284 



JOURNAL OF HOBTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEE. 



C AprU 2, 1874. 



the blue it is the ground coloar which is the most prominent or 

 striking to the eye, in the other colours it is the chequering. 

 At all events, old-established custom has so named them, and 

 I observe in a copy of Fulton's new Pigeon book (part 1st), 

 there are portraits of two Blue and two Red-chequered Antwerps 

 so designated. The latter would be called by " Turkey Quill " 

 either " Mealy Chequered " or " Red Mealy Chequered." I 

 woald now ask " Tukkev Qulll" a question. He says, "A 

 silver Pigeon has two dun bars on the wings." I wish to know 

 the name of the following colour — body a very light blue, so 

 light that white can scarcely be distinguished on it, with two jet 

 black bars on the wings. This colour was formerly seen in Bald- 

 pates, Turbits, and Dragons (not Dragoons), and may be yet ; 

 feut I do not keep these kinds. It was called Silver, and the 

 dun-baiTed colour was Silver-Dun. Would " Tokkey Qulll " 

 also say what is the difference between the colours " Silver " 

 and " Dun-Silver " he gives in his list under " Blues ?" If the 

 simple "Silver" has two dun bars (vide his third paragraph), 

 what kind of bar has the "Dun-Silver?" — J. C. Lyell, JlfoMJ- 

 fieth, Dundee. 



EABBIT-KEEPING. 



A VERY mistaken idea prevails regarding what is necessary in 

 the way of a hutch in which to keep Rabbits. Many persons 

 seem to think that an elaborate arrangement is indispensable ; 

 that the hutch must be of regulation size, must have wire front, 

 a sloping floor with gutter to carry off the water, must have one 

 end partitioned off for a breeding pen, and numerous other ad- 

 juncts and conveniences which are usually found only in the 

 rabbitries of large or wealthy fanciers. It is all very well and 

 very nice to have these items all arranged in apple-pie order if 

 one can afford to gratify his taste in such matters, but to say 

 that it is in any way essential to success is sheer nonsense. 



Rabbits have been, and are still, kept in common dry-goods 

 boxes, with the cover fastened on by leather hinges, and a few 

 holes bored around the sides for ventilation, and in this primi- 

 tive manner most excellent success has been attained. Of course 

 in such quarters cleanliness is indispensable. The bos must be 

 cleaned out and fresh litter given at least every other day ; and 

 daOy were better. 



Another simple arrangement is a shoe-box; this is usually 

 about i) to 3J feet long, 1.5 to 18 inches deep, and about 12 inches 

 broad; this is placed on the side, on supports, or fastened against 

 the wall, with the door or lid hung from the upper side, thus 

 lifting up. The door may be of wire cloth, lath, or simply the 

 lid of the box with a few holes bored in it, and hang by iron 

 hinges or strips of leather. One end of this box may be set off 

 by a partition for a nesting room, this need not necessarily be 

 over 9 inches wide. On this point I find I differ with most other 

 writers on this subject. They advocate a nesting box of 12 to 

 1.5 inches in width, and the depth of the hutch either 1 or 2 feet 

 from front to rear. My experience is that with those large nest- 

 ing boxes the young Rabbits, as soon as able to crawl, will often 

 get out of the nest, and get chilled, and be unable to get back 

 again. Having lost a number of litters in this way, I have reduced 

 the size of these boxes to lu inches diameter for Lops and Bel- 

 gians, and to 9 inches for the smaller varieties ; and also when the 

 hutch is deep I place a semi-partition about 2 J or 3 inches high 

 across the nesting apartment, about 1 foot from the front of the 

 hatch ; entrance to the apartment by the doe being had by an 

 opening in the back part of the hutch, through a hole G inches 

 wide and 8 inches high. Hutches of this kind may be placed in 

 tiers two, three, or four high. 



Another and still simpler mode of keeping Rabbits is in an un- 

 occupied room in any outbuilding. This can be divided into 

 apartments by boards ; the partition to be carried to a height of 

 3 J or 4 feet. The apartments may be of such size and shape as 

 suits the fancy of the amateur. In one corner of the pen put a 

 box, say about 10 by 15 inches, with a round hole 6 or 7 inches in 

 diameter cut in one end ; hinge the cover and fasten it down by 

 a simple hook or button, so as to afford better opportunities to 

 examine the young. Care must be taken to exclude cats and 

 rats from the room. While speaking of cats, I would here say 

 that it is a good practice where many Rabbits are kept to bring 

 up a kitten or terrier dog in the same room with them ; thus 

 one is perfectly safe from rats, and the cat or dog never molests 

 the Rabbits. For young stock I especially recommend keeping 

 them in this last manner. My pens were 5 feet wide by 10 feet 

 long, and four in number ; and in one of these I have had as 

 many as thirty-five Rabbits at one time, varying from six weeks 

 to four months old. 



They have ample room to exercise, and seem to thrive much 

 better than when in more confined quarters, even in small num- 

 bers.— A. M. Halsted.— (TAe Fet-Stock Bulletin.) 



EXAMINING THE INTERIOR OF A HIVE. 

 At page 2G6 in last week's Journal, is a letter from Mr. Petti- 

 grew on "Loss of Bees in Hives Containing Honey," and on 



the opposite page is a letter from Mr. Bagshaw on the subject of 

 the best hives, praising the brown bees and Pettigrew straw 

 hives. The first letter almost seems an answer to the second. 

 Mr. Pettigrew says, " It is not to be expected that anyone who 

 has not seen the hives can state with certainty why deaths or 

 desertions have taken place. It is necessary for a doctor to 

 have seen a patient before he can safely give a certificate as to 

 the disease which carried him off." Thus Mr. Pettigrew likens 

 his hives to a " patient " or the human body, and the simile is 

 most true and exact ; for though a doctor may have seen a patient, 

 could he not more safely give the certificate when he had ex- 

 amined him ? and could the doctor only axamine the patient 

 internally before he was carried off, what might he not effect in 

 the way of a cure ? And is not Mr. Pettigrew's hive exactly 

 like the patient— i.e., cannot be examined internally until it 

 is carried off ? But surely prevention is better than cure, 

 and therefore, a natural sequitur, the hive which allows this 

 internal examination to be made while still existent must be 

 better than those which Mr. Pettigrew so happOy liiens to a 

 " patient." 



Again, as far as " the getting of honey and profit" goes, allow, 

 for argument's sake, Mr. Bagshaw is right, yet it is surely not 

 just to take one single hive as a fair criterion, and does not the 

 loss of one or two hives in an apiary (which must and wUl take 

 place where there is no means of internal examination), go far 

 to counterbalance the profit made by the others ? Take a case, 

 my own if you like. I have fifteen hives, and I have already 

 carefully examined them all. I found three of them crowded 

 with bees with little or no honey, while four others were over- 

 stocked with honey but with very few bees. A fine day and a 

 few minutes set this aU right. I have examined my " patients " 

 internally and saved the lives of all. The knowledge of how to 

 do this we owe to an American, Mr. Langstroth. — Berkshire 

 Amateuk. 



BEE-KEEPER'S CALENDAR FOE APRIL. 



Mr. B. — I have examined my hives internally several times 

 without a bee-dress, and have not yet been punished for my 

 temerity. To know and witness what is going on inside the 

 hives makes bee-keeping doubly interesting to beginners like 

 myself. The stronger hive has now four patches of sealed 

 brood, and the two centre patches are much larger than they 

 were when we first examined them. Every fine day the bees 

 carry in a great quantity of pollen. What is it for ? 



Mr. P. — This pollen is called bee-bread, and is mixed in the 

 food given to the brood in their cells. Living perfect bees do 

 not eat it ; many hives die of hunger with plenty of pollen in 

 their combs. In this country more pollen is collected than is 

 generally used, and a superabundance of it in a hive is a great 

 hindrance to the bees, by occupying cells that would otherwise 

 be used for breeding purposes. Their instincts and industry, 

 doubtless, prompt them in this uncertain climate to gather and 

 store-up more than they require for immediate use. The patches 

 of brood will multiply and increase in size till all the combs are 

 filled with brood and eggs. Eggs are set as widely as the bees 

 can cover them. The fertility of queens and the industry of 

 working bees are marvels in the history of bee hives. When all 

 the combs of a hive are covered with bees and filled with eggs 

 and brood, it is in ordinary seasons and circumstances within 

 three weeks of being ripe for swarming. In examining a hive 

 to ascertain if the bees cover their combs, no smoke is used ; the 

 hive is simply raised high enough to let us see the bees in their 

 natural position and state. 



Mr. B. — I have been told that the appearance of drones is a 

 certain indication that a swarm may be expected. As I am 

 anxious to know aU that can be learned about queens, drones, 

 swarming, comb-building, &c., together with the practical 

 management of my hives, I hope you will pardon me if I seek 

 enlightenment on certain points as we go on. I mean to think 

 and see for myself, now that you have taught me how to ex- 

 amine my hives, believing that the teaching of experience is 

 more valuable and trustworthy than that of books. 



Mr. P. — I am pleased to hear you talk thus, and believe that 

 if you put everj'thing we may say to the test of reason and ex- 

 periment, you wHl become an adept in bee-management, and 

 an advanced student in bee-history. Early drones as a rule 

 indicate early swarms ; but in many cases it is not so, for some 

 hives have drone combs in their centres, and these produce drones 

 long before they are ready for swarming, and some hives swarm 

 before a drone is hatched in them. If the drone combs in a 

 hive are on the outside or edges of the worker combs, we may 

 safely conclude that it is filled to the swarming-point when 

 drones first make their appearance. Bonner, the Scottish 

 apiarian of olden times, collected his family to rejoice with him 

 on the day his drones first appeared. In the superabundance of 

 his enthusiasm he used " to tak a wee drap too much, and 

 toddle to bed right fu on such occasions." 



Next month we shall come to the consideration of the breed- 

 ing and production of queens, swarming, and comb-building. 



