276 



JOUENAIi OP HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAaS GARDENER. 



[ April 4, 186S. 



■WitliTegaKl to Mr. Douglas there can now be only one 

 opinion, when it is considered that, besides ha^-ing the birds 

 claimed in his name, he also received the money produced 

 by the resale of the bu-ds, minus a small amount o\ving to 

 the purchaser for prizes. — A Lookek-on. 



POUI.TEY .^ND EGG COMPAMY. 

 Bt nature I am a timid and cautious man, and dread to 

 see my opinion appear in print, I feel, however, I must make 

 an exception in favour of Mr. Geyelin, whose interesting 

 articles on poultry-breeding, published in your valuable 

 Journal, I have read with much pleasure and advantage. 

 For some years past 1 had an idea of breeding poultry 

 on a large scale, but the dread of becoming the laughing- 

 stock of my neighbours in case of failure has hitherto 

 deterred me from doing so. TVlien I saw the advertisement 

 in your Journal for the formation of a Poultry-breeding and 

 Egg-preserving Company I determined to come up to 

 London and see Mi\ Geyelin, with a view to elicit full 

 particulars, as I consider that such a company would, if 

 formed, supply me at a trifling risk with such practical 

 information as I could not expect from personal experience 

 at a much greater outlay. 



ilr. Geyelin has very kindly explained to me his plans, 

 his mode of keeping accounts, and feeding. In fact, 

 he has given me such ample and satisfactory explanations 

 that I feel in justice bound to say that if ever a plan 

 appeared to me feasible it is that of Mr. Geyelin. The 

 solution of the problem whether poult.iy can be bred as pro- 

 fitably in England as on the continent is of national impor- 

 tance ; it behoves, therefore, all persons who take an interest 

 in poultry-breeding to contribute to some extent towards 

 the expense of making the experiments. 1, for one, sub- \ 

 scribe for ten shares of £5 each, and let the result prove i 

 even a failure I shall stiU consider it a good investment, as | 

 it will have been the means of obtaining at least some ; 

 valuable information ; but sliould it, on the other hand i 

 prove a success, it will confer a great benefit on the country. 

 There are opportunities in life which, if allowed to pass, may 

 never present themselves again under such favourable 

 circumstances. At the present moment there is a gentle- 

 man, not only willing, but able, to make the experiment on 

 scientific principles, and whose statistics, if kept according ' 

 to the plan I have seen, will be so precise as to become 

 most valuable to every poultry-breeder. If we lose this : 

 opportunity shall we ever have the like again ? 



In conclusion T must add that I felt very much surprised 

 at Mr. Geyelin's replj' to my question whether all the shares 

 had been subscribed. I give tiis own words : — 



" I was induced to incur the trouble and expense of pro- 

 moting the formation of this company by many gentlemen 

 who offered to take some hundreds of shares, as you will 

 perceive by those letters, but to be candid, I have, as yet, 

 had application for a hundred shares only, although upwards 

 of three hundred prospectuses have been applied for, and 

 unless I receive more public support the matter must fall to 

 the ground." 



Shall it be said that EngUshmen are so little enterprising 

 that we prefer to purchase in foreign markets rather than 

 ascertain at a trifling individual expense whether we cannot 

 supply our own wants in the shape of eggs, poultry, and 

 rabbits ? — A Sussex Fabmeb. 



MB. DOUGLAS. 



1 SEE by your last Xumber that the " Timid Exhibitoe " 

 has at length found courage to publish his name, although 

 it has been known to myself and most of the large exhi- 

 tors for some time. In his last letter to you he says, that 

 perhaps I shall alter somewhat in my tone after reading the 

 stra-ghtforward and honest letter of Sir St. George Gore. 

 I stiil, however, maintain that I neither bought, sold, nor 

 derived any benefit from the sale of the pen of birds, al- 

 though the money did pass through my hands. With 

 regard to Mr. Newsome's compassion for me for lending my 

 name to the purchaser of the fowls, I should be only too 

 sorry not to oblige a friend, either with my name or money, 

 in so simple and straightforward a transaction ; and I 

 only hope that my name has been too long and honourably 

 known amongst true poultry-breeders and the public to be 

 damaged by the insinuations of such a man as the " Timid 

 Exhibitor." — John Douglas. 



[.iU the above may be true but it does not justify Mr. 

 Douglas acting as a purchaser. 'So judge should purchase 

 either for himself or others until after the exhibition has 

 been opened to the public] 



PIGEON LAYING FOUE EGGS IN FOUR DAYS. 



Last AYednesday evening a hen Powter was given to me. 

 She had cross-paired by accident with a Pantail. On the 

 day I had her, she had laid her fii-st egg in every sense, 

 being quite a young bird. I brought her home late in the 

 evening with a Powter cock, which had also been given to 

 I me, and with whom she paired the next daj'. On Friday, as 

 j I expected, she laid her second egg, but being in a strange 

 , loft and with a new mate she took no notice of the egg. This 

 I also expected would be the case ; but to my surprise, on 

 ' Saturday afternoon she laid two more eggs, one full-sized, 

 I but with a rough and imperfect shell, it was hard but too 

 ! thin; the other was about the size of a sparrow's and with 

 ' a s«a>ilar or rather worse shell than the thu-d egg. The hen 

 appeai-s somewhat Ul, though again mating, so I give her 

 hempseed and Indian corn. I have kept Pigeons for up- 

 wards of a quarter of a century, but never had a similar 

 case. The Powters were in a loft by themselves, so I know 

 that no other bird laid any of the eggs. Does Mr. Brent 

 ] think the hen wUl be injured, and what would he advise me 

 I to do ? I first thought of giving her loosening food, but 

 i was afraid. 



I beg to thank Mr. Brent for his extremely kind and most 

 interesting reply to my question about Fantails. That 

 which he stated about "the colour, and also the occasional 

 imperfections seen in the colour of the eyes was quite new 

 to me, and is a valuable hint in natural history. I see that 

 Mr. Brent, like myself, thinks white the original colour of 

 Fantails. I have had a private letter from a great breeder 

 of them, who also thinks the same. I must, however, beg 

 to difier from Mr. Brent, that coloured ones, if good, are, 

 therefore, the more valuable. I incline to the idea that we 

 should keep to the original colour in every variety in order 

 to have the best and purest birds, but, of course, this is a 

 matter of opinion. — Wiltshire Kectob. 



Suffolk Poultry Show. — The Committee have made a 

 liberal prize-list this year, and augmented the number of 

 classes. The Brahma Pootras are divided into two classes 

 — ^light and dark — and a silver cup is offered for the best. An 

 extra silver cup is also given for a Game class. The Ham- 

 borghs are this year divided into four classes — last year there 

 were bat two. A "Selling" class and a Pigeon class have 

 also been added. The Committee, we are told, received 

 high commendation from exhibitors last year for the care 

 taken of the birds, and their promptness in despatching 

 them home again. 



Essex Poultry Show. — This Poultry Show is not a 

 private speculation, but will be held in conjunction with 

 the annual meeting of the Essex Agricultural Association, 

 and the prizes paid by the local committee, which includes 

 nearly all the gentlemen of the district. In fact, the secre- 

 taries guarantee the due payment of every prize. 



Mt Silver Pheasant laid on Sunday the 26th for the 

 first time.— H. R. 



HIVES "WITH ENTEANCES AT THE TOP. 



IIavino worked my bees on the depriving system for the 

 last twenty-five yeoi-s I have made my own hives, and have 

 always constructed them so that the bees may enter at the 

 top. The advantages of this are, in my opinion, very great. 

 In the iii-st place it thoroughly ventilates the stock, and 

 supplies them with a constant current of fresh air (which 

 our sanitary commissioners tell us is very requisite if we 

 wish to enjoy perfect health) in the easiest possible manner, 

 as the cold air' always sinks to tbe bottom, while that which 



