406 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ June 2, 1863. 



Such were the characteristics which seemed prevalent in each 

 variety ; but for the first time at a dog show, there seemed an 

 aristocratio bearing even pervading the dogs, and telling that 

 they were UBed to good Bociety. 



DOGS. 



Summbe gardens and theatres have opened their doors ; the 

 Horticultural Exhibition has fixed itB tent in the Chaussee 

 d'Autin, and has followed the canine show at the Gardens of 

 Acclimatation. How many painters would be delighted to have 

 before their canvass, how many sculptors before their statue, 

 group or bust, the increasing crowd that was moved, captivated, 

 and enthusiastic before a Terrier no larger than a man's fist ! An 

 invention, one of the triumphs to the recent Show, is the little 

 animal shown under a glass-bell. The air we breathe is, doubt- 

 less, too coarse for its lungs. There were three we could name, 

 that were only shown to the crowd through the transparent 

 wallB of their crystal palaces. They are no longer dogs — they 

 are little gods. More than a thousand competitors appeared at 

 this Show, and among them, perhaps, two hundred drawing- 

 room tyrants. That which is microscopic and liliputian, wordly, 

 useless, and untidy, is that which concerns and interests us most 

 in this Show. We respect the watch dog ; we love the sporting 

 dog; we will speak highly of the Newfoundland and the 

 " Saviour " of Mount St. Bernard, if ever the Monthyon prize 

 should be extended to four-footed virtue ; but the pocket dog, 

 the shelf dog, the dog that on a pinch could be carried in a 

 reticule — this is our great attraction. Greyhounds more chilly 

 than Mery, the poet of Marseilles, and which seldom go out 

 without their over-coat ; small Terriers, clean, Bharp, shining, 

 and muscular, even their muzzles look fine and intelligent, and 

 their ears trimmed to a point stand up provokingly ; silky 

 Spaniels ; King Charles's with sensual faces, reminding one of 

 some Roman emperor satiated with the luxury of the latter and 

 falling days of his empire ; dogs from Havannah, which would 

 almost seem crossed with birds from their lightnes3, feathering, 

 and even claws — these are our delight. 



It is impossible to recognise in the importance assumed by 

 the pet dog of an opulent family, and for which the chicken is 

 not white enough, the cushion soft enough, the collar comfort- 

 able, nor the bonbon sweet enough, unless each comes from the 

 first house in the trade — it is impossible to recognise the little 

 wretch you had seen a few weeks before hanging down its head, 

 suffering from hunger, and furtively seeking a social position 

 — canine Jerome Paturot ! 



To a certain degree the features of dogs and men change with 

 their conditions. Suppose two similar individuals : give to one 

 a noble, easy, and harmonious life, and direct the habitual 

 course of his thoughts to the highest spheres ; attach the other 

 to some low and obscure pursuit, and fix him to it. At the end 

 of a given time these two, although similar at the outset, will 

 differ so much in expression, that even form will be affected by it 

 to the extent that no likeness will be found between those who 

 were at first mistaken one for the other. 



Formerly at the " Barriere du Combat," and in its neighbour- 

 hood, the dogs met with were more like hyamas or wolves. Xhe 

 same may be said of solitary and dangerous parts of the external 

 Boulevards. The dogs acquired the ferocity of the people 

 among whom they lived. Every Bhade of the human family 

 finds its representative in the canine species. You can find ths 

 parvenu, the real nobleman, the smooth, the rough, those diffi- 

 cult and those easy to please, the arrogant and the humble, the 

 sincere and the liar. 



Note that food occupies a larger space in the canine than in 

 the human composition. Many years ago Charlet, the popular 

 painter said, " The best part of a man is that which is like the 

 dog." Another has said, " The better I know man, the more I 

 like dogs."— (Translated.) 



DEONES OF A DEOKE-BEEEDING QUEEN. 



The question which has lately been discussed in your columns 

 as to the utility of the drones of a drone-breeding queen in 

 spring, really lies in a very small compass. The object of pro- 

 ducing them in anticipation of forming early artificial swarms 

 will be found futile ; and, at the same time, a heavy tax muBt be 

 laid on the broken brood of flourishing hives to maintain the life 

 of the drone population. 



It was Bhown in a paper from a German bee-master, for the 

 translation of which your readers are indebted to the kindness of 

 " A Devonshire Bee-keepee," that fecundation takes place only 

 in a high temperature : 70° has been the lowest at which I have 

 observed it, and a bright Bun after midday seems also essential. 



This spring may be considered to have been a favourable one 

 for testing such experiments, having been milder than the average, 

 and yet up to this day, May 28th, the maximum temperature has 

 been but 67°, while there have been drones from a strong hive 

 since April 24. It may be thence inferred that it will prove 

 labour lost in this climate to attempt to form artificial Bwarms 

 earlier than the natural season of swarming, when a superfluity 

 of drones may be insured by maintaining one or two stocks in 

 high condition. — Investigator. 



BEE LAW. 



Have I any legal claim to a swarm of bees of mine, which I 

 followed to another person's garden and saw them enter a 

 hive which contained empty comb ? — S. B. T. 



[We can only give the same reply that we gave to a similar 

 query some years since. Blackstone, in his " Commentaries," 

 says, " A swarm which fly from and out of my hive are mine so 

 long as I can keep them in sight, and have power to pursue 

 them ; and in these circumstances no one else is entitled to take 

 them." Indeed, if the rightfid owner quickly pursues the swarm, 

 and keeps them in sight, and any one else should hive and keep 

 them, it would be a larceny. We believe that if the bees have 

 been quickly followed from the hive whence they swarmed, and 

 have never been lost sight of, their owner is entitled to follow 

 them on to auother man's land and hive them. If the man on 

 to whose land the bees strayed took possession of the swarm, or 

 prevented the owner from doing so, we think the owner would 

 have a legal remedy against tbat man. Of this we are quite 

 sure — no one who is honest will prevent the owner of a strayed 

 swarm following and recovering it.] 



TIME EOE HATCHING SHOW BIEDS. 



Why should I give over hatching Cochins and all other birds 

 that are intended lor show ? Would not these be just as good 

 hatched now as those that are hatched in February or March ? 

 How is it that most breeders are giving over hatching now ? — 

 Incubatoe. 



[We go on hatching. The reason why so many give up 

 Bitting their hens after this is that liens begin to lay badly, and 

 the yards are full of chickens.] 



OUE LETTEE BOX. 



Death of Hamburgh Chickexs (I. 0. U). — "We think there is little 

 doubt, from the rapid way in which death follows the attack, that poison 

 has something to do with it. As the first brood escaped entirely and all 

 since have suffered, and as all have been reared on the same spot, we think 

 it likely either that some poisonous herb lias sprung up or that something 

 is thrown down that is injurious. This latter is piobably accidental. The 

 sudden deaih excludes the ioea of disease, which is always more or less 

 lingering. Jlove them to another spot. 



Poultry Show at the Agricultural Hall. — We have been requested 

 to state that the sole management of this Exhibition was in the hands of 

 Mr. Douglas. 



Brahma Pootra Egg-bocsd {T. 2\ W.).— From the weight of the egg, 

 your hen is constantly in the predicament of an egg-bound fowl, and unless 

 you can alter this she will die. Give castor oil every other day — a table- 

 spoonful. Feed on cooling food, lettuce, and ground oats mixed with cold 

 water. Whenever the patient appeais in pain, and about to lay, lubricate 

 the egg-passage with a featcer dipped in oil. This will facilitate the 

 extrusion of the egg. Her present state is a certain forerunner of fatal 

 disease if not speedily relieved. 



Eggs not Hatching (£. H.). — The fault has probably been with the 

 hens. There was no fault with eggs that produced chickens, and the 

 mould followed death. Stale or musty bran is bad to keep eggs in. A box 

 or tr.iy is the best place to keep them in, with a little dry moss in the 

 bottom ; or, if the bran be iresh, they may be put on it. 



Spanish Fowls {An Old Subscriber). — We totally differ from you. As a 

 whole we consider the second pen was better than any, except tbe pen to 

 which the first prize was awarded. One of the Judges, we know, would 

 show no partiality. 



Preserving Eggs (.4. Constant Reader). — If you refer to page 286" 

 (No. 1U7, April 14th;, you will find the result of oar experience. 



Guava Jelly (J. lerme). — Put the berries into an enamelled saucepan, 

 and let them simmer for a few minutes, mashing them with a wooden or 

 silver spoon; squeeze them through a cheese-cloth or coarse mu=lin until 

 the skins and pips are dry. To every pound of juice add a pound of white 

 sugar. Boil for a short time until "the jelly is inclined to set, which is 

 ascertained in the usual way ; then pour into small jars. 



Insect ejected from a Hive {W. T. Blantyre). — It is only a black 

 humble bee which had entered the hive to steal some of the honey. The 

 bees caught the robber and killed him , 



