318 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB, 



[ May e, 1869. 



comtuend it to onr readers the more readily because there need 

 be no fear that the prizes will not be paid. Mr. Hewitt is the 

 j'ndge selected. 



STRENGTHENING A WE.\K STOCK. 



It may interest some of your readers to know of a plan for 

 improving weak stocks at this season, which I have often heard 

 recommended, but this year for the first time tried. Having 

 to make a very long journey, I found myself obliged to dispose of 

 my bees last autumn, and not caring to be wholly without any 

 till swarming time, looked about for some during the winter. 

 The superstition against selling bees, and the practice of de- 

 stroying all which the peasant does not wish to keep for him- 

 self, made it very difficult to find any ; but in February I 

 succeeded in securing a very good heavy stock, and one so 

 light that I should not have thought of trying to winter it 

 myself. By feeding, the latter grew somewhat better, but was 

 still very weak. 



When the apple blossom fairly opened, and the bees came 

 home heavy-laden, one day last week I transposed the strong 

 and weak hive at twelve o'clock in the day, so that the weak 

 hive gained all or nearly all the bees from its rival, which was 

 full of comb and brood. The latter is now doing well, but of 

 course does not send out the number of workers it did before. 

 The weak stock has nearly built its hive full, and has increased 

 some 8 lbs. in weight. I hope to secure by this means probably 

 a swarm from each hive, or at least shall have a good strong 

 stock in place of a weak one, which would fca of no use to anv- 

 body. •' 



The operation is most simple, but should only be performed 

 on a warm day when the bees are fully occupied and somewhat 

 tired with a morning's work, otherwise the queens would be in 

 danger. If there be no reason for detaching the floor-boards, 

 the bees will not seem to notice a change. — H. de E. 



NEW BOOK. 

 Seventy Pounds a-Year: IIow I Make it by my Bees, and how a 

 Cottager or Others may do the same. By J. W. Pagde^i. 

 Ail this, and more, may, it seems, be accomplished by the 

 use of flat- topped straw hives with a central aperture o inches 

 in diameter for feeding and depriving — in fact, neither more 

 nor less than that so long and universally known to every one, 

 except, perhaps, the author, as " Payne's Improved Cottage 

 Hive." Mr. Filleul's mode of putting a swarm in the old 

 stock's place (called " the new plan of managing swarms "), the 

 feeding-bottle introduced by Mr. Woodbury, and Mr. Pettitt's 

 contrivance for excluding the queen and drones from supers, 

 are also described and recommended without the slightest ac- 

 knowledgment to either of these gentlemen. Many a laugh 

 has been raised at the expense of poor old Sydserff, who, in the 

 last century, showed how a single hive of bees costing 10s. 6d. 

 would in fourteen years produce a clear profit of £1,300 5s. 6d. 

 But what shall we say of a writer who in this present year of 

 grace, lb09, proclaims that a swarm of bees costing 10s. or 12s. 

 will in six years increase to 721), alter paying all expenses, or, 

 as he modestly puts it, " We will suppose it to be only 500, 

 leaving the 229 to allow for all possible casualties?" It is, of 

 course, easy enough to show by calciJations such as these that 

 bee-keeping may be made to produce £70 or even £70,000 per 

 annum, but all practical bee-keepers are well aware of their 

 illusory character ; and we should be very sorry if any indus- 

 trious labourer were misled by one of the concluding para- 

 graphs, which assures the cottager that " his bees will supply 

 him with double the income he could gain by expending all his 

 strength and labour in the fields ; in fact, ' he may then lay 

 down his shovel and his hoe.' " 



CAN CRAG STAIN A CANARY? 



Perhaps it may be interesting to some of your readers to 

 hear my experience with regard to crag. Some time ago an ex- 

 hibitor of Canaries having been disqualified on the grounds 

 that his birds were artificially dyed, brought an action against 

 the committee and won, at the same time saying that the 

 colouring matter on the birds arose from their cage bottoms 

 being covered with crag. 



Mr. H. Green, of Ipswich, about a month ago forwarded me 

 a bag of crag, asking me at the same time to use it, and to state 

 my experience in this Journal. I have since that time used it 



in the place of sand in a cage with a very light-coloured bnfl 

 bird, and I find that not the smallest particle of colouring 

 matter attaches itself to the plumage of the bird. I gave the 

 Canary every chance of dyeing itself ; it had a bath always in 

 the cage, and bathed continually, but it is still of the same light 

 colour, and the water it washed in never was discoloured in the 

 smallest degree. I find that birds seem to like the crag to eai 

 better than sand or gravel, no doubt owing to the quantity 

 of lime, Ac, it contains. — Howakth Ashtok, Polejield Hall, 

 Prestwich. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Books M Constant Header).— BrenVa " Canary and Other Song Birds " 

 can be bad from onr office free by post ii you enclose twenty postage 

 stamps with yonr address. 



Dubbing Game Bantam Cocks— Ntjitbeb of Hens to Each Cock 

 (B. C). — Twelve months old is not too great an age for dabbing Game 

 Bantam cocks. It is, nevertbeJeBS, better to dab them earlier by two or 

 three months. They do not suffer from the operation. At this time o! 

 year eight or ten hens may be pat to ono cock ; earlier in the season, the 

 number must be not more than half. A Bantam hen will often lay 

 from thirty to forty eggs before becoming broody. 



EoGS TOO Dr? {Calamilii).— It is impossible, if the eggs produce and 

 nourish the chickens satisfactorily to the time of their hatching, that 

 these should die from any other canse than drought. When the time 

 arrives the inner membrane of the e.gg is hard, tou^h, and brown as 

 indianrubber. No chicken can perforate it. If these eggs, when the 

 time comes, were put into a pailful of lukewarm water, and allowed to 

 remain till their antics testified they were feeling its influence, they 

 would be safely delivered. Food has nothing to do with the question. 

 A hen. Duck, Goose, Pheasant, Gronse, or Partridge in a state of nature 

 goes to its nest morning and evening with its breast soaked in water, 

 dripping from contact with tbelwet grass : comes over the eggs, and wets 

 them through. They always hatch well, and so will yours if yon wet 

 them sufficiently. We treat ours in this way. As soon as the twentieth 

 day arrives we fill a pail with warm w.ater nearly to the edge ; we then 

 put the eggs in it. As soon as the chicken feels the warmth the egg 

 begins to show the fact. It moves and dances about — first one egg, then 

 another till the top of the pail looks like a confused country dance. The 

 eggs may remain in this way for a quarter of an hour, and then be re- 

 placed under the hen. Such as show no signs of life when put in the 

 warm water are generally bad eggs. 



Cochin-China Cock Blind {S. y. ;;.).— Yon do not mention whether 

 the cock has his face swollen ; we cannot imagine him blind without, as 

 the Cochin-Cbinas are not tubject to roup. If there be swelling, it is 

 probably the result of cold. The treatment will be to wash with cold 

 water and vinegar, and to administer stimulants, such as bread steeped 

 in strong beer, and camphor pills the siae of a pea. Being half-bred the 

 birds may have roup ; in that case give bread and ale, and use Boily'H 

 pills. 



Floor of Pooltry-hoose (E. G. M). — We believe the eggs will be 

 fertile after two or three days unless tho hens be very numerous. None 

 of your contrivances will do for the flooring. If there are reasons why 

 the brick floor should not be taken np, the best plan we can suggest is to 

 cover it with at least 6 inches of loose gravel, or road grit. 



Rearing Turkeys (B, B.). — Tho food of young Turkeys should be like 

 that of young Pheasants. As this statement may not be suflQcieBtly 

 explicit, we will mention, hard boiled egg chopped fine ; dough made of 

 oatmeal and milk, bread and milk, curd, and in the case of Turkeys it is 

 well to mis green onion tops chopped fine in tbe dough. It is most 

 essential to keep tbe hen Turkey in confinement in a largo rip like a 

 crate for earthenware, and even after she has her liberty to let her out 

 only when the eun is up, and the grass quite dry. 



Stocking a Dovecote ill. H. C). — Yonr best plan would be to surround 

 the cupola with galvanised wire netting, leaving a space in which the birds 

 could walk and sun themselves, and obt.xin a perfect view of the country 

 all round. Begin with one or two dozen pairs. We know J. Hobba, bird- 

 dealer. Trim Bridge, Bath. lie could readUy supply you with the com- 

 moner class of Autwerps, Tumblers (Hollers), Runts, and Dragoons, all 

 of which would suit your purpose, and bo prettier than tbe Chequered 

 Dovehouse birds, and would breed equally well. They could reach you by 

 Midland Railway, packed in a large hamper or two. 



Birmingham Roller. &c. (NemorsK — "A Birmingham Roller" ifl a 

 large coarse-bred Tumbler, in olden days called the Dutch Tnmbler. It 

 is longer-faced than any other Tumblers, has feathered legs, ought to 

 have pearl eyes, and is frequently black and white mottled, like the 

 Trumpeter. It is called a Roller because it will tumble or roll over and 

 over and over again, twenty times or more, at the risk of breaking ito 

 head against a chimney. The best way of obtaining good birds is to 

 advertise in our columns. Gentlemen then will warrant them in regard 

 to flying, which, as you observe, dealers cannot, as they have not the 

 opportunity of flying their birds. 



POULTRY MARKET.— May 5. 



There is no trade such as there used to be for poultry at this time oi 

 year. There is still demand sufficient to cause goods to realise good 

 prices, because they are really scarce, but if there were a better supply 

 the usual prices would not be reached. 



8. d 8. d 8. d 



Large Fowls 4 to 4 6 



Smaller do KG 4 



Chickens 2 C 3 



Goslings C C 7 



Bncklisgs 3 C 4 



OaiueaFowls S C 4 



Poitridgea 8 OtoO 



Grouse 



Hares 



Rabbits 14 IB 



Wiiddo 9 10 



Pigeoaa 9 111 



