July 26, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



85 



by being entered in the wrong class. In the variety Bantam 

 olass beantif al Laced were first and good Blacks second. The 

 Aylesbury Ducks were six pens in number. Both prize pens 

 came from Aylesbury. That of the MeBsrs. Fowler was good, 

 their bills being good in colour and the birds of good frame. 

 Rouens only made five pens, of which the two winning ones 

 were from Dr. Snell. 



The Pigeons were but moderately filled classes. Mr. Chandler 

 took sis of the seven prizes in Carriers; an extra second, how- 

 ever, was given to pen 155 (Yardley) for a good cock. Jacobins 

 were good, as were the AntwerpB, the latter making twenty-five 

 pens. Fantails had two classes ; all the prizes went to Mr. 

 Loversidge and all to good Whites. There were no other 

 entries in these olasses except his, so though his birds were 

 very meritorious he had two clean walks-over. 



There were also exhibited some fair pens of local poultry. 

 The £5 5s. cup for crossbreds went to a neighbouring exhibitor, 

 whose birds were only valued at 40s. We do not see much use 

 in giving cups for crossbred farmyard fowls. 



POULTRY— Dorkings.— 1 and 2. Rev. H. R. Peel. Cochins— White.— 1, 

 Rev. J. BuckmaBter. 2, Rev. R. S. S. Woodgat". Any other colour— 1, R. J. 

 Wood. 2, Dr. E. O. Snell. Game.— Black-breasted Bed.—l, S. Matthew. 2, 

 W. Jones. Brown-breasted Bed.—l, S. Matthew Any other variety.— Cup, S. 

 Matthew. 2, W. C. Phillips. Cocks.—}, W. J. Ridge. 2, G. H. Fitz-Herbert 

 Spanish.— 1. R. W. Bull. 2, J. Powell. Extra 2. R. Nowbitt. Hamburghs.— 

 Gold or Silver-pencilled.— I, W. H. Tickner. 2, Dr. E. O. Snell. Gold or Silver- 

 spangled.- 1, Mrs. J. A. Banks. 2, J. Rawnsley. Brahmas.— 1, Horace Ling- 

 wood. 2, Mrs. Peet. Any Variety.— 1, T. Norwood. 2, H. Feast. Extra S, 

 J. K. & R. R. Fowler, A. W. NiebtiEgale. Bantams.— Game.— 1, F. C. Temple. 

 2, H. Partridge. Any other variety.— 1, F. C. Temple. Not Game.— 1, M. Leno. 

 2, L. Rackham. Ducks— Aylesbury— 1. J. K. & R. R. Fowler. 2. W. Weston. 

 Rouen— 1 and 2, Dr. E. O. Snell. Any other variety.— 1 and 2, M. Leno. 



POULTRY (Local Prizes).— Ant Variety.— Cup, J. Horrell. 1, J. Paxton. 

 2, Mrs. Peet. Bantams— 1, J. W. Whittaker. 2, R. B. Stafford. Ducks.— 

 Aylesbury.— 1, J. Paxton. 2, Mrs. M. W. Henman. 



PIGEONS.— Carriers.— Black or Dun— Cock.— I and 2, J. Chandler. Extra 

 2, H. Yardley. Hen-l and 2, J. Chandler, vhc, G. Smith. Any other colour. 

 —Cock.—l, J. Chandler. Hen.— I- H. Yardley. 2. J. Chandler. Pouters.— 

 Cock— I, W. Nottage. 2, J. Atkins. Hen.— 1, A. P. Byford. 2. W. Nottage. 

 Jacobins— Cock— 1, T. W. Swallow. 2, T. Holt. Ben— I, T. Holt. 2, T. W. 

 Swallow. Antwerpb— Cocfc.— 1, H. Yardley. 2, J. Mantel, vhc, J. Chandler. 

 Sen.— 1. B. W. Weaving. 2, J. Mantell. Fantails —Cock.—l and 2, J. F. 

 Loversidge. Hen.— I and 2. J. F. Loversidge. any other Variety.— 1 and 

 2, J. Chandler, vhc, T. Chambers, J. S. Price. Hen.— I, J. Chandler. 2, H. 

 Yardley. vhc, J. S. Price. 



PIGEONS (Local Prizes).— Any Colour or Variety.— Cocft.— 1 and 2, W. 

 Larkin. vhc, S. Weatherhead (2). Hen— 1, G. Smith. 2, W. Larkins. 



Judges. — Poultry : Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier, London. Pigeons : 

 Mr. F. Gresham, Shefford, Beds. 



I examined the old hive on June 25th, twenty-three days after 

 swarming, and found the combs fall of grubs five-eighths of an 

 inch long. A friend of mine found a hive in the same state as 

 to brood twenty-two days after swarming. As this sets all 

 previous rules at defiance, I am induced to bring it under your 

 notice and aBk for an explanation. — B. B. Ruddock. 



EXTENT OF THE TRAFFIC IN CANAEIES. 



The number of amateur breeders who adopt one or more of 

 the many varieties of the Canary as their speciality, and make 

 the development of its beauties their study, is very large, as 

 the index of the catalogue of any public exhibition can attest; 

 but the number produced in this way is but Bmail compared 

 with the continuous stream poured into the London market by 

 those who make a business of it. The city of Norwich, with the 

 surrounding villages and hamlets, counts its breeders by the 

 thousand ; while in Coventry, Derby, Northampton, Nottingham, 

 and other towns in the midland districts where labour is of a 

 Bedentary character, as well as in many towns in Yorkshire and 

 Lancashire, the Canary is the poor man's savings-bank — the 

 family pig where sanitary laws forbid the erection of a stye. In 

 almost every house where the click of the shuttle is heard, the 

 music of the sewing machine or other adjunct to home industry, 

 there, above all other sounds, rises the cheerful but noisy muBic 

 of the bird room; for, small though the cottage be, the birds 

 muBt have their share of it. The young ones, as soon as they can 

 take care of themselves, are sold by the score indiscriminately 

 or by the pair ; the proceeds materially helping to fill the stock- 

 ing-foot which provides for a rainy day or the claims of ChriBtmas. 

 There are no breeding establishments in this country where the 

 work is carried on largely as a business pure and simple. It is 

 one of those things which, perhaps, presents no better balance- 

 sheet than does a small poultry establishment maintained ex- 

 pressly for a supply of eggs. Half the profit consists in the 

 pleasure, and the other half from money which might go in 

 more questionable ways being saved in small sums, by every in- 

 vestment in seed or other necessary, and returned in the lamp 

 just at a time when it is useful. The occasional self-denial 

 called into operation to minister to the wants of creatures not 

 able to provide for themselves, and the lessons of kindness thus 

 taught, must also be written down on the credit side of the ac- 

 count. — (Canaries and Cage Birds.) 



DRUMMING BEES. 

 A vebt fall hive swarmed on May 21st in a cold north-easterly 

 wind without sun. They swarmed a second time on June 2nd, 

 a rough south-west wind blowing a gale with very little sun, so 

 that the bees were driven about in all directions. They finally 

 settled, and as neither swarm was very large, probably owing 

 to the weather, I added the last swarm to the former one in a 

 box hive of my own contrivance, and they have done very well. 



ARTIFICIAL COMB FOUNDATIONS. 



I have refrained from commenting on Mr. Cheshire's article 

 of May 17th on the above subject until I had had some few 

 weeks' experience of the American sheets. I vi6ited Mr. Cheshire 

 early in May, and he obligingly showed me the result of his first 

 use of the wax foundation. His bees had used one sheet, and in 

 it bred a large majority of drones, and on applying a rule it was 

 evident the cells were larger than ordinary worker cells although 

 smaller than drone. This considerably shook my faith in the 

 usefulness of the new manufacture, but on thinking the matter 

 over I came to the conclusion that it was only the common 

 result of a strong stock of bees being forced to build new comb 

 in the busy season. As I had no bees until the lBt of June I 

 was obliged to wait until then before I could gain my experience. 

 As I have before Btated, on this date I received two swarms : 

 they were neither very strong, and were without queens. I 

 supplied two Ligurians ; the one was readily accepted, the 

 other not so : consequently about half the bees from the latter 

 swarm abandoned tneir home and fraternised with the others, 

 giving me one fairly strong swarm, I daresay altogether about 

 4 lbs. of bees. Thus I had a good opportunity to test the comb 

 foundation, with which I filled the eleven frames. The bees 

 went to work with a will. In less than twenty-four hours one 

 comb was half filled with eggs, and the elongation of the cells 

 going on rapidly. Now the fault that Mr. Cheshire found became 

 evident, and the oombs sagged or bellied out. The cause was 

 apparent — the great heat of the hive bo Bof tened the wax that 

 the weight ef the beeB elongated it. The remedy was simple 

 and effectual ; with a sharp knife I cut off an inch of the lower 

 edge, freed the comb from side attachments, and almost at once 

 the new oombs huns perpendicular as straight worker combs as 

 could be desired. Within eight days I had ten out of my eleven 

 combs with brood or eggs in, and when all sealed over I could 

 find but seven drone oells, if I except two or three corners where 

 the sheet of foundation had been broken which the bees had 

 filled-up and stored with honey. The interior of this hive was 

 now a perfect picture ; the beautiful mathematical regularity of 

 the rows of cells with their thousands of living inmates was 

 marvellous to look at, but I found one may have too much of a 

 good thing, so great waB the speed with which the combs were 

 built and larva hatohed that the workers had no time to store 

 honey ; of course, when they started the cupboard was bare and 

 all their time was occupied in foraging for the numerous infant 

 family. Hard labour soon kills bees. By the third week of 

 June, before a young bee could be hatched, the population had 

 so dwindled that I began to fear for the safety of the brood; and 

 my fears were not altogether groundless, as during the wretched 

 cold weather we have had lately the bees drew together for 

 warmth, and a small quantity of brood in outside combs actually 

 perished. At the preBent time the swarm is six weeks old, and 

 I should think not more than five per cent, of the black bees 

 remain. The stock is to all intents a Ligurian one. 



But to return to the wax sheets. Mr. Cheshire's objections to 

 them, so far as my experience with ten hives goes, are ground- 

 less. I have in no instance found the bees begin at the bottom, 

 and when, as occasionally has happened, the sheets have broken 

 down it has evidently been my own fault in bad fixing at first. 

 Mr. Cheshire's plan of molteD wax on the wet plaster cast I have 

 used and found very useful, but it was troublesome and messy, 

 and not to be compared for convenience, cost, or beauty to the 

 American wax foundations ; of course I speak of ordinary 

 users. Mr. Cheshire has devoted a great deal of time and 

 ingenuity to his plan. He is a master in the art, and has shown 

 me some beautiful combs made on his principle ; but I can only 

 Bay I have never been able to get so good, or hear of anybody 

 else who has. I had 130 lbs. of comb foundations from Mr. 

 Root of Ohio. These were distributed among my friends. My 

 portion, as well as Mr. Cheshire's, appears to have four and a 

 half cells to the inch, but Mr. Root tells me that a quantity of 

 the bulk had five cells to the inch. He makes both sizes. An 

 interesting problem here crops up, if it would not be possible by 

 gradually increasing the size of the impressed cells to cultivate 

 a larger bee. We know, on the contrary, that when combs have 

 been loDg bred-in the capacity of the cells becomes smaller, and 

 the bees bred in them follow the same rule ; also when drones 

 are bred in worker cells (not uncommon) they are stunted in 

 their growth. To raise a queen the cell is enlarged, and the 

 larva that would, left in a smaller cell, have been a worker, be- 

 comes increased in bulk, although, of course, I do not lose sight 

 of other conditions governing the raising of a queen. My young 

 bees are sensibly larger than the old bees. This is usually the 

 case when a stock is wholly bred from new combs. The 



