63 



JOUaNAIi OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ January 21, 1875. 



by the hundredweight, then an important question arises — How 

 to dispose of our honey ? Naturally the answers comes — Sell it. 

 Very good, but first a customer must be found, and we do not 

 all like to turn hawkers without a license ; so now I suggest we 

 should take a lesson from our neighbours of the continent, who 

 have many ways of using honey to please all palates. Almost 

 contemporaneous with our Crystal Palace Exhibition were held 

 at Paris and Copenhagen gatherings of a similar character, and, 

 in addition to most of the exhibits that were shown here, 

 appeared a long list of eatables and drinkables made wholly or 

 partly with honey, which would be very welcome on the tables of 

 our own laud. Taking the Paris catalogue I see here were 

 shown honey bread, epiced bread, fruits preserved in honey, 

 jellies, sweetmeats, cakes, bonbons, pastilea, and chocolates ; 

 whilst for eau de vie we need not leave old England, seeing it 

 is to be made both from honey and wax ! Then we have hydro- 

 mel or metheglyn, champagne, red and white wines, liqueurs, 

 fruit syrups, vinegar, and fruit cordials. There is a pretty list of 

 delicacies for our housewives to exercise their ingenuity and 

 skill upon ! aud I trust the result will be, I shall be able to see 

 and taste many of the above at our next British Bee-keepers' 

 Show, and the prizes will be offered for such classes. I think 

 last year they must have been clean forgotten, but notwithstand- 

 ing which a half-dozen bottles of metheglyn made their appear- 

 ance, which were generally distributed amongst the Committee, 

 and one having fallen to my share I can truly say it was fine ; 

 and my friends say the only fault about it is, you cannot drink 

 much of it — perhaps that is lucky. 



EegretfuUy I say I have no instructions how to make these 

 good things, but perhaps among the multitude of our readers 

 others are more fortunate. If bo, by all means let us have the 

 recipes in good time to utilise for our next Exhibition. — John 

 HuNTEK, 5, Eaton Bise, Ealing. 



ECONOMICAL HIVING. 



I AM only a cottager, but very fond of bees. Mr. Pettigrew 

 is a great advocate for his large straw hives. I quite agree 

 with him that a large hive is better than a small one. I have 

 now seventeen stocks of bees — ten in straw hives and seven in 

 boxes, four of which are in tea chests, two in boxes made by a 

 carpenter, and one in a rough bos which will hold three pecks, 

 or nearly a bushel. They were so heavy at the close of the 

 honey season one could scarcely lift them, but I must say that 

 the box, being r:ither a rough and large oue, adds more to the 

 weight. Now as to the tea chest: I keep all my bees in bee 

 houses, and three of those in tea chests are well wrapped-up 

 with hay, and one with old carpet and wadding. My boxes and 

 tea chest have {all but one) three holes on the top covered with 

 perforated zinc, one or two of which I leave open for ventilation, 

 with a glass or small straw hive over. 



In the Journal of November 5th, page 416, " R. S." says that 

 he has a hive or box, or packing case (as he calls it) in his apiary 

 which he has had iu constant use for ten years, aud made from 

 wood only half an inch thick, and answers very well. Now, if 

 this box answers well which is made from wood half an inch 

 thick, I feel that the tea chest will answer quite as well. The 

 wood is very hard, they can be bought for ScZ. or ^d. each, which 

 would be a great advantage to the poor man. I do not say they 

 will do for outdoors, but in a house I think they will answer 

 very well with care in the winter. I have two in tea chests 

 which have stood two winters and are all right up to the present 

 time. I put some bands on the edge of my tea chest of thin 

 iron hooping to keep them together in case the nails should 

 give way. — T. G. 



Dr. Sandford versus Secuetabies of Crystal Palace. — Dr. 

 Sandford sued the Secretaries of the Crystal Palace Poultry 

 Show for return of entries and expenses. This was heard on 

 Tuesday last at the Westminster County Court, and resulted in a 

 verdict for the defendants with costs. Particulars will be given 

 in our next number. 



TO OUR READERS. 



Although we have a double Supplement we are obliged to omit 

 several prize-lists and communications, although in type. 



that have little bat their beauty to recommend them. Brown are preferred 

 to White always. They must have water enoagh to swim in. 



Canaries in an Enclosed Space over a Shop Poor iQiounflAel,Ireland). 

 — The place wherein you keep your birds is certainly a very nice aud cheeriul 

 position both for the birds and your pleasure. Desiring to enjoy an unin- 

 terrupted view of the ways and doings of your Canaries during the breeding 

 season, you need not labour under any misapprehension that the birds will 

 not breed if the cages are entirely taken away from the small room over the 

 doorway. A couple of pairs of Canaries would amply suffice for the 4-fe6t 

 space in length by 18 inches wide. Divide the place either with a sheet of 

 glass or a skeleton wire partition, keeping each pair of birds apart during 

 incubation, or there might, perchance, be a row in the house. The seven 

 Canaries would be too thick upon the ground. When the proper season 

 comes the birds will no doubt very readily pair, although they are in company 

 together at the present time. The hens will of necessity take to their 

 former holes or cavities in the walls (more especially if neither nest box nor 

 basket be supplied), although the cages you mention maybe removed. There 

 is at all times a chance of birds quarrelling if kept together, whether in or 

 out of cages, and we would rather the quarrel take place in an open space 

 than in close quarters. There is every probability of some of the birds 

 successfully pairing and breeding. The state of happiness you say they are 

 now enjoying, accompanied with buoyant health, are signs that harmony 

 will continue to reign in their household. Song will be a matter of secondary 

 consideration. It is much too soon for the hens to besin breeding, therefore 

 do not supply them with building materials until March. By all means 

 keep the cock Eobin apart from the Canaries during the breeding season. 

 If you require Mule birds pair a cock Goldfinch to a hen Canary ; but do not 

 indiscriminately mii up a male aud female GoUlliuch with your Canaries 

 during breeding time. Goldfinches are generally very mischievous with nests 

 and eggs; of course there are exceptions. A three-year-old Goldfinch hen 

 will more likely breed with a cock Canarj' than the cock Goldfinch (caught 

 last harvest) will with a hen Canary. Get a two or thiee-yeax'-old Finch if 

 you wish to be successful in Mule-breeding. 



Books {3. D. W.). — A new edition of Mr. Pettigrew's book on bees will be 

 shortly pubhshed by Blackwood & Sons. 



Removing Stocks {UnfoTtunati). — There will be no difficulty found in 

 the removal of your hives from their pret^ent position to the other on the 

 south side of the Thames. No danger at this time of the year from suffoca- 

 tion or overheating. Their doors should be closed (ventilation is not 

 necessary in winter), and the hives well secured to the boards by string or 

 nails. Put them separately on a light cart (or one with springs), or into a 

 railway carriage, and they will travel safely any distance. If the two positions 

 are close to the river, and nearly opposite earh other, the hives may be taken 

 across by a boat, using a hand-barrow on either side. If they have to go 

 round by London send them by railway. 



OUR LETTER BOX. 



Sebright Bantams for Scotland (Zt. McG.K— Sebright Bantams will 

 stand any climate in the British Islands. The Golden are easier to breed 

 t ban the Silver. Both are equally hardy. The difficulty in breeding them is, 

 t hat many of tbe cocks are at fault, and for the same reason it is seldom 

 satisfactory to buy eggs. 



Poultry Account Book (FZj/-cfl(ch#r).— There was such a book published 

 but we suppose it was given up, aa it is not advertised. 



Call Ducks for Exhibiting [Call Duck], — Wo know few birds more 

 attractive or more admired than good Brown Call Ducks, and they are seldom 

 overlooked. They breed better and pay better than the strictly fancy birds 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS, 



Camden Sqdake, London. 



Lat. 51'^ 32' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W. ; Altitude, 111 feet. 



REMARKS. 

 ISth.— Warm but damp and dai-k all day. 

 lith.— Showery during the whole day ; verj" warm at night. 

 15th. — Another dull morning, but soon clearing off, was fine from 10 a.m. till 



noon ; rainy and dull afternoon; but a fine night. 

 16th. — Showery till noun, then fine for four or five hours, when rain again 



fell, making tbe evening very damp. 

 17th. — Fine till about 1 p.m. ; showery afternoon; but fair iu the evening. 

 18th. — Rainy morning, and more or less rainy all day, in fact a regularly dark, 



damp, disagieeable day. 

 Ijith. — Verj- windy during the past night, and rather so all day, but much 



lighter and finer than the day or two preceding it. A little rain at 



night. Heavy gale commencing about midnight. 

 A dark damp week, the mean 9 a.m temperature 13'= higher than the week 

 before last. Ground saturated by continual slight i-aiu, and damp atmosphere. 

 — G. J. SvaoNS. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— Januaby 20. 

 We have nothing fresh to report, supply and demand being about balanced. 

 The provincial markets remaining quiet, very few orders being on hand. 



B. d. 8. d 



Apples I sieve 1 tol 6 



Apricots doz. 



Cherries fib. 



Chestnuts bURhel 10 20 



Currants { sieve 



Blaek do. 



Figs doz. 



FUberts lb. 1 16 



Cobs lb. 1 16 



Gooseberries quart 



Grapes, hothouse.. .. lb. 4 8 



Lemons i!*100 8 12 



Melons each 1 S 



Mulberries ^Ib. 



Neotarmea doz. 



Oranges ^100 4 



Peaches doz. 



Pears, kitchen doz. 2 



dessert doz. 8 



Pine Apples lb. 2 



Plums 1 sieve 



Quinces doz. 



Raspberries lb. 



Strawberries V lb. 



Walnuts bushel 10 



ditto ^100 1 



d. e 

 OtoO 

 



