29G 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTA GE GARDESKR. 



[ Oetobtr 7, un> 



company of about three hundred bees, not above a score ear- 

 •nved, and these were eo far gone that a delay of even a few 

 hours must have proved fatal. She owed her life, indeed, to 

 the standint; instructions which I had lonR since given to tue 

 railway officials, never in such a case to hesitate on the score ol 

 expense about despatching a special messenger. In the present 

 instance, to have waited for the usual parcel delivery in tue 

 evening would have deferred operations until the next day, ana 

 such a delay as this must inevitably have been fatal. As it was, 

 I was enabled to present her forthwith to her intended subjects 

 under the protection of a queen-oage, with every hope of a 

 Buccesstul result. . „„„„«» 



The second box was, as may be anticipated, in every respect 

 a/oc simile of the first, but in this the evil pflects of the pro- 

 longed confinement were far less apparent. The total number 

 of deaths did not exceed fitt.v, and as nearly all the surviving 

 bees were in full vigour, I united them with tolerable success 

 to their future fellow-subjects, to whom I also introduced their 

 intended new sovereign in a queen-cage. 



The next day (2aA Sept.) both queens were released, and 

 were cordially received. Six days afterwards, I found that they 

 had commenced egg-laying very copiously considering the ad- 

 vanced season— one extending her operations to three, and tlie 

 other to four combs, and this day (Ist October) a few of their 

 worker offspring are showing outside the hives. 



It now only remains for me to run counter to the proverb, 

 which recommends ns "Never to look a gift horse in the 

 mouth " by exfires-ing an opinion on the merits of the two 

 queens which have been so kindly and so unexpectedly pre- 

 sented to me. I may say at once that both are fine queens, 

 and that either of them will compare favourably with any that 

 I have ever received from the Continent ; but with regard to 

 the lari'er of the two, the one which had so narrow an escape 

 from a° fatal termination of lier journey, I will say yet more, 

 for I think she is the handsomest queen I have ever seen. She 

 is, indeed, truly of a golden yellow colour, and has nothing 

 approaching black about her, since even the very extremity of 

 her abdomen merely darkens off to a deep rich brown. The 

 workers also seem quite worthy of their parentage, but of these 

 little has as yet been seen by— A Devonshire Bee-ivEepefw 



p.g._I should add that I consider the mode in which the 

 bees were packed and provisioned for so long a journey, a 

 masterpiece of ingenious coutrivance most skilfully carried out. 

 The only improvement which I can suggest is, that the lower 

 ventilators would have been better raised— say an inch from the 

 bottom, 60 as not to become choked by the accumulation of 

 dead bees. 



BEES EXPORTING HONEY. 



Perhaps one of the most singular cases ever recorded occurred 

 this season in a gentleman's apiary near my place. The hive 

 in question was one which was bought from a dealer in bees 

 two years ago, and which never did any good. All the summer 

 of 1808, the hive of bees no more than kept itself alive. I 

 noticed that it appeared during the whole summer as if strange 

 bees were troubling it, but then there was nothing to take, and 

 as I saw no bees killed I thought it would hold out against any 

 invasion ; but it never had more than just as much as kept it 

 alive until the end of the season, when a little sugar was ad- 

 ministered, of which it took very little, and by the end of January 

 its store was again exhausted. In the beginning of February 

 what appeared to be regular robbing took place ; but on the 

 gardener examining the hive he found to his surprise, that in- 

 stead of robbing, the bees of a hive standing close to it were 

 actually carrjing food to the stock now dead, and had already 

 filled up a considerable space of comb with honey from_ their 

 own hive. I think, therefore, there is no doubt that it was 

 from this source that the bees had been enabled to keep them- 

 selves alive during the previous summer, and I deem it one of 

 the most unprecedented occurrences that I ever met with. — A 

 LiSAEKSniEE Bee-keepeb. 



bo ground a8 dno a. Ih. Rmin. Sussex U the onlv P'"'" '« ""J,"" "^^ 

 it is properly donu. There is ua exooUent mUler at blaogliam, near 

 Crawley. 



CiAaACTiiUSTics or Bbahma PooTRAR (T. /(. D.).-Tho diCTorenco m 

 Doiuts belKoon Liillit and Dark Brabmas oxlBts only In c.loin-. The 

 tomor BhouW boamlc while, wilb the eiception ol the t,.ll. hnoUo, and 

 fliaht feathers. UiKbclaBs Biecimons should bo pea-conib.d and ireo 

 ?rom vurtnro hock,.'' The toalhers on the legs should be light. To pre- 

 pare them for oih.bition, they merely re<inlre generous food tn K«i; wo'R" 

 Snd condition. Eschc-v potaloe-. rice, or inferior com. S'-'. ';'''>'» 8"^ 

 oats slaked with n.ilk, cooked mi at chopped fine, and at tiinf s a UlUe 

 bread. You may w«»h their feath. r.s with a sponge or flanne , warm water, 

 and soap Be e.relul not to wet ihe inner I''"™"!!" ^ ' ,'" .T^''^{rt ^li 

 "sodpirt of the feather that is dirty. If >-°""'r'»" >'»^«dlrtwm 

 come (ir. Then put the bird in an open baHket partly lllled with hay ot 

 soS straw, and place it in the san or before the lire. "^<^';">,',"K '°J^«%? 

 of vear. Vour pullet lacks the material tor foruung fbell. Supply the 

 runs with bricklayers' rubbish. They will pick out the bmo. 



ISUEEPIN-O SEB.U-.aT BiNTAMS (.Wr. E. •^•)--W« »'» """J "'»' ^e CS^ 



give bat little encouragement or hope ol snccoss in breeding from » stog)^ 

 combed Sebright Bantam cock. We have bred them '"/K"'"' »"* ''"S 

 fancied the single-conibod (for such come in all yard« were the t»Bt 

 marked and laced birds. We have been tempted somet.mos to br^d 

 ?;jm8uch an one. but the result only proved that «'"''' ";:,''°7;Z^ 

 hoped for an exception, that defects are more certainly transmitted than 

 merits. Doubtless the parents ol yonr bird were correct in "<-ry way, 

 and it is probable the majority of his progeny would >", ofl""? ^^ > ''°' 

 ho has thrown b.ick to some great grandfather or grandmother, and so 

 surely as bo has inherited, so would bo transmit. W. cannot "nderstMa 

 why the chickens shoald die if the hens are kept under the rlps, and the 

 chickens are treated as we advise. We believe that the «"'';'»" 'T'"** 

 as hearty as may 1>.. desired. We shaU be glad to hear. Why not send 

 us "Annals of iy Poultry yard ?" you can well tell about what yon Uko 

 BO well. 



EsoLisH AND AvRiOAS OwLS {A Jifjalnr Su!..<!nlifr).-TheTO is a 

 similar difference between English and African Owl Pigeons as between 

 common Tumblers and Shortfaces. The English Owls are "argo. Ane, 

 strong birds, and birds o( flight; their colour usuaUy powder hue or 

 silver. The African Owls, on the contrary, are very , .mmnt.ve. delicate- 

 looking and tender birds, and their fit place an aviary, which must be 

 warm in winter; in short, they are exquisite little toys. Their coloM Is 

 rrequentlya pure soft white. A true-bred pair should weigh less than 

 a pound. ^ . . # 



MlDDLETOK POCLTRT SuOW.-We »« J0f''™='l tl^"' IJ" .""^r^^?!" 



Black Hamburgh cockerels was not awarded to Messrs. Mason 4 Walker, 

 but to Mr. Charles Sidgwick, Ryddlcslen HaU, Keighley. 



RiBBiTs AT WniTBY {Oif who ic<u PreMntl.-Yon are quite mistaken; 

 the communication is from one who thoroogbly understands the subject. 

 and ho was not an exhibitor. The Committee, no doubt, wero aniloQS 

 to do right. , , ... 



Unitino Bees (r. 0. J.).-A full description of the mode of uniting 

 bees by fumigation will bo found in " Taylor s Bee-keeper s ManuaL .^s 

 it occupies oiRht pages of that work, and may, moreov. r. be now regarded 

 as an obsolete process it would take up too much space to transfer it to 

 our columns. It is best done in the evonmg alter dark, but we should 

 much prefer opirating in the morning by drivmg, as advised in page 218. 

 Honey as Bee Food (.W. S. F l.-If you add a little water to your 

 otherwise useless dirty honey, and then scald it, you will render it per- 

 fectly available as bee food. 



Dogs' Meat (R. B. Burl).— Our correspondent did not reqniro the in- 

 formation you have obligingly sent. He has a largo amount of animal 

 offal to sell. 



Food foh a Cow (Inquirer).— Vlher^ grass has been deficient, as it was 

 daring the greater part of the summer ol 1868, we gave our cows hay in 

 the yards night and morning, alternating with oil cake and brewers 

 grain-! the grains as well as the bran mashes increasing the quantity of 

 milk at tho expense of quality, ns is well known t" all """'K^* ™ /"PP'^- 

 ing milk for sale. Where the best quality ol milk is wanted, hay. frass, 

 and onlv Unseed cake ought to bo used; and be caretul no bot-seeded 

 cake linds its way amongst the latter. A smaU qnantity ..I Swede turnips 

 may he given further on; and in March, mangold wurtze may scarcely 

 "^detected, but do cot give it earlier than that On no aecoun pve 

 cabbage or white turnips; potatoes, however, mav bo s i,i>hed ij you 

 have them, but latterly they have been too dear for the purpose. 



Cow-DnoppiNGS ON A Pastdbe FiKiD (7d/ml.-To pick up these wiU 

 deprive the field of the manure, which acts as some compensation for its 

 sur.nlviu» the herh.age the cattle consume, and althongh the spots where 

 the dun" falls may appmr to produce for a time coarse rank «raBS which 

 the cow may se"n to dislike, yet if you wait till autumu "r winter yon 

 will find that most ot these rough places disaiipeir, and they form an 

 excellent reserve for that period, but you might spread these droppings 

 as soon as thev are dry enough. To expect animals to graze evenlj 

 over a given space all at once as the fcsthe would make it. is oat of the 

 question, the finest pastures being seldom found so cxcaptmg whero 

 overstocked and, consequently, very bare. 



Goat Keepisg ( Y ).— A Goat would not annoy yon hv bleating; bat at 

 times she would be drv, and then you must resume the '; sky blue." 8ho 

 must have a male compaoion occasionaUy; and there is some knack m 

 milking. .. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



PcUJlAGE OF HoUDANs (H. B.).— Houdans may be dark or light, so far 

 asc^llour is concerned, but they must not be self-coloured; the prefer- 

 able colour is a mixture ol black and white, in about equal proportions. 

 Darlv birds get lighter "8 they grow older. The top-knots should be black 

 and white; the bodv square, very like that of a Dorking; tho legs 

 speckled, tho feet five-toed, but tho legs should bo short. A mixture of 

 siraw-colourcd feathers is tolerable in the cock, but no bird should he 

 kept that has a red one. Oats ground as yon describe are very unpro- 

 fitable, and only hunger will induce fowls to eat them j tho busk should 



POULTRY MARKET.— OcTonER 6. 

 Our markets arc dull, and quotations to be depended upon are almost 

 impossible. The close, hot weather renders immediate sales necessMy, 

 and they cause great variations in price. Many of the Pheasants mat 

 have come in were forward birds 



Large Fowls 2 



Smaller do 2 



Chickens 1 



Geese 6 



Goslings 



Dnoka 2 



d B. 

 6 to ?- 



2 



9 2 



8 







2 



8. d S. d 



Partridges 1 4 to 1 6 



Grouse 3 3 6 



Pigeons 9 10 



Hares 8 8 6 



Rabbits 14 1 » 



Wilddo 8 9 



