178 



JOURNAL OF H0ET1CULTX3EE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ February 27, ISea 



Selling CLiss.— First, J. Hawley. Second, J. Thompson. Highly 

 Commended, J. Spence (FantailB) ; P. A. Renwick (Torbits) ; H. Yardley. 

 Commended, J. Hawley ; H. Beldon ; J. Thomson. 



CANAEIES. 



Don (Yellow or Boff).— Cocti. — First, W. Boggic, Priory. Second, 

 J. Kemp, Galashiels. Commended, J. Dodds, Weirhill, Melrose. Henf. — 

 First, W. Tinlin (Yellow). Second, W. Boggie (Buff). Commended, J. 

 Kemp (Buff) ; W. Fairbaim, Joppa (Yellow). 



Yellow, Bcff. or Flecked. — Cocks. — First, J. Cleghom. Galashiels 

 (Flecked). Second, W. Balmer, Hawick (Baff Flecked). Highly Com- 

 mended, J. Kemp, Galashiels (Buff Flecked), ifens.— First, W. Balmer 

 (Yellow). Second. J. Kemp (Buff Flecked). Highly Commended, J. Ken- 

 wick. Melrose (Yellow Flecked). 



Cage Bisds (Canaries Excepted).— First, Miss Paterfon, Melrose (Gold- 

 finch). Second, W. Hart (Goldfinch Mole). Third, W. Balmer (Gold- 

 finch). 



The Judges were Mr. Teebay, Fnlwood, Preston ; anil Mr. Jolin 

 Yotrng, Hawick. 



TUMBLER PIGEONS. 



Havin-g for some time past seen notices about Gronnd or 

 House Tnmbler Pigeons, and their modes of turning, I last 

 summer procured a pair from the widow of the late ilr. B. P. 

 Brent. Mrs. Brent was most anxious to send me good birds, 

 and took much trouble to select the best she could spare at the 

 time. The hen is not very different in appearance from an 

 ordinarv Black Tumbler Pigeon of small size. The cock bird 

 has large, one might almost say clumsy wings, and a large, 

 heavy head ; the neck leaving the skull more in the line of the 

 beak than in other varieties of Pigeons, and it may be that the 

 form of the brain gives rise to this most singtilar power of 

 tumbling close to the ground, for it certainly does not arise 

 from disease. In some cases it amounts to a defect, for a 

 Pigeon tumbling so much as the old cock does, could not live 

 without protection. The hen seldom tumbles in the aviary ; 

 but if the cock is forced to fly, he rarely rises a foot from the 

 ground without turning over on his back, and apparently 

 hitting the crown of his head on the floor. 



These birds breed well, but the nest is made on the gronnd, 

 as they cannot or will not rise to a shelf only 18 inches above 

 it. Two pairs of their young were allowed to fly at large, and 

 all did well for some months, one pair being still at liberty. 

 They all flew well, rising high in the air, and tumbling most 

 dexterously. After a time the older pair were helplessly 

 attacked with tumbling fits, and often lost all control over 

 their own movements, and were therefore shut up. 



Wind appears to excite all Tumblers to roll, whether Air or 

 House kinds, and the cleverest feats aie generally performed 

 against the wind. On a breezy afternoon last autumn, I saw a 

 House Tumbler en one of the walks at some distance from the 

 house, and thinking it had rolled to the ground, I started it to 

 send it home. It rose a few yards, and then rolled tail over 

 head to the ground. It was raised a second time, and got 

 higher, but when it felt the wind above the trees it rolled again 

 and alighted in a maple tree. When driven off the tree it did 

 its best to reach its home, but was again attacked by a fit of 

 tumbling and rolled away down over the lower lands where I 

 lost sight of it, and it was not seen till the next day, looking 

 somewhat the worse for its adventure, but was soon well again. 



I find that when these birds roll to the ground they must 

 not be started at once, but left to themselves, when they are 

 more likely to calm down, and then they often fly well, and 

 like ordinary Pigeons. I therefore conclude that the rolling 

 arises from a nervous affection, which differs very much in 

 different birds of this breed. 



I mentioned the effect of wind en these birds in causing 

 them to tumble to such an extent as to make them so far 

 powerless for the time ; but the effect is still greater with wind 

 and snow together. During an east wind, with a little snow, I 

 found a young cock, a healthy strong bird, standing on the 

 snow in an open part of the gronnd. where he had remained 

 nearly all day, and in the afternoon I tried to make him fly 

 home, but his motions were most singular and erratic, and he 

 got still further from where he wished to fly to, and after 

 several trials he rolled with some force into a thick holly bnsh, 

 Tshere I secured him. Since being shut up his powers of 

 tumbling Lave increased, and he now makes a very complete 

 ■wheel on rising only a foot from the ground, yet possesses 

 strong powers of flight, and is unusually perfect in plumage, 

 and very healthy. 



Such an affliction as this excess of tumbling could only con- 

 tinue in a race of domestic birds well cared for, as one roll to 

 the gronnd in sight of a cat would be the last one. Yet the 

 Hawk does not appear to take advantage of the weakness. A 



hen Sparrowhawk used to pass over the place twice daily ; her 

 approach was known by the Starlings and Pigeons rising in 

 the air, but I have never known her strike a Pigeon, although 

 I have often seen her pass a flock of Tumblers, and take a 

 Sparrow beyond them. I fear a cat would not be so considerate 

 to the Pigeons, nor would the Hawk, if she saw that the tumb- 

 ling arose from disease or a defective power of wing, for she 

 more than once did her best to strangle my poor pinioned 

 Peeseweeps running in the garden. — A. J. A. 



IMPROVED COTTAGE HIVE. 



We have not used the hive, but the best answer we can give 

 to our correspondent is to extract what Mr. S. Bevan Fox 

 stated in a contemporary Journal. 



" Mr. Taylor, in some of the later editions of his ' Bee-keepers' 

 Manual,' gives a description of aflat 

 wooden-topped straw hive, which 

 I have fonud, after many years' 

 trial, to be one of the simplest, 

 and at the same time one of the 

 most remunerative hives I have 

 ever possessed. 



" I have made some alterations 

 in the dimensions and mode of 

 construction, but the main features 

 of the hive are taken from Mr. 

 Taylor. There are three cone- 

 shaped holes for communication 

 with supers ; they may be covered 

 with simple blocks of wood on a 

 plain surface, or slides made of 

 zinc may be adopted. 



" The chief advantage of the 

 pointed aperture is, that when the slides are pushed in from the out- 

 side, the bees are gradually urged out of the way ; the risk of crush- 

 ing the bees being thus reduced to a minimum, as certainly not more 

 than one bee can be injured. These three apertures are intended for 

 communication only with one super, whether of glass, straw, or wood, 

 although, if preferred, three can be worked at once ; but this is a 

 plan I cannot recommend when large supplies of honey are desired." 



We know that it is manufactured by Mr. Lee, Windlesham, 

 ! Surrey, and probably by Messrs. Neighbour, and ilr. Pettit. 



STRANGE PHENOMENON IN THE BEE. 



The bee, though generally supposed to be almost dormant 

 in winter, has the peculiarity of sounding at twelve o'clock at 

 night on the 6th of January. A single bee appears to give the- 

 signal, sometimes one, sometimes two, and I have even heard 

 three distinct sounds as signals ; then a sort of melancholy 

 harmonious sound is emitted by the whole hive, and continued 

 for a minute or two, however frosty the night may be. This 

 year I had eight hives watched, in two gardens two each, and 

 four in another ; the gardens about 200 yards from each other. 

 The first hive sounded at seven minutes to twelve o'clock, and 

 the last at twelve o'clock by gun time, all the eight hives having 

 sounded in the interval. How the little insect marks that 

 minute of time once a-year is certainly a poser for the scientific 

 class. — Geokge Wilson, 'iVhalton. 



[It is essential to the very existence of bees that the tem- 

 perature of the cluster shall not fall below a given point, and 

 as they are only able to evolve heat by increased activity of 

 their respiratory organs, it follows that whenever the interior 

 of their dwelling becomes too cold for them, quickened breath- 

 ing, producing a " melancholy harmonious sound," is the ne- 

 cessary- consequence. This is, perhaps, more likely to ocevir 

 about twelve o'clock during a January night than at any other 

 time, and is probably the true explanation of the supposed 

 phenomenon.] 



PRICE OF LIGURIAN BEES, AND OF FRAME 



HIVES. 



So many applications reach me, both in my own name and 



under the non df plume of " A Devonshire Bee-keepek,'' with 



regard to the prices of Ligurian bees, and the cost of frame 



hives, that I am induced to state that my price for healthy 



stocks, including frame hive of the best description, is four 



guineas, or persons sending their own " Woodbury " hives may 



have them furnished with bees, combs, and frames, for £3 5»'. 



i Swarms during May and June, two guineas and a half, after 



