December 9, 1875. ] JOUENAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 



Bath Show, where no less than a score clear and ticked Bel- 

 gians were entered. At Darlington too there were 17 ; Norwich 

 (second show), 28; MiddloBborough, 7 ; Hauley,8; Newcastle, 7; 

 besides those exhibited at Pocklington, Northampton, Oldham, 

 Derby, and elsewhere, amongst the numbers being many really 

 hrst-olass birds staged. From this I am inclined to believe that 

 one of our choicest breeds of the Canary is looking up some- 

 what, notwithstanding that a few hitherto exhibitors of Belgians 

 have during the past year or so directed their attention more 

 towards the breeding of other kinds of birds. 

 As a Belgian Canary proper is considered to be a bird of 

 position," my wish is that it may maintain that " stand" both 

 as regards form and quality of breed, and that the breeders (not 

 forgetting our Belgian cousins across the water who would act 

 wisely by reducing their prices for birds somewhat) may in- 

 crease twofold— aye, tenfold if possible, for no variety of Canary 

 shown presents so aristocratic an appearance as the often so- 

 termed "ugly'' Belgian bird. 



I wUl here give the points of perfection for which Belgian 

 birds are judged. As I remarked in a previous chapter, I be- 

 lieve there are two classes for Clear specimens (yellow and 

 buff). When breeding with Belgian birds it not unfrequently 

 happens that some of the offspring are slightly ticked or marked 

 with a dark feather or so. Such are none the worse so far as 

 true Belgian form or breeding with are concerned, but they 

 are precluded from being exhibited with Clear birds, unless a 

 schedule specifies for Clear and Ticked Belgians. However, the 

 following are the points of exceUeuoe of 



CLEAR BELGIANS. 



Beak, slender and clear. Head, small and flat. Neck, long 



*°Ti°iS f"- ^^"^^ ^°°^ ""^ g^O"! oi'^'^i^- Shoulders, high and 

 well filled between. Wings, long, compact, and thin, lying 

 close to the body, but not crossing each other at the tips. 

 Chest prominent, but tapering towards the vent. Body, long 

 and Blender. Tail long and thin, with the feathers well wrapped 

 over each other, and inclining in circle with the back. Legs 

 for length and erectness of stand. Feathers, closeness and 

 richness of colour, and not coarse. Feet slender, with nails 

 not twisted awry. ■— " 



If in compiling or framing a schedule for a show it shouliTbe 

 deemed essential to have separate classes for the Clear, and also 

 classes for ticked or uneven-marked Belgians, then such latter 

 birds will be judged by the same points (excepting the tick or 

 mark) as Clear birds. 



EVEN OB BEST MARKED BELGIANS. 



A good specimen should approach in general form—" posi- 

 tion — as near to a Clear bird as possible, but this rarely 

 aappens. In addition to good Belgian properties they should 

 be marked thus — Beak, slender and dark. Eye-marks (spec- 

 tacle-eyed), a narrow mark around each eye tapering towards 

 each side of the head, but neither coming to the front of the 

 beak or on to the neck behind. If a bird should only be marked 

 on the cap or crown and not about the eyes, and the crown 

 mark be of a perfect oval shape, without the dark feathers 

 reaching to the eyes, such mark to be considered of an uniform 

 tond, and looked upon with some degree of favour by a judge 

 Wings, the outermost flight-feathers to be white, the inner 

 flight-feathers dark, with the same number of dark feathers in 

 each wing, or as near even as possible. Tail, if not clear but 

 regularly marked with one or two dark feathers on each side to 

 be considered good. The under part of the bird from beak to 

 vent to be as clear and free from dark feathers as possible The 

 upper surface from the marking of the crown of the head or the , 

 eye-marks to be entirely clear to the tail, the wings excepted. ' 

 I he legs to be dark— the darker the better— in each variety.— 

 CjEo. J. Badnesby. 



HAEVESTINa HONEY— SECTIONAL SUPERS. 



No. 2. 



In American apiculture an average of 100 lbs. per hive is not 

 uncommon, and an occasional return of 300 lbs. to 500 lbs. not 

 reckoned a miracle. This statement made by one or two men 

 1 should naturally set down as Yankee "tall talk," but when 

 confirmed by dozens of contributors to the American magazines 

 who could have no motive to deceive each other, I feel bound to 

 say 1 stand convinced. 



Now comes the question. How they do it ? This is how they 

 clo It : Where the greatest weight of honey is desired no supering 

 IS attempted, but dependance solely placed on the work of the 

 extractor, which was figured last week ; and so great is the 

 value of good straight combs estimated that such are readily 

 marketable at about Is. 6d. per square foot. Large hives (even 

 sometimes big enough to contain twenty or thirty combs) and 

 strong colonies are essential, so that when the honey appears 

 m the flowers an army of bees sally out to gather it in. As fast 

 as the combs are begun to be sealed over they are at once 

 emptied by the extractor and returned to the hive; the pro- 

 cess IS repeated about every three days, and the constant re- 

 appearance of the wet combs keeps the bees in such a, ferment 



523 



of excitement that the honey comes in far more plentifully 

 than It otherwise would— more than doubling the yield. Ou 

 the other hand this extracted honey does not realise more than 

 half the price of honey in the comb. It is equally as pure, but 

 containa more water, not having been evaporated sufficiently 

 before extracting. This excess of water causes the honey to 

 candy quicker than super or run honey. Although enortuous 

 quantities are raised it finds a ready market for home consump- 

 tion, and brings the raisers about the same price as it is sold 

 wholesale m England. • 



rig. 109.— Mr. Harbison's super. 

 Now with regard to what the Americans call "box honey"— 

 we call It ' super "—there they furnish us a lesson. I have been 

 grieved to see at our shows beautiful supers of 40 lbs. or SO lbs. 

 weight, priced perhaps Is. 3d. or Is. 6d. per lb. wholly unsaleable 

 tor two reasons— not that the price was too high, but that firstly 

 for private persons there was too much and the difScultv of 

 carriage too great, and secondly the wholesale dealers would not 

 buy because there was no way of dividing the combs without 

 cutting and bruising, to the loss of symmetry and weight. 



Fig. 110.— Section of Mr. Harbison's super. 



Our friends over the water have long ago seen and remedied 

 tnisbythe use of sectional supers. One is now before me as 

 used by Mr. Harbison of California, who has two thousand stocks, 

 and sends to market sixty or seventy tons of honey annually, 

 buch a man should know what is most useful, and I will endea- 

 vour to describe his super as well as that of Mr. Isham, who 

 gained the prize for the best super for sending honey to market 

 m saleable form. I may here say I sent over to America ex- 



rig. 111. — Mr. loham's super, 

 pressly for these supers in order to exhibit them at our late 

 show, but they unfortunately arrived one day too late— rather 



