81 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ July 27, 1876. 



Bice bloom; these were Black Hamburghs, second Gold Polands. 

 The chicken cla6S was very large, thirty entries. First forward 

 Light Brahmas; second a pair of Spanish, very good; and third 

 Dark DorkiDgs. Bantams were mixed classes. First in cocks a 

 most perfect Black, and second Game, but out of feather ; and 

 in hens Blacks were first, and a pair of Black Red pullets second. 

 The Selling claesses were very large, and among these were 

 some cheap birds, especially in hens, which were — first Black 

 Hamburgh, and second Dorking pullets. 



In the Bucks, any variety, were some capital Chilian, Teal, 

 and Carolinas. 



Babbits had thirty-eight entries in the two classes. Lops 

 were exceptionally good, and the measurements given below are 

 honest, not having half and quarter inches allowed because 

 " it's a cold morning." First a Sooty Fawn buck, 23 by 

 4J inches, and in the pink of condition ; second a Black-and- 

 white doe, a little too gay, 11\ by 5 inches; and third a Fawn- 

 and-white, large, good head and eye, 22 by 4| inches, not in 

 order for hard competition, the " highly commendeds " coming 

 well up in point of measurement. In the following class, which 

 was devoted to all other varieties, prizes were awarded to four 

 Rabbits which it would be difficult to beat in their own class, 

 and many highly deserving had to be passed over with com- 

 mendations only. First was a most exquisite specimen of a 

 Silver-Cream, second a Belgian Hare nearly perfect, third a 

 youDg Himalayan, and fourth an Angora; the latter had some 

 of its down off the centre of the back. Some very good Dutch 

 were shown, notably one very highly commended, a Fawn only 

 six weeks old. 



POULTRY.— Cochins— Buff— Cock— 1, W. A. Burnell. Special 2, W. H- 

 Crewe. Hens— 1. W. A. Burnell. 2, E. Winwood. Partridge— Cock— 1, J. 

 Gunn. 2, S W. Hallan. Hens— Special 1, Eev. R. Fielden. 2, Mrs. R. Story. 

 Any other variety.— Cock.— Special 1, E. Snell. 2, J. Baekham. Hens. — 1. W. 

 A. Burnell. 2, W. Holbrook. Bbahmas.— Bark.— Cock. — Special 1, J. Long. 2, 

 J. Gunn. Hens.—l, W. Morris. 2, F. Holbrook. Light.— Cock.— 1, Mrs. Feet. 

 2, H. Feast. Sens. — Special 1, Mrs. Peet. 2, G. Breeze. Doekings.— Cock. — 1, 

 E. Sneil. 2. Miss Murray. Hens.— Special 1, T. Bridon. Hocdans. — Cock.— 1, 

 Rev. A. Dobbin. 2, F. Holbrook. Hens— Special 1, H. Feast. 2, F. Holbrook. 

 Spanish— Cocfc.—l, R. Hill. 2. H. Feast. Hens— Special 1, J. Dixon. 2, R. 

 Hill. Game.— Black or Brown-breasted Bed —Cock.— Special 1. J. Mason. 2, 

 G. Richardson. Hens.— 1, G. Richardson. 2, C. Spencer. Any other variety. — 

 Cock.— Special 1, J. Mason. 2, D. Hulme. Hens.—l, E. Bell. 2, G. Barnesby. 

 HAarBCEGHS.— Gold or Silver-pencilled.— Cock.— Special 1, J. Long. 2, C. K. 

 Senior. Hens. — 1, C. Judson. 2, H. Kidger. Gold or silver-spangled.— Cock. — 

 Special 1, J. Ward. 2, J.Long. Hens. — 1, J.Long. 2, J.E.Jones. Any othee 

 Variety- Cock.—l, A. & W. H. Silverton (Golden Poland). 2. J. Rackham 

 (Malay). Hens.— Special 1, J. Long. 2, A. & W. H. Silverton (Golden Polands). 

 Any Vaeiety.— Young. — Special 1, G. B. Breeze. 2, S. W. Hallam (Dorkings). 

 S, T. Bridden (Dorkings). 1, W. A. Burnell (Buff Cochins). Bantams. -Cock.— 

 Special 1. R. H. Ashton. 2, E. Bell. Hens.—l, R H. Ashton. 2, C. Adkin. 

 Selling Class.— Cocfc.—l, C. Judson (Gold-pencilled Hamburgh). 2, A. & W. 

 H. Silvester (Golden Polands). Hens. — Special 1. E.Leake (Black Hamburghs). 

 2, T. Bridden (Dorkings). Docks.— White Aylesbury.— 1. E. Snell. 2, Mrs. R. 

 Story. Any other variety. — 1, A. & W. H. Silverton. 2, R. H. ABhton. Geese. 

 — 1, E. Snell. 2. J. Nichlincon, jun. Turkeys.— 1, Lady P. Stanhope. 



RABBITS.— Lops.— Double.— 1, C. E. Thompson. 2, E. Pepper. 8, J. A. 

 Barrs. Any othee Variety.— 1, H. Gilbert (Silver Cream). 2, E. Robinson 

 (Belgian Hare). S, Foster & Chambers (Himalayan), i, E. Snell (Silver-Grey). 

 vhc, F. Purser (Angora) ; T. Golightly (Dutch). 



Judges. — Rev. T. O'Grady, Ashbourne; Mr. E. Hutton, 

 Pudsey, Leeds. 



POULTRY AND BEE NEWS AND QUERIES. 



Dorking Chickens Hatched by a Pigeon. — Mrs. Gane, the 

 matron of the Chippenham Union "Workhouse, placed two 

 Dorking eggs under a common Pigeon, one of the feeders of her 

 fancy birds, and they were duly hatched, and I saw them yester- 

 day, July 19th. Mrs. Gane had constructed a small artificial 

 mother of flannel list, and put it in a box in the sun, and the 

 chickens in the box. The chicks run as naturally to their arti- 

 ficial as they would have done to a natural mother for warmth 

 and to be brooded. I may remark that Mrs. Gane is an ardent 

 Pigeon fancier, a grand resource and amusement for one whose 

 duties oblige a very constant residence at one place, as must by 

 necessity the duties of a matron of a large workhouse. Noticing 

 chickens hatched by a Pigeon — and in this case the eggs were of 

 a large variety of fowl, and must have been troublesome for a 

 Pigeon to cover — some years since a boy in this village climbed 

 up into the rookery close to this house, took out the Rooks' eggs, 

 and put in two from a fowl. He ascended again on the right 

 day, and there he found two chickens. These birds I also fre- 

 quently saw. — Wiltshire Rector. 



The West of England Apiarian Society, by permission of the 

 Trustees of the Pigott Estate and the Horticultural Society, will 

 hold its first Exhibition at The Grove, Weston-super-Mare, at 

 th9 same time as the annual flower show, August 15th and 16th. 



last time] is not always necessary, for very often the young 

 birds are gone to rest at that time. They must not then be dis- 

 turbed to feed ; and if food be given to them it muBt be much 

 less than at the other times, for as you may perceive there are 

 but three-quarters of an hour between the two last feedings." 



What Mr. Hervieux means by the remark " the same regular 

 hour " I am at a loss to understand, for in one instance he allows 

 a lapse of full two hours, and in another only three-quarters of 

 an hour ; and then he does not name at what period of the 

 breeding season the young should have the first meal in the 

 morning — " half-past six." This would be a late hour during 

 Jane and July for young birds to be fed. From my own obser- 

 vations during the past week I noticed one morning in particular 

 the parent birds feeding a nest of young at four o'clock. On 

 the other hand, half-past six would be too early at the com- 

 mencement of the breeding season ; the want of sufficient day- 

 light would prevent the birds being disturbed and fed so soon 

 even as at that time. 



But I will not be too critical in my remarks upon the chapter, 

 which contains a few hints worthy the notice of those who may 

 be well up in the fancy. The writer further says, " Tou must 

 make a little stick very smooth and thin at the end to feed them 

 with ; it must be as broad aB your little finger. Those who 

 make use of a quill cut for that purpose have more trouble in it, 

 because their composition not being liquid, the quill bends and 

 is not stiff enough to take up the birds' food. Tou must every 

 time give them their beak full about four times, that their craw 

 may not be too full, which might choke them. I must also 

 observe that there is more trouble in not following this rule 

 than in keeping it ; for besides that things do not answer so well, 

 a man is every moment in pain to know how long it is since 

 they were fed, and being thus concerned he goes to the little 

 birds, who as soon as they see him do not fail to gape wide, 

 though they have no occasion, for they would crave every half 

 hour if they were to be regarded ; then in pity you are apt to 



feed them, and commonly many of them die of it Those 



who will observe this method with their Canary birds will per- 

 ceive them to thrive visibly and by degrees grow so strong and 

 healthy that the moulting, which is their most fatal distemper, 

 will not affect them." 



Wholesome food and fresh water provided daily, with clean- 

 liness of cages and fresh nests, more particularly during hot 

 weather, are points to be observed over the rearing of young 

 birds, without which neither Mr. Hervieux's fixed rules or the 

 advice of others will avail. Again, the writer says, "After 

 twenty-three or twenty-four days you are to forbear feeding 

 them by hand, especially when you observe them to pick well 

 of themselves. As for the lemon colour and mottled, you must 

 continue feeding them thirty days, for they have much &do to 

 learn to feed themselves. A more particular care must be taken 

 of these birds than of others." In another part of the treatise 

 the writer speaks thus of lemon-coloured or jonq-.il birds, "The 

 young which come from the race I have spoken of are much 

 more troublesome to rear than all other sorts, as being of a very 

 tender constitution." 



" When they (the young) first begin to feed alone put them 

 into a cage without perches, with a little very fine small hay or 

 moss well dried on the bottom of the cage. The first month 

 they feed alone give them bruised hempseed, yolk of egg boiled 

 hard, some simnel or biscuit very dry and grated, water with a 

 little fresh liquorice in it, and a little very ripe chickweed, each 

 of them apart in the middle of the cage." 



In another chapter I will quote Mr. Hervieux's method of 

 making a composition or paste for Canary birds. — George J, 

 Barnesby. 



COMB FOUNDATIONS. 



CANARY MANAGEMENT IN OLDEN TIMES. 



No. 2. 

 In continuing my remarks from the Journal of June 15th upon 

 Mr. Hervieux's mode of feeding and rearing young Canary birds 

 by hand the writer further Btates, " Thus you see the young 

 birds are to be fed eleven times a-day without any trouble or 

 uneasiness, the same regular hour being always observed. This 

 last feeding [the eleventh, at three-quarters after eight for the 



The latest apiarian excitement with our American cousins is 

 a craze for comb foundations, and they have a pretty wrangle 

 in progress as to some patent rights claimed both for using 

 and making artificial combs, although it has been demonstrated 

 that before the date of any American patent, impressed wax 

 6heets were known and used in Europe. A sample of worker- 

 comb foundation that I have seen is certainly of beautiful 

 workmanship, rivalling the work of Nature's pupil the bee ; but 

 according to report the bulk used to execute orders is not equal 

 to the sample. The sheets are made to any size, even in con- 

 tinuous rolls, and are intended to fill the frames, but the same 

 flaw in their use is found as was the case with Neighbour's 

 sheets — that is, a liability to become baggy as they are thinned 

 by the bees. The bottom wall of the cells are accurately im- 

 pressed, and surrounded by shallow hexagonal walls which the 

 manufacturers claim sets the desirable worker pattern, and the 

 walls furnish enough material for the bees to raise the structure 

 to the requisite height. " Novice," the energetio editor of 

 " Gleanings in Bee Culture," is manufacturing comb foun- 

 dations of a mixture of solid paraffin and wax for cheapness' sake, 

 but the low melting power of the former material has brought 

 a difficulty that the cells from the mere weight of material 



