August 30, 1S64. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



183 



country. The Dominiques are distinguished by their mark- 

 ings and their colour, which is generally considered an in- 

 dication of hardihood and fecundity. By some they are 

 called ' Hawk-coloured fowls,' from their strong resemblance 

 in colour to the birds of that name. In England they are 

 usually called ' Cuckoo fowls,' from the fancied resemblance 

 of their plumage to the feathers of the Cuckoo's breast. 



" The prevailing and true colour of the Dominique fowl is 

 a lightish ground, barred crosswise, and softly shaded with 

 a dark slaty blue. The combs vary, some being single, while 

 othere are double — most, however, are single. Feet and legs 

 light flesh colour and yellow ; bill the same as that of the 

 legs. 



"The merits of this breed recommend them to persons 

 residing in the country, as well worthy of promotion in the 

 poultry-yard. Whether as makers of eggs, or of meat, as 

 sitters, or as nurses, they are valuable. We seldom see bad 

 fowls of this variety ; and, take them all in all, the writer 

 does not hesitate in pronouncing them one of the best and 

 most profitable, being hardy, good layers of more than 

 medium-sized eggs, steady sitters, careful nurses ; and, what 

 is very important, the chicks are hardy, feather early, and 

 are easy to rear. It is a perfect vexation to try to raise 

 chicks of some of the more tender varieties, for they are 

 continually drooping and dying. The Dominiques afford 

 excellent quality of eggs, and flesh of a juicy, high-flavoured 

 character — in the latter quality little inferior to the Dorking. 

 — C. N. Bejeekt." 



[From this description we infer that the Dominique is 

 only a Cuckoo Dorking, probably without the characteristic 

 Dorking claw.] 



A KNOTTY QUESTION. 

 At the Woodbridge County Court, on the 15th inst., an 

 action was brought by H. Payne, of Stowmarket, solicitor's 

 ■clerk, against John Dallenger and Frederick Whisstock, 

 Secretaries of the Suffolk Poultry Society, Woodbridge, to 

 recover the sum of Ss., under the following circumstances : — 

 The defendants were the Secretaries of the Suffolk Poultry 

 Society. On the 7th of May, 1864 the plaintiff entered a 

 Dorking cockerel to be exhibited in a sweepstakes at a 

 Show to be held at Wcodbridge on the 26th and 27th of 

 May, 1S64, and paid to the defendants an entrance fee of 

 7s. 6c?. No other entry was made for the sweepstakes, and 

 ■the defendants neglected to inform the plaintiff thereof, 

 whereby he incurred an expense of 3s. for carriage in sending 

 his (plaintiff's) cockerel to and from the said Show; and 

 the defendants retained 5s., part of the entrance fee. The 

 plaintiff contended that one entry did not constitute a 

 sweepstakes, and that, therefore, the defendants ought to 

 have written to him, stating that fact. Mr. Dallenger, one 

 of the defendants, pleaded the rules of the Society and the 

 form of the entry paper as signed by the defendant, con- 

 tending that the entry of the bird was for exhibition, not 

 competition only, subject to the rules and regulations of the 

 Society; that he was not bound to inform the plaintiff 

 that there was only one entry, but that if he had done so 

 he would have been guilty of a breach of trust, his duty 

 being to take care of the interests of the Society. He eon- 

 tended that, under Rule 10, persons entering poultry, and 

 failing to sead it, forfeit the entry fees, and that they were 

 entitled by the sweepstakes rule to deduct 5s. from the 

 entry. His Honour said he saw no rule requiring the Secre- 

 ■taries to inform exhibitors when there was only one entry, 

 and eventually deferred his judgment till the next court. — 

 {Essex Gazette.) 



PIGEONS AT NEWCASTLE-UPONVTYNE AND 

 DAELINGTON SHOWS. 



It appears froru Mr. Sliorthose's letter in your impression 

 of last week, explanatory of his appointment of the Pigeon 

 Judge at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, he concluded, "That if Mr. 

 Botcherby was competent to judge at an important Show 

 like that at Darling'ton," he could not do wrong in obtain- 

 ing Mr. Botcherby's services, although as to his competency 

 for such a task he " knew but little." 



Doubtless, Mr. Shorthose did his best under the circum- 



stances, but it is the misfortune of exhibitors that so little 

 was known, and so little cared for the mistake in the Darling- 

 ton appointment, thus entailing a like dissatisfaction at 

 Newcastle. 



With respect to the reversal of the prize cards in one 

 class, perhaps Mr. Shorthose will state whether Buch reversal 

 actually took place or not ? If altered, it must have been 

 by some one in authority, and it matters not by whom, the 

 fact remains the same. 



Your correspondent " J. I. D.," by jumping at conclusions, 

 for reasons apparent enough, makes the discovery from the 

 Darlington catalogue that two Judges officiated in the 

 Pigeon department, and although knowing "nothing what- 

 ever about Mr. Botcherby's capabilities," taking the presence 

 of the second Judge into consideration, he " cannot think 

 the awards were so outrageously bad." 



It seems almost ungracious to dispel this illusion, but the 

 simple fact is, the other Judge merely exists in the imagi- 

 nation of "J. I. D.," for Mr. Botcherby officiated, as at 

 Newcastle, alone; consequently, "J. I. D.'s" estimate of the 

 decisions scarcely bears the significance he would make 

 himself and others believe. 



Then, relative to the other point — namely, "The silver 

 cup for the best pen in the Show being awarded to an old 

 Dun cock, a draft from the loft of one of our well-known ex- 

 hibitors." "J. I. D." states he is prepared to prove that 

 the bird was " under three years old," " and one of the best 

 Carriers in the kingdom." 



" J. I. D." has a task before him which is more likely to 

 prove a fiction than the statements he impugns : and until 

 such proof be forthcoming, your readers may infer that he 

 is labouring under an hallucination, similar to that relative 

 to his other Judge ; and as his success has evidently been 

 anything but " sour grapes " to himself, he will do well to 

 rest on his laurels. — A Fancier. 



FOOD EOE CUCKOOS. 



A coeeespondest at page 142 wishes to know what de- 

 scription of food is best adapted for the cuckoo ; and I think 

 it may interest him to know that a friend of mine reared a 

 young cuckoo last year, and from June to December fed it 

 on chopped meat only. During the month of December, 

 in consequence of alterations being made in my friend's 

 premises, he removed the bird into a cold kitchen, where it 

 died; and he ascribes its death entirely to the change of 

 temperature, as it was in excellent health when removed. — 

 W. Gkiefiths. 



I knew a cuckoo that was kept in a turnpike house in 

 Monmouthshire through the winter of 1862. It was fed 

 upon worms, bread-crumbs, and raw meat cut in small pieces. 

 The bird was kept in a wicker basket cage. It was fond of 

 bathing in a saucer, and when spring came was allowed to 

 stav in the bath too long and died. — F. T. P. 



WASPS vebst-s BEES— BABLEYSUGAE. 



What is the best plan of keeping wasps from consuming 

 the produce of the bees ? My bees are greatly teazed with 

 them this season. Although we have destroyed 160 wasps' 

 nests within a radius of a mile, they seem now to be more 

 plentiful than ever. How far do they travel ? I have had 

 one hive of bees entirely destroyed by them. A week since 

 I went to look at my bees, as is my custom once or twice 

 a-day, and I noticed that in one hive the wasps were going 

 in and out with the bees. They seemed quite in harmony 

 with each other. Not so the other hives, for if a wasp did 

 present himself there was a battle, the bees generally proving 

 victorious. I narrowed the entrances in all the hives, but it 

 made not the least difference in the one alluded to, the 

 wasps passed in and out just as fast as the bees. I watched 

 them for some time, killing all the wasps I was nimble 

 enough to get hold of, letting the bees pass unmolested by 

 me, but it did not seem to make the least difference, for the 

 more I killed, the more numerous they seemed to be, so I 

 gave up the warfare. 



I went again the next day, and behold there was nothing 

 but wasps going in and out of that hive. I stayed some time 



