August 9, 1877. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULiTUBE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



125 



If a buck is kept a single hatch— that is, one with but one 

 compartment, with wired door and feeding trough, will do well 

 to keep him in. A similar hutch if of sufficient size, say not 

 less than 2 feet in length, will do to put the young progeny in 

 when taken from the doe ; but they must not remain together 

 after four or five months old, indeed as soon as you observe 

 them beginning to fight they must be separated and kept apart. 



Rabbits naturally feed on vegetables, and readily eat most of 

 the edible productions of the field or garden. Meadow grass 

 cut green, milk thistles, carrot tops, cabbage leaves, clover, 

 tares, hare parsley, stalks and leaves of chicory, leaves of white 

 beet, parsnips, new hay, and Jerusalem artichokes are all good 

 for them, and may be given occasionally to vary their food. 

 Too much green vegetable food must not be given them, as it is 

 too apt to relax their bowels, but should be served out to them 

 with or after their dry corn food, and at all times muBt be a day 

 or two old.— {The Pet Stock Bulletin.) 



CANARY BREEDING. 



The breeding season is fast drawing to a close, and birds, both 

 old and young, will soon be in heavy moult ; in fact the young 

 from early nests are already pushing forth their new and more 

 showy plumage. There is not much advantage gained in pro- 

 longing the breeding of Canaries beyond the end of July, owing 

 to the old birds becoming sick and weakly and the young from 

 such not thriving so well as those hatched in the months of 

 April, May, and June. Already many bree'ders have cleared 

 away all nesting materials, pulled down the breeding partitions, 

 and cleansed and appropriated the same for moulting or pre- 

 paring the most promising young for the coming season's exhi- 

 bitions. Some breeders have sets of partitions or cages specially 

 set apart for moulting their birds, keeping one or two birds in 

 each compartment; and others will moult several broods to- 

 gether in some corner of a room or snug recluse, the birds being 

 kept in a state of semi-darkness to prevent them from pulling 

 eaoh other's feathers during the moult. I consider it quite as 

 essential to cleanse the breeding places and cages at the end of 

 the breeding season as it is when putting-up the birds to breed, 

 for if there should be any vermin lurking about it is not possible 

 that the birds can remain undisturbed during roosting. And this 

 is a matter much to be regarded whilst birds are moulting, for it 

 prevents or at least checks the birds (which become uneasy and 

 fretful through the vermin) from pecking their quill feathers at 

 a time when they are charged with blood, the starting of which 

 hinders the free growth of the feathers, and not only retards the 

 maturity and unfolding of the same but weakens the birds. 



Respecting the remarks upon Canaries and their eggB alluded 

 to in page 339, No. 810, Mr. Hervieux further states : — 



" Thunder is another accident, for when there happens any 

 extraordinary thunder on the seventh or eighth day after the 

 hen has been sitting the little ones which are soarce half-formed 

 sometimes perish, and the eggs that were thought to be good 

 because they were dark and somewhat heavy are quite spoiled 

 by the thunder. When the thunder happenB in the daytime 

 and the hen is gone off the eggs to ease herself or feed, there is 

 much cause to fear the eggs will be spoiled, and therefore you 

 must then endeavour to make the hen return to her nest, for 

 when on them she commonly saves them from that accident, 

 and therefore the thunder is not to be so much dreaded at night, 

 because the hen iB then on her eggs. 



" Some put a bit of iron into the nest to hinder the effect ai 

 the thunder, but I will not prescribe that as a sovereign remedy. 

 When the thunder happens on the eleventh or twelfth day the 

 hen has been sitting it is not so much to be feared, because the 

 little ones are stronger, though still in the shell, and very often 

 it only makes them hatch twenty-four hours before their usual 

 time. 



" Thunder sometimes is so violent that it destroys both old 

 and young, and if they are ever so little out of order otherwise, 

 that thunder makes an end of them, and they are found dead 

 and stiff in their huts, without any other cause. 



" The eggs are generally thirteen times twenty-four hours 

 under the hen — for instance, you place five or six eggs under your 

 hen on a Saturday at seven in the morning, and you will have 

 young hatched the second Friday following in the morning. 

 Some, but very rarely, hatch one day before the usual time : 

 either the thunder or the great heats, as in July and August, 

 may cause them to advance ; others, on the contrary, come 

 twenty-four hours later or thereabouts, and that is occasioned 

 by cold, as sometimes happens at the first sitting in April; or it 

 may proceed from having handled the eggs too often, aa has 

 been said ; or lastly, the hens being sickly or weakly may hatch 

 a day or more later than usual. 



" The fear of breaking the eggs when handled makea us take 

 them up trembling, and even so we often break them, either 

 pressing them too hard between the fingers, or else letting them 

 fall for want of holding them fast. To obviate this accident, 

 which daily happenB to themost experienced persons, they are 

 not to be handled unless in case of necessity, and when you 



cannot avoid it. Tou must take them up unconcerned and 

 without dread, for the fear of breaking them often proves a dan- 

 gerous precaution. If, therefore, you boldly take up your eggs 

 in your fingers by the ends, but never by the middle, as I ob- 

 served before, you will be sure not to break them; and if still 

 you be apprehensive notwithstanding all these precautions, you 

 may make use of a small thin spoon to take them up with, and 

 that way you will still be safer." 



Even with the foregoing precautions of Mr. Hervieux (which 

 are worth observing), still accidents may and will otherwise 

 occur to eggs through overgrown nails puncturing the shells, 

 or through the claws being clogged with dirt gathered from the 

 cage bottom, which will frequently cause the egg-shell to become 

 indented. The former obstacle may be obviated by carefully 

 cutting the hens' claws (the nails) before they commence sitting; 

 and the latter may be prevented with the cage bottom being 

 kept scrupulously clean and well supplied with grit sand and an 

 occasional bath. But the trimming of the nails will only be 

 necessary when the hens are above one year oid. — Geobge J. 

 Babnesby. 



LARGE HIVES. 



Doking last winter I bought " A Handy Book on Bees," by 

 Mr. Pettigrew, and having read it I determined to try his system 

 of large hives, of oourse for honey or profit, but more especially 

 to break down the prejudices of the bee-keepers in this distriot 

 (Northumberland), where small hives only are used. I ordered 

 some hives from Manchester 18 inches in diameter and 12 inches 

 deep inside measure. I bought three stocks in small hives from 

 an old man and set up my apiary, determined to succeed ; but 

 when I had the first swarm on June 14 th and put it into the 

 large hive I was laughed at by an old bee-keeper who assisted 

 me to hive the swarm, and who assured me it was no UBe, the 

 bees would never fill it, for he had had fifty years' experience, 

 and 4 stones was the greatest weight of honey he ever had. 



On the 22nd I had another swarm, and on the 27th I had the 

 third, both of which I put into large hives. I also had two 

 second swarms, which I put into Bmall hives. The third hive 

 did not swarm a second time, for the floorboard had a feeding 

 trough in it, and the bees filled it with comb, and I simply 

 lifted the hive off the board, and with it came the comb out of 

 the trough. I had by me ready another board with a large hole 

 in it, under whioh I placed an 18-inch eke. I lowered the comb 

 through the board into the eke, and the latter is now nearly full 

 of comb. But as I wish more particularly to speak of the large 

 hives I will not at present Bay more on the second swarms or 

 stocks, but if you think it worth while to insert this I will write 

 again after the moor season is over. 



To return to the hive of June 14th. It was fall of comb and 

 honey in five weeks, but the board and hive only weighed 34 lbs. 

 That of the 22nd is also quite full ; that of the 27th iB not yet 

 full, but quite three-fourths, and it is a 20-inch hive, whioh was 

 sent by mistake. These facts in the face of the worst season for 

 many years proves that Mr. Pettigrew's system is very good, 

 and those who have not read his little book should do so at once. 



I will send my bees to the heather on the 1st of August, and 

 if it is a good season hope to get 100 lbs. of honey from each 

 hive. It is a sight to see the bees at work. The doors ara 

 3 J inches wide, and the stream in fine weather is nearly constant, 

 and often I think the bees are swarming. I should like to know 

 the beBt plan of getting bees out of supers, and I would farther . 

 inquire why it is that there are often, say, from ten to twenty 

 bees on the ground, evidently dying, in front of the hives. Are 

 they robbers " come to grief," or workers having lived their 

 natural term, " shuffling off this mortal coil 1" — Habdy of the 

 Hills, Northumberland. 



DRIVING BEES. 



I have read with much pleasure the two articles from my 

 brother amateurs on bee-management in your Journal of 

 Jane 21st, page 474, and July 5th, page 24; and although I have 

 not been quite so far in my experiments as Mr. Kendal, yet my 

 little experience may be helpful to Borne young beginners. 



First I would say it is from your Journal that I have gained 

 moBt of my experience or information. Until I read your 

 pages, like many others I thought the sulphur pit muBt be 

 the doom of our little friends, and I hated such a barbarous 

 practice and did not care to keep them ; but when I saw they 

 could be managed in a more humane way I resolved to make a 

 beginning. 



LaBt September I bought one swarm in a very small step, for 

 which I gave 15s. I fed them a little in the autumn, and they 

 stood the winter very well. I commenced feeding them again 

 about the middle of April, and continued feeding until swarm- 

 ing time. The quantity of syrup I gave was from 6 to 8 lbs. I 

 intended swarming them artificially, but they were forwarder 

 than I expected, and on the 30th of May a fine swarm issued 

 i naturally, which I hived successfully in a large 18-by-12-inch 



