556 



JOURNAL OF HOKTIOULTDBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t December 17, ISTl. 



Btimnlating diet to make them lay aa much as possible. This is 

 not surprising when we reflect that our domestic fowls are in a 

 highly artiflcial condition. The production of large numbers of 

 eggs is unnatural, being a habit induced by man, and causes a 

 great strain on the constitution. The artificial supply of food 

 in unlimited allowance, with no necessity for exercise on the 

 part of the fowls, is another source of disease. In the wild state 

 every species of, bird must work for a living and procure its 

 food a little at a time. It may be observed, also, that during the 

 very part of the year when food, perchance, is abundant, the 

 ■wild fowls are kept from laziness by the necessity of feeding 

 their young, nature having fixed the breeding time in the flush 

 season as regards forage. Again, the structure of fowls is so 

 changed by ages of breeding, that the wings and legs, and whole 

 Bets of muscles connected therewith, are dwarfed by disease, 

 while other portions of the body are made relatively larger, 

 which impairs the general vigour by destroying to some extent 

 the natural balance of the organisation. For these and other 

 reasons it is to be expected that the ordinary death rate in the 

 poultry yard will be considerable. The fact that fowls will die 

 of old age, anyhow, when five or six — at most eight years old (in 

 most cases) — renders it likely that a certain proportion will die 

 annually at an earlier age. In conformity with this idea, Geese, 

 which do not reach old age till twenty to one hundred years, do 

 not drop oS in the early years of maturity to bo great an extent 

 as hens. 



The moral of the above is that novices in poultry-raising 

 need not worry over their ill-luck, or mistrust that their man- 

 agement is any worse than that of their neighbours, because, 

 perchance, a few of their fowls of two, or three, or four years old 

 die every summer. It is to be expected unless the breed kept is 

 uncommonly hardy, and all the circumstances are unusually 

 favourable. Beduce the death rate as much as possible by 

 hygienic measures rather than by medicine. Give plenty of 

 air and sunshine, feed moderately, and promote exercise, and 

 expect some losses in spite of all precautions. — {Buffalo Live 

 Stock Journal.) 



BABBIT-KEEPING.— No. 2. 

 The weaning hutch is built on the same principle. It is 12 feet 

 long, 6 feet wide, and 6 feet high; four storeys in each hutch. 



Fig. 15S.— Weaning Hutch. 



Four feet in the middle is wired to admit air and sunshine, 

 having a large door (w) to close over the wire in bad weather 

 and damp nights. The Rabbits are fed through the small doors 

 (k). The back is furnished with swinging doors, the floors are 

 inclined back, a trough is furnished at the bottom, and every- 

 thing arranged the same as in the breeding hutch, except the 

 breeding apartment, which is left out, and the whole interior of 

 each storey is one large apartment 6 feet wide by 12 feet long 

 and 18 inches high, in which forty young Babbits can be kept in 

 a perfectly healthy condition ; thus the whole hutch will hold 

 160 young Rabbits. I set these hutches upon bricks to keep 

 them dry, and would prefer to have the breeding hutches upon 

 the south side of a building or other shelter from cold winds. 



The Babbits are fed at sunrise and sundown. I give dry food 

 at night (hay, grain, &c.), and green food in the morning, such 

 as grass, apples, turuipE, &c. I prefer carrots above everything 

 else as a moist food, and especially for young Babbits. They 

 cannot, in my opinion, be recommended too highly, but even 

 carrots must be fed with a sparing hand to young stock (between 

 six weeks and three months old) or they will be fatally injured. 

 A piece of carrot as big as a small walnut night and morning, 

 and all the dry food they will eat, are the rations I allow. 



I keep my stock bucks in a breeding hutch. I find the apart- 

 ment partitioned off for breeding does is a good thing for the 

 bucks, as they can retire into it. Give the buck plenty of room ; 

 if you crowd him into a small place where he cannot exercise he 



will Boon lose vigour, and in some instances become perfectly 

 useless. I never let my does breed in winter; I have them 

 kindle about the 1st of May, and keep them breeding until the 

 last of November, and from that time until the next spring I let 

 them rest, and think I lose nothing by so doing. This is the 

 method I employ to raise Babbits in the open air without a 

 building to contain the hutches. — W. F. Hallock, Mattituck, 

 Suffolk Co., N.Y. — (The American Pet Stock Bulletin.) 



NOBTHUMBEBLAND SHOW OF CANARIES 

 AND OTHEB BIRDS. 



This was held in the Mechanics' Institute, New Bridge Street, 

 Newcastle-on-Tyne, on the 4th and 5th inst. The prizes were 

 as follow : — 



Belgian (Clear, Ticked, or Variegated Yellow). — 1, 2, and 3, J. Batter, 

 Sunderland, /ic, G.Scott; R. Hawman. 



Bi:LoiiN (Clear, Ticked, or Variegated Bnlf).— 1, 2, 3, and vhc, J. Batter. 

 he, W. PearBOn ; J. Davison. 



Belgian (ClearDun), — 1 and 2, Anderson & Hardy, North Shields. 3, G. 

 Sc>,tt. c, R. Johnson. 



Belgian (Dim-marked).— 1, T. English, North Shields. 2, J. Moffat. 3 and 

 vhc, J. Harrison. 



Norwich (Clear Tellow).— 1 and he, J. Athersuch & Son. 2 and 8, J. 

 Adams. I'^c, J. Stevens, c, J. Baxter; A.Armstrong. 



Norwich (Clear Buff). — 1, 2, and 3, J. Adams, vhc, J. Athersucli & Son (2) ; 

 J. Baxter, c, T. Smith. 



Norwich (Even-marked Yellow). — 1 and 2, S. Pervlval. 3, J. Baxter. 

 r?ic, J. Adams, ftc, J. Athersuch & Son ; T. Cleminson. c, W. & C. Bumiston. 



Norwich (Even-marked Buff). — 2, G. Cox. 2, J. Adams. 3, J. Athersuch 

 and Son. i^hc, J. Athersuch & Son ; J. Adams ; T. Cleminson. he, J. Baxter. 



Norwich (Ticked or Uneven-marked Yellow). — 1 and t'hc, J. Adams. 2 and 

 3, J. Athersuch lS: Son. he, J. Parker, e, J. Bexson. 



Norwich (Ticked or Uneven-marked Buff). — 1, J. Parker. 2 and 3, J. 

 Adams. vhc,T. Tenniswood; Johnson & Armstrong, ^c, J. Athersuch and 

 Son (21 ; J. Bexson. 



Norwich (Yellow or Yellow-marked Crested).— 1 and 2, J. Baxter. 3, F. 

 Woodward. ?n;, R. Watterson ; F. Woodward ; J. Baxter. 



Norwich (Buff or Buff-marked),- 1, F. Woodward. 2 and he, J. Baiter. 

 3, R. Herdman. ('?ic, F. Kuaggs; W. J. Hampton; J. Baxter, c, J. Hurreli; 

 G. Cox ; W. J. Hampton ; F. Woodward. 



Norwich (Clear or Grdj-orested). — 1, F. Woodward. 2, G. Cox. 3 and c, 

 J. Baxter, he, Johnson iS Armstrong. 



Crest (Any variety except Norwichl. — 1, J. Garbutt. 2 and 3, J. Meakin. 

 t'fic, J. Meakin (4); J.Baxter; J. Garbutt. /i<-, J. Baxter. 



Lizard (Golden-spangled).— 1,2, and 8, R. Ritchie. )ic, T. Haywood, c, G. 

 Sorge. 



Lizard (Silver-spangled).—!, 3. and vhc, B. Eitchie. 2, J. Stevens. 



Yorkshire (Clear Yellow or Yellow-marked.— 1 and 2, J. Thackrey, 3, 

 Johnson & Armstrong, he, J. Gilhespy ; W. & C. Burniston. 



Yorkshire (Clear Buff or Buff-marked).— I, J. Thackrey. 2, B. Hawman. 

 3, Johnson & Armstrong, x-hc, G. Turner; J. Baxter, he, M. Comer. 



Cinnamon (Yellow).- 1 and 2, J. Adams. S, G. Cox. rhe, E. Watterson ; 

 J. Pringle. he. J. Parker ; J. Adams. 



Cinnamon (Buff).— 1, 2, and 3, J. Adams, vhc, J. Pciker; G. Cox. he,T 

 Harrison, c, Q. Sorge (2). 



Cinnamon (Yellow-marked). — 1, T. Tenniswood. 2, J. Spence. 3, W. & C. 

 Burniston. he, W. Matison ; J. Baxter, c, G. Cox ; J. Streets. 



Cinnamon (Buff-marked).— 1, J. Baxter. 2, W. Pearson. 3, J. Hnrrell. 

 he, G. Cox. e, G. Scott; J. Gilhespy ; W. & C. Bnmiston. 



Canabv (Green).— 1, W. Redhead. 2, H. Armstrtng. 3, J. EUlson. vhc, 

 P. Seaton ; J. Stevens ; H. Armstrong, he, Anderson & Hardy. 



Scotch Fancy (Yellow).— 1 and 2, W.Clark. 3, T. Blackburn. vhc,yf. 

 Clark ; Johnson A Gaskin. he, J. Stenhouse (2). 



Scotch Fancv iBufli.—l, H. Frazer. 2, R. Gilhespy. 3, C. Hobkiik. vhc, 

 W. Clark ; Johnson & Gaskin. he, J. Davison, c, J. Hewitt ; W. Bedhead ; 

 J. Sraeaton. 



Scotch Fancy (Yellow-variegated). — 1, T. Bruce. 2, H. Frazer. 3, W. 

 Clark, vhc, Johnson & Ga?kin ; J. Murray, he, W. Wallace ; J. Streets. 



Scotch Fancy (Buff Variegated). — 1, T. Brown. 2, G. Stephenson. 3, T. 

 Blackburn, vhc, W. WaUace; W. Clark; J. Streets, he, W. Clark; H. 

 Frazer. 



Selling Class. — 1, J. Bexson. 2, J. Thackrey. 3. G. Sorge. vhc, T. 

 Cleminson. he, J. Baxter, e, W. Wallace ; R. Brown ; J. Stenhoose (2) ; J. 

 Stevens ; Gales & Cooper ; G. Cox ; J. Ellison ; J. Bexson ; W. H. Batchelor. 



Goldfinch (Moulted).— 1, G. Cox. 2, J. Lawton. 3, R. Hawman. vJic,3. 

 Wilcox; W. & C. Burniston; J. C. Bamber (2). 



Linnet (Moultedi.— 1, J. Baxter. 2 and 8, J. Bage. vhc, G.' Stephenson. 

 c, W. Robson (2) ; W. Robinson ; G. Scott ; M. Waugh; J. Lawton. 



Mule (Goldfinch and Canary Variegated Yellow). — 1, R. Hawman. 2, W. 

 and C. Burniston. 3, J. Baxter, ?^c, J. Bexson. e, J. Soulsby; G. B. Frost. 



Mule (Goldfinch and Canary VariegatedBuffj.—l, J. Stevens. 2, J. Sonlsby. 

 3, J. Pnrdy. vhe, T. Tenniswood; J. Spence; J. Adams; R. Pearson, c, G. 

 Stephenson; D. Hope. 



Mule (Dark Goldfinch). — 1, Johnson & Armstrong. 2, G. Cox. 8, R 

 Hawman. vhc, R. Hawman ; G. Cox. he, R. Simpson. 



Mule (Any other variety). — 1 and 3, J. Spence. 2, J. Stephens. 



Cage of Six, in Variety.— 1, W. J. Hampton. 2, J. Baxter. 3, E. 

 Gilhespy. 



Britisb Bird (Any variety).—], O. Sorge. 2, J. Baxter. 3, G. Watsou. 

 vhe, J. C. Bamber; J. S. Staik ; li Pearson. )i<:, W. A C. Burniston ; G.Cox ; 

 Gales & Cooper; W. Winter, e, W. Robson; J. Lawton. 



Foreign B)RD (Any variety).— 1, A. D. Dance. Extra 1, J. S. Stark. 2, W. 

 MaxweU. 3, W. Oakey. he, G. Stephenson ; J. S. Stark. 



SPECIAL EXTRA PRIZES. 

 Silver Medal, for Classes 15,1(3. 17, and IS, It Ritchie, Darlington. 

 Silver Medal, for Classes 10, 20, 21, 22. and 23, J. Adams, Coventry. 

 Silver Medal, for Class 35, J. Hampton, Darlington. 

 Cup, for most points in Crested classes, J. Baxter, Newcastle. 

 Clip, (or Classes 29, 30, and 36, J. Baxter. 

 Cup, for Classes 5, 6, 7, «, 9, 10, J. Adams. 

 Gold Medal, for most points in Show, J. Adams. 



