226 



JOUKNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ September 12, 1865. 



white, that too little ; this is well-Bhapeil but short, that is 

 jB-shaped though long. 



Then as to breeding. Now that it is pretty well understood 

 that they will raise their young if fed on beans there is less 

 trouble than formerly ; and I will also add from experience 

 they win equally well rear their young if fed entirely upon 

 Indian corn, but not if peas be mixed with it. Still, after all, 

 good Powters ought to fetch a high price, as so very few come 

 up to the standard. 



Next as to colour. In spite of all that has been written in 

 favour of yellow, red, and black pied, I think blue pied is best 

 of all. I believe it to be the original colour, and therefore also 

 the best. Mr. Eaton, who knows Pigeons well, has in his 

 coloured plates of perfect birds figured his Powter as a blue 

 bird. But there are other reasons in favour of blue. The 

 shining green of the crop, so great an ornament, is never seen 

 half so bright in other colours as in blue pieds. I have seen 

 blue Powters whose crops looked like balls of gUtteriug metal. 

 Then the lighter blue of the wings and body does not make so 

 harsh an outline as other colours, and the beautiful and most 

 ornamental black bars tell so well ; and as it is possible to get 

 a blue tail the white flights he against it like bright swords. 

 According to my taste and judgment, black for Carriers, white 

 for Fantails, and blue for Powters. 



A word about Powter-judgiug. I think too much stress is 

 laid upon mere length. Judges stretch out the birds, and the 

 longest wins the prize. If I were judge, I should balance all 

 the points, gi\-ing so much for carriage, elagance of shape, 

 narrowness of girth, and a coarse long bird should not beat 

 one better shaped though rather shorter. Powters are diiierent 

 to all other Pigeons, and should have a house adapted to their 

 peculiarities. Here is my plan : Suppose you have a liigh 

 wall, say that of a neighbour's out-house, or the south side of 

 your garden or back yard ; build on to it a sort of verandah in 

 shape, 6 feet deep, and as long as you fancy. Arrange at the 

 back large boxes — tea-chests, or any box that woiJd do for a 

 rabbit-hutch : arrange these one above another in rows, the 

 lowest row 3 feet from the ground, the highest 3 feet from the 

 roof. If you like, have rows of wicker the whole width of the 

 front of each box. Well and good, then you can pair or catch 

 the birds readily. If a box is very long the doors need not 

 extend over the whole front, only let them be wide enough, so 

 that the Powters may be able to fly into them at once easily 

 and without hindrance. In front of the boxes there will be a 

 space for you to walk up and down. The door may be in the 

 centre, with a window on each side. The windows should sUde 

 back, and have wire netting over them, so that they could be left 

 open for air witliout fear of intruders. Inside each window I 

 would place a wide board to feed the birds on if shut up at any 

 time, so that what with boards at the window, the tops of the 

 boxes, and inside each wide box, there would be plenty of 

 broad resting-places for these large Pigeons. In the space in 

 front of the boxes you may sit and read j-our paper, or pet 

 your birds, stroking and talking to them, watch their habits, 

 see if they sit weU, and in fact make them by kind attentions 

 as tame as possible. I have had them so tame and playful as 

 to carry on sham battles with my finger, they flipping it with 

 their wings and cooing defiance at me. Let all be cleaned out 

 daily, and nice loose gravel strewed on the floor of the house. 

 Next the pans for sitting. Have triangular pieces of free- 

 stone, so that the birds may alight gently on their nests, as 

 they frequently bruise the shells with their great weight. I 

 say triangular, as the cleaning-hoe can better do its work. 

 Outside, on this verandah-like building I would place several 

 long flat planks, not imlike children's school forms, only made 

 slighter. On these the Powters love to strut. Anywliere else 

 ai'ound. on any other building, I would put similar boards. 

 Let the entrance or entrances be above the door or windows, 

 and they must be wide and high. Now I have described just 

 such a fowl-house as I saw recently at Calne, built by llr. A. 

 Heath, who is a keen fancier, and appreciates thoroughly his 

 stock of good Powters. By the way, before cjjncluding, I think 

 the hen Powter is less noticed and praised than she ought to 

 be, every eye looking at her large mate, but her slender 

 beauties are not to be despised. A good hen pleases me as 

 much as a good cock bird. — Wiltshire Rector. 



ing the combs on the bars, the bees have built them crosswise. 

 I thought of either driving or smoking them, and then cutting 

 out the combs and putting them in properly, securing them in 

 the frames by nailing thin strips of wood on each side, to be 

 removed when the bees have fixed the combs. Is this the 

 proper mode of procedure, or can you suggest a better plan for 

 accomplishing the object I have in view ? If driving were the 

 best plan to adopt, would it be better to adopt it in the day- 

 time, or in the evening '? — iNQriHEi!. 



[Better leave things as they are until spring, as the combs 

 are now too heavy, and too fragile for safe manipulation. Select 

 a fine da3' in April, and then operate by driving the bees and 

 re-arranging their combs in the manner you propose.] 



COMBS CONSTRUCTED ACROSS THE BARS. 

 I HIVED a swarm of bees into a Woodbury straw bar-hive 

 this summer, and I have lately discovered that instead of work- 



APIARIAN EXHIBITION AT STEWARTON. 

 Having received an invitation from Mr. Eaglesham, Secretary 

 to the Stewarton Horticultural, Agricultural, Ornithological, 

 and .\piarian Society, to be jiresent at the Exhibition of that 

 Society which took place on Saturday the 2nd inst., and being 

 desirous of seeing the honey product of the locality, where 

 the octagonal -liives were invented and are manufactured, I gladly 

 availed myself of the opportunity. I can assure your readers 

 that I was amply repaid for my visit, as I was completely struck 

 with the quality and extensiveness of the exhibition in all its 

 sections, evidencing the spirit and enterprize of the Society, 

 which certainly is deserving of an extended patronage from the 

 manner in which it is conducted. In the honey department, 

 in which I was more particularly interested, the specimen boxes 

 shown by Messrs Ferguson & Brown, Stewarton, and Robertson, 

 Kilmarraock, were paragons for uniformity and straightness of 

 comb and purity of colour. A colony of briglitly marked 

 Ligurians exhibited in an eight-bar observatoi')' hive by Mr. 

 Alexander Ferguson, Stewarton, was a centre of attraction, 

 and was the first time, I believe, such has been exhibited north 

 of the Tweed ; and from the transparency of the glass and suit- 

 ability of position in aU my apiarian experiences it is grati- 

 fj-ing for one to state, I have never seen these insects to better 

 advantage. It was alone worthy of any sacrifice my visit to 

 Stewarton caused. I was also introduced to several of the 

 principal apiaries in the district, and was shown hives of every 

 make and descript on, including the Woodbury straw hive. 

 Frames were raised, and I was shown matronly Italian queens 

 with hinder parts like laminated gold, which would have been a 

 treat to Dr. Ciunming. Wax sheets were also put into my 

 hands to see if I could distinguish any difference of the 

 Stewarton make, from those sold by the Messrs. Neighbour, and 

 the uniform kindness and coui'tesy I receive that day from the 

 Stewartonians will ever form a very " pleasant memory " to — 

 Uebasus. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



CoLorn AND PorKTs OF Brahjias (A Suhxcribcr, Irt'land). — We suppose 

 the numbers shown are a R00<1 index to the popularity of a breed. .4d- 

 mittine this, the Pencilled Brahinas are certainly the favourites. The 

 hens should be grey pencilled all over the bodies, and have silver-striped 

 hackles. The cock" should have light hackle and saddle, black tail, black 

 and white spotted breast. Pea combs are much prefen-ed to single 

 combs. The reddish brown and cinnamon are both objectionable colours. 

 It is always well to select your breeding stock free from them, "ft'ben the 

 light Brnhmas are well bred as they once were they will be popular. 

 White body, striped hackle, black flight and tail, pea comb, size and shape 

 same as now seen in the Pencilled — these would be beautiful. 



Gapes is Chickens (.Y.), — Your chickens are dying of the g:ipes, and 

 have the roup as weU. Give to each chicken a pill of c:iniphnr, the size 

 of a pea, and put some lumps of it in every vessel from which they drink. 



Fowls not THRmNG. — Pip tE. S.\. — You take too much pains by half. 

 Give your fowls good gi'onnd oats, mixed with milk, some whole corn 

 for a change, very few boiled potatoes, and seldom. Let them have the 

 good grass run. Discontinue all your condiments except natural ones. 

 If their appetite fail, you may give some cooked meat chopped fine. 

 Our opinion is that strong healthy fowls will not catch this disordei-, hut 

 weak and sickly ones will. As a measure of precaution as well as cure, 

 put camphor freely in all their water. 



Calculating Number of Bees (Sympath?/). — We are not suje that we 

 perfectly understand your question. Five thousand bees are considered 

 to weigh a pound, if that is what you refer to. 



Effect of Light on Honey CBee-frh•nll).—^^'e have heard that honey 

 is injured by exposirre to light, but do not know how far the statement 

 may be coiTPct. We have forwarded to you privately the names and 

 addresses of two gentlemen, resident in Ireland, to whom Ligurians have 

 been sent by Mr. "Woodbury. We have no doulit that either of them 

 would be happy to show youthe little strangers, although they might not 

 like their names published. 



PnEsERViNG Queen Bees tidcjn). — Spare queens may be kept alive a 

 week or two if imprisoned ^A-ith about a hundred of their subjects in ■.-. 

 small wooden box with sufficient ventilation, and provisioacd with a bit 

 of sealed lioneycomb. 



