for the birds to travel. The 

 first prize was won by Mr. Thorpe, Dumfries; second by Mr. 

 Thirkettle, Norwich; and third by Mr. Mauchan, Dumbarton. — 

 A Visitor to the Show, 



APIARIAN OUTLOOK. 



No more promising season than the present for popnloaa 

 hives and early and strong swarms has been known iu our part 

 of the country for many years. Spring is upon us in the middle 

 of February. A week ago I gathered a blackthorn blossom, and 

 saw laurels in fall bloom besides hosts of spring flowers of many 

 varieties. Never have I known such a splendid bloom of lanrus- 

 tinus, soenting the air far and near with its peculiar fragrance, 

 while a hedge of Berberis Darwinii has been out iu blossom for 

 some time, and its sister Berberis of Japan is overblown, and 

 B. aquifolia fast developing. Meanwhile my hives have been 

 hard at work pollen-gathering for full a fortnight, with a rapidly 

 rising temperature. Not only so, fresh gathered honey is seen 

 in two or three hives glistening — a cheering sight to the bee- 

 owner. I presume it must be gathered from the laarustinus, of 

 which we have a large quantity, while other flowers are no- 

 where in like aljundanco, not even the gay celandine, from 

 which bees gather such quantities of pollen and their earliest 

 honey supplies in most springs, although I see its cheerful 

 golden cnps peering out of the grass in all directions. 



What is to happen no oue can tell, but it seems hardly pro- 

 bable we can see winter again with frost or snow, although a 

 long continuance of northern and eastern blasts is fairly due to 

 us. Nor is an early spring necessarily followed by an abundant 

 honey harvest. Still there is good hope, and I now write to 

 encourage all our apiarian friends to spare no pains to give their 

 bees every chance and opportunity of success. 



It is, bear in mind, of the first importance to encourage the 

 growth of a large population. To this end three things are of 

 essential importance — warmth, food, and breeding space. To 

 these must be added shelter from the driving winds. Wrap-up 

 well ; supply diligently a gentle and continuous administration 

 of syrup with a dash of brandy in it ; enlarge the entrance, but 

 very gradually, and only as such enlarged room for exit is re- 

 quired; and do not fail to increase the breeding space in yonr 

 hives by adding ekes as time goes on. These can be removed 

 in the autumn after the honey season is over, and the hives 

 reduced in dimensions for the winter ; but in April and M.ay 

 every encouragement should be given the queen to lay, and the 

 bees to rear the largest possible quantity of brood. Swarming, 

 perhaps, will be delayed a week or two, but the swarms will be 

 larger and the honey harvest greatly increased as well in the 

 swarms as iu the parent hives. Simultaneously, too, with the 

 increase of space by means of ekes below, supers above the 

 hives should be given as the population grows and the weather 

 improves. If this is oaretuUy and judioiouely dene there will 

 he little complaint of the queens breeding in the supers. They 

 do so simply because they are cramped and confined below. 



I am not an advocate for wintering bees in large hives. They 

 suffer more from cold, while they are not exempt from illness 

 common to bees, such even as dysentery ; but by all means let 

 them be as expansive in spring and summer time as the need of 

 the bees requires. The ekes added below should be from 2 to 3 

 or 4 inches deep, of straw or wood according to the pleasure of the 

 bee-keeper. A second may be added as the first is filled. Comb- 

 making will commence downwards by elongation of the over- 

 hanging combs, as early and as rapidly as the strength of the 

 population permits and the exigencies of the queen demand. 

 Perhaps the beginning of April is soon enough to commence 

 eking ordinary hives in ordinary years. Exceptional cases of 

 season and strength of stock will be met at the bee-master's 

 discretion. 



As to feeding, there may be instances ot poorly supplied 

 kives ; if so, they ought to be fed more liberally bencefozth 



