September 19, 1805. ] 



JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEB. 



243 



Hall, cxliibitoa two beautiful pens of Turkeys. The following are the 

 invardd :— 



Game (Sinslo Cock).— First and Second, Mr. Bnrgoss. Game Cock and 

 two a,;i».— Firet iiud Second, Mr. BurKCss. Dorking Cock and two limn. 

 —First and Second, Mr. liurgoss. Ani/ ntrietij.— First, Mr. Iluslcm (Ban- 

 tam). Second, Mr. Kemp. 



Ddcks.— First, Mr. Kemp. Second, Jlr. Burgess. Ort«c.— First, Mr. 

 Milts. Second, Mr. Burfc'css. Turke i/H.—Ur. K. Corbett. 



Jlr. Heath, of Nantwicli, was the Judge. 



CROOK AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S POULTRY 

 SHOW. 



{From a Currcsponthnf .) 



The above-named Society held tlieii* third annual Kxhibition on the 

 ()th inst. The entiles were not numerous, but this was owins to tlio 

 .Society not providinj; pens, wliidi prevented many parties from enter- 

 ing that otherwise would have doue so, aud many who had entered 

 failed to send their birds, no doubt for this vei-y reason. It is to be 

 hoped that the Committee will provide pens another year, for they 

 were not blind to their mistake, and were williu;* to do auythiuj; in 

 their power to oblige exhibitors. Mr. ■!. G. Crofton is also one of the 

 nio^t agi-eealjle of Secretiiries. The weather was everything that 

 could i)e desired, cousetjuently a numerous company from the sur- 

 rouuding neighbourhood visited tlie Show. 



The various classes of poultry contained some very good pens of 

 birds, particularly the Dorkiiii/s and Ilamhurrihs ; but the strongest 

 class in the Show was the ISaiiiam class (all the varieties of Bantams 

 competing together), but Mi'. W. Lawrenson sui-passed all other com- 

 petitors with a pen of Duchwing chickens. There was a good eutiy 

 for both ikt'iiC and Ducks, but many of the latter had faulty bills. 

 Some of the collections of Fit/ions were very nice indeed. The 

 following is a list of the awards : — 



Game (Black or Brown Red). — First, J. Sutton, Durham. Second, W. 

 Lawrenson, Eaglescliffe. 



Game (Duekwing). — First, withheld. Second, J. Armary, Croolt. 



Game {.\ny colour). — Prize, J. Armary, Crook. 



Spanish.— First, T. Craggs, Crook. Second, J. Fryer, Smelt House. 



Dorkings. — First, J. BeU, Thoruton-le-Moors, Nortlnollerton. Second, 

 Mrs. Baxter, Erancepeth. 



Cochin-China. — First, B. Thompson. Second, G. A. Proctor, Market 

 Place. Durham. 



Hambcrghs (Golden-spangled). — Fii'st, T. Horn, Tow Law. Second, 

 J. Potts. Sunuiside. 



Hamburghs (Golden-pencilled). — Prize, W. Lawrenson. 



Ha:jburghs (Silver-pencilled). — First and Second, W. Lawrenson, 

 Eftglescliffe . 



Bantams (.Any varietyi. — First, W. Lawrenson, Eaglescliffe, Yarm. 

 Second, W. Robinson, Crool;. 



TuRKEVs. — Pi'ize, J. Fryer, Smelt House. 



Geese. — First, T. Baxter, Er.ancepeth. Second, Mrs. Keid, Stanley. 



Ducks (Aylesbury). — First, J. Fryer, Smelt House. Second, H. 

 Pickering, Tow Law. 



Ducks (Rouen). — First, IMiss C. Crofton, Holywell, Durham. Second, 

 Rev. ]\I. H. Simpson, Tow Law. 



Ducks (.Any other variety). — Prize, Miss C. Crofton. 



Collection of Pigeons. — First, J. Ai-maiy, Gibbet Hill. Second, 

 G. H. Pi'octor, Jun., Market Place, Durham. 



RAILWAY DELAY'S IN DELIVERING DE.YD 

 POULTRY. 



■Will toh inform me if a railway company is boimd to 

 deliver dead fowls at any particular time ? I sent seventy-two 

 last week, and they were not delivered in Leadenhall till after 

 the market was over. The salesman said the loss was quite 

 3d. each. Can I make the companj- pay the loss ? — A Sussex 

 Higgler. 



[If the delay in dehvering a parcel is unreasonably long, 

 the carrier is liable for any consequent loss. Wo have not 

 sufficient particulars to give a more definite opinion. When 

 perishable goods are sent, the railway company, or any other 

 carrier, should be informed of the natiue of the goods, aud be 

 requested to deliver the jiarcel immediately. — Eds.] 



NEW BOOK. 



Eggs and Punltri/ as a Source of Wealth. London : "W. Oliver, 

 3, Amen Comer. 

 We opened this book hoping to find it assisting in a move- 

 ment which is most desirable — promoting the production of 

 poultry aud eggs — but the first paragraph we read was this : — 

 " To commence operations on a small scale, it will be suffi- 

 cient to buy five hens, and inakf tlteui. set!.' The fifteen or 

 eighteen eggs that each hen may hatch will yield at least from 

 ten to a dozen of chickens. At the end of a month the 



chickens must be taken from the hen and placed separately in 

 cages. In the course of thi-uo mouths each of these chickens, 

 if properly fed, will have become a splendid poulet, such as 

 sells for at least 2s. Gd. to 3k. ! ! ! " 



Onr readers will not require to bo told that the whole of that 

 statement betrays total ignorance of jioultry-keepiug. How- 

 ever, we read on, aud the conclusion is that we warn our 

 readers that it is one of the most worthless books with a mis- 

 leading title that wo ever had placed before us. 



TAN-HIVES— SUCCESSFUL DRIN'INa. 



I AM now in a position to communicate the result of my 

 experience, during the summer, of the new material for bee- 

 liivos — tan ; and I am much pleased in being enabled to give 

 a satisfactory report. The inquiry of your correspondent Mr. 

 P. H. West, in a late Number of the Journal, as to whether 

 the hives stand well, aud also whether I still tliink favour- 

 ably of the material of which they are constructed, induces 

 me to communicate a few more details respecting them. I 

 have now five of these tan hives, all in a prosperous con- 

 dition ; the bees numerous, the hives weighty as to contents, 

 aud the material free fi-om the slightest deterioration. The 

 bees appear to have enjoyed their cool summer quarters, there 

 having been less oppression from heat and less clustering 

 out than in any of my boxes or straw hives. For winter I 

 feel assured that hives of this material wiU far exceed any 

 others in dryness and uniformity of temperature. Of course, 

 owing to their weight, they cannot readily be moved from 

 place to place ; this may bo somewhat of a drawback, but 

 they can, however, be worked with bars, and are also weU 

 adapted for supers. Three of these hives contain swarms of 

 this summer: one, a natural swarm, the others artificial, each 

 of these having worked a considerable quantity of comb and 

 stored honey in supers. I very much doubt whether tan-hives 

 will come into general use, even in the garden of the scientific 

 apiarian, but as an experiment, and a home manufactm-e, their 

 construction and subsequent management have afforded me 

 much pleasure. I can obtain the material close at hand, and 

 at a cheap rate. The drying of the hives is, however, tedious, 

 requiring some weeks' exposure to the air to effect it perfectly. 



My driving operations have been successful this autumn, 

 not one out of the thirty-five hives upon which I have operated 

 having proved a faihu-e. From these " beat-out '' bees I have 

 established nine fine stocks, the empty comb and brood from 

 the hives having materially assisted in building them up, and 

 hberal feeding effecting the rest. Most of these stocks contain 

 thi-ee united lots, the remainder I have joined to some of my 

 hives, there having been no disagreement in any instance. 



A description of my mode of procedure may, perhaps, be ac- 

 ceptable, as it varies in some of its details from that pursued by 

 others, who, nevertheless, may be equally successful operators. 

 It is quite immaterial what portion of the day you select for 

 the manipulations ; and I have foimd, in every instance, that 

 the di-iven bees, with their queen intact, have settled quietly 

 into their hive, ready for their removal in the early part of the 

 evening. 



Having cautioned inquisitive people to get out of my way, 

 foreboding direful consequences should the irritated bees 

 escape, I remove the hive to some little distance, jilacing 

 another slate on the stand, upon which I spread the cloth in 

 which the driven bees are finally secured, and upon this an 

 empty hive with the straw cap loosely thrown over it. Then, 

 returning to the hive to be operated upon, I arrange the cloth 

 and string for wrapping roimd, and look out my three sharp 

 metal skewers, with which I seciu-e the hives together in the 

 following manner : — Having inverted the hive, and placed my 

 empty butt upon it, I take one end of the cloth and one skewer, 

 run it through the edges of the hives aud one end of the cloth, 

 pass this round ; take another skewer, aud in the same manner 

 secure the other end ; take the string, sUp a loop in the end 

 over one skewer, pass it round, aud, lastly, the third skewer 

 through the loop in the other end of the string ; this saves 

 time and trouble in tj-ing, aud secures the hives, so that you 

 might, perhaps, almost roll them about together without their 

 separating. Bap for two or three minutes, then off' with string 

 aud cloth, and sticking one skewer through the edges of the 

 hives, so as to act as a hinge, raise the butt, and pass the 

 other skewers through the edges one on each side, thus keep- 

 ing it up at an angle, say of about 45'. Again rap, if needful, 

 aud you may watch the stampede ; remove the bees to the stand 



