March 18, 1875. ] 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICDLTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



227 



Class 41, Miscellaneous, for any other variety of Finch Mules. 

 In this class several entries were made in error — namely, a 

 Black Mule, a couple between Siskin and Canary, Linnet and 

 Green bird, and five Cinnamon Mules. The class was judged 

 as they stood, and a second prize was given to Mr. Doel's Black 

 Mule, but another exhibitor raising an objection the bird was 

 withdrawn. The first prize was awarded to Mr. John Brown's 

 Bullfinch and Goldfinch cross, a bonny specimen. The appear- 

 ance of several of the cages in this class was somewhat marred 

 through being partly covered with printed papers denoting the 

 respective breeds of the occupants. Why they should have been 

 made so conspicuous I am at a loss to know. The particulars in 

 the catalogue ought to have sufficed. 



The classes for British birds were well supported. Bullfinches 

 numbered thirty-one. Goldfinches forty-nine, ChaSinches ten, 

 Linnets eleven, Bedpoles and Siskins eight. Skylarks sixteen, 

 Robins thirteen. Thrushes twelve, Starlings nine, one Magpie, 

 one Jay, three Jackdaws, and nineteen of various other breeds 

 in class 55. Those of especial merit were Major Edwards's Bull- 

 finch ; Messrs. Doel's and Hawman's Goldfinches, the former in 

 particular an exceptional good one; Mr. T. Al win's Chaffinch; 

 Messrs. Cannon's and Cleminaou it Ellerton's Brown Linnets; 

 Mr. Newmarch's Siskin; Mrs. Judd's Skylark; Mr. Cox's 

 Robin; Mr. R. J. Troake's Blackbird; Mr. Newbold's famous 

 Thrush (one of the best plumed in the British classes), and Miss 

 Emma Hawkins's two very learned Starlings, one of which was 

 stated to whistle an air from " Madame Angot." 



In class 55 — Any other variety of British birds — aWhite Gold- 

 finch belonging to Mr. AUoorn, headed the lot for honours which 

 were freely given. Miss Norah Mohr and Mr. John Young had 

 equal firsts awarded, the former two prizes for a couple of 

 pairs of smart Bearded Tits, and a cage containing a Grey or 

 Dun "Wagtail Blue. Mr. Young's equal first was won with a 

 very good feathered Nuthatch. 



Birds of Passage formed three claaaes, half a dozen Blackcaps 

 making up the class, Mr. C. Varetti being the winner of first and 

 second prizes. There were six Nightingales, Mr. 0. A. Watts 

 being foremost with an interesting bird, which occasionally 

 treated the visitors with its vocal power. The other class was 

 represented with a Cuckoo, a Titlark, a Yellow Wagtail, and a 

 lesser Whiiethroat. Mr. Tilney's Wagtail was to the front; Mr. 

 Walker's Titmouse and Mr. Watts's Whitethroat equal seconds. 



Foreign birds were likewise numerous, and besides those 

 entered in the classes was a splendid collection exhibited by 

 A. F. Wiener, Esq., Belle Vue House, Heme Hill, Dulwich, 

 comprising thirty-one birds of various breeds. Although not 

 for sale or competition they did not escape the notice of the 

 Judges. Altogether there were eighteen classes for Foreign 

 birds, and there were 147 entries, consisting of Widah Birds, 

 Red-headed Cardinals, Virginian Nightingales, Waxfeills, Java 

 Sparrows, Diamond Sparrows, Doves, Love Birds, Parakeets, 

 Cockateals, Parrots, and Cockatoos of various kinds, besides a 

 large entry in the last class for Foreign birds of any other variety, 

 " too numerous to particulaiise," as an auctioneer would say. 



The Selling class and the class for exhibition cages terminated 

 by far the finest show of Cage Birds ever held. — An Eye-witness. 



SQUIRRELS ARE EGG-SUCKERS. 

 In your notice to correspondents, page 20(5, you write, 

 *' Squirrels do not suck Rooks' or Partridges' eggs." Perhaps not; 

 I do not know, but I do know that they suck Woodpigeons' eggs, 

 having seen them do it. I was induced to watch by finding fre- 

 quently at the foot of fir trees on which the Woodpigeons nested 

 egg shells empty, with an opening on the side about the size of a 

 shilling, jagged as if made by the teeth of some rodent. — R. F. P. 



Bath and West of England Society and Sodthern 

 Counties Association.— Croydon Meeting, 1875. — The General 

 Post-office will extend the telegraph wires to the Show Ground, 

 and make such other arrangements as may be desirable. For the 

 Meeting of 1876 the Council haveacoepted the Hereford invitation. 



LIGURIAN AND COMMON BEES. 



Some fourteen days ago the desirability of having a public 

 trial of strength between Ligurian and common bees was 

 suggested. It was hoped that some one would propose a few 

 simple rules and regulations to be observed in a trial of this 

 kind. I now venture to state what I think would be a fair and 

 satisfactory way of testing whether Ligurians are in any sense 

 better than common bees. Five swarms of each sort, all equal 

 in weight, say 5 lbs. each swarm, put into hives alike in size 

 and materials, placed in one garden at the same time, and re- 

 main together till examined and weighed by the judges. Of 

 course the hives would be placed under the care of an honourable 

 person, and never be visited by their owners. If a more satis- 

 factory trial can be suggested I shall be very glad. 



Thomas Bagshaw, Esq., of Languor, called here the other day, 



and as he is a young, energetic, and intelligent apiarian, and 

 better able than myself to undertake the activities of the pro- 

 posed contest, I am glad to say that he is ready to make arrange- 

 ments for a public trial. His bees are the common sort, and if 

 he has not swarms enough at the time that may be fixed on I 

 will gladly lend him some of mine. 



I shall be gratified if any gentleman, or number of gentlemen 

 jointly, will arrange to produce five swarms of Ligurians where- 

 with to enter the arena to meet those of Mr. Bagshaw. If five 

 Bwarms of hybrids be entered as well the experiment would 

 have a wider sweep and be much more important. Shall we not 

 indulge the hope that the admirers and patrons of Ligurian 

 bees will now embrace this opportunity of proving the truth of 

 their assertions as to the superiority of their favourites ? 



If the projected trial establish or prove the superiority of 

 Ligurians all right-minded apiarians will encourage their pro- 

 pagation and sale all over the country ; and if they are not 

 better in any sense poor people will be instructed not to expect 

 greater results from Ligurians than are realised by common bees. 

 In such a contest there is nothing to fear. Though I believe 

 now that the common bees are inferior to none in their breed- 

 ing and working powers, I shall be delighted to see them fairly 

 beaten. 



If a contest cannot be arranged without stakes and prizes, let 

 me say that, if any of the patrons of Ligurians will intimate 

 their willingness to enter the arena of contest on condition that 

 a handsome prize be given to the winner, the best shall be done 

 to raise subscriptions to cover a fair share of the prize-money. 



If our friends wish to convince the bee-keepers of Great 

 Britian that the common bees are inferior to theirs, they have 

 now an opportunity offered to them of doing so. And if they 

 come forward in an honest manly way to have this matter 

 settled, they will do something to advance apiarian science and 

 benefit the bee-loving community. — A. Pettigrew, 



A VISIT TO HAN WELL. 



Not to the Asylum, although some would perhaps say I was 

 mad enough over flowers to be qualified for it; not to the Central 

 Schools, although I did go there, and should be quite prepared 

 to take the defendant's side in " Senior v. Tufnell ;" but to the 

 Editor of the " Bee Journal," the well-known Hanwell bee- 

 master, Mr. Charles Abbott: for amongst my cultures I have for 

 many years, in a bungling sort of way, kept the little busy things. 

 But I have been very much dissatisfied with my keeping. I 

 had built a bee house, into which the wax moth had come and 

 destroyed two of my best hives, and which I had demolished 

 accordingly. I have long thought that if I kept bees at all it 

 should be in not quite so unscientific a way as I had done ; and 

 this feeling was intensified by seeing the wonderful Exhibition 

 at the Crystal Palace last year, and hearing, and indeed behold- 

 ing, the amazing results produced by bee-keepers in various 

 parts of the kingdom, more especially in Scotland. And so, as 

 business led me to Hanwell, I determined to utilise the visit for 

 this purpose; and having corresponded with Mr. Abbott felt 

 sure, from the tone of his letters, that I should be received with 

 courtesy and initiated into everything that I as a novice might 

 require information upon. There were some three or four things 

 I wished to get evidence upon : — Ist, What sort of hives were 

 the best, wood or straw; 2nd, whether the use of the quilt was 

 advisable or not; and 3rd, the value or oiherwiae of the Ligurian 

 bees. 



I found, as I have often done with the most successful growers 

 of flowers, that the place where Mr. Abbott "cultivates" hia 

 favourites was not at all a likely place to look for them. There 

 was no fine and open space, no fragrant dell or brilliant parterre, 

 but I turned into a small cottage yard in the street of the long 

 straggling village of Hanwell ; and there, in a small square back 

 garden, were in all directions hives of all sorts, and here have 

 the experiments been made which have been recorded in the 

 " Bee Journal," and which, while they have produced so much 

 controversy, have also led to such good practical results. 



And now as to the question of hives. Of course now-a-days 

 nothing but bar hives will do ; but the question is. What sort of 

 bar hives shall they be — of straw or wood ? and it of wood which 

 is the best ? The wooden bar hives are all more or less a modi- 

 fication of the old Woodbury hive ; and as I am not inviting a 

 buzz about my ears, and probably a sting or two into the bargain 

 — [for writers on bees seem sometimes as if they bad stolen some 

 of the poison bags of their little pets and dipped their pens in 

 theip) — by disparaging this or that hive, I am only going to say 

 what I saw that pleased me. There was first of all the wonder- 

 fully cheap Woodbury that gained the prize at the Crystal 

 Palace, and which is made for 3s. : this ought to be largely used 

 for the purpose of trying to induce our cotta:;ers to give up their 

 barbarous practice of destroying the bees. Then there was Mr. 

 Abbott's own hive, which strueli me as being a most admirable 

 one, and which is made for 25.9. complete, or with some further 

 improvements for 35s. This hive seems to me to have all the 

 advantages of a Woodbury, and to be superior to it in some 



