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JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



t October 21, 187B. 



white thighs are wron^, and do not give the balance to the long 

 heavy frill that the Eoiid colour does. Whoever laid the points 

 for the Jacobin originally, in my opioiou, well considered his 

 subject, and I have often looked on the trne birds and thought 

 to myself that there was not a point I could alter for the better. 

 It is quite different with the modern Jacobin, call it what you 

 will, but not the true bird. 



" Wiltshire Rector " says that the thighs are seldom so 

 wholly dark, but that is no proof that they ought not to be. As 

 regards the rose, it could not exist in the true Jacobin ; nor the 

 mane, becaurie the division of the frill would not be of the length 

 and form that it ought to be. I am sure that " Wiltshire 

 Rector " will pardon any difference of opinion from him on my 

 part, but I seriously think that he has, by his suggestion of im- 

 proved breed, opened the gate to let in a flood of innovations, of 

 which I am very sorry to say there are far too many already, 

 and unless the rules and points laid down by old and valued 

 authorities be strictly adhered to there is an end to all true 

 breeds and good and proper judging. — Harbison Weir. 



BEES TWENTY DAYS HATCHING FROM 

 THE EGG. 



Some time ago there was a controversy in this Journal between 

 Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Lowe on the question as to how long it 

 takes for the development of the perfect insect (worker bee) 

 from the laying of the egg ; Mr. Lowe stating and proving from 

 his own experience that such development takes place in twenty 

 days — in other words, that the insect will issue from the cell as 

 a rale on the twentieth day after the laying of the egg. Mr. 

 Pettigrew, on the other hand, maintained that the rule required 

 twenty-one days to elapse before the said development takes 

 place, winding up with the statement that he "preferred bis 

 own and others' statement of days to Mr. Lowe's twenty days." 

 Allow me to state my own recent experience in this matter. I 

 do so simply in the interest of exact truth in a matter of some 

 importance, not only because it is useful to the practical apiarian 

 to know the fact, but in defence of all the great masters in bee 

 knowledge from Huber downwards. 



On the 11th of May one of my servants reported to me that 

 my bees were swarming. On going into the garden I became 

 aware that a deserted hive, out of which the bees had died 

 gradually a month or six weeks before, was being taken pos- 

 session of by the said swarm. I soon found that it had come 

 from a distance, as none of my own hives had swarmed ; and, 

 moreover, the bees were of the common English sort, which I 

 have long disused in my apiary. Circumstances led me to 

 examine the progress of this swarm, for they had great difficulty 

 with the combs, many of which they carried away piecemeal, 

 building fresh combs in their stead. My curiosity also was 

 aroused on this very question, as I fortunately recollected the 

 somewhat warm debate in your columns on this point. As the 

 day approached I was therefore on the look-out, and sure enough 

 on the morning of the twentieth day there were several young 

 bees walking on the edges of the combs, pale-coloured and 

 preening their wings as they usually do under the circumstances. 

 I find the following note in my diary on the 3rd of June — ■" Saw 

 several young bees to-day in Tasm. hive; consequently they 

 must have been developed from the laying of the egg in less 

 than twenty days complete." — B. tt W. 



as a Black Bantam then it should have a rose comb, bat if as a Game 

 Bantam, and aodubbed, it must have a single one- An ordinary Black 

 Bantam cock Bhould have a double comb to be a favourable or a high-claEB 

 epecimen of the breed. 



Giddiness in Fowls (F. H.). — Bleed by opening a large vein nnder the 

 wing ; pour cold water on the head ; feed less and on moist food, and give 

 abundaace of lettuce leaves. 



Drake Moulting (Subscriber). — There ie nnnatural heat about the 

 drake. You muft rub the bare spots with citrine ointment, and discontinue 

 all stimulating food. Confine youraelf to that which a bird finds in a natural 

 stdte. Oatmeal, brau, acid whole oata are all good food. If the bird is in 

 confinement give him daily a large sod of growing grass, cut with the earth, 

 and put in the vessel contaioing his food, just covering it with water. If you 

 will do this and confine him to the food we have mentioned, we believe the 

 bird will recover and do well. 



TnRKEv's Legs Weak (L. P.). — It is not nncommon for Turkeys to fall 

 off when the weather changes and the mornings and evenings are colder, bat 

 we have no hope of Turkeys doing well where the flooring of their house is of 

 stone. It would make matters worse if yoa put boards over the stone. Take 

 the stones up, and ram in earth mixed with chalk. Put on this an inch or 

 two of road grit. Being under cover this is always dry, and affords healthy 

 and useful picking. When the white frosts appear it is good to keep them 

 confined till ihe sun is up, unless they are very forward birds. We do not 

 approve of "hen spice." The natural food is good enough for any de- 

 scription of poultry, and they always did well upon it. In most other 

 respects your feeding is good. We cannot help thinking that your mode of 

 giving it is wrong. You say they always have food by them. This wotild 

 imply it is constantly renewed. It must then become sour, and the birds 

 take a dislike to it. To make very large and fat birds they should be fed 

 three tiaaes per day, but the trough should be empty after every meal, 

 and carefully cleaned. The feeder will soon ascertain how much they eat for 

 a meal. Discontinue the bran. If you can substitute ground oats for barley- 

 meal do BO. Crooked breasts are often hereditary, when ibey are not they are 

 the result of weakness. Their legs are too weak to hold them on the perch. 

 Do you want change of blood? We never meet with a crooked-breasted 

 Phea-aut. 



Elementary Books (An Aspirant). — Yoa cannot well go wrong in com- 

 mencing to study physics. Since the days of our youth Chambers, Pinnock, 

 Cassell, and many other firms have published educational courses containing 

 all you need at fi.rat. From any catalogue of scientific works you may select 

 what will suit jou. Professor Reonie's Alphabets, published forfy years ago 

 or more, were of service to us. Read well every book, and master the elements 

 of every branch as you proceed. 



Feeding Bees (A. de C. B.). — September is the time for autumn feeding, 

 bnt by giving warm syrup to bees now they will store it up. The sooner and 

 faster it is given to them the better. When bees are much abroad feeding 

 should be done after sunset, but as they are beginning to sit quietly amongst 

 their combs you may feed during tbe day as well as at night. A3 you have 

 no feeding instruments of any kind, your better way will be to use dripping 

 tins or soup platen. These should be tilled with syrup, covered with chips of 

 wood or straw, and placed on the boards inside your hives. If the combs 

 touch the syrup no harm will be done. If the combs rest on the edges of the 

 tins or plates raise the hives a little by ekes. You may turn up your hives 

 and examine them internally at any time without injury to the bees. The 

 hive that fell off the stool should be examined to see if any of its combs 

 have been shakea out of place. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 



Camden Sqoare, London. 



Lat. 61" 82' 40" N. ; Long. 0° 8' 0" W.; Altitude, HI feet. 



Humble Bees for New Zealand. — An interesting expert 

 ment, says the Daily News, is being made in the shipment o' 

 two nests of humble bees, which have jast left Plymouth for 

 Canterbury, New Zealand. The principal object aimed at in 

 the introduction of these insects into the Antipodes is the fer- 

 tilisation of the common clover, the pollen of which the com- 

 mon bee is generally unable to collect, while the humble bee, 

 having a larger proboscis and being much stronger, is able to 

 reach sufficiently deep into the flower to collect the fertilising 

 dust. It is hoped that by this means the plant will be more 

 generally fertilised, and its cultivation largely extended in the 

 colony. The bees which have just left England for the Anti- 

 podes were in two separate nests, which had been procured by 

 Mr. Frank Buckland, and packed in a suitable box where they 

 were supplied with everything necessary for the voyage, includ- 

 ing honey, farina, water, Sec. They are very fine specimens of 

 the humble bee. The exact number is not known, as many of 

 the es^.B are not yet hatched. They are placed under the care of 

 Mr. John Hall, a member of the Council of New Zealand, who 

 takes a stock of ice for the purpose of keeping down the tempe- 

 rature of the nests while passing through the tropics. 



OUK LETTER BOX. 



Buckwheat for Pigeons {E. B. T.). — Buckwheat is not good as sole food 

 for Pigeons. They soon tire of it. It is too fattening, and is bad for plumage, 

 making the feathers very soft, 



Bi^cE Bantam Cock's Comb (J. T,).—li the Bantam cock be exhibited 



REMARKS. 

 13th. — Hazy and cold morning; showera in the forenoon ; sunny at 1 P.M. and 



doring the rest of the day. Lunar halo at night. 

 14th.— Fine morning and tolerably fair till noon, then rain; showery the 



remainder of the day, and heavy at night. 

 15th.— "Very fioe morning and till alter 4 p.m , then raining for an hour or 



two, but fine after. 

 16th.— Fine all day, but rather foggy in evening and during the night. 

 17th — Fair but hazy early, clearing off about noon, and fine day after. 

 18th.— Fine morning; rather cloudy after 3 p.m.; rain at 9 P.ir., and heavy 



in the night. 

 19th. — Very dull early ; showery and dull all day ; rain at night. 



Temperature generally about 4- bel.iw last week, doll Novemberish weather, 

 with much rain on Monday and Tuesday.- G. J. Symons. 



COVENT GARDEN MARKET.— October 20. 

 A GOOD Bupply of best fruits hag kept prices much the same, but common 

 sorts of Apples cannot be cleared except at a very low figure, owing to the 

 large quantities of windfalls that have reached the market daring the week. 

 Imported fruits consist of Hamburgh, Almeira, and Sweetwater Grapes; 

 Ducheese d'Angouleme, Cr.i<?acue, and Beurrc Diel Pears; also some very 

 good samples of Dutch Peaches. 



