18 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 4, 1865. 



former, and being fond of the latter, I was induced to answer 

 the ailvertisement. This led to a correspondence, in which the 

 advertiser undertook to send me some Califomian Quails and 

 other Australian birds (sic), on my sending her a pen of Buff 

 Cochins which I had mentioned. My birds were sent to the 

 address named, and after some delay I was iufomied that the 

 lady had moved from Croydon to Brompton. The result is 

 that I have never recovered bu'ds, price, or equivalent ; and 

 after repeated threats at length I instructed my solicitor to 

 IJroceed against the person, but this was too late, as we find 

 the bird has flown and cannot be heard of. Perhaps some one 

 else has been victimised in the same way ; and if so, you may 

 he doing a kindness to our poulti-y fraternity by stating that 

 the name of this "lady" is Mrs. Firebrace, late of Croydon, 

 since of Ovingtou Square, Brompton. — T. C. H. 



THE FIFTH TOE OF DORKING FOWLS. 



Is this really an essential? Mr. Baily, in his little book 

 entitled "Fowls," when speaking (pp. 112, 113), of the points 

 required in exhibition birds says nothing about it. The largest 

 and most symmetrical birds I ever saw had all the Dorking 

 characteristics except the lifth toe. I am further inclined to 

 believe that it is not an essential, because you see it of all kinds 

 of shapes, pointing in different directions, and even nailless, 

 without having any influence over the awards of the judges. — 

 Newpoet. 



[Tliis is one of the most heretical letters we ever read, and if 

 Mr. Bailj- knew the writer we are quite sure he would excom- 

 mimii^ate him. The fine birds alluded to by "Newport," are 

 known as " Sussex " fowls. They are thus mentioned in " The 

 Poultry Book " — " The breed now known as the Sii.tsex fowl, 

 lias only four claws, and is a less compact though larger bird 

 than the true Dorking, which it otherwise much resembles." 

 In fact, the fifth toe is an essential characteristic, and can no 

 more be disregarded than can the white 

 face in the Spanish, or blue legs in 

 Hamburghs. It is quite true that a dis- 

 tortion of the fifth toe is not held to be 

 a disqualification any more than a dis- 

 tortion of one of the other toes, and 

 would only be taken into account in 

 case it was the only 

 inferiorityapparent in 

 two otherwise-equally- 

 excelleut competiug 

 pens. At the same 

 time there is no doubt 

 that there is a form 

 and jiosition of the 

 fifth claw, which is 

 the most desirable, and it is as thus represented by M. Jacques. 



" The claws," he says, " should be strong, cleau-jointed, five 

 in number; " and " The Poultry Book " says, in detailing the 

 characteristics of exceUeuc«, "Claws five in number on each 

 foot, and well defined."] 



BEE-KEEPING IN DEVON.— No. XXFV'. 



A PROSPEKOUS .VPI-IBT. 



When publishing to the world the misfortune which over- 

 took me in 1863,* and relating my experience of that terrible 

 ilisease foul brood, which had caused my hapless apiary to 

 dwindle to the very verge of extinction, it was not a little 

 amusing to observe how many were prone to attribute my ill- 

 success to the adoption of a scientific and experimental system 

 of bee-mauagement. "An Old-F.\shioxed Bee-M.\ster" of 

 Finchley, openly rejoiced over my discomfiture ; Mr. Lowe 

 authoritatively pronounced that " an experimental apiary can 

 never be a thoroughly prosperous one," and published an 

 amusing article wliich riled me not a little at the time, and in 

 which he appeared to hold up to ridicule all that he either 

 knew or imagined of my apiarian proceetUngs ; whilst Jonas 

 Jackson attributed my downfall to the neglect of certain 

 popular superstitions. These Job's comforters were, however, 

 vastly out-numbered by the multitude of correspondents who 

 aided and cheered me by their sympathy and advice, and even 

 in one instance (that of " J. E. B.," whose personal acquaint- 

 ance I have recently had the pleasure of making), presented me 

 ♦ Vide Journal of Horticulture, Vol. V., page 59. 



with a strong colony of bees in the hope that it might aid in 

 stemming the torrent of destruction which, at that time, 

 threatened to ovenvhchn my entire apiary. Nor were there 

 wanting those who, while giving expression to their kind 

 sympathy, did not hesitate to express their conviction that I 

 should in the end triumph over all my difficulties, and 

 ultimately re-establish my apiary, and perchance raise it to a 

 higher state of prosperity than before. To all such I may now 

 return my warmest thanks, and I feel sure they will participate 

 in the pleasure I have in infonning them that their kind 

 anticipations have been more than realised. Never since I 

 first commenced bee-keeping (now just a quarter of a century 

 ago), have apiarian matters progressed so pleasantly and pros- 

 perously with me as during the glorious siunmer of this year 

 of gi-ace 1865. 



It may be remembered that last autumn I possessed twenty 

 stocks ; of these I unfortimately allowed one to starve by an 

 oversight for which I can now scarcely account. The whole of 

 the nineteen remaining stocks survived the winter, albeit some 

 were much weakened from loss of bees during their protracted 

 confinement, and breeding was also much delayed by the cold 

 and late spring. Notwithstanding these drawbacks my account 

 now {29th Jmie) stands as under : — 



PARTED WITH. 



Stocks 14 



Swarms 3 



Queens 4 



Total parted with 21 



REMAINING IN MV APIARY. 



Stocks 11 



Nuclei with imprepnated queens 4 

 „ „ unimpregnated „ 1 

 „ „ royal cells 9 



Total remaining '!:> 



Total parted nitb 21 



Grand total 46 



As nearly all the stocks which I have sent out were despatched 

 during the spring, they have, of course, been of little or no 

 assistance in multiplying those that remained, so that in point 

 of fact almost all this increase has arisen from the five remain- 

 ing old stocks, aided by combs and brood from three purchased 

 black swarms, which swarms were allowed to remain undis- 

 turbed in tlie country for about a month after hiring, and then 

 plundered of nearly all the combs which they had constructed. 



I esteem myself particularly fortunate in having had but one 

 natural swarm, which issued on the flth of Jime, settled in a 

 pear tree' and was soon safely hived ; but as it it were impossible 

 for a natural swann to issue in my apiary without being the 

 harbinger of some mishap, the only young queen I have lost 

 this season happens to be the one which just five days after- 

 wards emerged from one of the only two royal cells which 

 existed at the time of the departure of the swarm. Her death 

 occuiTed in this wise : On June 17th, I was looking over, and 

 rectifying, as is my wont, any irregularities in the formation of 

 the new combs of the swarm, upon one of which I had just 

 seen the queen, when I was hoiTor-stricken by (hscovering, as 

 I supposed, the beautiful matron I had seen in full liealth not 

 a minute before l.ving hfeless, and evidently stimg to death on 

 the floor-board. Bitter was my mortification at believing that 

 some inexplicable clumsiness in my manipiilatious had resulted 

 in the premature decease of what was certainly my most beau- 

 tiful and favourite queen — a mortification mitigated only by 

 the reflection that she had attained the mature age of three 

 years, and, although evincing as yet no sign of waning fecimdity 

 or decrepitude, not likely much longer to continue capable of 

 maintaining the population of a strong and flourishing colony. 

 Having accordingly allowed three days of mom-ning over my 

 defunct favourite to elapse, I reflected that it was of no use to- 

 waste the time and energies of so large a multitude of bees in 

 raising a young queen and waiting her impregnation, when I 

 had it in my power at once to place a competent sovereign at 

 their head, and therefore proceeded again to examine the combs 

 with the view of taking preliminary" steps by eradicating such 

 royal cells as might have been started in the interim. Judge, 

 then, what must have been my joyful surprise at discovering 

 my pet queen perambulating the combs in the enjo.^Tnent of 

 full health and vigour, and perceiving that she had evidently 

 "not been dead at all," although I had mourned her as such. 

 I was for some days much puzzled to accoimt for the presence 

 of the dead queen on the floor-board, and although this mystery 

 ultimately received a partial elucidation by the discovery of the 

 loss of the young queen from the old stock, I am still unable 

 satisfactorily to account for her straying into the hive contain- 

 ing the swarm, especially as a third colony intervened between 

 the two. 



I may here say a few words with regard to the supposed 



