January 13, 187G. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORXICULTURK AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



is 



from Southampton, lota of eggs were Bent over from Brittany 

 for Bale. But these little Breton eggs were smaller tliau the 

 ring-maker had ever thought possible, for they all went easily 

 through the smallest riug, and of course, fetched only the 

 smallest price. Siuce then the introduction of Brahma and 

 CrGve-Cccurs has greatly improved the breed of the fowls. 



The number of eggs annually laid by a fowl is estimated at 

 fifty-two, which would weigh about G lbs., and as a fowl seldom 

 weighs more than 3 lbs., a hen lays annually eggs double her own 

 weight. Seveuteenesga will weigh on the averaga a kilogramme, 

 or 2; lbs. Hoijfleur l-ggs are regarded as the best in France, 

 and generally fetch fr..m Is. to Is. 6d. the hundred more than 

 Cherbourg eggs. Ihe Cherbourg cases contaiu about 1125 eggs 

 each, and the half-cases from Honfleur OUO. They arrive chiefly 

 at Southampton, but imports are also made at Bristol, AVey- 

 mouth, Poole, Shoreham, Nenhaven, and Littlehamptou. The 

 Brighton and South- Western lines bring up 12,000 tous of French 

 eggs a-year, or more than -1,000,000 a-week all the year round. 

 The quantity thipped from Calais in 1874 was 503,100 kilo- 

 grammes in weight, or about 9,500,000 eggs. Mr. Hctham the 

 British Consol at Calais, points out that the nature of the soil 

 has much to do with the quantities of eggs laid. " In this neigh- 

 bourhood," he remarks, " as well as near Boulogne, there exists 

 a marked quantity of silica in the soil, highly favourable for 

 egg-laying purposes ; remove the fowls from this peculiar soil, 

 and this fecundity ceases, and that this is the case about here 

 as well as in the neighbourhood of Boulogne is well known." 

 At Amiens, again, this same quality of soil is found, and the 

 poultry from that district are remarkable for their laying quali- 

 ties; indeed, they are the "most celebrated layera in France."— 

 (Grocer.) 



PIGEONS AT BIBMINGHAM. 



I SEE in your report of (he Pigeons at Bristol that "Wilt- 

 SBIBE Eectob " alludes to the temperature of the Pigeon-gallery 

 at Birmingham. I have visited that place at all hours, and can 

 entirely corroborate what he states. The object, however, of 

 my troubling you with these lines is to suggest that fanciers 

 should join in a friendly remonstrance to the authorities before 

 refusing to enter. I have found those in charge of the birds at 

 Birmingham particularly obliging. At i p.m. on the Wednes- 

 day of the last Show I found the atmosphere in one part of the 

 Pigeon-gallery quite unbearable from the gas below. I had no 

 birds at that end, but for kindness' sake found the person in 

 charge, who at once altered the gas and ventilators, and things 

 were a little improved. Still nothing can make that gallery a 

 proper place for Pigeons. Eemonstrance has gained us much 

 in the poultry department. Three years ago the birds spent a 

 week on boards saturated with water from those wretched 

 drinking-dishes, now they have sand (certainly little enough), 

 supplied, proper drinking vessels hung up, and green food given 

 daily. I shall be glad to join any fanciers in pleading for better 

 treatment of the Pigeons. — 0. E. Ceesswell. 



THE LA.BGEST POULTRY-TAKDS 



In 3S[ew York State are at Greene, Chenango County, kept by 

 Mr. A. B. Robeson. He has 6000 Ducks, 4000 Turkeys, and 1200 

 hens. They consume daily sixty bushels of corn, two barrels of 

 meal, two barrels of potatoes, and a quantity of charcoal. The 

 meal, potatoes, and charcoal are boiled together and form a 

 pudding, which is fed warm. He has commenced to kill them 

 off, and employs fifteen hands to pick, two to kill, and one to 

 carry away and pack on racks until frozen, then they are ready 

 to pack for shipping. He also employs two men to cook the 

 feed and feed them. He has twelve buildings for his fowls, 

 from 100 to 200 feet long, 14 feet wide, and 7 feet under the 

 eaves, with a door in each end of them. 



Mr. Robeson bought most of his Ducks in the West, and had 

 them shipped in crates — three dozen in a crate. He also has 

 an egg-house, 35 by 50 feet, and four storeys high. The outside is 

 18 inches thick, and built of out stone, laid in mortar, boarded-up 

 on the inside and fllled-in between the outside and inside wall 

 with sawdust, it taking 30C0 bushels. Mr. Robeson claims that 

 he can keep eggs any length of time in this building. He also 

 keeps the poultry that he is now dresting until May or June, 

 which sells for 18 to 23 cents per lb., and it cannot be told from 

 fresh-dressed poultry. He gets 10 cents per lb. for Turkeys' 

 feathers, 12 for hens', and Co for Ducks'. He says that there is 

 money in poultry, and he thinks he can make out of his COOO 

 Ducks enough to pay for his egg house, which cost S7,000. He 

 intends to keep a great many more next season, and has agents 

 out all over the country buying up poultry and eggs. — [American 

 Panders* Journal.) 



which time several fine fowls in good condition have died sud- 

 denly. — W. Bennett. 



[The seeds of the laburnum are poisonous. There are many 

 instances recorded of children being killed by eating them.^ 



Eds.] 



DO BEES TEBEIPY CATTLE? 



I WAS reminded by the remarks of " C." on hive bees as ^te- 

 d.a.toryiDsectB,inthe Juurnal of Horticidtitro the other week, of a 

 complaint sometimes made against these bees by cattle graziers. 

 During warm and sultry days in July and August, in the time 

 of the white clover, the hive bee is at times accused of causing 

 cattle to run about and be unsettled. All acquainted with rural 

 afiairs have noticed, in warm summer weather, cattle careering 

 along or around their pastures, panting, foaming, and sweating, 

 with their tails turned into the air or sticking out in a line with 

 their body, seeking some stream to plunge into or find the 

 shelter of trees or houses, all apparently trying to escape from 

 some, to us, unseen foe. Now the humming or buzzing of bees 

 are often blamed for this. 



I should like to know the opinion of experienced bee-keepers 

 on this subject. I think bees have little, if anything, to do with 

 the matter, and this is one reason I have ;— Some years ago, 

 around the garden where my bees are kept, was a field of pas- 

 ture with the ordinary quantity of white clover in fall bloom. 

 The bees, to get to the field, had to fly over an elder hedge that 

 grew round the garden. Did the many thousands of bees cross- 

 ing the hedge frighten away the cattle? Nay, verily; but so 

 much did they like to chew and tear among the branches that 

 an outer fence had actually to be erected to prevent them from 

 destroying it altogeth-ir. The hives were close at the inside of 

 the hedge, and I considered that I had some good ground for 

 thinking that the humming of bees at work did not disturb 

 cattle. — James Sheaeeb, Aberdeenshire. 



L.U3URNDH Seeds Poisonous. — Are the seeds of the laburnum 

 poisonous ? I have a tree growing in my fowl yard, the seeds 

 from which have been falling for the last few weeks, during 



UNITING A LIGUBIAN QUEEN TO COMMON 

 BEES. 



We cannot answer " Nemo " better than by extracting the 

 following from our " Bee-keeping" manual : — 



" As soon as you have become possessed of a Ligurian queen 

 and her attendants, Bteps should be taken for removing the 

 common queen from the stock or swarm to which the strangers 

 are to be united. 



" Where bar hives are in use the operation is suf&ciently easy, 

 but should not be attempted without the protection afforded by 

 a bee-dress and thick pair of woollen gloves. The services of an 

 assistant similarly accoutred will bo found very useful, but are 

 not absolutely indispensable. 



" The middle of a fine day is the best time for the operation, 

 which should be commenced by removing the stock a little either 

 to the right or left of its usual position, which must be occupied 

 by an empty hive, from which the top-board and comb-bars 

 have been removed. The top-board of the full hive must then 

 be shifted on one side sufficiently to expose a single bar, which 

 may be carefully withdrawn after the attachments of the comb 

 have been severed from the back and front of the hive by a bent 

 knife. Both sides of the comb must be rigidly scrutinised, and 

 any cluster of bees gently dispersed w'th a feather, until it 

 becomes evident that the queen is not present, when it may be 

 placed in the empty hive. The same process must be repeated 

 with each successive comb until the queen is discovered and 

 secured, when the bees may be either allowed to remain in the 

 hive to which they have been transferred, or replaced in their 

 original domicile. Sometimes the queen is not to be found on 

 any of the combs, but may be detected among the stragglers 

 remaining in the hive. In practised hands her discovery may 

 be reckoned on with tolerable certainty duringthe first removal; 

 but if she succeed in escaping detection the process must be 

 repeated until she is secured. 



" With common hives or boxes driving is the best method to 

 adopt; and the bees, having been expelled from their habitation, 

 may be knocked out on a cloth and searched over until the 

 queen is discovered. 



" Should the bee-keeper be unable to perform the operation ot 

 driving, fumigation may be resorted to, and the queen secured 

 whilst the bees are in a state of insensibility. 



" Should the queen have been removed and the bees restored 

 to their original hive and position in the apiary, measures must 

 now be taken to introduce the Italian sovereign to her future 

 subjects. The first step will be carefully to remove the hd of 

 the small box, replacing it with a slip of perforated zmo without 

 permitting the bees to escape. The whole must then be inverted 

 over an opening iu the top of the hive containing the queenless 

 stock, where it should remain undisturbed till the next day, 

 when the perforated zinc divider may be withdrawn, and tht 

 union will be complete. The small box itself need not be re- 



