Juno 18, 18C8. ] 



JOUBNAI, OF HORTIOOLTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



449 



bat to another colour this year. They will give the turn next 

 (o the one which had the prize two years ago." 



However singular these remarks between fanciers may be to 

 those unacquainted with such controversies, they are based on 

 the experience of years. On a certain class one of the Judges 

 was heard to say, " We have given that variety plenty of prizes, 

 we must give the chance toothers for encouragement." Another 

 great Jndge has it as his motto, that a pair of birds to obtain a 

 prize, " must be as nearly alike as two pins ;" and I often 

 wonder if he is aware that the exhibitors finding this to be 

 his principle of judging, have invariably presented for his judg- 

 ment, in a certain class, two cock birds, and I know those who 

 obtained the prize in this way repeatedly, for it is impossible 

 in certain classes to match the birds so exactly in colour as to 

 appear "as nearly alike as two pins." Now, is this judging:' 

 What matters it how many prizes a variety has had, as long 

 as it is worthy of the honour ? If a judge who had not judged 

 the same show in the year previous was to officiate, that con- 

 sideration will disappear, and things will be more fair to all. 



I shall be most happy to contribute my experience on the 

 different varieties which I have kept, my mode of keeping them, 

 and my treatment of some of their diseases which I have most 

 effectually cured. 



Just as I wrote the last sentence, I received " our Journal," 

 and I perceive, in " Notes on Fancy Pigeons," by " Wilt- 

 shire Kector," some most astounding revelations in respect 

 to Dragoons and Antwerps. According to " Wiltshiee Rec- 

 tok's " views all fanciers possessing Blue Carriers, must in 

 future call them Dragoons, however "heavy" they may be, 

 and all who possess Yellow Dragoons must in future call them 

 Horsemen. I know a great Dragoon breeder who considers a 

 good pair of Yellows above all other colours, and this we are 

 sufficiently convinced is the view of the principal Judges, as 

 when there is a good pair of Yellows they are always the first. 



And now a word about Antwerps — the racehorses of Belgium. 

 I have promised " our Journal " to a friend in Brussels, who 

 visited me last week, and I wonder what he will exclaim when 

 he reads that his seven-hnndred-miles flying birds, which won 

 for him four prizes last year in the national race, and hopes to 

 be successful again this year in the great race from near 

 Bordeaux to Brussels, " not being birds of colour, or points, 

 are useless ! " Our foreign friends have proved to us re- 

 peatedly, that there is not a Dragoon or Horseman in England 

 which can compete with the Smerl, which when bred for ex- 

 hibition is capable of bearing comparison in every respect, and 

 will be found even superior to either, simply because it beats 

 them both in the only property tbey were intended for, as I 

 consider, iu colour. We see Blue Antwerps quite as good as 

 the best Blue Dragoons ; but there cannot be any of the latter 

 in colour as fine as a good Dun Antwerp, grey-beaded, purple- 

 necked and breasted, and well barred, or a good Blue Chequered 

 or Red Chequered, with the carriage of a Dragoon, and a head 

 as intelligent and symmetrical as a Barb's, and capable of per- 

 forming a longer journey till old age puts a stop to this great 

 property. 



I believe " Wiltshire Eecior " makes a mistake in sup- 

 posing the Pig3on of the Dragoon tribe, which was reported to 

 have won the match, to be a Dragoon of his recommendation, 

 I am almost certain it must have been an Antwerp (if it was 

 anything like a match), as we all know that Antwerps are con- 

 sidered of the Dragoon tribe, but much more distinct, as what- 

 ever colour they may be, though we have four recognised 

 colours, yon cannot call them anything else, while many 

 authorities on Pigeons allude to the Dragoon as an inferior 

 Carrier. 



I trust " WiLTSHiKE Eectok's " remarks will not in the least 

 discourage any Antwerp fancier, for they can well afford in 

 answer to say. We rather breed Antwerps which are not liable 

 to be lost easily, most likely to return home two or three years 

 after they have been disposed of, looking rather venerable, and 

 almost unknown, and ready to breed, and rear two, three, and 

 even four young ones of other delicate varieties — in fact, to do 

 what no other variety can do in this respect, than to try to 

 breed his grand Cirriers, Dragoons, or Horsemen, the first of 

 which has become disfigured, as a good Carrier was not, in my 

 opinion, intended to be a bird which when three years old is 

 not able to pick up the grain he is to sustain life with, unless 

 it is supplied in a trough; or the second, which is liable to 

 changing his name by his colour. — A Fokeioneb. 



interested in the perusal of the various opinions of the writers 

 in your Journal, and I was particularly so in those in the 

 number for June 4th. 



Labouring under the disadvantage of very indifferent accom- 

 modation for giving my birds their liberty to fly, I have given 

 up many varieties which I most admire, and have kept princi- 

 pally to Antwerps, only having besides one pair of Dragoons ; 

 and having given much time and attention to their require- 

 ments and improvement, I have acquired a liking for the 

 former, which brooks not the sweeping condemnation that " for 

 exhibition they, as not being birds of colour or points, are 

 useless." 



First, there are four distinct colours approved by our most 

 eminent judges, and to which prizes have been awarded, colour 

 too often having taken the precedence of points, which this 

 breed certainly possesses rather to excess than otherwise, as 

 proved by the fact that scarcely two judges agree as to what 

 character of bird should take the first rank. Having been 

 guided by their decisions, I find myself in possession of several 

 distinct varieties, with any of which I should not feel afraid of 

 entering the lists of competition with other Antwerp fanciers, 

 as they each cnrry points, though of slight variation in the 

 whole sufficient to recommend them to notice, if not to ad- 

 miration. 



Now, the question naturally arises. How is it that more than 

 one variety should be maintained by a breeder for competition 

 in one class ? Simply because there is wanting a " Standard 

 of Merit," and as such can only be effectually agreed upon by 

 judges and extensive breeders, there should be no time lost in 

 carrying into practice to the fullest extent the suggestion of 

 Mr. Fulton in respect to the selection of judges. Hitherto in 

 this respect Antwerps have been sadly neglected, the conse- 

 quence being that this large class has been made up of birds 

 varying from those finely-developed specimens, many of which 



j appear annually at Birmingham and other Shows, and some 



I little better than Blue Eocke. 



I I believe the travelling properties of both Antwerps and 

 Dragoons are, or may be good, but the best strain of " racers " 



j I know are Antwerps, and they are also handsome birds. 

 Distance from home about 130 miles. 



That one pair of birds will produce young of different colours 

 is a fact often verified, but is not confined to Antwerps, as I 



' need not remind most breeders of fancy Pigeons, presuming 



j that all have experienced the truth that the gems for exhibition 

 for colour, as well as other points, are the exception, not the 



I rule. 



Will Mr. Fulton kindly name those he would like to see as 

 judges at coming shows? — J. I. B. 



Havino kept Pigeons about twelve years, and still with 

 inoreaaiug pleasure have them about me, I always feel deeply 



HIVING BEES. 



When bees are allowed to swarm naturally, everj-thing should 

 be in readiness before the swarming season- arrives, so that 

 when swarms come off there may be no confusion or difficulty 

 in hiving. Hives should be kept cool, and if old they should 

 be well cleaned. If a swarm is seen issuing from a hive, do 

 not get in a " flurry." but keep cool. Do not be so foolish as 

 to blow horns, ring bells, and scare your bees to the woods ; 

 but stand quietly and watch their movements, and nineteen 

 times out of twenty they will cluster all right. As soon as they 

 have settled prepare to hive them, an operation which may be 

 successfully done, and without the least difficulty, as follows : — 



First, bring a dish of cold water, and with the hand or a 

 whisk of grass sprinkle the cluster well. This will make them 

 perfectly quiet and easy to handle. Bring out a table, or, if 

 that is not convenient, spread a cloth or boards upon the 

 ground ; and if they are to be hived into a common box or 

 straw hive, set it upon the table or place prepared for it, raise 

 up one side an inch or more, and put under a stone or chip to 

 hold it. Then shake your bees into a pan, basket, pail, or any 

 dish that will hold them, and turn them down near the hive, 

 and they will at once commence to enter. If it is desirable to 

 have them enter faster than they are naturally inclined to do, 

 take a wing and gently wing them in. As soon as all or nearly 

 all are in, the hive should be carried to its stand, and well 

 shaded if the sun is shining. New hives or newly painted 

 hives should be shaded for several days, as bees cannot stay in 

 an overheated hive. If the bees cluster upon a limb, from 

 which it would be difficult to shako them, the limb may he cut 

 off with a saw and laid near the hive ; the bees will soon leave 

 and enter. Sometimes bees will cluster upon the body of ti 



