352 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ May 12, 1863. 





we wrote to Messrs. Crook expressing our fear. Their reply, 

 from which the following is extracted, is satisfactory : — 



"We are exceedingly obliged by your communication, and 

 beg to state that a feeding-box of a similar construction has been 

 in use some years, the cover opened in front like ours. We fix 

 glass on the cover that birds may see the food, which we think 

 useful in teaching young birds to find their food. The main 

 objection to the old make was that in consequence of the action 

 passing inside the food-chamber it became clogged, would not 

 work, and remained open, and other animals devoured the con- 

 tents. Some gentlemen from the north came last week to inspect 

 them, one of them left an order for twelve ; another one sent an 

 order this morning for twelve, and says he will send a lot of old 

 ones to alter like ours." 



CAUTION TO ADVEETISEBS. 



Permit me to caution the advertisers in the Journal against 

 supplying goods of any description to applicants from Manches- 

 ter, without the cash or a respectable London reference. 



The Long firm has just favoured me with a good order, to be 

 left at the London Road Station till called for. In this instance, 

 however, the swindlers have only lost their time and postage 

 stamps. 



Nothing comes amiss to these scoundrels. No sooner does a 

 new advertisement appear than an order is given, which in too 

 many instances is successful in obtaining goods, the promised 

 post-office order being never remitted. 



Application to the police is in vain, as the matter is merely one 

 of debt ; and legal proceedings are equally useless, as the fellows 

 shift from one hiding-place to another with the greatest rapidity 

 — An Advebtiser. 



CLIMBING BIRDS. 



The tree-climbing or creeping birds are of various species, as 

 the Creeper, the Nuthatch, the Wryneck, and the Woodpeckers. 



The Creeper or Tree-crawler, is a small dark brown bird 

 that visits this country only in summer. The bill is long and 

 slightly curved ; the claws sharp and well adapted for clinging to 

 the trunks of trees, which they do in search of insects, of which 

 their food consists. They form their nest usually in a hollow or 

 hole in a tree. 



The Nuthatch remains with us through the winter, hunger 

 making him bolder, when he is more frequently seen, and may 

 be occasionally caught and tamed. The male is a rather hand- 

 some bird, with his bluish cloak and orange vest, a blue mark on 

 the forehead, and a black streak from the beak across the eye. 

 The female is not so brightly coloured. They build in holes in 

 trees and feed on insects, which they collect by climbing the 

 stems and branches of trees, and in this they are very expert, 

 surpassing Blondin or Olmar in their gymnastics. 



The Wryneck, Snake Bird, or Cuckoo's Mate, is a delicate 

 summer visitant, arriving in England about the same time that 

 the Cuckoo does. They build in hollows or holeB in trees, and 

 have a peculiar manner of writhing or twisting the head and 

 neck. The bill is straight, rather long, and the tongue is very 

 long, by which they are enabled to catch the insects on which 

 they feed. The feet are formed like a parrot's— two toes in front 

 and two behind, so that they can climb easily. The colour is 

 greyish, streaked and barred with darker shades. 



Of Woodpeckers we have three or four kinds natives of 

 England. They are known in different districts by various 

 names, as Woodwale, Yaffler, Gaily Bird, &c. 



The Great Spotted, the Striated or LesBer Spotted Woodpecker, 

 and the Green are those generally found in this country. They 

 have strong beaks, with which they rap the limbs of the trees to 

 frighten the insects ; they thus cause a jarring or vibration, 

 which makes the insects run out and expose themselves, so that 

 they can feed on them. Their tongues are peculiar in form and 

 they can dart them out to some distance, and thus secure their 

 prey. Their feet are formed with two toes turned back and two 

 in front. The tail is short and furnished with stiff points to the 

 feathers, which assist the bird in climbing. They are all very 

 useful birds, destroying and keeping in check those insects that 

 work beneath the bark of trees and thus injure much valuable 

 timber. In forming a hole for their nest they only bore into a 

 decayed part, not into sound wood as some suppose, which 

 would be far too hard for their tools. As they do no injury of 



any sort, but are very useful in preserving timber trees from the 

 undue attacks of insects, they, as well as the other tree- 

 climbing birds, should be protected by all growers of wood or 

 trees ; and it iB hardly to be doubted that those trees, of which 

 we so frequently hear complaints of their dying from insects 

 burrowing beneath the bark, would have been saved if the 

 Woodpeckers and other tree-climbing birds had had access to 

 them. 



I have now concluded my articles on small British birds, and 

 it only remains for me to offer a few remarks on the larger birds 

 as Doves, Game, Waders, and water birds in my next. 



It may be thought that I have omitted the hard-billed or seed- 

 birds— such as the Grosbeaks, Einches, and Buntings ; but I 

 have so recently described them in my series on " The Canary and 

 British Einches " lately published in this Journal, that it is un- 

 necessary to recapitulate ; and I have nothing to retract and very 

 little to add, except to thank " Ornithologist " for his fact in 

 support of my assertion that more fruit is set on those trees and 

 buBhes which are disbudded by the Bullfinches. I only regret 

 that he did not append his real name to his communication, as a 

 moot de plume rarely carries so much weight in authenticating a 

 fact as the signing of a correct name. — B. P. Bbent. 



BEES TEANSFEEEING THEIE ALLEGIANCE. 



A ciecumstance took place in my apiary a few weeks ago 

 which I deem worth relating, as illustrating Mr. Lowe's remarks 

 in page 61 on the partial deserting of hives. 



On the 2nd of last month I placed in my garden a strong hive 

 of common bees which had come from a distance, and the bees 

 had therefore passed some days in confinement. They rushed 

 out as soon as liberated, standing in a crowd round the entrance, 

 and with vibrating wings, sang loud pseans in triumph over 

 their recovered liberty. Numbers took wing, and each as it 

 returned added its quota to the universal jubilaiion. Having 

 occasion to examine the next stock (a pure Ligurian one), I 

 thoughtlessly and unfortunately opened its hive whilst the 

 excitement was at its height, and the consequence was, that 

 nearly every worker deserted it and joined the noisy ones, 

 leaving the poor queen almost " alone in her glory." Here was 

 a dilemma ! and what was now to be done ? Ligurian colonies 

 are by no means to be trifled with, and this one having a young, 

 remarkably handsome, and pure queen, was destined for the 

 apiary of " A Renerewshibe Bee-keeper." Whilst I de- 

 liberated in perplexity, the poor queen, evidently disgusted at 

 the turn affairs had taken, presented herself at the entrance, 

 rubbed her eyes in astonishment, and attempting flight fell at 

 once to the ground. This brought matters to a climax, and as 

 soon as I had secured her (which was not immediately, for she 

 fell amongst some grass, and I had to hunt for her), I popped 

 her into a queen-cage with two or three of her remaining 

 subjects, and put her into her hive. So far s< good ; but what 

 was to be the next move ? To tell the '.ruth matters looked 

 rather unpromising. I thought at first some of the truants 

 might return, or that at any rate those that had gone honey- 

 gathering would come back to their old home and comfort their 

 sovereign in her distress. Not a bit of it. Louder and yet 

 louder pealed the song of triumph next door, swelled now by 

 the recreant voices of the traitor Ligurians ; and if by chance a 

 stray pollen-laden bee looked into its old habitation, it was only 

 to depart immediately, evidently impressed with the conviction 

 that it did not lodge there, and that it was bound at once to 

 accept the hospitable invitation which resounded unceasingly 

 from the portals of the adjoining mansion. Once more I looked 

 into the deserted hive, and took stock of its contents. Eood 

 there was in abundance, and good brood-combs ; but for in- 

 habitants, only the forlorn queen and her three attendants 

 traversing unceasingly their narrow prison. 



Desperate diseases require desperate remedies ; and although I 

 knew the danger of introducing strange bees under such circum- 

 stances, I had no other course to adopt. Brushing off the noisy 

 cluster that had occasioned so much mischief, and disturbing the 

 hive as much as possible till I was surrounded by a cloud of 

 combatants that speedily exchanged their notes of joy for a cry of 

 vengeance, I bore the offending colony to the other side of the 

 garden, and substituted for it the abandoned hive. It was 

 amusing to observe the instantaneous change that took place. All 

 appeared unwilling to enter the deserted mansion ; but roamed 

 disconsolate outside, ever and anon taking wing and returning once 





