December U, 1S71. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAaE GARDENER. 



479 



weighing the two highly commeDded pens to find that one 

 pair weighed 4^ Ibe., and the other 4J lbs. I know the Blues 

 weighed 4 lbs. 6 ozs. when they went to the Crystal Palace, 

 before I sold them. — S. A. W. 



EOYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY'S POULTRY SHOW. 



This Society's winter Show opened on the 5tli inst., and was con- 

 tinued on the following two days. There were upwards of four 

 hundred entries of poultry and Pigeons. The following awards were 

 made : — 



Dorkings (Silver-Grey).— 1, Miss De Tonrcv Drevar, Blackrock. 2. E. P. 

 WiUiams. Clontarf. Third, S. Mowbray, Mountrattt. he, J. C. Co'-per, Limerick, 

 c. W. G. Mulligan. Belfast. Chic]ce)ts~l, Mrs. Warburton, Kill, Naas. 2, Capt. 

 DownmajD, Kingstown, /ic, Mrs. Warbiuton ; Hon. J. Massy, Limerick. 



Dorkings (Any other varietv).— 1, Mrs. Warburton. 2, G. A. Stephens, 

 Dublin. 3. G. A. Perrin, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin. Chickens.— 1, A. Stephens. 

 ■a. W. (Jr. Mulligan. 



Spanish,— 1, Miss De Courcv Drevar. he, W. G. Mulligan, c, T. A. Bond, 

 Londonderry. Chickens.— 2. W. G. Mulligan, he. J. Barlow, Chapelizod. 



Beahma Pootras.— 1, G. A. Stephens. 2, Hon. J. Massy, he, Capt. Down- 

 inac. c, Mrs. Warburton ; R. Dore, Dublin. Chickeius.—l, G. A. Stephens. 

 2, L. F. Perrin. c, Capt. Do^Timan. 



Cochin-Chinas.— 1, W. H. Pen-in, Chantilly. Co. Dublin. 2, J; K. Milner, 

 Cherbury, Co. Dublin. 7tc.L. Stonie, M.D., Dublin, c, F.W.Zurhorst, Dublin. 

 Chickens.— 1 and 2, "W. H. Perrin. he, Miss L. Warburton, Kill, Co. Kildare. 

 <;, J. C. Cooper. 



Game.— 1 and 2, G. A. Perrin. Chickens —1 and 2, G. A. Perrin. 



Hamburghs (Pencilled).-2, L. Stonie, M.D. he, R. P. Williams. 



Hambdrghs (Spangled).— 1,'S. Mowbray. 2, G. A. Perrin. he, Capt. Dowii- 

 man. 



PoLANDS (^Wbite or Black-crested).—!, Miss De Couixy Drevar. 2, E. P. 

 "VViUiams. he, J. K. Milner. e, W. G. Mulligan. 



La Fleche.— 1 and he, G. A. Stephens. 2, Capt. Downman. 



HoDDANS.— 1 and c, J. C. Cooper. 2, G. A. Stephens, 



Cbeve-Ccecrs.— 1, G.A.Stephens. 2, Hon. J. Massy, c, E. J.Poer, Limerick_ 

 SINGLE COCKS. 



Dorking.— 1, Mrs. Warbui-ton. 2, J. C. Cooper, c, Mrs.'M. Ashton, Phcenix 

 Park, Dublin. 



Spanish.— 1, W. G. Mnllignn. 2, Miss De Courcy Drevar. 



Cochin-China.— 1, J. K. Milner. 2, W. H. Perrin. 



Brahma Pootha.— 1 an(I2, Mrs. Warburton. c, R. P. Williams. 



La Fleche.— 1 and he, G. A. Stephens. 2, E. J. Poer. c, A. Field, Blackrock. 



HouDAN.— 1, G. A. Stephens. 2, J. C. Cooper. 



Cbeve-C(eue.— 1. Hon. J. Massy. 2 and he, E. J. Poer. 



Oame.— 1, 2. and he, G. A. PeiTin. 



Any Variety not Pre^iouslv Mentioned.— 1, S. Mowbray. 2, Hon. J. 

 Massy, c, R. P. Williams. 



Game Bantams.- 1 and he, G'. A. Perrin. 2, W. G. Mulligan. 



Any other Varxety.- 1, E. J. Poer. 2.T. A. Bond, Londonderry. 



Fat Fowls.- 7tc, A. Field, c, Miss L. King, Geashill. 

 PIGEONS. 



Carriers.— 1, J. BI'Donnell, Upper Rathmines. 2, R. W. Smith, Caliir. 



Pouters —he. E. A. Sc^le. c. F. W. Zurhoret. 



Owls.— 1 and he, J. Dowling. Cork. 2, J. M'Donnell. c, H. L. Tivy, Cork. 



Tdmblers.— 1 and he, E. A. Seale. 2, J. Dowling. 



Barbs.— 1 and 2, J. Dowling. he. R. W. Smith. 



Trumpeters.- 1. J. Dowling. 2, H. L. Tivy. 



Fantails. — 1 and 2, E. A. Seale. 



TxjRBiTS.- 1, E. A. Seale. c, J. K. Milner. 



Jacobins.— 1. R. W. Smith, 2, E. A. Seale. c, J. Do-wUng. 



Nuns.— 1 and he, J. Dowling. 2, E. A. Seale. 



Homing.— 1, G. M. Caparn, Beggar's Bush. 2, F. W. Zurhorst. he, J. 

 Dowling. 



Judges: — Mr. E. Hutton, Padsey, and Mr. C. F. Staunton, Cap- 

 pagh, Clondalkin. 



THE SECOND CAT SHOW AT THE CRYSTAL 

 PALACE. 



Another eat show at the Crystal Palace, and another success. The 

 entries were abont two-thirds more than at the first show, an com- 

 prised, of conrse, a far greater variety of form and colour, and the 

 exhibition was therefore far more interesting. Looking over the list 

 of the exhibitors, we find nearly as many, if not quite as many, gen- 

 tlemen as ladies, besides here and there a Master " So-and-so." It 

 was said when a cat show was first announced that all the " old 

 ladies " would he sending their pets, but the result proves that men 

 are as fond of cats as the gentler sex. The Earl of Hopetoun sent no 

 less than seven fine specimens, amongst which were some half-bred 

 wild cats. But, perhaps, the most attractive animal of the Show, or, 

 at least, the most scarce, was a real tortoiseshell he-cat — red, yellow, 

 and black, with no white. Almost everyone knows that the existence 

 of such is denied, yet at the Crystal Palace Show there was one, and 

 rare as it is supposed to be, the price of £1U only was marked on it. 

 Most of the other classes contained fine specimens of their kind, the 

 Tortoiseshell and "White being very rich in colour and beautifully 

 marked. The Tabbies varied much in their black and brown tracings, 

 some being very dark, while in others the lines had almost disappeared, 

 and the fur presented more the appearance of that of a rabbit, or 

 Chinchilla squirrel. 



Then the White cats were a charming variety, one in particular 

 being extremely beautiful, the eye Laving a deep ultramarine hue. 

 This was a short-haired cat. At the last Show, a long-haired one 

 possessed the same fine quality of colour in the eye. Grand-looking 

 eats were the half-bred wild sent by the Zoological Society, Regent's 

 Park, and they showed evident traces of their origin ; but the two 

 largest in the Show were those sent by Miss Amos and Miss Hawthorn, 

 both of which weighed '21 lbs., and were awarded equal first prizes. 

 The heaviest long-haired cat, though looking much larger, weighed but 

 18f lbs., and was beautiful in colour. 

 But where so many were good it is difiicult to individualise, and we 



feel it was a Show that ought to be seen more than described, the 

 universal opinion being, that there was an air of elegance and refine- 

 ment about it that was not to be found in many other shows of our 

 domestic animals. And, indeed, what animal is more domestic than 

 the cat ? and it is well, therefore, that this animal should have its ad- 

 mirers, and care and attention bestowed on it, for if we try for beauty . 

 in our out-door animals, why not still more for beauty in those that 

 sit by US at our own fireside ? There is now but little doubt that cat 

 shows will become as permanent as poultry shows, and if we may form 

 any criterion from those held at the Crystal Palace, will receive a greater 

 amount of support from the public than almost any other kind of 

 show, as we find that nearly 20,000 persons visited this second Show 

 at the Crystal Palace, although then the weather was very severe, 

 and, therefore, prevented many from being present. We mention this 

 mert-ly to show that the domestic cat has many friends, and we are of 

 opinion they will now rapidly increase, nor should we be surprised to 

 find the next Show numbering two or three times as many specimens 

 and of still finer quality, and attracting many more visitors. 



The Judges on this occasion were the Lady Mildred Beresford 

 Hope, the Lady Dorothy Nevill, the Rev. J. Gumming Maedonp, 

 Harrison Weil', Esq., F.R.H.S., and .John Jenner Weir, Esq., F.L.S. 



large or small HIVES. 



My esperienee in keeping bees in large and reasonably small 

 hives may be of service to some of your readers similarly 

 situated to myself. 



The first things to be considered are situation and the nature 

 of the surrounding country. I keep my bees six miles from 

 London, on the Surrey side, which I must confess is not at all 

 a promising locality ; and it is a fact that many of my neigh- 

 bours who have attempted to keep bees have been obliged to 

 give them up, as they have never been able to obtain a drop of 

 honey. But I account for my success in this way : — There are 

 two seasons at which the bees obtain the most honey. The 

 first is the spring, when all the fruit and garden trees are in 

 full bloom ; and the second about .July, when the limes are 

 fully out. I always rely upon these two seasons for obtain- 

 ing most of my honey. Now I have kept bees both in large 

 and small hives, and I certainly give the preference to a smaller 

 hive, for while 1 have always succeeded tolerably with the 

 latter, I find I do not succeed so well with the larger hives. 



In a large hive I have never yet succeeded in getting the bees 

 to work a super, although to all appearance very strong in 

 numbers, therefore, without driving the bees, I can obtain no 

 honey from them. With a smaller hive, on the contrary, I can 

 always get the bees to work a super, and what is very essential 

 they can fiU a small hive with comb so much more quickly than 

 a larger one. I may state that I usually keep one large hive 

 and add all the late swarms to it, but I find I cannot do much 

 with them. This may, perhaps, be owing to the make-up, but 

 I do not lose many bees during these operations. As a proof 

 of the above, I have had 35 lbs. of honey from four small hives, 

 and I have left the hives quite strong enough to pass through 

 the winter, but I have had to drive a large hive, which only 

 yielded about 25 lbs. — Carolus, Tooting. 



[We are right glad to receive such notices of practical experi- 

 ence as yours. With regard to a preference for large or small 

 hives, it is a question which must depend for its answer upon 

 two things : first, the size of the swarms put into them ; 

 secondly, the nature of the honey pasturage in the vicinity. 

 To put small swarms into big hives is, of course, an absurdity ; 

 similarly it is absurd to put a swarm, however large, into a big 

 hive it the honey-producing power of the surrounding district 

 is small. Circumstances can alone decide what is fitting in 

 each case. At the same time, given a fine pasturage and a 

 full-sized swarm, and we unhetitatingly say use a large hive. 

 But it must be borne in mind that a supered hive is often 

 virtually a big hive. — Eds.] 



WINTERING BEES. 

 Our American bee friends are trying curious experiments 

 with their favourites, which seem to thrive in that continent 

 wonderfully. Among others is anew mode of wintering, which 

 is confidently recommended by a gentleman of the name of 

 Hosmer. Mr. Hosmer finds that when colonies are wintered 

 in a warm place it is not necessary to have a large number of 

 bees in a hive. A quart, he says, will be sufiicient for the safety 

 of any queen. The theory is that the old bees which have con- 

 sumed honey all the winter die soon after they first 8y in the 

 spring, and have had their wintei's hoard for nothing, while 

 I younger bees have a lease of life before them and ate full of 



