204 



JOUKNAL OF HORTICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GABDENEK. 



[ March 7, 1865- 



the preface to which it is pointed out that the diiEculty^ and 

 unpopularity of giving a prize for a poem, ai-ises from the fact, 

 that each poet h;is at lea^t sis friends, all of whom tliink his 

 the best ol all possible poems, and that no prudent man will 

 encounter such a host of enemies. Let our Show Com- 

 mittees multiply their classes, and the number of discon- 

 tented folk will be lessened in proportion. I cannot but 

 hope that the " wise Per.=!ian," and our kindly friend, if I 

 may call him so, the "AViltshieb Kectoe," will add their 

 weighty approval to the humble suggestion of — Bkahsia 



POOTEA. 



P.S. — Since writing the above I have read with much 

 pleasure the letter of " Y.B.A.Z." in your last issue ; it is not 

 the first occasion upon which I have been fortunate enough 

 to agree with his views upon poultry matters ; and in evei'y 

 one of his suggestions last week I most cordially concur. 



even generic distinctions." Now, the eye in the coloiu-ed 

 FantaUs I have seen is very different — sometimes gravel, at 

 other times orange, and not sot in the head in the same 

 somewhat pig-eyed way. Again : I think the coloured Fan- 

 tail is crossed with the Runt rather than any other Pigeon, 

 because the Eunt has the throat-tremble, " the shake," and 

 some of them carry their tails much turned up ; also coloured 

 Fantails are of Euntish colour and shajie, and have usually 

 less ample tails — that is, in the specimens I have seen, and 

 are larger, much of the delicacy of the neck being gone with 

 the snake-like form of the head. I invite the opinions of 

 experienced fanciers on this subject. — Wiltshiee Keotob.. 



THE "WILTSHIEE EECTOE" AND FANTAIL 



PIGEONS. 



A GREAT statesman and an almost equally great author, 

 is said, some year's since, to have met with an accident in a 

 remote part of the kingdom whQe travelling. He was sup- 

 posed to be grievously injui'ed — report said he was killed ; 

 he was aware of this report, and was in no haste to contra- 

 dict it, but quietly waited for what he knew would follow — 

 the history of his life and comments on his character in the 

 newspapers. Sure enough out came the many-columned 

 biogi-aphies, out came the leaders thereon ; and he read 

 them, and so was able to gather what his contemporaries 

 thought of him they supposed to be dead : indeed, he had 

 the double advantage of life and death. Now, the " Wilt- 

 shire Eectoe " had no need to meet with an accident, no 

 Heed for a report of his death — his bones were unbroken, 

 his flesh unbraised ; but still for all that he, in The Jouekal 

 OF HoETicuLTTJEE of February 21, had the pleasure to read 

 an account of himself, nothing sad having happened, written 

 by "B." Ah! who is "B.?" What is he like, this busy 

 " B. ?" What is Ue like ? Where lives he ? He knows one 

 Wiltshu'e clergyman, that's certain. Perhaps he lives in 

 wots, or wanders hovering from county to county. I will 

 tell " B." that the breakfast at Hilltop Rectory was ever 

 more than usually hilarious when his description of " Wilt- 

 shiee Eectoe" was read on that Wednesday morning. 

 Well, the description of the "Wiltshiee Eector" is partly 

 right and partly wrong. I speak only of his outer man ; of 

 the rest I am not the proper person to speak. There are 

 many much better men and some worse men, I fear, in the 

 world than " Wiltshiee Rectoe." I mil not say in what 

 respects the description of face, figure, and feature is incor- 

 rect, or I may this spring be met in the Strand by " B." or 

 his friend, and be recognised. This much I will say, that 

 the "Wiltshire Eectoe" is very pleased to make friends 

 either in person or on paper. This is too cold a world to 

 refuse one the veiy least bit of kindness. I went to see 

 good " Y. B. A. Z. ;" and I shall be happy to visit any other 

 good poultiy-yard or Pigeon-loft if not too far off. Already j 

 I number several pleasant acquaintances made through the 

 Journal. 



But I have something else to write about besides " Wilt- 

 shiee Eectoe." I have long held an opinion, strengthened 

 by recent inspections, about FantaU Pigeons, concerning 

 which I should like the judgment of any other Pigeon- 

 fancier, especially that of Mr. Brent. Fu-st I would say, I 

 am anxious that we should in all cases decide if possible 

 as to what are or are not pure and distinct races. The Biu-b 

 is evidently one, and a very beautiful one. The Carrier is 

 another, but not so the Horseman and Dragoon. The White 

 Fantail is, I think, a pure race, and the only pure FantaU ; 

 all coloui'ed ones I believe to ai'ise from crosses, more or less 

 remote, with the Runt. My reasons are these : The differ- 

 ence in the eye principally, in the head partially. The 

 White Fantail'e eye is very peculiar. Says Oelamer, " The 

 iris of the Fantail is of a deep hazel ; the pupil black, which 

 gives to the eye a fulness of expression quite different to 

 what ia seen in most other bu-ds. Col. Sykes, in the 'Trans- 

 actions of the Zoological Society,' makes the colour of the 

 iris an imjiortant guide in determining the affmities or dis- 

 aimilaritics of species, believing it to manifest occasionaUy 



KEEPING EGGS FOE, HATCHING. 



"W. M." suspends a large wooden tray half filled with 

 bran to the kitchen ceiling, about 3 yards from the fire. 

 The eggs are half covered with the bran, and small end 

 downwards. There is a pretty good current of air to the 

 eggs frequently, and the situation is dry and warm. 



[There is no objection to your plan, except that the eggs 

 may be too warm ; but half the trouble might be saved. As 

 there is now no fear of frost the eggs are perfectly safe in 

 any outhouse, and in any bos or basket, and there is no 

 danger of theh failing to hatch.] 



PAEEOT MANAGEMENT. 

 Eleven years ago I bought at my door a poor shabby 

 Parrot, dying of cold, influenza, and cholera. I cured him 

 with chicken broth, vermicelli, and mace in it, of which he 

 drank greedily, and weak tea, with sugar and milk of course. 

 Next day he was all but well. He is a splendid sjiecimen of 

 the King Parrot of Buenos Ajtcs, and has travelled half over 

 Europe with me. He has never been ill but once, fr'om 

 extreme cold at Thvm, where I could have no fire for him 

 last summer. His food is regular — tea and sop, with a little 

 bread and butter ou the top, morning and afternoon, always 

 fresh and warm, sugar and milk of course. At one o'clock he 

 has a,uy baked pudding that may be going (rice, or bread), or 

 light dumplings, which he likes, and now and then some 

 fried fish, which all Brazilian PaiTots, I have leai'nt, are 

 fond of. The staple of his diet consists of berries of the 

 common thorn, which I have collected by bushels for his 

 winter consumption. These yield to walnuts, and these to 

 young larch and fir cones. No PaiTot can be healthy with- 

 out plenty of wood — bits of oak, elm, hazle, beech, Spanish 

 chestnut, larch, and cherry. Black currant is an especial treat 

 when the buds are springing. The wood is especially neces- 

 sary both Sif food and for digestion ; and a Parrot is called 

 mischievous for nibbling chaii-s by those who do not under- 

 stand this. Plenty of tepid water to drink, and gravel stones 

 sometimes, are also necessary. My bu-d lias the warmest 

 place by the fire; but no bii'd should be, as I have seen them, 

 pitilessly exposed in a cage, without power of relief or escape, 

 to a blazing fire, or to sun, cold or rain ou a balcony. They 

 cannot endure the glare in thefr eyes. They should be very 

 warmly wrappeil up at night. Mine has many folds of serge 

 and Ijaize round him, and he only inhabits his cage at night. 

 By day he can stretch his legs and walk where ho Ukes, 

 sometimes flying in my room. These affectionate creatures 

 deserve better treatment than they often receive. I have 

 also two very handsome Dominican Cardinals, and during 

 seven years they have never been ill. With these the grand 

 secret is to give Ibem plenty of fresh water daily, seeds, 

 both canary and hemp, and a x^ioce of fresh tiurf at least 

 twice a-week. They will extract every insect diligently, and 

 it amuses and prevents them picking their legs, as they are 

 apt to do if neglected. When turf cannot be had they should 

 have cold beef or mutton very finely minced, cooked meat, 

 or hard-boUcd egg, once or twice a-week. As they generu,lly 

 die within a year in confinement, I mention these facts, which 

 I had from the gentleman who kindly brought the birds for 

 mc from Brazil.— Ohnithologist. 



r.S. — Tardy moulting in birds is like difficult teething 

 with children, and requires relief. A Parrot often suffering 

 from inability to shell the feathers on the back of his neck 

 v.-here the bill or claw cannot reach, these should be very 

 gently shelled between the finger and thumb ; while playing 



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