March 23, 1873. ] 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICDLTUBB AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



2i7 



has yet openly espoused the cause of the English binl; it is 

 rjuite as good in its way as the English Owl. 



" ■Wiltshire Rector " says the English bird can make good 

 use of its wings, and so can the foreign when tiowu, which I 

 have done. I am, therefore, still of the same opiuiou, that to 

 give prizes for English Owls is only offering a premium for 

 mediocrity. In a general way I am not for " furriu " things or 

 ways, but here we are beaten by those whom in our national 

 conceit we look upon as barbarians, or something not far off that 

 state. They have given us a lesson in the fine arts (for such I 

 hold high-class fancy Pigeon breeding to be), that we ought to 

 profit by. — Bubo. 



THE PBIZE CAGES AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE 

 BIRD SHOW. 



FIEST-PKIZE CAGE. 

 The Judges were unanimous in t heir selection of the cage 14G5, 

 exhibited by Mr. Thomas Alwin of Deptford. It speedily met 

 with their entire approval, owing to its adaptability for the show 

 room not only during the daytime but during gaslight, the 

 wire construction of it, especially at the roof, allowing sufficient 



held at the Bramall Lane Cricket tirouud in July last, the 

 money being the amount of first and second prizes in the classes 

 for Brahma fowls. Plaintiff exhibited ten pens of Brahma fowla 

 at the Show, and obtained prizes amounting to £2 .55., which 

 the defendants had refused to pay him. In defence it was con- 

 tended that the plaintiff had forfeited his prize money because 

 he had infringed the rtgulatious of the Show \>y puiloiuiug eggs 

 produced by the fowls of other exhibitors. Plaintiff denied the 

 offence of larceny, and said he had taken no eggs except those 

 which had been produced by his own fowls. The Judge did not 

 consider there was anything in the regulations of the Show to 

 entitle the Committee to withhold the prize money from the 

 plaintiff, and therefore he gave a verdict for the amount claimed. 

 He thought the defendants had accused the plaintiff with larceny 

 in an unfair manner, aud was of the opinion that the charge 

 ought either to be withdrawn or prosecuted. 



THE NORTH BRITISH AND THE SCOTTISH 

 ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. 



In your issue on March 11th, Mr. Huie makes a very inoorrecli 

 statement, which, as au office-bearer of- the North British Co- 



light to enter the cage and the bird not beiug shaded, as in the 

 ordinary box cages now generally used. Being of a compact 

 shape aud handy size, similar to the cages in use, it maj easily 

 be packed. One very ingenious advantage is in the construction 

 of the receptacles for seed and water, which are made to fit in 

 the woodwork on each side of the cage, with mouthpieces or cups 

 the size of the first joint of the thumb to enter each side for the 

 bird to supply itself with seed and water. This is shown by the 

 engraving a (fig. 59). The one for seed has a square hole at the 

 top part, by which the receptacle is supplied with seed ; and it 

 is calculated to hold sufficient seed for one week for a single 

 bird. The receptacle for water has no hole iu the upper part, 

 it being necessary that it should be kept air-tight. When the 

 latter has to be supplied with water it has to be detached and 

 tilled at the mouth where the bird drinks from. Altogether it is 

 well adapted to meet all requirements. It is 12 ( inches in length, 

 12} inches in height, and 5i inches iu width. The cost is stated 

 to be about 2s. Gd. ; but even supposing it to be a trifle more, it 

 would well answer the purpose required. This cage was awarded 

 the silver medal, and is well suited for most small birds. 



Action for Prizes at a Poultry Ssovf. — Whiteley v. Harvey 

 iiid Others. — This was tried in the Sheffield County Court on 

 the 13th inst. The plaintiff, William Whitely, of Clough Place, 

 St. Mary's Road, sought to recover the sum of ±'2 5s. from 

 Messrs. W. Harvey, Edward Brown, W. W. Ronton, aud A. 

 Silvester, the Committee of Management of the poultry Show 



lumbarian Society, held in Glasgow, I feel it to be my duty 

 to correct. He states "that the North British Columbariau 

 Society is only the remains of the Scottish Ornithological, 

 which was the original name, and only after he and Mr. Ure 

 left it (they were the last of its members) the name was changed 

 to the North British Columbariau." Having acted as Secretary 

 for ten years to this Society from its origin, Mr. Huie will allow 

 me to refresh his memory. The North British Columbariau 

 Society was formed early in the year 18G2, nearly two years 

 before the Scottish Ornithological ceased to exist; and Mr. Huie, 

 by turning to the list of prizes awarded at the competition held 

 by the Scottish Ornithological in 1863, will find in print a 

 presentation of silver plate from the members of the North 

 British Columbariau, as a Society, to be competed for as extra 

 prizes. — James Kuthven. 



[The Mealy Pouter has now been lost sight of in these letters 

 and it scarcely needs disputing whether one society was born 

 before another was defunct. — Eds.] 



CAUSE OF HONEY CANDYING. 



A correspondent of "The Scientific American" has been 

 experimenting to prevent honey candying, and states his ex- 

 perience as follows :— During the past autumn I have experi- 

 mented as follows : I put up six 1 lb. cans of beautiful huden 

 honey, being careful to make it into one homogeneous mass by 

 stirring. It was thrown from the combs by an extractor on 



