JOUENAL OF HOBTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. 



[ Api-U 5, 1877. 



and protection frequently greatly add to the suocessfal result, 

 still it by no means follows that eggs will not hatch if subjected 

 to rough treatment and exposure to cold. 



So far as the latter is concerned, we would much rather our 

 egge be kept in a room where the temperature ranged from 

 freezing point to 40°, than in a place where the heat reached as 

 high a point as 80°. Of the two extremes we would also prefer 

 to trust our eggs to the lower: by that we mean that we are con- 

 vinced that any ordinary degree of cold — say 10^ below the 

 freezing point— dees not necessarily kill the vitality of the egg, 

 so long as the shell is not broken by the action of the frost; and, 

 on the contrary, the vitality of the ogg is greatly injured and 

 decreased by exposure to a temperature of 70° to 80° or there- 

 abouts, for any considerable time. 



Begarding the careful handling of eggs, experiences differ. 

 There seems to be no doubt but sudden violent jarring will 

 sever the connecting ligaments in the interior of the egg, and 

 thus destroy its vitality; but eggs will stand the trembling 

 shaking motion of a waggon or car, and give the most satisfac- 

 tory results in hatching. We had a very satisfactory illustration 

 of this the past season. A friend requested us to bring him a 

 sitting of eggs. We wrapped each egg in paper, and putting 

 them in a small basket brought them to the city. The ride by 

 steam cars, of course, was not very severe on them, but the 

 forty-five-minutes ride on the horse cars was made very rough, 

 from the fact that, becoming very much interested in conversa- 

 tion, we placed the basket on the floor of the car between our 

 feet, forgetful of its contents and its position until nearly at the 

 end of the route. The result was — nine eggs of the thirteen 

 hatched out strong healthy chickens ; still we do not advise 

 eggs being thus treated to ensure their successful hatching. 



The real care necessary is very little. Simply gather the eggs 

 daily, mark them plainly (variety and date), washing them if 

 much soiled, and lay them away in a cool room. If intended for 

 use within two or three days simply place them in a basket or 

 other receptacle ; if it is necessary to keep them longer it is best 

 to have flat boxes of about 3 or 4 inches in depth, in which place 

 an inch or two of bran or sawdust— we prefer bran ; place the 

 eggs in this large end down, as close as you can pack them. 

 Some persons insist that the small end down is proper and pre- 

 ferable. Our experience does not coincide with this method; 

 the why we will give in some subsequent issue. 



Put away only average-sized, regular-shaped eggs. Un- 

 usually large and uneven-shaped ones are apt to be unfertile, 

 or to produce malformed or defective chickens. — {The Pet-stock 

 Bulletin.) 



PIGEON HISTORY. 



Eespeoting "Wiltshire Rectob's " queries as to the lost 

 tribes, I am quite at one with him. I have olten asked a very 

 similar question as regards several Pigeons named in " Moore," 

 1735. But as regards the White Pouter I can corroborate Mr. 

 Ure's statement, and I believe further illuminate at least that 

 one dark page in the history of our beautiful pets ; but before I 

 lender my explanation, and with all due respect and veneration 

 to the devotees of that particular fancy, let me ask. Where did 

 the Scotch first get their Pouter ? Is its history so enshrouded 

 in mystery as to be even beyond conjecture ? 



I was lirst " introduced " to society in a house in St. George's 

 Street, Great Yarmouth, in the year 1834, and I should say the 

 first live thing I ever had in my hand was a Pigeon. My greatest 

 delight were my father's Pigeons from my very earliest infancy, 

 and " Moore's " book with the pretty picture Pigeons in it. In 

 that book Moore speaks of the l?arisian Pouter. Who ever now 

 hears the term 1 He also speaks of the Dutch Cropper, also 

 of the Horseman, and those most in vogue in my young days 

 were large rakish birds, in colour neither white, blue, nor 

 grizzled, but a light slatish blue tick on a white ground, and the 

 tail more inclining to slate colour. 



The Dutch Cropper was invariably white, a short, thick, 

 clumsy-looking bird with generally a bull eye, wide and crooked 

 upon the " legs," which were a bit feathered. Some of the 

 Tarmouth sailors were, and no doubt are now, fanciers, and they 

 trading between that town and Botterdam generally used to 

 bring the Dutch Cropper over, a distance between the two 

 shores of 120 miles. These birds paired with my above-described 

 Horseman, frequently produced all white offspring, or else with 

 a blue tail merely. Now, these birds were called Pouting Horse- 

 men — like the Horseman at Hampton Court, with a horseshoe 

 or crescent on its gullet. These birds were commonly longer 

 than their Dutch parent, very merry and rakish, and when 

 flying showed a bit of an obiong blow. 



Norwich, celebrated for its silk, crape, velvet, itc, manufac- 

 tories, having Lyi ns and Paris operatives over originally to 

 work and instruct in the art, ".nd many of them being of the 

 "fancy," undoubtedly brought their pels with them. Tlis 

 much I know, that when it was thought desirable to improve 

 the strain of a Pouting Horseman, or the Dutch Cropper either, 

 my father and many others as well used to proceed to Nor- 

 wich to select a bird suitable to their fancy and purpose, and 



this said " lady " or gentleman as the case might be, invariably 

 used to be the very paragon of what the Pouter proper now is. 

 Is it not probable that the Scotch Fancy is the e:Act parallel to 

 this ? and may we not have eclipsed the Parisian Pouter by our 

 own climatic and natural improvements ? And may not thia 

 have been the secret of the Parisian perfection and former 

 superiority, they being in the fancy before even Norwich, which 

 was a city before Yarmouth was thought of. As to colours, 

 Whites were never wanting even from my earliest recollection, 

 and that dates further back considerably than 1842. I trust I 

 have dug down deep enough for our worthy and very respected 

 correspondent, but I could widen my details. Who can tell me 

 where are Moore's Uplooper, his Finnikin, Capuchin, Narrow- 

 tailed Shaker, and Smiter ? — Pouting Hobseman. 



THE POLISH RABBIT. 



The term " Polish " has been applied by the English rustic to 

 a good number of varieties of Babbits, including the Siberian, 

 Angora, and the variety which has the best claim to the name, 

 and which is the subject of this paper. The Polish proper is a 

 pretty little animal that is easily described, although not always 

 very easy to distinguish. The breed is and has been scarce in 

 this country, and it is, in fact, apparently on the very verge of 

 extinction. It is true that Babbits somewhat resembling the 

 breed in characteristics and appearance occasionally make an 

 entry at our shows, but they generally lack the distinctive 

 features that are indicative of purity of blood. It is exceed- 

 ingly strange, but to any but a competent Babbit-fancier the 

 resemblance between the Polish and some of the common hutch 

 Babbits is so very close and confusing that one cannot be dis- 

 tinguished from the other. The variety is, however, a distinct 

 one, and any person who has taken much interest in Babbits 

 and Babbit-exhibiting will know that there is a " distinctien 

 with a difference," and hence worthy of notice. We bave not 

 much faith in the statements as to the localities from which 

 Babbits are extracted, but in this instance we believe that the 

 Babbit in question really comes from the country from which 

 it takes its name. From Poland it has migrated into the various 

 contiguous states, and is now to be found in many European 

 countries, especially Bussia and France; but, as already stated, 

 it has not ever been much patronised in this country, and is not 

 a very common pet in any part of the island. 



The points are very simple and are very easily described, 

 nor are there any questions of detail with reference to them in 

 dispute as is the case with almost every variety of Babbit, 

 The Polish is a decidedly small variety, seldom exceeding 5 lbs. 

 in weight when full grown, and being frequently under that 

 weight, even when in good condition ; 3 or 4 lbs. may be named 

 as the average weight of the breed, so that we have an exceed- 

 ingly small variety — as small and even smaller than the diminu- 

 tive Dutch. The formation of the limbs is rather indicative of 

 delicacy, the joints not being overstrong nor the limbs particu- 

 larly prominent. The body is somewhat compact and stumpy ; 

 it is capable apparently of taking a considerable quantity of 

 flesh. The legs are decidedly delicate and short, the animal 

 standing very low, and being very often found in a reclining 

 position as though it were rather a labour for it to stand. We 

 have seen it stated that the PoUsh resembles in many respects 

 the Himalaya. The simile is hardly a happy one. It is true 

 that, deprive the Himalaya of its dark points, you will have an 

 animal resembling the Polish in colour ; but in other respects, 

 so far from there being resemblance, there is a great dissimilarity 

 in every point, the Himalaya being the very pattern and picture 

 of health and hardiness, while the Polish has in its every look 

 the appearance of weakness and need of protection. We have 

 said that, denude the Himalaya of its black extremities and yoa 

 have a Polish in colour, for the Polish is pure snow white from 

 head to foot without one particle of dark of any sort. AU 

 albinos are weak and delicate, and not unfrequently are they 

 puny as well. The white racehorse is never seen to the fore, 

 and the white cat is the most feeble and useless member of its 

 tribe. There is something in the general look of the Polish Bab- 

 bit that takes the fancy and excites sympathy from a spectator. 

 The eye is a very delicate pink. Bed eyes are generally said 

 to be the portion of white animals, but the real colour of the 

 Polish eye is a delicate pink. BeaUy the eye is quite colourless, 

 but the veins are so very delicate that the blood can be seen 

 coursing through them. The head is rather short and small 

 generally. The ears are upright, but not so strong or firm as 

 those of the Himalaya. 



As already observed, pure white is the only admissible colour 

 of this breed, any other being a sure sign of impurity; a single 

 spot will go far to destroy its value. It will become apparent 

 before the young have obtained the age of many weeks whether 

 they will have a good coat; and the fur is really the only article 

 uf vaiiip, the breed being too small to assume any real value in 

 the food market. The fur is not generally so long as that of 

 the Lop or Silver-Grey, but rather resembles that of the Hima- 

 laya. It is very thick and fine, and of considerable valuo to farriers. 



